Prompt 224

DCxDP

Now Booster Gold would like it known he is Not father material, or even responsible adult material. That is Ted, and even then they seem to share a single braincell when they're in each others presence.

But again, NOT anything close to father material. Which he repeats to both himself and the eldritch Time Entity who just handed him what he Knows to be pretty much an unborn child of its species. look, he Knows about Realms Beings- Espranto was literally his first language like many others of his timeline- so he knows the inherent dangers.

But Somehow him becoming a time-cop of sorts has endeared him towards this primordial one, thankfully. Less thankfully, it has given him a whole-ass CHILD. A BABY. HIM. Of all people!

Ted he needs help, he doesn't know if this counts as mpreg or something and he's freaking out man!

REWATCHED NIMONA. SOLID 9/10

"pirates vs vampires" why would you pit my dad and I against each other like this

SEASON 3 TRAILER DROPPED HERES MY THOUGHTS (LN spoilers)

BROTHER AND SISTER OF ALL TIME THEYRE SO CUTE <3 love seeing how their relationship has progressed from beako literally throwing him out a window for stuff like this to her happily playing along its so so so so so cute. genuinely just one of the cutest and sweetest dynamics in the series

hi ram roswaal and fred :) this is probably all we're going to really see of you guys this arc lol

JOSHUA REAL!!!!! but not for long (also otto in the bg foreshadowing all the drinking hes about to do this arc. hes so stressed. poor emilia is trying her best)

julius looks so babyfaced here? they really emphasized his long eyelashes just like subaru has been on about every time he mentions him. they better include the scene where he checks him out, like, if they dont animate subaru looking dead at this mans ass im going to riot

i LOVE this shot of ana. you can really tell shes up to some corrupt capitalist bullshit as we speak. love her for that. wish i had this pic when i made that one money game anastasia video

the red dress actually does look really good on crusch like it compliments the green hair really well but also the crusch we know would not walk around in such a thing so its like. damn looks like the "memories are an important part of identity" story thinks memories are an important part of identity. who knew.

ALSO LOVE FELTS NEW LOOK SO MUCH! the only complaint is i felt (felt lol) like the red brought out her eyes more but the blue also looks cool. three primary colors all being used looks nice too

whatever who cares about all that THE CUNT!!!!!!! THE CUNT IS HERE!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR ALL THE DRAMA SHE CAUSES TO BE ANIMATED FOR REAL

no fucking way... did they actually...

THEY DID! THEY CENSORED THAT HORRIBLE FUCKING DESIGN OH MY GOD. SHES WEARING SHORTS AND JUST A CROPPED SHIRT. AND CHAPS I GUESS? BUT ALSO A LITTLE SKIRT CAPE SO NO ASS SHOTS... THIS WILL MAKE WATCHING THE SEASON SO MUCH MORE TOLERABLE. i mean not perfect but STILL.

photos taken seconds before disaster lmfao. i still love how chin thinks subaru is a freak and weirdo for being so buddy buddy with him after he and his buddies mugged him. twice. (even more times from subarus perspective. hell he stabbed subaru once) genuinely cant wait to see more of this dynamic its so stupid.

THE FUCKING CUNT!!!!!! also the apples lol

oh you poor thing. you have no idea what next level family drama bullshit awaits. good luck. get ready to kill grandma AGIAN lol

:'( emilia still misses her terrible cat dad and its kinda sad when you know were not getting a resolution on that here either. they both look so sad :(

i cannot wait for garf mommy issues round fucking 2.

THIS CRAZY BITCH!!! I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS CRAZY BITCH ANIMATED. I CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW THEYRE PORTRAY HER MANNERISMS. ESP W HOW WILD PETELGEUSE WAS ANIMATED IN S1. REAL LOONY TOONS BULLSHIT. AND HER POWERS ARE ALSO SOOOOOO MUCH COOLER I CANT WAIT

NO MORE DRESSES FOR CRUSCH YAY

he fucking bit it. yeah i guess thats what dogs do tho.

YOU. DIVORCE MAN. KILL YOURSELF. SLASH SERIOUS.

the empathy powers will have a glowing eye effect. very cool but i hope they dont show it too much in the first scene bc like in the LN i think its cooler if you dont know why everything is so... Wrong.

i dont rly have anything to say i just think ferris looks cool covered in blood. imagine being healed here like doctor catgirl will see you now

emilia be nice. that crazy bitch might be your mom. just like how the previous crazy bitch was in fact your dad.

THEY CHANGED UP CAPELLA'S DESIGN TOO honestly tho her being sexualized makes sense w a lot of the themes (the way its intentionally meant to be perverse and gross in a way explicitly stated) so i didnt mind as much and she still IS here but. this is still an improvement imo just a better outfit looks cooler. bug.

NAUR I DONT WANNA WAIT... OCTOBER.... AUGH

DMC Questions Anon here!

Create a crossover! What is Devil May Cry crossing over with? How does it work? How do the characters from each world interact with the characters from the other?

Look, ya'll see my username, u know I'm gonna go with Pokémon.

specifically I'm thinking about pokemon naturally existing within the human realm, and demons are almost entirely separate from them. So all of the human characters have pokemon partners, with some exceptions.

All of the Spardas have a pseudo-legendary, and Dante specifically has Tyranitar. I wanted this line specifically because this species is known for causing a lot of damage, but have also been shown to be very sweet and protective if need be. It really fits Dante's 'don't come near me, I'm dangerous' mindset until Patty climbs all over it and it utterly adores her. It's also a hugger, so much so that Dante actively lets himself get poked to Hell because it looks sad.

As for Vergil, I'm going with the Salamence line. It's a very interesting line, having a goal-driven lizard eventually achieve that goal in the final stage. Vergil would have a hard time working with his partner, especially in 3 (where it would be a Bagon), because demons don't have pokemon partners. He leaves Bagon with Dante when he falls into Hell, thinking that the pokemon would not be able to survive there. It would stay with Dante for decades after that, until finally reuniting with Vergil as a Shelgon in DMC 5. It would take a bit, but it would eventually evolve after the boys got back from hell. Dante will forever lord the fact that his partner fully evolved before Vergil's (until Salamence smacks him with a Dragon Claw. Vergil approved.)

