I don't know if this ameliorates anything, but we're really talking up to around first grade or so: after that, the kids are on their own as long as they obey school rules and get good grades. At that point, mom might as well find something she likes to do and do that, even if as a part-time job. We usually see that in manga as "mom is never home/sad lonely girl." Before first grade or so the care is smothering and overwhelming, but after that, they are definitely not helicopter parents.

Which is one of the reasons the whole housewife thing is kind of stupid bullshit (now that it isn't a practical necessity anymore) since it basically leaves perfectly healthy and capable adults sitting idle after the kids grow up.

So, am I the only one that totally missed that there is a flashback in middle of the chapter and thought kouhai confessed to different girl and got rejected?

possible shit storm incoming!! prepare for the draaamaa!!

This might not be the most original development in the world, but in context, it's a pretty effective way to force Machi to reevaluate how she really feels about Hana. As long as their marriage is "fake", it's no problem if they see other people... so if Machi does have a problem with it, she's gonna have some introspection to do. I prefer stories full of drama over stories where nothing happens (and I mean really, what do you expect from Kodama Naoko by now), so I'm feeling pretty positive about the direction of the story overall.

Plus, right now, I'm more worried about whatever Machi's mother has to say.

Wouldn't it be the nicest thing if the plot was about faking marriage to not be bothered by your parents and people and then they bother you anyway?
bravo Kodama.

yay~ finally the new girl has arrived! I love her sassy looks already xD

Please Naoko don't fuck this up...

The girls kinda remind me of the 2 main characters in Stretch.

Which is one of the reasons the whole housewife thing is kind of stupid bullshit (now that it isn't a practical necessity anymore) since it basically leaves perfectly healthy and capable adults sitting idle after the kids grow up.

It is also an old concept that does not even work in old conservative Japan.

This kind of parents who want to decide every-single-fucking-thing-in-every-god-damn-aspect of their children's life triggers me SO HARD.
It's just like my parents. Fucking forced me into the university I don't like. I'm still having so much trouble dealing with all of the subjects cuz I have literally no idea what to do with them, nor that I can understand any of them. And each time I complain they only say "Keep trying" WELL YOU GO AND TRY THEN.

If you ever have kids, lads, don't do that shit. The things you THINK that are gonna be good for your child and the things that are truly good for them (and things they want) are different. You need to help them realize what is good for them, and what is the best choice, not to decide for them.

last edited at Jun 4, 2018 8:46PM

Plus, right now, I'm more worried about whatever Machi's mother has to say.

She's going to bitch her about something like wanting grandchildren, homosexual relationships being unnatural and/or harmful, suspect their relationship can't possibly be real and that her wife is a bum who doesn't have a proper job and is just leeching off her. As least she doesn't have the Bible excuse too to go with that stuff...

i don't know why but i think sh*t will come and the Mc will kinda date the girl. she will be a coward and then date a guy because "moma told me so". and then she will cheat on her "girlfriend" till some sh*t like pregnancy happen to her and then end of the story the other girl will find a new love and we'll have a bittersweet end. i wouldn't be suprise since this author do thoses kind of endings A LOT!. that's kodama naoko we're talking about! the exact same person who did NTR! so for me this could be POSSIBLE (i say possible not SURE) that this story could have NTR and drama in it sooner or later. plus the fact that the mother came to say bullsh*t to her daughter just keep ringing my maximum alert bells.

last edited at Jun 4, 2018 9:51PM

The girls kinda remind me of the 2 main characters in Stretch.

I was think about this, the character desing is kinda similar,besides some characteristics in history for example the bad relationship with the parents.

NOOOOOO NOT DRAMA AGAIN, ok the mom gives me serious bad vibes, the new girl though... not so much.

Work your magic, Naoko-san and plunge us deeper into a spiral of despair!

So, am I the only one that totally missed that there is a flashback in middle of the chapter and thought kouhai confessed to different girl and got rejected?

Nah, I missed that also but realized it was both of them in college when she confessed to her, guess we're just slow

Oh boy, time for pointless drama.

I've read several novels, about lesbian first love. I was surprised on how many mcs had the subplot of an overbearing mother, that micro-managed their lives.

