#psyko speaks

[thepsykoshipper]

Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo has given me serious PTSD when it comes to period kdramas. I always get anxious towards the end of a series in fear that I will experience another ending like that again 😅

[otiksimr]

Been rereading One Punch Man.

Still peak manga.

[phobos-labs]

Down to 1.37 now!

Working on an Androgen Assault default weapons run tonight. Went from a 1.53 down to this, pretty good progress but fuck me does it feel like good luck only. I'm aiming for a 1.30 time.

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 233 Review: Evaluation

I had initially postponed writing this until the next chapter, but I've come to realise I have so much meta to write that it's best I do each chapter individually.

Summary because it's been a moment

The first part of the chapter is set in the mountains above City G where the Council of Swordmasters is based. At their building, the three disciples are reviewing what they've been able to unearth about Sweet Mask. It's precious little, with nothing available before his signing up as a hero. Iaian surmises that this fits in with the information that Bushidrill has been able to uncover on Amai's shifting appearance. They consider that the shape-shifting could be a special power, but in light of his behaviour towards Do-S's hostages, was much more likely a sign of progressive monsterization. Iaian expands on it by recounting what he'd seen of Sweet Mask at the surface when he'd seen a monster struggling to keep its humanity. With surprising empathy, Iaian states that it's often those who've lost something who know its true value. They decide to keep a careful eye on Sweet Mask but say nothing to Atomic for now. Okamaitachi hopes that they end up glad to have kept Sweet Mask's hands clean.

Elsewhere, we see Kamikaze (it is not right to call him Atomic Samurai in this context) and Nichirin paying their respects at a shrine dedicated to successive generations of the Swordmasters. They are accompanied by two young people, here to take the places of the slain Swordmasters. We are treated to Yuta's thoughts of hunting down whatever remains of the Monster Association. Nichirin apologises to the pair to say that if he'd been stronger -- but Shido cuts him short. His father lived by the sword, after all, and falling in battle was an honourable death. Besides, as a bodyguard, seeing Nichirin alive would have pleased him.

Speaking of that, given how gravely Nichirin had been injured, it naturally leads to Kamikaze asking after the old man's health. Nichirin sits on the ground and hitches his robes up to show a pair of cybernetic legs. His entire lower half is now mechanical and he's apparently no worse off for it [Aside: I guess the doctors who butchered Air back in Chapter 182 weren't joking about Metal Knight's skill in cyborg medicine].

He stands up, and, declaring that circulating one's chi through body and weapons made them part of a whole -- artificial bodies included -- unsheathes his sword and slices at an apple that he tossed into the air. The apple is apparently unharmed, but the cliff face in the background is cleaved. The apple falls to the ground, and Shido and Yuta marvel at the accuracy of the old man's cutting the cliff but sparing the apple. Nichirin states that he did cut the apple as well. Kamikaze picks up the apple and explains that this is Nichirin's special technique: it's so fast and finally that the Apple rejoined itself, apparently unharmed. He is relieved the old man is his usual self.

It's now Nichirin's turn to ask him a question. Now that his rival Bang has retired, will Kamikaze stay at the Hero Association? Kamikaze looks wistful for a moment as he recalls himself leading the charge to take down Psykos-Orochi. He says that, indeed, he'd initially gone only to challenge himself, but now he had experienced something that he couldn't get anywhere else. Besides, he still had one more person whose strength he needed to fathom -- we are shown that it is King. He'd decide after then.

As he takes his leave, Nichirin thinks that Kamikaze has changed. Being thrown among a variety of strong fighters with vastly different strengths had broadened his mind. Maybe being a hero wasn't so bad after all. He says that last part out loud to Yuta's puzzlement.

We cut to the hero Association and to Saitama and Genos approaching it. Inside, Forte is putting the finishing touches to a dog house Black Sperm is disgusted, but shelter and food, even if it is only dog food, are what he needs right now, at least until he rebuilds his cell count. Saitama and Genos heave into view and Forte greets them. Black Sperm rushes behind the dog house in well-justified fear. His life wouldn't be worth a scrap of cigarette ash if Genos caught sight of him. Fortunately, Genos is a bit distracted, first by the dog's name, then by the news that Forte lives next door to Saitama. He wastes no time in evicting Forte.

I have a feeling the dog is going to be trouble

Finally, we're in the M-City branch of Mouse Sushi, the cheap rotating sushi place with the infamous nasty t-shirts Saitama loves. Atomic Samurai is there with his disciples, having paid a futile visit to King's residence. There's only one problem with this place: someone keeps taking every plate they have their eye on. After the fatty tuna plate is taken, Atomic stands up to confront the person only to find that is King. The chapter ends with Atomic standing over an anxious King and asking if he could talk to him for a few minutes.

Whew, if you think this is meaty, wait until we get to the meta. Grab a drink!

