Tale #26: Movie Night (Illustration)

Tale #26: Movie Night (Part 4 of the Idiot Box series!) (Content Tags: Messy diapers, braindrain, analog horror, surrealism.) It was Friday and Derek was excited. After enough begging, he'd convinced his mom to let him have a sleepover! He'd invited his friend from school, Nick, to come over for the night. They'd eat pizza, play games, and mom would even take them to Blockbuster to rent something! It'd be a perfect evening for a couple of excitable kids like them. But then, there were the diapers. Or as he'd come to consider them, his 'TV-time pants'. In the last month, they'd come second nature to him, for whenever he sat himself in front of the screen. He'd resisted it at first, but for some reason, he hardly thought about them anymore. Derek and his mother had been well trained by the beast in the box. The tyke had been dinner for the monster every time he plopped down to watch something, so his mind had been thoroughly reprogrammed to not think too hard about the diapers. His mother had been gaslit by nonexistent shows and news items, each with their fantastical points punctuated by the otherworldly presence. Derek wore the diapers, he watched TV, he filled his pants while his mind was munched, and his mother casually cleaned him up like there wasn't an abnormality in the world about it. Day in, day out. It was a wonder that Derek was still reliable in his toileting when he was away from the TV, with how ingrained the creature's tendrils were in his noodle. So neither thought about how the diapers might be problematic with a guest who was unfamiliar to the odd ritual. To Nick, Derek was the same friend he'd known for two years now; no strange behavior at school or anything, maybe a little more spaced out, but that was half the bored kids in the classroom anyways. Nick got dropped off around six, and Derek welcomed him in with open arms. The boy had been to busy cleaning his room and finishing his chores to watch much TV since he'd gotten home from school. So Derek was at his most lucid, and TV wouldn't be on his mind until they watched something later on. "Come in! I wanna show you my room, and I can show you the games I got too! Have you heard of Super Smash Bros? Its really, really cool. You can play as Mario, or Link...Or even Pikachu! I've rented it so many times that my mom finally just bought it!" Derek was talking a mile a minute, and Nick was a little surprised at how much energy his friend had. This morning in class, Derek had seemed way more subdued! Of course, Nick was clueless to the fact that Derek had been watching cartoons before school; the 'preschool run', as Derek called it: Chipmunks, Fantastic Max, Wacky Races and A Pup Named Scooby Doo! And appropriate to the intended audience, Derek had dropped some serious stink bombs in his diapers while watching them. Nick was a somewhat more quiet lad. He wasn't necessarily meek, but perhaps too polite for his own good. It was actually part of the reason that they made such great friends, since Derek tended to be more impulsive and outspoken; they helped to round eachother out. "No, is it new? I haven't heard about it before." Nick replied, walking inside with an overnight bag slung over his shoulder, clearly a garage-sale purchase by the dated visage of the ninja turtles on it. "Does it have Bomberman in it? I really wanted to play that, but my parents said it sounded too violent." Derek led his friend up the stairs, "I dunno, you can unlock characters though, so maybe he's in there!" Upon Derek opening the door to his room, his friend wrinkled his nose ever so slightly. While the blond had grown nose-blind to it, there was the definite scent of baby powder and baby wipes. It was faint, but familiar, since Nick had a baby brother still in Pampers. He wanted to ask about it, since he knew Derek was an only child, but didn't want to be too blunt. Maybe he'd had company over? Like a baby cousin? Or maybe his mom had been babysitting a neighbor kid? The more embarrassing answer hung in his mind though, that his fearless friend may still be a bedwetter. Nick didn't plan to tease him about it, though the thought did settle strangely in his brain. Nick had wet the bed a few times before, which unbeknownst to him, was probably also accurate for most of his second grade clas, but never to the point that he'd had to wear a *diaper* to bed! He was so caught up in these hypotheticals, that he hadn't realized that Derek was pulling out all sorts of toys to show him. "..An' this one is Goku, he's from this awesome show I started watchin. You ever seen Toonami? Its sooooo cool! It usually comes on after Captain Planet, and its also got this show Sailor Moon, and..." Derek's frenetic explanation got cut short as the sound of his mom's voice bellowed from downstairs. "Boys! We need to go! I called our pizza in, and we still need to get your movie before we pick it up!" Derek scrambled back to his feet and grabbed his friend's