#FROM SE RI'S OWN STORY

[blackwidownat2814]

That's a No From Me Dawg (J.Seresin)

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x plus size!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x librarian!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Garcia!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x latina!reader

Word Count: 935

A/N: Got inspired by this post from @wildbornsiren & @a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all and just had to run with it. Thanks once again to the great @jobean12-blog for being my sounding board and an awesome friend. Established relationship from my first Jake story, Pride & Prejudice & Partridges.

Trigger Warnings: None, unless the dog-earring of pages causes you pain.

‼️⚠️I do not give permission for any of my work to be copied, translated or reposted anywhere else but on my own blog.⚠️‼️

Masterlist

Sometimes, you liked to think of yourself as a dragon.  Dragons lived in caves (aka the library, in your case) and protected their hoard of gold (the books).  For the most part, you kept your inner dragon asleep, ready to pounce only when someone messed with your hoard.

So far, since moving to San Diego to live with your brother and starting work at the library on base, the dragon had been in hibernation.  So when the one person you didn’t expect woke the sleeping dragon, you were just as surprised as he was.

“GOOD LORD.”  Your ears perked up at your fellow librarian’s exclamation.  

Smiling, you slid your new bookmark into the book you had been reading.  Jake had given the bookmark to you, ‘just because’ he said, after finding out that The Mummy was your favorite movie.  One side had the quote “Hey, O’Connell!  Looks to me like I’ve got all the hor-ses!” and the other had “Hey Beni!  Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the ri-ver!” over black background.  It was simple but you absolutely loved it.  You loved him.

You took a deep breath and pushed thoughts of your naval aviator out of your head as you walked up to see Cass leaning on her desk with her forehead resting on her hands and grumbling.

“Are you okay?”

“No!”

“Um…why?”

“Look at this!”  She didn’t even lift her head, just pointed to a pile of Clive Cussler books and Spiderman comics.

“They look fine.”

“Open them!”  You picked up a copy of Cussler’s The Sea Wolves and flipped it open.  The pages fell open to a spot and that’s when you noticed it: the top right corner of the right page was folded down.  Someone had dog-eared multiple pages throughout.  You snapped the book shut and immediately went to another.  Book after book was full of dog-eared pages.  You picked up What If…Miles Morales and sure enough, more dog-eared pages.

“What in the-”

“Exactly!”  Cass lifted her head from the desk.  “I haven’t even checked which one of these flyboys returned these.  When I find out, I’m going to make sure their commander grounds them for a day or something because this is sacrilege!”

“Hey, don’t worry, okay?  I’ll take care of it”, you replied.  Cass looked up at you with relief in her eyes.

“Really?  You’d do this for me?”

“Of course!”  You grabbed a book cart sitting nearby and placed all the offending books on it.  “Go get your lunch and I’ll do this.”

Cass popped out of her chair and pulled you into a tight hug.

“Thanks for saving me from the Brig for punching a naval aviator.”

“Relax Cass, they wouldn’t have sent you to the Brig.”  She laughed and smiled before leaving to grab her things for lunch.  

Your rolled the cart back to your office and sat down to scan the first book’s barcode.  You clicked on the record and then on LAST BORROWER.  The disappointed look on your face morphed into one of anger as you glared at the name on your screen:

Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin

Cass was going to have to bail you out of the Brig.

Jake was in the air, running dog-fighting exercises with Phoenix and Bob against Maverick when he heard voices over the coms...and one sounded very familiar.

“Mickey, give me the thing.”

“Hermanita, what are you doing here?”  You must of had a Look on your face because Jake could hear the fear in Fanboy’s voice.

“Hondo said I could when I asked if I could come by because it was important.  Now, GIVE. ME. THE. THING.”  Jake smiled at your tone, letting out a small laugh…which was the absolute wrong thing to do, since Fanboy had remembered to let go of the button that allowed Jake's voice to come through coms.  He heard a crackling sound and then you.

“JAKE SERESIN.  I WOULDN’T BE LAUGHING IF I WERE YOU.”  

“Um, h-hey sweetheart.”

“Don’t you ‘sweetheart’ me, Seresin.”  Jake could hear the others laughing quietly in the background.  He even heard Mav, Phoenix, and Bob all let out an ‘ooooh’.

“What’s up?” he asked, audibly swallowing.

“I saw the books you returned today.”  Jake wracked his brain, thinking over the books he’d returned.  He couldn’t think of anything that happened to them, but maybe he just didn't notice?

“Did I spill somethin’ on ‘em darlin’?  I’ll pay for it as soon-”

“No.”  He heard you let out a ‘hmph’.  “And don’t try to butter me up with darlin’ either!”

“Dewey, what is goin’ on?”

“Jake, what is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to books?”  He knew it, he really did.  Except, in that very moment, it evaporated out of his brain.

“Um…I know, I swear I do.”

“Mickey!  What is my pet peeve?”  Jake heard Fanboy clear his throat.

“Dog-eared pages.  When it’s someone’s own book, you don’t really care because it’s theirs and they can do what they want.  But if it’s a library book, or one of yours, well…”  That’s when Jake remembered.

“Oh no.”

“Oh no is right…sweetheart.”

“You’re in trouble Bagman!”

“Shut up Mickey.”

“Sorry hermanita.”

“Jake?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

He heard a door slam shut, signaling that you had left the room before the others were teasing Jake with another drawn out ‘oooooooh!’.

Jake felt himself start to break out in a sweat.  He gulped before clearing his throat and called out to Maverick.

“Hey, Mav?”

“Yeah, Hangman?”

“Remind me, how long does the gas last in these new FA-18s?”

A/N 2: Do I know this is a ridiculous way to react to something so simple, like dog eared pages in a book? Yes. Do I care? Not in the least. This was written for fun, so read it with that in mind.

Don't forget to leave a comment and reblog! It would be much appreciated!

A/N 3: And many many many thanks to the one and only @notroosterbradshaw. You know why.

[genlossneg]

I think it's funny that genloss is such... It's such a fail. As someone who is an enthusiast for ARGs, the implication that GenLoss is a good arg is?? It's so insulting to the ARG creators who have done so much to create their projects. I'm a Jack fan and Ranboo saying that GenLoss is the one of the best interactive livestream is so funny too because in twitch, that that belongs to Jerma's dollhouse stream which is still fantastic even to this day. While even Jack's I/RIS project which was something that's a comeback for his egos project is so much more enjoyable to watch over and over again, especially in terms of community interaction with both the story and the community itself as they actually worked together to try and piece the story pieces together that were being shown through the setting.

Not to mention the lore videos that even further introduced the world that many of the J/SE e/go community fandom had been waiting for.

I think the person who mentioned Mark's progression on his own ego projects and personal projects made a great point.

Ranboo, unlike these two, immediately plunged himself into such a massive project without seemingly... It doesn't seem so planned. Sure, I can forgive that he's not even past his twenties but... 1 million?? It's too much and it reeks of well... recklessness.

Smaller projects could have worked better. If he spent some time like... maybe expounding more on the videos that was in the genloss youtube channel, I think it would have provided a more cohesive storyline and allowed the watchers to be more invested in the characters RATHER THAN just the people who are playing them.

Like I see Genloss!Ranboo and I just think... oh. That's basically just Ranboo himself. Which I guess?? Could be related to the storyline lore itself but when you look at it closer it just doesn't make further sense. (This is going to be a bit mean but even DSMP!Ranboo had more of a character going on compared to genloss!ranboo)

Sorry for rambling on about this. I just have so much thoughts about the people who had often in the past defended Ranboo's project's flaws going well it's not like other famous youtubers haven't done a similar thing.

But like. Mark's and Jack's characters were from comedic skits that they further developed even if they were basically raised by the community hcs and everything. Sure, ego projects were popular back then but those two made their own projects in their own way. Mark's are a lot more cinematic while Jack's were in the more community interactive arg way.

Meanwhile, Ranboo wants to have all their pie made in a mix of those ways immediately without truly understanding what made it such a hit with those respective communities.

Anyway. Saury for being such a Mark and Jack fan in your asks. It just rubs me the wrong way when some people say they've already done it so much better than Mark and Jack just because of their high budget sets.

this conversation is so interesting to me because i know exactly nothing about anything you guys are talking about. but it sounds reasonable so

[pagebypagereviews]

# 12 Books Every Entrepreneur Needs on Their Shelf Entrepreneurship is a journey filled with challenges, learning, and growth. To navigate this path, knowledge and inspiration are invaluable assets. Books, with their vast reservoirs of wisdom, serve as excellent mentors. Here, we explore 12 must-read books that offer insights into the mindset, strategies, and skills essential for every entrepreneur. ## The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Eric Ries revolutionized the way startups approach product development and business growth. "The Lean Startup" introduces principles like the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and continuous innovation to create successful businesses in an efficient manner. It's a guide to learning what your customers really want and testing your vision continuously, adapting and adjusting before it's too late. ## Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook, shares unconventional wisdom on startup success. "Zero to One" emphasizes creating new things over copying what already exists. Thiel argues that true innovation comes from going from 0 to 1, not from 1 to n. This book challenges entrepreneurs to think differently and boldly about the future. ## The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, shares the raw and real side of entrepreneurship. This book doesn't shy away from the tough aspects of running a business, offering advice on difficult situations that business books typically avoid. It's a must-read for understanding the persistence and leadership required to navigate the entrepreneurial journey. ## The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau Chris Guillebeau inspires with stories of individuals who have built successful businesses with modest investments. The $100 Startup" is a testament to the fact that with a marketable skill, creativity, and a bit of hustle, you can achieve financial independence through entrepreneurship. It's particularly appealing for those looking to start a business on a shoestring budget. ## How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Though not a business book per se, Dale Carnegie's timeless classic is essential for entrepreneurs. Effective communication and relationship-building are at the heart of any successful business. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" offers invaluable advice on understanding people, winning them over, and influencing their decisions in a positive way. ## Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman delves into the two systems that drive the way we think. Understanding these can help entrepreneurs make better decisions, understand their customers, and lead their teams more effectively. Thinking, Fast and Slow" is a deep dive into human psychology and its implications for business and economics. ## The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber Michael E. Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and walks you through the steps in the life of a business from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective. "The E-Myth Revisited" is a must-read for anyone thinking about starting a business or trying to rejuvenate one. ## Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek Simon Sinek explores how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust, and change. He argues that the most successful leaders, companies, and movements all start with WHY - their purpose, cause, or belief. Start with Why" offers insights into how entrepreneurs can inspire themselves, their teams, and their customers by discovering their "why. ## Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, addresses issues of leadership and gender in the workplace. "Lean In" encourages women to pursue their ambitions and aims to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can.

It's an important read for both male and female entrepreneurs to foster a more inclusive business environment. ## The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen Clayton M. Christensen's groundbreaking book explains why large companies fail when they ignore the "disruptive technologies" that eventually overtake them. "The Innovator’s Dilemma" is crucial for understanding how to innovate in ways that create new markets and value networks. It's a guide for entrepreneurs aiming to disrupt existing markets or create new ones. ## Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t by Jim Collins Jim Collins presents a study of why some companies are able to make the leap to greatness while others are not. Through rigorous research, "Good to Great" identifies key principles for turning a good company into a great one. This book offers strategic lessons on leadership, discipline, and the importance of getting the right people on the bus. ## Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink Daniel H. Pink examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose. "Drive" challenges traditional notions about how to motivate people and offers insights into doing it effectively in today’s world. It's particularly relevant for entrepreneurs looking to motivate their teams and create an engaging work culture. ## Conclusion These 12 books provide a blend of inspiration, practical advice, and deep insights into the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. From understanding the psychology behind decision-making to mastering the art of innovation and leadership, these reads cover essential aspects that every entrepreneur needs to know. Having these books on your shelf not only equips you with knowledge but also serves as a constant reminder of the resilience, creativity, and vision required to build and sustain a successful business. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, these books are valuable resources that can help guide your entrepreneurial journey.

[enterenews]

Values that made ‘Curtain Call’ look new

KBS2’s Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Curtain Call’, which ended on the 27th, was a heart-warming drama. In it, the message of family love and love left behind by Geum Soon Geum (Go Doo Shim) when she passed away clearly shone. The family love that could not be broken even in the midst of war formed a beautiful sumi relationship and completed a depressing impression. So, the remaining families were able to draw a lively future in search of their own happiness.

The final episode recorded a rating of 5.7% (Nielsen Korea), and the scene where Seo Yoon-hee (Jung Ji-so) honestly confesses her feelings to Yoo Jae-heon (Kang Ha-neul) recorded the highest rating of 6.7%.

'Curtain Call' is the story of people involved in the greatest scam on earth by a man (played by Kang Ha-neul) who received an unprecedented special mission to make the wishes of a terminally ill grandmother, Geum Soon-soon, come true. However, looking at it now that the final episode has been broadcast, I have found more value than just a scam. It wasn't cheating, it was a play.

