#even though i do love so ji sub but he's so built I | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mighteeone-manager-lee · 3 years

Note

You mentioned Quentin reminding you of Moon-Soo and NO-SPIN, would it be alright to ask about the other members?

"That should answer your question. I would say more, but... as you can imagine, it's a very raw subject. This is what came to my head. Maybe I'll articulate it better in the future if there's a follow-up question."

|| The mun is back!! Yes, I designed and wrote headcanons for an entire boy group in my absence, so hopefully that makes up for it. I've been, as previously stated, immensely busy with traveling and university preparation. Tack on my tackling this much bigger prompt and switching to CSP and you've got a recipe for a mini unannounced hiatus! I missed you all ♡ I still can't believe we hit 100 followers while I was away, so thank you again! || Once again, none of these are canon takes seeing as NO-SPIN hasn't been elaborated on beyond there being five members. I took full artistic liberty with these designs and the lore. That being said, other ask blogs/artists are free to reference/use/draw/write about my interpretation of NO-SPIN with CREDIT! Please tag me if you do; I’d love to see people’s takes on them! And the last panel is intended to represent the day of the fire in case it wasn't clear.

|| I've added more headcanons about each member under the cut if that interests you all! Again, I am not Korean and am new to the KPop scene, so please DM me for any cultural misrepresentations and I'll correct them quickly. I intend on representing the industry and Korea as faithfully and respectfully as possible. You're welcome to ask more about them, even OOC! I may just answer with text posts to be quick about it unless asked to Yun-jin specifically.

Updated as of September 2022

SEA — Leader | Main Vocalist | 27 upon death

★ real name = Seung-hyun | The first member of NO SPIN and the leader, the group was built around the dynamic between him and Yi-eun: his close trainee relation ★ His stage name is based on the first character of his given name: Seung. ‘Sea’ sounds like the letter ‘C’, taken from the ‘Se’ in Seung. Furthermore, 㴍 (one of the characters that can be used to indicate ‘Seung’, though not that used in his name) is used in the name of a body of water. As a bonus, he grew up on the Busan seaside. ★ Has a degree in theater: an excellent actor who guest-starred in a fairly popular K-Drama prior to Ji-woon joining NO SPIN in an attempt to help gain face for the group ★ Stood at 5’7” prior to his death ★ The so-dubbed smart/sensible member of the group. The fans weren’t incorrect to distinguish him as such— he often offered Yun-jin his counsel in the marketing of the group, well aware that they weren’t doing well ★ Made a serious attempt to connect with Ji-woon to ease Yi-eun’s concern and to serve as a good leader ★ His representative emoji was 🐬

YI-EUN— Mathyung [Eldest Member] | Main Rapper, Lead Dancer | The Visual | 28 upon Death

☆ Did not trustJi-woon. Didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him; his otherwise very positive, respectful relationship with Yun-jin was jeopardized by her adamant defense of the new member. However, he was also good at turning on the charm for the cameras and acting just as positive towards Hak as he did the others. Them having a subtle 'rivalry' became a point of endearment to the fans because "it wasn't serious". ☆ Known for his "sexy" aloofness by fans, a pretty smirk, and his ‘princely’ laugh. In actuality, he was very protective and caring towards the younger members ☆ Tallest member! Stood 5’11.5” at his prime ☆ Second member to join the group; NO SPIN was built around his relationship with the leader as the two of them were trainees together ☆ University-educated with a masters in Political Science at the time of his death ☆ Ambassador/model for multiple luxury brands ☆ His representative emoji/animal was 🐆

MOON-SOO — Maknae Line [ Second Youngest ] | Sub Rapper, Lead Dancer, Lead Vocalist | 22 upon death

☆ Perhaps the most popular member of the group before Ji-woon’s arrival, Soo was doted on often by the fans who regarded him with deep endearment. He reciprocated their sweetness and made frequent livestream appearances to appease them ☆ Well-known for his constantly unnaturally colored hair (admittedly was a bit jealous that Yun-jin matched with Ji-woon when she had rarely if ever done so with him). Once Ji-woon joined, he elected to stick to pastel and soft colors to maintain his aesthetic but not step on Hak’s toes ☆ On the topic of Ji-woon, he warmed up immediately to the newcomer and tried his absolute hardest to connect with him genuinely (fans were simply obsessed with their juxtaposing energies). He was extremely genuine with and even tailed the new inductee at appearances, seemingly attached to Hak with little reason for it. Moon-soo wanted him to feel welcome. The older members often put aside arguing with Ji-woon to satiate Moon-soo. ☆ stood at 5’9” prior to his death ☆ exceptionally talented in sports! A very proficient tennis and baseball player as well as a trained ballet and hip-hop dancer. Incredible gymnastics skill; would have been an international competitor if not for idolhood. ☆ A good person. Resting smile and desperate to keep everyone sensible and together. ☆ Also a frequent brand ambassador/model! ☆ His representative emoji/animal was 🐶

U-EON — Producer, Lead Rapper | 25 upon death

★ real name = Min-ho; his stage name is a mostly phonetic spelling of 우연 (‘uyeon’), meaning ‘chance’ or, less positively, ‘accident’. It is a reference to his sense of good fortune for being where he is after his past. It is also a reference to his love for his fans— ‘U’ refers to the audience and ‘Eon’ (a time period of a billion years) to the amount of time he said he would love them for ★ Widely perceived as ‘shy’ (which he very much is; Yun-jin had her doubts when she assumed NO SPIN), he has a powerful, shocking, and alluring stage presence. It’s like two very different people are performing or anywhere else ★ He was originally a producer for Mightee One, which is how he met Sea and Yi-eun; he was creating pre-debut tracks for them and was ultimately assimilated into the group they were building around them when they just clicked as a trio! ★ crafted an independent mixtape released by Mightee One. While fairly commercially successful, it was decided that his energy should be diverted to the group ★ a notably talented songwriter, he worked on a lot of tracks released both before and after Ji-woon’s arrival. The jokes about him being Yun-jin’s ‘co-producer’ died pretty quickly (she didn’t like them), but she will acknowledge his consistent contributions. It was difficult for him to adjust to the new sound Ji-woon brought to the group as U-EON’s best genre was ballads (second best was rap) ★ His representative animal/emoji was 🐹

And, as a bonus, I headcanon that JI-WOON was a main dancer and lead vocalist upon joining the group. People began to debate as to whether or not he was the group's new visual member despite a formal change never being made; Hak was extremely appealing to thousands of new fans. He was immediately made NO-SPIN's center and appeared front and, well, center in the new wave of promotional material and at performances. NO SPIN was seriously lacking a main dancer (while Moon-Soo and Yi-eun were talented, they weren’t as good as other groups’ mains. All members can dance as expected by the industry, but the leads were not to par with other boy groups’ mains), so Ji-woon was also cleverly hired by Lee to compensate that. The group's color was neon pink (the hue the hangul characters in the DLC trailer/logo are written in, specifically). Thank you kindly for reading if you did this far! ✰

#response #dbd ask blog #yun jin lee #the trickster #ji woon hak #dead by daylight #dbd headcanons #all kill #my art #Thank you for the ask!#sorry for my extended absence; I'm actually posting this while out of the country!#It was a hell of a project to work on #And I switched to Clip Studio Paint #so another layer was added to the adventure!#It's positively lovely to be back ♡#oh and please pretend like I didn't accidentally hyphenate no spin multiple times um #DbD #bury a friend || no spin ☆★♪#Things We Lost in the Fire || NO SPIN ♪

104 notes · View notes

onceuponakdrama · 3 years

Text

Record of Youth KDrama Review

—

Bingo Card for Record of Youth

Synopsis: Record of Youth (or Youth Record) follows the lives of young people in the world of modeling. Sa Hye-Jun [Park Bo-Gum] is smart and handsome. He is a nice guy and a popular model, but what he really wants is to become an actor. Meanwhile, An Jeong-Ha (Park So-Dam) works as a make-up artist.

trigger warnings: death and sucide mentions, slight family abuse

Overall Main Plot: Rating - 6 out of 10

I think a major point in this drama is that it’s very realistic, which also means it’s a little angsty (considering it’s a melodrama). It also had subtle mentions of classism and how it impacts specific families, especially with the comparison of Hyejun’s family vs Hae Hyo’s family. Speaking of which, there’s a lot of family drama, which I feel is the main plot—other than Hyejun being able to achieve his dreams as a successful actor and dealing with the scandals of people trying to tear him down after his success. I did like the realism of it all, especially with the family dynamics due to past grudges being held or sibling favoritism, and by the end of it, things are actually solved as they talk to one another to work things out. The main plot was fairly satisfying with the success of Hyejun and the family dynamics. There’s also Jeongha being able to achieve her dreams of opening her own makeup shop and gaining happiness and success from it. However, there were a lot of problems with some of the elements within the main and side storylines.

