Magilla Solves a Puzzle
General Summary
SHKRT. SHKRT.
Magilla The Peaceful uses his fingernail to scratch a chalky “4” into the cell wall. With that entry, he is now one step further in completing his sudoku puzzle, a task that has already consumed twenty-five minutes of his morning. Naturally, these puzzle normally don’t take as much effort for him to complete, but creating his own from scratch has proven to be a more challenging experience than simply rehashing memorized puzzles from before his captive days. As such, Magilla decided a few weeks ago that he would simply make his own puzzles for now and save the ones he memorized for a rainy day. His back faces Peek who, like on most days, stares patiently as Magilla works. The brainer scratches the scar that encircles his head and tries to keep up with Magilla’s pacing on the puzzle. While Peek would much rather witness Magilla’s medical skills in action, this routine has proven to be a comfortable place holder for the past few months that the two have shared their chamber.
With muffled impact, a pebble lodges into Magilla’s fur. His fur is much nappier than normal, but enough buoyancy is left to allow for the pebble to remain nuzzled in its waves. From directly across the hall, a battlebabe leans against her cell staring at Magilla with a mischievous grin. Despite only being a prisoner for three weeks, the battlebabe already finds herself bored and resigns to finding amusement in her attempts to stir a reaction out of Magilla. Not many people would risk angering a 350lb gorilla, but most people aren’t as brazen as JT. She calls out to Magilla to illicit a response. Magilla The Peaceful remains in his corner and attempts to refocus.
SHKRT. SHKRT.
“Hey. Hey, Magilla.” JT calls out to the primate. Magilla remains fixated on his puzzle. Another pebble strikes his shoulder. “Heeeeeeeeeeey, Magilla. Heyheyheyheyhe-“
“What is it, Jacqueline Todd?” Magilla breaks. He turns his head slightly towards the battlebabe.
“How does a big ol’ gorilla even get captured, huh? Like, you’re double the weight of any average man, but you still manage to get tossed in the brig?”
“These things happen, I suppose.” Magilla refocuses on his puzzle. JT attempts to regain his attention once more, but with less success.
“Come ooooooooooon, Magilla! Don’t leave me hanging in here with…with Kim!” JT motions to the tattooed woman sitting cross-legged on the bunk opposite to JT’s. The woman had been sitting with her eyes closed in meditation but opens them now at the sound of her name. “I don’t even know if she can talk. Can you talk?” Kim doesn’t respond, staring almost curiously into JT’s face. JT turns back to Magilla who pretends to be refocused. With that, the battlebabe lets out a defeated sigh and begins pacing the room.
Finally, Magilla can now refocus his attention. With the “4” he scratched in earlier he is close to completing one full row of the sudoku. Now the horizonal row only needs a “2” and a “5”. He chuckles to himself. How easy this one is, the ape thinks. It’s simply a process of elimination as the vertical row that passes one of the blank boxes already has a “2” within it, meaning that spot must be where the “5” would go. Magilla The Peaceful sits in his corner and scratches a “5” in the box.
SHKRT. SHKRThumpThumpThump.
Magilla’s concentration is interrupted by incoming footsteps. The guards must be making their rounds, the gorilla thinks to himself. It was a bit early for afternoon feedings, but it’s a well-known secret that the guards are purposefully inconsistent with their comings and goings so the prisoners don’t feel comfortable making timelines for potential escape plans.
“Hey! What do yew think yew’s doin’?”
Magilla turns his head over to the accent-laden voice. The guard is facing JT and Kim’s cell, holding his shotgun in both hands. Magilla isn’t in an ideal position to make out anything the guard’s body is blocking, but can clearly see JT hanging from the ceiling. Kim standing with her back against the wall but in a stance that suggests this is a tactical move. From their cell, Magilla and Peek quietly watch on.
“Oh, hey. Just getting a quick workout in, ya know?” JT says through a grin and begins raising her body in a pullup position. The ventilation grate she’s hanging from begins to creak in protest.
“Get down from there!” The guard commands. JT begins to resist with a quip when the guard raises and cocks his shotgun. “Now, before I pop off yer knee caps.”
JT drops to the ground. She keeps her arms raised. “Really? You’re gonna pop off my knee caps for getting a little work out in?”
