under-my-pillow

[under-my-pillow]

It took me awhile to get around to fully reading this post, and it is a very beautifully written one. Something that sticks to me is the line about how Su-won puts on an expected show but allows himself to say his true thoughts to Hak and how we are maybe not supposed to be privy to that.

And how Su-won can drop his armour when Hak is around.

While I still dislike Hak's actions in both chapters, and find his words and actions hypocritical, it cannot be denied that their relationship is complicated and certain feelings can co-exist.

The interpretation of his words/ the narrative to let Su-won finally exit his default set up and coming to where we are now in the story it's really a beautiful one.

Suwon's character analysis: From being shown to showing

Suwon is really a character all about being watched and scrutinized, isn't he?

Of course he's not self aware he's a fictional character but his position as a King and in relation to Yona ironically put him in a position that gives him a similar awareness that if he did. Suwon is judged and analyzed by everyone, in and outside the story. He knows that when he shows himself (and appears in the story) he has to perform a certain way. He has a role to follow and perform until the end. The way he speaks, the way he stands, the way he moves...being King means controlling and being aware of all of it. The moments we see through this costume are moments where he's taken by surprise and becomes "out of character" for this role. Moments where he's literally called out by characters around him for it, making him fall in his expected role more and more. He has to behave a specific way, he has to wear specific attires, he is very aware he is the object of many gazes around him. When he performs his role perfectly he is judged but in ways he expects because it's others' roles as well. When he breaks out of this role, he is judged anyways for losing himself. No matter what Suwon does or says, others will judge him or love him and expect things from him. It is true in the narrative and outside of it.

The South Kai arc with chapter 221 and 224 has him desperatly try to stick to his role that is slipping through his fingers, he has to position himself in contrast and opposition to Yona, he has to be the King his father wanted until the very end, etc. Yet, Yona and Hak kept breaking these roles as well. Hak, in full armor from Kai, the enemy, arrives and gives the senjusou to Suwon, in full King attire at this moment. Hak enters the stage like a blast when the curtains were about to fall and turns all formalities and rules of distance and what is allowed or not to dust. He breaks the role he carried until now as the character that should hate Suwon forever and try to kill him, and saves him instead. The fact that Suwon is King then doesn't really matter, Hak did this as his former friend.

In chapter 243, Suwon wants to speak to Hak privately but is well aware that if he comes out and does that, he will be seen and judged, confirmed by the shadows in chapter 251. He is not allowed to be himself without any costume freely, hence the cloak and hood on. He is not allowed this one private moment, eyes are on him and not only Hak's that he very much expects as well. That's why Suwon's tone the whole chapter is so...ambiguous. At the beginning, he speaks matter of factly, maybe not as "Hak's King" but at least in a unpersonal way, like an anonymous messager. He tells him information. That's why he calls Yona "Princess Yona" too I think. It is Suwon trusting Hak and relying on him personally, yet he is not totally open yet, Suwon still has a role to play. The more it goes, the more the tone shifts subtlely, now calling Yona by her name, his hood falling when Hak hits the wall, and talking more personally. What he shares then is what he is resigned to do and accept given his position and role that he can't just give up on now, what is the most reasonable within the range of his actions from then on. What he conveys to Hak is that he will not break character and stop performing his role as King, the one thing changing being only how he passes it down to Yona.

However, there is one final thing that the manga makes perceptible for absolutely no one but Hak, that even the shadows can't hear and understand. Suwon's last word(s) to Hak is not digitally typeset like every other text inside speech bubbles, but handwritten so small it looks like muttering that we can't for sure confirm the full forms of. Since chapter 243 came out, I did try for a long time to decipher it, and many concluded it could be a "sayonara" or "arigatou", and it was also translated and typesetted in the official English translation as "Farewell".

But honestly, now I think it is something we should not and are not supposed to decipher. In my eyes, it was Suwon's attempt to have just one thing, one word that would not be scrutinized and broken down to pieces by the people that watch him with no regard to his agency. The only thing we break down is the unintelligible form of it. I'm sure that we are not wrong to think it was something along the lines of a "Farewell", but I can't help but feel like it's not right to take even that from them now. This page is also the trigger that makes Hak understands that their entire convo was in itself a performance that Suwon directed from the start and aimed at people looking at them (the shadows and the audience), and the real message that he conveys only to Hak and not the shadows is that he is giving him and Yona a chance to escape and never return, despite the fact it goes directly against what he told him clearly in their conversation. I think this is what breaks Hak's heart too then, and why Hak realizes that he indeed can't dream of walking on the same path as Suwon anymore. Because Suwon will keep performing a role that will constrain him this way and make him hurt Yona and Hak. That this is maybe the path awaiting them too. The best way is to escape from it when it's not too late. It is too late at this point for Suwon though, or so he thinks. Suwon is self-aware that he can't discard them by this point, so to me this is him trying to negociate these feelings of his (by leaving them one chance to leave) with his role and constraints as a King in this complicated, indirect way.

It's very telling afterwards how the moment from chapter 243 Hak remembers is Suwon's final word that we can't read, whereas for the shadows it is the moment he tells Hak he will make Yona the next ruler. The unreadableness of the former and the enhanced size of the text in the latter...yeah. Suwon's words removed from their full context often are enhanced like that, aren't they?

Suwon is at the same time forced and not allowed to change. He is at the intersection of clashing expectations. It is bad whether Suwon follows his role perfectly or whether he breaks out of it a little and tries something different. Suwon is cruel to Yona and Hak and should die for his actions, or Suwon is too nice and submitting to Yona and Hak (and the larger narrative). No matter what Suwon says and does, it will cause discourses after discourses from both those supporting him and those against him. It is cruel, because people around him are changing and looking him differently than before, whether it's good or bad. In chapter 242, he acts out perfectly as the determined and pragmatic King he is as always, yet now even Geuntae doesn't seem satisfied. Suwon, because of Yona's influence on the people and world around them, has also no other choice but to adapt to these changes in some ways, yet characters like the shadows that refuse any change from 10 years ago stand against it. Again, then chapter 243 to me is Suwon's way to still perform his role as expected from others by negociating with all these sides in some ways. But it's really so complicated, isn't it? And in the end, a chapter like 243 was painful and upsetting for everyone.

I read many people say that Suwon was not here enough in the castle arc and it was annoying that Keishuk was so much present instead, and I remember very well how desperate I was to see him more by then, but it makes sense too, no? After all, Suwon didn't want to be seen. By showing himself as little as possible only in the moments he knows he can perform well, he was still somewhat in control of what people saw of him. The illness made it that Suwon could just not perform more than he did. He didn't want anyone and especially not Yona and Hak to try to see him beyond the performance, yet they kept getting closer and closer, pushing Suwon to hide himself away more and more too.

Suwon knew very well that the second he came out in the open he was closely looked at, by Shin-ah of course, but Shin-ah is only the best example of this general feeling of being watched and judged I think. This is Suwon's interpretation of Shinah's gaze, and I'm sure there is part of truth in it but I think it is also heavily influenced by Suwon's own feelings. Suwon was judged and followed for isolating Yona when she learned of the illness and for imprisoning Hak, but those were things he was only /indirectly/ the cause of. Of course, Suwon didn't do anything to go against them and it was his responsibility this way, he knew and had the authority to decide different, but what I mean is it portrays very well how Suwon is aware, /feels/ the way others scrutinize him ever since he killed Il for every single negative (direct and indirect) consequences of all he does and is. He will never be free from it. People will never let go, even when Yona and Hak do. I think the wound on his shoulder or the pain of his illness he doesn't act on enough are also symbols of that. His present shoulder wound is the literal trace and scar of Shinah's gaze on him in chapter 249, and Suwon is okay with carrying it.

