#if i've missed something or drawn weird conclusions please speak up

[youhearstatic]

META Pt 2 - LUCRETIA AND THE RED ROBES:

(For the first three times Lucretia talks about the red robes see Pt 1.)

EPISODE 51 - Start of The Suffering Game. The director brings the boys in, about to send them off to Wonderland. Magnus is still grappling with finding out he’s a red robe at the end of The Eleventh Hour. We get this right before Magnus decides he’s busting into the brig to talk to Robbie/Pringles:

Magnus: I… I need to ask… I’ve been thinking about it, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk to you. I feel like if there are other participants in the maze we run the risk of running into more Red Robes.

The Director: I find that unlikely. The Red Robes obviously, to my surprise, are still in operation, but there cannot be that many of them.

Magnus: But if we do run into one, what, is there anything the Bureau knows about them? Anything you can tell us?

The Director: They are extremely dangerous. They cannot be trusted. If you see one, report it to me over your Stone of Far Speech immediately. And just run away, you are not ready. Don’t listen to a word they say, they will lie to you to get you to do whatever they want, but their purposes are evil, Magnus, they are- they are beings of pure, concentrated evil.

Magnus: But how do you know?

The Director: I - I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with the Red Robes.

Magnus: And they’ve all been evil?

The Director: Invariably. Any other questions?

[snorting and giggles from Justin/Taako and Clint/Merle]

(I include that last line cause HA jokes on you two, too! You’re ALSO red robes of evil!)

Okay so. Lucretia obviously still has the party line to tow. She can’t be all, “Actually, they aren’t so bad, we just had a difference of opinion so I essentially roofied them all and stuck them in new lives while I handle shit Lucretia-Style... which turned out to also be bad so here we are with you three.”

But let’s break that down further. Starting with:

A.) “...there cannot be that many of them.”

So obviously she can account for five of the seven of them.  As mentioned above, as of most of the way through Crystal Kingdom she knows Barry is alone. But even if he’s since found Lup, there’s still only two.

I think Lucretia expects it’s just Barry, though. But the umbra staff being with Taako could mean Lup resurfaced and found Barry. POSSIBLY. (Also, I could make an argument that Lucretia saw the umbrella and figured out that’s where Lup was at some point between Taako showing up with it and Taako breaking it but that’s a-whole-nother post. Short answer: There were a LOT of smart people on that ship who should have worked that one out in the time they were searching for Lup. They can be forgiven because they hadn’t found the umbrella at that point either. But Lucretia... ANYWAY.)

B.) “They are extremely dangerous.”

Well, I guess if you read this as “dangerous to Lucretia’s plans and the boys staying unaware of their own histories” then we have to rate this as true.

If you mean dangerous as in “a threat to your health and well being” then we have to say: Eh? True and false? Like, it’s not great for mental well being to have the rug pulled out from under you in regards to a hundred years of your life and your family that you forgot.

But... Even if this is Barry and Lup together, they aren’t going to HURT them. I mean even if Lucretia believes the absolute worst of Barry and Lup she’d still never think they would HURT Taako, Magnus, or Merle.

C.) “They cannot be trusted.”

Now this right here... this is the statement that made me want to write this entire post.

Let’s put ourselves in Lucretia’s shoes here. You’ve done this thing. You’re at the end of the whole deal. The end is in sight. At this point, you’re probably spinning a lot of plates, juggling a lot of knives, keeping a lot of balls in the air, whatever metaphor you like. SO to that we can say this was just words flowing out of her mouth trying to keep things going.

And Lucretia is scared! She knows Wonderland is a bad, bad place. She knows that not only could this mean the end of the relic gathering, this could mean losing Taako, Magnus, and Merle. So there’s a lot on the line here and it’s understandable if she’s verbally scrambling.

But she’s saying this to Magnus who has - unknown to her - learned he’s a red robe. THEN SHE DOUBLES DOWN ON IT! She says: 

D.) “they will lie to you to get you to do whatever they want, but their purposes are evil, Magnus, they are- they are beings of pure, concentrated evil.”

So when he follows up with a question asking if all red robes are evil her response is, I think, seriously crucial. Because she answers: “Invariably.”

