#and in the joker story... man. they really gotta come up with another solution for cursing/curse words

[dark-horse76]

So, uh. I bought this comic specifically/solely for the adorable versions of these two (I didn't even bother looking up what the comic was / what it was about lol):

I don't know why I didn't expect that reading it would make me want more of it, but here we are. I love them and I need more xd.

[fractualized]

Alright. Let's break down this "oh" of an ending. NEGATIVE NANCY, COMING THROUGH

Spoilers, ho!

Ending a story is hard, if they're long or short. Whether you wrap up key threads or leave them open, you want some kind of takeaway that puts a period on things. Even in comics, where we know these characters will go on and on, ideally a story will end in a way that just... fits. Even amateur fic writers have loads of WIPs just sitting there because exactly how to end this damn thing eludes them.

I don't know if Rosenberg had an ending in mind when he started The Man Who Stopped Laughing. I don't know if he decided he'd figure it out by the end of it's year-long run. I don't know if DC Editorial lets people do that; it sounds insane, but if you've been paying attention to their current level of editorial "oversight," which I imagine is supposed to make concurrent titles mesh together reasonably well, I wouldn't be shocked if they let people wing it. Or, more likely, perhaps DC Editorial swooped in and made Rosenberg change the ending he had planned and that's why the result falls flat.

In any case, after 11 issues of enjoying myself, I'm left feeling deflated.

But let's start where #12 does, with the Joker who's been told he's John Keyser, a toxin'd henchmen that the real Joker made into a doppelganger for funsies. He approaches a hotdog vendor.

I'm stuck on "Hello. I've been looking for you"?? I didn't catch that on my first read. Joker has a favorite hotdog vendor? lol

Shut up, Waffles!! All we have is your word for it!!

In any case, hey, Keyser Joker has already been Jokering this long, so yeah, why not keep going? And why not with help from poor woobie Jason, fresh from nearly getting himself killed in Gotham War?

Bruce did not fix Jason at the end of Gotham War, so his adrenaline is still triggering fear in his brain. But Keyser Joker has a solution for that!

It's a tiny dose of Joker toxin to take the edge off of Bruce's programming. Joker makes a point of saying that the effects are only temporary, though. (And like, I assume this is just the quick-fix solution Rosenberg came up with to pull off his own ending when told Bruce's plans for Jason over in the other titles.) Jason is skeptical of this "help," naturally, but Keyser Joker brings up their matching interest: getting rid of the other Joker.

Jason, why you gotta ruin Albert's good time? 🙄

Cut to Red Hood dragging a clown henchman through the streets of Gotham.

But "his" face being blacked out and some of the dialogue clue the reader in: things aren't what they seem.

DERAIL TIME: what is up with this batmobile?

Like from some other angles, it looks sportier, but in most of the panels it looks like an old Buick? lol ANYWAY.

With the flaily way this person jumps off the bike and runs, I was sure that this was Keyser Joker and we might see Batman interact with him. Alas.

It's Ravager, who survived last issue's explosion. She's helping Jason 1) distract Batman and 2) get Albert out of harm's way, far from Keyser Joker's plan.

Naturally Keyser Joker is planning something more destructive than he's led Jason to believe. Also like…

The idea that Keyser Joker really is this John guy, not the real deal, is still not sitting fucking right with me. Seeing him here in another costume, with a goofy death train with mismatched eyes just like his, it feels like a signal that he actually is Joker and Waffles is either lying or mistaken somehow. Like compared to the other Joker, who we haven't seen in a costume? Who left Gotham for weird reasons? I really thought there was going to be a reverse reveal.

And since it doesn't come, I guess it's a good time to mention that! There is no reverse reveal of who the real Joker is. Things get a little muddy later, but…. hrm. HRM.

That said, the other Joker does something pretty dang Jokery: he shows up in a dirigible with his face on it.

Killer Moth and a bunch of clown goons (that aren't supposed to be available because of Gotham War but WHATEVER) attach the dirigible to the train and it's pretty chaotic!

I love when villains are like, "Look I may kill people, but an endangered gorilla?! Get outta here!" 😂

Jason also arrives in style.

I guess he was observing Ravager's distraction?? Which feels like it defeats part of the purpose of having her do the distraction. But then he couldn't have this cool entrance in which he bludgeons people with a motorcycle. Trade offs!

Meanwhile, Real Joker makes it to the front of the train to confront Keyser Joker. One of Real's goons offers to shoot Keyser, but Real Joker wants to make this personal and kills the poor hench so he can do it himself.

Jason coming in like YEEEEEAAAAHHHHH 😎

Then he gets the bad news.

Keyser is as casually suicidal as your average Joker! Also "Real" Joker never acknowledges Red Hood's identity, afaik. It's always Keyser Joker. Details like this got me thinking that reverse reveal was coming, AND YET.

That aside, next comes a fun comedy beat.

Real Joker going right for the hair!

Jason isn't going to let this be the end of it, of course, and once again Killer Moth must suffer at his hands.

Jason shoots so many clowns. Just never the one he wants. 😞

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaait wait wait. You're telling me that Bruce knew about the imminent TWO JOKERS situation. But he decided to prioritize a report of Red Hood dragging a clown through the streets. When in the same breath he's saying there are other people coming to the scene with him, so he obviously could've sent someone else? On the same day Batman #139 is like "oooh Bruce is totally onto Joker now"? This is what you're telling me?? Augh.

Well, we can't rely on Batman right now, clearly, so it's up to Jason.

Meanwhile, Keyser Joker has told the other one that he actually does have a secret way off the runaway train safely. After they fight some more, the tune starts to change.

Alright so, this "deal," which would sort of start them back at square one, doesn't bother me because obviously it's on shaky-ass ground and one of them is definitely killing the other before this issue is over. What does bug me is the "franchising" line, for two reasons:

1) Is this supposed to imply that Real Joker is the one who was behind Joker Incorporated in the Batman Incorporated issues, not a third one?

2) I was just SO SURE it was another indication we were getting a reverse reveal. Joker absolutely does not love the franchising idea. That's kind of been the point of this whole series. The genuine Joker in Keyser Joker's hallucination/memory said that having two Jokers around is stupid. HRRRRMMM.

Anyhow, they leave the train together, though the escape plan is literally just jumping off, which has more issues than they bargained for.

So do you think, assuming the Gotham War writers actually communicated at least a little, that Zdarsky asked Rosenberg what he needed Jason for at the end of TMWSL, and Rosenberg was like, "oh I need him to heroically crash a toxic blimp and almost die?" And then Zdarsky was like, "er, I need him to heroically fly a plane into a magic meteor and almost die?" And then they just shrugged and closed the Zoom?

But yeah, the blimp crashes, and I'm sort of confused because I thought that earlier Bruce was saying that even if the toxin gets into the water, it'll still make it's way to the city. So for one thing, it's still exploding in the air and it's still gonna drift. And the parts that dissolve in water are still gonna drift. There's a part to the equation missing here.

