#non games

[poisonheart]

Realization aka he’s so pathetically down bad for Shin Ae.

[thegirlfromstationsquare]

For the “give me an OC or ship and I'll tell you what the discourse would be if they were canon”

My Harry Potter OC, Gloria Muriel Weasley, is a Weasley who is absolutely horrific at Potions, slightly better at Transfiguration but still crap, but really shines in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her favorite(favorite, not best) subject is Muggles Studies, which she's been planning on taking up in Third Year ever since she found out it was an option. She's in Ravenclaw and is a rather creative and imaginative person, though she procrastinates a lot. Also, in case you were wondering, she is neither the favorite child, nor is she abused. Also, her love interest is another OC, so yeah...

"Ravenclaws aren't as important as the mighty Gryffindor!"

[poisonheart]

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

IF YOU WON’T LET ME HAVE YOU…

[poisonheart]

Yui doesn't care (Ep. 221)

We live in a time when a lot of people think plot twists are things that come out of nowhere, weren't foreshadowed or hinted at, because it's the cheapness we've been served by a lot of media for years now.

They feel cheated when a story properly builds and foreshadows, rewarding its audience with that delicious "aha" moment when their theories are finally confirmed.

Many people think you're not supposed to see plot twists coming. That's false. Good writers will clue you in early on so when that juicy, explosive moment finally arrives, you're rewarded for piecing it all. It's beautiful and wonderful; this was exactly that kind of episode for me.

For a very (very) long time I have said that Yui doesn't love Kousuke. Many in the fandom insisted she did—that her actions were based on twisted love. I never bought it.

She is also not just a “scorned woman” out to get revenge on her trash, unfaithful husband.

Yui is more than that; she always has been.

The moment when I knew she didn't care for Kousuke was when she invited Shin Ae (who was still a minor at that time) to his apartment on his birthday. She had planned to put Shin Ae in a revealing dress, but when that didn't work out, Yui put her in one of Kousuke’s shirts.

This wasn’t some harmless prank either. It’s how she set up Shin Ae to look—hair messy and without bottoms—that really chilled the spine. Shin Ae looked like she had just gotten out of bed after a romp and got into her lover’s shirt. That was the visual she went for.

Yui did this for her own amusement. Quimchee often says, “She’s bored” and I think people dismiss this too easily.

Yui wanted to unsettle her son for the thrill of it.

Because seeing Kousuke bothered was amusing.

Because playing with a young, vulnerable girl was amusing.

And she could get away with it. She can always get away with it. She’s lived so long doing all these terrible things and has gotten away with it every time.

Regardless of any deeper, ulterior plans she has, Yui moves while trying to maximize her amusement.

She loves playing with people.

She loves using them as personal entertainment tools.

She has spent her married life trying to break Rand’s cold facade because she wanted to see him in red. This is why Rand has tried maintaining such an indifferent attitude. If he’s unable to overcome her then at least he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him respond to her many aggressions and instances of undermining his authority (especially as a parent to Kousuke.)

All her actions throughout have shown us she doesn’t care about Kousuke. Not as a mother or even as a person. He is a tool, a toy, and a powerful blackmail piece.

This thing is her most precious, priceless pawn.

Kousuke is the key to her having power back entirely into her hands and not needing Rand. She has done everything in her power to make sure he is hers. She has purposefully isolated and manipulated him so that the only person he has to turn to is her. She makes him doubt the sincerity of every relationship to prove only she is real when she is the fakest of them all.

[I am not absolving Rand of anything, but to claim that Yui hasn't had anything to do with his deteriorated relationship to Kousuke is a huge disservice to the story and the complex layers in all their dynamics.]

Consider how even Shin Ae has been presented to him as someone who comes around for money. She went to his apartment for money, she went to the formal for money. Whatever positive opinion Kousuke can form about Shin Ae, she tries to underscore that in the end, she came into his life because of money and will stay because of money.

She even makes him doubt Hansuke, the only relative and person openly caring and worrying for him. The only one who might genuinely stand by his side through everything.

This isn’t a mother’s twisted love.

This is far worse.

And so, finally, after years of seeing so many people defend Yui in this fandom—claiming she has done everything out of love—I can say you are wrong.

You have always been wrong.

The signs were there.

You've just chosen to ignore them.

This has nothing to do with Rand's affair. Having an affair does not make a person—a mother—not love her own son.

The way she has manipulated Kousuke was there before Rand even had an affair. This has always been Yui's goal with her offspring.

[And it might be the reason why Rand was never with her again or willing to "have more kids"—putting aside the whole theory of him not being Kousuke's biological father.]

This chapter shows us that Yui is not afraid of drugging or murdering to get her way. She's not afraid of exposing perhaps the truth that he isn't Rand's son (if that turns out being true) so long as she gets to keep control of her priceless pawn.

