#the scenes are memorable and great to re-read

[glazedcroissant]

I've been reading @post-it-notes7 heart and soul series once again, and I wanted to make some more fanart! As such, doodles:

Read their fic here!

[dropthedemiurge]

Love for Love's Sake - Lee Taevin (Tae Myungha role) commentary

[Extra content from Bluray boxset]

If you take it to other platforms, please leave credit and original link. And don't share links to videos publicly as well, thank you ^^

[Translation by AmetistLex]

Q. What did you think when you received the script for "Love for Love's Sake"?

When I first read the script, I looked up the original novel. It felt like many different genres were mixed in this story, not only romance. So I thought if this story got made into a drama, it'll be an incredible series. That was my first impression of it.

Q. Are there any memorable adlibs?

Honestly, I like improvising on set a lot. But because my real personality sometimes slipped in, a lot of moments ended up being edited out. For example, I remember in the scene where I'm choosing sport shoes for Yeowoon and Sia was holding blue and white pair. I picked the blue shoes, but then looked at the second pair and said "Should I buy them as well?~". But it got cut.

Q. Any story about post-recording?

We had a lot of scenes filmed outside. When there was a lot of sounds of grasshoppers and crickets, we had to do really long dubbing sessions. I also ran a lot in the show and had to re-record my breathing for those scenes as well, all those "huh"s. I remember that I ran very diligently in the recording studio while watching the footage to match my breath. I think I ran for 3-4 hours... I even had to re-record my crying again in the studio.

Q. What was difficult during filming?

Synchronizing Myungha and myself was the hardest part, of course. To be honest, I kind of like adding cuteness to my characters when I'm acting, as well as manly charm? Can I even call it like that? Some sweet vibes, to put it nicely. So matching it with Myungha and tuning these vibes down was quite tough.

Q. What was the most joyful thing about filming?

When we filmed the happy scenes of Myungha hanging out with Yeowoon? I think I there were the most joyful moments. And when we ate some tasty food with Yeowoon, like samgyeopsal and tteokbokki. I was very happy then.

Q. How much Myungha and Lee Taevin are in sync?

When I first read the script, I thought we were alike only for 10%. Myungha was a very tough character to approach. But after going through script readings and inspecting scenes over and over, I felt like Myungha was similar to me for 50%. And during filming, I think we ended up becoming almost the same person.

Q. Outstanding Cha Yeowoon scene in your opinion?

There are so many! Yeowoon has a 'pocari' (sports drink) and 'I love you' scenes. He has a lot of pretty close-up shots, I think they are outstanding because Yeowoon's face did a lot of work there. And there was that break-up scene... ah, not the break-up one, the scene where he said a lot of 'don't' phrases. "Don't run away from me", "Don't get close to me..." ah no, he wouldn't say that. But there's a scene where he said all "don't" lines, like "Don't avoid me". I think, Yeowoon really captured the emotions very well with his acting then, so I really love this scene.

Q. What are Tae Myungha's strengths and flaws in your opinion?

Myungha doesn't look like it but he cries very easily. That's his strength. Flaw? ...He cries too easily.

Q. Tae Myungha and Cha Yeowoon are still living well, right?

In the present time? Tae Myungha and Cha Yeowoon are very happy. Cha Joowan and Lee Taevin are living very well now too.

Q. How do you think the actor Lee Taevin will remember "Love for Love's Sake" after 10 years?

Oh, you mean LFLS Season 10 that we just finished filming a few days ago? Well, we finished it only a few days ago, so... We're having a great time!

*cut to serious face* LFLS is a project that went beyond being just work for me, it really managed to delivery a message to me. It was a project that made me contemplate about happiness, love and relationships once again. It changed the things I value and my perspective on life. I think even after 10 years, I'll remember it as a project that was able to change me into a different person.

Q. From Lee Taevin to fans?

Dear Residents*, thank you for always supporting me. Some of you know me through LFLS, some residents are from my MyTeen (idol group) days. I hope you know for sure that the support from you gives me a lot of strength. I'm sincerely happy thanks to you. I hope you are happy too. Thank you.

Please don't ever forget LFLS. Thank you.

(*Taevin's fandom is "Taevin's Village" and fans are called "Residents" **I'm not sure about English translation that's used, I'm translating directly from Korean xD)

// other Love Supremacy Zone extra content /

[doubledeadstudio]

Hey! Hope you’re having a great day

My question is that for any/ all of your games, do you have any cut content? As in like, events, concepts, characters, backgrounds, dialogue, etc etc that were originally meant to be in the game but for one reason or another was cut out from the final product? If so, why were they cut?

This question is deeply exciting to me, and the answer is: Tons and tons. (I won't mention the ones that could be spoilery about future plot developments.)

Reanimated Heart

Cut content:

I think the most memorable one is Black's HATE tattoo around his collarbones. As I developed the game, I started disliking the design, so I switched to seraph wings. A lot of people wanted it back, so I moved it to his abs.

Got a lot of complaints about the usage of "guy/dude" in a gender neutral way from women, lol. I just scrubbed most of those instances from the script now.

Florentin was supposed to be the 4th LI in Reanimated Heart. He was supposed to be the doctor that had the potion to reanimate Black. I still wanted to do something with him, so you got Pygmalion's Folly. (This was so early on that there isn't even concept art.)

Another early concept thing... You were supposed to be able to choose from three different backgrounds for the MC, like you were a former criminal, etc. I thought it was restrictive, so I cut it early.

Crux had a rotating last name for a while, hence why he didn't have a last name on the Itch page, lol. He's the kid of two OCs, but I didn't like the last name Knight for him? I didn't think it was fitting. I like the current one.

Vin's second romance scene was already pre-written. MC was supposed to have nightmares about him. I thought it was pretty unexciting, so I re-did it to the current one, which I'm extremely proud of.

Crux's third romance scene was supposed to be the "date", and he takes MC to an abandoned theme park. I then realized I didn't want to draw an abandoned theme park for one romance scene.

Crux's "date" scene was supposed to be him taking MC at a cafe and interrogating them and remembering all their answers in a really dynamic sort of way? I didn't think it was worth it to code, so I scrapped it.

I was going to do a point and click feature where random scenes would have something "hidden" in the background, and they'd be part of an easter egg hunt that your chosen LI will give you. That was too weird to code, so I scrapped it.

I got suggested an animal sidekick that gives you hints and stuff... I played with the idea for a bit, but decided it didn't fit the tone.

Content I might cut in the future:

Redoing the prologue. "Might" is an understatement. I'll be redoing it in a more simplified manner, which is easier to read.

