#High and low Takano

[darknight02]

I hate you, I love you and I hate that I love you

(These men makes me question things about my self)

[chaoticriderlessb]

Why is like...almost every single guy in the "HiGH & LOW" series cute and hot? Even the leaders of DOUBT have stolen my heart!

Very funny, boys! Now, politely give it back...please.

[rz-jocelyn]

[NEWS] Sato Ryuji has been Cast in the TV Drama "With You I Bloom: The Shinsengumi Youth Chronicle"

DESCRIPTION

"With You I Bloom: The Shinsengumi Youth Chronicle" (Japanese title: Kimi to Yukite Saku ~ Shinsengumi Seishun Roku~) is a live action adaptation of the manga called "Shinsengumi" by Tezuka Osamu.

It tells the story of Fukakusa Kyujuro a young man who wants revenge for the death of his father, and joins the Shinsengumi in search for this justice.

SATO RYUJI'S CHARACTER

Sato Ryuji plays a mysterious man who comes to Kyujuro's aid when he meets the enemy who killed his father.

TRIVIA

[1] This isn't the first time Ryuji has had a connection to Tezuka Osamu's works. The Brow Beat (his band where he is the main vocalist) has released "Tsumugu", which is the "BLACK JACK" manga 50th anniversary theme song.

To purchase the physical single of "LOVE LETTER" which includes the song, please refer to this link: HERE

To stream/download the song, please refer to the links below.

Apple Music: HERE

Spotify: HERE

The band is also collaborating with the "BLACK JACK" manga and goods from this collaboration are currently available online. To purchase the goods, please refer to this link: HERE

[2] Miura Ryosuke, who has co-starred with Ryuji in "Jujutsu Kaisen The Stage" and "'Galaxy Express 999' THE MUSICAL" plays Serizawa Kamo.

They both played Gojo Satoru and Itadori Yuji respectively in Jujusute, and Captain Harlock and Prider/Count Mecha respectively in the 999 musical.

The Blu-ray/DVD for "Jujutsu Kaisen The Stage -Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event & The Origin of Obedience-" is currently available for pre-order. For more information on how to pre-order it, please refer to this link: HERE

[3] Also included in the cast are Ryuji's co-stars from the "Musical Touken Ranbu", Takano Akira and Sakamoto Shogo, as Shinsengumi members. Akira (Hizamaru in Toumyu) plays Kondo Isami while Shogo (Horikawa Kunihiro in Toumyu) plays Hijikata Toshizo.

In Toumyu, Ryuji plays Kashuu Kiyomitsu, who is a sword owned by Okita Souji of the Shinsengumi. In KimiYuki, his identity is speculated to be Sakamoto Ryoma.

[4] Ryuji and Nagata Takato, who plays Yamanami Keisuke, have also co-starred in the TV drama "Sheasuru Ra! Instanto Ramen Arenji-bu wo Hajimemashita".

[5] Additionally, Kan Hideyoshi and Mokudai Kazuto play original characters who are part of the Shinsengumi. Along with Ryuji, they were part of "Kamen Rider Geats", playing Ukiyo Ace (Kamen Rider Geats), Michinaga Azuma (Kamen Rider Buffa) and Jitto/Zitt (Kamen Rider Regad) respectively.

On a related tokusatsu note, Ryuji also made his entertainment industry debut in "Kamen Rider Fourze" as Satake Teruhiko (Hound Zodiarts) and Miura Ryosuke plays Ankh in "Kamen Rider 000".

[6] Kan Hideyoshi and Ryuji have also co-starred in the movie "HiGH&LOW THE WORST X" where Ryuji plays Nishikawa Yasushi and Hideyoshi plays a member of Barasho.

[7] Kawai Hayato, the director of KimiYuki, also directed the TV drama "Kizoku Tanjou -PRINCE OF LEGEND-", which Ryuji was in.

LINK TO WATCH SATO RYUJI'S EPISODE

To watch Sato Ryuji's appearance on "With You I Bloom: The Shinsengumi Youth Chronicle", please refer to this link: HERE

NOTE: For more information on how to use the site to watch, please refer to this link: HERE

Source(s): ( x , x , x )

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Festival Accompanying Chapter 7

The chapter opens with Hanyu speaking to us. With Irie Clinic established, destiny is set in motion. But Hanyu asks that we continue to hope for a miracle.

At first, I thought she just appeared to remind us what this arc is about. The end goal is not simply to know what has truly been happening, but to overcome the destiny placed on Rika and her friends.

But after what happens in this chapter, I think Hanyu is also trying to assure the reader. Starting now, we're going to learn the truth behind the series of murders. Hanyu no longer has the power to rewind time to before they happened so there is no way to prevent the tragedies that are going to happen. But we need to keep our eyes on the goal: June 1983.

I bet this is also the first moment she actually had the power to speak to us since Rika hadn't been born yet.

Now we're switching perspectives to Irie. The first half of this arc revolves around us learning the truth behind everything leading up to June 1983. So now we're going to learn how Irie ties into everything.

One key detail about the perspective flip is we are no longer privy to Takano's thoughts. We know her motivations up to this point, but as we'll see in the end of this chapter, she's become willing to do anything to prove her grandfather's theories true. At this point, she is not going to give us an objective look at what happens.

"Certain circumstances had led to my expulsion for the world of academics." The last time someone said "Things happened" we found out that they had shot a kid in the eye.

