revenance_rpg | Dreaming Wide Awake [Fourth Wall/Open]

One of the new arrivals seems to be perfectly content to just sit on the sidewalk near the fountain, leaning back against the wall. He's got a bass guitar with him, for reasons unknown, but his attentions are more on the Heppy Rep sitting in his lap. Steam drifts lazily from vents and joints as he moves.

"There." The robot smiles as he finishes affixing a fake orange mustache, nearly identical to his own, on the lizard's face. The charred remains of several other mustaches lay scattered about them. "You look. very nice. I like this dream. much better."

A mechanical man with a guitar is not, perhaps the strangest thing Jeeves has seen since his arrival in the Realm of Dreams, but it's certainly on the odder side. "I beg your pardon, sir, but you've been in a dream of this nature before?" he asks, approaching from around the side of the fountain. Then he gets a look at one the man's done to the Hebby Repp.

Jeeves hadn't thought the creatures' appearance could become any more disturbing. The affixing of a mustache to its upper lip would seem to prove him wrong. But it's something that a gentleman must deal with if he wishes to inhabit the world. The valet holds down a shudder as he shifts his gaze away from the animal.

"Not exactly. like this." Hatchworth raised his gaze to the man, his mechanical voice hitching oddly as he spoke. Had Jeeves the cultural background, he might have compared it to a demented Speak-n-Spell. As it was, it was probably just weird. The robot didn't seem concerned, though, so perhaps it was normal.

"We are not supposed. to dream. about sheep or anything else. but I have had. nightmares before." Gathering his spirit up in his arms, he stood with a creaking of metal joints and a small burst of steam. "Do humans do this. often? I have never. been invited."

It was a most peculiar mode of speech, and one that made Jeeves want to try... oiling the man? Checking his bellows? He had knowledge of machinery, certainly, but nothing like this. Jeeves pushed the matter to one side for the moment. Inquiring after the pattern could wait... along with inquiring after the glasses. Surely they could only be for aesthetic reasons on a mechanical person.

"Humans dream very often, sir, but not like this." Jeeves was half expecting a train whistle to sound sound somewhere with the man's look and sounds. "I arrived in the Realm of Dreams for the first time in my life hardly a month past. My apologies, though. My name is Jeeves. We've not seen such a sudden influx of persons in my time here. Where, may I ask, are you from? Do you recognize anyone else here?" If they were all coming from the same place, that might explain things.

You would think that, wouldn't you?

"I am from. San Diego. California." Jeeves, huh? Well, now he knew who to ask if he had any questions about things. The robot reached up to tip his bowler, effortlessly balancing a wriggling Hebby Rep in one arm. "My name is. Hatchworth! I was built in 1896. back when all the men were. peanuts. and women had no rights!"

That was...not exactly the way the introduction was supposed to go. But he usually stole The Spine's intro, and this probably still made more sense than his version of that. It was slightly more accurate at least. "My brothers and sister. are not here," he continued, tapping the side of his head. "I would know even without. the Wi-Fi. But our humans. may be."

'Peanuts?' Jeeves' brow rose by a fraction. "Very good, Mr. Hatchworth. I hail from London, England, in the Year of Our Lord 1925. I suspect it may not be the London you're familiar with, though, if such a place exists on your Earth. The development of such advanced robotics as to yield a person of your... design have yet to come about as far as I am aware." He also had no idea what a Wi-Fi was. Perhaps it was some colloquialism for the communication network if it allowed him to communicate with other mechanical persons.

"All of the humans here should have been given access to the communications network with the assistance of one of the devices the Moogles would have given you." Jeeves showed Hatchworth the communicator on his wrist. "Did you receive one? I'm only too happy to direct you on its use to put out a call to ascertain if others from your world are here. You might also simply go looking."

He gestured to the square. "There are many people already present in person."

"We were. ahead of our time," Hatchworth said, rather proudly. "Our Pappy was. a genius."

At mention of the communicator, he turned and dug in the little bag the Moogles had given him. "Did you mean. this?" He held it up, eyes narrowed disdainfully. "My phone is. much better. I do not think. I can get on Tumblr on. this." And he had so many asks from his fans piling up! It probably didn't matter if it was a dream, really - although this would have made a great Vine! Maybe he'd write a song about it for them instead.

"I do not. see any of them." His head swiveled around to look towards the square, before turning back to look down at the phone with a click. "Maybe I will have. to use it."

"If you require a drink, sir, you will need to enter one of the shops. I regret the communicator does not connect to anywhere that might deliver libation or comestibles at the present." Jeeves was reeling just a little from the odd vocabulary, but it only showed as being mildly perturbed. A tumbler he understood to mean a beverage, at least. He wasn't certain what the robot ran on, but it was best to be clear on that matter.

"You may also find other communications devices you have non-functioning here. I apologize for any hardship this might cause you. If you would like to follow along, though." Jeeves proceeded to show Hatchworth the basic functions of the communicator: how to start a message, how to respond, and the different response settings. "I would recommend great caution whilst sharing any information on the network, Mr. Hatchworth. It is monitored by the enemy."

