#mostly because she died and turned into a ghost and also the flashbacks weren’t really what I was hoping for

[agathasblackheart]

Rio constantly yelling “why don’t you want me” and telling Agatha she loves her and that she knows she loves her back was just wow. Rio was truly distraught over Agatha not wanting her anymore. She looked so heartbroken when Agatha said “I don’t want to see you for the rest of my life and when I die” so Rio just didn’t collect her soul once she died. Everything about the finale and their relationship has left me reeling. I cannot function

[darylandbethfanforever9]

Devil’s Backbone

Devil’s Backbone

Chapter 1

Story Rating: Explicit, 18+ 

Warnings: Smut, violence, flashbacks of past sexual assault, descriptions of torture and racial slurs

This story will contain spoilers for FATWS, and a few spoilers about Black Widow. This is not a Tony Stark friendly story.

I hope everyone enjoys the story :)

Pairings: Bucky/OC, Steve/Natasha, Billy/Wanda/Grant, Clint/Laura, and Sam/Sharon. Tony/Pepper, (mentioned only).

Summary: In the aftermath of the Blip, Bucky struggled to find his place among the world and the Avengers. However, when he is sent on a mission to Madripoor to investigate a mystery woman, he starts to realize maybe his past isn't too far behind him. Co-Written with WalkingPotterGirl14

The Novosibirsk HYDRA base had been abandoned for at least a few years, but it had been in use recently. The rooms were vacant of any dust, something that James Buchanan Barnes noticed as he surveyed the building that had once been his former home as the Winter Soldier. He couldn't help but feel a sense of closure. He had insisted that the bodies of the five Winter Soldiers be given a burial. Plenty of the Avengers had backed him up when Tony had refused to do so. Anything that was of use had been taken away as evidence against HYDRA, seeing as they had been rebuilding their empire. Bucky couldn't help but remember Zola's words. "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place," the recording of Zola had said gleefully. Bucky had shot the machine to pieces in case the AI had planned on blowing them up. He was just about to leave when he found a file disregarded in one of the rooms that were used for medical use. It was mostly written in a mixture of Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian. Before he could really take a look at it, though, a voice called out. "Bucky, you ready to go?" Sam asked quietly. He nodded and put the file in his backpack, before leaving the room. They joined the others, who were also ready to leave, and made their way to the quinjet.

The young woman's dark hazel eyes snapped open as she was awakened from her sleep. She looked around the room wearily, wondering where her handlers were and if they had fled? It had been so long… She couldn't remember for how long she had been, however…but the last thing she recalled was being taken away to have her mind wiped. If that was the case, then it had been 2016. What had happened since then? Suddenly, she heard a quinjet starting up above the base. She needed to board that plane, before HYDRA returned. That was her way out. That had to be. Quickly, she started running up the stairs, shielding her eyes from the blizzard, and shivered slightly. However, not even the cold could stop her from climbing onto this machine somehow. She found a back door hatchet in the quinjet, before climbing inside and locking the hatch. She made her way to the lower deck, before seeing a flash of red hair. Her eyes narrowed as she hid, but flashes of her mind came back to her. She knew that hair colour, but she couldn't remember who had it. Damn it. She sighed, before settling down, and prepared to get to her next destination.

Bucky sighed in relief when they landed at the Avengers Facility, but grimaced at the weather forecast. The news reporter said that it would be the coldest March on record and advised people to stay at home until the storm passed. He intended on going to his apartment, have a much needed warm shower and then watch the baseball game with Steve, Sam and Clint tonight. He was going to spoil Alpine. He loved the white fluffy cat that he'd rescued from the streets. He went downstairs to get his backpack when he noticed that it hadn't been where he had put it. He frowned, looking around and shrugged. It wasn't like there was anything important in there from before, but maybe he had left it at the base? No, that didn't make any sense. He lets out a soft sigh and glances away, turning back towards the facility. "Hey," he hears from before, feeling himself smile as Steve emerged, his brow raised. "What's going on? We got a whole pizza in here for you." Bucky snorts. "I don't need that much food." "Debatable," Steve states, chuckling lightly. "But you, okay? You look like you've seen a ghost?" "Eh…think I'm just seeing things." Bucky nods towards the base. "Come on. I'll take a slice and then we head back. We gotta get shelter before this storm hits." Steve nods, pushing him forward gently. "Now that sounds like a plan."

The young woman waits until everyone was gone and the voices had stopped, and only then did she allow herself to emerge from the cargo section of the quinjet, moving as quickly as possible. Jesus Christ, it was cold here too. Why couldn't they have flown to somewhere warm. She glances up at the giant "A" that sat atop this building, and with a start, she realizes that it was an Avengers base. Out of every damn place she could have flown to… You know what? It didn't matter. All that mattered was getting some form of clothing and getting clean. She quickly heads in, taking quick glances around to make sure no one was there. Strangely, there was no one around. But she had a feeling it was most likely because they were in a meeting of some sorts. Great. That gave her the perfect timing. The young woman moves as fast as she could through the halls, looking around, trying to pinpoint out the one spot that she so desperately wanted. And there, near the end, it was. A door with the label 'shower rooms.' She practically groans in pleasure before racing inside, locking the door behind her so she could be alone. While she would like to enjoy this shower as long as possible, she knew her time was limited. So today, it would only be for the basics. As soon as the water had turned warm, she stripped herself of her clothes and stepped in. She always had a regimen, even something she could remember with her fuddled head. Hair, face, body. Those three steps to get it done as soon as possible. And that was exactly what she did, watching as the dirt and grime began to roll of her body in waves. By the end of the shower, the drain was clogged. But hey, it wasn't her problem. And now she smelt of lilacs, so it was even better. She steps out and grabs a towel, unlocking the door and glancing out. There had to be rooms or something here with clothes of some sort. Maybe something she could change into. She had stolen a backpack from someone – maybe that could work. Quickly now, she runs across the hallways to what seemed to be bedrooms, cursing the ones that were locked and then finally finding a few that were open. As she steps inside, she pillages the drawers, finding some jeans, shirts, pajamas, underwear – the whole nine yards. Yes, this was a goldmine. The next couple of rooms seem to have the same amount of clothing, which she steals from as well. Usually, she was never one to just take people's belongings. That was always her caretaker’s orders. If she put one toe out of line, well…that was that. It was the end. But now, her caretakers weren't here. She could do whatever she wanted. And that meant this. As soon as she had changed into some clothes and stuffed several other pieces in the backpack she took, she grabbed some shoes and put them on, heading towards the hallway once more and then racing out. Thank God that this meeting was going on long enough. When she exited the building, she did see plenty of vehicles, waiting to be used. Maybe she could hot-wire a car of some sorts? But as she walked up to a motorcycle, she feels herself smile. Whoever had driven this left the keys in it. "Dumb fuck," she mutters, before getting on and straddling it as quickly as possible. She gives a mock salute to the base before taking off, leaving this area behind.

"What exactly did you find at the base?" Fury asks, his brow furrowed. "All I see here are some old techs that don't quite work anymore. You said this meeting was for something important." "It is, sir," Sam says. "Bucky found this." He brings over the folder that Bucky had found. "He didn't have the time to read it while in the quinjet, but I did, and what's in there is…real fucked up. I don't know if this is going on anymore but…. just read it." Fury takes the file with interest, putting it under a projector so they all could see what was inside.

The file detailed a program called the Black Widow Ops Program that began in the 1950's. It took orphaned young girls as young as five years old to be trained at the Red Room Academy, which was located in the Maryina Horka Forest in Belarus. "The Red Room has ties to an agency called Leviathan. Leviathan is a Soviet deep science and espionage agency. S.H.I.E.L.D had a run in with one of their operatives - a woman called Dottie Underwood. The Leviathan program was shut down in 1963 but the Red Room was already functioning," Steve explained quietly, his voice grim. Fury flipped through the file, his face turning grave at every turn of the file. Everyone at the table was given a copy. Most of the names were crossed out, having died during missions or from training. Bucky glanced at the names, recognizing a few of them. Polina, Irina, Viktoriya, Zorya, Natasha and Yelena. There was another name, but it had been redacted. "All of the people on this list are dead aside from me, Melina, Yelena and Alexei. We shut down the Red Room once and for all after Taskmaster, along with Lukin, restarted the program in 2016. We destroyed the building, and all the girls were killed or had died," Natasha said firmly, her face giving away nothing. He knew better though. She and Yelena were hiding something. "How can you be so sure, Romanoff?" Tony asked snidely, glaring over at her from where he sat next to Bruce and Rhodey. He had been acting like an ass since the Decimation had been reversed. "Because we killed all of them, Stark. They were too dangerous to be allowed to live. Something that the Soldat would know," Yelena answered coldly, her brown eyes flicking briefly towards Bucky. "Don't you dare bring her up, Yelena! You don't have the right to mention her and neither do you Natalia!" Bucky said dangerously. He grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the room. Steve gave Yelena a look of disappointment while Sam ignored her, and both went to check on Bucky. Wanda followed shortly after, with Billy Russo and Grant Ward leaving as well. "We'll continue this meeting in the morning, everyone. Next time, Yelena, I suggest keeping your mouth shut," Fury said warningly, before leaving with his leather coat billowing behind him as he walked out the door. Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Tony, Kate and Yelena were the only ones left in the conference room. An uncomfortable silence hung over them. Clint was the first to say what Bruce and Kate were thinking. "Did you really have to bring up Bucky's past, Yelena? For Christ's sake, he's been through enough. I get that you're mad at him for beating Alexei, but it's not his fault that Alexei got sent to prison!" Clint said angrily, before leaving. Kate left with him. Bruce shook his head. He liked Bucky and didn't understand why Natasha and Yelena harbored so much distrust towards him. Tony hated the man and refused to let him stay at the facility.

