Bozo's Office
With their business done, Sam's grandpa slowly began to fade, soon returning to whence he came. Leaving Sam to try to soldier on best he could.
Bozo removed his fingers from Sam's temple, his work done. "The link is severed. In the purely literal sense, his memories will trouble you no more. Though I suspect they have still left their mark. In any case, I assume there was somewhere else you wanted to be? All you have to do is think of where you want to go and I can send you there on the spot. Unless you wanted to talk?"
Megaplix
"Sure thing! Come on, lover!" Ellie flew over to the concession stand, leaving the more normal patrons in awe before dropping in front of the stand with a deafening thud. A gangly young man who appeared to be dead inside didn't bat an eye. Instead he sighed, glanced at Ellie, and commenced his daily routine.
"This is the Megaplix where we love movies. How can I help you?" The man's voice was devoid of any life or meaning, as though any emotion had been sucked dry over the years. "Please kill me."
"Well, if you really want, but that'll have to wait. Sides, I'm pretty sure that goes against Hero Code 561 or something. You got any food?"
The man stared into an invisible void as he spoke, almost as though there wasn't anyone in front of him. Even though there was. "This is the concession stand. This is where you order concessions. Concessions are food. Therefore, yes, we have food. Anything else?"
"Great! Where is it?"
He pointed to the menu. Ellie tried to grasp what he meant, but couldn't fathom it. "That's not food."
"If you want food, you'll have to order it, ma'am."
"Okay. Bring me food, peasant!"
By this point the man was starting to show just the slightest signs of a meaningful reaction, which in all likelihood was a miracle. "Ma'am, I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific. And I'm also afraid you'll have to pay."
"Pay? With what? I mean, if you want sex or something, sure, but it'll have to be a one time deal. Seeing as I've got a boyfriend."
"With money, ma'am."
Ellie went blank as though she had never heard the word before. Or at the very least she didn't understand what it meant. "Fuck it. Lover, help me out here. He wants something called money. Don't know why I shouldn't just go in there and take some tenders or something."
Breath of the Sun
Megaplix
"Let me handle this, babe." Mikael clasped Ellie's shoulder. "Things work a bit... different in the human world."
Stepping up to the stand, Mikael smiled sheepishly at the vendor. "Sorry about that, she's... not from around here. Just give us, like..." He did a mental headcount of his classmates. "six large popcorn tubs, a dozen large fountain drinks, and... " He plucked a couple bags of different candies from the display below the counter, before dropping them in front of the cashier. "...these."
Order given, Mikael reached for his pocket, realized he wasn't wearing pants, blinked, then held up one finger and vanished in a swirl of black. He reappeared a second later, holding a hundred dollar bill, which he slid to the cashier as well. "Keep the change."
He turned to Ellie. "That's called 'buying' things. That green piece of paper is human money. We use it instead of bartering things. Think of it like a stand-in for gold or jewels." Then he remembered. "Oh, and as for a movie, it's like... think of it like a play, except recorded and put up on a screen. Basically stories, acted out by professionals. A lot of them are even adapted directly from books."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Megaplix
The cashier looked at the bill for the briefest of seconds before depositing the proper amount of money and pocketing the rest. "Much obliged, sir."
Ellie took a moment to process all this new information, her eyes nearly going crosseyed at one point. "Oh! I think I get it. Sort of. Anyway, we've got our food, so let's head on back. Oh, wait a minute." She turned to the cashier. "Still want me to kill you?"
"Not after your boyfriend paid for my next week of meals, ma'am."
"Oh, okay then. Well, let's go!" She started to head on back, though not before she and Mikael were noticed by a rather old-fashioned elderly couple.
"I say!" said the wife. "Talk about indecent! How come she hasn't been arrested for indecent exposure?"
"Don't worry about it, Ethel," said the husband. "Some sort of law for non-humans or something. Apparently, they can wear whatever the hell they want."
"Oh. Still doesn't seem right."
"I know. These days it seems like all those Supers and nonhumans think they're better than us. Just because we can't do what they can. And I guess that gives them the right to walk around in their skivvies!"
"Hmph! Someone should hold them accountable. Just because we can't see their unmentionables doesn't make it any less indecent. Shame! Though at least the larger one has his legs covered in some fashion."
