That’s exactly the question I had to ask myself when deciding on a setting for the final confrontation: where would one keep a giant magical crystal (likely) throbbing with unholy, evil energy?
The obvious answer was: a Crystal Palace, of course. It would be hard to defend any other choice, in fact, given how that’s a type of building which actually existed and which has a name that predestines it for this function. Plus, the magical-girls genre abounds with both crystalline structures as well as palaces, and the combination of both is also very common.
In real life, though, Crystal Palaces aren’t that common anymore. The original one in London burned down in 1936, and the rip-offs in New York and Munich had burnt down even earlier, in 1858 and 1931, respectively. Two much smaller copies in Madrid and Montreal still stand, but they lack the soaring majesty of the original – and foregoing soaring majesty is never an option for the magical-girls genre (whenever soaring majesty is an option).
So I decided to go with the original, and just covered the whole strip in sepia tone to smooth over the discrepancies. (Smoothing over discrepancies is considered best practice in B-movies, although many let their discrepancies stay unvarnished in a nod to New Brutalism.) To clarify the setting, I’ve added two other London landmarks – that one bridge I know is in London…and some other building that’s apparently in London, as well.
To provide a proper introduction for the setting, Snuka is sent out on a reconnaissance mission – he’s just better suited* for this than the other team-members due to his high skill as a ninja and the fact that his curse of bad luck won’t let him refuse the assignment. Up to now, the assignment is running smoothly and Snuka remains completely unmaimed…no guarantee it’s going to stay that way, though…
More on Monday.
* Not only does he have the appropriate suit, he also has the mask that goes with it – although it’s the pro forma version in this case.
If I were to hide a magical crystal throbbing with unholy, evil energy, it would be in a sleazy hotel room on the wrong side of town where tenants pay in cash. Nobody would go there and people know to keep their mouths shut because nobody wants to be implicated if the fuzz starts knocking on doors.
Uh…you would hide a priceless giant crystal in the midst of a hive of scum and villainy? I mean, it’s true that nobody would be looking for it there…but it likely wouldn’t be there for very long, either. XD