I'm really thinking of cutting the MC character creator. Most of the complaints I get are from people demanding different, really specific skin tones. One of them even hatebombed my other games. Not great.

It's hard to get in contact with my programmer, so I'm thinking of lessening the item shop's presence in the future or redoing it entirely. It's sad to lose the beautiful current iteration, but I just don't know how to code it myself.

Might change the Chapter 1 title and art...

Another Rose in His Garden

Cut Content:

There was going to be a "Cheating" route with Abel and Calvin where you end up with Calvin, and he traps Abel in his office and start removing his body parts and replacing them with mechanical parts. That was a wild one, lmao.

Pygmalion's Folly

Cut Content:

Originally, I was going to have Emily specifically be a third ghoul... but I couldn't really justify that, honestly.

There was supposed to be a part where MC could call his police station by stealing his/Flor's phone, but I thought it was a boring ending.

There was supposed to be a vivisection sex scene but I couldn't justify it with the short time frame. Maybe the DLC?

[major-comet]

RvB Survey Results Video - Favorite Character Intros

Hello everyone! I know @asphodeldreams will probably be making a post of his own about it since his blog is primarily where we're hosting all of the survey stuff, but I did want to make a particular post about this here since this has been pretty much all I have done for the past couple weeks.

This video is a compilation of all of the answers we received to the question of "Most memorable character introduction?", which we received roughly 259 answers for out of the 308 people who took the survey (full disclosure for transparency, asphodel and I also took the survey and added in our own answers. those numbers are included in the 259/308. answers where someone wrote in multiple intros were split apart and counted for each character submitted. if my math in the video doesn't add up please let me know, i did my best but math and I don't get along very well.)

If you have any questions about why I made a choice I made, or have any other questions / comments / concerns, then feel free to shoot me an ask or comment on this post! I plan on trying to make a few more videos like this for some of the other questions, but with grad school starting up next month my free time is gonna be a bit more spread around, so that will probably be a slow process. This is really more of a bonus, anyways - just something to help people visualize some of the results a bit better, doesn't actually impact when we upload new batches of results. It's also a great way for me to practice my video editing skills so I can feel justified in keeping that on my resume, lol. more detailed information about how i did the tallying / editing is under the read more (what the video refers to as “the description), but I hope y'all enjoy :)

Some characters are shown with just one clip, while others may have multiple. Reasons why some have multiple include, but are not limited to; - Being initially introduced in a mini-series, and providing a main series clip in addition - Re-introductions of the character at a later point - I couldn't find one good clip to use for the video - I really just wanted to use a second clip for that character, lol

So some characters have multiple clips, and some have longer clips because I could not find a good way to cohesively edit certain scenes.

If multiple people suggested the same scene for multiple characters, then for the most part those characters are generally all just lumped in with whoever had the most votes.

When I was initially trying to get it onto YouTube, I made a few editing changes - like putting music under some Season One clips. After giving up on YouTube, I removed all the visual effects I added, but left some of the music because otherwise the scene just sounded really quiet mixed in with everything else, and I had grown rather fond of some of the music spots. Also, I did my best to kind of equalize the audio mixing, but I definitely didn't get it perfect. Shouldn't be anything too surprisingly loud, though.

This took me Way longer to make than I would care to admit, and I had a nightmare of a time trying (and failing) to get it past YouTube Content ID, but it's finally up now and ready for all to see :)

[overlordraax]

Every now and then I wonder what it would be like if the George A Romero had gotten to make the live action Resident Evil movie. I remember finding the script for it online and reading through the whole thing (I actually went and found the original website and it still has it up along with a collection of other scripts). It has been a decade since I read it but there's still bits that stuck perfectly in my head.

Most memorable details were:

Jill was head of Bravo Team and she ends up as their only survivor after the initial attack. She actually outranks Chris.

The screenplay includes everything from the games. Everything. The zombie plant, the giant snake, giant spiders, even the zombie sharks. I doubt they all would have made it to the final cut of the film, if just for budget reason, but it's fun that they did at least consider ways to add everything they could.

Because it's clear that RE1 was the only piece of RE media at the time, some interpretations of the characters are very different to what we'd get in later instalments. For one Wesker wasn't really the Master Manipulator we get in later versions, in fact he came across as quite brash and incompetent. The screenplay also focused less on his sunglasses as his signature identifier and rather a skull themed tattoo.

He also has a very definitive death where he gets speared by the Tyrant multiple times and then gets his head lobbed off. I get the feeling if this movie had been made and that version of Wesker had become the public perception of his character then I doubt they would have brought him back as the series main villain.

Similarly Ada Wong isn't a spy but she's one of the scientists working at Umbrella (all this thanks to her being ""appearance"" in RE1 being a namedrop in some Umbrella emails so you can see how they made this extrapolation for her).

Also Brad Vickers doesn't disappear in the helicopter. He is part of the team that explores the mansion. He also gets shipped with Rebecca, the two have a little romance throughout the movie (I think Rebecca was written to be older, about the same age as everyone else on the team). He eventually he gets bitten by one of the zombie sharks and there is a tearful scene where he sacrifices himself by staying behind realising he'll eventually turn.

There we go. Those are the main things I remember. I will say the screenplay isn't --great, there are bits that often felt hard to tell quite what Romero was going for, but a screenplay is not the finished product of a movie. It's the very first stage of making one. There doubtless would have been revisions and changes if it had actually gone into production, and the final film probably would have ended up very differently. But I still wish they had stuck with this and that this had been the film we got.

The thing about it is it's fun, and cheesy, and really that's all I want from my Resident Evil movies. The biggest problem with the live action RE movie we got is that it's often dull and boring. The games always have a sense of camp, whether unintentionally, but that's all I ever really want, and it's a shame we didn't get that.

[flameswallower]

THE BEST FICTION I ENCOUNTERED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024!!

Due to what I feel is the most in my wheelhouse re: ability to give a critical defense or determine artistic quality, and also so I won't be here ALL DAY, this list will include books, comics, interactive fiction, and one short video webseries I really liked. It will not include movies, TV shows, non-IF games, or nonfiction, although I do also enjoy/partake in those things.

Everything on this list was new to me this year with the exception of the comic strip Junk World; however, Junk World released as a zine fairly recently, and I forgot to mention it on my end of 2023 list, so I feel fine putting it here. "New to me" does not mean something necessarily released this year, so I have put the year of release in parentheses next to the work where I know the year of release. A couple of these books haven't actually come out yet (I read ARCs); I've noted that when describing them and they will also be on the end-of-year list so people don't forget about them. : )

--------------------

Novels and Novellas!

