#come on fujimoto i miss her....................

[storekn1fe]

as usual, i am manifesting a quanxi appearance tomorrow

[afterthelambs]

⚠️Spoilers for Look Back but I was initially confused about what Fujino and Kyomoto's relationship had to do with pursuing a career as a mangaka. After thinking about it, I interpret it as a narrative device to represent what will come when choosing to pursue art (of any form, whether it's comics, painting, animation, music, etc.).

Think about it, what's Kyomoto's role in the story? She is what got Fujino to take art seriously in middle school, and what motivated her to continue after she initially gave up. However, she's also the only thing in the story that makes Fujino wish she quit art. First, halfway through 6th grade and then later after her death. She serves as Fujino's motivator and de-motivator.

I think the scene of Fujino wishing that she never told Kyomoto to come out (that pursuing art only led to suffering) represents artists' regrets. We literally look back and see an alternate universe where Fujino never pursued art and it has a happier ending. Anyone that pursues artistic dreams will end up regretting it at some point. It's not easy, any artist will tell you that. The story is saying yes, you probably will end up healthier and more stable by giving up your dreams. Because art is suffering.

But then Fujino enters Kyomoto's room after reading the comic from the alternate reality and all of a sudden we get a montage of the happy memories and accomplishments they had pursuing their dreams together. And we realize that, everything we saw of them in the alternate 'happier' reality pales in comparison to this:

The happiest both of them look in that alternate world is when they finally meet and promise to work together someday. They loved art. They loved each other. Giving up on your dreams means missing out on all of that, and nothing in the world can replace it. Because yes art is suffering, but art is also joy and love.

And so the end of the story where Fujino goes back to work isn't her moving on. She tapes the comic strip in front of her to remind her of Kyomoto, to remind her of why she got into comics in the first place. Basically, Kyomoto IS art to Fujino. A life with her means experiencing both suffering and joy, while the life without her means having none of that.

I might be wrong about this, like maybe Fujimoto just wanted to tell a mangaka story with doomed yuri (valid) HOWEVER i like my interpretation so im sticking with it.

[bootsukki]

“Hey Reddit, an update”

aita series masterlist previous part

author's note: tysm for the incredible amount of notes, reblogs and likes the series has had. i'm completely amazed by it :D i would love to read your opinions on this! hope you enjoy this part! there is just one part left to the series and that makes me really sad but life goes on (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)

this has 5k words!!!! sorry!

warnings: a bit of angst, fluff and SMUTTTTTTTTT (smut will start and finish after this: *****) so please, mdni!!! p.s.: haven’t written smut in ages so……….

The university was buzzing with the usual midday energy when Tsukishima stepped through the front doors. Multiple students were going in and out of the several buildings, ready to go home or get some lunch. Tsukishima fixed his tie, nervous. It was two days after their painful phone conversation and even though he didn't want to admit it, talking to Akiteru about everything made him more aware of (Y/N)'s feelings. He couldn't let things stay the way they were. He didn't want to lose the woman of his dreams just because he cannot deal with his plans and his nerves towards his future proposal.

Clutching the bento in his hand, he made his way through the education building. (Y/N) was in her last days of finishing the first draft of her book so she was likely to be at the small office Fujimoto-san, her mentor, had given her to work on it. The smell of (Y/N)'s favourite food wafted from the bento and, despite the knots in his stomach, he hoped this would be the first peace offering that would get them closer.

He had tried his best to get her to come home, texting her the previous day with little success, only receiving a yes/no answer to his texts. He had even tried contacting Yachi but the smaller girl was completely blinded by rage towards him ("Tsukishima, you're a fucking asshole and if you think I'll let you hurt my best friend, you're terribly wrong about it. I may be 5 feet tall but I know how to punch someone, especially tall guys like you.") He regretted his actions from that night, including the complete silence he gave her when she was just trying to get an explanation from him.

When he reached her office, Tsukishima took a deep breath, stopping at the doorway. He was nervous to even see her as she had been staying at Yachi’s, knowing she had been at home showering and taking clean clothes whenever he was at work thanks to the smell of her coconut shampoo and the missing socks from the pile of laundry he needed to get through. As he was about to knock on the door, a voice called his name and he turned.

"Fujimoto-san."

"I knew it was you, Tsukishima." Fujimoto-san was a 55-year-old university professor that had been (Y/N)'s professor during her first year. He had been with her through every stage of her university degree and he was the one to who proposed writing a book on second language methodologies to her and the one who accompanied her during her research in the US. Tsukishima was grateful that (Y/N) had found someone who was giving her the support she needed to get over the project, almost acting like a father figure towards (Y/N). "What are you doing here?"

"I was bringing (Y/N) some lunch."

"Oh! That's so nice of you, boy. She hasn't been out of the office for the whole day." Fujimoto knocked on the door and without even waiting for an answer, he opened the door.

(Y/N) was sitting at her desk, completely absorbed in her work, clicking the keys on the keyboard quickly as she wrote, brows furrowed in concentration.

"(Y/N)."

"Fujimoto-san, sorry, I haven't been able to find the document you asked me for." She looked up, surprise flashing across her face as she saw her boyfriend next to the professor before her expression hardened slightly. She wasn't expecting him here. "Kei."

"He brought you some food, isn't that great?"

(Y/N) gave her mentor a soft smile and stood up, getting close to them. With a smile, she reached for the bento on his hands.

"I just wanted to let you know that he's here. I'll leave you two lovebirds eat alone."

"Thank you, Fujimoto-san."

The man waved his hands, leaving the office and closing the door behind him.

"Kei," she said, her tone uncertain, guarded. "What are you doing here?"

Tsukishima shifted, feeling awkward. "I thought you might be hungry," he said, voice softer than usual. "And… I wanted to talk."

Her eyes flickered to the bento, then back to his face, her expression unreadable. For a moment, she didn’t say anything, and Tsukishima’s heart pounded in his chest, nervousness gnawing at him. What if she didn’t want to hear him out? What if she was done?

But finally, she sighed, gesturing for him to sit down.

Relief washed over him as he sat down on a chair. "It’s your favorite," he added quietly, watching her reaction.

(Y/N) looked at the food, then back at him. Her walls were still up, and he could feel the distance between them. But she was here. She was listening.

"Thanks," she muttered, but there was still tension in her voice. "But you didn’t have to bring me food just to say whatever you came to say."

"I know," Tsukishima said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "But I wanted to."

There was another long pause before (Y/N) sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I can’t talk right now, I have a meeting in 10.”

“Oh.” Tsukishima shifted on his feet, feeling the weight of rejection settle uncomfortably on his shoulders. “I didn’t know.”

(Y/N) sighed softly, the tension between them palpable even in her small office. “I really can’t talk right now,” she repeated, glancing over at her desk again. “But maybe… we could talk after work? At home?”

Her voice was quieter on that last part, as if she was extending a tentative olive branch. Tsukishima nodded immediately, relief washing over him despite the lingering tension. “Yeah. Tonight, at home. We can talk then.”

She nodded, and for a moment, their eyes met—there was something fragile in her gaze. It made his chest ache. “Okay,” she whispered, opening the bento. “Thank you for the food.”

He didn’t press her further, didn’t try to fix everything in that moment. Instead, he turned to leave, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to find their way back to each other that night.

*****

Later that evening, Tsukishima sat on the couch, waiting, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his knee as he tried to calm his nerves. His mind was racing, replaying everything that had happened between them—how distant he had become, how his silence had hurt her more than he’d realized.

When (Y/N) finally walked through the door, she looked drained from the long day. She dropped her bag by the door and glanced over at him, offering a small wave.

“Hi,” she said softly, as if unsure of how to start.

“Hey,” he replied, standing up awkwardly. “You want to sit down?”

She nodded, walking over to the couch and sitting down next to him, but there was still a noticeable gap between them. The air between them felt heavy, weighted down by everything they hadn’t said.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched on, thick with tension and uncertainty, and Tsukishima felt the guilt gnawing at him. He hated how far apart they felt, how much he had hurt her without meaning to.

Finally, (Y/N) took a deep breath, her voice small and shaky when she spoke. “Kei, I… I don’t even know where to begin.”

He swallowed hard, his throat tight. “I know,” he muttered, his gaze dropping to his hands. “I’ve been terrible about all of this. I’ve shut you out, and I didn’t realize how much it was hurting you. I’m sorry.”

(Y/N) bit her lip, looking down at her lap. “It’s not just that you shut me out, Kei. It’s everything… You’ve been staying late, coming home at random hours, and… Mia—”

Her voice broke slightly as she said the name, and Tsukishima’s heart sank.

“You obviously don't notice but I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” she continued, her words trembling. “I've noticed since that time you were out with your coworkers and I had to give you your keys and from that moment, she’s always around, and I just—I couldn’t help but think that maybe you were spending time with her. Maybe… maybe you were choosing her over me.”

Her voice cracked, and she quickly wiped away a tear that slipped down her cheek, trying to maintain her composure. But Tsukishima could see how much this had been eating at her, festering under the surface.

“I felt so stupid for thinking that,” she whispered, her shoulders shaking slightly. “But I couldn’t help it. Every time you were late, every time you didn’t answer my texts… I thought maybe I was losing you to her.”

Tsukishima’s chest tightened painfully as he listened to her. The thought that she had been feeling like this—feeling jealous, insecure, like she wasn’t enough—it tore him apart inside. He had completely ignored her, left her on the dark on everything and his words from two nights before were eating him alive, seeing her like that. He had been so focused on keeping the surprise, on managing everything on his own, that he hadn’t even seen how much he was hurting her.

