#women of the Night Court

[acourtofquestions]

credit: jessdraw.s

[chloesimaginationthings]

Is Michael Afton gay or European in FNAF?…

[cactusboil]

Rice’s effectiveness as a HL (and how fkn lazy and useless he is)

The Night Court is one of the largest and toughest (I suppose??) territories to deal with in Prythian. So doesn’t it make sense that it would obviously handled by the “strongest” HL existing in Prythian? Of course it does. And not to mention his oh so powerful IC always backing him up.

A little timeline thing:

The fae vs human war happened 500 hundred years prior to the events of acotar. It is said that the previous spring HL (tamlin’s dad) was killed by the end of the war, so we can assume that rice was around his 20s-30s when he took over as HL of NC. I’m gonna skip approximately 100 years including the time he wasn’t HL and was utm. So that’s 400 hundred years of being a HL.

And what has he done? WHAT HAS HE DONE FOR NC? Nothing. Don’t bring up the “change takes time, oh he banned wing clipping in some of the camps🤡” bs. If he can break Keir’s bones infornt of an entire audience made up of Hewn city ppl for simply bad mouthing Feyre and Cassian, a general of his army can clear out an entire village of Illyrians in retribution to his mother’s death, then I’m pretty sure that he along with his clique of the strongest ppl to ever exist can do so much more. He can barely hold up a wing clipping ban.

Making the Illyrian women train means nothing really, if they don’t have proper health care and safe homes to go back to. It means nothing when some Illyrian women don’t want to be fighters and just want to be able to live freely. Oh and what about the Hewn city women? Morrigan herself has said how her cousins are suffering yet no one does anything for them.

His double standards with Velaris vs Illyria and Hewn City is glaringly obvious. He goes around tryna be macho with other HLs but is a pussy when it comes to his own court.

400 hundred years is a lot of time. It is more than enough time for someone that is actually interested in helping their ppl and motivated to bring a good change to their court. But it is too little time for someone like rice, someone that has prejudice against his own ppl, that is lazy and truly doesn’t have any intention of helping anyone tbh.

[viktoriaashleyyx]

Tw: violence against women and children mentioned.

I have been an Anti-Facist Norse pagan for almost 15 years (a pretty lonely life ngl) and the best thing to come of this is my skill to sniff out alt right, facist propaganda before anyone else. Everyone tells me "it's not that deep" until they realize, yep it is that deep.

The ACOTAR books have now been added to my list of Alt Right pipelines and I am convinced that SJM herself is either currently a facist or will be spiraling towards it soon.

If any criticism of the main characters, inner circle, Night court values draws you into a frenzy where you need to use a 1300 word straw man argument to lower your heart rate and pat yourself on the back, you need to do some self reflecting.

Like who you like, I don't honestly care, I'm not here for friends, but if you justify literal Jim Crowe laws because "those people will ruin our beautiful perfect city" I am going to side eye you. That is not something a healthy, non racist, Pro humanity person fantasizes about. There is not a single, natural born illyran woman who can use her own wings under the 500 year rule of "the most powerful high lord." Fantasizing about a lazy sex crazed leader who still allows the breaking of children's bones for misbehaving, is not normal. I am not going to trust you if you justify and praise violence toward children, even fictional children.

The fact that you will go to war to defend the abhorrent policies and actions of the NC when people try to have critical discussions about the texts is shocking to say the least.

Every single character in these books are subject to criticism. SJM herself is subject to criticism for the way in which she portrays these communities and glosses over the unjust policies. The way the Jim Crow laws in Velaris were introduced is a common manipulative tactic to desensitize the reader to the policy itself, paving a way for it to, once again, exist in our world. "It just a fantasy book calm down" no. Media has always been a large method to distribute propaganda.

I don't give half a fuck who Elain ends up with but please, please, please criticize the Night court and recognize it's atrocities or it will affect how you vote and how you see the world around you.

