#kim's convenience spoilers

[ashleybenlove]

I always love see Carson Teva, mostly because it’s an opportunity to see Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

[pincheghosts]

Love that Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is back for Mando

[iznsfw]

Fic idea: Mommy contest eunbi vs irene

Predator & Prey

Part Four of Dulce Periculum | Previous Part | Next Chapter

Red Velvet's Bae Joohyun (Irene) x IZ*ONE's Kwon Eunbi x Male Reader Smut

7,994 words

Categories | principal!Irene x (jealous)girlfriend!Eunbi x student!You, mommy kink, cunnilingus, oral double blowjob, snowballing, cumswap, degradation, female cucking

Surprise, it was a spoiler! Had to move the time to avoid posting in the night lol So... this is dedicated to @subfortwice, who ignites the Dulce Periculum universe, @idevian whose tutor Eunbi ask started it all, to my birthday twin @eunbisrabbit who had the idea of the collarbone thing, and to best boi @sinswithpleasure. I appreciate everything and every one of you guys! And again, sorry for the usual self-indulgent style that the whole Dulce Periculum series is based on XD and the barely edited fic. Eunrene just drive me crazy

“You little brat.”

That’s the first thing you say the next time you see Eunbi at school. Not even a “hi” or a “how are you,” but when she’s set you up to fuck her teacher and led you into a trap, it’s definitely a nice way to open your little story. This tiny little thing of a story going down, down, down the rabbit hole. 

(Holes.)

It’s all her fault. She’s conveniently fended off your questioning of the incident at the Kwon household. Now, however, with her parents nowhere to save her from your schemes, you’ve got your eyes on her. Soon, your hands will be, too. She can’t escape now. 

Eunbi squeals in fear and excitement when you run after her. Alright, so maybe she can escape. That’s fair. You bump through masses of walking students, trying to find her in the crowd. It's impossible to not identify her when her glasses and wavy hair give her away, so your eyes remain locked on her like a sniper. Your hands just itch to get on her. 

Students pass you weird and amused looks. You and Eunbi, after all, are always on some dumb shit. However, you care not for it especially if ignoring them leads you to finally cornering your girlfriend in the backyard school garden. It's a dead end—no windows or doors are here for her to attract help. She's laughing, too, and screaming a little as you pin her to the high school building wall. 

"Mmm, oppa," she giggles between her squirms and struggles, "stop—"

"You think you were slick, Eunbi?" you ask. Your fist keeps her wrists above her head. What a pretty little twist of fate—if she lured you into the trap that's Kim Taeyeon, now you're the one tying her up into your makeshift trap. It's more satisfying than seeing Jo Yuri get scolded. "For whoring me out to that teacher you're so obsessed with?"

She nods mindlessly. "Yesss."

"Brat." Kiss her. She giggles. Of course, that prompts several other kisses. "That's what you are, you know. A little fucking brat." 

Your chest fills with happiness at how she smiles and laughs despite your teasing words. She knows you'd never do anything to hurt her. It's all a little fun play of words. A little skit, to be more truthful. 

Speaking of, there's some factualness to your words, too, and she knows it. Eunbi's crushed on Taeyeon for too long and sees her as an actual mommy that she isn't jealous of your little getaway with her at all. She's probably prouder than you'd assume of her idea. 

But of course, she denies it. Denies it with every inch of her annoyingly gorgeous body.

"Can you please forgive me, oppa?" Eunbi's eyes gleam. "I promise I won't slut you out to mommy again, I pinky promise!"

She's wearing the uniform Taeyeon borrowed, and thinking of how there's still some of your teacher on it, that there's a good amount of your cum embedded into its fabric, makes you more turned on than you should. Eunbi with her arms up in her tiny uniform is an added factor. 

But then there's also a few more classes to attend. You can't fuck her here. You'd love to more than anything, yet Eunbi has her priorities, and you don't want to hold her back.

Release her hands. "One day I'll get back at you," you warn. "You're really gonna get it."

You let her off with a warning. You can be the cop here—you'd cuff her hands with your fingers, tack them to a wall or mattress, teach her a lesson. Tear that cheeky smile off her face and replace it with the lewdest expression. But you're a good cop, or at least, as good as one can get. You know it's what she wants: to be punished incessantly, so you're not giving it to her. It would be putting out fire with fire.

You turn her heel to leave. Like so, you leave her unfulfilled and needy, which is exactly how you want her to be.

"Oppa!" whines Eunbi. She runs after you. "I'm sorry!"

You shut your eyes and laugh. In hindsight, you really shouldn't have. It would have shown you a dash of a shadow mooring and watching, and prepared you for what will happen later on. 

-

Let's just say later on a letter is written. You and Eunbi don't know it yet, but there is a letter—it's written in rehearsed formality, sent to the principal's office, and given by a person who's got more control than they should have. 

So, again, just for context: there's real parchment sent to her that ties this whole story together. There's a dual meeting, and a whole lot of evidence. Keep that in mind.

-

It's one giant teenage hell in the classroom.

The boys are gaming on their phones with the Filipino exchange student, who introduced them to League of Legends. The girls have flocked to the bathrooms arm in arm, while the others stay behind to braid some of their classmates’ hair. There’s messy chalked writing on the blackboard, some too explicit to even be allowed (“Wan-pipty for wan subo," courtesy of the Filipino student, of course, and although you don’t understand his language, you have a good idea of what it means), and others promoting their favorite K-pop groups (“stan BLACKPINK, you uncultured fucks!!!!!”, to which someone has replied: “Doesn’t everyone?”).

But what else can you expect from a batch of eighteen-year-olds, especially when it’s vacant time? 

That's right: exactly this.

Either-which-way, it’s a complete mess, is what you’re saying. There's no one around to keep the noisy mess contained, not even Eunbi, who's trying to vent her frustration through doodling on her notebook. She’s already drawn several plotless comics and a rabbit named Bi, but the noise still gets to her. It irks her soul so much that her hands squeeze up and loosen too much of a grasp on her pen.

Click. It bounces back up. You catch it with one swoop of your hand. You could be Spiderman in another life. Watch out, Tom Holland, or whatever. 

“God,” she says, looking up from her notebook with a frustrated, sarcastic smile, “do these people ever shut up?”

You chuckle. You’re an open fan of Eunbi breaking her kind, forgiving character and just growing tired of everyone’s bullshit. It’s an occurrence rarer than thunder coming before lightning, a once-in-a-lifetime show only a select few are allowed to see. She’s too kind, really, that although she's the lead role, she bails out of it often.

Gesture to the messy classroom and say, in a matter-of-fact voice: “Welcome to senior year.”

“Can you tell them to be quiet?” she asks.

“Miss Myoui said only you can.” Quote her: “‘You’re the president, right? You go tell ‘em.’”

Right, Eunbi says to herself. She’s been wrapped up in too many responsibilities—captain of the volleyball team, president of every school club you can think of, plus end-of-the-year valedictorian just to name a few—that she forgets that these positions even hold meaning. It’s the norm for her to be given the highest positions in each category that it’s quite tiring, if she were to be honest. But she has her mother to please, along with herself. She can’t let either of them down.

Sighing, she leans back into her chair. “I just wish everything would, like, stop for a moment.” She closes her eyes, as if to dream of that being possible. Unfortunately, the world goes on with or without the fantasizing. “I wish I could get a break.”

“Hey.” You pat her thigh and caress it above her short school skirt. “Cheer up. You don’t have to be so excellent all the time. You can just,” wring a hand in the air for emphasis, “you know, be okay. Average.”

“But my mom…” 

Sigh. You realize it’s easier said than done. While your parents are lenient and have gotten used to your low grades, your girlfriend’s aren’t that nice. You know that from your visits to the Kwon household. Her mother and father try to be subtle about the pressure, but there’s something in the air that passes and tenses that tells you there’s a lot more to the situation than you think. Whatever it is, it's clear that being a Kwon isn't that fun.

Sometimes you wish you could trade places with Eunbi and withstand her problems for her. You hate seeing her like this. 

“Your mom?” a menacing new voice asks. “Or would you rather say… mommy?”

Eunbi’s eyes open suddenly and enlarge. She recognizes that word, and unfortunately, she remembers using it on someone she shouldn't have been with. So do you, for which you turn your gaze upwards. 

Of course it’s Jo Yuri. She’s your mortal enemy dressed in deceiving innocent school uniform. She’s wearing a knowing smile on her face. It always means bad news, and right now, the main topic of it is you. 

What does she know? Most importantly: why did she say that? 

In your anxiety, you can’t even defend yourself or your girlfriend.

“Y-Yuri—” stammers Eunbi, the look in her eyes being one of a deer caught in headlights. She’s a terrible liar at heart, so even if she were able to finish her sentence, it would have come out oddly. Probably even add up to proof of her guilt.

Yuri smirks proudly. “I know all about your dirty little secret, Eunbi,” she says. “About what you did with professor Kim while everyone was at the Intrams… about what you called her…”

Every step she takes rounding your cluster spells trouble, and you can’t say you didn’t bring it upon yourself. However, you're still scared to death.

“Cut it,” you say. Even for a troublemaker, your voice trembles. Not a good look… er, sound, rather. “We don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Your head races with anxious thoughts and distress. How did Yuri know about that little session you had with Taeyeon? Were you guys that loud? Perhaps she had a source or spy nearby? You've no idea which one it is, and that's what scares you more than the consequences.

Eunbi's silent, refusing to speak. She looks anywhere but Yuri's eyes. Her ears are red and it's impossible to denote anything from the two of you but obvious guilt.

“Oh, is that so?” Yuri pouts mockingly. "Guess you'll have no reason to talk to principal Bae right"—she checks her watch, then smiles widely—"now."

The speaker attached to the wall of your classroom buzzes, catches the attention of everyone and says: "Will miss Kwon from 12-A and her boyfriend please come down to the principal's office?"

Okay, so maybe you are scared of the consequences just as much as you're scared of how Yuri found out.

Everyone's looking at you now. How could you feel so cold yet so hot at the same time? Everybody's eyes are burning holes in your skin, and your spine's undergone several chills that you feel numb already. 

Are you even alive? 

Your breaths are bated and Eunbi's shifting in her seat nervously. You should have seen this happening. Yuri's had a vendetta against the two of you ever since you and Eunbi got together. She's haughty, she's proud, she's rich—and for that, she's got her sources everywhere, can even manipulate official school results through pure influence. You hate yourself for being a terrible boyfriend and letting this happen to Eunbi. 

Yuri smiles as you and Eunbi rise from your seats. She waves goodbye at you coyly, and leaves everyone in the room confused. Each one of them, even the boys gaming at the back, are wondering the same thing word-for-word: what happened?

-

You don't speak while taking the stairs with her, and neither does she. You don't tell her that you're dizzy from the curving paths and she doesn't say how cold her hands are. However, you both know so, since you're both reluctant and afraid to meet the principal and didn't expect it to reach this point. It's your fault and hers, equally split, the modern day Adam and Eve. Could Yuri be the snake? Would God banish you? 

Probably, but you had it coming.

The steps you take are slow. You're afraid of what might come. But you suppose nobody's more afraid than Eunbi. She's the face of the school for the honors she's achieved. Everything can go wrong with one wrong move, and that's what this is. She put everything on the line, not expecting anything to happen, only for it to be taken all away.

Once you reach the ground floor, Eunbi suddenly grabs your wrist. Her small hand can only wrap around half of it, but her hold is tight. It carries meaning in its tightness, urging you to look at her.

"Oppa, j-just want to say…" She looks down at her school shoes in shame. "I'm sorry for pulling you into this."

You're not mad at her. You can never be. You're just… regretful. If you hadn't let lust propel your actions, maybe there wouldn't be reason for the two of you to be down here. You've been sent to the principal's office countless times, but this is the first time you're actually scared. What more when it's with Eunbi? She's never gotten in trouble before.

"Don't be," is all you say. "Let's just get it over with, okay? Together?" 

Mold your hand to fit hers, and she's smiling again, in spite of what's about to come.

You make the first move to knock. Eunbi nearly cries as she watches your knuckles meet wood. You wrap an arm around her and enter.

Long time, no see. Bae Irene's office is as grand as ever. Seems like this is where the tuition fees go: grand marble floors, a statue of a naked Greek goddess, and a fine desk that sits in the center of the room. Certificates, awards, and medals stack the shelves and walls that put even Eunbi's achievements to shame. Perhaps they're what intimidate her more than the woman standing in front of the desk.

"Good afternoon, miss Bae," you say. 

In certain angles, the principal looks just like Eunbi. Or maybe it's the other way around? The glasses don't help differentiate them. That makes you understand why people have a theory that there's a kind of narcissism in Irene that made her put Eunbi as the face of the school. 

What else can you expect from Irene, anyway? She's older, wiser, and tougher. The last one bears repeating. That by itself should be good enough justification as to why you shouldn't have fucked Taeyeon, why you shouldn't be such a troublemaker. God knows she's tired of seeing your face in here. She’d expect Eunbi would have a good influence on you, but instead, you've turned your poor girlfriend into a nymphomaniac. 

Maybe everything about this is your fault after all.

Irene knows this. "You've turned your girlfriend into one of yours, hm?" she asks. Rhetorical question or not, all three of you know the answer. "First time seeing you here, miss Kwon."

"Miss Bae," says Eunbi timidly. She's trying a diplomatic approach here—it's all she knows in navigating life. Unfortunately, it won’t work here. "We're sorry. It won't happen again."

She smiles condescendingly. "So you know why you're here."

Irene's peaceful yet scary tone is exactly the reason for her English name, derived from the goddess of peace. She looks the part, too. Her pale skin can be the marble used to carve her most holy altar, and her sharp gaze can be replicated in it. She's like an older and more intimidating counterpart of Eunbi. She's smart as well, but not afraid to show it.

"I—I’m sorry," Eunbi says, realizing she's cornered into confession. It's as if all her speaking skills have evaporated in this room. It makes her nervous; you know so because her hand’s almost deathly cold in your touch. "We'll do anything to make it right." 

Irene clicks her tongue. "It doesn't work that way, miss Kwon. You two had sexual relations with a teacher. It isn't something that can be resolved with community service."

How did she know? You think and think, and all your suspicions, though they jump from Taeyeon (she's in the wrong here, too, so why should she be suspected when she's at as much risk in getting trouble?) to Minju (why the angel, out of all people?) to anybody else, all lead to one person: 

Jo Yuri. Of course it was her. But how?

You suppose that doesn't matter now that you're in Irene's office again. What's worse is that you brought Eunbi with you, the one person you swore you wouldn't toss into all your trouble. It feels like betraying her and everything your relationship has promised.

"Look," you say, taking a step forward, "we're sorry. Really. But please just let me take the blame. Suspend me or something. Just please don't hurt professor Kim or Eunbi, miss Bae."

"How touching, Kim Taeyeon's got you head over heels for her. I wonder what made you like her that much."

"Nothing, miss Bae. It was… just a one-time thing."

"I see, so the word 'mommy' doesn’t ring a bell?"

You stiffen. So does Eunbi, suddenly losing grip of your hand and losing her balance a little. In conclusion: yea, that word rings not only a bell, but a whole fucking gong in your mind.

Of course, Irene sees through this and rolls her eyes to heaven, as if she were making fun of you telepathically to an unknown deity. "Oh, so it does, huh?" she says, lifting her hands in the air. It's obvious, really, and she should have expected it. "Of course. One woman treats you like shit during sex and you drool for her. Of-fucking-course."

Your professional principal daring to curse in front of her students catches you off guard. But you know that, despite this, she's right. There are a lot of deeply internalized issues in you and Eunbi that would have reserved the right to be connected to the fling. These issues are the reason you like Taeyeon after all, but justifying the situation using them won't help your case at all. Irene doesn't take kindly to beggars of pity.

She walks over to the two of you. You subconsciously back away. It's instinctive, and you really should have gone through with what your gut tells you when the woman continues.

"I wonder how you ended up with miss Kwon then, if that's your type." Irene approaches her lookalike and laughs a little. "This little girl can't even get on top without begging for your dick five seconds later."

"That's not true," Eunbi stutters. She tenses up when the older woman strokes her shoulders. "I, I take control all the time, miss Bae. You can't just assume…"

If whatever's going on weren't putting your life at stake, you'd let out the biggest laugh to ever be heard by man. It's just insanely untrue. Eunbi's the most passive girl you've had the blessing to be with. It's just not in her to dominate in the bedroom. Debates and civil arguments in school are all things she tops, but when it comes to you, it's just out of the question.

"Then show me," Irene says. Massaging the girl's shoulders, her smirk creates a new punishment for you to abide by. "Show me how you control your bad little boyfriend."

The anxious, whimpering Eunbi has no time to think about how fucked up this is. She grabs your shoulders and pushes you to Irene's desk. She kisses you clumsily, tearing your uniform with shaking hands. 

Her lips create a path downwards your chest. She unbuckles your belt and drops to her knees. You breathe through your teeth when her mouth works itself on your cock. Down, up, down, up, and a sweet little kiss at the tip. Perfect for you, but not for your principal, who has higher standards, apparently.

Irene smirks, shaking her head pitifully. "Darling," she says before she kneels before you, too, "you really don't know how to do this, do you?"

Eunbi shakes her head. The fact that she's ashamed is, unlike her claim earlier, not a lie.

"Ah." In a sudden affectionate and motherly act, Irene rubs the student's thigh. "You're better off being a good little girl, is that it?" 

"Mmm. Yes."

“You’d rather be your oppa’s submissive little doll? Do anything he wants?”

“Y-yes, miss Bae.”

"That won't do here. You have to pay for what you've done, or else it wouldn't be fair."

Eunbi whines. Is it in protest or pleasure? Irene's fingers have crept under her skirt and to regions they're supposed to be restricted from. The cause is probably a mix of both, but you can guess what they're doing when you see Eunbi grinding down on your principal's hidden hand. 

"How about this?" Irene offers to you. "Miss Kwon and I will take turns on you. We test out who can dominate you better, and whoever does gets to do whatever they want to the rest."

"Miss Bae—" 

Irene pulls her fingers out of Eunbi and spanks her. Your girlfriend gasps and her hips flinch. Yeah,  apparently, there's no way to back out of this. "Close the door, slut. Lock it. You, shut the blinds. I don't want to get in trouble for fucking you spoiled brats."

There's truly no resistant bone in Eunbi's body with how quickly she scampers to the door. You can't say you're any better. You and your girlfriend obey the principal's orders like you're her pets, and perhaps that's a little true. Maybe this is the beginning of something new. Something a little screwed up, yeah, but new.

Whatever this is, you hope it'll get you out of getting your life royally fucked over. You used to not give a damn if that ever happened, but when Eunbi's on your side, you become more cautious. 

