#Part Four page 223 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chibivesicle · 5 years

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Golden Kamuy chapter 224-226: Pirates, serial killers and a killer rabbit’s much awaited backstory.

For the sake of time, I will combine my summary of the past few chapters that I missed while I was traveling and I don’t want to break it into smaller bits.

Chapter 224 had a color cover featuring none other than our favorite solitary wildcat sniper Ogata. I personally love the retro look for this! It looks like a classic comic from the 1960s with the odd color scheme and the handwritten shaded boxes.

The one box highlights the “100″ in Ogata’s first name as the kanji hyaku and the rest in latin letters.

The text refers to “Come on, Let’s Go! On wildcat Ogata’s sure-hit express! (one step forward!). Thanks to discussions on discord the phrase is in reference to the cat moving and delivery company in Japan, Yamato transport aka 黒ねこ (Kuroneko). A huge shout out to tsurumineko for translating the pun based on their “target hitting/sure hitting” level of service. I was previously familiar with the company in part due to my love of cats and noticing it everywhere when I’ve visited Japan.

Here is the official logo with a mom cat carrying a kitten and their official HQ (from wikipedia).

I can’t help but wonder if this implies that Ogata is a very reliable character in regards to performing his duties or that he hopes to one day make sure bring his own “kitten” home. Will Ogata be the one to take Asirpa back home to her kotan, Huci and her family? Either way, it implies that Ogata will get the job done, just like Kuroneko will deliver that package on time for you! He’ll snipe that target, he’ll get that info, he’ll make sure your mission is a success etc.

The retro look also makes me think of comics like these:

Batman works a bit outside of the law and has that dark edgy feel to it and Ogata also wears a cloak! Plus, look at the style of Batman and Robin, they’ve got quite the build just like our GK boys do.

Anyways, the cover is a combination of Kuroneko delivery and Batman.

Chapter 224 starts at the Uryu river as Asirpa is lighting a fire to attract a swan to it so that they can have it for dinner. For some odd reason, Noda chooses to rehash the Asirpa is going to kill a cute/beautiful animal for dinner. She pulls Sugimoto’s head when she sarcastically replies to him that they will gently grab the swan. . . .

I don’t understand this need to return to early Sugimoto-Asirpa humor. Shiraishi has returned from pooping and a swan approaches as the two of them freak out upon noticing the other. I personally find Shiraishi’s concern valid - swans are total assholes, so I’d also want to be upset at a swan at close range.

Asirpa beats it and they begin to prepare it for dinner in a temporary shelter as early on in the manga. This is a repeat of when they first started working together and ate the deer that Sugimoto failed to shoot. The three of them in Asirpa’s tent cooking some dinner.

Keep in mind Sugimoto didn’t want to eat the otter head etc etc and he still has issues with things beyond brains.

This time Asirpa really highlights the need to give it the Inaw offerings and place the head in the river.

Sugimoto still can’t eat animal heads and still looks awkward. However in contrast to chapter 25, after eating Shiraishi begins to explain what he’s observed from Heita’s belongings. He explains to us in a flashback what Heita told them about gold panning. He knows now that gold from different rivers looks different so there is a way to identify where it came from. And now, we get to see Shiraishi shine as he begins to help them lay out a new strategy for finding the gold without the skins.

He first off explains what we already know about the “Noppera-bou incident” which I find interesting based on the fact that he uses Noppera-bou - I wonder if Shiraishi thinks someone else killed the 7 Ainu men and Wilk was moving the gold, but not involved as Wilk told that to Sugimoto.

Shiraishi points out there may be people who know where the gold is hidden - and since supposedly Wilk moved it all by himself, he wouldn’t be able to move it that far.

He then continues to state, they just need to find the region where the gold dust was from and look close by. Sugimoto is not convinced by Shiraishi’s line of reasoning at all. He has a look of total annoyance and he’s like - “we” can’t identify a hidden gold dust stash etc. I’m disappointed that Asirpa simply chimes in that he’s an idiot as she eats the swan head that Sugimoto wouldn’t.

Shiraishi has to remind them what they learned from Tanigaki back when he was injured and recovering with Huci at Asirpa’s kotan. Part of the gold was taken from the stash by Wilk and the boat capsized on Lake Shikotsu. Therefore, they know where a sample of the gold is. As soon as Shiraishi reminds them of what they know from Tanigaki, he catches Asirpa’s attention and she takes him seriously.

She then summarizes where he’s been going with this - they likely won’t have the skins so they need another game plan. Bravo Shiraishi! He has created a plan B for them, better than Sugimoto’s “um maybe we will sweep in and steal the skins from Hijikata or Tsurumi . . .”

Sugimoto immediately rejects Shiraishi’s plan on the fact it is too hard and whines about it. Asirpa at least has a well thought out and rational reply that the lake is too deep, so they can’t get the evidence.

This leads into a flashback with Heita and our pirate convict at Lake Shikotsu the previous year. We get a “typical” reveal of his character as he’s completely in the nude about to dive into the cold spring water. Boutarou the Pirate’s real name is Oosawa Fusatarou and this reveals some of his background as a talented swimmer and diver.

He’s got some rather unique eyebrows - reverse Koito ones and he reveals that he’s going to dive for 35 minutes. He then uses special breathing techniques to get as much oxygen into his system and he’s got large feet, webbed hands (due to cell death not occurring between his digits during fetal development btw) and he became a convict by drowning people and stealing their stuff.

By having a rope tied to his ankle, Heita can signal to him when his time is up and he can come up from his deep free dive.

The chapter then returns to Shiraishi pointing out that Heita and Mr. Pirate already found the gold. This means that Shiraishi took the time to look at all of Heita’s samples and that they know the location and it is linked to one of the still remaining convicts.

Shiraishi then reveals that he knew that there was a guy who was intense, physically robust and pushed himself to the limits - so if he could dive to find the gold - he would be the most likely to succeed. The flashback shows that he was able to dive down to Wilk’s canoe and that Heita found at least 4 locations for the gold dust.

With the list of rivers, it means the gold dust found in the canoe can be traced to these four rivers: Toppu River, Saru River, Sorachi River and Shiriuchi River. I have labeled each of those rivers on the map of Heita’s description of rivers that can be panned for gold and included a few cities for reference. In yellow is the current approximate location of Asirpa, Sugimoto and Shiraishi on the Uryu river. The rivers where the gold dust is from are in magenta. The Toppu River is the closest one to them and the Sorachi and Saru Rivers are reasonably close.

The only river that is further away is the Shiriuchi River fairly close to Hakodate. Google maps has the Shiriuchi River labelled as the Chinai River (I checked with translator GlassHouses for clarification - apparently it can also be read as the Chinai River and there is one located in Shikoku - thanks for the help!) so if you try to find it in English it won’t be labelled correctly. Lake Shirotsu is the large lake on the map just next to my arrow pointing to Sapporo. Only put on a few cities for easy reference, Otaru, close to Asirpa’s kotan, Ashikawa and Kushiro.

The chapter then ends with Sugimoto holding the list of rivers as his eyes are white. He figures if they head to those rivers, since the pirate knows where the gold is from they just need to catch a pirate [and skin him]. Stop looking so well murder-y Sugimoto.

The tag line at the end states that every river eventually leads to the sea . . . I guess this must be true in Japan perhaps, but if you live in a basin, or in the Great Lakes region of North America the lake does not lead to the sea . . . . but I digress. This likely has to do with the pirate reference or something.

Recall that in 223, Hijikata is the one who remarks that Boutarou the pirate is making his move.

with the end of 224, it is confirmed that Boutarou is another faction entering the quest for the gold.

Quick observations and predictions from this chapter.

1.) Ogata is about to become a key player based on his color cover (if you don’t already get that Ogata is important). Momma cat needs to take her kittens home.

2.) Shiraishi has laid out their plan to look for the pirate. This may lead to an alliance or Sugimoto just trying to skin him based on the ending page. I personally think an alliance with Asirpa-Sugi-Shiraishi and Boutarou to be the most interesting. . . .

3.) Hijikata is not surprised by Boutarou’s move to enter the quest. He was working with Heita and now we know he will likely have his own faction as well.

4.) Based on my map, some of the parties will need to visit each of these rivers in order to gather information. With the much farther away Shiriuchi River, it takes the cast close to Hakodate. I can see this being key in future events involving Hijikata (due to his historical death during the Battle of Hakodate), Koito, since he was kidnapped in Hakodate by Tsurumi with the help of Ogata, Tsukishima and Kikuta. It seems like some sort of confrontation at Hakodate is in the cards.

Chapter 225 - Another convict enters the story.

So chapter 225 starts out with a clear reference to the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper who targeted prostitutes in Victorian London and was never caught. Oh yay, another serial killer - just my fav type of convict. [rolls eyes] The chapter title slums seems to refer to the slums of Sapporo where alcohol and prostitution were the few releases and the area was ripe with disease and violence.

An older woman is walking back to the inn of her client, he’s a much taller man wearing a western style of dress and a top hat. The woman is chatting away, she explains that she used to come from a wealthy family in Nagoya, since she’s in Hokkaido, it either implied her family was on the losing side during the Meiji revolution or that her late husband was on the losing side sent up to Hokkaido.

She’s clearly flush with drink and she turns to notice that he may be Japanese based on her “Huh? You’r Japa . . .” as he then grabs her by the face and proceeds to slit her throat and then cut up her body. As she struggled we get to see her hand pulled his jacket open a bit revealing yet another tattoo - so yep, another convict.

The following morning shows Sapporo police officers trying to keep the press away from a covered corpse, the woman covered with a straw mat. A member of the press is confirming what happened with a very suspicious looking police officer. Apparently, there was prostitute who was killed in the same location within the past month or less e.g. indicated by the 31st of last month (we don’t know how far into the current month things are). The man is revealed to be a criminal inspector and he has a shaded face and interesting wrinkles under his eyes.

