#How did I miss this detail lmaooooooo

[thesentrynetwork]

JARVIS!!! Did you just perform the Halo CE death pose????🤣🤣🤣

[diomedrian]

I had a dream!!

[startwithbrooklyn]

THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 // the seancé

watched this while drinking and working my second job after my full time job (hence the drinking) when my supe called to tell me i didnt do enough work for them and could i start doing more because being tired after working an 8 hour day was just. unacceptable. (while i'm drinking during this ENTIRE call) anyway 🍸 i use nance/nancy interchangeably like luce/lucy

-"denial: smalltown USA's favorite pastime" 👌🏻👀

-the begrudging kiss + george w the coffee = lmfaooooooo awkss nance

-wonder who this FBI agent friend of owen's is since they never get to meet 😕

-"we just opened!" / "work ethic" how nancy views the claw/work is manifested in her constant lateness and skipping out. like she says "i never thought i'd be wearing this" its clear she has some of that upper middle class/white suburban bias against restaurant working that only becomes okay in the pretext of saving up for college. this is made ironic by ryan who jokes in s2 about having no money and working at a coffee shop, sharing nancy's opinion. also ironic is how a group of her coworkers "not my friends" at this same place she puts little appreciation into turn out to be her biggest support group

-carson & family dinners: seeing john sanders' texts w nancy and trying to keep up with what shes doing / makes you wonder how ryan would approach as a dad. judging by s2 he's less subtle than carson but possibly more effective for it (i have so many nancy&ryanthoughts but i'll wait till the reveal ep)

-steaks lmaooooooo what a white suburban dad thing to say

-"we are on the same side" / "why does it feel like we're on different teams" : laura/ace and nancy/nick mirrors (almost like some kinda men vs women showdown but these women do NOT trust these men...)

-why is the precinct "the least haunted building in horseshoe bay"? does lucy not haunt the police bc she knew karen was trying to get revenge/"justice" for her? or bc she doesnt want to haunt karen at all? and what of other ghosts? a police station seems like prime ghost material for officers of unsolved cases. is it chief mcginnis with his link to the supernatural keeping everything under control? if so, what happens when he leaves and tamura shows up? (based on the dress ep i cant remember if hes woke to the supernatural or not)

-"you would need an object lucy touched the night she died" nancy like -->😌it me

-okay. anybody who hugged lucy would HAVE to know she was pregnant?? like wtf

-LAURAAAA lmfaoooo

-UNPOPULAR OPINION: laura/nick - hatefuck - hes strong enough to top her with words AND hands - bringing out something tougher created by prison (like it rough/lose control) nick is presented to be so kind and almost always on top of his emotions but laura is def a canvas that can take a few hits. i can definitely see her being attracted to how much he doesnt really like her and wants to stop her from always getting her way. her pretentious ass motormouth is practically begging you to grab her by the arms and shake her to shut her up (and she would be begging you to shut her up too)(ik s2 nick/race talks/his mom ep would never ever do this to anyone but its a choice "what if" to me)

-this casting for teen candace to adult is on point

-so two days after lucy's death they pay him 50 grand from a shell company? he says it's for services rendered but then for what services? does everett know or suspect that the drews took lucys baby and pay them for taking care of an impertinence, including lucy, not really caring what really happened to her as long as shes no longer a threat to him? honestly could see a cover up. nance only does the reveal in her balmain tazer glory and we dont really get an honest reaction out of him iirc (the new actor they switched to shows wayyyyy less emotion than s1 guy) and he could easily fake surprise. obvs celia doesnt know bc s2 but whos surprised at that. i wonder what tipped her off that nancy could be ryans baby and prompted her to test. hmm. and payroll vs shell account. why would it have been paid differently. sus. 🤔🤔

-the irony of nancy picking at nick's story at the inn for karens deal + nancy straight up ignoring nicks proof w this transfer... like ep 1 "i'll tell you about my past if you tell me about yours" except...no, actually. "i'm just trying to solve this / it feels more like you're trying to solve me" its so true. and nancy really badgered nick into telling about his conviction but it was kinda payback for showing up at the claw and making her admit their "relationship" -like when george says "you need to be just as relentless", it was equal but nasty. like. nick never asked george for details about ryan that way. he even admits he doesnt wanna push her to ace after learning what not to do with nancy.

-this seance has nick so irritated w nancy lmfaooooo

-"half sister" so josh and patrices' last name is dodd- his grandpa must be a dodd also for the name of the shop. wonder why lucy's last name is sable, and where her dad is, and where josh's dad is as well- there's no mention of dads or stepdads anywhere for these two

-mcginnis knows theyre innocent / "work together" he knows they arent really suspects but he just wants to fuck with nancy. could be playful or just nancy's naivete. maybe he actually kinda missed her fucking around in his work and is trying to make up for the lost time when she withdrew from mysteries d/t her depression after kate

-nancy + knowing everybody else's secrets - nick's conviction, bess's family, george's affair, ace's deal w mcginnis and confronts them all in turn like nick and the secret phone, george from the meeting in the woods, bess from the passport/ring and acs's phone calls (they all somehow end up knowing all each other's secrets after a bit anyway)

-fuckin love Ted 😌🙏🏻💙

-when lucy grabs nancys hand i was just like "MOM!"

