#thinking about the last few chapters of vol 3

[clockworkreapers]

Amelia O'Brien has been targeted. Jeremy Pascal has been targeted. Jack Townsend has been targeted. Rosa Vasquez has been-

[natihoneybee]

Kagi-kun & the Basketball Team and HiraKagi Theories Post Chapter 29

In my free time, I spent the last few days rereading all of Hirano & Kagiura (including the novel) and then skimming through all of Sasaki & Miyano for Easter eggs. I wanted to compile as many details as I could find that’s related to Kagiura and his basketball team. I’m doing this to organize my thoughts better, and piece together details about the team.

While going through the material, I did come up with more theories for the upcoming chapter(s). But I might have to make a separate thread depending on how long the post gets. Anyway, I want this post to have facts and key details, so I’ll try to include volume and page numbers, too.

The first half of the post about Kagi-kun & the basketball team possibly has some spoilers for Ch. 29 but not really. Just in case I’m putting it under a “read more” line.

What we know about the basketball team

These are the names of basketball players mentioned so far: Shirahama Kyouji, Tomonori Kuda, Yamada, and Muroi Yuuki. These are the basketball players’ numbers we know about so far: Kagiura is #11 and there are two players who are #7 & #4 from a Shirahama flashback (Vol 10, chapter 49, page 18-19).

We know that Kagiura and the basketball team go to the city to watch basketball games or play outside of practice at a gym (Vol 4, chapter 11, page 7). Kagiura tells Hirano that there’s an arena nearby where a pro basketball team plays. And that the school basketball team sometimes takes the school buses (Vol 1, chapter 4, page 17). Based on some paperwork in (Vol 6, chapter 27, page 7), it looks like there is going to be an off-campus basketball retreat in the near future, which I think is going to come up in the next chapter and might be part of a larger arc in the next volume. But I will address that idea at the end in the “Basketball Retreat Theory” section.

Kagiura Akira

*I'm gonna be brief with Kagi's section because I could go on and on about him hehe

I’m really excited to see more of how Kagiura interacts with his teammates on the basketball team. While rereading, I focused on the scenes of Kagi with his basketball teammates and these scenes from (Vol 5, ch 23a) really stood out to me. Kagiura overhears another player complaining about him “getting out of cleaning” (Vol 5, ch 23a, page 3). And when he meets up with Hirano later that chapter, it’s revealed he’s late because he stayed behind and that “they needed help cleaning up” (Vol 5, ch 23a, page 8). I think that really goes to show the type of person Kagi is and how much he cares about the basketball club. He really works hard at it and doesn’t want anyone questioning his dedication to it. I'll get into this trait of his later in the Basketball Retreat Theory.

Jealous-kun

*I saw someone in another post say that this guy^ complaining about Kagi “getting out of cleaning” from (Vol 5, ch 23a, page 3) is the same guy in (Vol 6, chapter 29). And OMGG you are totally right!! GAAAHHH!! Idk his name though. If anyone could come up with a nickname while we wait, that would make talking about him easier (i’ll prob just call him jealous-kun for now). I'm assuming based on the translation, that he's also a second year.

Back to Kagi

Another thing I’ve been thinking about is a scene from (Vol 3, chapter 14, page 10-12) where a girl tries to give chocolates to Kagi on valentines day. I think her near confession is very precious. Kagi is so sweet about kindly turning down her chocolates. He seems really serious about what she has to say to him, too: he’s genuinely listening, asks her for her name, thanks her for watching their games and offers to walk her to the station. And the words she used to describe him “you looked so cool and mature when you were focusing”, definitely stuck with him in the context of Hirano: “I wonder if he’d think I’m cool and fall for me if I acted more mature”. Just something to think about. Now, this valentine’s day scene reminds of a scene in sasamiya with Shirahama, but I’ll get to that in his character section below.

Shirahama Kyouji

Shirahama in HiraKagi

Shirahama and Kagiura seem to be close, they frequently play basketball together even when there’s no practice scheduled, like during lunch (Vol 3, chapter 12, page 9-19) and on weekends (Vol 4, chapter 11, page 7). Someone in another post called them “basketball buddies” hehe. I think we’re definitely going to see more of their friendship as teammates in the upcoming chapters. Shirahama talks a lot about wanting a girlfriend, and often whines about how Kagiura is so popular with girls (Vol 4, chapter 20.6, pages 2-5). In the extra “Something About White Day”, Shirahama learns that Kagi has an unrequited love though, so I’m wondering if they will talk about love later on or if Kagiura will open up about his crush on Hirano to Shirahama. And even though Shirahama lightly complains about Kagi’s popularity with girls, he definitely cares about and respects Kagi enough to defend him from other players who are jealous of Kagi (Vol 5, ch 23a, page 3).

Shirahama in SasaMiya

Now jumping to the sasamiya series real quick in their third year: Something I’ve noticed is shirahama becoming more of a regular character since Vol 8. And we finally get a character name tag for him in (Vol 8, chapter 42, page 4). Since he’s becoming a bigger role in the sasamiya series, this goes back to my idea of shirahama possibly having a bigger role in hirakagi, too (i.e. he and kagi talking more about crushes or relationships). When I reread the parts of how Shirahama reacted to sasaki and miyano’s relationship (with the context of hirakagi) I started thinking: Does Shirahama know something about Kagiura and Hirano (to some extent)? Like maybe he knows that Kagiura has a crush or at this point is in a relationship that’s secret. Before learning about Miyano and Sasaki, maybe shirahama’s only example of how a couple acts was Kagiura and his experiences. Since, Shirahama seemed really surprised that Miyano wasn’t keeping his relationship a secret, I wonder if maybe Kagiura ever confided to Shirahama about his feelings for or eventual relationship with Hirano and if it was kept secret at some point because they were roommates (this is only the case if they start dating while being roommate, but I think they start dating in Kagiura’s third year tbh).

For Reference, here are the page numbers in sasamiya with Shirahama that I’m referring to: (Vol 8, chapter 42, page 4-8), (Vol 9, chapter 43, page 8), (Vol 10, chapter 49, page 18-21). And these are the specific Shirahama scenes/lines that stick out to me in the sasamiya series that may or may not back up my hirakagi theory involving shirahama (or I’m just delulu *shrug*):

In (Vol 8, chapter 42, page 4) Shirahama says “I’m never gonna get the chance to stay late at school getting everything ready for the cultural festival and then leave with a girl after I tell her it’s dangerous so she should let me walk her home!” He says it’s from a sim game, but it’s really specific and actually reminded me of Kagiura on valentine’s day haha. I wonder if this will happen to Kagiura in his 2nd year in the upcoming cultural festival.

“Let’s say I don’t find a girlfriend before college. Then I’m gonna end up getting a job and going out drinking, saying, ‘I wanna get married…!’ I feel like I’m gonna end up sounding like this guy on the team, and I don’t want that.” (vol 8, ch 42, pg 5).

“You scared me…!! You can’t just say that! It’s a secret!” (vol 8, ch 42, pg 7)

Shirahama says “Is that really what couples usually do…? Guess I was overthinking it.” (Vol 9, ch 43, pg 8)

I’m really interested in what y’all think about the scene in (Vol 10, chapter 49, page 18-21). It seems like Shirahama really doesn’t want to miss basketball practice and the flashback scene he recalls actually hits a nerve. Do you think maybe Shirahama is feeling insecure about his role in the basketball club here? Like maybe he’s not always part of the main team in tournaments? I initially thought that this was a Kagi cameo, but the jersey’s say #4 and #7, and I’ve read somewhere that Kagi’s jersey number is #11.

*Side note: I can’t remember which page in sasamiya it was, but Shirahama mentions going on group dates a lot. Is he going with some guys from the basketball team? If anyone knows, please please pleasee let me know. Obviously, I don’t think Kagi would go, but I can imagine him being asked to go to help the other guys out or “evening out the numbers” haha OR being asked NOT to go because he’s too popular with girls. It could be a funny scene to see idk.

Okay, I think that’s all I have to say about Shirahama on the basketball team for now. I’ll probably refer back to him later though.

Tomonori Kuda

I think he’s the one Kagi mentions in these passages in the HiraKagi light novel on pages 22 and 26. And I think that they might have a “rivals to teammates to friends” type of relationship. At least, that’s the impression I got from the novel when Kagi cheers for him at the Sports Festival and thinks “I’ve gotta tell him how glad I am that he joined the basketball team.”

Also, you can see the name “Tomonori Kuda” in Kagiura’s phone call log, and before Hirano called, he was the last person Kagi talked to on the phone (Vol 1, chapter 3, page 31). So, I’m kinda hoping that they’re close and we see more of that. When the regular players are called over at practice, Kagi and Kuda’s names are both called, and we get to put a face to the name (Vol 5, ch 23a, page 4).

Yamada “Run, Yamada!”

Someone is named Yamada (unknown given name) on the basketball team. This is literally just based on this one background character during practice when Shirahama is talking to Sasaki in (SasaMiya Vol 9, chapter 46, page 11 ) lol.

Muroi Yuuki “headband-kun”

I saw someone referring to him as “headband-kun” in a tag and I thought it was the cutest thing. Muroi Yuuki is a newer character we’ve just been introduced to, and we know he’s Kagiura’s kouhai. He’s a first year, while Kagi is a second year. I believe his first appearance is (Vol 6, chapter 27, page 4 & 7). In the scene where Kagi is helping Muroi with paperwork in (Vol 6, chapter 27, page 7), we see a close up of his name and his reason for staying off-campus. We see quite a bit of him in Chapter 29: where he’s on the school bus with the basketball team, he asks Kagiura which activity he’s doing, introduces himself to Hirano telling him he’s on the basketball team and then asks to have Hirano’s contact information. So we know that 1) he will be at the off-campus basketball retreat, 2) he’s a kouhai on the basketball team, 3) He really looks up to Kagiura. I think he’s adorable and I am soooo looking forward to seeing more of Kagiura and Muroi’s kouhai/senpai relationship. I am so glad Kagiura finally has a kouhai of his own! Also, that part where Kagi gives Muroi his phone to watch a game… so cute, it’s giving ipad kid lmao 🤣😭.

HiraKagi Theories (Spoilers for Chapter 29!!!)

Okay! So that’s it for what I have on the basketball team profiles. I’m gonna get into what I think is going happen after Chapter 29. This section is definitely going to have spoilers!

Basketball Retreat Theory

I think there are going to be multiple arcs coming into play during the months May-October of Hirano’s 3rd and Kagiura’s 2nd year (Hirakagi Vol 7 and onward). First, I’m going to address my Basketball Retreat Theory. Based on some paperwork in (Vol 6, chapter 27, page 7), it looks like there is going to be an off-campus basketball retreat in the near future, which I think is actually going to come up in the next chapter and might be part of a larger arc in this coming up volume.

I can’t remember exactly where this image^ is from, but it got me thinking: Does Kagi become the new captain for the basketball team? I don’t think that’s something that has been confirmed or not but it just makes sense, right? I just get the feeling there’s gotta be more behind the question that Hanzawa is asking Shirahama, especially since Hanzawa is so familiar with Kagiura and his character. I mean like Hanzawa had asked Kagi about being an RA at some point. Kagi was in the running for being an RA without even realizing it! Tashiro (who became ping pong captain) mentioned that he started getting scouted for the position during the summer/ cultural festival season, which is coming up soon in the hirakagi timeline.

