#Soowon’s coup?

[dandelionbeforesnow]

Yes, perhaps the prophecy shouldn’t be fulfilled.

Ik-soo pretty much just told Yona to gather the Four Dragons because it’s her destiny (or something). Right up until Zeno pulled his shit, there wasn’t a peep about the other parts of the prophecy.

And thanks to Zeno, we also learned that Yona wasn’t even the original recipient of the prophecy!

Hiryuu was given the prophecy directly by the Dragon Gods themselves.

Please remember, these gods are not the nice sort. The gods don’t care about the mortal realm or humans. They only cared for Hiryuu. And they want him to come home.

Yona dying and returning to the heavens is a distinct possibility, and is pretty much in line with what the gods want!

The prophecy doesn’t even guarantee peace or a happily ever after.

What is the prophecy even about? And why should we want it fulfilled?

The Final Arc

Are people really surprised that Akatsuki no Yona will come to an end soon? What more is for Yona to do than resolving the issue that continued for about 2000 years? She know is aware of the feelings and secrets of most of her friends (Zeno, the dragon warriors, Hak) and opponents (Soo Won, his followers, Keishuk ect...)...The countries around Kouka are not that much of a problem anymore...

Still....the first image, where Yona is already the Queen of Kouka....the dragon warriors seem to have vanished and I do not see Hak either. Is Soo Won already dead in that time? Is it a definite future or something Yona can still change?...The way how it appeared that this Yona who is already queen seemed to tell the story...

Maybe the prophecy was not supposed to come true...

[soo-won]

I'm a few days late but congratulations akayona and mizuho-sensei for the 15 years of serialization omg. May these three look at the same sky together again

[soowoniverse]

AKAYONA CH 240 SPOILERS!!!!

THE KING HAS ARRIVED.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Taking the post about your wip as an opportunity to tell you how amazing your Fic titles are! They make my super curious about these stories.

When the sun dies and the years of the roses sound like stories that will break my heart. So if you don’t mind I would like to hear a little more about them, you can ramble about anything really, I love when people share their ideas.

Also a bonus question if you don’t mind, which is your favorite Titel you ever came up with?

(Sorry for any spelling mistakes)

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!! i love coming up with fic titles haha i spend so long finding ones i like 🤩 i’ll ramble abt those wips under the cut!!

so the year of the roses is my yona of the dawn “fic” (i say that loosely because it’s only slightly based off of yotd — as in i used some characters but that’s it — which is a big reason i never posted it) that i’ve briefly posted about before. to be honest i love that fic soooo much but it’s that weird in between where it’s JUST reliant enough on yotd lore that i can’t make it my own but not close enough to any canon material that i feel comfortable calling it a fic 😭

the plot of year of the roses is a little convoluted ngl but i will go through and explain as much as i can!! the main character (we’ll call her mc) is the daughter of the lord of the southern province who is staying at the imperial palace in order to learn the ways of the nobility and whatnot. she is best friends with general hak (although they lowkey bully each other, they’re close when it counts) and because she’s generally a high-ranked lady it’s expected she’ll either marry hak or prince soowon. however prince soowon is married off by the king (who is his uncle) to tullia, who is from a long line of oracles but has proven to have none of their powers and is therefore a failure/mockery. shortly after the wedding, there is an assassination attempt on mc, as the assassin mistook her for princess yona. because of this, mc asks the king to let hak stay with her for the night, but hak is prince soowon’s guard in this world and the king forbids him from staying with mc.

mc takes matters into her own hands and writes to her father asking for a guard. he sends her a person thought to be a myth of the southern province: the blue dragon, shin-ah. however mc has already met him, and it’s eventually revealed she used to sneak out and spend time with him in her childhood, although she never learnt his name. he comes to the castle and protects her through everything, including prince soowon’s coup, but prince soowon deems them (mc + shin-ah) a threat and they must flee the castle. they go to the southern province but it is completely destroyed, including the fort where mc’s father lives, and they must amass forces to help princess yona take back the throne. in the meanwhile, tullia and soowon do fall in love, but tullia realizes that the way he took the throne was wrong, even if his methods were right. when mc, shin-ah, yona, and co. come back to the palace to retake the throne, hak ends up killing shin-ah. however, as mc mourns for him on the battlefield, tullia reveals that she hasn’t used her powers as an oracle yet because she has been saving them. she manages to send mc back into the time of the first blue dragon for exactly one year (the “year of the roses”), in which mc must convince him not to continue to reincarnate for the next thousand years, therefore saving shin-ah by not letting him be born as the blue dragon but as a normal person

mc finds the first blue dragon, abi, and befriends him in order to be close enough to stop him at the end of the year before she goes back to the present. they get closer and eventually fall in love, before mc finally tells abi the truth — that she is from the future and has come to stop him from reincarnating as it will cause generations of suffering. he asks her if reincarnating is the only way he can meet her again and she says yes, so he tells her he will do it. mc begs him not to as that means shin-ah will die, but abi tells her that he doesn’t care if his soul is tortured and killed for a thousand years if it means that eventually he can see her and fall in love with her again.