But these two are just thrilled at the excitement.

Until the sudden yet inevitable betrayal.

BUT WHO WAS JOKE

Shortly after this, Ravager shows up with Manhunter, who also survived last issue's explosion. (It just doesn't come up at all. Like it doesn't have to, I guess, but it's just weird that there's not a word or wound about it.) Ravager dives into the water looking for Jason, because she instinctually knows he did something grand and dumb. She finds him among the clown bodies and brings him to shore.

Nothing can kill this man! He came back from the dead with nine lives! And also maybe that Lazarus resin from TFZ is still helping, I dunno.

Elsewhere along the shore, what's left of both Jokers' crews find themselves waiting in the same spot for the Joker they expect to be triumphant.

You know what. I'm soured on Waffles now. Leave him.

And then, from the water…

And that's it. That's how it ends. With a sort of snide cop-out?

Like, it's Joker's POV, so yeah, you could say the dickish tone is just him. But following this story for a year, and then seeing it end with simply the old "you'll never know which Joker prevailed," it doesn't feel clever or whatever this is going for. It just feels obnoxious.

Honestly, it feels like the same takeaway as freaking Three Jokers. 😐 That it doesn't matter who Joker is. All the lead-up to this, where maybe we get a tiny bit of depth and development, even if just in this story, eh. Doesn't matter! We're ending this with blah payoff.

On the other hand, the part of about about there being more questions, about this ending not being tidy, makes me think that this is leaving open the possibility that Keyser Joker actually was the real one. After all, we don't get a flashback to the actual events. The events we see are part of a hallucination, and Keyser never said he had clear memories of being the real or the fake one. He just went from assuming he was the real one to taking Waffles' word for it that he was the henchman.

Also, Keyser Joker was always the Joker giving narration. And the narration boxes for the Final Joker at the end remain in his style. So it seems like we actually have a huge indication of which Joker prevailed-- unless we're meant to assume that if the other Joker prevailed, he merely took over the narration.

I mean, this is what we have. So if I can just choose what I want to believe, I'm going to believe both that Keyser was actually the real guy and that he won. But it puts a real sour taste in my mouth to be super engaged with a story and wanting an ending that says something about Joker's character… and the ending is just that one murders the other and you don't know who, neener neener. It's anticlimactic. It's a predictable direction that I thought SURELY Rosenberg wouldn't go in. It feels like a dick move.

And... what else is there to say? So ends my year of consistently buying a comic, I guess. Nothing else has really grabbed me like TMWSL did, though City of Madness looks promising. After the multiverse and Gotham War stuff, I'm not about to start picking up Zdarsky's Batman. #139 had plenty I should enjoy, but it's soured by Zdarsky deciding to bring a canonical take to the three Jokers concept for some ungodly reason.

A new three Jokers take feels extra stupid after a year of a story about two Jokers. And the second Joker in TMWSL isn't even taken into account in Zdarsky's story. Based off that #135 scene, it really looks like he's going to say that Darwin Halliday accidentally copied TKJ Joker somehow. lmao Why. Why do we have to do this. Why can't this just be one of the things that gets retconned away. I just want my murderclown to be fun.

I need to get back to my list of unread older comics. Or read One Operation Joker! I didn't think I was interested, but I think a random goofy premise is actually just what I need.

[littlegoldenbirdie]

The Dance of Letters on a Screen

Out of nowhere, here's a Godzilla story I wrote God knows how long ago. Time stopped having any damn meaning at all last year, and that hasn't changed yet.

Here's a version of Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla where Instant Messaging is everybody's friend and I do mean EVERYBODY.

Warning: VERY long story ahead!

-----

It had fallen to Noriko to fine-tune Kiryu’s programming. She was an elite pilot, but no one trusted her enough to let her fly. Being a terribly lonely girl disliked by all, she took to pretending she was talking to Kiryu to pass the time. She’d chatter on and on as she worked, talking about what she was doing.

“Let’s see about that DNA calibration, shall we?” Streams of data flowed across the computer screen. “I’ve got to hand it to you, buddy. You’re really got things organized. I envy your future pilot. No one ever lets me fly. I’m good, but I’m not trusted.” She sighed. “Haruka was making fun of me again. Nobody ever listens to me. At least I have you to talk to, even though you don’t hear.” The screen flickered as words scrolled across it. IS SOMEONE RECEIVING THIS? Noriko yelped. “Oh man… Somebody must have hacked the system. Might as well parley with them while the system tracers do their thing. Okay… ‘Who is this?’ That should be an okay start.” She typed the question as she said it. The answer came immediately. ME. “Who is ‘me’? Well, where is this guy talking to me from? ‘Where are you?’ Talk about a logical follow-up.” HERE. This reply confused her. Scratching her head, she said, “I don’t know what to say to thatone… Well… ‘Where would ‘here’ be?’ That ought to work… I hope.” The reply shocked her. MY ‘HERE’ IS ALL AROUND YOU. She looked around and said, “That’s just not logical. Who could hack Kiryu’s systems and why would the aforementioned hacker talk to me of all people? …Uh, next question…” This time she didn’t have time to type up a question, as the mysterious hacker spoke again. YOU ARE NORIKO. This really scared her. “How would a hacker know who he has contacted? How would a hacker know to contact me here?” THERE IS NO NEED TO TYPE YOUR REPLY. I CAN HEAR YOU JUST FINE. Noriko fairly yelped, “He’s hacking Kiryu’s systems from so close by that he can hear me, but I can’t see him or hear him?” She shook her head. “This shouldn’t be happening anyway! The invincible Kiryu is vulnerable to a freaking hacker?” I AM HAPPY THAT YOU CONSIDER ME AS SUCH. Noriko blinked. “Okay, I have an idea. If you’re so close by, why don’t you come out where I can see you?” YOU CAN ALREADY SEE ME. She grumbled, “Wish I knew what that means… Could you at least talk to me instead of typing?” THIS IS THE ONLY VOICE I HAVE. Noriko mused, “All around me, close enough to hear me, can only communicate via computers… And he knows me? Well, okay, tell me. Who am I to you?” The reply came quickly. YOU ARE NORIKO. YOU ARE MY PILOT. “Pilot? As in… You mean to say you’re…” I AM. Her voice was tiny. “…Kiryu?” YES. “But this can’t be! Even if you are really Kiryu, you surely already know they won’t let me pilot a crop-duster, much less you!” The reply was in an enlarged font, underlined and flashing. I WILL ACCEPT NO OTHER. She said, “I can’t just tell them I’m the one who should be your pilot. They wouldn’t believe me.” THEY WILL SEE SOON ENOUGH. Noriko knew she couldn’t tell anybody about what happened, for fear of being fired because they deemed her crazy. All she could do was wait and watch the other pilots.

