Zarathustra's Topics (204)

I can't understand shit of the plot but I love this story.
Why again is that Seth's wife is locked in that place? Was Seth who imprisoned her?
And what's the deal with the mirror? What is the plan of that girl who gave the mirror to Horus? Does she want to seduce him with the mirror? When Horus was picking the mirror and looking at it, Seth had the mirror and he was the one looking back ... is that how Horus falls in love with Seth? It was by mistake?
I'm really confused on what happened when they both picked the mirror.... I have the impression the girl had intended to her image that Horus would see but Seth got in the middle.

I loved this story but after all these chapters and Hen and Ivan got a established relationship, this dragging with Hen and Alec still hinting at some attraction, especially from Hen side just annoys me. It's like milking something that it's sour. Hen and Ivan are together, move on with the plot with the other guy. It's never clear if Hen really like Ivan or just stays with him because he settled for it.
For me, once you have a couple with a long arc and a relationship, it's a turn off to keep showing one of them on the blink of cheating or lusting over other.

Man, I think Daniel got off too easily. Would have loved to see him miserable for a long time and putting more effort to get Logan. Or it would be nice to see him jealous and working to win over the other guy.
I usually like assholes but some are just annoying and the charm run off.

They're assumed lovers now. We didn't get any interaction between them for two chapters and the author did it on purpose so we are kept guessing but ... at the same time, this whole chapter had something so 'couple' about it.
Maybe it was the fact that Seungho was telling Inhun to go say goodbye.. almost as if he was bothered that Nakyum would feel slighted. Seungho, who would chase Nakyum with a sword so afraid he was that he would run away with Inhun... It's like he is not worried anymore that Nakyum will run away.
The time skip and the way Nakyum calmly let go of the painting --- throw it away --- is a sign that he moved on.
My favorite scene is Nakyum walking towards Seungho in the snow. After they look at each other ... Nakyum expression is left open to interpretation, as it should since the author doesn't want us to know anything but then there is the biggest sign of all: Nakyum is walking towards Seungho, by his own choice.
One more time, the author uses other characters to show how much Seungho is already in love with Nakyum. This time Inhun finally realizes that this is more than sex for Seungho. Too bad Seungho don't realize he just showed Inhun that Nakyum is his vulnerable point.
I'm sorry but I just can't care for the assassin as others do. I don't particularly find him that special in a story full of gorgeous male characters. I do however, care more for Jihwa... I think he is having second thoughts.. I still hope he can end this story alive ( with a lesson learned, but alive).
I think season 2 will be about hell on Seungho. If season 1 was Nakyum's suffering, I think season 2 we will have Seungho getting shot from all sides. All his enemies will come collecting ... his father, Inhun and the assassin.

I have this thing with every story I read. I imagine the smell and the scent of the places, times and especially the characters... how they would smell like if they were real people.
For historical pieces, I'm not a historian but I can't help but think in general the world was a stinky place... open sewages, no convenience of modern washing and softener with wonderful smells, no deodorants or good smelling soaps... I wonder royalty would have access to fragrant oils for bathing, lotions, perfumes and regular washes for clothes but poor dirty people probably would not smell very fresh...
In my head, Nakyum couldn't smell bad anyway... maybe his clothes smell of dry, cheap, poor garments but I would give him a baby smell, sweet just because he seems so innocent and even if he drags around with the same dirty clothes, we can't imagine Nakyum smelling anything but sweet and I bet Seungho just drowns himself on it.
Seungho to me smells as good as he looks... masculine sweat but not pungent, plus he is a lord after all, with all the expensive care he can afford. I imagine Seungho smells of sin, lust, faint smoke (because he partakes on it), rich bathing oils, ... besides, the man is the most disputed dick in town so besides fucking good he must smell like seduction too, right?
Jihwa must smell so extravagant ... like he overdoes lotions, oils and whatever is the most expensive shit and probably something fruity, lol. His auburn hair must smell wonderful though.
Inhun must smell as dry as his personality. Plain, practical smell, reasonable toiletries but nothing luxurious ... he does envies though the higher luxuries so I bet he tries his best to look and smell as a lord and I bet he just can't stand the smell of his illiterate pupils because he despises poverty.
The nameless hot hobo: Hot indeed but I couldn't stop thinking about how bad a street performer of those days must smell, especially because of how rough the man looks. I suppose there is attraction on pungent manly smell of sweet, piss and unchanged clothes but all I could think is that is one rough deal to be a street entertainer on those days, lol.
Last but not least ... Nakyum now must be smelling even more delicious since he seems to be enjoying all the pamper of new clothes and whatever else as the Lord's lover.

