Line #18 Fanfic/TheCollective


1	Part of ''Fanfic/TheCalvinverse'' and set after the rewritten version of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesIILostAtSea'', things are about to be shaken up in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10543840/1/ The Collective]].
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3	The lives of Calvin, Hobbes and their friends are taken through many trials and tribulations when the universe seems to be scheming to keep them apart. Through this separation, they will realize just what they mean to each other, and their lives will genuinely change forever as a result.
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5	[[WMG:Tropes in this fanfic include:]]
6	* AdultsAreUseless: Only one adult notices the rampaging monster. The rest just assume there was an earthquake.
7	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "And what year were you born?"
8	* BaitAndSwitch: Chapter 8 ends with the implication that [[spoiler:it's Socrates' transmitter chip that the Collective is after... only for the next Chapter to reveal it's actually an equation he has in his brain.]]
9	** Hell, [[spoiler:they don't find out about the chip until Chapter ''10'']].
10	* BigDamnHeroes: Calvin and friends [[spoiler:starting at the end of Chapter 10, having un-Transmogrified themselves]].
11	-->'''Calvin''': Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and [[spoiler:various other outer space genders]] - how about handing over our friend?
12	** Not long after, in the next chapter, [[spoiler:Calvin calls in the armies of Annkor to destroy the Collective.]]
13	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: A heroic version; after [=MTM=] [[spoiler:was sold at a garage sale and then subsequently poked, prodded, disassembled and damaged by Leroy]], all he had to say about it [[spoiler:once fixed and handed back to Calvin by one of the Kleins]] was [[spoiler:his selling price]].
14	-->'''[=MTM=]''': I wouldn't have minded it so much, but it was only [[spoiler:five dollars! I'm pretty sure my original price was for twenty-five!]]
15	* CalvinBall: Calvin uses this as a form of rebellion.
16	* ContinuityNod: References to [[Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesIILostAtSea a flying saucer and Dr. Brainstorm taking credit for kidnapping Calvin]] are mentioned.
17	** [[Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries The Smoke from Season 5 and the references about "them" coming for the tail]] are brought back up.
18	* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: [[spoiler:Calvin fears that giving the Kleins the power of the equation will [[NotSoDifferentRemark act like the Collective]]. In the next chapter, he pretends to have done this to scare them.]]
19	* {{Foreshadowing}}: In Chapter 10, certain aliens are not given names, only descriptions. [[spoiler:They are actually Calvin and friends Transmogrified.]]
20	* FloatingTimeline: Finally gets addressed in Chapter 9. [[spoiler:Calvin and company have been frozen in time by the Chill Collective since 1985.]] Then, after [[spoiler:the Chills have been defeated, the floating timeline goes with them.]]
21	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Explored a bit in Chapter 11. [[spoiler:As the Kleins prepare to use the equation's power erase all traces of the Chills' influence on the world, Calvin suddenly realizes that not ''everything'' they've done was bad - and how can they trust the Kleins won't [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide do something similar with their newfound power?]]]]
22	* HeroicBSOD: Calvin goes into this when informed Hobbes can't go with him to the camp.
23	* HeroicSacrifice: Downplayed. [[spoiler:After Calvin realizes that without his influence in Obedience Camp, the kids sent there would be turned into [[StepfordSmiler Stepford Smilers]], he decides to ''willingly'' go with Andy (if only to, once again, convince them to rebel). He manages to take down the camp in ''four days.'']]
24	* ImagineSpot: Calvin has a moment of Spaceman Spiff-type adventures.
25	* InTheirOwnImage: [[spoiler:The goal of the Chill Collective.]] In Chapter 11, [[spoiler:Calvin questions the Kleins' plan to use the equation to remove the Collective's influence from the world, remarking that it sounds like they're trying to enforce their own ideals on the universe.]]
26	* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: After Hobbes recaps Calvin on what happened after he left for camp (Specifically how "[Calvin's] dad went off on some sort of tear about how [he needs] to grow up and how [they] can't be friends anymore, and then they [[spoiler:had a yard sale where they sold most of [his] stuff]]"), Calvin's response:
27	-->'''Calvin''': Wait, ''what''?! [[spoiler:They sold my stuff at a yard sale?!]]
28	* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Calvin's Dad still believes in this strongly.
29	* MythologyGag: [[spoiler: Calvin was born in 1979 and turned six in 1985, the year ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' was syndicated.]]
30	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: There's a reason for it: [[spoiler:the Chill Collective have kept everyone affiliated with Calvin and company the same age since at least 1985, with the intention of keeping Socrates alive to access the equation in his head.]] Calvin does not take this well.
31	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When Calvin ends up depressed and unmotivated after [[spoiler:his friends move away and he's about to be sent to a camp against his will]], his parents are unnerved by his lack of retaliation.
32	* RealityWarper: Anyone with [[spoiler:the equation of the universe]] has this power. [[spoiler:Even without it, the Collective is still able to do some strange things (like causing Socrates to faint, which they refer to as "stopping" him).]]
33	* ResetButton: [[spoiler:Calvin uses the equation's power to undo the events of the story. There are still some effects, though - most importantly, the Collective's influence is gone, and the FloatingTimeline is no more.]]
34	* SelfDeprecation: So, what do Hobbes, Andy, Sherman, and the [=MTM=] remember about "[[Recap/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeriesS3TVM1TheFiveCalvins The Five Calvins]]"?
