Subsumption (PMMM Faux-Quest) (Witch MC)
- Location
- America
Because she can't get high enough to discourage magical girls from trying (and succeeding).
And if she managed to get to Space, the Magical Girl Space Program would bother her alongside Alien Magical Girls
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Embarrassed to admit I forgot entirely about Kirika's slow ability and thought this was just the girls talking fast until I went to check wikis on her. TBF it's been a long time since I picked up a new fic in this fandom.
MG Kirika doesn't guarantee MG Oriko. Though the ease with which she found the witch does suggest precog support.
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Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
It would discourage most of them if they don't have the skills to reach that high up.
She's still close to Mami's territory, who already proved to be willing though.
And she can't predict which magical girls will be able to go in the sky, whereas going in a rich estate is more sure to make them hesitate.
Flairina
Least Omnipotent Goddess
- Location
- The next infinity over
...come on guys, it's right there in the author's note; no need to posit it's a fake out when I literally said as much. :-/ I'll grant, this was originally going to be an actual fake out ending, with the refutation in invisitext rather than plaintext, but I kind of figured that given the update schedule this fic has been on, readers might worry I was being serious, so I made sure to add a note to the contrary. However, this does still require actually reading the author's note, so... maybe consider that in the future? ^^;
This is an actual chapter. A bad end would be filed under sidestory, and be labeled as much in the threadmark itself.
Wouldn't call her little miss red given she's more little miss reduces-you-to-red, but close enough I suppose. As an answer:
If you know anything at all about Oriko, or even just give her wiki page a quick glance, I imagine you can likely figure out the reason.
Good news, you're basically there already! Tira lives maybe a minute's drive into Kazamino from Mitakihara, whereas Oriko's house is essentially right on the border between Mitakihara and Kazamino! They're practically neighbors!
Sorry, but that is how assassination attempts generally tend to work. The successful ones, anyways. 🔪
Fortunately, this is not a quest, so I do not have to always construct the narrative in such a way that Ashtaroth knows about everything before it happens — that's Oriko's job.
You'll be getting more context for this event shortly, I assure you.I mean, if you were a seer informing your personal assistant/assassin how to go about a job... wouldn't you? 🔮
Honestly, at this point I wouldn't even define Ashtaroth as weak — maybe not much above average in terms of combat skill, but certainly not weak. However, this fight was stacked against her from the start — though, even excluding external factors, Kirika is extremely deadly in a one on one fight, and had arguably the perfect kind of weapon to fight Ashtaroth, so I wouldn't have put the odds in Ash's favor anyways.
(Kirika be scary as hell. @~@)
I believe my commentary in that regard was about trying to figure out where Oriko actually lived given somewhat conflicting information? That might have been discussed too though, because yes, she is a bit of a pain to work around... at least when she, herself, is around. The fact that I made mention of her that far back should tell you just how long I've had this plot point in mind though.
Shemesh probably would have a much better match up against Kirika, owing to him taking claw attacks a lot better than Ashtaroth does (while Ash takes bullets and the like better in turn). Wouldn't recommend trapping him indoors if you want to give him the best chances though.
I wouldn't worry about that.
(Next chapter is already done.)Thanks! You'll see it soon! (OuO)b
She is indeed doing almost paradoxically better after the previous night's explosive conclusion. Whether this is a culmination of thoughts she'd already been having after talking with Tira last interlude, a result of Kyubey saying these things and her going "Wait a sec, why would I want to listen to/agree with the jerk that tricked me into this in the first place, let alone keep putting myself down the same way?", and/or simply her literally getting all that negativity out at once, I will leave up to you to interpret.
No comment, other than if you're interpreting that correctly, that would imply Ashtaroth's wish is ongoing even now, or hasn't already come true, at least from her perspective.
Yes, it's time for this fic's real best character to take center stage! Ribbon Quest GO! 🎀
While obviously we don't have much to go on regarding Oriko and Kirika's motivation, I think it's pretty telling that this happened riiiiight after Ash started to leave for Asunaro. Wonder what the balance is between Oriko sniping our book-shaped butterfly before it leaves the city where she can most easily affect events just because we later grow into too much of an unexpected variable, vs doing so in order to outright prevent a Bad End - the Saints' situation is a whole mess of unusual powers and circumstances, I could definitely see Ash blundering into the middle of that and cascading into doing/becoming something that spells bad news for everyone including herself.
