#polly just showed up and now he needs to learn the ropes from a very handsome world-famous agent :]

[anatomical-puppet]

what if. psychonauts au. what if…….

[rbs appreciated :)]

[rubysunnday]

Cousin Mine

Y/N had only meant to go outside for a bit of fresh air and a cigarette. 

There were so many people inside the house and it was beginning to get overwhelming - not to mention the fact people get coming up to her and offering her their sympathies. 

She’d never particularly liked Grace. But, somehow, the woman had become a maternal figure in her life despite only really being in it a few years.

Her death had rocked Y/N and she still didn’t quite know what was happening. 

Opening the Grace Shelby institute - the actual title was a lot longer and more tedious but Y/N couldn’t be bothered to remember it in its entirety - was meant to help with that loss and to cope with it and to move on.

Y/N sighed, exhaling a large cloud of smoke as she dropped her cigarette onto the gravel and squished it out with her heel. She turned to step back inside when someone shoved past her, evidently in a hurry.

“Oi!” Y/N yelled, turning to watch them run towards a car. “Watch where you’re fucking going.”

The person slowed down and Y/N could now see they were holding a squirming child in their arms.

The child turned their head and Y/N felt her stomach drop as Charlie looked back at her, his eyes watering with tears.

“What the fuck are you doing with my nephew?” Y/N demanded, marching forwards towards the person, hand reaching for the gun she had in her coat pocket.

Two men suddenly grabbed her arms from behind, pulling her backwards harshly. Y/N stumbled, her shoes slipping on the gravel of the driveway and she tried to fight them off. She went to scream but one of them put a piece of cloth over her mouth and nose. 

Y/N tried not to breathe in whatever was on it but her lungs burnt for air and eventually she did, her knees buckling underneath her as whatever drug was on the cloth took hold and knocked her out.

Tommy sighed as the women finally left him, moving off to go interrogate someone else. He looked around and frowned slightly as he saw no sign of his son in the room.

He looked around again, glancing over at where John’s children were playing.

Still no Charlie.

“Where’s Charles, Ada?” Tommy asked, approaching his sister.

Ada frowned, looking up at him from the man she’d been talking to. “I gave him to you.”

Tommy shook his head slightly, staring at his sister. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

Tommy tried not to let panic overwhelm just yet. He walked over to John and Arthur, trying to ignore his heartbeat increasing. “Boys. Have you seen Charlie?”

“I don’t know, he’s playing isn’t he?” John asked, his eyes narrowing slightly at his brothers panicked state.

Tommy turned around and walked up to Polly. “Pol, where’s Charles?” He asked, pulling her away from whatever conversation she was having with Esme and the mayor.

Polly looked at him blankly, her eyes widening a fraction in concern. Tommy turned and moved on to Lizzie.

“Lizzie. Where is Charlie?” Tommy demanded, looking at her and Linda.

“I don’t know,” Lizzie replied, shaking her head, frowning.

Tommy was beginning to panic. 

His son was missing.

He turned around and walked back to his brothers, pointing at them and listing off locations to go and search as he himself began to panic even more.

“Tommy,” Ada called, running up to them. “Somebody said they saw a nurse take him through the back door.”

“What nurse?” Arthur asked, grabbing Ada’s arm.

“I don’t know,” Ada replied, pushing him towards the door. “Go.”

Arthur ran out the door and began searching the staircase by the backdoor, running up it and then back down it.

“Arthur,” Ada called, running up to him and grabbing the banister.

“What?” Arthur asked, running past her, back down the stairs.

“Somebody said they saw a woman and a kid getting into a car,” Ada, said, following him. “They also said there looked like a girl was with them.”

Arthur paused, halfway down the stairs, and looked back up at Ada, frowning. “What girl?”

“I don't...” Ada trailed off, her eyes widening as she realised.

“Y/N,” Arthur muttered, his own panic growing even more. “Fuck.”

Tommy looked around as John emerged outside the house. “John?”

Arthur then appeared, looking very flustered and even more panicked than before. “John, call Moss. Tell him to block the junctions. Go!”

John nodded at Arthur and turned around, running back into the house.

“Arthur, where is he?” Tommy asked, looking up at his brother as he walked up to him. Arthur put a hand on the back of Tommy’s neck, the other on his cheek. “Arthur, tell me.”

“Someone took him,” Arthur said as gently as he could. Tommy shoved him off but Arthur grabbed him, forcing him to look at him. “Listen to me,” he said, putting a hand on Tommy’s head as his brother buried his head against him, “they put him in a car and drove south. Tom, listen...”

Tommy looked up at him, wondering what else Arthur could possibly say to make his day worse. “What?”

“They took Y/N too,” Arthur said slowly, eyeing his brother carefully incase he needed to catch him. “She was outside when they took Charlie and tried to stop them but got caught in it, apparently.”

Tommy was panicking even more. He couldn’t breathe. “What?”

He fell against his brother and Arthur held him against his chest, keeping him upright as he put a hand on the back of his head, cradling him.

“We’ll find her, Tommy,” Arthur said, trying to reassure himself too. “We’ll find them both.”

Y/N had no idea how long she’d been out for. 

Nor did she have any idea as to where she even was. 

It looked like the back room of a church. It smelt like a church. 

The cross hanging on the wall opposite her confirmed the fact it was, indeed, a church.

Charlie had gurgled happily upon seeing his aunt awake and had made grabby hands at her. Y/N, swallowing down her own fear, had smiled at her nephew and picked him up, holding him against her.

He was now fast asleep in her lap, and she was gently stroking her nephews hair. Her right hand was tied to the radiator behind her, the rope tight enough around her wrist that it was beginning to hurt. 

When she’d woken up, the Reverend had walked in and she’d given the him what for and had ended up being slapped.

Her face was still burning and she knew that there was a significant bruise forming on her right cheek and that her lip was cut - she’d been tasting the metallic tang of blood ever since. 

Charlie was confused as to what was happening, but seeing his aunt had made him content enough. 

Y/N sighed, leaning her head back against the radiator. She bite her lip, hard, as she tried not to cry in front of her nephew.

She hated this.

She hated Tommy.

She hated everyone.

But she was so, so desperate for someone to come rescue her.

Y/N knew that, if Charlie hadn’t been here, she would be raising hell, right now, and breaking down windows and doors and fighting to escape. But she couldn’t risk anything happening to Charlie as a result of her actions.

So, she sat. 

And waited.

And waited.

The sun appeared and then disappeared and then appeared. Y/N watched it through the window, mentally counting the minutes, the hours.

She fell asleep at one point and woke up with a start when Charlie had poked her face to wake her up.

The sun was disappearing once again when the door to the back room was unlocked and pulled open.

Y/N sat up, unconsciously tightening her grip on Charlie as the Reverend walked in holding a tray.

“Good evening,” he said, smiling.

Y/N tried not to show how afraid she was as he walked up to her and crouched down, putting the tray on the floor in front of her. 

“Hi, little one,” he said as Charlie raised his head and looked at him. He held out a sliver spoon to him. “Want a shiny spoon?”

“Leave him the fuck alone,” Y/N warned, holding Charlie close to her as she glared up at the man. 

The Reverend tutted as he turned to look at Y/N. “Such language from a young woman is inappropriate,” he said, shaking his head. “I wish I could’ve taught you better.”

“You’re a fucking creep,” Y/N snapped, still glaring. 

The sound of the slap he delivered bounced off the white-washed walls. Y/N gasped as her head was forcibly turned to the side. The Reverend leant forward and grabbed her chin, holding it tightly.

“Listen here you bitch,” he hissed. “I won’t harm the child, but if you don’t start to learn to respect me, I will hurt you.”

He let go of her and turned back to Charlie who was gurgling happy, completely oblivious, at the spoon his hand. 

Y/N’s head turned to look at the open door as she heard footsteps approach it. The Reverend frowned slightly as he, too, heard them and stood up, walking to the door and standing just outside it.

“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” The Reverend asked who ever was out there.

Y/N couldn’t see what was going and could only, really, hear the Reverend.

“Please don't,” he said, sounding panicked. “Please don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot. Please don’t.”

Y/N heard someone grunt and the sound of fighting. Hoping it was rescue and not someone else who’d come to kidnap her, she reached forward for the bowl in front of her. 

She smashed it on the wall behind her, soup and shards of ceramic going everywhere.

Charlie began to whimper as Y/N swore loudly, a shard of the bowl cutting her left hand as she picked it up.

“I know, Charlie, I know,” she muttered as she began cutting the rope. The blood was dripping down her arm and onto her dress which had long since been ruined, but she kept going.

“Do you know who you’re fucking messing with?” The Reverend yelled and Y/N could hear another man grunting.

Y/N’s efforts increased as she heard the sound of someone choking. She growled, pulling on the rope as she tried to pull it free from the radiator. 

“No!”

Y/N froze as the rope finally snapped and her hand fell limply to the floor in to a pool of blood.

Michael was out there. 

Michael was out there.

“Go call Finn,” Michael said to whoever else was out there with him.

Y/N didn’t hear anything else as she forced herself to stand up, almost falling over as her legs protested. 

She could hear the Reverend choking for air and recognised the sound of a dying man as he gurgled on, what she presumed was his own blood. She grasped the wall behind her and pushed herself up, stumbling over to the open door.

Charlie had crawled over to the door and was throwing random pencils around, cooing happily at Michael.

Y/N could see the outline of the Reverend, dead on the floor, and spotted the edge of her cousin as he sat against the wall next to the door.

She quietly walked up to the door and slid down the wall, facing Charlie. She could hear Michael’s shaking breath and reached out her right hand around the door frame.

Michael looked to his left and saw his cousin’s hand reaching out for his. He lowered his blood soaked one and clenched hers tightly, ignoring the way they both shook.

Y/N leant her head against the wall and sighed softly, holding Michael’s hand tightly as she watched Charlie, oblivious to what had happened, playing happily on the floor.

After a minute, Y/N crawled around to the other side of the wall and sat next to Michael, stretching her legs out in front of her.

She didn’t say anything about the blood dripping down his face, or the fact the Reverend had been killed by his own rosary. 

Michael hadn’t said anything about what had happened to him at the hands of the now dead man, but Y/N didn’t have to have a vivid imagination to picture it.

She hoped the man was rotting in hell.

Y/N looked up at Michael, who was staring straight ahead, eyes wide, and dropped her head on to his shoulder.

Michael glanced down at her. He hesitated for a moment but then lowered his head to rest on top of hers.