“Y/N,” he said softly, his voice filled with regret. He reached out, gently taking her trembling hands in his. “Mia means nothing to me. I don’t even notice her like that. She’s just a coworker. You... You’re the one I love. You’re the only one I want.”

Her lip quivered, and more tears fell from her eyes. She looked away, trying to compose herself, but the pain was too raw, too fresh. “But you...” she whispered. “You never told me what was going on, so I didn’t know… I didn’t know what to think. All those nights at the museum or with the computer here at home... I don't know, I felt so...”

Tsukishima squeezed her hands gently, his heart aching. “I should have told you sooner,” he admitted, his voice low. “I didn’t mean to make you doubt yourself or us. I was just… trying to plan something special for us. That’s why I’ve been working late. I’ve been trying to get everything ready for our anniversary. I've been looking for the best place where we can relax and I've been trying to get days off by just... overworking, I guess.”

She looked up at him through her tears. “Our anniversary?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, his voice soft. “I’ve been planning a trip. Just the two of us. I wanted it to be a surprise, but in trying to keep it secret, I ended up shutting you out. I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel like you weren’t enough. I'm the worst at these things. I hate surprises.”

(Y/N) blinked, more tears falling, but this time there was a flicker of relief in her expression. “You were doing all that for us?”

“I was,” he said, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “But that doesn’t excuse how I handled it. You shouldn’t have had to worry about Mia or think that I didn’t care. I should’ve been open with you, told you what was going on, not leaving you like nothing was happening. I was a complete asshole with you.”

Her shoulders trembled, and she let out a shaky breath, wiping at her eyes. “I felt so stupid, Kei,” she whispered. “I felt like I wasn’t good enough for you, like I was… like I was losing you to her.”

Tsukishima’s heart clenched, and without another word, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. “You’re not losing me,” he murmured into her hair, his voice soft but firm. “You’re never going to lose me. She isn’t even a thought in my mind. You’re the one I want, Y/N. You’ve always been the one.”

Her hands gripped his shirt tightly, and she sobbed quietly into his chest, letting out all the emotions she had been holding in. Tsukishima held her close, his hand gently stroking her back.

After a few moments, she pulled back slightly, her face streaked with tears. “I don’t want to feel like this again,” she whispered, her voice broken. “I don’t want to keep thinking I’m not enough for you.”

“You are enough,” he said firmly, cupping her face in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “You’re more than enough. I’m sorry I made you doubt that. I’ll do better. I promise I’ll be honest with you from now on. We’ll talk about everything—no more shutting each other out.”

She sniffled, her fingers curling around his wrist, holding onto him like he was her anchor. “I just want to feel like I matter to you, Kei.”

“You do,” he whispered, his thumb gently brushing her cheek. “You matter more than anyone. I love you. I’ve always loved you, and I’m sorry I didn’t show that enough. I’ll do better. You are my everything. I won't hurt you like this again.”

She nodded, tears still clinging to her lashes, but the weight between them seemed to lift, just a little. “We’ll figure this out,” she whispered. “Together. I also need to communicate my feelings better."

Tsukishima leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, lingering there for a moment before moving onto her lips, kissing them for just a second. “Together,” he echoed, his heart swelling as he held her close.

"We really suck at this sometimes," she muttered.

"Yeah, we do."

They both laughed softly, still holding each other tight.

*****

(OP) tsuk113_:

Hey Reddit, an update.

Seems like we just needed to have a long and conversation between us. I took your comments and advice from friends to heart and explained everything to her. I told her about the surprise trip (but not about me proposing on that trip, surprise, I guess) and everything has gone well. WE are working on our problems and I promised her to be better. I need to be better for her because she is truly the best thing that has happened to me.

Anyway, trip is just a few days away and I'm actually nervous about proposing but, I hope it goes right.

*****

The drive up the mountains had been long, winding through dense forests and past breathtaking views, but the destination was worth it. Tsukishima had booked a secluded cabin that sat high up, surrounded by towering trees and overlooking a serene, glassy lake. The autumn air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and earth, and the sky above was a brilliant expanse of deep blue. It was the kind of place that felt untouched by time, peaceful, and far removed from the hectic pace of their daily lives.

(Y/N) had been in better spirits since their talk. Tsukishima had worked hard to open up to her, to let her in on how overwhelmed he had been. And while she didn’t know the full reason for the trip, she had let herself hope that this weekend away was his way of making things right between them and celebrate their anniversary as well.

After they had settled into the cabin and left their small suitcases by the beautiful bedroom that had amazing views to the lake, (Y/N) found herself touring the place as Tsukishima started to cook them dinner, standing by the long railing at the balcony, appreciating the views and fresh air, the view of the mountains and lake calming her completely. She smiled softly as she took it all in, admiring the leaves on the trees and their vivid shades of gold, red and orange, making the entire scene look like something out of a painting.

Tsukishima had been looking at her from his place at the kitchen, the weight of the ring in his pocket settling in, waiting for the right moment.

As the sun began to set, casting the sky in shades of pink and lavender, Tsukishima suggested they take a walk before they have some dinner.

Taking their coats and putting on more comfortable shoes, they stepped outside into the cool evening air, the path they followed covered in fallen leaves that crunched beneath their boots. (Y/N) held her boyfriend's hand, leaning against him as they walked in comfortable silence. He had found the perfect place to relax and she was grateful for it. (Y/N) breathed deeply, feeling the tension of the last few weeks melting away in the serenity of the surroundings.

As they reached the lake, (Y/N) walked away from Tsukishima, leaning towards it, looking at the sky. "This place is amazing," she said, voice soft as she looked at the lake glimmering under the fading sunlight. "If this were a movie, we would see a proposal right now."

Tsukishima's heart skipped a beat as his hand made his way towards his front pocket.

"Is that so?"

(Y/N) laughed, completely unaware of the scene that was about to happen behind her. "I think we are the only people here, though, but..." She streched her arms out to the horizon. "Wouldn't that be something?"

When she turned back around to make another playful comment, the words died on her lips.

Tsukishima was no longer standing behind her. Instead, he was down on one knee, his tall frame somehow looking both awkward and incredibly graceful at the same time. In his hand was a small velvet box, the lid open to reveal a delicate, sparkling ring.

(Y/N)’s heart stopped. Her breath caught in her throat, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared at him in disbelief.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Tsukishima, for all his careful planning, looked almost… shy. His usual sharp gaze softened as he looked up at her, the words he had rehearsed for weeks suddenly feeling far more significant now that she was standing there, her eyes wide and her lips trembling in surprise.

“(Y/N),” he began, his voice low and steady, though his heart was racing in his chest. “I’ve never been good at showing how much you mean to me. I know I’ve messed up, more than once… but you’ve been with me through it all. And I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. These 5 years with you as my girlfriend have been the best years of my life. You have taken care of me, loved me and I can't be more grateful that you are mine.”

(Y/N) was already tearing up, her hand still covering her mouth as she let out a soft, breathless laugh.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.” Tsukishima continued, his voice just a little quieter now, as if speaking the words made him feel vulnerable in a way he wasn’t used to. “I want us to have forever. So… will you marry me?”

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still. The only sounds were the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze and the soft murmur of the lake below. (Y/N) stared down at Tsukishima, her heart pounding so loudly she could barely hear anything else. (Y/N) got on her knees, looking at Tsukishima, the man in front of her blushing.

“Yes,” she breathed, her voice cracking with emotion. “Yes, of course!”

Tsukishima let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his lips pulling into a rare, genuine smile. He, carefully, took the ring away from the box, slipping the ring onto her finger with careful precision, as though it was the most important thing he’d ever done. Once the ring was in place, he cupped her face in his hands, leaning down to press his lips against hers.

(Y/N) closed the distance between them, her arms wrapping around his neck as she kissed him, the taste of salty tears on her lips from the emotions spilling over. In that moment, it felt like everything had fallen into place.

When they finally pulled away, (Y/N) laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe I just joked about you proposing.”

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, his smirk returning. “Timing is everything.”

She laughed again, glancing down at the ring on her finger. It had a parti sapphire as a centerpiece, a gem with a blend of rich forest green and subtle blue hues. The sapphire, in an oval shape, was set in a delicate gold band surrounded by what it seemed like small diamonds. It was, elegant and perfect—just like him, in his own way.

“Wow, Kei... It is beautiful... I can’t believe you managed to keep this a secret,” she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “You, the guy who hates surprises.”

Tsukishima shrugged, a slight flush coloring his cheeks. “I figured you were worth making an exception for. To be honest, I thought you were going to find the ring at home.”

"What!?" (Y/N) gasped. "Where was it?"

"I know you hate grocery shopping so I hid the box between the bags I take shopping."

(Y/N) laughed, her heart swelling with so much love she thought it might burst. She reached up to brush a stray piece of hair out of his eyes, her thumb tracing the familiar curve of his jaw.

“I love you,” she whispered, her voice full of everything she felt but couldn’t quite put into words.

Tsukishima’s eyes softened, and for once, he didn’t feel the need to hold back. “I love you too.”

Their lips met in a kiss that was soft, sweet, and filled with everything unsaid. It wasn’t hurried or desperate—it was gentle, almost reverent. Her hands slid up to cup his face, his glasses cool under her fingertips as she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss just a little. It was a kiss that spoke of promises and forever, a merging of relief, joy, and love so deep it made their heart ache in the best way possible.

Tsukishima’s hands tightened around her, pulling her flush against him, and for once, he let himself be completely open, pouring all the love he had into that single kiss. As they finally pulled apart, their foreheads rested together, both of them smiling breathlessly, the world quiet except for the pounding of their hearts in sync.

