worse, Riley can no longer feel Joy or Sadness, and thus the appropriate emotional responses that stem from those such as ya know, Empathy or Love. Though...the villain of that story was a combination of homesickness and the onset of puberty, so i'm not sure if that really counts as DVV-badguy stuff.
I still think Inside Out was a disappointment. Apathy is an emotion in and of itself, it should have been a grey, faceless businessman who came from the elevator, started flipping switches and pushing buttons with the efficiency of a machine, and always sparing a hand to slap away any other emotions' input. Not just a grey "meh" sweeping over the controls.
Edit: Gorilla me in the Omake-Making Gorilla, I need to stop having Good Ideas.
Assuming this is talking about Inside Out, I'm not sure that would be in DVV. The point of DVV is that "What if the villain(s) won?", not "What if the hero(s) lose?". And to the best of my knowledge, there isn't a villain in Inside Out, so there shouldn't be a reason for the story to have happened differently. Discounting butterflies from everything else, of course.
I still think Inside Out was a disappointment. Apathy is an emotion in and of itself, it should have been a grey, faceless businessman who came from the elevator, started flipping switches and pushing buttons with the efficiency of a machine, and always sparing a hand to slap away any other emotions' input. Not just a grey "meh" sweeping over the controls.
I still think Inside Out was a disappointment. Apathy is an emotion in and of itself, it should have been a grey, faceless businessman who came from the elevator, started flipping switches and pushing buttons with the efficiency of a machine, and always sparing a hand to slap away any other emotions' input. Not just a grey "meh" sweeping over the controls.
Edit: Gorilla me in the Omake-Making Gorilla, I need to stop having Good Ideas.
What you're talking about is Gloom. Gloom was going to be the main antagonist in the movie and looks much like you've described him, but he was cut because Pixar didn't want kids to get the message that depression is a thing you can just defeat. Depression is a disorder, not an emotion.
Assuming this is talking about Inside Out, I'm not sure that would be in DVV. The point of DVV is that "What if the villain(s) won?", not "What if the hero(s) lose?". And to the best of my knowledge, there isn't a villain in Inside Out, so there shouldn't be a reason for the story to have happened differently. Discounting butterflies from everything else, of course.
It depends, amusingly enough much of DVV isn't if the villains won, but rather that the heroes lost. For example, in DoofQuest Fox probably got taken to Avalon or killed. It is hard to say. For Doof, he killed Perry.
For Bill, it is obvious. He obviously didn't win as the entire universe hasn't been Weirdmagedxon'd. The heroes lost and the Weirdness bubble expanded.
You can't say that Malifishmertz doesn't have a lot of endurance because he just kept on getting up. Fighting a dragon and a army of 1000 monsters and a few meddling kids.
So do the pistachio people exist? I imagine that an invasion of the body snatchers style arc might be interesting in this setting. If they do, I doubt they would last long
New (non-canon) omake! Buckle your seatbelts, kiddies (yes, even you @Made in Heaven). This here's a long one!
Elseworlds Dancing
Elsewhere in the vast multiverse…
You look up at the stage to see a trio of witches- anywhere else on Halloween you'd assume they were entertainers, but considering where you are they're probably the real deal. Man, whoever they are they're good, everybody's grooving along. You almost can't help but join in…
Occult Check: Notice the Enchantment
DC 80 needed: 85+4+12+10=111
Success!
Wow, it's not just you either! Vanessa, Max, Janna, even Russ is feeling the beat.
...wait a second. That's not normal.
"Uh, dad?" Vanessa begins uncertainly. You look over to see her voguing with a look of concern on her face. "I don't think I can stop."
The lead witch, a hag with massive red hair puffed up into two frizzy bulbs bigger than her actual head, pauses in her song to begin a chant amongst the crowd.
"Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi!"
"Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi!"
"In comma coriyama!"
Very much against your will, you repeat back: "In comma coriyama!"
The other two witches, one a portly woman with hair literally shaped like a pointed hat, the other a beautiful, blond haired maiden, grin as they back the lead up on the final notes.
"Hey, Hai, Say Bye-byeeeeeee. Bye-bye!"
"Uh oh."
Occult Check: Resist the Spell!
