#I just hope she doesn't get too toxic with it but I've never seen people who call themselves empaths go down good paths

[ruthfully]

Actual serious question: why is it specifically people high in narcissism/poor with theory of mind reasoning that describe themselves as "empaths'? Like it's not just average people, it's people who are actually pretty bad at empathy. I keep seeing this. Is it an insecurity thing? Are there other phenomena where people who are really bad at something defensively start identifying as being really good at it by focusing on their rare successful moments? Are people mistaking hypervigilance or poor emotional boundaries as empathy, while the traumatized development of hypervigilant people tends to negatively impact their actual theory of mind?

I feel like the most insightful replies are going to come from people who previously called themselves an empath and grew out of it.

[takumi-sumino]

I've seen a couple of people do stuff like this, so I'm gonna take a stab at it. My thoughts on every character so far! (Long post, so the opinions are all under the cut)

Darumi

She feels like an audience insert of sorts, with her immediate mention of death games and her outfit looking like something a stereotypical "2020 danganronpa cosplayer" would wear.

She's a bit unhinged from what we've so far, but she also seems like she'll be a lot of fun to watch on screen, and isn't that what's most important?

Definite and overwhelming red herring for something, however. Unsure for what yet, but she screams red herring to me.

Also, the fanart of her has been spectacular. Keep it up, lads.

Eito

I'm sure we've all seen *the scene*, so there's that. If that's not out of context somehow and consensual, then- yay? Good for the yaoi fans.

I immediately liked him when I first saw his design, he just *looks* nice. I'd let him hold my drink at a party. I've read somewhere that he becomes Takumi's closest friend, and I dearly hope that that's true, because that means we get lots of Eito content.

I'm also unbelievably excited for that one ending where he inevitably goes off the deep end and does something absolutely horrific. There has to be one. Manifesting it. I love watching my favourite characters commit atrocities.

Gaku

Can I just say how different he specifically looks in his two different outfits? I didn't even recognise him when his sprite of him in the uniform was revealed. His casual outfit is so silly, and his uniform looks the most like he's about to beat my ass. The gattling gun also helps, probably.

That aside, I don't feel that strongly about him. He's probably a nice enough guy, nothing else to say about him.

Hiruko

She's actually drop dead gorgeous. One of the best casual outfits.

Moving on, I think she's the one who's the leader of the squadron? She seems to have experience with facing the enemies, and she's still alive, so I admire the heck out of her for it. She also has an axe that is bigger than her; you can have all the gattling guns or scythes or floating knives in the world, but nothing bests a good old-fashioned ginormous axe.

Ima

Goofy face, what's he looking at me like that for?

This guy has a bit of a reputation, I know, but I'm choosing to have faith.

A sister complex is not inherently sexual or romantic (although it often is) and I find complicated and toxic family relationships in media quite interesting.

I am, however, almost entirely leaning on Uchikoshi here. Clover and Snake's sibling relationship was extremely well written, and I'm hoping that even if he does feel romantically inclined towards his sister, it's just as well written. I'm choosing hope.

Also, his weapon is phenomenal. I might need to make a weapons tierlist at some point.

Kako

She's a cutiepie, and I haven't missed the fact that she and her brother have angel/devil symbolism with their weapons.

Apparently, the two of them are a bit younger than many of the other students, so that should be interesting- Takumi I know is 17/18. Apparently, they're still in Junior High, so 14/15? I wonder if there'll be any split because of the age groups?

I want nothing but the best for her and I hope she gets it. And doesn't die too many times.

Karua

Likely the one this story revolves around, and one of the more mysterious characters.

I'm curious about her, but I don't really feel anything that strong about her. I am fairly certain that Takumi will tear apart reality itself for her, so she'll probably be a pretty nice character. And hopefully, NOT a twist villain.

Kurara

Absolutely wild to have a masked character in a game that Uchikoshi is writing, I'm sure that has never happened before.

She's filthy rich and has a tomato for a head, I- really don't know what to say about her. Her weapon is hilarious to me, "rich girl above all rich girls" and has a shovel for a weapon. I respect the grind, at least.

I'm sure in true Zero Escape fashion, we'll unmask her in one timeline and use that information in another.

Kyoshika

I genuinely have nothing to say about her- I learned she existed a couple days ago? Had never noticed her before, honestly.

She has a cool outfit in any case.

I just remembered there's a 10 image max on the app, so I'll continue this in a reblog

[genericpuff]

You probably don't want to talk about 'Kaos' anymore so you don't need to respond to this, I just want to tell my thoughts

At first I thought that "Hades and Persephone love each other", "Demeter is a helicopter mom" and the famous "Hades is misunderstood and the least bad of his brothers" 🙄 good thing I was too shy to say those thoughts on the internet

Ironically, thanks to "Lore Olympus" I realized the altered perception that almost everyone has about this couple and poor Demeter (now she is my favorite goddess ♥️). The clearest example is that pretentious webcomic.

When I saw the HxP version of 'Kaos'... I liked it

I feel like it's because I don't really see them as Hades and Persephone, I just see an old couple who genuinely love, respect and support each other and not a bastardization that only exists to fulfill a twisted fantasy (*Cough* LO *cough*)

I've only seen up to the beginning of chapter 6, but so far I like this version of Hades, he's not a hypocrite who feels superior to Zeus, he genuinely cares about his family, he doesn't want Zeus' pride to destroy it and tries to warn him and that went very wrong 😞

Well, that's all I wanted to say, bye 👋

I actually don't mind talking about Kaos at all, it was a great watch!!!

I was a little sigh when Persephone was like "ACTUALLY I went down WILLINGLY" but I'm glad at least that so far that it was more so just a brief, inconsequential mention and nothing that seemed to imply toxicity between her and Demeter. That said, there's still clearly meant to be a second season (whether it gets renewed is a whole other issue) so I'm reeeeallly hoping it doesn't go "haha psych!" and pull the rug out from under me with Demeter slander, but we'll see.

Again, thankfully it wasn't too major of an inclusion that it doesn't ruin the overall presentation of H x P in the show, the casting is genius (I hadn't even realized at first the actor portraying Hades was David Thewlis until my husband pointed it out and that made me love him even more hahaha) and the dynamic between Persephone and Hades is very fun as they're both clearly on the same playing field in terms of age and life experience, Persephone never seems like she's just an accessory to Hades and if anything it's Persephone who's often having to run the show (but it doesn't ever put Hades down either, he's just overworked and tired and his wife is trying to make him do self-care aahah)

And yeah, I mentioned this in a previous unrelated ask but I really feel like there's too much focus around teenagers / young couples / May-December couples (i.e. "old guy x young girl") in a lot of romance these days so seeing Kaos' depiction of H x P as a middle-aged couple who are clearly in love but also have a lot of burdens between themselves and their responsibilities was very refreshing and needed. I know a lot of romances are centered around younger couples because then they can play on the whole dramatic, "whirlwind romance" trope, but people older than 40 can have great romance stories too! And frankly considering how many romances are centered around the "first love" couples who are just constantly making out / flirting / having sex / etc., it's weirdly fun to watch a couple who are clearly past that puppy love stage and are now just working together as a unit the way experienced couples would. The love has moved past the short-term excitement of kissing and sex and moved into the long-term strength of simply committing yourself to another person and tackling life's problems together.