Meta

I really struggled with thinking where to even begin with this one. Well, let's take it like a hot bowl of soup, start on the outside and work our way in.

The Real Kaijin Shows Up

Small things first. It's hilarious that Genos invokes more fear than the actual monsters do at Saitama's residence. Surprising that he's been visiting Saitama for a while but has never run across Saitama's neighbours or pets until now. You'd think that Saitama had brought home a tiger. As if he were extolling how the beast is still barely half-grown and tame, and all everyone else could see is how it's already the size of a large fridge with cruelly-curved claws longer than one's fingers and fangs sturdy enough to bite through one's skull. Forte may know not to mess with Saitama but he's so aware of Genos's capacity to do actual violence to him that the latter doesn't even need to breathe a word of threat to commandeer his house.

the really big dogs don't need to growl

Don't Panic, It's Just A Monster

I love thus story: people are not blind or stupid. It's hard to keep secrets when someone takes an interest. The disciples are on Amai Mask's trail, and while they're fairly certain that they've uncovered a monster hiding as a human being, the circumspection and nuance they're showing is remarkable.

Despite their misgivings, they're prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt and see him more as a person struggling to retain his humanity than as a monster biding its time to strike. In this, Iaian leans towards the former interpretation, while Bushidrill would rather err on the side of caution. Okamaitacchi is in the middle but is of the mind that this is a fluid situation that could go either way.

It's really neat that what was once a one-off gag, with Iaian telling Meltzegard that he could read the latter's murderous intent, has been repeatedly revisited ad deepened in the course of the story to create what is a wise and sympathetic response to a potentially dangerous situation. The disciples aren't blind to the danger of a monstrous hero, but because they can read intentions, they're willing to be heroes to the core and risk reaching out a helping hand to a struggling person.

Iaian's taking a risk in hoping there's a person in Amai who can be saved. But what else is a hero about?

Decisions and Inspirations

So, what will you do, Kamikaze? Had Nichirin died, what he'd have had to do would have been simple. As the new head of the Council of Swordmasters, Atomic would have had to resign as a hero and raise up a new generation. Thankfully, he's been spared that.

It's refreshing to get more insight into Atomic's character and find that he's been looking for both a source of challenge and inspiration in his life. Bang had certainly provided both while he'd been a fellow pro-hero. However, Atomic deciding to lead a charge to the very skies rather than stand on his pride and be an old man shouting impotently at the battle raging overhead had been a revelation. Terrible as the Monster Association showdown had been, it had also been a peak experience unlike any he could have imagined. He's hooked. [Since this is so late, Child Emperor's suggestions of a specialist dragon-slaying team would have found in Atomic an enthusiastic sponsor]. But he still wants a rival, so off he is to challenge King.

a new fire has been lit in this guy who thought he understood everything

Coming to Nichirin, I have three things to say:

A: Words Are Best Eaten Cold, With Salt

Despite having a disciple working as a hero (Spring Mustachio), Nichirin hasn't thought too highly of heroes. Depending on the translation, he'd called them hunters... or pest controllers. It's nice to see that he's had to eat his words.

I hope those words are tasty

B: The Old Lie

'Dolce et decorum est pro patria mori' . I don't blame Shido for clinging onto a view of his father bravely laying down his life. He needs all the comfort he can get.

We know the truth. Zambai was not felled by a superior foe but by a sentient barf bag spitting in his face.

Amahare's desecrated remains were so fragmentary that his coffin needed only a single pallbearer. A cruel duty indeed for Yuta to perform.

Nor can we forget Spring Mustachio fighting desperately to stop Nichirin's transected body from being burned, then Fubuki frantically keeping him alive, his guts kept from spilling out by what had been Genos's precious designer jacket.

a tableau of horror

This had been an actual conflict, not a carefully-managed test of skill vulgarly called a 'fight', and there was nothing sweet, fitting, nor fair about it.

C: Sword and Spirit

AND NOW FOR THE PART I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR! Forever being from December 2017. It also ties into more recent chapters. The border between living and non-living has always been a bit porous in One-Punch Man and it's amazing to watch Nichirin make no distinction between his biological body, his sword, and his prostheses to forge a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts. Once again, it comes down to spirit and willpower.

Had Genos witnessed this, he'd have asked Saitama for a leave of absence to study under Nichirin. This is the missing part that has been nagging at him, the question he'd asked Saitama about whether his parts truly made him stronger, to which Saitama had had no answer. Heck, just being able to observe Nichirin would have been profoundly inspirational for Genos.

ONE, however, is not in the business of giving Genos anything cheaply. No, on current headings, he's going to have to work it out for himself. Indeed, he accidentally and instinctively touched on the answer when he seamlessly rejoined himself after being bitten in two by Elder Centipede. He didn't think about what he was doing then: he was just totally determined not to be dismissed by that miserable worm. [It goes without saying that Kuseno did not get a distress call, nor brave monsters to see what the fuck was going on for himself because of a mere broken leg and some loosened plates of armour.]

