HtH124 – Lumi and Ablam Watch ‘Breaking Bxd’
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Lumi and Ablam relax after a long day's of acting.
At night when the house is quiet and even the little ones have fallen asleep, two girls are still up. They occupy a room which has been affectionately called 'The Future Room', for it houses incredible contraptions not native to the Vespana mainland. The most prominent of them is an Arcadian flatscreen which is powered by a stationary bicycle. It is a most wondrous device, able to replay shows from a distant past without the usage of magickal means. The two girls have their eyes glued to the flashing screen in the front of the room, a relic of the Old World!
"Now that's what I call action! Pass the chips, Lumi!"
Ablam is practically leaping up from her seat, thoroughly enjoying the scene being played in front of her. There is a gigantic three-way tussle being shown on screen; a bald old man holding a long black rifle and looking thoroughly lost while two young men tussle on the dusty desert floor.
[Bang!]
(A wince, and a hesitant pause before the chips are passed)
"You always enjoy this sort of thing, Ablam."
Lumi is clutching a square cushion in her lap, and winces a bit when the inevitable happens and gunshots are heard. Justice is served late, and the retributive action being dished out seems to give Ablam more reasons to cheer for the protagonist's quick wit!
The silver-haired girl rattles her hand around in the tube of chips, giving it a strong shake! "Yeah? That's the best part of the show!" Biting into a handful of chips with loud crunching, she continues, "I didn't think you would be interested in this sort of thing, if you wrote the script, we would still be stuck in the White household at this point!"
(A small, imperceptible pause, then a strong shift in tone)
"Would not." The girl pulls the chips back to her side, "How would you tighten the story if you were writing it then, Ablam?"
Ablam is not someone who will easily back down from a challenge, and just as a four-wheeler pulls up on screen, she starts to describe her own empire of bad:
In the middle of a flaming volcano, a tall dark structure has been erected. It floats atop of surging molten lava, the dark structure stabilizing itself with long 'arms' that extend from the base level across the lava like long octopus tentacles. Inside this windowless tower made of darkened stone, there are endless rows of clean, white production lines. Each line is staffed with a quartet of workers, their hands working hard and fast on the illicit product moving from one end of the conveyor belt to the next.
Walking down the rows is an exceptionally well-dressed girl--- she strides through the factory lines while wearing an elegant evening dress. Baroque music fit for a villain plays with fast strings, her sharp cat-like eyes inspecting the product that is being cooked. Ablam picks up one of the golden coins and holds it up in the air against the light, and slowly peels away at the foil, revealing the product so good, it has to be illicit underneath---
The most refined, the most exquisite---
--- Dark Chocolate.
A pair of well-lined teeth bite into the product, and a wave of euphoria washes over her. This is how chocolate should taste! Cocoa sourced from exclusive farms in the badlands, refined here by the extraordinary heat of a magma furnace, and mixed with the succulent creamy, milky goodness that can only come from cows raised with care and air-conditioning...
Suddenly, the doors to the factory burst open.
"Boss, bad news! The PIDF found us!"
The scene cuts to the rooftop of this dark tower, where the silver-haired boss is looking across at the outer edge of the volcano's rim, where helmeted blueberries are impotently standing around, afraid to take a single step into the lava. Instead, their leader, some bookish girl with short brown hair and glasses is shouting into a megaphone, something imperceptible about how if the villains gave up their illicit operations, they would receive leniency in the law...
The scene cuts once again to inside the factory, where chaos reigns! Ablam bursts through a side door and starts down a dark clanking stairwell, her high heels ringing on the metal steps. Already, she can hear the roar of bladed rotors hovering over the tower, dark-armored Cocoa Enforcement Officers filling in the ground floor of her operation. Explosions ring out, as a 'warning missile' is fired into the tower, shattering metal plates and melting steel beams. Crashing metal and fire sirens fill the air, and just as it seems there is no way out...
The boss spies a ventilation shaft in one of the tower walls.
Ablam Actor unholsters the sidearm strapped to her thigh, and shoots open the grille covering the ventilation shaft. Without hesitation, she crawls into the narrow shaft, pulling herself forward with her arms and sidearm in her mouth. She can hear the chaotic mess of a police response in the floors she passes through, all looking for the girl in the evening dress.
However, they are bound to be disappointed tonight.
Taking a leap of faith into a dark downwards tunnel, she emerges on the other side of the tower, landing in a pile of discarded packaging! With the PIDF concentrating their attention to the front of the tower, security for the back is hilariously lax. There, she spies her best way to get away from all the chaos--- a sole PIDF armored vehicle! Creeping around the driver's line of sight, Ablam welcomes herself into the vehicle, keys still in the ignition, minus the PIDF driver now facedown in the carpark asphalt!
