I can swear I read this somewhere before, but I can't remember where for the life of me.

while I am not going to judge threesomes where there are mutual feelings.... i will say this:

there were absolutely no mutual feelings whatsoever in this manga. in the end the only thing the resolution did was draw out the pain and suffering of all parties involved. take it a step further and say that each party wanted to go farther with their crush. sex with a random person that you might consider a friend (i say might because there is some doubt in my mind involving hana) while you know you love someone else. so in order to maintain your current situation you sell yourself (not literally, but emotionally) and you get even more hurt. then comes the fact that if this situation can be extrapolated to all couplings in the relationship, your crush is also having meaningless sex, getting emotional damaged and used, by you!!!

NOW, does anyone still think this is a conclusive, satisfying ending???

Yes I view the ending as conclusive and satisfying, but only because the end in the chapter is the beginning of their relationship instead of the precarious sex-driven torment that you describe.

As counterexamples to the "sex-driven torment“ hypothesis, possible happy continuations for all involved:

• mutual romantic feelings never develop, but they enjoy a close-knit and platonic relationship until they die of old age.

• mutual romantic feelings develop and they enjoy a close-knit and nonplatonic relationship until they die of old age.

Regardless of the nature of any possible continuation though, that ending was 100% poly. I don't get why people are calling it a threesome though; I thought that "threesome" just referred to one session of 3 people having sex. This is a relationship, not a sex act.

BTW, I loved this story and 'two and two', and I wish to see more like them.

No, I'm sorry, but this ending was terrible. Simply half assed beyond all hell. It's not even a threesome. A threesome at the very least would have some sort of resolution. Hell, I can't even call this an open ending either. This is just...This was just a bad ending. Absolutely crap, which is a shame cuz I liked it up until I saw the ending coming from halfway thru. Then I got pissed.

Would have liked to see this story drawn out some. A nice multi-chapter, struggle-with-feelings kind of deal. It could have had the same ending, but it would be more satisfying at that point I think.

Agree that it's more like a truce ending. A battle to see who will drop out off the crush first, and let the other two comforted on each other. It' still high school crush after all, will be difficult for all three to last.

But if all three last, then threesome ending.

last edited at Jul 22, 2014 6:10PM

Looking at it again, I don't necessarily see it developing into a three-way relationship in the future (although it might). But the ending does have the benefit of them all being honest with each other, which is a damn sight better than they were to start with. There's room for changing feelings and what's more, the precedent to keep being honest like they are now. I expect Hana-chan would push the ongoing honesty angle, given what we've seen of her here.

Which is great for those who really hate the "cycle of misunderstandings" sort of arrangement.

3some incoming

Yes I view the ending as conclusive and satisfying, but only because the end in the chapter is the beginning of their relationship instead of the precarious sex-driven torment that you describe.

As counterexamples to the "sex-driven torment“ hypothesis, possible happy continuations for all involved:

• mutual romantic feelings never develop, but they enjoy a close-knit and platonic relationship until they die of old age.

• mutual romantic feelings develop and they enjoy a close-knit and nonplatonic relationship until they die of old age.

Regardless of the nature of any possible continuation though, that ending was 100% poly. I don't get why people are calling it a threesome though; I thought that "threesome" just referred to one session of 3 people having sex. This is a relationship, not a sex act.

after reading this you really think that mutual romantic feelings could develop between all parties involved? really? because I am not seeing that at all, especially between Mitsumi and Hana

I also don't think it is reasonable to assume that they will all forgo and forget their loves and just settle for friendship. letting go of a love is not that easy, especially when you are in close proximity of the person you love all the time (very especially when another rival is also in close proximity) I could see this possibly happening if they all gained a little distance and were able to move on, but as is (assuming they stay "close") then I see no way for this to happen either... and definitely not "until old age" :P (if the close proximity happens, I would actually consider bitterness a more likely outcome than love fading and being replaced by all encompassing mutual friendship)

since I don't think either of your supposed happy endings would ever come true (as you have described them) then there are only two possible final outcomes (meaning this could be several months or even a year in the making)

the theory I put forward (note: I mentioned the "sex" part as a provocative way of getting my point across, but the same situation applies to simply platonic situations, you don't have to mix in sex to get emotional scarring, obviously) where they are in a relationship but someone somewhere is getting used, there are a lot of possible ways this could turn out so I am not going to list them all, but I think you get what I am saying

other people have mentioned this, but I will repeat it: there is an odd one out. this is a possible outcome with the "we are all just friends" thing. do you really think you will get all 3 of them cooperate as friends on the long term? no, so one of them will make a move, it will either backfire or they will succeed and the third person that isn't involved will end up getting cast aside. or one of them will say I can't deal with this anymore, I am leaving. then that person leaves, moves on, and (likely) the two that are left get closer

though I admit threesome is kind of a bad way to put it, harem doesn't really fit either and as described elsewhere polyamory could refer to a platonic friend relationship so... no better way to put it I guess?