From the start, this criminal inspector seems to be quite tall compared to the reporter. The next page reveals his identity as he’s trying to get a scoop on the story by bribing the inspector with food. The inspector’s face is covered as he simply tells him to shut up as he turns away.

The action then shifts to the temple where Hijikata and Co. are staying as we the readers are reminded that the man is Ishikawa Takuboku, the reporter who meet up with the group back when they had their photos taken before Abashiri in Kitami. Most of the group went to the photo studio with Hijikata while Shiraishi went off to the red light district with Takuboku instead as they hung out with sex workers and got very intoxicated on Hijikata’s money. The drunken Ishikawa blurts out that Hijikata is going to buy up newspapers to control the press.

Shiraishi knew that the Russo-Japanese war resulted in sales of papers but Ishikawa revealed that the change was due to the addition of pictures! Hence part of the reason why having a photo of Asirpa will be important to his Republic of Ezo plan. Again this exchange between Shiraishi and Takuboku-chan illustrates that Shiraishi is a pretty observant and smart guy. He’s def aware of more things than people give him credit for.

He’s finally back reporting to Hijikata and asks for more spending money. Unfortunately, he’s trying to get money from Nagakura who is having none of this and reminds him bluntly that if he wants money it needs to be information not printed in the papers.

Ushiyama makes a comment on how gruesome the murders are and wonders if the man has some issue with whores. Ishikawa comments that it is “unfortunate” since he hopes the man is apprehended quickly since he currently has a prostitute in the area that he is rather fond of. Wow, way to show how you care about women trapped in sex work Ishikawa . . . that the were likely sold into but I digress.

The English translation has Ushiyama refer to sex workers as whores, and Ishikawa’s use of prostitutes implies a little more respect, but maybe not since he’s concerned his current interest in Sapporo may get his fav woman killed and he won’t be able to sleep with her any more. What is clear is both men seem awkward in their opinion of how women in sex work should be perceived.

This is clear based on Nagakura’s reply to Ishikawa’s statement that he hopes he dies in a ditch. Hijikata completely ignores the info and just asks Kadokura if there was a convict in Abashiri who fits the description for the current killer.

Kadokura doesn’t reveal the name of any other information about the killer. Clearly, this information will be revealed when it becomes relevant and Hijikata is concerned that if this man is a convict and he is making such violent headlines that Tsurumi and his men in the 27th will certainly realize that they should investigate as well. It seems after Abashiri, Hijikata is taking Tsurumi as seriously as possible as well as the arrival of Ariko into his group after he was beaten up by Usami.

Hijikata’s reference to the 27th hunting the possible convict leads to another mallard flying. The final part of the panel shows Ogata aiming at the duck. Ogata fires at the duck.

The duck flies on, but Ogata simply exhales as he works the bolt with his left hand. He’s looking smug yet determined again. We don’t seem him exhale like this frequently, but it does remind me of his “I shot the woodcocks” proud face or a focused “hmmph” this is what I expected look.

The final panel shows two tail feathers from the duck fall to the ground both having been shot by Ogata. It is clear that Ogata is pleased with his progress on re-learning how to shoot ducks with his left eye. He’s making good progress - I’m not sure if we will get to see him make a successful kill in the manga or if Noda will keep it for a big reveal scene where he makes an amazing shot.

There are two ways to look at this i.) Ogata knows he’s getting better and he’ll let others see that he can still snipe and that he’s still a sniper. ii.) Ogata gets better, but publicly doesn’t want others to know he’s back to “normal” and uses his injury as a way to hide his regained sniping ability as his wildcard.

Both of these can be advantages for Ogata - everyone assumes he’s a sniper and forgets about all of his other skills. Or he makes others assume he’s weaker and than uses that to defeat them - an obvious sucker is Sugimoto - Sugimoto would look at one-eyed Ogata and think, “well if I can get close enough to break his arm again I can totally finish him off . . .” as Ogata then snipes Sugimoto again . . . (okay, not likely to happen just like that but you get my idea).

The chapter then shifts to an unnamed village along the Sea of Okhotsk. This is a vague descriptor, and as my map indicates it can be along this entire coast of the northeastern part of Hokkaido. Yay! The panel is quite simple as it shows a dead horse laying down.

The final panel shows Usami looking down upon the horse. Stares down at the horse as his eyes are white around the iris. As his head shifts a little to his left.

It is clear by the next page that Usami is the likely cause of death for the horse. A random man yells “Who did this? Who killed my horse!” as it shows Usami shuffling off rather quickly to avoid being caught in the act of horse murder.

Tsurumi is then outside of a shop that sells newspapers reading a newspaper with great interest. He then speaks to Kikuta who is nearby, telling him that the murders in Sapporo appear to be the work of an escaped tattooed convict.

He orders Kikuta to go to Sapporo to look into the convict. And that he should take Superior Private Usami with him. Wherever Tsurumi is along the coast is unclear, but Tsurumi seems to think staying on the eastern coast will allow him to find Asirpa from that area. Plus, he has sent Tanigaki in search of them as well. . . Kikuta replies yes sir rather calmly in a typical Kikuta fashion.

Usami walks up behind him with completely black eyes when Tsurumi tells him to take Usami with him. . . Kikuata can’t be too happy wit this as his reply is hesitant . . .” . . . yes, sir . . .” as he gives him the stink eye.

Usami then speaks up highlighting that he really doesn’t want to go with Kikuta. This is quite bold from a superior private, but Usami seems like he can get away with this in front of Tsurumi and Kikuta almost smirks as he feels the same way. Tsurumi doesn’t even turn to reply to Kikuta, he simply replies that Usami will be of use to him in Sapporo and Kikuta looks curious as to in what context Usami will be helpful.

Tsurumi figures that Hijikata’s group will also move there to investigate due to the newspaper coverage and that they should avoid them if all possible. Tsurumi doesn’t want them running into each other.

This is interesting as Kadokura is currently in Hijikata’s group and can easily recognize Usami so that may come into play. Usami beat the crap out of Ariko so he’ll be tied to the situation. Ogata is back with Hijikata for now and has a previous work history with Kikuta and there is enough information for the two of them to have some sort of showdown/reunion etc.

With somewhat erratic screen tones behind Usami and a equally creepy font he declares that running into Hijikata’s group is fine. He concludes that Ariko will be a useless spy and that he will just kill them all and steal everything - problem solved.

And with that Usami gives off super creepy vibes at 110%.

He and Kikuta don’t get along at all - when they were chasing after Toni Anji which required a well thought out plan he was useless and whiny and Kikuta couldn’t take it and also trusted Ariko to succeed.

When they were chasing Asirpa off of the ferry - Usami’s solution was to simply kill Huci and Kikuta was clearly appalled by how Usami’s mind seems to work. It was clear when Usami beat up Ariko that Kikuta was both hurt and torn about the entire situation. This likely is setting up some sort of disagreement between the two men. Kikuta is a sauve, sexy man, who appears a bit cocky at times but he gives off a vibe of really caring for others and avoids harming others who are not involved in things.

The next page reveals that indeed both groups are hunting down the convict in Sapporo.

Hijikata has brought his entire entourage. He leads the group followed by Ushiyama and Nagakura. Kadokura, Toni, Kantarou, Kirawus and then Ariko follow behind. Ariko looks back at Ogata watching them from a distance and taking up the rear as he prefers.

Kikuta leads with Usami behind, his face partially obscured by his visor of his army cap - Kikuta is too sexy to every wear a hat and mess up his excellent hairstyle.

It is interesting that even when you zoom in a bit, Ogata has his blank expression as Ariko nervously looks back at him. He was nervous to see Ogata and he likely thinks Ogata is onto him as a spy or maybe even thinks that Ogata is still working for Tsurumi.

It looks like Kirawus is watching Kadokura - I wonder if he’s onto Kadokura playing dumb. The two of them may get drunk and joke around, but I think Kirawus has been watching both Kadokura and also used him to get closer to Hijikata. I think both of these men are carrying secrets that will be important as time progresses in the manga. I just can’t shake the feeling that Kirawus knows more about the Ainu murders and I have a theory that he keeps his forehead covered b/c of some scar or something from the incident where the 7 Ainu men were murdered.

The next page has present day Tsurumi thinking of something disturbing based on the screen tones around him and it reveals a flashback, in Meiji 28 (1895) and back in Tsurumi’s home area of Shibata, Niigata. The flashback starts with someone asking Tokushirou, Tsurumi’s first name, about how the battlefield was.

The next page reveals Tsurumi talking with a man who appears to be his martial arts teacher for jujitsu. Tsurumi tells his teacher that he observed something interesting in war. Despite the vast amount of training that soldiers underwent before battle, most of the men actively avoided trying to kill the enemy soldiers.

Tsurumi goes on to state that during the American Civil war troops went to great lengths to avoid killing each other (as the nature of a civil war that split families apart at times) and he spends the rest of the page discussing that most humans will really try to avoid killing each other, even in the case of war.

This really is the heart of one of the major issues of GK. What happens to men who go off to war and the actually kill others? How do men do this and how to they move forward (or in the case of many of the elite men of Tsurumi’s 27th) how do those men get sucked into killing and do all of the dirty deeds for him.

This gets at the concept of how a person can be turned into a killer and be able to go to great lengths to kill and in this quest for the gold - who can serve Tsurumi best.

After perhaps working or training with his sensei, Tsurumi has changed into his uniform and is telling children nearby (perhaps students of the dojo) to be careful of Master Takeda’s horse is ill tempered (confirmation of the identity of the man he was just talking to) and that it may kick them. The fact that Usami killed a horse in the present time and then there is a flashback about a horse seems to indicate this will be something to do with Usami’s past.

A voice then calls to Tsurumi, calling him Mister Tokushirou, indicating a person familiar enough with him to call him by his first name but with respect.

This flashback now has revealed not one, but two people close enough to Tsurumi to use his first name either as a senior, his sensei and this unknown yet clearly younger person. Tsurumi responds, that he recognizes who the person is - revealed to be a younger Usami. He tells him that he’s gotten taller again, and then calls him by his first name, Tokishige.