Ellie pondered for a moment whether or not it was even worth bothering with before deciding it was. She whispered to Mikael. "Hey, about we show 'em something really indecent? If you know what I mean."
Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 24th 2018 at 8:06:07 AM
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam was thinking about what his old man said. He really had to enjoy life, even if the terror of those moments will stay there for a good while.
But he was right. He had to enjoy life and spend more time with the others. Making all the bottles in the office colder, he thought about going with his classmates.
"Thank you, sir" He said, sincerely, as the biggest cinema on town came to mind.
Wake me up at your own risk.
AKA Nixer
Megaplix
Ebony was admittedly quite impressed. The concession stand worker looked even more drained than she did. Honestly, upon first sighting him she thought he was a mannequin until he delivered his bland greeting. And then she thought he was some sort of android until he blatantly stated aloud of how excruciatingly dull his job was by literally asking to be killed.
That was... exceptionally depressing. She felt quite bad for the lad. She considered giving him a tip of some description, but Mikael made that option moot. So she elected to leave it for now. Barring a small, yet sympathetic smile on her own otherwise neutral face. Hopefully in this way he'd realise he wasn't alon—
God she wished she was telepathic sometimes.
Although, she mused, glancing over to Lucien for a moment. We do have the next best thing. Maybe he can cheer his mood. Oh, screw it. I'm getting worked up over nothing again. Just let it go...
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she moved to catch up with the two demons to put in her own two cents regarding the movies.
“If I recall, the earliest surviving motion picture is the Roundhay Garden Scene from 1888. It's only a little over two seconds on, but it's credited as the first movie. They've come...” she shot a look over to a particularly bizarre looking poster that seemed utterly confused as to what it wanted to be. “...significantly farther in complexity since then, but I fear with a new lack of creativity.”
She lightly shrugged. “Or I'm just being cynical. We'll see. Sorry if I'm a bit... off, I'm...” she paused, looking around before lowering her voice a little out of sheepishness. “I'm... not a fan of... walls. Or just... anywhere that feels claustrophobic, y'know? S'why I didn't take the bu—er, minivan here,” she explained, sending a blank flick of the eyes over to Mahvash in acknowledgement at that latter point.
Though the comment regarding that old couple soon snapped her to attention—and she looked quite alarmed by the suggestion.
“I-I'd rather you not. Plus that'd be proving their point, wouldn't it?”
bork
Bozo's Office
"Very well." And with one wave of his hands, Sam was gone.
Megaplix
Like an apparition, Sam appeared in the Megaplix as though from out of thin air, ending up right in front of Matten.
Not an evil Thievul
Megaplix
(Mitch receives his popcorn and goes to put his favorite seasoning on it. When he looks up, however, he has lost sight of everyone else in the crowded Megaplix concession stand.)
Um...umm... (He looks around, a bit worried. He begins trying to make his way back toward where he thinks everyone else is, periodically eating pieces of popcorn as he does so. Some of his classmates should be hard to miss....)
"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Megaplix
Mahvash watched the concession stand with a serene smile, leaning her face on her hands and barely covering giggle fits behind her hand fan. She resisted the urge to clap when Ellie and Mikael managed to get the food together. Admittedly, seeing the old couple, made policing herself rather easier. Then again, no one picked on her kids but her.
"They aim to please," the daeva said to Ebony with a small smile. "All the same," she added talking past them in the same manner they had to Mikael and the other one. "They have no point. And their sensibilities are not either of our mates' responsibility. We're not going to teach them anything here anyway, if they can learn. They could take out their own eyes. They'd never have to see anything unseemly again."
Mahvash punctuated the last point by... daintily waving her fan her her face. "And I am better than them. Just saying." She shut her fan for a moment considering before finally pointing it at her classmates. "You too."
And then the festive mood dropped by several degrees. "Greetings and salutations, Samuel," Mahvash said to the boy with about as much enthusiasm as the counter boy had managed earlier. "you're back." Of all the people I could have felt popping up... She ended that bit rather quickly before securing a spot for them. That is dragging a couple of tables together.
