#this was soo fun to color i love when dark scenes still have lighting

[phannibal]

THE X-FILES | 1x20 'DARKNESS FALLS'

[writingwitchly]

The little loop

Pairing: Sirius Black x reader

Word count: 2k

Warning: sadness / mentions of war

A/N: So. SO. Soo. S O. The new Tumblr mobile actualization is being a total @#$%, school is asfixiating me, my sleepless hours keep getting worse, my brain isn’t helping, and I’m surrounded by  t e n s i o n s, with a 105% of probabilities of receiving the whole bad mood discharge on my head... A real fun ride. Anyway, this is for @herondalesucks​, cuz we need more sweet beans in this world and we should thank them when we meet any. Enjoy!

“Honestly,” you pant as you drop the grocery bags on the kitchen’s counter, “You didn’t miss anything too thrilling.”

The clinging cans and ripping of plastic fill up the silence that follows your remark, until your friend finally speaks up,

“Anything would be more thrilling that constantly looking at these same walls, Y/N.” Her head is bent over the rest of the shopping bags, but you can guess her sad expression by the off tone in her voice.

Yesterday, as Sirius and you attended a party at Marlene’s place, thinking about your redheaded friend’s comments if she had been there made the firewhisky’s usual burn bitter, and the same taste now invades your mouth after lying to her. The night was quite something. A moment of escape in the darkness of the actuality.

A little strangled sound coming from near the sink wakes you up from your reverie.

“Oh Lils…”

In a swift movement, your friend buries her face in the crook of your neck and, for the first time in years, she lets her feeling flow in salted water.

The Potters have been hiding for now exactly ten months, with the prohibition of participating to friend gatherings, Order missions, and any other type of outside trips -- including grocery shopping, which you’ve taken care of today as Batilda needed some rest.

For the energy balls that are Lily and James, this boredom is literally a synonym of long and painful death.

“Listen,” you whisper in her ear as you caress her flaming hair, “We’ll fix this, okay? Sirius and I will stay over tonight, so we can try to cook something special and then play some dare games.”

With a childish smile, she pulls away from her hideout, but still grasping to your waist as to life. “And can we build sheet-and-chairs forts and have a pillow fight and sing songs by the fireplace?”

“Of course,” you laugh, “Just like in the old days.”

Her heart a little lighter now, you decide to resume your emptying of the plastic bags, without much of a result as James storms in after a little while.

“Y/N!”

His rib crunching hug is worthy one of Hagrid’s, and it startles you the double as it comes from behind your back.

“Ow- James.” You pat his hands, and end up trying to get them off you.

“‘m so happy to see you,” he says excitedly, his tic of pushing his glasses up on his nose freeing you.

“Me too,” you breathe for air more than you say, red in the face.

The young man standing in front of you looks as clumsy as he did back in your teen years, which builds up his part of his charm, but you note some new seriousness deeply rooted in his eyes. It certainly is a consequence of having to deal with his responsibilities as an adult, then a husband, and finally a father, but you know for sure it is also the result of all you had to face right after getting out of your golden years, right after life as you knew it split into burning hell and awkward chaos.

“What are you two doing here? We’re waiting for you in the living room!” he asks.

“Well, we still have to…” His wife gestures toward the kitchen’s counter, where a considerable pile of food still waits to be stored in the cupboard.

You glance at her puffy eyes and the dark circles that underline them. It seems like all of the energy has been drained out of her body, which before was athletic and brisk, and now still is, but in an exhausted way. Her usual playful expression is just a shadow, a ghost that can be remembered only by those who have witnessed it in the past, and you’re not sure that her formerly joking voice can produce anything now but neutral comments or motherly encouragements.

Trying to ignore the feeling of pity that Lily would be ashamed to know she inspires you, you gently grab her wrist. “The cans won't fly away, Lils, let’s go.”

Still sniffing, but with her fine pink lips stretched in the attempt of a smile, the young woman nods.

As you turn toward the door, your mind registers a look of complicity traveling from her to her husband, but you don’t give it much importance. Couple things, you think. After all, you too have similar expressions sometimes.

“Where’s my little Harry?”

