these gay dorks are just too cute

The british English was really thick on this chapter. I wish they'd use normal standard English.

It's funny that English came from the Brits yet theirs is not 'standard'.

Funnily enough, I was just having a conversation with someone this past week about how the internet is causing British and American English to blend. It was after their phone gave both "canceled" and "cancelled" as auto-complete options, and they couldn't remember which one was the American spelling. Seeing more and more people/places adopt "grey" for "gray" or "axe" for "ax" &c. It'll be interesting to see what happens to spelling over the next 20 years.

Y'all be making a wee linguistic mess, innit?

*waggles a hand* Orthography is orthogonal to language and kind of irrelevant, so not really a "mess" per se. Shifts that were already in progress seem to have accelerated, and the rate of new words and new usages and senses for old words reaching beyond their in-group has become much more common on account of everyone being connected now. But that's just how language works. It's a really exciting time to be a linguist observing English, honestly.

PS: there's no such thing as "Standard" English. It's not French (and plenty of French people make fun of the Académie Française anyway).

PS: there's no such thing as "Standard" English. It's not French (and plenty of French people make fun of the Académie Française anyway).

When I was taught English at school (as a foreign language) it was "officially" British English, at least according to curriculum, not sure if that's common around the world. But realistically it also didn't matter in 99% of cases :P

last edited at Jan 12, 2024 9:59AM

Today, in A Love Yet to Bloom : Hirose makes a freaking good wingwoman now that she's reconciled with her own feelings; ever more blushing, now also enhanced with additional handholding and matching accessories; and Hinata is fifth wheeling a double date, but fortunately, she has four caring mothers to take care of her.

This chapter is so freaking healing, I think I overdosed.

The credit page was lol :) Even tho its quite an obvious turn of phrase ive never seen it used before 'You two are so dense Im amazed you havn't turned into black holes yet.' lol.

last edited at Jan 31, 2024 6:43AM

Poor Hinata being a fifth wheel XD

Hirose was great this chapter too. And I think I'm sensing a side-ship brewing between her and Hatori...

I love how the friends are actively wingwomening it big time now XD It's a good thing they do, Takamine in particular is going to need all the help she can get.

I love everything about this chapter. Hirose was on fire; the entire "this needs to stop" exchange was pure gold. The power of friendship was in full force as well, and I absolutely loved that. Gay or not gay, it's clear that these things mean a lot to Sakura, especially with the frames on pages 15 and 21 showing her reactions, it is incredibly adorable. And the handholding and matching items and promises and stuff, just pure fluff, I adore that. Also kinda felt bad for Hinata once she realized she was five-wheeling, but the entire matching set was a great "recovery". And also the thing between Hirose and Hatori:

I've been actually shipping Hatori and Hirose for no apparent reason...

An excerpt of one of my earlier comments. I'm still seeing that, and I'm a big fan of the development.

It got racy with the lewds but at least in the end they used protection

Their poor wingwoman is bingo ammo, but can't make a dent. Her exacerbation is palpable.

So many shippers and wingmen... this is a whole carrier taskforce

Hirose was the MVP of this chapter, hands down. "This needs to stop" and then all her little reactions throughout (and then Hatori's reactions to her)... chef's kiss.

Like Shio/Takamine was mega cute too, of course! They're the Cuteness Microwave Background and they feel like they got a little closer this chapter too! It's just Hirose stole the show.

Hirose is quickly becoming my favorite character in this story.

It got racy with the lewds but at least in the end they used protection

Finally, a manga couple who understand the dangers of unprotected hand-holding. :-)

I could cry right now, it makes me so happy

Fuck yes author-san, give me that fucking diabetes.
My words that was a great chapter! Thanks a lot for the translation!

hmm black holes. Maybe neutron stars...

sakura might be the sweetest thing on this site.

yeah this chapter was a delight

They're all so cute as friends!! It's not like I'm against the yuri but sometimes some couples work so good as friends to me (kind of like elisha and Honoka from otome no teikoku) that it's weird when I see them turn into something else, kind of forced, and we got the plus of the extended friend group that works great so it's really hard

Also Hinata is the cutest thing ever lol she's so in her own world

Let's recap friend by friend.

Hinata - Oblivious as fuck. Can't read the room to save her life, made up for her by her sheer enthusiasm and the force with which she sets up events.
Hirose - Wingmanning. Knows what's up with Takamine and Sakura, doesn't know what's up with Hatori.
Hatori - Ambiguous and go-with-the-flow style. Seems fine no matter what happens, focused on Hirose.
Takamine - Dense and cowardly. This adorable little idiot probably hasn't crystalized her feelings yet but instinctively places herself everywhere Sakura is.
Sakura - Not dense, but cowardly. Knows exactly what's going on but isn't doing anything about it either. Sakura! Take charge you idiot!

The handholding scene makes me think that Sakura is self-conscious in a way I wasn't expecting. Like, she's so aware I'm wondering if she's got some gay anxiety, as in afraid of how Takamine may respond to her gay feelings. So far this manga hasn't really felt like it would delve into that kind of a topic, but it's always a possibility.

Let's recap friend by friend.

Hinata - Oblivious as fuck. Can't read the room to save her life, made up for her by her sheer enthusiasm and the force with which she sets up events.
Hirose - Wingmanning. Knows what's up with Takamine and Sakura, doesn't know what's up with Hatori.
Hatori - Ambiguous and go-with-the-flow style. Seems fine no matter what happens, focused on Hirose.
Takamine - Dense and cowardly. This adorable little idiot probably hasn't crystalized her feelings yet but instinctively places herself everywhere Sakura is.
Sakura - Not dense, but cowardly. Knows exactly what's going on but isn't doing anything about it either. Sakura! Take charge you idiot!

The handholding scene makes me think that Sakura is self-conscious in a way I wasn't expecting. Like, she's so aware I'm wondering if she's got some gay anxiety, as in afraid of how Takamine may respond to her gay feelings. So far this manga hasn't really felt like it would delve into that kind of a topic, but it's always a possibility.

Great analysis, especially about Sakura. I haven't really thought about her this way before, but now that you have pointed out some of her behaviors, I have to agree that they make sense. Top!Sakura would be hilarious and awesome. :-)

Gae

Takamine - Dense and cowardly. This adorable little idiot probably hasn't crystalized her feelings yet but instinctively places herself everywhere Sakura is.

Actually, Takamine isn’t so little. jk!

Seriously, I agree with all your points and I thought this one was especially well-expressed. Takamine seems to keep all her feelings at arm’s length (at best).

And sometimes what looks like “cowardice” (OK, is cowardice) is also a function of a kind of emotional intelligence, of understanding the potential stakes involved in putting yourself out there with all your vulnerabilities. It’s hard enough finding good friends to go ahead and risk those relationships by changing the terms to romantic.

It’s also not easy writing such feel-good, wholesome yuri with an edge of real emotional drama. It’s nice to see it done well.

It was so nice of them to take care of that lost child, during their outing. I hope they found her parents!