I think that answer is why Magnus decides he’s gonna talk to Robbie/Pringles. He knows something is up for her to make that blanket statement because even if he can’t explain how he was involved, he knows there is missing information. And he knows he’s not getting it from her.

I think that word right there: “invariably” is what sets up Magnus to trust the red robe in Wonderland. He MIGHT have trusted him based on the fact that he (Magnus) found out he’d been one. He MIGHT have relied on the red robe based on the fact that Wonderland sucked. They needed help.

But I think if she’d given him a different answer? If she’d said something about some of the red robes might have believed they had good intentions or SOME kind of answer that would have allowed Magnus to believe there was room for his history to have included being a red robe? I think Wonderland might have gone differently.

The red robe (okay, lemme just call him Barry at this point) had tried again and again to prove he was trustworthy. He’d saved them from Captain Bane. He’d tried to give them hints along the way with the patches and the explanation about the planar system. He’d worried for their safety in Refuge and told them he was proud of them. He’d hung on through so much - seeing them in Phandolin, realizing Taako had Lup’s umbrella, being told by three of the people he’s closest to the in the world that NO WAY DID THEY TRUST HIM. He’d saved Merle’s kids! He’d been worried about Taako on a freaking date with a reaper! (This one I’m willing to debate. It COULD be taken that Kravitz suddenly sensed Lup in the umbrella but he’d been around Taako with the umbrella for an extended period of time so it seems weird he should suddenly sense a lich and even weirder that, when handed the umbrella he’d say “nope, not this.” So I think all signs point to Barry being around and Lup reacting and trying to protect him. But if you want to say Kravitz sensed Lup ‘surging’ in power or something I guess that’s a valid take as well.)

But I list all those things to say: He’d gone through all that and done so much to try and help them, try and let them know, and they’d misunderstood, misremembered, or simply ignored it. They absolutely forgot he saved them from Captain Bane, no question there. 

So Lucretia had done her groundwork well. Even if they had suspicions, they did trust her, they did fall on her side.

She lost Magnus with that word “invariably” though. It led him to kidnapping the guards and trusting Barry and being on Barry’s side and saying: “Uh. Listen, uh, Taako, Merle, I know that’s a little weird, and you’re just gonna have to trust me on this one: He’s with us. I think. More or less.”

And we all know how it plays out. But let’s stop on one more moment. Because then, in Episode 67 you have what I just refer to as “that scene”

Griffin: What do you do?

Justin: I pull out the Umbra Staff and I point it at Lucretia.

Griffin: Um, she’s just kind of staring you down-

Taako: [voice cracking] Ten. Nine.

Griffin: She says,

Lucretia: Taako, I know you’re upset—

Taako: Eight.

Travis: I pull the Flaming Raging Poisoning Sword of Doom and point it at her.

Lucretia: Listen -

Taako: Seven.

Lucretia: Please listen to me, please.

Taako: Six.

Lucretia: Please stop— okay.

Clint: I look at the other two and say,

Merle: What the hell are you doing?

Taako: Five.

Magnus: The chance to explain yourself was… mmm about a dozen memories ago.

Taako: And honestly, 7 seconds ago, I’m doing this cool countdown. [shouting] You fucking took everything from me!

Lucretia: I know that things went wrong, I know I shouldn’t have kept you all in the dark for as long as I did. I swear, I had no idea how arduous a task this was gonna be, I know I have a lot for atone for. But please, just— I’m begging you let me finish this and then we can talk about it.

Taako: [defeatedly] …Fine.

Merle: [slight hysterical laugh] What are you finishing?

I bring this up because even after everything they learned when they got their Stolen Century memories back... This is how it breaks down: Taako is furious because she took his memories of his sister. Merle is confused. And Magnus steps up to second Taako. (AND I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT: Travis’s voice breaks when he says he pulls out the sword.)

