Gravitation: Track 14

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Track 14. Luckily I have had time to cool down after the heinous, reprehensible, completely evil and irredeemable acts that Taki inflicted on poor Shuichi physically and mentally and am ready to move on with a cool head. The chapter opens with Shuichi waking up in Hiro's house, his memory of the night previous fuzzy (after the GANG RAPE) and Shuichi is...surprisingly over it. Ugh. I had hoped this wouldn't happen. The author has used rape as a means of drama but refuses to actually acknowledge any of the long term effects that would be associated with such an act. Shuichi shouldn't be looking back on it so nonchalantly. Frankly I find it disturbing when authors so carelessly use rape for purely dramatic purposes. Rape, in my opinion, should never be used unless you are willing to take it seriously and portray it in a realistic light. To be quite honest unless you have a DAMN good reason for including it you probably shouldn't. Now, to be fair, Shuichi might just still be in shock and there might be ramifications later on stemming from this. We'll just have to wait and see.

While Shuichi ponders his situation (mostly concerned that his relationship with Yuki is now surely over rather than worrying about the GANG RAPE) Hiro travels on his motorcycle to Yuki's house in order to talk to him. Hiro tells Yuki what happened and Yuki, true to his character, shows no reaction outwardly. Hiro asks him if he even cares since he cut all ties with Shuici. He says that Shuichi being talented isn't his fault and he shouldn't be punished for it. I love how they're really just ramming it home how much of a jealous arrogant prick Taki is. I'm really hoping that he gets his just desserts in the end! Hopefully sooner rather than later. Hiro continues berating Yuki, saying that if he didn't want to be in a relationship with him he should have broken it off before Shuichi became so seriously in love with him. Then this happens.

                            Somewhere, Taki is crapping his pants in fear and he has no idea why.

The scene shifts to Shuichi going into work, both Noriko and Sakano looking surprised to see him. He tells them he's feeling better (they were told he had a cold) and asks where Hiro is. Noriko tells him that Hiro has been missing for two hours. She then asks if Shuichi recovered his vocals or if he made up with Yuki. Shuichi answers by offering them farewell gifts. Since he doesn't want Yuki or N-G records to be slandered he's deciding to give up working in Bad Luck. He doesn't tell Noriko and Sakano why exactly but tells them they'll know soon enough (when the photos are published I assume). At that moment Hiro comes in and says that he's refusing to let Shuichi go. After all, he did say he wasn't bad and that's enough for Hiro. True friendship! It's so beautiful. Hiro tells Shuichi that Yuki is actually in the building, in Lounge A and he's ready to kick the piss out of Taki. This gives Shuichi new strength to go on!

The scene then shifts to Yuki being a total badass, beating down Douche 1 until he realizes who Taki is. Rather than let himself get beat up, Taki surrenders the negatives to Yuki. Taki asks him why he went easy on him when he beat Douche 1 so ruthlessly. He remarks that just by looking at Yuki's eyes he knows he's more than just a novelist.

                                                    What demons lie in Yuki's past?

Yuki brushes off the accusation as Shuichi begins to pound on the door, demanding to be let in. Yuki calmly strolls out of the room before yelling at Shuichi to shut up already. Shuichi is...uh...well Shuichi is...I'll just let the picture do all the talking.

                                                     Why Shuichi? Just...why?

Now I'm not stranger to dressing in women's clothing myself but I have to wonder what Shuichi's mindset is. I don't think this is the appropriate time for something like this. Yuki just stares blankly at Shuichi for awhile before turning and walking away leaving a dejected Shuichi behind. Shuichi gives chase and shouts after Yuki, asking him why he's running away. Is it because he's a bad guy? Or just because he's a guy in general? Suddenly, I understand his mindset just a bit. He's dressing like a girl because he loves Yuki and he thinks Yuki hates him because he's a guy so he's dressed up like a girl in order to appeal to him. It's a warped way of thinking but in character for Shuichi. I would also like to mention that Yuki thinks Shuichi has really nice legs. Just because Yuki almost never compliments Shuichi. All of this excitement is too much for Shuichi who promptly pukes and passes out. He expects Yuki to be furious with him but instead he has a gentle look on his face which surprises Shuichi. Yuki tells him he passed out due to lack of rest and orders him to take it easy. Shuichi jumps up and says that since he's a guy he'll be alright and will just leave. Then Yuki shouts at him that he's had enough. Shuichi braces for impact and Yuki tells him that he doesn't care that Shuichi is a guy. That's not why he broke up with him. He's doing it because he's leaving.

That's where the chapter ends. Damn cliffhangers! And on a weekend too! Frustration! Well, at least we got a straight answer out of Yuki for once. He's leaving somewhere. There is no elaboration on what he means (we'll probably find out next chapter) but I'm guessing he's leaving the country and, as such, he didn't want to hurt Shuichi by getting involved with him and then leaving so he broke up with him. This was a STUPID move and he probably ended up hurting Shuichi worse over all but I'm willing to cut him a break if he explains himself well enough. I have to admit I loved seeing Yuki kick ass for Shuichi's sake and while Shuichi dressing in a schoolgirl outfit was bizarre it was completely hilarious and Shuichi does look good in it. I'm also intrigued by the hint to Yuki's past. Has he actually killed someone before? If so what's the story behind that? What were the circumstances? So many questions! Hopefully we'll get some answers.

