This story unearthed traumatic memories from my own previous relationships. I kept looking at Glasses and seeing myself 10 years ago, 20 years ago. It's played for laughs in the story, but Glasses is internalizing an unhealthy level of self censorship and associated tension. She's unwittingly trained herself to cater tirelessly to her girlfriend's notably lazy and confusing attempts at communication, with a sort of masochism which Glasses herself seems unaware that she's placing on herself. Even if Mayumayu didn't torment Glasses and threaten her constantly--like a grotesque creep--Glasses' own self-abnegation has clearly damaged her psyche, and made her a nervous wreck. Glasses probably already operates with a higher degree of tension than is healthy, but she needs a more supportive partner, who doesn't weigh down celebrations and gift exchanges with catastrophic threats.

You can say that both partners here have agreed to this relationship, so no one should split them asunder, but Glasses is clearly traumatized here, and holding on for dear life. The relationship has been a long one, and Glasses indicates that this has been the status quo the whole time. I think of it a bit like the traumatized soldiers who come to feel more at home on the battlefield than off it; regardless of what the soldier thinks they want, it isn't a healthy attitude for them, and they generally need help to get rid of this subliminal programming––it's a defense mechanism kicking into gear to help them survive their trauma. It isn't who they are at a baseline level; it's the adrenaline doing the talking. Well, it's the adrenaline talking with Glasses, too. She's made it this far, and it makes her feel like she's achieved something, and she subliminally feels closer to Mayumayu as a result. It probably only rarely occurs to her how much the relationship is stressing her out--but it's very clear in the comic, and it's what makes the comic such an uncomfortable read. And even though the knife Mayumayu brandishes could be read as metaphorical, just what is it standing in for? Let's not forget, Glasses is so worried about not guessing the correct cake to eat, she is definitely––not merely metaphorically––doing self-harm, and buying herself extra time with her emotionally unstable girlfriend in order to hopefully get the answer to the question. Nonetheless, punching herself in the face is clearly standing in for some torment Glasses thinks her girlfriend would want her to suffer for not getting the riddle right so far. It's a pretty good indication that Glasses at least perceives Mayumayu's angry responses to her as coming with a measure of deliberate hurt attached. You might say all that indicates is Glasses' perception of the stakes of this game, but we see a lot of evidence that Mayumayu is playing along with it, and it certainly seems like the way the game is played in the story is the usual way the game is played between these two––with Glasses the put-upon one, expected to perform to prove herself worthy, and Mayumayu as the judge of Glasses' performance, and the one who doles out punishments and rewards.

To my mind, Glasses would do better with a more even-keeled girlfriend, who treated her like a partner in their relationship, rather than treating her as someone continually auditioning to be treated like a human being. And I think Mayumayu needs to be alone––at least for a while. She needs to learn to judge which of her expectations of people are reasonable, and she needs to learn how to handle disappointments with responses more appropriate to the nature of disappointment in question. Based on my own experience, I'm probably more naturally biased towards Glasses, but I have to admit that Glasses' own unacknowledged masochism has probably led her into this situation. However, that is, I think, a trait which might most often dissipate without the expectation by her partner to be constantly performing this masochism, as a demonstration of devotion.

Anyways, in spite of the pretty drawings, the story of this one really harshed my vibe. I guess it's a little funny, but it bothered me much more than it entertained.

Oh god, this also unearthed the traumatic memories I had just coming out of my recent relationship a few months ago, LOL.

Still, I can understand the characters and their relationship are both fictional and exaggerated, so this one-shot was alright, but I guess it also harshed my vibe a little for personal reasons.

I ended up biting the bullet and bought volumes 3-5 of the manga.

And man, the last chapter in volume 5 was amazing. It revolves around Nijika and Seika's backstory. If anyone is curious about how the chapter goes, feel free to read the long essay below (the chapter itself takes up 1/3 of the volume).

The story is about Seika & Nijika, when they were 21 and 9 years old respectively. Seika, who belonged to a band at the time, lived life like a delinquent, often staying out for days at a time. Meanwhile, Nijika would always shadow Seika (as any little sister would) and wanted to spend a lot of time with her. However, Seika was at the age where she found things like being around family troublesome. She much preferred spending her time with her fellow bandmates and visiting live houses. Seika viewed her band as her number one priority in life, and she found chasing after a dream together with them especially fulfilling. Nonetheless, whenever Seika does go home, her mom, although supportive of Seika's dreams, would always remind her to value her family from time to time too.