The living room, sunken in a semi-darkness when you arrived a while ago, is now lightened by reduced magical fireworks, much to the eleven-months-old baby’s amusement. Tiny fingers try to catch the bright glows, Harry’s young mind surely making up stories of its own to explain the bizarre shots of lights that he keeps failing to grab.

By the child’s side, on the carpet, Sirius lies on his abdomen, wand swirling to direct the fairy-like spots from his godson’s nose to the roof, and back. The huge grin of happiness plastered on his face, so different from the usual expression of worry that now accompanies him everywhere, tightens your chest. He keeps shouting at Harry, encouraging him to stretch higher to get to his goal, already teaching him the right attitude to face life. When the baby’s giggling convulsions involuntarily throw him off-balance, the man’s hand is there, always, to catch and steady him, which leads to more roaring guffaws and chirp-like laughter.

“Are you okay?”

Now, the roles are flipped: it’s Lily’s time to ask, and James’ turn to pat you.

Tears run down your cheeks, but you couldn’t place the emotion that generates them. Your heart is heavy with a mix of admiration for such a tender scene, for such a pure love. But also with the sight of your boyfriend playing with a baby -- a child that maybe, one day, you two will have the chance to mother too -- and acting like a father. And, unfortunately, the knowledge that this could happen outside, under a warm sun, in the green garden of a happy house, in a world at peace.

You used to think bitterly about having to fight at your young age, about seeing your dreams crush in the perspectives of suffering, about your colored horizon suddenly being replaced by a scale of dark, shapeless sorrow. But looking at Harry, at his pure green irises and his messy hair, you understand how much more he will have to face, growing in a world where innocence is replaced by uncertainty. How much braver he will have to be. And, even if you’re not a seer, even if you can’t declare prophecies like the one that links this infant’s path to that of evil and agony, you have the feeling that he will indeed be.

A warm chest pressed against your back causes your tensed muscles to relax, an exploit that only Sirius can achieve lately.

“Don’t cry, darling,” he whispers in your ear, “Or I might cry too.”

James and Lily take it as a joke, and chuckle a bit. So do you but, deep down, you sense truth in his words. This is a time when everybody, even the strongest, are susceptible of breaking down.

“I’m sorry,” you say gloomily, rubbing what’s left of the tears from your face.

Harry’s moans attract your attention, and you crouch down to take him in your arms, his naive wide eyes warming your interior.

“What do you guys think about putting Mr. Potter Junior to bed and cooking some pasta?” you ask between to pecks on the baby’s fleshy arms.

“Not yet.”

Not yet? You thought that Lily wanted to get a bit distracted.

“Yeah, not yet, Y/N,” her husband seconds her, scratching the back of his neck. “Harry still has a- mission to complete.”

“A mission, Harry?” you smile as you tickle the child’s belly. “What can it be?”

“You can tell Y/N now, Harry.” Sirius’ voice is warm and excited.

James starts shifting his weight from feet to feet, exaggeratedly beaming at you or his son, you can’t tell. “Come on, Harry, tell her to say yes.”

Even Lily seems affected by whatever got into the boys, because she repeats the Word yes over and over as she caresses the baby’s feet.

Harry’s innocent look bounces from each one of you to the next one -- probably not understanding what is going on, like me, you think -- until it finally comes back to his balled fist, which he starts munching.

Immediately, you are assaulted and the child is ripped from your arms.

“He’s going to swallow it!”

“Open his fist! Open it!”

“Don’t you- It’s not here!”

“Harry, spit!”

“Come on, Harry, listen to Daddy!”

“I told you this was the hell of a bad idea!”

In the agitation, neither of the three notices a small object falling on the floor. As you bend down to retrieve it, you distinct its silvery color in contrast with the red carpet. You take the little circle between two fingers and expose it to the light of the still moving fireworks.

Wait a minute: a circle?

“Sirius?”

Three heads jerk in your direction.

“Wha-”

“Surprise, darling.”

Everything, everything, in this moment is perfect. Your boyfriend’s goofy grin, his blushing cheeks, his glowing eyes, your friends’ relieved expressions, Harry’s bubbly drooling, and the little metallic jewel in your hand.

