#hwarang rewrite

[kittycolours]

My redesigns for Dante in @roxxie-spirt ‘s mcd rewrite bc Dante is my favourite blue guy and I like him so much :3

My interpretation of Dante is that he is half korean half Ecuadorian and was a wrangler with his brother before becoming a knight ! His last name is Caballero and his armor is based on traditional Ecuadorian folk dress and Hwarang uniform

[jungwooisms]

i think i’m just going to rewrite hwarang for svt.

[dynamite-el]

so I speedran the last few eps of hwarang for my second watch yesterday, and I love it.

but.

the relationship between Seonu and A-Ro is genuinely so uncomfortable to watch. I understand what the writers thought they were doing, but the actors have such wonderful platonic chemistry that whenever they kissed I had to look away. and ultimately, there was no need for them to end up together! it wouldn't have changed anything plotwise as long as they did it right, and it would have been so wonderful and wholesome.

so here is my rewrite.

Just because they are a man and a woman, it does not mean they have to end up together.

if this was two men or two women? those writers would have made it platonic.

A-Ro is suspicious of her 'brother', as she was originally. but instead of developing feelings for him (which was weird), she starts to accept him as a brother and feels very betrayed when she finds out that they aren't actually siblings and he has lied to her. but she gradually forgives him, and accepts him as her brother regardless of whether they were blood relations or not. can you imagine how goddamn wholesome that scene would have been?

A-Ro did not need Seonu as an excuse to reject Jidwi. And Jidwi did not need Seonu as an excuse to let her go.

Sure, Jidwi can mistake them for a couple, whatever. But when A-Ro rejects him and he assumes it's because of Seonu? She says, nope. She just doesn't like him and he has to accept that instead of trying to force her into a relationship with him because she doesn't like anyone else. This would have made a stronger moment for A-Ro as well as ultimately a stronger character arc for Jidwi, who has to realise that he is not entitled to her just because he's the king, and that she is allowed to find happiness for herself that does not include him. I thought the last scene where he just wrote her a letter was cowardly, and to really show his change they could have had that exchange in person.

A-Ro acts as a kind of Manic Pixie Dream Girl for Jidwi, in the respect that she helps him to find his strength but he becomes very attached to her as a result. if they spoke in person instead of through a letter, Jidwi ultimately lets her go because he has changed and although it's the hardest thing he's ever done he knows it's the right thing to do and not because of Seonu. it would have been so much more powerful in person, and made him so much stronger as a character.

also I personally would not have minded if Seonu and Sookmyung ended up together. like, not as a main plot in the show, but maybe as a what-if teaser for their possible future. in the show, Sookmyung could have tried to force Seonu to pick her over A-Ro, with Seonu telling her that he wouldn't, because his sister was the most important person in the world to him and he wouldn't choose a romantic relationship over A-Ro. eventually, Sookmyung could have realised that there was no reason that A-Ro would come between her relationship with Seonu, ultimately overcoming her selfishness and desire to have him for herself as she understands that he can have family too. obviously they could easily have not ended up together and that would be fine too, but I feel there is more basis for a romantic relationship between the two of them than between Seonu and A-Ro and if they really needed a romance then I would have preferred this one.

tl;dr - stop making all heterosexual couples default romances! it devalues platonic love! Seonu and A-Ro could have had a bond just as strong without it being romantic - found family is just as beautiful.

[secretanimelover]

Hwarang rewrite Chapter 1

If you have any questions or critiques let me know! Also warning this is long like around 8,000 words or so. I’ve posted to livejournal too if you would like to read it there.

http://secretanimelove.livejournal.com/937.html

A young man with an unimpressed look on his handsome face stands in the path of three other men. His long hair is windblown and kept out of his eyes by a strip of clothe tied around his head. His clothes are worn and plain looking but are not nearly in as rough a state as the men who are poorly trying to intimidate him.

“It’s bribing day which means I’m busy, can’t you just leave?” he sighs.

“we both know there can’t be two leaders in one village,” The leader of the three taunts while combing his obnoxious pointed hair. His spiky headed lackeys nod and snicker in agreement. The boy huffs out a breath in annoyance.

“Fine you’re the head” he replies causing looks of bafflement.

“What kind of trick are you trying to pull?” the leader says seemingly insulted.

“I’m not trying to pull anything I’m nervous you ass,” he replies nonchalantly, “if I get into trouble one more time my old man said he’d kill me himself.” His mood shifts into one of sarcastic charitableness, “Isn’t it great? I don’t have to beat you guys up and you get to be the leader or whatever! So, you can just go.” He starts walking away satisfied but the other men just don’t know how to take a hint.

“I heard your mother was so quick to throw you away that she didn’t even want name you,” The leader taunts, “then you should live as if you were dead and stop bugging me.”

“Well at least I tried.” He relents and turns around to face the men again while dramatically pulling out a 14-sided die. The men become anxious at the sight of the die knowing this is how he determines his strategy to beat people. The die is thrown up several meters into the air before being caught. “The person’s nose,” he mumbles as he reads the die. The men gulp before one of the underlings shouts to try and get the first hit while the young man is unprepared. The leader loudly charges forward and throws a punch which is easily dodged. But the boy gets too cocky and ends up tripping and falling face first onto the dirt road. His face flushes a bit in embarrassment as he lays on the ground and questions his luck.

“Did I hit him? I did, right?” The leader asks amazed. The other two men excitedly affirm that he had struck the boy and all three men begin to celebrate their “victory”. That is, until a yell comes piercing through the country air. A very tall, gangly, young man is clumsily charging at them, falling over several times before he reaches the group. He arrives to the “conflict” by jump kicking the leader in the chest and proceeding to land in what he believes to be an intimidating fighting stance.

“Don’t touch him! Fight me instead!” he proclaims throwing a few more small kicks for effect. The men, weirded out but still knowing they outnumber the giant boy, start to encircle him. “Getting up before they start hitting me would be nice!” he complains towards his friend who is still on the ground stewing in his own embarrassment. The other boy comes back to senses and quickly rises from the ground. As an afterthought, the tall boy quickly adds “don’t beat them up too badly though.”

“Hey jerks,” the now slightly pissed off boy says, “Run.”  Quickly scrambling to get a head start the three men take off. The two young friends closely following behind them into the forest. They dodge and weave on the paths through the forest as the taller boy once again trips leaving the rest of the pursuit to his friend.  Seeming to have lucked out the three men cross a small movable bridge. Acting quickly, they yank the bridge off balance letting it fall into the gap just as the boy catches up with them. They cackle because of their success and begin taunting him again from across the several meter gap, daring him to try and risk injury or worse if he were to try and come after them.

“Hey, what was his nickname again?” the leader asks breathless.

“Dog-bird.”

“Wait, why?” the leader asks slightly worried.

“He’s strong and loyal like a dog and he’s agile like a bird.” Comes the reply. Meanwhile the boy who had been walking away from them suddenly turns and sprints towards the gap. When he reaches the very edge, he launches himself into the air successfully surprising and over taking the men.

               Meanwhile, in the capital city of the Silla kingdom, an old man sits on the floor of a prison cell. He is a mess with his long greying hair sticking up every which way and his clothes in tatters. His hand shoots out and catches a fly that he intends to eat, however he is interrupted by a regal looking man entering his cell. “Be on your best behavior when you meet the queen.” It’s an order, not a request. The old man hums and bows his head in confirmation. Queen dowager Jiso enters the cell in all her regal glory with her abundant hair artfully styled and adorned with hair ornaments and wearing black and gold silk robes.

               “What is a best friend of the former king doing locked up in here?” her smooth voice in mostly controlled but there is disappointment leaking into her tone.  The old man only chuckles a little at the question.

               “I didn’t like the deceased king that much towards the end.” He tells her truthfully while not looking directly at her, “ I had sexual relations with his concubine, everyone said I had played around.”

               “You must not like this sacred kingdom then?” The queen asks letting some worry come through her façade. The man laughs and calmly quips back to the queen.

               “This is a country where a mother kicked out her own son.  A mother who couldn’t get rid of her greed even after being regent for 10 years.” he continues to stare off at the corner of the room as he concludes, “of course I have no choice but not to like it.” Queen Jiso remains as stone faced as she can and ignores his comments.

