#Jin Chul is annoyed

[hanakihan]

chulwoo soulmate au kinda based on xxxholic scene (yes the one where watanuki and doumeki ended up sharing an eyesight in one eye)

soulmates being extremely rare, and hard to find

apparently first eye contact establishes that link, and it starts to slowly grow. Being a soulmate means the most intimate thing you can ever have, because soulmates are connected on otherworldly principles. People assumed soulmates appeared a a phenomenon just like hunters, but they existed right from humanity’s dawn, it’s the most ancient possible connection.

And now add here mana.

Jin-Woo and Jin-Chul making first eye contact at hospital and having a weird, kinda funny feeling. They don’t pay too much attention to it though. And then the more meetings they have, the stronger their connection becomes. It becomes a local joke, that those two can sense each other without even realizing it from kilometers away, and Gun-Hee trusts Jin-Chul to mysteriously always having an idea where hunter Sung can be.

And then their bond reaches the level, where they experience soul mirror for first time - Jin-Chul was peacefully working at his desk when suddenly his right eye started to hurt and next thing he knows his view is doubled. He sees office and worried coworkers but also dark place full of enemies. He feels not fear but worry for someone he technically doesn’t know. And later witnesses state that Jin-Chul’s right eye was glowing luminescent blue whole time.

Jin-Woo experiences it for first time out of blue - he’s suddenly extremely tired and irritated at something that he has no idea about. He feels immense fatigue and beginnings of migraine, and can hear voices, many voices, demanding and asking, loud and quiet. He tasted bitter cold coffee on his tongue for remaining of the day.

Their bond progressively becomes stronger and stronger and with those occurrences it doesn’t take long for them to realize they’re soulmates. They share and share and share, from sight to moods to taste and other small things. Even their mana starts to dance around and slowly mix, coldness of Jin-Woo’s mana easing his headache.

Jin-Woo definitely using all the perks of their new bond to peek at what Jin-Chul is doing and tug at their connection when man is clearly overworking, while Jin-Chul is mostly calm always knowing where Jin-Woo is and if he’s alright.

/also god imagine them sleeping together ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) for the first time and it’s absolutely sensory overload, them absolutely a mess, just grabbing other’s face, foreheads touching, and gently glowing with mana heterochromic eyes meeting in a long stare conveys everything and beyond it./

[manawari]

I had another cute/crazy idea involving Jin-chul + the S-Rank hunters. Lmao, why am I so obsessed with putting this man in stressful situations? Ahskdgalsgskdh

Imagine: the S-Ranks as babies (4 year old for Dong-wook) and they still have their powers intact.

- baby Yoon-ho turning into a fluffy white tiger kitty every time he's mad. He will most likely be the chubbiest among them, with or without his beast form.

- baby Jong-in being a gremlin who sets himself (or anything) on fire and walking around while giggling or laughing.

- baby Jin-woo staying silent and behaved for like half of the time, but if he's in the mood, he will run around and worse— he summons his shadows to play with him.

- baby Eun-seok summoning electricity every time he giggles, but gets worse when he's frowning.

- baby Hae-in being the well-behaved one, so she tends not to join trouble until she suddenly gets affected by the other boys' powers.

- baby Tae-gyu not wanting to let go of his bow and arrows and doesn't want to let the others burrow it. He also annoys them until a fight breaks out or if he shoots someone with an arrow.

- baby Byung-gyu being behaved like Hae-in, although with his mace in his hands, he tends to accidentally hit someone with it and then cry if he does so. He also nibbles on his mace a lot.

- 4 year old Dong-wook who has no idea what is going on, but it's not like he's gonna interfere when the babies are having fun. Him turning into a giant will make the perfect piggyback ride for the baby S-Ranks.

Woo Jin-chul is just holding the "Best Nanny" award.

[rmorde]

Reading Woo Jin-chul's dossier from the Arise game and wished we got more from him in the main story.

He saw Sung Il-Hwan's ill fated mission at the amusement park. He watched as Jin-woo's grief got broadcasted on TV.

Omfg. The Sungs were Jin-chul's reason to help Hunters instead of becoming a police officer.

-> Jin-chul minding his own business in college and working hard to be part of the police force.

-> Saw Jin-woo sad on TV and went "Oh crap. Who's going to help and protect Hunters?"

-> Heard about Go Gun-hee setting up the Korean Hunters Association and promptly dropped from the police academy (I assume) to pursue business

-> Was Awakened and went fuck it with his business studies to go fight in the field instead

-> Eventually applied to KHA optimistically

LMAO. No wonder Jin-chul's really good at his job as Gun-hee's right hand man. His educational background and police training made him perfect for it.

It's also really sweet how before he Awakened, he was already aiming to help KHA. However, while I like the retcon of connecting him somewhat to the Sungs, it kind of made a bit of a plot hole for me.

I mean, wouldn't it make sense for Jin-chul to try to keep tabs/following up on Il-Hwan's family especially Jin-woo since they are technically his inspiration for switching careers? Or at least maybe recognizing Jin-woo immediately in their first meeting?

Anyway, it's hilarious how he reacted at being Awakened. Jin-chul annoyed at his wasted years of pursuing a business degree just to fall back on his police training as a fighter. He must be so stressed when after signing up to the KHA, he looped back to using his business education to battle paperwork and wrangle agents and high ranking Hunters as well.

The ending for his Story Chapter 2 sounded ominous tho:

"But dreams never really come true. He would learn that the hard way."

[slvault]

Post-Time Travel Recovered Memories AU [Pt.9]

[Last]

"Can we just go?" Thomas asks impatiently, which is already about ten times more patient than he usually has the patience for.

It's five in the afternoon, and they're all loitering on the edges of the district where Sung Jin-Woo is supposed to be staying.

 Well, there's no maybe about it. One look at how thick the shadows are - and at how they seem to ripple like wind across a pond whenever Thomas looks at them from his peripheral - and they have all the evidence they need.

 Still, Thomas isn't quite sure why they're not going in. They've been talking about going in for over five minutes now, but they haven't actually gotten anywhere. Barging into foreign territory might not be the wisest option, but that's still got to be better than just standing around. By the looks of it, Liu is about as fed-up as he feels, if that increasingly homicidal smile is anything to go by, and while it's understandable why Goto doesn't seem to want to be the first one to enter, the Koreans can't quite seem to make up their minds about what they want to do.

 Except Woo Jin-Chul. Guy's fucking weird, pings that way off of all of Thomas' instincts too. A threat, but not a threat, and not in the way Liu Zhigang might feel when he isn't actively being a vindictive bastard. It's more like he physically couldn't be a threat to Thomas even if he wanted to be - and since the guy's an A-rank, that makes sense - but at the same time, there's something about him that makes Thomas sit up and pay attention, a small blinking neon sign politely advising him to mind his manners or some shit because this man could make his life real difficult if he ever feels like it.

 The guy reminds him of Laura, actually, just a bit, but somehow worse. Still, the guy's not annoying so Thomas ultimately doesn't care.

 But yeah, weird, because he's also peering intently into a patch of shadows a few feet away, and then he's crouching down and rapping his knuckles against it like it's a door. Except maybe he's on to something because Thomas doesn't think he's imagining the blue-white gleam of eyes staring back.

 "Excuse me," Woo Jin-Chul says in his native tongue, polite as fuck, and the rest of the Koreans finally shut up. "We'd like to speak to Sung Jin-Woo hunter-nim. If you could tell him we're here, and perhaps give us an indication on how to proceed, we'd very much appreciate it. Thank you."

 Thomas can't carry a conversation in Korean. But he may or may not have started learning after meeting Sung Jin-Woo, not to mention he'd at least picked up a bit of the language after Hwang Dong-Su had joined his guild way back. Mostly swear words, but a handful of more common phrases too. He still can't understand enough to really claim to know the language, but he actually does usually get the general gist of whatever is going on, and what Woo Jin-Chul has just said is no exception.

