[Kieli]

Originally Posted by Sol Falling

Sorry, I disappeared for a while. Am waiting for the next chapters, but I'll do some late replies for now.

No worries. I'm sure that we all have RL jobs, school and such that keep us from enjoying our guilty pleasures

Actually, the latest events seem to have shifted quite a lot of things: for one, if Anna isn't visiting Maho because Maho asked her not to, then she probably hasn't seen Shuu for a while either.

That may or may not be true. I didn't think that Anna told Maho ALL of the times that she and Shuu went shopping together or had lunch together, so they still might have seen each other at random times.

I dunno if this could be counted as an opportunity for Chiba (since at the very least, the push for exclusivity in her interactions with Shuu has disappeared), but she does seem to have focused her attention on him again.

The only thing I can think of is that she decided to limit her interactions with Shuu based on his having a "girlfriend"....out of respect for him and his other relationship that she didn't know very much about (this is just speculation on my part but it seems logical enough to me)

As a result, Takatsuki actually seems pretty lonely right now, 'cause everyone's busy supporting Shuu while she can only struggle with her admiration/envy (or whatever it is that's preventing her from seeing him directly).

*nods* This makes sense to me...but she's never been one to really seek out others to ask questions or validate her feelings. Shuu does this unconsciously mostly because he is so curious and, IMHO, very naive.

Hmm, well I've laid out my interpretation of Chiba and Takatsuki's connection above ('cause it honestly doesn't seem that strong to me) but I'll admit that Takatsuki admiring Chiba (on some level) seems plausible. :P Not to get on your case though or anything, but if you can even describe Chiba like that (from Takatsuki's perspective, at least), why do you dislike her?

LOL! That's ok. I dislike her mostly her attitude still grates on my nerves. I can where Yoshino would admire her distant, cool demeanor and her intelligence but the other aspects of Chiba's personality, in my personal opinion, are too self-centered for my tastes (though not uncommon since she is still a teen, after all).

I'll also clarify your implicit question there in that I'm a guy. :P Sorry if the avatar is misleading.

No clarification was necessary. I already knew that you were male.

With regards to Maho, I wouldn't really say I feel sorry for her but I do understand her. She's just struggling with the idea that she's not a good person. Being jealous, pushing her friends away, when indeed she realizes that Shuu is going through tougher times than her and that she's really been a bit of a drama queen. Shuu gathering up the courage to go back to school before Maho because of his friends, when Maho was the one who told her friends not to come in the first place, must make her feel pretty dumb.

I like this observation and definitely agree with it. Plus it gave me a bit of a giggle

As for Yoshino not supporting Shuu, I think part of it has to do with them being (as far as wanting to be a boy/girl) in the same situation. Yoshino's shown a bit of cowardice with regards to being ostracized by her peers, and thus her staying back makes sense when you consider that her crossdressing is already somewhat known. If she were to stand up for Shuu as blatantly as Sarashina, that would open her up full blast for the kind of treatment he is getting. This actually almost feels like the exchange diary all over again, except with Yoshino feeling bad about it from the beginning (well, given the letter I'm just assuming. My interpretation is basically 'You're amazing for having the courage to do this' --> 'I'm not amazing' --> 'I'm too scared to stand together with you' ).

Hmm indeed. I hadn't really thought to examine Yoshino's tendencies when it came to her own crossdressing but you're correct. She really does have a hard time standing up for herself in the face of possible consequences. Shuu has unwittingly opened this can of worms because he's been relatively insulated by the support of his "harem" (I hesitate to use this word but since Mako did, with hilarious results, then I will too ) I kept hoping that, as time went on, she'd be able to draw some strength and stability from the friends around her, like Shuu seems to have. Alas, that hope was in vain, at least for the time being.

Speaking of 'protecting' though, I was just rereading today (result of making this post, heh) and do you guys remember that Yoshino used to be pretty violent? She slammed some kid's nose into his desk (after they fought because he teased her about her period). Haven't really noticed that kind of stuff lately.

*ponders* You're right. It seems like she's fallen back into reacting more "like a girl" than like the boy she wants to become.

Bringing up Shuu's gullibility is interesting. I was just talking, above, about how Takatsuki admired Shuu for coming out with being a crossdresser but from with his gullibility in mind it might not be courage but rather just a naivete about the world.

It could be a little of both. He seems to be a little desperate sometimes (i.e. immediately trying to connect with Chiba's "jerk boy" and Doi, that evil little twerp).

Also, speaking of assholes, you've already brought up 'jerk boy' (lol I can't even remember his name, guess that'll have to do) but Momoko (Sarashina's friend) is also pretty annoying. I dunno why, but they give off a similar vibe for me. Something about how they don't really care what Chiba/Chi-chan think but act clingy around them for their own reasons.

Agreed. I really loathe both of them. These last few chapters have done nothing to endear Momoka to me. I keep wanting Sarashina to tell her about herself and drop her like a hot rock. But she seems to realise that Momoka is that kind of person and may even pity her to the point that she lets M. hang around her for that reason alone.

edited to add: Finally got jerk-boy's name in Chapter 71....Fumiya-kun...and he's still an asshole. -_- But Shuu is driving me NUTS! I wish he would stop trusting everyone so much.