#imuri ends :(

[blackcurrant-juice]

axolotl...

[iridescentscarecrow]

I saw on twitter that you caught up with mtefil and i'm so glad since so few people know about it. What do you like about it? Personally I love it's rendition of the fallen angels, so vile and pathetic yet human.

hello!!! i kind of regret keeping the small liveblog thread i did on my priv and not posting on main, since i ended up having a lot more things to say than i expected. i'm still sorting out my thoughts right now, and i want to go back and reread some stuff with context, but here's a quick summary of what i felt:

i like the fallen angels a lot too, but my favourite aspect of mtefil is probably the depiction of the sins, it's wonderfully clever. i think the order of my interest goes lust (aria arc specifically ) > sloth > gluttony > greed > envy.

for lust, i feel like i might appreciate it more than other people because i was very interested in the "agelessness" associated with "sexiness" vis a vis idolhood and the creation of aria as someone "bottomless", as these are themes consistent with some of my favourite things in fiction. asmodeus is one of the characters i ended up liking the most because of this. her inflicting violence onto priest as a expression of her love for sarah, and the propertyship there was very good. asmodeus is constantly seeking worth & dignity! her connecting with priest through like a shared sameness really got to me. i liked how imuri was the audience proxy for our knowledge that aria was actually priest's assaulter, it made for some really horrifying moments of tension, i was kind of shaking through it, also, i think it contributes to my idea that imuri is the protagonist (the first page of the manga is literally her painting) and priest is the "love interest" - also a fun concept because of how bel frames him as a romcom protagonist later on? but that's just extended thoughts. the ending scene of the arc with him fantasizing about imuri and then throwing up was very powerful to me, because i think the gendering of priest is essential to the series. him being disgusted with himself because he feels like a predator, and immediately giving up the caregiving role (of gendered labour) that he assumed over imuri earlier stuck to me.

i like how gender entwines with every aspect of MTEFIL, tbh. its very well planned, even if it does end up beating you over the head with its themes at time lol! the sins are one thing - most of the male ones are dimensions of patriarchal abuse, and the two female ones we've seen are leviathan with her ill fitting motherhood, and asmodeus, who like i said, is focused on Worth through sexual conquest. the church refers to the "father, the son" & the witches to "evil" feminine figures. a lot of the manga discusses how the witches are alienated & considered inhuman, and their struggle is a tussle over humanity. verge literally brought up "storytelling" !! and this makes sense because imuri's Role is the "femme fatale", that she constantly refers back to and describes herself with, and that's essentially story trope.

sloth was the depiction i was most impressed by when it came to inventiveness. i was reading through the files intently before he was revealed since they're all written very well, so when he showed up, i assumed he was writing the child's room ones almost immediately. the scapegoating of women, paired with the eternal childhood of it all and priest's own exhaustion is all very fun.

gluttony being a grooming allegory is honestly insane. i often feel like depictions of gluttony end up imagining it as a kind of Greed Lite - but with a focus on food, which is boring TBH. the manner in which the sin of taste is presented as experienced/practiced by the abused & the way this connected to leah's "forbidden love" as described by the files... i really liked leah in this arc. beelzebub talking with her and saying,, this is just human nature,, centering her shame... it made me feel very ill if i'm being honest.

greed is a typical depiction but the way it's fleshed out connects really well to the manga's themes, although im more interested in tachibana than the actual character of greed. i feel she represents it in a more nuanced way than him, although that's probably whats intended. the file about her with the line referring to "the womb" and the one file conversation she has with verge really sticks to me. she's obviously portrayed as the sole woman in a room full of men and the way she revels in her success when it comes to The Meritocracy fascinates me. i hope we get more of her

envy is probably the one i have the least thoughts on: leviathan as the state & the sea monster connect to motherhood is kind of apparent but i wish i had more to chew on with respect to how that ties to the sin of envy. but that's a minor nitpick, and i'll probably understand more later.

overall, i'm kind of happy with how these themes are being tackled in a shounen manga, and i had tons of fun with it. i wish it had more attention! i like priest a lot, i think he's incredibly well written but my particular tastes in characters mean that my favourites right now are imuri, asmodeus, leah, and verge. the latter is probably biased by the fact that i'm deeply invested in the weird yaoi he and dante have going on, it's so fun?

this is everything that i could think of for now, but i'm considering talking about newer chapters when they drop on my main, perhaps? thank you for the ask, it gave me the opportunity to go on about it a little :D i liked it very much!!

