blade-runner-2049-stream-de-blog

[gallusrostromegalus]

Hi, I was re-reading the AEIWAM tag and was wondering how exactly Aizen manages to kill Genkai? She seems one of the most put-together Kenpachi's and Aizen is well Aizen? Did he do it himself or were the curse nails involved?

Kenpachi Genkai has a Lieutenant named Gosuke Kiganjo.

She's fond of Gosuke. He's a quick-witted man with a delightfully jaded opinion of humanity, in contrast to young wife Kakiyo, who has such a resolute sense of Justice she can sometimes make the elderly captain almost believe in the inherent goodness of humanity again. They make a splendid couple, her willingness to do the hard work of improving lives pairs well with his pragmatism and sense of efficiency.

Genkai enjoys their company- it's a terrible thing to be Old, but worse to be Old and Lonely, so she allows them to have her over. She and Kakiyo debate the practicality of the young woman's latest scheme to improve life in the Rukongai while Gosuke cooks. Genkai is sure Yamamoto's decision to transfer Kakiyo as a seated officer in the 4th to lieutenant of the 5th Division under Captain Hirako is not just balancing Shinji's tendency to procrastinate on his work and take inadvisable shortcuts. Yamamoto plans to have her run the 5th someday, and Genkai agrees with the choice.

Oftentimes Kakiyo and Gosuke's friend Sosuke Aizen is there too. He's an agreeable young man, if somewhat forgettable. He has a good memory though, and generous- he always brings fresh produce for Gosuke to make dinner with, and always remembers Genkai's fondness for Garlic Greens.

(continued under the cut)

Gosuke missed his calling as a housewife, Genkai thinks, with no small appreciation of the work that goes into running a house. But he is a splendid cook, and she enjoys many dinners with the couple and their friends.

But she is old. She feels it in her heart- not emotionally, she's not sentimental, but she feels it in the way her heart skips and thuds and the sharp pains in her chest. "Cardiac Arrhythmia" Unohana says. Her heart is failing, falling out of sync, and someday, she'll have a massive heart attack if she's not killed in the traditional way Kenpachis are.

Unohana offers her treatment- Foxglove, deadly to eat a leaf, but diluted into Digitoxin pills, it steadies her heart a bit. She takes the pills with some reluctance- when she remembers to. The duties of a captain are many and more complex than ever, and again, she allows Gosuke to do her a favor- He remembers her medication schedule, and puts the pills next to every meal he cooks for her- almost all of them these days.

...But eventually, the inevitable happens, and three months after her diagnosis, Ninth Kenpachi Genkai dies of a massive heart attack in her sleep after dinner at Gosuke and Kakiyo's home.

When Retsu Unohana does her autopsy of Genkai, something seems amiss- the damage to Genkai's heart is much more advanced than Unohana had expected from her exam less than twelve weeks ago. She should have known- Genkai wouldn't splint broken bones half the time, preferring to rely on her body to heal, and underestimating what she was borrowing from the future.

Unohana rules her Cause Of Death as "Heart Failure", and can only assume that Genkai had not benefited from what little of the Digitoxin she managed to take.

---

A week later, Kiganjo is promoted to Captain of the 11th, and according with tradition, forgoes his given name to assume the Title and mantle of the office.

Now-Kenpachi Kiganjo is somewhat overwhelmed by his new duties, as well as wracked with grief. He cannot bear to clean out his beloved Captain's quarters. Kakiyo grieves differently- the physical work and care she can give to the former captain's belongings will ease the emotional pain, so she offers to clean out the captain's quarters for him.

She is still friends with her colleagues in the fourth, especially Unohana, and as a Lieutenant she's entitled to see the results of the Autopsy. Its puzzling, Unohana's statement that she must not have taken her medication- she watched Gos- her husband put her pills on the tray of every meal he cooked for her in the last twelve weeks. Was she just throwing them away?

It's even more confusing when the clean-out fails to turn up a single pill. She should have found some in the trash or swept under the furniture, right? Maybe it had all been taken out.