...though also, looking past the minor and barely-noticeable details like 'painful death' or 'the inherent existential horrors of iterative timelines', if this trend continues I can't help but imagine it as akin to Oriko (and her notfuture selves) spritzing an unruly pet with a spraybottle.
Ashtaroth: Alright girls, time to head to Asunaro!
*gets Kirika'd*
Ashtaroth: ...G-gah! I... am okay! That was weird, but thank god for timeloops. Alright, that's still our best lead, so onward to Asunar-
*gets Kirika'd*
Ashtaroth: ...Ugh, for fuck's sake. Could've sworn she was in a different spot last time. Onward to Asu-?
*Kirika'd*
Ashtaroth: ...
Ashtaroth: ...Asunaro.
*Kirika'd once again, who'd've thunk*
Ashtaroth: ...Y'know maybe we should shelve those travel plans for the moment.
Ashtaroth may want to consider shelving travel plans for a bit regardless — these past few days have been stressful enough to warrant a vacation all on their own.
That's not fanon. Charlotte's seed was found at the hospital in canon, but "hatched" into a full witch by the time Mami got there. Given what we later learn about how witches come to be, the only way this is actually possible is if she was rehatching, barring wild guesses about familiars becoming seeds first rather than immediately transitioning to witch-hood, or witches being able to re-enter seed form at will (which would be contradicted by Charlotte taking so much time to reform).
Because she can't get high enough to discourage magical girls from trying (and succeeding).
And if she managed to get to Space, the Magical Girl Space Program would bother her alongside Alien Magical Girls
Because she keeps trying that, and it keeps *not working*. Somehow Ashtaroth has managed to come across every magical girl capable of flight (Tira, Hirako), platforming in midair (Sayaka, Homura through timestopped wooden boards), or otherwise (Mami through ribbons + requisitioning Tira's help) in multiple cities now, and so decided to try relying on more solid/social obstacles this time. Which would probably have even worked, had this specific magical girl not come after her.
I got a mental image here that I wanted to see on screen, so here's a silly MS Paint doodle of Ashtaroth stretching her ribbons way out in the shape of a forklift to pick up a crate of Tira's stuff on a forklift pallet:
Pfffffft-
Threadmarked. XD
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No, she isn't. The true reason Oriko decided to absolutely annihilate Ashataroth (i.e. carry out capital punishment through Kirikation) is because it is a legal penalty for operating a forklift without certification.
- Location
- Online
Thank you for clearing that up.
You joke (...i think) but a Witch Mami Quest would be interesting, and for a lot of reasons. First off just exploring Mami is as a character, both the parts that manifest as her Witch self, her realization of the Magical Girl System, and just in general would be interesting. Second is the fact unlike other Quests involving this kind of plot not only is it a canon character, but one we and the canon cast all know already pretty well(...well all but two but...you know what i mean), which makes a fic with a different flavor and opens up many possibilities. Lastly there's the fact Mami is a veteran, and therefor very skilled, who's Witch form does work with similar powers to her Magical Girl ones; while she will have to relearn how to fight, even more with her new body being way smaller then even Yuna(...Yuma?), she would be a lot more capable then either Ash or Roch. Add in something like her Witch body can act like her Soul Gem and allow her to control her Human body and you got a decent fic i think.
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I am pretty sure there is a Candeloro quest or fic somewhere on this site.
Can't be sure though, but I have vague memories of something like that.
Huh, that will be useful for looting stuff.
Looks like Candeloro has some form of telepathic connection to her Familiars. Or they instinctively feel if a guest arrives, making ambushes against Candeloro impossible.
I mean, there's the Canvas and we have yet to experiment with the space portals.
Great, now Ashy just needs to raid a few shops for generators and other survival supplies.
Hmm, I think there never was a test to see how the Barrier would interact with water? Hiding in the ocean or the bottom of a river might work? Might be possible to run a generator via waterwheels and portals...
Orange-gold would fit Candeloro but... The rooms color-themed around Tira and Sayaka?