Before and after: plates laid on a bias rejoining so perfectly there's no damage to see. And all the internals are fine too. Black magic shit that got the old engineer out of bed to do a field inspection.

Come to that, Saitama does know about the importance of will but does not know it consciously. Yet another gag that has become very much not a gag is that any object Saitama holds that he does not want to break becomes unbreakable. Cheap store-bought chopsticks catch a falling man -- and his clothes, in turn, don't give way. They become an extension of Saitama, like Nichirin's sword does of himself. Speaking of swords, it's notable that when Atomic Samurai managed to draw the sun blade, it was impossible to tell where the man ended and the sword began. Saitama just has no idea that that's what he's doing, so he can't teach it to his increasingly frustrated disciple.

the same principle, played very differently, but each in a life-or-death situation

And like that, another piece of the puzzle of the power scheme of OPM has been shown to us. No one character has the whole picture. We will hopefully get to piece it together by the end, and we hope that the right characters understand it well enough at the right time to make for good outcomes.

Next chapter review will be much shorter!

[theomnicode]

Burden of prophetic sight

I'm checking out our national hymns and shit because it's our national day in 3 days and all of a fucking sudden, I'm punched in the gut about the knowledge of what could have scared Psykos so fucking badly that she refused to talk about and she wanted to stop remembering it and she looked like death warmed over in webcomic.

What would be the worst thing you could see in the future? To you personally and not distantly enough to just ignore if it's too impersonal and wanting to forget it?

What would evoke your survival instincts down to the core in effort to prevent it from happening?

Your own inevitable death and your worst fears.

That is the burden of possessing the ability to see to the future. To see not just your own death, but also the death of everyone else and your loved ones.

She probably saw her own death at Tatsumaki's hands here or Fubuki's death. Or both.

And in the manga...I wonder if it's the same but this time, false memory that were implanted to her head. Or she saw her own demise in the hands of the Tsukuyomi group.

Lady shibabawa died after she had looked into the crystal ball and predicted Earth was in danger, because she took on a cough drop after that and then choked on it, but was still able to write down the prophecy.

Somehow. Not likely.

I think...she made her own prophecy to come true. Or that she wanted to avoid a far worse fate because the prophecy scared her so and she wanted to go out on her own terms because she was already old. She even had assistants around who would've made sure that she'd get help upon seeing she was choking. But that did not apparently happen and they just...let her choke and write her message.

So what is the timeline when she made that prophecy again?

The moment when Saitama realized that he had started caring about potential casualties again. That he would do anything in his power to prevent it from happening.

(haha ominous moon haha)

When the sky was still dark with clouds during daytime.

(Saitama does not consciously even remember Satoru, because he never sees his full face I bet. And Satoru does not remember Saitama back from school because Saitama does not have hair. But the subconscious does.)

(Inb4 Saitama and Satoru used to date too, like Psykos and Fubuki have implied relationship.)

(Purple colour scheme is often used to depict evil in japanese anime, like sasuke's curse mark had evil purple aura on it, but also: "As in the West, purple stands for royalty in Japanese culture. It is also considered the color of warriors, symbolizing strength. Purple flowers are very popular too" So you could say that Saitama gets strenght to protect in that scene from his conviction to care.)

--

I thought of this because my SO shared with me his thoughts about:

Michael Hartnett's poem of Sibelius in Silence.

Irish drunk and disorderly writer writes from Finland and about himself and sibelius at the same time hartnett is Irish but grew up in England, speaks English and never felt welcome among the Irish irish was not his mother tongue Sibelius was a Finn but grew up in Sweden, spoke Swedish, never felt welcome among Finns… both were alcoholics who drank themselves to death and hartnett foresaw his own death and equated it with the death of Sibelius in that poem there's nothing left but hands shaking with drunkenness, no swans of hell, no sketches (luonnotar, virgin of air, this is a wordplay), no compositions

(The black swan of tuonela reference and Saivo-lake, tuonela as concept meaning both heaven/hell, the afterlife)

"vodka ebbs in tremors from my hand" is fucking brilliant that part of yourself that hasn't disappeared yet, no matter how ethereal, you still feel it when it's still there despite everything. OR ether (aether) no matter how puffed up you are, yeah, I'm still there, yeah, hic wakes up at night at odd hours because genius is a burden and inspiration comes at any moment and voila, finlandian magic is just out of thin air OR can't sleep because drunken insanity ruins your sleep completely and solves the problem by pulling out a bottle of Finlandia

