Right...they're going to have to keep an eye on him as they go along. Hopefully Hell's bullshit only goes so far.
"Yeah. I haven't been to that place yet." And as long as there isn't new crap they have to deal with to get this stuff, it'll be fine. "Let's drop the chairs off and I'll put up a seal so people can't raid the room. Come on, let's go."
Luckily people and demons have better things to do right now then wonder about what the detective and an skeleton are up to with the chairs so getting to the room and sealing it closed is no trouble.
He leads just as they ask, though it's clear in their memory than his. He likes it better this way. He's less likely to lose them, or one of his limbs for that matter.
When they make it to the shop, he points out the movies there and says, "You like this stuff, right? We should grab a bunch. And something to make them play."
He never cared for movies. He especially doesn't care for them after Ernesto. But he grabs a bunch all the same, passing them to Nekane. Only to pause.
He turns and looks to the shopkeeper. He spies the rack of vials behind.
That would have earned a snort because, oh yes, he can read that. It would have if not for poison guy over there, which is what he definitely is, because Nekane wouldn't so fervently try to distract him.
"Oh, okay, VCR," He repeats and for a little while, he's following them, trying to pay attention to what they're saying. A little while.
He glances back, glaring at that shelf and the man before it.
"Can you believe that guy? Out in the open. But I guess that's what you can expect from a jerk like that. Gotta find ways to brag about it."
"Assholes are going to be fucking assholes." Nekane shoots a glare of their own at the man. Poison normally wouldn't bother them as much but with Héctor here and his experiences, Nekane wanted to spit in each of those bottles.
"But he can sit giggling over his own horseshit. We're going to be warm and with candy and some shit movies. Here, VCR."
They heft said VCR so they can take a look at it. Hum...yeah, they'll be able to set this up. It's the exact same make Nekane's seen back home in the seemingly endless piles of old junk sold in shopping distract.
He almost, almost keeps going. But then Nekane reminds of what they're both here for and he finds himself grinning. Warm does sound good.
"Ah! Great! Pass that to me and we can pile your movies on top. Then you can grab your snacks." Seeing as he's not going to be doing near as much eating these days. "You know, I haven't really sat and watched a movie since I left here. It's going to be like old times."
There we go. Obviously just talking about the fun they're going to have won't wipe away all of this - not with those damn bottles basically rubbing the manner of Héctor's death in his face - but it's a nice distraction.
"Alright, here. Kinda heavy so watch it." They don't know how much he can carry as a skeleton. "And if you see anything you'd like, let me know. I'll hand it over as an offering or some shit."
Nekane's going to find out if a skeleton can get a sugar high, damnit. But when the detective turns to another table, there's suddenly a pile of snacks that they like. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, most of it are sweets but there's also green apples and other such tart and savory items.
Doesn't make this shop perfect but hell, they'll take it. "Hell's really got a fondness for knock-off brands of shit, don't they?" Nekane comments as they hold up a chocolate bar. Oh-Denny's.
He braces, teeth bared, with the warning, willing his energy to hold and his bones not to simply drop out on him. If he can hold a kid, surely he can do this, even if said kid was partly skeletal by the time he did that.
He laughs and says, "Ha! Sounds good. Do they got any fresh stuff? That's always the thing really missing in the land of the dead."
But sure, sugars too. He points out things like pixie sticks with some delight. It's the table that really gets his face lighting up though.
"Hell has everything, but everything it has is sub-par," He says. It doesn't stop from looking starry-eyed. "We definitely need these apples. And those! The tarts and the stuff next to it. What do the labels say..." Nothing can kill him now but he doesn't want to have any weird demon delicacies.
"For a guy with no stomach, you sure know what the good stuff is." Nekane lightly jokes. As if he's never eaten before. A shadow claw pulls the items closer so they can both read the labels. Nothing weird, thankfully. Just random knock-off brands of things that Nekane likes. They scoop it all up and snicker at the image. Horrifying shadow claws all holding sweet and tart snacks.
"I'll go see what we gotta pay for this shit. Gimme a few minutes, I'll be right back."
