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fiendishartist2 · 3 months ago

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im not fucking around anymore. here's the full "Paul is Care" essay i've been working on:

“Alright. So there's uh, nothing out here, as far as I've seen. But actually, I think there is something out here. I just haven't seen it yet.”

In Petscop, the story is told between the lines. When you feel like you have a grasp on it, a single colour or date throws off everything you’ve built up. That’s why I like to look at Petscop in another way; not as a series of events, but an exploration of a single character: Paul.

Some people like to map everything out in a single timeline; when did Care go missing, when did the family get the game, when did Lina and Mike die. I think that every interpretation of Petscop has its own value, because Petscop means something different to everyone who watches it. But, when I look at Petscop, I don’t just see a series of events wrapped up in the mystery of Care’s disappearance. I see a video game used as a device to explore and understand the connection between the past and the present. I see the ways in which Paul Leskowitz is Carrie Mark.

I know that to some that notion might seem crazy; the broader discussion of Petscop is different to the niche ones held by crazy people in the tags of a Tumblr post . Obviously, this theory is personally significant and I hold it very near and dear to my heart. But, I want to share this theory in a way that makes sense to the general audience of Petscop because I genuinely believe you guys are missing out! So, keep an open mind and enter my Petscop mind-palace…

“...were signs along the way. Um, that I ignored. Because it would have been a completely ridiculous idea to me. Um. But when I found my room, it made, uh, well, I was shocked at first, but it made sense, especially considering where I found the game in the first place, um, that it would be tied, in some way, to me through you. Um. And I'm trying to think, when was the last time I saw any of you at all? It had to have been in like, 1999. I was a kid, I was a small kid. Tiny kid. Um. And after that, just, you know. But, it would make sense in the timeline.” (Petscop 11)

A lot of Petscop theories surround the actual textual proof found in the videos, so that’s where I’ll start. There’s many instances where Paul makes the connection between himself and Care, but one moment continues to stick with me. In Petscop 11, Paul finally enters the house and takes a look around. He’s on the phone with someone, presumably Belle. Paul goes up to the calendars and starts talking about Care, “Yeah, on that topic... I don't remember meeting this girl at all. Um, I don't remember knowing her at any point (…) Um, and I remember you saying that we were, that we, we are, um, exactly the same age.” (Petscop 11). He points out that he and Care share the same birthday, down to the year. We get further confirmation of this in Petscop 14, when Paul’s conversation with Jill that he had on his own birthday is superimposed onto Care’s. The next part though, is what really gets the theory started, “I do agree there's a resemblance. Um. Very strong resemblance between us.” (Petscop 11).

Faces are incredibly important in Petscop. Marvin thought Care and Mike could be rebirthed into Lina because they had similar features, and Care had to be given Mike’s eyebrows specifically to change her room. So, for Paul and Care to have such similar facial features that someone else pointed out the resemblance is significant.

They also happen to share the name “Leskowitz”, which is both Anna and Lina’s last name. We know this because his Reddit account is “p_leskowitz”.

If he’s a Leskowitz, then that explains his complicated feelings towards “the family”. “The family” is a foreboding presence throughout Petscop. Their meddling isn’t outright malicious, but even Paul admits that he’s intimidated by them. And it makes sense, as “the family” (comprised of Anna and Jill) each have a major role in the core mystery of Petscop. Anna is the mother of Care and the wife of Marvin, while Jill is Marvin’s sister and the mother of both Rainer and Mike. To be a Leskowitz, Paul would need to be blood related to Anna or Lina in some way. Paul shows that he has this relation to the family in Petscop 22, when he’s talking to Belle about finding the windmill, “And, I don't th- and you don't have to worry about it, right, 'cause... 'cause you aren't, you aren't family, so you wouldn't... have a room, that's the thing.” (Petscop 22). In this context, Paul is asking Belle whether Jill has contacted her. When he tells her she doesn’t have a room, this is in reference to the Child Library explored in Petscop 3 and 7. This means that in order to be part of the Leskowitz-Mark family (and in our case, related to Care), you have to have a room in the Child Library, something both Paul and Care possess.

Paul being related to the family is also supported by his casual mention of meeting Rainer as a child, “‘Rainer’... I saw him at a birthday party once. All the older kids were down in the basement playing video games, to hide from everyone. He was down there, too. He was older than the rest of them, though.” (Petscop 11), and his confusion of not knowing Care, with the implication that if she was real, he would have met her through the family.

A rarely discussed aspect of Paul’s character is that he can’t tell his left from his right. When he’s doing the disc puzzle in Anna and Marvin’s room is Petscop 11, “Um, we can see what the room looks like in that recording, um, on the uh, right? ... Left? Left? Right ... side.” (Petscop 14) and before he even enters the house, “And, I mean, I still get confused about that. Because, I mean, well, I know it's always the top, but, um, I still have to think. I have to think.” (Petscop 11), we can clearly see that he has trouble with directions. In a similar fashion, Care is described as “dizzy”, most notably in the end credits of Petscop. She is also described as blind by Rainer in Petscop 17, “You were blind. At some point, your movements stopped making sense.” (Petscop 17). In the counsellor’s office, the counsellor says to Paul, “Are you right handed, or left handed? You don't know? Really?” (Petscop 22). I’ll get more into it later, but this sequence is presumably a real conversation that the game is recreating. If this scene is taken from Care’s real childhood, then it confirms that she also had problems with her lefts and rights.

Now, this is the base level of the theory. It’s easy to figure out that Paul is a Leskowitz, he literally calls them “the family”. And while I think the bits about faces and birthdays and directions are significant to this theory, I wanted to get all of the textual evidence out of the way so that I could get into the fun part of this essay: the subtext.

”Some things you can't rewrite.” (Petscop 14)

Petscop is nothing if not a collection of symbols and metaphors. Ask me what Petscop is all about on any given day and there’s a non-zero chance I will start explaining why the car is orange. While it is necessary to analyse Petscop as a real series of events, I think that another approach can be taken; what if we analysed Petscop as a series of events that are happening to Paul specifically? That the game is creating meaning by placing Paul specifically in these snippets of the past. By looking at each moment as “Why did the game make Paul do this?” instead of “What is happening in the game?”, we can see everything through a new lens.

First, I want to discuss colour. Colour plays a huge role in Petscop; almost every character is assigned their own colour. This is most often used to denote who is speaking in text, but it’s also used for other things like the tool. You are probably aware that Care’s colour is yellow, as all of her text is yellow. What you might not know is that Paul’s colour is red. Paul has exactly one instance in all of Petscop where he has coloured text and that is in Petscop 22, when he gives the counsellor his name. The calendars in the house are also colour coded, as the one showing 2017 is red.

One of my favourite moments in all of Petscop uses colour in a way that supports this theory perfectly. When Paul takes Care out of the rebirthing machine, she has been transformed into an Easter egg. A red and yellow striped Easter egg. I will get into this egg later on, but for now, I want to point out how Paul and Care’s colours have been used here. Of course, it’s significant just that they've been put together, but it's more than that. Care’s final form, the egg she has been placed in to keep her safe from all of the trauma she has suffered, that she will spend the rest of the series in, is painted a combination of her and Paul’s colours. In the same sequence, when Paul is playing the Needles Piano for Care B, the “wrong” notes he plays to turn her into the Easter Egg are all red. There’s a joke about eggs and transness in here somewhere.

Right after Care’s rebirth into the egg, Paul places her in the locker with the purple egg and the “new life” letter. If we abide by the established colour theory, this second egg would be Belle’s/Tiara’s egg. By putting them together, alongside the letter, it symbolises Care and Belle’s transfer to Lina’s care; this can also be supported by the ending of Petscop. In the final scene of the soundtrack, Belle recounts when she and Paul were adopted, “There is Boss waiting for her son. Pall do you remember being born. Smuggled away driving to your new house. Boss in driver seat me in back.” (Petscop Soundtrack). “Do you remember being born” is a question posed over and over again throughout Petscop. It’s meant to be a reference to rebirthing, but here it’s Paul being asked if he remembers being born, not Care; you can also connect this to the “new life” letter, making it apparent Belle is asking if he remembers when he was given his “new life” with her and “Boss”. There’s also the implication of the wording “smuggled away”, implying that there was something stopping Paul from being taken to his new home. Paul and Care’s final scenes parallel each other; Care is placed with Belle’s/Tiara’s egg with the “new life” letter, while Paul is taken back to “Boss” by Belle. Care and Paul are both asked if they “remember being born”.

Another, smaller piece of colour theory in Petscop comes from the board games in the counsellor’s office. The board game “Accident” features red and yellow puzzle pieces that fit together, but are broken apart. Remember that Care’s colour is yellow, so assume that she symbolises the yellow piece; Paul’s colour is red, so assume that he symbolises the red piece. The red piece is bigger and fits into the smaller yellow piece, like it’s missing the beginning of it. The yellow piece comes before the red piece, as if it adds context to the red piece. When we think of this in terms of Care and Paul, we can see that Care is the “missing piece” of Paul; the small part of his past that adds the context that completes him. Paul’s piece is bigger because he’s been Paul for so much longer (if we interpret the counsellor’s office as a real event the way it is shown, then that could be the moment he changed. Or, if we consider Care’s rebirth into the egg as the moment Care turned into Paul, then that would be the moment instead), meanwhile Care’s piece is small because she was only a small part of his life.

Taking colour into account, we can get into the meat of the symbolism in Petscop. When we view the events of Petscop through our new lens, many things become significant. Paul is placed in the role of Care many times throughout the series; on Care’s birthday, in the counsellor's office, and in Rainer’s “you are Carrie Mark” monologue.

During the “strange situation” birthday scene, Paul carries around a yellow balloon, symbolising that he is standing in for Care. This is further cemented by Anna’s dialogue addressing Paul as if he is Care on the day she came home, “You made it. Happy birthday! (...) Why are you covering your face? (...) Of course I recognize you. Those eyes. That nose. That’s still you.” (Petscop 14).

This next dialogue from Anna is particularly interesting to me; she doesn’t just tell Paul that she’s happy Care is home safe or ask him where she’s been, but instead she says this, “I sure hope you’ve realised by now. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve changed. You aren’t lost. Stop wandering and come home.” (Petscop 14). When we talk about Petscop, we have the urge to deny any supernatural involvement in the story. Whether through AI or predictive programming or alternate timelines, we want Petscop to be plausible. Understandable. Easy to digest. But, we often forget that Paul poses the question of a literal “ghost in the machine” in the first few episodes. I want to consider this quote– Anna talking to her child who has been “lost” for many years– as an act of this ghost. The game is talking back to Paul, telling him that no matter how much he has changed, he still has the same eyes, the same nose that made him Carrie Mark. And we know how important eyes and noses are in Petscop. Also as a side note, consider how Anna didn’t specify eyebrows; we know that Care’s lack of eyebrows is in some way due to Marvin, but when she tells Paul she recognises his eyes and nose, she doesn’t add on eyebrows. Paul said it himself in Petscop 7, “Um, and why am I doing that? Well, because eyebrows seem to be important.” (Petscop 7). I like to think that she couldn’t have said that Paul has the same eyebrows because, since Marvin isn’t in the picture anymore, he wouldn’t have any reason to pluck them.

Another scene that mixes up Paul and Care is the counsellor's office. When Paul finally enters the “girl wall” in Petscop 22, he is placed into a school’s counsellor’s office. Again, they talk to Paul as if he is Care, apologising for taking him out of class and saying he needs to “catch up”, implying that he’s missed a significant amount of school. As they start to play Graverobber (Jesus Christ, Rainer), the counsellor is confused about Paul’s name; they ask him if they have the wrong name written down, as his save file is currently “Strange Situation” and when they called out the name on file, Paul didn’t respond. Now, the connection here is a little more nuanced, but it still comes to a conclusion that I think greatly supports the theory. “Strange situation” is in reference to the Mary Ainsworth Strange Situation Experiment, a test in which an infant is deliberately separated from their mother to test their level of attachment. This is a very base level understanding of this concept, but when applied to this specific scene, it becomes apparent that this “strange situation” is another reference to Care. Care was separated from her mother for about half a year, only returning during the birthday party scene; the counsellor’s scene was accessible once Paul started using the “Strange Situation” file. Care stopped recognising the name she used before the seperation, considering herself to be “Strange Situation” instead. She has literally stopped recognising the name Care, and picks out her own name (which in the game Paul sets to his own).

Also consider the implication of the “girl wall”. At first, it’s an absurd joke, meant to lighten the mood using the same roundabout humour the rest of the series has. But, the counsellor asking if they have the wrong name, listing Paul as “Strange Situation” instead of his name, combined with the fact that when Paul is placed in front of the girl wall, he can’t walk away from it, it becomes a bit of an analogy; The game keeps forcefully showing Paul the word “GiRL” over and over and when he finally enters the “girl-world” as Strange Situation, he is called the wrong name and once again placed in Care’s shoes.

Let’s revisit the “ghost in the machine” idea. In Petscop 17, we are shown a past recording of Petscop; we never find out who was playing at this time, but it’s easy to assume Paul is the one watching the recording. The footage is less interesting than the dialogue, but it is notable that it’s a recording of the player running backwards in a very deliberate pattern. The actually relevant part of this sequence is Rainer’s monologue; in particular, the way he frames it, “You are a girl named Carrie Mark, and you were born on November 12th, 1992. You have a mommy named Anna, a daddy named Marvin, an auntie named Jill, an uncle named Thomas, a cousin named Daniel, ......I know what you must be thinking. Have these statements always been true? Or have I cursed you? Is there such a thing? A curse that changes your past?” (Petscop 17). There’s something about the forcefulness of this dialogue, “You are Carrie Mark,” as if Rainer is trying to make it so just by saying it. The inclusion of the birthday is also notable; we have been shown time and time again that Paul and Care share a birthday, and that this is an important part of both of their characters. So, when Rainer asks if these statements have always been true, or if it’s “a curse that changes your past”, we’re meant to interpret it as such: some of the statements are true, but the “you” being addressed is not currently “a girl named Carrie Mark”. Rainer casts a spell to make the player retrace their steps and although he might not be playing, the use of the word “you” and present tense language makes the statement pointed towards Paul. There’s something to be said about Rainer’s position in all of this; he isn’t the only tangible “ghost” in Petscop (Marvin and Tiara fit Paul’s definition established in Petscop 6), but he’s the only one to be fully dead. It truly feels, in this moment, like Petscop– like Rainer– is talking directly to Paul. The “curse that changes your past” is the part that ties it all together. This past that Paul doesn’t fully remember, where Anna and Marvin have a daughter named Care, where someone in his family went missing for months– by learning about this through the game, Rainer is essentially changing Paul’s version of the past. Your memory and physical evidence are all you have of the past; when your memory tells you one thing, but physical evidence tells you another, what version of your past is true?

