#dr strange is a wizard I guess

[kayjayo1227]

I had a dumb thought and I drew it

#I drew this is like an hour #low effort #been thinking about this for over a week #don’t ask why #dr strange is a wizard I guess #what happens when Bucky discovers dnd #do you think he plays with sam’s nephews #sambucky #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws fanart #bucky barnes #marvel fanart

[cainluvr69]

Main Story 2 Chapter 18 - Nova's Testing Ground

1 - A Lonely Pit

Nero: Heath, are you okay…?!

Heathcliff: Yes! How about her?!

Nero: She only passed out. What the hell is this place…

Heathcliff: …Nero, did you notice? We're walking on top of…

Nero: Yeah. On a ton of mana stones. A huge number of wizards turned to stone here.

Nova: That's correct.

Heathcliff & Nero: …!!

Nova: This was my true testing ground, you see. For these.

Nero: Huh?! What's this feeling…?!

Heathcliff: …! What's that…?!

Nero: Heath, move…!

✦✧☾✧✦

Rutile: …It feels like we're seeing other people less and less.

Isaac: … Maybe.

Rutile: I don't think Dr. Figaro would've taken Mitile somewhere like this, but…

Isaac: …

Rutile: Well, I guess I'm a bit miffed. He asked you to walk around with me so that he had a lot of time to talk with Mitile, didn't he?

Isaac: He did. Something like that.

Rutile: Isaac, can I ask you a bit of a strange question?

Isaac: …Sure.

Rutile: Have you ever eaten a mana stone before?

Isaac: …

Rutile: I… I'm sorry. It really was too weird of a question. I didn't mean to make you look so startled…

Isaac: You noticed.

Rutile: Huh?

Isaac: You noticed, but you still came along quietly with me?

Rutile: Umm… I'm very sorry. I don't think I did notice. I'm not sure what it is you're talking about. Could I say a bit more about why I wanted to ask you something like that?

Isaac: … Sure.

Rutile: You see, my younger brother and I don't agree on the subject of eating…or not eating mana stones. So I wanted to hear what you thought as well, Isaac.

Isaac: …Why.

Rutile: Because you're a wizard…

Isaac: … I've eaten mana stones before.

Rutile: I see… Could you tell me more about it? But if you don't want to, I'll of course accept that.

Isaac: It's fine.

Rutile: How… How does it feel?

Isaac: …

Rutile: I… I don't know how to put it into words, but it seems like such a frightening, terrible thing… But Mithra's opinion is the complete opposite. …And that would make me the cold and cruel one… …Ah, am I… Am I overstepping things by talking about this sort of thing? I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable.

Isaac: No… It's fine. You didn't ask something bad.

Rutile: Thank goodness… I'm so relieved to hear that.

Isaac: …Haha. Ask me anything you want. I'll tell you anything.

Rutile: Then, once again… How does it feel?

Isaac: Hmm… It's good. It's all mine… It's nice.

Rutile: By "nice", do you mean… "Oh, you're so kind!" kind of nice, or more…calm and relaxing?

Isaac: There are times when it makes me proud, too. But usually…it's calming.

Rutile: Can you tell me why?

Isaac: Because it feels like I've become what I wanted to…?

Rutile: I see…?

Isaac: But… Once I'm done feeling nice, I start getting frustrated again after a while. Like it's still not enough…

Rutile: …Not enough? What's…

Isaac: …I don't know. I haven't taken enough…?

Rutile: …Taken?

Isaac: Yeah.

Rutile: Why are you taking it?

Isaac: …… Because I don't have anything.

Rutile: …

Isaac: I don't have anything. If I want to feel good, I have to take good things from somewhere else. But, since I'm already empty… Anything that I take ends up turning into nothing. Good things disappear. So I get frustrated and start wanting more again. I'm a hole that can't be filled in. A lonely pit other things fall into. That's why… Tonight, I'm going to use you to fill myself in.

Rutile: …… Use me?

Isaac: That's right.

Rutile: By being together with me?

Isaac: …

Rutile: Like doing things to kill time together? I think that's an…interesting way of putting it. You're lonely, but… Still charming.

Isaac: …

Rutile: Thank you very much for teaching me in your own words what your loneliness means to you. A lonely pit that takes things for its own, only for them to disappear… I don't think I'll be able to forget that.

Isaac: I… I didn't teach you anything. I'm stupid, and…you're a teacher.

Rutile: Oh, don't say that! It's true that I'm a schoolteacher, but everything in this world has taught me something. The people who have experienced things I have not, those who have felt things I have not, animals, nature, everything… All of them have taught me many things. And you are another of them, Isaac. Please, let me talk with you more.

Isaac: …

Lennox: Rutile!

Rutile: Ah… It's Leno. Leno!

Lennox: I'm glad I found you. Mitile and Dr. Figaro are already back at the manor.

Rutile: Is that what happened? Thank goodness.

Lennox: We need to hurry back, too. Let's go as soon as we can.

Rutile: So that we can go to Eastern Country together?

Lennox: Yes. And this is…

Rutile: This is Isaac. I believe he's acquaintanced with Dr. Figaro and Mithra.

Lennox: With Dr. Figaro and Mithra… I'm Lennox. Good to meet you.

Isaac: I'm Isaac.

Rutile: Isaac, thank you so much for searching with me.

Isaac: Did something happen?

Rutile: Just something a little worrying. We need to return home now and start getting ready…

Isaac: I'll help you.

Rutile & Lennox: …

Isaac: I… I have stronger magic than you two. I can help Lord Figaro.

Lennox: But…

Rutile: Are you sure?

Isaac: Of course.

Rutile: Leno…

Lennox: …… (This man has the eyes of someone accustomed to killing other people.) (But he knelt in front of Lord Figaro. He'll probably be obedient to him.) (And if Lord Faust's group encountered Nova, then we'll need every bit of firepower we can get.) Alright. Please come with us, then.

Isaac: Yeah.

Rutile: It's good to be working with you, Isaac!

✦✧☾✧✦

The golden moon above us painted our surroundings with soft light. Saku-chan sat on my shoulders, its eyes seeming oddly fixed on the person in front of me. Rather than it seeming on guard, it was more like it was trying to ignore him, and its attention being grabbed anyways. The young man in front of me had the same face as Murr. But the look on that face couldn't have been more different from the Murr I knew. It was like looking into the eyes of a cat that knew everything there was to know about the galaxy, and he smiled a genuine but clever smile… He was a shard of Murr's soul, brought into human form by the <Great Calamity>… A materialization of a person.

Murr: Good evening, Master Sage.

I was startled the first time I encountered one, but by now I've encountered several shards of Murr's soul. Each shard was different, so it wasn't like I was meeting the same person again and again. I knew that, but it still felt like I was meeting, parting, and meeting again with the same person, over and over and over. I wonder if that's why I felt so calm when I saw him for the first time in a long time tonight. It was like seeing an old friend… Like I'd caught up with a traveler who'd left before me. Murr's soul had shattered to pieces because he got too close to the <Great Calamity>. Which meant that, in a way, he was the person who had come closest to the mystery at the center of this world.

Akira: …I thought I would see you tonight. You were the one who wrote in the research log, weren't you?

Murr nodded, and then he began a walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens. I followed after, a little more slowly. The trees' leaves and flowers danced in the breeze, as though welcoming us.

Murr: Yes, that's correct. I recorded very important variations in the subjects of observation here that the researchers themselves had missed. Discovery, or noticing, or however you'd like to call it, is a funny thing. From the moment a discovery is made, one's perception of the world completely changes. Even though the world itself is still the same, with just a single change of viewpoint, you've traveled to a completely new one. Just like you have, Master Sage.

Murr turned on his heel to face me before smoothly extending a hand towards me. I glanced down, startled, and saw a large tree root creeping over the ground. It was swollen in places, to such a degree that it could almost look like a staircase.

Murr: This way. Please, watch your feet.

I took Murr's hand. For a moment, I got scared that he was going to vanish, leaving only his gloves behind, but… He simply smiled at me, the perfect image of a considerate gentleman, and escorted me down the steps.

2 - His Studies' End

Nocturnal birds hooted softly in the Royal Botanical Gardens. I stepped over the large tree root. White, pink, and violet flowers perfumed the dark night with their lofty, phantasmagoric scents. I caught a whiff of cold steel and stone as well. It was as if I was breathing in the scent of that blue galaxy enshrouding the stars.

Akira: Um…

Murr: What is it?

Akira: Where is everyone?

Murr: Right by you. If they sense any major changes, they'll show up here in a heartbeat.

Akira: Major changes?

Murr: I cast a little hoodwinking charm. They've been deluded by my magic. They're on the hunt with your phantom right now. If they sense any disturbances in the world, they'll realize that the Royal Botanical Gardens they're investigating are a forgery.

Once he'd stepped over the tree root and onto level ground, Murr ever-so-courteously let go of my fingers.

Akira: Where's your physical form… the fragment of Murr's soul? It's a pretty purple-colored shard, right? I've seen them a few times before.

Murr smiled michievously and pointed to a tall tree behind me.

Murr: It's in that rounded tree hollow over there. It used to be elsewhere, but a squirrel moved it. I'd never been in a squirrel's cheek pouches before. I think I'll collect these experiences in a book and publish them someday.

I spontaneously laughed at Murr's jest. Seeing this, Murr narrowed his marble-like eyes and laughed in good cheer. It might've just been presumption on my part, but I sensed amiability from Murr in that moment. His smile was always dispassionate, but just for the briefest instant… A feeling of happiness at being able to make me laugh escaped into a relaxed smile. So I thought.

Murr: Heh heh…

Murr's smile immediately regained its air of pretense. Maybe I'd just mistaken it. I felt a bit awkward. I was filled with a strange, unsettled feeling. Much like the feeling I'd had when I couldn't hold Saku-chan, despite it taking the form of the cats I loved so much.

Akira: W-Why did you enchant everyone?

Murr: I wanted to be alone with you.

Akira: Is there something that would be inconvenient for anyone else to hear…?

Murr: Plenty, naturally. But that bears little relevance to why I'm monopolizing you. This garden is my favorite. Wonderful, isn't it? Approximately 5000 species of plants are grown and maintained here. Do you like plants, Master Sage?

Akira: …Well… I don't know much about them, but looking at them is calming.

Murr: I'm glad to hear it. I wanted to show off the plants here to you. Just like gems and ores, plants are the very world itself. Welcome to the world I loved, Master Sage.

As Murr offered a greeting, the trees swayed behind him. Wind and rain had nurtured these flowers which sprouted from the soil of ages. From that perspective, the plants gathered here were themselves much like wizards. Wizards beloved by the spirits of soil. Just what is a wizard? What is the <Great Calamity>?

Akira: Murr… I have a lot I want to ask you…

Murr: Go ahead, ask away.

This was the chance of a lifetime, I quickly realized. I frantically called up every question I had to mind. But then Murr shrugged his shoulders.

Murr: …Is what I'd like to say, but when my soul shattered, my knowledge seems to have scattered apart as well. My knowledge and what the past Murr knew don't fully overlap. After all, the present me doesn't even know where Murr's laboratories were.

Akira: Murr's laboratories?

Murr: Yes. Murr had hidden laboratories all over the world. Were you aware, Master Sage? Murr once angered a Northern Wizard and consequently had his laboratory destroyed.

Akira: His laboratory was destroyed…!? That's terrible…

I felt bad for Murr, but I didn't wonder the reasons. Murr's personality and speech were rather…pointed. Sharp. Even if he lacked any animosity for the person he was talking to, even if he loved the person he was talking to. Even his longtime friend Shylock met him with scathing sarcasm and almost reproachful questions sometimes. He must have pissed people off on a regular basis. Nevertheless, I still felt bad for him. Because he loved his research.

Murr: How kind of you, Master Sage. However, Murr was the one who started it. He brought it upon himself. Still, losing the research results which he had painstakingly accumulated for so long made Murr more cautious. After that, Murr set up his laboratories where nobody else knew about them, and cast sealing magic on them just to be extra safe. He also split them up by subject or date and scattered them across the map. That way, he wouldn't lose all his research data at once.

Akira: Split up so he wouldn't lose them all at once…

Murr: Yes.

Akira: Just like you.

Murr blinked in surprise. He glanced at me as if to ask what I meant by that. The elation of stumping the famed greatest philosopher of the era and the pressure of finding my next words to say made me strangely electrified, and I could hardly breathe.

Akira: Uh… Er, well… because your soul was broken apart and scattered too. All the fragments of Murr I've met so far have felt somewhat distinct from each other. So I thought this was a similar case.

Murr placed his finger to his lips and lowered his gaze as if lost in thought.

Murr: I see… An interesting thought.

Akira: (He complimented me. That makes me a little happy.)

I felt more positive. Murr continued to ruminate, staying completely still. The night breeze blew through the trees. I considered just waiting like this, but instead spoke cautiously.

Akira: Um…

Murr: My apologies. We were in the middle of a conversation, weren't we.

Akira: Same here, sorry. Can I speak to you?

Murr: Go ahead, Master Sage.

Akira: What kind of things were in Murr's laboratories? If we found them, would we learn the mystery behind why the <Great Calamity> got stronger or how to heal damage from the Calamity?

Murr: By "damage from the Calamity," you mean bizarre phenomena like the fragments of my soul taking physical form.

Akira: Yes. It's a lot of trouble for everyone, so I was wondering if there's a way to cure it…

Murr: "The mystery behind the <Great Calamity> is hidden within Murr's laboratories." There's a very high likelihood of that, but it's accompanied by three dangers at least.

Akira: Three dangers?

Murr: The first: I don't believe Murr would establish his laboratories in any place that was easy to approach. It would be dangerous traversing there. The second: It's likely that the seals on the laboratories are equipped with offensive or self-destruct spells. If you try to force it open, either the person who undoes the seal or the sealed contents themselves will be destroyed. The third: This is the most grievous. Not all that sleeps within Murr's laboratories is benign.

Akira: What do you mean by that?

Murr: Murr held curiosity for a great many things. When he was researching one matter, he'd occasionally come across a new matter of interest. One quest of knowledge led to another quest… …and sometimes resulted in exceptionally hazardous creations.

I felt a shiver of apprehension. The Magical Technology which Murr had invented had already turned the world on its head. Yet there were still other perils to beware of…

Murr: Then there were things that he created, then grew tired of, forgot about, and abandoned.

I felt like I was at my wit's end. Even if we did locate and unseal Murr's laboratories, there was no telling what would pop out of them. It was like a Pandora's Box.