               “Have you thought about my request?” she asks calmly.

               “I have heard that the queen dowager is intelligent and cunning. But I think that the rumors are false.” He yawns causing the two guards of the queen to twitch in irritation at the sheer audacity of the man before them. “I’m a very easily exhausted person why do you keep asking me? What will you even do?”

               “I plan to make a group of guards that would give up their lives for their king.” She replies calmly.  The man chuckles and scoffs as he hears the idea.

               “A group of guards. Sounds good.” The reply is mix of sarcasm and amusement, “But all of the guards are being used by the officials. Who else would hold weapons and shoot arrows for the king? Are you going to get them from the kingdom of Baekje or Goguryeo?”

               “I am planning to recruit the sons of the officials.” The queen replies completely composed now. The grin that had been on the man’s face for the entire conversation slips off as he comprehends her statement. “Please teach them.” She continues, “Instead of their parents and families, they need to become loyal to the king and the country.”

               “And you think I would do this because…?” the man questions.

               “Weren’t you just saying that you wanted my regency to end? If you achieve in creating what I have asked I will step down from the throne cleanly.” She explains. The man’s face is serious as he thinks about what the queen is asking of him, but lets out a sigh and starts to laugh because he knows that this opportunity is too good to pass up.

               The two young friends, on the other hand, are conversing underneath a large tree that grows on a hill overlooking the valley that contains the capital. The tall boy is bragging about how he used to live in the city and dreaming about finding his family. He’s told what stories he could remember from his childhood to his friend so many times now that he could perfectly repeat them back to him.

               “When I figure out how to get into the capital I know I’ll be able to find them using this.” He smiles as he fiddles with the wood bead necklace around his neck. It’s a common sight, him dreamily going on like this, planning the perfect reunion with his father and younger sister and bringing his best friend, and surrogate brother, along and integrating him into his family to make up for the one he never got to have.

               “No matter what Mak Moon. We are going to get in there, okay?” Dog-bird, or Moo Myung as he was more commonly referred, assures him before smacking him lightly and scolding, “as long as you don’t chicken out again!”

               “If we go in as commoners we will be shot full of arrows or run through with spears!” Mak Moon whines defensively back, “Or get our heads cut off.” The other boy sighs agitated and is about to egg him on more before Mak Moon continues softly, “but it’s my home where I lived together with my mother, father, and little sister.” He grips his necklace determined, “I will find my family with this and I will find my identity too.”

               “I bet you won’t find anything with that.”

               “People find out stuff like this all the time!”

               Moo Myung smiles at his friend while holding in his laughter. Meanwhile, Mak Moon is pouting while tucking his necklace back inside his worn shirt.

               “You know you can still back out? I don’t want to force you to go somewhere you don’t want to.” Mak Moon asks passively.

               “I’ve already told you that I want to go. You’re family and wherever you go, I go. Anyways who cares if I am not allowed to be there because I’m a peasant, all people are the same so why shouldn’t I go?” his friend shoots back.

               “How did you become so fearless?” Mak Moon asks humoring his friend.

               “He who has a lot is the one with fear.” Moo Myung quotes, “I have nothing to be afraid of.” His eyes widen as he realizes that they have made a huge mistake. “Payment.” He mumbles.

               “What?”

               “He’s going to kill us!” and with that they both desperately take off running back to their small village.

               Moo Myung peaks around the corner of a doorway of a hut and lets out a breath of relief that the owner isn’t home. The boys, still panting from their run, rush over to a pot full of water. Mak Moon chugs some water before handing the gourd scoop over to Moo Myung. The boy barely gets a full swallow in before and arrow whips passed his face and plants itself into the side of the hut. He chokes and sputters on the water as he turns towards his “attacker”, a surly old man with a bow.

               “You almost killed me!”

               “How many times do I have to tell you not to fight? No one would take you in, but I took on that burden and this is what I get in return!” the old man scolds.

               “We know, you’ve been saying the same stuff for ten years!” Moo Myung yells back, though he is more annoyed than angry.

               “Well then you should also know that if there isn’t enough gold then the villagers will get beaten up?”

               “I do. But there is a reason I don’t---”

               “Oh, did you have a reason for getting into a fight?” the old man asks sarcastically as he draws back another arrow. Moo Myung, seeing how there was no way he could talk his way out of this, begins to run. The old man sighs before release the blunted arrow and hitting the boy square in the head knocking him out cold. Mak Moon winces in sympathy but doesn’t dare move.

               Later two riders approach the capital gates in the dead of night, both have their faces covered up to their eyes. They are met at the gate by the Queen’s right-hand man. The man brought no other witnesses and the younger of the two riders nods his head both in greeting and in thanks. The boy is the young king and he did not approve of his mother’s order to have anyone, outside of a small group of people, who knew his identity and saw his face to be immediately killed. She may reason that it is for his safety and he knows he can’t stop the loyal guard from carrying out the order, but he will be damned if he doesn’t put in the effort to prevent it from happening when he can.

               At that same moment Moo Myung and Mak Moon are scaling up a rope on the outer wall of the capital. Moo Myung makes it over the wall first and, after catching his breath, looks around to figure out what to do next. His breath catches in his throat as he spots the dangling heads of other peasants who had illegally entered the capital. He quickly turns back to Mak Moon as he clambers over the ledge behind him telling him to breath before looking around. Mak Moon does not take the horror of the decapitated rotting heads well and screams. Moo Myung is quick to cover his mouth and get them moving after that. They manage to steal some clothes from a wash line before most the city is awake. They couldn’t help but flaunt around in their new clothes, they had never worn anything so nice. Now they just had to look through the entire capital city for the girl that had the necklace that matched with Mak Moon’s.

Elsewhere in the capital, a handsome young man sits at the edge of completely enamored crowd listening to a young woman tell a dramatic tale of murder and romance. He has a small smile on his face as he leans against a post and closes his eyes to better picture the story that is being spun. Well, that was his original intention but he ends up falling asleep and missing the entire conclusion of the tale. When he wakes he’s disappointed, to say the least, and he snags a passerby asking where he could find the story teller.

 Moo Myung and Mak Moon decide to try and go to the most popular places in the capital because the more people they scan the more likely Mak Moon would be able to recognize his little sister or that they could spot the beads of the necklace. Which leads to them wandering into a gambling house. They mosey around stopping at different games to inquire about the necklace.

 “Excuse me, do you know what shop sells this type of thing? Have you seen anyone else wearing this?” Mak Moon asks holding out his necklace. A man watching one of the games tells him about a shop that would sell special pieces and even gives him directions. Unfortunately, he has no idea what any of the directions mean and he stutters out more questions about the location of the store. His confusion is overheard at a nearby table by a man with a large scar on his face. The scar faced man smirks knowingly and immediately pegs Mak Moon as an outsider. Moo Myung, in the meantime, had gotten distracted by watching the game. His eyes are focused as he watches the dice being handled. The scar faced man is playing against another man, with a small girl clinging to him, who loses once again. Moo Myung’s gaze hardens as he realizes the game is rigged. The man begs for another chance, since he had just lost all his money. The scar faced man laughs scornfully and makes one of his goons bring a box to the table.

 “Sure, I’ll give you another chance,” he sneers and opens the box to reveal a severed head, “as long as you don’t mind putting your daughter’s pretty little head up as payment.” The people watching look away in disgust and start murmuring about the foolishness of the man. The man is in tears and begging for mercy offering his life in place of his child.  Moo Myung, silently seething, offers to take the man’s place and places his head as payment instead. He knew the scar faced man wouldn’t deny him, he had seen his type before, the type that doesn’t care who he gets to hurt or kill just if he gets to spill blood and flaunt his power. “I’ll take that bet! I’ll even give you all of my winnings from today if you beat me!”

 “I don’t need your dirty money; your head will be payment enough.” Moo Myung shoots back without missing a beat. All conversation dies down in an instant. The scar faced man’s knowing grin morphs into a sneer, but he still agrees to play. They make their calls and the dice are rolled in a cup, which is then flipped making a dull thud on the table. Before the result can be revealed, and the dice switched out, Moo Myung’s arm shoots out and he slams his hand down on top of the overturned cup. He starts to reveal the results while preventing the man from moving the dice but the scar faced man slams the cup back down. He’s shaking with anger, and a bit of fear, as he holds the cup down fighting against Moo Myung who is calmly trying lift it.