hand, "I'll tell you more 'bout it later!" The second shock of the evening, which was still just the start of a conga line, was when they went to get in the car. Derek's mother explained that she only had the one booster seat for Derek, which the seat itself, was already a seldom followed legality at their age. She promised it to their guest, and instead had pulled out Derek's old carseat for her son to use. Derek barely looked phased by it. Any other boy their age would be raising a fuss about being forced into something so infantilizing, but the lad just accepted that this was happening and let his mother strap him in, like he was still a toddler. Again, Nick was too polite to ask questions, or to deny that he needed the booster seat, so instead he languished in both firsthand and secondhand embarrassment. Was this what his friend was like at home? A room that smelled like diapers? A carseat? It was all so confusing! Soon, after a ride full of Derek trying to explain who the rest of the Smash Bros characters were, they were greeted by the bright blue signage of the rental place. Derek's mother led them inside and told them that they could pick out one VHS and one cartridge to rent. Meanwhile, she'd go to the more mature section to find something to watch for herself. Derek made the executive decision to select a game first. The two little boys walked down one of the aisles, spotting empty boxes of all sorts of titles. N64, Super Nintendo, Gameboy, Playstation, and even games for the Saturn! Sure, some of the slots were empty from current rentals, but the variety was stunning. "Let's see...AeroGauge, Banjo...Looks like someone already got Bomberman. They got Glover though, and Goldeneye." Derek's grubby little fingers ran across every cardboard box he could reach. Nick seemed disappointed, but also began to look at the colorful art of all their options. "What do you think Lode Runner is? Or Go...Goemon? Oh, hey, they got Rugrats! I guess that's kinda for babies though...Right? Who wants to play as a buncha diaper babies anyways?" Derek squinted and looked at the cover, before shrugging. "The show's pretty funny, especially Dill. He always makes a face and shouts out 'poopie!'" The boy giggled, doing his own reenactment of said scene. Some older boys down the aisle looked back at them and snickered amongst themselves at Derek's juvenile behavior. Nick blushed at his friend's answer and subsequent impression, he'd thought that Derek might be like him about it, in overcompensating maturity. He let out an awkward laugh and tried to move things past it. "Uhhh...How about one of these two: Mario Party or Pokemon Snap?" Nick pointed the pair out, thinking that they had the best brand recognition to work with. "Mom says you're the guest, so I think you should pick. They both sound good to me! My neighbor gets Nintendo Power, so I saw a lil' bit of botha' those!" Nick smiled and ended up reaching for Mario Party; he grabbed the box and gave his friend a nod that it was time to move on. The pair left the realm of gaming and found themselves in the familiar section of 'family-friendly entertainment' that they each were still fully relegated to. Much like the previous aisle, this one was also stuffed to the gills with options. Derek was already scanning each row, while Nick started at a different part of it. "Brave Little Toaster, Great Mouse Detective, Land Before Time, Cats Don't Dance...The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein?" Nick furrowed his brow. "I saw that one! It looked way better than the show does." Derek replied, to which Nick shook his head. "I haven't really seen the show. My mom doesn't let me watch TV before school. She says TV rots your brain." Derek looked aghast, though ironically that statement was true, specifically in his case at least. "No TV before school?! But all the cartoons!" Nick shrugged, "Isn't it mostly baby stuff that early anyways? Like, that otter show? My baby brother really likes that one." The blond was quiet for a moment, almost a little embarrassed, since PB&J Otter was something he'd often change to, if one of his usual shows was having a rerun. "...Wow, speakin' of babies...Baby Geniuses! Haha, how's a baby supposta be a genius? All they do is poop in their diapers all day and drool!" Nick laughed, picking up one of the VHS boxes. This actually got a blush from Derek, who was having to think about his TV-time diapers for the first time since Nick had come over. Did wearing them make him a baby? He *knew* he was a big boy, but... The boy's hand reached out, trying desperately to erase the thought. "Barney's Great Adventure, we could watch that!" His friend was flummoxed. Nick genuinely had to wonder if Derek was intentionally trying to mess with him now; only a few months ago, Derek had ardently complained about how the teacher had put on an episode of Barney in class for a 'movie day', and how Barney was as baby as baby got, and now he was suggesting they lower