DC 140 needed:
98+4+12+10+20 (Yang Talisman) =144
Bare Success
Your entire team seems to be affected. You can feel the power of the Shengxiao trying to fight back against the song in your head, but it was primarily made for entering the astral world, not blocking it, so although it puts up a valiant fight, it seems to be losing. However, you remember some of those entries in your spellbook on fighting possession, which seems to be the extra push you need to break free of the song's influence. The song keeps going even though the music has stopped, and although you have managed to get free, your companions cannot help but dance with it. The teens are all in varying states of dawning panic. Russ, however, seems to be more annoyed than anything. He's maintaining a gentle frown even as he Charlestons across the impromptu dance floor. However, your hooded +1 and their new friend seem to have disappeared towards the DJ.
Intrigue Check: Who's here?
DC 90 needed
81+14+38+10+5+7=155
Strong success!
Xanatos, Owen and Magica have all cleared out. You don't think you've seen Xanatos since that angry redhead disappeared, so maybe that's related? But you have no idea where the other two went. Heck, Owen was here just a second ago! As for everyone else…
Horvath Occult Check:
DC 140 Needed: 53+38+20+3 = 114
Failure!
Horvath seems to be affected by the spell too. With a look of fury on his face, his entire body begins to sway in tune to the rhythm. It would almost be comical to see an impassive man like him swinging around like a gogo dancer if the situation weren't so serious. Drake Stone is also put under the influence of the spell, but it seems like he doesn't mind quite as much.
Pandarus Occult Check:
DC 140 Needed: 61+29+14+2=106
Failure!
The famed Wizard of Wall Street can't seem to stop the beat either, joining the growing throng. It's exceptionally undignified, though you suppose if Pandarus was going for dignity, he wouldn't have shown up with hair shaped like a two-toned bird of prey. Monty Hall doesn't seem to be quite as upset about the impromptu dance number, at least.
Glooms Occult Check:
DC 140 needed: 94+19+10=123
Failure!
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hildy and Grim fall under the spell as well, though surprisingly, they seem to put up just as much of a fight as all the trained wizards here. Maybe they're not quite as feckless as you thought.
Grim trips over his own foot on the first beat and crashes to the ground.
You have gotta stop saying stuff like that.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The hag shouts, gazing out over the assembled throng of boogying magical creatures. "You may refer to me as Winifred Sanderson, and these as mine sisters, Mary and Sarah. Firstly, may I say how happy I am to see the ways of magic having carried on in this virgin land long after our untimely demise."
"And the ways of broommaking!" The large one, Mary, says, holding up a top of the line racing broom that some salesman somewhere in the Bazaar is definitely missing. "You wouldn't believe what we had to ride here on-"
"And," Winifred continues, cutting her sister off with a look, "how disgusted I was to see it hiding in the shadows. Cowards the lot of you, and thieves, to boot! One of you has a book, a very important book, which belongs to us! With its power, we shall drain the life of the children of New Amsterdam-"
"I believe they're calling it New York now, Winny." Sarah notes.
"A pox and plague on linguistic drift! These folk cannot even judge betwixt thee and thou! Oh, pah! Regardless. One of ye hath obtained our book. Reveal thyselves to us, and we shall leave in peace with our rightful property."
No one speaks up.
"Knaves! Then thou all shalt dance until thine knees do break and thine humors boil in thine own living bodies! Sisters! Search the fools."
Intrigue Check: Do you know who these witches are?
DC 80 needed: 34+14+38+10+5+7=108
Success!
Oh, boy. It's the Sanderson Sisters. Janna came across an article about them online the other day when she was fantasizing about witches to join the coven you were trying to set up. (Naturally, of course, you would put Janna in charge of it. She's your loyal daughter employee and one of the most talented magic users you have. You'd be an idiot not to.) Apparently, they were hanged back in the seventeenth century for witchcraft and for the murder of Thachary and Emily Binx in their "wretched" ceremonies. However, legend says that the eldest sister, Winifred, cast a curse before she and her sisters were put to death; if a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle on Halloween night, they would rise from the grave to enact vengeance on the world (and that lifeforce of the children thing they mentioned earlier).
Seems like those legends are true. And it also seems someone lit the candle.
Well, this is bad. Still, it looks like your free companions are on the same page you are, as they're headed to the one place where they can turn this around.
Suddenly, Winifred's eyes fall on you and she realizes you're not dancing. "What?!" she shrieks. "How are you not dancing?! Our magic should have enslaved thy body to the music! How can you resist us?! Who are you?!!"
Intrigue Check: Keep your cool
DC 110 needed: 98+14+38+10+5+7+50(I know something you don't know)=222
Critical Success!
Everyone's now looking at you with a mixture of shock and confusion. It's a bit disconcerting, but you know you have to play for time if you want to make it out of this. So that means you can't afford any slip-ups. Shoving down your nerves, you squint at the witches and imagine them wearing Perry the Platypus costumes. That helps you get into the proper mindset.