(If you were in a better state of mind, you’d recognize how having sex with your principal can and will contribute to your cautiousness going to no avail, but you’ve got two gorgeous women kneeling in front of you. What else is better than this?)

"Sit down." Irene pushes you down her swivel chair. "We're gonna have fun with you first. Call this a little," she winks, "practice session."

Your heart almost stops. You're thrust down even more into the cushion, and the foreign feeling of the principal's tongue provides an aching rush of blood to your cock. Meanwhile, Eunbi attends to your heavy balls, licking and sucking at the sensitive flesh. 

Your skin is on fire. The two beautiful women smear their salivas on your erection. Their tongues collide at times, making Eunbi recoil in shock at times, but not for too long that your penis is devoid of attention. Irene doesn’t mind at all. She’s fine with the occasional dab of her tongue on Eunbi’s mouth, and coating the sheen of saliva she’s left with more. No inch is left needy—while Irene teases your base with sharp licks between smirks, the other girl sloppily makes out with your dickhead. 

"Stop. You don't want your boyfriend here to think he can do anything he wants to you.” Irene’s rough fist stiffens the mast of your erection, and although it's pleasurable, it's also painful. Her speed is too much for a start to the show. "You need to put him in his place. Do it because you want to feel good about it, not him."

"B-but…"

"I'll show you."

Eunbi departs from your crotch and Irene does… well, nowhere near leaving, that's for sure. It's like your cock was just liquid streaming down her throat with how fast she takes you in. Her mouth is small, but she swallows it all expertly. Her hands tie your thighs down to the chair.

Being in Irene's mouth is a wet dream. Literally. Her slick tongue and cheeks rub your tip. They're just appetizers for the main course: her delectable throat that's thin and tight on you. She's almost forcing you to deal with her relentless blowing, betting her career that you can't withstand it. She doesn't need innocent, Bambi eyes to make it appealing when she has that goddess-like face, yet you have to prove her wrong.

But then she wraps her soft, jutted lips around your base and elegantly slides them up with puckered suction. She's not even fucking your rod with her throat anymore and you automatically say something you shouldn't have:

"Mommy, please."

Irene stops and smiles at Eunbi. "See what I'm saying?" she says with overflowing satisfaction. "It just comes naturally to him, doesn't it? Now it's your turn. Make me proud."

The pupil obeys. When has she ever done anything but that? You aren't complaining, though; her pretty mouth ranks up in their competition. 

The two women are so different in so many different ways. Eunbi's gentle blowing, her eyes glimmering with broken innocence that always dart to your face to see if you're enjoying, is far from Irene's harsh one. She bluntly licks at your tip, sparking precum to drip into her mouth, before she slowly takes it all in. Again, widely different compared to Irene's experienced swallow, but who's keeping note? You sure aren't; you're just glad to have the best of both worlds.

"That's a good girl," Irene says. She gathers Eunbi's hair into a makeshift ponytail to help her out. "Don't be afraid to go a little crazy. If you do a good job I might just play with your cute little pussy."

Eunbi shuts her eyes and moans. Your breath is long gone with how her soft, pleasured sounds vibrate on your cock. If that weren't enough, she's lifting her head up and down with a pace that's a little quicker than before, nudging your cock deep inside her mouth. It's past that, actually; your cockhead slips down the end and bears the overwhelming feeling of her airway blocked by your girth.

"M-mmmph!"

"Aw, poor girl's choking," Irene remarks mockingly. "What's the matter, miss Kwon? Can't take it?"

Eunbi tries to surprise her by taking it all down. Unfortunately, it’s too much for her. Instead, she whimpers and chokes. 

While she gags, you moan without shame. "I'm gonna cum, baby," you announce. Your cock feels like it's going to burst with her throat spasming around it. 

Her lips tighten around your tip. It successfully manages to flow your cum directly into her mouth. Irene jacks you off to help out. The younger girl's mouth is soon flooded with the natural waterfall of your cum. It could turn into a natural disaster; Eunbi’s already struggling to save all your load. 

"Don't swallow it. Come here."

Irene forces Eunbi's face to hers and kisses her deeply. Your girlfriend's hands are frozen in the air as they share your cum. The older woman’s hand imprisons her jaw in place so she can greedily collect your cum from the passive mouth. You see the shimmer of your semen as it’s passed from one tongue to another, hear the breathy moan of your girlfriend, feel your cock become more solid.

Irene swallows whatever she's gotten and, as an end to the makeout session, licks the other girl's plump, cumstained lips. "Ah, you’re really delicious," she says. "And your girlfriend's so cute. No wonder professor Kim likes you two so much."

You’re still in shock at the sight, but the mention of your professor gets you to make another comparison with said woman. She and Irene are alike, too, but differ so much as well. They’re both violent, but at least Taeyeon has a nice streak in her; she attended to you after the violent copulation in the classroom. Irene's gentle gestures are done only to please her will. But even with those contrasting traits set in the Venn diagram, you can't choose between the two of them: the dominant principal or the quietly pretty professor? 

Irene pulls Eunbi's hair mercilessly, yanking her head backwards and exposing her beautiful neck. "It's just too bad that she's terrible at being a mommy," she murmurs. Her fingers trace the large tits threatening to burst out of the buttoned fabric. "Such a perfect body for it, but completely useless."

"Oppa, that's not true, right?" asks Eunbi, squirming. "I'm good at being your girl, aren't I?"

"Who was a better mommy, baby boy? Me or her?"

It's not even a question. As much as your heart is biased towards the girl who owns it, it's obviously—

"You, mommy."

"Oppa!" Eunbi protests. She looks genuinely hurt. It's the first time she's ever been second place in anything, and it hits her right where it's already sore.

Irene's grin is smug. It's beautiful, but actually terrifying. It's a sign that everything will only go downhill from here. "What should I do with you two now, hm?" 

"Please,” says Eunbi. Struggling to compose herself now that the principal is playing with her breasts, she fights to say anything without moaning. “Please give me one more chance, mom– miss Bae… please, I'll be good—oh, I'll be so good—"

Your principal drags Eunbi up by her hair. "Stand over there if you're so good, mommy." One swift push sends her stumbling to the edge of her desk. 

Eunbi, sniffling through her tears, awaits her next order. There's something in her face aside from the wet tears; it's a tale of how much she wants to be as good as Irene at using you that competes with her desire to please her. She's been a people-pleaser all her life, and it's hard to break its shackles, especially when Irene orders her to grind herself down the end of her desk, with one rule:

“Don’t cum until I say so.”

The panties slip off her plentiful thighs. She closes her eyes as she settles her nub over the edge of the wooden desk. Slowly, she starts to move.

"F-fuck." Eunbi places a shaking palm over her mouth.

"Exactly what your boyfriend's going to do to me," quips Irene. "See, this is how you put a man in his place." 

She tears her pencil skirt apart with no hesitation. After, she confidently sits on your lap, filling her cunt to the hilt. You tense up; her round ass on your lap is a blessing alone, but when it comes to her cunt, it’s a whole heavenly reward. Although Irene speaks and acts with nothing other than confidence, if not arrogance, her pussy is too tight for your cock to even pulse. When it barely does, her textured velvety walls cease it with a firm clench.

“Holy shit, mommy. You’re so”—between gritted teeth, you groan and rest your hands on Irene’s ant waist—“fucking tight.”

“I know,” says Irene. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

The whole situation is sinful. Watching your girlfriend having nothing to do but touch herself on the inanimate object and helplessly watch the two of you fuck is one thing, but Irene’s perfect ass on your lap is in another world. Galaxy might be more accurate. The melody of their moans causes you to struggle in keeping yourself from cumming too fast, but it’s already a challenge with Irene’s pussy fucking itself on you. She’s as tight as she looks, and probably would have been the ruinable type if she weren’t the way she is.

She leans back into your chest and caresses the side of your face with a surprisingly gentle hand. With timed movements, she lifts herself off and on your erection. Her folds splay apart to welcome you inside, into a whole, slick world. “I guess he’s all mine now, yeah?” she asks Eunbi. “He seems to like mommy better, Eunbi-ya.”

When she’s fingered and forced the girl to sexually stimulate herself on her table, there’s no need for even the polite formalities. There’s not even a chance for it to resurface when Eunbi’s already tearing up. 

“Oppa likes me, too,” she says. The jealousy brewing like a potion cauldron inside her drives her gyrations on the desk to go faster. It’s a fucked up coping mechanism for the sight in front of her. “You still like me best, don’t you, oppa?”

“Of course… fuck”—forget what you’re saying when Irene grinds her hips in circles and bounces her ass cheeks into your lap—“of course I do.”

She certainly knows her way around a dick. Her seductive rounds on your crotch and the measured riding just tell you that she’s had way more than enough experience in this realm, which, in terms of that, places her first. Eunbi’s a sore loser who doesn’t like that fact, but you can’t rig her a place anyway.

“But listen to how he’s moaning, babygirl,” Irene points out. You really don’t intend to moan again in order to avoid hurting Eunbi’s feelings, but Irene keeps a consistent squeeze of her vaginal walls on you and makes all go awry. “He loves my pussy. He loves it when I use him. I presume it’s not the same when it’s with you?”

Try to shut her up by rubbing her clit, but she only murmurs a series of “yes”’s. Besides, the damage, although fired from simple words, is already done; Eunbi’s quivering bottom lip is as clear as day.

“He loves me,” she whines. She squeezes the table tighter, as if the vicinity of the wood can help magick up a proper way to get her to become the mommy she just isn’t. “Hnn. He, he likes me because I’m a good girl.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Irene says, her sarcastically rolled eyes unimpressed. “You’re young. You should know being good is outdated. If he likes it, then he shouldn’t be fucking me right now.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” you say. You stop thrusting upwards into Irene, but she keeps bouncing. The stimulation remains constant. 

You really can’t find your way out of this. Irene’s weight, though light, keeps you on the chair and void of anything to do to break it all up. Your legs already feel weak at her pace. It’s as if she’s completely unaware of how tight and wet she is and therefore subjects you to it, thinking that you can handle it. But of course, she’s an intelligent, self-aware woman—she knows her effect on you, and she isn’t hesitant to exploit it.

Eunbi sobs as she grinds down the edge of the table harder. She can’t take watching you and Irene fuck anymore. "Mommy, please.”

"’Mommy’? Not putting up a fight anymore, are you, pretty little girl?" Irene asks. She pouts mockingly. "Gonna give up?"

Eunbi shakes her head. "No…"

"Alright, if you aren’t, use me. Use your boyfriend. We’ll see what happens."

Your girlfriend bursts into tears. It’s no mere tear sliding down her cheek anymore. It’s a whole fiasco of whiny crying and childish protests. Of course, it’s not in her to fight Irene. She’s remained a diplomatic civil debater, not a physical one. At times she doesn’t even counter an argument, similar to now, when she weakly replies, "B-but I don’t know how.”

“Come on. You’re smart, aren’t you? You can win over me.”

“Mmm, please just let me cum, mommy. Please."

"Do it. I dare you."

"Mommy—"

"Do it."

"I—I can't!" Eunbi says this in a tone that’s nearly a scream as she struggles to keep herself standing. "Please don't take him away from me, I'm a good girl, I swear, I swear!"

“Oh, look at her, baby.” Irene strengthens the force of her riding. It draws you nearer to an orgasm. “She wants you so bad. She wants to be your mommy so bad.”

Eunbi’s explicit moans and Irene’s soft gasps contribute equally with the silken pussy in draining you. You fill Irene up to the brim. As she stands, white drips down her naked legs.

“You want to be a mommy so bad?” 

Irene slips her fingers inside herself, scooping out white liquid, then walks over to the quaking valedictorian. Under the guise of the skirt, she sticks the cum-stained fingers into the needy little hole.

“Then fucking be one.”

“Mommy!” 

Eunbi screams when Irene stuffs her cunt and fingers her violently. Her legs close together, and suddenly she’s creaming all over the fingers moving unabashedly inside her. Wetness is wrung out repeatedly, and strings of arousal connect and disconnect between the joined fingers.

“Mommy, miss Bae, hnnn…” mumbles Eunbi, mind fogged with pleasure, “mommy—”

“Shhh, that’s a girl, miss Kwon,” Irene says as she offers the nectar-coated fingers to the girl’s mouth. Eunbi gladly accepts. 

To your surprise, Irene seems gentle this time. She pats your girlfriend’s back firmly, even wiping the drool on her lips. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of making both a girl and a boy orgasm. That’s all you can guess.

“You haven’t fucked me like you did mommy,” Eunbi protests. “I want you, too, please?”

“You heard the girl,” Irene says. She’s all for another go. She seems to be the only one not tired between the three of you. Her arrogant smile has not once lost its shine. “She wants to be fucked. Or do you not like her little pussy the same way you love mine?”

That triggers Eunbi to look up with tearful eyes. “Oppa, do you…?”

“Of course not. You can have me all you like.”

“Darlings,” pipes in Irene, “you seem to be forgetting someone here. That isn’t part of the deal.”

Of course. You’re still under the invisible contract she set. As the obvious winner of the battle of wills and domination, she gets to have the nicer end of the deal: to do anything she wants with the two of you. Whatever happens here has to involve her. No one’s going to be left out here.

How should it go?

“I want that mouth on my pussy, miss Kwon,” decides Irene, sitting on her throne (AKA as the swivel chair.) “And I want you to fuck her. Really fuck her. I want to see her break.”

So that’s how it goes, since Eunbi’s too kind to propose another way. She crawls between Irene’s legs, greedily eating the cum out of her, while you pound her from behind. 

Eunbi’s wide hips are just irresistible. They fit right into your hands and serve as anchors to pull you in and out of her. The skirt, instead of infuriating you with how much it blocks your view of her ass and grippy pussy, drives you more insane.

And when you look up, there’s Irene, with her legs spread wide for Eunbi to stay. It’s nice of the deities to create a world where there are so many beautiful women, and for two to be right by your side currently. Maybe you gotta thank the Greek statue that’s privy to the whole thing—you’re pretty sure she’s part of the whole god gang. Whatever. 

Irene’s hands aren’t sedentary. They tug onto the wavy hair for its owner to tongue her core more. The pussy-eating thing is an act of jealousy from Eunbi, really—part of the reason she agreed to eat her out is so she can drink your cum straight from where you deposited it. Safe to say it’s a win-win situation.

“Fuck, you’ve got a good mouth, miss Kwon,” says Irene. She bites her lip, and hisses. “Just like that.”

Even with all she’s done to her, Eunbi mewls in appreciation. Or maybe it’s your cock causing that. Yeah, definitely your cock. You make it a purpose to stretch her out and keep her pretty cunt stuffed. Gently stimulate her bundle of nerves for her skirted ass to reverse back into your crotch.

“Oppa—” Eunbi says, her voice reaching another high pitch due to the pleasure.

“I didn’t say you could stop,” Irene sharply reminds her. “Don’t stop or he won’t fuck you anymore.”

Eunbi gets back to work, moaning after you penetrate her again. You may have fucked Irene, but she still remains in control here. She just solidifies her place in the little contest she and Eunbi had. Your girlfriend, ever the grumpy loser, vents her frustration in eating her principal out, evoking broken gasps from her.

“Aw, don’t be too jealous, Eun,” you say to Eunbi. Her tight pussy is an everyday heaven you, a sinner, are given a free pass to relish in. “You’re still my good girl.”

You can feel her cunt tighten at your words. Eunbi closes her eyes and whimpers while she sucks on Irene’s clit. Her nose presses against the older woman’s flat stomach. 

“She really likes being called that, huh?” chuckles Irene, ruffling Eunbi’s hair. 

“She does.” Thrust into her particularly hard. “She’s a sweet girl.”

Eunbi’s body trembles. Unable to deal with the flood of praises, she tonguefucks Irene’s hole harshly, suppressing her heavy breaths in the pink flesh. 

“Is that what you want to be, miss Kwon?” Irene allows Eunbi to take a breather and lifts her chin up, but renders her breathless anyway with the next set of words. “Mommy and daddy’s sweet little girl?”

The girl’s walls twitch around you, and you hear her whine again. She’s always like that, the poor thing, but now, it’s urgent—it goes on, prolonged with need and desire, that you have to pull her into your lap, cock still lodged inside her, and say: “Use your words, baby.”

She’s a little taken aback, but she’s nodding. Breathing through her mouth in shaky little exhales, Eunbi nods. “Y-yes, please,” she says, as if in a trance. “Mommy. Daddy.”

You and Irene don’t get along too well due to your history of troubles, but you immediately understand each other when you gaze into each other’s eyes. You don’t say a word, but there’s no need for any when her lips are already on Eunbi’s. 

It’s a quick change of positions. You bring her over to the desk again. This time, she’s not merely here to watch, but to indulge in the pleasure of having the two of you at the same time. Buttons fly in the air as Irene rips the school blouse apart. She bares the bouncing tits of any bra then immediately goes to worshiping them. Eunbi’s nipple ends up in her mouth and hardens at the suckles. It was as if she were determined to draw out milk from them. 

“Look at you,” she says. Irene admires the round, full bosom before her, tracing a hand along the flesh. “Walking around with a body like this shouldn’t be allowed.”

“Mommy,” says Eunbi. She shivers when you fill her up. “Daddy, please. I’m yours.”

“Oh, you are.” Irene plays with the perfect collarbone for a while before edging her hand up to her throat. There, she squeezes tight. “Trust me.”

You squeeze Eunbi’s breasts and kiss them. You don’t think there would ever be a time you wouldn’t appreciate her beautiful tits. Irene seems to have discovered their beauty, too, for the two of you start to worship them. Irene takes left, you go right. Each one provides more than a supple amount of softness that with each bite, squeeze and suck makes Eunbi clamp down on your cock more. 

“Baby boy,” Irene whispers. She’s never looked this motherly, yet so seductive. “Remember when I said I wanted you to break her? I still expect you to do it.”

“I’d want nothing more,” you reply.

“Daddy, mommy, w-what are you going to do to me?”

“Bend over, miss Kwon,” instructs Irene, “we’re going to give you what you want.”

Eunbi happily does, and thanks her by slipping her fingers inside her. They immediately set a quick pace to keep her on her toes. 

“God, fuck her,” Irene says. “She’s earned it.”

Your girlfriend’s never been so glad to hear something from the principal. The praise earlier is a close competitor, but when these words are the cause of your cock to begin thrusting again, she still prefers these. 

“Fuck, daddy!”

You match the pace of her fingers in Irene’s pussy. You choose to go brutally, putting her out of her long misery by filling her over and over again. 