I don't like Irie's motivation for this research. He thinks that proving there is a parasite that can control human brains could prove that religion, ideology, and philosophy could be the work of parasites.

He seems to have a low opinion of humans. Like, if we weren't being brain-controlled we'd just be going around gathering berries and killing deer and not having a thought greater than wandering when our next meal.

His idea really seems to disregard a fundamental aspect of human culture: Getting high on weed, shrooms, and toxic fumes which cause people to enter a fugue state from which religion, ideology, and philosophy originate.

Oh hey. Akasaka came to Hinamizawa in 1978. He also got into that fight with Okonogi. So now I'm just going to wait to learn what is different about this timeline that ensures Yukie survives.

I imagine that somewhere in the research floor of the clinic, Okonogi is in a different bed and is similarly bandaged up and he is seething that the guy who beat him up is right above him.

And this chapter ends with one of the biggest reveals of them all. We finally have the solution to the very first question from this series. We finally know what happened to the ringleader of the 1979 murder. He was captured by the Wild Dogs and spirited away to the research lab for experimentation.

Takano says she's perfectly sane but it's so obvious she fell off the deep end a while ago. She is completely unbothered as she talks about how this man killed and chopped a body to pieces and was carrying the victim's right arm when he was found. And she suggests dissecting the man with a smile on her face.

If there's a particular point she fell off the deep end, it was probably during those months where the research got deadlocked due to them not managing to find the actual pathogen behind Hinamizawa Syndrome.

When she said she had an idea and requested some time to implement it, it sounded like she knew something like the foreman's murder would happen. We only see the aftermath of the murder, not the leadup or the murder itself. I wouldn't be surprised if Takano purposely targeted the ringleader to induce late-stage Hinamizawa Syndrome in him for this purpose.

And if that's true, maybe she was planning the same for Keiichi and Rena in the arcs they went insane to maybe get some last second data before she was forced to destroy everything.

Takano is really taking liberties with her grandfather's research methods. She brings up how scientific endeavors required disregard for ethics and she says Dr Takano did the same thing. But all we know about his research methods is he formed his initial hypothesis from his experience as a military doctor. There's no proof that he did anything one might consider unethical.

It really seems like Takano's perspective of who her grandfather was is getting more warped as time goes on.

Also, Irie has no reason to care about carrying on Hifumi Takano's legacy. This isn't about proving someone right. And Irie is absolutely correct in assessing the situation. Takano has completely lost the point. She doesn't truly care about uncovering the truth about Hinamizawa Syndrome. She just wants to prove her grandfather right.

But when Irie attempts to leave, Takano brings up his past actions to force him to stay. Turns out Irie was in the field of psychosurgery, a controversial field focused around performing brain surgeries to restructure the brain to treat mental disorders, brain damage, and other similar things.

Takano is essentially pointing out that Irie has done plenty of unethical things in the past so why should he preach about ethics now.

This kind of reminds me of Keiichi and Rena's exchange in Atonement chapter 10. In a similar vein to Takano, Rena rejected Keiichi's offer to help because of what he's done in the past. She basically said he doesn't deserve to be a better person and should always be the guy who shot a little girl in the eye.

And Takano is implying a similar thing to Irie. He will always be the person who cut into many peoples' brains for his research and was kicked out of academia for it. So he doesn't have the right to repent or seek forgiveness.

back

[asianpoplover143]

It’s about the fic High&Low The Return (2024), so I remember asking the question on this poll (https://www.tumblr.com/asianpoplover143/760386655717900288/well-lets-say-that-it-is-the-end-however-i-do), if you all wanted me to share whatever I had on my drafts about the fic right? So the result was: “Only the sinopse”. So here it is the daft of it, feel free to give your thoughts and opinions about it.

Please be honest, I wont be upset or angry, quite the opposite I will be happy with the honesty :)

Please enjoy the daft of what I have done so far with the sinopse:

Sinopse draft:

Now with all of SWORD gangs being at peace with one another, being friends and getting along (including Kuryu Group/Mighty Warriors/Prison Gang/Doubt, Mugen, Amamiya Brothers) and also all of the High Schools (3 School Alliance: Senomon High, Kamasaka High and Ebara High; Oya High, Housen Academy, and Suzuran High) being friends and getting along as well, that’s thanks due in a certain part to Suzaki Ryo that made his (boy)friend Amagai Kohei go back to his old self, be that boy with a kind heart and etc. and also to Kohei’s younger brother that is best friends with the 2nd year students from those High Schools (specially Suzuran boys) because they have a lot in common for example they finish their fights without a single scratch or drop of their own blood, and also they still have enough energy to fight more and even to go to a war, plus they always win their fights.

And speaking of Senomon High, Ranamru is the new principal and Hirai and Takano are always there helping him with the students, when they are at Senomon the 3 of them act like parents to the students, they act totally different from the way they act with Doubt. With the students they are more heartwarming and caring, but also a funny fact about Ranmaru is that he is not a normal principal, he as soon as he is done using the speaker he always says “Hirai, how do I turn this off?”, and this is every time, and Hirai helps him. Ranmaru’s favorite students are the 2nd year students because they are mini copies of him, however the 2nd year students are the strongest ones in Senomon and the best fighters and the only ones that don’t need weapons to fight, in fact they are even able to take the weapon out of their opponent’s hands with ease. Which is why Kouei (Kohei’s younger brother) is a 2nd year student and one of the heads/leaders of both 2nd and 1st year students, and lets say kinda helps his older brother leading the 3rd year students alongside him, and not just that also the Mighty Warriors baby, and the chosen one to be the head of their family (Amagai Family) alongside Ryu the head of the Kuryu Group.