"Ah, Sanderson Sisters!" you croon as you take a deep and sweeping bow. "I am Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, a recent convert to the ways of the occult! I came to this fine Bazaar to increase my already… impressive armory of occult artifacts. Such as..." Smirking, you reveal the amulet around your neck, reveling in their shock as they recognize it.
Janna Occult Check: Break free of the spell
DC 140 needed: 82+4+10+12+2+10+7+40 (Narrative appropriate)+20 (Crit bonus)=187
Success!
"Don't forget me!" Felldrake chimes in as he starts to glow. "You insolent whiny crones think you can control my acolyte and prophet of EVIL?!! The mighty Lord Felldrake refuses to let such an insult stand!!!" With a flash of light, and a look of concentration from Janna, she stops dancing and turns to the sisters with a glare. The trio now seem nervous.
The other wizards, however, are looking at you with mixed positive emotions. Horvath and Pandarus are looking at you with gazes of interest and a hint of respect. Monty Hall is gazing excitedly at you like he can't wait to see what you pull out next. Drake Stone is just gaping in utter shock, while the Glooms look extremely impressed and in awe.
"Still, though," you continue, "I never expected to see such horrifying witches from an age past arrive here! How alarming, your appearance is certainly unprecedented!" The witches start to regain their composure; Sarah just nervously smiles and giggles, Mary blushes and starts playing with her hair, while Winifred draws herself to full height and starts gaining a look of nervous superiority.
You shoot a look at Russ and Janna before turning back to the witches. They don't seem to have noticed. "And by unprecedented, I mean COMPLETELY PRECEDENTED!!!" You point at the sisters.
Janna Occult Check: 98+4+10+12+2+7+7+10= 150
Winifred Occult Contest: 69+30+20+20+5-20(Intimidated)-50(HOW CAN WE BE COMPLETELY PRECEDENTED?!?)= 74
Winifred Critical Failure!!
Bless your employees, they're always right on the ball. Janna immediately summons Leopold and proceeds to sic him on the witches, who are too overcome with shock to even try to defend themselves. Leopold tears into them with a vengeance, immediately batting Winifred away like a doll then slamming the other two witches into the ground, tearing them apart with his teeth. Winifred has the misfortune of being slammed into a fireworks stand, which immediately lights up and incinerates her in a humongous flash of color and light.
Leopold turns back and returns to his mistress, doing a sort of purr as Janna scratches the underside of his blood-stained chin. "Good abomination," she coos.
The other guests just gape in awe and quite a bit of horror at the display, now dancing a good distance away from you and your group.
Max looks on in a mix of awe and disgust as he flosses. "Well… that was easy," he says.
Russ heaves a heavy sigh and manages to facepalm while doing a rather impressive dance move.
You roll your eyes. "Okay, Max? Two things. One, the minute we get back to Doofania, I'm sending you to Ludivine for at least an hour-long lecture about Murphy's Law and its relation to Toonforce, with Russ acting as an teacher's assistant."
Max groans, but nods nonetheless. "Yes sir. And two?"
"It's not over."
Vanessa scoffs. "Looks pretty over to me. That… thing totally turned them into ash and pulp, Dad. How is it not over?"
You shrug. "Black Flame Candle," you reply. "Legend says as long as it burns, the witches will have life. Fortunately for us, it will run out of steam once dawn hits, but that's quite a few hours from now."
"Thou art correct, sorcerer!" Winifred cackles from… behind you?!
Martial Check: DODGE!!!
DC 90 needed: 34+20+14+10+10+7=95
Bare Success
Janna Martial Check: DODGE!!!
DC 90 needed: 28+20+10+12+7+7+10+15(???)=109
Success
You wheel around to see the sisters, now fully restored, cast a sort of hex at you. In your haste to get out of the way, you trip over absolutely nothing, but narrowly manage to avoid getting hit. Janna has a much better time of it and manages to dodge the spell entirely. Leopold and the poor schmucks that were behind you, however, are now forced to do the worm as they are completely bound in enchanted rope.
Janna turns a chilling glare at the threesome for Leopold. You, however, just get up and dust yourself off. "Crafty," you admit. "Very crafty, Sanderson sisters. Very crafty."
Winifred cackles. "You truly are impressive, Dr. Doofenshmirtz. I must admit, the powers thou possess certainly pose a threat to us. However, if this is the best you have, I must bid you farewell!" She begins to cast another spell.