-if nancy had asked lucy if carson did it, she would have been spared the trial 👀🙃

-"even if you did, nothing was gonna stop you" true truuuuueeeee like. nick needs to be needed. nancy doesnt need him starting in episode 1. nick thinks that sex = relationship but nancy never saw it that way until she realized thats what nick wanted her to admit. "i wanna be with you / im trying" she is literally forcing herself to try and date him normally when thats honestly never what she wanted. and its nicks own fault here bc she never even wanted to be "official" but he forced that out of her too in front of coworkers no less. he set himself up to be disappointed

and lastly

-so carson stole the evidence, but what did he do with it? burn it like the dress?

[wetalkinboutbooks]

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Summary: Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:  

 → Geena:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 → Kae: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: This is one of the first suggestions we got and HOO BOY IT WAS A GOOD ONE. The perfect mix of action, comedy, murder, and beating up racists.... exactly what we need in a book. 

~Spoiler-full discussion below~ 

The Good:

→ Jane

Geena: I don’t think I’ve read a book where the protagonist just has so much raw power like… at the risk of sounding like I’m from 2012.. But like… my mind was totally blown. We meet Jane during a training exercise at Miss Preston’s zombie slaughtering school where we learn about all the nasty details that lead to the school’s creation. SO ESSENTIALLY, following the civil war (which ended prematurely bc u kno…. zombies) slavery is “abolished” and instead the whites decided it’d be better to set up schools to train black and native people to kill zombies for them 🙄 AND that’s where we meet Jane, in the middle of a training exercise. We also learn that she’s the daughter of one of the more wealthy white women in the area which was very scandalous given the u kno.. R a c i s m… and that even her mother’s status couldn’t keep her from being sent to the school. Jane also recounts moments from her childhood such as almost being killed when she was born… and she does it so nonchalantly that I fucking died dude. 

Kae: Nobody: …..

Jane: Yeah my momma tried to drown me. She doesn’t think I remember but I do… ANYWAY. 

Geena: LMAOOOOOOO YEA I FUCKING LOST IT LIKE DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN LIKE SHE IS SO RAW… BUT YEA, also Justina Ireland does this cool thing where she has excerpts from the letters Jane sends her mother which outline events that are VERY different from what actually happens in the chapter, and fuck I loved that sm. Jane is I think one of the girls that can read at the school and she’s got a liking for the science behind the biology of zombies but she gets in trouble cONSTANTLY because she’s too cool for Miss Preston’s school… ok jk no she gets into trouble because she always manages to piss off that one racist ass bitch, Miss Anderson. In the first few chapters we learn that Jane is smart, strong, and a total babe even though she doesn’t think so :(. 

I loved how Jane was written to be slightly hot-headed but not like bullheaded, like she would get angry real quick but she’d know when to act on her urges to beat the shit out of people. And I guess this stems from her childhood like…. SHE MURDERS HER DAD IN COLD BLOOD BC HE TRIED TO CHOKE THE LIFE OUTTA HER and also to preserve her mom’s secret which was that she was a white-passing black woman. And bc her dad was a racist white man Jane knew that wouldn’t bode well for anyone…. She did all this when she was like eight so like…. WILD (It’s what he deserved tho) but yea ever since then Jane’s been playing the game like a pro. She’s a pro zombie slayer that doesn’t take shit from ANYONE even when it lands her in trouble, and she cares a lot for the people around her even though she might pretend that she’s only out to get back to her mom. AND I LOVE HER for everything she does, but FUCK SHE WENT THROUGH SO MUCH SHIT IN THIS BOOK THAT IT HURT TO READ. ALSO WE FIND OUT THAT SHE’S BI…. WE STAN A BISEXUAL BADASS

→ Katherine

Kae:  Geena summed up, Jane very well! Jane is smart (and could read so her teachers were pissed), strong, and just an all around badass. I really love her. She deserves the world. 

Well, moving on to Katherine. Katherine is another student at Miss. Prestons school and she and Jane don’t get along well. Kate, as Jane calls her, which Katherine HATES, because she likes to be called by her full name. She is white passing with very light skin and blue eyes. She has blonde, loose curly hair and is described as absolutely gorgeous. Jane is a little jealous of her and hates admitting it. But she’s like “She’s gorgeous, it is what it is… But she’s from Virgina so ugh.” Katherine is right up to par with Jane’s zombie slaying skills and is the top of her class. Katherine is dainty, bougie, and a total rule follower. She’s into fashion and trying to find a good job protecting white folks from zombies when she graduates Miss. Prestons. She thinks of Jane as a little unruly and wild. But she tries her damndest to be respectful to Jane, even if they can’t stand each other.  

So, moving forward a bit. Kate is kind of nosey so she’s always catching Jane doing some shit she isn’t supposed to be doing… like having books smuggled to her by a boy named Red Jack. She also overhears Jane and Jack discussing how his sister went missing and he needs help to find her. So, she self invites and tags along later that night. In the mean time,  Jane and Kate have a lecture they need to attend to. When they get there, they realize that there is going to be a demonstration of proof that a “Shambler Cure” actually works. Shamblers are zombies. So this professor has a cage of three zombies and has some poor, black man risk himself and get bit. He has supposedly already been injected with the cure. Jane was like “this shit fake… He boutta die.” And Jane tries to interrupt, but she is quickly hushed. The antidote or cure or whatever DOESN’T work and the dude turns into a zombie. Jane shoots him down, then the other zombies get loose and now everyone is in a panic. Jane and Katherine take them down and save the day. A few weeks later, that are invited to the mayors house to “protect” it. (They really were only asked just so they could show up and be seen…) Someone turns into a Shambler, Jane takes them down, then that’s settled. So now they’ve saved the day TWICE. 