Ha, I predicted that this would work as a distraction for Sayaka!
Now that I think about it, Kanna Hijiri's reaction to Ashy and co could be pretty extreme. She has a big complex about being artificial and relates to Kazumi due to her also being an 'artificial' Grief being. If she interprets Tira and Sayaka as Familiars and thus 'artificial' she might latch on to them.
Hell, in that case, she might try to feed all Pleiads to Ashy in an attempt to replace them with 'artificial' versions that are like her.
...We probably should avoid meeting Mami or anyone from that area during this loop. Tira probably would take it badly if she found out what will probably happen to her version in this loop.
Kirika? Did we stumble into an Oriko timeline?
Yeah, would need an AOE attack like Tearful Storm. Or have Shemesh show up. Turning the light off should also work against her, doesn't matter if you slow down if nobody can see shit.
Yeah, sounds like Oriko predicted a lot. I wonder if she predicted the aftermath too(potentially two or three Witches spawning on top of Kirika, effectively writing off this timeline) or if that was too far in Grief cost.
Ashy probably should start having always someone stored in Novella. Or find a way to reliably summon Shemesh.
That's just begging to be eaten by Novella. It's just a slightly differently angled Sayaka situation.
I fully expect Ashy's Witchstincts to run amok now. That or we get a smash cut to the next timeline, due to being dragged along by Homura. Either way, I expect Kirika to have a bad time with the other Witches that are still around.
In retrospect, I think the only reason Oriko send Kirika after Ashy was that Kanna Hijiri's reaction could lead to a fusion between Ashy and Hyades Daybreak, accidentally creating a planetary class Witch. A slapdash version of Hyades was on a similar level to Walpurgis, if you throw a proper subsumption ability into that...
Success doesn't necessarily mean the assassin gets away clean, just that the target is dead. I think Oriko wouldn't want to send Kirika on a suicide mission but if the alternative is a boosted Hyades Daybreak...
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jenalysis
Midnight Weather Witch
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ashy needs to subsume Forklift Driver Klaus, who is certified.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psAWGv5O7Zs
With regards to the end of the chapter, there are a number of directions this can now go. Kirika appears to have been sent to take out Ashtaroth, and appears to have succeeded, but as we have learned from previous skirmishes, things are never as simple as they seem. For starters, Shemesh is still out there, and will likely defend his mistress, and possibly the veritable army of other familiars in the labyrinth as well. We know that Ashtaroth screamed through Sayaka and Tira, but we don't know that either of them was disabled by Ashtaroth being brought down. It's also possible that Ashtaroth got lucky and Kirika did indeed hit one of her false bodies, or that Tome will simply slam shut on the murder hobo. Regardless, I'm eagerly looking forward to the next chapter.
There could be another alternative, playing into the "bad end but not truly" angle. What is the subjective experience for a witch being defeated and turned into a grief seed? I don't think PMMM has a concrete answer, even though the common interpretation would be that they go to sleep. And would being a sentient witch make any difference to that? In any case, grief seeds are never depicted as destroyed altogether, only handed off to Kyubey for god knows what.
So if Oriko's goal was to "kill" Ashtaroth, that leaves either keeping the grief seed and trying to ensure it doesn't rehatch, or giving it to Kyubey. Either could lead into a future revival, whether as part of Oriko's grander scheme or a backfire of her plan, a punishment from fate that sometimes gets handed out in stories to people who see the future.
That would leave a lot of the other denizens in Ashtaroth's labyrinth unaccounted for, so it seems unlikely but interesting to think about.
So if Oriko's goal was to "kill" Ashtaroth, that leaves either keeping the grief seed and trying to ensure it doesn't rehatch, or giving it to Kyubey. Either could lead into a future revival, whether as part of Oriko's grander scheme or a backfire of her plan, a punishment from fate that sometimes gets handed out in stories to people who see the future.
That would leave a lot of the other denizens in Ashtaroth's labyrinth unaccounted for, so it seems unlikely but interesting to think about.
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Huh, he didn't show up at any point, despite his duty being to champion. "Dedicated and loyal, he defends the actions of the witch from others." as his Novella entry puts it. He should have reacted to the direct attack on Ashy.
