#also chief inspector cop guy is so good at being a dad to everyone but his own daughter

[obstinaterixatrix]

paranormasight really was category 10 unhinged women event. ayame… you can’t do that…

[mikami]

Death Note Audio Drama 04

Disc 4: Proof of Loyalty - a summary / partial translation

Prior translations / an explanation as to what the fuck this is.

The plot is still manga-close. This episode is honestly fairly boring, it’s full of homophobic jokes that nobody asked for. But hey, Misa is here now!

_____

We begin with a Sakura TV executive conference. Demegawa wants more features like the one about the witness protection victim in Australia. Demegawa suggests provoking Kira or the cops in order to get a story. The ‘moral standpoint’ does truly not concern him. Then a special delivery comes in.

It’s a letter from Kira.

_____

TITLE MUSIC

_____

An announcement for “Kira Speaks” on Sakura TV. It’s styled as a really dramatic advertisement, with echo features and all. 

____

Sachiko visits Soichiro in the hospital.

SOICHIRO: You’re late, visiting hours are only until 8.

SACHIKO: The nurse is Emi, we went to college together. She looked the other way for a moment. 

SOICHIRO (laughs): My wife... The wife of a policeman....

SACHIKO (also laughs): Do you maybe want to arrest me, chief inspector?

Sachiko notices that Soichiro’s heart rate is no longer monitored. It’s because  he’ll get discharged tomorrow. Suddenly, Soichiro notices the TV transmission and turns the audio up.

Kira asks people to turn to other TV channels to see the people there dying, as proof of his identity. 

____

L and the Task Force are also listening. L wants to stop the transmission. Ukita drives over to Sakura TV. Misa’s Kira II speech continues very similar to the manga.

____

Soichiro gets up and leaves the hospital despite Sachiko protesting and telling him to let his team handle it. 

____

Ukita arrives at Sakura TV. He threatens employees with a gun in order to get to the studio quickly. 

____

Demegawa is THRILLED that someone with a gun is coming to the studio. He lets the security transmission of Ukita trying to get in play on a split screen with the Kira video. Ukita gets a heart attack before he can force his way into the room.

____

L stops Aizawa from also going to the TV studio. The Task Force realize that Kira no longer needs a name.

____

Sakura TV employees realize Ukita is dead. Demegawa goes on air.

DEMEGAWA: My name is Hitoshi Demegawa from Sakura TV. I apologize in the name of the program for the images you just had to witness. We’re not transmitting these news and these messages for any kind of awards or for viewer numbers, but for the good of the populace and to save innocent lives.

[He’s referring to Kira threatening their employees if they don’t send the tape. ]

____

A phone ringing. 

SACHIKO (on the phone): Light? Light, are you awake?

LIGHT: Mom? What... What time is it?

SACHIKO: It’s about your dad. 

LIGHT: Dad? Is he okay?

SACHIKO: He just discharged himself from the hospital. 

LIGHT: Oh, uh, good. Are you two taking a cab?

SACHIKO: He lost his mind!

LIGHT: I get it.

SACHIKO: And he stole an ambulance!

LIGHT: He did what?!

_____

Soichiro crashes an ambulance into Sakura TV, as he does. 

_____

Back in the studio.

DEMEGAWA: What happened to the lights?

EMPLOYEE: Power outage. In the whole building. Someone took us out.

DEMEGAWA: Are we still on air?!

EMPLOYEE: I’d say... no. 

DEMEGAWA: Who is shutting off my power?! 

EMPLOYEE: Oh, someone with a light is coming.

DEMEGAWA: I don’t need a light, I need a transmission in HD!

SOICHIRO: You’ll need a hearse, if you don’t do what I say. Hands up!

______

L and the Task Force want to turn the power off and need Kitamura to keep police away from the building. Soichiro calls.

______

Soichiro informs L that he’s got the tapes. He’s escaped and Watari is going to pick him up by car.