Neither Jae-heon Yoo (Ha-neul Kang), the fake grandson of Jeon Geum-sun, nor Moon-seong Lee (Sang-hyeon Noh), her real grandson, made everyone realize their roles and values. Geum Soon knew that Yoo Jae Heon was not Ri Mun Sung. However, she did not detect, report, or punish fakes. Rather, she made me understand the role of fake. She made me realize that even a fake could become real if she was sincere.

Her real grandson, Lee Moon-seong, eventually let go of her hatred and resentment and honestly conveyed her words that she missed her, warming the heart of Geum-soon, who had suffered from her cold heart.

Her wealth, left behind by her net worth, was divided equally among her southern grandsons as well as her northern true grandson Li Wencheng. She left no legacy to her fake grandchildren.

However, the property that the real grandson Li Moon-seong will receive was entrusted to Jeong Sang-cheol (Sung Dong-il) until she acquired Korean nationality. It was the will of Jeon Ji-soon that Ri Mun-seong would take root in the south and settle down well. In doing so, in the end, Geumsun's great will to unite her family as one without the sale of the hotel, which was her eldest grandson Park Se-joon's (Ji Seung-hyeon) plan, was embedded in her legacy.

‘Curtain Call’ showed the difference as a K-drama in that it dealt with the pain and separation of the nation. In addition, the 'play within a play' setting, in which theater actors act in real life, was selected as another differentiated charm from existing works.

This distinction has received word of mouth not only in Korea but also abroad, and has received attention as it consistently rises to the top of the world through various OTT services such as Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten Viki, and iQiyi International. It is proof that the healing message of family and love, which are universal languages, was conveyed to people around the world through Korea's special history, leaving a deep lingering impression.

The synergy of famous actors also played a big part in the work. Kang Ha-neul, Ha Ji-won, Go Doo-shim, and Seong Dong-il each performed a high-density performance worthy of the 2022 Acting Grand Prize.

Kang Ha-neul took on the role of Yoo Jae-heon, an unknown theater actor who became the fake grandson of Jang Geum-soon, and captivated viewers with his monstrous immersion. Ha Ji-won showed a more mature performance as Park Se-yeon, the charismatic general manager of Hotel Nagwon and a warm and kind hearted person.

Go Doo-shim took on the role of Geum-soon Geum-soon, the founder of Hotel Nakwon, who has an upright mentality even with a time limit of three months, and impressed with the expressiveness of characters on a different level. With Go Doo-shim at the center, the actors' performances were able to gather.

Seong Dong-il brilliantly played the role of Sang-cheol, the assistant to Geum-soon, who arranges everything for her to make her happy and let her go.

Romance wasn't the sorting out winners and losers like real and fake fate. Yoo Jae-heon (Kang Ha-neul) decided to have a serious meeting with Park Se-yeon (Ha Ji-won) as a theater actor, not a fake sister. Seo Yoon-hee (Jung Ji-so) said that she liked Yoo Jae-heon, and she chose her trip to the United States as planned. Bae Dong-jae (Kwon Sang-woo) first proposed to Park Se-yeon to break off her engagement, then asked for a new chance. Both Kwon Sang-woo and Jung Ji-so were cool characters in the melodrama.

[abiik]

oh wait i got distracted. okay so like im like 99% sure the first owl we see when we see se ri after she lands is a bubo bubo which is in the same genus of that of the great horned owl of which i was originally thinking about when i had the first thoughts about this post! and! bc i love [shane madej voice] connecting the dots! that do not need to be connected that is what im gonna do.

pls turn ur attention to my post way back when i mentioned that i thought se ri and jeong hyeok were considered a 'winter' couple. let me reiterate that here. whenever these two have 'moments', there is snowfall. this is also to keep up that whole first snow thing that se ri tells jeong hyeok about; it is a common theme for them overall that trascends even north korea and south korea as it happens in switzerland in a moment that isn't at all romantic for either of them in order to connect them deeper than just being two people thrust together in shitty situation after shitty situation. so jeong hyeok and se ri have this BIG connection during, into, and throughout winter and BOTH TIMES they're unable to stay while ALSO having BIG SOULMATE ENERGY, yall with me?

lemme bring ur attention back to the owls i mentioned. guess when these owls' mating seasons are? THAT'S RIGHT!!! DURING THE WINTER!!!! and guess what!!!! they mate for life!!!!!

and while the great horned owl wasnt the one that was featured in the series, i do know that in some cases they part from each other after their mating season is over instead of staying together and do their own things, only to find each other again. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT SE RI AND JEONG HYEOK DID. have i reached far enough yet? have i? jo? maia? should i stop yet?

[jiminsproof]

tag game ✨️

I was tagged by @wistfulocean to share top 10 of my blorbos. 💗 Thank you Heather. 🥰 I haven't really talked about my fictional faves on this blog, so here goes the first 10 characters that came to my mind with some RANTS:

Lan Xichen (The Untamed)

HE WAS WRITTEN FOR ME. FOR ME. The eldest just a tad bit gay and traumatised sibling which copes by trying to be a good person and taking care of everyone and especially his little brother? 😭 And meanwhile the universe is testing how much betrayal, grief and heartbreak he can take before he yeets himself into seclusion and hopefully not off the rooftop??? I WOULD DIE FOR HIM. Also choosing between him and Wuxian was very UNFAIR!!! 😡

Yoon Se-ri (Crash Landing On You)

MY ULTIMATE TRAUMA MADE ME COPE BY BEING A WORKAHOLIC CHARACTER. I love her to bits, and especially her big heart that just comes more and more to the surface as you continue to watch the series. 🥰 Also both her capability of judging people's character and her forgiveness!! The only straight person ever. And... possibly... the only straight person on this list....

Basil Hallward (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

A whole lot gay and in love with a homicidal asshole? (I still love you Dorian though). A poor baby that has done nothing wrong ever but still blamed himself for everything? An artist? How can I not love him? His 'it was not intended as a compliment, it was a confession' echoes in my mind every now and then, CHILLS just thinking about that scene.

Pa (Bad Buddy/Magic of Zero)

The only person to own a braincell in her family. 💗 (Sorry Pat I still love you though). Very relatable in refusing to deal with other's people bullshit but also somehow always finding herself in the middle of the same or slightly different bullshit?? Also I love another queer icon and Bad Buddy is exactly the subversion of all the BL toxic tropes WHICH I WILL NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT. NOT TO MENTION THE INKPA SPIN-OFF 🥲🥲🥲🥲

also A SAVAGE

Wen Kexing (Word of Honor)

All the atrocities he committed are a part of him and I've decided they're funny 🥰 I love both of WoH soulmates equally tbh but his character development and how he went from seeking revenge to fighting for his man only AND ULTIMATELY ALMOST SACRIFICING HIS LIFE FOR HIM I- 🥲 IT'S ABOUT OVERCOMING YOUR TRAUMA IT'S ABOUT DECIDING TO TELL ANOTHER STORY WITH YOUR LIFE IT'S ABOUT FOCUSING ON LOVE NOT ON HATRED BITCH. One of the best written characters I've ever seen. Oh and very gay obviously?

Margot Verger (Hannibal)

IT'S ABOUT KILLING YOUR ABUSER WITH THE POWER OF LESBIANISM. I really love her for how withstanding years of terrible treatment didn't make her incapable of telling right from wrong, her determination, and sense of humour. HILARIOUS. HER SENSE OF HUMOUR IS SO DRY. Not to mention her love story with Alana is possibly the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing depiction of a wlw relationship in Western television!!!!! You can't prove me wrong bye

Pete (Kinnporsche)

Pete is one of the most relatable characters I've EVER seen in television (possibly like THE character for me but I'll give it some time), and his meltdown in the latter part of the series was honestly... wow... I cried for hours after watching ep 13 but it was also weirdly healing. He has a Shakespeare tattoo. He masks his own internal turmoil by being a sunshine and taking care of others. He said fuck dichotomy of evil. I stan an icon. Oh of course he's very gay too

Eve Polastri (Killing Eve)

IT'S ABOUT THE INVERSED HERO TROPE IT'S ABOUT DISCOVERING YOUR WORST INSTINCTS BY SEEING THEM MIRRORED IN SOMEONE ELSE AND FINALLY IT'S ABOUT ACCEPTING THEM AS A VALID AND VERY IMPORTANT PART OF YOU. I hated the ending of KE as any other folk (burying the gays.... showstopping....... spectacular......) but Eve's journey especially in the two first seasons was GREAT. Also, Phobe Waller-Bridge would never do this to me

and now onto some blasts from the past, my first two favourite characters ever were:

Anakin Skywalker & Padmé Amidala (Star Wars)

I was 6 when I became a SW fan and those two have always had my heart! SURE LIKE I KNOW THE PREQUELS ARE NOT ✨️FLAWLESS✨️BUT TRY WATCHING ROTS WITHOUT CRYING. YOU CAN'T. I could probably write an essay on why I love those two but let's keep it at: I love characters that are doomed from the start <3

can you tell i write essays about analysing media and my major means i look for symbolism everywhere haha?

no pressure tagging some of my favourite people, i hope you're having a lovely day 🥰: @singingtillthemorn, @kimchokejin, @ki-limepie, @aprylynn, @seoksao, @joon-rkive, @rintual. 💗

[just-horrible-things]

Some aftermath for the last piece. @crash-bump-bring-the-whump 's wonderful angel Daniel is not present, but is responsible for the trauma here.

‘Verse: crossover Story: Non-canon aside to Unlikely Salvation, co-author @whump-sprite Timeline: Somewhen Arc 4

Vivisection Aftermath [Prev]

The beds are little more than cots. Narrow for one person, much too narrow for two. Ari is mostly on top of Alex, face buried in the crook of his neck. Her legs entangle with his, her arms are locked around him. One is trapped underneath him and going numb.

He's cold to the touch, but she doesn't mind. If she can lend him some heat, she's glad.

For a long time, they only have one thing to say each.

Alex says "I'm sorry," over and over. "I'm so, so sorry."

Ari says "I love you, Alex. I love you. I love you. I love you."

Eventually they drift into something like sleep. Alex's whistly breath evens out. Ari isn't sure if she sleeps per se but she loses time.

She stirs when he does. The desperate closeness ensures that every twitch is transmitted from one to the other and she isn't sure which of them moved first.

Alex's hand is cool against her forehead, but not as cold as it was. He strokes through her greasy hair, but it tangles around his fingers.

Yesterday feels like a nightmare she hasn't quite woken from. Her mind shies away from the knowledge that it was real, and that today could be the same or worse.

"I'm sorry," Alex murmurs again. He sounds like her. She hums against his shoulder.

They lie quietly, wondering how long they have left to rest.

"You know," she ventures softly, "it… wasn't your fault… ri-ight? You know that… you didn't do anything wrong? I don't think you did anything wrong." "Thank you," he answers, just as quietly. He sounds tired and unconvinced.

Ari nuzzles against his neck, hard enough that he has to lean away a little.

"Dunno if you'd have been able to do that to me," he says. "Dunno if I'd have been able to heal myself. That's why." Tears well up, hot and uncontrollable. A tiny sob shakes Ari's shoulders. "I don't… I don't know," she agrees. "But I don't think I could've. I'm sorry." "I'd take pain for you any day, you know that." "I know. You're so brave, and, so smart, and, strong and, I love you Alex I love you."

She's crying hard again, and he hugs her tight. She never wants him to let go again. She knows he'll have to.

——

Rescue doesn't feel any more real than the rest of it. Ari clings to Alex as much of the time as she physically can. Taryn wraps them in blankets and brings them hot drinks and does everything, says everything right and Ari doesn't know where her emotions have gone but she just feels numb.

She tries to return to Alex's side after reluctantly letting go of him long enough to shower, and finds him crying. Doubled over hyperventilating, holding his own ribs. When Ari tries to hug him, he flinches away.

Panic starts to rise in her throat, mirroring his. Of all the feelings to get back this is the one she wants least.

"Alex," she implores him, "A-Alex what is it, can I hug you?" "I -- I -- I –" he stammers, "Ari --- I, I cut --- cut you open --- how --- h, how can you --- l-look at me –" "Alex, love, no." Tears spill down her cheeks. "You didn't hurt me, that monster hurt me, you protected me." He hides his face from her. "I --- did –" he insists "-- I cut --- with a fucking scalpel --- wasn't him --- didn't even torture me to make me —"

She tries to reach for him again, and he pushes her hands away. "-- don't touch me, don't deserve –" "Please, love. I-it wasn't your fault, it wasn't you he was gonna – gonna – you made good choices, you protected me, Alex."

"-- can't – breathe –" he confesses "-- just said – yes sir –" "Please let me hold you." "Why – would you want to –" "Because I love you, I love you so much Alex, more than anything. You didn't hurt me it was your hands but it wasn't your fault, please, I just want to hold you."

He hesitates, but he nods, very slightly against his arms. It's the permission she needs to put her arms around him. She holds tight and sobs into his hair. Alex takes deeper breaths, and after a couple of seconds he uncurls enough to put his arms around her ribs.

