I think the whole "childhood friend" thing is a meme, however you almost always can tell who will win any sort of romantic competition and it's the first person to have a "spark" with the mc. The one time I can I think of off the top of my head where the author went out of their way to subvert that, "Domestic Girlfriend," the ending turned out to be universally reviled lol.

Some preforeshadowing
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_dear_lass_ch08#5
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_dear_lass_ch31#3

Oh right I forgot they did pretty much directly say her mom died, that's so tragic. In the flashbacks to the bullying the uniforms are different, so it seems like that happened in high school. At least she might have gotten to live out a few years of middle school peacefully, then?

Gay baby Xingyuan is so fucking cute OMG. Tracy Hu's art is always great but it especially favors an adorable subject like this.
We got some interesting hints at the story here: in the present Xingyuan is under a lot of homophobic pressure from her family, especially her father, but here she talks about being openly gay to her mom and her mom is chill. And Xingyuan and her mom spent so much time living abroad that her English is better than her Chinese, and not with that father, who stayed in the city the chapter is set in "the whole time for work". It's entirely possible that father was basically a stranger to her when she moved back to China at the start of this flashback. I can't remember Xingyuan's mom coming up before this point, either. Did some tragedy leave her without her mom and isolated with a conservative family from her father's side? Did Tianli play some role in that side of family learning Xingyuan is gay?

Edit: in the last chapter, when Xingyuan is thinking about her past regrets and saying "I wish I hadn't taken things for granted at the time and been so naive," the scene behind that is the same scene from this chapter where Xingyuan first tells Tianli she's gay. This could ether been and regrets getting Tianli, or regrets not realizing Tianli's feelings. Considering Xingyuan has claimed she had no love before the present, that makes the former more likely so far.

last edited at Feb 12, 2024 5:16AM

So is anyone else getting crypto-het/male pov surrogate vibes off this?

So is anyone else getting Professionally Offended vibes off this?

Not offended, just that it is something I sometimes notice reading yuri, and I was wondering if other people did. There are other interpretations too. It just seemed very conspicuous in this case because Hayami was set up pining for a good f*cking... then doesn't really seem to get one (so maybe more unsatisfied than offended).

Conflating a woman saying "I want to have sex" with "I want a good fucking" is far more hetero-coded than anything happening in this manga lmfao

Yeah she's supportive, but more importantly, dang, she's hot. What a hot mom.

The asshole who got set up on a date with the yandere had it coming for refusing to take no for an answer. That was actually a worse thing for her to do to the yandere girl, knowing she's gay and knowing he is a pushy asshole who won't listen to being rejected by a woman. He got left off light being left in a condition that ultimately led to him having a meetcute with someone who can actually tolerate his ass.

last edited at Feb 9, 2024 12:07PM

The worst thing Makino did was pressure her older sister for money, which was pretty scummy. But that pales on comparison to her mom being a homophobic bully towards that same sister, bullying an employee for being an orphan, and then firing her and kicking her kid out of the house. "Scum" is too nice a word to describe Toxic Mom.

This game is good. Shame HI3 is kinda impenetrable so it's hard for people to go back and get all that delicious gay lore, because the latest patch is bringing a lot of that forward and building on it lol.

Ikr, it's so confusing to be young and in love with someone as same gender, bcs I had myself a "best friend" and I didn't know it was love until 4 years later. 6 years later we talked again after years of being separated (we had a fight, and guess for what. Yes, jealousy) and she confessed to me but at that time we already had our other love ones.
It was so hard to understand bcs I'm bi and for her it was so clear what she felted but she was , afraid to lose our friendship.

