Is there such a thing as being Stockholm'd into becoming wingwomen?

There probably isn't generally such a thing as Stockholm syndrome at all. I mean, the trope namer of that was Patty Hearst, and that was a weird case. She was a young woman whose dad was an uber-wealthy corporate greedhead who as far as I can tell nobody liked. So then in the middle of the hippie era she gets kidnapped by a bunch of passionate revolutionaries her age, some of whom are probably hot and charismatic, nearly all of whom are idealistic and committed, and who stand for everything in existence that would piss off her asshole dad. OF COURSE she switched to their side!

That isn't how kidnapping usually works though. Frankly I think they invented a "syndrome" just so the Hearst newspaper chain would have something to report other than "Randolph Hearst's daughter hates his scummy guts, prefers hawt revolutionaries to his boring cronies".

It would be a split second after this that they would realize they fucked up.

Why you should not apply Machiavelli to your budding high school romance, part 43.

What? It worked! Indeed, the results were far better than planned! Originally they were only trying for a defensive delaying action, but what they got was the whole enchilada!

when machiavelli himself ended up tortured, arrested and exiled, you can tell how effective his teachings were

Machiavelli wasn't a social climber and didn't crave power or riches; all he wanted was to be an able adviser to his prince. He was like Zhuge Liang and all the other great ministers in Chinese history, who worked their asses off for the benefit of another man (the autocratic ruler) while getting little or no benefit for themselves—and often ended up tortured, arrested, exiled or dead because their unwavering loyalty didn't allow them to engage in flattery or indulge their lord's vices.

The Italian princelings of his time didn't pay much attention to Machiavelli's theories but other people in Europe listened. Like Ferdinand II of Aragon and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, to name only a couple.

what I meant to say is that scheming is very effective for digging yourself a giant hole, like for our dear protags in this story

Also, if you spend your whole life working for someone who executes people for fun, you’re probably next, no?

Machiavelli would probably agree. What most people fail to realize is that "The Prince" is essentially Machiavelli's attempt to get hired by the Medici after they took over the Florence and he got ousted from his political position there.

His earlier literary work is a lot more biased towards republican systems of government.

Actually, if you look at it in the context of that other work, so is The Prince. The bottom line message of his works on how republics work and how the prince business works is:
To get things done in a republic you have to be a good guy, but to get things done as a prince you have to be a bad guy.
The implication being, therefore republics are better.

last edited at May 10, 2023 2:02AM

Did anyone find the creepy reflection/haunt in chapter 10? Apart from the caricature on the bridge, which I wouldn't think would count, I scoured the chapter and couldn't see it.

Well, because she showed up front and centre instead? If it's the gal.

I do not understand any of these people.

You know, reading this I'm realizing that I've actually read I think two manga that revolved around Rakugo and a few in which it was a persistent minor theme, like there was a character who was into it.

Couldn't she just . . . keep a phone she doesn't use for work? If she was worried about being tracked it wouldn't even have to have a plan, effectively just a tiny computer she could use to make grocery lists, play little games and so forth . . . and have her crush's picture on.

Edit: Yes, I agree with everyone that cross obviously is bugged.

Also, do real organized criminals usually treat their incredibly deadly killers like shit? I mean, normally you'd think if someone was amazing at killing people you'd want to give them motivation not to do that to you. Even if someone's a low status immigrant, being extremely dangerous usually buys some respect and perks.

last edited at May 7, 2023 11:17PM

Senpai, you idiot.

Very cute. You know, I've always really liked the Genki girl smiley fang, and this one is no exception. When she smiles and shows her little fang it's so dashed adorable! Like a cuddle-able cat.

last edited at May 5, 2023 2:48PM

Why you should not apply Machiavelli to your budding high school romance, part 43.

What? It worked! Indeed, the results were far better than planned! Originally they were only trying for a defensive delaying action, but what they got was the whole enchilada!

Damn,so close.

Well,time for another 25 chapters of gentle plot progression before the actual orifice docking.

Congratulations on making a kiss sound like just about the least appealing thing in the world to have happen to anyone, lol

Technically, he doesn't have to be talking about a kiss. It could be a bout rubbing ears . . . what? What were you expecting me to say? Pervert.

last edited at May 4, 2023 1:00PM

I love this story, but I gotta say I find the bit about the apartment weird. I expect island or rural life to have its challenges--no bleedin' jobs, for instance. But most of these places are losing people, and space is less of an issue. Finding themselves scrambling to find a cramped crappy apartment for high rent and missing out better places to people who got there first, Tokyo-style, seems unlikely. Feels more like tactical drama than their plausible lives.

Mind you, the way the job applications are fairly plentiful and formal makes me think this is maybe a bigger population centre than I imagined when they got there.

Might be because it's a seaside town, that it's a more popular destination for people, retirees, short term renters and the like.

