Forum › A Scummy Gap Student With a Hard Life Calls Upon a Lady of the Night discussion

Surprise(2)
joined Jun 17, 2021

Note: I love her too.

Internet_lied
joined Jul 15, 2016

Ah, yes, the "boyfriend". Rrright. Poor mom is never gonna see any grandchildren at this rate...

Adoption counts. Or at least, adoption should count. Counts in my book, at any rate.

It wouldn't if oneesan gets disowned, which I wouldn't put past her parents, given how they treat her sister...

last edited at Feb 10, 2022 6:32AM

Pat%20dixon3
joined Nov 6, 2021

Oof I'm very very confused of their relationship, what exactly is this relationship? Like, they are not girlfriends or are they? What the fck is going on?

Capture
joined Aug 12, 2021

wow, extorting her sister in exchange for keeping it secret that she's gay might just be the first actually scummy thing makino has done

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 12:23PM

joined Mar 15, 2015

Oof I'm very very confused of their relationship, what exactly is this relationship? Like, they are not girlfriends or are they? What the fck is going on?

From what I can gather, Makino knows Reina is a lesbian, but their parents don't know(and probably won't approve), which is why Reina passes her girlfriend off as a boy and becomes terrified when Makino openly discusses her "boyfriend's" gender.

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

wow, extorting her sister in exchange for keeping it secret that she's gay might just be the first actually scummy thing this makino has done

I was coming here to say as much--I've previously been defending MC here, but using her sister's sexuality to blackmail her is downright scummy.

Besides, as a younger sibling myself, my advice would be to bond with her sister about their sexuality, then borrow money for sex . . .

Capture
joined Aug 12, 2021

wow, extorting her sister in exchange for keeping it secret that she's gay might just be the first actually scummy thing this makino has done

I was coming here to say as much--I've previously been defending MC here, but using her sister's sexuality to blackmail her is downright scummy.

Besides, as a younger sibling myself, my advice would be to bond with her sister about their sexuality, then borrow money for sex . . .

yeah, though to clarify, i'm like honestly happy that she's doing something scummy because it's like, finally I am getting what this story promised me. haha

Ioruu%20dr
joined Jul 13, 2014

jesus fuck, resorting to blackmail now?
this MC is just... smh...
I mean, it IS in the title, but...

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 12:59PM

President%20and%20new%20hire%20profile%20pic%202
joined Sep 27, 2017

This chapter crossed a line for me, I just felt grossed out by the MC blackmailing her sister for being gay. Really disgusting, and it makes me question the author's views of homosexuality, if they think it's easily exploitable or what.

joined May 29, 2021

To play devil’s advocate for Makino, she didn’t really even come up with the idea to “blackmail” her sister. She was going to just talk to her about it, but her sister instantly panicked and treated it like it was blackmail and Makino just said yes instantly to the promise of money. It would have been worse if she had gone straight to blackmail in her head first but it was almost an accident here. Of course it’ll be worse the more she does it.

President%20and%20new%20hire%20profile%20pic%202
joined Sep 27, 2017

To play devil’s advocate for Makino, she didn’t really even come up with the idea to “blackmail” her sister. She was going to just talk to her about it, but her sister instantly panicked and treated it like it was blackmail and Makino just said yes instantly to the promise of money. It would have been worse if she had gone straight to blackmail in her head first but it was almost an accident here. Of course it’ll be worse the more she does it.

Don't ask people, especially friends and family, for money to keep their secrets. Regardless of it's the first thing she thought of or not it's still shitty. It also makes the MC into a complete hypocrite.

Also even if the author nonchalantly glosses over this matter and makes it seem like no big deal they've already crossed the bridge.

Capture
joined Aug 12, 2021

To play devil’s advocate for Makino, she didn’t really even come up with the idea to “blackmail” her sister. She was going to just talk to her about it, but her sister instantly panicked and treated it like it was blackmail and Makino just said yes instantly to the promise of money. It would have been worse if she had gone straight to blackmail in her head first but it was almost an accident here. Of course it’ll be worse the more she does it.

Don't ask people, especially friends and family, for money to keep their secrets. Regardless of it's the first thing she thought of or not it's still shitty. It also makes the MC into a complete hypocrite.

Also even if the author nonchalantly glosses over this matter and makes it seem like no big deal they've already crossed the bridge.

so it feels like this kind of discussion happens every time a story has something objectionable in it. But like I'm sure there are ways to say "I'm uncomfortable with this kind of storybeat" without trying to make it into a moral failing on the authors part especially because this is fiction and it is in fiction where these stories can exist without the terrible real life implications they can sometimes hold.