 That's already better than Liu Zhigang or Goto Ryuji, judging by their disgruntled expressions, which Thomas is pettily smug about.

 Of course, no one misses the way the shadows writhe and surge, and Woo Jin-Chul only has time to straighten to his full height and back up a couple steps before something rises from the black impenetrable depths.

 It's an ant. A winged ant but standing upright like a human, wreathed in shadows and ghost-light, easily as tall as Thomas himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Goto recoil before the man's self-control kicks in and suppresses it. He gets points for standing his ground, even if his face has lost at least two shades of colour.

 It's probably a good thing the other two Japanese S-ranks and Min Byung-Gyu had elected to stay behind.

 Beru, Thomas recalls, one of Sung Jin-Woo's strongest generals. He'd been one of the ones sent to fight the Monarch of the Iron Body with him.

 The ant takes a step towards them, and even Liu Zhigang's hands twitch for a brief second as if wishing for his swords. The Korean S-ranks are all tense, and Goto's jaw is so tight, Thomas wonders if he's in danger of cracking a tooth.

 He supposes he can't blame any of them. He can feel a sense of unease creeping up on himself as well, that natural fight-or-flight instinct rearing its head in the presence of a very lethal predator. If the ant decides to kill everybody here, there's absolutely nothing any of them can do about it.

 And then, "Beru-nim," Woo Jin-Chul greets with a dip of his head and no visible fear whatsoever (what the fuck even is this guy?), drawing the ant's attention to him. "It is good to see you again. Would Sung Jin-Woo hunter-nim be willing to speak with us? Several of us have regained our memories of the previous timeline, and we'd like to help him in whatever way we can with his fight against the Monarchs."

 The ant stares for a long unnerving moment before making a chittering hiss of a sound. Thomas has no idea what it means but at least it doesn't sound threatening.

 "You can ask my lord yourself," The ant rasps, and the temperature suddenly drops about five degrees, with the afternoon daylight no longer half as bright. The ant's gaze moves past their heads. "Here he comes now."

 And as if on cue, a voice from behind them - higher-pitched than Thomas is used to but familiar in both tone and cadence - speaks. "I was wondering what the commotion was about."

 They all whirl around-

 -and there he is, smaller, shorter, fluffier hair and an even slighter build. But his eyes are the same, foxfire-bright and inscrutable as they move from one Hunter to the next, and the weight of the mana radiating from his mere presence feels almost enough to drown them all.

 Sung Jin-Woo, the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light, the Shadow Monarch ascendant.

 Thomas has never felt so at home in this life as the mantle of this death god’s power settles over them all once more.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Hello! Probably would be dull to think that “sincerity” in media is the same as in ordinary life. It’s still a bit different because the whole world is watching you. So I’m curious do you think BTS are kind of real but slightly exaggerate their dynamics to be more interesting (like with 95z) or it’s just a perfect work of editors? Or we really see a result of many years of complex work-almost family dynamics and boys really still aren’t tired of e/o? Because if I had to be 24/7 with my siblings or even friends I’d be damned and wouldn’t be able to always be so smiley happy grateful bla bla blah.

Just to be clear, I’m really wondering, no pushing into “k-pop is a lie” and “bts aren’t who they seem to”. It’s just that they’re phenomenal also in their way of promoting and building group image I guess. And it’s about sincerity.

Hi Anon! Oh, we're really getting into a interesting and a bit of a dangerous territory right there. What's the usual discourse? That it's all sunshine and rainbows and everyone loves each other and no one should dare ever say anything else in regards to group dynamics cause otherwise you would be labeled as some hater? I think that's the one. Luckily, I don't care about that :)

I think there has to be some sincerity, to a certain degree, when it comes to the relationship they have with each other. They're not that good actors and to fake it for so many years on camera seems like a lot of work, on top of what they usually have to do. And they also talk about their relationship outside work, so that's an indicative that at least they are friends.

Do I think that sometimes there's a bit of an exaggeration? Maybe? But mostly in terms of promotion and labeling. The 95z are the soulmates one in the group, they call themselves that and editors use it as well. But Yoongi also said he and Jin are soulmates, but you don't see them being promoted like that, but they had that interesting talk during ITS 1 and I loved it. And they're fishing buddies which is cute. With them it's also interesting to see that there's not a lot of interaction on set, if you look at Bangtan Bombs or Memories cause Yoongi is usually in some corner on his phone and Jin is (a lot of the times) playfighting with Jungkook (is that all they do? My guess is not, but we do see a lot of it, as opposed to I don't know, having a conversation).

I think all of them are good friends and great colleagues, but sometimes, they act too polite with each other and that throws me off, especially since this is not some usual dynamic between a group of guy friends. It's not something that I have encountered in real life, nor in other K-Pop groups that I have observed in some of their content. This is one reason why for me In the Soop 2 was incredibly boring. It looked more like some company retreat where the employees were told to have fun, but also to be a bit careful with how they act with each other. They all gathered around at a table to eat and they had to force some conversation, a conversation in which they spoke some words, but nothing of substance. I'm only saying that that's what I could see in footage, doesn't mean it's the same when the cameras are turned off. I'm watching The Hungry and The Hairy on Netflix right now and the difference is huge. They have banter, they contradict each other, they complain, they compliment each other, they talk about their lives, they have a very normal dynamic, even if it's on camera. It's so obvious that Rain and Hong-chul are close friends and I could see that from the first episode (side note, I would love to see Jungkook on a trip with Rain across the country, riding their Harleys. A girl can dream).

To get back to your ask, yeah, anyone would go crazy if they had to be 24/7 with their siblings or friends. I know I get tired after 24h if a friend comes to stay at my place and she's more on the annoying side. I can get sick of her, just as she can get sick of me and we certainly don't like everything about each other and we're not hiding this. When it comes to friendship, it's the kind of dynamic in which, if you are close to someone, you also feel comfortable in showing your self more and you don't have any issues in speaking your mind. With BTS, it seems that as the years have passed, there's more of a curated image where everyone gets along with each other, no arguments happening. They say they got so close, that at this point they don't have any stupid fights like they used to before. Which is true in a way, but let's just say that's also impossible. I would actually dare to say that the fights you have with your friends in your late 20s can be more complicated than dumb shit you had in your early 20s. It only gets more complicated, but don't take my word for it.

[tempobaekh]

Rating Penthouse: War In Life characters

I asked my followers on Instagram to give me Penthouse characters to rate and my thoughts about them so I thought to post it here as well. Now this is my personal opinion about how I feel about the characters and how much I will rate them

⚠️⚠️THIS CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS⚠️⚠️

My Instagram: Tempobaek

Logan Lee

10/10

Lemme just say I love him SO MUCH

LOGAN LEE BEST BOY

I absolutely loved his character and the fact that he was one of the few people who wants justice and is honest made me love him even more

Him playing Go Hu Dong was amazing as well and I didn't recognize him at all at first like he played it so well with the accent, costume and wig and everything

His accent and language switch in between English and the Busan accent Korean was so fucking sexy🥵

✨Mr. Joo✨

My man was also smart with his revenge

He was also serving amazing LOOKS every episode in the two seasons and I loved every single one of them

And I'm going to be honest here, after watching the preview for S2 ep13 his laugh was creepy in one of the clips and after reading a few theories I lowkey thought that he would be the next villian

I regret suspecting him now

But instead of that they gave us a bigger plot twist and blew up our man with a bomb😩

He literally went ✨LiGhT iT Up LiKe DyNaMiTe✨ (I'm so sorry)