Usami is blushing as he looks at Tsurumi before he replies yes, still blushing with black eyes as it reveals that he is Usami Tokishige, 14 years old. This means Usami was born in 1881.

Of course the editorial tagline mentions that he is yet another of the boys pining for Tsurumi.

Chapter 225 ends with several things as the main points:

1.) The next convict is a serial killer and is in Sapporo. This will lead to a likely encounter between Hijikata’s group and Kikuta and Usami.

How will this showdown happen? I’m hoping that Kadokura notices Usami and tips off the rest of the group and KIkuta and Ogata catch up. They seem to be more morally centered members of the 27th concerned about others who can get caught in the crossfire.

2.) The manga is back to the concept of the ability to kill, what makes a killer? what makes a murder? and what makes a soldier? Tsurumi wants men willing to go into the depths of hell with him to accomplish his goals.

Tsukishima will see this to the end - he’s officially dead on the outside and inside after his Koito confrontation.

Nikaido is losing all of his humanity to be a test subject for a new and improved solider.

Usami has clearly had a vibe that something is totally off with him since he was first introduced. The fact that Koito was groomed by Tsurumi when he was 14, means that Usami’s age and blush shows that he was a previous and older Tsurumi fanboy. The chapter ends with the idea that Tsurumi likely was involved in grooming him.

Usami is clearly a great soldier and killer for some of Tsurumi’s goals - this chapter is making it clear that Usami is “special” in the context of murder. Or that he lacks some sort of moral compass or control in regards to murder and killing.

3.) That criminal inspector at the Sapporo police department is shady as all hell. He could be the convict in disguise - and he’d fit the trope of the murderer working in the police so that he can’t get caught. Or he’s a total red herring.

Chapter 226 -Sacred Ground

The chapter starts out with a brief update on the status of the Asirpa-Sugi-Shiraishi-Vasily group. They are stopping by an Ainu kotan and Sugimoto notices another dog that looks exactly like Ryu, but isn’t Ryu. Shiraishi is the one to remark that Ryu stayed behind as Tanigaki gave Cikapasi Nihei’s rifle so he won’t be going anywhere. Interestingly, Sugimoto remarks that he hopes that Cikapasi and Ennoka treat Ryu well so he “let’s go” of his attachment to the rifle and move on.

This is an odd remark from Sugimoto, since he himself needs to move on from a lot of stuff ~ he can see it in a dog’s life but not his own.

This leads to a key comment from Asirpa about Ainu dogs, that their loyalty towards owners can be a bad thing since they get jealous and ill tempered. A Japanese man owned one and the dog was well treated but he ended up scolding it due to poor behaviour and went hunting without the dog. The dog’s reaction to rejection was to kill of off the man’s chickens . . . Shiraishi then comments that people will do the same thing for the love of another.

The following page is the title page with the title and a young Usami and Tsurumi. Based on the fact that we know Usami is very loyal to Tsurumi and he has killed for him - I think it is clear the story about the loyal dog is Usami and Tsurumi is the man with the chickens. . . oh great - this chapter is surely getting to the root of his creepy vibes!

Usami tells him that he’s there even on a day to not train even though after he performed housework and chores to help his family he is more than willing to walk 2 hours one way to come to that very spot on the dojo grounds.

Usami’s face is completely shaded so clearly something dark is tied to that place.

The next page reveals that Usami refers to that spot as “our sacred place” as the wind dramatically blows by as Tsurumi looks at his back.

This leads to a flashback in the flashback, 2 years earlier so 1893, showing Usami’s family. He’s 12 and he appears to have his mother and father, an older sister, younger brother and another younger sibling on his mother’s back as well.

His father asks him if things are going well at the dojo and with his training. He replies that Mister Tokushirou told him he’s the most talented of all the students that he’s seen there before. Therefore, at the age of 12 he was comfortable enough to call Tsurumi by his first name - san!

This catches the attention of his older sister and his mother as they look at him in shock and awe, his mother stopping her mending of clothing while his sister blushes. His sister asks excitedly “Mister Tsurumi Tokushirou = Tsurumi Tokshirou-san?” followed by her having a teenage fangirl moment over him while his father looks on with shock and concern. His mother confirms that he’s got to have talent since his father was talented too . . . I guess this implies that Tsurumi’s father was a well know ladies man and it is clear that Tsurumi is also seen as a ladies man in the area.

So, Tsurumi is clearly a charismatic, charming and a confirmed ladies’ man and is the 4th son of another man who was also very well known and must have been an important samurai family. Usami is happy that his family are glad to hear he’s attracted the attention of an important local man. Their family is large and it looks like since his mother is mending clothes they aren’t the richest family but they must come from a more noble/samurai background than some of our other cast members. It looks like the Usami household is a happy and fertile one.

Clearly, Tsurumi is interested in getting to know Usami and some time later, Tsurumi is working the water wheel that his family uses to pump water for their rice paddies. Tsurumi clearly is doing some sort of research into him and he seems to realize that using the foot powered water wheel leads to the develop strong legs. Usami is explaining how hard the work is based on their location etc when he is interruped by another young boy.

This other boy is introduced as Takagi Tomoharu another 12 year old boy. He really reminds me of Sugimoto a bit, that slightly messy hair and friendly look. He clearly is another Tsurumi fanboy.

Tsurumi also calls him by his first name and asks if his father is doing well and the boy responds excitedly as Usami silently smiles with his eyes closed in the background having Tsurumi’s attention focused on another person.

Sometime after school, Tomoharu tells Usami to stay over at his house since they have training at the dojo and they can go to school the next morning. He then adds that Tsurusumi will be at the dojo that evening! This immediately gets Usami’s attention and he runs to the dojo yelling “Hurry, hurry!” so Usami is excited by this!

The next page shows the dojo and both boys want Tsurumi’s attention to train with each of them and Tsurumi just smiles back, again Usami’s eyes are closed.

Sometime later it shows Tsurumi in winter leaving the dojo - we don’t get the full conversation, just that Tsurumi is responding to something that Usami said. Usami will be graduating - I guess based on his age primary school - and Tsurumi who’s face is obscured asks if he will keep training at the dojo. Usami responds with his eyes closed again stating he will have to help his father work on their family farm so it may not happen.

Tsurumi then turns and looks at him in a very friendly way telling him to continue at the dojo to become much stronger - he’ll be able to surpass Tsurumi as well based on his skills with time.

Tsurmi then states he won’t be able to visit the dojo soon, with the impending Sino-Japanese war he’s about to go off to (with Tsukishima) and finally Usami opens his eyes with concern in them as well as light in his eyes. Usami is clearly worried about Tsurumi leaving. All of a sudden his friend appears interrupting him and Tsurumi again telling him to go home together. Again we don’t know what else Usami was going to say to Tsurumi . . .

The winter gives way to spring, when the school year ends and another one will begin.

We get a scene where Usami is able to pin Tomoharu down and someone tells them to stop for the day . . . maybe Tsurumi maybe not. It is clear that just like Sugimoto’s friend Toraiji - Usami is the natural martial artist while Tomoharu will always lose to him. Tomoharu is sulking in the dojo and Tsurumi has to ask him what’s wrong so that he and his sensei can lock up. He reveals that he’s never been able to beat Usami before he leaves. Tomoharu then cases after Usami who is waiting outside for him.

It looks like he told Tsurumi that he’s leaving and Tsurumi got him to approach Usami to tell him about his departure to high school? in Tokyo. However, Usami is not surprised as he already knew his friend was leaving and tells him that he really doesn’t want to spar with him one last time.

Usami from a very dramatic angle tells hi that he doesn’t want to lose on purpose b/c he’s worried about his feelings . . . and before he finishes Tomoharu yells his reply that he shouldn’t, that wouldn’t be a real friendship, it would end it. Usami has light and sparkle in his eyes as he says his lines and his friend sounds like a passionate young Japanese man with fighting spirit.

Tsurumi tells him that he will watch their match in the corner of the yard - the sacred place which Usami will say to Tsurmumi 2 years later. . .

The next two pages are a montage of memories of Tomoharu with Usami as he thinks to survive alone in Tokyo requires him to defeat him. It seems that Tomoharu really enjoyed his time with Usami - but I really get the feeling that Usami just tolerated him. It really does have this vibe of a one sided friendship, I could even see him staying over at Tomoharu’s place just to be closer to the dojo and by extension Tsurumi.

Tomoharu cries as he knows he’s fighting hard but still ends up defeated by Usami.

This scene is very much like the Sugimoto’s flashback in chapter 35 - courtship. He met Toraji at his burnt down house on his wedding day and he attacks Sugimoto who promptly defeats him. With his eyes full of tears, Toraji refuses to give up and goes for another round with Sugimoto as he roundly defeats him again. This clearly is linked back to Shiraishi’s comment about humans and the people that they love. Yes, Sugimoto is a dick to show up, make Toraiji upset, beat him and then congratulate him on his marriage which only makes Toraiji more annoyed.

Yet, in their second round ends with him declaring that he may have lost to Sugimoto in kendo and judo, but he won in the battle for Umeko’s heart. . .

This is clearly a parallel with Usami and Tomoharu and this is linked to Sugimoto.

Anyways back to 226. Tomoharu despite being defeated pulls on Usami’s shirt and states that he’s not done yet. The next full page panel shows Usami’s reaction -

full on murder rabbit!!! He’s gained the white along the edge of his black pupils as he’s drooling, his veins are bursting and his entire face is contorted in rage/anger/i don’t know what else. I call him a murder rabbit based on a nickname that the lovely Merdopsuedo came up for Usami a long time ago.

She calls him the The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, based on the rabbit that lives in the cave and kills many men in an excellent scene requiring the use of the Holy Hand grenade of Antioch in “Monty Python and The Holy Grail”. This flashback has confirmed all of our fan jokes and theories and was a much better nickname the previously proposed one of “Thumper” the rabbit from “Bambi”.

