#redshirt might somehow die anyway

[ihavetoomuchhomeworkforthis]

I couldn't figure out how to put a poll in a reblog, and also reblogging it would have been EXTREMELY long, but this post and poll are in response to all my extraordinarily lengthy posts about theoretical photosynthetic Vulcans (and their acorn babies)

TLDR if you don't want to read the previous posts is that I came up with ideas about what it would be like if Vulcans were photosynthetic, and one of those ideas was that they'd asexually grow acorns with baby Vulcans inside, and once the baby Vulcans broke out of the acorn shells, they'd cling to the parent like a baby sloth does. This (oops) would lead to a very unnecessary but nonetheless raging climbing instinct which makes them want to climb shit all the time in spite of all things logical: a very annoying internal conflict.

Who should be who? Buttercup's wearing a red dress, so logically she should be the redshirt. However, Vizzini is the one who ends up dying a few minutes later, so maybe he should be the redshirt. However, Vizzini also yells insults at Fezzik the while time, so maybe that's Bones. On the other hand, Dr. McCoy deserves the honor of Buttercup's dress, don't you think? But so does Kirk. (I really wish I could draw better)

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 239: We’re Fucked

Previously on BnHA: Actually it’s been two weeks, so I barely even remember. Let me just... take another... Ah, right. So Tomura brought it up a notch to Goth Level x20 and destroyed all of his Surplus Hands in a fit of independence, and Re-Destro was like “!!!” and then turned himself into a giant robot as a counter-flex. Meanwhile Gigantomachia continued to smash shit and also defeated Orange Leaf because lord knows Dabi was never actually going to get around to it. Compress called Ujiko and was all “hey can you please stop your guy because I’m afraid he’s going to smash us once he’s done smashing everything else,” but Ujiko was all, “listen if Shigaraki dies then he dies!!” But I’m pretty sure Shigaraki isn’t actually going to die. Re-Destro, though? He might be dead. Guess we’ll find out.

Today on BnHA: Nope, Re-Destro isn’t dead. So it goes like this: Tomura, who is now incredibly hot by the way, annihilates the entire fucking town leaving only bits of rubble, basically. Everyone is all, “LOOK AT THIS ARE YOU FUCKING SEEING THIS HOLY SHIT” and basically just watching in awe. Re-Destro chops off his own fucking feet so as not to be disintegrated himself, something which everyone is way too fucking calm about tbh. And in the aftermath Tomura stands there all “lol I won,” and RD is like, “yeah you sure did,” and I was expecting Tomura to be all “well anyways, [kill]” but instead RD is like, “HERE’S THE KEYS TO YOUR NEW ARMY” and Tomura is “HEY COOL” and SOMEHOW THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER AND WORSE ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Heh. Anyways where’s that comic with the dog in the house that’s on fire. That about sums it all up.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, but aside from that there are no changes, and even that was a rush job since I was late in reading the chapter this week. I basically have not edited this at all lulz.)

sounds like someone is about to get the official Gigantomachia Seal of Approval at long last! sure did take this boy a while to get accredited, but he kept at it! there’s a lesson there, folks. if at first you don’t succeed, stop sleeping for two months and then power-hallucinate your way to success

so we’re opening with Hanabata and his van! I sure hope this mofo is about to die, because mofos need to start dying already. I’ve loved this arc and we’ve had some really great times, but I never did have much patience for this particular point of any given arc. side villains need to know when to die. respect for Kizuki, at least she had the right idea

on the other hand we are being gifted with some pretty fun panels, such as this

wah, his shoes. heh

oh my god

did he slam into the van when it hit the brakes to avoid Tomura’s Destruction Radius. ouch

so he’s narrating about how some crazy shit is going down over where Tomura is. and that “our story was at a standstill, but now...”

listen, that “but now” had better mean that you’re about to de-standstill and wrap things up

-- holy shit

I’m not -- Tomura, what!?! you’re hot?! is it just me?? am I fucking losing it?? what the fuck. can you seriously just cut off anyone’s fingers and they’ll magically grow 40x hotter!? somebody count Aizawa’s fingers for me

shit. this isn’t even my normal aesthetic! Tomura you’re crossing genre barriers here. I can’t speak for everyone, but I deeply suspect that you’re appealing very widely right now

the moral of this story is, eyeliner. that’s it. that’s the moral

in other news, Twice shouting “hang in there, Giran!” speaks for all of us, I think, and he had better get a medal for being VIP of this fucking arc. and Giran, it’s good to get some exercise

so who is this monologuing now?

is this a flashback to All for One? or RD getting all philosophical as the countdown inches ever closer to his doom?

like, this could seriously go either way here. huh. full disclosure, I’m doing my best to speedread here since this recap is late, so I’m not taking much time to think real deeply or try and process every little thing this week

now RD is going “guh!” and failing to get with the times

yeah dude, we established this already. Tomura is doing a lot of things he shouldn’t fucking be able to do. because he’s awakening. you’re the one who fucking said it just last chapter. quit being so damn shocked

lol now he’s thinking “if I can just get out of range...” ha, good luck. does he even have a fucking range now

omfg. you guys

being on the villains’ team for an arc is so much fun. so nice to be able to shamelessly appreciate the senseless destruction

okay, not quite as hot now. but from the right angle, though. damn

anyways. he cray. we get it lol

now he’s shouting “I’ll break you to pieces!” all gleefully and, like. destroying the entire town, it looks like. possibly

okay but seriously I think he really is. he really fucking is, you guys

I’m simultaneously grinning at how badass it is and thinking in the back of my mind about how our actual heroes are so!! fucked!! once this arc is over and done with sob

like, hey Tomura, what was your overall goal again? destroy the entire world? oh, yes, right. and what exactly is stopping you, again? literally nothing but a handful of sixteen-year-old heroes in training? whom I’m deeply attached to? yes, that’s surely going to end well

sobbbbbbbb

we’re so. goddamn. fucked

also, when did RD transform back into his little guy form? why do I suddenly almost feel sorry for him. well maybe not sorry so much as I feel pity. though once again, weekly reminder that he invited them himself, and they probably would never have clashed had he not decided to start shit for absolutely no fucking reason

let this be a lesson to all other villains! if you’re still thinking the League is an easy mark now that AFO is ~out of the picture~, let Overhaul and Re-Destro serve as examples of what happens when you underestimate the new boy in charge

and when I think of it that way, it makes me want to warn Tomura not to get too cocky and make the same fucking mistake. AFO and All Might may not have much in common, but one thing they do share is a knack for choosing worthy successors. though I still think that in AFO’s case, “placeholder” would be a more accurate word

anyway so where were we. -- oh yes

I wonder how many pages do we need of Tomura cheerfully decimating shit and RD watching in terror. this is a manga-only complaint though, just to be clear. in the anime? this shit is going to be fucking amazing. Tomura cackling maniacally while the world crumbles to pieces around him. metal af

by the way I love how RD has gone pants-only now that he’s back in his Bruce Banner form

I really shouldn’t be complaining that this chapter is going by so quickly, given that I’m trying to race through it, but literally the next two pages are just more of the same shit

town: destroyed. RD status: defeated and pants-only. plots advanced in the last three pages: none that I can actually see

oh shit. wait

what the -- holy --

okay lol. nevermind. here I thought that was Tomura’s foot on the previous page. and I didn’t notice RD’s feet had been chopped off on account of I thought the BLOODY STUMPS OF HIS FEET were his shoes, I guess. despite the manga establishing multiple times that he was only wearing pants. I only pointed it out specifically twice myself. wowwww

just. I’m running on four hours’ sleep here but feeling pretty all right considering, so I thought I was doing pretty good, but I GUESS NOT lol. one of these days I’ll learn that if a giant two-page spread appears to be a waste, it’s far more likely that I’ve just completely failed to see some very obvious thing of critical importance

anyways. ohhhhh yesssss

[raises hand] me! I know!! it was him calling you up out of the blue and being all “hey come here I want to start a whole battle”!!

heeeeeeeh

god I’m living for this. the brief swell of pity is gone as quickly as it arose lol. finish him off boiiiii

OH FOR FUCK’S --

DID YOU GUYS SOMEHOW FAIL TO GET THE MEMO. DID THE ENTIRE TOWN CRUMBLING APART NOT CLUE YOU IN THAT IT WAS TIME TO HEAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION

jesus. I would be impressed by their loyalty, except that none of them have given a fuck about the 100,000 hapless redshirts who’ve died fighting for them, so it seems pretty damn hypocritical for them to care so much about this one fucking guy. especially when his stupid plan singlehandedly destroyed everything your organization has spent their entire lives working for. in, like, an hour

anyway, Tomura is back to being hot again guys

motherfucker is fully aware of just how much everything is lining up his way right now. finally his childlike self-assuredness actually has some sort of basis in fact. you are exactly as badass as you think you are, sir. must be nice. you enjoy this; you deserve some nice things just this once before everything goes to shit again after this arc

holy shit, even Hanabata’s quirk is failing in the wake of that see-you-in-hell grin

I’m telling you dude, you should have been driving the other way. not that there’s any point now. enjoy your final seconds on this earth

LOL

“meaningless casualties” lmao that is the most pompous variation on “DON’T YOU GET IT, WE’RE ABOUT TO FUCKING DIE” I’ve ever heard

wow, so wait, is RD trying to beg for their lives now??

that’s a surprisingly classy move. unfortunately I’m fairly sure Tomura is going to show you exactly as much mercy as you were prepared to show him just a few minutes earlier. well maybe a little more mercy, since you were going to take your sweet time and he’ll probably end things quickly in comparison

anyway so now RD is having an internal dialogue with his dead great-grandpa about how Tomura turned out to be the living embodiment of everything they were fighting for

and actually, he’s not wrong when you think about it. which just goes to show you how deeply flawed their philosophy really was. there’s a hugely important distinction between “freedom to be who you are” and “freedom to do whatever the fuck you want, including hurting and oppressing others”

anyway, so in the end he didn’t ask for mercy. “I picked a fight with you and lost. if you mean to kill me, then get it over with.” well I guess that is still classy in its own way though

also, Machia is staring at Tomura and seeing this

which is an awesome visual, and I love that Horikoshi went with that instead of more internal monologuing. nothing else even needs to be said

-- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT

SDFSLDKJFLJS HOLY SHIT

yooooooooooo. oh shit

I did not see that coming. should have, probably. there was a lot of buildup to it in hindsight. Tomura and the gang started out the arc flat-out broke, and now at the end of things they acquire a company with precisely the resources they need. manpower, cash, and technological innovations. oh shit. oh shit

oh my god the look on Ujiko’s face. this worked out better than he ever could have hoped

pausing it here because I did in fact laugh and I love it. [pats]

this boy has a 5/5 intelligence score in the character databook. he’s a genius. nothing gets past him. his reflexes are too fast

aaaaaand that’s the end of the chapter. well, then. to reiterate: we are well and truly fucked y’all

[laylainalaska]

Torchwood 1x01-1x08

Since I’ve been posting Torchwood rewatch episode reactions over on DW, I may as well post them here too!

