#this manga is a riot when it wants to be

[aretheyqueer]

List of Canonically Trans/gnc Characters

My own list in this post is anime, manga, games mostly but in the spreadsheet you can add anything.

Following my tierlist of them, I realized I should make a public list so theyre not just kept in my head, since I spent quite a while finding these characters. If you want to watch/play anything with trans or gnc characters, you can use this list.

They range from good rep to bad, characters viewed as "traps" or not taken seriously to ones that the whole fandom understands is trans. I've added trigger warnings to the characters and fandoms I know can be triggering. I've also put certain names in bold to show that they're a main character, but i've only watched a few on this list so some are missing.

I would add trigger warnings for "bury your gays" and similar tropes, but I want to avoid spoilers. Maybe you can look it up first if you're worried. I've tried to exclude characters that are referred to as hermaphrodites.

The "crossdressers" section obviously includes some spoilers.

Enjoy :D

Transfem

Alice Arisuin from Chivalry of a Failed Knight (Prefers feminine name and terms but doesn't care too much).

Arachne from Angel Sanctuary

Arashi Narukami from Ensemble Stars

Astolfo from the Fate/Grand series

Leonardo Da Vinci from the Fate/Grand series (unsure)

Cassandra Igarashi from The Wicked + The Divine

Dahlia Carpenter from Carole & Tuesday

Victoria October from Batman

Elendira the Crimsonnail from Trigun Stampede

Giselle Gewelle from Bleach (The fandom is very transphobic)

Grell from Black Butler (Unnecessarily debated)

Hana from Tokyo Godfathers

Okasan from Tokyo Godfathers (Could be a drag queen)

Hibari Oozora from Stop!! Hibari-kun!

Isabella Yamamoto from Paradise Kiss

Kanamori from Heaven's Design Team

Kano Ienaga from Golden Kamuy

Kaoru Anesagi from IDOLiSH7

Kaoru Hanase from Tamako Market (Speculated to be a trans woman)

Kenji Hikiishi from My Hero Academia

Kikinojo from One Piece

Mariandale/Marian from Ixion Saga DT

Mizuki Akiyama from Project Sekai (Heavily implied)

Momoko from Shangri-La

Kikyou Motoki from Itazura Na Kiss

Nao from Skip and Loafer

Nathan Seymour from Tiger & Bunny

Perfuma from She-Ra and the Princesses of power

Petrichor from Saga

Ruka Urushibara from Steins;Gate (Transphobic fandom)

Saber from the Fate/Grand series

Stephanie from Majutsushi Orphen

Ushiyama from All Worlds Alliance

Hiroyuki Yoshida from Wandering Son

Shuuichi Nitori from Wandering Son

Yuujirou Shiratori from The Highschool Life of a Fudanshi

Transmasc

Hachiro from Gintama

Kite from Japan Sinks: 2020

Kusuo Saiki from The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. (Turned himself into a boy when he was in the womb, otherwise never mentioned)

Ryo Watari from Boys Run the Riot

Shou Fujita from Stars Align (Very minor character)

Tooru Mutsuki from Tokyo Ghoul:re

Yamato from One Piece

Yawara Chatora from My Hero Academia

Yoshino Takatsuki from Wandering Son

Nonbinary

Anne Faulkner from Paradox Live

Asra from The Arcana

Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate (genderfluid)

Chaos from Hades

Berg Katze from Gatchaman Crowds (androgynous)

O. D. from Gatchaman Crowds

Daishikyou from Gintama

Chevalier D'Eon from Fate/Grand series

Enkidu/Lancer from Fate/Grand series (Inherently no gender/sex)

Double Trouble from She-Ra and the Princesses of power

Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist (can transform into any gender)

Francois from Dr. Stone

Halara Nightmare from Master Detective Archives: Rain Code

Hange from Attack on titan (Fandom mostly refers to them as female)

Ivankov Emporio from One Piece (i'm not sure what they identify as)

Juniper from Xenoblade Chronicles

Kaoruko Someya from Okane ga Nai (Okama)

Kimera from Kimera (nb or transfem)

Kyuubei Yagyuu (Born female, raised male so has an unconventional relationship with gender)

Vanitas of the Blue Moon from The Case Study of Vanitas

Milo Belladonna from Monster Prom

Mogumo from Love Me For Who I Am

Najimi Osana from Komi can't communicate (Unknown gender)

Nakuru Akizuki from Cardcaptor Sakura (Sexless, identifies as female)

Nico from Tokyo Ghoul (Okama)

Opera from Marimashita! Iruma-kun

Orochimaru from Naruto

Ryuuji Ayukawa from Blue Period (Unsure, can be gnc/transfem/nonbinary)

Satan from Devilman

Shion Zaiden from RWBY

Someone (yes thats their name) from Shimanami Tasogare

Xanthe Zhou from Prime Earth

Yuuta Asuka from Stars Align

Intersex

Asuka Ran from Devilman Lady

Luca Esposito from Asra Lost in Space (identifies as male)

Desmond from Carole & Tuesday (Became intersex due to universe stuff but is at peace with this)

Megumi Yoshikawa from Princess Princess (Raised male before she found out she was genetically female, decides to live as a girl)

Richard III from Requiem of the Rose King (Struggles with his intersexuality, feels his body and him are unloveable)

Yoite from Nabari no Ou (Lives as male but they're unsure of their gender)

Crossdressers

Aki from Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

Azumi Agonoske from Gintama

Buzam A. Calessa from Vandread

Ferris from Re:Zero (I've heard that the novel version is transfem)

Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran high school host club (Nonbinary coded)

Ranka/Ryouji Fujioka from Ouran high school host club (Drag queen)

Hatsuka Suzushiro from Call of the Night

Hazumu Osaragi from Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl

Kurako from Kuragehime

Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4 (The reveal can be triggering)

Chihiro Fujisaki from Danganronpa (The reveal can be very triggering - I recommend looking it up first if you're worried.)

Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi (Unsure)

Rui Ninomiya from Gatchaman (May be transfem)

Cis characters that are gnc

Haruka Tenou from Sailor Moon

Kaoru Orihara from Oniisama e... (not sure what gender)

Kashima Yuu from Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun

Complicated

Angela from Black Butler (Changes form)

Berg Katse from Gatchaman (Changes form)

Fushi from To Your Eternity (Can change into female but presents masc)

Ginshu from Amatsuki (Raised male, turned genderless, dressed feminine. Idk their gender identity)

Inazuma from One Piece (Can present as both male and female, okama)

Izana Shinatose from Knights of Sidonia (Genderless to female due to universe rules)

Kou Seiya from Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (Has a male and female form, I think)

Mahiro Oyama from Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister! (Was turned into a girl against his will)

Mermaid Sisters from Carole & Tuesday (I don't know, man...)

