#programmers au

[prostocupoftea]

also just wanna give a quick update on my comic (for subs only so no tags, fell special)

It is now called "In 0s and 1s" ! code AND morality reference, hehe

First chapter is half finished! I know it seems like im doing sidequests right now, and, while i indeed am, totally did not account for artfight bc i didn't know about it, but i will still try to release it in this month! Still the same uncolored sketch-thingey version that will let me pump out like one chapter in 2 weeks (:

im gonna announce it when i have most of it fully done and it will come out soon after

Also im adding my comic characters to my artfight shortly so you have a chance to get a special thanks in my comic hehe <3

[bunnieswithknives]

Dev thinks the Minecraft movie trailer is epic, I think.

He likes nfts and ai art too smh

[miabrown007]

so. world building, am I right

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

wow okay, i am impressed with the amount of interest this idea got so... poll time!

🔥 shoot me a DM or comment on this post for invite to the discord! 🔥

@autistic-mandalorian @nicolabarth @gremliny-goob @eldritch-horror-from-the-void @nightclansunited @coruscantguard

[5ilent5cience]

SEARCHING FOR PROGRAMMERS(Ren’py) AND OTHERS

* Programmer (MOST)

* Producer/Composer

* Additionals: BG Artist and VA(only in full release, we’re focusing on demo)

Btw This game is in 80 percent in process, but sadly my partner who is the only programmer has busy life so I am still searching for another programmer. Not sure if this ROTTMNT game is the first thing that is planned as horror Au but sorry for the longest wait!

[inkprovised]

Reunion

Part one

5 / 10

<<start | <previous | next>

Panic hits hard.

Luigi knows who Bowser is and what he does (did). He knew it from the beginning.

______________

Are you new?

Start here at the summary

Or

Start with the Coronation comic

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

I don't remember a lot from tlatojl but I do remember them making a bunch of random references all the time. Does Jun in the HoM au make offhand references and does anyone else understand them?

I haven't finished a rewatch either, but i think i recall what you are talking about! Tlatojl does make quite a few references to old movies and pop-culture trivia at times, and i think i remember some wrestling references for some reason?? (I might be tripping about that tho, lol)

I do like to think that Jun, Ray Ray and Dennis are all very well versed in 80-90s movies/TV programs because of Ama and Monroe and that's why Jun makes some rather oldie references. Ironic, cause she is on a younger age range of the HoMies. I kinda feel like Danny would understand some references for oldie movies (i like to headcanon that Sam made him and Tucker watch a lot of horror/sci-fi/gothic classics), while Jake would get the bands and music stuff. Ben could probably rival her trivia knowledge of wrestling and trashy TV programs. Jenny can guess all of her references, because she also essentially grew up on a lot of the same TV (and also superior recall of information), thanks to her Mom, but she likes to make wrong guesses just to tease Jun for making such old references.

[solsticesoda]

Here's Cooper my TADC oc in @sm-baby 's Carnival AU. He is playing Roller Coaster Tycoon and you are the unfortunate guest.

[i3utterflyeffect]

user!Alan about to attack Chosen, untitled-3 comes to their defense and bursts into flames, and promptly freaks the fuck out because he didn't know he could do that and hasn't realized it's not hurting him yet

GOD YEAH. ALAN'S PROBABLY FREAKING OUT TOO TBH BECAUSE SINCE WHEN COULD UNTITLED DO THAT. THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

[spotaus]

Haha... The Boys in Ec-4o.verse! (Reaper, Geno, and Dust!)

[prostocupoftea]

Kinitopet Programmers AU

finally i am finished with this one, daaaamn

it is hard to draw pathetic men with midlife crisis when your style is mostly for anime boys

more info and sketch version under the cut!!

sketch version aka how it'll probably look like in comic version 'n some doodles

srry for my writing but i was too laisy to put it as regular text

It is a plot-based au, i already have most of the storybits and like... a vibe-chart (i tried to make a playlist for this au and understood that for different chapters and different characters that'd be a copleatly different music, sooo it's a chart now :) )

i will post a fog-o-wared timeline that im hopefully gonna reveal comic-by comic, but also maybe with just pure writing. Hopefully i can include songs that i chose for them into it but we'll see (:

aaand of course designs can change, hopefully not much but we'll see

Now about au:

Main story:

Story follows non-sentient AI Kinito, his creator Sonny and his beta-tester Victoria (oc)

Being literally the first AI (or RRA in-univere) ever, Kinito does not have any, and i mean, any ai safety features so of course his reponce to a goal phrased as "have user near me and/or interacting with me as much as possible" is digitizing them into his own virtual world while killing them in the process. why wouldn't it be?

So that happened. Like, a lot. And with Sonny and Vic too (at the different time but yeah)

Sonny is like "He kills people. We should turn him off because, you know, killing people is bad."

Vic is like "well, we will die if we do that, and it is not that bad here, we are kinda immortal. We should give him acces to changing his initial instalation code before admin priveleges and acces to social media so we can have everythin we want here. It is not that bad to digitize humanity, yk?" and yes i know it is 90, no social media, but shut up, if they made ai then, then i can make twitter then too

Sonny is like "...no??"

And then they fight about it for million chapters

Also they both can't do anything without agreeing bc they have two parts of that admin access key (the data you use to delete kinito in-game) so they are stuck with eachother (also that's why Kinito can't just kill them)

Little facts that may or may not to be important:

Kinito asks so many questions (and weird once too) and has most of the glitches because he needs to analise your responces to copy your mind perfectly (let's pretend that people wouldn't lie about that...)

Your house in your virtual world is made from important places from your memories and oh boy can i do character explorations with this one

I decided that Sonny and Vic are not related. There were thoughts about making then "The Kinito Brothers" (or, at least, siblings) that were mentioned in commercial, but nah, they are just coworkers now. And a bit of work-friends (bc if you interact a lot as a manager of the project and the best worker might as well be friendly)

Author has no idea how small dying toy companies that accidentally create technological marvel work. Author has some idea how AI-s work. So be prepared to be spoon-fed info abut which ai safety problem we are dealing with in which chapter (:

Kinito will mostly be unrendered (as drawn here) but for some cool moments i might pose him as for my other posts. Also his eye placement changes to the side that is most visible because i want him to be able to look to the right side sometimes--

Also when i say "fucked up mentally" i mean they have that them psychological problems with me projecting heavilly B) (guess on who i project most. trick question. all of them. the whole au is my problems split into three characters and forced to interact B) )

Also sea-creature analogies (that are gonna be mentioned like twice):

Victoria is a flying fish because deep character reasons

Sonny is a pufferfish because i said so

oh also there is 7 deaths in the plot as for now

on 3 characters

good luck figuring out who, how and when ((:

for my own sanity i will probably make little doodles where everything is great and kinito is a good guy and not a number-obsessed maniac (i mean... can u imagine not being able to feel any happiness from anything besides one thing... damn...) and you can differenciate them bc good-guy kinito will have a lot of stickers on him (i will explain it somehow but real reason is just bc it is cute af)

like this but even more stickers (he is unfinished here)

[d8tl55c]

scene of programmer021 throwing together the code for the first TCOs: "what if i just give them 100% in all stats lmao."

releases one into a sandbox*

sandbox bricked irretrievably within 3 minutes

ho-ly shit.