[amoransia]

Chapter 71 spoilers!

I think Aruma-sensei heard my insane ramblings (lol), because this is a perfect setup for Imuri to finally learn more about Priest's background (even if it's not him consciously talking to her...?)

Just as there is a road that contains happy memories with Imuri, there might be a road which contains all the bad ones. After all, dreams are only crafted with what one already knows, and new stuff can't be created from scratch: he can relive those happy memories as much as he wants, but if he carries on dreaming, he'll never make any happy memories again. He has to wake up to experience new stuff!

On the other hand, if Imuri learns about his past this way, I think it would be tragic, but I don't think he'd ever talk about stuff like that willingly -- or to anyone, for that matter...? So maybe this is the only way?

Hm.

Dante's beard stubble and scar are back, which saddens me greatly. I thought I was onto something with that theory... Tsk tsk. Whatever. It doesn't matter (crying).

This chapter settles the bitter Dante/Vir ex-boyfriends image for me. It was very hilarious. It was like they were fighting for child custody of Priest-kun... (it was Daniel, rather, but it's funnier with Dante...)

True to Imuri's inner artist, she carries a marker (plus post-its) everywhere she goes...? Cute characterization. No clue what's going on with the orca, though. Hm hm hm!

Here comes Dante & Miha vs. The Witches!! Miha also seemingly has a history with witches (back on his introduction) so not really surprised. Plus, Barbara and Leah know Imuri best, so it'd be better for them to follow her.

I hope we get to see Daniel's miracle, if any. He seems to have almost photographic memory, so maybe related to that?

That said, this chapter continues to reaffirm that they all still view Priest as a means to an end.

Both Vir and Dante, stupid as they come, fail to realize that the root of the issue is their thinking. "We need his power"... bro u are the church. He is still a believer. Won't you grant him a bit of peace before you use him, at least?

Ironically, Imuri is the only one thinking of him as a person, even if her thinking is extremely selfish.

Her messing up her speech balloons with her thought balloons was not a gag I was expecting in ekuoto, so I laughed very loudly lol. Egoistical indeed!!

ALSO NO WAY ITS OOGIE BOOGIE????!!!!!

PS. Oh god wait if she's retracing Priest's memories does this mean she'll find out how he's been looking sexually at her??

[chilled-ice-cubes]

although asmodeus wants to break priest-kun, throughout the school arc she understands him and his vulnerabilities better than imuri (ofc, thats also because she's the root cause of many of them!). this scene is important because it shows how fundamentally imuri still does not understand priest-kun: she knows he's unhappy as a member of the clergy, and she hopes that when he "falls" for her: both by "falling in love" and "falling from grace", it will make him happier.

but what happens after he falls? someone's got to defeat the demon lords, and he still doesn't know that imuri herself is a demon and a pseudo-double agent.

extra 35.5 provides insight into imuri; she points out that people think they can be saved if they love. these are dante's words to priest-kun to a T; and they also describe imuri's feelings for priest-kun, and vice versa. imuri believes she can save him by loving him, and priest-kun in turn thinks that as long as he loves her, he can perhaps learn to love the world (see: the date chapter where his worldview changes after looking through her camera, ie, her meptaphorical eyes). both of them are wrong; by the end of the school arc, asmodeus has speedrun solving priest-kun's sexual and social traumas, but she doesn't do this solely by turning the person of aria into someone priest-kun can love. she artificially constructs the normal environment of a school for him and gives him validation that no one has provided yet.