Although with their magic going, it's not hard to drag everything to the clerk. The image is probably amusing.
And it'll keep him away from the poison on the shelves. Less of that, the better.
He barks a giddy laugh. He says, "Mi amige, without a stomach, I am liberated."
Which, considering the old state of his stomach, is probably not entirely a joke, but in the moment it is. It's just as funny to watch those shadows gather things up.
He waits, as he's asked, though part of him wants to stop Nekane, keep them close. And part of him just wants to steal everything they have. He itches for it. But running means leaving them behind and he won't.
Once they're back to him, he says, "You know, I didn't realize I was missing anything in those years besides the obvious, but there's still a weird nostalgia seeing your power work again."
They laugh at his remark and laugh harder when they come back. They have shopping bags to carry all of the items but it's still held in their shadow claws.
"Aw, you fucking flatter me. Most people say they remember because it's fucking creepy."
Nekane can see why someone can see it that way. Manipulating shadows has always been the realm of demonic magic and it's not like it isn't creepy on its own. Hell, Nekane themself had freaked when they first saw it in action.
But it's useful as fuck now. "Come on, let's go hook this thing up so we can watch some shitty movies. I'm showing you Santa With Muscles and nobody's going to fucking stop me."
Not even Héctor himself. Off we go to Fort Asshole 2.0 and terrible movies.
"I cannot help myself, Nekane," He jokes. Then adds, "Besides, I've already had two people call me a Halloween ornament. I'm not sure I get to talk anymore."
Not that he wouldn't talk anyway. Skeletons were so not scary. Or shadows. He's decided. After a long time and lots of exposure.
"Santa with muscles?" He repeats. "Like Papá Noel? They made a movie about that?" He should know better though. Nekane likes it. It's not going to be a good movie.
He can only laugh and shake his head and go along with them. They have a fort to build!
"You're prettier then those ornaments," They comment. And carefully doesn't examine what they mean by it.
Everything's still the same when they get back to the room and getting said fort set up isn't hard. Chairs on the side, blankets on top and then inside when it's set up. Nekane fusses with said blankets until it looks comfortable enough...and with their standards (and bird instincts) it takes longer then it really should.
They even pull the tv set closer with a shadow claw so that whoever has to change to the next tape won't have to get up.
"And done. Come on in and we'll watch a masterpiece of suck." Nekane burrows into the blankets, folding their wings up so Héctor will have room.
They never answered the question about what kind of movie this is. And once it gets rolling, it's....
He gasps dramatically and were his hands not full, he'd hold them over his ribs. He doesn't read into it all, merely saying, "Look who's flattering now."
As long as neither of them look into things, it's all fine. It's all play.
He helps Nekane set up of course, making sure it's high enough that their wings won't take it down but enclosed enough to still be a nest. He remembers this, and it, too, is nostalgic. He chokes on a laugh muttering, a masterpiece of suck, then he joins them in nesting down.
And it's nice. It's nice to be near. It's nice to be so close to someone who matters to him, someone who's not going to be ripped out of his hands.
The movie, on the other hand, is not nice at all. At some point he's just staring at the screen in utter disbelief. Occasionally he asks them to offer him something so he can swipe its spirit counterpart and chew on that.
"You know... De la Cruz actually kind of put my murder in a movie of his... but this still might be worse."
The movie is, as Nekane predicts, fucking terrible. They have to wonder when this slides from the so-bad-its-good scale right into the crap scale exactly. Probably at the goddamn drawing board, to be honest.
Héctor's presence here makes it bearable though. They grin at his disbelieving expression and offer the food when asked for it. It's something to keep going, because they have a whole lot more movies where this came from.
Although Nekane's smile slips when he mentions what Ernesto did. Are you...serious.
"Fuck. When that asshole comes here, I'm knocking him into the nearest goddamn lava lake!"
"Ah, don't worry about it," He says. "I mean, go for it if you like, he definitely deserves it, but he can't handle Hell. Or me. I'm pretty much forgotten and I couldn't remember any sort of fighting from here either and I still nearly managed to punch him. Had to get his security to drag me off and fight for him. If he shows up, I'll land that hit."