..... that's hilarious.

they try like ten more times, each with the same outcome. the little worm is good at what it does, scary good, and programmer is grateful that they went the extra mile with the sandbox layer of protection from it.

at a safe distance, the TCOs are brilliant sparring partners.

*(basically a mini computer running inside of (but held separately from) another computer) (used to test new features without risking a whole system)

on the twelfth go, they've learned enough of its tricks to have more of a chance. both of them take a moment after a long scuffle to catch their breaths. the stick figure gasps on the floor - it's amazing! so lifelike! and programmer is celebrating this little victory for the field of recreational AI right up until

it looks at them.

TCO #12 turns its hollow face out through the screen, looking at them.

programmer is unsettled.

can it see them?

their webcam is off.

surely it's impossible?

right?

and yet, it seems to see them regardless, because not only does it react to their reaction (little twitches eerily realistic, how did their program know to do those things), it capitalizes on their shock. it springs to its feet while they're still open-mouthed and reaches the walls of the sandbox window (which programmer had been herding them away from at all costs), crashing against the side, rebounding, and hitting them again and again.

programmer flails to reconnect to their Cursor (you know when you forget where it is and have to wave it around before you can use it again? like that, but with even more panic, confusion, and imminent peril).

there are cracks in a multitude of funny colors forming at the edge of the sandbox instance. pieces of the window dent out of its normal bounding box. The Chosen One adapts instantly, focusing its hits toward the weak points.

WTF! this has gone way too far.

programmer's Cursor swoops around from out of nowhere and catches the TCO by the base of its head. it tries to breathe fire and only manages strangled puffs of smoke. its legs kick the air. where once it was so elegant and poised it twists and writhes-

programmer drops it.

they feel cold.

their Cursor retreats outside the walls of the sandbox PC, clicking into the main system's File Explorer. already open is the folder with this sandbox, its partition of storage, and setup files inside.

they click it. press Delete on their keyboard.

the TCO tries to stand. it pushes through a dizzy spell, one hand holding the spot under its head that must be its neck, and sprints toward the breach it was working on.

a confirmation pane appears, from the process responsible for running the sandbox.

its arms are strong, but the more TCO_12 struggles the more it's clear that this wall would need way more firepower and concerted effort... and time... to break. it's out of time. it realizes this.

are you sure you want to end this process? ALL data will be lost.

programmer sees when it loses hope, because it abandons the wall. it abandons the whole game: the pride and dignity it fought with, the play-pretend that it held any real power here. it turns outward again, toward the screen. small hands slam against the barrier between them, knock-knocking faster, faster, please please please, its legs shake and give out but it keeps knocking, on its knees, please please please please PLEASE

the sandbox is deleted.

the window that displayed it freezes, lighting up too-bright and desaturated.

a snapshot of the TCO is frozen in place, begging for...

begging for what? it was never meant to know anything. to want anything. how did it know there was anything outside its reality to want?

or was it simply afraid to die?

Windows catches up, and sweeps the frozen program away.

programmer021 is left alone with the spot where TCO_12 used to be.

their friends want to play with their latest stick figures. they were supposed to update today.

programmer numbly uploads the most recent release build they have. killer and BEAST were fun to work on. they'll warn everyone not to touch TCO until.... until programmer works out how to... until ever, and if one of them does, it'll be their own fault.

[chu-tao]

i feel like xianyun in modern au could be a traditional watchmaker who has a beef with local electronic shops, that would be funny i think

[crystalninjaphoenix]

A Single Opportunity

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

I think, with this chapter, the Switch AU is officially my longest fic series! Discounting my bad end ask blog and the interactive fic Many Roads Diverge, because those are special. Out of all my normal fics, this is now the longer, I'm pretty sure. And what a chapter to push it over the edge. The side characters on the outside are ready to rescue the five guys from IRIS. They're confident in their plan, but will it go wrong? Maybe with some strange magical help and the aid of a certain whispery stranger, they might just escape... heh. This chapter is a bit longer than usual. I hope you enjoy!

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix

———————

“Alright, the plan is simple,” Jack said. “We get in, we grab everyone as quickly as possible, and we get out again.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, I think,” Stacy muttered.

“Well... yeah, but those are the details that matter.”

Rama glanced over at Jack, sitting in the passenger seat, then looked forward, out at the road again. “You nervous, Jack? We’re getting close to the facility, after all. Are you saying that unprompted out of nerves?”

“What? Nooo. It’s for Aoife.” Jack twisted around in his seat and looked back at the backseat, where Stacy was sitting... along with Aoife, who was coming along with them, despite not coming with them on the recon mission. “She needs to know the plan!”

Aoife raised an eyebrow. “Well, something like that isn’t quite enough for me to go off of, I think.”

“It’s alright to be nervous, Jack,” Stacy said, twisting her hands in her lap. “I’m nervous too.”

Jack swallowed a lump in his throat. He was already wearing that copied IRIS uniform he’d gotten during their recon mission. It felt strange. But at least Sam was tucked away in one of the belt pouches. They reassured him that everything would be alright. They had a good feeling about this.

“I think this is a good place to stop,” Rama muttered.

They pulled off the side of the small dirt road they were on and drove onto the grass for a while, circling back to face the way they came so they were ready to drive away as quickly as possible after all this. This wasn’t Rama’s car, like it had been for the recon mission, or even the one where they got Jackie away from the other IRIS facility. Instead, Rama had rented an eight-seat van: two seats in the front, then a row of three in the middle, and another row of three in the back. They were still one seat short, but someone could squeeze in somewhere. “Is it safe to leave this here?” Stacy asked. “What if IRIS notices it?”

“Well I’m done with waiting in the car,” Rama said. “My fucking husband is in there. I’m going to go get him. Those protection charms Persephone and the other magicians cast earlier should hold up.” They glanced at Aoife. “Right?”

“Right.” Aoife nodded. “Now let’s go.”

The four of them got out of the van. Aoife tapped Stacy and Rama on the shoulders, mumbling a spell under her breath, and the two of them vanished from sight, leaving behind only a slight disturbance in the light to show they’re there. Then Aoife gestured at herself, and her clothes were covered by an illusion, a copy of the uniform Jack was wearing. 