So like tldr, you can say that you're uncomfortable without taking it out on the author you know

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 2:20PM

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

wow, extorting her sister in exchange for keeping it secret that she's gay might just be the first actually scummy thing this makino has done

I was coming here to say as much--I've previously been defending MC here, but using her sister's sexuality to blackmail her is downright scummy.

Besides, as a younger sibling myself, my advice would be to bond with her sister about their sexuality, then borrow money for sex . . .

yeah, though to clarify, i'm like honestly happy that she's doing something scummy because it's like, finally I am getting what this story promised me. haha

I agree--it's like a certain rebalancing has occurred. As the title tells us, she has "a hard life," rendering her rather likable, but in this case, also definitely scummy.

Capture
joined Aug 12, 2021

wow, extorting her sister in exchange for keeping it secret that she's gay might just be the first actually scummy thing this makino has done

I was coming here to say as much--I've previously been defending MC here, but using her sister's sexuality to blackmail her is downright scummy.

Besides, as a younger sibling myself, my advice would be to bond with her sister about their sexuality, then borrow money for sex . . .

yeah, though to clarify, i'm like honestly happy that she's doing something scummy because it's like, finally I am getting what this story promised me. haha

I agree--it's like a certain rebalancing has occurred. As the title tells us, she has "a hard life," rendering her rather likable, but in this case, also definitely scummy.

yeah, yeah because up until now we certainly had "a gap student with a hard life calls upon a lady of the night" but we were still missing that last word, so now that we're getting it I'm happy about it because I was starting to assume the scummy part was just not gonna happen which would have been a shame considering it's in the title

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 2:36PM

President%20and%20new%20hire%20profile%20pic%202
joined Sep 27, 2017

To play devil’s advocate for Makino, she didn’t really even come up with the idea to “blackmail” her sister. She was going to just talk to her about it, but her sister instantly panicked and treated it like it was blackmail and Makino just said yes instantly to the promise of money. It would have been worse if she had gone straight to blackmail in her head first but it was almost an accident here. Of course it’ll be worse the more she does it.

Don't ask people, especially friends and family, for money to keep their secrets. Regardless of it's the first thing she thought of or not it's still shitty. It also makes the MC into a complete hypocrite.

Also even if the author nonchalantly glosses over this matter and makes it seem like no big deal they've already crossed the bridge.

so it feels like this kind of discussion happens every time a story has something objectionable in it. But like I'm sure there are ways to say "I'm uncomfortable with this kind of storybeat" without trying to make it into a moral failing on the authors part especially because this is fiction and it is in fiction where these stories can exist without the terrible real life implications they can sometimes hold.

So like tldr, you can say that you're uncomfortable without taking it out on the author you know

I am fully aware of that. I often defend authors writing messed up stories. I simply find it bizarre that an author writing a story with a gay protagonist is having that protagonist use being gay against another character, and her sister no less. It comes across as incredibly disingenuous to me, and it makes me question the author's intention in a way that makes me uncomfortable.

joined May 29, 2021

I am fully aware of that. I often defend authors writing messed up stories. I simply find it bizarre that an author writing a story with a gay protagonist is having that protagonist use being gay against another character, and her sister no less. It comes across as incredibly disingenuous to me, and it makes me question the author's intention in a way that makes me uncomfortable.

Again Makino did not plan this. She basically had someone wave money in front of her face and took it because she was horny. It wasn’t her idea. Her sister just went “don’t tell anyone I’ll give you anything” and her brain went “money…can hire prostitute…get money.” She didn’t come up with some nefarious plot, the money practically fell into her lap and she took the path of least resistance to instant gratification. Is it scummy? Yeah, that’s in the title. But it wasn’t premeditated and she honestly didn’t think of the implications at all because her braincell had one thought: money for prostitute.

Capture
joined Aug 12, 2021

To play devil’s advocate for Makino, she didn’t really even come up with the idea to “blackmail” her sister. She was going to just talk to her about it, but her sister instantly panicked and treated it like it was blackmail and Makino just said yes instantly to the promise of money. It would have been worse if she had gone straight to blackmail in her head first but it was almost an accident here. Of course it’ll be worse the more she does it.

Don't ask people, especially friends and family, for money to keep their secrets. Regardless of it's the first thing she thought of or not it's still shitty. It also makes the MC into a complete hypocrite.

