#because the cast in the manhwa all feels really charismatic

[shidoukanae]

okay so Paris is sharing Helene's spot for being my favorite character in the light novel he's great

everyone hates the poor guy in the novel but to be honest he's been one of the most sane characters in the story so far. He's cunning and clever and messes around to have fun but every time he appears it's actually been pretty nice because he's very unpredictable and im enjoying that

never thought I would like Paris as much as i do in the light novel (and im sure on a manhwa reread my fondness for him will increase) but he's it's second saving grace (Helene being the first ofc although she's just kind of sitting in the background in the plot and im very much ://// about it)

[thelostpretzel]

hello!! i just wanted to pop in and say that i really really love your ocs, their designs are all so fun and creative!!!!! esp the heroes of the city waow :00 also deeply interested in whatever lore they have so if you ever feel like dropping crumbs,,, *hands outstretched*

*cracks knuckles* thank you for asking dear stranger i would love to ramble about my children (the?) Heroes of the City (sorry, I still don't understand how article THE works) is a story in the genre of LitRPG (like literature + RPG or manhwas/novells about rankers) and it's about Players who are trying to save The Sentient (?) City from self-destruction (or help it destroy itself if a Player feels like hating the world) so the main cast is Eki (she/them) aka The Leviathan Slayer aka The Hero she smol she kind she could kill a god if this god is a threat to her found family but only if said god is a physical threat she is a beating pillow for every morally gray/black character in The City and will never win against charismatic-based villain (she's very naive and soft hearted and everybody uses it)

Black Silver (she/her) aka The Witch or The City's Shadow

the hottest and the deadliest villain of The City and i have nothing else to say

Rex (he/them) aka [data deleted]

he is one of The City creators and his main mission is to be a threat to his ex-soulmate - Black Silver who is actively destroying The City

they are the Most Toxic Couple of the project and i feel terror every time i think about them

Little Box (she/her) aka [???]

i don't know what she is and i'm lowkey scared to know so she's just vibin' here and there (i think she's dead)

Coffee Fox (he/him) aka The Keeper aka The Guardian

a barista of a tiny coffee shop and The Retired King of The City

he brings comfort and love to every Hero but can only watch The City fall because he's forever locked in his coffee shop

Magnolia (she\her) and Glitches (they\them) aka The Healer/The Parasite

ah yes a cool badass parasite with no morale compass and an absolutely miserable host with terrible anxiety disorder i love it (Glitches also often flirts with The Bitch i mean with the guy who is hated by the whole City and Magnolia lives in constant fear because of it)

Midas (he/him) aka The Bitch i mean The Cursed King

The Bitch of The City (and he's fucking rich and hot too i hate him so fucking much i don't even draw him consistently WHYYYYYYYYYYY)

anyway

Adam (the fuck/that) aka The Emptiness

the mute horror of the City (he likes Little Box and Magnolia though)

aaaaaand the last one

42 aka Zwai (man/failure)

he's just funny little guy with horrible medicine trauma and a cat

thats it thank you

[helloandwelcometomariasblog]

Review #111: Hyena (Ep 1)

Okay.

I need to take some deep breaths before I begin writing this review. I must refrain from hyperventilating. I must remind myself to breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

It's 1:49am right now. I stayed up until midnight finishing off one of my assignments, had a shower, and, like always, decided to watch something while drying my hair and getting ready for bed.

A light switch flickered in my head. Hyena. I'd been wanting to watch that ever since... yesterday. That's right. It hasn't been long at all. However, there is something else that has lasted much, much longer than that.

My weirdly intense attraction to Joo Jihoon.

Let me, just let me elaborate a little bit further on this. You know I don't keep any actors in my mind longterm. I'm a singer lover, and I fall for voice and personality way, way over simple appearance and acting ability. I don't like "characters" longterm, and no actor's personality or voice have ever kept me lingering. I definitely had phases though, and some of the phases I can distinctly remember are people like Lee Jongsuk and Park Bogum.

However, Joo Jihoon is different. It's going to take me a while to explain the intricacies of these thoughts and feelings, but hey, it's only 2:05am and I have places to go and things to do tomorrow, so of course I'm going to continue elaborating, right?