 “No one else has ever been able to do this, who are you?” the scar faced man asks through gritted teeth. Moo Myung grins slyly back at him.

 “Oh me? I’m Dog-bird.”

 The man’s eyes widen in recognition. He knows that name and the reputation that comes with it. Mak Moon speaks up from where he has been watching the whole conflict take place. “Stop trying to delay the results! Show the dice!” The scar faced man gives Moo Myung a shaky grin as he offers to let Moo Myung keep his head if he walks away now.  Moo Myung refuses the offer with a shake of his head.

 “Why are you so nervous sir? Do you somehow already know the result?” Dog-bird asks snidely. The man, as it turns out, isn’t much of a gambler. He flips the table over while ordering his men get Moo Myung and Mak Moon. Both boys run while overturning tables and shoving people out their way. They run out of the gambling house and split up with Moo Myung leading the man and his flunkies on a chase through the city. He climbs over carts in the road and climbs up on top of the roof of one of the many buildings. The men furiously following him.  He spots a large gap between two of the buildings and heads towards it, knowing that the morons chasing after him won’t be able to make the jump. He reaches the gap and launches himself across, smacking his chest against the edge of the rooftop and knocking the wind out of himself before hauling himself up. He runs to the other side of the roof and climbs down into a side street. Scar face and his men lose sight of him causing him to yell in frustration.

 Meanwhile the haggard old man from the jail cell has gotten cleaned up and dressed in robes marking him with importance. He is searching for someone that can help him complete his mission and finally get the queen to step down. He walks into a bustling teahouse filled with young lounging nobles. The owner is waltzing around and fanning himself with the perfect service smile on his face while checking on his patrons.

 “Hwa-gong!” the shop owner exclaims spotting the other man, “I haven’t seen you ages!” Hwa-gong gives him a small smile while still taking in the shop.

 “You’ve been busy while I have been away. Who would have thought that the incompetent Pi Joo Ki would become such a successful business man.” Hwa-gong says with a chuckle.

 “If you’re so impressed with one shop wait until you visit the others!” Joo ki says with pride. He leads Hwa-gong to table in the back so they can talk. “So what brings you here? This isn’t the type of place you would normally choose to frequent.”

 “It’s urgent.” Hwa-gong says, his mood changing into one of complete solemnity, “I’m looking for something special, something that only you could provide me.” Joo Ki looks shocked for a moment before giving Hwa-gong a dirty grin.

 “Getting all needy for a woman in your age?” Jooki asks suggestively. He receives a blank look in response.

 “No.” Hwa-gong says patiently, “I am asking you to find me young beautiful men.”

 “Oh. Was that time away to do some self-reflection?” Jooki says, eyebrows raised in revelation, “I mean, usually people figure or try this out when they are younger but to each his own.” Hwa-gong lets out a sigh, realizing that he probably should have worded that better.

 After explaining the situation more fully Jooki takes him to his most popular shop in the city called Daiseo. He made a special room in the back that worked as both an office and a hidden viewing spot to watch the goings on in his shop, which he graciously offers as an incognito base of operation to Hwa-gong.

 In a different part of town, the pretty girl who tells stories is having an argument with a wine merchant. He owes her three months’ pay and she is not going to take no as an answer.

 “Miss Ahro, please explain to me how it makes sense to pay a thief?” the stall owner asks the girl condescendingly.

 “Why are you lying just so you don’t have to pay me? Is business really that bad?” Ahro shoots back. “I could spread the word that you like to rip people off or you could just pay me what you owe.”

 “Act as highborn as you want girl. It doesn’t matter that your father is of noble birth, your mother was lowborn and you are nothing but a lowborn half breed because of it.” The man sneers. Ahro is fuming as her eyes dart around the stall only to settle onto the jars of his finest wine.

 “Fine. You don’t want to pay me or treat me right that’s your choice. I wasn’t going to keep working for you anyways but now you’ve given me reason to at least live up to your lies.” She smirks raising her hand and pointing towards the jars of wine. “I think a jar per month should suffice.” She then grabs one of the jars, opens it, tips it back like she going to chug the jug, only to dump it in the dirt and drop the pot shattering it. The man stares at her in utter shock as he watches her do it again only this time she doesn’t put up the front of drinking it, she just chucks it out into the middle of the street startling some people walking by. Ahro then grabs the last jug, glares pointedly at the merchant, and then turns sharply and stomps away.

 She trudges back to her home at a slow pace, there is only so fast anger can take you when lugging around a clay pot full of alcohol. Her entire being gives off an aura for people to bug off, eyes narrowed and scanning the crowd. She spots a stand being pilfered by some kids and huffs in annoyance as she plops the jar of alcohol on the ground before going over to scold the children. The children don’t even have the mind to look ashamed and they giggle as they run off, most of them clumsily dropping the small trinkets they were trying to steal. Ahro rolls her eyes good naturedly and turns around to go retrieve the pot only to see a man picking it up and starting to make off with it.  Not having any of it, she slips off her shoes and starts running after the man. She hurtles a single shoe through the crowd of people, hoping to at least make him slow down for a moment, only for it smack into the head of a boy wandering through. Embarrassed and annoyed that she missed her target she doesn’t realize that she is going too fast to stop as she all but tackles the boy. They land in an ungraceful heap on the dirt road. He groans as she pushes off his chest to prop herself up to look for her wine thief but there is no sign of the man.

 “Seriously!? Even when I am getting rightful retribution this stupid kingdom can’t even allow me that!” Ahro complains. She makes a noise of frustration before fully comprehending that she is laying on top of someone in the middle of a busy road. She looks down and gives a stuttered apology. The boy she knocked over is handsome even with the dopey confused look on his face. He mumbles that he’s okay, head turning this way and that until he spots her shoe. He hands it back to her as they pick themselves up out of the dirt.

 “Well, um, good day.” The boy says with a nod and speed walks away. Ahro tilts her head in confusion before wondering back to her home.

 She walks through the gateway into her home laying down on the raised platform in the center of the small courtyard. She’s tired and annoyed and wants to complain to somebody but there’s noise coming out of the spare room used for patients. It sounds as if her dad is talking to the man he enlisted to find her brother and mother. It has been ten years since they were forced to leave the capital and every day the hope of ever finding them diminishes a little bit more. Ahro decides to take a nap while waiting for her father, she needed the rest anyways because she must go to Okta tonight and entertain the “innocent” high born girls with a story.

 The young man who was listening to her story in the square is now dressed in royal robes and standing in the throne room of the palace glaring at the throne. The queen regent comes into the room through the door behind him, an air of anger and fear swirling around her.

 “Sam Maek Jong why have you come here? After all I have done to protect you and you just throw it all away!” She doesn’t yell, but her voice is growing louder the more she talks. “Do you not trust me anymore? You being here is extremely problematic, it will only arouse suspicion in the lords.”

 “Isn’t it strange that I am not here though?” the young king asks back calmly. “I am the king after all. This city and country are mine to watch over. I should be here to do that.” He turns around to face his mother.

 “It’s still not safe for you here. There are still too many enemies in the capital willing to use or kill you.” She retorts. He lets out a frustrated sigh calming himself before he replies.

 “It will never be absolutely safe for me. Getting rid of all the throne’s possible enemies is a non-starter. I don’t want to forcefully take the throne from you mother, I don’t want to start a civil war, but it’s hard to see the reasons you are giving me as proper validation for keeping me from taking my rightful place on the throne.”

 “You are still a child. It is my decision to put you on this throne when I see fit, whether you trust me or not.” She spits back. “For now, just live as if you are dead.”

 Maek Jong lets out a frustrated breath through his nose before he stalks out of throne room. His guard and companion, Paoh, joins him as he walks to a different room to change into lower rank robes.

 He spends a good deal of the night closed off in his own thoughts, trying to figure out if his mother’s claims about his safety are legitimate. He stares down resentfully at the jade dragon bracelet on his wrist that identifies him as King Jinhueng.  He has the title and birthright of a king but none of the abilities or powers and he is bitter.

