The Writers Really Said It’s Not An Ex Best Friend Unless There’s Some Psychological Torture Involved

recently watched the devil judge (2021) for the first time and i truly can’t get enough of this guy. and also: his devil

THIS!!!

if season 1 was a testament to sieun’s fight of self-determination — standing up for himself, punishing those who hurt him and his friends — and eventually realizing through beomseok’s plotline how damaging that sort of mindless violence can be, then season 2 is the portrayal of sieun’s reckoning with that, tempering down his viciousness, choosing force only when it is necessary, in an effort not to be cruel or do excessive harm.

it offsets so well with the baku-baekjin plotline — baekjin, a similarly intelligent and calculating boy who grew up bullied by others, who has that capacity for swift, harsh violence that sieun demonstrated all through season 1. but that’s not the person sieun is anymore, nor is it the person he wants to be.

“don’t cross the line” - that’s what embodies sieun’s approach to violence now. it’s why his takes resonate so much with his new friends at eunjang, who have all seen and felt very personally the harm of those who carelessly do so (jun-tae with hyoman, gotak with seungje, baku with baekjin). this is what broadly characterizes the motivations of our protagonists in s2, and it’s certainly a breath of fresh air in the vicious cycle they more broadly exist in.

"What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going, I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all"- The quote at the beginning of WHC.

And this is so perfect because:

This time Sieun didn't fight to avenge, he didn't to damage, to hurt, to win, he never fought for himself. Not once. This time, he fought to protect. And what makes WHC2 great is that you can actually SEE this difference in his fights this time. He is not vicious, just calculated, just enough to hold it at bay. He was calculating before, too, but this time it was subdued, quieter.

Park Jihoon truly is amazing as Yeon Sieun. Because everything this season, the way he acted genuinely showed the trauma, he embodied loss, hopelessness, not really belonging, the desperate plea to not get into a fight if he could avoid it, not to make the violence personal, Jihoon portrayed this all soo sooo well: from his body language to his eyes.

this last addition is SO SO BARS i’m in love. yes, exactly; gaon chooses and thrives with the kangs from the start because that’s a place where he can comfortably act on his own based on what he wants and what he envisions. he has so much free will that he makes use of in that house, he has the chance to take charge in a way that he’s very comfortable doing, and he has so much influence on those around him — in contrast to his other relationships, where it is largely just him being influenced and affected by the choices and desires of the other person (min jungho, soohyun).

it’s honestly hard to blame yohan for wanting that family gaon had built up with them to be gaon’s first priority, but by pushing with that ultimatum — instead of, say, just talking to gaon and letting him make that choice — he’s effectively shown to gaon that even here, he does not have the power or equal standing to simply choose whatever he wants and be respected for it, not in the way gaon respects the decisions of the others around him (with a little nagging towards yohan sometimes but ultimately comes back to acceptance, at least up until that scene). and in being triggered into this realization, he pushes back against yohan, lashes out, walks away.

soon afterwards, he chooses soohyun, who dies barely an episode later. his choice is wrested away from him again by something completely out of his control, and it’s no wonder that being manipulated into thinking that there is, indeed, someone to blame for it, and that that someone is yohan, prompts such fury in him that he does go and confront yohan — who, actually, seems to understand and empathize with that anger very well, based on how he initially reacts to gaon trying to stab him.

gaon needs to heal and grow from this place of disempowerment, where his choices are so guided by those around him. he’s frankly a pretty static character throughout the show, and i think it’s done deliberately — that the people around him and his circumstances don’t allow him to really change or grow in a way that’s meaningful to himself. it’s only set up in the very end that he is entering new circumstances which will allow him to explore and exercise his power and free will. (god. i want a season 2 so badly.)

simultaneously, though, yohan is the same in some sense. despite how unilaterally he works and how in control of everything and everyone he seems to be, yohan is a man that’s been driven by his desire for revenge for years — that’s the ultimate “making choices based around the influence of others.” he needs to learn, too, how to take on a life he genuinely wants for himself now. in the time gaon spent with the kangs, yohan clearly realized how much he valued that sort of peaceful, domestic life with his loved ones; but yohan can’t rely solely upon gaon to realize that dream for him. if he wants it, he needs to put in the work to heal and prioritize that, too.

it’s why their choice to walk away / stay away from each other in the last scene of ep 16 is so powerful, in my opinion. no matter how much they still have left unsaid between them, and how deeply they still clearly care for each other, they know that both of them need to grow and heal in their own ways, separately. they want the best for each other — if not yet themselves — and so they choose to leave each other to their personal growing. to them, just getting to see one another, and ascertain that they are safe and healthy, is enough for now.

Kim Gaon as a character is so important to me.

This poor boy, whose parents committed suicide when he was so young, ends up being manipulated by almost everyone in his life who think they know what's best for him.

His mentor, who he saw as a father ends up manipulating him to further his own agendas and goals all while giving him the illusion of choice. Ga On has never truly had a choice.

And Soohyun too. Yes, she only ever wanted to keep him safe, and that is a nice sentiment, but in acting the way she did towards him she caged him in.

