17087/What Are We Watching

What Are We Watching
Date of Scene:	03 February 2024
Location:	3B - Alexander's Greenwich Loft
Synopsis:	Alexander has a squatter in his apartment. Who stole his PS3
Cast of Characters:	Alexander Aaron, Monica Chang

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Alexander Aaron has posed:
    There was a thing about the God of Fear that few people knew. A handful of souls in the world were aware of this particular fact, a small insight into the mental makeup of the youthful immmortal. The fact is not staggeringly impressive, nor is it even really that interesting when considered compared to other facts about the Olympian in mortal guise. Yet it is a fact that does cause momentary pause and reflection upon discovery.
    Which may be what happens in the now for Alexander Aaron is currently indulging in that fact.
    It is an indulgence that in part requires him to be at ease. Which he is. To reach this state of ease is not a simple thing at times. Normally he can just relax and recline. But when relaxation proves elusive he tries to sway it by lounging in an even more relaxed way. So he is not just sprawled upon the couch. But right now he is sprawled upon the couch, his legs up over the back of it, and his body upside down as he just watches the television.
    But it's not just the way he's relaxing. It's what he's watching. Which seems to be a first person view of a slowly traveling train across the countryside of... Sweden?

Monica Chang has posed:
For several minutes, he was able to enjoy the relative peace that that was his life. Until he heard footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen. And there appeared the person who was spending entirely too much time at his place since helping him move. Not that there was much help involved. He already had the place, just had to get himself moved back into it. No lifting furniture, no needing to pivot to get it to go up the stairs. She had more been there for moral support. Like a Moving Day Cheerleader. Without the perkiness or mini skirt.

"What the hell are you watching?"

And by the utterance of those words, he knew his peace was now shattered for she wasn't going to go away until she got an answer. She had a bottle of beer in hand that she had pilfered from his fridge. At least she had the decency to buy and replace it when she drank it though so there was more.

Some might say she hung out because he was her friend. More likely was the fact he had an actual working PS3 and she didn't have a place she felt comfortable setting hers up so she came over here to soak up the joy of an old gaming console.

Fuck emulators.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Did you sleep over here?" He asks sidelong without moving from his spot. He has his hands folded neatly resting on his abdomen, his legs slightly kicking just a little as if trying to work out the circulation to prevent them from going to sleep. He sits up slightly, turning his head just enough to bring her into his field of view.
    "Oh wait, you did." He says with a nod to himself.
    Then he realizes she had actually asked a question. "This is SlowTV. It's a thing on the youtubes." He motions with one hand gesturing idly to the laptop that's hooked up to the television. He'd had the cable turned off when he had moved, but now that he's back he doesn't have the cable turned back on, which means it's to the internet he must go for his entertainment.
    "It's just usually travel stuff. But I like it since it's... normalish." A nod is given.
    Then he glances again at her, "Whatchoo want, Monica Chang?" Those four words said with a feigned impatience as if she was so tiring to be around.

Monica Chang has posed:
When he answered the question for himself on if she had stayed over, she glanced down at herself to try to figure out how it was so obvious. She wasn't wearing anything unusual. Some leggings and a t-shirt, which was a little on the longish side so fell to the top of her thighs. Though her feet were bare so maybe that gave him the idea. Little did she know she had Sleep Hair, despite having been up a while. Where the hair in the front had been fingercombed back but the ponytail in the back hadn't been brushed yet thus it looked like she'd slept on it. Because, in essence, she had. Though it hadn't been in a ponytail while sleeping.

She had literally gotten up and used his home gym to work out some then settled down to work a little on her own laptop. Then she got thirsty which is when she realized she'd been working for a few hours. And now, here she was, only to discover him staring at a tv full of nothing.

She looked at the tv, at his position on the couch, back to the tv. "That is the saddest thing I've ever seen, Aaron. And I'm from the Red Room." It was delivered flat as though she meant it. But he was starting to learn Monica now as they had become friends through the last year since her coming to the Triskelion.