Bucky had gone to the garage to get his bike. He just wanted to get away from this place. He knew he wasn't welcome at the compound, but neither was Steve, Sam, Clint, or Wanda for still agreeing with Steve on the accords to an extent. No matter how hard he tried, people were still afraid of him. Some even said on Twitter that Tony should have killed him in Siberia when his arm had been blown off. He sighed heavily, before starting up the engine and drove out of the garage, making his way home. It doesn't take long, thankfully, since they were so close to the city. He parked outside his apartment, heading up the stairs before opening the door and being greeted by Alpine. The fluffy white cat purred at seeing him. He crouched down to stroke him tenderly behind the ear. The cat purred loudly before he locked the door and went to wash his bowl. After finishing that, he gave Alpine fresh water and fresh food and biscuits. He smiled as he watched Alpine eat happily, before turning on the TV and started cooking dinner. "You don't deserve to be an Avenger, you murderer!" Tony had snarled at him when Fury announced Bucky was being added to the team. All he could did now was prove all of them that he did deserve to be an Avenger. It was all he could do. He made sure to text Sam and Stave that he was alright. He didn't want to burden Steve and Sam, or Clint and Wanda. They were good to him, along with Yori and Leah, even though Yori knew it was him that had killed his son.

Anastasia had dumped the bike at the nearest garage before going to a long-abandoned HYDRA safe house in the Upper West Side. She checked to see if anyone had been there lately, but luckily, no one had ever checked the place out. She took off the black leather jacket before checking the office and logged into the computer. She typed in the password, relieved when it was correct and was greeted with a very large amount of money. "You were a bastard, Pierce. I fucking hated you, but at least you didn't lose the money after all this time," she remarked coldly, before deciding to make her way to Madripoor, converting the money to cash just as quickly through the machine. It was probably the safest place for her, considering that the Avengers would soon find out that the HYDRA safe house had been slept in and the money was gone. She counted the notes carefully, stunned that she had over 4.29 million dollars in cash. She intended on donating some of the money though to a few charities that she genuinely liked. The Red Room and HYDRA had always hated how she was still soft despite the brutal training they put her through. Not to mention the days of starvation and having broken bones from sparring sessions.

Natasha had gone to her room to have a shower and get changed into more comfortable clothing, only to realize that some of her clothes were missing. Namely one of her black leather jackets was missing along with a pair of her size seven black combat boots. Did Yelena or Wanda take her clothes? Her brow furrows before she moves outside. "Wanda?" She calls out as she sees the Avenger pass her. She looks up as she does. "Did you take any of my clothes?" Wanda's brow furrows before she shakes her head. "No, not at all. Is your stuff missing?" "Stuff from me is missing too," Yelena says, emerging from her room. "Couple of my shirts." "Huh," Natasha mutters before turning to Wanda. "Sorry for bothering you. Think we might have just misplaced stuff." Wanda smiles a bit. "We all do that sometimes." She waves bye to her as she heads back towards her room, but as soon as she had moved around the other side of the hallway, Natasha pulls Yelena into her room, before closing the door behind her. Instantly, Yelena's eyes turn to her. "What's going on?" "You and I both know what I'm thinking," she says lowly. "Why do we think that our clothes are missing?" "Could just be some kid who broke in." "Come on, some kid can't break into an Avenger's base," Natasha chastises. "Barely anyone knows where this place is unless told…it had to be someone who had tailed us back all the way from…you know where." Yelena's eyes widen a bit. "You don't think-" "We didn't see anyone there but…but what if? There might have been someone who has escaped the HYDRA base when we left and is now just…roaming around New York City. How else would our clothes be missing? They must have stolen them to get clean and then taken off." Yelena bites her lip and then nods her head slowly. "It does make sense." "Fury," she says quietly, bringing Yelena's attention back to her. "There are hidden cameras in the hallways. We could ask him for security access to see who it was." "Fury isn't really in my good graces right now," Yelena mutters.

"It doesn't matter. If the safety of our organization is at stake, he will let you go through his cameras. He'll go down for SHIELD, you know this." She glances towards the door. "We need to try and take care of this. As soon as possible." Yelena nods, sighing. "I know…I know."

She had to admit that New York City was nice. It had been years since she had been to this place, only with the intention of missions, and even then, she could hardly remember what it was like. But with the money she did have now, she might as well buy a few things before she was on her way to Madripoor. As she walks into a tiny coffee shop that seemed to be below an apartment building, she asks quietly for a cup of coffee black and two cookies – might as well get some good stuff in her prior to a long flight. "What's the name?" The barista asks politely. For a moment, she froze. Her name brought back so many painful memories. So many that she wanted to forget. She hated even thinking of her time in that spiteful, horrible prison. So, she makes a change, right here and now. "Ana," she says softly. "It's Ana." The barista nods, writing her name down on a cup. There, a refreshing new start. She was no longer Anastasia. She was Ana. Fair and square, no ifs ands or buts. She wasn't going to be HYDRA's puppet anymore…even if her memory wasn't the same. She moves to take a seat over in the corner, waiting patiently for her food and drink to be done. In the meantime, she saw someone else come in, a man that looked to be slightly older than her but not by much. He had a jacket and gloves covering his hands. She had to admit he was quite handsome, but the last thing on her mind was to get infatuated with a random stranger. Quietly, she listens to his order, what seemed to be a sweeter coffee with a cookie as well, but then he reaches into his wallet and is unable to produce the money for the second item. He sighs and only pays for the coffee, going to sit down. She glances over at him as she hears her name called. "Ana!" Quickly she gets up, grabbing her hot coffee before looking over at the man, quietly glancing down at his phone. If she wanted to start new, she'd start new. She heads over to where he sits, and he looks up at her in surprise. "I…know you don't know me, but I overheard you and-I'm not good with this, just here." Ana gently lowers the cookie onto the table, and a kind smile comes over his lips before he looks up at her. "You didn't have to do that." Ana shrugs lightly. "I heard about the storm that's going to be happening soon…we all gotta look out for each other, right?" She asks. He chuckles a bit and nods. "Indeed, we do…wish others saw it that way." He looks back up at her, his brow furrowed. She tilts her head. "I'm sorry, you…you just look familiar." "Strange…quite sure I've never met you," she chuckles a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "I must sound so weird," he states, shaking his head. "It's okay," she responds lightly, but she had to admit inwardly the stranger did have a nice smile. A part of her wanted to sit down and talk with him more but she knew she had a flight to catch. "But enjoy the cookie, stranger. I have to get out of here. Stay warm." He offers another smile to her. "You too." Ana smiles at him before heading out the door, holding onto her bag tightly and her coffee in the other hand. For a second, she pauses, glancing back at the coffee shop. Strange…he felt familiar too. But that was impossible. The only person she ever knew was long gone…or at least she thought he was. Maybe she was just crazy. Yeah, she was crazy. Ana shakes her head and quickly heads back towards the street, whistling out for a cab. It was time she got out of this town.

"It's nine at night," Wanda mutters, angrily coming into the briefing room with the other Avengers. "What is it that you all could need at this hour? We're supposed to be resting for the upcoming mission." Fury sighs as everyone takes a seat. "We got a big problem – wait, where's Barnes?" "Who cares?" Tony mutters. Steve glares at him before sighing at Fury. "Bucky went home after the incident this afternoon." "Goddammit – get his ass back here. We can start then. And Yelena – keep your mouth shut!" Yelena rolls her eyes but nods, crossing her arms against her chest. Steve grabs his phone, quickly making the call to Bucky. And hopefully, he wouldn't face the wrath of the Winter Soldier when he returned back here. Thankfully, the snow hadn't started yet but soon enough they'd be snowed in.

"Really?" Bucky asks as he comes in, his brow furrowed. "I literally just settled down to relax." "Sit your whiny ass down," Fury states, gesturing to the spot next to Steve, which he does. "Now that everyone is here, I didn't want to wake you all up or bring you in for nothing. We've had an issue here at the compound. Something that all of you need to be aware of." At that moment, he pulls up what seems to be security came footage, and there in the hallways was a girl.

tag list: @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie @sapphirescrolls , @americasass81​ @marvelfansworld , @connie326 , @joannaliceevans-fanficblog , @queenoftheunderdark @navybrat817 and @threeminutesoflife , @lex-the-flex, @world-of-aus, @avintagekiss24 and @the-soulofdevil, @gogolucky13 and @kenzieam and @darkficsyouneveraskedfor​

[pointnumbersixteen]

My Personal Ranking of Ghosts Episodes and Why

So, here’s my personal order for all the current Ghosts episodes, from best to worst, with a bit of an explanation as to why I think so. I included who wrote each episode because the writing pairs tend to have consistent strengths and weaknesses that affect my enjoyment. These are, of course, just my opinions, and I recognize that different people have different tastes.  

1) Moonah Ston (Larry and Martha)

This episode is hilarious and it continues to be hilarious through multiple viewings (some of the jokes in other episodes start to wear thin after multiple viewings, but this one remains entirely solid through dozens of rewatches). Barclay and Bunny are my favorite guest characters throughout the show. Also some of my all-time favorite bits are in it: Cap stealing Thomas’s role doing the reading, the shooting of the pheasant with Cap, everything to do with Mary and the cooking of the pheasant, the way Alison yeets the pelaverga as soon as it’s handed to her, the juxtaposition of the eclipse ritual and the dinner party, Bunny’s ‘sobriety test.’ Also, there’s a strong A plot and a strong B plot that tie together, and all of the characters are fit into these two plots well, which is something the creators sometimes struggle with.

2) Getting Out (Mat and Jim)

I love everything about the Captain’s portion of the plot and it’s a nice big portion, too. His scene with Kitty is one of my favorite scenes in the show, brilliantly written, well-acted, and gorgeously shot. I can feel for Mike and Alison in it. Fiona’s another really funny guest character. My only major complaint is that the plot with other ghosts after the Captain’s left the group starts to drag after enough re-watches, particularly Thomas’s bad erotica and the jewel scene. I found both very funny on the first several watches, but the payoff to both is ruined with enough rewatches. With the first, the payoff is with how surprisingly bad for a ‘professional’ writer his story is, but after you’re well aware that Thomas is a bad writer, it’s just listening to bad writing over and over again. And the bit with Fanny’s jewel has such a long lead up, to get to the surprise payoff that the jewel was secretly pawned by George forever ago, but once you know the jewel is gone, the long lead up gets progressively more tedious with every watch. At least for me.