Natsuru Senou from Kämpfer (Transformed into a woman)

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Officials Blessing (Can transform)

Ranma Saotome from Ranma (Changes between them)

Hinata Tachibana from Life with an Ordinary Guy who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout (Gets transformed into a girl, goes on a quest to get their original body back)

--------

If you see anyone missing, feel free to let me know if I should add them. Input on who is a main character, triggering themes and offensive characters can be commented or sent to me.

[red-hibiscus]

This will forever be one of my favorite panels from a manga ever. It's been my phone wallpaper for at least a year.

When I first read it, it hit me so hard cause I knew EXACTLY the emotions being depicted here. Emotions people who don't experience gender dysphoria ever will. And I've never and still have never seen a manga or anime show them so directly like this.

I remember that before I had top surgery I was in so much mental pain from my chest I wanted rip my chest off. I wanted to rip apart my skin because I felt that my true body was hiding underneath. I wasn't meant to be living in a body that looked the way it did.

That emotion right there perfectly encapsulates the pain I felt. He's clawing himself out of his outer skin and being emerging as the true self that was always there lying in wait.

Manga: boys run the riot

[marveling-cg]

Okay, I just turned on MHA like six weeks ago, and just finished the manga yesterday. And while I have.....thoughts -.- about that ending, I also can't help think about:

Deku's Accidental Charm Offensive & Unintentional Rehabilitation of Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight's Image

Like:

On one of Deku's first patrols with Dynamight, they wrap up a villain with no injuries, no collateral, no casualties, and Dynamight lets rip his signature shout: "FLAWLESS VICTORY!"

The PR folks at his agency (and the internet) have told him that it's off-putting and unnerving

But Deku breaks out laughing behind him, Bakugo turns for the fist bump, aggressive, still pumped up from the adrenaline

Deku returns it automatically, smile bright, cheeks flushed, eyes nearly shut

The internet thinks it's adorable

And when:

They've responded to a request to back up heroes in an adjacent zone

Bakugo's been picking up more requests for backup now that Deku's in the field -- he knows the nerd gets a kick out of working in teams, and sometimes they run into their classmates, it makes Deku smile, whatever

There's a group of villains working in a team, and the biggest of them has a quirk it takes the the BakuBros way too long to figure out, but Deku, Chargebolt, and Red Riot manage to clear the extras from the field long enough for Bakugo to finally put the big bad down

It was a messy and exhausting fight, Bakugo's barely staying on his feet in the aftermath, but then he hears a shout from a nearby roof -- Deku:

"Great Explosion Murder God --"

"DYNAMIGHT" Kaminari and Kirishima join Deku's dumbass shout, and Bakugo is tossed up on the idiot's shoulders like an American frat boy.

They're so embarrassing.

The nearby newscaster filming from the police line laughs with the rest of the nearby civilians, says something about the atmosphere of joy as the villains have finally been subdued

But especially that time:

Some overexcitable brat almost got themselves killed on Deku and Bakugo's watch

There'd been some two-bit criminal, hardly enough of a threat to be called a villain, but Endeavor'd taught them to respond quickly, and they'd never been able to kick the muscle memory

The kid, no more than 8 or 9 had seen them passing by from her window and climbed out onto her fire escape, climbing up on the rails to try and record the interaction

Thank fuck the sensors on Deku's suit had picked up the anomaly of her sudden descent

Though they'd both rushed into action, Bakugo made the save snatching the kid from the air before she'd injured herself

When he got them both on solid ground, he'd been ready to light into her -- "Listen here, you --"

But Deku had been there, hand firm on Bakugo's elbow, "Kacchan, no!" Before hip-checking Bakugo out of the way and crouching down to get at eye level with the girl

"Hey, what my buddy, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight" (Deku always says it like Bakugo had dreamed it, like it's the name of someone trustworthy) "is trying to say is that your safety is way more important than a picture or video of us. Right?"

Here Deku had turned to look up at Bakugo. His midnight green eyes stern and expectant. Reminding Bakugo:

He'd made a promise to himself. If Deku gave becoming a hero a chance -- not just doing test work with the suit, not just moonlighting between class and grading papers, but really gave partnering with Bakugo his best effort -- Bakugo wouldn't let himself do anything to get in the way of Deku becoming the #1 hero. Anything.

"Yeah kid, it's not a flawless victory if you get hurt."

Deku beamed at him as if Bakugo just plucked the moon from the sky and personally gifted to him. Bakugo's cheeks had burned. But it didn't matter (he'd thought it wouldn't matter -- smartphones are the worst) Deku had already turned back to the girl.

"And if you want to come chat with us, we'll be at the Fall Festival at _____ Park around the corner in just a couple weeks! We'll be at the ______ Agency booth!"

Business kids had gotten the bright idea that heroes ought to be more accessible, feel more a part of the communities they helped protect.

A week later, Ashido sent a tweet to the Forever 1A group chat. A video of he and Deku with the kid. The caption: "Turns out Great Explosion Murder God just needed an anger interpreter."

The first comment under the tweet: "Anger interpreter? Do you mean husband?? Look at the blush!"

Bakugo is going to kill them!

But like, after 3 months of he and Deku partnering, they're neck and neck with Todoroki - the Big 3 back in competition.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

Community and your Individual Power

I have been trying to figure out a way to put this into words that make sense. I don't believe in fate.

I don't believe in the idea that we all have a specific purpose given to us by a specific entity. What I do believe in is the collective unconscious. That there is something out there, that we don't understand that connects us. I believe that minute actions by individuals over millennia make waves they never saw the outcome for. Synchronicity is a real phenomenon. We perceive more similar things once we've been exposed to them because our brains recognize patterns they're more familiar with. I didn't find OFMD because some power that be pointed me to it. I found OFMD because I was missing something in my life, and I was lonely, and over time I exposed myself to more and more queer content, and that queer content shared space with OFMD. The reason I was able to expose myself to more queer content was because of years of artists and creators pushing the boundaries of what was "tolerated" in society-- so that content was available. I was able to access more of what I needed, because I went through hellish things in my life that put me on the path of therapy, and therefore the path of loving myself more, and accepting who I was, and my desires and leanings. I was able to figure out my leanings because others had the courage to share their own feelings and desires, and I found that mine aligned with some of them. I was able to do that because people I knew, people who had been through therapy, been through self discovery, told me it was okay, and accepted me.