returning to the future, shin-ah still dies and mc realizes there’s no way to change the past — in fact, abi wouldn’t have reincarnated if not for meeting her, so in a sense it’s her fault that all of it happened, but she can’t regret it because she had that short time with abi/shin-ah’s soul.

i’m not quite sure how i would’ve ended the story from there!! but that is the gist of year of the roses. genuinely it is my favorite story idea i’ve had but i just never had the time to write it. also i’ve written a guard x lady story with song for the drowned and a (somewhat) reincarnation story with hurricanes / hummingbirds so because of that along with my previous reasons i’ll probably never continue with this one. i’ll add some excerpts though!! they’re long so you’ll have to click to read them i’m afraid.

when the sun dies was an experimental story i wrote using some plot lines of a song of ice and fire as a base but with my own characters — it was meant to be an exercise to improve my skills with fantasy HAHA…there’s a LOT that happens in it (there is a timeline i made for it that spans 26 years) so i’m not going to bother explaining but the title comes from one of the characters (who is the protagonist of his story but the antagonist of everyone else’s) being a demigod and receiving a blessing from his father that said he could only die when the sun did. unfortunately for him the main pov character manages to hatch a rukh (an enormous bird from arabic folklore) and when she rides that rukh to battle its wingspan is so enormous that it covers the sun, making it seem like the sun has died, allowing her to kill the demigod. this is a huge huge oversimplification of everything but that’s the gist of it. i’ll add excerpts of that too!! again you’ll have to click to read them though.

as for your bonus question…i think my fav titles i’ve come up with are “the silence of swans”, “hurricanes / hummingbirds”, and “when the sun dies” probably!! anyways this post got super long i’m sorry HAHHA feel free to send another ask/comment if you want me to elaborate on anything else 🫶🏻

[dandelionbeforesnow]

I honestly didn’t mind at first since we were seeing the story through the eyes of a spoiled and ignorant princess that just got her whole world upended by a coup no matter how necessary.

The grief, betrayal, anger, and sadness Yona and Hak felt won’t change even if they accept Soowon as the better king. It inevitable that Yona would continue to see Il as her kind and loving father even as she comes to grips with the consequences of Il’s policies left on Kouka. It is inevitable that both Yona and Hak feel betrayed by Soowon, no matter how necessary the coup is for Kouka.

That’s fine actually. They are still teenagers after all.

The thing is that Kusanagi…don’t acknowledge them as kids. Soowon and Hak are hailed as the smartest and strongest ever at the grand age of 19 tops~

Akatuski no Yona would flow better if Kusanagi had not shoved the whole story into the span of a single year.

But I kinda understand why Hak is still clinging to his fantasy future of Soowon becoming king by marrying Yona with him as their right hand. The whole story had been one thing after another for the poor guy (being fugitives, living on the run, and fight actual war, being imprisoned, near death experiences..), and he only recently got an actual explanation for the coup and why Soowon couldn’t actually marry Yona (Yuhon and the Crimson Illness).

He is a teenager, childishly convinced his way is best can’t you see, everyone will be happy, and stubbornly refuse to listen to everyone else telling him no that’s not going to work.

king il killed murdered many many more people than even yuhon did, il was worse than even yuhon (and that's a rarity!)

suwon only killed one person, he only killed one murderer - and they all see him as the biggest villain

in all these villages in the entire country, people starving and dying in such a way, women and girls were being trafficked for ten years in awa, people were dying from drugs in water tribe...

king il's body count is in thousands

and suwon's body count is one murderer

but sure, suwon is the villain because he made a few people (yona and hak and that's really it) suffer instead of you know killing thousands and letting women get trafficked

that's the reason i will hate hak

even yona is able to acknowledge what her father did and who he was, EVEN YONA

[akatsuki-ryuu]

Soowon, this idiot

I’ve seen a lot of discourse over this guy in the fandom (some think he’s entirely justified and deserves all the love, some can’t quite forgive him, some have mixed opinions), so I wanted to pitch in with my thoughts on him.

Brownie Points:

Seeing his treatment of Yona right after her mother died makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Even when he was so young, he had been so kind, and I can’t forget that (I reckon Yona can’t, either)

He’s unbelievably charming? That disarming disposition of his also makes him a dangerous adversary, as we’ve seen in how he deals with high-ranking people, both from Kouka - Guen-Tae! - and other countries

This guy was born for the role of someone in a position of authority. He’s amazingly good at dealing with people and settling matters. He was able to suppress the countries around Kouka with minimal bloodshed (except for Xing, that credit goes to Yona & co. He wasn’t able to see how Yu-Hon’s actions were abominable)

He’s good at the politics game (again, goes back to his attitude and skill in handling people and winning them over)

He’s selfless to a fault. This is exceptionally good for his country, as its strength and safety is his greatest priority. Also good for his people, as he actually seems to care about the inner workings too (like when he went to the Chi’Shin to fix the economy, Awa to check on trafficking, and Suika for the Nadai). This isn’t so good for anyone who personally values him, because they can never be his priority. You can’t count on him to be by your side. Also, it’s terrifying how manipulative and scheming he can be. (By manipulative I mean he can bend the situation so that it fits his desired outcome)

The way he cared for his mother right after supporting Yona. It breaks my heart to see what he had to deal with at such a young age.