I would've rather have him be a villian than die in the bomb

I MISS HIM ALREADY AND LOVE HIM SO MUCH😭

DID I MENTION THAT I LOVE HIM

Joo Seok Kyung

7/10

Another one that annoyed me angered me so much🙄

Like she was ruthless and had no mercy when it came to bullying and putting people down that she thought were a rival or putting people down in general

She didn't change even when Rona died

She also went as far as to like cheat her way to win the Cheong Ah Art High School trophy and blackmailed Cheon Seojin to win the trophy

But there were times where she would show emotions and those would be often her break down and weak moments

And those moments would really show how she is broken inside and puts up a careless and brave image, she is someone who needs healing even though healing takes time

I also saw someone saying like 'oh Seok Kyung hates her mom so much'

Yeah she hated her mom but she didn't hate her to death like she didn't wish death upon her

Seok Kyung was heart broken when she heard Suryeon's death and that showed that she still loved her mom even though Suryeon didn't give birth to them

I was heart broken when I saw that she cut her hair because here was no one there to tie it for her bc Suryeon loved Seok Kyungs long hair and that's why she didn't cut it but after he mothers death no one was there to tie her hair for her

I started seeing her in a different light after a while bc again it showed that he character was very broken emotionally and needed healing

I'm interested about seeing more of her character development after the last ep where she defended Rona

Also my girl is so hot, another one that was serving amazing looks

Joo Seok Hoon

8/10

He was lowkey annoying at first ngl

Like my man was just🧍🏻‍♂️

It annoyed me so much how he defended his sister so much, fell for her tricks, covered up for her and did anything she said EVEN though its wrong

But after some time I understood that he cared for and that she was the only family left to him

I mean Seok Hoon hate Joo Dan Tae so he doesn't counts and Suryeon was dead at the moment

I will still not forgive him for bullying Seol A even though he regrets it

It also annoyed me how he didn't stood up for Rona at all in the first season even though he liked her

By he got so much better in S2, he was even part in the revenge plan

He is literally the human CCTV camera in Hera Palace like he knows more than even the viewers know

The way he was protective of Rona when he found out she was alive was so aDORABLE

And my man was amazing in the last episodes

I love him

Cheon Seo Jin

4/10

THIS WOMAN MAKES MY BLOOD FUCKING BOIL

Like I sometimes just was to 🤜🏻👩🏻

But sometimes I wanna hug her😩

Idk I feel like she became a horrible person bc of greed and that he father and mother placed too high expectations for her

Instead of praising her for her accomplishments her parents wanted her to do more

Maybe that's why she was desperate for love and affection and found that in Joo Dan Tae even though he pretended to like her

But that definitely does not dismiss her horrible actions

But also the harsh past made her the could hearted person, like she left her father to die

She felt more care towards her daughter after she almost lost her because Eunbyeol tried to commit suicide

She was in alot of pain and you could see it in her cries and when she was on the phone with the person

Soyeon's acting was amazing in that scene

She started to care more about her ex husband and daughter when she saw how much Eunbyeol was suffering and she realized that she genuinely liked Ha Yoon Chul hwen she saw how horrible Joo Dan Tae was

I did feel bad for her sometimes but after seeing that she didn't change I really didn't feel any sympathy for her

She needs therapy

Girlie was shocked when the doctor said she is losing her voice like bestie you are screaming every episode

She was also serving amazing looks every episode

Ha Yoon Chul

5/10

The first male character I simped for

Like I am not going to deny it but he is hot🥵

But the first few episodes he was an absolute asshole and greedy

But I never expected him to be Yoonhee's ex boyfriend

I did like him a tiny bit when he saved Yoon Hee from Kyu Jin

His entrance in S2 with the helicopter was damn hot

And I WAS SO SHOCKED WHEN HE SAID MEET MY WIFE OH YOON HE

LIKE YAY MY SHIP IS SAILING

I spoke too soon

His character development and fighting skills were hot as well

He was ADORABLE with Rona and Yoonhee

I seriously thought that Rona was his daughter

BUT THAN AT THE CHEONG AH FESTIVLE OOF SIR I WANTED TO PUNCH HIM

I WAS SO MAD WHEN HE SABOTAGED RONA'S PERFORMANCE

I began hating him after that💀

Like he went 📈📉 with his character development

AND THEN HE CLEANED EUNBYEOL'S MEMORY FROM THAT NIGHT LIKE SIR SKSHSKSHKS SHE DID HAT TO YOUR DAUGHTER

I actually asked my dad what he thought about what Yoon Chul did and this was his reponse:

"If you look at it from a parents perspective they would want to do anything if they saw their child in pain like he did but I would've also scolded her and had a conversation with her about why she did it instead of wiping her memory from that night like he did. "

So that's that

I LOVED IT WHEN YOON HEE CAME WITH THAT BLOW AND TOLD HIM RONA WAS HER DAUGHTER

Jonghoon's acting was chef's kiss in that scene

I was going to rate him a 4 but I gave him that 5 when I saw how he was at court, he admitted to his wrong doings but also still had feelings for Yoon Hee

I wanna see his reaction in s3 to Rona now bc now that he got to know that is his daughter I wonder how he will be

Lee Kyu Jin

1/10

AN ASSHOLE

USELESS

WHY IS HE HERE

Like I have nothing to say about him rather than I hate him and that he useless just like his wife and son

HE IS LITERALLY NOTHING WITHOUT HIS MOM

I'm only giving him that one bc he was funny in the episodes

THATS THE ONLY REASON HE IS THERE JUST FOR COMEDY PURPOSES

Go Sang Ah

0.5/10

ANNOYING 2.0

USELESS 2.0

ALL SHE DOES IS SPEND HER HUSBAND AND MOTHER IN LAW'S MONEY

LIKE SHE AIN'T EVEN WORKS

UNLIKE KANG MARI

The only thing she does is gossip

And spills the tea☕

SHE IS LITERALLY NOTHING WITHPUT HER HUSBAND AND HIS FAMILY

Giving her a 0.5 bc she is kinda funny eh

Lee Minhyuk

0/10

ANNOYING 3.0

USELESS 3.0

ASSHOLE 2.0

Idk if it runs in the family but again he is useless

And a dumbass

He also nothing without his parents

Why is he there tho like you ain't even funny

All he can do is cause trouble

And bullied Jenny

His dumbass slipped and broke his own arm and blamed it on Rona smh🤦🏻‍♀️

Sometimes I just wanna 🤜🏻👦🏻

Also my dude was trying to sound all intimidating by saying

"Oh Jenny's father is a scary man, yOuR dEaD BaE rOnA"

Like dude worry about yourself bitch you are dead first for bullying Jenny

But like I hate the character but LOVE THE ACTOR HE IS SO HOT OMFG

Joo Dan Tae

0/10

ANOTHER ONE THAT PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH AND MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL

SOMETIMES I DONT WANNA 🤜🏻 I WANNA 🔪

LIKE I HATE HIM WITH A FUCKING PASSION

I DONT CARE ABOUT HIS PAST OR ANYTHING HE IS A GREASY, GREEDY, PSYCHO, OBSESSIVE MANIPULATIVE, POSSESSIVE PSYCHO

Like I legit thought he was nice in he first ep and then I saw him kiss Seojin and-

Me: 🤨😧😃🤮 MY EMOTIONS WENT LIKE THAT

LIKE HE IS SO FUCKING POSSESSIVE OVER SURYEON, AEGYO AND SEOJIN LIKE ITS DISGUSTING

I WAS GETTING YANDERE BEHAVIOUR FROM THAT OLD MAN

PURE TRASH

Bae Rona

9/10

I LOVE HER NOW

RONA BEST GIRL

She was also annoying at first and was very ungrateful

But over time she got better, still a tiny bit annoying sometimes but better

When she came back from the US I WAS LIKE GIRL NO YOU FINNA RUIN THE PLAN

I do feel bad for her bc she went through alot with bullying, her mom going to jail not only once but twice, her getting to know that Yoonchul who she started liking sabotaged her performance, and also literally almost dying

My girl has been through a lot

AND WHEN SHE RUNNED TOWARDS THE STAIRS OUTSIDE WHEN EUNBYEOL WAS CHASING HER I WAS LIKE GIRL RUN TO THE HALL YOU RUNNIN OUTSIDE

I am excited to see her reaction to getting to know that Yoon Chul is her dad

Part 2 is also posted!

