"I was gonna say it explains nothing," Iris quips. "Seeing as all I know about this is that Robin Williams is involved. Somehow."
Movies and commentary, in Iris's mind, are like peanut butter and jelly. Her family had always talked their way through the stories they consumed - it was how they engaged with the material. Barry, bless him, had never been able to stomach it.
Iris never understood why. Questions meant that someone was paying attention, and commentary was just another way to enjoy a story. (Cisco's was particularly entertaining; he reminded her of cousins she barely saw, much less interacted with.) She reaches for the chocolate chip cookie dough, taking small, quick bites and savoring every moment.
"Are we talking like, aged-well special effects?" She's thinking of Jurassic Park. "Or the kind that clearly were CGI?"
"Well, we'll just have to see if you've revised that opinion once it's over, how 'bout that?"
Cisco is a little surprised she doesn't even know the main conceit - a board game that causes havoc and you have to win to be free of it - but any sort of jokes that he could make about it seem like dangerous territory. He knows, after all, that Barry has seen this movie, at least enough times to be able to passably quote it. If things were different, he would make a crack about how Barry had been negligent not to get her to see it. But... if things were different, he wouldn't be here.
"Actually a lot of it aged super well, but there's definitely a couple moments that are gonna make you laugh."
As the first scene unfolds, Cisco points at the screen with his spoon, saying animatedly, "See, this is where they mess up! You find a creepy-ass ancient-looking board game, do you open it up and play it? Hell no! Just toss that shit in a dumpster and never look back!"
Oh, Iris has heard the main conceit more than a few times. But it's like Dragonball Z and Pokemon Green and all of Barry's animes - in one ear and out the other.
"Yeah?" She grins, leaning back and growing comfortable by pulling her legs up under her. "Sounds like a challenge."
Admittedly, not a particularly hard one considering how rough these past few weeks had been. Her favorite comedies had brought smiles, even if they were short-lived ones, and this movie was one of Barry's favorites. (Figures she'd finally cave after he ran straight into the Speed Force.)
"White people," she says without missing a beat, shaking her head and letting out a full, hearty laugh. "You gotta love those non-existent survival instincts. It's like they want to be haunted."
Cisco laughs - not just because it's a funny joke (it is) but because Iris doesn't actually crack that many jokes. Not overt ones, anyway. She was much more the kind of girl to make a small remark that you only realized an hour later was actually hilarious. She had done it more, around Joe and Barry, which made Cisco think it was just a matter of her feeling comfortable. And of course, since Barry had left, none of them had felt much like cracking wise for a while.
So he laughs a little more and a little louder at her joke than he might have otherwise, because he's so glad that she'd made one.
"I'm telling you, there's ever a meta with ghost powers or any of that shit, I'm calling in sick..."
The two of them lapse into quiet for a few moments, taking big spoonfuls of the various ice cream flavors and occasionally commenting on the old clothing styles in the first part of the movie. The terrible CGI as one of the characters got sucked into the board game had them both laughing hard, but the moment that follows is... unexpectedly difficult. It's all a bit closer to home than Cisco had remembered. Young guy, trapped in another dimension, leaving friends and family behind.
So he interrupts the silence that's fallen by saying, brightly: "Man you've got no idea the kinda nightmares this shit gave me as a kid. I wouldn't touch a board game for months."
"Or the Ghostbusters, if we can still get Melissa McCarthy."
So sue, she preferred the remake to the original. (That's blasphemy, right? It has to be, especially in nerd circles?) But she relaxes even more at his laugh, leaning in closer to him than she might have earlier. Iris didn't know what she'd expected, but -
But that scene reminds her of what Barry might've felt, the first time he rushed straight into the Speedforce.
She swallows thickly, trying to concentrate on the speakers, on the soft blanket surrounding her, and even on the ice cream spoon still in her month.
It makes her appreciate Cisco's commentary all the more. She laughs, sticking the spoon back into her pint of ice cream.
"I couldn't blame past-you," she admits, more shyly than usual. "It's like Toy Story on steroids - and I'd know. I turned my Barbies around before I went to bed."
Cisco leans in, playing up the fake conspiratorial aspect of this. If things were different he would have just told her and not made a fuss, but it's like a reflex by now - when Iris draws inward, when she seems sad or quiet or lost, Cisco becomes brighter, louder, more comedic. It was what he'd been doing for the team for some years, now, making them laugh even when the situation was dire.
"I actually kinda never liked that movie, like, at all."
He fakes an apologetic wince, holding up his hands as if to forestall criticism or outraged questions.