Plot Holes - there were so many holes throughout the plot that were started and eventually just dropped. Even the major ones were built up and ended up being anti-climatic. I was more excited with the build ups, but then ended up disappointed as it goes throughout. One example is with Haeyo’s family—his mother was doing all of this stuff, only to be so easily forgiven at the end with no real character development that all that interference with Hae Hyo’s and Haena’s careers means nothing. Again, it is a real problem of the rich parents having a hold on their children, but there’s no actual resolution. Another example is with Charlie Jung’s death, which was dragged on throughout the end. Like, why are they blaming his suicide on someone who just modeled for him? There was so many problems with the rumors they were spreading about him and I’m surprised they didn’t do anything about it other than suing them. Again, another real problem but it’s so poorly addressed and felt disappointing.

Side Stories - I felt unsure about who this drama was about, since it kept including side stories of the more disliked characters, even when it had nothing to do with the main characters. While I liked that the main characters were resilient with their problems and pushed through, I hated that the side characters barely learned anything and continued to be in the storyline, even though they literally did not matter. I wanted more scenes with the more likeable characters and wanted to see how they would progress to contribute to the main storyline. It also would have been nice to actually see the change in people, considering how Hyejun and Jeongha had good faith in people towards those who didn’t deserve it. A part of me wanted them to snap (like when Jeongha poured water on that one lady’s head), but they would just continue to be the “bigger person” and it just felt so repetitive.

Characters: Rating - 6 out of 10

↣ Sa Hyejun [played by Park Bo Gum] - I felt so bad for him throughout the entire drama. He was clearly the black sheep of the family and also the scapegoat, especially in the eyes of his father and brother. I was really rooting for his success, which I knew would come soon at some point. He’s also super soft and it was endearing when it comes to his grandpa, mother, and Jeongha, but that was really bad in terms of his career. I didn’t want him to turn out completely ruthless, but I did want him to grow a bit more of a backbone. It just felt like a bit of waste because he remained consistent throughout (which is good) but there was no actual growth to him as a character. The whole thing about him is that he’s “good” or “pure” and everyone kept pressuring him to be more “fierce” in the acting industry. I kind of did want that, but I think he was already strong—in the sense that he knew what he wanted and which way he wanted to go, without others’ interference. I did like that aspect of him, but, again, the growth is nonexistent.

↣ Ahn Jeongha [played by Park So Dam] - I actually really liked her character because she felt so real. I really connected with her and her sense of realism, but also dreaming of a happier life. I admired her for quitting a stable job to pursue something bigger in life and how she acknowledged the difference in her fantasy (the idea) of Hyejun vs how he was in real life. She was also very independent, but it caused to be a problem because she didn’t want to accept help from others. I felt that she was a great character. While it did go a bit downhill towards the end, I still understood where others were coming from. (Others have mentioned how she got less airtime and became a side character in her own drama, which is true, but they also said she became weaker at the end by breaking things off with Hyejun.) I don’t think she became weaker; I think she grew to be more aware of her limits and wanted to expand herself to obtain her goals. However, I would have liked more time being dedicated to her to see as to how she became successful at the end. We got to see Hyejun, but we didn’t see much of Jeongha and it felt pretty disappointing because she had a lot of potential to grow as well.

↣ Won Hae Hyo [played by Byeon Wooseok] - okay. There’s a lot here. I just wanted to say, I liked him in the beginning and I like that he continued his friendship with others... but, I really did not like him much beyond that. That’s because he was so jealous after the whole Hyejun being more famous and being compared and not to mention he kept going after Jeongha even though he knew Hyejun and her were dating. Like sir. You are not that great. I felt bad for him because his mom is the whole reason to why he even has a career in acting, but then he just accepted it as his strength? I was so confused because that’s not a strength, that’s just money that’s not even his. I guess the writers were trying to give him some development, but even then, it wasn’t much and it didn’t make any sense. He was one of those rare second leads that I was not rooting for at all and did not care much about; I was just annoyed.

Personal Notes: I really liked Hyejun and Jeongha. They are so pure and deserved everything, but I really did not like that they kept believing the good in people when those people didn’t deserve it. There was not much character development, which is why the rating is lower even though the main characters were my favorite. I also wanted to take this opportunity to say that Hyejun’s father and brother were the absolute worst—that is until his father apologized in the end, which is super late, especially after he hit him and still thought Hyejun would mention him during his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, but like... Jesus. His brother was also annoying in the sense that he was so arrogant for no reason and so two-faced about Hyejun’s career like, dude, just be honest with each other. However, I will give it props for a real family dynamic, although we could have lived without a bit of it.

Romance: Rating - 9 out of 10

On the contrary to the rest of the plot, I absolutely loved this non-problematic couple. I thought the build-up of the romance was natural and, when they were in their relationship, it felt so nice to see in comparison to everything else that was happening. I really liked their scenes together and it felt so wholesome because I was rooting for both of their successes and their romance. The only thing I didn’t like was the breakup, but like... I understood the reasons behind it and also kdrama writers always have to have some kind of break-up and time skip even though it is not necessary. They reminded me of the drama, Love O2O, in the sense that the couple had great, natural chemistry, but everyone around them was the problem and that’s the only annoying thing about the drama. Other watchers said their romance was kind of bland, but I think it was nice because it was so natural—their banter, the interactions, the support they provided for one another. This is one of the dramas to watch for the romance, especially since it was so light.

Second Plot/B-Plot and Secondary Characters: Rating - 4 out of 10

I felt like this is one of those rare dramas, where the people around the main characters are the most annoying parts and they don’t even drive the plot. They’re just there. Other than Hyejun’s grandpa, Jinu and his family (because they’re so supportive and cute), Haena, Subin, and Minjae (although, she is debatable of how often she meets with Tae Su), I wanted everyone else to die off. Even the antagonists didn’t feel like they served a specific purpose other than to annoy. I thought the ex-girlfriend (Ji-Ah) was going in a good direction towards the end where she was gonna be friends with Jeongha and Hyejun, but we never heard from her again. Again, this drama doesn’t seem to really resolve the problems they’ve built up throughout the entire drama. I did like the sub-romance of Haena and Jinu and they deserved better—I wish they had more time together in the last episode where they just broke things off or we would have a reunion or something. There was also the whole Minjae thing; I liked her, I really did, but she really needed to stop meeting with Tae Su. Speaking of which, Tae Su was never given any redemption or arch—he just continued to be annoying with Do Ha and I really wanted him to crash and burn. Instead, we get this desperate attempt for him to win back Hyejun even though he treated him so horribly. This was just bad writing to the max and some of them had real potential to do more.

Additional Notes:

Aesthetic and Color - this drama has a lot of good aesthetics and colors. I think it really set the vibe of a more chill drama, but it’s actually a melodrama. I think it just felt more like a relaxing drama because of the colors and softer ost. It has nothing to do with the plot, but if it matters to you... just a note.

I mentioned earlier on the notes of classism that the drama portrayed, which felt very real. At first, I thought it was ridiculous that Hae Hyo was more successful than Hyejun because Hyejun is clearly more attractive and the entertainment industry loves that. But, then I saw more, like how Hae Hyo was pulled out of the modeling agency faster, he had those connections, etc. Even as Hyejun got more successful, there was the difference of Hyejun quitting his jobs and paying his family’s debt and house vs Hae Hyo doing acting for fun (ish) before he was to take over his father’s academy or something.

THE REPORTER - I was gonna mention this in the secondary characters, but then I realized she doesn’t need to take over that whole section. She was great as an antagonist, but she was so annoying and stupid. She didn’t bother to check any of the facts and just published stuff because she wanted to take down Hyejun. There’s also the fact that she never apologized, formally speaking. She just accepted the charges and we didn’t get a scene of the two of them and that was a lost opportunity. I also hated how she said she was a reporter, but acted like a writer. Like, girl—go write drama scripts then since you want all the drama. It was all so stupid.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

Recommended?

↣ Yes: this is a drama about family and rebuilding those connections. If you like romance as a side/sub-plot, this is a drama for you. There’s a lot of emotional drama, so if you like that side of acting more rather than comedic, this is also a good choice. The romance is also very great; it’s very healthy and lots of communication is built throughout—it’s very natural. There’s also a lot of hope in this drama, in the sense that Hyejun has been going nowhere and then he manages to get the success he’d been aiming for and seeing that progression is very satisfactory.