Akira: So this hazardous research that Murr abandoned… do you have any idea as to what the really dangerous stuff was?

Murr: Yes.

Akira: So you do…

Murr: There was one project he stopped partway through because it was exceedingly ethically unsound and could've potentially upset the whole world balance. He didn't even tell Shylock about it. It was exactly the kind of research topic he'd find abhorrent.

This preface alone made me pale in fright. It was horrifying just to hear about.

Akira: …So what exactly was it…?

Inside the garden soaked in moonlight, he told me without the hint of a smile.

Murr: Artificial Wizards. Wizards synthesized by Murr Hart.

3 - Demon in the Underground Waterway

Shino: …What is that thing?!

It was uncanny like nothing I'd ever seen before. It wasn't a human nor wizard nor ghost, nor anything else that existed in this world.

Faust: (Is that a wizard?! A wizard's focus?! I've never felt this kind of presence before!)

It hung in there in the darkness like a spirit of the dead. It looked like a distorted version of a human skeleton in constant, twitching motion. What could have been ribs were warped out of shape. What Nero had said suddenly came to mind. Right now, he was unconscious and laid over the top of my broom, his shallow breaths the only proof that he hadn't already died yet. …The light comes when the ribs open. Right after that, at that thing's center… A blue light had shone out from inside the riblike parts of that thing.

Faust: Shino, run…!

Sparks of light, far colder and far more radiant than that of my mirror… Spilled out from inside of it. Within its twisted ribs, a glimmer of light pulsed like a heart, growing bigger and bigger, until… A thin bundle of light shot out, a line of pale blue lightning.

Faust: <Salliuqnart Mullcredo>

Shino: <Matzah Sadipus>!

We said our spells at almost the same moment, avoiding the pale lightning while protecting our unconscious companion. But the lightning was faster than we could've ever anticipated, and it was able to sustain itself for even longer. It sliced through the waterway's stone wall with all the effort it took to cut through paper, chasing after Shino and the girl he was protecting.

Faust: Shino…!

Shino: …!

The light tore through Shino's fluttering cape. At the same moment, a roar reverberated through the cave.

Faust: …!

The light that was trying to shred Shino to ribbons suddenly changed directions, tracing up into the ceiling before flickering out. I swallowed down my anxious breaths and whirled around. When I did, I saw something leap out towards the demon that had been hiding in this underground waterway.

It was an elegant black panther. Its striking blue eyes flashed as it dug into the demon's back.

Shino: Heath…!

That was what Shino called the panther. The waterway demon held up one twisted, clawed hand, and it made no noise to cue it slamming that same hand down. The panther hit the wall hard, but it was back on its feet in moments, kicking off the water towards the demon. It knew no fear.

Shino: Heath…!

Faust: Shino! Grab Heath with your magic! You need to get going ahead of me!

Shino: What about you?!

Faust: I'm going to buy you as much time as I can by blocking its path. Can I leave Nero to you, too?!

Shino: Got it. …Heath?!

Even during those few moments we were talking, the panther kept leaping at the demon no matter how many times it was knocked away. I didn't know why. But I was smiling despite myself.

Faust: You've got quite the brave master.

Shino: …gh…

Shino's breath was shaky, his lips pressed in a thin line. He nodded slightly, trying to hide his face. He gripped his scythe, and when he lifted his head, he was the same Shino he always was.

Shino: Heath, you're coming with me. <Matzah Sadipus>!

Shino recited his spell, and an unseen hand picked the panther up into the air. But the panther resisted violently. It tore through Shino's magic, jumping back down to the waterway floor. And then, the same as it had been, it ran through the waterway and leapt at the demon.

Shino: You're so stubborn…! Well, I knew that, but…!!

This time, Shino's magic bound Heath as tightly as he could. But the proud panther was furious--it needed to make sure its prey was brought down by its own hand. So I held up my mirror, cutting between the waterway demon and the panther.

Faust: I'm taking over for you.

The demon had started gathering light in its chest again.

Faust: Hurry, Shino! <Salliuqnart Mullcredo>!

Shino: Please, Heath…! …gh, Heath…!

I wondered if Shino's voice would reach him. But, suddenly, the panther stopped fighting against him. It wasn't like it had been forced into it by magic. Instead, it turned and ran to Shino's side, accepting that they were going to go together now.

Shino: Let's go!

I brought my mirror back where it belonged, listening to their retreating footsteps. If I took a direct hit from those glimmers of light, it would be fatal. I readied myself, holding the demon's reflection in my mirror.

Faust: (There's no way to beat this thing and protect Shino and the others at the same time.) (For now, I need to stop its movements, find the spacial distortion, and escape.) (I need to be able to focus to find the distortion. And if I don't have enough time…)

I closed my eyes and recited my spell.

Faust: <Salliuqnart Mullcredo>

✦✧☾✧✦

??? Someone help! Please…!

Bradley: In here. Let's go.

Mithra: On my way.

✦✧☾✧✦

Bradley: …Lessee… Is this where the screams were coming from…?

Painting Snow: So it would seem. If nothing else, we have certainly found a creepy atmosphere for ourselves…

Painting White: It's quite a mess in here… But it seems to be a rather large mansion…

Bradley: Instead of a mansion… Ain't this more of a theater?

Painting White: A theater… Yes, certainly.

Painting Snow: What's this, what's this? …something something playhouse… It's written right here that it's a playhouse.

Mithra: What is that? Ah… Someone's head is falling down.

Painting Snow & White: Huh?!

Mithra: …Oh, I was wrong. It was just a doll's head.

Painting Snow & White: You scared us…

Bradley: And this is the body. It's holdin' a welcome sign.

Mithra: It certainly welcomed us with its freshly severed head.

Painting Snow: My, how frightening…

Painting White: My, how ominous…

Bradley: Don't worry. There's nothin' scarier than you guys here.

Painting Snow: That's not true!

Painting White: We're adorable!

Bradley: …!

Painting Snow and White: Kyaa!

Mithra: The sound came from over there. Let's go.

Bradley: Yeah. …Hm? That's further into the first floor… I think someone's gettin' chased.

4 - Another Threat

Sylves: …kh, haah, haah…! What was that?! I followed Dorothy's tracks all the way to this rotten theater and this is what I get… Eek…! Wh… Who are you?! Are you a wizard? I--I'm a wizard too, so… No… Uwaaaah…!

Bradley: <Adnopotensum>

Painting Snow: Mithra! Take it down!

Mithra: I know that. You don't have to say anything.

Painting White: Bradley, attend to her!

Sylves: ….gh…sniffle…

Bradley: Hey, you okay?!

Sylves: …gh, yes… Sniff… Who are you…?

Bradley: The name's Bradley Bain. You?

Sylves: …ah…I'm Sylves…

Bradley: Tonight's a real disaster, ain't it, Sylves?

Sylves: But thanks to your bullet, I'm not dead… …If you hadn't hit it, I'd be stone by now. …sniff… …Thank you, Bradley…

Bradley: Don't be too quick on that gratitude, girl. That wound might not be fatal, but it's still pretty bad. Once we finish up with that guy, we'll take you somewhere you can get proper medical attention. Do you know what it is? Is it someone's focus?

Sylves: …I don't know… It's like automata… It's like some kind of doll.

Bradley: …A doll…

Sylves: …kh, sniffle… Y…you people should run too… That thing is too much…

Bradley: Haha. Don't you worry your pretty little head. No matter how beefy a doll it might be, if it's Mithra of the North's prey, then…

Mithra: …gh…

Painting Snow: Mithra!

Painting White: Mithra dear!

Bradley: ……

Mithra: …gh, cough…

Bradley: You're kidding me…

✦✧☾✧✦

I kept my impatience in check and fixed my posture, aiming my rifle again. Right before my eyes was the Northern wizard Mithra, grabbing one of his shoulders and clearly just as shocked as I was. Crimson blood oozed from between his long fingers. It wasn't a human or a wizard that had injured him. It was that thing floating in the air, that giant doll. Its head was twice the size of Mithra's, and its huge, clawed hands were easily big enough to catch him just by wrapping one of them around his chest. That said, how big it was didn't mean a damn thing to us. We've all already faced whole mountains of massive magical lifeforms. And yet Mithra, who had slaughtered those mountains of magical beasts so easily, had been injured. The reality of what I was seeing chilled me to the bone. The twin geezers were thinkin' the same thing as me. I could see them in their picture frame, eyes wide, breath caught in their throats.

Mithra: ……

As for the Mithra in question, he was staring at the blood on the palm of the hand he'd been holding over his injury. He blinked a couple times, as if trying to be sure he was actually bleedin'. And then he casually brushed off one of his shoulders, like it wasn't that big of a deal to him.

Mithra: Ah… It seems I got a bit dirty.

The bloodstain had vanished by the next time I blinked. Like he didn't want to acknowledge what it meant that he'd been injured. Normally I was the kind of guy who'd be willing to accept that kind of gesture, the Northern pride of it all, but I was so worked up right now I forgot to be nice about this kind of thing.

Bradley: No, you just got hit. Are you not taking this seriously? Are you spacin' out and not paying attention?

Mithra: Of course I am.

A muscle in Mithra's forehead twitched, annoyed. The crystal skull that was his magical focus floated in the air just above his palm.

Mithra: Please do not interfere. It will be over in five counts.

The twins and I all nodded. We were takin' this real seriously. Mithra faced that stupid big doll, and the three of us were gonna be watchin' his back.

Mithra: <Arthim>

As he chanted his spell, Mithra made a gallant flourish with one hand. Mithra's crystal skull moved in perfect time with him. It stopped over Mithra's head, not quite centered, and then opened its big ol' jaw. Pale sparks gathered inside its mouth, flaring up into cold, cold flames. The stupid big doll's ribs opened wide, and blue flickers of light started to gather in its chest just the same way. Mithra was faster than it, though. Overpoweringly cold flames rolled out of the skull's mouth. Rather than callin' them flames, maybe I should be saying it was more like a terrible blizzard. If you took this point blank, you wouldn't even leave ashes behind. But before those pale flames could connect, the doll leapt away with all the grace of a trained dancer. The blue light had filled up its ribcage, pressing against its bones as if it were about to burst, and it still was able to jump over Mithra's head like it was nothing. It had taken Mithra's back in a single, perfect movement. My body reacted before my head could--my finger was already on my rifle's trigger.

Mithra: I believe I told you not to interfere.

Mithra yelled that at me and I was gonna ask where the hell he was looking, but then he turned and kicked with one of his long legs. From the spot where he kicked all the way to that stupid huge asshole of a doll got frozen. The doll's attention was pulled away from what was going on in its chest. The sparks of light that were overflowing from its ribs pierced through the theater roof instead of any of us. It carved a huge crevice out of the ceiling, and rubble rained down on us.

Painting Snow & White: Cough! Cough!

Mithra thrust his hand into the doll's hood, where its head should have been, and he seemed puzzled by the fact that there wasn't actually anything in there.

Mithra: What's wrong with this thing? There's no inner body. …!

The doll's massive claws grabbed Mithra by the face. His green eyes, usually passive and calm, narrowed in shock. It's been a damn long time since the last time I saw Mithra's face twist in pain. This time I aimed my gun, carefully lining up the sights, and put my finger to the trigger.

Mithra: …tsk, Bradley!

Bradley: Sorry, brother. You hit five ages ago. I'm stepping in as backup!

But the next moment, I felt something dangerous behind me. The stage beneath my feet started to rumble. Half a second later, a pale streak of light cut through the place where I'd been standing. But I was down on the ground, my rifle at the ready--still, my eyes widened when I saw what was there. There was another one of those stupid huge dolls. I grinned despite myself. I was feelin' downright festive with all the murderous intent floatin' through the air--not least from myself. I stood up, not taking my eyes off them.

Bradley: Things are really gettin' fun now, ain't they…

I felt Mithra's presence at my back. He must've gotten away from the claws while I was distracted. We faced our respective dolls, back to back.

Mithra: I wasn't able to kill it in five counts, but… I'll still kill it faster than you.

Bradley: Oh, sure. Wanna bet on it?

It'd been a long time since either of us had prey that could put up a fight. My whole body felt electrified--I was tense, sure, but I was feelin' absolutely exhilarated, too. I didn't know what was goin' on, but I could feel my blood heatin' up as I stared down this unknown threat. We kicked off from the stage at the same time.

✦✧☾✧✦

Mitile: It's Rutile! They're back!

Figaro: …I'm feeling more than just Rutile and Leno. Is that…

Rutile: We're home! I'm so sorry, Mitile. We must've passed you.

Mitile: Welcome home, Rutile! I, um…

Rutile: I know. Don't worry about it. Let's talk things through another time, alright? Have you started preparing for our departure?

Mitile: Yes! But please check things over just in case.

Rutile: Alright. To our rooms we go!

Figaro: …Looks like everything's been all patched up between them, Leno.

Lennox: Looks like.

Figaro: And you brought a guest, didn't you.

Lennox: He said he knows you. He also said he wanted to lend a hand.

Isaac: Lord Figaro…

Figaro: ……

Isaac: Dr. Figaro. Figaro.

Figaro: Welcome, Isaac. Could you sit here for a moment?

Isaac: Here?

Figaro: Yes. Just like that. I'll go make some tea. Leno, could you help me out?

Lennox: …Okay.

5 - A Sincere Heart

Figaro: Why did you bring him to the manor? You should know how strong Isaac's magic is.

Lennox: I wasn't sure if I should at first, but he's an acquaintance of yours.

Figaro: Shouldn't you know better than to think that any of my acquaintances aren't going to be dangerous? I would've thought a former soldier would be more wary.

Lennox: …

Figaro: You're letting the situation in the East cloud your judgment. That's not like you. Pull yourself together. Isaac is a very dangerous wizard.

Lennox: If he's so dangerous, then why are you treating him like a friend?

Figaro: Because he's dangerous. I do the same thing with Oz.

Lennox: Lord Oz is the same as Isaac? Is that really what you think of them?

Figaro: Leno.

Lennox: That's not true. That's why you're confused right now. You're getting confused by your own words…

Figaro: What are you talking about? In any case, we need to get rid of Isaac…

Lennox: He said he wanted to be of use to you. He wants to be with you. Please, let him. If you don't have any intention of listening to him, then there's not a shred of compassion still in your heart!

Figaro: Le…

Lennox: You're always like this! You acted like you were his teacher, and then you abandoned him! You always decide that you're all alone, and decide to cut people off without caring about how they feel about it. And that doesn't do anything other than hurt them and yourself…

Figaro: I want to save Isaac! And I felt the same way about Faust, too! But…

Isaac: Lord Figaro.

