toastyBooksAndTea's Topics (1094)

*Haesoo=Hyesung looool

I think that heeso does not know the extent of seme's feelings. He went to have sex with him because he considered this as punishment. It seems that he knows that seme feels lust but how it affects the seme is another matter. Of course heeso did other shitty things...

Agreed.

I think it was more how he views love in the description. The fact that Haneul believes love to be the willingness to cut off ones own limbs and sacrifice themselves wholly can be seen as distorted or disturbed to many.

The entire comic is literally about exactly this. Maybe read it?

I don't think I completely agree, there was a point or two where they could as well get back together and it would make sense as well

I think at some point Seju's problems were too much for Sumin to handle, and everything they had were little by little wearing out... I don't know... now that I know everything, I feel sorry for Seju, but I understand Sumin's point of view, and if she doesn't want to stay together anymore, there's no point in trying to be a couple anymore. Well~ ╮(￣▽￣)╭

I'd agree that there are points in the story where it feels a little ambiguous as to which girl Sumin's going to end up with, that's mostly to build tension, but it's still clear WHY Sumin doesn't get back together with Seju.

Seju broke her trust and broke her heart, and by the time she started really -trying- to mend things, Sumin was in love with someone else. The comic isn't ambiguous about any of that. It's sad for Seju, but it's not a mystery. ;p

I agree and I've never said that it's a mystery! The reason why they are broke up was made VERY clear, but what I mean is that I kind of see (or well, saw, since Seju is about to start a new life) the reason for both relationships to happen. Like, at some point they both made sense to me

Tho I am a bit biased, cause I didn't really get to like Sungji's character as much as these two, not gonna lie about it :q

I agree with you on that, I feel like, more than anything, the story was really about Sumin finding love after Seju, and Seju coming to terms with and accepting the fact that she needs to move on as well, and this sort of put a lot of emphasis on them both (together and independently) and didn't allow much development for Sungji as a character (the lack of any insight into her personal history and how the gravity of her stakes are less than both Sumin and Seju made it a bit difficult to truly become as empathetic towards Sungji as I was towards Sumin and Seju) Although subjectively, I was a hoping for Sumin and Seju, objectively, I think the narrative made sense in a way that I am still very glad for how the story was written, I think it was never really about the end, so much as the journey to the end that made this worthwhile for me, and I love how the end loops things back to the beginning, how it's only here that we see how everything began.

Also, I love how much symbolism there is slipped between the pages (Sumin's tattoo for example are Yellow Japanese Apricot Blossoms, they appear in her room all throughout as well, in the language of flowers among their many meanings would be elegance, faithfulness, perseverance and a pure heart, which I feel were qualities Sumin valued and personified before everything happened (and even after), how she chooses to covers her scars with something so meaningfully optimistic kind of impresses a feeling of how she remains wanting love despite her growing cynicism, and how her first love, scarring as it was, has left its mark on her so largely and so visibly) in Seju's room when she has a nightmare and Sumin stays with her as well, Sumin admits to feeling guilty for everything that has happened to Seju, and Seju tells her to take responsibility, and when Sumin says she can't, the flowers in the vase are Variegated Carnations which symbolize love that cannot be shared. There are also repeated devices that I find really nice, how every time Sumin loses someone she loves begins with a ring being lost, but most of all, I like the part where Seju is always waiting under a soft snow fall, and Sumin tells her not to wait anymore (it drives home the fact that she would always come to Seju if she waits long enough, but that she's finally decided she wouldn't do so anymore) and how, America plays as well, How Sumin stops Seju from leaving because she's realized she loves her and how Seju stays. How they planned to go there and Sumin saying Seju should leave by herself during her month of grieving brought on Seju's fear of losing Sumin (and then it turning into a self fulfilling prophecy) and how everything ends with Seju willingly going by herself, and Sumin wishing her a safe trip rather than asking her to stay this time around.

