Hah, I think Yurika's mom has figured out that she has a crush on Minamo.

This is actually pretty great, especially for fanfiction.

Kurumi had a bit of character growth in this chapter (17) at the end when she realizes that the "still be friends after break-up" part was entirely for herself.

She isn't willing to fully reciprocate Ruriko's feelings but wants to keep their relationship special anyway. Perhaps realizing this will be a catalyst for change.

This is published on Twitter, but is there a good way to give the author money?

Big <3 for rescue cats!

I felt the first book of the LN was pretty weak too. The characters weren't given enough time to breathe and it just jumps between plot points from the train onwards in a kind of lurching way.

Thankfully, books 2 through 4 were far better paced -and- fixed the "future Akari feels like a Deus Ex Machina" problem.

If anyone else here read book 1, thought "this feels rushed and kind of bleh", I recommend checking out the second book.

The high level of moral ambiguity leading to frequent shifting of alliances makes book 2+ (manga ch 13+) feel like Fullmetal Alchemist in more ways than one.

last edited at Jun 5, 2022 9:35AM

"It'd be weird if someone didn't have someone they liked"

No you blue haired jerk, that's not weird. I know this isn't a manga about asexuality, but that's really annoying to read lol

weird/abnormal/not normal =/= bad

Being incapable of romantic love is, from practically every perspective, certainly not normal - whether you equate being not normal to bad is on you.

These terms and feelings ('weird', 'normal', 'abnormal', 'disorder', and even things like 'disease') are kind of a mess in our society, even if you ignore LGBTQ+ concerns.

Even if we view "normalness" in a completely objective way using statistics, where do we put the line? Basically, the first problem lies in that 'normal' is a binary metric in a lexical sense. This means any debate over 'normal' vs 'abnormal' requires both parties to constantly define the terms and thresholds involved, as well as their rationale for using those thresholds (ideally backed by broad studies of word perception for a given population).

And this isn't even touching on the second, arguably larger problem: that some of these words have a connotation that is negative (sometimes very negative) even if the denotation does not suggest that.

Like if a small child (female) came up to you and asked if them liking girls made them weird, you would probably say "no" out of hand. This is because you know that the answer this child is looking for is about acceptance, not about statistics.

For a non-LGBT example, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) uses the term 'disorder'. This term means 'contrary to the order of things'. From a purely denotational perspective, not only is this accurate, but it is probably also an accurate description of the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum. It is fairly easy to argue from a purely statistical perspective that being a lesbian is a 'disorder' and 'abnormal'.

Obviously, nobody reasonable would use that language to describe LGBTQ+ people because of the extremely negative connotation (especially on 'disorder'). On a related note, there has been increasing pushback against using the term 'disorder' in both ASD and DSD (Disorders of Sexual Development - a clinical umbrella term for most intersex conditions) for this exact reason. The latter is often called Differences in Sexual Development now as a result.

I don't know other languages very well so I'm not sure how much of this is an English problem and how much of it is just a "humans associate frequency with correctness" problem (we tend to view rare things as bad). Some of it is also a "medical terminology adapted as self-identification terminology" issue.

I'm not sure how to fix any of it either. Even if we switch the terms out for ones that have cleaner connotations (which does make sense), if the problem is really just human nature, then we'll just have the same problem 50-100 years from now. To use the DSD example, a century from now 'differences' may seem as offensive to us as 'disorders' is now. I guess that's a problem for future generations, though.

/Weird(probably)SideRant

last edited at Jun 2, 2022 1:17AM

Clearly the National Suicide Hotline should just hire cute lesbians to patrol the streets. Fixes everything.

I mean if they kill him and escape the island... happy ending possible?

I am not a fan of how this anal sex setup was achieved.

I know this is basically a hentai work, and I'm probably overanalyzing, but if you have to pressure your partner this frequently for anal, and they keep saying No but you keep trying it anyway, you're not listening to them.

Then this chapter we see in her internal monologue that she really doesn't want to do it, but tells her partner she is ready because she wants to please her partner, who has been constantly pushing for this.

I think the story is probably set up for us to assume that she's in denial and actually does want to do anal play (just like she was initially in denial about how good everything else felt), but this just felt wrong to me (maybe because it hits too close to the issue where anal sex is pushed on men to an extreme degree and normalized despite a large amount of women not being fans of the idea).