“Daddy, daddy, daddy, please!” Her eyes are shut, and her body is still except for the movements driven by your thrusts, but her fingers still fuck Irene’s waiting pussy. She’s a true multi-tasker, this girl. 

How many times has she begged like this today? You don’t know, but it’s the first time that she’s calling you the name. It surprises even yourself that it turns you on. It drives a forbidden feeling deep in your chest that’s exactly what fuels your thrusts. 

She’s finally fulfilled after being kept at the side for practically the whole time, so her screams are also of relief. She squirts so goddamned easily that each thrust is slick and messy. Her folds spare not a second of releasing your cock. No, it holds on, and it’s all too messy. Sinful. Incredibly immoral. 

“That’s it, take my cock, Eunbi,” you groan. The words just come naturally to you, because when she’s absolutely writhing underneath you and her pussy is that tight, you become a philosopher with a way with words. You can write several doctrines about how fucking ruinable she is, how her body’s just fit for your cock, how her thin whines are strung out so deliciously that you could never think of stopping. 

After everything that’s happened, she’s still your girl. She’s still the one you want to take to bed. She’s just that good.

“Daddy, mommy, fuck—me!” she screams. Eunbi’s tears come flowing back. They pour down her pretty face and onto the desk. If there was paperwork getting done on this desk, they’re replaced by Eunbi.

You think she’s gone crazy. Her voice is strained and her fingers almost painfully shove themselves in Irene, like they’re machine-controlled. All different sounds are extracted from her sore throat: moans, screams, and gasps—you think you’ve broken her.

You guess that’s enough payment for Irene.

Irene’s groans and cries are loud; her legs squeeze around Eunbi’s wrist. “D-don’t fucking stop,” she warns. You sense that there’d be more than what punishment is if the girl dares to halt. Eunbi knows better than to, anyway. She continues fingering Irene, exploring the cave of her tight hole and pressing down on her G-spot. 

Eunbi closes her eyes as Irene’s cum sprays her. Now she really looks ruined. She’s already covered in her tears and drool. You guess that soon, she’d be covered in you.

You slip out to flick your cock against her clit. 

“Ahhh, daddy!”

“That’s right. Cum for daddy, baby.”

“Y-yes, yes, yes, fuck, daddy! Keep rubbing my clit like that, it feels so good… it feels so warm, please don’t stop!”

“Cum for me.”

“Daddy!” wails Eunbi. 

Everything is a mess of moans and squirting. Eunbi screams in pleasure, shaking as her folds remain determined to swallow every inch of your cock even after her orgasm, and Irene’s to your left riding her digits, crying out as if she were in a war. And you guess that yea, maybe it is a war—a war of good and evil, a war of the overachievers (that brings a chuckle out of you), a war of sex. 

But in the end, in a feat that no one’s ever seen, everybody wins.

-

Dear Ms. Jo,

This is regarding your recent concern about Ms. Kwon Eunbi. 

I find that the evidence you provided to me is altered and has been tampered with. After further questioning with teachers and staff, I can conclude that your concern is dismissed and shall only subject you to disciplinary action.

It is strictly prohibited to spread harmful falsehood about your fellow schoolmates. Please see me after class tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Principal Bae Irene/Joohyun

[yikesmary]

all fics are fluff unless stated otherwise. this will be constantly updated as i post a fic.

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updated: april 14th, 2024

choi seungcheol / s.coups

series: ↪ fake dating roommates one two three four — summary: in which choi seungcheol becomes your roommate and fake boyfriend in one fell swoop. and you still don’t know how it happened.

one shots: ↪  pregnancy cravings — summary: where being pregnant comes with its struggles, and one of them just so happens to be the random pregnancy cravings. so, in the middle of the night, you try to sneak out and go to the convenience store nearby and buy something to satisfy your craving. however, your husband wakes up and insists to accompany you—even if he’s barely awake.  

↪ finally   — summary: in a last-ditch effort to study before your big final exam, you barricade yourself in your apartment in order to study as much as you can. on the day of your last exam, your boyfriend, seungcheol, finally sees you and comes with gifts.

↪ boyfriend duties — summary: after a night out with your friends, your boyfriend, seungcheol tries to take care of a drunk you. as he is helping you get ready for bed, you start mumbling about an interesting topic

↪ untitled (ANGST) — summary: the only thing I can tell you without giving out any spoilers: I am truly sorry for what I've done

↪ ruined birthday surprise — summary: in which you try your hardest to surprise cheol.

yoon jeonghan none for now

hong jisoo / joshua ↪ clockwork (ANGST) — summary: where it wasn’t supposed to be like this. but it did.

wen junhui / jun none for now

kwon soonyoung / hoshi ↪ savior — summary: where you save soonyoung from a horrible, wild beast. spoiler: it's a spider

jeon wonwoo ↪ book boyfriend — summary: who needs a fictional boyfriend when your real boyfriend was even better than the movies?

↪  cat dad — summary: whenever you go to your boyfriend, wonwoo's, house, his cat mimi. and he's totally not jealous because of this.

↪ bedtime routine — summary:  where you loved times like these with your boyfriend, wonwoo.

↪ marriage — summary: where wonwoo’s nightmare is coming true. (contrary to the title, this one shot is lighthearted)

↪ birthday surprise — summary:  where you and nari try to make breakfast and a cake before wonwoo wakes up… if only your daughter knew what the word “surprise” meant.

↪ moving on (ft. mingyu) — summary: in which giving up on kim mingyu seems to be the only solution, and jeon wonwoo is right there to help you out.

lee jihoon / woozi none for now

lee seokmin / dk none for now

kim mingyu ↪ puppy parents — summary: where your golden retriever has the tendency to bring you things she has an interest in— sticks, frisbees that obviously don’t belong to you, and even the occasional bird. but this time, your dog brings… a man? and not just any man, only the most beautiful man you’ve ever met. maybe your dog is onto something…

↪ husband duties — summary: where mingyu is the best support system for your pregnancy.

↪ drunk giant —  summary: in which you have to figure out how to transfer your drunk boyfriend to the bedroom without causing major bodily harm. and he’s not making it easy for you.

↪ shave —  summary: with your boyfriend’s comeback approaching, mingyu asks you to help with shaving.

↪ (not) a date night —  summary: sometimes it was hard dating an idol because of their busy schedules. after missing a date and being mia, mingyu tries to make it up to you.

↪ moving on (ft. wonwoo) — summary: in which giving up on kim mingyu seems to be the only solution, and jeon wonwoo is right there to help you out.

↪ hypnotized — summary: where you've got seventeen's mingyu hypnotized, and he doesn't mind it one bit.

xu minghao ↪ artblock — summary: trying to finish a commission, you find yourself stuck in what to paint. thankfully your boyfriend knows exactly what to do in order to help you get your inspiration back.

boo seungkwan none for now

hansol vernon chwe / vernon none for now

lee chan / dino none for now

[trashideas]

Spoilers for Kim Dokja’s backstory!

Kim Dokja is the average 28-year-old salaryman. He does his job, gets paid almost nothing for it, and barely survives off convenience store products. Except, that would be the case if he were in an ordinary world.

Kim Dokja lives in a world filled to the brim with magic. His mother and father were both middle-tier mages born with high amounts of mana but not a lot of power. Their child, Kim Dokja, was assumed to be a high-tier mage from the amount of mana he possessed.

Except, Dokja can't use magic.

Well... That's a lie. He can use magic, it just hurts him. A lot.

You see, Dokja has a condition. Nearly all the people of this world are born with magic resistance. Dokja does not have this resistance. At a young age, he was constantly getting sick from magic overdoses, which is common for Rankers that fight often.

But Dokja is a child.

It took a long while... 13 years to be exact, to figure out just what was wrong with him.

In that time, Dokja was mercilessly bullied by his peers. His father abused him and his mother for being useless. His father died. His mother was put in prison.

Dokja was diagnosed in the hospital.

“It seems you have a major case of what we call Intramana Acirculation. Which is a fancy way of saying that your body can't handle the amount of mana it produces.”

They prescribed him a series of pills that would hopefully block off the organs that produced mana.

This, however, landed him in the hospital again. This time, because his body was deteriorating. His skin was quite literally decomposing right off his body.

He was taken off the meds.

At the age of 16, Dokja finally was able to make his own solution. He used his own mana to block off the production of mana.

He got the idea while reading a novel. A novel that has now saved his life twice. Probably countless more times.

The main character needed to use their power to seal away their demonic heart, but the heart kept leaking demonic aura, so they set up a healing barrier to purify the aura before it could harm himself.

Of course, Dokja is not a main character, so it didn't work as well for him.

It took a lot of effort to keep the barrier up and it was a constant mental drain. It took a lot of time and effort, but somehow Dokja managed to turn the active skill into a passive one.

With that change, came another.

It helped Dokja regulate his emotions... To an extent.

....

Now 28, Dokja needs to go to the Ranker Testing Center, known as a RTC, to offload his excess mana.

As he grew, so did his mana supply. Dokja can't let this amount of mana leak around him, otherwise it might hurt people. So he has to conceal it within himself. It hurts. A lot. But Dokja’s Fourth Wall keeps the mana regulating rather than sitting in one spot till it explodes.

Going to the RTC costs a lot of money, so Dokja only goes when his body starts to decompose on itself. Usually it's just a toe or two that get miscolored, but sometimes it's a finger. Those are the times when he has to rush to make an appointment.

Thankfully, this time is like the other ones. While it hurts to walk, Dokja can handle the pain.

What he can't handle, is the fact that a bunch of newbie Rankers are here and have been able to skip all reservations to get into the Training Facility first.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem. Normally they would at least allow one or two people who reserved a time slot into the room as well.

But apparently some large guild bought out all the time slots and the RTC overbooked.

And Guilds get priority.

So Dokja is left to sit out in the waiting room’s couch as he waits for the Guild training to get done.

Dokja mindlessly reads over a chapter. He has been reading the same paragraph for too long. His brain is too muddled to think.

All he can feel is the slow pulsing of his foot.

“Hello!” a pleasant voice says. Dokja looks up to see a tall woman waving at him from a short distance away. “I'm Uriel, part of the Olympus Guild.”

“Kim Dokja,” he answers robotically.

“I heard about the overbooking.”

Dokja nods, not really one for conversation as of now.

“Well we have a slot in a room open. You'd have to share, but we figured you wouldn't mind.”

Dokja resists the urge to sigh. As a large Guild, they think their mere presence is a blessing upon people. To them, Dokja is just some guy. He isn't a Ranker, nor is he a registered Awakened. Therefore, the only reason he could be here is to take the Awakened Exam.

All Dokja needed to do was drop all his stored mana into a container and leave.

At least it wouldn’t take too long.

“I wouldn't mind,” he finally answers. Uriel nods and turns away to lead him to the room. Dokja takes this time to gingerly stand up. He tests his weight on his foot. It hurts like a bitch, but at least he hasn't collapsed.

He follows her without complaint.

They finally get to the room. It's a lot farther than the usual rooms Dokja has used. He hopes the crystal this room has is strong enough. He doesn't want another incident of breaking one.

Uriel gives him a strange look when she sees his partial limp. Shit. He hadn't meant for her to see it.

“Rock in my shoe.”

Uriel doesn't seem to believe him, but also doesn't make a comment.

“Uh, well... This is the room. The other man in here, Yoo Joonghyuk doesn't have the best behavior but he also won't comment on anything. He isn't one to start rumors.”

Okay..?

Dokja couldn't hide the sudden confusion on his face. “What?”

“You're here to take the exam, right?”

“Uh... No.”

There are a few moments of silence.

“Oh dear, I may have misunderstood.”

“It's fine, as long as this crystal can hold and consume mana.”

Uriel lightens up, “Yes! This crystal can handle that. Then will you be alright?”

Dokja nods, desperate to just leave. This was his day off and he already spent a few hours in here.

Uriel leaves and Dokja is finally able to enter the room.

The first thing he notices is just how dim it is in the room. The only light source is the light bleeding in from the hallway and the massive mana crystal in the middle of the room.

It's one of the biggest crystals he has ever seen. It takes a lot of mana to make one light up as bright as this one is.

In the soft haze of gold, Dokja can barely make out a figure sitting crossed-legged in front of the crystal.

The light from the crystal suddenly cuts off and the room is left in complete darkness. Golden eyes turn to Dokja and send a chill down his spine.

All he can think is how they look like a predator. Like a tiger’s eyes in the light of the moon.

Dokja’s fear is quickly replaced with annoyance. This man could never hurt him in a way that matters. Because Dokja has already done it all.

“Why the fuck do you have the lights off like a gremlin?” Dokja doesn't let the door close behind him. With this lightning angle, the man wouldn't be able to see his face. The playing grounds are even.

“This is a private room,” the man *growls* as if he is some sort of dog.

“That I was led to,” Dokja says as he finally lets the door shut, enclosing them in complete darkness. “Now move, the faster I get this done, the faster I can leave and you can get back to whatever cultist shit you were doing.”

“You can't-”

Dokja doesn't bother to listen to whatever he says. Dokja’s foot is *throbbing* after standing for so long and he needs to sit down before his knees buckle. He walked right next to those golden eyes and sat down a ways away from the other man.

Dokja hit the floor a little too harshly, but he pays no mind to it. His eyes have adjusted to the point where he can see basic shapes so he can see the man’s head follow his movements.

“What-” the man starts but Dokja shushes him.

Dokja finally is able to finally release all the stored mana and he is not about to let this man distract him for any longer. He places his hands against the warm crystal. Huh. This man’s magic was warm. Dokja relishes the gentle warmth against his freezing hands for a moment. It helps him organize his thoughts to clearly focus on his task.

Slowly, he parts a hole in Fourth Wall’s barrier. Without the block, his mana freely starts to flow out of his body and down his arms in a controlled stream. Even with this small part of Fourth Wall gone, the mana has started to rebel against him. His skin crawls as excited sparks of mana race across his skin in small bursts of light.

Like the flow of electricity, the stray mana follows the current into the crystal with minimal detours across his skin.

Dokja can see the clearness of the crystal starting to disappear, filled with clouds of inky black and blue that are quickly expanding to encase the entirety of the crystal. Dokja closes his eyes and focuses on just ridding his body of the polluted mana rather than looking at it.

Dokja can feel the other man’s burning stare on him. Judging his disgusting mana. It's like an oil spill in the clear ocean. Polluted. Dangerous. Dokja wouldn't be surprised if the man got up and left, leaving him alone in the darkness, surrounded by his vile mana.

For some reason, Dokja’s precise grip of Fourth Wall slips. It only takes a split second for the wall to crash and shatter against the pressure of his mana pool. Like a dam breaking, surges of uncontrolled mana bursts from Dokja’s body and towards the crystal with angry sparks of white. Crackles and hisses of mana fills his ears and a trickle of liquid down his arms catches his attention.

Even with his eyes closed, Dokja’s vision is darkening further. He shudders out a pained breath. The air in his lungs are more eager to leave than usual, and he needs to take a few calculated breaths to properly fill his lungs.

The crushing weight of his mana is slowly leaving him, allowing him to finally breathe easily after a month of struggling against the weight of his own power. The emptiness leaves him hollow and cold. He has never lost control of Fourth Wall like this and he would never like to repeat this experience.

His breaths feel like too much. The chilling air sends racking shivers through his body. His only solace is the warm liquid dripping down his arms.

Wait.

The smell of copper invades his senses. There is also a warmth around both of his wrists. It's different than that of the blood. It's a solid presence. Like someone is gently holding his wrists and is helping guide the mana safely.

Dokja doesn't notice that his mana has stopped sparking, nor does he remember the seemingly stone-cold man that was sitting next to him.

What he does notice, is that his mana is draining at an alarming rate. The burn of his mana moving inside him is replaced with chilling emptiness.

As the last drops drain into the crystal, Dokja can't keep himself awake any longer. He slumps forward, unconscious before he can register the pain of hitting anything.

...

Joonghyuk steadies the irritating man before he can slam head-first into the mana crystal. He can't help but stare at the unconscious, maybe dead, man.

To say he is confused is the understatement of the century. Was this the true part of the training session? A “What would you do if a random man walked into your room and passed out next to you?” type scenario.

Because how could this not be staged? Joonghyuk swears he saw Uriel leave the man there, which had to mean that this was staged.

This was staged. Right?

Joonghyuk can't help but stare into the massive crystal. The color has completely changed in a way that he has never seen nor read about. It's color was a deep black with hints of blue and purple. Not only that, but constant sparks of mana made white bursts of light in the ocean of black. Each burst flickered for a few moments before being recycled back into the evershifting tides of color.

It was as if someone had bottled up a piece of the night sky and left it to sit in this room. It was... Joonghyuk didn't want to say beautiful, but it was definitely stunning.

As if the different colors weren't strange enough, the mana in the crystal was staying live. It acted as its own shifting ecosystem of producing and taking power.

Mana, akin to electricity, is powerful. But that power requires a power source to drain from. A person acts as the outlet for mana, without someone actively pushing their own power to control the mana, it will turn off as quickly as someone pulling the plug to an electrical device.

Mana was supposed to be put out like a match drenched with water when someone wasn't dutifully controlling it. To be unconscious and still have the mana linger... Joonghyuk looks at the petite man in his arms. How could someone like this be so powerful?

This man looked half-dead. Like he hasn't eaten a proper meal in weeks and hasn't been outside for more than 30 minutes in his lifetime.

Joonghyuk grimaced.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Uriel’s number. It rang only once before she picked up.

“He passed out,” he says before Uriel could even greet him with her overly sweet tone.

“Pardon?”

“The man you brought in.”

There's a series of frantic sounds in the background, “He *what*?”

“Passed out.”

“Oh my god, Yoo Joonghyuk you can't just overload people with your mana when you want to be left alone. Hold on, I'm on my way.” There is more sounds and a shout of: “He did *what* to a civilian!?” from someone that sounded suspiciously like Jung Heewon.

Joonghyuk felt the need to defend himself, “I didn't-” he starts.

“Hush, you can explain when I'm not on the line for paramedics.”

Joonghyuk huffed, but otherwise held his tongue. He was here to show that Guilds could in fact collaborate with each other despite this proving that they shouldn't try to collaborate for anything other than brand deals.

The only reason he hasn't left is because if got into any more trouble his master would have his head. Joonghyuk still had Mia to look after, so he couldn't die just yet.

And besides, Joonghyuk’s gaze wandered back up to the crystal containing the night sky, his curiosity has been peaked.