"he doesn't need [...] love, he needs the chance to act his age": asmodeus identifies what neither priest-kun nor imuri know about him yet: more than someone to love and be loved by, he needs an environment where he isn't under the constant pressure of saving the world. even if imuri did end up making priest-kun wholly fall for her, as long as he didn't know who she truly was & was still in a position where he was being threatened by demons + pressured by the church, he'd never truly be happy.

going back to imuri's text message: "some people have a tolerance for confusion" & "some get worn out." with the conclusion of the school arc, priest-kun's been well and truly worn out, and i think we'll see a breakthrough in either/both him and imuri's character development, and how they see "love" as a saving force.

[thewolfno11-blog-blog]

Random thoughts/headcanons/questions that keep me sane until the next chapter Of Exorcist wo Otosenai. (Sort of) Part 1

Originally I posted this on the wiki's discussion page, but I figured it might be entertaining enough for here. Albeit, with a few changes.

I want to see Mammon again. I honestly miss that dude. Like I get why his arc was so short because the manga was still in its uncertain phase. Still wish to see more of him.

I mean Tachibana is still going at it. Still, it is a surprise she's helping the witches of all people, but you go girl.

Also really want to know what all of his rings do and their combination.

Speaking of witches what's up with that ancient witch making deals and tricking demon lords? Wonder if it has anything to do with Walpurgis Night? Anyway, I look forward to learing more from her in the future.

You know it is weird how we have almost no mention of Lucifer. The only two times were Father-kun way back in the beginning and when Beelzebub was getting his ass kicked. And even those times were very brief.

What if they are hiding in plain sight? Like as an exorcist? (Looks at Mikhail, Aleksandra and Marco) .....Nah. Would be quite the twist though.

You know it’s pretty interesting that for the demon lord of Wrath, Satan is pretty chill.

....

That guy is going to go ape-shit when he's reborn, isn't he?

Side note: How long has it been since his last rebirth? It feels like it's a lot longer than compared to all the other demon lords. Or at least that's the impression I am getting.

Are the witches Cyril and Eskrine gay for each other?

In general, it would be nice to see Father-kun have an okay relationship with one of the sins aside from Leviathan. Hopefully with Belphegor.

What the hell do angels do in this world? Not like they actively help exorcists out.

Will there ever be a chapter about Leah's funeral?

Calling it now, the demon lord's irises match that with the color their sin usually is associated with. Wrath - Red, Gluttony - orange, Greed - yellow, Envy - green, Sloth - light blue, Lust - dark blue, and Pride - purple.

I wonder if Barbara's face looks beautiful or is slightly disfigured.

Wonder when Father-kun will call in that favor Leviathan offered. My headcannon is that when Father-kun realizes his feelings for Imuri, she gets injured and ends up in Gehenna. So he asks Leviathan for help to go to her.

I honestly just want an arc where we travel through Gehenna.

Why is Marco such a fanboy of Father-kun?

At first, I thought Father-kun's name would be like an anagram of Jezus, but what if his name was like Judas instead?

We have not seen a chapter title for part 2 of the chapter "Masses of Trash" yet. ....I am worried.

[eevaleev]

[leenaevilin]

[Announcement] 舞台「イムリ」(butai imuri) 

is available @ DMM now, so please check it out^^ If you need help with DMM, take a look at riku’s guide here on tumblr ♡ 

Cast:

Utsumi Akiyoshi Tani Yoshiki Kitano Satsuki Akisawa Kentarou Ozuki Tooma Shiota Kouhei Shiozaki Kousei Nishino Taisei The DVD will be available at the end of the year.

[rowel-anime-trends]

Sci-fi fantasy epic launched in 2006

[gavlickgroup]

Here’s What’s Happening in Tucson This Weekend.

Fri 8/11 - Sun 8/13

This weekend is for the birds, literally!  The Tucson Audubon Society presents their Southeast Arizona Birding Festival this weekend. Workshops, tours and expos are all on tap for you feather-loving friends.  This is the last weekend for Peach Mania at Apple Annie’s Orchard.  Plenty of peaches and pancakes are available but I believe they are all out of peach Schnapps at this point!