"Like, I know, I know, it's a classic and all, but the idea of sentient toys just seemed silly to me. Y'know, kids movies with talking dogs and cats, or movies with aliens and space battles, sure thing. Not silly at all. But little army guys that were actual little army guys? Naw, son."
Some part of her knows that it's over-exaggerated, but Iris can't quite help the awkward squawk that leaves her lips. He doesn't like Toy Story?? Not the friendship between Woody and Buzz, or even how Jessie had roped her way into the hearts of girls everywhere?
Actually, it's kind of fair. Even if she's starting to wonder how to navigate what Cisco likes, next-time they have their movie marathon.
"They were kind of weird," she admits, tilting her head and thinking back to the whole collection that Andy had had. "And let's be real, classic just means what's survived the test of time. It doesn't necessarily mean everyone's gotta like it. What about - hold up, did she just lie about her parents died? For fun?"
Iris pauses, staring at the blonde girl in the ponytail, right after she'd run off from an older woman and laughed about a giant lie (about her dead parents and how they might've not loved her). Iris furrows her brow, staring back at Cisco.
"Oh, don't get it twisted, it's way more messed up. This movie is fucked up central if you think about it too hard."
In fact, he's starting to actually wonder if maybe he ought to have picked something with a little less potential for bumping up on sensitive topics. Sure, it has a happy ending, but maybe it's too happy. All the bad shit gets undone, all the tragedies prevented before they can even happen, all the grief erased just like that. Iris has been on a bit of a new 'reality is hard and we just have to accept that' kick since Barry left, and so it's hard to know whether it'll land well or not.
But it's too late to change his mind, now, so Cisco just works with what he can.
"I always super loved that they never explained the origin story of the game, you know. It was just, like, this thing that had been around since forever, and the best you could hope for was not to fuck with it and hope nobody near you was fucking with it."
As much as she hates to admit it, Jumanji is a product of its time. It reminds her of watching Indiana Jones movies with Dad and Barry, how they’d eagerly get into Indy’s adventures while she couldn’t get past that initial conceit (and casual racism running rampant in the 80’s). She’d have to suspend her disbelief - and maybe some morals - to get into the spirit of things, and Cisco had meant well.
It wasn’t like his rose-tinted glasses knew what was in store. Kids glossed over stuff adults wouldn’t, and probably vice-versa. The eternal optimist. Iris admired that about him, how Cisco could keep running even when the odds were stacked up against him and he was backed into a corner.
(How many people would just rip open a breach and take that third option?)
“Some things just don’t need an explanation,” Iris says, with newfound wisdom acquired from that ‘reality is hard’ kick. “It takes away some of the magic, you know? The board game’s a magic board game, and it’s kind of your fault if you decide to take it out for a spin.”
She pauses, frowning a little, “Maybe we should check our board game collection. Just in case.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Movies and commentary, in Iris's mind, are like peanut butter and jelly. Her family had always talked their way through the stories they consumed - it was how they engaged with the material. Barry, bless him, had never been able to stomach it.
Iris never understood why. Questions meant that someone was paying attention, and commentary was just another way to enjoy a story. (Cisco's was particularly entertaining; he reminded her of cousins she barely saw, much less interacted with.) She reaches for the chocolate chip cookie dough, taking small, quick bites and savoring every moment.
"Are we talking like, aged-well special effects?" She's thinking of Jurassic Park. "Or the kind that clearly were CGI?"
no subject
Cisco is a little surprised she doesn't even know the main conceit - a board game that causes havoc and you have to win to be free of it - but any sort of jokes that he could make about it seem like dangerous territory. He knows, after all, that Barry has seen this movie, at least enough times to be able to passably quote it. If things were different, he would make a crack about how Barry had been negligent not to get her to see it. But... if things were different, he wouldn't be here.
"Actually a lot of it aged super well, but there's definitely a couple moments that are gonna make you laugh."
As the first scene unfolds, Cisco points at the screen with his spoon, saying animatedly, "See, this is where they mess up! You find a creepy-ass ancient-looking board game, do you open it up and play it? Hell no! Just toss that shit in a dumpster and never look back!"
no subject
"Yeah?" She grins, leaning back and growing comfortable by pulling her legs up under her. "Sounds like a challenge."
Admittedly, not a particularly hard one considering how rough these past few weeks had been. Her favorite comedies had brought smiles, even if they were short-lived ones, and this movie was one of Barry's favorites. (Figures she'd finally cave after he ran straight into the Speed Force.)
