Come on guys. Incest? Doesn't bother you? Well if not, rape definitely should. Glad it wasn't that this time at least... still, ew wtf.

Where did you come from, and how did you get here?

I just realized, I've assumed that Shio has been officially designated as a "Missing Person", but from what we've seen, the only person putting up fliers and looking for Shio is Asahi (her brother, probably). In the pre-serialization oneshot, she was on the police missing persons' website, but the actual series has so many discrepancies with the original work that it's probably best to treat them as separate stories.

That seems to indicate then that her parents haven't reported her missing, either because they don't care about her, or because they're dead. In chapters 5 and 6, Asahi's flashbacks show him handing Shio to a woman (probably their mother), who takes her and flees from the house (name on the door says Kobe). Before she leaves, she promises to return for him. He then returns inside to confront "a demon". Shio's flashbacks show her living along with her mother, who insists that she never leave the house, and is always either faceless or angry in her memory.

Thus we can sort of reconstruct events to say that Shio's father was a violent man. Shio's mother took her and left, but Asahi stayed behind as a sacrifice (it's clear he knows he's going to be beaten if he stays, but he's more worried about Shio). Later on, Shio's mother's mental state degenerated, probably due to fear and worry that her husband would come after her. In this scenario, there is a plausible case to be made that her mother is dead, due to domestic abuse, and her father is dead as well, or locked up, or simply doesn't care to look for her. Asahi is clearly living on the streets, and his pathological distrust of adults indicates that he either couldn't get the police to help, or that he didn't even try asking for their help.

The person who Satou chopped up and disposed of is probably her aunt. For one thing, Shouko knows where Satou lives, and thinks of it as the place where she lives with her aunt - Shouko knew Satou before Satou acquired Shio, so it would make sense that the place she thinks of as Satou's home is the place where she lived with her aunt. In chapter 2, there is a scene where the narrator says, "This happiness-filled castle built for two is all thanks to one person's sacrifice" and the scene cuts to the garbage bags in the bloody room. Satou's flashbacks and hallucinations of her aunt tend to be of a woman with bandages covering her face and neck, which shows that she suffered violence from someone. It would be far more difficult to murder someone and move into their apartment than it would be to murder someone you live with and continue to live there. In the first case, the landlord and neighbors might be suspicious, acquaintances of the former resident would be suspicious, and if the person were reported as missing, the police would show up and be very curious why a stranger was living in the home of a missing person. If you already lived there and were known as a relative of the missing person, it would be easier to avoid suspicion and talk your way out of any problems. The main problem with this assessment is that mail from Satou's workplace is returned, which would seems to indicate that her registered address has changed at some point.

So I believe that some incident occurred that involved Shio running away from her mother, Shio's father killing her mother, Satou killing her aunt, and Satou kidnapping/rescuing Shio. The initial connection between Satou and Shio is the main mystery in this scenario. It could have been random chance, that Satou happened upon Shio when they were both in desperate and confused states and they clung to each other. It could be that Satou or Satou's aunt had some relationship with Shio's father or mother, in which case this whole mess would be a convoluted chain of domestic violence.

Of course, this is all speculation on the partial evidence available. The author could easily introduce new characters or complications that would render this all meaningless. Some or all of the hints so far could be mere distractions meant to mislead us. But I think the prominent role of psychotically obsessive love is consistent with a setup involving interconnected chains of domestic abuse.

last edited at Oct 9, 2016 7:11AM

Except, from what we've seen, Satou was never very receptive to her aunt's form of love. So I'm not sure the situations are going to end up too, too similar, since Shio seems more receptive to Satou. Which makes me wonder what it means that "Satou's love was awakened by her aunt," if she never felt these feelings until she met Shio.

Oh yes. I just like to think about that for fun. It's very unlikely that things are heading in that direction, there'd be all sorts of awkward details in the way.

I also wonder about what that line meant, and what her aunt was like. It could be that she first felt love for something her aunt exposed her to. Or that her aunt taught her some lesson about love. Or that she felt love for her aunt but later made herself forget. More contradictory evidence: the aunt she imagines seems to be both her guide and her tormentor - "showing her the way" to deal with Suu-chan, but also criticizing her love for Shio-chan. That may or may not be how her aunt was in life (I tend to assume she's dead), since when Satou hears another person's voice inside her head, she's just hearing her mind's reflection of them (though the author uses this technique quite liberally, and it might mean something different in the context of the story). But her reaction does indicate that her aunt had a profound and lasting impact on her, one way or another.