[rere-talks]

Happy International Fanworks Day!!

OTW's Creative Lounge recently shared some bingo sheets in honor of February 15th, so I thought I'd participate :').

Instead of doing a creator bingo card for all my works, because I'd just end up filling in every single square, I thought I'd just do one for my current WIP, Divine Intervention, the annoying Solo Leveling SCY/SJW drabble series that floods the front page of SL Ao3 sometimes.

More rambling about my fic and how it all started below the cut if you're interested! 💛 includes fic recs :D

I honestly never thought I'd see the day where I'd be making (and populating) a new tag all by myself, but stranger things have happened since the pandemic started, so here we are I guess LOL.

Honestly, believe it or not, Divine Intervention originally began from Woo Jin-Chul/Sung Jin-Woo roots (which ok, may not be so surprising because I recall several readers thought that was the actual pairingwhen we were first getting started, woops). Namely, another WIP of mine, Divine Right of Kings.

They share a lot of similarities which may not be so evident, seeing as Kings is less than 10 chapters posted, but source dude just trust me. They're both canon divergence AUs; apotheosis stories; Jin-Woo is Shadow Monarch in neither of them; deuteragonists; and, most significantly, they both feature a largely human cast--as the plot progresses, the amount of actual solo leveling that gets done dwindles to nothing, all in hopes of writing a universe where Jin-Woo actually gets the emotional support he deserves after the traumatic events that took place within the first 10 or so chapters of canon.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What can I say, I've got a type.

In the progress of planning Kings' main cast (besides the main pair), Chi-Yul popped up as a prime candidate for party member. An experienced hunter, his conflict was interesting from the get-go: a skilled swordsman who ended up in the wrong class. Who else's class commonly gets mistaken in SL? Well, Jin-Woo, except the reverse--where Chi-Yul doesn't successfully make the whole magic swordsman thing work, Jin-Woo pulls off assassin necromancer who revives whatever he kills pretty darn well.

The next step was figuring out how they would fit together.

Song Chi-Yul in Kings was supposed to play a very different role than in Divine Intervention. Namely, their dynamics are completely swapped: in Kings, I planned Chi-Yul as a mentor figure who teaches a still fledgling Jin-Woo magic early on, fostering a decent amount of trust to make the groundwork for their eventual partying. (Of course, well, we never got there, but still. I had plans, guys.)

We don't get too much of Chi-Yul in canon, so I began trying to write short snippets or oneshots just as exercise to get used to them interacting together. This, as it turns out, was either a terrible mistake for everyone who was waiting for me to write more WJC/SJW, or the birth of something truly great: a banger.

Fueled by my diehard R27 nostalgia to give me shipping lenses and a recent venture into the newest Fire Emblem game at the time, I knew I wanted some kind of knight-and-his-lady dynamic, though in the slash case, knight-and-his-lord. Kings' background gave me a solid inspiration for another apotheosis-type story, so now all I needed was a vibe.

TBH I have a lot of different inspiration sources for the vibe I was going for--something otherworldly, ephemeral, and ancient all at once. I think that deserves another post of its own lol (comprising of a lot of anime and manga, but it's the weeb in me what can I do 😔).

Here's some fic recs in the meanwhile because I know my fellow degens well:

For drabble series,

Guardian by forthrightly [Complete]: A Spirited Away Chihiro/Kohaku drabble series.

Chihiro spends a long, hot summer in a tiny seaside community, minding an old auntie's store, but a legend whispered by locals leads the young woman on a quest of rediscovery. A small story with small chapters.

It'll have you soft and sobbing at the end of it. Alt account of Forthright.

Imperceptible by forthright [Complete]: An Inuyasha Sesshomaru/Kagome drabble series.

A story told through a series of drabbles and oneshots, tracing the slow and steady progress of trust. Sesshoumaru x Kagome, CU.

An aching canon universe SessKag rendition.

Forthright is IMO the mother of all drabble series; they just do it best. All of their other drabble series are equally excellent; go check them out if you're digging the format :)

For vibe,

The Human Mask by harunekonya [WIP]: Natsume Yuujinchou, gen. 182k words

Sequel to Worthy of a Name. Natsume slowly learns to deal with life as a god. An inter-connected vignette series.

It's been over 4 years since I've read this fic but damn do I remember the way it made me feel. Insanely intricate, detailed storytelling, a masterpiece. The fandom is dead but thank god we got this jewel out of it.

fear is the monster you forgot to flee from (fear is the monster that won't let you go) by cywscross [Complete]: Solo Leveling, SJW/WJC. 25.6k words

Jin-Woo reawakens. But he reawakens… wrong. Different. Changed. Monstrous.

(Some do not see it. Others do and are rightfully afraid. And then there are those who are afraid and still want it. They want it, until they cannot live without it, and Woo Jin-Chul finds that he is terribly susceptible to the latter.

If you're in the SL fandom, you've read this fic, but I'm putting it here anyway as a hyperlink for when you inevitably go reread it now that I've reminded you about it (and also because it's the only SL fic on this list, not that there aren't more bangers by our fantastic writers in this fandom but just because that's not what this list is about).

The Unexplainable by Metamorcy [Complete]: Katekyo Hitman Reborn, Reborn/Sawada Tsunayoshi. 238k words.

He had only come here to fulfill a dying wish from a younger version of himself, to take his place in this world as Sawada Tsunayoshi. That had been fine, boredom plaguing him constantly in his long life as nothing seemed to matter anymore. So when Reborn arrives to train him as Vongola Decimo, he ends up with something a little more. Dark!Tsuna, Dark!Universe

I regularly go back to reread this when I need a bedtime story to assauge the 'ol insomnia. The supernatural vibes are off the charts. An old favorite is timeless :')

Satis by Eiserne [WIP]: Hellsing, Alucard/Integra Hellsing. 83.5k words.

Integra dies, only to wake up in the past, as a fifteen-year-old. AxI.

Jesus christ the loyalty kink. The vibe kink. The poetry kink. The feet kink, in a totally not weird way. I know it's the 2nd WIP on this list but just, trust me, I wouldn't rec it unless it would completely wreck you.....in a good way.

Anyway this wasn't a fic rec list on purpose so I'll leave it at that 😂 These are all enjoyable reads even if you know nothing of the fandom or characters involved!

If you made it all the way here, thanks for listening to me ramble! I have a lot of Feelings for this newest baby of mine and I hope to take Divine Intervention a long way forward yet 😌🙏🌺

[trynatalktou]

Okay so I convinced (obliged) my friend to watch Vincenzo with me - and one thing you must know about her is that she is really not a beginner on this whole kdrama thing, and even less so when it comes to the whole kpop kpop thing (seriously, it seems like she knows the name of every member of every 2nd generation group- it's wild.)

Anyways, (some of, because it already fled my memory) her initial reactions:

First ten minutes are filled of lecturing because I told her that I didn't find Sjk to be that big of a deal before I watched Vincenzo - she took that as personal offense.

Impressed with sjk's italian.

We got into a fight as to how quickly the fire would actually spread. We both agreed that the cgi was not it tho (which is specially weird to me considering that our boy Inzaghi is cgi.)