Now, back to the basketball retreat and upcoming tournaments: If Kagi’s senpais on the basketball team are going to start scouting for the new team captain, I am absolutely positive they are going to partially determine who to choose based on how well things run smoothly at the retreat and tournaments. Going back to Kagiura’s profile from earlier, we know he’s Basketball Team Captain worthy and Hirano has even said to Kagi that “They’re well aware of how hard you’ve been working” (Vol 5, chapter 23b, page 6). Not to even mention, Kagi in his 2nd year has now been training and teaching the younger members too! So, following this theory that Kagi is in the running for becoming the new basketball team captain, I think this definitely adds to the possibility that we will see some basketball team drama. Especially if Jealous-kun is another 2nd year basketball player in the team interested in that position.

Homophobic Jealous-kun Theory

Now, this other theory involves Jealous-kun much more. My other theory is that Jealous-kun, who has a history of intently watching Kagiura, catches Kagiura having a moment with Hirano—and like Hirano with Inchinose—Kagi makes eye contact and realizes they were caught. Only, Jealous-kun isn’t as sweet about it and reacts homophobically. If this does happen, I actually think this might go a really angsty route where Hirano and/or Hanzawa get involved. Like… I’m wondering if there will be a physical fight between Kagi and Jealous-kun (which just thinking about that scares me so much cause idek if Kagi can fight??) But the reason I think this is a huge possibility is because of some clues in both hirakagi and sasamiya series.

It’s been brought up multiple times that Hirano is good in a fight, in (Vol 1, chapter 3, page 14) Sasaki tries to reassure Hanzawa that “Hirano’s good in a fight. If anything happens, he’ll be fine… I think”. To which Hanzawa replies “That ‘I think’ doesn’t really make me feel better”. So I’m wondering if there will be a point in the story where we will see Hirano get in a physical fight. Either he fights someone *cough cough maybe jealous kun?* to defend Kagi or Kagi is in a physical fight with someone *cough cough maybe jealous kun?* and Hirano gets involved to try to split it up.

If this does happen, I think Hanzawa could be a witness to this situation. Fast forward to the scene from sasamiya (Vol 6, chapter 30, page 12). Hanzawa says “Some of the guys in my life are gay, and I’ve seen them get in fights before. It’s scary. Whenever they get hurt, I always worry that something happened with one of their boyfriends…” Now, when I first read this scene I only thought about it in the context of Hanzawa’s brothers past relationships (maybe they dealt with domestic abuse). BUT in the context of hirakagi (it’s interesting that Hirano is pictured here), it’s definitely not the case of domestic abuse or toxic relationships.

I think the wording here is on purpose because 1) Hanzawa used the phrase “some of the guys in my life are gay” instead of just using “brothers”. So I immediately thought of Kagiura. 2) When he says “I always worry that something happened with one of their boyfriends”, I feel like it could have a double meaning where “that something” that “happened with one of their boyfriends” could be Hanzawa and Hirano finding out that Kagiura is in a fight with someone and Hirano dashes to him (we all remember how fast he ran when kagi was overtired).

*sigh* Just thinking about this situation is stressing me out. So for now I’m moving on to another thought process and that’s Hirano’s confession, but I’ll get back to Hanzawa later.

Hirano’s Confession

As of right now it’s May in the hirakagi timeline, the sports festival just happened and in the sasamiya timeline this is when Sasaki (awkwardly) confesses to Miyano. 

In the sasamiya series in (Vol 3, chapter 15, page 21), we have this beautiful moment between Hirano and Sasaki that happens in June. Hmph. So, Hirano’s reaction definitely feels personal, right?? Because there’s definitely a window between May and June, I wouldn’t be surprised if Harusono stretched out that period of time. Still, I’m pretty positive that Hirano is going to confess in June right before or right after this scene with Sasaki. Hirano’s comment: “Stop making excuses and just tell him already!” Absolutely confirms to me that there is going to be something on Hirano’s mind that he might use as an excuse to wait to tell Kagi, that will delay his confession, or that will just make him feel hesitant. And I think that something could be related to the basketball retreat theory, the homophobic jealous kun theory, or how Hanzawa feels about gay relationships (at this point in the series). And when he tells this to Sasaki, I think he’s also saying this to himself (maybe).

Hanzawa’s Involvement

Time to get back to Hanzawa. In the sasamiya timeline, we’re officially introduced to his character with a name tag in (sasamiya Vol 4, chapter 19, page 8). At this time, it’s July. I think it’s really interesting that Harunsono chose this point to officially introduce Hanzawa, especially with Hirano’s dorm life brought up on the same page and Hanzawa seeming to be unphased. Later in (sasamiya Vol 4, chapter 22, page 19-20 & 24) Hanzawa and Miyano are discussing what love is. At this time, it’s September during cultural festival preparations. I saw someone in another post say that it feels like Hanzawa is repeating someone else’s words. I believe this is definitely the case. In the Sasaki and Miyano anime, Hanzawa’s speech actually overlaps with scenes of Hirano & Kagiura and Kuresawa & Ogasawara on the phone with their respective girlfriends. And the reference to Hirano and Kagiura feels like such an obvious clue now looking back at it. The conversation between Hanzawa and Miyano (in the anime and manga) goes like this: 

Miyano: What do you think it means to like someone?

Hanzawa: I think it depends on the person. Like wanting to do stuff with them? Or like wanting to be together. Wanting to hold hands. Wanting to touch them. Wanting to kiss them. Wanting to hold them. Or wanting to have them all to yourself. … Love is when you can’t stop thinking about the other person, or so they say.

Everything that Hanzawa says and uses as an example of Love literally relates back to Hirano and Kagiura. So, it could be that this is a speech that Hirano has said to Hanzawa before. Even the phrasing reminds me of Hirano. Like in hirakagi (chapter 29, pages 12-13 & 16) when Hirano is talking to Ichinose, Hirano asks “Have you ever wanted to kiss someone? … And try various things. … I’m fine with touching them”. Hirano is sorta still figuring out the type of “like/love” he feels for kagiura (although in chapter 29, page 34 it looks like he’s realized it’s the same as kagiura’s like/love), but once he figures it out completely, I think he’s going to share this information with Hanzawa. And explain it to Hanzawa with personal examples: 

Kagiura and Hirano feel love differently (it depends on the person)

Sometimes it’s wanting to try various things (like wanting to do stuff with them?)

Wanting to continue living together as roommates (like wanting to be together)

Wanting to hold hands (something Hirano and Kagiura have done)

Wanting to touch them (the 10 seconds touch everyday)

Wanting to kiss them (something Kagiura or Ichinose want to do when they like someone)

Wanting to hold them (hugging)

Wanting to have them all to yourself (dating and Kagi's "More than anything, I want to be with you" in chapter 29, page 28)

When you can’t stop thinking about the other person (literally Hirano every moment of everyday and Kagi when Hirano leaves)

And I think this is going to happen in July, since that’s when Hanzawa was introduced to the sasamiya series and seems to be more open to gay relationships by this time. I just think that Harusono is very intentional with their characters and would set it up this way. Especially since in (sasamiya Vol 4, chapter 19, page 8) Hanzawa doesn’t seem to be as worried as he did before about Hirano and Kagiura’s dorm life as roommates (him no longer being an RA might be a factor as well, but I think it’s mostly because Hirano has talked it over with Hanzawa regarding his closeness with Kagi).

*Side Note: Now this isn't really about Hanzawa's involvement, but on the topic of Hirano’s feelings and for the sake of sticking to chronological order with referencing chapter 29 so much, I'm going to put it here. Are we going to get a kiss in the next chapter?? Before they were interrupted by Muroi (chapter 29, page 30), it seems like they were talking about trying it (when they have more privacy, like maybe back at the dorm?). Because like… Hirano didn’t say no, just not here. Ya know?

Hirakagi Timeline Post Chapter 29

Okay, so I think I’ve addressed everything I wanted to. But to lay it out in a more organized fashion, here is a timeline based on all my theories and how I think it could pan out post chapter 29:

May -> Right now we’re at the Sports Festival

May - June -> basketball retreat/tournaments/team drama that Kagiura is gonna have to face; the basketball retreat theory, the homophobic jealous-kun theory? (could happen anywhere between May-July)

June -> Hirano’s confession!! (hopefully)

June - July -> Hirano and Hanzawa’s heart to heart moment

September - October -> Cultural festival; possible basketball tournament (shoutout to @rubyrose143 for finding this easter egg in sasamiya chapter 23.1)

December - January -> New Year’s Eve (Kagi is sick; Hirano goes to the shrine with Sasaki and meets Miyano, Kuresawa and Tashiro there in the "Special Drama CD My Wish", also shown as an extra chapter in sasamiya Vol 3)

Well, that's it. I hope this was somewhat helpful and entertaining to read. Thank you all for interacting, please let me know if I missed anything, and please please please tell me what you think! ❤️

[detectivereads]

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Vol 3 by CRC Payne & Starbite

5/5

This post is for Fan entertainment, I’m not being paid.

Now this is probably one of my favorite cover art (althrough I do like volume 1 food fight.)

Ok this volume compared to volume 2 this one was rather skinny. But hey a new Batfam book I am ok with that.

Right off the bat (ha!) Chapter one was funny to read, even superheroes can have fun in a friendly game of paintball assassin. However, they must do it without Bruce finding out. This chapter was crazy on how resourceful each of the kids and a few of the adults are.

Ch 2. shows not to mess with Barbra and her mad tech skills. By doing routine stuff making sure that the Batfam and Wayne family are ok online. Babs finds something most interesting on a dating site. Jason is looking for his partner in crime, which I thought was really sweet and it was adorable when Babs started to lightly tease but she also reassures him that it’s ok.

In the later chapters I saw why Alfred has given a lifelong ban to Bruce from the kitchen. Bruce is too easily distracted and sets a pan on fire while reading and talking to Clark.

Later both Red Hood and Orphan were teaching Signal or trying to break a habit that he has been doing. Signals have been using doors instead of crashing through windows or walls to stop the bad guys. While both Red Hood and Orphan have made valid arguments about the merits of going through the window, bit Signal also turns the lesson back on them about the element of surprise, if you normally going through a window or wall to often the bad guy would be expecting them.

Now from the original broody comics I know both Tim and Damin are the closest, but one chapter has them comes to terms, that it took a lot for Tim to go from Robin to Red Robin. He loved being Robin. While Damin had to deal with his upbringing and being the newest Robin, he has a lot to live up too. Damin has heard how great Tim is and is trying to be the best Robin in his own way.

Yes, little Damin has insecurities, because he thinks he has some big shoes to fill on being the next Robin. Sometimes it’s nice to step back and look at a different perspective, that Damin may seem to be this confident person but deep down, he is still a kid. (With a sword.)

The last chapter that I like to read is the one where Harley gets hurt, and Pamela comes to see her (yes I love these two!) poor Harley is on powerful pain meds that puts her to sleep. Now this leave Pamela and Spoiler and Orphan together, which they get some bonding time. Pam teaches them how to care for plants properly.

