#no thoughts...only tiger!alberu

[fictionalcreator]

Yesss it's not just the fact that he left someone outside, it's the fact that Cale is ALONE. Wholly and utterly, without literally ANYONE besides Kim Rok Soo to rely on.

And when he gets out and reunites with Cale and Cale's very soul is shaking like it's about to fracture Roksu offers no excuses. Just lets him in and, in that way, holds him together, saying "I'm sorry."

It's only when Cale calms down a bit and asks "Where were you?" that he explains what happened to the world.

I think we can mix things up with the Soos. Maybe the shenanigans Cale got up to in KRS's body somehow led to them meeting early, before the apocalypse. Lee Soo Hyuk has only ever spent time with Kim Rok Soo (maybe Kim Rok Soo can take control of the body back without fully kicking Cale out? And so sometimes when Cale annoys him he takes control back for petty reasons? Or maybe there was a clear and present danger that made KRS kick him out?) but Choi Jung Soo has spent time with them both, leading him to accept the change slightly more easily.

But of course, he still has sharp senses, and can tell that something strange happened during the Tower, and after Kim Rok Soo left the Tower. He never saw that slightly more elegant and arrogant side to KRS in the Tower. He thought it was understandable, but then...when he got out of the Tower, it's like he flipped.

It's almost like the tower killed a part of him, though he can't articulate this feelings very well. While everyone on the team notices the change, it's Lee Soo Hyuk who feels as strongly about it as Choi Jung Soo.

Still, they can't help but want to protect this guy, a young man who was forged into an extraordinary leader far too quickly, and who has acquired a habit of balancing precariously on high ledges.

There's gotta be something out there amidst the monsters to make it worth cale!KRS's stubbornness in the end. Maybe something like the cintamani? Something that allows them to communicate? Maybe a copy of the holy sword?

Uhhh I don't actually have a lot of new thoughts this time BUT I do have sketches :3

Very quick n dirty! Haven't even come up with a design for Alberu's seals yet, but! It's something! Especially obsessed with the image of Cale's blood-red hair....so vivid that when it cascades over the side of the tower, Choi Han is briefly overtaken by the illusion of someone dumping a bucket of blood from the tower

Rapunzel AU!

Cale has been inside of the tower for his entire life. His hair is long, much longer than his brother's. His brother doesn't have a name. Cale knows they're brothers though- because they both have red hair, even if Brother has short hair and Cale does not.

Ever since Cale was 12, he'd been dreaming of a different world. He went to sleep and woke up as someone named Kim Roksu. This Kim Roksu was not in a similar situation as he was- Kim Roksu wandered the streets and ate food from the floor and hid in the small cabinet in his uncle's house. Kim Roksu was weak and strong.

Kim Roksu is a friend to Cale. When Cale wants to see the outside, he sleeps, and he dreams.

Kim Roksu figured out how to communicate with Cale after several years of simple body swapping.

Somehow, they are similar! They both agree that being trash is the best. Kim Roksu because it's easier being a bad person than a good person, and Cale because Brother won't let him be trashy and he wishes he could throw a fit without Brother punishing him.

"Your brother keeps you in a tower?" Roksu asks when he learns.

"Yeah. Is that weird?"

"Well, I don't know anyone who stays in a tower." Cale kicks a rock on the sidewalk with his barefoot, sending it skidding across the dirt road. "Ow, my toe." Roksu complains blandly.

Sharing a body, they also share the same sensations.

"You barely felt that and you know it."

"Shut up."

"You shut up." Cale retorts. He wants to say more, but he swallows those words and tucks them into his chest.

'The bruise over your eye hurts more but you don't complain about that.'

He bites his lip and looks down.

"Do you think," he asks quietly, "if I asked Brother to let me out, he would?"

Roksu, disembodied and floating over his body, frowns. "You haven't asked before?"

Cale smiles bitterly in Roksu's body. "... I did, once." After, Brother said he was going to be leaving for two weeks, and told Cale to ration his food well. Cale knew better than to think it was a coincidence. He didn't have Roksu yet. It was very lonely for a long time.

Roksu doesn't say anything.

"If," his voice trembles, "If I got out. If I left..."