And speaking of Kuryu Group, guess who is back? If you said: “famous idols/actors that had abandoned their careers to live (or try) a normal live”. Why on earth were you even thinking of/about it? (In case you really were). The correct answer is: If you said “Kidra”, then you are absolutely correct. Yes, Kidra is back, and so is Chanson Group plus the RedDrum drug and guess what? Kidra is doing the RedDrum drug again and they are doing what they were doing in High&Low The Worst, but this time they are selling to all of the High Schools (even the ones that they sold before, like Oya High and Housen), and now 3 School Alliance involved and Suzuran. And for that and reason (and many others) Chanson Group that is the true enemy.

Oh and it doesn’t stop there! A new gang is rising back from the ashes…They are the Black Rascals, they are basically the emo version of the White Rascals, their leader? The vicious and handsome Yami, which believe it or not is Suzuran’s principal and Rocky’s the White Rascals leader, best friend since they were in kindergarten and still they remain ever since. And is one of the many reasons why the Black Rascals help the White Rascals whenever they need.

[taknostic]

Ok so because I'm an astrology bitch I looked up Takano and Ritsu's astrological compatibility (Takano is Dec. 25, Capricorn; Ritsu is March 27, Aries)

And uhhh... Here's some fun stuff I found

For Sex:

Off to a fun start. Literally karmic enemies.

This is surprisingly accurate in light of the recent chapter (Takano teaching Ritsu how to blow him??) Kinda hot ngl even though their sexual compatibility is a whole 5% 🥴

For Communication:

Super accurate! Ritsu's struggle for the longest time was not being able to talk to Takano about anything besides work.

Sadly I do see this as accurate. Takano is super controlling about Ritsu's friends/health/work, and Ritsu had to openly tell Takano to stop doing things without his consent. Seems like Takano doesn't respect Ritsu's autonomy! 20% on communication. Smh.

For Trust:

This jumped out to me because of that first misunderstanding that lead to their break-up. Even though in reality, Takano has a hard time trusting Ritsu by himself and tries to control him, it's kinda nice to think that despite their fights and misunderstandings they really do trust each other. Their trust is 99%!

Overall:

Yikes! I'm sorry to say this is an L for Takaritsu 😔✌️ Thank god astrology isn't real

[norihisahyuga-archived]

The Gangs of High & Low: The Story of Sword: (1/10)

Doubt

[annebrontesrequiem]

So I finished Clover and it was actually really interesting. I think it does have my favorite CLAMP art ever, which I kinda hate to admit (xxxHolic my beloved) but the style and layout of the paneling is just phenomenal and I’ll never get over it.

It definitely still has... CLAMP’s problems (grumble) though I was kinda delighted that one of the characters called this out within the first few pages. Honestly this series really leaned into a lot of fucked up shit and I’m not sure how to feel about it. Like, does it matter if you’re being self-aware if you’re still being Like That? I’m not sure

I did like the set up of each story though, and the way that time skipped around. I also quite liked the characters - or rather most of them. Su is kind of amazing for her ability to both have not much personality at all, while still being undeniably compelling. I liked her connecting with Oruha and I liked that Oruha never learned that Su was a Clover, just a little extra bit of tragedy. Oruha my beloved, you’re the literal best (Su is second favorite character and then prolly Ran).

Ran was probably the least compelling part, though I do understand why it was a necessary edition to the story. It’s more like I never felt he had a proper emotional connection/understanding with anyone, though I do think the rapid aging thing is kinda interesting in terms of Lore. Someone take care of this child, someone take care of all these children. Anyways Ran has Miyo Takano vibes if he snaps and tries to wipeout a whole village I wouldn’t be surprised - I guess A would be more likely to do that though lol.

Also Part 3 felt more rushed than the rest, throwing that out there

Obviously the biggest drawback story-wise is that it’s unfinished, and I would actually read the ending of this if it were ever published, however I think that the way the story is it doesn’t suffer incredibly from the lack. I guess it’s more like a straight up tragedy this way, nihilistic in the way it doesn’t have a meaning, but that does fit the story in a way.

So overall I’m... kinda conflicted on the rating. It depends on how deep I’m in denial about the stuff I don’t like. I do think it is a genuinely interesting story, and I kinda hope that CLAMP tries a story like this again at some point. Sci-fi, who’d’ve thought?

I’d say that Part 1 is a solid 7/10 (liked the ending), Part 2 is an 8/10, and Part 3 hovers about 5.5/10 about same as CLAMP School Detectives could have been better could - lol - have been worse.

Anyways CLAMP do another minimalist art manga again I’m begging you

If you think this review is long and rambly yeah it is, I’m pretty conflicted on this. The highs were high and the lows were low and I’m in the middle like WOOTTTT

[youmeandteddybears]

The JR/SiH Tragic Backstory Ranking

1. Asahina - his parents literally tried to kill him and attempt suicide.

2. Nowaki - he's an orphan and doesn't know his own birthday.

3. Misaki - his parents died when he was eight and he low-key thinks it's his fault.

4. Akihiko - neglected, rich boy with shitty, selfish parents and was sexually abused as a kid by his tutor.

5. Kirishima - his wife is dead and he was a single dad for almost ten years.

6. Miyagi - he fell in love with his high school teacher and she died.

7. Takano - neglectful parents, his relationship with his first love in high school ended because of a misunderstanding and he hasn't gotten over it.