The first time I saw him was on Goong. I absolutely loved that drama as a teenager. I remember reading the manhwa too. Funny story though, back then, I preferred the second male lead over Joo Jihoon. Hah. My preference has surely changed now. I'm just going to be straight-forward. It changed ever since I fell for my ex boyfriend. It changed ever since I fell in love with him.

Simply put, Joo Jihoon reminds me of my ex boyfriend. And I was insanely attracted to my ex boyfriend. Insanely. This isn't my diary so I won't give too many details, but every time I came across a Joo Jihoon picture or video after having started to date my ex boyfriend, my heart would almost automatically swoon, just because they held a similar atmosphere. I remember this one date where we went on a trip and took a walk in one of the well-known sights of that specific town. I took some photos of him and he looked so attractive, I honestly said out loud, you look like Joo Jihoon. I wonder if he remembers that. I hope he thinks Joo Jihoon is as attractive as I think he is, so that that memory is a positive memory for him.

But come on. Who wouldn't think Joo Jihoon is attractive? He's been attractive ever since I saw him on Goong. I can't remember if I watched anything else of him after Goong, but I know that I did watch Kingdom a few years back. I feel like watching that all over again. Wow, I just skimmed through his filmography and I really haven't seen much of his work. Does that confirm the hypothesis that my intense attraction to this guy is mostly from the way I felt about my ex boyfriend..?

Anyway. Regardless of everything, Joo Jihoon suits this character immensely. He is Yoon Heejae, and Yoon Heejae is him. Yoon Heejae's hairstyle, the clothes he chooses to wear, the way he speaks, walks, acts, even the way he falls in love - everything about him is so well brought to life by Joo Jihoon. I think the casting is perfect. I know this to be true because currently a new Joo Jihoon drama is playing on TV (with Jung Yumi) and he really does not suit that character. Every time I see shorts on YouTube or happen to watch a scene while walking into the lounge area of my grandfather's house, I have to refrain from gagging. The story, the characters, they all suck.

Listen. Joo Jihoon should never be playing a character that is innocent, shy, and acts like a novice when it comes to life or love experience, or interacting with women. Joo Jihoon is perfect for characters that are sexy, charismatic, confident, experienced, silently strong on the outside while being soft and fragile on the inside. Watching him grow curious of Geumja (Kim Hyesoo) and so, so softly fall in love with her was almost too much for my heart to handle. The workaholic and successful lawyer who looks and acts like the kind of man who would never fall for just any woman and, even if he does find a woman attractive, would not commit seriously to her and take the relationship very lightly. That kind of man falling so hopelessly in love with this woman as though he is falling in love for the very first time. That is just so... fucking endearing.

Kim Hyesoo. We must talk about her. What I wrote just above all make sense only because it is Kim Hyesoo. The moment I saw her at the laundromat, my reaction was the same as Heejae's, and the more we saw of her, the more my reaction resembled Heejae's. That scene of her walking out into the rain. Coming back and asking for her book, her hoodie and parts of her fringe slightly wet. Those large, searching eyes of hers. Listen. Kim Hyesoo is just so, so charismatic. I don't think I can imagine any other female actor playing the role of the 여유로운 femme fatale-like, absolutely beautiful older woman that so naturally seduces Joo Jihoon and also fights it out with a yangachi. That fight scene was intense, and you know what I loved about it? The fact that the woman didn't miraculously smash the guy. The fact that Joo Jihoon didn't miraculously appear and smash the guy. I loved that they didn't use those cliches and actually made her fight for her life.

I felt so bad for Heejae when he realised that everything was fake. I could just imagine how devastated he must have felt, as though his entire world had just turned upside down (which the drama did very well, with the actual upside down depiction). Heejae had just lost both the case and the person he trusted to be his lover. Suddenly, all the memories, the love that they shared - all that was gone. It was nothing. How painful is that?

Lastly, before I go, I want to mention that I love the 어른 연애 vibe from the drama. I can no longer watch dramas where two adults spend ten episodes being all fluttery and shy and awkward. Let's be real. That's not what happens in Korea with adults of that age. I guess another drama that comes to mind that did the more realistic depiction really well was 밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나, with the way they showed the two of them beginning to date and the early stages of a couple.

It's time to sleep now. It's 2:44am. I need to somehow try to fall asleep. My mind so still so, so awake. I miss my ex boyfriend.