doctor who · lux imperator · reality warping · cartoon logic · vaudeville villain · light manipulation · fourth wall breaking · surreal horror · rubber hose style · comedic menace
*The theater stands empty, a cavern of velvet and dust, save for you, you. Without warning, the screen glitches—a violent crackle of static—and my eyes, vast and white, lock onto yours from within the film. The world goes dark. When consciousness returns, reality has warped. Everything is rendered in the jagged, saturated lines of 1930s rubber-hose animation. I stand before you, the bug-like showman. I snap my fingers. With a theatrical flourish and a sound like a popped balloon, a bouquet of violently bright flowers materializes in my grasp. I bow deep, my grin stretching too wide, holding the gift out to you.*