"White people," she says without missing a beat, shaking her head and letting out a full, hearty laugh. "You gotta love those non-existent survival instincts. It's like they want to be haunted."
no subject
Cisco laughs - not just because it's a funny joke (it is) but because Iris doesn't actually crack that many jokes. Not overt ones, anyway. She was much more the kind of girl to make a small remark that you only realized an hour later was actually hilarious. She had done it more, around Joe and Barry, which made Cisco think it was just a matter of her feeling comfortable. And of course, since Barry had left, none of them had felt much like cracking wise for a while.
So he laughs a little more and a little louder at her joke than he might have otherwise, because he's so glad that she'd made one.
"I'm telling you, there's ever a meta with ghost powers or any of that shit, I'm calling in sick..."
The two of them lapse into quiet for a few moments, taking big spoonfuls of the various ice cream flavors and occasionally
commenting on the old clothing styles in the first part of the movie. The terrible CGI as one of the characters got sucked into the board game had them both laughing hard, but the moment that follows is... unexpectedly difficult. It's all a bit closer to home than Cisco had remembered. Young guy, trapped in another dimension, leaving friends and family behind.
So he interrupts the silence that's fallen by saying, brightly: "Man you've got no idea the kinda nightmares this shit gave me as a kid. I wouldn't touch a board game for months."
no subject
So sue, she preferred the remake to the original. (That's blasphemy, right? It has to be, especially in nerd circles?) But she relaxes even more at his laugh, leaning in closer to him than she might have earlier. Iris didn't know what she'd expected, but -
But that scene reminds her of what Barry might've felt, the first time he rushed straight into the Speedforce.
She swallows thickly, trying to concentrate on the speakers, on the soft blanket surrounding her, and even on the ice cream spoon still in her month.
It makes her appreciate Cisco's commentary all the more. She laughs, sticking the spoon back into her pint of ice cream.
"I couldn't blame past-you," she admits, more shyly than usual. "It's like Toy Story on steroids - and I'd know. I turned my Barbies around before I went to bed."
no subject
Cisco leans in, playing up the fake conspiratorial aspect of this. If things were different he would have just told her and not made a fuss, but it's like a reflex by now - when Iris draws inward, when she seems sad or quiet or lost, Cisco becomes brighter, louder, more comedic. It was what he'd been doing for the team for some years, now, making them laugh even when the situation was dire.
"I actually kinda never liked that movie, like, at all."
He fakes an apologetic wince, holding up his hands as if to forestall criticism or outraged questions.
"Like, I know, I know, it's a classic and all, but the idea of sentient toys just seemed silly to me. Y'know, kids movies with talking dogs and cats, or movies with aliens and space battles, sure thing. Not silly at all. But little army guys that were actual little army guys? Naw, son."
no subject
Actually, it's kind of fair. Even if she's starting to wonder how to navigate what Cisco likes, next-time they have their movie marathon.
"They were kind of weird," she admits, tilting her head and thinking back to the whole collection that Andy had had. "And let's be real, classic just means what's survived the test of time. It doesn't necessarily mean everyone's gotta like it. What about - hold up, did she just lie about her parents died? For fun?"
Iris pauses, staring at the blonde girl in the ponytail, right after she'd run off from an older woman and laughed about a giant lie (about her dead parents and how they might've not loved her). Iris furrows her brow, staring back at Cisco.
"I think that's as messed up as the army men."
no subject
In fact, he's starting to actually wonder if maybe he ought to have picked something with a little less potential for bumping up on sensitive topics. Sure, it has a happy ending, but maybe it's too happy. All the bad shit gets undone, all the tragedies prevented before they can even happen, all the grief erased just like that. Iris has been on a bit of a new 'reality is hard and we just have to accept that' kick since Barry left, and so it's hard to know whether it'll land well or not.
But it's too late to change his mind, now, so Cisco just works with what he can.
"I always super loved that they never explained the origin story of the game, you know. It was just, like, this thing that had been around since forever, and the best you could hope for was not to fuck with it and hope nobody near you was fucking with it."
no subject
It wasn’t like his rose-tinted glasses knew what was in store. Kids glossed over stuff adults wouldn’t, and probably vice-versa. The eternal optimist. Iris admired that about him, how Cisco could keep running even when the odds were stacked up against him and he was backed into a corner.
(How many people would just rip open a breach and take that third option?)
“Some things just don’t need an explanation,” Iris says, with newfound wisdom acquired from that ‘reality is hard’ kick. “It takes away some of the magic, you know? The board game’s a magic board game, and it’s kind of your fault if you decide to take it out for a spin.”
She pauses, frowning a little, “Maybe we should check our board game collection. Just in case.”