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Video

Who; Illyana + OTA
What; Video post at Academy + Beach Shark
Where; Network, new beach, and Academy
When; Throughout the month of July, this is a catch all
Warnings;None.

A. [ V I D E O ]

[ The video feed opens to what some may recognize as the Academy that randomly appeared a while ago. It's not in the greatest condition as shown by the camera moving around. Whose moving the camera? Good question, because it eventually focuses to reveal Illyana floating in the air upside down with her legs folded one across the other.

It's a very normal way to address people. Don't question it. ]

So, I guess we've just got this place now, huh? Clean up crew that came in really could have done a slightly better job. [ No judgement though. Well, maybe some judgement, but that's Illyana: snarky and judgmental. A brief glimpse of her imps working to clean up some rubble can be seen in the background here and there. Followed by a very loud CRASH sound and Illyana snapping: ]

Hey! Be careful back there. [ Is she concerned they'll get hurt? No. ~~Maybe~~ She sighs and then returns to addressing the camera. ]

I was thinking maybe I could teach here. That's what it was used for before right? Not sure how many of you would have the talent, but it'd be something to do. [ And boy is she bored. ]

B. Night of the Shark

Illyana arrived at the beach in the afternoon wearing an actual bikini and giant sunglasses that looked like they belonged in the 80s. Try not to judge her too much, they were in style back when she went to beach parties with her friends. Imagine that, she thought to herself as she walked up to the shore. It felt like it was a different life that she was at a beach with all the other New Mutants. In a way it was, but that was more complicated than she wanted to spend time thinking about. Same could be said for the majority of her life both there and here now. Everything somehow got complicated when you thought about how you felt. Really had a way of killing the mood. Or at the very least for making the mood more sticky and twisty. Yup, that's exactly how she'd describe her weird feelings.

At least this place changed every now and then. That served as a way to at least attempt to find a distraction from weird things like remoistening about the past (she missed her friends) or thinking about the future (why did she want to see him right now?). The fact that the arrival of a beach just seemed to be making her sad was not lost on her as she wandered up and down the shore. She kept away from people as the sun began to set and barely paid any attention to anyone else around. This wasn't what people meant when they suggested she try to be more social. To add to the antisocial look she kept her sunglasses on even as the sun completely set.

That was when she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes that looked suspiciously like a fin.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" A new project. That's what she'd found here. And so began her nighttime adventures with a landshark. Illyana can be found out at the beach at night sitting on a rock casting some sort of spell. Occasionally she can also be found...riding something. That's right, she's learned how to ride a landshark. Only a bit of it's body can be seen sticking out of the sand, mostly it ends up looking like she's just gliding on some sort of large rock. Gliding on it and having a stupid amount of fun. Not that she's going to admit to that part.

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“I guess that would work. Still kinda weird to make kids do what you want them to because you scared them.” This was why Mono’s thoughts on adults really were so very uncertain at times. A lot of times adults seemed better than the ones in his world, then other times he learned they did stuff like that! It definitely seemed kinda mean to him, even if they didn’t know the stories they were telling were true. In a way, wasn’t that almost worse? Talking about stuff that was real, without knowing that?

“My friend is stuck there, so I definitely gotta, even if it is dangerous.” Even if it had been drawing him in from the start, he hoped that he could be quick enough to get her back and find something to stop it and get out. “It’s what’s making everything bad, I think. There’s a thing in it, and the man who was chasing me came from there too. But since he was chasing me, that means he isn’t there right now, so I’m kinda hoping it’ll be easier if I get to it before he goes back.” The other thing was just an amorphous blob of gross stuff with eyes. That might be dangerous, but surely he was faster than something that big. It never caught him in the tv’s either, it just… watched.

"I think that has always been the way adults act. At least where I am from." Perhaps it was more of a European thing, she hardly knew. She supposed it was the only way they could think of to control their children. Which did seem just a tiny bit pathetic if you asked her. How did they lack that much knowledge on how to handle their own children?

"I believe you have mentioned that before. I hope you are able to find her," she said with a sympathetic expression. She knew what it was like to be young and trapped somewhere frightening. She also knew what it was like to want to save someone important to you. "I hope you have more success than I did." Regret took the place of sympathy as she recalled those unfavorable memories. "Do you have any idea what the thing is?" She gave a nod. "That is a solid thought. Though do you know if he has any ability to travel quickly?" If so then he could get back a lot more quickly than he anticipated.

Mono still kinda thought that was a stupid way for adults to do things, but it also kind of made sense that they would do stuff that way. At least the ones Illyana had known and things he’d heard about other adults in his friends lives.

He appreciated her words, though, knowing that if anyone understood this stuff? It was Illyana. The question gets a small, uncertain shrug of his shoulders. “I… I kinda have ideas, but I dunno for sure. It’s got like… A lot of eyes, and it looks kinda like a lot of gross pinkish red stuff. Sometimes I wonder if that’s what happens to the people who lose their faces. Eventually they kinda disappear, so maybe that’s what takes them?” He wasn’t really sure how to describe it other than gross and creepy, but it felt like an important thing concerning the tower and what was happening. Between that and the man in the hat, it had to be connected, right?

