strangetrip | Video Game Challenge (OTA)

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Video Game Challenge (OTA)

It was a shame not a lot of people seemed to like renting the various video game consoles the makeshift library had to offer the Madonna Inn. Quill was a frequent visitor to the library, but rather took out a book. Gamora would be annoyed with him, but the video games held more interest to him. A lot of the games were new to him as they had come out after he left Earth. Quill was delighted to explore them.

Multplayer games were much more fun with people. He dragged a TV into the lobby and set up a Super Nintendo. He sat on one of the ostentatious couches and was currently playing Super Mario Kart while he waited for some challengers. On the coffee table there was also a cartridge for Donkey Kong Country and Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

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By the time Tony made time to explore the offerings of the library, nothing had prepared him for how "Hogwarts" the inn could truly be. He had been wandering for some time, looking for a simple History section to get a better sense of where the hotel existed in "California" relative to everything else. Instead, he was focusing on giving the weird hocus-pocus BS a wide berth and living in a lowkey state of paranoia he'd get sucked into the Book Dimension if he opened the wrong thing.

While it was true nothing had happened yet, and he had had some warning that he wouldn't get trouble as long as he abided the few simple rules in place, Tony couldn't get the image out of his head as he paced the aisles. Despite all that, the apparent machinations of the library were intriguing in and of themselves and worth taking notes on. If all else failed, he still had that option.

That was, if he could focus on much of it. It was hard to immerse yourself where was a constant drone of digitized motors revving around the corner. He knew better than to react, but starting on a sentence just to get pulled out of it by an obnoxious whistling sound effect was like a cheese grater on his nerves. Shoving a book back in its spot after the fifth attempted re-read of the opening paragraph, he stalked around the corner to find the gaming area.

'This is what I'm doing now. Cracking the code of who puts a gaming hub in the middle of a library.' He folded his arms as he approached the back of the sofa, the current occupant none the wiser. Squinting, he identified the racing game at once. He wasn't much of a gamer, but he was savvy enough to identify the classics. Wasn't it a multiplayer...?

"So. Uh. Party of one there, buddy?"

[ooc: wow that was really long I kept thinking of things to add I'm sorry >>']

Quill occasionally let his mind wander to the magical cat that was up to no-good in the Inn, but he often got distracted by Princess Peach tossing down banana peels. Princess Peach is being a bitch right now

He looked up when Stark spoke. Quill was hoping for a Player 2. He looked like he recognized Stark immediately.

"Hey! Iron Dude," He said, putting the controller down. "Looks like you finally found your way here too, huh?"

[[haha, I love it!]]

"Iron Man." Tony looked Quill up and down before promptly disregarding him. He didn't recognize him, and if it turned out that whoever this was knew him from yet another universe, he could join the club.

"Yeah, I found my way to the library, where there's this guy playing video games while I'm trying to figure out where I exist in spacetime. A little bothersome. Thinking of asking this guy to tone down the grudge match with Yoshi for just a few minutes."

"Iron Man. Right. How could I forget." He said, leaning back as he listened.

Quill pressed 'PAUSE' on the game.

"Okay, well, first of all?" Quill said, motioning to the TV. "I'll have you know that it's Princess Peach who's kicking my butt at the moment. Yoshi's been pretty cool about things the entire time. And second, dude, you need to relax."

Quill regarded Stark quietly for a moment. His eyes narrowed a bit and he leaned forward on his knees.

"Are you still upset that we went with my plan because yours sucked?" He asked. "Because that's okay, buddy. These things happen. Not every one can be winners."

With a nakedly bewildered look, it was all Tony could do to keep from rolling his eyes. He would have thought that being a celebrity would have prepared him for getting constantly recognized, but it really didn't in this context.

"Yeah, gonna stop you there. I do not know you. If you outwitted me at Mario Party at some cocktail party however many years ago, congrats, I guess."

Realization dawn on Quill's features. Stark's from a different time. Awkward.

"More like we met on a planet and are about to kick some bad-guy butt," He replied. "You know how it is. Show up to a space ship. I threaten to shoot one of yours, you threaten to shoot one of mine. There's some yelling and then we all figured out we're on the same side. Fun times."

Quill was surprised Peter hadn't filled his mentor in on some of this. He remembered everything he and Peter spoke about on the not-Father's-Day hangout.

"Nice shiner, by the way." He said, gesturing with a circle of his finger at Tony. "You get that here or you walk into a door back home."

"People started leaving their asininity everywhere and I tripped, kind of like what I'm doing now. Also, you sure this wasn't another video game of yours? With the advent of commercial VR tech, I know it can get confusing for some types." Tony put a hand between them, emphasizing the last question with it.