3) Reddy Weddy (Ben and Simon)

I’ve written extensively about this one before, so I won’t include much, but: I love everything having to do with the Captain in this one, particularly the completely wonderful flashbacks with Havers. Mike and Alison were very well done, and I enjoyed Martin as a guest character. But I really didn’t like the whose-turn-is-it-to-pick-the-movie subplot, it just seemed sort of unnecessary to me and detracted from the tone of the rest of it. I assume they just had trouble finding a better integrated role for Pat, Thomas and Julian, which, as I said under Moonah Ston, is an occasional weakness the creators had.

4) Gorilla War (Larry)

I love Cap’s campaign of attrition. And his singing. Everyone had solid, funny bits, all tied into one main plot in it. Mike and Alison are both well done in this episode. It’s the first episode where Alison is able to interact with the ghosts and I think they did a great job capitalizing on her coming to terms with it and Mike’s such a supportive husband in it.  

5) About Last Night (Mat and Jim)

I love the spat between Cap and Pat in this one, because the focus of their subplot is their relationship dynamic and I enjoy their relationship dynamic- even though it’s close to the breaking point in this instance, all is well because they make up in the end. Everything about the state of the house and trying to remember what happened to it-as well as the flashbacks to the party- is pretty funny. The bits with Dante were very funny as well. The Robin-Mary subplot was a bit meh for me, but I didn’t dislike it, I’m just not sold on the idea. I didn’t enjoy Mike being sidelined on the roof for most of the episode when Alison needed his help and all the criticism he got from the other characters for not being around to help Alison, though.

6) Who Do You Think You Are? (Mat and Jim)

This is a really strong introductory episode with some good, funny bits in it, but it doesn’t rank higher since the ghosts can’t interact with Alison yet and Mike and Alison don’t know they’re there, which is where a lot of the fun of the concept of the show comes in to me.

7) Bump in the Night (Larry and Martha)              

The robbers were funny as were the ghosts’ utterly inept attempts (save Robin) in stopping them. I loved music club, particularly the Captain’s performance. I appreciated the return of Barclay and his bitches. Humphrey was actually reasonably included in the plot, which is always a nice change. There weren’t any bits I found particularly outstanding (except maybe Cap’s musical performance) but there weren’t any major bits I disliked, either. Everyone’s included in one main plot and it continues to be just as enjoyable on rewatches.

8) The Thomas Thorne Affair (Mat and Jim)

I greatly enjoy examine-the-story-from-multiple-viewpoints-to-illustrate-unreliable-narration plots, so that went well in this episode. I also really like regency romances, so this ticked another box for me. Humphrey was given an important bit again, which I appreciate. The bit about Francis was a nice twist at the end, because otherwise it would have been a bit too predictable, with Thomas being shot in a duel over a romantic misunderstanding- that was the most obvious solution to his death, after all. It felt a bit contrived, though, that the characters who died after Thomas all went to the group meeting on time, while the characters who witnessed Thomas’s death were all still wandering around upstairs and just happen to wander into Alison’s room in time to contradict the last telling of the story and provide the next. And of course, the fact that half the cast is just sort of sitting downstairs waiting for a significant portion of the episode always seemed a bit lacking to me. Also, Mike starts the episode being unusually stupid (not knowing Elizabeth II is the current queen- at least in the US, not being able to answer who the current President is frequently used as shorthand for ‘having brain damage’) and spends the rest of it being insecure about Alison’s ex (this seems to be a Mat and Jim thing).  

9) Perfect Day (Mat and Jim)

I loved all the Cap bits in this. Pat’s plotline was good, too. Humphrey actually had a substantial role, which I appreciated, and more so since he actually managed to bring Fanny around to the gay wedding. I was of course thrilled that it was a lesbian wedding. But I’m not a fan of ‘miscommunication causes drama’ plots in any medium and I disliked how once again how insecure Mike is in this episode (Mat and Jim again) and how poorly he handles it.

10) Happy Death Day (Ben)

I love all the Pat bits. I liked the interactions between the Captain and Julian, they had a really enjoyable dynamic in this one, although they’re being rather disappointing human beings in their plotline. I like Kitty’s plotline, too, and the garden scene between her and Fanny is very funny and beautifully framed. I don’t think this episode did a particularly good job with either Mike or Alison, though. Mike ditches his probably still concussed wife who is plagued by ghosts to manage the building work he started because he’s spending hours a day out of the house because there are too many people in it and he’s apparently potty-shy and Alison thinks trying to convince people to do probably thousands, if not more, pounds worth of free labor by making them tea is both a plausible idea and an appropriate thing to even try (it’s bad enough when the people asking you to do free work for them are actually your friends, contriving a friendship in order to do this just sort of seems a bit contemptible to me). Some of the jokes get less funny with time- Fanny with the butt cracks, for instance. I considered the Thomas subplot another weak ‘well, something needs to be done with this character’ subplot and I can’t even remember off the top of my head what Mary was doing most of the episode despite having seen it at least a dozen times, besides the bit where Alison throws the teacup at her head (and if I were Terry, I would have called it quits then).  

11) The Ghost of Christmas (Ben and Simon)

Mostly fluff, and a decent amount of it was rather predictable fluff, but I’ve written more on that elsewhere. Mike’s sisters were the worst. I was hoping Ben would write himself a bigger role and he didn’t. In the Bleak Midwinter was gorgeous, though, and there were enough smaller bits that I found endearing to prop it up over the next two.

12) The Grey Lady (Larry and Martha)

I enjoy the ghosts’ routine as shown at the beginning of the episode. I found Pat’s radio show amusing. I liked the basement scene with Nigel. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Captain’s ‘stretching’ subplot (although I do greatly enjoy his  ‘for king and country’ running), it just seemed a bit silly to me, like they couldn’t decide what to do with him for most of the episode, so went with ‘eh, squats, I guess.’ Also, I feel like they had trouble placing Mary and Kitty, too. Mary spends a lot of the episode staring at a wall and Kitty spends all of it just following the group and occasionally wailing about the ‘ghost-ghost.’ Also, I think Alison went a little too far with her simulated haunting when she dressed up as the Grey Lady; it wasn’t smart because there was no way she was going to get away with it after anyone turned on the lights and it seems a bit more like attempting to defraud people than the rest of it did.

13) Free Pass (Mat and Jim)

Alison actively puts people in danger for money, misrepresenting the house as structurally sound in order to get a movie contract, when in fact the floors are held up by hope and happy thoughts and could (and eventually do) cave at any moment. If the floor had fallen through in the letter scene, before Mike braced it, when they were using the heavy equipment, there likely would have been serious injuries. Also: Toby Nightingale is the worst. Also: the solidity and supportive nature of Mike and Alison’s relationship is the best part of it and I dislike the choice (Mat and Jim again) to make him so insecure in this episode (this was the first in the episode order to do so).

To speak on general tendencies, though: I’m not a fan of doing morally questionable things for monetary reasons unless the situation is life or death, so all of the episodes where that’s Alison’s primary purpose get major demerits from me. That’s a matter of personal taste, but there I am. As for the writers (I recognize they all come up with the general story arcs together, but the writing pairs are responsible for execution), everyone struggles a bit sometimes to get solid roles for everyone into the plot, to be expected when the cast is so large, but some instances are worse than others. I think Larry’s (well, Larry/Martha for most of them, but they’ve both joked that mostly she drinks and he writes when they’re working on their episodes) still the strongest writer in terms of having mostly cohesive plots that standup consistently as solid to multiple viewings, but he also has the most experience as a writer, so that’s probably to be expected. Ben and Simon have both stated that they like jig-sawing a bunch of little plots together to make an episode, and while it is a bit impressive that they can make episodes with like, nearly as many plotlines as characters come together to make one reasonably sane episode, I find this strategy detrimental in that to me, when they do this, there’s always one or two plots that are really, really good, a few plots that are pretty good, and then one or two plots that I just don’t enjoy, that to me drag down the rest of the episode (most apparent in Reddy Weddy, but it happens to some degree in all of their episodes). My major criticism of Mat and Jim is with the way they write Mike. I actually really like Mike when he’s well done, but his portrayal seems to vary a lot between episodes, and (with the exception of Ben’s Happy Death Day, but his problems in that one are different) the episodes he’s written the weakest in are all written by Mat and Jim. They’re the only ones who I think write Mike as insecure in his relationship with Alison and his most incompetent and/or useless moments also tend to be written by them. I don’t know if they have a slightly different concept of Mike’s character than the other four or what, but I think Larry/Martha and Ben/Simon’s portrayals of him tend to be significantly more flattering.

[woolishlygrim]

Winter Weebwatch #11

Inching extremely close to the finales: ID: Invaded ends next week (I think?), Darwin’s Game, Infinite Dendrogram and In/Spectre the week after, and Pet either this week or next.

ID: Invaded.

★★☆☆☆

I think we’ve hit the point where this show starts to fall apart on itself. Maybe it’ll stick the landing in the finale, but I’m not holding my breath.

With Kiki roaming the halls of the Kura, people are falling into comas, their minds dragged into the Wells of various serial killers that Kiki has connected with. Hayaseura, now revealed to be John Walker, enters the Mizuhanome and kills himself, leaving his mind permanently within his own Well (which in turn contains copies of every Well Kiki could project) as the brilliant detective Uraido, creating what amounts to a permanent Mizuhanome that can exist without Kiki. As Hondomachi and Narihisago pursue him, Momoki prepares to track down Kiki and return her to the Mizuhanome.

