Also, I'd argue drama isn't more realistic than fluff per se. People like to think it is (probably in part because fluff is often extremely optimistic), but really, the world isn't just a pit of infinite darkness. Sometimes good things happen. Sometimes people are happy. You know, fluff.

+1

First of all let it be known that I really like how people can come up with such long explanations theories for such short one shots, it's really a testament to the yuri community and I hope to see more of it in the future.

But then why am I so unstatisfied with those? I can't say there is anything wrong with them, it's just intepretation.
So, again, why am I not content with it? I went throug the story a couple of times and I saw nothing wrong in it with what I read here. Then, I asked myself: ''How would I interprete it?'' ''Alright, think, what do I know about them?'' Then it hit me, the same problem I had with Takemiya Jins recent work, the one with the friendzoned girl:
Missing characterization and world building, even though you can get some info out of it, I started to realized a inherent problem with one shots. They are too short. What is that, you say? ''Duuuh, of course, they are, they are one-shots, done by some guy/girl who had some free time to spare''
That is true, yes, but why then not go all out, why choose this type of storytelling that relies very heavily on others to fill the gaps? Then I thought about it again: What if I was Yui_7, telling you this story on a fireplace? I would probably have lost more than half the people by the time I was finished. I didn't really thought about the circumstances, the characters or the situations they are in, I just left it up to you to finish the blanks, even though I created this story in my head and took it upon myself to entertain you for the evening. Why is it okay when a series like Watchmen has an ambigious ending? Why am I not complaining when Inception teases us with the totem at the end. What about Stretch and Prism? They aren't shy to withhold information. What about Umineko? Heck, it could be argued that it's one giant clusterfuck of interpretation Why am I okay with them not having a statisfying answer?

I think I got it. All of those stories I listed managed to build a world with characters you like or atleast you can understand. All of those had prioritized of building the ground work first, ie: telling a story first in a clear sort of matter BEFORE they turned to the audience and gave them room to come to their own conclusion. I believe that, unless you make one hell of a long one-short, you are going to lose your reader if you keep things too simple and too ambigious, remember this when you want to write a story, you are a STORYWRITER, please write a STORY and don't rely too much on the audience to fill in the gaps for you, .

last edited at Jan 3, 2015 1:25PM

I read it a bit differently -- Yomi is a coward for going along with everyone else's wishes instead of standing up for herself.

According to my reading, Mahiru asked her out and Yomi agreed even though her heart wasn't exactly in it, because it's easier. She complied with Mia's blackmail attempt because it's easier (which is not to say it's her own fault, but she herself seemed to think she could have refused had she tried). She moved away because, well, it "solves" all her problems. Breaking up, for example, is not as difficult when you have an excuse, and she won't see her sister again for a while at least.
The point, therefore, is how constantly giving in doesn't make anyone happy in the long run.

Also, I'd argue drama isn't more realistic than fluff per se. People like to think it is (probably in part because fluff is often extremely optimistic), but really, the world isn't just a pit of infinite darkness. Sometimes good things happen. Sometimes people are happy. You know, fluff.

but the opposite has to be true as well doesn't it. people are happy but that takes REAL work and effort something many fluff relationships do not show (or at least it show well) IMO

I like all the interpretations ive read here....of course ive got a slightly diff interpretation as well.... but id rather point out the ambiguous-ness of the story as a big +
I think the fact that its left so many blanks and questions is what makes it good yuri...the fact that people can draw on the story and interpret it to their own personal experiences in life, and of course discuss it because of the questions it raises makes it a good story...

Also, I'd argue drama isn't more realistic than fluff per se. People like to think it is (probably in part because fluff is often extremely optimistic), but really, the world isn't just a pit of infinite darkness. Sometimes good things happen. Sometimes people are happy. You know, fluff.

but the opposite has to be true as well doesn't it. people are happy but that takes REAL work and effort something many fluff relationships do not show (or at least it show well) IMO

Indeed. I'm gonna use your reply to elaborate a bit even though we don't seem to disagree, so please bear with me.

While happiness usually takes effort, sometimes, like in fluff, people are just happy. It happens, even if may be temporary. It's not unrealistic, it just doesn't make for a relatable or interesting story, at least according to Western storytelling traditions. (Maybe this is part of the reason we call it fluff in the first place.)
Warmth and happiness are as realistic as pain and darkness. All of them are part of life. That shallow fluff can ring hollow doesn't mean only depressing stories ever resemble life, which is an attitude many people have (not just cynical teens).

But yeah, I would definitely love a little more fluffy yuri with substance.

Sex with weak plot and dark themes...not the kind of thing I enjoy. I guess it's the author's style, though.