He’s humble. That’s been made clear on multiple occasions, both when he was younger and now that he’s king.

His genius. Now, I’m no expert on battle strategies and tactics, but this guy is taking win after win.

He’s generally a good king. It must be said. There are a few things I don’t agree with him on, like the Xing matter, how he’s dealing w Yona, her dragons, and Hak right now in the castle, and how he became king in the first place. Otherwise, for Kouka, he is a great king. If not for Hak (and the entire plot), I would’ve liked to see him as King to Yona’s Queen.

Things I can’t forgive him for:

Along with Il, he failed Yona. With the prowess of someone who dedicated a whole decade to scheming for a coup, he couldn’t find a subtle way to train her and make her a better princess. (we see her now and know for a fact that she’s capable, but her father failed in terms of raising her to be a princess and Soowon, who has his eyes on royal affairs, hadn’t tried to see if having Yona rightfully on the throne is a viable option)

He didn’t try to subtly get Yona & Hak on  his side. Of course, Il had his eyes on Soowon, so he can’t just as well directly tell them about his plans, but we see Yona now, and unlike Soowon, she is clearly able to realize her father’s wrongdoings, and she desperately tries to fix them. Who’s to say that if Soowon (indirectly) tried to open her eyes to the world she wouldn’t have tried something with her father? Her father believed she was the rightful ruler; if Soowon asked him to step down, he wouldn’t, but if the rightful sovereign (Yona) asked him to step down so she could assume her throne, wasn’t that what he wanted to happen eventually anyway? He was just a placeholder till Hiryuu reclaims his throne. Goes back to point 1 of failing her. She’s capable both in morals (she genuinely, desperately wants justice, righteousness, and the good of the people) and skills (does this need any explanation? Look at what she’s done with the help of her dragons and Yoon and Hak: getting Shin-Ah out of the mountains, Awa with Kumji, helping the fire tribe villages regain life, getting rid of the Nadai in the water tribe, helping Yoon with his Iza seeds for the fire tribe, protecting Lily in Sei, winning over the princesses of Xing and preventing a war, and much more that I can’t remember off the top of my head) All she needed was the actual training necessary to gain the skills required of a ruler (and for someone to remove her blindfold, of course, and that could’ve been Soowon, in a way other than he did)

We know that he chose the time to kill Il bc he had been told that Yona doesn’t make a habit of visiting her father at night, which means that Soowon initially intended to appear innocent in Yona’s eyes and she shouldn’t have been a witness. Therefore, she would’ve remained a princess. Did he plan on having her quietly twirling her hair, thinking of nothing but beautiful kimonos, and longing to see him as she did when she was a princess? Was she not counted in his plans at all? Did he not actually want her to be a princess in action as well as name? How was that to happen if he didn’t train her, since he had a whole coup squad with him that he was willing to work with? It amazes me that he has such connections and didn’t consider making Yona (and Hak!) one of them. As Min-Soo said, her power in gaining the favor of the tribes’ people is truly formidable.

When she witnessed the murder, he was the one to raise his sword against her. I wished he would have just demanded her death as necessary by a guard or something, but it struck deep that he himself held the sword at first. (Not that I liked that he tried to murder her in the first place)

Soowon is blind to his father’s flaws. In fact, he looks up to him in both right and wrong, to the point where he can’t admit that what Yu-Hon did to those Xing captives was truly detestable and dishonorable.

He was plotting for a decade, and he knew for a fact that he was going to betray his friends and trample over their entire world - still, he made no effort to break away from them; he remained close, so he betrayed them as a dear, precious friend rather than a distant childhood memory, and therefore his betrayal hurts much more. This is my biggest problem with him, tbf. As soon as he knew that there’s a great chance he’s gonna betray them like that, he lost his right to their friendship, warmth, trust, care, and affection - as great a king as he is, he is a terrible friend.

What Hak thought in a chapter of the Xing arc: how Soowon was able to stomach making Yona’s day and then destroying her entire world that same night. Now, I believe both Il and Yu-Hon deserved to die, but Yona (and likewise, Soowon) didn’t deserve the tragedies that befell them (sins of the father, anyone?)

He’s a good king for Kouka, but he’s willing to subjugate other countries (unfavorable terms in the treaty with Xing) in order to strengthen his own. Any one who has lived in a country that has been oppressed/colonized by another can see what’s wrong with this.

In conclusion,

The og trio’s relationship will likely never go back to how it was, and though the thought is heartbreaking, I actually don’t want it to. I love Yona, and I always got the feeling that she cared far too much for Soowon while he didn’t hold her in high regard, and I don’t like that. It may just be his selflessness in how he prioritizes his country, but I wish he’d value Yona and Hak more. I’d like to see a heartfelt moment between the three sometime before the story ends (I pray it never ends).

What are your thoughts on this?

Note: this opinion covers info up until before the current castle arc

[sarada-best-girl]

i want a pov of soowon during the coup…..I wanna know what he was planning….I just need insight to his brain, pls. like??? I don’t think he was at all planning at any point to marry yona…….so like WHAT did he plan for, what would he have done if yona wasn’t there to see it. like. he fully believed that hak & yona wouldn’t be at his side when he became king. why??? did he think that they would find out somehow. I WANT TO KNOW.