This volume is just a hodge-podge of coziness, they do have some seriousness in here, but I think its really balance.

But I did really like the one on one that Tim and Damin did, and I would like to see more of that in future chapters. Don’t get me wrong, I like the cozy crime fighting family, but I know that the Batfam has their rough patches.

[applestorms]

for the character ask game: I'll throw Light at you :D I figure he might be an interesting one for the "first impression" vs "what do you think of him now" comparison

oh lord. that might be kinda difficult actually asldfkjsdklfj i started reading DN sooooo long ago... BUT i will do my best!! (ask game)

first impression: i genuinely don't remember all that well. to be entirely honest, i don't know if i even thought about him all that much at first-- if i'm not Fixated on a story for some reason (like Serious fixations that i blog about a lot on here, or even just paying extra close attention like for an assignment or something since i watch a lotta movies for film classes) i tend to not do a whole lot of analysis for my first go at a story =3=" like i'm almost Always shocked by plot twists cause i won't even bothering stopping to think "oh shit, what's gonna happen next," i'll just be too Invested in the Moment to think ahead. (guess i kinda do that in actual irl social situations too... all my thinking comes afterwards LMFAO i'm very no thoughts head empty all Survival Instinct when i'm talking to people. whoops.) the fact that i started reading the manga way back in my freshman year of high school (Quite a few years ago now) also doesn't help. lmfao. and also the fact that i stopped reading midway through like, vol. 9/10... ;w;

if i had to guess though, i think my (somewhat fandom-osmosis influenced) view of him was that he was kind of an uptight dumbass with highly questionable morals. scrolling all the way back through the death note tag on my archive kinda points at this, like my mild amusement at these three posts speaks to that kind of surface level view of him. i certainly didn't have a lot of nuance or original hot takes involved in how i thought of him-- not until this post fucking exploded my mind a couple months ago and dragged me into the Trenches for good. idk though, i think a lot of my currents views on him were still present, just kind of dormant or not yet evolved...

impression now: my beautiful evil wife. next question

favorite moment: ehehe i've said this before, but his death!! in the manga specifically, but i enjoy any solid light death in any adaptation (the stairs in the anime & requiem in the musical, in particular). i think i've read the last few chapters of DN the most overall, from his speech until those 2 black pages... this panel is forever burned into my mind as one of if not The best page in the entirety of DN to me.

perhaps i'm just biased since i re-read the entirety of DN a second time just to remember the context so i'd be prepared getting into the ending, but that final volume of the series (eh final two volumes? i have the black edition, vol.6) will forever hit the hardest to me. light's Terror upon realizing he's going to die is just so absolutely deliciously horrible, it makes me sick to my fucking stomach in my favorite way. it's such a cathartic comeuppance, a vicious humbling that no other adaptation has really managed to get at in the same way for me. luv watching u die bbygrl <33

idea for a story: cries forever. uhm... lawlight but it's this tweet...?

unpopular opinion: this is also kinda hard to answer cause i feel like most of my Hot DN Takes are just. ways of adding additional nuance to common fandom takes? e.g. i don't think light is all that overtly bigoted, or at least not in a way that He himself is aware of. like, i've definitely made a joke about light being a republican before, but realistically i think light's politics are just about whatever he thinks will make the most people like him-- he just skews more conservative a lot of times cause he's in a very privileged, pro-cop household and social environment.

i guess my hot take might be related to that, actually-- i've talked in-depth about my thoughts on light's intelligence before so i won't get into That again, but as a kind of sidenote to those points, i don't think light is very emotionally aware when it comes to reading himself. part of this might just be a side effect of the KIRA stuff, the Cycles he traps himself in to avoid having to think about all the ways he Might Actually be a Bad Person, but part of it might just be his immaturity or (male) socialization as well?

i actually find this kind of relatable about him, sometimes-- like in the second half of the series, he often responds to Panic with an anger response, which he usually takes out on either misa, ryuk, or the JTF (usually matsuda, since that's the most Acceptable target to get annoyed at for dumbassery). light Feels everything very strongly, often in contrast to L who very rarely gets attached to things (except for the rare cases where he gets Super attached) but he doesn't really have a good outlet for dealing with those feelings so he just represses everything instead. you can see this w/ his depression in the second half of the series too-- Work & L & KIRA, balancing all those titles and responsibilities is what matters, so he autopilots through it all in a desperate bid to escape facing the fact that his soul has been withering for the last half a decade since L's death.

it's hard to be a person when you're trying to meet Everybody's expectations, i guess, and KIRA does nothing but provide light with even more expectations to live up to if he wants the validation that will definitely totally absolutely make him happy and his life perfect and amazing and meaningful.

favorite relationship: i mean, ship-wise it's obviously lawlight, though i have grown somewhat of a soft spot for matsulight after writing them recently. for character dynamics just in general though-- i really really really like how good yagamane are at casually torturing each other just by Existing, one day i'd like to write a fic about those two set at some point during the time skip. i also love any moonriver interactions, ofc, those are some of the funniest in the series just for how fucking dramatic light is, especially in comparison to the Dead Inside-ness of near. the ways that light idolizes his dad is also very interesting to me, and i'd like to look into that more.

as for more underrated dynamics... i think i'd like to look into some mello/light stuff a little more sometime :3c ehehe

favorite headcanon: HM. hard to pick a favorite. uhh as more of a minor one, i really like that idea that light counts to 40 to calm himself down. actually, speaking of-- in terms of Mental Illness headcanons that i don't see super often, i really like giving light anxiety. for no particular reason. <- (projecting) askfjsdjk ok but like in terms of general/social anxiety specifically, not just OCD (though i'm fond of that one too). this is mostly because i think light's anger problems are just a product of his underlying anxiety mis-management, though again i may just be projecting SO. probably about time to end this post huh. askldjfksldjfkd

thanks for the ask =3=

[funarisjournal]

Confession Talk! Manga Edition 1

So, I've had a LOT of thoughts about the confession chapter in Vol 4. If you have only been reading the manga and don't want spoilers, don't worry! I'll hide my thoughts behind a cut.

The drama really spoiled us, heh (I mean, S2 is basically Volumes 3-parts of 5). But even then, there are still many differences. I think its okay to make essays, dang it!

Anyway, yes, let's look at this from Kasuga's point of view first, shall we?

So, Kasuga came into this Valentine's meet prepared with an announcement. We learned ahead of time she wants to move out thanks to her family situation. This is a pretty big announcement, so it's understandable why Kasuga was constantly nervous during the first Valentine's chapter. She was afraid of this being The Last Time, basically

In the 2nd part, it was nerve-wracking for Kasuga to tell someone whose relationship REALLY mattered to her that she was done with her own family, in a culture where it's revered (she could trust Nagumo because she's in a similar boat, though you could see the slight differences in the idea via Nagumo's thoughts). Thankfully, Nomoto was on her side and that's a huge wave of relief.

But then Nomoto tosses in something Kasuga wasn't actually prepared for! Really!

WOAH, what a blast from nowhere!! (in Kasuga's POV)

...Going back to her talk with Nagumo, I think Kasuga was prepping herself for a one-sided relationship. The most important thing to her was that she was with someone she could trust, a new family forged. If something were to become more than that, it would be a wonderful bonus.

She came in ready to tell Nomoto about her plan and to see if she would like to room in with her. Like, this is what she was implying when she finally got it out. This WAS her plan. If Nomoto said no, I'm sure she would ask to keep in touch, at least (and maybe continue their relationship that way)...though it would hurt, I'm sure of that.

Kasuga kind of announced it awkwardly, to be honest. Her simply announcing the move without the 2nd part attached immediately definitely didn't help matters, BUT that was the push Nomoto needed to finally say something before she (thinks she) loses the new friend she made in a long time - the woman she fell in love with.

The art direction for the moment Nomoto confessed REALLY struck me hard. I LOVE these two pages SO MUCH. This was one of the few times I related with Kasuga instead of Nomoto! This momentary stopping of time that brings back the deepest desire back to the front of your mind....realizing it IS mutual, it IS possible...! Yeah! I know that feeling, girl. Oh, it's really wonderful but breath-stopping because there's still a bit of you thinking "It was never going to be..." and it getting hit with a brick that says "SHUT UP IT, IS SO HAPPENING!!"

But then, finally, everything calms down for Kasuga. Things are certain and assured again in her life. The anxieties she had coming into Nomoto's that night have washed away.

And she can move on and help her friend, her love, her family, ease back down to earth as well. Kind of. Lol

[aranarumei]

tag game

thanks @purplecelestial-buddy for the tag!

Last song: Mama's Broken Heart by Miranda Lambert

Favorite color: crimson. yeah it's the color of blood.

Last book: i read some short stories from dragon age: tevinter nights, which is hilarious considering that i have never played dragon age. i still need to read vol 9 of jeweler richard

Last manga: recently i caught up to oofuri (ookiku furikabutte / big windup) which has been a really fascinating read. i read it originally back in 2016, and loved it. connected with abe and mihashi a lot in terms of emotions. got frustrated at their torturously slow miscommunication but also enticed by their relationship. like 8 years or so after the fact, i think i'm at a place where i'm much more fascinated by the mundanity of oofuri's setting. like actually i love this slow tension. it's not like i didn't love it before, but there's things I can appreciate about it that i didn't see before. and also, in the 80 or so chapters that i missed, there's been a lot of interesting things.

Last movie: sonic 3. saw it in theaters w/ my siblings. i am not immune to live & learn.

Last show: well. technically it's season 17 of rupaul's drag race. but like if we are counting webseries then drawtectives.

Sweet/spicy/savory: spicy. i don't have the best spice tolerance but i do like the flavor of spice. i would say i'm like, above average in terms of tolerance but not crazy.

Relationship status: this is a boring question for me so i'm just gonna say smthing to the person who tagged me. that's a "relationship" in some sense isn't it. aster i think you're very cool and i am kind of amazed that you've actually checked out my recs in a timely manner, considering i'm awful at that stuff. personally to prevent binge reading and forgetting the contents of an entire manga, i like to take notes every few chs and get my reactions down. this is also supremely helpful for rereading bits i like and remembering certain chapters.

Last thing I googled: "ijbol" bc i didn't know what it meant.

Current obsession: hm... the 2 pg hanzawa bday comic? i have a lot of obsessions i could work up some feelings for but i am running on a steady hanzawa & tashiro mood these days. kind of related to a year-long project i wanna work on... oh this is so self-obsessed but i've kind of been rotating violeta fantasy (fake game i made up) around my head lately

Looking forward to: i have so many tumblr posts i want to make...

will tag @sunnnfish and @dirtbra1n to see if they'd like to do one.

[spiritluxray]

I'm still very sick and it's not getting better so no art for today and probably nothing tomorrow sadly.

However... this is a good excuse to RANT ABOUT SHIROBON SONGS *jazz hands*

This is not the first time I've said it, and it won't be the last.