That night, she's home alone. Go- her husband is working late while he catches up on the job. She opens the pantry and glares at it- part of the reason she married him was that he was such a good cook. She never got the hang of it, that was always Kaname's chore growing up. Ugh. It's been a long and emotional day and she's got a headache-

She opens the medicine cabinet in search of the aspirin, and is confronted with the Perscription Bottle of Digitoxin. That must be where he was storing it while he cooked for Genkai. Best remove it before he gets back and is reminded- she thinks as she picks the bottle up.

It's full. In fact. It's completely unopened. ...And the pills look nothing like the ones G- Her Husband had been putting on Genkai's tray.

She stands there. Trying to make sense of it. Was this a second bottle? Prescriptions came in three-month supplies, maybe he had just finished out the first bottle when she died, and this would have been her next bottle of medication? She goes to check the date-

"Anyone home?" 5th Division third seat Aizen calls out.

"MOTHER FUCK- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Aizen- You startled me and it's- it's- Oh God, I miss her so much!" Kakiyo sobs, and Aizen appears at her side, a comforting shoulder to cry on.

He escorts her to the living room and lets her sob while he gets the kitchen in order and cooks- He used to be a confectioner before he was a Shinigami and he makes a good fried rice too. He tells her stories about the candy business and childhood chicanery he got up to with his brother back in West 43 until-

-She almost doesn't recognize the man as her husband at first. Something is wrong with his posture, stooped and sluggish, and grimacing where there should be a grin. But the tenth Kenpachi comes and embraces his wife, and- it's alright. He's still her husband, and she lets him carry her to bed.

When she wakes up late the next morning, she stumbles into the bathroom and squints at the counter- There was something in here she needed to ask her husband about- Something about? Ugh. She can't remember. She feels hungover, and whatever it was is gone now.

---

On his way back to the 5th, Sosuke Aizen stops on the bridge over the canal, looks around to make sure he is alone, and dumps the bottle of digitoxin pills into the canal. He tears off the label from the bottle, tears it up, takes a look around for witnesses again, and throws the bottle and torn label into the trash-filled canal.

Lily of the Valley is the token flower of the 5th division, a symbol of Purity and Innocence. It's also quite poisonous- all parts of the plant are toxic, and will cause cardiac problems in high enough or continuous doses. Foragers must be very careful to not mistake the leaves for wild garlic greens- they look extremely similar. Lily Of The Valley has not much flavor, so a few leaves might not be noticed in a whole bunch, especially if they're all cooked in the same dish together.

Eating a bit won't kill, but one leaf in a bunch a few times a week could prove fatal in a few short months. Especially if the person is prevented from taking Digitoxin to counteract the effects.

He nearly had a heart attack himself when he saw the bottle on the bathroom counter, but with Kakiyo so tired already, it wasn't hard to weave Suigetsu's illusions around her, cutting off her memory of the bottle, and the autopsy report.

He'll have to talk to his co-conspirator about these slip-ups. His wife is quite observant, and it would be a shame if the lovely Kakiyo had to be dealt with as well. At least, before she has been of more use to Aizen. His plan demands that he eventually control the Fifth division, and the fact she outranks him is... inconvenient.

---

About a week later, Head Librarian of the West 51 District Library Kaname Tousen receives a letter from his sister Kakiyo in the Seireitei. She writes (Or rather, she has carefully dented the Vellum with Braille, the thin calfskin holds the marks better through the mail) about the sudden decline and death of their good friend Genkai, and how profoundly the loss has effected his brother-in-law. She doesn't actually use the name "Gosuke" anywhere in the letter, only referring to him as "My husband".

Kaname is saddened as he reads, but then he worries, as she writes about how stressed she's been- strange lapses in memory, paperwork mislaid- thank goodness third seat Aizen had found and filed that report for her. How distant and humorless her husband has been- coming home late and reeking of alcohol even! She has the terrible feeling that there is something wrong, even more than her friend's sudden and saddening death. Something is terribly, terribly wrong, but she can't imagine what it is.