Me: or did he get his strength from the concept of finlandia that hasn't left him yet? SO: or the fact that it listens to finlandia, if you think from hartnet's point of view yeah me: what did he want the anthem to represent SO: you can think of it that way but that whole last verse is a double-meaning at the same time that it hasn't lost itself and is still creating art which was true for both of them. and at the same time that he has completely lost himself to alcoholism and is nothing more than that which was also true for both of them fucking brilliant and rough as fuck ;_;

SO: I suppose that being undead there's not much to life, a soul is needed for loving, feeling

Funnily enough, my SO also pointed out that Saitama's dream being a forewarning of Saitama losing himself, things that are important to him and his being when I said that he prolly foresaw the loss of his self and people who were important to him like Genos, is akin to conspiracy theory and ahaha...this personality type has a tendency to get caught up in conspiracy theories.

I mean, I can pull out outrageous meta which sound like conspiracy theories (like this one) out of thin air. Woosh.

Because cognitive bias is seeking out patterns even when there is none. xd

(I swear I'm just doing this for fun and not seeking out if there is a hidden conspiracy theory. I am making up shit though)

--

Unfortunately, how does this relates to Saitama?

Chances are, he has already intuitively foreseen his own death, at some subconscious level. Because he started to care again. Since he knows himself well enough that he would know that if he started to care about people again to the degree that he now cares for Genos, he would sacrifice himself for them, because of his caring nature and not having any self-worth.

(Thanks Murata-sensei, I can now see the tired, dark bottom eyelids that are only more pronounced in versus Garou.)

(Ugh now I'm crying again)

(The wounded healer archetype is to be self-sacrificial.)

Or that he will come to consciously see his own demise/fears at some point, when his third eye that is referenced to exist in the Orochi fight opens.

(I bet we will revisit the demise of Orochi as well....thanks Murata-sensei for the hint...)

Saitama is willfull. But what he is susceptible to doing is chasing dopamine highs and addictions. Adrenaline. Gambling. Spontaneously buying some weird shit. Indulging himself with his favourite foods. Because depressed people often are susceptible to doing that stuff because of dopamine deficiency to get dopamine fix.

Including binge drinking alchohol.

Fate can be changed though, due to intervention. Just like Saitama is intervening on Psykos' fate.

But yea, turning to alchoholism would probably be the way for Saitama to try and forget if say, he somehow accidentally managed to kill Genos, if Genos happened to be say, not in complete control of his faculties. Saitama is motivated to forget all sorts of bad stuff even at the cognitive level.

Or hell, feeling guilt over pushing Genos into being a bloody hero, like how Genos decided to confront Awakened Garou while only being a torso. Or worse, compelling him to be self-sacrificial and heroic because of his divine power.

--

One thing for sure though, Saitama seems to be a person who has the capacity of changing the fate of people around him.

Because conveniently, prophecies can't be trusted. But they sure can become self-fulfilling.

[the-nysh]

I think Gearsper is a bit suspicious for saying that Tsukuyomi is just an urban legend considering that his powers also seem to be artificial given the scars on his head (similar to Apollo and the other Tsukuyomi member) and the weird headgear he wears...

Oh yes, that was odd, considering he's likely one of their enhanced esper experiments victims himself (same brain surgery scars underneath the mask) - he had to have known of them. :O Despite all this bullshit he's spouting about rumors and urban legends - that's suspiciously not adding up.

Unless he's truly in on it (part of their group; covering things up for damage control), or perhaps he was brainwashed to not speak anything ill of their organization, orrrr all his memories are still intact and he's deliberately deflecting/playing ignorant to help Fubuki make her safe escape with Psykos. :O (As an esper/hero helping out his fellow endangered espers.) It could be any of the above.

[scary-senpai]

It's good to see this come up in the manga, because this is something I'd been wondering about/concerned about since I dipped my toes into the OPM-verse: what it means to be a monster, both figuratively and literally. (Well, I guess "good" is the wrong word, but you get what I mean).

I wrote this on my main blog awhile ago (OG post is here), but I think the point still stands, so I'll say it again:

Monster has a funny etymology — it’s an antiquated term for all the things we didn’t understand once upon a time, because we didn’t know any better.

Those bones belong to a dinosaur, not a dragon — and that terrifying, strange and mysterious creature has always been the same animal — even if we called it something else for centuries, that doesn’t alter its core components. But the words we choose influence the sentiment surrounding a thing and that’s why some people see a monster where others just see a Precious Wolf Boy.

The stories we tell take on a life of their own — growing into myth and lore; misunderstandings that we can feed or even dispel, if we’re so inclined to enlighten others. This is why, as an avid reader, nomenclature — an artist’s rationale for picking one descriptor over another — has always fascinated me. And also I worked in a linguistics lab for awhile, that ruined me for anything else.

