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I've been reading Adachi and Shimamura lately since a friend recommended it. (the novel) I have to say it moved me to the core. So beautiful. I've never read anything like this before and I absolutely loved it... My heart was warmed so much it almost hurt. Especially because the story extends far into the future with the two of them still so happily together. Living together 5 years later, 10 years later, even decades later their love and affection only grows deeper. So utterly wonderful that is. Another striking thing is... this was my life several years ago. It's nuts how similar it really is. I have the same kind of personality as Shimamura, the same problems. It was kinda freaky at times reading practically my own thoughts from a first person perspective knowing them all too well. Never seen anything like that. That everything turns out so beautifully brought me a familiar kind of joy I've never experienced before when reading a story. Years ago, I also had an 'Adachi' that sat with me and told me lovely things while I remained completely oblivious to her extremely obvious feelings. As the kids say, I guess you could call me painfully "useless". It seems insane but you really can have someone sit in your lap telling you how nice you smell, with them staring into your eyes, holding your hand almost every day, and think... what a nice friend, even if she's a little weird, how cool, and just leave it at that. She also had an eventual meltdown - except she wrote me her thoughts in a letter - and eventually told me things that led to a certain awakening in me which I imagine you can guess the nature of. I said yes to that, and one day on a trip to the beach a couple of years later I said yes to her once again. And here we are now. One thing that absolutely killed me reading this series was the 4th extra story that comes with the blurays where it's 70 years later and Shimamura has outlived everyone else... including Adachi. Oh god. It broke my heart to see her imagining Adachi with her there, talking to her even though she knows she's gone forever. I've sometimes thought of the same thing, hoping I'd be the first to go, because I know I could never take it the other way around. To be honest I cried. I full on sobbed. When I reached the end I ran to my wife and told her how much I love her in so many ways, and stayed there hugging her for for quite a while. It hit me really hard. Long story short, I guess I'm a serious sucker for romance stories and I had no idea lmao  
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Aug 12, 2023 04:26
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RuBisCO posted:I wish the manga version (the only version I've read) was more caught up, because I feel like it'll be a long time before I get the whole story. As someone who relates more to Adachi, it's all a bit too painful and I just want the poor girl to find her own happiness, whatever that may be. The chapter "Shimamura's Sword" was one of the most heart-breaking, uncomfortable things I've read, and the fallout from it made me physically anxious. That being said, I can't recommend the novels enough. While I've never read romance before, I have read plenty of other genres and yet this really stuck out to me. That introspective first person viewpoint of the characters is quite something - it switches perspective often between Adachi and Shimamura, and even their parents and friends at times, and it's cool to see things from all sides like that. I have to find more stuff like this  e: Oops, forgot to answer the question lol quote:Your thoughts do make me feel quite a bit more optimistic on the series. I suppose I'm just impatient, but the manga release is dreadfully slow and the official English release is slower still. Out of curiosity, how much has the manga adapted if the latest chapter is when Adachi finally realizes she loves Shimamura? It's very cute. Shimamura, already knowing how she feels, encourages and persues her herself. Ha! Currently there are 11 volumes.
StupidNameNobody fucked around with this message at 06:05 on Sep 17, 2023 |
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Aug 12, 2023 06:37
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Thank you. Nobody is happer about it than me, believe me. Edit: I was totally oversharing lol StupidNameNobody fucked around with this message at 09:02 on Aug 16, 2023 |
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Aug 12, 2023 07:39
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Why thirst when you can pour your own drink 
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Aug 17, 2023 12:42
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Snooze Cruise posted:Sal Jiang's Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko is finally all uploaded if anyone is in the mood for something OL related. Ultimately I prefer my Sal Jiang more deranged but all in all I think this wrap up in a satisfactorily conclusion, even if it meander a bit to get there. Also, yeahhhhh 
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Aug 19, 2023 01:52
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RuBisCO posted:Cross-posting from the general romance thread cause I think it may be relevant here!, I wrote up some thoughts on a GL author I adore: I don't think my heart can take that last one though. Holy crap...
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Aug 19, 2023 01:54
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Nuebot posted:It might just be me not reading enough stuff (and I need to read more obviously) but I really thought it touching on the generational differences and internal conflicts of people who simply have/want different things in their social and private lives and still managing to make things work together, to some degree, owns. Unlike a lot of series where it would have ended like halfway through the series with the "I can't be who you want me to be" sort of scene and been really depressing.  I agree though. Part of what warmed me up to it is breaking through exactly that barrier. Let love prevail, and warm me to the core, please. 
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Aug 19, 2023 23:43
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I read 'Our Teachers are Dating!" and I really enjoyed the hell out of it. Just a completely unashamed and joyful celebration of love. 👩❤️👩🥰 This is going on the shelf. Also they get married in the end and it shows the ceremony and everything. Yes! Yesssssss!! Yay!!
