Tantai Lan, how can you constantly be so insanely cool ?! Well, gotta admit, she also dodged a bullet destined for herself right there with Qi Nian's silly idea. But it's almost symbolic how the general is constantly acting in the shadows to thwart the empress dowager's plans and support all of her victims.

And Yu Dingdang is still being as cute, honest, and smarter than she looks. We'll see the emperor's reaction next chapter, but I think the plan to make her protect both the cat and her empress is surprisingly smart and caring.

Heck, even Rantao, Cuitao and Ming Wei were looking out for Yu Dingdang in a lovely way. For all the I hate the empress dowager, she's really good at setting up occasions for all the protagonists and side characters to step up.

Can someone please explain the last few panels? I'm a little lost here.

The chapter ends on the panel where Qi Nian's mother appears. The next panel is an aside, showing Tantai Lan copying rules as context for the lines at the beginning explaining her presence in the palace.

"Let's have a serious important talk later, no I will not specify the subject ahead of time" aight I'm fully team anti-Koto now lol. I actually laughed out loud when in that later conversation she says her main concern is not wanting Aya to be anxious considering how classic and infamous "We need to talk about something important but not right now" is as an anxiety trigger.

I'm on team Erika buuuut I think she can do better than Koto. Unfortunately in this kind of story, there's a finite cast of 3 (probably 4, now) characters, so the idea that she'd move on and find herself a better girlfriend might only be possible for the epilogue, if at all.

Huh... Aya's assumptions towards Erika were way rude. Well, about as rude as you'd expect of a careless teenager, but still. That's no way of just assuming things about your friends... Was there any indication of why she'd think of Erika like that ?

Actually, did she never discuss what happened in the past seven years with Koto ?

last edited at Mar 11, 2024 12:36PM

80% chaos and 20% flirting. Decent ratio, I'll take it.

So... we can beat him up now, right ?

Aww... I was a bit disappointed in Akane that she'd think of dismissing Nadeshiko's feelings as artificial, but I'm glad that she quickly saw things right. And now she's going to put in effort to move their relationship to the next stage, good ! (Although she's made Nadeshiko cry, bad !).

Right, seeing all of your friends pairing up while you're single. Sounds like... huh, being in your mid-twenties ?

Damn the resolution, and the growth for Xingyuan, are absolutely perfect.

And it's not the first time this was shown, but the characters do really act their age. I could see myself, back when I was 19, believing that an honest talk and good intentions would fix most things, and 10 years later, realizing that some things just can't be repaired.

Moreover, if you want to talk about stupid and degrading, we can talk about the conflation of "poly" with "harem". In what way, exactly, is giving Natori a harem ending "more mature"?

Fuck harems, they can burn in hell. Every comment I've made in support of a polycule route emphasized the need for a romantic relationship to exist between Diana and Lapis, something which could develop from the importance they already give to each other, but is still missing for now.

I've seen people rooting for Natori to end up with both Lapis and Diana without them also having a relationship, both here and on Reddit, and they can burn in hell too. While I don't like the route in which Diana's love is just there to make Natori feel more important, or for her to act rashly while being the doomed jealous romantic rival as in a romcom, that would still be orders of magnitude better than a harem ending. Somewhat uninspired writing turning a character into a doomed love interest vs utter trash, there is no comparison.

Conflating harems with balanced forms of polyamory (both polycules and open relationships) is just an annoying excuse that some people use to defend their degrading fetishes on a linguistic technicality.

Diana has shown minimal interest in Lapis, and Lapis has shown less than zero romantic interest in Diana, viewing her strictly as a tool.

I don't agree with that interpretation. Without re-reading the entire thing to give every example, chapter 13 pages 7 and 9-12, to name the most recent ones, are some of the reasons why I think there is genuine affection between the two. Of course, they are also more focused on Natori, Lapis does see Diana as a tool (like everyone else), and some of that affection might be aimed towards that girl in Lapis' past, but that doesn't preclude also liking her as a person, which is what some of their interactions suggest. In fact it would be more natural, based on previous interactions between the characters, to introduce mutual feelings between Lapis and Diana than to introduce Natori reciprocating Diana's feelings (although manga has a way to just make reciprocation "easier" when someone is already clearly in love).