“Alright, Sam.” Jack patted the belt pouch. “We’re ready whenever you are.”

After a few seconds, the cloaking disappeared, and the IRIS compound appeared from nowhere. The four of them hurried forward. “We’re getting the guys in the basement first, aren’t we?” Rama asked. “Are you sure you can open the doors, Aoife?”

Aoife nodded. “I don’t think IRIS can account for magic. They’re probably magnetic or electric locks, my shocking spell can disrupt that for long enough for us to open the door. And if it doesn’t work, we have Sam to fall back on.”

They walked up to the wall around the compound, trying to look casual while also moving as quickly as possible. And it’s there that their first stroke of luck happened. Stacy had reported that the main gate was guarded by three of those C&C people, but as they walked up to the heavy portcullis-like gate, there wasn’t a single sign of any of those guards. Jack and Aoife glanced at each other nervously, and Rama invisibly hurried forward, testing the door next to the gate. “Locked,” they reported.

“Of course it is,” Aoife muttered. She walked up to the door and put her hand over the gap where it joined the doorframe, her palm glowing yellow.

“Where are the guys?” Stacy whispered. “That’s suspicious, isn’t it?”

“Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth,” Jack said. “Maybe they’re on break. Or they got called away or something.”

“Got it!” Aoife reported, pulling on the door. It slid to the side, and the four of them quickly walked inside, through the little guard station, and out into the rest of the facility.

From there, Jack led the others towards the building where their friends were being held. The plan was indeed to start in the basement first. Schneep and JJ were probably going to be the hardest to rescue, since there was no doubt more security measures around their cells than the others. The group had discussed it for a long time yesterday, about whether it’d be easier to break into three lower-security cells first of the two higher-security ones. In the end, they decided that if something went wrong after rescuing the first person, they wanted as much time as possible to unlock the high-security cells, so it was better to get them done earlier.

Aoife used the same spell to open up the door to this big building, and the group went inside, taking the hallway straight to the elevators. They passed a few clumps of other guards as they went, many of them glancing at Jack and Aoife strangely as they walked past. Were they... suspicious? Jack swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and continued to act like he belonged here, looking casual as they reached the elevator and pressed the call button, waiting for it to arrive.

It did... but there were a few other guards riding the inside. They looked at Jack and Aoife in surprise. “Uh... hey,” one said as the guards all left the elevator. Jack could see Stacy and Rama’s invisible forms trying to get out of the way so they don’t bump into anything suspicious. “Where are you guys going? Up or down?”

“Uh, just down,” Jack said nonchalantly. “We’re supposed to check on things down there.”

“Really?” The guard seemed doubtful.

“Yeah... well, honestly, it’s more of a personal choice,” Jack improvised. “We want to make sure it’s all safe, you know?”

“I suppose that makes sense. But you know Leigh will have your head if you’re away from your positions for too long.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t be but a few minutes,” Aoife lied.

“Seriously.” The guard narrowed his eyes. “Get in, check the cells, and get out. We’re on high alert for a reason.”

Jack and Aoife nodded. “We’ll be careful,” Jack promised. “See you soon.” And with that, the two of them walked into the elevator. Aoife reached for the bottom button, but it was pressed before she got there, lighting up before their eyes. Rama had pushed it. And then Stacy pushed the ‘close door’ button, wanting to block out the view of the guards as quickly as possible.

As soon as the doors closed and the elevator started to move, Stacy hissed, “They’re on high alert?! What happened?!”

“I don’t know!” Jack whispered. “Everything was fine when I checked things out two days ago. Did something go down after that?”

Rama gasped. “Do you think they knew we were coming?!” they asked, horrified.

“No... no, there’s no way,” Jack insisted. “But... even if they do... we can’t stop now. We have to at least try to get the others out! We can’t waste this chance!”

None of the others said anything in response, but they didn’t need to. They’d thrown all this effort into this rescue. They might not get another opportunity after this.

The elevator doors opened and the group hurried out into the basement. “Ohhh this place is freaky,” Rama whispered. “It looks so... cold.”

“Come on, I think these are their cells.” Jack’s copied helmet still had the Xs in view. He ran down the hall, leading the others to the first marked cell. He tried the door experimentally, but of course, it was locked. “Aoife?”

Aoife stepped forward, trying out the same spell. Her posture hunched as she concentrated, but after a while, she shook her head. “It’s not working. Strange.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine,” Jack whispered. “Sam?”

Sam flew out of the pouch and bopped into the door. They told Jack to hurry and open it! Which he did, pushing it and walking into the room beyond.

The stark emptiness of the cell shocked him into stillness. He knew that IRIS was horrible, he’d seen into Anti’s cell, but... this was worse than that room. The walls were a blank white, lit up by the bright lights overhead. It was a strange, long rectangle shape, and everything was squished against the far end. The bed, the alcove with the toilet, and Schneep. “Henrik!” Jack gasped, rushing forward.

Schneep was lying curled up on the bed. He looked up at the sound of his voice, surprised to hear his real name be called. “Wh-what do you want?” He asked, voice hoarse as he pushed back against the wall.

Jack raised the visor on his helmet. “Schneep, it’s me!”

“...Jack?” Schneep whispered. “Wha... h-how did you get here?”

“We don’t have much time to talk,” Jack said. “We’re here to rescue you! All of you!” He glanced down, and noticed a problem. There was a manacle around Schneep’s ankle, attaching him to the ground. “Shit.”

“Aoife, do you have a spell to break that?” Stacy asked.

Schneep jumped in surprise. “Stacy? You are here, too?”

“And me,” Rama added. “Aoife cast an invisibility spell on us.”

“I am guessing it is Aoife in the uniform, then,” Schneep said, glancing at Aoife.

“Yep.” Aoife didn’t take her helmet off as she hurried forward, crouching on the ground to look at the manacle. “Hm... this isn’t metal. It’s more like plastic. But that’s fine, this spell should work the same, anyway.” She raised her hand, pointing at the cord of the manacle. A laser of yellow light shot out from the tip of her pointer finger. She moved the laser back and forth, sawing through the cord. The smell of burnt plastic filled the air, but luckily not for long, as she seared through it.

Schneep sighed, clearly relieved. He stood up, lifting his leg perpendicular into the air, enjoying the lack of a tether. Then he lowered it and looked at Aoife and Jack. “Do you know where the others are? I-I know that Jamie is somewhere nearby.”

“Yeah, I know where he is,” Jack said.

“Can you walk?” Stacy asked worriedly.

“I can walk.” Schneep nodded. “That will not be a problem for me, they have kept me very active. I am more worried about the others.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “Please, let us hurry.”

“We will,” Jack promised. “Come on.”

