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harrowreads · 2 years ago

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❥ Yoongi Fic Recs

❣ Each blurb gives a glimpse of the contents of each fic, but be sure to read the warnings before proceeding! ❣

Yoongi is my main bias + main obsession so plz don't perceive the length of this list, okay. It's going to be absolutely ridiculous.

❥ 12 Lays of Christmas: Day 2 by minisugakoobies | drabble, tumblr ↳ Gift wrapping with your boyfriend goes a little awry. ❣ Gender Non-Specified Reader ❣ smut, pwp | established relationship ↻ read my review

❥ All That Holly Jolly Sh*t by daechwitatamic | oneshot, tumblr ↳ You haven’t seen or heard from Yoongi since he broke your heart five years ago, laying out a logical list of reasons why you were better off breaking up. When a Christmas Eve blizzard traps you together for the night, you have no choice but to examine how few of those reasons are still true. And if they’re not… where does that leave you? ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, angst | exes to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Best Served Cold by anotherbtswriter | series, tumblr ↳ Yoongi shields his eyes from the flames. Smoke coats his throat, and he pants for breath. As he lies on the wet pavement, he realizes that this Molotov cocktail, this cheap-ass, dime-store intimidation tactic currently burning through his club, is a plan to intimidate him. First, he was annoyed. Now he’s pissed. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, angst | exes to lovers ↻ read my reviews: ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3, ch.4

❥ Blackthorn by sweetestofchaos | series, tumblr ↳ Min Yoongi, the last Emperor of the Joseon dynasty was betrothed to a foreign Princess from the time he could walk. The two exchanged many letters and gifts over the years as their love bloomed. Emperor Yoongi loved his Princess and it was on their wedding day that he was finally able to express his true feelings with his actions and not just his words. The love story of Emperor Yoongi and Empress Keena has been passed down from generation to generation; a love story so strong that it had surpassed the passage of time. Now a millennium later, the Emperor and Empress have been reborn at the same time…will history repeat itself or will the two become victims of the difficulties placed in their path? ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, angst | strangers to lovers, arranged marriage au, soulmate au, fantasy ↻ read my reviews: ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3, ch. 4, ch. 5, ch. 6, ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 9, ch. 10, ch. 11, ch. 12

❥ Cybersex by gimmethatagustd | oneshot, tumblr ↳ The whole point of being a phone sex hotline operator is that you’ll never have to meet your clients. So what are you supposed to do when you find out your favorite client is your brother’s best friend? ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, humor | brother's best friend, friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Defrosting Ivy by moccahobi ↳ In a world where the 3 apex predators (humans, vampires, and werewolves) have been in a long standing power imbalance, Y/n is tasked with going undercover as a diplomat for the start of peace talks. What do they need to do? Find a talisman their organization has managed to identify as vital in resolving the conflict and ensuring the safety of all humans. ❣ Female Reader ❣ fluff, angst | supernatural au, enemies to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Devil Town by park-jimin-isnt-real | series, tumblr ❥ Chapter 1: Somewhere Lost - the guide ↳ You wake up on a bench in a forest, with no memory before then or recollection of how you got there. The person greeting you gives you three options: going into the Great Unknown (to never be seen again), wandering the woods (until you become an Edelwood tree), or spending a month in Devil Town. ❣ Female Reader ❣ platonic, light angst | over the garden wall au, speculative ↻ read my review

❥ Drip by here2bbtstrash | oneshot, tumblr ↳ When Yoongi makes the bold statement that any girl can squirt, you decide to call him on his bluff. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, pwp | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ F*ck Christmas by sailoryoons | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Making hating Christmas your entire personality was never the plan. Then again, it seems bad things only ever happen around Christmas - like discovering your fiancé cheating on you, forcing you to move back to your sleepy hometown. But Min Yoongi happens to love Christmas, and if there is one thing your very stubborn childhood crush is going to do, it’s try to reignite your Christmas spirit. Even if he has to force-feed it to you with gingerbread cookies and too-sweet eggnog. ❣ Female Reader ❣ fluff, smut, humor | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Good Fortune & A New Beginning by moonleeai | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Grumpy neighbor Yoongi is secretly a softie. ❣ Female Reader, 1st person ❣ fluff | strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ If Walls Could Talk by btsrunmyiife | unfinished oneshot, tumblr ↳ You’re part of a web series of paranormal investigators that take cases from clients who believe their homes are haunted. While working in such close proximity, it’s only natural for some of you to gravitate toward one another – whether it be for stress relief or more. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut | coworkers who fuck ❣ warnings: paranormal themes, mention of suicide ↻ read my review

❥ Invisible String by btsrunmyiife | series, tumblr ↳ Sometimes the hardest thing in life is letting yourself be seen. ❣ Female Reader ❣ queer, smut, fluff, angst | social media au, college au, strangers to friends to lovers ❣ warnings: topics of sexual assault & racial discrimination ↻ read my review

❥ Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose by ffion451 | series, tumblr ↳ Years after you gave up on him, Kim Taehyung appears back in your life: Are you the same person you were back then? Do you still love him? And why is it, with the supposed love of your life back, that you can’t stop thinking about the taciturn rapper who you has just come into your life? ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Taehyung ❣ smut, angst | friends to enemies to strangers to ?, strangers to friends to ? ↻ read my reviews: ch. 0, ch. 1

❥ Let Me by sailoryoons | oneshot, tumblr ↳ You’ve been friends with Yoongi for as long as you remember. When he tells you he’s never - and he means never - received oral in his life, you take it upon yourself to lend a mouth hand. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, pwp | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Nothing to Hide by gimmethatagustd | oneshot, tumblr ↳ It’s your boyfriend’s first Pride Month since coming out, and you’re determined to make sure he has the time of his life. ❣ Female Reader ❣ queer, smut, pwp | established relationship ↻ read my review

❥ Obsidian by sailoryooons | series, tumblr ↳ You remember everything. The first time you radiated at garnet, feeling the power of the jewel rushing through you. Remember the energy pulsing at your command. And you certainly remember the face of the man who ruined your life. Then there’s Min Yoongi, the Chaotic who is the key to your revenge. ❣ angst, eventual smut | strangers to lovers, urban fantasy, crime syndicate ❣ warnings: graphic violence, morally grey characters ↻ read my reviews: ch. 0, ch. 1, ch. 2

❥ Please Linger by matchy6812 | series, tumblr ↳ After terrorizing the villagers with one too many pranks, you’ve been locked away in The Tower to atone for your petty crimes. As far as you know, The Tower is impenetrable. Nobody can get in, and nobody can get out. It seems you’ll never escape—until one night, a man named Yoongi barges in… ❣ Female Reader ❣ humor, slow burn, smut, angst | fantasy au, strangers to lovers ↻ read my reviews: ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3

❥ Right Here Right Now by hobidreams | oneshot, tumblr ↳ What if little red wants to be eaten by the big bag wolves? ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hoseok & Namjoon ❣ group, smut, pwp, humor | werewolf au, college au, friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Suga's How-To Guide: How to Tr(eat) Them Right by sailoryoons | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Min Yoongi has been a cam boy for a few years now. The work is easy, the money is good, and he has loyal viewers. When he approaches you and asks if you want to be his muse for a ‘how-to’ series, your view on the infamous Yoongi changes. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, pwp | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Taste by 7deadlysinsfics | drabble, tumblr ↳ Hoseok is in a sharing mood and his best friend is so, so thankful. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hoseok ❣ threesome, implied smut | established relationship, strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Taste So Sweet by btsrunmyiife | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Yoongi is helping you experience something new, something you’ve always wanted to try. All you wanted to do was kiss a girl. You should have known it would be so much more than you imagined. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hwasa ❣ threesome, queer, pwp, smut | college au, established relationship + friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ The Earth, Your Butt, and Other Big...Flat Things? by matchy6812 | oneshot, tumblr ↳ When your world-famous boyfriend reveals himself to be an apparent flat earther, you decide to hold a modern exorcism—as in, you’re gonna try to fuck the stewpid out of him. ❣ Female Reader ❣ humor, smut, pwp | idol au, established relationship ↻ read my review

❥ Twirl for Me by gimmethatagustd | series, tumblr ↳ You’re perfectly content with admiring your ballet student’s father from afar, until he discovers the secret of your second job when he pays for a VIP room at the local strip club. What’s worse is your new knowledge of his secret life that won’t let you get him off your mind, no matter how awful it is. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Jungkook ❣ smut, angst, slow burn | stripper au, strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Versus by minisugakoobies | series, tumblr ↳ Supervillain exes Yoongi and Hoseok are sick and tired of having their plans for world domination wrecked by you, aka Vitality, the world’s most powerful superhero. When fellow villain Jimin suggests a little competition to see who can bring you to your knees, they both eagerly accept. Now the battle is on as both men engage you in fight after fight to see who will conquer you first. Will you finally defeat these two, or will they destroy you - and possibly take each other out in the process? ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hoseok ❣ smut, humor, fluff, angst | supervillain au, enemies to lovers ❣ warnings: some violence, use of weapons, fighting ↻ read my review

Yoongi x Reader as a side pairing:

❥ Business as Usual by blog-name-idk | series, tumblr ↳ The first thing Jin noticed about you was that you were hot. The second was that you were fucking brilliant. The third was that you were kind of a bitch. Basically, you were perfect. | The first thing you noticed about Jin was that he was hot. The second was the professors already called him by name. The third was that he was an insufferable prick. Basically, you hated his guts. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Seokjin as main pairing ❣ smut, fluff, humor | college au, enemies to lovers ↻ read my reviews: masterlist, ch. 1, ch. 4

❥ The Love Witch by gimmethatagustd | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Despite being a popular romance blogger, Yoongi isn’t interested in finding love. He only summons a demon boyfriend to prove to his followers that it’s possible. He’ll send Taehyung right back to Hell once he’s done with him, obviously. ❣ Yoongi x Taehyung ❣ smut, fluff, humor, hint of angst | modern fantasy au, fake dating, strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

#yoongi smut #yoongi angst #yoongi fluff #yoongi fic recs #master list: yoongi

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bracketsoffear · 13 days ago

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Eye Leitner Reading List

The full list of submissions for the Eye Leitner bracket. Bold titles are ones which were accepted to appear in the bracket. Synopses and propaganda can be found below the cut. Be warned, however, that these may contain spoilers!

Auerbach, Dathan: Penpal

Baxter, Steven: The Light of Other Days Bentham, Jeremy: The Panopticon Writings Bickley, S.L.: Ieia Borges, Jorge Luis: El Aleph Borges, Jorge Luis: Funes The Memorious Borges, Jorge Luis: Shakespeare's Memory

Darnielle, John: Devil House de Vigan, Delphine: Kids Run the Show (Enfants sont Rois) Dick, Philip K.: Eye in the Sky DiLouie, Craig: Episode Thirteen

Fitzhugh, Louise: Harriet the Spy Foucault, Michel: Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

Hamilton, Peter F.: A Quantum Murder Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter Herbert, James: Moon Hirsch, Alex: Journal 3 Hockensmith, Steve: Secret Santa Hugo, Victor: La Conscience

Kafka, Franz: The Trial King, Stephen: I Am the Doorway Korean Scribes: Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty

Makkai, Rebecca: I Have Some Questions For You Morrell, David: Orange is for Anguish Blue for Insanity

O’Connor, Flannery: Wise Blood Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Pelgrom, Els: Little Sophie and Lanky Flop Poe, Edgar Allan: The Imp of the Perverse Poe, Edgar Allan: The Tell-Tale Heart Pratchett, Terry: The Truth

Roth, Veronica: Poster Girl

Sanderson, Brandon: Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones Schweblin, Samanta: Kentukis (little eyes) Shadow, Nick: Blind Witness Shine, A.M.: The Watchers Silverstein, Shel: Tell Me Smith, Aza: Paranoia Retardant Snicket, Lemony: A Series of Unfortunate Events Sophocles: Oedipus Rex Stone, Jon: There's A Monster At the End of this Book

Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Lord of the Rings Tucker, Mike: Prime Time

Various: Yellow Pages, The Various: Yongle Encyclopedia, The

Auerbach, Dathan: Penpal

From Wikipedia: "Penpal is told via a series of non-linear recollections by an unnamed narrator trying to make sense of mysterious events that happened to him during his childhood, the truth of which have been kept from him by his mother all his life.

In kindergarten, the narrator befriends another boy named Josh. One day, their class conducts a penpal experiment, in which the children tie self-addressed letters to balloons and send them off. As the children receive responses, their teacher tracks how far their balloons went on a state map in the classroom. While most of the children get letters back, the narrator starts to believe his balloon got lost, until he receives an envelope containing a single poorly shot Polaroid photo. Over the school year, he receives over 50 other photographs, all without any letter. Soon after, he realizes that the pictures all contain himself and his mother, which prompts her to call the police.

The narrator recalls a series of disconnected events which, while innocuous to him as a child, take on sinister new meaning from an adult perspective: a neighborhood snow cone customer returning the same dollar bill to the narrator that he'd included in his initial penpal letter; hearing strange clicking noises while out playing with Josh which he later identified as camera flashes; finding a strange drawing in a pair of shorts he'd left by the riverside, depicting himself aside a much larger man; and the presumed murder of one of the narrator's elderly, Alzheimer's-stricken neighbors shortly after claiming her long-dead husband had returned home and was living with her again. One incident that particularly stands out in the narrator's memory is awakening in the woods one night and finding his way home to discover police looking for him; a letter was placed on his bed stating his intentions to run away, although his name was misspelled. Shortly after this incident, the narrator's mother discovers something in the house's crawlspace that prompts her to sell the home and move.

The narrator's cat, Boxes, later disappears, prompting the narrator and Josh to sneak back to the narrator's old house at night to look for him; there, they discover cat food and an adult man's clothing inside the crawlspace, as well as a collection of multiple Polaroids in the narrator's room. Pursued by an unseen individual, who takes his picture during the chase, Josh drops the walkie talkie he and the narrator had been using to keep in touch; later that night, the narrator hears Boxes' meows coming from his own walkie talkie.

Josh later attends the narrator's 12th birthday party but seems troubled and says he thinks he's been sleepwalking; the narrator notes that this was the last time he ever saw Josh.