"Cale." Roksu stops him. Cale winces, expecting to be reprimanded.

"You are trash. Trash does whatever they want, no matter what anyone says. If you want to leave, then leave." Roksu's translucent body floats over to stand in front of Cale. Sternly, he says, "Don't worry about useless things. Worry about making a plan and executing it."

Then, abruptly, Roksu turns and ignores him. Cale laughs and folds in half, a childish grin splitting his malnourished cheeks. How can someone be so blunt but so shy? Kim Roksu frowns, but it looks like a pout. Cale rubs away a tear and looks up at the back of his friend. No, the person who sometimes feels more like a brother to him than his real brother.

"And will you help me?"

Roksu rolls his eyes. "Don't ask something so obvious."

Cale smiles and looks down. "Right. Obvious, isn't it?"

Something like receiving help wasn't obvious to either of them. Yet, when it came to the two of them together, it was the most obvious thing in the world. It wasn't obvious with Brother, who he shared blood with. But Kim Roksu, who was abused and beaten down at every turn, chose to welcome a wandering soul into his body and share everything with him.

'You're the one who shouldn't want to be here,' Kim Roksu said when they first started talking and Cale asked why he didn't try to force Cale out. 'When you're in control, I can relax. Why would I want you to leave? That's so difficult.'

They learned that Kim Roksu really could force Cale out when his uncle kicked Cale, sending Kim Roksu's body sprawling onto the floor, then stomped on his arm so hard they heard a clear snap. For Cale it only hurt for a short moment. Roksu threw him out so fast you could imagine that he had practiced beforehand.

Every day and night, Cale slept to try and enter Roksu's body, check on him, share the pain, but Roksu kicked him out every time. It wasn't until four weeks later that Roksu let Cale back in.

Even that much pain was a lot for being four weeks after the incident, but while Cale was struggling to keep his cool, Roksu floated around him and spoke as if nothing was wrong. When Cale started sweating a few hours later Roksu kicked him out again.

'Don't be stubborn,' he said when Cale returned the next night. 'Just say that it hurts. If you still want to stay after you admit that it hurts then I won't kick you out.'

It was a very Kim Roksu thing to do.

"Brother," Cale asks one day at 15, impatiently brushing his hair. He gets scolded lightly, and Brother takes the brush from him. "I read in a book about something called a phone. Do you have one?"

Brother gives him a blank look. Then, as if it had been a lie, his expression changes into something kind and gentle. "Fone? Can you show me the book?"

Cale and Brother roughly root around in every book for anything like the so-called 'Fone,' coming up short.

"Maybe it was a dream," Cale excuses it like that, rubbing his neck. Brother looks at him, worried.

"It must have been. Get some rest, Cale." A kiss to the top of Cale's head, Brother hugs him and promises to bring him more paint. "I'll be gone for a few days this time. Do you want something?"

"Ah," Cale smiles, pressing his face into his Brothers neck to hide his face. "Could you bring me -------?" Brother freezes.

"... you-"

"I learned it from the books! This time I really did, Brother. Please?"

Slowly, Brother releases the tension in his body. "... If that's what you want. But you have to close the window if you're going to mess around with alcohol."

"Yes!" Cale jumps with joy. Then he suddenly runs to a bookshelf, changing the topic by talking about a book Brother brought to him last time. "-and I'd like to know if the sequel is out yet."

"I'll do that." Brother smiles. "You've been asking for more things recently, Cale." Brother settles a hand on his head, stroking his hair.

"It's because of my reliable older brother!" He grabs onto that hand, keeping it there, resembling a naive little brother who only has his role model in his eyes.

He sends his brother down the tower using his hair, and watches that spot of red disappear in the distance.

His face drops.

"... Bastard."

Cale turns on his foot. It's time to see Roksu.

[themissinghand]

Trash of the Count's Family: Why Him? Why Not Me?

Summary: In which OG novel Choi Han is jealous of a different timeline's Choi Han's life. Especially of his family and benefactor, Cale Henituse.

Warnings: Some spoilers for the novel (beyond the current point in the manhwa) and some angst as if the novel didn't give me enough

Choi Han is no hero. 

Unlike the manhwas and novels out there, he was just a normal person. 