On the subject of him, Mono hesitates. Because that was kind of a flaw in his plan… “He moves kinda weird? Like when he’s around, the air gets all weird looking around him. He looks like he moves really slow, then sometimes he suddenly appears way closer than he should be. Like he kinda skips like a weird image on tv. And… He can kinda go through televisions like I can. So I guess maybe he could move quickly in a weird way, but he was really focused on getting me. I had to make the train separate to get away from him, but then that’s when I was suddenly here.”

"It might absorb their faces." How....disturbing. There were demons deep within Limbo that she had seen that did similar thing and she wondered how similar they looked in the end. "There was a movie about a blob that absorbed people into it. Been a long time since I've seen it." Not since the New Mutants had movie nights. But that's what she was picturing with his description. A mix of it and demons with many eyes that she'd seen in Limbo. No matter what it actually looked like the one thing she knew with certainty would be that he'd be in for a difficult time against it.

"Hmm. He's the only other person with powers like you, isn't he?" Strange that their abilities were so similar. It wasn't something that she'd have found strange in her own world, tons of people had similar powers. In a world where it wasn't common though? It seemed like a strange coincidence. Maybe their powers had the same source and that was why he wanted Mono so badly? To eliminate the only person that could stand up to him? "Maybe he's afraid of you."

“Right…? If they’re always so close to the television and that thing is on the other side, then it kinda makes sense?” But it was disturbing, and the fact that the eyes had followed him so closely every time he entered a tv was really quite scary in his opinion. But at her description of the movie, Mono looked a little confused. “What would people make a movie like that? Isn’t that kinda scary? Especially if it could really happen?” Not that it could happen in all worlds, but Mono really didn’t look at it that way. It was just a potentially ‘normal thing’ for him.

The boy nodded though at her next question, “Yup, he can more than I can, I think… But he can go through the tv like I can.” And he only said he ‘thinks’ because he hadn’t tried and he was a little afraid of the implications if he could do everything the man could do. The suggestion gets a startled little look. “Afraid of me? But I’m so small and he’s so big, and he seems like he knows how to do stuff better than me. Why would he be afraid of me?”

"Guess it was true to say television rots the brain." This probably wasn't the time for that joke. "They made it twice. People love scary movies. We used to have movie nights and Roberto loved to try to jump scare us during the horror movies." Which definitely 100% never worked. Ever. She never got jumped scared. "Warlock got into it too. He was better at it." But Warlock was also a living alien technovirus so he had the scare factor innately built in. It was a strange to talk about her companions from home but also kind of nice. Even more strange was the realization of just how much she had started to miss them. There was a time when things were normal, where they were almost just teenagers. "Most humans don't think the things like that could really happen. It's just entertainment."

Normal for him was sadly not normal for the majority of people.

"He's older, he's probably had more practice." Practice is the only way to get better when it comes to powers. But, she does understand being frightened by your own power. "Maybe only someone with his powers can defeat him and he doesn't want you to ever learn how."

“Do people say that?… It does seem kinda true, so I guess that’s why people would say it.” Because honestly, the joke did go over the kid’s head, if only because that did kind of sound appropriate as a description of what he’d seen. Really, the kid couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea that people watched stuff to get scared on purpose… Were some people’s lives that boring?? Was there some kind of fun in being scared, or was it fun because it seemed like that could never really happen?? Listening to her explanation thoroughly, the boy’s face scrunched a bit. “That sounds kinda weird to me.”

Now on the subject of the man, that… actually kind of sounded like it made some sort of sense? “Then maybe… Maybe I can do something to stop him and the thing in the tower. Maybe if I keep away from him long enough, I can figure stuff out?” Was that a tiny note of hope in his voice? Yes, it was. An innocent one at that… Hopefully it could work out like that, even if he knew he could just as easily fail if the man caught him.

"They say it to make kids watch less." Though evidently in his world it seemed actually true. She could see his confusion and in a way she could understand it. His life seemed like something out of a horror movie from what she had heard. It must be confusing to think some people watched things like it for simple entertainment. "Have you ever seen a scary movie? There are different kinds, some are funnier than others." Though Illyana found most fun in a weird way.

"Maybe." There was no way for her to tell and she felt like promising him he could fix it would be wrong. Even more so after she caught that innocent glimmer of hope in his voice. "There are no guarantees but I think if he is so invested in catching you, there must be something important about you. Something he's afraid of. If there's truth in that, then maybe you can do something."