It sort of loops things back to the time at the swings, how long overdue this goodbye had been, but also how, even after everything, the love they had in the middle of it all was something they were still glad to have happened (I honestly love the writing on this, I truly do, so I'm incredibly sorry for spamming y'all with this)

Are u kidding me? Don't be sorry for spamming, I read everything and it was very interesting! And yeah, as a person who loves tattoos with floral patterns I really liked the meaning of Sumin's tattoo, although I didn't notice the thing about Variegated Carnations, so thanks for pointing it out! It was a very clever message on the Team Gaji's part as well, although it just makes this entire scene more heartbreaking.
I also agree with what you said about Seju and Sumin - the story is mostly about them finding their life after their relationship fell apart. Even if Sungji is the first character that we got introduced to and for a pretty long time it seems like we will see the entire story from mostly her perspective, after reading WDTFS I don't think that (out of the three main characters) she was supposed to be the centre of attention.
I also really like how three characters lived through their "firs loves" very differently and reached different outcomes. With Sungji meeting her first love and being able to stay with her, Sumin being able to find someone else, although it seemed like she gave up on having a relationship years ago after her first love ended so badly and Seju having a hard time to let go of her first love, but finally being able to move on as well and on her own.
Honestly, Team Gaji did something so incredibly difficult as not only developing such a cliche trope to handle, as love triangle, but also pulling it of so god damn well. The story really makes you sympathise with characters, although it would be so easy to, for example, turn Seju into an antagonist and just a crazy, possessive ex. But look! Now she's actually one of the most beloved characters from the entire series and a lot of people think of her as their favourite.

And I think I'm in the same place as you, in the way that subjectively I wanted Sumin to forgive Seju and get back together with her, especially after seeing what they had in Paradise, but also just by looking at flashbacks in the main story and Seju's monologues about their past relationship, especially that there were moments in a story where it felt like they could make their relationship work again. But I also know that objectively it was important for Sungji to stay with Sumin and, in a way, help both Seju and Sumin to finally move on and start their life separately. And sure, a part of me may still be a bit bitter about this just because, as I said before, as a character in general Seju stole my heart. I also like how Seju and Sumin used to fell in love with each other, I found it more realistic than the development of a relationship between Sumin and Sungji, although it may be due to the fact that Sungji's character was not developed as much as these two were.

Overall, I think that authors of this manga are incredible (their another work, Pet's Aesthetics is nice as well) and I can't wait for another chapters!

!!! I agree with all your points above, I'm seriously glad to have conversed with you on this because I think we read it the same way (I think every story is experienced differently by people and that makes talking with someone who read the same book interesting, it's like rediscovery) but it's also a very satisfying thing to find someone who has a similar interpretation (especially the part about love triangles) I used to actively avoid it because generally it feels more like a device to instigate needless drama but this justifies the use in such a complex way, and I remember reading a comment sometime ago that argued that the art was the only reason this was popular because the plot was simple, plot wise, the premise is simple (a love triangle between ex lovers and someone new), but character wise, it's incredibly nuanced, (character driven stories for me wins over a complicated plot if it sacrifices emotional merit I think) and this may be a weird analogy to use, but I took a summer course in cooking when I was younger and something a chef instructor said stayed with me ever since, it's that 'A bad chef could use the best ingredients but make a bad dish regardless, a good chef can take scrambled eggs and make you think it was the best thing you've ever had'

To be honest I think that WDTFS is the only story with a love triangle that I actually like, cause (just like u said) usually love triangles are only being introduced to make story more angsty and to create a meaningless drama. Cause apparently developing a relationship between people became too hard nowadays where there is no meaningless angst that's just there to fill couple pages,,,
I personally think that love triangles became so overused because to have a good love triangle you need to develop all of your characters well and actually think about the reason WHY your love triangle exists in a first place, and a lot of stories that are (or try to be) character-driven fail to even develop their main protagonist well, so as a result no-one cares about any of characters that are supposed to be important in a more twisted love story. Which, again, this is why I think this comic is so well done! And true, I find character-driven stories much more interesting and engaging that plot-driven ones, especially in books because it gives u a lot of time to develop your characters, especially if you have more than just one protagonist (which are the stories that I personally like the most, the ones that are focuses on a small group of people, rather than just one person). In general I found out that if I have a story with, let's say, interesting world building and nice, original plot but with crappy characters, there is no way I'm going to make it til the end, but if characters are well done then I don't ind reading a story, even if plot-wise or world-building-wise it's not as strong. But well, I digress :p

To say that people read this manga only for art is so unfair. I mean, sure, in many cases art is something that people may find to be interesting in a first place - I know it was the case for me, because Team Gaji's art style really stands out, both in WDTFS and in Pet's Aesthetics and it definitely got my attention - but even if I started reading it for the art style, I stayed for the story of interesting characters. I doubt anyone would be willing to read over hundred chapters of just only for pretty faces...

And yeah, haha cooking was a weird analogy to use, but it fits it very well!!

I realize you never said it was a mystery, but you're not the person I was originally replying to. ;p OP asked why, I pointed out that the comic holds the answer. ;p