[hongyangi]

a bunch of prompts i am working on

note: they're not final, but i wanted to save the ideas. they may not be done or written soon 😔 this contains both fluff (to be posted on @coboftea) and nsfw contents, reader discretion is advised, all of these are tbz fics (because they're literally my only ult rn ;-;) and summaries focus on the "you" in the stories hehe (to avoid major spoilers)

lee sangyeon

-untitled-

being a single parent, you always wanted to give the kids only the best and be a good role model to them as well all on your own. not until you got tangled up in a top secret mission after bumping into an undercover police named sangyeon lee. now, not only did he suddenly become a colleague, he also... babysits the kids?

jacob bae

clouds will send my lullabies for you

summary: anonymous letters kept appearing inside your locker. those poems make your heart race and ache a little. later on, you embarked on a search to find out who sends you these letters after finding the same words from your late composer dad's stash of old written lyrics.

our closing scene

summary: after quitting the brilliant world of film industry, one last story needs a proper ending. and it involves you, and a person who was there even before you started your career.

when the dark blooms on a moonless night

genre and warnings: kingdom au, revenge, knight!jacob, crown prince!hyunjae, mentions of suicide and abuse, will include nsfw scenes, divided into chapters, there are dark and fluff scenes too :›

summary: you're starting to believe that your own existence is a mistake. your hell of a family only uses you to gain power over the kingdom, your first love betrothed you to his right-hand man, and your husband, who only follows his master's commands, is always away from home. on a dark melancholic night, when you decided to end your life, the hands of your savior held onto your hopeless existence, unintentionally planting a revengeful flower in your heart.

winter ends tonight

genre: smut, angst, broker!jacob, short chapters

summary: when you accidentally killed your fiancee because of him abusing you, his well-off family is determined to get rid of you. with the last of your means of escape, you planned an escape to another country. but with the winter hindering your journey, you're stuck in the refuge your broker provided, and in the middle of a forest where all you could do was wait, eat, and share a bed.

lee hyunjae

never not love you

genre: enemies to lovers, high school, dilemma, delinquent!hyunjae, setting in the early 2000s, coming of age, angst, a bit humorous, ft. sangyeon, chanhee, changmin, divided into chapters

summary: lee hyunjae is the most unexpected person to ever enter your life and change it poignantly. and you do the same to his once purposeless and frivolous life. but high school doesn't last forever and you won't always be 18. when bad boy hyunjae changes his reputation and decides to study in seoul with you, a heart-rending event stops your plans and leaves you with a dilemma to lie, or to tell him the truth and leave.

kim sunwoo

frxxnds

genre: friends to lovers, family dilemma, marriage of convenience, gonna be chaotic and humorous, thinking if this will be divided in chapters or just a one long story, inspired by big naughty's masterpiece 'frxxnds'

summary: being the eldest daughter in your family has never been easy, and worst part is that you felt like you were never allowed to rest or feel tired. you're on the verge of an outburst and you're barely holding on. an opportunity to get away from your shackles arises when your mom finds your friend's pregnancy test in your belongings, a light bulb lights up in your head and you admit that it was yours. thinking your mom will kick you out without second thoughts. but what's worse, your childhood best friend, sunwoo, supported your claims and admits he's the father.

dal: that will be all for now! i do reallyyy hope that i could finish even just ONE from these prompts 😭 ciao for now!

[kimdokjas]

give me those fics u wanna rec sooo bad but havent otten the chance to yet😈

@mauxanhduong

HI YES I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED

these are some of my absolute FAVORITE orv fics. the writing overall is just amazing showstopping spectacular. also several of them made me cry (both happy and sad tears) and now it's time to inflict that pain on others eheh

most of these are joongdok fics just fyi. also pls beware about spoilers!

ORV Fic Recs Pt. 2

(pt. 1)

i love ALL of these but the first five have such a special place in my heart, so if you have to choose pls choose from one of those!

before we diverge (let me tell you this) by carolee_sea

Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk go on a date together in First Murim.

fallen leaves by moo_lan

There is a faerie sleeping in the forest, and he has been sleeping for millennia. Yoo Jonghyuk has been travelling for a long time, and for some reason he feels that this was his destination all along.

Devotion by memoriesofdust (BehindTheRobinsMask)

It was cute. And because it was cute, Yoo Joonghyuk leaned in to do something unthinkable. He kissed Kim Dokja, shivering when the demon's lips pressed against his own. Surprisingly enough, the skies didn't rumble with anger. God didn't smite him right then and there. Yoo Joonghyuk continued to kiss Kim Dokja, drowning in his sweet taste, but the universe never cared. Yoo Joonghyuk did not fall from grace. Perhaps there was a reason for that. After all, angels were born to love God, and Kim Dokja was his. 

missing person report by lorilanda

Kim Dokja opens his arms. "Okay, okay." He takes a deep breath. "Okay. C'mere. Give me a hug." To his absolute horror, Yoo Joonghyuk actually does. Kim Dokja returns.

the false last act by younglegends

Living in a big house with everyone was convenient, most of the time. But there were other things that couldn’t be avoided. Or: The end.

(^^^ for the love of god pls read this one TWICE)

Down by AbsurdHerb

1863rd regression Yoo Jonghyuk tries to find out who Kim Dokja is and finds a lot more than he bargained for. You know that scene where 1863 tries to kill KDJ and the Third Wall stops him by sharing the whole story? I like that scene a normal amount.

Repose by Waltzfor-Zizi (azro_zee)

There were things that bound to linger when one had gone through the apocalypse and back. "Why aren't you sleeping?" Junghyeok asked, ever so coldly, but Dokja had seen him for over twenty thousand years to notice that there were subtle concerns hiding beneath his tone. "It's just…" Dokja gulped. Man, he felt so pathetic. "It's quiet," he finished lamely. In which Kim Dokja feared the silence, and Yu Junghyeok was reminded that the lull could be a little scary.

I am you (no sir, you are you) by aynchent

“It’s okay! Our,” Joonghyuk paused as he placed his hands around Dokja’s shoulders, as if the words tasted bad in his mouth, “Joonghyuk-ie is just struggling to deal with his emotions again.” “Kim Dokja. . .” Dokja growled, internally crying. A good old-fashioned challenge of, “How Well Do You Really Know Your Companion?” Spoiler, the winner may just surprise you!

Taking Action to Contain a Hopeless Squid by gayboy_advance

It started out innocent—just some minor actions to ensure the slippery man’s safety. Yoo Joonghyuk made sure to check on Kim Dokja every time before going to bed, specifically when the other was already sleeping soundly. He figured it would be less explaining if caught, as well as less likely that the man would up and leave once he had actually taken the time to fall asleep. Unfortunate or not, it was not enough to settle his worries as time progressed. Or: Yoo Joonghyuk is anxious about Kim Dokja wandering off and accidentally killing himself at night. His solution? Sleep in Kim Dokja's bed.

you used to be my satellite by Karelyon

One moment, darkness, stillness, silence. Then, the world comes alive once more. Cacophony of noises, the train rolling on tracks, people talking, laughing. Music from his headphones. Sunlight through the window. Smell of cologne, a teenage boy’s deodorant, stale air and flowery perfume of the grandma sitting a few rows ahead. Yoo Joonghyuk is once again in that subway. It is familiar, but also foreign. A whole lifetime in the past. He blinks as the world descends into chaos. or: Yoo Joonghyuk in his first regression, with all his memories from the 0th round, meets one Kim Dokja.

can wait for you at the bottom by trainerlyra

He didn't really have anything to say to him, then. It wasn't like he hadn't said everything before. To his surprise, Kim Dokja broke into a smile. Or: Kim Dokja goes off on his own again, and when he comes back, he's noticeably different. Yoo Joonghyuk isn't sure how to deal with this.

seldom the ghost returns by yamscooper

“Do you think you deserve this?” the Oldest Dream asks. Dokja is exhausted, miserable, shaky in his own skin. He’s so tired of being tired. “I’m starting to think I do,” he says.

~~

i have more but i need to stop at some point lmao, i hope you enjoy!!

[sneezingfetishftw-fics]

Composure

Finally finished that Di//sco El//ysi//um fic! This takes place after the events of the main game without any major spoilers. In this scenario, Harry and Kim both work at Precinct 41. This is Kim’s POV, if people like it enough I might also write a version from Harry’s POV.

I’m using skills for Kim that I copied from this fic, repeated here for convenience: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44811607/chapters/112747735 .

Kim's skills: Intellect PUZZLEBOX - Make clues and information fit together. It all leads to something. NOTEKEEPER - Recall information and keep the record straight. TORQUE DORK - Machinery knowledge and appreciation. FANTASME - Creativity and escapism.

Psyche COMMAND - Make your presence known, feared, and respected. BLEEDING HEART - Your heart which aches with compassion for others. EYES - Your connection to and knowledge of the police and its office culture. OUTSIDER - Fight to keep your identity in a world that doesn’t want you.

Physique JOIE DE VIVRE - All those little vices that make life enjoyable. VOLTA DO MAR - Keep everything on track. Remain calm at whatever curveballs the world throws at you. GENIUS LOCI - Your connection and love for the living, breathing city. NERVE - Your muscles, nerves, and tendons. Everything that keeps your body going.

Motorics ALERT - Remain on guard and notice the small things. QUICK DRAW - Your reflexes and sharpshooting capabilities. POISE - A careful and cool facade. No one will see your weaknesses. HANDS ON - Interact with and feel the world around you.

——————————————————

YOU - Precinct 41 is as usual, except for a distinct lack of one Lieutenant Double-Yfreitor Harrier Dubois.

NOTEKEEPER [Easy: Success] - It’s not unlike Harry to arrive later than you. He does have a tendency to sleep in, and he prefers to arrive as late as he can get away with. 

PUZZLEBOX [Medium: Success] - What is unusual is that he’s over an hour late by now.

EYES - That’s definitely the kind of thing that would get him in trouble with his superiors, unless he has a good reason.

OUTSIDER - It would get you in even more trouble, and you’d need an exceptionally good reason.

YOU -

[PUZZLEBOX: Formiddable] Figure out why Harry is missing

Ask Jean where Harry is.

Ask Judit where Harry is.

Continue on with your day (Discard the thought)

EYES - Jean is an intimidating asshole, but he’s also the most likely to have the answers you’re looking for. You make your way to his office.

JEAN - Jean sighs and glares at you, clearly irritated by the interruption. “What do you want?”

YOU -

“Where is Harry?”

“Why is Harry missing?”

“Never mind.”

JEAN - He practically growls at you. “How the hell should I know? All I know is he’s not bloody here.”

PUZZLEBOX [Easy: Success] - So he’s just absent without an explanation?

JEAN - “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll be at home. The man came in looking like the plague, I told him to get the hell out of here. So, he’s gone. And he better stay that way until he’s no longer spewing illness everywhere.”

BLEEDING HEART - Sounds like Harry is doing pretty bad. You should go take care of him.

EYES [Easy: Success] - There’s no way Jean would just let you go home. You’re going to have to come up with a good reason.

YOU -

“Can I go home and take care of him?”

[NERVE: Medium] “Actually, I think I’m feeling a little unwell too. Permission to go home?” (Lie)

[FANTASME: Challenging] Invent a good reason to leave.

[QUICK DRAW: Impossible] Sneak out of the office and return before anyone notices.

“Got it, thanks.” (Leave)

[Success]

NERVE - You cough a couple times to really sell it.

JEAN - Jean’s glare seems about enough to incinerate you on the spot. He shoes you out of his office, and you make haste to Harry’s apartment.

***

ALERT - Simply put, the apartment is a mess. It’s littered with used tissues, dishes piled up in the sink, and blankets strewn haphazardly.

PUZZLEBOX - In other words, all the indications of someone who doesn’t have enough energy to keep things in a more orderly state.

HARRY - Harry sniffles and looks at you sheepishly. “Sorry, wasn’t expecting any visitors.”

YOU -

“No need to apologize.”

“You really need to clean this place up.”

[BLEEDING HEART: Easy] - Offer to do something to help.

Say nothing.

[Success]

YOU - “Would you like some tea?”

HARRY - He pauses, considering the offer.

BLEEDING HEART [Challenging: Failure] - Does he not want tea? Is he reluctant to accept help? Does he not trust you to be able to make tea? It’s not quite clear what the source of this hesitation is.

OUTSIDER [Easy: Success] - If he’s anything like you, it would be that second one. But we both know he’s not like you, so the question remains.

HARRY - “Yes, that sounds great, thank you.” He gestures toward a cabinet where the tea can be found.

YOU - You find the tea and kettle easily, and get started on making him a cup.

ALERT [Medium: Success] - With your back turned, you hear a sound you recognize quite well. A sharp intake of breath and…

QUICK DRAW - You could turn around so you can get a better look.

JOIE DE VIVRE - You should! You know you want to.

VOLTA DO MAR - You should absolutely not look. No need to make a fool of yourself.

PUZZLEBOX [Easy: Success] - This will probably not be your only opportunity.

JOIE DE VIVRE - But shouldn’t you take every opportunity you can? Have some fun for once!

YOU - 

Look.

Don’t look.

ALERT - You’re missing the visual, but the sound is unmistakable. That was definitely a sneeze, and a loud one too.

JOIE DE VIVRE - The first time you’ve heard it from him! You’ve been looking forward to this.

NOTEBOOK [Easy: Success] - At this point, it would be customary to respond. Although not responding wouldn’t be particularly unusual either.

VOLTA DO MAR - Remember, keep it cool. No need to make a big deal out of this.

OUTSIDER - He probably already thinks you’re weird enough. Don’t make it worse. Keep your secrets.

YOU -

[POISE: Medium] “Bless you!” (+2 didn’t see the sneeze)

[BLEEDING HEART: Medium] “Are you alright?” (-3 it’s a bit early for that, you just got here)

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

[Success]

POISE - You maintain a perfectly normal expression as you say a perfectly normal phrase.

HARRY - “Thanks, I’ve been doing that all day.” He sighs. “Jean told me to stay home because I was, and I quote, ‘basically a walking germ bomb’. He may have called me some other things as well, but the point is, he wanted to keep me away from the office even more than he usually does.”

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He’s making no attempt to hide the frustration in his voice. Those comments really seem to have gotten under his skin. Maybe he’s a bit more vulnerable now while he’s sick?

JOIE DE VIVRE - Um, are we going to ignore the fact that he’s been doing this all day? Meaning that he’s probably going to do it again?

POISE - Meaning we’re going to have to maintain a neutral expression again? Oh, Dolores.

NOTEKEEPER - Not like we haven’t done it before. Having an interest like this that can come up so easily in public does necessitate keeping one’s composure, and we’ve done great at that so far.

POISE - Yes, but this is Harry! The human can opener? The one who’s seen us at our most vulnerable.

VOLTA DO MAR - Take a deep breath, we can do this.

YOU -

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Jean can go fuck himself.”

[JOIE DE VIVRE: Medium] “I don’t want to stay away from you.” (-2 You haven’t really led up to this at all.)

Bring Harry his tea (Move on.)

HARRY - Harry stares at you, his eyes open rather wide.

BLEEDING HEART [Easy: Success] - He definitely wasn’t expecting you to say that.

HARRY - “Um, what?”

YOU - “I mean it. He has no right to go about insulting you for something that is absolutely not your fault. I’m here now, let’s focus on that.”

HARRY - “Right, thanks.”

YOU -

[JOIE DE VIVRE: Medium] “I don’t want to stay away from you.”

Bring Harry his tea (Move on.)

HANDS ON - The mug is warm in your hands, the water fresh from the kettle. You carry it carefully, making sure not to spill any of the precious liquid. You sit down next to Harry as he takes a sip. 

ALERT - You can see the steam rising to his face.

PUZZLEBOX - [Easy: Success] Probably loosening his sinuses.

ALERT - Audiovisual evidence confirms it - you hear the same breaths in from earlier, and you can see his nostrils flaring and his eyes glazing over.

HARRY - Harry sneezes again, and then curses.

BLEEDING HEART [Medium: Success] - That sounded like it hurt, and his expression and cursing seems to confirm that theory.

YOU -

[POISE: Medium] “Bless you!” (-1 got a nice front-row view of the whole thing)

[BLEEDING HEART: Medium] “Are you alright?”

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

[Success]

POISE - Excellent job keeping everything locked down. The lieutenant doesn’t suspect a thing.

HARRY - “You’re going to get tired of saying that pretty soon, Kim. I told you, I’ve been doing this all day.”

FANTASME [Easy: Success] - You can picture it so clearly: Harry in this apartment, sneezing again and again and again and…

VOLTA DO MAR - Come back to earth! It’s about time you gave a response already.

YOU -

“All day? Really?” (Probe for details.)

“I assure you, I won’t.”

“Actually, I rather like saying it.”

[COMMAND: Challenging] Raise an eyebrow. (-1 fantasized about him sneezing, which makes you distracted)

Say nothing, just nod.

[Failure]

COMMAND: Your eyebrow is not as imposing as you hoped it would be. You were going for authoritative “I won’t get tired of that, don’t doubt me”, and instead you gave off more of a curious “wait really?”.

HARRY - “Yes, really. This cold is seriously kicking my ass. I can’t remember the last time I sneezed this much… although I suppose that doesn’t mean much given the amnesia. For all I know, this is normal for me every time I get sick.”

JOIE DE VIVRE - To get results like that every time? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?

VOLTA DO MAR - Or it could be a rather nasty illness. In which case you should really get out of here.

BLEEDING HEART - You don’t want to leave. If not for your own selfishness, then at least for the sorry state the lieutenant is in right now.

HARRY - Before you can decide whether or not to stay, another sneeze rips its way out of Harry. This one is even harsher than the last.

ALERT [Formiddable: Failure] - How did you not see that one coming?

BLEEDING HEART [Medium: Success] - It seems to have caught him by surprise too.

[POISE: Medium] “Bless you!” (-1 failed the eyebrow raise earlier -1 still fantasizing about Harry sneezing)

[BLEEDING HEART: Medium] “Are you alright?”

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

[Success]

HARRY - “Hm, maybe you’re not getting tired of it after all. Sorry I’m not much for entertaining company right now. I’m…” he breaks into a coughing fit, wincing a little. “Yeah, that.”

PUZZLEBOX [Trivial: Success] - Sick.

OUTSIDER - And you’re enjoying it, aren’t you! Doesn’t that make you the sick one, really?

[BLEEDING HEART: Medium] “Are you alright?”

Just admit it already.

Offer to make more tea.

Say nothing, just start picking up the mess in the apartment to keep yourself busy.

[Critical Failure]

YOU - The sentiment is in your heart, but the words come out all wrong somehow. “You sound like shit.”

HARRY - “If I wanted insults, I’d just go back to the precinct to say hi to Jean again. Is that all you came here to do?”

BLEEDING HEART [Medium: success] - He looks both angry and like he wants to cry. You really hurt him. Great job.

OUTSIDER - Even when keeping your secret, you still manage to fuck it up. What a disappointment. 