Today, the word “monster” survives mainly as metaphor or hyperbole. Going back to my earlier example — if I refer to a dinosaur as a “monster,” you might take umbrage with the accuracy of my terminology but you’d understand the subtext behind why I chose it & the emotions I intended to evoke.

Nowadays, people would more readily apply the word monster to other humans — humans that kill indiscriminately and strip away the rights of others — than any unexplained phenomena in the natural world. Essentially, what's happening to Psykos here (and possibly Garou in the future, and definitely Amai Mask in the WC).

The point that ONE/Murata make is a worthwhile one: if you support the right to something, then you have to support those rights for everyone--even people you don't like. Once you draw a line in the sand, it won't stay put.

“no rights/no assets because monster!” is literally something out of the propaganda books (and unfortunately from not-so-recent history).

Anyway, I think it’s interesting that ONE specifically mentioned rights and asset forfeiture. I can’t speak for the author, of course, but it’s an unusual (and very specific!) aspect of world building. It’s a heavy thing to touch and never revisit again.

Given that OPM is fundamentally about subverting tropes, I always read the monsters as neutral beings — and I will point out that ONE goes so far as to frame them as a public health issue (because anger / dissatisfaction cause people to transform) or environmental (pollution causes the water/earth/animals to transform). And fighting monsters inadvertently causes them to evolve and become stronger — which seems like a case against fighting them, and a good reason to focus on the root cause.

This post peripherally inspired by: an episode of throughline where one of the guests more or less said: “we get all high and mighty about the concept of ‘humanity’ and 'human nature’ but in reality no other living creatures are as cruel as humans. you don’t see penguins rounding up and torturing other penguins.”

Anyway just putting that out there as a thought, and also sharing the whimsical imagery of penguin strife. Here's the OG episode; this is one of my favorite podcasts: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/15/977526130/chaos

[theomnicode]

Heh, I have some meta thoughts.

Saitama in the manga actually gives two shits about other people, even though a lot of people still think's he's just bored and lackadaisical. That's why Genos trusted in him to arrive back to fight Garou and why Genos tried to play for time.

Manga Saitama, contrary to his wc self, has actually integrated being a hero into himself.

viitata kintaalla (lit. "to point at with a mitten")

(idiomatic, + allative or partitive) to remain indifferent to, to dismiss or disregard

Funny finnish idioms.

"Viitata" means lifting your hand up when asking for turn to speak, such as in school or politics. "Kinttaalla" means with a mitten or glove.

But it also means that his care for other people, his empathy, points him towards the right direction.

"Viitta" means cape and it's the symbol of Saitama's hope. So you could say that if he disregards other people, there is no real hope for him.

Just gotta take off those rose tinted glasses that keep his (our) eyes from seeing the light and the truth yanno? And drop the mask that he does not care. Though he already did that with Genos, but I don't think that's it.

He does not consciously remember it after all.

Nah we only began the resurrection ceremony of the evil god. We're not done yet.

Garou just proved that even those with good intentions and empathic and sensitive people can lean towards doing evil things if they're truly desperate. ONE likes to play with the notion that there's a lot of wiggle room in the self if the stars align. Or that the circumstances are just right.

(I love that Psykos headscarf is an image of the self in Jungian psychology, just pointing that out)

People abt Saitama in the manga: he'll arrive.

People abt Saitama in the webcomic: he'll arrive (?).

[thepsykoshipper]

Psyko’s Top 10 Kpop Songs Released in 2022

I took the top 10 songs released this year and put them in a numerical list. This list is only including songs released by a k-pop artist or group and is in korean.

10. WA DA DA by Kep1er

I didn’t watch Girls Planet 999 but I followed the drama extensively on twitter (mainly because I love Bora from Cherry Bullet), and so I was excited for the debut of the group. I was expecting a debut to rival IZ*ONE and I think we got it with WA DA DA. It’s high energy and the dance is fun. But theres a reason no other Kep1er songs are on this list. #JusticeForBora

9. Super Yuppers! by WJSN Chocome

WJSN released my most listened to song of 2021, so of course another WJSN song would be on my list. This song was the Kpop we needed in a genre saturated with noise music (which I do not hate). Dayoung’s rap(?) in the bridge solidified this as a regular on my Kpop playlist. These girls are bringing back the Orange Caramel aesthetic.

8. Maison by Dreamcatcher

It would’ve been a crime if this song did not get Dreamcatcher their first win. The chorus is so hype, and Dami’s raps never fail to serve. Their first win was a long time coming, and I’m glad they’ve finally clawed their way out of nugu-dom.

7. Love Dive by IVE

You think I could make a best of kpop list and not put the SOTY on it? (Actually I haven’t put the SOTY on my list many times XD). But this time I actually agree with the decision for SOTY. IVE had everyone by the throat this year, release hit after hit. And even though I hate Starship Ent. for what they did to Monsta X, it is nice to see a company outside of the Big 3 getting some recognition. I’m excited to see the big things IVE does in the future.