“Sirius, is this a marriage proposal?” you ask, feeling your skin prickle.

“Is this a yes?” he answers, as nervous as you are.

You’re grateful that nothing stands in the way, because you would have knocked out even a dozen of Death Eaters to get to him right now. Your body collides with his in a kiss that you hadn’t shared in a long time. It’s one of those passionate affection demonstrations you used to give each other in your first years as a couple, but that were now replaced by constantly covering each other’s back or worrying to death because of the other’s delay.

You feel his mint breath on your upper lip, and his teeth tugging your lower one. How long had it been since you last took the silky texture of his hair between your fingers? Apparently, he feels the same about the presence of his hands on your waist, as he hugs you tighter.

Your friends have the delicacy to look away until you two finish kissing, which takes so long that James rolls his eyes when you do. “There is a minor in the public.”

Lily pinches him with her free hand, and drags him toward the kitchen despite his waits and I want to see her say nos.

Your chest heaving up and down is on perfect synchrony with Sirius’, and your arms are still safely locked around his neck.

“You didn’t answer, darling.”

“Well, you didn’t properly ask, Black.”

He tries to suppress a smile, but fails.

How is it that you can still, and always, win?

“Fine.” His fingers softly force your hands open and grab the little cold loop from it. With a meticulous slowness and a wink that makes your heart melt, one of his knees reaches the ground, while the other, like his eyes, look up at your face. “Y/N L/N. To honor all the years of mutual love we have demonstrated each other, and still plan to do, would you grant me the-”

“Do you want to marry him or not?”

James’ intruding face quickly disappears back through the next room’s door frame, and through your giggling you hear Lily scolding him.

“Sirius Orion Black. It is with great pleasure that I-”

“Yes! She says yes!”

“James!”

“But Lily- If I hadn’t helped them, these two would still stealthily look at each other with fish eyes from the opposite corners of the room!”

“So would you if Y/N hadn’t stepped up!”

“What does this mean?”

“That they can handle their own thing by themselves.”

Ignoring their discussion, Sirius slides the shiny ring on your finger, enjoying the sight of it.

“Ready to become a Black, Y/N?”

“I’ve always been, Sirius.”

Permanent tag list: @miss-nerd0905​ @funnymrspotter​ @obsessionsandothersandmore​ @daytodayfun​ @electraheart-isdead @laurenslines​

Sirius tag list: @glitteryfreakslimeegg

[victorluvsalice]

Forgotten Vows Friday: Fixing You Cut Scene! Extended Dr. Fixxler’s Shop

Hi all! I’m making good progress on Chapter 8 of “Fixing You” -- it’s a LOT shorter than Chapter 7, so you’ll definitely be seeing it next week. However, I thought I’d share something else with you today -- some cut content! Most of the editing I’ve been doing while working on “Fixing You” has been cutting out bits of unnecessary fluff, or chopping short scenes and conversations that go on waaaay too long. (Chapter 7 actually had a TON cut out of it to avoid the characters telling each other everything you guys have already seen in the fics. Yes, that damn chapter was originally even longer.) And while this is all for the good, it does mean that occasionally I lose moments I like.

Such as today’s scene, which was part of an earlier draft of Chapter 3 with Victor and Alice in Fixxler’s shop. Originally, Alice’s question to Fixxler about him having the ability to move between the Lands of the Living and the Dead led to a much longer scene where Fixxler provided a lot more explanation on how the spell worked, and how magic works in this world in general. There was also what I thought was a fun bit of business with the group searching the shop for special glasses that let you see magical auras. When it came time for the next round of editing, though, I realized the scene really slowed the pacing down, and that Fixxler would know why Alice would be so interested in Slip Through The Veil without her needing to spell it out so explicitly. So I cut out this scene and provided pared-down versions of some of the exposition he gives here in a different spot in the chapter. I still like the bit though, soo -- here, to tide you over until next week. Hope you enjoy! For context, the starting line in italics is from the actual Chapter 3 and shows where the scene would have landed.

Alice froze. "Wait – let's rewind the conversation back a few minutes, if you don't mind. You can get to the Land of the Dead?"