This episode feels very much like the writer didn’t have any idea how to end the series and is just hurriedly wrapping things up towards some kind of conclusion. The fact that Narihisago and Hondomachi are serial killers seems to have been forgotten about, Hayaseura’s motive of wanting the Mizuhanome to exist to help police officers catch serial killers makes his actions as John Walker make no sense (why was he inviting killers into Kiki’s dreams to kill her? Why did he create serial killers?) and leave some key questions unanswered (how did he do any of these things?), and Momoki heading out to take Kiki down involves the hurried introduction of a plot device that was never mentioned or seen before.

It’s just not … great, you know? It’s fine, it’s entertaining enough, but it’s not great.

Infinite Dendrogram.

★★☆☆☆

This is another show that apparently realised late that it doesn’t have enough time to do everything it wants to do, leading to this being an extremely rushed episode. In the span of twenty minutes, we get: The entire battle between Marie and the King of Orchestras, a flashback about the KoO’s backstory, a flashback about Marie’s backstory, Franklin fighting the Royal Knights, a confrontation between Ray and Hugo, a flashback about Hugo’s backstory (including the reveal that both he and Franklin are actually women), and the start of a fight between Rook and Hugo.

It’s … a lot. 

It means the episode is weirdly unfocused and gives strangely little weight to certain developments. While literally everybody in the audience had already figured out that Marie is the Superior Killer, the episode acts as if it was never a secret in the first place, not so much revealing it as just having her use the Superior Killer’s abilities with no explanation. Similarly, the reveal that Hugo and Franklin use male avatars in part as a symbolic escape from the abusive, severely misogynistic, deeply restrictive tendencies of their father is a really interesting character beat that the show just zooms past.

And also, I just don’t buy what the episode is trying to push with Ray and Hugo, that they share a deep connection and are rivals at this point, because as the episode itself points out, they met yesterday. They’ve been on one quest together, during which they mostly acted separately and definitely weren’t competing. I fully believe they could become rivals, but that would take actually developing their characters.

Anyway, still hoping for a Battle of the Older Siblings between Shu and Franklin.

Darwin’s Game.

★★☆☆☆

God, I barely remember this episode, but in fairness to it, this has been the longest week of the whole damn year.

Anyway, this episode of Darwin’s Game sees Kaname (see, I remember the protagonist’s name now!) and company (because I don’t remember the others’ names) teaming up with Speedster Boxer Guy (he doesn’t need a name, he’s basically just what you’d get if you dumped Yamato Ishida and Barry Allen in a blender together) to take down The Bad Snake People, who have kidnapped Kaname’s friend.

If I’m being honest, the thing that stands out most about this episode to me is just how much it stamps on the ideas set up in the first few episodes. Kaname’s first big plan for rescuing his friend is to send him an invite to the D-Game, except, you know, doing so means constantly having to look over your shoulder for people trying to kill you, something set up as terrible and oppressive in the first few episodes. The D-Game is apparently so bad that Kaname has sworn to kill its creator, something that came up again just two episodes ago.

Anyway, Kaname’s friend, who is suspiciously less well-animated than everybody else, dies. Whomst would’ve guessed.

In/Spectre.

★★★★☆

It really bothers me how much I like this show. I feel like I’ve been brainwashed by, like, a cult, except I haven’t, I’m just being forced to revise my opinion, which is worse.

Anyway, this is another really strong episode from In/Spectre, as Kotoko introduces her next two theories: The first being that Steel Girder Nanase actually is a ghost, but that she’s a ghost who can be weakened by prayer, hoping that people will pray and, thus, weaken Nanase; and the second being that Nanase faked her own death (or that her sister believed she had) and that someone is pretending to be her ghost in order to convince her sister she actually is dead.

Given that ‘Nanase faked her own death’ is actually a theory I came up with when Steel Girder Nanase was introduced, this tickled me somewhat.

Anyway, this episode is just more of the good stuff from last week, some really clever writing and some nice back and forth.

Pet.

★★★☆☆

Pet is winding its way towards its finale, as Tsukasa convinces Satoru to help him change Hiroki’s memories, while secretly scheming to crush Satoru; Hayashi leaves a secret message for Satoru with Meiling; and Hiroki, faced with a married couple attempting to compromise in their relationship, wonders if there’s any room for him and Tsukasa to reach a compromise in their own relationship.

You know, I have absolutely no idea how this show is going to turn out.

I know exactly how Infinite Dendrogram and In/Spectre are going to end, and I have a pretty solid idea of how Darwin’s Game and ID: Invaded are going to end, but Pet is honestly a mystery to me. It’s got a lot of balls in the air right now, but it feels like it’s confident juggling them, but I have zero clue how they’re all going to end up falling.

The animation is possibly even more hideous than usual in this episode, though. Like good god, man.

[overlyobsessedgaygal]

Sleep Killing my Brother

Words: 2,227

Fandom: tua

Characters: Five, Klaus, Ben

Summary: Klaus finds Five having a nightmare while sleep walking, unfortunately Five also has knives and average aim. This can only end in one way, Klaus in a hospital, Five being depressed and Ben being super grateful he's dead. This got longer than I meant it to and the ending is kind of abrupt so I'm not sure how good it is, enjoy it anyway.

 “Five, what the hell are you doing?” Klaus angrily questioned his younger brother. The two of them were the only ones in the house right now, Luther finally decided to get his own place and the others had gone back to their nearby apartments, Allison had just got hers. So when Klaus heard a loud smashing sound from downstairs in the living room he stumbled down the stairs, sleep still invading his senses.

  He had expected to see a burglar that would scare away or some enemies that Ben would take care of. He did not expect to see dozens of screaming ghosts, all with a bullet hole right between their eyes, and his brother crouched on the bar. Five spun to face him, a feral snarl was playing on his lips.

  Klaus barely had time to register the flying knife before it was lodged in his shoulder. “Five! What are you doing? That fucking hurt!” Ben cursed loudly at Klaus, the stupid man was still just standing there, staring at their brother. Their brother who had a pure murderous intent based on his facial expression.

   Klaus seemed to get the hint as Five raised his arm to throw another of Diego's old knives. Klaus ducked behind the couch, which Ben wanted to point out did totally nothing since Five could teleport. Klaus put a hand to the knife in his shoulder. “Five, come on what's going on buddy? Talk to me,” Klaus tried.

    He felt like he wasn't in the same house as Five, Five was somewhere else and Klaus was stuck with an isolated master assassin. Klaus was kinda stuck here, Ben couldn't really control the tentacles so if they came out then they would kill anything they deemed a threat and Klaus doubted Ben would be okay if he killed Five. Klaus had never learned how to fight really, he mostly just jumped on people's backs or took care of the mess that Luther left behind.

    “Klaus, you have to call for help,” Ben said. Klaus knew that obviously, the problem was who to call. Allison would be perfect, but her voice was on the mend. He didn't want to risk Vanya getting upset and causing the end of the world version two. Luther would most likely just crush him because that was what Luther did. Diego was Klaus’ best bet but how to get his brother to answer. “Klaus!” Ben screamed the warning but it was too late. Five was already in front of him, knife pressing into his skin, the only thing stopping it from sinking into his flesh was the desperate will to live that had Klaus pushing at his brother's hands.

   “Five, listen. It's Klaus,” Klaus said, trying to not sound terrified. The knife went deeper, the screaming ghost around them got louder. Ben was panicking, cursing up a storm. Five growled, like an actual growl that should come from an animal, not a human.  

   “You're not going to live,” Five said with a cold voice, “unless you tell me everything.”

    Klaus wished he knew what Five was talking about. It seemed like all the agents from the commission were keen on getting information. If Klaus had kept his cool with the other agents than he could definitely handle his little brother.

    “Five, lis-” Klaus was cut off as the knife was pulled away from his chest and a rush of warm liquid began to run down his cheek. Well, Five had just sliced his cheek open and was back to having the knife against his chest.

     “Doing great Klaus, keep that up and you'll be dead in no time,” Ben said with sarcasm. It went unappreciated as Five spoke up next and the words shocked Klaus into dead silence.

    “Where is my brother?” Five demanded. Ben and Klaus shared a look. “You promised you would keep them alive!”  His voice held the perfect amount of sorrow to make the malice seem real. He was going to kill Klaus if he didn't find out where his brother was and honestly Klaus was just so lost.

   His options now were to either let Ben take care of Five, which made Klaus want to stab himself for even thinking, or to play along and try and get Five to snap out of whatever trance he was in.

     “He's here with us, right now,” Klaus stated. Five narrowed his and ripped the knife out of his brother's shoulders. “Fuck!” Klaus screamed as the feeling of his flesh ripping open more and blood staining his skin. “Fuck,” Klaus was tempted to say Five's name again but honestly this hurt.

     “Take me to him,” Five demanded. Klaus quickly nodded. His plan was to take Five to his room and hope that snapped him out of whatever freaky dream he was in.

     Together the two boys walked up to Five's room. Klaus had a blade pressed to his neck in a really awkward position since he was twice as tall as the delusional assassin. Klaus had nearly made it up the stairs completely when there were small gaps from behind him. Klaus started and went to turn around.

     Before he could turn around the blade Five was holding to his neck dug into the skin near it, leaving a thin trail of blood as Five fell backward. “Five!” Klaus yelled and tried to grab both his brother and the knife in his hand. This only resulted in Klaus tumbling after him.

    Ben spit out more curse words then he thought he knew as he leisurely strolled down the stairs to where his two brothers were both lying dazed on the floor. Five had passed out it seemed, his eyes peacefully shut, breathing harsh but not worrisome yet.

   Klaus, on the other hand, had his eyes wide open and his face angled towards Ben but it was like he was seeing right through the ghost. His breathing pattern was erratic and goosebumps were breaking out along his shaking arms. A flashback if Ben had to guess. Whimpers broke through the clenched teeth as Ben crouched down by him, the whimpers weren't the only thing leaking from his mouth, though.