One day, Seika's band is offered an opportunity to play at a live house called Rainy Bar, where a number of bands have found success performing there. Seeing this as a big achievement, her bandmates ask her if she had anyone in mind that she would like to invite to watch. Seika decides to invite Nijika, but she stubbornly refuses because she says she hates bands, stating that she would never step foot into a live house in her life. Seika, feeling increasingly irritated by her family, decides to leave and refuses to return home for at least a month. Nijika breaks into tears upon seeing Seika leave, calling her an idiot.

That night, as Nijika is tucked into bed by her mom, she tells her mom that she hates bands because she feels like her older sister was taken away from her. Seika hardly ever comes home and never plays with her anymore. Because of this, Nijika vows to never join a band and instead, is determined to live a stable life as a government worker. Her mom giggles at this, but tells Nijika that she thinks Seika, who is wholeheartedly chasing after her dream, is amazing too. Her mom admits that it does feel very lonely seeing Seika gone all the time, but seeing Seika shine so brightly makes her incredibly happy. She says that when she was growing up, she never had a dream she wanted to chase after herself, although living life with her two daughters made her plenty happy now.

Finally, she tells Nijika that if Nijika can find a dream she wants to chase after in the future, she would be happy for her as well, because "when things get tough, dreams are the light that will illuminate your way forward."

Meanwhile, Seika ends up living with her drummer, Rina, for a month. They go about their daily lives together, where Seika finds every day fulfilling as she inches closer and closer to her goals. One day, Seika's mom decides to pay her a visit and Rina lets her in. Seika and her mom go to a cafe to have a talk. Seika assumes her mom is here to drag her back home and to nag her about the importance of family again. Seika insists that she knows just how important family is, but her mom refutes this and claims that she doesn't. Seika gets annoyed and once again, stresses that she already knows, but her mom doesn't back down. She tells her if she already knows, then she should stop making Nijika cry.

Her mom expresses her support for Seika wholeheartedly chasing after her dreams, and says that she's at the perfect age to be enjoying her life. She tells her it's fine if Seika wants nothing to do with her mom or dad, as that is her choice. However, she tells her that she shouldn't make Nijika feel lonely. Her mom tells her that one day, she and her dad will probably die before them, and when that time comes, the only people the two girls will have are each other. Her mom tells her the reason why she came today is to make Seika promise her that they'll become the world's closest pair of sisters. Seika is speechless, but they decide to end their meeting for the day. Before her mom leaves, she tells her that she should try inviting Nijika to their live again as she thinks Nijika secretly really wants to go (citing this as a mom's intuition), and Seika tells her she'll do it ONLY if she feels like it. As she watches her mom leave, present-Seika thinks back and wonders why she couldn't just agree to her promise properly.

A little while later, Seika & Nijika are at their mom's funeral together, where Nijika is crying out desperately. Suddenly, Seika felt like time had stopped for her. She kept trying to go about her days as she normally would, still living with Rina, and distracted herself with her band's activities. Not long after, Seika gets a phone call from her dad, begging her for help with Nijika's behavior. Seika returns home to find Nijika lashing out and refusing to leave the house ever again, even for school. Seika tries to comfort Nijika and tells her that going to school is important and asks her to tie her hair up to get ready to leave. However, Nijika cries and says she can't tie her own hair and that their mom is gone. Seika remembers that their mom was the one who would often tie Nijika's hair for her, and she is finally hit with the reality that their mom is dead.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry, Nijika. This whole time, Nijika was always at home and was constantly faced with the reality of mom's death. Even when I refused to return home and kept running away from reality, she was always dealing with it all by herself..."

Seika takes a breather on the balcony as she thinks back to the time her mom tried to make her promise that she and Nijika will become the world's closest pair of sisters. This time, Seika confidently promises that she will make it happen.

The next day, Seika tells Nijika to take a seat so she can tie her hair for her and take her outside. Nijika appears to be happy, but also tells Seika that her handiwork is not nearly as good as their mom's was. Nevertheless, as promised, Seika takes her outside to... a live house. Nijika, who still hates bands and live houses, refuses to enter, but Seika tells her it'd be a waste if she went home now, and she knows that this whole time, Nijika secretly did want to watch (citing this as an older sister's intuition). Seika entrusts Nijika to one of her friends as they watch Seika's performance together.

