And this concludes tonight's installment of Overthinking Fiction With random-sensei.

You are legitimately and unironically a treasure. Far too many people try to ignore that alternate histories start well before the divergence point.

*blush* aw, shucks

...though while you're not wrong I believe you meant that the divergence point of alternate histories is (usually) well before the "narrative present" depicted? (^.^;)

Feh, I meant what you knew!

Though usually people think of these things in terms of a major change. e.g. the ever-nonsensical "Nazis win WWII" meme that alt history permascrubs can never seem to let go of, ignoring all the changes that would have to happen to make that even remotely plausible.

I bet the guy who are dating the lead protagonist is the normal version of the second protagonist.

I bet the guy who are dating the lead protagonist is the normal version of the second protagonist.

As has been pointed out umpteen times whenever this pops up... Marika Timeline!Lily is a girl too.
-.-
At least read the actual manga before speculating, peeps.

I bet the guy who are dating the lead protagonist is the normal version of the second protagonist.

As has been pointed out umpteen times whenever this pops up... Marika Timeline!Lily is a girl too.
-.-
At least read the actual manga before speculating, peeps.

LMAO i forgot about that.

I do love how she tries to be cool out in public and is a total goof at home....

Yeahyeah, so she's not really into guys, but the whole detour feels kinda bleh anyway. Revealing this stuff retrospectively just comes across as artificial; if her first reaction had been "where the f... is my boyfriend?"; or if maybe it had been mentioned along with her "fall in love normally" statement early on, it'd have been a different matter, but as a "plot twist" ... naaaw.

Don't know if this is just a translation issue, but the writing appears to go out of its way to avoid stating the gender of Marika's significant other. Hmm...

last edited at Mar 13, 2019 8:14PM

Don't know if this is just a translation issue, but the writing appears to go out of its way to avoid stating the gender of Marika's significant other. Hmm...

I know next to nothing about Japanese, but I believe I read that grammatical gender is quite different in Japanese, so from the translator's perspective, neutrality may be the best course of action.

Don't know if this is just a translation issue, but the writing appears to go out of its way to avoid stating the gender of Marika's significant other. Hmm...

I know next to nothing about Japanese, but I believe I read that grammatical gender is quite different in Japanese, so from the translator's perspective, neutrality may be the best course of action.

Yeah. Pretty much. Until she specifically says she's been dating an 男, it's best to keep it vague for futureproofing purposes.

I'm pissed off that the protagonist isn't happy about the situation at first, like come on really, why the fuck you wanna return to your old world?

Either way I have a bad feeling about this, not my cup of tea.

last edited at Mar 13, 2019 8:37PM

Don't know if this is just a translation issue, but the writing appears to go out of its way to avoid stating the gender of Marika's significant other. Hmm...

Heh heh heh. Keeping it ambiguous, eh? Brace for the big reveal in the future.

As a matter of fact, we know preciously little about Marika's past. It's really unusual in a manga. I mean, normally, an author wants us to know all about her heroine, especially the important details, asap -- so as to better identify with her. In this manga, it's the other way around.

This makes me think there must be hidden skeletons in Marika's closet...

Yeah. Uh. This is probably why you couldn't have a decent first date in your world either.

Read the atmosphere girl! This isn't the time to be sounding off about your other date in the other world!

Is it just me or did the fact that she was dating someone just sprung out of nowhere

i have a feeling that the blonde girl "IS" actually the person that the brunette is dating in her hetero world... but the blonde is a GUY in that world, which is why the brunette didn't recognize her when she got transported to the females-only world and saw her as a GIRL.

Because the brunette says that she's always awkward around her boyfriend back in her old world... and she's awkward around the blonde..... and the blonde harbored a secret crush on the brunette this whole time.... and the brunette says the guy confessed to HER first... so it seems to me like the blonde is just a gender-bent version of the guy the brunette is dating in the hetero world.

(sorry, i read too much manga, i don't bother to learn the names of characters anymore LOL) hope ppl still understood what i meant haha

Don't know if this is just a translation issue, but the writing appears to go out of its way to avoid stating the gender of Marika's significant other. Hmm...

Heh heh heh. Keeping it ambiguous, eh? Brace for the big reveal in the future.

As a matter of fact, we know preciously little about Marika's past. It's really unusual in a manga. I mean, normally, an author wants us to know all about her heroine, especially the important details, asap -- so as to better identify with her. In this manga, it's the other way around.

This makes me think there must be hidden skeletons in Marika's closet...

