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

[fulllifeconsequences]

"No, I went into the forest and didn't look back. I don't care much for..." Humanity. Adults. Crowds? Don't be creepy, Chara. "...I don't care much for tourist traps. I love getting lost, though."

They look at the last photo again, closer this time. The mirror's reflection mostly seems to reveal exactly the kind of garbage they'd have expected to see at that pointless shack. Fake monsters, shams. Lies. Trash that only exists to gouge money out of people. What was the point of going? Let alone twice? Maybe the fake monsters just felt more safe and comforting than the real ones out in the forest.

Chara shuffles the photos over, holds up the first one -- the selfie with the worried air. "I like this one best. You don't look happy, but it's... warm. Your face isn't hidden." They stack the pictures neatly together, then hold them out. Return them in the same order, tidy, undamaged. "But the third is nice too. Is the guy in the shot your friend?"

[mypartnerintime]

Max nods to herself at Chara's comments - getting lost has led to some pretty awesome pictures for her. Though it does bother her that Chara, who's so young, would wander alone during an event.

It's strange how similar the two of them are, really. They're both strong introverts, they don't really mind being judged. Though in Max's case it's a simple thing, a willingness to do what she wants - take the tour, make selfies, speak her mind (when it comes easily, anyway) - without being worried about what other people will say. Whereas with Chara... maybe someday she'll find out the full extent of Chara's willingness to do what they want to.

She's glad Chara picked one of the selfies as their favorite. "It's when I first got here. Nutso." She takes the pictures and looks at the first one again, remembering how crazy that day was, while absentmindedly answering the question. "Alex. Yeah. He should be here soon."

[fulllifeconsequences]

"Wow, really? I was scared out of my wits when I got here. But you already know that, don't you?" Scared. That excuses the knife, right? That makes it a bit more okay? Surely. Surely it does... doesn't it? "I'd say you took your arrival pretty well, then." If she thought to record it, then that seems smart. Leaves evidence behind, some clue for when someone comes looking for you. If someone comes looking for you. If someone notices you're gone. Well, the sentiment's a nice one, anyway. At any rate... that must make Max fairly new, too? Couldn't have been a balmy summer day when she arrived, at least.

Maybe that's useful. Someone who seems to... well, not like Chara, but tolerate them? If she's been here longer than Frisk or Sans, maybe her voice would hold more sway around here than theirs. Maybe she'd vouch for Chara. Maybe.

Something to consider. Something else to consider: Max's connections. This Alex guy, right? He's gonna be here. A bunch of humans will, probably. Boy, wouldn't it be easier if Chara could see them all as potential assets?

"He looks nice," Chara announces, even if they really don't think so at all. Just one of those things you say to be polite. Like a good kid. "Maybe I'll say hi to him too."

[mypartnerintime]

"...Yeah," she says, pointedly. She can't forget that first meeting, nor can she ever fully trust Chara. But she likes how much they seem to want to improve. And she wants to understand. But if it comes to vouching for them, even against people who know them better... maybe, actually. Maybe.

She looks amused when they call Alex nice, but she doesn't make fun, because he is nice to her. "You should. But uh. Try not to get on his nerves."

[fulllifeconsequences]

"Oh?" They look up at Max, paying a little closer attention. They knew the roundabout, tactful way people talked. They knew human nature. They were sure that stilted single sentence told them everything they needed to know.

But they ask anyway. "Why's that? Is he not that nice after all?"

[mypartnerintime]

She doesn't want to talk about Alex behind his back, but it's just like Chara to dig further into awkward conversations. "He can be picky about people, I guess? Heads up." She's actually more worried about Chara being nice, or at least acting normal enough to not bug the hell out of Alex.

Time to change topic. "There's steaming hot pizza over there," she says with a gesture. "I have to finish setting up, okay?"

[fulllifeconsequences]

"Understood," they reply cheerfully. Picky about people! Bad news for someone with zero redeeming qualities. Well, surely it would be an excellent and worthwhile idea to introduce themselves sometime. Surely.

Either way, time to be good. They turn around to go check the food out, but not before they add one more thing:

"And thank you, Max. For showing me your pictures. I think I understand you a little better now."

[mypartnerintime]

Max glances back at them, not sure how to take that statement. It felt... nice to share, and not have Chara judge. They seemed to like it even. But was it opening too much?

She remembers how trust came so easily to her months ago. God, how many people suffered because... How much did she...

No... Don't go there... You've been doing better... She doesn't want to ruin the night. With very conscious effort she sets aside the darker creeping thoughts, and walks toward the DVD player. Amid all the thinking, she manages a brief "Sure," to Chara, before kneeling in front of the DVD player again.