Cuckoo, by Gretchen Felker-Martin (2024): This is a blisteringly angry book: a constantly burning blow torch pointed at homophobia, transphobia, and, especially, the pervasive scourge of hidden, ignored, and socially approved child abuse. Yet Cuckoo has great tenderness for its immensely damaged protagonists, and also takes the time to flesh out and empathize with some of its odious antagonists. This nuanced characterization provides a necessary counterpoint to the rage that fuels the novel, and makes it more moving and memorable than most other politically charged, hyper-violent works of fiction. There are quiet moments of connection and sorrow that are going to stay with me far longer than the scenes of dynamite explosions and shoot outs with shrieking, starfish-faced cops.

Failure To Comply, by Cavar (comes out in August 2024): Reading Cavar’s Failure to Comply, I couldn’t help but think of the recent David Cronenberg movie Crimes of the Future. Both deal with dystopias in which bodies and their modification are strictly regulated, and people with unauthorized bodies form a vibrant, perpetually imperiled subculture on the margins. Both use this conceit to speak metaphorically about the plights of trans and disabled people, although Failure to Comply’s characters are also presented as literally, textually disabled and trans. But, although Crimes of the Future is often accused of being a “weird movie,” Failure to Comply is undeniably much, much weirder. Cronenberg is super normal compared to this.

Maej, by Dale Stromberg (comes out in September 2024): a doorstopper I found difficult to put down and finished inside a week; a work of very unapologetic genre fiction that’s equally unapologetic in its intelligence and dedication to doing strange, creative things with language; a high fantasy story I actually liked. The setting is the city of Sforre-Yomn, in the country of Hwoama, whose culture combines elements from across the continents of Asia and Europe. But Hwoama is matriarchal: men are subordinate to women, who dominate politics, business, the military, and nearly all other professions. As a result of this fact, almost all the major characters in the novel are female. By turns this presents a fun, simple, mischievous inversion of maleness as the unmarked default state for fictional characters, and meaty commentary on the social construction of sex, sexuality, and gender. Stromberg has cited Le Guin as an influence on Maej and, in the most complimentary way possible, this influence is evident.

Wrath Goddess Sing, by Maya Deane (2022): I listened to the audiobook version, read by the lovely voice of Katherine Pucciarello, so I can't vouch for whether I would have enjoyed the novel (as much) in text form. However, the audiobook was an engrossing tale of bronze age sandal, sword, and sorcery. Although it is based on the story of Achilles, readers who want a very po-faced historically or mythologically faithful retelling would be wise to look elsewhere; that said, I for one have little interest in retellings that do not bring a lot of new stuff to the table, so I was happy with all of the strange, interesting, surprising directions this one went. I loved the bizarre, often horrific depictions of the gods; this book really captured the feverish, molten, giddy, and terrifying feeling that accompanies magic and spiritual encounters in real life. Like I said, this is essentially a lavish work of epic sword and sorcery, and I think it is best to set one's expectations through that lens.

More Bugs, by Em Reed (2024): A slow-paced existentialist character study/slice of life about a cynical, depressed butch woman going through a quarter-life crisis after circumstances force her to move back to her sleepy central Pennsylvania hometown and back in with her disapproving mother. Also a f/f age gap romance. Also a magical realist/sci-fi story about shapeshifting alien beings. It's unique, and I connected with it a lot.

Read and Then Burn This, by Rysz Merey (2024): Ah, young love! Have you ever been nineteen, shallow, insecure in your art, inexperienced in the world, and making poor sexual decisions? Haven't we all. This is a book about that. I find the relatively small scale of the proceedings, and the emotional numbness/constipation of the characters, makes this feel all the more sordid.

The Woods All Black, by Lee Mandelo (2024): This one has a couple flaws that bugged me while I was reading, but it's a revenge-horror romance story about two trans guys (or arguably: a trans guy and a butch) in 1920s Appalachia and it has blisteringly hot, graphic sex scenes of both the "regular" and the "monsterfucking" variety, so-- pretty much impossible for me not to enjoy overall! I thought the depiction of how 1.) people in the past conceived of transness differently than most people do today, and 2.) different trans people often conceive of their own transness differently, even if their embodiment is very similar, was nuanced and quite well done.

Short Story Collections!

Grime Time, by Ivy Grimes (2023): Some of the oddest short fiction I've read in ages! Grimes' surreal stories tend to be very brief, and they're almost always impossible to categorize. They deal heavily with ambivalence and ambiguity, two of my favorite things, and often end up unsettling the reader not because of anything particularly ominous or awful that happens in the narrative, but because it's very unclear what actually has happened, how the protagonist feels about it, and how the reader ought to feel about it. The definition of "really makes you think!" Grimes' prose is simple and clear, with minimal description, yet very distinctive. Often reminds me of Leonora Carrington.

White Cat, Black Dog, by Kelly Link (2023): Predictably enough, another all-bangers instant classic from Link. These stories are all based on fairy tales, with some following the original fairy tale quite closely and others taking very loose inspiration from the fairy tale or mixing and matching with elements from different tales. My personal favorite, the standout in an excellent collection, was "Prince Hat Underground," which is a really beautiful story about being in a long term relationship with someone you love but don't always get along with or understand, about accepting the inevitability of death and loss, and about what a fairy tale romance looks like when the people in the fairy tale romance are middle aged men on the cusp of old age, rather than wide-eyed young people.

Individual Short Stories!

"The Earth and Everything Under," by K.M. Ferebee (2014) is a slightly grotesque, surreal, fairy tale-like novelette about grief and witchcraft. I strongly suggest you read it at the link.

"The Clown Watches the Clown," by Sara S. Messenger (2024) is also slightly grotesque, surreal, and melancholic; it's about a young person in a space opera cyberpunk future who's caught in a rut. Again, you can and should read it at the link.

"The Evening and the Morning and the Night," by Octavia Butler (1987) has been anthologized in a few places and shouldn't be too difficult to track down, but I'd never read it before. It's an incredible work of sci-fi that deals with mad liberation/disability justice and also with (as in much of Butler's work) the idea of biology as destiny: to what extent are we at the mercy of our bodies and instinctual drives, and to what extent do we have the power to decide what we'll do with them? How do the stories we tell about certain kinds of bodies and medical conditions affect our ability to see that potential for choice, for agency, or just for things to turn out in a different and better way?

Comics!

Kiara's Junk World rules. I love the skillful inking, the cute animal characters, the playful and sardonic wit, the erudite references.

Interactive Fiction!

