Skip and Loafer - Vol. 9 Ch. 53 - Heart-thumping Ocean, Pt. 3

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Idk, honestly they are about to graduat, I don’a think they even have time to be dating but that’s just my own experience/perspective talking
 
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Not true. In HS my girlfriend was tall, with a curvy body and had lots of friends. I am not tall. 6" shorter than her and I don't think I ever had anyone compliment me on my smoldering good looks. Because were were in a lab assistant class we spent a lot of time together and got to know each other. We became friends and eventually flirted and fell in love. I know it is edgy to think any hot person with someone less hot has to be about money but that is not true. Not every one falls in love purely based on looks. Sometimes the one you love just looks better than when you first met them. Like Beer Goggles, only permanent.

all I'm saying is do you want Mitsumi to be the kind of fmc that can casually get new love interest where the previous one doesn't work out? and if there's a new love interest is he just gonna be a stepping stone for Shima development instead of a character of his own like the rest of the cast?
and with all being said this series is a coming of age that doesn't rely on romance anyway so a random potential love triangle toward our fmc cant just be happen that easily
 
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mukai (stem guy) LOL

SMILING AND KICKING MY FEET AND GIGGLING THIS CHAPTER WAS SO AWESOME!!!! the closeups of the faces! the way we know what each character is saying without the need for internal narration to tell us!! skip and loafer i love u!!!!!
 
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cute. i wonder where we will go from here. it would be nice to zoom out from the romance for a bit. it's exciting to be in mitsumi's hometown and i want the city kids to see what she's trying so hard to protect when she grows up to be mayor/president/superhero haha.
 
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I came from watching the anime and jumped straight to the manga. I love the storytelling so far. The subtlety, the overall warmth, but the quiet slap of reality with various characters and the sudden, somber tone that often comes with Shima's character. I love love the character depth so much. From all the minor characters to the main group. But especially from our two main leads.

Before anything, I just want to say how I love Mitsumi. She’s by no means perfect, but she’s sincere, and her tenacity and being so genuine is just very charming. She’s honest to a fault, optimistic, sometimes foolhardy. But she doesn’t back down, and she speaks her mind, but with so much care. She’s such a great main character honestly.

Anyways, what I really wanted to talk about is Mitsumi and Shima’s relationship. There’s no villain, nor is there anyone who ‘doesn’t deserve the other’ in this story. At the heart of it, they are still just two high school kids, trying to figure themselves out, each other, and their lives in this world. You can’t really blame any of them for the actions they took, because at the end of the day it’s all influenced by their surroundings, their upbringing, their personality, and their outlook on life. It all makes sense, if you think about it.

I really liked the imagery of Mitsumi being an astronaut and Shima being this weird alien... thing. It's in the cover of chapter 42. (Mitsumi was also illustrated as an astronaut when she first headed into the student council office). I feel like it encapsulates so much about the two of them as individuals. Mitsumi is an astronaut with a mission. She knows where she has to go, and knows what she has to do in order to get there. And she's earnestly working towards there. And, just like any beginner in life, she wobbles from the start, but she happens to meet this extraterrestrial being who seems to just orbit away, without any clear purpose. But as different as they are, they cohabit the same space. It’s Mitsumi who gives Shima inspiration. And he gets drawn to her orbit, and they somehow find themselves walking together in this intergalactic journey of life.

As for love... The both of them are on such different wavelengths from the start. Mitsumi hears about love from her friends and the people around her. But her reactions to it are so.. normal. And she accepts her feelings as they come, and doesn't hesitate to show it. Shima, on the other hand. Even before Mitsumi confessed, it was just… sort of felt off. Shima just started to get on the road to recovery from his past trauma (or not... but cutting off the toxic part of his relationship with Rurika was something, at least). His growing feelings were evident, but it wasn’t ready yet. Like an unripe fruit, it needs time. And he still needs to heal from himself, before he can be at the same place where Mitsumi is to be in a relationship. At least, that is what I would like it to be.
Astronaut Mitsumi isn't afraid to venture, but Shima, he's still this... weird alien thing. He still doesn't know what to make of himself, what his feelings are. And that's fine. He's still figuring himself out, and he’ll eventually get there.

