#Kang Gil Young fangirl

[teafiend]

Gifs source: @Nungchae (Twitter)

[teafiend]

It is also a good idea to learn when enough is enough and move on.

Hi, I'm a fairly new writer and I just wanted to ask your advice on caring less about statistics (sorry if this has been asked before). I'm writing for a pretty small fandom, and one or two of my fics have done pretty well, but some of the ones I was proudest of got quite a few hits but literally only two kudos. How do I write for me and not for the response I get from other people? It feels so disheartening to put in hours of work when no one seems to enjoy most of my fics

Hi Anon!

Welcome to the world of writing and posting on AO3! You question: "How do I write for me and not for the response I get from other people?" resonates a lot with me personally and is something I still ponder and confront myself with from time to time.

I'm going to echo a response to a previous post that I saw once but can't find again which has stuck with me and aligns with how I deal with this question: Divorce the act of writing from the act of sharing your writing.

Put another way, can you separate:

the act of writing—the physical act of putting words down on paper—as a craft and an activity, from

the act of sharing the results of your work—which is more along the lines of publishing, marketing, advertising, promoting, and generating "engagement" (to use a social media term) to make your work known and get it out there in the world, so to speak.

I've heard people use (and have used it myself) the analogy of a potluck when talking about fanfic and the response to fanfic. Rephrasing your question to use this analogy: How do I cook for myself and not for the response I get from other people?

This post by @ao3commentoftheday and this post is a good starting point for beginning to create that separation. Hopefully you find the advice and perspectives there useful. Additionally, the answer to this ask here has links to other posts which may help give you additional perspective and deemphasize the importance of the numbers on your stats page. Think quality vs quantity; Or 10 acquaintances saying how much they enjoyed the food you brought vs your significant other saying it.

I'd also like to focus more on the first part of your question:

How do I write for me...?

1. Ask yourself 'why do you write?'

It's one of those questions that has no right answer, and which everyone will have a different answer for. What is your answer to it?

If you want to continue writing for yourself, you'll need to find some intrinsic motivation.

Consider taking a step back and doing some internal reflection. Is there something you find satisfying about the act of putting words down on paper? What makes writing fun for you? What sparks joy in the process of writing?

If you have answers to those questions, can you focus on those reasons and use them as fuel to write? If something took away your ability to share your writing with others (e.g. you are stranded on a deserted island with no internet), what are some things about writing that would still bring you comfort, solace, satisfaction, happiness, and/or joy?

2. Find a reason to write that is independent of other people

There are many reasons why someone writes. Maybe they're the type of person who just needs to get their thoughts out on paper, else they'll go mad. Maybe they do it as a way to cope. Maybe they're just doing it for attention. Maybe they're doing it out of spite. Maybe they're doing it just because. Maybe it's all of the above for some stories, and none of the above for others.

Can you find your reason and focus on it such that the response to your work becomes that much less important? If you have a reason for writing that is independent of other people's response to your work, I would encourage you to think of ways to derive a sense of accomplishment from those intrinsic reasons instead of external responses which are out of your control.

Some examples of goals that don't depend on anyone else are:

Writing challenges which are focused on completion instead of a qualitative (i.e. is this any good?) valuation. These can be things like "Can you write a fic in 1,000 words or less?" or "Can you write fics for your OTP that are about [trope]?" "Success" in these depend on the work just existing, and even if no one else reads it. In other words, your writing is a success because the work exists and you did it. Fullstop.

Do you find writing cathartic/soothing? Does it help you wind down after a long day of school/work/life? Is it a form of escapism (like reading or watching a movie) that helps take your mind off things? We all need a mental break, and if writing a way for you to do that, I'd say it's well worth the effort then!

Is there something you've always wanted to try writing? Maybe you want to try writing fantasy/sci-fi/magical realism/comedy/smut. Maybe you want to explore how two characters who never met in canon would interact if they were handcuffed together. Maybe you want to write your OTP as cats. The world is your oyster! Let your imagination go wild! Have fun with it! And hopefully the reception to your writing becomes less important because, heck, you had fun writing it, and that counts for something.

3. Set development goals for yourself.

If improving your writing as a craft appeals to you, then there's no better way to improve than to practice writing.

Thinking of the stories you write and post as practice pieces can take some of the pressure off of its reception. Mentally, it's easier for me to be less bothered by the reception of a fic if I *know* this is an experimental piece or something I'm trying for the first time. It allows me to use AO3 as what it is actually meant for: an archive of my work; and less as a platform to share and interact with fandom.

There's so much to explore in writing. Whether it's learning how to write action sequences or a fight scene, how to avoid info dumps, how to write a fic without dialogue tags, how to write flowery prose, there's so much that you can focus on and try to develop in your writing. Try focusing on those instead when you write and see how your writing changes and develops over time!

Again, thank you for sending in this ask, Anon. You're not alone in these struggles, and here are some parting words from Denis Villeneuve, the director of Dune (2021).