Breath of the Sun
Miniplex
"Oh, yes." Mikael grinned, shifting into his female form before pressing his lips firmly against Ellie, arms wrapping around her. They stayed together for a long moment, before separating, and Mikael(a) turned to Ebony. "Like it matters what they think. I'm confident about who I am and who I love, and I want everyone to know it. Besides, it's not like we're gonna start fucking in the theater."
She snatched up two large popcorn tubs with one arm, before grabbing a soda in the other. "C'mon, babe, we gotta get there before the movie starts." She paused. "We still haven't decided which movie we're seeing yet, have we? Oh, and hi Sam."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Surrounded by weirdoes
"Well" Sam muttered as he looked around "That was quick"
"Hey, everyone" He said, looking more in peace than before, ignoring Matten entirely, as he looked at the movies in display.
"That one looks good" He commented, pointing at one, mildly doubtful. "If nothing else, the fun kind of bad"
Wake me up at your own risk.
Miniplex
Sam was pointing one claw at a poster for what looked to be a complete and total schlockfest. It was a picture of a rather insane and crosseyed old man in a white robe wielding a chainsaw with a nuclear explosion in the background, and he was chasing after a young woman in a bathrobe that looked as though it could slip off at moment. Appropriately enough, it was called "Winkleheimer XIII: The Winkleing."
Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 26th 2018 at 1:40:52 PM
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Megaplix
Mahvash, of course, was in no hurry. "Oh," she waved mIkael's concerns off. "they're playing whatever you want to see all day." She tilted her head. "Besides, didn't the boy suggest getting to know each other, peeling back all those layers of skin and cranium and getting at the squishy grey matter underneath?"
She picked a popcorn bag, though not taking it. "Or just satisfy our curiosity s little bit... like, Lucy are you helping your little brother with his clock king dreams? He has to start shaking hands and setting up a training schedule now for that sort of thing. And perchance Mikael has heard from Josef?" After a beat, she remembered her new kids. "We hadParents' Day a little while ago, more like family day though. And there were robots, and C4 I think."
Edited by CenturyEye on Oct 28th 2018 at 6:54:59 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Breath of the Sun
Minimegaplixplex
"Oh, Opa is..." Mikael looked down a moment, lost in thought. "I... actually haven't spoken to him since then. I've been so busy with other things that I just... forgot about him. I think I'll go visit him, in the next couple of days."
She looked back up and smiled. "Thanks for reminding me, Mahvash. I really do need to smooth things over between him and Mom."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Not an evil Thievul
Megaplix
(After a while of searching through the crowd, Mitch finally catches up with everyone, already having eaten about a fourth of his popcorn. He's relieved as he was thinking that he would have to resort to using his superpower to get back to them, which would have been embarrassing in a public place with a lot of people like this.)
Sorry, I lost sight of you guys... (Mitch says, a bit embarrassed.)
"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."
AKA Nixer
Megaplix
Lucy looked more than a little perturbed by Mahvash's question, to say the least. “I... David hasn't called at all since that night, actually... I hope he's alright. Maybe he just caught up in his work?” she weakly suggested, before biting her lip and looking down at the floor. She knew all too well now what David was most likely doing based off of his clear instability he had shown upon their little reunion. It was worrying enough on its own that he clearly had some sort of inferiority complex towards her, but if what Mahvash was suggesting was accurate in the slightest...
She was almost afraid at the thought of calling him now, but shook off that feeling, and made a mental reservation to talk with him later on. Through it all, she loved David enough to not just pass something like this by. He was her little brother, after all. And if something went wrong, or they were driven away, then... at least half of that would still be true.
This wasn't even getting into the can of worms that was Lucius. Even with a name for reference she'd heard nothing about him since Parent's Day either. For a living volcano, he must sure cover his tracks well. But she was persistent, if nothing else. There was no obligation placed on her to try in vain to stitch her family back together—she knew how monumental of a task that would be—but that wouldn't stop her from at least knowing the man who was her father if only by blood.
Ebony, meanwhile, was much more caught up with the poster than a family-based crisis. She was just staring wide-eyed at the thing like it was some abomination against nature and logic, stunned to the point of muteness even if her brain activity had gone haywire.
Winkleheimer. #$&%ing Winkleheimer. Jesus, that's just sad... is that #$&%ing hobo Santa Claus...?
