MAGP 1-02 : Making Adjustements

Audio
Transcript
Warnings

## Pre-Case

Sam and Gwen discuss the enormous index and how to manage processing the cases through the system. Sam is frustrated by the system and questions its efficiency, to the annoyance of Gwen who tells him to quit if he does not like it. Alice joins and comments on the awkward and tense silence. Gwen comments on Alice's tardiness and Alice responds cheekily that 'time isn't real'.

## Case

Through a video call in a therapist's office, a patient named Daria is talking to a therapist. The video remains off on Daria's side which the therapist comments on. Daria who is defensive states that she is not crazy or delusional and remarks that she does not want anyone's sympathy and wants to get the court-ordered therapy sessions to be over with. The therapist is sympathetic and asks Daria to speak.

Daria is a visual artist who works on social media which took its toll on her self-image. After turning 30, she made changes to her appearance like growing her hair out, losing some weight, and dipping into her savings for some jeans after she lost the weight. She remarks that the jeans now hang on her, like most of her clothes recently. This comment is followed by a long pause where she seems to be lost in thought.

She finally decided to get a big tattoo to change her look. It is on Instagram, while searching for witchy symbols for a commission, that she finds the tattoo artist Ink5oul. She contacts them and immediately gets a reply back and is invited to their London studio. Daria notes the loud dubstep playing in the shop. She found the tattoo artist underwhelming except for a floral serpent tattoo running from their arm to their neck. They uncomfortably asked Daria questions about her life until they reached the topic of her job as an artist. With the revelation that she is an artist, they exclaim “The artist becomes the canvas!” while starting up a live stream and rushing on top of her starting to tattoo her without any prior agreement on designs. They tattoo on her dominant left arm causing her the worst pain of her life and making her pass out. When she becomes conscious again, a beautiful paintbrush is engraved where she expected to find scarring and blood. As soon as she looked at it, she was ushered out with no discussion of aftercare and an exposed tattoo.

In her apartment, she felt a burst of passion and attempted to paint a self-portrait for the first time in her life. For a brief moment, she was not ashamed of her looks. Daria then attempts to *perfect* her looks. She starts by making small adjustments to her face using a pallet knife until she feels it scrapping bone. She felt no pain or blood or damage. She started making adjustments to her hands, feet, face, eyes, smile, etc. After each alteration, the tattoo would grow and spread which caused her to have to work around it. Daria's roommate, coming back from a trip, stepped into their apartment to Daria *adjusting* her mouth. Because of this, she could not speak and could not grab onto her due to the alterations to her hands she had made recently. Her roommate punches her in the face undoing changes she had made and called an ambulance for Daria, informing them that she tried to kill herself using acid from her paint supplies.

The therapist asks Daria if she attempted to harm herself using acid. Daria denies it and says that she only wants to be better. She has not made any changes since and says that she is waiting for inspiration. She denies any attempts at suicide and ominously remarks that if she wanted to clear the canvas she would have used turpentine

## Post-Case

Sam is rattled by the case and asks how they cope listening to them. Alice uses humour to answer to Sam's annoyance but then seriously answers by saying that she does not pay attention to any of it and just skims the cases.

To the sound of electronic whizzing, Alice and Gwen can be heard speaking to each other. Gwen reveals that Lena is planning redundancies to Alice's shock. Alice is not sure about the plan as it takes an abundance amount of paperwork to complete anything in the office.

In the office, Alice receives a call from her brother Luke who is part of a band called "Dredgerman". Alice notices that Sam is researching The Magnus Institute reprimands him for it and advises him to compartmentalize and not let the work consume him.