losthunter | Knock unbidden on the door ((Schön))

Entry tags:

Knock unbidden on the door ((Schön))

The evening on which Schön and Hunter had agreed upon a TV marathon to watch 'Twilight Zone' episodes had come very quickly, even though it had been a couple of days since the Spring Fair and the last time they had spoken.

Hunter had a lot of artwork to keep himself occupied in the time between the two events. There were a couple of sketches in his notepad from the evening of the Spring Fair that he had wanted to get on canvas. Some are watercolors. Some are color pencils. Some are using the rose petals, soaked in paint. In all aspects, he had been busy.

During the day, before Schön would arrive at the apartment, Hunter had been quite busy finishing a charcoal piece depicting an elderly couple sharing an intimate, and touching moment. He wrapped that up right before he was expecting Schön, so had to jump in the bathroom quickly to get cleaned and dressed for the evening.

Then he went into the kitchen to bring out the snacks that he had prepared for the evening. There are delights such as cranberry pretzel clusters, brownie batter popcorn, assorted chocolate-dipped fruit (bananas, kiwis and strawberries), and a cheese platter. For a wine choice, Hunter had selected a Wild Vines strawberry white zinfandel.

With everything else in place, Hunter does one more walk-through of his apartment, to make sure everything is prepared for his guest.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You think?" Hunter never thought about that, and wonders about what that could mean for him.

"I had wanted to help her, ask her if she was unbalanced. She said that it wasn't time. I wasn't ready."

"Maybe, she was talking about that?"

"It's possible," Schön admits. "There are signs which might be taken for it--although in the Nexus, it can be difficult to be certain. Something to think about."

"I definitely will think about it." It is almost a surreal thought, but Hunter is taking the suggestion seriously.

"Shall we start our TV marathon?" Hunter asks.

Many things in the Nexus, and the lives of people who end up in the Nexus, are fairly surreal. Still, there are worse places to grapple with strangeness, to be sure.

"Certainly, if you like. I brought a selection of the very best." He smiles, going to collect the disc from where he left it. "Up first, a chilling tale called, 'To Serve Man.'"

((Sorry replies have been slow the last few days. Work has been kicking me pretty hard. Please don't construe any long delays as a loss of interest in the thread.))

"Sounds like a good place to start." Hunter smiles. "I have the food set up on the table, but once you have a selection of treats, you can bring it to the coffee table."

He goes to open up the bottle of wine and pour two glasses.

[Totally understand the stresses of work. Hope things get better soon]

((Thanks. I've got a day off coming soon, but only one instead of a weekend, and then a day I have to go in early, so even my day off is cut a little short. It could be worse, though--it could be six-day weeks every week and my day off cut shorter by the day after it being much earlier, the way it used to be. This is progress.))

Schön takes a little bit of everything, in the way of snacks available. He likes to sample, and he thinks snacks may be particularly relevant during this first episode. When his plate is full, he goes to find a seat at the couch, lounging at his ease. He'll place the DVD where Hunter can put it in; whether he's offering the courtesy of not presuming to control someone else's home entertainment setup or eschewing that confusing technology, well, who could say?

[Yipes, hopefully you can enjoy most of the day off, while you can]

Hunter also takes a little bit of everything, after all everything available is something that he enjoys eating.

He sets down his stuff on the coffee table, handing Schön his glass of wine. Then carefully takes the DVD, getting it set up into his DVD player. With a couple of clicks of the multi-unit remote, Hunter has the DVD all ready to go.

With a playful smile, Hunter hands Schön the remote and sits down beside him on the couch. "I believe you wanted the driver's seat?"

((I plan to decompress.))

Schön accepts the wine with a murmur of thanks, wafting it under his nose thoughtfully. He'll let it breathe a little before he takes a sip, he decides.

Receiving the remote, he inclines his head with the sort of solemnity meant for receiving a gift from royalty--but for the wry twist of his mouth. "It does make guiding the tour a little easier. Feel free to speak up anytime. I, ah, think I can manage to pause things in good order."

He'll take a moment to study the remote, just in case, before he gets things going.

((Have you seen this episode of the Twilight Zone?))