It's not like the story has never let us enter Suwon's mind before recently, after all the narrative doesn't strictly follow only Yona's POV, but Suwon from the beginning was still generally a character seen from the outside by others rather than followed from inside. All these iconic scenes of characters looking at him, whether it's only his back or in the eyes are very much about that. These scenes serve to show how Yona (and Hak) is the subject of the story and will always watch him and what he does, the way Suwon watched Il for 10 years. It also serves to confirm to him that they hate him and wants him to die, etc...

It is very interesting too that the majority of flashbacks we have of him (outside of the one in chapter 11 and some bits of ch1/185) are never from Suwon's POV, but from others and how they perceived Suwon and felt about him then. Hak in particular. Even the diary arc is not from his POV. It is always about the conflict between the characters' first impressions of him and other sides of him revealed to them later on. Suwon to characters and to readers alike is like a puzzle we try to resolve, picking him up piece by piece. Each POV about Suwon is important because he is seen differently by each character, they all see different parts of him and reveal new things about him in reaction.

But this is precisely where we differ from the characters individually and what makes the larger narrative not solely about Yona's subjectivity. As readers we can assemble each piece in a way characters, even Yona, cannot. Moreover, we are also shown some bits from his own POV that no one else inside the story get to see. That's why honestly...I don't see Suwon as a puzzle to piece together since a long time. Of course we don't know and maybe don't understand everything about him, but the characters' struggle to understand him is quite different from readers' position when they judge him one way or the other, in my eyes. The only way I can make sense of why the story would go out of its way to narrate things about Suwon only to us when he is a character all about being shown and seen, is that at the end of the day the larger narrative is and was never against Suwon, its scope includes him too, we are made to feel for him as well. It is only so hard with Suwon because he himself doesn't let us and has circumstances that doesn't allow him that. Akatsuki no Yona is very much about Yona's subjectivity above all, but not fully and totally either and it cares about other characters as well (whether it does it well or not is another topic), and the existence of a character like Suwon we are shown glimpses of the interiority of from the very first volumes highlights this well, I think.

Despite this, the characters' struggle didn't end. And that's where the nuance between what the larger narrative of Akatsuki no Yona tells us about him and what Suwon as a character-narrator shows and tells us is meaningful. Suwon is a fictional character that depends on a bigger narrator and author of course, but there are several layers of narration in comics art, some which embrace the mind and subjectivity of one chosen character and making them "independant", agent of what they show and tell.

When we are shown what Suwon thinks in chapter 217 or in chapter 221 for example, I don't think it was that Suwon as a character wanted to be seen, but only that he was breaking and vulnerable in a way that made these bits showable to us. The fact we see Suwon's thoughts is a representation of Suwon's emotional state. It's not something Suwon has agency over at his own level. He is not a narrator in those moments, but a character being shown.

More precisely, Suwon did try to resist the narrative in chapter 217. Inner monologues in comics and especially in shoujo manga can be represented in different ways and have different functions. In chapter 217, there is a visual contrast between the thoughts that "float" on the pages, his personal lingering feelings for hurting Yona, and the thoughts in the black boxes, that have him rationalize the situation. Generally, monologues in text boxes are said to be a more objective level of narration (I get this from the "How to draw shoujo manga" book by Shigeki Suzuki, a former editor for Dessert's magazine).

Obviously, Suwon is not objective here, but it represents his attempt to affirm his authority on what is told and narrated, his control on feelings he doesn't want to acknowledge and to get out in the open. He tries to be a narrator. The metaphor of a box that opens against his will is then perfectly fitting. There are the words typed in text boxes, and the words out of these boxes. In the very next page, the boundary between panels and text boxes is blurred thanks the magic of shoujo manga composition. The first two vertical panels could very much be text boxes on their own, and what he says in them is still him being pragmatic and rationalizing what he has to do. Yet, as we see, Hak is now in these boxes as well. It breaks the illusion of Suwon as a character-narrator here (which was already hinted at by the choice to make the bg of the text boxes so dark). He can't control his thoughts from going towards Yona and Hak, he is not showing that willingly.

What we see inside Suwon is him still performing the best he can. It's him trying to convince himself and push himself to fulfill his duties with no hesitation. It's still not all of him, there are still things that he tries desperately to hide and keep deep deep inside of discarded boxes. Inside and outside, he has to be the perfect pragmatic King his role ask, so all that is shown has to be that. He can't allow himself to be anything else, he has to shut off and erase any trace of different voices in his heart. Yona, by being a person that expresses and voices out her feelings more, brings these feelings Suwon doesn't want to show on the page, she shows them to us. Seen like that, Yona can maybe thematically be a representation of Suwon's repressed feelings.

(A bit differently but similarly, it is a similar process in chapter 221 where this time Suwon can't barely try in any effective way to narrate what he's thinking, what we see as panels and text boxes make no difference anymore, until it blows up for good when he has this flashback of Hak and Yona from chapter 11 and realizes he can't discard them. )

So, Suwon is a character that is shown to us in several ways. One, there is how he is seen from the outside, the way characters perceive what he shows to them or what is shown about him to them. This is the layer Suwon has the most control on in a way (even if not totally), as his position in the story makes him very conscious of his obligation to perform because people are watching him. He shows his full control and flexibility of his image in the ways he willingly pretends to be more naive and weaker than he really is to Geuntae, Soojin and Li Hazara for example. He plays with others' expectations and perception of him. Outside, Suwon is already full aware of how he is supposed to present himself, he already knows what is going to be shown or not for the most part. He allows himself to break out of character when he knows no one else watches him, which are the rare moments the narrative can show him when he's not performing. As the story advances however, these moments become much rarer as he is watched closely by more and more characters in his privacy.

On the other hand, there is how the higher narrative tries to show us his emotional state, his point of view and feelings. It is inherently something he as a character is very against of ever since he became King. Even then, what is shown to us at several occasions is Suwon's failure in showing us what he wants to show, instead having taken from/out of him what he doesn't want to reveal. The Crimson Illness is an interesting metaphor for it I think. It can easily be interpreted as a visible manifestation of Suwon's already existing struggles, after all. The Crimson illness makes all that is hidden visible to others. It gives it physical symptoms. Again and again, his illness and bloodline are revealed to others against his will. The illness is the crack to the performance Suwon tries to maintain as a strong King. It makes him vulnerable, forcing him to depend more on others. It breaks his role and how he wants others to see him. He wants to be seen as strong and independant and in control, but he can't control his episodes and when he is shown in a frail condition. It brings out what is inside, it makes his repressed thoughts visible to us readers as well, it's the reason why the narrative shows us his inner struggles more closely.

Suwon can only somewhat control and influence what is shown outside, which why I think he showed himself so little in the castle arc as an attempt to show himself only when he's in an "acceptable" state for it. In the end, he still pushes himself more than necessary when he has no other choice (and because he doesn't want to rely more on the people around him). However, after the South Kai arc Suwon knows important development. From then, Suwon has no choice but to face things for real : His is sick, heavily weakened and disabled by it, and is going to die soon. In parallel, he also acknowledges he can't discard Yona-Hak, and that he can and has to rely on them for Kouka's sake.