There were still lights on inside the office as they walked inside. Y/N followed behind Michael, forcing herself to keep walking even though she was aching with every step. 

Her cousin was holding Charlie in his arms and almost as soon as he stepped through the front door, Polly and Ada ran out and took him from him, both crying in relief at Charlie being safe and in one piece. 

Y/N came to a stop next to her cousin and took his hand in hers, trying not to lean on him too much as she swayed slightly. 

She had blood on her dress, the red staining the fabric that had once been light blue.

Polly turned and looked at her son and niece, her eyes catching the dried blood on Michael’s face, the ruined skin on Y/N’s right hand, the dried blood on her dress and the bruise on her cheeks.

Y/N tried not to flinch as Polly put a hand to her cheek, her thumb gently tracing over the bruises and her cut lip. She looked at her aunt, unable to form a sentence as she dropped her hand and turned to look at her son.

Michael stared straight ahead as his mother embraced him gingerly.

Polly stepped back, watching as Michael turned around, Y/N following him silently as they both left. She watched them both with a sad face, seeing how defeated and broken they both looked.

Michael stopped outside the office front door and let go of Y/N’s hand, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. He silently tilted her chin up, eyes scanning her bruised and bloodied face as she looked up at him.

Y/N reached up and wiped away a speck of blood from her cousins eyebrow and blinked against the tears forming in her eyes. One escaped and trickled down her face, dripping off her chin. 

Without a word, Michael brought Y/N against him and held her tightly, hand coming to rest on the back of her head.

Y/N relaxed into her cousins grip and closed her eyes. She put her hands under his jacket and around his waist, burying her hands in the bunched up fabric of his shirt and breathing in the smell of his cologne.

Neither one of them would ever say what they did that night.

[popculturebuffet]

Jake Reviews Stuff: Amphibia: Marcy at the Gates

Marcy arrives! The Plantars make it to Newtopia but first have to deal with a slight ant problem and a new addition to the family, as we finally meet the adorkable Marcy. Legs in two months under the cut. 

So as you could probably tell by the tone the last few weeks, doing this has weighed on me a bit. While I do love talking about this show week after week, as well as having a recurring series here to bring in readers, the split quality of the Season thus far has been a challenge. Now when I say split I don’t mean like star vs season 3 where it was either really damn good and some of the show’s best writing or “oh god what have they done to marco’s character this time”, it’s more either really good standout episodes ore more forgetable average ones. See a good episode I can gush about, dive into big charcter stuff, motviations, that sort of thing. I defintley will with owl house at some point and have with other shows. A bad episode can be taken apart and taken to the cleaners, which I haven’t done much of but probably should and if you want any taken to task yourself, I do comissions. But self promotion aside, the point is a meh episode just dosen’t leave me with a lot tot alk about and hte recaps became really dry as a result as I just couldn’t find a lot of jokes, and having a busy few weeks on top of that didn’t really help, nor did the antipciation for this week and the intersting setting of newtopia. 

Thankfully a combination of a really good few days, a better sleep schedule, and a really good episode this week, and a pile of scary go round collections for a dollar have reinvgorated me, so hopefully I can get back to doing what I love: Overanalizing children’s cartoons. So with that we can dive right into the episode. The keithdavidpocalypse is upon us! Pitter Patter! We open with Spring and Anne in the cart. Their close to newtopia, but Anne is worried they never found Marcy, while Sprig isn’t because her last friend turned out to be “Evil”... which Anne harshly rebuffs. And both sides are understandable: To Anne, Sasha was her friend.. a manipualtive and bossy friend sure but one who genuinely cared for her, she just may not know how to deal with people. To Sprig, Sasha is some asshole who abused his friend, tried to murder his Pop Pop, and works for a guy who tried to murder his whole town. It’s really understandable he woudln’t have the same warm fuzzy feelings Anne has.. insert your own Sashanne joke here.  We also get our first actual look at Marcy who to my suprise, rather than be another form of manipulative.. is simply an awkward nerd, constnatly playing video games, reading books , cataloging shit, and trying to get her friends to play d and d. So me if I knew what d and d was in high school. 

Anyways, the family finally DOES make it to Newtopia, impressive as you’d expect when the guard won’t let them see the wizard no way no how. Antique references aside, the guard at the gate actually has good reason for not letting them in as they have a tiny barbari-ant problem. A species Hop Pop is, in a nice touch, unfamiliar with due to the Valley not having them. We quickly see them in action as one approaches the plantars, basically a giant ant with ant-lers. Yes I used a pun there sue me. Anyway, our heroes ward off the ant they do find with some really cool team manuvering, and Polly showing she has spiked teeth. It’s a cool sequence. However they quickly find themselves outgunned, outplanned, outnumbered and outmanned. They gotta make an all out stand. Their gonna need a right hand man. Also I finally saw the film version of hamilton, as you can tell. Utterly magic. 

Said Right Hand Man, er woman, er tween comes in the nick of time as a cloaked Marcy sprays some black goo and sets it ablaze, scaring the ants off, snatching a stalemate from the jaws of defeat,  then rappeling down on a rope shot from a crossbow, also making polly want one because of course. She then.. Faceplants. Still a solid 8/10 entrance Marcy.  Marcy is played by Haley Tju who you may remember from such shows as The Loud House. And that’s all I know her from but given Stella’s one of my faviorites and Haley’s performance is part of that, so it’s unsuprising she’s great here. Also fun fact I learned by looking at her trope page: She actually played a younger version of London, brenda song’s character, on the Suite Life I Pray for Death but Death Won’t Come.. or On Deck for those who’ve never watched it. But I like the fact two londons are now on the same show together.. and an actually good noe at that! Horay. But yeah Haley is a great VA and what little i’ve seen her in and a welcome addition.  Marcy and Anne happily reunite once htey both realize who the other is, and hug and etc, before Marcy decends on the plantars, talking on and on and on about geeky stuff and how she likes the found family trope. ... I may really relate to this  mediums sized child, as I too am a huge nerd with no filter and was probably a lot like her at that age. It’s also clear she very transparently sees this as a combinaton of a video game and a d and d session, but said skills have actually benifited her as rping a rogue allowed her to easily bluff her way into the kingdom’s good graces and now she’s a sworn agent of the king as we’ll find out.  She quickly wins over the Plantars, measuring hop pop’s head, gushing over him being a farmer (which he almost instantly adopts her over and asks to point blank later), and then noticing Polly’s legs are about to come in and giving her the note seen in the review image, my faviorite gag. Sprig however is more out and out hostile and has his reasons we’ll get to in a second.  Marcy escorts her new family and sorta girlfriend to the makeshift war room set up by three scholoary newts who quickly resolve their planning disagreements by beating the piss out of each other. Just like real politics.. and that’s not a cheeky jab between the actual caning in the sentate that happened once and the various duels in the revolutionary and early america eras.. yeah the only reason the preisdent hasn’t been shot for challening one of hte many people he hates for a duel without realizing he really can’t see through that squint too good is that it’s now illegal and not the kind of illegal he can hide like usual.  Anyways after the Newts scoff at our heroes, but Marcy vouches for them and reveals that the ants are getting closer because i’ts gotten warmer....

Marcy has a plan though: Spread scentshrroms around that will release a pheremone which will drive them off, having throughly studied Amphibia’s various flora and fauna and thus knowing how to deal with them. I’ts something I like about the character and how she adds to the other huamns group dynamics. Alll three deal with issues diffrent ways; Anne has plans, but rarely thinks them through, Sasha does think hers through and is a master manipulator while Marcy is a ballance between the two: She does throughly think things out and have well thought out clever plans.. she just also tens to rush into things or go forward with a nose in a book or without a thought to how dangerous soemthing is. She’s prepared, she’s just not very aware of her surrondings, which is amood. 

But Anne is nervous about her coming along as is sprig which sets up both’s conflicts with her for the episode: Anne wants to protect Marcy, since she just got her back and her only other remaning friend now clearly wants to stab her and she has a better option now love interest wise. However Marcy convinces Anne, 2nd capefire this episode nonwithstanding, she can handle herself. She also calsl her annabannna which is fucking adorable.  The other conflict is that Sprig dosen’t trust her.. he has no rational reason not to give she’s a sweetie, but is a bit gunshy about another human girl working for a dictator popping up in their life. And while he’s probably wrong, while I think Marcy isn’t working for the best people probably she’s likely too oblivious to genuinely relaize she’s doing crimes if they have her doing them or was given a fake justification. I could be wrong, and will gladly eat crow. Metphorically i’m not going to bake a real crow. I don’t have the right seasoning. And i’d also be cursed but eh I doubt I can get poorer. But it’s understandable he has reservations, especially since while he dosen’t say it he’s likely worried Anne will get hurt again. He’s a good boy, he’s just being paranoid over probably nothing.  Anyways onoto the plan: The plantars and new girl marcy are gonna:

Okay phermone them whatever, the point is they head into the Ant Hole, witht he conflicts continuing as the plantars progress; Sprig is naturally suspcious and Anne is worried about her precious gurl. The group fight some more ants, and Marcy seemingly wonders off.. only to instead BLOW THEM A FUCKING TUNNEL with some chemicals from some flowers she found, then instant sprout a plant cage.. and accidently trap polly. NOOOOO.> Thankfully she frees her and tosses some plants on the ants, which is fun to say.  We then get to our climax. OUr group find the queen who ihs horrifying.. a good mom as sprig points out but horrfing. Nice design though i’m just.. not an insect guy and sometimes this show leaves me in abject terror. this is one of those times. Our heroes plant the mushrooms, phrasing I know but this review is late as is and i’ve already used up my archer refrence for the day.  Anne dives to Save a seemingly oblovious Marcy.. whose mad at Anne over it.. while Anne is udnerstandable Marcy wants her , NEEDS her to understand...