8. Shinobu - the guy he fell in love with married his sister.

9. Yokozawa - he was in love with his best friend, who he was intimate with, and was rejected.

10. Ritsu - his relationship with his first love in high school ended because of a misunderstanding and he hasn't gotten over it.

11. Hiroki - fell in love with his childhood best friend and had terrible, depressing sex with him while he thought of someone else.

12. Yanase - fell in love with his friend and was rejected.

13. Ijuuin - a guy he liked was in love with someone else and rejected him.

14. Kisa - a self-identifed gay man who has bad luck with relationships.

15. Isaka - grew up in a wealthy family and worked hard, but people attributed his success to nepotism.

16. Hatori - in love with his childhood friend.

17. Chiaki- two people are in love with him at the same time.

18. Yukina - his life is basically sunshine and rainbows.

[jihyehye]

reading response i

approaches to postmodernism (part i)

escaping the confines of museums

YOU ARE HERE

steel, acrylic, vinal print

june kim, 2013.

.

collapsing boundaries between “high” and “low”

UNTITLED

colored pencil on paper

mada, 2021.

.

rejecting originality

UNTITLED

cermaic

chicho aoshima, 2017.

.

jouissance

FOR HOPE

acrylic on canvas

aya takano, 2003.

.

working collaboratively

UNTITLED

print of painting on fabric

aya takano and mikiosakabe, 2022.

.

appropriating

IN THE FLOATING WORLD: FUCK BOUT EVERYTHING

xerox print

yoshitomo nara, 1999.

.

simulating

MOON

mixed media

yun jae kim, unknown

.

hybridizing

UNTITILED

ceramic

stephanie h. shih, 2020.

.

mixing media

UNTITLED

marker on photograph

emi kuraya, 2018.

.

[aqua-tan]

We... never really got a resolution for this, did we?

What thing from the past? What should who not forget?

Who even is on the other end of that phone call?

[chaoticriderlessb]

My nerdy-and-possibly-coming-down-with-a-cold ass: Aaalright, I've finally gotten around to rewatching "Kamen Rider: Build", for the second time...and hopefully, this time around, I can actually finish it. I was planning on rewatching "Fourze" and "Ex-Aid", next, however....

🦇🎻🥀 Kiva 🥀🎻🦇: Oi, oi! Why not check out me, next, eh 💗? We have Otoya Kurenai 🎶!

😈🔴🔵⚫🟡 Den-O 🟡⚫🔵🔴😈: Uh, no way! You should check us out, next, Emjei. We're way funnier! And chaotic! Save that time-traveling, romance clown for last. Besides, they're full of vampires! You said you were over that phase!

🦇🎻🥀 Kiva 🥀🎻🦇: 'Clown'?! You're the one who will just confuse her with all of your...everything! Emjei-chan, you like our aesthetics, right? And you'll adore our cast! We just know it! Ooh! And, we have a dog! You love dogs!

😈🔴🔵⚫🟡 Den-O 🟡⚫🔵🔴😈: Puh-leeze. She'll like our cast, even more! We'll make her laugh harder, too! And, we have a train in the sky! A train in the sky!

🍊🗡️🍋‍🟩 Gaim 🍋‍🟩🗡️🍊: Oi, oi! She told us that we were next on the list! Our leading actor was in her favorite street-fighting series!

Me: I distinctly remember there being a "could" in there, somewhere, in that sentence....

♦️♣️♥️♠️ Blade ♠️♥️♣️♦️: Hah?! She told us that we were next! Where have you been?!

🚀🐇🎮 Fourze, Build, Ex-Aid 🎮🐇🚀: *can only watch on in confusion and disbelief* ....Are we just...like...rotten milk, or something?

Me: *forces her way past the other Kamen Rider shows on her list* Don't worry, boys. You guys are still my top 3-!

🦇🎻🥀 Kiva 🥀🎻🦇: *pulls her back* Emjei-chan, you'll watch us, next, after Build, right? We'll take care of you! Chu~ ♡! Much better than those boys in that DOUBT gang in "HiGH & LOW", trust us!

Hirai: Oi!!

Takano: Why are we being dragged into this....?

Ranmaru: *rolls eyes, not caring in the slightest*

😈🔴🔵⚫🟡 Den-O 🟡⚫🔵🔴😈: *clearly offended* Oh, you're gonna start kissing up to her, now, eh?? Kiva!!

Worried Me whilst being pulled and fought over: I've fallen right into a wonderland of trouble...haven't I....? Oi, Kiva! Enough with the kisses! Geez!

🚀🪐🌌 Fourze 🌌🪐🚀: *to Build and Ex-Aid, in concern* Uh...should we help her?....

🩷🎮💚 Ex-Aid 💚🎮🩷: No, thank you!

🐇🤖🐲🖤 Build 🖤🐲🤖🐇: ....No, let her suffer. She brought this onto herself. *Ex-Aid nods in agreement*

Me: Fantastic. There's help...and then, there's you lot! 💢

(To the Kamen Rider fandom, out there, please assist this still-KR-newbie on figuring out which to check out, next, after I eventually finish 'Build' 🙏🏻)

[twelvedy7]

Twisted - One shot

warning: sensitive topics (drugs). 