 Mak Moon is coincidently right outside the courtyard of the room where the young king is staying. He’s whispering loudly for Moo Myung trying to locate his friend so they can find somewhere to rest for the night. It is then that he spots a figure, dressed completely in black and armed with a sword, sneak over the wall and into the nearest building.

 The black clad man slides into the room while drawing his sword. He takes soft steps towards the sleeping body on the other side of the room.  When he is right next to the mat he stabs into sleeping man’s form and lets out a shaky breath as he withdraws his blade.

 “You know, if you want to kill someone in their sleep you should learn to be quieter.” Maek Jong says equal parts amused and disappointed. The would-be assassin whirls around taken by surprise and wildly starts lunging and slicing his sword through the air. “You’re not formally trained,” The king observes while dodging the clumsy attacks. “Honestly that sword is so beat up I am surprised it even stabbed through the cushions.” He throws a punch into the other man’s stomach causing him gasp. Maekjong grabs his opponent’s arms twisting them in a way contorts them behind his back. He grimaces as he smells the heavy sent of alcohol on the other man. “You’ve never killed before, have you? You had to drink to even gain the courage to do this.” He twists the man’s arms up even more tightly making him groan in pain. “So, let’s hear it. How much is my life worth?”

 “Three bags.” The man whines out. Maekjong chuckles but it’s humorless. This man must be insanely desperate.

 “My life is only worth three lousy bags of rice.” He murmurs to himself. “Paoh! We have a slight problem!” he yells out to is guard. He turns towards the door as it opens only to feel his heart drop into his stomach. His mother’s most loyal and trusted guard, Hyun Chu, had entered the room instead. He hadn’t seen him since the night he was escorted through the city gate. “Wait! He doesn’t even know who I am, you don’t need to do this!” he tries to explain. He let go of the man quietly whispering, “run.” It’s a miniscule hope that the man would escape. He’s too shocked to listen, stumbling backwards as guard advances towards him and crying out for mercy only to be dispatched within seconds. Maekjong stares at the now lifeless man in shock but soon turns his gaze on Hyun Chu in anger. He storms out of his rooms, he needs air and it now smells like blood in his sleeping quarters. He is enraged that Hyun Chu must follow his mother’s orders and not his own. He is king but he can’t even save the life of one of his subjects.

 Mak Moon had heard the commotion and was waiting to move after it had quieted down. He walks past the opening to the courtyard just as Maekjong has stormed down to the bottom of the stairs. Mak Moon freezes unsure whether he should run to avoid being called out for trespassing or if sprinting off would just make him seem more suspicious. Maekjong is surprised as well, no one is usually near this part of the city at this hour, and he stops to look at the other boy in confusion. Meanwhile, Hyun Chu had caught up with him by rushing down the steps after him.

 “Your Majesty, you cannot go out at night unaccompanied!” he scolds. Maekjong’s figure stiffens as Mak Moon’s eyes widen in realization. Not again, Maekjong thinks desperately. He turns around and tries to obscure the other boy’s figure from Hyun Chu’s view, but he wasn’t quick enough. He throws out his arms and stands in Hyun Chu’s way while yelling at the other boy to run away. Mak Moon is woken from his shock at seeing the king, now realizing he is in danger, and takes off running.  He sees Moo Myung coming down the road and sprints towards him terrified, he quickly grabs him and drags them to hide behind a wall flattening them onto the ground. Hyun Chu tries to step around Maekjong but the boy steps in front of him continuing to block his path. The king looks determined and Hyun Chu at least has some decency to look apologetic before bumping him out of the way and running towards his horse. He quickly mounts and kicks the horse into a gallop out of the gate and down the dirt road after the boy. He gallops past the wall the boys are hiding behind, thinking the boy would be too scared to have the wits to hide. Mak Moon lets out the breath he was holding taking in deep heaving breaths after the run and the scare.

 “I just saw the king.” He said in awe.

 “What?” Moo Myung asks incredulously. “No you didn’t. Why would the king be outside of the palace?” Moo Myung didn’t want to think about what it would mean for them both if he had actually seen the king.

 “It had to have been him! He was everything a king should be; handsome, brave, and righteous.” Mak Moon gushes.

 “How righteous can he be if he sent that guard after you?” Moo Myung asks flatly.

 “But he didn’t! He got in his way and stopped him from chasing me.” Mak Moon defends. His friend looks back at him stunned. Moo Myung looks down and twiddles with his fingers. He’s silently thankful to the young noble man for helping to protect the only family he had. He picks himself up off the ground and offers a hand out to Mak moon.

 “Come on we should find somewhere to sleep, I don’t think we should keep searching tonight.” They find a stable close by and they settle down on the hay in the back corner out of sight of the entry way. “give me your necklace.” Moo Myung demands nonchalantly.

 “What? Why?”

 “You’re too easily recognizable with your stupid long legs so I’ll go out tomorrow and keep asking around while you lay low.” Moo Myung explained, “anyways, if your dad is ranked high enough finding him will help you get absolved of any charges you could have against you.”

 “He will do more than that,” Mak Moon said with a grin, “he’ll get you a citizen pass for the city and take you in too. I just know it.” Moo Myung grins back with a warm feeling in his chest. They go to sleep with the picture of a content future together in their minds.

 Moo Myung spends the next day wandering from shop to shop inquiring about the necklace, but he finds next to nothing besides one eccentric shop keeper saying it looked familiar.

 Mak Moon, after begging and annoying Moo Myung to his wits end, goes out during the night to continue his search. At least there is less of a chance for him to be recognized in the darkness of the night. He notices a strange domed building with lots of young people entering and leaving and figures he might be able to dig up some information there. He skims the crowd as he goes towards the entrance trying to figure out how people get through the bouncers. But then his eyes catch on a girl. She’s pretty and smiling as her finer dressed companion escorts her through the entrance. It’s not her face that caught his attention though, but the beaded necklace that she wears that looks exactly the same as his own. He stares with his mouth slightly open in utter shock. That was his little sister. She grew up so well and pretty, just like I knew she would, he thinks fondly. He closes his mouth and his face sets into a look of determination, he will get into this building, and he will reunite with his family. Ten years of separation about to be over and the bouncers refuse to let him through the door.

 Inside the building young beautiful nobles are enjoy drinks, music, dancing, and other forms of entertainment. Excited squeals and giggles interrupt the atmosphere as the crowd parts and a handsome young man leads his entourage into the club. He looks indifferent as he walks through the crowd of people complimenting his looks, skills, and family lineage. His three companions, on the other hand, are soaking in the attention they garner.

 “Banryu you’re so handsome!”

 “I love his cool demeanor! He looks so sophisticated.”

 “I feel like my eyes have been blessed!”

 Banryu waits until he walked through the mob before allowing himself a small satisfied smile. It disappears a moment later when another shout breaks through the crowd.

 “It’s Sooho! Sooho is here!”

 Another young man enters with his own group of friends, this time he is openly basking in the attention, compliments and swooning. His flaunting walk comes to a halt when he spots Banryu and his peons.

 “So much for having a good time.” Sooho says with a snicker. “What are you doing here Banryu?”

 “I wasn’t aware they were letting in immature morons tonight, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered to come.” Banryu replies sounding bored, though the look in his eyes means he is annoyed. Sooho tenses up eyes flaming.

 “I can’t stand this cold atmosphere! This always happens when Banryu bothers Sooho just because he is better.” A random boy whines. Sooho’s demeanor melts into one of pure cockiness.

 “You heard him. You can spoil the mood all you want but I won’t let you stop me from enjoying myself.” Banryu and Sooho glare at each other for several more moments before Banryu rolls his eyes and walks towards the private room he reserved.  He doesn’t feel like fighting tonight.

 Ahro had been escorted to another private room full of excited young women and girls. This is one of her favorite jobs, when she gets to entrance and captivate an audience with a story. Even if some of the audience is hidden. She knows some of the boys like to reserve the rooms around this one not only for privacy but also because they can listen in.