In a.c.d's The Beach That Makes You Old, you have to help a patient trapped in an evil hospice/psychiatric facility. (2024)

In K.A. Tan's Labyrinth, you play as the Minotaur, on the last day of his life. (2024)

Both games are free to play, with a play time of about forty-five minutes to an hour if you want to get all the endings/explore every aspect of the narrative. If you've never experienced interactive fiction before, it takes no special gaming skill: you just click through different links!

Video!

Mr. Samuel's Teatime Stories, dir. Yara Asmar (2024) is a distorted, Lynchian faux-children's show. Unlike, say, Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared, the tone is much more eerie, elegiac, and somber-- or, occasionally, surprisingly sweet-- than darkly comedic and satirical (which isn't to say there are no jokes or funny moments). I found it really moving by the end.

[0rczy]

The Little Prince (2015) is such an underrated movie and a MASTERPIECE. Want something that makes you feel lots of emotions? A lighthearted story with great messages? Phenomenal animation and memorable music?Watch it.

Recommended especially if you've read the book, found it good but didn't love it. (Don't expect an adaptation. It's not that.)

Or, if you're growing up right now. Between the ages of 16-21.

I Re-watched it for the first time since it came out. And wow.

It's one of the most influential films I've ever seen. It shaped my worldview, taste in media and in art. I was moved even back then, but on second watch I bawled my eyes out at like 6 different scenes. Haven't cried this much at anything in a long time, felt great.

I'll definitely draw some fan art for it soon.

[sorceresssundries]

Hello! For the ask game:

21. most memorable comment/review

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

Thank you for the ask my love! <3

21. most memorable comment/review

I have received a lot, more than I ever thought I would. And I save them ALL and re-read them all the time. They keep me writing.

This one probably stands out the most and I still think about all the time. I don’t comment here much, but I wanted to tell you I am LIVING for this fic!! You’re a great writer and the way you’re sculpting the story is so wonderful. And trust me on that—I’m a professional editor and went to school for it and everything, and a currently unpublished writer in my own right lol. I’m a little obsessed and may or may not check for updates daily lol. That’s not to say you should rush anything—you’ve got a life outside of writing this fan-fiction. Do what’s best for you and your mental/emotional/physical health!! Anyways, just know there’s at least one person (and I’d bet many more than that) who is enjoying your writing and excited to see what’s next! Writer’s block and imposter syndrome are the PITS. I’m sorry you’re dealing with them :,( But just remember our brains lie to us and you’re amazing and doing REALLY good for this being your first fan fic! If you ever need some reassurance, let us know you’re having a hard time in the notes and I will be back in the comments <3

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

oh MAN SO MANY :'(

I wanted to write more Halsin, but I think i've only written one.

Wyll romance scenes

Halsin/Gale

Shadowheart/Minthara

Rolan/Gale

I have so many half-started documents in my google drive!

Hopefully i'll get back around to some of them!

[thewanderingemporium]

My favourite reads for spoonie days

Bad pain days (and low energy ones) can be really tough. They often hit you where it really hurts, and can come around without warning (especially if you have a condition like CRPS).

So when they do hit, I personally love to escape into a good book (or manga, or audiobook) for a little while.

These are some of my favourite books/audiobooks/manga that I go to on bad days.

Books:

David Eddings – Polgara/Belgarath – these two in particular are “biographies” of two of the main characters in the Belgarion series – and are frankly the size of a small brick. But the world building and stories here are amazing and truly draw you in. If they are difficult to hold due to their size, you can also get them as an ebook and now as an audiobook (audible) - although I don't know how good the narration is for these yet.

Katie Fforde – Practically Perfect – this is one of my favourites by Katie Fforde – I love stories where she has a female lead who has a craft or dream that they are working towards. Plus, there is a cute dog in the story, which is always a hit with me. This is also available in ebook and audiobook format (and the narrator is really great).

Audiobooks:

Howls moving castle – funny, enjoyable, fantastic world building…I mean what isn’t there to like? This story never fails to cheer me and put a smile on my face (and occasionally snort with laughter). I am also not going to admit how many times I have re-read this story, nor the fact I have it now as an audiobook, physical copy, and digital copy.

The Witcher – the last wish OR the sword of destiny (read by Peter Kenny) –I love the slice of life we see in these books; I love getting to see Geralt and Jaskier and the shenanigans they get up to. (As a complete aside here - this narrator is hands down the best one I have heard to date, and if ever I publish a book I would love them to do the audiobook version - just saying).

Manga:

The devil is a part timer – shenanigans and found family and a few fantasy fight scenes thrown in for good measure. The story is great and you can really connect with the characters (and will probably laugh out loud at certain points).

The Seven Deadly Sins – this is a fantastic read, with great and memorable characters, plenty of magic and even a romance or two. I am still pretty near the beginning of this one (as I have a limited budget) but I am really enjoying the story so far.

Hope these give you some ideas! I know for me they are all re-reads at this point (but who is counting – they are excellent reads!)

But what about you – whether it is a book, audiobook, or manga I would love to hear what your favourite reads are!

Sending spoonie hugs

[missmungoe]

Hellooo!

I was wondering is the fic about kid luffy sleeping in the bar and shanks carrying him upstairs in AO3? I mean it probably is not because I have already re-read most of them.

If it is not I think it would be great for download and easy access.

And I have stressful times right now, have lots of exams and work. I have to take my mind out of them a little. Soooo can I ask kindly are there any snippet that you can share? I mean I think I already memorized most of them especially Andromea 😄 WHİCH WAS JUST EPİC. Buggy and my girl Makino what a duo.

And finally thank you for all your amazing stories.💙

Hi! I haven't posted that fic to AO3 (yet) because it's a scene from a longer one-shot. I know it's been a WIP for ages and that I could just post the scene and be done with it, but I also really want to finish this fic, so once I have, I'll post it on AO3 ;)

And I'm so sorry to hear you're having a stressful time! I'm not sure this snippet will make it any less stressful, but here's a sneak peek of my next update, which believe it or not is Bind Me to the Tide - aka, the Soulmate AU I started and then didn't touch for three years (oops). But hey, better late than never!

She ran.

The darkened cottages disappeared as she hurtled past them, half-stumbling in her desperation, her skirt gripped between her hands and her breaths gasping. She didn’t even know where she was going, knew only that she had to run, even as she felt the tug where she’d cut her finger, like an invisible tether, drawing her back towards the bar, and the captain she'd left there.

The look in his eyes was burned into her mind, the moment of recognition she'd feared ever since he'd walked through her doors. Or maybe it was in her soul she felt it, a brand carved as deep as the scars on his face, and a knowledge just as cruel: that there was no running from the truth, or from him, now that he knew what she was.

