bastard

goddamn listen I'm no stranger to stockholm-y shit like this but fuck if this isn't unique in power dynamics. In other mangas the captor often gives the captive gifts and shit but still turns on them on a dime. Ilmo treats the mc like he's a deity and yes, he's ultimately pulling the strings, but he's still testing mc (sorry i forgot his name) at every turn and gives him opportunities to end it all, and really it's mc who controls that outcome which is just-- not something I've seen before. The captors in this genre rarely take real risks, and seem to have everything in their supreme control.
Meanwhile Ilmo makes much more reckless actions, which is more realistic and thus can be more chilling, given that the reader really can't know what comes next.
The horror of other works in this genre wears off after a bit, because the reader as well as the main character become used to the captor being somehow all-knowing and an ultimate power. All of the actions of those under their control are predicted and rarely, if ever, surprising. At the end of the day, it's usually someone outside their grip who brings the story to its conclusion.
But in this case, Ilmo has reached all the major characters BUT does not have full control over them. He pulls the strings of his own game, causing events that affect the characters, but their responses and reactions are individual. He doesn't secure his victory, instead taking chances with the belief that in the end he will win.

In shorter terms, most captors in these scenarios are the dramatized Hollywood master-plan psychopaths, while Ilmo actually displays symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, which is so impressive.
While this piece, on the surface, is a cliché, it's really quite unique in how realistic it is.
I for one cannot WAIT for the next season.

(Apologies for this fuckin mini-essay but I have an addiction to analyzing psychological yaoi of all things.)

BRO LISTEN I CRY TWICE A YEAR, ONCE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE YEAR AND ONCE ON MY BIRTHDAY. THIS FUCKING BASTARD OF A MANGA BROKE IT. I HAVE BEEN CRYING FOR 20 MINUTES. ACTUALLY SOBBING. PLEASE.

I THOUGHT I WOULDNT BE HURT BY THIS BUT OH I WAS SO WRONG.

LISTEN ANYONE WHO HASN'T READ THIS YET PLEASE PLEASE DONT BE LIKE ME, DONT THINK "duhuhuh like this can hurt me, i'm dead inside uhuhuhuh"
I THOUGHT THAT AND I WAS SO WRONG
THIS FUCKER BROUGHT MY SOUL BACK TO LIFE AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT DID THEN?? IT STABBED ME AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL I DIED. AGAIN.

point being, if you're looking for something to cry over, you've come to the right place. if you're looking for a feel-good or just something to pass the time,,,, L E A V E.