Ah gawd. I love that Miel is clearly standing by Abeille here. It sounds like a situation that could badly escalate for his career, but hopefully, it will resolve itself, or the pair will get over that hurdle in a constructive manner. Either ways, I’m impatient for more!
I am hoping that the father will step up here and put the mother in her place when they seriously weren’t doing anything wrong. Also I do hope his boss gives Miel a chance to explain things more.
Cudos to Mr. Acier for not being a huge butt about it
And also, many previous commenters’ concerns had been addressed : he is not bringing Miel into this because he is personally bothered by this, but because Abi’s mom Got him involved.
At the same time, I’m not huge on the whole ‘you didn’t take this opportunity you didn’t ask for or want I decided will be good for you’ angle. Instead of a domineering boss, we got a pushy, insensitive dad.
Man, I gotta agree with the commenter from last page. They were both outside of work, in a consensual grown up relationship… Miel’s boss should have shit all to do with this.
It was a work sponsored event from what I understood. Not technically at work, but baaaasically still at work. Anyone who’s ever went to a work sponsored event knows coworkers and public will be there. You will be recognized and are still representing the company… Comments on the last page likened it to being caught having sex. Hate to say it, but grown up relationship, non-work event or not… Ya don’t do that $h!t in public.
In the context of this world, what they were caught doing and in what circumstance, I think he’s being VERY reasonable. I still think it’d be very interesting if we ever learn what the original source of the taboo was. It could be some old historical event like–i dunno–a COVID18 scenario lol. If it was some urgent population-saving-measure originally, it would give a lot of perspective as to how this taboo got so deeply and powerfully entrenched.
I don’t feel it unusual as a taboo. It’s putting restraint on messy and potentially infectious biological interaction that serves no sensible purpose in the given society.
Note that increased hygienic and medical standards cause problems like neurodermitis and allergies and food overreactions when the balance of the body’s defense systems and things like common infestations by intestinal worms and similar gets overthrown. Eventually, evolution (and/or the kind of artificial selection/breeding used in this society) will adapt with defense systems working at a lower operation point.
And getting touched by strangers is already considered creepy in most of our current society when it was quite less singular outside of aristocratic circles.
Of course I have no idea about the story-writing involved here: we may well get some more dramatic explanation/reasoning/cause. But as a general trend of civilized societies, I find the setup totally believable as a natural development in society.
I don’t think I articulate my thoughts about the touch taboo well, but early on Abeille visits a touch club and figures out physical touch isn’t what she’s missing. I don’t think the taboo is rational and not strictly about physical touch.
So a point I’d like to remind other commenters on is that Miel’s boss is asexual/aromantic and has said as much that their work is the only marriage they’d ever want. So while sharing drinks with potential work connections may seem silly or like a dad thing, I think his boss is actually trying to share his passion in the best way he can. If you remember, before Miel and Abeille began pursuing their relationship, Miel may have been confused for asexual and/or aromantic due to his intense devotion to his work. Miel’s boss likely saw and connected with what he thought was a similar preference, only to be learning that he has misunderstood Miel on a topic that he isn’t quite able to realte to or even fully understand. Living in a society where being asexual/aromantic is so readily accepted means he may not really have had a reason to need to relate as to why Miel found intimacy worth his time and attention.
Abeille and Miel know that touching is taboo in this society, yet they touch out in public and don’t take into account just how bad it would be if they got caught. The incident with Poppy should have made them far more cautious, but they never talk about it and just continue on their merry way.
I might be the worlds worst at managing my reaction to emotions, but I think it’s fair to say that their situation is pretty extreme. Abeille’s face in panel 2 https://lovenotfound.com/comic/ch18-p42/ is about the most heartbreaking thing I’ve seen. I certainly forgive them for having a lapse in judgement.
That’s a bit unfair. He doesn’t know Amaryllis. From his perspective, as a high-ranking manager, he might see it as his duty to help out a visitor at this company event.
I am so glad he defended A. And, didn’t this just happen, like 10 minutes prior or something, and the mom is already filing paperwork? I hope that A stands up to her, and soon.
I get the impression that this society, touch taboo notwithstanding, generally recognizes personal consent, responsibility, and adult autonomy. So how the freaking heck can Amaryllis even FILE a complaint against Miel when Abeille is a consenting adult?!
If Abeille’s Dad can’t reign her in (and honestly, I do not doubt that he’s been on the receiving end of Amaryllis’ emotional abuse as well), here’s hoping the Monotropa legal system will tell her to take a freaking hike.
True, but consent and responsibility aside, it’s still considered inappropriate by their society’s standards. It’s not something you do in public (or in an unsecured area where anyone can walk in)
Another thing is Amaryllis doesn’t SEE Abeille as a consenting adult, because she’s a manipulative narcissist who assumes Abeille ‘needs’ her and only she knows what’s best for her. So in her eyes, Abeille is too naive and helpless to consent to something like that and Miel was taking advantage of her.
