at least in throw away the suit together the reaction, while overdramatic, was in reaction to a betrayal
this is a fucking plot device slap
romance authors please stop using physical abuse in your stories like this

People, please stop using heavy terms where they don't apply.

Ruriko, that was, uh, quite the fumble...

How can she slap?

Ooooo that's gotta sting both emotionally and physically

last edited at Jul 1, 2023 10:46AM

Oh no!

Oh no!

Oh yes!

Slapped Kurumi so hard that she mindbroke her apparently.

I'm pretty sure Ruriko slapped her as a kneejerk reaction when all of her feelings reached a boiling point and subsequently exploded. Not to normalize or justify physical abuse, but this is certainly not what I would consider it as. For one thing, Kurumi is the drunk one and she suddenly grabbed Ruriko to kiss her on the cheek, something that is seemingly out of character for her. Sure, Ruriko could've simply shoved her away, but I think her slap was meant to convey the same thing, and it's more dramatic anyway.

I know there are a lot of people rooting for their development and view this as a frustrating step backwards. Honestly, there were probably a dozen different ways they could've revealed their feelings for each other, but hey, guess we're going the drama route, which I think is fine. The two of them aren't perfect, and pretty much every single chapter shown from Ruriko's POV is about her feelings towards Kurumi and her insecurities surrounding them. She's spent their entire marriage anticipating the day Kurumi would inevitably leave her and tried to convince herself she was okay with this, but in recent chapters (including this one), she's become more greedy in hoping that she could be special to Kurumi and not just another one of the many things Kurumi loves. Obviously, this is not healthy for Ruriko, who also has no idea that Kurumi has come to reciprocate her feelings little by little.

So this chapter's slap, while it could've been handled much better, kind of makes sense to me. Not only did the kiss on Ruriko's cheek catch her off guard, but Kurumi was totally wasted. There's the possibility that Ruriko was frustrated that her feelings were being treated so lightly (not Kurumi's fault, since she isn't supposed to be aware of Ruriko's romantic feelings for her), that Kurumi could kiss her so easily while being drunk of all things without taking into account how Ruriko would feel.

Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure a lot of little things welled up in Ruriko in that one moment and it literally exploded all at once. That girl has been shouldering a ton of anxiety ever since they got married, so I'm not even surprised. But seeing how these two have been able to sit down and talk things out together (the trash incident, the hospitalization, etc.), I'm sure they'll be just fine, even if it hurt a lot in the moment.

Does this author really despise physical affection this much? This was honestly extremely lame.

lots of people who aren't turbovirgin lesbians hopelessly in love with straight friends for years over and over in this thread complaining about the slap

W-what?! Why???

I can totally understand being upset and fleeing considering Ruriko's insecurity and everything, but the slap was a bizarre choice.

I am in the What the Hell Ruriko crowd.

Humm, I want something to happen and further their relationship and have their feelings revealed, confessed, and addressed! properly. If a slap is how the author does it...well, there ya go.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I’m gonna reverse my judgment to see how long this unnecessary drama screws with the story. Do we really need drama and miscommunication keeping our characters apart after this many chapters? Like come on

This honestly didn't feel like a human reaction.

WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT

WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT

Author needed to insert some drama, and it was 4:23pm on the day of the deadline. Best they could do on short notice.

I just don't like this being the end of chapter. Would be better as the start of next one - have the slap, then deal with some of the consequences instantly.

This doesn't even feel like a cliffhanger, it feels like you've been already pushed off the cliff and all you can do is shrug in freefall while waiting to hit the trampoline on the ground.

last edited at Jul 1, 2023 12:34PM

I'm pretty sure Ruriko slapped her as a kneejerk reaction when all of her feelings reached a boiling point and subsequently exploded. Not to normalize or justify physical abuse, but this is certainly not what I would consider it as. For one thing, Kurumi is the drunk one and she suddenly grabbed Ruriko to kiss her on the cheek, something that is seemingly out of character for her. Sure, Ruriko could've simply shoved her away, but I think her slap was meant to convey the same thing, and it's more dramatic anyway.