6. Step Back by GOT the Beat

I was a huge SuperM stan when they debuted and so I new it was a matter of time before SM released the female version. And they did not disappoint. This song is damn near perfect, and getting to hear Taeyeon, Wendy, and Karina on the same track is something I could’ve only dreamed of. This song is amazing, and anyone who says otherwise is in denial.

5. SMILEY by Yena feat. BBIBBI

Now I’ll be honestly, I didn’t love IZ*ONE, and I think all the girls have put out better music since they disbanded. And Choi Yena has had the best debut of all the ladies of IZ*ONE. It actually shocked me to discover that she was a rapper in IZ*ONE because her voice is so wonderful. I actually held out on listening to this song all the way through, because I didn’t care for IZ*ONE, but once I gave in I could not stop listening to it.

4. FOREVER 1 by Girl’s Generation

I made the mistake of stanning Girl’s Generation after the release of “Holiday”, so I fully expected to never receive new songs as a SONE and was content to just enjoy the classics. Well I tell you, I cried when I first watched the stage for this song! Eight queens taking their rightful spot back on the throne with an absolutely incredible song.

3. Scream by SF9

At this point, SF9 are one of my ults so of course they’d be the first boy group to appear on my list. When Youngbin and Inseong enlisted, I expected no new releases from the boys as a group for a while. So when this dropped I was so excited. The song overall I think is just alright, and the reason it’s ranked so high is purely because of Zuho’s rap, which are always my favorite parts in SF9 songs.

2. HOT by Seventeen

This was the song that got me to truly stan Seventeen. I had been an on and off fan after listening to Aju Nice, but this song was what made me commit to listening to this group. The dance is simplistic and sexy, and I love everything about the concept.

1. WooAh HIP by MAMADOL

If you had told me that the best song of the year would be released by a group composed of a bunch of former idols who were also mothers, I wouldn’t believe you. But WooAh HIP was the best debut/disbandment song of the year. These women can move, and they showed the world that just because you have children, doesn’t mean you can’t pop and drop it. I’ll never stop wishing for another comeback for this group, but most of all I hope that this paves the way for all idols with families and encourages them to continue doing what they love.

[thepsykomonbebe]

Hey whoever’s running the Monsta x text service.......I just wanna talk

[thepsykoelf]

Now I was a Hani x Heechul shipper but above all I am a Heechul x Happiness shipper so let me tell you I am THRILLED that the man who is always talking about wanted to get married and raise a family is in a relationship

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 228 Review: Horse-Trading

Introduction

HUZZAH! The Psychic Sisters Arc is over at last! It started well, it ended well, but there's only so long I can give a shit about Tatsumaki throwing a tantrum and throwing Saitama through things.

Story

Eh, let's make it short and sweet. The chapter deals with the immediate aftermath of Tatsumaki's tantrum through to the next day or two as the fallout looks set to begin in earnest. Along the way, a few sharp deals are struck.

Meta: Ho ho ho

Blackmailers Anonymous

Something I was very glad to see changed for the Blizzard Group in this arc was them being largely hapless. Earlier, we saw Eyelashes, Mountain Ape, Lily, and a few others valiantly try fighting to prevent Apollo from leaving with Fubuki and Tatsumaki. Amidst the air of general discouragement, Eyelashes leads the surviving group to follow Fubuki with purpose, and they don't back down even faced with Tatsumaki. This chapter, we see yet another Blizzard Group member, an as-yet unnamed guy with a distinctive mohawk, show another talent: hacking. Neither he nor Fubuki are slow on the uptake as to what

Thanks to a little negotiating, Fubuki is able to persuade McCoy to concoct a monster attack to explain away the damage to the Hero Association building, Tatsumaki obliges by scattering the monster parts outside -- and coincidentally smuggles Psykos out in the process.

Tatsumaki brazenly insists on being the one to apprehend the escaped Psykos, leveraging her knowledge that the executives didn't want their cover up blown.

However...

If McCoy is smiling, that's because as far as he's concerned, what Tatsumaki and Fubuki have been up to are amateur hours in the damaging information game. He's happy for them to run their hustle for now.

If the Psychic sisters were more astute, they'd be worrying about the operations chief being more amused than annoyed, but they're amateurs.

Speaking of amateurs, let's spare a moment to look at Gearsper. Lots of people have been giving him the side eye for insisting that Tsukoyomi couldn't possibly be real. We do think the gentleman protests too strenously, but what his angle is remains to be seen.

Enlightented Self-Interest Is Next To Altruism

It's official -- I am never getting over how bottle-blonde baby Forte is. No wonder he goes around with hat and sunglasses: he looks too young to be out unsupervised.