“...Okay... I'll say it... through sheer morbid curiosity, yes please,” she eventually spoke up, the smallest smirk physically possible for a human being to ever showcase on her face as she only managed to barely repress laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the thing. Which was quite an achievement on their part to draw out such a strong reaction from her.
bork
Surrounded by weirdoes
"It's heavier than she says" Sam commented "Just, keep that in mind when discussing everything that's happened or that you might miss in the future"
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the poster again.
"Well, I thought that some stupid would do some good" He admitted "Might be too much stupid, though"
But with a shrug, he looked at the new guys.
"So, what do you like to do?" He asked them, trying to get some semblance of normality. Times like these show how little time they spent together as a whole when not in danger.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Megaplix
The daeva covered her mouth with her fan, giggling a bit. "Yeah, that kind of work is bit of an attention-grabber. But if he's working towards something meaningful then all due applause to him." She gave a nod to Mikael."Don't worry about being lost." She clasped her hands together holding Mitch's hands and his gaze with brief intensity when he arrived. "All you have to do is call my name, and don't think I won't hold your hand through the halls." After a beat she tilted her head toward Sam. "And, everything's heavy on him."
Mahvash peeled off her robe, quickly revealing a metal look. "In any case, Ebony said the magic word to watch 'Winkleheimer XIII: The Winkleing'. So, have fun kids. Oh, it would be nice to know what you like to do. Not like the day will end when the credits roll. Or," she glanced at Sam, "that the 'fin' sign means imminent, inevitable doom."
Edited by CenturyEye on Oct 30th 2018 at 4:05:32 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
The Theatre — GET ON WITH IT!
Eventually everyone decided that if they were going to see a movie, they might as well see one that was entertaining. Regardless of the actual quality. After getting their tickets, everyone soon made their way inside. The theater wasn't very large, nor was it very pristine. Wads of gum and wrappers littered the floor, and cobwebs could be seen on the ceiling. Then again, this was the current home of a film about a crazy old man chasing after a well-endowed teenager with a chainsaw. Chances were, this theater wasn't high priority.
There also weren't very many patrons in the theater, though the old man and woman from earlier could be seen straggling in. "Uh, Goerge? Are you sure this is the right one? It doesn't look very sanitary."
"You got that right," said George. "Still, this was the cheapest one they had."
"I suppose so. "She soon noticed Mikael and Ellie, turning her nose in disgust. "That said, let's go the back, shall we? At least there we won't have to deal any degenerates."
In any case, the lights began to dim, signaling that the film was just about to start. They still had a minute or two to get themselves together or chatter, but it would probably be best to make sure everyone was settled while they still had some light.
Not an evil Thievul
Megaplix
(Mitch nervously takes his seat. He knew that his parents always used to watch these movies when they were younger, but this is the first time he himself has ever actually seen one of them. He's not sure what to expect.)
(He makes sure of how much popcorn he has left (about half of it) and quietly waits for the movie to start.)
"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."
AKA Nixer
Megaplix
Ebony suppressed a grimace at the state of the theatre, but made no complaint and simply wiped her seat clean via telekinesis before sitting down. The old couple got only a blank look from her before she diverted her attention to the blank screen. If they shut up from then on, there was no point in making a fuss. On the other hand, if they proved to be insufferable, she'd be much obliged in escorting them out.
Though for a movie like Winkleheimer it probably wouldn't be worth it. Ah well. At least it'd take care of the discrimination side of things.
Lucy, meanwhile, slunk over to wherever Hei had placed himself in her usual cautious manner, leaning onto his shoulder and exhaling softly. A chance to just shut off for an hour or two was what she needed. God knows she could be a heavy sleeper—unless this movie would be playing at a similar decibel level to a nuclear blast. Though judging by that poster alone, by their luck it'd be even louder than that.
She shut off her train of thought. Enough pessimism. She could just partially transform herself so her ears turned into stone-deaf ink prosthetics or something. If that was even a thing she could do. She most certainly hoped so.
bork
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam just slipped inside, without making noise. The comments of that old couple made him glare, but decided not to act. The moment one of them gets uppity again, they'll be making the splits.