[correctlyincorrect-akayona]

Hak, pre-coup d'état, watching Yona stare at Soowon: Wouldn't it be easier to just write "I'm desperate" on your forehead?

[mii-ruby]

A very interesting theory. And something like that could really happen. Or she could die and come back to life, I’m sure it can also be the case.

Thanks! And yes her being revived after death is a possibility. I just hope she doesn't come back as a baby/child 'cause I've seen this trope a few times and I really dislike it.

But honestly, even though it’s sad, if all of them forget about Yona and the whole dragon story, I guess it’s the only way Zeno could actually live his mortal life. He would not be burdened by traumatic memories anymore.

Honestly I can see why you think he'll commit a harakiri if he keeps his memories, but I can also see him wanting to live a last life alongside his friends. They are important to him, they were the reason he kept his sanity during the last hundred years. He kept waiting for them (and Yona), and when he met them they cherished and protected him, even after learning he was immortal. I can see both visions.

Zeno, Shin ah, Soo-won, Mei Nyan, Jae ha, countless previous dragon warriors. I don’t think I have to explain anything. Especially Zeno and Shin ah, I can’t even dare call what they went through “a life”.  What she went through is horrible, but others went through so much more and for so much longer.

I agree about the dragons. In fact I never said in my original post that them forgetting her was unfair.

I said that about Soowon bcz to me she's not responsible for the Crimson illness: during that meeting with Hiryuu, they only discussed the dragons' matter. The descendants were never brought up and Yona never said "please don't put an end to your lineage otherwise I'll never meet Soowon and Mei-Nyan".

One of the reblogs suggested that maybe Hiryuu was planning to return to heaven which would've spared both dragons and descendants, but Yona's refusal condemned them all. The thing is: we don't know. Hiryuu didn't tell us his plan, just that he was going to put an end to the dragons. It might've included killing Zeno (like he was almost did in chapter 255) and asking the others to not have children. There are a lot of possibilities. As long as we don't have a confirmation I can't blame Yona for that. Hiryuu could've still made the decision to not have children regardless.

Apart from this, Soowon forgetting Yona is fucked up bcz they've both been a big part of the other's life. Like another reblog said "the trio's dynamic is all about memories and learning to live with them". If one forgets the other it'll leave a big hole in his/her past. And what's worse is that they didn't get the opportunity to have a heartfelt conversation yet. A lot of things are left unsaid: feeling of guilt, betrayal, hurt, information about the coup, the hairpin....etc. if he forgets about her before they even get to discuss this, it'll be such a shame.

“I will come for them as many times as it takes”. As many times as it takes? What does that mean? Is it a hint of what she will be doing?

That part confused me too. It almost sounds like "even if I fail in this life, I'll try again in the next ones as many times as it takes". But we know this is not possible. Yona will most likely be the last incarnation of Hiryuu and the story will end with her, so I don't understand what it meant.

Theory about the "Price to pay"

Spoilers 'till chapter 260

So we're finally at the point where Yona has to talk to the dragon gods herself. We knew this was bound to happen and it was honestly the most logical turn of events. What we don't know however is the price she'll have to pay to get such a wish fulfilled.

Two theories come to mind:

1/ The first and most popular one is that Yona will have to leave the mortal realm and return to heaven to be the Crimson dragon King again.

No need for the dragon warriors anymore, they'll simply lose their powers, and the gods can finally have Yona back like they always wanted, which could be the interpretation of the last line from the prophecy "And The Red Dragon Shall Return At Dawn".

This theory, although logical, is just too cruel. Akayona is not a tragedy, I can't imagine Kusanagi will end a story about found family, self growth and overcoming your trauma with the death of the main character. I desperately tried to find another suitable price that didn't envolve Yona sacrificing herself, which leads us to the second theory:

2/Yona gets to stay on earth, but all the people she knew forget about her. I know this might sound just as cruel if not more than the previous one💦, but please hear me out 'till the end!!!!

Yona had done much more to the country as a normal girl than a princess. She went to different tribes on foot, bonded with peasants, pretended to be a bandit, pirate, an entertainer... etc, and fought off traffickers and dealers without ever mentioning she was a princess. Yes those people she helped will probably forget about her, but she can return to them and help them while being herself again. She doesn't need recognition as "Princess Yona". She draws people no matter her title.

On the other, since she'll no longer possess warriors with divine powers, she won't be a target for greedy individuals or people from enemy nations, so the gods can rest assured about her safety.

Lastly, everyone forgetting about her means that the red dragon no longer exists on earth. It's like his memory left the mortal realm and ascended to heaven again "And The Red Dragon Shall Return At Dawn". This could be an interpretation of the prophecy. The red dragon won't literally return to heaven. It's his memory that will leave people's minds and return to be a property of the heaven.

Now, even though I said that everyone will forget about Yona, I'm sure there'll be one exception to this rule. Only one individual will never forget about Yona while everyone else will, and it's Hak. The first reason is obviously the romance that'll just get reset to zero if he forgets about her. I mean, knowing  him he'll probably fall in love with her again, but it's like all their moments and all the development in their relationship will disappear and restart from zero which is something a lot of readers won't accept.

