soooo who is Yukari again?

I'm pretty sure Yukari is their high school classmate/friend that shipped Kasumi and Sakurako (in her head) all the time. At some point, she even wrote a book kinda about them, iirc. She was an aspiring novelist during hs and eventually became a librarian and publishes books on the side. She had yuri googles on 24/7 but could never tell Kasumi and Sakurako, so that was a bit of the running gag whenever Yukari shows up. Seeing this chapter, she still roots for them and is still worried about their relationship for them haha. So cute!

I love Kasumi and Sakurako, honestly. Probably my top 10 SOL favs on the site.

Edit:

Kasumi as a lazy bum argument

Kasumi is self aware that she's inherently lazy, but she studied and applied to the same uni as Sakurako, and majored in business mgmt at said uni, and ended up trying for and getting into the same company Sakurako works for. I think given all of that and what readers know of her, she's really given a lot of effort to keep up with Sakurako and their future together. Sakurako is a workaholic so she finds working and doing things a cake-walk, so it's not fair to compare the two. Also, she has plainly said she doesn't mind just trophy wife-ing Kasumi, but Kasumi mentions multiple times to Sakurako and their college friends that she intends to pull her weight (in their relationship) in more ways than one.

I think as a reader, we would be doing Kasumi and the author a disservice by just lumping her character into the lazy bum category without really recognizing all of her efforts and character development over the years, given her base characterization.

last edited at Feb 23, 2023 5:24AM

This is the second yuri series I've seen to directly reference The Little Prince (the other series being My Dear Lass). It's probably one part that it is a classic story and one part that I'm primed to remember it being referenced, but it feels like a strange coincidence.

Revolutionary Girl Utena also seems to share some similarities with The Little Prince (at least enough similarities that I saw someone else write an essay comparing the two). Certainly The Little Prince is a very influential story.

This is the second yuri series I've seen to directly reference The Little Prince (the other series being My Dear Lass). It's probably one part that it is a classic story and one part that I'm primed to remember it being referenced, but it feels like a strange coincidence.

Revolutionary Girl Utena also seems to share some similarities with The Little Prince (at least enough similarities that I saw someone else write an essay comparing the two). Certainly The Little Prince is a very influential story.

It's not even the first time it got referenced

last edited at Feb 23, 2023 10:17PM

It's not really a question of will they or won't they, but how far Kasumi is willing to go for to reciprocate Sakurako given her laziness. All things considered Kasumi has always been shown to be perfectly content with her life now and the status quo. The question only comes up because Sakurako actually starts to feel insecured now and tries to push things a bit more. Even though Sakurako would always be willing to make any compromise for Kasumi, but I guess even Kasumi realizes now it's not sustainable? She has indeed tried to put more effort into their relationship so maybe it's a good sign.

Also the little prince is a massive story, but given its take on romance and the context it's certainly not a book I would recommend to people who wants some opinion on the topics. Don't know why Asia seems to think it's the romance bible.

last edited at Mar 12, 2023 1:52PM

I recall no romance in The Little Prince. Little Princess, maybe.

I hope they end up together romantically

Heh, that was a good April Fools joke. It gave the effect of an April Fools chapter without the pain of having to wait for the real chapter.

On note of the actual chapter, it's nice to see Kasumi does have some idea of her feelings for her life with Sakurako. I'm curious if they will steer towards romantic as she thinks about it more or if she'll go full Aro.

Is this the first time we've seen Kasumi blush like that when thinking about Sakurako? It's sweet to see how seriously she's thinking about their relationship, and how much it clearly means to her whether or not her feelings are ultimately romantic. (she flat out says she believes they'll spend the rest of their lives together) I think Koruri's point about how, either way, their relationship probably won't change much was reassuring; Kasumi doesn't like pressure, so her believing that it's OK no matter what she decides likely helps a lot.

For the record, I do think we're heading toward romance. Even if it's very low-key, Kasumi's reactions this chapter make me believe she's coming around to the idea of being in love with Sakurako. Especially her reaction to the teasing at the end- in the past, she'd have just brushed that sort of thing off, but here, she blushes and thinks, "romantic or not, I kinda like this." Only she can decide whether that's a romantic thought or not, but she's clearly more conscious of Sakurako's flirting in a way she wasn't before.