She ran so hard she tasted blood, her breaths sobbing as she stumbled through the dark, the village behind her as the forest opened up ahead. It was almost too dark to see, nothing but the moon to guide her, the star-strewn sky weighing heavily over the fields where the windmills waited, their sails silent in the still air.

An idea seized her, and before she could second-guess it she’d climbed the fence, nearly falling in her hurry and scraping her palms on the rough planks, too panicked to remember that he’d be able to feel it, but she wasn’t thinking as she ran through the tall grass, her boots slipping in the soft soil as she scrambled for the door to the windmill.

The darkened interior greeted her, the round chamber lit by the shaft of moonlight piercing the mill’s only window. A stack of crates leaned against the far wall, and a ladder climbed up to the level above. As a child, it had been everything from a castle to a pirate ship, climbing the ladder with her imaginary sword, or a book tucked under her arm; had been whatever her imagination had needed it to be at any given moment.

Now Makino needed it to be a hiding place, although it wasn't chores or a scolding she was hiding from, a little girl's worries, back when she'd known no greater fear than her mother's disapproval.

Huddling behind the crates, her knees drawn up to her chest, she tried to be quiet, but even with her brow pressed to her knees, she couldn’t stifle her shivering breaths. Her heart was beating so loud it hurt, and she wondered, terrified, if he could feel that, too.

But even if he felt it, the bond only bound them through their pain; as far as Makino knew, it couldn’t tell him where she was.

Maybe he wouldn’t think to look for her here, if he thought she'd try to lose him in the forest. Maybe he’d even think she’d fled to Goa, and search for her there. If she could just stay hidden long enough, then maybe…

But even thinking it, she couldn’t forget his eyes when he'd looked at her and known, a recognition so vivid she still felt it, like the dull throbbing in her fingertip. And she knew then, in the quiet depths of her soul, that there was no escaping her fate, or the bond. That she could run and hide all she wanted, but that there was no way he would leave her port now that he knew.

No, there was only one thing that would grant her freedom now, the only thing that could sever a soul-bond. Even bound by the Fates’ will, there was one choice she was still free to make, even if it would be her last.

The door to the windmill creaked open, and her breath seized as her eyes flew up.

The pale moon outlined the tall figure in the doorway, his cloak draping from his wide shoulders, as though he'd dragged the night with him. He wasn’t wearing his straw hat, although with the moon behind him, Makino couldn’t see his face, but then she didn’t need to, a hundred nightmares resurfacing, the shadowed figure in her dreams replaced with his features as she knew them now, the high, regal brow and the chiselled jaw, and his breathtaking features warped with the wide, gleeful grin that had been carved into her memory.

Stepping across the threshold, the moonlight illuminated his scars, and she felt the phantom pulse in her own, and Shanks had barely taken a step inside when she moved, snatching the corkscrew she kept at her belt, the polished handle gripped between her white-knuckled fingers and the sharpened tip pressed to the soft underside of her throat where her pulse leaped wildly, her voice lashing from her, sharper than Makino had ever heard it.

“Don’t come any closer!”

[thesecretstudentgardener]

Okay, so I just finished reading the Shatter me series and have some thoughts.

It was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable reads I’ve had this year. I would like to say that I read the first three books when they were out, before the last were written, and only recently found out, hence the finishing of six books in 2 days.

It was a ride.

1. I understand Aaron Warner’s hype, I really do, but there is so much more to the story than his consistent and devoted love for Juliette/Ella. Personally, I would have loved to see the other kids of the Leaders discuss their pov on the matter. We know they were practically raised together and every time they were re-introduced, they were drawn to each other. Great. I want a scene where the two are still practically toddlers. Did Aaron even care about the other kids, or just her? He says he doesn’t consider the other kids his friends. Is that because he only ever considered Ella his one friend/ or because his history with her as children is so tied up with the other kids, that he doesn’t remember a time when he wanted to be around them? I want to know more about their history, not just the moments of ‘hello, I’m Aaron, you look pretty’, every few years.

2. Adam. He gets a lot of hate for his treatment of Juliette and his act of trying to save James by submitting to his father. I get it. But also, unlike Aaron, who only ever had himself and his heart to protect, Adam has a child who relies on him to be safe and fed and alive. He put his trust in Omega Point and if James hadn’t wanted to help, Adam would have had to walk through the rubble of the underground compound hoping but knowing James hadn’t made it. His one person who needed him to survive almost didn’t because Adam trusted someone besides himself. We see, after that moment, that James becomes his one and only priority. He kicks Juliette out bc Aaron, the person he worked for and was almost killed by, was in his home, near his brother, asking him to trust him. Asking him to trust Juliette. Who was the only reason he had ended up at Omega Point with James. I’d be scared and angry, too. He knew he was most likely giving up his life when he asked Anderson for immunity. But he did it, knowing there was barely even a chance for James to be safe and alive. I can’t hate him, because after the second book, the only thing he cared about was James. He didn’t want to fight and risk he or James dying. If he died, James was in his own. He did what he felt he had to.

3. The other kids. Simply, I just wanted more of them. According to the memories we are given, they were all friends, and were all getting their memories back. They were all victims of their parents. I understand why it had been Emmaline and Ella who were the ones to end it for all. But I wish we had had a moment where the kids, as a group and the further leaders, made the decision to start over. To take back the life and world their parents took from them. Nazeera and Aaron are the only kids that actually, genuinely get to fight back. The others are almost immediately immobilized for later use. It would have been a fitting end for the kids that had no say in their own lives and memories to choose the fate of those who took it from them.

4. I did love that both Ella and Emmaline each got to kill a parent their own way. Ella, through sheer force of strength, and Emma, through force of will. That was the perfect ending for them.

[graygiantess]

👋 are there any fics that were memorable to you or have stood out (weird pairings, unexpected plot twists, high quality smut, crazy source inspiration that just worked, or just went in a different direction than you were thinking it would)? I am pretty new to IWTV series and embarrassingly, just discovered fan fiction not too long ago. I am overwhelmed with all the fics on AO3 and want to narrow down which ones to read that will leave a lasting impression. I found you through your Legally Blonde fic because it sounded like a joke making Lestat an Elle but it has been a standout for me.

Also, can I ask if you still plan to finish the Legally Blonde fic?

Hey Nonny! 👋

Thanks for asking!

You might have noticed I'm very much an Armandaniel girly so you'll mostly get Armandaniel answers from me. 😅

The first fic I remember reading for the show was Thy Fearfull Symmetry (very NSFW!). It's young Daniel/Louis/Armand. I really like how the author set the scene and the contrast between Daniel insisting that he definitely didn't come home with Louis for that and, well, what happens next. 😅

The most recent fic that blew me away was For My Muse (T) by the lovely @akinmablog. Armand keeps seeing Daniel’s books - and his author photo- everywhere and handles it very well, tyvm. Just love the concept and Akinma always manages to punch me right in the feels.