Chapter 243 is the very first time (Minsu aside I imagine, but we are not shown that) that Suwon himself tells someone directly about his bloodline and his illness. As said before, chapter 243 is an entire performance, but it's one where he got to choose the person he wanted to say these things to. However there is still a gap between what Suwon wants to show to Hak and what he doesn't want to show to others. The chapter is still framed not from Suwon's POV at all. Suwon has no privacy, even in a scene initially presented to be only between the two of them. The idea that at this point Suwon is allowed any privacy is unreliable framing influenced by Hak's flawed POV. Hak by then is not yet really aware of the existence and purpose of Suwon's personal bodyguards in detail. Suwon can convey messages undirectly, but because he still has to show himself a certain way to characters like the shadows he's not allowed to show things explicitely. He can only be seen through others' eyes, forced to rely neither on the images nor the text typed and shared by the narrator(s), but instead on the subtext and unintelligible scribblings. Suwon is still bound by the vow the Shadows made to themselves 10 years ago, but freed at the end by the vow bounding Hak to him. To Hak alone he can share his truth : that he can't and won't respond to his expectations, nor that he is only what he shows as King to others. No one else might understand, but he trusts Hak can get the message.

Then Suwon is attacked by Shinah, and at first we were not shown at all what Suwon was thinking and feeling. The second he wakes up in chapter 256, he leaves that behind him and thinks as a King again. However something important changed, obviously he still has people around him he has to act a certain way for, but the shadows are no more. The people left around him are more flexible and actually rejoice that Suwon decides to retreat. They don't know it was partly motivated by lingering feelings for Yona and Hak, but they're still more flexible and allows Suwon more privacy and agency.

So it brings us again to chapter chapter 261/262, which are to me the very first occurence of Suwon being allowed to be a character-narrator where he gets to truly show and tells his own story. Showing instead of being shown. Showing the experience and feelings of being seen. Chapter 262 doesn't only highlight the importance of gaze in Suwon's character, but is meaningful by making Suwon himself show it to Hak, and to us readers by proxy. This is what makes Suwon and Hak's interactions in this chapter so so important. Suwon, as already established, is still resolved to perform his duties as King until the very end. That's why he still doesn't show himself bare in front of the people of Kuuto, Mundok or Lili. He still has to be a strong King that inspires confidence and reassurance to them. He can't show that he is actually chronically ill and severely wounded. What citizens expect from the King is to be strong enough to withstand, resist, and win against all the disasters they face.

But when it's only Hak and Suwon alone next, Hak is of course annoyed. There is no one on the rooftop of the collapsing palace to watch and judge them. Suwon doesn't have to keep his armor, his King costume, and keep performing in front of him, acting like his wound doesn't hurt him this much and that he's perfectly collected. The shadows are no more, they're isolated from the city. Hak as we can see with chapter 200 or 224 is annoyed by all these roles and formalities and always go against them. This is what makes Hak free. Hak goes wherever he wants to be, will play any role needed to get there and let go of them when they get on his way. Hak says he sucks at letting go, but in a way he is much better at letting go of these things than Suwon is, even when he doesn't have to keep them.

Something interesting in this scene, as already pointed out by others, is the intent behind making Hak order Suwon to undress. Despite his tone, he still doesn't undress Suwon forcibly to then show him to all of us against his will, but encourages Suwon to act upon it himself. He is frustrated by Suwon's own passivity in regard to himself. Suwon has to ask for Hak's help, but it is still triggered by Suwon's own will. Hak forces Suwon to ask for the support he needs in order to have agency. Showing himself is difficult for Suwon, both literally because of his wound and emotionally because he is not used to it, so Hak helps him for it. Of course, the act of removing his armor and letting go of his father's sword is also when Suwon at long last can stop just performing as the King character he is supposed to be. Finally, through his trust in Hak, he can truly and openly show something different to us readers too.

Then Suwon talks about himself. Not just facts and objective information like he did in chapter 243, but how he feels and what /he/ sees. Finally, Suwon tells and shows.

This spread is one of my favorite of all times I think, because it just encapsulates everything I'm trying to explain with this post. Suwon is undeniably a character-narrator in this scene because of how he shows willingly and literally to someone else what he saw and felt, making this moment surreal. After all, it should be impossible for Hak to see that. The text in this spread is typeset like is any inner monologue and is not in speech bubbles. Hak, by the rules of narratology in comics is not supposed to hear any of it. They are thoughts inside of Suwon. However the last panel showing the bottom part of Hak's face seems to imply that Hak very much sees and hears it all. Hak here is in our exact position as reader, able to see, read, feel what Suwon is sharing inside of him. It's not something brought to the outside taken from him for it to be broken down, scrutinized and judged by others. Instead, Suwon makes us come to him inside. It is something incredibly private and intimate Suwon shows in full spread to Hak and us alone. It is precious. Suwon's narration transcends narrative layers to reach Hak's senses and ours at the same time. It represents how Shinah in dragon form is watching him, but by doing so he is very much the one to show himself and Shin-ah. It is not a first person narration where we would see things through his eyes, but a third person one, above. As a character-narrator, Suwon is obviously not at the top of the narrative hierarchy and Kusanagi is the one making all these narrative and laying out choices, but here, she lets Suwon carry the role of teller and shower. In chapter 249, she decided against showing that to us directly like she showed how he felt in chapter 221. She willingly gave Suwon the time and space to do it himself when he was ready to, to the person of his choice alone.

As Hak says at the end of chapter 262, Suwon can choose another path instead of repeating the same complicated one. As we've seen, his role as King indeed puts him in an overcomplicated and messy position where he has to jungle between clashing expectations and duties and his own feelings, making everyone and him first hurt in the end. From then on, Suwon can try another path for real.

In that same chapter before he removes his armor, Suwon also tells Mundok that he can't possibly influence the Heavens. So here, I have a final interpretation about this:

Aren't the Heavens the representation for a higher narrative layer? They're the ones making the "final" judgment and punishing characters or not, they're the ones making (one layer of) the narrative of the story through the prophecy. They can't be touched and reached for, they're in another world above the characters. Suwon is well aware that he is only a character with a defined role in the narrative, so to him, there is only so much he can do and it's pointless to fight against it. In chapter 268, Suwon says again that there's nothing he can do since they're not people. The Gods are the ones seeing and showing everything.

It is perfectly illustrated in chapter 268 with Yona. Yona didn't want to make it about Hak at all, she doesn't want to involve him in any of this, and doesn't openly mention and express her feelings for him inside the chalice because it is not her focus and priority then. Yet the Gods show everything against Yona's will and to her despair. They bring out and show her and us a majority of moments Yona shared with Hak, many that were supposed to be only with the two of them. But like the Shadows with Suwon, the Gods were always watching. Yona was able to make her own decision and was resolved to leave the chalice with the dragons before they brought this up in chapter 267. It is something shown about her and against her, they take from her any agency she had, she is trapped. Similarly to Suwon in chapter 221, she is forced to face feelings she underestimated the paralyzing power of.

However, I'd argue that Yona still managed to bring the Gods closer to us, at least from the invisible higher layer they were on the narrator hierarchy of the story to a layer inside the narrative. Again, she brought them on the page, she made them real, she made them characters and more "human". They're still entities with the power to show, but also visible characters that can be changed and talked with: they literally can be moved and influenced. Yona and Zeno showed them to us, in the sense of making them visible and revealing them to us readers. Maybe the way they treat Yona is their reaction against it, unconsciously. After all, bringing them on the pages of the story forced them to face their contradictions, it is threatening them. Unfortunately, by chapter 268 it still didn't strip them of their powers and ability to control the other characters' narrative.

