Sofie > Recent Status Updates

the concept of ilya improving his english via fast and the furious movies is. Hilarious. if we still get the line about the new yorker later on, this adds such an endearing layer to it. cause then it's not just a lie purely for comedic effect bc it's the most boring thing ilya could think of, we now know the actual TRUTH of why his english is better. and it's RIDICULOUS. but still a detail that shane wishes he knew

cont. from my last comment

genuinely though it is SO fascinating getting to experience this story like this. cause my versions of hollanov are undeniably the ones from the adaptation, so trying to think backwards about how jacob, hudson, and connor read the source material and then crafted their own versions is a fucking blast it's like trying to cut out puzzle pieces from a finished puzzle

the experience of reading this book after having watched the show is that i'll be imagining hudson!shane and connor!ilya saying this slightly different dialogue and doing these slightly altered versions of scenes and then sometimes rachel will write something so OFF in their internal monologue that my brain has to factory reset before moving on to the next sentence. i simply HAVE to pretend i do not see and move on

YALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS MY LOVABLE IDIOTS ARE BACK
april is absolutely stacked with new releases and this is the first of many that i will be screaming about

god xie lian is such an incredible main character. he could so easily be too perfect and righteous and boring but he can be BRUTAL when he needs to be. he is kind because he has made mistakes, he has suffered and caused suffering, even if his intentions were always pure. he makes my heart ache and i know this is just the beginning of the pain

i can only describe this volume so far as peak hijinks and i could not be happier about it. i LOVE that kusanagi takes time for these goofy moments whenever she can, and that they somehow don’t take away from the more serious plot happening around them

this shift of tamon now treating utage like she’s the idol in the pairing is so good oh my god they’re both clinically insane

i just need to get it on the record that that panel of ori crying backstage after tamon is chosen as the center just made my heart clench and i am DEEPLY pouting about this manga making me feel any sympathy for a nepo baby

tamon knowing that ori likes sweets so he brings him a whole bag of granulated sugar is fucking killing me, this is exactly my type of dumb humor

this is so delicious, as long as utage's denial doesn't go on for TOO long i am so into it

BUZZING GIGGLING KICKING MY DAMN FEET
tamon could so easily be such an annoying character but he's written and drawn so earnestly that i cannot help but be just as endeared as utage is. and the absolute panic and shame when he hears ori give her the compliment that he was too shy to say first?????? too real actually i feel very seen by both of these mcs

BUZZING GIGGLING KICKING MY DAMN FEET
tamon could so easily be such an annoying character but he's written and drawn so earnestly that i cannot help but be just as endeared as utage is. and the absolute panic and shame when he hears ori give her the compliment that he was too shy to say first?????? too real actually i feel very seen by both of these mcs

neither of them having experience with real love bc they're both so caught up in these heightened versions of themselves as a coping mechanism is such a good setup, i am having a fantastic time

i'm assuming and hoping that utage is wrong about this bc no no this romance has a good thing going okay let's not compare the sweet supportive girl (that you totally have a crush on) to your MOTHER

i think it's moments like these that make me feel like the story isn't talking down to fandom or fangirls. utage acknowledging that entertainment always has a level of performance involved, even and ESPECIALLY when celebrities' personalities are a big part of said entertainment, is a super healthy mindset but doesn't clash at all with her intense fangirl behavior. parasociability is not inherently unhealthy or evil!!

oh keishuk is just getting more and more suspicious of su-won's true capabilities as a king, i could ABSOLUTELY see him becoming the next or even the ultimate villain to tackle. maybe he'll drive su-won out of the castle via an assassination attempt (very full circle) and he'll have to go to yona and the others to reclaim the country and his throne?? i would actually LOVE that

genuinely obsessed with this poor manager he has looked more and more unkempt every time he shows up

okay see and when i got to this part in the anime i had to pause and take a fucking lap bc all of a sudden this silly shojo looked straight into my soul, called me a loser, and then razor scootered the fuck out of my ankles

okay maybe it's because utage is such a likeable (but still insane) protagonist but i very much appreciate how this manga is walking the thin line between laughing at and laughing with stan culture. i don't feel like i'm being made fun of at all, at least not yet. like yeah those girls just made a parasocial murder pact and we should laugh and also i did buy a $60 magazine of hudson williams and we should laugh!!!!!!

okay so after reading this first chapter i did watch the first handful of episodes of the anime yesterday and lemme tell you. this could very well be a new comfort read/watch up there with sk8

"i want to live in his mole" okay-
it's page ONE
(me with connor storrie) (i need a lobotomy and/or an exorcism)

clips from the anime have been popping up on my algorithm all season and it seems cute okay sue me
i'm not expecting anything life changing but i'm sick and my brain is mush and heartbreak high has thoroughly disappointed me so i need SOMETHING low stakes and kinda ridiculous. hopefully it scratches the itch

i forgot just how insane this dice-rolling scene is like they're really making bedroom eyes while hua cheng is giving xie lian gentle praise IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. it does go on for a comically long time but the tension is written well enough that i kinda don't care. it feels indulgent in such an innocent way that i can't help but be endeared by it

“hm i’ve been reading a lot of manga recently i’m getting the itch for a novel. how about i get back to either of the ones i’ve abandoned on my currently reading shelf?”
no. what about falling face first back into a different series i abandoned instead!!!!!! that’s much more sensible

who would've fucking thought that tae-jun would become one of my favorite side characters in this manga
i'm LOVING this conflict between him and kyo-ga, who i also shockingly really enjoy as a character

oh?????? it's fascinating how il has remained the biggest mystery of the series when his death was what sparked the entire story in the first place. we've only seen him in glimpses, and those glimpses have gotten more and more complicated recently since they've involved su-won. does he have some fated path too??? or is it just bc of yu-hon??? i cannot wait to find out

this is EXACTLY how i assumed hak would act after confessing his love for yona akshdkadh he's so nonchalant bc he can't even begin to comprehend a world in which she loves him back. his love for her is something he's had plenty of time to get used to within himself, and all he can hope for is that that knowledge being out in the open doesn't weird yona out. leaving no space whatsoever for yona to confess back

PLS IM GIGGLING AND SMILING SO WIDE WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS IN FRONT OF EVERYONE ITS SO ROM COM I FUCKING LOVE IT

my heart is so full my cheeks hurt from smiling, this is EXACTLY what i’ve been wanting for so long!!!! the dragons but jaeha especially giving yona love advice and urging her to be upfront about her feelings for hak. it’s been a long time coming but somehow feels perfectly timed nonetheless. this slow burn is SO well done

hak has been pining over yona for YEARS i think it’s only fair that yona get a taste of some angst for herself with a mini jealousy arc okay and if that makes me toxic then lock me up!!!!
in other news it appears that mizari is in fact dead and i am Destroyed. i denied it too much to cry in the moment but ouch what a fascinating character that i wish we could’ve learned more about