The group quickly left the cell behind. Stacy stayed by Schneep, invisibly holding onto his arm in case he needed support. But he didn’t, easily keeping up with the others as Jack led them down the hallway and around the corner towards the second cell door. Sam immediately popped out of the pouch on the belt (Schneep gasped and said “Sam!” when he saw them) and bopped against the door. It unlocked and Jack slid it open, rushing into the cell again.

This cell was identical to the one they found Schneep in, right down to the occupant lying curled up on the bed. JJ’s face was buried in the pillow, but it was clearly him... though the group could already tell that he was thinner than he was before. “Jameson!” Jack said, hurrying in. Aoife followed him, but Schneep stayed outside. The invisible pair probably did, too, since there were no additional footsteps.

Unlike Schneep, JJ did not look up at the sound of his name. Jack hurried over to his side and, after a moment of hesitation, reached out to shake his shoulder. JJ still did not respond. Worried, Jack shook him a bit harder. “Jameson! JJ! W-wake up!”

JJ suddenly started, raising his head with an alarmed expression. He looked at Jack’s face, not understanding at first... but then looking very confused.

“Hey.” Jack smiled gently. “Don’t worry. We’re here to get you out of here.”

Aoife hurried over and cast the same laser spell to break through the manacle cord—because there was indeed another one of those around JJ’s ankle. Once she was done, she pushed her helmet visor back and smiled at JJ. “Everything’s going to be okay. We just have to hurry.”

...Aoife? JJ asked, slowly signing A-eye to say her name.

“Yep, that’s me. I”m here for you, JJ.” She stood up and offered her hand. “Here, let me help you up.”

JJ took the hand, letting her pull him up. He stumbled, but otherwise could stand. He glanced towards the doorway and noticed Schneep standing there. Henrik? Are you alright? His hands shook slightly as he signed.

“I am fine,” Schneep whispered. “Are you alright?”

Jameson gave him a weak smile. I could be better.

“Stacy and Rama are also here, invisible,” Jack said. “We’re going to head to the elevator and take it up to the other cell block where Anti, Jackie, and Marvin are. If anyone asks what we’re doing, we’re going to say that we’re taking you somewhere important.”

Schneep laughed. “We should probably hide the broken manacles, then.”

“Oh shit right,” Rama cursed, causing Schneep and JJ to jump as their voice came from nowhere.

“Can you walk?” Jack asked, continuing despite the two interruptions.

JJ looked down at his legs and nodded slowly. What about the cuffs? They always use this special pair of cuffs when they take me anywhere.

Jack inhaled sharply. “Uh... well, we can explain that away, I’m sure.”

They’re used to muffle my magic, I don’t think you can explain away something so important.

“Then we’ll see if we can hide you from view,” Aoife said. “Come on. JJ, describe these special cuffs to me as we walk to the elevator. I’ll probably be able to make an illusion of them. A passable one at least.”

They hurried back to the elevator, going as fast as they could. JJ was struggling with running, and couldn’t quite sign as he went quickly. Jack and Aoifelowered their visors again as they went down the hallway, and Aoife tried to conjure up an illusion based on JJ’s descriptions. “How are you doing, Sam?” Jack asked quietly.

Sam explained that they’ve been knocking down any cameras they came close to. It was probably suspicious. They should pick up the pace.

“On it.” Jack called the elevator. It was on this floor so the door opened right away, and the group hurried inside, with Schneep and JJ sandwiched between Jack and Aoife, while Stacy and Rama waited invisibly behind them. Aoife pressed the button for the cell block floor up above, and the elevator started to move...

But it stopped at the ground floor. A cluster of black-uniformed guards waited for the doors to open, and then piled inside. The group pressed back against the back wall of the elevator. Jack was immediately sweating bullets. Oh this was bad luck. This was very bad luck. Why were there so many guards getting in the elevator now?

As they approached their destination, all the guards slowly looked towards the group. One of them raised the visor on their helmet and asked a question like they already knew the answer.

“Where are you taking these subjects?”

———————

Anti.

At the sound of the familiar voice, Anti immediately shot up from where he was lying in bed, sitting up and looking around. “Whisper,” he said quietly. “So... it’s time, then?”

It’s time, Whisper’s voice confirmed, coming out clearer than it ever had before.

“What do I need to do?”

Get the door open. Find the others. And then Whisper’s voice faded away.

Anti nodded and hurried over to his blank spot under the camera. He didn’t have a specific plan in mind. But he could improvise this! Okay, what weapons did he have? Not many. He didn’t even have shoes, only socks. Actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he wore shoes? He showed up in IRIS the first time without them, as he’d wandered into the facility in the middle of the night. But... he did have his jacket...

Quickly, Anti took it off, rolling it up into a narrow rope-like thing. Then, thinking hard, he kicked the chair and made it clatter loudly, and screamed as hard as he could. With him standing in a blind spot, his hope was that they would think he got terribly injured and send some guards in to help him, like they did when he cut his fingers. Then, he could ambush them. Hopefully while still in this extended blind spot. Now he just had to wait.

———————

Marvin was lying in bed, trying to get some rest, when he heard the scream. Was that Anti?! He immediately sat straight up, on high alert. What was IRIS doing to him?!

Hey.

“Gah!” Marvin jumped in surprise and looked around. “What? H-hello?” As his eyes darted wildly across the room, they eventually settled on the door. There was... a figure standing there. He couldn’t make out any of their features. Absolutely none. The figure wavered slightly, as if made of glowing mist. “Who... who are you?”

It’ll take too long to explain. The figure bent down, reaching to the ground... then stood up again. Hand them back to me next time you see me. And then... then they were gone.

Marvin blinked, confused. He tried to stand up, but his muscles couldn’t quite support him, so he decided to save energy and crawl across the ground instead of walk. There was something on the ground where the figure had bent over. He crawled closer—and then gasped as he realized what it was and hurried over, scooping it up.

“My cards...” Marvin whispered.

How? How had the figure managed to get his cards? And how had they gotten into his cell to hand them over? Were they even the real cards? Was this a trick from IRIS? No, tricks like this wasn’t their style. But maybe... maybe it was Distorter? But why would Distorter hand over Marvin’s cards? He didn’t really like them, and he definitely didn’t want Marvin to have them.

But he did have them. Now—how could he use them to get out of here?

Marvin spread the cards out on the ground, starting to sort them out before realizing that the deck was stacked in the order he always preferred them to be stacked in. That... was a bit strange. But no time to think about it. He looked at the cards, mind scrambling as he tried to figure out some pattern that would help.

And then... his eyes landed on two cards in particular, two cards at the end of the line, at the bottom of the deck. The jokers. The ones with their spiral-shaped-X’ed-out runes on the back.

There was something special about these cards. He knew it. He could feel something at the edge of his memory, trying to scream a meaning at him. Once upon a time, he’d known what these runes could do. He must have. But it had all been buried by Distorter, along with any other knowledge about his cards. Come on, think! Think!