But I think Suwon perfectly understood all of this. Suwon now has the power to show his perspective. Even if the Gods aren't people, he is free to choose the way he frames how he is seen and watched with his own subjectivity. He is now a subjective character, not only an objective (in the sense of being object) one. That's why his plan depends on getting the Gods' full attention on him. This page is so similar from Shinah looking at him in chapter 262 for a reason. Suwon now gets more control and freedom in what he can show and tell. Suwon literally brought the Gods down to us and showed them. It's not like Yona climbing up to them. Suwon has the power to influence the Heavens and the narrative, because Suwon is not only his static character role, but a character that can change and who we can openly feel for. He won't submit to the Dragon Gods' narrative like he was resigned to before. He is the narrative too. Like Yona or Hak or any other character we ever followed is. Akatsuki no Yona is a story about characters and their feelings, and Suwon can now fully embrace his power in it.

So I find the resonance between Suwon's developing agency in the narrative and the way readers engage with him really interesting. I guess Kusanagi didn't expect Suwon to be controversial the way he is to this day when she started the story and created him, but I like how she discusses it in the story and tied it so beautifully with his character arc. I said about chapter 243 that we shouldn't try to decipher Suwon's message, but actually I don't think that's true. I don't think Kusanagi is that pessimist about her readers. Sure, we see as much as the Shadows or as the Dragon Gods do but we're not them either. The characters share so much with us too, like seen in chapter 262. I think the story simply wants to encourage us to question how we engage with the characters and what we expect from them by representing caricatures of extreme fandom opinions (that can be pretty prevalent and very vocal unfortunately). Suwon himself was always a character we were encouraged to decipher, I think. Otherwise it would mean not trying to understand him at all because he played the role of an antagonist (or whatever he can be called) anyways, which is incredibly sad. I think we were always encouraged to resist against that and try to understand him despite his own resistance. Suwon needed to learn that it's okay to be vulnerable and show us, and that it won't make him less loved and cared for.

Suwon will probably always be a character that is scrutinized and judged in and outside the story, it keeps being so despite all recent developments. But today I am convinced that nor Suwon on his level as a character, nor the narrative will keep making him a character that is forever only seen by others anymore. Now we will see what Suwon sees and feels what he feels, he will show us. He will influence the Heavens and shake the narrative itself I'm sure, he will bring them all down to us.

I love you Suwon <3

[under-my-pillow]

Oh, I mean Yona and Hak here and they do love him, he had their love even though I do believe, he loves them more. I meant, that Soo Won did not allow himself to feel too much for them. Their love was a luxury, he could not afford to care about.

Yona and Hak definitely loved him very much. He loved them very much too and he drastically underestimated the value they held in his heart, but I believe to Su-won the time he spent with Yona and Hak was like a beautiful dream. I mean in the sense that it was probably painful for him to feel too much for them when he knew that when he had to go back to his reality where there was no place for these feelings.

King Il stabbed him in the side, before their little conversation. Yu hon knew, I am pretty sure, what King Il intended. Especially if Hiyoori had killed Kashi and Yu hon knew about it. We do not know, if he had really intended to kill Kashi, or if Hiyoori had acted like with Yona...that he wanted to kill her, even though Soo Won did not want it.

This has always been the most unclear part about it. Did Hiyoori kill Kashi wihout Yu-hon's knowledge? Is it because Yona determined him to be the killer?

This has been the biggest hole in the writing - for such a huge issue, the very start of this tragedy why did Kusa not write proof? Why did she leave it ambiguous?

The chain of events created seems to lead to the conclusion that the minute Kashi died, the one Il immediately thought of as to be responsible for her death was Yu-hon and the minute that thought took root in his head, there was no space for anything else.

He presented no proof. It seemed like he was acting purely to rid himself of this fear that he would lose his Hiryuu as well and due to his personal insecurities.

Yona reads the diary and then from somewhere comes to the conclusion that Hiyoori killed her mother because Hiyoori once tried to kill her. I would assume logically that the reason why Hiyoori tried to kill her would be because her father killed Yu-hon first, but seemingly there is no proof anywhere that Yu-hon killed Kashi.

He admired his father like a hero, true, however, he was not nearer to him, than his mother. Soo Won was basically baffled, when he visited him, when he was sick. This showed, that it was a rare occasion. We even see, how Yu hon took 2 year old Soo Won to his mother, because he had no time for his son.

For this I meant in terms of reliance. When Su-won was 2 years old Yonhi was more or less fine, but as he started getting older Yonhi's illness worsened and we see that by the time he was 8 or 9 she was frequently bed bound.

So I do assume that Su-won felt more of an automatic reliance on his father than his mother. This is not to say Su-won did not emotionally rely on his mother at all, because he does associate warmth he received from Yona once to his mother.

Like you said to him his father was like a hero, and although he was away most of the time, the moments during which he was present obviously held a huge meaning. I suppose I am talking about that feeling like you know the spine of the family. The feeling that nothing could go wrong with their family when his father was around.

However his dark reaction suggested something different. He must have agreed somehow, that Yona was right. What was it, that his father was lacking according to Soo Won? Was it that he had cared for individual people more, than his country? Is that the reason, why Soo Won basically tried to kill that part of himself and hurt himself so cruelly in the process? That is my thought process behind the question.

That's a very interesting take. That could be true, indeed. That one moment of weakness Yu-hon showed to his brother Il resulted in his death. It can't be denied that possibly left a dark shadow in Su-won's heart.

We see him show a similar weakness in front of Hak. We see him take every opportunity to let them go.

My thought behind that scene was he was atleast 7 parts furious. When Yona says - I understand why Yu-hon could not become king.

Could it be possible for him not to be furious? - Yu-hon spent his whole life guarding Kouka, ensuring peace and prosperity for the people while training to be king, but the instant his idiot brother gave birth to a reincarnation of Hiryuu he was literally just shoved aside.

Yu-hon did not become king for the pure reason that Yona was born and if that same brat came sprouting nonsense. I'd be darkly furious too.

If Yu-hon had discarded familial relationship and overturned Il's rule right at the beginning? Must have been something that Su-won must have definitely thought about? Perhaps he saw his father's inability to discard familial relationships as a weakness - it might not have necessarily made him an unfit king, but certainly a weakness that turned out to be very fatal for him in the end.

So it is certainly possible that Su-won throughout most of his life correlated this aspect as such and tried to be the most cruel to himself.

I half agree, but I would even say, that Soo Won did not even try to find love...that he isolated himself on purpose. He might have mingled with people to not completely hurt, but he still let nobody in. His words to Min Su that as a king, he could not afford to care more for people, than for his country, might be his true thoughts. My question would be, how he came to this extreme conclusion? My conclusion was, that his father´s death and decisions regarding King Il might have been the reason why.

Ohh, this is an interesting take as well. My thought about this always was who could he find? Other than Yona and Hak. (I am assuming we are talking about familial love.) We know he cared about them very much, but he was out of their picture most of the time and we know all of it was not by his choice.

I have always wanted Su-won to find someone who was neutral in perspective. Someone who could offer both sides (make sure he is politically alright but also make sure he doesn't have to suffer emotionally to be that way). Someone who exclusively took his side even during the roughest patches, and also preferably someone who doesn't give stupid lectures and yell at him when he is at an all time low.

I have always had this impression that Su-won has tried connecting with people he wanted affection from, but failed.

