Ori no Naka - Ch. 27 - Pitch-Black Dregs

[Nosebleed]

Yep, hope all the people that kept dunking on Yumezora get it now!
I'm actually floored by how deeply this mangaka seems to understand traumabonds and self-harm addiction, and even more floored by how empathetic the depiction is, considering his history as a gooner artist lol!

I would even go one step further here.
She's not trauma-bonding in the typical sense, this is an addiction, in the literal chemical sense.
Kuroko is explicitly unable to form any bonds because, in all her childhood, she never learned what love was. We are explicitly told as much this chapter.
This is why the author has put so much emphasis on the chemical reactions in her brain, because that's literally it.

What she discovered amidst all her abuse, was one situation in particular (near-death followed by immediate relief) that produced certain chemicals in her brain that lead to the sensation of happiness. Not actual happiness. Of course, we can argue what is happiness if not brain chemicals, but what I'm trying to get at is that her happiness is entirely devoid of any social aspect, it's 100% brain chemistry-related. Body feels certain physical sensation > releases happy chemical.

What she is seeking are happy chemicals. Not love, not a connection. She doesn't know what those are and thus can't seek them. She created this cognitive distortion of what love is (putting herself in harms way) due to messed up brain chemistry (if I feel happy with this situation then it must be love).

This also explains why she has gotten worse and worse, as her tolerance to dopamine rises with increasing risks and the happy chemicals stop being as effective.

This is why I wrote in my comment that this is quite literally her body consuming her. Her body is physically craving these sensations for nothing more than to satisfy the chemical reward mechanisms it created through years of abuse. But at the same time is destroying her from within because it's putting her life at risk more and more, and she is unable to stop it because it's entirely irrational yet ever-present nonetheless.

I really think this is a very interesting approach to hyper sexuality in abuse victims that is not often explored in such isolation. Usually such situations have a big social aspect to them. Victims seeking self-worth, validation, comfort or victims stuck in a loop as coping mechanism to escape the reality of their trauma, among other social elements. Basically people that used to have some semblance of a life and then were thrown into abusive relationships. But Kuroko's case is one almost entirely devoid of that, and I genuinely wasn't expecting the author to explore it to such depressing depths. Like her situation is extremely messed up even in the realm of sexual abuse.

Obviously the creation of the reward loop she has is in itself a coping mechanism, but what I mean is that it's an entirely chemical one, not the result of some flawed rationalization. She wants her body to feel pain to release chemicals, nothing else. We are literally told she is rational and knows all her decisions are wrong, that she hates violence, etc.

The more you dwell on her situation, the more painful and depressing it gets.

If you'd told me at the start that the crazy period pad sniffing manga would have interesting takes on sexual abuse I would have laughed at you, but here we are. I'm glad I stuck with translating this manga, despite most of the comment section making me want to quit.

 

[Tanuj10115]

ok i bust out laughing at page 17 i dont know why LMAO

But I got Feared.

 

[riku_dola]

Still dont really understand why she took the pills last chapter. She got away from ugly bastard. Gomi clearly still wanted her. But then she went schizo mode and took the pills. Like I could understand that action if Gomi said something like "After hearing your past I want nothing to do with you", then I could understand her freaking out like that. But its like she did this in a neutral state of her relationship with Gomi.

Gomi seems like he would gladly be her knight in shining armor. (Provided he doesnt have the fight her husband for reals)

Actually question, her husband right now is not the same guy in the flashback right? They look too different right? Assuming if yes, kinda want to see how she got with the husband

Gomi found out about her past, and because of her previous experiences with other men leaving her she probably thought gomi would do the same to her, so she took the pills because it is a reaction mechanism her brain has developed whenever she faces adverse situations(abandonment)

 

[dsfargeg]

Yep, hope all the people that kept dunking on Yumezora get it now!
I'm actually floored by how deeply this mangaka seems to understand traumabonds and self-harm addiction, and even more floored by how empathetic the depiction is, considering his history as a gooner artist lol!

As far as I could see, the people "dunking" on her were saying "she's a bad person who does bad things because she learned to act that way from her bad past."

What's there to "get" now that everyone sees her past was exceptionally bad? Is my serial killing hobby suddenly morally acceptable because my stepdad beat me harder than everyone initially thought?

 

[PurpleXander]

I think from the start Kuroko was using Gomi as a sort of safety net if her husband ever starts to "hate" her, so she at least has "a roof over her head". This could go two ways, Gomi's actions prove to her what love is or Gomi falls into the "Pitch-Black Dregs" with her.

 

[jekasama]

"Brain's bugging out" seems an apt description. It's programmed "correctly", but not for the correct "intention."