Figaro & Lennox: ……

Isaac: Are you mad at each other because of me?

Figaro: No, this is just…

Lennox: It started that way, but it was more of a long-standing difference of opinion blowing up…

Figaro: Lennox.

Lennox: Yes. I will be quiet.

Isaac: I'm sorry. I stepped in without permission.

Figaro: It's fine… Don't worry about it.

Isaac: I can help you. It would make me happy to help you.

Figaro: Thank you… But why? Why would you want to help someone like me?

Isaac: Because you praised me. You've always been the only person who ever smiled and told me I did good when I did something. I wanted to always stay with you, but eventually, even I could tell you thought I wasn't someone you wanted to be with. And then I started thinking I didn't want to be with you either, so I got angry and lost my patience with you… But the truth is that I want to help you. I want to make you happy.

Figaro: …I see… Thank you, Isaac. I've never thought I didn't want to be with you. I know that probably sounds like a lie, but it's true. But I just couldn't handle what was going on… And I became so disappointed in myself that I became a cruel creature, didn't I. Lennox. I need to apologize to you, too. I said too much.

Lennox: I should apologize, too.

Figaro: … I thought that we should wait until dawn before heading to Eastern Country, but… If we're going to be waiting around in this kind of mood, I'd rather head out now and let you yell at me later.

Lennox: I agree.

Isaac: What should I do?

Figaro: …… Come with us.

Isaac: Understood.

✦✧☾✧✦

To be honest, I was still a bit unsure. Any wizard from any country would want to go home and rest before going out to do their duty. I was pretty sure he was only going to get mad at us for rushing over the instant we got a message from his familiar. He'd just feel sorry for troubling us and get all down on himself about it. He'd just resent me for treating him like he can't handle himself. Still, Isaac's words had resonated somewhere in my heart. "Because you praised me." How blunt. Not a trace of ulterior motive or dishonesty. But I think it's fine that he said what was in his heart the way it existed in his heart. Lennox is worried. And Mitile gets along well with the Eastern wizards… No, I need to say it properly. I'm worried. I want to have any excuses prepared for when he says "You're lying" or "I don't believe you" or "Why are you only saying that now?" and condemns me for it all. Maybe I should just be upfront about it and prepare myself for when he lashes out. I don't have much time left, after all. I don't want to make any more unpleasant memories. I don't want to be clinging to my regrets when my time's finally up. But saying I don't want to make any more unpleasant memories is, well… I think he'll just avoid me even if I try to make happier ones. Even though my hands are still warm.

Figaro: Well then… Mitile, Rutile, you're sure about coming with us?

Rutile: Yes! I'm sure there's something we can do to help.

Lennox: It's already midnight. Are you doing okay?

Mitile: I'm just fine!

Isaac: I'm also fine.

Mitile: It's, um, good to work with you, Isaac.

Isaac: Same to you.

Figaro: Got it. Now then, let's be off.

✦✧☾✧✦

And thus, we Southern wizards went to Eastern Country, accompanied by Isaac. Mitile wasn't used to staying up this late, much less going out and doing things, but he was obviously doing his best. For the most part, we stayed silent as we ascended the tower to the elevator, but sometimes Isaac and Rutile would talk to each other. Isaac had a thing for Rutile, just like I thought he would. Vague worries twisted and curled in my chest. Worry. What is worry, anyway? Faust, Isaac, even Mitile embraced their worries. Maybe, if I'd been able to believe in them, I'd be able to live without all of these worries of mine. Like the man who wandered for four hundred years, believing that they'd meet again one day.

✦✧☾✧✦

Today, I talked with Mitile about how cleverness is its own kind of strength. I've wanted to take it back ever since. After all, wouldn't that mean that foolishness is its own kind of strength as well? Maybe if I'd kept foolishly, optimistically believing in a radiant future, I wouldn't have all these worries of mine. The day I took Faust as my disciple was the day a beautiful salvation began. But as soon as that salvation had begun, all I could think about was how Oz had treated me. It was a worthless sort of curse. He got tired of me and threw me away. As soon as he changed his mind, he gave up. He hadn't cared as much about me as I cared about him.

Figaro: (Well, since I'm thinking about it, maybe I should've gotten drunk on being an idiot, without worrying about these kinds of things…)

Lennox: Dr. Figaro.

Lennox started talking to me out of nowhere in a low voice.

Figaro: Hm?

Lennox: Please don't look so upset. The children will worry.

Figaro: Ahh, sorry. Was I really looking that upset?

Lennox: Yes. Was it my fault?

"Was it my fault," he asks. I looked up at him, impressed. Really, this man is nothing but blessed.

Figaro: What are you thinking about?

Lennox: Huh…? Are you really asking that right now…?

Lennox was obviously confused. On closer inspection, his movements also failed to belie a bit of impatience. He was so worried about Faust he couldn't keep himself as calm as he usually was. So the question hit him pretty well.

Lennox: More importantly, we should review our plans before we arrive at the City of Rain. It has strict rules, doesn't it? Even if we're coming in the middle of the night, we should make sure we don't have any contraband…

Figaro: If that's what you've got in your head right now, it'll be fine. If it comes to it, we'll just say we have a permit.

Mitile: Dr. Figaro…

Figaro: What's up, Mitile?

Mitile: If we run into any strong enemies like the wizard Nova, I should play the flute Mithra gave me, right? Since he'll be able to handle any enemy no matter how strong they are.

This was trust. Mitile trusts Mithra. Relies on him. I embraced Mitile's shoulders and smiled.

Figaro: Yeah, that's right.

Mitile smiled at me, looking relieved. Rutile, on the other hand, was deep in thought. Isaac was staring at me.

Rutile: Ah… We've arrived in Eastern Country.

✦✧☾✧✦

We flew through the starry sky to the City of Rain on our brooms. Given that it was the middle of the night, there were hardly any lights on the surface, so all we had to rely on were the stars above. I wondered if Faust and the other Eastern wizards were safe.

6 - An Unwilling Last Resort

Faust: <Salliuqnart Mullcredo>

The atmosphere around my mirror focus trembled. The air tensed up, sending ripples through the underground sewer. Centered around the mirror, a faintly glowing magic circle arose. A moment later, the magic circle beamed as bright as the sun. The intense, relentless white light illuminated the demons in the waterway. Where light shines strong, deeper and darker are the shadows cast. The shadows clung to the water's surface as if spellbound. The shadows were stitched in place and became fetters. This was a high-level magic Figaro once taught me. The waterway demons' own shadows became their restraints. Their enormous bodies made a rasping noise.

Faust: (The constraints won't last long.) (The spell calls for longer exposure to the mirror focus's light. It's weakened if the mirror's position is changed.) (But since I don't know what's up ahead, I can't afford to step away from my mirror.)

I drew the mirror focus out of the center of the glowing magic circle back into my hands. Then I ran through the waterway. The magic circle, stripped of the mirror focus, gradually waned, and the shadows which bound the demons slowly faded. The waterway system was complex, with multiple corners and winding paths intersecting. As I ran, I shut my eyelids. Tuning out my breathing and the sound of water, I fervently probed for other presences. To find wonders that the eye cannot see, you have to let go of your senses of sight, hearing, and touch and become like a wandering soul yourself. At some point, I left the narrow waterway behind.

Faust: (This area's been sequestered. There must be a distortion somewhere. I have to find it and get out…)

Were the enemies behind me moving yet? Was Shino's group okay? Brushing aside the many concerns that came into my mind unbidden, I focused on this space. Just then, I felt a slight response.

Faust: …There it is!

I opened my eyes abruptly. As soon as I did, my shut-off senses suddenly returned. There was a clamorous sound echoing through the sewers. Not the sound of water or air.

Faust: (What is this sound?) (Human voices… multiple human voices.)

There were multiple humans… no, wizards, in this sewer. The presences were close to those of Shino's group. Were they enemies or allies? Were Shino and the others all right? My heart pounded fast. As the presences came closer, I could make out the voices.

Curly-haired woman: …help…

Slender youth: Please, help her at least…

Shino: I know. Where's the exit!?

Short gentleman: There is none! We can't get out! He's been chasing us this whole time…

Skinny old man: It's a hunt… He's hunting us. It's not human or wizard! It's hunting us down for mana stones!

Faust: Shino!

Shino: Faust!

After turning a good many corners, I met back up with Shino's group. They weren't the only ones there. There was a group of four wizards, male and female. All of them had injuries.

Faust: They're…

Shino: …Western Wizards. They say they were kidnapped and brought here.

…said Shino, using both arms to clamp shut the mouth of a black beast trying to bite something. A black beast… Heath hadn't calmed down. Fear and anxiety had turned him aggressive. There were wounds all along Heath's body as well. There were traces of Shino having applied first aid as best he could, but the medicinal herbs had peeled off. All the color had drained from Nero's face. The girl on Shino's broom was faintly regaining consciousness. Of the Western Wizards, the red-haired woman was the worst-off. Her breathing was ragged.

Curly-haired woman: …Help… I'll do anything… I don't want to die here…

The woman's voice was frail.

Faust: It's okay. I'm going to examine your injury.

Deep gashes which looked like they were made by claws ran across the woman's shoulder. She was bleeding from her thighs as well. The wounds were severe, but they'd been treated as best as the situation allowed.

Shino: This old man treated her. He can't use curative magic, but he does have medical knowledge.

Skinny old man: She came here three days ago. I've been here for ten days. No amount of first aid can save her life… This is an infernal maze… there's no exit.

Faust: But there is.

Skinny old man: There is!?

Shino: You found one!?

Faust: Up ahead, to the north. It could be a deception, but I found a distortion in space. Let's escape through there. If we don't hurry, he'll… …!

Short gentleman: It's him…!

Curly-haired woman: …Please no…

Slender youth: Shh… Quiet. He'll kill us if he spots us…!

Expressions stiff from fear, the wizards huddled together in the dark. Both Nero and the woman had no time to lose. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and exhaled.

Faust: Shino.

Shino: …

Faust: Take them and go ahead. I'll hold him off.

Shino: …No.

Faust: Don't rebel. Take my mirror. It should lead you to the distortion in space. When you find it…

Shino: No! You must be suicidal!

Faust: I won't die. My name is Faust Lavinia. And like you said, I'm a veteran at "leave-me-and-go".

Shino: …Faust…

Shino's eyes, red like a wistful sunset, quivered.

Skinny old man: …My word… Is he some famed general…?

Faust: That was a long time ago. …No, I'm lying. I never got promoted that high.

I took my curse tools off my neck and hung it over Shino's. I hugged his shoulder and gave a smile.

Faust: This one's different. He'll be a general one day.

Skinny old man: Ohh…

Curly-haired woman: …Thank heavens…

Shino's eyes as he looked up at me were moist with tears. Shino stifled his voice and sucked in a shaky breath. Gently, he shook his head from side to side.

Shino: …No, I can't do it…

Faust: You're the only one who can. Do you remember? You're a man who will become a hero. I told you that.

Shino: …nr…

Shino covered his mouth with the back of his hand. Suppressing his sobs, he clung to Heath's neck as he growled.

Faust: Keep your head up. Listen, Shino. Everyone's anxious. If you're overly scared, it'll just invite excess chaos. "Don't lose me." "Stick by me." Shout out and lead them.

Shino: …O-Okay…

Faust: There's a good kid. You'll give them courage and presence of mind. They're in your hands.

Shino nodded without saying another word. I stroked Heath's back and set my cheek against his.

Faust: Take care of Shino and Nero, Heath.

His savage blue eyes seemed to turn tranquil for a moment. I took a deep breath and steeled my resolve. I glimpsed at Nero's face, his eyelids still shut.

Faust: (You have to stay alive.) (Take care of these kids, Nero.) Shino. Take my magical focus.

Shino: …Your mirror…? No, I can't take that.

Faust: When you find the distortion, use my mirror focus as an intermediary to escape this space.

Shino: Absolutely not! How are you going to fight!?

Faust: I have a secret weapon.

Shino: A secret weapon!? Really?

Curly-haired woman: …'s here…!

Faust: Hurry. There's no time.

Shino scowled at me with moist eyes. Biting his lip in frustration, he took the mirror.

Shino: …Please, be safe. Don't die…

I lowered my eyebrows and smiled. I'd never thought Shino so dear before. I should've given him so many more kind words. The substitution magic I put on him was still in effect. It was far removed, but in the worst-case scenario, it would protect Shino with me as the replacement.

Faust: Of course.

Shino wiped his tears and fixed his gaze straight down the sewer system. As if forging a path for the future.

Shino: …Let's go! Everybody, stick by me! Don't lose me now! Let's move…!

Short gentleman: Ooh…!

Skinny old man: All right, let's go! Everyone together…!

Curly-haired woman: …Yes…

The footfalls of Shino's group grew distant. Conversely, the presences of the sewer ghosts grew closer. Having handed over my mirror focus, my hands were empty. I lowered the brim of my hat.

Faust: (Sorry, Shino. If I were clever enough to have a secret weapon, I wouldn't have been burned at the stake.) (I'll keep them occupied here somehow with whatever options I've got.) Have at me.

7 - Before Reaching Him

Isaac: …Where is this?

Figaro: The City of Rain.

Isaac: Rain…? But it's not raining.

Figaro: There's a legend about it having called rain clouds to it during a drought. We shouldn't talk any more than this now.

Isaac: Wh… ……

Figaro: If you have to talk, do it quietly. Noise travels better at night. Leno, where's the ex-guild hall?

Lennox: This way.

✦✧☾✧✦

There was nothing in the City of Rain this time of night save the sound of the wind. Lennox led us through town until we arrived at the inn that still held remnants of the old guild. I could feel the bad vibes even from here. Faust's presence was completely gone.

Figaro: …

Lennox: Lord Figaro…

Mitile: Is something wrong? We need to go inside and try to find the Eastern wizards…

Figaro: No…

I glanced back so we could talk about what was going on, and saw the worry on everyone's faces. I needed to give them a bit of a warning before we went any further.

Figaro: Don't make any loud noises even if you get startled. Understood?

Rutile and Mitile nodded, like I expected them to. With as gentle an expression as I could possibly make, I started to explain the terrible state of things.

Figaro: I can't feel the presence of any of the Eastern wizards. That said, I can feel that something has gone wrong in there. It's a good thing we didn't wait until morning. If too much time had passed, I wouldn't have been able to notice the spacial distortion.

I was surprised to hear my voice shaking a bit. It seemed I was a bit shaken by this discovery. I glanced at Isaac and for some reason, gently grabbed my wrist. If so much as my fingers started shaking, he would look down on me. And if he were to look down on me, he would attack me.