Hopefully, he'll land a few. It won't change his life or save Miguel, but it'll feel good.
Though admittedly, he's not sure if De La Cruz is coming.
"That ain't the point. This is the guy who murdered you and he put it in a movie. I don't got enough words to say just how bullshit that is."
Well, they do in actions at least. Nekane still wasn't comfortable with torturing someone. But if they got their hands on Ernesto...well, beating the shit out of him isn't off the menu.
But knowing their luck, he won't show up. Goddamn it.
His expression turns serious. He takes note of Nekane and their anger. He breathes deep and looks down.
"It was how I found out," He explains. "I was being forgotten. That was... my last night. All that time, I never figured it out on my own. I never believed he'd... Miguel pointed it out. De La Cruz was his hero, I thought he was just caught up in that but he showed me and... Ernesto made himself the hero in the movie, of course. Gave his own lines to the villain. Except in his show, he drinks the poison and spits it out just like that. Saves the day and heads home. El Camino A Casa."
He blows a breath out through his teeth. He'd never even thought it might be a slap. He'd never bothered to watch.
"I didn't have words either. Do you remember when I found out here? What did I... I threw a shoe, right? I don't know. I just wanted to hit him. Hit him as many times as I had to hear him play my songs. I hadn't been so angry since- since Dodger." He shakes his head. "Bastards don't care. They'll change the story to whatever makes them look or feel good, turn the blame around, all that stuff." He spins a circle with his bone fingers. "But if there's one good thing, it's that no one knows him here. I don't have to hear him."
The anger in their belly burns more then any lava lake in Hell when he tells Nekane just how it goes in Ernesto's movie. His actions pushed off to the villain while he remained the hero. A hero who gets to go home.
Someone who twisted the story so he comes out smelling of roses. And Nekane sure as fuck knows a certain God who'd get along with him.
There's no point in pointing out that just because people don't know Ernesto, it doesn't mean that Hell won't rub it in his face. Héctor knows. Instead Nekane takes a few deep, slow breaths before reaching over to pull Héctor into a hug.
"This is a shitty consolation prize," They say. "But I'm sorry that everything turned out this way. And I'm sorry Ernesto turned out to be such a fucking cowardly slimeball."
Why couldn't he do this alone...? From everything that Héctor's told them about him, Ernesto had talent. So why...? And why the fuck did it have to come at the price of Héctor's life?!
Nekane was right. Hell would rub it in his face. It was almost inevitable. But he can't help thinking, not even Hell could rub it in as much as hearing his daughter's song everywhere did, for years and years.
Then again, Hell might have him for an eternity this time, depending on what he decided to do with himself. Perhaps it would catch up to the Land of the Dead for sheer salting the wound.
"Yeah," He says. "In some way, it kind of helped. I don't miss him. Not anymore." So much time had passed, so many little digs. Now he saw there was nothing to miss. Not really. "I don't wonder why. Now I know. Why it happened, why he didn't tell my family, what he really wanted all along."
There's was just the loose end of Miguel. Miguel, left alone at the bottom of the cenote. Miguel who might... He can't think about it. There's nothing he can do now either way. To distract himself and them, he reaches over and bumps his knuckles to their arm, smiling again.
"And I get to watch terrible things with you. That's a pretty good prize. Or torture. I haven't decided what this movie falls under yet."
Even if he turns the conversation to something lighter, Nekane still has to take a few deep breaths to try and smoother the rage boiling in their stomach. Life could at least take a break from dumping shit on this guy! It's fucking unfair.
But ultimately they know they have to let it go. There's nothing either of them can do from Hell. Still, Nekane knows they won't be able to promise not to hurt Ernesto if he came here.
"It's torture," They say eventually. "'Least according to John it was. I made him watch it with me one Christmas. Said if he wasn't fated to kick it in his eighties, he'd die on the spot then and there."
Nekane's tone is light. John's approach to his impending death was with humor (black or otherwise) and just simple acceptance.
"I've got more and I ain't gonna tell you if they're any better or worse."