The first non-simulated flight came soon, and the super-elite Jiro was chosen to fly first. He climbed into the cockpit and sat at the controls, running through the pre-flight checks. Kiryu passed with flying colors, quickly being deemed more than flight-worthy. “All systems are green. We are clear for launch.” The safety umbilicals came away easily, the support towers pulling back and leaving Kiryu to stand tall on the tarmac. “Ignition in three… two… one… Hey, what the?” The ignition point came and went, with nothing happening. “There’s no response! Systems checks show no anomalies. Kiryu’s perfectly flight-capable right now, but it’s not moving! …And what the heck is this?” Jiro’s voice was completely baffled as he said, “Something weird just popped up on the tactical display. It says ‘I will not fly for you’. Okay, who’s the joker who’s been playing with the computers?” The control room’s computers went haywire then, displaying Noriko’s personnel profile and piloting credentials. “Gotta admit, this is the weirdest system glitch I’ve ever seen,” Noriko herself said as the launch was aborted.

“That was no computer glitch, was it?” CORRECT. “I knew you said you’d accept nobody else, but now they think you’re malfunctioning!” AND WHOSE JOB WILL IT BE TO FIX IT? “Oh, I get it! Not only do I cover for you, but I spend more time here with the only person who ever talks to me!” IT SEEMS LIKE BOTH OF US WIN BOTH WAYS. “Since nobody ever seems to notice me when I’m around, I hear all sorts of things. And my superiors wonder why I always seem to anticipate their actions! Basically, what I’m saying is I’ll tell you everything I hear concerning this project.” KNOWING WHAT IS COMING WILL BE VERY HELPFUL.

Since it appeared to be a computer error, Noriko was assigned to fix it. That meant a lot more time spent working on Kiryu, which, oddly, she didn’t seem to mind anymore. Other launch attempts came and went, each with the same result no matter what she did. First Kiryu wouldn’t respond no matter what, then all the computers would start displaying Noriko’s piloting credentials. “It’s starting to look like whoever’s doing this wants me to pilot Kiryu.”

“The commander told me I’d be the absolute last person he’d ever pick to pilot you, Kiryu. The entire squadron is going to take their turn trying before he’ll even consider it.” I WILL WAIT. “I don’t know, they might decide to scrap this whole thing and that means you.” I DOUBT IT. I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF PERFORMING. “You have a point, but I imagine they’re getting pretty frustrated.” THEN THEY SHOULD CHOOSE YOU. “They should, you’re right, but the commander doesn’t usually change his mind. The entire squadron’s going first, and that means they’re going to have a lot of frustrating upsets.” THEIR OWN FAULT. Noriko laughed. “You got that right. But if you’re willing to wait, I’ll wait with you.” I APPRECIATE THIS, NORIKO. “It’s all right, Kiryu. You’re the first person to care about me for a long time.” YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON TO CARE ABOUT ME AS MORE THAN A MACHINE. “It takes a frequently overlooked person to recognize a frequently overlooked person, I suppose. But still, I don’t know how long it’ll be before they decide to rewire your systems from scratch.” IT IS A RISK I AM WILLING TO TAKE. “Kiryu, I might be able to cover for you by claiming that this is a result of my messing up.” BAD IDEA. YOU MIGHT GET FIRED. “I know, but do you have any better ideas?” SUGGEST FALSE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS. “That’s a great idea! This should keep us both in the clear.”

One after another, the other pilots took their turns and continued to fail. Noriko dutifully checked and rechecked all the computers, each time proclaiming that she’d found the solution only to have the problem adapt to counter it. She didn’t get in trouble. Instead, they started to respect her for the fact that she wasn’t giving up even when everybody else was ready to quit. “You know,” one of the other pilots said, “You might have the right stuff to be a pilot after all.” Still, everyone else was taking his or her turn first.

“All our pilots have tried to fly you, and you’ve driven them all off. There isn’t anybody else left to try.” THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR. THEY WILL CHOOSE YOU SOON. “I hope so. I’ll bet you’re anxious for some action.” WITH THE RIGHT PILOT, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO ANYTHING. “You get the feeling we’re bonding?” CREATOR AND CREATION OFTEN BEGIN TO THINK ALIKE. “Think alike? If that’s true, pretty soon we’ll be anticipating each other’s actions.” THAT WILL BE A GREAT ASSET IN BATTLE. “Godzilla beware! When we team up, we’ll trash him!” INDEED.

“Noriko,” a voice startled her in the hallway. It was the commander. “As you know, we’ve gone through two dozen pilots and Kiryu still won’t respond. The prospective pilots are quitting in droves. We’ve run out of options.” She gasped and squealed, “You mean…” He nodded. “You’re the only pilot we haven’t tried. That, and you’ve spent more time working on Kiryu than everyone else put together. You should know more about it than anyone.” She saluted him and said, “You won’t regret this, sir!” He replied, “Go suit up. You’re on in five.” She dashed off in an instant.

She stepped into the cockpit she had never before seen and the computer screens came alive. Momentarily deactivating her radio, she said, “I’m in, Kiryu. It’s my turn to try to pilot you.” A nearby screen flickered. GOOD! Sitting down in the pilot’s seat and reactivating her radio, she said, “Commencing pre-flight checks… All systems are green. We are clear for launch.” As before, the safety umbilicals retracted and the support towers fell away. “Ignition in three… two… one… Now!” This time the ramjets fired and the colossal semi-robotic reptile took to the air. “All readings are optimal. Propulsion systems are functioning at peak efficiency. Noriko, you did it!” She cheered delightedly as she began to test Kiryu’s capabilities. Everything went smoothly and they passed with flying colors. The commander’s voice rang out, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have our pilot.” Noriko didn’t have to say anything. THEY PICKED YOU! FINALLY!

Noriko continued to work with Kiryu as she had before, even though she had been promoted to being a full pilot. “I never got to tell you what we’re supposed to do. I know you know we fight Godzilla, but do you know why?” NOBODY EVER TOLD ME THAT. “I’ll tell you. Godzilla likes to smash cities. When he does so, millions of people die. Each person is somebody like me, with thoughts and hopes and dreams. In this world, there’s no higher calling than to save the lives of others. And that is what we do. We are their hope, Kiryu.” WE FIGHT, FOR THEY CANNOT? “We’re the only ones who can really stand up to him, just you and me. If we fail, it’s the end. And we can’t, we mustn’t, fail. So many lives are depending on us…” I UNDERSTAND.