I squealed "oh my that's Luca boy right there!" in every glimpse of a scene we got of him so she now thinks he is important to the narrative.

If only

"Oooooh wait! Whaf if he is a twist villain?."

No not like that ma'am.

She thought that Paolo and Vincenzo would be good brothers for some reason (????).

Also, she finds it "cute" that Vincenzo is the consigliere despite not being of the same family in blood.

She also thinks, as most of us did, that the whole Italian mafia intrigue will be significantly more important than what it ends up being.

I talked SO FREAKING MUCH about HYC that she could not possibly dislike her in the start. Yet despite it, she still has the nerve to say she found her "heartless and annoying" on those first scenes.

We got into another fight because of that.

Ok Taec-yeon is her bias on 2PM, hence, a whole lot of giggles when he appeared on the screen. Promptly followed by a mistake of mine to say that he was also my bias on 2PM.

"Do you know anyone else on 2pm?"

"The other dream high guy, the 'secretary Kim' guy..."

"Names, I want names."

"Jay Park."

Back to it:

She is a big fan of CLOY so Chul-Wook is an immediate favorite tenant.

Backed by the fact that I LOVE Yeon-jin so we were just enjoying the couple together.

Needless to say that she was very suspicious about the fact that I knew all the tenants' names. I told her that they would be important throughout the series.

Hong Yu-chan is her outmost favourite carachter tho.

Oh oh.

That scene of HYC and HCY fighting about her disinheret is an absolute UNDERRATED GEM.

She is very concerned about the fact that the tenants don't believe in Vincenzo(even though they shouldn't lmao).

And also started freaking out at the end when Vincenzo walks into the scene with the thugs. She was PUMPED

"Questo edificio est mio"

Darn, if that didn't sell her completely.

Going into episode two: The checking-outTM, she likes likes it.

Overall thoughts: she has not been this intrigued by a series in a quite a while.

BUT

She is kinda disappointed by Taec-yeon's role.

"I don't know, I'm kinda underwhelmed; by the promos and well, you know, him being Taec-yeon - I thought he would be more than just a goofy second lead."

Hmmmmmmmm...

[damnityrallthegoodusernamestaken]

Modern AU

KRS is in his 2nd year in high school when people out of nowhere gather around him. LSH is the overprotective and charismatic sunbae while CJS is his childhood friend. Alberu, Rosalyn, Jack, Hannah, Mary and CH ambush him at school and annoy the heck out of KRS. Eruhaben’s the poor homeroom teacher stuck taking care of them. The kids get adopted by Sherrit and the wolf tribe. The Henituse couple claims to be KRS’s godparents and proceeds to smother KRS with gifts and money. CH is CJS’s distant uncle but somehow just a year older and in the same class. He also takes up the role of being KRS’s bodyguard (as if CJS and LSH weren’t doing that already). Poor KRS is confused as to why these people bother him but just learns to roll with it. He gains his memories a month later (the God of Death wanted to mess with him for a bit but got bored).

Also: 

Bud is the head of the local police. Glenn runs a popular bar and Bud is his most troublesome customer.

Cage and Taylor Stan are regulars in said bar. They also join the gang to annoy KRS sometimes.

Gashan runs a cat cafe, which KRS secretly visits. (Yes, the others know but they pretend not to. The kids are very jealous.)

Witira, Archie, Paseton and Litana are seniors in college. They meet KRS at the cat cafe. (The Whales are cat lovers in this AU. Litana prefers dogs though and Ten is her pet.)

Lee Jin Joo is a senior at the same college. Lee Seung Won is KRS’s juniour.

Tasha and the Dark Elves mostly assists Alberu in his work. They live in the neighborhood next to Rok Soo’s dorm.

Park Jin Tae is the school delinquent and Lee Chul Min is his follower.

Grandma Kim is the sweet old lady who runs KRS’s favourite bakery.

WS and his group have no power and are infamous for their behaviour. The teachers don’t care though as they get beaten up by Cale/KRS and co. if they do anything. Adin is Valentino’s cheating ex. (Valentino beats the shit out of him after he finds out.)

Billios runs his shop which KRS, CJS and CH frequent. Odeous is the head of the local mafia.

OG Cale exists and acts like the tsundere elder brother that he is. (LHS, Alberu and OG Cale have a competition going on for the best hyung title, KRS is sick of it. CJS was disqualified.) He also gets a happy and healthy relationship with his family here.

The children get introduced to KRS by Eruhaben. They cling to him after that. He also tutors them with the wolf children (Lock is included) and babysits the wind elementals who are chaotic toddlers. (He wants to quit but the pay is really high so he doesn’t.)

Toonka runs a well known private security company with Harol. (Deruth hires them for KRS and his children. Cale and KRS are not happy.)

Ron, Beacrox, Freesia, Hilsman and Hans are part of the staff that works in the dorm KRS stays in. (The others move into said dorm when they get to know.)

The ancient powers are people who are mistaken for KRS’s creepy stalkers at first, but after KRS remembers them the threats (courtesy of Deruth, Ron, LSH, CJS, CH, the children, etc) stop.

The World Tree is the stressed out principal of KRS’s school. The Elves and dragons are teachers there.

Duke Fredo is this creepy, very rich businessman who tries to adopt KRS every chance he gets (which is not very much because of the others). That doesn’t stop KRS from accepting the money Fredo gives him though. (Deruth cries after he hears this.)

Cale has a fanclub and Clopeh Sekka is in charge of it. Hans, CH, CJS, LHS and the kids are a part of it and make sure to keep it a secret from KRS.

Most importantly, NOBODY DIES. (Except for maybe WS and his bastards.)

[Hopefully I got everyone.]

[mangobone]

 Thank you so much for tagging me @cupofteaandstars - I’m sorry it took this long!

The side character you think is most deserving of more backstory

Kang Won Chul. 

Because I adore the man that in S1 participates in the last key moment of the story as the rook in the game of chess that Chang Jun lays out and then in S2 falls in Hanjo’s trap for being too eager in his retaliation and too trusting and so he pays the price quietly. Before he goes though, he tries to ensure his juniors’ safety by confronting Lee Yeon-Jae -who he hates- and isn’t that enough to love him and to want to know more about him?

Won Chul knows, appreciates and cares about Shi Mok and s2 shows us that, from the moment he tries to oppose the decision to transfer him to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and into Woo Tae Ha's circus,and then when its inevitable, he at least makes sure Shi Mok understands what his future will be in that division. He’s also the one to gently scold Shi Mok when he attempts to pull the strings, right after the first Council meeting and isn’t that just a very cool scene?

Kang isn’t as uncompromising and he isn’t perfect but I think he tries hard enough and he learns from his mistakes.

Also, he’s in one of the scenes that I love and will never ever skip:

Your favorite “quiet moment” in the show

Shi Mok’s reaction to Yeo Jin’s “between us”. 

Though Im not sure if this counts as a quiet moment...but here we go:

I love everything about it. The performances, the dialogue and the meaning of the scene for the rest of the show.

They are driving through Seoul after having dinner and then spending the evening together, investigating the case and exchanging information. From the outset, Shi Mok casually accuses her of being the culprit as she was the only one who knew he had touched the knife, yet he shares information and even accepts the ride she offers. On the other side, Yeo Jin is annoyed that he didn’t included her as a witness in the knife-touching incident from the beginning, then looks annoyed again when it looks like he never told her about being suspicious of Seo Dong Jae and later on she explicitly calls him a suspect again, however she has zero issues with him being in her car as she even offers the ride. Its almost as watching two kids teasing each other and it’s obvious that he trusts her and that she wants to trust him. The smiling moment is just the cherry on top: Shi Mok realizing he does want to be included with her.

After this, they actually start working with each other as actual partners for the rest of the season.