“You’re the Newmaker. You can turn Care NLM into Care A, and close the loop.” (Petscop 9)

Finally, I want to explain why this theory is supportive of the themes of Petscop. Of course, there’s the obvious link between rebirth and the change from Care to Paul. But, there’s also themes of blood family versus chosen family, breaking the cycle of abuse, and of healing from your past. I want to provide an explanation of each of these themes and how the “Paul is Care” theory fits into them.

Let’s begin with the family point, since I already expanded on the family’s role in Petscop earlier. There’s a story behind the scenes in this series; the conflict between the chosen family versus the blood family. Anna and Jill against Belle and Lina. Anna and Jill are restrictive– they take over the channel and block certain things from the audience. Paul admits that he’s intimidated by them, and he’s concerned when he thinks Jill could be in contact with Belle. When we get the only dialogue from Jill, Paul is hostile and aggressive with her, something we don’t see from him otherwise. Alternately, Anna comes off as dismissive in most of her dialogue; when Care shows up at the birthday party, Anna treats her like no time has passed, like they haven’t been searching for her for months. We don’t get direct contact between Anna and Paul (except for a phone call in Petscop 11 that you could interpret as being with Anna), but the way she talks to the player through Care during the birthday party is still dismissive, “I sure hope you’ve realised by now. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve changed. You aren’t lost. Stop wandering and come home.” (Petscop 14). There’s a level of distance between Paul and the family, which is evident from the name alone; Paul identifies himself as part of the family, but he still calls them “the family” as opposed to “my family”. When you pair that with the fact that he calls them all by their first names instead of any term of endearment (like how Rainer calls her “Auntie Jill” in his spell), it paints a clear picture: Paul does not want to be part of this family.

In direct contrast, Belle is shown a significant amount of affection from Paul. Not only is he on the phone with her for a good handful of the episodes, but Belle also has a familial connection to Paul. In Petscop 2, Paul is talking to Belle and he says “When you come home next month, and uh, hopefully you're feeling a little more enthusiastic about that now, we can investigate this together, and maybe you'll find stuff that I can't find here.” (Petscop 2). I think the casual use of the word ‘home’ to describe where Belle is staying implies a certain closeness, maybe even that they live in the same household. That’s not the part of this line that is important to me, however. Take a look at Belle’s final speech at the end of Petscop; Belle says “I could not wait too be your friend,” and Paul responds, “Family”, to which Belle says, “We can investigate this together.” (Petscop Soundtrack). After distancing himself from the family, as well as directly telling her she’s not part of the family (following it up with “Uhh... I didn't- I didn't mean it that way,” (Petscop 22), implying they have a similar connection that she’s defending), Paul calls Belle family. She states that they’re friends and Paul corrects her by telling her that they’re not just friends, but family. The most gut wrenching part of this dialogue is the use of ‘we can investigate this together’. It’s like a ward, a promise that Belle is making to Paul. He doesn’t have to go through this alone, she’s promising to be there for him. She’s going to investigate this with him, like he asked her to in the second episode. Paul doesn’t call his blood relatives family, but he tells Belle that they are his family; her and the “Boss”.

How does this connect to Care? It’s not hard evidence, but when you take this theme of family into account, it makes more sense for Paul to have a strained relationship with the family if we apply Care’s story to him. Think about it; Paul was ‘smuggled away driving too [his] new house’ and he hasn’t seen the family since he was a child, and Care’s egg was (metaphorically) placed with Belle’s and the New Life Letter when she would have been around 5, since that’s the age she was when she was kidnapped. Care went through an extremely traumatic event in a toxic environment– why wouldn’t someone step in and take her out of that family? To me, this theory extends the same closure Paul gets at the end of Petscop to Care; it tells us that even after everything she went through, she finds people who love and take care of her.

Abuse is a huge focus in Petscop, both as a plot point and a major theme. Rainer’s main motivation is to expose Marvin’s abuse of both Mike and Care to the family– whether or not that’s successful is not important. Because years after Rainer’s attempt, Paul is back doing the exact same; although, his playthrough of Petscop is less of an expose and more of an attempt at solving the mystery. Now, I think it’s a little pedantic, but in this context, I think the “cycle of abuse” in Petscop refers less to a generational cycle, but a continuous cycle that happens every time Petscop is played. Care is stuck in this version of the past that Rainer has created, forced to live through it as many years as Petscop is left on. Paul doesn’t continue this cycle though; as far as we know, Paul is the only person to reach the good ending of the game, where he’s rebirthed Care into the egg and reconnected with Belle and ‘Boss’. Paul is the only person who could understand what Care needed, because it’s exactly what he needed.

Care’s trauma is replayed for us throughout Petscop. Every knowable aspect of it is shown, leaving behind a raw feeling; like somehow, Paul and Rainer have made a spectacle of her abuse. But, I don’t think that’s entirely true. Rainer, although he is bitter and vengeful, is ultimately the person who finds the truth about Care and Mike and (if we are to believe him) is also the one who found Care at the school. In the beginning, it’s obvious that Paul is playing the game to see the mystery and is slowly engulfed by it throughout the rest of the series. When the game tells him that, “Marvin picks up tool hurts me when playstation on,” (Petscop 3), Paul proceeds anyway. The same happens when Care is caught in her room; Paul sees what is obviously a child being kidnapped and continues to solve the puzzle anyway. He picks the flower, catching Care NLM, and leads Marvin to the house. Paul follows through on everything he can to ‘solve’ the mystery of Carrie Mark, but in the end, he defies what the game has told him to do and saves Care. He does what Rainer couldn’t do: he breaks the cycle of abuse in the Mark-Leskowitz family. It’s kind of poetic, the idea that the person Care grew to be is the same person who confronts and lays to rest her trauma. The fact that playing his own theme would be the key to changing Care into the egg (a symbol of birth and potential) is beautiful.

The last thing I want to talk about is the theme of healing. This concept is more nebulous; we don’t see much of Paul post-Petscop, but the final scene does always leave me feeling hopeful for him. I think the reconnection with Belle and ‘Boss’, alongside the reassurance that, “[they] can investigate this together,” shows that Paul is out of the mindset and environment Petscop put him in. I’ve always thought that throughout Petscop, we see a deterioration of Paul; in the beginning, he’s intrigued and confused, but we see him become more and more disturbed, irritable, and frustrated towards the end. This is first evident with the CD puzzle in the house, where Paul is so out of his depth and confused that he stops acting with the same calm rationality shown throughout the earlier episodes. Then, when Paul is messing about with the demo recordings, he stops speaking in the videos entirely. When Paul sees the final blacked out object, which are coordinates to the real life windmill, he is the most stuttery we’ve ever seen, “Hm. Y- y- yep, yep. Yep... yep. N- we would- we would have to find out how big... like, we'd have to find out how big a tile is..? One of the tiles..? Like, if we could- if we could figure out how big... one tile is, in... u- in, umm... Like, feet. Or... Uhh, yeah. Meters.” (Petscop 22). He’s frazzled and excited and a little bit scared, evidenced by how he talks about the family, “They didn't... I don't like talking to them. They intimidate me…” (Petscop 22). All of this changes by the end; Paul is no longer stuck playing the game and he’s free to return to the people who love him most. This freedom is summed up in a single image: the final one we see in Petscop. Paul’s chair is empty and the blue sky beyond the desk is brimming with hope.

All this to say, Paul choosing Belle and ‘Boss’ over the game as well as saving Care by doing what’s best for her instead of finishing the final puzzle, alongside his final scene where he is welcomed home by his real family, shows us an interpretation of Petscop that paints it not as a tragedy, but a story of chosen family, breaking the cycle of abuse, and healing trauma through connection.

Thank you so much for hearing me out.

Bye-bye!

#its been done for ever i just never got around to posting it #i went through and edited it to bw more coherent tho bc this was written in the middle of a petscop fervor lol #petscop #paul leskowitz #carrie mark #im not tagging everyone #essay #petscop theory #i love you paul is care theory forever and ever #its long so you may wanna read in multiple sittings #like 10 pages long ToT #sorry not sorry #lmk if i actually made sense or if im crazy pls i want to know if this is even understandable to ppl who arent me #this was actually originally written as a video essay but idk if ill ever make it

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zahri-melitor · 5 months ago

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Batman v Ra's Al Ghul, by Neal Adams: A Bronze Age fever dream of a comic, written in 2019-2021.

Neal Adams caps off his over 50 year career with DC comics by...them letting him write a book for the first time in a decade.

Now, Adams is famous for his Bronze Age artwork, not his writing, and it's deservedly so: this is not the comic you would pick up if you were interested in award winning writing. But I have to say, it's actually something far more fun than 'good writing'.

I think the easiest way to describe the incredibly wild vibes of this title are 'Adams writes a multiverse Bronze Age time travel AU fic', where the cast technically consists of a modern set of characters (Dick is Nightwing and both Tim and Damian are Robin), but all of the characters are drawn, talking and acting like they just walked off a page in 1974 or so.

For assistance, that's: Dick in the yellow with the very 70s black vest; Tim in the blue t-shirt; Damian in the red t-shirt; and Bruce in the suit. You end up keeping track of them in this title by their haircuts.

Bruce and Damian here cannot remember anything about being Batman and Robin; Dick and Tim appear to have shown up with a fantastical story that cannot be proven (as I said, this has INCREDIBLE reality hopping AU vibes).

Some of the characters have been mindwiped. Some of the characters are robot duplicates. A whole list of characters Adams helped create show up largely because he created them (seriously Kirk and Francine Langstrom show up for a couple of pages mostly to give Dick and Tim an airlift into a difficult to reach entrance to the Cave). Nobody sounds particularly in character at any point, but that's not really a problem in this comic, because what it really is is a giant jolt of Bronze Age style writing nostalgia direct to the brainstem.

They don't make comics like this anymore and reading one written in the 2020s like this reinforces why.

Deadman's brother Aaron and sister Zeea show up; his brother is busy pretending to be an alternate Australian version of Batman called Marvin O'Hearn, and his sister is a psychic running around in the most 70s outfit imaginable controlling things and mindwiping Bruce on Ra's orders.

(And yes, if you too just asked 'Boston Brand has siblings???' the answer is 'kinda sorta but definitely not these two', however given Adams was writing Boston in 1968 at one point he's got as much right as anyone else to claim there are additional siblings)

There's a group who PRETEND to be the Court of Owls but secretly are a group of industrialists called The Money who want to control the world via paying for legislators, judges and industry (and yes I realise that sounds exactly like the Court's thing, but Adams was almost 80 when he wrote this, he can have an expy Court if he wants one).

Bruce pretends to be Matches for a good chunk of the back end of this comic and it actually acknowledges that Matches Malone was a real gangster before he died and Bruce stole his identity (something other writers and the fandom often forget), because Adams wants one more spin with the character he designed.

There's also a moment in the sixth issue where one of Ra's pet scientists tries to sell a panel of Gotham execs on a perpetual motion machine based on electrolysis as his replacement for the current Gotham power generators and at this point I lost it giggling at the portrayal of Ra's as a cheap charlatan.

(There is also a sneaky joke that only works if you know what British salad cream is; there's this sequence of the kids talking about Alfred making sandwiches with 'crappy salad dressing' instead of mayonnaise, only this tray has been made with mayo...and it's a hint that Alfred has been replaced by a robot. I laughed; I suspect it might be non-obvious to American audiences)

This is not a comic to read if you are interested in 'main continuity' or 'coherence' or even 'good writing'. However if you want some wild antics that feel like someone's 3am fanfic AU written in pure Bronze Age vibes and to see the last work of one of Ra's Al Ghul's creators? Give it a chance. You'll never be able to predict what's on the next page.

#z canon read throughs #recent reads #I cannot say it was a GOOD read #but it was certainly a hilarious read #god bless every person who worked on this and probably looked at editorial going 'are we really publishing this???'#there is a reason they don't let Neal Adams write comics most of the time

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vodika-vibes · 1 year ago

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Hello, Vod'ika. I couldn't resist and came here with another request. Most of the time music usually gives me a lot of ideas. I was listening to “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye when a prompt came to my mind: “Do you know what can help me get better? Sexual healing.” I was tempted to ask this with Hunter, but I thought it would be fun for a Fives x shy F! reader (with an established relationship) where he comes back to her exhausted after a battle and she takes care of him, you know? Prepare a bath, etc. It's up to you if it's going to be NSFW or just a make-out session. Xx

Love Me Like Only You Can

Summary: Fives has been gone, deployed, for months now. But he's coming home tonight and you want to surprise him.

Pairing: ARC Trooper Fives x F!Reader

Word Count: 1395

Warnings: Spicy, but not smutty. Reader spends part of the story in her underwear.

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: I hope I got the general vibe you wanted with this request. Fives wasn't being agreeable for me, but it turns out that Crosshair was junking up the writing pipeline, so I had to flush him out first, lol. I also made a divider for this cause I needed something to do, I guess.

You have been dating Fives for close to a year now, and while it’s true that he spends less time on Coruscant than a lot of people would be able to tolerate, Fives goes out of his way to make sure that you know that you’re always on his mind.

It’s surprising, really. Fives stands out, even among his own brothers. Loud and boisterous and so very clever. Not to mention funny and charming.