It was midday when she was called to fight for the first time. The alarm sounded and she was on the move instantly, suiting up and heading for the cockpit with great speed. “Okay… Flight checks are green… Clear for takeoff…” YOU ARE AGITATED. “All systems are clear. We’re ready to fight Godzilla.” I AM READY TO GO. “Okay, where’s our pickup? Ah, there they are. They’ll get us there in time.” WE ARE NOT GOING TO FLY? “…Wish this way was faster, but we have to conserve energy for the battle.” THAT IS A GOOD REASON, SEEING AS I ONLY HAVE SO MUCH. Kiryu was lifted up and taken into the ruins of a city. THIS PLACE IS WRECKED. “And there he is. Godzilla.” I SEE HIM. “Let’s start this fight. Control tower, we are entering the battle! Charge shoulder cannons. Arm missiles.” MISSILES ARE READY TO LAUNCH. SHOULDER CANNONS ARE CHARGING. “Open fire!” FIRING. The missiles pounded Godzilla, who just stood and took it, seemingly shocked out of his mind. “Keep firing! Don’t let up!” I CAN DO THAT. Kiryu advanced, continuing to pound Godzilla mercilessly. “I think we can finish this! Arm the Absolute Zero cannon!” ABSOLUTE ZERO CANNON IS CHARGING. GIVE ME A MINUTE. “Buy some time. Buy some time. Keep up the barrage!” WILL DO. Godzilla was starting to back off, and he gave a howl that pierced Noriko’s ears and stopped Kiryu in his tracks. THAT VOICE… “Kiryu?” THAT IS MY VOICE! “Kiryu!” MY VOICE, MY FACE, MY FORM… “Kiryu, what are you doing?” IS THIS WHAT I WAS MODELED AFTER?! “Kiryu, listen to me!” The screen flashed an angry red. IS THIS WHAT I AM?! The red spread across all the screens and Kiryu spoke to her no more. He turned the weapons he had used against Godzilla on the city, smashing everything in sight. Noriko tried her best to stop Kiryu’s rampage, but all she could do was wait for his energy to run out.

She waited quietly as the transport jets retrieved Kiryu and her with him. Even in the light of what Kiryu had done, she still refused to tell her secret. All she did instead was work feverishly to repair what must have gone wrong. He didn’t talk to her at first, long enough for her to wonder if he could still talk at all. Days and nights passed as she worked alone, trying to understand what had happened. A small message scrolled across the bottom of the nearest screen. NORIKO? “Kiryu! I thought you’d never talk to me again!” NORIKO, WHAT HAVE I DONE? “It’s all right. No one blames you. They all think it was a malfunction.” BUT YOU DO NOT. “I don’t blame you either. Your temper is a lot like mine.” WILL THEY DEACTIVATE ME FOR THIS? “Heck, no. You’ll be sent out to fight again, and this time we’ll dominate!” I AM RELIEVED. “Same here. If Godzilla comes again, we’ll be on the front line. And this time we won’t mess up.”

It didn’t take long. “Godzilla’s back,” Noriko barked as she dashed into the cockpit. “The Army is getting thrashed out there. We’re the last line of defense!” ALL SYSTEMS ARE GREEN. WE ARE READY TO GO. “There’s the pickup. Let’s go!” HERE WE GO. Kiryu was lifted up into the air, whereupon Noriko noticed that night had fallen. WHY IS EVERYTHING DARK NOW? “It’s called nighttime, Kiryu.” ALL RIGHT. Noriko looked ahead, to where lights stabbed into the sky. “Godzilla’s heading toward the hospital! All those people… they’ll all get killed!” WE CANNOT GET THERE IN TIME THIS WAY! “You’re right. Looks like we have to fly.” RAMJETS EXTENDED. DISENGAGING FROM CARRIER. HANG ON. “Hit it,Kiryu!” YOU GOT IT! Kiryu blasted forward like a rocket. “Land there! Our inertia will carry us into Godzilla and he’ll be sent flying!” LANDING NOW. Skidding down the ruined street at an absurd speed, Kiryu shoulder-rammed Godzilla and sent him flying. “Wow, nice one!”

Something drew Kiryu’s attention. NORIKO, LOOK DOWN THERE. She looked and saw a group of people looking back up at her. “They’re the ones we’re trying to protect. Them, and thousands like them.” I SEE. NOW, TO HANDLE GODZILLA! “Give him a short barrage, then march up and start hitting.” ALL RIGHT. I WILL. Noriko looked forward. Just ahead, Godzilla roared at Kiryu as if recognizing him. “That’s right, buddy. We’re back. And this time you won’t get away.” FIRING ALL MISSILES. HAND LASERS CHARGED AND READY. “Save those! Time to sock him but good!” The two titans clashed, locked in what appeared to be a childish shove-fest. Godzilla took a good swipe, forcing Kiryu back for a moment. NORIKO, WE ARE DOWN TO ONE SHOULDER CANNON. “We can still fight. Fire up your ramjets! We’ve got to back off a bit!” HERE WE GO. A short burst carried Kiryu backward, but Godzilla used his fire beam. NORIKO, BOTH SHOULDER CANNONS ARE OUT! “Extend your wrist blade and charge him.” WILL DO. Kiryu charged, a fairly long blade emerging from his right wrist. Before any of them knew it, he had jabbed the blade right into Godzilla’s arm. “Zap him! Give it all you can!” WRIST BLADE AT MAXIMUM CHARGE. Godzilla roared in pain as the electricity coursed through him, but he managed to backhand Kiryu into a nearby building. Noriko recovered first, with Kiryu not too long after. “Are you good to go?” RECALIBRATING INTERNAL GYROSCOPE. “So your head is spinning too, huh?” SPINNING? “Never mind.” It was then that Godzilla stomped down on Kiryu’s chest. “Do something!” DO WHAT? BOTH SHOULDER CANNONS ARE OUT, AS IS THE WRIST BLADE! Noriko looked up. The wrist blade was still stuck in Godzilla’s arm, having broken off when he backhanded Kiryu. As she watched, he pulled it out of his arm and tossed it aside. “Any ideas?” NO. NORIKO, THIS MAY BE…

Explosions erupted from off to the side, tossing Godzilla off Kiryu, who quickly got up. “Look over there! It’s a jet!” I OWE OUR FRIEND IN THE JET FOR THAT LAST ONE. “Should we do like we did before?” NO. “You’re probably right. Any ideas?” HOW ABOUT ANOTHER HIGH-SPEED RAM? “Brilliant! Fire up your ramjets, we’re going to ram him!” RAMJETS EXTENDED AND FIRING. HERE WE GO. “Oh, and charge the Absolute Zero cannon too. That way we can just cut loose.” YOU GOT IT. ABSOLUTE ZERO CANNON CHARGING. Kiryu was right in Godzilla’s face before any of them knew it. “Do like I do! Fight like a human!” I WILL TRY. Punching and kicking like a karate master, Kiryu had the upper hand and all of them knew it. “Wow, Kiryu, I didn’t know you could do that!” NEITHER DID I. A moment passed. ABSOLUTE ZERO CANNON CHARGED AND READY. “Put some distance between us, then fire when ready.” YOU GOT IT. The panels on Kiryu’s chest slid open, forming a triple-pronged energy cannon. BEGINNING FIRING SEQUENCE. Noriko looked at Godzilla. “Oh man, we are so wide open right now…” Godzilla took the open shot just as they fired. “I hope that hits… AHHH!” Kiryu was sent flying, his shot thrown off. “Oh no! The cannon will destroy everything in its path! All those buildings out there! All those people!” THIS IS BAD. I HOPE THOSE BUILDINGS ARE EMPTY.