"I did want to let you know I moved in a cot. Just a military cot so I have someplace to sleep other than the couch. That way I'm not in your way when you want to be..." And she stared at the screen again, blinking. "Slowly bored to death."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "You know," Alexander lifts his head a bit, "There's room if you want like an actual bed." He gestures with a raiased hand vaguely in the direction of one of the empty rooms down the hall that was used primarily for storage and had most of his texts from college settled on a shelf. He then lets his head drop back down and resumes his watching of SlowTV from his upside down position.
    He chews on his lower lip, though in this case it would be his temporarily upper lip even as he watches the steady progression of that passenger train through Sweden. The main sounds one can hear are the clicka-clack of the train riding the rails, and the occasional subdued whistle when it comes to crossroads.
    Then he quirks an eyebrow and says, "Are you staying around to make sure I don't get up to shenanigans, or is it some misplaced worry that I'm going to be all down because of the break up?"
    He shoots a wary-eyed glance at her, "Someone put you up to that?"

Monica Chang has posed:
"Yeah, that's the room where I setup the cot." So apparently she already had laid claim to the room in question. "Might bring over a few things. Until I get bored and move along again," she added quickly.

At his question, she rolled her eyes as she moved over to the couch. She sort of half sat, half leaned on the arm of it as she looked to the tv again then back to him. "You know me better than that. I don't give a damn about any shenanigans and I certainly am not worried about you being all down about the breakup. You're young. You'll be fine." It sounded rote and she was careful to not have any emotion in the words she was saying.

Then she looked at him pointedly. "I'm just here to use you for your PS3. Until I get a new place, all my gaming systems are in storage with the rest of my stuff." Not that she had a lot of stuff. But her consoles were her pride and joy. Along with her computers.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Pfft, immortal. I'm not young. You're young. I'm like..." He spreads his hands a little, "Made from stuff of the cosmos. Metaphysical and junk." He says with a slight wryness to his smile even as he remains perched upside down on that couch, watching the slow progress of the locomotive. The clicka-clack still ever-present.
    But he twists his smile a little to the side and there's a brief moment of reflection that does indeed look suspiciously like it might border upon self-reflecting introspective shenanigans that border upon a feeling of downness. He takes a deep breath.
    "Anyways, you can have the PS3 if that's all it is. I never play it." He crinkles his nose sidelong at her.

Monica Chang has posed:
"You did the other day."

When he had been packing for his trip to London and had a pair of visitors. When she and Skye had brushed the dust off the system and insisted on using it. And he'd joined them.

"But if you want me out of your hair, that's fine." She didn't seem to be offended by it. And she knew the shenanigans were possible at any time. "Can you give me a week though? I lost my sub lease on my old place and I'm looking for a new one. I mean, I can go somewhere to crash if you really want me out faster."

With his powers, he likely knew she has spent several nights at his place recently. Though she hadn't really made herself known other than beers sometimes disappearing and new ones showing up in the fridge. She tried not to mess up the flow of his life.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "What, no, s'nice to have someone around." Alexander rests his hands on his chest and kicks his legs again slightly, one hand shifting to rub at his thigh as he grimaces slightly. Something playing at his senses, causing him to look a little distracted. Then he quirks an eyebrow, "Just if you were seriously just here for my PS3, I was removing that as an excuse and making you come up with some other excuse to hide the fact you just wanna hang out with me."
    He gives a nod solemnly, as if he had stumbled upon the secret of the universe even as he then gestures, "However, having you around isn't like, the world's worst thing. Despite your utter lack of appreciation for quality entertainment." He sits up slightly, "I'll have you know that top agents with MI-6 enjoy SlowTV as well. Top. Agents."

Monica Chang has posed:
When he backpedals, Monica realizes they are both doing the same thing. For even though she had been keeping to herself, just knowing there was someone she trusted in the same house had been...nice. Even if it wasn't her house. His fault for letting her have a key long enough to help on moving day. She'd given it back, of course. Only, she'd already made an impression of it because--well, she was a spy. It's what they did!

Not that locks would likely keep her out anyway but it just made it simpler.