Make a good decision by attending the Bad Decisions Camp Out in Sonoita starting tonight and ending tomorrow morning.  Beer, bands and bacon!  I had you at ‘bacon’ right?  If so, consider extending that bacon fix by attending ‘Bacon, Blues and Brews’ at Brother John’s Beer, Bourbon & BBQ on Stone Ave this weekend and next.

Tomorrow put on your sea shells and fins and head downtown to 4th Ave for the annual monsoon celebration and parade known as ‘Return of the Mermaids’. Expect the usual fun and strange crowds you typically see on 4th Ave.  Kid friendly for the parade but all bets are off after that.  See other creatures at the Arizona Desert Museum tomorrow night during the Cool Summer Nights program.  The program tomorrow is all about Indiana Jones’ favorite, snakes!

Audis and Porsches and Fords…Oh My!  Saturday morning is Cars and Coffee at La Encantada in the AJ’s parking lot.  Grab a coffee and Danish and feed your automotive desires by walking around the parking lot looking at all sorts of cars from the classic to the exotic!  I’ll have one of those red Ferraris please! This Saturday is also 2nd Saturdays Downtown featuring plenty of food, drink and music at venues and on free stages throughout the downtown area, including our favorite rock and roll clients, Birds and Arrows!

Sunday is Second Sundaze at Tucson Museum of Art with free admission from 12:00 – 5:00 PM.  Enjoy hitting the little white ball?  Sign up for the Troon Challenge qualifier at Sewailo Golf Club this coming Sunday with a Shotgun start at 8am.  Good luck!  If you become too frustrated with your game, head over to the casino and change your luck. Sunday night you can catch Wynonna & The Big Noise at the Fox downtown.

If you are out and about this Sunday afternoon stop by our Open Houses at Paseo Imuris or Ghost Flower Drive and say hi!  Whatever your plans, have a great weekend everybody and, as always, please let us know if we can be of help to you or someone you know!

[amoransia]

Really late, but here's my ekuoto chapter 70 commentary. Nothing special, just me freaking out. You know. The usual.

Watch out for spoilers!

Dante got a very special dialogue balloon with "..." in it. Which is curious to me. I'm sure it means some sort of reflection or surprise happening within him; I really want to what he's thinking. How do you feel? Knowing that the that child you were entrusted can't even bear to be awake anymore? That he runs to escapism? Must suck. Anyway.

On the other hand, dearest Daniel is real composed. Good job on getting info out of Belphegor. That's not really a high bar, though lmao... I mean, how are you a demon and can't LIE? Embarrassing... Go back to demon high school or something. Fall from grace again! The whole premise of your existence is being a lying thing that leads people to sin, and you're here having communication issues??? Dude. That's so moe.

Everyone thinking Belph's got something up his sleeve is fucking hilarious. No. Sorry. He's not Kira or anything like that. It's not all according to his "keikaku". He's just kinda dumb and suffers from Villain Monologue Syndrome...

Him saying "my witch", though... ough! (takes critical hit)

Really funny how he showed him off sleeping and everything. Why are you bragging? Is this something to show off? I guess it is for you... I'd be embarrassed if all my coworkers suddenly saw me sleeping on a plasma 100" inch TV, though. Maybe have a little consideration! Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned this before, but I think it's a cool detail that Priest's in a fetal position. Not only does this position bring one comfort, but it can also represent how he's about to be "reborn" as a witch of Sloth. The sphere he's sleeping in can kinda be a uterus, right?

Belphegor and Mikhail replying to each other while Leah was suffering out of confusion was funny. She got the straight man role forced onto her. Miha's "I see!" was cute. Very casual, as if he wasn't talking to a Demon Lord lol. To be fair, Bel is not really intimidating.

Meanwhile, Vir is busy trying to lead his shounen manga team to victory... (or not really.) They'll definitely get some piece of Belphegor though. I wonder what it'll be... he doesn't have anything like Asmodeus' eyes sticking out, so this is a mystery to me.

Me when I get excited about an interest of mine and end up yapping too much

Dante and Vergilius are heading to the same place, so they'll meet up again... I'm looking forward to the mess that comes out of that 👀.