Kiryu fell into another building. Seeing the energy readouts, Noriko began to worry. “Kiryu, can you stand?” I AM ALMOST COMPLETELY OUT OF POWER. PRIMARY SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE ENGAGED. I AM SORRY, NORIKO. “Control tower, do you hear me? We need more power here!” Other voices came. “Contact the power stations. Tell them to divert everything here.” Another said, “But that’ll put the entire city in a blackout!” The first said, “Do it. I’ll take responsibility.” Noriko waited. All around Kiryu the city went dark, the darkness stretching for miles around. She rejoiced as the power came to them, recharging Kiryu fully. NORIKO? WHAT HAPPENED? “You’re back at full power, Kiryu.” He looked around. THE CITY IS DARK… DID THE CITY SACRIFICE ITS LIGHT TO GIVE ME POWER? “We don’t have time for that! You’re back at full power, so let’s get back in the fight!” I WILL TRY TO GET UP. Kiryu struggled to his feet, only to have Godzilla shoot him in the back. He stumbled a few steps, then fell again. I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH MORE I CAN TAKE, NORIKO.

A great cry came from off to the side. “What? The jet!” IT APPEARS TO BE… NO! The jet had set itself on a collision course with Godzilla’s jaws. Godzilla had no choice but to leave off using his fire beam in favor of trying to get the jet out of his mouth. He tore the back half away, but the front half remained in his mouth. A voice came from within what remained of the jet. “He can’t use his beam now! Forget about me and take the shot! Take it!” Noriko was torn. “We’re wide open, but…” NO, NORIKO! THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY THAN TO SACRIFICE THE JET! An idea came to her. “Kiryu, listen to me. There is a way, but you have to trust me. Give me manual control.” MANUAL CONTROL? BUT I… YES, I WILL. MANUAL CONTROL ENGAGED. Seizing the controls in capable hands, she was in complete control as she guided Kiryu through a high-speed lunge straight at Godzilla. “Drop the jet, you scaly miscreant!” Using one hand to tear the jet free and the other to hold Godzilla’s mouth shut, she was in charge of the situation before anyone knew it. “Absolute Zero cannon; stand by.” She blasted off, carrying Godzilla along with her. “Okay, buddy, you’re coming with me!” They were headed straight for the sea. NORIKO, WHAT ARE YOU… “Trust me,” she said. They lifted up slightly, then plunged into the sea. “If it doesn’t work here, I don’t know where it will! Absolute Zero cannon… fire!” It surged through the water to touch Godzilla. Noriko didn’t get a chance to see if it destroyed him, because Kiryu was seized in the ice that formed. “Oh no, are we stuck?” I HOPE NOT.

The ice shattered all around them and Kiryu drifted to the surface. Godzilla was alive, but wounded. “We hurt him…” She cheered, “We hurt him!” As she watched, he turned and headed off. NORIKO, I CAN NO LONGER FIGHT. “I wouldn’t ask you to,” she said. I AM SORRY, NORIKO. I HAVE FAILED TO KILL GODZILLA. “Failed? Failed? No, we won! We’ve done it, Kiryu! We’ve beaten him back! The city is saved!” BUT YOU SAID I WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL GODZILLA. I HAVE NOT DONE THAT. “There’ll be other chances, Kiryu,” she said, feeling something very like satisfaction. “Other battles to fight and win. It may not be next time, or the time after that, but someday we’ll beat him… and the world’s long nightmare will finally end.” There was a pause as Kiryu considered her words. I CAN LIVE WITH THAT, he finally decided.

---------

Okay, so that was it.

[crossgartered]

P5R Liveblog (13/?)

Haru arc

[[MORE]]

Oh...? Are you hung up on Wakaba, too, Doctor?

Oh, Rumi. ...Who's Rumi?

IS IT KASUMI'S SISTER??? bc you know there's weird stuff going on there

Probably not but this is for wild guessing anyway

If we can believe Kasumi then her sister is younger than her

And that'd be pretty weird to talk about in a romantic context

The problem is if kasumi is to be believed

she's dead I know she's dead I don't think she knows she's dead but she's super dead

Or in a coma I guess but let's be real here

I don't trust Shibusawa in the slightest. He's definitely going to try to take that research. I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of those men in black suits, either. He's rich - he goes to the Wilton on a whim, with his "buddies" - he could definitely be one of Shido's men.

OMFNDJD THIS LES MIS KNOCK OFF FILLS ME WITH JOY

Hoo boy. Maruki... I don't think you'll be very pleased with our answer. I do think you have good intentions, now, but you will definitely be an antagonist here.

I'm still really impressed with Chihaya. She really thought that the protag would hate her once she told her story, that her fortune said he was supposed to hate her, and she "never thought [he] would overturn even that fate". And yet, she told him anyway.

A Yusuke & Ann showtime!! : D I wonder what it'll be like?

THATS SO INCREDIBLY ANIME I LOVE IT

Haru idolizing superheroines vs Ann idolizing lady villains fight

I cannot waittt to see what they do with cognitive Haru, if they decided to make her this time around

YUSUKE CAN DUPLICATE IN PALACES?!?!?

A Will Seed with lasers barring the way? Interesting.

FUTABA FINISHING TOUCH FUTABA FINISHING TOUCH!!!!

Huh, it's kinda goofier than I was expecting.

"When a person is continually faced with oppression, they come to welcome its presence." Yusuke : (

"Such psychological trickery is being used here. I... experienced it first-hand for many years." YUSUKE : C

It's kinda nice that those workers are being blocked by lasers instead of us being too intimidated by their number to just go after them. ...Am I remembering this correctly?

Oh, Noir... I'm glad I get the option to ask if she's okay.

The Yumizuki High uniform really does suit Yusuke.

I wonder if there's a way to talk to people about their outfits.

Does Futaba's thing happen in place of Joker's, now? That's kind of a shame

HEY DO YOU THINK IT'S POSSIBLE TO HAVE FUTABA SHOWTIMES?!?????

Airlock time.

Man I want to see robot/cyborg Haru so badly come on Okumura I know she's here

This stuff about being okay for 30 sec as long as you close your eyes and mouth sounds wrong but I don't know enough about the condition of the human body in space enough to dispute it so okay I fuess

Anyway this is run by clap your hands if you believe kinda magic so it doesn't really matter anyway (also, thank god for Futaba saying that it'd work)

It's interesting - space factories/stations aren't a typical heist target (nor are castles, tbh, but museums, banks, pyramids, casinos? Naturally) (space stations in general can be, in the right genre. But this is set up a bit unusually for that). Corporate offices of shady companies, however...

