bastard's Topics (32)

goddamn listen I'm no stranger to stockholm-y shit like this but fuck if this isn't unique in power dynamics. In other mangas the captor often gives the captive gifts and shit but still turns on them on a dime. Ilmo treats the mc like he's a deity and yes, he's ultimately pulling the strings, but he's still testing mc (sorry i forgot his name) at every turn and gives him opportunities to end it all, and really it's mc who controls that outcome which is just-- not something I've seen before. The captors in this genre rarely take real risks, and seem to have everything in their supreme control.
Meanwhile Ilmo makes much more reckless actions, which is more realistic and thus can be more chilling, given that the reader really can't know what comes next.
The horror of other works in this genre wears off after a bit, because the reader as well as the main character become used to the captor being somehow all-knowing and an ultimate power. All of the actions of those under their control are predicted and rarely, if ever, surprising. At the end of the day, it's usually someone outside their grip who brings the story to its conclusion.
But in this case, Ilmo has reached all the major characters BUT does not have full control over them. He pulls the strings of his own game, causing events that affect the characters, but their responses and reactions are individual. He doesn't secure his victory, instead taking chances with the belief that in the end he will win.

In shorter terms, most captors in these scenarios are the dramatized Hollywood master-plan psychopaths, while Ilmo actually displays symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, which is so impressive.
While this piece, on the surface, is a cliché, it's really quite unique in how realistic it is.
I for one cannot WAIT for the next season.

(Apologies for this fuckin mini-essay but I have an addiction to analyzing psychological yaoi of all things.)

BRO LISTEN I CRY TWICE A YEAR, ONCE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE YEAR AND ONCE ON MY BIRTHDAY. THIS FUCKING BASTARD OF A MANGA BROKE IT. I HAVE BEEN CRYING FOR 20 MINUTES. ACTUALLY SOBBING. PLEASE.

I THOUGHT I WOULDNT BE HURT BY THIS BUT OH I WAS SO WRONG.

LISTEN ANYONE WHO HASN'T READ THIS YET PLEASE PLEASE DONT BE LIKE ME, DONT THINK "duhuhuh like this can hurt me, i'm dead inside uhuhuhuh"
I THOUGHT THAT AND I WAS SO WRONG
THIS FUCKER BROUGHT MY SOUL BACK TO LIFE AND YOU KNOW WHAT IT DID THEN?? IT STABBED ME AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL I DIED. AGAIN.

point being, if you're looking for something to cry over, you've come to the right place. if you're looking for a feel-good or just something to pass the time,,,, L E A V E.

duuuude maybe it's just me but i get huge fucking hannibal vibes from the doc. like i don't think he's a cannibal or a murderer but uhhhhh. he's got a couple screws loose, no?

anyways, hopefully hyeon gets a happy ending, poor baby needs love goddamn

Okay well here's my opinion/analysis that no one asked for:
Taejun looked up to Han for showing the world that a nobody could become a somebody. When he found out what Han was doing to climb rankings, he felt a little betrayed for having someone he idolized turn out to be doing those things. But more than that, because of how much he believed in Han being a good person, he can't help but feel that others are taking advantage of Han.
He comes across as jealous because he wants to protect Han from the people who screw him for the sole purpose of title. He dislikes Sangwoo because he knows (and he's really not wrong) that Sangwoo will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and Taejun believes that in the best case scenario, Han will end up physically hurt by Sangwoo.
In the chapter that I think was just before the flashback, when he and Han were about to do it, Han said it hurt, and Taejun saw a mark on his leg and immediately assumed that Sangwoo had done it.
I think Taejun is the opposite side of Sangwoo's coin; where Sangwoo sees a public figure and longs to take their power, Taejun sees a public figure as someone to be respected and served, someone who's incapable of sin.
Hence he sees Sangwoo, someone whose ambition rivals Han's, as a threat to Han. Han is in the big leagues now, whereas Sangwoo has much to accomplish before he can achieve a title anywhere close to Han's.

In short,
Sangwoo views Han as an opportunity. Taejun views (or viewed, it seems he's in for character development soon) Han as a hero. Sangwoo views Taejun as a minor threat to his climb to the top. Taejun views Sangwoo as a threat to the person whom he's unequivocally loyal to. Han views himself as untouchable (metaphorically, obviously). Han views Taejun as his loyal guard dog, (which may backfire for him potentially). And finally, Han views Sangwoo as a future puppet, someone who will never outrank him but will be a useful underling.


Wow this got incredibly long. Sorry.
Anyways... That's my take on this. I got a little sad at everyone hating the characters, because they're really well written, in my opinion. They all deserve love qwq

everyone's out here disliking the characters, and I'm just sittin in the corner, hugging plushes of my three precious boios: the sexy snek boi, the angry snek boi, and the sad pupper boi like
(づ￣ ³￣)づ ╮(￣▽￣)╭ (づ￣ ³￣)づ

all right can we just put all opinions aside and give geumhwa a giant hug



also i'm sorry but my spazoid side just needs to--
"how much longer do we have to be involved with this family feud?"
*game show music starts playing* *Steve Harvey walks in* GIMME AN UKE WHO DESERVES BETTER ╥﹏╥ ╥﹏╥ ╥﹏╥(づ￣ ³￣)づ

*inhales*
i...
*sighs*
...
*smacks head against table*

thank you translator!!!!! (⌒▽⌒)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND THANK YOU!!!

honestly... i kinda love youngha **AS A CHARACTER. oh man he's awful but oh man he's so twisted and abusive and fucked up and I just-- ahhhh he reminds me of Suda from Harada's yatamomo/sumomo. I hate him but he's just so terrible that I love him.