"I love you," she repeats, soaking his hair with her tears, "I love you so much, Alex, it's the only thing that matters." She rubs his back and he breathes instead of gasping. He shakes in her arms. "You're so smart and so brave and I love you, I love you, I love you."

She knows how he's hurting and it's so unfair. Alex is the last person in the world to deserve this kind of guilt.

"I'm glad you chose," she tells him, "I'm glad 'cause I was gonna, gonna get us killed or wo-orse. You did the smart thing, you did the brave thing, you kept us alive. You protected me." "Then –" his voice is as choked as hers "-- then why doesn't it, it f-feel that way?" "Because that monster… he did this to us, he hurt us, Alex. He-e was fucking… fucking with us, fucked me up, fucked you up. His fault. Not yours."

"But I chose." A hollow whisper. "I chose you." "You made the best choice, the only choice. I'd do it a hundred times rather than lose you. You saved us."

He sobs, and so does she, and she pulls him further into her lap so she can rock with him, searching for comfort in shared, rhythmic motion.

"You're so brave," she whispers. "I'm sorry you had to choose. But you had to, it wasn't a real choice."

Gradually, the tears slow. Ari finds Alex's hand with hers, and interlaces their fingers.

"I trust you," she says. "I never forgot that. I knew you were doing the best for me you could, all the way through. I knew you were protecting me from that thing. It's not gonna change anything about how I feel. It, i-it was awful for both of us but it's not gonna change anything. I still wanna be with you. I wanna hold you. I love you. I love you so much." "Love you too," Alex mumbles into her shoulder. She hugs him tighter. "We'll get through this. We'll be okay again. We will."

[cerastes]

Why do you think Doctor is popular amongst AK fans, Drimo? Is it solely because of the typical insert self thing all gacha protags have in common, or is it Being Into War Crimes and Silly Shit? Or a mix of both?

A number of factors, in my opinion.

Arknights is more of a niche game in terms of appeal and presentation when compared (and contrasted) with the rest of the market, and indeed, while it doesn't have the sales of products with potent, established IPs behind them (IE: Fate) or products that have a more mainstream appeal to them (IE: Genshin), it still does pretty well in terms of revenue because it has leaned into its niche and has succeeded in it.

You could consider Doctor a reflection of that design philosophy and output: A good deal of mobile games sort of force the angle of "you are a young person, not an adult yet" to the main character. Or it goes completely unaddressed and people just fill in the blanks however they see fit. With Doctor, the possibility of not being an adult is, well, astronomically low, but never outright impossible. This is not done by assigning an age or age range to the character per se, but rather, because of how the world treats them, and here is where I think Doctor, as a character meant to be our point of view into the world of Arknights, succeeds and ends up more interesting than practically everyone else: Doctor is part of the world's mystique, not a mere visitor to it.

Doctor is not a rando that got pulled into something bigger than them and now has to scramble and make allies to deal with it. Even from second one, when one might get that impression, it's immediately established that Doctor had their hands in the pie since a long time ago, these people aren't just getting to know you now, you are surrounded by a mix of characters that know you closely and others than have heard the stories. Amiya and Ace have already gone through thick and thin with you, Dobermann has only heard you're this absolute monster of a tactician, Scout knows you so well that he can lament what has become of you. Your character, Doctor, is not a visitor, a foreigner, they are, from second one, DEEPLY involved in the overarching story, with ties to several characters from the get go. The way the player is eased into the world from such a character is amnesia, which organically allows you to "relearn" the world, your duties, and what's going on.

The war crimes and silly bits, as you put it, are a big fruit born from the fertile soil detailed above, but it's not the war crimes and silly bits in a vacuum that make Doc universally popular, but rather, the way they are treated as building blocks of an ultimately more important facet of the story: Doctor is in fact part of the world, and not a mere visitor experiencing the world, and they have the characterization, loose as it may be in some regards (the silly bits and the bits open to interpretation) and rigid as it may be in others (the war crimes, the ties to Amiya, Kal'tsit, Flamebringer, W, and other veteran RI personnel, and other such bits that are NOT fully open to interpretation). Few things about Doc are set in stone in a way that you can't do whatever you want with them as a self-insert, while at the same time, there are some things that are inexorably tied to Doctor's role as a character, which are not merely informed, but rather, are built upon and developed constantly, intrinsically and extrinsically. That last bit there might have been confusing, so let me posit an example: If they were merely informed, we'd be told Doctor did some very very bad things in the past, but that's ok! You can be better now! It's the future that matters, we'll change from here on! But it is not merely informed, it is built upon and developed, we're told Doctor did some very bad things, but not to the character directly at first, rather, we hear discussion about Doctor's past, then it's ambiguously suggested to the character proper (usually, it's Kal'tsit that does this) that they were godawful in the past, and no one in earshot really denies it, but they weren't just godawful, they also had some very personable aspects to themselves, such as Scout saying that even after they'd become a beast of logic and warfare that treats the loss of life like a game of chess, Doctor still took time to have a drink with the likes of Scout and Ace, talk with them, hang out, to be supportive to Amiya beyond just the role of a combat commander, and other such things. The war crimes, thus, are not there to just say "Doc was Bad And Cool", it's treated in a tragic, solemn manner that has characters still try to find the good in them, and the effects of which still affect the characters to this day.

Doctor feels much more like a character than the usual self insert without really stripping away the freedom that comes with having a self insert.

To make a comparison, Mr. Sawyer, creator of Fallout: New Vegas, addressed a more self-contained but similar example in a bit of introspection regarding the game, particularly about how people liked Courier Six more in the DLCs rather than the base game. He rationalized that it is because Courier Six in the DLCs has a lot more humanized dialogue that allowed certain things to be set in canon, so long as you said them, about their backstory. Little things, peppered throughout the DLCs, such as having kids or having been to a certain state before coming to the Mojave, as well as far less generic dialogue, such as colorful insults and other such more personable lines of dialogue or expressions of surprise compared to the very bland and direct Courier Six of the main game, whose dialogue they made with the intent of being a blank slate and thus had to be as uncharacterized as possible so people would fill their own blanks. In relation to what we were discussing about Doctor, you could say that Courier Six in the base game feels more like a visitor to the world, while Courier Six in the DLCs feels like they are part of the game mystique and the game world's, like another character in the narrative over whom you have control more than a complete blank slate over which to project into.

The market trend always favors self-inserts, it always has and this likely will never change, especially in anime style games, given the very self-referential nature of media from Japan and its influence in its neighboring countries (such as Arknights in this case, being a game made by a Chinese developer), but one cannot deny the impact and resulting popularity from self-insert characters that are still a part of the world's mystique rather than being mere visitors to it, as this has an audience as well, a specific subset of the self-insert, if you will. I think Doctor belongs in this category, and enjoys the benefits that come with it, thanks to being well written.

[barbarasecretfiles]

The King: Eternal Monarch

Lee Min-ho as Lee Gon Kim Go Eun as Jeong Tae-eul /  Luna Woo Do-Hwan as Jo Eun-seop / Jo Yeong Kim Kyung-nam as Kang Shin-Jae Jung Eun-Chae as Goo Se-ryeong Kim Yong-ji as Myeong Na-ri Lee Jung Jin as Lee Rim Kim Young-ok as Noh Ok-Nam Lee Hong-nae as Seok Ho-pil Kang Hong-seok as Jangmi

The King: Eternal Monarch is a story about a parallel world. Set in both Republic of Korea and Kingdom of Corea. Kingdom of Corea is like the alternative timeline where Korea is never successfully conquered by Japan and the country was never separated into two. The story starts on a flashback from the night of the treason in 1994. The traitor Lee Lim wants to obtain the magic flute named Manpasikjeok so he organized a coup. For him, the manpasikjeok and the throne was rightfully his. Him and his followers successfully killed the current king. Lee Lim gets to hold the flute but it was cut into two by the crowned prince Lee Gon. Lim was about to kill Lee Gon when he was stopped by a mysterious man dressed in black. The mysterious man successfully saved Lee Gon but he left an ID card. Lee Lim was declared dead in the Kingdom of Corea but he found a way to the Republic of Korea. He killed his other self and his other self's family. He hides on the other world while gaining his followers. Years later, they showed a playful but smart king in his thirties. Lee Gon grew up well with his uncle and court lady Noh on his side. Plus, he's well protected by his unbreakable sword aka Jo Yeong. Gon's motivation is Lt. Jeong Tae-eul id card. Court Lady Noh wants him to marry or find a girl already that's why she's setting up a talisman's card in his room. True enough he found a girl, on the other world. Thank God that Lee Gon is smart enough that he figured it out that he's in the other world but poor him because no one is believing him there.

This show is complex from start to end. I really like the idea of parallel universe and what ifs. They set the parallel world thinking what if their country is never conquered at all. But I must admit that this drama is not for everyone. The pacing is slow and some concepts are hard to comprehend. Nevertheless, I still love it. Tho, I didn't like the product placement. They are not subtle on showing it on the camera. Furtheremore, some cgi/green screen is not made well but it is  kinda understandable. For me, they build up the story quite right. The plot twist is properly showed on the right time plus I really like how they hang the ending in every episode. Then, they will show it on different shots on the next episode. I also love how they differentiate the two person with safe faces. They emphasize that even though you have the same face, you will never be the same person. They have their own personalities and not just a copy of their other self. They also showed the differences in lives of the characters between the two worlds. Like the other one is having a good family and the other one is none at all. Or like Lee Gon is rich and king and close to his father but his other self is not. Lee Ji Hun is close to his uncle and poor. But still, they will both have the similarities aside from their faces as they both ended up in the military. Like Jeong Tae-eul and Luna both ended up becoming a cop.

One of the highlight of this drama is Woo Do Hwan. He perfectly portrayed Jo Yeong and Jo Eunseup. Like he can differentiate both. Yeong is stoic but he you can see that he really cares then there's the comedic Eun Seup. I admit he have a chemistry with himself. Jo Yeong and Jo Eun seup is the example of the parallel characters that can be friends (somehow they even consider theirselves as brothers) and having no intention to kill one another. Woo Do Hwan nailed his acting in this drama.

Jo Yeong as Jo Eun Seup:

-There's an episode when Lee Gon wants to eat but instead they encountered a group of gangsters. Jo Yeong came to the rescue but Jo Eun Seup's seniors saw him. He immediately copied Eun Seup's accent but not to the extend of being Eun Seup. Like you can really tell that it is still Jo Yeong.  Plus, his chemistry with the twins. He grew fond of them.

Jo Eun Seup as Jo Yeong:

-Woo Do Hwan nailed Jo Yeong serious self (like he's fine af with that hair and suit). But when he was Jo Eun Seup acting as Jo Yeong, everything he did was comedic. Like when he tried to pull out his gun or when his saying "Yes, your majesty" acting serious but not to the point of being Yeong. Like he's being Eun Seup in Yeong's clothes.

Both of them become Lee Gon's unbreakble sword. Both loyal and both willing to sacrifice their lives.

VISUALS:

One of my fave scene is when he announced that Tae-eul will be the queen and they need to protect her!

The ending for me is perfect. The second lead man ended up (in terms of pairing) with the female lead's other self. I think they kinda hint it when Luna kissed Shin-Jae. Plus Luna is adopted by Goo Seryeong's mom and she did have her own name this time(Koo Seo-gyeong). Seryeong's in jail for all the bad deeds she did. Lee Ji Hun is alive and became part of the navy. The real Shin Jae grew up well and became a ceo(?) while Eun Seup marries Nari. Jeong Tae-Eul cannot be the queen because Luna is still existing in Kingdom of Corea. But I think she will still marry Gon and have that weekend trips with him. Gon will not worry about a successor because his cousin (the good one) will be the next in line. Also, eventhough only three of them knows what happened (Yeong, Gon and Tae-eul) it was still ok. It was actually a fine ending for me. I really enjoyed it but again, its not that type of drama that everyone will like. It really depends on the viewer and its fine if you didn't like it. And this show is not as bad as the others says. Because in 2020, I read a lot of bad reviews about this drama so I have zero hope when I started this out. But it turns out fine. Not the best but not THAT bad.

Some photos that I found:

[starfire-s]

here’s a list of the best, mediocre and worst kdramas i watched in 2020

no one asked for this but it’s happening because i have thoughts (also all opinions are my own if you disagree then get well soon i guess... no i’m kidding make your own posts about it don’t hate me please) ahsjsj anyways click to read a lengthy post and if you actually read the whole thing then thank you i hope you enjoy this wild ride! 