The fact that he chose you out of all of the women on Coruscant is still surprising to you, even a year later.

Sure, you chose him back, but you choosing him is much less surprising than him choosing you.

After all, at the time, you didn’t even know that he knew you existed.

And yet, somehow, as if he has a sixth sense when it comes to you and you alone, Fives always manages to find you in a crowd of people. Even when you want to blend in. Even when you’re trying to blend in.

His gaze always finds you, and a bright smile crosses his face, and he’ll sweep you into a hug-

You love him. You love him more than you’ve ever loved anything in this world, or any other, and he feels the same way. He’s never hid that from you.

Which is why, since you know he’s back on Coruscant and you know he’s going to come straight to your home as soon as he’s done with work, you want to surprise him.

And while you could make him his favorite dinner, and dessert, you feel like that’s something that he’ll expect. Because you’ve done it before, and you know that he loved it, based on the wide grin and the soft way he looked at you, you want to do something different.

Something a little outside your comfort zone.

Which brings you to your present for Fives.

Your gaze drifts to the gauzy material of the lingerie set you bought specifically for today. It’s sheer and lacy and a shade of pale purple that Fives loves to see you in…and it’s so far outside what you would normally wear that even looking at yourself in the mirror is kind of embarrassing.

Personally you think you look a little silly, like a child playing pretend, but you have a feeling that Fives will love it.

You make a face at yourself, and then turn away from the mirror to finish pulling on the dress you bought specifically for tonight. It’s the same shade of purple as the lingerie you’re wearing, as to not ruin the surprise too quickly. Though it’s also shorter than you would ever wear in public, the hem of the skirt hitting at about mid-thigh.

And then you run your fingers through your hair, letting your curls topple around your shoulders. Then, and only then, did you leave the bedroom to head into the kitchen to make Fives’ favorite dinner.

It’s nothing fancy, nothing that your parents would expect you to make if they ever deign to visit you on Coruscant. A simple stew, something hearty and filling. And something that you learned to make specifically for Fives.

And, before you know it, your apartment door is sliding open, and the sound of familiar footsteps, heavy only due to the armor he’s still wearing, reaches your ears.

You give him time enough to remove his armor, and then you poke your head into the hall, a warm smile on your face, “Welcome home, Fives.”

He glances at you as he sets his boots on the shoe rack, and a bright smile crosses his face, washing away the exhaustion that was there, “Well, don’t you look pretty.”

You step into the hallway properly, your smile widening. You give a small spin, allowing the skirt to flair around your legs. “Do you like it?”

“Ah, cyare,” He sets his duffle bag on the floor and walks over to you, sliding his hands around your hips, “You could wear a burlap sack, and still be the most stunning woman on Coruscant.” He leans in and bumps his forehead against yours, “I didn’t know you owned something so short though.” He adds as his fingers brush against the hem of your skirt.

“I wanted to try something new.” You reply, “Is it too short, do you think?”

“Mm, I think it’s perfect.” Fives replies, “Well, unless you want to go dancing around my brothers, in which case I’d have to blindfold them.”

You laugh, “They’re not allowed to look at me now?”

“Nope. They don’t deserve to look at you,” He tilts your head back with a gentle finger on your chin, and he kisses you quickly, “I barely deserve to look at you, but I’m definitely not going to stop anytime soon.”

You laugh again, before you slide your hands up his chest and wrap your arms around his neck, “I like you looking at me. It makes me feel pretty.”

“You are so much more than pretty.” Fives murmurs, his lips hovering just over hers, “So, so much more than just pretty.” He trails his lips from the corner of your lips down to your jaw, and then up to your ear, “If I spoke every language in the galaxy, I still wouldn’t have the words needed to describe your beauty.”

Your face heats, but you’re unable to tear your gaze away from his. “The things you say to me sometimes,” You whisper.

“You doubt my words?”

“Never.” You reply softly, “Never ever.”

Fives hums softly, “I missed you, mesh’la,” He whispers, “It was…such a long time to be away from you.”

“You’re home now.”

“I am,” He murmurs, “I missed you. So much.”

“If you’re exhausted, you should rest. Dinner will hold.”

“I bet you could give me some energy, cyar’ika.” He holds your gaze with a teasing little smile, “You know what would make me feel better? A little sexual healing.”

Your face heats a little more, “Wouldn’t you rather take a nap? Not make yourself more exhausted-?”

“No, I really would rather make myself more exhausted. ” Fives replies with a teasing little smile as his hand moves to the strap of your dress. “Because it’s you. And it’s me. And nothing else matters.” Slowly, painfully slowly, he drags the straps of your dress down your shoulders, and allows the material to pool at your feet.

Only then does he tear his gaze from your face, to look down to make sure that you’re not in danger of slipping on the thin material.

And then Fives stops.

He blinks. Once. Twice. Three times.

And then he exhales slowly as his fingers slowly, reverently, trace the lace of your lingerie. “This is new.” He breathes out.

“I wanted to try something a little outside my comfort zone.” You explain, your voice hushed so as to not break the atmosphere of the room.

“For me?”

“You make me want to do things like this,” You whisper to him.

“Oh, ner cyare,” Fives breathes out, “I need your hands on me. I don’t care how.” He lightly rubs the thin material of the lingerie between his fingers, “but I really want you to keep this on for a bit longer.”

You smile shyly, “How about a massage?”

Fives lifts you, just enough that he’s able to kick the material of your dress out from under your feet, and then he walks you backwards into the living room.

He pauses only long enough to strip his shirt off, and then he flops on the couch, “Come here, cyare.” Fives pulls you down and positions you so you’re straddling his hips, and then, once he has you properly positioned so you’re both comfortable, he pulls you down to crash your lips against his.

His hands are everywhere, caressing and squeezing and tracing, even as he coaxes your lips apart with teasing nips and soothing swipes of his tongue. You tangle your fingers in his hair, trying to pull him closer and closer.

This is what you missed the most about Fives being gone. This closeness, this connection. The feeling that everything will be alright so long as his hands are on you and his lips are against yours.

And then Fives releases a quiet moan as you pull his hair a little too roughly, and you’re lost.

#star wars #tcw #arc trooper fives x reader #fives x reader #18+ fic #clone thirsting #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction #f!reader fic #answered asks

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darealsaltysam · 1 year ago

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MY ALTRVERSE COMIC ARRIVED AND I WANNA TALK ABOUT IT

marvin's first scene being saving a bruce wayne rip-off is SO funny to me

i cant believe they made marvin british. hope he gets better soon

MARVIN'S HAIR TURNING GREEN WHEN HE USES MAGIC IS SO COOL ACTUALLY. and also it looks like he drew the electricity directly from his phone and the lamp behind him so i guess he cant produce it entirely on his own?

marvin is so sassy and tired(tm) i love him so much hes so me

THE TWINS. i like the twins. i cant wait to learn more about them

THE SCREAM I SCRUMPT WHEN I SAW THE IRIS LOGO ON THE DEAD GUY'S SLEEVE OOOOOO

i wonder if marvin and chase exist in the same universe or if anti is fucking with an iris facility in a completely separate universe cuz that is SO him. maybe hes breaking out of this one in marvin's world and then moving across to chase's??

going off of that i wonder if every ego has their own universe they exist in or if some of them share universes. it all depends if this comic is going with the idea that all the egos are different versions of one another, cuz then they cant rly share one world together. i think schneep (??? possibly) is in jackie's world but thats shown later so ill talk abt it when i get there

forget the twins i like the whole magic circle in general. i want MORE. i wanna know about marvin's mentor figure too. is he. is he the cat. did he turn into a cat. whats going on here

TOP OF THE MORNING COFFEE SPOTTED

idk what to say here i just like this shot a lot

okay now into the jackie section. the "doctor" they mention instantly made me think of schneep but that might just be me seeing what i want to see. i guess it could still apply that every alter has their own universe since what the doctor did was "felt across realities", so ??

the figure floating at the centre of the ripple. i got nothin. maybe its how anti was made?????

JACKIE BEING FROM BOSTON MAKES SOOOO MUCH SENSE LIKE ACTUALLY

he's so silly

the whole robot section. also so silly

jackie's whole side of the comic is just silliness ngl. marvin is over there investigating a body and then it cuts to jackie and he's just trying to deliver his uber eats on time

AND THEN SUDDENLY ZOMBIES????

bonus points for the godslap bad egg ads at the back of the comic cuz by god have i been considering getting them this might just convince me

to summarize. i love this comic i love everything about it thank u seán i cant wait for more <333 jackie and marvin have my entire heart and im so excited to see their stories play out

#jacksepticeye #altrverse #altrverse spoilers #altrverse comics #jackieboy man #jackie boy man #marvin the magnificent #antisepticeye #dr schneeplestein #jse egos

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feministsouthpark · 8 months ago

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South Park Filler Guide - Season 3

Link for Season 1 Link for Season 2

I find the existence of filler guides quite amusing, since for some shows it makes sense (like Naruto), but for others (like Pokemon) it absolutely doesn't and they still exist. So here is an attempt to do an absolutely unnecessary one just for fun. 😅

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable) and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you're a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already!

S3E1 Rainforest Shmainforest is LORE

It's a great episode for developing the characters to be written more consistent, which will be a general trend in this season compared to the last one, however Kelly disappearing after this episode really doesn't help this one cement itself in the long run, however Craig's small scene and character introduction gives some context why Eric considers him the baddest boy in school a few episodes later, but that isn't needed.

S3E2 Spontaneous Combustion is FILLER

Randy's early spotlight episode, it's fun and great, again, but nothing carries over from this one.

S3E3 The Succubus is FILLER

So Eric now has Kenny's eyes? Anyway, that conflict wasn't introduced until now, and any other conflict introduced here gets an instant resolution.

S3E4 Jakovasaurs is FILLER

It's a fine spotlight episode for Mayor McDaniels and a largely unimpressive episode for a lot of other reasons, that doesn't ever influence anything.

S3E5 Tweek vs. Craig is CANON

Of course this one is canon! We learn more about how Kenny is aware of his deaths, fan-favorite ship Richard Adler and Pam Brady is introduced and Eric Cartman learns sumo from a grand master which all will be important later! And also some background kids get into a conflict or something.

South Park the Movie 1: Bigger, Longer and Uncut is CANON

And not only is it canon, I hereby present you it in its true placement for anyone who didn't know when to watch it. Stan character development and romance with Saddam, more on Kenny and death, Sheila starts M.A.C., overall big events that will be influental to a lot of later episodes.

S3E6 Sexual Harrassment Panda is FILLER

Matt and Trey have no memory of making this episode. Neither do we have any memory of it minutes after watching it.

S3E7 Cat Orgy is CANON

Because of course, the Meteor Shower arc is a big thing, Shelley's boyfriend Skyler will go on to form a band called Lords of the Underworld. This one also explains where Shelley and Eric were while...

S3E8 Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub is CANON

Stan had to befriend Butters. Also we learn of Dougie and that he is on friendly term with Butters. Pip is also here, but that one hardly helps this episode to count as canon, so I just won't mention it. Look, Kyle returns! We just need an explanation from where

S3E9 Jewbilee is CANON

he was. Also Kenny was there with him it seems. This one's super canon because of Moses of course. That's enough. And it also pairs up with Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub. TBH I could easily say these two are canon and Cat Orgy is but lore, but it's intended to be a trilogy and I respect that.

S3E10 Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery is FILLER

It's a strange episode with a Chewbacca ending. Kyle's grandma's body is here, but nothing else is consequential.

S3E11 Chinpokomon is LORE

While the plot of the episode itself doesn't leave much of an impact, the Chinpokomon franchise still exists within South Park. S3E12 Hooked on Monkey Fonics is FILLER

The Cotswolds' never reappear. Mark does in background roles. Butters gets a kiss that later gets retconned. I looove this episode, but this is a filler. S3E13 Starvin' Marvin in Space is FILLER

This is a sequel to one earlier episode and nothing else. (It's a good time though) S3E14 The Red Badge of Gayness is FILLER

The boys learn that the north won and slavery is now illegal. They have a bet which is also moot by the end. S3E15 Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classic is FILLER

It doesn't seem fair to classify this one, since it's more of a company EP than an episode by design. S3E16 Are You There God? It's me Jesus is CANON

God appears in this one. We learn more on his relationship with Jesus. S3E17 World Wide Recorder Concert is LORE

Herbert's relationship with his father add to understanding his character.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not.

S3E1 Rainforest Shmainforest is LORE* S3E2 Spontaneous Combustion is FILLER S3E3 The Succubus is FILLER S3E4 Jakovasaurs is FILLER S3E5 Tweek vs. Craig is CANON South Park MOV 1: Bigger, Longer and Uncut is CANON S3E6 Sexual Harrassment Panda is FILLER S3E7 Cat Orgy is CANON S3E8 Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub is CANON S3E9 Jewbilee is CANON S3E10 Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery is FILLER S3E11 Chinpokomon is LORE** S3E12 Hooked on Monkey Fonics is FILLER S3E13 Starvin' Marvin in Space is FILLER S3E14 The Red Badge of Gayness is FILLER S3E15 Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classic is FILLER S3E16 Are You There God? It's me Jesus is CANON S3E17 World Wide Recorder Concert is LORE*** *If you want to see a scene of Craig Tucker to understand his status **If you want to know what Chinpokomon is, but it's pretty obviously a Pokemon parody every time it appears. ***If you want to know Herbert Garrison's complicated childhood traumas. CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13 S2: 3 out of 18 S3: 6 out of 17 Overall: 18 out of 48

#south park filler guide #south park #stan marsh #kyle broflovski #kenny mccormick #butters stotch #eric cartman #mr hankey #satan #saddam hussein #shelley marsh #shelly marsh #pip pirrip #pip pirrup #sp dougie #tweek tweak #craig tucker #herbert garrison #mr garrison

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iconuk01 · 2 months ago

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Icon-UK watches Fraggle Rock: Back the Rock - Season 2, Episode 5 - "I'm Pogey"

My cynical old walnut of a heart is once again powerless against the Henson Company. In this case "Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock".