Also even if the author nonchalantly glosses over this matter and makes it seem like no big deal they've already crossed the bridge.

so it feels like this kind of discussion happens every time a story has something objectionable in it. But like I'm sure there are ways to say "I'm uncomfortable with this kind of storybeat" without trying to make it into a moral failing on the authors part especially because this is fiction and it is in fiction where these stories can exist without the terrible real life implications they can sometimes hold.

So like tldr, you can say that you're uncomfortable without taking it out on the author you know

I am fully aware of that. I often defend authors writing messed up stories. I simply find it bizarre that an author writing a story with a gay protagonist is having that protagonist use being gay against another character, and her sister no less. It comes across as incredibly disingenuous to me, and it makes me question the author's intention in a way that makes me uncomfortable.

yeah, but also the story sure is called "A scummy gap student...." like Makino is really not being set up as a beacon of righteousness, she's supposed to be shitty so if your reaction to her being shitty is like this, then this story might not be for you but also it's not the authors fault that the story is not for you and, there's no reason to make the author seem bad because of it.

Avatar
joined Aug 29, 2019

I'd say she's always been scummy, not so much to the detriment of others (her parents don't suffer because she keeps misappropriating their money), but rather to her own detriment (she's been constantly digging her own grave). She's been a disingenuous, irresponsible slob. Now she's kinda dragging her sister into it. She'd never have ratted her out in the first place, but we know that she's opportunistic and takes every chance to get an advantage. You could say she's acting like a drug addict.

ngl, her face when she heard her sister say "Anything" got me good.

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 3:30PM

President%20and%20new%20hire%20profile%20pic%202
joined Sep 27, 2017

Again Makino did not plan this. She basically had someone wave money in front of her face and took it because she was horny. It wasn’t her idea. Her sister just went “don’t tell anyone I’ll give you anything” and her brain went “money…can hire prostitute…get money.” She didn’t come up with some nefarious plot, the money practically fell into her lap and she took the path of least resistance to instant gratification. Is it scummy? Yeah, that’s in the title. But it wasn’t premeditated and she honestly didn’t think of the implications at all because her braincell had one thought: money for prostitute.

I know she didn't come up with a nefarious plot, and I'm aware of the the title of the story. For me it simply crossed a line of comfortability with this chapter.

To play devil’s advocate for Makino, she didn’t really even come up with the idea to “blackmail” her sister. She was going to just talk to her about it, but her sister instantly panicked and treated it like it was blackmail and Makino just said yes instantly to the promise of money. It would have been worse if she had gone straight to blackmail in her head first but it was almost an accident here. Of course it’ll be worse the more she does it.

Don't ask people, especially friends and family, for money to keep their secrets. Regardless of it's the first thing she thought of or not it's still shitty. It also makes the MC into a complete hypocrite.

Also even if the author nonchalantly glosses over this matter and makes it seem like no big deal they've already crossed the bridge.

so it feels like this kind of discussion happens every time a story has something objectionable in it. But like I'm sure there are ways to say "I'm uncomfortable with this kind of storybeat" without trying to make it into a moral failing on the authors part especially because this is fiction and it is in fiction where these stories can exist without the terrible real life implications they can sometimes hold.

So like tldr, you can say that you're uncomfortable without taking it out on the author you know

I am fully aware of that. I often defend authors writing messed up stories. I simply find it bizarre that an author writing a story with a gay protagonist is having that protagonist use being gay against another character, and her sister no less. It comes across as incredibly disingenuous to me, and it makes me question the author's intention in a way that makes me uncomfortable.

yeah, but also the story sure is called "A scummy gap student...." like Makino is really not being set up as a beacon of righteousness, she's supposed to be shitty so if your reaction to her being shitty is like this, then this story might not be for you but also it's not the authors fault that the story is not for you and, there's no reason to make the author seem bad because of it.

I am aware of the title of this story, it just crossed a line with this chapter for me. I never said that this chapter's direction was for me, or that it's on the author to write things I agree with. I was mostly fine with this series until this chapter, 15 chapters were fine and now the 16th one crosses the line for me, so I am saying why I'm uncomfortable here. I'm not going to go harass or bully the author, I know the author doesn't owe me anything. I'm not saying the author is a bad person either, I'm just uncomfortable with their possible intentions here.