"One of the lucky ones," Fixxler told her, locating an old fountain pen. "Like I said, it takes a lot of power – barring special circumstances, like your boyfriend accidentally proposing to a very hopeful corpse."

"When Elder Gutknecht sent us up that first time, it didn't seem very complicated," Victor said, frowning. "He just squeezed an egg out of a raven and broke it over our heads."

"Oh, it's not a matter of complicated – it's a matter of simply what you're trying to do," Fixxler told him, waving the pen. "The barrier between life and afterlife is usually pretty strong – living people aren't supposed to go Downstairs, and vice-versa. It takes a lot of energy to allow the 'wrong' person through the veil. Again, you're a special case, but. . . ." His eyes flashed gold again. "No, you don't have enough personal power to cast it on your own."

"What is that?" Alice had to ask. "It makes you look as if you've gas lamps behind your face."

"Signature Sense – it's my special talent," Fixxler explained. "I can tell you how to do it, but – well, it involves lighting a match, then waving it back out after ten seconds and swallowing it."

Victor touched his Adam's apple. "Oh – I don't think I'll try that one, then," he admitted. "Knowing me, I'd choke." He pouted. "I really wanted to see what an aura looked like, though. . . ."

"That is what enchantments are for," Fixxler told him. "I've got a pair of glasses I made once that I managed to permanently enchant with the same spell. . .somewhere. . . ." He grumbled as he looked around the store, twirling his pen. "The problem is, people seem to think a messy shop is more 'magical,' and then you just get used to throwing things anywhere."

"I can help you look for them," Victor instantly offered, getting to his feet. "I'm used to having to rummage for things."

"Yes, the Houndsditch toy pile can be a terrifying ordeal indeed," Alice agreed, standing up as well. "And I'd like a look too, honestly. . .so neither of us have a chance at casting the spell on our own?"

"I'll check behind the counter – Victor, you try the bookshelves up there," he said, gesturing to the little raised stage where lived his Chinese herbs and mystical tomes. "Alice, you check the front window – and no, sorry. You're both fairly magically gifted, but not that much."

Victor frowned as he mounted the tiny flight of steps to the shelves. "What if we combined our power?" he asked. "Is there a way to do that?"

"Sort of – there's spells that let you 'borrow' extra power from a person or a place for a little while," Fixxler confirmed, climbing over the counter. "But even with that, I think you'd still be short. And even if you weren't, there's a good chance you still couldn't use the spell anyway."

"Whyever not?" Alice demanded, feeling through the ribs of the skeleton just in case something had slipped inside. The bones jangled at the intrusion.

"Because, for whatever reason, magic doesn't like it when you drain your lake all in one go." Fixxler leaned on the countertop. "Granted, I don't blame it, it's not a pleasant feeling. . .but yeah, one of the barriers to learning magic is that the upper limit of the power of the spells you can learn is slightly below the upper limit of your own personal power. Draw Upon The Earth's Currents and Draw Upon Another's Currents can both get you around that limitation for a bit, but it only goes so far."

Victor paused in his search. "Ah – is – it isn't p-possible to completely use up your magic permanently, is it?" he asked, rocking to and fro on his heels in a rather Alice-like way.

Fixxler gave him a reassuring smile. "No, don't worry about that. You have to be casting a lot of magic in a very short amount of time to burn out, and even then, it only takes a couple of hours to recover. Nasty couple of hours, though – you feel like some vital part of you is missing."

"I've had enough of that feeling," Alice muttered, glowering at the thorny vine as the wail of a long-dead train echoed in her ears. "Doesn't sound like it's much of a risk, though." She felt around the pot, then moved on to the display of colored bottles. "You said that was one of the barriers. What are the others?"

"Mainly that you can only learn so many spells," Fixxler said, ducking down to hunt through some hidden cabinets. "Oh, so that's where I put that decanter. . . ." He placed it on the counter. "Again, relates to you having only so much magical energy. Once you learn enough that, if you cast them all in rapid succession, you'd burn out, that's it. Any new spells you try, even simple ones, will automatically fail."

"Hmph. I guess we'll have to be very careful what spells we learn," Alice said to Victor.