↣ No: this is very slow-built; if you are more easily frustrated, maybe just pass on it. Again, there’s a lot of frustration on the characters as well: both main and side characters. There’s also the family drama, which the center of this drama, so if you wanted more of a romantic comedy, this isn’t for you either. There’s also the love triangle trope, but there’s no second lead syndrome since the second lead is kind of jerky considering he’s after his friend’s girlfriend.

#record of youth #kdrama review #kdrama recs #spoilers #mine

6 notes · View notes

danahmbisyosangdoktora · 6 years

Text

Here it is! My first ever blog post under my Asian Drama Blog Series. The following are the dramas I watched during the month of January 2019.

// Okay, I kinda felt the need to explain. Most of the dramas I watched this month are those of EXO Members’. As I’ve said in my 2018 Highlights, I only decided to officially spazz kpop recently and this is sorta part of it. I really wanted to watch most of the members (if not all) to somehow catch up to whatever I’ve missed when I still haven’t “stanning” as much as I can so I watched and am continually watching their dramas. //

SERIES

1) EXO NEXT DOOR Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Light plot No. of Episodes: 16 Running time: 15 minutes Genre: Web Series, Comedy, Romance Plot: 23-year-old Ji Yeon-hee is extremely shy and introverted with zero dating experience tends to blush like a tomato when talking to someone she likes. One day, four young men move into the house right next door to hers. Much to her surprise, they turn out to be Chanyeol, D.O., Baekhyun and Sehun from EXO, her favorite boy band who are trying to lay low for a while. Thoughts: It’s like your typical boy band fanfiction that has been adapted to become a tv series. I don’t know if it’s because I watched so many dramas already or the fact that I grew up reading fanfictions or because I watched it few years after it’s hype that’s why I said this??? Had I watched this during its release, I would have been really stoked! (Probs because I’m much younger back then) But of course, I am not any less glad even though I watched it years late because it’s still like a dream come true of some sort to have seen your idols actually act as the characters in a plot that you have only been imagining or you have just read in a fan fiction. We’re talking about audio-visuals here lol.

This is actually the first drama where I saw Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Sehun act. I have watched Kyungsoo before in Pure Love and 100 Days My Prince (he’s also the main reason why I decided to finally look up and stan EXO lol) and it irks me a bit to see him do the second lead this time. Sehun was really funny here. Total maknae! I can never forget you, brotha. The series is actually short. I finished it in two nights alongside with another drama I was watching. You can totally finish this in one sitting! Finished Watching On: January 09, 2019

2) THE UNIVERSE’S STAR Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Moderate plot No. of Episodes: 6 (MBC) Running time: 30 minutes (MBC) Genre: Fantasy, Romance Plot: Byul is a 19-year-old student who has been struggling to keep up with her job to guide dead souls to the afterworld as a Grim Reaper, learned that her favorite singer Woo Joo, is expected to die soon. She decided to save him as he is the only memory that she had in her previous life before she got into the accident which caused her life. Thoughts: It’s a little refreshing for me because I haven’t came across a fantasy plot between an idol and a fan, more so a mystic entity in this case, for quite a while. Although it’s a bit predictable (perhaps for me since I’ve read a lot of fan fics/ teen fics and watched so many dramas already or it really is predictable), I still liked how it ended and also a bit sad over its bitter-sweet ending. Finished Watching On: January 11, 2019

3) BE POSITIVE Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Very Light plot No. of Episodes: 6 Running time: 10 minutes Genre: Web Series, Romantic comedy Plot: Film major student Hwan-dong prepares for his graduation project as a movie director. He is facing a difficulty in finilizing the film due to lack of funding. Left with no choice, he asked Hye-jung, an actress of present time and alumna of his university who happened to be his ex-girlfriend to play the main role in his production. Thoughts: It’s really light but it’s understandable since it’s only a web series/ promotional series. To be honest, I only watched it since Kyungsoo is the lead role. I think it’s the perfect drama which portrayed relationships that ended without proper closure. Can relate. I like to commend this because true to its mission to “send a message of support to the younger generation”, it actually showed how we must really own up our mistakes and be mature enough to talk any misunderstandings out. Kyungsoo was really cute here huhuhu. It’s super duper short! I mean it’s only an hour!!! I seriously finished this in one sitting. Finished Watching On: January 12, 2019

4) STRONG GIRL BONG-SOON Rating: ★★★ ★ ☆ | Moderate plot No. of Episodes: 16 + 1 (Special) Running time: 70 minutes Genre: Fantasy, Thriller, Action, Romantic comedy Plot: Born with superhuman strength, Do Bong-soon dreams of creating a video game with the main heroine as herself. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. She is desperately trying her best to become a willowy and elegant woman to meet the ideal type of her long-term crush, In Guk-doo, a police officer. Due to her strength, she was scouted to be the bodyguard of Ahn Min-hyuk, a rich heir and the CEO of a gaming company who recently received anonymous threats, blackmails and a series of stalking.

One day, a series of kidnapping cases break in Dobong-dong, the district Bong-soon lives in. After her friend was targeted, she became determined to catch the culprit. As they try to find the suspect, the three found themselves in a love triangle. Thoughts: What’s there to say aside from it being super good? It’s a mixture of suspense, romance and cuteness. The romance isn’t annoying at all. I really liked how the kidnapping case added so much spice to the plot and how after all the ruckus it all went down to family being your major strength. Finished Watching On: January 18, 2019

5) TERIUS BEHIND ME Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Moderate plot No. of Episodes: 32 Running time: 35 minutes each / 2 episodes per day Genre: Romantic-Comedy, Mystery Plot: Go Ae-Rin suddenly loses her husband. A mysterious man, Kim Bon, lives next door. Kim Bon is a legendary NIS agent. He was involved in a failed secret operation wherein the woman he loved died three years ago. He has since become disconnected with the world and decided to live alone quietly. He helps his neighbor Go Ae-Rin uncover a conspiracy which her husband got involved with. Thoughts: Watched this because of a trailer I came across on Facebook and So Ji-sub!!! This has been on my list since last year and I only got the chance to watch it this month. It’s a breather from my usual teen fictions so I was hooked. Super Ioved the twins, they were super cute. I especially enjoyed the part where they had to deal with the bioterrorism coz I can 10/10 relate, my Microbiolog(ist)y heart was very happy and was very amazed to at least see it be executed/ planned even if it’s just on screen. It’s not the most perfect spy series but it’s enough for me (or because I never really watch spy shows). The traitor in the ending (a supposedly plot twist) wasn’t very surprising to me... not sure if it’s predictable or because I have watched so many dramas already that I did predict who’s who already. Finished Watching On: January 24, 2019

6) SEVEN FIRST KISSES Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Light plot No. of Episodes: 8 Running time: 9-12 mins Genre: Romance, Comedy Plot: Lotte Duty Free store employee Min Soo-jin has never been in a relationship before. One day, she meets with the goddess of date who grants her an attempt to pick the perfect partner for her first kiss among seven men. Her options are firstly, a religious tech billionaire (Lee Joon-gi), a serious yet romantic boss (Park Hae-jin), a sexy secret agent (Ji Chang-wook), an adorable younger male friend (Kai), an innocent chaebol heir (Ok Taec-yeon), a beloved k-idol (Lee Jong-suk) and finally a free-spirited travel writer (Lee Min-ho). Thoughts: Bukod pala sa babaeng lahat. Charot! I have watched this during its release but I failed to catch up with every episodes. It’s only now that I decided to watch it as a whole again. Watched this after finishing Memories of the Alhambra as a rebound/ to ease my broken heart. It’s super light, tamang kilig and fantasize sa oppas. Literally watched in one sitting. Finished Watching On: January 28, 2019

7) SECRET QUEEN MAKERS Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Light plot No. of Episodes: 7 Running time: 15 mins Genre: Romance, Comedy Plot: A travel agent who lacks confidence in her appearance finds her hidden beauty with the help of six men she met at Lotte Duty Free stores. Thoughts: Watched this because of Chanyeol and Sehun!!! I only knew it was also a short series the moment I decided to watch it so I also ended it in one sitting. Dunno what to say other than it was cute and fun and short. I suck at reviews but this is another usual fan fiction I have read huhu but ofc, I love that I have seen it with my eyes than just imagining it. Finished Watching On: January 28, 2019

8) MEMORIES OF THE ALHAMBRA Rating: ★★★★☆ | Heavy plot No. of Episodes: 16 Running time: 65 minutes Genre: Fantasy, Suspense, Sci-fi, Romance, Melodrama Plot: After receiving an email regarding a groundbreaking AR game about medieval battles in Alhambra, Yoo Jin-woo, CEO of an investment company that specializes in optical devices, travels to Granada, Spain to meet the creator of the game, Jung Se-joo. However, Se-joo is missing and there, he meets his sister Jung Hee-joo, owner of the hostel he stays in and a former guitarist. Both get entangled in a mysterious incident and the border between the real world and the AR world built by Se-joo begins to blur. © Thoughts: Watched this while it’s on-going. 11/10 would recommend!!!! At first, I felt like it has the same vibe as W and got super amazed then I only learned mid-drama that both drama were written by one writer that’s why they have the same vibes. Super crazy plot! I honestly couldn't quite catch what’s going on in the first few episodes, I thought I was going stupid and going crazy myself but got a hang of it din later on. Super genius! Everything is astounding... except the ending. LOL I’M SO MAD!!!!