Aditionally, the timing of the music is perfect: the exact second he loses the smile and turns to look at her, a soft theme that sounds like curiosity or a happy discovery for Shi Mok can be heard; barely there, but fitting and lovely.

The moment/scene that inspired you to write or go looking for fanfic for this show

I won’t take into account season 1 because even though there were a lot of moments that prompted me to search for fics, I was too scared to spoil myself the last episode.

Therefore, from s2, the winning moment is:

Yes, that scene. Precisely because of Shi Mok’s crestfallen expression: he’s so shocked he can’t believe it. Would he have tried this a couple of years ago? It’s just great to see how much he has changed since the beginning of S1, as in a way he has evolved, for better or worse, to be a little more social. 

So, it was really the evolution of both protagonists is what sent me to the fics with renovated energy.

I’m sorry if you’ve already been tagged in this: @itsallaboutkdrama​  @thiccmok ​  @bori-in-secretforest ​  @olfactoryventriloquism​  and if I didn’t tag you but you want to do it, please go ahead! 

[sarangkstars]

Jugglers

It has the fantastic ROM COM formula usually used in Korean dramas: two extremely attractive people who hate each other at first and then fall hopelessly in love, a rather dorky friend, almost perfect girlfriends, faithful colleagues and a common enemy - or in this case, two enemies. I really enjoyed this drama so much and it will stick in my memory. Plus the boss-secretary-rom-com easily wins my heart and better yet if they live under the same roof. Aww

Choi Daniel as Nam Chi Won - Despite appearing to have a cool and distant personality, he is an adorable geek who loves quotes from manhwas and with an upright and sincere character. And is not afraid to show the world his love for Yoon Yi, even if everyone says otherwise. And I have to say, Choi Daniel is just phenomenal as our leading man. Steamy!!

Baek Jin Hee as Jwa Yoon Yi is a strong, independent woman who is passionate about her work and does it flawlessly. Her compassionate and generous personality demolishes all of Chi Won's defences until he learns to trust and love her.

Yoon Yi and Chi Won together have fantastic chemistry and it was a pleasure to see all the romantic moments between them. It was exciting to see the main actors having to discover their feelings for each other and getting into awkward situations in between. Having to live under the same roof and eventually starting a cute journey of falling in love while learning what they really wanted in life.

Chi Won and Hwangbo Yool (Lee Won Geun) - Working at the same company as Chi Won, Hwangbo is the head of the sports business department. He is the owner's grandson and seems to be irresponsible and just thinking about having fun. The bromance with Chi Won, who he considers to be his brother from another mother and whom he follows like a lost puppy, despite Chi Won's constant attempts to evict him will help him grow.

Hwangbo Yool and Wang Jung Ae (Kang Hye Jung) are our second leads and they make a pretty funny duo that deserve to be mentioned because they are a very important part to this story. Bo Yool is the boss of secretary Jung Ae and they are both excellent people who have their own story and will help our heroes get along.

The secondary actors, mostly the team of colleagues and employees of Yoon Yi and Chi Won were well written and all had relevance to the story.

The villains, in this case secretary Yoon Yi's former boss Bong Jang Woo (Choi Dae Chul) and managing director Jo Sang-moo (In Gyo-jin) are quite absurd and over-the-top and that makes the conflicts a bit annoying and irritating, at least for me, but for those who don't mind that, it's upbeat in a good way, and therefore less frustrating or difficult to watch.

[hanakihan]

‘So, judging by your face you did something again’

‘Maybe? 👉👈’

‘You absolutely did something I won’t be happy with Hunter Sung Jinwoo’

[emergingsentiments]

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Episodes 1 and 2 (Repost)

"Life is not easy for all of us. Some spend their whole lives on unpaved words, while some run at full speed only to reach the edge of a cliff."

What is home? And is home a place or a feeling? These are the questions the premiere episodes of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha pose.

Yoon Hye-jin (Shin Min-a) seems to have it all in Seoul — a nice apartment, a stable job as a dentist, and her online orders. But perhaps the most important thing she owns is her principle. Ambitious as she may be, she isn’t keen on ripping off patients to earn or to pay for her shopping indulgences. Her chief dentist at the clinic, however, thinks otherwise. So despite her materialistic tendencies, Hye-jin stands up to her greedy and disingenuous boss in a spur-of-the-moment defiance, one which predictably has its professional and financial repercussions.

Now jobless and possibly in debt, a childhood memory draws her from the confines of her sleek domicile to the quaint seaside town of Gongjin, not only to seek a reprieve from her city miseries but also to remember.

Gongjin, however, is the home of Hong Du-sik (Kim Seon-ho) — a charismatic jack-of-all-trades who is as ubiquitous as the scent of ocean air in the town. He is everywhere it seems — on the boat, by the sea, at a coffee shop, or the fish market. If Hyejin’s ambitious and near solitary exterior represented the cutthroat urban soul, then Dusik’s endless list of side hustle captures the untiring enterprise needed to survive and sustain a life in the province. It’s a life that demands diligence and street smarts, as well empathy and community. Perfectly helpful to everyone in town, especially to Kim Gam-ri (Kim Young-ok), and capable of almost every form of labor, he is as popular as the dried squid Gongjin is known for.

The two meet on the beach — though not for the first time, we find out later on. It’s the perfect location for the world of opposites to collide: sand and the sea. Hyejin — the fish out of water — symbolically loses a shoe from a much-prized pair. Dusik — amphibious and with the ability to move around in any environment — finds the other heel. He returns it to her partly annoyed.

Though grateful, Hyejin seeks to find the other shoe, attached not only to its value but also because she cannot see herself walking barefoot. Dusik is not impressed. He nonetheless pities the out-of-place Seoulite and throws her his pair of slippers — oversized, overused, possibly acquired for free from one of the seaside restaurants. Walk my paths, Dusik seems to say. They are Hyejin’s welcome gifts to a town she will have to understand because it will become her home. Or will it?

Plucked from the metropolis and driven by both impulse and circumstance, the good dentist will have to figure out not just Dusik’s deal but Gongjin’s townsfolk, too. Left with no choice, she leaves behind the comforts and conveniences of the city. However, the small-town outlook and habits of Gongjin's people are unfamiliar and even repulsive to her. As hopeful as she is for new beginnings, an awkward and very public faux pas means she is also off to a rocky start. This and a series of other missteps finds her alienated from the community. Almost like learning the Cha-Cha-Cha, Hyejin’s footwork is a mess.

Dusik, who witnesses and hears Hyejin’s judgemental tirade, comes to her aid but only subtly and as a gentle nudge. He isn’t pretending to be a savior who could fix the unpleasant cracks between Hyejin and Gongjin’s people. Instead, he reminds her to meet the community halfway. For instance, he doesn’t chastise her for wearing tight-fitting running wear that scandalized the elderly women of the town. He knows its purpose; he even explained it to the elderly women. But Dusik also sheds light on the motivations behind this conservative view of his town’s people.

When Hyejin attempts to win the community’s trust by doling out rice cakes while inviting them to her clinic’s opening, Dusik senses the insincerity. Material gifts are meaningless. As the saying goes, it’s the thought that counts. Remorse has to be personal. She’s the new girl in town, after all. Hyejin cannot expect Gongjin to adjust to her whims. Dusik does what he can — secretly, too. But the city girl will have to take the initiative in building meaningful relations with the town’s people.

In both cases, we get a timely commentary on the need to understand other people. After all, we live in world increasingly adversarial, quick to respond to and mob those we disagree with. We're fast to label those who stand our way as enemies instead as partners for truth-seeking. If Homcha follows its current tracks, I'm curious to see if this wisdom of seeing both sides is further emphasized.