THE BEST KDRAMAS -

mystic pop up bar - this show had everything i ask from a kdrama literally i can name it all found family (to real family), well thought out characters, a mystery plot, special effects, soft romances that were well written, a happy ending! no show in 2020 even comes close to how good this one was! the writers literally guided you throughout the whole thing so you could come up with theories and didn’t do a ‘aha! gotcha’ thing where they want to prove the audience wrong but they wanted us to be right and satisfied! the worst part about the drama is that it’s still so underrated and people just brush it off as some random fantasy show but it’s so much more than that! 1000/10

flower of evil - who doesn’t want to see lee joon gi being the son of a serial killer, living with the name of a man who is in a coma, and hiding his real identity from his wife who is a detective? this show constantly had me at the edge of my seat on a weekly basis so the emotions i went through while watching this are unparalleled! the writers also did such a good job on writing a coherent story that made sense and tied up all the plot points in the end. just a really satisfying show to watch! 10/10

where your eyes linger - i literally bought a $8 viki pass to watch this show so it should tell you everything you need to know about how i feel ahsjsj the episodes were 10 minutes long but we got a good story with well written characters who got character development in a total of 80 minutes it’s insane! honestly it’s still hard to believe this show had rookie actors because they were just so emotive that you could feel all the happiness, sadness, yearning and pining! probably one of my fave kdramas this year because of the acting that i always constantly rewatch! would recommend 10/10

crash landing on you - okay so this drama was actually released on my birthday last year and it was a time in my life when i was going through a lot so maybe it’s the comfort this show provided me through that time this is why i have such a soft spot for it? like the romance was good, it was funny, there was found family, the nk soldiers were all softies, there were strong female leads, soft male leads!!! ahh!! no other show on this list made me think about the unification of south korea and north korea irl because i wanted se ri and jeong hyeok to be together 4ever! but the only issue i had with this show was the ending they gave seung jun if they didn’t do that i’d give this show a 10/10 but just for that they get a 9/10

psycho but it’s okay - this was one of those shows where you’re literally like ‘wow everyone here needs therapy’ but this show was amazing i loved the story telling and how each episode related to children’s book/fairytales! the writers also did a good job with how carefully they talked about mental health in depth without villainising their characters but actually tried to make the audience understand why they were this way which included all the side characters too who had a well thought out story in each episode! also the dynamic between moon young, kang tae and sang tae was everything to me the actors all did an amazing job portraying their characters, it truly was a healing drama. the only thing i didn’t like about this show was the whole plastic surgery plot with the mother like that was very far fetched but it provided drama so i’ll let it slide because the rest was amazing. this show is a solid 8.5/10

18 again - another underrated gem! who would’ve thought a remake of that zac efron movie could be this good!! lee do hyun stole this show for sure the way he portrayed his character and gave heart eyes to his kids (when he’s only 25 irl was the best thing i saw this year ahsjs) i loved the family dynamics in this show, i loved how it talked about what it’s like to be young parents and how society still think it’s taboo to be divorced! it’s a show that makes you laugh and cry at the same time and that’s why everyone should watch it! however, the biggest clown thing this show did to me though was that i got sls for the first time while watching a kdrama... hwang in yeop if u’re reading this i love u and u deserved better 🤡 that aside this show was a 8/10

itaewon class - i actually didn’t watch this drama as it was airing because i thought i wouldn’t enjoy the plot but when i watched it i binged the whole thing in 2 days and my biggest regret is i didn’t watch it sooner! everyone knows i have a soft spot for park seo joon since he’s my favourite actor i’ve literally watched all his dramas like he could star in the trashiest drama out there and i’d still watch it and be like wow (looking at she was pretty 👀) this show aside from the acting had one of the best revenge plots in a kdrama! just watching a character realistically hustle his way to reach the top while fighting the corrupt man whose son killed his father was so so satisfying to watch! however, the love triangle in this show was questionable idk what they were trying to do with that but it personally annoyed me! but still i’ll give this show a 7.5/10 because i enjoyed it a lot!

do you like brahms? - kim min jae and park eun bin.. that’s all you need to know about why this is a good kdrama! i’m usually not a big fan of melodramas and everyone knows i prefer rom coms but this show was just so perfectly melo that i loved all the angst and pain we got!! also just watching two introverted people awkwardly fall in love was amazing! the characters story arcs were also handled pretty well with song ah finally learning to speak up for herself and joon young learning to express how he truly feels! but... the love square? was probably the most annoying thing the rest in my opinion was nicely done! i know people had mixed feelings about the ending but i loved that after all the pain joon young and song ah went through they got a happy ending together! 7/10

find me in your memory - okay this show started off very slow and it was confusing at the start but as it progressed everything in the plot started to fall into place! i mean this show really took opposites attract to a new level where the male lead could remember every single detail from his life but the female lead had to forget some of her traumatic memories to help her cope with her life! they were also tied together through a mutual character who was a big part of their lives in a different way! just an interesting melodrama with interesting characters i liked it! and moon ga young... i love you queen!!! 7/10

THE MEDIOCRE KDRAMAS -

more than friends - was the storytelling in this show groundbreaking? no. was the acting decent? yes. also probably the main reason i stuck with this show until the end! i think we can all agree lee soo had the best character development on this show he started off as a bad boy who wore one ear stud to actually becoming a well liked character... who else did it like him? no one. also the chemistry between the mains was 🔥 but the second male lead was so annoying is there a opposite word for second lead syndrome because i had that for sure! i think the best part about this show was the people i watched it with on here... shoutout to the five of us ahsjsj also this show introduced me to a talented actor/singer like ong seong wu (y’all know my kpop knowledge is nonexistent so no i didn’t know he was in a band called wanna one) all in all a predictable show but i had fun watching it so 6.5/10

tale of the nine tailed - i didn’t actually watch this show i watched it through gifs and instagram posts ahsjsjs so am i qualified to talk about my opinion definitely no... will I talk about it anyways yes lmao. lee rang deserved better that’s all goodbye and take care. 5.5/10

start up - probably one of the most awaited opinions. y’all thought this would be in the worst kdramas section but i decided to give this show some rights. the show started off strong, lost it’s way after episode 6 and then the last episode gave me what i wanted so i have mixed feelings. the writing was not the best i think we can all agree, love triangle as a plot device? wow so groundbreaking 🤡 the characters on the other hand... i loved every single one of them i mean ship wars? i don’t know her. the show had a lot of potential that was wasted but we also got some cute moments between the characters so there was really no winning or losing with this show? but in all honesty you can’t put a talented cast together like this and then just decide to give the audience a mediocre plot but the writers did exactly that! i think i can redirect y’all to my ‘crimes this show committed’ post for a in-depth analysis. lastly nam do san was a GOOD and REFRESHING male lead and ji pyeong was also a GOOD and FUN second male lead!!! this show gave me the ugliest ship war ever that i was transported back to my high school tvd days so thank you for that!! but the cast was loveable and all had a lot of chemistry together so here’s a 5/10 maybe that's too generous but... i think the reason why i didn't enjoy watching this show as much was definitely because of the tag on here lmao

THE WORST KDRAMAS -

the king eternal monarch - i miss clowning this show so much. the amount of braincells i lost while trying to understand this plot... i should be compensated by the writers. however, woo do hwan was a treat to look at on a weekly basis... however the writers kept decreasing his screen time even though he had a dual role... make it make sense? and i cannot comment on the plot of this show because i still don’t understand anything? also in my opinion tae eul and lee gon were the most bland couple of 2020, there was no chemistry between them and there was just a random kiss in episode 5 and they randomly said i love you... where was the development? also lee gon was soooo boring and such a one dimensional male lead! literally all the side characters were so much more interesting and the cast was good... but this plot. 2/10

do do sol sol la la sol - i wanna fight the writer who decided that the plot twist on the show would be that jun is a minor? i had no expectations from this show but it looked cute and nonsensical but that plot twist made me run the other way so fast that i never looked back! just because jun is a boy they really thought this would be excused like lmao we all have critical thinking skills???? the clown behaviour. a solid 1/10

record of youth - i hate this show so much. imagine not utilising park so dam who just starred in the biggest oscar winning movie to her full potential. imagine just making her a love interest to park bo gum’s character in the year 2020. i watched it up until episode 6 and i kept waiting for her character to get development... but it never happened so i dropped this show. also this show featured the MOST useless love triangle i have ever seen in my life like what was the point? also park bo gum’s characters family was straight up annoying (minus the grandpa) but they got so much screen time like that should’ve been given to park so dam... also villainising a gay side character for no reason at all in the year 2020? this show was a waste of my time i want the 6 hours i spent watching this back. -100/10 

backstreet rookie - i watched one episode of this and literally wanted to rip my eyeballs out of my head. idk what ji chang wook was thinking when he signed this drama i think he lost his ability to read because that's the only reasonable explanation for why he chose to star in such a dumpster fire show! this show had a racist character... had a high schooler kiss an adult... sexist jokes... just the worst things you can think of in a drama... this show had it. i still can’t believe so many people watched this show to the point where it had better ratings than pbio... really made me question everyone’s taste? but sorry can’t relate my taste is excellent so here’s the rating this show actually deserves -1000/10

if you made it this far... thank you for reading. let’s continue to love some kdramas together and get clowned by others in 2021! looking forward to it 😅

[fauxkaren]

Crash Landing On You - 9.5/10

For my 2nd ever Kdrama Experience, I decided to go for a totally different genre- a romantic comedy/drama! When I tell you what the premise is, y'all are going to laugh, but just hear me out, ok?

Ahem. The basic premise of the show is that a South Korean woman named Se-ri, who comes from a wealthy family that runs a massive conglomerate and who now owns her own successful store and beauty/lifestyle brand, goes paragliding and a freak storm blows her into North Korea. (Look, just go with the shaky premise because the story is worth it!) Se-ri is found by a captain in the North Korean military named Jeong-hyeok and the tl;dr of it is that Jeong-hyeok and the four men under his command who were out on patrol with him decide to hide Se-ri and get her back to South Korea in order to cover their own asses. And then of course, while Se-ri is staying in Jeong-hyeok's house, looking for a way to get out of North Korea, feelings start to develop. Now that you've accepted the slightly silly premise of the show, let's talk about why this show is actually so good.

The central romance of the show is perfection. The leads have fantastic chemistry, but what really makes it work are the characters at the heart of it. Both Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok are damaged people and their relationship helps them to heal. Se-ri is an incredibly lonely woman at the start of the show. From the outside her life looks great, super rich with a successful business, but she's never felt love from her family and doesn't have any close friendships. She's lacking any real connection to other people. Jeong-hyeok's tragic backstory is that he was studying to be a concert pianist in Switzerland (his father is high up in the North Korean government so he was able to study abroad) when his brother was killed while serving in the military (under ~suspicious~ circumstances). He returned to North Korea to take his brother's place in the military, giving up his piano dreams and has since become a very isolated and closed off person. But as Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok get to know each other, Se-ri's cheerful demeanor charms Jeong-hyeok, breaking down his walls, and the way that Jeong-hyeok looks out for Se-ri teaches how her how to accept care from others and how to love herself too. But of course, they're kinda doomed because you know... the whole North and South Korea thing.

One of the most interesting parts of this show is the portrayal of North Korea. I'm not a North Korea Expert, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of this show, but let's just pretend it's accurate. The show gives us insight into life outside of Pyongyang which I feel is often overlooked in discussions about North Korea. But Crash Landing portrays a version of realities of life for North Koreans outside the capital- frequent blackouts, a black market for goods from South Korea, the various ways that the North Korean villagers view South Korea and so on. A good chunk of the show takes place in a small village near the border which brings me to one of the main highlights of this show- the locals! The residents of the village and the men under Jeong-hyeok's command that help hide Se-ri are a DELIGHT. The way that the locals and Se-ri all grow to genuinely care about each other is so sweet.

The secondary romance between Dan (who is Jeong-hyeok's arranged marriage fiancée) and Seung-jun (a South Korean who is hiding out in North Korea to avoid the consequences of conning Se-ri's brother out a ton of money) is also quite sweet. And it's primarily through their storylines that we get to look at life in Pyongyang for the wealthy citizens of North Korea. Being part of the upper echelon of North Korean society affords Dan and her family many amenities that regular North Koreans don't have, but it's still at least 20 years behind where South Korea is.

When describing this drama, I feel like Stefon from SNL's Weekend Update. This show has everything: arranged marriages, corruption in an oppressive regime, SUPER attractive people giving each other longing glances, star-crossed lovers, paragliding, ruthless family members, life in a surveillance state, hot men doing hand-to-hand combat,... what's not to love?

For real though, Crash Landing On You is a super enjoyable watch. I'm only docking half a point because I felt the ending was not quite satisfying and I'm salty about it. But in spite of that, I would whole heartedly recommend watching this show.

[theanonymousb]

My 20 Best Korean Drama

1.    Hi Bye Mama

Genre: Fantasy, Drama

Plot:

Cha Yu-Ri (Kim Tae Hee) has been a ghost since she died 5 years ago. She left behind her husband Jo Kang-Hwa and their child. To become a human again, Cha Yu-Ri carries out a reincarnation project for 49 days.

Meanwhile, Jo Kang-Hwa (Lee Kyu-Hyung) works as a chest surgeon. He was loving, but, after his wife died, his personality changed. After 5 years, his wife Cha Yu-Ri reappears in front of him.

2.    It’s Okay to Not be Okay

Genre: Romance, Drama

Plot:

A story about a man employed in a psychiatric ward and a woman, with an antisocial personality disorder, who is a popular writer of children’s books.