Years later, the narrator – now a teenager – begins dating Josh's older sister Veronica, who is reluctant to talk about her brother. One night, while the two are on a date, Veronica is the victim of a hit and run in a parking lot, although the narrator does not see the vehicle. He still suspects the driver to be the person who followed him on the way to the date. While in the hospital, Veronica admits to the narrator that Josh has been missing for years after he disappeared one night, leaving a note on his pillow saying he was running away. During Veronica's recovery in the hospital, the pair texts regularly and their relationship intensifies, culminating in Veronica professing her love to the narrator. He later learns that Veronica has been dead for weeks and that her phone was never recovered after the narrator returned it to her following the accident.

Now an adult, the narrator confronts his long-estranged mother about these incidents. She confesses that shortly after Veronica's death, Josh's father – a construction worker – was offered cash by a man to fill a series of holes in his backyard. A month later, while landscaping the same property, Josh's father unearthed a coffin containing the bodies of Josh and a large, adult man holding him in his embrace. Josh's father identified the man as the same individual who'd paid him to fill the holes, and realized that he had abducted Josh and arranged for them to be buried alive together; the narrator's mother confesses that Josh was wearing a set of the narrator's missing clothes. The pair agreed to keep what had happened a secret, and Josh's father set fire to the man's corpse, refusing to allow his son to rest with his abductor in death.

The narrator reconciles with his mother, thanking her for revealing what happened. He does not understand why the penpal kidnapped Josh instead of him, but reasons that when the man couldn't follow through with his plan to kidnap the narrator, he instead focused his attention on Josh, as the two friends looked very much alike. Suffering from survivor's guilt, the narrator wishes he had never met Josh, and admits that he does not believe in an afterlife, and therefore does not think the penpal will ever face punishment for his crimes. The narrator concludes saying he loves Josh and cherishes all of the childhood memories he shares with him."

***

The book follows the first-person narrator as he realizes he was the focus of an obsessed stalker who tracks him throughout his childhood.

Baxter, Steven: The Light of Other Days

The book revolves around the invention of wormhole technology allowing the viewing of any place or time in the past or present. It then explores how society might change when everyone knows that not only could everyone else spy on them at any time, but so could any number of people in the distant future as well.

Bentham, Jeremy: The Panopticon Writings

The Panopticon project for a model prison obsessed the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham for almost 20 years. In the end, the project came to nothing; the Panopticon was never built. But it is precisely this that makes the Panopticon project the best exemplification of Bentham’s own theory of fictions, according to which non-existent fictitious entities can have all too real effects. There is probably no building that has stirred more philosophical controversy than Bentham’s Panopticon. The Panopticon is not merely, as Foucault thought, “a cruel, ingenious cage”, in which subjects collaborate in their own subjection, but much more—constructing the Panopticon produces not only a prison, but also a god within it. The Panopticon is a machine which on assembly is already inhabited by a ghost. It is through the Panopticon and the closely related theory of fictions that Bentham has made his greatest impact on modern thought; above all, on the theory of power. The Panopticon writings are frequently cited, rarely read. This edition contains the complete “Panopticon Letters”, together with selections from “Panopticon Postscript I” and “Fragment on Ontology”, Bentham’s fullest account of fictions. A comprehensive introduction by Miran Bozovic explores the place of Panopticon in contemporary theoretical debate.

Bickley, S.L.: Ieia

The title character is a goddess who has been cursed to inhabit a statue. In a mild twist on this trope, she sees through the eyes of anyone who is looking at the statue. When more than one person (or animal) is looking at her, the views overlap, and when no one is looking at her, she has no senses at all. She is forced to watch her priestess be assaulted and kidnapped, her statue stolen, knowing that she has the power to perform one more miracle -- but then she will die.

Borges, Jorge Luis: El Aleph

No propaganda

Borges, Jorge Luis: Funes The Memorious

The title character's absolute, perfect memory — the result of a head injury — is useless, since every sensation or minuscule change in an object registers as a separate memory, requiring a specific name, to the point of near-sensory overload. He recalls everything he sees but is unable to use any of it, or even to make sense of it -- just like the Eye itself.

Borges, Jorge Luis: Shakespeare's Memory

Hermann Sörgel is a Shakespeare scholar who was given the opportunity to receive William's Shakespeare's memory from a fellow scholar at a conference. He accepts, but he doesn't receive the memory all at once. It comes to him gradually: he sees faces he's never seen before in his dreams, hums songs he's never heard. After a month, he starts to believe he *is* Shakespeare. As soon as the realization hits him, the horrors of becoming Shakespeare hit Sörgel. He starts forgetting modern language, and his breaking point occurs when he becomes terrified of the cars on the road. He starts calling people at random to give Shakespeare's memory away -- it has to be given via verbal consent-- to anyone who answered until someone picked up. Even after the memory had left him, Hermann can't escape Shakespeare. Most of his other areas of study lead back to Shakespeare and some fleeting memories haven't quite escaped him.

Darnielle, John: Devil House

Gage Chandler is hired to write a book on the Devil House, a Southern Californian porn store-turned-cult clubhouse in which a grisly murder took place in the 80s. He’s a true crime writer who’s become disillusioned with the fanbase, with the final straw being a letter from the mother of one of the victims in his book The White Witch, which was adapted to film to middling success.

de Vigan, Delphine: Kids Run the Show (Enfants sont Rois)

The first time that Mélanie met Clara, Mélanie was stunned by Clara's sense of authority, and Clara was struck by Mélanie's pink, glittery nails, which shimmered in the dark. "She looks like a child," thought the first. "She looks like a doll," pondered the second. These two women, both of the same generation and exposed to the same media throughout their lives, could not be more different in adulthood. Mélanie is a social media superstar, broadcasting her children's daily lives on a family YouTube channel. Clara is a young police officer, assigned to the case after Mélanie's daughter Kimmy is abducted. Traversing the Big Brother generation, the social media influencer generation, and right up to the 2030s, Delphine de Vigan offers a bone-chilling exposé of a world where everything is broadcasted and profited from, even family happiness.

The book has all the eye terrors that stem from social media: hypervigilance, fear of the perception and opinion of others, the need to always peer into other lives and live vicariously through what others show through the web and so on. Kimmy's kidnapping (and later revealed suffering as child star) come from the overexposure caused by her mother, who during her disappearance struggles with gaze of her audience, and later the whole world.

Years after Kimmy's kidnapping she’s still suffering the consequences of her child star infancy, and so does her bigger brother, who, after upholding the influencer family business for more years after Kimmy's has cut ties with the family, has fallen into a extremely paranoid state in which he believes he’s being watched by an unknown organization. The siblings reunite after their estrangement, but it is revealed that what Kimmy thought to be an innocent butterfly is actually a hidden camera sent to spy upon them.

Melanie, their mother, runs her very own Big brother streaming, that eventually sends her into a mental breakdown, on which the book ends, after years of working being seen by millions.

Dick, Philip K.: Eye in the Sky

After an accident at the Belmont Bevatron, eight people are forced to travel through several different alternate universes. These ersatz universes are later revealed to be solipsistic manifestations of each individual's innermost fears and prejudices, akin to the domains of the Eyepocalypse with the various characters taking turns as the Pupil of the Eye, with their own inner thoughts and desires on display for all of the others to see.

DiLouie, Craig: Episode Thirteen

Fade to Black is the newest hit ghost hunting reality TV show. Led by husband and wife team Matt and Claire Kirklin, it delivers weekly hauntings investigated by a dedicated team of ghost hunting experts.

Episode Thirteen takes them to every ghost hunter's holy grail: the Paranormal Research Foundation. This brooding, derelict mansion holds secrets and clues about bizarre experiments that took place there in the 1970s. It's also famously haunted, and the team hopes their scientific techniques and high tech gear will prove it. But as the house begins to reveal itself to them, proof of an afterlife might not be everything Matt dreamed of. A story told in broken pieces, in tapes, journals, and correspondence, this is the story of Episode Thirteen—and how everything went terribly, horribly wrong.

Fitzhugh, Louise: Harriet the Spy

Harriet the Spy has a secret notebook that she fills with utterly honest jottings about her parents, her classmates, and her neighbors. Every day on her spy route she "observes" and notes down anything of interest to her, no matter how small, impolite, or utterly devastating. When her classmates get ahold of her notebook and discover Harriet's innermost thoughts about them, her life comes crashing down. Harriet becomes both the Watcher and the Watched, as her spying habits come under scrutiny from everyone around her.

Foucault, Michel: Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison

The philosophical origin of the panopticon and eventually the surveillance state.

Hamilton, Peter F.: A Quantum Murder

The victim is a scientist who was working on neurohormones that could be used to see through time, so the investigators use a sample he's left behind to do so. They see him being killed by one of his own students who has gone insane, but it's later revealed that the murderer was brainwashed to do so by the real culprit, who was worried that the neurohormone could be used to see a murder he had committed eleven years previously.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter

The mark of the scarlet 'A' ensures that all who look at Hester Prynne can know her and judge her for her sin of adultery.

Herbert, James: Moon

Three years after horrific visions helped him lead the police to catch a serial killer, divorced computer technician Jonathan Childes, shelters from the public’s morbid curiosity on one of the Channel Islands. On an ocean swim with French teacher Amy Sebire, Childes is suddenly overwhelmed by a distant vision of a corpse’s evisceration. During a dinner party with Amy’s family, a vision of the exhumation of a small boy’s corpse causes Childes to collapse. While Amy’s father Paul Sebire is suspicious of Childes’s past police involvement, Amy protests that Childes helped solve the murders. While she urges Childes to seek some kind of help, he’s petrified that this may somehow advantage whatever depraved mind has reached his own. A vision of an elderly psychiatric patient's cranial mutilation persuades Childes to call Detective Inspector Overoy, aided three years ago by Childes's visions. Investigation of the subsequently burnt psychiatric hospital reveals a small boy’s exhumed corpse, and an eviscerated prostitute indicates a killer who removes organs, partially eats them, and leaves a moonstone in each corpse. What’s more, the killer has sensed Childes’s distant observation. A sudden overwhelming fear for his seven-year-old daughter Gabby’s safety heralds the killer’s aim to have some sadistic fun…

Hirsch, Alex: Journal 3

Ford Pines travels to Gravity Falls, becomes obsessed with unraveling its paranormal mysteries, makes a deal with an all-seeing demon to achieve his dreams only to discover he's been duped, and descends into violent paranoia about being watched and keeping secrets.

Hockensmith, Steve: Secret Santa

From the short story collection *Naughty: Nine Tales of Christmas Crime*. After a Secret Santa exchange, sleazy office drone Bigelow starts getting embarrassing presents from someone who knows his dark secrets, causing him to self-destruct as he tries to find out which of his coworkers is responsible.

Hugo, Victor: La Conscience

In this poem, an eye stalks Cain wherever he goes after he commits his famous biblical fratricide. At the end, he digs a grave for himself, goes to live in it, and the eye is still there. The last line - "L'œil était dans la tombe et regardait Caïn" ("The eye was in the grave and looking at Cain") - is proverbial in French.

Kafka, Franz: The Trial

The Trial (original German title: Der Process) is a novel written by Franz Kafka from 1914 to 1915 and published in 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader.

King, Stephen: I Am the Doorway

After being exposed to an alien mutagen on a space trip to Venus, a disabled former astronaut describes the frightening changes he goes through. The narrator, Arthur, begins the narrative with his hands bandaged and complains of horrible itching both before and after the expedition. The transformation manifests as a swarm of tiny eyeballs on his fingertips. These eyes serve as the titular "doorway" for an extraterrestrial civilization, allowing them to peer into our world, but from an alien perspective, humans are hideous monstrosities that they fear and despise, according to Arthur.

Soon, the alien presence is able to not only peer through this portal, but also to take control of Arthur's shattered body and use him to perform heinous atrocities. Arthur douses his hands in kerosene and sets them on fire in a frantic bid to retain his humanity, only to discover that once the gateway is opened, it cannot be simply closed. For over seven years, he is able to keep the extraterrestrial presence at bay. However, as the aliens' eyes emerge on Arthur's chest, he announces that he intends to commit suicide with a shotgun to stop them from killing anyone else.

Korean Scribes: Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty

The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty (Korean: 조선왕조실록 (South Korea) and 조선봉건왕조실록 (North Korea)) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule Korea. Kept from 1392 to 1865, the annals (or sillok) comprise 1,893 volumes and are thought to be the longest continual documentation of a single dynasty in the world. With the exception of two sillok compiled during the colonial era, they are the 151st national treasure of South Korea and listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World registry. The texts are also known as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty or the True Record of the Joseon Dynasty. They contain every event of note which occurred in the court, no matter how disturbing, unpleasant, or downright embarrassing. Some examples: -One recorder hid behind a screen, so he could secretly record people complaining about the secret recorder. -King Taejong fell from a horse and immediately told those around him not to let a recorder know about it. Both the fall and his request were promptly recorded. -On multiple occasions, imperial officials led purges of scribes and academics based on what they read of themselves in the Records. This led to access to the records being strictly monitored and controlled.

Makkai, Rebecca: I Have Some Questions For You

The whole book deals with truth, secrets, and the fact that uncovering these things doesn’t tell you what to do with the information, which is very Eye. The plot revolves around a murder that happened when the protagonist was in school. It is in first person but with frequent addresses to “you,” who we eventually realise is one of the other characters, and positions the reader as both observer and observed. A Leitner version might start addressing these asides to the reader, revealing their own indiscretions and crimes. Further, each section of the book starts with a segment where the question is asked, “If X person had done it, how would it have happened?” A Leitner version might morph to show the reader descriptions of how they themself would commit similar crimes, leading to confusion about whether they did or not, or in the wrong (right) hands, a handbook for how to commit a perfect murder.