Oh wow, I had forgotten about this series. Nevertheless, I'm glad for a new chapter. lol

Edit: @Hatshuharu I feel you about controlling parents. They force me to do a lot of stuff I obviously don't want to do under the pretense that's for my own good an/or so that I can take care of myself when they're gone, and if I ever slightly disagree with them they think I'm an ungrateful son, which ends up making that true.
And my mom is one of those people that think internet friends aren't real friends, and even believes my internet friends are pitting me against them (when a lot of these friends try to defend my parents).

Anyway, I can take drama, I just demand a proper happy ending. NOT a bittersweet or open ending. I'm tired of those.
It seems the Japanese either make a sad/bittersweet ending or a shitty ending even if it's supposed to be a happy ending. I'm starting to think the Japanese don't know how to end stories and that really bothers me.

last edited at Jun 5, 2018 1:18AM

Things are going dramatic

I think things are going well for the pair until the impending drama foreshadowing in the end so thanks Kodama for reminding me that I shouldn't expect happy things from this series. For the next chapter I think I'll read the comments first before reading the chapter.

Really wonderful chapter that reassured me in how this was going to go. ...and then the end came, promising all kinds of drama. I hope Naoko-sensei can keep it to a mild level, because I am enjoying this a lot so far.

Thank you, Chaosteam.

Controlling Asian mother shows up.

Ex-girlfriend shows up.

Drama incoming.

Also, the whole "once she gets a kid, she'll be a useless burden and quit" thing is not exclusive to Japan.

Even Germany is still like that: a woman is expected to take care of her child at home or she's branded "a bad mother". No need to even ask the father to "sacrifice" his career instead.

In France, mothers have a paid 3 months maternity leave and a guarantee, by law, to have their job back. But hey, socialized healthcare. Damn commies.

last edited at Jun 5, 2018 7:01AM

ypassionnate posted:

i don't know why but i think sh*t will come and the Mc will kinda date the girl. she will be a coward and then date a guy because "moma told me so". and then she will cheat on her "girlfriend" till some sh*t like pregnancy happen to her and then end of the story the other girl will find a new love and we'll have a bittersweet end. i wouldn't be suprise since this author do thoses kind of endings A LOT!. that's kodama naoko we're talking about! the exact same person who did NTR! so for me this could be POSSIBLE (i say possible not SURE) that this story could have NTR and drama in it sooner or later. plus the fact that the mother came to say bullsh*t to her daughter just keep ringing my maximum alert bells.

Em, you clearly didn't read NTR then. It has happy ending. All Kodoma stories have happy endings or at least couple is together at the end. She just like making the path to that ending as full of drama as possible. In short people who complains about Kodoma's endings actually never finished any of her stories and simply complains about her drama.

And people are really overreacting. Sure you could say ex is a bit cliche, but so far I'd say this story is really fresh and drama introduced is pretty natural. It all depends on how Kodoma will execute that drama.

DR2 Hajime Hinata posted:

So, am I the only one that totally missed that there is a flashback in middle of the chapter and thought kouhai confessed to different girl and got rejected?

Nah, I missed that also but realized it was both of them in college when she confessed to her, guess we're just slow

I wouldn't say slow. Transition to flashback looked more like normal scene transition, so I failed to realize it was supposed to be flashback. I was confused w/e the girl she talked to was senpai or not, but because she had short hair (and most mangakas can only draw 1 face) and I thought it was present, I assumed it was her different friend. Their talk about dating was also confusing, because when kouhai ask if she fallen in love before, that scene with guy looks like flashback to some old times, but then when kouhai learns she got dumped, she ask her out immediately, so I guess it actually happened today (in a flashback) or at least in last few days. So when she confessed and got rejected I thought it was to different character and she simply went back home to senpai. I actually very liked that development, thought I admit I was surprised she did not ask senpai for comfort in anyway way. When she asked her to hug her as a reward, I thought she will cry then. I thought she really moved on from senpai and fallen for someone else, but turns out it was just flashback showing us how she confessed before. That pretty much 100% confirms she still like senpai and she will be trying to make her fall for her. I felt like that was Kodoma's way to set it up at least.