I know there are a lot of people rooting for their development and view this as a frustrating step backwards. Honestly, there were probably a dozen different ways they could've revealed their feelings for each other, but hey, guess we're going the drama route, which I think is fine. The two of them aren't perfect, and pretty much every single chapter shown from Ruriko's POV is about her feelings towards Kurumi and her insecurities surrounding them. She's spent their entire marriage anticipating the day Kurumi would inevitably leave her and tried to convince herself she was okay with this, but in recent chapters (including this one), she's become more greedy in hoping that she could be special to Kurumi and not just another one of the many things Kurumi loves. Obviously, this is not healthy for Ruriko, who also has no idea that Kurumi has come to reciprocate her feelings little by little.

So this chapter's slap, while it could've been handled much better, kind of makes sense to me. Not only did the kiss on Ruriko's cheek catch her off guard, but Kurumi was totally wasted. There's the possibility that Ruriko was frustrated that her feelings were being treated so lightly (not Kurumi's fault, since she isn't supposed to be aware of Ruriko's romantic feelings for her), that Kurumi could kiss her so easily while being drunk of all things without taking into account how Ruriko would feel.

Honestly, I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure a lot of little things welled up in Ruriko in that one moment and it literally exploded all at once. That girl has been shouldering a ton of anxiety ever since they got married, so I'm not even surprised. But seeing how these two have been able to sit down and talk things out together (the trash incident, the hospitalization, etc.), I'm sure they'll be just fine, even if it hurt a lot in the moment.

I highly agree. This would also be my knee-jerk reaction. If someone I liked that I thought didn’t reciprocate my feelings suddenly decided to get physically, affectionate or kiss me on the cheek. I’d really think that it would be wrong, and I would be very concerned about them like I would be more concerned that something might’ve happened to make them act out of character. I basically did this in high school, when my female friend, who I figured was straight suddenly became physically attached to me and intimate and even dry humped me basically after prom in front of our friends out of fun, and I (rather than excited and accepting of her behavior) was totally concerned and worried for her. I figured out later in life that I definitely was sexually attracted to her and high school was a time that I knew I was a lesbian at least, but I was so concerned for my friend that I couldn’t even go along with her behavior before trying to bombard her with questions and worry. There is another straight girl that I like now at work of course and if she randomly decided to kiss me, I would either push her away or slap her as well even if she had actually come to romantically like me too. I wouldn’t be able to except it.

last edited at Jul 1, 2023 12:54PM

lots of people who aren't turbovirgin lesbians hopelessly in love with straight friends for years over and over in this thread complaining about the slap

@Yasako LOL YUP MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. Like jeez have you never had totally repressed emotions for someone you shouldn’t like even with LGBTQ+ modern day? It’s one thing for a girl to like a guy friend who doesn’t like her back. But another for a girl to like a girl friend who fits the majority in a world that is still prejudice, even if you and the girl friend know you’re openly lesbian.

last edited at Jul 1, 2023 12:59PM

Well one of two things happens now. One, they both recoil back into their shells and avoid eachother or what happened, setting back months of build up and progression between them.. Or Two, they actually sit down and discuss what happened, what it means and what happens next. The secret third route is that, they talk about it but instead of being fully honest with eachother, they just hide the truth.

And for everyone having a fit and a panic attack over how Riko reacted, just really.. please, it's fairly obvious that they're kinda aloof and frigid characters, with regards to relationships and very introspective. How on earth this reaction is surprising to anyone is beyond me. Obviously she didn't mean to react like that, it was simply panic, she had never envisaged Kurumi actually doing something like that. It's like swatting at a butterfly in your peripheral vision. Obviously no one wants to hurt no butterfly but sometimes you get spooked. She was obviously spooked. It's not that wild to be reaching for nonsensical absolutions like physical abuse. Come back to us now. XD
Obviously it's frustrating that this happened but it was never not completely out of the blue, like some seem to think.

I will admit that I did find the slap surprising, but after reading the explanations by those who didn't, I'd say, yeah, that does make sense.

UNLESS! Unless Kurumi goes back there, slaps Ruriko back and they have the most aggressive, passionate, and sleazy sex imaginable. If that's the goal then it's fine.

Yes please?? Lol