Well, that was a heartwarming ending

I am all in on NicoMaki, so I kind of didn't want this to be good, or expect it to be. It was, though. One of the rare times I'll save something featuring a couple I don't ship.

Wow, now this is a rare pair! But if things went like this, I'd accept it even though I'm a super huge Nicomaki fan. That's just how good this is!

Well this wasteally weird for me to read like anyone else NicoMaki is like OTP in my mind... But this was really good :) and it was a good devlopement and ending :D even though..kotori really does suit long or mid short hair~

I have a really soft spot for this pairing after some chapters in the game, but I didn't expect to feel like I was punched in the gut (in a good way by the end, even!). I think a lot of it comes from how I was bracing myself for a bad or at least bittersweet end, but even admitting that, this was great.

I really like how this day is bringing out the rare pairings instead of just being 100% NicoMaki. The characterizations of LL are always so diverse that they never seem too "cracky".

Love love LOVE that there were some other Nico ships released today besides NicoMaki. I've always had a soft spot for some KotoNico after seeing some fanart of them. They look so good together and balance each other out really well. The style of this doujin was so flowy and dreamy. I felt like it really fit the feel of their relationship well.

Short hair is my fav, wish there was a tag for that

I'm loving the fact that they are making more stories that does not involve the common ships. This KotoNico story was really cute and loved it. I hope to see more of them soon.

im going to DIE this is so cute + nicotori fuels my will to live

last edited at Jul 22, 2017 4:30PM

Why are Love Live doujin artists so good at drawing hair?

I like it when the authors/artists take the time to explain why uncommon ships actually work. This worked for me in a way that other uncommon ships don't.

I like it when the authors/artists take the time to explain why uncommon ships actually work. This worked for me in a way that other uncommon ships don't.

Basis For Attraction, I like to call it. It's great when a story shows us what the lead sees in her love interest, the common ground they share, and really highlight that feeling of "she makes me want her". When an author manages to convey that stuff, they almost certainly have me hooked.

Hell, even just a sense that the lead finds women attractive in general is a good start.

last edited at Jul 22, 2017 8:06PM

This is beautiful. I'm the same as most of the comments here in that I'm a NicoMakifag but this is just really beautiful. I would read more from this story.

Not the biggest love live fan but that was really good.

You know what? My NicoMaki-loving-ass digs this. Cute

While i do like nicomaki i think i'm the only one that prefers nicotori, kotonico...?, I still don't really understand why people (especially in LL) are fixed in just one ship, RARE ! give me more rare ships !

While i do like nicomaki i think i'm the only one that prefers nicotori, kotonico...?, I still don't really understand why people (especially in LL) are fixed in just one ship, RARE ! give me more rare ships !

Funny you should say that, when the other day I was figuring out how Tsubasa x Fumiko (or Hideko, or Mika) would be a plausible pairing.

Why aren't there fics about the stage manager trio, anyway?

While i do like nicomaki i think i'm the only one that prefers nicotori, kotonico...?, I still don't really understand why people (especially in LL) are fixed in just one ship, RARE ! give me more rare ships !

Speaking only for myself, it all depends on how much mental effort it takes for me to make sense of the pairing.

For me, the only ship from the anime that requires no mental effort on my part is Eli x Nozomi. I think there's a lot of stuff in the anime that easily lends itself to a romantic interpretation between the two of them.

Kotori x Nico, on the other hand? Nothing in the anime suggests (to me, at least) that there's any attraction whatsoever between them. So that means that if I see them together, either I have to figure out why, or the author/artist has to explain it. That's why I like this doujin; the mangaka does all the heavy lifting for me.

While i do like nicomaki i think i'm the only one that prefers nicotori, kotonico...?, I still don't really understand why people (especially in LL) are fixed in just one ship, RARE ! give me more rare ships !

Speaking only for myself, it all depends on how much mental effort it takes for me to make sense of the pairing.

For me, the only ship from the anime that requires no mental effort on my part is Eli x Nozomi. I think there's a lot of stuff in the anime that easily lends itself to a romantic interpretation between the two of them.

You can't see HonoMaki, KotoUmi or NozoNico from the anime? Or for that matter, RinPana in all media?