"And not learn too many of the same ones," Victor nodded. "How many do you think we'll get?"

"Hard to say for sure, but rough estimate – twenty to twenty-five?" Fixxler said, waggling a hand over his head. "Well, twenty to twenty-five for you – nineteen to twenty-four for Alice. Sorry, but a natural talent automatically takes up a slot. The price you pay for a spell you can use anytime without reagents."

"I can live with that. False Flesh is one of the fun ones, at least." Alice examined a bottle. "Are these real potions?"

"Some are – if they're glowing a little, they're real," Fixxler said, eyes peeping above the counter. "Otherwise it's just colored water. Good for effect, and I'm not constantly in the lab making new ones."

"How – oh!" Victor reached back behind a book and extracted a pair of small round glasses with dark lenses. "Are these them?" he asked, slipping them on.

"Let me see," Fixxler asked, standing up straight.

Victor turned to face him. "I don't – OW!"

He snapped his head away, ripping off the glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Victor?" Alice asked, dropping the bottle and hurrying to his side. "What happened?"

"It was like looking at the sun!" Victor hissed, pressing hard on his lids. "I'm still seeing a bit of a glow now."

"Sorry," Fixxler said with a sheepish look. "Should have warned you that the more power you have, the brighter your aura. There's a reason I made those out of dark glass."

"It didn't help much." Victor cautiously blinked open his eyes. "Ow. . . ."

"Try again with Alice," Fixxler encouraged. "She should be just fine to look at."

"That's what people tell me," Alice quipped, making both men blush. She held out her hand. "Here – want me to try first and confirm it's okay to look at most people?"

Victor handed over the glasses. "Just, really, don't look at him," he warned. "It is horribly bright."

Alice heeded his advice, keeping her back firmly to Fixxler as she slipped on the curious spectacles. Most of the world grew dark and smoky. . .but oh yes, out of the corner of her eye she could see a brilliant light emanating from somewhere behind her. Seems he wasn't exaggerating – turning to face our new friend probably would be exactly like looking directly at the sun.

Fortunately, she had a much softer, prettier light to focus her attention on. Victor himself seemed to be in shadow, but his aura was a vivid gold around him, edged with a layer of equally-bright blue-green. Shades of pink and orange and green and purple swirled over his body, tangling with each other before disappearing into the gold. "Oh. . . ." She held out her hand right above his chest, fingers dipping into the play of colors. "That's lovely. And this is what you see, Dr. Fixxler?"

"When I use Signature Sense," Fixxler confirmed. "Nice, isn't it?"

"Very." Alice drew her hand back and examined her own arm. No blue-green perimeter for her, but the bits of dripping rainbow still chased themselves over and through her own golden glow. She admired them for a bit –

Then frowned curiously. While most of the colors were floating about, blending with each other, there was a stripe of green about level with her elbow that was staying stock-still, resisting all invitations from red and yellow and blue to join the fun. She checked Victor's aura – no, all of his were moving. "What do the colors mean?" she asked, starting to turn her head – Fixxler's aura burned at her eyes, and she quickly yanked it back.

"Well, the main one is the 'alive or dead" signifier," Fixxler rattled off. "Gold's for living, blue-green is dead. The ones floating on top are a general sign of health. The brighter those colors and the faster they move, the better you feel. Any stationary stripes show what special talents you have – each spell has a unique color, or so they tell me. If you could look at me, you'd see I've got sort of greenish-gold stripes in my aura."

"Interesting," Alice said, looking at her legs and picking out a few more green stripes around her knees and feet. "So the green ones on me must be for False Flesh."

"Do I have any?" Victor asked hopefully.

Alice shook her head. "I don't see any, anyway."

"Nope – don't take it too hard, though," Fixxler told Victor as his shoulders slumped. "Most people don't have any talents. And most spells don't require anything too hard to obtain for reagents."

"Think of it this way," Alice said, taking off the glasses and handing them back over. "You get to choose all of your spells. I'm stuck with False Flesh whether I like it or not."