    A thin trail of blood mixed with saliva was dripping from his chin to the carpet. Ben startled as Klaus open his mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was more of the slimy mixture. Ben screamed, Klaus didn't react as Ben screamed.

    Ben screamed so loud that if he were alive the police would come but as he was dead, the only person who could hear him had his eyes fluttering shut. Ben screamed louder, someone had to hear him, they had to.

    Five blinked as he woke up, his whole body was sore. “Shit,” Five mumbled as he recognized the hard, cold surface underneath him as the floor. “I hope I didn't break anything this time.”

   With a motion that made his head swim he sat up. He looked first at the steps that he was sprawled before, second at the splatters of blood and thirdly he looked to his right to see a huddled mess of flesh, blood, and ridiculous leather pants. His heart seemed to stop in his chest.

   “Klaus?” The whisper sounded a lot more scared than he wanted and any second now Klaus would laugh at him. The only response he got from his brother was a short huff of breath that caused blood to fly out an land pathetically next to him.

    Five jumped into action and rolled his brother to his side so that he could assess the damage. A sob caught in his throat, two knives were sticking from Klaus, one in the shoulder that looked like it had been purposeful and one in his stomach that was too jagged and messy.

   “Grace!” Five screamed for her, she would know what to do. Five just had to get her off the charging station. “Grace!” He screamed his throat raw, even after he could hear Grace's soft footfalls approach him.

   “What did I do?” Five repeated the question to Grace as she knelt besides Klaus. He watched in horror as Grace examined Klaus, who was babbling to himself and spitting blood everywhere.

  Grace began to calm Five down as she gave him orders. The calming reassurances had no effect on Five but he understood that he had to move and help Grace save Klaus. So he did, teleporting from one end of the house to the other to get all the things she needed.

   The others arrived after Klaus had been stabilized and moved to the medical room. Five stayed locked away in his room, packing a suitcase. He was dangerous. He killed hundreds of people, if he stayed he would just kill them too.

     Ben honestly couldn't believe he had to deal with so many idiots. First Klaus almost dies, then Five disappears in guilt, Luther wants to lock five up, and, most importantly, Ben is the only one to realize Five is missing.

    It's been two hours since Ben went to check on Five to find him shoving a suitcase full. Ben had tried to get his attention, but that was about as useless as talking to the wall. Now Ben stood in the medical room, intently watching to see when Klaus would come to. Not that he would be in any shape to do anything about Five missing but at least he would listen to Ben.

   Days passed like years, Klaus woke up and demanded that Five be found. The others hadn't wanted to go after Five, “he tried to kill you!, but Klaus and Vanya had none of their bullshit this time, “He's our brother!”

   One day while everyone was out and Ben was watching over his sleeping brother the door creaked open. Ben looked up, expecting to see Grace. He blinked in shock as a small, scared, thirteen year old boy snuck into the room. “Five.”

   Five didn't know Ben was there so Ben got to watch as Five walked over to Klaus, his shoulders lacked the movement of pulling in breath that most living things had and tears were pooling in his eyes. Five swept his eyes up along Klaus, lingering on his wounds.

   “Shit. What did I do?” Five mumbled. His voice broke as he put his head in his hands. “I'm a monster, a no good monster, I'm dangerous, a killer,” Five kept saying awful things about himself in a monotone as he began to back up.

   Klaus apparently hadn't been as asleep as the other two thought because he reached out to grab the hem of Five's shirt. It was the most Klaus had moved since his tantrum about Five missing and Ben was a proud older brother. Five didn't react just stared at the hand. “I'm a bad person,” he said it so casually.

   Klaus gave Five the look, the look that meant he was mentally rolling his eyes. “Five,” Klaus started the sentence off shaky, “did you have a nightmare?”

   And holy hell Five broke into tears. Five was crying. Five and crying were two words that didn't belong in a sentence together, unless it was Five making someone else cry but that's besides the point.

    “I could have killed you!” The teenage boy shouted as he walked closer to the cot Klaus was on. “There was a knife in your stomach! You were coughing up blood!”

    “It's not the first time,” Klaus tried to shrug, realized that was a bad idea and hissed. Five looked at him, Ben could already tell that Five was about to say something self deprecating. “Save it, you were sleep killing,” Klaus half smirked, “and I was the one to tumble down the stairs onto the knife.”

   “I dreamt that Hazel and Cha Cha had kidnapped you again,” Five mumbled. Klaus raised an eyebrow. “I had to save you. They were torturing you because of me. You're my brother, everything that happened to you is my fault.”

   “The only thing you're at fault for is saving the world,” Klaus thought for a moment, “and for getting me sober, and me meeting Dave, and for Vanya being happy. Okay, so you're responsible for a lot of things.”

    “I'm responsible for a lot of deaths, the world is a horrible place but what I've done has shaped the whole culture of the world and altered time to the wishes of a mad woman. I'm a monster Klaus and if you continue to let me keep up this charade of being normal than you'll only get hurt. I have no humanity left.”

    Klaus rolled his eyes at his little brother. “No humanity, yet you cry for me and I'm not even dead yet.” Klaus turned to look at Ben. “Honestly, what is it with teenagers?”

     “I'm not a teenager!” Five automatically argued. A mischievous twinkle in the eyes of Klaus told Ben all he needed to know. Klaus planned to get back to normal by making Five go right back to hatted him. Ben shook his head, it was a good thing ghosts didn't get headaches.

   “If he stabs you again I don't want to hear about it,” Ben said as he settled back to watch Klais work his charm. Klaus just sent him a sly wink before turning back to Five.

[the-beautiful-1]

3 Chains O’ Gold

Released August 16, 1994

If you haven’t seen 3 Chains O Gold, I’m going to need you to seek it out immediately because it is one of Prince’s most glorious accomplishments. Released in 1994, it expands on the Love Symbol album and attempts to give us Mayte’s back story, I guess? Either way it’s a real treat, so lets get right to my attempt to break down what’s going in this beautiful mess.

Opening Credits First of all, I wanted to make this not too terribly long and include only events relevant to the plot, but it’s worth noting that the “Warner Reprise Video” is arguably the MOST DATED LOGO IN HISTORY. If this doesn’t scream 1994 at you, I guess you weren’t alive then. If anyone from the future is like “what were the 90s like?” just show them this 10 second clip.

We open with the credits over several clips of what I’m confident is a show on the Paisley Park soundstage, with Prince in a glorious halter top backless jumpsuit, but that’s not important right now - we cut to Princess Mayte in Egypt doing her thing, which I guess is skinny dipping with four nameless women who call her Mai Tai? Either way, full nudity right out of the gate, interspersed with clips of who we find out is her father being stabbed. She holds him as he dies of one stab wound, which I guess you would if no doctor was called. Oh well, dead forever, so she grabs her title 3 Chains O Gold from a vault and we go from Cairo, Egypt, to Minneapolis, Minnesota! Unclear where Mayte is now staying, but it appears to be a small barren room with only candles and a small tv, which is playing Kirstie Alley reporting on a riot in the same alley where conveniently half of Graffiti Bridge takes place.

My Name is Prince The chain hat is here! As is an extended rap from Tony M, while Prince dances atop several cars in an inexplicably damp alley. He’s so stompy! Mayte has apparently seen this on the news and made her way through the crowd to hand him a bedazzled VHS case containing what is revealed to be the actual tape of her performance on That’s Incredible AS AN 8 YEAR OLD. This is problematic at best, but he’s interrupted by Tony M’s insistence that they have a car party to attend to.

Sexy MF The car party turns out to be the members of the NPG playing cards in the smoke filled garage of Paisley Park, and their involvement is that Prince shows up, demands 3 women leave with himself, Tony M and Kirky J, and then ridicules the rest of his band for a little bit. Kind of an asshole, but also… have you seen him in this?? Looking like a real snack. Forgiven. Moving on. My favorite thing about all Prince stories is that it’s like, Prince wants the girl, Prince gets the girl, and this is no different. Prince and his gold gun microphone want Troy Beyer in her pearl cage dress (can you call that a dress?) as they make out in various hotel hallways.  They go to the movies and make out for a bit and engage in some heavy petting, but Troy knows something is up and that there’s someone else (spoiler alert, it’s Mayte), and he responds with a very intent Purple Rain-esque moody stare.

Love 2 the 9s Mayte gets a card slipped under her hotel room door with audition times for the NPG, so I guess Love 2 the 9s is her audition?? But wait, some of the NPG guys are in jail slash Prince’s office at Paisley. This is like… the Hard Times, if the Hard Times had a budget? Anyway it would appear that the audition is a photoshoot, with Prince in the highest of high waisted red pants and an open lace bolero top. Again, he looks DECADENT. I digress. Tony M proceeds to interview Mayte with some inane questions, until she is is finally permitted to make the booty boom. Thank god. Sidebar: her makeup!!!!! So perfectly 90s, complete with a brown lip and thin eyebrows. Perfection.

Morning Papers Cut to the zoo! Why?? I DON’T KNOW. Here’s P and Mayte walking through the zoo hand in hand, being real sweet paired with a song that makes the whole thing problematic, but again, choosing to overlook the whole “why is age more than a number” with a shot of Mayte riding on a carousel. YIKES. Cut to Paisley Park where P is dressed in white pants, white heels, a floor length white trench coat, and a SLEEVELESS PLAID FLANNEL SHIRT unbuttoned all the way down to his waist. This is a GOOD. LOOK. Someone has been working out, and he is eager to show it off. Ugh back to the carousel for some kind of trippy sequence involving Mayte whispering into a mirror in a Blossom hat.

The Max Dramatic cut to footage of what I’m pretty sure is one of the 1993 Radio City Music Hall shows from the Love Symbol tour mixed with some backstage footage and whatever was shot at Paisley. Prince’s ability to create euphamisms and use them like literally anyone else in the world would ever even bother never fails to amuse me. He’d like to “shuffle the cards in that stack!” …. okay. Before or after you drive me/us/Mayte to Tennessee? Anyway I guess this is to show she did indeed get the job? Here’s a picture from one of the Radio City shows because one I can’t get a good screen cap, and two it’s important for.... reasons.