No not that erik. That, much like Anne herself, Marcy’s grown and changed over these past three months. She can handle herself now and she needs her ot see that. Also sprig gets attacked by an ant baby, which not only wakes up the queen, who can hear but can’t see but now knows something’s arry, but causes said queen to unleash a hoarde of ants.  Marcy however naturally has a plan: She’ll dive into the queen’s belly and get sprig, the plantars will hold them off and Anne finally trusts her lady enough to fiht off. I don’t have a lot to say I just really like this character arc and Marcy’s character: She’s a bit oblivious, ab it obessed with nerdy things which again relate.. but when push comes to shove she’s also clever, a master planner and has clearly studied her ass off about this world and knows it well. She’s throughly likeable.  And that likeablity finally gets through to sprig when she gets him out and swings him. Trust earned, anne’s faith in her gained and the mushrooms go off and send the ants running. Misson Complete.  With the mission complete our heroes finally enter Newtopia and meet the mysterious Lady Olivia, whose been sending Marcy on her missions, and is likely her spymaster. Not that i think Marcy realizes that but Marcy’s love of midevil fantasy means she blends in well with thier courty apperance and introduces anne and co to her.. Olvia isn’t impressed but is cordial about it at least.. even with Sprig breaking shit. And yeah , Amphibia has a king over all of it, as Hop Pop puts it “We aren’t savages”. It does make sense it woudln’t come up every day though, it’s not as if the king really cares about the valley... but more on speculation about him in a minute. Hop Pop wisely gives the two “Friends’ some alone time, and the two talk things over: Anne explains how she found sasha.. and it didn’t go great, and Marcy vows that the two of them can go their own way now. Maybe iwth tounge. we dunno. The two then look over anne’s phone while anne recounts her anne-tics.. and we get to the king. And it’s KEITH DAVID BITCHES AS WAS PROHPISED A FEW WEEKS AGO. And he has myserious plans and wood carven figures of both our heroines and possible gaybies. “The game can finally begin. “

Final Thoughts: This was a really damn good episode. Whiel I summarized more than usual , both conflicts were great, all the plantars got to shine, there were gags a plenty, an intriguing new member of the main cast and a mysterious new antagonist. I mean given it was revealed the Newts were behind Toad tower a few episodes back, I figured Andidas wouldn’t be a good guy, even if he’s played by upstanding gentleman and god among men keith david, , but it’s a question of what his end goal is, how the girls got here, and what his plan ofr them is that i’m curious to see play out as the season goes on, as well as see if Marcy is a pawn or not. Newtopia also looks intresting and i’ts nice to have a new solid setting to build on now we’re here, as well as new mysteries to unlock> Ther’es also the honest possibliity marcy, who claims to have found bubkuss, might simply want to stay in a world where she gets to live out her dreams and isn’t picked on or bullied. Again we’ll see all speculation but this episode was damn good. For now this is the clear highlight of the season and i’tll be intresting to see where it goes from here. Until next time courage. 

[timeagainreviews]

“The Faceless Ones” gets a facelift

Back in 2011 when I was first getting into Doctor Who, I managed to track down the Loose Cannon Reconstructions of the missing Doctor Who episodes. For those, like myself, who did not grow up on Doctor Who, classic Doctor Who can be a bit of an adjustment. The editing is slower. The dialogue is closer to theatre than television, and there is so much padding. That being said, over time I grew to love classic Doctor Who and rewatch it more than I do the new series. Regardless, the reconstructions have always been a bit of a slog to get through.

Watching a reconstruction is tedious, even with good writing. The fleeting moments where some fan shot a four-second clip pointed at the television are like small oases of movement in the desert of static imagery. Despite the valiant efforts of some truly talented fans, nothing will ever beat the real thing. So whenever a new animated remake of a missing Doctor Who episode is announced, I get excited. The opportunity to see these static images once more brought to life with movement is always good news. Except maybe when that announcement is "Fury From the Deep," when clearly "The Evil of the Daleks," is next in line, but that’s a gripe for another review.

For my review of "The Macra Terror," I watched the colour version of the story. However, this time around, I decided to stick with the classic black and white, which I found I much prefer as it feels appropriate to the storyline. I almost feel like the colour versions are an attempt to rope a younger audience into watching something old. As these animated reconstructions go, I feel as though the animation has gotten increasingly better. However, I can’t exactly say that this time. I will go into it further but suffice it to say, I feel as though some corners were cut. That isn’t to say that there aren’t moments of brilliance. For instance, the inclusion of the mugshots of both the Roger Delgado and Sacha Dhawan Masters into the background was a clever little easter egg.

"The Faceless Ones," is a bit of an odd story from beginning to end. Frankly, it’s overly long and a bit clunky, but at its heart is a mystery that keeps you wrapt with anticipation. It starts with the Doctor and his three companions- Jamie, Polly, and Ben landing the TARDIS at Gatwick airport. It’s a strange bit of storytelling from the outset as the primary source of conflict comes from the fact that the Doctor and his friends are trespassing where they shouldn’t be. The Doctor basically says "Cheese it, the fuzz!" and they scatter, running away from the police. The true point of this sequence is to split the group up. While running from the police, a strange group of mystrerious men load the TARDIS onto a flatbed and drive it away. Polly wanders into a building with a chameleon logo, where she witnesses the ray gun murder of a nosy inspector. Now the story has focus, we now have a mystery.

The Doctor and his pals go in and out of states of capture at the hands of airport security with such regularity that it begins to become laughable. Having no passports, the Commandant wants to keep the Doctor and Jamie for questioning, but the Doctor insists they look for the body of the man Polly saw murdered. The airport’s Commandant fills the role of the insufferable prick trope just long enough to draw the proceedings out into a proper six-episode runtime. I understand the need for a character’s refusal to believe in aliens as a reasonable reaction, but it becomes repetitive after three or so episodes. Luckily, the man actually proves to be rather useful further down the line, which is a nice break from the usual trajectory of such characters in Doctor Who which is usually one that leads to their and/or others’ demise. He does eventually acquiesce and go looking for the body, but they find nothing.

We learn that the man murdered was an inspector by the name of "Gascoigne." The men responsible for his death, Spencer and Blade, believe he may have been sent by the parents of one or more missing people. There are a few pieces to the puzzle early on. We’re shown a collection of postcards, over which Gascoigne was murdered. There also is the case of this strange organisation- Chameleon Tours and their collection of unused foreign stamps. We know the two things play in together, but how exactly is unknown. All the while, Ben seems to bumble from scene to scene with not a lot to do other than save people at the last moment, which seems to be all he’s ever really good for. As final stories for companions go, "The Faceless Ones," does a great job making a case for the departure of both Ben and Polly. As opposed to going out on a high, Ben and Polly’s own uselessness is highlighted here as they almost seem like an afterthought.

This is made even more painfully obvious when the brand new character of Samantha Briggs is given more prominence and agency within her first scene than Ben or Polly get in the entire serial. We learn that Chameleon Tours is some sort of front for a shady bunch of aliens that replace people by taking over their identities. Polly, having been kidnapped is replaced by a body double, pitting her against the Doctor and Jamie. Acting as though she’s never seen the two, she goes off to work at her new job as a receptionist for Chameleon Tours. This is where we meet Samantha, a young girl from Liverpool searching for her lost brother. All she had to go on was a postcard from her brother sent from Rome. Polly’s double benefits in no way by helping her learn the truth, so Samantha’s enquiries are deflected.

Around this time, Inspector Gascoigne’s partner, Inspector Crossland, has gone looking for him which leads him to the Commandant. He informs him that he’s there investigating his missing partner and looking into the activities of Chameleon Tours. Throughout this bit of the story, I honestly couldn’t tell you what Ben is up to. He’s a fart in the wind as far as the story is concerned. Other than being sent off to investigate, there is very little for him to do. The fact is, this is the Doctor and Jamie show at this point. The Doctor once again tries to plead with the Commandant, and once again runs away feigning a bomb with a bouncy ball. Jamie goes off to eavesdrop in the waiting area outside Chameleon Tours, which is where he overhears Samantha talking to fake Polly.

All the while, the baddies have a mole in the air traffic control room in the form of Meadows, a man replaced by a chameleon body double early on in the story. Because of this, they know the Doctor is a threat. While Jamie and Samantha flirt and compare notes, the Doctor heads back to the Chameleon Tours hangar to seek out Ben and further answers. There he discovers a penlike device which was used earlier to kidnap Polly. The Doctor pockets the device and continues his investigation. It is at this moment when the Doctor discovers the original Meadows in a crate, unresponsive, but seemingly alive. Spencer watches the Doctors activities over CCTV and draws him into a room which he proceeds to fill with cold gas. After a struggle, the Doctor plugs the gas nozzles with rags and covers the camera with his oversized coat. Upon arriving, Spencer finds the Doctor, seemingly unconscious, that is, until the Doctor springs awake and sprays Spencer in the face with the pen device and makes a break for it.

Jamie and Samantha have pieced together by now that Chameleon Tours give their young passengers pre-stamped postcards ahead of their flights. Their claim is to save the travellers time by posting the postcards for them, but in actuality, this is to dupe their families into believing they made it to their destinations. It’s a rather sinister plot which still leaves quite a few unanswered questions. Namely- if the passengers don’t arrive at their destinations, where do they end up? It’s enough for Crossland to consider a lead which he brings to the Commandant’s attention, but they’re afraid to tip their hand too much. If they halt the Chameleon Tours flight to Zurich, they may never find the answers or evidence they’re looking for.

The Doctor finally wins the Commandant over to his side by showing him the pen device can freeze fake Meadows’ tea instantly. At first, I thought the Doctor was antagonising Meadows, but it turns out, he simply didn’t recognise his face from the catatonic man in the crate earlier. It’s funny to imagine this, as modern Doctor Who would never allow such a lapse in the Doctor’s memory, but it’s part of why I love the Second Doctor so much. You can buy that this man is simultaneously the smartest man in the room, while also believing he would forget such an important face. There’s a sort of effortless absent-minded brilliance to Troughton’s performance that I just find utterly charming. The point is driven home by a small little one-off line where the Doctor asks Meadows if they have met before. Villains are left to wonder just how much the Doctor knows, up until he’s standing over their smouldering corpse muttering "Oh crumbs."

After the Doctor’s display, and Crossland’s encouragement, the Commandant gives the Doctor free reign of the airport for twelve hours to investigate. At this point, Jamie and Samantha arrive with the envelope of postcards giving Crossland enough cause to go question Blade. The Doctor, Jamie, and Samantha head off to look into the room where the Doctor was gassed. However, as the Doctor is leaving, Meadows plants a device on his back. Crossland finds Blade aboard a flight but discovers the plane is not a normal plane at all. After serving the passengers food and drinks, the stewardess seals them behind a giant vault door. I got a kick out of this bit as the animators were clearly having fun designing hip '60s inspired passengers on the plane. In fact, some of the background character designs throughout most of this serial range from inspired to questionable. Either way, it was nice to seem them at least trying, for the most part. The plane disembarks with Crossland aboard. Blade encourages Crossland to watch on a screen as the passengers vanish into thin air.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Jamie, and Samantha go back to the hangar to try and find the command centre of the Chameleons. While searching, they discover a monitor showing a live feed from the room where Meadows was copied into fake Meadows. However, before they can go search for the room, the device on the Doctor’s back is activated, knocking him to the ground. Spencer emerges and renders them unconscious with another pen device. Upon waking up, our three heroes have discovered themselves unable to move, and in the path of a laser, very slowly creeping toward them, or at least Jamie or maybe Samantha. Either way, someone is going to die if they don’t work fast enough. This is such a cute moment in the episode as it’s like something from a bad James Bond film or Austin Powers. The villain leaves the heroes unattended while a laser slowly inches toward them. Classic.