I decided to delay watching the finale for a week to “emotionally prepare” myself but I never thought I would be betrayed like this??? Had I known, I would have prepared for a month. Have already watched tons and been watching kdramas for several years already, I shouldn't be surprised and disappointed to open-ended stories anymore BUT I AM!!!???!!! So proud of Chanyeol here and my girl, PSH, still never disappoints! Finished Watching On: January 28, 2019

MOVIES Never a fan of watching movies but for EXO, I watched them loooool

1) SO I MARRIED AN ANTI-FAN Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Light plot Genre: Comedy, Romance Plot: Top star Hoo Joon ended up living together with his anti-fan reporter Lee Geun-young. Thoughts: Literally a fan fiction ripped straight off of Wattpad... charot! Not sure which came first but that’s what it was for me. Not that I don’t like it... again, it’s a dream come true to have seen my favorite idol actually act as the character I have only imagined before but I read a fanfic with the same plot before I watched this. Watched on: January 05, 2019

2) HYEONG/ MY ANNOYING BROTHER Rating: ★★★★★ | Light plot Genre: Comedy, Drama Plot: All thanks to Doo-Young, his younger brother, Doo-Sik was granted a parole from prison. Doo-Young is a then promising judo athlete but got involved in an accident before the selection for the national team which made him lose not only his break but his eyesight as well. After 15 years, Doo-Sik (Jo Jung-suk) suddenly appears in front of Doo-Young and they begin to live together. Thoughts: Of course, watched this because of my bias Kyungsoooooooo. Seriously this guy knows how to tickle your lacrimal glands and make you cry. Almost all of his movies were tear-jerker!!!! I felt super proud of him here. He literally pulled it off #nobias. It’s super relatable especially because it tackles about sibling-hood. Watched on: January 26, 2019

3) SO YOUNG 2: NEVER GONE Rating: ★★☆☆☆ | Light plot Genre: Drama, Romance Plot: A wealthy young man pursues a young woman of modest means, but circumstances often separate them as the years pass. © Thoughts: The movie was said to be an adaptation of a novel. Honestly, I didn't clearly get the plot in whole? I was confused what happened in the end. Not sure if it’s because it’s poorly shown or the fact that maybe the Chinese characters that were flashed (which I can’t transcribe) held a significant role that’s why I didn't understand the ending. I saw a clip on Facebook and it seemed interesting + it’s Yi Fan’s movie which lead me to watch it. I had to search for reviews and summaries in hopes of finding enlightenment about the ending but I haven’t found any which clearly explains what happened. About the characters, I had to say that the relationship was kind of toxic and they were really immature, I’m so mad! (says the mature one lol) Watched on: January 27, 2019 Soooo that’s it. Please understand that these are all based on my personal opinion. I am in no way a professional in making reviews. I’m just a plain nobody who loves watching asian dramas. The way I see a plot (as a light or as a heavy one) may be different from others and the ratings I gave could be different from anyone else as well. Most importantly, your thoughts might differ to mine so you do you. I hope I was able to help you find what to binge next!

10 notes · View notes

revpanikbedlam · 8 years

Link

The stars did not twinkle or shimmer as they did on Earth, and for that reason they seemed infinitely more distant and unreachable. The ship's atmosphere was not nearly as dense as it was on that small blue planet, so those impossible to hold gems did not flicker as they did when seen in far off observatories. That nebulous glow made the stars seem friendly and especially close when viewed through the fractal-convergence telescopes built into the tall castle spires of the Somek At'Grallah, but here in the void of sub-etheral space they seemed like aliens.

But however distant, these stars became slightly more obtainable as Queen Iste-Hulwa moved ever closer towards those distant points of light in her crystal ship. Thus the stellar frigate roared through space on its heading, leaving a glowing trail of rainbows in the dark which dissolved slowly into the infinite depths of the intergalactic ocean.

Iste surveyed the sky, looking for any constellations she might recognize, but having traveled so far from her terrestrial home all the sky was distorted from this far off point of reference. She looked perplexed at the glowing altar at the top of the steep step pyramid that served as the helm, then looked back into the ornate gazebo that stood behind her. Focusing her attention on the huge chunk of polished amber that sat glowing on a hallowed pedestal at its center, she spoke to it directly.

“Pom, I can't tell if we're still on the correct heading. The console is giving me mixed readings and I never had much of an eye for Oneiromantic Astrogation. The sub-ether of the Dream-Zone might be a faster way of traveling between distant galaxies but the math to understand it is lost on me.”

A small humanoid silhouette shifted inside the resinous gem before a larger, shadowy simulacrum was projected from it, which then responded with an astute but echoing sing-song.

“And not much of a mind for hyper-spacial sacred geometry either. I'm sure the scholars of Atlantis would be disappointed that you've forgotten all your elementary lessons, but luckily you have other talents to compensate.” The form moved close to Iste and playfully added, “As well as friends to crunch the numbers for you.”

Iste smiled at the shadow of the dryad with whom she had shared a long friendship. She preferred when Pom would manifest her form, for it made the trip seem a little less lonely. She also had to admit that her ghostly visage was a beautiful work of art that always filled her heart with joy no matter how many times she looked upon it. With her lithe pointed features of astral umbra and smoky white vines of hair, the illusion that was Pom's body appeared as an alluring fascination with its slight translucence that was yet opaquely impenetrable.

Pom's true body was the seed of life bound in the fossilized heart of a once potent magical tree in her homeland, but Iste had always thought the astral-projection of Pom's own self-image was the truer form. It was a mystery of darkness within darkness, a mien of obsidian glass in which she was shrouded. And although the dryad was perhaps only a shade darker than the Atlantean's own more physical flesh, as most Atlanteans were, the fey's hologram lacked living warmth. This sheen of undeath lent Pom a spectral coolness that was fearful to some but was beheld by Iste as supernal wonder.

“I'm sure the High Philosophers are rolling in their watery graves, but that hardly answers my question,” Iste shot back at the elfin shade. “I do have a quest to attend to and it would be nice to know if we're on course.”

Pom-Hymenaea sighed cheerfully and moved in position before the helm, drawing up an array of stars and grids projected in lights over the altar console. She studied them for a moment and said, “As best as I can determine we are on course. Unfortunately, your old friend didn't leave us much to follow when he sailed off beyond the sunset.”

Indeed it was true that wondrous scientist and Grand Master, Ji Qi-Miao, had abandoned his throne almost two hundred years ago. He had left to seek the dreams of distant alien worlds with little hint of where his intended destination would be. An appropriate retirement adventure for someone of his power and intelligence, but he had taken with him the Chart, an ancient mapping device made with the most advanced of crystal magic.

It had been something of a gift, for Iste understood the difficulty of navigating the void without a guide, so Qi-Miao accepted it gratefully as he tripped off into the light fantastic. However, the Chart had also been an important tool in determining the placement of the one hundred Crystal Resonators, which mapped their hidden locations. Thus, without the Chart, the whereabouts of these magic transmitters was unknown to Iste and all of the sacred knights of the Somek At'Grallah.

This lack of knowledge put their order in a difficult position. The Crystal Resonators had been a collaborative work of divided labor, and with Qi retired beyond the stars the protection of the resonators fell on Iste. Yet it had been Qi-Miao alone who had been trusted to hide these devices through the terrestrial cosmos. Iste was quick to admit that the eccentric inventor was a cunning trickster, and she could not even begin to guess where the devices might have been interred.

Qi-Miao had derived the divine clockwork that caused the resonators to chime at the correct mystical frequency, and Iste had cut the crystals to hold the quality of perfect psychic harmony. Up to this point, they had successfully served as “spirit granaries” to store and distribute positive energies and draw off and cleanse negative powers. The crystals would absorb bad vibes, converting them into benevolent psychic forces that the dreamers of the world could unconsciously tap. But recently problems with the system had arisen.

