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 Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:12 pm
"This is... the city." Crouching in the stark shadows behind the brightly lit movie theater marquee, Hestia basked in the moment of feeling very, very cool. There had been murmurs of fatigue in the area, even a couple people passing out after watching a show. City inspectors cleared the theater of any potential gas leaks, but the rumors had persisted even weeks later. So far tonight, though, her evening had consisted of 1) lurking and 2) quietly whispering potential catch phrases and battle lines to herself. They were, potentially, useful for a Senshi, whose powers were steeped in acts of ritual and spoken will. Though her own motives were just to sound really, super cool, a childhood habit that she's never let go of. Gazing down at the people entering and exiting the building, the scent of popcorn filling the night, Hestia narrated once more, "These streets are filled with darkness... of the soul."
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 4:07 pm
Days off came to Vanya so rarely, and it was rarer still that he got to actually enjoy them.
……Technically, he didn’t think that most people would consider it particularly enjoyable to spend his afternoon and evening going to three different viewings of an absurdist tragicomedy done in borderline exaggerated Hiberno-English, centered on a story about the platonic breakup between Colin Farrell’s Padraic and Brendan Gleeson’s Colm, with all the blatant hallmarks of Oscar Bait hanging around it like a stench (including a hamfisted and, as far as Vanya knew, incredibly dubious metaphor about the Irish Civil War). Sucked for most people, though. If they couldn’t appreciate Martin McDonagh’s work, that was their own loss, not Vanya’s. Most people he’s ever met didn’t enjoy In Bruges, either. Something about it being too sad or almost nihilistic or offensive and edgy for no actual reason beyond being edgy and offensive.
Ugh, whatever. Some people just had bad opinions about cinema. Unfortunately, they were allowed to do that. If they didn’t want to laugh, cry, and then cry while laughing and feeling like kind of a terrible person for laughing over how well Colm and Padraic answered the question of a fandom tweet he’d seen once—“what ship is the definition of ‘gay people are so dramatic when they break up without even dating’”—then that was fine. And again, their own loss, not Vanya’s.
Skulking out of the restroom after his third and final viewing of the night, Vanya stopped by the concessions stand for a frozen Coke. He’d walked here instead of taking his bike, and something to accompany him on the walk back to his place sounded like a good idea. He might regret the specific choice of something when he got outside and remembered what winter felt like, but this particular theater in Destiny City always felt so warm that it practically smothered him. Frozen Coke felt like a better idea in the moment, and anyway, at least it would keep better than a latte or something else that would get cold before he made it back to his place.
As he hit the sidewalk, Vanya paused below the marquee.… Something felt weird out here. He could not for the life of him say what it was, but it definitely felt……off, somehow. The benefit of going to a later-evening show on a weekday was that fewer people hung around to stare at Vanya as he walked around below the marquee, peering up at it and into its shadows, trying to see if he could spot anything amiss.… Didn’t seem like anything was up there? But maybe he was wrong? Idly, he wished that he had some kind of Spider-Sense for the magical weirdos like Asmodeus, the mean Negaverse Lady who’d been in a fight with her, and the ******** Hawkeye from the Negaverse who’d drained Vanya over in Ramsett Park. Would’ve come in handy, in case any of them had the ability to hide in the shadows. Maybe it even could’ve warned him about the weird monsters that lurked around town.
“Hello……? You……okay?” Tilting his head, he called up at the shadows—and almost immediately, he kinda wanted to slap himself for talking into a void where there probably wasn’t anyone hiding. Feeling weird like he currently did might’ve been a lot of things aside from anyone actually being up there. Maybe he hadn’t stayed hydrated enough while getting emotional about every horrible thing Colm had been willing to do to himself to make Padraic stay away from him.
With a quick shake of the head, Vanya sighed and made for one of the alleys near the theater. He was being ridiculous. The sooner he got home, the better.lizbot Thinking he maybe walks into a youma doing youma things, unless you had an idea for the specific damseling? heart
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:00 pm
The theater had emptied out into its very last trickle of humanity, a chattering group of students and then, one guy all on his own. Hestia thought she could hear the click of a locked door as he walked out, and sighed. Well, that was it then. Had the stakeout been a bust? She'd been trying to be more strategic lately about where she spent her time patrolling. Or at least, she sent her editor sidekick to research increases in what might be youma activity. Still, she may as well make sure this guy, and whatever employees were left, got to their cars safely. Staring intently at the young man, Hestia sent strong, I am keeping you safe, citizen. You don't have to thank me - vibes his way. Of course she didn't expect him to sense the message and stare right up at her. She froze and frantically tried to change the mental signal to, Dear citizen, you are looking at a pigeon. This is a pigeon speaking to you. This pigeon is fine, thank you.When he actually turned away, she was relieved and also q little in wonder at the power that confident suggestion had over reality. Maybe this could be a new video... Quietly and allowing for more distance than usual, she followed him on high to his car. Which was not so much a car but a late night walk. Through a darkened alley. Hestia changed her mind and decided to follow a little more closely. amorremanet emotion_kirakira show me your youma
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