A recurring background character in this series has been a fairly generic Fraggle named Pogey, who is always introduced by showing up yelling "I'm Pogey!"

And in this episode we finally discover why. It's not that Pogey isn't smart (a bit literal perhaps, but that's not the same thing), it's that Pogey is very proud of the name "Pogey" because it took them a VERY long time to find a name they felt fitted the them they wanted to be.

Though gender presentation is hardly straightforward with Muppets, Pogey is, I think, the first deliberately genderqueer Muppet, and the show introduces the concept elegantly.

Wembley (always a favourite of mine) is having an identity crisis AND self esteem issues. He tried a new look which he really liked, but talked himself out of, because he worried people wouldn't like him anymore (and Red inadvertantly snapping at him over something else didn't help)

Red, who is having a bad day, had asked Pogey to join in a cheer for Gobo they are arranging, and whether they wanted to be a "Go" or a "Bo" and they have to try and explain that they're not not a "Go", or a "Bo", except sometimes they're both... or in between.... or neither.

Pogey meets up with Wembley and explains how they can be different from what they were, and change many times, but they know that, at their core, they are still always Pogey.

Cue a visit to the frankly fabulous Great Glitterini (voiced by Adam Lambert) for Wembley to realise that maybe he does want to feel like that sometimes, and that's okay because no matter what "I'm Wembley!"

Helped, in no small part, by the glitter in the Great Glitterini's "Glitter Globe", which allows anyone to express themselves as as any version of themselves they can think of.

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Though cis, I've seen friends realise that how they happened to be born as is not who they really are, or want to be, and recognise the importance of Wembley's line in the above.

"You look amazing!" followed by an almost mournful "... and happy"

Because I can't think of anyone I know who has decided to become their truer selves whose baseline happiness level didn't increase. An old schoolfriend was one of the most miserable people I know, I'm talking Marvin the Paranoid Android levels of cynicism here, but since she came out as trans, she is SO much happier with her life.

And finally, just cap this charming episode off, we get a rendition of one of my all time favourite Fraggle Rock songs from the original series "Free and High!" with the Great Glitterini being joined by Wembley, Pogey and Doc.

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And the scene at the end where Wembley, more comfortable in himself and publicly trying a new more glittery look, meets his friends again and Gobo, his room-mate and absolute best friend in the world, immediately and unprompted, tells him he looks amazing, and that he's never seen him happier, honestly... ugly crying right here, I'm not ashamed to say it.

(There's also a subplot with the Gorgs where, as part of his 500th birthday celebrations, Junior has to choose between one of two boxes which will decide how he is perceived for the rest of his life and him realising he doesn't like either very much. It's not subtle, but it's fun)

#fraggle rock #fraggle rock: back to the rock #wembley fraggle #pogey #the great glitterini #adam lambert #gender expression #Youtube

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o-uncle-newt · 1 year ago

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Cabin Pressure Advent Day 9: Ipswich

IIIIIIPSWIIIIIICH!

In my opinion, Ipswich heralds a really key moment in the development of not just Cabin Pressure, but John Finnemore's (solo) projects in general- it's his first really genius episode in terms of plotting, where he first utilizes Chekhov's Gun with pinpoint precision while also building a watertight and well-structured plot that incorporates great character work.

He shows signs of it earlier in the show, obviously, but this is the episode where he first does it basically seamlessly. Douz is the closest, for sure, but the culminating moment of the plan, however genius it is, still handwaves away a few inconvenient questions like "is it any more legal to drive a plane on the highway than to take off without clearance?" Other episodes also have some good moments but the Chekhov's Gun placements are a bit obtrusive (Cremona and Edinburgh, for example).

(I'll make a note about Gdansk- it has some great Chekhov's Guns, but the plot is basically constructed AROUND them. That requires a lot of its own skill in plot construction, but is different than here.)

What I think is so great about Ipswich is that

a) the Chekhov's Gun is not just planted seamlessly, it's also planted unobtrusively- the masterful way that the number "nineteen" is hammered into our heads at the beginning, only for there to be a red herring appearance of the question/answer that puts us off our guard, and then that final moment of realization and resolution... it's just so good. Smaller ones like Martin's inner ear issue are also handled super well- we hear about it in a very specific context that is relevant to the plot and we don't even think twice about, only for it to come back in a new way later out of nowhere. Chekhov's Gun blends in perfectly with the decor.

b) everything is directly in the service of the plot, and makes sense. This is where there's the difference from Gdansk- there, there wouldn't BE a situation in the first place without some of those Chekhov's Guns that were planted (like the seven dwarves game), whereas here there is a very specific plot (how does MJN do when they need to prove their skills in front of regulators) and all of the Chekhov's Guns directly relate to that. Douglas's use of the "hey chief" line is hilarious both the first time and the second, and is used in utterly characteristic ways that also fit in completely logically with what they've been doing in this episode. There's of course a certain amount of coincidence that you have to allow because that's what makes it a sitcom episode rather than real life, but everything is still done incredibly realistically. (At least, from a human perspective- I don't actually KNOW whether the trainings are like that, but from what others have said they seem to be at least somewhat based on reality so that's cool!)

c) everything is directly in service of the theme! There is also a theme and it melds perfectly into the episode- who is the alpha dog. From beginning to end, we know that this episode is about power struggles, and the fact that something that just seems like a (fucking hilarious) joke- Douglas's whole "hey chief" routine- ends up coming back in something that he addresses, in a certain amount of seriousness, to Carolyn is just perfect. It shows what is only confirmed in the next scene- that Douglas knows who the alpha dog is. And, incidentally, one of the reasons why he knows this is his own realization that if they don't pass, it will "make him feel unemployed." He HAS to concede and that makes the moment only more powerful. (I'd also add that the "Marvin and Dougal" convo serves as a kind of textual evidence for Martin and Douglas, in this episode's power struggle, really being equal beta dogs, but that's not a Chekhov's Gun, just close reading.)

Anyway, I may be overly reading into any of this, but the upshot is that I listened to this, after listening to the prior eight episodes, and was just so massively impressed by the structural quality in a way that surpassed any of the prior episodes- but which I know, as an obsessive listener, is only a harbinger of some brilliantly plotted episodes to come- and the next one is, of course, the fantastic Johannesburg tomorrow!

#cabin pressure #cabin pressure advent #cabin pressure advent 2023 #john finnemore #ipswich #i've stopped pointing out that the episodes have funny bits because i feel like that's something we should take as a given #but arthur is particularly on fire this episode in that department #especially “i know- that's why i'm worried!”#just... chef's kiss

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huffle-dork · 1 month ago

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Long Live the King

Chapter 6: Potions and Dreams

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

Much like the previous night, the boat continues while it's dark. Sleep is a harder time coming, since with all the Phantoms up on the deck, there's more people walking around and more noise in general. When the sun rises, the tall trees and their drooping branches block it out for a while, and then it gets covered by some clouds for a bit. But eventually, as it always does, the light breaks through.

Bro has been restlessly sleeping all night- plagued by nightmares. All the things he couldn’t remember from being under the King and Mag’s control is coming back to him slowly. But only at night when he can’t distract himself. He awakes before the other swaps, breathing heavily, trying to shake the visions from his head. But, it only makes him worry for Alt more… He wants to hit something but- he doesn’t want to break the boat or the supplies…

He's not the only one who's awake early. The other Chase is there, too. He glances at Bro with a concerned expression. "Bad dreams?" he asks.

Bro blinks at his other self and then nods quietly, “…yeah…” He hugs his arms and takes a deep steadying breath.

Chase nods sympathetically.

The others wake up soon, too. Henrik is passing out more insect repellant paste to anyone who's up and ready for it. Jameson is rummaging around for food in the supplies. Jackie has walked off to the side as far as possible from everyone else and is messing with his swords, trying to quietly polish them. And Marvin is pretending to still be asleep.

Henny and Dr. J wake up soon too. Henny looks at their surroundings and sighs in awe. “oh it is so pretty! But the light bug friends are gone!”

Dr. J chuckles as he stands up and cleans up his bedroll. “They typically only show up at night, my friend.”

Jackieboy wakes up last, and he groggily looks out at the others. His blanket he used to hide his face while he slept falls comically off his face. But, he doesn’t look like he slept too well either. Being a light sleeper and an insomniac on a nosy boat with lots of people wasn’t a good combination. He blinks blearily and rubs at his eyes.

“How is everybody doing this morning?” Henrik asks. “I was thinking if everyone was up for it, we could eat breakfast and then I could show you my potions.” He sounds hopeful.

Henny looks very excited and hurries to clean up his bedroll too. “oh yes yes! I would very much like that!”

“Sure, I’m down.” Jackieboy yawns.

Dr. J nods with a smile. But, he does glance at the Chases talking with a bit on concern.

“Great!” Henrik beams excitedly. “We will go get some—ah! Thank you.”

Jameson returns with some parcels of food and hands them out, starting with Henrik. “We eat, then I show you.”

Marvin stops pretending to be asleep. “Can I sit in?”

“Of course!”

Dr. J thanks Jameson as well and takes the food. Henny laughs, “Were you just pretending to sleep, Marvin?”

“Hey I get it- sometimes people are too loud in the morning.” Jackieboy comments as he gets a parcel too and tears into it.

"Exactly." Marvin points at Jackieboy, agreeing. "And I know it'll be hard for me to sleep once we get on the ship."

"Not if you agree to take the nausea tonic this time," Henrik mutters. "Wha--hey!"

The other swaps laugh at Marvin and Henrik's banter.

Meanwhile the two Chases talk quietly to each other.

“Um… I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help, but if there is, let me know. I’ll be here. I mean, if you can’t depend on yourself, who can you depend on? Hah.” Chase says.

Bro glances at Chase and then chuckles, giving him a weak smile. “Hah- that’s a good one.” He then grips at his arms. “…it wasn’t… a dream necessarily… I’m… remembering. What I forgot… when the King had me. And just… s-seeing Alt…” He closes his mouth into a tight line and curls up smaller, trying to hide his weakness.

Chase nods slowly. “It’s… tough to see them again,” he says quietly. Then he glances around. None of the fantasy guys are paying attention. “I saw my wife again, but… she was under an enchantment. I-it didn’t go well. But… I think it’ll go well with Alt, when we find him. Which we’re getting closer to every day.” He puts a hand on Bro’s shoulder. “It’s going to get better. And in the meantime, if you ever need time to be alone, you can use that flight of yours to go out on shore. As long as you keep the boat in sight, no one will be bothered.”

Bro looks back at Chase and he can see the tears lingering in his eyes. He rubs at his face and nods. “…I’m sorry about your wife… that’s… that’s so hard… I hope we can find something to help her in the Wyldwoods…”

He looks out at the shore and grips at his arms tighter. “…I just want to… to destroy something- I’m so… angry that this happened! But I… I get carried away and… Dr. J says it’s not good to fight my feelings with fists.”

"Better than keeping them to yourself," Chase says, shrugging. "And we're going to be in small spaces for the next three days. People can feel bad moods. But you know yourself the best. Just... something to think about." And he smiles. "And thank you. About Stacia. We can help her by freeing Jack from that spirit."

Bro smiles a bit and nudges his shoulder against Chase. "Yeah... if i need space I'll... I'll see. I wouldn't want my bad mood affecting everyone else." He nods to Chase, "... I know you guys can do this... stop that spirit. And we'll do anything we can to help."

Chase gives him a small smile. "Thank you. That means a lot." He clears his throat. "Now. What are these all talking about?"

They're talking about seasickness.

"You know Henrik has a point, Marvin. One small tonic could save you a lot of unnecessary discomfort," Dr. J comments gently.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Marvin groans. "It just didn't seem as important if it was only two days."

Jackie gets up and walks over. "Are we talking about how Marvin spent the whole ocean journey in his cabin?"

"Jackie! I swear to every Elder--"

You really should take a tonic if the nausea gets that bad, Jameson interrupts. Suffering isn't noble.

"I didn't think it would be worth it," Marvin repeats insistently.

Well clearly, it would have been.

"I'll take a tonic this time, alright? But don't you have to make it first?"

Henrik's eyes light up. "I can show you all how to do that after you finish breakfast!" Henny smiles and nods eagerly at him, excited about the potions.

Dr. J chuckles, "I'm often telling many of these gents as well that suffering isn't noble. Just hope one day they'll listen-" He looks pointely at Jackieboy.

Jackieboy lifts his hands in surrender as he grumbles, "I didn't take pain meds one time-"

"You had a migraine for days at that point!"

Henny looks between his friends as they bicker, like he's watching a ping pong match as he eats his breakfast.

Bro looks over at the others and can't help but chuckle as he picks up the conversation. He grabs something to eat and sits down closer to everyone, "Mornin' to the rest of you-"

"Ah Chase!" Dr. J pauses in his scolding of Jackie and gestures towards him, "Since you're here and we're on the subject- why are you all so stubborn about taking medicine when you need it?"

The hero blinks, halfway through of bite of his breakfast. "ummm..." He shrugs, "I dunno. I don't like lookin' weak- sometimes I think I can just... shake it off, you know?"

Every single one of the fantasy guys stare at Bro like he's said something utterly strange.

"...everyone needs medicine, though?" Jackie says, genuinely confused.

"That's an attitude that is not common in Glasúil," Henrik says. "Though I vaguely remember something like it from back home."

"I can understand it, though," Marvin muses. "To be weak is to be vulnerable, and vulnerability is difficult. There's a fear of being hurt that comes with it."

But if it's a scenario like what Jackieboy did, where you were ALREADY hurt for a long time... I don't see the thought process? Jameson says, his expression making the statement into a question.

Bro finds himself turning red as all the fantasy boys look at him. "O-Oh... I-I don't know! I just..." He struggles with his words. ".... asking or admitting you need help is... hard."

Dr. J looks a bit concerned and then pats Bro on the shoulder, "... I didn't mean to put the spotlight on you, Chase... I know it's hard to admit that sometimes. But, you deserve help, always. Even if it's help from a tiny pill or a tonic." He chuckles. He looks back at Jackieboy and raises an eyebrow, "You too, Mr. Mann."