Maybe he saw Kirika as he sees himself in relation to Ashy? Just an extension of the actual attacker, which means he might have wandered off to smash Oriko's face in. There's a good chance that would surprise Oriko, given that she was apparently focused on the Kirika vs Ashy fight.
Either option would require getting the Grief Seed to her, which heavily depends on what will happen with the other Witches. We know their Grief storage is independent of Ashy if they aren't subsumed, so I give it good odds that Kirika just falls into another Labyrinth after Ashy's "death".
Kirika has two ribbon-like pieces of cloth around her waist, if she falls into Candeloro's Labyrinth she's pretty screwed.
Just wanna say I appreciate that you take the effort to respond to so much...come on guys, it's right there in the author's note; no need to posit it's a fake out when I literally said as much. :-/ I'll grant, this was originally going to be an actual fake out ending, with the refutation in invisitext rather than plaintext, but I kind of figured that given the update schedule this fic has been on, readers might worry I was being serious, so I made sure to add a note to the contrary. However, this does still require actually reading the author's note, so... maybe consider that in the future? ^^;
This is an actual chapter. A bad end would be filed under sidestory, and be labeled as much in the threadmark itself.
Wouldn't call her little miss red given she's more little miss reduces-you-to-red, but close enough I suppose. As an answer:
If you know anything at all about Oriko, or even just give her wiki page a quick glance, I imagine you can likely figure out the reason.
Good news, you're basically there already! Tira lives maybe a minute's drive into Kazamino from Mitakihara, whereas Oriko's house is essentially right on the border between Mitakihara and Kazamino! They're practically neighbors!
Sorry, but that is how assassination attempts generally tend to work. The successful ones, anyways. 🔪
Fortunately, this is not a quest, so I do not have to always construct the narrative in such a way that Ashtaroth knows about everything before it happens — that's Oriko's job.
I mean, if you were a seer informing your personal assistant/assassin how to go about a job... wouldn't you? 🔮
Honestly, at this point I wouldn't even define Ashtaroth as weak — maybe not much above average in terms of combat skill, but certainly not weak. However, this fight was stacked against her from the start — though, even excluding external factors, Kirika is extremely deadly in a one on one fight, and had arguably the perfect kind of weapon to fight Ashtaroth, so I wouldn't have put the odds in Ash's favor anyways.
(Kirika be scary as hell. @~@)
I believe my commentary in that regard was about trying to figure out where Oriko actually lived given somewhat conflicting information? That might have been discussed too though, because yes, she is a bit of a pain to work around... at least when she, herself, is around. The fact that I made mention of her that far back should tell you just how long I've had this plot point in mind though.
Shemesh probably would have a much better match up against Kirika, owing to him taking claw attacks a lot better than Ashtaroth does (while Ash takes bullets and the like better in turn). Wouldn't recommend trapping him indoors if you want to give him the best chances though.
I wouldn't worry about that.
Thanks! You'll see it soon! (OuO)b
She is indeed doing almost paradoxically better after the previous night's explosive conclusion. Whether this is a culmination of thoughts she'd already been having after talking with Tira last interlude, a result of Kyubey saying these things and her going "Wait a sec, why would I want to listen to/agree with the jerk that tricked me into this in the first place, let alone keep putting myself down the same way?", and/or simply her literally getting all that negativity out at once, I will leave up to you to interpret.
No comment, other than if you're interpreting that correctly, that would imply Ashtaroth's wish is ongoing even now, or hasn't already come true, at least from her perspective.
Yes, it's time for this fic's real best character to take center stage! Ribbon Quest GO! 🎀
Ashtaroth may want to consider shelving travel plans for a bit regardless — these past few days have been stressful enough to warrant a vacation all on their own.
That's not fanon. Charlotte's seed was found at the hospital in canon, but "hatched" into a full witch by the time Mami got there. Given what we later learn about how witches come to be, the only way this is actually possible is if she was rehatching, barring wild guesses about familiars becoming seeds first rather than immediately transitioning to witch-hood, or witches being able to re-enter seed form at will (which would be contradicted by Charlotte taking so much time to reform).