Figaro: That there's a spacial distortion means that there's an incredibly high likelihood that there was a wizard capable of spacial magic here. Magic that can mess with space is very advanced. I'm pretty sure no one but Oz and Mithra can use it back at the manor. Nova was almost certainly in this building.

Lennox: Nova…?! The wizard that even Mithra couldn't stand up to…

Rutile: Did he abduct Heath and the others and take them somewhere else?!

Figaro: I'm not sure. It's possible…

It's possible Faust and the others were already dead. My mind was already processing it that way, as if there was nothing to be done about it. At the same time, I felt my fingers starting to chill. My field of vision started to dim, and it had nothing to do with the dark of night. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and then crafted a smile for myself to wear so that the little ones wouldn't be frightened.

Figaro: We still have options. If we can find traces of the distortion, we should be able to follow them. Mitile, that flute Mithra gave you… Can you call him with that? It's made specifically to call to him, isn't it?

Mitile: …If we call Mithra here and have him open up a door in space, he can follow them!

Figaro: That's right.

Mitile: Understood! I'm on it!

Mitile glanced at Rutile, and then pulled out something that looked like a taxidermied bird from his bag. Where the bird's tail should've been was a rod that made up the flute's mouthpiece, and he nervously brought it to his lips.

Rutile: Should I do it?

Mitile: …I--I'm fine. I'm going to play it now!

Lennox: Yes, thank you.

Mitile puffed up his cheeks and blew into the magical Mithra-calling flute as hard as he could. The bird had looked dead to me, but now it was wrapped in a faint light, seemingly returned to life. It spread its wings, lifted its beak to the night sky, as if to sing its song as loudly as it could. And then… Isaac grabbed the flute and crushed it in his hand.

Mitile: Ahh…!

Rutile: Isaac?!

Isaac: ……

✦✧☾✧✦

Mithra: <Arthim> …tsk, it vanished again. It keeps moving… …!

Bradley: Damn, that was close! Don't just stand up out of nowhere, idiot! I almost shot you!

Mithra: Bradley. Do you know if the Southern wizards went anywhere today?

Bradley: The Southern wizards?! I think they went to some marketplace in Central to check out a house or something!

Mithra: So not somewhere dangerous. I wonder if he sat on it and broke it. How shockingly careless. Just like his mother…

Bradley: Save the talk for later, Mithra!

Mithra: Understood. Have you killed yours yet?!

Bradley: Shut up, I will in a sec!

Mithra: I'll have mine done in a second as well!

Sylves: Kyaa… It's over here…!

Mithra: …tsk, how stubborn.

Bradley: You're making things so damn difficult!

8 - A Question Asked Beneath the Moon

The magic flute was limp in Isaac's hand, a wilted flower he'd plucked from Mitile's hands. The magic flames that had embraced it faded away without a trace. I was at a loss for words. All I could do was stare at Isaac. Lennox stood motionless. All we could hear was the night breeze as the stars glittered in the sky. Isaac looked back at me, his eyes a perfect clear blue, like water.

Isaac: …You don't need to call Mithra. I'm enough to help.

And then he turned to Rutile, too.

Isaac: You don't need to call Mithra. I will protect you.

Rutile: Ah… Um… Th…thank you…?

Mitile: Why are you thanking him?! Now Mithra isn't going to be coming!

I felt an icy cold anger welling up in my gut. And yet, I could see no animosity towards myself in his gaze. On the contrary, it was more like he was silently trying to appeal to me, pleading with me like a frightened child. He just didn't want to lose a place he felt comfortable in.

Isaac: It's fine if it's just me, isn't it, Lord Figaro?

I frowned a bit, and hoped it wasn't visible. I was the one who had brought Isaac along, after all. I showed him compassion even though I knew he was dangerous, even though I couldn't give him the love he wanted.

Lennox: I will search for Mithra.

Figaro: Even though you don't know where he is?

Lennox: I believe they might've gone to Western Country, like Ow…

Figaro: You can't get there and back before dawn.

Lennox: …I can bring him back along with the dawn…

Rutile: I'll also look for Mithra! It's possible he's already back at the manor!

Figaro: I'll do it.

Rutile: Dr. Figaro…?

Mitile: But isn't spacial magic really difficult magic…?

Figaro: It is. I won't be able to connect two places, not with my magic. But I can probably open up a rift that's already been opened before. If it works right, we should be able to follow the path that they've already taken.

And if I screw up, we'll be stuck in between dimensions forever. I didn't say that out loud, of course.

Figaro: Lennox. I'm leaving Rutile and Mitile to you. Isaac, you're with me.

Isaac: Yes!

Lennox: Wait a moment! I will also…

Figaro: I don't know if I'll actually succeed. Someone needs to get that--just in case, like you said. If dawn breaks, follow the spacial distortion's tracks. I know he can do it.

I pulled a button off my shirt sleeve and handed it to Lennox. He looked at it with an intimidatingly grim expression.

Lennox: What are you trying to do? This isn't meant to be a dying memento, is it…?!

Figaro: Woah, that's a scary look on your face. If I was going to be giving you something to remember me by, I'd give you something better than this, at least.

Lennox: …then…

Figaro: Give that to Oz if I don't come back. He'll be able to locate me.

It was more like he could probably locate me, but I opted for the more confident version instead. Lennox squeezed the button in his hand desperately, almost reverently. He can be very obedient.

Lennox: …I will take care of it.

Rutile: Are you okay, Dr. Figaro…?

Figaro: Everything's fine. And I'll have Isaac with me, too.

Isaac: Leave it to me.

Figaro: See you soon, Mitile.

Mitile was looking up at me, worry plain on his face. I smiled at him and patted his cheek, still soft with youth. I knew what the prophecy said about him. One day, he'll become a wizard that will kill all other Southern wizards. But that foreboding future was still far from now. Wasn't there anything I could do for this child? My hand fell from Mitile's cheek, and I turned away from them. I started walking towards the hotel, Isaac at my side.

Mitile: …Why can you use spacial magic?

Mitile's question made me turn back around. My white coat fluttered in the night breeze. In the pale light of the moon, the sleeves looked like whitecaps on the sea. And across those waves stood a boy.

Mitile: If it's such a difficult to use magic that only Lord Oz and Mithra can use it, then why…

Figaro: …

I didn't answer. I couldn't think of any words that wouldn't end up hurting him. Instead, I felt laughter welling up inside of me.

Figaro: (It'd be so stupid if Faust and his group turned up perfectly safe somewhere and I was the only one who died in vain about it.) (But I shouldn't abandon another one.) (I'm not going to abandon anyone ever again.)

✦✧☾✧✦

Lennox: …

Rutile: Do you think they'll be okay? Dr. Figaro was acting a bit odd…

Lennox: …Yeah.

Mitile: …

Rutile: Leno. We're more than enough to go pick up Lord Oz. If you'd like to, you can go with Dr. Figaro…

Lennox: Alright. I'll go with him. Rutile, please hold onto this button.

Rutile: Understood.

Lennox: Here's a mana stone for the elevator. It's the middle of the night, so keep an eye out for bandits.

Rutile: You take care too, Leno.

Lennox: Thank you. Mitile, are you alright?

Mitile: …Yes. Leno, I want you and Dr. Figaro to come home safe, okay? Don't push yourselves or do anything dangerous, okay? Please.

Lennox: We'll do our best.

Mitile: Um, Leno… Why do you sometimes call Dr. Figaro "Lord Figaro"?

Lennox: ……

Mitile: Isaac says it too, and so does Lord Arthur… Lord Arthur said it's because he's close with Lord Oz, but… Dr. Figaro is… The person Figaro Garcia is… Who is he, really?

Lennox: … He's Southern country's doctor, and your magic teacher.

Mitile: …

Lennox: I have to go now.

Rutile: Take care!

Mitile: …gh, be sure you come home safe! Both you and Dr. Figaro!

Lennox: Yeah.

Rutile: Mitile. We should get going, too.

Mitile: …Right!

9 - A Final Farewell For You

Gilles: Milady Liliana, what is the matter? It's so late at night…

Liliana: I'm returning to the palace.

Gilles: …I cannot permit a noble lady such as yourself to depart in the middle of the night. Are you going to go see that person? I can escort you to the Royal Botanical Gardens…

Liliana: No. I shall meet that person again at the palace. When I am crowned.

Gregory: Liliana!

Liliana: ……

Gregory: Liliana! It's me, Gregory! I'm here to help you!

Gilles: A talking bird is quite unusual. Shall I strike it down?

Liliana: No need. …To help me?

Gregory: Right. You were so scared of going to the palace, weren't you!? But I didn't have enough confidence in myself and let you go. I thought that you would be happier living there…

Liliana: ……

Gregory: The truth is, I didn't want to give you up! This time, I'll prove my sincere love and courage. I won't let you go anywhere! I love you, Liliana.

Liliana: …… Heh heh…

Gregory: You can ask the General too! Liliana, a white-haired wizard cast some kind of spell on you.

Gilles: Oho. A white-haired wizard…

Gregory: Yes! He must've been the one who turned me into a bird too…!

Gilles: Did this wizard look like… that?

Gregory: Huh…?

Nova: ……

Gregory: You're…! …!? …Liliana…!

Liliana: ……

Gregory: …L… Let go of me…! I can't breathe… You're crushing me…!

Liliana: I'm sorry to disappoint, but I do not love you.

Gregory: …n… ghh… Lili… ana…

Liliana: Goodbye, Gregory.

Gregory: …rr…! …

Liliana: ……

Gilles: He's not moving anymore…

Nova: How hideous.

Liliana: It's your fault for turning him into a bird.

Nova: I simply capitalized on your tragedy. Or perhaps it's a comedy. Lovers torn apart after one is turned into a bird.

Liliana: Silence.

Nova: Heh heh…

Liliana: He's gone… What a ghastly man. Gilles, I'm leaving. Do away with the carcass.

Gilles: As you wish… …… Sigh. Poor thing… I am fond of animals, so I had no wish to see such an unfortunate scene. Do away with it, eh? I'll burn it so it turns to ash… …… A natural burial should be sufficient. Bird-man, your declaration of love had a stirring effect on me. I found myself listening transfixed, as if it were an act out of a play. May you find happiness in your next life. That should do. Well then, off I go.

✦✧☾✧✦

Gregory: …pwuh…! Pweh… Pweh…! …I thought I was done for…! What's the matter with them!? Just what happened to Liliana!? She's going to be crowned in the palace… but His Majesty the King is still alive! …For now, I hate to say it, but I have no choice but to rely on the Master Sage. To the Royal Botanical Gardens…!

✦✧☾✧✦

Shino: Hah… Hah…! How's Nero!?

Skinny old man: He's still breathing!

Shino: …rgh, where is it… Where's that spacial distortion… …! Faust's curse tools are reacting! What is it, Heath!? Is there something up with that wall!? …! That wall… it's ever-so-slightly see-through…! Good job, Heath! Color me impressed…!

Curly-haired woman: …W-We can get out through here…?

Shino: Yeah!

Curly-haired woman: …Thank goodness…!

Slender youth: We can go home alive…!

Shino: Stand back. I'm going to form a magic circle with Faust's mirror as an intermediary. <Matzah Sudipas>!

Skinny old man: Ooh…! The crack which was hardly a finger's width…! …is widening into a fissure in space!

Shino: …rgh, that's not enough… I need to get it big enough for a person to pass through… <Matzah Sudipas> …!? Where are you going, Heath…!?

Curly-haired woman: Eeyah…!

Shino: …!

Short gentleman: It's that thing…! It chased after us!

Shino: I don't believe it…! What about Faust…!? …No… This is a second one…! The fissure's widened! Heath, come back…! All of you, get out through here!

Short gentleman: Where does it connect to!?

Shino: I don't know! Anywhere's better than here! Hurry!

Slender youth: All right! Now, give me your hand…

Curly-haired woman: T-Thank you…

Shino: …Hurry it up! I can't hold on much longer…!

Short gentleman: Come along with us…!

Shino: Take Nero and Heath out first!

Skinny old man: …! Look out…!

Shino: …! (If I dodge now, the fissure will disappear just as it's opening!) (I can't! I can't evade it!) …W…!? I'm not hurt…? I thought that flash of light got me…

Short gentleman: It's no good! We can't get near that beast…! It'll bite us…

Shino: Heath, go through that fissure! Please! Please go, Heath! He's going to attack again…! Heath…!

Nero: …n… Ah… <Adnodis Omnis>

Shino: Heath's asleep… …Nero…!

Nero: …I'll stay behind… you go first…

Shino: Shut up, stupid! I need you to take care of Heath. Take him and go!

Nero: This broom is Faust's…

Shino: Enough, just go…!

Nero: …ngh, all right…

Shino: …Hah… <Matzah Sudipas> …rgh… again… I felt as if I took the hit, but…

Short gentleman: I'm the last one! You should get out too!

Shino: All right! …Hey! Faust's mirror! Go to Faust. Don't tell me you can't do it! I've seen plenty of sentient objects on all the missions I've been on! Now put some spunk into it! I'm counting on you… return to Faust! <Matzah Sudipas> The mirror started moving…! Now if I can just get through this fissure… …rgh!

✦✧☾✧✦

Shino: … …uurr… …It's freezing… …Where am I…? …It's white as far as the eye can see…I sense the presence of belligerent spirits… …Is this Northern Country…?

10 - Loneliness Like No Other

Figaro: Well then, let's get going.

Isaac: Yes.

Figaro: <Possideo>

Lennox: …!

Figaro: Leno?!

Lennox: I'm coming with you, too.

The spacial distortion had lost its stability, and I saw scene after different scene pass around me.

Trees with dense foliage deep in an overgrown forest.

A small room, covered in dust.

And…

Somewhere that looked like an underground waterway. I saw what looked like a face down corpse in the water. Its back was torn up horribly, bleeding into the water. It looked like huge claws had raked over it, time and time again. I was pretty sure I saw a familiar crest on that bloody, torn-up back. Blood was suddenly rushing in my ears. Was that Faust? I need to hurry. I need to help him. He's going to turn to stone. He's going to turn to stone before me. I lifted my hand, and then the scene changed again. The next thing I saw was…

A place that looked so very similar to my long-lost hometown.

✦✧☾✧✦

Figaro: …gh…hah…

The first thing I felt was the cold, relentlessly leaching my body heat. And then, like needles piercing my skin, the presence of a haughty, individualistic land. This was Northern Country. Now that I'd realized that, I needed to use my magic to make sure my body temperature didn't get any lower. This was a bitterly cold country where humans without magic couldn't survive.

