A World of Pure Unimagination (short story): Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
As the tour progresses, Jenny remains an onlooker, silently questioning if McDuff is a "paid actor acting out some kind of unauthorised tie-in" or if she had stumbled into a world that genuinely matched such fictions. She also wonders if McDuff actually knew anything about chocolate. After a while of more of the same shoddy set pieces, the novelty begins to wear off and she considers leaving. Yet, something interesting — finally — happens. | As the tour progresses, Jenny remains an onlooker, silently questioning if McDuff is a "paid actor acting out some kind of unauthorised tie-in" or if she had stumbled into a world that genuinely matched such fictions. She also wonders if McDuff actually knew anything about chocolate. After a while of more of the same shoddy set pieces, the novelty begins to wear off and she considers leaving. Yet, something interesting — finally — happens. | ||
A woman steps out from behind a mirror. She wears a dark, hooded robe, with a mess of brown hair visible from beneath her iron mask. McDuff does the honour of introducing her to the crowd: she is [[the Unknown]], and, as her name implies, McDuff knows nothing about her, except that she's an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls. Jenny does a double take, entirely taken aback by the character, who certainly didn't exist in any version of the source material she recognised. The Unknown freezes McDuff in place with a gloved hand, before offering the children an opportunity to help her steal McDuff's recipes and run the company together. Of course, the children and Jenny shout "no". Despite her gut telling her that the Unknown was just some underpaid actor in a cheap [[Halloween]] mask, Jenny ran to tackle her to the ground, but the Unknown unfreezed McDuff and disappeared in a moment. | |||
=== Worldbuilding === | === Worldbuilding === | ||
Line 77: | Line 79: | ||
* [[Simon (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Simon]] is short, has green hair and ruddy skin (instead of thr expected orange). | * [[Simon (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Simon]] is short, has green hair and ruddy skin (instead of thr expected orange). | ||
* Jenny thinks "for [[God (individual)|God]]'s sake" when remembering the [[Hyperspace Tyrant (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Hyperspace Tyrant]] she previously met. | * Jenny thinks "for [[God (individual)|God]]'s sake" when remembering the [[Hyperspace Tyrant (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Hyperspace Tyrant]] she previously met. | ||
* [[The Unknown]] resembles the "antagonist of the next breakout [[Japan]]ese horror picture." | |||
* [[Walter White|Walter]] and [[Jesse Pinkman|Jesse]] are partners in crime who run a crystal meth lab. Jenny is reminded of them upon seeing the duo of Wonkidoodles, [[Janine (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Janine]] and [[Courtesy (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Courtesy]], working at their table with laboratory equipment. | * [[Walter White|Walter]] and [[Jesse Pinkman|Jesse]] are partners in crime who run a crystal meth lab. Jenny is reminded of them upon seeing the duo of Wonkidoodles, [[Janine (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Janine]] and [[Courtesy (A World of Pure Unimagination)|Courtesy]], working at their table with laboratory equipment. | ||
* Wonkidoodles resemble the "love-children" of [[Donald Trump]] and a [[Hobbit]]. | * Wonkidoodles resemble the "love-children" of [[Donald Trump]] and a [[Hobbit]]. | ||
Line 104: | Line 107: | ||
* The Pinguis resemble "sugar-bag-sized" [[marshmallow]]s, which reminds her of [[smore]]s. This sparks her craving for [[chocolate]]. | * The Pinguis resemble "sugar-bag-sized" [[marshmallow]]s, which reminds her of [[smore]]s. This sparks her craving for [[chocolate]]. | ||
* [[Newsagent's (A World of Pure Unimagination)|The newsagent's]] in Glasgow stocks wrapped chocolate. | * [[Newsagent's (A World of Pure Unimagination)|The newsagent's]] in Glasgow stocks wrapped chocolate. | ||
* Chocolate is made by grinding and roasting [[cocoa bean|beans]], then sweetening and moulding them into blocks. | |||
* The table Janine and Courtesy work at has a clutter of vials and flasks containing [[jelly bean]]s (also called [[sugar bean]]s), and polystyrene cups with just the smallest splash of [[Gevity]] in them, in a futule attempt to imply they were the concoctions of their "wacky chemistry". | * The table Janine and Courtesy work at has a clutter of vials and flasks containing [[jelly bean]]s (also called [[sugar bean]]s), and polystyrene cups with just the smallest splash of [[Gevity]] in them, in a futule attempt to imply they were the concoctions of their "wacky chemistry". | ||
** Courtesy had been instructed by McDuff to only give the children a ''single'' jelly bean, and not only did she consider this to be unfair, she also found it poor that she couldn't even give out chocolate. | ** Courtesy had been instructed by McDuff to only give the children a ''single'' jelly bean, and not only did she consider this to be unfair, she also found it poor that she couldn't even give out chocolate. |
Latest revision as of 00:08, 27 July 2024
It does not completely adhere to our standards for articles, for example (for a story page) by having an incomplete cast list or (for an in-universe page) not citing its sources properly. |
A World of Pure Unimagination was a short story released as the first instalment in Xavier Llewellyn's Everywhere's Extraordinary Escapades series.[1] It was co-published between Realms of Ink and The Cheshire House.