______

News transmission about Soichiro’s break-in. Demegawa is getting interviewed and repeats his ‘I didn’t do it for any awards’ spiel almost ad verbatim. People online, however, are commending Sakura TV and Demegawa. Demegawa also did a big donation for Ukita’s funeral.

______

At Ukita’s funeral. L and Soichiro talk about whether or not Kira is watching the funeral. They assume no, because there is a lot of police surveillance. L is still not wearing any shoes. 

Soichiro informs L that forensics hasn’t found any hints on the tapes and envelopes. L weighs the options of whether or not they’ll say yes or no to cooperating with Kira. He decides they need to decline. 

L also points out that there are two Kiras now, based on the different victim patterns and powerset. L also assumes this Kira is younger than the other.

L wants to play the two Kiras against one another and decides to add Light to the task force for real.

______

L calls Light to invite him to the Task Force. After this, Light and Ryuk watch Kira’s answer to the police refusal on TV. Light literally physically got popcorn for it.

On TV, Kira II demands to either kill L or Kitamura and that the police can choose who.

Light is pleased with Kira II so far, but also knows very much that there is risk inherent in their existence. He wants to stay careful.

______

TV broadcast of the fake Kira I message that the Task Force made. Misa is listening, delighted that Kira answered. She immediately goes to record an answer video, remarking on how it’s close to Valentine’s day.

______

Kira II tape, though not yet live broadcasted. This is the message in which she mentions the eyes and shinigami, as well as sends the fake diary. 

______

The task force discusses the new tape. They wonder about the terms eyes and shinigami. Light meanwhile is hiding out in the toilet. (L: “Maybe that’s where he gets his good ideas.”)

______

Light is FURIOUS at Kira II for mentioning the word shinigami on the tape for public TV. He’s in the bathroom to rant a little while letting water run for camouflage. 

RYUK: Come on, soldier. You have to get back in there.

LIGHT: Before they get suspicious?

RYUK: Before they think that you’ve got indigestion.

_____

They discuss the diary entry. Light discovers that it is a message about a meeting place. L then discovers that the Aoyama and the Tokyo Dome entries are about this year and not the year the diary is from. 

_____

Misa humming while getting ready. She wears Nr. 5 perfume. 

_____

They discuss how to look for a single person in a place as big as Aoyama. L analyses the speech of the second Kira. He suspects Kira II is a woman.

[Once more, I am largely guessing which task force man is which.... ]

MATSUDA?: The second Kira is... female?

L: I think so, yes. Listen. “Tried out JUMP yesterday. I liked it.”

MATSUDA: JUMP is a boy’s magazine.

L: That’s why she never read it before. “Dumbass Musume concert with the squad”...

MATSUDA: Dumbass Musume?

L: Exactly. Why would she be so negative towards a girl group?

MATSUDA: Because he’s a boy...?

SOICHIRO?: Because she’s a girl that rejects and looks down on mainstream.

MATSUDA: Still sounds like a boy to me.

L: Then this one. “Met the guy in the cafeteria. Not my type.”

MATSUDA: That proves nothing. Maybe he’s gay.

AIZAWA? (amused): So we’re looking for a gay serial killer?

MATSUDA: I’m just saying, this form of profiling is a little... heteronormative.

L: Your opinion about gay men isn’t exactly non-prejudiced either.

MATSUDA: Well, I’m not an expert of course.

L: You assume that a man who acts girly has to be homosexual...?

AIZAWA?: He’s not saying he’s walking around in dresses and high heels. He’s just saying some turns of phrase seem more like a girl.

MATSUDA: I can’t believe you’re all becoming holy knights of equality now. Just because I--

L: Gay men are also allowed to be criminals. 

Light hits the table and makes everyone focus again, agrees that Kira II sounds sooort of girly. He sums up that they’re looking for a longer girl who is trying to be social. Someone who is smarter than the people their age but nobody realizes. L says she tried to stick out before by being unconventional. Light jokes about being on the lookout for a punk girl or a gothic lolita. Light also assumes she’s a teen.

_______

MISA: Loves me... loves me not... loves me... loves me not....

Her train stop to get off is announced.

