Had to catch my breath at times, shit got so intense. Scattered thoughts:
-love how minho was very much an "unlikeable" victim who had his own sins to account for, it complicates the narrative and it was a weakness for wookyung to exploit. He didn't manipulate people to turn against minho, Minho did that to himself by being an asshole to everyone and the culpability he had in his own final loneliness was part of what broke him.
-maybe I should read sadistic beauty for full context but from what I can see here I lowkey understand why minho felt so insecure and inferior that he did all those horrible things to the people who loved him. Growing up poor and becoming a university lecturer was no small feat and he should feel proud of himself for that, but it's not enough, he'll never feel good enough. In another world, he could have hit rock bottom, worked his way back up and reflected on everything to eventually apologise to the people he wronged and make peace whether they forgive him or not...
-out of all the crazy violence and rape and evil shit, disturbed my heart the most were really the crushing emotional defeats, like when wookyung ruins the translator job and minho cries over how much courage it took for him to step into that world again. Or when he drunkenly rambles about he should have realised the boundaries of his own mediocre talent and how that was at the heart of why he treated others so terribly. Or when he finally breaks after calling his dad with the hidden phone only to be told never to call again.
'-this artist reaaaallly knows how to express emotion, I felt every bit of minho's despair and defeat. If wookyung and I were ever to agree on anything, it is that minho's crying face is indeed the best
-the ending felt a bit rushed compared to how thrilling and tightly written everything before it was. Feel like the suicide attempt should have come earlier in the story and the ending should have progressed beyond it, it felt like an inevitability for so long and would like to have had my expectations subverted. But I don't hate the ending for what it is.
-the spiral into depression was really well executed, I could feel the strength being sapped from minho until there was nothing left, until even the possibility of escape was "too annoying."
Overall very interesting read, obviously not for everyone but also not "rape slop" or whatever it is people are calling it.
Had to catch my breath at times, shit got so intense. Scattered thoughts:
-love how minho was very much an "unlikeable" victim who had his own sins to account for, it complicates the narrative and it was a weakness for wookyung to exploit. He didn't manipulate people to turn against minho, Minho did that to himself by being an asshole to everyone and the culpability he had in his own final loneliness was part of what broke him.
-maybe I should read sadistic beauty for full context but from what I can see here I lowkey understand why minho felt so insecure and inferior that he did all those horrible things to the people who loved him. Growing up poor and becoming a university lecturer was no small feat and he should feel proud of himself for that, but it's not enough, he'll never feel good enough. In another world, he could have hit rock bottom, worked his way back up and reflected on everything to eventually apologise to the people he wronged and make peace whether they forgive him or not...
-out of all the crazy violence and rape and evil shit, disturbed my heart the most were really the crushing emotional defeats, like when wookyung ruins the translator job and minho cries over how much courage it took for him to step into that world again. Or when he drunkenly rambles about he should have realised the boundaries of his own mediocre talent and how that was at the heart of why he treated others so terribly. Or when he finally breaks after calling his dad with the hidden phone only to be told never to call again.
'-this artist reaaaallly knows how to express emotion, I felt every bit of minho's despair and defeat. If wookyung and I were ever to agree on anything, it is that minho's crying face is indeed the best
-the ending felt a bit rushed compared to how thrilling and tightly written everything before it was. Feel like the suicide attempt should have come earlier in the story and the ending should have progressed beyond it, it felt like an inevitability for so long and would like to have had my expectations subverted. But I don't hate the ending for what it is.
-the spiral into depression was really well executed, I could feel the strength being sapped from minho until there was nothing left, until even the possibility of escape was "too annoying."
Overall very interesting read, obviously not for everyone but also not "rape slop" or whatever it is people are calling it.