Red Jack has somehow SNUCK IN to the damn mayors house, so him and Jane do some snooping. They get caught. Then by default, Katherine gets in trouble. Well, Katherine gets in trouble because she is too pretty and none of the white women want her around because they think their husbands or whoever will start to be like👀  and the women get jealous. Katherine was out of a job before it even started because she’s just too damn gorgeous. So Kate, Jane, and Red Jack get sent off to the WILD WILD WEST BAYBEEE. But it actually sucks.  Let’s talk about Red Jack before we get into that though.

Geena: NGL KATE’S THE TYPE OF GIRL I WOULD’VE ABSOLUTELY HATED TOO IF I WAS JANE BUT!!!!! I love how we get to see the friendship develop between the two as they both learn about each other’s past and that maybe they CAN be friends. Also, Kate is ace and wants to travel the world which I RESPECT… but oh yea I was gonna say Jane and Kate are the true enemies to best friends trope. ALSO HER BACKSTORY IS SAD BRUH LIKE everyone looking down on her bc she’s from virginia smh……… okay but seriously the fact that Kate was constantly trying so hard to compensate for the fact that she came from a brothel that she became Miss Perfect (OR AT LEAST that’s what we learn from Jane’s perspective and as @zemenipearls pointed out Jane isn’t a reliable narrator so Kate’s backstory is kinda shady at this point but that’s what we think it is) 

→ Red Jack 

Kae: Let’s talk about Red Jack! Jackson Keats, aka Red Jack is Jane's ex boyfriend. He got the name “Red Jack” because he’s a redbone. He’s described with light brown skin and blue eyes. He also has a gold tooth and short curly hair with hints of auburn. He’s smart and can scheme his ass off and is known for taking big risks.  He also smuggles Jane books when she ask and send letters out to her mother for her. It’s also noted that he cannot read. He deals in dirty business, mostly scamming people out of money. But the kid has to make a living! I like him. Jack has a little sister named Lilly who is white passing. So he sent her with a nice white family who would let her blend in with them so she could avoid being sent off to a school like Miss. Prestons. Jack and Jane, despite them being exes, are decent friends I think. Jane hates to admit it, but she still likes Jack (even though he gets on her nerves). 

At a certain point, Jack’s little sister, along with the family she is staying with, completely disappear. Their house in still in tact, but they aren’t there. He’s worried because his sister would’ve sent word if she knew they were leaving. But he hadn’t heard a thing from her, and went to Jane. So Jane, Jack, and Kate end up at the Spencers’ house to look for clues. They can’t find anything, but they DO overhear Miss. Anderson and two other men say that they needed to clean the house out and remove all of their belongings. 

Later, when we get to the mayor’s dinner party that was previously mentioned, Jack and Jane run into each other and go snooping around the governor's office. There, Miss. Anderson is waiting for them and they are CAUGHT. She drags them to the Mayor’s basement where he is ready to send them off to a town called, Summerland, that is way out west. It’s a town where he is trying to uphold white supremecy and slavery.There, he will make sure that anyone who is black, is treated as if they are still slaves.  A man named Mr. Redfern, a Native man, escorts them out West. They are given dulled down weapons to protect the town from Shamblers, and well, this is just no good. When Jack and the crew arrive in Summerland, he punches the shit out of Redfern and tries to make a run for it. He is then tackled, jailed, and that’s the last we see of him… for a while. 

Geena: holy shit Kae litcherally outlined everything about Red Jack PERFECTLY. He’s how you would say a rascal… a cute rascal (Jane would agree). 

Kae: Lmao Jane’s got taste. I gotta give her that. BAD BOYZ are my thing lowkey

Geena: oKAY but SEE RED JACK IS A BAD BOI WITH A GOOD HEART. I mean yeh he and Jane had a “messy breakup” but they were still friends and he smuggled out letters for her mom and brought her books, and she helped him around with his ~business~ however shady it was. But I also liked how he was an idiot, I mean in the sense that UNLIKE JANE who knows how to control her anger and use it in the future, Jack just pops off like how Kae mentioned him decking Mr. Redfern. Jane thought about it but also thought ahead and realized she wouldn’t get far doing that. Red Jack tho… Boy thought he could outrun like 3 grown men 😭 AND WHEN THE READER AND JANE WERE LED TO BELIEVE THAT HE’D DIED?? BRO??? I WAS LIKE…. HOW U GONNA MAKE THIS CHARACTER A CHARMING LIL SHIT AND THEN KILL HIM ALMOST RIGHT AWAY…. BUT then when he came back I WAS THROWN.

Time to project BUT I love characters like Red Jack you know they’re shady and like to play everything off as a joke but when they get serious… they get serious. And I wonder what role he’s going to play in the second book, because all he cares about in his life is his family aka Lily right… Would he accompany Kate and Jane to save her momma when it would mean leaving Lily with people he probably can’t fully trust? Also, how did Jane and Red Jack even meet? I think it’d be cool to see where he came from, and what happened to the rest of his family and that’s another reason why I can’t wait till book 2!  

The Bad:

→ Miss. Preston and Miss Anderson

Geena: Man, we don’t even meet Miss Preston that long in the book like she has a few scenes here and there but god she is the fucking worst! Who runs a school and houses young black women and gives them a refined education with training with specialized weapons.. Only to ship them to a town where slavery is making a comeback??  And pretending like you care about them?? Disgusting… We all assume that Miss Preston is innocent and is busy running her school until the dinner that Kae has mentioned above where we find out that she’s in cahoots with the Mayor and has been supplying him girls from her school for as long as he has needed them… how “white allies” be sometimes… I really hope… from the bottom of my heart that she was devoured by a shambler bc it’s the only fate that she deserves you know… And then we have the hoe ass Miss Anderson who didn’t even try to hide her contempt of Jane and doted on Katherine → This we realize later into the book is solely because of how white-passing Katherine was and because Miss Anderson is a big ol’ racist who uses slurs like it’s nobody's business. 

