Be My Guest

[losthunter]

Hunter is hosting a few guests at his Nexus apartment tonight. Hunter had been planning this night for awhile, ever since meeting some of the crew members of Jim's ship, getting to know them better, and then telling them about the Nexus. He has been busy planning for the evening, including grocery shopping for some home-made recipes, and finishing some art pieces that will be given as gifts.

Hunter has arranged so that the PINpoint portal is basically connected to his front door. His open concept kitchen and living room will be the first thing that his guests will see, once they arrive through the PINpoint portal. There is a small closet located to the left of the door where they can place any jackets.

The dining room in the living room has been set with all the dining places for his guests. He decided against placecards, since it is more freedom to allow his guests to choose their own seats. On the island in the kitchen is a large plate of vegetarian-friendly appetizers, which features Lavash bread topped with Guacamole and red bell peppers, alongside crescent rolls filled with Jalapeño, mushrooms and asparagus.

The open concept living room immediately flows into Hunter's art studio, where he has a few pieces still being created. There is a large set of French doors that leads out from the living room to an outdoor patio, where there is a rose garden outside. The every-spanning Nexus can be viewed from the patio balcony. Right now, the Nexus is showing the lakeside, where Hunter had first appeared when he had needed support the most.

There are a few closed doors along one wall, one of which that leads to the bathroom, and the other of which leads to Hunter's bedroom.

As Hunter chills some wine, and checks on his main course, he is pretty ready for his guests to arrive. He is feeling excited and happy to be a host.

Comments

[losthunter]

"It is not actually alive." Hunter reassures McCoy. "And I think that description is pretty close to what it is."

[boldygoing]

"Fascinating," Spock murmurs, as the metal butterfly explores Uhura's hands. "Does it require constant concentration to maintain?"

[losthunter]

"I do need to concentrate. But it does not need my direct concentration... I can still have a conversation. Or work on other projects."

"I was able to make a Nexus door open, by painting it."

"And I can make landscapes move, so it is like you are standing in the place that I painted." While he tells this to everyone, he does make brief eye contact with Uhura, as recognition that if that is something she wants for her commissioned painting it is within the realm of possibility.

[boldygoing]

"How long does it last?" McCoy asks. He's still a bit wary of this whole thing, but it's pretty hard to deny the proof when it's fluttering around Uhura's hands.

[losthunter]

"Any longer than an hour... and I get emotionally drained."

[boldygoing]

"I wonder if that's something that'll get longer with practice," Jim wonders. After the last few months, where he's had to deal with so much PT to build up his strength again, it's a logical conclusion for him to draw.

[losthunter]

"I believe it can."

"And Verity got me some materials that she uses with her Alchemy. Those materials seem to work better with the magic."

"In my world, there is a three-part series of movies that deals with how Museum artifacts come to life. And how people can learn more about historical moments in time, by interacting with the artifacts."

"I hope to get enough strength to do that. Even for a night."

[boldygoing]

"Old pre-holo movies are weird, but pretty cool," Jim adds, since Hunter has shown him a few. "Bones, I think you'd like this one he showed me, it's called Dukes of Hazzard."

[losthunter]

"It has a lot of good ol' Southern boys in it." Hunter smiles. He nods towards his entertainment center. "In fact, if you all are interested, I am sure we could find something that we would all enjoy."

[boldygoing]

Spock pauses, considering it. He's not usually one for frivolous entertainment. But he has also become aware that humans consider watching movies to be an appropriate and expected activity for couples to enjoy together, and he has had little opportunities to engage in 'dating' behavior with Uhura since the mission to Nibiru over two months ago. "Very well," he answers, raising an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "If you would find it pleasing, Nyota."

Uhura smiles at him. "I would, thank you."

Jim grins, and looks over at McCoy. "Whaddya say, Bones?"

"What the hell, it's not like I had other plans."

[losthunter]

"Excellent." Hunter moves from his art studio back into the living room. He browses over the selection of movies that he has. He wants something with a little adventure. But also, just enough drama to be interesting. And something that is a little romantic at the same time.

He decides on The Princess Bride.

And before he gets the movie started, he moves some of the left-over appetizers to the living room, makes some coffee for everyone, and prepares a quick bag of popcorn for everyone to enjoy.

"I hope you all find this one interesting."

[boldygoing]

As it turns out, Uhura is the only one in the group (besides Hunter) who has seen this one. But it's good, and worth a rewatch, and none of the men make any complaints against watching a movie with such a so-called 'girly' title.