Nero would definitely have the Dragapult line! A dragon type (like Salamence) that has a large focus on family in its design whist also being completely unique from most other pseudos? Yeah, it's chock full of Nero vibes. The Dragapult evolution definitely only happened at the end of DMC 5, becuase the image of a Dragapult and DT Nero fighting with Silver Bullet in the bg is so fuckin sick. Also he was a Dreepy during DMC 4 and u need to know that he loved to sit on Nero's head or in his hoodie.

Patty next because propaganda. This one's up for grabs, but I think her first partner was a Dratini! Specifically one that kept showing up in the DMC office until Dante shoved it into Patty's arms. She's a Dragonair now, and often flies around the office just to annoy Dante. Also, shoutout to Patty for being the only human to get a pseudo because she's Dante's kid.

Trish didn't have a partner at first, since she was a demon. After going off on her own for a while, she ran into a Wattrel that kept using her motorcycle's wind to glide in the air. She found the little thing tenacious, and now there's a Kilowattrel half the size of Lady that perches in the DMC office rafters. It's high speed nature complements her fighting style rather well, along with the electricity.

Lady's partner is an extremely violent Scolipede. She really big and very venomous, so most regular people steer clear of her. She is also very tsundere, but actually doesn't mind when Dante or Trish are around. Lady takes great care of her, and often rides her in during jobs. Most people would tell you that's a horrible idea, but DMC employees are not normal people. Also Vergil was shot by one of her needles in DMC 3 when she was a Venipede, and now they are locked in a bitter rivalry. Lady thinks this is hilarious.

Nico is very happy with her Riolu partner, even if it was a gift from her dad when it was an egg. She doted on it very often, and even forced Rock to help her make a special egg warmer. When it did hatch, it quickly shared her interest in the art of metalworking and gunsmithing. Nowadays, he's Nico's assistant. He hasn't evolved yet, but Nico doesn't mind. He will when he's ready.

Kyrie's partner is a Sylveon, and a very caring one at that. Loves the kids, Kyrie, and Nero. Was an Eevee during DMC 4, and refused to leave Nero's side after Kyrie was kidnapped. Because of that, she is actually incredibly strong, so much so that Salamence was immediate put on edge when they met.

Some quick ones! Eva gave Sparda a Dieno when they met, and it was a very affectionate Hydregion during the boys' youth. Eva herself had a Alolan Ninetales, who was very protective of the boys and the baby pseudos. Both of these Pokemon are actually still alive in a rehabilitation center, although the boys don't know that rn. Morrison has an old Stoutland who can surprisingly handle battle quite well. Nina's partner is a very majestic and battle worn Kingdra, who is currently enjoying retirement. V did not have any pokemon, but he does talk about one he regrets leaving behind in the past....

And... that all their main partners! They actually have other pokemon as well, but these were just their first ones. As an example, Dante also has a Houndoom that he befriended in DMC 3 (as a Houndour) that knows a lot of bite moves. Why? King Cerberus rep for the mutual Coverage. Elemental coverage.

Thanks again DMC Questions anon! I really enjoyed this ask, even if I did flex my pokemon knowledge a bit please ask me questions I will write an essay to answer u-

Do you think that Louis and his team are delusional and really think that the fandom believes he is the father?

I follow some larries on instagram and only one or two dare to speak up and say that it’s all fake. the rest are keeping it quiet cause of hate they get, even larries send them hateful messages cause they believe it’s disrespectful to Louis to believe in bg

Hi, anon!

No, i think they know exactly who they're fooling and who they can't fool. They are mostly fooling the gp and casual fans.

I think people are keeping quiet for different reasons. Some don't want the hate or the attention that comes with taking a stand and saying L is not F's dad. It does sound mental to outsiders who don't know the parties involved. Some wants to protect F and keep it quiet for his sake, even if they think it's a stunt. Others are insecure in their beliefs, even if they lean towards L not being F's dad. The latter group would rather err on the side of caution. They don't want to claim it's fake because you can’t take that back and it could be damaging to L and F if it was true. Even if they see the evidence and believe it, the gaslighting and the lengths L and his team have gone to sell it to the fans are hard to overcome. So they don't state their opinion openly. Some of them police others to do the same. Others even claim L is F's dad, but are still larries. There's cognitive dissonance there, so they rather focus on the larry part and not talk about F.

It's a tricky situation and i would be cautious too if i thought for a second that i might be wrong. So i can't really blame them. The other option is just as bad though. Absent dad, don't know the kid, no custody, not protecting his privacy and leaving him with that horrible family...Rock and a hard place and all that...

Mc Hcs pt 5 sad edition

Mc when they were 12 years old were sent to a psychiatric hospital for half year due to the emergence of a second personality they said was called Dahlia(Mc as kid has been described as clumsy, honest, happy go lucky , loyal etc but Dahlia in the hospitals psych evaluation was said to be the embodiment of evil and beauty.they would eventually also know them as the noble flower of evil because when ever their around they can cause the worst in somebody to bloom and reveal the worst version of themselves )

Mc due to their fame as a 'small' time actor had their fair share of stalkers and one time nearly gkt kidnapped so they begged their dad Donald to let them practice martial arts which after the recent incident they did. Sometime later they were gettung stalked by a fanatic classmate who had been really creepy and one day took it too far with nc who lashed out and beat them within an inch if their lives, they were sent ti hospital dor two months and even thiygh they were left off the hook due to ir being self defense. They felt horrible afterwards because they beat a guy nearly to death without ever trying to get him to stop or to change and simply chose violence as their first option so after that they swore that unless there was no literally no other way they wouldn't use violence to end conflict.

Filowing the pevious HC. Mc stopped acting after that incident as to stop attracting stalkers and prevent anotger situation like that.

Mc when they were younger they struggled to fit in with people. This was because in their own words was that they always felt as if that place wasn't their real home.(even when they were un their own house they sometimes felt homesick)

Mc also used to get sick a lot when they were younger and it was said by doctors that it was odd since on their arm They did have a vaccine shot scar but they still got sick almost as if the vaccune they took was for some foreign illness.

Bonus headcanons(happy edition)

Mc and Peter always did stargazing together and when it was Mc birthday he woulf often joke about whisking them away to land where kids never grew up so he could always babysit Mc in future

Mc has on more than one occasions played the role of nobility in a play or movie they often took etiquette classes meant for nobility and due to this has some friends who are nobles.