I would really like more time to dissect their characters, really. It’s so interesting to think about. And the way we just saw Shima’s priorities in relationships definitely helps us envision his outlook too. He values liking someone as a person better than being a friend, much less a lover. That explains why he felt… so conflicted when Mitsumi, his friend, his favorite person, wanted to be in a romantic relationship that labelled them as “lovers”. Because his perception of a romantic relationship was so jaded, he actually thought that their relationship was stepping down into something… less. But hearing what Mukai had to say about feelings and liking someone, he finally, finally starts to understand what Mitsumi was offering to him. It wasn’t a step-down, a downgrade from their previous relationship. In fact it was something very, very special. He’s taking very slow steps, but he’s getting there, to where their feelings would be on the same page.

Anyways, that turned out quite long. I just found myself so drawn into this story more than I probably should’ve. It’s just a real blast of fresh air after so many used and reused cycles of the same plot and tropes I’ve gone through with romances of a… certain genre. Very different from this one, I’ll just say. I can’t wait to see how this story unfolds from here.
 
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all I'm saying is do you want Mitsumi to be the kind of fmc that can casually get new love interest where the previous one doesn't work out? and if there's a new love interest is he just gonna be a stepping stone for Shima development instead of a character of his own like the rest of the cast?
and with all being said this series is a coming of age that doesn't rely on romance anyway so a random potential love triangle toward our fmc cant just be happen that easily
i think he missed that part where you basically said "would need to spend a good time together"
 
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Damn this is so good.
I really want to see how Shima heals and begin to accept romantic love, if that's how it would be in the future (idk where will the author led this to). Because as someone who can't deal with romantic relationship and doesn't even feel the need of it (honestly it sounds great from people stories but I can't see myself be with someone romantically), all I can see is mostly plantonic. So I wonder if people who see being lovers as not a positive thing can grew out from that and actually starts their own romantic relationships.
Looking forward to continuation of this story and also their holiday in her hometown!
I wonder how will the other girls react when they found out about her and shima.
 
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bro ex getting back together is also happens in our realistic world lmao and Mitsuki is not attractive so realistically only people who spent enough time with her would start to develop feelings towards her like you want her to start looking for new guy? is still having a feeling towards somebody especially with the way they 'broke up' is not realistic at all?
That hurts on a personal basis. I have been married 27 years, but I still feel like if my wife left me she could find someone else. While I do not think I changed much other than getting older and even less attractive, she still loves me, likes me to hug her, and provide heat at night as a body pillow. The difference with Mitsumi is that she has a cuteness to her, but is really competent.
 
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Jst felt like commenting, this is the best Shima & Mitsumi interaction so far, the fact that his slowly realizing that his parents divorce and toxic relationship left a disturb view about what is love and what does it mean to love someone on him, and the fact he IS falling in love, for real this time, with Mitsumi even tho he doesn't understand his feelings and tries to ignore them... this is a really well thought out love story, amazing to read, I hope that the author will express her ideas the best way possible and all the character development moments will be impactful and awesome.
 
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Ahhhh he's blushing!!! He's so dense but I perfectly understand where he's coming from! Hope they give their relationship another chance 💖
 
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bro ex getting back together is also happens in our realistic world lmao and Mitsuki is not attractive so realistically only people who spent enough time with her would start to develop feelings towards her like you want her to start looking for new guy? is still having a feeling towards somebody especially with the way they 'broke up' is not realistic at all?
You just described my romance with my wife. I heard angels, bells, orchestra the whole nine yards. She thought I was a nerd and wasn't interested a bit. She was right I am a nerd, but after being friends for a couple of years she got on board. 2024 is going to make 28 years. Here is to the ones who don't make snap decisions and let us no the most handsome, not tall dudes have a chance.
 

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