Cut with a readmore because long and also spoilery. No specific S2 spoilers except set off in its own section.

----

1x01: Everything Changes, aka Torchwood is the worst-kept secret in the greater Cardiff metropolitan area. The episode with the infamous date rape via alien aphrodisiac. I have made the deliberate choice to compartmentalize this/pretend it never happened due to TV writers being notoriously terrible with recognizing the real-world implications of fantasy aphrodisiacs and sex magic (there was just a scene like this in The Witcher in 20-fucking-20), and treat it as what it is clearly supposed to be in context -- unethical but basically harmless misuse of an alien artifact -- instead of what it really is. But I recognize that this is a personal choice and I also hate this writing decision and wish they'd picked literally any other way of making this particular point, for the record. Anyway ... the rest of this episode other than the fucking date rape was a lot of fun, though. Torchwood is the worst secret quasi-governmental agency at being secret. THE ACTUAL WORST. I love the team trying to keep straight faces and then giggling when Gwen enters their secret base, and the entire base set is just so fantastically bonkers; I really really love it a lot. There's literally a fountain in the middle of it and, like, random water everywhere?! And a pterodactyl. And the invisible lift, with Gwen's wry comment about how there's nothing to stop random pedestrians from falling down it. It's possibly the most utterly bonkers secret spy base outside of kids' cartoons and I love it. 1x02: Day One, aka Murder By Orgasm. In which the show classes things up with an alien who kills people (men only!) via orgasm. Choices were definitely made in this episode. Many choices. For sure. Owen continues to be a total sleaze because the writers think it's funny. Also, his survival when the sex alien targets him makes absolutely no sense at all. He's literally the only person she left alive, and she's in the throes of sex-energy withdrawal at the time. In short, this was an episode that happened. There were a few cute team bits but really not enough to redeem it. 1x03: Ghost Machine, aka Burn Gorman Is Very Pretty. Not that I am biased. He is so pretty in this episode. SO PRETTY. Also, for a refreshing change, Owen manages not to be creepy and sexist at all in this episode. He's just prickly and kind of sweet. I like this Owen. I want to keep him. This episode overall was really a lot of fun, aside from (or perhaps also including) the most unintentionally hilarious death of a redshirt ever, in which he goes to hug Gwen and she accidentally stabs him with the knife she's holding. But overall it's so great! The Owen arc was my favorite - I love how affected he is by the memory device (the scene where he's clearly having a panic attack and trying to keep control!) and how determined he is to get justice for the murdered girl, only to be essentially brought down by his basic decent nature and inability to kill an old man in cold blood. Owen trying to save the guy's life when he was holding a knife on him thirty seconds earlier breaks me a little bit. Lots of fun team scenes in this one, too. The Splott conversation! ("Estate agents call it Sploe.") 1x04: Cyberwoman, aka CYBERBIKINI! Here again, Choices Were Made, most of them by the costuming department with a side of deeply uncomfortable racial implications on the part of whoever cast the episode. To be fair, maybe they just couldn't afford enough tinfoil to cover CyberLisa entirely, since the budget for this episode was clearly three shoestrings and a potato. I don't know if my favorite part of the low-budget f/x is the way they're clearly splicing in Doctor Who clips for the cyberization process, or the fall of Torchwood One, a giant battle involving hundreds of participants that is represented by Ianto screaming while surrounded by plastic sheeting. Honestly, I really love this episode. It is not good by any stretch of the imagination, but there is something incredibly charming about its sheer commitment to utter batshittery and OTT sobbing over emotional team betrayals, and parts of it were incredibly tense. It has the general feel of a horror film shot by college theater majors. Also someone getting doused in barbecue sauce and fed to a pterodactyl is literally a plot point, and the team basketball game at the beginning is one of my favorite little team moments; it's so cute. Cyberbikini aside and with expectations properly lowered, this was terrific fun. 1x05: Small Worlds, aka Death By Hanahaki Disease. On the whole this episode was not terrible nor was it memorably unpleasant; it was just kind of there. In going back to write about the episodes, I really had trouble remembering what even happened in this one. The concept is really interesting, but the fairies stopped being nearly so creepy once you actually see them in all their low-budget-CGI glory; I think the episode would actually have been better if they'd stayed invisible. The flower petal deaths were really gross. I hadn't realized that, while Gwen (unlike the rest of his team) knows that Jack can die and come back, she didn't actually know before this episode that he's much older than he looks. 1x06: Countrycide, aka Don't Split The Party. WELSH MURDER VILLAGE. I loved this episode. This is the ridonkulous teamy sci-fi horror shenanigans that I'm here for. I mean, I was there with bells on for TEAM CAMPING TRIP and then it just got better and better. Ianto gets to go out in the field for the first time and nearly gets eaten by cannibals! Poor Ianto. His life is the worst. I sort of vaguely knew because of season two that there was Owen/Gwen in the first season, but what really caught me off guard is how much I enjoyed it. I was expecting meaningless sex with a side of skeeve, and I do really hate that she's cheating on her boyfriend and how pushy about it Owen is at first, not to mention outing their kiss to the whole team. But the crazy thing about it is, by the midpoint of the episode they're actually, genuinely very sweet, and by the end of the episode you can see what they're both getting out of the relationship and get the feeling that it's a positive human connection for both of them. Also, the near-kiss and teamwork in the woods was incredibly hot. I really loved (and was also surprised by) how loyal and protective Owen is toward his teammates. We saw it a little bit in the previous episode with his "Don't you touch her!" re: Gwen, but it's abundantly on display here, from Owen repeatedly insisting that they need to go after Tosh and Ianto, to his fury at the guy threatening Tosh, to his captor having to restrain him when they pull the hood off Ianto's head near the end. Love Jack's big-damn-hero entrance to the Murder House, and everyone running around screaming and getting separated and hurt, which is always a good time. Basically I just loved this episode. It needed more hurt/comforty aftermath, though. I might have to write some. 1x07: Greeks Bearing Gifts, aka Tosh Has An Alien Girlfriend. I really loved this episode, on the whole, but it is Made Of Ouch. As well as Tosh's isolation and hurt, there's also that bit where she hears Ianto's thoughts and it's just endless painpainpainpain. I like to think that after this episode, she started getting together with him for drinks occasionally and talking about things. They both need friends so badly. (I do not love Jack's random transphobic comment near the end. From JACK of all people. WHY.) And seeing Tosh's delight and squee when she gets to just geek out about things is so lovely. Tosh is absolutely a person who leaves her teammates notes with little hearts on them. I love her. ♥ (Also, as much as I love Owen personally, I really wish that so much of Tosh's storyline didn't revolve around her hopeless crush on Owen. Toshiko deserved better, in all ways, than what this show gave her.) It's too bad that Gwen and Owen's affair is, on the whole, a rather destructive thing, because they're really happy! They're like the only happy people in Torchwood at this point. It's not a grand love story or anything, but I felt like the sheer joy of that initial rush of infatuation was well conveyed and sweet. Owen's relationship with Tosh in season one is completely baffling to me. He's not only staggeringly oblivious to Tosh being into him, but she's literally the only woman at Torchwood that he doesn't hit on. And yet, it's not that he doesn't like her! He clearly does like her in a friend kind of way and enjoys hanging out with her. The card that Mary was looking at in Tosh's apartment looked handmade to me, so he literally made her a handmade birthday card! And yet, he is blindingly oblivious to her interest and rejects her every time she makes overtures. ... I mean, the meta-reason is probably just that the writers thought it would be funny if the character who always sleeps around doesn't notice the one person who really wants him. But I can't help wondering if the basic issue is that Owen has somehow, without really intending to, classified his relationship with her as basically a sibling-type one. We know from the flashbacks in season two that they both joined Torchwood at about the same time and were both in a very emotionally fragile place when they did, and Jack also has a very quasi-parental sort of vibe with both of them. It makes me wonder if Owen either tried to initiate something early on and was rebuffed because Tosh wasn't really coping well either, or if he met her at a point in his life when he was really not interested in having relationships with anyone and simply classified her mentally in a sort of little-sister category. This actually does fit very well with the sometimes bullying, sometimes playful and sweet, generally sexless way that he relates to her this season, and the way that he clearly does care about her and in fact is very protective at times; he just doesn't view her as a target of romantic interest. Anyway, Tosh was very beautiful this episode, and her alien girlfriend was also quite hot, and I really enjoyed it. 1x08: They Keep Killing Suzie, aka I don't think anything I could come up with is better than the actual title. The scene in which they've accidentally locked themselves in their secret underground base and have to call the cops to let them out is possibly my favorite scene in this entire show. That was GOLD. I also wish the cop lady from this episode had come back. She was great, and her rapport with Jack was really neat. Part of what I want to say about this episode contains massive season two spoilers, so that's set off in a spoiler section at the end. This was a highly entertaining episode with a plot that was total nonsense that falls apart within 0.2 seconds of actually thinking about it. Good emotional stuff, yes! Plot? BONKERS. I mean, Suzie's plan was something like this: 1. Drive someone insane by feeding them Retcon for two years. 2. Kill yourself. 3. ???? 4. Profit! I am just going to headcanon that the team are actually wrong about Suzie planning all of this, and it's mostly an accidental set of circumstances that she took advantage of. I did love the twist of Suzie wanting a deathbed reunion with her dad not because of love, but because she wanted to watch him die because he's terrible. (However, this does completely undermine what was previously given as part of her motivation for getting addicted to the glove, which was trying to save her dad. See above re: plot nonsense.) But the team stuff was fun! Love everyone scrambling to save Gwen, and Owen holding her at the end -- I'm still seeing them through a lens of mostly-platonic more than romantic. The general vibe with the team pulling together vs. Suzie having basically no one in Torchwood to talk to is really interesting; it's hard to say how much of that is the team having gotten closer over the course of the season, and how much of it is just Suzie not really ever bonding with her co-workers the way they bonded with each other. I mean, I do get more of a co-workery vibe off them early on, as opposed to the chosen-family feeling later on, but the closeness is there under the surface; I'm just not really sure if they've realized it yet. But with Suzie, it's hard to say if the closeness ever really was there. They're all damaged in their various ways, but I feel like Suzie might be damaged in a way that simply precluded her ever really being able to let people in, as the others are learning to. Ianto's visible depression at this point in the show is mostly down to Gareth David-Lloyd's acting, but it's so well done -- his flat affect and thousand-yard stare, especially contrasted against his dry, sarcastic humor when he's not miserable (mostly in season two). The other Ianto-related thing I noticed is that the warmer, more bantery rapport between Ianto and Owen in season two is actually present in this episode to some extent, for perhaps the first time ever. In particular, Owen makes him smile at one point by teasing him (the only time Ianto smiles in the last few episodes, I think, up until he's with Jack at the very end), and offers him the first shot at naming the knife in spite of Ianto's artifact names being genuinely terrible - like, trying to include him a little bit, in a way I haven't seen Owen doing with him before. There's a general feeling throughout this episode that Owen has warmed up to him a bit and is actually reaching out a little. And Ianto and Jack are sleeping together now! I don't know when that happened and I wish we'd seen more of the beginnings of it. It's nice to see Ianto smile, though. Season two 1x08-related spoilers: 

