Webcomic / Kiss It Goodbye

"Settle in, this is a long one."

— Aruka

Kiss It Goodbye is a Yuri webcomic by TiccyTX.

The comic is a coming of age story revolving around two Childhood Friends in Kyoto, Japan, Azawa Aruka and Tsuyuki Yukimi, as they grow up and come to terms with their sexuality and their feelings for each other, facing all the numerous challenges that arise along the way while doing so, both external and internal.

The comic started on May 22nd, 2020 and ran weekly until its main story ended on September 14th, 2021, though it has periodic extra chapters. It can be read on Tapas Media, Tumblr, and Webtoon, here, here, and here.

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Kiss It Goodbye contains the following examples:

• Alliterative Name: Azawa Aruka and Tsuyuki Yukimi.
• Alpha Bitch: Hina is a snobby, haughty and homophobic Jerkass who thinks she can do whatever she wants and desires to get Aruka expelled simply due to her being a lesbian, an act that even her Girl Posse thought was too far once they realized she was serious about it. She also attempts to burn Yukimi with a cigarette until Aruka manages to intervene and save her.
• Amazon Chaser: Koto-kun is interested in Aruka precisely because she's rough around the edges, but since she's a lesbian it doesn't go anywhere as she rebuffs his advances.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: From "Extra: Intermission 3", when Aruka hits Yukimi in the face with a snowball during an impromptu Snowball Fight:
  Yukimi collapses to her knees, holding her face in pain
  Aruka: Wait wait wait! It wasn't that strong, I was joking...! Are you hurt?!
  Yukimi: I can't believe you... (mashes a snowball into her face) ...fell for that!
• Bandage Wince: A few minutes after beating up a gaggle of Alpha Bitches who were threatening Yukimi, Aruka does this after Yukimi disinfects her wounds with hydrogen peroxide.
• Big Brother Instinct: Well, little brother instinct in the case of Daiki. He helps divert their parents away from his sister, Yukimi, when her father attempts to suggest that Yukimi hook up with a man he knows and while overall supportive of their relationship, he makes it clear to Aruka that he will not take it kindly if Aruka hurts Yukimi in any way.
• The Big Damn Kiss: After 146 pages overall, Aruka and Yukimi end up sharing their first kiss while they were sheltered in a shrine in "Extra Chapter 1".
• Book Dumb: Aside from being a delinquent, Aruka is shown to need help in school and struggling with entrance exams. Additionally, according to Yukimi, Aruka had the worst grades in their high school.
• Brick Joke:
  • On Page 24, Aruka's mother nags her about loading whites separately from colors in the washing machine. Several years later, on Page 126, Yukimi remarks that she still forgets to separate the loads.
  • Two photos seen in Pages 80 and 81 provide a few.
    • In Extra: Intermission 1, Aruka tried to win a Kumakuri plush from a claw machine for Yukimi to no avail, but in one snapshot, she succeeds.
    • Remember how a young Yukimi was terrified of deer? Another photo shows Aruka showing a deer to her, with Yukimi cowering behind her.
• Butch Lesbian: Aruka pretty much fits the bill, as she is a tomboy delinquent who dislikes dresses and enjoys playing sports, on top of having a crush on Yukimi.
• Call-Back: When Aruka bolts out of Yukimi's apartment in a Gayngst-induced panic, there's a silhouette of a younger Aruka leaving Yukimi after the former was caught in a fight at school, to remind Yukimi of the much-higher stakes if she lets Aruka get away again.
• The Cameo:
  • Kamille from Kamille can be seen spectating Aruka and Saori's schoolyard scrap.
  • Faust from Wrong Spell appears on a poster in the restaurant that Aruka, Yukimi, Natsuki, and Aki dine in.
  • Melissa from Fashion Monster (no known links) appears on a poster on a bulletin board after Aruka and Hina's suspension.
  • Veloce and Blackbird from Amongst Us appear in Kyoto station when Aruka arrives there.
  • SuliaDH's VTuber persona appears on a poster at Kyoto Station when Yukimi tracks Aruka down to there.
  • Susuhara and Nao from Susuhara Is A Demon appear on the train that Aruka and Yukimi take to the temple.
  • Rei and Hanna from Not So Shoujo Love Story appear near the temple that Aruka and Yukimi go to.
  • Two characters from Slice Of Life appear on the torii path near the temple.
