I did not fully understand this chapter uugh

Compare this chapter's Sena to the Sena from the start of the story. Would a meeting and conversation like this be possible back then? Or was it the conversation itself that you were confused by?

The fiancee must be a ghost, 20 chapters and nowhere to be found. Yuna does not sound too excited about him. Maybe Yuna is a lesbian after all and marry a man just to have a sperm donor, plus society's approval. This story can easily have a biphobia subplot. Yuna dumping Kiku for a man.
2 more to go.

I think she just knows to be cautious with that topic around Sena. Sena mentions that she hadn't talked with her about him before, since Sena would avoid the subject.
Beyond that the sister seems happy.

It's similar to how the MC in Alter Ego realized that because she was jealous of her best friends boyfriend and hostile to ever discussing him, she left her friend without someone to depend on. The friend knew never to mention anything related to him, especially all the good things.

Now that I think of it, both series have a very similar dynamic between the 3 women and even similar outcomes. That's getting a sequel btw, for those who have read it.

last edited at Feb 28, 2024 6:56AM

Thank you! I think I understand her better now. Maybe I should read the LN to better get inside their heads.

I highly recommend it. Nothing against the manga, it is good, but the LN is just so much more because of just how much you get to see into the minds of Adachi and Shimamura. Shimamura in particular loses a lot in the transition because a lot of her characterization is in her inner dialogue. Adachi's constant state of gay panic is also much more entertaining when you get to see her thoughts at the same time as well.

Yes! The story is their internal thoughts and struggles. It's so much more internal than external and manga (+anime) are more externally focused. It really does take away from Shima the most since she is the most contemplative.

last edited at Feb 28, 2024 6:45AM

It's just harder for me to believe that Tianli would deliberately do such a terrible thing to Xiangyuan if she was in love with her, and hadn't even been explicitly rejected, and then stayed friends with the bullies that helped drive her love away. She definitely had some sort of monopolizing desire for Xiangyuan but it was one where she fully thought the ship has already sailed. This makes the study abroad scholarship especially seem like a very important motivator imo.

She might not have even been thinking about it as outing her, she might have been thinking of it as trying to chase Wang away from her. But even if that's not the case, when somebody is hurt, they lash out, and sometimes in the moment children (and I mean, that's the thing, they were children) don't understand the consequences of what they're doing.

I think it's also that Tianli would not have been fully aware of her feelings back then (which that other comments argument seems to suggest). She didn't consciously consider Xianyuan a love interest because she was very confused about her connection to her and also upset at how easily she was discarded.

The Tianli of the past always seemed unsure of herself and questioning many things and it feels like that questioning was pretty broad. So my assumption was always that all these factors led to her lashing out in confusion and harming herself (like a pokemon, it's on my brain now!)

So while she might have been confused and hurt, she also likely wasn't literally thinking "I'm going to hurt my love," because she probably wasn't in a place to realize or accept that her feelings for Xingyuan were a bit different than what she showed for others around her. She has a strong desire to be with Xingyuan that I don't think is explained otherwise, coupled with the other evidence mentioned previously.

last edited at Feb 28, 2024 6:39AM

My main thing about arioto I didn't like was the child predator bartender lady. Same reason I don't like wataten.

That's fair.

I guess I should be clear that it's not the wager per se that annoys me about arioto (I mean, that would be more like a laundry list of complaints) but that the nature of the wager seems based on the idea that Marika isn't gay and the story (at least in the manga) doesn't do a good job of establishing otherwise up until that point, so the whole thing feels off. Here, though, I can come up with no other reason for actually initiating such a wager rather than just, like, studying harder and getting better scores and then bragging about them against her; none of this makes sense unless both of our main characters are gay as heck.