Not a returnee or a genius or a reincarnator or a transmigrator. 

But here he is, in a world full of unknown. 

It's dark, scary, and lonely. 

So when he finally finds people after so long, he rejoiced and latched onto that hope. 

Only for it to be destroyed so quickly, and brutally. 

So he sought revenge. 

He fought for justice.

But the organization, no, the White Star was tougher and smarter than he expected.

He was outclassed in everything, magic, swordsmanship, and power.

Choi Han was simply not strong enough to protect his family from the leader of the secret organization. The leader that killed his family and possibly millions of other innocents as well.

He failed.

He failed.

He failed.

How he wished he could just go back in time so he could properly prepare against such a disaster known as the White Star.

But everything was too late.

(This was not a manhwa or a novel)

Everyone he loved has died.

His home was burned to the ground.

Even the crown prince, Alberu Crossman, was defeated and forced to submission.

In such a desperate and perilous situation, what should he, the hero of the Roan Kingdom do?

Pursue. 

Get revenge.

When he does, the world is on fire.

It's a bloody mess.

It infuriates him.

He'd gotten so strong for what?

Then, he hears the God of Death, that infuriating bastard. Telling him of lies and of fairy tales that simply don't exist.

The God of Death pitied him.

What is a pity in this ruined world?

But then the hero sees.

He sees Rosalyn.

He sees Lock.

He sees Ron and Beacrox Molan.

He sees Alberu Crossman.

And he sees himself.

He sees himself, smiling. 

Smiling at a redhead that Choi Han had long gotten rid of. 

Cale Henituse.

Why?

Why?

Why?

His mind was filled with questions, before emotions.

Grief, regret, envy, jealousy, and fury.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why him? 

Fury overtook him.

He stepped out of the portal and grabbed Cale Henituse by his neck.

"Choi Han?! What are you- there are two Choi Hans?!"

The hero sees people he never seen before.

"Human!"

He sees dragons.

"Young Master Cale!"

He sees dark elves and elves.

"Cale!"

He sees believers of the Sun God and a necromancer.

He sees the Whale Tribe and the Tiger Tribe.

"Let go of Cale-nim." Through his anger, the hero saw himself of this timeline. He saw a different sword pointed at him.

The hero, Choi Han, gritted his teeth and then roared in anguish and self-pity. 

"In another timeline, you are happy. And that person who made you happy, is a person named Cale Henituse."

"Cale Henituse! Why-"

"Let go, you bastard." The redhead unexpectedly bit back.

Dragon Fear? No, it was different.

Nonetheless, the hero has been pushed aside. 

Ironically, the hero stood before himself of this timeline, someone who has not covered himself from head to toe with the blood of his allies, someone who has not dug his own despair, and someone who has not stained the world with his rage.

Oh God of Death, is this a punishment? The hero thought with the last bits of his rationality, which was stored deeply within him.

Where he has to see another world full of friendship and happiness he cannot get?

"Choi Han." He looked at Cale Henituse with a conflicted expression on his face. He growled back but the other didn't flinch at all.

"Why him? I lost everything. So why? Why does he!" The hero pointed his sword at himself of another timeline, the one who gets to be happy, who gets to have everything he doesn't have.

"Why does he gets to be happy?" 

When the other didn't say anything, the hero grabbed Cale by the collar. For some reason, this Cale Henituse was not afraid, in fact, he raised a hand to stop the others.

Even so, the hero wasn't grateful for such a gesture. 

"Why didn't you exist in my life? Why were you so useless in my life!?" For some unknown reason, his cheeks were wet. 

A rough hand pulled them apart.

"Don't touch Cale-nim." 

It's unfair.

"Choi Han." Cale Henituse stopped the Choi Han from this timeline from interfering. Instead, Cale simply looked at him with a conflicted expression. 

If he had Cale Henituse in his timeline, would his allies live?

Would he be happy too?

"Why him? Why not me?"

Then, the God of Death whispered in his ear.

And the hero could only see his tears fall, as he too, collapsed to the floor. He feels himself growing tired, senseless, and lifeless as his vision slowly fades.

"Choi Han!"

When the last thing the hero saw was vibrant red hair, the hero Choi Han could only smile bitterly.