That's not to say that young couples can't be depicted in that way, either, but again, a lot of it often gets thrown to the wayside in favor of the more "exciting" stuff like the "will they won't they" trope and the love triangles and moments of "firsts". Ironically, those moments of "firsts" aren't so special when every romantic couple in media is having them 💀😆

Sooo yeah! Hades and Persephone in Kaos are very fun and endearing to watch, they genuinely feel like two people committed to both each other and their responsibilities as rulers of the Underworld and it shows in both their actions and how they behave together while standing against Zeus. I really hope that it gets a second season, and that whatever is contained within doesn't fall into the same "Demeter was the villain" shtick. I don't see what's so difficult about having Persephone choose to go to the Underworld without it being at the expense of her mother, it's wild how so many stories can't seem to play to both sides of the myths.

[ilektrasteam]

A few (possibly?) controversial takes that I have regarding boku dake ga inai machi (mainly rhe manga), starting from lukewarm to more hot takes:

1. This story is way deeper than people give it credit for, and while there are flaws in the writing, I think there's tons of themes that are sadly not talked at all by fans, such as childhood trauma, depression, existentialism and religion.

2. The story should be labeled thriller or suspense instead of mystery. One of the main complaints I hear from people who watched the anime is that it doesn't try to be a mystery at all.

3. Kayo is not a shallow character. She is a traumatized child. Also enough with the "she is just a plot device and does nothing, only to leave the cast". She is an abused 12 year old, she should not be getting involved in solving a serial killing case.

4. Kayo not ending up with satoru is great. I will never forgive the anime for trying to push a romance narrative. Not only is it a great subversion of the "hero gets the girl trope", but it's also incredibly creepy. It doesn't matter that satoru is biologically a child. There's several scenes that point out that he still has the experiences and viewpoint of an adult.

5. If this series had a different audience, it'd be appreciated way more. Sorry, but most if not all mainstream anime have such an "in your face" storytelling, that it doesn't promote thoughtfulness. All people I've seen criticize the anime always have the exact same takes, like "the story is very childish, the killer is predictable, the implied romance is not endgame". While even mainstream anime I personally consider shallow are capable of complicated theming too, the fast pace, overacting and loud sense of humor doesn't leave room for the audience to sit down and process the undertones of the plot. Erased (the anime) has a different energy. The characters don't have exaggerated expressions and despite it being a drama and thriller series, the atmosphere is visibly calmer and cozy. It's not about a grand adventure. Most of the scenes are about every day life. If it was a western cartoon it would probably have better perception because 1) plenty cartoon fans love overanalyzing and 2) unlike adult shows, they are more forgiving of the more "kiddy" aspects of the story (power of friendship and all).

6. After reading some of Kei Sanbe's other and more recent works, I feel more confident to say this:

Yashiro is an underrated villain and is a great antithesis to satoru. Also I genuinely don't think he is a pedo, despite it being a fairly popular consensus. I interpret their relationship as a toxic found family one. It's even stated that satoru views him as a father figure. While yashiro's crimes ARE messed up, there hasn't been any implication that the motive was pedophilia.

Both are pushed to depression and emotional detachment through childhood trauma (satoru with survivor's guilt and feeling responsible for the deaths of kayo and hiromi, with yuuki being accused)(yashiro and the dangerous household he grew up in). Both cannot connect with other people, a common trauma trait. Both tried to find thrill or enthusiasm for life to cope with depression and/or emotional constipation, but they used different means: satoru by helping others, reconnecting with his mother and forming friendships, yashiro through risk taking, scheming and killing. I wish their dynamic was explored a bit more, I think there's potential there. Satoru seems like yashiro's foil to me.

And this is not the first time Kei has written about an unhealthy, complicated (PLATONIC) relationship of villain parent-son.

Yashiro is the only one who believes satoru's revival, while satoru is the first person to see through him and survive. I'll step on english teacher grounds of overanalyzing here, but I see the whole spice thing as a metaphor for the spider, just not sure what metaphor exactly. Satoru and spice survived hell, which may give hope to yashiro he has a chance too. Or maybe spice and satoru ARE the spider. Or maybe spice and the children are hell dwellers, while satoru is the spider who saved them. Or- okay I will stop.

I'm open to discusssion or different opinions, in fact, I encourage it, just please be respectful about it. What I love about fiction is the different interpretations people can form

[thecoolerliauditore]

big post now that the adrenaline is cooled down a bit. thoughts on each team so far.

overall: ohh I really didn't think I would be enraptured again I really didn't think I would be. Like don't get me wrong I'm not one for wanting the series to end or anything but I was very, very happy about the year long break after Secret Life because it was feeling like quite a lot of content to the point where it was overwhelming.

That break was crucial, I think, to the vibes since I don't know if it's just me but the players just feel like they have so much more energy and excitement for the new season. Etho and Mumbo especially are so quirky this session.

The new mechanic is. shrugs. Really no way to judge it yet seeing as we've pretty much barely seen what it can entail. The fact that everyone has six lives though is making me think some of them are gonna be crazy in future sessions cus that's a ridiculously generous number otherwise and I assume Grian doesn't intend for this season to be twice Third Life's length.

EIGHTEEN PLAYERS! EIGHTEEN PLAYERS! Lizzie, Mumbo, Rendog, Gem 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 I don't have much to add I'm just so happy we're finally getting a season with All of Them. Rendog Ren Ren Diggity Dawg I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

The lag on the server looks um ..... ? Aternos lookin ass. I hope it doesnt impact them too much beyond this episode and they get that fixed cus whoagh that is um bad. Joel being soooo fucking angry about it is so funny please never change Joel.

~

Renwood Mound: First of all horrid name but I would be disappointed by anything less sexually suggestive. Second of all please check up on your Treebark mutuals this is a difficult time. Refeeding syndrome might just kill a couple of you I'm so sorry.

I'm not a big Ren/Martyn understander but my dash has been more celebrating their reunion than crying tears of anguish like the other toxic rebounds (ethubs, tango, pearl) that have popped up so I can only assume it's going to be okay we're all gonna make it.

If they do stay as a duo this season is going to be crazy for Martyn specifically I think. He's already gotten the betrayal he wants, he's already achieved the villainous role he so wants to play, and now it's just him and Ren together with no Dogwarts to lead. I genuinely have no idea where this one will go. o7

~

BAM Boys: I really hope the "boys" part stays in the name despite Lizzie joining them at the end for my very specific Lizzie headcanons. It would tickle me.