You quickly glance over at your other two secret compatriots. It seems they're halfway to being done, so they still need a bit more time to set up. You quickly try to think of something to try and stop the sisters, but then see Janna charging up Felldrake and Russ conversing with Max. It seems you don't have to do much.
Russ looks over to the mixtable, which is somehow still running. "DJ! Play me something old school."
The DJ, a mercreature from the looks of it, frowns sourly. "I don't do old school!"
"Then give me the closest thing your complete lack of taste can manage."
Apparently taking that as a challenge, the jockey searches for a few seconds before selecting a song to pipe across the plaza.
Russ listens until the violin kicked in. "Oh, this will do nicely."
"For what?"
Russ reaches out his hand. Max, almost against his will and definitely against his better judgement, takes it.
And they dance.
Within seconds, they have closed the distance to the witches with a series of lunges Across Allegro.
"Oooh, what is this?" Mary asked as the pair approach. "Two mortal fools come to Danse Macabr-"
Russ performs a flying assemblé that, despite never having been designed to hit anything, sends the witch crashing into the sausage stand behind her. Squawking, the other two witches send a hail of spell bolts back at him, but Russ pulls Max into a smooth, flowing dance that manages to perfectly dodge every shot by a hair's breadth. Max's feet move of their own accord as his eyes goggle.
"What are we doing?!?"
"Well it's called the Foxtrot, son."
"No! I mean-"
"Max, listen to me." Russ replies, pulling Max closer. "You have a gift few people can even imagine. You can do anything… as long as it entertains."
Russ twirls Max into a pirouette. The Toon goes careening like a top, crashing into the youngest witch and leaving the both of them sprawled uncomfortably close on the ground.
Max blushed. "So uh… come here often?"
Janna, who has just been watching in awe and shock, snorts and rolls her eyes.
Russ pulls Max up before returning to the tempo. "They want to eat children, Max."
"I know that!" Max replies defensively. "I was… distracting her."
"Uh huh." Russ replies. "Hold that thought."
Russ tumbles into a slide, managing to duck under a roaring fireball and pop back up next to a potion cart. He juggles a few bottles for the briefest of interludes before lobbing them one after another at the three witches.
"Come now! I've been in the business for thirty years, you think this is the first time I've dance-fought a witch?!?"
"Fool of a man to face the arcane, be hobbled now by ball and chain!"
Russ tries to leap out of the way, but the spell catches him square in the leg. Chains sprang forth around him, ending in a heavy metal ball that drags him painfully to the ground.
"Russ!" Janna shouts.
"Agh!" Russ grunts. "Can't do this alone."
"You won't need to," Janna growls. "Let's do this, Felldrake!"
"Oh, yeah! Burn by my power, witches!!" Felldrake cackles.
Janna releases streams of flame from Felldrake, but this time Winifred is ready. She charges up her own blast and fires it, catching Janna off guard and blowing her back, dazed but unharmed.
"Hm, for such an impressive witch, she certainly doesn't seem all that much," Sarah muses.
"Perhaps her anger muddles her power instead of enhancing it?" Mary suggests.
"It certainly seems so, sisters," Winifred concludes. "Something to look into once we are done here. Perhaps she could be persuaded to join our ranks… ah, such matters are for later. For now…" She turns towards Russ with a cruel grin.
"Hoover Dam it," Russ curses. "Magic runs on meaning, but it isn't enough. Max, I need your help."
"I don't know what to do!"
"You don't have to. Look around you. Feel the story. Do what comes- agh… naturally."
Behind Russ, the witches begin stalking forwards. "What is this little creature, sisters? A dog? A man? I can't decide. Perhaps we should help it make up its mind."
"Ohh, don't turn him into a dog Winny, I hate dogs!" Mary moans.
"Why not a cat?" Sarah suggested.
"We've done cats."
"Then something else small and soft. A rabbit, or mayhaps a duck."
Max grits his teeth. No. Not again.
In the midst of anger, fear, and the ever present beat forcing him to, at minimum, bounce up and down, Max tries to clear his head. 'Do what comes naturally, do what comes naturally…'
Max grabs onto Russ and, with a burst of strength he had no idea he had, begins to swing the man in a circle, chain and all. The massive iron ball snaps to the end of its chain, spinning around and around until Max can't even see. And then, with one desperate prayer, Max swings the man and chain towards the advancing witches.
With a fling, Russ, chain and all, goes flying towards the three witches. Halfway through the arc, the chain unwound from Russ' body, forming a solid metal clothesline from which there is no escape. The three witches are swept off their feet, finding themselves stunned on the ground.