themselves to watching it? "...You're playing with me, right?" Nick cringed, grimacing openly at the big dopey dinosaur on the cover. "Is your mom gonna make us some bottles and powder our butts too?" The blond quickly laughed it off and grabbed something else, "J-just kidding, Nicky! We should get Zombie Island; Terry saw it and he said that its super-duper scary! Way more than the show." Nick didn't look fully convinced, not about the fright factor of the Scooby Doo movie, but that his friend was only joking about Barney. He'd seemed pretty genuine in his recommendation of it. "Uh, yeah, let's get that...You feelin' okay, Derek? You've been actin' kinda weird today..." The boy insisted everything was fine and instead tugged Nick along to go pick out some candy, before the conversation got too awkward. Nick decided to drop it for now, though the question would undoubtedly rise again when it came time to watch their movie. A small degree of normalcy returned to their evening after that. They picked out candy and soda, they went and got their pizza, and they went back to Derek's house, where the first thing after a hearty dinner was taking the new game for a spin, along with some other cartridges in Derek's library. The console was in the upstairs gameroom, and the boys were plopped belly first on some beanbag chairs to play. They played, they laughed, they had a great time. Derek looked to be acting normal again, so Nick felt like he had just been paranoid, maybe because it was their first sleepover together. Then it was time for the feature presentation. Zombie Island! Bound to scare the bejeezus outta the tykes! They had to take the party downstairs, where Derek's mother had set up a pallet on the floor for them to lounge on in front of the only TV with a VCR. There was popcorn, candy, leftover pizza, and as much soda as the boys could want! And then Derek had to excuse himself with his mother, leaving Nick alone to change into his pajamas and to wonder why they'd had to leave the room. For Nick, pajamas ended up just being an oversized shirt that draped down over his knees, with Toy Story underoos on underneath. He waited, sitting on the pallet impatiently. He thought he heard a crackle come from the TV, and as he looked up, he saw something strange. Derek's mother had left it muted, on the TV Guide channel, but now there was something flashing across a chyron at the bottom. 'Good little boys don't ask too many questions' It looped around a few times, which Nick thought was profoundly bizarre. Was that supposed to be some kind of advertisement for a new show? The screen flickered again, only for a moment, like an underlying static was trying to push through. The shows, with their titles and times being displayed, began to turn eerie as well. Episodes that didn't exist, to full-blown nonexistent shows, all scrolling past and all looked to have descriptions that followed a pattern: babies, diapers, mindlessness, monsters... Nick was creeped out. He trotted over to the couch, where their rental sat, and he grabbed the tape. He'd had to use the VCR at home to placate his baby brother, so he could be responsible and get things started here! He popped the tape in and changed the TV to channel 3. After some previews, the TV settled and he breathed a sigh of relief as the typical FBI warning flashed on the screen. Taking the remote, he paused it there, so that Derek wouldn't miss anything in his absence. He sat back on the pallet and rocked back and forth, bored and anxious; he started to read the white text on the red screen, as he's never actually done so before. The first half was just legal jargon about piracy that he could barely read, let alone understand, but then as he reached the second paragraph, the CRT rippled like a scar. 'STAY SAFE BY FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS: DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, DON'T RUN AWAY, DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM THE SCREEN, DON'T BE AFRAID, DON'T BE DIFFICULT. EVERYTHING IS NORMAL, YOU ARE NOT IN ANY DANGER.' Nick's eyes widened. What the heck?! Had this always been the message? It was so creepy! It was more than that, it was unsettling in a way that he'd never felt before. He didn't have long to dwell on it before his friend was hopping back down the steps of the stairs, now wearing a blue pair of pajamas with prints of clouds on them. His mother trailed behind him, "You boys enjoy your movie. I'll be in my bedroom if you need me, okay?" "Okay, mommy! We'll be good in here!" Derek chirped as he hopped down to the final step, something rustling underneath his pajamas. Nick didn't hear it, instead he was distraught and gesturing at the TV. "M-miss Derek's mom? There's somethin' weird on the screen..." The woman dimmed the lights and chuckled, "That's just the warning, sweetie. You don't have to worry about that." Before Nick could expound further on his issues with it, she had picked up the remote and