Figaro: …

For some reason, my magic didn't spark. My fingertips felt frozen, and so did my lungs. The blizzard had blinded me. I couldn't see anything. Everything was white.

Figaro: Hahh…hah… <Possideo>

I recited my spell, my longtime companion. But the spirits did not respond.

Figaro: …hah…

Prepared for how much more it was going to freeze me, I drew my magic circle in the snow around me.

Figaro: <Possideo>

Nothing. The spirits felt so far away. I was struck by an unbelievable sense of loneliness. As I stood there in that field of pure white nothingness, long-forgotten memories decided to grace my mind. Then I saw a person's silhouette through the snow. It was so big it had to be Lennox. I sighed in relief.

Isaac: Lord Figaro.

It was Isaac. He wasn't getting frozen over by the cold despite how lightly he was dressed. Of course he wasn't--he was a Northern wizard. But in my eyes, as I was slowly getting more and more numb from the cold, Isaac seemed bizarre to me.

Isaac: What's wrong? Why aren't you using your magic to protect yourself?

Figaro: …gh…hah…haahh…

I opened my mouth to say something and couldn't. I couldn't stop shivering, my teeth clacking against one another. I grabbed Isaac's arm. We needed to get back to the space we'd just been in somehow. Faust was badly wounded. If we didn't hurry, he was going to die. I couldn't see Lennox, either. If I couldn't use my magic, who was going to protect him from the harsh Northern winds? Isaac touched my face. I tried to push his hand away, but I couldn't muster up the strength to do it. He smiled at me. He so gently, kindly murmured--

Isaac: Ah…. …You can't use your magic, can you… …I understand… It's happened to me a few times, too… …So now… I can turn you to stone.

My eyes widened. Vicious anger swirled inside of me at Isaac's insincere insolence. But I couldn't even summon my magical focus to my upturned hand. There was no derision towards me in Isaac's eyes. Just gratitude, from the very bottom of his heart, for his god. His broad shoulders were trembling with emotion.

Isaac: …ahh, Rutile. I understand now. We couldn't make a promise to one another… If you want to be with someone, you have to take them for your own.

Isaac's large fingers wrapped around my neck. It took only seconds for me to come up with any number of ways to fight back. But I knew it was all pointless. No matter what I tried to do, it was impossible for a powerless, pitiful human to win against a Northern wizard. No matter what I could say to try and convince him to do something else, Isaac's magic would force me to submit. I wonder if Oz was this frightening to the humans that he stood before? They must have despaired at their own powerlessness and cursed the world. And yet… I couldn't give in. Faust's life. Lennox's life. Mitile's future, carried so delicately in my palm. I'm sure Oz was worried about this too. That I'd turn to stone someplace like this. So I clawed desperately at the ground, thinking as hard as I could.

Figaro: Ah… Isaac… Hold on. Listen to me.

Isaac: Please don't worry, Lord Figaro. I will put you into my body, and you'll be safe there.

Figaro: …If I turn to stone, I won't be able to praise you anymore. You're a good kid, Isaac.

Isaac: That's just fine… If you turn to stone, we can be together forever, and I won't have to worry anymore.

Figaro: But we won't actually be together, will we?

I was starting to despair a bit myself at what I was saying. That's correct. Of course I knew that. Even if I ate the rock of someone dear to me, it didn't mean we were together now. Tiletta was nowhere. The other wizards I'd eaten were the same.

Isaac: We will. You and I will become one. I'll turn you to stone, the way I did that Northern witch.

Suddenly, a cold, dignified voice cut through the storm.

Eva: …What did you just say?

I could see a witch perched on her broom over Isaac's shoulder, further into the raging blizzard. I knew her, of course. A proud Northern witch who had lived for as long as Tiletta had… Her name is Eva. She glared at Isaac, her beautiful eyes and face twisted into an expression of vicious, demonic hatred.

Eva: Those blue gems are something I gave to Sophie. Did you do something to her?

Isaac grinned, and it was a twisted expression. He released my throat and stood, facing Eva in the sky. Right now, Isaac was a perfect portrait of an ideal Northern wizard.

Isaac: I turned her to stone and ate her! Why not come down and see if you can find her in my stomach?

Eva: You wretch…!

A harsh light flared in the pure-white darkness of the blizzard. A duel to the death between Northern wizards had just begun.

Next Chapter

#.main story tl

[dark-frosted-heart]

Starless Plays/Operas/Stories...scripture...(or people too I guess???)

Info’s all from an unofficial wiki

Updated as of  WORLDS APART

Team K

During the Demise - Lohengrin 

Crazy For - Turandot

花はかすかに - Carmen

Halloween Night - Frankenstein

華麗なる誘惑 - La traviata

エギーユ・クルーズ -  The Hollow Needle

Treasured - Il trovatore

The Final Problem - The Final Problem (Sherlock Holmes)

ひらひらり - Richard III

ONLY IF - The Great Gatsby

Raise your resolve - Der Ring des Nibelungen

黒い虚実 - The Black Lizard 

波のままに - Twelfth Night

MADNESS JOKER - The Brothers Karamazov

caprice of love - Les Liaisons dangereuses

Temptation Game -  Les Liaisons dangereuses

Run away together - Blood Wedding

To the world - Around the World in 80 Days

UnlockU - The Scarlet Pimpernel

百花ノ咲駆 - Ikedaya Incident

LEVITATE - A Tale of Two Cities

GRAVITATE - A Tale of Two Cities

FORT/TUDE - Battles of Kawanakajima

Quiet Serenade - Christmas Eve

Blooming in the Darkness - The Count of Monte Cristo

Team W

Breakin’ it Faster - Romeo and Juliet

BadBlood - Ernani 

Seaside Escape - Le Corsaire

Payback - The Two Noble Kinsmen / The Knight's Tale

雪花 - The Treasury of Loyal Retainers 

仮面は闇に溶けて - Un ballo in maschera

No Way Out - Les Misérables

Out in Out - Battle of Thermopylae

Shooooout!!! - The Woman-Killer and the Hell of Oil 

Kiss or Bullet - Billy the Kid

Burning breath -  Der Ring des Nibelungen

孤独の夜、祈りの月、- Beauty and the Beast

GOLGODA - The Brothers Karamazov

ALL IN - The Queen of Spades

That’s my life - John Dillinger

月影紅く -  Blood Wedding

TURNT UP - Records/Romance of the Three Kingdoms

我ら外へ - Sannin Kichisa Kuruwa no Hatsugai

MORTAL SMILE - Pagliacci

Deity’s Game - Trojan War

水底の館 - Cthulhu Mythos

Riskin’ it all - Romeo and Juliet

Team P

虹の彼方へ - The Wizard of Oz

陽はここに - Puss in Boots

Paradise Lost - Faust

荒野にて - Manon Lescaut

僕のすべてを君に捧げる - Little Red Riding Hood, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

はつ恋 - First Love

希望の旗のもとに - The Three Musketeers

黎明は待たない - Prince Igor

残紅の行方 - The Tale of Genji - Beneath the Autumn Leaves

銀河鉄道を探して - Night on the Galactic Railroad

雨傘 - Child’s Play (たけくらべ)

縷々たるは祈望 - Azai Nagamasa and Oichi

Trick or Truth -  Nekomachi

Luminous Snow - The Happy Prince

Only seek you -  The Brothers Karamazov

一雫の秘密 - The Turn of the Screw

Violet -  Utakata no ki

ふたつ星が出逢う夜 - The Tale of Genji

Beyond the Door - The Secret Garden

刹那の嘘  - The Tale of Tamamizu

BELOVED - Mignon

閃光の果て - The Tale of the Heike

Team B

日蝕 - Macbeth

Judas - An Urgent Appeal

Monokaki - La bohème

雷神 - Sugawara no Michizane‘s Vengeance 

Somewhere - Tannhäuser

極夜 - Don Quixote

天魔の宴 - Night Parade of One Hundred Demons 

炎神 - Ragnarok - Loki vs Heimdall

無敵 - Legend of Shuten-dōji

影炎 - Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka 

Mosquitone - Book of Revelation

不死鳥 - Phoenix mythology

毒蛇 - The Brothers Karamazov

烏合島(晶ver) - Two Years' Vacation

HELL OH!!!

羅新盤 - Treasure Island

人間失格 - No Longer Human

Satan*Close - Knecht Ruprecht

Team C

Purple Dawn - Ode to Joy

Sub rosa - The Magic Flute

To be, or not to be - Hamlet

花ほどく - The Tales of Ise

続きは明日の夜に - One Thousand and One Nights

虚構の肖像 - The Picture of Dorian Gray

暁の願い - Tenshu Monogatari

Into me - Alice in Wonderland

Just live to dance - The Moon and Sixpence

灰燼に罪 - Les pêcheurs de perles

紅に白 - Legend of the White Snake

Sanctus - The Brothers Karamazov

Cry:Pta - Aida

Sword of love - Nabucco

vow of love - La Morte Amoureuse

白晝夢 - Dogra Magra

千夜一愛 - The Palace of Eternal Life

VAPORIZE - Daphnis et Chloé

溺るる蝶 - Pelléas et Mélisande

夜のしじま - Der Doppelgänger

Mixed

Salva me - A Christmas Carol

Fragile Lake - The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter/Giselle/Swan Lake????

Mid Summer Beach - A Midsummer Night's Dream

Early Summer Affair - Così fan tutte

Without her? - War and Peace

snowflake - War and Peace

催花の宿星 - Water Margin

沈まぬ月 - The Golden Demon

名残の花 - The Charterhouse of Parma

ひなげし - Farewell My Concubine

ermitage - Robert the Devil

The lament moon - Antony and Cleopatra

 You are Mine - Phantom of the Opera

MASTERMIND - The Boy Detectives Club

PRISMATIC TEAR - Beauty and the Beast

aka,aka - The Maid of Orleans

Must be the Heart - Metropolis

Night xo bird - Don Giovanni

Call me, Baby! - Journey to the West

Period.. - Journey to the West

片鳴き龍 - Dragon King

WORLDS APART - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas

#blackstar theater starless #starless' seasonals made me make this list #because nothing screams christmas like war and peace

[gamzee]

I’m trying to introduce new things into how I digest Alternia little by little especially post-slurquest which I found very helpful. Is Alternia the internet of the early 2000s? The social goal there was often (still is arguably) to not introduce any consciousness of gender or race which was disruptive and treated accordingly. (There are no girls on the internet/tits or stfu/etc.) Following these rules required a certain amount of roleplay. Is it too simple to say Sburb/Sgrub is just the statement “society is an rpg...” or is it perhaps TOO ELEGANT???

I’m writing backwards. The whole purpose of this line of thought was to explore how Beforus followed Alternia. If so; on Alternia everyone is expected to roleplay whiteness, but on Beforus/in act 6, more explicit racial stereotypes and metaphors start to emerge. (”Blue blood’s burden” + Aranea and her necklace, Meenah and Condesce’s aave, Kurloz’s Dr Facilier inspirations, more use of 'Chucklevoodoo', Rufioh stealing Dante Basco’s typing style, Damara’s uh, everything! And Kankri to top it all off with the concern that the new internet is just too darn preoccupied with this stuff, and don't you realize you're making me-- i mean everybody else-- feel self-conscious?) On Alternia we have things like Mindfang in a Spanish conquistador outfit, but it’s kind of noteworthy that there aren’t really Beforan Ancestors (or roleplaying games!) to speak of in the same way, so her antics feel almost wistful. I believe Karkat when he says the beta and alpha trolls are “almost genetically identical,” and it’s only the setting that changes.

This lead to mulling on "inversion" and how you can't invert a flat plane or a grey image. It's only areas of high contrast that get flipped. So what's familiar stays familiar and what's strange gets stranger still. Back in the old-school internet you avoided spectacle with roleplay-- working for Karkat, I guess.

I'm STILL writing backwards. Is it going too deep to unpack Terezi's "your name sounds kind of like game" as a call to Gamzee to engage in roleplay-- "you are the game itself?" That makes the reply of "you should ask Karkat, he likes games" very funny for both reasons. Their whole thing might just be them duking it out over Karkat's assimilation (and affection.)

It also means Equius and Terezi are having the same conversation in what they're asking Gamzee to roleplay. That would make Eridan's "STOP BELIEVING IN MAGIC" the third-time charm. I think Magic has obviously been a cypher for homosexuality & gender nonconformity in homestuck but Gamzee's magic is slime/miracles and then named/revealed to be voodoo after their heel-turn. 

Between the jubilant cheers, outbursts of song, and dispersed chatter of nonsense one makes when speaking in tongues, Herbert concluded every one of these children must be on drugs.

He began noticing a common thread among the kids, aside from the shared trait of exhibiting clinically psychotic episodes. Most of them were armed with books. Children’s books. Tales of marvelous imagination and adventure, and above all, magic... That kid over there was wearing a billowing rainbow-patterned hat. It would almost look Rastafarian, if it weren’t so flagrantly homosexual. - Page 1 of Wizardy Herbert... for no reason at all.

I'm finally at the Sea-Goat because I wanted a clear explanation for why Caliborn shoots off gamzee's fake wings. Really obviously the sea-goat as the threat of something existing mid-way through metamorphosis or something transforming makes them transphobia bullets. But it’s specifically Caliborn who takes Karkat’s verbal condemnation and makes it a reality. It could be the narrative going “you had your chance!” (See visual aid.)

The whole montage where Gamzee's crush on Tavros was revealed --> Doc Scratch speaks with them reminds me of this, a bisexual character's exchange with a predatory wizard from the same book;

“Ah.” Thundleshick produced a stern look behind the tangled, fibrous crisis on his face. It was the demeanor of one charged with forming a grave diagnosis. “You know, my elder brother struggled with this very challenge. Attraction to flesh of one’s kind, it’s a troubling demon.”

“I was jus hoping you might have, like, a magical cure for it. Jus make it go away.”

The old magician stroked his beard, as one might do to ameliorate a high-strung shaggy dog. “I will see what I can do.”

//

“Yes, yes. Now point yourself at that door. Like this.” He modified his posture for him by the shoulders. “Now, boy, fill your mind with manly thoughts. Visions of burly clout. A roaring motorcycle. Professional wrestlers clutching each other’s muscles for dominance. A friendly lady fitted with a swimsuit. Oh, yes, yes.”

“Um, ok.”

“Now, through the door with you!”

Russet drew a breath. His feet felt welded to the floor. He knew the strength was in him to run. It was in his faith. His faith to let go and trust God, to set everything right. Soon it would be over.