Russ stands up, pulls the anklet off of his leg, and brushes down his suit jacket.
"Wuh-Russ, how did you get out?!" you ask in disbelief.
"Oh, I got that thing undone a minute after they conjured it."
"Are you telling me you could have gotten free at any time???" Max asks furiously.
"Yes." Russ replied, "But I only did it when it was entertaining. It's called jobbing. Mentor figure trapped on the ground, do-or-die moment; Toonforce and magic both thrive on meaning. It was the perfect setup for a little misdirection."
"I think you might be the only adult I've ever kind of respected." Janna replies.
You wonder why Russ isn't dancing, but then you realize he is; Brush It Off was a dance move back in the 80s, and Russ is taking full advantage of that.
"I... I can't believe I did it. I did it! Ha! Take that, witches!" Max says it with such an inflection that you can imagine another, less advertiser friendly word in its place. "This is… this is actually pretty cool! I never knew that you could use antics like this! Maybe I could take back control from all those crazy things that keep happening to me!"
"Don't get cocky." Russ says, clicking a button and summoning the Spycycle to his side. "Someone without the ability to lose is rarely narratively compelling."
"Come on, you're amazing! You managed to make ballroom dancing look cool! What could-?"
Before he can finish that sentence, he stops short and covers his mouth. "Whoops. Almost did it again," he says.
It seems he's learning. That's good. Russ nods in approval.
The music changes again. A long-forgotten boombox, still embedded in the windshield of a crashed Huntsvehicle, crackles to life.
"Hoover Dam it!" Russ bellows, jigging furiously.
"Oh, come on! Even when it's not by direct provocation?!" Max screams, now bouncing around to the country beat.
A look of apoplectic fury passes over Horvath's face as he began jigging in place as well, completely interrupting the spell that he was trying to cast. Drake Stone starts to actively fight back against the spell too now, looking abjectly horrified that he's being forced to dance to this hillbilly trash.
Vanessa looks about as mad as you've ever seen her. "We're not getting anywhere with casting by ourselves! If you want to dispel this thing, cut it off at the source!"
"We've been trying." Russ replies. "But there's a lot of weight behind a coven of three witches attacking on Halloween night."
"Why's that?!" Max and Vanessa demand.
"It's an ancient idea." Russ says, taking in the lithe young blond and the portly middle-aged witch still lying on the ground. "The Maiden, the Mother and…"
Russ turns to see Winnifred, three feet away, glaring daggers at him.
"...and the Other One."
You snort and hold a hand over your mouth. "Read the Discworld, huh?"
"I am unashamed of calling Terry Pratchet a literary genius."
"Oh, I'm not making fun of you. His books were what made my life in America before DEI somewhat bearable."
"SILENCE!!" Winifred shrieks. "Think me a hag, will ye? Whither and die, Man of Action!"
(Somewhere in the world, Ferb Fletcher sneezed.)
You look over and see one of your compatriots making adjustments to a tall rod in the center of the plaza. You smile and start to chuckle, then laugh, then maniacally laugh.
"WHY DOES THOU LAUGH?!!?" screeches Winifred.
"Oh, Sanderson sisters. You think yourselves invulnerable?" you say slyly. " I must agree. And by invulnerable, I mean COMPLETELY VULNERABLE!!"
In the center of the crowd, one of your compatriots whips off her cloak and a spotlight shines down on her as the boombox suddenly cuts out.
"Hit it, DJ!" Juniper says.
An electric techno beat starts to echo throughout the plaza, followed by a reverberating bass that makes the very ground vibrate. Everyone starts to do robot-like dance moves, to the annoyance of many of the more traditional minded. When the drums start to hit, Juniper begins to jerkishly dance. With anyone else, it would just look stiff and sloppy. But Juniper makes it look natural and fluid. The beats start to hit and Juniper begins shaking her hips. When the cutoff happens, she drops into a crouch with her arms outstretching slowly.
"ENOUGH GAMES!" Winifred roars as she blasts a hex at Juniper.
Stupidly, Winifred's blast is green magic lightning. Juniper easily absorbs it with a grand jump as the music resumes and begins blasting the witches with their own magic in rhythm with the music. The witches are sustaining pretty serious damage as Juniper continues to blast them with her blue lightning, assuming various poses and performing very advanced dance moves while doing so.
