They spent the chapter drinking yet Sakurako remains the thirstiest bitch alive. "So this is what Kasumi tastes like".

As someone who lived years in Japan I wouldn't baulk at putting misoshiro broth in a thermos, though I might buy two - a savory and a drink thermos. Curry smells way stronger, and is way harder to get the smell out so it doesn't affect your drinks, and is way more noticeable at work. Also, apparently their thermos has a lip inside where vegetables can congregate, making it hard to scrub. I would say miso and curry are two separate cases.

Also: for decades now you can buy soup albeit usua.ly a sweet soup in the drinks vending machines, so that's not really the issue.

last edited at Jan 21, 2023 6:55PM

One time I read a seinen manga (seinen = "for grown-up men") with an office worker mc who hit it off with a comely lady and started going out with her. They went on dates and always ended the night having sex in a love hotel. One day she moved in with him. Their life became the life of a married couple; they naturally fell into the roles of working man and housewife. After a couple of years they started thinking about tying the knot for real, and had serious talks about what kind of wedding would be best. They even talked about children. Everything seemed to be going fine... when suddenly she went all moody and glum and sullen, and appeared to be irritated at him. He had no clue what was going on. Then one morning she faced him, hands on her hips, and demanded angrily that he say "I love you" to her! Yeah, because up to that point, according to her, he had never said those words! The guy paled, staggered back as if kicked in the gut, started sweating... and then claimed that it was WAY too early for that! His heart wasn't ready for something so big and she needed to give him more time. Like, a few more years!

The story, of course, was a parody. It poked fun at some classic problems of Japanese heterosexual couples—mainly at the inability of overly inhibited Japanese men to speak ther feelings. Ah, but, as we all know, all-girl couples are different! I really find it hilarious that the two ladies who make the main yuri couple in this manga have been living together, sharing a bed, having sex, and telling each other their passionate feelings of love and tenderness for fucking YEARS... and yet they still have never addressed the matter of whether they are gal pals, fling buddies, girlfriends, spouses, super friends, friends with benefits, just roommates, or what.

having sex

We don't actually know that.

We don't actually know that.

Speak for yourself.

It poked fun at some classic problems of Japanese heterosexual couples—mainly at the inability of overly inhibited Japanese men to speak ther feelings.

A hundred thousand shounen-seinen manga can take the witness stand and confirm this. o3o

It poked fun at some classic problems of Japanese heterosexual couples—mainly at the inability of overly inhibited Japanese men to speak ther feelings.

A hundred thousand shounen-seinen manga can take the witness stand and confirm this. o3o

Def onto something. In straight romcom the joke is that the guy often has trouble admitting his love; but in yuri it's funny (or irksome ymmv lol) how often the girls find it difficult to put a name tag on their relationship—even after they told each other their love and did sexual stuff! After School and Sakura Trick are superlative examples ottomh.

What the heck is going on? Has that whole discussion in the train completely been forgotten or what?

That was quite a reaction for a mere 100 yen... :D

What the heck is going on? Has that whole discussion in the train completely been forgotten or what?

Pretty sure that's why Kasumi was looking for a romance book.

last edited at Feb 21, 2023 7:38AM

What the heck is going on? Has that whole discussion in the train completely been forgotten or what?

Kasumi needs some time to think about it, her answer will eventually come, don't worry. Right now the manga is focusing on giving her the perspective she needs to figure things out, using all sorts of characters and situations, while still leaving some space for the SoL stuff. She doesn't seem to understand romance that much, despite clearly having plenty of feelings of her own, so no wonder she hasn't responded yet given that she never had to think about it before and also doesn't have quite the same brain wiring as most people do

The author is just teasing now Kasumi officially accepting entering into a romantic relationship with her instead the unsaid thing they are doing now.

What the heck is going on? Has that whole discussion in the train completely been forgotten or what?

Kasumi needs some time to think about it, her answer will eventually come, don't worry. Right now the manga is focusing on giving her the perspective she needs to figure things out, using all sorts of characters and situations, while still leaving some space for the SoL stuff. She doesn't seem to understand romance that much, despite clearly having plenty of feelings of her own, so no wonder she hasn't responded yet given that she never had to think about it before and also doesn't have quite the same brain wiring as most people do

Has there ever been any discussion about Kasumi possibly being asexual , Demi or the like in the forums or even in the manga?

What the heck is going on? Has that whole discussion in the train completely been forgotten or what?

Kasumi needs some time to think about it, her answer will eventually come, don't worry. Right now the manga is focusing on giving her the perspective she needs to figure things out, using all sorts of characters and situations, while still leaving some space for the SoL stuff. She doesn't seem to understand romance that much, despite clearly having plenty of feelings of her own, so no wonder she hasn't responded yet given that she never had to think about it before and also doesn't have quite the same brain wiring as most people do

Has there ever been any discussion about Kasumi possibly being asexual , Demi or the like in the forums or even in the manga?