Because she keeps trying that, and it keeps *not working*. Somehow Ashtaroth has managed to come across every magical girl capable of flight (Tira, Hirako), platforming in midair (Sayaka, Homura through timestopped wooden boards), or otherwise (Mami through ribbons + requisitioning Tira's help) in multiple cities now, and so decided to try relying on more solid/social obstacles this time. Which would probably have even worked, had this specific magical girl not come after her.
Pfffffft-
Threadmarked. XD
Damn, that's one mean cliffhanger. Of course, how much is written can't be helped, but now we have to deal with suspense for a long ti-
Ah. I see. So you just letting us steam in suspense and hype ourself up. Delightfully devilish, Flairina.
Anyway, considering that: previous timeline, before Ashy subsumed everything up, was supposed to be the one where Madoka makes "no witch" wish, which means Oriko's timeline already played out and our little magical time lord had all the reasons to deal with oracle-to-be and her lackey before they cause any trouble to her again - here comes my question:
Would you like a toast? Why magical girl Oriko is a thing that exist in this timeline?
I wouldn't worry about that.
Ah. I see. So you just letting us steam in suspense and hype ourself up. Delightfully devilish, Flairina.
Anyway, considering that: previous timeline, before Ashy subsumed everything up, was supposed to be the one where Madoka makes "no witch" wish, which means Oriko's timeline already played out and our little magical time lord had all the reasons to deal with oracle-to-be and her lackey before they cause any trouble to her again - here comes my question:
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- Pronouns
- She
Maybe Homura hasn't gotten to offing her and Kirika off yet? Homura's loop begins with her still in the hospital, and she has to discharge herself and enroll to Mitakihara Middle first.
If the events of the past loop rattled her badly enough, she may have considered letting some other variables she'd normally deal with early go on for a little longer to collect information about this new aberrant Witch. In fact, maybe that's why Oriko's at play here, possibility of Kyubey wanting to cut-off a Puella-controlling Witch early before she amasses an army aside.
Oriko hasn't always targeted Madoka. I think there are timelines where she prepares against Walpurgisnacht, until (I think) Kriemhild Gretchen eclipses her in power.
If Ash scales as high as we suspect she will; it's possible that Oriko could put her higher in the 'destroy before she destroys the world' list.
After all, Madoka has to make a contract first before she can Witch out and become a global threat, but Ashtaroth is already a Witch.
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Homura's loop begins 10 days prior to Ashy's (16th Homu wakes up in hospital, 26th Ahsy turns into witch), so theoretically she had enough time to calm down and get back to old routine. But yeah, I can accept the idea that being almost killed by some random witch rattled Himuhomu enough that she decided to focus this loop on information gathering.
Althou, I don't think that Kyubey is behind Oriko's actions. It seems too interested in nature of Ashy as aberration to act against her for now. And it's not like Oriko needs any additional prodding to go on a warpath, it's all probably purely her initiative.
....that's fair.
By any means, please keep questioning! That way you can start tapping the weird kind of logic that, say, allowed Mami make muskets out of ribbons.
Ok, now I believe Sayaka is fine.
I'm not worried about Ashtaroth's story ending just yet, but it's going to be very disappointing if this ends up "killing"* Sayaka or Tira.
Worst part is the your writing timeline. Not blaming you but noting that, since it takes a lot of your time writing, it may be long before we see the continuation. Yeah, I read your spoilered message later, but that was my line of thought just after reading the update
*meaning not only dead/witched out like Mami, but also counting written out of the story like Hitomi and even Madoka
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Flairina
Least Omnipotent Goddess
- Location
- The next infinity over
Not going to comment on what Homura might or might not be occupied with, but I do want to note that the idea that Homura has been killing Kirika and Oriko every line since they first showed up is fanon in the first place. While it's an idea that one can very easily justify (and may even still be true in this story), the original Oriko timeline was explicitly an anomaly, not something that would necessarily happen every single timeline subsequent that Homura therefore has to repeatedly murder the pair for.
Oriko:
Are you perhaps thinking of Invitation Quest?
Aww yeah, time to modernize. We're gonna turn this barrier from a living space into a home. A community with all the amenities you could ever want, complete with unique wildlife seen nowhere else on Earth and a gorgeous view! Why would you ever want to live anywhere else?