“Well, her mother certainly is!”…. Last I checked in this, Abeille is an independent adult and her mother has no legal grounds to file anything on behalf of her.
And your point is? Official complaints get official answers and both are put on typically public record. Acier is not interested in having his department featured as Sick Orgies Central in the news.
I’ve been good, I’ve been patient, please let this be the chapter where someone finally tells Amaryllis to shut the fuck up.
And I’m sorry but Acier’s not wrong. Even if they weren’t in front of everyone, they were still in an unsecured place where anybody could have walked in on them. It’s like they learned nothing from the Poppy incident. I know love makes you act stupid but come on.
I’m concerned Abeille is now giving up & has become withdrawn enough to allow be shipped back to her home planet. (Not catatonic, just passively resigned to her fate & doesn’t want to ruin Miel’s life.) I’m equally concerned that if she told her mother that she & Miel already had physical sex, Amaryllis will actually try to have her committed somewhere for deviant behavior.
You don’t just do taboo stuff where everyone can see, I guess…
But then I get outraged because not so far back, and still ongoing in many countries, two men holding hands was taboo and grounds for a scandal.
Rereading this comic I find Acier’s line “Anyone could have walked in. The worst possible someone did.” very impressive. It does show that he recognizes the toxic nature of Amaryllis and, while giving Miel hell, also does not join her moral outrage stance. He is chastising Miel not for being a pervert, but for being an idiot.
And given that his mixers are, after all, carefully planned for the potential of advancing interactions and a sense of common purpose, that he is less than enthused about a divisive catastrophe threatening to make this event a net liability rather than an advantage, is also something I cannot blame him a lot for. Well, of course one would not put a petulant whining fingerpointer more focused on assigning blame than finding solutions in a position of power over a whole city-nation.
But it’s nice to see this common sense also reflected in a futuristic setting.
Ah gawd. I love that Miel is clearly standing by Abeille here. It sounds like a situation that could badly escalate for his career, but hopefully, it will resolve itself, or the pair will get over that hurdle in a constructive manner. Either ways, I’m impatient for more!
I am hoping that the father will step up here and put the mother in her place when they seriously weren’t doing anything wrong. Also I do hope his boss gives Miel a chance to explain things more.
Mallow finally standing up for Abeille would be a dream come true. Even one challenge to Amaryllis, would be great.
Cudos to Mr. Acier for not being a huge butt about it
And also, many previous commenters’ concerns had been addressed : he is not bringing Miel into this because he is personally bothered by this, but because Abi’s mom Got him involved.
At the same time, I’m not huge on the whole ‘you didn’t take this opportunity you didn’t ask for or want I decided will be good for you’ angle. Instead of a domineering boss, we got a pushy, insensitive dad.
Man, I gotta agree with the commenter from last page. They were both outside of work, in a consensual grown up relationship… Miel’s boss should have shit all to do with this.
It was a work sponsored event from what I understood. Not technically at work, but baaaasically still at work. Anyone who’s ever went to a work sponsored event knows coworkers and public will be there. You will be recognized and are still representing the company… Comments on the last page likened it to being caught having sex. Hate to say it, but grown up relationship, non-work event or not… Ya don’t do that $h!t in public.
“You’re never outside of work if you’re management. Perhaps you don’t want to be management?”
Huh, I was right… xD
While I’m not sure what to make out about the boss just yet, I do have an optimistic feeling towards him due to what he says at the end there.
Miel’s boss is actually completely reasonable imo. Unpopular opinion I’m sure!
In the context of this world, what they were caught doing and in what circumstance, I think he’s being VERY reasonable. I still think it’d be very interesting if we ever learn what the original source of the taboo was. It could be some old historical event like–i dunno–a COVID18 scenario lol. If it was some urgent population-saving-measure originally, it would give a lot of perspective as to how this taboo got so deeply and powerfully entrenched.
I don’t feel it unusual as a taboo. It’s putting restraint on messy and potentially infectious biological interaction that serves no sensible purpose in the given society.
Note that increased hygienic and medical standards cause problems like neurodermitis and allergies and food overreactions when the balance of the body’s defense systems and things like common infestations by intestinal worms and similar gets overthrown. Eventually, evolution (and/or the kind of artificial selection/breeding used in this society) will adapt with defense systems working at a lower operation point.
And getting touched by strangers is already considered creepy in most of our current society when it was quite less singular outside of aristocratic circles.
Of course I have no idea about the story-writing involved here: we may well get some more dramatic explanation/reasoning/cause. But as a general trend of civilized societies, I find the setup totally believable as a natural development in society.