I just wanted to write something a bit different. It might be a bit OCC but I thought it might be a great fit for the manga universe.   This story won’t be published anywhere else than tumblr so feel free to save the story if you like it.

Oh and also english isn’t really my native language so sorry if there are incoherences. 

Takano had no sense of self-control. From a very young age he has been a witness of the sheer harshness of his mother and the complete indifference of his father towards their family. Despite how much he tried to convince himself of his difference he inherited from most of their flaws, which filled him with anger every time he thought about it. 

No wonder that whenever he met someone bright, kind, generous and appreciated he became more aware of his whole dark gloomy personality. That was the case with Ritsu he was still viewing today as the 16 year-old teen he used to be a decade ago.

No wonder that when he met this bright, kind and generous highschool kid he had become more aware of his dark gloomy personality. He was still viewing Ritsu as the 16 year-old teen he used to be a decade ago and yet he couldn’t understand for the life of him the reason why such a lovable person would waste their time with him rather than finding another likeable person that would be such a better companion than him.

If all the open rejections from the brunette could make him believe he hated him, he was at least smart enough to read between the lines and see what the other tried so hard to conceal under feigned anger and flustered reactions. 

What seemed to be like a bitter-sweet genuine love story from two ignorant teenagers who lost each other from a foolish misunderstanding was driving him straight into madness. Ritsu was constantly on his mind, invading his thoughts at any time of the day, reminding him of the terrible person he was and how he will never be nowhere near enough for him. Even in the poorly credible reality where the younger one would actually build up the courage to admit his feelings, he knew that their relationship was sealed to failure. 

One day Ritsu would mature and realise how incompatible they were and how idealistic they’ve been this whole time before leaving him to find another person that could offer him the support and love he needed. Maybe one day Ritsu would find the man of his dreams, different from senpai in every way, to finally live the blissful life he aspired to. That’s what broke his heart the most: they were not made for each other. No matter how hard he tried, it will never be enough because they were simply not meant to. 

He imagined Ritsu’s soulmate to be fun, social, caring, communicative and considerate which would make him forget all the turmoil he went through for all this time. His parents might be so enchanted by their personality that the fact they weren’t An-Chan wouldn’t even bother them.

The truth is he was physically and emotionally drained. He couldn’t feel a thing if it wasn’t his love for Ritsu and sometimes he felt as if that was his last tie with sanity. There were times where he would shut down his emotions. When it became too difficult to confront their inevitable fate, he would put himself in a semi-automatic mode working up to 15 hours straight without paying attention to anything or anyone, only accomplishing what he ought to.

Over time, he came to accept that he wasn’t able to love anyone without causing them a great deal of pain and suffering. That’s why he decided to distance himself from the few people who actually cared about him in his life and managed to bring him some split meaningful moments of happiness. It was like a lightning bolt shaking him from side to side, making him surrender to the hope of one day being able to spend the rest of his life with Ritsu and recovering from his long-lost friendship with Yokozawa. He hurt them both and didn’t deserve to be part of their lives. 

His phone vibrated. He broke off his thoughts to center his attention on the alias displaying on the screen: “Taisho” along with a message “I’m here.”

He stood up from the floor, came up to the entrance of his apartment and opened the door. A man of average-height in his mid-thirties was waiting for him. At first glance, he gave the impression of being a regular salary-man coming back home to his family after a long day of hard work. However, he came to discover that the man likely had a long history of debt behind him involving matters such as a costly divorce and low paychecks.

Not bothering to greet him, he pulled out 6,000 yen from his pocket and handed it to the fearful looking man who replaced the notes with a small transparent plastic bag containing a white powder. 

“Same thing next week?” asked the anxious black-haired man, his light blue eyes too faithful to be a dealer squeezing behind his oval glasses. 

“Yeah. See you.” 

Without giving him a second glance, he double-locked the door and came back to his dimly lit living room that felt so lonely without Ritsu here. It would take some time, if not forever, to prevent this heavy load in his heart from manifesting every time he would find himself alone without the prospect of his first love joining him any time soon. 

It still pained him… Nao came unannounced in the office earlier in the morning and asked Ritsu out for something that too likely looked like a date. A walk in the city center, a restaurant, and a nighttime exposure. That bastard. 

The rare times he had managed to take Ritsu out for a date was by forcefully dragging him out of his apartment or bluntly lying by message playing the card of ‘emergency’. He remembered the dull ache he felt in the morning as he realised how easy it was for his “best-friend” to take him out to a full outing while he had to prepare a strategy days ahead just to drink a coffee together. 

Opening the tiny bag in his hands, he chased away his dark thoughts and kneeled in front of his coffee table, pouring half of the powder out on its surface and realigned it in two fine lines with the help of an old credit card. He usually didn’t take such high doses in one shot, but tonight he knew that he needed it. The accumulated pain and overthinking were taking a toll on him. Rolling a paper, he brought it to his right nostril and sniffed the first line, ignoring the burning pain in his cavity before passing it to his left one and repeated the action.

A few seconds later he started feeling the tiny molecules flowing through his blood system, noticing the faster pace of his heart beat and the gradual relaxation of his muscles as the drug invaded his mind.

He closed his eyes. 