"Yeah yeah- don't surname me, Jems-" Jackieboy grumbles. "I've been getting better-"

Dr. J relents with a laugh, "You have, I will admit."

"And in my defense of the migraine thing- I'm a single dad with 3 kids, I had a lot of other things on my mind!" Jackieboy adds. "But yeah... not taking the medicine by then was dumb. My brain was just everywhere- eventually it just kinda faded into the background." He shrugs.

Chase raises his eyebrows. "Three children and no partner? And I thought my kids were tough to take care of. Oh, right, you said that 'Sar-uh' is away a lot last night. That must be hard."

"Oh yeah- saying single implies that I'm not married to Zara," Jackieboy laughs, "Sorry- people don't get that we're married and she's away a lot so I default to that."

"I bet you're great at it, though," Jackie says cheerfully.

"And we're not, ah, picking on you or anything. Either of you. It's just a bit of a surprise."

"I understand where you're coming from," Marvin says. "But... yes, it is a bit strange to hear. It's like that rule about how you never thank a Fair Folk because they see it as you putting them in your debt."

"Fascinating, though," Henrik mutters.

The father blushes a bit as Jackie compliments him and he grins shyly. "Thanks man... I think I nail it- my kids are my whole world." His face falls for a second before he shakes his head. "... I was gonna say I hope they're okay but... i-i know they are. They just probably miss me."

"Stacy and Oliver are taking good care of them and our animals I am sure!" Henny reassures Jackie brightly.

"And Shaun is of course taking good care of Alice too."

Dr. J smiles, "Yes, I know he is. Alice loves having time with her Uncle Shaun. I'm sure they're having a great time."

"What a story this will be for them later," Jackieboy grins. Bro shares his grin for a second, nodding. They loved spinning tales for the kids to hear.

After breakfast, Henrik pulls a bag and a couple small shoebox-sized chests from the pile in the center. He double checks everything inside and then commandeers one of the benches to use as a table, sitting down on the deck itself.

The swaps help clean up breakfast and then gather around Henrik with curious eyes. Henny and Dr. J are especially excited.

Henrik grins at his audience. Chase and Jameson aren't there, both having their own things to take care of, but Jackie is there as support and Marvin is there in case he gets to talk about more magic.

"This box is filled with normal medicines and medical supplies." Henrik opens the lighter-wood chest. "And this one is for the witchcraft and potion ingredients." He opens the darker-wood one. "And the bag is full of supplies." He starts taking things out of the bag. There's a small pot made of black iron, wooden spoons and metal cups of various sizes, thin knives that look a bit like scalpels, some rocks and crystals, and some instruments the swaps don't recognize at all.

Henrik looks completely enamored with the magic and supplies. "Oh! Such a teeny pot!" Dr. J studies all the instruments with interest.

"I am not sure how much of this you have in your world... maybe not too much. Marvin? Can you fill up the pot with water?"

"Mm-hmm." Marvin takes the pot, then grabs his amulet. A glow of light surrounds the pot as he uses magic to lift it over the side of the boat and into the water before pulling it back up.

"Don't you need fire?" Jackie asks Henrik.

"I was hoping Marvin could help with that, too. Wizard fire will either burn anything it comes to contact with, or it will only provide heat and no burns."

"I know spells for both of those," Marvin says helpfully.

Dr. J adds timidly, "Um... let's not do the spell that burns everything? Good to know you have that though-"

Marvin laughs. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it. That takes a lot of power in any case."

He hands the pot back to Henrik, who sets it up on a metal stand that props it up about eight inches off the ground. Then Marvin grabs some more light from his amulet and sets it down under the pot, where it turns into a small blue flame. "Usually we use bigger pots for bigger batches, but since we are traveling a lot that would be too difficult. So we make due with smaller ones for smaller doses."

"Oh, you left all the bottles in here, Henrik," Jackie points out, looking into the bag.

"Yes, that was on purpose. They are all wrapped up, I did not want to undo them for no reason." Henrik looks back at the others and grins. "What would you like to see first?"

Henny bounces a bit in excitement, "I want to see those dual potion thingys!! So many of them were like boom!" He pantomimes an explosion with his hands.

Dr. J laughs, "I might be the only one interested in the actual medicine. So, whatever you'd like to start us with is good, Henrik."

Henrik grins. "The unmixed potions take less time, so we can start with that. Hmm... what can we do with what we have?" He opens up the darker-wood box. Inside are small ceramic bottles and cloth packets. "Oooo, I have been wanting to try this. One that will attract any metal to the center. I believe we need this for that?" He grabs something from the corner: a small black stone. He demonstrates how it sticks to the metal fastenings on his tunic then sets it down on the bench.

"Oh! A magnet!" Dr. J says with a smile. "A natural one- how interesting!"

"A... 'magnet,'" Henrik repeats. "These are called lodestones here." He looks through his supplies. “We have a few other magical ingredients. Tangleweed, water roses, bark from rowan trees. These all give the liquid different qualities."

"What properties do they give?" Henny asks, leaning in.

"Nerds~" Jackieboy tries to whisper to Bro but Bro nudges him with his shoulder. He's actually trying to listen. ... Alt would have wanted to see this. Maybe they can teach him later... The least Bro can do is listen though.

Henrik grins at Henny's interest. "Rowan trees will enhance any power," he says, taking some of the bark from a packet and dropping it into the water. "Tangleweed will make the effects last." He takes some roots from a packet and adds those. "And ground-up water rose petals spread the range." Then pours in some powder from a bottle. "For this one we also need some of this: iron shavings." He pours that in from a bottle. "This gives the potion its target, that being metal." The water slowly grows cloudy, and Henrik picks up a spoon and stirs. "Marvin, increase the heat, please."

Marvin nods and the small fire gets a bit bigger.

Henrik's eyes glimmer with awe as he listens intently. "Wow! That is so-!! I do not even know how to describe it! It is- magical!"

"How do you learn all of these things...?" Dr. J muses, "Lots of experimentation I'm guessing?"

"Testing and reading." Henrik nods excitedly. "I always ask for news from my home kingdom, and one day I heard about these. I immediately started testing. Unmixed potions are quite strange, because you must divide the recipe for a normal potion in half. And increase some of the portion sizes." As he stirs, the cloudiness of the water spreads through the whole thing, making it look milky. He pauses for a moment, waiting for it to settle. It does, and slowly turns a pale blue. "It is always trial and error. Normally when one drinks this recipe whole, metal objects will be pulled towards them. I want the metal objects to be pulled to the spot where the liquids mix."

"Oh I remember that potion," Jackie says. "It's not usually much use. Very specialized."

Bro hums in thought, "...that's a brilliant idea though... you can use that to pull all their weapons away and disarm a whole group in an instant."

"It's usually purple, right?" Marvin asks.

"Yes, but this is not a whole, only half, so I think this is the best we will get." Henrik reaches into the bag and pulls out one of those special divided bottles. "These are carefully made by some of our sorcerers. I have to be cautious with them until it's time to use the potion."

Henny looks at the bottle and then laughs, "Oh! It is spilt in the center! So went it cracks it goes Boom!! I get it- that is why you must be careful!"

"Yes! Precisely!" Henrik nods excitedly. "Now. Here we go. Marvin, heat down." As the flame reduces, Henrik grabs the handle of the pot and pours it into one half of the bottle, made easier by a small divot in the lip, like a pitcher. "And now, Marvin, do you mind getting more water?"

"Mm-hmm." Marvin repeats the same magical process from before, returning with another potful of water.

"Now we add this." Henrik plops the lodestone into the water. "And two violet caps." He takes two purple mushrooms out of a packet and adds those as well. "They will add a little of the, ah... what do you say, Jackie? The 'oomph.'"

Jackie laughs. "That's it. Exactly."

Henny laughs, "The oomph! Ha- that is a funny word, I like it!"

"This has to sit for a while, so we will wait," Henrik says, sitting back.

Bro stares at the potion and pot and tries not to let the sadness overtake him. But he does whisper, "... Alt would have loved to see this. He... he likes all this- magic stuff." He laughs slightly, though the smile doesn't reach his eyes. "He'd probably be trying to write down some notes and make pictures of the stuff so he could try... just- glitching all over the place."

Henrik looks at him, enthusiasm fading a bit. "Yes... But when we find him, I will be happy to show him again." He tries for a small smile. "It may help him, even."

"We'll be sure to let him know everything," Jackie says.

"And show him anything he wants to know." Marvin nods.

Bro blinks in surprise for a second before he smiles more genuinely. "... thanks guys... that really means a lot to hear. He'd... he'd love to."

Henny looks at Bro and then pulls him into a side hug. Bro stiffens for a second before letting himself relax against the gentleman. Henny rests his head on top of Bro's.

Jackie, Henrik, and Marvin stay quiet for a while. Feels like their visitors need this moment to themselves. Then Henrik clears his throat. "I think it is done." The liquid in the pot has turned a deep red color, like wine. He carefully lifts and pours the pot like he did last time. He concentrates so hard, not even saying anything, and only breathes once it's done. "Must be delicate with that. We do not want to accidentally pour it into the wrong side." He stoppers the bottle, then takes the lodestone out of the pot, as well as some slimy remnants of the mushrooms. "These can still be used for other spells if sliced," he explains, putting them in a new cloth packet.

Henny perks up a bit as he watches. He does make a slight face at the slimy mushrooms.

Dr. J chuckles. "Waste not want not-"

Marvin takes the initiative to wash the pot with the same 'levitation into the water' process.

Dr. J studies the potion from a distance. "... incredible that just a few ingredients make such an effect..."

"Yeah- dunno how much magical plants we have back home but... if we do have stuff like this maybe I should call my folks up for lessons." Jackieboy laughs. "At the very least for you all- never was good at doin' the magic shit myself. Mam got tired of teachin' me after a while."

"It is so interesting, isn't it?" Henrik says.

"It is!" Marvin says excitedly. "I could never get the handle on potion-making myself. I didn't have the patience. Since I could just do a lot of these effects on my own with a focus, it seemed a waste to me. So I understand where you're coming from, Jackie." He laughs. "My parents also got tired of forcing me to attend lessons."

Jackieboy grins and makes a gesture like he's flipping a hat at Marvin, "Ah, a fellow unfocused lad!"

Jackie laughs. "You should see him when he's reading about magic. It's like all his focus is directed towards that."

"Well, it's hard to concentrate on something not interesting," Marvin says.

"No, I agree." Jackie holds up his hand. Marvin grabs it. Jackie grins. This sort of thing seems normal for them.

Jackieboy laughs too, "God fucking mood! Can't concentrate worth shit if it's not somethin' I like-"

Bro and him share a smirk at seeing Jackie and Marvin clasp hands.

"Oh, speaking of your magic, how long can you keep this flame going?" Henrik asks.

"Oh, quite a while. It doesn't take much concentration to sustain it."

"Good. We have to heat the water before making any medicine. Unlike potions, where the magic will burn away sicknesses, medicine has to have that burned away through normal means."

He giggles. Dr. J tilts his head, "Potions burn away the sicknesses, but medicine doesn't? ... I'm not quite sure I follow, do you mind elaborating?"

"Ah." Henrik looks at JJ. "Well, when you drink water without heating it first, you may get sick. That is what I mean. You must heat it up or purify it with magical ingredients like water roses or violet caps. Or just with magic. There are talismans for that."

"And spells," Marvin adds.

"Oh! I see-" Dr. J chuckles, " We do something similar back home! Just with a less magical solution."

"Ahhh." Henrik nods. "So you heat up the water too, then. Well, while we wait, you can ask any questions you like. I'd love to talk some more--and I'm sure Marvin can help with anything I don't know." Marvin leans forward, excited.

“Hmmm,” Dr. J thinks of something to ask, “Are all these ingredients here native to Gasuil? Or are they from other countries? If thats the cause I bet translations of what properties they have would be difficult!”

“All of them can be found here, yes,” Henrik says. “But some can also be found in other places. For example, rowan trees also grow on the east continent, while water roses are common on the far east continent. Hmm… that probably means nothing to you. Once we get to the ship, I should convince Vsevna to show you one of his world maps.“

"Oh i would love to see a map sometime! The entirety of this world fascinates me, I would adore seeing how its structured!" Dr. J says passionately.

In any case, yes, sometimes potions can be difficult to translate. That is why one of Glasuil’s major trade items are magical plants.”

“If there weren’t so many here, we wouldn’t have much to export besides root vegetables,” Jackie says jokingly.

“Of course, if it is impossible to get something, recipes can be modified,” Henrik says.

Dr. J laughs with Jackie and nods, "That makes sense- like a baking recipe!"

"Potion and medicine making is not too far off from baking when you think about it," Henrik chuckles.

Meanwhile, Henny saw how excited Marvin was and leans in close, gesturing towards his amulet, “Marvin, mein friend, can you tell me how it is your necklace works? I have not see magic like this!”

Marvin’s eyes light up as Henny asks that. “Oh! This is my wizard focus.” He holds up his amulet for everyone to see. It’s circular, made of wood and an ivory material. “Every wizard needs one. Without it, we can’t do any magic—or at least not control it as well. That’s one of the differences between wizards and other magic users. We’re able to channel the magic of the world into nearly anything, but we need help to do it. Focuses have to be made of magical or valuable material, so they can be costly. Traditionally the making of them is overseen by the crown. Which is, unfortunately, why most wizards are on the King’s side. Easier to get a focus from him than to try and make one for yourself. Took me dozens of tries—and some help—to make this. It’s Rowan wood and dragon bone.”

Henny looks enamored as he looks at the focus- almost reaching for it but then thinking better of it. He bounces in place and pulls out his watch. "It is kind of like my watch! I do not think I can use my time magics without it- but... mine was probably not as expensive."

"Huh. If your watch is like a focus, that helps me understand it," Marvin says.

Henny laughs. Then his eyes sparkle and his jaw drops, processing what Marvin had said a bit late, "wait, Dragon bone?!"