Morrell, David: Orange is for Anguish Blue for Insanity

"A guy watches as his friend Myers becomes obsessed with a famous painter van Dorn. He is certain the paintings hide some sort of a mystery, and is determined to uncover it. Myers departs to France, to live in a little village where van Dorn experienced the awakening of his talent, hoping that repeating his daily routine will provide some clues. A little later the protagonist receives a telegram beckoning him to France: Myers, as all of the researchers before him, gouged out his eyes. Myers dies before the protagonist arrives to the village, in the same hospital and of the same wound as van Dorn. intrigued by the mystery, the protagonist stays there to uncover the secrets of this place. This story is driven by characters' desire to uncover the truth, even as their friends and well-meaning villagers beg them to let the secret stay hidden, even as they realise they are destroying themselves - curiosity is stronger than their sense of safety."

The protagonist manages to find a valley where a meteorite a passage to hell, and if you get too close a damned soul will burrow itself into your eyes and brain. It is unbearably painful and changes your vision as you start seeing damned souls crawling over everything in sight. This was a secret of van Dorns paintings - if you focused your eyes just right, you could see these demons in every inch of peaceful landscapes that gave van Dorn his fame. Tortured by migraines, the protagonist resists the urge to gouge his eyes out and paints, because depicting what he sees is the only thing able to alleviate the pain.

O’Connor, Flannery: Wise Blood

Hazel Motes, a World War II veteran long struggling with his faith, goes down to Taulkinham after finding his homestead abandoned. There he meets a “blind” preacher named Asa Hawks (with scars on his face from an attempt to blind himself with lime), and in defiance, founds an anti-religious church. Tagging along with Haze is Enoch Emery, who has “wise blood,” an uncanny sense of significance.

Overall, the novel unpacks the human desire for meaning thru religion, and the associated appointment of being watched, by a God tailing your sins and your audience searching for a prophet.

Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four

In 1984, civilisation has been ravaged by world war, civil conflict, and revolution. Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain) is a province of Oceania, one of the three totalitarian super-states that rule the world. It is ruled by "The Party" under the ideology of "Ingsoc" (a Newspeak shortening of "English Socialism") and the mysterious leader Big Brother, who has an intense cult of personality. The Party brutally purges out anyone who does not fully conform to their regime, using the Thought Police and constant surveillance through telescreens (two-way televisions), cameras, and hidden microphones. Those who fall out of favour with the Party become "unpersons", disappearing with all evidence of their existence destroyed.

In London, Winston Smith is a member of the Outer Party, working at the Ministry of Truth, where he rewrites historical records to conform to the state's ever-changing version of history. Winston revises past editions of The Times, while the original documents are destroyed after being dropped into ducts known as memory holes, which lead to an immense furnace. He secretly opposes the Party's rule and dreams of rebellion, despite knowing that he is already a "thought-criminal" and is likely to be caught one day.

While in a prole neighbourhood he meets Mr. Charrington, the owner of an antiques shop, and buys a diary where he writes criticisms of the Party and Big Brother. To his dismay, when he visits a prole quarter he discovers they have no political consciousness. As he works in the Ministry of Truth, he observes Julia, a young woman maintaining the novel-writing machines at the ministry, whom Winston suspects of being a spy, and develops an intense hatred of her. He vaguely suspects that his superior, Inner Party official O'Brien, is part of an enigmatic underground resistance movement known as the Brotherhood, formed by Big Brother's reviled political rival Emmanuel Goldstein.

One day, Julia secretly hands Winston a love note, and the two begin a secret affair. Julia explains that she also loathes the Party, but Winston observes that she is politically apathetic and uninterested in overthrowing the regime. Initially meeting in the country, they later meet in a rented room above Mr. Charrington's shop. During the affair, Winston remembers the disappearance of his family during the civil war of the 1950s and his tense relationship with his estranged wife Katharine. Weeks later, O'Brien invites Winston to his flat, where he introduces himself as a member of the Brotherhood and sends Winston a copy of The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism by Goldstein. Meanwhile, during the nation's Hate Week, Oceania's enemy suddenly changes from Eurasia to Eastasia, which goes mostly unnoticed. Winston is recalled to the Ministry to help make the necessary revisions to the records. Winston and Julia read parts of Goldstein's book, which explains how the Party maintains power, the true meanings of its slogans, and the concept of perpetual war. It argues that the Party can be overthrown if proles rise up against it. However, Winston never gets the opportunity to read the chapter that explains why the Party took power and is motivated to maintain it.

Winston and Julia are captured when Mr. Charrington is revealed to be an undercover Thought Police agent, and they are separated and imprisoned at the Ministry of Love. O'Brien also reveals himself to be a member of the Thought Police and a member of a false flag operation which catches political dissidents of the Party. Over several months, Winston is starved and relentlessly tortured to bring his beliefs in line with the Party. O'Brien tells Winston that he will never know whether the Brotherhood actually exists and that Goldstein's book was written collaboratively by him and other Party members; furthermore, O'Brien reveals to Winston that the Party sees power not as a means but as an end, and the ultimate purpose of the Party is seeking power entirely for its own sake. For the final stage of re-education, O'Brien takes Winston to Room 101, which contains each prisoner's worst fear. When confronted with rats, Winston denounces Julia and pledges allegiance to the Party.

Winston is released into public life and continues to frequent the Chestnut Tree café. He encounters Julia, and both reveal that they have betrayed the other and are no longer in love. Back in the café, a news alert celebrates Oceania's supposed massive victory over Eurasian armies in Africa. Winston finally accepts that he loves Big Brother.

***

Big Brother is Watching You.

Pelgrom, Els: Little Sophie and Lanky Flop

Sophie is a curious young girl. She's heavily implied to be dying of cancer, and spends her days in bed, bored out of her mind. One night, her cat Terror and her dolls (Lanky Flop, Mr. Bear, and Arabella, among others) come alive in front of her eyes to stage a theatre play. Sophie is excited at the idea, and begs for a chance to join in. The cat and the dolls are reluctant — but they decide to let her be part of the play, if she's so keen on finding out what's "for sale in life". Before she knows it, Sophie is drawn into the world of Terror's story, which suddenly seems frighteningly real and pulls absolutely no punches. Sophie is quickly shown extreme poverty, death, sex, betrayal and decadence — everything life is all about.

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Imp of the Perverse

A tale about the terrible self-destructive impulse inside us all, the need to do awful things just to see what will happen. In particular, it concerns a man who, years after committing murder, becomes obsessed with the idea of confessing, until he begins to uncontrollably tell his tale to anyone that will listen, leading to his speedy arrest.

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Tell-Tale Heart

No Propaganda

Pratchett, Terry: The Truth

Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper falls into a tangled web of conspiracy.

Roth, Veronica: Poster Girl

However, Poster Girl offers a unique perspective flip on the dystopian future America setting, focusing on the dystopian regime (known as the Delegation) after it has been overthrown by a revolution and replaced by an entity known as the Triumvirate. Furthermore, the book's protagonist, Sonya Kantor, initially factors into the story not as a brave rebel but as the titular "Poster Girl" for the Delegation, having been chosen as the face for its latest batch of propaganda posters before the Revolution took place.

Obviously there are elements of the Eye in how society views her -- fame and the 'public eye', etc., it is also notable that under the Delegation every citizen was constantly monitored via their Insight Eye implants. While the Triumvirate has banned the practice, Delegation loyalists still have theirs installed as a way to allow the current ruling class to keep watch on the overthrown regime.

Sanderson, Brandon: Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones

The Alcatraz series is broadly concerned with seeing and knowing, with the main form of conflict stemming from the evil librarian conspiracy to hide the knowledge and magic of the world from the 'Hushlands', and the main form of magic (aside from the Smedry Talents) comes from the use of specially crafted glass lenses. This book in particular takes place in the lost Library of Alexandria, an underground ruin containing all the knowledge in the world, haunted by the spectral wraiths of librarians. Anyone is free to enter and borrow a book -- but at the cost of their soul being trapped forever in the stacks, doomed to staff the lost library.

Schweblin, Samanta: Kentukis (little eyes)

They've infiltrated homes in Hong Kong, shops in Vancouver, the streets of in Sierra Leone, town squares in Oaxaca, schools in Tel Aviv, bedrooms in Indiana. They're everywhere. They're here. They're us. They're not pets, or ghosts, or robots. They're real people, but how can a person living in Berlin walk freely through the living room of someone in Sydney? How can someone in Bangkok have breakfast with your children in Buenos Aires, without your knowing? Especially when these people are completely anonymous, unknown, unfindable.

The characters in Samanta Schweblin's brilliant new novel, Little Eyes, reveal the beauty of connection between far-flung souls—but yet they also expose the ugly side of our increasingly linked world. Trusting strangers can lead to unexpected love, playful encounters, and marvelous adventure, but what happens when it can also pave the way for unimaginable terror? This is a story that is already happening; it's familiar and unsettling because it's our present and we're living it, we just don't know it yet. In this prophecy of a story, Schweblin creates a dark and complex world that's somehow so sensible, so recognizable, that once it's entered, no one can ever leave.

Shadow, Nick: Blind Witness

Liam was recently blinded in a terrible accident. Fortunately, his father has made sure that he can receive an eye transplant. Less fortunately, these eyes are from a murdered man. Very unfortunately, that man is out for revenge.

Spoilers: Liam begins having visions of his eye donor's life and death. In the final one, he discovers that the man was beaten to death by Liam's father, a notorious mobster. Liam dies experiencing the dead man's murder at his father's hands.

Shine, A.M.: The Watchers

You can't see them. But they can see you.

This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.

Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers, and why are they keeping the humans imprisoned, keen to watch their every move?

Silverstein, Shel: Tell Me

“TELL ME Tell me I'm clever, Tell me I'm kind, Tell me I'm talented, Tell me I'm cute, Tell me I'm sensitive, Graceful and wise, Tell me I'm perfect- But tell me the truth.“

Smith, Aza: Paranoia Retardant

The story of Agents Saturday and Sunday who, after spying on a civilian for months at a time, butt heads over the fact that they have no real evidence to justify their excessive espionage. Link: https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2024/03/23/paranoia-retardant-2/

"We've wasted department funds on three apartments in the building and over eighty bugs. We've bugged all of her lamps, her makeup, her shampoo bottle, her pillows, her wallet, her cell phone, the back of her fridge, every vending machine in the car dealership she works at, and we even had to bribe her dentist to install one in one of her teeth."

Snicket, Lemony: A Series of Unfortunate Events

It's all about seeing and knowing, while leaving yourself unseen and unknown. The eye motif pops up regularly throughout the series.

Sophocles: Oedipus Rex

The terrible knowledge that he has murdered his father and married his mother drives Oedipus to stab out his eyes rather than continue to see and know.

Stone, Jon: There's A Monster At the End of this Book

Pretty self-explanatory plot, right? You know from the start that there will be a monster at the end of this book, but you also know that Grover is scared of monsters; he progressively gets more desperate and more frantic as he tries in vain to stop you from turning the page. This book, like the episodes themselves, makes the reader complicit in the action of turning to the next page, thus creating a sense of mounting dread as the end of the book draws nearer. What is going to happen? What is the monster that lovable Grover is so afraid of? Curiosity is a dangerous thing...

Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Lord of the Rings

Sauron! To quote Saruman: "His gaze pierces cloud, shadow, earth, and flesh. You know of what I speak, Gandalf: a great Eye, lidless, wreathed in flame." Unlike in the movies, it's not made clear that Sauron is simply embodied as one big eye, but the Eye does manifest as described at least in the Mirror of Galadriel, and about the only thing seen of Sauron in his tower is his gaze, like an evil searchlight.

Tucker, Mike: Prime Time

Synopsis: "Coming up after the break, the start of a new series of programmes featuring the mysterious traveller in Time and Space known only as — the Doctor.

Detecting a mysterious sub-space signal in the Time Vortex, the Doctor and Ace land on the planet Blinni-Gaar. They soon discover that the native population are little more than zombies, addicted to the programmes of the dangerously powerful Channel 400. As the Doctor investigates, he finds that the television company has a sinister agenda that has nothing to do with entertainment.

Why is the Director-General of Channel 400 so interested in the Doctor? Who are the mysterious aliens who watch from the shadows of the Brago nebula? And why is a pack of Zzinbriizi jackals stalking the streets of Blinni-Gaar?

As the Doctor is drawn deeper and deeper into a web of intrigue and deceit he discovers that he has an unexpected ally — of the most dangerous kind."

Why it's Eye: TV has consumed the population of the planet with a desire to watch and witness. One of the most disturbing scenes in the book is Ace's 'interview', where the host paints her in the worst light possible, reads out a list of her crimes and misdeeds, and even shows her a picture of her own grave. All the while, the live studio audience boos and jeers at her, further fueling the terror of being known and judged.

Various: Yellow Pages, The

Its a book of all the phone numbers.

Various: Yongle Encyclopedia, The

It is the largest printed encyclopedia in the world, originally composed of 11095 volumes, of which 400 survive. it was intended to include every commentary that had been written on the Chinese classics, as well as all history, philosophy, arts and sciences.

#leitner tournament #reading list #eye poll

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palepersonaturtle · 1 year ago

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DWY Sageuk story expansion

I love the sageuk part in dwy and i think it was perfect for what they wanted to convey. But i think a little more details would have made that story more wholesome and compelling. So this is my attempt to bring more details to the story.

- Aengcho's life with her birth family and how they got to know she was the chosen one by tge spirits and abandoned her.

- Details about shamanism in joseon period and how shamans were treated.

- more details about jang family and how high ranked nobility they were

-aengcho and mujin meet when they are kids and fall in love as they grow up

-aengcho writes spell books and mujin reads them. They discuss about how she gets the info about the specific ingredients required from the spirits in connected with her.

- Mujin laughs at the love spell and asks aengcho if it really works. Aengcho explains that it will only intensify the real feelings otherwise it will not work and that she has to design it for a specific person everytime.

- Mujin asks aengcho to write a love spell for him for so that they can use it in their next life because in every life he wants to fall in love with her. Aengcho denies saying that i cannot force you and he reminds her that it will only tell his real feelings and that they are connected by hearts and he just wants to fall in love with her in his next life asap. Aengcho laughs at his foolishness.

- Aengcho writes a spell book which can be used in their next life and keeps them in a box which can only be opened by her now and when their next life counterparts meet.

- Mujin gets ordered by his father to marry since a high ranking scholar's daughter (enters past life nayeon) has taken a liking for him. Mujin denies and is threatened by his father wiyh aengcho.