[arson-09]

tonights acotar thoughts are with the Illyrian women and how rhysand has utterly failed them despite his supposed efforts

Hes ‘allowed’ them to become warriors if they wish. But thats not even the bare minimum. from my memory he acknowledges that he doesnt enforce the wing clipping laws (smooth move) so that’s basically useless and as to be expected of a man, he misses the point of feminism and equality laws. WHERE are the laws and protections for women in marriages?? if the illyrian are so ‘brutal’ and ‘backwards’ the assumption can be made that divorce isn’t a thing unless the man requests it. No women requested divorces and probably no such thing as no fault divorces. As well as forced marriages (which also brings up the consent age) Adding on, what about abortions and other pre natal and natal laws and protections? again, assuming women arent allowed to have abortions or simply any bodily autonomy, where are those decrees rhysand? Im not even getting into the potential of LGBTQ+ illyrians and their rights (Logically there are LGBTQ+ illyrians but ofc sjm wouldn’t mention them)

He makes such a fuss about it being a womans choice (a hypocrite as we see in acosf) yet unless a woman is able too or wants to fight he doesnt seem to care. Which is also a major flaw of sjms writing, women only gain their independence if they can kick ass and fuck as they want. Which is of course valid but thats a very shallow way to view feminism and equality. The whole point is that a woman can choose, wether its to be a warrior or a stay at home mother, but theres nothing done for those women who want that lifestyle.

This has influenced me in my fic writing a lot to where a this topic has become a major focal point in my fic somewhat by accident. I think that logically there would be a rebellion from mostly illyrian women against rhysand, hes promised them so much yet has delivered so little.

[ivymoonstudios]

high lady of the night court

[seleneprince]

Low-key thinking about writing an au where Nesta ends up in the Court of Nightmares as a "punishment" by either Morrigan or Rhysand himself. They believe the experience would break her enough to make her compliant and finally learn her lesson.

But it doesn't quite turn out the way they expected

The Court of Nightmares breaks Nesta, and then puts her back together. Against all odds, she manages to turn the situation in her favour, by actually healing and experiencing some growth. Living in the Hewn City is an eye opener to her, showing her the dark side of the Night Court the IC are so adamant in ignoring. She makes unlikely friends, who all act indirectly as pillars of Nesta's journey to character development. Each of them represent a particular phase she has to pass

A blind assassin that was thrown there for certain crimes, exiled from his home until he repents. A male with a dark, tormented past that he carries with a playful attitude and wicked smile. He becomes Nesta's first friend in Hewn City, saving her from a fate worse than death shortly after her arrival.

A mysterious Illyrian lady with a moon tattoed on her forehead and the rest of her body covered in more tattoos usually wore only by Illyrian warriors. She owns and leads an illegal bussiness to sell all kind of dark magical services. Most of her employers are Illyrian females that ran to the Court of Nightmares to avoid the clipping tradition. She's also a witch, and very interested in Nesta's future.

An excentric half-Fae female who's best friends with the assassin and works as an spy. Her appareance is different than the average courtier, which hints that she's not really from the Night Court. She seems crazy and entirely unpredictable, usually at the centre of any chaotic situation that occurs, but she's much more than what she lets on. Her true origins are an essential twist for the plot

What was meant to be Nesta's punishment ends up with her accidentally setting in motion a revolution against the Night Court government.

[hrizantemy]

Rhysand and his Inner Circle have long been portrayed as progressive leaders, yet their approach toward the Illyrian women and children paints a different picture. While they claim to support equality, their efforts for the Illyrians always fall short. For instance, the Inner Circle makes only surface-level attempts to help the oppressed Illyrian women, such as permitting training and instructing them in fighting, but they never address the root cause of the problem—Illyrian male dominance and the entrenched abuse within the society.

Their reluctance to stop the abuse of boys, who are broken down and treated harshly to make them “stronger” warriors, is because they need this brutal culture to continue so the Illyrians can remain their battle-hardened soldiers. If Rhysand were to truly dismantle the toxic traditions, it would jeopardize the cycle of abuse that fuels the creation of his army. The Illyrian people, especially women, remain pawns in a broader system where real, lasting change is conveniently ignored.

Instead of confronting the patriarchal abuse head-on, Rhysand and the Inner Circle turn a blind eye to it when it becomes inconvenient. The warrior caste’s ability to fight in wars and support his regime outweighs any deeper commitment to justice or reform. They allow abuse to continue under the guise of tradition, knowing it reinforces the very power structures they rely on, ensuring the young boys and oppressed women remain trapped in cycles of violence and subjugation for the Inner Circle’s benefit.