He could understand. Dios knows anything to do with their old family made him feel like he could breathe fire. And he is angry at Ernesto. But, they don't need to hold onto this now.
They make him laugh. It comes out bright, despite everything.
"I guess that makes John my comrad in suffering," He jokes. "But I don't I believe in worse. This has already topped the charts of truly terrible."
In and out, in and out. One, two, three. One, two, three. It's not enough to completely quell their rage at Ernesto but it'll do for now.
They can sooth their soul by torturing Héctor with terrible Christmas movies. Speaking of, Héctor basically issued a challenge. Nekane grins, raising an eyebrow, before taking the tape out of the VCR and popping in another.
"You ain't seen nothing yet."
The new movie's called Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. It is exactly what it sounds like.
Meanwhile they're going to pop open a small bucket of ice cream and goes to town on it.
They say, you ain't seen nothing yet. And he says, "Oh god."
At some point in the horrendous film, he just can't watch it anymore. If he had a physical brain, it would have melted out of his skull. Instead he turns to them, facing them with utter disbelief.
Nekane's busy licking their fingers free of ice cream as the film goes on. They have to wonder if repeated viewings of these types of movies gave them some sort of immunity.
Also they sound too cheerful when they say, "Because it's fucking good."
But judging by the sly grin on their face, Nekane's just fucking with Héctor. Maybe.
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"Yeah. I haven't been to that place yet." And as long as there isn't new crap they have to deal with to get this stuff, it'll be fine. "Let's drop the chairs off and I'll put up a seal so people can't raid the room. Come on, let's go."
Luckily people and demons have better things to do right now then wonder about what the detective and an skeleton are up to with the chairs so getting to the room and sealing it closed is no trouble.
"Right. Shop's next. Lead the way."
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When they make it to the shop, he points out the movies there and says, "You like this stuff, right? We should grab a bunch. And something to make them play."
He never cared for movies. He especially doesn't care for them after Ernesto. But he grabs a bunch all the same, passing them to Nekane. Only to pause.
He turns and looks to the shopkeeper. He spies the rack of vials behind.
"Are those...?
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But when they go to look for a VCR or something, Héctor pipes up and they turn to look. Oh...oh.
Nekane shoves the movies into Héctor's hands before spinning him around by the shoulders. Fuck. God, why does there have to be poison here?!
"VCR. You'll want to find one of those things. I'll show you."
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"Oh, okay, VCR," He repeats and for a little while, he's following them, trying to pay attention to what they're saying. A little while.
He glances back, glaring at that shelf and the man before it.
"Can you believe that guy? Out in the open. But I guess that's what you can expect from a jerk like that. Gotta find ways to brag about it."
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"But he can sit giggling over his own horseshit. We're going to be warm and with candy and some shit movies. Here, VCR."
They heft said VCR so they can take a look at it. Hum...yeah, they'll be able to set this up. It's the exact same make Nekane's seen back home in the seemingly endless piles of old junk sold in shopping distract.
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He almost, almost keeps going. But then Nekane reminds of what they're both here for and he finds himself grinning. Warm does sound good.
"Ah! Great! Pass that to me and we can pile your movies on top. Then you can grab your snacks." Seeing as he's not going to be doing near as much eating these days. "You know, I haven't really sat and watched a movie since I left here. It's going to be like old times."
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"Alright, here. Kinda heavy so watch it." They don't know how much he can carry as a skeleton. "And if you see anything you'd like, let me know. I'll hand it over as an offering or some shit."
Nekane's going to find out if a skeleton can get a sugar high, damnit. But when the detective turns to another table, there's suddenly a pile of snacks that they like. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, most of it are sweets but there's also green apples and other such tart and savory items.
Doesn't make this shop perfect but hell, they'll take it. "Hell's really got a fondness for knock-off brands of shit, don't they?" Nekane comments as they hold up a chocolate bar. Oh-Denny's.
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He laughs and says, "Ha! Sounds good. Do they got any fresh stuff? That's always the thing really missing in the land of the dead."