And I think a portion of that? Still comes back to that word “invariably.” Because Magnus believes himself to be a good man and - albeit indirectly - Lucretia told him he wasn’t.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 29

First time reader click here

Feels like this story is flopping. Is it flopping? Idk. This chapter is 100% plot and it is spooky. Cursed demon box. Helpful Stephen Strange and grumpy Wong. Hovering Bruce and Tony. Loki being a honorary Gen-Z. Found family but make it ✨superheroes✨.

"That's a lot to unpack," Peter stated once I had given him the bare bones report of the situation at hand. "Uh, are you okay?" The boy was obviously upset at my predicament, placing a supportive hand on my shoulder.

"Kinda?" I offered, making space for Wanda and Pietro who decided to join me and Peter, away from the arguing adults. The mission discussion - an absolute disaster - started as soon as Peter had walked in. Evidently experienced in such matters, the boy ignored the bickering and came over to steal me from Bruce's clutches to peacefully finish his egg sandwich in the company of his peers.

"I wanted to ask if I could see your memory of that time," Wanda meekly offered me a piece of candy. I accepted it - sugar sweet sugar, how I love thee so! The witch continued with a smile: "I think it would be helpful to see what we're dealing with, magic-wise."

"Sure," I trusted her. "Just don't scramble what's left of my sanity, please," All of us laughed at my remark as I laid down on the cold floor with my head in Wanda's lap. Her powers felt like small brain zaps, tingles that began at the front of my forehead and ran down into my spine. I followed her instructions and thought about the times I remembered, finding the box, placing it into my closet, the nightmares. I had a mild headache by the time she was done; no grudges against her - Wanda tactfully avoided my private moments and looked only at the ones containing the artifact.

"You've gotten really good," I complimented her with pure adoration.

"Thank you," She blushed, smoothing back my stray hairs. "That stuff is really strong. I don't think you should go near the box," She admitted. "And Doc should take a look at you. You have a residue left. I don't think that's good either."

"Well, fuck," I said in muted resignation.

"Press F to pay respects," Pietro joked in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

"Your luck is almost as bad as mine," Peter pointed out.

I scoffed. "Well, if I see any spiders around, I'll be sure to stay away in case they happen to be radioactive OsCorp runaways."

All of us laughed. Despite the grim situation, I didn't feel doomed. I was surrounded by friends and my boyfriends and my bestie who happened to be a mythical omnipotent god- welp, once again, I was getting too emotional. Once the adults were done arguing, we could start making sense of this mess and hopefully clean it up before the monster is out of the box.

"Mortals," I heard Loki scoff. The next moment, the Asgardian sat down noisily next to me, pout on full display. "This house is a nightmare."

His expression - or the accidental use of a meme - sent me completely, tension leaving my body via copious amounts of nearly hysterical laughter. Through tears and hiccups, I saw Wanda cackle with me and Peter show the meme in question to Loki, noting that he had been once sent to time-out on top of the fridge by Tony himself. Soon, all of us were laughing, much to the displeasure of the adults.

"Children, what is the issue?" Thor asked, irritated.

"We're just waiting for you to be done with arguing," I spoke before Loki could start bitching about Thor calling him a child. "Then I can show Steve and Loki where exactly have I buried the box so Stephen can take me to the healers and get this thing out of me or whatever," I pointed out the most logical plan of action.

Two long strides and the sorcerer was standing over me, boom-boom-whooshing and generally making very pretty golden patterns to appear and land on top of me. Tony and Bruce anxiously hovered behind him, both of my boys concerned and ready to mother-hen me. Ugh, so disgustingly adorable. Wanda's hand encompassed mine - she was nervous.

Stephen took a solid five-minute silence break before coming to a final conclusion. "Wong can get rid of the residual traces of the artifact's influence," The sorcerer announced curtly. "It's good you got rid of the artifact, a few more months and you would have started slipping into insanity if the magic within it was not released," He explained, slowly reaching out a hand to place it on top of my head. I wasn't sure if it was a gesture meant to bring comfort or another diagnostic test but leaned into the touch nonetheless. "Tell me, did you have any behavioral... Disturbances after...?" He trailed off.

I chewed on my lip, evaluating. "I honestly don't know. I've always been kind of an asshole," Honesty was the best policy. "Nothing seems out of order, sleepwalking aside."

