Reading this is agony, and rereading from the start and seeing all the seeds that were planted makes it so much worse. It's beautifully done.
They're all in pain and I don't know that they'll be able to help each other escape it. In ch9 Chie's so determined to save Maki from Maki, but she cuts herself off before she can realize that Chie needs to be saved from Chie, from dedicating even more of herself to an idealized Maki that doesn't exist. Chie tells Maki exactly what she wants to hear- you did nothing wrong, you're hurting because you're too selfless and perfect- and not what she needs to hear, that she needs to stay far away from Ako and needs to realize that ASAP, for Ako's and her sakes. Chie won't tell the hard truth because Chie's hurting and she's filling the hole in her heart with Maki... just like the others are filling the holes in their hearts with each other. After Yuki's confession to Komachi I thought she might've realized how her own need for Komachi/Ako to be close again for her sake could be a problem, but even now Yuki's trying to push them back together...
If anyone can break the chain at this point and get the others to see their own pain / hidden motivations clearly, I feel like Ako could- she seems to have realized how twisted up the situation with Maki is, at least, and she's told Komachi to stop copying her. But it's possible that Ako might be (unintentionally) missing the nature of her own feelings towards Komachi, and if that's the case...
(I hope it's not too cruel to talk about the characters this way! I feel (at least a little) sorry for everyone for their pain, And I also think every chapter deserves the Horror tag. Really enjoying it.)
last edited at Feb 11, 2021 12:32AM