As always, the thrill was exquisite. The far away sounds of ambient city noises echoed and at some point the only thing he could decipher in the absolute silence was his own breath. His body was soft and any psychological pain he felt instantly disappeared. It was as if someone had covered him with a warm fluffy blanket while stroking his hair with a gentle grasp, providing him an endless feeling of comfort and security he so desperately needed. 

At that moment, everything stopped and all his troubles went away. Nothing mattered anymore. He was back being a young child pampered by a protective mother he never had with an unconditional sense of love. Pleasurable sensations coursed through his body from head to toes until his spirit went numb and he lost any notion of space and time. 

He reached that moment of nothingness that he wished could last forever.

___ 

“Takano-san!” 

...

“Takano-san!” 

Who was it? 

The voice seemed so far away he wasn’t even sure it was real.

“Masamune!” Why would someone try to break the silent darkness that was surrounding him?

For what seemed like hours, he felt himself trapped in-between the process of gaining and losing consciousness. He didn’t want to be drawn from his deep slumber yet.

He recognized some familiar voices in the background but it was hard to put a name on them as they seemed to continuously echo. 

It took him several more minutes to realise that people were present and it shook him. He became hyper aware of his environment.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a bunch of white blouses around him scampering around the room at a feverish speed. 

His mind whirled. The world seemed to be going so fast but his brain was so slow. 

His golden eyes blinked several times to adjust to the brightness of the room. In an instant he was blinded by the artificial light of the leds on the ceiling. 

In the chaos of all the fast-paced strangers around him, he felt a delicate hand fondling with the hair on the short back of his neck and let out a soft tired moan escape his lips. 

“Takano-san can you hear me?!” 

He groggily stretched out his limbs while burying his head on the petite body frame behind him and looked up to see who was the kind stranger offering him such soft intentions. 

Above him were two wide teary green eyes displaying a worried expression. Despite his blurry vision, he could recognize the refined and familiar traits of the man he loved. It looked surreal, having the both of them like this sharing such intimacy in a restless atmosphere.

Next to him was standing Yokozawa in his usual professional attire. He could only watch them through half-closed eyes all the while trying to figure out what they were doing in his apartment in the first place.

“He’s stable now. Overdoses happen regularly when cocaine and other powerful stimulants are added to the equation. That’s what producers do nowadays to boost the effects”. Said a firm feminine voice. He could see the lady in white gesturing around to her colleagues and immediately realised what just happened. She was staring at him, probably trying to jauge how awake her patient was. 

“You were lucky Takano-san. This could have been much more serious.” 

He saw his friend sitting next to Ritsu, his usual severe expression ruptured by the deep crease in his eyebrows. 

“How did you find me?” asked the raven, his voice so weak he wasn’t sure the two others heard him. 

The brunette brought his face closer to his ear, petting his forehead as he replied in a shaky shy voice: “Yokozawa-san found you like this…” he heard a sneeze. “The front door was unlocked and your phone was ringing without you answering it. You… You stopped breathing.” 

He felt absolutely miserable. 

Trying to shift his position to have a better view of his comrades, he caught the look of utter disappointment and guilt from his older friend. He probably thought that he was long done with this dark hazardous period of his life. 

“I’m… I’m sorry... I didn’t want to…” 

His battle to stay awake was getting harder and harder. 

“It’s okay Masamune. Just rest for now.”

The nurse took a hold of his wrist and stuck the intravenous line with a patch. 

“We’re going to transfer you to the clinic as you need to take several tests. You’re safe now but your body needs to recover.” 

The hand that was playing with his hair resumed and he let his head fall back on his lap. This combined with the liquid in his body led him to a sleep without dreams.

___

When he woke up again, he found himself buried under the sheets of a hospital bed. It took him some time to become accustomed to the artificial lighting of the room. Gathering enough energy to finally keep his eyes open, he gazed at the clock at his right indicating 4:55AM.

The first thing he felt was an atrocious headache that hit him with a massive chest pain undertaking his whole body. He noticed the numerous wires connected to his skin accompanied with the steady regular bips of a machine.

He heard a light snore on his right. Shifting his head, he immediately saw the small fragile figure crawling up into a ball on the couch. A cheap blanket was covering him from toes to his neck. This sight made him feel so terribly selfish. As seconds went by he started getting back to a normal state of awareness despite a fizzy pang at the back of his skull. 

With as much strength as he could gather he sprawled a hand towards him and rested it on the others’ laps. He stroked his thigh lightly with the help of his thumb and stared at his seemingly exhausted resting face. He felt so worthless. He knew he had hurt him badly in the past already and the only thing he could think of is that this was too much.

“I’m so sorry Ritsu…”. 

After reuniting with his first love following the 10 years they had spent apart from one another he had started to believe in fate. Yet he had been too trustful, using it as a justification for every one of his impatient and inappropriate moves towards the younger one. Everything became painfully obvious. This whole thing they had was destructive and that was mainly his fault. It was time to finally respect the distance that Ritsu wanted and deserved. He could not go back to these college years pretending that nobody cared about him. 

Now Ritsu would need him. 

Still, they were nowhere near close from getting into a relationship. Too many mistakes had been made. It was crucial for both men to work on themselves first as jumping the steps one more time would only bring them unhappiness.

That day Takano swore he would stop pursuing Ritsu. He’s forever been broken and finally accepting to get help was a start towards a less twisted life.