Perhaps it's just to make it more difficult to, as you mentioned, identify with her. It's a yuri manga, so likely followed by yuri fans; people who would surely be more into the idea of a yuritopia than Marika is... I do think it's perfectly possible the rift between the reader and the main character is intended to be that, perhaps in order to make Marika's eventual acceptance of the yuri world more impactful; and in this regard, giving us Marika's past on the way to this conclusion would make perfect sense, giving the reader a greater capacity to connect with her, letting them experience an emotional journey like she does, as that goal draws closer.

Or maybe this isn't at all the direction this is taking. :<

... Please be them.

i have a feeling that the blonde girl "IS" actually the person that the brunette is dating in her hetero world... but the blonde is a GUY in that world, which is why the brunette didn't recognize her when she got transported to the females-only world and saw her as a GIRL.

Because the brunette says that she's always awkward around her boyfriend back in her old world... and she's awkward around the blonde..... and the blonde harbored a secret crush on the brunette this whole time.... and the brunette says the guy confessed to HER first... so it seems to me like the blonde is just a gender-bent version of the guy the brunette is dating in the hetero world.

(sorry, i read too much manga, i don't bother to learn the names of characters anymore LOL) hope ppl still understood what i meant haha

She exists in MCs original world though, because she immediately identified her in the infirmary.

Just go out any way, you two! Arg!

i have a feeling that the blonde girl "IS" actually the person that the brunette is dating in her hetero world... but the blonde is a GUY in that world, which is why the brunette didn't recognize her when she got transported to the females-only world and saw her as a GIRL.

Because the brunette says that she's always awkward around her boyfriend back in her old world... and she's awkward around the blonde..... and the blonde harbored a secret crush on the brunette this whole time.... and the brunette says the guy confessed to HER first... so it seems to me like the blonde is just a gender-bent version of the guy the brunette is dating in the hetero world.

(sorry, i read too much manga, i don't bother to learn the names of characters anymore LOL) hope ppl still understood what i meant haha

She exists in MCs original world though, because she immediately identified her in the infirmary.

she did? :o
Also, lately I've been having trouble remembering the names of characters too.

Wait. Does Kazami has/had someone too? Woah.

Well so far this aligns perfectly with my first assumption about where this is going. MC is on a quest to discover that her ideas of normal are holding her back and that she's gay. Some guy confessing to her and her going out because "why not" and then it not working at all is a classical trope in yuri manga about discovering your sexuality. In fact, I also expect her to then return to her original world changed (knowing she's gay) to complete the hero's journey. Calling it now

i have a feeling that the blonde girl "IS" actually the person that the brunette is dating in her hetero world... but the blonde is a GUY in that world, which is why the brunette didn't recognize her when she got transported to the females-only world and saw her as a GIRL.

Because the brunette says that she's always awkward around her boyfriend back in her old world... and she's awkward around the blonde..... and the blonde harbored a secret crush on the brunette this whole time.... and the brunette says the guy confessed to HER first... so it seems to me like the blonde is just a gender-bent version of the guy the brunette is dating in the hetero world.

(sorry, i read too much manga, i don't bother to learn the names of characters anymore LOL) hope ppl still understood what i meant haha

She exists in MCs original world though, because she immediately identified her in the infirmary.

she did? :o
Also, lately I've been having trouble remembering the names of characters too.

Oh rly? I totally fogot that part. But I believe it. That throws me theory out the window then!
And lollll yes keeping up with so many manga, i don't know these characters' names no mo', i just know their faces xD

Well my super serious and legit theory of Marika dating a girl in the original world has somehow not been contradicted yet. That will probably change soon.

Anyway, people need to pay more attention to Kazami's side of things. I am almost 100% convinced that Kazami was in love with Marika's yuri!world counterpart. Apparently around the time they were kids at least. She didn't seem to know her well enough to be still close, but she must have loved her at some point. So this is why she so desperately wants to date her and find out more about her. The way she said "A version of you exists in this world." already had me contemplating this, but now its all but confirmed.

last edited at Mar 14, 2019 6:24AM

Just mostly copying my post from MAL:

Hmm... So she's basically dating her boyfriend in her original world simply as part of her obsession with normal, not due to her own feelings. Considering this and her dream about Kazumi, it's quite likely that she would indeed fit better in this world, while this world's version's inability to find a partner could change with boys entering the equation as well and lead to a much happier relationship between her and our Marika's boyfriend. Marika's original situation honestly feels like what could have been Yuu's future in Yagate Kimi ni Naru, had she accepted her middle school friend's confession, looking for a storybook romance with the opposite sex, not realizing where her heart would eventually find the real thing.

Gee, there sure were a lot of gender-ambiguous pronouns this chapter.

last edited at Mar 14, 2019 7:33AM