This was good April Fool's joke

...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.

Reading this I felt like I had written this post.
Big number, big decision, brain hurt

last edited at Apr 1, 2023 12:04PM

I can accept that Kasumi might be Ace, but I can't just accept that she won't have sex with Sakurako, girl has put up with so many years of gay pining, she deserves the full experience.

The whole "I don't know what love is..." feels like the new version of "But we're both girls.." meaning it's just something authors say to stretch out the story without any real conflict. It used to be about drama, but now it's about a happy status quo and I honestly don't know which one is worse. Being happy should be better than being sad, but is it really worth your time reading when you have stories like this, with 500 chapters where nothing really ever happens? Who the hell acts like that with someone who is just a friend? How can you still have the audacity to say "I don't know what love is" after all this time? What else could it be?

Are lesbians really willing to live platonically with their crush for over 10 years?

I can accept that Kasumi might be Ace, but I can't just accept that she won't have sex with Sakurako, girl has put up with so many years of gay pining, she deserves the full experience.

This sounds like the literal opposite of accepting Kasumi as Ace.

As for the rest of what you said. Aromantic people exist.

As for the rest of what you said. Aromantic people exist.

Sure. But I don't think Kasumi is. Demiromantic, certainly. But her reactions here, plus the general thrust of the story so far, really don't strike me as building up to an aro ending. Maybe I'm wrong.

As for the rest of what you said. Aromantic people exist.

Sure. But I don't think Kasumi is. Demiromantic, certainly. But her reactions here, plus the general thrust of the story so far, really don't strike me as building up to an aro ending. Maybe I'm wrong.

Yeah, that was more a general statement on my part. I'm at work so I can't go into as much detail as I would have liked. Until more recently I could have seen Kasumi being Aro, but I agree it seems less likely now.

Sure. But I don't think Kasumi is. Demiromantic, certainly. But her reactions here, plus the general thrust of the story so far, really don't strike me as building up to an aro ending. Maybe I'm wrong.

I feel your previous comment up above summarizes that really nicely, she's giving the topic a proper thought and seems to be starting to come around to the notion of having romantic feelings toward Sakurako. It's only recently that she's started really seriously trying to give clear definitions to things that simply have been around in her life up until now, and it really does seem like her awareness of Sakurako is shifting slowly and that a romantic component is becoming more prevalent and noticeable. Also that little tease in the end and Kasumi's reactions were simply adorable.

To be honest, I personally don't think there's much of a point for us to try and label the character before she's shown any intention of doing so herself. I am not happy with this statement, but cannot find the words to fully represent what I'm thinking, so I hope what I mean is clear, and I hope I don't come across as asshole-ish. Either case, in this case, I feel like the process Kasumi is going through has already started showing what the end result is going to be. In other words, I also think that there's an explicit romantic endgame here, even if it's a low-key or slow-burn kind of thing.

last edited at Apr 1, 2023 1:07PM

I think people were assuming Kasumi is Asexual or Aro cause they've had this kind of unchanging relationship for years and everything pointed to it continuing this way. Some readers probably already viewed them as "in a relationship" - just not your "traditional" one and one that they can probably relate to. Now, ever since the chapter with them on the train (personally I think it was even before then with that chapter when Kasumi left her part time job and had a brief thought about her relationship with Sakurako), it's being made pretty clear that Kasumi just wasn't thinking about their relationship that much past being close friends living together forever and is only recently putting serious thought into it with Sakurako in mind. Meanwhile, Sakurako seems to want a romantic relationship but is already in so deep that she most likely wouldn't mind just pining and being live in friends for the rest of their lives either way.

I can accept that Kasumi might be Ace, but I can't just accept that she won't have sex with Sakurako, girl has put up with so many years of gay pining, she deserves the full experience.

This sounds like the literal opposite of accepting Kasumi as Ace.

As for the rest of what you said. Aromantic people exist.

Are you implying that an asexual person can't have sex with their allosexual partner? Or implying that an aromantic person is by default clueless about what is usually considered love and how their actions might have an effect on someone else?

I can accept that Kasumi might be Ace, but I can't just accept that she won't have sex with Sakurako, girl has put up with so many years of gay pining, she deserves the full experience.

This sounds like the literal opposite of accepting Kasumi as Ace.