VOLTA DO MAR - You can recover from this. Take another deep breath, and salvage the conversation.

YOU -

“I’m sorry. I came here because I’m worried about you.”

“I’m sorry. I came here to help.” (Start picking up the mess in the apartment.)

“I’m sorry. I came here because I really wanted to see you. And I’m having trouble thinking straight at the moment, honestly.”

HARRY - “You came here to see me? The sick as a dog, coughing up a lung, sneezing every other minute Harry Dubois?” Much to your relief, he seems to gloss over the “trouble thinking straight” bit. 

BLEEDING HEART - Being direct and telling the truth here would probably be convincing enough to stop Harry from being upset.

OUTSIDER - Absolutely not. That’s way too risky.

YOU - 

“Yes, especially the sneezing every other minute.”

“I came to see you, Harry. The rest is inconsequential.” (Lie)

HARRY - Harry chuckles. “Wow, you must really like me or something! Couldn’t even wait for the end of the workday, huh? I suppose checking up on me does make for a decent excuse.” He wrinkles his nose and laughs again. “I guess I’m not done yet.” He sneezes several times in a row, so fast it’s hard to keep count.

ALERT [Formiddable: Failure] - That has to have been at least 3? Sorry, that’s the best I got. I can only perceive so fast, and those were damn fast.

YOU -

[POISE: Medium] “Bless you!” (-4 That was a lot of sneezes!)

“You know what you said about getting tired of blessing you? Maybe you do have a point after all.”

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

[Failure]

POISE - With anyone else you might have gotten away with that. But they don’t call Harry the human can opener for nothing. Something is just a little off about your tone of voice.

HARRY - “Kim, are you alright?”

YOU -

“I’m fine.” (Lie)

“I’m just a little worried about you, that’s all.” (Lie)

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

HARRY - Harry raises an eyebrow like he doesn’t quite believe you. “It’s just a cold Kim, I’ll be fine.” Before you get a chance to formulate a response, he breaks into another sneezing fit.

POISE - It’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a neutral tone. You might want to hold off on the blessings. 

NOTEKEEPER - He mentioned you might get tired of blessing him. If you don’t bless him, that will prove his point. 

PUZZLEBOX - Moreover, if you say nothing, would that be more suspicious?

YOU -

[POISE: Medium] “Bless you!” (-2 already said it weird once)

Just admit it already

Say nothing.

[Success]

POISE - You somehow manage to return to neutrality, thank Dolores. 

YOU - You begin picking up the tissues littered around the room, to keep yourself busy. 

ALERT - Speaking of tissues, it looks like the lieutenant could use one. He keeps sniffling and he seems to be having trouble locating the tissue box in the mess of the room. 

ALERT [Medium: Success] - You see the tissue box on the other side of the room. 

BLEEDING HEART - This is your chance to offer Harry the tissue he needs so badly. 

JOIE DE VIVRE - This is a chance for your hands to “accidentally” brush up against each other. 

VOLTA DO MAR - Don’t make it weird. 

JOIE DE VIVRE - I’m just saying, the opportunity is there. 

YOU -

[HANDS ON: Easy] Hand him a tissue, letting your hands touch. 

[HANDS ON: Medium] Hand him a tissue, but don’t let your hands touch. 

Set the box of tissues next to him. 

Do nothing, wait for him to ask for it. 

[Success]

HANDS ON - Your fingers graze his ever so slightly as you pass him a tissue. 

HARRY - Harry immediately puts it to use, with a nose blow wet enough to fill a full kitchen sink. “Thanks, I needed that.” The nose blow seems to have tickled his nose. He sneezes again several more times. 

YOU -

[POISE: Medium] “Bless you!” (-2 already said it weird once -1 let your hands touch -1 impressive nose blow -2 multiple sneezes)

Just admit it already

Say nothing.

[Failure]

POISE - Sorry, I can’t help you on this one anymore. The floodgates have been opened. Not only does your tone sound a little unusual, but your face and your ears are starting to flush as well.

HARRY - “Um, Kim? Are you sure you’re alright? I told you there’s nothing to worry about.”

YOU -

Nod.

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

YOU - You don’t trust yourself to speak at this point, but you don’t want to leave Harry hanging. You give a gentle nod as you feel your face get redder.

FANTASME - Thank Dolores your fashion choices for today included pants that are good for hiding that bulge that’s been forming.

ALERT - You can see the wheels turning in Harry’s head as he tries to piece this all together.

HARRY - “Kim, is there, uh… is there anything you want to tell me? About what just happened?”

YOU -

Just admit it already.

Say nothing.

HARRY - “Wow, you really don’t wanna talk, huh? Okay, let me see if I can guess it then. Cause you’re definitely acting different with me today from how you do normally. I’m guessing that means you’ve got some kind of reaction to me being sick.”

PUZZLEBOX - Getting warmer. You know he’ll figure it out soon.

JOIE DE VIVRE - You could interrupt with your perspective and save him the trouble.

VOLTA DO MAR - But if he says it himself, it’ll save you the embarrassment of you having to say the words out loud. Much less humiliating that way.

OUTSIDER - Or you could stop him in his tracks completely, derail him from this dangerous revelation.

YOU -

[Command: Godly] “Don’t worry about it.” (-5 you haven’t done a great job of disguising your reactions lately)

Interrupt him to explain yourself.

Let him continue.

HARRY - “And it seems like you’ve had the most reaction when I…” with perfect timing, he sneezes again. Just once this time though.

YOU

[Poise: Medium] “Bless you!” (-5 he’s already figured out something’s off +2 but he may not know yet how to interpret the data)

“When you what, lieutenant?”

Say nothing.

[Failure]

POISE - the words are still comprehensible, but your voice also sounds decidedly like a moan. And your face is definitely redder now.

HARRY - “…Oh. Oh! Um, Kim, I’m terribly sorry if I’m wrong about this, but uh… is it perhaps possible that…”

NOTEKEEPER [Easy: Success] - It’s quite  unusual for him to be this awkward in his phrasing. Usually he gets straight to the point, or at the very least he doesn’t have all those hedge words.

BLEEDING HEART [Medium: Success] - He’s trying to avoid hurting your feelings on what could be a sensitive topic.

OUTSIDER - It is a sensitive topic!

HARRY - “Do you… do you like it? When I sneeze?”

VOLTA DO MAR - Act natural. No need to make a big deal out of it.

YOU -

“No.” (Lie)

“Absolutely not!” (Lie, with more feeling)

“Yes.”

“Where did you get that idea from?”

[Fantasme: Challenging] Change the topic

HARRY - “Well, the last time I saw your face that red, you were confessing your feelings to me. Your… desire to meet me in the homosexual underground, shall we say. So I thought that maybe you somehow had the same kind of feelings about me sneezing.”

YOU -

“No.” (Lie)

“Absolutely not!” (Lie, with more feeling)

“Yes.”

[Fantasme: Challenging] Change the topic (-1 already engaged a bit in this conversation)

HARRY - “Huh. I can’t say I would have guessed that when you walked in here. I suppose it wasn’t just concern for me after all, then.”

YOU - “I did want to check in on you and take care of you, too. But yes, I was also hoping that you would, well, you know.”

HARRY - “You can’t even bring yourself to say the word, can you?” He laughs. “Well, you got your wish.” He sneezes a few more times. “And I think you’re bound to keep getting that wish.” He goes silent again, and you recognize the expression as the one he makes when he’s consulting with his skills.

HARRY - “So, um, I’m not sure how this fits in with your feelings that we just went over. But my brain has seen fit to inform me that an orgasm can help with congestion. Is that something you think you might be amenable to, officer?”

FANTASME - WHAT??

JOIE DE VIVRE - Why did I not think of that?

OUTSIDER - Is he making fun of you? Is that even a real thing?

NOTEKEEPER [Challenging: success] - There have been studies to this effect. It appears to be a real phenomenon. 

PUZZLEBOX - If you take him up on this offer, he may sneeze less as a result. 

JOIE DE VIVRE - Worth it. It’s pleasure central! No need to deny ourselves the main event. 

YOU -

“That sounds like an excellent idea!” (Opt in, enthusiastically)

“Well I suppose if it helps, we may as well try.” (Opt in a little)

“Yes.” (Opt in)

“No, don’t be ridiculous.” (Opt out, insultingly)

“No.” (Opt out)

“Thanks for the offer, but I need some time to think about it.”

YOU - No need to embarrass yourself any further. Just get to the point. You want this, and apparently he wants it too if he’s offering. 

HARRY - Harry smirks and raises his eyebrows. “Well, then, prepare for…” He sneezes a few more times. “I mean yeah, prepare for that too. But you know what I mean.”

JOIE DE VIVRE [Easy: success] - He means sex, of course. And you are very prepared. 

YOU - You nod eagerly.

HARRY - “A funny way to spend a sick day, isn’t it?”

YOU - 

“Not as funny as me enjoying you sneezing!”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Nod silently. 

YOU - You sigh as you take in the absolute delight of the situation. This, right here and right now, is where you belong. 

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

The Killing Vote (ep. 9 notes)

This time thankfully the notes could be gathered in one single note, and I’m glad I took the time to list many details in the three last posts because it’s connected a lot to what you could say after ep. 9!

After finishing editing Part 3 for ep. 8 notes, I added in a reblog more information on No. 1 Fan’s letter and the Great Maiden’s Blush rose, I’ll put the screenshots here for more readability because I didn’t know reblogs only showed up below the original post (and I’m too well aware of how hard it is to scroll down through that mass of text and pictures lmao)!

Have a nice week-end 👻!

(SPOILERS UP TO EPISODE 9!!!!)

Me with everything that’s happening in the drama lmao:

This also confirms that some details can be interpreted in a completely different way from at first glance, so I explored some theories in these notes hehe!

Like… To KMC’s « Do you have proof that I did it? », BGC’s character answers: « My eyes are the evidence! », it’s exactly what’s happening right now haha

Once again, what are they all cooking????

Here’s a summary of the notes' content:

The Great Maiden’s Blush (ep. 8) Min Jiyoung and Kim Muchan More on Kim Muchan and No. 3 Gaetal Jodan, Donpanic and Kwon Seokju No. 1 Gaetal, Joohyun and Park Chulmin Yoonji, Jodan and Park Chulmin Min Jiyoung’s assistant Kwon Seokju’s late wife and coincidences Cell phones and coincidences Choi Jinsu’s phone call The missing frame on the wall Yang Hyejin denying all sorts of private communication with Kwon Seokju More hints on Kim Muchan and Kwon Seokju’s relationship More religious symbolism, St. Michael & Lucifer Joseph the tattletale, etymology and the duplicity of both the narration and the good and evil in humanity

♦ The Great Maiden’s Blush (ep. 8)

➾ One of the first No. 1 Fan’s letters had a romantic tone to it ; it was the only one (at least displayed) that had this kind of mood to it, the others were focused on a lexicon of justice, moral and religious themes (I think I’ll do a separate post later on the letters because it ties up with what I wanted to say about criminology!).

This letter mentioned the birth flower of June 1st, the Great Maiden’s Blush (in French we call it 'Rose Cuisse de Nymphe', a variety of roses!):

The only moment where we see flowers is in KMC’s nightmare, as he drops the bouquet in shock at the scene in this episode:

The shot is too blurry to make the flowers out (the flowers in the center could look like roses though!) and I believe it’s an arrangement of various flowers anyway, but I thought it might be nice to note this little detail!

Could this specific flower be a reference of a memory?

♦ Min Jiyoung and Kim Muchan

There’s now an interesting parallel between the two characters:

-> Min Jiyoung addresses the camera during her debate with Choi Dohee in ep. 1:

« I want to ask the police that were on screen. Are you a puppet doing whatever you’re told? You can see the ethical standards of the society by the way you treat criminals. Don’t be a puppet. »

-> Joohyun refuses to become KMC’s puppet in whatever game he’s leading her in:

« Then how is that any different from Choi Dohee and that crazy show pretending to be for justice? You’ve been planting evidence to catch criminals and leaking information to screw over your own team. To me, that’s not what a good cop would ever do. (…) But still! I don’t want to be your pawn. »

♦ More on Kim Muchan and No. 3 Gaetal

See this previous post on KMC!

-> Just when Kim Muchan takes some days off and gets in his car, the very next scene is No. 3 coming back to the hideout!

Like… the ellipse in time and the characters’ actions are too convenient, we don’t even know where KMC was headed with his car haha

ALSO the very next scene is KMC and Joohyun checking KSJ’s house at night!!!!

— As Joohyun said, KSJ happened to escape just when KMC had the divine revelation that KSJ was the true Gaetal.

— KMC is leading an investigation on his own, just like Joohyun is too.

The true reason for his escapade at KSJ’s house by night is unknown, he widens his eyes then clenches his jaw as he says there was no big reason (first set of pictures below!).

I'm not sure how to say this, but this expression has the same feel as when someone cuts the other short in their accusation by collecting themself and providing a strong deny or a bespoke excuse/pretext.

And Joohyun’s question feels more like an accusation than a question (which also redirects the attention off her):

After a pause (as though in an attempt to rack his brain to find a quick way to deflect Joohyun’s accusation, in the second set of pictures), he then brings out a valid excuse by victimizing himself and making KSJ out to be ambivalent and manipulative, falling prey to his influence (Joohyun also calls him out on that when he exposes KSJ’s escape, saying he didn’t have to make him look like an evil criminal).

Once he finds out the excuses, he tilts his head pointedly and averts his gaze to the side. He also pushes his tongue into his cheek (perhaps subconsciously and nervously!) to make his actions seem totally natural and expect approval from Joohyun.

Note: When KMC says 'I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything for trusting him too much.', his sentence ends in ~나, which is a marker of an interrogation. Like ~ㄴ/은가, it conveys a softer tone than the other ways to ask a question (eg. ~ㅂ/습니까, ~니, ~아/어, …), sth like: ‘I wondered if I missed anything because I trusted him too much…/Did I miss anything because I trusted him too much… ?

➾ Showing Joohyun he’s not sure he’s been manipulated AND that he’s not too obstinate at emphasizing the certainty of his reason to make sure Joohyun believes him (doing the opposite would make him sound even more suspicious!) speak volumes lmao

And in doing so, he silently returns Joohyun’s implied accusation right back at her.

Note how she doesn’t push the subject further and rather provides on her own the reason she came after KMC did it without him asking to perhaps sound natural like him.

— There was also this scene:

KSJ and No. 3 go back a long way and would never betray them… ? KMC and KSJ have known each other for at least 15+ years since KSJ’s first lecture at the KNPU in 2008 but their exchange hinted they were close before as KMC rooted for his career before said lecture happened.

And given Jihoon’s reaction, he must’ve also realized it was KMC!

But it could still be someone else KSJ knew well eg. the police officer who communicated with him and shot JJW!

Note: Btw what’s with that « We know each other very well, but you said [they're] a bit different. »???? If he's No. 3, could it be because KMC never joined them from the beginning but afterwards or something else that sets him apart from all the other Gaetal… ? Or he’s different because he’s a police officer… ?

— KSJ pleads Yang Hyejin and Jihoon, saying that they ‘should trust [them]’, which is, if Gaetal No. 3 is really KMC, an interesting parallel to what KMC and KSJ say about each other to Joohyun.

This makes it strongly look like before Joohyun factored in this trio, they were actually the ones establishing a rapport in the first place with each other, sending mixed signals to Joohyun about who to trust:

The triangulation of their relationship might not be KMC doubting KSJ and Joohyun defending alternatively one against the other,

But instead KMC and KSJ deliberately trying to make Joohyun doubt both of them so that she’d believe the two didn’t trust each other at all nor work/secretly communicate together (and that’s where the fact that she ignores completely the extent of their past relationship comes into play)

Looking at what each character said about the other, this interpretation might be possible:

-> KMC advising Joohyun many times on KSJ and warning her not to get too close (‘Don’t underestimate him. Don’t show him anything he could use to read you.’ ; ‘Calm down. And keep a neutral pose. Don’t stay too close or too far. If you seem too aggressive, KSJ will notice that and use it against you. No need to bow down to him.’)

-> KMC asks Joohyun to play along with KSJ, become his messenger and try to establish a good rapport, and the drama defines this concept to the audience (« a psychological term referring to a relationship of mutual trust between two people »)

-> KMC says KSJ completely fooled Joohyun even though he warned her not to let him toy with her (ep. 6)

-> KMC reacts so bitterly when it comes to KSJ in front of Joohyun that she’s led to think he hates him (ep. 6)

-> KSJ says Joohyun shouldn’t trust KMC/this ‘friend’ too much, « that’s all he has to say to her. » (ep. 3)

-> When Joohyun asks if KSJ still believes KMC is Gaetal, KSJ avoids answering and vaguely warns her (ep. 6): « At the end of every semester, I used to say this to my students: ‘Don’t trust everything that I teach you. If you do your own research, then you’ll find a different answer.’ », which seems to hint that KMC is not Gaetal (whether KSJ believes or not, what’s important is what Joohyun does with these cryptic words!).

A few scenes ago however, he was hinting that KMC felt the same ‘terrible rage’ that Joohyun could hear in Gaetal’s speech, which could also include him in the suspects! To KMC’s question ‘Anything that wasn’t recorded that’s bothering you?’ (which could mean the ‘terrible rage’ and ‘KMC knows’ parts deliberately left out by Joohyun), she answers no, keeping this detail to herself. Note: Did KSJ bait Joohyun to see if she would make KMC listen to the ‘terrible anger’/‘KMC knows’ part? Which would then confirm whether she’s doing an investigation on her own because she’s suspecting KMC? If so, KMC must’ve been KSJ’s accomplice to confirm Joohyun’s reaction, he looked like he was gauging her reaction after all!

-> KMC asking Joohyun if he has to be on his knees and beg for her to trust him (ep. 8, note that the janitor and KSJ magically arrived right after this line) and also in ep. 9 when he asks her to trust him and bear the consequences of his leak until they catch KSJ and end TKV.

-> KMC claims in front of Joohyun that his suspicious search of Narae’s room (at night, on his days off and without the special team) is because he might’ve missed clues because ‘he trusted KSJ too much’… ? (ep. 9)

➾ This doesn’t necessarily mean KSJ and KMC planned everything together: each other must’ve realized they were Gaetal (and possibly without the other knowing, their relationship seemed strong enough in the past for them to work together without Gaetal factoring in) and that LMS was playing with them.

— Moreover, besides Jihoon, the single one person not being investigated among KSJ’s family, relatives, friends and past colleagues is… KMC. Everyone died or went abroad except him, however he’s deliberately withholding the extent of their relationship during the whole investigation.

