Katpride
Story Collector
Cut to commercials.
Fade-in from black: An external view of the storefront of Dual Flame Outfitters, set at an angle where the hanging sign is in center focus. A wide walking lane bookended by other, less distinct shops stretches in the distance behind the sign. The camera steadily pans out and turns until the storefront is seen from the front, with the doors in the lower third of the shot. The facade is pale red brick with a more vibrant blue trim around the door and windows. The tempered glass doors are propped open, inviting the viewer inside.
(Soft, orchestral music plays. Something tasteful, cheerful but understated. It is not trying to grab the viewer’s attention, merely giving them something to listen to if they choose to tune in.)
The camera follows the unspoken invitation, smoothly gliding into the store. It is empty of customers or staff, but full of its usual wares. The stained glass skylight casts multicolored light over the smooth wooden floor. The camera lingers for a moment on the checkout counter, set directly in sight of the doors, before cutting to a view of the apparel side of the store, moving slowly over the racks of clothing.
CAPTION (serifed text, white overlaid on a curling black banner, at the bottom of the screen): Custom clothes available by commission.
(The music picks up in tempo, a fractional change that marks the turn in the wordless song.)
Another cut, this time to the weaponry side of the store. The metallic weapons are freshly polished and razor sharp. The camera moves over the displays with the same unhurried pace as it did the other side of the store.
CAPTION: For custom weaponry, ask for the blacksmith.
The weapons fade out, and a new scene fades in. The front facade of the store is visible once more, and a dark, half-transparent overlay fades in over the center of the screen, the OVERLAY and CAPTION popping in once it settles on a transparency.
OVERLAY (more white text, now larger, in a swooping font and stark against the faded scene): Dual Flame Outfitters: Handcrafted Weapons & Apparel
CAPTION (sans background): All are welcome.
(The address, phone number, and website for the store are listed neatly beneath the caption.)
This time, the view is a timelapse - blurred shapes of people enter and exit the store or pass by en route to other shops. The sun sets behind the store, but the lights stay lit even as the streetlights click on. The crowd thins, but there are still groups seen entering and exiting. Between two groups, with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quickness, a solitary shape slips into the store, indistinct except for their silhouette, caped and cowled. It matches no notable figure; it could be a hero, or a villain, or simply someone on their way to a Renaissance fair. They slip out again in a blur moments later, a bundle of fabric over their arm and a new sheath at their hip, and disappear offscreen.
The commercial fades out, and another fades in.
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