“Nuff wit’ the games!” The guard keeps his shotgun aimed at JT’s head. “You was trying to escape, weren’t yew?”
“Of course I wasn’t trying to escape, man! There’s just nothing to do here and you keep us locked up 24/7 so I figured I’d make some use of my time and-“
JT is interrupted by another cock of the shotgun. A slug escapes the gun’s chamber and collides with the ground with a clink. JT lets out a bellowing laugh.
“That really takes away from the dramatic effect of your whole shtick, huh?” JT buckles over with mocking laughter. Peek is equally as amused and lets out a chuckle. “Trying to look all macho while you’re wasting ammo like a fucking moron!”
“You’re making it real easy to want to pop yew.” The guard says. “Matter’a fact. I’m thinkin’ I can. The boss only needs the ugly one of ya’ll alive, anywho.” The guard points to Peek. JT’s laughter trickles away as the guard’s words sink in. “So, give me oooooone good reason I shouldn’t pop yer knee caps and leave you bleedin’ out right here, right now?”
“Hey, seriously, what’s the deal with you and knee caps? Is that just a you-thing or is that a thing most Seaway guards get fixated on?” JT responds, but with a lot less confidence than previous jests. The guard glares at JT and re-aims the gun.
“Jacqueline Todd wasn’t trying to escape.” The guard turns to face Magilla as the primate speaks out in defense of the battlebabe. While the guard’s back was turned, Magilla had made his way up to bars. Standing on his hindlegs and holding his hands behind his back, he faces the guard with only a few inches of iron bars separating them. The guard raises the shotgun to the ape’s face.
“What’d yew say?” The guard asks.
“Jacqueline Todd wasn’t trying to escape. She was merely working out, an action that causes much disturbance to my peace, but no other harm outside of that. This was merely a misunderstanding that has quite unnecessarily gotten out of hand, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yew fixin’ to lose your knee caps too, boy? Yew willing to go to bat with the bitch?” The guard says through clenched teeth.
“Naturally.” Magilla responds calmly. “You’ll find I tend to say what I mean to say.”
The guard glares into Magilla’s placid eyes. The guard’s eyes shake with a mixture of frustration and anxiety. JT wonders if she can reach quickly and far enough pass the bars to grab the guard before the gun goes off. Peek notices the twitching of the tendons on the guard’s trigger finger. Kim remains a patient statue next to the wall in her cell. Magilla wonders if this was worth all the hassle.
The guard lowers his shotgun.
“This is ya’lls final warnin’. Next time I comin’ ova ta find one of ya’ll is fixin’ to escape? All ya’ll gonna be missin’ a knee cap. Got it?”
JT begins to respond, but Magilla quickly cuts her off to confirm that they understand the guard’s warning. The guard looks once more between Magilla and JT. The guard taps his gun with his trigger finger as though he was considering saying more. Whatever he was considering, he decided against it and abruptly makes his leave back in the direction he came from until the soft echoes of the guard’s boots slowly make way for silence. As the quiet engulfs the room, JT turns to face Magilla who had been paying attention to the guard’s footsteps.
“So…we’re breaking out, right?” JT asks the gorilla. Magilla’s face reveals nothing as he makes his way back to his corner. After a moment's puase, he turns his head back in the battlebabe’s direction.
“If we are to escape, we’ll need a plan.” The ape responds.
JT lets out a heartful laugh and begins examining her cell, excited to hear Magilla is on the same page for once. Peek notes to himself the health and potential dexterity of the guard’s body. Kim scoffs and returns to meditating on her bunk.
Magilla The Peaceful returns to his corner and attempts to refocus.
SHKRT. SHKRT.
Magilla The Peaceful uses his fingernail to scratch a chalky “4” into the cell wall. With that entry, he is now one step further in completing his sudoku puzzle, a task that has already consumed twenty-five minutes of his morning. Naturally, these puzzle normally don’t take as much effort for him to complete, but creating his own from scratch has proven to be a more challenging experience than simply rehashing memorized puzzles from before his captive days. As such, Magilla decided a few weeks ago that he would simply make his own puzzles for now and save the ones he memorized for a rainy day. His back faces Peek who, like on most days, stares patiently as Magilla works. The brainer scratches the scar that encircles his head and tries to keep up with Magilla’s pacing on the puzzle. While Peek would much rather witness Magilla’s medical skills in action, this routine has proven to be a comfortable place holder for the past few months that the two have shared their chamber.