As Nijika watches Seika perform, she thinks back to that night her mom tucked her into bed. She remembers that she vowed she would never join a band, but she also recalls her mom's words: "When things get tough, dreams are the light that will illuminate your way forward." Nijika is deeply inspired by her sister's performance, to the point she is moved to tears. From that moment on, Seika vows that she'll always work hard to see her little sister make that kind of face again. She tells Nijika that no matter how hard things get in the future, she'll never run away again. She also promises to Nijika that she wants to live a life where the two sisters will always support each other, because they're the world's closest pair of sisters.

From that day on, Nijika decides that she wants to become a drummer (because she thinks the drums are the strongest) and works towards fulfilling that dream.

Fast forward to the present, Nijika asks Seika why she decided to name the live house "Starry". At first, Nijika assumes Seika named it after herself (because the "sei" in her name means "star"), but Seika tells her that's not it. She named it "Starry" because live houses are places where, like the number of stars in the sky, a countless number of bands gather to perform. She hoped that the live house would shine bright enough so that it could reach their mom one day.

last edited at Dec 29, 2022 9:29PM

[37.5] bit of a false start uploading this one. had a few weird issues, but it's fixed now. enjoy cuties.

EDIT: also, if anyone knows why Iroha is talking about 「ラッピング」, i'd love to know.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the origins of the saying,「敵に塩を送る」, which, according to Weblio, was:

(from Uesugi Kenshin sending salt to his enemy, Takeda Shingen, when Takeda's salt supply had been cut off) to save an enemy from trouble instead of taking advantage of their weakness; to show humanity even to one's enemy; to help one's enemy in difficulty

So perhaps Iroha was trying to say that Izumi kindly wrapped up some salt and sent it to Kanade (very literal translation).

Which, of course, just means Izumi stepped aside instead of taking advantage of Kanade/Nanaki at their weakest.

I would assume Iroha is trying to play up just how kind Izumi is.

last edited at Jan 11, 2022 6:28PM

Holy crap, I was on the edge all chapter.

Galaxy indeed

Tbh I just saw this one on my Twitter TL.

(Anyone have other links?)

KuuSumi gives me life.

Thanks Cuetie Scans.

This series is a total blessing.

KuuSumi gives me life

Facial Harvard.

Wait, Hino is actually SO good at studying LOL

last edited at Aug 20, 2021 1:35AM

Love the Nico related releases for her birthday each year. Just went back to reread another NicoKotori work by the same artist, only to see that was also posted here on her birthday.

Oh crap.

I have no idea how the pages got out of order, LOL.

https://imgur.com/a/2tuYfpM is in the correct order if anyone wants to read it on Imgur.

My apologies to whoever uploaded this! :(

I also have no idea how to request to get that changed, whoops..

last edited at Jul 5, 2021 2:20AM

Well tbh, I enjoyed this series a lot and I love Tsukiko, Aya, and their relationship with each other, however awkward and tense it may seem. The art is fantastic and I personally think it’s well-written. Don’t know why, but it makes me think of Adachi and Shimamura, LOL.

It’s just that anybody coming in and expecting a conclusive yuri ending with a grand confession and kiss probably won’t be all for it. For what it’s worth, they do stay with each other after reuniting, so idk, up to interpretation for their future?

last edited at Jun 10, 2021 11:22PM

I decided to buy volume 3 just to read ahead. There's only 3 volumes in total, so it ends at chapter 19.

For anyone wondering about the ending, there's no yuri in it and the story ends after a time skip. They separate after graduation and Aya accidentally breaks her phone by dropping it in the water. She didn't back anything up, so she lost Tsukiko's contact information, but they reunite at the end. Just a nice story between two people with a vague distance between them.

I love the way this series reads. Both Tsukiko and Aya always have each other in their thoughts and have a desire to get closer, but both seem to believe their current distance is further than it actually is, which causes them to act so reserved around each other. Tsukiko wants Aya to look her way sometimes, believing that Aya only ever has eyes for the pool. Meanwhile, Aya deeply wishes to understand Tsukiko and her feelings better, but believes that the latter has no interest in allowing her to get close.

The two of them are so close, yet so far apart. There are so many things that could be solved just by talking to each other, but like Aya said, it feels like the words are stuck in their throats. Hopefully this slow burn will pay off in the end and they'll be able to communicate their desires with each other properly.

wow MC is way cuter...out of uniform

Omg, I wasn't the only one thinking this LOL

I love this series but why is Hina continuing this mental and emotional torture/mind-break if Ai actually does want to be with her? I’d like to see a regular date at a cafe or something. One consensual kiss. I mean nothing Too normal given the dynamic of their relationship but damn, I want to see them both lovey dovey just once without either being forced or coerced.