 Sooho and friends are such a group. All of them leaning with ears pressed against the wall to hear every word. All of them trying to put on a façade of experience while blushing, giggling, and gasping at the details of Ahro’s story. The young king is also listening in, but he is brooding over his barely touched cup of alcohol. He came to Okta to cool down and maybe plan his next move. It was a pleasant surprise that he had run into the story teller again, even if she was telling a different story.  Banryu and his companions are listening in as well, though he seems intent on looking disinterested as they get drunk off wine. One of his companions is starting to get too cocky, he’s drunk and loud, sarcastically acting like he is interested in Ahro. The others chuckle at his antics and notice that they need more alcohol but Banryu just sighs quietly.

 “Kang Seong you go get it. You need remember your place.” He says.

 “What? Banryu why- “the other boy starts to stutter.

                 “Do not forget that your father, and therefore you, has the lowest rank out of all of us. We allow you to be around us, do not forget that.” The chuckling had stopped and the others are now looking away from the lower ranked boy. Seong is fuming and looks like he wants to argue back, but instead chooses to stomp off to do what was demanded of him.

 Mak Moon, meanwhile, had snuck in the back entrance and was scanning the crowd and peeking into rooms looking for his sister. He finds the room full of young women and spots Ahro telling her story. He can see the necklace more clearly now and he knows it matches his own. He tries waving his arms and calling over to get her attention. Instead he ends up smacking a tray of alcohol out of someone’s hand. He tenses up, knowing he just drew the wrong kind of attention towards himself, and turns around quickly to apologize. It’s bad luck that he just upset the boy Banryu had insulted. He was looking for something to take out is anger on and now he found the perfect target.

 “Are you serious? Do you know who I am?” the seething boy shouts as he backs Mak Moon up against the wall, “Well how are you going to make this up to me? Judging by your clothes you won’t be able to pay me back with money.” Mak Moon tries to shove his way past the boy but is shoved back into the wall before being punched in the gut. He sinks down to kneel on floor and wrap his arms around his stomach. The other boy grabs Mak Moon by his hair and drags him to the center of the main room where he then continues to hit and kick at him.

 The commotion of the fight had drawn the attention of everyone in the building causing the crowd to grow and the heckling to get louder. The girls in the room where Ahro was telling her story rushed out to watch the fight, fanning themselves at the idea of “men in combat”. Sooho and his companions storm out of their private room to see what had interrupted them when the story was getting to the best part. Banryu and he entourage, who had heard who was causing the noise, came out to see what nonsense their comrade had caused. The young king, however, did not go to see the fight. He just sighed and resigned himself to once again not hearing the end to another story. He gets up and opens the door to his room to leave while everyone is distracted, but is surprised to see one remaining girl still in the private room angrily muttering to herself.

 “Um…excuse me?” He asks.

 “What?” the girl replies moodily not looking in his direction.

 “Were you telling the story?”

 “…yeah.”

 “Could you finish it please?” he asks earnestly, “I’ll even pay you.” He reaches into the small bag tied to his waste and pulled out some silver pieces. The girl turns and finally looks at his face and blushes. The boy is handsome and is treating her kindly, he honestly reminds her of a small dog begging for a treat, so she decides to humor him. “Actually, you were telling a story the other day in front of a shop, it was about a murder romance I believe, I didn’t get to hear the end of that one either… could you finish that one instead?” Ahro was surprised and a little relieved that the boy wasn’t a pervert. Most people when they come to Okta want to hear nothing but the “scandalous” and it is refreshing to run into someone who is more interested in the non-traditional stories she likes to tell.  

 In the main room Mak Moon lays beaten on the floor in middle of a circle of people. Seong is now drunk off both the alcohol and his power over the other. He is walking around the other’s curled up body with a sword now. He turns to Banryu and asks excitedly if it’s okay for him to kill Mak Moon. He is just a peasant without proper papers after all, worth less than dirt, and he would be executed anyways.

 “You’re not actually going to let him do this?” Sooho scoffs, “I know you’re disloyal garbage Banryu, but I also know you’re not an idiot.” He is acting nonchalant but there is an edge to his words. There will be a bigger brawl if the peasant boy fatally harmed. Sooho may be a true bone but he picks his companions based on shared beliefs, interests, and skills; he wants them to be his friends not tools. Banryu, on the other hand, picks to surround himself with people that he knows he will be able to use.  

 There is always tension between the two groups, it has been this way since they were small and their parents told them not to play together, anything could trigger them to get into a fight. Many believe they would grow up to be bitter rivals in the royal court much like their fathers, Sooho would be blindly loyal to the royal family while Banryu would be ready to usurp at a moment’s notice.

 Banryu does nothing as he watches the boy lift his sword and prepare to strike. Suddenly, an object comes hurtling through the air and collides with the boy’s face. He curses and brings the hand clutching the sword down to rub at his forehead his gaze angrily turning towards the offending projectile; a fourteen-sided die.

 “Who threw that?” He snarls while taking a menacing step towards the crowd.

 “It was me,” Comes the calm reply and the crowd parts to reveal Moo Myung, “I’m sorry I just really don’t like watching spoiled nobles acting like they’re hot shit.”

 “Who the hell do you think you are?”

 “You don’t need or deserve to know.” Moo Myung snaps as he walks over and kneels at Mak Moon’s side. “Are you alright?” He asks softly helping him sit up and move away from his assailant.

 “Yeah, it’s nothing I can’t take.” He answers breathily while giving him a grateful and pained smile.

 “Well I’m not alright.” He stands and faces the now severely pissed off Seong. The other boy had recovered from the hit and, now even further embarrassed, charges and slashes at his new opponent. Moo Myung easily side steps the blow, grabs the boy’s sword hand, and twists it forcing the sword to drop to the floor. The boy yelps in pain and cradles his wrist while stepping away from Moo Myung as he scoops up the weapon. The surrounding crowd lets out a mix of surprised and impressed shouts.

 “Not bad, I like this guy.” Sooho chuckles. Even Banryu raises an eyebrow in interest, impressed by the stranger’s skill. Moo Myung lets the tip of the blade touch the wooden floor before spinning around and carving a circular boarder around himself.

 “Since it’s not against the law for a spoiled brat to murder someone because of their rank, then it’s my own personal law that I get to beat up any aristocrat that crosses this line.” Moo Myung smirks as he accusingly points the sword towards the crowd. “So, Who’s First?”

[i-am-just-a-kiddo]

fic tag game

thank you so much for tagging me @cortue 💕 it’s always nice to hear about other people’s writing process/thoughts. i am tagging my dear @vishcount of course. anyone else who wants to share about their writing, feel free to do this and tag me in your post! 

Name: iamjustakiddo i just decided to stick with my tumblr username because i’m not really creative with my own nicknames. and honestly, i don’t mind just being kiddo online. 

Fandoms: during 2019-2020 i was most active in The Untamed fandom, though i have been taking a break lately. i still have some stories left that i wish to tell, so i hope some time in the future i can return to this universe. this fandom gave me so much, especially having so much fun with my dear friend vishie. i have a lot of fics for BTS as well, though it’s been a while since i wrote something there. all of them are AUs and i just enjoy drawing inspiration from the boys. last year i also dabbled with YYY The Series, Winter Begonia, Hwarang and Nirvana In Fire - all of these have been very fun, eventhough those were only a smaller projects. I also have an ongoing story for Narnia which i updated recently. Currently I have a WIP for Original Sin and my silly comic for Strangers From Hell - both of those i will never publish. And for the past two-three years I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for ATLA, so i hope i can get this down on paper at some point finally.  it’s interesting that i have dabbled in so many different fandoms recently, which is unusual for me? i link this to my difficulties with writing. sometimes i wonder if i should return at all or just give up. but i miss it too much, so i have not given up hope yet

Tropes: I don’t think i write any particular tropes? i write a lot of angst, a lot of introspection and character studies. i love slow burn, though i never actually manage to write ‘proper’ slowburn so it always feels too short. i love friends to lovers or enemies to friends to lovers. i love writing stories that are bittersweet. i guess recently i have become interested in writing relationships with more problematic sides to them, exploring these kinds of dynamics that feel very heavy? i am not sure why, but it’s interesting.  i guess the one proper trope my friend pointed out for me was Drunk Kissing, because apparently that happens a lot in my fics. 