[acourtofquestions]

There is something powerful to the fact that the “I love you” of A Court of Silver Flames is not Cassian & instead is the Archeron sisters.

… That the first person who replies, "I love you too” to Nesta; a person who has never been able to say I love you, be allowed to love or be safe in that. Let alone have it reciprocated, without being immediately followed by their death (or destruction of some sort). And that that person is her sister; who loved her before & will love her after, who would fight to keep her safe & actually take care of her.

And Feyre finally gets to hear that from her big sister; from the family she thought she never had. It gives a full circle from how she left; feeling out of place among the human world, to end up in Prythian in the first place, she thought she was alone & left out to dry (or more likely freeze to death). To then in her almost end for the family she did find, she is saved by the sister she always had; the one who followed her to the edge of the wall, fought for her & spent days trying to rip into Prythian; to save her no matter the cost, and when the time came she “gave it all back” to pay it.

Feyre loved her, even when Nesta thought she wasn't worthy of it. Nesta loved her even when Feyre thought her sister hated her. And they both finally get to hear it, say it, see it, feel it, know it. They are worthy & they are loved regardless, they have an unconditional family of relatives & found loves. Their story enters a new world, one that is no longer alone. And there's something powerful in THAT as the choice, “I love you”.

+ We all know Cassian LOVES Nesta, even Nesta knows CASSIAN LOVES NESTA!!! It's been shown, thought, practically said (just got cut off)… it would’ve been nice, but it's already known. It didn't need assurance like they did.

[maisonaime]

Ilithyia's Blessings - Part 3

I am posting this in the middle of the night hot off the dome because I am exhausted but want to get this out there. Please forgive any errors grammatical or canonical and go with the flow for me please :) I actually love where this went and I'm excited to flesh out the consequences of this chapter as the story continues to develop. It will likely be anywhere from 8-12 parts in total with epilogues and whatnot. 1.6k words

Warnings: Dark Feyre, blood, unhinged behavior, pregnancy trauma, familial trauma, mentions of illness and death

Part 1;  Part 2

Part 3:

Centuries of the Illyrian winds echoing off his wings allowed Azriel to sense the unique shift in the air at the House of Wind as he remained for a few final moments, in blissful ignorance of the circumstances unfolding. For the first time in centuries, the spymaster would be one of the last to know. 

Sweat beaded at the nape of his neck and curved a path down his spine as he performed his training routines in the ring. Lost in the movements he had led his body through for centuries, he hardly noticed that his shadows had abandoned him, their relentless whisperings silenced. He would have thought nothing of it; they often slipped away to their own devices when he entered the meditative state his training permitted him. It seemed even they understood that the training ring was one of the few places Azriel could find complete solace from his roiling mind.  

Until his shadows were suddenly back and swarming him and howling, their chorus an indiscernible fever pitch. On his next inhale the air tightened, punctuated by sharp bursts of the metallic redolence he knew to be his brother's magic. 

On the exhale he tilted his head to the sky, and murmured a prayer to the Mother, siphons flaring as he steeled himself for whatever bloodshed was imminent. Instinctively his mind was both latching onto and pushing away the bolt of dread he felt for the most obvious potential source of this frenzy of wrath from his brother. 

As he turned to push himself into the sky and take stock of the tenebrous horizon, Nuala materialized from a haze of smoky shadows with wide eyes and shaking hands.He had never seen such dismay surfaced in his trusted apprentice; dread carved another chunk from his stomach. He nodded towards her, encouraging her to speak.

“Feyre is gone, she – she disappeared from the townhouse.” Azriel’s heart dropped in the pits of his stomach. “Nesta told her about the boy having wings and she unleashed herself on Amren and Morrigan and then she left. Not a trace of her. Rhys has gone absolutely feral, he’s barreling towards Nesta as we speak – along with everyone else. Cerridwen followed them.”

Azriel stood stock still, unblinking as his heart and his fists clenched. This gods damned family would be the death of him, he felt so incredibly tired. At the same time, he just barely noted the relief he felt knowing the next time he spoke to Feyre he wouldn’t be lying to her. 