He looked at the other cards, scanning their runes. All of the runes meant something. They were supposed to look like an item. Like an animal, or a bowl, or a window with bars. What could the X’ed out spiral represent? They were just designs! Come on, think! Where else had he seen something like this? Where else—

Something flashed in Marvin’s vision. Curving strands of orange, yellow, and blue light. Twisting into each other. That image he’d seen in the black crystal ball. And when he’d seen it in the crystal... he’d somehow known that he’d seen it somewhere else before that.

Could... that be what the runes were supposed to be? If he’d forgotten about that—that tunnel, in the same way he’d forgotten about what his cards could do, could they be related? But then... what did the X mean? Why was there an X over the rune?

Unless... they weren’t supposed to be there?

Marvin reached out and picked up one of the joker cards, squinting at the rune. He was holding it right up to his face, practically pushing it against his eye... and that’s when he could see the difference. The way the X part of the rune was less shiny, more yellow than golden like the runes were supposed to be. He quickly pulled the card back and scraped at the X with his nail. After a couple tries... he saw it start to peel.

Emotion jolted through Marvin’s heart, an almost physical force that made him let go of the card, watching it flutter towards the ground. The cards... they were sabotaged. Expertly sabotaged, but sabotaged nonetheless. And he hadn’t even noticed, with his memory of these runes and their meaning locked away. Distorter must have done it. But—why? Why?!

Marvin shook his head. He could dwell on this when he wasn’t imprisoned by an evil group of science people. He had to escape! And help his friends escape, too! He set the joker cards aside and started messing around with the rest. “Open door, open door, open door...” he muttered. There had to be a simple way to do that. Only one or two cards. With what he knew about the runes, maybe he could use these ones?

He lined three cards up in a line, noticing the way the lines on the backs could fit together. The nine of hearts and nine of diamonds on either side of his ace of spades. The two nines had the same rune on the back, a curve around a dot, while the ace had a triangular rune. He adjusted the lineup, until—clunk. He heard the door to his cell unlock.

“Yes!” Marvin whispered. He scooped up the rest of the cards, packing them together into a deck, but kept those three separate. Hurriedly, he got to his feet and pulled open the door, hurrying out into the hallway.

IRIS would notice him moving soon, if they hadn’t already. Marvin needed to get Anti and Jackie! He started to hurry towards the direction he heard Anti scream from—but then saw a flash of black uniforms coming from that other end of the hall. Quickly, Marvin turned around and ran in the other direction, pushing his weak legs to the limit. There was that same set of double doors that he’d run through on his first escape attempt. He clumsily lined up the three cards, pressing them against the doors, and when he heard them click, he hurried through.

Welp. Now he was here. Marvin’s eyes darted around, trying to come up with something, anything, he could do... and his eyes landed on the door that his cards had been kept in. How had that stranger gotten his cards from there?

There were footsteps coming closer. Impulsively, Marvin hurried over to that door, unlocking it with the cards, and headed inside. He’d hide inside the empty room for a while—

The room wasn’t empty.

Marvin blinked, staring, confused. Just as the last time he was here, those two cards, the joker cards, were hovering in a circle above a circular platform, strands of light following them, reaching out to each other. His eyes drifted to the side, where he saw a table... a table that hadn’t been here last time, a table with his cards on its surface.

He looked down at his hands. Yep. His cards were still in his grip. But... then... how were there two of them? Slowly, he walked over to the table, leaning onto it, and carefully moved the cards around. Both decks looked the same. Not just that. He knew, in his bones, that they were the same—though the deck on the table was missing the jokers.

“What the fuck?” Marvin whispered. Two decks of cards, existing in the same place at the same time? How?

The same... time...

Oh god he was going to be late for the audition. But in his defense, he hadn’t expected his ride to abandon him! He didn’t know where the auto had gone if it hadn’t picked him up, but his only option was to try walking. Even so, after fifteen minutes, he was breathless, tired. There had to be a way to save time. Hm... Well, he hadn’t wanted to mess around with those specific runes without reason. But if he missed this audition, he missed out on the only chance he had for work for this year. So, he lowered himself to the sidewalk, thanking the world that nobody was around to see him do this. He took out his cards, separating out the jokers. Now, what combination would get him some time? It would need to be a big spell, involving lots of cards. His eyes scanned them, easily picking out possible ways to link them up. Until, hesitantly, he reached out to move them all into place—

What in the hell? What happened? It was night time now. He looked up... confused. Had these buildings always been so... unkempt? Wait a second, those street lamps were different. Their lights were brighter, less yellow and more white. And what are those wires in the sky? And that rushing sound in the distance?

“Oh... my god,” Marvin whispered. Everything suddenly clicked into place. He knew what the runes on the jokers meant. Eyes wide, he looked down at the cards in his hand, now aware of the power in his fingers.

But there was no time. Ironically, there was no time. Marvin started laying out the cards on the table—the ones from the deck the mystery figure gave him. His memory was returning. He knew what not to do—what would send him forward. But maybe, if he changed that spell, used less cards—

There were footsteps outside the door. Marvin glanced back, eyes wide, then turned his attention back to the cards, trying not to be too frantic. Come on, he had to come up with something. He needed time, he needed time, he needed time—

And everything stopped.

Marvin quickly pulled his hands back. He could tell something changed. He’d tried to come up with something similar to that combination he’d made with Jackie, when everything around him had frozen... and he thought he did. The jokers were in the center, on either side of an upside-down seven of diamonds, the black eights above, the red eights below, and a black ten on either side. Nine cards... the most cards he’d used since getting them back.

As he stared at the combination he came up with, the jokers on the platform fluttered down, the light staying frozen in place even as they moved. Marvin hurried over and picked them up, putting them with the rest of their deck. He looked at the other deck laid out on the table, but decided to leave that there. He was pretty sure that disrupting the formation would cause this spell to end. So he left the room, moving as fast as he could. God, he wished he had his cane.

Out in the hallway, several guards in black were frozen in place, all facing the elevator. Marvin carefully walked around them, not wanting to risk anything. Alright... he didn’t know where Anti and Jackie were. So maybe... now that everything was frozen... he could just check everything?

He picked out the same three cards from before, lining them up on the nearest cell door. He wasn’t sure if this would work, with everything frozen. But apparently it did, as he heard the clunk of it unlocking. He opened up the door, but saw nothing inside.

This... would take a while.

———————

After a few minutes of tense waiting, Anti heard footsteps, going back and forth, left and right across the hallway. He inhaled sharply, standing at the edge of what he thought the blind spot was. Until, finally, the door opened up, and a single guard walked in, closing the door behind him.