I really don't want this to our aya and mitsuki but well, I appreciate how the author is somewhat realistic

I'd love to see the pattern fade away, and I'm sure it's getting less common these days, but I can't actually imagine it fully leaving until it's no longer possible for a parent to put their child out on the street and deny them access to continued education and support.
I'm sure some people would balk, like "what's that got to do with this comic!?" but remember we still don't know why Mitsuki is living with her uncle instead of her parents, and Aya's family is still assuming she's straight and has a boyfriend, who knows how her parents would react to her coming out? And even if for our two protagonists these aren't their active present concerns, the existence of that fear cuts down on queer peers and role models and open discussions and self questioning.
I didn't know I was queer as a kid because I didn't know that was a category I could be, just a type of fictional character people on TV were, like "superhero" or "magical girl" or "furry". I was never even given the proper prompting to question myself until I was like 19. Even if I had asked the question earlier, I would have just ended up as part of the "teenage homelessness" statistics instead of the "adult queer permanently alienated from her parents" statistics.

lol hinoka seeing tsukushi fumbling the confession and so being all "Fine, I'll do it myself"

She found a good loophole in her desire to have Tsukushi be the one to confess: by physically expressing it but not saying anything first, this assures Tsukushi that she won't get dumped while still leaving a silence she has to fill, rather than getting to take the easy way out of simply saying "yes" without putting her feelings fully into words. 1000 IQ play tbh.

last edited at Feb 8, 2024 4:26PM

Mitsuki IS in love with aya, she said before and probably thinks that aya won't see her as a crush anymore because she now knows that mitsuki is a girl. Mitsuki doesn't get it aya's love because she isn't a normie and she is clueless about aya's or others showing affection romantically. I'm sure she will express her love for aya through music.
I hope their friends and family helps them in someway too

They're both for sure in love, but both convinced the others feelings are platonic. Even if there wasn't the "please be my friend" scene when Aya clearly was expecting something else, gay kids just tend to be really awkward in this exact way. There's implications for this series that they'll eventually get split up and reunite after a time skip, what with Joe's arc and a certain illustration on the author's twitter, and while that's "a trope" and "disappointing" it's also something I've seen multiple queer couples do IRL. I've done it too, but only as a hookup lol. The vast majority of queer people still don't come out until college at the earliest, so even if they felt a real connection to somebody in high school they don't act on it until some later reunion or chance encounter.

I'm impressed Makino talked her mom into paying her and Mashino to study. Guess all that work she's been doing went into Speech.

Toxic mother(Makino's mom) If your worried about your bloodline dying out from both your daughters being yuri/lesbians...
there is always the options to suggest them getting a Sp*rm donator if they interested in having children (Bonus points if you can use it to build a connection with your business friends by getting one of their hopefully sons to donate, Makino low chance but Reina might be interested)...

.... You know sperm donation does not actually build familial connections, right? That's why it's called a "donation", that cum does not connect back to its source in any way that matters lol.

The manga has been very obvious about Aya being in love with Mitsuki and unsure about Mitsuki's feelings in return, ever since she became the main perspective character with the "will you be friends with me" arc. She's signaled in a billion ways that her feelings for Mitsuki are if anything stronger than ever, especially since she can't gush them out all over her friends anymore. :P

Wait. This story had a Romance tag, right? Oh no, where did it go!? Why did they take it away!? Does that mean it's not a romances, after all? That it's a one sided love story. Or worse it's just a story of an ambiguously close friendship. Damnit those are the worst.

The author does not personally tag the Dynasty Scans upload of her manga lol. They reflect what we've seen so far and expect, not necessarily what is planned.