Now, I realize that Ireland was trying to outline the different types of racists you come across in life. There’s those that pretend to be your friend and support you up front but behind your back they won’t hesitate to fuck you over (aka Miss Preston), like Miss Preston does help out Jane initially when she’s unfairly tested by Miss Anderson, but Preston also is the one to support sending Jane to Summerland so like….. and also we have your standard brand of racist aka Miss Anderson that doesn’t even try to hide how antiblack and dehumanizing she is because she straight up doesn’t care and knows that Jane or anybody else can do shit about it. 

→ Mr. Redfern

Kae: Okay, so now we’ve got Mr. Redfern. Mr. Redfern is a tall,  handsome, Native American man who is always scowling at Jane. He doesn’t like her and she isn’t sure why… That is, until our girl asks him. He thinks she is wasting her talents when she sneaks out and kills shamblers in the night. 

Geena: OKAY WAIT WAIT WAIT THIS BRINGS UP THE QUESTION.. HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN SPYING ON HER

Kae: OHHHH SHIT YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT THE FUCK. YOOO. HE HAD TO HAVE BEEN WATCHING HER FOR MONTHS. 

Geena: I FEEL LIKE…. THERE’S SOMETHING WE’RE MISSING BUT IDK WHAT

Kae: THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR BEING A SPEED READER. I BE MISSIN’ SHIT. Whew. Okay, so as you can see, we’ve just come to a sudden realization! Mr. Redfern is a sneaky son of a gun. 

But uhh, he mentions that he was taken from his tribe and sent off to one of the “Indian Shambler Schools” where he was given a new identity, etc. This is also basically what happened to Native Children back in those days, in order to erase their heritage and their entire selves. This was how they forced people to assimilate. They were sent to Indian Industrial Schools. 

Mr. Redfern is in cahoots with the Mayor (by force) and is the one to basically help kidnap Jackson, Jane, and Katherine. He stuffs them on a train for a week and at the end of their trip, they are out west. We don’t see him again after this. But later, we find out that he made Jackson a deal and sent him to a town not too far from Summerland to do “business”. Thus, when Jack returns to Summerland to steal ammunition for said town, he runs into Jane and Katherine and tells them Red Jack helped him out. 

ALTHOUGHHHH, REDFERN HELPED JACKSON, I DON’T LIKE HIM. HE WAS UNNECESSARILY MEAN TO JANE AND KIDNAPPED THE CREW AND THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. 

Geena: Yess Mr. Redfern, the man we thought would be an ally but turned out to be the opposite. Once again this mimics history I suppose because there were instances of indigenous people aiding the whites when it came to slavery and I suppose Ireland was trying to write that but she also makes it writes that while he is helping them he doesn’t seem too proud of it. But the matter of the fact is, he’s still helping enforce the white man’s rules. Though I do hope with the turn of the second book Mr. Redfern leaves that shit behind and decides to fully switch sides, aka let the whites to their own dirty work and help the people with a real cause.

ALSO, I keep talking about the second book but I really hope we meet more indigenous characters that aren’t Mr. Redfern you know, but those that aren’t under the thumb of a white person :( ALTHOUGH, I love how Ireland has the excerpt at the end where it mentions the residential schools in-depth and she encourages readers to research more of it which leads me to believe that we’ll be hearing more of them coming the next book as well. 

Kae: Just one more small part. I was like, completely convinced that those looks Redfern were shooting at Jane was because he thought she was cute. That is until Jane was like “alright, he CLEARLY doesn’t like me” and I was like oh… I totally misread those signals and I’m an idiot. BUT WHATEVER IT’s FINE. I do, however, think he will turn around. I don’t think he’s like, inherently bad. He’s just forced to do bad shit. Everyone is trying to survive in this world and I’m NOT giving him an excuse, but like, I get it. Ya feel me?

Geena: oKAY BUT KAE I TOO THOUGHT HE WAS INTO HER SO THAT MAKES US BOTH BOOBOO THE FOOL. AND YEA, it comes down to survival in a world where you’re not even considered human BUT that doesn’t excuse any actions. 

Kae: .jpg “we irritating” meme 

Geena: Is it even our review if we don’t have at least one (1) meme reference

The Ugly:  

→ Every single white person (minus Mr. Gideon) 

Geena: So I really enjoyed this book but Justina Ireland didn’t pull any punches when it came down to the true and dark details of the time period she was writing. She captures the essence of white folks, even during an apocalypse they find the time to push their white supremacy and tread on the backs of the black and indigenous people. I was grinding my teeth for a majority of the book, the way people would talk down to all the black characters and simply refer to them as though they weren’t human.

Mayor Carr, the Sheriff, and the Priest are the faces of white supremacy that think it’s in their destiny to put down bipoc and use them as slaves (though they won’t call it that) and fuck dude… Mayor Carr is like Miss Preston, pretends to be an ally and is using the people he pretends to support as fodder for his white supremacist wasteland. Even Jane mentions that he’s no better than other white men but people pretend he’s the best politician they have.