The story parodied the then-recent Willy's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow, as well as tying into the Doctor Who expanded universe; for the first time, an incarnation of Jenny Everywhere native to the Third Universe was shown to exist in licensed media, however The Late Shift predated this story by over twenty years in an unofficial capacity.
Contents
Plot
Despite being apprehensive about travelling there, Jenny Everywhere has shifted into the Jenny native to the Third Universe following the catastrophic Unravel. On a snowy planet, Jenny rescues two stranded Pinguis, Bibendum and Puff Tremayne; in doing so, seeing their marshmallow-like appearance, Jenny develops a craving for chocolate.
Deciding to "indulge after a job well done", she shifts to a universe, with merely a "vague idea" of its appearance — hopefully resembling a film she watched as a child. She reminisces about her granny criticising the film's lack of diversity and her crush on the young protagonist that lasted up until high school. She enters this universe by possessing another Jenny's stylish body.
However, the universe is not quite as she wished for: she is in Glasgow, on 24 February 2024, according to a local newspaper she read in a newsagent's she had taken refuge inside during a downpour. Said newspaper also informs her of the opening of a "chocolate factory" belonging to one Willy McDuff — but suspiciously, no photograph of the factory is attached. Wanting fresh chocolate, Jenny leaves the shop after the rain dies down and walks to the factory, being merely streets away.
To her surprise, the factory appears to be merely a werehouse instead of a magical manufacturing plant. Hoping the inside would be more spectacular than the outside, she finds that, for once, appearances aren't deceiving; the pitiful attempts at decoration do little to mask the industrial space. She buys a ticket from Simon — a diminutive and fairly rude Wonkidoodle — and sits next the other waiting families. Soon, the gates open and what Jenny assumes is another Wonkidoodle, wearing a Ringmaster outfit, approaches them: she chokes back a laugh when he introduces himself as Willy McDuff, averting eye contact as he looks at her.
McDuff begins explaining how the Garden of Enchantment is alive. Jenny, having keen observation skills, quickly notices that it is not infact alive and just decorated with some old Christmas decorations, as well as none of the environment or McDuff's explanation thereof having anything to do with chocolate or even sweets. McDuff continues talking as the group enters the Garden, now accompanied by a Wonkidoodle. The so-called chocolatier continues exaggerating the wonder of the setting around them and Jenny is surprised that he is actually good with children. The Wonkidoodle feigns tripping over a patch of flowers, sending marbles flying, which McDuff pretends were the flowers tripping his companion up to steal his sweets. McDuff then tells the children to compliment the tulips, and the Wonkidoodle thanks them in a high pitched voice out of the corner of his mouth, a puppeteer to his ventriloquist dummy.
As the tour progresses, Jenny remains an onlooker, silently questioning if McDuff is a "paid actor acting out some kind of unauthorised tie-in" or if she had stumbled into a world that genuinely matched such fictions. She also wonders if McDuff actually knew anything about chocolate. After a while of more of the same shoddy set pieces, the novelty begins to wear off and she considers leaving. Yet, something interesting — finally — happens.
A woman steps out from behind a mirror. She wears a dark, hooded robe, with a mess of brown hair visible from beneath her iron mask. McDuff does the honour of introducing her to the crowd: she is the Unknown, and, as her name implies, McDuff knows nothing about her, except that she's an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls. Jenny does a double take, entirely taken aback by the character, who certainly didn't exist in any version of the source material she recognised. The Unknown freezes McDuff in place with a gloved hand, before offering the children an opportunity to help her steal McDuff's recipes and run the company together. Of course, the children and Jenny shout "no". Despite her gut telling her that the Unknown was just some underpaid actor in a cheap Halloween mask, Jenny ran to tackle her to the ground, but the Unknown unfreezed McDuff and disappeared in a moment.
Worldbuilding
Universes
- The Third Universe is infamous among multiversal hitchhikers for its temporal mutability. To put it another way, the universe was had "unfathomably baffling" paradoxes, a result of time being continually rewritten by "careless" time travellers.
- The Third Universe is named as such in the Council of Frogs's nomenclature.
- Upon recognising the Pinguis appearance as resembling marshmallows, she thinks to herself "it [takes] all sorts to make an omniverse".
- Jenny Everywhere originated from an unnamed universe. She had her granny and bullies in her life growing up.
- An insane Hyperspace Tyrant once ran a tour of his whimsical factory in one dimension, which Jenny blundered into.
The Unravel
- As a shifter, Jenny is uniquely qualified to help after the Unravel.
- The Unravel didn't just affect the Third Universe, but many other universes too.
- The Unravel caused meta-historical fallout.
Species
- The scientific name for Pinguis is Pinguicorpus homo.
- There name may evoke that of the species of flightless birds, but they are unrelated.
- She gives the two Pinguis a device to escape the planet.
Locations
- Glasgow has a high street. One end is near the River Clyde, and South Street runs parallel to it.
- South Street primarily is home to lots of warehouses.
- There is a King of England in Jenny’s native universe and the one with Willy McDuff's chocolate factory. In the latter, his face is printed on plastic banknotes.