MISA: Oh! He loves me!

_______

The task force is hiding in a van in Aoyama for surveillance. They tell Aizawa to put his binoculars away as to not look like creeps. Light and Matsuda, the undercover agents for the day, come around.

SOMEONE: What the hell is Matsuda wearing?

MATSUDA: I’m just trying to fit in, okay?

LIGHT (laughs): Pride Parade is only in May.

MATSUDA: I am talking about Aoyama. The trends happen in this district, my friend. I’d only stick out with suit and sunglasses.

LIGHT: Just do whatever you want.

MATSUDA: And I will.

AIZAWA: Wait, I got it. Matsuda! I think your cover would work even better if the two of you held hands. Over.

MATSUDA (over the comm): I can’t understand. Please repeat.

SOICHIRO: Forget the order, Matsuda. Those two here had clowns for breakfast.

AIZAWA: Two queens couldn’t do it any better either. 

SOICHIRO: Focus, Aizawa. We’re looking for a killer. Keep the channel open.

L is watching from a roof. L orders the task force to split up and check the cafés. Rem and Ryuk are on the same roof as L, watching. L is cold. The shinigami suggest that he’s pretty sensitive, being able to feel their presence.

______

Ryuk and Rem introduce themselves to each other and chat about ‘my boy’ and ‘my girl’ respectively. Both of them are very convinced their kiddo is going to be smarter in this situation. Rem is oddly tempted to throw L off the roof / or kill him in another way. Then Misa got Light’s name and leaves, so Rem leaves too.

______

Misa bumps into Matsuda by accident.

MISA: Hey, watch where you’re walking!

MATSUDA: Oh, sorry.

MISA: ... cool T-shirt.

MATSUDA: Did you hear that? 

LIGHT: Hear what?

MATSUDA: I’m on eye level with the kids. Speak their language. ... uhm, I’m just saying. 

______

Misa moons over how good Light looks to Rem. She looks him up on social media and finds herself impressed with his grades. (”Just the kind of guy I’d introduce to mom and dad..... if they weren’t dead, that is.”)

______

The Task Force is faced with the fact that their investigation didn’t really do anything useful. Aizawa is pissed he had to work on his free day for this. However, Matsuda comes in with a new tape that Kira sent. The tape says Kira II found Kira and nothing else. That confirms Aoyama was the meeting point. L orders to cancel the baseball game in Tokyo Dome, so that the Kiras can’t meet at a second meeting point, since it isn’t confirmed yet if Kira II contacted Kira I.

They now decide to try and turn Kira II against Kira I by making him sound dangerous to her.

______

Yagami household. Misa suddenly shows up and introduces herself as Light’s girlfriend to Sayu. Light also comes downstairs.

MISA: Darling. You never mentioned your sister is such a beauty.

LIGHT: No! No, I.... this sister?

Sachiko comes in and Light asks Misa up to his room, getting away from the crowded situation. 

SACHIKO: This came out of nowhere... 

SAYU: He kept her a secret from us.... 

SACHIKO: Look at those shoes. It’s a miracle she’s able to walk in those.

SAYU: I like her. She’s got style.

SACHIKO: You’re just saying this because she called you good-looking.

SAYU: Because a rational-thinking human being would never get that idea, right? 

SACHIKO: Oh Sayu. You know exactly what I mean.

SAYU: Of course! No wonder I turned out so meek and shy. 

SACHIKO: Don’t be so melodramatic, dear.

SAYU: My own mother thinks I’m ugly!

SACHIKO (laughs): I didn’t say that!

______

Light and Misa are in his room. She explains how she found Light (”I saw you in Aoyama, with your strange buddy Matsuda. What was he supposed to be? A pirate or something?”).  They show each other their shinigami. 

______

Sachiko is very displeased about Light bringing home such a girl and going up to his room with her to make out. She and Sayu chat about it briefly.

_____

Misa declares her motto is “Live fast, die young... slay all my enemies.” when she explains why she took the deal. 

Light and Misa’s “Make me your girlfriend” talk is fairly similar to the manga. 