Il is an example. Like in the light novel Su-won reminisces that he never once got dumplings as a present. We know this is alluding to the fact that Hak always received them, but he never did. Why would Su-won feel hurt about never receiving them if he 100% only held resentment for Il? My guess was he did try to meet Il in the middle even after his father's death, but whatever he tried didn't work out.

There is also a comic strip about Su-won, Hak and Mundeok. Hak hits Mundeok and gets scolded and pummelled by his grandfather. Su-won wants to be part of this interaction as well and imitates Hak and hits Mundeok as well, but the moment Mundeok sees its Su-won he just pats his head and we see small Su-won kicking a rock disappointedly.

It seems just like a funny strip and maybe I am reading too much into it, but to me it seemed like he was quite disappointed that he did not receive the same level of affection Hak did.

I mean if the people you crave affection from don't give it, I'd expect that to be a little discouraging. So I dont think he was intentionally isolating himself. I think it was something that unintentionally ended up being the norm for him after a period of time. He after all did not have any other close family.

I agree on the part with Min-soo. It is certainly influenced by a series of events. His father, Il and even possibly a constant reminder for himself.

Yu-hon's moment of weakness with his brother killed him. Il's cultish priorities with Hiryuu screwed up his people. It is definitely a dark reminder for himself of past events.

Su-won's Character Development Chart Part I

I am doing this as a personal exercise to prove that Su-won has a lacking character development problem.

Another thing to note, Su-won accurately pin-points the looming poverty crisis, lack of trade & realizes Chishin can't simply rely on its dwindling mineral resources, has obviously done some research on the trends in Kai to tell Yun-ho to serve her tea to the visiting Kai merchants. - Hmm...that's an awful lot of insight for a guy who has a poor point of view.

Something interesting about this arc which might be less obvious is the moment when Hak sees Su-won for the first time since the coup.

When Yona sees Su-won for the first time, she is frozen, drowning in her thoughts and isn't able to make a decision before Su-won stops her. In a similar manner, when Hak sees Su-won, Su-won isn't able to make a decision until Jae-ha stops Hak.

I have always felt the Sei arc is the most emotionally complicated arc written by Kusa in AnY. We see many characters forced to face the feelings they have locked away. Hak, Yona, Su-won, Ju-doh, Ki-ja, even Mun-deok.

Also since the story is mostly about Yona I don't think many people actually realize how much Su-won has grown into his role as king. How much will, effort & reason it takes to stop oneself from getting drunk on the victories, the power.

It cannot be denied. Su-won had a violent, oppressive start. It was necessary at that time, but what many don't realize is how easy it is to continue on that lane especially when it comes to power, but Su-won grabbed every opportunity possible to change lanes.

Also we end up contemplating what determines right? Ki-ja says Hiryuu is the rightful owner of the country. Does that mean if roles were to flip and Yona was not a reincarnation of Hiryuu no matter what she did for the people and the country do not matter? or Is he referring to her right as the daughter of the former king?

Second thing about this arc is when Hak & Su-won work together. We are shown Yona's thoughts asking herself how they turned out like this. I believe it is possible that it was not only Yona asking herself that. We all know how well our author loves to play with parallels.

The third interesting thing about this arc is we are given a small insight into Mun-deok's complicated feelings towards Su-won too.

I think time has given him an opportunity to make peace with the Su-won's ascension to King. Despite his mixed feelings he was even expecting Su-won to get married and have an heir

So to summarize part one -

Kills IL - chases Yona Hak out of the castle - suppresses wind tribe - Becomes King - Hides Yona - Improves earth tribe economy- gains the respect of Geuntae - stops fire tribe rebellion - teaches kyo-ga how to rule and trusts him as the next head (cause its very easy to trust the son of the man who started a rebellion to not stab you in the back.) - investigates nadai - motivates Lili to stand up for her tribe - thwarts a south kai fleet - gains Joon-gi's support - reclaims lost territory (there was a slight mishap with Kin province) - thwarts a future Sei invasion - starts facing his feelings towards Hak and Yona.

Nope, no growth at all.

[under-my-pillow]

He did not allow himself the luxury of love. Was his father the reason?

I would say that it is not that he did not allow himself the luxury of love. It is just that getting any love itself was a luxury.

The direct reason would be Il. I would not blame Yu-hon for this because to him Il was family. His dear brother. To him the possibility that IL killing him was equal to the possibility of Yon-hi killing him.

Su-won admired and loved his father very much. I also believe that Su-won shared a greater parental connection with his father than his mother.

We know Su-won was quite an extremely curious, active child on top of being a chatterbox. Given that Yon-hi was affected with the crimson illness, often bedridden, it would not have been possible for her to keep up with him.

In time, Su-won must have come to associate his mother with- To be taken care of. Not to disturb recklessly.

This also means that most of his activities, and parental reliance, that children of his age have would be directed towards his father - this is probably another reason why most of his childhood memories and centered around his father.

So, when Yu-hon died, Il did not just kill his brother, he completely swiped off the ground upon which Su-won was standing on. The 9 year old child was falling, falling, falling, trying to grip something to keep him anchored and what he ended up clutching was his father's wish - to keep the country and it's people safe.

No one hugged that nine-year-old child and said- I'll be there for you. Rely on me. No Hak and no dragons to sympathize with the soon to be orphaned 9-year old. Just one child and a bunch of adults with unrealistic expectations.

Any fragments of love he experienced were probably occasional handouts from Il in the form of allowing him to spend time with Yona and Hak. Which reminds me, I understand Yona wouldn't have been able to visit Su-won, but did Hak ever visit Su-won to check on him after his father's death, I wonder?

At any rate, love became the luxury handbag behind the glass window. He could watch it, understand it, even borrow it on special occasions but he was too poor; (too short of a mother, or a father or just one person to hold him when he falls) to actually afford it for himself.

So, he had to settle for alternatives within his price range. (Ogi, Kye-sook, Ju-doh, Mun-deok, even Il.)

Not being able to afford it in the first place is different from not allowing yourself to have it.

He was never able to afford Yona or Hak's love. That's why it is a beautiful dream.

Because of the events that is about to take place and

Even if the events did not take place Yona's chance at happiness was not him, but Hak. Only Hak could reciprocate her feelings equally and did not face the burden of time.

Su-won on the other hand could neither pay for Yona's love in the manner of affection Hak has nor could he pay it with time.

Su-won's Character Development Chart Part I

I am doing this as a personal exercise to prove that Su-won has a lacking character development problem.

Another thing to note, Su-won accurately pin-points the looming poverty crisis, lack of trade & realizes Chishin can't simply rely on its dwindling mineral resources, has obviously done some research on the trends in Kai to tell Yun-ho to serve her tea to the visiting Kai merchants. - Hmm...that's an awful lot of insight for a guy who has a poor point of view.

Something interesting about this arc which might be less obvious is the moment when Hak sees Su-won for the first time since the coup.

When Yona sees Su-won for the first time, she is frozen, drowning in her thoughts and isn't able to make a decision before Su-won stops her. In a similar manner, when Hak sees Su-won, Su-won isn't able to make a decision until Jae-ha stops Hak.

I have always felt the Sei arc is the most emotionally complicated arc written by Kusa in AnY. We see many characters forced to face the feelings they have locked away. Hak, Yona, Su-won, Ju-doh, Ki-ja, even Mun-deok.

Also since the story is mostly about Yona I don't think many people actually realize how much Su-won has grown into his role as king. How much will, effort & reason it takes to stop oneself from getting drunk on the victories, the power.