Willy McDuff's "chocolate factory"
- The factory houses a "less than enchanting" area separated from the rest by plastic gates with bold letters above desperately stating "factory". This area is filled with rows of wooden benches, which families sit on, waiting.
- Simon sits behind a plastic folding table, where Jenny buys her £35 ticket of admission from. She has to cough to get his attention, as he is engrossed in his smartphone.
- McDuff asks the children, whom he calls "adventurers", if they've prepared by bringing a spare pair of socks in case if their current ones are blown off.
Individuals
- Simon is short, has green hair and ruddy skin (instead of thr expected orange).
- Jenny thinks "for God's sake" when remembering the Hyperspace Tyrant she previously met.
- The Unknown resembles the "antagonist of the next breakout Japanese horror picture."
- Walter and Jesse are partners in crime who run a crystal meth lab. Jenny is reminded of them upon seeing the duo of Wonkidoodles, Janine and Courtesy, working at their table with laboratory equipment.
- Wonkidoodles resemble the "love-children" of Donald Trump and a Hobbit.
Jenny Everywhere
- Jenny is able to sense alterations to time.
- Achron is a male aviator pilot from the 1930s.
- Jenny watched a film about a magical factory as a child with her granny.
- As a child, Jenny often formed emotional attachments to characters behind television screens, a part of her feeling that she could meet them someday, if only she knew how.
- Jenny’s discovery of her multiversal powers is a story left untold.
- Jenny’s crush lasted up until high school, where she separated herself from her childhood in a futile attempt to make the bullying stop. A silving lining did come from this, as Jenny learnt a lot about people and this shaped who she became.
- Jenny experiences a moment of dizziness after shifting.
- The Jenny Jenny shifts into is "stylish", with a leather jacket. Her outfit is mostly studded with metal, with small amounts of colour to add variety, and spikey, intimidating boots.
- The Jenny she shifted into is slightly paler than herself. She's happy she isn't in a white version of herself, as she finds the experience to be "off".
- When Jenny sets off to find shelter, she decides the ego of the Jenny she is inside could take a hit, running like a child.
- As Jenny prefers to mentally shift, she doesn't have to worry about appearing in a dangerous environment. For example, if she shifted deep into an ocean, she'd shift into the body of a mermaid or a squid.
- Jenny once had an adventure with deceitful plastic signs. She was also familiar with magic men whose residences were more impressive on the inside.
Fiction
- A "sweet little boy" is the protagonist of a book and its sequel, as well as its film adaption.
- The plot of the first book and its film adaption involve five white children, four of which are also spoiled and greedy, visiting a magical chocolate factory.
- The film is set in an ambiguously Germanic town.
- Jenny Everywhere's granny criticises the film due to how, despite children being chosen from across the world, all the children were white. While Jenny understands that the children werent chosen but had lucked, bought and earned their ways in, she doesn't argue. She is a little resentful that nobody like her — a Native American — got to experience the magic.
- Jenny knows that the sequel to the book had many "weird things in it", but even then couldn't be blamed for a character such as the Unknown.
Food and drink
- The Pinguis resemble "sugar-bag-sized" marshmallows, which reminds her of smores. This sparks her craving for chocolate.
- The newsagent's in Glasgow stocks wrapped chocolate.
- Chocolate is made by grinding and roasting beans, then sweetening and moulding them into blocks.
- The table Janine and Courtesy work at has a clutter of vials and flasks containing jelly beans (also called sugar beans), and polystyrene cups with just the smallest splash of Gevity in them, in a futule attempt to imply they were the concoctions of their "wacky chemistry".
- Courtesy had been instructed by McDuff to only give the children a single jelly bean, and not only did she consider this to be unfair, she also found it poor that she couldn't even give out chocolate.
- Jenny mockingly calls Willy McDuff "McDuff Beer".
Continuity
- This story mentions the Council of Frogs, who debuted in PROSE: The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, and it alludes to the Doomsday Book, which was established in PROSE: The Grand Multiverse Hotel.
- Jenny Everywhere having a grandmother was first shown in COMIC: Jenny Everywhere Vs Hell. However, while in that story her granny was shown in a negative depiction, the Jenny in A World of Pure Unimagination has a more fond connection to hers.
- This story alludes to COMIC: The Late Shift, given it features the Third Universe's Jenny Everywhere.
- Furthermore, the beginning of the story is set in the Third Universe, specifically using that name; such a name was established in PROSE: Resurrection of the Author.
Behind the scenes
- Jenny’s memory of an insane Hyperspace Tyrant running a whimsical factory is an allusion to Joe Vever's parodical Doctor Who YouTube video Pure Exterminatation, wherein the Gold Dalek (humorously named "Dalek Donka") from Day of the Daleks is now running a chocolate factory. This video was also a parody of Willy's Chocolate Experience.
Read online
The story was originally released on The Cheshire House here.
External links
Notes & References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Xavier Llewellyn (31 March 2024). It is with great pleasure I can announce the release of A World of Pure Unimagination, the first instalment of Everywhere's Extraordinary Escapes.. Archived from the original on April 28, 2024. Retrieved on April 28, 2024.