*****

(Y/N) hugs Tsukishima from behind, enjoying the warmth of his body as he washes the dishes of their dinner. Tsukishima can't help the smile on his lips as his eyes glance down to her ring, sparkling under the lights of the kitchen. For a moment, he is grateful about the lack of signal of their phones because for once, (Y/N) is not checking her emails constantly (seriously, Tsukishima reckons she has a Gmail addiction) and secondly, because she's been teasing him all night, running her fingers, especially her ring finger, through his arm, chest and neck, kissing him slowly, running her tongue over his lips, well, teasing him more and more as the night went on.

Tsukishima dried his hands and turned around, pulling (Y/N) flush against his chest, cupping her face as he slowly leans down to brush their lips together, hands around her hips, massaging the eposed skin between her sweatshirt and her soft pajama bottoms. Without a second though, (Y/N) pulls away, taking his arm, leading him upstairs. As soon as she reaches the bedroom door, she opens it, pulling Tsukishima by his T-shirt to get him inside.

As their kisses grow deeper which every passing second, the man quickly takes off his glasses and T-shirt, leaving them at one of the bedsides tables before running his hands through (Y/N)'s body, undressing her slowly. First, her sweatshirt, leaving her bare from the waist up.

"God, you're so beautiful."

(Y/N) blushes but doesn't waste a second and takes off her pajama bottoms and underwear, pushing them aside with her foot before siting down at the end of the bed and spreading her legs.

Tsukishima can't help it and his eyes slowly make their way towards her most intimate part and he slowly, gets down on one knee and grabs her leg, kissing her leg and inner thigh, before, after what it seem like an incredible amount of time, delving in like a starved man.

Tsukishima lifted one of (Y/N)'s legs up, placing it atop of his shoulder as he parted her lower lips and started to lap his tongue in her.

He moans out, the vibrations of it sending a shiver all over (Y/N)'s body as she cries out his name, hands making its way towards his blonde hair.

Her breath hitches when Tsukishima makes a slurping sound as if he was tasting the most delicious meal in the world.

Tsukishima, eyes closed at the taste of his fiancée, cups her heat, one of his long fingers pressing against her walls.

"Oh, Kei..." (Y/N) opens her mouth, a loud moan leaving her throat, chest heaving. "Right there, baby. Jesus...."

"Right there, pretty?"

"Uh-huh, please! God, yes."

The combination of his mouth and fingers curling inside her shocks her with a wave of pleasure and she pulls on his hair, a gasp leaving his lips as he looks up at her. He can't believe it. He can't believe that the beautiful woman in front of him, so overcome with plasure, is his, forever. Tsukishima smirks, adding another finger as (Y/N) glances down to look at him as her body goes still, climaxing in a long and wonderful orgasm, moaning a mixture of what it seemed like Tsukishima’s name and several curse words.

Tsukishima looks at her once again, soflty massaging her thigh for a few seconds, letting her relax a little bit before rising to his feet and pushing her into the mattress, laying on top of her as her arms make their way around his neck.

From then, (Y/N) slowly reaches to take off his sweat pants, the sight of him that hard making her mouth water, still feeling a bit hazy from her orgasm. Teasing, she fondles with him for just a few seconds, hand slowly inside his boxers, touching him. Her hand moves up and down as she keeps her eyes on him, Tsukishima's eyes closing due to the feeling of her soft hand and the coldness of her new ring on him.

"I love you."

Tsukishima nearly comes at the sound of that and he inhales sharply, smiling. He can feel her everywhere, her hand moving the way he likes it, her lips moving and kissing along his jaw, neck and lips, the sight of her bare pussy... God, he is in heaven.

She pushes his boxers down, straddling his lap as she slaps his throbbing tip on her clit a few times before alinging it with her entrance, slowly making her way down, the sound of his name leaving her mouth as he fills her up.

"Fuck..." Tsukishima bites his lip as (Y/N) slowly moves her hips slowly, splaying her hands on his chest as she moved up and down, an animalistic look in her eyes as she watches him whimper. Without thinking, she grabs two of his fingers and places them inside her mouth, biting and licking them.

"Jesus, fuck."

"Tell me... Tell me what you want, pretty boy."

"You... So bad."

(Y/N) smiles, leaning down to kiss him slowly, the eye contact between them so suffocating that Tsukishima feels like he is going to explode. The feeling of her body on top, the pressure and warmth of her walls. It's too much. Tsukishima doesn't let her move and he cups her cheeks, sucking on her tongue as they both sigh in pleasure.

"Baby..." Tsukishima grabs her breast. "You're so pretty. You're so pretty when you fuck me."

(Y/N) pants, laughing and her hand wraps itself about his throat, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Yeah?"

He nods, biting his lip.

"You're mine, Kei." (Y/N) hisses, bouncing on top of him with more strength. She was close, so, so so close. "You're mine forever."

"Forever."

(Y/N)'s back arches for just a second and Tsukishima notices her movements are getting sloppy and without even thinking about it, she grabs her by the waist and rocks their hips together, thrusting into her at an alarming pace, bed shaking a bit due to their movements.

"Oh, fuck!" (Y/N) moans, her hands touching his chest, reaching for his shoulder. "Like that, baby. I'm so..."

"I know, me too."

(Y/N) leans down to tug on his earlobes wit her teeth as she growls something not even him can't understand. Tsukishima quivers at the feeling of his cock reaching even deeper and for a moment, he feels like he is seeing stars.

"I'm going to cum, Kei!" Please, please, keep going!"

"Cum with me, baby. Cum with me." His voice becomes deeper as he feels his own orgasm approach him, looking at (Y/N), who had her face on his shoulder, sweat running through her forehead. Tsukishima kisses her slowly, hands moving her hair out of her face. "Fuck, (Y/N), where do you want it?"

"Inside, please." (Y/N) begs, her lips still brushing his. "Please, baby. I need it so bad."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, yes!"

Tsukishima's cock twitches inside of (Y/N), gasps leaving his mouth as he cums inside of her. They both jerk, the feeling of their orgams making them feel dizzy and light-headed.

"Fuck."

"Yeah..."

"That was..."

"So fucking good."

(Y/N) laughs as Tsukishima kisses her cheeks repeatedly, lips swollen from all their kissing.

"If I knew we were gonna fuck this good after proposing, I would have done it at 18."

"Kei!"

Tsukishima laughs loudly and (Y/N) melts, the sight of him like this... So happy and perfect... She hums, hiding her face on his neck for just a second.

"I love you so much."

"Me too."

"No. I don't think you understand." Tsukishima adds. "You really taught me what is like to love and even though I may not be perfect at it, I promise I will love you every single day of my life and even after death."

"Kei..."

"You are my everything, you know that, right?"

"You can't say things like that!"

"Why?"

"Because..." (Y/N) blushes, placing her hands on her face and getting up from the bed. "Because! I'm going to take a shower."

Tsukishima laughs, looking at her as she walks towards the bathroom door, biting his lip.

"Don't look at me like that and come shower with me."

"Yes, (Y/N) Tsukishima."

"Shut up!"

*****

(OP) tsuk113_:

I'M GETTING MARRIED FUCK YES

User 1:

Congratulations! After 20 years of being married, let me give you a piece of adivce: listen to each other. Enjoy the little moments together. I am sure your love is pure.

taglist: @lavanderdreamve @lizzymizzy-blogg @quilyzayaki @uhnanix

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Favorite New Manga and Graphic Novels I Read in 2023

It's time to take a look at the comics and manga I read this year! I read  a whopping 78 manga and graphic novels in all. Here's a link to my Goodreads year in books (the manga is at the beginning, the novels start with Siren Queen) and my storygraph wrap up.

I also read 36 novels! If you want to see my favorites, check out my reviews here!

And finally, I've got the continuing manga series I've enjoyed this year here, so check that post out too!

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

This is a tale about a first-generation Vietnamese-American boy struggling with coming out to his mother. He connects with his mother through fairytales-- she uses them to express her journey as an immigrant, and he uses them to explore his queerness and identity as a Vietnamese kid growing up in America. It's an absolutely gorgeous book full of Trung Le Nguyen's signature stunning art. The fantastical, ethereal fairy tales are weaved beautifully into the lives of the characters. The book explores how fairy tales can form connection, can express culture, can tap deeply into something real and true, and can offer tragedy and catharsis. The protagonist uses fairy tales to write his own story, and the ending is lovely and moving.

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan

You may know Mark Russell from his darker, socially aware re-imagining of the Flintstones, which made quite a splash on Tumblr with this post. Well, I had pleasure of meeting him at a local convention, and I finally got his comic re-imagining of Snagglepuss, also of Hanna-Barbera. He re-imagines the titular pink puma as a closeted gay playwright in the 50's dealing with McCarthyism. It's as wild as it sounds,but also really digs into the politics of the time, the struggle of standing against oppression and how art fights through suppression and censorship. It's tragic, hopeful, poignant and full of historical references. I enjoyed it ! Definitely be cautious if you're deeply disturbed by homophobia and suicide.

The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren

A story about a teenage boy, Yoshiki, who realizes that his best friend and crush Hikaru has died and been replaced by a strange eldritch being who is imitating him. But, missing his loved one and desperate to cling to any piece of him, Yoshiki decides to keep on having a relationship with this mysterious entity. This book's horror is visceral and sublime, especially the bizarre, creepy, beautiful body horror involving the being who replaced Hikaru. It's an exploration of anxieties involving grief, relationships, and sexuality that hits just right, and the atmosphere layered with dread is top notch. I love me some messed up relationships and unknowable queer monsters, and this book delivers.