Maybe it's the Gemini in me, but if someone tries to limit my freedom of choice or influence my judgement in any way, I start to get suffocated. No matter what the sentiment behind their actions are. She didn't deserve the end she got, and she genuinely cared about Gaon but at the same time she ended up trying to influence him because she thought she knew what was best for him.

And then comes Yohan. Yohan is complicated (as morally grey characters tend to be), because for a good while in the beginning, he too tries to use (or at least wants to use) Gaon for his own ends.

But also, after he sees who Gaon truly is: a kind and caring and a firecracker of a soul, he is the first in Gaon's life to offer him a choice. And not the Min Jungho type of choice where it's just an illusion; but an actual choice.

And Gaon. Gaon only ever tried to do what he thought was right even while being pulled in a thousand different directions by different people. He tried so hard to make the right choices. He finally found the family he lost when he was young in Yohan and Elijah and Ms Ji. Lord knows I wouldn't survive if I found out that the fucker who drove my parents to suicide was living alive and well somewhere else with nothing on his conscience, and that I had been lied to for so long. And then, Soohyun, the last person who he has left from his past tied to his parents, his best friend, dies.

And then he loses his found family as well.

Kim Gaon, at the end of the show has absolutely no one left from his past; the Kangs, Soohyun, his parents and Min Jung ho are all gone.

All he has left is himself and a herculean task of rebuilding the justice system.

And how miserable must that be?

reblog to give your headache to elon musk instead

Get to know me!

Thank you for the tag @clawbehavior!! I'm so honored :'DD

1. Origin of username?

Around the time I came up with my username "mayykit," I was getting progressively less comfortable with using my real name on the internet. My previous username was a pun off of my real name, and in wanting to keep the spirit of humor, while using a new nickname I felt comfortable with online (Kit), a friend and I brainstormed for about an hour on what combination of letters could make a good pun with the sound "kit" either in the beginning or the end. At some point, I think I said something in frustration along the lines of - "I just have no idea what to make it..." and my friend went dead quiet before they started laughing. Thus, MayyKit was born.

2. OTPs/ships?

Oooh.

Gahan - kim gaon/kang yohan (the devil judge)

Iwaoi - iwaizumi hajime/oikawa tooru (haikyuu)

Kagehina - kageyama tobio/hinata shouyou (also haikyuu)

Jayvik - jayce/viktor (arcane)

shse - ahn suho/yeon sieun (weak hero class 1)

I've probably got more on the back burner, these are just the most major ones off the top of my head.

3. Favorite color?

Big fan of charcoal grey, or like. Mulberry red. I like most muted colors.

4. Song stuck in my head?

At the minute, it's FXXK IT by Big Bang.

5. Weirdest habit/trait?

For some reason, I get a weird, unbalanced feeling if I take the last step of a staircase with my left foot, so often I'll either count the steps before I go up/down so I can end on the right foot, or I'll take the last two steps together so that my right foot can be the one to finish the stairs. It's something I've done since I was a kid.

6. Hobbies?

I've got a ton of 'em. I've been ice skating for quite a while, so I spend a good amount of time on that; I also play a lot of piano and flute, and I'll occasionally revisit violin (I used to play in grades 5-10). I also like to read (mostly the same few books I've been reading for years but I do like exploring new fanfics), I do a good deal of digital art or traditional drawing in my free time, and I like listening to music as much as I enjoy playing it. I used to creatively write a lot, but I've been simmering in writers' block from the sheer amount of writing I have to do for my classes. I've gotten quite into cooking recently (especially soups), and I think I'm also going to get back into language learning once my workload eases up.

7. If you work, what's your profession?

Student. University. Political science and business degrees. Graduating in ten or so weeks... Aiming for law... (Although I also do some volunteer work in education, ice skating, and arts/entertainment.)

8. If you could have any job?

In an ideal world, I'd love to get into acting. It's the idea of getting to live and experience and explore so many different lives and states of being... and getting paid for it?? Yes please.

9. Something you're good at?

Analyzing things from lots of perspectives. I'm a big analyzer, and I do a lot of it in my work across the board. I also do it a lot for fun. Keeps my brain moving and happy :)

10. Something you hate?

Two-faced behavior. Fake.

11. Something you forget?

Umm... uhh... good question. Better question might be what I don't forget... Hmm... I forget my toothbrush almost every time I travel, if that counts...

12. Your love language?

Sharing food #1. But also, just being interested in each others' interests even if there's no personal connection necessarily. Two individuals with separate lives who just deeply want to share their happiness with one another. Mwah.

13. Favorite movies and TV shows?

There's gonna be some range here. Basically anything Ghibli, A Silent Voice, Big Hero 6, The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, South Park, The Devil Judge, Law School, True Beauty, Weak Hero Class 1 (season 2 is almost out!!!), Twinkling Watermelon, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Haikyuu, and Revenge Note 2.

14. Favorite food?

My go-to answer lately has been malatang (spicy hot pot), but there's this dish my mom makes at home with beef, tomato, and occasionally egg that is - in my opinion - completely unparalleled in yummyness. I could have that with rice or noodles genuinely any day every day, probably.