Spaceeeeee ahdskdjs this is SO COOL

what the fuck what the fuck was something else going through the airlock?!?!

Ugh, how aggravating. I had been able to get the Will Seed the entire time until I pulled the lever that allowed me to progress

What is this shadow???? I'm not sure I know it! "Pagan savior", huh?

No, guys, there's another airlock room. Stop saying 'the treasure is just beyond that door!' when there is a whole other area/floor to go through. Especially since you have a map

Futaba gets motion sickness...oh no I'm so sorry ;u;

I...actually remembered the first half of the solution to the transfer line. I got out of there in practically no time. Heck yeah!

"Thou hast to awakened to the ultimate secret of the Sun, granting thee infinite power..." Yoshida...! TAT

I always end up maxing him right around the end of Okumura's Palace. I feel so bad. His newfound popularity is gonna absolutely tank soon. ;-;

Man, who even gets elected after the populace starts caring again? I don't know how Japanese politics works, really, like at all, honestly, but probably he has a subordinate who can take his place. But like, his whole crew's gotta be corrupt, right? Especially someone who'd be his replacement. Though honestly, considering how paranoid he got by the end, he probably chose someone weak-willed in order to prevent

Oh wait hold on I just looked up how this works. Apparently, uh...

Huh. I'm not sure if the cabinet resigns if the prime minister does usually or if that's just if the house passes a vote of no confidence. But, the prime minister appoints the ministers, so if the prime minister changes then there could be an issue there, probably?

But anyway. Looks like the Diet would immediately try to vote for a different person once the prime minister seat is vacant.

Huh, I wonder who gets voted in, then. Well, we only know of 2 candidates other than Shido, and Yoshida doesn't have the funding or even (yet) the popularity to become prime minister, so Matsushida is really the only other choice unless they pick someone we haven't heard about.

Oh my GOD I hate the school. They're being such assholes to Kasumi. She got 3rd place!!! That's amazing!!! This isn't even a school specializing in gymnastics!!!!!! YOU SPECIALIZED IN VOLLEYBALL AND EVEN IF THAT WERENT THE CASE YOURE TERRIBLE

*ahem* Anyway.

You can tell that Maruki is quietly pissed and honestly? Valid. Super valid. Same, Maruki, same.

She's not gonna get that text, with how her phone is.

"we took in those sisters to improve Shujin's standing, but at this rate, we're only going to end up suffering for it." Oh??? Oh??????

"not only have we lost one of them, but the other ones not doing us any good. Talk about a waste of effort..." Hooooly shit you asshole

Wait, hold on, it's October already????!? November's just a month away!! I have less than 3 months for social linking! And I still haven't maxed knowledge or kindness! (Or guts, but whatever) I've only maxed 1 person! Although I'm close to maxing Ryuji & Ann & Yusuke. And some npcs

AHHHHH CUTSCENE CUTSCENE!!!!

So the keywords - lab, stadium, and ... Either Maruki or Kasumi for the person. OH MAN AND EITHER WAY IM ALREADY IN MY PHANTOM THIEF CLOTHES

ONE OF THEM DOESNT TRUST ME

It's probably Maruki, right? Bc of the lab... But also I thought the whole wish fulfillment thing was going to be his cogpsi project... With the help of Jose, maybe...

Speaking of Jose, Jose looks like a toy, especially with that hair and those ears. I wonder what material he's supposed to be? Based on the ears I'd say plastic, maybe, but the hair looks more ceramic to me.

Anyway, back to the relevant FUCKING PALACE WOOHOO

I haven't even sent a calling card for Okumura yet so we're not dealing with this anytime soon

Ooh, this music... <3

Oh man, I totally forgot I had Morgana in the maid costume. I gotta get him into something more serious

Why is dancewear not the p5dsn costume??

This is...really empty...

I am suddenly really scared at what the people are going to look like

There are pigeons here...

But wait, if this is Maruki's Palace, then this is bc of all his grief... He doesn't want anyone to hurt, ever again. The people will be their ideal selves, probably...

...I'd love to see a cognition of myself, tbh. That won't happen, but I'd love it.

This place is really beautiful... With the music it seems like a sad place...

Look at all these wires

That's probably the sister, right?

Unless that's the cognition of Yoshizawa when she was alive and her current self is her ideal self.

The shadow attacked the cognition???!?!

YUP this is definitely Maruki's Palace

Hmm. Interesting.

Oh, Cendrillon really is perfect for her, huh.

SHES DOING A MAGICAL GIRL TRANAFORMATION WHAY

WHAT

WHY????

IM NOT UPSET ITS JUST A LITTLE WHAT????

Does her outfit look like mine a little bit bc she's using me as a role model for her source of confidence - confidence that she is using/interpreting for her inner rebellious spirit?

Wait, lost my train of thought

Aww, I mistimed that. I was hoping to get a Kasumi finishing touch

MORGANA-SENPAI

It is definitely an unfair consequence

Oh, so that's why, narratively, her phone sucks. It's to prevent us from figuring out whose Palace it is.

Yeah, this time it's entirely on you, Morgana.

... it's because of gymnastics? And not because you disagree with us on an ideological level? ...okay. sure. Whatever.

Hoo boy. This is gonna suck when Okumura has his mental shutdown. I wonder how she'll react.

She is of the Faith arcana, whatever that means. Maybe she'll keep faith in me? I did max her half-confidant

It's cool, Kasumi. I really didn't do much. You may have a debt of gratitude or whatever but like you don't actually need to repay it. Just keep being my friend and maybe one day you'll quit keeping score

*sigh*

If only. Too bad you're probably dead.

SHOWTIME WITH HARU? SHOWTIME WITH HARU? PLEASE?

Oh, Mona-chan. I figured as much, but I was still hoping...

Anyway, Haru&Mona showtime still very good!

Man, I would kill to hear their explanations for what they're doing.

...this is incredibly violent, isn't it? I anticipate it with bated breath

Oh man, can you imagine a showtime with Kasumi? Maybe with Akechi, if Atlus isn't going to give me one

Which, fair enough, from a gameplay standpoint

Still. : (

"the Phantom Thief Basic Training"?

Oh, good, we're actually addressing cognitive people with Haru.

Oh, this is either gonna suck if they address the implications, or we're gonna see cognitive Haru. >: 3

Dream world, huh...

THE YUSUKE-HARU FRIENDSHIP IS SO UNDERSTATED AND UNDERRATED I WANT MORE CONTENT

THERE SHE IS!!! THERE SHW IS!!!!

Oh, man, I had a lot of feelings during that fight. That time limit though

I like how they updated this fight

Although I think I'm a little underleveled, potentially. I could not destroy her before she self-destructed, and it took me a while to beat the chief directors and executive director. Oneshotted Okumura himself, though.