Blue Light I’m not sure whose bedroom we are in, but Prince is sitting there I guess waiting for Kirstie Alley to call so he can hang up on her. You can tell this video was shot later than most of the other footage as his typhoon is really out of control here and reached peak mushroom, but it’s fine since it’s mostly face close ups of him and Mayte as they roll around on a bed while she rejects his advances. Girl. Get your shit together. Also he’s wearing light pink silk pajamas. Or it could just be a regular suit he wears on stage, jury still out, either way it looks comfy af and I’d like one.

I Wanna Melt With U Aw man. Mayte falls asleep, while Prince packs a suitcase with all his essentials for a tour (chains, a chain hat, and one shirt) and sneaks out. This is my favorite thing, omg. So Mayte has fallen into a fitful sleep and is currently having a sexual nightmare about her flirtatious encounter with P that involves a lot of naked ladies distorted in funhouse mirrors and Prince wearing maybe boxer shorts?? Umbros??, a black and white vertical striped robe, and ROLLER SKATES. Not only roller skates, but knee pads as well because even when you are haunting someones dreams in a sexual way, safety first. Oh also flashbacks to dad. There is SO MUCH GOING ON HERE, my god. I would pay good money to be haunted by Prince on roller skates and safety pads in my dreams, I tell you what.

Sweet Baby Mayte wakes up from her nightmare to realize P has left her with a note that says only “Sweet baby don’t cry.” Wait I thought she was in the band, but he went on tour without her? From Minneapolis, to Japan, by train? Unclear. Anyway she packs her bags and stands despondent, weeping on some train tracks for the duration of the song until she hops on a plane back to Egypt to be a princess again.

The Continental Prince arrives by train in Tokyo, where he is visibly distraught and his band starts talking shit about him as they have a pre-show gambling sesh? The Ghost of Mayte shows up to haunt him during soundcheck where he is again very Purple Rain levels of pensive and moody, but NOT IN THE SHOW! The Continental is 3 Chain’s O Gold’s Darling Nikki - overtly sexual, many thrusts incorporated into the dancing, lots of face touching with finger flutters, proving he doesn’t require his main love interests attention, he can get it from anyone anywhere, and they’ll thank him for it. Ok so here we have two seemingly concurrent events happening I think? One is Mayte dancing in Egypt, while Prince gets some in his chain hat. This is legit a porn at this point, wait why does he have a sword??? Anyway so again with the making out and the heavy petting, but right as it gets started, Mayte has been overcome with… I don’t know, but she collapses, and Prince is simultaneously unable to perform sexually. I think to show they are spiritually connected??? Do I GET Prince’s visions now?????? I am so proud.

Damn U Back in Egypt, an old man tells Mayte she looks like a girl he used to bang. Okay. Prince has returned to Paisley Park where he is performing a one man show for a dinner party in the sound stage, I think. Again, a real treat. Black jumpsuit with a white collared shirt & white tie, yes this is a good look. Oh Tommy Barbarella must have gone on a cruise to the Bahamas on the way back, he has some hair wraps and braids now. Ugh that baritone. Damn U, damn me, this song is so good. Here’s a screen shot that could double as his Bar Mitvah photo.

Mayte has received a letter!! It’s the lyrics to Damn U. Her reaction is to go to her dress maker to get a fancy coin dress, and then hop on the next flight to LA, where they will be shooting the 7 music video, but not before there is a 5 minute segment with members of the NPG talking shit about Mayte. No, really. First up is Tony M and his date, who is Mayte? Where did she come from, what did she do? The rest of the NPG is in the gym, also talking shit about her??!! WHY IS THIS INCLUDED. I guess to show he loves her in spite of his entire band hating her? Michael Bland wants to know “What is her purpose, what does she do?” Honestly. What is this doing here. And it goes on for SO LONG!!!

7 Maybe my favorite Prince music video??? So we see past versions of Prince trapped in a time traveling cryogenic tube… The Continental yellow suit is here, the chain hat, the Morning Papers Sleeveless Grunge Shirt, some insane bolero top with a cowboy hat that unfortunately is not seen in its full glory.. each of them is electrocuted to show that he has no past, he has sown all his oats and he is ready to be faithful to Mayte and maybe now she will reciprocate his sexual advances. Also there are seven pairs of TINY CHILDREN PRINCE AND MAYTES WIELDING SWORDS AND COIN DRESSES IT IS VERY ADORABLE!!!! God he’s so intense. Oh and the “one day all 7 will die” is in reference to the 7 men that killed her father, whom he has casually assassinated by his bodyguards as he and Mayte waltz off into the sunset/another smoke filled room at Paisley Park.

End Credits Mayte calls Kirstie Alley to finally grant her long sought after interview with him, which was clearly written by him. Most of her responses are “oh.” I think this is the letter he wrote as her as his press release for why he changed his name? Again, UNCLEAR. Anyway, we’re left with shots of Prince making some kind of business deal in a smoky conference room, and then he ends up signing a contract written in Japanese with the Love Symbol. Dramatic cut to a cemetery, where we see a shallow grave containing the chain hat and the 3 chains o gold.

THAT’S IT! That’s all! Really! Any questions? I HAVE SEVERAL.

[devichilinfo]

Red Book - Part 1

“Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: Red Book” Game Summary / English Translation (Gameboy Color, 2000)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

This is a (mostly-complete) translation of the story portions of the game as well as a summary of story-related text in chronological order. Names and dialogue have been edited for easier reading. Scene locations are labeled using square brackets. I will be using default names for characters who can be renamed.

Part 1 - Earth and Central Land:

[ Dream ]

“……”

“……”

Mirai: “Are you… my father?”

Mirai: “No! Don’t leave!”

Mirai: “Father!!!”

A bell chimes and Mirai wakes up.

[ Earth – Harajuku Elementary School ]

Teacher: “Alright kids! It’s time to go home!”

The teacher exits the room and a classmate approaches Mirai.

Student: “You’re awake now? You’ve been asleep in class since the afternoon break. I hope you’re not getting sick! Please take care of yourself.”

Student: “Oh—while you were asleep, the teacher said there was a strange kid spotted wandering around the school. We’ve been told to be alert.”

Mirai can walk around the classroom and speak with the students. Mirai needs to collect her bag before she can leave the classroom.

Girl 1: “I’ve been practicing nail art! ♥ Would you like a red manicure?”

Girl 2: “Let’s walk home together! ♥”

Girl 3: “Did you see the news? The weather is strange all over the world!”

Boy: “Don’t forget your schoolbag!”

If Mirai looks into the mirror, a pentagram flashes onto her forehead.

Mirai: “!? A mark on my forehead…? …am I imagining things?”

When Mirai goes to leave the classroom:

Girl 2: “Eeek! I forgot I have an appointment!!! I need to run! Sorry, sorry!”

In the hallway, a boy collides with Mirai:

Boy: “Owch! Watch it!”

Mirai: “S-sorry! Are you okay?”

Boy: “Uh… y-yeah… ♥ Heh… ♥”

Mirai: “Huh? What’s up with you?”

Boy: “Oh—uh! Well… you’re just… I just think you’re really cute…”

Mirai: “♥♥♥♥♥♥”

Yuuki: “I’m Yuuki. What’s your name?”

Mirai: “It’s Mirai.”

Yuuki: “Mirai? …so, it’s you…”

Mirai: “Huh? What do you mean?”

Yuuki: “Um… nothing. Nevermind.”

Yuuki: “Oh, actually… I have a delivery for you. It’s important, so keep it close.”

Yuuki gives Mirai a red box before looking nervously down the hall.

Yuuki: “Damn it…”

Yuuki: “I’ll see you later, Mirai!”

Yuuki runs away and strange boy approaches.

Strange Boy: “I thought he went this way…? Hey, you! Did you see a boy carrying a red parcel?”

Strange Boy: “Ah! That’s it! That’s the box Yuuki had!”

Mirai: “Yeah. So what?”

Strange Boy: “Give me the box!”

Whether or not Mirai complies, the stranger tries to snatch it away from her.

Strange Boy: “I’m taking this!”

The screen flashes red.

Strange Boy: “Augh! No! That light is—don’t open that box!”

Mirai: “I do what I want.”

Mirai: “Let’s see; inside there is… a gun? And a compact computer?”

Strange Boy: “That revolver…is a Devil Raiser!?”

Strange Boy: “Heh… if that was in the box, then you must be the bearer of  the Iridescent Eye! Hand it over!”

The boy lunges at Mirai.

Mirai: “PERVERT! STOP TRYING TO GRAB MY CHEST! I WILL WRECK YOUR SHIT!!!”

Strange Boy: “Qu-quiet down! Just give me the Devil Raiser and the Eye and I’ll leave!”

Mirai: “NO! LET GO OF ME!”

Mirai: “AH!”

Strange Boy: “Aha! Your pendant…!”

The boy grabs Mirai’s necklace.

Mirai: “That’s my necklace! Give it back!”

Strange Boy: “Ohoho! This is it! The Messiah’s Eye was hidden in plain sight!”

Mirai: “I SAID GIVE IT BACK!!!”

Mirai: “Mirai Secret Skill: TWISTER HURRICANE!!!”

Mirai high-kicks the stranger into next Tuesday.

Strange Boy: “Uagh! I—I… got it!”

The stranger runs away to escape Mirai’s wrath.

Mirai: “Aaah! That bastard stole my necklace! My mom gave me that necklace before she died…!”

Mirai can investigate the school and speak with the nearby students.

Girl: “Oooh! Mirai! You’re the coolest, strongest kid at school!”

Boy: “It’s way below freezing outside, but my burning love for you keeps me warm! ♥”

Mirai: “I can’t tell what makes me want to punch you harder; your pickup lines or your face.”