Moon Kang-Tae (Kim Soo-Hyun) works in a psychiatric ward. His job is to write down the patients’ conditions and deal with unexpected situations, like if patients fight or they run away. He only earns about 1.8 million won ($1,600 USD) a month. The woman (Seo Yea-Ji) is a popular writer of children’s literature, but she is extremely selfish, arrogant and rude.

3.    Angel’s last Mission

Genre: Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

Kim Dan (Kim Myung-Soo) is an angel. He is also a troublemaker and also optimist. Lee Yeon-Seo (Shin Hye-Sun) is a ballerina who does not believe in lve.

Dan then receives a mission. If he succeeds, he can return to Heaven. His mission is to find true love for Yeon-Seo, but soon falls in love with her.

4.    Prison Playbook

Genre: Black Comedy

Plot:

Je-Hyeok (Park Hae-Soo) is the best relief pitcher in Korea. He will to the U.S and sign a contract with a major league. One night, he hears his sister screaming and sees a man running out of her apartment. Je-hyeok and the man get into a physical struggle with Je-Hyeok striking the man with a rock. Later, Je-Hyeok receives a 1 year prison sentence for using excessive force. Devastated, Je-Hyeok must adapt to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Joon-Ho (Jung Kyoung-Ho) is a friend of Je-Hyeok and works in the prisonas an officer. He waits for Je-Hyeok’s arrival.

5.    Chicago Typewriter

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Friendship

Plot:

This drama follows the lives of two men and a woman through two eras; one during the 1930s Japanese occupation of Korea and the other in the 21st century. Han Se-Joo (Yoo Ah-In) who was a writer in his past life and a bestselling author in the present. But Se-Joo is depressed with writer’s block so he can’t write his next book.

Yu Jin-Oh (Go Kyung-Pyo) owned a bar in his previous life. In 2017 he is a talented ghostwriter who can bail Se-Joo out of his predicament, but the mysterious man has a condition for his services. Se-Joo may not be able to meet it.

Jun Seol (Im Soo Jung) was a sniper. Now she has extremely variety expertise. She is a former Olympian hopeful, a veterinarian and a book lover who runs her own delivery service. She oscillates between extreme fandom and an anti-fan of Se Joo.

The intricately woven story of these three characters unfolds to reveal strange mirroring connections between the time periods as well as possibilities for past lives to be redeemed or improves in the modern world.

6.    Uncontrollably Fond

Genre: Romance, Melodrama

Plot:

Sin Joon-Young (Kim Woo-Bin) and No Eul (Bae Suzy) were in love in ther younger days. But uncontrollable circumstances separated them and they went their separate ways. Joon-Young is now a superstar actor and singer, while No Eul became a producer-director of documentaries. When their path cross again years later. Joon-Young discovers that No Eul is now very different person than he remembered – materialisticand willing to do anything to get ahead.

7.    Penthouse: War In Life

Genre: Suspense, Life, Drama, Family, Mature

Plot:

The residents of Hera Palace, a luxury penthouse apartment with 100 floors, have many secrets and hidden ambitions. Sim Su-Ryeon (Lee Ji-Ah), who was born into wealth, is the queen of the penthouse apartment. Cheon Seo-Jin (Kim So-Yeon), the prima donna of the residence, does all she can to give everything to her daughter. Oh Yoon-Hee (Eugene) comes from a poor family background, but she strives to enter high society by becoming the queen of the penthouse, the pinnacle success in her eyes. A battle for wealth, power, and prestige at Seoul’s most coveted penthouse begins.

8.    Crash Landing On You

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Military, Political

Plot:

Yoon Se-Ri (Son Ye-Ji) is an heiress to a conglomerate in South Korea. One day, while paragliding, an accident caused by strong winds leads Yoon Se-Ri to make an emergency landing in North Korea.  There, she meets Ri Jeong-Hyeok (Hyun-Bin), who is a North Korean army officer. He tries to protect her and hide her. Soon, Ri Jeong-Hyeok falls in love with Yoon Se-RI.

9.    Itaewon Class

Genre: Romance, Business, Friendship, Life

Plot:

On the first day of attending his new high school, Park Sae-Ro-Yi (Park Seo-Joon) punches his classmate Jang Geun-Won, who was bullying another classmate. The bully is the son of CEO Jang Dae-Hee (Yoo Jae-Myung). The bully's father runs restaurant business Jagga where Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s own father works. CEO Jang Dae-Hee demands to Park Sae-Ro-Yi that he apologizes to his son, but Park Sae-Ro-Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Park Sae-Ro-Yi gets expelled from school and his father gets fired from his job. Soon, an accident takes place. Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s father dies in a motorcycle accident caused by his ex-classmate Jang Geun-Won. Burning with anger, Park Sae-Ro-Yi viciously beats Jang Geun-Won. He is soon arrested and receives prison time for the violent assault. Park Sae-Ro-Yi decides to destroy the Jagga company and take revenge upon CEO Jang Dae-Hee and his son Jang Geun-Won. Once Park Sae-Ro-Yi is released from prison, he opens a restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo Yi-Seo (Kim Da-Mi), who is popular on social media, joins Park Sae-Ro-Yi’s restaurant and works there as a manger. She has feelings for Park Sae-Ro-Yi.

10. Hotel De Luna

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Horror, Fantasy

Plot:

Jang Man-Wol (IU) is the CEO of Hotel del Luna. The hotel is situated in downtown in Seoul and has a very old appearance. She made a big error many years ago and, because of this, she has been stuck at Hotel del Luna. She is beautiful, but she is fickle, suspicious and greedy.

Koo Chan-Sung (Yeo Jin-Goo) worked as the youngest assistant manager ever at a multinational hotel corporation. He is a sincere perfectionist. He looks level-headed, but he actually has a soft disposition. Due to an unexpected case, he begins to work as a manager at Hotel del Luna. The hotel's clientele consists of ghosts.

11. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Plot:

Goo Ra-Ra (Go Ara) is a pianist. She has bright personality. Something happened that caused her to become bankrupt. She doesn't have anything now and she is frustrated with her situation.

Sunwoo Joon (Lee Jae-Wook) doesn't care what other people think about him, but he has a warm heart. He is free spirited and doesn't have a specific dream or goal for his life. He makes ends meet by working part-time jobs.

Goo Ra-Ra and Sunwoo Joon meet at the small private piano academy LaLa Land in a country village.

12. 18 Again

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Youth, Drama, Fantasy

Plot:

Tells the story of a husband named Hong Dae Young (Lee Do-Hyun) who is on the verge of divorce but finds himself back in his body when he was at the prime of his life 18 years ago. He ends up changing his name to Go Woo Young when he becomes 18- years-old again. Meanwhile, his wife Jung Da Jung(Kim Ha-Neul) joins the workforce as an anchorwoman later on in life after raising their 18-year-old twins.

13. Goblin: The Lonely and Great God

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy

Plot:

In ancient times, Kim Shin (Gong Yoo) is an unbeatable general in wars, but the young King (Kim Min-Jae) is jealous of Kim Shin and kills him. Kim Shin becomes Dokkaebi (Goblin), possessing an immortal life. At first he thinks that he is blessed, but he realizes that he is cursed.

Closer to the present day, Kim Shin has waited 900 years for a human bride to end his immortal life. One night, he saves a dying pregnant woman (Park Hee-Von) who is destined to die. Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper (Lee Dong-Wook) is unable to find the dead pregnant woman. The woman gives birth to a baby girl named Ji Eun-Tak (later played by Kim Go-Eun). 9 years later, Ji Eun-Tak lives with her mother and is able to see ghosts. One night, her mother suddenly dies. On that night, she meets the Grim Reaper.

In the present day, Ji Eun-Tak is a high school student. She still sees ghosts and hears their whisper of “Dokkaebi’s bride.” She now lives with her aunt’s family, but she is mistreated by them. On her birthday, Ji Eun-Tak sits by the sea with a lighted birthday cake. At that time, Kim Shin suddenly appears in front of her. Kim Shin does not know why, but he can hear her voice and appears in front of her against his will. Coincidentally, Kim Shin lives with the Grim Reaper at the same house.

Now, Kim Shin appears in front of her against his will, whenever she turns off the lights. One day, Ji Eun-Tak tells him that he is Dokkaebi and she is his bride.

14. It’s Okay That’s Love

Genre: Friendship, Psychological, Comedy, Romance, Drama

Plot:

Jang Jae-Yeol (Jo In-Sung) is a mystery writer and radio DJ. He suffers from a obsession. Ji Hae-Soo (Gong Hyo-Jin) is going through her first year fellowship in psychiatry at a University Hospital. She chose psychiatry because she doesn't want to perform surgeries. After she meets Jang Jae-Yeol, her life goes through big changes.

15. Let’s Fight Ghost

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Horror

Plot:

Hyun-Ji (Kim So-Hyun) studied for most her life before she died at the age of 19. She is now a ghost and has wandered around the world for several years. Hyun-Ji then meets exorcist Park Bong-Pal (TaecYeon). Hyun-Ji and Bong-Pal listens to various stories from ghosts and sends them to the otherworld.

16. Hospital Playlist

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Romance, Life, Medical

Plot:

A drama depicting the stories of people going through their days that are seemingly ordinary but actually special, at the hospital, a place known as the microcosm of life - where someone is being born and someone's life meets their ending. The five doctors are longtime friends of 20 years who started their undergrad in 1999 in the same medical school, and now they are colleagues in the same hospital. The drama will also deal with a story of a band formed by the group of doctors.

17. Fated to Loved You

Genre: Business, Comedy, Romance,

Plot:

This drama is the story of an ordinary girl, Mi Yeong, (Jang Na-Ra)who has neither outstanding looks, a prestigious college degree, nor any other charming qualities, facing her whole life abruptly changing when love comes knocking at her door. While on vacation, she accidentally happens to spend one night with Lee Gun (Jang Hyuk) and even gets pregnant from that night. Because of this incident, her life will never be the same, and this fateful encounter brings love that transforms this not-so-special girl to an attractive, charming lady.

18. Go Back Couple

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, Fantasy

Plot:

Choi Ban-Do (Son Ho-Jun) and Ma Jin-Joo (Jang Na-Ra) are both 38-years-old and a married couple. Choi Ban-Do has been burdened with being the breadwinner and Ma Jin-Joo is a housewife with low self-esteem. Even though they loved each other when they married, they now hate each other. They both regret marrying at such a young age. The couple travel through time and find themselves as 20-year-old university students, when they met for the first time.

19. To The Beautiful You

Genre: School, Teen, Romantic, Comedy, Sports

Plot:

Kang Tae-Joon (Minho) is a gold medalist in the high jump, but he has been mired in a slump due to an injury. In order to help her idol, a girl named Koo Jae-Hee (Sulli) disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the same all male high school.When Tae-Joon (Minho) is competiting at the World Junior Competition, Jae-Hee (Sulli) watches him on TV in America and becomes very touched.

Despite her friends telling her otherwise, Jae-Hee cuts her long hair by herself. She then flies to South Korea, with a plan to stay with Tae-Joon who is now injured. Jae-Hee disguises herself as a boy and enrolls at the all boys Genie Physical Education High School. On her first day at school, Jae-Hee goes up the stairs with her suitcase, but her suitcase bursts open and all her clothes fall out. A boy comes by and helps her pick up her stuff. Jae-Hee realizes that the boy helping her is none other than her idol Tae-Joon. In her excitement, Jae-Hee sits on her suitcase, which proceeds to slide down the stairs.

20. When the Camellia Blooms

Genre: Triller, Comedy, Romance, Family

Plot:

Dong-Baek (Kong Hyo-Jin) is a single mother living in the small town of Ongsan. She runs the bar-restaurant Camellia, while also taking care of her son Pil-Gu (Kim Kang-Hoon). The people of Ongsan frequently gossip about Dong-Baek. She grew up as an orphan, is a single mother and runs a bar where many of the men in Ongsan frequent. Regardless of what the locals may whisper about Dong-Baek, local police officer Hwang Yong-Sik (Kang Ha-Neul) is deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, Dong-Baek's ex-boyfriend Kang Jong-Ryeol (Kim Ji-Suk) suddenly reappears in her life. He is a famous baseball player, that hid their relationship when they dated. While Dong-Baek tries to find happiness, something truly sinister lurks in the background. A serial killer roams Ongsan and Dong-Baek may be a target.

[what-breaks-my-heart]

Here are some brief thoughts on kdrama that started airing in 2020 that I've watched. I said brief, but those who have been following me would appreciate that this is indeed, brief.

The list is in alphabetical order.

1. 365: Repeat the Year (MBC)

Disclosure: I am a HUGE Lee Joon Hyuk stan. He is second only to Hyun Bin on my list. The fact that this drama is on the top of this list is a happy coincidence 🥰🥰

I was soooooooo excited when I knew Lee Joon Hyuk was to star in a new drama. MBC made the announcement of the drama late last year, and I was literally walking to the office when I saw the announcement on ig.