As for the rest of what you said. Aromantic people exist.

Are you implying that an asexual person can't have sex with their allosexual partner? Or implying that an aromantic person is by default clueless about what is usually considered love and how their actions might have an effect on someone else?

My meta-statement about Dynasty forums: discussions that start out from the assumption that "statement about character" = "statement about groups of people in real life" often don't end well, or at least not anywhere near the story.

As was said above, for the first time Kasumi is explicitly thinking about how she feels about her relationship with Sakurako and how that might be defined/labeled, and "labels" are something the series previously has been notably reticent about (often to the frustration of some readers). The story looks like it's getting ready to be more explicit about the MCs' relationship, so personally I'm willing to let the characters apply the labels themselves.

(I can't quite decide which one would be wearing the collar and which one holding the leash, but I think both items would look great on either of them.)

last edited at Apr 1, 2023 2:18PM

Relationship labels are just a means to an end here
it doesn't really matter what you think the characters identify as ultimately it can either end with them dating officially or just doubling down on the "relationship that is special only to them"

I personally just want to see them 2 together forever

Not gonna lie when I saw the BDSM box, the first thing that came to mind was "I knew it"

Not gonna lie when I saw the BDSM box, the first thing that came to mind was "I knew it"

Makes me think of that one abusive one shot Yukiko did.

progression in my subtext yuri!?

Just kidding. I agree with the general discourse for this chapter. Very excited to see where this goes!

alright that's the best april fools joke I've seen a scanlation do yet, thank you JQ

I do really like the little meditation on what love and romance actually mean to Kasumi, it's a nice touch that really lands in line with how I feel about romance on a conceptual level too

last edited at Apr 1, 2023 5:37PM

I always felt deep intimate friendship + sexual desire = romantic love. I've been "yelled at" several times, for that belief, in the story comment sections. However I honestly can't think of any other way to define it.

I've always found the way the author handles labels and romance to be fascinating, mainly how many of her characters--Kasumi and Koruri being the two big ones--aren't internally driven to them at all. They're fine with leaving things unspoken but intimate and only consider the label 'girlfriend' when the people they're close with push for it. It makes me wonder if the author's own experience with romance has been similar, and that's why she depicts love this way.

Moca strives for labels. She places meaning in them, so that if "one day she disappears" someone will mourn for her. This is how she validates her existence.

Sakurako was okay with not defining her relationship with Kasumi because they had a balanced give and take together, until she was challenged in a way that made her to want to secure her place in Kasumi’s life. The idea Kasumi could just...be without her and let her go (Special 3) pushed her to try to change their relationship into of explicit romance.

Kasumi, is the ultimate loner. She neither seeks labels, nor needs them, and doesn't need people in her life nor the assurance of her own permanence in their lives. She fundamentally lacks the fear of "disappearing" like Moca, or not mattering, because she's the epitome of self-sufficiency. No part of her is dependent on another human to define herself or fulfill her needs. However, there's a twist. Somehow living with Sakurako for seven years has been the right balance of "not too much but not too little" (ch 65.3). Somehow, she hasn't gotten sick of Sakurako despite how bothersome it can be for her (who is lazy and chooses the path of least resistance) to live with a whole other person.

This story is a really cute slice of life, but the author also places different forms of connection against each other. This story was never about the Romance! It's about how we navigate the relationship we have with someone we want to be with for the rest of our lives. When Koruri finally accepted being Moca's girlfriend, finally accepting that label of girlfriend, she was using romance as the Vehicle, a Means to secure Moca in her life. We never get a deep psychological dissection of what romantic love means for her. It doesn't matter. What matters is the conflict between them (Koruri fearing Moca may leave one day without saying a word, both sating their need for companionship) and how they compromised to keep each other in their lives (Koruri accepting being Moca's girlfriend). This story is different variations exploring the fundamental intimacy between people who live together, who share A Room For Two, and how different people choose to define it using the means they have.

I'm sure the other different pairings like Seri and her roommate, or Sakurako's sister and her roommate, all have their own flavors and nuances. I just can't remember them after following this series for so many years lol.

last edited at Apr 1, 2023 7:43PM

Phew, thought we were about to have actual character progression in this story for a second. Sure dodged a bullet there.