But sure, sugars too. He points out things like pixie sticks with some delight. It's the table that really gets his face lighting up though.
"Hell has everything, but everything it has is sub-par," He says. It doesn't stop from looking starry-eyed. "We definitely need these apples. And those! The tarts and the stuff next to it. What do the labels say..." Nothing can kill him now but he doesn't want to have any weird demon delicacies.
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"I'll go see what we gotta pay for this shit. Gimme a few minutes, I'll be right back."
Although with their magic going, it's not hard to drag everything to the clerk. The image is probably amusing.
And it'll keep him away from the poison on the shelves. Less of that, the better.
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Which, considering the old state of his stomach, is probably not entirely a joke, but in the moment it is. It's just as funny to watch those shadows gather things up.
He waits, as he's asked, though part of him wants to stop Nekane, keep them close. And part of him just wants to steal everything they have. He itches for it. But running means leaving them behind and he won't.
Once they're back to him, he says, "You know, I didn't realize I was missing anything in those years besides the obvious, but there's still a weird nostalgia seeing your power work again."
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"Aw, you fucking flatter me. Most people say they remember because it's fucking creepy."
Nekane can see why someone can see it that way. Manipulating shadows has always been the realm of demonic magic and it's not like it isn't creepy on its own. Hell, Nekane themself had freaked when they first saw it in action.
But it's useful as fuck now. "Come on, let's go hook this thing up so we can watch some shitty movies. I'm showing you Santa With Muscles and nobody's going to fucking stop me."
Not even Héctor himself. Off we go to Fort Asshole 2.0 and terrible movies.
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Not that he wouldn't talk anyway. Skeletons were so not scary. Or shadows. He's decided. After a long time and lots of exposure.
"Santa with muscles?" He repeats. "Like Papá Noel? They made a movie about that?" He should know better though. Nekane likes it. It's not going to be a good movie.
He can only laugh and shake his head and go along with them. They have a fort to build!
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Everything's still the same when they get back to the room and getting said fort set up isn't hard. Chairs on the side, blankets on top and then inside when it's set up. Nekane fusses with said blankets until it looks comfortable enough...and with their standards (and bird instincts) it takes longer then it really should.
They even pull the tv set closer with a shadow claw so that whoever has to change to the next tape won't have to get up.
"And done. Come on in and we'll watch a masterpiece of suck." Nekane burrows into the blankets, folding their wings up so Héctor will have room.
They never answered the question about what kind of movie this is. And once it gets rolling, it's....
Something. And that's being generous.
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As long as neither of them look into things, it's all fine. It's all play.
He helps Nekane set up of course, making sure it's high enough that their wings won't take it down but enclosed enough to still be a nest. He remembers this, and it, too, is nostalgic. He chokes on a laugh muttering, a masterpiece of suck, then he joins them in nesting down.
And it's nice. It's nice to be near. It's nice to be so close to someone who matters to him, someone who's not going to be ripped out of his hands.
The movie, on the other hand, is not nice at all. At some point he's just staring at the screen in utter disbelief. Occasionally he asks them to offer him something so he can swipe its spirit counterpart and chew on that.
"You know... De la Cruz actually kind of put my murder in a movie of his... but this still might be worse."
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Héctor's presence here makes it bearable though. They grin at his disbelieving expression and offer the food when asked for it. It's something to keep going, because they have a whole lot more movies where this came from.
Although Nekane's smile slips when he mentions what Ernesto did. Are you...serious.
"Fuck. When that asshole comes here, I'm knocking him into the nearest goddamn lava lake!"
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"Ah, don't worry about it," He says. "I mean, go for it if you like, he definitely deserves it, but he can't handle Hell. Or me. I'm pretty much forgotten and I couldn't remember any sort of fighting from here either and I still nearly managed to punch him. Had to get his security to drag me off and fight for him. If he shows up, I'll land that hit."
Hopefully, he'll land a few. It won't change his life or save Miguel, but it'll feel good.
Though admittedly, he's not sure if De La Cruz is coming.
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"That ain't the point. This is the guy who murdered you and he put it in a movie. I don't got enough words to say just how bullshit that is."