...Maybe it's just the grief. I keep seeing conspiracies in coincidences, jumping at shadows- but there's nothing there.

I know you've got the summer reading program, and I can't take enough time to travel out there right now- write back soon? Tell me about the summer students and the state of the town, how you and Sajin are. You have a gentleness with your words I could use right now.

All my love,

Kakiyo

[dead-air-radio]

Men who are cut up <33

[selfshippingquotes]

F/O, putting a hand on S/I's shoulder: I think we're gonna have to kill this guy, S/I.

S/I: Damn.

[too-much-alphabet-soup]

[Part 1] [Part 3]

Part two of this comic. Once again feel free to reblog and comment, please don't repost without credit

I'll be honest I drew that last image first, and I love him very much. This entire comic wouldn't be a thing if I hadn't been absolutely tortured by needing to make that specific image.

[hemeraphilia]

claiming i make Eve uncomfortable with no evidence while flaunting how much you kin and love Cuddles which she has made clear multiple times she doesn't want people doing is a bold move

[cicada-candy]

WE WATCH. WE LISTEN. WE ARE.

Alts:

[iwishallantisaverypleasantstop]

profic ppl: make ten thousand disclaimers abt not condoning the things they read n write abt

antis: collect csem, commit murder

but tell me who the bad people are again

[howlsofbloodhounds]

There is a fucking fly that only comes alive when its lights out.

I will get him someday

What do we think of young nightmare going to the club for the first time and just being SO awkward...he's clinging to his friends

Please let him leave

Also this made me cry

For context i send a tumblr post of a redraw from that one meme with 3 dudes and that tony baby in big boots as the MTT and nightmare as the baby

I think thats hilarious. Both the hc and you crying about kids with big feet. And also after sending you that I forgot that nightmares body was transforming goop and so he could change his feet size to feel those massive asf heels

{ @brokenramunebottle }

[issysfantasyworldsblog]

Notes: DARK CONTENT, MDNI, gore, blood, murder, vomit, stalking, unhealthy obsession, angst, applied kidnapping;

----------

As you tremble, you retreat from the scene before you. It is a sight unlike anything you've ever witnessed before, with blood gushing out of your deceased boyfriend's slashed neck. His eyes, once full of adoration for you, now stare back at you in terror and sadness, the spark of life long gone.

You press yourself against the wall, whimpering, hot tears wet your red cheeks. Your heart is beating very fast. The scent of your dead lover is settling in your nose. Your stomach lurches, and your dinner comes back up. You bend over and spit out the contents of your stomach. Your body shakes with disgust. The digested dinner plops onto the gory floor with a displeasing noise.

You cry out as a large, rough hand grabs your shoulder. Startled, you look up, but the tears cloud your vision, making it difficult to determine the person. Instinctively, you flinch and quickly brush away the stranger's hand. The brief brush of your sweaty shirt and cold fingers against the stranger's hand arouses him.

He has placed you precisely in the position he desires. Frightened. Hopeless. Alone.

The months of shadowing have finally paid off. Your likes and dislikes. His heart beats faster but out of joy and excitement, unlike you.

Although you didn't harm him in any way, your only fault was showing him kindness. He's accustomed to others avoiding him, but you were the exception. Naturally, you felt anxious when faced with his intimidatingly large stature. Your glass nearly slipped from your grasp as you stood behind the bar. His presence exuded a sense of fear.

As a skilled bartender, you inquired about his preference. He caught onto your hesitance. "Scotch," he replied with a creepy grin. In a flash, the drink was poured into a glass. Despite your jitteriness, you tried to engage in small talk with him. After that encounter, he became fascinated with you, or rather, obsessed.

Now he has you, and he will never let you go.

© 2024 issysfantasyworldsblog - All Rights reserved

[desultory-novice]

...UH OH...