“It’s okay Ritsu.” 

One day they would be okay. They would get the life they both secretly wanted. 

[sannoh-rengokai]

New photo of Doubt was released! Click for HQ :)

Doubt’s leader has revealed himself! His name is Hayashi Ranmaru. He was in prison for assaulting a police officer but he’s being released (or escaped ooooh~)

[redxblueihateloveyou]

This is a personal opinion but from where I see it the Given movie and the anime itself definitely was... something that I would question because somethings just.. didn't make sense to me. The development of the Characters were either super fast or super slow and it made the pacing really really weird for me idk. But I do think that a huge reason so many people love the Given movie is because of the fact that when you compare Given to OTHER JP BL animes, there's very very slight improvement in terms of the story itself of Given. Is the story poorly executed? Fucking hell, who the hell is going to say no here. But is it better then some of the JP BLs out there? That's depended on how you view BL to be. For a lot of people things like Super Lovers or Hitorijime My Hero are super unbearable to watch because it's "problematic" (which honestly okay, you do you BB) which then leads them to look for BL animes that DON'T have such "themes." Leading them to actually liking things poorly executed but just "not problematic", Given for example.

Given is “not problematic”? Debatable.

Their first kiss was right after Mafuyu finally had a courage to sing a song about his ex who commited a suicide. ???

Problematic doesn’t only mean stuff like “he’s underage”. What about using someone to get over your grief or getting into a relationship with someone who is still not over his ex death and is vulnerable at the moment? Is this suddenly “not problematic” bc they’re same age and he haven’t pushed him into a wall in throws of passion?

To me it’s not even about the fact if it’s problematic or not (it’s rarely not tho, no matter what ppl think), it’s about whether its believable and feels genuine or not. It depends on many factors: situation, characters past, traumas, etc, etc. It depends on the story and how you write it.

Change some stuff and it’s gonna be a completely different thing. Make it like Uenoyama only hugged Mafuyu after the song, even tho he wanted to kiss him, but knows that it’s not the right moment. Make Mafuyu heal first, make Uenoyama be in his own angst that he loves Mafuyu so much for example, but cares about him recover more, so he doesn’t expect for it to go somewhere, then he tries to date someone and Mafuyu first starts getting out there, when he feels like he can start trying again. Someday he gets sick and Uenoyama cancels his date to take care of him even tho it’s nothing serious and then the realization comes. Make Mafuyu kiss him first and take the first step. This would’ve changed everything so much. He should’ve made the first step when he was ready, this would’ve felt so right. Uenoyama kissing him after that song is just.. it feels, I was like ehhhmmm.. weird?

Seeing someone saying that Given is a masterpiece is hilarious to me. The fact that it includes heavy themes like suicide, doesn’t make it a masterpiece, esp when it’s handled this badly. Once again, if you pick such thing as a base for a love story, do it right then, not in a “bibbidi bobbidi boo” kind of thing. 

BL or not BL, any relationships, it depends on whether you watch it and it feels plausable or not. 

For example, if Yuu says that he can’t live with Mika, my tongue won’t even twist to call it “unhealthy” or be like “dude why”. But if some high schooler in slice of life anime who has a caring family tried to end himself bc his two weeks friend left him, I would’ve yelled “bitch go see a doctor”. 

Depending on the story you can sell some feelings or not.

Nezumi and Shion are also problematic according to ppl’s logic these days. But I 100% believe they’re each other’s true loves. Only 11 episodes and it’s sold.

In Given I didn’t believe it. Bc it’s ridiculous, ok? It wasn’t the right place or time to start this relationship. It is not a new love story, it’s just a sad story. 

Given movie is slightly better compared to other japanese BL? Why would you offend Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, Uragiri wa boku no namae, No.6 and many others?

Also better where? They kept the same old “’stop, i don’t want to’, but he did it anyway” stuff AND on top of that the story sucks.

The way he used him knowing very well that he was unrequitedly in love with him for so long is so disgusting that it leaves a much grosser feeling than many yaois combined. You’re saying “it’s slightly better” bc they’re of age or don’t have an age difference? I don’t get it. It somehow makes everything better?

No, thanks. I’d rather watch Onodera sleep with Takano in high school with them being genuinely into each other and it going great than whatever happened in the Given movie. I don’t care if they’re both 18 there, it made me feel bad.

I didn’t feel bad, when Wei Wuxian thought “why the fuck didn't I have sex with Lan Zhan back when I was 15? I've really pissed away all my days, haven't I?”. I wonder why is that.

Like what you’re saying here is that their opinion on BL is so low that they automatically would give it 10 out of 10 bc it’s slightly better than smth that they find “unbearable” to watch? What kind of evaluation is that exactly? Maybe also let’s compare each anime to “boku no pico”, then everything will look like a masterpiece.

Like excuse me for the fact that when I watch some shonen-ai and yaoi, I judge it the same way I judge any other genre and any other relationships (hetero or gay) in animes. On a scale whether I care or don’t care, whether I believe that they love each other or don’t, whether it’s a good story or not. I don’t get what it means “it’s good for yaoi”. It’s just not good. This movie is trash, I mean, the relationship in it is trash. Who the fuck cares gay or not gay. Trash relationships are trash. Bad story is a bad story. Whether it’s a bad gay story or a bad hetero story, I don’t give a shit.

