thanks everyone for remaining civil as well as being understanding, and kind to one another.
my take:
an unsolicited, non-consensual kiss is a form of violence and reacting by slapping the person and running away isn't really that surprising to me. if you've ever had a drunk person abruptly kiss you without consent (i have), it's extremely confusing and can be incredibly distressing. i don't think ruriko intended to hurt kurumi, but just to get away (to safety) as quickly as she could, and personally, i don't really see anything wrong with that.
even if ruriko does want to smooch in the future, the fact that it came suddenly and without her consent can be extremely scary, and in a moment of adrenaline, slapping kurumi might have even happened before she could make a conscious decision about it.
personally, i thought that these three chapters were fine (not great). it didn't really seem that out of character to me. kurumi getting a bit too drunk and being impulsive checks out. ruriko is clearly worried she will hold kurumi back if their relationship becomes more intimate and they commit to staying together long term. she seems worried that if they become intimate, she won't be able to stop herself from wanting to stay with kurumi forever. she's scared she will change kurumi's life in a way that kurumi grows to resent.
i'm happy they made progress, even if it was due to extremely unfortunate circumstances. hopefully they spend more time discussing what happened and setting appropriate boundaries and expectations going forward. (i'm going to assume this happens off camera regardless.)
last edited at Aug 29, 2023 7:38PM