The premise of the drama was pretty straightforward. 10 people were given the chance to travel back in time exactly one year prior. Mysterious things kept happening to the people who took the trip, so our Detective Ji “Fluffy-Hair” Hyung Joo and webtoon writer Shin “Self-Hater” Ga Hyun joined hands to figure out what exactly happened.

Once they finally figured out what caused the mysterious cases, they faced a great dilemma on what to do, with our Fluffy Hair detective running as a fugitive.

The ending was really sad, and I really wished it ended differently, but the main character of the story was our Fluffy Hair detective, and him having to live on and reset the whole thing from the new past was a nice touch to the ending.

This drama was full of surprises, twist and turn, and it is certainly a drama I would consider rewatching in the future.

2. Do You Like Brahms? (SBS)

Many people criticised the second half of this drama. Apparently the year 2020 is the year when kdramaland keeps being a disappointment, and many people are quick to include this drama in the list of disappointing drama, despite having a good beginning.

I beg to differ though. To me this drama feels more of a healing drama, wherein the characters are forced to deal with their issues. And anyone who has had to go through any form of therapy knows how hard healing process is.

TL;DR: The main leads are both people who have been mentally abused by the people around them, except for Cha Young In, because she was the only reason I did not throw my remote control at my 50-inch TV.

Park Joon Young is your classic example of a ‘gifted kid’ struggle. He was seen as a young, talented pianist who had a bright future ahead of him. But people started to treat him more like a trophy than a human being, so he decided to take a sabbatical, much to the criticism of people in the music industry. Park Joon Young realised that his passion in playing the piano has faded away, no thanks to his abusive piano professor who belittled him again and again, and practically brainwashed him into being a people pleaser. You could see how Park Joon Young was not himself in the beginning of the drama once you finish the drama.

Chae Song Ah took interest in violin at a later age (much later than professional musicians) and decided to pursue her dream by enrolling into a music programme. Her classmates were all younger than her, and it didn’t help that they all learnt music since much younger. I love how Song Ah did not give up on her dream easily and gave it her all, before she finally decided to let go of her dream to become a musician. The metaphor of her love for violin and Joon Young hurting her again and again and she just endured it though.. I cried like a mess well I am a mess but that’s a separate issue

Special shout out to Cha Young In who was there for both of them.

3. Flower of Evil (tvN)

If thriller is your thing, consider this drama. If you are one of those people who like to see your characters being tortured (physically and mentally), this drama is a MUST WATCH. And if you enjoy watching Lee Joon Ki playing a character who is put at a great distress because he is trying to run from his past, go watch this drama.

More importantly, if you enjoy a drama where your ML is sexy, attends to house chores and takes care of his bright young daughter while his wife goes crazy for solving violent crimes, a devoted husband who is attentive and a tender person but also a freak in the sheets, you are wasting every single of your breath not watching this drama.

I mean look at this man teasing his wife about his stamina.

Flower of Evil did not feel draggy at all. Everything that happened within the first 6 episodes could have been an entire drama if this was written by someone else. Seriously, this drama kept me at the edge of my couch!

The dynamic of HS and JW screams POWER COUPLE but at the same time it broke my heart how they were pushed into corners too many times by the people around them I do hope they had some sexy times while they were in the corners though

The focus on their wedding rings throughout the drama symbolised their unbreakable bond. The wedding rings were literally the very last thing that kept them together when JW stumbled upon evidences that pointed against HS.

JW, whose compass was only trusting what she saw, and not what she heard, tried to break the stigma of women being at a disadvantage in the police force. Heck, she was better than her entire team when it came to solving cases, her being the only woman in the team. Who said women cannot make good cops?

The plot twist though.. And the climax.. To this day, I still listen to this soundtrack from the drama and cry just thinking of the climax.

4. Into the Ring (also known as Memorials) (KBS2)

I didn’t even plan on watching this drama. I was channel surfing and saw Park Sung Hoon looking all depressed in the first episode and ran into Koo Se Ra. Girl was UNHINGED and determined to fight for her way.

Her motivation was initially on getting a stable pay check from being a district representative (it was only 60 million won which is like USD55k so it’s not that much) but she eventually became the district representative who fought for the benefit of the people and did not care for the political warfare that took place.

Came along Seo Gong Myung, a government officer in the local government office who was demoted from planning unit of the accounting department or something to be a secretariat to the district assembly. Seo Gong Myung sticks to his principle no matter what, which surprise surprise, is HATED by everyone in the district government.

Turns out our main leads were friends when they were kids so Se Ra kept teasing him and dragging him into her scheme of fighting for the people, which Gong Myung agreed to, not so much because he was a community-loving person, but because he was afraid Se Ra would get into trouble since she was as straight as a ruler.

Long story short, our leads fell for each other, and their relationship was HILAIROUS to watch. I think I speak for everyone who watched the drama that we had no reason to believe Se Ra did not peg Gong Myung for fun 😝😝

They were so cute together awwww

5. Kairos (MBC)

This is another drama that I stumbled into. Only this time, I saw Nam Gyu Ri and I remember seeing her ig post on a new drama so I decided to give it a go. She wrecked my heart in 49 Days so I decided to check this out for funsies. Hooo boy was I in for a major surprise.

The first two episodes got me hooketh!! I still cannot believe how the drama managed to keep me on my edge especially during the last 5 minutes of every episode. The pacing is even faster than Flower of Evil, and since this drama went back and forth between past and future, it keeps me guessing whether their efforts would bear fruit.

Will Kim “Sexy Brain” Seo Jin  and Han “I-Know-No-Fear” Ae Ri succeed in fighting the evil, who at this point in time remains unknown? I know Chairman Yoo Seo Il is currently being hinted as the culprit behind everything but I know better that he is just a puppet who sold his soul to the real devil who most likely is in the higher ranks in politics. I mean he even hinted at his remorse for what happened with Taejung Town 19 years prior. My suspicion is he is trying to cover up whatever happened because otherwise his own family would be at risk, so his only option is to redeem himself by doing something about the Taejung Town. I could be wrong, but regardless of who turns out to be the real villain in the story, I can say I am so satisfied by how the story has progressed so far.

The time paradox still hurts my brain, but I am choosing that this drama does not assume that time is linear.

There is still not enough people watching this drama and I’m begging you all to go and catch up before it ends in two weeks time.

6. More than Friends (JTBC)

A little trivia: I reblog most of the posts from @kdramastuff even if I am not watching the show at the point of reblogging the posts. I had been following her posts on this drama for 3 weeks, and I finally decided to marathon all 6 episodes and joined the watching party.

More than Friends was another drama that many people called a disappointment but I had a different opinion on it. Yes, I used to be the nerd who had different opinions on many things in high school sue me

The drama is premised on Kyung Woo Yeon who is said to have a crush on her high school friend, Lee Soo for 10 years. Lee Soo is nowhere near to be the perfect boyfriend material. He is selfish, does not care about other people’s feelings, and was always a lone ranger.

BUUUUUUT, Lee Soo seemed to show signs of care and affection (even though it was not at all for a normal person’s standard) for Woo Yeon. Surprisingly, he seemed to only do it for Woo Yeon and gave attention to Woo Yeon alone, even though he could practically pick and choose anyone he liked from the swarm of girls who were chasing him.

One day, he told Woo Yeon that he had to leave to the US to study, which made our girl sad. She decided to confess at the airport, but he outright turned her down, saying he only wanted to be friends with her. Over the time, they kept running into each other by coincidence (note: her name Woo Yeon is a wordplay on coincidence in Korean). Later, it was revealed that he wanted her to always be by his side, but he has built a wall as tall as the Great Wall of China before the idea of love so he didn’t realise what his true feeling for Woo Yeon was all along.

Woo Yeon, who felt sick of the ten-year crush, decided to end the “curse” and kissed him by the beach, thinking of getting a closure on her crush.

Long story short, Lee Soo finally realised his feeling for her and decided to confess, but by that time, a young, handsome, rich CEO of a conglomerate has entered into the picture. Cue the game of cat and mouse between Lee Soo and Woo Yeon about resentment, regret and relationship.

This drama was promoted as a romcom, but it feels more like a slice-of-life drama with a mix of melo and romcom in there. Seriously, I cried buckets watching this drama, not something you’d expect from a romcom. The dialogues were well-written, with each episode revolving around a specific theme. This was such a good drama coming from a rookie writer.

This drama did not have that many viewers to begin with, and many of those few people dropped it along the way, including the one who was responsible in getting me hooked into this drama :p  By the end of it, there were so few people talking about this drama in the tag (shout out to @dohyunsoo @have-yet-to-decide @starfire-s @thbn-anything​ for keeping me company to the very end of this drama)

This drama broke my record of screenshots per episode and total screenshots for any show. Until now, I have yet to finish posting them. I should probably upload more screenshots later tonight.

This drama had some AMAZING shots in the first half, with beautiful sceneries mostly in Seoul. It’s like what they said, “a daily occurrence for you, a trip for me”.

7. Oh My Baby (tvN)

I did not even remember watching this drama!! It was only after scrolling through my gallery that I saw I had shared some posts on my ig story about the drama.

It was in the middle of a lockdown when this drama aired and many of my memories from back then feel so distant to me.

The plot was not THAT good, but this drama is something you may consider if you like torturing yourself about the struggle of wanting to have a baby.

8. Once Again (KBS2)

Arguably one of the weekend family drama KBS2 in a while that kept me waiting for new episodes in front of my TV. Some people are turned off by weekend family drama because they tend to have slow pacing which makes viewers feel like they are being dragged to one of those boring corporate events that you would rather miss and wish you could be literally anywhere else.

Because this drama had more pairing than the typical weekend family drama, the story did take some time before it was on full momentum. It did feel like the drama could have been better with even one less sibling to worry about, but it was a fun watch in the middle of lockdown.

Will I watch it again? I’d rather rewatch House of Bluebird (starring Lee Joon Hyuk and Lee Sang Yeob as friends to enemies to friends again) because that drama spoke to me in a way that was more relatable. No hate to Once Again though. I just prefer House of Bluebird better.

Note: Justice for Song Ga Hee and her lovely son, Kim Ji Hoon. He had to grow up so much because of what happened to his mother, that it broke Ga Hee’s heart. And mine of course

9. Secret Forest 2 (tvN)

I watched Secret Forest once it has finished and I fell in love with the drama! Imagine my excitement when they announced Secret Forest 2 with my three main characters reprising their roles. No hate to Yoon Se Ah, I love her, but her screen time in Secret Forest was not enough to make me excited about her return. But I was pleased with her role in Secret Forest 2 and I hope if there is a third season, her character gets the redemption arc that she yearns for.

Secret Forest 2 was not as intense as the brilliant original, but I understood that it had to do with the overall theme of the season, and the theme required the script to be as such. Some people may argue me on this, but I still think what they pulled off was brilliant.

Too bad there was a severe lack of Lee Joon Hyuk on my screen though.

10. Tale of the Nine-Tailed (tvN)

Well. This drama went far beyond my expectation. The OTP was to die for. No such thing as miscommunication trope. This drama did not waste time on unnecessary drama. The pacing was incredibly fast, even faster than Kairos. Although to be fair, Kairos had to play with two different timelines and required time to establish the setting.

I’m sad about what happened to Lee Rang, but he did what he did, and he would never be able to erase that much pain from his memory even if the deities decided to be lenient on him because of his roles in killing off Imoogi. A fresh start as a human seemed like a fair reset to his life, and I hope he lives well, surrounded by people who love him.

I was never a fan of Jo Bo Ah (no hate on her, I was just indifferent) but this drama opened my eyes to what an incredible actress she is. I wish her a successful career ahead.

[vajranam]

Milarepa Biography

Milarepa (mi la ras pa) is one of the most famous individuals in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, but very little of his life is known with any historical certainty. Even the dates of his birth and death have been notoriously difficult to calculate. Tsangnyon Heruka (gtsang smyon heruka, 1452-1507) – Milarepa's most famous biographer – records that the boy was born in a water-dragon year (1052) and passed away in a wood-hare year (1135), dates also found in biographical works from a century earlier. Numerous other sources, including the important mid-fifteenth-century Religious History of Lhorong (lho rong chos 'byung) push back the dates one twelve-year cycle to 1040-1123, a life span widely accepted by modern scholars. A number of prominent Tibetan historians, including Katok Tsewang Norbu (kaH thog tshe dbang nor bu, 1698-1755), Situ Paṇchen Chokyi Jungne (si tu paN chen chos kyi 'byung gnas, 1700-1774), and Drakar Chokyi Wangchuk (brag dkar chos kyi dbang phyug, 1775-1837), however, place Milarepa's birth in 1028. Still other sources place his birth as early as 1026 or 1024. He is usually said to have lived until his eighty-forth year, although sources again record variant life spans of 73, 82, or 88 years. In any case, it is clear that he lived during the eleventh and early-twelfth centuries, at the advent of the latter dissemination (phyi dar) of Buddhism in Tibet.