With muffled impact, a pebble lodges into Magilla’s fur. His fur is much nappier than normal, but enough buoyancy is left to allow for the pebble to remain nuzzled in its waves. From directly across the hall, a battlebabe leans against her cell staring at Magilla with a mischievous grin. Despite only being a prisoner for three weeks, the battlebabe already finds herself bored and resigns to finding amusement in her attempts to stir a reaction out of Magilla. Not many people would risk angering a 350lb gorilla, but most people aren’t as brazen as JT. She calls out to Magilla to illicit a response. Magilla The Peaceful remains in his corner and attempts to refocus.
SHKRT. SHKRT.
“Hey. Hey, Magilla.” JT calls out to the primate. Magilla remains fixated on his puzzle. Another pebble strikes his shoulder. “Heeeeeeeeeeey, Magilla. Heyheyheyheyhe-“
“What is it, Jacqueline Todd?” Magilla breaks. He turns his head slightly towards the battlebabe.
“How does a big ol’ gorilla even get captured, huh? Like, you’re double the weight of any average man, but you still manage to get tossed in the brig?”
“These things happen, I suppose.” Magilla refocuses on his puzzle. JT attempts to regain his attention once more, but with less success.
“Come ooooooooooon, Magilla! Don’t leave me hanging in here with…with Kim!” JT motions to the tattooed woman sitting cross-legged on the bunk opposite to JT’s. The woman had been sitting with her eyes closed in meditation but opens them now at the sound of her name. “I don’t even know if she can talk. Can you talk?” Kim doesn’t respond, staring almost curiously into JT’s face. JT turns back to Magilla who pretends to be refocused. With that, the battlebabe lets out a defeated sigh and begins pacing the room.
Finally, Magilla can now refocus his attention. With the “4” he scratched in earlier he is close to completing one full row of the sudoku. Now the horizonal row only needs a “2” and a “5”. He chuckles to himself. How easy this one is, the ape thinks. It’s simply a process of elimination as the vertical row that passes one of the blank boxes already has a “2” within it, meaning that spot must be where the “5” would go. Magilla The Peaceful sits in his corner and scratches a “5” in the box.
SHKRT. SHKRThumpThumpThump.
Magilla’s concentration is interrupted by incoming footsteps. The guards must be making their rounds, the gorilla thinks to himself. It was a bit early for afternoon feedings, but it’s a well-known secret that the guards are purposefully inconsistent with their comings and goings so the prisoners don’t feel comfortable making timelines for potential escape plans.
“Hey! What do yew think yew’s doin’?”
Magilla turns his head over to the accent-laden voice. The guard is facing JT and Kim’s cell, holding his shotgun in both hands. Magilla isn’t in an ideal position to make out anything the guard’s body is blocking, but can clearly see JT hanging from the ceiling. Kim standing with her back against the wall but in a stance that suggests this is a tactical move. From their cell, Magilla and Peek quietly watch on.
“Oh, hey. Just getting a quick workout in, ya know?” JT says through a grin and begins raising her body in a pullup position. The ventilation grate she’s hanging from begins to creak in protest.
“Get down from there!” The guard commands. JT begins to resist with a quip when the guard raises and cocks his shotgun. “Now, before I pop off yer knee caps.”
JT drops to the ground. She keeps her arms raised. “Really? You’re gonna pop off my knee caps for getting a little work out in?”
“Nuff wit’ the games!” The guard keeps his shotgun aimed at JT’s head. “You was trying to escape, weren’t yew?”
“Of course I wasn’t trying to escape, man! There’s just nothing to do here and you keep us locked up 24/7 so I figured I’d make some use of my time and-“
JT is interrupted by another cock of the shotgun. A slug escapes the gun’s chamber and collides with the ground with a clink. JT lets out a bellowing laugh.
“That really takes away from the dramatic effect of your whole shtick, huh?” JT buckles over with mocking laughter. Peek is equally as amused and lets out a chuckle. “Trying to look all macho while you’re wasting ammo like a fucking moron!”