Just my two cents, and I know I am overanalyzing this.

Not a big music person, but I love this kind of story, where a romantically-assertive girl chases another one who didn't get a chance early on to clarify their gender (and doesn't correct the person later because they find they kind of like it).

Kind of like a coming of age story but with different cliches, so it feels fresher.

Also, the art style is fantastic. I really like how the artist manages to bring across the character's feelings without solely using blushing. The facial expressions are very emotive, and the light application of blushing (whereas many are heavy-handed with this) does so much more in my opinion to immerse the reader.

"I split my ass on the night bus."
"Your ass is split to begin with."

What does that mean? Is it an idiom to say she sat for so long that her buttcheeks became separated?

No. At least in English, this wording is just an alternative for "ouch, my aching backside" or other similar expressions. Her response is actually common. It's actually so particular it makes me wonder if it is a reference, either here or in the original Japanese.

And this arc has finished! Looking forward to what's coming next.

My comments as a Light Novel reader (spoilers in case you wanna swap to the LN some day)
This is a moment I've been looking forward to for a while now. And honestly, I feel the manga kinda lets it down. Lene and her brother were much more sympathetic in the Light Novel as unwitting accomplices blackmailed into betraying the people they loved, rather than mostly willing participants who didn't quite think things through (that's not to say they weren't entirely innocent in the LN ). But this moment also felt so much more bittersweet LN, because you felt they weren't entirely being fairly punished. Claire crying into Rei's arms felt more emphasized and it ending on a less mysterious note. Either way, I'm gonna keep reading.

I mean... as both an LN reader and a manga reader, I feel like they were incredibly lucky to live. Hell, even in modern society they would be lucky to get anything but life in prison.

They tried to destroy a school and destabilize a government on behalf of a foreign country (blackmail or not doesn't change those facts). This isn't just a medieval society being unreasonable in its punishment.

Let's not forget that in both versions the brother rigs that wand that covers an unwitting innocent in 3rd degree burns. They ruined lives.

wow how did i miss this? just binge-read all of it

It was uploaded on Dynasty only recently, was already at Chapter 21.

The yandere bit is very much out of nowhere.

What was exactly going on with the boys during Minamo's thought monologue?

It started with them teasing that one guy who is obsessed with Minamo, then he left and Yurika bumped into them. And then there's some blushing on both sides and some girls gossiping quietly across the hall. Is Yurika getting outed here or is it something else?

Maybe one of the guys confessed or invited her to that party.

Does anyone know where I can read the translated light novel version of "A Yuri Story About a Girl Who Insists "It's Impossible for Two Girls to Get Together" Completely Falling Within 100 Days"?

NovelUpdates has the links to the translations. Meatbuns did translations of volumes 1 and 2. I've read those; they're good, but you have to forgive some typos and grammar mistakes (this is common though). Haven't read the volume 3 stuff yet. I honestly thought volume 2 was the end of the series because the end was so natural. Guess I need to catch up.

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/onna-doushi-to-ka-arienai-deshou-to-iiharu-onna-no-ko-wo-hyakunichi-kan-de-tetteiteki-ni-otosu-yuri-no-ohanashi/

I already owned the chapters apparently, just didn't connect them in my head because the titles were different (and apparently hadn't gotten to reading them yet).

Got to say, I like the translation from knight heron more. I feel like the official translation leaves out quite a few words in many speech bubbles. It's done for the sake of brevity, but it comes at a sizeable cost to depth. There's a few speech bubbles on Chapter 2 that just don't make sense as translated in the official version.

It's not terrible or anything, but I found myself wondering in later chapters "what did they leave out of this speech bubble in order to make the font this big?"

last edited at Apr 12, 2022 6:02AM

This is a crazy one. Also not the biggest fan of the chibi art style, but it's not a deal breaker.

I really like this one. The characters are pretty relatable. It's nice to see an accepting family and some friends for Yurika. Minamo is an interesting second lead, and it highlights some of the hardships of poverty.

There's a few interesting hooks into future plot threads at the moment in the story (chapter 21). First, it seems like something went very wrong in Yurika's past relationship, but we've only gotten hints as to what happened there. Also, both Yurika and the teacher have also asked Minamo if somebody hasn't been coming to class recently. Tsubame is more than a little obsessed with Tsukie, and the story implies that she has some psychological issues (showing a thrice daily prescription during the obsession narration). Lastly, of course, there seems to be signals (blushing, heart flutter thoughts, etc) of a brewing romance between the two leads. This is most obvious on Yurika's end, and she does seem consciously aware of it (while Minamo is not).

