Next stop, the Twilight Zone!

[mypartnerintime]

Who: Max and OPEN (especially whoever is watching X-Files/Twilight Zone)
Where: One of the tea rooms on the ground floor, converted into a home theater
When: Evening of February 11 (what are timezones idk)
Rating: Let's go with PG to be safe?
Summary: It's a mingle! With cool TV shows! What could go wrong!
The Story:

She'd sent out the invite, but just to be sure she also put up another text to the network: "Ground floor tea room, 8pm for Twilight Zone and X-Files!" By 8:00 she'd set up a wicked home theater, with a massive TV and top of the line sound system. Hooray for unlimited and magical closets, though how that TV fit in one will forever be a mystery!

The tea room had expanded to accommodate a larger than normal crowd. There's a big couch along one wall, bean bags spread around, and throw pillows on the floor. A long, low coffee table is situated in reach of most places, on top of which Max has laid out some pizza, chips, and soda.

Finally, to get just the right atmosphere, the room is slightly cold (though there are blankets around) and the lights are dimmed so that shadows seem to jump around as the shows run their course on the TV.

What shows, you ask? She decides to play them in this order:
Twilight Zone's The Monsters are Due on Maple Street
Twilight Zone's Five Characters in Search of an Exit
And finally, X-Files' Bad Blood

All in all, it's a few hours' worth of interesting, amusing, and sometimes downright disturbing TV.

[OOC: Max's invite was more popular than I expected, lol. I thought I'd put this up in case anyone wants a mingle! Feel free to post a top level comment about what your character is doing, and comment around. :D]

Comments

[mypartnerintime]

It's an encouraging thought, and Max brightens at the idea. It's nice to imagine that maybe her pictures will actually be really meaningful and useful later on but-... But, she doesn't really believe it. Someone in Wonderland would have thought of that by now. But it's a nice thought, anyway...

She grasps around for something to steer the conversation away onto happier ground. "Speaking of which, do you have any of those moving pictures on you?"

[krmvgivv]

"That's cool. So long as the monsters and ghosts and aliens are still there too." Dipper is more interested in those than in the human condition, honestly.

[exceedinglybright]

"Oh!"

She'd almost forgotten, with the viewing event itself having drawn her attention away from it, but she'd brought a couple of photos along with her, remembering that Max had expressed an interest in seeing some during their last conversation. She reaches into her bag before pulling out two photographs, their edges a bit worn, but the images in them crystal-clear-- and unmistakably moving as she holds them out.

"This is me and my husband, James," she tells her, pointing James himself out as though it weren't obvious. "The other is James with our friend Sirius-- he's a wizard, as well."

[krmvgivv]

...yes. [How do you explain dystopias to an alien rock?] It's very bad.

[mypartnerintime]

"Wizard..." she says weakly, taking the photos and staring at them.

Wow.

They're actually moving. She lets out a slow breath as she watches the images. "Wowser," she whispers. It sounds dumb but she never imagined something like these two little squares in her hands. She loves photography- really loves it- and this is like finding out there's a whole part to it that she never knew. It's exciting, and a little... weird. Very weird, actually, but she's content to look at them and let the awe take over.

And she also doesn't notice the smile that spreads over her mouth as she watches.

[henrydaniel]

“Um…” Henry clears his throat a little. “He died. It was...my family is really...big and not everyone is good. My mom’s sister killed him. And she’s...she’s here in Wonderland too.”

So, that’s a thing that sucks.

“If anyone named Zelena or the Wicked Witch of the West talks to you on the network, just ignore her. She’s a pretty terrible person.” It takes a lot for Henry to say that about anyone, but he knows that for sure about his aunt.

[slapfight]

[yeah good luck trying to get her to let that go. the crystal gems have never once explained this to her beyond "they don't agree with how we live," and that's fine! they can just live on earth and should be allowed to, but... what's wrong with the system in itself for the gems who do follow the rules?] Explain.

[krmvgivv]

Seriously? What part of considering people defective if they don't like their role sounds remotely okay?

[slapfight]

Look, if a piece of equipment couldn't perform it's job correctly, it would be considered defective, right? It's the-

[and then it hits her like a slap to the face, a harsh reality she somehow avoided until now. she looks down at her fingers, registering for the first time.] -same.

[they really are just tools or blunt instruments, made to serve a single purpose.] Oh...

[exceedinglybright]

Lily's own smile spreads as she watches Max examine the photos in turn, folding her arms across her chest to look on with satisfaction. There's something especially heart-warming about the look of awe on someone's face when they get their first real taste of magic, or at least this brand of magic-- she remembers feeling that way herself, years ago.

"They're great, aren't they?" she asks, her smile hitching wider. "I thought the novelty might wear off someday, but I'm still pleasantly surprised by some of what the wizarding world has to offer-- and some things just never get old. This is one of them."

[mypartnerintime]

"Tell me about it." She partly feels like she's been staring at the photos too long, but she doesn't feel like handing them back yet. Amused expressions play across her face as she watches the antics of the people in the pictures.

"This is... so crazy." She glances up at Lily, grinning. For someone that thinks pictures are magical already, well- this is like double-magic.