Watching this episode after having seen Owen's resurrection glove arc in season two was FASCINATING, especially for the compare/contrast of the way the team reacted to resurrected!Suzie vs. resurrected!Owen; I mean, the fact that she died in the process of betraying them after becoming a serial killer is obviously a large factor here, and they were somewhat wary of Owen too, but there's just so much more ambivalence in how they deal with Suzie, vs. the way that Owen's death and resurrection actually brought the team closer together, and brought Owen closer to all of them.

But the most interesting contrast to me is how Owen and Suzie, as characters, both reacted to the whole idea of having to survive by killing people, with Jack trying (unsuccessfully) to argue Suzie out of allowing Gwen to die, whereas Owen's immediate reaction to finding out that his survival might be killing people (just random people too, not teammates) was to try to sacrifice himself, not just once but multiple times, starting with a fundamentally horrible euthanasia-type death and continuing on to destroy the resurrection glove himself even though it was likely to re-kill him. Why yes, I can turn any episode discussion into an Owen discussion, even an episode he wasn't especially prominent in.

[animentrohetaliate]

Honest Thoughts About The Walking Dead Fandom

Something I really can't stand about this fandom... 1. People who want the show to diverge from the comics so it can be creative and unpredictable. If you want a zombie drama show like that go watch Fear.... I'm getting sick of hearing "if you want the comics read the comics." I don't want the comics. I want a live-action version of an amazing story. [also getting tired of people complain about how the show sucks now that it's following the comics when the problem about seasons 7 and 8 is because they AREN'T following the comics and when they do it doesn't make sense because they took out or remixed the parts that would have explained why x happened. When asked, most people's favourite moments come straight from or are remixed from the comics. Seasons 1 and 4-6 were pretty close to the source material and most people liked those seasons. The best parts of 7-8 were adapted from the comics and the worst were completely original. Also, TWD is supposed to be an adaption of a comic about the lives of Rick and Carl Grimes. Out of these two one was always meant to be killed off before the end. No, not Carl. Rick. The one-handed, old man with a bum leg and walks with a cane. Yeah, that guy. TWD is Carl's story. You can't call something The Walking Dead and kill him off just before "A New Beginning" and expect comic fans to be okay with it. Especially with Daryl Dixon somehow still existing. [Trivia: Daryl was a character created specifically for Norman. He wasn't originally in the story, comic or show. He was also supposed to die in Season 1 but then the writers changed their minds] Especially since you're killing Carl to save Negan. Diverting from the comics in order to follow the comics... Basically killing your protagonist to save your antagonist. Not to mention Carl's personality 180 and the way the story makes no narrative sense. It's clear something fishy happened behind the scenes. And you absolutely cannot give arcs meant for the main character to a TV-only character a season *coughDarylcough* after you killed the main character after sidelining him for four seasons (5-8). It's insulting to the actor you fired [oh don't get me started on the way Chandler was treated. I'll never end this section of my rant] and the source material and the comic fans. I'm sick and tired of hearing TV-only fans call Rick the main character of the story when it wasn't Kirkman's vision. And now I'm going to have to listen to it until this show ends or Andrew decides to jump the sinking ship and Norman Reedus is forced to be the leading actor... oh, God this show will be terrible. 2. People who hate Carl or think he's unimportant. For the reasons above. Like, if I ask someone who hates some other character why they hate them I get a reason that makes sense. Usually. Not always. And the reason will pertain to something that happened within seasons 6-8. With Carl it's because of his hair, or because he got Dale killed, or because he's a 'pussy' 1. Boys can't have long hair? Also Carl's hair is the way it is because of his bandage. They needed to grow it out to hide it. [Daryl's hair is probably because Norman's a little self-conscious about his eye because of what happened in that accident. So I hate when this is said about him too. Don't quote me on that because I could be wrong about that] Dale can't be blamed on Carl. Dale wasn't supposed to die that season but Jeffery Demunn quit (sort of. He changed his mind but they didn't want to spend more money on reshoots or something) Also, Dale's death is stupid. He goes walking at night in an open field almost completely empty and the walker... Sneaks up on him? Honestly, I'm starting to think that walker-related deaths past season 1 on this show only happen to people who weren't supposed to die/asked to leave or other behind-the-scenes drama [Sophia, Dale, T-Dog, Andrea, Carl] or are redshirts. As far as I remember, everybody else died during a war directly because of the war, at the hands of a person, or during the flu arc. With the exceptions of Tyreese, Bob, and Noah... [what do these men have in common?] I'm starting to think that walkers are used as a way for this show to kill people lazily if they need a death last minute. Anyway, back to Carl killing Dale. I also don't blame Carl for Dale's death because I hated Dale so I could care less if he did or not. [yes, I'm aware this sounds petty] Dale, the hypocrite, was like "we can't kill Randall but I won't tell anyone that I saw Shane try to snipe Rick I'll just look at Shane and become a meme" and was really nosy and judgmental for like, his whole time on screen. And Carl... A pussy? [ I'm not going to talk about the word pussy... Gosh, I hate that word. Anyway, not the point.] First of all, this kid at twelve years old was forced to watch people horrifically die in front of him and the world collapse. For about a month he thought his dad was dead. And he was shot through the stomach on accident. Blamed himself for Dale's death. Then he had to put down the zombified form of Shane, a father figure to him. Then at thirteen he had to watch his mother die and shoot her himself. And his dad went crazy which left thirteen-year-old Carl in the care of basically himself. He also killed his first person around this time. At fourteen, he lost his home, thought his infant sister [who he promised his mom he'd look out for] had been ripped apart by walkers. Almost had to shoot his zombified Dad after loosing his whole family in less than six months [right after yelling his brains out about his dad being a failure] was sexually assaulted and almost raped, had his eye shot out [probably lost his memory temporarily just like in the comics, though the show skipped his recovery arc for some reason] almost had his arm chopped off by his own father, and almost had his brains bashed in [while his father did nothing but basically give Negan the go ahead. I headcanon that Rick was calling Negan's bluff after a season of Negan doing nothing to Carl.] And then, when honouring his mother's last words to him... He gets bit while saving Siddiq. Instead of crying about it and giving up on life... Instead of collapsing at the fact that he has hours to live and curling up into a ball... He continues on his mission to bring Siddiq to refuge and bravely saves the Alexandrians. [While his Dad is out playing with the garbage folk.] Carl Grimes isn't a "pussy" he's an inspirational teenager who survived through more than most people would ever have to and never gave up no matter what life gave him. And that's just TV Carl. Anyway, another thing I hate about the fandom is the people who insist that their ship will be canon. Not like "x ship will rise" stuff or "please make x canon." I mean to the point that they act like, say, Daryl and Carol is the only thing that makes sense and any other routes are preposterous. [I'm only using these guys as an example due to how big the Caryl fandom is. It's a problem no matter what ship or fandom] These two characters have spent almost no screen time together since season 5. Tbh, I don't think the writers are planning this ship [I'm not sure they ever were, but if they were I don't think they are now] And if that's the case, the ship baiting from the TWD social media accounts needs to stop because it's pissing both Carylers and non-Carylers off. [again, my interpretation might be wrong and they may make them a thing, but I don't think it's happening, I think Carol is getting Michonne's comic arc and Daryl is getting *pukes* Carl's comic arc. I'm not a Caryler but I'd prefer Daryl and Carol to Daryl and TV-show Lydia] This "my ship is better than yours and yours makes no sense" stuff is annoying no matter who does it.

[erdariel]

Yup. Like, I don't have a problem with characters being killed (I mean. Sure. I might grumble and complain and say it's unfair if I liked the character, but I don't actually mind it that much), if it 1) fits where the story's going anyway (both thematically and plot-wise), and 2) is a fitting end for that character's personal arc (as in, if it's a major character, you don't kill them off like a fucking redshirt. *cough cough* Tasha Yar in TNG), but 3) the character death is not the sole reason for the plot's existence.

I mean. I just mean. They could have killed Treville off in a way that was tragic and beaitiful and befitting of his character, but also serving a purpose for that episode's plot, rather than the death being the purpose of the episode. I'd have loved that. Sure, I would have been sad to see Treville die, but that's kind of the point.

I do kind of understand that they wanted/needed some kind of moment of weakness for the Musketeers as a whole to start the next episode with, and well, death of someone close to them is a classic way to achieve that. And Treville was pretty much the only character that had a minor enough role to be sacrificiable, while also being close enough to both the characters and the audience for his death to have enough impact. I understand that they needed to kill off Treville to make that final episode work the way it is. I understand that well.

But that is no excuse for making a story where the only purpose of it is to kill Treville in the end. I mean, I don't think any good story should, or even can, have killing off a character as its sole purpose. A good character death should somehow serve the story, not the oyher way around. And the moment you go and forget that, you end up with a very bad story indeed.

That is not to say that there isn't a whole bunch of other poor desicions from the writers that do their part in making the episode so stupid (like that scene you reblogged that this discussion started from. And a whole bunch of others). But I wonder, how many of those poor choices came to be because they somehow had to force the story to end with Treville's death, and they didn't have another way to get to that end with the story they had? Sure, there's probably also a bunch of bad choices that aren't caused by writing a story that just plain doesn't work when it was written. But still.