It's difficult to come up with any specific scenarios, since we simply know so little about Satou's past, and what we do know is suspect. It's become quite clear that the stories she tells about herself cannot be taken at face value. Not because she lies, but because the truth she knows is so skewed as to be sometimes unrecognizable.

last edited at Oct 6, 2016 6:53PM

It really just seems like Sato's psychologically fucked up because of her aunt but really just wants nothing more than what anyone else wants; to be happy. Just in her case that seems to be tied directly to Shio. Honestly I kinda feel sorry for her more than anything so far.

I am really curious about how she ended up with Shio though. And despite the fact Shio's considered missing it doesn't really seem like she misses her family at all so I'm kinda curious about that too.

Me too.... I was so hoping we'd find out in this chapter, but it ended up being hilarious, so I forgive the author.

My personal theory is that Satou is just perpetuating the natural cycle of lesbian lolicon yanderes. When the time comes, Shio will murder Satou and find her own abused loli to rescue and cherish, just as Satou did before her, and Satou's "aunt" before her, going back for generations. It's simply the circle of life.

The author was trying to trick us into thinking that Sato was confessing her murder. Which admittedly on hindsight very out of character for her. No wonder It felt kinda weird that Satou admitted her "sin" so easy

That really surprised me as well. Started laughing when I finally realized what she was "confessing". But it makes sense. To Satou, saying she loves someone other than Shio is way worse than murder. Notice how miserable she was after her encounter with Suu (washing her mouth out, freaking out, hallucinating her aunt, etc.), but when she gouged the eyes out of those fools in the park in chapter 7, she was back to her regular, cheerful self right away.

I liked this chapter because it shows that Satou isn't sociopathic. She was so haunted by the guilt of "betraying her love" that she forced herself to confess, even though she was afraid it would make Shio hate her. One of Anti-Social Personality Disorder's key indicators is the absence of this same kind of remorse. Thus, she has a moral system and feels empathy, just in a very selective, alien way. At the same time, she might understand how to manipulate people who are guided by their selfish desires, but she has very little insight into Shio.

I think the name Moratorium, as stated in the end of the chapter, pretty much explains this whole situation.

I interpret it very differently than you. For one thing, "Moratorium" originally consisted of just two chapters, the third was added when the series was republished in the Cocytus collection. In that sense, I think it is more likely that "Moratorium" applied to Mao in the first two chapters, and her decision at the end of the second chapter is the end of her moratorium.

In the usual sense of the word, it would be the end because she gets a proper job and becomes a full-fledged adult.

I think its application to their relationship is similar. Mao was stuck in uncertainty, not really knowing what it was she wanted, or how to get it. Her job search was going poorly. She knew she would be separated from Itsuki. She had no other friends or people she could rely upon.

Then, she finally resolves herself and decides that she wants to be with Itsuki forever, no matter what. She works hard to make that happen. In this sense, "growing up" means working hard and sacrificing her uncertainties, her moral qualms, and any empathy for Itsuki in order to pursue her goal.

It could be then that the most recent chapter is about Itsuki's "moratorium". However, Itsuki is quite clear that she is manipulating Mao. The lines, "if she's afraid of losing me, she'll jump into my embrace on her own", "did you think you were the only one who could be cunning?", and "I was getting a drink with a coworker" (echoing Mao's earlier excuse), make clear to the audience that she is putting on a performance in order to make Mao desperate.

This would then be an echo of the first two chapters - Itsuki has been stuck, unable to do anything, but she finally resolves her doubts. She decides that, above all else, what she wants is Mao. That line in the shower has two parts: "After that [Mao holding on to me], there's no way I'm giving up [on her]. Nor will I settle for just idly staying by her side." She cannot give up, and she will not stay as she is. She is committed to making Mao hers, and executes a plan to achieve this.

We do not know how long they will stay together, or what form their relationship will take. However, it is clear at the end of the story that neither one of them intends to let go.

I'm pretty uncertain about it, but I get the impression that Ituski might've been setting this up for a while. Her coworker asking her out just when she and Mao received notification about their lease may not have been a coincidence, but instead the culmination of her long-term plans.

On the other hand, she seemed honestly surprised when she was asked, "Do you like women?" and again when she saw the letter. Also, our impression of Itsuki in parts 1 and 2 is as straight-forward, honest, and perhaps even innocent (though I imagine she would quickly become cynical and skilled at deception from having to put up with Mao).