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 3:43PM

President%20and%20new%20hire%20profile%20pic%202
joined Sep 27, 2017

I'd say she's always been scummy, not so much to the detriment of others (her parents don't suffer because she keeps misappropriating their money), but rather to her own detriment (she's been constantly digging her own grave). She's been a disingenuous, irresponsible slob. Now she's kinda dragging her sister into it. She'd never have ratted her out in the first place, but we know that she's opportunistic and takes every chance to get an advantage. You could say she's acting like a drug addict.

ngl, her face when she heard her sister say "Anything" got me good.

Yeah her being generally scummy was okay until now, but now she's directly hurting a family member in a way that feels uncomfortable and hypocritical. It's now a broken bridge of trust, and it makes the MC go from generally scummy to straight up vile.

Avatar
joined Aug 29, 2019

This chapter crossed a line for me, I just felt grossed out by the MC blackmailing her sister for being gay. Really disgusting, and it makes me question the author's views of homosexuality, if they think it's easily exploitable or what.

Why would the author perceiving something that is in many cases a sad fact of life be concerning? I don't like the idea of homosexuality being scandalous among family, it's actually a rather foreign concept to me and not something I had to deal with (or rather: felt that it'd have been an issue with my family). Others have very different experiences (see the positive resonance to Making Progress on Yuri Before the Deadline for instance). In far too many families it makes sense for it to be so easily exploitable because the expected consequences of coming out are downright terrifying.

You being grossed out by the MC blackmailing her sister for being gay is a perfectly normal reaction. It is gross, and she's setting herself up for a terrible train crash even moreso than before. Her sister could have been an ally, now she's turning her into an enemy. I'm convinced she'll have a very rough awakening eventually.

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 3:52PM

President%20and%20new%20hire%20profile%20pic%202
joined Sep 27, 2017

This chapter crossed a line for me, I just felt grossed out by the MC blackmailing her sister for being gay. Really disgusting, and it makes me question the author's views of homosexuality, if they think it's easily exploitable or what.

Why would the author perceiving something that is in many cases a sad fact of life be concerning? I don't like the idea of homosexuality being scandalous among family, it's actually a rather foreign concept to me and not something I had to deal with (or rather: felt that it'd have been an issue with my family). Others have very different experiences (see the positive resonance to Making Progress on Yuri Before the Deadline for instance). In far too many families it makes sense for it to be so easily exploitable because the expected consequences of coming out are downright terrifying.

You being grossed out by the MC blackmailing her sister for being gay is a perfectly normal reaction. It is gross, and she's setting herself up for a terrible train crash even moreso than before. Her sister could have been an ally, now she's turning her into an enemy. I'm convinced she'll have a very rough awakening eventually.

I think for me it's a concern because it feels like the author's handling of the progression in this chapter is disingenuous, homosexuality being used as blackmail is a narrative I've seen before it and I know it happens IRL, but with writing like this it feels lazy and it makes me curious what the author's views are as it feels weirdly handled here. I don't think the author is a bad person as I said previously, just their possible intentions make me uncomfortable.

Edit: Also to clarify some of my thoughts, the MC instead of bonding with her sister over being gay, or being excited to have a family member like her, instantly uses the opportunity to get money from it. She doesn't hear her sister say "I'll do anything", and respond with saying it's okay she has her sister's back or anything. The narrative cheaply uses her sister being gay as blackmail...so the MC can buy more sex.

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 4:13PM

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

I'd say she's always been scummy, not so much to the detriment of others (her parents don't suffer because she keeps misappropriating their money), but rather to her own detriment (she's been constantly digging her own grave). She's been a disingenuous, irresponsible slob.

I guess that hurting someone else, either intentionally or without caring that you're doing so, is a basic part of my definition of "scum." I've know plenty of irresponsible slobs in my life without thinking of them as "scum." But a sponger, or even a grifter, is to me a different category than a blackmailer, even if she's just fallen into that role.

To be clear, I'm not talking about now "disliking" or morally judging the character as a person, just commenting on the accuracy of the title description. (I actually now find her a little more interesting than I did before.)

Avatar
joined Aug 29, 2019

Edit: Also to clarify some of my thoughts, the MC instead of bonding with her sister over being gay, or being excited to have a family member like her, instantly uses the opportunity to get money from it. She doesn't hear her sister say "I'll do anything", and respond with saying it's okay she has her sister's back or anything. The narrative cheaply uses her sister being gay as blackmail...so the MC can buy more sex.

Oh I wholeheartedly agree that this would have been the more reasonable approach, but she's not acting like a reasonable person. She's, again, acting like a drug addict, barely shy of actually committing crimes to get her fix.

Edit: actually, blackmail is a crime IIRC, so there goes that.

last edited at Feb 19, 2022 4:29PM

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