Chainsaw Man, Look Back and Goodbye Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Chainsaw Man needs no introduction, but I did end up really enjoying the story of the doggy-devil boy hunting other devils. It got so tragic and intense at the end, with lots of great surreal horror imagery and darkly funny moments. I'm impressed it went so hard, though the random powers that kept piling up made what was happening hard to follow at times, especially in fights. I'm also enjoying the current weird arc starring a class-A disaster girl and the demon sharing her body.

Look Back

I really do enjoy how Fuijimoto writes messy pre-teen/teenage girls. They ring so true. The manga follows the fraught friendship between two girls as they create manga, exploring the struggle of art mixing with real relationships, and how someone keeps creating after tragedy. It's a little hard to follow at times (especially since I have to differentiate the leads based on hairstyle), but it's a good read.

Goodbye Eri

Probably my least favorite of the three, but it's a fun read- a weird ride that examines the thin line between fiction and reality in art and makes good use of Fujimoto's cinephile background and signature gaslight gatekeep girlboss characters.

Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki

The story follows a teenage girl, Chika, who has always struggled with not being attracted to anyone. When Chika enters college, she meets queer people all across the spectrum of asexuality, and starts exploring her own identity. As an ace, this is the best story about asexuality that I've read. It was a nuanced look at asexuality and queerness and all the variations. Chika's journey and how she found her community was moving and poignant. It's a honest, moving look at relationships and identity, and how complicated and hard to define both of those things can be. I loved the moments of Chika imagining herself as an alien to explore and cope, and how she bonded with people through magical girl shows and other geekery. My favorite new manga of the year, it really connected with me!

The Girl that Can’t Get a Girlfriend by Mieri Hiranishi

Oh girl, I've been there. This is a fun autobiographical comic about a butch4butch lesbian's struggles finding a partner in a word that favors butch/femme, and it's just an honest look at the messiness of loneliness and relationships. I also appreciate that crushing on Haruka in Sailor Moon and becoming a HaruMichi stan was the beginning the author's queer awakening because uh...same! She has taste, and is truly relatable.

Qualia the Purple: The Complete Manga Collection by Hisamitsu Ueo and Shirou Tsunashima

See my review of the light novel here for my general thoughts on the story, since it's adapted pretty faithfully. I do think the manga is overall the best experience though, because the illustrations break up the detailed explanations of quantum mechanics a bit, and it includes a bit of extra content that fleshes things out, especially withthe ending.

The Single Life: 60 year old lesbian who is single and living alone by Akiko Morishima

Just like it says on the tin, this focuses on a 60-year-old single lesbian. And definitely the shortest thing on here, since only one 30 page chapter is out.  It's a grounded story about a woman looking back on her journey to finding her identity, touching on sexism in the workplace and other challenges. It paints a portrait of a proudly gay elder who's still perfectly content being single and feels fulfilled by the life she had rather than regretting past relationships. I definitely want to see more.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm by Hiromu Arakawa

Arakawa's latest, the story is about a boy who lives in a small village with his little sister is imprisoned and has to carry out a mysterious duty...but then the village is attacked, supernatural daemons awaken, and everything he knows might be wrong. I'm enjoying this fun romp so far! It delivers an really nice plot twist right out the gate (and an excellent subversion of the usual shonen "must-protect-my-saintly-sister" narratives). It boasts Arakawa's usual fun cast and interesting world (and cool ladies). There's some slight tone and pacing issues in the first part- there's so much time spent explaining mechanics the lead doesn't really get to react to his life turning upside down. But it starts smoothing out by the second volume. I'm excited to see what's next!

Superman: Space Age by Mark Russell and Michael Allred

This is a retelling of Superman set throughout the late fifties to early eighties that has Superman interact with the political and social upheaval of the time and question his own role in things. It explored the Superman mythos through a lot of cool new angles, and has a good Lois (why yes she would break Watergate) which is how I always measure a Superman adaptation. My one complaint is, while I liked some of the things it did with Batman, the ending with the Joker was pretty weak. The ending of the overall comic will also be bizarre for anyone not uses to how weird comics can get, but I think I dug it.

#DRCL by Shin'ichi Sakamoto

A manga retelling of Dracula that focuses on Mina as the protagonist and imagines the characters at an English prep school. It adds a lot of  diversity to the characters  and has exquisite, evocative art. I'm curious where it will go and what it  intends to do with all it's changes (especially Lucy), because right now it's mostly vibes and creepiness and the direction isn't clear.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

Theory: That's not Nayuta

CSM Manga Spoilers Ahead for chapters 170-171

Now this is a stretch because honestly considering who Fujimoto is and how Part 1, it really could be curtains. But I think I might be onto something when I say ー This is not Nayuta.

And the reason I am so sure is because, Nayuta's mole is missing under the left eye. Now when I first thought of this, I did admit that chances are Fujimoto could have simply forgotten to draw the mole. But the thing is, Fujimoto has always been very consistent with drawing the moles of the characters that have them.

Kobeni.

Her brother who's name I really can't remember/

Asa's former class president from chapter 98.

Whenever there is a character with moles, Fujimoto draws that shit accurately to hell and back and Nayuta is no exception. Whenever there is a case where Nayuta's mole isn't drawn, it is due to the fact her hair is covering it. I've gone back to check on multiple chapters and this is the case each time.

Her mole is there, except for during the times her hair is covering it.

So when I went back to 170, to look at the composition of each time her head is displayed it's always focused on the left side of her face.

And each time we see it, her mole is nowhere to be seen.

Why focus the emphasis on the side of her face where her singular distinguishing character trait takes centerfold?

And it's because it's not Nayuta.

We may have seen the mob rushing at her, but in all truth, we never see a body. We never saw blood.

I think, in reality, that that head is a replica of Nayuta meant to enrage Denji so they can obtain the version of Chainsaw Man they desire. Because logically speaking, it doesn't make sense for the Public Safety Devil Hunters to kill Nayuta for the simple reason being that she's the Control Devil.

Devils that are killed on Earth are reborn in Hell. Devils that are killed in Hell are reborn on Earth. That's an established part of the canon.

It would be stupid on part of the Bureau to kill the Control Devil when they have no means to control:

A) When she would reappear on Earth

B) Where she would reappear on Earth

and C) The Japanese government obtaining the Control Devil.

In part 1, if it weren't for Kishibe, Nayuta would be a 'property' of the Chinese government. And who is to say Kishibe or another Japanese Devil Hunter broad would be able to come in clutch like that again?

They can't ensure that.

Nayuta is still young. Malleable.

Nor does she have complete skill over her abilities yet, meaning she is nowhere near the threat Makima was once.

Public Safety can work with that.

What they can't work with is a Control Devil under the thumb of a different governing body. Makima ran amuck but humanity is as humanity does, they will believe that they can potentially workshop through any 'issues' with Nayuta.

Nayuta can be manipulated via Denji.

Denji can be manipulated via Nayuta.

Have them both together being manipulated for the singular goal of the Public Safety? And it's a win-win for them.

So because of this, I'm fairly confident that Nayuta is elsewhere under someone else's protection. Potentially Kishibe, since he has had yet to make a reappearance in the series and he hasn't been outright confirmed to be dead.

Yoshida perhaps.

But the fact of the matter is, I believe the composition of Nayuta's display is meant to be a sign that her death has not happened. Yet, at least. Fujimoto can always whip out his pen and do something absolutely heinous later.

But for now, I'm looking forward to seeing if my theory has any payoff.

[robotlesbianjavert]

Why do you think the makima reveal worked while the afo-tenko reveal didn't?

let me share an anecdote of me reading chainsaw man as part one was rolling. upon the release of chapter 71: bath. man makima has been really hot and sexy but also very sketchy and ambiguous this entire series i wonder what she obviously has planned for denji. but look denji is prioritizing his friendship and care for power over deluding himself into thinking he can has a real chance with a woman like makima, as many teenage boys delude themselves into thinking. whatever she's planning it doesn't matter because friendship and found family trumps all! me reading chapters 81: paw & 82: always eat a hearty breakfast, as they came out. i'm ending it all.

like honestly, part of the reason that the makima reveal works so well is that it's much more integrated into the story. obviously denji is the main character focused on throughout the entire story, and his developing dynamic with makima is highlighted throughout. but my experience, as i followed the story, was so focused on thinking about "what does makima have planned" that i missed the enormity of what she'd already done.

not only do we spend more time with that dynamic, but it's also so well entwined with the overall ideas of the story. one of things i love csm part one for is how tightly written it is - fujimoto had a strong idea of what he wanted to do from beginning to end. while i'm sure there was some massaging and diversion throughout the actual creation, i think it's apparent that fujimoto knew what he wanted to do with the characters and what he wanted to say with the story. one theme that is present throughout is what quality of life denji desires, how the standards for a satisfactory life keeps escalating as denji has more life experiences, as he fulfills more goals and has to find something new to satisfy him.

and that's directly entwined with makima's plans for denji - to satisfy his idea of a happy life, escalate that standard, and break him by taking it all away. that's baked into his relationships with aki, power, pochita, everyone - it's the central conceit of the entire story. it's very on the nose, and also one of the most engaging takes on a protagonist's relationship with his villainous pseudo-parental figure.

and basically. we know that makima's intentions for denji are sketchy all along, but it's difficult to deduce what exactly her plans are. then you learn, it's so much deeper and more horrible than expected, and it actively enriches the story, it's organically thematic. the kind of thing that made me immediately reread csm from the beginning with this knowledge in mind.

in comparison to shigaraki, while one of the if not theeeee central character, is still an antagonist/deuteragonist. he is cruelly forced to split share panel time with deku and bakugou and all might and whoever else, and accordingly we spend a lot less time specifically with shigaraki & afo than we do denji & makima. this isn't a bad thing - look at how much discussion shigaraki and afo's relationship has generated throughout the years, because what matters is what details are shared about them and how. you can say a lot about a story with very little!