I hope this gives you some perspective and helps you on your journey as a writer. I'm not saying that doing all the above is going to be easy or immediate. Or if it's even going to be enough for your to keep writing. It's definitely not all there is to writing, and I'm not saying that you have to renounce all external feedback and motivation that comes with posting and sharing your work. I just hope that the advice above can help give you some balance and show you that there is value in writing in a vacuum and as a standalone activity. In the end, it will be up to you to decide if it's enough.

[kimchislaphearts]

Naked Fireman (2017)

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Romance, Drama

Plot:

Kang Chul Soo is an enthusiastic fireman who poses as a nude model to make money for his sick friend. He is then targeted as the criminal of an arson-murder case that took place 10 years and, together with mysterious heiress Han Jin Ah, he tries to find the real culprit.

Cast and Crew:

Lee Joon Hyuk as Kang Chul Soo

Jung In Sun as Han Jin Ah

Supporting Cast – Lee Won Jong, Jo Hee Bong, Seo Jung Yeon, Park Hoon, Kil Hae Yoon, Kim Ji Hoon, Lee Doo Suk, Lee Do Gyeom, Park Ji Hoon, Ryu Ui Hyun, Ahn Do Kyu, Lee Young Eun.

Director – Park Jin Sook

Screenwriter – Yoo Jung Hee

Producers – Lee Gun Joon (chief), Jo Woong (Father is Strange <3), Lee Young Bum

Music: One nice OST track – Now Give me a Smile – Ki Ryun and fitting background music

Overall:

I’ll be the first to admit that this little perv added this drama to her list when it was announced thanks to the subject matter. Then I pretty much forgot about it because no one was talking about it. Then I watched City Hall which was quickly followed by A Poem a Day and my little crush on Lee Joon Hyuk snowballed. Right now, I need to watch everything with him in it and what.. he is the lead in something already on my list.. of course it’s getting moved up and I’m really glad it did.

Just let me fangirl a little. He’s a beautiful man.

His face just kept getting dirtier and cuter. IT WAS WONDERFUL.

Now, I’ve seen him sans shirt in City Hunter but boy was covered in so much oil he could have easily started a fire. Plus he has totally buffed up on his military service, this girl approves! And it only takes 12 minutes before he removes his shirt for the first time. ^^

This is the first time I’ve seen him go full smile, such a contrast to his character in A Poem a Day, ahhh he’s got dimples too. CUTE <3

Also Lee Joon Hyuk donated his earnings from this to the fire service, totally approve!

Enough of my fangirling, onto the drama.

This was such a well done mini-series, everything about it was tight. I really liked the way they told the story from the two leads perspectives and their memories of the past, especially how the trauma had shaped Jin Ah as a person.

The characters were interesting and really well developed considering it was a total of 4 hours, sometimes you don’t get that much in a full 16 hour drama. The cast was littered with familiar faces and they all had excellent chemistry. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Kang Chul Soo and his mentor Jang Kwang Ho (Lee Won Jong).

Although, I have to say, it was way to soon for me to see Gil Hae Yun screaming “Jin Ah” after the trauma of Something in the Rain.

The mystery of the drama isn’t too speculative, but when you work it out quickly you feel pretty clever, and continue with the journey of the characters.

At times it was hilarious. Others it was suspenseful. And sad.

Overall, I found it a really enjoyable drama to watch, and even if It didn’t come with the bonus of copious fanservice ala Lee Joon Hyuk it would still be worthy of praise.    

BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING.

NOT. AT. ALL. <3

Rating: 10/10

Watch it: Viki

[teafiend]

Our glorious Wangja-nim ✨👑🫡🤩

[teafiend]

I always marvel at how wonderful Jung Eun Chae’s skin (and skin tone) must be because unlike some other actresses (actors included), one could not notice the difference in colour tone between her face and neck when made up. (Admittedly am not good at noticing such things but some disparity in skin tones are easily noticeable for many performers when made up).

Reminded me of Kim Dong Wook’s remarks about first impressions (during the filming of “Sohn: The Guest”) of JEC. He said she is very fair 🤍😄 (And I was wondering; he is a top actor by then, he must have met many, many fair, beautiful K-actresses and yet that was what he said 🤔🧐).

I do concur though, even for standards of “fairness”, JEC’s skin tone is absolutely luminous❣️ (And KDW has fair skin too, despite his character in TG; that poor man got skin allergies due to artificial tanning for the project).

(Saying as someone with darkish skin tone for my ethnicity, and could care less whether someone is fair or otherwise in terms of physical appearances)

But I also find that OCN in general has lovely, naturalistic make-up ⭐️ (A million thanks for the make-up artists and stylists at OCN 🌸🫡👏🏽). Am a fan of their makeup and styling 🥰 (as they appeal to my sense of aesthetics in which “simple/naturalistic is best”).

