I mean, I get it. An author wants to add twists and surprises and emotional reactions from the readers. I'm just not too keen on how it was done in this chapter - telling the readers they're still together after the timeskip could have used a bit more seriousness rather than be revealed with a forced bait-and-switch.
Some of the reactions are really curious to me but the issue is responding to them makes this seem even more of an issue then it needs to be. It's a simple chapter with a well used and innocent joke; I don't get the problem. What really needs more seriousness? Was anyone actually worried they'd be breaking up? The previous chapters were happy. What explains the worry? It's also 4 pages. It's not as though it was multiple chapters of wondering. It was a few panels--a page. Any doubt should have lasted .5 seconds, then got a chuckle. Is that really too much?
The thing is, yes, the doubt only lasts 0.5 seconds - but after that, it still isn't funny to me. Maybe Aya saying "did she bring a girl home ?" lands as a joke for some, but to me it comes off as poor taste and out of character, like the chapter prioritized a quick "gotcha" over telling their story. And honestly ? Because they're together, because they're in love, because the series is meant to be fluffy, the real Aya would never think like that if it wasn't true. Same with calling Mitsuki just a "roommate". That's what stings.
That said, it really is a matter of taste. If you enjoy this kind of meta joke (one that works from author to reader but not from within the characters themselves) the chapter probably lands well. But if you're more invested in the story's internal perspective, extra-diegetic jokes like this can feel jarring and fall flat.
Could be that it’s just that establishing that there was a time skip, that the MCs are living together, and executing the joke was a bit much to try to do in 4 pages.
Maybe, yes. I think really the two elements that would have made this land better would be to not do it right after a timeskip, where their current situation is not clearly established to the readers (it's less about genuine doubt, and more about not using plausible uncertainty to make such jokes), and to make the joke as something that comes out in the characters' own voices, for example, Aya teasing Mitsuki with a playful "did you bring a girl home ?" (which feels in-character) rather than framing it as if she's genuinely worried.
If I had to sum it up in one line : pretending they might have broken up as a joke just isn't funny to me.
last edited at Sep 28, 2025 11:25AM
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