Yeah, that's a good one. If we're recommending light novels; A Lily Blooms in Another World is decent and I'm In Love With The Villainess is fantastic.

I read a whole article about this and yet I still came here unsure of what term I'm supposed to use (lol), but I'm looking for recommendations for novels involving F/F romance, without that meaning that the primary genre has to be romance though. I'm curious about adventure (in either a fantasy or realistic setting) and sci-fi stories, but historical drama or slice-of-life would also be good. I don't really mind the age of the characters, but I don't want an age gap romance. Incest is also out (note: step-sisters who haven't grown up together are okay). Oh, and no vampires/werewolves please. NSFW scenes are okay, but not as the main focus.

I'd rather it be available online ('cause I can't afford to have them in my library for a number of reasons...), so webnovels and amateur original works are more than welcome, as long as they are completed.

As for what to call it, there's a lot of answers and it usually depends on where it is from. Western fan fiction and amateur works often use F/F, femslash, or WLW. Western published novels tend to be under Lesbian Fiction (shortened to Lesfic by fans), though the Girls' Love (GL) term is finally gaining some ground outside amateur circles, especially on online platforms. Manga, manhua, and manhwa usually use Yuri (which you probably already know).

I've read a good 400 or so Lesfic novels in the past 5 years, more if we count amateur works. Personally, I tend to avoid fantasy and sci-fi settings in general because most of the Lesfic novels I've read in those subgenres are not particularly great. It seems like the genre isn't mature enough in this particular area, and even some of the mildly popular stuff feels like self-insert power fantasy, which can really take me out of things. That said, it's obviously not all bad (nor is this problem endemic to Lesfic, see popular mainstream titles like Ready Player One for non-GL examples).

Anyway, here's a few of my favorites that fit your requirements, spread out among different themes:
* The Lily and The Crown - One of my favorite Lesfic stories of all time, and it is even Sci-Fi. It manages to capture some really unique emotional spaces and situations, and it comes up in my thoughts periodically even years after reading it. There is a bit of age gap between the characters but... it isn't ever really relevant, and the younger lead is still in her 20s.
* Poppy Jenkins - Nice little romance novel about a quiet Welsh town.
* Chasing Stars - Superhero romance. Good change of pace.
* Gideon The Ninth - This is the least romance-focused suggestion, but it is so unique and interesting I would have considered reading it even if there wasn't any romance at all.
* About That Kiss - One of many Hollywood/actress-focused romance novels. This is my personal favorite of that setting.
* Tryst Six Venom - This is a really weird one because the leads start off hating each other so strongly. I almost stopped reading about a quarter of the way in, but it actually kind of became an odd favorite.

Also after typing up this post, I remembered there is a dedicated thread here for Lesbian Fiction in other media, which probably has a lot more book suggestions, though I do remember that it focused a lot on movies and TV shows.

I have complicated feelings about this one.

I really related to some bits of this. Either the author is trans or is really good at empathy because the "I can't stand men, especially myself" bit is straight out of my own thought process in my darker times. Additionally, the "I was planning to disappear, so nobody had to hate me or feel disappointed" line of thought is also something I have considered often.

But what they did to Botan was absolutely savage. They ruined her life and their own family by extension. Then Kasumi reveals she really isn't into girls or willing to have a life without marriage, children, etc. Then everyone is so crippled by poverty that they all have to give up all their dreams and ambitions.

Realistic? Yes, but maybe realism this stark isn't what I wanted at the end of a trans story.

Cute and wholesome with a touch of lewdness. Love it.

Totally agree.

As an aside, I bought Scarlet Vol 2 in English and found out first hand why nobody ever finished translating that one. Nobody deserves to have to read that ending. Yikes.

It's one of those "then everyone died. The end." kind of deals that was obviously written on the spot (because there's loads of unhandled plot threads).

last edited at Mar 25, 2022 2:56PM

I found Volume 2 and 3 to be enjoyable. It's all complicated, messy, and shockingly realistic.

If you liked the first 7 chapters, then you will like the stuff up through Volume 3.