I’ve been tinkering with the idea of an urban fantasy “All Fairy Tales Are True” setting where some fairy tale characters are mortals who reincarnate and live through their story again and again with no memory of their past lives, but other characters are immortal, carrying over biases and grudges and regrets from the last time they went through this.
Snow White’s dwarves keep her room exactly as she left it, and keep a wary eye on the horizon for the day she returns. When she does they treat her like a beloved daughter come home, cook her favourite meals, warn her to stay away from apples this time, and keep calling her the wrong name.
Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother found her a touch ungrateful last time, and has decided not to appear to her this time around to teach her a lesson in gratitude. This Cinderella, without the memory of the last time, is still a terrified, miserable woman desperate to escape her awful situation.
The Witch in the gingerbread house has developed a thousand traps to eat those goddamned kids. She’s failed every time. She lives a life of Sisyphean torment previously known only to cartoon coyotes.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
—Frost, R. (1923). Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Weary traveler of another world, the road was dangerous, ominous and so very wondrous — you have journeyed far and returned right to the very beginning. The worries outside can wait and the fears will stay in the dark for now, so rest your head and dream a peaceful dream.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.
Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.
Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.
Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.
I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.
He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).
First, we get this:
Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.
They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.
It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.
We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.
What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?
He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.
In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.
Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!
...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.
Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.
And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.
I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.
And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.
GSGW Segwang City Arc Spoilers & Chapters 360-362+ Spoilers
Kinda a literary analysis of the Disaster? Some parts might not make sense because of how much I'm rambling through... I wrote all of this in one sitting while freaking out over the plot ToT
I just wanted to comment on how absolutely beautiful the concept of the Disaster is written:
To Tomorrow (Connection between the Subway Stations & Disaster Day)
The concept of the entire disaster being that their all stuck looping the same day.... Sealed into the eternal cycle of the Disaster Day on May 4th right? That May 4th, the day before Children's Day.
And the Segwang Subway mirrors that, stuck looping in a circle between the 7 stations:
1. Segwang Station (Forest Path of Death)
2. Midnight Station (Body Casino)
3. Late Night Station (Hanbit Library)
4. Twilight Station (Conscience Market)
5. Afternoon Station (Blood Broadcasting Station)
6. Midday Station (Nap Shelter)
7. Morning Station (Balance Court)
So we find out in Chapter 330 that the stations themselves mutated after the Disaster Day, the only station with its name intact being Segwang Station due to it not ONLY being used as a subway station but also having a high speed rail station connecting to other South Korean regions, thus being basically the exit plan of the Disaster.
And the thing I wanted to focus on is how the stations, excluding Segwang Station, are the reverse order of the day: Morning > Midday > Afternoon > Twilight (when it's still day but the sun is below horizon, in this context it's between sunset & night) > Late Night > Midnight (when the day ends); before looping back to the beginning (the morning)
Which mirrors the May 4th Loop. The people in the disaster are forever suffering the same day on May 4th; while the survivors and trains, while looking like they've move on to a new day cycle, is actually still stuck on the same cycle, the state of their bodies stuck being what they were before the disaster.
And I don't know how readable my rambling words are but:
It is incredibly fitting how the way to BREAK OUT of this day, this May 4th, is the station in between the Morning and the Midnight. For it is that moment in between that Kim Soleum moves the trains onto the high speed rail tracks and move it towards the tomorrow. So that the survivors will move on from the Disaster day and finally reach the day after.
Names are an important thing in the GSGW world, so it is only when everybody has moved onto the correct timeline in the day after will there be no more Disaster Day, for everyone has already moved on from it.. (Chapters 361-362)
They don't have to repeat the same looping cycle of the morning stations to midnight now. Their on a linear track, speeding high tail out of that goddamn disaster day and moving to the tomorrow! (They can finally CELEBRATE Children's day on May 5th now!)
Fucking chills.
If you look at the stations, also in reverse order it's kinda the stages of the Disaster? (With morning being when the disaster starts and Segwang when it fake ends only to repeat) Or how people reacted to it like stages of grief? The stations 3 and 5 are kinda outliers (maybe that station 3 is 3rd because timeline wise it's when the agents were rescuing the kids or doing the ritual; or station 5 being 5th because also timeline wise it's when darknesses in the city were erased with the "World without ghost stories" narrative). Station 7 (Balance Court) is the agents trying to judge who to save, Station 6 (Nap Shelter) is people's mental states of wanting a normal rest at home instead of dealing with ts (aka denial), Station 4 (Conscience Market) is when the people start prioritising survival but also when they lose their conscience for others (bargaining literally), Station 2 (Body Casino) is when people hit depression mode and start to fully giving up so they start indulging towards self destruction, and Station 1 (Forest Path of Death) is full on active self destruction...
Lowk funny that therapy is what breaks the cycle officially too. Acceptance... Sigh, Director Ho fucking gave us all depression instead.
So yeah it's really apparent in hindsight now how much the Segwang Disaster Day itself has contaminated the Subways Stations.
Also: Kim Soleum's Journey
The beginning -> Kim Soleum entering the disaster through the first station
Kim Soleum moving for the end of the Disaster, but instead meeting his beginning in the Cocoon. His origin.
