Shiosai No Lily - Vol. 1 Ch. 4 - The Town of Pirates

[Litreara]

I did read it, because I checked the Vietnamese TLs and I'd already surmised that was Lily's motivation from the second chapter.

Which, I guess is where we just have a difference of opinion. Lily's motivation does make sense to me, personally, because even in these four English TL chapters, Lily's deal has been very direct - she wants Al's attention and for him to actually play with/be with her.

From the time they were kids though, he ignored her. When he was old enough, he went off to the Navy to fight the pirates he was obsessed with, and ignored her even more.
I can certainly understand Lily becoming a pirate, because all evidence points to that being the only way Al would ever look in her direction.

He says he wants to keep her safe, but his idea of "safety" sounds like he wants her to sit in a gilded cage while he's off for gods know how long hunting pirates, and completely ignoring her. At what point is that going to make her happy, being the character she is?

I'm sure it's subjective at that point, whether Lily's character is "reasonable", but she's not doing anything that feels out of pocket, given all the setup for her character and her motivations.

Her childhood friend has a one-track mind and an established history in ignoring her. What better way to get him to look her way than to become the thing he's obsessed with?
If he truly cared, he'd put more effort into their relationship and meet her halfway.

Spoiler

I didn't say Lily's motivation doesn't make sense. I just said I can't sympathize with her.

I think that's the core of our disagreement. You're looking at whether her actions are understandable given the setup, and I agree with you there. They absolutely are. The author set it up well, and Lily acts exactly like someone with her wounds would.

But for me, "understandable" and "sympathetic" are two different things. I can even see why Lily would burn the world down just to get a scrap of Al's attention. None of that means I automatically feel for her.

I actually don't think Al handled things perfectly either. Joining the Navy without really talking to her, deciding what's best for her future without treating her like an equal in the relationship is its own kind of failure. He's been absent, and his version of "protection" clearly isn't working for the person he's trying to protect.

But her response is: "Your love makes me lonely, so I'd rather have your hatred instead."

That's where I fall off. Hatred isn't connection. It's just the other side of not being seen. She thinks filling his mind with pain and worry means she's won something, but she's really just trading one form of isolation for another. She's so desperate to escape the loneliness that she's willing to become someone Al can never truly be with. I can't root for that, no matter how much sense it makes.

 

[UdenEmpati]

Spoiler

I didn't say Lily's motivation doesn't make sense. I just said I can't sympathize with her.

I think that's the core of our disagreement. You're looking at whether her actions are understandable given the setup, and I agree with you there. They absolutely are. The author set it up well, and Lily acts exactly like someone with her wounds would.

But for me, "understandable" and "sympathetic" are two different things. I can even see why Lily would burn the world down just to get a scrap of Al's attention. None of that means I automatically feel for her.

I actually don't think Al handled things perfectly either. Joining the Navy without really talking to her, deciding what's best for her future without treating her like an equal in the relationship is its own kind of failure. He's been absent, and his version of "protection" clearly isn't working for the person he's trying to protect.

But her response is: "Your love makes me lonely, so I'd rather have your hatred instead."

That's where I fall off. Hatred isn't connection. It's just the other side of not being seen. She thinks filling his mind with pain and worry means she's won something, but she's really just trading one form of isolation for another. She's so desperate to escape the loneliness that she's willing to become someone Al can never truly be with. I can't root for that, no matter how much sense it makes.

Understandable. I also don't fault your interpretation; I can see where that crosses the line for where sympathy can be maintained for a character.

 

[Xandersenpai]

Understandable. I also don't fault your interpretation; I can see where that crosses the line for where sympathy can be maintained for a character.

I agre with your POVs. Nither Al nor Lily are doing things the proper way. I want to drop some predictions about the future of the story. Will it be possible that Lily will annoy some big pirate captain when doing her daily stuff? I think that might happen and Al might have to team up with her at some point to fight a common foe. Let´s see how the author handles this cursed romance. Thnaks for the comments and all the insight from the transalations guys.