Fic I spent most time on: Take Me Into Your Skin this is a BTS Mafia AU i wrote back in 2018 and took me half a year (Jan - Aug) to write, excluding the epilogue which i posted a year later. it was the first multichaptered fanfiction i had ever written and i still can’t believe it became more than 160k words in the end. the story feels silly at parts and i would probably change a lot now, but i am still very proud of it

Favorite fic you’ve written: it’s definitely my niemo (Nie Huaisang/Mo Xuanyu) which i wrote march-june 2020 and it left something aching in my heart ever since. it was a very intense process, but i feel proud of it. i did the best i can, poured so much time and energy into giving these two characters a story. it was a sad, heartbreaking journey which made canon only worse for me, but i still enjoyed the process. it will forever stay with me, probably. 

additionally i want to mention my silla taegi AU, because i had ton of fun doing proper historical research for that and creating more historical gay angst. 

Fic I spent least time on: To Wish Impossible Things it’s a taegi 70s-90s AU, about their reunion as adults after breaking up when they were teenagers. i wrote this story in one afternoon and posted it on the same evening? i think that was the only time something like this happened. usually i am not this spontaneous. but i enjoyed writing this so much and the scenario just didn’t leave my mind - writing a meeting between two adults, remembering their youth. it was so nice and i adored making the playlist for it as well. i think today i would go back and check for more historical accuracies because i did not research for this, but i forgive myself.

Longest fic: the previously mentioned Mafia AU with 167.535 words and 20 chapters. 

Shortest fic: my snippet for hwarang’s yeowool/hanseong with 777 words. today i regret that i could only write such a short piece for them, but that was the time my writing slump began showing signs and i truly did not have the capacity to give them what they deserve.

Most hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks: amongst all of these, my mafia AU wins again - the only exception is heart made of glass, my first wangxian post-canon fic i wrote, which has the most kudos. i never really understood why, but i guess i had good timing posting so early while ao3 did not have many fics for the untamed yet. 

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: precious stone & fine jade - this is a oneshot i wrote for Wen Ning & Song Lan. i list this here because i have actually planned to write more for them, since i realised i need more. i always loved the idea of them befriending each other, sharing the fate of being undead in this world and yet dealing with it so differently? i want to write more about their relationship in my universe. am excited to see where it takes me and in actuality, i just want to see them hug. 

another one would be remedy, surging sea - it’s a oneshot for princess sook myung/ahro from hwarang. i just wish i could give these girls a proper story and make up for the mess hwarang left me with. this oneshot only gives a glimpse of what i have imagined for them and i wish i could expand the story properly. 

Share a bit of a WIP: i have a ton of WIPs but i am writing nothing currently. so i am not sure what to share here? i have shared my halted original sin project last time and now i have a few the untamed wips floating around that i don’t want to share. i have no current writing project but maybe i can talk about my strangers from hell comic? 

it’s a very silly idea, but i am drawing/painting this comic for jongwoo’s revenge arc. i am basically following the same trope as hannibal - jongwoo gaining moon-jo’s trust, becoming his ally and betraying him in the end. i will never finish this project, but that’s what i want to do, theoretically. i have the story and 15 pages outlined, but have actually drawn only 5,5 pages. after jongwoo’s betrayal and moon-jo’s heartbreak, i want these two characters to finally be on equal footing. their third act would be reconciliation and maybe true allyship.  thank you for tagging me again. it makes me miss writing but also makes me proud of things i have already done. 

[hwarangs-say-what]

Your favourite scene(s) in Hwarang?

The one where Soo Ho realized what he thought happened to his sister, the one where Han Sung wanted to go to Bakjae, and any scene with Han Sung and Ah Ro. 

[hwarang-number]

So, Unnie and I have this long-running - hobby, I guess? We've loved White Christmas (the movie) our entire lives, and every time we get a new obsession/fandom, we pretend-recast (and verbally rewrite, to some extent) it with ourselves and our current crushes (because it's a sister story, you know!). So, naturally, the current cast is Hyungsik as Bing Crosby (her guy) and Minho as Danny Kaye (my guy). Because they're both in the military right now - it's seriously too perfect! (And there's bonus Taemin as the guy I get to dance with all the time. 😁)

Let's just have that sink in for a moment. 😂

However, Unnie faces strong contention from one Lee Jinki as both her bias wrecker and her Bing, which I delight in giving her no end of crap about (because, let's be real, who makes a better Bob Wallace than Lee Jinki? 🤣).

(If unclear, this is the part when Bing goes behind a trunk to change his pants. 😂)

However, Unnie is adamant that Hyung-ssi retain the Bing role, because her husband, or something. 😉

Now that you know all these things, here's the text conversation that unfolded between us tonight...

Unnie:

[Oh, and did I mention?: she gets SUPER stressed-out EVERY TIME we watch the coronation scene from Hwarang...]

Me:

Still Me:

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Unnie:

Me:

Unnie: [needing to have the last word]

[you-did-well-my-love]

Drama Review: Introverted Boss

I don’t think I have ever been so satisfied with the ending of the drama.

Rating: 4.5/5 I was going to rate it a four, but that last episode was absolutely amazing.

OST: Most of the ost is pretty typical but like I have had B1A4 Sandeul’s song on repeat since it ended like shit it’s so good. 

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Business

Synopsis: Eun Hwan-Ki is the CEO of a public relations company, but he is extremely shy. Due to his personality, even his employees do not know him well. Chae Ro-Woon begins work at Eun Hwan-Ki’s company. She is very energetic and receives recognition for her work, but her only interest is in CEO Eun Hwan-Ki. She plans to reveal who Eun Hwan-Ki really is. (source: asianwiki)

Trigger Warning: This drama deals heavily with mental health. The opening scene is a woman committing suicide. (I was honestly surprised at how graphic it was. Obviously it’s nowhere near 13 Reasons Why, but they showed more than I’ve ever seen in a drama outside of Let’s Fight Ghost which was about dead people.) The main lead has social anxiety. A character has depression. Visual self harm. etc.

Thoughts/Review: (no spoilers)

It’s been so long since this drama ended so this review is going to be scattered, but my GOD did I love this drama.

I wasn’t even going to watch this drama. I had it on my list, but the initial response to it was so negative, I took it off. But then I saw this one gifset of the male lead stroking the girl’s face while lying in a bed and I felt so much tension just from those gifs, I was immediately taken.

And honestly, Hwarang was so dry I was like dying of thirst and when I saw that gifset just drenched in chemistry I was sold.

I could see where the negative reviews came from. The editing was very jumpy - jumping back and forth to the various different things going on but, like, I couldn’t tell what was going on.

The transitions were really weird. The writers were awkward with introducing the characters. And then the drama started out with a woman jumping off of a building, and it takes you forever to find out who she was. JUST FYI that scene took place three years before the rest of the drama. They should have put “Three Years Later” at the bottom of the screen, no clue why they didn’t.

They could have used a bit more depth in setting up the characters. Whereas most dramas take two to three episodes to set up the plot, this drama just dived right in. Pretty much “everything” was set up in episode one. And I say that in quotation marks because of the episode 5 situation (explained below).

BUT once everything started to make sense, I was really intrigued. They had a really good story, it was just a rocky start. Get past the rocky start!

Much of the controversy was surrounding the female lead Park Hye Soo’s acting. I can’t argue with it. She wasn’t awful, but it seemed like it was her first lead role. She seemed like the type that can act well in minor roles, but something felt off with her line delivery... it felt almost forced. I think part of it was the weird script, because it got better after episode 4. Obviously it didn’t bother me enough to stop watching the drama, I stopped noticing it much the later I got into the drama. I guess the experience did well for her.

For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember when the news broke, the drama skipped a week to rewrite the script. This happened after episode 4. If you are watching and you’re not really feeling it, my advice is to wait and watch episodes 5 and 6 because that’s where a lot of things are fixed, everything gets explained, and the plot picks up.

NOTE: From what I gathered when watching, the writers changed the central conflict. There are a few continuity errors, but it’s understandable considering they film these dramas while they’re airing.

