Mokrin - By Gyeoma (8/10)
Would you marry a savage from far across the sea? Somebody with no manners, who decided to marry you the second they saw you? A heartless demon with no mercy? No? Good, because it's all a misunderstanding and the "savage" is actually quite a catch.
Kidnapping and marriage. It's really hard to get that right without being creepy. Mokrin is sixteen when she meets her groom. Her groom, Eonyeong, is eighteen. He is also a complete stranger from a foreign land.
Eonyeong literally picks up Mokrin when he sees her.
Mokrin is from an extremely conservative and isolated clan called the Cho. Their island is surrounded by giant man eating fish, so they have lived in peace for centuries. Eonyeong is from a really strong sailing clan, that can easily defeat the fish to get to the island. His clan is literally called the Fiendbloods, and everybody is afraid of them. They're rude and they're obsessed with strength. The Cho are actually the abnormal ones. They are too sheltered. Without the man eating fish they would be really vulnerable to raids. They think the Fiendbloods are raiders, but they aren't.
The Fiendbloods want to trade with the Cho. They are shipbuilders, and they also hunt for treasure, but they aren't as evil as they look. Um...I swear...Eonyeong does make his people look bad though. He tells his mother, the chief, that he wants to abduct this cute girl he found. The Chief...is proud of him. Apparently she also kidnapped her husband. Bridal kidnappings are traditional in a couple of cultures but...um...Mokrin's brother and father are clearly horrified. Her father adamantly does not want her to get married, because she's too young.
Eonyeong says he will wait five years, but no longer.
Mokrin looks like a generic pretty woman, but she's not. After a four year timeskip the Fiendbloods visit for her elder brothers wedding. They bring gifts but their manners still scare the locals. At twenty Mokrin seems a little frustrated with her life. She has friends. The son of the island doctor is interested in her, but she wants to be more independent. The Cho do not hunt meat with spears. They mostly eat vegetables and bread, but Mokrin likes rabbit. She enjoys hunting, so she does it in secret.
Gender and culture both have a role here. The Cho are sort of fussy and snooty. They think it's unbecoming for a woman to hold a weapon. That's part of the reason why nobody respects the Fiendblood chief...she's a woman. Anyway Mokrin's spear carving hobby got her in trouble as a kid. Her father is very overprotective. She doesn't like it, but she loves him. She believes her father's nonsense. Her brother and father both believe that Eonyeong will forget about her, and kidnap some other woman while he's travelling. The entire island thinks the Fiendbloods are awful, so Mokrin does too. She hopes that her groom won't come for her.
Their first meeting was absolutely awful.
I can't really blame her for not liking him. He is firey and he seems very irresponsible. He is impolite like the rest of his clan, and he did pressure Mokrin's father. During the marriage negotiations he said he wasn't willing to wait more than four days. He actually wanted to marry the same day he met Mokrin. Mokrin's family had to beg on their knees to convince Eonyeong to wait.
When Eonyeong arrives he's sweet but unstable. He thinks Mokrin has been waiting for him. He cuts his hair because he thinks Mokrin doesn't like long hair. He yells and screams at men when they stand near her, but he also makes a spear for her. He supports her hunting hobby and he can definitely train her.
Well, we've reached the awkward sub-plot. The doctors son is an ok guy, but he's a Guy. He thinks women should stay home, cook, and be cute. Now that Mokrin is of marriageable age he's interested in her. He also thinks she's learning to hunt because the "savage" is "corrupting" her. Yeah. Ew. Mokrin is thoroughly grossed out by his behaviour, and she realizes that she likes Eonyeong.
There's another...bad scene though. Eonyeong stalks her whenever she's with other men. It's presented in a funny way, but he is very clingy. Also violent, but in the end Mokrin picks up her spear. She hits Guy to make him stop trying to kiss her, and then Eonyeong brings her a boat. A boat that he built her with his own hands.
It's a wedding present.
Eonyeong starts learning how to be romantic, and Mokrin saves him from a man eating fish. He tells her she's the best and only woman for him, and I assume this story will end when they marry. It's simple. Almost too sweet, but the Fiendblood culture basically encourages possessiveness. I would say the humor is above average, and dumb possessive men are more fun than Abusive Asshole #33637