Anyway we're finally freed from the grasps of blue man and get the Scar/Jimmy team up this time with added Lizzie flavour. I'm very excited and like. I've seen a lot of people doubting this team will go far which confuses me because I don't know if you guys are aware but Scar won last season. And Lizzie, despite her early death in SL, really is no pushover either (she had one of the highest body counts in LL and I wish more people talked about that).

Scar specifically is in a great spot with pretty much full diamond armour already. He gets all giddy while mining and says to himself something like "ooh I get to share some with Jimmy!" which is so sweet to me.

Scar remaking the reputation board from Third Life is actually insane. What is he doing.

All this to say I think this team looks wholesome and I'm optimistic for their future. This could be Jimmy's Mounders. Or it could be Fairy Fort 2 idk let's see.

~

I think Bigb's possessed again.

~

The Hobbits(???): Hilarious to me that they stole Flower Husbands' original branding. Anyway Grumbo is back idk if I know them well enough to make a statement but I'm mentally chucking them into the toxic rebound box in my head just to get the number up.

This is the POV I've seen the least of but they seem fun. I wonder if being out of the horrific environment that was the Southlanders will do any good for Grumbo's relationship. Skizz being there also tends to bring the mood up 400% (unless it's Dogwarts).

~

Joel & Gem: IM SO EXCITED. This is pretty much the Bdubs/Joel team-up I wanted originally but now we get Ethubs too which is even more awesome for me. Very cringe take from me but they are both shounen anime.

Despite what Scott says I really don't think they'll "spontaneously combust". They're both high energy and aggressive but historically loyal to the people who accept them, the sample rate for Gem is not exactly scientifically viable but. Vaguely gestures to all of Secret Life.

I kind of wanna see Gem kill Pearl.

~

Whatever the fuck the Ethubs + Tango team is called: Why.

No like seriously Tango I thought you hated these bitches why are you third wheeling them. He's also surprisingly Bdubspilled like he sides with him on the horse thing and tries to warn Bdubs about Etho lying later. Like, don't get me wrong I really don't think Tango has spite for Bdubs comparable to like. Pearl for Scott for example but he certainly isn't fond of him after he um Fucking Murdered Him and was completely unapologetic.

I'm not really a Tango guy so I can't speak on what's going on inside his head regarding that it's just. Interesting to observe. At least the brief ranchers interaction was cute (and really funny to see in the background of ethubs yelling at eachother).

Anyway Ethubs are insane. It's so funny to me that their horse argument literally lasted an entire in game day.

It's fun for me specifically because I always viewed Secret Life as somewhat of a soft end/reboot point for the series for multiple reasons - the year long hiatus, scars win bookending things really well, pearl and scotts arcs wrapping up (oh how naive) and, of course, the conclusion ethubs reached.

I think I've made a post before about how beautiful of an ending SL is for Ethubs. The distance allowing them to overcome their own personal issues with Bdubs learning he's capable and to care for people who aren't himself or Etho and Etho learning relationships don't have to be minefields, leading into HC10 where Bdubs moves into the rural countryside away from everything and Etho hanging out with his new coworkers at the post office. They can still talk and visit, of course, but the time away from eachother does them wonders and adds a bit of hope for how they will be in the future.

So how should I even fucking feel about Etho pulling a Limited Life and almost killing Bdubs for a prank. Or Etho asking Bdubs what he's done for him. Or Etho in general being a little shit about the horse thing and Bdubs being equally stubborn.

Bdubs even kinda?? Talks like they're a couple who've gone to therapy with the "I should express how I feel and how I feel is.." and the way he catches himself when he's halfway through yelling. Like I'm not insane you guys hear it too right.

Like don't get me wrong I'm very stuck in my ways of insisting Ethubs isn't really toxic, at least not anymore, but I can totally see someone else being horrified by them and I would cheer them on for it. This episode is especially going to be horrible for that person. At least for me it seems like Bdubs' character development is very real i.e. him rejecting Etho's chestplate with the classic "I can take care of myself", a stark contrast to LL/DL Bdubs and he bites back when Etho is weird.

I have hope for Ethubs is what I'm trying to say and it's totallyyyy not because they're my first ship and I'm biased. I need to figure out what's wrong with Etho and why he's doing this. I saw a post that theorized Etho wanted Bdubs to get mad at him and kill him this season which I'm rotating a bit but I'll have to keep watching. Ethubs girls we're in for it we really are. Tango girls I'm um sorry.

~

PICS / the Islanders: My 13th reason why.

Trying to not repeat too much here from whatever happened to me emotionally last night but this is what hell looks like. It's what I expected but like. DAMN. I wasn't expecting it to be. That bad.

Seeing a lot of people say that the team is just. Pearl, The Horrors and Impulse who is just 🧍‍♂️and I don't think that's completely wrong or anything however ☝️I must say that Impulse continues to frighten me and him being here is making me personally shake like a chihuahua. Like I can't really explain his character if you put a gun to my head I just think the guy might have some issues communicating emotions and prefers to hold grudges/be passive aggressive like with the psychological horror that was the impdubs DL POV and I can't imagine him being particularly Good for Pearl. Also he's done several insane things in the past e.g. the Bdubs grudge, laughing at Tango when he tries to kill himself in SL, being excited(??) for gem to kill him in SL, trying to kill Skizz in SL wow wait maybe it's just proximity to gem and scott that fucks this guy up. Idk though I don't trust his ass.

Anyway. Yes like we are all Martyn Inthelittlewooding it up for Pearl in here. I have so many somewhat misogynistic fantasies in my head about her being saved by Gem or Bdubs or Joel or Bigb for that matter. Emotionally that's what I would want. HOWEVER I don't think that would actually be anything that would help Pearl in fact I think she'd just run back to her team because she's loyal like that. So now I kind of just want to see the consequences of her actions. Whittle her down to nothing 💥💥💥💥💥It would break me it genuinely would.

Cleo fucking catching herself and correcting "trauma" to "damage" mid sentence is insane can we kill. can we kill them.

So yeah um I'm excited for this season

[aleksanderscult]

Darklina's first kiss

That meme that I posted made me wanna analyze their first awkward kiss.

Consider it a little gift for Valentine's day 💕

I'll quickly skip over their conversation with Baghra and their conversation with each other minus some important parts.

The Darkling sees that even though her power has improved it's not enough to be used against the volcra.

Baghra has changed her tune apparently. All the other times she was alone with Alina she was saying: "Your power is not enough! Try again! Again!". Now she's like "No, I think it is enough. Give her an amplifier" out of an attempt to persuade the Darkling not to go after the Stag.

Baghra brings out her usual toxic self and the Darkling alludes that he has often been verbally attacked by his mother.

YES! STAND UP TO HER!!

Seeing a victim of abuse standing up to his abuser is so empowering.

The Darkling tells Baghra to take her toxic ass and leave them the fuck alone.

He sees how her powers have changed her physically and have given her health and vitality.