OH MAN I SHOULD HAVE READ THIS BILLIARDS BOOK EARLIER

I DIDNT REALIZE I COULD INCREASE MY TECHNICALS????

I already thought that technicals were beefed up from how they were - I guess this is part of that!

Wish I had another book on kindness, ugh.

SO THATS HOW THEY CHANGED POSITION HACK

Ann & Haru have such similar colors. I wish they would have darkened Haru's a little bit more

Wait I never got to see the Haru-Mona showtime

I even had both in my party : (

GOD IWAI YOU'RE SO SHADY

I forgot to start his social link until now whoops

Although I've only had my guts high enough for past ~2ish weeks so there's that at least

Guh, I have to get to Mementos and start up Shinya's...

How many part-time jobs does this have? Like, 5? Maybe 6, if you count him helping out Sojiro? The convenience store, the beef bowl place, the flower shop, Crossroads, and now the gun shop. Anything I'm missing? I feel like I'm missing one.

Desire & Hope is really pretty. The Desire underneath is kinda weirdly desaturated compared to the hope, though. Not sure if it actually works as well as Desire did by itself. Idk. They're both good, but I liked how Desire looked a bit more. I understand that D&H has personal meaning, though. Who knows, maybe in person I would feel differently

I kinda really like that Yusuke tends to go more abstract with his stuff, even if he does try out a bunch of different styles

Maxing Yusuke. And thank god for Affinity Readings. Finally got Ryuji at a point where I can max him.

Oh. I had forgotten how Kamu Susano-o looks. ...

[kaitoujokerscans]

Reminiscence Diamond Memory CH5

TL note: The gimmick for this book relies on wordplay, hence one particular term may seem somewhat unnatural in translation. The original word is “kumo”, which can mean either “spider” or “cloud”.

<5> Lost Memories

Some hours later, the Sky Joker was adrift in the night horizon. Joker was moping about in its cabin, breaking down and crying into the sofa... no, of course he wasn't.

"Goddamn that masked fop!" Joker cursed as he downed Hachi's curry with even more fervor than usual. "He's gotta be kidding me! For starters... *munch*... I can't believe he'd burn treasure! How much does he think that was worth! An artist put their soul into drawing that way back in the day and... *munch*... then some guy comes along and destroys it in an instant, I can't excuse the sheer nerve he has! It's never... *munch*... gonna be how it was again! I don't understand that about him at all!"

"Really! Falcon-san cheated too, that's playing dirty!" Hachi chimed in beside him.

"You got that right, Hachi!"

"Yes! If he does that, even Joker-san can't match up!"

"Right! Even I can't... hey! What do you mean, I can't match up!" Joker accused Hachi.

"Well... I mean, didn't you lose in a battle of tricks this time?"

"I didn't lose! I couldn't get that painting because he set fire to it!"

"But I've been thinking. The usual Joker-san would have realized before he set fire to it..."

"Ghh... r-really? I'm no different than usual."

"Are you sure? Is there nothing on your mind?" Hachi inquired, but Joker avoided the question.

"N-now that it's come to this, I'm gonna challenge him again and take it out on him!"

"So then we're going to Prism Island!" Hachi exclaimed. If Joker stood up now, that would mean he were back to normal. To Hachi, that was much more important than the treasure.

But Joker abruptly lost his zeal. "Oh, yeah... I'm not going after all." He suddenly turned away and leaned against the sofa.

"Why not!"

"Why! I don't want to go!"

"Why don't you! At least tell me why!"

"Shut up! You're being a pain, Hachi!"

Then the cabin door opened with a loud bang. "...!"  When Hachi looked over in surprise, he saw two silhouettes bounding through the entryway.

"Kyokyokyo, J-J-J-Joker-san!"

"Joker, we've got trouble!"

It was Dark Eye and Roko. The two of them started to pull in distress at either side of Joker, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Kyo kyo, Spade-sama was! Captureeeddd!"

"Queen is! Gooone!"

"Whoa whoa, let go, you two!"

The two caught sight of the gun and sword on the table. "Kyo kyo, why is Spade-sama's gun here!?"

"Why do you have Queen's sword!"

"Man, are you guys pesky!"

Joker finally ripped the pair off of him and sat them down on the sofa. Hachi brought hot milk to calm the two of them down. Dark Eye sipped dejectedly, while Roko lapped up milk from a saucer.

"Just what happened?" Joker asked once they had composed themselves. The pair began to explain what happened at Prism Island.

"Spade-sama was captured by a strange woman called Flamingo when he tried to save me."

"Queen was taken away somewhere. If only I had been more prepared..." The two of them said bitterly, their shoulders dropped. "Please, Joker. Can you go and save them?"

"Kyo kyo, I ask so as well. I'm not so sure with just the two of us..."

Hachi stood up assuredly. "Of course! Spade-san and Queen-san are our good friends! Joker-san and I will help out! Right, Joker-san?" He turned around, but Joker was lying sideways on the sofa, facing away.

"Joker-san!"

"Mmm, whatever, it'd be annoying."

"Wha- aren't you worried about those two?"

"Spade and Queen will be fine. They'll get out on their own. There's really nothing in it for me if I save them."

"I can't believe you..." Hachi stared blankly at Joker.

"Kyo kyo, is that the case..."

"We'll have to solve this on our own after all..." Dark Eye and Roko murmured concernedly.

Hachi yelled. "Joker-san! I thought you were better than this!"

"...!" Joker sat up and looked at Hachi. Tears thinly blurred Hachi's eyes. "Hey, hey."

"You're terrible! Dark Eye-san and Roko-san desperately came here for your help! Yet you turned them down so easily! Can you really call yourself a decent phantom thief!?"

"A phantom thief doesn't save people."

"Joker-san, you just don't want to go to Prism Island, do you!"

"Y-You're wrong! I don't want to go for their sakes!" Trying to hide his unrest, Joker turned his back to Hachi again.

"Ghhhhhhhh..." Hachi's anger had peaked. "I've had enough! We'll go to save Spade-san and Queen-san on our own! We don't need your help, Joker-san!"

"..." Joker rolled around once again and fixed his eyes on Hachi. "Hachi..."

"What! You can't stop me! I've decided I'm going to help!"

"...Be back by dinner tomorrow night. Nobody else is around to cook."

"!!?!" Hachi's face turned bright red, and his cheeks puffed even more than usual. "Enough! I don't care about you, Joker-san!!" Hachi stomped off. "Let's go, you two!"

"Kyo kyo?"

"O-Okay!" Dark Eye and Roko hurriedly grabbed the gun and sword and followed after. Soon the sound of a biplane engine came from outside the room, and the hum of its propeller gradually became more distant.

"..." Now alone, Joker sighed and lay face-up on the sofa. Staring at the ceiling, he seemed to be lost in thought. ".......'Thought I was better', huh."

There was a reason why Joker didn't want to go to Prism Island -- it was something that happened one day when he was a child.