 

[soda_bunny]

If you'd told me at the start that the crazy period pad sniffing manga would have interesting takes on sexual abuse I would have laughed at you, but here we are. I'm glad I stuck with translating this manga, despite most of the comment section making me want to quit.

Oh yes, she is definitely stuck with both altered concepts or normalcy and can not function without the chemical highs and lows. What sucks too is that she is clearly unhappy with all of this but feels chained to continuing this path, even if it kills her.

I'm super thankful you have been translating this as well though I also get a headache from some other commenters lol. I was expecting a fairly schlocky psychological thriller, and got one of the deepest meditations on borderline personality disorder and gender expectations/relations I've seen in manga or otherwise!

 

[soda_bunny]

As far as I could see, the people "dunking" on her were saying "she's a bad person who does bad things because she learned to act that way from her bad past."

What's there to "get" now that everyone sees her past was exceptionally bad? Is my serial killing hobby suddenly morally acceptable because my stepdad beat me harder than everyone initially thought?

Dude, no one is getting more hurt than she is. She is not a bad person. She was surrounded by "bad people". The author has gotten more and more explicit about that, and unless he pulls a weird turn-about in the future, that seems to be the message we're supposed to get.

Jeez, how many more times does the author need to beat it into everyone's heads?? That actually might be a further point of how women's suffering tends to be dismissed in favor of men's by a certain demographic.

 

[Eighty-six]

Dude, no one is getting more hurt than she is. She is not a bad person. She was surrounded by "bad people". The author has gotten more and more explicit about that, and unless he pulls a weird turn-about in the future, that seems to be the message we're supposed to get.

Jeez, how many more times does the author need to beat it into everyone's heads?? That actually might be a further point of how women's suffering tends to be dismissed in favor of men's by a certain demographic.

Trying to view this in a "good person, bad person" dichotomy is misguided in the first place, because it flattens the dimensionality of the circumstances at hand. Trying to make this a "suffer-off" where the one who suffers most is absolved of all accountability for the interpersonal harm they wreak, is similarly misguided.

The short of it is that Kuroko's a lifelong victim of others who has herself victimized at least one other person (certainly Gomi, but well, I guess Gomi victimized her on some level through his used tampon theft) and put them in manifold danger. We can talk about all of that in the same conversation.

 

[dsfargeg]

Dude, no one is getting more hurt than she is. She is not a bad person. She was surrounded by "bad people". The author has gotten more and more explicit about that, and unless he pulls a weird turn-about in the future, that seems to be the message we're supposed to get.

Jeez, how many more times does the author need to beat it into everyone's heads?? That actually might be a further point of how women's suffering tends to be dismissed in favor of men's by a certain demographic.

So to rephrase what you're saying: Because she suffered the most, doing bad things that hurt other people doesn't make her a bad person. Gomi ruining Nakasu's life (and likely others in the past and more in the future) is morally acceptable because Gomi's life was bad.

So you agree with me, then? Because I was beaten so badly as a child, then there's nothing wrong with my serial killing hobby. Thanks, I needed that validation. Now I won't feel any regret the next time I kill someone.

 

[zersetsu]

I find it incredibly hard to believe a loli being violently beat by the guy fucking her, and it happening with multiple men. Guys are simps and there is no way they will beat up a loli that they're fucking. That would only happen if the dude is fucking multiple lolis and doesn't give a fuck. There's no way a dude is fucking a loli and doesn't care if she leaves or dies. It isn't easy even getting a loli, like what.

 

[soda_bunny]

Trying to view this in a "good person, bad person" dichotomy is misguided in the first place, because it flattens the dimensionality of the circumstances at hand. Trying to make this a "suffer-off" where the one who suffers most is absolved of all accountability for the interpersonal harm they wreak, is similarly misguided.

The short of it is that Kuroko's a lifelong victim of others who has herself victimized at least one other person (certainly Gomi, but well, I guess Gomi victimized her on some level through his used tampon theft) and put them in manifold danger. We can talk about all of that in the same conversation.

My issue is that people keep fixating on Yumezora, seeming to totally ignore the literal crimes Gomi, her husband, mother, and numerous others have commited against her.

You want my opinion? I don't believe in bad people, I think there's always a reason someone makes the conclusions they do, which is why it bugs me to see people rushing to reduce a character to "bad". That's like kindergarten levels of media literacy and it messes things up irl too, as shown by this disturbing lack of belief in rehabilitation.

 

[soda_bunny]

So to rephrase what you're saying: Because she suffered the most, doing bad things that hurt other people doesn't make her a bad person. Gomi ruining Nakasu's life (and likely others in the past and more in the future) is morally acceptable because Gomi's life was bad.