I 100% agree with your complaint about s3e9. What annoys me most abt it tho is how blatantly the whole plot is constructed just to kill off Treville. Really, I'd bet the writers started more with the idea of "hey let's kill Treville. How do we do it?" than "okay, so the King dies. What does it lead to?" (Which is what I at least think should have been the starting point for it...) And it's so annoying when even the usually smart characters all make THE STUPIDEST possible decisions in that ep

Really, I'd bet the writers started more with the idea of "hey let's kill Treville. How do we do it?" than "okay, so the King dies. What does it lead to?"

You really have managed to identify the fundamental thing that was wrong with the episode.

[shineyma]

Brett. Is. Back. As. Ward. Amy, I am so stoked. I missed him so much. I came online to download the show because I live timezones away in what qualifies as Narnia, and I saw a "AOS Core Cast Member Returns" headline and died. Heart attack. Started wheezing Vader-style and thinking, "Brett. Ward. Brett. Ward." But then I thought of Trip and Lincoln and Robbie, but *core* isn't really something they were. Mack's the only new true core we've had. Then I saw Aida building that new body for (1/2)

Ivanov and I was disappointed because I just really miss Brett as Ward, regardless of what version of the character we get. I didn't want Ivanov in Ward's body or whatever. But then we saw Ivanov in his own mechanical replica and my mind was eased. Also, what a good Jemma and Daisy and Jemma x Daisy episode. How. Absolutely. Delightful. But onto the Framework subject. I want your thoughts. I *need* your thoughts. Because I have a lot and they're all jumbled up. (2/2)

I KNOW, RIGHT?? I’m SO EXCITED for Brett to be back! Especially as I’m clinging to hope that, after fifteen episodes without him, the writers have seen the error of their ways and will want to bring him back permanently. With any luck there’ll be an LMD Ward running around next season---since, assuming the writers stay true to form, this framework stuff will be wrapped up in the finale. 

So, hopes: 1) Daisy or Jemma or hell, Aida, falls in love with framework!Ward and can’t bear to leave him in there to be destroyed, so they build him an LMD body and let him download out of the framework.

OR

2) the REAL Grant is somehow alive and it’s not a framework~ version of him Daisy’s dating, it’s the real him. Aida plugged him into the framework and his one regret she fixed was him choosing Garrett over Skye---hence their relationship. So when Jemma, Daisy, and the Redshirts Three track the others, they’ll find Grant hooked in like all the rest. And then one of the Redshirts will let him out because they don’t know any better.

I know those are both long shots, but a girl can dream, can’t she? I have MISSED HIS FACE and I want him to stay FOREVER.

As for the framework itself, JD and I have already agreed that framework!fic should be the new rock!fic. There are SO MANY possibilities and we want to explore them ALL. (If nothing else: AU where Daisy and Jemma are switched and it’s JEMMA walking into a bedroom she shares with Ward. Because I am a #terrible and predictable raccoon.)

For me, the biggest concern is framework Jemma being dead. Immediately after the episode aired I was full of terror that REAL Jemma might die as a consequence---if you die in the framework, you die in real life, but what happens if you plug into the framework when you’re dead there????? I was TERRIFIED.

However, I’ve since calmed down because HOPEFULLY the show wouldn’t just kill her off without drama. Now I can only hope that she just appears in some random spot and doesn’t, say, appear in her coffin and have to dig herself out of it. Because she has been traumatized ENOUGH already and does not need that.

In other news, the date on her headstone is November 5---aka, the day FZZT aired, so there’s the possibility that this Jemma died then. OR, as JD pointed out, it might be a red herring, as the year is, after all, covered. Either way, I dread this being turned into an fs Thing where he’s reassured of his importance~ because look, she died because he wasn’t there to save her!

Speaking of which, there had BETTER be some kind of consequence for the (beautiful, amazing) fight scene between Jemma and the Fitzbot. Our bb got stabbed, hit, tied up, and choked by her boyfriend and then had to kill him via repeated stabbing and throat slashing. In any reasonable show, there’s no WAY she’d walk away from that without SOME kind of trauma. So fingers crossed the writers realize/acknowledge that and let Jemma DEAL with it instead of sticking her and Fitz back in their little “our relationship is modeled after the writers’ so obviously we need to be deliriously happy together despite these terrible circumstances” bubble.

Anyway! Sorry for all the rambling, nonnie; I, too, have a lot of thoughts.

[badbackgroundscience]

Okay, who totally miscalibrated the Enterprise’s sensors?

Episode of the Week: The Corbomite Maneuver

Planet of the Week: n/a Villain of the Week: a tiny man with a puppet fetish Redshirt death count: 0

TL;DR: The Enterprise gets chased by a glowing cube of death and Kirk attempts to bluff a puppet. An incompetent navigator becomes an ambassador despite having no experience (Does that sound timely to anyone else?). Leonard McCoy is not a moon shuttle conductor.

Our episode opens with the Enterprise boldly charting where no one has charted before. Soon, it runs into a mysterious...“device” (Spock’s word, not mine). It doesn’t look particularly intimidating, but it does go out of its way to block our ship in any direction it tries to travel. No, Sulu doesn’t ever try to go backwards, but I guess he can’t think of everything.

Kirk wanders up to the bridge from sickbay without his shirt on (Well, I guess it’s on), and we learn this glowing, rotating cube is solid, but made of a completely unknown composition.

This is further confirmed when Sulu provides its size and mass: 107 meters on each side, and “a little under 11,000 metric tons”.* That makes its density, if we round to 2 significant figures, 9.0 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m3).

The density of water, for comparison, is 1000 kg/m3; the density of air (it varies by temperature and pressure) is about 1.2 kg/m3.

In other words, this “solid” is barely denser than most gases (Tungsten hexafluoride, for example, is a whopping 12.9 kg/m3. It’s toxic and forms hydrofluoric acid when it contacts water. I do not recommend breathing tungsten hexafluoride. Sulfur hexafluoride, on the other hand, can be used to freak out��reality show judges).

Some of you might think the cube could be made of an aerogel, which sometimes goes by the nickname “frozen smoke” because they’re all usually at least 90% air, and the original material used (silica) produces a translucent blue color. The least dense aerogel, according to Guinness, has a density of 0.16 kg/m3 (not pictured below, but pictured here).

I would argue it’s technically not entirely solid, because, as the name suggests, aerogels are basically gel with the liquid part replaced by a gas (making it a solid full of a bunch of ‘holes’), but I’m sure there are people who would disagree with me. I’m okay with that.

But anyway, a definition: 

“An aerogel is an open-celled, mesoporous**, solid foam that is composed of a network of interconnected nanostructures and that exhibits a porosity (non-solid volume) of no less than 50%.” 

(The “open-celled” part means that the air isn’t trapped inside solid pockets, but the structure of an aerogel’s solid bits does make it difficult for air to move through it. That’s partly what makes it a great thermal insulator:)

We can infer that, from something Spock says later in the episode,*** the cube is metallic. Aerogels can be made out of a lot of substances, including metals, which is great if you need them to do different things (like conduct electricity, or not conduct electricity). 

Many might feel like what you’d expect - that green foam you put in pots for flower arrangements. And many of them are pretty fragile (They are mostly air, after all). Traditional silica aerogels can support an evenly distributed weight a couple thousand times their own, but special aerogels (called, perhaps unsurprisingly, “x-aerogels”) get a lot stronger.

You can read more about aerogels, including how you actually make them, here.

When the Enterprise tries pulling away from the “buoy”/”flypaper” (again, Spock’s words), it starts emitting radiation. Our first officer reports said radiation comes “from the short end of the spectrum”, which I like to think means ‘gamma rays’ - the shortest of all wavelength types on the electromagnetic spectrum. Also, it’s dangerous, and gamma rays are nothing if not dangerous to people who aren’t behind, like, a meter of packed dirt or many many centimeters of lead.

No one (unfortunately(?)) turns into a giant green rage monster, but Kirk gets desperate enough to finally order his crew to fire phasers**** and destroy it. 

After an unspecified amount of time - enough for a couple of practice drills and for Kirk to get mad at a salad - they come across a much larger object. Instead of a cube, it’s a sphere with a bunch of bumps all over it.

Here’s both the original and the CGI!update versions:

Spock says the sphere’s mass goes off his scale (which is rather odd...I mean, hopefully they’re be able to measure the masses of stars with a bloody spaceship, let alone something not massive enough to engage in nuclear fusion), and "must be a mile in diameter”.*****

Mr. Bailey, the navigator who gets relieved of duty later in the episode for failing to remain calm under pressure, reports the Enterprise is 5000 meters away, yet the object fills their viewscreen. If you immediately wondered if the math works out on that, well, you’re me.

We can measure how big it would look if the viewscreen were really a window. We’re looking for the object’s angular diameter, which comes out to be roughly 18 degrees of arc. That’s pretty close to how big a basketball looks when you hold it out at arm’s length.

Feel free to draw your own conclusions from that analogy.

Sulu says this is what it looks like at “magnification 1-8-point-5″:

That would, of course, mean they’d actually be zooming in on the object, instead of out. So really he meant -18.5 (aka 1/18.5 the original size, or 18.5 times smaller. Was that a typo in the script, or George remembered the line wrong? No one will probably ever know...

Kirk has Uhura hail the object. They receive a message that they’re going to destroy the Enterprise in 10 minutes because they trespassed into their territory and destroyed a warning buoy. Kirk tries to run away, but the baddie Balok ain’t havin’ none of that.

Kirk eventually realizes (thanks to a random comment from Dr. McCoy) the two vessels aren’t playing a game of chess, but of poker. He then delivers the following bluff, providing us the title of the episode -- The Corbomite Maneuver:

“Since the early years of space exploration, Earth vessels have had incorporated into them a substance known as corbomite. It is a material and a device which prevents attack on us. If any destructive energy touches our vessel, a reverse reaction of equal strength is created, destroying the attacker! It may interest you to know that since the initial use of corbomite more than two of our centuries ago, no attacking vessel has survived the attempt. Death has little meaning to us. If it has none to you then attack us now. We grow annoyed at your foolishness.”

Balok decides not to fire on the Enterprise, and instead gets inside the equivalent of a shuttlecraft (only 2000 metric tons, according to Spock) to come tractor the Enterprise to an M-class planet in Balok’s territory.`* Kirk plays along for a bit, then has Sulu try and break away. They do, with damage to their engines, and apparently damage to Balok’s ship as well.