I. LOVE. SHIROBON. SONGS. They are the BEST THING in existence and Shirobon is SUCH A SILLY and AAA *EXPLODES*

(For some sort of lead, Shirobon makes the songs Born Survivor, On the Run, Into the Zone, Fox, Granite, La Dance Macabre, and the Spider Dance remix. He also made "Pursuit", the song that plays when Blixer/Dub/whatever you call em chases you in the lost chapter)

Okay so- outside of JSaB stuff, I know like... 80 of his songs? Not off the top of my head but I could probably list 30 or something on the spot. Anyways, lemme just... rant. A lot... because I LOVE to rant about him for literal hours

First off, my AU name Data Mind is a Shirobon reference. Yep, it's a synthwave album (which by the way is SO GODDAM GOOD). There's also Aphelion Forest, which is Forests of Aphelion (song in the warp album? Don't quote me on that I'm not following a script rn) and Derelict City which is also a song in the 22:22 album-

OH MY GOD SPEAKING OF THE 22:22 ALBUM

There's Never Let Go, Wake You Up, Running My Head, anyways LISTEN TO SUPERNATURAL. SERIOUSLY. BEST SONG EVER ISTG RRRRRRR (not forcing btw but still aaaeee). Supernatural is such a god tier song and it isn't what you would expect but it's the style of 22:22 so what can I say there. Shirobon makes all sorts of experimental stuff with songs, and it's awesome.

Alright and i forgot what I was going to say next about that album so ONTO BREAKER

Breaker is Shirobon's most recent album, technically a mini album that's ALL CHIPTUNE BABYYY!!! All the songs in it sound like they could be in JSaB and I love it, I recommend all... seven? I think there's seven songs total in it... but Champions of Chiptune is the most hype but my personal favorite from there is Cypher (or Vamp, or Fragile Movments. I'm not sure yet ^^')

Wait did I skip Data Mind-? That's kinda important hold up

Around the release of Data Mind was when my interest towards Shirobon went from 7 to like 20 (out of 10). I think Ridin' is my favorite because I love the songs with the Born Survivor voice but there's also Lightyears which ALSO HAS A REALLY NICE VOICE and I somehow managed to forget it existed for like half a year and I recently found it again hehehe. There's also Obsession which features the vocaloid Gumi which is nice

Shirobon has a few songs he uses with Gumi, if you're interested in that there's Obsession, 3 Faze, Pure, Liar to the Wire... and one more that I can't think of rn.

Anywho there's two other albums, Reject and Special Selection vol. 1 (which Born Survivor comes from) that have some good songs. I keep mixing up those two albums so I struggle to remember which song goes to which but I mainly just want to talk about Zenith. I made a character based off of it recently but ITS SUCH A COOL SONG. if you hear it, listen with headphones. It does cool stuff between the two sides of your headphones and it's eaeaeaeaea- idk how to explain it BUT ITS COOL OKAY

I could talk about Golden Apples and Pleasure Island and stuff... but I'm eepy and I think I've ranted enough for one day

I have no clue what I would even tag this so I'm just gonna not lmao

[jupiter-86]

Finished vol. 3 of Stars of Chaos (Sha Po Lang) today!!!!!!!!

This story continues to get better and better with each book-- it was pretty damn hard to put down. Sometimes I was literally saying "OH MY GOD" to myself while reading.

Thoughts and ramblings under the cut (there will be spoilers)

First of all, the reveal of how Chang Geng was given the wu'ergu as a child... dear god that was so disturbing and horrifying... just 100% nightmare fuel.

I loved how Gu Yun reacted to this though, his absolute compassion and heartbreak and love for Chang Geng despite him being possessed with the evil god. Actually I loved Gu Yun even more in this book overall. I can't believe I wasn't all about him in book 1 what was I thinking???

Chang Geng continues to be such a fascinating character. I can never get tired of his scheming tbh, and the way he can be scary and sneering or placid and heroic (and sweet to Gu Yun)... I just love all the facets of his character. Also, his deteriorating mental and emotional state in this book has been heartbreaking to watch. Somebody help my boy!!!!

Chang Geng and Gu Yun together in this book just stole every scene. I mean what else is new but oh, in this book??? Their romance has ramped up to 11 and it's riveting and complex-- sometimes sexy as hell, sometimes heartbreaking and sweet, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, but always they just love each other so much. I especially love how Gu Yun promised to never abandon Chang Geng if he goes mad-- instead he'll break his legs and lock him up and Chang Geng is into it lol.

And sidenote, Chang Geng being so horny and kinky and Gu Yun's fairly vanilla tastes being scandalized is so freaking funny omg.

The plot, too, has got me so so bad!!! Not so much with the Westerners/war part but with the court maneuvering and gathering of power that Chang Geng is doing. I'm so stressed out!!!!!! But also so invested like never before-- like I love the scheming and the manipulations and I do think Chang Geng would make a better ruler than Li Feng, but also can this really be a good thing if he succeeds? There's the wu'ergu to begin with, the little crown prince who'd need to die for him to rule, and Gu Yun's loyalty...

In this book we've seen Gu Yun dream of retirement and take better care of himself because he wants a future with Chang Geng, meanwhile Chang Geng is helping the nation while laying groundwork for usurping the throne... but is the throne actually his goal or not???? Sometimes I'm not 100% sure???

And honestly I don't even know what I want to happen at this point when it comes to the plot. I think I like Gu Yun's retirement idea better than Chang Geng's apparent eye for the throne, at least in theory, but a part of me also wants to see Chang Geng succeed and step on everyone and sit on that throne...ahhhh I'm so conflicted...

I feel like I need to reread the last few chapters because I know there were layers there-- both with Chang Geng's plans and motivations and in Gu Yun's reaction to it. That flute scene alone omg.

All I know for sure is I'm scared and I'm ready for more lol.

Another thing: Shen Yi. Shen Yi is a real one on so many levels and I love him. The way he figured out that Gu Yun and Chang Geng had sex pretty much instantly was hilarious. Also, I really hate that his shitty family is trying to force him into marriage; I do not want him trapped like that for political bullshit. I hope he gets out of it!!! The only person I could see him marrying rn is the doctor girl, Chen Qingxu. But maybe I'm seeing things?

Also, what is up with the plague??? I really want to see the rest of their current investigation. Them going behind enemy lines in disguise was so much fun!

TL;DR I loved it and can't wait for book 4!!!!!

[eddieschains]

Maximum Security

Vol. 3

Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader

A/N: oh hey guyssss 🫣 i went through a writers drought but she’s back!! this is honestly more of a filler chapter before we get into the juicy stuff but i hope you still enjoy !!

middle pic by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

Vol. 1 Vol. 2

TW// 18+, mentions of murder, mentions of sex

Guilty.

That’s all that rang through your head for the next week following the trial. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

You wanted to believe him. You had to believe him. But the jury made their decision. They were throwing your husband, the love of your life, the father of your child… in prison. And you had no idea how long you would go without seeing him.

Sentenced to 20 years, but maybe he’d get out early? Maybe if he played by the rules and was on his best behavior you’d be able to see him sooner than later.

You weren’t exactly sure how this worked, or how this would play out in the long run, but you had to keep hope. You had to be optimistic or else it would kill you.

The next few weeks were surreal. It felt like a nightmare that you couldn’t wake up from. Joyce and Hopper, Steve and Robin, practically anyone who had the smallest relationship with you and Eddie were constantly at the house. Comforting you, and helping with Leila, but the only thing you could focus on was Eddie.

Was he okay? How was he being treated? Most of Hawkins hated him already, you didn't even want to think about how’d they treat him after learning he killed Jason fucking Carver. All you wanted to do was see him, hold him, kiss him… tell him everything was going to be okay.

You had to wait about a week until you were able to visit him. Something about getting him settled in which you thought was pure bullshit. But, finally that day came. You strapped Leila in her car seat and headed towards the prison, anxiety running all through your body.

Once you pull into the parking lot, you sit in the car for a few minutes. Trying to gather your emotions and put on a brave face for Eddie. Once you finally pull yourself together, you put Leila in her stroller and walk into the building. Going through the rigorous security check seemed like the worst part of the whole thing. They almost treated you like you were the criminal. But, it didn't matter, because it just brought you one step closer to Eddie.

You sit in the waiting area, rocking Leila back and forth until a guard comes in.

“Munson?” She stands in the doorway staring you down. You can’t help but chuckle quietly to yourself at how it feels like a doctor's office calling you back for your appointment. You stand up and stroll Leila along with you as you follow her to the visiting area.

“Hands off the glass at all times. Your conversation is being monitored. You have one hour.” She brings you to your seat as you fidget with your nails while waiting for Eddie.

It feels like hours go by as you wait for him to walk through those doors. When he finally does, your heart drops. His hands are cuffed together in front of him as his orange jumpsuit hangs loosely around his body. It looks like he’s lost weight, which worries you deeply as it’s only been over a week since you saw him last.

His hair is messy and tangled, and his eyes are puffy and dark. They don’t light up when he sees you on the other side of the glass like they normally would, but he still gives you a soft smile and his face rests a little bit.

The guard walks him to his seat and unlocks his cuffs before letting him sit down. You look over him one more time before picking up your phone as he does the same.

You both sit and stare at each other in silence for a few moments before you break it.

“Hi, baby…” You breathe out softly, choking back the tears that are already threatening to fall.

Eddie closes his eyes as he basks in the sound of your voice. “Hey, sweetheart.” He smiles, something you assume he hasn’t done much of lately.

“I miss you… we all miss you.” You look down at Leila who’s fast asleep before looking back at Eddie. His face falls, and suddenly you’re racked with guilt. Maybe you shouldn’t have said that, maybe you should’ve waited for him to ask.

“How’s she doing?” He asks, keeping his eyes on Leila.

“She’s good. She started teething so that’s a lot of fun.” You chuckle and earn the same from him. Another wave of silence hits the two of you as you both gaze down at Leila. “How are you doing? You look… thin.” You move your eyes back up to him, a sliver of concern washing over your face.

He lets out a long sigh before responding. “I’ve been better, you know.” He chuckles. “Everyone thinks I killed Hawkins golden boy, so i’m not exactly Mr. Popular.”

“Oh, I thought that would’ve made you even more likable.” You snicker.

“God, I miss you so much, baby. I wish I could touch you…” He groans quietly, looking up between your eyes and your lips.

“I know, I wanna touch you too baby. It’s hard sleeping without you next to me.” You frown and close your eyes for a moment, remembering the feeling of his arms wrapped around you.

The way his fingers would lazily graze along your side. The sound of his heartbeat pressed against you, soothing you to sleep. God, you wished the day that could happen again would come soon.

Eddie watches you as you get lost in your daydream. “You know… since we’re married, you could apply for a conjugal visit.”

You break away from your fantasy and look up at him with your brows furrowed. “Is that really what you’re thinking about right now? Sex?” You snap, quite irritated that he would bring that up so quickly.

“We don’t have to have sex, though. But we’d get to be together… alone. We’d get to touch each other, hold each other…” He analyzes your face as you stare at him dumbfounded. “Sorry, I- I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I’ll think about it.” You respond quickly. “How about that?” He closes his eyes and nods.

“Time’s up. Say your goodbyes.” You turn around to the sound of the guards announcement before turning back to Eddie.

“I love you. I’ll be back next week, okay?” You assure him as he flashes a more genuine smile.