I don't really care for the ambiguity of it simply because it's like that for every character we're introduced to which in turn makes the ENTIRETY of the story ambiguous. Like stated there are stories that people tend to be okay with having an ambiguous or Open end with no Solidly Clear Cut Ending. This comes back to me saying that "The ending is that there is no ending." it ends because the story stops being told.

It's like in "http://dynasty-scans.com/series/qualia_the_purple" where the character says "When does a story begin?"

Only with one shots the question becomes "When does the story end?" and most of the time the answer is simply "When they storyteller/narrator stops telling the story." because no matter how you slice it only the one who created the story can tell you how it ends...well unless we get overly picky and start throwing in real life things such as biographies and such.

Either way I have a love hate relationship with One-Shots the stories are sometimes good and often times it ends without really ending or ends with you wanting more and obviously not going to get it lol.

There was more I wanted to say, but it felt like I was digressing too far from the subject so I'll leave it at that.

Hmm. Interesting story. I hope all three of them move on then. It seems like an often absent parent + far-away sibling/previous love interest might lead to an unhealthy lifestyle for Mia if she doesn't find some love/support in other ways. (i.e.: friends).

Well this is somewhat of a slap of reality to fluffy-yuri-lovers-faces
Like it or not. Deal with it

I liked it, despite being a downer. I think Yomi made the right move at the end, since both of her relationships were unhealthy, and hopefully she can make a fresh start in Tokyo. Even if to some degree she's running away with both problems.

I can't honestly say the relationship with either was 'unhealthy' so much as needing something more. And more than just some degree she completely is running away from her problems. She didn't talk to either to explain her decisions, just banged and ditched.

Which is not bad by itself.

As for the story it depends on your take on Yui7. She makes great templates and lots of her stories are good on paper, but her execution just lacks so much usually. This one felt like an en medias res start to a bigger series.

I personally am not a fan because her stories sovereign of anything else just lack so much. Not that I have a problem with tragedy or sadder endings. I just think Yui has a lot to work on to make the stories themselves better.

I return to my earlier comment, her stories tend to have a far better aftertaste than foretaste as well. It's meant to be sour and make you see the bad end. If there was more to the story after the decision to leave from the older sister's perspective, it would be far superior I think.

last edited at Jan 3, 2015 8:44PM

I liked it, despite being a downer. I think Yomi made the right move at the end, since both of her relationships were unhealthy, and hopefully she can make a fresh start in Tokyo. Even if to some degree she's running away with both problems.

I can't honestly say the relationship with either was 'unhealthy' so much as needing something more. And more than just some degree she completely is running away from her problems. She didn't talk to either to explain her decisions, just banged and ditched.

One relationship was incest involving blackmail and the other was using someone for sex, knowing she didn't love them. They were both unhealthy, much as incest is an amusing fantasy in these parts. Yes, she's running away from her problems, she can't avoid her sister forever and she really should have been up-front with her girlfriend. However, with distance there is a lot more options to move forward for both of them at least.

Hm, I guess I'll actually add something relevant.

Why are we giving these characters characteristics that were never shown.

Yomi decided to leave. Fact. "Why" was not actually explained in detail, as far as we know it's merely "Had sex with my sister who I'd kiss secretly...now I'm leaving." I suppose you could venture to say it's because their mother is with a different guy every time so you COULD say it's "I don't want to end up like our mother." but there's not really enough info about all that.

If you say "There is no one reason." then it doesn't help it's case because WE as the reader aren't given any reason which all comes back to the story leaving TOO MUCH up for interpretation.

All we know for certain is what the title tells us, which is one of two things. Yomi is a coward OR Yomi, Mahiru, AND Mia are cowards everything else is so loose that you could literally put the last few pages first and read the rest and wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Now, I'm not bashing it, it was pretty good...just hoped there was a little more...well...info.

Meh I guess it's that I don't like the whole "Audience Interpretative Storytelling".

Plot is kinda weird, yeah.

Ya know...I don't mind the story persay, it boils down mostly to why I don't like one-shots in the first place. They give you this large empty feeling most times ESPECIALLY the dark/realistic/aaaaaaangst-y ones.

You can't really put an 'End' on it feels like someone telling you a story like this.

"This one time, I was boning my girlfriend when I really wanted to bone her sister right? Then one day I went to her house and the sister was there but not my girlfriend, she told me she'd seen me and her sister going at it and threatened to tell if I didn't do her...so I went ahead and did it...but I couldn't handle all that pressure, so I broke up with my girl who got mad cause she knew I was after her sister. I had to get out of that situation man so I decided to leave... ... ..."

