Fifth Floor Common Room, Tuesday Evening

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

Jessica needed a few hours of down time not spent reading reports. And so she trekked out to the common room for the joys of television! That was probably a bad idea. The only things on were America's Got Talent, I Wanna Marry Harry, something that seemed like a Latverian knockoff called I've Got Liftoff For Kristoff, and a really dumb-looking movie called Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die.

She didn't know what was going on in the movie, but it didn't involve any Royal Joe Millionaire situations or talent competitions, so she was in. With popcorn. Because the movie was dumb and that was required.

[OOC: Open CR! And yes, I did look at a list of Troy McClure movies and picked my favorite title.]

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[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Fortunately, it's a communal snack," Jessica said, holding the bowl out. "But if you decide it would be better with some kind of topping, you're on your own. Fair warning."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Do people usually put toppings on it?" Rapunzel asked, hesitantly taking a few kernels. "I don't want to do it wrong."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"A lot of people put butter on it. Or butter-like stuff. That was mostly before we as a species figured out that just eating a whole lot of butter was a bad idea, though," Jessica explained. "Personally, I prefer it plain."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

Rapunzel wrinkled her nose at that idea. "Butter-like stuff?" she repeated. "Like...what is it really? Why would you put stuff on your food?"

She preferred it plain, too, it turned out.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"People do crazy things sometimes," Jessica said. "That's about all I've got."

"What's the verdict?"

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"I like it," she decided with a firm nod. "Is it hard to make? Tell me no."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Do you know how to use a microwave?" Jessica checked.

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"The box on the counter? Nope!" Rapunzel replied cheerily. "Is that a requirement? I probably should learn at some point anyway."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"It's the easiest way. Basically you take a bunch of corn kernels and heat them up somehow," Jessica said. "Microwave, stove, with a hot air blower... No matter how you do it, it only takes a couple minutes and all you have to do is not burn it."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Are you a popcorn expert, or is it just that common and I'm weird because I don't have it at home?" Rapunzel asked, genuinely curious. "You seem to know lots about it."

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"You're not weird for it. You just don't have it in your... other world? Different time? Am I getting warm?" Jessica asked. "And everything I've explained so far is the common knowledge portion. If you want to know way too much about the reactions going on in the corn when it heats up, I know that because I'm one of the biggest science nerds you're likely to meet."

"I'm Jessica, by the way. Massive science nerd."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Rapunzel," she said happily. "Um, normal-size science nerd, so I kind of do wanna hear about the reactions, sometime? And you were onto it with 'other world' but I think I'm probably from the past, too."

She said this pretty contentedly, flopping onto the couch and dragging her hair over after her to pool by her feet.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Whenever you want to find out how to make popcorn, let me know and I'll take the time when it's popping to explain the science," Jessica promised.

"Just out of curiosity, what makes you think you're from a different place and time? I know people who that's true for, so I'm not doubting it or anything."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"My kingdom doesn't exist on any maps here, though I did meet a girl from a neighboring kingdom," Rapunzel said, ticking it off on her fingers. "And we don't have this place on our maps, either, that I've ever seen. And as far as the past -- well. We don't have microwaves, or electricity, or computers, or any of that." She shrugged. "Gonna have to go with alternate world and time-travel, I think. You're from this time, though, right?"

It would explain Jessica's knowledge of popcorn. And microwaves.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"From this time and a world a lot like this one," Jessica said. "But my world also has guys who fly around in high tech armor. So some worlds just progress faster than others. Theoretically speaking, you could be from the future and still not have electricity."

"Again, I'm a nerd."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Being a nerd is fun," Rapunzel told her, looking thoughtful. "I guess I could be. It's just that everything of mine seems to look a lot like the past of this world. Clothes, for example." She gestured to her dress, smoothing down her skirt. "But maybe you're right. Maybe I'm from the future. Wouldn't that be crazy? Oh my goodness, I never even thought I might've traveled backwards in time."

Mind. Blown.

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Isn't it fun when you start to think about things from a different direction?" Jessica asked. "That's why it's better to stick with just thinking of it as an alternate world unless you have a firm reference point, though. My best friend and my ex-roommate were from the same place thousands of years apart. I have no idea which one was from a more 'present' time."

[likes-ducklings.livejournal.com]

"Time is relative," Rapunzel sighed happily, pleased to have something new to wonder about. "Wait, thousands of years apart? Wasn't there a difference in their technology or clothes or something so you could tell?"

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

"Both of them were completely different from what you might see on Earth," Jessica said. "And I'm a TA for a professor who's taken his class to the same galaxy between those two points in time. There's really no good way of knowing what time is contiguous with present-day Fandom, if any of them are. Maybe they're all from a long time ago."