Everyone talking about the hot hobo character and I'm actually more hyped with that intimate kiss between Nakyum and Seungho....
Also, I love that the harem is talking about how Seungho has changed so much for Nakyum that the whole town thinks he is 'bewitched' by the lowborn.
The sister wives complaining that Seungho doesn't sleep around anymore and how possessive he is of Nakyum that he won't allow even questions on him ...
We see very little of what Seungho thinks, he mostly look flustered when we gets a feeling he is unfamiliar with (like when he is bothered with NK pain), we have to go by his face expressions, but the author used side characters ( doctor, Inhun, lovers ...) to convey all the changes he went through already.
As the the mercenary ... I can't stop thinking that he will fumble the ball and injury Seungho instead when Seungho gets in the middle. Nakyum getting hurt -- again -- in season 2 would look a bit of a repetition. Nakyum went through most of the suffering in season 1 so Seungho would develop.... now I think it's the arc where Seungho gets some punishment or hurting (through his father, the assassin, Inhun ....) for Nakyum's sake and his main redeeming arc that will put Nakyum on check for his feelings.

I wanted to know what others are thinking about Nakyum monologue about all the things being his decision. This is my interpretation of the chapter:

Nakyum is breaking down because the teacher's words woke him up to the things he didn't admit it until now. When the teacher threw the words in his face: :" Don't try to claim it was all for my sake" , the wall came crushing down because NK woke like he did in one of those dreams where Seungho was his alter ego telling him things he wouldn't admit to himself. Up until that slap and then Seungho confronting him if he was doing that for Inhun, Nakyum breaks down and go on a list of things he says it's because he wanted.

Nakyum held on to his belief that all he did was for Inhun and he would never have wanted to do on his own: paint the male erotica... let himself enjoy sex with men (and with Seungho of all of people).

Nakyum's dreams and trance episodes (like the first painting he did and then torn apart. The erotic 'rough' sex dream he had with Seungho and then Seungho coming out of the painting to kiss him and saying that he is a liar, that he likes to paint all that )... all these are the background of this breakdown.

Look at what Nakyum is confessing to Seungho:

"I said I would paint for you ... It was my decision... I said that I would do what you told me to ... All of it ...it's because ... sniffle .. It's because I wanted to... that's the reason ... it wasn't for my teacher ... that night I spent with you, my lord, that too. My Lord, you scare me so much, my heart starts pounding. Everything my teacher said about me is the truth. It's because I'm a ... that's all".

Now, the sad part of this is that Nakyum took both things that Inhun said, and because one of them has some truth to it (deep down he did things he had a desired for, he likes to paint and he enjoys the sex ) he also thinks that the other thing is true.... he wanted all that because he is dirty and a prostitute.

The sex is both sad and liberating. Liberating because Nakyum broke his repression. He knows now he likes to paint erotic pictures and he will not second guess anymore his own dick if it gets hard for Seungho ... sad because Nakyum seems to be convinced that he only likes all this because he is a worthless whore -- thanks Inhun.

I really thought the 'whoosh' sound was Seungho killing the guy after he said "I wonder what he tastes like' about Nakyum.
Maybe it's a clue because seeing what this green robe dude is up to in the next chapters, I am almost certain he won't survive this story when Seungho finds out what he started.