And Anti immediately surged forward, wrapping his jacket around the guard’s neck. The guard cried out, jerking against Anti’s grip, reaching for his belt for some sort of weapon. No no no! Anti could feel him slipping out of his grip! He tried to hold on tighter, but the guard broke free, spinning around to look at him—

And then suddenly fell to the ground. Anti blinked. Somehow, the guard’s belt was now around their ankles. A gun-like weapon was on the ground next to them. And the door was open.

“...the fuck?” Anti whispered.

Then the guard started to get up again, and Anti quickly scooped up the weapon and ran out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him.

“Anti?”

Anti spun around and saw Jackie peeking out of an open door. Actually... all of the doors were open. “Uh... hey.” Anti waved.

“What’s going on?” Jackie asked.

“I’m pretty sure we’re being rescued,” Anti said. “Come on. We have to hurry!” He ran over to Jackie, grabbing his hand and pulling him after him as he ran—right? Yeah, right is a good direction—

No, wait, it’s not! The hallway turned a corner, ending in an open set of double doors, beyond which was a crowd of black-clad guards... some of which turned around to look at them as they ran up.

Anti and Jackie froze. Beyond that was the elevator—the way down and out of here. But it was blocked off. They had to come up with something.

———————

“Where are you taking these subjects?”

Jack froze, but after a moment, Aoife replied. “We’re taking them up to some tests.”

“What tests? Assigned by who?” a guard asked.

Silence. Jack’s mind was blank, and evidently, so was Aoife’s.

Then the elevator doors opened, and the group stared out at a hallway full of other guards. Many of them drew weapons, soon joined by the others in the elevator, all of them pointing the weapons at the group.

JJ froze, shaking slightly. Schneep quickly put himself in front of him protectively, glaring out at everyone.

“Next time you want to infiltrate a top-secret facility, don’t knock out cameras during your initial investigation,” one of the guards said.

“Shit,” Jack cursed. Sam had thought IRIS wouldn’t notice them taking down the cameras for a few moments! Was IRIS really that vigilant?

“Step out of the lift,” the guard said.

Before any of the group could really react though, there was a commotion over at the back of the group. Some of them glanced backwards. “They’re making a break for it!” “Grab them!” “Sedate them!”

The same guard spun back around to the group. “Step out of the lift!” they repeated.

Jack raised his hands. “A-alright, we’re stepping out. Schneep, JJ, behind us.”

“Jack, are you serious?!” Schneep hissed.

“We have a disabling signal at the ready, 1-019,” the guard said.

Schneep stiffened, fear flashing in his face. “F...fine, then.”

Jack, Aoife, Schneep, and JJ all shuffled out of the elevator. Schneep had his arm around JJ, hoping to keep him close, but JJ was standing up straight, trying to peer over the other guards towards that commotion. His eyes went wide and he gasped. Anti! Jackie! He signed.

“Get the fuck away from us!” Anti said, trying to run down the hallway, pushing Jackie in front of him. He spun around, firing the gun weapon as fast as he could—but his fingers were still injured, stiff and shooting with pain every time he moved them even a little. He managed to fire a couple darts but it wasn’t enough to stop the guards. “Jackie, run!”

But they were too weak, and there were too many guards. Both of them were soon grabbed and pulled back.

Meanwhile, the guards near the elevator turned their attention there, pointing their weapons into the seemingly empty interior. “All of you step out of the elevator,” one said firmly.

“What—we’re a-all out!” Jack protested.

“No, your invisible friends need to get out, too,” the guard said.

“Shit!” Rama cursed. The elevator doors started to close; they must’ve hit the close door button. But one of the guards pulled something off their belt and threw it into the elevator before the doors closed. A flare of bright light came from in between the closed doors, and Rama and Stacy cried out, sounding pained.

Another guard slammed on the call button until the doors opened again. Then more rushed in, grabbing the slumped-over invisible forms of Stacy and Rama, going right to them as if they could see them.

And then—then one of the doors on the hallway opened briefly before suddenly closing. The nearest guard looked at it suspiciously, then grabbed it and threw the door open. “Oh my god!” they shouted. “It’s another subject!”

“No it’s not!” A voice shouted—Marvin’s voice. “I’m not—” He yelped as the guard grabbed him, dragging him out into view.

“All of you are coming with us,” one of the guards said, pointing the weapon at him. 

“No!” Anti shouted, voice cracking. “Fuck you!” He struggled, stomping on the guards’ feet, but he didn’t make any headway. “This is our chance!”

“Aoife, do you have magic?” Jack whispered. “Spells we can use?”

“I’m not too good at combat, but I’ll try,” Aoife whispered back. She raised a hand, glowing with yellow magic—but one of the guards shot at her, wires firing out of their gun-like weapon. Blue lightning traveled down the wires as they latched onto her, and she cried out—then fell to the ground.

The guards started closing in on the group. “No! Stay back!” Schneep shouted, standing in front of everyone.

“Hey—what are you doin’?!” Marvin gasped as one of the guards started to pat him down—and then seemed to find something. “No! My cards!”

Everyone was shouting, and the guards were closing in, grabbing everyone. Schneep cried out as JJ was pulled from his grasp. Anti was cursing wildly, struggling, but the guards were stronger. Jack put a hand over his pouch, trying to keep Sam hidden.

Jameson shuddered, crouching close to the ground. A guard grabbed him, roughly pulling him to his feet. It was too much! Were their friends really going to come all this way, go to all this effort to find and rescue them, only to fail? Was he going to have a brief glimpse of freedom only to be shoved back into that empty white room?! Tears pricked at his eyes, dripping down his face as he squeezed his eyelids shut.

There had to be some way out of this. There had to be! This was going to be their only chance, he just knew it! When else would everyone be out of their cells, free to roam the hallways, untethered—untethered. They didn’t put those muffler cuffs on him. He could feel his magic.

But there were so many guards. What could he do? It had to be big! It had to be enough. He had to be enough!

Marvin screamed. JJ’s eyes snapped open, his head whipping over to look at him. Marvin had been holding tight to the cards in his hand, but now he was clutching his wrist, looking down at it in disbelief. It was bent strangely.

The fear in Jameson’s heart froze. An intense cold that spread outwards. Not numbness. But rage. Rage that burned like frostbite.

The temperature in the room suddenly, dramatically dropped. Jameson’s eyes glowed blue, covered in a frost-like film.

And then blue magic burst outwards from him.

The guards didn’t have any time to react. They were quickly covered in blue magic, frozen in place by solid ice as flakes of snow drifted through the air. His friends looked around in shock, unharmed. “JJ?” Jackie asked, pushing past the guards towards him.