I have so many words for how much of a Cycle and theme of beginning and end is fitted into Soleum's Journey here in the Disaster but I have too much rambles to even type out readable words lmao... Not even including how much Director Ho is fitted into the beginning and end cycle too but:
It's so fitting that the two main victims of this disaster, Director Ho who got lied to by everyone, and Kim Soleum who got brought against his will and unconsciously caused the disaster due to insanity; that they are both each other's beginnings and end; both UNKNOWINGLY being the cause and end of each other's suffering in the timeline of the Segwang Disaster. Ho Yuwon whose fox beads was needed for the NAME Summoning experiment to succeed (Kim Soleum's beginning & start of his suffering) but also being the one to help Kim Soleum end the disaster. Kim Soleum being Director Hos beginning who wanted to find the client that escaped to a different timeline and the starting origin of the Segwang Disaster that ruined him, while also being his fucking closure and way to end the disaster (by helping the Segwang victims into the counseling room).
My HoSoleum stocks... Funnily enough I was already on board when they were toxic to each other because I'm a sucker for ragebaiter x ragebaiter dynamics but holy fuck I am not complaining about the plot twist.
Additional Notes
There's also a lot of connecting symbolism that I'd like to identify (?)
1. The Disaster Day is on May 4th while the day after is Children's Dayon May 5th, aka 05/05.
-> Number symbolisms have shown up a lot in GSGW, with the whole 130666 thing (seriously all the unlucky numbers); number 7 with the 7 subway stations = 7 being the divine number of perfection or completion where it can also represent cycles (like the symbol of infinity 8) with the 7 days of a week thing (which would also fit the context of time of the day names) and I'm rambling yikes let's move on
-> so 05/05 can be a representation of the number 5, aka the angel number representing freedom and changes! Which fits the new beginnings and tomorrow theme of the train escape. The divine number 555 also symbolize change and biblically means stripping away the old & divine intervention (will Soleum ever beat the ireum-nim implications?)
2. There's an emphasis on protecting kids or celebrating them in darknesses connected to this Segwang Disaster: In the Dark Shadow (Segwang School) was a distress call for help by the agents to at least save the children; the Blue Dragon team are connected to our theme park Blue Dragon who has a very apparent kindness towards good children; AND the blue dragon being connected to the Mermaid palace whose last survivors are literally the children again too (+ both the core culprit of the mermaid palace and Segwang city being the Angels Sigh), etc
-> it's probably moreso that darknesses or anything connected to the Blue Dragon would protect the children above all else but it is ironic how the Segwang Disaster has all these connections when its stuck on the day before Children's Day.
This entire situation with Sekwang KSE and our KSE brings me back to chapter 27's ghost story, Qterw-C-402 "The day I died". Since essentially, isn't Sekwang KSE just a body (maybe with a bit of consciousness) and KSE just found his "corpse"?
Here are some things I find familiar from KSE's listed clear conditions:
"To succeed, restructure the story so that the victim does not die. "= Victims: Kim Soleum (or fate worse than death), Eun Haje, Agent Brozne and the entire Sekwang Special City.
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"In this creepypasta, the more you explore, the further back in time you go."
"So, typically, you'd have to investigate the entire factory, figuring out why 'my corpse' ended up dead and piecing together the story step by step." = Time Travel to the past gimmick.
This also brings to mind Jisan Village, Subway, and the high school resolutions.
With KSE's journey exploring and uncovering more truths about the past, like Daydream (Director Cheong's beef with dragons ← perhaps connected to the mermaid's tomb and Ho Yuwon's "Self") and the cheerful research institute (twice, with the lab under Daydream and the subway lab).
Even the Supernatural Disaster Management Agency's missing agents and conspiracy leads to a connected past. With the Church of the luminous Unknown showing weird connections to the past research institute with Jang Heowoon. (I've got theories on this, too.)
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"Failure to alter the story within the time limit will result in the victim's confirmed death." = 293 Days and the 1 week countdown. May 4th and possible deaths of our project team.
With how things are going right now, KSE is battling fire with fire, using contamination to avoid contamination. I think with his current items and allies, he'll perhaps find a "tin can" that breaks the "Ghost story" the author (Director Cheong) wants to write. Something out of bounds that breaks everything (maybe with the help of Sekwang KSE?)
..Idk I love the callbacks and irony of this story, hell, Director Cheong kinda echoes the failed author by perhaps being an 이무기 (imoogi) but still way scarier with the amount of tricks and deceptions she's planting.
The contract power!! Since that power originates from golden dragon— If Soleum removes the golden dragon contract (pupil) from director cheong does that remove the contracts of the security teams? Will we see that security team member with the axe again? Will J3 be free??
The security team seems pitiful, so will they join our cast?
Through the arcs does it not seem we are following a sort of iceberg chart?
Surface = Daydream, Sees themselves as outsiders (or superiors) benefiting and researching off GhostStories. A sort of imbalance!!
Shallows = Disaster Management Bureau, Balance between the supernatural and natural for the benefit of both!! Meeting of the land and sea!!
Deep = Ghost Story Factions (Church of the luminous Unknown, Cheerful Research, Dragons, perhaps the security team? Hope hope hope!!!)
More on the Deep part:
Have we not seen glimpses to the next faction in previous arcs? We had the badge and agent bronze with churro and lodge during daydream arc. So now in sekwang we have glimpses of Ghost Stories!!
Cheerful being connected to the Church!
J3 seeing the film viewing room in library!
Security team member with the axe being familiar with soleum!
Elder Yong needing restoring!
Orientation guy from the branch office! (Perhaps!!)
We are diving deep into darkness!! Im so excited!!
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