Imuri needs to step up her game, or I'll be taking matters into my own hands because this is ridiculous. Femme Fatale? Wtf are you talking about. Fraudmuri. The Demon Lord of Fraud. Her true title.

Her biggest crime so far is being more in love with the idea of being in love with Priest than actually caring for him. Does that make sense? So far, she hasn't done any effort in actually coming to know him. She needs to KNOW!!!! At least I can respect that she also takes male rivals seriously... and her aggressiveness towards them. Lole.

She doesn't call Priest "sleepyhead" in the JP raws. I don't really mind the addition, but I thought it was worth noting here anyway. Makes it cute.

"It'll be over soon" Naw bro Imuri is coming at you with a fucking sledgehammer. Watch out.

Tiny Imuri is so fawking cute. I've been craving these Imuri flashbacks for forever because we know virtually nothing about her. What moves her. Why does she long to love!! We'll know in due time, I guess. But please show me a bit of it, Aruma-sensei...

Asmodeus being considerate enough to make sexual things vague to Imuri is nice, but it confuses me a bit. Well. I shan't dwell on it, lest my head blows up.

Imuri seems to have some complex about being a demon with no demon power, because she keeps asserting that she is a demon? Am I explaining this properly? Like in this chapter (ch.70) and chapter 3.

Anywho.

Imuri imagining the BL route... save me... my fucking sides... I burst out laughing the first time my eyes laid on that panel. True to her succubus nature, she didn't even consider the possibility of them using blood or whatever else instead of straight-up KISSING. Those are still bodily fluids, right?? Calm down, girl! Stay put!!!

"I'm not letting his first kiss go to some guy that just appeared!!" HE'S BEEN THERE FOR A DECADE! YOU ARE THE NEWCOMER!!! IMURI, GIRL!! You absolute buffoon! Clown, even!

Whew. Lmao.

This arc also feels like a callback to that one "sleeping beauty" comment from chapter 3.

...except their roles have switched.

This time, Imuri will be the one kissing Father on the cheek to wake him up, and it'll be so, so cute. Trust. Trust me. This will happen. (Going insane).

Go and make him your witch, Imuri... Dew it... Make a move... (screaming and crying)

[amoransia]

I'm laughing so fucking hard, you don't understand. I had to contain myself in the middle of class from laughing and going awww all at the same time.

Chapter 61 spoilers!

God, what a fucking chapter. Starting sadly with Priest-kun's religious guilt, continuing with Imuri trying to flirt while Belphegor seethes within Priest, and ending with the witches just wanting to have a good time only to run into the human equivalent of an omnicidal, planet ending divine weapon. Talk about skipping straight to the last boss. These witches are not ready to fight God in their JRPG adventure yet, fuckin' lol!

I kinda feel bad for them, but not really.

Though, Vir and Priest interacting is something I've wanted for a long time, given that Vir has (most likely) a romantic past with Dante, and Dante is the one who told Priest to fall in love. I wonder what they'll tell each other.

And Imuri going in for the hug!!! Finally girl!!!! Act like a femme fatale! Go go go go! She had been acting way too passively for my liking. Attack!!!!!

Bel is so fucking funny, too. I like how he's "OK yeah this Imuri woman's bangin' but also GET A GRIP MY BOY". Love this fucking guy, I can't wait to see him lose.

He and Mammon are on two different ends of the misogynist spectrum. Does that make sense. Does it

Anyway

Good chapter

[amoransia]

I said it on my Twitter, but I'll say it here as well for archival purposes.

Mr. Priest's anger issues were addressed as early as the Mammon arc... so it's not like it came out of nowhere... but it is surprising to see his wrath, that escaped out of his "Pandora's Box" along with lust.

One could say that Pandora didn't only have Mr. Priest's lust sealed, but his wrath as well... (and all of his repressed, "dark" emotions) but there should also be hope in the box? As the original legend goes... (though hope is also described to be a *bad* thing in some versions of the legend, I think.)

I feel bad for him, but I also want him to destroy everything in his path. He looks cool (huh?). And a certain lust came out, sure, but it was bloodlust!