Mc at the end of everyweek gives Lilia all the photos they took so Lilia can cherish the memorues he had at Nrc

Mc has been noted to be a treasure magnet and often finds hidden valuablss on the schook camous which they usually give to Sam.

Mc during the Port fest worked at a cafe called Dukes cafe to raise money so they could get their friends souvenirs and gifts

Mc when their not busy during clubs time often sings solos of songs from their old world(did Mc one time sing the Macarena yes do they regret the fact all of scarabia had to do a macarena dance practice for 3 hours no)

I hope you liked these new batch of Hcs as always feel free to ask questions regarding bg the Hcs and Cherry i also hope you got my Hcs home edition or if Tumblr ate my ask if they did i dont mind sending it again

Goodbye and have great day

Sorry for taking so long to reply! I got tangled in a lot of irl things and it took me some time to come back here again but once again, thanks for your additions for the MC hcs~ [these in special are continuations of the multiple MC's hcs from last time]

seems that we have sad and happy hcs this time! the thing with more angst/dramatic hcs is that I'm not so good at commenting on them as the few times I think about it so, unfortunately, I won't have much to add on the first part...

as for the more happier hcs tho~

so, interesting, MC is more of a Wendy (or one Lost Child) in this one. Another thing that I love about it, not only for my love for the Peter Pan story, is that I actually made an twst!Peter oc that is a teacher at RSA and these specific hcs always reminds me of him. I won't be able to show him yet since... well, my posting schedule is the amalgamation of chaos (especially with ocs). And the stargazing part is really beautiful

MC always has the connections since ever lol reminds me of that Barbie song "To Be a Princess" (from the og Princess & the Pauper)

aaaawwww~ I never stopped to think about how faes like Lilia or even Malleus feels about photos, in the same sense we view them. but it's an heartwarming (and lowkey sad for ch6 watchers) hc <3

MC works so hard at all times. now imagine after the event ends, MC kinda does the same thing as Jack (like he wanted to treat Ruggie to eat the special dish from this one restaurant he worked on) and they invite their friends to eat there too. and their boss is like "take a day rest and enjoy it with your friends" too~

THE MACARENA KILLED ME LMAO Kalim probably had the time of his life, he didn't feel any of the 3 hours. idk about Jamil bc he likes to dance (tho he has his issues with doing in front of other bc of the whole "not go into the spotlight", still he's getting more out there since ch4...) but maybe the same song after a lot of time might be a bit annoying for him? I'm not so sure for his part

and we ended this batch! I'm sorry again for not commenting much on the angst hcs, like it's just not something I'm familiar or comfortable enough to talk about, but your ideas are always interesting and creative, believe me!

thanks again <3

I would like to add something to your last anon that said that fans, or even gp will dig deeper if bg ends. Yes, that's what a normal, reflective person, that can admit they were wrong would do. But just look at Holivia, they are still out there defending Harry in his heartbreak, even hoping they will come back together. It's bonkers. Any comment of 'We told you so' will be shut down by outrage how we dare to make this poor boys worst time of his life about us. How we dare to celebrate. There is a special kind of breed amongst L's and H's fans who took it upon themselves to make whole twitter accounts about hating on us. Unfortunately their ego won't let them admit they were wrong and the circumstances (stunting while it ends, the like) will make it easy for them to prove that he did in fact not know that it was not his child. They will make sure to sell this story. Dear anon, how many people do you have in your life that are willing to say 'I was wrong.' ? I assume not many, unfortunately that's how humans work.

Hello anon,

Oh yes! Twitter and people who believe he’s a dad will be horrible. They won’t assume they were wrong and believe the narrative, whatever that is, and will send hate to everyone who’s celebrating.

Hi, listen I don’t believe L is a dad, I never have and for a vast variety of reasons. There is a lot of, admittedly circumstantial, evidence that suggests that the pregnancy was not real but no single piece of evidence can be used as proof. It’s the picture painted by the whole damn lot of it. However I find it really annoying when ppl claim that one thing “proves” it’s fake, like B leaving hospital in tight trousers and heels. Like everything relating to that pregnancy yes it’s highly unusual that a new mom would dress that way, *but not impossible*. We see 0.0001% of Ls private life, he doesn’t plaster F all over his socials so of course we’re not going to see him being a present father. It doesn’t mean he’s a deadbeat dad (I mean he’s not any kind of dad but ykwim). You can’t say oh L is family focussed and therefore if he was a dad he’d be more present in the kids life so it follows that bg can’t be real because it would make L a shitty father. It’s not a logical argument while there are so many other logical arguments out there for bg being nothing but a horrible, incomprehensible stunt.

you must be new.

while louis was not seeing f between december 2017 and october 2020 we know he wasn't bc tammi and austin and briana were posting him every single day.

that is how everyone knows that louis is an absent dad.

we know b wasn't pregnant not just bc she looked completely flat two days after birth.

we have thousands of evidence of louis not being a dad and briana not being a mother, not just speculation, evidence.

Don't come on my inbox if you haven't done all your research. I am not going to repeat all of it to you.

I am tired by this stunts but even more tired by fans who do not take the time to know what happened in the past twelve years or fans who think they know better than fans who've been following this shit since 2015.

I'm sorry if it sounds harsh but I'm annoyed with people trying to sound all high and mighty when clearly they are just misinformed.

if louis is a dad, he's a bad one and an absent one. full stop.

Watch "Ghostbusters Afterlife: Testing the Proton Packs (HD CLIP) | With Captions" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/yw9Gtyp-AWs