The Darkling when he saw Alina strong and healthy: "You look well😊"

Mal when he saw Alina strong and healthy: "You look well😒"

The Darkling being a gentleman is one of the highlights of this book 👌

Alina is the one that breaks the silence and asks him about the Stag.

He's trying to let her know that just because her powers aren't enough, that doesn't mean that she's worthless. And even admits that he cannot deal with the Fold himself. He's making an effort to make her feel less bad about herself.

He's a fan of her humor 😭🥹👉👈

Now he's even apologising for giving her false hope. He promised her the Stag and he can't find it.

He even doubts himself and can't shake off the words Baghra had told him. Even though they disagree on almost everything, he seems to always keep her words in his mind.

Actually no Alina, Baghra is no good for Aleksander. She's just the person the lowers his confidence.

THEY'RE TOO CUTE!! TOO ADORABLE!! IT'S ALMOST DISGUSTING!! 😭😭

"The most random kiss doesn't ex...."

WHERE DID THAT COME FROM??

By the way, is that "flush" from the cold or from something else? 😌 Is it a blush? 😌

Never mind it's still cute regardless because we just witnessed a thousand year old creature unable to hide his crush anymore.

Also, I've seen people say that he kissed her because he wanted to distract her from asking questions about the Stag. It's true that Alina started this conversation but here the Darkling only asked her opinion. And it's apparent that he means it when he says that he cares to know about it because he did the same thing in RoW when he asked to see her and talk to her.

How did I expect a truly manipulative person to react: *all confident, flirty, even smug about it*

How did the Darkling react: "Uhh...I....uhh...I think I left the stove on!! Gotta go!!"

How does it feel to catch feelings after centuries of withdrawal from them, Aleksander? 🙃

Ivan decided to cockblock them because why not.

OR he took pity of him and said: "Gotta help him out of this".

Bros helping each other 🤝

Why did he smirk if he didn't notice that there is something wrong with his master? A girl having lost a beat in front of the Darkling is normal for him. But the Darkling himself having lost ten beats in front of a girl must be something entertaining for him indeed.😏

The Darkling be like:

"Pretend everything is okay, Aleksander. Just walk normally, talk normally and pretend like you don't have a flock of butterflies inside your stomach. Oh! I also need to remember to give Ivan a raise. He's a life saver".

So yeah I don't think it was actually a sneaky attempt of manipulation but our evil mastelord couldn't control his own feelings and let them act before his logic. Even powerful immortals get crushes and act all awkward with them apparently. Especially this one who has squashed his feelings down for centuries and he's surprised to find out that not only they still exist inside him but have also taken over him.

[d3sertdream3r]

I've been loving trop this season!! I am wondering how the whole SauronxGaladriel thing is going to play out though I'm nervous it won't be very satisfying with everything they've built up and all the marketing hype it's gotten. I'm worried they're baiting shippers to get more people to watch. Thoughts?

Oh boy, I have MANY thoughts!

I am absolutely DEVOURING this season, anon! The first episode in particular really blew me away. As a Saurondriel/Haladriel shipper, I thought all the direct parallels shown in Sauron and Galadriel’s journeys were PERFECT! 

I was worried they were going to retcon Sauron’s genuine feelings of despair and questioning if he should “repent” or not due to the amount of hate and toxicity from the usual suspects on the internet. Instead they really leaned into it, and I loved seeing The Dark Lord having nightmares. It’s a side of him we’ve never seen explored before! And that Annatar reveal… holy moly! Celebrimbor and I were both like: 

Galadriel has been breaking my heart in each episode. Elrond and Gil-Galad need to give my girl a break! Morfydd Clark’s acting is stellar. She is so heartbroken over not recognizing Sauron for who he truly was and even worse… catching feelings for him! She’s really going through it and it hurts, but it’s also brilliant on the writers’ part. 

Everyone else’s acting and stories are great too. Arondir was a favorite of mine last season and continues to be this season. Disa is FANTASTIC and I love her and Durin so much there aren’t any words to describe it. Isildur and Estrid are cute and I’m interested to see how their story plays out. I hardcore ship Elendil and Miriel, and his daughter needs to take a seat before she helps Pharazon destroy their home! I know the story, but MAN was it killing me to see how Eärien is contributing to its downfall in this show (in a good way… I think having her be involved with the opposite side of her father makes for great drama). 

As to the second part of your ask… I have been involved in many online fandoms for about 13 years now, and I gotta say that 98% of the time fans come up with way more interesting storylines than the creators of any show. A lot of the time they just don't deliver. I’ve been burned over and over again, so my bar is pretty low at this point. 

They’ve done a fabulous job with the Saurondriel dynamic so far, and I’ve seen some really interesting fan theories about Galadriel briefly joining Sauron or being taken prisoner by him. As truly fascinating as that would be, I’m not holding my breath. I think it’ll be a rehash of season one’s ending with more violence since they have swords this time around. After that, I’m guessing they’ll focus on Sauron gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing his way to the throne of hell while Galadriel and company work together to stop him. They’ve hinted at Celeborn a bit, I’m sure we’ll see them reunited at some point. 

I’m sorry if this isn’t very reassuring! I wish I could be more optimistic about Saurondriel in season 3, but I honestly don’t think Tolkien’s estate would go for Galadriel falling to the dark side in any capacity. Sauron taking her prisoner could happen, but I highly doubt it simply because as I said before, fans tend to have better ideas than a lot of creators in my opinion.

I could be completely wrong! I have just learned not to trust creators to handle things the BEST way, but that doesn't mean it won't be handled in a GOOD way. Hopefully that makes sense, lol. I think some people will be satisfied and some people won't, just like every other story. The shippy photoshoots and marketing have been delightful! I can't tell if they're baiting until I see the last episode. I think they were just having fun, but some comments from cast and creators would definitely seem a bit baity if the payoff is underwhelming. We'll see!

I really hope the season goes out with a bang and we all have something to love about it; especially Saurondriel shippers!

[nexkoyotl]

Can we please talk about how Natalie is maternal?, like I know Shauna is the one who is the most in the whole group, but literally nobody talks about Natalie.

At first we don't see her interact with Javi too much but that makes sense, she is hooking up with his brother wich makes it weird specially because Travis "acts" as if Javi was just annoying him. But then as things with Travis get more serious and Nat realizes how much Javi means to Travis, she at first thought he was dead and was unhealthy for Travis to just keep holding to "fake hope" but when Javi is back she tries to redeem herself but not for Travis anymore but because she actually wants to do something for Javi, maybe as an apology?.

Now, we didn't see as many interactions of Javi with Nat as we did with Shauna but she still impacted him in some way because he knew how important Nat was for his brother and impacted enough for him to wanted to save her.

And of course, Natalie as many of the other suffers Javi's dead because they were part of it, Nat literally tries to justify herself with Travis, but let's put that aside, everyone that eat from him is "guilty". But Nat tried to save him, she literally was about to do it if it wasn't because of Misty, but Natalie could easily push her and get him but then she would have die, she chose herself instead of him and I don't blame her due to their situation, they were hungry and scared. But again, this doesn't mean she doesn't blame herself after since she CHOSE not to save him.