It cannot be denied. Su-won had a violent, oppressive start. It was necessary at that time, but what many don't realize is how easy it is to continue on that lane especially when it comes to power, but Su-won grabbed every opportunity possible to change lanes.

Also we end up contemplating what determines right? Ki-ja says Hiryuu is the rightful owner of the country. Does that mean if roles were to flip and Yona was not a reincarnation of Hiryuu no matter what she did for the people and the country do not matter? or Is he referring to her right as the daughter of the former king?

Second thing about this arc is when Hak & Su-won work together. We are shown Yona's thoughts asking herself how they turned out like this. I believe it is possible that it was not only Yona asking herself that. We all know how well our author loves to play with parallels.

The third interesting thing about this arc is we are given a small insight into Mun-deok's complicated feelings towards Su-won too.

I think time has given him an opportunity to make peace with the Su-won's ascension to King. Despite his mixed feelings he was even expecting Su-won to get married and have an heir

So to summarize part one -

Kills IL - chases Yona Hak out of the castle - suppresses wind tribe - Becomes King - Hides Yona - Improves earth tribe economy- gains the respect of Geuntae - stops fire tribe rebellion - teaches kyo-ga how to rule and trusts him as the next head (cause its very easy to trust the son of the man who started a rebellion to not stab you in the back.) - investigates nadai - motivates Lili to stand up for her tribe - thwarts a south kai fleet - gains Joon-gi's support - reclaims lost territory (there was a slight mishap with Kin province) - thwarts a future Sei invasion - starts facing his feelings towards Hak and Yona.

Nope, no growth at all.

[under-my-pillow]

Yeah, Lili, why would some random person be His Majesty?

If she was able to pick him out from a crowd full of people, and for not one moment second guess why the King of the country would be walking by himself in some dingy alley. . .

Please, just get married already!!!

[under-my-pillow]

Just dropping in to say I appreciate you for being firm on your opinions regarding Yona 👍 it's always nice to see both sides of the argument in stuff like this. It's been helping me form my own opinions on the last few chapters, though I'll withhold final judgments until the arc is over. Because if there's anything I've learned from anime it's to always second guess your opinions.

Hi Anon,

Yes, we are all waiting for the arc to be over and to hopefully receive closure on a lot of unfulfilled aspects. I will be the happiest if Kusanagi decides to give Yona, our titular character, for whom many of us started this story a proper closure. By this I do not mean a complete glaze of her character - if anything the too much glaze has hindered her development.

And of course, Su-won.

[under-my-pillow]

What do you mean with this? What kind of growth did you expect that did not happen? I am curious.

That was sarcasm, dear. For people who got through 270 chapters wondering what Su-won ever did for the story.

You are absolutely right. A great chunk of growth happened when he was a child after his father's death, similar to Yona, only he was way younger. This post is mainly to point out the differences for those who feel Su-won keeps doing the same thing every time or nothing every time.

He has grown as a King as well. He had to kill Il, suppress the wind tribe to succeed the throne, but he did not continue on that violent lane. He improved the earth tribe's economy while maintaining his dignity as King, he trusted Kyo-ga, offered him a different perspective of ruling, inspired and helped Lili to make her own stand for her tribe. He is not ruled by power and most importantly he is not threatened by power.

I don't know where Hak's brain was when he called Il - 'A kind king.'

But when I hear 'Kind King', it is Su-won I think about. A king who is firm where he needs to be and kind when he needs to be, who has sacrificed more than anyone for the country.

And the reason why he is doing such life risking business in the recent chapters is quite clear - To him his time is running out, he has found a successor capable of keeping the country together, borders are secure the only thing left now is the Gods. What we are seeing in the recent chapters is Su-won's true feelings, his true nature that has always wanted to protect his friends.

People say he has been cruel to Yona and Hak, but I feel he has been the most cruel to himself, and no one— not one person has truly recognized that.

Su-won's Character Development Chart Part I

I am doing this as a personal exercise to prove that Su-won has a lacking character development problem.

Another thing to note, Su-won accurately pin-points the looming poverty crisis, lack of trade & realizes Chishin can't simply rely on its dwindling mineral resources, has obviously done some research on the trends in Kai to tell Yun-ho to serve her tea to the visiting Kai merchants. - Hmm...that's an awful lot of insight for a guy who has a poor point of view.

Something interesting about this arc which might be less obvious is the moment when Hak sees Su-won for the first time since the coup.

When Yona sees Su-won for the first time, she is frozen, drowning in her thoughts and isn't able to make a decision before Su-won stops her. In a similar manner, when Hak sees Su-won, Su-won isn't able to make a decision until Jae-ha stops Hak.

I have always felt the Sei arc is the most emotionally complicated arc written by Kusa in AnY. We see many characters forced to face the feelings they have locked away. Hak, Yona, Su-won, Ju-doh, Ki-ja, even Mun-deok.

Also since the story is mostly about Yona I don't think many people actually realize how much Su-won has grown into his role as king. How much will, effort & reason it takes to stop oneself from getting drunk on the victories, the power.

It cannot be denied. Su-won had a violent, oppressive start. It was necessary at that time, but what many don't realize is how easy it is to continue on that lane especially when it comes to power, but Su-won grabbed every opportunity possible to change lanes.

Also we end up contemplating what determines right? Ki-ja says Hiryuu is the rightful owner of the country. Does that mean if roles were to flip and Yona was not a reincarnation of Hiryuu no matter what she did for the people and the country do not matter? or Is he referring to her right as the daughter of the former king?

Second thing about this arc is when Hak & Su-won work together. We are shown Yona's thoughts asking herself how they turned out like this. I believe it is possible that it was not only Yona asking herself that. We all know how well our author loves to play with parallels.

The third interesting thing about this arc is we are given a small insight into Mun-deok's complicated feelings towards Su-won too.

I think time has given him an opportunity to make peace with the Su-won's ascension to King. Despite his mixed feelings he was even expecting Su-won to get married and have an heir

So to summarize part one -

Kills IL - chases Yona Hak out of the castle - suppresses wind tribe - Becomes King - Hides Yona - Improves earth tribe economy- gains the respect of Geuntae - stops fire tribe rebellion - teaches kyo-ga how to rule and trusts him as the next head (cause its very easy to trust the son of the man who started a rebellion to not stab you in the back.) - investigates nadai - motivates Lili to stand up for her tribe - thwarts a south kai fleet - gains Joon-gi's support - reclaims lost territory (there was a slight mishap with Kin province) - thwarts a future Sei invasion - starts facing his feelings towards Hak and Yona.

Nope, no growth at all.

[under-my-pillow]

Su-won's Character Development Chart Part I

I am doing this as a personal exercise to prove that Su-won has a lacking character development problem.

Another thing to note, Su-won accurately pin-points the looming poverty crisis, lack of trade & realizes Chishin can't simply rely on its dwindling mineral resources, has obviously done some research on the trends in Kai to tell Yun-ho to serve her tea to the visiting Kai merchants. - Hmm...that's an awful lot of insight for a guy who has a poor point of view.

Something interesting about this arc which might be less obvious is the moment when Hak sees Su-won for the first time since the coup.

When Yona sees Su-won for the first time, she is frozen, drowning in her thoughts and isn't able to make a decision before Su-won stops her. In a similar manner, when Hak sees Su-won, Su-won isn't able to make a decision until Jae-ha stops Hak.

I have always felt the Sei arc is the most emotionally complicated arc written by Kusa in AnY. We see many characters forced to face the feelings they have locked away. Hak, Yona, Su-won, Ju-doh, Ki-ja, even Mun-deok.