'What is it with space, anyway?' It took Tony a moment, but he recalled one of Peter's weirder questions about them going to space, though the boy left it there.

"Someone definitely woke up on the wrong side of his bed this morning." Quill said, watching him. You'd think for a dude who fought crazy ass bad-guys and was friends with wizards, he'd take this kind of stuff more in stride..

Quill got up from his seat and started to walk over.

"Alright. So you don't know me yet. That's fine. Let's start over." He held out his hand. See Gamora? I can be an adult. "Star-Lord. It's nice to meet you."

Tony looked between Quill's face and his hand. He relented, accepting the offer in a firm shake. Insisting on a petty battle wouldn't have gotten him any further than he was, after all.

"Tony Stark." 'I sincerely doubt that's his name.' "You know me. A little hesitant to inquire how, but I'll bite."

"Well, I sort of already told you," Quill said, but didn't let that stop him from continuing. "My guys - the Guardians of the Galaxy - and some of your guys - The Avengers - were both looking for the same bad guy on this planet called Titan. We decided to team up to kick ass and now that we have a solid plan, thanks to me, we're totally going to win."

Tony shifted his weight onto his back foot, resting his hands on his hips as he listened to this man's story. He knew the Avengers, but so did most of the world. On the other hand, if he had any reason to lie about knowing the earth's greatest heroes, there was no way that Tony could see he could benefit. They were, after all, still trapped in a pocket dimension with no access to outside resources, hero or no hero.

"That's all well and good, Mr. Lord. When we get back, I would be very, very excited to see that plan through. We just have to get back first."

Edited 2018-08-16 17:35 (UTC)

"You can just call me Star-Lord." Quill correct with a slight eye-roll. "But you're right. We're here right now so we better make the best of that, huh?"

Quill patted the seat next to him on the couch.

"You should you don't want to beat me at Mario Kart?" He said. "You look like you want to beat someone at something."

Tony's were thinly drawn as he watched the man with the fanciful moniker invite him over. On one hand, the complacency at being prisoner of an eldritch hotel would never be something he could digest. On the other, he was grudging to acknowledge he had been a bit (a bit) highly-strung from the moment he arrived.

"It's been a few years since I last played." When the game first came out, he was freshly graduated and taking over the proper CEO duties of his family business. He had ended up playing at some PR visits to childrens' hospitals or charity drives, but that was it.

"That's okay. This is like, the second day of me playing it." He said. "When I left Earth, Super Nintendo was pretty much dream. It was all about the Nintendo and the Gameboy."

Quill held out the controller and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You don't have to try coming onto me, Jake Sully. I'll play." Tony wasn't one to shrink from an honest challenge, even when it was probably a really good idea. At least, walking away from a man claiming to know his future wasn't.

"So. How long you've been around these parts?" Tony claimed the controller and his seat, leaning forward on his knees.

Edited 2018-08-19 16:25 (UTC)

Quill did not recognize the reference.

"Jake Sully better be a really cool, handsome dude," He said as he made some room for Stark. "Just don't be sad when I kick you butt, okay? These things happen from time to time."

'Ignoring the question, no big deal...' Tony rolled with it, loosely bouncing the controller in his hand. "He's alright."

If nothing else, he had time for one round. The other man's bravado made it difficult to suppress his competitive streak, but the caffeine crash he was on was doing a good enough job of it.

He picked Toad and waited for Stark to pick his.

"Been here for a couple of months now," he answered as they began to play. "Got here and Pete and Rocket were the two that were here. Then everyone else started up. You sure like to be fashionabley late, huh?"

Tony lazily pressed the button pad until the cursor fell on Mario, making his pick. "Guess so."

He glanced to Stark. Figures he'd pick Mario.

"So what's your deal anyways?" He said. "We didn't exactly have a lot to chat about before Ugly showed up."

"My biography's a best seller, go hazard a look." Tony sat back and waited for the stage selection, tapping each button to remind himself what was what.

"Short version? I'm a superhero and soon-to-be trophy husband who ended up in space, apparently."

"Two very desirable things," He commented back.Doesn't really answer most things though.

Quill picked a stage as he thought about what he knew of Stark.

"From New York, right?" He said. "Never been. Heard it's nice."

He watched as the coloured count-down began.

"Who gave you the shiner?" He asked casually.

"You know that last one isn't really pertinent to my backstory." Tony tapped the A button restlessly as the countdown started, bouncing his leg.

Quill smirked as he started to play.

"Alec broke my nose," He said. "You got off lucky."

So Alec had a face punching track record. Good to know.

"Anyone tell Slim Shady to please stand down?" Tony mashed the acceleration button, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen.

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