"Oh yeah! That reminds me," Bro asks, looking at the fantasy guys, "...what happened to Wyvernlair? Did it...?" He doesn't want to finish the sentence but you can guess where he's going.

Marvin’s faint smile falls.

"Oh. Yes, uh..." Jackie clears his throat. "I already mentioned this in passing to Jackieboy, but... yea. It was discovered."

"My fault, really," Marvin mutters.

"No, it's not. We didn't know the King could read minds back then." Jackie shook his head. "There were a couple royal scouting parties sent out, and eventually one found the location. There was this dog--well, not just a dog, a familiar, a wizard's magical creature like Draco--"

"Not nearly as friendly, though," Henrik mutters.

"Anyway. That party found us so we had to leave Wyvernlair before an attack came. And... well, we still got caught in the middle of an attack, but most people were gone by that point, so it could have been worse."

"It was a good base, though," Marvin says sadly.

Bro's face falls and he looks sad too, "Oh god... That's... I'm so sorry you guys..."

"M-Maybe one day you can go back!" Henny tries to offer gently. "W-When this bad spirit is removed from the King..."

"They wouldn't really need a secret hideout then though," Jackieboy adds with a shrug.

"...Maybe they can use it for... selling... things...?" Henny replies uncertainly. "...Or... um..."

Jackie laughs. "It'd be nice to see it again, at the very least. Maybe we can convince the real King to set up an outpost out there. One manned by former Phantoms. I know that others miss Wyvernlair, too."

"Oo! Or we can use the dragon bones somehow!" Marvin perks up. "It's extremely magical, you know. And it keeps things warmer than usual. Maybe the bones could be used for potions, somehow. Or spells."

"Yes!" Henny says brightly, "Repurpose it to serve the kingdom for good! I am sure the real King would be for that!"

Bro gives a small smile, "..that'd be a sight to see. We'd have to make sure we come visit then too..."

"Please do," Jackie says eagerly. "I'd love to show you the kingdom when it's not ruled by an evil spirit."

Bro smiles more, "And I'd love to see it then too... without our stupid cat bitch messing stuff up."

"Um, Henrik," Marvin says slowly. "Should I turn the heat down or--"

"Schiesse!" Henrik notices the water in the pot about to boil over. "Yes, yes!"

"Alright!" The flame reduces quickly. Henrik sighs. "Well. I think we still have enough water in there to make that nausea tonic, if you want to stay for that."

Henny and Dr. J, since they were sitting closest, startle back as the pot boils over.

Dr. J chuckles, "I'm still curious!"

Jackieboy and Bro exchange glances before Jackie mutters to Bro, "Do you think there's enough room to train?"

"...i dunno bro- probably not?"

"Damn-"

"If you two are bored you do not have to stay," Henrik says as he opens up the lighter-wood box. "This will be a longer process. We need to use teleráil, hallowseed, ginger, rosemary--"

"Or we could use mint," Marvin says. "Mint tastes better."

"Well I did not bring mint, so we cannot use it." Henrik starts rummaging around in the chest. "Oh! But I do have lemon balm! And some valerian and feamdhe, so I could make a sleep aid."

Jackieboy and Bro flush bright and act like school kids that got caught cheating. Then Jackieboy laughs, "God... I'd kill for something mint right now-"

"You like mint, Jackie?" Henny asks.

"Alt turned me onto it- I was surprised he liked it too." Jackieboy laughs. "Has mint gum like, constantly."

Dr. J smiles, "It's also his favorite tea."

Marvin brightens. "Oh! That's my favorite tea, too! Nobody else in camp likes it! I-I know I have a supply in my tent back at the cliffs. Once we find Alt, I can make him a brew."

Bro smiles, "He'd love that Marvin... Dr. J is always telling us the best medicine is a good cup of tea."

Dr. J blushes slightly, "Well... that's what my parents taught me! Most of the time you just need a quick moment and a warm drink."

"We didn't have tea when I was growing up," Jackie remembers. "It only really caught on in the last... ten years or so? Warm drinks have always been a thing, but it was usually water with honey, or sometimes milk from the goats on the farm."

The swaps look very surprised by this. "Tea is that recent here?" Dr. J says quietly.

"Tea is native to the far east," Henrik says. "That is where that particular practice, with the pots and all the diffusion, came from. But heating up water with leaves or roots inside has been common here for a while. That is how most tonic medicines are made." He gestures at the pot, then picks up one of those thin knives and starts slicing up some long leaves. Not actually cutting through them, just into them.

Henny watches Henrik with a smile, "That is so interesting! All cultures start to borrow from one another it seems. I like that! We all learn from each other!"

"I think you broke Jay's mind," Jackieboy laughs, "He's British- so all he's known his whole life is tea!"

Dr. J smacks Jackieboy lightly, "They don't even know what being British means!"

The others smile. "I'm supposing that 'Brih-ish' is your nationality, then?" Henrik says, chuckling. "The others made similar jokes about me being Alterdan when I first arrived."

"We still do," Jackie says cheerfully. "Like your low tolerance!"

"Just because our drink is not strong enough to make someone dizzy with two fingers does not mean my tolerance is low! We drink much more in one sitting to make up for it!"

"Don't tease the man holding the knife," Marvin says, grinning.

Henrik rolls his eyes and plops the leaves into the water. "Teleráil needs to boil for a while, but not too long," he explains. "I need to remove it before it makes the taste bitter." He then drops in the ginger, already pre-sliced. "And the ginger is the main ingredient to soothe the stomach."

"What's ironic is they make fun of me for being British while living in Britain!" Dr. J says with exasperation, pointing a finger at Jackieboy.

Jackieboy laughs and holds up his hands, "Hey! S'not my fault you made friends with a bunch of Irish boys! That's your fault for going to uni in Ireland!"

Henny looks between the two bickering again before shrugging, "I am also from Britain but my Mother was born in Germany- which must be like Alderdan since we have the same accent, other-me!" The gentleman smiles. "Though, us germans are known for our drinking skills! I can drink way more than Alt can." He grins big, looking proud of himself. “Even if I am going Half-German!”

Henrik chuckles. "Perhaps in some years or so the typing will change to be more like that. But for now I must handle getting teased for not wanting to drink whiskey."

He pours a packet of small, round seeds into the water and stirs. And then he puts in the rosemary and some thin grass-like plants.

Henny giggles and nods. "I am not a big fan of whiskey either. But, Alt is!"

"Who out of us do you think could drink the most?" Marvin wonders.

"Out of the three of us, it's me," Jackie says. "No doubt."

"Ha! Do you know how much wine I can down at a party?"

"Wine isn't that strong, it doesn't count."

"Yeah honestly, Alt doesn't have the best tolerance but he can drink the rest of us under a table." Jackieboy laughs. "I got old man syndrome kicking in- drinking the night away just isn't possible with three kids!"

"I bet I could beat him-" Bro mutters.

"You can’t get drunk anyone more though, Chase," Dr. J says lightly, patting his leg. “So it’s hardly fair.”

"Yeah yeah I know..." The hero grumbles.

"Personally I think it would be funny if Jameson could drink the most," Henrik says. "He does not seem the type, does he? There would be irony."

Dr. J chuckles, "In our group I am definitely not the strongest drinker. I don't really like to drink, personally."

"I agree with ya Doc- Imagine other Jameson just beating everyone else!" Jackieboy giggles. "I'd pay to see that."

"We should go out for drinks some time," Jackie says cheerfully. "There's a tavern in every town, won't be hard to find a place!"

Jackieboy beams, “Oh hell yeah that’d be a blast!”

Henny looks excited too, “Oh yes! Alt and I go drinking often, that would be very fun!!”

"Add it to the list when we show them around the kingdom," Marvin says. "I'll bring all the gold and jasper to pay for your rounds."

"You will?" Jackie raises an eyebrow. "Well, I'm assuming that in the future I'll be able to access my family funds again."

"Access in what way?" Henrik asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Whichever is fastest." Jackie grins.

"Normally I would say something about stealing, but if anyone deserves it, it's the Tinechroi family. They can afford it, too." Henrik chuckles.

Dr. J chuckles, “I’m guessing you’re from a noble family then Marvin- one full of pricks from the sound of it.”

“Eh stealing from pricks is acceptable,” Bro comments.

“That’s not very hero-like to say Chase,” Dr. J says with a raise of his eyebrow.

“I’m off duty- it’s fine.”

"They're pricks alright," Marvin says. "My sister Thalia works for the King. Which wouldn't have been such a bad thing ten years ago, but with that spirit in charge, it means she's done some terrible things."

Jackie clears his throat. "Moving on…”

"Anyway, yes. If you all want to head off to do your own things, you can. This will take a while." He taps the edge of the pot with a spoon.

Jackieboy looks around the boat, leaning back on his hands. “…is there even room to do anything? Man- I’d actually kill for a book to read-“ He chuckles. “And I don’t usually read a lot!”

“if you want to read, it'd be a bit difficult here. Books aren't all that common and I remember our alphabets being different." Jackie brightens slightly. "Oo! Maybe Henrik can teach you our writing! Like he did for me and Chase!"

"I am a bit busy here," Henrik points out.

"I could try, if you want," Marvin says, shrugging.

Jackieboy can’t help but make a face, “Uhhh that’s okay… I have a hard enough time reading our own alphabet…”

“I’d be curious to see!” Dr. J says with a smile.

“Careful Doc, you might explode learning so much all at once,” Bro teases.

“Oh pish posh- no such thing!” JJ replies.

Henrik chuckles. "Well, we have a lot of travel time ahead of us. So might as well fill it up however you can, yes?"

"I think there's enough room for more training if we don't take out the deadly weapons," Jackie offers. "Just go through some drills. I can ask Chase and Jameson to join."

"I'll be around if you want to ask about anything." Marvin grins. "I'm always happy to talk about magic if you're all curious."

Jackieboy whoops and punches both his fists in the air, “Yeah! More training! I wanna get so good those fucking bastards and their knights won’t see what’s coming!” Bro grins at this.

Dr. J and Henny exchange looks then laugh. Luckily there was plenty of things to do- so much to learn!

The boat continues south. Soon, it will reach its destination. But there's a long time until then.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

That night, Alt has a strange dream. He's in a sort of garden. There are tall trees and neatly trimmed grass and paths made of stone. But it all looks so... regular? Even? And as Alt looks around, he sees tall, boxy structures in the distance. Are those... buildings? But they're so big, and so square, and some of them are shiny. The sky above is bright blue, and yet there's no sun to see on this sunny day.

Alt blinks as the dream takes shape and looks around in confusion. Everything here seems… wrong. But also… familiar somehow? How could that be? He’s never seen buildings that shiny before.

“Where… am I…?” He whispers to himself.

As he looks around, he hears something above him. A bird call of some kind. There’s a swift in the sky. Somehow he knows that this is the same one he saw while traveling. But it looks different. It’s no longer a natural brown color but instead shades of blue with orange and pink tinging the end of its feathers. Like the colors of the sky.

Alt’s mouth falls open as he sees the swift. It was unlike any animal he’d ever seen! And it was beautiful!

It circles around him a little before flying off into the distance. Asking him to follow. He watches it circle and then as it flies off he starts to run after it.

The swift flies deeper into the garden. The tall buildings slowly shrink in the distance. The stone paths shift from solid pieces to cobbled, the grass grows taller and is joined by undergrowth, and the branches of the trees grow taller, blocking out the bright sky. This feels foreboding somehow. But the swift continues on, weaving through the trees, never out of sight for too long.

Alt cautiously looks at his surroundings as they change. He feels his heart beat picking up. Where is this swift taking him?

The ground slowly slopes. The square buildings are entirely blocked out by the trees. The swift speeds up a little, lightning and squares of harsh light trailing from its wing tips…

Alt can’t help but gasp as he sees the light coming off the swift. It was like him? He looks down at himself and tries to see if he can glitch to catch up.

He’s right on its tail until it slows and lands, feet clinging to the vertical side of a tree. This tree is in the center of this depression Alt has been walking down. Unlike the other trees, it has no leaves, and it’s bark is black and dead-looking. The gnarled roots form a lattice over a hole in the ground. A lattice that sort of looks like part of a cage.

Alt slows in front of the tree and tilts his head at it. He narrows his eyes and gets closer then looks up at the swift and growls, “This is what you brought me here for? A dead tree??”

The swift’s head cocks to the side. It’s like it’s looking down at the roots.

Alt narrows his eyes some more and hesitates. Then he sighs and walks over, kneeling down by the roots to try to peer inside.

Beneath the roots is a deep hole. And in the hole is… someone. They move, standing up, coming closer to the light.

It’s… him.

Alt’s own face is looking back at him.

Alt startles away from the other him, paling as his stomach drops. “E-Elders!”

The other him is wearing strange clothes… that seem somehow familiar. His body is shivering, caught in the middle of a glitch, and when he reaches up, the Alt on the surface can see purple lines wrapped around his wrist. Like string bracelets. Or just strings.

Alt takes a second to catch his breath then cautiously looks back down at the other him. “…y-you’re … me…? But… h-how?” He looks back up at the swift. “W-What is this?!”

The swift cocks its head again.

Beneath the roots, the other Alt keeps reaching, his fingers just inches from the surface. His eyes are wide. "Help..." he says.

Alt looks down at his copy as he speaks, eyes widening.

He starts to back up-

And then, for a moment, Alt is in the other him's place, stuck, trapped, wrists burning. And then he’s back on the surface.

Alt gasps for air and clutches over his heart. He looks down at the other him with fear. But… why? Why is he scared? If this is also him…. Shouldn’t he help? He swallows thickly then reaches through the branches to try to reach for his copy’s hand.

But before he can grab his other self's hand--

"Wake up, á klaíoh." The King nudges Alt's side with his boot. "We need to cover a lot of distance."

Alt glitches up with a gasp and clutches over his heart. His blood feels electric and his mind is buzzing… the image of the other him in his dream still so stark. It almost takes him a second to regard the King but soon enough he’s glitching up to his feet, trying to hide his storming emotions. “Y-Yes, your highness.”