"I see," Strange gave me a tight-lipped smile. "Perhaps, it was your stubborn nature that forbade the artifact from corrupting your mind completely. As evidenced by Captain Rogers, even undesirable character traits bring good into this world now and then."

That seemed a little bit hostile. I frowned, giving a questioning look to a frowning Loki.

"Speaking from experience?" Not the one to hold back upon witnessing first-grade bullshit, I withdrew from Stephen's touch, raising a sarcastic eyebrow.

Surprising everyone, the man laughed soundly, eyes crinkling at the corners. "I most certainly do," Shooting me a positively mischievous wink. I felt like I was missing something.

The room's inhabitants slowly ticked out in pairs and threes, eager to complete their assigned tasks. Loki had insisted on coming along to the sanctum with me, even almost getting up in Stephen's face, but Bruce - out of all people - managed to calm the Asgardian down, and together we convinced him his magic would be considerably more useful during the retrieval of the cursed box. Loki was worried - everyone with a pair of functional eyes could see that the spiky attitude was his way of showing he cared about me, which made my insides briefly turn to mush. I didn't expect him to take the title of my best friend so seriously and I definitely was not complaining.

Tony was the last to leave, jittery and shaky, clutching me like it was his last time seeing me, kissing me hungrily in front of everyone. The joke or two he made were weak ghosts of his usual sharp snark.

"I love you and I'll be back soon," I whispered into his ear, feeling him freeze and his fingertips dig almost painfully into my sides. Louder, I repeated: "Not planning on dying any time soon, y'all gotta chill. Let's go, doc?" I addressed the tall sorcerer who was tactfully pretending to be busy with his smartphone.

Wanda pressed a duffle bag into my hands mouthing "clean clothes" a split second before Stephen opened a portal and with a great deal of curiosity, I stepped through it, eyes immediately drawn to the dimly lit space filled with books and antiques. So many books, so many unusual trinkets. The chandelier that hung over our heads rivaled the ones I'd seen in million-dollar-homes of dad's friends.

"Follow me," Stephen extended an arm in the direction of a smaller door, "Please do not touch anything."

I walked a pace behind him, satisfying my curiosity by looking around like a child in a candy store. The air smelled different in the Sanctum, almost as familiar as Loki's magic but less frosty... Warmer. A dash of red fabric swished from somewhere towards me; I giggled. The Cloak of Levitation liked me - not nearly as much as it liked Peter though - so I brushed my fingertips along the fabric, greeting it quietly. Talking loudly in this building was out of the question. I felt like any moment, a disgruntled librarian would appear to chastise me for making noise.

"Strange," A short Asian man appeared, book in hand and looking none too happy. Guess that's the librarian... "I got your text. The room next to yours is prepared for the ritual," The man I assumed to be Wong gave me a curt nod in the way of greeting, doing a quick 180° and walking us back to a small but tastefully decorated room with a single cot in the middle. It was pleasantly warm, a small fire lit in the fireplace, willowy smoke of incense rising from a few strategically placed sticks.

"The bathroom is that way. I'm afraid you'll have to be fully nude for the procedure," Strange declared apologetically, pointing to a door hidden behind the divide.

I snorted, but of course, the weird voodoo shit would require me to be naked. Not that I was embarrassed or anything but still. Tony would have a field day. Locating a chair, I dumped my duffle bag on it, flying out of my hoodie and sweatpants in record time. My underwear and socks followed, feet unpleasantly chilly despite the carpeted floor. I ran a hand over the faint bruises on my hips, evidence of last night, fondly - either Tony or Stephen had left marks on my body and that was... It was great. I loved it, drugs or not.

I heard someone clear their throat and turned around, nearly cracking up at the way both men suddenly averted their gazes, blush riding high on their cheeks. I snorted: "I'm hot, what else is new?"

Wong shook his head, busying himself with some sort of a book; Stephen lingered, eyes fixated on the very same bruises. His tongue darted out, wetting the plush of his bottom lip, and damn, this wasn't the time to get horny. I shook my head and with that, the sorcerer caught himself too, mutely motioning me to lay down on the cot.