According to Tsangnyon Heruka's account, Milarepa's ancestors were nomads of the Khyungpo (khyung po) clan from the northern region of the “central horn,” (dbus ru) one of two administrative regions of Tibet's central province (dbus). One early ancestor was a Nyingma tantric practitioner named Jose (jo sras). Khyung po Jose became famous for his exorcism rites, a practice that earned him both respect and a good deal of wealth. While residing in a place called Chungpachi (gcung pa spyi) in the region of Lato Jang (la stod byang), he had an encounter with a particularly fierce spirit and at last caused the demon to cry out in horror “mila, mila (mi la),” an admission of submission and defeat. Jose subsequently adopted this exclamation as a new clan title and his descendants came to be known by the name Mila.

Khyungpo Jose eventually married and had a son. This son in turn had two sons, the elder of whom was known as Mila Doton Sengge (mi la mdo ston seng ge). The latter's son was named Mila Dorje Sengge (mi la rdo rje seng ge). Dorje Sengge, who was fond of gambling, lost his family's home and wealth in a fateful game of dice. The family was thus forced to seek out a new life elsewhere and eventually resettled in the small village of Kyangatsa (skya rnga rtsa) in Mangyul Gungtang (mang yul gung thang), close to the modern border of Nepal. The father Doton Sengge served as a local village priest, performing various rituals and religious activities, while the son undertook trading trips in Tibet and to Nepal. In this way they were able to regain a good deal of wealth. Dorje Sengge married a local woman and had a son they named Mila Sherab Gyeltsen (shes rab rgyal mtshan); the latter in turn married a woman named Nyangtsa Kargyen (myang rtsa dkar rgyan). This couple then gave birth to the boy who would become Milarepa.

Upon hearing the news of his child's birth, Mila Sherab Gyeltsen is said to have exclaimed, “I am delighted to hear the news that the child has been born a son,” and so the boy was named Topaga, literally “delightful to hear.” He later proved to have a pleasing voice and so lived up to this name. Several years later, his sister Peta Gonkyi was born and eventually Milarepa was betrothed to a local village girl named Dzese.

Courtesy of David Nalin. Used by permission.

When the boy turned seven, his father was stricken with a fatal illness and prepared a final testament that entrusted his wife, children, and wealth to the care of Milarepa's paternal uncle and aunt, providing that Milarepa regain his patrimony once he reached adulthood. The uncle and aunt, usually depicted as greedy and cold-hearted, responded by taking the estate for themselves, thus casting Milarepa's family into a life of abject poverty. In at least one version of the life story, by the fourteenth-century author Yungton Zhije Ripa (g.yung ston zhi byed ri pa), the relatives' actions are partially justified, noting that local marriage customs dictated that following Sherab Gyeltsen's death, the estate should have rightfully remained within the family of his brother, i.e. Milarepa's paternal uncle. In any case, the boy was sent to study reading and writing with a Nyingma master while his mother and sister were forced to labor as servants for their uncle and aunt.

Nyangtsa Kargyen then sent her son to train in black magic in order to seek revenge upon their relatives. Carrying out his mother's wishes, he trained in black magic with Nubchung Yonten Gyatso (gnubs chung yon tan rgya mtsho) and thereby murdered thirty-five people attending a wedding feast at his aunt and uncle's house. From Yungton Trogyal (g.yung ston khro rgyal) he then learned the art of casting hailstorms. Unleashing a powerful storm across his homeland, he destroyed the village's barley crops just as they were about to be reaped, washing away much of the surrounding countryside.

Milarepa eventually came to regret his terrible crimes and in order to expiate their karmic effects he set out to train with a Buddhist master. He first studied Dzogchen (rdzogs chen) with Rangton Lhaga (rang ston lha dga') in Nyangto Rinang (myang stod ri nang). His practice, however, proved ineffective, and Rangton instead directed Milarepa to seek out Marpa Chokyi Lodro (mar pa chos kyi blo gros, 1002/1012-1097), the great translator residing in Lhodrak (lho brag) in southern Tibet.

Milarepa eventually reached Lhodrak where he met a heavyset plowman standing in his field. In reality, this was Marpa who had had a vision that Milarepa would become his foremost disciple. He had thus devised a way to greet his future student in disguise. Marpa was famous for his fierce temper and did not immediately teach Milarepa. Instead, he subjected his new disciple to a stream of verbal and physical abuse, forcing Milarepa to endure a series of ordeals, including a trial of constructing a series of four immense stone towers. Marpa eventually revealed that Milarepa had been prophesied by his own guru, the Indian master Nāropa. He further explained that the trials were actually a means of purifying the sins he had committed earlier in his life. The tower still stands at the center of Sekhar Gutok Monastery.

Marpa first imparted the lay and bodhisattva vows, granting Milarepa the name Dorje Gyeltsen (rdo rje rgyal mtshan). Milarepa then received numerous tantric instructions that Marpa had received in India, especially those of tummo (gtum mo), or yogic heat, the aural instructions (snyan rgyud) of tantric practice, and instructions Mahāmudrā. Marpa conferred upon Milarepa the secret initiation name Zhepa Dorje (bzhad pa rdo rje) and commanded him to spend the rest of his life meditating in solitary mountain retreats.

Milarepa returned to his homeland for a brief period and then retired to a series of retreats nearby. Most famous among these is Drakar Taso (brag dkar rta so) where he remained for many years in arduous meditation. With nothing but wild nettles to eat, his body grew weak and his flesh turned pale green. He later traveled widely across the Himalayan borderlands of southern Tibet and northern Nepal, and dozens of locations associated with his life have become important pilgrimage sites and retreat centers. In his account of the life story, Tsangnyon Heruka drew largely upon earlier sources in order to document dozens such locations, but he reorganized them to create a new map of sacred sites—many of which were designated “fortresses” of meditation—along Tibet's southern border:  six well-known outer fortresses, six unknown inner fortresses, and six secret fortresses, together with numerous other caves. Stories of Milarepa's taming and converting demons in these locations, recorded in Tsangnyon Heruka's companion volume The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa (mi la ras pa'i mgur 'bum) echo accounts of the eight-century Indian master Padmasambhava. Many of Milarepa's most famous retreat locations were said to have been previously inhabited by Padmasambhava himself. Tsangnyon Heruka's reckoning of Milarepa's meditation sites therefore reveals a process of spiritual re-colonization, one that effectively claimed much of the Himalayan border for Milarepa's lineage. Three famous sacred sites of southern and western Tibet – Tsāri (tsA ri), Labchi (la phyi), and Kailāsa (ti se) – are said to have been established or prophesied by Milarepa, and all three later became important Kagyu retreat and pilgrimage centers, identified as Himālaya/Himavat, Godāvarī, and Cāritra/Devīkoṭa from the list of twenty-four pīṭhas of the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra, as well as the maṇḍalas of Cakrasaṃvara's body, speech, and mind. Drakar Taso became in important monastic institution and printing house under the direction of Tsangnyon Heruka's disciple Lhatsun Rinchen Namgyel (lha btsun rin chen rnam rgyal, 1473-1557).

Courtesy of Michael and Beata McCormack. Used by permission.

Milarepa spent the rest of his adult life practicing meditation in seclusion and teaching groups of disciples mainly through spontaneous songs of realization (mgur). One of the first of Milarepa's songs recorded inTsangnyon Heruka's takes place after returning to his homeland for the first time and poignantly marks his decision to take up a life of solitary meditation

[ladyherenya]

My favourite thing this year has been the Korean drama Crash Landing on You (2019-20).

It has something of a ridiculous title (I’ve ended up calling it Crash Landing or sometimes just Crash). But, to be fair, North and South was already taken.

“I can go to Africa and even Antarctica but not here. It’s a shame that you live here.” “It’s a shame that you live there.” -- episode three

To my great amusement, every month or so, Netflix has sent me an email that’s said: “Don’t forget to finish Crash Landing on You” or “Remember this? Watch it again: Crash Landing on You” or “Rewatch your favourite moments - Watch it again: Crash Landing on You…”

And I’m like: NETFLIX! Seriously, WHAT do you THINK I’M DOING?

I have now watched Crash Landing on You five times.

There are several reasons for this:

I successfully dragged other family members down this particular rabbit hole, and in a pandemic season, when things have been unpredictable (or cancelled), rewatching Crash Landing has been an appealing and comfortably-familiar distraction, as well as the source of many, many long, analytical fandom-y conversations, which has been fun.

I needed to watch it more than once to straighten out all the pieces of the story in my head. With 16 episodes, each over an hour long, it’s one of the longest stories I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen other TV series with more episodes, but nearly all have been much more episodic, rather than telling one continuous story.  

I kept noticing details that I’d previously missed because I’d been focused on the subtitles or that I hadn’t properly understood some cultural nuance. And some things are ambiguous in translation -- in a good way, a fodder-for-discussion way.

I have ALWAYS rewatched (or reread) my favourite stories. And Crash Landing fits right in with those. Someone in my family described it as: “Like Lord of the Rings on steroids!” However, I think it actually has far more in common -- visually and thematically, and also in terms of my willingness to discuss the characters as if they were real people -- with my favourite historical dramas.

In terms of story, Crash Landing is easy enough to summarise: A South Korean businesswoman is paragliding when a freak storm blows her across the border; she’s discovered by a North Korean captain, who hides her and helps her get home.

But I’m going to need more words to explain why I fell in love with it.

It is fascinating and, first time round, tense and unpredictable. It’s funny and very meta -- very aware of the tropes it’s playing with and of parallels and contrasts within the story. It’s visually and aesthetically pleasing, and the soundtrack grew on me.

There are a number of coincidences and a few ridiculous fight scenes, but the emotions are intensely real and so are the consequences. It has camaraderie and found-family and thoughtfully-complicated family relationships. There are characters I love, and characters who surprised me, and so much time given to character development!  It’s romantic. There’s a fake engagement (a favourite trope of mine) and while I’m not a fan of love triangles, I liked how this quadrangle-tangle is handled. And the obstacles to the romance are satisfyingly realistic; characters have sensible reasons for the choices they make.

I love how the story uses flashbacks, particularly the post-credit scenes.

The final episode isn’t perfect, but given that a perfectly happy ending would, realistically,  require the reunification of north and south, I thought it came very close.

Let me elaborate.

Cut for sheer verbosity, rather than spoilers. (I’m not allowing myself to list spoiler-ish examples or dive into analysing my favourite scenes, because then I wouldn’t just be here all night, I’d be here all week).

⬦ Fascinating, tense, unpredictable: I knew almost nothing about life in North Korea, so that was fascinating and made the story harder to predict, as I couldn’t anticipate what options the characters had or what obstacles might arise. And that isn’t the only reason I found it tense -- at different times, different characters are greatly at risk if discovered; there are occasions when characters are in danger of physical violence or are injured; and they have a couple of dilemmas to which there are just not easy solutions (See also: Obstacles for romance).

While I’m on the subject of the setting, although I cannot judge how accurate this portrayal of the north was, it’s portrayal of people as people was incredibly convincing. It’s a society where people have differences in personality and in circumstances. There are orphans begging in the market, people who can afford to stay in fancy hotels -- and a lot of people somewhere in between. In the military village, people have varying attitudes, tastes in clothes, privileges, standards of living, etc. Their lifestyle differs from that in Pyongyang, and also in other parts of the country. Amongst the military, some men are compassionate, some are corrupt and some are not obviously one or the other.

Moreover, it’s clear that corruption and villainy isn’t just in the north. In the south, as in the north, we see a range of humanity -- selfishness, good friends, complicated families, happy marriages, criminal behaviour, and so on.

I’ve read an article or two suggesting that the least realistic aspect is Ri Jeong Hyeok being such a sympathetic and honourable officer. I think it’s interesting that he clearly isn’t a typical captain -- he wanted a different career, he’s spent time studying overseas (in a democratic country), and, perhaps most importantly, his father’s position gives him protection from pressures many others face. He has the privilege of being able to afford to act with integrity, and of encouraging such behaviour in the men he leads.

⬦ Humour and meta: I’ve included these two together, because so much of the story’s self-awareness and intertextuality is humorous. I am very amused by so many things -- the village women’s interactions, Se-ri’s wit and banter, Jeong Hyeok’s facial expressions, the duckling's reactions, the way Ju Meok keeps comparing things to South Korean dramas:

Ju Meok: “I haven’t seen any drama characters that don’t fall in love in that situation. That’s how they all fall in love.”

(Because my knowledge of Korean drama is limited, there are a few cameos and references which I suspect would be amusing if one was in the know. The exception is the taxi driver singing, who was funny even without recognising the actor.)

I love the commentary that comes from all the moments when other characters witness the unfolding romance. Others’ reactions are often memorably hilarious -- some of my favouritest scenes fall into this category. (The customs officer! Jeong Hyeok’s dad!) They introduce humour and self-awareness into these moments, allowing the story to acknowledge “Yeah, we know these two are being ridiculous/sappy/emotional”. These moments reveal people’s attitudes towards displays of affection, particularly in the north, and their different attitudes towards Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s relationship.  

And as their relationship changes, Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s awareness of being watched and commented upon changes, too.