• Catch Your Death of Cold: In "Extra: Intermission 3", Aruka and Yukimi catch a cold after enjoying a Snowball Fight while shoveling snow in a courtyard. Aruka also gives a Freeze Sneeze after the fact.
• Caught in the Rain: "Extra Chapter 1" has Yukimi and Aruka get caught in the rain during a date out to a temple, leading them to take shelter in a nearby shrine. The two end up having their first kiss while in the shrine.
• Chekhov's Gun: After Aruka swiftly gets lost at Kyoto Station, Yukimi insists on installing a GPS tracking app on her phone to keep track of her and ensure that she doesn't lose her way again. Later that night, after Aruka flees Yukimi's apartment in a panic, the app lets Yukimi track her down and convince her to not leave for good.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Yukimi and Aruka are childhood friends and the story of the comic revolves around them growing up to become a couple.
• Childish Tooth Gap: Aruka had a missing tooth when she was a kid, to emphasize her rambunctionous nature.
• Color-Coded Characters: Throughout their lives, Aruka often wears red and Yukimi often wears green. Those are their eye colors, too, and Yukimi's hair has a greenish tint.
• A Day in the Limelight: Special Edition: Daiki focuses on the titular Tsuyuki Daiki, the younger brother of Yukimi.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Aruka makes friends with Suzuki Saori, the captain of the softball team, by getting into a scrap with her.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Hina's Girl Posse usually goes along with her bullying, but even they find her desire to expel Aruka for her homosexuality to be too far once they realize she's actually serious about it. They also attempt to get Hina to stop trying to burn Yukimi with a cigarette, and later apologize to Yukimi for it upon graduation.
• Everybody Knew Already: Downplayed in "Special Episode: Daiki". While Yukimi's parents aren't shown to be aware of her relationship with Yukimi as she was keeping it a secret at the time, her brother Daiki caught on rather quickly, much to her surprise.
• Eyepatch of Power: After her brawl with Hina, Aruka wore a patch over her right eye for a time.
• Foregone Conclusion: The beginning of the comic makes it clear that Yukimi and Aruka do become a happy couple. The story is more about how they got to that point.
• Framing Device: The main story of the comic is told by an older Aruka and Yukimi during a night out with their friends Aki and Natsuki.
• Gayngst: Aruka suffers from this, as she's reluctant to tell Yukimi about her sexuality and feelings for her out of fear of ruining their friendship.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Hina is a teen smoker who's haughty and homophobic and tries to burn Yukimi with her cigarette for standing up to her before Aruka intervenes.
• How We Got Here: The main story is told by an older Yukimi and Aruka through flashbacks.
• Idea Bulb: A young Aruka gets one of these when she thinks to take a young Yukimi home with her.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...:
  • After Aruka and Hina's supension, Aruka makes it clear to her that she's still not to pester Yukimi:
    Aruka: Listen carefully, Kamura. I might not be around for a while, but if I find out about anything funny happening to Tsuyuki from now on, you will be the first one I ask for an explanation. Have I made myself clear?
  • Yukimi's younger brother, Daiki, is supportive of Aruka's relationship with her, but he makes it clear to Aruka during a trip to the Ramen House that if she does anything to hurt her, she will have to get through him. Yukimi does not react to this well when she finds out through Aruka's text messages.
• Incompatible Orientation:
  • One boy, called Koto-kun, is shown to attempt asking out Aruka constantly. Aruka, being a lesbian, is not interested in him and makes that fact very clear.
  • Subverted with a guy Yukimi dates in high school but doesn't have feelings for, which initially seems to be just an instance of Yukimi closeting herself, but when her biromanticism is revealed, is more clearly a case of No Sparks.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: When Natsuki badgers Aruka to tell how she and Yukimi first met, Aruka takes a few fat gulps of beer. However, it's downplayed since everyone else was already drinking.