It’s moments like these that really make me sad the episode is missing as I would have loved to see the faces Patrick Troughton pulled while struggling to move. Jamie and Samantha are able to move just enough for Jamie to use Samantha’s compact mirror to deflect the laser back at itself. Having destroyed the machine, the trio is suddenly very much not paralysed as they all stand up, good as new. Adorable. It’s a great little slice of campy goodness that is pure genre inspired fun. I’m all about it. All the while, Blade informs his director that he has an "original," in the form of Crossland for him to possess.

The Doctor and his friends find the conversion room where the airport medic, Nurse Pinto, is helping convert another Chameleon. The conversion involves attaching what looks like a Wiimote to each subjects’ forearm and transferring the biological information of the human victim to the Chameleon. After some adjusting, they’re able to talk like a human and even recall the memories of their original. In this case, it’s Jenkins, one of the immigration officers at the airport. I rather liked a small detail here that Jenkins still lived with his parents. Call me crazy, but it was a bit of character building that made you feel for a guy. Classic Doctor Who is full of those moments if you know where to look for them.

The Doctor and Jamie pretend to be a doctor and patient as to throw Pinto off their scent. But even if she believes their story, she’s still not going to allow them into the X-ray room where she performs her vile conversions. Jenkins and Spencer watch from a monitor, angry that their enemy has once again escaped his fate. But they let the Doctor leave as they have bigger plans and will let him come to them in his own time. Upon returning to the control tower, the Doctor learns that Crossland has been unheard from in quite some time.

At about this time, the crew of the control tower really begins to take shape. The secretary, a woman named Jean just kind of comes out of leftfield as MVP. First, she drops the bomb that not a single airport has reported ever receiving passengers from a Chameleon Tours flight. And then even further, allows herself to act as a decoy long enough for the Doctor to go root around in the X-ray room. Jamie goes off to find Samantha who has bought a ticket on the next Chameleon Tours flight in an attempt to take the investigation of her missing brother into her own hands. It seemed a bit weird to me that she would do this, seeing as they were already uncovering a huge chunk of the mystery at this point, but I guess the writers needed a reason to thrust Jamie into the action as he pockets Samantha’s ticket and goes in her place. That is, before stealing a rather saucy kiss from the precocious lass. Seriously, why was she never a companion? Samantha was awesome. Samantha 2020.

The Doctor finds two of the Wiimotes and completely misses the original Nurse Pinto propped up in a closet behind him. Once again, the brilliant imbecile misses the biggest clue right under his nose. Hoping to call Meadows out, the Doctor returns to the control tower again. But he’s not there. This is one of the most frustrating elements of this story- the constant back and forth between locations is enough to give you whiplash. On top of that, there is the constant cycle of capture and escape, capture and escape, capture and escape, that really bogs this story down. I wish it could have been more streamlined because as you may guess, they end up back in the X-ray room shortly after. Agh! Pick a fucking location and stick with it! Honestly, it’s writing like this that loses me the most and is why I couldn’t tell you where Ben is at this point in the story. Seriously, where is Ben? I don’t even care anymore.

Jamie gets taken onto Samantha’s flight in her stead. Only when the food and beverages are served, Jamie is off to be sick in the loo. He was referring to aeroplanes as giant metal beasties in the first episode, and now he’s flying in one. The dude may be made of sterner stuff, but even the best of us get airsick. Due to this, Jamie doesn’t disappear like the other passengers. Must be something to do with the food and drink, huh?  Having realised Jamie took her ticket, Samantha becomes irate, but the receptionist guides her to Jenkins who of course pulls a ray gun on her. Another ray gun. Another capture. Woof.

The control tower tails the Rome flight with Jamie aboard with a small fighter jet, which honestly is a little weird. Did they just happen to have this fighter jet and pilot on hand? Is this a thing airports usually have? I honestly don’t know. Either way, the sequence doesn’t make much sense other than maybe they had some stock footage of a jet they kind of thought was cool. It’s funny then that the footage should now be missing and thus needs to be recreated by a computer years later. What was probably ten minutes of film splicing back in the '60s is now hours of rendering. These CGI plane shots are honestly one of the few times where the animation is more impressive than live action. So kudos to the animation department as those shots are genuinely cool.

Despite their cool rendering, the fighter jet is no match for Blade’s lasers as it is quickly shot out of the sky. It is just around this point that the Chameleon flight must have also crashed as it too disappeared off the radar. However, the Doctor believes that as opposed to going down, the plane actually went up- into space.  Of course, the Commandant gives this theory zero credence. But the Doctor is absolutely correct as we see the plane’s wings fold back like a rocket ship and thrust higher and higher into the sky until it approaches a large black satellite orbiting Earth. This is once again one of those moments where I am cursing the lack of footage as I would relish the ability to see the models built for this sequence. I will say however, this is, once again, a crowning moment for the animation department.

Now aboard the satellite and unaffected by the plane’s vanishing trick, Jamie discovers drawers full of what appear to be small people lying unconscious. At this point, the plot still hasn’t really come fully together, so seeing tiny people in drawers is just mind-boggling. You think you have some idea as to how or why these bodysnatchers are doing what they’re doing and the story throws us this brain bender. Hats off to the writers because I challenge anyone to say they saw this bit coming ahead of time. As it turns out the passengers didn’t vanish, so much as they were shrunk down into tiny people. The reason why? Because the satellite wasn’t big enough. Which actually makes a lot of sense in some ways. Terry Pratchett once wrote that a gnome character of his was the richest man in Ankh-Morpork, by ratio. If his resources stretch further, then a dollar buys him more than it would a full-sized man. Brilliant.

After discovering the jet pilot was electrocuted (by lasers somehow), the Commandant is beginning to soften to the idea that the Doctor is onto something with his spacemen theory. After confronting Meadows with the Wiimotes, our MVP Jean stops his ass with a rolling chair. Seriously, I love Jean. Jean 2020. At this point, Meadows just kind of becomes their bitch and totally spills the beans about their plans. How their planet faced a catastrophe and how they needed new bodies, new faces. He even gives up the satellite position and the fact that they have some 50,000 young people on board, ready for conversion. He even leads them to where the real Nurse Pinto is being held. I think if they’d have broken out the thumbscrews he would have copped to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby. What a chump.

Around this time in the story, the animation begins to take a serious nosedive. Nurse Pinto kills a policeman with a ray gun, and I swear to God that the policeman has a partner that looks exactly like him. Now, I know this is a story about body doubles, but reusing the same character design on two separate human characters in the same scene is just lazy. I thought at first that perhaps the actors in the original version were twins. But then, later on, you see two of the same faced cops in a scene together again! So it’s not just twins, it’s triplets, evidently. And they all grew up to be coppers on the same beat. Sorry animators, but you’re nicked!

Shortly after, the link between Nurse Pinto and her original is broken and fake Nurse Pinto turns into a pile of clothing and some sort of amniotic fluid. Her water just broke in the worst way possible. I’ve said it before, but part of me wishes they would improve upon some of the foley in moments like these. Mark Ayres does a great job mixing and remastering what was already there, but would some sound effects be completely out of line? Some squidgy squashy mess would have gone a long way to sell this moment. I figure a seasoned Doctor Who pro like Ayres would really be able to deliver such a thing. Also, if you ever get curious to know what Mark Ayres looks like, I’ll save you a google search and just say- he looks exactly how you picture a guy named Mark Ayres to look. Just a little fun fact there.

The real Nurse Pinto and the Doctor decide to pretend to be chameleons at this point so they can infiltrate the satellite. However, Spencer’s not having it as he’s onto them, but he allows it because he has plans to take turn the Doctor into an original for yet another Chameleon. Upon arriving on the satellite, the Doctor discovers Jamie has been turned into a Chameleon as well, which is rather funny as the Doctor laments the loss of Jamie’s charming Scottish accent. Those two, I swear. It’s as Frank Rossitano from 30 Rock once said "I’m not gay gay. I’m just gay for Jamie." Before they can turn the Doctor into one of their ilk, the Doctor destroys their machine buying the Commandant down on the ground some time to find the originals the Chameleons were linked to.

All the while, the Doctor is sowing seeds of doubt among the Chameleons that their director, in the form of Crossland, only cares for himself. That he wouldn’t care if he endangered them into becoming puddles themselves. He drives the point home by bluffing that they have found the locations of the originals. It’s a gambit that actually seems to work as Spencer and his men begin to question their director. The Commandant, on the ground level, is still plugging away, trying to save the day from his end. I kind of love the Commandant for following through with the Doctor’s bluff, and with such gusto. As I said, he really comes into his own by the end of the story. It’s kind of a shame that the guy never got a name. In the same vein as Counter Measures, I could see him, Jean, and maybe even Crossland in their own spin off adventures. They’re really a great group of one-off characters. Nurse Pinto and Samantha can come too.

It’s rather weird to me that the Chameleons opted to hide the originals as opposed to just taking them with them in the first place. After Samantha and Jean discover 25 cars registered to Chameleon Tours, they set off to search the car park. We find out that the catatonic originals have been stowed away in the cars to slowly die while the conversions complete. This may seem like a really dumb place to stash a body, but it’s not exactly unheard of. The airport of the city I’m from actually missed a truck containing the body of a man for eight months. Either way, it’s an odd little plot hole that exists mainly to give the Doctor something to hold onto and create dissent within the ranks. There is literally no reason not to take the bodies until the process is done. But ok.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the great stool pigeon that is Meadows, grows a pair and escapes from his guards. This is where the animation gets really ropey. I don’t know if it’s because the black and white versions are a 4:3 aspect ratio as compared to the 16:9 ratio of the colour versions, but as Meadows wrestles free, his body proportions are comically incorrect. His arms look about several inches too short, and they are positioned in such a way that the shoulders are set far too high. My guess is that the animators originally made this scene for the widescreen ratio, and merely squashed the image, thus shortening the arms for the black and white version. As opposed to, you know, bending the elbows. He tries to subdue Samantha but eats pavement. Slow clap for Meadows. Meadows 2016.

