more fujimi!
I finished Request. Oh boy, I'm so glad I picked it up again. I love love love the end of the main story, and I adore the side story.
First off, the side story. What is there not to love? I love reading Kei POV in general, and when it's more about something frivolous it's just pure joy. I love how he imagines Yuki in a yukata and just how erotic a sight that would be. He fantasizes about going out to some summer festival and having a stolen romantic interlude somewhere. I love how they end up drinking with some spirits/gods/whatever at the shrine and get a lovely gift from them. And Yuki making Kei experience the commoner's festival! So cute! It's such a sweet story, with a lovely ending as if they had woken up from a dream.
Back to the main story. I took notes about the moments I liked and realized I was getting waaay too particular.
My notes:
P 227 do you want something to eat?
P 232 laughing at kei's words re yuki
P 245 kei singing bridge over troubled waters
P 249 scarborough fair yuki's parents singing together and his mother not wanting to sing it once his dad was gone
Yuki trying to regain the sound he made playing at his parent's grave
Kei mentioning yuki playing in the field
sensei talking about yuki's audition to get into college
P 256 yuki realizing how he'd kind of wasted his years in college concerned about inconsequential things
P 259-260 yuki laughing imagining kei buying a cookbook
P 269-276 yuki figuring out his sound and playing at the station
Elaboration on the above points, in order (more or less):
The conversation about the rape is the type of thing that made me find the rape funny upon rereading. They find it not that traumatic already, so I feel the same. Yuki all flustered that Kei's uncle had taken care of his injury was cute. Kei getting scolded for raping someone and confessing to being very O_o, and Yuki teasing him for asking if he wanted something to eat when he woke up. Kei manages to seem calm and collected even when he's not far too much.
The following exchange is too funny:
「きみは僕の最愛にして最重要な存在で、きみの安否は、僕の最優先事項ですので。傷は痛みませんか？僕の大事な悠季。。。」
「あのねえ。。。声が笑ってるけど？」
「われながら、キザだったと思いまして」
「わかってるなら救いはあるのね。」
I'm glad that Kei can laugh at himself. I get the impression that he wasn't able to relax enough to be able to do so until he got together with Yuki.
Kei singing to Yuki makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every single time. And "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is such a pretty (and perfectly appropriate ) song as he tries to soothe Yuki as he tries to find his sound.
The thing with Yuki's parents singing "Scarborough Fair" was so touching, though I did wonder...did they sing it in Japanese? I hope so, because imagining the average Japanese person singing in English kills the prettiness of the song. In any case, I love how Yuki remembers how he played at his parents' grave and tries to recreate that sound.
I laughed when Yuki concludes that he'd rather wasted his college years, trying to fit in and putting so much effort to lose his dialect instead of working on his music. Don't we all have that realization? The "Geez, I could've done so much more/used that time so much better/pursued much better things back then" realization. I've certainly had it. :P
I too can't imagine Kei solemnly choosing and buying a cookbook, surrounded by the common, normal people. I'd die laughing as well.
The entire bit where Yuki gets it and can't hold it in until he gets home so he just busts out playing at a train station was so exhilarating to read. It mostly makes up for pages of the pain, the angst, the self-doubt, that we have to slog through. (I think the author sometimes spends a tad bit too much time on that part. I understand that this is Yuki and he's going to go through all that, but at the same time….We know this is Yuki and that he will go through all that. Can we get just a little less of it actually taking up pages and pages ? Sometimes I can't help but think that way, especially since this book was full of that kind of thing.)
I wasn't too happy reading how Yuki's violin teacher shocks/humiliates Yuki to get him to grow. I can see that it's effective for Yuki, but it also seems so excessively mean. I think I'd be happier with less blow-by-blow accounts sometimes. Excruciatingly detailed angsting/analysis is exhausting when done too often or too long.