Rather than let Balok die from a lack of life support, Kirk, McCoy, and Bailey transport over to help (Note he did not bring an engineer, which I might have thought of doing...). Turns out what they thought Balok was was a puppet.

Instead, Balok is a bald child with funky eyebrows, and very (very) obviously dubbed over by a grown but weird-sounding man.

Balok offers the three men a drink called tranya (actually grapefruit juice for filming), and confesses his distress signal was a test. He also reveals he’s the lone occupant of the entire mile-long ship, and very lonely. He asks for one of Kirk’s crewmen to stay on board and hang out for an extended period of time. Bailey volunteers...

...and we never see him again (in canon).

*insert scary music*

* A metric ton, for the uninitiated Americans, is 1000 kg, or 2200 pounds.

** “Mesoporous” means it contains pores ranging from 2-50 nm in diameter

*** He’s reporting on the ship that sent it out. The line: “Exceptionally strong contact. Not visual yet. Distant spectrograph. Metallic, similar to cube. Much greater energy reading.”

**** Despite being completely solid, it’s somehow capable of warp travel...I cannot explain why, nor can the humans or half-vulcans living several centuries beyond me.

***** A mile-wide sphere with the mass of the Sun (which is by no means the most massive star in the galaxy, and hopefully easily measurable by the Enterprise’s sensors) would have an average density 750 times greater than that of the most dense non-black hole matter in the known universe, i.e. a neutron star. The Enterprise and its crew would be experiencing about 540 billion g’s of acceleration from their stated distance of 5000 meters away.

That’s heavy, doc.

`* He doesn’t actually say “M-class” - that hasn’t been established in the canon, yet. He just says it’ll be one that can sustain their lives.

Enjoy the blog and have a dollar to spare? I have a Patreon, now.

TOS s1e10 - Written by Jerry Sohl, Directed by Joseph Sargent

Image credits:

aerogel 1 NASA/JPL-Caltech 

aerogel 2 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 233: At Least He Has Some Spares

Previously on BnHA: Twice made a duplicate League of Villains to take on Re-Destro. Re-Destro took this in stride and very calmly inflated his left fucking arm and slapped the whole lot of them so hard that most of them literally died. But the clone Shigaraki survived somehow and scuffled with RD for a bit while RD told him the story of how his great-great-granddad was born with a quirk and his mom was like “please be kind to my baby” and society was like “nah” and then they killed her too just for good measure. Anyway so this was of course the original Destro’s Origin Story, and his mother later on became a kind of martyr figure once society began rethinking their whole outlook on the whole superpower thing, and they even borrowed the term “quirk” from her as a way of trying to honor her I guess. But Destro and his descendants weren’t happy with the fact that quirks are still regulated and ~suppressed~ and blah blah blah, so I guess in RD’s mind this gives him justification to be a massive dick and wantonly murder people left and right. It’s all very political and complicated. Anyway, so in the end the Actual Tomura came over to RD’s tower and used his quirk and the tower came crumbling down, and now Tomura and Re-Destro are gonna fight.

Today on BnHA: We jump around Deika City getting updates on the rest of the League. Twice is currently trying to save Toga while Skeptic sneaks up on them both. Spinner is duking it out with Hanabata and his squad of Dudes With Spikes All Over Them And Stuff. We learn that Spinner’s quirk really is just “Lizard Quirk. That’s It. That’s The Quirk”, which, fine, whatever then. Dabi and Blue Bunny and Compress are off somewhere, presumably. Slidin’ Go is directing traffic and about to be flattened by Gigantomachia (or so we can hope). Giran is running off with one of the clone Twices (“running off” as in to safety, as opposed to them getting married or something. although). And Tomura is having his hand ripped off by a Hulkified Re-Destro and his newly revealed Stress quirk! Just, plucked right the fuck off, like a flower petal. It’s pretty horrific! And meanwhile Horikoshi is dipping out to go take an honestly well-deserved vacation, so there won’t be a new chapter next week. So basically just good news all around. Anyhow, so Tomura seems to have his hands full here and it may be time for him to hand in the towel and hand things off to Machia before things get out of hand even more well anyways enjoy the chapter guys.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

so once again I got an Intriguing Anonymous Ask, but I only skimmed it because it seemed to delve into some of the details of the chapter, albeit in a very vague way that probably didn’t actually reveal anything. but one thing I did pick up on was that there may possibly be a break after this week’s chapter? if so I will cry but then I’ll get over it I GUESS

(ETA: well enjoy your hiatus then Horikoshi you knave.)

anyway so let’s get into it

quick observation before I actually start reading the chapter itself -- so apparently the title is “Bright Future”? correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we already had a chapter with that same title though. chapter 161, also known as the Nighteye Fucking Dies chapter. is the kanji slightly different or something, perhaps? if not that is odd

(ETA: so after reading the chapter, serious question: is this Horikoshi’s idea of a joke, or. ...

but yeah, the kanji is different. or rather, this chapter’s title isn’t written in kanji at all, but in katakana, whereas 161 was written in kanji like normal. as for the why of it, though, your guess is as good as mine. right now “mangaka has a fucked-up sense of humor” is basically at the top of my reasons list.)

anyways, clicking to the actual chapter now, and... oh wow

okay I think I mentioned the movie The Island a few recaps back, and my sincere apologies to everyone for making repeated references to a typically dumb and explosion-y Michael Bay movie where Ewan McGregor tries and fails to speak in an American accent and everything explodes for no reason and the protagonists cause so much collateral damage while being hunted down by the bad guys that you almost start to wonder if it wouldn’t actually be better for everyone if they did just die. but anyway, so I’m sorry to keep coming back to this movie, but -- and spoiler alert for a 14-year-old Michael Bay film you guys -- the plot is basically that scientists figured out how to clone people, and so Rich People immediately proceeded to make clones of themselves to keep for spare parts so that if they ever needed organ donors or the like, they’d have a perfect match available

and anyway, so you can see the connection here, right? basically this is a super-pragmatic application of Twice’s quirk, and I have to applaud the logic and ingenuity, but also bro that’s kind of a fucked-up thing to do though, sob. let’s just make a spare Toga so we can immediately harvest her blood, oh boy. though in fairness it is Toga, so maybe she won’t mind since Harvesting Blood is like her thing

also can we take a moment to appreciate how thoroughly wrecked this Skeptic!Puppet!Twice is, though. the one that’s just lying there dead. like, his leg’s all bent the wrong way and he no longer has a face and I fucking can’t stop staring at it though. I feel better knowing that it wasn’t actually a real person because that’s seriously all kinds of fucked up

anyway now the Twice clones are arguing over who gets to measure Toga. and Horikoshi has honestly built up a lot of goodwill with me over the course of this Mineta-less arc filled with hot Girans and LoV character development, but all the same he’d better watch himself though, because all of that could be gone just like that in an instant if he tries to get cute! so don’t push it dude

(ETA: and not to harp on this or anything, but Twice did clone Toga back during the My Basement Academia arc (in chapter 147), so there wasn’t really a need for this scene to begin with. but whatever, he didn’t really go overboard at least.)

okay good, actual!Twice (? is he the real one?? he’s the only one without a mask and he’s not using his arms so I think it’s him, at any rate) is shouting at the others to get their shit together

Twice Status: Still Hot. wow, and barely two seconds after I made that remark about Horikoshi needing to focus up. should I take my own advice perhaps. eh

oh my god

nooooo now I’m actually really upset that one of them’s gonna get sacrificed for the other! noooo Toga

and now we’re getting additional background information on Twice’s quirk, specifically about the fact that his clones’ appearances and personalities/memories are based on the last time the clone target was measured and the last time Twice saw said target, respectively. makes sense. so anyway because of that the clone Toga is also all beat up

friendly reminder that Toga is only seventeen and still just a kid, albeit a freaky sort of horror movie-type kid. but anyway, so I’m feeling really fucking protective of her though, and I need them to hurry up and save her already!

oh my god

yes, Dabi is the poster boy for great plastic surgery results. staples left in and everything. then again I don’t know how bad off he looked before, though. we still don’t actually know what the original injury was, aside from it obviously having something to do with the whole “his quirk fucking burns him from the inside out” thing we recently learned. you know what might help with that, Horikoshi? a flashback, omg

yuh oh

gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this is Skeptic coming to fix his screw-up before Re-Destro snaps his neck like so many Mitsubishis. or whatever that damn mouse’s name was. Miyashita?? actually I think that was it lol

anyways so let’s now turn the page and confirm if it actually is Skeptic

...confirmed

also, holy shit. just, holy shit to everything. that freaky close-up of the puppets’ faces; that blobby image of one of the puppets being formed; Skeptic’s crazy eyes in the bottom panel; him screaming I HAVEN’T FAILED!!! over and over again, etcetera. just, everything. good lord

and now we’re cutting somewhere else. looks like it’s Spinner and a bunch of the clone Twices dealing with Hanabata’s over-inspired lackeys

Spinner what is your quirk

okay so as he’s fighting he’s doing that shounen thing where he uses his keen observational skills to come up with a strategy on the fly

yes, please feel free to take him out! he’s annoying and he hasn’t done anything interesting, so really he’s just dead weight as far as this arc goes. feel free to use your quirk, too, buddy. if you even have one, holy shit. Horikoshi’s probably keeping it safe in the same place as Kacchan’s hero name

anyway so now he’s fighting his way through the waves of redshirts and trying to reach Hanabata’s van

he’s thinking that his job is to “lighten Shigaraki’s burden, if only a little”

awww. League of Loyal Bastards. I can’t believe there was ever a question of you possibly betraying these guys, Spinner. I’m sorry for doubting you, guy

Hanabata seems worryingly unconcerned, though

who the hell wears their watch on their right hand? what time is it, Hanabata? it’s time for you to fucking die already that’s what

-- oh

so it’s some kind of Magic Quirk Watch then, eh. should have figured as much

also, “A MAN WITH A WEAK SUPERPOWER SUCH AS YOURSELF” oh? please do tell us more about this quirk! also how is it that you of all people know Spinner’s quirk. Giran’s intel, I guess? I’m suddenly really annoyed that the Liberation Army apparently knows more about the LoV than we do. bastards

anyway so now Hanabata’s own quirk is being revealed, so I guess let’s see what that’s all about

okay so this is exactly what we all thought it was based on what we’ve seen of him so far. so I guess this weird mask is basically just a big microphone thing. imagine if his and Mic’s quirks were combined

at any rate if it’s not clear, I really couldn’t give two farts about Hanabata or his quirk and I just want to see Spinner take him out, and then have Gigantomachia show up and save Toga and Twice, and see Tomura kick RD’s ass. oh and Dabi still needs to beat up Rita’s Italian Ice too, I guess

(ETA: okay but Horikoshi would it really be too much to ask for at least one of these things to actually happen oh my god. my poor villain children.)