“I love you, honey. I’ll see you next week.” You both blow each other a kiss through the glass as you watch the guard cuff him again and walk him back through the doors.

As you leave the prison, the only thing on your mind is what Eddie said. You’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t want to feel him inside of you again. Yes, all you wanted was to hold him and feel him again. But, feeling him kiss you and touch parts of you only he can would be a bonus.

Eddie wanted to touch you again, and you would do anything for him.

Taglist: @choke-me-eddie @paranoidmunson @quinnypixie @ceriseheaven @joejoequinnquinn @darcyglewis @lovejosephquinn @aysheashea @reanimated-alice @lma1986 @expiredcum21 @avobabe87 @munsonslure

[mayimkjs]

FOOL's MATE Update Post #8

Master Post　　Last Update

School Date: Winter, Term 10, Week 2

A lot has happened in the past 2 weeks. FOOL's MATE has officially entered production, I finished my research and we are on the cusp of T3.

Research

I am finally done with my research. If anything else comes out this month, I'll add it though. That's essentially what already happened. I finished the day before Your Curtain Call came out. So then I had to add things from that.

I've also gone through and corrected any type of issue. Another thing I've done is make backups of my sources to have proof that all of my sources exist. Some of my sources have already been removed from whatever platform they were on. So there's nothing I can do about those.

Filming & Recording

I recently was reminded that my cousin was a criminal justice major, so I thought about interviewing her. So I did that as well as recording a voiceover for the beginning of that part.

This next week, I'm hoping to film the intro and outro as well as release the behind the scenes vlog from when we were filming in Boston last month. My set filming date for the main portion is on the 1st.

I'm STILL having issues finding someone to interview about the tarot spreads. I have emailed around 50 people and haven't gotten a single response. If you know any mediums or psychics in the Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts area that you know would say yes, please give me their contact info.

Props & Set

I'm finally done gathering all of the props and have started to put together the images for the corkboard. I basically have all of the images printed out. Then I'm glueing them to some thicker paper. So far, I've gone through 3 glue sticks and am about halfway done. I technically stayed at work late today to get a lot done because I don't wanna bring everything back to my dorm. I've also started to move all of my props to work so it'll be easier to set up the set later.

Poster

I finally finished the sketch for the poster. There might be a few small changes here and there, but this is pretty much how it will look. The colors are just place holders though. I might inch Mikoto's left shoulder closer to him. Feel free to critique it.

Also I'm starting to think of a tagline to put on the poster. So if you have any idea, share away!

Costume

I decided to just go with an "Es" costume. It's not exactly Es, but it does look like their uniform. Here's a WIP picture. I have all of the parts. I just need to make some modifications.

Teaser Trailer

Here's a teaser trailer. It's just something small to get people interested.

Changes

Fixed 

Various errors

Grammar

Chapter 7-9 Numbering 

Now 8-10

Expanded

Character intros

Id, Ego and Superego

MeMe Inst Dissection

Removed

Double color schemes 

Placeholders

Repetitive slides

FAQ (See here)

Added

Info from manga vol 3

Kotoko T2 cards that reference the Novels

Chapter 7 - Your (Curtain) Call 

dedicated T3 Chapter

Transcript for the end of “Report on the end of Second Trial”

Mikoto’s T3 relationships

Info from “Undercover [Route: Your (Curtain) Call]

Disclaimer about T3 info

Finished

Connections to Jekyll and Hyde

Double inst Dissection

Moved

Info about the Id, Ego and Superego to its own section

“So what’s next for Mikoto?” and “What will happen to Es in the third trial?” into dedicated T3 Chapter 

Links

Research Doc (Comments on like always)

Milanote

Reddit Post

Commission Form

Volunteer Form

[neragufetta]

A randomly updated list of plot elements and theories that run wild in my head

The following is a list of BNHA plot elements, in no specific order, that are still unresolved at current chapter (or, at least, that I consider unresolved).

This post is totally open to suggestion :D

I plan to update it whenever I feel ;)

Enjoy!

NG

PS - Wow, every high priority point was resolved in the past few chapters. I'm tempted to delete them but not just yet.

***

Current last chapter:

422

HIGH PRIORITY:

1. How did Shigaraki solve to put Star and Stripe's quirk "New Order" under control? > Solved in vol. 34: New Order dissolved on itself but it caused Tenko to regain some level of consciousness > And in chapter 413 S&S's embers in AFO were able to reach both All Might itself and Yagi's vestige to let them know about the only weakness existing in Shigaraki, and I LOVE this turn of events.

2. Why did AFO do all of this? What are his reasons and origin? > We got his reasons in chapters 407-408 but I'm not totally convinced that he chose an apprentice just for the sake of having a new body > In 419 AFO explained that to steal back OFA it required a willpower stronger than the wielder's own and therefore grew Tenko to gain such a willpower.

3. Will Deku be able to reach Tenko? > Reached in #417

4. Who is going to survive? At the moment I think these are the name at risk right now:

. Bakugo > confirmed alive in 403 . All Might > still alive in 404, confirmed alive in 405 . Toga . Dabi . Hawks . Endevour > still alive in 421 . Edgeshot > still alive in 405 . Fat Gum

6. What is Ojiro's, Sato's and Sero's whereabout? > Solved in #420: They were fighting the escaped prisoner Gashly Eijiju in the Takoba Arena, until Aizawa reached them using Shirakumo and brought them to the Izuku vs AFO battlefield.

7. What is Eraserhead, Present Mic and Kurogiri's whereabout? > Solved in #420, Kurogire warped them on an isolate rock in the middle of the sea.

OPTIONAL STUFF

1. How was it possible for Yoichi to pass OFA to the second user? (i.e. how did he realize that he could pass his quirk?) > I'm not crossing this one out for we still don't have an explanation from Yoichi's perspective; however in chapter 408 is suggested that it happened the day Yoichi died and Kudoh has felt off ever since. I want to add that we don't know of any organic exchange from Yoichi to Kudoh, my opinion about it below.

2. Is Deku's father ever going to make an appearance? I know, I know that, at this late point in the story, he can only be either AFO himself or noone interesting, but still, why did Horikoshi mentioned that Izuku's father would appear at some point in the story? Did he change his mind?

3. Is this picture ever going to make sense?

64.media.tumblr.com

For further explanation, this seems to be a partial picture that was present at a BNHA exposition in Japan but, to my knowledge, does not have an explanation. > The full art, however, showed Aoyama, so it might be a hint about Aoyama's role? I'm not convinced and therefore I'm keeping this point active.

4. Why AFO needed Shigaraki's hatred? (Rif. chapter 311. For further explenation see section "Open theories", n. 3) > In chapter 410 it seems that Shigaraki is now able to steal, if not the whole OFA, at least singular quirks in it but it stays unexplained how or why. > In 419 AFO explained that to steal back OFA it required a willpower stronger than the wielder's own and therefore grew Tenko to gain such a willpower.

5. Are we going to see Deku and Bakugo face each other one last time?

...

OPEN THEORIES (that I enjoy or consider interesting for some reason)

1. Dad for one (alias All for one is actually Deku's father) > With the flashback we had in chapter 407-408, it seems to me that, even though it is possible that AFO had intercourse with women, I just can't see him actually marry someone, and Inko mentioned her "husband" while discussing Izuku's lack of quirk; however, it is still possible that she called him that way just for the sake of appearences or that they actually married for some reason. I don't know, I really don't like this theory but I understand the appeal of it.

2. Decay is not Shimura Tenko's original quirk > Again, AFO's death in 410 might cross this one out but I'm still suspicious about the man in 235 that brought Tenko back home. > Confirmed in #419, Decay, which is a partial copy of Overhaul, was planted on Tenko by AFO, disguised as the random man we saw in #235.

3. Shigaraki can actually take One for All quirk without Deku's will > confirmed in chapter 410, even though we still don't know how or why, explained in #419.

4. Deku is suppressing his emotions > Pikahlua wrote an amazing perfect explanation about this theory and I'm convinced they're right.

5. Two for one (alias One for all is passed on both Izuku & Katsuki) (404) > I think we can call this one discarded.

6. AFO is (related to) the Luminescent baby (405) > Confirmed in 407 and even though I said I was not a fan of this one, AFO stealing his quirk out of crave makes much more sense than and I love it.

7. Izuku will replace OFA with:

7a. His own personal quirk that, similarly to Yoichi's one, was so unformed to be practically useless but grew up thanks to OFA. 7a-i. If we believe the DFA theory, his quirk might be either an evolution of AFO

7b. New Order (412) and it has to do with Star & Stripe arm > New Order is confirmed destroyed in chapter 413

7c. Nothing, he'll go quirkless again. (This is the only one I actually like) 7c-i. But his use of OFA has already created a vestige in OFA and Kudoh is planning to let Shigaraki steal OFA in order to gain access to Tenko's memory and finally start to connect with is soul and therefore to save him. > partly confirmed in 413, the only difference being that Kudoh actually plans to smash Shigaraki with OFA. 7c-ii. But, following the empty glass/full glass theory, Shigaraki won't be able to keep it for too long, without facing problem (like the 4th dying of old age at 40). >

8.OFA only transfer out of will, while hair or any other organic material just served to picture the passage in one's mind. I decided to delete the whole reasoning behind this idea but you can still read it in my chapter 412 update.

8a. As an alternative possible explanation, since OFA started stocking extrapower and multiple quirks, even though at the beginning a physical transfer was not required, it eventually became mandatory. (Like, email can only have attachment up to N Mb, in order to transfer bigger file you need a physical drive).

Bye!

[scalamore]

[Thoughts] RupeLali touch Pt 3- Rupert Grabbing Lari

From the very start, Rupert has a tendancy to grab onto Lari. Initially it was to make her stop and get her attention, to have her focus on him - he didn't know how to control his strength so he often unintentionally hurt her because his grip strength was so strong (like in chapter 26ish, where he felt bad her skin was bruised and tore a bit). For most of season 1 and halfway through S2, he stayed mostly hands-off and distant (as in Ch 45ish he said he would keep his distance) until chapter 59, when he felt a bit anxious when Lari was about to walk away, then grabbed on to her hand, even surprising Lari herself. Again, in chapter 63 he said he would watch over her from afar, but he was unable to - he ran off because he was that worried about her and wanted to make sure he got her out of Archduke Ventibolt's residence himself. In Ch 68, after she showed him kindness and concern for his well being and made him food - she wasn't going anywhere - but he still grabbed her arm and made her face him directly as he asked what her intentions were. He knew she was lying, but he still accepted her answer as to why she wanted to stay by his side. After this, in Ch 83, 86, and 97, he's been grabbing on to her and yanking her to be close to him more often (actually, the yank in chapter 97 is manhwa original). I suspect because there are a few main reasons: He wants her to face him directly (she tends to avoid eye contact when they're close, and she also tends to maintain a respectable distance from him too), he intrinsically wants to get closer to her, but he is still maintaining a distance because he's trying to keep himself from coveting her even more than he already does, and most importantly, I think he just wants to grab her and hug her, especially in chapter 97. But he can't, for the same reason that he simultaneously wants to be close, but also keep her at a distance. I suspect that last point, because in Vol 5, he misses her terribly, and he does a similar thing - she's nearby, he can't control his feelings anymore, he grabs her and yanks her into a very emotional hug. He's wanted to hug her forever, he's kept up his mental strength to not get close, but he couldn't help himself - his brain said to let go, but his arms just wouldn't. He feels terrible and apologizes for intruding in her space and hugging her without her permission, but what else was he to do? he just missed her that much :(

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #5

orange means actually read, blue means skimmed. i am so deeply in the grad school reading hole it is So/Too Much and i have to read and grade student papers this coming week...