One of the story arcs on a wiki tracks the touch taboo, if anyone wants to help: https://lovenotfound-fans.fandom.com/wiki/Story_arcs#The_touch_taboo
I don’t think I articulate my thoughts about the touch taboo well, but early on Abeille visits a touch club and figures out physical touch isn’t what she’s missing. I don’t think the taboo is rational and not strictly about physical touch.
quit miel, quit!
So a point I’d like to remind other commenters on is that Miel’s boss is asexual/aromantic and has said as much that their work is the only marriage they’d ever want. So while sharing drinks with potential work connections may seem silly or like a dad thing, I think his boss is actually trying to share his passion in the best way he can. If you remember, before Miel and Abeille began pursuing their relationship, Miel may have been confused for asexual and/or aromantic due to his intense devotion to his work. Miel’s boss likely saw and connected with what he thought was a similar preference, only to be learning that he has misunderstood Miel on a topic that he isn’t quite able to realte to or even fully understand. Living in a society where being asexual/aromantic is so readily accepted means he may not really have had a reason to need to relate as to why Miel found intimacy worth his time and attention.
Abeille and Miel know that touching is taboo in this society, yet they touch out in public and don’t take into account just how bad it would be if they got caught. The incident with Poppy should have made them far more cautious, but they never talk about it and just continue on their merry way.
Honestly, this was a long time coming.
I might be the worlds worst at managing my reaction to emotions, but I think it’s fair to say that their situation is pretty extreme. Abeille’s face in panel 2 https://lovenotfound.com/comic/ch18-p42/ is about the most heartbreaking thing I’ve seen. I certainly forgive them for having a lapse in judgement.
YES, her MOTHER is the problem. But mostly because YOU allowed her to find her daughter.
That’s a bit unfair. He doesn’t know Amaryllis. From his perspective, as a high-ranking manager, he might see it as his duty to help out a visitor at this company event.
And he immediately smelled a rat upon Amaryllis’ initial reaction and tried to fix his mistake before impact.
“Well, her mother certainly is!” is the biggest understatement of the century, haha.
I am so glad he defended A. And, didn’t this just happen, like 10 minutes prior or something, and the mom is already filing paperwork? I hope that A stands up to her, and soon.
I get the impression that this society, touch taboo notwithstanding, generally recognizes personal consent, responsibility, and adult autonomy. So how the freaking heck can Amaryllis even FILE a complaint against Miel when Abeille is a consenting adult?!
If Abeille’s Dad can’t reign her in (and honestly, I do not doubt that he’s been on the receiving end of Amaryllis’ emotional abuse as well), here’s hoping the Monotropa legal system will tell her to take a freaking hike.
True, but consent and responsibility aside, it’s still considered inappropriate by their society’s standards. It’s not something you do in public (or in an unsecured area where anyone can walk in)
Another thing is Amaryllis doesn’t SEE Abeille as a consenting adult, because she’s a manipulative narcissist who assumes Abeille ‘needs’ her and only she knows what’s best for her. So in her eyes, Abeille is too naive and helpless to consent to something like that and Miel was taking advantage of her.
“Well, her mother certainly is!”…. Last I checked in this, Abeille is an independent adult and her mother has no legal grounds to file anything on behalf of her.
And your point is? Official complaints get official answers and both are put on typically public record. Acier is not interested in having his department featured as Sick Orgies Central in the news.
I’ve been good, I’ve been patient, please let this be the chapter where someone finally tells Amaryllis to shut the fuck up.
And I’m sorry but Acier’s not wrong. Even if they weren’t in front of everyone, they were still in an unsecured place where anybody could have walked in on them. It’s like they learned nothing from the Poppy incident. I know love makes you act stupid but come on.
I’m concerned Abeille is now giving up & has become withdrawn enough to allow be shipped back to her home planet. (Not catatonic, just passively resigned to her fate & doesn’t want to ruin Miel’s life.) I’m equally concerned that if she told her mother that she & Miel already had physical sex, Amaryllis will actually try to have her committed somewhere for deviant behavior.
You don’t just do taboo stuff where everyone can see, I guess…
But then I get outraged because not so far back, and still ongoing in many countries, two men holding hands was taboo and grounds for a scandal.
Rereading this comic I find Acier’s line “Anyone could have walked in. The worst possible someone did.” very impressive. It does show that he recognizes the toxic nature of Amaryllis and, while giving Miel hell, also does not join her moral outrage stance. He is chastising Miel not for being a pervert, but for being an idiot.
And given that his mixers are, after all, carefully planned for the potential of advancing interactions and a sense of common purpose, that he is less than enthused about a divisive catastrophe threatening to make this event a net liability rather than an advantage, is also something I cannot blame him a lot for. Well, of course one would not put a petulant whining fingerpointer more focused on assigning blame than finding solutions in a position of power over a whole city-nation.
But it’s nice to see this common sense also reflected in a futuristic setting.
We’ve seen that some families do touching. It’s not THAT taboo.