I can't imagine most of those besides Aizawa working as an anime tbh, or at least as an anime I'd want to watch. "Can't Defy the Lonely Girl" would probably be a modest success but from experience I know I have zero patience for low key school girls in a realistic setting lol. Even "Stardust Telepathy," with it's aliens and UFO and psychic powers, felt super slow and boring to me in anime form. And "Fed Up Office Lady" is a good manga but damn we really don't need more isekai anime.
Aizawa meanwhile is a very dynamic series and has excellent physical comedy and drama, the "vomic" of chapter one they put out was really good. Just as long as they don't give it to Passione like the abysmal Mieruko-chan anime adaptation, don't let them ruin another comedy horror yuri by being gross with it lol
Edit: or "LIDENFILMS, Felix Film" (dunno which deserves more credit here) since they ruined Otherside Picnic in the adaptation. What is it with the anime industry and ruining horror yuri, come to think of it. I know horror in general is really iffy in anime form but jeez...

last edited at Feb 2, 2024 11:18AM

Overall this manga was pretty okay. Like SAD said in the final translation notes, this really would have been improved by a timeskip and a changed Kazuha. It also would have been an amazing manga if the author had committed to what they seemed strongly tempted to do, which is let Nagashima move on from the highschooler who had hijacked her life and get herself an OL romance with Takimiya. I wonder if there was controversy among the Japanese fans, with some people protesting the potential age gap relationship when it's been very plausibly platonic this whole time, and some people wanting that age gap romance and hating the idea of a Takimiya plot twist turning that into bait. The finale we got feels like a compromise trying to make those two camps not mad, which resulted in a somewhat muddled feeling.

last edited at Feb 1, 2024 3:51PM

It's chapters like this that make me wonder how capable Nadeshiko is of independent thought and will compared to the influence of her "Mom's" sexbot programming. The whole setup for this chapter was a fake out making us think she's gonna be serious and put aside sex for a moment, only for the "documentary" to just be one of her sexbot functions.
Of course, this also prompts questions about how comparable that "programming" is to any child raised on the ideology of their parents... Either way Nadeshiko could really use her horizons broadened lol. Hopefully she's capable of that, if not then Jun actually would be the better partner.

one of which instantly ends the story of this comic, so we can basically assume the correct answer (it's not a fluke, they'll keep looping) without spending so much page time on the test

Not a fan of journeys, are you? If the only thing you care about is the destination, I think most stories could reach their logical conclusion in about 1/4th as many pages as they're typically told in. But there's more to a story than a beginning and an end, you know? I don't really see a problem with the second chapter. In the first 10 pages, we learn that beneath her cool exterior, Kinka is manicly desperate to die, while Kazura doesn't really want to die. The next 9 pages aren't even about "the test", they're about Kazura's relationship with Otome. Kazura stands up for herself for the first time in her life, while Otome hints at a possessive side that will probably lead to conflict with Kinka later. Finally, the last few pages are... for lack of a better word, "suicide porn". It's not necessary to the plot at all, and you could communicate their second suicide in one panel if you wanted to be efficient, but there's no emotion or feeling in doing that, is there?

tl;dr chapter 2 has character development, drama, and at least attempts some kind of emotional impact. Sure, you could sum it up in one page by having them say, "hey, we're manga characters so the story isn't going to end if we try again right away, let's figure something else out", but there's more to a story than advancing the plot as quickly as possible.

Oh I don't think the problem with chapter 2 is that it didn't "forward the plot," but rather it focused so much on an unimportant plot beat (confirming that the loop is not a fluke). I'd much rather the author focus on the emotional reaction to what they just experienced instead, unpack what they're feeling and what they think about the supernatural experience they just had when they tried to die. Chapter 1 was full of pathos, in comparison chapter 2 and 3 feel almost like it's dissociating from that to focus on plot instead.

It makes me really happy that multiple people read Yuhki Kamatani's manga because I recommended it here :D That series is one of the rare ones I've sought out physical copies of to have displayed on my bookshelf because it means so much to me.

Here's hoping this manga can be half as good? The second chapter only establishing "this wasn't a one time quirk" is a little disappointing though, of course it wasn't a one time quirk or we wouldn't have a story, we just learned something we'd assume to be true already. Aren't there more interesting questions you could focus on with this story author-san?

what in hell is that even supposed to mean?
like did you learn up until now in life that what you find interesting ain’t the same for others?