The King raises an eyebrow. Was something... off with Alt? Out of curiosity, he takes a quick peek into his current thoughts.

Alt’s thoughts are buzzing with images of the colorful swift- how it glitched with lightning. The shiny buildings of his dream and the trapped him under the dead tree. He’s rubbing his wrists like they pain him.

Oh.

Oh no.

Aneirin's expression darkens for a moment but he quickly hides it. "Bad dreams?" he asks. "They're just dreams. Forget about them. They have no effect on the waking world."

Alt’s eyes pulse with green before his hands drop to his sides, pain in his wrists forgotten. He nods slowly, his eyes glazing over. “Yes, mu Ríth.”

Magnificent stretches from where he was resting and comes over, tilting his head at Aneirin. “…is something the matter…?”

Aneirin glances at Magnificent, then back at Alt. "Go scout for some time. Come back when you hear us call for you."

Alt bows slightly then disappears in a quick glitch to scout.

And then Aneirin walks over to Magnificent and speaks in a low voice. "Do you remember that bird from yesterday? I don't think it was just some sick animal anymore. It may have been a vessel for one of those infuriating Elders."

Magnificent watches him with a bit of confusion. Then he narrows his eyes, green one flashing brightly. “…those are your gods- right? The ones native to Glasúil… I remember learning about them when I first came here… is it interfering?” He giggles, “I guess your power pales in comparison to a god…”

Aneirin grinds his teeth in anger. "Maybe I'm not as powerful as them yet, but they still can't stop me. If they could, they would have done it by now. But no, they exist on the cusp of the world and can't quite reach us without a vessel." He jerks his head towards where Alt was. "But they can touch our minds and dreams. And they're doing that to Alt. One is trying to get him to remember. The Winged Elder One, if my memory serves correct."

Magnificent narrows his eyes in anger as he mentions the Elder is messing with Alt. He bares his teeth in a snarl, “Oh hell no. Not on our fucking watch!” He glances back at where Alt went then looks back at Aneirin, “What can we do to stop it? We haven’t even reached the Wyldwoods yet!”

Aneirin purses his lips as he thinks. "I have some control over dreams. I can monitor him while he sleeps, try to push him off the path the Winged One is trying to guide him down." It would mean that he can't monitor Aodhan while sleeping, but he doesn't think there's much Chase can do with him anymore. Now that the secret is out, Aodhan has nothing more to share. "And you monitor him during his waking hours. Make sure he stays obedient. In a couple more days my power will recover enough to jump us right to the Wyldwood."

Magnificent nods, “I can do that…” He sighs, crossing his arms, “It pains me to keep him on such a short leash when he’s done so well- but… we can’t risk him breaking out of this.”

"Indeed." Aneirin nods. "Alt can be very capable but if we have to sacrifice some of that capability for control, so be it."

“Agreed.” Magnificent nods. “Alright… it might be a bit more of my own power but… not an issue.” He then looks back at the King, “My offer to lend some to you still stands by the way-“

Aneirin blinks. "I am curious to see if the power will be given to me, or to this body." He tilts his head, considering. This could be a trick... perhaps not an intentional one, but Magnificent could make a spur-of-the-moment decision. But... he's been so sincere lately. A lot has changed since the attack in the palace. "Is it possible to do a small test?"

Magnificent nods, "Of course," He bubbles up purple magic in his hand then offers it to Aneirin. The King can sense sincerity from the mad magician. He wants to reach the forest and take down the rebels no matter what it takes.

Aneirin hesitates for a moment. Then he reaches out and takes it.

As the magic connects with Aneirin's hand, it dives into his veins like a burning fire. It eagerly floods into where it feels magic flowing and then settles, hot like a flame but it feels strong, flowing into Aneirin's magic and latching on, giving it a boost. It feels... odd- almost wrong. But, he can't deny the power he feels.

Aneirin's eyes widen. The green in them flickers for a second as Aodhan squirms against this wrongness, struggling hard enough to cause a visible shift. But Aneirin simply turns his hand over, watching and feeling as the magic settles. "Interesting," he mutters. "It feels so different from the magic of this world. Somehow... hotter." He grins, and his shadow on the ground beneath him spreads and stretches. "I think it went into both of us. That definitely helps."

Magnificent grins and then laughs, flicking his half cape in a dramatic fashion. "Mortals can barely appreciate the fire Black magic provides~! Everyone shrinks away from it instead of embracing it- cowardly fools, I say." He studies the King's shadow then hums, "...the danger of Black Magic though is it tends to eat up other forms. It will provide a boost but it can fizzle out quickly if not properly sustained... I don't want to drain your other magic... but- if all we need is enough to open a gate- then a quick burst could be what we need~!"

The King closes his eyes, assessing the power. "I believe I can sustain this--the half that went into me, at least. Aodhan's boost may burn out quickly." He bites his lip, thinking. "We'll ride for another day, just to close the distance so it will cost less. But by the next morning, I think I'll have enough to make a doorway there." He grins. "A day faster than expected."

Magnificent grins wide, eyes sparking with mad excitement. “Excellent- I can live with that~” He giggles.

"Excellent indeed." The King grins. "Now let's move quickly. Where did he go...? Alt, á klaíoh!"

Soon after being called Alt glitches back in front of Mag and the King and bows quickly. "Here, mu Ríth."

"We move now," the King says. "No time for a meal." He heads over to the horses and quickly mounts his. "Perhaps we can figure something out on the road."

Alt hesitates for a second, feeling his stomach growl. Did... he even eat last night...? He can't... remember. It was so fuzzy. But, he will not anger the King. He nods, "Of course, mu Ríth.” And he glitches to his spot on the horse. Mag follows quickly after.

Aneirin smiles. That was a test, to see if the spell was holding. Seems it is... for now. "Very good. Now let's go."

The horses continue to the west.

#LLTK #long live the king #another kinda chill chapter until we check back in with Alt!#i remember being blown away by the dream sequence when we first wrote it #and i drew something quick for it bacj then aghjv #i need to start sharing all my LLTK king art! GJHBK #anyways sorry i didnt post yesterday it was christmas ahjkb #merry holidays and such

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iamvegorott · 8 months ago

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Magicians Don't Need Superheros Pt7

First: Link Prev: Link Next: Link

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Marvin sat on the edge of the examination table, slumped over and finding it harder and harder to keep his head up and eyes open. He’d be allowed to go lay down soon, right? He had his measurements taken and he answered all of Henrik’s questions. The doctor seemed fairly chill considering everything else, but that might just be his ‘work personality’ since he seemed to match the chaotic energy earlier.

Jackie had snuck him two cookies earlier and Marvin had to admit the treats were really good. Maybe he’ll meet JJ tomorrow and put a face to the cookies. There seemed to be at least one more Septiceye. Who knew if Chase had more to that list before he got distracted by the missing one? How many Egos were there? Was it just the two groups or were there more? Did Jackie mention more? His head felt so stuffed that he couldn’t even remember anymore.

“Psst. Marvin.”

“Hm?” Marvin turned his head at the whisper and saw Jackie peeking his head through the door of the room. “You dork.” He sighed at Jackie waving a cookie in the air.

“You don’t want it? Cause I got two.” Jackie leaned over some more and showed that he had a cookie in each hand. “I mean, I know you’ve already had two, but you gotta get what you can when it comes to sugar in this house since it’ll be gone before you know it.”

“Does every Septiceye have a sweet tooth?”

“Pretty much.”

“Alright, I’ll take the cookie.” Marvin chuckled at Jackie’s excited giggle as he slipped into the room and gave him one of the treats. “JJ really does know how to make good cookies.” He said before biting down on it. It wasn’t as warm as the first time he was given the cookies, but it was still so soft and the chocolate chips still oozed. They had to be made from scratch to be like this.

“He’d had a lot of practice. JJ bakes a lot in general but he bakes even more when he’s stressed.” Jackie said casually and took a bite, getting half of the cookie into his mouth. Which was a lot considering the cookies were the size of his hand.

“Is he stress baking right now?” Marvin asked.

“Kind of,” Jackie said through the mouthful of cookie. “A new Ego appearing is always stressful.” He chewed for a second before his eyes widened and he swallowed. “Not that you’re stressful or anything! It’s just that-like-you know-you don’t know. You don’t know the things yet, but it’s just that-it’s-it’s just a…a-uh…”

“New things are stressful,” Marvin said.

“That.” Jackie’s shoulders relaxed in relief.

“I will just need a blood sample and then we are done for the day,” Henrik stated as he came into the room, not looking over to where Marvin and Jackie were as he went to a counter and started getting out the supplies he’d need. “I will also need you to come to my office first thing in the morning, do not eat or drink before then so that I can take another sample for comparisons and to know your-the cookies are for after the blood taking.” He sighed after turning and seeing Jackie and Marvin.

“You’re taking blood?” Jackie’s voice nearly went up a whole octave. Marvin didn’t think that was possible and yet the other man sounded like a squeaky toy with that question.

“Yes, I am.” Henrik had a laugh in his voice. Marvin could tell that he was missing something.

“Do you not like blood?” Marvin asked Jackie.

“It is not the blood that is the problem. It is how it is taken. Jackie does not like needles.” Henrik stated.

“Don’t tell him that, man!” Jackie shouted in embarrassment. “Heros aren’t afraid of anything.”

“If that is true, then perhaps you can allow me to take a sample of your blood? The yearly samples are coming up soon and we can get yours done early.” Henrik suggested with almost an evil grin.

“I-um…what was that Chase?” Jackie started backing toward the door. “I gotta go.”

“I did not hear anything.” Henrik hummed.

“Supersonic hearing and stuff.”

“That is not one of your-”

“Gotta go, bye!” Jackie turned and ran out of the room. Marvin watched Jackie go and then broke out into a laugh.

“Last year we had to have six of us hold him down to get blood,” Henrik said with a chuckle, washing his hands, and putting gloves on. “And that was with the strongest among us.”

“Everyone’s scared of at least one thing.” Marvin finished his treat as he waited.

“I wish you the best of luck convincing Jackie of that. Despite having to literally restrain him, he claims endless fearlessness.” Henrik peeked over his shoulder. “Do you mind rolling your sleeve for me?” Marvin nodded and did as asked, more than ready to get this last part done and over with.

“So, you and Chase are the ones in charge here?” Marvin asked.

“I guess one could say that. Honestly, Chase is more of the one that gives orders, I just try to keep everyone alive.” Henrik rolled a little tray over and sat in a chair next to Marvin. “Everyone mostly does as they please aside from being assigned a job from time to time.”

“A job?”

“We do freelance jobs, and depending on the Ego determines what end of the range that job is. Some are more…legal than others. It-” Henrik stopped when he could practically see Marvin wanting to explode from information overload. “It is something that you can be told about later.”

“Okay” Marvin sighed, being sure to look at anything but his arm as Henrik filled a vial with his blood. “So…I have a room?”

“You do. The details of how it came to be can also be shared at a later point as well. The door has stayed locked since you have yet to arrive, but now you should be able to walk in. It is the door across from Jackie’s room. I will call for him to show you once we are done.”

“Is that the ‘connection’ Jackie mentioned? He said there was a reason why he was the one that had to get me to come here.” Marvin felt the bandage getting wrapped around his arm.

“The…um…well that is much more complicated. That is something that will be explained after you begin to meet the others. I think some rest is what you need the most at the moment.” Henrik got out of the chair and stepped away with the collected blood.

“Doctor’s orders.” Marvin lightly laughed as he fixed his sleeve. “Does that mean I can go now?”

“Let me call for Jackie.” Henrik went over to a fridge and pulled out a bottle of apple juice, handing it to Marvin.

“Thanks.” Marvin opened the bottle, getting himself a sip as Henrik stuck his head out of the door.

“Jackie! Come here, please!” Henrik shouted and Marvin choked on his drink. He was not expecting that kind of volume to come out. “He should be here in a moment,” Henrik said back at his usual level and smiled at Marvin. “You do not feel lightheaded, correct?”

“I feel good.” Marvin’s answer came out hoarse.

“Oh! I should have warned you. Sorry. I am used to the noise of the House, you will adapt quickly to it as well.” Henrik apologized as he went back to the counter.

“Cool.” Marvin got off of the examination table. “I’m just going to wait for him in the-hi Jackie.” He opened the door and Jackie was right there.

“What’s up?” Jackie asked.

“He is finished. Could you show him to his room?” Henrik didn’t look away from his work.

“Got’cha!” Jackie did a salute and stepped back. He did a little bow and gestured with his hands. “Right this way.”

“I’m about this close to just passing out on the floor.” Marvin held up a hand to show the small measurement he spoke of, leaving the room and beginning to go down the hall.

“I mean, if you do I can just carry you,” Jackie suggested.

“Don’t tempt me.” Marvin rubbed his face with a hand and stopped when Jackie was suddenly in front of him with his back to him.

“Up, up,” Jackie said as he slapped his back.

“I was joking.”

“Up, up.”

“I’m not climbing on you. I’m fine.”

“Up-”

“Don’t.”

“-Up.”

“You’re going to keep doing that until I agree, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Well, have fun with eternity.” Marvin went around Jackie and kept going down the hall. He couldn’t help a smile when he heard Jackie laughing and it was only a moment later that he was at his side again.

“My room is right up here.” Jackie pointed and then jogged ahead, stopping in front of a door. Marvin was far from surprised at the decor on the door; printed pictures of superheroes and manga characters. There were some speech bubbles with text next to some of the characters and Marvin assumed they were quotes. “And that means this one is yours.” Jackie took a large step to be on the other side of the hall and pointed at the blank door.

“I can finally get some sleep.” Marvin sighed.

“If you ever need anything, don’t be afraid to knock on my door or, you know, do what Hen does and yell for me.” Jackie offered with a puff to his chest.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Good night, Jackie.” Marvin placed his hand on the doorknob.

“I’ll see ya in the morning.” Jackie gave another salute and Marvin rolled his eyes as he went into the room.

