I'll still respond to Blastaar's comment though even if it doesn't apply to this series anymore. I think it's healthy to have everything in the open and to be honest with each other about everything that's happened pre-relationship and after. It accomplishes trust and lets both parties know what they're getting into and what to expect from the person they are dating. Because I completely forgot Sora did already reveal she had ulterior motives, it felt off to me since I thought one side apologized and acknowledged their side of the problems, but the other didn't. So this whole time I thought one side was being unfairly rewarded.
I still think this is much ado about nothing, both in this series and in others. This shibboleth of relationships being tainted by “ulterior motives” seems to be based on a highly abstract notion of “healthiness”—so what exactly counts as an “ulterior” motive? People enter into relationships (not just romantic, but also friendships, acquaintances, etc.) for all sorts of motives, and those motives habitually change as the people get to know each other.
One of the commonest tropes in yuri manga is that two people initially get together for reasons that change substantially as their relationship develops. Sure, if Ayaka had continued to be with Sora only because she was being blackmailed, that would be a problem. But that’s not at all what happens here, and while that apology may make you feel better about the story’s “healthiness,” I don’t see how would it affect their ongoing relationship if the apology had never happened at all.
Well I was talking about ulterior motives in relation to this story. Of course everyone has various degrees of "motives" for beginning any type of relationship, but in the case of THIS story, Sora's motive was to get UNCONSENSUAL physical and emotional attention from a crush Sora has been admiring for years from afar and said crush never even knew Sora existed until the blackmail situation.
I think that's a pretty huge fucking problem and red flag irl if it was never addressed and swept under the rug. I use "irl" because how their relationship has been handled is very realistic so it doesn't have the excuse of "it's just a manga"
Like without the apology or at least the other party finding out that "she used this fucked up situation to get closer to me", it just becomes another romanticized "I fell in love with my manipulator" type story. Because remember it wasn't just a simple "Hey I only pretended to need help with my studies as an excuse to spend time with you" type of motive, but straight up blackmail for physical/emotional "requests". Since everything after they had the talk was done so well and were correct ways of handling a relationship, missing this one thing was a glaring error in my brain. It felt they talked about and solved literally every problem except the biggest issue that began the series, that was then ignored and forgotten about. If written like this, it mixes in the message that Sora's behavior is ok since the relationship turned out fine in the end.
I had actually put "I personally prefer if everything was in the open and have everyone be honest with each other" in my previous post, but took out the "personally" because I thought this wasn't even an opinion, but a fact that open communication is great for a healthy relationship. Even if they are being open and honest about everything AFTER they get together, the pre-relationship is still a big part of a relationship and does affect things down the line since it directly involved both of them.
I think it's incorrect to say their relationship wouldnt change if Sora never apologized. For example if Sora never mentioned anything, but Ayaka found out eventually through other means, I think this would change the relationship dynamic. This is a major flaw that she discovered in the person she is dating. How she decides to then proceed with their relationship is up to her. Even if she just brushes it off like she did in the story, it at least gives her the power to decide what to do.
Would they still have the same ongoing relationship if Sora never revealed she had always wanted to be closer to Ayaka? Sure maybe, ignorance is bliss after all, but I wouldn't feel good about it as a reader who knows the whole story because Sora will just feel like a manipulator that got what she wanted and I'd have to deal with everyone praising that their relationship is cute and wholesome. (Which is how I felt and I guess is the whole reason I had that rant in the first place until I was reminded they already talked it out. Didn't realize this fact until I wrote out everything just now lol)
Anyway I should prob do a reread of this series now since I've been reading it wrong for the past 2 years
last edited at Sep 23, 2022 9:50PM
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