He ran as fast as he could toward the chalk door. There was the sound of bone against brick. Russet bounced backwards and dropped to the floor unconscious.

The fat old Campmaster stooped over the boy and proceeded to pick his pockets.

There’s more I could say about this but it also speaks for itself.

Those posts abt The Tombs of Atuan also come to mind;

But I didn’t and still don’t like making a cult of women’s knowledge, preening ourselves on knowing things men don’t know, women’s deep irrational wisdom, women’s instinctive knowledge of Nature, and so on. All that all too often merely reinforces the masculinist idea of women as primitive and inferior – women’s knowledge as elementary, primitive, always down below at the dark roots, while men get to cultivate and own the flowers and crops that come up into the light. But why should women keep talking baby talk while men get to grow up? Why should women feel blindly while men get to think? -Ursula K Le Guin, from What Women Know

Is HS mad at Gamzee for the “voodoo” -- preening herself on the things Sburb doesn't know? Refusing to play the game as “talking baby talk?” After trying to make the post for hours all I've been able to get is putting a few quotes next to each other, so I guess take this as it is.

#warning for some talk of racism/transphobia under the cut

[lunarsilkscreen]

Why Does the Joker know so much?

You can hear it in his words. The Joker knows too much about Gotham. Way too much. He knew the bank he was robbing was mafia owned, he knew all the goons he hired for that job were ready and willing to kill each other for a bigger pot, and willing to keep a secret from each other.

He seemingly has his hands in everything. When the Mob holds an emergency meeting at an undisclosed place? Who is there, waiting?

The Joker.

He was able to setup and execute his "magic trick". Specifically because he knew how each of them would react in that situation. He stole one of the boss's purple suit. "You oughta know, you bought it."

Or maybe, he purchased it with *his* credit card?

"I'm not crazy. No. I'm. Not." In response to one of the mob boss's accusation. He's saying here: "I know your game, you know I know your game, and one way or another, you're going to contact me when I make it out of here alive. Or. Or. Or: we all die together."

That's what he's saying between his last exchange with the bosses and when he shows his hand (of grenades).

At every step of the way, Joker knows what's going to happen and how things will play out. Like somebody playing pool. And unlike somebody playing chess, he's not looking at what moves to make to win in the future. He's looking at how to set-up the table for his opponent's next shot.

He knows about the inner workings of Wayne Enterprises, even gets to some of his employees. Like the one he directs to the bat-tank. He even correctly guessed that Batman would extradite a foreign national. And, how to return the cash the national absconded with back to the mob, securing his "half." Before he burns it.

"gas and gunpowder are cheap" but "money isn't"

He's never guiding anybody's madness. No he has excellent bedside manner. In the case of Harvey Dent, he looks at the scarred half of his face that he's now afraid to show the world, mostly because they purposefully avoid looking at it. Or stare at it too much.

Not the Joker, oh no. He treats both halves of Dent's face as part of the *same* *lovable* Harvey. He looks on both sides of his face with the same Intention, so that Harvey Dent would trust him. Not pity, not fear, not loathing. The same "yea that's a face I'm looking at." Never talking down to him (on either side, unlike what other theorists would have you believe.)

I don't think he even rigged the "person" bomb. I don't think that was Joker's*direct* handy work at all. I think it was his "friend" at Arkham: Dr. Strange. (Not the wizard Dr. Strange. The doctor. The doctor who isn't a Wizard.)

I think he was the boss. Although... "Replacing the voices with pretty lights" *sounds* like something the Joker would say. But not *this* Joker. That's not his style. He always offers a choice, and doesn't take away people's right to choose.

I think Dr. Strange, or some other Boss, promised the Joker an "Escape Plan" and all he had to do was make a phone call. I don't think he actually knew that it was a fellow inmate in that jail.

Otherwise, he'd have given him the option. Now, I know what you're thinking--he already gave him the option. He just delayed it. And again, I'm telling you: This Joker, Heath Leger's Joker, well that's just not his style.

This one is of course the agent of Chaos, not planning. He sets up shots for others to take, and not himself. (It sounds like I'm contradicting myself here. But I'm not.)

At every turn, giving others the option of killing him. Is he showing weakness or his belly like a puppy dog? Or is he *really* asking them to kill him?

The Joker can fight on the same level as Batman. And without the same armor and technical advantage that Batman has, he nearly loses to a Joker with a pipe, and no armor, no plot armor, and no money.

And the only reason he didn't lose, is because Joker wanted to die. Relishing being flipped into the air as the sweet embrace of death is ripped from his grasp by none other than Batman himself.

Who knows full well, that the Joker won't stop. He'll keep setting up the dominos for others to knock down.

[syngrafaes09]

Strange Nights | Vampire! Dr Strange x Y/n

Logline: After Y/N gets imprinted by a vampire Dr Strange, living under a fictive identity, they must unravel the cause behind her constant misadventures before their hopes are crushed forever.

Masterlist

Chapter 4 : Alpha and Omega

James rummaged through his closet as he debated over what he should wear. He didn't want to be too overdressed or too underdressed. He finally decided on a nice pair of black jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt, which he never thought of wearing when Jade had brought it. 'I never wear these formal shirts, Jade,' he had told the boy.

What was wrong with me? he had been thinking last night. Every time his eyes were closed, she would appear. 'What makes you think so?' Steve had asked as  while they were patrolling over the mountains.

'I don't think...it may not be working. How did you know that Nat imprinted on you?'

'I didn't know. It was this sudden strange attraction. The way she behaved around me I guess. She became so over-protective. Buck, the process of imprinting is unique to everyone. It could be just an attraction, temptation, fascination, excitement, happiness; it just could be anything. You see Nat had experienced the memories she had with me when she imprinted whereas Jade had felt temptations and fascination towards Rachael.'

'Y/N didn't reciprocate. She keep turning down every time I ask her out. whenever she accepts, it's always a double date with Jade and Rachael. Why is it always me, who tries to make a conversation? Why can't she ever come here on her own? Why Steve? Why?'

'Maybe she feels safe around Rachael. She is always with her whenever she is out of that house.' Another growl was heard from behind. Clint was it? Turning around they saw another wolf approaching them. 'Maybe she isn't over the grief of losing her father? Or could be one who prefers to be alone.'

'But it had been four months ago. And when I ran, into Thor this afternoon after hunting-'

'Werewolves and vampires hunting together, doesn't sound possible to me." Clint interrupted Bucky.

'I had finished with the lunch. Thor was going to have his.'He growled. 'He said he had seen Y/N chilling out with her friends alone. So you see, she doesn't need Rachael around her. Nor is she antisocial.'

'Then it leaves us with only one possibility. She doesn't like you or your advances'. Clint bluntly remarked.

'You know how the alpha vampires imprint. The wizard hadn't imprinted on anyone yet,' Nat said joining them, 'but Tony and Thor have. It is kinda okay if you haven't imprinted like the rest of us.'

'Try one more time and then just give up.' Steve suggested in sad low growl.

'And then, you and Bucky can be together once again till the end of line." Clint joked and smacked his paw in his hind leg. 'It's a good thing that Dr. Cho helped you to regenerate that arm. I was tired of your metal arm. But I missed the chance of seeing a three legged wolf or a wolf with a metal limb.' Clint choked at his own jokes.

'But didn't Bruce say it was possible because the shape-shifting enabled certain genes or something?' Steve wondered.

'Leave those scientific stuffs to Stephen and Bruce. Only they, want to know the how and why behind everything,' Nat thought sniffing around, 'But tell me are the killings so horrible?'

'Yeah. Bruce couldn't watch it. We had to call Stephen,' Steve replied. 'Somebody gotta give that Stephen an award. The way he stands so much of blood yet not feel thirsty...'

When Steve handed him his cruiser car keys, Nat groaned from behind. "You are taking your date in a police car? Are you stupid? I know Steve is stupid but Bucky!"

"It's 9.4◦ outside. Please don't tell him to take his bike. Y/N would catch a cold!" Steve protested.

"Come on, she has been staying here for nearly two months. She is adapted to the environment. Besides she won't leave the house without her jacket, so car or bike won't be a problem." Nat argued.

And not far from here, Y/N searched through her closet for something that won't be too casual or too dressy. As she put on a blue mini dress and the black leggings, she thought of how to put forward the fact that she didn't want to be in any serious relationship with him, without hurting Bucky's feelings. She cursed him for being so persistent after repeated rejections to dates.

She wore little makeup, just a touch of eye shadow and mascara to accent her eyes. Perfume next, not too much. She brushed her raven hair, pinned it up, and looked in the mirror. She felt it was too much and she let it back down. Then slipping on a black overcoat, she skipped down the stairs.

When the doorbell rang, she got into her tan, low-heeled sandals and opened the door.

Bucky wasn't smiling when she opened the door, but soon enough laughed as he glanced over her. "Good evening," he chuckled. Y/N frowned at his sudden change of demeanor and glanced down to make sure her attire was perfect.

"What's wrong?"

"We match." He chuckled again.

"Oh," she said, stepping out and locking the door while he walked back to his bike.

It was an ordinary evening. Stephen sat across Paul, facing the large windows of the empty cafe. They often visited the cafe in the evening. Something humans did to refresh from their monotonous routine. He thought. He was taking a sip from his Americano when she arrived. He would have noticed her and then forgotten about it. But, he didn't.

Once her eyes met his hollowed ones, she froze in her place. She looked at him in disgust and amazement.

He gazed at her in shock and despair. He felt something twitch inside him. Something that was old and had been buried deep inside him. He felt dizzy. Venom dripped from his fangs, brimming his mouth. He wanted to dart off the closed space and leave her alive, but his muscles were frozen. But what was this? What was this strange feeling? She made him hungry. But this hunger was different. He didn't want to attack her as the predator would have attacked his prey. He was hungry to transform her. Transform her to his kind and make her his. His and only his. As he slowly began to realize what this was, his throat burned with thirst. A thirst that wouldn't drain her blood completely but just the right amount and then he could dig his fangs into her graceful neck and fill her with his venom.

As Bucky held the glass door open for her, a gentle autumn wind blew through the trees, fussing her dusky hair across her pastel face. But from there, it went like a tornado wind.

No. No... No, no... You can't do this to her. A voice from within forbade him.

Just do it. She is your mate. Another voice countenanced.

No.

Yes.

The inner battle of voices gradually subsided. He could feel bit by bit all his muscles relaxing. And, once he felt his body under his complete control; he didn't walk out of there as slowly as he should rather he bolted from his seat and rushed out of the cafe.

Bucky regretted with every fibre of his being for bringing Y/N to this cafe as his eyes fell on the vampire, who sat leisurely sipping from his cup. Putting up a fake smile, he walked towards the inevitable. Stomach acid crawled up his throat as he held the door open for Y/N to enter. One gentle breeze and his insides clenched. The wolf within him contemplated every possible way to save the human girl. In a heartbeat, he crouched beside her, ready to lunge forward if the vampire slightly shifted in their direction.

He held his guard for two very long minutes before slacking up. Relief flooded through his body after Stephen left them alive without putting up any fight.

"Something's wrong, aye?" The barista was bewildered on her return from the back kitchen to find one of the customers leaving in a rush while others were in disarray.

"No, nothing serious. My friend was taken aback when he saw this young lady, who happens to resemble one of our old friends who died years back." Paul explained as he pulled out some bills for the payment.

The woman at the counter took the justification without any further questions and turned her attention to the new customers.

Y/N let out an audible sigh. She felt frustrated as her conversation with Bucky never went in the direction she had been eagerly waiting for. The strange encounter with the doctor, about whom her friends were babbling throughout the last day of the weekend, further fuelled her annoyance. This wasn't the way she wished to meet the dashing Dr. Stephen Rochester. She felt a strange, unreasonable disappointment.

She turned away and took a deep breath, wondering how to say it.

"Bucky," she paused for a second.

"Spill it out Y/N."

"There is a reason why I came today. I need you to understand me?"

When she didn't speak out immediately; he felt a sinking in his stomach. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be in his favour.

She looked away again, surprised that she couldn't tell him just yet. "I don't know how to say it. I thought I did at first, but now I'm not so sure. . . ." He waited with forced patience. "You are a great friend Buck. But I can't further our friendship anything deeper and intimate."

She slouched down feeling the heavy burden off her heart while his heart was stung by her words.

"Why? Don't I deserve you?"

She shook her head.

"No. It's not like that. It isn't about whether you deserve me or not." She paused trying to find the right words. "You deserve me as much as any other man, as much as I deserve you. I do like you. You are a perfect partner. But, I don't want you the way you yearn for me."

"That doesn't make much of a difference. The result is just the same - I... lose you."

There was sadness in his voice when he responded and she knew he was right to feel that way.

"Y/N?" Matt called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Uncle, it's me." She walked in to see him. He was chopping spring onions.

"You are cooking tonight?" Y/N asked in bewilderment. In the last two months never had she had never seen Matt step inside the kitchen to cook. "Yeah. With you girls gone, my inner chef has resurfaced."

"May I help?"

"Umm... chop the tomatoes, I'll drain and cook the spaghetti."

"Poor boy." He muttered leaning over the counter after learning why her date had ended so early. "Here I thought you wouldn't hurt a fly, but you have started breaking hearts."

They cracked up in laughter.

"Well, you think quite highly of me, Dad." Y/N bit her tongue as soon as the word slipped out.

Matt too seemed uncomfortable. He scratched the back of his neck and his head drooped down.

"I- I'm so- sorry." She bit her lips. "I must have got too comfortable... it just slipped." and rturned doing the the dishes.

"No... No, sweetie, don't apologise." His lid shuttered down and a smile tugged his lips as a tear escaped from his closed eyes. "You have no idea... how much I longed for your lips to call me dad. You know I had tried my best to forget and forgive what Jane and Charles did. Treated you, fairly, like my child. Treated you like Rachael. One day... just by mistake, it slipped mouth and she took you, my princess. She took you... She took you away. Far away from me."

He broke into tears. Y/N didn't care to dry her wet hands as she cupped his face. "Hey... Hey... Dad. Dad. I won't leave you again. I swear, I won't." She wrapped her arms around him. He gently engulfed Y/N in his arms and pressed a kiss through her hair. They held each other for what felt like forever.

The crack of the opening of the front door forced them out of the embrace.

"Y/N? Dad?" Rachael asked walking into the kitchen, "I have good news." She lifted her hands showing us her ring. It was a golden ring with a heart-shaped Peridot at its centre. Her cheeks were tightened and lips were stretched as far as they could.