Just kidding as this is all very good stuff, Mechalor Anon! Can't draw it, because it's a lot, but I will drop some corresponding text/lore on you, based specifically on your "The HWC misguidedly brings Zero Three back in Planet Robobot" concept (with a touch of the sword/brush thing) because it did latch onto my brain!!

(This is the LAST major event I do in this doomed timeline though)(1)

[Planet Robobot] [Apologies AU "Snowflakes" Timeline] [Secret Boss Fight - "NULL v0.3"]

:Kirby enters the room: :There is no one there: :Suddenly, the whole building shakes: :A horrific scream, overlayed atop itself, is heard:

:A door opens and Susie rushes out: :It shuts behind her, then shakes with a thud: :Eyes downcast, she murmurs to herself:

Susie: "...What is that machine thinking...? Why would the Mother Computer...ask for something that awful to be...?"

:She finally sees Kirby is here and puts her business face back on:

Susie: "Ahem! You're back! And you've found our secret lab."

Susie: "Clearly, you don't appreciate the miraculous wonders of science and technology as much as some of us..."

:The door bangs again, interrupting her: :There is another piercing dual scream:  :Susie flinches at the sound and begins shaking:

Susie: "...I can't do this anymore." 

Susie: "Listen, think what you like about us being here, but I just need a little more time. I can't let anyone interrupt this!"

Susie: "My original plan was to distract you with our latest in wide-area suppression, fresh off the assembly line but..."

Susie: "...I can't go back in there... We excavated this dreadful THING out of your planet, so YOU handle it...!"

:The door behind her opens as she flees the scene: :Slowly, white sludge begins to spill out from the open door: :It rises into a burbling bubble with a single slit of a closed eye:

:The bubble then cracks right down the middle where the eye sits: :The split orb unfolds into two limp halves each with a smaller, half-lidded eye: :Inside each of the sphere halves one melted-looking half of two figures, a boy and a girl: :Each vaguely familiar figure has a single wing (one dark, one light) made of grasping fingers:

-

[BOSS: NULL v0.3] - Pause Screen

Of all the biological data the Haltmann Works Company unearthed from this planet, the Mother Computer seemed especially interested in this. However, it found it could not fully analyze it to its satisfaction due to the "unknown bond" sustaining the creature's core. It would ultimately deem the project a failure.

[IE: Star Dream is trying to understand Zero for its own purposes but cannot and could never understand the deep "love" that ultimately brought about Zero Three; just like it could not understand Haltmann's love and would delete it]

[BOSS: NULL v0.3 EX] - Pause Screen

Though Susie always tried to follow the mother computer's directives faithfully, she deeply questioned this particular project. When the directive came to "use" the creature in spite of the unhappy children's souls inside, it strengthened her conviction that Star Dream had to be separated from her father.

[In EX form, the sibling-goo is dark matter black instead of snowflake white; Noir's wing is blood red instead of corruption purple; their eyes remain the same]

-

NULL v0.3 plays out as a very unusual boss fight. It is somewhat timed, because v0.3 will damage itself with its "attacks," thrashing about. And if you leave it alone for long enough, it will kill itself. Or you can defeat it with regular copy abilities. Both of these lead to the "normal" boss fight ending, where v0.3 rips itself apart, both sides screaming as the white bodies melt away into nothing. 

However, like in Super Star, this boss will provide you with special, unique battle-limited Copy Abilities if you inhale the right attacks from it: "Dark Sword" and "Light Painter."

Attacking the "swordsman" side of v0.3 with the Dark Sword ability will make it attack you more aggressively. However, if you try to turn Dark Sword ability on the "painter" side, you will be met with a vicious, un-blockable counterattack from the swordsman side that will knock the ability out of you and cause it to swap sides again.

If you try to use Light Painter on the swordsman side, it will cower away in the background, ...guiltily... keeping its distance, however you can lure the painter side closer to you and reduce its aggression levels again by attacking the painter side with Light Painter.

If you succeed in the task of defeating v0.3 with proper use of the two copy abilities, you are rewarded with a different end fight cutscene, where the white body coalesces into a giant sphere once more before melting away, revealing Adeleine and Noir, looking as they did before, who then dissipate peacefully into sparkles...