To prove they aren’t bluffing, the Commandant removes the link on Jenkins arm which turns him into a puddle aboard the satellite. This sends the Chameleons into a frenzy and they shoot their director, killing fake Jamie in the process. The Doctor negotiates with the remaining Chameleons to return all of the missing people and even agrees to help them find a cure for the catastrophe that set them on this path in the first place. After finding Crossland stuffed in a locker like a high schooler, he and Jamie go back home.

Down on the ground level, Jamie parts ways with Samantha, which is really kind of sad considering what a great character she turned out to be. What's even worse is that with Ben and Polly up and deciding to stay in 1966 London for basically the most boring of reasons, there was definitely a vacant spot for her to fill in the TARDIS. I would have really liked to see her as I instantly identified with her plight to find her brother. My family has experienced the disappearance of a loved one, and I know exactly how that feels to not know whether someone you love is alive or dead. They absolutely nailed that part of her character, and it was great to see it portrayed accurately. She could have been great. Instead, she stays behind and Jamie continues onward with the Doctor. However, the episode ends on a note of mystery- the TARDIS appears to be missing! Hopefully one day I’ll be able to follow up on that mystery with yet another animation to review, but until then, you’ll just have to wait! That is unless you already know.

All in all, the Faceless Ones is a pretty cool story with some rather lousy execution. There are quite a lot of moments that work to its benefit, but it’s marred by it’s bloated runtime. This story could have easily been told in four parts, and I feel as though it was a perfect candidate to be edited down into a single movie à la "Planet of Fire," or "Terror of the Vervoids." The strongest elements are the characters. And another bit of praise is that it was a slight departure from the base in peril episodes that dominated the Second Doctor Era. I do rather like Brian Hodgson’s score as it was genuinely creepy at parts. It evokes memories in me of the Woodsmen in Twin Peaks dancing to the impossibly slowed sounds of Beethoven’s "Moonlight Sonata."  

Regardless of any ropey bits of animation, I absolutely admire the work and craft of the animators involved. The character likenesses were an improvement upon "The Macra Terror," (especially Polly). There are points where you know the production team had to invent shots from thin air to fill the gaps that existing tele-snaps and sound simply weren’t illustrating. There’s a lot of creativity involved that evokes a lot of the same spirit of the original series. There’s also those really fun opportunities to retroactively tie the old series to the new. Such as the Dhawan Master, or yet another Magpie Electricals reference. Although they are far from my favourite companions, it’s also nice to finally see Ben and Polly’s send off in proper motion. As always, it’s the next best thing to the original.

[leotanaka]

judy & punch: liveblog and thoughts

* this post contains lots of spoilers *

trigger warning: domestic violence

i am loving the music used in the intro :) it’s so... upbeat and creepy and old school with cackling and animal noses - incredible!!! 

“the show is about to begin.”

mia looks amazing :) 

“The congregations of St Paul's grow thinner every day. They're coming to the show of shows, not kneeling down to pray.”

judy does all the work and punch gets all the praise and credit? 

the skill and talent it would have taken, back then to do these kinds of puppet shows... wow! 

judy deserves better!!! 

that child focusing more on judy and how sad she is, that her joy and happiness is just an act.

“The show seems to be getting punchier all the time. Very punchy, in fact. Do you think it needs to be quite so smashy?“

the look on judy’s face during that show basically said it all: she’s not liking the direction the puppet show is going in or how violent it is becoming or how much the audience seems to actually enjoy watching such violence. 

happy stoning day???? 

“It seems some folk are getting squeamish around here. "Stop stoning women!", all that nonsense.”

so... they round up women who, have done what exactly? and then get the public to stone them and kill them? that’s disgraceful!

she’s going to be killed for staring at the moon? YIKES!

essentially, it’s like the witch trials? 

i’m glad judy didn’t participate in that barbaric... whatever it was. 

only 20 minutes in and there is already so much normalisation of violence, particularly violence against women. like, the mentality of the people in that town... they don’t seem to realise or understand how wrong it is but rather, enjoy seeing it. 

derek is in love with judy :) 

i take it that punch is an alcoholic. 

“from now on, only good decisions.” i give him 5 minutes. 

what does that dog have around it’s neck? 

she wouldn’t even have been in danger if punch hadn’t left her by herself. 

I LOVE THIS DOG :) 

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

did he just... that poor baby :(((((( 

what a horrific scene :( i know they didn’t actually show it or more to the point, didn’t showcase what was happening to her at the time, only focusing on punch but the way they highlighted his brutality and violence while the only focus on judy was showing her bloodied handwas just... that was horrible to watch. 

damon’s acting in that scene was incredible!!!

and the way the music went harsh and cold the moment he stopped pretending... wow!!!!

HOLY CRAP!!!!!

“It's been a quiet few days. Still trying to convince the town to trust me with their grievances rather than take the law into their own hands.”

punch is basically that ryan reynolds facepalm when dealing with this constable lol

HE FRAMED THEM!!!

they’re definitely in league with the devil. i mean, just look at them. 

scotty found judy :) 

“i don’t mean to rush you but she could expire at any minute.” 

witch fever! heretics camp!

a constable who is reasonable and trying to find out the truth and ensure justice prevails vs a town who is overly suspicious and thinks most people are witches

“Justice and punishment should be determined by the law, Mr Frankly, not hearsay and an angry mob.”

that is what i call a primal scream!

...and they all seem to have heard it or felt that anger... this is going to be so good :) 

those two servants, being accused to killing her are the ones who raised her and people really believe they would kill her? 

“I'll tell you what she's doing in Seaside. Her ma and her pa owned that manor she lives in on the edge of the forest. They bred like fucking rabbits. There was a whole big bunch of them. And the whole load of them was wiped out by a plague when Judy was just a little 'un. Left behind just her and the two servants, who had to raise her up. And then one day, Punch passed through town with his magic show or whatever it was he was doing. Charmed the pants off everyone, especially her. So she ran away with him, learned puppets, and they travelled all over and they got sure and famous. They even had a show in the big smoke and everything. But it all went bottoms up when that arse-worm husband couldn't control his boozing... ..or his temper. And they got booted out of near every town. Flat broke when he knocked her up. So they had to slink back here, tails 'tween legs. He thinks he's too good for Seaside. I'd say he pretty much fits right in.”

i don’t know if that’s what’s happening but i am so here for judy essentially surviving because the hatred, anger and revenge she wants to take against her husband

“only scouts have pencils.” 

she definitely imagined that rabbit being punch - of what she is going to do to him. 

“Since when does what's right make any difference? What do you think we're all doing out here? Hm? You think we're out here because what's right is important to anyone in that town? Every one of us is wanted for some made-up reason or other. Most done nothing to warrant it. We gotta let it go, let it all go, let all of it go, all of it. Everything we had before we were cast out. Just keep moving forward and hope the rest of the world catches up.”

“They already think you're dead, and now suddenly you're not. That's gonna make you a witch or some kind of devil in their eyes for sure.”

“If I don't go back, he wins. I have to run away. I have to leave my home. He wins.”

they really beat up two old people just to get them to say they did something they didn’t do. 

judy out here living her best life and being happy while punch’s life is falling apart... it’s what he deserves

i think that constable knows they are innocent but doesn’t know what to do to help them. 

...and that someone would be judy :) 

polly deserves better :( 

yikes... that was really, really bad - i’m guessing that judy was the one who wrote all of that. 

they’re using children instead of puppets? 

the shock of the audience is amazing! 

imagine watching children fight and hurt each other and actually egging them on hurt each other more. 

“If you laugh, others will laugh with you. If you stop laughing, you die.” 

“what’s you say, punch? want to team up with the devil?” 

judy pretending to be an evil spirit in order to convince her husband that the devil is interested in him and wants to work with him... SHIT! THIS IS INCREDIBLE :)))))) 

she did that with puppets, didn’t she? 

what a beautiful song :) 

he’s actually doing the right thing? 

punch, you’re a shit!

that awkward moment when you’re going to hang two people and someone cut the ropes so they survive and instead just fall on the ground.

they are coming for the townspeople with axes - epic :) 

“I am no witch. This man here, my husband, killed my baby and tried to kill me. It seems to me something is very wrong with this town. You kill and cast out your best souls! Here you are trying to off two of the kindliest, gentlest folk this town has ever known. And based on what? A suspicion? A false accusation by this man? You've all been sick as pigs since you cast out Dr Goodtime with her medicines and such. You're all dressed like hobo street monkeys since you chased sartorial Alice here into the forest. You call us witches,  but what is a witch but a person who sits just outside your blinkered view of the world. And by that reckoning, you should all be afraid. Because I know you all live daily with the fear of your own difference. Today the witch is me... ..but I think you all know, you all fear, that tomorrow the witch might be you!”

OMG!!!!!! i don’t know who was more shocked at that - me or the audience? 

and this is the beginning of the punch and judy show!

THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ijustwant2write]

The Girl From The Circus-Finn Shelby x Reader

(GIF credit to @softtroublemaker)

Masterlist

Summary: The circus is in town, an odd spectacle for the people of Small Heath. The Peaky Blinders obviously take no interest, until one of their youngest members spots a particularly interesting attraction.

Characters: Finn Shelby x Reader

Meanings: (Y/N)=Your name

(Y/L/N)=Your last name

Warnings: None

(A/N This has been on my mind ever since ‘The Greatest Showman’ came out, can’t believe I didn’t write it sooner)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Dad! Mum! Dad!” 

A hoard of John’s children came bursting through the front door, startling the Shelby family that had managed to sit down together for a meal, a rare occasion; the kids had been told to play outside and ‘let the adults talk’ though it seemed that they hadn’t taken much notice.

“What’s all the yelling for?” John shouted over his kids as they crowded around him, all of them speaking at once.

The rest of the Shelby’s looked on, wondering what had got them all so excited. At first they had been startled, worried that something was wrong until they saw their beaming smiles, now tugging on whatever limb they could grab.

The eldest spoke up, gaining control over their younger siblings.“Dad, the circus has come here! There’s going to be a show with horses and acrobats and clowns and-”

“Why on Earth has the circus come to Small Heath?”

“Can we please go? Please?”

They all started to chime in, repeating the well mannered word. Everyone started to laugh as they saw the panic in John’s eyes, even Esme couldn’t help herself until two of her children started tp plead towards her.

“You know the circus could be fun, have a proper family outing?” Ada piped up, smiling as she cuddled Karl in her arms.

“The Shelby’s going to the circus? Never heard anything more ridiculous in my life.” Arthur scoffed with a smirk.

“We can’t deny them of the circus, it may never come again.” 