- Mujin tries to runaway with aengcho but aengcho denies as she is threatened by mujin's father

- Mujin meets his to be wife and tells her how he is in love with other woman and that he cannot marry her. The lady still insists on marrying him and his father again threatens him with aengcho's life. Eventually he gets married.

- Several years pass Mujin is now at a high position in the military currently stationed in thr palace. Aengcho gets hired by the king's concubine to get her a son by using spell.

- Aengcho and Mujin meet again in the palace, aengcho tells her real feelings to mujin but at the end they decide to remain only as friends since mujin is married now(sorry i cannot take cheating even if it was common in joseon period for men)

- Aengcho gets threatened with mujin's life by the concubine and asks her to perform black magic on the crowned prince.

- Aengcho tries but couldnt put the curse. The crowned prince still gets harmed and aengcho is accused for that. She is captured and tortured and all her spell books are burned and when the king tries to kill her she reveals the curse the person who kills her will put on himself and mujin listens that.

- Mujin rescues aengcho from the well and takes her to her shrine and promises to take her to a safe place.

- Next day when they are on their way they get ambushed by the soldiers, Mujin is told how aengcho is going to be killed by dismemberment anf how it will also make aengcho's soul perish to never reincarnate.

- Mujin still tries to fight the soldiers but eventually he cannot and ends up killing aengcho himself and he gets cursed

- Mujin buries aengcho's remains near the shrine and promises her to find the real culprit. Mujin also finds the box and letter from aengcho where she had kept her last spell book. Mujin burries the box hoping that they would be able to meet in their next life.

- Mujin gets reprimanded by his family for the curse and almost committing treason for helping the accused. Mujin apologizes. Mujin tries to finds the real culprit with the time left before he dies because of the curse but couldnt. Mujin dies and his wife reads his will.

- His wife realises Mujin's love for Aengcho and decides to protect the Shrine for generations to come as requested by mujin in in his will.

Plot for Evil Gardener-

- Male Shamans were rare during the joseon period. Thus very few peopld knew abt EG being a shaman. Moreover he chose to become one rather than being one.

-Why? To take revenge on the the royal family and the jang family who were involved in killing his shaman sister for delving in black magic.

- So he decides to help the concubine to kill the crown prince. As aengcho is not able to curse the prince he steals one of her books and uses it kill the crown prince but he couldnt as he is not as powerful as aengcho and neither the curses written in the book are that powerful as it is tge first book written by aengcho.

- Meanwhile, aengcho hides the latest curse book in the box where she had kept the spell book as she is the only one who is able to open her.

- At some point in his life after all that tragedy happens to aengcho and mujin, the EG gardener dies by extreme use of black magic unable to find the book and take revenge on the Jang Family.

- In the present, he is after aengcho's reincarnation i.e. Hongjo and the curse book to take his revenge on Jang family.

This is just a rough outline for his character i might add more details and change some parts.

#destined with you #jang shin yu #lee hong jo #aeng cho #jang mujin

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theredpryamid · 3 months ago

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Why South Korea isn't Silla

So I keep seeing people saying that South Korea is Silla and I really want to know where this came from??

Cause I'm Korean we refer to ourselves as descendants of Goguryeo and nobody really cares about Silla.

Anyway, the reason why South Korea isn't Silla is really simple, their Goryeo, what the hell is Goryeo you ask?

A bunch of Goguryeo descendants led by a Buddhist monk. The same thing happened to Baekje.

Basically Goryeo is just Goguryeo people with a fresh coat of paint and a letter removed. There's a famous folk story about this.

Then Goryeo undergoes a cultural revolution and turns into Joseon then Japan then the Korean War yada yada. Boom South Korea.

Anyway, if you want Silla make North Korea Silla, it makes more sense then South Korea. Also someone please tell me where this came from???

#hetalia #hws south korea #aph korea #hetalia headcanons #can't belive my first post is about this #this is taught in elementary school #do research!!!

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boysplanetrecaps · 9 months ago

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Build Up, Ep 4 Recap: River vs A Letter

Welcome back to the project everyone loves waiting two weeks for -- my MNET Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, we saw WEi’s Seokhwa and AB6IX’s Woong take on two trainees. In this one, a bunch of my favorites face off -- Kim Minseo, Bain, Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung. Oh no! Who will win? Let’s find out!

The guys come out, and as they stand there on stage, everyone notices how nicely dressed most of them are, and how tall.

Bain and Minseo introduce themselves as Blackfire.

The colors in Blackfire refer to their hair colors, they explain. Looks like Minseo has trimmed his hair a bit, and it makes him look a little older. Bain’s is also restyled in a way that’s a bit more flattering to his head shape, which is good. This is all good.

Wait, what is Bain wearing?

Ok, I think he’s wearing a translucent white turtleneck, a white… vest? Cumberbund? … and a white blazer, with white trousers that also appear to be maybe a bit too translucent for me.

Anyway, they explain that Bain even dyed his hair dark red (it had been orange before) as a step in becoming “ferocious” to beat the hyungs in the other team.

Gwangseok and Sungjung introduce themselves as Black Haired.

Ok, obviously something is going on here -- a mysterious hair battle. What’s going on? Baekho reads the file and finds out that Sungjung said something surprising, so much so that VCG is like, “What is this, the Joseon Dynasty?” (That’s like asking, “What’s going on, are we in Renaissance times?”)

We flashback to the rival matching moment, as Bain and Minseo make their way up to the RCPA (Rival Choosing Platform Area). A lot of teams step forward to challenge them, including Geonu’s team, which is extra painful because Geonu and Bain are both on Just B together! Hey man, that’s gotta be a Survival-Show No-Go. An SSNG.

Left to right: Team Geonu x Soomin; Team Lim Junhyeok x Yeo One; Team Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung; Team Yoon Inhwan x Ma Jaekyung.

I guess later on I’ll try to reconstruct the order that the matching took place, because obviously this was pretty early on.

Bain takes it in stride. He’s like -- “four teams thought they could beat us. It was fun!” And he gins. I really like Bain, guys. I wish he had a better stylist because he’s really charming in a Joohoney from Monsta X kind of way.

So, Bain and Minseo start to think they’ll probably try to tackle one of the two teams on the left, and Sungjung notices the direction their eyes keeps going. He interviews, “Just by looking at them, I thought they’re someone we could beat with just emotion.” He decides to make a strong provocation to get them to pick his team and he says, “I don’t like men dying their hair red.”

Bain, being iconic, is like, “well, first of all, it’s ORANGE, you dumb dumb!”

At first, everyone is laughing, but then Bain is like, oh no you better don’t, and he picks Sungjung’s team. “They fell for our provocation. I’ve already made a plan. There’s no way we can lose -- I’m riding a wild horse. I have the fastest strongest horse. I’ve brought The Red Hare. I have… Lee Gwangseok.”

Sungjung and Gwangseok meet up some time later to prepare for the challenge. MNET blurs out the brand name on their keyboard, which is important. Also, Gwangseok looks to be wearing a big, thick turtleneck s w e a t e r. Keep that throat warm, Gwangseok-ah!

Sungjung explains that his plan was to pick a really great partner and ride on his coattails, which seems weird given that Sungjung is also pretty highly regarded on this show.

Sungjung explains that he really loved Gwangseok’s voice in both performances, even in Tomboy when Gwangseok was chosen as Low Tier. Sungjung says that he thinks they should do an emotional song, and again says that Gwangseok has a “wild horse” feeling, and every time he says that, the show plays a horse sound effect and it’s just like…

FYI, please don’t be too concerned. This isn’t a real photo, as realistic as it looks. I did this in Microsoft Paint! I know, I know. You didn’t know your BPR-unnie could work magic like this.

I think Gwangseok starts to get a bit uncomfortable with Sungjung constantly saying he’s like a wild horse, but that’s just my feeling.

Sungjung says he wants to do a song with so much emotion that it smells. “I’d say a song that almost stinks!” Sungjung, are you ok? (This is probably a Korean figure of speech.)

They decide on A Letter by Bumjin. This is the gist of the lyrics:

“As I saw you turning around, I couldn’t say anything, and my short-lived year of being sad came to an end. When the harsh memories that pass by are scattered by the wind, I try to let them go as if nothing happened so that no painful feelings remain. Goodbye, my day is fading away, my stars that failed to shine, the words I have been saving, finally, I will send you my goodbyes.”

At Gwangseok’s suggestion, they decide to just let their rugged vocals and the emotions of the song carry the piece. Sungjung literally says he’ll do whatever Gwangseok wants to do, and Gwangseok again is made a bit uncomfortable, like, “this is too much pressure!” Still, he really loves the song and thinks the performance could be really great.

They gather to rehearse by singing into iced tea bottles in a… department store changing room? IDK, fam. Gwangseok says that neither of them majored in music, so he’s worried. It surprises me to hear that Sungjung didn’t major in music, since he seems to have some training under his belt, but I guess you never know. They practice a lot to make sure they have a good stage with their “unpolished” voices.

And the performance begins!

Full version without reactions

Overall, very nice, if a bit… boring? I think that’s because of the song as much as anything. It’s just so slow and plodding, with a beat that you simply cannot tap your feet to no matter how hard you try.

Both guys have lovely vocal tones, and I really didn’t hear anything “off” or “wrong” about the performance when I just listened to it without watching.

Gwangseok sounds husky, on the verge of him losing his voice, but that’s kind of his thing, isn’t it?

Sungjung’s voice is so clean, almost featureless that it could blend with almost anyone’s, from Jay to Hayoon. I feel like I couldn’t really hear him in this performance, partly because he sang a bit too softly, and partly because Gwangseok sang a bit too loudly.

Something obviously went wrong part way, as Gwangseok seemed to have some sort of problem with his in-ear piece, and I think his inexperience on stage hurt the team a lot. In-ear piece giving you trouble? Subtly take it out and just move on. But he did the opposite -- he made a big deal out of his ear piece not working, shaking his head, getting his partner’s attention to point it out, just basically having no chill.

And then, without the in-ear piece to help him judge volume levels, Gwangseok seems to lose control of his dynamics, and he suddenly and randomly gets really loud and even a bit shouty. It hurts the blend of the harmonies. It’s a shame, because I think that Sungjung’s voice is really interesting and wanted to get to hear him more. I feel like Gwangseok kind of dominated the show. It never sounds bad, but both of them look kind of miserable on stage and the vibe is off.

And that’s the worst thing about it, since the whole point was supposed to be to portray this sad break up song in a way that makes the listener cry. The listener is too busy wondering “what’s wrong with Gwangseok’s earpiece?” to connect emotionally with the song.

I’m not sure what happened here. Maybe they practiced too much and Gwangseok wore his throat a little raw and he just sort of lost confidence. Maybe it was just singing with the in-ear piece. I don’t know. But I think that Sunjung maybe shouldn’t have been so weird about the whole thing, because it put a lot of pressure on Gwangseok.

Also, I think they should have planned what they would do between verses besides stand there and bop. Maybe they could have had the lights dim on them a little, or have something projected on the back screen, something to take the focus off of them while they weren’t actively singing.

In the MNET edit, everything seems to start right. Right when Gwangseok starts singing, everyone seems to love his singing. Sungjung gets a lot of happy nods, too.

Eunkwang is enjoying it. I think. I guess?

But then it starts to go wrong. Gwangseok lets everything show on his face and totally forgets about portraying the emotions of the song, which was supposed to be the whole point. The judges start to look kind of bored, kind of concerned.

(next to Baekho’s face, it says “complicated”)

It's a bummer, because they sound ok, despite the lack of blend in their voices and the problems with Gwangseok’s dynamics.

When the guys are done singing, the judges applaud a little, and VCG is smiling, but it’s a bit muted. Sungjung asks Gwankseok about his in ear monitors, and Gwangseok says they were “unstable.”

Backstage, the guys say they’re not sure what the judges will say. They think it started off well, but was disappointing toward the end. They also aren’t sure the two singers' voices blended well, which I actually think I disagree with. I think they didn’t practice matching their dynamics properly, and if they had, their voices might have sounded really nice together. I think their lack of training ended up biting them in the hinder.

The judges seem to take a long time voting. Finally, we learn that their high is 90 and their low is 75, from -- who else -- Jaehwan.

Jaehwan says that the song suited Gwangseok’s voice well, but it became too strong. Solar chimes in to say that Gwangseok sang a bit too loudly at points and it wasn’t balanced enough. Eunkwang scolds Gwangseok a little, saying that he really has to watch his dynamics because otherwise he won’t be a good member of a team. “You guys are really good,” Eunkwang says, even if they haven’t had training, “but there are parts that are disappointing.” Sungjung lacks energy, Eunkwang says -- and Baekho agrees. I think they’re all pretty correct.

As the guys walk off stage, Baekho and Seungkwan compare Gwangseok’s voice to a gemstone that just needs some polishing.

Next it’s Bain and Minseo’s turn. Backstage, they’re nervous -- scared, even.

We flashback to the rival choosing day. Bain feels bad, partly because so many guys thought they could challenge his team, and partly because he was baited into choosing Sungjung’s team. But no more regrets! He is determined to find a song that fits his voice well.

Minseo is frustrated, because he was low tier. “I expected no one to come my way and no one did,” he says. They were basically the team of leftovers, we see. Minseo says that he feels grateful to Bain and determined to do better.

Some time later, Bain’s hair is now pale orange, and they’re meeting in an office space of some kind. Neither is wearing a sweater! What kind of bullshit is this?

But at least Minseo has a nice coffee. Good, keep that up.

They’ve already decided to sing a pop song. But which one?

We see a pre-production meeting with Different-Hair Bain. I like this look better than the weird helmet cut he has going in episodes 1-2. He says that he thinks he must have been a foreigner in his previous life, because he feels so at home in the United States. Oh, come to visit, Bain! I have a spare bedroom. My fella and I will show you around. We can go do karaoke!

He just really likes pop music, by which I think they mean specifically Western pop music. They decide to do River by Bishop Briggs. I mean, yeah. That’s a great song to sing. Powerful, driving, oddly emotional despite the fact that the lyrics don’t really make sense no matter what language(s) you speak. Yep.