Now I don't see Natalie as the one of "I want to have kids" type, specially after how her parents were and I don't mean she is like "families are the worst is just the same" no, I mean as "I'll become one of my parents" situation, specially after Javi, chosen herself instead of the kid is something a father like hers would have done, she believes she is such a pretty shitty person that she would be a shitty mother as well. So In short I just mean that for her is more of "I don't want to hurt a kid" than "I don't want that life again".

But now we go to the "present"

Natalie has been in and out of rehab for 5 times now, of course If she consider herself a shitty person before the crash then just imagine now? So she continues this toxic path of drugs and alcohol, probably same as Travis, now idk if they ever were a couple after they were back but I'm pretty sure "settle down" wasn't really an option they consider or at least not her for what we have seen so far.

Then we get Kevyn, he was her best friend back then and I guess they like each other at some point and now he is an attractive divorced man that still likes her but he has 2 children, and when she tell this to Shauna and Tai they both are like "that sound complicated" but Natalie affirms that she doesn't care. Now, I don't think she was talking about Kevyn's ex since she has never cared about that as we see with Travis and Jackie, so I guess she talks about how she doesn't care about Kevyn having kids.

And in this scene of Mason's game she actually was enjoying before the Ptsd kicks in.

Now, where am I going with all this? Motherhood and maternity are a whole spectrum in the life of a girl, not matter how you view it, as positive or negative, it still forms a part of girlhood, and I think for Nat is more than we realize, she claims she is poison, she is selfish and that everything she touches dies but she was also the hunter, the provider, care for the younger, gived advices, protector, etc.

But what do you guys think? As I say this is a topic that has an impact in every girl's life no matter what, for me I see Natalie like this, maybe in another life, she would've had kids or just like the idea of it. (Specially since I've known a lot of people that you wouldn't think of them on wanting a family or settle down but then they have kids and are like the best kind of parents) is so sad we never got to see Nat thinking about it, she probably didn't even had the opportunity to do it, specially since she died when she was just healing.

So again, what do you guys think? Can you see what I'm trying to say or am I just crazy?

[jvstheworld]

I had thoughts I needed to get off my mind. I watched Bridgerton season 3, and my heart broke for Penelope when she asked Colin to kiss her. She had not felt genuine love from anyone in a long time. Her best friend had left her, her family belittled her at every opportunity, her father was dead, the Ton made fun of her and looked down on her, and Colin publicly said he would never court her. No one saw her as she wanted to be seen, a beautiful, intelligent, witty woman.

It feels like romantic love is impossible to have when familial love and platonic love are long gone or never felt. When no one sees you the way you wish, you were seen. Or are you discarded by others for someone better. It slowly breaks you down. It makes you feel unworthy of love and attention. Love feels like a pipe dream as you watch everyone else enjoy time with friends and family and find their loves while you're too scared to even act or look for anyone.

Can you even feel romantic love when all other loves have been denied? What does love even feel like? How can you know it's real? Trying to find love when you only see the worst version of yourself is near impossible. Because when the doubts you have about yourself constantly circle your thoughts, you will only believe them and can not accept that someone might think differently.

Maybe you're terrified of being that vulnerable with someone. Of letting yourself feel anything other than disappointment in yourself for not being more than you are, for not living up to the expectations that the people around you have placed on you. Maybe you've been hurt too much by people you thought you could trust, and they abused that trust and left you more hurt than you were before.

I've been through that. I've been hurt, abandoned, broken, and left lonely and isolated, and now I’m now too scared to open up and let anyone into my life. My family barely loved me, and the one person who did love me died when I was a kid. My friends didn't want me around that much because I was struggling to deal with my grief, my depression, and toxic home life they didn't know about, couldn't know about, didn't care to know about. That was my life for the past 16 and a half years. I don't know if it's possible for me to even feel real love of any kind. I can say the word, but I don't know if the meaning is even there. It just becomes a habit of saying it back when someone says it to me. I've never felt romantic love and doubt that anyone has ever felt it for me. I've dated before, a long time ago, and didn’t love them. I was in love with the idea of being with someone because I was alone. I thought it would make things better, but it didn't. I thought it would make me happier, but it didn't. It only made me more scared because I couldn't let myself be vulnerable with someone.

The thing is, I still hold out hope that one day someone might fall in love with me, and I might fall in love with them. It's a pipe dream, but I still want it. I still want to find love because even if it doesn't last, I'd rather know what it felt like for a time than to never have ever felt it. I'm just a long way off from accepting it right now.

[inbetweenknacksandnooks]

Just started the newest ZZZ special episode and... it's giving me 2nd-hand rage.

You know how in cartoons (usually comedy ones) a character will have a bunch of garbage happening around them, but they're not mad because they feel like they 'shouldn't be', so you, as the viewer, get mad for them.

Anyway that's how I feel about Yanagi's story so far.

Yanagi is essentially raising 3 children in the form of her colleagues.

Soukaku is mildly forgivable, only because my personal headcanon is that her mental growth has been stunted one way or another, and it's revealed why Yanagi takes care of her in Yanagi's teaser. So I can forgive that well enough.

But Miyabi is a different case. It's stated that she passed on all the paperwork to Yanagi, and constantly tries to get out of meetings. I know that meetings and paperwork is unpleasant, but you're the CHIEF ffs! Take some responsibility!

While Zhu Yuan had boundaries in the workplace, such as not working overtime when her job was done, Yanagi seems to have the opposite

Miyabi doesn't seem to stop or suggest stopping this kind of thing to keep her health intact either!

Harumasa isn't as bad as Miyabi, but he's not great either, as he constantly wants to slack off whenever possible.

This is the equivalent of having to do a group project with 3 unmotivated people that want to dilly-dally and sidetrack every possible conversation to avoid doing work, and ultimately, you have to take on the whole damn thing by yourself.

I'm not trying to say that the rest of Section 6 don't love or care about Yanagi at all, they obviously do, and if Yanagi had a heart attack from underlying cardiovascular disease (due to her immense work stress), the three would likely visit her hospital bed (if she was still alive, anyway, since women die from heart attacks more frequently, and she's often left either on her own, or with what is basically an incompetent child who wouldn't know the first thing about strokes or those kinds of problems)

But I don't think Miyabi would learn that this toxic asf work environment is the thing killing her, and would go back to not caring about Yanagi staying late after the first month or two of the incident.

I think the thing that peeves me the most, is how all three of them act like whiny children with Yanagi around.

As I mentioned, Soukaku is mostly excusable, since she has stunted mental growth.

But fucking Miyabi, crying about not wanting to attend a meeting, or Harumasa who faked a fucking stomachache to skip work?!

This is your job, not Elementary School! I hope one of your vacation days were snatched!