The second and most powerful reason (literally the reason that made me write  this post) is that one scene from chapter 25 that everyone hated. Remember when Yona asked Hak to be the only one to call her "Princess"? Remember when she told him even if EVERYONE IN THE COUNTRY FORGETS ABOUT HER, HE HAS TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO REMEMBERS?

What if that scene was actually foreshadowing the ending of the series? That everyone will forget about who Yona was, and that he will be the only one to remember? Ofc I'm sure it won't be that easy. Hak will probably have to pass some kind of test to prove that he's worthy of remembering Yona, but I'm sure he'll succeed and the gods will begrudgingly yield to his request so Yona won't live a sad and lonely life after they cast their spell.

Ofc I'm aware this is still a cruel predicament. The family she fought so hard to save will forget about her, but she'll be able to start a new relationship with them. It'll prove that their bond was always genuine, that it had nothing to do with the dragons' blood, and I'm sure they'll love her as much as they loved her before.

The country also will forget about princess Yona. Her achievements will probably all be attributed to Soowon (but it's not like she cares about fame or recognition anyway).

Speaking of Soowon, it's kinda fucked up that he gets to forget the girl he hurt so much. He'll forget that he ever had a cousin, that it was her father he murdered that night, that she was the one who got the gods to heal the descendants from the Crimson illness...etc, It's unfair but we can't do much about it I guess.

What do you guys think about this theory? Would you be okay with it if it happened at the end?

[amozon28]

I just realized we now FINALLY have an aswer to "if soowon wanted to be king why didnt he just marry yona?" And also " why would king il forbid yona from marrying soowon?" And also why soowon has dodged the getting married and making an heir pressure from advisors.

Its because soowon new hed die young, that if he married yona and had children hed die young and his children would likely die young. This is also most likely why king il was against the union too.

This would also explain that the only way for soowon to reach his goals and become king would be through a coup.

We FINALLY got some answers

(This makes me think that soowons "im avenging my father bit" was a lie to yona to cover his real motives)

[freewilllife]

How do you think Soowon feels about II, do you think there was ever a time where he loved him, I remember that I read in the akatsuki no yona Novell, that he mentioned something about the fact that he never got any steamed buns from II and hak always did, he seemed to have complicated feelings towards II, how would you describe his feelings towards him throughout his life( when he was a child, and as he was growing up)

In fact, Soo Won did. When he was a child.

Dear anon, we do not know, what exactly Soo Won felt, since we barely know something about their relationship.

But I try...

In his childhood Soo Won seemed to like his uncle. We hear him say no negative things. Soo Won merely associates positive things with his uncle or even defends him (however also partly for Yona´s sake.)

Look how happy he is about the good relationship between King Il and his daughter...

I guess that their relationship changed after the death of Yu hon...

I do think that this scene happened after Yu hon´s death since Yona´s hair is longer than in chapter 60 and 61 and this event happened directly before the death of Yu hon.

I do think this reaction is too forceful and unkind to a child that has just lost his father...(But that is merely my interpretation...)

However Soo Won seemed to have already planned to kill King Il, when he was 12 years old...

Soo Won already was aware of the relationship between Kai Empire and Kouka and the potential threat. He started to talk to Geuntae about it...It appears harmless, but I do think that it was all part of his goal to search for comrades, fellows.

A habit he also demonstrates later...

what is a fact is...that Soo Won was forbidden by King Il to take part in tournaments for example...even though far younger children of other tribes were able to participate.

When Soo Won is 18 years old, directly before the coup, both King Il and Soo Won pretend to be friendly towards each other...

However, one week before the coup, Soo Won actually rebelled against King Il´s wishes...just like the announcement of the later coup...

Honestly...we still don´t know if the nightmare of Soo Won was actually a memory or Soo Won´s own guilty conscience making up some things...

But we do know at least a couple of things about it...

First...King Il was the one, who told Soo Won about Yona being the reincarnation...

There is actually an interesting thing regarding this translation...Here it says “reincarnation of King Hiryuu”, which is pretty neutral...however the other version in later chapters says...

“the crimson dragon king´s avatar” as if Yona was merely a vessel for King Il...which was a little disturbing for me...If not for the previous chapter with Yon hi, where he also related to Yon hi as if she was an object...I would not have bothered...

In that context, it is very interesting how he refused the marriage between Soo Won and Yona...

“I cannot give Soo Won to you”...As if he was an object...Ironically KIng Il had explained how many things he had given her before...as if Soo Won was merely one of them...

So does King Il consider both Soo Won and even his own daughter merely objects or heavenly “chunk”, in Yona´s case a vessel ?

Let´s continue...Second we can also notice that Soo Won did not wish for Yona being the reincarnation, but not because he would be simply jealous, but because this person is the worst for Soo Won...

Third, however, for King Il it was really important that Yona was the reincarnation and seeing that he proudly told Soo Won about it, it seems as if it had not changed.

Look at the picture of the 30 year old Il, thinking that Yu hon “too, desired the king” and indirectly he admits therefore, that he craved for the “Red Dragon King”.

So here we have one thing that must have fueled Soo Won´s hate apart from the murder of Yu hon...

Then we leave the “facts”....