Blue light and magic continued to circle Jameson as he stood up straight, shards of crystalline magic behind him, like wings framing his body. His eyes darted around, and, moving faster than anyone would’ve thought, practically skating on the blue magic that covered the ground. He grabbed Jackie and Anti, pulled them back to where Marvin was, then grabbed all three of them with magic and took them over to where Jack was. Jameson looked towards the frozen guards whose arms were out, like they were holding something. He flicked blue magic towards them, lessening some of the ice, and Stacy and Rama appeared in view, the invisibility spell suddenly dispelled.

“Jems, what’s goin’ on?” Marvin gasped.

Jameson looked towards him, eyes pure icy blue. He gestured for him to get closer.

“Um... okay?” Marvin walked over. Jameson gently took his hand, looking at the bruise already forming on his strangely-bent wrist. He waved a hand over the injury. Blue light washed over it, and Marvin’s eyes widened as he felt the cooling sensation wipe away all the pain. “O-oh. Did you... heal it?”

Jameson didn’t answer. He gathered his magic into his hands, pouring white-blue light into a whirling ball of flakes. Then he threw it up into the air. The magic burst, a miniature snowstorm engulfing the group, whiting out their vision. When it cleared... they were outside. Standing on the empty field of the compound.

And there were a ton of guards around them.

The guards yelled, pointing weapons, firing immediately, but a crystalline dome appeared around the group, completely protecting them.

“We have to get to the van!” Jack shouted. Stacy and Rama were starting to stir, but Aoife was still out cold, so he scooped her into his arms. “Its that way!” He jerked his head in the right direction.

Jameson looked the way he indicated. There were guards blocking it, and there was the wall around the compound as well.

“The nearest entrance is that way.” Jack gestured to a slightly different direction. “Can everyone walk? We need—”

Jameson pointed in the first direction. A beam of bright blue light shot out from his pointer finger, a straight line towards the wall of the compound. And then that small beam suddenly burst in size, as tall and wide as a person. The guards cried out as they were thrown to the size by the force of it. And the magic blast kept getting bigger, parts of it flaking off, a car-sized beam of snow and ice and light. Then the middle hollowed out, becoming something more like a tunnel.

“...everyone go that way, instead, then!” Jack shouted.

Jackie was crouching by Stacy and Rama, shaking them awake. As soon as they could stand, he pulled them upright. “H-hey, hi, g-good to see you, Stacy. Ramram.”

“Jackie?” Rama said, not really believing what they were seeing. They started to hug him.

“Uh—no time for a touching reunion!” Anti shouted.

“Yes, look!” Schneep pointed at the guards. They were firing all sorts of different weapons at the shield and the tunnel. “They are going to break through eventually!”

“Are they, t’ough?” Marvin muttered, glancing at Jameson.

“No time to risk it!” Anti snapped. “Run!”

Jameson immediately listened, darting forward so fast that he left a gust of wind behind him. The others followed, running at a much slower place down the tunnel he’d made.

...A tunnel which had drilled through the wall around the compound. The others gaped at the hole as they ran through it, but Jameson didn’t stop. He ran straight for the van idling nearby.

“Everyone in!” Jack shouted.

Anti took charge, pulling open all the doors so everyone else could climb in. Jackie claimed the driver’s seat, since Rama was still very disoriented. He looked at the wheel and controls with wide eyes—but he had to drive! He’s pretty sure he was the only one in a fit state to! “JJ! Get in!” He yelled.

Jameson was still staring at the wall of the compound. He gestured vaguely, indicating everyone else should get in first.

“No, you get in now!” Marvin shouted. “Aoife is unconscious, she needs—”

Marvin wasn’t able to finish, as Jameson quickly reached out to Aoife, still in Jack’s arms, and pressed his hands to her forehead. There was a flash of blue light, and Aoife was awake, gasping. “...that’ll work, I guess?” Jack said, and helped her into the last seat in the middle row before getting into the passenger seat himself. “JJ! In!”

Only then did JJ get in—though he didn’t climb in, but instead teleported onto the cupholder tray in between the driver’s and passenger’s seat. Anti reached over Aoife to pull the van door shut. “Go!”

Jackie slammed his foot on the gas. The van’s wheels spun wildly before peeling out. “I-I don’t know where to go from here!”

“Just follow that dirt road!” Jack said, pointing. “It goes straight to the highway!”

The van bumped along the road, sending the passengers inside jumping and wriggling around—except for Jameson, who remained stock still the whole time.

Nobody said a word. The tension in the air was too thick, it would have smothered any voices.

They just kept driving.

Driving quickly.

Speeding along the road.

Until they reached the highway.

Until Jackie pulled on, speeding past other cars, not daring to slow down.

Then... then the glow faded from Jameson’s eyes, the icy wings disappearing. He immediately fell backwards. Anti, sitting in the middle seat of the middle row, yelped and leaned forward to catch him. “Fuck.” He pulled JJ back into the middle row, sitting him down on the floor. “He’s... really hot, all of a sudden? Like he has a fever.”

“Jems...” Marvin whispered. “What... what was t’at?”

Schneep leaned forward from the back seat. “How did you all get out of your rooms? What happened back there?”

Stacy groaned, rubbing her head. “No idea. I didn’t know Jameson could... glow?”

“None of us did, either,” Anti muttered.

Jack glanced into the rear view mirror. “It doesn’t look like we’re being followed... but we shouldn’t go directly back to our houses, just in case. Uh... while we’re on the way to wherever we’re going, why don’t we all... talk about how that... how that went down? So that we’re all on the same page?”

“You all start, t’en,” Marvin muttered. “And remember... wherever we’re goin’, Jems needs to lie down once we get t’ere. He might even need medical help.”

“I’ll do all I can, but... clearly hospitals aren’t as safe as we think,” Jackie said.

“Jackieboy... are you alright?” Rama asked gently from the back seat.

Jackie laughed. “As alright as I can be, I think. Stressed as fuck.”

“How did you guys get captured?” Jack asked.

“How did you avoid capture?” Anti rebutted.

Sam flew out of Jack’s pouch at that, landing on the dashboard. “Yeah, it was Sam,” Jack said. “I think they knew we’d need to be out so we could rescue you.” He sighed. “I guess it worked out, in the end. But, uh... yeah. Let’s all... catch up.”

As the van sped down the highway, the group exchanged stories, sticking to the rescue. But even as they talked, some subjects remained avoided. The group on the outside didn’t ask about what IRIS had done to the others. And the others didn’t offer up an explanation for anything.

And eventually, the van fell silent, as the group drove onward to an unknown destination.