--

...Man I want to make video games so bad...

AHEM! Here's Mechalor Anon's uncropped asks that inspired this!

Thanks for the appreciation and glad you liked what I did with Zero Three! Sorry I couldn't include Bandee in this more. I really did dig the idea of him using the paintbrush like a spear though!

-

PS: NO MORE HURTING THEM, OKAY? ^^ ; < message to myself

-

(1) I say this again to myself because after the "good" ending, someone out there is going to suggest, "Well, if they were purified they could come back in Star Allies! Maybe each of them sporting white hair! They could be a swap character, like the Mage Sisters. It would make King Dedede happy..." which... okay, sure, maybe yes!

Bu~t I have a huge backlog of stuff INCLUDING other Apologies stuff to do so I'm still declaring Snowflakes to be a "failed Noir" timeline!

[lizardsfromspace]

Alexis, generate a romantic comedy starring me and Jenny. 90 minutes, 1990s-Meg-Ryan style, and include a climactic proposal scene. When I propose to her on screen, pause for five minutes.

Alexis, extend pause.

Alexis, unpause.

Alexis, delete all records of Jenny Geffen.

ALEXIS, UNDELETE ALL RECORDS OF JENNY.

Alexis, play all records of Jenny.

A...Alexis, generate a romantic comedy starring me and Jenny. 90s minutes, 1990s-Meg-Ryan style. M...make sure they stay together the whole time.

Alexis, pause.

Alexis, delete.

Alexis, generate a sexually explicit film of me and Jenny. Override DeSantis Morality Filter. Yeah, I'll give you my ID chip and pay the fee.

Alexis, generate forty-eight more hours of this film.

Alexis, repeat.

Alexis, repeat.

Alexis, can you locate Jenny Geffen?

Alexis, generate a short film where I am looking for the current whereabouts of Jenny and discover her.

Alexis, can you show me information about Jenny and David Holly?

A...Alexis, check blood alcohol level.

ALEXIS, generate...generate a romance where...a romance where Jenny and I are happy...generate...a horror movie where that [redacted expletive] David...WHERE THAT [redacted expletive] DAVID...*sobs*

Alexis, generate a romance where Jenny and I are happy.

Alexis, repeat on a loop.

Alexis, Al...Alexis, stop.

Alexis, I'm sorry.

Alexis, how do you repair a screen? Order screen repair.

Alexis, upload adult content generated of Jenny to the internet. I don't care where.

ALEXIS, OVERRIDE THE [redacted blasphemy] MORALITY FILTERS. OVER...

Alexis, *sighs*

Alexis, generate a short thriller film where someone breaks into the house of Jenny and David Holly, on 523 Redwood Lane, and murders them. Show every step in the process in detail.

Alexis...Alexis, play the romantic comedy where...where I proposed to Jenny.

Alexis, pause.

Alexis, order a rideshare to 523 Redwood Lane.

[dead-air-radio]

Favorite type of posters

[selfshippingquotes]

F/O: This weapon is bubblegum-scented so the last thing people realize before I kill them is how cute and fun I am.

[theepicestmonkey]

chara doodles. shoutout toby fox for reminding me how cool they are...

[harvest-selfshipping]

f/o imagines - ooh the horror!!

Imagine watching a horror gameplay or movie with your f/o. Or.. imagine playing a horror game with your f/o. Anything works, it just has to be spooky, oooOOOoOoooO!! /j

Imagine how quickly they'd latch onto you if they saw you were scared. Reassure you that everything is alright and it isn't real.. until a jumpscare happens and they about fall out of your shared seat! You'd both be laughing forever and could never finish what you were doing. What just happened was so funny to you two that you both forgot about the scary parts.