Boy: “Ugh! The shards of the Ice Queen cut through my soul! But I won’t give up on you! ♥”

Mirai: “Please do. Please give up.”

Mirai continues through the school until she finds Yuuki standing on the roof. The sky flashes unnatural colors.

Mirai: “…the sky…”

Yuuki: “Mirai! Sorry I had to run earlier. I’m glad you found me; I need to tell you about the contents of the parcel I delivered.”

Yuuki: “That magic gun is called a Devil Raiser; it’s going to be very useful for you, starting now.”

Mirai: “A magical revolver? Seriously!?”

Mirai: “Exactly what about it is magical?”

The strange boy who attacked Mirai reappears.

Strange Boy: “Well, well; this is lucky! I found both Mirai and Yuuki.”

Mirai: “Ah! It’s that guy from earlier! This jerk stole my mother’s necklace!”

Souta: “Souta is no mere human! If you value your life, surrender the Devil Raiser!”

Mirai: “…didn’t I kick your sorry ass a few minutes ago?”

Souta: “D-damn it! You caught me off guard last time! Now behold my true power!”

Souta transforms into the Demon Ratatoskr.

Mirai: “…! What the—a giant squirrel!?”

Souta: “How dare you call me a squirrel! Have a taste of my wind magic! Zen!”

Yuuki: “Mirai! Look out!”

Yuuki uses himself to block Mirai from the attack and instantly turns into a ghost.

Yuuki: “Gah…! Mirai! Be careful… Fire the Devil Raiser and shout ‘Call’ to summon your ally!”

Yuuki: “After this battle… I hid something important in the classroom next to yours!”

Souta: “Stop interfering! Go back to hell!”

Yuuki’s ghost floats away into the sky.

Souta: “The next attack will hit YOU, Mirai!”

Mirai: “Ah!? What should I do!? The Devil Raiser… Yuuki said I could use it to ‘Call’ an ally! It’s worth a shot!”

Mirai pulls the trigger of the Devil Raiser.

Mirai: “CAAAAALLL!!!”

VineCom: “CALL Confirmation… #247 Gryphon.”

Veil: “Bound by my ancient pact… this Gryphon heeds your call! And I thank you for releasing me from my seal. ♥”

Mirai: “A bird came out of the gun! And the birdie can talk! But is it magic or just a fancy talking toy?”

Veil: “Hmph! Humans can be so rude! I’m no toy, nor am I a mere bird! I am Veil—a Gryphon! From now on, I am your Demon Partner!”

Veil: “Oho! If it isn’t Souta of the Ratatoskr! You troublesome squirrel! I was hoping to never see you again.”

Souta: “Right back at you! And weren’t you supposed to be sealed away!? I’ll make you wish you still were!”

Veil: “Bring it, squirrel boy!”

Battle versus Ratatoskr. When Mirai wins:

Souta: “Damn it! How could a human summon a Demon without first making a contract? That’s impossible! Or, is it because she’s—”

Mirai: “Give me back my pendant!”

Souta: “Damn…I can’t win! Here’s your necklace.”

Mirai receives the pendant.

Souta: “This isn’t the end! I’ll get you back for this, Veil!”

Souta leaves, and a boy with green hair appears from the stairs.

Zett: “Mirai? I’m Takazyo Zett! Nice to meet you!”

Zett: “Ratatoskr was trying to steal your late mother’s necklace, huh?”

Mirai: “…???... you know about my mother?”

Zett: “Yup. I also know your father.”

Mirai: “Ah!? Do you know where I can find him?”

Zett: “Yeah. He lives in Makai. Though I’m not sure where he is, exactly…”

Mirai: “Makai? So if I go there, I can meet my father?”

Mirai: “Do you know how to get there? I want to find him!”

Zett: “Sure thing! That pendant your mother gave you is a magic item called a Messiah’s Eye. If you want, I can show you how to use it, and then you can search Makai for your father.”

Mirai has the option to go right away or hesitate. If she remains, she can search the classroom Yuuki mentioned and receive a stash of curative items before returning to Zett. When Mirai agrees to go to Makai:

Zett: “Okay! Let’s send you to Makai to find your papa!”

Zett: “…… Oh. By the way… the two brothers who live in the apartment next door to you—Setsuna and Nagahisa—have been missing since yesterday. Did you hear about that?”

Mirai: “I know those two! …come to think of it, yesterday…

Flashback; Mirai and Setsuna are in their apartment hallway:

Mirai: “Oh, hello Setsuna. …is something wrong?”

Setsuna: “Mirai, have you seen Nagahisa?”

Mirai: “No. Did something happen?”

Setsuna: “He was abduc—ouch! Uh! Nothing!”

Mirai: “O…kay… Well, be careful if you go outside; it’s snowing and really cold.”

Return to the present:

Mirai: “…and that’s the last time I saw either of them. Do you know where they are?”

Zett: “They’re in Makai, too! The Demons captured them!”

Mirai: “What!? Geez, I hope they’re okay…”

Zett: “Anyhoo! It’s time to send you along to Makai!”

Zett: “All you have to do is hold the Messiah’s Eye up like this and say…”

Zett: “Messiah’s Eye! Reveal the conduit!”

Mirai: “Wha—!? Eeeeek!”

[ Dream ]

???: “Gather… … my… is … this… must… awaken…!”

[ Central Land – Central Town ]

Mirai awakens in the hotel in Central Town. Veil, Zett and ghost Yuuki are also in the hotel.

Zett: “Awake now? We’re in Makai now! Your father is here somewhere.”

Mirai: “Where should I begin?”

Zett: “Go to the Dark Palace north of this town, and meet with the Demon King. The rumor of your arrival has caused quite a stir, and I think you should pay him a visit.”

Mirai: “What do you mean?”

Zett: “Oh, you know—just a regular human child on an adventure through Makai to find her father? It’s exciting news!”

Mirai: “I haven’t even begun! How do I even know I can do this?”

Zett: “Well, it begins now! It will be difficult, there are dangerous Demons who will attack you. But you will find your way and learn the truth. I know you will.”

Mirai: “If it means I’ll find my father… I’ll do it!”

Zett: “I believe in you! I’ll stop by to help out whenever I can, yeah?”

Zett: “I’ve already stayed as long as I can, but I’ll definitely see you again soon. Bye!”

Zett disappears. Mirai can talk to Yuuki.

Yuuki: “Do you recognize me? It’s Yuuki!”

Yuuki: “I’m sorry if I startled you earlier… I wasn’t killed back on the school roof; I was a ghost before we met.”

Mirai: “Just my luck… I find a cute boy I actually like, and it turns out he’s dead…”

Yuuki: “I’m sorry… I was asked me to deliver the box to you. I didn’t expect things between us to turn out like that…”

Yuuki: “Oh! I was also supposed to explain the items and other things. Would you like me to do that for you?”

Mirai has the option to listen to the explanation or pass. If she chooses to listen:

Yuuki: “The compact computer is called a ‘VineCom’ and you can use it to transfer six allied Demons into your Devil Raiser gun, or arrange the order of your Demons. You use the gun to ‘Call’ your allies in battle.”

Yuuki: “We are in a land in Makai called ‘Central Land’. This is where the Dark Palace of the Demon King is located. There are other lands in Makai; you will see them as you travel.”

Yuuki: “North of the hotel is a Fusion Lab, where you can alter your Demons. You can form pacts with the Demons you encounter in Makai, and they can be fused at the Lab to become stronger! It doesn’t hurt, and Demons think it’s fun, so don’t be afraid to fuse new allies!”

Outside the hotel, the Demon NPCs will offer general newbie gameplay tips, and mention that anyone who opposes the Demon King will be thrown into The Abyss.

[ Central Land – Dark Palace ]

As Mirai approaches the Dark Palace, the Demon guards take notice.

Demon: “You have a Devil Raiser and Messiah’s Eye! That means you’re—a Devil Child!”

Mirai: “What did he call me!? I’m not THAT delinquent… geez!”

Demon: “Please enter the Palace; the Demon King has been waiting for you.”

Mirai enters the throne room and meets the Demon King.

Demon King: “Devil Child Mirai… welcome to the Dark Palace.”

Mirai: “What exactly do you mean by ‘Devil Child’?”

Demon King: “The mixed-blood offspring that results from the union between a human and a demon… these half-demons are called Devil Children. Mirai; your mother was human and your father is a demon.”

Mirai: “Huh? You know him? Where is he!?”

Demon King: “Ah, well… his whereabouts are… unknown.”

Mirai: “My father was a demon…”

Demon King: “…how has it come to pass, for Devil Children to appear in Makai…?”

Mirai: “Please… I came here to find my father. Can you help me?”

Demon King: “……”

Demon King: “The world of Devils and Humans have always been separated, and for good reason. I cannot allow someone of mixed blood to roam Makai! I forbid you from leaving the Palace!”

Mirai: “Oh. Then can you find my father for me, and bring him here? I want to meet him, that’s all.”

Demon King: “……”

Demon King: “…… dear child… your pure heart has swayed me. If you accept an official mission from the Demon King, you can travel freely within Makai. With this loophole, I can help you on your search for your father.”

Mirai: “What kind of mission are we talking about?”

Demon King: “First, you must understand… Our worlds have been divided for so long that the Demons of Makai has only heard stories of Devil Children. The legends say they can summon Demons instantly, using the Devil Raisers. Their aura amplifies their summoned Demons and they possess incomprehensible powerful. I’m sure you can understand the chaos that would erupt if I, the Demon King, allowed Devil Children to freely roam Makai. It’s very dangerous.”

Demon King: “The Demons who look to their King for protection are scared, Mirai. Another Devil Child who appeared in Makai earlier is reeking havoc and endangering my citizens.”

Mirai: “Another Devil Child…? Like me?”

Demon King: “He is not like you, my dear girl. He is a wicked creature!”