Well, they do in actions at least. Nekane still wasn't comfortable with torturing someone. But if they got their hands on Ernesto...well, beating the shit out of him isn't off the menu.
But knowing their luck, he won't show up. Goddamn it.
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"It was how I found out," He explains. "I was being forgotten. That was... my last night. All that time, I never figured it out on my own. I never believed he'd... Miguel pointed it out. De La Cruz was his hero, I thought he was just caught up in that but he showed me and... Ernesto made himself the hero in the movie, of course. Gave his own lines to the villain. Except in his show, he drinks the poison and spits it out just like that. Saves the day and heads home. El Camino A Casa."
He blows a breath out through his teeth. He'd never even thought it might be a slap. He'd never bothered to watch.
"I didn't have words either. Do you remember when I found out here? What did I... I threw a shoe, right? I don't know. I just wanted to hit him. Hit him as many times as I had to hear him play my songs. I hadn't been so angry since- since Dodger." He shakes his head. "Bastards don't care. They'll change the story to whatever makes them look or feel good, turn the blame around, all that stuff." He spins a circle with his bone fingers. "But if there's one good thing, it's that no one knows him here. I don't have to hear him."
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Someone who twisted the story so he comes out smelling of roses. And Nekane sure as fuck knows a certain God who'd get along with him.
There's no point in pointing out that just because people don't know Ernesto, it doesn't mean that Hell won't rub it in his face. Héctor knows. Instead Nekane takes a few deep, slow breaths before reaching over to pull Héctor into a hug.
"This is a shitty consolation prize," They say. "But I'm sorry that everything turned out this way. And I'm sorry Ernesto turned out to be such a fucking cowardly slimeball."
Why couldn't he do this alone...? From everything that Héctor's told them about him, Ernesto had talent. So why...? And why the fuck did it have to come at the price of Héctor's life?!
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Then again, Hell might have him for an eternity this time, depending on what he decided to do with himself. Perhaps it would catch up to the Land of the Dead for sheer salting the wound.
"Yeah," He says. "In some way, it kind of helped. I don't miss him. Not anymore." So much time had passed, so many little digs. Now he saw there was nothing to miss. Not really. "I don't wonder why. Now I know. Why it happened, why he didn't tell my family, what he really wanted all along."
There's was just the loose end of Miguel. Miguel, left alone at the bottom of the cenote. Miguel who might... He can't think about it. There's nothing he can do now either way. To distract himself and them, he reaches over and bumps his knuckles to their arm, smiling again.
"And I get to watch terrible things with you. That's a pretty good prize. Or torture. I haven't decided what this movie falls under yet."
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But ultimately they know they have to let it go. There's nothing either of them can do from Hell. Still, Nekane knows they won't be able to promise not to hurt Ernesto if he came here.
"It's torture," They say eventually. "'Least according to John it was. I made him watch it with me one Christmas. Said if he wasn't fated to kick it in his eighties, he'd die on the spot then and there."
Nekane's tone is light. John's approach to his impending death was with humor (black or otherwise) and just simple acceptance.
"I've got more and I ain't gonna tell you if they're any better or worse."
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They make him laugh. It comes out bright, despite everything.
"I guess that makes John my comrad in suffering," He jokes. "But I don't I believe in worse. This has already topped the charts of truly terrible."
Oh how little he knows.
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They can sooth their soul by torturing Héctor with terrible Christmas movies. Speaking of, Héctor basically issued a challenge. Nekane grins, raising an eyebrow, before taking the tape out of the VCR and popping in another.
"You ain't seen nothing yet."
The new movie's called Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. It is exactly what it sounds like.
Meanwhile they're going to pop open a small bucket of ice cream and goes to town on it.
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At some point in the horrendous film, he just can't watch it anymore. If he had a physical brain, it would have melted out of his skull. Instead he turns to them, facing them with utter disbelief.
He asks but one thing; "Why."
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Also they sound too cheerful when they say, "Because it's fucking good."
But judging by the sly grin on their face, Nekane's just fucking with Héctor. Maybe.
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