I was able to meet those people because my parents, despite disagreeing with those leanings encouraged me to talk to people and get to know people and listen before I spoke. When I was younger, I was able to be exposed to queer media because I got a job at Suncoast, because my parents let me buy Dragon Ball tapes there, and the manager wanted someone who knew anime, and was willing to give 16 year old me a chance. I was able to get into anime and manga because my dad and mom met in Japan because my mom's first husband left her for reasons I won't explain,-- and so they encouraged me to learn Japanese because I found it fascinating and connected with it on a personal level. I was able to get into queer manga because an artist in another country (Matou Sanami) pushed a boundary of what was accepted in society, and they were able to do that because of people like Martha P. Johnson who fought for queer rights in the Stonewall Riots-- and so on and so forth. All the joy I am getting to experience right now is because of endless little and big things that others did and sacrificed, and how I navigated through the results of that. Nothing happened in a vacuum. I had biases I now don't. I changed. I evolved, I'm still evolving. I'm still learning, and I always will be. I met all of you before what's currently happening in the US today because my journey led me to you. Because of the sacrifices, and the courage of so many millions of people over the entirety of human history to just-- be themselves. I met you because I needed to meet you, and all the complicated strings of events that led me to that need. I know I'm not alone in this. We have each other now, to help us navigate this increasingly difficult and oppressive time for ourselves and the ones we love (and the people we don't even know). That's not even mentioning the already existing structural biases so many of our crew face (racism, gender inequality, etc). Community develops out of necessity, and that's what we are. We are community.

Community fosters education and acceptance, and supports resistance and topples oppression.

Community is what sustains us. It evolves as we do. Even if we aren't in the same physical place, solidarity and support reaches through time and space. Community is how we heal. Lean on your community, whether that is in person, or online. We came together because we needed to come together. We came together because human beings are complex and beautiful, and we carve out our little communities for ourselves in our various spaces. If you're low on spoons, or money, or hope. Reach out to your community. Community is how we rise.

But most of all. Remember that you are so very powerful. Your tiny actions, though you will never see the results of them change lives. So very many lives. You are a tiny powerful force and together, we can be a community of tiny powerful forces until one day, we make waves that not only help us, but the millions of lives ahead of us. Community is how we survive. Being ourselves is how we foster future generations to be themselves and take actions. I truly do love you crew , and I know so many people do, please remember that when all hope seems lost. Let us be your hope. Let us be your support. <3

[iceclew]

At last, rarepair time <3

Y'all my girls, finally back on the paaaage!!!

And I came up with kinda some law for them as well!

Mid: I imagine them meeting properly when Mina has to visit Ariake for Cpt. stuff, and Narumi is an anxious fck, and don't let her out of his (people's) sight. They get to know each other better on these business appointments there. Unlike everybody else, Shinonome is rather chill, even next to the 3rd Div. Captain. Despite her respect for Narumi's strength and his abilities, his behaviour grew another kind of culture in the 1st Division (much like we see with Hasegawa as well in the manga), so she's not that uptight around higher rank officers. Mina enjoys it a lot, since she's missing the "normal" officerds life, where you chitchat with comrades as equals. There are very few people acting casual around her (f.ex Hoshina) and even if so, things are just different with her direct subordinates.

Left: I just really wanted to draw them in the pose of my most fav. lesbian couple, and quote them. That's literally all there is to it, lmao...sorry if it's out of character, maybe they're doing karaoke and some prude stranger is being shit or smth.. it's literally just redoing the original scene.

Right: Since Narumi is such a disaster with the media and press, Rin is quite used to handle dicey situations in public. This makes her the perfect accompaniment to interviews, and life shows, where Mina is invited to represent her Division. (also by no means, I want to bash the Kafmina ship, I love them too, this is just for the sake of the dialogue)

Plus I made another weird bonus thingy down below

I thought about the left scene, and how funny it would be if Kafka runs riot, 'cause Mina is wearing an extra spicy dress on TV. Found a shitty fake chat generator and this is the result. :B

[le-panda-chocovore]

I think the reason for all that discourse in the JJK fandom is that we had some expectations about what this story would be about, and we were wrong. I'd say it was our fault for having them, because Gege had his own story in mind and it isn't our role to tell him what to write/draw. But I'd also say that we were misled into having those expectations and then being deceived, because shock value is fun.

(I'm not in the AOT fandom so maybe I'm 100% wrong, in which case don't pay attention to me. I'm just rambling I'm not trying to make a point)

See there's not such a thing in Attack On Titans. I mean I know people are arguing whether a decision was good or bad or a character development was positive or negative, but no one is rioting the way JJK readers are even when someone dies, kills, or does worse (they do start a genocide lol). Because in AOT you know since the beginning what this story is about : surviving, war, and liberty. With time you learn that it's also about racism, destiny and injustice. But the story starts with death and blood and it never calms down, characters keep dying or getting hurt and no one's safe all along the story. So you just know it'd end the same way, you know what to expect, that power of friendship won't save anyone here.

But Jujutsu Kaisen is different, because it has all the codes of a basic Shonen. Everyone was comparing it to Naruto during the 1st season so you would believe it'd follow the same path. Of course there's fights and fails and suffering and death, because it's necessary for the growth of the protagonist. He'd learn he's not strong enough and he'd try harder and mature more and be better. Jujutsu Kaisen makes you think it's your One Piece-type manga where 1 person dies every 4 arcs and the main team survives everything, even when it looks impossible.

And then Shibuya happens and you're shocked because it's way to early to kill so many valuable characters in a row. Usually that kind of massacre happens during Big War arcs like in MHA. At first you think it's an interesting writing choice because it changes from other mangas, and you wonder how the main character will evolve from that. But then the training arc never happens, because shit keeps falling on them and there's a pile of deads and you start to wonder when it'd stop. Spoilers : it doesn't.

So at some point you realize it. This isn't a classical shonen. This isn't an happy-ending after a hard fight kind of story. There's no power of friendship to save them, there's no important moral path to keep following no matter what (like "I won't do to you what you did to me because it'd mean that I'm the same" no it doesn't work here), and there's not even a chance to run away from that cursed role no one wants to bear. There's no one protecting the kids anymore. The MC isn't strong enough and the mentors are dead and close friends are off-fight and the one person able to end this has to make the horrendous choice to give up his humanity.

In AOT, you were shocked, but it felt logical in the sense of where the story was leading you from the beginning. In JJK, you feel betrayed and manipulated because everything made you think about those other mangas where people ended up fine, but it was just a cover.

Honestly you COULD have guessed it'd end that way. Many people did. You just ignored it.

You thought Junpei's death was an exception, the Major Point for Yuuji's development, the Shock Value Kill to put some depth nuance in the story. But in reality it was a warning, a taste of the future. There WERE signs after all, and Gege never pretended to write another Naruto. You were so used to the classical shonen that you read the signs and fell for the trick.

JJK has never been a nice story from the beginning, Sukuna was at the center of every event since the beginning. You can dislike what is happening but you cannot say it's bad, as in a scenaristic choice. Gege is a writing genius and unfortunately he's also pure evil.

You shouldn't have trusted a one-eyed cat after all.