Then Sachiko interrupts to throw Misa out (politely) and the episode ends.

[shakespearerants]

Book Review #3.2

Blurb: Body and Soul. The song. That’s what London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant first notices when he examines the corpse of Cyrus Wilkins, part-time jazz drummer and full-time accountant, who dropped dead of a heart attack while playing a gig at Soho’s 606 Club. The notes of the old jazz standard are rising from the body - a sure sign that something about the man’s death wan not at all natural but instead supernatural.

Body and soul - they’re also what Peter will risk as he investigates a pattern of similar deaths in and around Soho. With the help of his superior officer, Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, and the assistance of the beautiful jazz aficionado Simone Fitzwilliam, Peter will uncover a deadly magical menace - one that leads right to his own doorstep and to the squandered promise of a young jazz musician: a talented trumpet player named Richard “Lord” Grant - otherwise known as Peter’s dear old dad.

Some Stats: first published in 2011, ISBN: 978-0-345-52459-1, 288 pages in the paperback edition. Fourteen chapters, first-person narrator with limited perspective, written in past tense. Style is standard to colloquial, relatively little dialogue. Took me about four hours to get through, I’d estimate about seven to nine for the average to slow reader.

Synopsis: I’d like to start this synopsis with the disclaimer that the person who wrote the blurb evidently didn’t read the book as almost all information the blurb gives is misleading at best and wildly incorrect at worst. 

The book begins with Constable Peter Grant driving to Brightlingsea, a small town by the coast, to visit his friend Lesley May, who had her face destroyed by a malevolent spirit. On his way back Dr. Walid, a cryptopathologist and friend of his, calls him to examine a dead body for any magical residue. The man, Cyrus Wilkins, was indeed killed by magical means. Peter drives to his home to investigate further and meets Simone, Cyrus’ lover, and is instantly attracted to her. After investigating the rime scene and finding the same magical residue that the body emitted, the jazz classic ‘Body and Soul’ seemingly playing in the backround, he goes to interview the band. After the interview he and the band go out to “find some jazz”. The band want to go to a very exclusive club that they are initially denied access to, but Peter feels the same magical residue from the crime scene and the body again and so uses the name of his father, the legendary almost-famous trumpeter ‘Lord’ Grant, to get in. They discover that they came too late and that a young trombone player is dead. Peter suspects that there are more related cases and starts investigating, but before he can get back home or do anything else he is called by the Murder Team to help with the investigation of the death of a man who had his Penis bitten off by a girl with a toothed vagina and subsequently bled to death. Peter gets Ash, a river god, to help him look for the suspect, a dark haired young woman. The Murder Team finds some magical books in their victim’s flat, and Peter and his superior officer DCI Nightingale begin to suspect that they are dealing with an ethically challenged (formerly referred to as black) magician. They visit the Bodleian Library and Nightingale’s old school in Cambridge to learn how the victim could obtain the books. On their way back they get a call from Ash, who tells them that he has located the woman who killed the man with her vagina. They find Ash impaled on an iron railing. Peter highjacks an ambulance in order to get him to the river to heal his otherwise deadly wounds. A few days  later he meets Simone again and begins a sexual relationship with her. When visiting his father he finds the exact version of ‘Body and Soul’ the dead bodies were playing and, on a hunch, investigates pictures of the last time it was played by this particular artist, which was in 1941. On one of the pictures he recognises a woman he talked to in the club the trombone player died. He formulates the theory that the murderer could have been a ‘jazz vampire’, but before he can investigate further another dickless dead body is discovered. Peter and the Murder Team interview a suspect, who gives them the address of a club. On site, they discover very creepy magical goings-on and call Nightingale, who disarms a demon trap and finds several corpses of human-animal hybrids that were evidently being held as sex slaves. When he returns to the office, Peter finds that the woman with the toothed vagina is in the building and has seemingly murdered a man in custody. He chases her through the city, killing her in self-defence when she is cornered in the end. Lesley, who is helping Peter with the investigation, calls with new information regarding the magical books. Peter then goes to visit Lady Tyburn, who tells him about a group of amateur magicians at Cambridge who called themselves the Little Crocodiles. Peter’s father is playing a gig and Peter invited Simone along, but when Peter’s mother sees her she goes mad and attacks her, claiming that she is an evil witch. She later tells her son that she knows the woman because she tried to seduce his father decades ago, and Peter later gets Simone to confess that she is indeed one of three ‘jazz vampires’. He tells Nightingale about this, who wants to eliminate the vampires, which leads to Peter rushing to save them when he finds out. When he arrives at the girls’ place, he is attacked by a human-tiger hybrid. He manages to fight it off and runs to the roof, where he finds a seemingly faceless magician trying to persuade the women to join him and murder more jazzmen. He fights the magician and manages to chase him off, but must later find that while he was occupied Simone and her sisters have committed suicide. 