I'm a bit scared that he'll harm his school friends, or Imuri, even... One of those will end up snapping him out of his rage-fueled battle... and it'll hurt him the most.

It's already being hinted at, after all.

[amoransia]

Rather than the action of getting angry being a sin itself, I think being angry in EXCESS in the sin. After all, anything in excess is harmful, be it anger, lust, greed, or even love, as it can reach obsessive levels that can harm one's partner. Or rather, if it leads to HARM, it’s a sin.

So, Mr. Priest getting angry is not a sin in itself: after all, it is righteous anger. However, if he ends up harming the blameless while in his rage, it WILL become sin.

Personally, I think he'll go mad with rage. He'll beat Asmodeus; however, this will leave Mr. Priest with a lot of unvented anger (considering just how much he's been abused), and he'll look for other "targets" to vent his extra anger on. This could be where the 有象無象塵芥 (masses of trash) comes in.

Perhaps, an enraged Mr. Priest will see his classmates, his brothers and sisters in faith (e.g. Leah, Barbara, Mikhail, Charles), and even Imuri, as mere masses of trash (有象無象塵芥). If he can't see them as human anymore, then maybe they become targets-- just trash he can vent his anger on.

Then this IS a sin, because in his excessive wrath— in his blind rage, he is attacking the INNOCENT and the BLAMELESS. It is a point in which his anger is no longer righteous nor justified. Mr. Priest's anger is no longer justice.

Coming out of his fit, he'll realize what he's done; and it will only break him even further.

[thewolfno11-blog-blog]

Ekuoto chapter 78 reaction *Possible spoilers*

Normally I am not the one to do this, but I have too many emotions about this chapter. So here's a rough idea of what went through my head.

Oh god, Bel and Father-kun will have to fight, won't they? I mean I knew this was coming, but it's not a great feeling.

Wow, a hammer, wasn't expecting that to be his weapon of choi- and he tripped over his own clothing. (Started to chuckle)

(Not me trying my best not to laugh out loud and confuse family in the same room as me).

Pff what an idiot (affectionately)

Oh shit Lucifer mention! Third in the series so far.

Wait does Bel not consider Lucifer the same species as him? And what does the demon lord of pride want to do with the world?

Oh Bel, you- who are all these people?

*Sees the scars*, Oh... Right..... suicide is considered a sin.....

Huh, I guess he might not have changed the world, but he did mean something to all these guys.

Damn powering up.

Father-kun looks so good man, yes my son is royalty.

(Trying even harder not to laugh out loud), WHAHAHA, nice sign Imuri.

(Extremely close to laughing out loud). Why does Belphegor look like a demon king from some random isekai?

(Wait.... he sort of is though)

God, I love this dude.

Guess I can add another to my demon lord title introduction folder.

*Sees last panel* Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry

The arc isn't even over yet, but it already feels super bittersweet. God. I don't want it to end T-T

Great chapter and honestly I really like how the relationship between Father-kun and Bel is being resolved. Like something between friends. And while I posted earlier about my issue with Bel and Luca, I've decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least until more information is given.

[gavlickgroup]

Here’s What’s Happening in Tucson This Weekend!

Fri 4/21 - Sun 4/23

Happy Friday everyone! Taxes done?  Good, now you can forget about it for another year.  On the money front, here’s something that billionaire Warren Buffett would definitely espouse.  Buy a whole bag of books for just $10.  Extract out all of the adventure, information, knowledge and enjoyment to enhance your life.  Then, turn around and donate those books back to the same place that sold them to you and receive a tax deduction!  Is that not more fun than playing the lottery? Today through Monday is the Friends of Pima County Public Library book sale.  Discounts get deeper through the sale culminating in the $10 for a bag of books on Monday.  