[singloversing]

Of course he is.

"Oh definitely," Wirt says. "A lot of them are like, 'the protagonist was the monster all along and didn't know it' and you watch the whole thing thinking something scary is going to happen to them, but it turns out they were the scary thing in the end. You know, like stories where people don't know they died and you find out at the end that they were a ghost the whole time, unable to accept their fate."

The irony of this example is completely lost on Wirt.

[krmvgivv]

Dipper turns and looks at him, waiting to see if... he'll listen to what he just said. When it becomes clear that he won't, Dipper debates pointing it out, but ultimately decides he doesn't want Wirt to dwell on it even more.

"There are definitely monstrous humans who don't even have to be a scary thing."

[krmvgivv]

Aaand there it is. [Dipper snaps and points at her.] People aren't things. Little thing called free will, you know? We're not tools.

[slapfight]

But that- [she sputters, trying to regain control over this conversation, but she can't, because he's right, even if it's illogical, because if they weren't meant to be built with free will, then why are they capable of it. why was she capable of choosing herself over yellow diamond, just as Pearl was able to choose to learn to fight rather than to stand still and look pretty and Garnet was able to choose to stay fused forever.

just because the Diamonds said it was wrong didn't mean it wasn't possible.]

I don't understand.

[could it just be that the Diamonds weren't capable of granting intelligence without granting some semblance of free will? was this to make their loyalty worth something?

it's all so confusing.] We are tools... But we... don't have to be?

[she's starting to get it.]

[exceedinglybright]

"If you really like them, we could see about getting you a camera that makes them," Lily offers warmly, enjoying seeing just how impressed and almost overwhelmed Max seems to be. "It would take a little time and some tinkering, but could absolutely be done-- we gave everyone wizard sweets for Christmas, I'm sure we could come up with another magic camera."

omg my comment never posted kljanglkjans

[mypartnerintime]

Max visibly brightens at the offer, because magic camera equals pure joy in her book. But at the same time she doesn't want to replace her current camera either. It's extremely sentimental after all, and she's so good at using it that it's purely second nature to her.

Having both would be amazing though.

"That would be so sweet. If it's not a big bother or anything." She grins at Lily, hopeful.

[krmvgivv]

....yes. [Dipper would phrase it we're not tools and we don't have to put up with being treated like one, but he's trying to be sensitive to cultural differences. Especially since she seems to be getting it.]

You're only a tool if you let people use you like one.

[singloversing]

Things go quiet for a second, just long enough for Wirt to wonder why that just happened, but not long enough for Wirt to really think about what it means. He's a little awkward now, wondering if he just said something weird, but...he ignores it and moves on. Or at least, he tries to.

"Uhhh. Y-Yeah, that's. That's definitely true. And there's episodes like that too, I think," he says. "I mean, it's all psychological thrillers and mysteries, so...that sounds about right."

It's not like he remembers every single episode by heart, especially in the days where binge-watching television shows wasn't that easy.

[slapfight]

[her frustrated noises are probably disturbing the rest of the party guests, but she doesn't care. this is so difficult for her to process. not even steven has really explained it like this, and the facts are all there, but she's just accepted the Crystal Gems- and herself- as a team of defectives, outside of Homeworld's rules. The fact that not following the rules makes you no less a complete gem than following them is something that's so difficult for her to rationalize.]

Yes, but- [she starts and then stops, like an engine sputtering out] You don't understand. That's why we were made. Even if I'm different, I couldn't in good faith take this back to Homeworld. The entire system would collapse. And that's if I wasn't shattered on the spot.

[because really that's the problem. with this new information, she should be informing everyone on Homeworld about it, because it's both the right and logical thing to do, but it would mean a total shutdown of everything. It's not just the ambitions of one little Peridot that's affected here- it's society.] What do I do with that information?

it's okay! <3

[exceedinglybright]

"Not at all!" Lily informs her brightly, her own smile hitching wider. "Actually, it would be a fun project-- a nice distraction from some of the other things I've been working on, and a nice reminder of home."

[krmvgivv]

[...the answer of nothing since she'll forget about it the second she leaves here probably isn't helpful.]

I guess the question is, do you care more about the system, or the people trapped in it?

[mypartnerintime]

"Thank you," she says, hardly hiding her anticipation. "...Don't think I won't hold you to that." She would seriously be so bombed if it didn't push through.

With one last glance at them, she reaches out to hand the photos back to Lily. Those are obviously pretty personal. But she can't wait to have some of her own.

[exceedinglybright]

Lily gingerly accepts the returned photos, carefully tucking them away before she reaches for her drink again. "I'll be more than happy to deliver on that promise," she assures her, inclining her head towards the rest of the room at large. "But I shouldn't keep you from saying hello to your other guests. It was lovely to meet you in person, Max. Do you think you'll be doing this kind of thing regularly?"

[mypartnerintime]

"Err," she stalls, also glancing around. "I guess... why not?" She shrugs. Generally she's not too comfy with crowds, but people actually seemed to like this. Who'd have thought that one of her geek ideas would fly so well? "It's probably too soon to start with the midnight movies, so... more Twilight Zone and X-Files," she says dryly, but with a warm smile.