Non-binary is trans. What makes someone trans is if they aren't cis, no matter if they're 'binary' or 'non-binary', and it's pretty clear Ren is not a cis woman. I don't understand this reluctance to call a clearly trans character what they are, trans.

This feels like saying asexual people are actually homosexual, because there's only heterosexuality and homosexuality, and therefore if you aren't heterosexual you must be homosexual.

Meisho Doto and their unnamed horse friend who was whipped by the dastardly TM Opera O

Shouya took that like a champ. I wonder if we'll get to see him being a supportive friend in the future.

Mitsuki is butch coded. Aya is femme coded. But they're not "lesbians" in the "real world" sense. Which is why so many people see them not as a lesbian couple, but as a typical straight couple with a twist.

I just read a bunch of "typical straight couples with a twist" in this month's yurihime release. They should probably change the name of the publication.

Apparently there are "correct" ways to be queer now, got it. I'll double check with my local queerness office to see if my boyfriend and I's relationship qualifies or if we lose our Q cards

I was being sarcastic. The rest of my comment, I thought would make that clear. Unless I'm misunderstanding your comment and you're actually just adding to mine. Otherwise, your comment is funny and I agree with it.

Ah fuck, I rage baited myself. Shit.

Well, I'm glad you found it funny, at least

Mitsuki is butch coded. Aya is femme coded. But they're not "lesbians" in the "real world" sense. Which is why so many people see them not as a lesbian couple, but as a typical straight couple with a twist.

I just read a bunch of "typical straight couples with a twist" in this month's yurihime release. They should probably change the name of the publication.

Apparently there are "correct" ways to be queer now, got it. I'll double check with my local queerness office to see if my boyfriend and I's relationship qualifies or if we lose our Q cards

All the awkward moments can be slated to "teens having a crush". Gender has never been an issue in term of relationship. Just in term of misunderstanding.

True, the metaphors are there, of course. In first place is the music as a "I have different tastes than the other girls/I don't like mainstream music like I'm supposed to". But it stays at the level of metaphors. Homosexuality or homophobia are never really present. Only their ghosts.

As for the implication that Aya is a lesbian, it just mentions that she has never really been interested in boys. But it doesn't mean she has ever been interested in girls either.

Mitsuki is butch coded. Aya is femme coded. But they're not "lesbians" in the "real world" sense. Which is why so many people see them not as a lesbian couple, but as a typical straight couple with a twist.

Imagine Mitsuki comes out as trans. Then the yuri tag flies out the window. It was never yuri.

Bait used to be believable

Even then don't just storm out of the room saying "I've had enough" the other person doesn't have mind reading skills. Just goddamn man, if you want the topic to be talked about then fucking talk about it, and if you're too frustrated then just tell it to the other person "I'm sorry, I don't have the right mindset rn" is that so hard to say?

Man, people just really hate characters being human beings nowadays don't they. If they aren't making 100% rational decisions, if they ever make poor choices (especially those influenced by their characterization), or if they don't act on meta knowledge we as the audience only know due to our omnipotent perspective on the story, you know people are going to whine about how "forced" the drama is or how the characters should just act like infallible robots that always make the optimal choices

She asks Mitsuki to talk about it and instead of letting her talk about it or even giving her a chance to respond she tells her she's had enough and just leaves to go to bed... What kind of half ass communication is that? We wanted them to actually talk it out. I mean I guess at least the elephant in the room is finally out there

If I had to guess, she may have been feeling herself getting more frustrated than she wants to be to have the discussion and worried she might say something she wouldn't truly mean or something hurtful in that frustrated state.

I personally had a discussion with my boyfriend a couple months ago, where his response to the initial broaching of the topic was a very frustrating and unsatisfying answer. I recognized that if I kept having that discussion right then, it would quickly devolve into me arguing with him and potentially saying hurtful things in my anger, so I just told him I needed to think about what he said and went to bed to cool off. With a little time to think and clear my head, we had a very good discussion on the matter a couple days later and settled it through talking things out.

3 chapters left.

Sauce?

So I decided to do a reread yesterday, to get a feel for the pacing and how the ending really slotted into everything without the delays from waiting for scanlation (thank you to the team btw), and... I don't think it was a terrible ending, it felt like the trajectory the series was sort of going, but I think giving Meguru a bit more time to fully accept her feelings and ask for forgiveness for having hurt Azuki would've been a good arc for a theoretical fourth volume, and it definitely felt like another volume was needed to properly wrap up Niji's story. I think in such a theoretical, the Niji/Remu arc would probably be the focus, especially since it really only got going in Vol3, with Azuki and Meguru finishing up their arc that started in Vol2 being sort of the "B plot". I also personally disagree about some people's ideas that Remu was developing romantic feelings for Azuki, but I also think it's an understandable position to come to. I think her worries with Azuki and Meguru making up and Azuki being "taken from her" were more a worry that Meguru would sanitize Azuki and Remu would lose the one person she felt she could confide in about her fantasies. I think that plotline actually got a decent resolution, when Azuki declared that they would be allies for life, and I think a theoretical Vol3 leading into a Vol4 would keep the points of Remu being confronted by Meguru and then confronting Niji, with a similar resolution (maybe less direct acceptance from Meguru and more of a "maybe it isn't any of business" sort of response).

