Aw man this has such good potential as a series

It's such a messed up relationship but it would be so good to read, already the older sister is getting all flustered post-love confession. Aaah I want morrre

Backstory was kind of what I was expecting, I really wanted to see more of the two interact in the sequel. So good!

Fraternal bond

Fraternal relates to brothers. Sororal relates to sisters.

~The more you know~

I searched before writting it and I came to the conclusion that it was the same as in french, sororal is like never used and fraternal could be neutral.

Look like I was wrong x)

That's actually kind of strange, considering French is usually a lot more gender specific than English.

Fraternal bond

Fraternal relates to brothers. Sororal relates to sisters.

~The more you know~

I searched before writting it and I came to the conclusion that it was the same as in french, sororal is like never used and fraternal could be neutral.

Look like I was wrong x)

That's actually kind of strange, considering French is usually a lot more gender specific than English.

As I french, I can tell you that sororal is rarely, rarely used. Although french is indeed really more gender-specific than english.

Would this qualify as a complex?

I'm pretty sure this is the very definition of a complex. Sunako's extremely screwed up, with her mother beating her constantly and her father being mostly absent, she had nothing to grab ahold of; his death upended what little she had, especially with hearing that her mother wishes she had died instead.

When she's moved in with her father's other family, his wife isn't shy about letting her know that the relationship's temporary and that she's to earn her keep. She's moved up from an abusive mother, but that's about it. Only when Yasuko makes her speech on family and what it means is Sunako given something permanent to latch onto. This is, of course, why she takes everything she has to throw at her: calling her on it would risk losing the one thing she's clinging to for dear life.

There's nothing healthy here.

Would this qualify as a complex?

I'm pretty sure this is the very definition of a complex. Sunako's extremely screwed up, with her mother beating her constantly and her father being mostly absent, she had nothing to grab ahold of; his death upended what little she had, especially with hearing that her mother wishes she had died instead.

When she's moved in with her father's other family, his wife isn't shy about letting her know that the relationship's temporary and that she's to earn her keep. She's moved up from an abusive mother, but that's about it. Only when Yasuko makes her speech on family and what it means is Sunako given something permanent to latch onto. This is, of course, why she takes everything she has to throw at her: calling her on it would risk losing the one thing she's clinging to for dear life.

There's nothing healthy here.

Definitely not healthy. Sunako's independent yet emotionally dependent on her sister, so it feels like she's more latching onto her than actually in love with her since she wants to be loved.

Handsholding is lewd! Its NSFW!!!!!!!!! :DDD

well, maybe I want some continuations to know about Yasuko's feelings after Sunako confessed to her. She seems to be just okay and happy about the confession, but why? at what point she (maybe unconsciously) became fond of Sunako? I'm really curious.

Why are people calling this messed up? Sunako has a shitty life. That does not mean she is unable to fall in love. That's really condescending saying that just because she has no one to care about her, cannot fall in love with someone who does finally care about her cuz because it's a complex or something. She's not some fragile glassware that should be sheltered, protected, and barred from making her own decisions as an autonomous individual.

You know what sucks more than making a potential mistake and being hurt? Not being allowed to make a potential mistake and be hurt.

Is it the best starting ground for a relationship? Maybe not. But just because everything is not ideal sunshine and rainbows, that does not mean it is not possible for someone to legitimately fall in love. Love is more than the initial situation from which it spawned.

last edited at Oct 15, 2016 12:58AM

People are calling this "messed up" and "a complex" because this isn't a healthy relationship. If it's not obvious enough on the first readthrough, "Only one person in the world was 'family' to me" appears smack dab in the middle of the page where she falls in love. As I said, this is right as she finds something permanent; the story makes a point of taking everything else away and "A Love Smeared In Ashes" shows us just how much abuse she'll take without complaint, with her only "snapping" out of pure possessiveness.