That kind of made sense, if adults used stories to scare kids into behaving… Why wouldn’t they tell kids' stuff to scare them away from other things too? As mean as it seemed, that did seem to be the pattern if Illyana’s explanation was anything to go by. The question gets a small shake of his head. “Nah, not aside from some of the weird stuff that appears on the TVs in my world.” The programming there was as weird as the world, so maybe you could say he had. But they were mostly short programs with strange imagery. “I know there’s a place for movies here? But I never went there yet.”

It was probably smart to not boost his hope too much anyway, otherwise he might be more upset later… So he nodded slowly, accepting that it wasn’t a guaranteed thing for him to reach for and succeed at. “I hope so. I hope I can do something at least.”

She put her feet on the ground finally and then smirked. "Wanna go sometime?" Seemed like that was the obvious solution to the problem here. Besides, she hadn't been either. The last movie she had seen with someone had been interrupted by the awakening of Elder Gods. Perhaps it was time to have a day to watch movies.

"Keep hoping. I have heard that will take you far." Did she believe it? No. But her tone was more sympathetic and kind than it would be to anyone else.

The question gets a curious little tilt of his head. Maybe it would be easier to understand if he went to see one? And if it was with Illyana, it would probably be fun at least. He trusted her to choose good things, after all. “Yeah? Okay, I kinda wanna know what they’re like if everyone thinks they’re fun to go to.” Because the kid really did need to learn more about things that were fun to do, especially when people kept telling him he should just go and have fun sometimes.

“I will, I gotta. I dunno what else to do but hope and try. Maybe that’s how hope works?” He wasn’t sure, but it would be nice if that were true.

"Then we'll set aside a day for it. Wonder what they actually have..." Time for a special movie night! "We'll have to find snacks too." Because that is clearly one of the most important things that exists when you're going to the movies. If Mono was going to learn about movies he had to learn about movie snacks too.

"Unfortunately, that is. All you can do is hope and then have faith in that." Which...wasn't really helpful, but sometimes it was all you could do.

Mono knew she was probably right, and it kinda sucked… But he just needed to focus on that and the potential that maybe he really could do something!

So, at least for now, the boy focused on the idea of a trip to the movies with Illyana, which honestly sounded kind of fun if there were snacks involved. “Yeah? Thanks, Illyana. What kinda snacks do they have when you go to the movies?” He asked curiously, since he hadn’t really checked the whole thing out himself. All he knew was there was a giant screen and longer stuff than you saw on televisions was played on them. But it wasn’t like tvs, at least from what people had explained when he asked about them.

"Popcorn and candy. A lot of different kinds of candy." That was what she remembered from their movie nights at least. Everyone had a favorite and they all fought over who got what. "Sometimes you even mix it all together."

Mono clearly liked the sounds of that, his eyes widening at the description. “Mix it all together? Like a snack salad thing?” You mixed vegetables together and got salads, from what he could tell. But a popcorn candy salad sounded really good if that was what she meant. “That would be kinda fun, I think!”

"Yes! Snack salad!" She let out a laugh. "Kitty would probably call it something like that." Obviously snack salad would be a lot better than a real gross healthy salad. "We can make one when we watch a movie."

Mono felt another clumsy grin on his face as she agreed that it was a ‘snack salad,’ so he had been right!! He really liked the sound of it, after all. But he tilted his head a little. “Kitty is one of your friends from your world, right?” He asked, since it was kind of a different name. It sounded like what they called cats sometimes?

The boy nodded quickly though as Illyana agreed they could make a snack salad. “Thanks, Illyana, I bet it’ll be really good!” Maybe movies would really be fun, right?

She nodded. "My best." Or....she was. Now it felt like it had become more complicated. It had been a long time since she'd had a conversation with Kitty. There was no way for her to know how her old friend felt about her choices in regards to the Elder Gods. "Though I haven not spoken to her since I was jailed." Or before that. In a strange way she found herself feeling oddly....sad about it.

"I will leave room open in my schedule for it." Not that she really had a schedule.

Her best friend? That meant this Kitty was like Six, then… Right? He wondered what Illyana’s best friend was like. Was she like Illyana or was she different? A tiny frown crossed his face, though, to hear that she hadn’t gotten to see her friend since she was jailed. He remembered her mentioning that… But it sounded even lonelier if she didn’t get to see her best friend. “Do you think you’ll ever be able to talk to her again?” He asked in a more quiet, serious tone. Was this jailed thing gonna be forever?

Mono nodded quickly. “Okay! I’ll find out when my day off is and we can go that day!” Not that he thought his boss would say no if he asked for a special day off. He was kinda cool like that.

That was an unexpected question and she looked away from him awkwardly and shrugged. "That...will be up to her." Which was to say: she hadn't come to visit her in jail so she had no idea what Kitty even thought of the entire situation. Something inside of her squirmed and she realized that the idea that she might not ever talk to Kitty again really bothered her. How...strange.

"Sounds good." Though she'd hazard to say they could just skip out on his work. "I'll see you then." She waved and then a portal appeared around her and she was off.

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