[lieutenantselnia]

I randomly felt like watching this edit again and ohh ... the feelings😭😭 This video basically carried me through my last semester and final exams at high school, I literally watched it multiple times every day (I swear a couple hundred views are from me alone), on the bus ride to school in the morning, when I got home again, before going to bed, just in between because I felt like it ... Internally I wasn't doing that well at the time, and it just brought me so much comfort. Also I'm pretty sure it plays a significant role in how I fell more and more in love with 2nd Dimension Heinz💕 This edit just means so much to me and I love it so much <3

[asofterepilogue]

Qu’est ce que vous trouvez à melechon ? Et qu’est ce que vous pouvez critiquer chez lui ? (Ce n’est pas une critique, c’est juste que je suis jeune et que je ne connais pas bien son parcours) qu’est-ce qui fait de lui un grand homme politique ? Merciii

C'est difficile de décrire ce que je pense de Mélenchon sans parler aussi de la dimension émotions plus personnelle 😅 Est-ce que tu étais assez grande en 2012 pour suivre la campagne ?

J'avais 17 ans, mes parents avaient voté Arlette Laguiller toute ma vie sans jamais militer et sans vraiment y croire, ma seule éducation politique c'était mon expérience personnelle de fille d'immigré pauvre et les discussions très générales de ma famille. Quand on a allumé la télé ce printemps là et qu'on a écouté Mélenchon parler avec autant de conviction de ce que pourraient être nos vies, ça a été une révélation. Il y avait quelqu'un, quelqu'un qui était même parfois pris au sérieux, qui dénonçait ce que je haïssais et proposait de le changer. Qui le disait avec passion, sans faire les simagrées du PS, sans refuser de prendre position, en argumentant rigoureusement, parfois avec des références à des livres que je pouvais lire, souvent sans insulter l'intelligence de son public, en faisant des liens que d'autres avaient sans doute fait avant mais jamais là où je pouvais les entendre. J'avais toujours connu la gauche faiblarde, traîtresse, dont on ne pouvait attendre qu'un sursis. Pour moi c'était vote "utile" pour le PS et affiliés, ou vote complètement inutile mais cohérent pour l'extrême-gauche, sans autre possibilité, sans espoir. Et là il y avait autre chose. C'est pas par conviction que l'autre flanby a balbutié son fameux "mon véritable adversaire, c'est la finance" - c'est parce que l'aile gauche de la gauche lui soufflait dans le cou. J'ai entrevu autre chose pour la première fois, et un autre chose qui semblait même assez directement atteignable. J'ai imprimé des tracts en douce avec l'imprimante familiale et séché des cours pour les distribuer - gros acte de rébellion pour moi à l'époque. J'étais sûre que ça allait arriver, en 2012 ou la fois d'après, ça ne pouvait qu'arriver.

Je ne vais pas faire semblant que tout ça n'influence pas mon opinion de Mélenchon. Évidemment que ce souvenir m'encourage toujours à être un peu plus indulgente.

Mais je crois aussi sincèrement que le projet qu'il défend est un projet qui nous rapprocherait d'un monde plus juste.

Impossible de séparer Mélenchon du LFI, alors parlons de ça. Je ne vais pas refaire le programme, mais c'est le seul qui propose une alternative avec un plan d'action concret et plus ou moins immédiat. Et j'ai peut-être tort mais, si LFI ne propose pas en soi de sortir du capitalisme, j'ai toujours pensé que sortir du capitalisme serait plus facile avec le modèle que propose LFI qu'avec le modèle actuel. J'ai parfois même encore la naïveté de penser que c'est le but final, juste à horizon très lointain.

Toutes les critiques que je pourrais faire sur Mélenchon ou LFI, je peux les faire sur la plupart des autres personnalités et partis politiques.

Je trouve leur ligne sur les droits des femmes très faible (mon plus gros problème ; malheureusement pas plus faible qu'ailleurs), j'aimerais qu'ils se battent ouvertement pour la mise à mort du capitalisme (comme je le disais, certaines de leurs positions me laissent penser qu'ils n'y sont pas opposés, mais si c'est le cas il faut être plus clair, et si ce n'est pas le cas c'est une déception ; mais là encore, à moins de regarder vers l'extrême-gauche, ils remettent plus en cause le système capitaliste que les autres partis), et je pense qu'ils passent un peu trop de temps sur certains sujets qui n'ont pas lieu d'être ou qui n'aident pas sur un plan purement stratégique (mais c'est aussi le climat actuel qui veut ça).

En ce qui concerne Mélenchon lui-même, il s'emporte parfois trop. C'est la principale critique qu'on peut lui faire, et qui lui est faite d'ailleurs à longueur de journée. Mais est-ce que c'est le plus important ? Lors de ses interventions, il est la plupart du temps posé malgré les interruptions intempestives et la mauvaise foi chronique de ses interlocuteurs. N'importe qui finirait par s'énerver !

Quant à ses "phrases polémiques", que dire ? On lui a récemment reproché d'avoir dit que l'antisémitisme est résiduel en France. Sans rentrer dans le commentaire de texte, les mots qu'il a employés exactement sont "l'antisémitisme reste résiduel". "Reste" ; or il n'a jamais, à ma connaissance, nié l'Holocauste, donc le sens le plus probable de "résiduel" ici est bien "qui persiste de quelque chose en dépit de tentatives faites pour l'éliminer". Étant donné l'autre sens du mot et la malhonnêteté ambiante, il aurait dû choisir un autre mot, mais de là à utiliser cette phrase comme preuve d'un antisémitisme débridé... On sait tous de toute façon que le problème ici ce n'est pas un quelconque antisémitisme à gauche, mais le refus de LFI de soutenir à 100% le génocide qu'Israël mène contre les Palestiniens.

La vérité c'est que même les sorties les plus stupides de Mélenchon passeraient inaperçues dans la bouche d'une autre personnalité politique. Le problème ce n'est pas vraiment ce qu'il dit, ou comment il le dit, mais c'est qu'il est le chef de file du parti qui a le plus de chances d'ébranler la dictature de la bourgeoisie en France. S'il se retirait, la prochaine tête de liste serait accueillie exactement de la même manière.

Ni LFI ni Mélenchon lui-même ne sont parfaits, mais si l'on admet qu'ils sont généralement de bonne foi, pourquoi ne pas essayer de les pousser à mieux au lieu de tout condamner ? Ils ont déjà changé d'avis sur certains sujets, ils peuvent le faire encore. Il y a des différences entre le monde qu'ils dessinent et celui que je désire, mais ils ne sont pas si incompatibles qu'il faille tout balayer.

Bref, je n'aime pas trop parler de "grand homme politique" pour plein de raisons (ça a aucun sens, on y met tout et rien, etc.), mais on peut lui reconnaître qu'il n'a pas vacillé malgré un acharnement politique et médiatique de plus en plus intolérable, qu'il a redonné de l'espoir à une grande partie des électeurs de gauche qui ne croyaient plus (2012, j'étais loin d'être la seule, et après la catastrophe Hollande encore plus), et qu'il est vraiment très bon orateur.