Painful payback without trace He thought Came in handy pretty often
He wondered who he should sit with, while he slipped a couple things in his ears, to dampen what will be a noisy experience.
Well, showtime.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Projector Room 9 from Outer Space
Mahvash did not take herself to a chair, at least not immediately. One this room had no chairs. Two, she had no intention of seeing a movie. Three, she'd seen the kids off already. Finally, four, she still had alternate Rienbach's book. Yes, she'd brought them to the Megaplix, 'best theatre with a cafe too'. It also just so happened to consume and leave idle alot of power. And its projections did not quite equal the training room, but that's what Lucy's (or this Rienbach's) dimension viewer was for...
Alternate World LL - At least until she gives it a better name
Mahvash came landed in a Megaplix... that looked exactly the same, even in the midst of the mess around it. The important bit, this planet's Saint Academy still felt like an ink-covered mess. What did Loud-Lu do in her spare time, roll in the stuff?
She drew flowers and moths in the dirt. The really important bit: the planet still sat vacant, no more than a big rocky, tub at this point. Physically, and even then only to the limited. Those drawings were just aspirations now, but... A brand new biosphere, dragged anew from the depths of a renovated world... if communion could create a positive feedback loop, having a pocket Earth in the background that owed its whole biosphere to her would do wonders.
"And I've got to eat more fiber..." the daeva said to well, all the nothing on the planet, while 'pinching' fleshy centipedes, among other things, out of her skin and sending them out. "Then again, maybe plant life is overrated. There's always mushrooms and prototaxites maybe for landscaping." And at some point maybe she'd point the growth ray at the planet and just leave it on for a bit. Instant megastructure. Just have to account for the habitable zone. Oh and the size of the ley lines that she'd have to build.
Theatre
The daeva took up her roots and returned through the projector room—after jury-rigging some power from re-firing a power plant. It would probably explode by the time she got back. Meh. She shrunk the viewer again before returning, keeping her detached hand far away from her body. When I fix a portal between the realms, I can probably shrink it and carry it on my person. If enough people died violently on that end, and I spread holy ground over that planet, I'll probably have enough restless revenants and the like to work it.
Even accounting for the extra task that she gave herself, she still felt better in the back working on fine control training. At least until concert time. When she finally 'sat', she lay upside down, carefully feeling out with her hair and undoing the numerous bits of dirt and grime and particles with the smallest bursts possible. And she'd work on identifying how old the walls and ceiling were and what material based on their feels, the way sound reflected, and not the light. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Theatre
Lucien scowled at the old couple's words, his empathic aura growing heavy and heart-pumping. His whispers were gruff and sour.
"I hate people like that. How dare they?"
He sat down next to Ebony, dusting off his seat manually. Sweeping small particles and such was something beyond the control he had over his powers.
"That feeling of disgust and smugness, like they're somehow superior...it makes me sick. They don't know a thing about us."
He roughly shoved a small handful of popcorn in his mouth, face still twisted in a grimace.
AKA Nixer
Megaplix
“Perhaps. But maybe we shouldn't reflect that,” Ebony quietly replied, shifting slightly toward Lucien so her eyes were piercing into his. “If they think themselves better, they'll get their comeuppance anyway. Best not to deal it out ourselves unless no one else takes the opportunity. I don't think we have the right any more than they do.”
She turned back, before sighing. “And... yeah. It kinda makes me sick a bit too. But one of three things could happen. 1, they scoff and shut up when the movie comes on, 2: they scoff and leave when the movie comes on, or 3: they keep talking like that. If that last one happens, I think we're entitled to getting them out of here anyway,” she shrugged. Though after a moment of looking at him out the corner of her eye, she seemed to give in to her more sympathetic side and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Hey. I get it, alright? They're just people with an opinion. A stubborn, unconventional, and irrational opinion. But—look. Mikael doesn't seem too bothered by it. At least... not to the degree they want him to be. They're just trying to get a reaction. Ignore them for now.”
While I resist the urge to send them to Pluto, she mentally added.
bork
Megaplix
(Mitch shifts uncomfortably at Mahvash's last suggestion.) I-I can handle waiting in line...
(The line is very long, though. Mitch can't help but wonder just how long this is going to take.)
"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."