Marvin closed the door behind him, turned on the light switch and he couldn’t explain the strange sour feeling in his stomach at seeing how the room he entered was identical to his actual bedroom. Down to the exact same shade of paint on the walls, even the hand-drawn posters were there as well. You’d think seeing your home would be comforting, but instead, it made Marvin feel sick.

But at least there was a bed.

Marvin took a step toward the bed and froze, feeling a strange presence near him now. It caused a static feeling on his tongue, making the hair on the back of his neck rise. A giggle was enough to get Marvin to act.

Grabbing the scissors inside of the pen bucket on his desk, Marvin turned and threw them, seeing the sharp points of the scissors stick into the wall next to a black, shadowy form. The shadow shifted and shades of green showed in the reflection of the light. The giggles came from the form as it slowly moved down to the floor and looked like a puddle before it stretched toward the air and morphed into a human shape, bright green eyes opened and a sharp, toothy smile grew into a grin.

“It’s not nice to throw things at your housemates~”

#magicians dont need superheros #marvelsepticeye #veggie writes

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gayguybln · 7 months ago

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21 year old Marvin (left) is presenting his 19 year old disciple Damian (right) to other members of their fitness sect. Marvin is on his way to full membership. Members are fully brainwashed into building their entire life around gym and working out. The membership is organised in four stages: disciple stage, comitted mentors stage, full membership and presidency.

Disciples are new applicants. With their application they move into so-called congregation houses. A mentor is taking over to restructure the applicant's life. Marvin is Damian's mentor. From day one applicants are watching and listening to brainwashing hypnosis. Contacts to family and friends are under scrutiny and reduced if necessary. All sect members are wearing identical clothes. A mentor is monitoring a disciple's training routine, his nutrition and enforcing the hypnosis. Within the congregation houses the disciples are living in small cells. Applicants have to be without tattoos. Tattoos are forbidden within the first two stages of membership.

Comitted mentors are sect members who are passed the first stage. They're already brainwashed. For them the sect is the family. Marvin entered the sect a few days after his 18th birthday. On his 19th birthday he became a comitted mentor. The ceremony is consisting of giving up his old life formally, ceding all possessions to their church. After the signature a comitted mentor is branded with a stylized dumbbell on the back of the neck. At the end of the procedure they get a vasectomy as church members aren't allowed to start a family. From that point on sex is allowed with other sect members only. They have to lead at least five disciples from application to comittment before being eligible for full membership. They sleep in three men dorm rooms in the congregation houses.

Full members are getting some freedoms back. They can leave the congregation house as they want. Their life is fully developed. They made progressing within their training routine the center of their lives and are fully brainwashed. They have a job that allows them to focus on gym but to earn money for the church at the same time. The result is that their schedules are consisting of working and working out. Within that stage the members get their entire bodies covered in the same tattoos like the church's founder and prophet. They're allowed to build up 'own' companies (in truth the church is owning their companies). They're electing some members of the presidency.

Members of the Presidency are the officials of the church. Each congregation house has two leaders. An administrative leader is elected every second year at every congregation house. Spiritual leaders are full members selected by the prophet. While the administrative leader is taking care of all house related matters the spiritual leader is presiding over the hypnosis and brainwashing routines. Ten congregation houses are forming a ward. The ten administrative leaders are electing an administrative ward leader and the prophet is selecting one of the spirital house leaders as spiritual ward leaders. These ward leaders are delegating disciples and mentors from one house to another if necessary. They're calculating the budgets of the houses within their ward. All house leaders - administrative and spiritual - are forming the General Assembly that elects the President, the Vice-President and the General Secretary of the church on the same day as the US is electing their president. They will be sworn in by the prophet on Jan 20 after their election.

The Prophet is a 47 year old bodybuilder who says that Christ appeared to him and dictated him the 'true' testament of Christ. The prophet struggled in life as he was younger. He married at 20 but was forced into a cuck relationship by his wife and his twin brother. They forced a vasectomy on him and marked his body with tattoos. He fled into bodybuilding to cope with the situation. He was 28 as he cycled home after gym and got his first vision of Christ. In that exact moment Christ promised him to set him free the later prophet's wife and brother had an accident.

Discipline and obedience are the strong pillars of this church. Misbehaviour will be punished with shame punishments like walking naked with a chastity device only within the congregation house or wearing sweaty clothes of other church members. For some more problematic cases of misbehaviour or clear disobedience against members of the presidency corporal punishment is administred. In some very grave cases members can be sent into the hole. Each congregation house has two holes in the basement. These holes are technically on floor -2. They can be entered via the ceiling only and members sentenced to the hole are lowered down into the hole and then the ceiling is closed with a heavy metal cover. The hole is pitchblack. Food and water are provided via a shaft in the wall. Marvin was sentenced to the hole for one week after giving his spiritual house leader a headbutt as they discussed Marvin's potential within the church. Hole sentences are always signed by the prophet.

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radiantlyrey · 15 days ago

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So I liveblogged TRON: Legacy on BlueSky over the last two nights...

So here is that liveblog! Enjoy!!

Rewatching one of my fave movies—TRON: Legacy. Love how the city settings at the bookends are just *transparently* Vancouver. Also enjoyed the deliberate echoes between ‘89 Flynn and Clu later in the film.

Also cannot BELIEVE they cast CILLIAN MURPHY as Ed Jr.!!!! And then just—utterly FAILED to use him for a direct sequel!!!!! UGH.

Love to see a Bruce Boxleitner in my TRON films, too!!!! Since he apparently isn’t going to be in No.3 this fall….. (am I salty about this? maybe just a LITTLE BIT.)

Alan has to have IMMEDIATELY clocked that that dog was Sam’s Marvin. Hence his immediate lookup of things on his tablet. Also his obvious amusement at the end of the scene.

Sam Flynn is a very generic white boy protagonist, but Garrett Hedlund plays him with this subtle undercurrent of grief that honestly elevates Sam as a character.

Favorite detail: Sam is on a first name basis with the impound lot attendant. LOVE THAT.

(Also yes I think I’m gonna liveblog the movie, bc why not)

Contrast in the next scene between Alan’s hope and Sam’s cynicism. Interesting, but also [look at] Sam’s face when Alan mentions the page from the arcade. He doesn’t WANT to be cynical, not completely.

Wouldn’t be a TRON film without a Journey song… Choice of “Separate Ways” seems very apt, especially the lyrics we hear. Like. Damn, what a good choice. Even kind of foreshadowing with the chorus! Amazing.

And then “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)”!! Just two VERY GOOD song choices. Anyway. Flynn’s subroom office. (With Lora’s laser, I might add. Add “utter lack of Cindy Morgan” to my list of petty grievances towards Disney.)

As neat as the laser animation is here—‘82’s was cooler.

I do seriously regret not going to see this film in IMAX when it came out. Maybe they’ll do a rerelease or something??

LOVE the subtle and unexplained worldbuilding of “this program has no disc; another stray.” This does get explained in the Uprising animated show, but just leaving it at that in the film leaves you asking questions.

While I do on the one hand like the moody sort of Blade Runner aesthetic of the Legacy Grid, I have to say I like the crazy colors of the Encom Grid way more.

I do feel like the only purpose of the Siren programs here is to Be Sexy, which, yes, I do put as a mark against this film. Like. Yay for more female characters!! Wish they actually had… character, tho.

The Actual Light Lines on the costumes are amazing btw. Love that. Just. There were so many cool things about this film (the music, for one) and I am still salty that all it got at the Oscars were sound noms.

This movie runs on Rule of Cool most of the time and I love it.

Someone on tumblr said Clu sits like a Skyrim jarl and….. like. They weren’t wrong.

I love how Awkward Sam is in the disc game, it’s honestly hilarious.

Also Jeff Bridges gave an interview recently [saying] that Clu basically looked like Bill Maher and….. he ain’t wrong.

Love the whole scene on the throne ship. Sam’s relief turning to suspicion turning to horror. Clu playing up his resemblance to Flynn, for the sake of bringing up Sam’s hopes only to drop them down and grind them in the dirt. It’s SO GOOD.

And like. At this point Sam doesn’t know that his dad’s alive. He’s angry and ready to fight and it’s great. (Also love that he assumes the lightcycle baton is a lightsaber. Lol.)

God. Remember when vfx in movies were actually GOOD. Because they did shit like previz and storyboards. Like. This lightcycle scene is dark, but it’s lit well enough that none of the details get lost. It’s great.

And now here comes my best girl!!!!! I love Quorra so much, she is very much my favorite character in this movie, I have written SO MUCH fanfic about her.

(I actually wrote a whole novel-length fic that diverges from the movie just before Quorra rescues Sam. Sam is injured and captured by Clu, and Quorra and Flynn have to rescue him. I really like that fic, I think I did a good job with it.)

I am such a sucker for family reunion scenes and this one with Flynn and Sam is no exception.

The food in Flynn['s] hideout is interesting. My headcanon is that it’s just repurposed energy (and also that it took Flynn a WHILE before he figured out how to do that).

Ahh the infamously awkward “biodigital jazz, man!” line.

Also I know they made Tron (my man Tron!!!!) shorter bc his body double was shorter (also Rinzler…) but it is hilarious that Tron just kind of…… shrunk. Lol.

Quorra’s so awkward as well and I love her for it. Just. Walking away in the middle of a conversation. Laughing at the wrong time. She’s great.

These dark scenes are so well lit. Like. Exceptionally so. Where did we go wrong the in last 15 years???

Aaaaand now, the best part of this movie, because Michael Sheen is here and ready to SLAY. also Daft Punk is here too and ready to drop a hot track or two.

Like, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde and Jeff Bridges are putting in good drama performances, but Sheen is CLEARLY having the best time out of all of them. He’s great, and his Ziggy Stardust getup is great too.

Clu in Flynn’s hideout. The cold blue lighting here makes Clu look a little less real/human (this is even more evident later on the Rectifier, which I argue was a deliberate choice on the part of the filmmakers). It’s such a good scene tho, a lot of weighty stuff for Clu’s character.

I love that Quorra has a sword. Makes her even cooler in my eyes.

Also this fight sequence is so damn cool (tho a little heavy on the flashing lights). Esp. once Flynn shows up and the whole lighting changes and stuff. (Also Zuse’s Chaplin-esque dance at the end is hilarious.)

“You’re messing with my zen thing, man!” is an amazing line and actually works in a way biodigital jazz did not.

(Also I completely refuse to believe Flynn did not know Quorra was an Iso before messing with her code. It’s slightly implied here he didn’t, which just seems ridiculous to me.)

I like how Flynn understands that Clu’s imperfections and flaws are his own, rather than blaming everything all on his creation.

(One thing I enjoyed about writing that AU fic I mentioned above is that I got to keep certain characters—like Zuse—alive. I don’t have an idea for a sequel at this point, but those characters will be there if I do.)

Also I see the sort of gentle flirtation happening with Sam and Quorra and I like it. I don’t ship it, but it’s cute because Sam clearly drinks his Respect Women juice.

Okay. It’s getting late; I am going to resume this thread and this movie tomorrow. Sorry for clogging y’all’s feeds with my natter about TRON.

And we’re back!! Time for the last 35 minutes of TRON: Legacy!!!

Quorra’s sacrifice here is interesting. She’s hoping to distract Clu long enough to let Sam and Flynn escape through the Portal. Also Clu’s taunting her here is awful (and I mean that in the best way).

And now comes Clu’s speech, where the deaging vfx look their worst, but I think (as I mentioned last night) that is somewhat deliberate. Up to his most recent scenes, Clu was largely lit with warm colors, making his “resemblance” to Flynn a little easier to believe…

…but as his lighting transitions to cooler colors, the resemblance becomes more uncanny, and he looks much less human.

Love Sam’s earnestness in insisting he’s not going home without Flynn. He’s done with the cynicism that colored his scene with Alan; he’s ready to hope again.

Was that a Wilhelm scream as we see the tail end of Sam’s not-shown fight? Love it.

Rinzler surviving that kick off the lift because of course. That dude is ridiculous sometimes.

And now into the last action sequence—the aerial dogfight on the flight to the Portal. Again, despite how dark everything is, you can still tell what’s happening!! What a concept!!!!!!!

Also love how utterly uncanny the Sea of Simulation looks, with the voxel-y texture of the waves. I do rather desperately wish there was some Color to it, tho!!

And then—Flynn recognizes Tron, and Rinzler realizes who he is and— “I fight for the Users”—!!!!!!!!!!! That line makes me want to cheer every time I hear it. I do hate that Tron wasn’t properly in this movie that has his name on it, but it’s almost worth it for that moment when Rinzler remembers.

Arrival at the Portal—only Clu’s gotten there first. And I do love this conversation between Flynn and Clu, and Flynn’s trying to apologize, but Clu—by his nature, being a moment of Flynn’s whole being suspended in time—doesn’t understand, and doesn’t want to. And it’s tragic and I LOVE IT. UGHHH

One last uncanny look at Clu as he struggles for the Portal—and he truly looks inhuman here, thanks to the distortion of the Portal’s effects. And Flynn takes that last, most desperate option and then—reality fades in.

I do like that flashback as Flynn watches Sam and Quorra depart. Like. Beautiful.

So many things left hanging in these last scenes. What were Sam’s plans for the Grid, by saving it on that memory card? His plans for Encom? What would Quorra get up to in the User world? And unless Ares surprises me A Whole Fucking Lot, WE’LL NEVER KNOW. FUCK.

Again: transparently Vancouver here. Don’t care. Quorra drinking in the sunrise, paired with this gorgeous music, is a beautiful and fitting end.

And that’s a movie!!!! I love this movie so much; I have so many things to say about it, even fourteen years later. And god knows it’s helped me write a TON of fanfic, and is still giving me ideas to this day.

Anyway, thanks for indulging me in this thread of chatter. I’m gonna enjoy the fuck out of these end credits songs, because Daft Punk’s score—which I hardly MENTIONED!!! and which is EXCELLENT!!!—is gorgeous af and SHOULD HAVE netted them an Oscar nom. Ah well. Good night, y’all!!!!

#tronblr #tron #tron: legacy #skye liveblogs things #movies

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