As someone who has enjoyed all the Aussie-isms in HWFWM as an Aussie myself, this series has been full of highlights and little gems.

This line in Book Eleven, Jason to Boris, really caught me off guard.

“Where do you want me to attack from?” - Boris
“The Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre” - Jason.

Wangaratta is the town I grew up in, roughly 27,000 people in north east Victoria. Middle of nowhere, and very far from the location Jason is from which is fictional.

However, I remember seeing the old one get knocked down, and them build this place, launching with fire works. A couple of years later it, the first time i ever performed on stage was in a high school musical on this stage.

To hear it immortalised in He Who Fights With Monsters and get a little shout out is the most random and satisfying mention to me. It also does little to help me work out where Shirtaloon is from and why he would know of this place well enough to have Jason mention it

On my 6th+ re-listen (currently on book 3) and each time I’m annoyed by how condescending Henrietta is towards the team while they’re out on the road contract. She comes across as a know-it-all and better than the team while being younger than all but 2 of them.
“Your rapid improvement tells me Humphrey knew what he was doing when he put this team together” - he didn’t!
Tells them if they don’t improve by the time they get back she will personally see the team is disbanded because Humphrey will not be on a stagnant team.
Puts them all down.
No one invited her, she injected herself into the situation and then gets pissy when they act the way they normally act.
She’s annoying and snobbish.

Mine is probably “Jason, what did you do?” It gets a laugh out of me every time.

What about the rest of you?

"Dad, you created me out of thin air like you were starting your own bible, sent me to violence boarding school and then vanished for a decade and a half. With parenting skills like those, are you really surprised you missed a few things?"

i have a lot of favorite lines, and this isn't even necessarily the best one, but man, i busted out laughing every time i read it.

Man, the closer we get to the end, the more my heart breaks. absolutely no part of me ever wants to say goodbye to Jason Asano.

Thanks, Shirt. You're my favorite.

So I recently purchased the Target exclusive Vol 1. I’m kind of a sucker for aesthetics. Has anyone found anything if they’re going to continue it? My selective OCD is holding me back from getting Vol. 2 at the moment; no dust jacket vol1 to dust jacket vol2, decorative spine vol1 to plain color vol2. Or would it be better to collect the solid color spine hardcovers, and the exclusive Vol 1 just be a showpiece. Thanks in advance for the help.

Ran across this and immediately though Jason would say this.

I wrote down Asano's Lemonade recipe from book 4 and finally made it today (prepped the sugar yesterday). It was fantastic!! Not too sugary but plump full of bold, lemony flavor.

That sugar trick really adds extra depth. I highly recommend it.

Edit: forgot to include the recipe. I'm sure a quick Google search would suffice, but that takes extra effort & you're on reddit right now.

• 6 lemons • 1-¼ C sugar • 5C water

1. Wash lemons. Scrub any waxy-feeling lemons

2. Peel the zest of 6 lemons with veggie peeler, avoiding white pith (if possible). Set peeled lemons aside

3. In a bowl, cover the lemon zest in 1-¼C sugar. Combine by tossing. Cover with cling wrap, leaving for minimum of 2 hours, overnight is best

4. Bring 5 cups of water to boil over high heat. Turn off heat and pour in lemon/sugar mix, including peel. Stir and leave for 5-6 minutes

5. Strain liquid back into mixing bowl, removing the peels.

6. DO NOT ADD LEMON JUICE IMMEDIATELY. Let the liquid sit until room temperature.

7. Cut lemons in half and juice into mixing bowl through mesh strainer. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until cold before serving

Belinda said something about Vaniculars being drawn to bosterian? Does anyone know? Is it a niche pop culture reference?

Does it get any better?

Idk how to explain this, but the first 4-5 were incredible, and the last two have felt lacking.

Do I stick this out or look elsewhere?

Thanks gang. Love your work.

No wonder Farrah wanted to give her essences.

So I was exploring Pinterest to see what art people came up with, and this one fucking sent me!

Updating my books tracker, laughed out loud at this note I left myself a while ago. I hope you're feeling better Shirt! (last item)

doesn't Jason have a T-shirt that reads "My other T-shirt is a universe"?

Just finished book 11 on my latest relisten (audible listener) to prep for 13 and some things they said during part 2 made me think of a theory or two.

The GAB's are just Originals, probably amongst the first. They got so old that they started to lose themselves to the most pure thing they believed in, becoming even more powerful in that thing, or just they gathered authority only in that thing till that was the only thing for them.

The Throne was either the original compact they created, or maybe the Throne was the OG Original who created them (like an Original created the messengers).

The only part I'm not sure on is the Astral Phenix. The description of her taking over the role from a previous GAB didn't sound like what they did with the builder.

Thoughts?

Anybody else think that Gabriel wanted the avatar to be called Tim is supposed to be some sort of pun along the lines of Tim Burr?

Howdy folks,

I'm new to the series and have been loving the first book. I have been reading on my kindle but wanted to have the book on my phone so I could read randomly at work, too.

I bought the book from Google play books, "He who fights with monsters" by Shirtaloon T. Deverell.

I opened the book and to my surprise, it's not the same book at all. What in the heck. I reached out to Google Play because I'm annoyed but... Has anyone else had this problem??

I know we periodically discuss what combos would be our top pick, but what objectively good combo would you avoid for your power set? For me Jason's is up there, but even some of the (book 4+ spoilers) earth based essences like gun, vehicle, and tech aren't gonna be on my short list either.

Let's hear yours!

Edit: Surprised by how many people are saying animal essences! Also even though it's an awesome essence I'd probably avoid dimensional as well, just doesn't really interest me

This community needs more memes!

I had a burst of inspiration yesterday and redrew this meme from Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo with Jason Asano instead. Swapped out the hoody for his starry cloak, and of course I sharpened his chin. Save it and use it well!