They had been hidden specifically so they would not be tampered with, and as they were self-maintaining it should have been a simple matter, placing them and leaving them without thought of finding them again. Qi-Miao had modified the function of the Chart to track them, but Iste herself had insisted that he take it with him as she thought the loss of it wasn't of any hazard.

And for the last two hundred years, it hadn't been a loss of any consequence. However, when it was discovered that the demonic beings of the Diablo-Infernum had found a small number of the Crystal Resonators and manipulated them to serve their goals, the unfortunate repercussions of Iste's present to Qi-Miao became apparent. The demons quickly began to corrupt the resonators which infected the entire energy network with malicious vibrations. This served to exaggerate the nightmare side of humanity.

The mystic-scientists of Somek At'Grallah detected the change in cosmic vibrations, but only after this plot had been put into motion. By the time it was discovered, they calculated that no less than three of the hidden resonators had been rededicated towards the intent of psychotic malice. Iste-Hulwa had taken this terrorist attack personally, and immediately sought out the parties responsible. Although not acting alone, it was determined that the Demon Lord of the Fourteenth Hell, Messier Filbaskist, had used his understanding of the “in-between places” to put a number of the devices under the Infernum's control.

Iste engaged the Devil in combat and though he escaped into the dark of the bottomless pit at the lowest point of Hell, she was able to discover the nature of their plot which the 22 Demon Lords had dubbed the “Lethe Gambit.” With the Crystal Resonators still hidden from the Somek At'Grallah, and thus sitting out of reach and beyond repair, Iste-Hulwa determined that seeking out Ji Qi-Miao and recovering the Chart was the only possibility for salvation.

“We've now passed out of psychic communication range, we are now in the true Deep-Aether,” Pom reported, as Iste repeated the details of her mission in her head for the hundredth time.

“Oh, excellent,” Iste replied, pulled back to the present. “Please check atmospheric and life support systems.”

Pom drifted down the stairs at the fore of the temple-helm and danced over the grass that grew on the surface of their floating island. From above the 'deck' of their ship, its shape appeared like a teardrop, with the temple in the aft centered between a semi-circle of standing stones. Pale and titanic, the rough-hewn monuments exuded a lovely rolling fog like giant shards of dry ice. She examined the stones, then returned to the base of the stairs where a three-tiered marble fountain sprayed misty torrents of water into dripping basins. She gazed into the pools with intense scrutiny paying particular attention to the roll of bubbles churning within.

Satisfied with her inspection, she returned to the helm and reported. “The Quartz-Menhir are successfully generating an artificial dream-synthesis field providing full environmental containment, and external shields are at 98%. The fountain is producing viable terrestrial atmosphere, although it appears that the greenhouse on level 3 of the temple structure is not receiving enough light; so I'll be redistributing additional energy to the lamps. Final report: all life and psychic support systems functioning at full.”

Iste took a deep breath and took one last look over the console. “Excellent. However, do a physical examination of the lamps in greenhouse three. It would be difficult to re-establish any crops if they were lost, and they're vital for the long term life support of a trip like this. Once you've done that if there is nothing else to report, fix the heading and dismiss yourself. If I need anything else I'll call you.”

“Very well Captain,” Pom said with a chuckle before vanishing in an ethereal inkblot splatter.

Iste walked down the temple stairs and past the fountain, looking back and once again noting how much the temples of Atlantis resembled those of the later Aztec. She supposed that it was not technically an Atlantean temple as it was built by the Somek At'Grallah in the Higher Realm many millennia after The Fall. However, the “Earth” beneath her feet was, in fact, one of the last shards of the island of Atlantis.

It was a relatively small slab of geode recovered from when that island shattered and sank so long ago, and its huge crystal tetragons and natural points that clustered at its ventral aft radiated with metaphysical tornadoes of prismatic light. These energized crystals not only projected the hull through space and naturally generated the ship's power, but also served to illuminate the verdant deck of The Axis Mundi. Thus this last Atlantean Starship was brilliantly lit from about its rim by way of rippling waves of aurora borealis.

She gazed into these electromagnetic pulses of color and realized it was not the northern lights that she was reminded of, but the strange sky over the city of her youth. Iste recalled how those purple clouds of the dream-zone could be visually seen, rife with rainbow lightning surges that filled the air with the smell of sweet orchids. It had been a very long time since the people of Earth had so directly and collectively viewed the dreaming tempest while waking, and for the first time in a long time, she felt homesick for the land of her birth.

She navigated between the small knolls formed by the sacred burial mounds that had been placed in honor of that island's fallen. They framed a small winding path which terminated in a pointed overhanging cliff that served as the ship's bow. On this ledge sat a large, round, basalt sculpture which she had placed there long ago, providing the maidenhead for the ship when it was built. It resembled those stone heads produced by the Olmec, though its creation had preceded that culture somewhat and its face was more feminine. With a sudden bound, she gracefully jumped twelve feet into the air and landed delicately on the center of the fifty-ton monument, settling into a relaxed, seated position upon the crown of the head and stared wistfully into space.

“Why come out this far Qi?” she asked of her absent friend. “Was the beauty of our Earth and its heavenly realms not enough for you to focus your genius upon?”

With a sigh of lament, she continued. “And how do I even know that we are on the right path? All you did was point to the sky at a bright white star on the southern horizon, and like Peter Pan, told me 'straight on til morning' was your destination. So long ago you made that gesture, I was lucky to have remembered the astrological house to which you pointed and narrowed the possibilities from there. If only I had a hint or horoscope to tell me if I was on the right track.”

Closing her eyes and reaching out with her mind, she wished for a sign. She knew such simple enchantments were a somewhat childish bit of knavery, but just as the lesser mortals pray to keep heart, it was a spelling cast without air of expectation; nothing more than a purely expressed desire to see her friend again.

As she opened her eyes she saw the answer to her request just in time to react to it, touching the activation gems on the ornate disks that covered her ears. From those large earrings, her tall crowned battle helm instantly unfolded about her head just as a metal sphere about a full foot in diameter erupted through the ship's glowing force field and struck her armored brow with incredible force.

The impact rang against her helm like the grandest bells upon the highest mountain monasteries, and with an explosion of sound, sent Iste flying backwards over the twisting mounds where she landed in the ship's fountain with a splash. For all her abilities, if not for the powers held in her armor, she would have been knocked unconscious or even killed from the unexpected strike but instead, she was only momentarily dazed. Shaking off the staggering hit, she climbed out of the fountain and began searching for the orb that had laid the blow.

Pom appeared suddenly. “Queen Iste! Are you all right?! Long distance scans had detected no foreign objects prior to the impact breech. Do you require medical attention?”

“It's okay Pom, I'm fine. Just a tad disoriented, but not hurt,” Iste said a little out of breath, but still scanning for the object. “I thought you said our shields were functioning at capacity.”

Sheepishly, the spectral dryad admitted, “Technically I stated that shields were at 98%, which is technically functioning capacity, statistically speaking. Technically.”

As Pom spoke, Iste discovered the rogue projectile, which seemed to be made out of a brass-like metal with several seams dividing the sphere into a number of irregularly shaped segments. Although there was a slight scuff indented into the orb where it had struck her, it seemed generally unharmed and was cold to the touch.

“Well this looks like a technical two percent shield failure if I ever saw one,” she joked, hoping that Pom would not take the mishap personally. “Besides, I have something of a suspicion that I may have accidentally 'asked' for this. Although please check the system records to see if we can prevent future problems of this type.”

With a smile, a salute, and an “Aye, Captain,” Pom vanished again, leaving Iste to examine the Orb.

Iste removed her helm which folded back into her earrings, and she carried the metal artifact to the bottom of the temple stairs. Standing on the stone platform at its base, she stated, “Open Private Quarters.” Upon hearing the command, a circle of stone descended downward like a lift from the point where she stood. Reaching the inside of the ship, she traveled through a short hall adorned with strange electric bulbs that erratically sparked, dimly lighting the ancient hieroglyphs that colored the walls.

Her room was large and imperial with fine sweeping curtains, huge velvet cushions, and glorious tapestries. She walked past these comforts and instead approached a long stone workbench placed in the corner. It was covered with both conventional and more eldrich tools so she took a moment to select a few that she would need out of the clutter and cleared a spot to work.

She set the sphere on the bench and proceeded to her wardrobe. Although her ornate battle suit was environmentally sealed, keeping her dry from the neck down, her hair had gotten wet in the water of the fountain. Thus she decided a little bit of comfort provided by more relaxed clothes would offer help sharpening her mind before pursuing the object's secrets.