-- OH MY GOD

EVERYONE SHUT UP SPINNER’S QUIRK IS FINALLY BEING REVEALED AHHHH

lmao was I too invested in this perhaps. all this time and all this mystery and it really does end up being some little lizard quirk that lets him cling to walls? and this is how it’s revealed of all ways? he doesn’t even get an official Quirk Reveal Box?

I mean, this can’t possibly be it. he’s gonna do something badass and unexpected, and then we’ll get his Quirk Box and we’ll all be like, “OH SHIT! SPINNER!” and so forth. right??

(ETA: I seriously can’t decide if this will actually be the case, or if this is another Sports Festival scenario where I’m firmly expecting the typical shounen thing and Horikoshi has something else planned entirely.)

wow

as opposed to you? your power is literally just “I can get stupid people all hyped up.” it’s probably given you an overinflated sense of your own importance, and I can’t wait for you to get one-upped by this lil lizard boy with his ninja turtles costume and the tactical knife he bought on Amazon

oh shit lol

so I guess that’s as good a way as any of syncing up all of this action to one timeline again

heh Hanabata’s panicking a bit

I’m enjoying this, ngl

oh shit!

this motherfucker really popped through a magic quirk hole in the wall and grabbed onto Spinner and suddenly got all spiny just like that oh shit

AHHH

SOMEONE HELP OUR BOY, HE’S BEING PORCUPINED BY FUCKING REDSHIRTS. WHAT IS THIS

now Hanabata’s directing all of the remaining cannon fodder to go and help Re-Destro. well at least that’ll get some of them off of Spinner’s back

YESSSSSSS

GET HIM SPINNER GO FOR THE JUGULAR!!

AHHH SPINNER FLASHBACKS YESSSSS, THE MY FLASHBACKS ACADEMIA ARC CONTINUES

I’ve suddenly been struck by the urgent need to go do my dishes from last night omg. Spinner would it kill you to take the fucking trash out at least

oh shit you guys he’s making a speech!

IT’S HAPPENNIIIIIIING. go, Spinner! speech! and then kick some ass! and then Quirk Reveal Box and “OH SHIT! SPINNER!” just like we planned!!

sob why am I empathizing with this guy who’s getting inspired by Stain and then by Tomura’s “let’s destroy everything! :)” rant of all things. what has this arc done to me. Spinner I can’t relate to you at all omg. but, just like every other member of the League of Villains, at your core you’re really just someone who was searching for a place to belong, and damned if that’s not the most quintessentially human struggle of all

so to sum, you sure picked some questionable role models there but I support you, kid

sure Horikoshi, go ahead and just fling Spinner’s super-weak and boring quirk in my fucking face then! lol okay I get it! it was never meant to be some big reveal to wow us all at a dramatic moment; the whole point is that he’s utterly unremarkable, and it doesn’t matter because despite what the MLA believes, quirks don’t define who a person is. all right, all right. that’s cool then

no you dingus he’s trying to say that even if he doesn’t have a big flashy quirk, y’all ain’t shit either and he’s still going to kick your ass

-- OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM TO ADVISE YOU ALL THAT OUR HANDSOME BOY GIRAN SURVIVED THE TOWER FALL AND IS FINE AND DANDY! and still handsome! so we all can rest easy now on that account, thank god

omg omg omg

Tomura VS Re-Destro hype intensifies!!

also lmao because I genuinely think he’s asking him for real because he can’t quite sort out reality from his sleep-deprived hallucinations right now

or maybe that shouldn’t be “lmao” on my part, because that’s actually a legitimately concerning thing, there. but I can’t help it guys, he’s so tired and fully and entirely out of fucks, and RD is so fucking screwed and doesn’t even know it and it’s going to be so goddamn satisfying I can’t fucking wait

anyways, no, Tomura. he was not. but he’s apparently got some sort of Hulk quirk. so you just do your best and you sic your own Hulk on him then if need be

yessss he’s talking trash, yes, Tomura!! you’re doing great!!

IT PROBABLY FEELS BAD! I BET! HAHAHA. SUCK IT

LOOK AT THIS YOU GUYS OMG

ranged attacks and everything, now! I wonder if he’s always had this sort of capability and we’ve just never seen it before, or if this is another new development. probably the latter. those six weeks of training really leveled him up

wow even his fucking shoes are disintegrating now

so GiranTwice are getting the fuck out of Dodge, and Giran’s right arm just sort of ends in this big mess of bandages omg

don’t worry Giran, Twice is gonna get Dabi’s plastic surgeon on the job. you will be fine

holy shit you guys would you look at this fucking shounen bullshit

I’m starting to get an inkling that this will be the kind of fight that’s going to look amazing in anime form, but will basically just be a lot of flying rocks and smashing panels in manga form. and I’m prepared for that if that is indeed the case! I have not forgotten what genre this actually is, and that this is still a manga where the main character’s attacks all end in “SMASH!!!”, and every so often we get to a point where the characters who are at the center of the current conflict just have to punch it out. so I’m not going to complain

but I do hope that won’t be all there is to this, though. and ngl, I have higher expectations for BnHA’s fights than for any other manga’s fights, and I’m still expecting a few twists here

(ETA: oh lord I should just learn to keep my fucking mouth shut.)

oh shit

poor Spinner. fucking Re-Destro gets a Quirk Reveal Box before he does

also it does seem to be a Hulk quirk then, huh. so it’s safe to say that once Gigantomachia shows up and they hash things out, there won’t really be a town here afterwards. like, this entire city is about to be straight up wiped off the map. that’s lowkey terrifying to think about

-- HEY WHAT THE

(ETA: sob he looks so shocked. that’s right Tomura, it’s the hard knocks path to redemption for you too, buddy boy. probably when you go talk to Ujiko to get it patched up after the arc is over it’ll trigger some more character development somehow. just, my point is that you are an important character in a shounen manga, and so, unlike people in real life, you at least can be somewhat assured that your pain is probably happening for a reason.)

fuckING -- IS THAT REALLY -- DID THEY JUST

DID THIS MOTHERFUCKING INKBLOT HULK MAN REALLY JUST PINCH MY BOY’S HANDS BETWEEN HIS GIANT THUMB AND INDEX FINGER AND JUST FUCKING PLUCK HIS FUCKING FINGERS OFF HOLY GODDAMN FUCK

DID HE DO THAT TO GIRAN. IS THAT WHAT HE FUCKING DID TO GIRAN I’M ABOUT TO FUCKING -- I CAN’T --

IS THIS FUCKING ATTACK ON TITAN, GODDAMN!? WHAT THE WHY

THERE REALLY IS A HIATUS SOB I CAN’T. I HOPE HE HAS A GOOD TIME ON HIS VACATION OR WHATEVER, THEN!! BE THAT WAY! I KNOW YOU’RE A HUMAN BEING AND ENTITLED TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF AND GET SOME GODDAMN SLEEP AND GO TO CONVENTIONS OR WHATEVER, BUT I’M ALSO ONLY HUMAN, AND WHEN YOU TAKE MY WEEKLY FIX AWAY WITH NO PRIOR NOTICE, I’M GOING TO GET CRANKY ABOUT IT. I CAN’T HELP IT OKAY

GOD DAMN IT

fuck

sob. okay sorry guys, I’m done being dramatic now. so let’s go back and finish up those last four panels that I haven’t actually read yet orz

lol there already practically isn’t a town there anymore. Giganto you better hurry up and come finish it off. this asshole is out here playing the most vicious game of eenie meenie miney moe the world has ever seen with your boss’s hands and it’s very upsetting

who the fuck is this

lmao what. someone’s actually trying to visit the city? turn your van around, pal. we are closed for business for real here

and then our last two panels are Slidin’ Go being all punchable, and then getting shaken up by a sudden earthquake omg

I WONDER WHAT THAT COULD BE omg. :) :’D

well shit. so! 

a wild Gigantomachia approaches

Slidin’ Go is living on borrowed time presumably (good riddance)

Skeptic is trying to harass Twice again while he’s busy trying to save poor Toga’s life, like excuse you dude, no, please fuck off

Dabi is currently MIA and still fighting Dippin’ Dots while trying to keep his organs from getting any more roasted. maybe a flashback would help you there, Dabi. I don’t know how, but it couldn’t hurt, surely. I promise I have no ulterior motives in suggesting this

Spinner is trying to work out how to score a really satisfying victory to show us all that Quirks Aren’t Everything

Giran and his bandaged arm are running off to safety with Twice, which is the only thing that really matters in the end here

and Shigaraki Tomura has just had his own hand Luke Skywalkered in the manga’s latest and greatest instance of Cruelty Against Limbs. but at least this presumably means that he himself is about to get a hell of a lot hotter if Giran and Twice are anything to go by

so yeah. a lotta stuff going on. so really it’s the perfect time for a hiatus. lol

well, friends. I’ll see you all in two weeks I guess. hopefully someone will lend Tomura a hand. ba dum crash

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 227: Basically Just Me Saying “Holy Shit” a Bunch

Previously on BnHA: We went on a semi-enlightening romp into Toga’s past. Basically she was an adorable child who just so happened to have a taste for blood. And whoever’s job is was to explain to her, “hey Toga, I know you like blood, but other people like being alive, so, you know. Let’s explore some other options for you,” they basically dropped the ball there. So after she murdered her hapless Deku-looking classmate in middle school, she went on the run, and we basically know the rest. Back in the present, Toga had just been blown up from the inside out as you may recall, so she spent most of the chapter kind of out of it. At one point Kizuki even started talking about her like she was already dead, reassuring her that she’d become a martyr for the Army’s cause (which, no thanks). But then Toga managed to stumble to her feet and transform into Ochako as she tried to flee. It was revealed that while transformed, she can use the quirk of whoever she’s turned into, and she proceeded to demonstrate this by floating Kizuki (and half her redshirt goons) a hundred feet into the air before dropping her back down to the pavement. Yeah. So I’m pretty sure she’s dead now. Ah well.

