- I utterly FAIL at studying while on break. Here's to hoping that the first week of Chinese is easy, so that I have time to review and not embarrass myself in front of my entire class. 8D
- I marathoned the Finder Series yesterday, which had a couple... interesting sex scenes. I realize now that I would have been 10x more shocked by the first chapter if I had read it a year ago instead of just now; my college friends have so corrupted me that, while reading this manga, I found myself thinking, "Well, I have seen worse." Seriously, at least nothing in Finder made me scream out loud... UNlike some of the videos my friends have made me watch.
- Also read Kyuuso wa Cheese no Yume wo Miru & part of Sojou no Koi wa Nido Haneru, which are both good, albeit horribly depressing even during the happier moments. Both are def. more emotionally mature than all of the other BL titles I've been reading lately.
- Have also been watching Major S1 and just started watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which is supposed to be The Anime That Begins and Ends All Anime... or something. Might also start watching Gundam 00 S2 today.
A few days ago, I was scouring the Internet for Totally Captivated media, and stumbled upon this very enlightening (and very lengthy & spoiler-filled) analysis of Mookyul/Ewon and their subtle "role reversal" towards the end of the series. Basically, many of Mookyul & Ewon's arguments tend to go something like:
Ewon: [insert argument topic here] That's it, we're through!
Mookyul: What the hell. Why are you so upset over a stupid little thing like this?
Ewon: That should be obvious! Or at least it would be if you weren't so socially retarded.
Mookyul: ...socially retarded? What, I don't get it. omg stop being such a lameass and sleep with me already.
Ewon: Hell no. I'm seriously walking through that door now!
Mookyul: Don't you dare. And even if you try to run, I'll just CHASE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
Ewon: Ok whatever. =_=;;
Mookyul: ...what is with your indifference. I'm insecure and actually in love with you, you know. ;_;
Ewon: Then it's just too bad that I'm as insecure as you are! You don't mean a thing to me! NO ONE DOES!!
Mookyul: HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH MY HEART. AND AFTER I GAVE YOU A PORSCHE, YOU WHORE.
etc. etc. And this essay deconstructs absolutely everything: Mookyul's social problems and Ewon's attachment issues, materialism, Mookyul's physical/sexual control vs Ewon's emotional control, as well as individual chara analysis. I'd have to re-read it to say just how much I agree/disagree with the author, but a couple points of interest:
When I loaned the first three volumes to a Korean friend to read, she commented that Ewon would never make it in Korean society; he’s too stupid. I’m not sure “stupid” is the right word for it; I wouldn’t even say he’s naive. I think it’s more a matter of being willfully ignorant, a kind of simple refusal to acknowledge certain things and thus reduce their impact, somehow.
....when Mookyul is out of his depth, and is intimidated, his first reaction is not just to strike out, but to do so in any way that will throw the other person/people far off their center, as well. He can find his own balance only by knocking others off theirs...
Def. agree on the above two points (though I never thought of it in these terms), but I'd like to add that Mookyul probably behaves this way subconsciously. After all, Mookyul has never really known what "normal" is; "normal" to Mookyul is to act as abrasive as he usually does. He doesn't know how to act in casual situations with "normal" people, and he isn't the type to compromise or clam up when put in an awkward situation, so his knee-jerk reaction is to just "be himself," even when he is fully aware of the fact that he doesn't fit in. Also:
Mookyul’s physical reaction in the course of the break-up scene was very telling, as well -- which first was a punch, but curiously enough when Ewon went for the kill, verbally, Mookyul's reaction wasn't to punch, but to slap -- which if you think about it, has some slightly different connotations. We tend to punch people when we want to hurt them, to knock them down; it seems to be instinct (in a wide number of cultures, from what I’ve seen) to slap when you’re offended/hurt... When you slap someone, it’s almost always across the face or cheek, with the palm carrying just a bit to the mouth: the meaning, then, isn’t “get away” but “shut up, stop saying that".
Ahh, I love posts like this that highlight all sorts of things I never would've realized myself. And this also helped me appreciate Ewon as a character THAT much more. I was already very fond of him before, but now I just <33 him. :)
And look at what else I found: a screenshot of Yoo Hajin coloring in a picture of the old man when he was not yet old! AND DAYUM, IS HE HOT. Like, seriously, ouch. This is like seeing Kakashi without his mask and finding out that he's at least twice as hot as you had anticipated. Though his obvious resemblance to Ewon kind of freaks me the fuck out.
...I'm fangirling over a wrinkly old man? The hell.