With a grand jump and a large blast, the music goes back to just the techno beat with long chords in the background as Juniper begins slowly sliding backward towards the rod, almost Moonwalking if she wasn't dragging her feet. As the witches begin to get back up and recover, they are interrupted by a voice, talking in sync with the song.
"Everything owes its existence," the voice says, "solely and completely…"
The second figure makes himself known as a spotlight shines down on a young man with curly black hair, wearing a red and black hoodie, denim jeans, and pointy toed shoes.
Intrigue Check
DC 50 needed: 25+14+38+10+5+7=99
Success
Horvath looks flatfooted and shocked at the appearance of the boy. He also looks a little afraid. Huh. Do they know each other? Something for later.
"...to sound," Dave and the voice finish. With that, he presses down a button on the board in front of him.
Dave Occult Check: 37+75 (Brought a little science)+250 (THE MOMENT II)=362
Winifred Occult Challenge: 78+30+20+20+5-20 (Beaten and bruised)=133
Winifred Critical Failure!
With a beat drop, a blast of lightning shoots out of the tall tesla coil directly into the three witches, pumping them full of electricity. It proceeds to zap the sisters repeatedly in time with music, matching it, note for blast. Somehow, it even sounds in tune with the actual song! The sisters desperately try to throw up shields or counter the electricity with their own blasts, but neither are strong enough to hold back the bolts of pure energy. Juniper even pitches in by helping it charge up by dancing around it, supplying it with added volts with the electricity her dancing generates.
As the electric keyboard picks up again, Juniper resumes her dancing. The lights around her are now flashing in accordance to the tune, and several of the guests are acting as back-up dancers, the Glooms, Vanessa (who looks like she's having the time of her life), Russ, and Max at the head of the pack.
Winifred picks herself up once more, scorched and livid. "INSOLENT WORMS!!" she screams. "YOU DARE DEFY THE SANDERSON SISTERS?! YOU WILL ALL SUFFER!!!!!!!!"
"Put a cork in it, old hag!" Juniper shoots back. "We're about ready for the climax! Ready, Dave?"
"Ready as I'll ever be!" he replies as the music cuts out.
Dave Occult Check: Set up the Grand Finale
DC 100 needed: 47+10 (On a roll)+250 (THE MOMENT III)=307
Critical Success!
As silence looms and the dancers crouch with their arms stretched outward and palms facing the sky in anticipation, Dave closes his eyes and concentrates. He then stretches out his hands and, as the music lets out a hissing noise, flames appear in a circle around his tesla coil as Juniper begins to glow.
On the beat drop, the flames start to bend and distort like they were on one of those sound graphs. Upon every piano note, they do this, giving the entire thing a really cool aesthetic. As this happens, all of the dancers begin to bob their shoulders with every note that reminds you of King George III from Hamilton.
It's when the chords come in that things really start to pick up. Juniper starts to rise in the air as Dave points his hand at her and lifts her up with what seems to be a magic ring. As she ascends the dancers start to stand up, slowly adding their hips into the shoulder bobbing, which soon turns into their whole bodies. Juniper does the same, only for her, it's more straightening out her body than it is standing. The further she ascends, the brighter she seems to glow
The piano keys take a much more intense sound as the flames start to roil and launch bits of flame into the air for a short time before they dissipate. At this point, the dancers cannot stand any taller than they already are, and thus start to raise their hands to the sky, as does Juniper. As the chorus picks up, Juniper starts to glow even brighter as she ascends higher than the tesla coil is tall. She starts to settle on top of it, and when the music cuts out, Dave drops his arm to flick a switch, charging up the coil.
The sisters have not been doing nothing this entire time. Winifred is now so angry, she cannot even talk coherently. The other two, upset, angry, and terrified of the eldest, then join hands with her to charge up (from what you can gather from Winifred's screeching) is their most powerful spell. They've been charging it ever since the piano started and now glow with a powerful, pitch black glow as opposed to Juniper's white radiance.
"FEEL THE WRATH OF THE SANDERSON SISTERS!!" Winifred roars.
"Lady, you picked the wrong method of enchantment if you wanted anyone to feel wrath," Juniper smirks.
With the beat drop, Juniper busts a move that causes the coil to activate and blast at the sisters the moment they release the spell. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up
Juniper and Dave Martial Check: 56+20+18+1+7+120 (Musical Number)+75 (Brought a little science)+20 (On a roll)+500 (THE CLIMAX)+75 (???)=892
Winifred Occult Contest: 85+30+20+20+5+50 (Ultimate Spell)-20(No book)+50 (Scorned Witches)=240 Winifred Ultimate Failure
The blast from Juniper's move totally bursts through the spell of the Sanderson sisters, hitting them dead on and knocking them to the ground. The blast causes a minor explosion that causes your ears to pop. The ground underneath the sisters is scorched and cracks under the sheer force applied to it. It truly is an impressive display of science and magic.