[dreams-of-beloveds]

HORIKOSHI WHEN I CATCH YOU HORIKOSHI

why in the fuck were we left on cliffhanger for the end of season 7. i’m so- i don’t even know how to feel right now, because i wasn’t even expecting us to be left on cliffhanger, and THE NEXT SEASON DOESNT EVEN COME UNTIL AUTUMN R U KIDDING ME how am i supposed to cope?!?? sure i still have the ova’s and the films left to watch bUT STILL MAN I FEEL SO EMPTY RIGHT NOW DAMMIT

god i have so much to say about season 7—not only was watching the todoroki family the most devastating thing ive ever witnessed—their family history is so intricately tangled and i really wonder if touya is still alive (i haven’t read the manga, i hope he is, and i don’t wanna read it online dammit) i want to see them come to a proper closure so bad i need them to be okay with each other even if endeavor isn’t forgiven (which is honestly valid) i want this family-against-touya-to-protect-everyone-else situation to bring them together in some way dammit!

and then we had the togachako moment. oh lord. oh lord i love them, they’re so—yeah sure i see them as a queer ship, but god fucking dammit after hikimo finally came to accepting her smile and her way of showing love being “normal” because of ochaco’s words and coming to the conclusion that all she ever needed was to “give blood like how she wanted to have someone else��s” HIMIKO BETTER NOT BE DEAD DAMMIT DONT TELL ME THAT CONFESSION MIDAIR AND THE SHARING HIMIKO’S BLOOD TO KEEP OCHACO ALIVE WAS ALL FOR NOTHING

oh god and fucking hawks. oh jesus. i wasn’t expecting his quirk to be taken completely. i honestly have no idea what his ending holds, but god dammit i hope he’s alive, i know his worst fear was getting his quirk taken when that’s what made him “the best” in the first place because he was literally groomed to become a hero due to his quirk despite growing up around villains, i can’t imagine how he’d be feeling—but fuck, fuck the burden he must’ve carried for having to kill bubaigawara even though he didn’t want to, he just found a genuine friend when working undercover and yet, he almost had to face the wrath of the sad man’s death legion through himiko oh man i couldn’t stand seeing him just,, fall, after everything

all might, oh, all might. this man is in his 50s and yet still can’t let his work go can he? this damn workaholic. but seeing him with his support items all including his students quirks 🥹💔 this man adores his students so much, if he doesn’t fucking stay alive after defeating afo i’m gonna fucking riot, RIOT I TELL YOU i sure fucking hope this isn’t the ending nighteye had foreseen about all might’s death because i swear to god, hell i fucking know nighteye would’ve been so mad seeing all might go into that war against afo quirkless with only support items he would’ve been MAD AND YK WHAT SO AM I BITCH SO HE BETTER COME OUTTA THIS ALIVE

and hell we don’t even know what the situation with aizawa, present mic and kurogiri is??? WHAT HAPPENS I NEED TO KNOW I NEED THEM ALIVE i don’t fucking know if shirakumo ever comes back, he was dead to begin with, i don’t think he’s gonna but damn can aizawa and hizashi get the closure they deserve? thats all i want for them, for them to be able to work alongside shirakumo’s “soul” one last time and have some form of closure dammit

and well, i left bakugo katsuki at the end of this fucking rant because i need him alive. i remember seeing so many damn parallels of kudo—and how his expression in afo’s hands looked so defeated, as if he was ready to die for yoichi, meanwhile katsuki, fucking bakugo katsuki, he’s not ready to die, yes he fucking moved through that pain to blast one last move in shigaraki’s face knowing there was a possibility of not making it but GOD DAMMIT I DOUBT HE WANTS TO LEAVE IZUKU BEHIND NOT YET and him fucking talking to all might’s vestige. god i genuinely was bawling so much. the voice, the expression, god just looked so, so vulnerably soft which he’s never let himself before, except for when he apologises to izuku to bring him back to UA. but god fuck, how- what- HOW DO I COPE Y’ALL HELP ME SOMEONE TALK TO ME IM LOSING MY FUCKING MIND

there’s so much fucking more i could yap about right now but it’s 1:15 am, my hands are hurting, my eyes are burning from crying so much after it ended, and my brain is dead. i can’t do this man

P.S. as someone who holds too much emotional intelligence and is studying psych, you can never make me hate any villain because i will always understand their pain too well, even if i don’t justify certain actions

[starlostlix]

Moriarty the Patriot - Sherlock, William, uncertainty and control:

(aka me writing a lot about something i find a bit interesting)

I think what I find most interesting about Sherlock and Liam as a duo (platonic or romantic idrc in this context) is how Liam's ways of controlling Sherlock in his plans differs from the ways he controls others. Whilst people like Bonde and Moran are allowed to improvise as long as his goal is achieved, Liam lets Sherlock choose between a limited amount of ways where he still doesn't completely understand the goal behind the situation. Liam seems to think that it's not completely possible to actually control Sherlock the way others are and has to change his approach. In fact, Sherlock as a person opens Liam up to the idea that not everything can or needs to be controlled or certain.

The first meeting with Sherlock is pure chance. Liam had no knowledge of Sherlock's existence until they bumped into each other on the Noahtic. They randomly strike up conversation by the pure coincidence of being in the same place at the same time. Liam in his letter states that this was entertaining enough for him to forget about his plan (something which is usually a constant in his mind), even considering abandoning it to continue mystery solving with Sherlock as they got to know each other more. All this from a chance encounter, something which Liam doesn't usually have room for in his plans. It opens him up to things, in this case a person, out of his control for the first time in the series as far as we can tell - and he enjoys it.

This leads to the addition of Sherlock into the Moriarty Plan, an unexpected but helpful asset in exposing the misdeeds of the nobility to the people. Liam sometimes describes Sherlock as the main character of the performance, which is significant in terms of their dynamic. With Liam as the director, Sherlock's narrative is technically under his control - so Sherlock is consistently put in situations where he has the power to act in a limited number of ways as per this narrative. This frustrates Sherlock greatly, as he seems to value being in control of the mysteries but now the mystery has control over him. He also knows he's being toyed by someone with more control of the events he's in. However, the control Liam has isn't absolute. Liam gives Sherlock many times to have the answer to the mystery handed to him, which Sherlock denies due to his mentality of wanting to solve the mystery himself. To me this shows that Sherlock is the one that has the choice over continuing the chase (and therefore the entire act) at all. If he'd accepted the answer from Hope or Alder, Liam's entire plotting would have to be rewritten. Sherlock overestimates the control Liam has over him, and Liam knows that he cannot control what Sherlock does completely (but can put restrictions on his options).

This dynamic is especially seen in The Riot at New Scotland Yard, where Sherlock specifically acknowledges that the way he acts could disrupt the Lord of Crime's plans, and is frustrated about his lack of control here. But the fact that Sherlock technically had the power to possibly disrupt Liam's plans at all in Scotland Yard shows that Sherlock has an element of free will in his situations.

In The Two Criminals (im going anime only from here since i haven't got all the way through the manga yet) is the next time we see something that Liam did not control for - Sherlock's act of murdering Milverton. Sherlock may have murdered Milverton to save Watson's marriage, but it seems to be also in part to prove to Liam that he cannot be completely controlled. This is when it occurs to Liam that, in his mind, Sherlock is definitely going to kill him and he plans for just that.