I know, it's a lot of "ifs". I know perfectly that hoping those interactions existed to hint at a poly ending, rather than making the MC feel "desirable", is silly. I guess hoping that something that was introduced in the story for reason A, would later be revealed to actually be there for reason B, is a bit ridiculous... But I also think it would make the story better and Diana's role in it (or rather, the "in love with Natori" part of her role; there is no issue with the rest, which is not dependent on her having romantic feelings) more satisfying and a writing choice more worthy of respect.

It's also why I'm frustrated that every chapter where Lapis and Diana bond over something is pretty much always given no continuation and walked back within 1 or 2 chapters (e.g., chapter 13 -> 14 did exactly that).

last edited at Mar 3, 2024 5:03AM

Well, that was a smooth move from Uda. Wait until Riri gets properly rejected so there's no conflict, confess right after while her interest in love is still high and before she finds someone else, then goes away to leave Riri time to sort her feelings and unexpected confession.

For something that is very far from the usual fated love confession, it was handled in a satisfyingly way, I must say. In fact, the way Uda handled the whole one-sided (so far) crush was something I quite liked.

Wow, Serina really said "I will definitely make you happy" then followed it with "I can meet my top oshi, the heroine" in like fifteen seconds. Goofy gyaru.

Granted, the villainess' bullying might be necessary for the heroine to make the prince fall in love with her. So, everything is right in the world.

As an aside, I don't get why so many people want a poly ending, I feel like that would cheapen the themes of the series and feel like a cheap copout.

Because that's a reasonable interpretation of the whole "Diana is in love with Natori" part of the story. It's not shown as especially unhealthy (despite some jealousy) and doesn't really progresses the story, which could work as well without romantic feelings. It also refuses to actually address it (confession, rejection), hinting that the continued existence of this stalemate is important.

I mean, anyone who has read manga before can probably realize that the real point of that was to have a cute girl fall for the MC for no reason, to have multiple women fighting over Natori, the OL. Which is stupid and degrading, classic anime and manga trope. Construing this as a setup for a poly ending gives a broader, more mature meaning to that part of the story, with only a moderate amount of stretching the interpretation of the characters by viewing the affection between Lapis ans Diana as romantic and assuming the characters would be okay with it.

The idea that Diana's crush is meant to be seen as unhealthy and one-sided, and that she doesn't have a chance to have Natori fall for her because of it, is interesting (making Diana a flawed and mistaken ally instead of a love interest), but it's not the vibes the writing gives. Diana scenes don't send the message "her attitude is unhealthy and she's doomed", to the point that we actually have to draw parallels with Lapis to view Diana as not having a chance. So again, back to the previous paragraph.

TL;DR: because that interpretation is more satisfying that the harem romcom vibes the Natori / Lapis / Diana triangle give.

last edited at Mar 1, 2024 5:23AM

Ema just dragging her introvert girlfriend with her... And giving the main couple their alone time. Top tier gyaru.

"Someone has been slandering you and someone you care about, so you should do exactly what they want and stay apart for the next three months."

That's such dumb advice, screw you, water princess.

It's so annoying... Last chapter had Diana with her eyes glued on Lapis, but then this chapter goes again down with her being obsessed with Natori. It's been going on forever - one chapter gives me hope by having various character interact, the next one goes back on it and has everyone act like some dumb harem romcom character with Lapis and Diana in love with the MC no matter what she does and putting her above their own life and wishes.

Diana standing up for the nobles was literally the perfect opportunity for her and Lapis to discuss and cross their opinions, and for Lapis to act kindly towards Diana, but no, Lapis decided to take a vacation out of the plot when it was most critical.