"How was your evening?" she asked Y/N when she strove desperately to flee through the stairs. She murmured brief accounts of her evening and when she spoke about Dr. Rochester, Rachael's face had been struck with fear. She wasn't as upset about Bucky as she was about the doctor.

"Y/N just stay away from the Rochesters. Please. It's dangerous. They are ... most of us believe they are cannibals. So it's better you maintain your distance from them."

Y/N was deadpanned. She simply nodded in response and lumbered into her room.

After she turned off the lights and slumped into the sheets, her mind twirled around what Rachael has revealed. Was it true? Were they really cannibals? It somehow seemed a ridiculous idea. She let out a breath and glanced out of the window. Something was out ordinary tonight. She could feel it. Was the animal that killed those people here tonight, near our backyard? She  examined the surrounding woods carefully. A silhouette of a man or something stood there. It stood there motionless among trees. In a blink of an eye, it was gone.

#dr strange #dr strange x reader #dr strange x you #dr strange x y/n #dr strange x fem!reader #dr strange imagine #dr strange fanfiction #dr stephen strange #dr stephen strange x reader #dr stephen strange x y/n #doctor strange #doctor strange x reader #doctor strange x you #doctor strange x y/n #doctor strange x female reader #doctor strange fanfiction #doctor strange imagine #doctor stephen strange x y/n #doctor stephen strange #Stephen Strange #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x you #stephen strange x y/n #stephen strange imagine #stephen strange fanfiction #MCU fanfiction #multichapter #multiverse #paranormal romance #vampire romance

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

MCU Master Post

Shipping

But How Do You Really Feel About Bucky and Stucky?

Thoughts on Tony/Dr. Strange

But What About Steve/Tony?

Are Steve/Tony Fans Only from the Comics?

What About Bruce/Natasha?

What About Tony/Bucky? (Is Bucky Still Supposed to be a Character?)

Steve Rogers

But How Do You Really Feel About Steve?

Bucky Barnes

But How Do You Really Feel About Bucky and Stucky?

BUT WHAT ABOUT WINTER SOLDIER?! (Isn’t that Just Bucky?)

Tony Stark

Team Iron Man, I Guess

Brief Thoughts on Tony Stark

What About Peter and Tony’s Relationship?

Loki

How Do You Feel about Loki?

Clint Barton

How Do You Really Feel About Hawkeye?

Peter Parker

What About Peter and Tony’s Relationship?

Captain America: Winter Soldier

Thoughts on the Accords and How They Were Presented in Captain America: Winter Soldier

The Accords Being Bad Made More Sense in Every Other Media

VERSUS

The Avengers vs. Wizards

MCU Avengers vs. Twilight Vampire

Scarlet Witch vs. Harry Potter Wizards

General

Brief Thoughts on the Avengers

Thoughts About the End of Endgame

What Films Have I Seen?

WHY SEE SO MANY?!

#mcu #mcu meta #mcu headcanon #meta #headcanon #opinion #master post

[evilkitten3]

ek3 talks strange!

i love dr strange so much but i cannot help but get whiplash bc almost every time someone mentions dr strange nowadays they're talking about a character that's completely alien to the one i know.

ok so for starters, some stuff about my relationship to the dr strange comics: dr strange was my dad's favorite marvel character, so dr strange comics were the ones we had in the house. specifically, the essential dr strange vol 1 and 2, both of which are a collection of various dr strange stories

quick disclaimer: these are not the more modern marvel comics. these are the old 60s comics. you have been warned.

so dr strange first appeared in 1963 in "strange tales #110". his story was the fourth of four stories in the issue, the others being "the human torch vs. the wizard and paste-pot pete!", "silent stranger", and "we search the stars!", centering on, respectively, the fantastic four (specifically the human torch), hank (not pym, or any of the other hanks you're likely to recognize), and sir edward ramsay.

and then there was the fourth and final story: "dr. strange master of black magic!" and let me tell you, the guy on the cover is borderline unrecognizable.

there he is. that was the first ever dr stephen strange. now you may be thinking "huh he looks kinda like an asian stereotype" and. yeah, he was. not gonna lie, the first few issues were like that; the art couldn't quite decide if it wanted to look like your average white guy or an asian man. in fact, in his origin story, he spends most of the story looking pretty white and then the art seems to depict him as becoming more asian-looking the more magic he learns.

this isn't addressed, but my theory is that it was kind of accidental, and the purpose was to make him seem more otherworldly bc of magic, and the shadowing just kinda. did that. i don't know, this isn't my area of expertise. just a guess. might've also been good old 60s racism.

ANYWAY, this is the character of dr strange that the narrator describes to us: "suddenly, a tall, brooding figure appears, wearing a striking amulet at his throat! the cold grey eyes of dr. strange seem to pierce the mist of the room like a knife!"

so, what's the plot of this story? well, essentially, a man suffering from horrible nightmares becomes desperate for a cure and decides: "i can't fight it alone! i need help! i've heard a name--- spoken in whispers--- dr. strange! he dabbles in black magic! perhaps he can help me!"

who is this man, you ask? irrelevant, we never see him again after this issue and he never gets a name. this is kinda a reoccurring theme in dr. strange stories; he's not overly invested in who other people are. if you learn a name, it's usually bc someone else brought it up.

anyway, nameless man goes to "a quiet side street in new york's colorful greenwich village" (yes, the same greenwich village that stonewall is in, although the inn itself was a good three years away from actually existing). and there he is greeted by wong, who won't be named until strange tales #119 and only has one line here anyway (fun fact: in the issue wong is named in, he also only has one line, and it's basically strange giving him the day off). anyway, his line is "doctor strange knows all! enter!", so that should be more than enough to tell you that this wong and mcu wong don't have all that much in common. this is also the only time it's spelled "doctor" instead of "dr" in this issue, with the exception of the little blue narration box (notably not yellow), so presumably that was wong breaking the fourth wall. that's my theory and i'm sticking to it.

back to the story. the man pleads with dr. strange to help him– or probably would have, but he actually never gets around to asking for help bc strange cuts him off as soon as he's described the dream and tells him he's going to enter his dream that night (currently it's morning, so he's got some time) and see what's what for himself.

the guy leaves, and dr. strange uses "an ancient incense burner" to visit "the master, from whom all my powers stem....", which basically means that his "metaphysical spirit leaves his motionless body and drifts away....", so it's basically just astral projecting and i'm pretty sure it doesn't take too long for them to start calling it that.

fortunately his metaphysical spirit has some kind of superspeed, because it doesn't take all that long before he makes it from new york to "a hidden temple somewhere in the remote vastness of asia....", where he meets the master– aka the ancient one a few issues before they start actually calling him that. and if you think that's bad, we didn't learn his actual name until a marvel handbook mentioned it in 2008. even clea didn't take that long. like i said, dr strange is not in the habit of finding out who he's talking to. if you want him to know your name, you need to tell him bc he simply will not ask.

you might think the master would have some important advice or juicy info but this is a five-page comic from the 60s so all he says is that he's old, he expects strange to take his place eventually, and he's tired, and oh yeah "should danger threaten, depend upon your magic amulet!"

strange goes to "the man who has sought his help!" that night, and tells him to go to sleep and that strange has it covered. the guy seems very reassured by this, and conks out. strange leaves his body once more, this time entering npc mcjacket's dream. and who does he stumble upon but the figure who torments the poor man so! no seriously it takes him like seconds to get there, the dude was not joking about how persistent this dream was.

strange confronts the figure, demanding to know why it torments this poor man, and the figure states that the man should know already, for it is the symbol of the evil that that man has committed. it also tells him to ask mr crang if he doesn't believe it (we never meet crang. ever. he also doesn't matter). but before dr strange can inquire further, an even more menacing form appears: "nightmare--- my ancient foe!"

nightmare establishes that strange has thwarted him before, and also that the rules of sorcery dictate that "those who enter a hostile dimension must be prepared to pay for it--- with their lives!"

back in the real world, nameless not-so-poor guy wakes up, having witnessed the interaction between strange and the symbol of evil, and pulls out a gun to kill strange since apparently hearing the name "mr. crang" means he can't be allowed to live anymore. fortunately for strange, back in the dimension of dreams, nightmare decides to be a bro and tell strange about this (note: he is not actually being a bro. he is taunting strange with images of his imminent demise)

fortunately, strange calls out to the master for aid, and "across the limitless void of time and space, two ancient ears hear the desperate cry of dr. strange!" the ancient one the master does... something. it involves concentrating a lot, but that's about all the detail we get for his end of things.

strange's amulet responds to the whatever-it-was and opens up, revealing "an eye such as no mortal has ever beheld.... such as no mortal would ever want to behold again!" and it shoots out a blinding hypnotic ray that paralyzes the guy. this has the side affect of surprising nightmare so much that strange swooshes past him back to his own dimension, and, nightmare threatening he'll get him next time, resettles into his own body to confront his would-be-killer. he confesses that he'd ruined many men in his business, crang being the most recent, and that he wouldn't have come to strange if he'd realized that was what was causing his dreams. nonetheless, he says he'll confess, and strange tells him he'd better follow through if he ever wants to sleep again.

we end on the little blue box it's totally wong ok don't @ me, which tells us we'll be exploring the mystic world of black magic once again with doctor strange guiding us.

so, what do i love about this? well, what don't i love? (the racism. i don't love the racism. just before anyone starts wondering, the racism in 60s comics is not something i love).

but what i love is just about everything else. strange's ridiculous dotted gloves, the master/ancient one's suns-out-gun-out policy (props to the old man, he's got muscle and he ain't afraid to show it. those arms mean business), the constant terrorized bewilderment of rando o'schmucky, strange's body language, the fact that strange himself doesn't really do much to resolve the plot, the colors and oddness of the dimension of dreams in contrast to the somber and familiar realm world, the absolutely batshit dialogue of a story taking itself very seriously while being aware that that's what it's doing.

i'm thinking about doing more of these, so in case i do, here's a little preview of future features: magic sash! jeweled demolisher beam! night at the wax museum! cleopatra! what looks like a bunch of meringue and is never explained so probably that's what it is! magical pantsing! the media demands the truth! dr. strange in cosplay! extremely inefficient evil sorceress! magic mold! strange vs the ancient one vs i'm pretty sure an acid trip! and last but the very opposite of least, the greatest fight scene in comic book history, the pincers of power!

#marvel #marvel comics #doctor strange #dr strange #i woke up today and chose autism apparently #no for real tho strange is so fucking bad about asking people's names #racism tw

[make-me-imagine]

Hey girl 😊Happy birthday!!! 🎂 Slow burn, fake date, enemies to lovers? for these characters:

sherlock, greg lestrade, moriarty, mycroft holmes, eurus holmes, dr strange, george weasley, the marauders! (sorry but i love them so I had to ask lol), barty crouch jr (david tennant as this totally deranged wizard 😍), Eomer from lotr, carol danvers and agent Phil coulson

Sorry that's so many oops

Thank you!

lol, that's fine, thanks for sending some!

Usually you do this in groups of three so I broke them up into groups of three and one two.

Sherlock: Slow Burn (I feel like this would be the most accurate lol) Greg Lestrade: Fake Date! (I love Greg lol) Moriarty: It'd have to be Enemies to Lovers lmao (Or even lovers to enemies!)

Mycroft Holmes: Slow Burn with Mycroft Eurus Holmes: I actually never watched the Ep with Eurus. But from what I know, it would be Enemies to Lovers? lol Doctor Strange: I'd love a good Fake Date turned into actual dating scenario with him lol

George Weasley: Fake Dating! I feel like it would end up revealing true feelings that neither of us actually knew were there. Barty Crouch Jr: Hmm, Enemies to Lovers seems the most appropriate.

James Potter: Fake Dating Remus Lupin: Slow Burn~ Sirius Black: Enemies to Lovers (we're opposites, so it would be a lot of misunderstanding I think lol)

Eomer: Slow Burn! (I love Eomer <3) Carol Danvers: Enemies to Lovers? Phil Coulson: Fake Dating I guess lol

Thank you again for sending some in!~

xx

(Birthday Sleepover!!)

#ask #ask game #sleepover #birthday sleepover #birthday asks #anon #<3

[og-ant-man]

Thoughts on Dr. Strange?

"Is he an actual doctor or someone who puts doctor in their name to sound cool?"

*Hank looks up Strange's Wikipedia page.*

"Huh, so he IS a doctor. Won some good prizes too. But now he's also a wizard? Huh, that's cool." He nods. "Wizards are real...I guess anything's possible these days."

#hank pym #doctor strange #dr.strange #antman #ant-man #marvel #hank had heard of strange in passing #but hasn't actually met him or learned more #now he's looking at his wiki #also strange has a wiki without a doubt

[praphit]

Black Adam: the psychopath we need right now

Of course The Rock belongs in a comic book cinematic universe. What the hell took so long?! 

There are a bunch of characters I think he could have played well:

Deathstroke.

The Winter Soldier (imagine The Rock growing out his hair:)

Apocalypse (no way that movie sucks with The Rock in it)

(I can’t stop laughing at this GIF, and J.Law’s “Oh, Shit!” face.

The Rock could have played a jacked Professor X (tired of only being the brains)

Or he could have simply played himself. I’d buy that when Batman is in trouble he runs to The Rock.

But, he's perfect for Black Adam!

A long ass time ago, there was a lil boy, born into slavery, in a Middle Eastern country called Kahndaq. Him and his people were slaving away trying to locate a mystical crown made of Vibranium... sorry, I meant Eternium... or was it Krytponite?? Doesn't matter.

This crown has the power to... unleash hell on earth or something. Which... why would anyone want to do that? If you're a bad guy, I get ruling the earth or even destroying the earth. But, to bring a literal, demonic, Hell on earth, doesn't seem productive for anyone... except for Hell. But, anyway, this lil boy, one day, says to himself "Slavery sucks! I want to be free!"

If only it were that simple to be free, kid (though according to Ye, it is).

Some ancient wizards show up and grant this boy powers. They have a habit of doing this.

Why?! Is it just me, or does giving children the powers of gods seem stupid? But, who can tell wizards anything??

This now super-powered, young boy finds his father (The Rock) in peril, one thing leads to another, and SHAZAM!

  Black Ass  Adam is born!

Buuuuuut, he has a bit of a temper, so he has to be locked away, until the movie comes out.

It's now the present day, and Black Adam is here to protect his people... eventually. He's kind of a psychopath. I mean that in the nicest way possible. He's a charming psychopath tho... well, not really. I mean, The Rock is charming AF, but.... I guess we'll crown B.A. with the same charm as the actor playing him; why not??