1. In Soo Won´s nightmare, we hear King Il declare that Yona will kill him (and therefore take revenge...)

2. We also see that King Il has already expected Soo Won...So it was no surprise to him that his nephew wished to kill him. He did not wonder why...which could be a proof that

a)he really killed his brother

b) or that he had the wrong image in the head since Soo Won was the heir of King Hiryuu, he would try to take the throne or

c) he kept a close watch on Soo Won´s activies and wished to play a martyr.

I think with King Il´s strange perception of King Hiryuu that naturally clashed with Soo Won´s, with the murder of Yu hon and most likely also King Il´s treatment of Soo Won...we have at least a possible explanation for Soo Won´s hate towards King Il

I hope I could help anon!

[soo-won]

Hi!! I’ve been following your tumblr and Twitter for a while now and I love all your akayona analyses. ❤️ I remember your rambles about headcanoning Suwon as transmasc/transfem? Could I hear more abt that? It’s rlly cool cause I feel he’s portrayed in an incredibly gender neutral light, in comparison to many other male leads :)

Thank you so much for wonderful ask! I'm glad you like my analysis :') Idk who you are but thank you for the support!!

And yeah! I headcanon Suwon as non-binary and there is a lot to unpack about his gender imo...I very much believe akayona has a lot to say about gender especially through Yona and Suwon's characters, and in that Suwon being a man and Yona being a woman is thematically important. But the way the story presents this theme in Suwon's character in his struggle (or lack of) with balancing between "masculinity" and "feminity" can make him easily readable as trans. Transfem or transmasc and every nuance in between.

I've also been headcanoning him as non-binary from before the manga truly explored these aspects only because I'm non-binary and I related to him too so it's not that deep. But as you said he is portrayed more gender neutrally than most male characters of the cast from the beginning and I think it's worth exploring. Whether he's gender non confirming in universe is interesting to discuss too, because you have other characters like Joon-gi for example, but he's at least not really traditionally masculine from our standards when you first see him.

(Long post under the cut)

But as much as it doesn't have to be that deep, I'm also convinced it actually is and that's why I'm entering character analysis territory here, so please stay with me ahah. When I think about Suwon's gender, I just can't not think about his parents and what they represent to him and how that ties to his overall character arc. Yuhon and Yonhi are pretty much the "ideal" symbols of traditional masculinity and feminity we have in the story in their gender roles and the values associated with them. Suwon is one of the rare character we have a glimpse of both parents that lived long enough for him to remember and be impacted by both. This sounds silly but basically Suwon's gender is like,, if a man and a woman had a baby to me fnbkjhbgkjhbgh.

In universe, Yuhon represents strength, courage and reason. He is the traditional and ideal male. He is bold, brash, dominant. He is the parent Suwon deeply admires and longed to be like, and that he then took upon himself to replace after his passing. He's the figure everyone in Kouka remembers positively as a competent and strong leader. He's the parent that taught Suwon to see people as pieces on a chessboard and to always be pragmatic, to make the most effective and straightforward decisions. Suwon inherented some of these traits himself, but the entire struggle of his character is that he isn't and cannot exactly be his father, that he can't follow in his father's footsteps (or what he thinks they are) as much as he and the people around him would like. This ideal masculinity represented by Yuhon is not something Suwon is able to achieve and that we should wish for. The other side of the coin is dominance and violence, it's stealing the agency of others with no regard to their person, it's causing a chain of pain and more violence. Suwon, ultimately, cannot and shouldn't respond to all these expectations. They're not him. Because he is also Yonhi's son, which he tried to cover as much as he can as a King.

Because in contrast, Yonhi represents the "ideal femininity" that is passive, sentimental and kind. Her assigned role was only to serve Yuhon and Suwon, and had no power for much else. In appearance, she's the ideal wife and mother. She is conventionally very feminine, we see her with different garments, accessories and haircut in every scene, hinting that it's something she likes (especially when you compare with Kashi)... She's kept in the dark about Yuhon's secrets and all he does when he leaves the castle and fights on the battlefield. She has no agency. She is the parent forgotten by all, never mentioned even by Suwon, who died with nothing to her name. She is the parent that didn't want Suwon to kill Il but to think about Yona, she is the one who taught him about kindness. (i also mentionned yuhon and yonhi's respective legacy here)

And the irony is, physically Suwon is almost a copy of his mother. At first glance, Suwon is in general much more like her than he is like Yuhon. Suwon is pretty and cute, and is assumed to be weak, passive, and lacking in general as a warrior. Suwon, who wishes he was like his father, looks "nothing" like him and actually looks like his very feminine mother. And the thing is, what makes him so gender ambiguous is that he actually embraces that. Suwon uses his appearance and plays with the perception others have of him so they underestimate him (Geuntae, Soojin, Li Hazara,...) he has a very similar haircut as his mother, is interested in swordfight, tactics, but he's also into flowers, tea and sweets, he wore clothes with flower and butterflies patterns before his coronation (which is not supposed to be only a women thing of course but in universe I don't have any other example of male characters having those so I take it into account), he interacts with other female characters like a peer that share the same interests, too. He is first perceived the same way as Il and the opposite of his father or warriors like Geuntae, Mundok or Hak. He isn't like Il or Yonhi though, and that's what makes him not entirely feminine either, he actually proves himself as a man to these people after all.