But is that the end? Oh no, far from it.
Juniper continues to dance, her lightning shooting out of the coil in random directions as she busts a move on top of the coil. She's positively radiant at this point, for this is the pinnacle of all dancing, dance and magic in its most basic form. Lightning continues to hit the witches at the beginning of every "stanza" of the electric rhythm, but the witches are a side note at this point.
When the major chords hit, and the song enters its final stages, all attention is on Juniper as the Bazaar itself comes alive to add to the effect. Spotlights dance and flicker on and off in time with the melody; fireworks burst in explosions of fire and color on the major beats; the music is deafening and overwhelms all other sound; sparklers go off and shoot lights into the sky; harmless potions burst and fill the air with a rainbow haze; ghostly spirits appear and begin to fly around the coil, zipping around in sync with the beat; the dancers dance in synchronized freestyle around the flame circle almost like a cult, while the flames dance and create spectral shapes and Halloween symbols. Finally, the last note plays as an explosion of magic, plasma, electricity, color, light, and sound emanate from Juniper's perch.
Upon that final note, the curse breaks. All the back-up dancers freeze, the sisters collapse, completely knocked out, and Juniper just stands on top of the coil in a victorious pose, basking in the afterglow of the greatest performance of her life.
You and Janna just stand there in naked awe. "Wow," Janna says. "You really hit the jackpot with that Dance Magic thing, huh?"
"What?" you ask. "Oh, no, with all the magical threats that I've now been aware of, I had Kitsune set up magical defenses. I didn't have the time to look into it."
Janna openly boggles at you alongside Felldrake. "Then… how…?" Felldrake stammers.
You smirk and gaze upon Juniper with no small amount of pride. "She's just that good."
Janna openly gawks before turning back to Juniper and whistling. "Damn…"
You chuckle and nod, but then start to ponder what you should do next. A few recruitments come to mind...
Later…
Xanatos and Owen gazed out over the mess of the Bazaar, as Puck restrained the Sanderson sisters in case they woke up. Doofenshmirtz had found himself in a conversation with both Horvath and Pandarus. From the looks of things, it seemed very successful. Russ and Max Goof were both resting, while it seemed Max was pelting Russ with questions. The Glooms, Monty Hall, and Drake Stone were all conversing excitedly with Juniper, Janna, and a dazed Dave.
??? revealed: Puck's enchantment
"It seems Doofenshmirtz is a much more powerful ally then we realized," Owen commented.
"Indeed. I made a smart choice in bringing him into the fold. As an enemy, he would prove very dangerous. I now realize his true strength."
"Sir?"
"For Shego, it's combat. For Syndrome, it was his technology. For myself and Shere Khan, it is our cunning. For Bill, it is his ability to break almost any rule placed upon him. But Doofenshmirtz? His strength is not in any of those. It is his charisma. His ability to draw in the most unexpected people and turn them into very valuable and loyal assets. He can attract the weakest wretch and, with the right words and actions, can turn him or her into a powerful figure worthy of the most extreme caution."
Xanatos chuckled. "I wish him luck in his courting attempts with Shego. I believe him to be quite a good fit… not just for her, but for a much more permanent ally."
(Far away, Shego got a sudden urge to cripple someone.)
Moolah and Magic complete!
You have bought the Multiverse's Greatest Sandwich! Sandwich research options unlocked!
You have bought the Scrolls of Jo-Lan! Study Scrolls action unlocked!
You have bought the Crystal Key! Research Extradimensional tech DC reduced!
Yáng Talisman item unlocked!
You impressed a lot of people at the Bazaar! Reach out to Horvath and Reach out to Pandarus actions unlocked!
You have met Magica de Spell! Sell magic items personal action unlocked!
Xanatos is now considering a permanent alliance!
Juniper got to perform the ultimate dance! Her loyalty has received a permanent boost of +20!
Vanessa got to meet Drake Stone and participate in a magic rave! She has received a temporary loyalty boost of +15! (Decays in three turns)
Max now has a fundamental grasp on Toonforce workings! Study Toonforce with Russ personal action unlocked! Max has received a temporary +5 loyalty boost for this revelation! (Decays in two turns)
Janna got to go to a magic auction and fight witches! Janna has received a temporary +10 loyalty boost! (Decays in three turns)
The Glooms have been recruited as a hero unit!