Well, I guess we'll disagree but Marika was was in denial of her feelings as early as chapter 2-3. She pretty much outright thinks it. Then there's blushes, hearts, "heat" and "heart thumps" galore. Her whole character was about facades and it didn't seem that subtle. So, while the setups aren't exactly the same, I don't see these as being all that different, premise wise.

last edited at Feb 27, 2024 8:01PM

Arioto also had a 'wager', and it's not like Marika was desperate enough to be called coerced. She wanted a nice bag, not food or rent or tuition money.

That, plus I don't understand the idea that she was coerced into being gay? She's just gay. They're similar because neither girl actually needs to continue the "game." They both continue to "play" for other underlying reasons (or feelings) but there isn't any real threat to "losing," beyond pride and a handbag.

last edited at Feb 27, 2024 5:46PM

Omegaverse is wild. When they talk about glands and stuff it feels like a scifi story.

Question at the ABO experts. Alphas can impregnate Omegas, right? Do Alphas always have a penis or how does it work in this universe? Wondering how the girl can just the bulge while wearing a bikini.

Depends on the story. It's not always specified because some of this stuff is implied and it can be assumed that the reader understands the basics. Plus it's just the background setup and not the focus.

Most stories won't put much emphasis on explaining this stuff. You'll figure it out through the normal pace of the story. In this story they already discussed it's "Two Test" system, one of which is to check for outside external sex organs (mentioned a few chapters ago).

So you can assume why that kind of test would be useful for differentiating between Alphas, Omegas and Betas and what that might say about whether this story maintains common Alpha traits.

As for the bulge thing (and to put it crudely) the idea is often that the female Alpha can present how they want to when needed, so no bulge or anything because nothing is there.

last edited at Feb 27, 2024 9:43AM

Uhh, so I'm no expert on ABO stuff, but isn't marking in these stories usually something permanent? I recall it being super serious (more permanent than marriage), so Tang Chao suggesting it here in a casual way here is wild.

Depends on the story. This one hasn't specified yet (unless I've forgotten). Sometimes it is more permanent than marriage because you're marked for life, but not always (for example, in some stories the marking is temporary). Each story will normally specify these things through the narrative or other clues. I think someone said it's not much different than vampires. There's common vampire traits and rules. Some stories will follow the basics, others will have them sparkle.

last edited at Feb 26, 2024 10:05PM

Glad this is here. Really love the whole series with these two. This one and "I Live with my Boss" are all the sweeter knowing what they went through to get here.

last edited at Feb 26, 2024 9:22PM

How is this YuruYuri? Yes there are some elements of the relationships being used for comedy but YuruYuri as far as the anime went just had the gay element only for the sake of comedy and beating around the bush. This series has actual couples and even sex. There might be some pairings that excused the kiss as part of the trend, but there are very clearly canon couples here that have been progressing forward.

I think the short chapters are skewing their perception of the rest of the series. The chapters with development still come with regularity, but there's a lot of little gags and snippets that have been thrown in the mix that give the feeling that there's a lot more silly fluff than there used to be. Especially since the translators did a big catch-up on those at one point, so there were a lot of content dumps of short chapters for awhile.

They're just taking these lighthearted chapters far too seriously and running away with wild assumptions.

last edited at Feb 26, 2024 7:22PM

Yeah, as many people is saying I too felt like this chapter was kind of a deus ex machina device, I don't know how to solve the tension or don't want to step on the definitive line (yeap, this or that character is a lesbian) so I make them kiss as a joke to keep my readers happy and not bother the higher-ups. I know Kishi is a yuri author but this isn't serialized in a yuri magazine, hence, there's some stuff you can't show entirely so, welp.

Is this really an issue of higher ups not allowing yuri to be show? I mean mio and shizuka literally slept together in a very dramatic chapter showcasing the development of their relationship not too long ago

That's what I'm saying. It feels a bit like we're forgetting how upfront some of these couples are (that silent chapter was amazing, btw). This manga hasn't been at all coy about this stuff. Just depends on the current progress of the relationships. This was just a fun little thing in their daily lives, like normal.

last edited at Feb 26, 2024 2:35PM

This looks like Takemiya but I don't remember this. Where is it from?