He grabbed Cale Henituse's hand tightly and watched the other yell his name with desperation. 

How nice would it be to be in this world and be by his side?

How nice would it be if he was in this timeline?

How nice would it be to be happy?

Once again, the hero curses and wishes for the first time in a long time.

Let me be him, let me be happy by his side.

But he can't.

Because he's not the Choi Han from this timeline.

He's nothing more than a foreigner, an intruder, with an useless title of a hero on his head.

A fallen hero doesn't deserve happiness.

And the hero, Choi Han, falls.

[workaholic-slacker]

Dark Tiger!Alberu

Being the Dark Tiger really matches Alberu.

The lion is Zed while the tiger is Alberu. Lions are getting extinct while tigers are taking over them. The lion may be king now but the tiger will soon replace the lion (I'm not saying we should let lions get extinct, but it's inevitable that they'll go extinct some day). In this case, Alberu being a tiger implies that he would soon succeed Zed.

And the fact that it's a 'dark' tiger monster, not just a regular tiger monster, also matches Alberu, for he's not a regular crown prince, he's the only one to be a dark elf and take the throne.

Oh and the og!Dark Tiger: The only thing I remembered about it was that it blanks out when Alberu returns to his real body. I reread and realized that there was a brief conversation between the og!Dark Tiger and Cale:

At first, I thought it was Alberu, even though I was rereading. The way it was talking and its descriptions were similar to his (might be just me). Either way, the og!Dark Tiger was also majestic.

Author-nim really chose a great matching animal for Alberu. Though I don't know if she had thought of all these, she still must have had her own reasons to choose a dark tiger.

[we-stan-cale]

27 chapters now woohoo!

I also finally got to the part that forced me to rework everything.

I'm just going to jabber on about that, now that I've reached this point.

Because I knew, going in, that Koreans learning about unranked monsters would change the story.

That leisurely enjoying your team leader's new life would suddenly become a mission to learn more about the monsters that have terrorized you (and everyone you know). Especially with two unknown unranked monsters.

I just.. thought we'd reach that point when we got to Endable. Way, way later in the story.

But then I thought 'we don't really have the full story on his childhood, but we have what was shown in Choi Han's indignity test'.

And then - well, I didn't want to make up the ending to that test, tbh. I suspect it'll come up in part 2.

So I decided to switch over to Cale's test. Where we meet Dodam.

And I debated skipping the Alberu half, since Dodam probably doesn't care about Alberu. At all. But I decided he wanted to know where Cale went when he wasn't in Dodam's part.

And one thing led to another, and I ran into Cale's conversation with Zed.

Where he made all the connections. About unranked monsters. And the Demon world. And Hunters.

And I could have just reversed some of my earlier plot decisions, pretended it never happened.

But I didn't want to.

So I basically went 'fuck it', I guess we're doing this now.

I pretty much threw the official chronology out the window.

I had to have at least some story before we got to the unranked monsters (originally it would have mostly followed tcf. So transmigrate -> shield power -> save Raon -> slight detour to the indignity tests -> and back for some fun with the vitality power, plus Taylor and Cage.

Now it would have meant skipping straight to the sealed monster statues and on through the very last parts of the novel, skipping pretty much the entire middle of the plot.

Plus, the characters barely knew each other. It has been... A day?

So I threw some things I'd been working on in earlier, added more interactions, threw in a surprise mission, and basically managed 20+ chapters before ending up back at that conversation with Zed.

It's been a really interesting time.

I had what I called the skeleton of the plot. Since it's a reaction fic, I mostly have to choose what scenes to do, modify it as needed, and add the reactions. To rearrange them I mostly just have to update the reactions to make sure I'm not forgetting what's happened in the plot.

I find it easier to edit an existing work, so once the bare bones are there I can make a later pass through where I flesh it out.

The fleshing out process has... Flowed a lot better than I expected actually.

The novel only mentions a handful of team one members by name, so I did add a few characters just so that we had more people. They started out pretty simple too. They started taking on more depth though.

Is this what fic writers mean when they talk about characters taking on a life of their own?

Anyways, I had originally held off on posting because a) I wanted eatapplepies to finish translating the wuxia arc and b) I was worried I'd have to do some more major reworking of the plot.

