both funny and cute chapter... tho i guess TL now believes its not yuri, actually, becuase they didnt translate oshi at all?

ok, so for those who want to read the light novel starting from vol 3 onward... youre gonna need to either torent the tl, or use wayback machine. Basically: the LN translator decided to focus on school and getting a scholarship, so he archived the TL as to not get distracted, and will resume it once he has more time on his hand

Speaking of the Light Novel: its actually pretty good, give it a read

I've gotta ask, what's the LN/web novel like past this point? Is there much more drama, do either Aya or Marika ever have sex with some one else, or is it mostly just smut of the two of them?

I don't mind a full spoiler reply I need to know if I am going to hate reading this or not.

Alright spoilers incoming. I'll use spoiler brackets for actual events but themes are just going to be out in the open.
Keep in mind that the manga is a somewhat streamlined story, the events are pretty much just the first and half the second books but thematically Marika's whole journey is in just that small chunk, the books spread it out more.

Vol 1 is about Marika realising that she likes Aya. Its chief antagonist is Asta, who is Marika's foil as someone who has already embraced her sexuality and doesn't see a problem with standing out.

Vol 2 is about Marika embracing Aya as her girlfriend and getting to know more about her. Its chief antagonist is Sae the girl who tried to stab Aya in middle school, she is Aya's foil in that she used her trauma as an excuse to stop moving forward rather than rebuilding herself.

Vol 3 is about Marika struggling with her internalised shame about dating someone of the same gender, she's still not there folks. Its chief antagonist is Reina who discovers Marika and Aya are going out, she functions as a kind of nega!Marika, someone who uses her popularity for evil and has not grown out of her homophobic beliefs.

Vol 4 is about Marika bonding with other queer girls and finding community outside of weird sex stuff with Aya. Its chief antagonist (not really) is Natsumi who gets rejected at the end, exposing Marika to a different way to be queer. Vol 4 is really special because of how much it grounds Marika's sense of queerness. A lot of stuff happens in this one despite it feeling like a filler episode.

Vol 5 is about Marika placing herself within the queer community and thinking about the future of her relationship. Its chief antagonist is Karen whose backstory we finally get as she leaves town for a week to chase the woman she fell in love with fresh out of high school. Marika has to grapple with her relationship to Aya not being uniquely special and therefore subject to all the regular struggles a relationship goes through. Nevertheless she comes out publicly at the end. I cried.

Vol 6 I haven't read yet but I'm looking forward to it! These crazy kids are still in love and still not quite done stepping on each other, I love reading about them.

i just read volume 2 of the novel, but i cant find later volumes translated, where have you guys read it? did yall read it in the original japanesse?

WERE BACK! WERE FINALLY FUCKING BACK!

DYNASTY SCANS LIVES

I still kinda hope that Mitsuki is still coming, somehow, cuz Chizuru convinced her to not sacrifice the tickets and she will just talk to Aya and make up... but we will see

Virgin "Be honest with your cursh and talk to them" parental advice vs Chad "SHOW BOOBS" Hinoka's Mom Advice

to be fair to the friend, from her POV, her close friend suddenly became best friends, maybe even more, with some random girl she barely even interacted with before

still, i hope this drama doesnt last that long

A fairly "classic" development. Doubt it'll take long to resolve.

this drama will last 2 more chapters, no less, no more

ok the raws are out

now we wait

it's also kinda odd that miorine's first thought was "BUT WHAT IF SHE RAPED ME???"
very normal of her <:-|

Seriously, what the hell was that last panel???

I think the "but we're both girls" trope is a lot more realistic than pretending being gay is the default in the story. Like the person above me said a girl might be worried about losing her friend and she doesn't even bother to think if said friend is into girls without having asked. At some point I just can't even suspend my disbelief. And then all the side characters turn out to be gay too?
Sure, it's a bit tiring to have to go through that denial phase in every story but given the high school setting I think that's the normal thing to go through. I went through it and a lot of people living in more homophobic environments did as well...

For me, and I think a lot of people, we already had enough of the homophobia experience IRL. I really don't care if it's realistic, I have absolutely zero, zilch, nada interest in reading about it in fiction. I certainly don't feel like it breaks suspension of disbelief in any way; the key to suspension is internal consistency. As long as a story is internally consistent, there's nothing to disbelieve; stories don't have to take place in our homophobic timeline. In the same way there are fantasy worlds with magic -- including ones with contemporary settings -- there are 'fantasy' worlds where being gay is normal, and to me that's just lovely.

That's not to say that it's a bad thing to write stories that are true to our own timeline, as I'm sure a great many people also appreciate having stories to relate to their experiences of discrimination, but just as many people read fiction for escapism from the more unpleasant aspects of our reality and it's perfectly valid to write that kind of story.

Tropes are just tools meant to be used by a writer. Both a gay story with "BUT WERE BOTH THE SAME GANDER" and a gay story with no homophobia in the setting can work, and it all depends on a execution. I also think that both conventions, with homophobia existing in the setting, and no homophobia in the setting, have thier own values. Sometimes its nice to read a story about overcoming your own and soicety's prejudices to find happiness with your loved one, but its also nice to read a story where a couple is allowed to just exist the same way a straight one does

i guess no chapter today, cuz Christmas... sadge

... fifty love interests? the hell kind of VN is this?

anyway, I'm hyped that they finally, finally, managed to open up about their feelings. I was worried a VS window would pop up between them right before they kissed or something.

Speaking of, the the aftereffects of the succubus blood will wear off eventually, right? How is the VS going to adapt to things going so far off its rails?

The most ambitous and high budget VN in the history of VNs, probably

So the story ends with ... Hinako and Asahi becoming besties

Yay!

Really, I thought Hinako's reluctance to be intimate with that guy in the beginning was because she was gay, not because she dislikes intimacy in general. What a weird resolution to an otherwise OK romantic story.

Well, another one done and dusted, I guess.

they are a couple now, how the hell did you interpret it otherwise??

we stan the ace lesbian queens

Aya helps Mitsuki come out of her shell, and Mitsuki is someone who can fully understand Aya and her passion for western rock for the first time, and even help her connect more with her normie friends

God, i love this ship so much

when you beat the "main couple broke up off screen" allegations

Iirc, author said it was a story about teens being troubled about their sexuality, NOT their gender.

There isn't a speck of evidence Mitsuki ever wished to be a guy. She's just not conforming to the standard of girls around her, be it what she wears or what music she likes, but that doesn't make her any less of a girl. People equating "dressing/acting like a guy" with "wanting to be a guy" are trying to erase butch lesbians from existence.

THATS NOT WHAT I FUCKING MEANT, I NEVER INTENTED TO ERASE ANYONE

god, i shouldve just shut up

i celarly stated that i dont believe its a trans story, yet all of you fuckers twisted my words, for no fucking reason

i hope everyone of you is proud of themselves, cuz now i feel like crying

MITSUKI, AYA, YOU USELESS LESBIANS

So, i want to add my 2 cents to the story so far as a whole....

This story is kinda similar to Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl, in that its esentally a trans story but without actual trans characters. Mitsuki's situation feel kinda to me, as a transfem, like if a trans person didnt tell their potential new partner that theyre trans, for any of the diffrent reasons trans people sometimes act like that. Obviously, mitsuki isnt trans and probably wont be, but you get what im saying, right?

last edited at Nov 4, 2022 10:58AM

YESSSSS! FUCKING FINALLY! Tho i have no idea whats gonna happen now, we migth see a few chapters of drama and angst... or maybe not lol. We'll see