Tomoharu only gets a glance of his face as he raises his foot before he firmly kicks him in the throat with his bare heel.

This action is enough to even shock Tsurumi! We see Tomoharu make his last gasp for air as Tsurumi, the man who watched his family die in Vladivostok, perhaps killed by his own actions or those of Wik, Kiro and Sofia. Tsurumi is a broken and twisted man by this point before he even heads off to the Sino-Japanese war, but Usami’s actions have completely caught him off guard. He thought he was helping out with a teenage issue and he’s just resulted in the death of Tomoharu by accident. Look at those wide open eyes, sweat on his forehead and those stress lines! Tsurumi is completely shocked.

It is clear a man who has seen terrible things like Tsurumi (as we don’t know what his spying and previous military service was like) he is shocked by Usami’s violence that he uses as he clearly struck a killing blow on his friend.

And with that the chapter ends!

Wow! Usami’s backstory is clearly revealed to be super creepy as I was always afraid of. At the age of 12 he killed the boy who on the surface appeared to be his best friend.

Final thoughts on chapter 226

1.) Usami may be a natural born killer rabbit who always wants to please Tsurumi. Chapter 227 will likely further explain why that part of the dojo is sacred to both of them. Sei Kobiyama also mentioned on twitter that due to both Tsurumi and Usami practicing jujitsu/judo indicate they both came from samurai families.

Tsurumi has alluded to the fact that his family was once wealthy when he was young and we know he’s the 4th son and they lost the wealth. It is clear based on Usami’s families reaction to him the Tsurumi family was well known.

Usami is clearly not in a wealthy household that has to work very hard to survive, yet has a connection to samurai habits and culture. This may be a link to chapter 225 referring the the slums of Sapporo and how the murdered woman was from a once wealthy family that lost it - likely a pre-Meiji era samurai family.

Is Usami jealous of Tomoharu? Or does he want Tsurumi’s attention all to himself? What motivates him? He seems off the entire time before he kills Tomoharu so I think there is more going on than we realize just yet.

Does this information from Sei Kobiyama imply that since Sugimoto and Toraiji also practiced kendo and judo that they were also from poor samurai families also fallen on hard times in the Edo area?

2.) I believe that Usami and Sugimoto are supposed to be compared in some way with this flashback. Both men are talented in judo and when they kill both men are demon or animalistic in the way that they fight and kill. Yet, one killed his crybaby best friend while the other one as far as we know was unable to save his friend.

Noda has kept away from Sugimoto’s past and his unresolved issues surrounding Toraiji and Umeko for a long time. This may lead to the reveal of more of Sugimoto’s past and what really happened when Toraiji died and Sugimoto clung to his dying body, giving up the sled for Tsukishima at Mudoken. It keeps alluding to a potential situation where Sugimoto is either indirectly or directly related to the events that result in Toraiji’s death. And keep in mind in the flashbacks his nickname is Tora-chan or Tiger. If Kiro is Tanigaki’s tiger, we’ve discussed that Toraiji is Sugimoto’s tiger . . .

Sugimoto currently has a broken wrist and maybe he will have to rely on Asirpa, Shiraishi and Vasily his non-friend, not-enemy-ally. I think Usami may be a link to more background into Sugimoto.

Keeping that in mind, I suspect that Kadokura will lead to more background into Ogata as his father would have been a contemporary of sorts with Koito and Hanazawa, but on Ogata’s mother side.

Well that is all I have for now with the chapters! I’ll work on getting a few more meta up hopefully in the next few days including as long delayed cover analysis and some Koito meta!

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #asirpa #ogata hyakunosuke #tsurumi tokushirou #tsukishima hajime #ushiyama tatsuma #hijikata toshizo #usami tokishige #warrant officer kikuta #kadokura #kirawus #ishikawa takuboku

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7r0773r · 4 years

Text

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

Lolo always told us we could be whatever we wanted to be. When we were growing up, we never thought of white people as superior to us. We always thought we were equal to them or better.

But Joseph, Elaine, and Ivory had only to walk to the curb outside their Roman Street house to see Taylor Park and its sign: NO NIGGERS, NO CHINESE AND NO DOGS. It was a strange sight, the mostly empty, fenced-in park in a black neighborhood. If the neighborhood children wanted a park to run around in or a pool for swimming, they had to travel to Freret Street’s Shakespeare Park, several miles away. “It seemed most of the black people in New Orleans had to go over there,” Uncle Joe said. Getting to Shakespeare Park required a ride on segregated buses.

But there was an added complication in New Orleans, a city fixated on and obsessed with gradations of skin color. My mother, Ivory Mae, understood from a young age the value in her light skin and freckles and in the texture of her wavy hair, which she called good. The favoritism came through in the double-standard ways of all prejudice, in the way people lit up when they saw Ivory but did not come alive so much for Elaine, who wondered why she was a few shades darker than Joseph and Ivory and with thicker hair that she herself described as “a pain to comb.”

As a child, my mother internalized this colorism, the effects of which sometimes showed in shocking ways.

One day Ivory, Elaine, and Grandmother’s sister Lillie Mae were sitting together on the Roman Street stoop watching people. Mom was eight years old. A schoolmate, whom Mom called Black Andrew, walked by. He was headed to Johnny’s Grocery store. This was not unusual. Andrew passed two, three, sometimes four times a day, whenever he raised a nickel or a couple of pennies for candy. When he went by he stared, sometimes winking at Ivory Mae, who glared back from the porch. She was always taunting: Black Andrew, hey lil black boy. The neighborhood children on their respective porches urged her on without needing to. That lil black boy ain’t none of my boyfriend she remembers telling them.

He never did look like he was clean. I mean he was really a little black boy, nappy and everything. She meant that he was dark skinned, the color of her own mother, the color of her mother’s sister Lillie Mae, who was sitting right beside her.

“You have cheeks to call that boy black?” said Lillie Mae. “Look at your ma. What color is she?”

My mama not black, small Ivory Mae had said then.

She wasn’t black to me. She was my mama and my mama wasn’t black. Looked to me like they was trying to make my mama like the black people I didn’t like.

“I guess we saw it sort of like the white men saw it,” says Uncle Joe now, trying to explain his baby sister. “As people being lower than us.” (pp. 28-29)

***

Remembering is a chair that it is hard to sit still in. (p. 223)

***

My mother, Ivory Mae, called me one day in Harlem and told me the story in three lines:

Carl said those people then came and tore our house down.

That land clean as a whistle now.

Look like nothing was ever there.

The letter from the city announcing the intended demolition, the planned removal of 4121 Wilson, had been sent to the mailbox in front of the exact same house set to be torn down, its pieces deconstructed and carted away.

The Yellow House was deemed in “imminent danger of collapse,” one of 1,975 houses to appear on the Red Danger List, houses bearing bright-red stickers no larger than a small hand.

The notice in the mailbox in front of our doomed house read in part: Dear Ms. Bloom: The City of New Orleans intends to demolish and remove the home/property and/or remnants of the home/property located at 4121 Wilson ... THIS IS THE ONLY NOTIFICATION YOU WILL RECEIVE. Sincerely, Law Department-Demolition Task Force.

Not one of us twelve children who belonged to the house—not Eddie, Michael, or Darryl; nor Simon, Valeria, or Deborah; nor Karen, Carl, Troy, Byron, Lynette, or myself—was there to see it go.

Look like nothing was ever there.

Before our house was knocked down, Carl had overseen its ruins, driving by almost daily, except for the day when he suddenly fell sick in the driveway of Grandmother’s house where he was living. One minute he was revving his engine for the drive to NASA in New Orleans East, the next, his head lay down on the steering wheel. A neighbor saw this, a busy man’s head down, and became alarmed. Carl was rushed to the hospital for surgery. “Crooked intestines,” was how Carl interpreted the doctor's diagnosis of intestinal obstruction. “They had to chop a large section of me out. I was all twisted inside from all that bad water I was swimming in,” Carl was convinced.

He stayed in the hospital an additional thirty days postsurgery after incurring an infection from the hospitalization itself. This was how it came to be that he missed the letter in the mailbox and the house was demolished without our knowing it.

Everyone else was still displaced. The only one to see our house go was Rachelle—Herman and Alvin's sister, Ms. Octavia's granddaughter who we called Ray. She was the inheritor of the last remaining house standing on the street. Ray snapped Polaroid images of the Yellow House's demise, instant evidence that she misplaced and could not find when we came back around, months after the fact, asking, “Did you see it? Did you see the house go down, Ray? Did you see?”

Perhaps there is a trick of logic that fails me now, but to deliver such notification to the doomed structure itself seems too easy a metaphor for much of what New Orleans represents: blatant backwardness about the things that count. For what can an abandoned house receive, by way of notification? And when basic services like sanitation and clean water were still lacking, why was there still mail delivery? But we were not the only ones. Lawsuits were filed against the city on behalf of houses that unlike ours stood in perfect condition when they were knocked down. There were sanctuaries, actual churches that deacons prepared to move back into, only to discover them gone. A newspaper article headlined NEW ORLEANS' WRECKING BALL LEVELS HEALTHY HOMES asked the simplest and thus most profound questions, such as: “How do you not inquire before you knock a place down? How do you not knock on the door first?”

During a later trip to New Orleans, I retrieved the file from city hall that told the story of the demolition. I carried it around in my purse and wrote “Autopsy of the House” in large letters on the front page. The cover letter held the following disclaimer: “The subject property was not historical in nature.” The report tells this story: The house was displaced from its foundation. Structural displacement was moderate as opposed to severe, which would have required that the house float down the block and settle in another locale entirely. City inspectors deemed the house “unsafe to enter.” There was asbestos everywhere, in the living room walls, in the trowel-and-drag ceilings that Uncle Joe had painted, in the asphalt shingles, in the vinyl sheeting on the floor. City inspectors noted that the left wall framing was severely "racked."