The reason I’m more into boy on boy ships is because I love the relationships there more than relationships in most heterosexual couples. My fav hetero ships are either “from hate/attraction to love” stories like “gone with the wind”, “anastasia” or “pride and prejudice” or stuff like “equals without pink goo, who only see each other and don’t need no one else and would die for each other, epic soulmates” like Richard and Kahlan. In anime 99% of those fit bromances, not romances. Like I don’t find Midoriya/Uraraka appealing at all for a reason that “she said ‘hi’, he blushed as a tomato, now they’re supposed to be each other’s romantic interests” is not what I find romantic. I find romantic the fact that Todoroki is forever devoted to Midoriya bc he knows he’s amazing and is not afraid to say it; and he’ll always be there for him when he needs him, no matter what it is, him just sitting there crying, some villain trying to kill him or if he’s too late out ther grossery shopping. Uraraka most of the times doesn’t even care where he is.

Most hetero romantic animes, I just find ridiculous, too cheesy and unrealistic and I’m not ready to watch 50 episodes for them to hold hands. I’m not in that age and I also never found things like this romantic before either. Stuff like Kisa/Yukine, when you meet someone, find him attractive, wanna fuck him, then fall in love accidentally.. yeah, that’s understandable to me. Stuff like Takano/Onodera “I was an naive idiot in high school, but now life made me a sassy bitch and I can’t open up to people as easily” also yes, relatable. 

When you’re turning into a tomato bc someone said “penis” and think holding hands will take your virginity or smth, that’s not my thing.

So when I watch BL, I expect more, not less. So if it’s bad, I just say it’s bad, I’m not gonna be like “hmm... unproblematic... then 10/10″ like what? 

1stly, even “little mermaid” and “cinderella” are problematic. 

2ndly everyone is so focused on purity these days, like storyline don’t matter at all. It’s like any great love story is automatically trash if they have age difference. Any trash love story is great, if they don’t?

Let’s then also rate “Dororo” as 1, bc it’s like 24 episodes of them falling for each other while she’s 11 and he’s 16. Wow, such gross relationships they have during the whole story. Doesn’t matter that she grew up at the end of the last episode, the whole anime she’s a child. And let’s rate Noragami 0, bc 2000 years old perverted Yato is into 15 year olds.

No one has to fuck asap (heck even in the same hella problematic “Super Lovers” you talk about, Haru refused to fuck Ren even tho he was 17 in s2 and wanted to fuck another guy) and the rule “you can only fall in love after 18″ doesn’t exist. Also underage is not BL thing, it’s all anime thing. It’s time to shut it already. There are zillions of age gap couples out there who are great. Hyakkimaru waited for Dororo to grow up, it’s fine, seriously, they love each other in the right way, he didn’t want to fuck her when she was 11, okay? They did love each other tho already then. Pls excuse them for that.

3rdly, some relationship that ppl here call unproblematic are 20 times more problematic, than what they call problematic.

4tly, why the heck it’s like couples who have an amazing character and relationship progression, who love each other to death and will do anything for each other, ppl go: “wow, at the very beginning, he grabbed his wrist, he needs to go to jail”. Meanwhile a relationship who has no base, no story, no logical progression, no anything are “yes, best love story in the world”. Yeah... who cares if it feels like it’s all been pulled out of an ass and doesn’t make sense, very healthy tho.

It sounds lately like if most ppl here had two stories in front of them and one would be about two men who just met and the next day one proposed and they lived happily ever after and 2nd would be some complicated incredible story with a natural progression of the relationship, but they yelled at each other once, they’d be like “1st is better”. Well, not to me, no.

[looseinthecatroom]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Higurashi reboot ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

(spoilers for the reboot and the original)

I haven’t screamed about this on here yet, and given that the Mion question arc just ended, it seems like a perfect time.

1. FUCK YES I am so hyped!!

2. There’s a lot less gore then there was in the original, and while I’m generally gore adverse or neutral in horror media in general, the original Higurashi managed to make it WORK. It was a big part of it’s identity when contrasted with the cutesy art.

3. In the same vein, I’m starting to worry about the psychological fuckery quota. We didn’t get needles in the Onigiri this time around, nor did we get Shion intimidating/ threatening to torture Keiichi. We also missed the Keiichi being “chased by Oyashiro” and clawing his throat out over the phone in arch 1. Overall it’s been low on the creep scale, and it’s starting to look more like a pattern of impactful moments not happening, but also not being replaced with anything just as memorable. (Save for Rika going OFF about the kittens story. THAT was a new moment that was satisfying as fuck.)

Which kinda leads me to 4.

I worry that the reboot is going to go too sci-fi too fast. What with Takano’s henchmen showing up already and being called as such, as well as seeing the high tech bunker side (rather then the spooky torture side) of the Sonozaki basement, I worry that we’re going to catapult into season 2 style fairly generic action, which honestly, was my least favourite part of the original run.

Hmm. Guess we’ll have to wait and see!

OH also 5?

The Rena stabbing was stupid. Keiichi should have died, and it felt like it didn’t at ALL fit with type of gore/horror of the first run. How the fuck did he kill her, but she didn’t kill him? Ughghghghghghghhhhhh. Stupid. (EDIT. Okay maybe I’ll revise my opinion on that scene if we later find out it wasn’t what it seemed and Keiichi was still L5 hallucinating during it, but that would also be too similar to the original imo soooo... idk man.)