This is Anne Frank whom I saved from world war II and Hera saved her husband BG. And she was going to be killed and she thanks me every once in awhile she knew dad and knew that he was a trooper and a friend of hers and a friend of her people and she wants to go up there and make it better for them. She's a very brave woman but I can't help her on this mission because of technology is a secret and sensitive and very powerful and my people might suffer if I released it but she went up anyways and knew it cuz I'm saying it now and she's pleased with what I'm saying because it's true he's not cutting she says, or BG but we have to have our own protection and team and method but she sees a difficulty and she's the very moment in which I feel the power and it's enormous I can see my face I'm surprised it in shock and I don't really show it too much but people say they assume in and I'm almost in horror especially after I see what it did and after hitting concrete I was ecstatic and they can see my face Brighton I love the thing and your parents are greatness CAA and so are you so don't forget it my people need this in order to survive but I hear what you're saying equivalent has to stop the infighting has to stop and we need to do this or we're going to end up in concentration camps I don't plan to go up there soon and I love it I've taken over the conversation but that's my superpower everyone says I'm rallying support and with our women and regular women too we're going to have a good time here and get it done but he says it's a momentous occasion it's the first time someone outside of the clan has used that weapon ever and there are several of them like that weapon systems and will and Bill have developed some but they're not the weapons you see discharging from the saucers no saucers were found and I think they were found by Jason recently and they say no those are different those are taken from Tommy f this house is a question or an Antarctica and I'm correct and they were brought there from Will and Bill and retrofitted and will and Bill don't know it and they're going there now and there's some in Greenland and none on Iceland it's going to be a war over them too and he said the last three lines I'm really impressed he's a little boy and he's doing a decent job and announcing all this and what a series of movies and this is first not last. He said who would know. But we said that in westborough and it's funny because it means something else but everyone starts saying it straight and it started laughing their asses off cuz no I can tell when I'm saying except him he said both all the time he's not supposed to understand anything. And that's what it sounds like too we had a good time because we're having fun and enjoying life he's trying to fix things down here and nobody wants it no we do today was awesome everyone everywhere was driving and he says we need it for sensing for the tunnels against clones and we need to protect the system if you get it he says and we shall we'll do our best hand it off the back if we have to but you can't lose it to these people they're going to destroy us and he says it might be happening in this movie but my friend says it's something different than these monsters just tech they hold it pretty close and they're kind of clan and Mom is laughing no that was Azog she says, and The Rock says he's going to be in the movie soon run down and he sees why because the guy is screwing around and he screwed around his neck and for some reason Trump will go down there to Brazil and says after diamonds okay and uses Jason's people which is horrible. He can't believe it these negative mutants will take it but their clan so it's not way out there but the way he says it's quite horrible and it might be the mega computers and it could be the claim itself so we're going up there and we're going to do that

Wish me luck everyone and he says good luck test pilot number one and maybe it'll be successful and I hear him and I wish I will be

Anne Frank

Okay okay this is Frank and I'm going to go up there too you see me in the flick have we ever recognize me this is terrible

Stan

Thanks Stan no really I need help

Anne Frank

We're going to place your poem in the method that our friend said to in freedom Park and we're doing that tonight in honor of your mission

Mac daddy

I'm going to beat you too it already made one instead of came out all right and he asked who's he said it came out right she did it says it's pretty good Max side and approved it I'm going to go up there together he says and it's my version because I'm family and family with him anyways but you'll see and he does that's me

Bg

We're all going to go up there to the park and we need to exclude clones we need a big group this is how it's going to be hell but wow what a weapon. I can't imagine anything more prophetic he rescued her from the Holocaust it's his dad's weapon can save us all from these nasty clones and Stalin who's also Hitler. You pulled her out and was very serious back then he was in ethereal form but we couldn't tell he looked like Hogan from Hogan's heroes he said he was young and that's what he kind of looked like so we watched him do it almost and some people didn't see him moving around doing it it's the weirdest experience you'll ever have may God bless him for doing it

Trump

You sound better then worse than better but we see that he's using the matrix on you and we need the system so we can disable robots it looks like we get some stuff like the Nebuchadnezzar and an EMP our friend says is tough and it's a way of manipulating The shield and we do understand that we've seen it before and Bill can do it and they can so we need that we need their help and we're going up there and we want to see this what an amazing scene we know the little friend is it's bja and he likes her a lot it's just not good but okay he does a good job and it's turning into a goober it's just much better

It says stick around for Christmas at least bja I got to see you sit on Santa's lap when Peter audette is down he'll have to work there he says you're on buddy you got to pay me for it it's by then I should have somebody I'll get something that's appropriate not mean like Peter I did is Jesus he's really mean you got that right she was rescued from death and so was I and Mama's starting to remember it what it shithead sometimes

bja

Come on...let's roll

Mac

And our friend says he helped them say it he said just starsky and your hutch and they did it we heard them say it too and they framed the two she's been in trouble I've got the information I've got to give it to you all so I'm bringing it with me he framed Trump and cheeseman I'm bringing it with me

Bha

This message is approved to go out

Olympus

S5 Ep 30 pt 2: So Yami’s Dad Totally Killed That Village

Last we left off, everyone decided to dive directly into Yugi’s horrible mind prison.

In a nice little touch, we only see all the doors and walls when Yugi wakes up. It could also just be editing and the fact that the bg painter didn’t know they were in an Escher maze when he drew that first bg and was only going off of someone else’s loose storyboard.

But it’s a nice touch.

“Seems bigger than last time, Yuge, did you do some redecorating?” was the actual line from the show, and honestly says a lot about how many times Joey has been in this bean, and how ridiculously accepting Joey is of his best friend’s horrible Mind Parasite Problem that would scare off most people.

Back at Kaiba Corp, Seto is getting no work done.

(more under the cut)

Look how left out this boy is because Yugi didn’t invite him into his horrible Mind Prison Labyrinth.

What I love about this shot are

-Seto giving the orb an appropriate amount of space

-that it is night time, inferring that a full day has passed and that for 12 hours or so, Seto has been awkwardly hovering around his desk unsure of what to do about the tiny hell orb.

-That the shot is blocked by a door and a couch and a bench, which is a fun filmic technique that builds tension or makes the viewer feel uncomfortable. (In this case, it’s the first time we’ve ever seen furniture in front of this desk.) and here it does make Seto appear to be a little bit helpless about this teeny, tiny little orb.

-That the animators decided to render the orb at all because we’re so far away they could have just not. But no, they put that mini orb on there in a scene you barely see for more than a second.

Anyway, back in the past, everyone whisks out their over-rendered arm bangles and reveals they were in fact, weapons.

That’s right, it’s the hardest duel disk to draw yet. This is hell. Who decided to do this? Who would ever do this to a team of animators? It’s so unbelievably cruel. Just...man looking at the linework on this is giving me second hand tendonitis.

The idea of a past-duel-disk of course being that we have a Dartz type of temple full of tablets, and when they want to use a monster, it hails a bright ass beam of light from the temple to put a monster into this room. Must be impossible to sleep at night in this town. But it looks cool.

And then Bakura finally decided to just let it out:

The Death Count is pending on this one. It’s still on the table that Bakura might be making this up, and we also don’t know how many people were in the village, it might go up by a fair number.