Demon King: “The boy is tearing through Makai, seeking to gather the six Messiah Horns. If he succeeds… it will mean death for all of us.”

Mirai: “How is that possible?”

Demon King: “In the hands of a normal Human or Demon, the Horns are benign. But in the hands of a Devil Child… their power can cause the Horns to seal the fate of all worlds. This Devil Child wishes to destroy both Earth and Makai!”

Demon King: “I captured him once, but he broke out of the Ice Jail he was being held in. As we speak, he continues on his vile quest. Please, Mirai… you must defeat him and save our worlds!”

Mirai: “But how can I possibly do anything to stop him?”

Demon King: “Dear Mirai… you are also a Devil Child. In all of Makai, only you have the power to match his. If you choose to accept this mission, you will have the full support of the Demon King and the freedom to search Makai for your father.”

Mirai: “I understand… to find my father and save the world… I accept your mission!”

Demon King: “I cannot thank you enough, dear Mirai! Please take these Demons to aid you on your journey; speak to them to form your contracts.”

Four Demons are present in the room; Mirai can choose to add Nekhbet, Nisroc, Mizuchi, and Vetala as her allies. Mirai speaks to the Demon King to continue:

Demon King: “Take this first; it will help you on your journey.”

Mirai receives 5,000 Makka from the Demon King.

Demon King: “Take this Blue Messiah’s Eye; it will transport you to Ice Land, the place where the Devil Child is currently hiding. Since the Iridescent Messiah’s Eye is also a precious memento of your mother, I will safeguard it here in the Dark Palace. When you have defeated the Devil Child, I shall return it to you.”

Demon King: “Now… Messiah’s Eye! Reveal the conduit!”

Mirai: “Ah! Not this again!?”

[ Dream ]

???: “Gather… … Keys, my… this world… We must… and awaken… …then… the…”

End of Part 1

[horrible-monstrosity]

mah juice brige

chise dad can punch gosts i guess We see a bit of memory that Chise couldn't have seen, where a monater wrecks shit at the mom's work, and for some reason the monter asks if she wants help (presumably picking things up). And she freaks out. Okay? What would happen if she accepted the offer? The apparition whispering to the mom to kill Chise seems to have Chise's hair. Does this mean anything?... "you're the mom that exists inside of me" is this literally eva

I find it interesting that gost joseph- who is ghost Joseph, and why does he look like Joseph/Carto? I- I guess he's the embodiment of the immortality curse, but why does he look like... whichever one of them he looks like? What did Carto even look like before Joseph bodyjacked him, anyway? Whose hair does current Joseph have, his own (similarly styled but blonde) hair or Carto's? What's the relationship between Carto, Joseph and the curse such that it would come out looking like one of them? ... don't think about it - Anyway, it's interesting that gost Josh is almost the only one to ask for nothing in return. It takes Chise's prompting for him to put forward anything, and when he does it's... Joseph, I guess, saying "help me". it's interesting but i don't know what's happening help

what happened to titania's tits where did they go she's a fuckin loli now this is not okay, its not I don't really get why Titania did a fancy branch thing rather than appearing in person but Oberon just shows up.

So there's this thing happening here, I think, where the anime writers are trying to make this event from the manga into a conclusion for the anime when it was never designed for that. It tries to bring some extra significance to what eliot's doing when it doesn't really matter (of course he's going berserk to get Chise back, but she's not in the sort of danger that has him racing against the clock, so the outcome doesn't really matter) and gets in a sequence to drag in all the old characters, but the story here is clearly about Joseph. Really. I'm not just biased because I've taken a liking to him or anything! It's this awkward thing where they're trying not to change the source material (probably because of decades of adaptational-purity faggots crying about "muh changye thign !!!" just because the manga got tweaked to match the pacing of an anime series and have an actual conclusion so the anime wouldn't be kinda shit), but as a result they've made these awkward large-but-minor meaningless changes so that they don't have to write their own couple episodes more suited to a conclusion arc, or change up and create or skip chapters beforehand so a better event ends up landing on the last episodes. (Of course the purity fags are still blaming "muh change anime!!" for all the show's problems since they didn't make something written in one medium magically perfect for another without doing anything...) Or maybe the actual manga was actually like this. Fuck, I dunno.

"don't go near him!!" say the dumbasses hanging out by the cemetery ... just leave then faggots ... young joseph was a ridiculously good boye. he work hard and does a kindness and endures unexplained cruelty with a smile on his face. they call him both a witch and a witch's son. can males be witches in this timeline? why do they hate him so much just for digging graves, anyway? who're his parents? which one of his parents is the witch? what is happening """become one"" o- oh, joseph, no-o-o, you don't do wanna that. Like I don't think they look too kindly on homos in this time period, but necrophilia's gotta be right out. Plus, think of the diseases.... - Really, him being the bestest good boye makes him randomly deciding to bodysnatch Mr. Rotting Corpse really... um, something. Maybe the intention was that he was secretly unhinged the whole time or that he finally just snapped, but... still, why do *this*? If he wanted to leave with the guy he could always just... leave, instead of taking the body of a walking corpse. Actually, how and *what* did he do to "become one" with Mr. Corpse? Did he, like, transplant his own head onto the body? Does the brain in the body rot? Does he need to steal someone's brain every few decades and replace it like he does his limbs? Also why only steal limbs? Why not just take a whole body? Seems like it would... keep better for longer if kept intact. I know, it's magic so don't ask questions, but c'mon give me something to work with here. What the fuck is happening

he steals a gril's feet, which is all he needs to walk properly, don't need to fix those other leg muscles or anything, and keeps the girly-ass shoes on. lol ok

cartophilio... threw a rock at the son of god. our boi joseph got rocks threw at him and became cartophilileo. ? ? ? ? ? what does it mean Actually, I don't know nothing bout bible shit, but why would motherfucking Jesus curse somebody like this? I thought he was the main man of forgiveness. Condemning someone to eternal suffering for throwing a rock (which surely they weren't the only one doing) seems excessive. Plus, why is bible shit being brought in when the show was mostly about pagan shit up until now?

o shiet monsterhand fight .. this becomes almost comical. Joseph cries "why me??" over being interrupted when he was so close to true death... basically because this bunch of rando fuckers showed up and piecemeal attacked him with whatever random shit they brought along with them. And then like half of them left or went in another direction. there's no way the original manga was like this... right?...

Marielle could have stopped Joseph, but didn't. Chise could have told her to stop him, but di- she turned into a cow. No, sorry, a bull. D- ... did she grow bollocks?

cartophililulelo

Isn't there a spell that could stop or at least delay or slow the rotting, or chase off the insects? Surely there's magic preservatives or the like. but because he isn't the only one suffering something at all, lol fuk You think you're in the right just because you tried to die? he says, as she... randomly tries to beat the shit out of him. ?? I can't follow what's happening anymore inject ashy eye Cartophi unleashes a wave of millipedes way larger than his body should have been able to contain. Who do you think you are, Cinnabar? ash calls that one fairy "a fairy with a mind"? implying... what? The monterarms battle gets cut off for Elliot-fairy fusion verse Ashy Eye. ... Did they actually kill Ashy? I can't actually imagine they did; he's the sort of character who exists to just be as overpowered and irritating as possible, just doing whatever it wants or whatever the plot needs because "LOL I FEEL LIEK IT~" and because they pressed the "be overpowered" button no one can ever call him out on his shit or stop him. I don't really like characters like this, can you tell?

Chise shits at Cartoboi for hurting other people in search of what he wants, but... he just fucking wants to die. Do you want him to... not die? The only solution here according to her is that he just keeps on existing through the worst suffering any being could experience- Chise even admits he has it worse than her- and just keeps it all to himself. How dare he try and do something to solve his massive life-ruining eternal problem, huh. Even though Ellias was just there, they had to insert a pre-arranged generic magic connection for him to come back and catch Joseph. what why i don't know or understand what's happening anymore And then Chise sweetly sings Carto to sleep and that fixes everything. ........ Just do that sooner.

... And carto isn't even dead. great. what was even resolved here? ... Wait, did his arms get back to normal somehow? See, now Chise and Ellias are finally gettig married, and I don't even care becaaause this plot was about Joseph and they haven't actually concluded it. fuc

tl;dr finale was disappointing, show was disappointing, joseph is best boi 0/10

..... Seriously, even the buildings in the ED were from Joseph's mindspace. Or wherever it was they ran off to. So why did they keep Joseph alive? Is it to punish him? Because I'm not sure what could be a worse punishment than the life he's led up until this point. Unless it's some ironic pseudo-punishment that's like "live the rest of your life out normally and happily until you die of natural causes, you fuck" I just... guess this was Chise's response to hearing whoever it was cry out "help me, save me". Who was it? It was a pre-emptive callback to Carto-corpsis calling to Joseph for help in the flashback, so I guess it was Joseph calling out in his heart, despite happily saying he hates Chise and wants to die... or it was the ghost of Carto, or the embodiment of the curse. I- I don't know. Anyway, I guess this was Chise deciding or realizing what Joseph really needed was not death but... uh, this. Life. lol what naow thoooooooo

[lenaluthorgays-blog]

Yeah, this one hurts

Rio constantly yelling “why don’t you want me” and telling Agatha she loves her and that she knows she loves her back was just wow. Rio was truly distraught over Agatha not wanting her anymore. She looked so heartbroken when Agatha said “I don’t want to see you for the rest of my life and when I die” so Rio just didn’t collect her soul once she died. Everything about the finale and their relationship has left me reeling. I cannot function

[ronance4life42]

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

Rio constantly yelling “why don’t you want me” and telling Agatha she loves her and that she knows she loves her back was just wow. Rio was truly distraught over Agatha not wanting her anymore. She looked so heartbroken when Agatha said “I don’t want to see you for the rest of my life and when I die” so Rio just didn’t collect her soul once she died. Everything about the finale and their relationship has left me reeling. I cannot function