People thought these two would be pushovers, easy to beat. It’s just made them want to try harder.

And then it’s time for their performance. Solar is worried that the song would be too powerful for them, but I know my Bain and I think this will be good.

Full version without reactions

My thoughts:

FUCK YEAH.

THAT’S THE STUFF.

Ok, guys, I would like to point out that I TOLD YOU ABOUT BAIN. I told you! I told you that he’s fucking great and I know that the show has up until now edited him to look like a schmuck but YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT YOUR BPR UNNIE TOLD YOU ABOUT BAIN. I also called Minseo “one to watch.” Listen to your unnie!

One of my favorite parts is when, even in the Youtube version with no reactions, you can actually hear the judges screaming right toward the end. Amazing. Love it.

Their voices are actually really similar, so I can mostly describe them together. Both of them have a fantastically well developed upper mix, meaning they can hit higher notes with a full voice rather than a falsetto. They both have a perfect vibrato that provides texture and interest without making it sound wobbly or fussy.

In terms of performance in general, they seemed confident, striding around the stage like they knew they were hot fucking shit, which they are. Bain’s little grin as he whispers “like a river” toward the end is so good.

Nitpicks? Just three. (1) At once point, Minseo got a tiny tiny bit shrieky as the note got away from him, right toward the end. (2) Bain’s falsetto was a little thin and underdeveloped. (3) Minseo in particular could improve his English pronunciation. But who cares, this rocked. I forgive it all. At this point, I prefer this to the original version by a decent amount. If only they’d worn sweaters it would have been completely perfect.

Ok, for once I’m excited to see the MNET version.

It’s so fun to watch the judging panel go apeshit, even if it was filmed on a potato.

VCG likes it so much he gives his Super Dorky Smile of approval.

There are so many instant replays but I don’t even mind. I suspected Bain’s whispered “like a river” would get replayed and it did, but a bunch of other things too.

The judges are just open mouthed while the guys backstage are like, “this is so dark and sexy! They’re like different people.” Even Minseo’s slightly shrieky high note toward the end gets love.

When they’re almost done the judges are already on their feet screaming, but then the singers have two more notes to sing and the judges hush their mouths to listen.

So. Satisfying.

Backstage, the guys are mostly gobsmacked. Most of them didn’t know that Bain was that good. On stage, VCG is wiping away tears and Jaehwan is comparing Bain to Rihanna.

Bain and Minseo are being so polite and reserved that VCG teases them that they should be more cocky about it after a performance that good.

Solar calls them “perverts,” which again refers to that thing Seunghwan said in the first episode, which is just a little bit beyond my ability to research. I assume it’s Korean slang. “You seemed to know what it means to put on a performance,” she adds, which, yeah.

Seungkwan asks if they’re both actually Korean, which is pretty funny.

“What? Hyung, what? Why are you laughing at me, hyung? I’m going to tell S. Coups on you." - Seungkwan, probably

Seungkwan says that the song River could come off as cheesy if you’re not careful, but Bain was so sexy and Minseo went nuts!

VCG says “Bain, that’s how one should sing -- with all the different tones. That’s the taste I’ve been wanting. That’s how you get the listeners to focus. And Minseo? You’re a trainee but you gave more taste than the pros.”

Eunwkwang says that even though they were powerful, their singing was clean and they never lost control.

Jaehwan says they’re in trouble… because now they have to do even better in the next round. Baekho is like, come on!

Time for the judges to vote! Backstage, poor Gwangseok and Sungjung -- remember them? -- know what’s up. Reveal the votes, but not really! Commercial break! Reveal the votes again! But not really! Ok, finally reveal them this time!

Seungkwan, VCG, and Wendy all give 100s. Baekho and Wendy give 97s, and Solar and Jaehwan must have given 98 or 99.

The continued look of astonishment on Minseo’s face is just about the cutest/dorkiest thing on earth. I love it.

And Bain low-key looks like he might cry:

Dahee calls out the first team, who walk up on stage kind of sadly. Since their high score was 90 and low score was 75, there’s just no way that they could have won, but we get the scores anyway: 690 to 587.

Doing the math, Solar and Jaehwan must both have given Bain and Minseo a 98. As for the Gwangseok and Sungjung, if you subtract out the high and low scores, it turns out the average of the other judges scores was 84.

Backstage, Inhwan and Jaekyung note that Bain and Minseo’s team would have beaten any of the teams who challenged them. As a reminder, they were challenged by: Geonu x Soomin and Junhyeok x Yeo One as well as Gwangsuk x Sungjungand Inhwan x Jaekyung. You might notice that two of those teams haven’t performed yet…. Hmmmm. I wonder if maybe these performances were shown a bit out of order? So now we’re spoilered that Team Geonu x Soomin and Team Junhyeok x Yeo One will both score below 690.

Dahee asks the losing team if they have any remarks, and our leaping lizard Sungjung says, “I just want to say one thing. Red hair suits you well.” Everyone laughs and the good feeling is restored.

Gwangseok says, “But seriously, we just wanted to be cool. We thought a loss would be acceptable if we did well, but the opponents did better.” The implication is that maybe he thinks they *didn’t* do well. The judges reassure him that he did, and Dahee adds her piece: “I don’t know if it’ll comfort you, but from where I stand, you guys still seem cool to me, even though you lost.” Aww, Dahee is pretty great, isn’t she? I was unsure about her in the beginning but she’s just the cutest.

Backstage, Gwangseok and Sungjung say they should just go get some soju. And Bain and Minseo are in a state of delighted disbelief.

Anyway, that was fun! I feel a bit sad for Sungjung and Gwangseok, but it also feels fair. I think Sungjung put all his hopes on Gwangseok instead of just sort of running his own (horse) race, and I think Gwangseok’s inexperience showed. I still think both of them are great singers and I hope they can continue to learn and grow from all this.

Thanks as always for reading! And if you’re enjoying my recaps, feel free to talk about them whenever/wherever/however! See you as always in the next one.

#bain #just b #bpr recaps build up #build up mnet #mnet build up #build up

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leia-writes · 1 year ago

Text

My Legionnaire

Eugene Choi x Reader

Chapter 1

Summary: You're a diplomat's daughter who travels the world, finding yourself in Joseon at the turn of the 19th century. Eugene Choi is a respected US Marine Corps officer struggling with being back in his native land. A story of two people learning the meaning of home. (Inspired by the song My Legionnaire by Brooke Waggoner.)

Notes: I've been thinking of writing something like this ever since the first time I finished watching Mr. Sunshine. I chose to ignore most of the main story, so I apologize if there are any inconsistencies. More to come after this chapter. Enjoy!

Tags: reader-insert, no use of y/n, fluff, blood and injury, pining, slow burn, not canon compliant

read on ao3

masterlist

The floor beneath you swayed gently as you walked along the edge of the ship. The sun was almost unbearably bright, and you had to shield your eyes from it as you looked towards the horizon. In the distance, you could see a landscape dappled with mountains. Slowly, you were making your way to your next place of residence, Joseon.

The sight of your final destination gave you great relief. You’d been on that ship for what felt like nearly forever, traveling all the way from Venice to New York City and now to Joseon. As usual, you accompanied your parents. Your father was a diplomat who brought you and your mother along on all of his travels. Ever since you were very young, you’d grown accustomed to that way of life. Always traveling, always experiencing something new.

Though you enjoyed having the privilege to travel the world, you often longed for more permanence in your life. You loved your parents, but they were the only people you felt truly close to, having no siblings to share the experience with. Because you traveled so much, making friends or having relationships was incredibly difficult. You sent letters as much as you could, but with it being awfully slow and your location changing so much it was hard to keep relationships that way.

Eventually, you learned to grow accustomed to your emotional isolation. You focused your energy on studying language and culture, taking advantage of everywhere you’d traveled. As you got older, you worked as a translator at the many consulates, legations, and embassies you visited. However, your next destination, Joseon, is somewhere you’d never traveled before.

As a diplomat, your father was an expert at socializing with everyone, from the upper elite class to the servants. He thrived in political environments, creating connections between entire countries with tactful negotiation. His success in his work is exactly why he was tasked with visiting and creating meaningful connections with Joseon for your country.

You were excited to visit a place you’d never been before. For the past few years you’d gone back and forth between the United States and Europe, and you were dying to go somewhere new, learn a new language, and experience a new culture. Luckily, you already had a friend, Kyle Moore, who you knew would be in Hanseong already. You’d met him from a previous visit to New York City when your father had you do some translating work for the US Marine Corps. Knowing you had a friend in this new place gave you some comfort, and you were excited to meet new people as well.

~~~

Eugene Choi sat at his desk at the American legation in Joseon, leisurely reading through various documents. The air was cold outside but he had a fresh cup of hot coffee, just as bitter but comforting still. He was grateful for little things that reminded him of home. His real home.

Being back in Joseon caused a great deal of conflict inside his mind and his heart. As he walked the streets, he was respected, but he didn’t belong. He never did. But did he even want to? Did he want to belong to a world that had rejected him from his very first breath?

He knew he didn’t. But, deep down inside, he just wanted to belong to something. He wanted something, somewhere, to truly feel like home. He worked hard for a good life in America, and it was the place he found his freedom. But there was always someone or something to remind him that he wasn’t like everyone else.

Luckily, he had Kyle as his closest friend, always there to make him feel accepted and normal. If it weren’t for Kyle, who knows where Eugene would be at this point. Especially considering the fact he just got promoted for saving his life.

Just as he was thinking back to their last battle together, Kyle walked into Eugene’s office, his own cup of coffee in hand. Although it was getting late in the afternoon, they both had tons of paperwork to go through since arriving in Hanseong - their prestigious promotions being put to good use.

“Seems like you’ve also got a lot to work through there.” He motioned to the piles of documents on Eugene’s desk.

Eugene sighed. “Not exactly what I was expecting when we arrived here.”

Kyle softly chuckled. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a ship arriving from New York City today. If I remember correctly, I know someone on that boat who may be able to help us out.”

~~~

You walked through the entrance of the Glory Hotel with your parents, beyond exhausted. As your parents were getting your rooms, you looked around at what would be your home for the foreseeable future. The hotel was charming and comfortable. You looked into the dining area and noticed several American military men. As you scanned the room, you noticed Kyle Moore stand up and wave to you, excitedly calling out your name.

You gave a polite smile and walked towards him. “It’s good to see you again, Kyle.”

“How was your trip?”

“Exhausting, of course.” You scoffed playfully and noticed the man sitting next to him at the table. Instantly, you recognized him from a previous visit to New York. Though you hadn’t formally introduced yourselves, you had seen him in passing. His face was definitely not one to forget.

You gave him a soft smile and Kyle introduced him. “This is my friend, Eugene Choi.” He nodded politely towards you before Kyle continued. “You know, I was actually thinking today, are you looking for a job?”

You chuckled. “Well, we’ve just arrived, so I guess I haven’t gotten a job yet. Do you have something for me?”

“Absolutely. First thing tomorrow morning, come see us at the legation.”

The thought of waking early in the morning after your exhausting trip made your stomach drop. “Oh… first thing?”

Eugene chimed in. “Why don’t we give her some time to rest first?”

Kyle nodded. “I guess you’re right. We’ll give you a day to settle in, get used to your new surroundings.”

“Alright. I’ll see you then.” You turned to Eugene. “Nice to meet you.” You were about to turn to leave before Eugene stood up and reached his hand out to shake yours. His hand was warm in yours, and he sat back down with Kyle, staying silent. A bit awkward, but it just made you want to know more about him.

~~~

You spent the next day relaxing and settling into your new home, and before you knew it found yourself at the American legation the following morning. Kyle and Eugene sat in Eugene’s office, casually going over some documents. The smell of coffee immediately flooded your senses and gave you comfort. Coffee was something you could count on being in almost every part of the world, and you were grateful you could find it here.

The two of them looked up as you entered the room, Kyle excitedly standing from the desk next to Eugene.

“Good morning! Have you settled in well since arriving?”

You smiled and nodded, “I have, I appreciate the day off yesterday.”

Kyle scoffed, “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s definitely needed, seeing the work Eugene has for you.” He playfully raised his eyebrows and motioned to the mountain of papers on the desk he was sitting at.

Eugene sighed, his lips slightly turning at the ends. “It’s not that bad, Kyle. Just light translating work.”

“That’s practically an encyclopedia! You’re basically putting her through torture, you know that?”

You laughed as Eugene rolled his eyes, slowly perusing through the documents. They were in various languages, most of which you knew. You turned towards Eugene, pointing at his cup of coffee.

“As long as you have one of those for me, this will be no problem,” you said, giving him a sweet smile. He playfully looked at Kyle, asking him to get you some coffee, but you were momentarily mesmerized by his face yet again and couldn’t even register what he was saying. You immediately questioned how easy this task would actually be.

You were pulled from your trance by Kyle repeating your name, probably for the third or fourth time.

“Hm?”

He softly chuckled, as if he knew exactly what was going through your mind. “How do you take your coffee?”

“Oh, just… just regular. How it comes,” you blurted out, embarrassed.

~~~

As time passed, you quickly settled into a routine, working for the legation most days doing translating work. Your parents were busy most of the time anyways, and even when you weren’t working, you found yourself spending time at the legation doing leisurely activities like reading. You also used this opportunity to learn Korean. Gwan-su helped you immensely, as you helped him with translating work as well. Eugene had also hired a young boy, named Do-mi, to do small tasks at the legation, which now included giving you lessons.

You found yourself in Eugene’s company often, as he was the one giving you documents to translate. And you even found him eavesdropping on your lessons. You quickly figured out he wasn’t able to read or write in Korean, which perplexed you. He was such a mystery to you most of the time, and it only made your curiosity blossom further. You were already entranced by his looks, and his personality didn’t help either.

You felt yourself developing romantic feelings for him, something you weren’t normally accustomed to. Making connections with others was difficult enough aside from falling for someone. Who knew when you’d have to be whisked away to another corner of the world, never to see him again? It made no sense to fall for Eugene when each day might be one of the last you’d spend with him.

It’s not that you’d never fallen for someone before, or even made a friend, but you always knew when to stop yourself. When the potential loss was just too great for you to risk. Keeping everyone at an arm’s length was simply protecting yourself.