I make a big deal out of this, because I don't think that anyone should have a parent-child relationship with their colleagues, unless there is an underlying condition wherein you are the person's caretaker (Soukaku)

I would never want a parent-like relationship with a spouse, nor one with a friend. Hell, I don't need a parent-like relationship at all, since I'm an adult.

Likewise, a child's parent shouldn't be a bosom buddy.

I might just be projecting a little bit, or getting too personal, because I never want to have kids ever, and I've seen people with this kind of lifestyle where they baby everyone around them, and get fucked with little-to-no freetime, heightening blood pressure due to stress, and a lot of pent-up feelings because they can't communicate to their friends, because they treat their friends as children, and their friends treat them as a parent.

Anyways, I'm not very far into the Special Episode, so maybe Yanagi snaps somewhere or has an emotional breakdown where Section 6 (specifically Harumasa and Miyabi) can see how much Yanagi is doing, and they help to rectify this, by eventually creating a much better workplace to live in.

A lifestyle like this can't go on forever, and I hope the negative effects are shown.

[joemama-2]

I just wanted to say your writing is incredible and honestly, the recent chapter of VL has me considering to start smoking from the stress and reading this at 5 o'clock in the morning before work 🤣

I've seen a few people taking sides and ignoring how actually slimy suguru's actions are and calling him the better option when he might be a worser option for her than satoru. This is how he is on his best behaviour without any major struggle, I fear when he actually struggles or shows his ugly side, miss girl is going to have a thousand more problems.

He knows there's a line he cross and boldly lies to his best friend's face and says there's nothing going on. I dont blame him for lying because he was going to get a beating but please, let's take a seat and reflect on your actions. But he should've known when to leave or either of them tell reader to just go inside and rest. Both him and satoru should've settled this on their own without her, instead of trying to arguing about who has suffered the most and refusing to actually listen or even apologise to each other for the wrong that they have each done.

I really don't like geto, especially considering how he clearly liked her for so long and should've stepped back and not gotten involved in her life the moment he released he liked his best friend's baby mamma/ex. Also, he only seems to care that reader is alone but has never tried checking up on satoru, his actual best friend. His motives are shady and I roll my eyes every time he's on screen. I find him and reader more stressful and frustrating than himari, but that's because her name is so close to the word donkey in Arabic, I can't help but laugh even when she's annoying and rude.

They are all in the wrong but let's not pretend geto is a Saint or even reader is innocent in any of this. But we'll leave her alone because she's been getting too much hate recently.

As for your other story "a dead end", I just have to say I love how unapologetically mean reader is. I found it refreshing, I hope that doesn't make me toxic 👀🤣 but thanks for another update :)

And sorry for the rambling and I hope I'm making some sense.

- M

helloooo, first off i’m really glad u enjoyed a dead end haha. i’ll be releasing that chap next. writing a reader like that is a little new for me so we’ll see how this goes but….i like her too heheh 🥰🥰

as for suguru, yes. in truth, he shouldn’t have done anything or let anything happen. reader was vulnerable at that moment and i fear that since she sees suguru as the only one truly showing his care for her rn, she believes that he’s all she has. hence her conflicting emotions and how she still subtly compares him to satoru even by saying “it wasn’t the person she exactly wanted” in the last chapter.

and i did not know himaris name was close to the donkey word 😭😭😭 now im going to laugh anytime i write it

anywhooo, thank you for ur love and support <3

[luckycloverforducks]

Tell me more about velvette and baggies relationship in the swap au

I wanna see all the different and toxicity in it, and how charlie would react to it and all that

*Not sure eif I sent a similar ask to this or not- if I did sorry)

FUCK YES I FINALLY CAN YAP

And dw you did not my ask box is. Empty

Their relationship is vaguely similar to I think, Mammon and Fizz?? Somewhat, I mean I've never watched Helluva but I've seen people talk about it, Vaggie feels indebted to Velvette for getting her to where she is right now yk with being a popular star, and Velvette is. Interesting

Velvette often switches back and forth between treating Vaggie like a bestie and just another demon working under her, and previously before Charlie came into the picture, sometimes like a girlfriend, which leaves Vaggie constantly confused

Velvette often overworks Vaggie to hell and back, but honestly she kinda? means well? A teensy bit, she doesn't want Vaggie to fall from popularity if she leaves the public eye for too long, and Vaggie does like performing/singing and the praise she often gets from it (even if she gets overwhelmed sometimes) so in a way she's trying to help her maintain the fame and praise that Vaggie often seemed to preen over, so in a fucked up way, in her eyes, she's trying to keep her happy and to keep up everything they both have worked hard for (Vaggie's career). She's also like, really into Vaggie but she gave up on that pursuit a bit ago, doesn't stop her from being petty and toxic about it tho

Vaggie is tired and confused, to say the least. She doesn't really know what Velvette actually thinks of her, if she values her in any way, or even care at all about her. Velvette tends to demean and sometimes verbally abuse Vaggie but the next day she tends to sort of make up for it, like she feels bad. In the early days, they were much closer, and Vaggie genuinely liked Velvette, and maybe had a little crush on her.

When Vaggie does good, Velvette showers her with praise, affection, and affirmation but is she slips up, she gets cold and mean, even a little shouty at times, and "honestly are you trying to embarrass me at this point?!" And Vaggie just stands there confused, ashamed, and a little pissed. Does she even see her as anything other than another asset for her brand? She can't tell. Sometimes it feels like she does, sometimes it doesn't. Vaggie is just so confused.

Velvette pushes her so much because she knows she can do better, but she constantly fails to take account Vaggie's limits, boundaries, and feelings, especially since Vaggie tends to mask her true feelings alot, keeping them all inside until they burst under the smallest addition of pressure, which makes her lash out at Velvette when Velvette didn't really deserve it at the moment, which makes Velvette think she's being unfair.

Vaggie feels that Vel is capable of being a better person, she just doesn't see that she's not one already, or that she needs to (or maybe she's just not worth it in her eyes?)

But neither hate the other, not really. Vaggie would like to, but she can't quite get there, while Velvette wouldn't even dream of genuinely hating Vaggie.