David "Dave" Stutler has been recruited as a hero unit!
In this Elseworlds, we recruited Juniper and took her with us to the auction. She met Dave there and they became friends.
Credit to @AProcrastinator for the original idea for this. I thought I'd take it a step further. Hope you all enjoy.
What you're talking about is Gloom. Gloom was going to be the main antagonist in the movie and looks much like you've described him, but he was cut because Pixar didn't want kids to get the message that depression is a thing you can just defeat. Depression is a disorder, not an emotion.
Also, because that would mean Joy would have to, ya know, MURDER Gloom, and, come on, he's ADORABLE. I think it's far more fitting to have depression be the ABSENCE of any and all emotion, rather than an emotion in its own right.
I wish I had more than one like to give this because I really enjoyed the way you showed everything playing out here; it felt very much in-line with the quest in general assuming better luck with the rolls
worse, Riley can no longer feel Joy or Sadness, and thus the appropriate emotional responses that stem from those such as ya know, Empathy or Love. Though...the villain of that story was a combination of homesickness and the onset of puberty, so i'm not sure if that really counts as DVV-badguy stuff.
Inside Out is a story with no villain; that's the point. Seriously, that is the entire point of the story. It's not about a conflict between a hero and a villain, it's a normal girl experiencing normal things and a dramatized version of her inner mental life during those events.
It depends, amusingly enough much of DVV isn't if the villains won, but rather that the heroes lost. For example, in DoofQuest Fox probably got taken to Avalon or killed. It is hard to say. For Doof, he killed Perry.
The recurring theme is "what if the Disney villain defeated the Disney hero?" For Xanatos, that means he beat the Gargoyles. It doesn't necessarily mean he's happy about what happened as a consequence.
Doof defeated Perry... but on the other hand, that's not really what Doof ever wanted, so it's a victory that comes at a painful price for him.
But in Inside Out there is, again, no villain. It's a "girl versus environment" story, not a "girl versus villain" story.
That's part of the reason my current plan prototype is so centralized on Vanessa's character development. Vanessa's a large part of who Doof is as a person, and he wants her to be a part of his life. I get that the QM has a hard time writing Vanessa due to lack of source material, but here's what I say to that: creative liberty. Once we assign Vanessa to Mirage, she may have a couple of epiphanies that define her as a character, which should make her more 3D and easier to write
The way I see it she has a couple of ways to develop
Fathers daughter
We Put her on a Study action and have Ludivine Tutor her for College
Baby builds her first Inator kinda by accident
Worries about becoming too much liked her dad
Eventually grows into being a Unique member of our Science team. Namely the ONLY NON-MAD scientist. Accepting her Talent and natural disposition towards science while still being her and not her father
Probably has a trait To produce constant results maybe something to prevent crit fails when assigned to a project by using common sense and safety measures to prevent things from going out of hand. Much to everyone else's utter suprise
Might be able to build or help build her own Inators. Probably less powerful but no chance of backfire, or just gives Doof's Inator Roll a reroll
Lady of Mystery
Hangs out with Mirage
Gets a hang of this whole spy thing
Gets pulled into the Kat storyline by Candice and eventually helps her bust him.
Starts doing spy work behind her dads back (assigns her personal actions to assist Intriuge actions) possibly acting like a Intriuge version of LovemuffIn
Blood of Khan
she gets self defense lessons from Khan following this mess.
Finds that she actually enjoys kicking ass in kind of the same way Doof enjoyed fighting Perry. Much to Doof's dismay
She continues working with the Foof troop and training with a Khan untill the Doof troop becomes our "Black ops group" with her acting as team leader Janna as magical muscle Max as a mini Russ
Probably gains some trait that counters Doof's not sending her into danger Trait And maybe a Go Team Doof trait that provides others on quest with her the Doof troop team buff.
Heir of "Evil"
Something happens Story wise we're something apocalyptic is going to happen and Doof stops it
She bonds with more members of DEI
Vanessa does some soul searching and relizes her dad isn't just doing "Evil" anymore. He's not just a Nice guy pretending to be Evil. He's a Good guy trying to help people disguised as a bad guy to everyone even himself
She eventually decides that DEI isn't just her dad doing her Dad things and comes to regard it as important on her own. Eventually becoming her Dad's right hand girl for helping to run the place
Probably will develop a trait to give her personal attention to a project giving it a reroll. Or perhaps the ability to add her stats to her dads for a global buff.
