OTA with Closed Prompt - Ninja Mime 3

[nutkrusher]

Who: Cassie + Anybody, with closed prompt for Trunks
Where: Cinema Car
When: Horseshoe, Day Four-ish
What: A screening of Ninja Mime 3: Mime in Time

There's less fanfare for this screening than there was for the last one Cassie hosted. She's looking for a somewhat more intimate affair, and she figures the sequel won't draw as much as the first one anyway.

Before she gets there, though, she'll be lingering outside her own cabin, waiting for a certain lavender-haired someone who is particularly invited to pass by.

Comments

[nutkrusher]

Meanwhile, Cassie gets to the bottom of her drink. It's up to Trunks whether this sound breaks the tension, ruins the moment, or both.

The time travelers now find themselves in a rather more primitive-looking Paris. There's smoke and flashing lights in the distance. Soldiers in chainmail run toward the commotion, crying out to protect their Emperor.

There's a closeup on the hero's determined face. This is the final battle.

[light_of_willpower]

It breaks the tension, but doesn't ruin the moment thankfully. The movie already had him chuckling a bit, and the noise of her finishing her soda just adds to the silliness. Trunks might find the hero's determined face more compelling if it wasn't covered in mime-make-up. He can't help the low snort-laugh.

[nutkrusher]

Cassie's grin widens to show teeth as she hears Trunks laughing.

"Oh, just wait until the fight scene gets started."

[light_of_willpower]

"Sorry, sorry, just..." Trunks really doesn't sound that sorry, but he knows he might be being disruptive. Even if Cassie'd said it was okay to laugh, and it was meant to be silly. "Next time, I think I'd like to see your dad in a serious role. Or at least not quite as silly."

[nutkrusher]

"'Serious' is a relative term where Dad is concerned," Cassie says. "He always told me he brings home money, not trophies."

Beat.

"Not acting trophies, anyway."

And speaking of money, it's all on screen for this scene. The flatulist in particular gets some moments in the sun, using his farts to propel himself up the city walls.

[light_of_willpower]

"Like I said, a less silly role at least." Trunks conceded, shaking his head because now the film was stretching the level of credibility. Even for silliness.

[nutkrusher]

"I'll see what I can pick out."

Because it's certainly not this one. This fifteen-minute epic was, in her father's words, intended to match the climax of Drunken Master 2. It certainly isn't lacking for punches, kicks, and special effects. Nor fart, juggling, and mime jokes.

It's actually pretty good. And it ends, as all truly great fight scenes must, with the villain falling off an imaginary gallows and being swallowed by a fire demon after being distracted by a cameo from Jean Claude Van Damme a startlingly familiar actor as Charlemagne.

The heroes declare that, since he died before he was ever born, all his wicked deeds have been undone.

Cassie turns to Trunks. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't question it."

[light_of_willpower]

The final battle was amazing in its choreography and spectacle, if nothing else. Certainly Trunks was entertained--which was what he really was after. Along with spending some time with Cassie.

"I suppose that logic is at least internally consistent with the rest of the logic in the film." Trunks murmured, turning to her with a smile. "It was fun though. I was following along pretty fine even for references that weren't my world."

[nutkrusher]

"Insofar as there isn't any?"

Speaking of references, she doesn't bother to explain the significance of Johnny Cage and Significant Belgian Martial Artist appearing on screen together, or the brief banter they share. That's just too long of a story.

"So your Earth has different countries or something?"

[light_of_willpower]

"Not exactly. Before the androids ran wild anyways, Earth was one big land-mass with a few islands here and there in the great big ocean. It was divided into sectors with major cities and smaller towns. I live in West City, for example. One major government too--ruled by a monarch. Not that it impacted things much."

[nutkrusher]

"Yeah, my Earth hasn't been just one continent since dinosaur times," she says. "It'd be hard for me to imagine just one person ruling it, too."

[light_of_willpower]

"We still have dinosaurs. And animal-people who are just as valued as citizens as anyone else." Trunks retorted, taking a long sip of his soda. "We also have demons and half-demons, not just from Hell, but on Earth."

[nutkrusher]

Cassie's eyes widen slightly. "Huh. That's pretty cool. Well, maybe not that last one."

She's not too keen on demons.

"Earthrealm doesn't have any of those things, but Outworld does. I've seen Kotal Kahn's dinosaur cavalry myself. Used to have a bee-woman as his First Minister, but she turned out to be an evil psycho, so...you know how it goes."

She casually pops the last of the popcorn into her mouth.

[light_of_willpower]

"Maybe, but now it's...well, different. And a Bee-woman?" That latter was new to Trunks, and he was stuck picturing a female Cell with stripes and antenna instead of head-wings. Which just made him shudder.

[nutkrusher]

"Yeah, D'Vorah," Cassie says. "Part of a race called the Kytinn. Really gross and creepy. Hard to kill, too."

She shudders a bit to even remember her. Her execution of Mileena had been the kind of shit that haunts dreams for a lifetime.

"I had to take care of her on my way to Shinnok."

[light_of_willpower]

"I'm sorry." Sympathetic and genuinely so. "Back home, but in Piccolo's timeline--not mine, we're in a tournament against a bio-engineered android named Cell. Before he achieved his 'perfect' form, he resembled a giant mutant-cicada. But he had this...tail, with what looked like a stinger but actually sucked you up."

Trunks had reached out to her shoulder with her shudder, and now gave one of his own.

[nutkrusher]

Cassie leans in closer as his hand touches her shoulder, and her own hand closes he distance to settle on his knee as he describes his current situation.

"My parents met at a tournament held by an evil creep to decide the fate of the world," she says. "It's...not a fun story. And I'd bet everything I have yours isn't, either."

[light_of_willpower]

"It's not. Although my parents didn't meet at this tournament." Trunks felt a slight smile, sad as well, come to his face. "I think they actually meant on a now-destroyed planet trying to stop an evil galactic Emperor from finding the dragon balls and wishing to be immortal."

He's entirely serious, and his smile turns slightly shy. "Sounds like we both have some stories."

[nutkrusher]

"Yeah," Cassie says, settling her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, we definitely do."

She's not even getting into the Reiko incident.

"They can wait tonight, though. Tonight I want to show you what a normal night is like."

I HAVE BLUSH ICONS NOW!

[light_of_willpower]

Her leaning on his shoulder, with his arm around her, had not been what he was expecting. He didn't mind--it was nice. Even while he felt his blush return. Again. "I'm not sure even what I think of as normal, is 'normal' now, compared to what you've talked about."

But Trunks is absolutely okay with this closeness--even if his cheeks are warm.

Hooray!

[nutkrusher]

Cassie continues to lean into him for a little while, blushing be damned. It continues as the credits start to roll.

"Well, even if it isn't exactly 'normal' for you, I hope at least it's been nice."

Re: Hooray!

[light_of_willpower]

"Nice would be an understatement." A massive understatement--and it solidified in his mind that this was a date. His first date, no less--and it had been nice.

[nutkrusher]

"I'm glad," Cassie says softly, holding her position a while longer.

Eventually, she draws away and starts to stand up.

"I've gotta pick up and stuff. You can help me if you'd like."

[light_of_willpower]

"Be kind of rude of me to let you do it all alone, right?" Trunks' smile was still slightly shy, but also full of genuine enjoyment. "I can scout for trash while you handle the film?"

[nutkrusher]

"Sounds like a plan to me," Cassie says.

"Teamwork makin' the dream work."

She extends a hand for a high five.