I called on an engineer friend and described the house, told her I was trying to learn from reading the autopsy which of the structural problems were waterborne and which were just the dilapidated house. An engineer would not use the word “dilapidated” to describe the house in its post-Water state, she told me. Dilapidated is a judgment. From an engineering perspective, she explained, the house was stable after the hurricane. It just wasn't contained. All the cracks happened so that the house could resolve internally all its pressures and stresses.

Water entered New Orleans East before anyplace else. On August 29, 2005, around four in the morning, water rose in the Industrial Canal, seeped through structurally compromised gates, flowed into neighborhoods on both sides of the High Rise. But that was minor compared with what would come two hours later when a surge developed in the Intracoastal Waterway, creating a funnel, the pressure of which overtopped eastern levees, destroying them like molehills. Water rushed in from in the direction of Almonaster Avenue, over the train tracks, over the Old Road where I learned to drive, through the junkyard that used to be Oak Haven trailer park, and into the alleyway behind the Yellow House, which may have served as a speed bump. The water pushed out the walls that faced the yard between our house and Ms. Octavia’s. The standing water that remained inside caused the sheetrock to swell. Water will find a way into anything, even into a stone if you give it enough time. In our case, the water found a way out through the split in the girls’ room.

“Water has a perfect memory,” Toni Morrison has said, “and is forever trying to get back to where it was.”

The foundation of the Yellow House was sill on piers, beams supported by freestanding brick piles. Not an uncommon way of building in Louisiana, this foundation did not stand a chance against serious winds and serious flooding. The autopsy report testifies that our sill plate was severely damaged, that the connection was “pried or rotated.” It could be said, too, my engineer friend told me, speaking more metaphorically than she was comfortable with, that the house was not tethered to its foundation, that what held the house to its foundation of sill on piers, wood on bricks, was the weight of us all in the house, the weight of the house itself, the weight of our things in the house. This is the only explanation I want to accept.

The only structure that was stable at the time of demolition was the incomplete add-on that my father had built.The house contained all of my frustrations and many of my aspirations, the hopes that it would one day shine again like it did in the world before me. The house’s disappearance from the landscape was not different from my father’s absence. His was a sudden erasure for my mother and siblings, a prolonged and present absence for me, an intriguing story with an ever-expanding middle that never drew to a close. The house held my father inside of it, preserved; it bore his traces. As long as the house stood, containing these remnants, my father was not yet gone. And then suddenly, he was.

I had no home. Mine had fallen all the way down. I understood, then, that the place I never wanted to claim had, in fact, been containing me. We own what belongs to us whether we claim it or not. When the house fell down, it can be said, something in me opened up. Cracks help a house resolve internally its pressures and stresses, my engineer friend had said. Houses provide a frame that bears us up. Without that physical structure, we are the house that bears itself up. I was now the house. (pp. 228-32)

#sarah m broom #book quotes

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laniidae-passerine · 5 years

Text

You guys have been really sweet about my really dorky Ruby Redfort posts recently so I thought I’d put in some work and get as much information as I can about everyone’s favourite code cracking, messy, doughnut eating Spectrum worker!

(Note: I am missing books 2 & 3 because I refuse to buy anything but hardback RR books, and there are other requirements because I’m a picky girl... so could someone else check those???)

Anyway, let’s begin today’s episode of Information about Blacker! Spoilers, maybe? Err on the side of caution!

Look Into My Eyes:

Blacker is a terrible dresser, doesn’t brush his hair and apparently doesn’t own a mirror. We stan one relatable king!

“He was a dishevelled looking man and his badge was upside down and his hair didn’t look like it had been combed since Christmas” [pages 149-150]

Ruby notes that he has a nice voice and is visibly friendly.

“He had a nice voice though. It had warmth - she could tell this from just a few words.” [page 150]

He drinks? so I’d assume he is not Muslim, Mormon, Baptist or Sikh. Although he could just be the child of people from any of those religions, and not be religious himself, so so much for figuring out his personal background or possible ethnicity.

“‘We (Blacker and Lopez) got a drink at Blinky’s bar’” [page 176]

He owns a car!

“‘at around four I dropped her off at that fancy salon off of Twinford Square’” [page 176]

He gave Ruby a key code to access the office in Trashford, indicating he trusts her a large amount.

“‘Well, it’s not technically a break-in. I have the key code, Blacker gave it to me’” [page 257]

Despite his long term belief that he has never ever met the Count, Blacker actually has - he met him when the Count was disguised as Klaus Gustav. Also he may be able to pilot a plane, if Hitch is being literal:

“‘Please tell me Klaus Gustav is safely in Twinford?’ said LB. (Hitch replied) ‘He is - Blacker flew him in yesterday.’” [page 329]

Take Your Last Breath

{n/a}

Catch Your Death

{n/a}

Feel The Fear

Blacker is the first person to suggest that there is a mole in Spectrum in the breiefing with Dixie Deneuve. He’s not one to blindly believe in Spectrum, no matter what Ruby’s paranoid brain tells her.

“‘Is it possible that the prototype has been taken by a person on the Spectrum team?’ asked Blacker.” [page 202]

He eats food that goes well with soy sauce and is an implied messy eater, indicating a varied palate beyond jelly donuts. Maybe eats East Asian food a lot because he’s from there?

“Ruby found (Blacker) wiping soy sauce off his jacket.” [page 217]

He has a good-ish working relationship with Miles Froghorn and is the only known person who gets along with Miles, referring to him by his first name.

“Blacker looked at Froghorn. ‘Come on Miles, Rube is actually asking a fair question.’” [page 218]

He’s a known diplomat, and knows how to get people to like him. Also, note he’s able to get one of those rare near-smiles off Froghorn!

“Froghorn stood up, very nearly smiled at Blacker, and without speaking another work exited the canteen. That was the other thing you couldn’t but admire Blacker - he was a diplomat.” [page 219]

He is not one for keeping clean. Vaguely unhygienic, but we’ll let it go, because he’s just that wonderful.

“He (Blacker) winked and wiped his hands on his jacket. He caught Ruby’s eyes and shrugged, ‘Ah, it needs washing anyway.’” [page 223]

Blacker is the one to have dubbed Mile’s office, room 324, the ‘Frog Pod’. It doesn’t seem mean spirited though, so maybe he’s allowed to make a little fun out of Froghorn because they’re buddies. Or whatever it is they have going on?

“As usual, Froghorn was in room 324 (the Frog Pod, as Blacker called it).” [page 274]

He openly admits to having messy living quarters and perhaps implies that he lives in an apartment.

“Blacker shrugged. ‘Could be the owner of the apartment is away or if he is anything like me then he wouldn’t notice a break-in - I’m telling you my place is real chaotic.’” [page 277]

He uses a transmitter watch, which is probably Spectrum issue, to communicate with other agents such as Buzz and Froghorn.

“He pressed the transmitter button on his watch, no answer, so he tried again and this time the call connected and he spoke into the tiny speaker. ‘Hi Buzz, I am trying to locate Froghorn - could you get him on the line?’” [page 289]

He’s a genuine, kind guy and just the world’s biggest sweetheart what a lovely man - I love him so much and I’ve never even met him 🥰🥰🥰

“Ruby smiled. Blacker was about as cool as a partner as she could wish for and at that moment she felt pretty lucky.” [page 366]

He can whistle. Devastatingly important information, I know.

“Blacker whistled - he could see it all.” [page 388]

He has had other important cases in the past, and was/is a full on field agent.

“‘Ah, once, back when, I had to work undercover tracking down some orchid smugglers. I learned a lot about the business.” [page 396]

Pick Your Poison

He doesn’t consider himself a particularly lucky person.

“‘I got lucky for once, just missed it,’ said Blacker, ‘So you wanted to see me?’ [page 273]

He is a trustworthy and honest guy, the reliable sort.

“Blacker was no liar. Blacker was the one person she could 100% count on, aside from Hitch.“ [page 286]

He is no usually thrown by many situations, a bit of a social butterfly if one will, and I’ve just realised every sentence I’ve typed has begun with ‘he’.

"He was never rattled - soda, yes; jelly donuts, always; but when it came to people he was as steady as they came." [page 370]

Both he and Hitch are slightly prone to morbid jokes, à la one dear, very, very de-parted Marshall Boyd.

“Hitch: ‘You don’t have to convince me, you should see the state she left Baby Face in - or rather I should say, states.’ Delaware: ‘How do you mean? Where is he now?’ Hitch: ‘Well, he left his heart in San Francisco.’ Blacker: “His head was found in Monterrey.’ Hitch: ‘And his legs have yet to show.’ LB: ‘Excuse me?’ Blacker: ‘He’s a goner.’” [page 503]

Blink and You Die

He is not fond of Superskins, but it seems like he’s been in one before, as he has an idea of what being in one is like. Also, he’s a smart man because he doesn’t like helicopters (working, I’m sure they’re just fine but you likely can’t jump from them due to the propellers- that thing begins to drop, pray to whomever that it just doesn’t catch on fire when you crash).

“‘No, mam,’ said Blacker. ‘Don’t like helicopters. And there’s no way I’m putting a Superskin on, not unless I have to.’ ‘They make you feel claustrophobic?’ ‘No, they’re just a heck of a struggle to get in and out of.’” [pages 131 and 132]

He’s not pro child agents, despite his friendship with Ruby, implying he agrees with LB’s stance on the matter.

“‘But I think his brilliance sorta clouded Spectrum’s judgement, made them think it would be easy enough to find a whole trope of children who could do just what he did.’” [page 355]

And that’s all the relevant information I can find about Blacker! Also, I accidentally re-read the part of BYD where LB begs Bradley to be safe and not die, but she knows he will, she knows deep down it’s the last time she’ll see him alive and now I’m about to cry, oh god. Thank god Agent Blacker exists.