Yes, I am aware that there's plenty of people out there with minimal to no standards for fiction who would be happy with a chapter that's just spinning the plot's wheels, congratulations on being one of them if that's you. However, I am entitled to have my own more complex preferences that are different from (and superior to) yours, such as not wanting a story's pacing to stall out as early as chapter two.

This newest chapter was better. There's something that feels very off about the pacing but I suspect that's intentional, as they're deliberately attempting to speedrun finding closure to lifelong hangups. The talk of "lingering attachments" feels like they're thinking of themselves as ghosts even, which is fascinating.

Here to speak as someone who preferred the atmosphere and pacing in the first chapter to the one in the latest. Nah, I think suicide is an interesting enough topic in itself. Conversely, I think the third chapter got a bit too grounded in real-life dramas and resolutions for my tastes, if that makes any sense. But that is my own preference and we always need diversity in readership. I'm most happy when characters mull over existence without necessarily resolving their real-life issues. Because everything we do originates from a long succession of causes extending way back into the past, and fixing things quickly (i.e. identifiable plot developments in a scripted manga) ain't how it works. I like it when the authors linger on that complexity without necessarily making the characters work past it. Rings a bit false to me.

My problem with chapter two wasn't the subject matter, but rather the focus: the entire chapter was dedicated to them testing to see if their survival was a fluke by just reenacting chapter one. They're asking a question that has two possible answers and one of which instantly ends the story of this comic, so we can basically assume the correct answer (it's not a fluke, they'll keep looping) without spending so much page time on the test. Meanwhile we still don't know much of anything whatsoever about one of our main characters outside her suicidal feelings. We learn in chapter 3 that she's got a bunch of money saved because "I have nothing to spend it on" but that's pretty light on revelations or characterization, and then the chapter ends at what feels like should be the middle of the chapter, where they finally start talking about the feelings they've been trying to solve by acting blindly.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/kaguharas_fetish_notebook_ch10#24
Dear mother of god, the booty levels are through the roof!

Literally dangerous levels with how thin that kitchen is in comparison. I look at that ass and dread the workplace accidents it might cause in such an environment...

Anyway given the ridiculous over the top comedic tone of this series, I think we're probably safe from some serious dark fucked up plot about Kaguhara's mom being a creep instead of just a weirdo. Hopefully at least. Those lurking eyes are more likely the strict maid who greeted her at the door? That still is a little fucked up, but still within the range that you could make it funny, unlike that other possibility

It makes me really happy that multiple people read Yuhki Kamatani's manga because I recommended it here :D That series is one of the rare ones I've sought out physical copies of to have displayed on my bookshelf because it means so much to me.

Here's hoping this manga can be half as good? The second chapter only establishing "this wasn't a one time quirk" is a little disappointing though, of course it wasn't a one time quirk or we wouldn't have a story, we just learned something we'd assume to be true already. Aren't there more interesting questions you could focus on with this story author-san?

what in hell is that even supposed to mean?
like did you learn up until now in life that what you find interesting ain’t the same for others?

Yes, I am aware that there's plenty of people out there with minimal to no standards for fiction who would be happy with a chapter that's just spinning the plot's wheels, congratulations on being one of them if that's you. However, I am entitled to have my own more complex preferences that are different from (and superior to) yours, such as not wanting a story's pacing to stall out as early as chapter two.

This newest chapter was better. There's something that feels very off about the pacing but I suspect that's intentional, as they're deliberately attempting to speedrun finding closure to lifelong hangups. The talk of "lingering attachments" feels like they're thinking of themselves as ghosts even, which is fascinating.

Fundamentally, Nanao wants to possess Asumi. Even right from the start of her feelings, remember how she stalked her and saw her entering the love hotel with a woman, which is how she got the idea that Asumi worked for the brothel to begin with? Asumi, however, does not want to be possessed. This is a fundamental gap between them that is irreconcilable without Nanao coming to terms with it and realizing she can't have what she wants.