"Oh. thank you." Hatchworth, meanwhile, had apparently no intention of explaining himself. Or possibly hadn't even realized that Jeeves wasn't following. He was going to need to drink soon enough anyway, so it wasn't like the information was entirely random.

He listened to the instructions and followed along easily enough. Once you knew how to use one type of phone, it wasn't so hard to figure out the rest - even if this one did suck a little. "The enemy?" he asked at the end. "Who is. the enemy? If it is Germany. again. I am going home."

"It seems somehow strange to say, but I regret not, sir," Jeeves replied with just the twitch of a grim smile. "No one so overt. They are an individual or a group of individuals who have only contacted the dreamers here twice on the network. They seem most obstinate in making replies to inquires, regardless of how they might be phrased. However, their responses in those instances have indicated they are monitoring our communications, both public and private.

"They may also be responsible for a set of recurring dreams that occur within the Realm of Dreams." He sighed because he had an idea of what questions that might raise. "While we are within a Realm of Dreams, we must still rest as if in the waking world. I am uncertain how this might affect you, Mr. Hatchworth. Do you have any form of sleep cycle?" Or just a power switch?

Hatchworth nodded sagely. "It is probably. swamp demons. Or dragons." But swamp demons seemed the most likely. He thought they'd dealt with all of those already, though?

"Yes. I go into. stasis at night." And he did have a power switch, but it had been drilled into all the Walter robots a long time ago to not actually go telling random strangers where said power switch was. "I do not need it. as much as humans need. to sleep. but it is better if I do. Besides. humans do not like. when you watch them sleep. all night."

A month ago, Jeeves would have automatically assumed the man was insane or of an extremely fanciful disposition such as Ms. Madeline Bassett. As it stood, it took him slightly longer to reply than usual, but not so much to be overtly noticeable to a person who did not know him well. "Given the dearth of swamps in the local area, the former seems unlikely, sir. Nightmares in some dragon form might be responsible, but we have yet to see such a beast if it exists in this particular realm." Although... there was something he'd been seeing around town since the battle with the Nightmare mare. Something just at the corner of his eye.

He was momentarily distracted from this line of thought by Hatchworth mentioning watching humans at night. "Standing vigil or guard might, perhaps, be more likely to induce restiveness than simple staring," the valet suggested. "Do you have any particular combat capabilities?"

"You never. know. My brother keeps a. swamp demon. trapped inside a pair of. red suspenders. They are. very dapper." Those ones didn't usually manage to get out and cause trouble, at least, but you really couldn't trust swamp demons.

Hatchworth's good mood visibly shifted a little at the question; he frowned, shifting his grip on the Hebby Rep so that he was holding his arms across that glowing blue hatch in his chest. The Spirit, perhaps sensing its master's discomfort, breathed some fire at his face. Because fire helps everything. The robot didn't seem to mind, though. It wasn't hot enough to damage him anyway.

"We do not. fight. anymore." Whether or not he retained combat capabilities was another matter entirely.

Jeeves made the relatively simple leap to Hatchworth being combat-capable, even if he did not actively engage in it. "I merely ask as the skill will be of some use in fighting the Nightmares, sir." He was not even going to touch the suspenders comment. That was clearly absurd and not something the valet wanted to deal with or attempt to wrap his brain around the implications of.

"Your Hebby Repp should prove sufficient if you have no desire to engage in battle yourself, though. Have you given the animal a name?"

Yeah, he gets that a lot.

"Not yet. Are you a. girl lizard?" Hatchworth looked down at the Heppy Rep, and received a faceful of fire. After it faded, he adjusted his glasses and smiled. "You can be. Miss Charlotte then. It will be like. training Pokemon!" See, this is why he gets that a lot; without any kind of explanation for that comment, he looked back to Jeeves. "Do you have. some too?"

Jeeves was reluctant to call his own Spirits forth from the ether. Kant, perhaps. He was the better behaved of the pair and a kindred spirit to 'Miss Charlotte.'

"Kant," the valet said. From wherever they went to when dismissed, Kant appear with a happy noise. The green-painted Sudo Neku looked around for enemies, but when he didn't see any he turned his eyes to his Person. No fights?

"This is my Spirit Kant," Jeeves explained, gesturing to the creature. "He is a Sudo Neku, a variation on the standard Hebby Repp." Kant wrapped his tail around one of Jeeves' legs for comfort, as was his wont and cocked his head at Hatchworth and Miss Charlotte. A new person and a new friend? He was a bit shy.

Miss Charlotte, meanwhile, hopped right on down from Hatchworth's arms, leaning forward to sniff at Kant. New friend, new friend! Look at this cool face-thing her person gave her! It looks just like his!

"Awwwww. They are. making friends!" The robot leaned forward slightly, leaning his hands on his knees to watch the two lizards interact. Now he really wished he had his phone. It would be such a cute video! "How did you. get him to. teleport?"