i think it's also a matter of how expectations for each plotline were set up - with makima and denji, you know she's plotting, but you don't really know in which direction, why, how, what, etc. the tidbits you can meaningfully speculate off of aren't enough to come up with something better than what fujimoto had planned. i had simply carelessly thought she needed denji loyal to her for Whatever reason, not that she was going to dig so deeper into what we as readers knew about his past.

in comparison to bnha. listen remember way back when a big selling point for bnha's writing was for how it apparently subverted superhero and shonen tropes without being a grimdark deconstruction like idk. the boys or something. ultimately the problem there is that bnha only gets so far into that subversion before snapping right back to the norm of those genres, ie rah rah heroes so cool villains so vile whatever.

so with afo and shigaraki specifically. like for one, we know from basically the start that afo fucked with shigaraki's history in one way or another. he knew tenko was nana's grandkid, he conveniently was around when tenko was wandering helplessly through the streets. and when we know that from the get go, there's only so much you can to that before it gets a bit much. in comparison to where the twist with makima is that she didn't directly impact denji's past, but has enough knowledge of it to manipulate him in the present.

so when we get the "afo is possessing shigaraki" plotline in the PLF raid is less "WHOA who could have seen that coming" and more "ugh. so we're going there?"

the care that denji also had for aki and power is also both 100% organic on denji's part, while still being intended by makima, which is meant to make her manipulations hit that much harder (and also why things got tripped up with power. denjipower real forever). while with shigaraki and the league we as readers are in this weird grey area? afo is trying to lay claim to all of shigaraki's choices and development, which extends ambiguously to his relationship with the league, but the closest we get to afo actually using this against shigaraki is him overloading spinner with quirks? which can still screw afo over - after all, spinner certainly didn't wake up kurogiri the way that afo intended! i am holding onto that! but it still leaves the league as "collateral" throughout the manipulations in comparison to aki and power.

also like. i just want to know more about afo & shigaraki's relationship. we see the sum of makima & denji's relationship throughout the series, but afo & shigaraki's is left to either backstory, vague implication, or comical evil in the present. it's not that the story needs to show us a bunch of sappy shit, but it would also hit harder if we saw more of that emotional enmeshment, more reason to shigaraki to trust and respect afo that wasn't Obvious Evil, to make that betrayal an actual betrayal rather than a. yeah of course afo, obviously evil and manipulative man, would do all of that.

and going back to expectations. it was just cooler when there was more subversive expectations. like afo doing the mentor sacrifice at the kamino fight, letting shigaraki and crew get away and accepting the end of his era in favour of shigaraki's, versus all might who was still struggling with letting go of his legacy and handing it off to deku, something affirmed when toshinori, in his all might get up, visited an imprisoned afo who by all accounts was cool with shigaraki doing his own thing. until he wasn't? idk.

i guess basically. where csm succeeded with the makima reveal is that it showed a clarity of vision and foreplanning. bnha failed because it didn't enrich what was already there, pounded on what was already apparent in in cartoonish ways, and every alternative interpretation of the relationship was more engaging and original, and it's basically a clumsy shortcut to some of the things that horikoshi wants to say but simplified so that he can push his rah rah heroes so cool agenda.

also makima was innately sexy through all of that. while afo is my chewable barbie doll. it be what it be.

i feel like i had more to say but i sat on this too long and when crazy. again, it be what it be.

[animehouse-moe]

Chainsaw Man Chapter 127: Save The Asa

This if Fujimoto in his element, mixing parts and characters and approaches to create something that only he could. Lifting characters up with fancy words and emotional sentiments, only to have it come crashing down in the most hilarious and apt ways possible. Hardly a big chapter, but within the context of what's around it, certainly one that will be remembered.

⚠️Warning: Spoilers Ahead⚠️

A lot of the chapter focuses on Asa's attachment to life, as you'd expect. She circles the drain, remember her fears, her worst moments. She remembers just how much her life has sucked, how she's only kept alive to be used as a tool by a devil. It's all very outstanding, and is like an accelerated version of Denji's story because Asa is more aware of herself. It doesn't take the terrible moments for reality to break her, because she was never anywhere near the same rock bottom as Denji.

And that's what I love the most about it, Fujimoto's aware. Fujimoto's aware how terrible Denji's life has been, how brutal an existence he's been given, and rather than leveraging that against Asa, he uses it to subvert expectations and assert just what kind of person Denji is. An insane hybrid devil that is driven only by dreams. The kind of guy that can save Asa.

It's equally as ridiculous, because on the surface you hardly get what's really going on (cue the "Fujimoto fan making something out of nothing"). It's just crazy how Fujimoto is throwing out the dumbest stuff possible, but ends up cobbling together a far more realistic and approachable sentiment to suicidal thoughts. Who cares about the "big things" in life? Why would that matter to someone ready to end it all? It's the smaller pieces of life that they'll miss. Reading their favorite manga weekly, or not being able to pet another cat or dog.

And it just keeps going. It doesn't say "oh there's good stuff to life", or "I moved past it", because the last thing someone wants to hear is "it gets better". Because no shit, thinking it'll get better doesn't make it get better.

Instead, Denji steals the show with his idiocy, and proudly proclaims his dream. No longer is it something as childish, or lowbrow as "touching boobs". Nay, it's something more noble, something more lofty. Something that a young man would truly dream of.

And what gets me here is Asa's disgust, as if she didn't allude to the same thought earlier. Also, cute little symbolism of the pair of birds together. Simple piece about freedom and Asa finding someone, as the two birds join up with one another.

Anyways, it's hard to really give this chapter its flowers when you read weekly. But when you put it into the context of the world ending, of Asa slipping deeper and deeper into depression, of her being driven to suicide, of absolutely nothing going her way, I'd honestly say it's the pinnacle of the arc. Purely because it comes in to mock it. It basically laughs in the face of a nuanced conversation on depression and suicide and says, "yeah it's sucks ass, but don't you want to have sex or pet dogs & cats or have ice cream whenever you feel like it?". It's a beautiful aspect of Fujimoto, and I'd honestly liken it to the finale of Fire Punch (though as a lesser form). His grasp of how people tick is incredible, and being able to stretch that understanding to fit the insanity that he loves chasing is amazing.

[pockethep]

The Fire Devil

One thing I love about the devils in Chainsaw man part 2 is how creative they've gotten. Everything with the Falling devil and now with the Fire Devil.

It's such a clever misdirect cause not only is about how the chainsaw man church spread but also passion and desire. Fire spreads astonishingly a fast just like how the CSM Church spread to Canada and China and most of Japan. It's also the desire and passion to fight for chainsaw man, although this has twisted into the absolute maximum. As the numbers grow, the battle is only gonna get more intense. And its spreading given the amount of fuel (contracts).

It's so much more than physical fire.

Also, theory for the handful of people who read Fire Punch.

Seigi Akoku, one of the named members of the Devil Hunting club at school and one of the students trapped in the aquarium, is my top pick for the fire devil. Seigi means "righteousness" or "justice", with the justice devil being revealed in 146 to be the fire devil not only that, Yuko said that the Justice Devil was at their school and Yuko also burned her neighbor during Chapter 106: Bonfire.

This is beyond a stretch but Agni (Fire Punch) and Seigi look very similar (even missing the same right eye). This also wouldn't be the first time Fujimoto put a reference from another of his works in (I.E. Nayuta coming from Yogen no Nayuta)

[dropintomanga]

A Thought On Talking to Someone Who Wants to End It All

Goodbye, Eri finally came out in print this past June and people who missed out on last year’s digital release got to see how great this one-shot by Tatsuki Fujimoto (of Chainsaw Man fame) is.

I myself wrote about Goodbye, Eri last year and revisited the one-shot again after getting the the print release. There’s a few panels I want to talk about here.

I will be talking about suicide after the jump.

If you’ve read the manga, you know the initial premise about the main character, Yuta, creating a film for school documenting his mother’s last days and how controversial the film ending was. Many of his classmates criticized him for being tasteless. As a result, Yuta decides to kill himself by jumping off the roof of the hospital where his mom died. It is there where he meets Eri, the female lead of our story. She then asks if Yuta’s going to jump and then says the following.

The reason I want to focus on those 4 panels now compared to last year is because of knowledge I’ve gained about talking to someone thinking of suicide over the past year. Eri doesn’t try to comfort Yuta. She probably knows he’s in a lot of pain and wanted him to unleash it on those who are disrespectful to others. Although Eri does save Yuta from jumping off the roof, it’s somewhat indirect as she comforts him in a different way than how I see most people in the West do it.

Last year, I watched a Hong Kong mahjong comedy. There was a scene where the main female lead was about to kill herself after losing everything in mahjong. As she’s about to jump off the roof of an apartment building, she hears the sound of mahjong tiles being shuffled and notices her mentor and peers playing mahjong right next to her. Her mentor asks her if she’s going to jump, the heroine says yes, and then he tells her to come down and play before going to jump off. There’s a subsequent conversation about mahjong and the mentor convinces her to keep playing/living by empathizing about her situation.

In my experiences with consuming Asian media so far, I feel like when things like suicide attempts/prevention are shown, the support system usually says you can try so-and-so before actually considering dying. Eri does this with Yuta by dragging him to watch movies with her non-stop and gain enough knowledge to make a new film for his school.

