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We may as well meet there. And then we can see how "adaptable" you truly are. If our shared suffering turns into watching porn of myself, though, I reserve the right to film it on my phone.

If that's what you're into, I won't judge.

[Hmm, he should probably wind down for the night, before Ren tsks at him for being up late texting. They'd even talked about it.]

But it should be fun in a morbid way. Just what has the local cognitive cinema cooked up?

Our dreams tonight may determine the outcome...

Ah, if we're depending on my dreams then this may be a very different experience. Hang on to your hat.

[Since fictional gore he can do all day long.]

We can only hope it *is* our dreams. At least that would be semi-predictable.

Dreams can be rather surprising, I'd argue, but fair enough. Goodnight.

[True to his word, he'll arrive in Shinjuku the next afternoon, shooting Magpie a text.]

Ready for hell?

I am. This poster is even worse in person. There's a whole row of them.

[He's outside the cinema, sipping coffee and arching a perfectly-aligned eyebrow at the image of Crow and his snake. As the real Crow appears, he turns to offer a jaded aside.]

We're lucky the snake doesn't have an eyepatch.

Careful. By mentioning it, you may have introduced a plot twist where the snake reveals it was one-eyed the entire time.

[That was terrible. He knows it was terrible. The posters are terrible too, but as they say, misery is company.]

Now, I suppose we should mentally prepare ourselves as we seize our concessions. Any plot speculation before we plunge into hell?

[He touches his chin.] I suppose the ultimate twist would be that this is nothing but the tedious story of a boy and his poor animal husbandry choices.

Would you care to bet that we'll be that lucky? [He turns to make for the door, and the foyer. The place seems to like Crow better, so if he stands to gain....]

A young man smuggles his pet snake from place to place... in his pants.

[That sounds painful, literally, but the suggestion does get a laugh out of him.]

Well, you know what they say about getting too warm down there. [That is, it makes you sterile.] Maybe I should get a hot water bottle.

[He heads in first, getting the door for his counterpart on the way, only to reveal... a significantly more-than-lifesize standup of Crow, complete with snake. More of the snake is on view; it extends from his pants all the way up to his shirt collar.]

Listen, is there something you're not telling me? [It makes Akechi feel quite inadequate. He swallows a laugh.]

[Shit.

Um. Give him a moment as he gawks at this affront to Akechis everywhere. It even has his uniform...

And then Magpie just had to make it worse.]

I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but regret to inform you that I am not that endowed.

Edited 2023-10-17 22:18 (UTC)

Really? And I was hoping we matched. [What.] Did you say you wanted popcorn?

[He's heading to the concession as if nothing at all is the matter. What the fuck, Magpie?]

Obviously, we match! That goes without saying.

[Damn it. Fine. Popcorn. In fact...]

Let's get the largest popcorn they have available and their most expensive drinks.

[Hm, his smile flashes into suspicious brilliance.] That's the best idea I've heard all day. I should finish this coffee, though, before we go in.

[The most expensive drink on the menu looks to be the large freshly-squeezed orange juice, which would give him acid reflux for the foreseeable future. Hm.]

... orange juice. Shall we consider the second-most-expensive? [He gulps the coffee.]

Certainly. We can be lavish without punishing our bodies with acidic substances.

[Yes, he knows he made orange juice sound like a drug. That's the joke. It's funny.]

[It is funny, and there will be no argument from Magpie's quarter. He scans the menu boards overhead. The second-most-expensive drink appears to be....]

... hot chocolate with whipped cream, gold and silver stars, a chocolate straw, and an espresso shot. You know, I've had something very similar in Akasaka, except it was scattered with gold leaf.

[He does not sound impressed.]

I'm certainly willing to try it, but what is your personal recommendation as a food critic?

[That holds value, and perhaps deferring to him will even help Magpie feel better.]

[Excuse you, Crow, he sees right through that. And having his ego stroked does make him feel better; he stands a little taller.]

First, gold leaf is a disaster. It adds nothing to food besides an inflated price tag and some questionable glamour—though, of course, sometimes that is what you want. Considering where we are, there's always the option of a quadruple espresso, which might even outstrip the listed prices.

[He glances, with a tiny, fragile smirk.] But perhaps we don't want to run the risk of being so altered? Besides, Ren would wince at me if he heard I ordered an espresso-based drink. I admit I am curious as to what passes here for "gold and silver stars".

Want to try it for the heck of it and see where it takes us?

[It's sure to be an interesting experience, at least. Less likely to offend their respective Rens, too.]

[... and he meets other-him's eye, draining the last of his coffee. Usually, when he's in company, he pretends he's too good for sweet things.]

Yes. Let's do it. [He steps forward and orders two, cooing to the cognition at the counter, who is staring slightly past him: goodness, do you know you have all the charm of a three-week-dead jellyfish? I feel I could wear you on my head, except the stink would never wash out. oh you're too kind thank you

He glances back to Crow.] So we should probably not go for the sweet popcorn, all else being equal. What do you think?

[Pffft. He can't help but laugh at the amusing insults. Well played...]

Salty to counteract the sweet? That seems reasonable. Caramel corn would likely be overwhelming if the hot chocolate is this excessive.

Then again, a hot drink won't last the entire movie—though that, of course, assumes we'll survive the whole movie....

[Turning back to the cognition with an immaculate smile, he orders two huge cartons of half-and-half—half salty, half caramel. Because he can do what he wants. He hands one to Crow.]

You're right that this seems a little excessive. But then, it is free. Shall we? [The entrance to the screens is right ahead.]

Let's begin our march to certain doom...

[He says it in an oddly ominous voice, like a dramatic stage villain.

But he'll let Magpie lead, naturally. More confidence boosting.]

[He doesn't quite notice; he takes the lead a lot, and Crow doesn't strike him as the most likely to push about it. Which is why it's effective!

He grins to himself, as they head into the dimly-lit auditorium. Some animated cups and hotdogs are doing elegant loops on the screen, against a gleaming rain of popcorn. Typical.]

Speaking of certain doom, where shall we sit? Front, middle, or—[did he pause?]—back?

Edited 2023-10-18 00:58 (UTC)

Alone in the back... how scandalous.

[He chuckles, but turns in that direction.]

I suppose it depends on how 'up close and personal' you want this experience. The back would at least give us some manner of boundary from any close up serpentine shots.

[Yes, he's wincing far more at the front seats than the back.] Lying on my back staring up at your pet serpent. I dread to think. The back it is.

[And up they go. He heads for the two centre seats, at the top of the aisle.]

I always liked sitting here—were you the same? If there's a big enough earthquake, we can roll all the way to the bottom. Though I haven't noticed any here, to be honest.

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