Today on BnHA: Toga passes out in a shed after a job well done. We learn that the MLA is recording all of the fighting, most likely for propaganda purposes because as we have previously established they’re a bunch of dicks. Hanabata confirms that Kizuki is dead and gets the Army all fired up. They charge at Tomura, who is really fucking sleep-deprived you guys, and as he stands there blinking at them he has another flashback. Turns out the little girl from the previous flashback was his sister, and back when they were cute lil munchkins and she was still alive (sob), she showed him a picture of Nana and told him that their grandma was a hero. Tomura doesn’t remember this clearly, but he remembers the accompanying emotions, which is enough to get me hyped out of my mind fyi. Back in the present, Tomura disintegrates I’m-gonna-go-with-about-200 Army henchpeople basically instantaneously without even touching some of them, which, oh shit. And then Dabi is all “oh cool I want to do some mass murder too” but before he can let loose, some dude with fucking ice powers shows up to challenge him. I guess this means we’re never going to get Touya VS Shouto, or if we do it’s going to be very repetitive. But it’s not like I’m complaining either way. Here’s hoping the villain flashback trend continues next week because omfg.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter like an hour ago lol. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity, but aside from that this is as close to a live liveblog as I’m going to get. It took two-thirds of a year, but these recaps are finally caught up.)

this is so exciting guys. I mean, for me the reading process is basically the same, but the posting process is going to be a new one since I’ll be trying to get this up the same day once I’ve read it! so you can expect many exciting errors and brain farts! prepare for the full brunt of my unpolished rough draft thoughts!

so anyway, here’s Toga

lol so much to analyze here. real quick:

“sleepy.” if that isn’t the most relatable chapter title in the history of time, though

loving the “my villain academia” logo in the background! as far as I’m concerned that’s the official title of this arc

“the conclusion of the battles” y’all I read this and I was like “what?! already!?!” but then I realized they’re talking about volume 23, which features the conclusion of the joint training battle arc. so who knows how many more villain battlin’ chapters we’ve still got ahead. I have a feeling we’re already winding down, though

note how all of the stuffed animals are stabbed. ah this girl

it’s 2214, who the fuck still uses polaroid cameras. that would be like someone in our time using a [googles inventions from 200 years ago] modern suspension bridge. ...wait

anyway you guys maybe I should start reading the actual chapter already if I want any hope of actually getting this posted before fucking midnight though

oh hey, so Toga is dying in a shed you guys. fun

I’m not really thrilled about this! to be honest! I mean for fuck’s sake she’s only 17. she was blown up from the inside out. and although the consequences initially seemed to have possibly been handwaved, it appears that no one can escape BnHA’s realistic injury clause for long! so. yeah

I get why she hid, because it’s not like the others are just gonna drop everything to come help her (although Twice, though...), and there are enemies everywhere so this is probably safer. but it also means that if she passes out here there’s a good chance she’s not going to wake up again! and that is bad! that is very much not good

what she really needs to do is call Ujiko! hitch a ride out of there while you still can! he is a doctor, right? even if it is the questionable mad scientist type! worst case, you end up as a Noumu. actually, wait a sec, maybe we should think this through

and yet the fact that she’s still laughing, though. just. goddammit. I love her so much. I swear to god Toga if you fucking die...!!

so now she’s curling up in the fetal position and thinking “once again I’ve gotten closer to you”

yeah, Deku really does do this every other week. or he did for a little while at least sob

and now we are cutting to ReDestro who for some reason is monologuing about Toga!

oh right, because he had the cameras and shit set up to livestream that shit

okay but is it just me or is he not looking at any cameras. he’s just enjoying the view from his little observation tower same as before. does his quirk allow him to see everywhere at once or what

is it bad that I barely even paid attention to the actual content of his ramblings lol. it’s just the same old same old. blah blah society rejects anyone who’s different, it’s so unfair, blah blah

it’s not a bad point, mind you; it’s just that RD and his army are completely full of shit and acting like they’re so much better even though they’re just a bunch of mur-diddly-urderers. it’s like how PETA acts like they’re champions of animal rights when really they mostly just kill shelter animals, insult Steve Irwin, and claim that milk causes autism. but I digress sob

oh shit I forgot about this dude

here I was thinking there was only the one other miniboss to go before the big bad. silly me. how could I have forgotten that two page spread and our friend here with the Gorillaz mouth and the Beatles haircut

wow are you serious?

Giran sitting there with one skeptical eyebrow raised thinking about how these guys threatened to kill him in order to lure his friends out so that they could, you guessed it, kill them!

and also, way to completely disregard the dozens of other minions who already bit the dust before Kizuki. like, your entire town is basically doomed, guy. but sure let’s cry for the one dead villain who actually had a name though

holy shit you guys

are you telling me that’s why you were recording the whole thing? is that why you invited the League here in the first place?? for the fucking publicity? kill the bad guys and earn the public’s good will? did I miss that part of the planning sesh, or was this objective already painfully obvious and I somehow either missed it or forgot all about it?

either way it’s amazing how these guys become bigger assholes with each progressive chapter

oh now he’s explaining it all on the next page lol. so I guess I didn’t miss the memo, good

okay but first he’s getting real physical with my boy Giran here though

okay first of all, all he did was say “footage...?” like wth was so fucking impolite about that. and second, why do I get the feeling that there’s probably a fair percentage of people who read this chapter and got to this panel and now suddenly ship it sob

I mean, he just got so up close and personal though. all up in his face. this guy has such a weird energy and it’s really creeping me out now ngl

anyway so here we go with the explanations

holy shit you guyssssssssss

when did Giran get so fucking hot?? and is he single?! asking for a friend???!

anyway so now RD is wiping away his crocodile tears and says Giran is lacking in imagination

oh hey

what an interesting segue back to Tomura!

wow, Spinner’s asking how much longer until Big G wakes up, and Compress says one hour and twenty minutes. so that means they’ve already been at it for like an hour and fifteen minutes! minus however much time it took to warp over and then follow Back-Stab n’ Go out to the center of town for the ambush. even if that took a whole half hour they’ve still been fighting for a long time! but I guess they’re more than used to that by this point, thank you so much Ujiko and your six weeks of brutal endurance training

Spinner’s all “no matter how many we defeat, they just keep on coming!” and I know, dude, it’s almost like there’s over one hundred thousand of them or something dfskdj

although to be fair, probably not every last one of them is actually there. can you imagine. it might take a whole nother hour to beat them all

now Hanabata is driving in on the back of an election van. because apparently he just fucked right off in the middle of his fight with the League, and then came back. with a van

so he’s all “EVERYONE I HAVE SOME DEEPLY SADDENING NEWS” and oh my gosh what is it

oh

yeah dude we already been knew. RIP and all that

so the crowd is all distressed and asking what the Supreme Leader said

really?? that’s what they call him?? yeah you guys aren’t evil at all

and Hana quotes, “‘do not let her sacrifice be in vain’“

sorry bruh. but. it’s gonna be in vain. hate to break it to you

right??

GASP

TWICE STOP BEING AWED AT HANABATA’S INFLUENTIAL AURA AND START PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DUDE WHO’S SNEAKING UP BEHIND YOU AND TRYING TO SNATCH YOUR MASK OFF

anyway so in the meantime this is happening

maybe there are 100k of them. seems like there’s a lot. I do like that from this angle it appears that Tomura and the others have holed up in a relatively narrow alley, thus creating a choke point and limiting the number of enemies who can attack them all at once. although this panel does make it look like there’s just a big ol’ wave of bad guys surfing their way towards them though, so it remains to be seen how effective this strategy will actually be lol

eh?

yeah no shit boy you’ve been fighting Daruk from BotW for the last month and a half

anyway so apparently he’s feeling ~weird~ though

I shit you not guys, my sister was hospitalized a couple months back (she’s fine now) because she started hallucinating after a three-day bout of insomnia. shit is no joke. don’t be like Tomura. go to bed and don’t stay up all night fighting villains

-- OH SHIT!?!

ASDFALSDFHLKSDHLFKJHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT’S A LITTLE GIRL!! AND SHE’ S OPENING A SECRET DRAWER!!

SHE’S ALL “IT’S OUR LITTLE SECRET!” OH MY GOD

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SWEET JESUS MARY JOSEPH!? HORIKOSHI DO YOU FUCKING READ THE THEORY POSTS ON TUMBLR JUST SO YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY SHIT ON THEM TWO DAYS AFTER?? HOW THE FUCK

AND IS NANA’S SON WEARING DEKU SHOES?? OH MY GOD PLEASE

AND THIS MEANS THE LITTLE GIRL IS ACTUALLY TENKO’S SISTER SOBBBBBBBBB NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE THIS MAKES TOMURA MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GO APESHIT ON AFO’S ASS IF HE COMES TO REALIZE THAT AFO INDIRECTLY MURDERED HIS SISTER OH SHIT

BUT SHIT YOU GUYS, SHE’S SO CUTE AND SHE’S FUCKING DEAD NOW SOB THAT’S SO FUCKING HORRIBLE I MEAN IT I’M REALLY UPSET THOUGH

BUT LET’S CONTINUE WITH THE FLASHBACK TO SEE IF HORIKOSHI WANTS TO TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS ANYMORE!!

NANA DIDN’T DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB ERASING ALL TRACES OF HER CONNECTION TO HER CHILD AND IT EVENTUALLY RESULTED IN HIS DEATH OH SHIT. I’M SERIOUSLY SO UPSET ABOUT THIS??

