Deus Ex: Cosplay Revolution

Apparently they liked musicals here.

Like, really liked musicals. More so than Bollywood did, and that was saying something. Swear every other Bollywood film that came out was a musical or something ridiculous. Could remember seeing this one film about an android guy who could magnetize guns and lift up cars and shit, and he was after this hot chick. He flies through a car, surfs on the driver, does some hardcore parkour, and I think there's a snake made of people, too. Swear the best part was where he gets these two gas can trucks to squeeze together, and he ramps off the police truck that flies through.

What was that called? Indian Robot Endhira? Man, that was an awesomely cheesy film. It was twelve different kinds of ridiculous, but not nearly as much as turning Star Wars into a musical with ponies. At least those MIBs didn't interrupt. Hell, where were they anyway?

Y'know, if I ever directed a movie, and it had to be a musical, there'd be three songs in it. The first would be the intro, the second would be the main character's rockin cool badass acoustic theme, and the last would be the villain's song. The plot would basically be "Villain is bad, hero must use badass skills regarding badassery to badass his way through hordes of mooks," and most of the money would go into the action scenes. Honestly, it'd just be an action movie where the main character was a redneck banjo player, and the villain was a city-slicker, and it'd be awesome. It'd get, like, a bajillion Academy Awards, and I'd be rolling in gazillions of cash and snorting cocaine off the backs of hookers on an island in the Caribbeans, not paying any taxes. Man, I'd be part of the one percent!

Except, of course, for the fact that I was kinda preoccupied with... my life right now, I guess. If- no, when- I got home, I'd start writing.

Right now, I was sitting outside, sitting with my "girlfriend". Quotation marks necessary, considering I'd known her for less than a week. This wasn't a Disney movie, far as I knew.

"So, what'd you think?"

Almost want to shrug. "Pretty good. Not a big fan of musicals, but alright."

"What? What's wrong with musicals?"

I scratch my chin. Irritatingly, there's a bit of stubble. "Why the heck are they bursting into song all the time? Like, in the scene with the beams, and the duel between the old guy and Vader. Why are they bursting into song?"

She scoffs. "Oh, and how would you have it?"

"More explosions. Less orchestra, less bright and cheeriness," I say, remembering something. "Hey, was there a little black box, bout the size of a deck of cards, that you got when you picked up my possessions?"

"Yeah, you want it?"

"If you would be so kind as to get it and the pair of earbuds out for me, that'd be nice," I say. She digs through her purse, finally pulling out my phone and the earbuds. It's got a couple scratches on the glass, but as far as I know it's damn near indestructible. Soon as it's out, I grab it, turn it on, and wait.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the battery: almost eighty percent, luckily. I turn it away from her, sliding my thumb in a practiced pattern to unlock it. The screen flashes, and the familiar home screen opens up. I grin, plugging the earbuds in and giving her one. She's tentative in putting it in, but a quick assurance of "it won't be too loud" and she's got the little piece of plastic in her big ear.

Start scrolling through the menus, looking for the thousand or so songs I got on this piece of plastic. I grin when I see the folder, tapping it once. A couple dozen songs appear, and I start scrolling through them. Van Halen, Nine Inch Nails, AC/DC, the lot of them. I get down to the "P"s, and there's one song I see that makes the grin on my face split open wide.

"Here, listen to this. It'd be the song I'd play for the theme of a movie if I directed one." Soon as she comprehends that, I hit the play button, and I watch her reaction.

At first, it's one of surprise. Must not have heard anything like electric guitars and drums. Then when the bass comes in, she jumps. Soon as the band starts saying "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey" she's nodding her head. By the time the actual singing starts, she's grinning. Halfway through she's got her eyes closed and her head banging.

She's almost... sad, when it ends. "I... I liked that. It was weird, though. Never heard that kind of music before."

"Yeah. That's the kind of music I like. Symphonic is good and all, but give me guitars and drums and bass, and you've got me set for years," I say. Then I slip the phone into my pocket, taking the earbud out of my ear. "What kinda music you like?"

"Swing jazz, big band, some classical."

"Not a big fan of classical myself, but there's some swing I like." I stand up, cracking my back and helping her up. "So, where to next?"

"Could go to the park, if you want, or straight back home. Think you need the rest, after that stay in the hospital. Plus, I got a couple questions I gotta ask you."

I shrug, scanning the area around for the two suited mares. They aren't anywhere to be seen, but that doesn't mean they're not there. I'd learned that while hunting, and it was more than anything true when you were stalking deer or stalking people. "Lemme think about it."