They’ll level half the city and throw the entire Court into question if this unfolds publicly.” she added, earning a knowing glare from Azriel as he reckoned with his next steps. 

“Thank you Nuala” he managed to bite out. “Pack a bag for Nesta, Cassian will want to get her as far away from Rhys as possible. Leave it on the balcony, then check every residence they share. The cabin, the palace in the Hewn City, everywhere.” 

Nuala was already evaporating back into the ether to do just that, having anticipated the request from Azriel and already running through the mental list of possible dwellings she had compiled. 

Azriel took flight and looked towards the city, where churning black clouds thundered towards the center. He drew his shadows around him, prepared to let them carry him on the wind to where his circle of friends was just beginning to converge.

He was winnowing as he had a thousand times before – the thousand time prior was how he knew something was so wrong about this journey through space. He was being pulled towards something, absorbed into a pit of angry, despairing power. He assumed it was from Rhys creating some sort of dismal vacuum of fury, as he yielded to primal and unholy powers alike. Azriel squeezed his eyes shut, silently praying to the Mother that his brother didn’t inadvertently rip him to shreds in his fit of rage. 

But when he opened his eyes, breathless and on solid ground. He was not in Velaris. He was not in the Night Court. He was not anywhere near the specter of power he had known and dealt with for centuries, knew like the back of his hand.

No. He was faced with a new beast entirely. And as he met the eyes of his High Lady, he knew he was considerably fucked. 

“Hello Azriel.” Feyre’s wolfish grin was empty, her eyes red and puffed. “I think it’s high time I find out how valuable you really are as our resident Shadowsinger.” Any relief he previously felt winked out as the weight of their errors settled on him with her pointed gaze.

Her distress was obvious, her outrage palpable. She clutched the swell of her stomach like she might hold the child in her, lest it rip itself out by the talons on its bastarding wings. Azriel gulped as he was faced with malevolence he had not even seen from Feyre in the Court of Nightmares. 

Azriel saw instantly that there would be no straightforward path out of this mess, that he along with the rest of them had grossly miscalculated the consequences of shielding Feyre from the truth of her pregnancy. Her pregnancy Azriel repeated to himself, dumbfounded by his own stupidity. Her child they had all lied to her about, intentions set aside. 

Though far from possessing the necessary biology to truly understand Feyre’s feelings, he imagined how he might feel if his family kept a secret of that magnitude from him. If he perhaps contracted the rare wasting sickness that caused Illyrian wings to rot and disintegrate from the inside out. Easily detectable, but highly fatal and only symptomatic in its final stages. He imagined he wouldn’t take too kindly to the lack of dignity in having his own fate concealed from him until there was no chance of a say in the matter. 

He sank to his knees and lowered his eyes, laying himself prone to her judgement. He said nothing, conveying his submission to her through his posture, yielding to the might of her power without protest. 

“Let’s make a bargain.” Feyre sneered, eyes shining with spite. “You will tell me everything that is said about me and this child; every detail of how our family plans to proceed; everything you see, do, hear will be memorized and relayed to me. You will find a way to get the information to me as close to instantly as possible. You will do so without telling or alerting anyone to our correspondence.” Azriel said nothing. “And you will not look for or even consider pondering a way to get out of or around this bargain.”

“In exchange I will consider allowing Rhysand to be a part of mine and this childs life.” dread finally claimed the last of his abdomen as the severity of her words struck him.

He opened his mouth to try to agree, to do anything that might help the situation and preserve a thread of connection with Feyre to her family, her support system. The words caught on his tongue as his fealty to Rhys overpowered his independent will, the betrayal of his vows a physical manifestation of pain ripping through his chest. 

He spoke through gritted teeth “Feyre I can’t swear myself to anything that disavows my loyalty to Rhys. I am bound to him, by magic as much as love.”

“And what of a blood oath? Would that usurp your vows to your High Lord?” she spoke without missing a beat and Azriel’s eyes snapped back to hers, gaze narrowing. It was in this moment he realized they stood at the center of a vortex of darkness, the eye of a formidable hurricane that concealed any hint of their whereabouts for Azriel to report if he somehow found a way out of swearing a gods damned blood oath to Feyre. Magic so old it called to the marrow of his bones. Magic that would render him little more than a slave to her will; he would be hers entirely to use and dispose of as she pleased. And yet, and yet, and yet… if it was the only way…

“Yes.” he breathed. 