Also, kind of amazing that Bakura has been holding it in for all this time (4 years apparently) that Yugi’s ghost’s Dad killed his family. Like I’m fairly sure that Ryou probably doesn’t know that, but the feelings from the ghost must have been there, right? Like when Bakura shows up and immediately killed Yugi in S1 that seemed like such a wild thing to do, but really it was Bakura being like “oh it’s this bastard? I’ll do the world a big favor on this one before it becomes an actual problem later.”

And we just had that season with Dartz where Dartz was saying “you were a tyrant, Yami, you were a complete asshole” and while Yami initially believed him, eventually Yami was like “Actually, I was probably not terrible! :)”

and I guess we should have paid more attention to Dartz and not gone back here to find out exactly the deets on what Yami’s family was up to. Albeit, destroying entire villages was very common in ancient Egypt. But that doesn’t make it OK, especially if you were an awkward schoolkid blissfully living in Japan and playing card games just yesterday.

I also want to point out that Bakura is wearing this outfit with his knee raised like that, and it would absolutely upskirt this entire room, which is how you know a man drew this scene because girls know you can’t just DO this position. Like the animation team put little boxers under there...which is hilarious, it is 3000 BC. Have fun finding spandex.

Wonder if Gozaburo and Yami’s Dad would’ve hung out in Hell.

I’d watch that spinoff.

On any other kid’s show I’d be like “wow, what a lie!” but this is Yugioh. C’mon. They gotta do it. It’s way too enticing. They gotta murder that little village.

Anyway, Yami gets off his ass and also upskirts everyone in the room while his legs are fully down. A difficult feat to do, but he is one strong breeze away from indecency.

Honestly, I don’t think this team is used to drawing Pharaoh without full length pants and are not entirely sure where to put his waist. Like this kid usually has thin Tim Burton legs, but I guess Odion took him to the gym at some point in the distant past because he’s like all gams now.

How renaissance painting is this shot, PS? Look at that gasp on Shadi, haha.

This was such a funny little scene because Bakura took one foot and just pushed the casket over like the floor was made of ice. This is like the world’s most slippery casket covered in butter.

Anyway, Grandpa is deep in the propaganda sauce and is having a hard time with this deep cut about the past Pharaoh.

Now in this angle, he kinda has like...a little bit of Gozaburo vibes and it would be kind of funny, if we ever get a head on shot of this guy, if Gozaburo had a past life as Yugi’s Dad. Really freakin weird, but also funny because man this show is going all ham on reusing characters in this past sequence.

Like I’m very impressed that Yami’s Dad isn’t just straight up Joey Wheeler.

This is like the only time we haven’t seen Yami cry when he’s supposed to, by the way. I have seen him cry at so many games, but over his own Dad? Nah, he has no memory of who the hell this even is.

Anyway, Pharaoh has a slight hallucination from the casket, who actually has a voice deeper than Pharaoh’s which is saying something.

TBH He also has the Katamari Damacy Dad vibes.

Like...you know?

That, or the Dad in Katamari Damacy has Gozaburo/Roland vibes.

Maybe also it’s because this one of the few characters that is drawn to be older than 15. Anime be like that.

Anyway, it’s time for Yami to prove that he is the real King by using God Cards, which thankfully he’s done like...kind of a lot of times by this point...

Because one of the only things really left of Pharaoh is his magic. Which, we went over at the end of S1, that his name Yami, is just the name of his power. He’s been slowly growing into his own being but he’s still kinda like...not full there. And, while I don’t know if the show will go in this direction, it makes you wonder if these people in the past don’t actually look so much like people of the present, or if this is just Yami’s interpretation because there’s so little of the original him left.

Something to think about later, I guess, because in the present, Seto is being confronted by the past, which is doing so in the form of this golden eyeball.

In a weird turn of events, when Bakura used the Blue Eyes power, it sent the sound to Seto in Japan through the eye?

And then even weirder, the screen panned out to Egypt, where lo and behold, his past girlfriend is staring longingly at the city. A little bit of shipping for the fans, I guess.

...but it was really tangential in this scene because we’ve never met this girl, and the scene happened so quickly my episode changed, and I didn’t cap it in time and I was too lazy to go back.

So I guess that storyline is really happening. Seto having deep thoughts of this girl...friend? Problem is, she lives in a simulation in a necklace connected to Yugi’s brain so like....

........I feel like that will make dating kind of complicated.

...And not going to lie if she exists in a simulation made by the Pharaoh that we did by turning Yugi’s mind into an awful broken mind palace...

...who the hell is he even dating at that point?

I mean no one, that’s the answer to that question, Seto is dating no one at this point, but man...it was a lot less complicated when he was pining over a paper card.

anyway, till next time, here’s the list to read these in chrono order from S1:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And hope y’all have a good one

danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)

-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/

-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules

-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.

-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO

-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3

-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.

-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.

-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x

-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son

-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.

-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised

-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?

-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.

-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.

-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!

-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???

-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)

-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!

-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.

-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?

-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.

-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)

-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh

-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.

-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3

-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.

-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.

-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao

-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.

-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.

-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)

-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...

-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)

-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously

-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.

-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤

About your BG anon with the way he acted when announcing on GMA that he was going to be a dad in no way ever would I believe he agreed or accepted BG regardless of a clear out or not. He clearly had no say and had no desire for it to happen to him. He always wanted kids and they took the whole first kid experience away from him and made the thought of kids for him negative now.

Yeah... It's very hard to understand what happened behind the scenes when babygate first happened, I think we will never know the whole truth. If he had a say about any of it he would make sure this would end soon, which clearly wasn't the case. I mean.. 2016 was just horrible with all the pap walks, it was humiliating, it's hard to believe he was in a position of making requirements.

As for the experience of having his first child, I disagree, I don't think he has a negative thought about that because babygate was simply nothing like having a real child. IMO The man loves kids and I'm sure his plans haven't changed about having his own. Maybe he wants even more now.