hit play, moving past the cryptic message. She gave her son a pat on the head and put the remote on the coffee table, "Come see me after your movie, okay?" Derek nodded, knowing as usual, he'd have poopy Pamps to take care of! He plopped down on the stretched blanket and tugged at Nick's shirt to have him follow suit. "This is gonna be so good!" Nick sat down next to his friend, and again he thought he was smelling baby powder. "Hey Derek, you ever uh, you ever actually read that FBI thing at the beginning of the tapes?" The blond shook his head and reached for the bowl of popcorn, "Nuh-uh, too long. Sounds boring too, like what they put on a mattress tag." Nick frowned, "I was reading it, and it got like, really weird. Like, saying not to be scared and stuff." Derek tilted his head, mouth half-full of popcorn, "Scared of what? The movie?" The other boy considered whether that was plausible, or maybe it'd been creepy because it was supposed to be a scary movie? "..I dunno. It was just kind of spooky. We can rewind it after we watch it, and I'll show you." "Sure, I got something to rewind it with. Looks like a racecar, too!" Derek idly bragged, slurping some sofa and excitedly squirming in anticipation of Scooby Doo on the 'big screen'. Nick tried to relax, as the movie started and was honestly captivated by it. It was hard to believe how much better it looked than the show! He kept hearing something crinkle, but he assumed it was Derek's bag of gummy worms. About halfway through the movie, before the titular zombies had made much of an appearance, Nick started to notice oddities with the quality of the picture. More ripples, more short bursts of underlying static. He looked to Derek, but his friend didn't even seem to notice it, too busy slurping gummy worms like spaghetti noodles. Then came distortions in the audio, infrequent at first, and then more and more often. There were strange pauses in the movie, where the scene would stop and characters would silently look at the 'camera' for an uncomfortable amount of time. Nick was getting scared by the movie, but it wasn't for the reasons that he thought he should be. He was going to ask Derek if it seemed 'off' to him, but then the screen turned to complete static, and a horrifying face began to materialize in the sea of monochromatic distortions. Nick wanted to scream, but it pitifully died in his throat and left his mouth a barely audible whimper. "Thissss...isss...theeee...bessst..parrtt.." Derek slurred in a daze, luminescent hands breaking past the barrier of the screen to stretch toward him. Derek didn't try to escape. Instead, he rolled forward onto his knees and began to inch closer to the TV with a dopey look on his face. "..the...best...part..." He repeated, one of the hands latching onto his face, while two others grabbed him by the arms. Nick was frozen, either by terror or by the otherworldly presence of whatever lived inside the television set. He had to continue to simply watch as another hand tugged down Derek's pajama pants, just a little, to expose what was clearly a puffy white diaper. "dOn'T lOoK aWaY fRoM tHe ScReEn." The creature had spoke, and against every iota of his will to look away, Nick could only stare ahead at the TV, and Derek by default. He heard a gassy outburst, then another lower one, was Derek really about to...? The back of the diaper began to tent outward, as if to answer Nick's question, growing slowly into a well-defined lump. It was completely reminiscent of Nick's baby brother, when he pooped in his own diaper, but it looked totally alien on his 'big boy' best friend. Derek grunted softly, more crackling sounds coming from his seat, and the diaper bulging further with all the smelly solids he was trapping beneath the plastic-backed prison of his Pampers. He was drooling too, mentally vacant in an almost direct proportion to the fleeting vacancy of his crinkling babypants. The hand gave the lump a pat of praise and raised his pajama pants back up over it, the others starting to recede back into the screen from whence they came. The static was fading from the screen, though that horrible face looked right into Nick's eyes before it fully faded away. Then...Everything was normal. Sort of. The movie was over, and Nick could remember everything about it, as if he'd really watched the whole thing from start to finish. The credits were rolling. "...Its terror time again! And you might just die of fright!" Nick blinked, his green eyes glazing over briefly. Had something happened? He couldn't remember anything happening outside the movie, but there was an overwhelming sense of dread that he couldn't shake. Derek was sitting flat, his diaper full and his face beaming at what he'd just seen. "That was so, so, SO cool! You think they'll make another one?" Nick returned the broad smile, his unconscious fear drifting off. "That'd be awesome! Maybe they can return to the island and--" His nose wrinkled. "Did you fart? It smells like poop."