But even as a child, Suwon took up the role of a mother for Yona like it was the most natural thing in the world. And in a similar fashion he also took up the role of Yuhon to "take care" and "protect" his mother, and to lead Kouka. Suwon is able to navigate both feminine and masculine roles depending on what is the most fitting to the situation at hand, and he achieves that with little struggle. This is probably the point that makes him so gender fluid? He's fine with both, it feels natural to him, this is what differentiates him from his parents' image shackled by very stereotypical gender norms. It's definitely what makes him so unique and himself. Suwon is always described as having equal interests and curiosity for everything and everyone, and it plays a part in this as well. In a world where interests are gender divided, where women are encouraged to have interest in love, fashion, luxuries and where the men are rather into sword training or studies, Suwon who can jump from one to the other with ease, like gender doesn't matter feels especially liberating.

But Suwon is actually still shackled and not immune to patriarchy and it all ties to the meaning behind the position of a King. Suwon loved his mother, and he sincerely loved Yona before the coup just like she was for being cute and kind and bringing him warmth. "Feminity" isn't a sin or bad to Suwon, he even values it. However, for him and many others in universe, all these things are unfitting for a King, like...he likes it, but he thinks he doesn't need it for his goal. Which leads us to King Il.

Suwon values "feminity" and is aware of that part of himself, but rejects it when he has to act as a King. "Masculinity" is about being strong, strong enough to protect, and being "feminine" puts you in a position of weakness and powerlessness. I don't think it's a coincidence that he inherited his illness from his mother either, which literally puts him in a position of vulnerability and weakness that he absolutely hates and tries to cover up. Feminity is fine for women and the roles assigned to them, they are lovely as they are, left behind but where they can keep being kind and sentimental while the strong men go to battle and manage affairs, basically. Kouka is a patriarchal society with all these norms being continuously enforced, and where being King was exclusively a masculine position until recent development. Before Suwon ascended to the throne, Yona was the first heir, yet the position of next ruler after her father wasn't to be given to her, but whoever would be her future husband. Yona would have been only a Queen, not one with particular ruling power, but in the sense of being the wife of the King, the same way Kashi was.

So then, Il appears as a failure as a King. He's the example and proof to Suwon that "feminity" is not compatible with the position and that he has to differentiate from him in every way. Suwon liked Il for his kindness and believed in him until he killed his father and proved to be uncompetent as a ruler. Il's kindness and reliance on the divine are unreasonable and based on emotionalism for Suwon. His refusal to use any weapon makes him a coward and weak, and waiting for the gods to save them makes him passive...It's what led Kouka to the sad state it was at the beginning of the story.

To Suwon, feelings, kindness, traits associated with feminity as we've seen, make him weak. He doesn't need it. It's what makes him reluctant and risks to deviate him from his goal and duties as a King. He can't afford to feel for Yona or anyone, he has to take the most efficient decisions with no remorse for people's feelings and especially not his. This is why Yona is so important and the lead of Akatsuki no Yona. Yona redefines what we associate with either masculinity and feminity. Strength, kindness, sentimentality, reason...They're all needed, they don't have to, and they shouldn't be divided so strickly and imposed on people based on their gender and roles. (Especially when it's obviously girls and women suffering from it the most). This divide between Yona and Suwon doesn't have to be, Suwon takes time to accept it, to accept Yona to enter his chessboard and value her as an equal and not just because she's kind and cute. And in doing so, it opens the door for him to also accept his own feelings, his own "weaknesses". Feelings and kindness actually hold so much power, they can actually make you stronger, that's what made Yona and Hak so bright to his eyes from the start, even if it took him long to fully realize it.

I feel like I deviated from the initial topic, but it's all important I swear. It doesn't mean Suwon gave up all his old ways either, he still embraces what he learned and admired in his father, not everything was forced upon him and I believe he genuinely connected with his father's vision. But it's about balancing this with the things he was convinced he had to reject and discard all this time.

That said, here are some examples of how it opens the door for transmasculine and transfeminine interpretations of Suwon's character arc, there can be others of course, but those are the ones I naturally came up with thinking about all this:

If you read Suwon's story as a transmasculine experience, it clicks. From how he was "cute as a girl" in his childhood to the experience of feeling like to be a man, to pass as a man, you have to reject everything that is associated with feminity and force yourself to accept masculine values that are just not your real self, to then realize you don't have to do all that to be a man and it's fine to embrace your "feminity" too. (Btw I really encourage you to read the Requiem of the Rose King manga that is explicitely about this topic!)

If you read Suwon's story as the transfeminine experience, it clicks too. Suwon feeling like he has to and being pushed to follow in his father's footstep when that's just not his real self. The way that he represses his self, the metaphor of closed box and how he locks his true self and feelings into them, until it becomes too much and he can't ignore it anymore. That being a man is not for him, and he doesn't have to be.

Of course, you can also read him as a cis man that is more or less gender non-conforming, or in any nuance of non-binarity in between, but in conclusion, that's what makes Suwon so gender to me. (and again, you don't need any of what I wrote in this post to headcanon him however you want)

There is also something to say about how he's "lacking as man" in how he has no romantic or sexual interest in women, if you take into account all the junctions between gender and heteronormativity that I didn't really bring up here. This point always made him really stand out to me, but Suwon's sexuality is such a Topic I didn't want to adventure myself into today ahah.