“Well I think it’s a good idea too, might keep them happy for a while. We should all go, like Ada said, be a proper family.”

John sighed.“When is this circus performing then?”

“Not tomorrow night, but the one after.” the child said.

“In two days time? No, we can’t go.”

“Let us guess, does have something to do with business?” Polly snapped, already fed up with her nephew’s excuse.

“Course Polly. But you can still go.” Tommy said as he lit a cigarette.

“It won’t be the same.”

“We can’t pass this offer Polly. Tell you what, Finn and some of the younger boys will go with you.”

Finn, who had been leaning against a wall and observing the conversation at this point, suddenly realised that he had been dragged into the mess. His jaw dropped at the idea of chaperoning his nieces and nephews and the ladies to a circus; he would be the laugh of the town when people found out.

“What?! No, I’m supposed to be going with you lot that night.” Finn protested.

“Don’t worry Finn, you’re not missing out on much. You’re gonna take the family down to the circus and look after them, be the man of the household for once.” Tommy calmly said back, knowing that he would win the argument.

“But that’s not fair! Just cause I’m the youngest-”

“Please uncle Finn! Please come with us!” The kids whined again, guilt tripping their uncle this time.

Finn looked to his family members for any help but received none. The kids crowded round his legs, still repeating their pleas, they weren’t going to give up easily. Saying no to the adults was easy, but to the kids, that was just plain cruel. The young man groaned before letting out a loud sigh.

“Fine, I’ll go with you. But Isaiah and Michael have to come too!”

Over the next two days, all the kids could talk about was the circus. It was driving everyone mad, though no one showed this, knowing that they had never seen anything like this before. Finn was the most annoyed, making a show of how irritating it was to be the youngest Shelby; he should be helping with the business, not watching the circus with a bunch of kids. 

“I can’t believe you dragged us here, couldn’t you have just taken one for the team?” Isaiah huffed as they walked behind the women and children to the circus.

“Waste of my time, I was supposed to be at that meeting too you know.” Michael grumbled.

“Would you stop complaining? The sooner we get there, the sooner it will be over.”

Crowds of people were entering the ginormous circus tent, the traditional red and white stripes adorning the place. The rich smell of sawdust filled everyone’s nostrils as they found their seats; front and centre, only the best for the Shelby’s. The spectators excited chatter filled the huge room, wondering what curiosities they would be amazed with. Nothing this big had happened to their town in ages, or something happy at least. 

Finn glanced around the place, only seeing families filled with young children, no young men like him. His shoulders slumped as he leaned his arms on his knees, embarrassment filling him. Just as he thought about escaping, the lights dimmed, the music already starting. He sighed, settling back in his seat; might as well try to enjoy it.

At first, the young Blinders had slouched postures and frowns on their faces, humiliated that they were with kids at a circus. However, their attitudes quickly changed as the performers emerged, their minds trying to keep up with everything that was going on. Beneath their tough exterior, they were still young, they could still enjoy these things, though no one needed to know. They joined in with the cheers, the clapping and the many laughs, a very rare sight to see.

The ring master appeared again as the foolish clowns tumbled off, announcing his next act. The lights dimmed as he made his way to the middle of the arena, the dramatic music softening. For the first time that night, the audience were silent, drawn in by the sudden change in atmosphere.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the ring masters voice was quieter than before,“prepare to be dazzled and enchanted by our own, Dancing Dove.”

That’s all that was said before he left again, a single spotlight still shining in the middle of the ring. Hushed whispers filled the silence until the small band started to play a classical piece. Eyes were trained on the ring as they finally spotted her. Like an angel descending from heaven, a young woman was sat in a hoop attached to a string, her body bending in peculiar ways as she reached the ground. She would effortlessly swing around, the height of the hoop changing every few minutes, looking graceful as she performed. The audience were in awe, stunned by how someone so petite could have so much strength.

Finn’s jaw dropped in awe. He had never seen anything like this before. Something was drawing her to him. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t like any other girl he had seen before; she was part of the circus, that was every child’s dream! He wanted to now how she joined them, why she did, how did she learn all of these tricks she so effortlessly showed off. Finn was intrigued, his mind racing at the endless questions he could ask her. 

Her feet planted firmly on the ground before the hoop ascended again. The audience cheered loudly, an earned round of applause following; however, that was not the end of her act. A single piece of rope replaced the hoop, which she wrapped around one hand before she flew into the air. Gasps and shrieks added to the music as she flew around the room, smiling down at everyone below her. Finn could have sworn that she looked at him, pushing the doubts out of his thoughts.

Her act was over way too quickly for him, but he didn’t hesitate to give her a standing ovation. Luckily, he was not alone in this, as the whole audience roared in applause. She took her bow, smiling as she had throughout her performance, waving once again as she left the ring.

Finn found himself in a slight daze after that. He couldn’t properly focus on the acts, the ‘Dancing Dove’ still fresh on his mind. The way the lights followed her made her even more dazzling, the music adding to her grace. As the clowns came out once again, he slipped away unnoticed, needing a smoke to clear his mind. He walked around the big top as he smoked, making sure not to stray too close to the acts’ caravans, assuming that there would be some sort of muscle to keep people out. 

“Not enjoying the show?” a heavenly voice called out.

Finn whipped around, almost dropping his cigarette as he laid eyes on the trapeze artist. She was wrapped in a robe, smiling as she approached him.

“Oh, uh, n-no, I mean yes! I am, I just needed some fresh air.” He stumbled over his words, amazed by her beauty.

She giggled, it was music to his ears.“Getting fresh air by smoking?”

He immediately threw the cigarette away, taking off his cap out of respect.“You were amazing in there. I’ve never seen anything like that, it was just...”

“Amazing? Well thank you very much. Don’t get a lot of people my age coming to see me.”

Finn started to blush, feeling embarrassed.“I’m here with my family, I’m sure my nieces and nephews won’t stop talking about it for weeks.”

“That’s very sweet of you. Uh, can I ask a sort of personal question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you a Peaky Blinder?”

His eyes widened, wondering how she knew.

“I saw the caps, your razors glisten in the lights.” It was as if she read his mind.

“Yeah, I am.” He was expecting her to run away at any minute.“I can go if you want-”

“No, don’t go! Everyone has been raving on about you guys, said you paid top money to get those seats. And all the other exciting underground work you do.”

“Woah, I’m surprised you guys know us.” 

“I think you’re more famous than you think.”

“More famous than the circus?”

They both laughed.“Perhaps not. I never asked your name.”

“Finn Shelby. I know your stage name, but...”

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” She stuck out her hand and they shook.

“That’s an odd name.”

“I made it up. Only family I ever had was the circus.”

“It must be so thrilling to work here.”

“It has it’s ups and downs, you know, everything is an act.”

“Everything?”

She smirked.“Everyone’s got an act.”

He smiled back, his heart racing as he looked over her features again. Her hair and makeup were still done from the show, though a slight layer of sweat covered her forehead, though he didn’t care. She looked beautiful to him.

“Will you be in Small Heath for long?”

“We’re here for a few days before we leave again.”

“When will you come back?”

She shook her head slightly.“Who knows? The circus doesn’t really follow a schedule.”

“Perhaps...perhaps you’d like to do something tomorrow?”

“Something? Hm, sounds intriguing. I’ll sleep on it.” She started to walk away, teasing him that bit longer.

“What if I come here tomorrow morning? Have a plan by then?”

She stopped, suddenly approaching Finn again.“Don’t worry about a plan, like I said, we don’t follow those.” She reached up to kiss his cheek, relishing in the sight of him blushing.“See you tomorrow, Finn Shelby of the Peaky Blinders!”

[abakersquest]

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – VOX POPULI

Baron Hado swore under his breath as he finally managed to return to the central hut. Inside, a nervous and whimpering Raphi had already curled up defensively. The Baron didn’t need to hear it; he knew they’d lost their entire quarry in the shimmer smoke below. His carapace felt stiff and itchy thinking of all the money and praise they’d be missing out on from Kota’s General. He expressed most of his frustrations on the terrified cave cricket with a swift kick, knocking him across the central hut’s floor and into a far wall with a pitiful pained squeak.

“This never, never, never happened,” he said eyed his other underlings maliciously. “Understood?!”

All of them flinched, and then nodded, not daring to meet his eyes.

“Last thing that armored monster needs, an excuse to kill, kill, kill us.” He slumped into his chair with a grunt. “So… That was the Stellar Flare.” His crooked mouth slowly bent into a jagged and ugly smile. “Wouldn’t mind getting’ my claws on that, that, that.”

One of the crew began to speak from somewhere behind his seat. “Ah… Baron? There actually is something else, else, else.”

Hado was silent, merely turning his head to bring the voice’s owner into the periphery of his vision.

“… The brightstone? It’s gone.”

The Baron did nothing at first, at least that’s what everyone told themselves. They’d all turned away and waited for the screaming to start, and then stop just as abruptly.

---

Wally’s attention was elsewhere as the two helpful Insicai introduced themselves. The stone the taller one held yanked the entirety of his focus toward it. It glowed serenely and produced a small amount of heat, but there was something else about it he couldn’t place. A familiar sensation that seemed so out of place, it became that much harder to remember where he’d felt it before.

A furtive nudge to his ribs brought him back into the conversation.

“Well welcome back Mister Flarebearer, did you have fun on your little daydream vacation?” Rozzi teased.

His mind scrambled for every possible detail it could from the missed conversation. It was a talent every child desperately tried to master in their school days that they, and at this moment Wally, failed quite spectacularly at. He quickly observed the two Insicai to learn at least something about them. The smaller of the two, with blue fuzz around her neck and wrists, had to look up at him from a deficit of more than half a foot. Her large blue wings, the pride of any butterfly Insicai, gave her a sense of volume that betrayed her actual size. Her clothes, clearly once the ornate trappings suited to regal standing, showed signs of damage, repair, and a long string of rough cleanings that drained their color and crispness.

The much taller one, a hornet Insicai, wore light bronze armor that offset the soft orange hue of her carapace, with as much scuffing and scaring as a well used but intact shield. A dent here, a gash there, and what he could see of her natural body armor was no better off. It was clear from both of them; they’d seen more than a fair share of fights.

“Sorry,” he said eventually. “I just… That stone. I can’t place it but it’s like I’ve seen it before…”

The butterfly smiled quite brightly, “Ah, there may very, very, very well be a reason for that, but first, since you were so distracted.” she lowered her head and crossed her long antenna. “Siani Dae-Cael, former first chair, Imperial Medical Council”

The hornet repeated the gesture, which Wally now assumed to be a common greeting among Insicai, “Ori Han, former primus of the Imperial Guard.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Sir Wally,” said Siani. “We had heard rumors that there was a new, new, new Flarebearer and… It’s certainly given us all a great deal of hope, considering.”