Liam's letter to Sherlock is a goodbye at its core. He plans to have Sherlock at his side in his final moments and thinks that despite their friendship Sherlock will stand by. But by now Liam feels that his control is fading - not only over his people, but his sins. The only thing he requests in that letter (which are the only things he wants to control for) are Sherlock helping others, and Sherlock being by his side to, in essence, pull the trigger and let him accept death.

Sherlock however has shown that Liam cannot control him before and does so again. On the bridge he perhaps does the thing that Liam expects the least - Sherlock tries to help him. In fact Liam is so appalled by the idea that he as the Lord of Crime is worth saving that he tries to regain control of the situation by starting a half-simulated fight. I say half-simulated since the fight is simulated by Liam to say that Sherlock defeated him after the event, but also is full of real tensions between the two. Sherlock is fighting for Liam to stay, Liam is fighting for Sherlock to give up on him and let him die (what he planned for almost his entire life).

Then, dangling above the river Thames, Sherlock pulls out the biggest surprise for Liam - Sherlock came to help because he's his friend. It's funny how Liam is accounted for all the people of London projecting their rage at him, but not for the fact that there may be one or two people that would want to spend time with him. He couldn't have planned for the genuine connection he and Sherlock had gained. He couldn't account for perhaps the most integral thing - a person that actually cares for him outside of his usual circle and wants him to have a happy life, despite everything he's done.

It isn't until he's falling that Liam realised Sherlock is truly an agent of chaos in his otherwise meticulous plan. He watched Sherlock jump to catch him, he views him strangely enough as a symbol of peace. Sometimes, chaos and unpredictablility can bring peace, something that had never accounted for can bring good.

By the time he wakes up in New York, Liam is in a state of uncertainty. No plans, no goals, his life is a 'blank'. It is Sherlock who convinces him that this uncertainty can be a good thing. He can 'paint that canvas however he likes' even if it takes some time. He can struggle to find his way, because the way him finds will still be right for him eventually. Uncertainty and a lack of control can create new opportunities and a new outlook on life. And Sherlock will be there to support him. No matter what he decides to do.

Sherlock represents the uncertainty of life for Liam and the good it can bring. He shows him that he doesn't need to plan everything, a lack of control can be a good thing, and that sometimes the best things can come from chance and uncertainty. They, as a duo, are an product of this uncertainty and lack of control.

(anyways can people tell that i kind of write essays/powerpoints on things i like for fun? this was going to be like one paragraph or two at first but then more details to explore came up. feel free to correct me if i've missed/misinterpreted anything in my writing! I'm still new to MTP - i watched the anime for the first time like 2 weeks ago and have read the first 9 manga volumes too, plus a few of the new york/time skip chapters - but this series has really taken over my life recently and that's not a bad thing)

[duckprintspress]

Intersex Awareness Day: 6 Book Recommendations!

October 26th is the annual Intersex Awareness Day! Considering how many millions of people in the world are intersex, it’s depressing how rare it is to find books by intersex people or that feature intersex characters. Our crew of contributors to these recommendations list knew of six we’d recommend. As always, representation may be explicit or implied, so is potentially open to interpretation. Note that some intersex people consider themselves queer and some do not. We opted to include these books under “queer” for the tagging and shelving systems we use, but we do so with the understanding that not all intersex people are queer and that being intersex doesn’t automatically mean a person is queer. The contributors to the list are Nina Waters, Meera S. and an anonymous contributor.

At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender: Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery by Shou Arai

At age 30, Shou Arai came to a realization; they had no gender. Now they were faced with a question they’d never really considered: how to age in a society where everything is so strongly segregated between two genders? This autobiographical manga explores Japanese culture surrounding gender, transgender issues, and the day to day obstacles faced by gender minorities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community with a lighthearted, comedic attitude.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day of January 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974. . . My birth certificate lists my name as Calliope Helen Stephanides. My most recent driver’s license…records my first name simply as Cal.”

So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of 1967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.

Nabari No Ou by Yuhki Kamatani

Apathetic schoolboy Miharu Rokujou is content to meander through life in the sleepy village of Banten. But his quiet existence is shattered when the Grey Wolves of Iga, a powerful ninja clan, attempt to kidnap him in broad daylight. Only then does Miharu discover that the ultimate power of the hidden ninja realm – a power that can do both great good and great harm – is sealed within his body. As battles erupt among rival ninja clans seeking to control him, Miharu must overcome his apathy and learn the ways of the ninja if he wants any shot at survival.

Ring by Kōji Suzuki

A mysterious videotape warns that the viewer will die in one week unless a certain, unspecified act is performed. Exactly one week after watching the tape, four teenagers die one after another of heart failure.

Asakawa, a hardworking journalist, is intrigued by his niece’s inexplicable death. His investigation leads him from a metropolitan tokyo teeming with modern society’s fears to a rural Japan – a mountain resort, a volcanic island, and a countryside clinic–haunted by the past. His attempt to solve the tape’s mystery before it’s too late – for everyone – assumes an increasingly deadly urgency. Ring is a chillingly told horror story, a masterfully suspenseful mystery, and post-modern trip.

The Day of Revolution by Mikiyo Tsuda

Kei Yoshikawa is a feisty young boy, troubled by problems at home and annoyed at school. One day after a sudden fainting spell, Kei is examined by the doctor and given shocking news – he is actually supposed to be a girl!

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West – a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

What are your favorite books with intersex representation? Please do tell us, we’d love to read more!

You can view this rec list as a shelf on the Duck Prints Press Goodreads profile! Or shop the three that are in print and available on Bookshop.org by visiting our affiliate shop.

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[miwhotep]

THE JACK THE RIPPER CASE IN YUUMORI AND IN REALITY

One of my favourite arcs is the Phantom of Whitechapel because it adapted the real Jack the Ripper case quite well and the story was full of elements what actually happened. I wanted to write a little about the similarities as recently was the anniversary of the first murder.

The Jack the Ripper murders or Whitechapel murders took place in 1888 in the East End of London, the infamously poor Whitechapel district where the underclass people lived. Lot of women here earned their money for the living from selling their bodies and a serial killer, Jack the Ripper started to target them. The number of the victims is unsure, the police accepted five murders to be surely connected to Jack the Ripper, they are often referred to as the canonical five. The women got murdered by their throats being cut away and some of their inestines were also removed from their bodies.

The first victim was called Mary Ann Nichols whose body was discovered at 3:40 a.m. on 31th August. She was last seen alive by a woman she lived with in a lodging house. These all are very similar to how Moriarty the Patriot described the murder details, except that there, the victim's name was Melanie Nichols and she was seen with a blond man.

The second victim was Annie Chapman, her body was found at 6 a.m on 8th September and she was last seen half an hour ago in a company of a dark-haired man. The details shown in Yuumori are again similar, just the victim was called Adeline Bergman.

(Interesting addition to here - just like you see, the fan translation uses the victims' real names while the official gave them fake ones. In the original Japanese, also the fake ones are what are used.)