(Which makes me wonder why Choi Jinsu never brought it up too, especially if he works for Min Jiyoung … He knows they were close, yet he does nothing of that information! Or perhaps he’s waiting to collect decisive evidence to catch him?)

— And KSJ said No. 3's position could be more valuable than anything else now that the true Gaetal is in a critical situation… ?

And what does KMC do later in the episode?

He exposes KSJ’s escape and subsequently the police’s negligence to get back to work because the case is his responsibility! He has the authority to catch the fake Gaetal (and maybe KSJ himself, KMC looks torn on that question) AND to orient the investigation in whatever biased direction he needs to as long as he’s working.

KMC was the one who volunteered to interview Yang Hyejin in person when Joohyun suggested to investigate her link to Gaetal!!!!

He also didn’t push his luck when he strongly suspected KSJ was upstairs at Yang Hyejin's house (esp. once he noticed the umbrellas) nor did he shoot more bullets to stop KSJ’s escape even though he was obviously at point range.

Also the police officer who KSJ passed the paper to was the one who shot JJW, which would force the police to transfer him to the hospital (perhaps preparing for his escape?) and Gaetal keeps up with JJW’s situation through No. 3 (and what better position would enable you to that if it’s not a police officer?).

And KSJ’s reaction when Yang Hyejin asks if KMC is No. 3 might also be telling (the last set of pictures above).

Whether he’s certain of KMC being No. 3 or not (eg. because they’ve been communicating, or he discovered a decisive hint pointing to him), he must’ve at least an inkling it’s KMC.

Note: And remember he never answered nor denied his involvement with Gaetal whenever Joohyun or KMC asked him ; idem with KMC: when KSJ said he hoped he were Gaetal, he retorted he was a cop (we know that means nothing), adding he would’ve targeted LMS first if that was the case!

— The only character scanning the CCTVs/cameras to make sure he’s not caught in the footage is KMC (especially before acting), and it all happens in ep. 1:

① When he busted the streaming site with Joohyun ② When he communicated with Jovovich, BGC’s wife, making sure his cap conceals his face ③ When he beats BGC up ④ When he pushed the journalists’ cameras aside in annoyance

Note: he was wearing a black mask in ep. 1… just like that 3rd person knocking Joohyun out in ep. 3! There must have been a swap somewhere! (In ep. 3 you can see him leave the hospital with a white mask but he could still have a black one ready in his pocket to not attract attention!)

And No. 3 also does look at the CCTVs (see ⑤), but they don’t have to worry about them since they’re masked (and note they’re the only one with No. 1 we haven’t seen unmasked so far in the Gaetal, unlike Jihoon and his grandmother, as well as the taxi driver for example!).

Also, the Gaetal in the broadcast for BGC’s vote claimed they would be the country’s faithful watchdog who ‘monitors’ the devils deemed innocent (ep. 1). 감시하다 is the verb used: it means to put under surveillance/watch/monitor and it is also used to define what CCTVs do (감시).

➾ Gaetal acts like a human CCTV to catch their targets: nobody knows them but they’re still out there observing those who were unjustly deemed innocent when they're not expecting it.

Note: given this possible CCTV/watchdog association, the shot where the CCTV is placed JUST RIGHT where KMC’s head would be when he meets with Jovovich is pretty fitting (see the shot marked with ‘!!!’) lmao

— Speaking of keywords, this Gaetal in ep. 1 said their justice was rational: « 상식적인 정의 ».

However, the Gaetal who presents the special broadcast AND Kim Muchan ep. 5 phrase it like that « 지독하게 상식적인 정의 » (the same spite KSJ mentions himself when he talks about KMC’s ‘terrible anger’).

And it's interesting to note that Joohyun analyzed KMC’s speech patterns when he addressed the journalists AND Gaetal’s (see the screens in ep. 4 when KMC brings to her the letters ; she even entered on her own the keywords ‘Choi Dohee’, ‘Kim Muchan’ and ‘Gaetal's broadcast’ when she was alone!!!!) + never made KMC listen to KSJ saying KMC feels that rage (지독한 분노)!

And… even before KSJ used this specific adjective in ep. 6, it’s actually Joohyun who said it first about the real culprit: « 지독한 진범 »!

KSJ went out of his way to say ‘the two people who said the same words must be connected’ was a naive approach but is it really? If the focus is somewhere else than the whole ‘Devils deemed innocent was said by Gaetal and KSJ’ and it's a habit the culprit let out subconsciously, it could matter!

— The drama also introduces officially the possibility of car plates being swapped (see this previous post on No. 3 and KMC’s car, 'The Gaetal'!):

— (Going into delulu land 8D) but No. 3’s reaction right after Yang Hyejin says « I hope the professor can at least join us without any trouble. » ie. nodding off and looking to the side afterwards pensively looks like what KMC sometimes does when he thinks to himself!

I’ll edit this if I go through some moments in the drama again!

— The heavy breathing of No. 3 really sounds like the one in the video test by the way!

♦ Jodan, Donpanic and Kwon Seokju

— Given the random repetitions in Jodan's panic (and that people usually unconsciously go back to what's familiar to them), he might be ‘Donpanic’, who worked on Cpt. Oh’s case:

— And he might’ve been communicating with KSJ (the last two pictures): the books stacked on Jodan’s desk were the ones they gave KSJ in his cell at the Police Agency in ep. 5 ; in addition, Jodan was the one KSJ tasked to ask the janitor to bring him a ‘book’.

Also « [KSJ] has zero friends, like me. » is superposed to a shot of Jodan’s back showing only then the stack of books.

Later, when KSJ’s escape is exposed by Choi Dohee and the team watches the news, we also see Jodan texting in panic an unknown third person: neither KMC (he was on his way back from the orphanage) nor KSJ (ofc lol) was present in the room so he could’ve texted one of the two (I believe it’s KSJ he’d want to alert because the possibility of an APB sounds clearly like bad news for KSJ’s plans). It could also be Jihoon!

— Also, when Jodan and Joohyun disguise themselves as students to find No. 1 Gaetal, Jodan seemed pretty nervous to let Joohyun see his conversation with No. 1 and carry on her plan (① below):

♦ No. 1 Gaetal, Joohyun and Park Chulmin

— Joohyun and/or Jodan might be No. 1 Gaetal and/or the mysterious ‘expert’ that helped them:

On one hand, Jihoon says: « I doubt No. 1 did this alone. Hacking and stealing a program and deleting all the data left in the server that quickly? Only experts can do that. »

AND on the other, we get this comment by LMS, confirming it’s not himself at least:

But LMS's comment also suggests that everything (that Jihoon mentioned + the astroturfing by generated comments that seems to be happening under the video KMC’s vote) was No. 1’s sole doing, with no separate expert involved. Meaning No. 1 Gaetal = the expert, one and only person.

LMS also marvels at the speed and the system of this program.

This time, I’m more inclined to believe the culprit’s words himself (that there’s a single individual behind that: even though he only ordered it, he must know a whole lot more about the situation) than the one who got hacked, Jihoon! (And people always compliment Joohyun for her competence at building algorithms and databases… !)

— And when Joohyun brings Jodan along to meet ‘No. 1’ Gaetal, she makes her aim clear (② above): « No. 1 Gaetal must be the jerk who posted stuff to instigate people. The system administrator. »

Provided she’s a part of Gaetal and stole Jihoon’s program, while she specifically mentions No. 1 to Jodan, it’s possible she deliberately mixes the roles of No. 1 and the system administrator (Jihoon) to make it seem she’s looking for No. 1 while she’s actually trying to find the system administrator’s identity.

No. 1 is likely not Jihoon according to the combination of what Jihoon and LMS both said about the hacking ; but it could very well be her and she might be trying to sound less suspicious by aggregating all the tech-savvy tasks in Gaetal (eg. the administration of the system and the astroturfing) to attribute it to one single person.

— I suspected LMS of being the actual author of the request for Jihoon’s counseling when after ep. 8 because whoever does this would want to know where he actually lives this way (which would lead to Gaetal's hideout) and…………..

Turns out it’s actually Joohyun who requested it, and look at how she feigned ignorance in front of Joomin with her ‘Didn’t he receive counseling?/Why don’t you ask him yourself?’ as though she didn’t know about the request for counseling when it did come from her!

There's also the possibility that LMS is deliberately lying to make Jihoon suspect Joohyun and not him (but dude probably doesn’t know Jihoon was very close to KSJ and Narae, he’d still doubt him anyway lmao): after all he seemed to pay a close attention to his expression, as though he was gauging his reaction.

In any case, one of the two is lying and Jihoon’s reaction at this piece of information is interesting, he’s totally absorbed in his thoughts (① below):

But in the end, once Jihoon walked away, you see LMS thinking about what happened and tilting his head as though in incomprehension, so I really think the request really came from Joohyun (② above).

— There was also this troubling scene, as Joohyun watched Choi Dohee on her TV addressing the ‘real’ Gaetal:

« And here’s our message to all the Gaetal who are watching this. I hope you see our intentions to become watchdogs. And until our society achieves rational justice, I will stand by your side. »

Joohyun was about to turn the power off but her hand stilled as Choi Dohee spoke. At first, she looked annoyed because she knows the duplicity of Choi Dohee ; she huffed as soon as she mentions ‘rational justice’ (① above).

But at the very end of the scene (②) you see a hint of a smirk as she decides to finally turn off the TV.

Her smile then completely falls off, ending up looking dejected aaaaaaaaa

— Just like KMC (see Part 2 of ep. 8’s notes, 'The Gaetal'), Joohyun also looks used to the dark and was blinded by the brightness of KMC’s flashlight in ep. 9 (note that he also decided to direct the flashlight in her direction even though he already recognized her):

Note: If I’m hearing well, when KMC says « I was wondering if we had a mole », he only says « 내부에서 » ('[a mole] from the inside'), he doesn’t expressly specify a mole from the Police Agency… Which could also mean it was about a mole from inside Gaetal!

— On that subject, the drama made a point at showing us Jodan and Joohyun chewing ice in frustration (my girl looks TOTALLY DEJECTED LMAO) AND KMC savagely drinking his bottled water in one big gulp (like… dude finished the whole bottle in a record time AND HE CRUSHED THE BOTTLE WITH HIS HANDS lmao)!

It could be a sign of nervousness… Your throat can sometimes go dry and you become thirsty lol, just as Joohyun used the water glass as an excuse to reach LMS’s room (and Jodan’s hilarious theatrics to stall for some time haha)!

— And ever since I noticed the thing about KMC’s car, I’m beginning to think Joohyun (or Jodan, but Joohyun looks suspicious for sure) also muddies the tracks to her by swapping her USB drives or putting/removing the red cap on/from it to look like the one inserted to hack Gaetal’s program (② above).

I’m sure the detail will be brought up back again because Jihoon got his hands on the USB drives, he’ll perhaps recognize something (or perhaps it will be LMS since he’s coming home)!

— The scene with Park Chulmin, the janitor, was really interesting:

The thing is that what the last sentence targets is literally ‘이 안에 있는 모든 사람이’ (‘all the people who are present in here’: it could be the prison or………. the room lmao)… Which also includes the janitor himself, Sangjae and Joohyun lmao

Note that what Joohyun says next expressly points the prison, excluding herself and the team from the scope of the search (‘이 교도소에’ and not the ambiguous 이 안에): « We’re going to start the investigation assuming that everyone in this prison is KSJ’s potential communication link. »

This might be an interesting parallel to how KMC always manages to dodge the suspicions because he’s seemingly not matching any criteria of the list while the truth would place him on top of it and in priority: nobody bothers to put a name on the relationship he has with KSJ because a few know it in the first place (see more on the « Escaped convicts go to their families, friends, lovers, … or their prison friends. » later in the post!).

Note: The janitor himself looks suspicious along with the warden. -> While he genuinely seems to resent criminals who profit off the system and live comfortably in prison, he also seems to portray himself like so deliberately, there for everyone to see. Eg. in front of CCTVs (when he beat up KSJ right in the middle of the jail’s camera), and also particularly in front of Joohyun (in ep. 5 when they escort KSJ and made a show at putting the electronic tag on him ; notice it’s curiously never with KMC for example who he voluntarily reached to to since ep. 2). It could be to divert everyone’s attention off him by showing the image of the enraged janitor who would rather die than to become a murderer’s accomplice to be able to work with KSJ. -> This bit in ep. 8 was interesting too: « I had to drive him around and take him home. Is he my boss or what? » -> PCM also gave KMC the letters, who made a show of arresting him (was it to make them seen? After all this moment was caught on camera and used in the video for KMC’s vote!). KMC made a point at underlining he was taking the letters as evidence after the arrest (was he trying to make the transaction undetected by providing a legitimate reason to take the letters?). There’s no saying whether the stack of letters didn’t include something else inside (eg. a message, or the first letter that’s supposedly the one in ep. 9, that would reveal to KMC LMS’s involvement), and KMC could have very well separated whatever this was from the stack and handed Joohyun the letters without her knowing anything. The content the janitor mentioned to KMC wasn’t anything like what we saw of it, and anybody would’ve been alarmed by it tbh lmao (the whole religious imagery, talking about punishing evildoers for KSJ, strong, borderline obsessive admiration for KSJ etc.????). But even so, he only quoted « ‘What Inmate 0512 did wasn’t murder.’, ‘It’s technically self-defense.’ Bullshit letters like that. Since this was such a big case and got a lot of attention, the warden made us inspect his mail for the first time. Because he didn’t want to be held responsible for any weird letter he could get. That’s how we found his No. 1 Fan. (…) Once you read them, you’ll know why I’m doing this. » The janitor was the one who first showed the letters to the warden before going to see KMC (he was quite insistent too if you rewatch the scene, like he had an ulterior motive in mind). So what he says to KMC: « The warden made us inspect his mail for the first time. » could be a lie or at least he’s hiding he was the one who coaxed the warden into doing the inspection. -> There’s also no saying the janitor didn’t communicate with KMC from the moment he got his police contact card and the moment he reached him to talk about the No. 1 Fan letters too! -> If the first letter was in the stack, perhaps KSJ communicated with KMC through the janitor to let him know LMS was actually involved in the Killing Vote, something like that? -> The drama makes a point at letting us know that the janitor was absent the whole time KSJ escaped ; we also learned there were two motorbikes in the car truck: could he have acted as a bait to let KSJ escape?

➾ I get the feeling Joohyun is No. 1 Gaetal: she infiltrated Gaetal and tried to dismantle it from the inside on LMS’s instructions and with No. 5’s help (the taxi driver) because she realized how dangerous TKV could be.

Either she realized it since the get-go or she sympathized at first with it/KSJ (she perhaps communicated with KSJ on her own and KSJ realized it) but got a wake-up call as soon as she saw KMC getting almost killed, Choi Dohee using it to fulfill her own ambitions and KMC faking his death for example.

Also the premise that she’s a part of Gaetal doesn’t necessarily mean she knows the hideout Jihoon used with the others, especially since we saw some vacant desks in ep. 8 & there's a possibility she assumed roles that didn't need her to be present.

Little did she know that LMS was the one behind all the orders she received, which would understandably make her seethe with anger. What she does from this point on might completely change from her initial goal.

♦ Yoonji, Jodan and Park Chulmin

— There’s this weird conversation between Sangjae and Yoonji, when they inspect KSJ’s house after last night’s events in ep. 3:

« — [Sangjae:] Why did Joohyun have to come in here alone? What’s all this mess? — [Yoonji:] Did she really fight on her own? Was she always this athletic? — Do you think she fought back because she knew how to? You know her temper. I’m sure she fought back with all her might. » Note: Joohyun (who went in KSJ’s house in ep. 3) and Jodan’s personal records are the only ones in the team we aren't shown! Joohyun is always depicted by her telltale ‘temper’, her coworkers thinking she’s not athletic, but what if she actually was?

Yoonji looked nervous/alarmed after that exchange:

-> Once the conversation ended, she noticed the paperknife on the frame and glanced at it for some time ;

-> The point of this scene at first glance was to foreshadow that KMC was still alive while deceiving the whole country, even his team: Yoonji must know KMC was athletic like her since they’ve been on the same team for years (see Part 3 of ep. 8’s notes!) and this scene was perhaps there only to show she was suspicious about KMC’s ‘death’ ; but this reaction could be for something else ;

-> We know the paperknife is now gone and the only one who noticed it was Yoonji (Sangjae passed it): she might’ve taken it without the forensics knowing (eg. to help KMC erase his tracks or take a message, idek at this point haha).

— The succession of events for Cpt. Oh’s vote was magically filled with coincidences:

-> KMC took Joohyun aside from the team to ask her to bring KSJ along because Gaetal will ‘definitely show up as they always punished the targets on their own’ (this will be relevant later ; also note that we now know that Gaetal is a group and that KMC might be No. 3).

-> KMC was the first character who led the team to concentrate on the person on the motorbike (motorbike????) by putting an APB on it, asking his colleagues to « keep an eye on deliverymen at every place related to the Killing Vote. »

-> Yoonji was then the other one who led the team to fully focus on any sign of a ‘deliveryman’ and a ‘parcel’ in Cpt. Oh’s case when she confirmed witnesses remembered ‘Delivery’ was written on the vest of Uhm Eungyeong’s kidnapper (but they were wearing a mask) and as they were going through all the possible Cpt. Ohs.

She was also the one who gave the hint of the ‘professional martial artist’, leading the team to believe the person on the motorbike was the same as the one who fled from KSJ’s house.

-> KMC wanted Jodan to ask the potential Cpt. Oh (JJW) to check if he’s received a package (like… even the moment Jodan said out loud ‘Oh Gyungpyo’, making KMC turn his head fully concentrated + KMC then whispering the ‘package’ instruction + Jodan then exchanging a knowing glance, putting the conversation on speaker right when JJW magically admits he’s got a package + Jodan and KMC exchanging glances, eyes wide open also feel weird now 8D).

-> After this phone call, this led KMC to lead all the police force in the fake Cpt. Oh’s direction and the real Cpt. Oh not being able to ask for help for some time. But KMC still made a point at listening both Cpt. Ohs’s stories on the phone (perhaps to stall for some time?)

-> Joohyun was about to leave with KSJ without the janitor, who caught up and insisted on going too because this whole situation was breaching the agreement they had with the warden (he pointedly looked at Joohyun once they got in the car).

Yoonji was the one who reacted the strongest to Cpt. Oh’s twisted account of his crime (and shifting the blame on the victim) when she was in the car ; I don’t know why, but I get the feeling she was a friend of Lieutenant Im (JJW’s fiancée), helping KMC and JJW. And Jodan held her fist to comfort her!