But it didn’t make it all any less painful.

~~~

It was another day of translating at the legation when Eugene announced he was stepping out early for the day. You already knew what you needed to complete that day, so silently you were thankful you wouldn’t have to spend more time with him. It was becoming increasingly hard for you to keep your mind from wandering about him, especially when he was in the same room as you.

You couldn’t stop yourself from wondering what he was really like behind closed doors, what his true likes and dislikes were… what he thought about you. You’d see him read books, play games of tennis with Kyle, listen to music occasionally, just go about his life like normal, and you craved to be a part of it all. You knew your lifestyle made you crave stability on some level, but with Eugene it was unlike anything else. Suddenly, your craving for a true home was the biggest problem in the world. The thought of leaving behind this little life you’d created, even if it was fleeting, was nothing short of devastating.

So you tried your best to suppress those feelings that threatened to upend your life in every way, just like you always had. And Eugene leaving for the day was a small victory in achieving that.

After finishing your work, you walked the streets of Hanseong and decided to treat yourself to some candy from the bakery. Seeing some of the international sweets brought fun memories from places you’d been to in the past, and you ultimately decided on some of the peppermint candies. For a brief moment, you were reminded that maybe you were okay just by yourself.

On your way back to the legation, before heading to the hotel, you saw Eugene in the street. From afar everything seemed normal, but as you got closer you noticed a look of utter despair on his face. As you approached him, your heart was flooded with concern. He didn’t seem to notice you until you were right in front of him.

“Eugene? Are you okay?”

He seemed to be instantly pulled from his thoughts. He scanned your face briefly before clearing his throat. “Oh, uh… yeah. Yes, I’m fine. Thanks.” He was short with his words, his usual polite, positive tone of voice now devoid of emotion.

You eyed him suspiciously, noticing his swollen eyes. Clearly he’d been crying recently, but you didn’t exactly want to call him out on whatever happened if he didn’t want to talk about it. You slowly nodded.

“Alright, well… I just went to the bakery,” you looked down at the bag of candies, pulling one from the bag. “Want one?”

He stared at your hand for a second, then your face, looking bewildered. “No, that’s alright. Thank you though.”

You nodded again, feeling awkward and unsure. You wanted to console him but didn’t know what to say.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow th-”

“Do you want to get a drink?” He suddenly said, anxiety clear in his tone of voice. He nodded towards the nearby bar.

It was your turn to be surprised. You looked around for a moment, saying, “Sure, I guess I’ve got nothing better to do.” You gave an awkward chuckle.

Eugene gave you a soft smile and began walking towards the bar.

Unbeknownst to you, Eugene had similar feelings blossoming for you. He practically lived for the moment you’d walk into his office each morning, your sweet, cheerful face greeting him every time. He always made sure to have a cup of coffee for you ready, that way you two could enjoy it together and chat a little before getting to work. Romance and romantic feelings never came naturally to him, so he was surprised that you were on his mind so much lately.

But just like you, he struggled with the idea of home, a true home. Being back in Joseon was like psychological warfare. Everything from his past was being forced to come up to the surface, and he couldn’t suppress it like he usually could. Though it was painful, he had to try to reconcile and make peace with his past. He tried to do that today, in search of his parents grave, but his efforts were futile. Instead he has to grapple yet again with an unimaginable pain he’s lived with for as long as he can remember.

He knew he had feelings for you, and wanted nothing more than to pursue you, but how could he do that to you with all of the baggage he was carrying? In his mind, you didn’t deserve his problems. But today, he just couldn’t help himself, your smile a respite from his world all but crashing down around him.

The two of you walked into the bar and sat down, ordering a bottle of alcohol and grabbing a few cups. You’d never been to this bar before. There were a lot of American soldiers, as well as a few of Gu Dong-mae’s men, of whose reputation you were well aware of.

You quietly drank and settled into your seat, glancing at Eugene every so often to gauge his emotions. Clearly something devastating just happened to him and he just wanted to get his mind off of it.

“Do you go here often?” you asked.

Again, Eugene seemed to be pulled out of his thoughts. “Oh, sometimes… The soldiers like to come here a lot.” He gestured to everyone around you.

You nodded silently, unsure of what else to say.

Eugene eyed you for a moment. “Did you complete the rest of your tasks today?”

“Yes, all done. Just like normal,” you politely nodded and took a sip of your drink. You suddenly felt like you were talking to your boss rather than a friend.

Eugene nodded silently. At a table across the room, one of Gu Dong-mae’s men laughed out loud and leaned towards another at his table.

“I don’t think they’re on a date, I mean, if they are it definitely isn’t going well, just look at them!”

You were confused for a moment. Were they talking about you and Eugene? You gave the man a confused, somewhat embarrassed look. The table just laughed to themselves and continued drinking.

You made small talk with Eugene for a bit, feeling awkward but happy to have more time to spend with him, despite your efforts to be emotionally detached earlier. He seemed to open up a little after drinking more, but you could tell he was hiding an immense pain.

He stood up to get another bottle, and one of Dong-mae’s men stood up and approached you.

“Are you really on a date with him?”

You looked at him, appalled. “Excuse me?”

One of the other men stood up and attempted to pull the man back to the table, to no avail.

“Let go of me, I’m just asking her a simple question.”

“Sit down and stop bothering people.”

The man became increasingly frustrated. He was clearly wasted, swaying back and forth. “I’m not bothering anyone! Let go!”

Eugene quickly approached the table and set the bottle down with a loud thud. “You need to leave, now.”

That angered the man even more. He attempted to yell something but ended up slurring his words, almost falling to the ground. His friend attempted to keep him up and pull him away, but the man just pushed him aside. He pulled out his sword in an attempt to intimidate Eugene, but ended up slashing your hand as he did so.

You cried out in pain, quickly standing up and clutching your hand to your chest. Eugene looked at you with pure shock and concern.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” You screamed and slapped the man, your pain quickly turning to anger. You weren’t a stranger to creepy, entitled men, and you’d trained yourself how to deal with them as best you could. The man looked confused, not even realizing what he did. Before anyone else could intervene, you clutched the man’s collar and shoved him to the ground. It wasn’t hard as he was already unsteady on his feet. Resting a foot on his chest, you quickly took hold of his sword and rested it on his neck.

At this point you didn’t even register the blood rushing from your injured hand. Everyone looked at you in shock, not bothering to intervene.

“I should cut your hands off for that, shouldn’t I?” You glanced at Eugene, still looking at you in shock.

The man was just a blubbering mess beneath you, unable to form a complete sentence. You pressed on his chest further, the sword leaving a small cut on his neck. “Should I or should I not?”

He cried out. “No! Please, no!”

You looked at him with pure disgust, then around you. Everyone was watching you, watching this man beg beneath you. The social shaming he’d receive for this seemed sufficient enough for you, and you knew he’d already be punished by his own for his recklessness, so you slowly stepped off of him and dropped his sword.

“If I see your face again I won’t be so kind.”

You quickly stormed out of the bar without so much as a thought of where to go next. Eugene quickly followed behind and pulled you to a stop.

“Stop! Your hand.” He gently grabbed your hand and you looked down, finally noticing the large gash and blood smeared everywhere.

Suddenly the pain came rushing back into your senses, and you cried out. The wound was much deeper than you anticipated. Eugene quickly grabbed his handkerchief and wrapped it around your hand. The pressure stung but you knew you needed to stop the bleeding. Tears flowed down your face as the pain radiated up your arm.

“Come with me.” Eugene gently wrapped his arm around your shoulders, holding your hand in his, and quickly led you back to the legation where he knew he could tend to your wound.

Silently, he chastised himself for not being there to protect you. He should’ve intervened before you got hurt. But nonetheless he was beyond impressed at how you handled the situation. He would’ve never expected you to be so confident in disarming that man. Though he was solely focused on helping you now, he couldn’t help but notice those familiar feelings for you blossoming to the surface once again, stronger than ever.

Once you reached the legation, you sat in his office clutching your hand as he got the necessary tools and medicines. The ointments stung and he tried his best to numb the area as he stitched you up, but the pain was almost unbearable. You were uncontrollably sobbing and crying out of pain, though you were trying your best to keep it in. You didn’t even register that Eugene was finished until he started softly wiping your face of tears and sweat.

You blinked through your tears and saw your hand entirely wrapped in bandages, the pressure somewhat subduing the pain now. Eugene looked disheveled, his sleeves rolled up, blood smeared on his arms and hands. He was looking at you with intense concern.

You took a deep breath in and grabbed the handkerchief he was using to wipe your face. You finished wiping yourself, feeling embarrassed now that you were feeling a bit better.

“Thank you. I’m sorry,” you softly scoffed to yourself, as if this was all just a big inconvenience for him.

He began to wipe his hands clean. “It’s not your fault. Don’t be sorry.”

You met eyes and lingered just a moment longer than usual, before you quickly stood up to gather yourself. It had been quite the day for both of you, and as much as you wanted to spend time with Eugene you felt your defenses come up yet again. If you looked at him for even another second, you felt you’d lose all control and cross the line you tried so hard to obey.

You were about to walk out of the room without saying another word before Kyle quickly stormed in.

“What happened? I heard there was a situation.”

Silently, you were relieved Kyle was there to break the tension you felt. “Oh, I just had a little cut from some drunk pulling out his sword at the bar.” You rolled your eyes as if it was nothing.

Eugene loudly scoffed. “It wasn’t just a little cut. I just gave her stitches.”

You sighed. “I’m fine. Thank you,” you said, still avoiding eye contact.

Kyle looked at you disapprovingly. “Well, I hope you’re heading back to the hotel to rest now. And not alone I presume?” He glanced at Eugene.

You quickly responded, “Actually, why don’t you walk me there?”

Kyle glanced again at Eugene, sensing the weird awkwardness between you two. You didn’t bother waiting for a response and continued your way out of the legation, Kyle eventually catching up to you.

Eugene sat alone, somewhat dumbfounded. He thought he should be offended at your quick exit, but sensed your embarrassment and let it go. You had done the same for him earlier, and he knew it was probably for the best.

As you and Kyle walked back to the hotel, Kyle eyed you warily.

“Everything alright?”

Pulled from your thoughts, you perked up. “Hm? Of course. This should be healed in no time.”

He slowly nodded. “I’m sure it will. Eugene is very good at those kinds of things.”

You nodded back, staying silent, which further elevated Kyle’s curiosity into concern.

“Is everything… okay with you two?”

“What? Of course, why do you ask?”

“You seemed like you needed any sort of excuse to get away from him earlier.”

You blinked, unsure what to say. It wasn’t exactly false but you weren’t about to divulge all of your complicated feelings to Kyle at that moment.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You know you can tell me if anything is wrong. I’ve known Eugene for a long time and I trust him with my life, but if he did any-”

“Oh my god, no, he didn’t do anything wrong, if that’s what you’re asking! No, he’s great. Eugene is great. Please, don’t think anything like that.”

Kyle nodded slowly as the two of you approached the entrance of the Glory Hotel.

“If anything, that’s the problem,” you softly said, almost under your breath but enough that Kyle heard it.

He stopped walking as you entered the hotel, giving you a curious look. You were a bit embarrassed so you quickly said your goodbye and rushed to your room, exhausted for many different reasons.

~~~

After that day, things mostly went back to normal. You spent your days with Eugene at the legation, and were reminded of how he helped you that night often. The memories of his hands on yours, of him wiping your face clean, and the look of genuine concern for you flooded your mind constantly. And now that Kyle had suspicions of your feelings for Eugene, he decided to use it for his own personal entertainment.

Kyle had known Eugene for a very long time and knew he wasn’t the romantic type, but easily noticed how he was falling for you. He knew it was a complicated situation, but didn’t see harm in having a little fun with it. He’d often invite the two of you to have lunch or coffee with him, only to make up some excuse for him to attend to, leaving the two of you by yourselves.

You were often embarrassed by Kyle’s tactics, as was Eugene, but you were happy to spend time with Eugene, though it made your longing for him even stronger. As time passed, you became more and more anxious at the day when you’d have to leave, so you cherished any moment you could have.

Eugene also felt this anxiety, this increasing worry that eventually you’d have to leave Joseon. He was constantly torn between keeping a distance or taking advantage of any moment he had with you. It was like this constant push and pull, both of you wanting more from each other but too scared to risk what little you already had.

One day, while working in Eugene’s office, Gwan-su cheerfully walked in, carrying a large covered basket, and sat next to you. He looked at you with a devilish smile, as if he had a secret to tell you. He leaned in, whispering.

“I have a surprise for you. Don’t ask questions, just go along with it.”

You looked at him confused, about to ask what in the world he was talking about, before Kyle walked in.

“Gwan-su, you wanted to speak with me?”

He softly chuckled to himself. “Yes, come with me. You too.” He pointed to you as he walked to a nearby hallway.

You and Kyle looked at him curiously as he looked like he could barely contain his excitement.

“I know it’s been busy here at the legation lately, so I wanted to give you two a break.”

As you continued looking confused, Kyle questioned, “What do you mean?”

“Listen. Take the rest of the day off and walk down the path to the river. Take this, and have a nice picnic. You guys deserve it.”

He handed the basket to Kyle as the two of you were still puzzled.

“And why isn’t Eugene invited to this nice picnic you’ve planned for us?” Kyle asked.

Gwan-su smiled devilishly yet again. “I can see you’ve been trying to get some alone time,” he gestured towards you, “but Eugene is always there.”

Your face instantly turned red as Kyle stared at him incredulously, before laughing out loud. For a moment, you thought Gwan-su was serious. Did Kyle have feelings for you?

Kyle continued laughing, “Wait, is that what this is all about?”

Now it was Gwan-su’s turn to be confused. “Well, yes, I mean, I thought-”

“Gwan-su, you’re a great friend, you know that?’ Kyle could barely contain his laughter still. “But I’m not interested in her. In that way. We’re just friends!”

You breathed a sigh of relief. Gwan-su looked beyond embarrassed, and gave you an apologetic look.

“My apologies, I guess I read the situation wrong. Uh, just keep the basket, I’ll be on my way now.” He quickly walked away to avoid further embarrassment.