The rightfully appropriated vehicle crashes through a metal gate peeling out of the parking lot, the silver-haired girl sighs a breath of relief, feeling a sense of freedom she hadn’t experienced in a long time as Ablam Actor.
BAD CHOCOLATE --- TBC
(A long, thoughtful silence, punctuated only by the faint hum of the Arcadia flatscreen. Lumi’s voice is almost hesitant at first)
"That was… remarkably vivid. And unsettling. The sheer audacity of it…" Lumi tilts her head while the credits roll on screen, the main characters scampering away into the Albuquxrqux desert.
(A slight, almost uncomfortable shift in tone)
“However… (a small, dry chuckle) …it’s also profoundly disturbing. The level of control, the ruthlessness… the indulgence in the creation of something so… decadent, while simultaneously exploiting and endangering others. It’s a fascinating exploration of power, certainly, but it’s a power built on a foundation of corruption.
On the other side of the sofa, Ablam lounges backwards, and bluntly speaks, "You know, you can just say that you don't like it, Lumi!"
(A pause, a subtle shift in tone – a hint of genuine appreciation)
"I didn't say I didn't like it, Ablam. Your approach is a brilliant, forceful disruption. But I believe that true storytelling lies in the quiet moments, in the unspoken anxieties, in the subtle nuances of human behavior."
"Yeah? Like how?"
Lumi takes a deep breath, and dives into her tale as the credits roll on screen,
Observe.
On a darkened stage, a sole spotlight turns on, illuminating a young teal-haired girl in a magician's longcoat. She holds a tophat upside down in her hand, and taps it with a wand in the other. A cute pink fox pops up from within it. Joy sparkles from her eyes as she bows low to applause from an unseen crowd.
The spotlight shuts off, and lights up the center of the stage now; the same girl, now kneels on the floor, her hair in a mess. On the floor with her are newspaper reports--- they tell of a disastrous performance and the name of a girl now fallen from grace--- Seraphina. The girl clutches the newspapers and presses them against her face.
Once more, the middle spotlight shuts off, and that same girl now appears on the right side of the stage. Seraphina is staring into a dresser mirror. When she touches the mirror, a ripple passes through the surface, and the reflection that looks back at her wears a black party mask where there should not be.
Fast violins play, in the darkness, the set's backdrop changes, and Seraphina walks through a ballroom of society's high-rollers in her new assumed identity. As she passes, almost invisible sparkles emanate from her fingers, changing the countenance of the passer-bys from indifference to rapid interest. What starts as one or two wealthy patrons bedazzled by this subtle illusion turns into a ballroom of people paying attention to her.
All except for one.
The silver-haired, cat-eyed 'Theatre Detective'. She stands far aside, holding a glass of champagne to her mouth. Peering out the side of her monocle with a chain, she observes Seraphina's performance, interested, but at a safe distance. There seems to be no malice in her performance, just an unsaid yearning.
The violins turn to a rapid crescendo, Seraphina walks from the side of her stage to the center, while passing the 'Theatre Detective' by.
Their eyes meet, but they do not share any words.
Their gazes unable to penetrate each other, Seraphina realizes that her new-found mystic powers do not affect the 'Theatre Detective'!
An unspoken confrontation filled with illusions, misdirection, and carefully orchestrated emotional responses is apt to follow in the days forward, a battle of wits, a test of perception, a desperate attempt to reclaim control is waged silently between the two of them.
SERAPHINA THE ILLUSIONIST --- TBC?
Ablam's mouth twists into a tight shape, her eyes narrowing.
"That's literally just the plot of Pxrsona 5!"
(A sharp, almost brittle laugh – a genuine expression of surprise and amusement)
“‘Pxrsona 5!’ Ablam, you’ve outdone yourself. That’s… remarkably astute. And, I confess, a touch of a provocation.
"Don't think that just because I don't play video games that I wouldn't know!" Ablam laughs, emptying the last of the chips into her palm.
(A measured response – a blend of amusement and strategic consideration)
“You’re absolutely right, of course. It’s a rather… reductive interpretation. I hadn’t fully considered the potential for that kind of influence. It’s a testament to the power of suggestion, and the ease with which narratives can be shaped and manipulated.
"I think my story is better, though."
(A subtle shift in tone – a hint of playful challenge)
"Is it, though?"
The two girls sit in silence for a while.
They would sit there for a while until the next episode of Breaking Bxd rolled over, Lumi having to shield her eyes from an overexposure of flesh!
Before long, another tube of chips would be opened, the question remained unanswered by the two girls enjoying a famous show.
The question quietly remained between them.
This would not be the last time the two girls would ask this question.
We are trying something different! This is a simul-posting at the same time as the Scribblehub release! Go check out the entire series at this link!