Ori nodded in agreement. “After Empress Anani willingly joining forces with the witch, there certainly hasn’t been much, much, much of that.”

“According to our new friends,” Hector began. “Their empress disbanded the senate and declared Insicai’s loyalty to the revived Kota. Which lead to some obvious discourse amongst the people and leadership.”

Ori continued, “The Imperial Guard was set upon the dissenters with orders to kill. I abandoned the Guard that day, and helped, helped, helped in any way I could.”

“Thankfully,” Siani said. “My husband had discovered this place. We were able to hide here quite, quite, quite safely until… That brute Hado. He and his soldiers stormed in through a disused side tunnel and laid siege to our refuge. We barely managed to push him back and destroy the passage he’d discovered… But not before he took this.”

Ori held the gleaming stone forward. It lit the space like daylight would, and surrounded them all with comfortable warmth. “A brightstone, it was keeping our refuge warm and lit, lit, lit.”

“Well,” Wally smiled. “Glad we could help with that then.”

Siani nodded, “It is very, very, very appreciated. Now, would you and your vassals please come with us? I just know you should all meet my husband as soon as possible.”

Wally could feel the word ‘vassal’ ring off the hearts of everyone around him, like a hammer pounding against a tin pot. He tried to turn to concoct some apology when Rozzi’s hand clasped his shoulder.

“I’m sure Sir Wally would love to see you to your refuge, Miss Dae.”

Siani smiled and started down the stone passageway alongside Ori, both clearly unaware of the venom hiding in Rozzi’s tone. Once the two of them were further ahead, the party quietly began to whisper to one another.

“Well that was a mortal wound to my pride,” Hector sighed.

“It could have been worse,” Wistea said. “She might have called us ‘servants.’”

“I’ve never even had employees…” Wally added remorsefully.

After a few steps Hector started laughing, and then everyone else joined in.

The sound of a hand slapping against the tunnel wall ended the moment of levity and all eyes turned to Hyla, leaning on it for support, clearly exhausted. She noticed all the eyes on her and tried to straighten up, failing to keep her legs from shaking. “I… I’m fine,” she preempted any concern loudly. “Just… A little tired, I’ll find my second wind soon.”

Before she could take another step, Hector had taken a knee in her path, looking over his shoulder at her with a confident grin. “Wouldn’t do for a knight of Animana to leave a lady to collapse from exhaustion. Climb up.”

Hyla stared at Hector for a moment before producing a soft yet indignant noise in her throat.

“You can either climb on my back, or I’ll have to sling you over my shoulder, your choice.”

The throaty call of mortified frustration continued before she finally approached him and gripped onto his shoulders. The croak of surprise she let out as he lifted her was another fine layer of embarrassment, leading her to desperately avoided eye contact with anyone from her new station on Hector’s back.

As the party continued forward, Blackeye nudged Wistea and whispered, “Ain’t you got more of that Runner’s Grass stuff?”

“Of course I do, and I will remind her of that when we get where we are going,” Wistea practically chirped. “But right now, she has to learn to rely on us, and this is a good start.” With a self satisfied grin she practically hummed with happiness as she walked.

---

The tunnel soon came to an end where the glow of torchlight could be seen sifting through the bars of a large metal cage. Alongside the light came the familiar and comforting sound of rushing water, echoing down the passage behind them. Everyone cautiously stepped into the cage on Siani’s polite urging and flinched when it began to move, producing a strange buzz as it slid downward. Wally could see metal rails built into the wall as the cage descended, suddenly reminded of the platform in Crescent Town. He couldn’t recall it humming like this, but it must have some similarities.

When the cage finally reached the ground the outfacing wall of it lowered of its own, forming a ramp. Waiting for them outside was another Insicai standing by a large lever, Siani and Ori exchanged words with them and they rushed off with the brightstone.

Leaving the strange moving cage behind, the group beheld a great cavernous space lit by carefully placed torches in the distance. The atmosphere was cold and damp, making its presence beneath the arid and featureless salt pan even more baffling. Ahead of them, Wally could see huge structures that, despite their strange shapes and great size, seemed oddly familiar to him. Scattered amongst these bizarre and, on closer inspection, ancient constructs, were much newer makeshift homes. Small, simple shacks, with a clear preference for hexagonal walls over square ones, all built with little thought to personal space. To their right, a sizable underground waterfall filled the space with its crashing. Wally’s eyes followed the resultant river as far as the light in the cave allowed, seeing that it flowed beneath a gargantuan water wheel covered in rust and other indicators of age.

Everyone moved forward until they reached a thin plank suspension bridge that stretched from the rise they’d arrived on down to the settlement below. As Blackeye and Wally, carrying their supplies and the resting Polly, would be the heaviest, they agreed to go last.

Hector’s foot tapped the first plank several times, his hand running along the rope that ran on either side. “Metal,” he remarked with some awe, “certainly not what I was expecting.”

“Metal rope,” Rozzi said. “Leave it to the Insicai to show everyone up.”

Those gathered at the other end of the bridge watched with an air of caution as Wally hefted the weighty sled over his head. He carefully made his way down the bridge to them, his tail acting as a perfect counter-balance the entire way. As he set the sled down with a thud, Ori looked to him and said, “That much power in such a small, small, small frame… Are you sure you aren’t Insicai?”

“Pretty sure, what with all the fur and bones,” Wally replied, mostly to ignore Ori’s choice to emphasize the word ‘small’.

As they moved on through the refugee settlement, a myriad of surprised and cautious eyes were their only welcome. There could hear hushed anger, see quiet fear, and notice the curious children that were pulled away by protective parents. Insicai weren’t people Wally saw quite as often as other members of Mondia’s population. He hadn’t known about their long standing isolationism or xenophobia, most likely because even the expatriated citizens of the empire wouldn’t dare to speak ill of it. Pride, along with hardy, thick shelled bodies, were things all Insicai had in common.

Amidst glances and glimpses he could see the now threadbare fabrics adorning their rigid frames. It made him think of the shabby hand-me-downs he’d been given by the more charitable Castle Town citizens in his youth. He imagined they too were once brilliant and beautiful things, most likely made to give the hard-bodied Insicai some softness to appreciate and color to match their own occasionally brilliant carapaces.

They soon arrived at a much larger, older structure covered in what was once elegantly designed metal work. Despite the extra angles and strange material that went into making it, they could all easily recognize it as a house. Just then, the cavern was bathed in bright but false sunlight, and the cool moist air became as warm as a spring day. Above them, within a special metal framework, that to Wally resembled a large colander, the light and warmth of the brightstone shone down amplified.

Ori pulled a clearly new cord attached to a freshly polished bell beside the front door to the building. Inside they could hear the sound of weighty objects being moved, glass clattering, and an annoyed voice joining in every second or so before the door finally opened. Behind it, a tall and thin grasshopper Insicai adjusted a slightly dingy and worn waistcoat and tie. He blinked several times at the somewhat outlandish assembly before him.

“By my carapace… The Stellar Flare!” With a step he was out the door and crouched down in front of Wally. “It’s everything the old journals said it would be! A metal that isn’t a metal with a brilliant red gem of otherworldly luster! Bit smaller than described but then I suppose it adjust to the user.” Without pause he reached over Wally’s shoulder to take hold of the hilt, stopping only when Wally quickly took a firm grip of his wrist.

“ARGUS ORTHO CAEL!” Siani shouted. “WHERE ON MONDIA ARE YOUR MANNERS, MANNERS, MANNERS?!”

Argus eyes trailed down the hand, over the arm, up the shoulder to the slightly annoyed face of a wallaby. “Oh. Right. Sorry. Honestly didn’t see you there.”

Wally’s shift from a slightly annoyed expression to full annoyance was a remarkable thing to see up close.

“My but that’s fascinating as well… The Flare finding itself in the hands of an almost extinct genus of Animani… Speaking of hands.” Argus tried to pull his back from Wally’s grip, failing comically. “Grip like a vice this one.”

“I’m so very, very, very sorry Sir Wally!” Siani quickly rushed over and struck the sides of both of Argus’ right arms. “You went and insulted him twice! Apologize sincerely!”

Wally finally let him go. He sensed a manic energy in this entirely impolite Insicai, but nothing overtly malicious or threatening. Not that knowing that made him feel any less irritated.

“Why?” Argus began. “Nothing I said was even remotely insulting. I saw the Stellar Flare before I saw him, and wallaby Animani are, in fact, very rare in the current era.” He looked at the group once more and honed in on Rozzi. “As are red panda Animani, remarkable!”

His focus then turned on Captain Blackeye. “My word, Arias Cofresi!” then sailed toward to Hector and Wistea. “A third Animani carrying a Sauroian, and a Planaetian Nobel! This is absolutely astonishing!”

Siani sighed loudly, her antenna drooping in defeat. “Everyone,” her voice hummed with exasperation. “This is my husband, Argus Ortho Cael. Former first chair, Imperial science council.”

Argus smiled at them all, turned on his heels and headed back toward the open door. “Well, back to work then!”

Confused glances were exchanged as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Both Siani and Ori then raised their hands to count down from three.

Exactly three seconds later, the door opened and out popped Argus’ head. “Aren’t you all coming?”

While the group made their way inside, Rozzi turned to the somewhat defeated looking butterfly and asked, “You’ve been married to that for how long, exactly?”

“It will be ten years soon, soon, soon, not that it matters, he always forgets our anniversary anyway.” Her expression grew from upset to apologetic, “I know right this moment he seems…”

“Spirited?” Wistea volunteered politely.

“I suppose that’s a kind way of saying ‘brash’, but once you get to know him he becomes much, much, much more tolerable. He really is quite brilliant; there just isn’t much in the way of a middle ground to his focus.”

The interior of the aged building was lit by strange bulbs that resembled small gas lamps, except that they gave off much stronger and steadier light. Hector, after finally setting Hyla down, watched as Argus picked up a small jar connected to one of the lamps by thin wires and shook it. Inside the jar was what appeared to be loamy soil with something squirming about inside. After Argus set it down, the attached light grew brighter.

Further in, books, scrolls, and other artifacts were strewn about on every flat surface available. Towers of literature created narrow corridors and framed chalkboards covered in strange symbols that most of the group assumed to be the written language of the Insicai.