35	-->"It was really random?"\
36	"It was unimaginative."\
37	"Hackneyed, really."\
38	"[[MediumAwareness Had no place in our continuity...]]"[[labelnote:Explanation]]If you're wondering, "The Five Calvins" borrowed ''the entire plot'' of [[Series/DoctorWho "The Five Doctors"]], and had little impact on the overall plot (aside from having the MTM get broken, leading into its acquiring a voice.[[/labelnote]]
39	* ShoutOut: [[spoiler:The Chills scatter their name across time and space to let the humans know about their "future rulers"]], which smacks more than a little of [[spoiler:the end of the "Bad Wolf" storyline]] in ''Series/DoctorWho''.
40	* SignificantAnagram: Downplayed - one is teased in the author's notes twice, before finally being revealed in the last chapter[[note]](though garfieldodie initially forgot about it)[[/note]]. [[spoiler:The camp Calvin goes to is sponsored by "Latex Finish", an anagram for "Sixth Finale" - the story was initially intended to be the sixth season finale of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''.]]
41	* SummerCampy: Calvin is sent to one of these, though it is for Spring Break rather than Summer Break.
42	* TookALevelInJerkass: Calvin's Dad. He held no sympathy for Calvin's friends moving away, send Calvin against his will to Obedience Camp, and [[spoiler:decided to have a yard sale that included MTM and nearly decided to sell Hobbes before deciding to stick him in the attic]]. He claims this is for the kid's own good, but Mom at least realizes that this isn't going to result in a happy Calvin.
43	** This is actually acknowledged both in-story (Calvin's mom pointing out the severity of his actions and [[spoiler:influence from the Chill Collective helped lead to this]]) and in the author's notes (certain strips are brought up and it's been acknowledged that it isn't unrealistic that Calvin's Dad would get a tad grumpier).
44	* TheUnmasking: The climactic scene of Chapter 10 [[spoiler:is of Calvin and friends un-Transmogrifying themselves right after the Collective discover Socrates' transmitter chip]].
45	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Apparently the idea of a hamster running a huge factory on the opposite end of the world is perfectly normal.
46	** Not to mention a fan website for a flying saucer has no problem with their president being a tiger.
47	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Inverted. While [[spoiler:influence from the Chill Collective ''was'' a contributing factor]], Calvin's Dad ''insists'' he's doing the right thing by shipping Calvin to Obedience Camp and, as soon as he's gone, [[spoiler:selling his stuff at a yard sale (with Hobbes being spared by being placed in the attic)]], saying the age old "he'll appreciate this when he's older" excuse.
48	** Tellingly, Calvin's mom keeps calling into question what he's doing. Time only tells if she [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech goes for broke]].
49	** Well, in Chapter 12, we [[spoiler:never find out. After Calvin [[ResetButton reset everything to a month earlier]], Calvin's dad (upon seeing the ad for Obedience Camp ''this'' go around, minus the influence of the Collective) laughs off the idea of sending Calvin away]].
50	--->'''Calvin's Dad''': Oh, [[spoiler:can you imagine him in such a camp? He'd reduce the whole place to rubble within minutes. The very idea... It doesn't even let you bring personal items from home]]!
51	* WhamEpisode: The entire story is this to the verse as a whole, as it provides answers regarding many of its mysteries. For specific moments within:
52	** Chapter 8, which provides answers concerning [[spoiler:the Kleins]], who proceed to gather everyone back together.[[spoiler:.. excluding Socrates, who gets taken by the Collective]].
53	** Chapter 9. We finally get answers about Socrates' red tail, the FloatingTimeline, and Rupert, Earl, and John Howard Chill.
54	** Chapter 11 has [[spoiler:Socrates performing a SplitPersonalityMerge with his dark side and regaining his animal instincts, Calvin questioning the Kleins' ultimate plan for erasing the Collective from the universe, and finally ''grabbing the equation himself''.]]
55	* WhamLine: When Calvin asks who "the Collective" is, [[spoiler:the Head Klein]] replies:
56	--> "They are known as [[spoiler:the Chill Collective.]]"
57	** The following conversation occurs not long after:
58	--->'''[[spoiler:The Head Klein]]''': How old are you, Calvin?
59	--->''Calvin blinked, thrown by the abrupt change of topic.''
60	--->'''Calvin''': Six, why?
61	--->'''[[spoiler:The Head Klein]]''': What year is it now?
62	--->'''Calvin''': 2014.
63	--->'''[[spoiler:The Head Klein]]''': And what year were you born?
64	--->''Calvin opened his mouth to speak, but then he stopped, rolling the confusion around his head, trying to figure out what was wrong. He knew the year, and he wanted to say it, but for some reason, he just couldn't reconcile the number with reality. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, waiting to see what he would say.''
65	--->''Finally, he found himself uttering the truth [[spoiler:he'd been unaware of for [[OlderThanTheyLook nearly thirty years]]]].''
66	--->'''Calvin''': [[spoiler:[[TheReveal I was born in 1979... I'm six years old and I was born nearly thirty-five years ago...]]]]
67	** Near the end of Chapter 10, when [[spoiler:the Transmogrifier Gun is used on one of the aliens]]:
68	--->"What happened? What's he been turned into?" the little grey alien[[note]][[spoiler:Sherman]][[/note]] cried.
69	--->"It's hideous!" Magnus cried. "What monstrosity is this?!"
70	--->"I resent that," [[spoiler:Andy]] snorted, getting up and dusting himself off.

Context Fanfic / TheCollective