Overall, I think the ending is alright, and doesn't ruin my having read this series, but I think it really needed one more volume to earn its endings.

If the boyfriend doesn't have a secret girlfriend himself, he is very patient at least, especially for a teenager. It still feels weird to stick with a person that is so openly unenthusiastic. They went on some dates but there was no desire from Ritsu to be close. They feel like they are barely getting along as acquaintances.

I totally expected Yarai to unearth some dirt about Shouya after asking about his first name, just something along the lines of "oh that Shouya? I thought he was XY-chan's boyfriend?"

"And then they fucked" hell yeah Azuki top your girl

I love how much tonal whiplash there is in this series, somehow balancing Hesha and Jolene being off in their own little lovey-dovey world with Faye being intentionally traumatized, gaslit, and manipulated while caught up in a political game way above her level seemingly without her knowledge, all of which has ways of tying into one another in a surprisingly coherent way. This is deranged in all the right ways and I always look forward to new chapters because I have no idea where it's taking me next

RyuNui... Good times

So far I'm not really sold on the premise here. It's interesting and well illustrated, but something about the protagonist wanting to fight fate and it also being a very obvious romance with an end goal just doesn't gel with the characters.

I think that the idea of a world where romance is supposedly absolute, and a girl who hates that and longs to dispell the idea entirely, is pretty compelling (especially since she's queer). But the upshot of this story seems to be clearly building towards the protagonist learning to accept her fate instead. It feels like a weird way to tell the story, and is one of those series where even though it's yuri, it feels like it lacks the bite of an actual queer narrative. The total lack of homophobia, or even the fact that every single other couple we've seen in the story that does have the red string has been straight, just makes the plot feel a little lifeless.

It reminds me of when a character says something along the lines of "Idk if I like women or not, I just like you" and how we're expected to see that as a romantic gesture I guess? But it always reads as kinda shallow to me.

I'm biased because I've always been a little put off by soulmate tropes, but this series feels like it set itself up to critique the idea of soulmates, but then decided to just play it straight

Fabled homophobic queer media

The way the mangaka depicts Haru "breaking out" and singing how she wants always makes me think she's doing death metal growls.

Maybe I should diversify my musical tastes a bit...

Yukari definitely needs to come out quick, before we get half a dozen chapters of Shouko trying to pull away because she doesn't want another straight girl crush.

I hope we get a "I don't think it's gross because I like a girl too", sweeping her crush on Shouko aside (cuz it'd be rude to confess to someone who just had their heart broken), which then causes Shouko to try and figure out who it is Yukari is crushing on. Maybe add in some surprised feelings of jealousy to get balls rolling

Please Xian Jun, give us a lewd chapter next. Please God I need this

Is it weird if I found the violence in this one (other than the guy strangling Rinne) a bit comedic? This is a combination of tags I'd usually avoid, but this one just felt goofy to me, in a good way.

This is pre time skip or post time skip? I cannot tell based on Mitzuki's and Aya's hair length.

I assume all the chapters are in chronological order except any bonuses/extras

Oof, yeah, definitely read that as Aoyama got statutory'd by an upperclassman she at least admired and trusted, but probably also had started developing feelings for. A lot of unpleasant emotional scabs have suddenly been pulled open for her, ones she might not have even known she had, and it's understandable but not excusable that she'd lash out at Kasumi about it. As someone said before, I don't think Aoyama really knew what she wanted to get out of talking to Kasumi, but also felt like something needed to be done.

In a way, I guess I was right with my prediction. She's been waiting for some kind of response, but it also seems like she's been dreading one. Really interested to see how this one keeps developing.

Are they... y'know
European?

alright everyone place your bets now. Is this new character and new arc gonna give us box cutters or sunflowers?

I wonder how long it's been since our new senpai wrote that original letter. It was there when Yamabe was in High School, and I can't recall if it was mentioned how long it's been since she graduated. Could our assistant librarian have been waiting since middle school for an acknowledgement? Would she even remember if it's been that long?

Photorealistic fried rice jumpscare

Thanks for finishing the translation and uploading, what a nice ending. I'd love to see more of the two of them dating, but I assume we've gotten all the extras we're getting