zilactn's Topics (2)

╥﹏╥ preach. I've found myself becoming his lawyer/representative . He's a fascinatingly complex, dangerous and deeply traumatized character who becomes fiercely protective all because of love.

let’s go to Hell bro no way

Okay so


SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL


he wasn't evil when he married Katya off and drove her away from her childhood home (after stripping away of her childhood innocence when he slept with her mother and made Katya see them together) to fight for her life in a land of pirates and bandits... Sure...

ok and? why can’t he be evil? i’ve read the novel so i’m well aware of how things go

i still think if he was pretty y’all wouldn’t care this much

You said he isn't even that evil, but that's how he is. He is cruel and mean. And his massive tits and perky butt are his redeeming qualities.

i was being facetious, i literally end my original comment with "let uke's be evil". you think i don't know what he's like?

again my main point is that people are being oddly harsh on ian when people would be raving about an uke like him in a more typical dynamic

I disagree just because I think it's his physical appearance that saves him, in fact he's a lot more digestible in the manwha than in the novel because he's not 24/7 monologuing how he's going to kill Michele, how much he hates his mother (I know deep down he loves her but still) and wants to torture Katya.

SPOILERS

My first issue with Katya is how she redirects her anger over her father's actions toward Ian. It was her father who made the decision that resulted in Ian's conception, Ian had absolutely no agency over being born. She knows this but chooses to treat Ian himself as the wrongdoing. We know that the North is extremely prejudiced against illegitimate children (even considering them as “sins that should not exist”) so I understand where her attitude comes from, but it does not justify it. She doesn’t just resent/reject Ian… she repeatedly plots to drive him away and makes multiple attempts on his life, eventually culminating in the mercenary assassination plot. Instead of holding her father accountable, she punishes Ian.


Let’s also not forget her willingness to use Michele as a means of killing Ian. Earlier on, she recognized that contrary to Ian’s actions towards Michele, he had become someone Ian genuinely cared about and therefore becoming a weakness she could exploit. She pretended to befriend Michele and then deliberately used him as bait, correctly anticipating that Ian would put himself in danger to go after him. Despite her instructing the mercenary not to fatally harm Michele but kill Ian (“and bring back his head and c***”), the mercenary ultimately decided to kill them both. Had Ian not fought to protect them, Michele could easily have died. Furthermore, her actions also placed Michele in a situation where he ultimately had to take another person’s life to protect Ian (despite this contradicting his fundamental gentle nature.)

Look what happens to the servants who remain loyal to her after her plot fails. These are not strangers, Natasha practically raised her. Yet when they take responsibility for a conspiracy Katya herself orchestrated, she allows them to bear the consequences rather than admit to it. Worse, she personally participates in their punishment, whipping the women until their backs are bloodied and some collapse. Katya is clearly distressed by what she is doing, so I don't think the scene portrays her as emotionless. You can tell she is distressed by her actions but she still chooses self preservation over protecting them.

Here is a paragraph from the novel regarding Lady Sheleg's relationship with Ian,

"...Her reward was her husband’s infidelity. Ice, chillingly cold and transparent, sometimes becomes a blade just as sharp. Her hatred and desire for revenge toward Lord Sheleg, as well as her lust toward Ian, were honed coldly sharp. She clung to Ian and violated Ian—Ian was bound, trampled, or had to ingest the tools she had craftsmen make for him, front and back. A son not by blood, a young man exactly resembling Lord Sheleg, young enough to be almost like a child. Through relations with such an Ian alone, she could vent her anger toward her dead husband and also administer punishment to that bastard. Didn’t I say it? Love is as impulsive and powerful as the urge to kill. Ian willingly became her plaything. Because taking his father’s wife held the same meaning for him. They mated like snakes, strangling each other’s necks.

(please read from chapter 22.3.) Contrary to popular belief, Ian actually cares about Katya and wasn't planning on marrying her off. However, things changed when she plotted to kill him. Essentially, her actions led to this very outcome. “"You might not believe it, Katya, but you are quite a special being to me. Despite how it seems, I care for you considerably… So, I wanted to leave you as the child overcoming your parents' death by hating me. If playing that role gave you even a little peace of mind, being called a murderer wasn't so bad."”“"I wanted you to live with me in this castle until you died here. Because I didn't want to show my precious sister to anyone…."”“"If it had ended with just chirping within the castle walls, I would never have had even a trace of thought to send you outside Sheleg Castle, whether you turned thirty or forty."”“"…Think about it, Katya. If, as you claim, I am undoubtedly the devil who killed Father and Mother, merely an invader aiming to seize this family, would I have let you live this long so obediently?"”

Just to give some context, there are two reasons why Ian specifically chooses the Fernando Archipelago as the place to marry Katya off to. One is that the King’s niece genuinely wants Katya, and the second is that the niece intends to kill the King (an outcome already predetermined to be successful, thereby generally securing Katya’s safety). The story describes the barbaric nature of the men there, particularly the King, and the niece wants to bring down the King and his men for this very reason. However, Ian’s reason for teaming up with her is also deeply personal: he wants the King dead in order to enact his own vengeance against him. Ian had previously been violently captured, seized, and sold to the cruel and bloodthirsty King, who had a penchant for inflicting horrific sexual violence upon his slaves.