I could see both of your theories happening in another setting where all parties involved are portrayed as being close, but as the relationships are developed in this manga one-shot I really don't see it as a reasonable or logical extrapolation on the original story

I will say that I like the point Nezchan brought up about honesty, that was probably the only thing the ending had going for it

Well... it's cute. But I want to see how the relationship between those 3 develops.

Kinda reminds me of Yuyushiki... but of course, in Yuyushiki is mutual in all ways. A perfect 3-way relationship... or will be when Yui give up to the lesbian lust... unless you throw in the mix Aikawa of course... aaand, I'm derailing, sorry!

Whoa, this love triangle gave me whiplash. Luckily, there was no bitterness in any of the parties involved, so it wasn't depressing to read.

not 3some. They're in a truce.
open ending for me.
crack sound of my teeth breaking.
T___T

Looks like it. I appears they all just decided to be friends. Nothing more.

after reading this you really think that mutual romantic feelings could develop between all parties involved? really? because I am not seeing that at all, especially between Mitsumi and Hana

Yes, after reading this I really think that mutual romantic feelings could develop between all parties involved.

The part of the story that makes me think they could develop such is the fact that they all got together at then end and consented and shared feelings. Without that event at the end, it would just be another love triangle drama, not polyamory in the slightest.

I also don't think it is reasonable to assume that they will all forgo and forget their loves and just settle for friendship. letting go of a love is not that easy, especially when you are in close proximity of the person you love all the time (very especially when another rival is also in close proximity) I could see this possibly happening if they all gained a little distance and were able to move on, but as is (assuming they stay "close") then I see no way for this to happen either... and definitely not "until old age" :P (if the close proximity happens, I would actually consider bitterness a more likely outcome than love fading and being replaced by all encompassing mutual friendship)

A big part of polyamory is not seeing partners of partners as rivals; try googling the word "compersion" for an example of that concept.

Even when Mitsumi saw Choko being smitten with Hana, Mitsumi was entranced with how Choko behaves when she is so smitten. That might maybe be an indicator that Mitsumi would derive compersion from seeing Choko being smitten with Hana.

since I don't think either of your supposed happy endings would ever come true (as you have described them) then there are only two possible final outcomes (meaning this could be several months or even a year in the making)

can't tell if "supposed" means you don't think those endings are happy or if you just are trying to emphasize you think they are impossible.

the theory I put forward (note: I mentioned the "sex" part as a provocative way of getting my point across, but the same situation applies to simply platonic situations, you don't have to mix in sex to get emotional scarring, obviously) where they are in a relationship but someone somewhere is getting used, there are a lot of possible ways this could turn out so I am not going to list them all, but I think you get what I am saying

I get what you are saying, but I think you are reaching this conclusion only because you've assumed that these 3 will not develop mutual romantic attractions.

You're describing a love triangle where each person compromises and settles for a fake relationship with their desirer so that they can be in a fake relationship with their desiree. I concur that that would be miserable emotionally regardless of whether or not the fake relationships include sex.

other people have mentioned this, but I will repeat it: there is an odd one out. this is a possible outcome with the "we are all just friends" thing. do you really think you will get all 3 of them cooperate as friends on the long term? no, so one of them will make a move, it will either backfire or they will succeed and the third person that isn't involved will end up getting cast aside. or one of them will say I can't deal with this anymore, I am leaving. then that person leaves, moves on, and (likely) the two that are left get closer

I really can't tell if you think all relationships of 3+ people are destined to disaster or if you just think Hana, Choko, and Mitsumi are destined to disaster. . . FYI, it's possible to have a stable relationship between 3 people, it just takes more work than a stable relationship between 2 people.

though I admit threesome is kind of a bad way to put it, harem doesn't really fit either and as described elsewhere polyamory could refer to a platonic friend relationship so... no better way to put it I guess?