Despite Hyejin’s multiple setbacks, she moves forward. It helps that her inimitable best friend, Pyo Mi-seon (Gong Min-jeung), follow her to town. Mi-seon brings comic relief and relentless energy to our dentist’s new life. So through small and careful steps — and with Dusik just watching over her ever so carefully — she settles in and slowly makes amends with Gongjin’s men and women.

And what a community Gongjin is. Homcha masterfully paints a town brimming with life and populated by every character and role we know and relate to. The seaside commune is scenic and vibrant, almost too idyllic even. Its port is bustling and its homes are welcoming. From the mountains, the horizon glistens with every break of dawn. What we know from Dusik and Hyejin, however, is that the surface isn’t all there is to it.

In a telling short montage at the start of Episode 2, we get a glimpse of the townsfolk's quiet sorrows. Hwa-jung (Lee Bong-ryun), the assertive landlady, is a divorcee still hurting about her marriage’s breakdown. The owner of the town’s cafe and pub, Cheon-jae (Jo Han-chul), is a forgotten singer and one-hit wonder struggling with his confidence and purpose. Nam-sook (Cha Chung-hwa), the quirky and chatty owner of the Chinese restaurant, appears to grieve the loss of a child. Even Dusik — who seems faultless — hides a wound. Behind the closed doors of the homes of Gongjin are unspoken aches and regrets.

Home is where the heart is, they say. But often, home is also where the hurts are.

Life wounds can only be remedied by love. Homcha makes no qualms about it. It’s a love story at its core but one that explores love’s healing effects in a place closest to us, a space that has to be the safest for us. Dusik is clearly smitten by the new resident of Gongjin. He sees her in a different light. It’s easy to tell, however, he has some baggage—a suit to be specific. Hyejin carries with her a spirit of grief as well. What of her mother? What of her childhood? How their respective hurts have shaped them and will continue to define their characters will be an interesting exploration by the series. With the first two episodes out, I’m hopeful we become privy to the furnishings of Dusik’s and Hyejin’s “homes”.

Where the first two episodes succeed is not just in juxtaposing the clashing views of urban and rural. Instead, we see more of what is common between the two. Hyejin’s uncharitable remarks over the narrow-minded views of Gongjin’s people are easy to associate with the condescension typical of city dwellers. But one can say the same with the trio of halmeoni who were so quickly appalled by Hyejin’s workout clothes. Judgments, after all, know no place or time. We think of those in the province as being insular and yet we also meet a chief dentist with a small-town outlook, ready to ruin the reputation of another in a similarly tight-knit dentist’s community.

Perhaps we are more the same than different?

What makes Homcha stand out, however, is that it doesn’t try too hard. The characters — and the actors — are unpretentious. As such, we get a light-hearted and heartwarming journey as our main characters and the Gongjin community settle, work, and live. You feel as if you're part of the community, too.

From its warm colors to its penchant for nostalgic songs, Homcha lives up to its title. It evokes that familiar place we grew up in and stirs memories of the spaces and faces that have shaped our persona. Sometimes we choose to stay there—or find ourselves stuck. Sometimes we outgrow it, too, and we move on to greener pastures. But that part of our lives connected to our youth never really disappears. To survive we need to accept and love the parts of our history we are least proud of, right? Once we do, how ready are we to show them to other eyes, to let them be held by other hands?

Round my hometown Ooh the people I've met Are the wonders of my world

PS

If I had a gripe with the show, it’s the fact that Hyejin apparently has no idea how to use the forgot password feature of websites. That's all.

[random-fandom-scenarios]

Sfw and nsfw woo jin chul please?

SFW:

He likes collecting succulents.  They’re easy to take care of and give some life to his apartment that would otherwise feel empty.

Is a minimalist so there isn’t a lot of extra stuff in his apartment besides the furniture and plants.  

He is a really good cook, like he could do it professionally if he wanted he is so good but half the time he is too tired after his long shifts and dealing with annoying hunters to want to cook.

Has a very close relationship with his parents and talks to them often but his mom always starts to nag him about getting married and having kids.

NSFW:

His serious demeanor drops a little during sex especially if he really knows or cares about the person.  He will even crack a couple jokes.

Doesn’t have a high libido so maybe a couple times a month if that.

He loves having his partner ride him though.  He can lie back and relax after a long day and enjoy a nice view.

Isn’t really into anything kinky but he does love seeing his partner in lace outfits.

[ithecarpediem]

Born Again -My Final Thought

I have so many feelings about this drama righ now

I mean, overall this could have being such a amazing story! About how you can have more than one soulmate, about forgiveness, about you are not your blood, about justice, about right and wrong, types of love, choices, etc etc etc.

But they did in such horrible way.

For one, if they had made Ji Chul a nice misunderstood guy, who looks shade but wasn't I would buy her falling in love with him. But no, they made him a stalker and psychopath, and don’t tell me, that made him remember his past life magically cure him from being a psychopath. If they establish that the other two– As Bin and Soo Hyuk – are not they past self, that’s also the same to Jong Bum.  The whole romance line with both of them turned out forced.

I was absolutely offended in the scene where Soo Hyuk tells her about her parents accident in the 80’s, that was NO SET UP FOR THAT. They just throw that fact to make up a reason for the “soulmate couple” not happening.

I think I'm more angry for what could have been.

For example, If I was the writer I would made her remember the past life first and not the last, and that would be early in the story - like when she was stabbed in Hyuk’s place (yeah remember that? And they are not endgame) - then, have her believe that Ji Chul was a psychopath and was trying to kill Soo Hyuk because of her again (which in my version he would NOT, because the whole point would be to show people that a new life would means a new chance, you know? And that would gave another tension since they all judge Ji Chul in his past life), so she would just pretend to be his friend at first. In this scenery she would slowly fall in love for him, while realizing that Soo Hyuk was not Hyun Bin. Just this small chance would give so much more depth with her character and everything in the story.

That aside, if you take the romance line, I think the story is actually good – it could be amazing, but is not. It dealt with many themes, and my favorite was about forgiveness and regret.

Both male leads had really nice archs.

Soo Hyuk – who has the best plot line in the drama, for me. He really redemmed himself. He came from this cold person, who judge everyone, to apologized to those who he  did wrong

  Gong Ji Chul –  Please pay attention that I said Ji Chul and not Jong Bum, he was a bit of a mess, because they establish him as psychopath and then BOOM, remembered his life as Ji Chul magically a normal traumatized man. But they gave him really nice scenes where he face his demons, and do not forgive his abusers but let go of his pain. Jang Ki Yong gave a solid acting in that sense.

In the end, I really pity Jin Se Yeon, both her characters are basically the same. Don’t get me wrong, is not because she is good, and has a kind heart, is because theres not much of difference between Ha Eun and Sa Bin. I would expect Sa Bin to be less optimistic, more sarcastic and dry, since she carry the scars from her previous life, since not find Hyun Bin’s body could make sense for why she just so determined to always identify the bodies.

I also thought it was really annoying that in the end they made her buy the bookstore and live her life as Ha Eun. She was so passion about her job and then, puf, now she just love selling books?

About the rest of the characters, what can I say? They kind of forgot all of them, the doctor who faked evidence with Soo Hyuk; the father who miraculously healed from mental illness; the little brother and Ji Chul’s mother, who we do not get any closure; the psycho queen who just went to jail (we deserved one last monologue and something about her dog)? The writer just went mad?? Even Sa Bin’s uncles, who I thought were a gay couple (lol) were just kind of there.

I will rate this as 6.5. I'd totally recommend, if wanna be angry, loves Jang Ki Yong and Lee Soo Hyuk’s faces and loves themes as reincarnation, psycopaths, mystery, melodrama, soulmate (I guess?).

I would also like to warning you, even if this is a spoiler: as expected from all his dramas history, Lee Soo Hyuk doesn't get the girl in the end

[malaysiankpopfans]

WHY PEOPLE ARE BUZZING ABOUT STRANGER S2 : INTENSE INTRIGUE + EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT

Can you find the culprit?