Personal Opinion: This series features a lot personal favourites: a diverse cast, magic, seemingly incredibly posh characters who secretly lack any and all chill, murder/mystery, realistic police work (as far as I can tell anyways), folklore, and a main character who is secretly done with everyone’s shit. I had to wait for a relatively long time after finishing Rivers of London, the first book of the series, before I had a chance to read Moon Over Soho, and I had almost forgotten how much I loved these characters and Peter’s sarcastic commentary. I found surprising how well tied together the story was: It doesn’t rely on the first book and the next to the point where it’s impossible to understand if you haven’t read them, like many ‘middle books’ in a series tend to do, but it isn’t written to the point of independency where you can actually read it as a stand-alone. The plot refers to the first book and leaves enough suspense at the end to make you want to (re)read the rest of the series and that makes it, in my opinion, a perfect follow-up to Rivers of London. What I also really love about this series is the vulnerability the two male leads show. Both Peter and Nightingale, though always (at least in Nightingale’s case) maintaining the infamous British ‘stiff upper lip’ are not afraid to admit to the fact that they are not left cold by what happens around and to them. They show grief, fear and sadness, and aren’t written as emotionally cold as many other male leads in popular media. 

Critique: As far as second parts of series go, I have (surprisingly) little critique, but some nonetheless. I felt that the arc of suspense could have been tightened a bit, e.g. by introducing the threat of the faceless man a bit earlier, or putting a bit of emphasis on what makes him scary. I personally thought the introduction of what, as I understand, is going to be the main antagonist of the series a bit anticlimactic. But that might be because, one, I had pretty high expectations because I accidentally spoiled myself via (really good) fanfiction, and, two, I haven’t read further that the second book yet and it could be entirely possible that this was the author’s intention all along in order to build up suspense in the next book(s). There is also on incident in chapter four, where a character who refers to themselves as “only biologically [male]” is referred to as “a guy” and using he/him pronouns by Peter Grant and Ash, and, while it is true that their preferred pronouns are never specified, it would have been nice to see female pronouns being used, especially in this particular series, which is generally very queer positive and features a variety of queer side characters. Disregarding that, I’ve only got the usual: the awkward recap of what happened in the last book that, in my opinion, can really be done without, plus it takes the author some time to really get going and get it on with the story, but that’s typical for book series, and, while annoying, is understandable and can be ignored. 

Would I recommend this book? If yes to whom? If no why? Yes, I would recommend this book for everyone who’s a fan of the series, of Torchwood and/or Doctor Who, or is looking for modern detective stories that are a bit more realistic than anything Sherlock-Holmes-esque, though I would recommend that you read Rivers of London, part one of the Peter Grant series, first if you haven’t already. 

Do not read this book if...

...You ‘just’ want a detective story without any magical involvement.

...You have anything against the city of London.

...You expect this series to be a Harry Potter cop AU.

...You didn’t like the first book.

T/W: suicide, sex, implied misgendering of a trans character, blood (lots of blood, like, litres of blood where it isn’t supposed to be), implied human trafficking, implied non-consensual body modification, memory loss, implied and attempted mind control, supernatural themes, murder, dead bodies