The Sheriff doesn’t even disguise his racism, he’s your typical ‘slavery wasn’t that bad’ assfuck and the way he treats Katherine bc he has an ugly crush on her thinking she’s white is disgusting bc you know if he knew that she’s simply white-passing he’d probably murder her in cold blood… and when he finds out, the exact thing Jane was afraid would happen to her mother almost happens to Katherine (she almost dies at the hand of the Sheriff’s fugly ass)....and fuck Katherine handled it so well even though she was very much uncomfortable the whole time. And the way Jane murdered him?? With no remorse… I fucking loved that, IDK if Justina Ireland was trying to go for a Jane is unhinged vibe (bc that’s how Katherine reacted to it) but I was like fuck yea girl shoot him a few times more for good measure.

The Priest is the biggest shit of them all like I cannot even begin to…… Every time I think of his wrinkly ass my blood pressure rises three levels because holy fuck. He preaches that he’s a holy man and that he’s only carrying out the orders of God and so on, and it’s DIGOSTENG the way he uses the bible as a weapon to put down the black and indigenous folk around Summerland. He blames them for how they look and says it’s their duty to “serve their white superiors” as redemption so that they may get a place in heaven 🙄🙄🙄🙄 This reminds me of what Kae had mentioned before about the story of Nate Turner who knew how to read so the plantation owners would make him read a fucked-up version of the bible to the others and like….. White people really took a faith founded by a brown man and turned it into a weapon for their white supremacy it’s disgusting. But what was really sad was that there are still people to this day like the Priest that have pretty hefty roles in churches and so on… spewing their racist rhetoric and god I can’t even fucking deal, every time he and Jane interacted I just wanted her to snap his neck in half and call it a day…. Like what was his old ass gonna do? Fart? 

Kae: Sweet! So Geena pretty much covered everything. The Sheriff is a whole ass bitch and he has a bunch of lackeys doing his dirty work while he parades around Summerland and berates anyone who is of colour. Basically, he has black people shipped out to the West so they can sacrifice themselves to defend Summerlands inhabitants with faulty weaponry and experiments. When Jane brings up that she needs better weapons so she can do her job, she’s slapped for it and told to deal with it. The black people and everyone else who is considered of low status, are treated horribly. They’re all shoved in a hot attic with thin, dirty blankets to sleep on the floor. They are locked in their rooms at night and forbidden to leave until it is time for them to work again. They all also barely have enough to eat, so essentially, they are starving. Jane and her new companions are overworked, underfed, and are only able to bathe once a week. It’s truly barbaric. The Sheriff wants to make sure they know they are “below” white people and were only created to serve them. It’s disgusting and I wanted to kill the man myself. It was infuriating reading how horrible they were treated and all of the slurs they were called. Slurs I forgot even existed. 

The Sheriff catches Jane one night after she had snuck out, and beats her in front of the whole town. He ties her to a pole, strips her shirt off, and whips her. I actually had to skip that part because I couldn’t bare to read it. It was too much and I just couldn’t do it. I’ve seen enough of it. Jane, even though she is inches away from death, is saved by Katherine speaking out against it. Since the Sheriff has a crush on her, he stops, and allows Jane to join her in the safe part of Summerland to be her servant. I usually don’t like reading books about my people being so poorly treated, but Jane shot his ass point blank when she had the opportunity and I reveled in that. I love to see us fight back! 

As for the Priest, he is the Sheriff’s father so he helps influence the bullshit that goes on in town. It is also heavily implied that underestimating the Priest is not the best decision. He apparently beat someone to death so that’s fuckin wild, considering how much of an old racist fuck he is. ANYWAY, he gives sermons every night on how “the Negro” was meant to serve and how they are to “stay in their place” and I cringed through the whole thing. It was horrible. Almost no one in the town likes the Sheriff or the Priest. The whore’s, the “slaves”, and Mr. Gideon (the Mayor's son), were all forced to be in Summerland and they hate it and the two bastards in charge. This drives them to conduct a plan to kill them both so they can escape. The plan was to have Katherine pretend to be white, have the Sherif fall in love with her, then Jane takes him out of the picture. But things didn’t go as planned so it took a few extra steps of danger BUT they made it and scarcely avoided a big zombie horde, and made it out. 

Geena: OH YEA MR. GIDEON….. He’s supposed to be this scientist guy with a limp which we find out he does on purpose, and he KNOWS that Katherine is white-passing but he doesn’t say shit bc unlike the rest of the white men there he isn’t racist and he’s trying to figure out a way out of the town… Also, this man-made an electricity grid run off of zombies and that was so fucking funny to me for no reason other than it reminded me of a scene from a sitcom when Jane walked in on the contraption. ALSO, JANE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A THING FOR MR. GIDEON AND IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE RECIPROCATED? LIKE It’s funny reading Jane’s attraction to him like “he’s nerdy lookin… but in a cute way” but am I here for it?? Undecided...

Conclusion

Kae: So in conclusion, this book was really good. I enjoyed reading this AU of a zombfied civil war. It was interesting to see how things played out. I thought the world-building was pretty cool and I like how the South was called “The lost states” because they’d been lost to zombies. They also LOST THE WAR LMAOOO BITCHASSES. Anywaaaaay, I think Jane is such a strong, beautifully written character. She’s hotheaded, but she isn’t impulsive. She’s brave and she knows when to strike. She is smart, cunning, and a joy to be around. If she were real, I’d absolutely be her friend. She’s my kind of person. She keeps it real and I like that. Katherine is kind of complex and I can’t wait to find out more about her. She hides behind this proper, boujie demeanor, but I think a lot of it is a facade. I like how though Katherine is white-passing, she NEVER forgets or dismisses that she is black. She knows who she is and she hated pretending to be white. As for Jackson! He's impulsive, suave motherfucker and I hope we see more of him too! I think he’s going to have a bigger role to play in the next book and I’m ready to see what it’ll be. I can’t wait to find out what is in store for these characters because they are all beautifully written and their friendships are puuuure baybeeee.