-> Magically right after Jihoon could be heard arriving next to Cpt. Oh, KMC turns off the phone/puts the phone on silent mode that put the real Cpt. Oh and Jihoon on speaker (he knows Jihoon's voice at least from the events of ep. 3 and we know he wanted to meet with him after to ‘ask him something’). KMC then decides to focus on the phone call with JJW.

Note: However Choi Jinsu, who was the one who called the real Cpt. Oh and made KMC listen to the call, doesn’t know Jihoon’s voice so he couldn’t be suspicious of anything (Jihoon’s voice could also have been faint because he was speaking from some distance)!

-> KSJ drops this banger to Joohyun right before entering the hospital: « Are you sure about this? If he’s the real Cpt. Oh, Gaetal will be there. It’s not too late to go over to Team Leader Kim. TO LET YOURSELF OFF THE HOOK. » (and their reactions!!!! They both look tense! Were they talking about something else, especially since Joohyun now looks totally suspicious in the past recent episodes?)

-> While Joohyun and KSJ were busy looking for people KSJ might’ve recognized (which distracts Joohyun's attention from whatever is happening at the same time), the janitor stayed behind as the patient in a neck brace (that he glanced at for a short time) made a scene because he didn’t want to have his ID checked, which attracted the attention to him as he was trying to leave.

-> KSJ magically notices the deliveryman he used to know, but the real parcel was actually placed elsewhere. Joohyun ran after the deliveryman, KSJ staying a little behind at first.

-> The janitor then magically noticed the bomb that wasn’t that strong to kill him from being this close (however it spread lot of smoke, impairing everyone’s vision). KSJ crossed paths with JJW as he was catching up with Joohyun and we don’t know how his electronic tag got removed: he was handcuffed, he couldn’t have done that alone.

Note: it’s the tag that the janitor insisted to put on KSJ himself and not Joohyun (did he put it loosely on KSJ’s ankle so that it would come off on its own?). But it’s also Joohyun who brought the model herself and connected it to her watch, she could have very well fiddled with it too! The tag fell from a certain height (at least from the waist, was it on his wrist… ?), definitely not from his ankle! The janitor/Joohyun/KMC/anybody else in contact with KSJ before could’ve changed its place from the moment he got moved to the Police Agency to this moment!

-> As a consequence, JJW was left alone with Cpt. Oh, Jihoon and KMC and the rest of the police force was dispatched anywhere else but there (the electronic tag’s alarm was another way to disperse the police force), arriving late.

— For posterity, Yoonji is the one who has to keep watch on JJW who is taken to the hospital!!!!

♦ Min Jiyoung’s assistant

The new Gaetal who stabbed the target of this episode might be Min Jiyoung’s assistant: the motions (grabbing the victim by the head to how she holds her knife and stabs) and the petite silhouette/build are the same!

♦ KSJ’s late wife and coincidences

In ep. 7, Min Jiyoung asks her assistant to ‘look into that detective [KMC]’ AND ‘find out any rumors about [KSJ’s] late wife’ to mention them in another video we were not seen.

Whether the assistant managed to find something is a complete mystery till now! We were only shown in scenes just before the video accusing KSJ of having an inappropriate behavior with his students and his daughter when he was interviewed by KMC: MJY’s order came after the first video.

Note that Min Jiyoung slapped KMC after BWT’s acquittal, saying: « I’m sure you know why I hit you. » (emphasis on the why, 왜), adding that her son « should never be tainted by the likes of you. » (emphasis on the taint). Is this linked somehow? What did she find on both KMC and KSJ (which doesn’t mean both findings were necessarily linked, but the two orders came about in the very same scene)? LMS finds that KMC is a ‘funny guy’ ; the video of Narae that Joohyun finds at the end of ep. 9 is literally titled with the English ‘FUN’ ; No. 1 Fan (LMS) hinted in one of his letters that Narae was a « tattletale » (고자질쟁이) ie. a person, esp. a child, who reveals secrets or informs on others (the context suggests that she once revealed LYS’s secrets since he ‘gave her a second chance’). ➾ We don’t know what the secret was (perhaps it’s linked to LYS and all the settled past SA cases that didn’t suspect him at all?) nor if LYS is actually lying. (More on ‘Joseph the tattletale’ at the end of the post!)

When KSJ’s surroundings is brought up once again in ep. 9, we’re shown this record (① below):

This is what you can read on the record:

-> Both KSJ's father and mother live abroad in the United States ;

-> Narae died in 2015 ;

-> KSJ got married to Jeong Yeonsu (born on May 4, 1980) on October, 2004 and she died on December, 2008.

As side notes and little coincidences:

KSJ began teaching at KNPU in March 2008. From 2002 to March 2007, he went abroad to get his Master’s degree and Doctorate in Philosophy of Law, Criminal Psychology and Criminology.

Narae was born on September 17, 2008 which is also the birthday date of KMC, born on September 17, 1986 (EDIT: yes, Narae was murdered 2 days before their birthday and they probably used to celebrate it together, now I'm devastated).

If KMC and KSJ knew each other for 15+ years, how would he have known KSJ between 2002 and 2007, since he was abroad? Either they first met in 2008 when he came back or they go back an even longer way!

The first name of KMC’s mother was Yeonjeong or Yeongjeong (we only hear KMC call her, we have yet to see her name written on personal records), which is a curious mix of Jeong Yeonsu’s name.

What’s intriguing is that while both Narae and Jeong Yeonsu passed away, only Narae has a residence registered under her name: Jeong Yeonsu is the only one who has none (see the box left blank highlighted above). Even KSJ’s parents, who are abroad, have their residence filled in. Will this be relevant later?

Usually residence/a mailing address is mandatory and must appear on official documents (like a register of births, marriages and deaths), right?

And coincidentally, we see Joomin asking her sister in the same episode:

« How do you find out where someone actually lives? (…) The police even came to our school, because his address was wrong. They said no one lives at the address registered in the school records. No one’d ever lived there. »

➾ This introduces the possibility that official documents don’t necessarily reflect the reality of a situation in the drama.

Another example was brought up ever since ep. 1 with BGC: he managed to get a fraudulent marriage with Jovovich in jail (through what seems to be human trafficking) to reduce his sentence. And it’s one of the elements of his sham with a letter of apology that enraged Gaetal.

There’s also that asterisk right next to the status of ‘wife’ that bugs me (see the last line of the record above)! I’ll come back to it if I find some answers!

I don’t know if the signage is the same in SK, but an asterisk often means you need to fill in the needed information on the line/column marked by this sign. But this wouldn’t make sense at all here since the rest of the family, the parents and the daughter were not marked by an asterisk even though they’re equally important. I can only see it as a way to mark that the box in question needed additional information that’s still not provided by the individual even though it’s mandatory for verification (eg. for a marriage or civil union, it’d be a certificate of marriage/contract of civil union ; for a child a birth or adoption certificate etc.). For example, perhaps the civil registrar needed a proof of Jeong Yeonsu’s residence or her death certificate to attest to her death. And as you can see when Min Jiyoung ran a background check on KSJ in the car, all KSJ’s cursus seemed to have been verified by her team from the looks of the red marks right across (see the last picture above), as though they ticked each piece of information once they were done checking it. But even with that, she still lacked information on his late wife after since she asked her assistant to look for rumors (did something make her perplexed? eg. from the official documents?), there might be something going on.

Note how it’s the only official document being shown in the drama with a governmental seal attesting to its authenticity AND that KSJ had at the time many connections in the legal and judicial world (and he was admired by the entire country), so counterfeit, though far-fetched, might be a possibility.

The official seal doesn’t look like the ones I tried to find for kr documents while I was looking that up, I wonder if this will be relevant later?

Also note that KSJ was the warden’s legal advisor (eg. for his divorce, but he seemed to meet him on a weekly basis for another reason) and it’s brought up again in ep. 9.

For what it’s worth, only opposite-sex couples married for at least 3 years are eligible to adoption in SK. Single parents don’t have the right to adopt.

♦ Cell phones and coincidences

Big conspiracy vibes but we finally got a closer look to the content of the glass panel in LMS’s hidden room and the phone and the phone exhibited looks like KMC or BWT’s… (I know, it’s a pretty common phone model lmao, I had something similar years ago but there must be a reason it’s displayed as a trophy like that in LMS’s room!)?

EDIT: a side note, but the picture of Narae and KSJ was indeed stolen by LMS ; it was in the frame right next to Narae's picture that KSJ faces to her stuffed bunny in ep. 6, and it is now empty!

The borders on KMC/BWT’s phone are grey/metallic.

In comparison, Narae’s was white and the news declared it was found by the police discarded in a park trash bin near ‘Dawol-dong’ and it was broken.

If I’m not mistaken, it’s the only phones that were shown in the flashback, I don’t believe we were even shown KSJ’s?

➾ Did LMS steal KMC/BWT’s phone? Did he find something of interest to him in the phone’s content or where he found the phone?

If the phone belonged to BWT, was it because it had the recording of Narae’s cries for help on it?

Note: we hear the journalist on the news mention the ‘Dawol’ neighborhood but it’s not written anywhere on the screen, so we don’t know the exact name of the neighborhood, only its pronunciation. It could be 다월 (Dawol) but also 당월 (Dangwol), which is where KMC happens to live (you can see it on his personal record in ep. 1, the last picture above).

And speaking of phones, Joohyun’s reaction to KMC’s phone falling on the ground (after she urged him to answer her questions on his connection with KSJ) also seemed out of place in ep. 3, the drama also emphasizes the focus on the phone and both characters’s reactions that seemed to have the same realization:

-> Is he actually using two phones (eg. one destined for specific calls like for Gaetal/KSJ or his deal with the Commissioner and his superior) and Joohyun noticed the phone that fell wasn’t the one he used usually?

Note: in ep. 9, a meeting between the Commissioner, KMC and his superior happened right before he took a few days of leave and behind closed doors: the drama doesn’t show us the matter discussed at all!

-> Did Joohyun notice the phone looked similar to the one a third person (eg. one of the Gaetals) was using in their meetings (provided she’s part of Gaetal)?

Like at this point you can’t even make sh*t up ; this moment felt out of place to the same extent that conversation on the ‘firecracker smell’ sounded weird (see Part 3 of ep. 8’s notes, 'Joomin and the 'firecracker smell''!). There are really too much coincidences piling up.

♦ Choi Jinsu’s phone call

He said « The professor’s picnic is over » to somebody else over the phone once we learned KSJ escaped. Min Jiyoung later texted LMS KSJ fled.

He used 소풍 which can mean trip, picnic but also… outing (ie. act of going outside to admire the scenery or to relax, play etc.).

When LMS laughed to himself as he found out KSJ got out of prison in ep. 5, he says: « What’s my Professor up to? Is he on an outing? », the last question was ‘우리 교수님 놀래 나왔어?’ ('Did my [dear] Professor come out to play?' 놀다 means play, have fun). Perhaps this became a code between them?

You can also see a focus on Choi Jinsu's expression looking at KMC leaving when he took some days off.

Note how KMC’s smile seemed sad/regretful and a bit forced when he discussed with CJS on the rooftop and swallowed (does he know CJS is betraying him?). His smile slowly faded away once CJS left:

« — Cover for me for a few days. — I can’t do it for long, so come back soon, okay? You know I’m retiring soon. »

And CJS looked at KMC reaching his car from a distance, the car once again being emphasized with a zoom in.

If KMC is No. 3, perhaps CJS caught on the faked car plate KMC uses? When KSJ fled, he followed on the CCTVs the police going after him, including KMC's car, so perhaps he noticed it once more then!

AND LMFAO I JUST NOTICED THE CAR PLATE CHANGED ONCE MORE (149호 7861, something entireeeeeeely different from his initial digit combination! See Part 2 of ep. 8’s notes for more details in 'The Gaetal'!)

Note that when KMC was chasing after KSJ at the beginning of the episode, the car plate was his usual one (the one beginning with 21).

Note: just like specific digit combinations (eg. for freight, coaches or specialized vehicles), the letters inscribed on the middle of a Korean car plate can sometimes indicate something about its owner, if it’s a private vehicle (eg. 가, 다 or 마 among many others, and remember No. 3 and KMC’s cars had these last two letters combination respectively), a military vehicle (eg. 육 for the army, 국 for the Ministry of National Defense) or a rental car (only three letters combination indicate this: 허, 하 and… 호, which is present on KMC’s new car plate!).

➾ KMC either rented a car (in the same grey color) or used another fake car plate to cover his tracks and lead to a wrong hint!

He’s not the only one who played with a vehicle swap, KSJ did too with the two motorbikes!

♦ The missing frame on the wall

I talked in Part 1 of ep. 8’s notes ('Three pictures missing in Kwon Seokju's house') about how three frames hung on the staircase wall were lacking their original pictures and drawing ever since ep. 3.

And now there’s even a frame that’s totally missing lmao (the picture on the left)!!!!

If it is relevant to the story, was there a message inside? Who took it (the one it was truly destined for or someone wanting to stop their plans?)?

♦ Yang Hyejin denying all sorts of private communication with Kwon Seokju

… And we know it’s false (see Part 3 of ep. 8’s notes, 'Kwon Seokju's conversation with Jihoon's grandmother'!), KSJ said he wanted to visit YHJ’s 'hospital' once he’s 'released' among many other things, and we see him indeed hiding at her house:

This episode also showed how he communicated with Jihoon during his medical check-ups through Yang Hyejin’s phone while it’s forbidden for inmates to carry a personal phone on them.

♦ More on Kim Muchan and Kwon Seokju's relationship

Through subtle details, we could learn more about KSJ and KMC’s bond:

Kim Muchan's guilt

When CJS said KSJ might resent him for what happened 8 years ago, you can see KMC swallowing at that and looking away.

He's maybe thinking this isn’t true because he knows the situation sounds more complicated.

But he's also probably still caught up in the personal hell he’s been living since the choices he made in Narae’s investigation, doubled by KSJ’s own choice leading him to prison (‘abandoning everything that he had’ as KMC said — and he probably includes both Jihoon and him in that everything). The guilt is still gnawing at him.

He also says he will catch both KSJ and LMS. Whether it’s a lie or not, nobody knows: there’s even doubt among the Gaetal, esp. Yang Hyejin when KSJ asked her and Jihoon to trust him, while Jihoon kept silent as though he was vaguely aware! It’s likely that the drama wants to cultivate the doubt on him joining sides with KSJ/arresting him until the very end!

The scene is reminiscent to what he asks to Joomin: « What if I have [experienced injustice in my life, saw someone live a good life after murdering my family]? If I’ve been through the same thing, do I have the right to arrest him? »

➾ He perhaps became KSJ’s accomplice along the way, not necessarily since the beginning, because he probably didn’t know he communicated with LMS! Both maybe suspected each other of being part of Gaetal also!

➾ Perhaps one of the two decided to join TKV because they knew the other was involved in it, so that they wouldn’t go down alone or in order to become the scapegoat?

Discreetly letting out his connection to Jihoon, Narae and Kwon Seokju

① « Her older brother »

When Joohyun says the boy present in all the drawings Narae did was her best friend, quoting KSJ’s words (’Narae’s best friend’), KMC pauses, briefly shifts his jaw back and forth and finally corrects her as he’s focused on the only picture we have of Jihoon and Narae: it was her older brother, not her friend and he’s one of the perhaps very few people privy to this detail of KSJ’s life despite there being no visible signs of this child about to be adopted at KSJ’s home except for that sole picture with Narae.

He quickly back pedals and pretexts he’s knowledgeable about that detail because the adoption was brought up during Narae’s case and nothing else.

There's a chance Joohyun would then wonder why KSJ lied about this detail and KMC was aware from the standpoint of the police officer in charge while KSJ should be the most knowledgeable about it.

② « I never knew he was ill »

KMC admits to the audience he never knew Jihoon was ill, suggesting in silence he’s well-aware of everything else because he most likely lived those events with KSJ’s house. He looks pained when he learns the truth behind his illness.

The fact that KMC didn’t know about Jihoon’s traumatic mutism might be because he perhaps only knew him when he was able to speak, happy by Narae and KSJ’s side + (crack theory time lmao) KSJ kept Jihoon’s tragedy hidden because it might’ve something to do with Min Jiyoung?

③ « Escaped convicts go to their families, friends, lovers, … or their prison friends. »

When Joohyun calls him and wonders where KSJ could have went, KMC claims it’s obvious: he then lists off all the possibilities.

After the mention of lovers (애인), you can hear from KMC a quick breath intake as he casts his eyes down to the ground while furrowing his eyebrows. It’s the only word that triggers a reaction.

Note that 애인 is specifically chosen by KMC ; it’s a gender-neutral word for lover, like 연인 (though the two differ from each other in a very subtle way), and you’d colloquially use for example 여자친구 and 남자친구 (girlfriend, boyfriend).

As it’s gender-neutral, it can also be used between sexual minorities (just like you’d say ‘partner’ for example).

(Take that as you will but me says it’s getting less and less subtle haha)

♦ More religious symbolism, St. Michael & Lucifer

See more about religious symbolism in ep. 6 notes (Hieronymus Bosch’s triptychs) and in ep. 7 notes (St. Michael & KMC, the ambidextrous angel)!

We finally get the last painting displayed in LSM’s hidden room when Joohyun sneaks in: The Fall of the Rebel Angels, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

It depicts Lucifer’s fall from heaven « because of his pride and rebellion against God’s divine plan, which was to appoint Jesus as the people’s savior. Lucifer coerced one-third of the angels to follow his lead in the rebellion and to assist in appointing him to be the new ‘God’. The sin of pride caused the fall of Lucifer and his companions and resulted in the ‘war in heaven’. Archangel Michael was given the duty to drive Lucifer and the fallen angels out of heaven. The conflict of good and evil as well as vice and virtue are constant recurring themes throughout Bruegel's work. »

The detail about Lucifer coaxing angels to join his cause is a pretty fitting detail, especially since he tainted the country’s hands with blood and perhaps one Gaetal from the inside who ignored everything of his twisted intentions eg. Joohyun!

Now I wonder who is Lucifer and who is Michael c:

♦ Joseph the tattletale, etymology and the duplicity of both the narration and the good and evil in humanity

As I mentioned it previously, LMS quoted Joseph’s story in the Bible and likened it to Narae’s character.

In the Genesis, Joseph is sold as a slave to Potiphar (an officer of the Pharaoh) by his jealous half-brothers who initially planned to kill him (their father, Jacob, favored Joseph among his sons, an ornamented coat/cloak/tunic Joseph wore symbolizing this preferential treatment) and painted goat’s blood on his coat to show it to their father Jacob, who believed he had died.

Note: said coat, whose telltale characteristics were its colorful appearance (or with silk/embroidery/pictures/designs depending on the versions) and long sleeves, was called the untranslated ketonet passim ; Coat of Many Colors from the vulgate and even rainbow colors. In Thomas Mann’s works, the cloak is seen as the bridal veil of Rachel, his mother (and Jacob’s cousin and second wife), who Jacob was in love with.