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Aug 26, 2023 02:06
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Yep, I Love Amy is very beautiful. I had just been reading it lately, great timing on just reaching a conclusion now! 😍 Bibi wiping away Amy's tears. Proposal. Burying Snowball. My heart.😭 Also lol same 
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Sep 1, 2023 05:37
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gnome7 posted:The author's afterword was a real treat. The kids! So wonderful 😁
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Sep 1, 2023 05:50
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Just finished 'Bloom Into You'. Apparently quite a famous example of the genre. I was really impressed by this one. The author is so amazingly skilled. First of all, the characters are just awesome all around; they are smart and their interactions aren't driven by stupid misintepretations or misunderstandings, but by their quite clear goals and aspirations that just happen to differ greatly. And even though it's set in a school - something I find really dull - it leverages it in such an interesting way I didn't find myself caring about that at all. The meta-narrative with the play and subsequent rewriting of its ending is so ingenious. I only know you! Ahhh, so good. Despite being a slow developing story of love, it always feels like it's moving fast. And what a couple - two incredibly capable and kickass people. Love it. And the drama of it. Touko moving a step towards the train tracks as she considers what lies ahead for her after following her sister all the way to the end of her life is heartbreaking. And it's just as satisfying and wonderful that her friends and eventual lover help her define her own self and future. It feel so earned. Sayaka is such a cool character too. Why is she so awesome? I'm not sure, but that lady owns incredibly hard to me. A die hard rock of a woman that just calls for my respect. drat. I also watched the animated adaptation and my only disappointment there is that it didn't reach the end of the original work in terms of plot, and doesn't seem that it ever will. What a brilliant adaptation though. It really captures so much of the source and was clearly made with love for the original work. Nice, nice nice.
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Sep 10, 2023 03:49
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One other recent read that stands out: 'Getting to Know Grace'. This is the kind of setting I always imagined romance stories to be - a period piece full of lovely nobles and the struggles of such a world. This kind of setting is generally of no interest to me at all... But drat, Grace just kicks so much rear end. She is just so cool. Lesbian fire in a world of pale water. I love a story of a woman with nothing to lose who just lets it loving rip, stabbing, poisoning, and generally loving up noble bastards along the way with not a regret to be seen. And boy do those bastards have it coming. You go girl. Her love may not even love her back and she knows it, yet she's going to make her happy and save her anyway, even though it will kill her. She is a true hero that inspires others in her wake. That really moves my heart. Wow! StupidNameNobody fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Sep 10, 2023 |
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Sep 10, 2023 04:06
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I didn't! Thanks.
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Sep 10, 2023 04:42
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Another week, another gay-as-hell romantic read! This is actually my favourite so far and will be difficult to top: 'Ring My Bell' by Yeongol. This is a romantic comedy with the cutest couple. The two leads Mai and Chungyeon are just so incredibly wonderful to witness. The author is really great - her artwork and writing are awesomely expressive whether it's love or comedy. It's just great fun. I also really like the story structure - their getting together is the midpoint, not the ending. I prefer stories where an admission of love is not the end. I want to see their happiness not just their struggles! The way they act in general is just so heartfelt and loving that it really warms me. There's some really nice character development too. Chanmi, who starts out being a nasty homophobe, becomes quite lovable in her own right later down the line. I love how her preconceptions and prejudices become painful and wrong to her in the light of the reality she faces in her oldest friend, and how the timing plays out with her and the main couple. It's a story full of little flourishes that make it so heartwarming and funny. Overall, more than anything, it is simply beautiful. Really left me gushing.
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Sep 16, 2023 04:55
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Nuebot posted:Huh, I thought bato.to died. Thanks, though! Having something cute to read after the stressful rear end week I've had is perfect. Snooze Cruise posted:ring my bell is one of my fav manwhas. love my homophobic christian girl side couple 🥺 I'm curious what else you might recommend along the same lines.
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Sep 16, 2023 22:44
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Thanks!
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Sep 17, 2023 04:29
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Snooze Cruise posted:You could check out the author's recent series, Happiness Rides a Broomstick that is currently on going. Jolyne Cujoh posted:Since you said you're fairly new to romance manga, you might not have checked out Kase San and Morning Glories! It's a fairly standard high school romance, but with two twists: They get together very quickly, and the author followed it up with a sequel, Yamada and Kase-San, which follows the girls as their relationship continues to develop once they've gone to college! Also was adapted to an anime film that is very cute. Jolyne Cujoh posted:It Would Be Great If You Didn't Exist/Wish You Were Gone is one of my personal favs. A guy cheats on his girlfriend, but oops both the girls he was dating are bi and they dump him and get together instead. The comedic moments remind me a lot of the super exaggerated comedy in Ring my Bell, though it also gets way more serious when it gets serious. Snooze Cruise posted:Ise-san and Shima-san occupies a similar place in my brain for me. Similar lite comedic feel. Its "subtext" (though one is a lesbian). Thanks for all the recommendations everyone. I'll be reading them all when I get the time!
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Sep 23, 2023 07:05
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Some fun little Ring My Bell extras from Yeongol's twitter.   