I don't believe so in the manga itself. I've definitely seen it on here though.

...having sex...

Yo, wait, when did that happen? Or supposedly happen in case it's implied.

In any case, I really like how the story now focuses on Kasumi and shows through little gestures and other nuances that she truly is giving proper thought to Sakurako's question and how what was an incredibly impactful and dramatic moment is skillfully woven into the already existing fabric of the series without feeling out of place. I'm really looking forward to seeing that develop further.

As an aside, you know, I really like this series, and I really like Yukiko's style, but despite that, I'm not actually following this series all too closely and/or haven't really read it "properly", even though I've wanted to for the longest time. Seeing the number of chapters is kinda threatening, to be honest. What I planned to do was to start getting the volumes physically and going through it like that, but haven't gotten around to it yet. There's no meaningful point to this paragraph, just wanted to share that in writing.

Sooo...Sakurako is waiting for a proposal from Kasumi right?

soooo who is Yukari again?

I think I missed a chapter somewhere. When she asked her on the train about them actually dating did she ever get an answer?

Yesterday it was MahiMahi, today it's my favorite married couple who for many years have been living together, sleeping together, and doing everything connubial bliss entails -- BUT still haven't been able to find the proper name for a relationship of love and passion such as theirs.

I'm so blessed these days.

last edited at Feb 21, 2023 1:05PM

soooo who is Yukari again?

The one who basically wrote fanfiction of our favorite duo of dorks.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/a_room_for_two_ch39_5

I think I missed a chapter somewhere. When she asked her on the train about them actually dating did she ever get an answer?

Kasumi has only told Sakurako that she needs more time to think about it. This is just them being how they have grown accustomed to being with each other. Kasumi will definitely say yes, but we are just being made to watch the character development that leads to that understanding and answer from her.

So can we expect more Literary Showdowns going forward? asking for a friend, not that I have any interest in that or something. Hmph!

Yukari doin' good I see

According to some random website I found a pink wallet represents:
"Bright, happy prosperity. Pink is merely a lighter version of red, so it has all the qualities red does but with a lighter, fun side. Red is the color of success, but pink is the color of having a good time with your income."

What the heck is going on? Has that whole discussion in the train completely been forgotten or what?

Kasumi needs some time to think about it, her answer will eventually come, don't worry. Right now the manga is focusing on giving her the perspective she needs to figure things out, using all sorts of characters and situations, while still leaving some space for the SoL stuff. She doesn't seem to understand romance that much, despite clearly having plenty of feelings of her own, so no wonder she hasn't responded yet given that she never had to think about it before and also doesn't have quite the same brain wiring as most people do

Has there ever been any discussion about Kasumi possibly being asexual , Demi or the like in the forums or even in the manga?

I've mentioned it on occasion. Not sure if anyone else has, but there's probably someone other than me.

I absolutely love the idea of acespec Kasumi. I'm constantly seeing things in Kasumi (and her relationship with Sakurako) and thinking "Oh that is ace as hell", and I just keep getting those vibes from her, but... In a heteronormative world, vibes only go so far when it comes to queer representation. The unfortunate result is that anything less than on-screen fucking may as well be subtext, and that poses an obvious problem in regards to the depiction of non-het aces. (Although tbf het aces don't see much rep either.)

I mean, there was a manga recently that was about explicitly acespec characters, to the extent that it felt a bit "textbook-y" to me. When it ended a significant number of people popped out of the woodwork confused and/or angry about it because it was too ambiguous for them. (Which was a shame, because for the most part people were really cool about it while it was still ongoing, asking questions and wanting to learn about different aspects of asexuality.)

(Of course, there's nothing stopping Kasumi from being ace AND having sex with Sakurako, but... I don't feel like spending all day explaining that. The allos out there that don't already know are just gonna have to trust me on that one. :P)

Kasumi is a perfect specimen of the Japanese manga stereotype of lazy: she's so lazy, she won't do anything unless Sakurako initiates it.
She's like twins-separated-at-birth with this dude:
https://dynasty-scans.com/series/about_a_lazy_high_school_guy_who_woke_up_as_a_girl_one_morning_web_comic
When some guy told Yasuda he was going to force him(her) to have sex, Yasuda told him to go ahead and do it because fighting back was too much work. It had nothing to do with Yasuda's sexual preferences or kinks, or whether he wanted sex or not, it was just a matter of laziness. The cliched "lazy characters" in manga are like that, too lazy for everything except eating and sleeping; too lazy even for enjoyable things, even for sex. Zero drive all over. It's unrealistic but that's how the template works.
If a character was very active and had tremendous drive to pursue all sorts of things (career, hobbies, friendships) and was indifferent to sex then maybe you could wonder.
Kasumi? Just a lazy bum in need of a perfect serving top—who lucked out like a California bride.