Finished:

The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon

said my thoughts on this last week! i will add that unfortunately at times the translation is sloppy/there were many typos.. i still really liked the book

Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 6 by Bisco Hatori, translated by Naomi Kokubo & Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh

just a fun read. debating if i should just read whatever next volume is available through my library, even tho its not the next one

Orange, Vol. 3 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Amber Tamosaitis

held my breath and got through the moment that i stopped reading on a few weeks prior and got past it! the story remains cute!

Started and Finished:

"Gender, Race and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada: An Overview" by Bonita Lawrence

Giving an Account of Oneself by Judith Butler

"What is an Author?" by Michel Foucault

Introduction & Afterword from Critical Discourses by David Sancher

"Hansel and Gretel" and "The Juniper Tree" from Grimm's Fairy Tales

"Morphology of Folktales" by Vladimir Propp

"Theory as Liberatory Practice" by bell hooks

"The Attempted Dispossession of Kwe" Chapter 3 of As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

"The Man of Professional Wisdom" by Kathryn Pyne Addelson

"Whose Words? Whose Reality?: THe Politics of Representation and Interpretation" Chapter 3 of Ethical Dilemmas in Feminist Research: The Politics of Location, Interpretation, and Publication by Gesa E. Kirsch

"Trapped in the Wrong Theory: Rethinking Trans Oppression and Resistance" by Talia Mae Bettcher

^^ really liked this one

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

what a page turner! and thank god it was bc it was 333 pages and i had to get through it all last week... wish me luck with the 360 pages book i have to read this week

I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 4 by Okura, translated by Leighann Harvey

continue to find this very cute, and every time i read this series it reminds me of the wild feeling of my dad gifting me the first volume (being out to my parents has weird side effects like this)

"Postcolonial Studies and the Challenge of Climate Change" by Dipesh Chakrabarty

Selections from an Unfinished Book, "3,000 Years Among the Microbes" by Mark Twain, from Appendix V of Mark Twain: A Biography by Albert Bigelow Paine

^^WILD. human man shrunk down to microscopic scale talking about microbe society and philosphy

S.T. Coleridge on Fancy vs. Imagination

so many student paper proposals...

Ongoing:

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, specifically read the first 5 pages of part 2

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

read another chapter of this to the gf! every so often i interrupted myself to complain about weird word choices. seriously... "armed" used as a verb to mean "wipe sweat of one's forehead with their arm"???? bad

[rosellerivers19]

New DC fan alert

Guys . . . I'm officially invested in DC comics.

See, it started off harmless I was at my school library and was looking for some books.

Mind you I haven't picked up and read novels in a while, just fell out of reading for some reason.

I was actually there to get some books on Greek Mythology because I'd binged EPIC (Another great piece of media I discovered recently) and Homer's Odyssey was obvious checked out because I ain't the only one who's been obsessed with-

Penelope~

-For a week or two now.

So I searched up to see if there were any DC comics at my school just to see the results because I don't go to the library often.

I found the section and started browsing.

I found Batman and son featuring Damian who's one of my favorite characters.

So I checked it out along with a DC vs Vampires comic.

I went to class and I started reading Batman and son since my phone was running out of charging and I wanted to actually give it a change despite the artstyle being something I wasn't used to and not having an interest in books in a while.

And-OH MY GOD!

It's been a spiral ever since-

I finished the book, loved it but didn't really understand the ending, obviously since It was from a school library the other comics in the series weren't there since there was a low amount of DC comics anyway.

But then I decided to start reading DC vs Vampires and I loved that too even more than Batman and Son specifically because of the amazing art and the interesting plot line.

I checked out the second volume the next day finishing the first Vol and second Vol that same day and went Crazy!

I was thinking to myself where the hell was the third volume. I knew it wasn't gonna be in my school because like I said public high school, but I couldn't find anything about the order of the books and there was nothing about a Volume 3.

I found a place to read DC books online trying to find if I could read DC vampires there and there was what I thought was the first volume.

It was labelled as issues though which I initially thought was each 1 volume but then noticed it ended at shorter intervals later I thought

'Oh By Issues they mean chapter' which I think am half right?

And so in the actual volume there were different issues.

So I thought the online book I was reading was just all the issues in Vol 1.

Thenn I found out it wasn't just Vol 1. but all the issues in the DC vs Vampires series including the real life Vol 2. I read.

But that still didn't explain why Vol. 2 ended on a cliffhanger and I came to the realization that the series just ended like that

This sh#t took me literally 3 days to figure out going by online posts, reddit users have my soul.

Turns out it was the end of Dc vs Vampires the original series but there's other series set in the same universe and there was a specific order you had to read then in which you learnt through 3 hours of research.

Seriously reddit users thank you!

So I got the list

I'm still planning on reading it but when I briefly checked out "Dc vs Vampires: Killers" the artstyle gave me whiplash it felt totally different from the original series which might just be because I'm reading it online but I still decided to wait for a bit.

Then while searching up content about the series I found out there's a zombie version too!?!?

I initially found it because of this post and I loved the variant cover arts

Especially this one

And so I started reading a few issues of DCeased, I got to the part where- (spoilers) Batman died and finished the original series and started "DCeased Hope at world's end".

at the time of posting I'm on issue 6 and it's going great so far.

I would've finished more of the issues but I discovered it during lunch today and my third period is strict on no phone usage so I wasn't able to read it until the last 12 minutes of my fourth block.

I also just want to add I LOVE Harley Queen, I watched an episode or two of her show and don't think it does her justice (but maybe I just don't like the satire) at capturing her personality and I get it, it isn't supposed to match up exactly but reading the comics I've more in love with her, I feel like they gave her more personality even if she isn't always doing things in the plot.

She's the lovable under dog I guess in my opinion.

I mean look at her! She's beautiful 😫 all bloody and fighting zombies.

I read a few other comics some wonder woman ones from my library and I'm planning to read a blue beetle one.

But I have a dilemma.

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO READ THESE COMICS!!!

I'm having a difficulty with getting the reading order of the issues in the series and conjoining series and what series are connected because for some reason I can't find literally any sources and I'm not sure if it's because the artist decided not to continue sequel or prequel series with it or It's there but I just can't find it.

I literally finished yet another one an hour before writing this "dark knights of steel" to my knowledge so far there aren't any other connecting series with actual plot that's related to the main one presented in the original regarding Amanda Waller secretly backstabbing the Royal families (The Els, Amazonians and Storm bringers) which I'm still eager to see play out.

But I am not confident I've been finding the right info even the fandom websites aren't helping because they aren't listing the god damn Comics and series involved so how am I supposed to bleed the lore dry!?!?!

So to the experts

Please let me know if you know of any websites to help me track these issues in order and relating ones or if you have lists of specific ones you yourself like please reblog and post the ones you think I should check out because I literally know nothing about this fandom-

And another question

To older or more experienced comic book readers do comic books work like Manga where they have to publish and set number of chapters in a big volume or issues in one volume or will they be released every few weeks to see if people are interested and then compile it into a volume?

Because when I went to the comic store at a mall with my friend and got not even an actual volume just some Harley art with a what do I call it, a one shot?

This is how it looks like

So would this be considered an issue? Could I get the DC vs Vampires issues like this if I'd be able to feed into my DC obsession one day by purchasing physical books?

I love the art but don't exactly know the full story does it have previous issues with a coherent plot?

I don't know you tell me.

-------------------End of Rant----------------------

Yours Truly,

Roselle 🪷

[gotham25052]

Dark Waters Part 2

Summary (all parts):

"'I've been here a long time, playing with your hair. You must have been thinking about something… important,' he said, his voice sounding strangely familiar.

He leaned in closer, his scarf falling down and exposing his scarred lips. He spoke as if he was telling her a secret that was only between the two of them. 'You know, people will think we're lovers, here on the rocks, watching the water.'"

As the social fabric of Gotham begins to fray and the Joker's intrusion into her life escalates, Anna struggles to maintain control. But is she threatened by the Joker or by something within herself?

Contents: Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Overall fic warnings: Explicit violence and explicit sexual content.

Chapter warnings: Some violence, drug use

Notes: I'll be posting new chapters each week. [Edit 12/8 - going to have to go for a 2-week posting schedule instead of every week]. The story diverges from the movie during the ballroom scene in part 1. In part 2, the newspaper article helps explain how changes have rippled out onto the political scene in Gotham.

Dark Waters, Part 2

From a distance, it looked like fireworks. Since it was early July, those further away thought it was exactly that and dismissed the flashes and pops. Those living closer, however, could see how low the explosions were and how unlike the colorful whirls they usually saw this time of year. The shower of sparks rained down to the ground under the high voltage power lines, some of them beginning their own fires below.

The transformers on the power lines leading into Gotham were exploding, unpredictably bursting into flame. The show was quickly becoming more visible as the buildings in the city went black and the only light came from the fizzling remains of the transformers and the fires they had sparked.

The Gotham Gazette Vol LXVII, No. 226 July 12, 2008

The man of the hour is certainly Harvey Dent, who wed his long-time girlfriend, prosecutor Rachel Dawes, today. Dent surprised the establishment in Gotham with his quick rise to power this summer, beating his opponents in the special election for mayor after the sudden disappearance of former mayor Anthony Garcia. The wedding was a sight to behold, an outdoor gala followed by a formal dinner and reception at Wayne Manor, hosted by the eccentric billionaire himself. Rachel was stunning in her elegant designer gown and a simple tiara of flowers, while Dent was dashing as usual, sporting a tailored suit and his signature mop of blond hair. The couple postponed their honeymoon, as Dent lost no time returning to work in the city center. He cited the pursuit of the Joker as the city's top priority, pointing out the destruction caused by his large-scale attack on the power grid. It's no surprise Dent has labelled the Joker as a danger to the city. The criminal mastermind has consolidated power among the city's mob bosses and seems to draw from an endless store of cash to fund his attacks.

"Gotham won't be safe until the Joker is in Arkham… or in the ground," Dent said on the steps of the capital building as he returned to his duties as mayor.

Annie was standing at the counter in the early afternoon, with bread, meat and cheese carefully arranged in front of her. She was making sandwiches for the next few days in this rare peaceful moment. Cars drove by erratically and she heard snippets of shouted conversations from the open window, but that was nothing unusual for a Saturday afternoon. She wrapped the sandwiches in foil with an experienced hand, carefully tearing off just enough to carefully cover each one, with the edges barely overlapping. She would need to make it last - she was usually able to hold off for months before having to buy more.