Wistea stopped in front of one of the free standing displays of research art and grew confused. “Mister Cael… My Insikik is a little sparse, but does this actually say ‘false moon theorem?’”

“First, it’s Scholar Cael, and second, never mind that! Can’t prove it anyway. Without exact knowledge of the surface composition of the moons it’s all based on suggested gravitational mechanisms that I can only hypothesize. I simply found it odd that every nation, regardless of its position on the planet, experienced the exact same fluctuations of season at precisely the same time.” Argus swept one of his arms over a table, knocking a hefty amount of books and papers to the floor; he then carefully set out several cups and saucers that had been on the summit of several separate book towers before. “Now, would anyone care for some tea?”

Rozzi gave Wally a nudge, “Why are we here again, exactly?”

He looked at her pensively, struggling for a short moment to even remember, before turning to Argus. “Scholar Cael… is that brightstone of yours and the Stellar Flare related in some way?”

Argus smoothly sat at the table and steepled both sets of his long green fingers, his stoic expression resting behind the larger pair as he spoke, “Now what makes you say a thing like that?”

“There’s… Ever since I first saw the Flare it’s felt like… I was looking at something alive. I couldn’t explain it until I learned that it was a weapon not created just by mortal hands, but also the gods. Just now, when I looked at that brightstone we helped recover, I felt the exact same thing.”

The lean grasshopper said nothing, he hardly moved. Slowly, a chuckle began in his throat, growing by the second into a chest heaving guffaw before he sprang to his feet and thrust his arms to the air and shouted, “I KNEW IT!” He leapt over the table, rattling some of the tea cups as he landed before Wally; and slapped his hands onto the wallaby’s shoulders. “They are my boy! They absolutely are! Hah!” He rose to full height once again and turned to the table. “Teacups? No time for that! Darling, would you be so kind, the blue scroll sleeve, you know the one, I keep it in the umbrella stand by the bed.”

No one had noticed when, or even that, Siani had left the room. But seconds after he’d asked for her, she was already coming down the stairs with the large blue tube in hand and a confident smile.

“Dearest, you truly know me best,” Argus sighed happily.

“Well, well, well. Someone has to.” She tittered and handed over the tube.

Argus popped one end of it off like the cork of a wine bottle, launching into the far corner of the room, breaking something that sounded like porcelain. Inside the tube was a large tapestry, woven from beautifully colored silk that showed only the mildest signs of age and wear. Argus carefully draped it onto one of the blackboards and stepped back to let the others see it. “It took me years to find this in a stone vault buried in the industrial depths of the capital, along with a map that lead to this place.”

Curious eyes scanned the seemingly sequential imagery before them; the first in the series was a silhouette of a small Insicai, its four hands raised toward a feminine figure surrounded by a halo of flame. The next image was of a shimmering stone in the same Insicai’s hand. The final image on the tapestry showed the Insicai holding the sword aloft before the female from the first image.

Argus cleared his throat to call everyone’s attention. “I’ve verified the tapestries authenticity; it is well over a thousand years old and depicts what had only been legend to the people of this sovereign nation. More than a millennia ago, a great flame raced across the sky, shining its light down on the whole of Mondia before it impacted here. Well… Not here, the capital. The mountain we call ‘Anago’ is the impact site. There, Rollo Poda arrived to discover that what had fallen was a mass of brilliant ore that shone like the stars and sun. And, at its heart,” Argus slowly pointed toward the hilt of the Stellar Flare, “a brilliant and mystical red jewel.”

“Hang on,” Blackeye spoke, shattering Argus reverent tone. “Can’t be right, Insicai don’t live that long. I met Poda just after the war, he was a hunched over little fella sure, but not that old!”

Argus chuckled. “Yes, I heard the stories you journeyed with him. Did he ever tell you what he was searching for?”

Blackeye shook his head.

“Poda’s personal mission was to find the missing pieces of the original ore that fell to Mondia, brightstones! All the bits left over from when he forged the Stellar Flare!”

Wistea gasped. “So… When they called him the ‘Shining Star of Insicai’…”

“The title was meant as an insult at first, everyone hears the legend of the Flare as children, of a woodlouse Insicai being the first great mind of the nation. So when the old fellow made himself known during the war, the various scholars of Insicai mocked him. They stopped mocking when his brilliance shone as bright as the title implied. Those same scholars laughed at me when I said Rollo Poda was, in fact, the very same Insicai who gave form to the Flare… And now I know it’s absolutely true!” He rolled the tapestry and tucked it back into its tube. He handed it to his wife and took a knee before Wally, clapping his hands onto the wallaby’s shoulders once more. “Thank you, my boy! Half a lifetime of research and theory, and now I know I’m absolutely right… You have no idea what that means to me!”

Wally smiled politely, not certain he did much to deserve the thanks, but still happy to have helped in any way.

“Now,” Argus clapped his secondary hands, “the matter at hand. I’ve no doubt you’re all here to destroy that damnable battleship, yes?”

Confused looks were exchanged before Hector spoke. “That thing Kota’s Generals fly around in? It’s here?”

“Well not here, it docks at a special platform built into the side of Mount Anago for maintenance and resupply. In fact, I hear its still under repair. Most likely you all gave it a sound trashing and are here to finish the job!”

Argus smile faded as he saw the somewhat dour expressions on their faces.

“Ah, you didn’t know it was here. Well, that’s alright! Now you do and right when it’s at its most vulnerable! If we all move quickly we should be able to take that flying travesty apart and severely diminish the capabilities of Kota’s frontline forces!” Argus bolted upright and started to walk out of the room. “Darling, help me pack a bag, I’ll be going with them! If anyone on the planet could help dismantle that horrible contraption, it’ll be me. Especially after I get back to my lab and retrieve my invention!”

There was the sound of a distant explosion, everyone but the Insicai reacted defensively.

“Good, good, good. It went as scheduled,” Ori commented calmly. She then remembered that the room was filled with people who had no idea what just happened. “Ah! My apologies everyone! That was a planned, planned, planned demolition. Hado might’ve seen the access hatch to southern tunnel three. As is now standard, any, any, any potentially compromised entrance is demolished.”

“Is there nothing else you can do but hide down here?” asked Hyla.

Ori shook her head. “Only I and a handful of the Imperial Guard broke off from the main force, and many of them were injured in our last battle with Hado. Everyone else here, here, here is a scholar, a politician or just a citizen. They have no formal combat training and Hado’s forces are actually quite, quite, quite numerous. What you fought today was only a small, small, small platoon under his direct command.”

“With an official Imperial sanction,” Siani added. “He was put in charge of Chidulas and the surrounding area. Conscripting as many able-bodied citizens as he could, could, could for his forces, along with a number of Imperial Guards.”

Hyla’s brow furrowed and her hands clenched into fist. She turned to look at Wally and declared, “We have to help them! If we just leave, Hado’s soldiers could return!”

Wally was about to reply when Hector interrupted. “Hyla, I hate to say this, but I don’t think we can.”

Her shoulders dropped slightly. “What?”

Hector’s expression was stoic as he spoke. “Our priority is to defeat Kota. Destroying their flagship would be an enormous step forward. If we miss our chance to do so now, we may never have another. Not to mention if we succeed, we’ll have more time to get Wally to Krust Mountain and restore the Flare’s power. The greater good demands we stay the course.”

Hyla only grew more frustrated. “I… I know that! But… Can we really just leave these people to fend for themselves?! It might have been accidental, but we met them and they need help! That means something!”

“I’m not any happier about it than you are, Hyla, believe me. However we simply can’t stop to help everyone we meet if it means losing a great opportunity.”

“If we don’t help them whose to say they’ll even still be here if we succeed?!”

Wally brought his foot down several time to call everyone’s attention, his father’s most effective technique against arguments. In his case, however, it lead to several book towers collapsing and something made of glass falling to a noisy, unseen demise.

“Right then,” he spoke in a stern yet orderly tone, or at least hoped that’s how he sounded. “That’s enough of that, especially since you’re both right.” He crossed his arms. “We’ll go around the room and have everyone’s say on the matter. Hyla, Hector, you’ve had yours… That means we move on to you, Wistea.”

“M-me? Oh…” She cleared her throat and straightened her posture as she did for every lecture she’d ever given and forced her thoughts into order. “I… Agree with Hector. That ship has been a major threat us since the Silent Marsh and we barely managed to survive our encounters with it.”

Next down the line was Blackeye. “I’m for stayin’ here and takin’ it to that clam handed scallop. Ain’t in me to just walk away from people in need. Know my Polly’d agree if she could.”

“I’m with the Captain and Hyla on this one,” Rozzi announced. “Know what it’s like to need help and not get it. So I ain’t about to leave innocent folk in the lurch.”

Wally rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Then I propose we divide our efforts. Argus, you’re certain you can help disable their airship”

Argus stood to his full height and crossed his arms firmly, a move that gave him the sturdy countenance of a well made fence post. “Certain as sunlight, my boy! Especially after we get what I need from my lab in the capital.”

“Fine. Hector, you Hyla and Wistea will go with him and destroy the battleship if you can. I’ll stay here with Rozzi, Blackeye, and Polly when she wakes up. We’ll see if we can’t knock down the Baron. Besides, we all know Kota’s tracking my every move. If she wants she can probably send Hado and his forces straight to wherever I am… So if you go to the capital without me…”

“None of her forces will see us coming, of course!” realized Hector.

There was a fire welling up in Wally’s belly that refused to go unnoticed. A courageous conflagration of emotion that the moment called for, and Wally would deny no longer. “Up ‘til now, it’s been half measures… We’d fight Kota’s army or run from them, they’d take whatever they were after and leave the world to make up for what we couldn’t do. I’d say it’s high time we changed that! No more bitter victories! No more running! We take the fight to them and win!”

Rozzi giggled. “Speeches like that ain’t very baker-like y’know?”

The heroic visage he’d unconsciously taken on softened slightly. “Too much?”

She shook her head with a smile, “Just right.”

Wally scanned the eyes of his friends and the determination that lay within them. He held out his hand toward the group. Hector recognized the gesture immediately and put his hand on top of Wally’s. Rozzi was next, followed by Wistea who sensed the pattern. Blackeye placed his hand atop hers and all eyes turned to the newest member of their party. Hyla felt her chest swell with a newfound sense of inclusion; she fought back a tear or two, as well as dwindling hesitation, and placed her hand in the center of her newfound allies.

“To Victory!” Wally shouted.

“VICTORY!” Everyone gladly replied, throwing their hands into the air as one.

<[Chapter 20]–[Index]–[Chapter 22]>