It was really quirky. The bright colors, the tone, the dialogue. It reminded me a bit of the extra-ness of jdramas. It had that lighthearted, fun feeling like Sassy Go Go, Surplus Princess, Marriage Not Dating (from what I’ve heard), Cinderella and Four Knights, Shopping King Louis, etc.

However, the deeper you get into the show, the more things appear to be not what they seem. So while “everything” is explained in episode 5, aside from the personal conflicts and episodic conflicts, there was this mystery brewing. A sort of underlying sketchyness that kept growing until the end.

I absolutely adored this drama. From the comedy (which was golden btw) to the use of irony to the characters to the romance. It is up on my list of top dramas for 2017.

The comedy: there was a lot of witty dialogue and utilization of each of the characters’ little quirks. The actors did amazing, a lot of it was expressions and motions tied in with dialogue that wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining if the actors delivered it badly.

Yeon Woo Jin did such an amazing job as Eun Hwan Gi. He made this character come to life in such a raw and realistic way, I am truly impressed. I’m looking forward to seeing him in his next drama. I, someone with a social anxiety disorder, relate to Eun Hwan Gi so much it’s frightening. But that’s what made me love the drama even more. It made me feel a deeper connection to any kdrama character I have ever felt, and his thought process was so much like mine (always overthinking things) it made me root for him that much more. 

I felt so much for him seeing him make the efforts because I know from personal experience how hard it was for him. He was unable to do the mean thing despite it being the right thing because it was mean. He was so not the typical male kdrama lead, and he broke a lot of gender stereotypes. Plus he was freaking adorable. He had all these charms; his drunk habit for one lol, + he was caring, he watched over everyone, and when he did succeed in conquering his fear step by step as a viewer it fills you with so much warmth.

He’s just such a wonderful person and it brings you unbelievable joy as a viewer to see the rest of the characters slowly realize this too.

ALSO HE WAS LIKE HEALER’S BONG SOO ALIAS EXCEPT IN REAL PERSON FORM AND I LOVED IT.

And then when we finally got to see his frustration. Social anxiety is not this cute introvert nerd, it’s a pain in the ass and I am so glad/proud/thankful that the writers showed this side of it.

I want to take a second to mention the symbolism. I adored the symbolism behind his hood and what it meant for him to take it off/put it on. It was just one more key to understanding the character + it made you feel all the things when he was comfortable enough to take it off.

Chae Ro Woon... It was hard to judge her change because it was so sudden, but I thought her change was for the better. Yet there were still some things that annoyed me. A lot of time the writers used her inappropriate(?) behavior to move the plot along, but there were still instances I thought she was way over the line. However in my opinion, a lot of the hate towards her was out of line because her main goal was revenge and it seemed like people kept forgetting that. Especially later on, I thought Chae Ro Woon was just absolutely amazing. She was so understanding of Hwan Gi, even though it took her some time (which is realistic), and she was accepting of him. She didn’t push him too hard to change, she gave him space, and did what she could to make him comfortable. I loved it.

I was also a little disappointed with what the writers did with Hyo Sung’s character, specifically the way she treated Hwan Gi, but I’m going to attribute that to the story change and that if the writers could they would go back and take out that one scene from episode 2(?) to make her character understandable.

I’m not going to mention how I feel about Kang Woo Il, or Eun Yi Soo for that matter, because everything surrounding them is a spoiler. They’re complicated, especially Yi Soo. While I may not have been fond of them, I understood them. Especially Yi Soo. Which is what I believe is the most important when it comes to a character.

I LOVED YOO HEE. I don’t know if either of you have seen the Taiwanese drama Refresh Man, but it was another office romance and there was this older woman who saw the main character’s feelings for the girl and tried to set them up. I loved it. And the same thing pretty much happened here. It was hilarious.

Yeon Jung, usually I hate characters like her, but she was so amazing. She was annoying as a love interest but necessary as a friend, and I am actually glad a character like her was in the drama.

The romance. The sexual tension between Eun Hwan Gi and Chae Ro Woon was tangible. I loved how he slowly opened up to her, and it was symbolic in his hood and the way his voice became louder the more comfortable he became. Spoiler: they kiss a shit ton of times. I loved every second. 

The drama did a lot of things I didn’t expect. There were really straightforward conversations (the how-far-have-you-gone one), admissions of wrongful actions, actual apologies from multiple characters (all the characters that needed to imo) that I didn’t expect to happen, girls telling people off and breaking every drama stereotype.

A little thing I really liked was how, you know when dramas are like “we’ve wrapped up the plot but still have two episodes” so they create a conflict which is usually super random and off topic? This one tied back to the original roots of the plot and it fit so well with the theme of the whole drama. There was a huge presence of family in the drama, both Ro Woon’s and Hwan Gi’s, and I was very appreciative of how they wrapped up.

And, hun, while I stumbled over the time jump in the last episode, that ending was FANTASTIC. I don’t need to say anything else. Just that it was so damn satisfying.

