Second Floor Common Room, Saturday Afternoon

[wantstodirect]

Because he clearly didn't spend enough time already watching television and movies, Tony was in the common room with a bomb bottle of cola and a bag of chips, watching TV and thinking about ordering a pizza.

Professional interest only, really. Besides, there was a Wendy the Werewolf Stalker marathon on.

Comments

[future_sandworm]

Leto was on his way out when he noticed the TV was on in the second floor common room. Tony was there, he noticed, and as he had made peace with him, the man could just as well be expected to answer a few questions.

"What is that really about?"

It had been on a few days earlier and had made little sense to Leto.

[wantstodirect]

"Mostly it's about how high school is hell," Tony said. "With the werewolves and demons being metaphors for what normal teenagers face every day. There's also a whole theme of female empowerment, which some say is undercut 'cause every guy Wendy dates tries to kill her, but compared to Bitterwoman, it's a step forward."

[future_sandworm]

"Ah. I didn't understand the metaphors," Leto replied, taking a seat at the edge of the couch. "Coming-of-age can be seen as a trial in most cultures. What do you mean by female empowerment? And who is Bitterwoman?"

He was still a little wary of Tony, but the subject was interesting and one he had promised himself to devote more time to. Well, not this series in particular, but popular culture in general.

[wantstodirect]

Tony wasn't sure of Leto either, but it was television. He could totally talk about TV. "Usually in horror movies, the blonde chick gets chased by the monster and has to be rescued by a guy. This series," he waved a hand at the screen, "was created by a guy who thought maybe it'd be cool if the blonde chick kicked the monster's ass." He took a drink of his pop. "Bitterwoman's an older show. She kicks ass, too, but she does it wearing this skimpy outfit so it's less feminist and more heterosexual fantasy material."

[future_sandworm]

"I see," Leto said, trying to process this. "Women are traditionally not expected to carry weapons? And is the skimpy clothing more traditional or just a way to expose more skin?"

[wantstodirect]

"Both," Tony said to the second question. "Female superheroes have been wearing skimpy costumes for decades, but mainly because they're targeted to a male audience. And the old-fashioned viewpoint is that men carry the weapons and protect the women."

[future_sandworm]

"It seems unfair to offer little chance of defending themselves when there are no men present," Leto replied. "So, are men expected to find it enticing to watch half-naked women fight on film, even if they would not expect to face them in real life?"

[wantstodirect]

"Well, women do carry weapons. Reality's more practical," Tony said. "And... yeah. Do men fight women where you're from?"

[future_sandworm]

"Not as a rule," Leto replied. "But every Fremen woman carry a crysknife, just like the men, and they are taught how to use it. Battles are fought mostly by men, but women and children will assist when they can, like cutting the throats of the wounded enemies and help taking them to the deathstills."

[wantstodirect]

Tony stared at Leto for a moment. His thought of your world is seriously freaky probably showed on his face. "Deathstills?" he asked at last.

[future_sandworm]

Tony's reaction amused Leto. "Deathstills are where you extract the water from a dead body. Arrakis is a desert world, water is precious. It belongs to the tribe, and the water of fallen enemies are taken as well."

[wantstodirect]

Ewww. "You kill people and squeeze the water out of them?" He didn't try to hide his disgust at that thought.

[future_sandworm]

Leto's voice hardened. "No, we make sure that the waters of our enemies are not wasted and we let their water become part of the tribes'." He waved a hand. "You might not know what it's like in a place where water is precious."

[wantstodirect]

"No," Tony said, his voice hardening as well. "And you might now know what it's like in a place where killing other people to live is considered a shitty thing to do."

[future_sandworm]

"I understand you fight wars too," Leto snapped. "What do you do with the dead?"

[wantstodirect]

"It's not about what we do with the dead," Tony said, though taking all the water from dead bodies was seriously creepy. Especially since all he could picture was one of those things that you used to get the juice out of oranges. "It's about what we do with the living. Wounded enemies get treated, not slaughtered."

[future_sandworm]

"And would you risk the lives of your own people to do that? Our supplies are limited. Life in the desert is hard. Ending their lives is merciful as it spares them suffering. We offer their bodies the same respect as we offer our own." He knew Fremen customs could seem harsh to outsiders, but he would not have his people accused of cruelty.

[wantstodirect]

Tony wanted to throw a yes back in Leto's face because of course he was right and Leto was wrong but... would he kill strangers to protect friends?

Henry would. Henry wouldn't kill to live, but he'd kill to protect.

"I don't know," Tony admitted after a moment. Hopefully he'd never have to make that choice. "But it's fucked up," he had to add. Well. It was.

[future_sandworm]

"Fucked... up?" Leto raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Tony, then turned to the TV. "Do you watch this a lot?"

[wantstodirect]

"What, Wendy?" Tony looked at the TV, slightly thrown off by the subject change. Or, well, subject return, because they'd started here. "Not much anymore. I've seen all the episodes. I just rewatch once in a while."

[future_sandworm]

They would probably never get anywhere with that subject, Leto thought. "There are many?" There was still a coldness in his voice, but he had been in too many arguments recently.

[wantstodirect]

"Yeah, it ran for a while." He looked at Leto. "Do you even know what a TV episode is?"

[future_sandworm]

"I assumed that it was a part of some longer story being told," Leto replied. "But we don't have TV. What else is there to watch? Considering the number of channels I rarely find anything that catches my interest, but perhaps I lack the background knowledge necessary."

[wantstodirect]

"Yeah, that's the idea," Tony said, glad to let the other subject drop. 'Cause, yeah, no easy answers there. "What would you be interested in?"

[future_sandworm]

"I... am not sure." He looked at Tony. "But I am quite prepared to learn more about the culture here." He said it a little pointedly, as Tony clearly made no effort to understand Fremen culture. "What do you like watching?"