15. Favorite animal?

I like cats very much. But also ermines are SO adorable and I'm so pleased to exist in the same universe as them. I would genuinely sob out of joy if I ever got to hold one.

16. What was I like as a child?

Controlled chaos in the form of a goody two shoes. I loved reading and creative writing (and got labeled as "the perfect student" for it) because I could be as unhinged as I wanted, as long as it was on paper and not towards other people.

17. Favorite subject in school?

K-5, I loved math; 6th through middle school, I was a huge fan of history and English; high school, chemistry and physics had my soul. Currently, as a uni student, the ball's pretty split between political science (my major!) and education studies.

18. Least favorite subject?

Biology and computer science. I'm pretty good at bio, I just don't like how memorization-based a lot of it is. But then, compsci is the one subject that my brain simply refuses to process.

19. Best trait?

Thoughtfulness. I tend to approach my tasks and the people around me with a lot of intentionality and consideration, and I'd like to think it's a pretty good trait of mine. It combines my other good traits - analysis with empathy, deep care with rational pathways for it - and does a lot of good in my life.

20. Worst trait?

I can be mentally dramatic, but I'll almost never say it out loud. The dramatism makes me quick to judge, and rather harshly - others and myself alike - but staying mostly silent on those thoughts tends to leave people around me very much in the dark on where I stand. It's also just not good for me since I spiral easily when I do that.

21. If you could change any detail of your life, what would it be?

I just need my wi-fi to stay alive. And consistent.

22. If you could travel in time, who would you want to meet?

My parents when they were young, probably. I wish I knew what they were actually like as people before they became parents.

I had so much fun doing this! Ahhh I've barely interacted with anyone beyond reblogs and the occasional message in Discord but... tagging with absolutely no pressure and so much curiosity!! @coazysdaydream @gayautisticraccoon @rivvszn @uhhhhmanda @gaylilsherlock

this blog hates donald trump

Look how many people hate him. I’m pretty damn happy about that 😁😁😁😁😁😁

whc2 spoilers

as if baku crying and blaming himself for sieun's condition AS A DIRECT PARALLEL TO HOW SIEUN FELT ABOUT SUHO WASN'T ENOUGH.

YOU HIT ME WITH THIS.

im gonna kill myself im so serious

HIS FACE WHEN BEOMSEOK ASKED ARE THEY MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU. HIS FACE. HIS TEAR SLIDING DOWN RIGHT AS BEOMSEOK'S DID. STFU. HE LOVED HIM SO MUCH OH MY GOD IM. I NEED A LOBOTOMY.

The way that if you think hard enough about this, Gaon’s reaction to Yohan’s death could totally be interpreted as a parallel to how he perceives the deaths of his parents (one dies first and the other immediately follows)…

It is not like that with Suhyeon for him. It is, in fact, like that with Yohan though.

Can you please explain the part whereby Gaon said soohyun was his world, and how that doesn't mean he loves her despite the confession.?

Hey Anon!!

I poured out the bulk of my thoughts in this post here! But in essence, Soohyun to Gaon is as Isaac to Yohan (which Writer Moon Yoo Seok confirmed in this post). He definitely loved her; there's no denying that, but that love was very different from what he feels for Yohan. The latter was so all-encompassing and wild, and painful that after Cha Kyunghee's death, which itself harkens back to Gaon's parents' death, our man ran to what was familiar and soft and comfortable, all of which Soohyun represented to him.

He was swept up in a maelstrom of emotion: all the death, the Foundation nabbing people, Soohyun not wanting to talk to him. He was essentially adrift and he can't be faulted for latching onto the only anchor he's had since childhood. But even with those flashback scenes of them as children, what we see is Soohyun playing more of a caregiver role than anything else. She blows on his scrapes, he comforts him when he's sad. She might as well be his sister or his mother, because she truly is his Isaac.

On top of everything, Gaon was under the false belief that Soohyun rescued him from the thugs when it was really Yohan, all that gratitude, and his need for comfort, and the fact that she came back for him despite being angry with him, manifested in him confessing emotions that were long dead if he was being honest with himself.

But Gaon was too confused to be honest with himself and he just didn't want to think at that point. So he didn't.

But at the end of the day. Gaon brought a knife to avenge Soohyun and a bomb to avenge Yohan. Gaon tried to die for Yohan twice.

Gaon's reaction when Yohan was announced as dead is so so telling. While Sunah collapses, he's silent, frozen, then he leaves, because he knows he'll be joining Yohan in death.

And even when Yohan's alive, when Gaon no longer has reason to be guilty anymore, he still wants to die with Yohan because it's better than living without him. Soohyun might have had a pretty confession, and a wooden kiss (really wooden) but Yohan won in the end, because by word and deed, Kim Gaon vowed before all of Korea that he would die with his Chief.

Plus when he thought Yohan was gone for the second time, he went through Yohan's bedroom and reminisced about them ogling each other. That's gay. We love to see it!!

I forgot to say this last time. Baku, Gotak and I, we all know you visit your friend in the hospital and why he's there. But in my opinion it wasn’t your fault.