Sofie > Recent Status Updates

that's so funny that this encounter completely turns the formula on its head cause as different as the dragons' introductions have been so far, the ONE constant was the moment when they feel yona's presence and their blood boils. so for them to directly call out how strange the absence of that moment is for zeno is so meta i love it. i wonder why he seems so immune to it all. is it a side effect of his invincibility?

WELL i'm not sure what kind of introduction i expected from the yellow dragon but it certainly wasn't that! did he sense them first and come looking? has he been all alone just wandering? how old is he? he seems like he could be yona's age maybe and the way he speaks about himself in third person is giving feral. a little bit

i'm hopeful that at some point we'll get jaeha's real backstory from him, but i love the character work in how he CONSTANTLY exaggerates and sexualizes himself in order to avoid the ugly truth of things. all of the dragons are so distinct so far (without feeling gimmicky thank god) and jaeha really stands out as being the most guarded and mysterious. i'm excited to see how he changes and grows over time

god i love this book
not really updating here as i read cause i'm annotating like crazy in the margins but TRUST that i am having a fucking blast and everyone should read this trilogy if they're up for it

……i ship it
i hope we keep getting silly in between chapters like this, especially after adding new dragons to the group. they’re not filler (at least so far) bc they really do serve to show us how the new members are acclimating to the group dynamic, but even if they were filler, i’d still love them cause these characters are just so much fun to watch

of COURSE jaeha frames it like he’s the one asking yona rather than the other way around. this way he has all the agency, it has nothing to do with dragon blood or prophecies, it’s just because he’s exhausted his usefulness in awa and yona has proved herself to align with his ideals of wanting to protect people’s freedoms. i’m excited to slowly see him soften up and embrace the group more deeply

OOOOOO this might be a total throwaway but what if this is foreshadowing the beginning of yona becoming a legend in kohka? the archer girl with red hair who saved awa from a tyrant, and i’m sure she’s only gonna rack up more good deeds to add to her mythos as they continue to travel……

that’s so fucking beautiful. i think yona was trying to be the perfect picture of strength in front of gi-gan, especially after she complimented her for toughening up, but she turns back to hug her and openly cry in her arms anyway. and no one begrudges her for it or sees her as any less strong, least of all gi-gan

i'm gonna sob, the found family is found family-ing
also hak saying he's wherever yona is??? and not pushing her to talk about what happened but letting her know that she can tell her if she wants???? that he'll always be by her side???? and then gija, yun, and sinha in the bushes waiting to be called upon is just. so hilarious but also so fucking sweet. they all love her so much OUCH

GOD okay so many great details to note
once again love how hak always lets yona deal with things on her own time and never coddles her or calls her out for clearly struggling with something in front of other people
hak definitely sensed that yona encountered su-won right?? or at least that he was the reason for her breakdown which reinvigorated his rage towards him
jaeha is so horny for hak (as he should be)

WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO AND WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH A BIRD????? what symbolism was that and why did su-won seem so affected by the sight of the bird flying away????? i have a feeling i'm gonna be referring back to this moment much later on

my jaw is on the floor at the brilliance of that sequence. yona freezing, su-won immediately deducing that hak must be alive too, su-won concealing her from view of the general so he isn't forced to take her as prisoner or kill her on sight, YONA REACHING FOR HIS SWORD AND SU-WON STOPPING HER GENTLY BUT FIRMLY and acknowledging so bluntly that of course she wants to kill him. i am. so obsessed with this mess

HUH??????? oh my heart is pounding i did not expect that at all, i thought he would be in the dark about yona for much longer. i wonder how she's gonna play this, if she's gonna freeze or be aggressive or let anything slip about hak. and how is HE gonna play it?????

OUCH is this the first time we've seen a real smile from jaeha?? not a seductive smirk or teasing grin??? and a crumb of backstory too???? i'm so glad i was wrong about gi-gan dying, she really didn't need to after all for jaeha to be convinced to join yona. it's actually much more of a compliment to the character writing that he didn't need such a dramatic push like that

OH
OH I WAS SO WRONG
I DIDNT WANT TO HOPE FOR HER GOING FOR THE KILL SHOT BUT I GUESS I SHOULDVE DAMN
hak did tell her that she would have to be prepared to take lives, that she couldn't afford to hesitate. and his expression is pure awe in the immediate aftermath but i wonder if he'll feel some guilt if yona struggles with her decision in the aftermath....

i genuinely gasped out loud oh my god what a STUNNING spread!!!! yet another to add to the collection of pages i want framed. her EXPRESSION????????? i have chills just looking at it i cannot imagine being in kum-ji's position. i don't think she will but i hope she gets him right in the shoulder or something

what an opening chapter holy SHIT?????? i love that all the scrappy fighters have been showcased in this mission and that yona got to use her archery skills again in actual combat!! yun is definitely one of my favorite characters and it's been beautiful to see him mature so quickly with yona's influence and inspiration

okay i really don't know what to expect from the rest of this arc but i'm hoping for jaeha's backstory

it was already very obvious but i appreciate the confirmation that jaeha exaggerates his promiscuity to deflect from his true emotions and struggles. and i LOVE how the boys are already acting like such a family oh my god

i love that it’s now becoming a bit of a running theme for people to be in disbelief that princess yona could possess the fierceness that she does, and now it’s even morphing into a tactic for concealing her identity. now that she has more knowledge of how she’s been perceived all her life, she’s learning how to lean into that weak, sheltered little girl persona when it can benefit her

OKAY HAK IM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU
love a man who wants his woman to be able to kick his ass and scare the shit out of him with the sheer power of her intensity and determination

god i LOVE how whenever hak tries to persuade yona to be more careful he always does it in private. he’ll bite his tongue in the group so he never undermines her strength but even if he knows it’s pointless he can’t help but go to her separately and BEG her to reconsider. he’s also protecting his own vulnerability by keeping these convos private too

NO WAIT NOW GI-GAN CANT DIE NO NO NO I TAKE ALL MY PREDICTIONS BACK YONA CANNOT LOSE ANOTHER FAMILY MEMBER

AJXNDMXKKDCKKC hak, gija, and jaeha all eagerly volunteering to pose as women to go with yona on the mission is SO GOOD. they all know they’re gorgeous and yknow what they’re right

oh god now i’m worried that gi-gan is gonna die during the attack and her last wish will be for jaeha to go with yona…..calling it now

oh my god????????? the tension???? the yearning???? yona getting so flustered she had to RUN OFF??? and hak of course beating himself up for letting himself WANT after pushing down his feelings so staunchly for so many years. love that all it took was one comment from jaeha to get him all twisted up about his feelings and wanting to prove that the desire was still there AND that yona will never reciprocate (she does)

jaeha age confirmation!!!!! he’s 25, which is a few years older than i thought (22) but he definitely did read as the oldest so i’m glad i at least clocked that cause sometimes i’m so embarrassingly off with guessing manga character ages

hey boys can we stop calling people girls (derogatory) in front of the FEMALE PIRATE CAPTAIN?????? like read the room

“you’re just a girl” no actually she’s a fucking king and you’re about to see that in action

oh woah i assumed jaeha was speaking metaphorically when he referred to his village as being a prison but he’s actually chained up here. i wonder if he had tried to run away and they felt that they had to restrain him so he would stay put and one day fulfill his duty as green dragon. his village seems like it was more in line with gija’s than sinha’s. i’m also thinking he’s gotta be older than gija