Hina’s motivations don’t exactly work the same way as a “normal” love though. I’m not talking about her or Airi’s kinks and fetishes or anything related, but what Hina wanted was never a “normal” love or relationship with her. Hina became obsessed with the unequal positions in their relationship, and since none of what she’s doing now is out of revenge, it just means she genuinely enjoys their relationship this way.

Frankly speaking, despite what she might say, I don’t think Hina would be happy in a regular relationship where they can just be together and do normal lovey-dovey things. Once she got a taste of this world, she never wants to go back.

Yessss, it’s here!

Lol, it’s super unlikely, but how funny would it be if Hinata meant that she also loved Noa the same way and nobody noticed?

last edited at Oct 2, 2020 11:06AM

@Seira Im more inclined to think she transfered to the new world just in mind- or spirit- like perhaps she died shortly after that last memmory and that made it happen. Or perhaps she lived a full life then died, but doesn't remember the rest? Or maybe she died WHEN her mind left to go to the new world? Because there was already a rei taylor here she clearly didnt come over physically. And I doubt her husk of a body is laying about on life support on our world. When she says previous life I really get the impression the old one is over for good- either as a previous life or a transmigration just as the story starts that killed her old body.

I think basically none of the possible answers is free from flaws or issues, so the author deliberatly wants to leave it vauge, and Im fine with that.

Well, it’ll all be revealed in the next 2-3 chapters in the web novel, so look forward to them :^)

I thought this was licensed by Seven Seas or is it just the light novel version?

It's just the light novel.

Wait Rei died? I thought she just got sucked into the game.

I think this might be a translation mistake; the original web novel chapter covering this didn't mention her dying at all and the Italian translation says "previous life" (vita precedente) instead. If anyone has access to the raws, that should clear this up.

(Translator of the second part of the web novel here)

She frequently calls it her “past life” and “previous world”, and I believe that is all she ever refers to it as in the first part, but IIRC, there was a single mention in part 2 of her believing that she had actually reincarnated instead of it being transmigration.

Casual bump

My apologies if this is not the appropriate place to post this. I thought that since Dynasty Scans primarily hosts yuri manga, perhaps the yuri community could band together for this. If this is not the right place, please delete this post.

Anyway, inori. (いのり。), who is the author for “I Favor the Villainess” (web novel/light novel/manga), is currently facing financial hardships due to her gas water heater suddenly breaking down. She has been quoted for 340,000 yen to replace it (she has explained that it is impossible to repair it), which is around $3200 USD. She lives incredibly frugally as it is (information that she has publicly shared), so this is going to take a huge dip into her savings.

Here is her Twitter page, where you can find details of her posting about the situation: https://www.twitter.com/inori_narou

She has set up a Ko-fi page for herself, where you can donate to this cause if you are willing to, which you can find here: https://ko-fi.com/inori

Any amount would be highly appreciated. Of course, you don’t need to donate at all. I’m sure just sending a few tweets her way or spreading the word would make her very happy!

Thank you all very much for your continued support.

(Hope to see you all when chapter/arc 15 of the light novel drops~)

P.S. As long as this thread is allowed to be up, any bumps (not spam though) would also be appreciated if possible!

last edited at Aug 21, 2020 12:17PM

Translator for the second part of the web novel here (chapters 113 and onwards).

Originally, I had plans to clean up part one (chapters 1-112), but due to it being licensed, I decided that I would just leave it be. Please look forward to its release in November.

Being in contact with the author herself, she has expressed her sadness over seeing people pirate the manga (and that includes scanlating it). I don't have any authority to tell you guys what to do/what not to do, but please, if you end up enjoying the novel or manga, consider offering her your support. It's fine if you can't or don't have the means to or you simply just don't want to, but at least keep it in mind if you can!

Thats fair about not updating the first half.

I'd honestly would rather have the series removed if the author is vocal about their distaste for scanlations.

It kinda makes me sad though there are pieces of media in the world we will never enjoy because of language barriers.

Yes, ideally, I wouldn't want to see scanlations of this because of her disapproval (for the record, the translations for the second part of the web novel are being allowed since they are purely fan translations, and the second part has not been officially announced for anything yet), but I also know that even if the current group decides to stop working on this, somebody else will inevitably pick it up. There is really no "winning" in this situation, so the most I can ask of you all is to support her if at all possible!