blopidou's Topics (4)

Word of Honor actually takes place 150 years after The Untamed. What, the evidence is there. Ye Baiyi is obviously Jingyi with a few more years xD

Rereading this after knowing the end of the story thanks to the novel and drama, I just realised something new!

Remember when Wei Wuxian is ressurected, how he doesn't know who Mo XuanYu wants to get revenge on? That's because Mo XuanYu didn't make a wish since he didn't know he was supposed to. His book describing the summon is incomplete.

Then I realised WHO has torn that page and WHY and it blowed my mind again.

Not saying more than this since I don't want to spoil this excellent story to anyone (go watch the drama though!) but to those who know the plot, and might have missed this detail like I first did, think about it. I am amazed at the character's depth involved in this.

Honestly I have been a bit upset about some comments I've read in this section so let me share here a few elements of analysis.
This work of Uru-chan actually has a lot of depth, so it is nice to pause and think about it, instead of taking everything litteraly.
Disclaimer : I have read this story once, so obviously I can't remember everything.

1. First, John is obviously an anti-hero. He is turning extremely violent, unlikeable, and unconsistent. Frankly, his character may seem exaggerated but I think that's the point. He is snowing some worryingly schizophrenic behaviour. And this is naturally upsetting us readers because we identified ourselves to the character at the beginning of the story. Which is the point of any story - to put us into the shoes of the main character. He reminds me of Walter White of Breaking Bad, which always made me feel very unconfortable - because his character as a anti-hero was extremely well-written. I believe this identification is the reason why some readers will defend John in this comment section even though he has shown gratuitous, unjustified violence multiple times.

2. Second, even though his character is so extreme, his shift of personality is believable and has been coming gradually. The huge trauma he is carrying for the past is making it understandable. After the events at his former high school, he concealed his scar very deeply, came to Weston, and cultivated an ideology based on the book Unordinary. Because of this ideology that is actually a bit idealistic in this deeply inequal world, he put himself in a precarious situation (as a cripple), and frankly a very unsustainable position considering his past and character. Saying "it is Arlo's fault" is actually oversimplying the truth. Considering Arlo's character, his actions make perfect sense to me. And considering John's character, it is perfectly natural that they clashed and that this resulted in John not being able to maintain the precarious balance he has had since coming to Weston. Arlo is very rational. He has seen before (when Remi's brother was the king) how an idealistic ideology based on equality simply cannot work in Weston, so he is adamant about everyone being at his rightful place. He wants to maintain order, but is aware that this order is fragile. He believes that through order, less people is getting hurt. He is the embodiement of responsibility. This philosophy clashes with John who is basically an anarchist. John wants to overthrow the system but has nothing else to offer, which is how many people end up getting hurt. John (the untidy hair one) has shown two repeated characteristics. First, he refuses to be held accountable. He has systematically pushed the blame away from himself, onto other people and mainly Arlo (which is why, if you also say "it is all Arlo's fault", I would tend to believe that John has successfully converted your train of thought to his!). Second, he is putting lots of value into loyalty. Loyalty and betrayal are constant themes in his mouth (especially with the events currently happening with Sera). These two caracteristics are very common in dictators of the real world. I believe Trump has also been showing them repeatedly.

3. Sera. Everybody has high expectations for Sera to save John. Obviously, I also believe that she will be strong enough to offer him a redemption arc, but please give her a break. While John is repeating the same mistakes and refuses to learn and take responsibility, Sera has seen her world shatter twice. First she lost her powers which means her place in this world, and had to face the harsh realities of constant unsecurity. Then her whole belief system (which was John's) crumbled and she now thinks her best friend has always lied to her and is looking down on her. So when I read comments about how she should forgive and support him, frankly they are bordering on sexism. I'd like John to support her instead.

4. This world of unequalities is very interesting. The strong prey on the weak and abuse their power. Resentment is building. Lots of analogies to be made with the real world again here. The point of fiction is to explore real possibilities, even fictions with magic...

5. Anyway, I talked a bit about the ideologies of John and Arlo, I believe the first is unconsistent and unsustainable while the second is more rational but a bit too rigid and conservative. The one ideology that could work to improve this world, in my mind, is Remi's. Have you notice how everyone is getting into meaningless conflicts while ignoring the real threat? Yet Ember has shown multiple times that they were dangerous. Remi with the help of her two friends is one of the few who has not turn a blind eye on this. Because even though she is powerful, she cares about others, she is not egocentric. Most of the others only care about their own interests, which is how a big threat like Ember ends up forgotten (even by the reader). Again, this story offers an analogy to real events, such as how lots of people are totally ignoring climate change.

Well, with this I tried to provide a few elements to show how deep this story actually is. I believe the author has put a lot of thought into this work and has carefully laid out elements in the first chapters that are useful much later for our understanding. Let's be appreciative of this amazing story!

It's pretty clear how much Yuuji means to Yamato. The reverse is less obvious and I thought I will share my thoughts on this to see if you guys agree or if I am just projecting some of my own characteristics onto Yuuji's character ^^
I think we have to consider that Yuuji is - basically - an apathetic and distant character. I mean, he is friendly with others and he is considerate, but he is secretive. He never talks about himself and his feelings. Even when he broke up with his girlfriend, his best friend (and childhood friend) just knew he would not open up to him and tricked Yamato into coming to listen to Yuuji's worries. It worked, because Yamato is special. I think Yuuji especially admires his sincerity, because Yuuji is not able to talk openly about his secret thoughts and feelings without shame or embarrassment like Yamato does. They are very different when it comes to things like this.
Considering Yuuji's relationship with his ex-girlfriend too, it seems that he acted like a gentleman but that there were no passion or deep feelings involved. When there should have been, in Yuuji's mind. I am convinced that Yuuji felt very inadequate about this. He was probably distressed he was not feeling the feelings he was supposed to (especially as it meant hurting a girl's feelings by not returning them), and worried about his own capacity to love someone, anyone. I think Yuuji has never fallen in love. He could even be aromantic, it would actually make sense to me. But not being able to fall in love, in Yuuji's mind, that could mean a risk of spending his life alone. I mean, he had friends to fool around with, a girlfriend he didn't love, a chill mother and a dog, but nobody he felt really close to. At least before Yamato. And Yuuji was initially drawn to Yamato because, like him, he was feeling inadequate about his feelings.
It seems to me that Yuuji was simply very lonely before he met Yamato. What Yamato needs most is to accept his own sexuality and to learn to love himself. What Yuuji needs most... is someone who needs him. And if this is true, they are both giving each other what they need. Yamato is always thinking that Yuuji is amazing. It's because when Yamato is getting nowhere with his worries and gets stuck in his pessimism, Yuuji is able to say the right thing, always there for him and reliable. Yamato must be feeling dependent, and worried he is always taking without ever giving. But I'm pretty sure they both haven't realised yet that Yamato may actually be returning just what Yuuji needs. It is not a one-way relationship.
I don't know about romantic feelings, but Yuuji seems to have deep affection for Yamato, and love - because they are many kinds of love. One sign of it was how he got angry at Doi (or whatshisname) and struck him. He was prioritising Yamato's problematics (not being outed) over his own (not being expelled). They have grown close, so close that when Yamato's secret was in danger, Yuuji felt fear rather than worry, as if it was his own secret. But Yuuji didn't strike Doi for Yamato. He did it selfishly, because of the frustration. I think he felt hurt because Doi was hurting someone he cares deeply for.