#rr #ruby redfort #agent blacker #lb #hitch #i am a ruby redfort fan yes we exist yes i am working hard #gotta get that bread #or donuts in blacker’s case #miles froghorn

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makeste · 5 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 202: Rival Break and the 3rd Set

Previously on BnHA: Momo made a giant cannon and used it to fire a bag of emergency supplies over the onomatopoeia wall back to her pals. The bag contained some fungicide which Tokoyami and Hagakure doused themselves with to ward off Toadette’s horrific quirk. It also contained a pair of night vision goggles which Toko used to track down Toadette and Kuroiro. For a moment it looked like he had them both contained, but then Toadette sprouted some mushrooms in Toko’s fucking windpipe, cutting off his air supply and causing him to release them. Meanwhile Kendou showed up to rescue Manga from Hagakure’s flurry of invisible attacks. She’d managed to knock Momo out, but not before Momo sprouted a bunch of steel cables from her left side to tie Kendou up and attach herself to her while she herself was still attached to the giant cannon. So basically she slowed her way down, and tbh they would have had this if Hagakure and Tokoyami (and Aoyama, who got captured before any of them) hadn’t dropped the ball. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But anyway, so the round went to B Team, and now the classes are tied and we’re about to move into the third round.

Today on BnHA: Since Momo and Kendou’s teams absolutely trashed the battlefield, Aizawa and Vlad announce a short break before the start of round 3. All Might takes Deku aside and asks him if things are all right with his quirk. Deku says he’s fine, only to be interrupted by Kacchan who’s all THE FUCK ARE Y’ALL DOING HAVING THIS WEIRD CONVERSATION SO CONSPICUOUSLY and he makes them fill him in. Kacchan’s response to the whole OFA situation is to basically egg Deku on to become stronger already, and it fucking works is the thing, so y’all know this one-page conversation is easily the most “!!!!” I’ve been about this series in fucking ages omg. But anyways, so then round 3 starts up with Team TetsuPonyHoneSen VS Team TodoIidaShoujiRo. Shouto briefly thinks back to when he was like six fucking years old and Endeavor was trying to teach him a new fire technique by being an abusive dick. Shockingly this method didn’t pan out, but Shouto’s been thinking about it again recently since watching his dad battle the Noumu at Fukuoka. Meanwhile Iida is hyped to win since he’s representing his brother as the successor to the Ingenium name. And Tetsu is also hyped because he’s always fucking hyped! So basically everyone is getting ready to do their best and this should be good!

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 223, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

oh wow Toadette is actually offering Tokoyami a throat lozenge like I was joking about earlier. haha. only the reason it was a joke on my part is because I thought it was fairly obvious that a fucking lozenge wasn’t exactly going to do much to help after you sprouted fucking mushrooms all along the inside of his goddamn windpipe! these kids are fucking savages I swear to god. they’re out for blood

anyways he’s still coughing and hacking and she’s telling him to go see Recovery Girl before this turns into one of those hanahaki fics

meanwhile Momo also appears to be ill after using her quirk as much as she did, and she’s shaking and doesn’t seem to be able to stand, so two sarcastic asshole robots are wheeling her off to RG as well

yeah I’m gonna need you two to shut up. were they specifically programmed to be douches? this is someone’s idea of a joke isn’t it

anyways I hope my girl Momo is gonna be okay. Kendou go with her please!

Shinsou’s all “wow everyone got really fucked up” and Aizawa’s just like “yeah that’s just how it goes with hero training” as though this is in any way acceptable lol. well I guess it’s been a little while since U.A. did anything outrageously irresponsible though, so maybe we can cut them some slack this time around. plus ultra?

(ETA: nope I take it back. within three chapters all four teachers will be idly standing by shrugging their shoulders and hoping none of the kids fucking burn to death by accident. lesson learned, never ever cut the U.A. faculty any slack whatsoever.)

btw I almost forgot to mention it but it’s super cute that Shinsou is hanging out next to Aizawa. they have clearly built up some kind of bond by this point, and as usual I’m delighted by any and all instances of Aizawa being a dad

looool

did I mention that Manga’s quirk is seriously unbelievably strong though?? is there an onomatopoeia for “All for One-destroying weapon” that I don’t know about that he could speak into existence perhaps? hmm?

also smh at these teachers being more concerned with the property damage than with the attempted murder. Tokoyami’s fine by the way. but sure let’s scold them for doing some mild damage to your industrial training site which you specifically created for this very purpose

so apparently they’re going to change the stage? or “move the stage” at any rate? does this mean they’re cleaning up the training ground, or are they moving to one of the other areas? I’m not quite clear here

but at any rate, Vlad says they’re going to take a short break which I’m all for because it means more chances for the kids to interact!

look at them interacting!!

so I’m just going to assume the two speech bubbles on the right are Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, yes?

also, Manga, I’m gonna need you to stop whining about how your ultra-powerful and crazy broken quirk gives you a sore throat. fuck outta here with that nonsense son. I assume the only reason no one gave OFA to you is because the series would already be over

Deku is happily taking notes on everyone’s growth while Ochako watches, and it’s super fucking cute. I am shipping this more these days now that she’s not losing her damn mind any time she thinks about him and he’s not on the verge of passing out whenever she gets within two feet of him

and now All Might’s coming to say hi to his apprentice!

are y’all gonna talk some more about the Avatar State. because if you are then I’m the one who’s gonna start taking notes omg

so he’s beckoning Deku over so they can have a quick private chat in the corner

Mina’s all “well aren’t they close~” and I know she’s just making a mild observation, but once again I’m reminded of how these two are just the absolute worst at hiding their secret. like for real though

so All Might’s asking Deku if anything has felt off since their last conversation

and Deku says “nothing in particular”, which is a bit of a curious answer since he could have just gone with a straight “no”

All Might says he’s planning to ask Gran whether or not Shimura ever mentioned anything. I doubt it though, otherwise you’d think he’d have brought it up before now. not everyone is as cagey as you when it comes to passing on vital information

anyways, he says for the time being Deku should take care since he’ll be facing off with Shinsou

and interestingly, he says Shinsou is a piece of the puzzle as far as the Vestiges/Traces are concerned

really? I mean it’s true that Deku first saw them during his initial fight with Shinsou, and now he just so happens to be fighting Shinsou again on the same day that he had that crazy dream. but is that not just a coincidence? how could Shinsou actually be involved with this?

OH MY GOD

(ETA: speaking of onomatopoeia, Kacchan has his very own complete with exclamation point lol. what happens if Manga uses this. do the letters explode)

KEEP KACCHAN IN THE LOOP 2K19!!!! OH MY GOD YES PLEASE THANK YOU MANGA GODS

holy shit I was wondering if he was gonna get annoyed since he could hardly fail to notice them sneaking off to chat while he was right fucking there

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OH MY GOD YOU GUYSSSSSS

IT DID!!!! AND NOW THEY’RE FINALLY GONNA TELL HIM WHEEEEE

oh my god. Kacchan/Deku rivalry. it has been so fucking long you guys. it’s been 80 fucking chapters!!

things I love:

DON’T KEEP ANY MORE SECRETS FROM KACCHAN ABOUT ONE FOR ALL, HE OFFICIALLY GETS ANNOYED ABOUT IT. HE WANTS TO KNOW SO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP HIM POSTED

for reals though, he’s making sure they remember that he’s part of the OFA squad now. that wasn’t just a one-time thing, he wants to actively be involved. I don’t know if they actually realized this before, but now they’re aware so I hope Deku tells him the next time without having to be asked

also him yelling at them to be more fucking secretive for christ’s sake lol. RIGHT?

and him immediately getting competitive and reminding Deku of what his goals are. they always do this with each other, and it’s honestly so important. the shounen rival relationship is, at its core, one of constant growth. if done right, the two rivals will each be the one person who can always unfailingly push the other when they think they can’t go any further, and nudge the other back on track whenever they start to go astray. and that is so, so important, and it’s especially important for them to keep establishing this relationship now, when for once things are actually calm and there aren’t any villain plots or other angsty things going down for the time being. because this quiet period is not going to last. and there will come a time when Izuku will need this type of push again, when the fate of the world might even depend on it. they help each other to focus and they keep each other grounded, and this shit right here is why it’s my favorite relationship, and I can’t say enough good things about it

lastly, this is fairly subtle, but you can see that this is Katsuki’s way of reassuring him. like, he realized Izuku was... not unsettled, exactly, but certainly confused and still trying to figure out what the hell is going on. so he immediately sets onto distracting him. and I’ve gotten completely distracted by my own excited ramblings and I haven’t even finished the damn conversation yet, but I bet you anything that it worked, too. because that’s the power of rivals, dammit

yeppppp

I fucking love it you guys. every damn time. this is what keeps sucking me back in. this is why I’m reading. give me some good old fashioned shounen rivals showing their concern for one another in the most indirect way possible and it fucking works

PREACH IT ALL MIGHT!

