stressedpenguin's manga / #grounded feeling(48)

The emotions are strong with this. Watching these two guys in their, what, 30s or 40s? Watching them grapple with feeling empty and lonely even as they live life as if nothing's wrong, watching them just want *someone* to grow old with, that "social security", its heartbreaking. And then as they discover what it's like to be together, it's so healing. The story is called "I'm Doomed if It's Not You" but it doesnt feel like they're all isolated like a lot of other romance. They have friends and lives outside of each other, but they're each others lifelines. It's a relationship that feels like... less rose-tinted romance and more... just people getting together? Idk how to explain This is a strong contender for favorite romance manga. 9/10, it's so close but my 10s are strict

Tough high schooler wants to be pampered so he hires a rental older brother and is not long before they're doing things brothers should not do lol. Junta is cute! I like his kinda awkward personality. Hes tough but sweet especially to his siblings. Arata also really nice. Hes got a fun, outgoing personality and he takes good care of junta. We got some good background characters and a solid fight at the end Kinda keep forgetting junta is a highs schooler which makes this whole relationship weird. Overall 7 or 8/10

Dropped at ch 69. I keep thinking I'm gonna catch up and then I keep not catching up. So I finally just read the last chapter and yknow. I don't feel the need to read everything from where I am now to get there. The writing is solid, I'm just not vibing with it Got some internalized homophobia or smth goin on but character writing is solid. Also the chapter uploads are kinda a mess. Update ch smth or whatever. Always nice to see the uke be genuinely horny for the seme. Getting steamy~ Update ch 69. Jaeyong's family gives me anxiety man 7/10. Like 8/10 for the writing but I just didnt vibe

8/10

I am in hurt. The drama between these two is so painful but it feels so real, as in it's a result of the characters own flaws rather than a contrivance created by the author. I loved that the guys design job actually had an impact on his life and it wasnt just a back drop. Solid 8/10. Would give it a 9 but I actually didnt really like it because it left me with such a bitter taste

WARNING: mentions of suicide. Feels incomplete. I wanna know more about Mike's past, what he did for work, what he's gonna do now that he's quit that work. What about Ethan? Man's in a bad place even if he acts like everything's fine. This is such a small slice of their lives. I wanna see more (‡▼益▼) 8 ot 9/10

Pickpocket (seme) gets caught by a no nonsense retired cop (uke) and is forced to do some manual labor. To retaliate, he breaks into the uke's house but pa icks and leaves when he finds out the man's a retired cop. Then he finds out the uke's got PTSD after finding his partner dead in his house and that's why he quit. The distressed expressions in this are so good; I know that's a weird thing to say, but they do angst so well in this. There's genuine character development for both characters despite this being so short. The drama of the reveal is 10/10 angst without been dark or twisted or depressing. I just wish there was more to explore the semes relationship with his friends and rhe ukes relationship with HIS friends and his trauma. As a minor note, the seme's hair is on point Story wise, I'd give this a 7 but the art is so frickin clean and fluid it gets bumped up to an 8 so 8/10

Guy happens to see a very skeletal looking salaryman on the shinkansen one day and cant stop observing him. By chance they start talking and bond over horse racing. It's a slow story. Everything is revealed through Tohru's internal thoughts and his conversations with his friends and with Makoto. These two create a safe space together. The story has a strong atmosphere and sense of direction. Makoto crying because he's so overwhelmed that Tohru would cry for his sake is incredibly touching. There's so much about this that I love; I just cant express it well. I was rooting for Makoto to quit his job but I'm actually happier that it seems his power harassing boss has actually improved. Rather than running away, i love the aubtle message that these situations CAN improve and that we should aim to improve them. It gives me a bit of hope. (But also I'm all for starving out companies that dont treat their employees right bc we cant all afford to play the long game.) 9/10. This is a masterfully crafted story.

Suit shop and kimono shop. 6/10

Closet gay still coming to terms with his own sexuality falls in love with the openly gay cinnamon roll he sees at the cafe he goes to often. Seeing Yuuichi be confident with his sexuality even tho he let's his shitty ex walk all over him for a while encourages Takase to finally accept his own sexuality. 7 or 8/10