Kei's sister is just plain creepy, putting kiss marks all over Yuki while he's sleeping. >_<
How do cats know to sit on black clothes and look so pleased doing so? Are they pleased because they know their fur will stick and stand out on black, or what? :P
First off, the side story. What is there not to love? I love reading Kei POV in general, and when it's more about something frivolous it's just pure joy. I love how he imagines Yuki in a yukata and just how erotic a sight that would be. He fantasizes about going out to some summer festival and having a stolen romantic interlude somewhere. I love how they end up drinking with some spirits/gods/whatever at the shrine and get a lovely gift from them. And Yuki making Kei experience the commoner's festival! So cute! It's such a sweet story, with a lovely ending as if they had woken up from a dream.
Back to the main story. I took notes about the moments I liked and realized I was getting waaay too particular.
My notes:
P 227 do you want something to eat?
P 232 laughing at kei's words re yuki
P 245 kei singing bridge over troubled waters
P 249 scarborough fair yuki's parents singing together and his mother not wanting to sing it once his dad was gone
Yuki trying to regain the sound he made playing at his parent's grave
Kei mentioning yuki playing in the field
sensei talking about yuki's audition to get into college
P 256 yuki realizing how he'd kind of wasted his years in college concerned about inconsequential things
P 259-260 yuki laughing imagining kei buying a cookbook
P 269-276 yuki figuring out his sound and playing at the station
Elaboration on the above points, in order (more or less):
The conversation about the rape is the type of thing that made me find the rape funny upon rereading. They find it not that traumatic already, so I feel the same. Yuki all flustered that Kei's uncle had taken care of his injury was cute. Kei getting scolded for raping someone and confessing to being very O_o, and Yuki teasing him for asking if he wanted something to eat when he woke up. Kei manages to seem calm and collected even when he's not far too much.
The following exchange is too funny:
「きみは僕の最愛にして最重要な存在で、きみの安否は、僕の最優先事項ですので。傷は痛みませんか？僕の大事な悠季。。。」
「あのねえ。。。声が笑ってるけど？」
「われながら、キザだったと思いまして」
「わかってるなら救いはあるのね。」
I'm glad that Kei can laugh at himself. I get the impression that he wasn't able to relax enough to be able to do so until he got together with Yuki.
Kei singing to Yuki makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every single time. And "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is such a pretty (and perfectly appropriate ) song as he tries to soothe Yuki as he tries to find his sound.
The thing with Yuki's parents singing "Scarborough Fair" was so touching, though I did wonder...did they sing it in Japanese? I hope so, because imagining the average Japanese person singing in English kills the prettiness of the song. In any case, I love how Yuki remembers how he played at his parents' grave and tries to recreate that sound.
I laughed when Yuki concludes that he'd rather wasted his college years, trying to fit in and putting so much effort to lose his dialect instead of working on his music. Don't we all have that realization? The "Geez, I could've done so much more/used that time so much better/pursued much better things back then" realization. I've certainly had it. :P
I too can't imagine Kei solemnly choosing and buying a cookbook, surrounded by the common, normal people. I'd die laughing as well.
The entire bit where Yuki gets it and can't hold it in until he gets home so he just busts out playing at a train station was so exhilarating to read. It mostly makes up for pages of the pain, the angst, the self-doubt, that we have to slog through. (I think the author sometimes spends a tad bit too much time on that part. I understand that this is Yuki and he's going to go through all that, but at the same time….We know this is Yuki and that he will go through all that. Can we get just a little less of it actually taking up pages and pages ? Sometimes I can't help but think that way, especially since this book was full of that kind of thing.)
I wasn't too happy reading how Yuki's violin teacher shocks/humiliates Yuki to get him to grow. I can see that it's effective for Yuki, but it also seems so excessively mean. I think I'd be happier with less blow-by-blow accounts sometimes. Excruciatingly detailed angsting/analysis is exhausting when done too often or too long.
Kei's sister is just plain creepy, putting kiss marks all over Yuki while he's sleeping. >_<
How do cats know to sit on black clothes and look so pleased doing so? Are they pleased because they know their fur will stick and stand out on black, or what? :P