Now, the author clearly presents it as a sugary-sweet explanation of what set Sunako's heart aflutter. However, this isn't some sort of death-of-the-author analysis that's going on: we're not seeing blue curtains and reading endless amounts of imagery into them. What we're doing is quite literally looking at it literally, looking at the pieces the author presents us with and figuring out how they fit together, which isn't as happy as the story presents itself as. (I will float the idea, however, that the story is deliberately multilayered and what we're seeing on further analysis was put there intentionally)

People are calling this "messed up" and "a complex" because this isn't a healthy relationship. If it's not obvious enough on the first readthrough, "Only one person in the world was 'family' to me" appears smack dab in the middle of the page where she falls in love. As I said, this is right as she finds something permanent; the story makes a point of taking everything else away and "A Love Smeared In Ashes" shows us just how much abuse she'll take without complaint, with her only "snapping" out of pure possessiveness.

Thanks for the reply.

I want to ask, what do you mean by "Only one person in the world was 'family' to me" appears smack dab in the middle of the page where she falls in love. As I said, this is right as she finds something permanent; the story makes a point of taking everything else away..." I do not understand.

If I may guess, I think the overall argument you've presented is that it is unhealthy because Sunako is willing to take shit from Yasuko and is possessive. I agree that possessiveness is bad. However we only see a bit of that in like 1 scene so I don't think it's enough. If a few moments of jealously are enough to make a relationship, "messed up", the majority of yuri on this site would be "messed up".

As for taking shit, I first want to mention that some siblings will give each other a lot of crap all the time. In this case, I believe Yasuko was an ass to Sunako because she felt insecure. I do not think there is malicious intent and it is implied that this behavior is coming to an end.

Sunako taking Yasuko's shit, is most likely because she's more resilient. After getting stabbed in the gut, a paper cut will probably go unnoticed. So I don't think it is taking abuse without complaint so much as not noticing relatively minor transgressions. I mean, siblings can be jerks to each other yet ultimately, the amount of harm they truly cause is minor. While it is not good that she is more open to being hurt than normal, it is not an aspect of the relation but rather her own mentality that probably needs some adjustment, and it does not mean she is okay with taking serious abuse.

Sunako has a troubled past yes. She's not a normal ass person with the same tolerance as a normal ass person. However there is no evidence that Sunako is okay with full force abuse either. If Yasuko turned into Sunako's mom, I don't think Sunako would be okay with that. She fell in love with someone who was nice to her, and didn't really care too much about the minor belligerence. I think it is quite close minded to call a relationship as "messed up" and call it a "complex" because it has its share of problems.

Again, I would like some clarification on the first part of your explanation.

Now, the author clearly presents it as a sugary-sweet explanation of what set Sunako's heart aflutter. However, this isn't some sort of death-of-the-author analysis that's going on: we're not seeing blue curtains and reading endless amounts of imagery into them. What we're doing is quite literally looking at it literally, looking at the pieces the author presents us with and figuring out how they fit together, which isn't as happy as the story presents itself as. (I will float the idea, however, that the story is deliberately multilayered and what we're seeing on further analysis was put there intentionally)

I see it as a presentation of how a sweet relationship between two flawed individuals begins. As you say, it really isn't a happy tale and I think that's the point. It is a sad one full of hope.

last edited at Oct 14, 2016 2:07AM

You missed it completely. It isn't the abuse from Yasuko. It is abuse from everyone else. She was abused and thrown away, so when Yasuko accepted her, she felt like it was the first time someone actually cared about her hence "only one person in the world to call me family". So she clinged to Yasuko as her last hope. So people say her feelings for Yasuko are not ok, because she wasn't really attracted to her or anything. She needed emotional support and Yasuko give it to her, so she just blindly started to rely on it and rebuild her entire world around Yasuko. It isn't as much a love but trying to copy with years of abuse.

Nevri said :

So people say her feelings for Yasuko are not ok, because she wasn't really attracted to her or anything.

As long as it's yuri, it's ok.

last edited at Jan 6, 2021 6:53PM

You missed it completely. It isn't the abuse from Yasuko. It is abuse from everyone else. She was abused and thrown away, so when Yasuko accepted her, she felt like it was the first time someone actually cared about her hence "only one person in the world to call me family". So she clinged to Yasuko as her last hope. So people say her feelings for Yasuko are not ok, because she wasn't really attracted to her or anything. She needed emotional support and Yasuko give it to her, so she just blindly started to rely on it and rebuild her entire world around Yasuko. It isn't as much a love but trying to copy with years of abuse.