That's all for this week of Yaoi Zowee! I hope everyone has a great weekend! On Monday we'll be looking at Gravitation: Track 15! See you then.

Gravitation: Track 13

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Yaoi Zowee! Today we'll be looking at Gravitation: Track 13. This will be the first chapter of the fourth volume of Gravitation. Track 13 opens with Yuki telling Shuichi that it's all over, calling them pretend lovers. Shuichi wants to know what the problem is and Yuki tells him it's everything about him. That he hates him. Yeesh! Harsh Yuki! Oh, and they both talk about how not gay they are despite the fact that they sleep with men. This is an annoying habit that earlier yaoi stories tend to have. Namely that the men are not really gay, their love just "transcends gender boundaries" which sounds lofty and everything but is a cop out to me. It's like assuring your audience (namely heterosexual women for the most part) that the hot guys they're seeing aren't really gay because that would imply they couldn't themselves have a relationship with them. It's incredibly superficial, like guys enjoying watching two women make out. I just find it incredibly annoying. You're writing a story about two guys in a relationship. Just make them gay! Rant/.

Anyway, Shuichi talks to Hiro about it and wonders what he could possibly have done to warrant this hate. At band practice Noriko yells at Shuichi for his poor vocals but understands what he's going through. Apparently this is just how Yuki treats people who are in relationships with him. Guys got issues. Hiro admits that because this whole thing is making Shuichi cry he won't forgive Yuki. Awww, now see THAT'S what true friends are made of! Sakano mentions that this is the worst possible time for a problem like this to arise and decides to postpone the release date of the CD until Shuichi can work the problem out. Shuichi decides to visit Yuki again to apologize and at the train station runs into a little problem.

                                                       Shuichi's first taste of fame.

Of course it doesn't help that he looks like Ryuichi as well. Soon enough he's being chased by a whole group of women (as well as what appears to be a man. Looks like Shuichi's reputation for sleeping with men proceeds him). Shuichi runs away and barely manages to escape when who should he run into but Taki. He advises Shuichi to be more careful in public now that his popularity has risen higher than ASK's and Shuichi...doesn't recognize him at all. Which makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. Taki screams at Shuichi, telling him who he is which of course alerts the crowd and now they're both being chased.

The scene shifts to Yuki entering the bar with plans to meet someone. He thinks it's a woman but it's actually Sakano who apologizes for tricking him, saying he's doing this as a favor to Seguchi. Yuki takes this about as well as you'd expect him to, prompting Sakano to apologize even harder. He explains to Yuki about Shuichi, telling him that he's depressed and can't record and that Seguchi wants Yuki to patch things up with him. Yuki point blank asks Sakano if that's really alright, considering that Shuichi being gay would hurt record sales. Um...yeah, I doubt that personally but who knows. Sakano, in turn, asks Yuki if he's really okay with not seeing Shuichi anymore. Yuki abrasively dodges the question.

                                                       You are fooling NO ONE.

Then we switch focus back to Shuichi and Taki who have managed to escape from the crowd and are now chilling out in what I assume is Taki's apartment. And they're drinking. And judging by the blush marks on Shuichi's face he's drunk. This is going to end very badly I can already tell. Taki asks Shuichi how he likes it and he says it's fine but doesn't like how you have to be sneaky about everything. Shuichi says it's too hard to be in a relationship under these conditions and doesn't want to be with anyone. Taki asks him if Yuki and Shuichi broke up and Shuichi asks him how he knew about Yuki. This is all Taki needs for confirmation and tells Shuichi that he intends to get pictures for black mail purposes.

                                                          Oh shit.
  
This has major bad news squick written all over it. Taki is of course relishing every moment. He's just loving it and it makes him even more despicable in my eyes. I seriously hate this guy. If he was real I would give him such a good punch in the face! Shuichi now has a choice. He can agree to quit the recording industry altogether or Taki will take pictures that will force him out anyway. Shuichi refuses to leave the recording industry of his own free will, he doesn't care what happens to Yuki when word of his sexuality gets out, and tells them to just get it over with.

The scene then shifts to Shuichi sitting outside Hiro's house, calling him and telling him to help him into the house since he can't walk anymore. When Hiro helps him he totally breaks down, asking why it's such a horrible thing to love someone. Just because Yuki is a guy and famous he can't love him? Is Shuichi really that bad? Shuichi tearfully asks these questions of Hiro who embraces him and tells him that, no, he's not bad. This is terribly heartbreaking. Shuichi was just gang raped. GANG. RAPED. And all just because of one stupid, selfish, jealous, asshole! Taki is irredeemable in my eyes. The man is a monster.

                                            Burn in Hell Taki Aizawa. 

I mean, even Douche 1 and 2 think it's bad what he did. I've gotta talk about something else or I'm just going to LOSE it. Hiro goes into practice the next day and overhears Taki talking. He pretty much says that he's going to release Yuki's name in concordance with Shuichi's with the hope that Yuki's connections will lead to Shuichi BEING KILLED. WHO DOES THIS?! Douche 1 says that Taki needs to stop this madness. Taki says that because he's the vocalist he will never stop.

Thank God that ends Track 13 because I couldn't take much more. I am so angry right now I can't...You know what? I can't even think straight.

Tune in tomorrow when we'll be looking at Gravitation Track 14. See you then.