NOTE HOW BABY TENKO’S FACE IS PURPOSELY BLACKED OUT EVEN THOUGH (A) HIS SISTER’S IS NOT, AND (B) WE SHOULD, IN THEORY, ALREADY KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE! IT’S BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE THE SCARS OR THE WHITE HAIR YET CUZ AFO HASN’T WIPED HIS MEMORIES. [nods sagely as though I have any sort of proof of this whatsoever and it’s not all just wild speculation and conjecture]

HANAAAAAAAA oh shit I better come up with another nickname for Hanabata then. looks like it’s Back To The Full Name for you mister

!!?!?!?

okay you guys I think this is intentional misdirection. we’re meant to believe that Tenko’s dad was perhaps abusive and that his behavior toward his son ultimately triggered the awakening of his quirk and led to all of the subsequent Horrible Things happening

but I think what it actually is is that Tenko’s dad probably resents Nana for giving him up. and maybe Tenko wanted to know more about her and maybe he got in trouble for it? because now Hana is showing him the picture, and then talking about this mysterious conversation with their dad and saying she’s on Tenko’s side. so that’s my bet

anyway! but this means Tomura might not need as much convincing as I previously speculated! I figured he probably wouldn’t know much, if anything, about his grandma even if he did somehow get his memories back, because he was only four when all that shit went down, and Nana had parted ways with Tomura’s dad years ago. but if he actually did know a bit about her and even possibly felt a connection with her, as this flashback suggests, that could go a long way towards fueling his eventual breakaway from AFO’s side once All Might is able to explain the truth

ahhhhh you guys this is exciting I’m excited. though also still very sad though because wtf seriously

so Tomura’s tiredly thinking that the least his stupid memories could do is show him the whole picture instead of these fragments. “it’s like a broken tape recording or something”

HOLY SHIT

...I have no words. holy shit

anyone else getting flashbacks to the Highway to Hell though? what is it with Tomura and periodically pulling off the most badass stunts in the whole fucking manga. all because he didn’t get his nap dsflkjlk

ReDestro look at this loss of life. are you crying again. no, I can’t imagine that you are. you ass

you guys are probably getting tired of me just going “holy shit” over and over, but

hooooooooooooly shit

guys, if Tomura can dust people without even touching them he might as well just change his name to fucking Thanos and we’d better start praying this kid gets redeemed and soon

so now there’s a panel of Tomura being all drooly, and honestly he looks like he’s about to pass out. not sure if this is intended to be a glam shot or what lol

ohhhhSHIT

YESSSSSSSSSSS DABI. DRACARYS

!LKJDSLFKJLSDKJF!!

OH SHIT YOU GUYS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE ABOUT TO GET ALL A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE UP IN THIS BITCH

who is this weird little black mage. I’ll tell you one thing, he’s the only guy I’ve seen so far who’s actually dressed appropriately for fucking December weather, though, so good on him

will he defeat our boy Touya (spoilers, he won’t)? will Touya have some flashbacks of his own (TOUYA PLEASE), since that seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days? will I lose my fucking shit all over again next week? stay tuned! but yes I absolutely will, oh jesus this is awesome

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 014: Chapter 13 Died for This

But it’s okay. We’ve put all of that behind us now.

Previously on BnHA: RESCUE TRAINING VILLAIN INVASION

Today on BnHA: Aizawa is a fucking badass. Class 1-A gets ambushed and split up into convenient little two-and-three-person groups perfect for having a bunch of quick minifights that’ll give some of the less prominent characters a chance to briefly shine. Deku and Tsuyu wind up on a boat surrounded by a bunch of angry fishpeople. Basically a lot of setup, but exciting setup.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 19 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

fyi it’s the middle of the a.m. and I’m supposed to be sleeping. but fuck it

(ETA: in hindsight I really should have just gone to sleep lmao)

would be nice to see these color spreads in color. I’m sure I can find them somewhere but I’m too lazy

“Encounter with the Unknown” well that’s accurate, I guess

did these guys just wake up one day and think “I’m gonna go full evil”, or was it a gradual process? most shounen series I’ve read feature villains who are evil but also eventually redeemable. but somehow I can’t picture that happening with these guys

also I suppose that waking up one day when you’re only three or four years old, only to find that your skull has vanished, leaving your brain exposed, and that you’ve suddenly grown a fucking dinosaur beak with razor-sharp teeth, might fuck someone up enough to start ‘em down that villainous path. I GUESS

(ETA: apparently for my example I accidentally picked the one guy that supposedly was created expressly FOR the purposes of being evil)

these gung-ho superhero wannabe teens are not taking this situation nearly seriously enough IMO

sigh

also where are they watching from? how did they get to such a distant vantage point so quickly?

I hope the anime version of this clears that up

ohhhh hold up, I’m just now realizing that because the panels placed Aizawa and the villains so close to one another when the portal first appeared, I assumed that’s how close they actually WERE, but in reality Aizawa was watching from a distance the whole time I think

spatial awareness, I lack it

seems like communications have been cut off

they tell Kaminari (remember that name remember that name...) to try to signal for help with his quirk! I guess his lightning/electricity quirk gives him the ability to do that somehow. cool beans

Deku is concerned because Aizawa won’t be able to take them all on at once. but Thirteen is right there though. his their quirk is pretty OP

(ETA: I have been advised that Thirteen’s gender is actually supposed to be ambiguous and Viz just took it upon themselves to label them as a “he” because it wouldn’t be Viz if they weren’t ruining things entirely unnecessarily. so from this point forward I will be changing any “he/hims” to “they/them” when referring to Thirteen.)

OH MY DAMN AIZAWA’S GOT SOME SHIT UP HIS SLEEVE

YESSS he’s not even asking Thirteen to help. he seems REALLY confident that he’s got this. what are you up to you badass fucking ninja

(ETA: apparently he is a badass self-sacrificing fucking ninja about to get way in over his head!! not gonna lie I love him all the more for it)

now he’s making a heroic leap down to the villain group

some redshirt villains are wondering who he is, even though the other villains addressed him by name only moments earlier. I don’t know who is in which fucking group, because you’d think they would have heard that, but apparently not

ooohh these motherfuckers bout to die and I can’t wait

SURPRISE BITCH YOUR QUIRKS DON’T WORK AND NOW YOU’RE BEING K.O.’D

“YOU DUMBASSES THAT’S ERASER HEAD” YESSSS SAY HIS NAME AND LET THAT FEAR ECHO DEEP WITHIN THE PIT OF YOUR SOULS YOU TRASH MOTHERFUCKERS

this one guy made out of rocks expresses doubt that Eraser Head’s quirk will work on him. wow you’re just asking for it aren’t you dude

doesn’t seem to slow him down though

oh my god he’s ducking and weaving so beautifully and effectively. apparently he’s really good at hand-to-hand combat. and they don’t know whose quirk he’s canceling because of the goggles. it’s surprising how good he really is at handling a group

I take it he doesn’t consider himself an ordinary villain, then :/

Deku is supposed to be evacuating but he’s just watching EH kick ass

the fact that we’ve cut back to Deku suggests that something bad is about to happen, though 8|!

um

uh

yeah I’d say so, yeah

motherfucker these guys got a fucking league

I was gonna make a joke about how this eloquent guy clearly went to an elite fancy villain high school. but then I thought again that there might really actually be a villain school. so, uh

yeah that’s right Deku, they’re after your dad

this guy doesn’t seem to know that All Might’s currently chilling in the break room, so that’s good? less good is that he doesn’t seem too worried about him not being there

AHHHH MOMOTOPS AND BAKUGOU ARE RUSHING HIM ALL OF A SUDDEN

WHAT THE FUCK DOES A GUY WITH THE POWER OF HARDENING THINK HE’S GOING TO DO AGAINST A GUY MADE OUT OF EVIL VAPOR

AND BAKUGOU’S NOT MUCH BETTER OFF

HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU TWO BRICKS

“that was close” you don’t have to lie, Dr. Neck

(ETA: oh my god I can’t believe this of all things got a fucking callback. that’ll show me to ever assuming anything at all about this fucking series.)

Thirteen’s just standing there holding an arm out and saying “no, get back!”

fucking useless. you were supposed to be cool, Thirteen

I SWEAR TO GOD THIS SHADOWY MOTHERFUCKER BETTER NOT EAT MY SON

“WRITHE IN TORMENT” OH JESUS

so now this black mist is swirling around fucking EVERYONE

EVERYONE

and then it fades...

and now Deku is... falling? into the flood zone?

ohhh so he did the portal/teleportation thing again. that seems to be his ability, then

so I guess he split them all up. which makes sense; when you have this many characters, you need to split them into smaller groups so as to be more manageable. but they’re also going to still need other characters to interact with, so I wonder who Deku’s going to be paired up with then?

I really need either him or Bakugou to be paired with Todoroki

uh oh Deku’s not even out of the water yet and he’s already run into another villain

this man is literally a meme. I wonder if he’s aware

-- AYYYYYYY

MY GIRL TSUYU WITH THE DYNAMITE SAVE

aaaand she’s wrapping her tongue around Izuku

and pulling him to safety!

how is she talking with her tongue wrapped around a guy. HOW DO THESE CHARACTERS ALWAYS FUCKING DO THAT

they surface! and for some reason there is a boat!

oh she also rescued Mineta!

and

I see. I see. this is why I was warned about him

anyway!

WHATEVER A FROG CAN DO!!! OF COURSE!!!!

Izu is thinking furiously and has Resting Hero Face and it really suits him

this kid doesn’t miss a trick

Mineta points out that there’s no way they could ever possibly beat All Might! but even Tsuyu, who doesn’t actually know that All Might has a weakness, nonetheless realizes that the villains must have found one if they went through all this trouble just to get to him

I shouldn’t keep being surprised by how smart and talented all of these kids are. they managed to get accepted into this school, and so far they’ve lived up to that elite reputation. and yet, I consistently am surprised, and pleasantly so

well, I was trying not to be biased either toward or against him, but so far he’s not making a very good impression this chapter

oh shit the fish guy is back and now there’s somehow like a dozen of him??

WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM

meanwhile Deku is more clueless than I expected

you literally know the way to beat All Might, though?? he’s losing his powers and he’s secretly very weak without them?? you know this???

would “revenge” not be a good enough motive even without all the rest? I guess I’ll shut up and see where he’s going with this

there’s a whole page of Deku thinking about how much he loves All Might

I wonder if maybe he literally can’t understand why someone would want to kill him

that’s very sweet actually

meanwhile Todoroki is off somewhere kicking ass and taking names

easy there A Song of Ice and Fire

and it looks like Bakugou is stuck with... ... ...I still can’t remember his name. Momotops it is and continues to be

the actual Momo is paired up with Lightning McQueen and the extendable ears girl! and her quirk looks to have something to do with making weapons appear out of her limbs or some shit. fucking sweet

also that means it makes logical sense for her to have as much of her limbs exposed as possible, and to be honest I’m glad there’s actually a logical reason for her to have the skimpy costume then

and shit, Iida, Homestuck, Too Many Arms and Ochako are still facing off with Dr. Neck

Dr. Neck’s neck hasn’t really been prominently featured since his appearance at the end of chapter 11, but I’m in this too deep to back out now

Aizawa is still being epic, but he needs to wrap this up now cuz the kiddos are in danger!

or at least, in theory they are

well. this is shounen, after all

BONUS:

Tsuyu is so flipping cute. I didn’t expect to have that opinion when she was first introduced but here we are

I’m really glad he made her a girl