Which leads me to…

⬦ Contrasts and parallels: So many scenes which echo/parallel earlier scenes. Most obviously, this allows the story to compare and contrast the north and south, but it also shows changes in time, differences between characters, and differences in relationships too. Sometimes all at once!

 It means some plot developments weren’t totally unexpected -- it was Oh, of COURSE, we’re going to now see that character in this situation! or OBVIOUSLY we now have to see what this is like in the south!

But I thought it was really effective storytelling and I so much enjoyed spotting and analysing these moments.

⬦ Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong Hyeok: These two are the heart of the story and there are so many things I love about them. Like how, even though Se-ri is dependent upon Jeong Hyeok to hide and help her -- even though they’re initially hesitant about a romantic relationship -- they quickly become very protective of each other. Often to the point of willingly risking their own safety. Often to the point of exasperating the other. It’s great.

 That’s not the only thing they discover they have in common. They share some interests. They’re both highly intelligent, driven, successful leaders (he’s a captain, she’s a CEO) who are very private, lonely people carrying around grief about their family and their past. Neither of them likes to reveal their emotions -- he tries to conceal his by suppressing his facial expressions and avoiding answering questions, while Se-ri hides behind play-acting.  

I like watching Se-ri trying to get to know Jeong Hyeok. She isn’t deterred by his silences (unlike someone else) and she keeps the conversation going even when he doesn’t respond. She watches him closely, and says or does things to provoke a reaction. Poke, poke, poke.

And the time they spend together is really revealing. They share meals, they share a house. They see how the other responds under pressure, but also in various social and domestic situations. They see each other in a range of moods: calm, happy, grumpy, scared, tired, upset, unwell. Crash Landing takes advantage of spending sixteen episodes with these characters. Going through so many different experiences together, they learn a lot about each other -- about each other’s values, tastes and temperament -- and this means the audience gets a deeper, more nuanced understanding of who they are, too.  

Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok are also well-matched in how they show they appreciate each other -- she delights in giving presents, and he is quick to notice things Se-ri might need or like.

And it’s very satisfying when they open up, or when they cry in front of each other, because you know that they don’t do this lightly or easily.

⬦ Obstacles for romance, love triangle quadrangle-tangle: I appreciate that the obstacles in this story are not contrived or fueled by needless misunderstandings.  Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok have really solid, sensible reasons to be hesitant to first recognise, then admit to, and then act upon, a romantic attraction. Even once they realise that getting Se-ri home is going to take longer than they’d hoped and she’s pretending to be Jeong Hyeok’s fiancée, romance between them is still a road that leads nowhere. She isn’t safe staying in the north and he would endanger his family if he defected to the south, and they both accept that. And they’re reticent about sharing vulnerable feelings, and Jeong Hyeok is actually engaged to someone else.

But once they really open up to each other, the narrative conflict revolves around their circumstances, rather than doubts or misunderstandings they have about each other. Because the situations they face are dangerous and difficult, with no obvious or straightforward path to a happy ending, there’s quite enough tension to drive the story forward. They still have a couple of misunderstandings, but I like how they handle those, and I like that they don’t have more of them.

As for the love triangle, it doesn’t have the angst of someone torn between, or even attracted to, two people. Jeong Hyeok’s engagement has been arranged. Having feelings for someone else doesn’t change the foundation of that engagement, nor the pressure to please his family. He doesn’t love or know his fiancée -- not well enough to risk revealing Se-ri’s true identity to her. He’s honest with Se-ri and he makes an effort with Dan.  

(I have a theory that, if he had been in love before, he might be quicker to recognise how some of his behaviour towards Se-ri fosters intimacy and sends her messages he doesn’t intend, but this is all new for him.)

He tries not to mislead or hurt Dan, but she’s hurt nonetheless, and I like that Crash Landing doesn’t gloss over that. It explores why she’s hurt, why she’s so reluctant to let him go and why their relationship never really worked. (Neither of them are good at communicating with each other, and I think she takes some of the things he does for her for granted, rather than recognising them as overtures and as opportunities to get to know him better.)

Dan is not just a romantic rival, nor a narrative complication, but a person whose concerns and desire are taken seriously, and who is given space to grow.

Which leads me to...

⬦ Surprising characters, thoughtfully-complicated family relationships: As mentioned, Crash Landing takes advantage of the amount of character development 16 episodes allows, and not just for its lead couple. I was surprised by how much my opinion of certain characters changed, as I came to understand them better.

The character I was most surprised by was Gu Seung-jun.

Each time I’ve watched this, I’ve liked Dan more. I have a lot of sympathy for her now. I also like her mother, even though she’s embarrassingly over the top, because she cares fiercely about her daughter and about advocating for her.

Se-ri’s dysfunctional family are more nuanced than I expected, too. In particular, I love the attention the story gives to Se-ri’s relationship with her step-mother. I was expecting Se-ri’s father to play a larger role, perhaps because he’s nominally the one with the power and influence, and at first Se-ri’s mother seems so passive. But it was really interesting to understand where she’s coming from, why her relationship with Se-ri is broken and sad. The steps the two of them take towards rebuilding their relationship are believable.

(On a related thought, I appreciate a lot of the choices this makes in addressing these women’s mental health struggles. One or two moments arguably could have been handled better, but on the whole it’s realistically optimistic, with enough detail so that we understand the seriousness -- the impact it’s had on these women’s lives.)

⬦ Camaraderie, found family and the ducklings: Se-ri doesn’t spend as much time with the village women as she does with Jeong Hyeok and his soldiers, and when she does, she’s play-acting, in order to keep her identity a secret. But I like how they nevertheless support her, and how meeting her sparks change their dynamic with each other. They grow closer and become much better at supporting each other. It’s really heartwarming.

We gave many of the characters codenames, so we could discuss them when we were still learning their names. (I was surprised by how long it took me to learn some of the characters’ names.  Because so many were unfamiliar to me, they were harder to remember; I wasn’t always sure, from just reading the subtitles, how all of them were pronounced, and sometimes it was hard to separate the sound of the names from surrounding sentences, especially when, due to honorifics and titles and so on, subtitles don’t always match exactly what is being said.) Jeong Hyeok’s men are “the ducklings”, inspired by something I saw on Tumblr: Gwang Beom is “Handsome Duckling”, Ju Meok is “Drama Duckling” and Chi Su is just the sergeant.) I love how they function as a found-family, especially in contrast to Se-ri’s real family. They’re funny, loyal and caring, and in spite of their different personalities, work well together as a team. I enjoyed seeing the different relationships they have with each other, with Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri, and how some of those relationships change. And they’re so protective they are of Eun Dong!

Man Bok has an interesting arc -- I could have mentioned him under Surprising characters. I really like how he fits into this story, how he’s connected to the mystery Jeong Hyeok is investigating, how he becomes involved with the rest of the characters and has these moments when he plays a significant role. Or gets to be funny. I like the contrast and parallels too -- he’s in a different place in his life to the ducklings, and he gets opportunities to revisit past choices he regrets.

And I’m trying not to write essays about all the characters, and it’s ahhh, I have too many thoughts and feelings about them all!

⬦ Satisfyingly realistic: I like how -- one or two ridiculous fight scenes and an unrealistic paragliding scene aside -- things which happen have believable consequences. Particularly emotionally. We see men cry! A lot! And it always feels like a genuine expression of emotion, not gratuitous or overwrought. (Well, okay, there’s a very minor character who’s a bit over the top but he’s very minor.)

When one of the characters is gravely ill, she looks it, I found it oddly satisfying that she doesn’t have to be pretty all the time.

And I wasn’t sure if this belonged here or under “Visual details” but I love the attention given to Se-ri’s clothes. She cares a lot about fashion and in the north her clothing choices indicate that she cares a lot about her appearance, while making do with a limited wardrobe and still dressing for warmth.  (I’m happy to handwave that she seems to have more clothes than would realistically fit in those shopping bags.) I appreciated the practical streak, and, as winter wore on here, became envious of one of her outfits.

I don’t personally like the style of Se-ri chooses for work, but it’s different it is from what she wore in the north and from what she wears at home -- her power-dressing is like a uniform or a statement of persona she projects in her working life, and not necessarily a reflection of her personal tastes.

⬦ Visual details: I love so many of the visuals. Gorgeous scenery, interesting settings and clever framing for significant scenes. The sky, a place without borders, often becomes a focus and there’s a thematically-relevant flight motif -- paragliders, birds and kites.

I did not start noticing the   product placement until a rewatch, when I stopped to think about how often they went to Subway. The first time, it just seemed like a commentary on south-versus-north, and then I was just baffled-yet-amused by it all. (That sort of thing does not make me want to eat fried chicken...)

⬦ Soundtrack: The first time round, I liked the instrumental score and the presence of piano music actually in the story. As I kept rewatching, the rest of the soundtrack slowly but steadily grew on me, and I found myself liking the songs more and more.  

Now I not only recognise them by name, I can recall most of them well enough to hum them and know which scenes they’re associated with. Which is a lot harder when the lyrics are in a language I don’t speak and so I can’t use them as a prompt for memory.

⬦ Flashbacks: Instead of “previously-on” segments, Crash Landing employs lots of flashbacks whenever it wants to remind the audience of something.

Sometimes, instead of just repeating part of an earlier scene, it takes the opportunity to show the same moment from different angles or from a different character’s perspective,  or to juxtapose it with a different scene or to introduce new information. This was really effective. And when flashbacks were a simple repeat, I was usually happy to revisit important moments in the story (and sometimes, having a different person translating the subtitles meant there was a slightly different perspective on the dialogue).

Then there are the post-credit flashbacks, quite a few of which take places years earlier. I love how they’re puzzle pieces about the characters’ pasts and the connections between them.

⬦ The end:  The first time round, after watching the penultimate episode I was so engrossed in the story and so invested in the characters that I had trouble sleeping and I went around the next day with this tight, anxious feeling, unable to get the story out of my head.

The final episode is an emotional rollercoaster. SO. MANY. FEELINGS. There’s one particular scene which packs a powerful punch -- it’s exceptionally emotional and beautifully filmed. I love it, but I’m  glad we get the aftermath too.

It isn’t a perfect ending, but as I said, I don’t think there was a perfect ending was possible, not one that was both realistic and satisfying. But this comes very close. In the very final scenes, not everything is resolved or explained, and I like how that ambiguity is open to interpretation -- I like that there are some gaps for the viewer to fill in for oneself, however one prefers to imagine the characters’ lives going forward.

I know I could easily write another four thousand words about this story -- there are aspects I haven’t really discussed but this seems like a good place to stop. For now. I really like this story. I expect I’ll watch it all again soon.

[tintagliat]

Sageuk(Historical) Kdrama Recommendations

Here are some of my favorites-

The Crowned Clown 

Joseon is in a state of disorder due to uprisings and a power struggle surrounding King.To avoid assassination, a clown named Ha Sun is brought to the palace to take the place of King Lee Hun. Ha Sun looks almost identical to King Lee Hun.

Cast:Yeo Jin-goo,Kim Sang-kyung,Lee Se-young/My rating:10/10 Amazing plot, cinematography and acting just an overall great drama.(No. of episodes:16)                                                                                                                                                          

My Country: The New Age

During the transitional period between the end of the Goryeo dynasty and the beginning of the Joseon dynasty, two friends become enemies following a misunderstanding. They try to protect their country, and the people they love, their own way.

Cast:Yang Se-jong,Woo Do-hwan,Kim Seol-hyun,Jang Hyuk/My rating:8.5/10 I’ll be honest the main reason I started watching this show was for the cast, but I was pleasantly surprised, if you like stories with political intrigue and complex characters then this ones for you.(No. of episodes:16)

Mr.Sunshine

During the United States expedition to Joseon  in 1871, a boy from Joseon boards an American warship and goes to America. As an adult, he returns to his home country as an American soldier stationed in the country.

Cast:Lee Byung-hun,Kim Tae-ri,Yoo Yeon-seok,Kim Min-jung,Byun Yo-han/My rating:9/10 Fell in love with the characters and this drama had one of the best bromances I've ever seen.(No. of episodes:24)                                                                               

The Tale of Nokdu

Set in the Joseon dynasty, the series is about a man who disguises as a woman to enter a mysterious women-only village; and a young woman who does not want to become a gisaeng.

Cast:Jang Dong-yoon,Kim So-hyun,Kang Tae-oh,Jung Joon-ho/My rating:8.5/10 This drama was a hidden gem for me, I would highly recommend this drama as it broke many stereotypes and barriers such as a man dressing up as a woman ,not to mention all the strong female characters, it has an interesting plot too that will keep you hooked.(No. of episodes:32)

Hymn of Death

Kim Woo-Jin is a stage drama writer while Korea is under Japanese occupation. He is already married, but he falls in love with Yun Sim-Deok.Yun Sim-Deok is the first Korean soprano.Based on the true story of Kim Woo-Jin and Yun Sim-Deok.

Cast:Lee Jong-suk,Shin Hye-sun/My raiting:9.5/10 A short binge worthy show, with impressive cinematography oh and before you start the show word of advice, get your tissues ready.(No.of episodes:6)