When removed and folded, the armor took on the vague look of a green eagle statuette as that was the outfit's prime motif with its sweeping metallic arm draperies and wing designs that spiraled about the skirt. She was happy to remove the piles of heavy gemstone beads that were wrapped in strings over top of a hidden electrified scarf which flowed into a white shawl about her shoulders. This tall, necklace-adorned gaiter stretched all the way up her long thin neck reaching just below her chin and was mildly uncomfortable. However, its discomfort was not only for the sake of serving as a beautiful adornment but, like the Quartz-Menhir that provided the ship's life support systems, this gaiter provided her a degree of localized atmosphere and protection from psychic attack.

Her hair was tied up in a forward sloping bun which sat over top her long, deep auburn bangs. She always felt the style, common to the women of the native Seminole, was still a becoming and modern look. She pulled the rings at the ends of her bejeweled hairpins which held the twist of braids in place, and it took some time to brush out the large volume of textured locks, but once free they hung down straight, glistening darkly. Once it was sufficiently dry she took a long green scarf from her dresser and wrapped her hair in the manner of a simple but elegant tignon.

She took a moment to admire her body in a long mirror. Although many uncounted centuries had washed over her countenance, her form was preserved in an appearance of a becomingly voluptuous thirty-something by way of her people's mystic sciences. Not a true immortal, she was still more than merely mortal; ageless and incredibly healthy. She smiled at the curve of her magnificent wide hips and drew her hands down the lines of her contour.

Exhibitionism was a common practice of her ancient people, as well as the people of Somek At'Grallah. Thus it was a regular sight in her culture to go partially or even fully nude, expressing the airs of both bodily pride and personal liberation. Yet Iste had always felt that fine clothes had added a tone of nobility to one's presence, and even if alone in her room, she decided that her matching green tunic and casual purple toga gave a sense of personal decorum.

While her regal lack of modesty caused her to hazard one more adoring glance into the mirror to admire her backside before dressing, she felt that she had indulged her vanity long enough. Even in private, she felt too much of that behavior led to the type of aristocratic arrogance she found unbecoming of true nobility.

It was better to simply let the ritual dressing be the period of self-idolization to laud oneself with fine fabrics and perfumes. She cloaked the toga about her, anointed her head with scented oils, powdered the pink of her hands and feet with fine talc, and then proceeded to her task at the work bench, where the peculiar bronzed rondure waited for her.

Iste looked it over first with a magnifying glass and then a jeweler's loupe before tapping it imploringly with a tuning fork and listening closely. She poked and prodded it carefully for a little over an hour before she sat back and looked at it perplexed and grumbled, “What are you?”

As if responding to her question the metallic ball whirred into life, rolling about the work bench before Iste could stop it and with a series of sudden clicks, the surface of the orb began to undulate and crack like an egg before the shell twisted and turned into a new shape. And from out of this egg unfurled a tiny clockwork man of humorous proportion; having a head the size of its body with large, round, inquisitive eyes and stubby little arms and legs which seemed to flail about uncontrollably at first until it found its footing.

It was by far not the most astounding thing she had ever seen, but it was endearing in its minor wonderfulness and she looked at it with a gleeful smile. The automation quickly noticed her watching him and shouted at her with a tiny metal voice.

“What am I? What art you? Questions, questions! That I'm not a difference engine makes no difference! Questions, questions! What lack of courtesy! Questions, questions right from the start! Not even a greeting! No hello's or how are ye's, but questions, questions from the start!”

Even though the mechanical man was obviously quite slighted, Iste found herself grinning all the more in spite of herself. However, she didn't want to offend the tiny automaton and she stood to give a slight and respectful bow as she stated, “I am Queen Iste-Hulwa, First of the knights of Somek At'Grallah, Northern Faction of the Higher Realms of the Terrestrial Space. I greet you and welcome you to my ship, the Axis-Mundi. Please, my dear sir, tell me who you are and how you came to be floating through the depths of the Deep-Aether.”

The metal man paused but the sound of spinning gears whined from within him, and then with a curtsy, he began to tick in a manner that reminded Iste of a purring cat.

“My name is Tattler, and I was a servant of the Former Grand Master, Ji Qi-Miao. He constructed me as he sailed this space upon the back of his magnificent clockwork whale. I was made to act as his journal, alarm clock, and secretary; but when he encountered a school of transcendental-krakens, I fell overboard in the battle. He must have believed me destroyed, for he never came back for me. With no means of propulsion, I went into sleep mode and have thus slept until you awoke me.”

This information pleased Iste and she said, “It is a delight to meet you, Tattler. I was a friend of your master, Ji Qi-Miao, and it is he who I am seeking now. If you are willing to help me, perhaps we can find him together.”

Tattler stopped ticking and his gears whirred for a moment as he said, “Calculating, calculating, calculating...” Until finally, he said, “Indeed, I will help you. Although I would appreciate a full oiling before any difficult questions are asked, my gears have grown stiff in my slumber.”

With a smile, Iste agreed, and after looking through her tools found some machine oil and got Tattler feeling a bit more limber. She even found some polish and did her best to brush out the scuff that their first meeting had left on the back of his head, although a small dent still remained. Minor indentation aside, it became obvious that Tattler felt instantly better to be oiled and polished, as he bounced around happily for the basic maintenance.

“So, Tattler,” Iste began. “You said that Qi had designed you to be his journal, does that mean you know where he was trying to go?”

Tattler scurried about as if he was ignoring her to look for something. “Oh yes, I know where he wanted to go. We were almost there in fact when we were attacked, but then he fled the beasts when it became apparent he was outnumbered and he vanished from my long range visual scanners.”

“You have long range visual scanners?” Iste asked politely, suddenly curious what powers the petite android possessed.

In a moment of pride, the metal man pranced about and chimed, “Why yes I do! I do! I do! I am fully capable of 500 times magnification, deep field observation, independent focus, and direct to point survey! Behold!” Reaching up as far as his tiny arms would reach, he pressed two rose colored buttons on his cheeks and with a sudden clapping sound, his huge crystal eyes suddenly protruded almost two feet from out of his head on a set of tubes.

The sudden unfolding gave the somewhat cartoon impression that he had seen something startling, and the force of their projection pushed Tattler back causing him to fall into a seated position. The eyes seemed to rotate in opposition as if they were both fighting to look in different directions, which required Iste to stifle a giggle as the lenses googled wildly at her.

Iste wasn't sure how to react and was confused by what he was showing her until she realized his eyes were actually a set of high powered, telescoping spyglasses. Iste stared for a moment without saying a word but could suddenly sense the little man was feeling a bit exposed and embarrassed by her lack of response so she quickly exclaimed, “Wow!” as sincerely as possible and then added, “Oh my, that is very impressive. So you're a lookout too? Does that mean you saw where Qi-Miao went even after you had been lost?”

Tattler's chest swelled with a sudden puff of steam and he cheerfully touched his cheeks to retract his eyes before responding. “Yes, I saw. For it seemed that he was drawn into a distant cosmic vortex just short of his goal, for Levee his whale was injured and unable to fight the current. Where it drew him off to I cannot say, but I could likely direct you to it so long as you took on the same heading. He was attempting to reach a certain star in the Carina constellation ofArgo Navis, in hopes of discovering a particular theoretical planet in orbit around the star Canopus, which was also called Ariki to some who gave it spiritual significance. This star was considered to be the southern polar star by the Ming Astrologer, Xu Guanggi, who noted it to be the most important star in the configuration of The Vermilion Bird of the South. But in secret star-maps of Xu Guanggi, acquired by Master Qi-Miao, there were also implications that within this system was a great source of magnetic consciousness which...”

As Tattler tried to finish what he was saying, he was interrupted by a sudden lurch of the ship. Before either of them could react a huge crashing noise accompanied a tremendous shaking that knocked them both onto the floor. The lights hummed and undulated as a loud series of blasting zaps roared out above them.

“Pom! Status? Report!” Iste shouted with calm authority as she got to her feet.

Pom immediately appeared although she was obviously still occupied simultaneously on the bridge, for her form was translucent and not all together there. “I'm not sure Captain! We seem to be under attack by invisible forces. Shields seem to be slowing down whatever it is but not holding them off and basic countermeasures seem ineffective. Weapon systems cannot lock in on an exact target. I've begun open barrage, but whatever it is it seems immune to our lasers.”

Iste grimaced. “Very well Pom, proceed with evasive maneuvers and full barrage. Attempt to overpower shields between volleys and see if that will push whatever it is off.”

Tattler scuttled across the floor, diving into the pile of cushions. “Not again! Not again! It is the Transcendental Space Krakens! Not again! I only just got out of the void, I do not want to be cast back into it so soon! Not again! Not again!”