She had already taken precious money away from her paycheck to buy a gas hot plate and a flashlight to help her get by during the frequent power outages that now plagued Gotham. The most vital artery of the power grid that fueled the city with its bright lights and climate-controlled buildings had been destroyed in so many locations that it would take the city months to repair. According to the news, a massive cyberattack sponsored by the Joker had rerouted power systematically, overloading the transformers. Rolling blackouts to ration the power supply were becoming a regular occurrence.

Whenever she caught a news broadcast on the bus or at work, interviews with Mayor Dent highlighted his efforts to restore power to both sides of Gotham. But she noticed that every time she staffed a party in Upper Gotham, the lights were on, whereas the closer she came to her home in Lower Gotham, riding on the bus, the more likely it was for her to see the streetlights go black and the hum of the city suddenly become silent. The outages, though, were not the concern at the forefront of her mind.

It had been a month since she heard the Joker's chilling words broadcast on the news at work. "Did you know, there are over 16 thousand people named Anna in Gotham?" he had said. Did he intend for her to see it? Was it a threat? Or was it some strange coincidence, and he had now forgotten about her? She hoped for the latter, but as little as she knew of him, she felt that his words were not likely to be insignificant.

And then there was the problem of whether or not she should go to the police. The sparkling ruby necklace in her closet weighed on her conscience. Every day, she wished it would disappear, but it was always still there, hidden inside the small bag she had used to conceal it. What would they think of her story? Would they believe her?

Her focus quickly shifted to the door. She thought she heard the lock click. She froze immediately, not knowing whether to hide or stay where she was. The door opened and she knew it was him - his purple jacket appeared like a nightmare materializing, his back to her, appearing to be giving some kind of order to others in the hallway. He turned and entered the apartment, closing the door carefully. The Joker dropped the clown mask he had been wearing over his painted face on the floor. Her feeling of safety in her home, her last shred of security, simply evaporated.

She moved away from the counter in fear as he stepped in to the room nonchalantly, as if he was a neighbor casually dropping in for a chat. If he seemed imposing in the ballroom, he looked a hundred times more menacing in this small apartment. Somehow his strange attire and odd manner fit the ballroom with its high ceilings and theatrical decor - like he was an actor on an elaborate stage. Here in the dingy studio apartment, he loomed over the small space.

He turned his head from side to side, regarding the barren room. No photos of family and friends adorned the walls, and no personal touches seemed to make the apartment her own. The bed stood near the far wall of the open room and one solitary chair was pulled up to the counter. "I like what you've done with the place," he said, ending his survey of the room and turning toward her.

Time seemed to stop. She felt as if he had walked directly from her memory into her apartment - he had the same face paint and layered jackets. He had appeared so quickly and silently she questioned the soundness of her mind and wondered if perhaps this was an image that her imagination, overwhelmed by her experiences, was creating for her.

All the dread of the last two weeks formed into words. "Why did you come after me?" escaped from her lips before she could silence them, and she immediately regretted speaking.

He crossed the room in four long steps and was suddenly so close she could feel his breath. She didn't dare to move.

"To finish what I started," he said, his manner suddenly intense.

She was filled with fear but also bewildered. "To kill me?" she asked.

"What?" he said with exaggerated surprise, lightening his tone. "To save you, of course." He stepped away and moved to the counter, where he picked up an apple and took a messy bite.

"Please continue… whatever you're doing," he mumbled, his mouth full. She recognized that she should simply obey, though she had to fight her instinct to panic and run. He pulled the chair out into the main room and sat down, bringing out his cell. She forced her arms to continue ripping off sections of foil and wrapping the sandwiches. She worked slowly and deliberately, not daring to glance up at what he was doing.

He had been looking at his phone but his eyes soon found her again, carefully studying her motions on the counter from across the room. He shifted slightly for a better view, and then slipped his phone into a pocket and got up. She sensed the movement and froze immediately.

"Want some help?" he said with feigned normality. She remained still, hardly breathing. All she could do was watch. He glanced at her, licked his lips, and sloppily grabbed the foil. He pulled out a section, a bit more than she would have, and looking at her quizzically instead of at what he was doing, wrapped the next sandwich with very little care. Continuing to regard her expression, a mix of fear and confusion, he went for the foil again, this time pulling out an extravagantly long piece, more than she would have used in a week. He threw a sandwich in and wrapped the shining mass a needless number of times around the small meal.

Before she knew what was happening, he pulled the roll out of the box and let it fall to the floor, gliding across the room until there was a dazzling stripe of silver in front of them, reflecting the light in a surprising contrast to the otherwise dim environment. Their eyes lingered on it for a moment. He put his hand out and laid it on the foil, drawing his fingers inward to slowly crinkle one section. In the next moment, he had crushed the entire sheet into a messy ball and dropped it in front of her.

She looked up at him in confusion, wondering what he would do next. He glared back, sneering, "You know why I didn't kill you? You can't kill someone who's already dead." He turned on his heel and briskly left the apartment.

He was gone? She collapsed to the floor in relief, holding her head in her hands, sobbing with pent up emotion. After she was exhausted from crying and felt he was truly gone, she looked at the clock and realized she would be going to work in only an hour. She committed to herself that she would go to the police the next morning - there was no way around it now.

She rose to see the mess on the counter. Her fingers tried to unfurl the crinkled mass of silver.

She gritted her teeth as she walked the rest of the way to the police station. It was a bad habit that contributed to her headaches.

She felt that it was a necessity to come here after the Joker had actually shown up in her apartment, but it was a harder decision than it would have been for the average person. She knew from her long legal struggles to leave the radical religious group she grew up in that the law was not always just and unbiased. The local authorities upstate where she was from were terrified of the Church, and afraid to do anything that would push them too far. In the end, there was a deal with the group that allowed her to have her freedom. They had let one of the Church's members out of prison, almost as if it was a prisoner exchange with a terrorist group. Her experience with local law enforcement had been far from positive, and now she was in Gotham. The liquid of corruption throughout the state all flowed to this central beating heart, where it circulated and pumped out again, rejuvenated and refreshed.

She took a deep breath and climbed the pockmarked concrete steps to the large doors. She had to try twice to open them, but as soon as she did, a motley group exited, almost knocking her over. They ignored her completely and continued down the steps. From her experience in the city, she would guess that they were from one of the well-known crime families of the city.

She regained her composure and stepped into the police department. Gotham City PD was always busy, and the people she saw seemed to know exactly what they were doing and where they were going. She hesitated, wondering about whether her appearance would undermine her believability. She had large circles under her eyes that she had tried to disguise, for the most part, unsuccessfully. After the Joker's visit, she often woke up more tired than when she went to sleep, despite her exhaustion from work. She sighed, knowing it would have to do. She had to try.

She found an officer, who looked like he was in perhaps slightly less of a hurry than the others.

"Where can I find someone - I can talk to about… a break in?" she asked hesitantly.

"A break in?" The officer hardly glanced at her. "Yeah, just go up the stairs and to the left."

Somewhat calmed by having directions to follow, she made her way to the door he had pointed to. She realized it was a large waiting room with benches, and she went to the desk to check in. She sat down, looking over the strange collection of humanity in the GCPD today.

There was an older man in tattered clothes and a military jacket, his eyes darting around the room. Next to him was a nervous young couple, the man's leg incessantly tapping the floor, both looking extremely uncomfortable. The last person in front of her was a quiet woman sitting very still, with a jacket pulled up close around her face, despite the hot weather. Even with the collar pulled up, the blue and purple bruises were easy to see around her eye and cheek. Annie drew a deep breath. She had seen all of this before, but something about these people being shuffled through this office like so many rejected products at a factory made their plight seem much more disheartening.

After what must have been an hour, her turn came, and she walked into the small office. The walls were blank, giving her nothing that she could distract herself with to help calm her nerves. The officer behind the desk looked calm but impatient in the way he was rearranging the papers and reports in front of him. He seemed to be looking forward to whatever was coming next in a way that made her feel as if her complaint had already been dismissed.

"Good morning, please have a seat," he said without looking up from the papers on his desk. She sat down awkwardly in the wooden chair.

"Ok," he said, finally looking up at her. "You said at the front desk that you had a break-in?"

"Yes." she began. Her voice was unsteady - she never felt very comfortable trying to speak with officers, and knowing how far-fetched her story was made her want to get up and leave immediately. "That's right. But I should go back and tell you about what happened at the fundraiser first…"

The officer waited for her to continue, pen in hand and seemingly disappointed that it wasn't going to be a simple break-in he could file away.

"I work for… Gotham Culinary. I was staffing the fundraiser that Bruce Wayne sponsored, for Harvey Dent. The Joker, he came to the party with his men. It was in the news."

"Yes. We interviewed everyone who escaped before the fire, but I don't remember seeing your name on that list," he said skeptically.

"Well, I wasn't with the others who might have gotten out," she said. She tried to explain the strange events that had happened in the ballroom. Her speech was alternately halting and rushed, and she knew it didn't sound convincing. She flushed with embarrassment.

"We had reports of the Joker leaving carrying a woman - you're telling me that was you?"

"Yes."

He looked down at his papers again, and she thought she caught a look of amusement on his face. "Um, ok. Would you like to tell me about the break in now?"

She tried to shift gears into explaining the visit from the Joker.

"Well, he just opened my apartment door. I don't know how he did it without a key - can he pick locks? I don't know. But he came in and… he spoke to me and um…" She realized that saying he had stepped in to wrap sandwiches sounded ridiculous. "He just spoke to me and left. But, I thought that he had come to kill me. I don't feel safe anymore."

"He didn't take anything, he didn't harm you?"

"No."

"Uh huh. Do you have a date for the break-in?"

"Yes, it was yesterday, July… 15th."

He wrote it down on the report and looked up slowly.

"Is that all?"

"No, I also - I have this necklace. From the fundraiser, I mean. He, or his men, they must have left it with me, I found it in my pocket." She pulled out the heavy necklace and set it on the desk. For the first time, the officer had a genuinely concerned look.

"I'll take this into evidence," he said, bringing out a plastic bag and quickly enveloping the necklace there, setting it aside.

"I know it all sounds a little crazy," she said, smiling awkwardly, trying to show that she was a normal person who had been drawn up into this strange situation.

The officer got up, seeming to shake off the veneer of professionality he had been projecting. He came around to stand beside her chair, towering over her, crossing his arms and leaning back on the desk.

"Now miss, you expect me to believe that the Joker," he said with emphasis, "kidnapped you from the fundraiser, only to leave you outside in an ally. Then, the Joker, the criminal mastermind, the biggest gangster in Gotham, bothered to come to your place, miraculously undid the locks. And then he just spoke a few words to you? Why would the Joker be interested in someone like you?

"We have yahoos a dime a dozen coming in here, saying they have seen the Joker. You take the cake with this ridiculous story though. But what really gets me, is how you managed to get that necklace. Did you pull it off of a body in the ballroom? Did you find it on the street? What kind of a lunatic are you? I should book you right now and recommend psychiatric evaluation. My guess, they'd send you straight to Arkham. But I'll be honest, that's a lot of paperwork for me, and you look pretty harmless. Why don't you get back to your apartment in Lower Gotham, and don't waste any more of the GCPD's time? If we find out you stole this necklace, we know where to find you."

She sat shocked, almost paralyzed. She realized her best option was to leave as soon as possible. "Ok, I'll.. go." She stood up and walked out of the station in a daze.