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Sep 30, 2023 21:21
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Shiori and Yuki One-off featuring a woman who gets together with a single mom after a chance encounter with their little daughter. It's very beautiful. 
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Oct 12, 2023 02:49
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I watched The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (incredibly long-winded title). This is a novel series that got adapted into an animated show earlier this year. I've seen a few shows that purported to have lesbian couples that wound up being a bit disappointing, basically wrapped in plausible deniability, subtext and so on... I was really happy to watch this for a few reasons: the first being that our heroic princess is openly lesbian with zero room for doubt. But even better, Anis and Euphie are both such fun and powerful characters. The two leads being some of the most influential, powerful people in the whole world is a very fun thing to see for me! Even though it's a bit of a cliché for male characters, I found it really cool to have these two face off in combat to decide by sheer strength their own futures. They're powerful people with a strong will and motivations. Euphie, being somewhat equivalent to Jesus in their kingdom and straight-up being a lesbian or bi at the very least, is awesome in its own right. My favourite part is final episode where Euphie makes her feelings extremely clear to Anis, and explicitly says her feelings are romantic in nature; she will accept friendship or comradery from Anis but having declared her love says "if you can, I'd like you to accept this feeling for what it is," after kissing Anis, god damnnnnnn. I love how unambiguous and loving it is. Euphie's power is represented as a rainbow coloured lily and even her sword is called rainbow! Waaaah! My god, if only stuff like this existed when I was a kid... My life would really have been so different. After watching this, I went off and read the novels and I found them really fun and interesting. It's hilarious how Euphie (yeug spoilers) is such an overwhelming gay presence all the time, far more than Anis ever could be. Anis talks a big game but Euphie walks the walk without the slightest hint of shame and practically waves the lesbian flag as she goes. When she becomes queen, she announces her love for Anis to the whole of the nobility during the coronation ceremony, makes it part of her coronation speech and kisses Anis in front of everybody! Whoa! Holy poo poo!! It's incredible. I wound up rereading that part quite a few times! Bonus points for supportive parents! Hooray!
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Oct 15, 2023 05:16
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LibrarianCroaker posted:https://twitter.com/Color_LES/status/1712277866036207957?s=20 
StupidNameNobody fucked around with this message at 05:54 on Oct 15, 2023 |
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Oct 15, 2023 05:22
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Another heartwarming one-off: I Hope It's Sunny Tomorrow by Shino Hirofumi. Stories with happy gay parents are the perfect balm for my soul ❤
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Oct 18, 2023 10:17
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Lately I've been reading the Otherside Picnic novels. This series really impressed me. What could you call this? It's essentially Roadside Picnic and SCP's profoundly gay baby? Personally I've always found exploration to be romantic in itself. And here's a series all about exploring a strange other world with someone, confronting its dangers and building a special relationship through that! How awesome?! 😁 You get adventures ranging from innocent fun, to creepy, to outright violent and disturbing. Somehow it veers toward the practical and realistic despite its focus being on internet ghost stories and alternate dimensions bleeding into reality. Of course, the leads Sorawo and Toriko and how their relationship develops as they explore the Otherside are the real stars of the show, and their interplay is just so drat fun and engrossing. Having the viewpoint character be an absolute misanthrope with a pitiful level of self-awareness really livens up scenarios that would otherwise be just ordinary - and at the same time I love when this gets turned around and Sorawo sees things from Toriko's much more emotionally informed perspective and it changes her whole perception of herself in turn. Meanwhile the side characters are really well defined, distinct and fun in their own right. Truly excellent and so well written. Over the years I've read a good few scifi novels but this stood out above all others with its careful characterisation, relationship development, and masterful integration of theme, plot, character and setting. Everything is just in perfect harmony - it kinda reminds me of Bloom Into You in that respect, even though there's no tonal similarity at all. The current latest volume, the 8th novel, is completely centred on exploring the relationship of the two leads, contextualising their past, defining and deciding their future together. It's one of the greatest things I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The getting-it level is just peak and it's so wonderful. When I finished reading the first book was I thinking "eh, pretty good" but as it went on I came to absolutely adore the series, they just get better and better. There are currently eight novels and if it ended now, I'd be immensely satisfied and it would be a fine conclusion, but I hope it continues on.
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Feb 11, 2024 07:44
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ToxicFrog posted:Holy poo poo why have I slept on this Catgirl Al Capone posted:Otherside Picnic is really good horror that happens to involve lesbians. the relationship between the two leads creates a lot of tension and uncertainty the story leverages both for conflict and the resolution thereof. it matters that these two girls in love learn to trust and rely on each other in a place where you can't trust your own senses. Thuryl posted:Yeah, the writing in the novels does some really cool things with Sorawo's perspective and the fact that the Otherside's weirdness turns everyone into an unreliable narrator even about things they personally witnessed. (And Sorawo would already be unreliable enough even when not exposed to a mind-warping alternate dimension.)
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Feb 21, 2024 14:25
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