In the West, there’s no true care for the person experiencing suicidal thoughts or bad advice being given to those who interact with said individual. I can give a real-life situation. I listened to a podcast story about a woman who felt tremendous guilt over witnessing the death of a young girl she met by suicide on a expressway. She was a nurse who seemed to always have the answers for her patients at her job. But once she was in a highly tense situation outside of work, she became uncertain over what to do. She talked about what she told the girl before she died - to think about the people who love her. The girl didn’t respond well to that by saying that nobody loved her. The nurse thought about physically grabbing the girl before anything bad happened, but was worried about the response. She didn’t and the girl would walk away from her to get run over by a car. The nurse had to live with a lot of guilt and social isolation for years. When the nurse started to come to terms with the suicide and got better mentally, she said that she would’ve told the girl that life does become different and gets better over time.

So to me, it sometimes feel like the West’s mindset is “Oh my god, there’s a problem. Someone wants to die. I need to fix it or else I’ll be a failure. I can’t deal with the pain of what this person is experiencing.” while the Eastern mindset is “Ahhh, you’re thinking of dying. I see. I understand. Wait. Maybe I can show/share with you a moment of joy that you might like before you go.”

I could be VERY wrong here. But this is what I have observed over time.

Talking about death and the grief that comes with it will always be hard, but it doesn’t need to be hidden for the preservation of cultures that want to “move on” because it’s not productive for “society.”

I do think that people who experience any kind of suicidal ideation want some kind of acknowledgement of any kind - especially of the physically comforting kind from someone who doesn’t look like a threat in their eyes. Eri does this by grabbing Yuta’s hand when she drags him to the abandoned building where they would make many precious memories watching films.

After reading what Eri did and hearing the nurse’s regrets about not saving someone from suicide, just be the hope and don’t be afraid of doing so. The best way to not say goodbye in a tragic manner is acknowledge their pain with compassion followed by showing them an empowering solution (not vice versa). Suicide forces us to confront our own bias regarding emotional pain and the social aspects that lead to it. Maybe that’s why a lot of Westerners struggle with with talking about suicide.

I would argue, as this manga and maybe non-Western views show, that human love or healthy connection is the best answer.

[morgenstern16]

Fuck it, insane Fumiko theory time

You ever had an insane theory that when you first have it you're like "oh man this is actually crazy if it's true! it explains so much!" but then later you're like "no this is actually just stupid". Well today instead of focusing on my homework my brain decided to come up with a theory that everyone's favorite Public Safety Agent is actually Freckles-chan from all the way of the start of Part 2, disguising herself via the Skin Devil. This has been haunting me all day so I'm exorcising this thought right now so I can forget it.

Freckles-chan, as I'm calling her, has a weirdly minor but notable role in Part 2. She's introduced as one of Asa's bullies and as a target of Yuko's vengeance. (Speaking of Yuko, I miss her). Yuko kills the other bullies, but Freckles-chan survives her initial rampage.

However, she isn't so lucky with the resurrected Yuko, and it looks like Yuko will finish her off...

... except for an unlikely hero to step onto the scene.

Denji makes mincemeat of Yuko and attempts to dramatically reveal his secret identity to Freckles, only for Yoshida to warp him away (just before Yoru brains him with a Yuko Leg Sword).

That's about it for Freckles-chan, except for one weird thing. After Yuko and Asa's last meeting, there's a set of panels showing Asa, Yuko, and Denji lying down. Well, there's one other person shown: Freckles-chan.

Given that Fujimoto loves his foreshadowing, there's been a few theories as to why he decided to show an unnamed minor character in a line-up of very important characters. It could be that this is a plot thread he dropped later on or that Freckles is actually the host of Fami, like Asa is to Yoru, but my brain decided to connect her with a unresolved plot thread from Part 1: what happened to the last Aldo brother?

As a refresher, this guy was the last of a trio of American brothers who had made a contract with the Skin Devil, allowing them to take the appearance of other people. Unlike his brothers, however, this guy wasn't the worst human being in the world and was last seen trying to blend in with Santa Claus's minions (either that or they actually infected him, it's pretty ambiguous).

A lot of characters from the second half of part 1 are now showing up in Part 2, so how would that plot line show up again? Well, my brain said, clearly at some point Public Safety got a hold of him or a contract with the Skin Devil and had Freckles-chan make one with it. See, it's quite possible that Freckles is one of the few people around who've seen Denji's human form (yes Yoshida warped Denji before he could transform back, but it's possible she did see him and Public Safety, through their insane surveillance or w/e, found this out and conscripted her instead of just locking her up, having her impersonate Fumiko (either dead or on a covert mission) to keep an eye on Denji, perhaps in hopes that Denji would easy to collar around if an attractive woman keeps an eye on him, without sacrificing an actual agent. This, my brain said, would explain a number of weird things about her, like why she's so immature and calls Denji "Senpai" (she's actually a bit younger than him)

Or her weird and inconsistent behavior towards him (she's being fed lines to tell him but also confused as to how she feels)

And most infamously, her complete incompetence in a fight (she's a conscripted civilian teenager).

And with her running off, there would great potential to run into her former victim, Asa, who's now the host of the powered-up Yoru. I could easily imagine a terrified Freckles begging for her life in front of Yoru, and an amused Yoru letting her go in exchange for some kind of deal. It'd also be a way for Asayoru to find out that Denji is in fact Chainsaw Man. A neat little bow to wrap up a number of puzzling elements in Part 2 so far.

However, if you're obsessed with Part 2 as much as I am, you've probably spotted a few holes in this, particularly that this is rather convoluted for a CSM plot line. Also, she has to be a pretty good actress to pull off some of her lines and make them sound convincing, and she WAS competent enough to dodge Nayuta's chains at short range, which is a bit much for a random civilian teenager to pull off. It's also quite possible that Freckles will have a role to play, but not this one. I probably forgot some parts and flaws of the theory here and there but whatever I can just fill them in later.

[roydeezed]

Chainsaw Man-Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 128)

Nevermind what I said last time ya’ll, they make each other worse. While there isn’t a lot to talk about this week, I still want to talk about this chapter ‘cause it was way too goddamn funny.

Asa is so ace-coded here, I love her so much. On a side note I am really curious about the direction Fujimoto will take with Asa in terms of being Ace or not. Like with Togata from Fire Punch we know that Fujimoto is down with depictions outside of the gender binary but I wonder if her being possibly asexual is something that will be explored. Though she was down to kiss Denji before Nayuta came in so I think it might be because she's just uncomfortable talking with someone she perceives as a creep. (I posted this and then I had to come back and make a dumb pun. More like Ace-A Mitaka amright?)

The way she goes from freaking out about dying to just straight up insulting Denji. My favourite autistic girl.

But honestly, I know this chapter makes it look like they make each other worse, but it makes me believe that they're gonna work through things together. I could see it going several ways, with her not even finding out about Denji's identity and falling on love with both halves or only just his human half. Depending on what happens there could be really wholesome message about accepting flaws. This interaction makes me think that their Human sides will fall for each other's human sides while the devil sides will fall for each other's devil sides.

Can I just say how much I love Falling Devil. While she's unphased by almost everything, she still calls Denji a pervert. Which he is. I love her characterization so much. I know there's basically no permanent cast but if there was, I would want her to be in it.

This panel makes me wonder who fakesaw man is. Like it's probably Yoshida, right? The way he doesn't call him Denji. I also would love to see some Spider-Man like shenanigans with Denji's double identity, because I could see him hiding it just so he can get with Asa. Also, hiding till sunrise is such a weird request, I wonder why that is. Maybe whoever made the contact with Falling was only able to summon her till then? This chapter was hilarious but I do miss when Fujimoto got to take his time and put out longer chapters. It's kind of the opposite of One Piece in that regards. I don't know why but it feels like Fujimoto just thrives in longer formats. I wish he had more room to breathe.

[possiblylando]

Chainsaw Man Chapter 122 "Early" analyses. [Also the Nostradamus Prophecy]

So this chapter leaked last week on I think it was Bilibili and I read it then. But holy shit was the translations SHIT AS FUCK!! Like actually awful. So I held off on reading it until now. So 122 has a lot going on. This chapter feels like it has information missing in translation. which is why I was gonna read both the Viz and TCB Releases for it. But they where both identical so- Shit. [The Analyses Begins] This chapter starts off with an interesting revalation. Not so much about Yoshida knowing about the Famine Devil but that Yoshida invited her to lunch at the same café he took Denji to near the beginning of part 2. While he completely blew Asa off. What this tells me is 1. Yoshida doesn't know about Asa/Yoru, Or at least public safety doesn't know about them. 2. Yoshida's treatment of Denji was because he's Chainsaw Man, Not directly because of any special feelings towards him.

Then we get this bomb shell dropped.

The Nostradamus prophecy is a real thing. It was made in the 1500s by Michael Nostradamus. However the thing is he also made 950 other prophecies. Safe to say not many of them came true. The actual prophecy goes as such:

The year one thousand nine ninety-nine seven month

From the sky shall come a great King of terror,

[Shall be] revived the great King of Angoulmois.

Before and after, Mars [shall] reign as chance will have it. From the brief research on this prophecy the common belief seems to be that this was predicting a Mongolian invasion. The king of the Mongols being akin to the antichrist. However I doubt that Fujimoto is going to have the final villain of this arc be the king of the Mongols. So I will choose to ignore that. As for Mars I'm not quite sure but it could mean the Roman God Mars, Who was the god of war. Believe this to be a line about war would align with the idea of this being a Mongolian Invasion. In which it would mean a War between Devils and Humans. Let's reinterpret this through the lens of chainsaw man. July, 1999. The king of terror will descend from the sky. The King shall be revived Before and after, War will reign under these Circumstances. Something like that (Maybe). As to what this could actually mean, I think the King of Terror in question is Death.