You're making nanao intentions and actions look way more heinous that they actually are, from her point of view her friend seemed in desperately need of money to the point of having several jobs at the same time, she was genuinely concerned about her situation. Also let's not forget that asumi was the one that invited nanao to the hotel after the date ended, nanao was perfectly fine with letting asumi go after that.
Asumi is interested in nanao that's just a fact, and the idea that she's manipulating her or that she sneakily dragged her into a relationship is just ridiculous, cuz again it was asumi that invited nanao to the hotel and accepted being friends with benefits after that

This isn't a matter of moral judgement. It's simply a matter of two people having misaligned interests. They tell you pretty clearly in this chapter: Nanao's on cloud nine, while Asumi likes the pleasure of the moment but does not feel comfortable with this being a long term situation. Nanao wants far more and on a permanent basis than what Asumi wants to give her. It's not that Asumi doesn't like her or enjoy being with her, it's that she wants more than this for herself, desires that conflict with Nanao's desires.

This comic rules, in all its forms. This latest chapter is especially good :)

From the pov of manga ethics, Nanao has wronged Asumi real bad by not telling Asumi her feelings.

This is something I have seen in a zillion mangas. It's always an important plot point. Eg in the After School series (that I have been rereading because a new chapter just came out) Shiine and Ichika are "kiss friends" who meet every day after school to kiss and kiss; but Shiine is secretly in love with Ichika and doesn't tell her. When she finally admits it, she bows and apologizes a hundred times, calls herself a wretch and a scumbag, says she knows she has betrayed Ichika's trust by kissing her while hiding her real feelings, runs away crying and vows never to appear in front of Ichika again. Then Ichika must go looking for her to tell Shiine she loves her too, happy end.

I'm bringing this up because it seems a lot of posters here don't realize something that for Japanese readers is pretty obvious: that Nanao is kinda playing the role of the bad guy rn as she's tricking Asumi and wronging her (again, from a manga pov) by telling her she just wants friendly sex when in reality she wants much more.

Nanao is also keeping it a secret that she went and saw a sex worker herself, and directly lied repeatedly to Asumi while having sex with her, claiming it was her first time. I absolutely think Mai, Serina, and maybe even Senpai have a better chance at being end-game for Asumi than Nanao does right now. She should really try dating someone who doesn't live in her house and work for her, it'd really grow her as a person lol. Maybe then she'd be more capable of winning Asumi's heart.

I....*What?*

Nanao DID tell Asumi her feelings. She confessed. Explicitly. Then asked her out on a date, gave her a necklace, kissed her, took her to a hotel, had sex with her while telling her she loved her.

Asumi is perfectly aware off Nanao's feelings. For her to not be, it would require her to A) not understand Japanese, and B) collapse into a singularity from the overwhelming density required for her to not pick up on the blatant non-verbal cues.

But Nanao's still not being 100% honest, probably not even with herself, proposing the FWB arrangement when what she really wants is true love forever, and then acting like Asumi agreed to true love forever instead of FWB with how she's treating her. Fundamentally, Nanao wants to possess Asumi. Even right from the start of her feelings, remember how she stalked her and saw her entering the love hotel with a woman, which is how she got the idea that Asumi worked for the brothel to begin with? Asumi, however, does not want to be possessed. This is a fundamental gap between them that is irreconcilable without Nanao coming to terms with it and realizing she can't have what she wants.

last edited at Jan 29, 2024 11:14PM

This chapter and Asumi's conflicted feelings are a good example of why it's not typically recommended to sleep with your boss or a roommate, and Asumi's gone and done both at once with Nanao. It's almost impossible for her to keep this casual and draw boundaries without hurting Nanao or turning her down since they spend so much time together. There's some real drama fast approaching for the two of them. Maybe drama that will see Asumi find an excuse to take a trip to Tokyo to make some physical distance, hmm?