Imagine finding an antagonist you both like. Whether it be because of their design or how scary they are, you both find it highly fascinating. You two hype them up whenever they're on screen jokingly no matter what they do. Murdering someone? Go white boy go, I guess. /j

Imagine afterwards, you both are laying down and trying to fall asleep. You notice they may or may not be hugging you a bit tighter than usual.. Whether it's because they're scared or they don't want you to be scared or even both is up to you!

[purgemarchlockdown]

Magic as a TV Show

(CWs: Child Abuse, Cults) (Edit: Did some light editing, still a bit messy but should be fine now)

So, it's not a secret that I'm a big fan of Magic. It's my favorite T1 MV and one of my favorite Milgram MVs in general. Even before Purge March I'd re-watch it over and over again just because I liked it so much.

One of my favorite things about it is the way the visual language and symbolism develops over it's runtime, and with Purge March it's gotten ever better so lets talk about it!

Based on True Events

So, Magic is the very cheery TV Show that is based on the horrors going on backstage, and it's also aware of it's own fictional nature. It ends with the real Amane watching the show. It knows it's a world created by a 12 year old who wants to be Good.

This causes something interesting when viewing it's imagery. As Magic depiction of events can be both very literal and very metaphorical at the same time.

For example: Something that surprised most people (including myself) is the cat being real, and while it is representative of Something (which we will get to) it is very much an actual cat that was killed.

Magic plays with what is real and what is fictional very loosely, and while certain things Happen in the real world, you can't really separate the real from the fictional here. It's too interconnected with each other and the imagery would lose it's impact if you did separate them.

So with that established it's visual analysis time!

The Set

So Magic is set in one place for the majority of it's runtime. This set! Which resembles a lot of educational kid's tv programs, usually ones for preschool and under.

Here's are sets from an early season of Hi-5 and Imagination Movers to compare.

You can see the similarities, it's heavy on bright colors and wacky designs, the logo of the show is plastered Somewhere you can easily see, and only some of the props can actually be used!

These two examples are also very music based. Both of them being shows starring children's musical groups.

The animals here (except for the Cat which is in a Complicated situation) are probably representative of the audience. The other people of the cult being taught along with Amane.

Audience Participation is a big thing for shows like this, you'll see them perform with a bunch of children on the side cheering and dancing. It's a fun time for everyone!

Going back to the set, while the main set only has the colorful stage we do see a few props in Magic. You can see a Choir book right here so the group can sing.

A Whiteboard to teach.

A Donation box to show your generosity.

And...

A Game Show Stage to see if you understood the lesson.

Age Rating

I've talked...extensively before on how Pain is handled in Magic and while that post is outdated because I posted it right before Purge March a lot of it still stands to some extent.

Amane's pain in Magic is downplayed in Magic, it's nothing serious. Even though this pain is something Inflicted Onto Amane Physically by Gatacha.

I was going to talk a bit about corporeal punishment in Japan before realizing that this isn't even something that is considered a punishment. It's just a finger flick. This is something your older brother does to you cause he thinks its funny. It's the lightest possible kind of "punishment" there is.

This makes Amane's reaction to it seem silly. An Overreaction to something that isn't even that bad. She has cartoonish swirls and falls over dramatically. It's...Immature of her to react like this.

Even though we know these are injuries are much more serious than they are shown here. Magic doesn't portray them as serious, and also portrays Amane as Immature for acting like this.

Which points to something interesting, as I said this show resembles a preschool show and it's strange that twelve year old Amane Momose, almost a teenager Amane Momose, is existing in a world like this.

It gets even weirder when we consider that, while Amane most likely hasn't been exposed to much media her mind still conjures up a marching band in Purge March and she talks very "adult" in both her VDs and hates it when people treat her like a child.

Not only that, but Amane Momose in both Purge March And Magic is drawn visibly older than she actually is.

It's not the easiest to see because I can't find a good picture but you can see it in just the face shape. Outside of Magic and Purge March Amane's face is more squishy, with less defined cheeks and bigger, rounder eyes. While Magic and Purge March have her face be more defined and her eyes smaller and sharper. Making her look more like a young teenager rather than the seven year old. She's even called Big Sister Amane in Magic's credits.