From what Famine says this is what we know of this new devil: 1. First of the devils who will Shepard the world to the ultimate Terror 2. Primal Fear The first part is rather easy because this is more than likely a horseman of the apocalypse. Since we already know the whereabouts of Conquest (Control), Famine, And War that leaves two possible Horsemen still unaccounted for. There are a few sperate interpretations of the horsemen of the apocalypse depending on which scripture you're reading. conquest, war, famine and death Are the most common ones. However in the book of Ezekial the horseman are as follows:

sword, famine, wild beasts and pestilence (Or Plague depending on translation) While I doubt that Sword and Wild Beasts will be the final horsemen, Pestilence/Plague has a decent chance of coming to light. Due to the fact it's fairly common to see Pestilence being apart of the modern horsemen. So this is my prediction as to what we're dealing with. War, Control, Famine, Plague (Or Pestilence) as lead by Death. The root of all fear is death. As proved by Vsauce that one time. But this still brings up a problem. What the fuck is this thing?

Everyone seems to think this is the Death Devil but honestly I doubt it. At least not it's actual physical form. This is a puppet being controlled by something else. We can see it form from the bodies of it's victims in the earlier panels.

I feel like a fraud for not having some big conclusion at the end of this but I really don't have one. I don't fucking know what this new devil is. It could be the death devil, It could be the plague devil, It could even be the corpse devil, I really can't fucking tell. I'll finish this off with a prediction as to how chainsaw man will end. The Nostradamus Prophecy will come to pass. Humans won't be completely eradicated as Devils need them to be afraid for them to have power. We're entering into the Chainsaw Man war arc. If Denji and Asa are unable to overcome the odds then the world will probably end right as the date switches over to the 2000s. This fucking chapter gives us so much to question and not a single answer we couldn't have already inferred. GREAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Uhhh My friends pointed out: -"I think the death devil would be more scary" (Paraphrasing, As to why this might not be the death devil) -"Fami eats so much because she's the Famine Devil" (Genius)

[serendictment]

August Books

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

. . . 3/10. One of those points is purely for the insight on Rosalie and Jasper's backstories and the other two points is Alice Cullen. I detest the Twilight series so very much and the only thing keeping me going is Alice. I hate how Jacob was turned into. . . Whoever he is now. He's not the same Jacob from the first/second books. I didn't really like him then either, but did he have to be turned into such a creep? Bella was insufferable as always, as was Edward. Stan Alice, I love her and also we're the same height (4'10) and we love that.

2. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

2/10. Again, it's apart of Twilight. Also, why does my mother have everything Twilight related? Anyways, I felt this was unneeded and I wish we were given a book like this from Riley's point of view. I feel as if it would've been more interesting than a character who only said her name and then a few sentences (maybe a paragraph or two?) about how she didn't know stuff and then was killed. I think seeing Victoria's manipulation being done to Riley would've been much more interesting to read. However, this is not me saying "Oh please Mrs. Meyer, write more!" She very much so does not need to do that.

Note for books 3., 4., and 5.; I read them at the same time. It was a strange week of reading.

3. Chainsaw Man Buddy Stories by Tatsuki Fujimoto and Sakaku Hishikawa

7.5/10. Love me some chainsaw man. I miss Angel and Kobeni though, so I couldn't give it an 8. Other than that, it was well written and I tend to take issue with short stories branching off from mangas because a lot of the ones I read in the past seem to get the characters wrong in the. . . word-ification of them, but I have no such complaint here on that. Power was still Power-ing and Aki was the same exhausted single mother Hayakawa that he's always been.

4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

9.7/10. I loved it from start to finish. Some bits were even relatable (don't worry, none of the. . . bad(? questionable?) bits). I liked experiencing the slow mental decline and then the very end were Esther seems to be doing better. It was a bit saddening to find out that Plath died not even a month after this book was published, but I do hope that whatever afterlife there may or may not be, that Sylvia Plath is proud of what she's done and how far this novel has come.

5. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

2/10. 2 points are for Jasper and Alice. I hated every minute of this. I honestly wish I had something nice to say other than "It had Alice Cullen and Jasper Hale" but alas, I can not. Okay the wedding seemed cute but other than that it was like your typical white teenage boy. No redeeming qualities. Carlisle and Esme were great as always, but I have mommy/daddy issues so sorry<3

6. Chainsaw Man Volumes 10 and 11

9/10, still upset about Angel's death (even though I read it months ago), bur at least Kobeni is alive and well (. . . As well as she can be). Also, Makima was great. Do I think she was a good person? No. Do I love her as a villain? Absolutely. However, I'll never forgive her (or Fujimoto) for Angel. Rip.

7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

7/10. Rather slow paced, but a good solid plot. Unfortunately, I did clock Bogdin (or whatever his name was) as Tony's murderer. . . pretty much as soon as the murder happened, so reading the truth at the end didn't do much. Also, I assumed that Penny would've have something to do with one of the murders, considering you don't normally have a character like her and her husband, John, without them having some secret in their pasts. Overall pretty good though.

8. Death Note Volumes 11-12

8.5/10. Glad Light finally got what was coming to him. I hated that man. Misa deserved so much better (coughMEcough). Rip Matt and Mello though. Also, I don't care what other people think, I like Near more than L. Do I think Near was smarter than L? I'm not sure, however I do believe he used his resources much better than L did. Also to anyone who may be like "Oh, well, Mello was smarter than Near-" shush. I loved both of them, but I'm autistic so Near takes forst place for me. If Near has one fan, it is me. If he has no fans, I am dead.

9. Death Note Volume 13: How to Read

5/10. These sorts of books don't tend to interest me, however some content was good so it felt wrong to rate it anything under 5. That being said, I also couldn't rate it anything above 5 because. . . I don't know.

10. Death Note Short Stories

6/10. Near<3 I was happy. Overall entertaining, but ultimately nothing special in my opinion.

11. Death Note: Another Note The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases

7/10. The Death Note fan in me is tired of Death Note. I still enjoyed it, it was well written, the "L's a dom" part killed me. I think if I read it a few months ago it would've been rated higher, but alas.

12. Scott Pilgrim Comics (1-6)

6.5/10. Kim Pine, my love<3 snd wallace<3 really I have no commentary. It was Scott Pilgrim, that says it all. Love the art style though.

13. Blue Period Volumes 1-5

9/10. I started watching the anime while in school and it inspired me in a way I haven't been in a long time. Watching just one episode gave me the motivation to actually try with art again, and I think I'll always be grateful for it. I bought the first 5 manga and after reading them I've fallen in love again. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, I'm about to go off to college as an English major, but who knows, maybe English will be miserable to me and I'll switch to art. Either way, this manga has helped me a lot. I also see a lot of myself in many of the characters, Yotasuke in particular. It could be that I'm autistic, however I relate to his whole "art is all I have" thing. Although I'm what many would label a "jack of all trades," I only have one thing that I'm really passionate about and that I consider "mine." It was nice seeing someone else like that and it not being shown in a (purely) negative way. Plus, if he can make friends then that means I have a chance at it too, which makes me feel better about moving away for college.

14. Bungou Stray Dogs Volumes 8-13

6/10. Didn't hate them, but my original love for them is steadily declining. I'm also just trying to get through all of my manga at this point. . . I crave a novel so bad but still have to get through Ouran High School Host Club. Huuh.

Update: I never got to OHSHC since I went off to college and didn't want to bring manga with. Ouran will be "books I read whenever I visit on weekend" books.

15. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

9/10. Do I need to even explain myself? Minus one point because at some points it was lowkey triggering for my. . . 3D, we'll say (don't worry, I'm okay and nothing happened), but it was so well written and just raw. Jennette is a talented writer in my opinion and I'm so sorry for everything she's gone through. She's much stronger than I am.

16. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

7/10. Love me some Dostoyevsky. Anyways, I didn't hate it but I didn't exactly love it. Rating it under a 7 though makes me feel disloyal to my boy. Also, I finished this is in like 5 days. College is pretty easy right now (I say as literally an hour ago (around 5pm on August 31st) I was freaking out because I didn't know how to use the Canvas app).

[luckyrave]

Chainsaw Man Chapter 119 Thoughts

The day has finally arrived, and boy has it felt like a long eternity.  I’m honestly going to miss this feeling of playing catch up to the latest events of Chainsaw Man knowing that this is the latest chapter to drop before the new one.  Then again, it’s actually a blessing a sense considering the occasion of the time of year we’re currently in within 2023, and particular where Denji and Asa are in the story.

In the grand scheme of the overall narrative, it’s actually relatively simple to the core.  Denji explains each of the three rules to Asa while they walk into the apartment.   The first unbreakable rule: Don’t open any apartment other than his own.  Asa questioned why she’d even have the audacity to do so which Denji agrees with her for the most part. When they walk into the apartment, Denji explains the second rule it’s “Don’t Open The Fridge!”  Which once again Asa addresses that as a common fact.  All of this transpired while they were watching a movie with a scene that had a dog.  Quite fitting when it came down to the final rule.

The most important rule which was arguably the most vital one Denji noted to Asa which involved his roommate/ sister figure Nayuta.  She had taken the dogs on a walk for a while, and would be home soon.  Denji describes Nayuta as a problem child with an extreme personality, and warned Asa that by all accounts not to make out with him in front of Nayuta.  That immediately gets Asa rather annoyed yet flustered about the notion of making out with Denji, and even asking he thought she liked him.   If Denji wasn’t confused before, her remark definitely set him in a big one.  Through his inner monologue, after Asa told him to stay away from him otherwise he’d die,  Denji questioned whether she used him and if was the starfish thing or he smelled like wet dog…

Finally,  Denji asked Asa whether dogs stink or not for a clarification. Only to be thrown off by an immediate kiss on the lips by Yoru who placed her hand over Denji’s head which was interrupted by the sounds of barking dogs.  They both looked towards the front of the door where Nayuta stood with an ominous aura, similar to that of Makima in her initial introduction from Part 1, as she released a chain from her finger towards Yoru’s direction  while saying, “Thief.”  bringing an end to the chapter.

