On page 5 she is clearly using some sort of portal to suddenly move her hand from up to squeeze the cheek.

But that just comes with being perfect, of course

What are we even doing?

Oh, you know, just normal gay things.

That was cute. Upside down kissing is fun :)

On page 5 she is clearly using some sort of portal to suddenly move her hand from up to squeeze the cheek.

But that just comes with being perfect, of course

One of those "can't unsee" things.
Funny the mangaka got it wrong when that panel is positioned between two panels where the hand is going the other way. Usually that type of mistake happens on separate pages.

I'm pretty sure that's not a mistake, just a weird angle. Wakaba's facing directly down, we're looking up at her, and the hand is coming into the panel horizontally aligned with her rather than above her.

I'm pretty sure that's not a mistake, just a weird angle. Wakaba's facing directly down, we're looking up at her, and the hand is coming into the panel horizontally aligned with her rather than above her.

Not sure what you're seeing there. Both the 2nd and 4th panels have the thumb facing out and moving up towards her face.
Looking closely at the 4th panel shows the thumb facing towards her chin.
3rd panel has hand moving down towards her face and thumb facing the other direction.
It's clearly an error: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/how_i_lose_bets_with_my_sadistic_gifted_childhood_friend_and_she_steals_all_of_my_firsts_ch7_5#5

It looks fine to me. It's Komaki's left hand, reaching up to pinch Wakaba's cheek, which was directly above Komaki's face. The hand in the 2nd panel is the left hand with its fingers pointed to the ceiling, as she's lifting it up from the floor to above her head to reach Wakaba's level. In the 3rd panel Komaki turns her left hand with its fingers pointed horizontally and thumb pointed down towards the floor to line up with the side of Wakaba's face leaning over her, as seen on the previous page, so she can pinch her cheek. The pinch is why Wakaba is pulled back in the 4th panel.
The only real problem with this series of panels imo is the perspective of the 3rd panel, since it's showing Komaki's perspective but not at the right angle to match her line of sight, and that's disorienting. Wakaba there should be coming in from the top-right of the panel instead.

last edited at Aug 10, 2024 6:37PM

You'd probably have to post some mark-ups in an image editing program for me to understand what you're seeing. It looks clearly wrong to me and I'm not able to follow your explanation.

last edited at Aug 10, 2024 7:01PM

It looks fine to me. It's Komaki's left hand, reaching up to pinch Wakaba's cheek, which was directly above Komaki's face.

There's no way she could have twisted her wrist 180 degrees while sitting in that position, no matter how much Wakaba leans forward. It's just a gaffe... and that's okay from time to time.

ch 7 pg 18, "she bad with spicy food" -> "she's bad with spicy food"

ch 7 pg 18, "she bad with spicy food" -> "she's bad with spicy food"

Clean your cache, because it's been fixed weeks ago.

Reminds me of Hino-san No Baka. Boy howdy. Another somewhat abusive relationship out of denying our feelings, but both willing participants, which makes it a little exciting. I wonder who will say it first.

S-she loved her this whole time?! Impossible! I was so sure they hated each other!

(Joke that's probably already been made.)

last edited at Aug 19, 2024 5:27PM

What I was trying to point out is that there is an understanding between Marika and Aya about Marika "Selling herself" to Aya and a contract being drawn up between the two that they both agree to, it doesn't justify that Aya went over the line but it is one of many factors that make the "infamous" scene not cut and dry.

Yeah, I'd call it a poorly negotiated CNC situation. No safe word and no explicit refusal of safe word. Closer to RACK than SSC, but not very Risk Aware. Aya had one expectation ("I can do whatever I want for the duration") and Marika was just winging it and responding to things, can't even call it a clear expectation.

Could have ended very badly, but they got lucky.

These acronyms - am I having gay sex or being deployed to Iraq?

last edited at Aug 21, 2024 12:30PM

What I was trying to point out is that there is an understanding between Marika and Aya about Marika "Selling herself" to Aya and a contract being drawn up between the two that they both agree to, it doesn't justify that Aya went over the line but it is one of many factors that make the "infamous" scene not cut and dry.

