Big Bend - Chapter 14 - Movies
a/n: Sorry chapters are taking forever. Thankfully (knock on wood) the ao3 curse hasn't gotten me again, I've just been busy with classes. Anyways there will be a Movies: The Sequel for the next chapter which continues this and is from Easton's pov. Also I'm apparently over 20k words into this silly little story all together now? If anyone's been reading and enjoy, thank you for your patience and for coming along on this weird venture đ
CW: n/a, pretty much just fluff
It felt odd standing on Easton's desk, its vast size making it feel more like Angie, Penelope, and I were instead standing on a stage. The various giant objects - like a mug towering above us a few feet to my left - didn't do much to dispel the feeling we were on a stage for some sort of surreal play featuring gigantic props.Â
When I'd been completing a theater degree I had so far ended up using a grand total of zero times, I'd taken a series of classes on set design. At one point, our professor discussed how the set of a play could reveal just as much about the world of that production as the dialogue could. A set designer had to work in tandem with the lighting designer and director to craft an environment that would tell the story being told, from obvious things like where entrances were placed to more subtle details like what the props set on a character's bookshelf said about them. It was that last part I was thinking of as I took in the expanse that was Easton's desk, and his room beyond it. I leaned against one of the folding chair - currently folded - Easton had suggested we bring as I took in the sight.Â
There was the aforementioned mug, sitting on a coaster a few feet from us. It was a soft, grey blue color. I didn't recognize the logo on it. Probably something from Easton's planet. The coaster beneath it was a light wood, almost but not quite the same color as the desk we stood on. From my vantage point, I couldn't see if there was anything inside the mug. All the same, I wondered what would be in it, if anything was. How did Easton like his coffee? Or maybe it would be tea. He seemed like someone who might like tea. Were coffee or tea even a thing on his planet?Â
Then there were the posters that covered the wall behind us and the desk. Most of them looked to be scientific diagrams of various kinds of plants, some looking alien enough that I suspected they might literally be so. Then again, I knew little enough about plants that they could very well have been from Earth and I was none of the wiser. Still, it seemed like it would be in character for Easton to have information about plants from both planets. The two actual plants that sat back across the wall, meanwhile, were almost definitely from Aphiria, based solely on their sheer size. I was pretty sure flowers from Earth weren't usually larger than I was.Â
I wonder what the logistics of bringing all of this here was. Or making things that were suitably sized, if they weren't from his planet.Â
Travel by portals was the usual method of interplanetary travel for anywhere outside of our solar system, which Aphiria definitely was. Most portals I'd seen - in media, not in person - were closer to human sized. I wasn't familiar enough with the intricacies of portals to know if that was for convenience or some sort of actual constraints that would have made making larger portals harder. I supposed Easton, and various items from Aphiria, being here was a point for ânot impossible, just convenientâ for portal sizing.Â
Aside from the plants on the table, there was a small stack of books towards the back with titles written in a language I didn't recognize - not the âuniversalâ one most of us these days used. It wasn't actually universal, of course, but it was commonly taught in schools on enough planets that it was often referred to as such. Next to the books was a laptop. Or at least something that looked like one, though its absolutely immense size also made it resemble a movie theater screen with a gigantic keyboard attached.Â
I presumed that would be what we'd watch the movie we'd come over for on. Beyond it lay the rest of Easton's room, which was almost mind bogglingly in its immensity. Well, relative immensity anyways. It wasn't a particularly huge room compared to him, especially considering that it was the entirety of his living space. It was set up similarly to some tiny homes or trailers I'd seen on social media, albeit not as picture perfect, though I found it hard to take in many more details due to the sheer size. I hadn't even really finished processing everything on the desk - seeing normal sized objects towering over me was a lot more attention catching than I would have thought. It was surreal. Trippy, really.Â
âIâm glad you guys could make it!â Easton said. He sat in front of the desk, his blond hair framing his face. It was odd to see it not pulled back as it was when he was working.Â
âThis is so cool! It's like we're tiny!â Penelope said, looking around the room just as I had been. She paused. âI guess itâs not just like weâre tiny to you.â
Easton laughed lightly, glancing to the side at the sound of a door opening. I saw John appear from a second door on the back wall of the desk that I hadnât noticed before - not the door to the elevator weâd taken to get to the desk.Â
âAh, you three are right on time!â He said. âDonât worry, Iâm not going to be breathing down yallâs necks for the whole movie. Just wanted to come say hi, and that my apartment is up there.â John pointed to the wall across from us, closest to the door heâd entered from. There was a human sized balcony on it, I realized. Iâd originally thought it was another shelf. Upon John pointing it out, I could clearly see a railing, and, further back, a metal door. God, there was so much to look at, and so much of it being huge wasnât helping with taking it all in.