That could be.

More than the actual characterization itself, what hits me about this is the way she does the killing. I mean, normally in a manga, when you have people in a violent trade, they are hyperviolent--hard boiled, bigger than life, unstoppable killers with lightning speed and incredible accuracy. This is not actually that much more realistic, it seems like real hit men aren't nearly this smooth, even the high end ones--look at Mohamed Bone Sawman's boys. But still, it's a very different approach that gives much more attention to real world issues; she's pulling off the jobs in ways calculated to minimize complications, a hypercompetence much more grounded in the constraints of society.

The moment she offs someone quietly with no witnesses in a way that makes it look like an accident, rather than fighting her way past half a dozen bodyguards in a massive shootout, this tells us we are in a very different universe from that of most manga hit men.

Just checked the original on Twitter... that really was all that there is. (maybe for now)

This is the first 4 pages of chapter 6 of My Goddess Spurs Me on, the full chapter is 20 pages.

Oh, cool! Thanks for the info. So that means
1. There is more
2. It is probably great
3. We may see it someday

Just a fun fact: while it may be true that a priest can't tell anyone about confessions, they are also not required to give absolution. They might withhold it if, for example, a confessor shows no intent of actually stopping the behavior or if someone else is being punished for it.

I believe they are also allowed to report a confession to police if it will prevent a crime from being committed (which it arguably would, in the case of a hit man who comes back every time they kill someone). In this case though, I imagine the priest is afraid of the hitman coming for him and his daughter if he says anything.

Or if not the hitman herself, Yakuza more generally; this is clearly mob-connected stuff as he would know from the headlines.

Many in his position might think it's less of an issue, or at least less urgent, just because the victims seem themselves all to be organized crime figures--partly because such people dying is a bit of a (shrug), partly because it's like, they have their own almost alternative society and what happens in it isn't really the business of outsiders. I'm not sure he, as a fairly serious-minded priest, would think that way mind you.

I love this story, but I gotta say I find the bit about the apartment weird. I expect island or rural life to have its challenges--no bleedin' jobs, for instance. But most of these places are losing people, and space is less of an issue. Finding themselves scrambling to find a cramped crappy apartment for high rent and missing out better places to people who got there first, Tokyo-style, seems unlikely. Feels more like tactical drama than their plausible lives.

Mind you, the way the job applications are fairly plentiful and formal makes me think this is maybe a bigger population centre than I imagined when they got there.

last edited at May 1, 2023 8:03PM

So cute!!

Feels like one of the rare stories where I'd be okay with 100 chapters of just this and no progress. They already seem undramatically gay and ok with it, lol.

Reminds me of Vampeerz for some reason.

Probably because the vampires were idiots.

Um, hang on a moment. Evie's currently rescuing Elsa from imminent death from exposure. Which, the previous version wouldn't have done, would she? Would she have even been on the scene? So, why was Elsa alive in the original timeline?

I know, I know, don't sweat the small time paradoxes.

last edited at May 1, 2023 2:22PM

I believe the expression is "Squeeee!!!!!"

Once again, my main takeaway from one of these office romance stories is, Japanese working conditions suck.

Well, it's a cute story though.

I know this isn't the first and not the last story to do it, but does this happen? Do people just get up to other people and grab them? And if so how often does that happen? I know I know, it was done to save time and jump right into the issue of this guy being a nuisance. But at that point just cut to Maki going back with drinks and show Julia in the distance looking distressed with a guy or two around her. I think social anxiety is common enough nowadays that it would be even more relatable to the viewers, really.

But that's just something that bugs me whenever a situation like this occurs in a manga. Otherwise, the story was cute as heck, and if this is this author's first uh... "official"? Professional? Release, then I can't wait to see more. I could even see this get a short serialization. We would just need enough "random, extreme situations" to put them into.

I don't know the full scope of things and how it compares to anime and manga but I've heard that there are catcallers who do that sort of thing too.

Of course it's harder for them, because cats are quick and elusive and hard to grab. Catcallers who first call the cat, and then sit patiently with a treat and wait for the cat to come to them are more successful.

You can tell this is someone without a ton of experience; there was a bit of abruptness to it all, like they just haven't quite gotten the knack of transitions yet, a couple of things like that. But its heart was in the right place; I look forward to what they'll do with a bit more polish.

I just can't get into this. My head space says that whatever the theory, onee + loli can be cute and endearing. But onee + loli + child labour (and something skating in the direction of sex work at that) just crosses a border to where my mind can't or doesn't want to ignore how squicky it is just because picture of cute kid, and I don't enjoy it.

plus she seems really dependent on male validation

She seems really dependent on SOMEONE's validation. Last page evidence suggests it doesn't matter if it's a male.

"Disgusting" she says, leaving the finger there until it gets wrinkly . . .