You would be correct! It is from this One Shot

Also sorry for the wait. I basically posted and then immediately went to work.

Thanks! And no worries, I do the same all the time.

last edited at Feb 26, 2024 12:21PM

Cute chapter! Don't know what some of the worry is about?

This looks like Takemiya but I don't remember this. Where is it from?

last edited at Feb 25, 2024 11:26AM

Well hook line and sinker for me. This is quite interesting, I just want to see Miss Perfect fall head over heel and get desperate for love from our girl. She'll realize then she ain't perfect.

Tbh I think she did already
This entire thing feels like a desperate attempt to get our mc to catch on to miss perfects feelings / develop feelings for them.
Kinda like A Yuri Story About a Girl Who Insists "It's Impossible for Two Girls to Get Together" Completely Falling Within 100 Days

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Good shout. I hadn't thought about that series for a while.

last edited at Feb 24, 2024 1:53PM

SrNevik posted:

Asano

Asako.

Thanks.

I'm not quite sure what Miyako means when she says it's her fault though.

She's referring to the reason Asako wanted the car: to allow Miyako to travel without being seen. It's another reminder that she might not be able to provide Asako with the typical carefree life because she's still hiding from the spotlight. In her mind, Asako is already making changes based on this "difficult" lifestyle that their relationship creates and she seems to feel guilt about that being Asako's new normal. That's the central issue that's been building up, and also what this situation seems like it will bring to a head.

As for the director, I am assuming Miyako negotiated on her way out and that there may have been some casual understanding about what her leaving would look like. She might have broken some promise by being caught in public, or something similar.

last edited at Feb 23, 2024 6:31PM

Nope, I almost fell for it with that other series. They're both very similar too. Not falling for it again but hoping for the best.

last edited at Feb 23, 2024 8:49AM

You've missed some subtext, and maybe some text there. I'm absolutely sure Tianli liked Xingyuan, not Wang. That "Why couldn't it be me" isn't about the guy, it's about her. She's sitting there thinking about how Xingyuan explicitly told her she wasn't interested in her romantically, and literally almost texted her "Why don't you care about me?" The girl has it bad, and not only is Xingyuan saying she isn't interested, she's becoming steadily more distant and distracted.

Xingyuan's getting more popular as she gets more successful, and it's distracting her from Tianli, who she takes for granted. Meanwhile Tianli is realizing that she likes Xingyuan and is hurt that she's becoming more distant while also taking opportunities away from her. All of that pain and jealousy and unrequited love overflowed until she did something she regretted.

Not saying it makes her okay, but it's not the kind of jealous spite you seem to think it is.

I wouldn't call it text, there's some stuff we can interpret as potentially a romantic interest, but it could also be wanting to keep the attention of the cool popular girl who used to be very close to her and has left her behind. And those types of motivations can't explain all the elements in the chapter, like Xingyuan pulling ahead of her in the competition to get the study abroad scholarship Tianli's family was pushing her to get, and Wang, the guy she introduced to us as her crush, wanting Xiangyuan's contact info. She doesn't seem interested in him anymore, but that certainly doesn't mean she can't feel bitter about the thought of her best friend succeeding in yet another area where Tianli did not. And when she remembers Xiangyuan talking about not liking every girl, the image is not from that scene but rather Xiangyuan being popular with girls at school.

Is Tianli thinking "why couldn't it be me?" supposed to be her jealous of Xiangyuan being popular and successful and happy, or is it her being jealous of those other girls getting attention from Xiangyuan, or is it "why couldn't I be the girl she likes"? I think that's deliberately ambiguous. I don't think there's any one cut and dry "it's just this and not that" explanation for her actions, because I doubt she could fully tell you. Teenagers are stupid and impulsive like that. But spite or bitterness clearly seemed to be at least part of it. The framing makes it clear that no matter why she wanted to do it, she was doing it in the moment to hurt Xingyuan on purpose, and while she immediately regrets it she can't take it back. That's some real big heavy shit to deal with for them both. Xianyuan might tell her she's forgiven, but will the guilt go away? Will they be friends again? It doesn't seem likely right now.