Oh! Oh, that was a very nice looking thing her person had given her! He was maybe a little jealous, but not in a bad way! His Person had never given him anything like that. Maybe one day, he's have a handsome bowler hat. Kant uncurled his tail from Jeeves' leg. But would the thing on Miss Charlotte's face catch fire when she was fighting? That would be his only concern.

"I am afraid the specific mechanics are mysterious to me, sir," Jeeves said, very carefully ignoring the robotic man's cooing. It was just a little unseemly, but he didn't like to say. "You may dismiss your Spirits by command, though. Telling them to return to the ether would seem to work for mine. Calling them forth once more is as simple as saying their names. You may find that, while useful in battle and as occasional companions, the Spirits may become trying. Some are most willful animals."

He'd all but praised god when he'd discovered this function for Descartes.

Miss Charlotte twisted her neck about, trying her best to adjust the mustache without any arms. It might catch on fire, all those other ones had. But her person had lots more!

"You just. send them away?" Hatchworth frowned slightly, still watching the pair. "What is it. like there? In the ether?"

Kant sniffed at the mustache and was half-tempted to nibble at it, but refrained. How was it staying on Miss Charlotte's face?

"I could not say, sir." It hadn't been something to occur to him to wonder. "I would not presume it any great hardship for them within. They return rested and will come unbidden if a Nightmare appears in the area. I do not believe our more scientifically-inclined set has seen fit to turn their attention in such a direction. It may be that the animals simply cease to exist for a time. Or that they exist on another plane connected to this one."

He wasn't particularly bothered by either of these possibilities, though the former had more interesting philosophical ramifications.

Miss Charlotte had absolutely no idea. She thrashed her head from side to side several times, but the mustache still remained stubbornly stuck to her face. The spirit's eyes went wide, and she was silent a moment before starting to squeak excitedly.

Her person was magic.

Her person, meanwhile, was staring wide-eyed at Jeeves for an entirely different reason. That was terrible. They just locked them away for no reason at all? Because they were too noisy sometimes? That wasn't how you kept pets, they shouldn't have made them if they didn't want them. "It would not be. very nice to make things. stop being and then. be again. when it is convenient." Hatchworth leaned down to pat Miss Charlotte's head carefully. "Someone should send. a camera with them. and see."

Kant gasped in surprise. A magic person? His Person wasn't magic, but that was okay. He was a smart Person! He still wondered if he could maybe get a mustache from Miss Charlotte's person, though. He seemed like a very nice person.

Jeeves never thought he would see something like reproach on the face of a mechanical man, but there it was. Clearly he did not approve of this. Not particularly wanting to deal with his disapproval, Jeeves allowed a carefully-crafted look of concern to cross his features. "It is somewhat troublesome, as you say, sir. I had not considered the full implication until your query. I'm afraid I do not have access to a camera at the present, but perhaps an active communicator might be employed to the same effect. It has a visual function and could be attached to a Spirit before it is sent to the ether."

Maybe! Charlotte squeaked and nodded. You should totally try asking him! He's got a ton extra!

Hatchworth nodded sagely. Of course, this man was from the twenties. "In the future. everyone has cameras. and phones. and the Internet. all the time. My Instagram is. the bomb." The fans seemed to like it, anyway, even if most of the pictures were simply of random objects Hatchworth found, plus sticky mustache. "But I did not. bring it with me. here. We can use. this!"

His knees creaked in frankly a rather alarming manner as he knelt, fastening his own communicator around Miss Charlotte's neck. "Would you like. to be an astronaut. Miss Charlotte? I will not let you. end up like. George Clooney. I promise."

The Hebby Rep did a little dance. Of course she wouldn't be a Georgecloony! She was MUCH better than any silly old Georgeclooneys!

Kant was too shy to ask another person outright for something when they've only just met, but he would keep it in mind if he and his Person were around Miss Charlotte and her person more. The sudden attention being paid to them also prevented the Sudo Neku from making any inquiry about the mustaches.

Jeeves, for his part, was trying to parse why having a bomb called 'Instagram' in one's possession would amount to anything but horror. He didn't say, but he was very glad Hatchworth did not have the object present. Bombs, in Jeeves' experience, tended to go off at most inconvenient time in the most inconvenient location possible. Grenades had this failing, as well.

"I gather that an astronaut is a profession engaged in outerspace, Mr. Hatchworth, but might I inquire what unfortunate circumstances befell Mr. Clooney to make him notable in the activity?"

"He floated away. into space and then. Sandra Bullock had to come back. alone." And yes, that is yet another thing he is probably not going to explain. Knowing Hatchworth, there's a fair chance he thought Gravity was a documentary.

Straightening, he threw his arms out. "Okay. go! Be. free!" Miss Charlotte nodded determinedly, squeaked once in excitement at Kant, and then vanished into the ether. The communicator clattered to the ground behind her.

"...that did. not work." Hatchy leaned down to retrieve his crappy new phone. "Please come back. Miss Charlotte?" To his obvious relief, the Hebby Rep instantly reappeared, throwing herself at him in exuberance.

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juniorganymedian - 2014-04-15 02:49 (UTC) - Expand