“You’re making it real easy to want to pop yew.” The guard says. “Matter’a fact. I’m thinkin’ I can. The boss only needs the ugly one of ya’ll alive, anywho.” The guard points to Peek. JT’s laughter trickles away as the guard’s words sink in. “So, give me oooooone good reason I shouldn’t pop yer knee caps and leave you bleedin’ out right here, right now?”
“Hey, seriously, what’s the deal with you and knee caps? Is that just a you-thing or is that a thing most Seaway guards get fixated on?” JT responds, but with a lot less confidence than previous jests. The guard glares at JT and re-aims the gun.
“Jacqueline Todd wasn’t trying to escape.” The guard turns to face Magilla as the primate speaks out in defense of the battlebabe. While the guard’s back was turned, Magilla had made his way up to bars. Standing on his hindlegs and holding his hands behind his back, he faces the guard with only a few inches of iron bars separating them. The guard raises the shotgun to the ape’s face.
“What’d yew say?” The guard asks.
“Jacqueline Todd wasn’t trying to escape. She was merely working out, an action that causes much disturbance to my peace, but no other harm outside of that. This was merely a misunderstanding that has quite unnecessarily gotten out of hand, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yew fixin’ to lose your knee caps too, boy? Yew willing to go to bat with the bitch?” The guard says through clenched teeth.
“Naturally.” Magilla responds calmly. “You’ll find I tend to say what I mean to say.”
The guard glares into Magilla’s placid eyes. The guard’s eyes shake with a mixture of frustration and anxiety. JT wonders if she can reach quickly and far enough pass the bars to grab the guard before the gun goes off. Peek notices the twitching of the tendons on the guard’s trigger finger. Kim remains a patient statue next to the wall in her cell. Magilla wonders if this was worth all the hassle.
The guard lowers his shotgun.
“This is ya’lls final warnin’. Next time I comin’ ova ta find one of ya’ll is fixin’ to escape? All ya’ll gonna be missin’ a knee cap. Got it?”
JT begins to respond, but Magilla quickly cuts her off to confirm that they understand the guard’s warning. The guard looks once more between Magilla and JT. The guard taps his gun with his trigger finger as though he was considering saying more. Whatever he was considering, he decided against it and abruptly makes his leave back in the direction he came from until the soft echoes of the guard’s boots slowly make way for silence. As the quiet engulfs the room, JT turns to face Magilla who had been paying attention to the guard’s footsteps.
“So…we’re breaking out, right?” JT asks the gorilla. Magilla’s face reveals nothing as he makes his way back to his corner. After a moment's puase, he turns his head back in the battlebabe’s direction.
“If we are to escape, we’ll need a plan.” The ape responds.
JT lets out a heartful laugh and begins examining her cell, excited to hear Magilla is on the same page for once. Peek notes to himself the health and potential dexterity of the guard’s body. Kim scoffs and returns to meditating on her bunk.
Magilla The Peaceful returns to his corner and attempts to refocus.
SHKRT. SHKRT.
So we already went over this in class, but I really want to say that the humor was my favorite part. You really got into people’s voices and that helps make it a little more light hearted and also gives differentiation to each character. The onomatopoeias are also really nice to hear! They really nicely break up separate sections of the vignette. My biggest issue, and it’s not entirely your fault, is that it sounds the same as every other one your group did. Sure, they’re all from different perspectives, but it just sounds like it’s an RPG story turned into vignette. I also mentioned this in class, but the names are confusing. Sometimes it’s just the nickname. Sometimes it’s the full name. Find a consistency with your character so that way it can be easily identified as a speech pattern and make it less blocky while reading The ending also gets me confused. Like, it just ends so flat. I feel like if you took the liberty to just twist reality a bit and make Magilla really snarky or just smartassy about it, it would be nice. Like, I don’t know why Magilla is so invested in the crossword puzzle? Why is there a crossword puzzle? I just have way too many questions that aren’t being answered. I would focus on really establishing Magilla in the world and focus on everyone else less. Really try to help me and others as your readers know why Magilla does what they do without being blatant and awkward about it. I feel like you’ve got the basics here, but you just need to really go and deep dive into it.