What follows is, of course, a marvel of twentieth century cinema. Jim is onboard with the story from the get-go, and it only gets better once Inigo's motivation is revealed, seeking revenge on the man who killed his father. Spock gets ensnared by the story right around the part with the battle of wits, a truly baffling set of assumptions by one of the characters leaving him pondering the psychology at play. McCoy grumbles about iocane powder and how ingesting poison on purpose is the dumbest thing anyone could ever do, but he too slowly becomes invested in the tale being spun, and there are some odd looks exchanged between himself and Jim when Miracle Max is employed to resurrect Wesley from the dead.

All the while, Uhura sits and eats her popcorn, enjoying the tale that she's seen before, and watching the men's reactions to seeing it for the first time.

[losthunter]

Hunter is enjoying watching everyone's reactions too. He call tell that Uhura has watched it before -- but like himself, enjoys watching it again. It is one of those classics that can be watched over and over again. And each time, he sees something new.

Especially in seeing what appeals to the others who are watching with him.

He has many favorite parts of the film. The reveal as Wesley as the Man in Black. The twist in the story, when it is assumed that the Princess did marry, but then it had been a dream. And the ending, with all the plot twists coming together in one beautiful moment.

[boldygoing]

For both Jim and Spock, the climax of the film comes in the moment where Inigo duels and kills the six-fingered man. I want my father back, you son of a bitch. The line hangs between them, and though Jim lost a father and Spock lost a mother, it's incredibly easy to relate to that moment as children who avenged their parents by killing the same man. And though McCoy has no such person to blame for his own father's death, the line resonates with him, too.

The ending is satisfying, a nice romantic note to end on after the villainous Humperdinck is vanquished and Wesley and Buttercup are free to love one another. Spock is the first to speak his thoughts as the credits roll. "The plot was... quite illogical. But interesting."

[losthunter]

Hunter laughs. Softly. "I'm afraid logical plots didn't really do well in theatres. Movie goers wanted to escape reality. They wanted a little fantasy."

"But, the same man who directed this film also had success with several movies that depicted both military and political stories."

[boldygoing]

"What about the actors?" Jim asked curiously. He thinks both Wesley and Buttercup were pretty hot, and he certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of them.

[losthunter]

"The actress who played Buttercup had success in other films. She was excellent in Forrest Gump," Hunter has the film, in case the others are interested in continuing to see more movies.

"And she was also featured in a recent movie that had great success in theatres in my dimension."

"The actor who played Wesley had a funny role in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, a spoof of the Robin Hood tale. And then he went into other roles, that were more villainous. He too is still doing films."

Hunter definitely will be watching Robin Hood with Jim at another time. When his libido is returned.

[boldygoing]

"What is a... 'spoof'?" Spock asks, thoroughly unfamiliar with that word. Such an inherently silly-sounding word coming from the dignified Vulcan is enough to make McCoy hide a grin behind his hand.

[losthunter]

"It is slang for parody. The movie is an over-the-top comedy, making fun of movies of that same genre."

"It is one of the classic parodies directed by Mel Brooks. I have many of his films, because they were just so great."

Hunter smiles. "Totally lacking logic. But funny."

[boldygoing]

"I see." As one might expect, Spock is not a huge fan of comedy, as he tends to overanalyze the jokes and his upbringing encourages him not to laugh. But the movie they just watched had other qualities that he was able to enjoy, so while this 'spoof' film that Hunter speaks of holds little interest for him, he's open to the idea of sharing another movie with Uhura at some point.

"I wonder how well the jokes translate after a few centuries," Uhura muses out loud. "If we haven't seen the movies they're parodying, we might miss something."

[losthunter]

"While there are some jokes that you would only understand if you saw the original film, most of the Mel Brooks parodies can stand on their own."

"This one..." He puts Forrest Gump into the DVD player. "Is another great film on its own. Even though it stretches some historic facts."

[boldygoing]

The time period depicted in the movie is one that's fairly unfamiliar to both captain and crew, but there's generally enough clues to help them understand what's going on, if from a slightly different perspective. And once the credits roll, McCoy is the first one to speak up this time. "How much of that's historically 'stretched,' you said?"


[I have not actually seen Forrest Gump so handwaving...]

[losthunter]

"The film is based off a book. And some of the political encounters in the movie... were never portrayed in the book." Hunter explains.

[boldygoing]

"So the book was more true to history?" Uhura asks. That makes sense to her; dramatizations often take liberties with fact to make things more exciting or emotional, even in their century.

[losthunter]

"Well... the book took some exaggerations too. To be interesting to readers."

"There was no real person named Forrest Gump. But some of the events in the book and the film did happen to real people."