Thinkin of transmasc / sapphic Zero and Iris as a ship and getting to know one another, but it's a case of as they're opening to the idea of dating, Zero just has to admit he is masc stealth presenting and just feeling so conflicted and confused over his feelings towards Iris and his own gender, given he lacks the terminology

And Iris just lets him ramble on and on without judgements, bc she's aware Zero is so deep in the closet and confused / conflicted, especially as he's so used to seeing heteronormative romance and really has no outlet for nblw thoughts, and just wants to be " normal " to justify being lw/lnb, and explore his own sense of self ( failing to realize he's defs stone )

So the ship basis forming on Zero being allowed to feel more open with his identity being sapphic and vulnerability in private, without the pressures of passing off as an openly queer couple and being bombarded with constant questions — as most tend to assume Zero is a very masc / male aligned reploid already ( especially given complex feelings towards X, so two openly masc reploids together just is too much attention for him to handle while he's figuring himself out ) . So publicly, they just seem like a cishet couple, but privately, they're both allowed to be — even if it hurts both in the end by hiding themselves, but they're young, stupid, and this is their first romance ( on top of it being queer ) . So Iris' big heart does ultimately hurt her bc holding this secret feels like a betrayal as she starts to establish her own identity at a pace Zero can't keep up with, and it builds to the occasional instance of conflict — but she's passive enough to where it doesn't click, until Iris' last stand through her death ( with her wanting to create a world for reploids as a soft admittance as a means of thinking of both her and Zero to exist as themselves — but also pursuing the better or all ) .

I think if it weren't for her death, they'd still be very deep and loving friends towards one another, realizing as they matured from teens to young adults, they just — weren't compatible, and that's ok. Yet, she died so young and by Zero's hands, that he never had a moment to really come to that conclusion himself, so it's just the entire self blame and grief, especially hearing those words that cut deep like a knife.

So a scene like this becomes :

Zero: Iris, there's no world just for Reploids. It's only a fantasy.

Iris: Yes . . . I know . . . But I wanted to believe it . . . I wanted to live in a world where only Reploids exist . . . with you.

. . .

Zero: Nooo ! This isn't happening ! There's no reason for me to go on ! What . . . WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR ?!

An outcry for the fact he could never come to his own thoughts and feelings, and unfortunately dragging someone else into his glass coffin, but she's permanently gone now, and he has no closure to a relationship that should have never ended so abruptly. They're both still so young, still struggling to grapple the idea of a world that could fit even reploids like them

Comicbook haul for this month. 

Loki 1. I was not actually planning to buy it but the rainbow tricked me into doing it anyway. I can not say anything on the story yet but the drawings are beautiful, the humor is on point (but different to the movie). For me as a Loki fan who never has read Marvel comics before it is a very good point to start. So if someone is searching for a marvel comic to start with i can recommend this one. Maybe also a preperation for the Disney+ show?

My brothers husband 3: While homophobia was still played on a really low level in the first two volumes it gets serious in the third volume. But also the realization that the daughters main character might marry a woman someday and all his resulting thoughts and feelings on that are really interesting. All in all the manga is drawn and told as beautiful as the first two volumes. People who also liked Yotsuba&! will also like this manga. Not a Yaoi or Bl i might add.

iriszero 1. I read that manga a lot in the library and finally got a copy myself. The idea that everyone can see special things like seeing when someone lies or seeing the right one for a task is not 100% new. Also not the fact that only the main character is the only one without such an ability is not new. But the manga is really beautiful told. Also in the later volumes it starts touching on topics of self hate, self harm and abuse. But it allways keeps a hopeful look on the world

Status: Ongoing

Genre: Supernatural, Romance, Seinen, School Life, Fantasy, Psychological, Mystery, Drama

Author: Takana Hotaru/Shiki Piro

Chapters : 40

Plot: In a world where every boy and girl has a special power called Iris, Tooru who, as a result of not having any kind of special power from a young age, lives by his motto, "low exposure"—to live without standing out.

But his peaceful school life changes when he receives a certain "confession" from the school's most popular girl, Koyuki. His motto begins to shake!!

The school fantasy that shakes the heart begins with their meeting.

Two figures standing on the maverick headquarters balcony. A beautiful red sunset looms over Arcadia city. People and reploid alike buzzing down in the streets as a day comes to an end. No words shared between the two as they try to take in the scenery, and maybe, slightly hoping this conversation would never start. One sentence breaks the silence as heavy as storm.

“Is this ok with you?” she asks. X sighs. His eyes drifting off to sky as he remembers he had decided it was fine weeks ago. Then why so hard now? Eyes looking away from her, as he says: “...Yeah.” Barely heard, in high arcadian skies. A reply came with a warm hand over his. “Thank you”.

Für heute habe ich mir den ersten Band von Iriszero von Kazé ausgesucht. 

Wie viele andere Manga steht auch dieser schon seit einiger Zeit ungelesen im Regal. Gekauft habe ich ihn wahrscheinlich, weil mir das Cover ganz gut gefallen hat. Ich weiß, das klingt sehr oberflächlich, aber die Optik ist bei mir schon ein wichtiges Entscheidungskriterium. 

Jedenfalls wusste ich nicht wirklich was mich bei diesem Manga erwarten wird. Selbst nach dem lesen bin ich mir nicht sicher, was ich vom Rest der Story zu erwarten habe. 

Mal ein paar Worte zur Handlung:

Vor einigen Jahren kamen die ersten Kinder auf die Welt, welche mit einer besonderen Gabe, der so genannten "Iris", geboren wurden. Diese Gabe, welche bei jedem andere Effekte erzielt, lässt einen Dinge sehen, die für alle anderen unsichtbar sind. Manche können beispielsweise in die Vergangenheit sehen, andere in die Zukunft. 

Heute, 27 Jahre später, werden 99% der Kinder mit dieser Gabe geboren, alle anderen gelten somit als unnormal. Diejenigen die nicht "normal" sind werden "Iris Zero" genannt,und weil sie anders sind, werden sie schnell zum Opfer von Spott und Mobbing. 

Der Oberschüler Toru, ebenfalls ein "Iris Zero", ist da keine Ausnahme. Er hat seine eigene Strategie entwickelt um nicht dauerhaft als Zielscheibe herhalten zu müssen. Sein Motto lautet: "Bloß nicht auffallen!". 

Damit ist er bisher auch gut klar gekommen... bisher! Denn plötzlich entdeckt seine Mitschülerin Koyuki, dass Toru die Welt viel unvoreingenommener wahrnimmt als die Leute, deren Gabe ihnen den Blick auf das wesentliche verklärt.

Von nun an wird er immer dann zurate gezogen wenn es etwas unerklärliches aufzudecken gibt, was ihm natürlich gar nicht passt. 

Das klingt im ersten Moment ja eigentlich nach einem guten Plot den man in den Genres Mystery und Thriller einordnen könnte. Stattdessen ist es aber eher eine Art Slice-of-Life-Mystery-Comedy-Manga. 

Auch wenn es nicht ganz meinem Lieblings-Genre entspricht, so würde ich mir für den weiteren Verlauf der Story ein etwas düstereres Setting wünschen, in dem nicht das Lösen von Alltagsrätseln im Vordergrund steht, sondern eher die Frage nach der mysteriösen Herkunft der Iris-"Mutation".