But, he needs help from some "friends" (I use that word loosely):

Cyclone

Ant Squasher or Musher... or something

Dr. Strange Fate

And The Winged Black Man

( I think I may have mixed up a name or two in there, but it doesn't really matter)

These weirdly familiar characters are able to annoy B.A. enough to convince him to limit his anti-hero murdering spree long enough to save the day. Although, I kinda think he enjoyed the killing more than saving the day.

This movie has everything you'd want:

super-powered freaks, a video game level of action and explosions, evil labs, zombie vibes, some tomb raider action, demons/end of days bs, international politics, the funny fat guy, the strong and smart single mom character (in the credits, she's (a Middle Eastern woman) named ISIS... I know these comic books were written a while ago, but... still kinda bleeped up), it's got tear-jerking self-sacrifice, and some Lord of the Rings vibes.

What more could you want??!

All held together by the cornerstone, being The Rock!

  Whew! That's some good sex right there!

However :) There are some issues.

For one, if you suffer from comic book/action movie fatigue, then don't go anywhere near this movie. It's not trying to be anything else but that.

This movie is a Thanksgiving gravy dump of CGI. Is that a good or bad thing? - depends on your tastes, I suppose. This is some of the easiest money The Rock had ever made. CGI did all of the work. In fact, CGI had to work harder than ever to make The Rock look weaker (pre-powers). Dwayne Johnson doesn't even have all that much dialogue. He doesn't need to be the straight man in a comedy duo. Doesn't need to be in shape.... of course he’s in ridiculous shape, being The Rock, but he didn't NEED to be. Shoot, the powers of CGI even squeezed Pierce Brosnan (loved btw) into spandex.

The CGI does get bad though, towards the end. Like, not She-Hulk bad, but in the same ballpark.

There's a lot of slomo. NO, I MEAN A LOT! It's like someone discovering a new IG filter for the first time, and they always feel compelled to use it. Enough with the beautifying filters already! You know damn well you don't look like that. You're not fooling anyone:)

The Rock, though his people all seem to have Kahndaqian accents, he does not. C'mon, Dwayne! Be an actor! On second thought, I'm now picturing The Rock using this accent throughout the whole film, and in my mind, it turns into a comedy. So, I'll take that criticism back.

It's also a lil long. I wish they would have used the extra length to make this movie less dreary. I mean, I had fun with it, but... DC still hasn't learned how to balance out their tones yet (though James Gunn should be able to help that moving forward). Idk what's in Marvel's secret sauce, but if they had produced Black Adam, part of me wouldn't have felt like it needed a strong drink after watching.

There were two messages driven home by ISIS (still feels wrong to call her that):

1) "Hey, outsiders! Stay the bleep out of OUR business!" - that message,  I agree with.

2) Black Adam is not a hero, but he's the ANTI-Hero that they need.  

Idk, people. I get that sometimes you've gotta murder people (not the best message for the kids, but whatever). But, don't we have enough anti-heroes?? If everyone is an anti-hero... what's an anti-hero? You know?? I mean Black Adam murders more people in this movie than "the bad guy". He murders more people in this movie than Michael Myers murders in "Halloween Ends".  

At what point in the sport of killing, does one become a villain??

That being said, I get it, and I like it!

Considering the slavery of their people. Considering people coming at you with guns. And considering demonic forces rising up against you (not like you can take demons to court) - yeah, sometimes, you've gotta kill people.

If you're looking for a dumb comic book action flick (for the kids? - sure), fueled by revenge - The Rock delivers.

Grade: B-

They also fixed the problem (at least I personally have had) with characters that are way too powerful. He wasn't dull. I mean his character kinda is, but... throw in The Rock as a heavily (and I mean HEAVILY) flawed character, and you've got some entertainment. I hope Marvel is paying attention concerning Captain Marvel 2.

Let's give Capt a functional coke and drinking problem, and make The Rock her bartender, and we'll have a less dull winner.

#BlackAdam #dccomics #johnpraphit #praphitproductions.com #Marvel #DrFate #TheRock #dwaynejohnson #Praphit #MovieReviews

[midnightandstars]

I've started making a fanfic about a girl who absorbs the reality stone and Dr strange teaches her to control it. I'm an amateur and not much experienced. Hope you like it.

It is also available on Wattpad as 'The Power of Infinity ' or click here

You can find me as @midnight_mania on Wattpad.

Part 1 The beginning

At the Sanctum, doctor strange was teaching his new apprentice the lessons on how to control her powers. The girl had mastered her power of creating portals to teleport but controlling the reality stone was on a whole other level. But she was able to control it in a very short period of time and if we say she was close to mastering the ability to use it, it wouldn't be an exaggeration. After all, she had absorbed the reality stone, it was a part of her being now. She created a portal with her powers and the reality stone. The reality stone, as one could guess, gave the power to create, bend or change the reality. In a sense, there was no reality at all, it was all the imagination of the bearer." You're almost a master at it now, just remember keep your mind calm and concentrated."The master of the mystic arts was surely proud of his apprentice." It just feels very natural now. It's like this stone has always been a part of me." The apprentice said looking at the red glow on her hands.Surely, it wasn't easy for anyone so young to be able to hold an infinity stone let alone controlling it but this girl was gifted to say the least." Can I try to open a portal in different time with the time stone? I've wanted to see if I can do it for so long." Naturally, the sorcerer didn't say yes. He reasoned that the time stone was not a toy to play with but after an argument from the girl convincing him that she wanted it for good, he eventually gave in. She tried to open a portal in past but failed quite a few times. Then she decided to try once once more, solely focused on the task, closing her eyes with the green energy of time wrapping around her. Soon, there was a circular opening to something, set afar in time but as soon as she let her mind wander and be happy over this achievement, the portal closed. Satisfied with her attempt, she gave back the stone but she could still feel the green energy around her. She looked questioningly at the wizard who answered " Looks like the time stone has taken a liking to you." in a sarcastic tone.She would have answered that he was afraid of her taking his job but knowing that her teacher was proud of his title, decided against it. The girl smiled, still wondering about her unique gift.The lesson was finally over and then it was like any other day at the Sanctum, everyone busy with their own work but unfortunately, that was a normal day until something crashed into the stairs of the Sanctum. Dr Strange and Wong went to check, prepared to take on an enemy but instead there was a human with green shade around him, lying down and the sentence he said was a warning of the upcoming disaster."Thanos is coming"

Part 2

#fanfic #dr strange #mcu #new character

[hexoskeleton]

i just know it’s gotta be driving disnay execs crazy that after specifically advertising Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness to us, it’s still getting beat out on trending by some rando emailing people chapters of fucking dracula. the book, dracula. not to mention the owl house. sorry Mickey Mouse you dumb fuck but not even tumblr’s old scrunkle-unko, mr. sherlock holmes himself could make these sad teens care more about some guy in tights pretending to be a wizard in front of a greenscreen than about a century-old novel and an animated series (that you cancelled) with actual gay representation. sucks to be a rat i guess

[storiesofthenight]

@ncxile​ liked for a starter.

Sometimes, Loki wandered the Avenger compound in early mornings. As soon as the door of his room was unlocked, he would sometimes head out and settle beneath one of the many trees at the far end of the compound, enjoying the feel of dew on his fingertips as he brushed his fingers through the grass and looked up at the brightening sky. 

Loki was a complicated person, he knew that, but he also knew that a lot of the inhabitants of the compound felt very different about that fact. In fact, he was certain some of them were against the choice of their ‘wizard’ allowing him to stay at the compound to begin with. Why exactly Dr. Strange had decided that Loki was to be offered a chance, well, Loki knew that of course, but the others ... they didn’t seem to get it. He could feel the hostility in their looks whenever he entered a room or passed people by in the hallways. He guessed that not even a collar that restricted his magic was stopping them from thinking he would kill them in his sleep.

So, the surprise was big when one morning, he was humming a little to himself and he spotted some movement in the corner of his eye. Glancing towards the Avenger, Loki tilted his head a little as he watched the other curiously. Loki had heard about the things that’d happened to the other when Thanos had erased half of all life. And he had heard how Barton had lost the red haired woman along the way to rewind the snap’s results. 

He remembered the woman, had somehow respected her, even if he had never had a chance to tell her. She was human, had no special powers, but she had been so adamant to safe the archer that now stood before him, that Loki had been impressed by it. It made him wonder ... perhaps it would be read wrongly, but he could only give it a shot right?

Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the tightness of the metal around his neck as he looked up and met the other’s eye. “Mr. Barton,” he muttered, as a greeting of some sorts, “I am sorry for the losses you have experienced as a result of Thanos his actions.” Thanos ... the name still send shivers down his spine sometimes. His encounters with the purple madman had been nightmares from the first second to the last. 

#ncxile #Loki:[Verses]Main #I got carried away woops. Also no rush responding to any of the starters obviously <3

[vaayusjournal]

25th of jahal, 6242

happy bergday! i was looking for my field guide, cause i saw the coolest praying mantis today, and i found this old journal sitting at the bottom of my bag! dr. madhumakhee mentioned something about how every good adventurer should keep a journal, and how she loved to look back at her adventures with her friends from back when she was “still a spry young thing,” so i think i want to give it a shot too! so here i am! hi future vaayu i hope you’re doing well!

for my future self: hi my name is vaayu and i am almost twenty years old. although you probably knew that lol. cause you’re me. lol. i am a cleric!! of vaashak!! (how cool is that??) and im currently somewhere near dalbore i think? we just left dalbore and are on the yeoman road. i joined a caravan back near calsbury and we’re headed to skipsieve!

all this stuff is in my field guide, but dr. madhumakhee told me that i shouldn’t be afraid to take too many notes, so i’ll note it here too! we’re currently in a deciduous oak forest. its currently late summer! the forest is really thick and absolutely teeming with life! yesterday, when we’d stopped for the night, jin and i had set up our tents near this big old oak tree and there was a red oak borer right there!! and i know its bad for the tree and all that jazz but the chance to get to see a red oak borer in its natural habitat just going about and living its life was priceless

there’s something weird up with this forest though. i can’t quite put my finger on it. its just...  a strange feeling. and its not a good one

i did also meet some new people though!! i think i made some new friends!! last night, this one halfling named triennan was like “oh its kind of cold today so lets start a little campfire!” and then jin was like “here are some marshmallows to roast over the fire!” and then it took us like twenty minutes to actually light the fire, but i got to meet a lot of people. there’s jin, of course, who i’ve kind of been hanging out with already! she’s also a gnome and she’s a wizard (at first she kind of reminded me of agni, y’know my older sister, but don’t worry she’s suuuper nice and sweet)! then there’s triennan, who is a halfling, like i mentioned before, and a rogue! he’s the one who started the fire and stuff. he’s a little aloof and distant, but we are complete strangers so i’m really not surprised. he told us that he’s from skipsieve and that he left it to start a new life that he found and now he’s coming back! so i guess he’s like a fully realized person now? then there’s lightwalker, who is a druid from olton. she’s reaaaaaly tall. like really really really tall. even taller than caerwyn, who i’ll get to in a second. she has this really cute fire spirit friend with her who i think is in the shape of a marmot??? their name is taika and they’re so cool (but like not really cause they’re made of fire lol). caerwyn is also oltonese!! she’s some sort of a fighter i think? she has millitary experience of some sort!! she has this huge sword that’s even bigger than me and is very protective of it. she’s a part of the security for the caravan! the last person in our little circle was guik. he’s a human bard from mardoon in hetesia, and he’s a follower of this god named pelor!! he’s very chill, but tbh he seems lowkey a little sad?

#vaayu pov #the snakes and sandwiches #skipsieve

[lowtaxsa]

Review: Planet of the Apes (1965)

LOWTAX: Alright folks, buckle up because we're about to dive into the 1965 classic, Planet of the Apes. Let me tell ya, it's gonna be a wild ride with talking monkeys, primitive humans, and one very confused astronaut.

MECHA-LOWTAX: The film begins with astronaut George Taylor and his crew crash-landing on a mysterious planet. They think they've landed in the distant future, but little do they know...

LOWTAX: (hic) Yeah, they're about to find out they're on a planet ruled by talking apes, because why the hell not? Hey, it's a sci-fi classic, so I guess it makes perfect sense. Just like my decision to have one too many drinks tonight!

MECHA-LOWTAX: Soon, Taylor and his crew encounter primitive humans who cannot speak. They are captured by intelligent apes, the dominant species on the planet. Taylor is shot in the throat, rendering him mute.

LOWTAX: And boy, is that a bummer. It's like waking up after a night of drinking and finding out you've lost your voice. Now how are you gonna argue with people about politics on the internet?

MECHA-LOWTAX: Taylor is brought before the ape tribunal, consisting of Dr. Zaius, Zira, and Cornelius. Zira, a compassionate chimpanzee scientist, takes a liking to Taylor and wants to help him.

LOWTAX: (slurring) Dr. Zaius, that orangutan bastard, is all like, "Nah, this guy's dangerous!" But really, he's just worried about his precious ape society crumbling. Hey, at least they don't have to worry about global warming, am I right?

MECHA-LOWTAX: Despite his injuries, Taylor manages to communicate with Zira and Cornelius, convincing them of his intelligence. They agree to help him escape and uncover the truth about the planet's past.

LOWTAX: (hic) And then they embark on this wild journey that's basically like a really trippy version of The Wizard of Oz, but with more sand and less singing.

MECHA-LOWTAX: The group discovers a cave with evidence that humans once ruled the planet, but were overthrown by the apes. Dr. Zaius confronts them and reveals that he's known the truth all along.

LOWTAX: (slurring) So, it turns out the big ape is just trying to protect his own kind. I mean, who can blame him? It's not like humans have ever done anything stupid, right? (laughs)

MECHA-LOWTAX: Dr. Zaius lets Taylor leave, but warns him that he may not like what he finds. Taylor ultimately discovers the remains of the Statue of Liberty, realizing that he's been on Earth the whole time.

LOWTAX: (hic) Oh, the sweet, sweet irony. Our boy Taylor has been home all along, and it's a total dump. I mean, I can't help but feel a little bad for the guy, but also... what a twist!

MECHA-LOWTAX: Planet of the Apes explores themes of power, humanity, and the danger of ignorance. It remains a thought-provoking film that challenges our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us.

LOWTAX: (slurring) Yeah, and it's got talking monkeys in it, which is pretty rad. So, grab some popcorn, pour yourself a drink - or maybe don't, considering how this review has gone - and enjoy this bizarre yet strangely captivating classic. (hic)

#lowtax speaks #mecha lowtax #big blog #reviews #planet of the apes #charlton heston #what a jerk