Also since the story is mostly about Yona I don't think many people actually realize how much Su-won has grown into his role as king. How much will, effort & reason it takes to stop oneself from getting drunk on the victories, the power.

It cannot be denied. Su-won had a violent, oppressive start. It was necessary at that time, but what many don't realize is how easy it is to continue on that lane especially when it comes to power, but Su-won grabbed every opportunity possible to change lanes.

Also we end up contemplating what determines right? Ki-ja says Hiryuu is the rightful owner of the country. Does that mean if roles were to flip and Yona was not a reincarnation of Hiryuu no matter what she did for the people and the country do not matter? or Is he referring to her right as the daughter of the former king?

Second thing about this arc is when Hak & Su-won work together. We are shown Yona's thoughts asking herself how they turned out like this. I believe it is possible that it was not only Yona asking herself that. We all know how well our author loves to play with parallels.

The third interesting thing about this arc is we are given a small insight into Mun-deok's complicated feelings towards Su-won too.

I think time has given him an opportunity to make peace with the Su-won's ascension to King. Despite his mixed feelings he was even expecting Su-won to get married and have an heir

So to summarize part one -

Kills IL - chases Yona Hak out of the castle - suppresses wind tribe - Becomes King - Hides Yona - Improves earth tribe economy- gains the respect of Geuntae - stops fire tribe rebellion - teaches kyo-ga how to rule and trusts him as the next head (cause its very easy to trust the son of the man who started a rebellion to not stab you in the back.) - investigates nadai - motivates Lili to stand up for her tribe - thwarts a south kai fleet - gains Joon-gi's support - reclaims lost territory (there was a slight mishap with Kin province) - thwarts a future Sei invasion - starts facing his feelings towards Hak and Yona.

Nope, no growth at all.

[under-my-pillow]

Much of Yona's work is run as an Adventure and Hero's Journey. Excluding the romance, Hak would still be the second main character. Saying he hasn't evolved at all is a flat-earther type of argument. In the work, the character who most needed to evolve was Yona, which is why her character arc is very ascending. Hak had a normal development, but chapter 91 was a turning point for his development. He has multiple dynamics with other characters, even with people he consider enemies. What is Suwon's evolution? Only in the arc of the war with South Kai does he have some development, but his point of view is poor. He is the character who is almost the same as in the beginning, without any kind of important growth.

Umm...okay.

[under-my-pillow]

Oh my God, Zeno's face! I shouldn't be laughing, but the face he makes is like WTF are you doing?

He isn't able to keep up with our guy.

Soo-Won's recent mood:

Keep calm, keep stabbing the gods✌️

[under-my-pillow]

As an avid reader of romance novels and narratives with romantic undertones, I'm making an assessment without falling into traditional clichés. If you want to be hipster, good for you, but if we view Suwon and Lili as an atypical ship, it also lacks strength. And Suwon isn't the deuteragonist. He's the third main character in the work. Kusanagi and Hana Yume say so.

Hi anon,

We share different opinions is all I can say.

I do not believe Su-won and Lili as a ship lack strength at all. The way I see it, they have all the qualities of a good, stable, equal relationship. Neither falls behind the other.

I don't think a stable relationship is something hipster and neither of them is lacking in character to pull it off interestingly as long as Kusanagi wants it.

I love that all their interactions so far although minimal have shown us a side of them that makes them more real and interesting.

Not all couples have to be based on romance. I like the notion that from an existing bond they grow to love each other.

The manga akagami no shirayukihime has something similar as well. I adore the relationship between Izana and Haki. Their dialogues are ordinary, it's a dull political marriage and they hardly have any panels, but small things like Izana turning around one more time to look at Haki tells so much about their relationship.

Similarly, I feel it's quite romantic in itself the process of Soo-won learning to love someone. Lili is the most ideal choice because he has the most chemistry with her. Sometimes best friends make the best partners.

Secondly, I am aware that Kusanagi and the majority consider Hak as the deuteragonist. After all, this is officially a shoujo romance manga, but dude hasn't had a personality development since the third chapter. We are now in chapter 269 and there are side characters that have had more development than him.

Personally, while I still consider it shoujo, it's a historic political fantasy to me. So romance has been secondary. I believe that was the essence in the original chapters. Soo-won and Yona are direct writing parallels. And after Yona, the second important driving force for this story has been Soo-won, so I consider Soo-won the deuteragonist.

If we are going just genre wise- shoujo romance, sure, let's pick the dude that Yona loves.

[under-my-pillow]

Suwon and Lily as a friend dynamic is fine, but if they're seen as a ship, it would be mediocre. Suwon fails as a love interest. He has neither the charisma nor the gift of the gab in that regard.

If you're looking for a traditionally formatted love interest following the standard rules of romantic attraction maybe he falls short.

And when you say he has no charisma or the gift of the gab I assume, you mean he does not know how to apply it in romantic matters, because lets be clear Soo-won is the most charismatically written deuteragonist ever.

To the point that Kusanagi has to sometimes do him downtime to give Yona and her allies their moments.

When the dragons wanted to stage a show of defiance during the mock drills destabilizing the army's enthusiasm, just a few words from him was enough to revitalize them.

He knows how to say the right words, at the right time; Example - Lili.

So he does have the gift of the gab.

But can he say romantic dialogues like Hak that make a woman's heart race? - probably not. I agree with you there, but the guy is only eighteen.

To address the relationship between Soo-won and Lili. I'd say they fall outside the constraints of a standard couple.

It's not based on butterflies or romantic charisma or any intimate moments. It's just a pure foundation of understanding in each other. That's what makes their chemistry so attractive.

They are able to surprise each other while also being able to understand each other.

Soo-won might not be the type to have an arsenal of romantic dialogues but the way I envision him making her heart race is through small, small, actions, observations and encouragements.

Moments between them may not be any God shattering separation, reunions, or proposals, but just simple stuff like both of them slipping out of the castle to have a drink or enjoy a festival or occasionally bickering about something stupid while Kye-sook and Ju-doh run around the capital trying to track them down.

So, no, I don't think he fails as a love interest. He just needs someone whom he can slowly learn to love. Someone whom he can trust emotionally.

The guy spent eighteen years without emotional support surrounded by a bunch of adults with no social life. How much of his thoughts, vulnerabilities, feelings and self-doubts, did Soo-won have to suppress as a child?

It's not that he doesn't have them or he wouldn't have expressed his true thoughts to Yona when he collapsed in a moment of vulnerability.

These were feelings that Lili had pointed out to him before he even verbally expressed them himself and it's these small intricacies that makes their relationship very special.

So far in the story, the only person Soo-won hasn't had to do mental or emotional gymnastics with is Lili.

If Yona-Hak pair is the sweet sixteen couple that will have managed to keep their love and attraction till their twilight years.

Then Soo-won-Lili is the type of relationship where love and romantic attraction ages with time, but their bond and understanding are unwavering. They have what the other lacks and have the ability to pull each other up.

In the end, he might not be the most traditionally written love interest with romantic dialogues or with the ability to make women swoon, but I think given time and an opportunity (I beg you sensei) he'll do just fine with Lili.

[under-my-pillow]

If Yona was a guy? I am sorry, but everyone who went completely ballistic and who are still ballistic over the fact that Yona's father was killed and this poor, naïve sixteen year old girl, betrayed by her first love, kicked out of the castle — went completely nuts, absolutely loathing the deuteragonist of the series was because — YONA WAS A GIRL.