• Japanese Delinquents: Aruka is an incredibly rowdy troublemaker who tends to get into fights with others and according to Yukimi, gets thrown into detention on a monthly basis. Saiwa also fits the bill as well.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Aruka has a reputation of being a rowdy and troublemaking delinquent and can be a bit of a jerk at times, but she is a genuinely loving and caring person, especially towards Yukimi.
• The Lad-ette: Aruka is a sporty tomboy who frequently swears and gets into fights with others. The present day scenes also show her as having a fondness for drinking.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Hina's attempt to burn Yukimi with a cigarette results in her getting a rather deserved beating from Aruka.
• Lesbian Jock: Aruka is incredibly sporty and ends up joining a softball club as a way to start anew and to distance herself from Yukimi. She ends up leaving the club in her third year, and as an adult she becomes a gym teacher.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Or in Yukimi's case, biromantic. Yukumi is the more traditionally feminine of the two, wears her hair long, and wears makeup.
• Non-Action Girl: Yukimi is not accustomed to strenuous action like Aruka is, and occasionally lightly gripes to her about this.
• Noodle Incident: The end of the main comic implies that Natsuki is prone to bouts of Alcohol-Induced Idiocy.
  Aki: Aah, I'm sorry... when she drinks, she gets super annoying.
  Yukimi: Oh, I know. I still remember what she did when I graduated.
• Oh, Crap!: During the flashbacks, any time Yukimi brings up Aruka's romantic feelings for her, Aruka starts to panic.
• Queer Establishing Moment: When Aruka says that she didn't think Yukimi would be interested in her because she's into guys, Yukimi's response is to say there's people who like both men and women, implicitly including herself, revealing her biromanticism.
• Secret Relationship: Downplayed. It is shown in "Special Chapter: Daiki" that Yukimi had not told her parents that she was dating Aruka and assumes that her family wasn't aware (which ended up being false to an extent as Daiki caught on to it rather quickly).
• Snowball Fight: The two enjoy one in "Extra: Intermission 3" while shoveling their apartment's courtyard clear of snow.
• Social Semi-Circle: In "Special Episode: Daiki" when the Tsuyuki family is seated at the dinner table, Yukimi and Daiki both sit at one side of the table, while their mother sits across from them and their father sits to their right. Why Yukimi doesn't move to the empty seat to her left is anybody's guess.
• Tempting Fate: At the end of "Special Chapter: Daiki", Daiki briefly thinks to himself about his actions will secure his sisters happiness and her room. As the text message conversation between Aruka and Yukimi beforehand shows however, he is soon gonna find out that this is not gonna be the case.
• Tiger Versus Dragon: Invoked with Aruka and Suzuki. Whenever they're clashing, Aruka takes on tiger motifs and Suzuki takes on dragon motifs. Additionally, in one shot, the animals appear on each of their ballcaps.
• Tsundere: Yukimi can be a bit harsh and tends to frequently scold Aruka for her childish and reckless tendencies, but she is a truly caring and compassionate person who loves Aruka at the end of the day.
• Use Your Head: Aruka headbutts Saori during their schoolyard brawl.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In-universe, Aruka and Yukimi comment on how, after their high school years were over, they didn't hear from Hina again.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: A young Yukimi develops a fear of deer after a young Aruka describes them to her as being gigantic, carnivorous, woods-dwelling monsters, and her aversion to them persists well into her teenage years.
  • In Extra Chapter 1, Aruka reminds her of a school trip to Nara where a large group of deer were there, too, and Yukimi was so petrified that Aruka had to check every road ahead of time. Present-day Yukimi is not pleased.
• Win Her a Prize: In Extra: Intermission 1, Aruka empties her wallet into a claw machine in hopes of winning a Kumakuri plush for Yukimi. When nothing comes of it, she angrily stomps the machine.
• You Must Be Cold: Aruka gives Yukimi her hoodie during a storm in "Extra Chapter 1" to keep her dry.

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