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I have the following line (separated as it's divided into word bubbles):

今日のもさーこう…理由がないと呼び方とかイロイロ

悩んで悩んで逃げちまうからなんだよねぇ

They are talking about a girl that was adopted into a familly and about has she started calling her new mother, well "Mother".

EDIT: Further context: Girl's real mother was abusive towards her, and even though she is dead and gone, her feelings about her are still...complicated. Her new adoptive mother is someone she has known for over 2 years now, has lived that time with that family and has been officially adopted for about 6 months. So girl is no longer uncomfortable living with her new family and such. And is the reason I am/was confused by use of "to flee" verb, because I don't think she would actually flee. The question posed, to which this is the answer is seemingly a general one asking if the girl has reached the level where she would call her adoptive mother Mother normally. The following conversation reveals that the girl is trying to fix that, get used to it too. And yeah, there really was no episode or event today that they might be referencing.

There are quite a few things that confuse me here.

First of all is that beginning bit 今日のもさーこう... I'm not really sure what is going on. The 今日 or even 今日のも is simple enough, it's these days. But I'm not sure what さーこう is?!? I'm assuming of course that さー is さあ but since this person tends to speak colloquially and slangy, I guess it also could be her just stretching that さ.

So question 1: is what is 今日のもさーこう supposed to mean?!?

Next bit:

理由がないと呼び方とかイロイロ悩んで悩んで逃げちまうからなんだよねぇ

The 理由がないと呼び方とか is probably

There is no reason yet to call her something like that

I'm assuming that いろいろ concerns the following bits. イロイロ悩んで悩んで逃げちまうから would probably mean literally:

Because various worry worry and run away (completely/unfortunately).

So the person is worried the girl might run away, which doesn't really feel likely given the girl in question. Then again it occurs to me that this might also be:

Because if we worry her too much/if she gets spooked, she might run away.

The bit at the end, the なんだよねえ is just making a statement and such.

Question 2: Soo, what am I missing here with the second bit, because neither of my interpretations seem likely given the characters in question, that is I doubt the girl would run away from her new home. Unless the 逃げる here has some other meaning.

Question 2a: Any particular reason for doubling of 悩んで unless it's just there to put emphasis on how this is worrying.

Question 2b: Various is related to the following bit right? In the way of various worries. Coz it doesn't really fir anything else.

EDIT 2: Since this sentence is immediately precedeed by one where the same person says the girl is working on it (on being able to call her new mother Mother), the から might be explaining the reason for that.

Second, the 理由 might be referring to pretext to call the new mom Mother fir the first time...

So

理由がないと呼び方とかイロイロ悩んで

She has been really worried about lacking a pretext to call her that way

So the line is trying to convey the idea that the girl is trying to find the right time to start calling her Mother, and has been worrying about it. Since she is worrying she is then avoiding the issue. Because she is aware of it she is really trying to fix it. The more she is trying to fix it she is building it up more and more in her mind, hence more avoiding. -> never ending circle.

Which would fit her. Only I don't know if it's anywhere close to the meaning of the actual sentence.

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EDIT: Now that the context is clear, here's my current understanding of the sentence.

  • This 逃げる is not actually running away, but it refers to the passive, defensive or reserved attitude the girl had shown toward the new mom. It's used as an antonym for 攻め (aggressive/proactive stance). They had been superficially getting along well, but she had not become a true family member yet. After all, she didn't even know how to call her new mother after 6 months, and that's because she had been showing the 逃げ attitude.
  • 今日の refers to the event that happened this day. This day, the girl was unusually enthusiastic, and ran to help her mom without thinking deeply. She did not do 逃げ this time, and that was somewhat unexpected to the person who said this sentence. (Believe me, this 今日 never means "these days" or "recently". こんにち is a fairly formal and literary word which is almost never used in an informal sentence like this.)
  • 理由 refers to any reason for the girl to actively involve her new mother. In this specific case, the 理由 was "my new mom is making cookies for my friends and me". The girl needed such a reason, or a chance, which would make her stop worrying too much.
  • から at the end corresponds to 今日の. "Regarding today's episode, it was because ~"

Here's my free translation:

今日のもさー、こう…
Besides, remember her attitude today? You know, um...

理由がないと呼び方とかイロイロ悩んで悩んで逃げちまうからなんだよねぇ
...that was because, unless she has some good reason (to be actively involved with the new mom), she would keep worrying about various trivial things, such as how to call the new mom, and end up avoiding (or keeping a distance from) the new mom.


Original answer follows:

If I understand the context correctly, it means:

今日のもさー、こう…、理由がないと(呼び方とかイロイロ悩んで悩んで)逃げちまうからなんだよねぇ
Today's... you know, um, it was because she (= the adopted girl) would end up avoiding her mother unless there was a reason (to meet her mother), worrying much about, say, how to call her mother...

To rephrase it, "I know the girl did something peculiar today, but it was because she wanted a reason to meet her new mother. Otherwise, she would have kept avoiding her worrying about trivial things like how to call her." It this does not fit the context, please explain a bit more about the story.

今日のも means 今日の出来事は with は replaced by も. "regarding today's matter/episode/you-know-what". The following さー is a meaningless filler, and こう is another filler interjection "um" or "you know".

理由がないと逃げちまうからだ ("It is because [someone] would end up avoiding [someone] if there is no reason") is the basic structure of the sentence. 呼び方とか(を)イロイロ悩んで悩んで is inserted adverbially to describe the reason of her avoiding (i.e., te-form for reason). 悩んで is repeated just for emphasis. For イロイロ, please see this. For example 色々買った just means "bought various things" rather than "bought something in various ways."

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  • You have the context wrong, which is not surprising since I did not explain myself properly. But I have edited the post to rectify that. If 今日のも can be taken as, these days, and I have found examples like that, it's most likely that. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how you figured (呼び方とかイロイロ悩んで悩んで) is the reason. This might be the case. And I think I'm starting to see a possible solution (girl is worrying about the problem and is avoiding the question unless she really needs to say Mother or something), but this is still a bit strange. Commented Jan 18, 2018 at 20:39
  • Ummm. Could this mean something along the lines: "Well, these days...she is really worried about finding the right time (right reason) to call her that way and is avoiding (the issue/calling her mother)." Commented Jan 18, 2018 at 21:10
  • I think this 逃げる is not actually running away, but trying to avoid to properly face with her new mother (or issues related to her new mother). Doesn't the girl still have some complicated feelings with the new mother? I'm almost certain that 今日の is referring to something that occurred in that day, even if that was not described in the comic.
    – naruto
    Commented Jan 18, 2018 at 21:16
  • Well, the only reason it might be complicated is because she is a worrywart by design. The only thing that happened today that might be relevant is that the new mom is making her and her friends cookies, and as soon as the girl heard that, she ran to help her out. And yeah, I no longer think it's running away either. I now think (Edit 2) she might be avoiding just calling her Mom because she wants a proper pretext/situation to do it, because just saying would not be right (because worrywart). Commented Jan 18, 2018 at 21:24
  • @4thDimension Then maybe "the peculiar thing today" can be that she was oddly enthusiastic about helping the new mom despite the girls's character? In that case, "the reason" the girl wanted is "I should help my new mom make cookies". That serves as a good chance for them to get closer.
    – naruto
    Commented Jan 18, 2018 at 22:48

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