Nice feeling of closure
They're still both low key on stalemate, until someone makes a legit move, but it's kinda satisfying to know Itsuki isn't a complete victim

only a litlle? she played mao like a master violinist in this chapter. she brought up the expiring lease and got mao to refer to her sleeping around as "drinking with a co-worker." itsuki then let mao "discover" her date because she knew mao would ask about it. and when mao did ask about why itsuki came home late the next day, itsuki said she went "drinking with a co-worker."

so not only does mao have to worry about itsuki not renewing the lease, she has to worry about itsuki moving out to live with another woman. its basically checkmate; mao is way too selfish (and oblivious) to call itsuki's bluff.

❤

Wtf it's over???? Ugh I expected more from them...

This basically sums up everything you need to know about romantically attracted/attached but sexually uninterested to your friend.
I still insist Mao is bi-romantic but completely heterosexual. Her sexual desire need to be fulfilled as well that she at the end, becomes selfish lol

i still don't understand a damn thing about the second part

I'm pretty uncertain about it, but I get the impression that Ituski might've been setting this up for a while. Her coworker asking her out just when she and Mao received notification about their lease may not have been a coincidence, but instead the culmination of her long-term plans.

On the other hand, she seemed honestly surprised when she was asked, "Do you like women?" and again when she saw the letter. Also, our impression of Itsuki in parts 1 and 2 is as straight-forward, honest, and perhaps even innocent (though I imagine she would quickly become cynical and skilled at deception from having to put up with Mao).

Itsuki might have been tolerating Mao's behavior as she became more and more disillusioned, until circumstances fortuitously came together and allowed her to strike back. Or, she might have been secretly setting up this scheme, including targeting her lesbian coworker and insincerely leading her on. I kinda like the second possibility, because then it really feels like Itsuki and Mao are a perfect couple, and that they might even deserve each other.

I think the name Moratorium, as stated in the end of the chapter, pretty much explains this whole situation.
It's refusing to grow up and take responsibilities or start working. In here specifically, it's more like a metaphor for their situation. They both refuse to grow up and resolve their relationship, whether they stay together or not.
So they stay trapped in this cycle and don't move on.

I think this is bad for both of them. For Itsuki it's finding someone who likes her this way and having a healthy relationship with them, and for Mao it's facing the underlying causes that lead her to this situation.
As we've seen, she can't make friends easily and she clings to that one person who paid her attention.
Is her love really romantic, or is it confused as romantic love because Itsuki gave her attention and made her feel special?
This is backed up more by the fact that Itsuki is a very skilled person, both socially and in her work, so such a person paying attention to Mao boosts her ego even more. So maybe her need to feel important and wanted is being satisfied by being with Itsuki, because she can't do it by herself.

Itsuki on the other hand doesn't seem to be obsessed with Mao, as she says that she doesn't intend to stay with her like that forever (when she was taking a bath)
So her letting the phone there on purpose, was to give Mao a hint that she won't stay like that forever. I don't think it was to drag her down more or manipulate her. Mao is already too clingy with Itsuki, so there is nothing more to gain by making her jealous. It's a warning.

She also says that she didn't intend to live with Mao in the begging. But her feelings made her accept it regardless, because she is obvously in love with Mao. But if she was trying to manipulate Mao to stay with her she wouldn't say these two things.

What it this cliffhanger end
Everything us grate story

I think the name Moratorium, as stated in the end of the chapter, pretty much explains this whole situation.

I interpret it very differently than you. For one thing, "Moratorium" originally consisted of just two chapters, the third was added when the series was republished in the Cocytus collection. In that sense, I think it is more likely that "Moratorium" applied to Mao in the first two chapters, and her decision at the end of the second chapter is the end of her moratorium.

In the usual sense of the word, it would be the end because she gets a proper job and becomes a full-fledged adult.

I think its application to their relationship is similar. Mao was stuck in uncertainty, not really knowing what it was she wanted, or how to get it. Her job search was going poorly. She knew she would be separated from Itsuki. She had no other friends or people she could rely upon.

Then, she finally resolves herself and decides that she wants to be with Itsuki forever, no matter what. She works hard to make that happen. In this sense, "growing up" means working hard and sacrificing her uncertainties, her moral qualms, and any empathy for Itsuki in order to pursue her goal.

It could be then that the most recent chapter is about Itsuki's "moratorium". However, Itsuki is quite clear that she is manipulating Mao. The lines, "if she's afraid of losing me, she'll jump into my embrace on her own", "did you think you were the only one who could be cunning?", and "I was getting a drink with a coworker" (echoing Mao's earlier excuse), make clear to the audience that she is putting on a performance in order to make Mao desperate.

