14323/Never Let Raven Pick the Movie

Never Let Raven Pick the Movie
Date of Scene:	05 March 2023
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	For her contribution to Titans Movie Night, Raven chooses The Room. The mystery of why is left unsolved.
Cast of Characters:	Rachel Roth, Bart Allen, Irie West, Kian, Kaida Connolly

---

Rachel Roth has posed:
    It is normal Movie Night protocol that the more sociable, pop culture savvy Titans—typically Gar and Vic—pick the movie of the evening.  Usually, there's a poll that goes out, selecting a genre.  The titles are not exactly carefully cultivated.
    This week, there was a single message in response to the Movie Night event from Raven.  This message read: "I have a movie that I wish to show."
    Such is why Raven is early.  She has already made the coffee, she has already sat herself down upon the sofa.  The remote is in her lap.  The popcorn has already been made, and lies in a bowl on the table.  She has assumed complete control.
    It is an aura of eeriness that pervades.  When pressed, Raven confessed to Donna only that the title she chose is a "deep exploration of the condition of man when under extreme adversity, beset by those he trusts and loves most."
    As the others arrive, Raven, with no hesitation, begins the film.  It is a domestic tale.  Its star arrives early, a man with long, bedraggled hair of black, looking almost as if he is not human.  His character, Johnny.  His wife is displeased with their marriage, and will soon begin an affair with Johnny's best friend, Mark.

Bart Allen has posed:
    Bart Allen has brought with him some bread shaped like animals from a place on the west coast the outsiders tried recently.  There is a 2 lbs gator loaf, a crab, a bear, as well, as other snacks and such from the pier they visited.  He even had a selection of sodas from around the country.

Irie West has posed:
    There's a *whoosh* of air and the crackle of lightning to announce the arrival of the Titan's youngest member (depending on how you count it).  Irie is dressed strangely, though.  She's got on a pair of pink overalls, that's monogrammed with a huge M on the right breast covering a plain white tee.  On her head is a brimmed helmet, like the kind you'd see jockeys used, in the same shade of pink, of which racing goggles are strapped to it.  Anybody who's a fan of old school anime will know that she's dressed as Trixie from Speed Racer.
    "Ohmygod you guys!" she squeals setting down a pile of shopping bags full of tat that she acquired.  "Being at the very first YoukaiCon was soo cooooooool.  They managed to get Kotono Mitsuishi for it and the line to meet her was sooooo looooong but it was totally worth it I even got a signed photograph and everything and this one booth had a 1:12th scale of the TRX and it was expensive but it's going to be sooo worth it to put together and paint and they had this one Star Wars exhibit that Maddie totally got into and we bought lots of stuff and oh hi Raven!"

Kian has posed:
    Earth movies assume so many cultural things; honestly, there are few movies Kían has understood on any level.  He has had the decency to not retaliate by bringing Akiár trimensionals.  Most of those would be incomprehensible, especially without the telepathic track.
    This does not stop the birdman from trying.
    So he's perched on one end of the couch with a capped bottle hanging from his belt, a bowl of what looks like mostly birdseed with just enough honey to clump it all together, and a spoon.
    Besides, curiosity compels him to be there: what kind of movie would Rae show?  Almost certainly not anything in Terry's collection.  "So what is this one called?" he asks, and takes a sip from his bottle.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    There's snacks and really that's all that matters!  Sitting atop the couch beside Rae, Kaida has taken it upon herself to bring chips and she has them pinned beside her on the couch as she casually reaches into the bag to pull out one whole chip and start chewing through it quickly.  It's actually quieter than most people eating chips given her size.  She glances briefly at the others but when Irie arrives Kaida listens only to raise a finger to her mouth.
    "Shhhh!  Irie, the movie is starting and this guy has long hair and so clearly he's the protagonist."  She nods her head and then looks forward and watches.  "I've seen enough anime to know the guy with long and wild hair is the protagonist."  She then starts in on another chip.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is not eating the popcorn, but she is watching the movie.  There is, however, something enrapturing her.  As it progresses, there are many scenes of note.  A visit to a florist, the lines delivered in an odd way, as if they had never been said by the people on screen.
    A lie is told.  A bottle is thrown.  The male cast plays football upon the roof by tossing it back and forth over short distances.
    In essence, the movie is terrible.  Irie, however, presents her own problem.  Raven is mere moments away from creating a barrier over her mouth, going so far as to move her hand from the coffee cup to do so, before Kaida shushes her.  The hand returns to the cup.
    Her response to Kian comes without her even glancing in his direction.
    "The Room."

Bart Allen has posed:
    Bart Allen's brow raises a bit at the movie, and looks over to Irie with a shrug about the movie.  He will lean over and in whisper rush tells her, "Oh I missed it dang, I had hoped to see, it but the Outsiders went to San Fran and we had food and saw stuff, he I got you this."  He offers her some chocolates.  "I think you would like it you should check it out oh and I was wondering if you wanted to go to the embassy with me soon."  Luckily for the others, Bart knows Irie can hear him at speed so the others mostly hear a soft buzz whisper.