When it comes to the later murders, Yuumori's story deviates from the historical events, since here, the last three victims of the canonical five was just a stage-play by William who tried to catch the killer(s) with setting up a fake Jack the Ripper. In reality, two of the victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were found on the same morning of 30th September - the Morigang placing two of the dead bodies at the same place so they get discovered at the same time must be a reference to that. The last victim, Mary Jane Kelly was discovered in the room where she lived on 9th November - her murder was the most gruesome out of the five, what I think Yuumori also referenced with Jack's show who pretended to kill a woman brutally on the roof.

Several letters signed as Jack the Ripper were sent to the newspapers. The media, especially the Central News Agency where some of the letters arrived, also overexaggerated about the details when they wrote about the murders, spreading a lot of misinformation just to sell more papers. In Yuumori, the group of people responsible for the murders who committed them to cause fear in the public and make a revolution by the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee and the police forces collide, hired Milverton to create the Jack the Ripper agenda with the help of his media power and he also manipulated the public opinion. The quotes shown from the letter sent to the Central News in the Moriarty the Patriot manga are from the first letter (called as Dear Boss letter) signed as Jack the Ripper what was also sent to Central News in reality - now researchers say it was written by a journalist to sell the papers better. The real letter was longer and the writer threatened to send the lady's ears to the police instead of her organs (however, with one of his later letters, Jack truly sent one of his victims kidney to the police), otherwise they are the same.

The Scotland Yard, just like in Yuumori wasn't really on the top when it came to solve the murders what resulted in riots and conflicts with the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee in reality too. And just like Chief Inspector Arterton was removed from his position in Scotland Yard - tho, for a slightly different reason - for not solving the Jack the Ripper case one of the police chiefs of London back then was also fired. In Moriarty the Patriot, a doctor was wrongly arrested and sent to prison in order to silence the raging public and in real life, lot of doctors were suspected to commit the murders.

In Yuumori, the identity of Jack the Ripper was solved by both Sherlock Holmes and the Morigang - who killed them - but it stayed unsolved for the public. In reality, the identity of Jack the Ripper either remained unsolved or not - few years ago, there was a DNA test what was said to determine the killer's identity, but lot of researchers believe that the test was incorrect and don't accept the answer.

I adore this arc for how well the series merged reality with fiction and it was especially exciting to read knowing the details of the real Jack the Ripper case.

[enderwolf91]

overwatch x mha collab and juno is getting a legendary skin before venture... 🙂 this is a but of a long one chat

I'm a fucking nerd when it comes to mha, I know the plot forwards and backwards, all the characters inside and out (and yes, practically all of the characters), I've read the manga and watched the anime in both sub and dub multiple times. I'm a nerd for my her academia.

I lowkey kinda predicted this collab when I was thinking about what the next anime collab overwatch was gonna do, and my top two were My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen.

All this being said, the skins look good. Genuinely, they look incredible and it'll be jarring to see Shigaraki and All Might in my games.

Reinhardt is getting his 3rd collab skin in 3 months, on top of his weapon mythic skin (I hope they chill on the Reinhardt skins after this collab cause there are other tanks who need love too. ie Winston, Ball, Zarya).

Kiriko is getting another legendary skin on top of getting skins every season, including this current season (This I have such major beef with. I know she's easy to make skins for, and those skins look good but out the focus you out into making those skins into skins for other heroes, Blizzard).

Reaper is getting a collab skin the same season he got his mythic skin (which I don't have a big problem with cause he hasn't been getting much recently).

Juno is getting a legendary skin before Venture does... months before Venture gets a skin that isn't even confirmed to be legendary and for all we know could be an epic or lower tier. Juno has the same body type as Kiriko, as does Dva and Mercy mind do who also get a lot of skins, so they're easy to make skins for, put that energy used for making them skins into figuring out good skin for other heroes.

I promise you, Blizzard, the skinny girls and picture perfect boys can have a break for a season or two from playing dress up, give your other dolls a chance to play and you'll find another pool of fans enjoying the game. Be inclusive, stop giving us the same five heroes with different outfits just because they're easier to dress up when you have 35 other heroes who want to play. You tailor the clothes, sew them onto other heroes and you'll find new and more profits.

I don't know what to say about Tracer other than, to me, the Deku skin looks... off. Like they really forced the skin onto Tracer when it didn't fit. Personally, I think Deku could've fit Venture. They have similar hair and body builds (Deku is a bit smaller but it's better than trying to fit a muscular, masculine body onto a petite, skinny girl). Plus then Juno and Venture would be getting legendary skins at the same time, so then Blizzard wouldn't be getting riots for the fact that Juno is getting a skin before Venture.

Also, this collab is gonna be gooner bait. My Hero Academia and Overwatch? They're like the two biggest 3D p*rn producers and they're coming cumming together? Lord have mercy it's gonna break p*rnhub with the degenerates

[bibibbon]

Sometimes I wonder if the writer's depiction of the public has to do with spite towards a particular event. I don't mean to insult them but it feels like the writer is disconnected from the IRL public. This is sort proven by their idea of racism-free cities.

I have well mixed feelings when it comes to horikoshi's portrayal of the overall public. There are moments where I do feel like horikoshi is quite connected to the real life public and is able to portray them quite accurately for example during the vigilante arc.

Also, I guess I can't really talk on this since Japan has a very different culture and societal expectation so maybe certain civilians would react differently to certain things.

I wouldn't say that horikoshi has introduced the idea of racism free cities but more of the idea that less racism occurs in big cities because they have a much more diverse population unlike the country side and where I live this is actually true. While racism and discrimination still occurs everywhere even in big cities it's more or so that it occurs less in big cities compared to the country side or less diverse areas in general. That I can get the point of and it's made clear in the series that thats the case however, the whole hetamorphis discrimination plot line is incredibly undercooked and horribly executed so I definitely see your point in that.

There are moments where horikoshi feels like he is incredibly disconnected from the real-life public like after the war with enji todoroki still having supporters after all he did or the public all liking bakugo even though his behaviour from the sports festival hasn't really changed or how passive the public was to learning that hawks indeed killed twice but they were busy being more outraged about the fact that hawks has an abusive father (they legit made hawks apologise for having an abusive father like he could actually control that stuff) or the public seeing child soldiers on the ground and seemingly not caring while then going to let their kids become heroes at the same system that exploited little child soldiers.

Yet I digress...

My main problem isn't how the public react it's how horikoshi frames the publics reactions and the lack of variety in the publics reaction. Horikoshi frames the public as not understanding when they complain about bakugos behaviour in the sports festival or when he was kidnapped but they were technically in the right or when they wanted to bring Izuku back to UA yes the public have little knowledge but with what they had they had the right to be afraid and cause such a riot but the narrative doesn't seem to suggest that and seemingly makes them pure evil in a way.