Iste shouted at the pile of pillows. “Tattler! Pom said lasers aren't effective. If these are the Space-Krakens you faced before, did they show any weakness that you can recall?”

“They seemed immune to almost all attacks, only Levee's psychic sonar scream seemed to scare them off. It was just enough for the Master and her to get away.”

“Only vulnerable to direct psychic attack?” She chuckled confidently and grinned wide in spite of herself. “I suppose I'll just take care of this myself, then.”

With a swift, extravagant twirl, Iste unveiled herself in a singular motion. The folds of her garments floated down around her like autumn leaves, and Tattler's eyes shot out again as he watched Iste's form appear before him, nude and impeccable.

Falling into a short and distinct kata of elegantly choreographed dance, her movements were accented by the singing of a ghostly song that possessed an antediluvian quality. The ship shook and tilted and the artificial gravity failed sporadically. Various objects bounced across the room, falling and floating erratically. However, Istemoved gracefully by maintaining her own sense of reference, detached from space as the Axis-Mundi spun about her.

As her dance ended, she thrust her arms out to her sides and the green eagle statuette unfurled its wings and flew to her. Unfolding itself and then wrapping around her as it met her touch, she was again adorned in her ornate suit of mystical armor. Tapping her earrings, her head was encased in her heavy battle helm. Armed and armored she ran down the hall to the stone lift, shouting back over her shoulder, “Stay here and try to be safe, Tattler!”

The tiny automation remained buried deep in his pile of pillows but chirped loud in response. “Will do! Will do!” as he tried to shove his eyes back into his head.

As Iste rode the lift to the deck of her ship, she gripped in her right hand what appeared to be a large crystal point approximately a foot long. The points themselves were exposed and glistening prisms, but the center of the crystal appeared to be wrapped in leather held in place by twists of gold wire. This gold was braided at the ends, creating a series of thick, ornate cables which formed an elegant basket hilt like that of a saber.

She drew an electronic gun-shaped device out of a holster on her hip. Its barrel was a long pipe with several metallic bulbs near the end which terminated with a setting like that of an oversized wedding ring. In that setting was placed a red diamond larger than a fist, and it glowed with an energy that flickered across Iste's bright tan eyes as she exited from the ship's cabin.

Set in vivid darkness against the ship's blaze of northern lights were obvious yet unseen tendrils of nothingness, each wrapping themselves about the vessel. Iste glanced up the temple stairs where Pom drifted between several manifestations in order to operate the helm's console from several angles at once. She sensed that the limbs of this ethereal beast were seeking to strike at the ship's controls, but the outward push of the dryad's aura seemed to drive the unseen menace from its goal.

Iste knew that Pom's amber crystal radiated a raw telepsychic field as she projected her image, and although it was typically harmless to most beings she noted that the monster recoiled from the gem. Seeing this, she grinned as she realized that this confirmed Tattler's guess; that these Deep-Aether squids were susceptible to heightened mental energies.

Her heart pounded hard in a slow rhythm as she asked herself how long it had been since she had last been in the fray. Too long had she been trapped in the halls of power amid naught but pomp and circumstance. The diplomacy and politics of the aristocratic life had been her charge in hopes of maintaining the order of the higher realms. Yet she was now far and away from that place, and her body sang as the joy of battle gripped her; a warrior's hymn from elder lands long lost tasted like honey on her lips as she leapt into the sky.

The segmented metallic draperies that ran from the center of her back to the bracers of her gloved gauntlets erupted in a pink field of energy. This field was as solid as her armor and unfurled from her limbs as a set of rose colored wings. On these, she soared into the air like an angel to meet her foe. Realizing the beast was not to be seen by the light of mortal eyes, she closed her lids gently as she continued to ascend, singing boldly. Looking within, she saw the thing: gargantuan, bulbous, and lurid.

At first it appeared to be three monstrous cephalopods, each with a singular bulging red eye and several toothy beaked maws. But then she saw that the creature was a sort of hydra, one horror with three heads awkwardly bound together in grizzly folds of gathering mantle. From this macabre swell of fetid flesh, scores of maliciously spiked tentacles emanated, each dripping with acrid ectoplasm. Those tendrils not entangled about her ship were now reaching to halt her ascent, yet at the summit of her flight she sang the verse of victory in her ancient song and from the crystal handle of her blade-less sword flared a brilliant crackle of lightning.

From that minor storm, a rainbow brand rippling with a surging current of eldrich force erupted from that crystal hilt. Singing still, she spun in the air like the most masterful dancer and cut free a number of the creature's reaching pseudopod. The Kraken thrashed in pain bludgeoning the ship which careened wildly out of control despite Pom's vigilant efforts. The Axis Mundi filled the void with a vivid display of lights as batteries of lasers pulsed wildly into the distance with a thick ozone smell.

Iste dove down hard and fast in pursuit of the dreadful squid, driving her sword into the eye of the central head. As she punched through the membrane, it exploded in a wretched splatter that filled Iste's mind with awful visions, and her ears rang with the lingering psychic screams of the creature's past victims. Iste was caught off guard by the hallucinogenic images inspired by the being's spiritual gore spilled on her in melee, and the two remaining heads took the opening to strike.

It hit her in the center of the chest, driving her down into the stairs of the temple with a cracking of stone. Her head swam, but she fought off unconsciousness. She lifted her blaster to take aim but discovered the crystal had insufficient charge from the long period of disuse. She sought to sing but her diaphragm cramped in a pain that seized her breath, failing to notice that the wind had been knocked out of her in the heat of combat. combat. Iste gasped for her words as the pistol clicked uselessly in her hand.

The creature roared in a shrill whine just beyond her ability to hear, but in the lag of its scream, she could hear its bellowing shout in a deep residual hum that made the whole of the ship vibrate violently. For a brief moment, Iste felt a shock of fear as she could hear loud crackling sounds as the crystals that composed her ship began to shake themselves apart. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins finally drew her abdominal muscles back under her command and her chest once again filled with air.

She cried out with a sudden and beauteous crescendo, singing forcefully from her diaphragm, and the singular perfect note filled her blaster with energy. With a small tornado of glowing rings circling about the gun's diamond barrel, a brilliant torrent of radiant plasma ripped into the creature tearing the left head from its body. The creature itself was now gripped quite obviously with fear of its opponent, and let go of the ship. But this left the ship in free fall as it tumbled through the void. The creature attempted to descend with full force into Iste as she stood poised on the steps of the temple-helm.

Again the warrior of Atlantis and First Knight of Somek At'Grallah stood firm, shouting out with a loud kia followed by a glorious trill of song. From this melody she fueled a barrage of blaster fire, and amidst the flurry of prismatic strikes from her sword, the Transcendental-Kraken made a last effort to drive its immense bulk into her.

The stone stairs below her feet began to shatter and sent broken shards up about her. But her aura blazed bright as the sun and the strength of her mettle became a psychic shield of willpower, a perfect barrier set about her through which the monster could not pass.

With a last shrieking knell, the Kraken fell into a writhing death-roll which it used to fall into her with all its might, but in vain. In this last moment, the integrity of its body failed and in a sickeningly abhorrent mass, the creature discorporated. As it spontaneously turned into a viscous fluid it rained down onto the ship, smearing it with an ethereal slime that spattered across the deck and trailed behind them.

For a moment, Iste was overwhelmed by the hallucinogenic ectoplasm and fell faint into nightmare visions of remembrance. She was forced to recall other violent battles, wars with foes that had once been her friends. Exaggerated horrors created from her personal failings that swelled up from her long lived past, and the heart of all her fears: memories of her sinking homeland as the crystals below her feet shattered and the sky as she knew it vanished from her sight above.

“Iste! Iste! Wake up! By all the Animal Masters, Iste wake up!” The voice cut through the fog of miserable memories. “Iste! The ship is holding together but just barely. Many of the power crystals cracked and some of them even shattered. We're having trouble maintaining atmosphere and life support!”

Looking into the translucent umbra of the dryad's face, Iste remembered where she was. “All right, let me gather myself. The systems are damaged but not knocked out, so we just have to remain calm and start regeneration protocols. What about navigation, where are we? Where are we going?”

Pom looked pensive and with a deep frown said, “The engines are completely out. We're in full speed drift without steering.”

Iste tried to maintain composure, but she had to admit the situation was dire. As she tried to decide as to the next course of action, she noticed Tattler exiting the lift and climbing the stairs to join her, although the steepness of the steps provided him extreme difficulty. His awkward ascent made her smile despite circumstance, but she moved down the stairs to help him.