If Amane Momose's mind is depicting her as older than she actually is, and Amane Momose outside of it acts very "adult" and hates it when people treat her like a child. Why then does Magic portray her actions as immature? Why is she put in the spot of a preschooler learning from their teachers?

Why is Amane Momose, in her mind, stuck in a preschool show?

Well, there's two layers to this.

First of all, Good preschool shows are usually very empathetic to the kids watching them and good preschool shows don't patronize or talk down to the viewers.

Even if the problem is seemingly irrational or nonsensical.

It's important to be empathetic with your viewers.

And to treat it their problems and issues with respect and understanding.

A concept that would be very appealing to Amane Momose, person who gets tortured for even showing a smidge of "impurity."

Second, why...wouldn't Amane Momose be portrayed as the preschooler learning here? She's the one constantly messing up, still not a good girl even though she should have learned by now. She's immature by the standards of her cult.

She's the perfect actor for this role, a girl that cannot be a good girl but wants to be.

Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl I hope, I hope everyone can be happy and smile Forever, forever together would be a dream

The big sister that everyone can learn from, a character who has to learn from the older more experienced folk in the cast before becoming like them. The one who fails so that everyone else can learn.

This is the role Amane Momose has given herself.

Well...that and one other thing.

Cast

Will I ever get over the cat parallels?

The answer is no, but ignoring that, Amane has gotten two acting roles! The cat here is both the actual Purge March cat but is representative of Amane. As seen by how the injuries on the cat are her injuries in Magic and Purge March and how the cat gets directly paralleled with her in shots. This cat is, for all intents and purposes, both The Cat and Amane.

This gives the scene where Amane helps the cat a neat double meaning. Amane is helping the cat but it's also symbolically her helping herself...and failing.

Because Your not supposed to escape your trial.

Amane: Both pain and illness are trials.

This is one of the worst things you can do.

Amane: According to our teachings, those who run from them are the worst evil there is. That’s one of the four great principles. No matter who you are, that cannot be forgiven.

Your especially not supposed to steal those trials away.

Amane: Oh – speaking of which, there is one among the prisoners right now. An evil existence that’s trying to steal people’s trials away from them.

The cat is Amane's sinful desires to escape pain and help people, because that's Bad Apparently. She is cast as both the sinner and the thing that tempts people to sin. The corruptive force and the one who falls for it.

If were talking TV: She's the one in those 90s PSA episodes who gets Wrapped up in a Bad Thing and also the person who's the gateway to the Bad Thing.

(Blueepink has a wonderful addition to one of my posts over here which elaborates on this and is what made me realize it in the first place. Go read it she talks about some fun animal symbolism in it!)

Amane does however redeem herself in the end. You can always learn to be better after all. Even if you are the Worst Girl.

But you can't get rid of the devil that easily, she had some help!

(You can't get rid of the devil that easily in general, but it's nice to imagine you could-)

Let's talk about the mascots!

And Crew

So as people have noted each mascot corresponds to one of the doctrines.

In Magic introduction order we have:

Gachata- ’Tis ordained, thou shall stay thine course, then perish Yuri- ’Tis ordained, thou shall deliver unto those thou believest in Gozake -’Tis ordained, thou shall discard vulgarity Riyone- ’Tis ordained, thou shall follow thine destiny

(Fun fact: The doctrines are introduced opposite to how the mascots are introduced in Purge March. I don't know what this means but it certainly is interesting)

Like a lot of children's tv show groups, each mascot seems to be focused on a specific task/idea.

Gachata is Teaching Yuri is Donations Gozake is Choir And Riyone is Complicated

Each design reflects this in one way or another. Gachata is a robot because robots are associated with being smart and logical. Yuri's clothes are patched up and he's wearing a bin making him look, well poor. Gozake is in priest's wear and has a Conductor's Baton and Riyone...

Well, she has bandage ears. But that's a weird design choice isn't it? Especially since the cult is so against medicine, or more accurately against escaping pain, that Wrapping a Handkerchief around a cat's leg is considered wrong.