For a while there, I kept running into blasted references to unranked monsters (like in the sealed god's test, which I pushed forward. After all, I figured Dodam and Choi Han couldn't step outside into post-apocalyptic Korea without learning about the cataclysm, and since Dodam's thoughts - conscious and unconscious - are driving the plot, I figured it would work.

Except that's after Cale saw the statues, so I had to be careful not to end up with the exact same issue. (Totally had to skip a conversation between Dark Tiger Alberu and Cale because of that. I can pick where to stop or start some things, but it shouldn't really cut out in the middle of a conversation).

Anyways.

I had so much prepared, and I decided I probably wasn't going to rearrange those chapters any more, so I started posting.

After all, it's really nice to see people enjoy what I've put together. Positive feedback is motivating (as I think you all know).

Plus once it was published it was easier to feel like it was done, no more tinkering with those chapters+except maybe fixing mistakes), and it was easier to focus more on later chapters.

I think my poor readers must have thought I was manically writing like crazy, because I posted uh .. quite a few chapters in a very short amount of time.

Most of which had actually long been written, and just needed a final pass through.

Anyways. I am pretty pleased with the latest chapter, so I figured I wouldn't try pushing another one out just yet.

Tomorrow, or Saturday, it'll be time for this next bit.

I have enjoyed some of the TCF reaction fics, but I feel like there's a major problem.

Namely, that it's really hard for fic writers to stay motivated for over 700+ chapters, so it feels like they all start off strong for the beginning (especially rescuing Raon) and then peter out. We never get to the really good stuff.

Never reach that flashback when Cale reads the letter from the GoD, or see reactions to Choi Han rushing over to see Kim Rok Soo after getting Choi Jung Soo's records. Never have them see the Sealed God's test, and really... Post-apocalyptic Korea horrified Alberu, for good reason. Not that it's explicitly stated, but when is it ever? He had quite the reaction when he was trying to decide what to tell everyone else.

I've had some thoughts on how I would do it, but fair warning - I'm not much of a writer, and will probably never write it. All my respect for the ones that regularly write fanfic because I have like - less than a handful? Maybe, maybe, if I haven't moved on after finishing this reread, I'll try writing it myself.

The other thing is that I've been reading part 2 - only as far as eatapplepies has translated as I find mtl more confusing than helpful - and I'm really liking the Heavenly Demon. He seems to have fallen for our Cale pretty hard, and I'm interested in seeing how that goes.

So I have been playing around with ideas.

First - Dodam is trying to find 'that terrible bastard', and is dragging around his Choi Han.

He reaches Korea. Og!Cale as KRS, specifically. He has his own attribute, one to help him track down Cale, so he can pull up visions/memories related to that.

He pulls up the dream meeting between Cale and KRS.

There are a few team 1 members present, particularly Kim Minh Ah. Cue a bit of chaos, some 'aha' moments, and the long and the short of it is Dodam is going to pull up some of just what they're team leader is up to. (And if Dodam can figure out exactly which world or dimension to to next, and OG! Cale gets the bittersweet ability to see how his deal with the God of Death prevented the destruction he'd lived through, well... That's fine too)

During that brief moment, the Henituse noticed some strange mana fluctuations and managed to get Rosalyn there. She's basically able to tap into the feed and see and hear what's going on.

And divine intervention (like perhaps a god of love) extends the feed to the Heavenly Demon.

What would follow would be an abbreviated version of the key points. Sure, it loses some of the flavor... But we don't actually need, say, the amusing anecdote where an elf mistook Cale for a dragon.

Anyways, the more I thought about it the more I thought about how team 1 would react.

Because the minute they see those monster statues you know they'll all be going 'what the fuck?!?'

They will probably also nod knowingly at some of Cale's more shocking plans. Like hey, there he goes agreeing to help the Mogoru Empire put out the fire he started with the Whipper kingdom.

Nod, nod

Just like he did when they were dealing with that one corrupt guild

And if they ever get as far as seeing the Heavenly Demon, I'm sure one team member will be like 'Is.. is he flirting with Team Leader-nim?!?'

Cue stories where Team Leader Kim Rok Soo avoided a honeypot - except now they're thinking maybe he was just too dense to notice?