So you agree with me, then? Because I was beaten so badly as a child, then there's nothing wrong with my serial killing hobby. Thanks, I needed that validation. Now I won't feel any regret the next time I kill someone.

You definitely did not understand what I said.
She is NOT RUINING ANYONE'S LIVES. That UB literally admitted he didn't consider what happened to actually be a big deal, he was mostly fixating on it out of revenge for not being able to sleep with Yumezora too.

Gomi has been showing a shocking amount of eq, he recognized what the reality was, and understood quickly that Yumezora is extremely traumatized. It is up to him if he wants to continue to be involved. He is not beholden to the same near-inescapable levels of trauma addiction as she is.

 

[Naian]

Eh, I'm repeating myself, but I don't really like this way of dumping info from an omniscient narrator. Yumezora's past is no longer a mystery to us reader I suppose and now the story is mostly abot whether Gomi can fix her (and grow himself to be a better person, better than what he was in the beginning of the story at very least).

But Gomi himself is a flawed person, in better place than Yumezora who is absolutely broken, but still, I don't think he's the best at playing therapist with her. She's in so bad mental space that she can be triggered into doing extreme action like in the past chapter. Next chapter(s) should be on Gomi to digest just what happened and think what he should do. Yumezora getting hospitalized can't be hidden, on top of UB now pissed at both Gomi & Yumezora, Gomi may have some hurdles back in his workplace. I don't think he can do this on his own, he needs help. Maybe his colleague who seems like a friend to him will do.

 

[colorlesseatstomboys]

😬

 

[dsfargeg]

You definitely did not understand what I said.
She is NOT RUINING ANYONE'S LIVES.

Genuine question: Are you unable to infer context and the result from this panel, or are you just lying to try to convince yourself what you wish was true is true? Going by the number of times you've accused me of "downplaying Yumezora's suffering" when all I've actually said is "past suffering explains but doesn't justify hurting other people," I'm inclined to believe it's the latter.

Yumezora chooses to do things that hurt people in order to feel good. Hurting other people to feel good is a bad thing. Choosing to do bad things makes you a bad person. The reason she chooses that is because her past gave her a strange idea of how to feel good.
Yumezora did not choose to have that past. It was forced on her by external circumstances. You can be both a victim and a bad person. If your moral framework can only understand people's lives through the lens of "victim (good), perpetrator (bad)" you have a bad black-and-white moral framework that justifies all kinds of horrible things like my serial killing hobby.

If Yumezora chose to stop this bad behavior, she'd stop being a bad person. "Bad" isn't an innate, immutable quality, it is the sum of the choices you make. I have beat this drum since the start: Yumezora makes bad choices that hurt people and that bad choice is her fault. She prioritizes feeling good with coping mechanisms so strongly that the damage she causes to herself and others with these choices doesn't matter to her. That is a bad thing to do. It is the same reason addiction is bad. She did not choose to develop the addiction. She DID chose to continue feeding it.

Yes, I am aware breaking addictions is hard. Doing good things is generally hard and not pleasant. People need to do them anyway.

 

[KatzenoYuri]

This is getting even worse...Awesome! To anyone liking this, read "Kedamono-tachi no jikan", it's even worse. Anyway, back to this one..I liked the explanation of the abuse and the oxytocin, makes me wary of those with strong kinks, gotta ask first where they got it from >_>

 

[dsfargeg]

This is getting even worse...Awesome! To anyone liking this, read "Kedamono-tachi no jikan", it's even worse. Anyway, back to this one..I liked the explanation of the abuse and the oxytocin, makes me wary of those with strong kinks, gotta ask first where they got it from >_>

Hmm, I don't know. While it has a lot of thematic overlap, just like basically all female-oriented stories of true love the male characters are undercharacterized and simply spring out of the ether fully-formed to enable focus on the female lead. Rather than being their own rational actors with meaningful and believable beliefs shaped by a coherent story, he's what the story needs him to be for the female lead to fulfill the author's desire for an arc. It's way too focused on female "I can fix him" fantasies of what things "should" be like and reduces the males a cardboard props. What makes Ori no Naka special is that it doesn't do that for anyone; it understand what makes every character act that way and how they got there. It's a psychological examination of how people act and why. It's a meaningful layer of depth that most stories can't pull off because it requires an exceptionally knowledgeable and talented author.

I'm not calling it bad, I just want the people who look it up to know that they're not getting something special like Ori no Naka, just something with thematic similarities. I'm still going to read the manga and enjoy it, but for different reasons than this one.

 

[JacobCada]

Well I dont see tragedy as a tag yet so maybe we can get a solid end.