Correct! Aren't the Du Polignac swell?
I'm not sure if you mean the ones hanging from her coat or the ones crossed over her chest (neither of which are around her waist), but I'm afraid that either way those are belts, not ribbons. Kirika won't be detained quite that easily.
While not a bad idea, I'm not sure either of the girls would take being held in reserve like Pokemon very well.
If Kirika was more injured, Ash's witchstincts may very well have risen right to that solution — but it's also questionable if Novella could be lifted in time, physically or mentally, to beat Kirika's "accelerated" drop, given it would have to be lifted all the way over what amounts to her neck.
Should be an interesting meeting, to be sure — well, assuming Ashtaroth ever actually gets to Asunaro, which isn't looking likely at the moment. ^^;
Can't speak on them, but I'm quite enjoying looking over the various theories here!
Now for some older comments!
Surprise! Turns out the housing decision actually had immediate consequences! If they'd set everything up in the grasslands/yard, Sayaka and Tira could almost certainly have intercepted Kirika mid-way — but they didn't, and so we proceed in this direction instead.
Ashtaroth certainly would've liked that before Kyubey showed up and rained on everyone's parade. Now, sadly, priorities have shifted, and so Cecil (if she's still alive) will likely be left in the dust, and have to be content with naught but a flashback.
...well, assuming she doesn't seek out Ashtaroth herself, that is.
At the moment? Ashtaroth already intended to avoid Mitakihara like the plague, and is unlikely to believe Madoka is worth working around Mami/Homura to get in contact with again, unlimited potential or no. This is especially so given the main reason Madoka would presumably care to make a wish for Ashtaroth's benefit (Sayaka) is also now no longer her Sayaka. Ashtaroth theoretically could send Madoka a letter I suppose — I'm sure Sayaka knows her friend's address, and Homura certainly can't trace Ashtaroth to a different city off a letter that would only make it there days later — but I really don't see her taking that avenue.
I mean, her telepathy IS voiceless. That's arguably the intended experience. XD
Well, the familiars at least don't seem hostile towards them – though, that may just be because they haven't been hostile in turn. Not like the Pyotr/Polina/Du Polignac had any compunctions about fighting the girls when their areas were "invaded".
Threadmarked! Glad to see a continuation/conclusion to that previous omake, even if a short one.
the fourth chapter of Magia Record's Puella Historia arc just dropped and it gives us this image that reminds me of how Saar's inner labyrinth was described after the Faas have had time to properly tend it. Granted, it takes place in Tibet, but the previous chapter took place in Scandinavia, so it sort of counts?
Well, there's not mountains in the background of Saar's area, and the flowers aren't quite in full bloom yet – it's only been two days, after all – but not a bad visual, if not very detailed. Still working on finding someone to commission an official visual of that area from, by the by.
Ashtaroth does not have an inherent sense over her familiars' locations or the like — she was utterly clueless when Shemesh left and snatched up Hitomi — so no, she likely wouldn't be able to notice that without spotting it directly. In fact, for all anyone knows, it could have happened already. Without any input from her witchstincts, Ashtaroth's options to prevent such would presumably be limited to 1) shoo, 2) physically hold them back, or 3) eliminate the issue.
I absolutely don't disagree, given how the situation parses from the outside, but the irony of you posting this immediately prior to this chapter dropping amuses me nonetheless. 😅
Much appreciated! I work really hard on the fight scenes to make sure they both make tactical sense and can be easily visualized, so it's always extremely gratifying to hear praise for them. o(*￣︶￣*)o
Side note: While it wouldn't have fit in this particular chapter, my personal theme for Kirika is this specific cover of VIOLENCE from Chainsaw Man. I'm sure you can gather why.
Thank you! As much as I like doing it, it is a very time consuming process, so it's similarly extremely nice to have recognized.
- Location
- Online
I am assuming that's what it was; it's the only one i found when using google(that said though my google techniques are weak).
I mean, that assumes the subsumed Magical Girls don't get absorbed into the Grief Seed as well, which is unlikely seeing as Ash essentially takes the place of their Soul Gems.
Appletank
Acquire Cheese
Give me solid WiFi and it'll be a damn good bargain.