[peardrops-blog]

Keishuk Literally Proving How Judoh Chose Pride Over Loyalty

When I say prove, I obviously don’t mean to any of the characters but to us readers. Let’s analyse this for a bit shall we?

Judoh has clearly been beaten by Hak in battle/sparring before. We’ve seen on multiple occassions how senstive he is when it comes to Hak and the danger he presents to the “throne.” We also see the conflicting feelings he harbors towards the princess.

Now that Keishuk has revealed that there were rumors of King Il planning to wed Yona to Hak, and how Judoh must have been slighted when Hak was appointed as Yona’s guard and that those emotions acted as incentive to support Soowon, we can assume that Judoh placed his injured pride over his loyalty towards the throne. Now, I’m not saying that after all we’ve learned about King Il that Judohs betrayal was 100% unjustifiable. What I am saying, is that if his injured pride was the main reason for it, then Judohs conflicted feelings aren’t for any noble reason. I wonder if he would have partook in the coup d'état if he was appointed as Yona’s personal guard? I wonder how much of his desire to kill Hak has to do with genuinely fearing for Soowon’s life, or a desire to erase the existence that caused the emotional turmoil he went through?

[hisazuki]

Hi hizasukisenpai! So have you read the lastest AnY chapter 184? Why do you think Hak joined the sky tribe army as a footsoldier? And about Ju-do’s confession when hak questioned him? (I think we all assumed this at some point but what do you believe). And the most important question is what do you think about the last image of the chapter? I know Any has been dragged a lot, but I been rereading the first volumes this days and I still love it so much. Is such a good story. Thanks like always!

Hi! I believe Hak knows he won’t be able to stay close to Yona while she’s in the castle, she’s the hostage who will make the DDHHB behave. Obviously he still wants to be nearby, so I guess he used his position as former soldier/general to enlist in the Sky Tribe army and monitor things from there. Not only will he be able to keep close to the castle, but the army will also likely be the first to know if something is going on inside the walls. He’ll be able to make friends with the soldiers, hear rumors and if things get fishy, maybe he’ll be able to convince his squad to help him. Kye-Sook sees this as a way to keep him under control, but Judo is right to be scared. That’s a good way to start a coup imo.

As for the confession, it seemed to me that Judo pitied Hak for not knowing Il killed Yuhon. Maybe he finally found something he could best Hak at. In any case it looks like he’s less angry at him now. The part about Hak not being convinced by any reason, even revenge, leads me to believe Judo knows way more about the circumstances that he lets on. It seemed he knew at least one other reason that led Soowon to do what he did, and I think it might be related to Yuhon and Il, or their father.

It’s nice seeing Gulfan again, although I don’t know if the reunion is only meant as a reminder of days long gone or if the bird will have a part to play in the next chapters. Ao might eat it if it tries to steal the spotlight XD

[clockworkspider]

The thing that gets to me about SooHak is that... despite the fact that this is a dysfunctional friends-to-enemies love-hate relationship... they’re really nice kids... And honestly their feelings for each other is pure. 

Like... on the relationship aspect, there was a lot of secrecy and communication gaps but there really wasn’t much manipulation. (Aside from the day of the coup but like... that was situational.) Their feelings for each other was just... love and respect. Hak had chosen to follow Yona and Soowon just accepted that. 

Like... situationally... SooHak is classic Bad Romance, but the actual characters? Like... Soowon never tried to control Hak. He might be incapable of purposely harming Hak again. Hak, despite the fact that he wish Soowon a lot of harm... would never take advantage of Soowon’s guilt because he is... generally incapable of thinking that way. 

And all this is just... very unfortunate...

[freewilllife]

Did you find it weird that judo knew that soowon told yona that his father was killed by II in chapter 184. I never thought that soowon and judo were close to that level, considering the fact that soowon is a very private person, and he rarely reveal anything to anyone. How did you feel about it? We’re you surprised?

I was not surprised that Ju do knew, since there were more people who were aware that Yona was aware of the coup.

I think that Ju do could have also guessed this information, but it is just as likely that Soo Won informed him that Yona knew.

Soo Won cannot trust the most people inside of the castle. His two closes attendants are Ju do and Keishuk...and we know that Soo Won would never tell Keishuk who wished more than anybody else for Yona´s death about them...

That leaves only one other person that is likely not to go against at least Yona...Ju do was her “baby-sitter” during her childhood. So he is the only person of the Sky Tribe except for Soo Won himself who wishes that Yona is well and healthy.

And I think that Soo Won needs somebody he can trust a little more...this might be the reason, why he also likes Lily. He can tell her a little more than other people...and there is also Ju do who lacks humour, but who is a pretty trustworthy person in comparison to other people surrounding him.

I think Mundoek realized as the first person that Soo Won had to suppress a great part of his rather gentle personality in order to fulfill his role as king of Kouka! However, he would need people he can trust, where he could occasionally show that side of him...We know from the novel, that Ju do might be one person that could allow him to still live this side of himself...occasionally.