You don't have to quote the whole novel to me, I've read the available chapters and I'm still angry at how Ian treated Katya, Michele too but at least Michele managed to win Ian's "love" so he's safe for now, tho I don't think he has the choice to leave anyway, so as long as he loves his captor he won't notice the captivity. I don't believe Ian hates Katya, I'd say she's between the people he loves but that still doesn't guarantee her a good treatment, sure the blame rests mostly on their father and it's not Ian's fault that he was born and took the heir position from her and lady Sheleg used him too to get revenge on her husband's infidelity, but he still came in one day when Katya was 10 and from her perspective he stole her parents' love and attention (tho it wasn't the good kind of love for sure) and led them to their death (directly or indirectly you can't blame her for seeing the common denominator was always Ian), he also made her see that her mother slept with him when Katya was just a child, gaslighted Katya and made her into a crazy woman when she recognized it. Sure Katya plotted to kill him and Michele could've been a casualty too but this came after years of mental torture Ian inflicted on her and after he repeatedly made her fear for her safety and role in the castle ever since Michele came to the North. Sure she was cruel to the servants to save her own skin but the whipping was a physical and mental torture Ian made her endure too because as a noblewoman she isn't used to that kind of exercise. Idk he was never a loving brother despite what he says, he loved her his own way, sure, but after causing the death of her parents and subtly always threatening her position in the castle, saying she's crazy and never missing any chance to make her feel insecure how could she relax and believe him? I don't blame her for trying to free herself for good, had that plan worked she would've been returned to her position as heir and would've been able to stay in the castle, which was the only thing she had known all of her life. They couldn't live together anymore after the murder attempt, I agree, but marrying her off was still horrible and literally the same thing Michele's brothers did to him and it's plenty criticized in the novel but if Ian does it it's okay? He also doesn't worry about Katya anymore once she's away and only remembers her to amuse himself about the fact that she didn't like the ridiculous gifts and dresses Ian gave her. Also I don't remember this but I don't think we know what happens to her after right? It's not even guaranteed (just implied) that she married the King's niece, but regardless of what she chose she would be useful to Ian's plan and not able to continue the Sheleg's family line. So honestly I've said it before and I'll say it again, if Katya ends up marrying the king niece and succeeding in throwing down the king and comes back to get revenge and kill Ian and take back her castle it would be totally deserved tbh.

Oh no, I'm sorry if quoting the novel made you upset, that genuinely wasn't my intention. Clearly Woosoo did a great job writing such complex characters if we can read the same story and come away with such different interpretations (๑•ㅂ•)و✧

I actually agree that Ian loves Katya, but that doesn't mean he always treated her well. That's one of the things I love about Ian, he's a contradictory character. He loves/hates, he's strong/weak, he rejects love/craves it, he torments/cares, etc. I wouldn't personally call him evil. I think most of the people he sought revenge against deserved his retaliation, while others (mainly Michele) absolutely didn't deserve it. Even then, I can understand the mentality behind Ian's actions while 100% disagreeing with the actions themselves.

I feel similarly about Katya. I don't think she's simply good or evil either. I completely understand why, from her perspective as a child, Ian suddenly appearing could feel like he came in and took everything from her. But I think there's a difference between understanding Katya's POV and treating that perception as fact. For example, Ian didn't actually kill her parents. I understand why she associates him with their deaths and sees him as the common denominator in everything she lost, but that doesn't mean he was actually responsible for those losses.

I also noticed that after the failed assassination attempt, Katya seems unable to reconcile Ian's “good” actions with the person she believes him to be. Even things like genuinely loving Michele or caring about her become difficult for her to accept as sincere. I think her anger and resentment toward Ian sometimes distort how she interprets him. I get her wanting him dead, but I don't think he deserves to die (just my opinion ╮(￣▽￣)╭). Just as Ian's trauma can explain his actions without excusing the harm...the same principle applies to her.

I do agree that Ian was also tormenting Katya by making her personally punish her servants. But I don't think that removes Katya's agency in the matter or the servants' suffering either. As for marrying her off, I think the element of punishment after she plotted to kill him still stands, and it also served his larger goal of completely ending the Shelleg line. He intends to be its last head and imagines a future where the Shelleg name eventually disappears altogether (just as he himself was once denied a name and treated as someone whose very existence wasn't permitted).

I find them to be similar and having both love and hatred between them. They've genuinely hurt each other, but they're so trapped in their own pain and resentment that neither can properly acknowledge the other's hurt. And despite everything between them, one thing they both ultimately choose to do is protect Michele from the complete truth because they believe knowing everything would destroy him. Maybe a miraculous reconciliation will happen in the side stories.

On a lighter note, the story about the beast and the bride was immaculate! Plus the latest chapter...gosh

truth nuke but ill still read bc i love this yaoi slop

yeah like the smut will be fire and im so down for their domestic era cause i'll love the fluff either way. but i can't take any of this seriously. and i really do love pathetic top x power seme but nanjo and mokyeon are giving me the ickkkkkk

kinda wish the author didn't write such a heavy handed start of season because i don't think she's a good enough writer for that. the humor and cringe is actually alright if you set the stand and tone for it, but writing a guy self-destruct like mokyeon was just so out of place

My idea is, now that mok lost his dom aura. Nanjo now has to pick it up and take control. He was always pretty neutral/ dom. But mok personality is stronger and over powered his. Once mok gets his mojo back the dynamic will be back to normal I’m hoping

true, i actually really liked how the season started with mokyeons backstory and showing hes not a mentally stable guy. But the build up ended up in a pretty unsatisfactory climax. It feels like author regretted the path it was going towards (or maybe got complains) I wish more BL authors worked with writers it could up the quality of their works so much