Well put. Pretty much my feelings on her as well. At least for now. I'm leaning in the romantic direction though.

It's always cute/funny seeing that everyone around them considers them a couple already. Hinata's "family," their friends, and even people who don't know them well (maybe even the whole campus at this point), all know not to interfere with the couple. They live together, sleep together, have nearly died for each other, fight for each other, and are tied at the hip constantly. They're essentially married already. Just have to get Naori over her understandable personal hangups, and they're set.

Damn so Tianli deliberately outed her out of spite, yeesh. "She did better than me in school and the guy I liked wanted her contact info" is a pretty goddamn petty reason to betray a supposed best friend, yeah no shit Xingyuan isn't comfortable around her.

I think it's a bit more than that. She also seemed to desire attention from Xingyuan and was envious of the affection she was giving to others, more than anything. She seemed to feel abandoned in the way she felt abandoned by her family. I'm not sure that the guy really had much to do with it.

yeah it's pretty clear that had Tianli had the courage to send the "why don't you care about me message" that all of this would have gone very different, but ultimately the message she did end up sending to the guy while voicing the exact same frustration was sent to someone she should not have voiced it to.

Like not to say that she didn't do anything wrong, but pretty clearly her goal whether she realized it or not was to get Xingyuan to look HER way again to be HER best friend again, to be HER.....

But then of course she didn't manage to voice those feelings and her frustration with it all got her to write a very bad message to the exact wrong person and now it IS her fault that Xingyuan had to drop out of highschool, has her entire famliy breathing down her neck, and feels like she'll never get to be happy again. And yeah Tianli seems to realize that at least.

Especially since Tianli brought back up Xingyuan's line about "don't worry just because I like girls, doesn't mean I like any girl" while she was remembering Xingyuan with these new girls. I personally think Tianli resented it when Xingyuan said that line earlier. Then add on your "why don't you care about me" line and it feels more like Tianli was resentful of the attention Xingyuan was giving others. It reads to me like Tianli liked Xingyuan romantically back then and didn't handle her feelings well.

last edited at Feb 22, 2024 10:55AM

Damn so Tianli deliberately outed her out of spite, yeesh. "She did better than me in school and the guy I liked wanted her contact info" is a pretty goddamn petty reason to betray a supposed best friend, yeah no shit Xingyuan isn't comfortable around her.

I think it's a bit more than that. She also seemed to desire attention from Xingyuan and seemed envious of the affection Xingyuan was giving to others, more than anything. She seemed to feel abandoned in the way she felt abandoned by her family, wanted to separate Xingyuan from those people and wanted to harm Xingyuan for neglecting her (they were now asking for Xingyuan's contact info) and all of that led to a reflexive bad decision. I feel like she weaponized Xingyuan's sexuality as a method of getting those girls and others to leave Xingyuan alone. I'm not sure that the guy really had much to do with it, but I haven't done a close reading yet.

last edited at Feb 22, 2024 10:54AM

anyone who has read 99 and SS, are both of these side stories/future stories compared to the main LN? Last I read was volume 11 and want to know if adashima 99 comes right after it or just a collection of short stories in the universe.

99 is the collection of DVD short stories but with 2 new additional stories. SS is a collection of short stories as well. All in universe, for both.

last edited at Feb 22, 2024 5:57AM

What it isn't a cliché at this point ? Everything you read is a cliché of some sort and it's not even like this one is particularly common.

Yeah, there's nothing that hasn't been done. I think the execution is more important and the execution of this series has been pretty good. There's some nuance to how she reacted and what she has issues with. Just the subversion of the "jealous sabotaging friend" idea is worth some discussion. Looks like her advice/warning wasn't completely unwarranted.

last edited at Feb 21, 2024 1:37PM