“Yes what.” she insisted.

“Yes I will swear a blood oath to you. Feyre.” he affirmed, only a touch of the lament he felt seeping into his tone. 

“Good” she purred, unrecognizable to his eyes. And in a flash she was before him, a slash across her wrist pressed to his mouth for him to drink from. She tasted like life and mountain air and power and fury and something deep in his chest tugged as his life force latched to hers. Then it was his turn to offer blood for her consumption directly from the junction of his shoulder and neck. The bargain was sealed and thrumming in his chest, so much like what he imagined a mating bond to be but so exquisitely wrong in its essence. Even his shadows recoiled from the shift, as if recognizing the parasitic force that had latched itself to their master while simultaneously adjusting to submit to it. 

Azriel let out a hysterical little chuckle as he realized Rhysand was going to tear him limb from limb, and Cassian might even help. He had not only swore an oath that usurped the vows he swore to his brothers, but an oath that rivaled even a mating bond in its powers and manifestations. Tricky magic that would not be easily untangled. Magic that compromised every promise he had made to his Court and family. Magic that sealed itself into and across his chest with a tattoo of a gleaming golden band that wrapped around his torso, directly across his pounding heart. 

“Wander back home now Azriel, I’ll call on you when you’re needed.” there was nothing in her voice, her eyes; it was the most chilled he had been during the whole encounter.

He blinked and he was freefalling through the sky, careening from the exact spot he had dissolved from minutes earlier. He let himself fall for a moment, pondering how well and truly fucked he was. In the next moment, he twisted, shot out his wings, and dove towards his original destination, praying that he wouldn’t be greeted with the carrion he knew the gathering forces were capable of. 

[jayktoralldaylong]

It wasn't till I realised how gigantic Cassian's wings are that I remembered he and Azriel are lesser Fae. They really do walk everywhere with giant wings at their back because they can't make them disappear and reappear. Giant bat wings are the Illyrian version of a tail, green skin, webbed feet or sharp teeth. They don't have super powers, they're just elves with wings (and Siphons of course, but we get the idea).

I figured Human vs Fae would be the biggest point of racism in this world but OMG how the Old Generation of Royals detest the Lesser Fae.💀 Like ah ahn, your own race again?? Lucien's execution was ordered cause he insisted on marrying one. Rhys' father was furious too.

It was bad enough that he found out his mate was Lesser Fae. Bad enough that he'd decided he'd take the risk with a hybrid child and raise Rhys so strong and cold enough to withstand the hate he'd been born into. Then he sends his son off to training and Rhys comes back having befriended the two most infamous bastards in the entire of Illyria and was calling them "brother". Nah, Rhys' father boiled. 💀💀💀 Legit sent Cassian to the front lines of every battle and kept Azriel so busy he'd never leave his side.

(Also hypocritical about the Lesser Fae being less cause they barely pass as human).

Cassian - An orphan titled the prince of Bastards for reasons that are spoilers.

Azriel - Born from a 'mistress', speaks to shadows, mangled and scarred by his family's torture.

Baby Rhys: They are my brothers. 😌😊

His Dad, explodes with rage: Lesser born half breeds and you call them your family?! Do you think I worked this hard to raise you to perfection just for you to throw it all away.

Rhys: But they're my brothers. 😭

His Dad: They're weaknesses that's what they are. 😒I will not have you be the death of me Rhysand! Rhys: (Ends up bringing about his father's death because he befriended TAMLIN! 💀 - Real ironic. Tamlin, the pureblood High Fae, the downfall of Rhys' family.)