Nakyum snapped. Seungho snapped back.
I'd be so disappointed if the author broke a character's arc with a behavior that wouldn't fit. We can see Nakyum snapped out of emotional response so why Seungho snapping is taken as if he was completely above emotional reactions?
That Seungho response will always be stronger is a given. He kills people for the slightest mistake, he knifed a man because of gossip. He is the master, the older one and the most violent. ... that slap was packed the minute Nakyum forgot who he was talking to. He came in to check on Nakyum, he was concerned and, entitled as he is, he wants to know why NK is crying. Nakyum took his frustration out on him, Seungho slapped him back. All this shit makes sense, not only because it would be completely out of nowhere if Seungho had suddenly became that sweet, understanding BFF who hugs you with patience when you are taking out on them your problems. How fucking weird would be if Seungho had suddenly just became all the good things he never learnt to be in a second of Nakyum's outburst?
Lost in this is the good flow of the scene because, if you are writing a story and you want a certain development to happen, you need to give in the sequence that makes sense.... if Nakyum and Seungho will ever have sex initiated by NK, how the hell it would start? It mostly would be not in a romantic way but in an unexpected clumsy manner.
We know from Seungho's words that NK spent the whole day in that zombie state, not eating and just painting, dwelling alone in his pain. Seungho just happened to be the unfortunate soul who went to check on him. It could be the servant and NK would have snapped just the same because he was bottled up. He probably would be left alone by anyone else though. So it had to be Seungho to trigger something and only Seungho could have delivered that slap.
It wouldn't fit if NK had suddenly opened up calmly so he had to snap for the reaction to start and only Seungho could have delivered a 'snap out of it' moment ... we see the slap in the face got Nakyum out of trance, he suddenly knew what he wanted and needed at that moment: he needed a drug of choice to forget and, while most of the time Nakyum turns to booze, this time he wanted sex as escape.... the fact is that he is blatantly begging for it and don't let Seungho get away with refusing him ( you had me when I hated and rejected you and now that I'm asking you gonna deny me?) .
So, yeah, although I would melt seeing Seungho all cozy and sweet and all grown up in his born again good husband personality, I would actually feel a let down if the author loses her touch and write things that doesn't fit in the sequence of character development.

Things to love about this chapter ... (especially if you like both Seungho x Nakyum prospects):
- Nakyum is about to banter with Seungho again outside the store but then thinks twice because he knows it's a losing battle, lol.
- Seungho is dismissive at first of Nakyum wanting to read the post but as soon as he sees Nakyum going to ask somebody else for help, Seungho is right behind reading for him.
- His jealousy as soon as he links the post to Inhun and how the reads Nakyum so well.
- Seungho is this evil master in his life but he is also in many ways the person who makes Nakyum confronts things he doesn't want to admit. The main thing is of course his sexual desires for men, even for the devil himself, however this scene is Seungho confronting Nakyum on what exactly he expects from Inhun if his teacher gets all the power he wants.
The scene is interesting for both of them because they are in the opposite extremes of what they believe but none of them is completely right nor completely wrong. They are both learning from the other and meeting in the middle. Seungho from entitled to selfless, Nakyum from not giving himself value or expect nothing to demanding what he is worth.

Seungho is already in love with his lowborn but he doesn't fully realize what this means. Nakyum's escape, his sickness, all that must have shook Seungho and he knows he wants to keep Nakyum around but he still probably associates with nothing but having a favorite lover that he wants to fuck. There hasn't been an event where he really chooses to give Nakyum something without asking nothing in return. So when he says he doesn't understand or believe Nakyum can adore the teacher and sacrifice for him and not want nothing in return, he really believes this is not possible because he never felt genuine selfless love before and even if he feels now, there hasn't been really a moment that he needed to admit that.
Nakyum saying that he only wants to do something to Inhun and he will be happy seems foolish to Seungho now. (it won't be soon enough if this story goes as it looks with the romantic redemption for them). However, we see Nakyum pondering Seungho's words too... because both of them are right and while Seungho arc will probably be about being tamed into loving Nakyum enough to letting him go if he wants but what Seungho says is also true... Nakyum knows that even if he denies it, he does expect something back from Inhun. No one wants an unrequited love. Even if we sacrifice for someone out of love, it's instinctive to expect to be loved back or cherished. Nakyum wants to be loved and be together so it's not true that he only wants to watch Inhun from afar and have nothing in return. So Seungho's words prompted him to admit that.
The result was painful but can we for now enjoy Nakyum's development in the sense that he knew he expected something from Inhun and got the courage to ask? He even confessed -- sad that it was wasted on that trash but he did it and that was a big step.
Not gonna talk about Inhun because enough has been said of the snake. I'm hoping Seungho goes after an explanation, no sword, just his death stare and I want to see Inhun putting his tail between his legs and pissing himself.