If Rand were to show Kousuke love now, if he were to stretch out that hand in spite of Yui's threats and her only recourse was killing him or revealing he's not the father, then she will do it.

She has said it with her own mouth.

She is not on Kousuke’s side. If Rand is gone, he will have no one—because she’s not on his side, actually.

This is what Yui wants.

She wants to surround him with people loyal to her, obedient to her, and serving her interests. If not, she will cut them out. She will not allow anyone to steer Kousuke away from her agenda and she has laid the threat very plainly, once more.

This is not the first time she's given Rand an ultimatum.

The difference now is their age, perhaps their power levels being a lot more matched, and the kids being essentially adults so Rand is willing to risk more.

[We could also argue that Yui wanted Shin Ae as Kousuke's assistant because Jayce has always been Rand's man, but that's a whole other post for a different time.]

Yui has never cared.

And she’s not beyond tossing Kousuke when he’s no longer useful to whatever she needs.

The people who think "I want what's best for him" is genuine have really missed all the clues laid for us before this decisive moment.

She's always taken pleasure from Kousuke's discomfort. Back at his birthday, in those flashbacks at the park when Kousuke comes back from meeting Nol and Nessa, and even through Meg's harassment.

That she would be amused by Rand, Nol, or Shin Ae's misery wasn't surprising, but what gave her away was when she was tickled by her own son's suffering.

And now nobody can argue otherwise because episode 221 exists.

[poisonheart]

I think we need to have an honest discussion about shipping in the ILY fandom, especially as the story unveils relationship dynamics that go beyond platonic moving forward.

We cannot let the past repeat itself.

When the comic started, it was advertised as a romance by Webtoons, but Quimchee had always planned and proposed a mature drama. Around that time, they also began monetizing the platform so they asked her to change some of her dark ideas to fit the requirements advertisers might have pushed for initially.

It was an uncertain time with regards to what was or wasn't allowed.

[The comic was supposed to ramp up with those dark themes around the formal arc and it was going to places that would have been triggering to many readers.]

The editors pushed and sold the concept for a love triangle that was never intended because they probably believed this formula would attract more readers and it did.

Unfortunately, with it came all the bad things, too.

This strategy fostered hostility within the fan base and pressured Quimchee to create content to validate it.

Things got so heated in the fandom that we ended with harassment of not only readers but also of Quimchee—to the point that she understandably withdrew from engaging with the public.

[All while going through health issues and personal struggles, too.]

It was a very dark time in the ILY fandom and many people left the communities that had been built because of it. There were hiatuses, uncertainty, and a lot of things withheld from us due to Webtoons' abysmal communication on behalf of the series' they featured.

But the core problem was that unforgettable toxicity and ship war.

There were people who believed their desires were more important than the well being of a real person and that their vitriol was justified because things didn’t go their way.

They believed Quimchee deserved punishment for it.

There wasn't much outrage directed at Webtoons for their false advertisement or for pressuring her to tweak aspects of the story initially to fit their romance marketing agenda. Why?

Because what Webtoons wanted aligned with their desire and it was easier to pretend that Quimchee was a liar about her plot than admit they were misled by the platform, but most importantly, that their interpretation of the story was always flawed.

Quimchee was harassed constantly across multiple social media accounts and they justified their behavior with logic such as "if she created Character X first, then it means they're the lead" when she had constantly stated that there were three main leads in ILY who were equally important to the whole story.

To accept Quimchee's words would break down their arguments and defy the ideas they had created themselves.

They even believed she "sold herself out by not staying true" to a concept she had come up with in high school. They expected the loose and chaotic musings of a young girl to be the version of ILY we got despite her claims otherwise.

[What's funny is that their idea of what the original was is completely wrong and there is proof of it in all her old drawings and drafts.]

They simply refused to accept reality, substituted their own, and went on a campaign of hatred against her because of it.

Now we're here and the drama begins to show hints of romance through heavy, dark themes, and we're seeing that same deranged toxicity trying to make a comeback in the communities we have left.

Don't feed trolls. Don't give them what they want: attention.

To those who remain readers, I hope you can enjoy the story despite the romantic undertones. If you're unhappy, make fan works. If you're dissatisfied to the point you think harassing others and the creator is justified, then please check yourself and stop. Move on. There are a lot of stories waiting for you to enjoy.

To those who feel like they’ve “won” because of how the canon is playing out—stop it. You’re also part of the problem.

That useless “us vs them” mentality is what got us so far gone last time. That whole ‘we won’ or ‘we’re morally superior’ makes you just as problematic as the people who drove fans and Quimchee away years ago. Please check yourself and stop.

You’re not creating a healthy environment by being that way.

Finally, at the end of the day, everyone behind the computer screen is a person. You should never hurt real people, especially over fiction.

[poisonheart]

s o u l m a t e ; a person who completely understands you and is perfectly suited to be in a loving relationship with you. (x)

[poisonheart]

The Villainess Is A Marionette | Ep 2 (x)