NO, HE DEFINITELY IS. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I’M SAYING. SEE, ALL MIGHT GETS IT

like, I don’t really have much more to add other than what I already said, lol. although I will say I’m fairly sure that not only is he not actually pissed off, but he’s actually relieved that Deku did smile, and it was the exact effect he was going for, which is why he called attention to it before immediately trying to play it off like h was mad

anyway, so that was everything to me you guys, but the show must go on, and we are now all set to begin round 3! and it looks like we will be staying in Ground Gamma and that they’ve just relocated to a different part of the stage, or something. idk

so Sen is the only guy in this round who we haven’t already met, although I don’t think we actually know Pony’s quirk. Honenuki’s quirk is of course the quicksand quirk of cavalry battle fame, and I’m looking forward to seeing that in action again

meanwhile they’re up against these legends!

once again I can’t for the life of me figure out how they can possibly screw this up. but we know they will somehow! guess they’ll just have to get creative

and now a quick flashback of Tokoyami, who you can tell is feeling better because he’s coming up to Todoroki and just rambling on and on for no real reason

no you don’t you boob. calm the fuck down man. go eat some ice cream and lie down

well what have we here

friendly reminder that I ship these two. by this point I think I ship Todoroki with almost as many people as Bakugou and I’m not quite sure how that happened. this boy is more social than I give him credit for

so now Shouto’s thinking back to his dad’s battle against High N’ Tight Noumu

and what’s this?

the prominence burn thing? or the flying thing? I personally think he ought to learn the flying thing first

and now some flashbacks to Endeavor being abusive

jesus christ. please tell me Shouto is smoking from his own quirk. please tell me you didn’t actually set your child on fire you utter trashpile of a man

and what the hell is with the shinai? because the fire wasn’t fucking enough??

props to Horikoshi though for showing this. it’s not pleasant to see, but the fact that he doesn’t shy away from it even after starting Endeavor’s redemption arc is really important. none of his past deeds have been erased. he’s not pretending it didn’t happen or that it’s okay now because things are finally starting to get better. it’s such a fucking mess, and I really, really appreciate that we’re being confronted with it even now and nothing is being swept under any proverbial rugs

correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like this is pretty rare for redemption arcs, both in Eastern and Western media. usually once the former bad guy starts down the right path, the story stops addressing those past sins, presumably in the hope that audiences will eventually forget about them. but not only is Horikoshi not doing that, he’s actively showing us the bad shit again in vivid detail, the resulting effect being something like “hey, just in case you forgot...”

anyway, so here’s more confirmation that Todoroki Touya is in fact Dabi

just fucking confirm it already you cowards. it’s not like you’re trying to hide it; you purposely alluded to it so overtly at the end of the Endeavorhawks arc that no one could possibly fail to miss it. so I really don’t know why you’re playing games with it at this juncture. he must have some sort of plan here but idk

anyway, he says that Shouto is the one, and that he can pass this technique on to him and only him

I wonder if Touya accidentally immolated himself with a failed prominence burn. god I want to know what happened so bad uggghhhh

ahhhhhhh

they’re so cute omg

Ojiro says he had no idea anything was wrong because Todoroki’s expression “never really changes that much”, and he’s impressed Iida could tell

it’s because they’re lovers, Ojiro! but not really, but do you agree with me that they should be? because if not then I really don’t know why you’re wasting my time here tail boy

Iida’s all “but of course!” and says he’s the class president and is always there to lend a hand to a classmate in need. and sure. but also, lovers

AHHHHHH

SUDDEN TENSEI MENTION MY HEART WASN’T READYYYY

(ETA: his face is so cute here too oh my god. fucking adorable.)

so now he’s putting on his helmet, and he says he’s also representing Ingenium’s good name

is this in reference to what Tokoyami said earlier about him and Todo representing the #1 and #2 heroes? did your feelings get hurt bud lol

and he’s reminding everyone that he placed third in the sports festival, “so allow me to show you all!”

damn, somebody sure is fired up

you better watch it son, this enthused 40-year-old nerd is stealing your boyfriend before our very eyes

now we’re cutting to class B!

and Tetsutetsu is also all fired up!

no one thinks you’re dumb, Tetsu! just passionate!

lol but he is acknowledging that this is one of the less strategically balanced class B teams

but he has a plan to address that!

kick some ass!!

yessssssss

and stfu Sen. he has exactly one specialty so of course he’s gonna lean into it. nothing wrong with that

now I’m honestly starting to wonder how he would fare against Todoroki. he might be the only one who could actually stand up to the Prominence Burn attack if it turns out Shouto does have it

...or he might melt. but surely Shouto wouldn’t actually fire a potentially lethal blow during a training exercise... right?

(ETA: ...)

so now Vlad is grumbling about how THEY JUST SAID not to destroy the whole fucking stage, and here Tetsu is, destroying the stage

nice hero name! but it definitely is a misspelling! I’m sure it’ll be corrected at some point later on though

lol this group is something else

this is definitely my favorite class B team to date lol. and Honenuki’s personality is in such stark contrast to his somewhat terrifying appearance, who knew

also props to my boy Sen for having the appropriate reaction to being pitted against Todoroki freaking Shouto. though you could have had it worse, bud! it could have been Bakugou or Deku. at least you guys are somehow going to win which I still can’t get over

lol because it’s literally their only choice given the makeup of their team

well, bring it on!

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kensingtonapts · 5 years

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SAM EVANS is 23 YEARS OLD and he is a FREELANCE ARTIST in the inspiring city of NEW YORK. He is living in Apt 223. He is portrayed by the hunky hunk CHORD OVERSTREET and his role is currently CLOSED for auditions.

( + ) ADVENTUROUS, KIND-HEARTED, INNOVATIVE.

( – ) GUARDED, IMPULSIVE, NAIVE.

SAM’S STORY

Sam Evans has definitely not had the most ideal childhood in the world. He was born with dyslexia, which made him have to work a little harder in school than everyone else, and due to his parent’s unstable financial income, he was never really able to seek extra help. They didn’t have a cute house in a nice suburban neighborhood with white fences and birdhouses; instead they inhabited the slums of New York. Sam spent most of his teenage life working whenever he could in order to help his parents and younger brother and sister. His favorite spot to work was a small used bookstore not too far from his house. Sam especially enjoyed the graphic novels and found solace among the pages filled with brave superheroes and the adversities they faced and saw himself. Sam managed to draw inspiration from these graphic novels and realized he had a real knack for art. When he wasn’t working or taking care of his siblings he could be found in the art studio of his high school. Reading wasn’t always his strong suit, for obvious reasons, but in art he could express his creativity in a way that made him feel smart and useful. In fact, once high school graduation came around, Sam was able to use the inheritance that his grandfather left him to obtain a degree in art from NYU. Sam got a few different job offers after graduation, including a prestigious entry level position as an illustrator for a publishing company in Los Angeles. However, Sam couldn’t justify it to himself to be so far away from his family so he decided to stay in New York and now just freelances for advertising/marketing firms. It’s not as fun or creative or stable but at least he can stay close to his family. Sometimes he wonders what would have been….and hopes that his future has some more opportunities in store for him.

♛ All Sam has ever wanted was to make his parents proud and to repay them for everything they’ve ever done for him. It didn’t matter that they didn’t have a lot of money growing up, because regardless of their financial standing, they always supported him. They were his biggest fans and never failed to make him feel worthy. If he had to thank anyone for pushing him to stay on top of his art, it’d be them. His mother and father were nothing but loving parents, even through the hardships they faced as a family. That’s why he couldn’t leave for California; he owed this to them.

♛ Sam often takes on enough jobs to support himself and his family. He sends checks to his parents, even though they’ve practically begged him not to. He knows it hurts them to need help, but hey, they helped support him for how many years before he was up and on his own? Plus, he wants his siblings to have a better life than he had, not that he had a bad life. He just doesn’t want them having to work their way through school, because it wasn’t exactly fair then, but it totally wouldn’t be fair now. Besides, they both have super bright futures ahead of them and the last thing they need to worry about is where their next meal is going to come from.

♛ Sam was born and raised in New York; it’s quite literally all he’s ever known. He never had the luxury of traveling out of state for vacation or for any other reason. The home he grew up in was only two bedrooms, which had been fine for the most part. He slept on the couch and let his siblings share the bedroom. After all, he just needed a place to sleep after going to school, working, and focusing on his art.

SAM’S CONNECTIONS

↳ FINN HUDSON: Finn is Sam’s roommate and best friend. Put these two together and you’ve got the Einsteins of party theme. These guys know how to throw a wicked party. They’re the social hub of the scene once the Pizza man starts rolling in with their twenty-fours and Sam brings the keg. They both have a strong belief that you’re never too old to party like a college kid and that’s how they intend to roll forever. That is, until the complex owner sees the damage it’s all done.

↳ TINA COHEN-CHANG: Tina’s verbosity, while sometimes perturbs other residents never seemed to deter Sam. In fact, Sam finds Tina to be very intelligent and patient while others weren’t willing to be and that’s pretty awesome if you ask him. They’re never without something to talk about.

↳ SEBASTIAN SMYTHE: They don’t talk much….besides the occasional short conversation here and there. It’s not that Sam dislikes him per se…he just isn’t sure what to make of the rowdy, outspoken, and sometimes crude remarks Sebastian very often makes. There’s something about Sebastian that Sam distrusts though he can’t quite put his finger on why….

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Do you ever get tired of playing baby sitter of your younger siblings? You are twenty three, after all.

“What? No way. They’re my siblings, why would I get tired of watching over them? They need me and they’re honestly pretty cool.” Even if he was tired of it, it wasn’t like he could just say it. Besides, he’d grown so used to to playing the role of babysitter that it didn’t even really matter anymore.

2. Would you say you have a type when it comes to women or are you an all loving kind of man?

“I’ve never really understood dudes who have a type. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve totally dated plenty of chicks who kinda look alike, but it’s more than that. Good personality trumps hot bod sometimes. Guess you could say I’m all loving?”

3. Are you worried you’ll never get a job offer close to home and you will have gone through years of college for nothing?

"I’m gonna get a job offer. Might not be today, or tomorrow, or 2020, but I’m going to get one eventually. I know it wasn’t super smart to pass up the LA gig, but New York is huge and there has to be something here for me. I just have to be patient, because apparently it’s a virtue or something. Whatever that means.” Hell yeah he was worried and he had every right to be.

#c:all #sam evans #m:taken #c:taken

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markstucker · 2 years

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YCBK 223: The College Admission Process is Completely Broken

In this episode you will hear:

(15:14) In this segment of “In the News” Mark and Dave discuss a March 23rd, 2022 article by Jeffrey Selingo that appeared in “The Atlantic” entitled, “The College Admissions Process is Completely Broken”. Mark points out what he believes are the most insightful points Selingo makes and he also points out some areas where he thinks Selingo didn’t mention some other important points that are contributing to a broken college admission system.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/change-college-acceptance-application-process/627581/

(47:00) Question from a listener-

If you like our article discussions, you will get a double dose in episode 222. Our question from a listener asks Lisa what she thinks of Derek Thompson, article in the Atlantic entitled, “Why American teens are so sad”. Mark and Lisa comment on the last two points in this article in the Atlantic. This is part 2 of a two part answer, so if you missed last week, we encourage you to go back and listen.

