Hannibal's house (where Jono just stays sometimes), Saturday night

[sharp_as_knives]

After a lovely dinner and a conversation that involved a lot of boggling on Jono's behalf and bemusement on Hannibal's, Hannibal had thrown up his metaphoric hands and made some very good popcorn.

They were now downstairs in the media room, ensconced comfortably on the sofa and trying to keep the cats out of said popcorn.

"I fail to see why it's so scandalous," Hannibal said, shaking his head. "It isn't as though I don't know what it is; I'm hardly blind to popular culture. It simply isn't something I've felt the need to watch."



[For the one mentioned! But texts or calls or whatever, why not?]

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[sharp_as_knives]

"Puppets?" Hannibal asked. "Where are there puppets?"

[furnaceface]

//All over,// Jono replied, amused. //It does take place in space, after all.//

It was right in the name, Hannibal.

//Hell, we'll probably see some in the next few minutes or so. They're actually fairly realistic.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"What does being in space have to do with puppets?" Hannibal asked. He raised an eyebrow at Jono. "Are puppets a requirement of space movies?" He hadn't been aware of that.

[furnaceface]

//Only if you're watching a science fiction space opera,// Jono mused. //These days people rely on CG, which... eugh. Give me a good practical effect any day of the week.//

A pause.

//The puppets are aliens,// he explained. //There are whole other civilizations in this universe that Lucas built.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I had thought they were largely people in makeup and costumes," Hannibal observed.

He cocked his head as the villain - no, he hadn't been introduced, but it was patently obvious - came on the screen. "Somewhat of a Japanese influence, is there?"

[furnaceface]

//A bit,// Jono agreed. //Lucas was hugely inspired by Kurosawa, I believe. And a lot of old fantasy as well, though the Japanese might have had a snicker or two at the name of the Merlin equivalent.//

It meant something like 'belt-bowl-sword-belt.'

[sharp_as_knives]

"Oh?" Hannibal had heard a number of the names before, and most of them seemed rather snicker-worthy. "I can't wait to see him."

[furnaceface]

//That shouldn't take too long,// Jono replied. //Once we get to the whiny kid on the desert world, he won't be too far behind.//

Jono was doing a great job of selling this movie, wasn't he?

[sharp_as_knives]

Excellent salesmanship, yes.

"Why is this movie considered classic again?"

[furnaceface]

//Because it's a cinematic masterpiece and a forerunner for most special effects and storytelling tropes we see in films today,// Jono replied, leaning sideways to bump his shoulder against Hannibal's. //Plus, it's fun. And it was something people had never seen before. Even if shows like Galaxy Quest had given people a taste of science fiction before, the whole space fantasy thing was largely unexplored.//

A beat.

//Did I mention that it's fun? I feel as though I need to stress that one, for some reason.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"You did, yes." Hannibal grinned at him and at a bit of the popcorn (holding the bowl well away from Beethoven's inquiring nose). "I won't dispute that or the special effects, but a cinematic masterpiece?" That, he was a bit skeptical about.

[furnaceface]

//Some people say so, anyway,// Jono muttered, wrinkling his nose at Hannibal for that one. //If nothing else, it did lay the groundwork for a good number of masterpieces to come. And the things they did with the ships in space and scene composition and special effects were groundbreaking in their time.//

A beat.

//So, yes, I'd say it was, in some sense.//

So there, Hannibal. So there. Jono was going to be a sci-fi movie brat at you now.

[sharp_as_knives]

And Hannibal was just going to continue to be amused. "Fair enough. I suppose I'll wait and see...is that her hair, or a rather unfortunate hat?"

[furnaceface]

//The unfortunate hats are in the prequel movies,// Jono promised. //That's her hair.//

A beat.

//I'm surprised you haven't at least seen the 'I have pastries glued to the sides of my head' look around, before. This film has been pervasive in popular culture for nearly forty years now.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I've seen similar things, but it's often difficult to tell the details," Hannibal said with a shrug. "And anyone whose pastries look like that is doing something very wrong."

[furnaceface]

//Well, they're space pastries,// Jono replied, amused. //Anyway, people don't like her for her hair. She's more than capable of holding her own among the boys' club of the rest of the cast.//

And she didn't make it easy for that smug smuggler, either.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Remind me never to eat in space," Hannibal said in turn. And picked Joni up and put her back on the floor.

[furnaceface]

//I think the trick is finding the food that won't kill you,// Jono offered, giving the cat a look as she wound around his leg. //I wouldn't know. I've never eaten in space, myself.//

Though he'd actually been there a few times.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Or making your own," Hannibal pointed out. He wondered what some of those aliens might taste like.

"This seems an unpleasant place to live." And not just for the food.

Nobody liked Tatooine.

[furnaceface]

//Fortunately, we don't spend much of the trilogy here,// Jono offered. //And I really don't think it was meant to come off as the sort of place people move to because they have any sort of say in the matter. I wouldn't want to go there to retire.//

Sand in everything.

Joni might like it. Biggest litterbox ever.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "Nor would I. Which does rather seem to be the point, yes."

He watched a few more minutes.

"If they can make machines that speak a standard language, why don't they all?"

[furnaceface]

... Good question, Hannibal.

//Maybe they don't want their navigational droids talking back at them. Anyway, the shiny one is meant to be a walking translator. The little rubbish bin serves a different function and probably needs that memory room for something... else?//

That was how computers worked, right?

[sharp_as_knives]

It...was, to an extent. "Aren't there more efficient designs he could have?"

Hannibal Lecter, android designer.

[furnaceface]

Yeah, even Jono needed a moment to cast an amused look at Hannibal for that.

//Such as?//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal shrugged. "Something with fingers and that can speak. More like a person and less like a toddler."