Someone get me an Eun Hwan Gi please and thank you.

~~~

Finished 3/14/17

[letsflytoasiarenata]

I was tagged by @lavenderbyun  thank you!

I won’t add my questions and tag anybody bc I already did that, but if you feel like answering you can find my questions here

how would you rewrite an ending you hated?

I’m going to stick to being a predictable as heck mlshr trash. Of course, I would rewrite MLSHR ending. Or I must say reedit? Even though people hated that sad and depressing ending, I understood writers’ message. However, I’m pretty sure that writers were building their story having a modern reunion in their heads, following asian believing in reincarnation. Having in their minds this concept that both So and Soo/Ha Jin suffered a lot and literally saved the country in their previous lives and now they have a chance for their happy life in modern days. It makes perfect sense and fits SoSoo’s epicness. But salty pd was like CUT THIS. 

if you could pick & mix cops from different dramas, who would be your dream team?

I haven’t watched enough crime dramas for it.

do you prefer watching dramas as they air, or binge watching in one go?

Depends on my mood. Sometimes it’s better to have two or four eps per week to watch, sometimes it’s better to have a decent kdrama marathon with a lack of sleep. But I must admit - watching currently airing dramas can be quite stressing.

do you have an American show you’d be interested in seeing a kdrama remake of?

I’ve recently thought about that but now I can’t remember any of my ideas lol But I remember once I read @theflowergirl twitter about how cool Pushing Daisies kdrama adaptation would be and I’m like yeah!

who are your favourite newbie actors?

Park Hyung Sik is not a newbie, right? But he just started to get lead roles, does it count? lol Also, Do Ji Han, I think he has some potential. ( I think, I just named two main reasons why I finished Hwarang)

have you ever dropped a drama within the first few minutes of the first episode?

nope, I’m an optimistic person who always hopes that drama will get better

have you ever dropped a drama because of the fandom?

nope

the two leads for a drama are your all time fave and an actor you literally cannot watch; do you still watch it?

I’ll give it a chance what if this drama will change my opinion about this actor?

what anime would you be interested in seeing a remake of?

I know that Miyazaki’s works can’t be called anime, stillI would say - Howl’s Moving Castle.

do you prefer it when a drama has no romance?

Come on, how would I? I’m ok with romance being a side plot as long as the main plot is interesting by itself (like in Nirvana in Fire) but preferring something else over romance, I can’t do that :D GIVE ME A ROMANCING ROMANCE

[celeryw]

Every second odd number for the ask meme!

this will be a lot bc thats, 25 questions if i can do math right so im going 2 put the ones after 5 under a read more! 

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

eleven? ish?? it was around the time i was finishing primary school!

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

OCs because theres a certain disconnect from the place im writing from, and whenever i use 2nd person it often isn’t with the reader in mind, bc when i write 2nd person i imagine that its the authors voice, so the narrator isn’t the reader its the author. idk if that makes sense. anyways OCs are fun bc there might be elements of a real person in it but they also seems incredibly autonomous 

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

most of my multichaptered stories date back at least five years, my most recent one would be fuel cap, but i am very fond of the bear n the boy, and so im rewriting it! 

7) When is your preferred time to write?

hmm between 9pm to around 2am it’s when i have the most inspiration! 

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?

i imagine this is supposed to be more specific, but i’ll apply it to the team 20 cinematic universe lmao. i love the scene where tsunade’s reacting to hiroko and takashi in the hospital. 

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

not that i can think of? i dont have fics big enough to get criticisms? i dont think i can think of one instance outside of creative writing classes

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

sasuke, he’s..... like that....... u kno

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

i’ve answered this one! over here! 

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

and this one’s here

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

hmmm yes! not like you! i’d like to explore the team 20 dynamics in a different world, perhaps in the past when kazue is still an active villain or even in the future w/o kazue! 

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

blackkat ! she has a ton of fic and theyre all very long and have amazing characterisations as well as storylines, she isn’t afraid to deviate from canon and i love that. 

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

i like to listen to music! or just have some sort of noise, i don’t usually even Hear it it’s just nice to have something else there. 

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

check out the link in q17 

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

i had a plan for the bear n the boy, but i dont have one for fuel cap. so it depends really? the team 20 ones i do just on the fly but the hwarang ones i had a definite solid outline i wanted to hit points with.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

my team 20 ones, though i totally understand bc theyre really all just OCs 

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)

whispers- there’s not fic rec 

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten? 

check out q15

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

i dont keep them close to my chest? more just that the two people in my writing/personal server aren’t,,, active so its just me making reminders and notes to myself lmao also if ur interested in being in it just message me lol theres only me n two other people so... 

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

yall know 

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

3rd person for fic, 2nd person for personal stories hehe, though i’ve played around w 2nd for some of kazue things i couldn’t get into their head completely right though. 

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?

sportacus

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

not that i can think of, mostly for the same reasons as 11 

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

just the writing of character’s reactions to things, and if the story amuses me ill keep it going. 

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

whispers, theres no fic title. perhaps it would be about the an adventurer who used a gun that looked like it fired blanks but the bullets actually just went to an alternate universe 

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

i dont think so?? it was probably about one direction though thank you quotev! 

[kimsulgi]

Questions Tag

Tagged by @lavenderbyun (ayeee thanks Anisah!)

not anymore gonna make new qs coz i’m lazy lmaoo and not gonna tag people again, soo pls refer to this link instead!

how would you rewrite an ending you hated?

listen all i just want is a better ending for hae su and wang so. this two defo deserve better! maybe i’ll calm down once i saw a scene where hae su and wang so met in the future :/

if you could pick & mix cops from different dramas, who would be your dream team?

i sometimes think that characters from signal and missing noir m would make a good team!

do you prefer watching dramas as they air, or binge watching in one go?

it depends. sometimes i want to watch ongoing but sometimes i also want to binge watch so that i don’t have to wait for new eps every week.

do you have an American show you’d be interested in seeing a kdrama remake of?

nothing comes to mind. i don’t watch a lot of am tv series so yeh.

who are your favourite newbie actors?

nothing comes to mind. i can only think of a newbie actress and that’s kim tae ri!

have you ever dropped a drama within the first few minutes of the first episode?

wfkbj. only watched the lee jong suk part. that w ref is a bomb!

have you ever dropped a drama because of the fandom?

can i just state a lot of things here! goblin, lotbs, hwarang, wfkbj, etc. there’s prob more (sighhh) but i don’t wanna get blocked or unfollowed :/

the two leads for a drama are your all time fave and an actor you literally cannot watch; do you still watch it?

listen all i want is kim hye soo and lee sung min drama/movie. i know they were paired in the movie familyhood but i want more T.T

prob lee jong suk. there are times i’m not fond of his acting but i still watch his dramas but defo not his movies. for some unknown reason i can’t stand his acting in chungmuro.

what anime would you be interested in seeing a remake of?

nothing comes to mind. i’m sorry i don’t watch anime :/

do you prefer it when a drama has no romance?

sometimes i wish a certain drama has no romance. it actually depends on how the drama is written.

[secretanimelover]

Hwarang Rewrite Summery and Info

I am re-writing this drama to the best of my abilities because it had so much potential and a great cast but the story failed to meet expectations.

I don’t own any of the characters or the show they belong to KBS.  

A few quick notes-

I did a little bit of research about the period but this is not going to be entirely historically accurate (but the drama wasn’t either so nbd right?)

The boys’ ages will be as follows:

Ji Dwi, Moo Myung, and Danse are 18

Sooho, Banryu, and Yeowool are 17

Hansung is 16

Side note:

Arho is 18 and Sooyeon is 16

I know they don’t look it entirely and are older in the show but for all intents and purposes these characters would have been young teenagers. I did the math and historically King Jinhueng began his reign when he was around 14 years old. I still aged them up some because I don’t really want to write about 12 year olds trying to kill each other over class.  

Also, here is an explanation of the “Bone Rank” system from the period curtesy of Wikipedia:

The bone rank system was the system of aristocratic rank used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. It was used to segregate society, and particularly the layers of the aristocracy, based on their hereditary proximity to the throne and the level of authority they were permitted to wield. The idea of royal blood in other societies is a close equivalent to the idea of "sacred bone" in Silla thought.

Although only two of the five known ranks were referred to as "bone", the term "bone rank" has become widely used to describe the entire system.

A person's bone rank status governed not only official status and marriage rights, but also the color of one's garments and the maximum dimensions of one's dwelling and carriage.

The highest level of the bone rank was the "sacred bone", or seonggol (성골, 聖骨), sometimes termed "hallowed bone", which consisted only of a portion of the royal Kim family, possibly those considered to have royal blood on both sides.

Below the sacred bone came the "true bone", or jingol (진골, 眞骨), which included the rest of the royal family, as well as the Bak and Seok families of Gyeongju, which had held the throne in very early times and were involved in most royal marriages, as well as another Kim ['Kimhae' royal clan] lineage descended from the royal house of Geumgwan Gaya. Members of the true bone could hold any official position, up to the level of full minister. They could also attain office rank up to the highest, ibolchan (이벌찬).

Below the "true bone" came the head ranks (두품, 頭品), of which only the 6th, 5th and 4th are attested, 6th being the highest. The origins of these lower head rank classes and what defined one‘s status as such are obscure and still debated among scholars. As the jingol were prohibited from marrying into the lower ranks, though they could take concubines from them.

[secretanimelover]

Hwarang rewrite finally!

So after finals, graduating college, moving, job hunting, and my computer deleteing all of my progress twice I can finally start publishing some of this. 

I am so sorry this took so long it was like the universe was against this stupid thing being written :/  I don’t even know if this is good or if people are still interested in this since i’ve taken so long it’s been like 3 months and i feel awful about that wait... but if people still want it the updates will be regular since I no longer have homework or job application obligations.

I’ll post it to here for now but I’ll upload to ao3 and livejournal as well later. I’ll tag everything under hwarang rewrite on my blog so people can find it.

[secretanimelover]

Hwarang rewrite update

Hey guys first of all I want to apologize for how long this is taking to get out. I promise this hasn't been dropped midterms are happening for me right now so it's delayed my writing a lot. But spring break is coming up and I plan on finishing multiple chapters hopefully over the break and I will upload them after I get back! Thanks for the patience and the feedback it's been super helpful ☺

[secretanimelover]

Rewrite of hwarang?

I’ve been wanting to write an alternate version of hwarang for a while now because this show has great characters and plot potential but it didn’t really go in the direction that most expected it to… I’m going to wait until it’s over but like would anyone be interested in reading something like this?

Also I would want to get other people’s opinions for certain things like which pairings to include and which plot things to completely ignore

UPDATE: okay I'm definitely going to do this and if people have problems they would like me to change or pairings they want please don't be afraid to let me know I'll take these into account. Just FYI I will be changing certain plot points and character traits because some of them were ridiculous and inconsistent. I'll also be adding more bonding moments/events between all the boys. Arho and sooyeon will have their own moments too because these girls deserve it.

Like should I keep sooyeon and banryu or have it be sooho and banryu? Yeowool and hansung? Or keep all the boys platonic?

Also how historically accurate do people want this to be? I just need to know how much research I need to do before I start laying out the story? Feel free to comment and message me!

[secretanimelover]

Did you rewrite Hwarang ?

Yes I did but I'm having computer problems so I've been trying to get that squared away sorry for the delay! I'll get it up soon!