Cats 2019, but I try fixing the horrible script

Victoria in bag yeah whatever been there done that

Jellicles are and Jellicles do Je

Maybe the Jellicles introduce more of themselves and Misto's like "yeah that's my name lol but I'm also called Quaxo" segwaying into The Naming of Jellicles, OR cut out the song to make room for Pekes and Pollicles. Depends on how much runtime you're willing to have

Have Macavity watching but like not super obvious. He's watching from a distance instead of blatantly talking to Vic this time

Demeter can be worried about trusting Vic but if Munk trusts her then Dem trusts her

Misto's like "oh yeah almost time for the ball" Vic is like "wtf" and Munk explains and leads her to Jenny

NO EATING COCKROACHES

Tugger's still there, Jenny's like "how tf did you get inside my house. stop terrorizing the mice"

Tugger goes and does his song or whatever, Vic's expression is like "wtf is up with him" but Misto just shakes his head and calls him a bore

Tugger go "here Vic lemme show you how to have fun" and Vic lets herself go loose!! (and unfortunately joins Tug's fanclub)

Misto's like "UGH FUCK NO TUGGER NOT ANOTHER KIT (lovingly)" but everything's cancelled by Griz showing up

They do the Griz thing

Maybe Vic tries to touch Griz when Munk gently pulls Vic back, then she asks why Griz isn't cool anymore, but gets interrupted bc NO MORE "WENT WITH MACAVITY" HALF-ASSED EXPLANATION

A local building alarm goes off and Dem's like "MACAVITY" and Vic is like "WHO" and gets dragged off (spoiler alert it wasn't actually Macavity)

When they think they're a safe distance away they start Bustopher Jones but better

Maybe it could be like "ok we get you kits are scared but Jones is a respectful mature man he would take care of you" ((I oh-so desperately want Misto to excitedly agree bc uncle Bustopher hcs are the cutest))

LET MISTO FOLLOW THE MAN AROUND GODDAMMIT

When the rest of the cats are distracted Vic slinks off and meets Jerrie and Teazer. they cause chaos and honestly good on them

I like to think that, instead of the whole Vic getting stuck on bedpost thing, the twins try to bring her through the window but when they land they're caught and get reprimanded by Munk

Misto goes up to Vic like "that was fucking stupid of you now let's go meet ol doot"

Vic is like "uh okay (I've learned not to question things at this point)" and follows them, when she sees Deut she gets that fatherly vibe from him and starts to understand why they trust him

Deut goes "ohoho who do we have here" and when everyone excitedly introduces her he'd like,,, nuzzle her and go "welcome to the clan"

She's mystified and immediately trusts this man with her life cuz who wouldn't

Victoria watches Pekes and Pollicles performance bc it's a bop

Maybe bonding moment between Vic and Deut after the show where he's like "theyre a mess but they try and I love them for it"?

Tugger's like "DAADDDDD CAN WE START YET" and they start dancing,, Vic is all awed and then Deut goes "c'mon you're one of them now" and nudges her forward so she can join

It's a blast but in the middle of it Vic notices Griz in the background, so when everyone else goes to sleep she sneaks off Yet Again, this time Jemima following her cuz curious little kitten

They hear Griz sing and see her try to dance like the others, and they were gonna go invite her but then Deut taps em on the shoulder and says "we gotta wait for the others to accept her" except super vague. the kittens have no clue what he's on about but accepts it anyway cuz it's ol doot

I think keeping the choice be an audition sorta thing is fine, it kinda felt like that in the musical. just no more solos, no more solos ple

They're all just now waking up but Misto and Gus are Extra awake. like y'know when you go downstairs at like 7 am to get cereal, expecting no one else to be there but then There Is. they do that lil talk they do in the movie, dunno what I'd alter there quite just yet? Misto would be less outwardly anxious for sure though, gotta let the boy keep his calm

When it's like "ok who now losers" maybe Misto could start singing for Gus and hand it off to someone else after a line or two? then Gus gets his part and maybe we see some subtle character development coming out from Misto. show don't tell y'know that sorta thing

Gus is like "ok that's cool but I can think of another person to start singing now" and takes a seat when Munk gets the hint to start the next song

SKIMMMBLESHANKSSS THE RAIIILWAAAAY CATTTT THE C

The fake train they build gets fucking destroyed and it's bc MACAVITY

He runs around wreaking havoc, starts fighting with Munk but when Munk puts up a better fight than he expected he kidnaps Deut

Probably would've restrained Deut in some way before running around bc the guy could very easily beat him up

Anyways Macavity retreats and everyone's worried for Munk and Deut

Victoria's like "OH YEAH RIGHT WE HAVE MISTO" and he's like "????? you're asking me to teleport THE HOLY CHRIST HIMSELF??????" and starts mentally panicking

Tugger comes in like "oh but you OUGHT to ask mr mistoffelees the original conjuring cat there can be no dou

Bc he's hyped up Misto brings Deut back first try and gets more confidence in his abilities, we love a character arc

They go back to make the Jellicle Choice but then OH THERES GRIZABELLA and the clan is gonna kick her out but Victoria's like "no let her sing!!" but bc she's new no one cares but then JEMIMA goes "let her sing it's almost time!!! just this one bit plssss" and bc it's Jemima and they love Jemima they let Griz sing

Then she gets picked and cat god takes her away or whatever

Ol doot does the speech but like addressing the clan instead of breaking the 4th wall and then the movie ends and we DON'T have to deal with 10 minutes of end credits

✨ The end ✨

Extra notes / Things I'd change

Add in the bg interaction!!! That's what makes the 1998 version so fun, it allows the chorus cats to have so much personality despite only being bg characters

Pls for the love of all that is holy make the chorus cats more easy to distinguish and recognize, not only do they look different from the costumes of every other production Ever, they also all look the same as one another

If Misto still did that excited thing at the beginning of The Gumbie Cat I'd lose my marbles I think

Let Tugger interact with his dad more!!! Munk got so much interaction with Old Deut in the movie which I LOVED but Tugger got??? Nothing????? I get that Jason Derulo is expensive to keep on set but if you can put that much effort into that audio system you barely even used 4/5 of the functions of, you can spend a little on letting Tugger love his dad

We got so many Misto and Tugger interactions in the 2016 revival, is it too much to ask for that back... . ... .. ..

That's about it I think, I mostly made this for myself bc I've been thinking of making a fic based off this and wanted to give myself an outline :) I really like the idea of giving Victoria a story as to how she joined the jellicles but...... it was butchered so terribly..... .... .........

Anyways!! If you've got anything you wanna say or add on I'd love to hear it :DD (no pressure though ofc ^^)

Battle Ground Spoilers

Ok. It’s been about a day since I finished the latest Dresden Files book and I think I’ve managed to process everything. And there’s a lot to go over.

