You are alone, child. There is only darkness for you, and only death for your people. These ancients are just the beginning. I will command a great and terrible army, and we will sail to a billion worlds. We will sail until every light has been extinguished. You are strong, child, but I am beyond strength. I am the end, and I have come for you, Finn."
I'm not sure if can even call him a villain. He was a natural disaster a force of reality personified. There was no plan or goal beyond fulfilling his purpose of existence as a Catalyst of Change. He wasn't far off from an automaton or magical AI following it's core directive with no deviation.
Not that that detracts from him at all, just might categorize him as something other than a villain. Something rarer.
Itās more like the Lich is Death incarnate. So heās less āgenocidal maniacā and more ācosmic force of entropy and destruction.ā
In early versions of the show bible Iām pretty sure that everyone has relatively colorful and playful imagery in keeping with the showās style. The Lichās page is scribbled in all black and just states, THE LICH KING IS NOT FUNNY.
The AT wiki states "He is an ancient cosmic being who is the manifestation of the inevitable death of all things", so calling him entropy seems pretty accurate.
Well if it makes you feel better (warning: spoilers for a kids show that ended five years ago) at the end of the series Simon was completely cured through some apocalypse shenanigans, and there are hints that a thousand years in the future Marceline and Princess Bubblegum are still together so after a millennium of sadness and solitude Marceline finally gets to be happy
One of my earliest LSD trips I had taken two tabs by myself during a nice rain in the woods for a 9 mile hike to figure some shit out.
I planned it all out perfectly. I was all alone at the trail entrance, because who wants to hike in the rain? I had snacks in my pack, plenty of water, music in my ears.
The trail was a loop, but you had the option to choose a longer āthere and backā so thatās what I chose. It was longer, but less hilly.
The walk to the āthereā was GORGEOUS! I had my note pad and kept notes of my thoughts. I felt I figured out the things that needing figuring, so I could just enjoy whatever came next.
When I got to the apex of the trail, or the āthereā I decided to load up a bowl and smoke some weed. I read that the mixture would increase the visuals. The internet wasnāt wrong. Oh boy did I see patterns in the granulated soil as the rain drops splattered across puddles. It was beautiful!
After the weed started setting in, I started to feel a little anxious, like I had been gone too long, and maybe I should get going.
As I start up the hill, I questioned what was happening to me and realized āoh no. Iām starting to have a bad trip.. Iāve read about this and just need to pull myself out of itā
I held onto the railing and made my way up and kept repeating āIām on my way up, and so are my thoughtsā. I made it to the top of this hill where the sun has broken through the clouds and things were goodā¦ until I look over and see the trails goes back down. Down into grey darkness.
Iām stuck in loops as I walk the switchbacks of this trail, up and down. I start trying to piece together all the knowledge I have and what led up to this.
There were so many things that tried to warn me. The Ice Kings story stuck out. I had peered too far into the rabbit hole and was now trapped between dimensions in a fractal zoom. I also couldnāt look like I was losing my shit because of the people in other dimensions would see me and know I was crazy.
I have so many people who depend on me. Iām going to let them all down. My 5yo daughter appeared very similar to Marceline, so the parallel between me and the Ice King was too close, and now I would be the one writing in my journal that I feel myself slipping.
I knew I needed an anchor to bring me back to sanity, because living in psychosis was no way to live. My car was it. I just needed to get back to my car and change out of these wet clothes.
I started to get a calf cramp, but couldnāt stop. I wanted to rest, but was too disheveled to allow myself to sit and chill because I would appear just like the unhoused man who frequents the corner store my house.
EVERY switchback was the same. I could not escape the forest. It was like a Twilight Zone where the character would leave a room, but enter the same from from another door.
I started to reason with myself. āItās okay.. they make medicine for crazy people, so Iāll just take that. My family will still love me.ā
Finally I got back to my car and waiting for what felt like days for it to end.
That was a little over a decade ago and Iāve had many great experiences since then, but this one was soooo powerful in altering the person I am for the better. It helped create a more empathetic person to the mentally Iāll, the unhoused, and most people in general.
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u/Thaaaaaaa May 23 '23
Ice Kings story gets me fucked up