All the puzzle pieces in the crime series Stranger S2 are coming together as our favorite crime-solving duo team up to find missing Prosecutor Seo Dong-jae (Lee Joon-hyuk). While Prosecutor Hwang Si-mok (Cho Seung-woo) and Police Inspector Han Yeo-jin (Bae Doo-na) retrace Dong-jae’s steps, they discover that cases brought up earlier appear to be related to his disappearance. What makes the series so interesting is the brain-racking mystery and how suspicious all the characters are. Enjoy sleuthing alongside the duo and check out the possible culprits here.

Choi Bit

Most of the primary suspects are new characters in the second season, including Chief Choi (Jeon Hye-jin). Choi Bit has no qualms about bending the truth for the good of the police. She can be hot-headed and calculative. Prior to Seo Dong-jae’s disappearance, Choi Bit was concerned about him prying into the case of Police Sergeant Song Gi-hyeon (Lee Ga-sub)’s death. Now she’s worried about the public thinking that a police officer might be behind Dong-jae’s kidnapping. She’s clearly nervous and has something to hide, but could she be responsible for Dong-jae?

Woo Tae-ha

Both Choi Bit and Chief Prosecutor Woo Tae-ha (Choi Moo-sung) seem bothered about the fact that Seo Dong-jae was looking into the death of prosecutor turned lawyer Park Gwang-su (Seo Jin-won) before his abduction. However, Woo Tae-ha might be experiencing more difficulty in trying to appear nonchalant. He’s on edge and doesn’t want Hwang Si-mok to dig too deep. Tae-ha already lied about the other file Dong-jae gave him and spoke to Park Gwang-su’s wife secretly. Could he be involved in Dong-jae’s abduction?

Lee Yeon-jae

Lee Yeon-jae (Yoon Se-a) is now in charge of Hanjo and embroiled in a power struggle with her brother Lee Sung-jae. She’s determined to keep her position and continue rebuilding Hanjo’s reputation. Could she be entangled in some dirty dealings though? When Dong-jae brought up Park Gwang-su’s death she jokingly asked if she had killed him. Furthermore, before Dong-jae’s disappearance Yeon-jae cryptically says, “There was one more,” after receiving a supportive text message from Dong-jae. However, Yeon-jae may not be directly involved in his disappearance because she does appear to be worried about him.

Kim Sa-hyun

Prosecutor Kim Sa-hyun (Kim Young-jae) joined Woo Tae-ha and Hwang Si-mok to represent the prosecution for the Prosecution-Police Council Meeting. He comes off a bit arrogant and annoying at first, but he seems different after Dong-jae’s disappearance. Sa-hyun has a bit of a heart-to-heart with Si-mok when he talks about having known the late Lee Chang-jun (Yu Jae-myeong) and being affected by his passing even though he had not seen him for 13 years. He also notes that if a police officer is responsible for Dong-jae’s kidnapping then the investigative authority fight between the police and the prosecution is over. Sa-hyun seems harmless, but you never know what could happen in this series.

Kang Won-chul

Chief Prosecutor Kang Won-chul (Park Seong-keun) quickly signed off on the ruling for the Tongyeong drowning case which wrapped it up in a short amount of time. While Si-mok didn’t disagree with the ruling, there are some signs that show Won-chul might have changed since the first season. He’s in a higher position of power than before, and his meeting with prosecutor turned lawyer Oh Ju-seon (Kim Hak-sun) reveals that Won-chul might be considering what to do with his career after leaving the prosecution someday. Is Kang Won-chul still trustworthy?

Lee Sung-jae

We have yet to see Lee Yeon-jae’s brother Lee Sung-jae. We do know that he’s ambitious and eager to take over control of Hanjo. Seo Dong-jae got involved when Yeon-jae asked him to speak to her father on her behalf. Although he wasn’t able to get inside her father’s residence, he did succeed with investigating and discovering some medication in the trash. This information helped Yeon-jae realize her father’s current state. What if Lee Sung-jae found out about Dong-jae sneaking around and reporting to Yeon-jae? Would he have played a hand in his disappearance?

Jeon Seung-pyo

Former Dongducheon Chief Jeon Seung-pyo (Moon Jong-won) is a favorite potential suspect amongst many viewers. He’s got anger issues and is implicated in two of the three cases Dong-jae was looking into. The first case centers around his demotion after assaulting his driver. This was the case that Woo Tae-ha pretended to have forgotten in front of Hwang Si-mok. He was also questioned for whether or not he was involved in Song Gi-hyeon getting transferred to the precinct where Jeon Seung-pyo’s nephew works. Yeo-jin and Si-mok observed that Seung-pyo could have overpowered Dong-jae, but is he guilty of attacking him?

Kim Su-hang

Kim Su-hang (Kim Beom-su) is Jeon Seung-pyo’s nephew and finished serving his sentence for receiving bribes. We know he had an antagonistic relationship with the deceased Song Gi-hyeon, but he claims to have repented upon being questioned by Yeo-jin. Su-hang’s employer described him as a hardworking person and well-liked by the elders. Is he truly a changed person, or is he just putting on an act? While he has an alibi, is it possible that there’s an accomplice?

Baek Jung-gi

Police team leader Baek Jung-gi (Jung Seung-gil) seemed pretty guilty earlier on. It appeared as though he was receiving bribes and potentially guilty of killing Song Gi-hyeon. When questioned after a witness comes forward, Jung-gi appears more innocent. He does seem genuinely remorseful about leading his team to accept bribes in order for Lee Dae-seong (Park Sung-il) to afford his ill mother’s medication. However, when the Segok officers are walking to the room to be identified by the witness, Jung-gi is the only officer who knows that there is a witness. Did he just hear it from colleagues or is he more involved than he lets on?

Prosecutor Seo Dong-jae’s Wife

Seo Dong-jae’s wife (Choi Hee-seo) reacts atypically at the news of her husband’s disappearance. When the police check the DNA of the blood stain at the scene against her child’s cheek swab, she appears more worried about her children than her missing husband. However, she does film a video pleading for any witnesses to come forward. When Jang Geon (Choi Jae-woong) shows her the photo of Dong-jae’s bloody tie, she cries and pleads for help. However, when she watches the news with her son later, she looks oddly detached as she reassures her son that the news is not about his father. Is she hiding something?

The Father of One of the Drowning Victims

The Tongyeong drowning case was the very first case we saw in the second season. There’s got to be more to the case than what we’ve seen thus far. The father of one of the drowning victims was visited by Choi Bit, Seo Dong-jae, and Han Yeo-jin separately. While he initially believed it was a simple drowning accident, the case became scrutinized for potential mishandling. Yeo-jin remembered the older, wooden flooring at the father’s home but has kept the information to herself. Is it just a coincidence or is the father involved with Dong-jae’s disappearance?

Aside from the characters mentioned already, there are plenty more suspicious people to consider. Some that come to mind include Prosecutor Jeong Min-ha (Park Ji-yeon) who might harbor feelings for Dong-jae, and Lee Yeon-jae’s right-hand man Director Park (Jung Sung-il), who seems a bit shady. The culprit could even be someone not mentioned on this list at all. However, it’s clear that most of these people are hiding secrets. Only time will tell as Si-mok and Yeo-jin work together to expose the secrets. In the meantime, hang in there Dong-jae!

Don’t forget to tune in and watch Stranger S2, only on Netflix. Catch the culprit yourself!

Synopsis: In the midst of a power clash between prosecutors and police, Hwang Si-mok (Cho Seung-woo) and Han Yeo-jin (Bae Doo-na) reunite to uncover murky secrets as they pursue a labyrinth of intertwined cases.