Victor smiled. "Given you're still in your Steamdress, I think you do like it." He put the glasses back on, making very sure not to look in Fixxler's direction. His eyes widened as he caught sight of her aura. "Oh wow. . . ." He too reached out a hand, running his fingers through the invisible colors. "Goodness, Alice, it's gorgeous. . . ." He looked down at himself, marveling at his unique glow. "I wish I could see these all the time."

Alice glanced at Fixxler, now again a perfectly ordinary black man. "You're sure?"

Victor took one peek his way, then grimaced and shut his eyes before pulling the glasses back off. "Good point. How could you even see our auras over your own?"

"I'm used to mine," Fixxler said. "If it makes you feel better, I nearly blinded myself the first time I looked at me too." He hopped back over the counter and accepted the glasses from Victor. "Now – I assume there's a reason for all the questions about Slip Through The Veil beyond you wondering how you could get a free ride into the afterlife but not one out of it?"

Victor glanced at Alice, awaiting her confirmation to share. "It's my family, Dr. Fixxler," Alice said, sparing him the trouble. "I – ever since I learned that the afterlife is real, the chance to see them again has been weighing pretty heavily on my mind. Dr. Wilson thinks it's the final loose end I have to tie up before I can be called anything resembling mentally healthy." She fiddled with her skirts. "Victor and I have been wondering for over a month now how you get Downstairs without dying or proposing to a corpse. And then you come along and. . . ." She huffed. "It's just a bit annoying to know there is a spell for it, but to have it be out of our reach."

"Ah. Well then – the way I see it, you have two options," Fixxler said, leaning on the railing. "The first is to wait until the end of October. You see, Slip Through The Veil has a little quirk – on Halloween night, sunset to sunrise, anybody can cast the spell. From what I've read, it's thanks to all of us thinking that spirits roam the Land of the Living in that general time period anyway. The barrier naturally thins thanks to all that belief."

"Really." Alice exchanged an intrigued look with Victor. "It would be a bit of a pain to wait, granted. . .but it would also be something to look forward to. What's option two?"

Fixxler grinned. "You let me take you."

Alice blinked. "You can – do that?"

"Elder Gutknecht did it to me and Emily," Victor told her, eyes bright. "And then to the whole village when we decided to get married properly! You'd really be willing, Dr. Fixxler?"

[gizkasparadise]

Kdrama Review: Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

Master Kdrama rec list.

Series: Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo Episodes: 20 (~1hr each) Genres: Romance, Tragedy, Drama, Historical/Sageuk, Political, Fantasy, Comedy Spoilers in the Review: For the first episode If You Like, You’ll Like: Scarlet Hearts (parent story/cdrama), Prince Zuko at peak angst in ATLA, Grisha Trilogy, Fushigi Yuugi, whoever wanted to watch a Shakespearean tragedy with hot princes that wear color-coded robes, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, The Moon That Embraces the Sun, time travel, Political Intrigue, reverse harem trope, Empress Ki Rank: 9/10

“In your next life, will you remember me?”

Premise (spoilers for the first episode).

Go Ha Jin’s having a rough go at life lately. The story opens on her day drinking at a lake after finding out her boyfriend’s been cheating on her with her best friend. In the middle of drinking her sorrows, a young boy starts drowning. Panicked, Ha Jin jumps into the lake the save him. In the process of rescuing him, she drowns just as a rare, lunar eclipse happens. 

Ha Jin reawakens in the bath water of the Princes’ royal bathing house (lmfao no really) in the year 941, the early Goryeo Era. Except she’s no longer Ha Jin-- everyone knows her as the Lady Hae Soo, an aristocrat related through marriage to the house of the 8th Prince, Wang Wook. 

Trying to find a way back to her own time, Ha Jin/Hae Soo ends up getting thrown into the Royal House of Cards that is the family of Emperor Taejo. 

Characters.

Main.

Go Ha Jin / Lady Hae Soo

Our hero!! As mentioned in the premise, Hae Soo gets thrown right into the gd middle of all this mess. Trying to get back to her time, she befriends most of the Princes (damn it, Yo!) and a few of them fall in love with her along the way. Living in the 8th Prince’s home, she falls in love with Wook-- which gets complicated by her pretty much stepping into a political web of mines.  She works as a make-up consultant in the present day, and her skills are applied in the Goryeo era in really cool and fun ways. She uses emojis, doesn’t give a fuck about patriarchal social norms, throws excellent bday parties, and is definitely the backbone of the show and the support for most of the Princes as they try to fucking kill each other rule.