I wish the story would commit one way or the other, either towards poly or by kicking someone out of the triangle, but noooo - gotta have the isekai MC with several love interests competing, obviously.

last edited at Feb 28, 2024 3:51AM

Beautiful day for Takamine, but really, this chapter more than anything makes me want to cheer for Hatori.

Aww, Kaye gets her tsundere bubbles speech pink-colored and filled with little hearts. Adorable.

And Ada is getting ready to be Kaye's shining knight and keep the vile professor at bay. I don't know if she can actually pull it off, but her resolution is heartwarming.

I'll get all that there is on the market.

Tantai Lan : "You want yuri ? I'll get you all the yuri, don't worry."

The world needs more people like her.

It's very wholesome to see parents who support their daughter pursuing her dream job.

Despite how hard she's trying, I find it hard to sympathize with Tianli's actions or accept that she should be anywhere near where Xingyuan is. She may regret her past choices, but that doesn't earn her forgiveness. She can't take back what she has done. Why should Xingyuan "get over it" and just act as if the past didn't happen, over a handful of regret and an apology ?

Tianli apologizing means she's not an awful person, but that's it. Some things you can't repair, and some errors you can't correct. She can't, or isn't trying to, bring anything positive to Xingyuan, especially not anything to balance out the damage she has caused. The only thing she brings is bad memories.

Xiaoen could very well surprise me, but I expect that she'll tell Xingyuan the only good thing Tianli's presence can bring - the acknowledgement that the people who hurt her were dumb assholes, and she should hate them, not herself.

And as for Tianli, she should just go back home and tell the people in her chat group that their denial of the suffering they caused is shameful. If she blames herself for what happened to Xingyuan, as she should, that's just something she'll have to live with. Maybe if she regrets it enough or wants to atone for her guilt, she could try to make sure no others suffer in the same way by participating in some form of anti-discrimination activities.

I don't dislike Tianli, in fact, I rather like a character who bears a scar, a mistake they acknowledge but feel they can't do anything about, and the guilt that goes with it. I just think she deserves it all.

And she wants to somehow make amends. This matters a lot, by my book. I hate the notion that when you grow up and become an adult you have to forget all the things that happened before because it was just unimportant children silliness. You know, like those assholes were saying in the chat? Thx god Tianli doesn't think like that.

Forget, or apologize and move on, is there any difference ? The damage is done. She wants to make amends, but what is she trying to do in that sense ? Reason with Xingyuan's father ? Give her the networking and connections she missed because of being ostracized ? She's not trying, and I suspect it would be pointless to because those tasks are impossible, there is no way to repair the damage she's done. Which is why in my mind, by attempting to apologize, she's not better than the other kids in the group chat. Except for one thing : she feels guilty. And once she'll understand that this guilt is something she deserves and must live with, she'll be "redeemed", for me.

last edited at Feb 25, 2024 6:46PM

Just love the ending with the Mob-chans deciding to support Bocchi and Kita's time together. "Happy end" indeed.

Yeah I think excuse is very possibly the big word here. I'm hoping this plays less into things being toxic, and instead plays more into oh no I keep losing to my childhood friend and she keeps having me kiss her, what a shame, truly the worst.

The vibes towards that are pretty huge. When the first chapter says "I hate her, I want to defeat her and I wish she would disappear" while showing "We've been together with childhood, I get possessive about her, and I chose to do whatever she asks", it's pretty hard to take Wakaba at face value. Especially when Komaki has been very explicit in what she wants.

I don't think it will lean into pure comedy of tsundere behavior. It looks like how their actions affect each other will also play a big part. But it also doesn't look like there is any falling in love left to do.

it makes me soo happy that I’M BORN IN MODER ERA were garbage as marriage wasn’t shovel my throat

I do hate seeing this used as a story element. Unfortunately Dynasty doesn't tag it, and blacklisting the entirety of the Historical tag is a bit too much, and doesn't really prevent stories that use forced / arranged marriage in a modern or fantasy setting.

Learning the existence of many ways to kiss.