The manga is pretty much in the tank for NicoMaki too, although the anime backs way off by comparison.

Heck, the game suggests MakiRinPana at one point.

But when it comes to finding common ground, interest, and opportunity, NicoTori actually isn't that hard with them working on costumes together and Nico's interest in Minalinsky that predates the series. Plus, if Kotori wants something, Kotori gets something. Even if that's Nico.

While i do like nicomaki i think i'm the only one that prefers nicotori, kotonico...?, I still don't really understand why people (especially in LL) are fixed in just one ship, RARE ! give me more rare ships !

Speaking only for myself, it all depends on how much mental effort it takes for me to make sense of the pairing.

For me, the only ship from the anime that requires no mental effort on my part is Eli x Nozomi. I think there's a lot of stuff in the anime that easily lends itself to a romantic interpretation between the two of them.

You can't see HonoMaki, KotoUmi or NozoNico from the anime? Or for that matter, RinPana in all media?

I honestly can't see Maki being attracted to anybody. Even Nico. And I ship the fuck out of NicoMaki. But I got into NicoMaki long before I actually watched the anime, based on Honeymoon Baby and Pink Romance, both of which I adore. So that particular ship had well and truly sailed by the time I got around to watching the anime, and it ain't coming back.

I can see KotoUmi if I squint. Takes a little mental effort. Not a lot, but not zero. Umi just has "submissive" stamped all over her, and I don't think Kotori rolls Domme.

NozoNico works for me on a purely physical level, i.e. Nozo gropes the fuck out of Nico, Nico secretly enjoys it, goes back for more when nobody's looking, etc.

RinPana is pretty easy, I'll grant you. But they're like Katakami and Ooi in KanColle. I can easily see Hanayo having the hots for Rin, but Rin being just oblivious to it.

Honks and Tsubasa also fairly easy to ship, but again I have to supply some of the mental effort. Not a lot, but not zero.

The manga is pretty much in the tank for NicoMaki too, although the anime backs way off by comparison.

Yeah, that's what I'd heard. My only exposure to LL so far is the anime (and, of course, yuri doujjins and fan art).

But when it comes to finding common ground, interest, and opportunity, NicoTori actually isn't that hard with them working on costumes together and Nico's interest in Minalinsky that predates the series.

Yeah, but for me, "common ground" isn't enough to make the ship effortless. Hell, I've been shot down by lots of women with whom I had a lot in common.

That's not to say I can't or won't ship them.. But I do have to expend some mental energy to make them work, vs. other pairings (Eli x Nozomi, Saki x Nodoka, Beaver-dono x Prairie-chan) which don't require that.

But again, this is just me. Not trying to lay down some manifesto here. Just talking about how my particular brain works.

last edited at Jul 24, 2017 10:20PM

I tell ya, you know who would totally work for me as a crack ship? Tsubasa x Umi Because I'm pretty sure Tsubasa does roll Domme (and I woulda thought that even in the absence of Yamori Misaki's stuff). Put the two of them near the punchbowl at the Christmas party and I'd bet a fiver that Tsubasa's sonar would start pinging like a church bell.

To be honest, for me the "mental effort" is half the fun of shipping. I love figuring out how a couple actually gets together and coming up with plausible situations. That's why the off-fanon pairings are so interesting to me, I guess, since the fanon ones are such well-travelled ground. There are hundreds of NicoMaki fanfics, and easily as many NozoEli. But what about EliMaki? How would they get together and how would they relate to each other once they did? Is a shared love of idols sufficient for NicoPana, or do they need something more?

And, of course, there's the matter of NicoTori. Which is portrayed in lovely fashion here.

To me, putting in the mental effort pays off big time. We're at opposite ends of the scale, I suppose.

There was an EliMaki only event back at the beginning of June. I love that LL is popular enough that even such out there ships get pretty ample representation, even if most of it doesn't make it to the EN fandom.

And I agree what's been said, what really makes this douj work is how well it establishes why Kotori is into Nico. I bought it for the amazing cover art (well, and I love this artist's art in general), but I was quite surprised and really pleased with how great the story is.

and the hair oh my God!