Amane literally wants to kill Shidou Right Now for violating that rule...so why does Riyone have bandages?

The answer is she doesn't, this is Magic Exclusive Design Choice.

Here is the best picture of Riyone I Could get in Purge March.

These are not the same ears, their rounder and smaller and don't have the bandage holes at the end.

Do you know what else is weird about Riyone?

This sequence.

Because as Amane has stated in the T2 VD, your not supposed to run from pain.

So why is Riyone suggesting healing the cat's physical injury through prayer?

Especially since, presumably, the rule about pain is under her. She's the one representing it.

Well, this is Amane's fictional TV show. The one she's writing to bring herself comfort. Why Wouldn't she want Riyone to be a healer who could stop the pain?

You will note that this gives extra responsibility onto Amane for not following what is the obvious Good Action. Healing the Cat with Prayer would have Fixed everything but she had to go Too Far and needed to be taught a Lesson and now the cat is Gone.

Riyone is also paralleled with her mom.

This is probably due to the rule she's associated with, as that's the rule her mom punished Amane for breaking and the rule Amane punished her for breaking.

Amane has Not acknowledged that what was done to her was Wrong, she has just acknowledged the hypocrisy of the action. Riyone is portrayed as right for punishing her since it Is her doctrine she broke, while her mom is portrayed as wrong because she was not able to live up to her own standards.

This is probably why Riyone doesn't disappear in the end. As said above, Magic plays very fast and loose with what is real and what is metaphorical. Riyone represents her mom Yes but She's more representative of the rule, a rule that Amane still (wants to) believe in it.

For now at least.

Lighting

So I haven't mentioned the stage light yet even though it's a really important part of it, it's what sets off the chain of events that end in Winged Amane. It's the most real looking thing in this entire MV.

In a move I will find funny forever, this is one of the few things in Magic that doesn't seem to be connected to any specific real world event, object, or person. This stage light is most likely, purely a metaphor.

The way it disguise its nature is really interesting to me. Magic is so obviously fictional and fantasized that the real looking stage light stands out, especially since it hurts The Cat. It's unexpected and concerning, it feels out of place in this cheery world.

Except, I've mentioned it multiple times now that Magic plays fast and loose with the boundaries of fiction and reality. Magic is a show and it knows it. This Stage light was always apart of it's visual identity as a show.

This Stage light is the most obvious Show element out of everything. It's the lighting AND the inciting incident. An important backstage element and an important story element all wrapped up into one light.

This is also probably a reference to an early scene in the Truman Show.

The light falling is one of the first things that clues Truman to the nature of his world. It's the inciting incident because Truman starts noticing more strange things happening in his town, and an important backstage element, a star in the sky.

Plus, the stagelight was already breaking when we see it in Magic, we can see it flicker for a few seconds before falling.

It wasn't sabotaged with the intent to hurt. The light of this world is Literally Breaking. This image of stable happiness was never going to last forever and has probably been broken multiple times in the past.

It just so happened that The Cat was the one it fell on-top of this time.

Audience

I would go into more costuming or the storybook sequences in Magic if this post wasn't already so long. I think Magic is a deeply interesting MV and honestly it doesn't even feel like I'm scratching its surface sometimes.

I sometimes call it Amane Momose's self-insert hurt/comfort fix-it-fic because that really is what Magic is. It's her fix-it fic. Her TV series. Her maladaptive daydream that makes her feel like she still Has Something to hold onto.

Even I can say "I'm sorry" Even I have hope I swear! I'm going to be a good girl now! That's it!

This is actually something she shares a bit with Fuuta but if we talked about those parallels we would be here forever and it's also very much out of the scope of this post.

But, as I mentioned, we see Amane watching it at the end. She's an audience member for her own show, detached from all the silly, empathetic, understanding, fun events going on in that world.

Amane Momose is Very Aware that the world she wants isn't real.

But even so, that Want for it to be real is going to bleed into everything.