But it only took a few steps before she realized that she had to struggle herself. Her armor was resilient, but the nigh-physical power of the beast had managed to exceed its endurance. She seemed to have broken a rib or two in the fight, thus found herself sitting on the steps again trying to catch her breath.

The clockwork companion reached her, climbed into her lap and asked, “Is the danger over?”

Iste nodded to him with a light smile. “It is, but our ship is so damaged that our expedition is probably going to have to be halted until we are able to make appropriate repairs. Searching for Ji Qi-Miao will have to wait.”

Extending his telescoping eyes outward, he glanced off in the direction that the ship seemed to be drifting before retracting them again. In a happy tone, Tattler gave a chiming report. “Oh no, oh no, don't you worry about that. Damaged or not our ship is still in pursuit of my master. If you look you'll see, we approach the same cosmic vortex into which he and Levee fell!”

Watching as Tattler pointed off into space, Iste shot a worried glance at Pom who vanished to the ship's helm and returned in a flash.

“He's right,” the dryad somberly reported. “We're being drawn towards an unidentifiable spacial anomaly. Advanced analysis indicates no conclusions about the nature of the aberration, but early readings do suggest that it may be a cosmic vortex.”

Although a mild sense of dread lingered, Iste found herself amused more than fearful. "Wonderful,” she said with a reassuring grin. “At least we're on the right track.”

#sci fi & fantasy #original character #short story #trans author #poc characters

8 notes · View notes

vskpop · 7 years

Text

June 2017 ⋅ Critical Cute Concept

As If It's Your Last - BLACKPINK

In the last few weeks, I’ve been fascinated by k-pop fans’ obsession with finding similarities between Blackpink and 2NE1. I was particularly struck by the huge deal made about the fact that As If It’s Your Last is not a new song, as if songs weren’t composed and left there until the right person comes along since the beginning of time (and as if all Teddy songs didn’t have elements in common).

Just to make one example, Russian Roulette had been doing the rounds at SM since before Red Velvet even debuted, but I didn’t see anyone reacting with outrage to this, even though the song might well have been for f(x) for all we know. I am seriously shocked by the amount of energy that the k-pop fandom is putting into trying to take Blackpink down, as if that even made any difference in their favourites’ career.

That said, before the comeback actually happened, I had one real problem with it: the fact that it would be a single digital release. Blackpink have never been generous with their releases: they only put out two couples of songs so far, with no b-sides. I’m not sure why they would waste a perfectly good song and delay their “actual” comeback (and a physical release) even more.

All in all, I think it still worked out well for them. Even though it is just one song, it’s clear that YG is not doing things cheaply (despite people finding problems with the MV as well, of course): each member has seven or eight changes in the video, there are a thousand sets, everything is lusciously designed and studied down to the last detail.

As If It's Your Last is the limit of how many mismatched sections I can take; it switches quite jarringly from the head-spinning bass of the verse to the slower pre-chorus to the super-pop chorus to Lisa’s intense rap section (which is also, quite confusingly, entirely in English). It could have done with being a bit more cohesive, but with more listens, the haphazard structure of the song is drowned by how catchy it is.

Before the song was released, it was described as the first “pink” release from them, as opposed to the “black” of the previous edgier songs. I think that they made a seamless transition between their signature style and this colourful, more joyous version of themselves. They are cute, but not saccharine, “innocent”, baby-voice-y.

I’m waiting for Blackpink to do something I hate, but for now, I will keep following them as if they’re my last love (get it?).

youtube

Kwon Ji Yong - G-Dragon

June has been a terrible month for Big Bang fans.

The short story for people who have been living under a rock is that T.O.P was charged with smoking marijuana (a criminal offence in South Korea), expelled from the police where he was serving his military service, he overdosed on anxiety medication, was unconscious for a couple of days, then recovered and was moved to a mental health unit, then was tried and sentenced to two years of probation with ten months in prison if he breaks the terms.

In the midst of this, G-Dragon had announced his comeback and had to go through with it because he was about to start a tour with 30+ announced dates, which would have been pretty complicated to cancel.

I don’t think it’s necessary to explain that, like anything put out by G-Dragon, it’s a masterpiece. As usual, it has very little to do with what people expect when they talk about k-pop, and I would argue it doesn’t have a lot to do with pop in general.

To me (and to him, considering the title is his real name) this is the definitive G-Dragon album. Even if he didn’t put out anything else, this would complete and explain his oeuvre. Each of the songs captures a particular time and feel of his career, and he has space to examine his public life, his persona, and his personal struggles. This comment on Reddit really explains the trajectory and the meaning of the album and I don’t think there is a lot to add.

youtube

Ceremony - Pentagon

I love everything that Cube is doing with Pentagon right now. Fresh from the good run of Hui and E’Dawn in Triple H, as well as the stellar success of the song that Hui penned for Produce 101 Never, Pentagon have a lot going for them right now.

In a sea of tropical house (drink!), they reference Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and find their voice with a hooky chorus and an image built around being ironic instead of trying to be edgy at all costs (which, granted, they had tried to do before).

The costuming of this comeback deserves an honourable mention: they have been wearing some extraordinary suits on stage, and they are always tailored perfectly. Some favourites: M Countdown on 15/06, Music Bank on 23/06, Inkigayo on 25/06, Music Core on 01/07.

I have especially come to appreciate the fact that the members of Pentagon have different enough physical builds (some tall, some short, some bulky, some skinny) to never look like a shapeless mass of people even though there are ten members. Each of them gets a moment to shine on stage, which is not always the case when a group a lot of members. I don’t like big groups, but this one just works.

youtube

Cherry Bomb - NCT 127

I have a long history of loving NCT despite the mess of their structure, but why do they always look so unhappy and try-hard on stage? I can’t find a single performance where they seem to be enjoying what they are doing.

While I appreciate that they are trying to be edgy and experimental - something k-pop always needs more of - I feel that they missed the mark with Cherry Bomb. The dissonant voices, the distortion, the intense bass, the mismatched sections are too much to work as a pop product this time.

The repetition of various sentences (“I’m the biggest hit on the stage”, “빨리빨리 피해 right / Cherry bomb feel it yum”) in Cherry Bomb makes up for almost the entirety of the song, which gets really obnoxious really quickly. I found “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands” funny the first five times, then I was tired of it.

Differently from Cube with Pentagon, SM just can’t seem to find a song that gives space to every member of the group. Johnny and Haechan are basically invisible in the performance; WinWin and Yuta get to mouth to some of Taeyong’s lines, without actually singing any of them.

Once again, the rest of the album is quite good, but sounds like they were given the scraps of other groups (especially SHINee, in this case). What’s important to note is that literally any song would have been a catchier single than Cherry Bomb (full disclosure: they’ve still sold like 70,000 physical copies).

youtube

Archangels of the Sephiroth - Stellar

I ended up sort-of following Stellar because they were someone else’s unfortunate favourite - that group that’s always on the edge of disbanding or worse, wallowing in their trainee debt until the end of time.

Archangels of the Sephiroth is a sharp turn from their previous concepts; they have added a new member, and to celebrate this they have gone down the fantasy/dark route with a music video in which they literally drown the new girl in a bathtub full of blood.

I don’t know why I’m so excited by the pseudo-satanic concept, but I love it and I love their new song. I like the intensity, the sort-of-mystical vibe, the shouty chorus, the big drums. I’m not so enthusiastic about the weird use of the Kabbalah they made in the insane additional material/game/alternate universe for the comeback (I was sure it was a Final Fantasy reference, oops), but I don’t have the instruments to understand how bad it is, so if you do, let me know.

It’s bizarre to consider the title track Archangels of the Sephiroth in the context of the mini-album; the rest of the songs definitely belong to the “old” Stellar vibe, and most of them could have been good lead singles without the witchcraft.

youtube

RAPID FIRE ROUND

Stroke - Gummy

Whether Gummy qualifies as k-pop is part of a larger debate on what the label actually means, but this is hands down my favourite album of the month, so I will put it here anyway because I want to. Don’t miss Stop Talking and Room Service.

youtube

Shine Forever - Monsta X

Is this at all meant to be a conclusion to the story Monsta X started with All In (aka the song that got me into Monsta X)? Who managed to give some decent hair to Jooheon for the first time in his entire career? “I’m fascinated by the bright light of your beauty”?

youtube

Jinsoul - Loona

I’ve been following Loona very very closely since the beginning of their debut project and I’ve been loving almost all of their releases (my favourites are still Heejin and Haseul). This second sub-unit of the final group has been receiving much more interest than any of the first five girls ever did, and I have to admit that I have fallen for Jinsoul’s future bass track Singin’ In The Rain. I’m curious to see how she and the other “girl crush” members will fit with the “innocent” ones ... in a year or so.