[Always a good thing to do with a day off. I have not seen the episode, but know of it through cultural references]

Hunter lounges comfortably on the couch, beside Schön, situating one arm on the art rest at his side, the other arm up on the couch behind the other man.

The remote itself seems pretty easy to figure out, as remotes goes. There is section dedicated to the Play/Pause/Stop controls of the DVD player.

He watches the movie with interest, taking time to try to figure out the 'famous twist' that Schön has said was prominent in these movies.

((If "cultural references" includes a certain episode of the Simpsons, I'm going to applaud.))

This episode's twist isn't a hard one to figure out. When the main character tries to warn the people boarding the alien ships that their manual of peace, "To Serve Man" is a cookbook, well, there's the twist. The ending is a bit of a downer, since it returns to the framing device of the man waiting in his cabin on the alien ship, rejecting food and morosely contemplating the end of his journey and the "feast" that awaits. Admittedly, it's a little dark for a first taste.

Still, if Hunter is befriending magical beings, a glimpse of the dangers that can be veiled by wordplay might not be unkind. When the credits roll, Schön pauses the show to ask, "what do you think?"

[Of course it does!]

Hunter takes time to consider his answer, carefully. "It was a little spooky. The framing made it seem... like we were in the cell with him. Waiting our fate."

((Excellent!))

Schön nods, smiling encouragingly. "Well said, well said. That was quite the way to draw the audience in, wasn't it?"

If Hunter has anything he'd like to ask or say, the next episode can certainly wait for it.

If anything, Hunter almost feels less hungry right now. Strange how that happens. "It really opens ones eyes to the old adage of not judging a book by its cover."

"The make-up for the aliens was really phenomenal. Realistic."

Yes, odd how the episode about aliens fattening humans up to eat them might suppress the occasional appetite. "Indeed. And the one about Greeks--or Others--bearing gifts."

"Ah, now it's interesting that you say that about the makeup. Dressing actors and sets for black-and-white posed an interesting set of challenges, as certain colors would look like something else in monochrome. What seemed on the screen like a hint of blush might be great garish patches of green. The Adams' Family's living room was all done in pink."

"I wonder how long it took them to figure out how to dress their actors so that it showed appropriately in black-and-white. It almost seems like they had to work harder then, then they do now days."

"It was harder, in ways, but there were lessons learned, as well. By the time the Twilight Zone was airing, the moving picture was half a century old, and the arts of fooling the eye had become very refined. There were venerable masters of the craft who had grown up working in black-and-white film, and as the cinema went to color, were able to carry their body of knowledge to a generation of television. Knowing to make test reels, among the other tricks of the trade, probably helped."

"I have seen the behind-the-scenes stuff when I was a child. But I think it would have been cool to see how these cast and crew had worked together."

"When I find a doorway to an appropriate time," Schön promises, "I shall see what I can arrange."

"Do you particularly pay attention to different doorways, and where they lead?" The question is not related to the movie, but still part of the conversation.

"Very close attention," Schön answers. "Much of my business is in finding doorways to worlds that have something in abundance which will be wanted somewhere else. Another part is in finding people the door to where they want to go--whether that somewhere is home, or some other clime."

"I imagine that it is often the case, that where people want to go, is not what they imagined. It is more where they are needed." Hunter speaks from personal experience.

"My own experience is that where people want to go and where they need to go sometimes differ. Sometimes, they find where they need without knowing they need it, but they more often ask after places they want to go."

"It is strange... with all the possible outcomes that the Nexus offers, I am sure that the opportunity was there that we could have met earlier, when I first came into the Nexus."

"But in the same context," Hunter turns to look at Schön, his hand moving to gently touch the other man's shoulder. "I know that I would have not been ready to have someone like you in my life."

"I was just so angry when I first arrived. Scared. Uncertain. I pushed people away, instead of accepting their friendships."

"I am hardly one to sneer at happy chance--and the chance to meet your best face first is certainly one of those," Schön answers with a smile. "Friendship is a precious thing--I'm glad to have yours, and to have you accept mine."

"So what show is next on our watching agenda?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject