Let’s All Go To The Lobby || Movie Theater AU

[Chickbloom]

// Inspired by silly discord convos, the Skyclanners are pulling up to see Howl’s Moving Castle!

// stressed concentration surrounded the boy, the silence in his car broken by the occasional panicked yelp as he attempted to navigate the busy parking lot. “I hope this is worth it…” The whelp sighed to himself as he finally parked, getting out and beginning to shuffle towards the theater.

Why was he even doing this? Eddie wasn’t a movie guy - no, that wasn’t right - he wasn’t a public spaces guy. But when the blond boy got a coupon in the mail from his local movie theater (some ploy to get people to overlook the overpriced popcorn, no doubt) he decided to give it a go. Maybe it would be good for him. Exposure therapy was a thing, right? At least that’s what chatgpt said. (He really needed to save up for an actual therapist.)

Edward was vaguely aware of getting further from his monetary goal as he shelled out the money for snacks. At least the ticket was free - even if he didn’t really know what he was seeing. It was some old Japanese movie, right? Google had told him the basics, but the boy didn’t want to spoil himself. The coward began to silently pray that it wasn’t scary. It was supposed to be a family film, but that didn’t make it safe. A shiver went down his spine as he remembered being dragged to Coraline by his parents as a small boy. The nanny had to check under his bed for weeks after that.

Eddie sat down with his popcorn, trying to forget the button eyes (and the fact that he’d responded with a stammered “y-you too” when told by the cashier to enjoy the movie a few minutes earlier). The nervous wreck was early - trailers hadn’t even started yet, a consequence of a fear of being late. There were a few other people waiting in the theater with him, probably more knowledgeable than he was about whatever they were going to watch. “Um - e-excuse me” Eddie started in a half-whisper to the person sitting nearest. “Is this - is this a sc-scary movie…?” Best to know if he should walk out now.​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

'Howl's Moving Castle' was not a movie that Konstantin had been willing to see by himself. The idea that animated movies were 'childlike' had been instilled upon him at a young age and, in a thinly preserved attempt to protect his maturity, he would insist that the only reason he was at the theatre was because Johnny wanted to be there. Still, a small part of him longed to know what exactly the movie was about and whether it would contain some of the Samurai show tropes that he'd grown to love as a niche.

Sat in his seat twenty minutes too early for the movie, Konnie found himself alone for some time. He thumbed through his phone absentmindedly until another sat beside him, but not in a talking mood (rarely ever in a talking mood) he didn't lift his head to address the stranger. Instead, a prickle of annoyance ignited him and, as if to make a point, Konstantin let out a huff. 'This place is nearly empty. Why are you sitting next to me?' He'd only chosen such a seat because he'd reserved it for himself and his boyfriend, but they'd been some of the first to pre-book. Who in their right mind either chose to sit next to a stranger at a cinema, or chose to pre-book a seat next to a stranger?

Then, the stranger asked a question. Resting on his hand, the man's heterochromatic eyes darted towards Eddie. "I don't think so," he replied with that terse British politeness. "It's a kids movie, they're not scary." Coraline, Watership Down, Return to Oz and Brave Little Toaster were all luckily lost on Konstantin.

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