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/04/american-teens-sadness-depression-anxiety/629524/

(01:08:02) Our Interview is with Dr. Roger Parrott, the President of Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi

Topic "What are the Major Trends Impacting Higher Education" Part 2 of 2

Roger picks up our conversation and makes a third point to the question, “What keeps presidents up at night”

Roger gives an answer that is profound when it comes to how to evaluate the financial health of private colleges

Roger gives his perspective on whether looking at enrollment trends is an important way to evaluate the financial health of the school

Roger gives her perspective of looking at endowment as an indication of financial health

Roger talks about the financial and educational value of online programs

Roger talks about why so many colleges struggle to implement successful online degree programs

Roger shares his biggest concern about online education

Roger honestly answers the question, how much pressure to your fellow Presidents feel to climb the rankings

Roger gives his opinion of what US News measures

Roger gives his opinion on how demographics impacts enrollment

Roger shares the things he feels parents should be looking for that often go overlooked?

Roger gives some fantastic advice for what you should do on a campus visit

(01:20:20) Our recommended resource for episode 223 is the YouTube channel “Med Scool Insiders” They have over 300 videos that answer some of the most frequent questions that a student or parent have about med school. These animated videos are subscribed to by over 1.44 million people.

(01:34:10) Our College Spotlight looks at, “Understanding The University of Illinois Chicago, aka UIC. This is part 2 of 2.

To sign up to receive Your College-Bound Kid PLUS, our free quarterly admissions deep-dive, delivered directly to your email four times a year, just go to yourcollegeboundkid.com, and you will see the sign up on the right side of the page under “the Listen to our podcast icons”

Follow Mark Stucker on Twitter to get breaking college admission news, and updates about the podcast before they go live. You can ask questions on Twitter that he will answer them on the podcast. Mark will also share additional hot topics in the news and breaking news on this Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/YCBKpodcast

To access our transcripts, click: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/category/transcripts/

Find the specific episode transcripts for the one you want to search and click the link

Find the magnifying glass icon in blue (search feature) and click it

Enter whatever word you want to search. I.e. Loans

Every word in that episode when the words loans are used, will be highlighted in yellow with a timestamps

Click the word highlighted in yellow and the player will play the episode from that starting point

You can also download the entire podcast as a transcript

We would be honored if you will pass this podcast episode on to others who you feel will benefit from the content in YCBK.

Please subscribe to our podcast. It really helps us move up in Apple’s search feature so others can find our podcast.

Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: [email protected].

If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful!

If you want to help more people find Your College-Bound Kid, please make sure you subscribe to our podcast. You will also get instant notifications as soon as each episode goes live.

Check out the college admissions books Mark recommends: https://yourcollegeboundkid.com/recommended-books/

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If you want to have some input about what you like and what you recommend we change about our podcast, please complete our Podcast survey; here is the link:

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If you want a college consultation with Mark or Lisa, just text Mark at 404-664-4340 or email Lisa at [email protected]. All they ask is that you review their services on their website before the complimentary session. Their counseling website is: https://schoolmatch4u.com/

Check out this episode!

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bringbackwendellvaughn · 6 years

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Quasar Recommendations

I’m sure I’ve made this post before, but if you’re looking to sample Quasar... here’s the absolute necessities.

Quasar #1-2; character’s origin by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Ryan.

Quasar #19-25; the high-point of his series by Mark Gruenwald and Greg Capullo.

Operation Galactic Storm; Captain America #398, West Coast Avengers #80, Quasar #32, Wonder Man #7, Avengers #345, Iron Man #278, Thor #445, Captain America #399, West Coast Avengers #81, Quasar #33, Wonder Man #8, Avengers #346, Iron Man #279, Thor #446, Captain America #400, West Coast Avengers #82, Quasar #34, Wonder Man #9, Avengers #347, Captain America #401; a huge 20-part Avengers crossover which features Quasar prominently by various creators but mainly driven by writers and editors Bob Harras, Mark Gruenwald and Tom DeFalco.

Quasar Series Reading Order

And here’s his entire series, and some major guest appearances, broken up into story arcs/mini-collections. It’s probably a mess but I tried to use bold to note key things - issues of Quasar, if it’s by Mark Gruenwald and major or important events. Was almost going to list/bold important villains but that made it too unwieldy. It’s also all in reading order.

Quasar #1-3; Origin of Quasar (Gruenwald/Ryan)

Avengers #301-303, Avengers Annual #18 (back-up story); “Super-Nova Saga” story arc, Quasar joins the Avengers (Gruenwald/Buscema/Buckler/Bagley)

Avengers #305-310; “Attack of the Lava Men” (#305-307) and “Journey to Olympia” (#308-310) story arcs (Byrne/Ryan)

Marvel Comics Presents #29 (back-up story); Quasar vs. Quagmire (Gruenwald/Ryan)

West Coast Avengers Annual #4, Thor Annual #14, Fantastic Four Annual #22 (main stories); “Atlantis Attacks” (Byrne/Thomas/Milgrom/Buckler)

Avengers #311, Quasar #5-7; “Acts of Vengeance” story arc (bonus note: all these also stand-alone) (Byrne/Gruenwald/Ryan/Manley)

Quasar #8; Quasar returns to Project Pegasus (Gruenwald/Manley)

Quasar #9-10; Quasar battles MODAM and Doctor Minerva (Gruenwald/Manley)

Avengers #314-318; “Infinity Union” story arc (Byrne/Nicieza/Ryan)

Quasar #11-12; Quasar battles Phoenix and Deviants, introduces Makkari to his supporting cast (Gruenwald/Manley)

Captain America Annual #9, Iron Man Annual #11, Thor Annual #15, West Coast Avengers Annual #5, Avengers Annual #19; “Terminus Factor” story arc (Thomas/Trimpe/Valentino/Morgan/Fry)

Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular #1 (back-up story); Quasar story (Gruenwald/Tyler)

Quasar #13-16; “Journey into Mystery” story arc (Gruenwald/Manley)

Avengers #319-324 (main stories); “The Crossing Line” story arc (Nicieza/Ryan)

Avengers #319-324 (back-up stories), Avengers #325; “Party Games” story arc (Gruenwald/Fry)

Quasar #17; infamous Speedsters race issue (Gruenwald/Manley)

Captain America #379; Quasar and Cap battle the two Moonstones (Gruenwald/Marrinan)

Marvel Super Heroes #3 (back-up story); Blue Shield solo story (Gruenwald/Capullo)

Quasar #18; “The Unbeing” story arc, Quasar gets a new costume (Gruenwald/Capullo)

Avengers #326-331; “Tetrarchs of Entropy” story arc (Hama/Ryan)

Avengers #332-333; “The Many Faces of Doom” story arc (Hama/Ryan/Trimpe)

Marvel Comics Presents #35 (back-up story); Kismet solo story leads into “The Final Option” (Nicieza/Larsen)

Alpha Flight #97-101; “The Final Option” story arc, Quasar battles Galactus and first meeting with Kismet (Nicieza/Bair/Morgan)

Avengers #334-339; “Collection Obsession” story arc (Harras/Kubert/Epting)

Quasar #19-20; “Cosmos in Collision” story arc, Quasar battles Presence (Gruenwald/Capullo)

Quasar #21-25; “Cosmos in Collision” story arc (continued), Quasar battles Maelstrom and gets a new costume (Gruenwald/Capullo)

Quasar #26-27; “Infinity Gauntlet” tie-ins, Quasar battles Thanos (Gruenwald/Hoover/Capullo)

Infinity Gauntlet #1-6; “Infinity Gauntlet” story arc (Starlin/Perez/Lim) (breaking the Quasar and Infinity Gauntlet issues apart like this is the easiest way to square away the continuity problems between them, the costume anachronism is mentioned in...).

Quasar #28-29; Kismet is introduced into Quasar’s supporting cast (#26-27 should probably also be lumped in with these if Infinity Gauntlet isn’t important to you...) (Gruenwald/Capullo).

Quasar #30-31; Quasar travels to alternate universes (Gruenwald/Broderick/Capullo) - kinda a follow-up to a plotline from Quasar #6.

Captain America #398, West Coast Avengers #80, Quasar #32, Wonder Man #7, Avengers #345, Iron Man #278, Thor #445, Captain America #399, West Coast Avengers #81, Quasar #33, Wonder Man #8, Avengers #346, Iron Man #279, Thor #446, Captain America #400, West Coast Avengers #82, Quasar #34, Wonder Man #9, Avengers #347, Captain America #401 - Operation Galactic Storm! (Gruenwald/Capullo/Ryan, many many more)

Quasar #35-36; Soul-Eater (Gruenwald/Capullo)

Infinity War #1-6; “Infinity War” story arc (Starlin/Lim)

Quasar #37-40; “Infinity War” tie-ins (Gruenwald/Capullo/Lightle/Smith) - theses mostly retell / embellish events from the main crossover, again, it’s probably best to read them like this since you’d have to jump back and forth every other page between two comics, if you’ve already read Infinity War, it’s fine to read them without it.

Quasar #41-43; “War of the Marvels” story arc (Gruenwald/Smith)

Quasar #44-48; a long continous saga featuring loads of villains (Gruenwald/Smith)

Quasar #49-50; “Starblast” prologue, Quasar vs. Death (Gruenwald/Smith)

Quasar #51-52; Quasar vs. Geometer (Gruenwald/Heebink)

Quasar #53; “Starblast” prologue, Quasar vs. Warlock (Gruenwald/Heebink)

Starblast #1, Quasar #54, Starblast #2, Quasar #55, Starblast #3, Quasar #56, Starblast #4, Quasar #57; “Starblast” storyline (Gruenwald/Heebink/Trimpe/Miehm/Buckler)

Quasar #58; “Starblast” epilogue (Gruenwald/Heebink)

Quasar #59; Thanos (Marz/Smith)

Quasar #60; final issue (Gruenwald/Heebink)

Starmasters #1-3, Cosmic Powers Unlimited #4-5; entire Starmasters run (Gruenwald/Eaton/Wright)