Geena: GIRL YOU SUMMED UP ALL THE CHARACTERS REALLY WELL!!! You got everything that I loved about Jane, she’d be my idol irl… and Katherine is a really complex character and I’m excited to see how her story unfolds in the next book. SPEAKING OF WHICH…. THE COVER FOR THAT DROPPED AND O MY GOD…….. KATE AND JANE LOOK LIKE ABSOLUTE BABES and I cAN’T WAIT TO SEE THEM FUCK SHIT UP!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 184: JP Hero Billboard Chart

Previously on BnHA: We spent the whole chapter enjoying the cultural festival. Class B entertained with a fantasy play that drew inspiration from no fewer than four separate intellectual properties, proving that it’s not just Monoma who likes to copy stuff. Hounddog handed out some of the most terrifying discipline we’ve seen since Orca’s EXTRA GUIDANCE. Eri regaled Deku with her enthusiastic recap of the concert in vivid detail including sound effects and both Deku and Mirio were thrilled to see her so happy. Those jerk upperclassmen from before apologized for their bad attitude. Everyone was grateful to class 1-A for lifting the school’s spirits. Hadou won the Miss Con competition at long last. Bakugou conquered the warped wall. Shinsou traumatized several class A students for life. Mei successfully wowed people with the support team expo and then promptly passed out afterward. Deku presented Eri with a handmade candy apple and bid her farewell. And lastly, over at the police station, the cops processed Gentle and La Brava and seemed to be taking steps to rehabilitate them. All in all it was the most wholesome chapter ever and I’m almost sorry to see this arc end, but the plot must go on.

Today on BnHA: Aizawa brings Eri back to U.A. and is all “oh yeah by the way, she lives here now.” We learn that Tokoyami interned with a hero named Hawks and YOU ALL KNOW WHO THAT IS. The Pussycats visit the 1-A dorms and announce that they’re coming off their hiatus and that Ragdoll will be supporting them as an OL which is some bullshit but at least she’s okay. Pixie-Bob explains that shockingly, All for One was not inclined to just give her quirk back just like that! We learn that the JP Hero Billboard Chart, the organization that ranks active heroes, will be presenting the new official rankings -- the first without All Might -- shortly. Right now, in fact! We then travel to Kamino for the live presentation. The top 10 heroes are introduced, the highlights of which are Ryuukyuu at #10, Kamui Woods at #7, my new bunny fave Miruko at #5, Edgeshot at #4, Best Finest Elite Superlative Jeanist at #3, and THAT MAN, Hawks, at #2. Oh and Endeavor at #1. With a new suit. I WONDER WHO THIS ARC IS GOING TO BE ABOUT.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 207 now, so any ETAs will reflect that. Just to clarify real quick, my stopping right smack dab in the middle of my boy’s big fight isn’t by choice, lol. I’ve been sick for the past few days, but I’m finally starting to feel a bit better, so hopefully I’ll have the energy to resume soon.)

GASSPPPPPPPP

IT’S THE THING. THE THING WITH THE RANKS. THE HERO RANKINGS!!

omg. are we going to get to see how they do it finally? AND ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO MEET FORMER NUMBER THREE AND CURRENT NUMBER TWO HERO IDOL HAWKS?? THE MYSTERIOUS HAWKS WHO HAS WINGS, AND I ASSUME HE HAS THE POWER OF HAWKS. MAYBE. EXCEPT THAT’S KIND OF A LAME POWER TO SOMEHOW GET HIM ALL THE WAY TO NUMBER TWO ABOVE PEOPLE LIKE EDGESHOT AND FUCKING BEAST JEANIST. HAWKS WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS

maybe I should READ THE CHAPTER and find out. hmmm

anyway so November is ending! that means we’re entering December! which also means I think Bakugou is going to get a new costume soon! and also he and Todoroki have only one month left before they get to retake their exam oh gosh. so much excitement so little time

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ERI GOT ADOPTED BY EVERYONE!?!??!??!

AIZAWA IS OFFICIALLY HER DAD. OH MY GOD. I’M GOING TO CRY. LOOK AT HIS NONCHALANT FACE. “hey Deku meet my new kid”

(ETA: and he says “U.A.” but we all know it’s really just him. I don’t see anyone else from the school stepping up. Aizawa it’s okay you can admit that you’re completely incapable of turning your back on a child in need and so you stepped in and took responsibility for her and only afterward actually went and asked Rat Principal if it was okay and thankfully he said yes because he’s also a pretty cool guy. just like you. my god I love you)

ERI’S SO HAPPYYYYY

LOOK AT ALL OF HER NEW BIG BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!

THE FULL STORY IS YOU ALL ADOPTED A KID, DEKU!!!