I recently made a list of my favorite 'active' fics. These are all works in progress that are still being updated. It's very Armandaniel heavy but also includes some other pairings.

If you like Armandaniel as a pairing, you should definitely also check out @bandedbulbussnarfblat's work (link to her Ao3 page).

My fave Loustat author is Pocketsun/ @thefairylights (link to her Ao3).

If you like romcoms, I can’t recommend Cherhorowitz8's delightful AUs enough (link to her Ao3).

There are so many amazing fics in this fandom so I can definitely see how it might be hard to get started! My main tip would be to check out the bookmarks made by authors of fics you like. You can find them on their author page and they're basically rec lists! (Though some people also use their bookmarks as 'to be read' lists.)

Here are my bookmarks.

RE: the Legally Blonde AU, that's definitely getting finished! Chxmpxgneproblems and I have it all planned out and are very committed to seeing it through. I just really needed a break for my health (boo hiss, long covid). I'm working on a chapter now. Can't make any promises as to when it'll be uploaded but Ellestat will be back. (And it's great to hear you enjoyed it so much so far! ❤)

Thanks again for your ask and I hope you find my recs useful! 😊

[fourseasonsfigs]

Ni Bu Pei

Here we have the famous "You're not worthy!" scene from Episode 27. Every time I finish watching this scene, I just end up shaking my head and muttering, "this is such a good show" over and over again. This happens with many scenes throughout Word of Honor, but this is definitely one of the ones at the top.

Here's the clip from Episode 27 that inspired this fig:

Sorry these have no subtitles. That is way beyond my rudimentary video clipping ability. I have to say that watching it without understanding the words (except of what I have memorized, of course!) is still enjoyable since I can really focus on their faces and their acting.

Of course, whenever I clip anything from the show, I end up losing time since I'm forced (forced, I tell you!) to re-watch the entire episode. These posts would go a lot faster if I simply made the video clip! But what can I do...this scene is so good, it makes me want to watch everything else in the episode.

I got these figures a long time ago, but it wasn't until the box had arrived at my house that I realized the Ye Baiyi standee was missing. I tore the rest of the box apart looking for it, but no luck. This set really needs the standee!

I talked to the seller, and even though it had been much longer than the standard after-service period, they were kind enough to go ahead and forward me the standee.

I would really, really love figs of the rest of the characters in the show - how great would it be to have Chengling, Gu Xiang, Cao Weining, and Ye Baiyi? But none of them exist. I feel lucky I have Ye Baiyi here in standee form and Chengling in standee form as well (from the previous New Year Wenzhou figs in this series).

Here's a close up of the boytoy old monster Sword Saint Immortal himself.

You can see their relative sizes here. Ignore the line going through Ye Baiyi's face, that is just a reflection from the window!

Alright, thanks Ye Baiyi, we're going to just our two heroes wanderers right now!

Like the other figures in this series, these are all slightly less chibi and a little more "grown up". But only just! They're still very small and cute.

Lao Wen's purple cape and A-Xu's puddle of robes do a great job of keeping these figs completely stable and steady. This will be one of the few sets I don't put on fig stands.

Nice detailing on the hair here. Lao Wen's hairpin is a spectacularly long one. Some hairpins escape the shipping process undamaged while others snap right off - it all depends on how well that polystyrene cut out is designed and how securely they're squeezed into it.

A-Xu's studded hairband seems to be missing a metal stud! Well, I mean, you did see how hard Ye Baiyi hit him, right?

I'm really tempted to paint the missing stud in his hairband. I didn't really notice it before, but now that I'm looking at these up close pics, it just jumps out at me!

Did you notice how the blood splotch on Lao Wen's face is in the shape of a heart? Not to, err, romanticize battle wounds, but now I can't unsee it! If you've been reading this blog, you know I love battle-damaged figs anyway. And aww, the tears welling up in his eyes.

These expressions are gold. We have A-Xu looking fierce and protective, and Lao Wen looking emotionally overwrought, and the both of them are just as cute as can be. Lao Wen has of course sustained the worst of the battle damage, but A-Xu sure didn't go down without a fight.

Here they are in their pose. The figs actually fit together nicely - Lao Wen's knee on the ground goes into a slight curve in A-Xu's robes. I tried to take some pics that show this, but it was really hard to get down between them in any way you could actually see.

You can kind of see what I am talking about with Lao Wen's knee here...

...and a little bit here where their legs are touching.

The bottoms-up view on this set is particularly cute because you can see the detail on how they are sitting, along with some great detail on their different colored pants. Like the fig maker could easily have designed this to be a solid bottom, and not made this so complicated (and perhaps a few RMB less), but I'm really, really glad they didn't. Everyone loves this level of hidden detail and fine fig engineering!

Our protective shixiong from the top front...

...and the top back. Another great view of that gorgeous long hairpin, too!

This box card art is officially TOO CUTE. These are some of my all time favorite outfits in the show too.

Alright! We've now done three of the four sets listed here - just one more to go. Come back tomorrow for the last one!

If you missed any of the previous ones, you can read them here: New Year Wenzhou and Good Sword, or just click on the master link at the bottom.

Material: Resin

Fig Count: 413

Scene Count: 29

Rating: Two very worthy figs!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[fipindustries]

in media res

there is a quality to certain stories where you can tell this world was chewed over a thousand times by the author before the first chapter was written. but what im talking about is not just chewed over, for the quality im thinking of is often the case that the author has in fact written other stories in this world previously, maybe even with these very same characters.

there is a fullness to everything you encounter when you read these stories. the characters show up with a certain kind of iconic weight to them. they already are what they are supposed to be, they spring forth fully formed. the MCU for a while was the master at this. every time they introduced a "new" character to the franchise you could feel the weight of that character behind them, you could hear the drumroll, the trumpets, the fanfare. spiderman shows up in civil war and the soundtrack swells to let you know. yeah, this is the guy, you know the guy, you are aware of the 60 years of history behind this guy, you can sense the profound cultural weight of this guy here, he is almost like a sun, bending space and time and making everything orbit around them because of that weight.