Kian has posed:
    Kían nods once, and leans forward a little, trying to take in the film.
    It… is a challenge.  "His accent is very difficult," is the birdman's first assessment.
    Spoonful of seeds and honey.
    Swig from his bottle.
    Watches more intently.
    Another swig from his bottle.
    "Is this an artistic film rather than a narrative story?" he asks, quite seriously.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    An ear twitches a little as Bart talks to Irie.  She glances over at them and looks mildly annoyed.  She can't understand what is being said but it is so fast and such that it causes issues.  She watches a little more before grabbing another chip and looking forward to the movie again.  She glances to Kian and then looks back at the screen.  She tilts her head to the side.
    "I think it might just be terrible," Kaida casually says in response to Kian's question about the artisticness of the movie and then shakes her head.

Irie West has posed:
    "Oh!  The Room!" Irie says as she comes into the tower proper, setting the multitudeness of her bags down besides the couch.  "Dad loves this film.  We should watch the sequel afterwards."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Each line delivery is stunted.  The actors cannot convey emotion.  In one case, an actor cannot even remain in the film, becoming another person later on.  Raven does not spoil this.  Instead, she merely reaps the confusion, the dismay, and the genuine horror and revulsion that is likely to be expressed at this film.
    She sits there sipping her coffee, as things get more and more confusing.  Seated at the front of the proverbial boat, Raven is all but singing as the others are forced through the horrid tunnel on the chocolate river she has roped them into.
    Donna was wise not to attend.
    "This is a work of art.  A man poured his soul into the forge of cinema, and this was the result.  The narrative was his work.  The casting, the production, the directing, and the starring role.  His magnum opus.  This."
    That does not make it better.  That does not make the secondary plots pay off, such as the mother of Johnny's fiancee having cancer.  It does not make the acting make emotional sense.  It does not make the child character any less terrifying.
    At one point, sure to reap horrid confusion from Kian, Johnny seems to copulate with the starlet's navel, if the positions are to be believed.  They are still clothed when it happens.  It flies in the face of everything he has been taught about how humans do that.
    It is so surreal in its wrongness that it may, even, begin to make sense to someone not of this Earth.
    "There is no sequel.  There is only The Room."

Bart Allen has posed:
    Bart Allen looks over and holds up fingers 2, 0, 2, 3 to Irie to remind her what year they are in.  He will busy himself with making some food, and cleaning the kitchen and pretty much anything but watching the movie.

Irie West has posed:
    "Sure there is!" chirps Irie.  "Yeah, they gave him a budget and everything.  It came out in two thousand and twenty…."  She trails off when Bart reminds her of today's date.  "Um.  Spoilers?"
    She goes over and flumps into the couch, grabbing a handful of chips to nosh on.  "Raven has really good tastes in movies, hunh."

Kian has posed:
    Kían looks like he's genuinely trying to absorb this movie.  Of course, he put the same effort into understanding Star Wars, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
    Given who he hangs out with, none of these should be a surprise.
    "I still find the lead's accent challenging," he remarks.  He's pretty much stopped nibbling on his honey and birdseed bowl and has stuck to discreet—and less than discreet—pulls from his bottle.
    "Enough to drive aliens to drink!" is perhaps not the tagline they want to advertise this movie.  "I'm starting to think that Kaida might be right?"

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    A look over at Rae and Kaida blinks slowly before looking to Irie before shaking her head again and she offers chips over easily before she looks back at the movie.  She considers it casually before she shakes her head.
    "Maybe it was more like they spilled their soul."  She watches the things happening in the movie before she looks over toward Kian and then looks back to the screen.  She considers it briefly longer before simply grabbing another potato chip and giving Rae a bit of side eye.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is enjoying this.  It is impossible to tell, and yet, this method of subtle torture is something that, mayhaps, belies her demonic heritage.
    She sits there as the movie comes to is perplexing climax.  There is more throwing of a football, this time the men are dressed in expensive clothing.  There is preparation for a wedding.  A party.  The affair is revealed.  Johnny, the lead character, goes on a rampage through his home, drunkenly insulting and committing all manner of social faux pas in response.
    Then, he kills himself.  The child is somehow the most concerned, defending the body in an uncomfortable fashion.  It is a magnificent display of cringeworthy filmmaking.  There is nothing redeemable about it, and yet, Raven is not displeased with it.
    Slowly but surely, The Room comes to a close.
    Raven stands up, and moves to the kitchen, aware of how the others are reacting to the "film" she has just showed them.  "Yes.  I have impeccable taste in all things," she responds, cryptically.  Irie is enthusiastic enough, but is Kian's final reaction that she is waiting for, slowly washing the cup she had used for coffee.

Irie West has posed:
    Irie stuffs her mouth full of chips as she watches the awfulness with glee.  There's nothing quite like a move so bad that it warps reality and somehow becomes good.  "You should show them Birdemic next," she offers.  "We could all bring our coat hangers, too!"
    She looks over to Kian and gives him a friendly nudge with her shoulder.  "Don't worry about it if you don't get it.  Most people don't.  It takes the right kind of taste to enjoy movies like this."

Kian has posed:
    If the reaction Rae was looking for was a grimace, a wince, and a look away from the screen, surely she'll be satisfied, for that is exactly what Kían does.  "That… was unnecessary," is his comment on the movie's denouement.  "If this is high art, then I disagree with Earth's definition of art.  Although I'm more inclined to think Kaida is right and this is something more notorious than famous."
    He regards his bottle, and takes a rather longer pull than probably necessary.  "Not that I understand the movies Gar and especially Terry have shown me either.  But at least those don't have unpleasant endings."  He too makes for the kitchen, to cover his snack and return it to the refrigerator.
    And then he blinks at Irie.  "Bird… emic?  I think I would rather not know…."