That is such an awful thing to assume. It doesn't work that way. Like I said, people can still love when they are hurt. How do you know Sunako is not attracted to Yasuko? To say that Sunako is merely coping is to put her down even further by invalidating her love. You're claiming that she can not overcome her suffering which is not true.

People who are hurt are still people. They can be strong and resilient and move past their pain. Sunako fell in love with Yasuko and to say it is otherwise is to deprive her of autonomy.

Yasuko showed care for Sunako and Sunako fell in love. Even though the reason why Sunako loves Yasuko is because Yasuko is the only person who is nice to her, that is still love. Love is an emotion and everyone's emotions are from all sorts of reasons. A lot of people fall in love with others who are kind to them, and if they are the only one who is kind to them, that doesn't mean the love is "messed up" or "a complex".

As long it's yuri, it's ok.

I know you're not being serious but I am not amused.

last edited at Oct 15, 2016 12:59AM

This author's strong point is psychology, I miss her stuff.

One of the things I noticed while re-reading this was the (very) subtle smile on the mother's face while the three of them are having dinner. It makes me think that she's grown to care (to some degree) about Sunako over time.

It's messed up

Luckily, not every romance story is supposed to be a relationship manual.

It's messed up

Luckily, not every romance story is supposed to be a relationship manual.

The people pointing it out aren't complaining. Most of us enjoy reading into it for what it is.

It's just a little disconcerting when we see other readers brush aside all of the intricacies and complications of the relationship and declare "It's ok because yuri."

It's not ok. And that's the entire point of the story.

last edited at Jun 28, 2017 1:16PM

It's just a little disconcerting when we see other readers brush aside all of the intricacies and complications of the relationship and declare "It's ok because yuri."

And the flip side of that is readers dismissing an interesting story with complex characters as a waste of their time because "it's not even yuri".

She went from a chaotic life without wanting anything to a more orderly life with a promise of a stable family structure to latch into and being able to want something. That's a major practical and psychological upgrade, in my opinion. I'm not convinced that this is "unhealthy."

She went from a chaotic life without wanting anything to a more orderly life with a promise of a stable family structure to latch into and being able to want something. That's a major practical and psychological upgrade, in my opinion. I'm not convinced that this is "unhealthy."

Yes, the new environment Sunako has been placed in is much better for her. But her behaviors are still derived from her original environment.

Sunako is still displaying a lot of paranoia and possessiveness, qualities which left unchecked may cost her all of the recent improvements in her life. She has to deal with those things one way or the other, and based on the story so far it's going to be messy.

You can take the girl out of the abusive relationship, but you can't take the abusive relationship out of the girl.

last edited at Jul 6, 2017 1:56PM

valkexia posted:

She went from a chaotic life without wanting anything to a more orderly life with a promise of a stable family structure to latch into and being able to want something. That's a major practical and psychological upgrade, in my opinion. I'm not convinced that this is "unhealthy."

It definitely is unhealthy. It's just a huge improvement over her past life and a good starting point to getting herself into a healthier mindset.

poor Sunako-chan

well, at least she's in a new family and in one roof with someone she really love

err... isn't this should be tagged pseudo-incest ?

They're half sisters. Sunako is the illegitimate offspring of Yasuko's father.

Fuck the word unhealthy. Too vague.

Now, what exactly is the problem?

It's just to appear smug and almighty. We do it a lot in France : pointing out why something won't work makes you smarter than everybody else, right?

Half-kidding, but more seriously : people always do unhealthy thing because they take joy from it, it makes them happy (smoking, alcohol, drugs, dangerous sex life). We're not machines.

Now, I guess if they say it's unhealthy it's because they don't approve the pairing, seeing it at ultimately bad for one or both parties. I don't agree, even if it's perfect, if they can make it work it's all right in my book.

Was there even an healthy relationship in the world of the universe?

last edited at Oct 12, 2017 10:51PM