The 4th Prince, Wang So aka “Wolf Dog.” Color code: Black

Scarred by his mother and exiled from his home (SOUND FAMILIAR?), Wang So has been living his life as a feared soldier known as the “Wolf Dog.” He comes back to his homeland at his father’s request, but his efforts to not get involved with the clusterfuck of his family are futile. Full brother to Wang Yo and Wang Jung, many at court fear or hate him--including most of his siblings and mother.

A total asshole for the first couple eps, Wang So eventually falls for Hae Soo, and becomes a person who wants to change for the better. 

The 8th Prince, Wang Wook. Color code: Light Blue

Total dreamboat, Wang Wook is the 8th Prince, and married to Hae Soo’s cousin at the start of the show. Bookish, poetic, and kind, Hae Soo falls for him. Wook’s a calm and nice guy who definitely bears the brunt of his circumstances, especially when political plots are gradually made around him. Full brother to Princess Yeon Hwa. MMwhatchasay.

The 3rd Prince, Wang Yo. Color code: Orange

Lmfao the Blatantly Evil Brother and my hardcore Problematic Fave. Yo is the eldest of Queen Yoo (full brother to So and Jung), and third in line to the throne. But really second, because we don’t see Prince #2 at all. Scheming, haughty, disdainful and with a kickass earring collection, Yo is a shit stirrer hellbent on getting the throne for his momma.

The Royal B-Squad

The 13th Prince, Baek Ah. Color code: Pink Makes love not war. In fact, makes war badly. Musician. Not part of any of this mess if he can help it. Strum-strum-strumming along. The only brother that So trusts unconditionally.

The 10th Prince, Wang Eun. Color code: Light green PRECIOUS BEAN. The youngest of the princes, his dream is to open up a toy shop. Living \o/ emoji (literally). Falls in puppy love with Hae Soo because she beats the shit out of him. Makes adorable puppet shows. protect him.  

The 14th Prince, Wang Jung. Color code: Dark blue The other younger prince, Jung is full brother to So and Yo. Will fight you. Will fight your mom. Will fight everybody!! the only child of his mother’s not burdened by excessive angst or excellently applied eyeliner.

Princess Yeon Hwa. Full sister to Wang Wook. Is seriously screwed over by the Patriarchy at every left and right turn. Emperor Taejo’s resident Politically Shrewd Child. Ruthless as fuck, and we can’t blame her.

Review.

my first kdrama! there are some pretty big #Flaws in the execution of this story, but the premise, cast, characters, and relationships are enough for me to still count this among one of my favorites. 

Drawbacks/Warnings.

direction and editing is a hot damn mess on this show. super important scenes were cut or reduced for time, and because of that the character development / pacing is sometimes way, way off 

don’t let the first four or so episodes fool you, this isn’t a fluffy watch. warnings for historical incest (the royal family is based on the RL royal family of Emperor Taejo), suicide, murder, torture, aggressive patriarchy, and just a lot of Sad. Basically Episode 11 goes metal af and the show doesn’t slow down from there.

there’s a lot of time skips, and sometimes they aren’t immediately clear

Reasons to Watch.

the characters. with the exception of the 9th prince (because who cares), they’re all really engaging and ugh when they feel pain you feel pain (or you cheer for their pain. either/or). i got super invested in the side characters-- more so than i have for pretty much any other drama aside from goblin

HURTS SO GOOD. you want a tragic, star-crossed (literally!!) romance? look no gd further.

look at them. they’re pretty much the embodiment of every tumblr gifset you’ve seen about looking at ladies like they’re the sun 

you’ve always wanted to watch a Shakespearean tragedy set in medieval Korea starring 14 Princes and a girl who writes emojis instead of poems

costuming and scenery. this show is pretty. 

make-up saves the day on multiple occasions.

Final Thoughts.

the “just fuck me up” of kdramas. enjoy!!!