You chuckled out of surprise as Kyle sighed. He handed you the basket. “He’s a funny one, isn’t he? You can take this, I have some things to work on.” As he was walking away, he turned back towards you. “And maybe you might have a better use for it?” he winked before leaving the building.

You stood in the hallway, holding the heavy basket, wondering what to do next. As you turned back towards Eugene’s office, you saw him standing in front of his office, curiosity clear on his face. He almost looked like he was… pouting?

“What was that all about?”

“Oh nothing, just Gwan-su trying to set up Kyle and I on a date, or something,” you chuckled to yourself.

Eugene’s face went slightly red, and he eyed the basket. You handed it to him as you walked back to your desk. “Take a look, I have no use for it.” You sat down and continued what you were working on before.

Eugene quickly looked through the basket, finding a blanket and tons of food to eat. He paused for a moment, then turned to you.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Hm? I guess so, what’s in there?”

“Oh, uh, a lot of things actually. You know, it’s a nice day out…”

You eyed him, wondering if he was really about to ask you what you thought he would. In Eugene’s mind, he simply couldn’t pass up this chance.

“Why don’t we go on that picnic?”

~~~

You sat on the blanket with Eugene, under the shade of a nearby tree with the river flowing calmly in front of you. The weather was perfectly warm, the sun bright but not too bright. It was completely idyllic. You were lazily eating some fruit as you and Eugene talked.

“You’ve really never been fishing?”

You giggled. “Nope, never.”

“Even with all the places around the world you’ve been too?” He looked at you incredulously.

“I really haven’t! I don’t even know how.”

Eugene scoffed. “You know how to disarm a man but not how to fish. How does that happen?”

You laughed. “I guess no one’s taught me before.”

He eyed you, as if he was plotting something. Your heart leapt.

He looked away, smirking. “I’ll just have to teach you then.”

“Well, you better be careful, I might be better at it than you.”

He laughed out loud. “That’s alright. I doubt it but,” he paused as you laughed. He couldn’t help but admire you. “That’s alright.”

You sighed, taking another bite and observing your surroundings. “It’s so beautiful here.”

“How does it compare to the rest of the world?”

“It’s definitely up there,” you said, smiling. You looked at him curiously. “It’s not like you haven’t been to a lot of different places too. What do you think?”

He sighed, looking away. “It’s fine.”

You watched him as his expression softened into something sadder, something melancholy.

“Do you like being back here?” you asked. You never really pushed any serious subjects like this with Eugene, but this intimate space made it easier.

He looked down, and you almost changed the subject but he answered. “I don’t know. It’s strange. It’s where I was born but… I don’t feel like I belong. I never belonged here.”

“Do you feel that way in New York?”

He thought for a moment. “Sometimes. Only sometimes.”

You nodded. You knew that feeling all too well. “It’s difficult, isn’t it?”

“Hm?”

“Feeling like you don’t quite fully fit in somewhere. Never knowing where home really is.”

“Yeah… Do you feel that way a lot?”

You paused. “I do. I’m thankful I get to travel so much, but it’s hard to get close to anyone when I’m always going somewhere else. I don’t feel like I belong anywhere either.”

Eugene softly chuckled but stayed silent.

“What?” you asked, almost offended.

“Nothing. It’s just, it doesn’t seem that way at all.”

“Oh?”

“It seems like… It feels like you belong here. Like you could belong anywhere.”

Your heart skipped a beat, and you laughed. “I wish that were true. You’re not making any sense, Eugene.”

He sighed. “I just mean that when you’re around, you belong. I’m sure you’re like that everywhere you go.”

You held his gaze, your face flushing and your heart going a mile a minute at this point. You couldn’t even think of anything to say.

Eugene knew he was being bold, but he couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t keep so much inside anymore. He knew if he didn’t have you around to keep him company, to make this place seem more beautiful than what he thought, it would be almost unbearable being there. Seeing you admire everything in awe, showing genuine interest in the culture, helped him see his birthplace in a different light. He was so used to feeling like an outsider because of where he came from. It didn’t fix everything in his heart but it gave him some solace, which was more than he could ever ask for.

“You make me think I can have things that I can’t have,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“As if… impossible things seem possible.”

“Like what?”

“Like I can move forward from all of this. Like I’m more than all of this.”

You scoffed, overwhelmed. You clearly used humor often as a coping mechanism to hide your true feelings. “You’re giving me too much credit.”

He gave you a stern look. “You don’t give yourself enough.”

You held your breath at that look. That line you drew between you two, the line you tried so hard to keep yourself from crossing, was disintegrating in your mind. It excited and scared you at the same time.

“Eugene… you are more than this. You always have been.” In your mind, it was obvious.

He sighed, looking down, pausing for a few moments. “I hope you’re right about that.”

“I’m right about most things, but you knew that already.”

He laughed. It made your heart flutter a million times at once.

“And whatever you think you can’t have… you can have it.”

He looked at you, and you could see the swirl of emotions written all over his face. You were sure the same emotions were all over yours too, and somehow you sensed that he understood exactly what you meant and felt. In that moment, you felt you understood him completely too. And for the first time your heart didn’t ache at what was left unsaid. It was as if both of you already knew.

next chapter

#eugene choi x reader #mr. sunshine #mr. sunshine fanfiction #eugene choi #reader insert #kdrama

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tkim-creates · 2 years ago

Photo

FOR/IS

🌾‘If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning.’ –Vincent Van Gogh🌾

🌾This is actually an artist translation from a letter Van Gogh wrote to his brother, Theo. It was Van Gogh’s contemplation of his prospective and worthiness as an artist and how even if it doesn’t end well he would steady on; for he will still be that apple, just riper, for wheat is wheat.

🌾So I contemplated on one’s worth and how/when does one feel worthy of one’s self. And felt that one might feel worthy or whole once the person has reached harmony with one’s masculine and feminine characteristics. This notion inspired me to do twin pieces. FOR and IS, breaking up ‘For wheat…’ ‘…is wheat.’

🌙‘FOR wheat…’ is represented by the moon; the feminine traits of oneself and is outlined in red as to not forget about one’s masculine traits.

☀️‘…IS wheat.’ is represented by the sun; the masculine traits of oneself and is outlined in white as to not forget about one’s feminine traits.

-The white moon and red sun was inspired by the mural, 일월오봉도(Irworobongdo), the Painting of the Sun, Moon and the Five Peaks. It sits behind the throne of the King during the Joseon Dynasty, symbolizing; the one who has mastered both their masculine and feminine elements within oneself. King would walk up to their throne and they would become the point of focus of the entire painting. I thought that was pretty cool. Thanks for dropping by my TEDTalk. You may find these prints in my INPRNT shop.💚🤗💜

✨T.KIM | ☕️Ko-Fi

🎼Current Playlist

-There’d Better be a Mirrorball / Arctic Monkey

-범 내려온다 (Tiger is Coming) / Leenalchi

-Here Comes the Sun / Beatles

-BeepBoop BeepBoop / 김뜻돌 (Meaningful Stone)

#tkimcreates #Illustration #for #is #wheat #artists on tumblr

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elderflowergin · 1 year ago

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Hey Flower Gin, I would love for GilChae to send a letter home to Eun-ae, at least, and let her know that she's well and alive. I understand she might be burying her head in the sand now because she might have no clue what to do; her husband did leave her behind, so does she go back to Joseon, will she want to rejoin society when people know that she was taken by 'inruders'? I definitely don't blame her at all for wanting to stay a little longer in what looks like a safe place, the people around have suffered the same ordeal so no one judging her, no one has expectations of her. She is protected. Going back is not quite easy, because here will be expectations, she will be unprotected, she doesn't know who will be in her side and who won't, who she can trust and not.

[I find it interesting that she still considers herself Wonmu's wife. I think, since he abandoned her, I'd like to see her wrestling with it a little, maybe when she's doing her hair in the morning, to see her hesitate. Not because she sees herself as less worthy but because he left her behind. Who is this man to her now? ]

But girl, send a letter to Eunae at least. 😭😭😭

Dear Anon, so nice to hear from you again!

I know we don’t like Gu Won-mu here but you are going to be throwing things at the screen when he turns up next!

I think the next episode addresses why Gil-chae would have preferred to stay in Shenyang, all other things being equal. There’s also some very satisfying respite on the Gu Won-mu question.

At least in 15 I don’t sense that her restraint comes from Gu Won-mu specifically. She makes this super clear in 16, in a way that speaks to her own agency and moral authority over herself, damn what anyone else says in Joseon.

(Thanks to the editing on this show, I don’t think she realises Gu Won-mu abandoned her when he was so close by, or at least not until Lee Jang-hyeon tells her.)

I loved the return of their musical theme - I’d really missed it so much over all the miseries of the past few episodes. I love that Jong Jong came back!

What about that Ryang Eum backstory though, my goodness? That was so distressing to watch.

#mbc my dearest #of all the gin joints in the world #namgoong min anon

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klqrambles · 2 years ago

Note

This is an opportunity to infodump on whatever you wish

Thank you anon, for letting me infodump about Swag Age because I think it's a musical more people should watch even if you aren't Korean (although that'll also be hard because english translations are hard to come by). So! *cracks knuckles* here we go!

This takes place during the Joseon era of Korea which was when Korea was known as the Nation of Poetry. However, in this nation of poetry, poetry has been banned under threat of death/imprisonment for the past 15 years by the Poetry Minister.

Rebelling against this ban is the revolutionary poetry group Golbindang who wear masks to keep themselves anonymous and are fighting to prevent the complete loss of poetry. But we'll get back to them.

The protagonist of the story is an approximately 18 year old (according to an interview with one of the actors it's never explicitly stated) boy, named Hong Dan, practicing poetry and going around acting like a nobleman. However, this often gets him in hot water with the army (for the poetry) and his fellow townspeople (for the acting like a nobleman). But ultimately, this is also what captures the interest of a girl named Jin. She introduces him (after various shenanigans) to the rest of the Golbindang, which she's a part of! Golbindang is made up of Sibju (the leader), Ho Rosoi (the jokester), Kiseon (the jack of all trades), Sunsu (the guard), and Jin (the tactician). They're following the will of Hong Jamo and fighting for a fair and free world. Sibju then reveals that the Jamo that had raised Dan the past 15 years and died recently was Dan's father and had lied about Dan's orphan status to protect him from Jamo's status as a traitor. With this revelation and a final letter (written on a fan) Dan resolves to follow in his father's footsteps and bring about a fair and just Joseon.

But the Poetry Prime Minister, Song Hongkuk, has other ideas. He has the army threaten anyone who supports Golbindang in an attempt to find and capture the group. But this fails, and eventually the Emperor catches wind and decides to rehost the traditional Joseon Poetry Competition that had been banned 15 years ago. Through this, Golbindang (who took up the alias Suaegu to hide their identity) revealed the stories of the people. The Minister Song found them out really quickly, though, and had them captured. But then Jin's guard Lululala Jono (Jin's Minister Song's daughter btw. Most of Golbindang knew but this is when Dan finds out) frees them.

Dan originally refuses to go with the rest of Golbindang, having felt betrayed for not being told that Jin was actually Minister Song's daughter. But after seeing the atrocities of the army and a talk by Jin about how they aren't as different as they might originally have thought, and that leads to one final stand against Minister Song. With the rest of Golbindang's help he's able to get the Minister captured as a traitor and release the ban.

Summaries aside, there's a lot about this musical that has captured my brain, such as

the message against censorship

the message that people should be allowed to choose their own path in life and not one dictated by those in higher power

the message of equality for all

Hong Dan being a relatable character, often feeling like someone I could easily see myself being friends with

Jin being a strong female character whose arc is just as much about finding her own path in life and sticking to her own decisions as Dan's is.

there being no major plot of romance, and all romance that does exist is either the butt of a joke or someone's backstory

Golbindang being the true definition of found family where no one really falls into the stereotypical family structure: ie this is the dad, this is the mom, etc. Sibju (who is the only person who really fits the "dad" mold) is mostly just the leader due to his age and ties to Jamo (and likely cause he founded the group) and while he also often takes a disciplinary role, he is often just as much the person who needs to be disciplined by the others. If anything, everyone is the child and the only real differentiating factor is the fact some are older than others.

Minister Song feels like a realistic villain who took his perception that the world has gone soft and wants to right it by making Joseon a militaristic country...

the story as a whole just feels really relatable to a modern day audience despite it being set during the Joseon Dynasty because a lot of what the group is facing is what we face today.

So many in-jokes and puns are present, especially during the second half of the musical.

The songs are bangers, mixing the more modern style of hip-hop/pop music with old Korean instruments to create a very interesting soundscape

All of the characters are unique in their own ways and somehow still memorable and not in a way that is confusing

Here're the highlights (each video has 3 songs)

youtube

This is a video of the last two songs of the musical performed during a press call/rehersal

youtube

#swag age #swag age: shout out joseon #my summary isn't the best but it's got most of the important points #Q being insane about a musical

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mysageukinbio · 1 year ago

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500 Year-History of the Lee Dynasty’s Women (TBC, 1972~1980)

Plot of Season 3: Queen Inmok

tl/dr; Another drama about Inmok in the West Palace

King Seonjo has Queen Ui In, his legal wife, but she has no children. The concubines fight among themselves to make their child the heir. When the Imjin War breaks out, Prince Gwanghae becomes the Crown Prince. But Seonjo is always displeased with him, as he is not a legitimate Prince. So, he selects Kim Je Nam's 19-year old daughter as the new Queen. She is Queen Inmok. Kim Je Nam pleads with her not to involve herself in the fight between Prince Gwanghae's Greater Northern Faction and the Lesser Northern Faction. She marries 53-year old Seonjo in his 35th year of reign, in the Taepyeong Hall. Their relationship is like that of a grandfather and his granddaughter, but it was a marriage they could not avoid.