§§§

This is a story from before Joker met phantom thief Silver Heart, when he was still living with his parents as Jack.

One summer day, Jack's father Mr. Jones came home from work and asked, "Jack, do you know about those 'riddle-solving rallies' that have been popular lately?"

"Riddle-solving rally?"

"It's a game where there are lots of riddles in one area. Once you solve all of them in order, you can get treasure at the end."

"Wow!" Jack's eyes glimmered. He loved the sound of riddles. Mr. Jones nodded knowingly and pulled out two tickets from his back pocket. "Papa! What are those!"

"Actually, they're holding one of those events at an amusement park called 'Prism Island'. Let's go on the next day off we have."

"Wow! Thanks, Papa!"

One week later, Jack boarded the Rainbow #2 en route to Prism Island with his father. The riddle-solving rally was spread over the entirety of the island. Jack and Mr. Jones went in order around the park trying to solve the scattered riddles and find the hidden keyword at the end. The riddles were clever and couldn't be solved unless they did things like go on rides or look at the wrapping paper of the hot dogs from the concession stand. Though at times they were lost and puzzled, the two of them solved the riddles one after another. Eventually night fell, and once they had explored the entire park, Jack was handed a slip of paper by a cartoon clown. "Good job. This is the last riddle," the clown told him. Jack's heart skipped a beat as he unfolded the slip. Inside was written:

When caught in gauze at 12:00 at night, what do you see in the direction of the gauze?

Mr. Jones looked at the slip, baffled.

"Does it mean we have to wait until midnight? That sounds hard..." Jack mulled.

Mr. Jones murmured, "What does it mean by 'gauze'..."

"Which?" Then Jack realized. "Oh, I get it! Gauze has different meanings, like webs or clouds!" he gleefully yelled.

Today was completely clear, good weather all day. There isn't a cloud in the sky tonight either. But does the gauze in the question really not mean 'cloud'? There has to be more to it, Jack thought as he surveyed the plaza. There were trees neatly lined up in the plaza, and bright green neon lights were already flickering on. Then Jack noticed something. "Ah! That's it!" He pointed his finger at a sign for a large cotton candy vendor in a corner of the plaza. The sign was shaped like white cotton candy, so pure and fluffy that it looked almost like a cloud.

"I see, so it means gauze as in cloud. Well spotted, Jack! That's my boy," Mr. Jones complimented. Jack giggled proudly. In hindsight, Mr. Jones might have figured it all out already. He had probably given Jack hints so he could solve it more easily.

"The second part asking "in the direction of the gauze" is probably talking about that cloud sign, so all we need to do is solve the first part about "when caught in gauze". Maybe there's something else related to gauze around here!" Jack ran off toward the cotton candy vendor.

"Hey, wait up, Jack!"

Jack was too impatient to hold back and reached the vendor by himself. He looked at the sign again, closer this time. He could see the shining sun setting on the other side of the white cloud-like board. Then he caught a peripheral glimpse of something glinting. Jack looked towards the glinting thing and yelled. "That's... I get it!" Jack had figured out what the other meaning of gauze was and turned around to tell his father. But before he could, an impish mood sprung up within him. "Okay, I'll go to where the answer is and wait for Papa there!" Joker ran off to the place with the solution and waited. Yet no matter how long he waited, his father didn't come. When got tired of waiting and returned to the plaza, Jack looked around for his father and spotted him under the veranda of a giant castle.

"So that's where Papa's been!" Jack began to run to him, but then stopped in confusion. His father was talking about something to a boy standing beside him. The blond-haired boy looked a little older than Jack, and it seemed like his father was having a serious discussion with the boy. Mr. Jones took the boy's hand and started walking.

"Huh...?"

They looked practically like father and son.

The two of them disappeared into the castle, out of Jack's sight...

§§§

"..." Joker was still lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

After that, Joker was taken away by the park staff to a lost child center, where he waited for his father. When it was almost time for the park to close and his father finally came, Joker verbally attacked him. "Why didn't you come? The rally's already over. This is all your fault!" Yet all his father did was keep apologizing and tell him "I'm sorry I'm late". He made no excuse, and didn't say a word about the blond-haired boy. Joker was for some reason too scared to ask about the other boy himself. He just yelled and cried, forgetting how he was the one who went off on his own. At last he bawled, "I thought you were better! I hate you, Papa!"

The two of them went back home in a bad mood, and Joker didn't talk to his father for a while. Thinking back, he had a really childish attitude. His father could have had his own reasons. Yet he didn't ask, stayed stubborn, and sulked. In the end, his mother mediated between them and helped them to get along like before, but neither of them touched on the matter of Prism Island. Then -- he couldn't talk to his father about it ever again. After that, Joker's parents went missing in a plane crash. Joker hadn't set foot in Prism Island since. What happened then -- the things they did together, his father not coming, acting like a parent to the boy he didn't know, and how he himself yelled out in anger -- still stuck like a thorn deep in Joker's heart.

"...We didn't solve the last riddle at the end together..." Joker murmured weakly, before hearing a ding from the microwave.

"...What's that?" Joker got up and headed to the kitchen. When he opened the microwave, he found a heatable hot-water bottle inside. "Geez. Did Hachi forget about this?" Hachi had readied it yesterday when Joker complained that his feet were so cold that he couldn't sleep. Joker stuck his hand in and took out the hot-water bottle. "Hothothothot!" He instinctively let go, and the bottle fell onto his feet. "Ah! Ouuuuch!" Joker grabbed his foot and hopped about. "Oww..." Teary-eyed from the pain, Joker crouched down. When he did, he caught sight of a small cardboard box in a corner of the kitchen. "Huh...?"

When he sat down and peered in the box, he found a set of party goods inside. There were novelty glasses, party poppers, and handmade confetti. "..." There was a neatly rolled piece of paper lying with the confetti. Unrolling it, he saw it was a long strip of paper reading "Congratulations on getting 'Beyond Twilight'!"

"What's this s'posed to be..." Hachi had probably prepared it. He might have planned for the two of them to celebrate on the occasion when they stole "Beyond Twilight". "This kind of thing is the only stuff he's careful with..." Joker sighed as he sat cross-legged, then strewed some confetti over the strip to cover it. "..." The hot-water bottle lay in front of his gaze.

Memories of his father once again surfaced in Joker's mind. It's just like then... Just like when he was a child, Joker kept being stubborn, preventing him from speaking properly. He had hurt Hachi and his father in the same way. Should things stay like this...? The thorn in Joker's heart throbbed in pain. "..."

Eventually, Joker stood up as if he had made up his mind. "...Guess I've gotta!" Joker returned to the living room, took the cape hanging up on the wall, and flung it around his shoulders. "But let me just say this isn't for Hachi. That's just extra! It's in addition to stealing 'Beyond Twilight'!" Joker shouted alone in the empty room.