[ennawrite]

Question for my fic:

(also spoilers if any of you read When Night Bloomed)

Should the Illyrian women’s wings be fixed specifically by a woman of color? I have a character that I’m giving healer like magic to (think Yrene from the Throne of Glass series) and I think her magic + something like spider silk would be able to fix their wings, but my fmc is a white female (more specifically, she’s Tamlin’s daughter & it’s a Nyx x Tamlin’s daughter fic LMAO)

I started out with what I thought was a solid plan but now I’m wondering if that might be a bit insensitive? She wouldn’t be a savior at all imo, she’s more going in to help repair them & then leaving and is gonna be like “Make sure this shit doesn’t happen again 😑” to Nyx

It will also take a huge toll on her body, so it’s not like she’s healing them with zero ramifications. I don’t want it to feel like it was something that could have easily been done this entire time, as to not belittle their pain/suffering. And there will also be lots of moments with the Illyrian women telling their stories :’)

Maybe I’m overthinking it but I also don’t want to write something insensitive when I truly do admire Emerie & the other Illyrian women who have spent so long suffering under this sick and corrupt system.

Anyways, any feedback at all will be greatly appreciated. I promise no feelings will be hurt, I’m open to any and all criticism 🤍

[stargirlfeyre]

“All the sisters have wronged each other in some type of way” actually Feyre has never done anything wrong. Don’t try to group her in Nesta and Elain’s bullshit.

[jadeseadragon]

Margaret W. Tarrant (1888-1959), Titania and Oberon, illustration for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare, watercolor and ink on board. 228 x 177 mm; 9¼ x 7 inches, image, on 10 x 8 inch board.

[cere-mon-ials]

2022 in kdramas

*that I finished

I spent my January nursing all that The Red Sleeve broke (my heart), nourishing what it gave me (provocation to write, notes here), cursing what it did for my overall k-drama viewing expectations. I am still mad that Lee Se-young wasn’t recognised for what she did in TRS, a show that belongs to Deok-im and her alone. I had finished Good Manager a day before, a long-winded bromance between Namkoong Min and Lee Jun-ho. I didn’t think much and truth be told, I don’t remember much either. Happiness fell flat after three episodes; stayed for the remaining episodes because of the excellent chemistry between the main characters. I evidently watched Coffee Prince many years too late but I saw every reason why I might have never finished school if I had seen it earlier.

Run On kept me thrilled on occasion, became white noise otherwise. I loved seeing my two joys, running and translation, woven into the show, loved the miracle of found friendships and homes, and a defiant writing philosophy that healthy relationships are worthy of being probed. Despite how unbearable Our Beloved Summer was about Ji-woong’s unrequited love, I could see the good-naturedness of the story writer-nim was trying to tell. I loved watching why the two leads fell apart and what brought them together. I loved that this had something to do with communication but I loved even more, that it just had to do with having grown up and realising you can love something you’re not and that’s one way to experience life. Kairos is the most underappreciated show that tackles time-travel. Great writing with exceptional attention to detail.

February was spent with the duology of the Ahn Pan-seok—Kim Eun—Jung Hae-in universe, the k-drama equivalent of Austenian bliss. Both shows benefit from Kim Eun’s thesis that romance may be intimate but love, in a patriarchy, demands a public that must accept it. Ahn Pan-seok is the finest orchestrator of moments that feel like the time lapse that falling in love is, that thing that people often reduce to soulmatism or violins at first glance. In One Spring Night, it works. In Something in the Rain, it fails because Kim Eun was still finding her voice as a writer who is stumped by what makes for the ‘right’ kind of conflicts in a 16-episode arc. I don’t think that’s the only problem with SITR but it’s the one she solved with marvelous elegance in OSN. In both shows, the main leads are charmingly, refreshingly communicative with each other. But it is in OSN, where Kim Eun figures out that being vulnerable is not the same as talking about vulnerable things, and how to make it count for all relationships that matter. Son Ye-jin and Han Ji-min, I love you both equally.

In March, I began paying an honorarium to the guard of my Jang Hyuk horny jail. Deep-rooted Tree made me cry in at least 14/24 episodes. A Joseon murder mystery wrapped in a drama about accessible language as the beginning to breaking down class barriers and nation-building, with nerdy love for character interiority? I ate that up. Han Seok-kyu is the only reel King Sejong ever. Just like Jang Hyuk is the only reel Bang Won ever. My Country: The New Age is a shallow show with hilarously lofty dialogues and masterful action sequences. In my most generous reading, MCTNA attempted to ask if Bang Won’s modernity could have come at a lesser price; is modernity not equivalent to audacity? Woo Do-hwan is almost as good at portraying audacity as Jang Hyuk.