"Whenever you're done eye-fucking each other," Wong piped up sarcastically - wow, I liked this man already. Stephen grumbled something quiet and rude, provoking another snort from me.

I followed their instructions - shortly after the Asian man began reading - or rather singing - something in a language I didn't know, I felt myself fall into a deep sleep. Or, I thought I was falling asleep. At one point, my eyes opened to an empty room, a thin sheet covering my bare body, and a silence that made chills run down my spine.

"Stephen?" I called out. I sounded like I was underwater to my own ears. "Wong?"

I was met with silence so deafening, I had no choice but to sit up and look around. The fire was burning strong in the fireplace, several logs blackened from it as sparks flew. It took a second for me to realize it made no sound - there was no crackling. Something was very wrong, the dread was creeping up on me.

Very familiar dread.

With the sheet firmly wrapped around me, I hopped off the cot, suddenly noticing the drawings on my arms, my legs. I was covered in runes similar to the ones I had seen on the cursed box - and my memories weren't missing. As clear as day, I recalled messing around with the box, debating on opening it, taking it out of my room only to find it back on my desk in the morning, some serious Anabelle shit.

I jumped as the floorboards cracked somewhere in the house. Every logical thought I had, backed up by every horror movie I had ever watched, screamed at me to NOT go towards the creepy noise; like moth to a flame, I was drawn in and couldn't resist the unnatural urge to investigate it. On silent feet, I padded out of the room, desperately trying not to think about the lonely, dark hallways filled with strange ancient objects. My steps made no noise.

On the couch, in the main room we'd arrived, sitting lazily, was Tony. I'd recognize his hair anywhere - and the Led Zep tee, old, frayed edges and loose threads. "Tony?" I asked hopefully, trying to make sense of this...

He turned around.

It wasn't Tony. Whatever it was, it wore Tony's face, it held his brown eyes and crow's feet around them - it wasn't him. Wrong, like the lack of sound in this place, misplaced and unnatural. The doe browns didn't sparkle, lifeless, dull color of dried mud. As much as I wanted to go and bury my face in his chest, my limbs filled with lead, my whole body screaming "DANGER".

The impostor kept quiet which only solidified my suspicions. Real Tony would be running his mouth already, poking fun at my impression of a sheet ghost.

"Princess?" The... Thing asked in Tony's voice, but it fell flat and monotone.

"Whatever you are, you sure as Hell ain't Tony," I stated firmly, hoping for some answers. "What the fuck?"

Not-Tony's face changed, familiar features twisting into something sinister, the malice making me sick to my stomach. The creature stood up, causing my feet to take an involuntary step back as he advanced slowly.

"You have no choice but to submit," The Thing replied calmly. "You're not getting out of here. Not even your little Asgardian pet god can save you," Its tone was absolutely flat. I would have thought the thing was a robot if not for the obvious involvement of magic in this situation. Its words filled me with dread as thick as molten lava; unfortunately for the creature, unlocking my memories gave me enough rational balance to be acutely aware of it and therefore, able to fight it.

I could fight it. I didn't know how exactly, but I could resist it. "That's a really bold thing to say for something that... What even are you? Magical STD?" As my brain desperately focused on finding a solution to a problem I didn't know all the details of, my mouth had a mind of its own.

The creature growled, a far more primal noise than a human could make. "You don't know what you're up against, child. I am one for we are many," Suddenly, the room was filled with shadows as if someone had turned off all the lights and cranked up the moon to be the brightest it ever was. The shadows moved, oozed, motion sinister without any light to back it up.

I had no choice but to pucker up. Nobody was coming to rescue me; in fact, I always have taken pride in being a self-saving princess. Damsel in distress wasn't really my style. The hunch in my shoulders disappeared, giving way to a stubborn and stiff expectation of the upcoming altercation, hands bailed in fists.

"I mean, like Legion the demon from the Bible?" I recalled what little I knew from Wikipedia. "I mean, I'm agnostic myself, but if you feel like identifying with that, you should probably see a therapist."

The entity growled, shadows gathering around it like fabric on a string, and lunged. Paralyzed by sudden blinding, deafening fear, I turned tail and ran.

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