Another issue is that while there are sometimes different views like we saw a manga panel of a character supporting Shigaraki urging him to destroy everything there isn't an equal depiction of both sides to the public so we're kind of left wondering a lot and sometimes sharing different views than the public in MHA.

[pbear]

Dimension 20 shows always sweep so I already have a feeling about how this will play out. Opinions below the cut. There may be spoilers for any of these.

Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest: 100 Years Quest isn’t really necessary in terms of story. Fairy Tail was pretty wrapped up. I’m just here for the vibes, but if they perform character assassination, I will riot.

Dimension 20: Never Stop Blowing Up: I’m not really keeping up with this one, more just watching it casually. It’s a really fun premise though. All the players this campaign pull off playing one character in another character’s body really well.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword: This is just Black Clover lol. Jokes aside, I have gotten so invested in this show that I started the manga and have completely caught up. Will is a likeable protagonist (he’s so cute) and the world building is really interesting. One of the teachers is hot and the other one is Severus Snape. From reading the manga, I cannot wait to see more of the anime and meet the characters that have yet to be introduced, especially since the animation is so pretty. Highly recommend.

Fluffy Paradise: Another one I’m watching mainly for the vibes. I don’t usually gravitate to isekai, but this is a pretty chill story about a girl who just wants to pet animals. Honestly, there’s more plot than I thought there would be.

Oshi no Ko: I honestly forgot when Season 2 was coming up and finally caught up once episode 4 was out. It's good. My favorite part so far was that bit where Kana is acting out a fight scene during rehearsal and their acting is represented visually by these paint splatters going everywhere. That was cool. Is Ruby going to do anything? I don't know.

[theliteratureclubsnewestmember]

My DDLC Headcanons

Pt. 1 Natsuki

Loves animation YouTubers

Draws fanart

Trying to get better at cooking

Has an older cousin she loves a lot

Didn’t realize her hair dye was permanent when she first dyed her hair

Only time she can watch horror is when Yuri is with her and it’s because Yuri will talk through most of it pointing out nuances and stuff

Tried writing fanfiction but she got frustrated with keeping the characters in character so now she just write about OC’s

Loves reading fanfiction but is very particular with taste (slow burn, 20-50 chapters, etc)

Started reading horror manga so she could talk to Yuri about the genre, but she still doesn’t want to read full novels

Favourite organization system is by colour

She loves pink (obviously) but also loves blues and purples

Her natural hair colour is a light brown

She loves sushi and seafood

Loves Laufey and Fiona Apple

Love language is acts of service and gift giving

She loves Monster High and her favourite of the movies is Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love

Sleeps with her hair down and wonders why her hair is tangled in the morning

Her best class is science but it’s because she’s good at memorizing so it helps with terms and facts

She lives really close to the school so she walks every morning (but will always accept a ride from a friend)

Struggles with acne but doesn’t really care

She watches twitch streams, mostly for games like Stardew Valley

She watches GameGrumps, loves the Ace Attorney series

Tries to write a poem everyday, but she struggles finding inspiration sometimes

She loves Pinterest and has a ton of boards for a multitude of things

In AP classes but doesn’t like telling people about it

Writes songs sometimes but will never share them

Loves cute pajama sets

Love Riot Grrrl music, along with J-Pop/K-Pop, acoustic guitar, and more

Awful immune system, she gets sick so easily

Can’t have a meal without watching something

She’s tried every ice cream shop in her city and keeps a tally of her favourites

She genuinely feels less safe around boys, and she feels better when she’s with girls

Doesn’t mind going to places by herself, she enjoys a mall/downtown day where she has her headphones and notes app to write poetry inspired by her surroundings

Makes her own pins for her favourite media (bottle cap method)

Very high metabolism

She sometimes wishes she had longer hair, but every time she lets it grow she hates how it feels on her neck so she cuts it again

Bruised very easily, like you could flick her and her whole arm would be purple

Very vivid and weird dreams, often wakes up like “what the heck was that????”

Prefers shoujo manga but doesn’t mind shounen

She writes most of her poems on paper, and if she really likes it she’ll type it up on her computer or phone

Always fidgets with necklaces when she wears them

Gets really frustrated with herself when she has feelings

Buys sketchbooks with the intention of improving her art skills but always ends up filling them with poetry and fanart (which is also great)

Really wants to be closer friends with the club members and made a list of things she could try to do

Loves makeup but she’s not confident in her own skills so she doesn’t wear much to school

Really into Percy Jackson

Her most used social app is discord because she talks to her online friends there

Fell victim to the “fell for her best friend” trope in middle school

Whenever she gets a crush, she convinces herself that the person would never like her

Stays up really late doing anything

Always always ALWAYS falls victim to the fake “X” in ads

Prints out her favourite album or book covers to make makeshift posters for her room

This is forever updating

[isekai-crow]

Mashle 2 Episode 2

Other Episodes-> ep1 ep3 ep4 ep5

This episode was a riot. It was so much fun.

SO many random HP easter eggs and we get some new fun characters!!

Specifically, Margarette Macaron!!

I love them. Non-binary, music magic, and a love of tartar sauce (and a motorcycle in the ending credits!). (It me? maybe.) Despite seeming like an overused Okama-trope, I have hope based on the spoilers I went searching for. I'm so hype for more of them in the next episode.

VA Squee: They're voiced by Koyasu, Takehito!!! The voice of Dio Brando! Touji Fushiguro! Faust VIII from Shaman King! and Clayman from TenSura!!! A very masculine voice that can also take on feminine tones and a perfect fit for Margarette. Manga Spoiler: I wonder if they'll have another va...

Ep 2 Spoilers Under the Cut! Warning IT'S SO LONG THERE'S SO MUCH.

We open in the middle of the decision to execute Mash or not, and Dumbledore, Harry, and Draco having a stand off lmao

We learn that Whalberg/Dumbledore is a famous wizard because he fought with Innocent Zero in his youth.

Does this mean the shadowed Innocent Zero who was called father by Cell War is the equivalent of Grindelwald, and Evil Jesus(Cell War (or cell wall if you wanna be a pun) is Voldemort? (Also is it father or Father lololol)

ALSO, ARE ALL THESE NAMES FROM A RNG OR PUNS CAUSE I CAN'T TELL YET lmao

We get a little speech from Wahlberg reminiscent of one of Dumbledore's speeches, but more importantly, WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RAYNE ALSO BOWING???

Also his protecting the headmaster is a cute touch

I get that he is one of the Divine Visionaries, but is he more important than the others? He's still a student, wait, HOW DO STUDENTS HAVE THIS MUCH POWER IN THE GOVERNMENT?? NO WONDER ITS FUCKED UP??? Did I miss something??? (His reasoning for not wanting Mash dead also being the flashback to Rayne thanking him for taking care of his little brother?)

And of course Mashle can't be executed, so they set they give him a task to delay his sentencing...

The original goal Mash had in the first place, so ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

Them backing the fuck up as Mash punches the floor is fricken hilarious. The best parts though...