(GIFs source: @Nungchae, Twitter/X)

[teafiend]

Loved the tension - and the unsaid on Choi Yoon’s part - apparent in this confrontational scene.

Shipping aside, this was such a good scene for the growth of their respective arcs, and everyone delivered beautiful and convincing performances. (Our Yoon Hwa Pyeong - aka Kim Dong Wook - included)

손: The Guest EP6 #GilYoungYoon 💞

[teafiend]

Gifs source: @Nungchae (Twitter)

Am a major fangirl for Kang Gil Young’s messy bun/knot/hair ❤️‍🔥😍🤩

[teafiend]

Let me make a detour from my usual KDrama rare pairs to fangirl scream about this pairing. This show has tropes galore to make a shipper like me go squeeing to high heavens. Love this for me and the show, truly❣️

While not wholly a rare pair as this pairing from the drama itself has a number of high quality FMVs to fangirl over - and the overwhelmingly more popular ship with viewers - and there exists a tiny amount of fics in Korean, on Ao3, the fics (in English) for this pairing is basically nonexistent. A sad state of affairs, certainly, but the main female character is generally beloved, and the number of FMVs enough to tide me over for a time, so all in all, this is a very wonderful ship for me to have fun with.

Compared to some of my other rare pairs, this ship is unironically a major, major comfort! There is extremely little frustration to be had although fan content is not in abundance either. A lovely, sexy and peaceful ship 🥰🥹

[teafiend]

I don’t think I scream into the void often enough about how much I love the aggressive, violent and IDGAF aspects of KGY’s personality, because d**n, nothing is better than watching her rough people (men) up, who deserved it. (Even YHP when he took the suspect and ran, and then later, once their connections were revealed, punched him; although he is entirely blameless with regard to their shared pasts).

(All gifs credited to @Nungchae, Twitter/X)

[teafiend]

All gifs credited to @Nungchae (Twitter/X)

[teafiend]

[teafiend]

Have been enjoying a few well-written and amazingly performed “lighter” shows lately- “Business Proposal” and “A Time Called You”; ATCY was not truly “light” per se, but… - shows lately, and while wowed, there was that nagging feeling of something lacking in those lovely shows. (The shows are great, truly, and performances ranged from the fantastically awesome to the solid, but there was just that little something lacking for me).

Personally, I pegged that lack as that indefinable but vital ingredient of any successful screen partnership, chemistry. And truly, not all shows managed that sparkling chemistry between their mains, but whatever faults people could even at “The Guest”, the chemistry between our Trio was not one of those. The trio had something indisputably special in that show.

The brilliantly written and paced emotional journey amongst the three, and each personally, will never not wow till this day.

After watching all those fabulous performances and female characters, I am once again feeling like a revisit of Kang Gil Young and The Guest is in order.

[teafiend]

Gifs source: Credited to @Nungchae (Twitter/X)

I never learn, it seems. After long months of staying sequestered in my own solitary corner, I just had to venture out to the “outside world” (commentary pages on The GUEST on drama websites) and get my blood pressure upped without good reason. Encountering comments about how “annoying” Kang Gil Young is will never not irk. ☹️

And as always, of course the few of any negative comments about characters are first directed towards the main female character.

But I truly wonder about this.

Sure, I am particular breed of female character(s)-lover, but am I the only one who loved KGY the moment she appeared on screen? The one who loves her attitude, the orneriness, the lone wolf vibes, the simmering anger/aggression from the get go?

The one who was not at all surprised by her action of punching Yoon Hwa Pyeong? Who found that punch cathartic for her as a character (and as a fangirl)? Who wanted to clap at the fabulous writing for that scene? How everything fits with what we have been given before about her? Or how after this episode, we also saw a markedly calmer KGY (in general; well at least no more punches 😆).

While I do find the criticisms of certain aspects of Jung Eun Chae’s portrayal in the initial few episodes to be quite valid - depending on POV - I am that fangirl who love her without any qualifications right from the beginning. And I think KGY - and JEC’s performance - is written amazingly regardless. She feels very life-like and realistic to me, and empowering (and relatable) in her bluntness and quick temper (especially in light of the background and traumatic experiences implicit in the building of her character).

I suppose I just need to shout my love into the void again after those comments, so, *shrugs*. Another revisit of TG might be in order so that I can squee over KGY again to drown out the annoyance. Though revisits don’t need any excuses, obviously. 😎

[teafiend]

Gifs source/credited to: @Nungchae (Twitter)

An awkward, sheepish or uncertain Kang Gil Young was so adorable and precious. Love her with all her quirks and ticks ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[teafiend]

[teafiend]

It is decidedly not sane that after every encounter with Moon Ok Gyeong - where she made me feel all wriggly inside - that I desperately want Kang Gil Young and Choi Yoon to go down rough and dirty in my brainrot. What do you even call this weird shipping transference???