Nejire put her hair in pigtails omggggg

and Tsuyu, she is your sister now. GET USED TO IT

so now Aizawa and Mirio are leaving her with Tamaki and Nejire and calling the 1-As outside to talk

so they found out that Eri was abandoned by her parents, and that her grandpa is the comatose Precepts boss

and Mirio says that her horn, which you recall had shrunk quite a bit after the Overhaul battle, started to grow again recently. although it’s still pretty small

so they figured U.A. would be the safest environment for her, rather than a foster home

GOOD. I’M GLAD YOU ALL FIGURED THAT OUT

AHHHHHH

(ETA: btw Mangastream’s translation says “teachers’ dormitory” rather than lounge, which makes a great deal more sense)

HE REALLY DID ADOPT HER IT’S OFFICIALLLLLLLLLL

oh my god. he cares so much. obviously it’s not something he had to do, but he obviously grew fond of her and knew it was going to be the best option for her

so now you have a six-year-old daughter, Aizawa. good thing your twenty other kids can help babysit

and also this guy!

so Mirio is now a full-time live-in nanny. I approve

omgggg

yesssssss

but that’s not to say that this the only reason he’s doing this. that will be the happiest ending but he still loves her regardless

“it’s been a while since we did anything gay, Mirio. how bout it”

yes. pretty neat

now Aizawa is asking if the third years can take Eri for a little bit. I guess he has to go and take care of some teacher things. he’s such a busy guy

Mirio says they’re happy to, and he’s saying they should all play Othello

apparently this is not referring to the Shakespeare play but it’s another name for the board game Reversi. that was really confusing for a sec lol. I’ve never heard of this game before

Deku’s asking if they can join in, but Aizawa’s telling them to go back to the dorms

ah??

OH? DO TELL

and now we’re cutting to the dorms and Tokoyami is suddenly sneezing quite forcefully

LOOK AT THESE CUTIESSSSS

why is Kiri wearing a button down shirt. are you going on a date. none of your usual suitors seem particularly dressed up

(ETA: and what is going on with Kami and Momo there oh my. you two sure look mighty cozy)

Kaminari is teasing Tokoyami about the old superstition that if you sneeze it means someone’s talking about you somewhere

AHHHHHH WHAAAAAAAT

THE FUCK!?

fuck me, what? Tokofuckingyami interned with the former number three himself and no one fucking said a thing?!

and was this his actual internship or his work study? I wonder how many other kids had actual internships that we didn’t hear a damn thing about

also why does Ochako look about 8 years old in that panel. holy shit her eyes are big

anyway, Toko is flatly saying he doubts he has any fans yet and that it’s too early

and now the door is cracking open and Iida is announcing that their guests are here!

EYYYYYYYYYYYY

IT’S BEEN A WHILE YOU ASSHOLES

Ragdoll! ❤❤❤ glad to see they didn’t dump you and that you’re keeping your spirits up even after everything that happened

DID THEY BRING KOUTA. THEY SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT KOUTA. he’s probably in school now though. damn

-- NO HE’S HERE!!!

BE CAREFUL WHEN GREETING HIM YOU KNOW HOW HE GETS!

I love that everyone’s so happy to see them and Mina and Hagakure are even running over for hugs. that’s so heartwarming to see, especially given how the camp ended and the scared and sad terms they must have parted on last time

speaking of those events!

it’s nice that he apologized. even though it wasn’t their fault (mostly). but I’m sure Bakugou doesn’t particularly like to be reminded of it and would rather just pretend like nothing happened. so I hope they take their cue from him and try not to make him uncomfortable

something like 90% of AO3 is convinced Bakugou has Secret PTSD from this incident, and while I tend to stick to Confirmed Canon Only and thus am more on the side of he probably doesn’t, I’m sure that it’s not something he likes to think about all the same and the subject probably does put him on edge

(ETA: and! come to think of it, the one thing we do know he came away with for sure is a lot of guilt! so it’s more than possible that he actually blames himself for being the cause of the attack and for indirectly being the reason why Ragdoll lost her quirk. so to have them come up and apologize to him when from his perspective he’s the one who caused all the trouble to begin with... now that is something I can see really bothering him, actually. oh Bakugou)

Jirou, who as you recall was also injured during the attack, says that they’re all doing well

and meanwhile Tora brought bread for all of them and Mina’s waving it around excitedly and Ochako looks over the moon. she always loves sweets

YESSSSSSSSSS

MY TINY ANGRY SON

LMAOOOOO

DEAR MIDORIYA I’M REALLY SORRY

lmaooooooo

look how much better he’s gotten now, though! he’s graduated from groin punching to handshaking! he’s actually super thrilled to see Deku again and you can tell and he’s trying so hard not to show it and I fucking love it omggg

OH MY GODDDD

HE MATCHED DEKU’S SHOES HOLY SHIT. HOW DOES THIS SERIES KEEP OUTCUTEING ITSELF!?

oh my god. Deku really is his hero. I can’t. why do I suddenly want to cry omggg

anyway! so now Satou’s asking why they’ve come to visit U.A.

and Pixie says they came “to celebrate her reinstatement”

???! Ragdoll???

:(!!!!!!

OH COME ON WHAT THE HELL

okay but like. her quirk was all mental anyway. physically she’s still just as strong as she ever was. I don’t see why she couldn’t be out there fighting crime even without the pokedex quirk. sure, it leaves her a bit more vulnerable not being able to track people or knowing their moves and stats ahead of time, but there’s still a lot she could do goddammit

and now Pixie says they got a report from Tartarus omg!

(ETA: okay so I posted Mangastream’s translation here as it makes much more sense than Jaimini’s version. so you can ignore all the confused commentary below. this makes it clear he’s just taunting them and saying “why sure, I’d love to give back all the quirks I stole, but I can’t do that while you’ve got me all tied up :’) too bad.”)

oh my god sudden All for One holy shit. I don’t think we’ve seen him since like chapter 116?? oh snap

so I’m not quite sure what he’s saying here. is he saying he physically can’t return the quirk, or that it’s use it or lose it type of deal? or is he just saying he doesn’t feel like returning it, sorry, too bad so sad?

