Comment by Lan Anh Nguyen on Ebony Castle - Chapter 19

I found several enjoyable facts and details while reading : first, how the artist managed to suppress everything related to passion/eroticism during the bed scenes, making them cold and clinical, never bound to stir anything from the reader aside from compassion for the patient. The first scene was especially hard to read because there was so much suffering, you could think the treatment was even worse than the disease. On a more personal level it brought me back to my own experience which was very similar. Secund, the stunning contrast between the hustle-bustle of town, and the lethargic atmosphere of the manor. You would think you stepped out of time and entered another dimension, the portal being the climbing up. You could almost envision a forest of thorns or a barrier of enchanted lilac parting before you and closing behind, concealing your path. Third, the general setting reminded me of a modern fairy tale, and this is probably what kept me drawn to this manhwa. If you push the analysis a little you can find quite a few symbolic elements related to fairy tales, in particular those written by Charles Perrault or the Grimm brothers. I may be ahead of myself making this statement but this is the feeling I get. Fourth, and that will be my last point, Locke is outstandingly elegant. He is so Noblesse Oblige, committed but with the right distance. I can't wait to see him warming up towards Eden, who doesn't lack in anything when it comes to strength and bravery. Both characters are admirable each in their own way. I don't know how they will end up, whether they will be romantically involved or will share a special bond of deep trust and companionship, but given where the story is headed I suppose I will be satisfied whichever the conclusion. To me the story is more about the journey than the outcome.

@Lan Anh Nguyen I just know you do well in writing stories and essays

@piggy   bro 😂😂😂😂

@Lan Anh Nguyen I like reading intelligent insightful comments just as much as I like reading well written yaoi. It makes me curious to know what other mangas you reacted to.
Also I'd love it if you  watched Kinnporsche la Forte  and post comments  on  its cinematography and "grammar" (which  I think is  underrated,   as people usually focus on the cast, the plot or the sm**)  . I'm fascinated by the symetry in the metaphores and  the many sided symbolic use of the  water element, especially with the three pools.

@Lissey Thank you for the appreciation ! I didn't expect my commentary to attract such praise. Actually I didn't leave many comments because of my poor mastery of the English language, and having read through other readers' very well written comments and reviews, I found there was really nothing useful to add so I just enjoyed the reading. I did threw in a line here and there, for example about feeling like reading a play by Ionesco, while reading "The Perfect" which made me laugh so hard. Though not outstanding, this work is a real treat, if you can dig up the 2nd, 3rd and even 4rth degrees. And there are works that litterally won my heart, for which I left a few comments : "Cold Blooded Beast/In Cold Love" and "Forest Sea" that you can read on Batoto. Forest Sea could have been much bigger because the lore and world setup were quite thorough, but I think the author only wanted to focus on the two main characters and deliver to us a simple yet very beautiful story about love, understanding and overcoming differences and not engage into a real saga with consistent historical and political development and a mindboggling initial situation to come through. From a writer's point of view, I think this part would be very difficult to create in order to make it solid and credible. Not everyone is able to pull out something like Dragonlance. Cold Blooded Beast is more your classical fantasy romantic tale, but with a great originality due to the secund main character. The love story is magnificent, loaded with so much tenderness that you could feel it showering over you. I wish these two titles would gain more popularity.

And then there is my favourite one, "Stranger", about which I didn't write much though. It has an "Oliver Twist" feel to it, it is neat, perfectly wrapped. The strongest point of the story lies in the secund main character, in my opinion. I was completely seduced and I daresay I somewhat fell in love with the man. Everybody reading it was down for the main character because he is really lovable and was made so, but Prosecutor Yeon left a very strong impression on me with his charisma and aura of mystery. He doesn't give out much, never oversteps his boundaries, is very observant of his protégé without making it obvious, always takes full responsibility without never backing out. He si practically perfect in every aspect but never out of reach. You could very well meet a man like him in life. Stranger is the very opposite of "Tree without Roots". I had to drop this one momentarily because it was becoming too much to bear, and here I completed "Missing Love/The Marrying Man" which was no light read either, but the story is compelling and pins you down like a greek tragedy. The end was very rewarding and washed away all the hardship we readers had to gulp down, witnessing the silent fight of an incredibly strong minded, frail looking but proud and unyielding, male prostitute. All the characters of this story are very well written, and I liked it that you could never fully hate any of them, even the most despicable. I also put in my two cent for this one, not much and something very commonplace if you consider the power, the beauty of the story.

Thank you for taking time reading. And pardon my ignorance but I do not know of the title you just mentioned. If you could be so kind as to light my lantern ?

@Lan Anh Nguyen You have quoted my favourite yaoi with "Missing Love / the Marrying Man" . And as you mentioned Prosecutor Yeon, the one in Missing Love is not the just the typical red flag villain we are first led to believe, he also has a surprising side to him in the end .
I loved "Cold Blooded Beast" for the very reasons you offered, great read .  I am yet to read "Forest sea", but I will have to, you made me quite curious about it.
Thank you for recommanding "Stranger" , I vaguely remember reading the first chapter a long time ago, but for some reason, I forgot about it and never came across it since. I've just picked it up again. the art makes me think of "No Moral", the slow taming of a traumatised youth is quiet the trope in yaoi so I may be confusing it with another work .
Ah, KinnPorsche the series is a 2022 Thai Bl and my obsession ever since it aired, i even travelled to Milan, Italy, to meet the actor who plays the glorious red flag Vegas. It's all over Youtube , Reddit  and other socials, and of course MyDramaList. Maybe do not watch if you feel you could get hooked, so many of us went down that rabbit hole and have been happily living there ever since.
You shouldn't worry about your English. It's not my language either, but I have read enough to see you have a great mastery of it.

@Lan Anh Nguyen this was such interesting to read. I really enjoy such analysis. I agree this story is really well written. I'm kinda suprised how this haven't got much views or at least it looks like it's not much popular. I hope it won't get ruined in the next chapters.