First and foremost, it was the second half of a story. I understand why Peace Talks and Battle Ground were split, there was too much for a single book. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any fat that could have been chewed off, but that’s for later.

The book is revolving around Harry. Literally. That’s the series, Harry and his issues. But this book is his biggest failings and loses all stacked together in a horrible mess that he couldn’t fix. What happened in this story, between PT and BG, is worse on Harry than when he ended the Red Court and killed Susan. But it also gives a new light on some other major characters as well.

So much happened for Harry. So much. But what happened to him was fall out from what happened to everyone around him. He got a Banner, a Banner of Will that unites people under a cause. That’s amazing. And then the worst thing that could have happened with a power like that happened. He felt the people following him die. He felt what caused their deaths. Hundreds of people died with him feeling how they died. That’s going to leave psychic scars of the likes he’s never seen before. And it made him think about what it’s like to be a Ruler. To be a Queen. That what he felt is very likely what Mab feels. That’s huge.

-Thomas is the next best thing to 6 feet under. And Harry has hardly mentioned it. Aside from not mentioning it, he’s barely thought about it. This is nothing new from Harry. Thomas is family, but so is Ebenezer. Which makes the fall out between the Harry and his grandfather worse. BUT Harry also doesn’t really have this in the forefront of his mind. He’s got a city to save and his last two relatives are pulling away rapidly and maybe forever. He’s not thinking about it for the same reason he avoided Thomas when he came back from his little trip to the Other Side in Ghost Story. He’s avoiding facing the truth. Thomas is very likely going to die and Ebenezer wants him dead. The trauma that’s followed him since the day his dad died is right there, knocking on the door, waiting to be let in. It’s also only been a few hours. Hopefully we’ll see how Harry deals with this is the next book, like how the Alphas told him off for spending nearly a year in isolation after Susan skipped town.

-Waldo Butters shone like a star. He was front and center, like the day he rode Sue the T-Rex. The newest Knight of the Cross played a huge part as the symbol of Faith. Because that’s what he is when he wields that broken hilt, the symbol of Faith. Sanya is the symbol of Hope. Michael was the symbol of Love. But Faith was the important factor here. Because Butter’s shouldn’t have been able to keep up with Harry or Sanya with the training he’s had. But then again, Murphy shouldn’t have been able to keep up during the battle with the Red’s. The Sword’s and the Lord have a way of putting the Knights where they need to be and when, but they are mortal men with mortal body’s fighting monsters. They need help, and their Faith, Hope and Love grant them this. So long as the cause is Just, the Sword will not waver, and neither shall it’s weilder. The Knights have to be able to keep up if they are to be where they are needed, especially when they need to be in arms reach of the Winter Knight.

-Marcone is the host to a fallen angel. Huge twist. Huge insane twist. How long has it been since he took up the coin? Nic has made it apparent that he could tell who had members of the Fallen inside their heads, even when Lash wasn’t in Harry’s head he probably sensed Bonea instead. So was it after Skin Games? Before? When????? But damned if the reveal wasn’t amazing. Was this the best of ideas for Marcone? Who knows. He refused to work for Nic and found, seemingly like Harry had with Lasciel, a Fallen with its own plans.

-Murphy. Died. She killed a fire giant. With a BAZOOKA. And then Rudolph the shit stained sack of useless meat shot her in the neck. He refused to see what the world really was. And. He. Shot. Karrin. In. The. Neck. I don’t care that he’s a coward and that he panicked and fired the shot. I care about that fact that Karrin Murphy deserves better. I care about the fact that Butters and Sanya shouldn’t have been there. Harry SHOULD have been allowed to kill Rudolph. But Jim Butcher killed Karrin Murphy with a bullet from the gun of a character the entire fandom has HATED since day one. Rudolph deserves nothing but the worst fate possible and I will be FURIOUS if he survives to the end of the series. Murphy deserves better. She should have lived and gotten to watch Harry beat Ethniu. Lived to help raise Maggie. Karrin Murphy died halfway through the book when she should have lived.

-Harry got kicked out of the White Council. Big shock. Honestly surprised it took this long. I was confused as to why he even wanted back in after Ghost Story. They weren’t a layer of protect for him. They never had been and never would be. Being the Winter Knight is more of a safety net that the Council for Harry. Harry has done nothing but his best for the Council and they don’t care. They fear him. They fear the Starborn, whatever that title means. “Vague immunity from the influence of Outsiders.” Drakul, Harry and Listen. That’s 3. It feels like it’s some weird “Planets are aligned” bullshit that should be easy to predict. Why isn’t the Council just, I don’t know, only having children that are Starborn? They seem like the sort of shit bags that wouldn’t blink at that. It seems plausible that the higher ups know exactly how to make a Starborn and have the knowledge to mass produce them. But no. We still don’t know what it entails. And Harry’s in the dark and an outlaw. Carlos is just another member now. Harry hasn’t been able to properly talk to him for years it seems because they have acted like friends in a while. Hell it even seems like Carlos was willing and wanting to just dump evidence against Harry. Given Carlos’ comment on the Law, it now makes sense as to why the Council has had so much trouble with necromancers. They probably still think of zombies as humans, if the troops the Fomor used counted enough as human to be used against Harry. The White Council can choke and die on its hypocrisy. It doesn’t matter that Harry sits at the table full of monsters. He’s always put the lives of the innocent before his own and the Council doesn’t give a shit about any of the good he did for them. The White Council will collapse and the Black Council won’t break a sweat doing it.

Justine is possessed by He Who Walks Beside. She’s been possessed for years. Ever since Thomas almost ate her soul to heal himself from the brink of death. It’s been blackmailing Thomas for years and this push was to break a foundation of Something. To crack a cog in the wheels of fate or fray the red string of destiny. Who knows. We don’t.

That’s all I got. Did I enjoy the book? Hell yeah. But I’m still passed as hell.

Battle Ground Thoughts

Major spoilers below.

The Good

I really enjoyed the last part of the fight with Ethniu. Hendrick's sacrifice was well done, and the Marcone reveal was fantastic. The action was really great, although it did get too much at times, especially the beginning of the fight with Ethniu where it’s more like reading a shonen manga, lots of huge ‘final’ attacks and mist clearing as they wait for the blood spray before someone pulls a trap card. Still pretty likeable.