Some time later, Queen Inmok gives birth to her first Princess and gets pregnant again, and Kim Gae Shi schemes to make her miscarry. A strange ghostly laugh echoes every night. But Inmok's Court Lady Byeon foils the plan, and the Prince is born. Seonjo names him Youngchang and selects his nanny. After having Youngchang, Seonjo becomes even colder to Gwanghae. He ostracizes Gwanghae, telling him "You're no longer the Crown Prince!" and sows resentment into his heart. At this time, the cunning Kim Gae Shi comes up with a plan and gives Seonjo glutinous rice while he is ill, causing his death. Gwanghae then ascends the Throne as Joseon's 15th ruler.

Prince Imhae continuously slanders Prince Gwanghae, saying that he stole his seat as King. So, Gwanghae fabricates evidence against him with Jeong In Hong and the Greater Northern Faction to jail and exile him for treason. At this point, Ming China dispatches envoys to determine if Gwanghae usurped the Throne, but Imhae helps prove that Gwanghae is the true successor by doing all sorts of crazy things. Nevertheless, Gae Shi and Jeong In Hong poison Prince Imhae's food, and he dies.

Now that Prince Gwanghae and the Greater Northern Faction have eliminated Prince Imhae, he accuses his seven illegitimate brothers of murder, robbery and treason. He tortures them and successfully elicits a false confession, accusing Kim Je Nam and Youngchang of conspiracy. Queen Inmok faints upon hearing the news. Even worse, Queen Yu shoots arrows at pictures of Youngchang and makes a voodoo doll of him. When this is exposed, she lies to the King saying that the Dowager cursed her instead, and the relationship between Inmok and Gwanghae worsens. Kim Je Nam is poisoned and his three sons dragged to their deaths. Inmok is deposed, but another conspiracy is in the works by Prince Gwanghae's faction. They want to make it look like Queen Inmok cursed Queen Ui In's grave. So Queen Yu buries a voodoo doll of Queen Ui In at her grave and frames the Dowager. Thirty of Queen Inmok's court ladies are tortured and killed, while the rest leave Inmok, leaving her with Court Lady Byeon alone.

Prince Gwanghae associates Youngchang with the Westerners and sends him out of the Palace. Some court maids grab Youngchang and take him away from his mother's embrace, as he cries in fear, not wanting to leave his mother's side. He is exiled and confined on Kanghwa Island. From then on, Inmok spends every day in tears, and begins to refuse her meals. On top of that, Inmok's mother is exiled to Jeju, while Lee Won Ik sends Inmok the news. Inmok wails upon receiving the letter. Some time later, Kanghwa Governor Jeong Hang locks the doors so Youngchang can't leave, and fans the flames in the furnace, suffocating Prince Youngchang. Youngchang dies at the age of nine. Jeong Hang falsely reports that Youngchang died of illness, but rumors spread int he market, while Inmok remains unware of her son's death. This is because Gwanghae summoned Court Lady Byeon, and told her not to let Inmok find out.

Gwanghae hears of Prince Neungchang, youngest son of Kim In Bin's son Prince Jeongwon. He's very intelligent and talented. So he charges Prince Neungchang with treason and exiles him to Gyodong in Kanghwa. One day, Gwanghae invites a Buddhist monk to tell his fortune. The monk says: "The energy of a new King arises, from beneath Mount Inwang in Hanyang." Gwanghae wants to build a Palace there to suppress the Kingly energy, but Prince Jeongwon and his eldest Prince Neungyang are living there now. Gwanghae orders the two Princes to leave their house and there he builds Gyeongdeok Palace. Prince Neungchang kills himself in exile at Gyodong, at the age of 16. Prince Jeongwon falls ill and dies upon losing his house and his youngest son, while Prince Neungyang looks on, vowing revenge against Gwanghae. Neungyang begins to participate in a conspiracy to overthrow the King.

In the Shinyu Year (1621), the source of Queen Inmok's banishment to the West Palace comes to the front. When the Greater Northern Faction suggested confining Inmok to the West Palace, nobody could oppose and Inmok was alone with nobody to depend on. Still unaware of Youngchang's death, she prays for her son's safety, becomes bedridden, and repeats the cycle. In the end, she receives the confinement decree from the Royal Secretary and has everything given to her at her marriage, including her Royal Seal, Scroll and instatement decree taken away. She is now no different from a common woman. She's confined behind the walls of Gyeongun Palace (now Deoksu Palace) with more guards watching her, like a criminal in jail. Gyeongun Palace is now condescended to as the West Palace. She is confined with her daughter Jeongmyeong. Many Confucian scholars oppose this decision, and former State Councilors Lee Won Ik and Lee Hang Bok are stripped of their posts and exiled for their opposition.

Inmok spends her confinement in tears and has an unusual dream about Prince Youngchang. She interprets the dream as something happening to Youngchang and after interrogation Lady Byeon, she finally finds out about Youngchang's death. She wails in heartbreak at losing her son. Inmok surrenders herself to everything and absorbs herself in writing the book Hoesul Gate. She records everything about her chaotic life in this book.

In 1616, Nurhaci ascends the Throne as Khan, changes the name of the country to Later Jin, and attacks Ming. Ming requests reinforcements from Joseon. Opinions diverge in the Palace over the war between Ming and Later Jin. Prince Gwanghae uses Joseon's defense as an excuse not to send soldiers to Ming. But, he makes Kang Hong Rip Supreme Commander and chooses 10,000 men to send to war. Before sending them off, Gwanghae secretly gives Kang Hong Rip a message saying to take a passive role in the war, and surrender if necessary. After the Ming envoy leaves, the Palace discusses reinstating Queen Inmok. The Northerners begin to scheme to kill Queen Inmok. Kim Gae Shi sets fire to the West Palace, beating gongs while pretending to be the Goddess of Plague and even breaks into the Dowager's Palace, but Inmok notices and escapes.

In 1623, on March 15th of Gwanghae's 15th year of reign, Injo's Uprising begins. Revolting are Prince Neungyang and his army. They bring the Royal Seal to the West Palace, where Inmok declares that she will change the world. Gwanghae is arrested and dragged to Queen Inmok, who lists 36 crimes Gwanghae has committed. Next, Lee Yi Cheom and Yu Hee Bun are punished to console the soul of Prince Youngchang, while Gae Shi plays tricks to the end, even as death looms before her. She is stoned to death in the marketplace. On April 12th, Prince Neungyang takes the Throne in Gyeongun Palace and becomes Joseon's 16th ruler Injo. Gwanghae is left to repent over a decade's worth of sin and tyranny, and is taken to Kanghwa Island.

After all this, all that's left is to escort Queen Inmok from Gyeongun Palace to Changdeok Palace. After 20 years, Inmok returns to Changdeok Palace and sheds tears. After entering the Palace at 19, she is now 40. A nameless Court lady records the Dowager's sadness in the Gyechuk (1613) Diary, which joins the Records of Queen Inhyeon and Hanjungrok as the Joseon Dynasty's secret stories.

#500 year history of the lee dynasty's women #queen inmok #1974 #sageuk

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xshingie · 2 months ago

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Writing Inspirations for Annette/Edouard (...and Richter)

... emerges from the depths of rarepair hell….

I haven’t divulged the extent of the source of my inspiration behind constructing my Annette/Edouard headcanons and story -- some part of me had always hoped that the work would be enough to speak for itself (but then you have the issue of… nobody actually reading your writing lmfao). But a recent comment I received actually hit exactly on the themes where I drew inspiration from so these feelings all came up resurfacing anew.

I first conceptualized the theme regarding written letters and the tragedy of lost feelings when I came across Beverly Jenkins’ afterward in her romance novel, Indigo (Goodreads), which follows a freed Black abolitionist Hester who helps escaped slaves as part of the Underground Railroad in 1800s America (incidentally, her love interest is also of the gens de couleur). When Jenkins described what inspired her, she mentions that in her research, she came across a letter where a man decided to sell himself back into slavery for a woman he loved; this incredible demonstration of love and self-sacrifice eventually moved her so much to craft Indigo. This made me think how fortuitous that there was even a written account that could continue to inspire others (Jenkins and myself), considering how for the majority of slaves that were illiterate, we lost so many voices to history.

I continue to think deeply about how in history, black people who demonstrated selfless heroic acts fighting for their freedom/rights, whether for love or a future they wanted to believe in, and when they died, there's a tragedy of there having been nothing recorded left behind. They are individuals whose faces, feelings, or names we won't ever know of, since there is nothing written to remember them by -- feelings lost in history. Even though Annette and Edouard are fictional, they so vibrantly re-invigorate the sentiment to lend a "voice" to these people we will never know by name nor face.

I’m still putting people out front who I call the “unsung” — those who once had places in history and made a difference, but who have now been forgotten. Because, you know, you bring them back to life [when you write about them], and they live again. So many people don’t know about the history, and the parts that people of color played in forming this country and building this country. It’s a fascinating study of those who are what I call “unsung.”

- Beverly Jenkins, 2017 Interview (Source)

My primary inspiration of thematic and character arcs for Annette/Edouard (...and Richter) came from a manhwa, Whale Star: The Gyeongseong Mermaid (Webtoons). This manhwa is a thematic retelling of Hans Christensen Andersons' The Little Mermaid Tale and follows an illiterate young lady, Su-a, working as a handmaid during 1920s Korea (then Joseon) during the Japanese colonial occupation. She incidentally rescues a man, Uihyeon, who is an independence fighter for the Korean Independence Movement. As a result, Su-a becomes inadvertently, at first, thrown into this new life to aid -- and eventually fight for -- the independence movement.

At its heart, Whale Star is a thematic tale of unrequited love. On surface level, it follows the fairytale of Su-A (the mermaid) falling for Uihyeon (the prince). Although Uihyeon comes to care for her deeply, ultimately he cannot return her love as he is devoted to fight the political cause. At a macro level, Whale Star explores an embodiment of what a nation, or cause represents personified through metaphorical and symbolic aphorisms weaved between characters; it is also a tale of exploring what it is like to love an abstract ideal that cannot possibly love you back. Annette/Edouard can be thought of tale of unrequited love -- not because they didn’t reciprocate the feeling, but because they didn’t understand each other, or themselves.

I was inspired to construct Annette's character arc similar to Su-a. In Whale Star, Su-A starts out as a simple, illiterate handmaiden who is "freed." At first, she doesn't understand why people would fight for something on a deeper level or why people are so devoted to it. As Su-a gets involved deeper in the Korean independence movement, she ultimately actualizes the depth of understanding within herself -- why somebody would choose to die fighting for something so abstract and idealized. In Annette’s case, she needs to learn to not let the anger/hatred/trauma drive her, but instead, draw her power from love, the love from her mother and her ancestors that came before her (very corny, but it’s a theme important in Nocturne).

One of my personal interpretations of Annette is that she is short-sighted, and often doesn't have the patience to understand things at a deeper level (especially if abstract or philosophical in nature). In the opening scene, Edouard is trying to explain to Annette romantic ideals: the idea that a letter can be something more than what’s written (or in other words, the lasting power/impact it has on the individual), and what seems like a rosy, unpractical ideal of choosing love as the reason you're fighting.

In addition, I also heavily borrowed from Whale Star the storytelling technique of implicit metaphorical/symbolic object presence. One of the biggest challenges when writing from Annette’s perspective is that she does not think in flowery, complex prose nor lavish metaphors. So the challenge is, how do I convey something with deeper meaning or feeling?

"One time I went out to swim, and I saw a dead whale. I lost my shoes, and came home barefoot. Walking around is no big deal to me but… this man is on his knees, helping me put my shoes on." - Chapter 23

Case Study: This is just one of many examples of how Na Yoon Hee utilizes the simplicity of an object as a metaphor to convey a deeper implicit meaning. Here, the whale shoe represents what Sua is able to implicitly feel, but does not have the depth of complexity words to describe the feeling (due to her illiterate background). Instead, the simplicity of the object speaks for itself, and that has a profoundity of its own -- the reader feels, at an unconscious level, a certain depth of feeling that can't exactly be put into words. The whale that washed ashore is foreshadowing the events of the story to come (SuA finds herself compelled by this whale, but unable to put into words why), and the shoe is the means for her to understand the framework of the world, who is being fitted by the person who will ultimately shape her.

I borrowed this storytelling technique by dropping in everyday objects or mentions, but not really using an obvious simile or metaphor like I normally would -- letting the everyday objects underlying meaning speak for itself, or maybe it doesn't mean anything at all (i.e., Edouard's letter, his eyes, the candle, the moon, Richter, the color green). In fact, I actually sample the exact same scenario / line as a “nod” to my inspirations from Whale Star.

The Creature canted its gaze towards the moon, which only reflected its pallor back upon the wretched monster, the unequivocal truth of the present reality. How cruel that the moon looked terribly beautiful all the same.

This line/scene is actually lifted from Whale Star, where Uihyeon looks at the moon in Japan after growing up his whole life looking at the moon in Korean (then Joseon). Arguably it's the same moon -- that's just as beautiful -- so then, why does it evoke such a disparity of emotion? Nah Yoon Hee never explains the meaning behind this, and it took me a long time to finally even begin to unpack the depth of this motif (...an essay for another day).

"The moon you saw in Dongyeon is the same moon as you saw in Joseon." "I could not bear to look at that terrible sight, so I looked up towards the sky. And truly… truly… my mother was right. Just like the moon that I'd always seen in Joseon.. the moon I saw in Donggyeong was so… soo… beautiful."

Yours Truly is the story I hold closest to my heart and it's one that very few people will ever read. Although I'm still pretty new in my writing journey, I’m really excited to continue writing and developing my own unique style and voice, hopefully without having to steal so much from others lmfao.

To this day, I am still so captivated by Annette and Edouard, as individual characters, and their connection. I was unable to articulate for the longest time why. I still stand by the fact that some connections run deeper than if they are defined by whether romantic or platonic, and I think Annette/Edouard is one of them. I think what I’m drawn to is ultimately how I think they were able to inspire growth within each other -- how when they had met each other, they were at a certain intersection/stage in their life; but then as an outcome, how they fundamentally changed the compass of their lives (and perhaps continue affect one another). I think this quote below summarizes it best:

Because that small gesture could mean the world to someone -- and that makes all the difference to them at that point in their lives, and ultimately inspires them to continue endeavoring. That a connection with someone, isn’t determined by the amount of time spent, but the impression and impact they’ve had on each other, and how they could continue even to inspire growth, even when the person is no longer with you.

#castlevania nocturne

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