now of course this is easy to do with characters like spiderman or wolverine or whatever. but the MCU would also manage to do this with guys that the general audiences were not familiar with, for whom the collective unconcious did not have quite as strong a grasp on. when they introduce t'challa for the first time, also in civil war, you know this guy means bussiness, you know this is a VIP. same thing when they introduce thanos in that avengers after credits scene. even if you dont read comics you are aware of the concept of comics having these big larger than life characters with thousands of stories to their name. when at the aftercredits of infinity war we see nick fury contact captain marvel, you might not know who the fuck carol danvers is but by the sheer fact that you know that logo has to have meaning, then it HAS meaning.

another great example of this is arcane. i imagine that to watch arcane if you are a fan of league of legends is quite the treat, but watching arcane without having any idea what is hextech, what is noxus or who he fuck is hermeindinger, is an experience. at every moment you see the camera linger on something, a completly mundane thing or a cool looking clock or a sword that is shaped in a more memorable way than others and you feel that tingle. that feeling of "this is something, im watching ancient runes imbued with ancient lore, there are old magics being invoked here"

but truly, the one medium that has done this multiple times to great success, and the one i want to put particular focus on, is webserials/web novels. i have already burned your ears off talking about these, i will quickly rattle off the typical examples, worm, after the hero, worth the candle.

what these have in common is that they are based on previous stories the authors were writing privately before, for years. and then polished and repackaged in a final form that works as a sorts of spinoff to all those stories that you never read. in a sense you are stepping into a huge franchise, as the title of this post says, "in media res".

now, naive wisdom would tell you this is a bad idea, right? imagine starting the lord of the rings in book two of the two towers. or starting a song of ice and fire in a storm of swords. or the dark tower series in the wasteland. it would be confusing, it would be annoying. you would be constantly feeling like you are missing out on stuff. you wouldnt be able to fully grasp the plot because you are trying to hastily reconstruct the events that happened before out of vague clues and references and in-jokes.

but i will say two things to this.

thing number one, quick tangent into my personal past, i was always a bit neurodivergent as a kid. never got properly diagnosed of anything but, whatever i had, it was strong enough that it made really hard for me to socialize with other kids. i remember going to primary school and being convinced that all my class mates already knew each other from kindergarden. people always seemed to find out about things through "the grapevine", whatever that was and i was always the last to find out. but even beyond that, being a kid is being thrown into the great history of humanity in media res and desperatly trying to keep up. after a while, out of sheer necessity, i learned to just sort of roll with the flow. to sort of act like you know what's going on simply because it made things easier. you learn to pick up things quickly from context clues and try not to ask too many questions.

remember this scene in rick and morty? i *did* laugh at the redgreen grumble reference, simply because i understood it was a reference to something and the instinct of trying to fit in kicked in.

thing number two, dialing back to the main topic, i have read stories starting on the middle book of a saga and actually quite enjoyed myself. the two greatest examples i can think of are the infinity code from the artemis fowl series and the dark flight down from the dead days series. they were written in such a way that, even if i didnt understand everything, by virtue of being children's books, they explained everything carefully and were filled with reminders of past events and the relationships between the characters.

and i think this is what these web stories do that makes them work, that makes them feel alive and lived in and its world well trodden without feeling confusing or overwhelming. its a tough needle to thread because, unlike with childrens books, you cant just stop the story and have the narrator infodump everything on your lap. if you want to do this with any kind of craft and artistry you have to make it seem seamless and organic. worm has taylor start the story with an essay about the story of capes and later uses the fact that she is a cape geek to make her long diatribes explaining who leet and uber are or what is an endbringer or what is alexandria's place in the world natural. in worth the candle there is the excuse that joon already knows the elements of his campaigns and so when he explains them he is actually sharing intel with his team. in prelude to after the hero... honestly i dont know what alchemy josh conjured, but somehow as i read the story and new characters where introduced it just felt like reuniting with old friends, and whatever we saw of ieik, it felt like going back to your childhood home, so props to that.

my point to all of this is that i really really enjoy this style of storytelling and i would love to see more of it. it makes everything feel so meaningful, behind every rock, every name, every place there could be a whole cool backstory you are not even aware of, behind every weird awkward phrase there could bee some profound in-joke or oblique reference. it makes everything pop when i am put in that mental space where i have to stay on my toes because i could be expected to be familiar with whatever is thrown my way.

of course it would be silly to demand that a writer writes an entire story, doesnt publish it and then writes a spinoff filled with references to the original book and then publishes that. and im not about to start reading books halfway on a series trying to capture that feeling because, as i said, this is the kind of thing that takes deliberate finesse to execute well.

but it is something i will keep my eyes open for.

[hahahahawk]

Rule of Blood/Nature Blushing

Words of Radiance re-read

It’s been a few weeks since I last indulged in the Cosmere, so when I picked up at Rule of Blood, a rare Sadeas chapter, I approached it as if it was the opening chapter of a new book.

(Well, I actually picked up partway through “Boots”, but that scene is so memorable it doesn’t gain too much on re-read. And it’s so disconnected from “Rule of Blood”, both in tone and context, that they might as well be in different books)

Imagining that I knew nothing about Sadeas or Amaram or Adolin, “Rule of Blood” makes for a decently compelling entry point. While the pace is, hm, stately, the chapter makes a good dossier of Sadeas. We see his opinions on the Kohlin family, other high princes, the Parshendi, bridge crews, plus a clear look at his own ambition. Plus a look at his wife and her position in his scheming.

So on the one hand, if “Rule of Blood” was the first chapter of a random novel *without* Sanderson’s name on the cover, I’d 100% keep reading. On the other hand, as someone who has invested countless hours in the Cosmere, this chapter adds little to my understanding.

To navel-gaze in the middle of those two hands, I’m going to conclude that this chapter is here to serve a purpose that balances those two opinions. It’s mostly a recap, but placed here to a) break up two Shallan chapters that couldn’t be combined into one and b) re-ground the reader in the politics of the war camps right before they become relevant again.

Plus, by having it in Sadeas’s POV instead of Adolin or Dalinar, it’s priming the reader with an “outsider” perspective. Once Shallan arrives, she will be deeply immersed in the Kohlin camp (even if she’s not staying there), and we’re already familiar with Kaladin, Adolin, and Dalinar within that camp. So seeing the war camps from a different POV acts as a “neutral” establishing shot. Sadeas isn’t objective by any means, but he’s apart from the clique of our main cast.

Conclusion: Rule of Blood is B roll footage that isn’t new information, but it is a valuable transition in multiple functional ways.

***

Nature Blushing

This is a pure microcosm of the Shallan/Tyn relationship. Tyn is the most right and the most wrong she ever is.

Tyn’s completely off the mark about the depth (and even existence) of Shallan’s trauma (in a way we’ll see echoed in Kaladin’s skepticism of it as well), but she offers a playbook of how Shallan should enact her ‘scam’ once she reached the war camps, which Shallan follows exactly (to great success).