Yeah, I'd call it a poorly negotiated CNC situation. No safe word and no explicit refusal of safe word. Closer to RACK than SSC, but not very Risk Aware. Aya had one expectation ("I can do whatever I want for the duration") and Marika was just winging it and responding to things, can't even call it a clear expectation.

Could have ended very badly, but they got lucky.

These acronyms - am I having gay sex or being deployed to Iraq?

Lmao. I understand Consensual Non-Consent but both RACK and SSC are lost on me. I can't ever recall seeing them before but would google them if they started popping up more in discussions I was reading.

SSC is very common in Western BDSM: "safe, sane, and consensual".

RACK is "risk-aware consensual kink". E.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk-aware_consensual_kink

SSC is very common in Western BDSM: "safe, sane, and consensual".

RACK is "risk-aware consensual kink". E.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk-aware_consensual_kink

Thanks for the info! Now to see if I remember this if/when they come up again.

Start a "weird acronyms" list somewhere that you can check.

Lol using "sane" in your acronym for good sex is so lame. That's a word that basically means nothing concrete, but also insane sex is good

I think in this context it means to think about the consequences of your actions. That is important to emphasize as you start getting into less conventional activities. Being thoughtless would eventually get results that are not good, to say the least.

For instance, most people will try to avoid drawing blood since it's a disease vector. If they do draw blood, they will probably not use blades because blades can leave permanent scarring or even accidentally get someone sent to the hospital or killed. If they decide to use blades anyway, ones hopes it is with a lot of caution and an understanding of what to do and what to avoid.

'Normal' BDSM activities like tying someone up may still be seen as not sane by mainstream cultural standards. However, if someone is attending workshops, monitoring the other person closely, and taking the necessary steps to avoid danger then they are still exercising sound judgement. They came to a conclusion at odds with the wider culture, but they weren't thoughtless or unaware of the consequences.

The vagueness comes from each activity needing to be judged on its own merits. A statement of values is a sufficient lead in to a more specific discussion. Debates and disagreements can still be had and, in fact, making space for that is valuable.

This is how I understand it, anyway.

last edited at Aug 26, 2024 7:25PM

So if there was any doubt in my mind that Matsuri has a thing for Wakaba, it's gone now. But I can't figure out what's up with her approach to Komaki.
Am I crazy or is Matsuri going beyond trying to help them repair their relationship and into the realm of playing the wingwoman? Especially with advice like telling Wakaba to have Komaki call her cute.

So if there was any doubt in my mind that Matsuri has a thing for Wakaba, it's gone now. But I can't figure out what's up with her approach to Komaki.
Am I crazy or is Matsuri going beyond trying to help them repair their relationship and into the realm of playing the wingwoman? Especially with advice like telling Wakaba to have Komaki call her cute.

classic other girl 'if i cant make her happy, maybe she can, and if not, ill win in the end' (she never does)

So if there was any doubt in my mind that Matsuri has a thing for Wakaba, it's gone now. But I can't figure out what's up with her approach to Komaki.
Am I crazy or is Matsuri going beyond trying to help them repair their relationship and into the realm of playing the wingwoman? Especially with advice like telling Wakaba to have Komaki call her cute.

Same, I can’t tell if she’s legitimately trying to help Wakaba sort their feelings out, or is trying to pull some sort of reverse psychology shenanigans to destroy whatever feelings Wakaba has left for Komaki.

Question. Is green tea have any sort of symbolic meaning in Japan? Similar to how it got used to describe two-faced people in China during the 2010s. Maybe I’m overthinking things a bit, but the focus on each character’s preferred drink feels like it’s meant to be indicating something to the audience. More than what was actually said, at least.

Matsuri must have seen the Chechov's hickeys right? I guess she just played it off like she didn't?

Matsuri rubs me the wrong way. Has from the start. The cute, supportive things she says are always undermined by art and typesetting (if you can call it that), turning what would normally be seen as a supportive, uplifting character into a manipulative one.

I think she'll be a highly toxic influence.