The "fake relationships with desirer and desiree so I can have sex/platonic-friendship with my desiree" relationship you describe is probably best described as "trainwreck" and not "poly". I must reiterate though, I have trouble seeing the ending as anything but poly.

I could see both of your theories happening in another setting where all parties involved are portrayed as being close, but as the relationships are developed in this manga one-shot I really don't see it as a reasonable or logical extrapolation on the original story

I see it! It's a totally logical/reasonable extrapolation on the original story!

• I view Mitsumi as capable of compersion, which means she's gonna have a blast if their triad works out.

• I view Hana as capable of leading the group to process their feelings openly, which means their triad could possibly stablize if everyone is onboard with further processing down the line.

• I view Choko as having finally understood what's going on and as having consented.

I will say that I like the point Nezchan brought up about honesty, that was probably the only thing the ending had going for it

In reference to polyamory, having sessions where people honestly share with each other can be called "processing". It's important for stability in polyamorous relationships.

defending the possibility that this manga could be depicting the first stage of a healthy polyamorous relationship is turning out to be just plain depressing. :(

recommended reading for people who flag this as 100% not related to poly.

^But none of them love two people they all just love one person.

I don't know, while i don't think love is something that is easy to define nor understand i do not, however, see how their relationship could be sustainable. Every day they're together will be a reminder of how the one they each love doesn't love them but loves a person whom they spend every day with. Eventually those feelings are going to build up to the point where one of them snaps and not only will the resulting fallout destroy their current relationship but it could probably drive a wedge into any hope of them remaining friends as well.

last edited at Sep 4, 2014 3:01PM

^ Love is something to be nurtured and work towards. You don't just start out loving one another right away. The initial 'love' that people think of is usually lust and attraction, not truly love. If people in a relationship are willing to work and compromise, they can eventually grow to love one another. Some people are willing to have open relationships. I believe that to be very much similar to this story.

^While that is very true it does require a basis to build upon and if you don't feel that way about a person (particularly after knowing them so well, as the two childhood friends do) that's unlikely to change, particularly when your heart is occupied with another.

^ They do have a basis IIRC (will have to reread later to refresh my memory) since they care enough to feel hurt when they realize that their friend is hurting.

^I think that only really applies between the two childhood friends and what's more since Mitsumi is already suffering a lot from their current situation how much of an improvement would this relationship be to her emotional state? The fact of the matter is that the one she loves doesn't love her, she loves someone else, and she's going to be reminded of that every day, as are the other two. When she's already at breaking point just being friends i really don't see how this could be sustainable.

^ What we know for sure is that the beginning of their relationship is where this one shot ends. One can speculate and say that it'll end badly with everyone getting hurt. However, it is equally likely that they can grow to love one another. You can keep your bad end, but there's nothing wrong with going for the good end.

last edited at Sep 5, 2014 1:00PM

^Fair enough, you're entirely right that we're both being speculative and it could go either way (altho i personally would say the change of a happy ending is actually far less than a bad one, but again that's just based upon my own personal experiences and observations which is by no means solid enough to be call absolute fact). I personally would prefer to believe in a happy ending as well but unfortunately with the way this story has been presented i just can't realistically accept it... but that's my problem.

"That seems like such a convenient solution....
that the adults will get mad at us."

I think there is a lot of depth in that line. I'm curious how well the author's meaning is conveyed.

"That seems like such a convenient solution....
that the adults will get mad at us."

I think there is a lot of depth in that line. I'm curious how well the author's meaning is conveyed.

i totally quote this

Any pairing and the third party left alone would have been better than a threesome...seriously when does this happen?

I absolutely hate love triangles, worst things ever. However, there are two ways for me to not feel absolutely horrible in the end. 1) No one gets together and they all remain just friends (Like how I intepreted this one) 2) Basically a polygamous relationship including the three.
Both are pretty unlikely which is why I hate love triangles.

last edited at Jan 29, 2015 2:05AM

^I used to agree with that sentinment entirely until i watched ef: A Tale of Memories for the first time. The love triangle in that is resolved so wonderfully that it absolutely proved to me, a hardened cynic, that such a situation could end for the better.

noooooooo >_< this is why....love triangles...not my forte... :v wow, just wow...gah...

Wow that turned into polygamy real fast