It's complicated, they're both fond of each other but also have a certain animosity between each other, esp Vaggie (rightfully so)

They are honestly both flaming messes, Velvette being the worst one of the two and also a part of the reason why Vaggie is a flaming mess aswell-

In short :Vel is a bad boss and a conflicting 'friend', and Vaggie is struggling through it

And Abt what Charlie thinks? She sincerely hopes Velvette explodes, she would do it herself but Vaggie still has an attachment to her (which Charlie sincerely hopes she'd lose, Vel isn't good for her, or much of anyone) so for now she just lets her be, but they always argue w/ each other (Vaggie just sigh tiredly in the background)

Hope this satisfies you, I have alot of thoughts Abt them :3

[citrinekay]

Hey! I’ve been meaning to reach out and say hi for a while! Finally, I got a re-blog from you, tysm!! I’ve seen quite a few of your JCW posts (and also your stuff on various fandoms on AO3) and I know you’re quite the JCW fan – me too! Actually, I wanted to message to let you know that I think what you’re doing with the Andy/Revolver fanfic you’re writing is amazing. I read the first chapter a few days ago and am interested to see what you do with the story. The way you are dealing with some very sensitive topics is so well written, and I love the thought you have put into Andy’s character to give him this dark backstory. I’m looking forward to reading the rest when it’s completed, I never do well with chapter by chapter!! Also, well done for being the first to post for the Revolver fandom, I remember a short time back having to do that for the Pachinko fandom and I was nervous as hell. You are a very talented writer for sure, so I know the Revolver one will be a good read. Hopefully you’ll be inspired with Gangnam B-Side too once we see more. Anyway, sorry for waffling on, but if you ever wanna enthuse about JCW feel free to message ❤️ ~ take care 

Hi!! I've also seen your name popping up on AO3 too whenever I go to publish something JCW-related, like oh there's that one other person who loves him as much as I do😊lol I watched Worst of Evil last October and just fell completely in love him/ haven't been able to get back out of the obsession spiral since then thanks to pretty much every work he's done being worth watching. I don't expect the fixation to end any time soon haha

I'm genuinely so happy to receive feedback on my Revolver fic! Before I started posting, I made peace with the fact that it wasn't going to get much engagement since I had to create the fandom tag myself, but of course I do want some people to read and enjoy it. I was also fairly nervous about approaching those sensitive topics, so it's a relief to know that the way I'm presenting it doesn't feel offensive or tactless. It's always my intention to show the dark sides of human nature and relationships in a compelling but empathetic way. I couldn't stop thinking about the crumbs they gave us about Andy and Grace's relationship after I finished watching the movie, especially that final scene on the mountain when he begs her not to leave him and Madam Jung's comment to Suyeong that there's "rumors that he's her lover." She doesn't even allow people to know he's really her mom, which in and of itself could be pretty damaging to someone's development, but it seemed to me that the toxicity between them goes further than just this secret. They were clearly manipulating each other in that moment when she starts to walk away and then he cries and begs her not to leave. I thought that it seemed as if they had been through this type of push-and-pull before, a vicious cycle from which there is no escaping, and I really wanted to examine what had led up to that point.

It also really struck me that even though Andy is a privileged, wealthy person, he is drinking alone when Suyeong first meets him. Nobody rushes to his rescue when she's beating him and nobody really cares that he got hurt afterward (not even Grace, she's just mildly annoyed!) While it's true that his behavior invites getting his ass kicked, I think that anyone acting with such conscious disregard of their own life and everyone else's might have serious trauma that has never been addressed. Anyway, I totally understand waiting to read the fic until it's complete and I hope you enjoy the rest once it's done. I'll be updating weekly, so it shouldn't be too much longer.

Also, absolutely yes about Gangnam B-Side. I watched the first 2 episodes on Wednesday evening and my brain is already tickling with many thoughts about Gilho. As always, JCW is delivering a performance full of depth and nuance 🖤 I'll wait until the show has finished airing and I have all the character details to start writing but atm I can almost guarantee there will be some fics coming from me!

[thechosenanubis]

Hey, @mask-of-anubis hope you don't mind that i made a separate post with your tags as the main focus point. ( the tags are taken from this post if anyone is curious) But I felt the the topic is too important to just be kept in the tags.

Thoughts under the cut.

I want to preface this post by saying that you're completely right, that the hoa girls are held at a much higher standard compared to the boys. Sadly this is a common reccurence in most media.

Female characters are scrutinized for everything they do, no matter if you are a "traditonal gal", a "female warrior" or something in between.

As you pointed out, these girls are complex and they make mistakes ( and thank god that they do, because if they didn't and were instead some mary sues hoa would be boring as hell). We have to thank the writers for that because they wanted to create human characters.

Simply put: people scream about wanting "complex female characters!" and when they get them on screen they whine about how "toxic" "pathetic" "whiny" "bitchy" they are.

Let's take for example the worst form of this behavior: The S2 Joy-Nina rivalry. (yes, i'm really going there).

I'm one of the few people in the entire hoa fandom, that thinks that their rivalry ( while i can agree that it overstayed its welcome sometimes) was actually a good arc, and in some ways was inevitable.

People thinks that feminism means "the girls must always get along!" Ignoring that forcing two girls who have very different views, becoming friends just for the sake of Feminism™ is actually going to diminsh the quality of the story, and the characters themselves too.

In fact, since its quite implied in the pilot that joy has a major crush of Fabian, and i'm sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but no girl is going to be happy that her crush isn't single anymore, especially when (at least from joy's pov) she and fabian were quite close. Of course, the way joy went about it in s2 was wrong, but the girl is traumatized ( as all the characters in the show are to various degrees lol) and instead of blaming the teachers, she focused her anger on the easy target.

But keep in mind that Nina isn't a saint either: she's passive aggressive to an unhealthy degree, she lashes out at her friends, and is very possessive about a boy who isn't her boyfriend anymore.

But people, instead of trying to understand why they act that way, They prefer the easy way out aka calling them something along the lines of "Bitch" "Horrible" "Toxic" "Pathetic" "Whiny" "Bully" and everything else under the sun.

Really it's quite concerning that i've seen this behavior in multiple fandoms, and it has no intention of stopping. And no matter how you spin it, female characters can never win, because people will find a way to hate them regardless.

Because as you said, when did male characters ever been held responsible for their own actions? Right, never.

Because fans, somehow to make their fave male character "he's just a soft boy™ who can do no wrong ever" , they have to ignore every single flaw they have. Even if those flaws make them interesting.

Instead female characters are always blamed, villified for the same things the male characters do.

And really everything comes down to the double standard , doesn't it?

[deadendtracks]

This thing about tommy dying and someone’s fantasy that they want him to meet grace is obviously bothering you. A LOT. No matter what their justification is to see that, why are you constantly ranting about it? I am told you have blocked tommygrace fan accounts so why bother what they think. It is no secret that you dislike Grace and like to JUSTIFY how she doesn’t have much importance. I have read your meta and you are terribly biased against that character. You can insist and pretend you are not part of the ship wars but you are very judgemental about Grace and always reduce her character while supporting Lizzie and her stan. I mentioned about your posts to the original poster and her reaction was to laugh at you. She mentioned you are a hypocrite who finds every opportunity to rant about Grace fans and ignore the ridiculousness that goes on in other parts of the fandom. Like why would you say “you have never seen lizzie stan talk about dying?” I mean obviously they are too busy praying for lizzie to finally get tommy even though they were toxic together. All fans have their hopes and wishes, you are selectively picking on Grace stan.

a) i like grace a lot! so wrong there.

b) i have been clear that the part that bothers me is talking about tommy dying as if that's the only thing left for him given how traumatized he is. that's completely unnecessary and a really gross thing to say. sorry!

c) i can block whoever i want, whoever annoys me, and i encourage you do to the same. please, block me.