Itsuki might have been tolerating Mao's behavior as she became more and more disillusioned, until circumstances fortuitously came together and allowed her to strike back. Or, she might have been secretly setting up this scheme, including targeting her lesbian coworker and insincerely leading her on. I kinda like the second possibility, because then it really feels like Itsuki and Mao are a perfect couple, and that they might even deserve each other.

She is going to be waiting a long time because nothing will change regarding Moa. Moa is straight as a pole.

Itsuki at some point became aware that their relationship is a battle, whereas Mao was treating it like that the whole time. Ituski's been losing so far, but she is very aware of both her own weaknesses and Mao's. Itsuki's stuck because she just can't bring herself to leave Mao. However, she knows that Mao couldn't bear to lose her. This little scheme with her coworker's text and the lease on their apartment might be a bluff, but it's succeeded in making Mao desperate. She'd do anything to keep Itsuki. In the past, Itsuki always caved first - Mao successfully provoked her and disarmed her each time they clashed - but from this last chapter, we learn that Itsuki is perfectly aware that she's being manipulated, and that she is much more cunning than Mao. So far, Mao has been pretty successful in using seduction. She's never had to go all the way because Ituski caves at the slightest provocation. if Itsuki held out long enough, Mao would be desperate enough to sleep with her. I think that's what she meant with the line "If she's afraid of losing me, she'll jump into my arms on her own." That probably wouldn't make either of them happy though....

last edited at Sep 18, 2016 5:12PM

What the fuck, this is so unhealthy Mao is literally monopolizing someone for her own good. How can a person be so possessive and selfish? I'm really not able to enjoy this sort of "relationship".

I think that's rather the point. It's refreshing how honest Mao is though. She may be stupid, but she isn't oblivious. In the first chapter, she struggles with the nature of Itsuki's and her own feelings. In the second chapter, she determines how she'll address them.

She's completely aware of how awful she is from the beginning, and in the end she she decides that, rather than trying to change herself, she will selfishly pursue her own desires without remorse. This seems to be the end of her "moratorium", which presents a rather grim view of adulthood - growing up means throwing away childish insecurities and single-mindedly working towards a determined goal. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean becoming a better person... just a more effective one.

I think then, this implies that in the emptiness of Mao's youth, she never learned how to "choose". She wandered aimlessly until finding something that gave her a sense of fulfillment, which she desperately clung onto, not knowing if anything like it would come again. This was her trap. The thematic background is the spiritual bankruptcy of her existence, and the way her behavior is rooted in the Buddhist poisons or Christian mortal sins of desire (lust, gluttony, greed, and envy).

last edited at Sep 2, 2016 3:16AM

I've read this a half dozen times, and I keep thinking there's something complete just underneath the surface. I get the feeling of an allegory; the sense of intimacy, dark secrets, jealousy, and innocence lost could just as easily be applied to, for example, Yuu realizing she's attracted to women. However, it's not clear-cut, that's too broad a meaning for such a targeted story. You could say the offerings of blood are secret trysts (as they so often play that role in vampire stories), and that the darkness Yuu sees is her own unfulfilled and unacceptable desire, but then why must Fushiko leave, and what is the significance of her return? Perhaps her leaving is the loneliness of Yuu's self-realization, too late to save her just-acknowledged love. Then the promised return would a choice, to either refuse and remain "normal" or accept and change into something "different". But I don't like this interpretation, it doesn't fit. It's both too obvious and too ordinary for such a dark and haunting story, one that carries so many hints of death. It feels like there is something more.

Of course, it could simply be exactly what it looks like: a supernatural tale of two young women and their strange connection. I might be uselessly searching for some non-existent metaphor, led on by the otherworldly mood. Or it could be a metaphor for something specific to the author's experience that isn't meant to be understood by readers, expect at a murky distance. Whatever it is, this sure is a compelling story.

last edited at Aug 26, 2016 1:25AM

Also, Sato cut out those two guys eyes? yikes.

After all, those were eyes that saw Shio. That's practically rape. Rapists must be punished, right?

The drama is so contrived, but can't stop reading....

We start out in the midst of a bizarre and macabre scenario, with two characters who treat it like a happy every-day life. There are three immediate questions: How did things come to be this way? What could drive people into such a position? Who are these people?

As is traditional for in media res narratives, the author answers these questions while developing the situation as it moves forward. He answers them one-by-one, in reverse order. First we come to know what drives Satou and how she behaves. Then we see signs of Shio's abnormalities as well. Meanwhile, there are brief hints as to what came before, bits of the characters' pasts, but not much as to an explanation of the situation at the story's outset.

This leaves me curious: will the manga end when we find out how Shio and Satou came to be together, or will the narrative transition to a different structure?