He wisely apologises to Saitama and tells the others that it's in their best interests to ensure that they stay on Saitama's good side. Oh, and feed his pets already. Good -- that's the third day of no food, water, or shelter that Rover and Black Sperm were looking forward to.

That said, there is a very strange translation choice in what Forte says, at least as translated by the fan group. Google Translate and individuals insist that what Forte offers to Saitama (other than his old clothes) is a visit to a restaurant that does delicious food and Saitama crying off sick. It has been translated as Forte offering to go clothes shopping with Saitama and Saitama being creeped out.

I'm waiting for Viz to translate, and if it doesn't agree, believe me, I'm asking questions.

Also acting with enlightened self-interest is Saitama, who asks Genos not to report Tatsumaki on the basis that she deserves her time in the limelight. Of course, we're aware that behind his apparent generosity of spirit is the awareness that shared credit means shared blame.

And a billion yen's worth of blame is really too much for one poor-ass hero.

The Chickenheads Come Home to Roost

Despite everything, the good ship Titanic (um, I mean the Hero Association) seems to have weathered the storm. The public, and their rich donors, are back onside having been reassured that the disturbance was just terrible monsters and all is well.

Well.

With that terrible security of the Hero Association's, it's not been hard for Child Emperor to find out the truth of what was actually going on. To say that he's not impressed is an understatement. All is forgiven, Phoenixman!

The only questions are: 1) How far has he dug? 2) How much damage will he cause?

Speaking of callbacks, remember way back when an inoffensive monster pangolin was systematically skinned alive for its scales until it bloomed into a highly-dangerous demon-level monster? Metal Knight looked cynically on the whole affair.

It looks like selling monsters on the black market is much more widespread than we initially thought. Fubuki having evidence of McCoy personally looking to enrich himself was very unedifying. And he's not the only one. However, that's not the worst of it.

Never mind the personal profit motive -- if they're lucky, the monsters are just going to wealthy individuals keen to have the most exotic pets ever.

If they're unlucky, there's outfits who have plans to use monsters to make weapons. I don't need the webcomic to point that out:

Maybe Drive Knight is ethical and above board (cynical laugh), but some of the outfits developing those weapons could be intending to use them against the Hero Association.

[theomnicode]

Thoughts and theories about chapter 176

You know shit is about to go down as really funky when characters casually start mentioning divine power, when the only people who "know" about divine power specifically is Blast's group and OPM God.

I mean, at this point I'm just going to say that this is not even actually real thing that is happening anymore and more like a dream or some collective consciousness thing. ONE is just pulling our leg and is gonna pull the rug/plug at some point. But we can enjoy the shock and drama till that happens and pretend we followed some webcomic layout hah.

I had that feeling since 170 and this pretty blatantly breaks the rules ONE sets in opm about who knows what information. Information frameworks.

There is no conceivable way for Fubuki to magically know this. It's like some unknown entity is speaking through her or something.

What she is saying is really abstract information too. And then once she finishes saying it, Fubuki is horrified to see Saitama fall into the darkness of the pit.

--

You know like, if you fall for someone that hard, you might fall prey to dark emotions or something and taken advantage of. Loveen langennut. Not the first or last time ONE has depicted a person going through hell and back to save a loved one (I think it was Mogami from Mob psycho)

So do expect Saitama's emotions to also be taken advantage of, now that he's felt for quite a fair amount for Genos. It is very much hinted at that something more lurks below the surface.

--

It's honestly like some other entity is pleased that Saitama well, came along and managed to ascend high enough to defeat Garou, because this entity has given up on ascending on their own and can see Saitama's inner strenght because he has broken his limitations and acquired access to divine power. Has seen that Saitama is capable enough of going that far and did not die while handling that kind of emotion, so he would eventually have the mental strenght to properly ascend as well without having a mental breakdown first.

*rubs chin* Unknown entity speaking through her is a thought too. Like what happened to Psykos.

Who are the people who actually fought awakened Garou anyway?

Blast, Saitama, Blast crew...is divine power itself self-aware?

Did Genos core become self-aware?

Or does she mean that in order to "ascend", one has to feel love/emotions so thoroughly in their inner world that they'd get exponentially stronger from that. Since that's a source of power, it would make sense.

I'd imagine it makes a person vulnerable to god's machinations however. So that is probably a big no-no in the Blast crew circle. Be emotionally detatched at all costs.

Another hint is these elf-ears these characters seem to be sporting, because Murata-sensei is amazing at visual cues. The other character who had elf-ears was Garou after he awakened.

But what really sells this is that Tatsumaki on the right has the same flowing hair as Mob does when he goes 100% and Tsukuyomi guy on the left looks like Genos when he tried to stop the meteorite. Genos on the other hand, has those same hairs forming the same kind of pattern as Tatsumaki's loose hair.