Marcone as a Knight of the Blackened Denarius is intriguing. My one caveat is that I think it diminishes his post-Small Favor achievements quite a bit, knowing he had access to all that power. It makes sense, especially considering just how much Marcone was able to get done, but yeah, I liked this little twist. Marcone is probably the main reason I would keep reading the books, as things stand.

I like the fact Harry's finally been kicked off the White Council, as he should be. I'm not sure why this is controversial, though. He’s clearly broken several laws, and tbh I was kind of surprised they kept him on after becoming the Winter Knight, like... conflicted interests, much?

Drakul and the Blampires were cool. Wouldn't mind seeing them again.

The Bad

Justine's reveal, while interesting bc omg Outsiders infesting the characters we love, it also absolutely terrifies me in terms of what it actually means for Thomas/Justine both in the future and in the past. A future that might not even happen, now. And considering how long it's been since she was infected, it's entirely possible a lot of Justine's feelings have been manufactured as well. One of the things at the top of my Do Not Want list was Justine or the baby getting hurt, and now we’re here.

I'm severely disinterested in Harry/Lara. I have no idea where it's going, but it's boring at best. Maybe Jim Butcher has an idea for it that doesn’t result in me rolling my eyes, but I’m not feeling charitable today.

Ivy and Harry never got a proper conversation. Also why tf was Ivy dressed in a school uniform for that fight? Unless she's a sailor senshi or something, it just doesn't make sense. Plus she should be in her mid-late teens by now, ffs, not her early teens.

We're still drawing out the Starborn mystery? Ugh, ok.

Michael's cursing out the White Council for kicking Harry off the team... Completely OOC, sorry, I hated it. Michael is a great character because he doesn't swear as a matter of principle. If he had to start swearing, that was a bad hill to choose.

The way the morality of the White Council flip flops depending on Dresden's mood is getting annoying. At the meeting at the end, he says the Council is the biggest defender of humanity, and that he's clearly sitting at the monsters' table, but they're also supposed to be the enemy for treating him as such? Ebenezar and some of the Seniors are douchebags, for sure - especially Eb as it's personal - but Carlos and the rest are solid good guys trying to do their best. After everything that's happened, Harry shouldn't be so freaking bitter. He’s a monster now. Either own it, or make different choices. Also Carlos should’ve told him what Molly did to him. I hate that this hasn’t been addressed and that Carlos just looks like a suspicious bastard when he’s actually sustained life-changing injuries and trauma. Communication generally between Harry and the White Council needs to start happening like yesterday.

Butters needs to just go away, please. Give me a break from this shithead. He's had a few months of training and can keep up with literally everyone. He gets all these Crowning Moments of Awesome, but he never suffers for it, and at this point I'm genuinely wondering whether he'll ever suffer any consequences whatsoever. Also he constantly outshines Sanya, who is ostensibly better qualified, and the Sword of Hope should have been the stronger of the two in that last fight. I’m sick of hearing how great Butters is, and being expected to laugh at all his dumb, nerdy references.

Harry barely thinks about Thomas when he considers his recent losses. Sure Thomas is still alive, but barely, with no guarantees he'll survive or that he'll come back the same person. Harry should be grieving for him as much as he's grieving for Karrin at this point. I also wanted there to be more reason behind Thomas's actions, some sort of conspiracy within the White Court, but there wasn't. It's bad enough being anxious for Thomas, but being anxious for his whole goddamn family is just way too much, ffs.

The Ugly

I mean, I've told people: if I'd tried to imagine a worst case scenario for Karrin Murphy's death, it would have been better than the ending we got. It's worse than James Norrington dying at the hands of Bootstrap Bill. It's worse than Superman's dad dying while trying to save the dog. She shouldn't have died at all, period, but if she absolutely had to go, there is no fucking way in HELL that that was the best way for it to happen. Whether she comes back or not, there is no way to justify that scene. Gard saying she saved everyone by defending Dresden might be a satisfying Watsonian explanation for some, but of all the times, of all the places, of all the ways, and of all the people... JB picked the absolute worst possible combination. Absolute. Garbage. It's not that he can't write decent sacrifices. Hendrick's death was superb! So why the FUCK couldn't Murph get the same treatment? Why the FUCK was she killed off so FUCKING pointlessly? This isn't a real life story. This isn't some hyperrealistic, anyone can die, Game of Thrones type bullshit, where you can just kill off the second main character as shock value and have it be valuable to a bigger theme. This is the Dresden Files, a fucking series where all the women are Playboy models, and there's a middle-aged dweeby guy in sports goggles riding a skateboard and wielding a lightsaber and facing off with a Titan after just a few months of training, and having threesomes with bisexual women half his age, one of whom wears a fucking Avengers t-shirt to bed. It's a fanservice show. So it is not too much to ask for the main female character to be given the kind of death she actually deserves, let alone that she be allowed to live long enough to enjoy a relationship that's been so fantastically built up over 15+ books. (Query: was any of her family at her funeral? Audiobooks make searching hard, and I can’t find out if that was mentioned.) It's not unfair to hate the FUCK out of JB for pulling such a horrible, awful, LAZY move. I didn’t cry when it happened. I actually laughed quite a bit, maniacally, because it was that much of a train wreck. I'm not crying now, either. I'm just so, so tired. RIP Murph.

Granted, I haven't had to wait for a Dresden Files book like this before. Skin Game had a very neat ending, whereas this asks way, way, way more questions than it answers, which is probably more par for the course in this series? But now my two favourite characters are out of the field and may never come back, and I'm just so fucking tired and disappointed, and tired of being disappointed. I don't know whether it's worth staying invested in the vague hope Jim Butcher will start giving a shit about anyone other than Butters, but I can't see the next book being much good when Thomas and Karrin won't be there. When Karrin may never be there again. When I don't even know if the next book will show up, or if there'll be another hiatus resulting in a mediocre story.

I'm predicting that there'll be a Murph-centric short story in the near future that'll probably be a "gotcha!" to all the fans like me who fucking hate how BG turned out. Either it'll finish her off entirely or hint at a resurrection, which may or may not come. Either way, it won't justify her death. It won't make this better.

If I wasn’t as invested in Karrin, I’d like this book more. I can understand if people like it, and there are definitely some good things about it, but it’s hard to appreciate those bits when there’s such a massive pile of stinking shit sitting smack bang in the middle.