1) Innocent Pero / Innocent Gyro - Thats a great subtitle translation choice, because they can't do a straight translation. Mash calls them Innocent Pero, with pero being the onomatopoeia for LICKING something in Japanese (WHATS THAT IMPLYING :EYES:), so Innocent Gyro is a good choice XD

and 2) the scene cuts to the bad guy's lair... which also seems to be shaking...

(I went and installed a gif maker for this >.>)

DON'T TELL ME. IS THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS UNDER THE BUREAU OF MAGIC????? (This is my theory and I'm sticking to it. Season 1 semi-stuck with random Philosopher's Stone plot points and the secret rooms, so it can be a semi-safe bet that season 2 might follow Chamber of Secrets?)

We then jump to an outing at the near by town to celebrate Mash Avoiding Death.

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ The normal one ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

Finn is the only actual normal one, WITH STYLE AT THAT, and I love him for it. (However he might also be the target of a Brother Complex and end up on the receiving end if Rayne can get over himself>o>)

The fucking Koalas...

What The Fuck Lmfao. That's all I have to say (but also this is a common gag for Japanese comedians and high school boys so... Still WTF. (This had my Beetle killing himself with laughter))

3 Wizards and a Macho walk into a wand shop and...

And the Macho is the one to get a wand. I'm so fascinated by this. How much damage is this thing going to do when Mash finally yeets it at someone???

The entire second half episode is so cute. Mash is so happy to have friends... I'm so happy for him....

But Also. Poor Finn. Look at these Freaks (affectionate).

YOU'RE ONE TO TALK. But Also Poor Finn.

The last bit. Our introduction to Margarette Macaron.

The fucking... shrimp.

Literally

It took Too Much Time for my ace-ass to realize they're THRUSTING the shrimp into the tartar sauce.

I love them? I love tartar sauce too. It's delicious.

They are so over the top. I love everything about them.

I've added too many photos to this post and tumblr is yelling at me.

So I will leave off with my hype for Rayne vs Margarette in the next episode!!!

↑↑↑↑Imagine me making this same face in anticipation↑↑↑↑

[kozidraws]

Bakugo hates crowds.

He also hates malls.

Yet where does he find himself at 4pm on a Friday afternoon?

At a crowded fucking mall, no thanks to Kirishima.

Kirishima had begged Bakugo for hours the day before to go with him to check out a pop culture store because he heard rumours that there were Nendoroid figurines of their class and class B.

Bakugo very much not wanting to go, points out that they’re going to be shitty knock offs since none of them have signed any merchandise contracts yet. Logical argument, an easy victory for him.

But Kirishima’s counterpoint?

Pouting and bringing out the puppy dog eyes.

Fucking cheater.

He hates when Kirishima does that. (No, he doesn’t).

So now Bakugo finds himself in an extremely cluttered store, Kirishima’s arm wrapped around his shoulders and directing them between rows and rows of ‘official hero merch TM.’

Bakugo lifts a hand to double check that his face mask and beanie are still secure while Kirishima ushers him along. He wouldn’t be caught dead buying any of this junk, all his All Might figures are 100% authentic, thank you very much.

Kirishima on the other hand, looks like a kid in a candy store, ‘ohhing’ it and ‘ahhing’ at any figure that looks super manly.

That’s one word for them…

Bakugo spots a Best Jeanist figure that makes the fibre hero look like a blue giraffe and can’t help but bark out a laugh.

When they finally get to the rumoured Nendoroid section Kirishima slips his arm of Bakugo and practically lunges towards the shelves, instantly grabbing figures of the ‘Bakusquad’ (their words- not his), then practically shoves the boxes in Bakugo’s face.

Blobs of yellow, pink and black so close to Bakugo’s eyes he goes slightly cross eyed before huffing and softly swatting Kirishima’s hand away, “Again Kirishima, they’re just knockoffs.”

Kirishima dramatically gasps in mock offence, cradling their friends and leaning away as if to shield them, “but they’re real to me!”

Bakugo crosses his arms and scoffs, “You’re such a dork.”

Kirishima shifts the figures into the crook of his elbow as he keeps browsing the shelves, inspecting a Uravity figurine before placing it back on the shelf. “Perhaps. They may be knockoffs, but it’s the fist time I’ve seen us as merch! I want to keep them as a memento before we go pro and get licensed and all that jazz.”

“Sap.”

Kirishima grins in response, then turns his head towards the store clerk, “Hey man, do you have any Dynamight ones?”

Bakugo can’t help the instant blush that spreads across his face, he feels so flustered that the clerk is going to recognise who he is he snatches Kirishima’s sleeve, trying to yank him towards the exit but Kirishima doesn’t budge, the jerk. Giving up, Bakugo quickly hikes his face mask higher up and tugs his beanie down to hide more of his hair.

The shopkeeper shakes his head as he’s stocking the shelves, “Out of stock kid, Dynamight is always the first one to go. Will probably get a restock in a week or so if you want to come back then.”

“Aww, that’s a shame,” Kirishima pouts. He’s clearly disappointed (and Bakugo tries not to read into /that/) before the redhead perks back up with a smirk, leaning against him to whisper “Look at you Mr Popular, already number one. But that’s okay, I’m willing to wait for you.”

Bakugo elbows him in response, tempted to headlock his best friend in public but the wary glare the clerk sends his way stops him. Looking back to the figures he spots a Red Riot looking up at him from the bottom shelf and snatches it up. Now it was his turn to shove a figure into Kirishima’s face, “You forgot someone.”

Kirishima’s eyes flicker down and then away, not as enthused as he was before. “Nah don’t need one of me, I just wanted y- the squad!”

“Which includes you-”

“I only have enough money for these.”

Bakugo pauses, feeling defensive on the redhead’s behalf, because Kirishima was always dismissive of things that represented himself. He knew Kirishima could feel Bakugo eyes staring hard at him, but he pretends to look busy while he shuffles the figures in his arms.

Two can play that game.

Bakugo leans against the shelves and shrugs, “Fine, let’s go so you can buy our pack of nerds,” He watches Kirishima’s shoulders ease in relief of the conversation drop before Bakugo holds up the Red Riot box in his own hand and adds, “But I’m taking Red Riot home with me.”

It was worth it watching Kirishima choke on air, cheeks darkening by the second. Now it was the redhead’s turn to try and snatch the figure out of Bakugo’s hand, whining that it’s not worth it, but the blond skilfully dodges him. He struts up to the counter first to drop more yen than what was needed, telling the clerk to keep the change before speed-walking out, leaving Kirishima to fumble with his figurines and wallet to pay.

When Kirishima finally catches up he lightly whacks Bakugo’s leg with the bag. He lets out an exasperated sigh, but Bakugo can see the small blush that stains his cheeks, “You’re a real gremlin when you want to be.”

Bakugo smirks, bumping his shoulder into him in retaliation, “And don’t you forget it.”

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TBC

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Also on ao3!