She stood outside, trying to process what had just happened. She had worked so hard to escape the captivity of the Church. Even the hand to mouth existence she had in Gotham was worlds above her trapped existence in the closed world of the cult group. To go into an even more tightly controlled environment like Arkham was her worst nightmare. Like most residents of Gotham, she had heard stories of the long solitary confinements, the medication, the violently insane inmates kept there. She would have to hope that perhaps the owner of the necklace wouldn't be found, and they would simply forget about her visit. One thing was certain, she couldn't return to the police.

And what if the Joker came back? She felt completely powerless - there was no one she could appeal to. She started running from the police station, as if somehow she could escape from her fate by simply running down the street. She brushed past bystanders, unconcerned about their surprised glances. She ran until she reached the shoreline. This wasn't the place she usually came to watch the dark waves roll onto the unforgiving rocks, but she felt some sense of freedom in seeing the open horizon before her, knowing she had put some distance between herself and the police station.

All of the stress of the Joker's intrusion into her life and now the new threat of incarceration came into her throat and fought its way out in her screams. She didn't know she could scream so loud - the sound came out effortlessly. She screamed at Gotham, at fate, at this upside down world where she was trapped on all sides.

Luckily, there were few people around. With no shortage of homeless wanderers in the city, anyone who heard her would chalk it up to another unfortunate Gothamite whose mind had turned on them in the lonely streets.

She was finally done, her voice hoarse. She felt somehow relieved, empty. She looked at the time on her phone. She only had 30 minutes to get to work, on the other side of the city. She knew that she would be late.

It was the kind of day she dreaded. She would be working the kitchen at a large catered event, where the customers had required all the courses be made from scratch. It doubled her workload, and she knew she would be ready to drop by the end of the night.

She was making her coffee and realized she was almost out. It was the one luxury she allowed herself, and she looked forward to the plain black brew each day.

She returned to the bathroom, taking a shower to put herself together before work. Since the visit from the Joker, she had felt distracted and insecure. She hadn't been very good about keeping the apartment clean or taking care of herself, and the effort just to get to work seemed like an enormous task. She was always fearful, awaiting another inevitable visit. She felt a little refreshed after her shower and retold herself the words of the police officer, "Why would the Joker be interested in someone like you?" Despite the malevolence of the officer's words at the time, it was comforting to think that it made no sense for the Joker to seek her out.

She went back to the kitchen, nearly ready for work and taking her time to sip on the coffee. She sighed and wished she could just return to bed instead of embarking on what promised to be a difficult day. She adjusted her uniform, carefully buttoned but always seemingly slightly askew, never quite sitting on her shoulders correctly.

Suddenly something startled her out of her quiet reverie and she looked toward the door. It began to open, and she stood up in disbelief. The extra lock she had installed above the doorknob was undone. Had she forgotten to lock it?

She didn't have long to wonder, as the tall figure of the Joker entered the room. He looked rushed today, as if he was in the midst of some important project. He closed the door behind him and put away his phone. She realized that he was not wearing his usual purple jacket but instead had on a simple gray suit. She could see more of his face as he turned toward her. It looked like he hadn't had time to refresh the makeup and a good amount of it was completely rubbed off. She took a quick breath in surprise as she realized from his broad shoulders and more exposed face that he wasn't nearly as old as he had seemed on her first impressions of him - he looked to be in his early 30s, likely only slightly older than her. The thought was not comforting. She did not have much hope of fighting with him if there was a struggle before, but now that reality seemed inescapable as she realized how easily he could overpower her.

"Good morning," he said cheerily, but his face remained blank, as if his words had no connection to his emotions. Her eyes were wide with fear and her mind was racing to make some kind of plan for escape. He came closer to the counter, absentmindedly looking into the nearly empty cup, then pushing around her to look at the bag beside the coffee pot.

"Almost out!" he exclaimed. "You must like coffee." He shook the bag, as if emphasizing how empty it was. "You know, why don't you try real drugs?" He turned toward her and she realized how very close he was. The crackling energy of his demeanor today seemed almost palpable. He looked over and noticed the folded aluminum foil on the counter, the pieces she had managed to save from his last visit. He raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Here." He reached into an interior pocket on his jacket and pulled out a clear bag with white powder inside. He set it on the counter. "Go ahead, have some."

She didn't move, frozen. This was outside of the realm of anything she had expected.

"Try it, you'll like it," he said with an edge to his voice. He stooped down slightly so that he could look her in the eye, regarding her carefully. "I don't have a lot of time today."

He stood up and slowly opened the bag. She could see upcoming danger in his eyes and turned to make an attempt to run. He stepped forward and his arm was around her neck and shoulders immediately.

"Let's see what you do. How will you fight?" he said, his voice a mixture of anger and amusement. She made an effort to push his arm away with her hands but it was like a vice grip around her, solid and unmoving. She shook her body violently from side to side, trying to break away with all her might. He had to put in some effort to hold her, but it was obviously child's play for him.

"That was really good, you're stronger than you look. Probably all those dishes you wash," he said with an admiring tone. "But I can tell no one ever taught you how to fight." She started to scream, but even she knew that would do no good in some of the worst apartments in Lower Gotham. Even if someone noticed the sounds, they wouldn't intervene for fear of crossing the wrong people. She stopped to catch her breath. He tilted his head to quietly murmur in her ear. "No one's coming, kitten." Her mind reeled with the bizarre nickname. Had he said "kitten"? The thought quickly left her as she began to struggle against him again.

He resumed opening the bag with one hand calmly, still easily securing her with the arm he had wrapped around her.

"Here we go," he said, lifting the bag with his fingers so that it poured into his open palm. "This stuff is great. You can sniff it, breath it, eat it, anything works." She turned her head away as far as possible and closed her eyes and mouth.

"I guess we'll try all three." He suddenly placed his palm with the powder over her face, covering her nose and mouth. She refused to breath. "That's ok, I'll wait," he said calmly.

She couldn't resist for long, and her body forced her to draw a breath, involuntarily gasping for air. He took the opportunity and forced part of his hand into her mouth, wiping the powder off on the inside of her cheek. He withdrew it quickly and she began to cough and sputter, spitting out what she could. He let go and moved away. The powder covered the lower half of her face, and she continued her coughing fit, doubled over.

He waited until she began taking regular breaths again, helping her to sit down. She leaned on the counter for support. Her head was spinning, and it seemed everything in the room was shifting.

"It should be taking effect now, it's a little delayed. You may not want to drink any more right now, it could be too much," he said, picking up her cup and pouring the remainder into the sink, and then emptying the coffee pot as well, as if it was something he did every day. She moved her head from side to side, trying to bring his face back into focus.

"It was in the coffee, kitten, in case you didn't figure that out yet. The white stuff is just powder, it's harmless."

He walked away and turned to leave, opening the door. "Have a nice trip, see you next fall" he said lightly. Outside, he gave his man instructions. "Watch her, make sure she doesn't walk out a window or something." The man nodded obediently and went inside to stand watch by the door. She was still clutching the counter, but it was clear that her mind was no longer present, her eyes focusing on some far away world.

She felt that she was floating at first, gradually letting go of her thoughts, her burdens, escaping from the oppressive heat of summertime in Gotham. Suddenly she was back in the ballroom again, holding the tray of tableware. This time she felt different, light, like she could travel anywhere without being noticed or seen.

She saw him enter the ballroom from a distance. The colors struck her as they had before, but this time his red lips seemed to be leaving a trial of paint in the air. With every turn of his head, the color bled from his lips and stayed there, sitting in the empty space like a liquid, floating in irregular lines and curves. She tried to focus more carefully and found the red designs he left as he strode through the ballroom did not fade away but became even more clear and distinct.

She knew no one could see her today, so she made her way toward the floating swirls of red. She couldn't help herself - she reached out with her fingers to touch the magical streaks of color. They seemed to melt like waxy paint on her hands, staining them a bright red. She found that she could move the lines of color, and make new swirls with her stained fingers as she ran them through the empty space, as if the air was somehow water… She found herself dipping and spinning in the red hanging there, staining her clothes with bright whirls of color. She closed her eyes, lost in the sudden music that arose.

A moment of logical thought interrupted her enjoyment. Why would the band be playing when the whole ballroom was held hostage by the Joker? She opened her eyes and suddenly found herself in a sea of purple, the rough texture of the jacket scratching her face - she was suffocating again, his body crushing her against the wall - how could she be here? She had thought she was invisible… She looked up to see his white face and cold eyes, the paint seeming to flake off like powder in a white flurry around her, and she screamed, again and again, terrified.

The man at the door answered a call on his cell. "Update me, I'm bored," the boss demanded. "What is she doing?"

Her screaming was certainly audible on the other end of the line, but wanting to answer the question, he said, "Uh… she's screaming."

"Is that all?" he asked, unsatisfied.

"Well, earlier she was… maybe… dancing… I guess. She was smiling."

The Joker started to laugh, first a little, then uncontrollably. The man waited on the other end of the line, knowing that he shouldn't hang up yet.

He abruptly stopped his laughter and said, "Don't let her hurt herself. Give her another few hours and then leave once she's sleeping."

"You got it, Boss" the man replied unquestioningly, unfazed by the bizarre events.

Additional notes: This is fanfic, so of course I don't own any characters from The Dark Knight (Joker, Batman, etc.). The main female character is original.

[intothelost]

TOP 10ish (obviously way more than 10) Films of 2023

Another year gone, and it's about that time to put it to rest, officially. 2023 was a perfectly fine year in film. Much like last year, not the worst, but also far from the best. I don't know, but the 2020's don't seem to be hitting like the 2010's (especially the last few years) Maybe COVID is to blame, maybe my age, but the decade is still relatively young and there was plenty of solid films this year. I think I need to stop wanting everything in my top 10 to be a 10/10 flawless masterpiece of cinema, because at the end of the day, films are made by humans (for now) and no person or film is perfect. That's why I'm not going to star rate movies as much. It seems more and more superfluous by the year.

Also, supremely disappointed in myself for hardly seeing any documentaries this year. Unforgivable shit from me, I apologize.

My Choice for favorite/best #1 Film of 2023 is obvious and maybe even a little boring, but I don't give a fuck its...
Christopher Nolan's OPPENHEIMER

Listening, you can't deny a GOAT when they are at the peak of their powers, and Nolan, much like he did when I was a teenager, when I saw films like The Dark Knight and Inception reminded me why I love this shit! CINEMA BABY!!!

Honorable Mentions:
All Of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Bottoms
The Burial
Creed III
Infinity Pool
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Godzilla Minus One
Killers of the Flower Moon
Origin
Society of the Snow
The Taste of Things


And because I'm so indecisive I couldn't decide what my 10th film would be, so I decided to make it a 7-way tie! My list, my rules.

THE TOP 9 (In no particular order, besides Oppenheimer)
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The Holdovers
Rye Lane
How To Blow Up a Pipeline 
Anatomy of a Fall
May December
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Poor Things

7-Way Tie for the 10th spot are: (No particular order)
Monster
Polite Society
John Wick Chapter 4
Dream Scenario
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
They Cloned Tyrone
Talk To Me