If she had been a 'he'- if the spoilt princess had been a spoilt prince - this would have been a completely different story.

No reader would have cared for 265 chapters that this spoilt prince got betrayed by someone he loved. Because suck it up, buddy you can't blame her for choosing another man or something above you because you are a spoilt wimp that doesn't have the strength to even truss a chicken!

All that - Oh, how dare he! How dare he kill her father, betray her love for him instead of marrying her!

How dare he give her that hairpin right before killing her father!!!

Oh, she's just a poor sixteen year old girl! — go pooof!

If Yona had been a guy, huh?

If Yona had been a guy half the events in the story would have fallen flat. The senjuso-Kumji arc was a turning point in Yona's character arc, but imagine the same scene for Yona as a guy.

The scene would have had to be more challenging to make an impact. If Jaeha had given a hand to a prince saying. 'Oh my poor feeble prince - I assure you Yona would have hit the rock bottom as a male character then and there.

"Prince Yona" would need to have fallen off that cliff into the ocean at least 5 times before getting the senjuso and nearly drowned before Jae-ha decided to help him for it to even have a decent impact on "his" character.

Yona would have been worse off as a male character especially because then Yona's narrative quality, character and development would be pitched directly against the best written male character in the entire story— Soo-won.

Male characters require different writing. And Yona as a male character does not cut it. Everything from the beginning has to be changed and be a different story altogether.

So, no if Yona were a male character as is in the story right now. She'd be worse than a male character in a shounen manga.

i just know for a fact if yona was a guy akatsuki no yona would be BELOVED

[under-my-pillow]

Priest is one of those authors that consistently proves that a novel doesn't need to be 300 chapters of toxic, abusive non-communicative, dog-blood bullshit to be popular.

I love when Priest's pairs have these brief moments when they are casually talking and they suddenly start smiling/laughing in the most carefree way to show that they are in the same page or very comfortable around each other in that scene. I just love the simplicity of these affectionate gestures. I love their interactions.

[under-my-pillow]

Sometimes I find it extremely funny when side characters develop more interestingly than the main characters.

Like the framework of an interesting relationship is right in front of you. But sadly we don't see more of it because they are side characters.

Two interesting characters. We are not invested in them because they are in a relationship (even though they aren't) but because they grew interestingly. That's what I love about them. They do not have any kicker backgrounds, but their dynamic is the most natural thing I have ever seen in writing.

Two-hundred and sixty chapters; Hak proposes and I feel nothing. Lili/Soo-won makes one appearance and I am reading their two line dialogue of each other fifty times.

I am glad I am not the only one that recognises the undeniable chemistry between Soo-won and Lili.

Growth. Just pure mutually supportive growth.

[under-my-pillow]

I am glad I am not the only one that recognises the undeniable chemistry between Soo-won and Lili.

Growth. Just pure mutually supportive growth.

[under-my-pillow]

It surely isn't 'fair' by our modern standards, but I think what makes it even is

1. Both parties were preparing for war.

2. Neither Kouren nor Soo-won trust each other. If Kouren had the opportunity to oppress Kouka, given her personality she would definitely go for it.

3. Kouren says they left Kouka alone during Il's rule because he was a kind King - might have been partially true but the main reason is obvious. Their loss to Yu-hon crippled them very badly.

Xing was originally a pro-war state. They sought power. It is obvious from the fact that pro-war factions led by rat faced Gobi still existed. If they had not suffered that devastating loss, Kouren would not have been willing to consider an alternative adjustment.

4. Kouka having been a debilitated passive state for so many years cannot afford just a peace agreement that can be torn up at any time. The only way for Kouka to be fully secure is to ensure Xing cannot use its military as they please incase a repetition of 17 years ago happens.

As readers we might know - oh, but they are not going to anyway. But Su-won doesn't know he is in the middle of Yona's 'ally collection arc.'

So all together is it an ideal situation for Xing? No, but Kouren herself admits it. She was not able to control her people and to save her country and the innocent lives this is already the best possible outcome.

On the other hand the parallel cutting whether Kusanagi intended to or not is Soo-won. The first thing he prioritised was controlling and uniting the five tribes - avoiding a domestic conflict.

Xing is a reflection of what Kouka would have been if Soo-won had not made the conscious decision to unite domestically before taking on external threats.

So the final outcome favoured the one who prepared and made the right decisions. In that aspect the result was fair.

Sei arc I feel was an arc where emotional aspects took a front seat to the politics. I didn't necessarily mind that because narrative wise we did see a lot of perspectives even if certain aspects were not clear but I can see the disconnection arc to arc and I am kind of sad that Sei arc was the only arc that gave a lot of emotional enrichment to all the characters and it did not get followed up much in the following arcs.

can I say something about this

on the map, xing is directly south of the wind tribe. during joonam’s reign, and during the time yuhon was sky tribe general, doesn’t it make total sense that since mundok was very likely wind tribe general during this era then he was present at this exact battle too? simply bc of geographical sense the wind tribe would be swept up in this and would be expected to “defend” their borders. what I’m drawing lines here for is whether it was this battle (or something similar) where people started to call mundok a legendary general of war/as a war hero [because it was one of kouka’s victories]. the normal assumption is that why would he be here or partake in something like this but it is so unlikely he wouldn’t be present as general seeing as xing and the wind tribe border each other (fire tribe was roped into kai, water to sei)—so the next assumption is that he did nothing or was unable to act against yuhon while this atrocity was happening. the worst assumption we could have is that he even agreed with it—he never canonically showed that he disliked joonam or yuhon (he never really gets a chance?) and it is very likely that he gained prominence as general during their peak years. all of this is just speculation though. no heroes in war ..

[under-my-pillow]

Mundeok's thoughts would be an interesting thing to explore, but sadly I believe now he is slotted in the 'Yona x Hak cheerleading camp' - meaning if in the story he has any role further it will probably be to ensure that those two get married no matter what.

I'll be glad if the author proves me wrong.

But this also makes me curious. We had a whole arc about Xing. We heard about the war from Xing's side, Yu-hon's brutalities etc., etc., but not about the war from Kouka's side.

The writing on that part feels deliberately missed, and hurried to push Yona's stare down with Soo-won.

No one coaches Yona later that the war brought about heavy casualties on Kouka's side as well. Or no one talks about it. Neither Hak nor is it heard separately from any of the wind tribe people.

As if bringing that into the narrative would ruin Yona's cool moment. Another thing to note is that Yona does not ask herself either about the circumstances that led Yu-hon to perform this act.

So overall, the narrative of the Xing arc didn't hit too well.

can I say something about this

on the map, xing is directly south of the wind tribe. during joonam’s reign, and during the time yuhon was sky tribe general, doesn’t it make total sense that since mundok was very likely wind tribe general during this era then he was present at this exact battle too? simply bc of geographical sense the wind tribe would be swept up in this and would be expected to “defend” their borders. what I’m drawing lines here for is whether it was this battle (or something similar) where people started to call mundok a legendary general of war/as a war hero [because it was one of kouka’s victories]. the normal assumption is that why would he be here or partake in something like this but it is so unlikely he wouldn’t be present as general seeing as xing and the wind tribe border each other (fire tribe was roped into kai, water to sei)—so the next assumption is that he did nothing or was unable to act against yuhon while this atrocity was happening. the worst assumption we could have is that he even agreed with it—he never canonically showed that he disliked joonam or yuhon (he never really gets a chance?) and it is very likely that he gained prominence as general during their peak years. all of this is just speculation though. no heroes in war ..