I’m going to assume it’s that last one, seeing as he’s a dick

but like, there was never really any chance of that happening anyway. we all know the only way that quirk is coming back is if Deku does in fact turn out to be his kid and he takes the quirk himself and gives it back to her

AHHHHHHH

OKAY BUT. THE SHOT OF KACCHAN’S FACE THOUGH! Kacchan being part of the inner circle yesssssss. holy shit. I’ve been waiting so long for this?? thank you, manga, for this friendly reminder that he is the only other one who knows the full story of All for One and his connection to Deku. I love how serious and somewhat apprehensive they both suddenly look just at the mention of him

anyway, so Mandalay is saying it’s going to be broadcast soon, but that on the most recent JP Hero Billboard Chart they were ranked 411th

holy shit what?! weren’t they in the top 50 before?! that’s an insane slide. I know they lost a member and also had a kid get kidnapped on their watch, but still

AHHHH DETAILS ABOUT THE JP HERO BILLBOARD CHART YESSSSSSS

lol actually this is all stuff that we already knew

BUT LOOK AT THAT SILHOUETTE IN THE NUMBER THREE POSITION THOUGH! fucking Rawk Hawk is about to be revealed at long last omgggg

okay yeah, Deku says the Pussycats were previously ranked at #32

so Kiri says oh, that’s why they’re starting things up again, so they can fight their way back to the top after such a steep drop

oh my god

“NO YOU GUYS DON’T UNDERSTAND, WE FUCKED UP REALLY BAD”

they’re saying that the fact that they didn’t drop even lower means that there are still fans rooting for them, and so they have to work hard

lol Kiri’s sobbing into his arm at how manly they are

and now the kids are all “oh yeah come to think of it, the second semester rankings haven’t been presented yet” and that it’s probably because of all the crazy shit that’s happened recently

are they usually presented before now? I just figured it was a twice a year June-and-December type thing

“exciting” isn’t quite the word I’d use, but okay. sounds more depressing than anything :(

ahhhh now we’re cutting to the presentation!

they’re broadcasting from Kamino of all places

so there are a ton of people and a bunch of stretch limos and such, and it seems to be like an Oscar-level event

oh, but apparently it’s not normally like this

RYUUKYUUUUUUUU

HEY WHAT THE FUCK

WHAT FUCKING GIVES. THERE HAD BETTER BE AT LEAST ONE MORE BADASS LADY IN THE TOP TEN THEN OR I’M GOING TO BE REALLY FUCKING PISSED THAT THE TOP TEN RANKINGS GO “GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY GUY, AND I GUESS WE’LL THROW IN A GIRL HERE AT THE END NOW BECAUSE WE’RE SO GENEROUS”

ffff

number 9 is some old samurai asshole

go fuck yourself Yoroimusha. what makes you so special that you’re ranked above my dragon queen

number 8...

...okay he can stay

oh shit Kamui fucking Woods made it all the way to number 7!

fffffff they showed Mt. Lady and for a moment I thought it meant she was at no. 6! but noooooo she’s all the way at #23. despite having participated in the same missions as Kamui. do you know what, the JP Hero Billboard Chart can go fuck themselves

who the hell

“Crust” lmao. toast hero. sandwich hero

OH GOOD

so now women make up a full 20% of the top ten rankings rather than a measly 10%. we really smashed that glass ceiling, y’all. gender equality has been achieved. you’re welcome

(ETA: I feel like this needs more :/ faces to get my full feelings across. :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ okay that’s better)

anyway if she’s in the top 5 she must be pretty cool and I hope we get to see what her power is someday

(ETA: seems to be your basic run-of-the-mill animal-themed super strength, but damned if Dabi did not want to fuck with her though. you go Miruko)

Edgeshot is at number 4, which is expected since he was previously in the number 5 spot before All Might’s retirement. good boy Edgeshot

except for Mt. Lady apparently

AHHHHHHHHHHHH

BEAST JEANIST

GET WELL SOON YOU SEXY PUNK

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT’S HIM!!!!!

RAWK HAWK

HOLY SHIT HE’S SO FINE. LOOKS JUST LIKE I REMEMBER FROM ALL THE FANART. HAWKS YOU SEXY BITCH

“HOW EXCESSIVE”

IT’S LIKE AIZAWA’S FACE AND ATTITUDE WITH ALL MIGHT’S HAIR, OH SHIT WHAT A LEGEND

BUT DON’T THINK YOU CAN JUST AUTOMATICALLY WIN MY APPROVAL OVER JUST LIKE THAT! YOU STILL NEED TO PROVE TO ME WHY YOU DESERVE TO BE RANKED ABOVE MY BOY BEST FORKING GODDAMN ONE AND ONLY JEANIST

and of course, number one is Endeavor

lol what he gets the whole last page to himself. why. just because he got a new costume?? I honestly didn’t even notice the difference lol

but okay fine let’s take a look

well, he’s definitely trying! did he make himself a fire antennae thing. and does he have a cape now I can’t tell

god there’s so much fire. just turn it off when you’re not in action and be fucking normal you asshole

and so that’s it. I guess

what I took away from this chapter is that the people of Japan voted in a washing machine over a fucking dragon. given the choice, they would rather have him on the scene, tossing in red shirts with the villains’ white loads to turn all of their clothes pink. I mean, sure then. whatever

BONUS: Miruko’s profile!

OH SO YOU LIKE CARROTS HUH. I don’t know what I was expecting lol

so her last name means “rabbit mountain.” I guess the mountain part is just cuz she’s strong as hell? idk

and I wonder if her first name has any meaning since it’s just written in katakana. I know the notes say something about it being a reference to a professional fighter, but I have a feeling that’s talking about her hero name rather than her given name

I fucking love her. I wish to god there were more than two fucking female heroes in the top ten, but at least the two we have are pretty badass