It's like....AND?! What else happened? I'm not looking for EVERYONE'S ending just SOME semblance of a conclusion. The reality is that the conclusion is that there is no conclusion. It's artist's favorite thing to do most of the time. "I'll leave the ending up to the reader.".... Why? Don't tell me a story then say "So...what do you think happened after that?" I don't know...

At this point I could confidently say something like this.

Ex-Virgin sister kills herself out of depression.
Other sister loses all ability to commit to a relationship.
and the Ex-Girlfriend is the only one who manages to get a decent relationship after shutting her heart all throughout school and some girl from work years later breaks her out of that shell.

I mean...tell me something. Have one of the characters narrate something like "Little did she know...I'd always have eyes for her." or something, it's more solid than "And she leaves the house...The End."

Doesn't have to be fluffy at this point or happy, just...conclusive.

I couldn't agree more XD

I liked it, despite being a downer. I think Yomi made the right move at the end, since both of her relationships were unhealthy, and hopefully she can make a fresh start in Tokyo. Even if to some degree she's running away with both problems.

I can't honestly say the relationship with either was 'unhealthy' so much as needing something more. And more than just some degree she completely is running away from her problems. She didn't talk to either to explain her decisions, just banged and ditched.

One relationship was incest involving blackmail and the other was using someone for sex, knowing she didn't love them. They were both unhealthy, much as incest is an amusing fantasy in these parts. Yes, she's running away from her problems, she can't avoid her sister forever and she really should have been up-front with her girlfriend. However, with distance there is a lot more options to move forward for both of them at least.

Sorry for late response, and excuse me if this comes across as rude because I am not trying to be, but the relationships weren't unhealthy. 'Unhealthy' means for it to degrade both people just by being together. Yeah Yomi was fickle and got cold feet at the end, but neither relationship was unhealthy so much as unfocused.

But ultimately there is nothing positive about her running away. Yeah you can believe she will 'start fresh' from the distance because of the open options, but the wounds haven't been closed properly, so they will scar and they will scar badly. That leaves a permanent impression, and so even if her sister and her gf can move on past it, the fact remains that there is nothing positive from Yomi, the person who actually did something (as in moving away).

And that's on purpose. Yomi is supposed to be a bad person. She is supposed to be cowardly, irresponsible, immature, and dishonest. Perhaps she moves on and figures out her life henceforth, but Yui ended where she did on purpose. That is the point of the story, and if you don't see Yomi as such, you are missing the point of the story. Of course, it could be Yui's fault for not properly conveying the message too, but I felt she did a least a decent job here.

Yomi decided to leave. Fact. "Why" was not actually explained in detail, as far as we know it's merely "Had sex with my sister who I'd kiss secretly...now I'm leaving." I suppose you could venture to say it's because their mother is with a different guy every time so you COULD say it's "I don't want to end up like our mother." but there's not really enough info about all that.

Quite frankly we do know the 'why'. Just because there are multiple branching baths after the grounds for the why does not mean we do not know it. Yomi ran from her problems. That's all the why we need.

All we know for certain is what the title tells us, which is one of two things. Yomi is a coward OR Yomi, Mahiru, AND Mia are cowards everything else is so loose that you could literally put the last few pages first and read the rest and wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Ohhhhh be super careful with this. Using the title as a reference point to the plot in the story is bad bad bad bad bad. Figuring out the meaning of the title after figuring out the story is great, but the reverse is about as effective as throwing darts. The title can literally mean anything, and can even mean something totally different from what you expect. For all we know, coward could be ironic and mean the exact opposite of what we expect (we know that's not the case in this situation though).

Meh I guess it's that I don't like the whole "Audience Interpretative Storytelling".

Give it a few days and think about it s'more. Yui's form of this AIS is more effective for introspection after the fact rather than before. Because she loves the sour, and usually bad end with no further info given.

sisters want each other. yomi gets gf to distract herself from her feelings. mia sees yomi doing the sex with mahiru, mia tempts yomi into sex at home. yomi, being the coward she is, moves to tokyo to run away from her problems (cheating on gf and giving in to her feelings for her sister).

This.

Meh I guess it's that I don't like the whole "Audience Interpretative Storytelling".

Yeah, there was a lot left open. Was like we got all the facts that happened but no answer. I did enjoy some of the emotions during the sex scenes but the plot got cut short sort of ruined... the overall feeling of the one-shot.

I like the sex, not so much the story.
And here I was, looking for a fluffy incest story lol

it's getting animated wohooooooo

it's getting animated wohooooooo

Whaaaaat? where did you read that?

Woo~~

Wait, but is that serious or april first joke...?

I bet and hope for the joke x)

I wonder if Yui7 is just trolling with us xD