âIâll just be working on some paperwork if anyone needs anything,â John continued.Â
âYouâre sure you donât want to stay for the movie?â Angie asked. He shook his head.Â
âIâve got plenty of work to catch up on, but have fun for me,â he said. His gaze trailed to the folding chairs Angie and I had carried over, then the blankets Penelope currently held. âWell, Iâll let you get set up - have a great time!âÂ
With that, John exited as quickly as heâd entered through the same door.Â
âSo, I was thinking you guys could set up the chairs in front of my laptop, however far away is a good viewing distance, and itâd be kind of like a movie theatre,â Easton said. âMinus the overpriced popcorn.â
âThat sounds great to us!â Angie said, with Penelope and I both chiming in in agreement as well. The set up of the chairs didnât take long, though Penelope and I insisted on moving the location of the chairs a few times more than Angie seemed interested in.Â
âWe have to get the angle right!â I said, pulling the furthest chair slightly to the left.Â
âWe have to!â Penelope echoed. âMaybe a little further back?â
âWait, Easton, can you turn the screen on? I want to see what the glare is like from here,â I said, looking back and up at the giant.Â
âSure. Iâm just going to lean sort of over you,â he replied. I wondered if he still had to consciously make an effort to announce his movements before moving, or if heâd done it enough by now that it was second nature. I hadnât seen him do much more than shift his head without announcing it first. It made sense practically, given that a building sized giant making sudden or erratic moves would probably be chaotic at best. And as someone who was far more easily startled than Iâd like, even without the size difference it was quite comforting. All the same, I knew from personal experience (albeit, the personal experience of âtrying to act like a normal personâ instead of âbeing a giant in a tiny worldâ) that considering every movement one made could be draining. Â
A shadow fell over the three of us as Easton leaned forward to turn his laptop on. The screen came to life, the light washing over us and vanquishing the shadow from Eastonâs arm. Penelope took a seat in one of the chairs, staring at the screen.Â
âHow is it?â I asked. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. I could see Angie give a good natured eye roll in my peripheral - she didnât seem to care nearly as much as Penelope and I did about where we put the chairs.Â
âWe gotta move them back a little more,â Penelope said.Â
âI can tilt the screen up or down a bit if that helps,â Easton offered.Â
I took a seat next to Penelope, then looked up at Easton. He was still leaning over us slightly, though his arm now rested on the table to the side of us. âWill you be able to see it still?âÂ
âI should be able to,â he replied.Â
âMaybe tilt it down a bit, then,â I said. He obliged, once again mentioning he was going to reach over us before doing so.Â
âHow's that?â he asked. Penelope and I looked at the screen, then at each other, then finally nodded.Â
âPerfect,â Penelope replied.Â
âFinally!â Angie said. She was already moving to scoop up the blankets Penelope had set on the desk. âWatching you two try to set up felt like its own movie,â she teased as she handed me one of the blankets.Â
âIt's not everyday you get the chance to put your theatre seat anywhere,â Penelope shot back.Â
âOr get the movie screen adjusted!â I took the blanket from her.Â
âWell, now that that's settled, can we get the movie started?â