All in all, this chapter of Chainsaw Man gets a Pure Perfection rating.  I mentioned how at its core the chapter is pretty simplistic in terms of the story, but Tatsuki Fujimoto continues to do an outstanding job at being organic and subtle but in his storytelling approach.  The way he showcases the different plants from Denji’s thriving, and Nayuta almost withering away to the fart chart which was really hilarious. In a way it subtlety showcases the kind of lifestyle Denji and Nayuta have together.  No lie when Yoru popped up near the end I nearly jumped and went holy.. that was scary. Simultaneously,  I just love everything correlates together from the beginning of what Denji warned Asa and how it transpired in the end with Nayuta. 

 As the reader, I’m just really fascinated and curious to seeing what occurs from this outcome between Denji, Asa, and Nayuta.   A feeling that is terrifying yet also exciting for the next chapter should be coming pretty soon, but with that said this pretty much all I gotta say about Chainsaw Man. I can now say that I’ve fully caught up to my chapter thoughts on the manga this far which is a huge surreal feeling honestly, but until 120 drops that’s it from the time being. Stay safe out there and take care of yourselves!

[youthofpandas]

🔥🔥🔥🔥 CHAINSAW MAM

CHAINSAW MAN WOOOO (explodes into a million pieces)

damn what can i say about it i am living in a bubble and when i venture into twitter to see memes about new chapters i close my eyes to any actual takes. my makima takes arent even hot the'yre just basic at this point..... hmmmm

oh wait my anime takes LOL okay here we go. the anime is beautiful in a lot of ways don't get me wrong, but it just did not hit for me at all the way rereading the manga does. the Aki v katana man fight/Himeno death & ghost scene was objectively good solid animation... but the emotions just weren't there for me. and i overall found it super disappointing :( i am not on the crazy level of making a petition to remake the anime with a new director and i dont think the CGI parts are terrible like some people dont get me wrong (okay the ghost model with the flat flower texture on her body literally made me laugh in that fight scene. however the parts with the hands crawling forward was fantastic so it balances out) i just... ugh...

if there is anything in specific that fujimoto is a master at it is PANELING 100%!! his art can be hit or miss (esp at the start of csm) due to deadlines but his movie nerd experience has made him fantastic at paneling pages out, knowing how to let things linger or how much page % to give every panel, how to make a scene take up pages of quiet loneliness or the page turns of dread or the way to make things quick and snappy and horrifying in just a moment. i could literally write an essay about his paneling im not joking (i almost did it rn but i would need to show a whole bunch of pages and it would make this post so fucking long for no good reason lol) BUT it means for me seeing these things in the anime gives them such a different vibe it annoys me watching it ! still not the directors fault, its a problem of adapting the medium

oh also the best thing to come out of the anime is 100% the opening and ending animations, absolutely fantastic, i watch them & listen to them all the time (the dogland ending. bow wow baby i love denji !!!!) and i cant wait for some aki themed ones to be made in s2 bc i need to cry over that stupid fuckign snowball fight even more. anyways yeah there is a part of me that hates the anime a little bit </3 animeonlys will die by my hands

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

08/25/2024 – 08/31/2024

Sunday

Week 29 of missing Cipher Academy

UNDEAD UNLUCK CONTINUES TO BE PEAKKKKKKKKKKK ALL THE CALLBACKS IN THIS CHAPTER WERE AMAZING AND AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ANDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY THE UNDEAD UNLUCK DUO ARE FINALLY BACK TOGETHERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Monday

Felt like reading mid again so I continued World Trigger. Admittedly it’s gotten better/I’ve gotten more invested now that Chika’s been introduced (she’s sooooooo cute) and Yuma’s been allowed to join Border (the political struggle between the factions is mildly interesting), but the foundational problems of the manga keep nagging at me. For being such a battle strategy manga, the fights themselves aren’t that dynamic (maybe I’ve been spoiled by Dandadan…), and the character designs are so basic that it can be hard to remember what the significance/goal of each character is. They all just become cannon fodder as they swing their laser swords and shoot their stupid little cubes around. I also wish there was some more pathos injected into the characters (another Dandadan and One Piece strength) – it’s assumed that most of them have the basic “Neighbours killed my grandma okay” reasoning, but there’s never been enough focus on any one character to really make them and their motivations stand out (Chainsaw Man could have very well had this same problem with the Devils, but we’ve seen how Fujimoto gives his characters crazy pathos). I just wish I had stronger incentive to root for the characters and be actually invested in the outcomes and stakes of these battles (since that’s basically the entire manga). Also I think the points system is lame and is just there for when a new guy enters the scene and you’re like WOAHHH HE HAS 8000 POINTS WOWWW

It feels like everything in this manga is geared towards facilitating these fights, but they’re missing the sauce that actually makes fights compelling. It’s gesturing at the power struggle within Border, sure, but it doesn’t feel like the mangaka really considered how Border fits into society at large. Why don’t we see Chika’s parents’ reaction to her joining Border? Are people just okay with all of these teens basically joining the army? Joining Border is treated with all the gravitas of joining the Cadets, even though Border agents face genuine warfare and danger (even despite their Trion bodies). It just seems like all of these worldbuilding questions that would actually make things interesting are tossed aside to make room for more fights. It’s all the boyish romanticism of cool guys fighting monsters and other cool guys with none of the realities of war. I’m sure things will be expanded upon later, especially if they go to the Other Side and participate in the Neighbours’ wars, but right now we’re just barrelling through a training arc and into the recruitment arc and leaving all those unanswered questions behind… (One thing I do appreciate about World Trigger is how it doesn’t do the “only pair girls with girls during fights” thing. There’s that bare minimum, at least.) (And you know what, I hope some genuine romances form amongst these kids like Undead Unluck instead of just one-sided crushes, because THEN we’d finally get some more emotional stakes and personalities coming through.) (Also I thought = 3 = face thing was cute at first, but they use it so much that it’s just getting annoying at this point.) Man they weren’t kidding when they said you can only talk about peak for so long, but you can talk about mid forever.

So far, Jin is the most interesting character to me simply because he’s the only one making interesting strategic plays both on and off the battlefield. But other than being a chill cool guy, he has as much personality as everyone else… UGHHHH EVERYONE JUST DOES THE SAME EXPRESSIONS OVER AND OVER AGAIN THERE’S HARDLY ANY STRONG EMOTION IN ANY OF THEM…YOU CAN’T ALL BE KUUDERES OR COOL SMIRKY GUYS IN A MIDDLE OF WAR, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY WHEN YOU’RE STILL = 3 = WHILE YOU HEAR ABOUT YOUR FRIEND POSSIBLY DYING Once you start noticing it, the incessant repetition of the same facial expressions just drives you absolutely mad. Okay. Okay. The final moments of the Neighbour Invasion arc were good. Finally we had some real stakes and a life or death situation, and a real loss in the form of Replica. Jesus Christ why am I begging for real stakes from a BATTLE MANGA.

I finally read up to where the character I wanted to see was introduced, and now I can finally stop reading this manga. I’ve never felt more relief in my life – World Trigger was just an absolute slog from start to where I finished. How is it that I can read 150 whole chapters of manga and yet still feel absolutely nothing for 99% of the cast? The worldbuilding is poorly considered, the characters are boring, and this coupled with the uninspired character designs (how many more short cropped hair guys are we going to get??) made it really difficult to tell people apart, and despite being a manga about fighting, the actual fights are so basic and mediocre that they’re a pain to read through. I don’t care for the main three triggers – the fight compositions aren’t dynamic enough for the sword fights, the gun fights are just people unloading on each other, and while the sniper shots are hype, they can only happen a few times a fight. People were calling World Trigger a high-minded strategy manga, but the writing really doesn’t live up to that designation at all. Unless you can get to Hunter x Hunter’s Chimera Ant levels of real time strategy, I don’t want to hear it, and World Trigger certainly falls short of that plateau. Hell, World Trigger doesn’t even reach Law of Ueki’s level of tournament writing! This series is really just for people who like doing war simulators and throwing soldiers with different weapons at each other without caring about the grander implications of war and what each of these soldiers have going on in their lives – basically like, any semblance of a compelling narrative. Chika was definitely the highlight of the manga for me, being the only one of the main three to have an understandable and emotionally charged motivation to join Border (both Osamu and Yuma’s motives are way too vague without a real end goal, and they end up just riding Chika’s coattails). Her design is super cute (even though I got tired of her static :< face after a while), and the moments where she does a world shattering sniper blast are both funny and hype. Unfortunately she’s not enough for me to keep reading…I honestly wish I’d never read this. It was so bad that I’m not even going to go to the stage play adaptation to see my favourite actress, which was the whole reason I started reading this manga in the first place. It’s just that bad… For pissing me off and wasting my time, I’m giving it a 2/10. And now I’m free!!!!!!

Tuesday

Work

Wednesday

Work

Thursday

Watched the Make Some Noise episode with Ross, Paul, and Chris, and while it had a few rough patches, the highs were really really really high. I think they had some trouble with finding a good moment to end bits on for that perfect cap off, but when the three of them were working together it was really magical. For that reason, I think the minigame portions were actually better than the main gameplay section, but the whole episode was pretty fun.  

Friday

Work

Saturday

I’m a robot that just does work