Having Park Eun-bin and Kim Min-jae play Brahms in a riveting duet is exactly what Do You Like Brahms? set out to do. Introverts are rarely done well on the screen and getting it right with not one, but two leads is an achievement too. If you are a person fuelled by that mystical "passion," the creative arts industry can be a cruel place. Chae Song-ah is, by all accounts, not as talented as the others around her, and this is not a story of stick-with-it-till-you-rise-from-the-ashes. Even the hope that it might be is wonderful writing because Song-ah is far more assertive than anybody gives her credit for, like a baby who holds onto your finger with shocking strength. In classical music especially, there is no such thing: you are good or you are out. Park Joon-young is great and yet, he is begging for an out, because being good is just the beginning. These two and the other characters are deeply in love with music and they want to protect that love. They all find out that in the end that love needs sustenance, not protection.

I binged Fated to Love You in April, in a private experiment to see how much Jang Hyuk brainrot I can take. (Let’s remember this is a summary of the shows I finished.) I came out of it with brainrot for one more Jang. Outrageous show, outrageous star power. Soundtrack No. 1 was a forgettable experience save for the fact that I am now a person who looks up Park Hyung-sik’s MDL page on the reg. I think everybody is right about Twenty-Five Twenty-One: (a) Baek Ye-jin and Na Hee-do were always going to break up (b) It was a terribly-conceived finale. Two other opinions I am going to leave here: (c) Ji Seung-wan, darling of my heart, should have been the lead for the show that writer-nim actually wanted to do. (d) More people would see this, and also may have responded with thoughts beyond ship discourse, if Na Hee-do was played by anyone other than Kim Tae-ri.

I think people were right about criticising Lee Soo-yeon’s Grid too. The science of time-travel took some leniency. I get why the finale would have been unsatisfying, even as a setup for a potential second season. But I offer that the thesis of LSY’s shows is never in how they end, because they are not moral science lessons for the future. Grid’s deeply introspective themes of time-travel and the greater good begins with the the sun, the most reliable force in a human's life, turning against mankind. This immediately takes away a human as ultimate antagonist, when it easily could have been. For LSY, the future is the darkest place with unknowable power and we have the task of paving a path of light towards it. Time-travel is not the science-fiction component with which to imagine our behaviour in an unrecognisable, but possible, place. It’s the fucking fantasy. Even if we got the chance to change the past, we really couldn't. The future is what we have got to change and the present to make the first move. Those dreams of going back, repenting hard enough, flirting with what ifs? Not going to cut it. LSY's meta elegance is in bringing the intensely personal version of this theme in parallel to the big one: divorce. FWIW, she had all these threads tie together by Episode 7. I get why she said Grid is the next iteration of her life's work—an exceptional mind.

Park Min-young could have chemistry with a rock, and thank god, Seo Kang-joon isn’t one. When The Weather Is Fine is the rightest show about life in the countryside. It nails the fine line of a tight-knit community that shows up for you and also, how easily they can be the first source of judgement, as people who know your secrets. Best book club in a k-drama. Very well done pining. Imo is my favourite character and she should publish that novel because “Hey. Who do you think killed my brother-in-law?” is a banger opening line. I first saw Lee Jae-wook in this show.

During the weekends of April and May, there was My Liberation Notes. I watched it like a scheduled therapy session, although I do not think Park Hae-young is aiming for catharsis with her works (despite it seeming like the most common outcome). I didn’t have the word “healing” in my everyday vocabulary so often before k-dramas. It’s a genre of k-drama that is meant to be comforting, to inject slowness into everyday life as an antidote for the ills of modern society. Bullshit. There are multiple wide shots of the Yeom family tending their farms, eating in peace amid the greenery, and they are claustrophobic. It might feel like complaints, and you’re free to think that. But PHY knows, as most people my generation do, finding an escape is actually really easy. That’s not the point. The point is to be less sad about being who you are; to know that who you are is enough to make a living, find love if you want it, make peace with your family. This show is about siblings as the real loves of your lives.

I don’t remember what I was doing in June.