Not only is tomorrow Saturday, it’s also Earth Day! Occurring on April 22nd for nearly 50 years, Earth Day is now celebrated by over a billion people across 190 different countries around the globe.  Do something nice for mother Earth tomorrow.  Plant a tree, ride a bicycle, recycle or Party For the Planet at the Zoo.  Do it early before it gets too hot.  Being Earth Day tomorrow it might be nice to venture out to Harlow Gardens Nursery from 6:00 – 8:30pm for Moonlight Art Market, featuring a dozen artist’s works.  Trees, plants, artwork…perfect for the planet.  There’s appetizers, and live music provided by Duo Vibrato!  And no Earth Day is complete without wine!  Yes, there will be wine.

You can really connect with mother Earth this Saturday in Winklelman, AZ!  (pop.500)  Visit the Double Check Ranch for their Open Ranch Event consisting of a Pasture Meal, Bonfire and Tour of the ranch.  If you like your beef grass-fed and fresh, it can’t get any fresher than this.  Fun and educational for families and kids, cooler temperatures, and a chance to travel back in time to enjoy a small town atmosphere where nobody will be talking about Netflix or Facebook.  How refreshing is that!    

This weekend through end of month continues the Arizona Film Festival showcasing over 100 films.  Check out the schedule and go watch a few entertaining films that may never be able to be added to your Netflix favorites list. And that wouldn’t be for lack of quality.  For live entertainment there are only 6 shows left for Cirque du Soleil’s OVO at the Tucson Arena.  If you haven’t seen Cirque yet it’s high time you go!  And of course, this weekend continues the Pima County Fair.  200,000 of your friends will go, why not you?  And because nothing refreshes during hot weather like beer, tomorrow is the Baja Beer Festival at Rillito Park.  50 craft breweries offering over 200 beers, food, games and music.  Uber will be standing by!

If you’re on the east side this Sunday stop by Ron’s Open House at 3350 N Manor Drive or my Open House at 4511 N Paseo Imuris and say hi!  Whatever your plans this weekend enjoy the last vestiges of Spring. Don’t forget your hat and sunscreen as temperatures are still in the double digits but not for long!  As always, please let us know if we can be of help to you or someone you know.

[iridescentscarecrow]

i love your thoughts! the way the demon lords interact with priest particularly is such a joy to witness... at points, they angle towards a recognition & commiseration with priest's trauma (something that even the church doesn't grant him) and then by their position they're seeking such awful things through said commiseration. and yeah -- even with other humans: beelzebub with leah, mammon with tachibana. tachibana has recently been eating at my head because of how that early file about her describes her as "that woman who only got hired because of her looks" and then the line "the term future children, which implies a womb, makes me sick to my stomach." i find it so fascinating to read this all in tandem with that one file - the convo she has with verge about merit.. mammon is affirming her, and it's all horrid. asmodeus and sarah are such a good example, because of the way asmodeus engages with the same systems and can only think through them, and yet they both bond over the mutuality of the looming patriarch. asmodeus can only find worth through enacting said violence. her saying she'll "fix" priest... she overlaps sarah onto him...

(and it's also so interesting how each of the demon lords actually articulate priest's trauma. it mirrors how in the first chapter he vocalises what happens as "rape" but yet is unable to articulate this when it comes to himself. beelzebub pointing out priest cursing at the world (the hunting, the killing), aria pointing out his age (her agelessness) and idk if youve read the new chapter, but sloth calling what the father did to priest "abuse"... it makes me so sad. meanwhile, remembering priest raging at asmodeus, satan feeding into his wrath: there, mikhail likens what he's doing to a childish tantrum, of someone spoiled. that simultaneous infantilization when it comes to his trauma & meanwhile the responsibilities that are otherwise placed on him... it makes me sick. ) and like ofc here you have imuri as well...! her approach to priest is still of this substance, and the bit where she describes how she'll make priest accept her apology in a way parallels what was set up by all the demon lords before her. i can't wait for where that goes because the manga's structure is so that everything feeds into her in the end...