d) i do not tag my posts about this stuff so you have clearly come looking for it, or follow me. there's an easy solution to both of those things.

e) grace has a lot more power and privilege than lizzie, canonically, and that is what i have written about in my metas. you're free to interpret that as bias and as me taking part in the shipwars but that's a really silly interpretation of my motivations here.

f) oh no a random person doesn't like me, what will i do

g) i ignore the other ridiculousness that goes on in fandom because i don't go looking for it. i only ever comment on the grace fans stuff because you guys can't help but attach yourselves to posts of people i follow even when they don't tag fandom, so clearly you go fishing for reasons to be upset all the time, and you never take a hint.

h) it's very funny that you're complaining about me when my latest comments were sparked by a grace fan stomping into a post of one of my mutuals to whine at them. and the last time i ranted about grace fans, it was for the same reason: a grace fan attaching to themselves to a post of someone i followed and making a fool of themselves, because you can't just keep it to yourself.

i) i don't care if lizzie fans pray about lizzie and tommy staying together and i don't care if grace fans pray that tommy dies so that he can be with grace, as i explained, if any of you would ever look past your shipwar nonsense to comprehend, i think it's toxic and gross to talk about a character basically needing to be shot like a horse because that's the only thing left for him. i've been quite specific!

j) i'm not "picking on grace fans" i am having an opinion about a gross regressive thing that some grace fans say, on my own blog, untagged.

k) please, continue to hate follow me or whatever it is you people do that you always come complaining to me about *my* opinions posted in my own space, untagged. I never go searching for your posts, i do not come into your spaces and spew things at you, it is always the reverse, and that is other thing i have consistently been critical of, and you cannot help yourselves but do it...

and here you are again. proving my point.

[otakween]

One Pound Gospel - Volume 1

Yay, new series! (This one was next on MAL after 0 Man). Happy to be reading something by another icon (Rumiko Takahashi). I've never heard anyone talk about this one at all, so I don't know what general opinions are nor do I know anything about the plot. Let's go!

Ch. 1

So we got a boxer in love with a nun...I saw a commenter comparing this premise to Nacho Libre and now I can't unsee it.

(I might need to include a rewatch of that movie, for the meme).

Anyways, our leads are Kosaku and Sister Angela. Kosaku seems like a head empty jock who thinks with his heart and stomach. Sister Angela seems like she can whip him into shape (emotionally lol).

Despite having watched most of Ranma 1/2, I don't think I've ever read a Rumiko Takahashi manga? Craziness! This isn't her first work but it's one of the earlier ones from the 1980s, so I'm expecting some newbie scuff (or maybe she was just a legend from the start?)

Christianity in anime/manga isn't that uncommon, but to have it be one of the main focuses is intriguing. I wonder if we'll find out how Kosaku and Angela came to the religion as Japanese people?

I don't care about boxing at all IRL, but I don't mind reading about it and learning the lingo. Maybe I'll gain an appreciation I didn't have before lol.

Didn't like Kosaku forcing a kiss on Angela (her being a nun makes it extra scuzzy). Oh the 80s...

Ch. 2

See? I'm already learning stuff. Apparently boxers aren't supposed to drink water during a fight (just rinse) and they're not supposed to have sex prior to the fight (I already knew about that one, but this reminded me). That second one's more of a superstition though.

I wasn't sure if Sister Angela wearing her habit all the time was realistic, but I googled it and apparently in some cases that is enforced. Also, I've seen nuns in public wearing habits, so I guess it's legit.

Sister Angela getting plastered was kind of funny but her breaking her wine bottle was a bit extreme. She's kinda unhinged in general, she shows up at Kosaku's match and tells him she'll never forgive him if he loses? (Seems toxic but okay)

The strategies Kosaku's coach has him using to make weight are kinda fucked up (borderline disordered). Starving himself, laxatives and sweating the weight off. I'm sure that happens plenty IRL though. Pretty sad that athletes feel the need to put their bodies through that.

Ch. 3

People in Japan...they can't actually down like 5 bowls of ramen right, that's just an anime thing? I eat one bowl and I need to lie down lol.

I look forward to seeing the food in the adaptations of the manga. Particularly in the live action.

The crucifix falling over when Angela prays for Kosaku was a funny gag.

At this point in the story the focus is definitely more on Kosaku's boxing career than on romance. I wonder if it will kind of go back and forth between the two or if the romance will always just be on the sidelines?

Ch. 4

I can't tell if Kosaku has a food addiction or if they're literally starving him. They never show him eating healthy/low calorie food that's approved by his coach so it kind of feels like he's just not allowed to eat at all. Anyone would obsessively seek out food if that's the case! He did mention "diet" earlier, so I'll hope it's not...

If I was let loose in Tokyo I'd struggle with food temptation too lol. So much street food... (Wait, is this set in Tokyo?)

Ch. 5

Kosaku stumbles into a win after throwing up in the ring again. Apparently you're allowed to win by yeeting your opponent outside the ring? Seems wrong, but what do I know

All this starvation-binge stuff is making me a little nauseous. There's gotta be a better way!

Ch. 6

You know how straight dudes in the 1980s dressed in a way that seems gay-coded by today's standards? That's kinda what Kosaku's giving. He's really cute. (Not much of a personality tho)

Takahashi sure likes her repetitive gags doesn't she? A lot of "comedy" anime do this and it's frankly kind of frustrating. I'm not gonna laugh when you do the same joke for the millionth time...

They seriously just should have put him in a heavier weight class sooner, but it feels like I'm missing something here. Why does it matter which weight class you're in and why are some more sought after than others? -shrug-

I also don't get the "4 rounds" vs. "6 rounds" thing. Is it like baseball vs. softball or something? At least Sister Angela is just as clueless as me!

Ch. 7

Okay so apparently you pick your weight class based on your bone structure, I get it I don't really get it

Ch. 8

Okay, I immediately hate Onimaru for begging his pregnant wife to have a son and not a daughter 😒 I hope Kosaku kicks his ass

It almost seems like a conflict of interest to have your friend do your confession, no?

This series is reminding me of Spy x Family. Like you know how in that show Yor's plotline is mostly sidelined compared to Loid's? That's kinda how the Kosaku/Angela balance feels here.

Ch. 9

I really don't know anything about boxing, so I don't know what makes a good or bad fight, but this one seemed really pathetic lol. I'm glad at least Onimaru wasn't a sore loser, he probably needed to be humbled anyways.

The manga seems to be implying that Kosaku is fat which...huh? He doesn't look fat at all? Sure, he eats like a fat person but...I think 1980s "fat" meant something different lol.

IDK why Angela is so set on Kosaku being in the lower weight class. I guess it's good to be disciplined, so she sees that as the morally right thing to do?

So so far this seems like a very low stakes manga. It's leaning more towards the sports genre than the romcom, which isn't really what I expected. Well, after 0-Man I could definitely use an easy-breezy read like this. Onto the next volume!