This would then be an echo of the first two chapters - Itsuki has been stuck, unable to do anything, but she finally resolves her doubts. She decides that, above all else, what she wants is Mao. That line in the shower has two parts: "After that [Mao holding on to me], there's no way I'm giving up [on her]. Nor will I settle for just idly staying by her side." She cannot give up, and she will not stay as she is. She is committed to making Mao hers, and executes a plan to achieve this.

We do not know how long they will stay together, or what form their relationship will take. However, it is clear at the end of the story that neither one of them intends to let go.

I sorta vaguely knew when Cocytus meant, but with that more detailed explanation and the concrete parallels it draws, rip Cocytus' blonde mc so much :/

I surprisingly liked this hmm

whaaaatT?! It's completed....Guess I'll just dream of a future of Mao x Itsuki.

XD My favorite comment!

I miss Kuroneko-chan... It seems they could have said so much more in this story...(

I kinda have this feeling of missed chapter. On both stories. Unpleasing feeling.

I miss kuroneko-san too

I kinda have this feeling of missed chapter. On both stories. Unpleasing feeling.

Feel the same

last edited at Jan 23, 2017 7:09AM

What a downer ending, I wanted more.

Sigh, I don't know why I love toxic relationships, but I do.

coures posted:

Sigh, I don't know why I love toxic relationships, but I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4j1LtCdww

coures posted:

Sigh, I don't know why I love toxic relationships, but I do.

I feel that. They can be just so delightfully awful (to read about - living through them is a lot less delightful and a lot more awful).

coures posted:

Sigh, I don't know why I love toxic relationships, but I do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq4j1LtCdww

You're poison~ I don't wanna break these chains~

I feel that. They can be just so delightfully awful (to read about - living through them is a lot less delightful and a lot more awful).

Maybe it's our own sadistic pleasure rising whenever we read about other people suffering through them.

I wish Mao and Itsuki would just fuck already. 5 years? Come on

Yo Itsuki you better whore yourself to all the lesbian virgins in the gay district of japan, and later with your gained experience you can become like Mel from Pulse. Afterwards, take a picture with every girl you have sex with and keep them in a box under the bed, which can juuuuuust be seen when entering the room and turning the light on. Afterwards Mao will loose her mind seeing all the new pictures that come piling up every week. To torture her even more, you could text with your girls over the phone so she can see what you are writing if she comes behind you. And to be even more of a cunt, you could take the phone-calls you recieve from your girls whilst Mao Stanky Bitch Whore Of All Men is still in the room. I will just imagine this as the sequel and be content with it! kiss* kiss* and Mao kys

These stories are good for a particular audience
It's a different feeling compared to a fluff story

Maybe it's just a desire for angst? kinda weird

Looking back on this story

It's weird how both of them seem to love each other
except Mao is totally not interested in Itsuki sexually

It's so tragic really

Mao wants to continue their relationship the way it is
Itsuki wants to progress it even further

Mao commits to staying single for Itsuki, but can't resist having sex with men. Ultimately choosing to be selfish
Itsuki wants to give up on Mao, but remains a slave to her desire. Ultimately choosing to not give up

They suit each other perfectly, yet they are terrible together

Why does it have to be this complicated?! Mao likes Itsuki, (maybe already love her?) but she is not sexually attracted to her, so how can it work, if they will stay together then she will get her sexual satisfaction from some guy, which is considered "cheating", it will not end in a healthy relationship. So I'm really not sure if Mao is really just a possessive friend since she didn't have a real friend before, so she want to monopolize Itsuki for her own selfish reason. (Seriously, Mao? You really want to stay like that forever? Girl, I'd suggest that you go to a therapist to clear up your feelings. I think you got some issues. Haha)

On the other hand, Itsuki is doing her best, to patiently wait for Mao with her childish, possessive attitude. I kind of feel sorry for Itsuki, I know that she's also doing her sly moves on Mao, but I don't know if she can win over this mind game, especially if her opponent is undecided and lax on some things. I'd say, Itsuki should go with the co-worker on a date, maybe it will broaden her perspective, or find a girl who will love her wholeheartedly, with no one sharing.

I'm sorry, I guess my comment ended up like a rant. How I wish the author will have another chapter to lock on the ending, so we'll know on which side it will fall.

Two more for the boringly perfect and in control blonde girl falls in love with a helpless dark-haired girl who needs her lover to save her pile.
Mao's portrayal was especially disgusting. Kodama made her look like the epitome of the helpless and unlikeable dark haired love interest.
When are writers going to stop adding to these disgusting archetypes and writing original characters and stories?
The year 4001?

last edited at Nov 30, 2017 8:45AM