Pachinko is not a k-drama strictly speaking, but let’s do it. I adore Min Jin Lee and I am afraid to admit how emotionally attached I am to the world of Kogonada’s eyes. In MJL's book, the linear structure is meant to make you feel like the history of a family can also be a history of the other themes that consume intellectual space. In the show, there is no such thing as a past, or a history. Nothing is done, nothing is over and under the rug. You see Sun-ja’s and Solomon’s stories at the same time because there's no distance that makes what happened then far enough from what's happening now. For this alone, Pachinko is a superior adaptation. I have a shrine for every woman in this show. Watching Yumi’s Cells 2 has been among the happiest experiences of my TV viewing life. Bloody Heart could have been bloodier. I respected that it reached a conclusion without feeling the need to give a neat answer to its central question of assertive power as driver of both unity and chaos—there’s humility in realising that the answer need not be determined in one generation. Jang Hyuk thirst got me into the show, Kang Hanna’s outstanding face and smarts kept me there. Lee Joon’s Lee Tae nearly made me quit. Park Ji-yeon, muah. I watched the back half of Signal in July. It is no fault of the show that I was zapped out of will to see women being killed. There were two scenes of Kim Hye-soo’s that wrecked me bad, I had to quit watching for couple of days. Thank you to the makers for giving a genre-defining template. (Kairos did do it better.)

Alchemy of Souls was super fun as a weekly watch. Daeho is boring to me as a setting and the plot ventures into territories worthy of critical thought once in a blue moon. But I admire the ambition, and the storytelling does have its moments. Lee Jae-wook is a menace. Inhaled Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung over four days; I enjoyed it. Extraordinary Attorney Woo tried. I also binged Reply 1997. Reply 1988 is always going to be my favourite and I am not going to watch R1994 for a conclusive test of veracity.

Between these shows, their endearing efforts at being fulfilling shows about love of different kinds, I nibbled on episodes of My Mister. I couldn’t watch two episodes together; it was so potent, so unbelievably demanding of my attention in every way imaginable, and I gave it willingly. I wrote about the show here.

October brought the best mystery/thriller show of the year: May It Please The Court. It was written with a clear idea of how much to bite, knew how to chew on it, and that’s why it also landed the best conclusion of the year. The show is astute about forgiveness and justice, and well, forgiveness in justice. I think the show’s success is in how it trusted both its characters and the audience to process what this means to them. Jung Ryeo-won and Lee Kyu-hyung have impeccable married energy from first scene. Lee Sang-hee is the best, the hottest, the finest.

Little Women is the mystery/thriller show with the most potential of the year. It wasn’t until episode 11 that the show lost me but I do think the flaws began revealing themselves a lot earlier. I didn’t appreciate the show’s insistence that the central crime of the show was Sang-ah’s murders and not the patriarchal cult that pretends to be a meritocracy. I thought the Vietnam War references were in conversation for a whole different reason: I viewed it as a nod to the first war where losing means more than winning. That war is the blueprint for the 21st century exertion of control for the right to capital and target audience, rather than mere territory and pride. But this symbolism wasn’t what came through and I understand those who pushed back on how the war's references, along with an exotic flower, rang hollow. LW did get characterisation right, particularly the way poverty alters how intelligence is perceived and valued. It’s ambitious premise—that Louisa May Alcott was wrong in deciding these sisters would taper their poverty with unusual politeness—is radical.

I will rewatch the first 11 episodes of May I Help You in several trying days of my future. Baek Dong-joo and Kim Tae-hee, butlers to the dead and the alive respectively, are companions, friends and lovers, in that order. What's not to love? The acts asked of them are rarely grand but they are delivered with emotional heft. I forgive all the detours taken from episode 12. I tend to find it dull when everybody and everything is connected to each other. In this one's ending, it's quite lovely. I see the vision in saying that we only know Dong-joo’s story because that’s the story we have tuned into. The miracles could be happening to anyone at all. I wish writer-nim wasn’t so Christian throughout—the throwaway line about suicide put me off. Best piggy-backing scenes in a rom-com and also, favourite kiss, I am going to say.

[hrizantemy]

"Nesta is Illyrian. She doesn't have an excuse" now hear me out what if she’s and I know this is gonna sound crazy. Not Illryian.