What would the story be like if Tyn didn’t die?*

If Tyn was still around, would it have prevented Veil from emerging?

Would we have ended up with a situation where the Ghostbloods/underworld got the “real” Shallan and Adolin got Veil? Except Veil prefers Kaladin, and that connection is not complicated by the boots encounter. Hmm! And it gets extra-extra complicated when Jasnah comes back.

I already see holes in that direction.

Besides not being involved in Jasnah’s death, what else would have to change for Tyn to remain a character? She’s wholly lacking the humility to allow Shallan to have leadership over her. Tyn would have to go through a separate humbling experience, separate from Shallan, be put in a situation where she needs to (is willing to) ask Shallan for help.

But still, the two women have such different interests and values. Tyn might have to be hurt by specifically Amaram in order for her to truly be Shallan’s ally.

The more I think about it, the less I’m invested in this alternate timeline.

—

* hmm. The last time I asked this about a character, it was about Kabsal, who is *also* dead because of Shallan (though not quite so directly). Death rides with her almost more closely than it does with Kaladin. Certainly in a more personal way. Kal would be mad to hear me describe it like that, but I stand by it.

[elderflowergin]

SBS Hyena, episode 1 rewatch (part 1)

I wrote this at least a couple of years ago, and it languished in my drafts after that. It's part episode recap with a dash of style analysis. Disclaimer: I'm not trained in fashion or style writing - anything I know is from reading other people doing style/fashion/costuming analysis. This is meant to be fun, and I hope you have fun reading this if you enjoyed the show, or even if you haven't and were looking for reasons to start.

Okay, let’s hit it! 

This opening of this show is so distracting I did not connect it to the final scene of this episode until after having watched it maybe fifty times. They knew what they were doing, giving us a hot guy in the shower, displaying very fetching abs that probably required Ju Ji-hoon to dehydrate himself for a week. (But let's put a pin in my reflections.) 

Montage aside and speaking of reflections: this is the first time we ever see Yoon Hee-jae in the story. Yes, it’s in his smirking reflection. I guess we could say that's a coincidence, but I also think it means that the way he sees himself is probably not congruent with who he is on the inside, and his arc in this show deconstructs that perception he has (and in a way, we have, as viewers) of Yoon Hee-jae.

This trial gave me the giggles when I re-watched it, because it sounds like Hee-jae and Prosecutor Kwon are having a leisurely - if somewhat antagonistic -  banter over coffee. (This is not unrealistic; it would probably be exhausting to keep up with the yelling throughout.)  

Prosecutor Kwon - or the actor who plays him, Lee Ki-chan - is quite handsome, but they've shafted him here with Coke bottle glasses and unsexily messed-up hair. (I went to look up his name and learned that he played Bae Doona's totally vile, Ha Chan-hoish brother in Sense8, which I never would have known. He's also a talented singer and musician, because hey, why NOT. THE RANGE, YOUR HONOUR.)

That gown is only flattering on one person, and that is one Mr Cho Seung-woo. Who also looks great in thigh high boots and glitter eyeshadow, so you know what, that's not saying much. 

This smirk is both hot, and endlessly immature. Ju Ji-hoon's mouth does lots of good work here. (As Jung Geum-ja can surely attest to, heyo!) 

Ga Gi-hyeok is suited up here (a three-piece, even, which notably only Song Pil-jung wears, to my memory, so this is maybe a bit of a faux pas on his part), but he's not commonly in a suit, often opting for a sweater in the office.

For context: Kang Tae-oh - who memorably played K-Drama's Boyfriend and a paralegal in Extraordinary Attorney Woo - also wears sweaters at the office over shirts, with fairly informal jackets and overcoats, whereas his friend Attorney Kwon - who's about the same age - wears formal, if moderately fun, suits. In Chief of Staff, Lee Jung-jae never wears a white shirt as the titular chief of staff, and only Song Hui-seop, his boss, wears white. The first time we see Lee Jung-jae in white, he's an Assemblyman. I can't say to what extent these patterns are adapted from Korean society, which is probably very regimented and class-bound in its own way, but I really appreciate how fashion and costuming are used to implicitly denote class and status, telling their own story.

A personal aside: as an intern, I once wore a sweater/blouse/skirt combo to work, prompting an acquaintance to ask me why I was dressed like a secretary. In the present day, I absolutely do not care and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with dressing “like a secretary” - whatever that means - but back then I remember feeling embarrassed by this, like I’d flouted a rulebook I couldn’t access. Corporate dressing isn’t just about what to wear, it’s about what not to wear and how that might denote that you’re not an insider. 

So Ga Gi-hyeok’s clothes might be reflective of two things: 1) his social class - I don't think Gi-hyeok belongs to Hee-jae's level of upper crust; 2) his base-level  insecurity about his position. That is going to be significant later.

Yes, that is the lovely young sweet Attorney Na, in an olive suit. This is not a colour we see any of the other goslings wearing (goslings, because geese are assholes, and these boys - and they are all boys - seem like baby assholes themselves, except Attorney Mr Na.) 

I hate Ha Chan-ho. I hate the entire Ha family, who are all deliciously great at their jobs of being terrible chaebols. I feel like Ha Chan-ho saw his dad's cravats and went, I want that, but make it 10x douchier. This cravat is not hooked to anything, because he doesn’t wear a shirt. He’ll be taking off that jacket later and he’ll be topless, on the steps of a courthouse. Ew.

-infinity/10, docking points for the lack of a goddamn shirt and also being an abusive jerkface. 

Attorney Ma is wearing a double-breasted suit here and he looks cute. 7/10, because this difficulty setting is high. He’s actually...not wrong about many things, including Yoon Hee-jae’s dick moves. 

Yoon Hee-jae is jacketless here. I don't know if this is a first episode thing, but this changes very, very quickly, as we shall soon see.

We will never again see Yoon Hee-jae UNBUTTONED, with something in his mouth and his SHIRTTAILS HANGING OUT. This was remarkably unusual, because he's almost pathologically buttoned up for the rest of the series. I think this could be one of two things: 1) the costumers were still forming his wardrobe preferences or 2) this was a neat way to get across his carelessness and perhaps, vulnerability to what's about to come. Nonetheless, 9/10 for the messy distracted Yoon Hee-jae. 

I recapped this episode for my Instagram and the concept of a partner in a law firm doing his own laundry was just so ridiculous I dedicated two slides to bitching about it. But now I just don't care, because…

Hot damn. THEM. THEM. 

(To be continued! Next up: love letters to who else but Kim Hye-soo, of course)