"Fine. I want to hang out with you. Happy?" And with that, she pushed off from the couch and started to head off toward the room she was squatting in. Though her voice would trail back to him. "MI6 huh? Just when I thought they were already an insufferable lot, you prove it for me."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Super happy." He replies instantly, though said in a tone as if it were the only reply he could make in that moment, his brain on auto-pilot as he watches the train's progress. But his half-smile easing to the side a little gives that hint that he is truly paying attention and is indeed amused.
    "You know if you gave it a chance you might enjoy it. It's relaxing. It's like..."
    A hand lifts to scritch at the stubble on the side of his jaw, "Like meditation. Though I suppose you weren't exposed to that very much. I imagine the Red Room training doesn't focus on the..." He rolls his head left and right a little, as if seeking the right word.
    "On the spiritual side of martial arts or whatever." He sits up slightly, quirking an eyebrow over at her as she starts to walk down the hall.

Monica Chang has posed:
And that's when she paused. "I've heard about it. Heard about religion and stuff too. Had to study it because it was part of our training when we have to take on a role of someone who might be. But I never truly understood or invested in it at all. And no one ever mentioned anything about it being involved in the martial arts.

"Isn't it?"

And she had paused, considering him more closely now. "It's learn the moves and apply them when the opening is given. That's it." She shrugged a bit as she considered it then started to come back into the room with him. "What use is meditation or spirituality? I mean, I'm squatting in the apartment of an actual god. Kind of makes throws up a lot of question marks. Though, with you being a god, does that mean they are all real. Which is just a door opening that sounds overwhelming."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Mmm," Alexander looks thoughtful as he smiles and then slooowly rolls to the side, grabbing the edge of the couch and shifting his posture so now he's lying on his side, propping himself up on one elbow as he looks across the way toward her. "There are a few schools of thought, and naturally I have some insight into things."
    She was in casual wear and to be fair, Alexander was as well, though his was mainly just a pair of loose sweat shorts grey in color and a black t-shirt that proclaimed in white letters, 'I Heard There Was Heresy And Got Here As Fast As I Could'.
    "Like one is that all the gods are just facets of one gigantic ginormous uber being of ancient power and that we're all sekritly connected but I think that's a bunch of nonsense."
    He crinkles his nose, "Another is that Gods spring up when enough people believe in something, though that argues that people are all on some level psychically active."
    He shrugs and then waves a hand, "But as for spirituality, martial arts, meditation... I dunno. It just can bring peace to a restless mind. Which I think everyone is afflicted with at times, even gods."

Monica Chang has posed:
And then he saw that furrowed brow followed by a bit of a frown. As she considered his suggestions but he would realize it was mainly on his last points. That it could help bring peace to a restless mind.

"That's what computers do for me. Be it playing games or writing a new program for a drone, that's my...." She looked at the tv. "Slow train in Sweden. It might seem strange to other people, but it lets me think about ...other things."

Because if she let the voices in her head have too much free rein, it was not a pretty place. Her life had been horrific and there was trauma there which she refused to recognize. Therapy, even that offered by SHIELD, was laughable in her mind. There wasn't a way to get better. Just accept and move forward.

"But I would like to understand more about this side of martial arts. You know I'm a perfectionist at heart and now I feel like I'm missing something."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Mmm," He says again, one hand rubbing at his chin as he says. "I've met a lot of fighters, and I've trained with a good number. Some are able to key into the mystical side of things. So there is something to it." He takes a deep breath, holds it, then exhales slowly and looks across the way at her.
    "I mean I can help you meditate some." His lip curls up, "But I am sure you would give me tons of shit about it. I could maybe point you in the direction of a teacher or something. But you'd have to promise me you'd take it seriously and not get me in trouble with the person I aim you at."

Monica Chang has posed:
Monica fell silent and he could tell the wheels were turning. She weighed the offer. Thought about what it may or may not mean to her in the long run to learn meditation. She somehow suspected it wouldn't do a thing because she couldn't let that silence be in her mind. Not ever.

"I'll be in my room."

And just like that, she turned tail and ran. Because that is what Monica did when things got too heavy. She went off into solitude with just her and a computer so she could focus on it.

Anything but focusing on herself.