I saw on twitter that you caught up with mtefil and i'm so glad since so few people know about it. What do you like about it? Personally I love it's rendition of the fallen angels, so vile and pathetic yet human.

hello!!! i kind of regret keeping the small liveblog thread i did on my priv and not posting on main, since i ended up having a lot more things to say than i expected. i'm still sorting out my thoughts right now, and i want to go back and reread some stuff with context, but here's a quick summary of what i felt:

i like the fallen angels a lot too, but my favourite aspect of mtefil is probably the depiction of the sins, it's wonderfully clever. i think the order of my interest goes lust (aria arc specifically ) > sloth > gluttony > greed > envy.

for lust, i feel like i might appreciate it more than other people because i was very interested in the "agelessness" associated with "sexiness" vis a vis idolhood and the creation of aria as someone "bottomless", as these are themes consistent with some of my favourite things in fiction. asmodeus is one of the characters i ended up liking the most because of this. her inflicting violence onto priest as a expression of her love for sarah, and the propertyship there was very good. asmodeus is constantly seeking worth & dignity! her connecting with priest through like a shared sameness really got to me. i liked how imuri was the audience proxy for our knowledge that aria was actually priest's assaulter, it made for some really horrifying moments of tension, i was kind of shaking through it, also, i think it contributes to my idea that imuri is the protagonist (the first page of the manga is literally her painting) and priest is the "love interest" - also a fun concept because of how bel frames him as a romcom protagonist later on? but that's just extended thoughts. the ending scene of the arc with him fantasizing about imuri and then throwing up was very powerful to me, because i think the gendering of priest is essential to the series. him being disgusted with himself because he feels like a predator, and immediately giving up the caregiving role (of gendered labour) that he assumed over imuri earlier stuck to me.

i like how gender entwines with every aspect of MTEFIL, tbh. its very well planned, even if it does end up beating you over the head with its themes at time lol! the sins are one thing - most of the male ones are dimensions of patriarchal abuse, and the two female ones we've seen are leviathan with her ill fitting motherhood, and asmodeus, who like i said, is focused on Worth through sexual conquest. the church refers to the "father, the son" & the witches to "evil" feminine figures. a lot of the manga discusses how the witches are alienated & considered inhuman, and their struggle is a tussle over humanity. verge literally brought up "storytelling" !! and this makes sense because imuri's Role is the "femme fatale", that she constantly refers back to and describes herself with, and that's essentially story trope.

sloth was the depiction i was most impressed by when it came to inventiveness. i was reading through the files intently before he was revealed since they're all written very well, so when he showed up, i assumed he was writing the child's room ones almost immediately. the scapegoating of women, paired with the eternal childhood of it all and priest's own exhaustion is all very fun.

gluttony being a grooming allegory is honestly insane. i often feel like depictions of gluttony end up imagining it as a kind of Greed Lite - but with a focus on food, which is boring TBH. the manner in which the sin of taste is presented as experienced/practiced by the abused & the way this connected to leah's "forbidden love" as described by the files... i really liked leah in this arc. beelzebub talking with her and saying,, this is just human nature,, centering her shame... it made me feel very ill if i'm being honest.

greed is a typical depiction but the way it's fleshed out connects really well to the manga's themes, although im more interested in tachibana than the actual character of greed. i feel she represents it in a more nuanced way than him, although that's probably whats intended. the file about her with the line referring to "the womb" and the one file conversation she has with verge really sticks to me. she's obviously portrayed as the sole woman in a room full of men and the way she revels in her success when it comes to The Meritocracy fascinates me. i hope we get more of her

envy is probably the one i have the least thoughts on: leviathan as the state & the sea monster connect to motherhood is kind of apparent but i wish i had more to chew on with respect to how that ties to the sin of envy. but that's a minor nitpick, and i'll probably understand more later.

overall, i'm kind of happy with how these themes are being tackled in a shounen manga, and i had tons of fun with it. i wish it had more attention! i like priest a lot, i think he's incredibly well written but my particular tastes in characters mean that my favourites right now are imuri, asmodeus, leah, and verge. the latter is probably biased by the fact that i'm deeply invested in the weird yaoi he and dante have going on, it's so fun?

this is everything that i could think of for now, but i'm considering talking about newer chapters when they drop on my main, perhaps? thank you for the ask, it gave me the opportunity to go on about it a little :D i liked it very much!!