So when you think about it, that's possibly a pretty huge hint.

It might refer to that Genos was probably given divine power via Saitama originally when Saitama accepted him as disciple (Genos and his yellow glowing eyes in anime) and it could mean that for Genos, there's two paths to take.

One would lean towards using the artificial emotions and power stored in the core, to gain more power and lean into his darker, more machiavellian emotions to accomplish what he has set out for, no matter the consequences or the collateral...his quest for revenge being something Saitama made him momentarily forget. And in doing so, forget himself. And become manmade "esper" like Psykos after she came in contact with God. Or should we say, godly being.

The second route, what he himself actually feels and how he feels through his potential empathic link to Saitama and gaining power via that and how much he cares for Saitama.

That is, in order for Genos too, to ascend and awaken. But path is never linear so might be a while yet unless we get a glimpse early, but I'd definitely love to see Genos the Retribution Paladin popping some wings (Avenging Wrath) and become Avatar of Retribution itself. Then proceed to Divine storm aoe all the evil things standing in his way. If he becomes a Protection paladin, he can Divine shield and Divine Protection/Blessing of protection all the people. It would be cool af.

Once you see paladin pop wings, you should run away and fast lol. If there's something Genos has, it's firepower and a ton of it.

[thepsykonctzen]

If you would’ve told me a year ago I would get to see kpop LEGENDS in real life, I would not have believed you. But here I am, now a Kai stan. And I actually got to hear my all time favorite Taemin song “Danger” irl

[theomnicode]

Saitama and difficulty labeling relationships would be pretty classic for infj who likes to categorize people and put them into boxes. But not knowing who is in what category comes from uncertainty on the level of emotional closeness. The labels denote the emotional closeness level.

However, I can tell my level of emotional closeness to people. If asked to explain, it would be more difficult for me to explain why this person is labeled like this in my mind rather than what they are and because I fear they might misunderstand or get hurt, than putting them into boxes. Well, most of the time. Because I'm in touch with my emotions and how I feel about people.

WC Saitama really demonstrates this on two occasions, once when he just lists what Fubuki can't be to him and then when Tatsumaki shouts that he probably doesnt have friends outside hero work, he's unsure.

In the manga, Saitama thought of Genos as more like family. I do think he did get an upgrade from family to something more though after moon, but now he's a bit unsure about what he himself feels towards Genos because he doesn't consciously remember.

--

…. I can make a well-educated guess as to what the magnet's identity is.

Well, yes but...also in the context of a haunted house like in the audiobook. You're not wrong no, very much right, but context matters.

If Genos is the definition of a warm, positive and inviting household and he has the keys to it and like a magnet was pulled towards Saitama because of his self...someone else has the second key to the haunted house version, cold, negative and untoward and like a magnet, also gets pulled towards Saitama.

(If psykos was being creepy when she gazed into the forbidden book and started talking mad stuff, oh man...we're only in the epicenter of the quake, which is located directly above the hypocenter, the source of madness. First we need to cross the faultline though when we dive deep into the rabbit hole. Or idk, the fault points towards the source.)

Speaking of rabbit holes...

I can now see why Saitama's face looks slightly bit weird. Dear me... looks like something out of asian horror movie. And why Garou got so spooked.

--

A lot of people are drawn towards Saitama, because of himself but also because of divine power.

Saitama is just kind of sandbag who will get constantly hit with impunity because he's er, emotionally vulnerable. Genos protects that vulnerability with his umbrella shield but he can't do it all the time or forever.

He has to become "not emotional sandbag".

Saitama and difficulty labeling relationships would be pretty classic for infj who likes to categorize people and put them into boxes. But not knowing who is in what category comes from uncertainty on the level of emotional closeness. The labels denote the emotional closeness level.

However, I can tell my level of emotional closeness to people. If asked to explain, it would be difficult for me to explain why this person is labeled like this in my mind rather than what they are and because I fear they might misunderstand or get hurt, than putting them into boxes. Because I'm in touch with my emotions and how I feel about people.

WC Saitama really demonstrates this on two occasions, once when he just lists what Fubuki can't be to him and then when Tatsumaki shouts that he probably doesnt have friends outside hero work, he's unsure.

--

This went from cute if bit sad genosai to creepypasta and I apologize.

GenoSai idea that hit the brain:

Saitama having a crush on Genos, and knows Genos likes him back, but doesn't say anything for months. Not because he was afraid of misinterpreting Genos' feelings, worried the relationship won't work, or anything like that. He didn't doubt they'd make the greatest power couple ever. He just didn't say it because he knows he's shit with words and feelings and doesn't trust himself to get a confession out properly, so he's slowly trying to coerce Genos into confessing to him instead.

And it is so difficult to get him to.

[thepsykoarmy]

Dude I dont fuk with maknae line stans

them girls are crazy