Later in his life, Joseph, who became trusted and honored in Potiphar’s household, was falsely accused by Iempsar, Potiphar’s wife, of trying to violate her, after her attempts at seduction had failed.

Speaking to Potiphar, the wife points to the red robe Joseph left behind when he ran from her clutches, wickedly using the presence of the garment as evidence to support her accusation.

➾ Joseph was eventually dually the ‘righteous one’ (ha-Tzadik by Rabbis) but also labeled a ‘tattletale’, seen in a bad light, because he told his father bad reports on his half-brothers and spoke of auspicious dreams hinting at him assuming family leadership and reigning over them. But this doesn’t say anything about the brothers’ cruel deeds against him.

There are various commentaries and interpretations on this story in the silence of the text, theorizing on both Joseph and his brothers’ behavior and the ambivalence of good and evil, and how Joseph might’ve been wrongly stigmatized as a tattletale, undeservedly persecuted.

Even though some agreed Joseph was blameless, they still saw him as a gifted but insensitive child, conceited and very caught up in himself and ‘blithely assuming everyone will be fascinated by the details of his dreams’ and rubbing the favoring prophecies in his brothers’ faces. « In the end, who was to blame? The brothers: for jealousy and hatred and violence. Joseph: for bringing bad reports, showing off the coat, flaunting the dream.  Jacob: for unfairly loving one son and ignoring the others. Or does the blame go further back? Jacob’s parents were unfair and his brother Esau wanted to kill him. Jacob’s father Isaac had tension with his brother.  In the very first family, the first son murdered his brother.  Like a family tradition, the curse of deception, resentment, violence moves down the generations. »

Thomas Mann’s tetralogy, Joseph and His Brothers, is one example (there’s also Dostoïevski’s Karamazov Brothers, even Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo is theorized to be inspired by the story of Joseph!).

It also seems that in Hebrew, « clothing/garments » (beged) might have a common root with « betrayal/deception » (bagad) and the foreshadowing wordplay could be seen in the way Joseph’s story unfolds.

Here’s the thing about tattletales and whistleblowers: you criticize them for dredging up a vital piece of information deemed as a (sometimes dark) secret, something that was hidden by people for a reason, thus violating their secrecy. There’s an unwritten, tacit code of conduct being breached.

➾ It’s the act of exposure that’s inherently seen as bad, like you would ‘shoot the messenger’.

Which ties up interestingly well with the drama’s spectrum of what people deems as good and evil and truth and lies and Joohyun’s character set as a whistleblower (내부고발자), but also if you think about it, Choi Dohee’s journalism, KMC (in ep. 9) and LMS in Narae’s case.

The duplicity of this role is even further highlighted by Joohyun who accuses Choi Dohee of disclosing her real name, making her the scapegoat of the investigation’s aftermath (희생양), written off as a betrayer in the police’s eyes (배신).

Note that KMC is also deemed as the scapegoat of the Police Agency (ep. 1, as Jodan said) even though his career seems pretty successful (now who’s the real scapegoat?).

BWT, while being DEFINITELY involved in Narae’s murder (and perhaps the other past SA that were settled by LYS’s father), was LYS’s scapegoat that made him escape the charges, perhaps following whatever his family’s deal was with Min Jiyoung.

Even in ep. 9, the taxi driver wants revenge for his lost family even though he ‘cosplayed’ as a victim and Min Jiyoung instrumentalizes Choi Dohee’s show to select TKV’s next target according to her standards and schemes, same as the astroturfing that takes advantage of the people's trust in ep. 8.

Which is why I believe that LYS’s letters laying out the plans for the future Killing Vote could also be meant to talk about something else entirely at the same time ; the alleged targets weren’t specified, with gender-neutral words, and the same motif comes back about punishing an individual shielding oneself behind the guise of virtue and atonement to conceal the evil inside (see this reblog).

The etymology of those key words also adds meaning to the drama:

① The hanja for whistleblower (내부고발자) is 內部告發者:

內: inside (안, 속)

部: group/aggregation/body (떼, 집단)

告: inform/tell/notify ie. let someone realize or know what they didn’t know or forgot, advertize/publicize or signal ie. indicate or show a certain fact or phenomenon (고하다, 알리다 and 아뢰다 which has the nuance of telling a superior something in one’s workplace)

發: for a flower to bloom/blossom (KMC’s bouquet and the Maiden Blush rose) and for a laughter or smile to bloom on one’s face (LMS much lmao) but also burn ie. for briquettes, coals, etc. to catch fire and burn and rise ie. for a cloud, smoke, etc. to rise and also spread (‘where there's smoke, there's fire’ lmao) ; for a smell, dust, etc. to spread or rise (see Part 2 of ep. 8’s notes on KMC and dust ; fitting with the expression ‘smoke and mirrors’ lmao) (피다, not to mention that 피 means blood) ; shoot/launch (like… a gun or a rock lmao) and speak sharply ie. say something in a harsh and sharp manner to hurt someone else’s feelings (쏘다) ; the motion of standing up/rising/sitting up but also soar up/swell and prosper/revive ie. for something that was weak or did not exist to flourish or become strong (일어나다)

Note: the weak/disadvantaged/underdog (약자) is also written with the same hanja ; one of Min Jiyoung’s present campaign pledges is to help the disadvantaged and Gaetal defends the country against devils deemed innocent who feed off money and power and crush the weak ; not to mention the Robin Hood/Batman/Hong Gildong/Wilhelm Tell imagery.

者: a person, thing or animal (���, 사람, 것)

➾ You reveal from the inside one’s wrongful deeds by feeding into that fire to the point that its smoke rises up above and alert the people outside.

You can hear Joohyun cry for ‘Fire!’ to distract the journalists’ attention to run with KMC in ep. 4. Jodan also says Joohyun will ‘catch hell’ if she tries to look deeper into the video test. It also ties up nicely with the fire imagery in the drama associated to eternal fire and damnation, the wrath originating from tragedies, evil and the resoluteness/doggedness/strength of will in one’s actions (or as Jodan said the ‘persistent, crazy and competent lunatics’) eg. No. 1 Fan, Joohyun, KMC, KSJ and LMS.

Even the thing about the smell (냄새, you can use it colloquially to mean something feels fishy/suspicious also because it also defines the mood/atmosphere felt about an object or phenomenon) in the drama becomes relevant lmao:

-> Jodan’s morning bad breath and Joohyun telling him to keep his mouth shut in ep. 1 ; she later associates bad breath to her annoying (and potentially corrupted) superior at the Cyber Bureau in front of KMC in ep. 4: « Don’t bother arguing with the higher-ups. It won’t do you any good. Now, I’m reminded of someone. And that bad breath. »

-> When Joohyun alerts her superior on the Gaetal video test (‘It seems fishy, right?’, ‘You’re right, I can smell it. You being nosy again. It reeks. I’m hearing the sound of a bird chirping somewhere.' which is a wordplay on 새, bird and 냄새 because 새 and 새 sound almost identical)’

-> BGC’s « Our regulars who reek of money are waiting. We can’t wait. »

-> The smell of the bar waiter’s « insides churning in pain » as KMC burnt his money (ep. 2)

-> The firecracker/gunpowder smell of the third person fleeing KSJ’s house (ep. 3 & 4)

② Betrayal (배신) is written 背信 in hanja:

背: the back of someone or something (등 or 뒤, which also has the additional meaning of sb/sth being behind the scenes ie. a part not exposed or revealed and grudge/resentment ie. hard feelings that remain pent up)

信: trust/believe (cue the whole thing about establishing rapport, mutual trust or suspicions) ie. thinking of something or someone as being right or true, believing someone is honest and sincere and won’t deliberately do anything to harm you, or believing in a god or a religion/stories (eg. ghosts, fairies, miracles)/way of life/idea, or relying on sth or someone one expects meeting their expectations or because they’re confident in them (믿다), entrust (신임하다)

③ Scapegoat (희생양) is written 犧牲羊 in hanja:

犧: sacrifice ie. act of giving away or relinquinshing one’s life/property/reputation/interest etc. for another person or purpose, or the state of being deprived of such things (like what KMC said about KSJ) OR the state of losing one’s life in a sad and pitiful manner due to an accident/natural disaster etc. (희생) and… animal/beast and fig. beast/brute, just like the meaning of LMS’s name (짐승)

牲: sacrifice and the animals used in ancestral rites in its broad sense or in jesa, a Korean ancestral rite (ie. the act of expressing appreciation to a god or the spirit of the deceased by offering them food, or such ritual), and also the popular name of the livestock/cows

羊: sheep/lamb (양) ; auspicious (상서롭다)

④ Tattletale (고자질쟁이) is written 告者질쟁이 with the same hanja used in whistleblower, 告: inform (see above!) and 者: person/thing/animal.

That (deeply unhinged & twisted lol) line by Min Jiyoung also encapsulates how good and evil, justice might just be a farce to everyone while pleasure/entertainment is the true standard:

« When humans commit crimes together, they never forget that feeling of exhilaration. To the public, justice is merely a fantasy. »

I found this interesting bit in an interview of Lee Minjin, the author of Pachinko (please give it a read, it’s a great book btw!). She said the third-person omniscient narration was a detail she conscientiously paid attention to both aesthetically and ethically-wise, which aligns with the unreliable narration and duplicity in this drama:

« That mode’s flexibility lets her build a functioning, self-contained world, one that’s governed by an overarching moral physics.  But if omniscient narration allows Lee to play god, the question is what kind of god to be. For inspiration, she looks to the biblical story of Joseph, a tale that’s helped to shape the way she thinks about good and evil. She explained how the story instilled her with a radical belief that supercharges her fiction: If suffering and injustice can be recast as opportunities for empathy and forgiveness, even life’s worst events can feel like divine fate. » She adds: « After Jacob’s death, Joseph’s brothers are terrified that he’ll hold a grudge against them because their father can no longer keep Joseph from harming them. The brothers concoct a story saying, essentially, “Oh, by the way—before dad died he told us to tell you that you have to forgive us for selling you into slavery. Sorry about all that.” But rather than taking revenge on his brothers, Joseph believes there has been a higher purpose to his suffering. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good,” he tells them, “to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” The gist of it is: What man intended for evil, God intended for good. It’s just an incredible thing to say, considering everything he went through. I’m amazed by the insistence that all of the suffering, the inequity, and injustice he endured happened for a reason. That kind of optimism or sense of divine purpose is very hard to muster as a modern person. Like Joseph, we all have inequities inflicted upon us, and when we experience inequity and injustice and evil, our sense of powerlessness and despair can be overwhelming. When will we see justice?, we want to know. When will we see fairness? When will things be okay? I understand the impulse to believe God doesn’t care. But I find that I very strongly want to believe that there’s a reason for the evil that we see and experience. Though there is so much evil, I want to believe in ultimate moral justice. I believe that, as in the story of Joseph, goodness has the potential to rise out of the darkness that befalls us. (…) I want to write realist novels in a Victorian sense, and the writers I admire in that style tend to do omniscient narration. The omniscient narrator is a bizarre technique, when you think about it, and no one uses it much anymore. But for the novels I want to write, it’s the only approach that makes sense to me. Writing this way, you’re not embracing the subjectivity of a specific character. Instead—like the novelists of the 19th and early 20th centuries—you play God, effectively, manifesting a kind of complete design within the chaos of life. When you write this way, you’ve got to ask yourself about the fictional universe you create. Will you be a morally just god or an immoral god? My art has to reflect the moral justice that I believe in. Not that I’m interested in preaching, or writing a treatise about how people should start the revolution. But I am interested, as in Joseph’s story, in showing the ways goodness can rise out of suffering. And I’m interested in creating radical empathy through art. That’s the little task that I set for myself. I don’t know if it’s for everyone, but it’s for me. »

[cray-cray-anime]

Watch "Chloé, Sabrina and Kim Prank Marinette! (S5 Leak Spoiler)" on YouTube

So i watched this and like this is just so like the show to try to use this as smth w her stalking tendencies as smth serious

Which is ridiculous given the show jokes abt it and marinette hasn't been shown to be "cautious" while stalking, just very obsessed and "quirky". Sure maybe makes sense why she took so long confessing, but kinda flimsy excuse to stalk.

Ye I think I'm just gonna stick to the niche part of the fandom that either doesn't make marrinette a stalker or actually deal w it.

Also like WHERE THE HECK THIS FRIEND BEEN 4 SEASONS??? srsly they just throw whatever convenient for the plot 😒

[cherchersketch]

# Cher Reviews Manhwa

I’ve been reading an insane amount of manhwa recently so decided to compile a list of what I’ve read so far so that I can peer pressure encourage my friends to read some of these with me.

Grouping everything by ranking (and just plain alphabetical order in each rank) These are all my own opinion please feel free to like/dislike what you like/dislike. I also have a separate list for the meh to the DNF-ed since this is purely the good stuff.

Here’s a list of some terms I use in these Please mute “manhwa live reactions” if you don’t want spoilers to the ongoing ones since I occasionally have to scream

The ones in italics are completed series. Yes, most of them are ongoing ;w;

Loved this so much I spent real life money Another Typical Fantasy Romance Father I don’t want this Marriage First Night with The Duke For Better or For Worse June Peach Just Leave Me Be Leveling up my Husband to the Max My Secretly Hot Husband The Soulless Duchess The Villainess’s Days are Numbered Under the Oak Tree

Yes PLEASE READ THIS Amina of the Lamp Author of My Own Destiny A Villain is a Good Match for a Tyrant Beware the Villainess! Falling for the Enemy Flirting with the Villain’s Dad Here comes the Silver Spoon! His Majesty’s Proposal How to Win my Husband Over I became the Hero’s Mom I found a Husband when I picked up the Male Lead I’m all out of Health I didn’t mean to Seduce the Male Lead I’m the Tyrant’s Secretary I will be the Matriarch in this Life I will change the Genre I will Seduce the Northern Duke Karina’s Last Days Love Lies Marriage of Convenience My Mom entered a Contract Marriage Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom The Male Lead’s Little Lion Daughter The Reason why Raeliana ended up at the Duke’s Mansion The Villainess Lives Twice This Villainess Wants a Divorce Villains are Destined to Die

I enjoyed my time reading this A Business Proposal A Royal Princess with Black Hair A Wicked Tale of Cinderella’s Stepmother As you wish, Prince Becoming the Dark Hero’s Daughter Cheerful Countess Sisters Daisy - How to become the Duke’s Fiancee Duchess Crow Even though I’m the Villainess, I’ll become the Heroine! From a Knight to a Lady I am the Real One I confessed to the Boss I got Married to a Villain I raised a Black Dragon I raised the Beast well Into the Light, Once Again Iris: The Lady and Her Smartphone My In-Laws are obsessed with Me No More Nice Sis Observing Elena Evoy Perfect Marriage Revenge Priscilla’s Marriage Request Princess Shuden Raffine’s Plan: Save My Favorite Character Sica Wolf Side Characters Deserve Love Too Sixth Sense Kiss The Evil Lady will Change The Maid and the Vampire The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess The Newlywed Diary of a Witch and a Dragon The Northern Duke needs a Warm Hug  The Villainess is a Marionette The Villainess is Retiring Villainesses Have More Fun Villainess in Love Virtues of a Villainess What’s wrong with Secretary Kim Wicked No More When the Count’s Illegitimate Daughter gets Married When the Villainess is in Love Who made me a Princess Writing my Male Lead’s Happily Ever After

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Chortle headlines roundup, anyone?

Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. We're not doing this. Jeremy Hardy went in his late 50s, Paul Sinha's health is deteriorating, if we lose Mark Steel before his time then they'll have to just cancel Radio 4. Not doing that. Fuck that shit. He's only 63, that's younger than my parents. Absolutely not.

...The article does say the condition is treatable and he'll likely be okay after a while, so that's good. It also has some on-brand quotes from him that muse on mortality. Good man. We are not losing that one yet.

(Obviously... not to make a serious issue all about me and other lovers of Radio 4 or anything... I wish a speedy recovery and the best for him and his family and all that.)

I wasn't sure I was going to watch season 3 of this - not that seasons 1 or 2 were bad, but season 2 didn't keep my attention all that well (except when Joe Wilkinson and Jessica Hynes were on), I figured I get the idea and don't really need to see a lot more. But actually, that's quite a good lineup. Roisin Conaty is always funny. Add in Alan Davies, Guz Khan, and Chris McCausland - and yeah, I'll probably give Knockoff Taskmaster a watch again.

You know, I wondered about then when I watched the French and Saunders show. The constant fat jokes about Dawn French seemed okay because she was one of the writers, she was choosing to say it about herself, that makes it okay the same way it is when Jo Brand does it. But still, there really were a lot of them. And obviously comedians are pressured to make any feature about themselves into a USP, so just because she agreed to do the jokes doesn't mean she always wanted to. That show was funny, it's a pity to see this.

(Obligatory note that the headline, like most headlines, is a bit sensationalized, these Chortle headline round-ups are meant to be partly a joke about how the headlines don't really tell you anything and just throw a bunch of disparate facts in your face all at once, and you should really read the articles if you want to know stuff. But the information in the headline is basically accurate.)

The Aussies are coming! The Aussies are coming! With their excessive Rs after vowels and their mildly racist names for coolers!

(I briefly misread the Sam Campbell article's description as calling him a "Taskmaster winner", and had a split second of believing Chortle had somehow made a colossal blunder and accidentally posted a huge spoiler that made me very pleased.)

If they make that, I'll probably watch it. I might watch some of the Irish one because Aisling Bea and Catherine Bohart, even though the worst fucking person in the world is also on it.

I did watch the first two episodes of the Canadian one. Have I admitted that on here yet? It wasn't my finest hour - and it was just one hour, two episodes - when I watched reality TV on Amazon Prime. But Mae Martin was in it. Mae Martin was in it looking focused and intense as they tried not to laugh and for personal reasons I just had to see that. Then (spoiler alert, I guess) they were out after two episodes, so I didn't watch any further.

I have to admit I rather enjoyed it, though. The rest of the cast was also funny. It had Jon Lajoie, guy who made a bunch of funny videos when I was in high school that my friends and I used to quote all the time, then didn't make anything for like 12 years, then came back in 2020 with this absolute earworm that hit the perfect note of what we needed in early pandemic days:

Anyway, he was on the Canadian LOL show, and he was pretty entertaining. Also Colin Mochrie from Who's Line, which I used to watch as a kid. Tom Green, quite a good stand-up comedian who went to my high school (not at the same time or anything, he's much older than me, he's just the only famous person who ever went to my high school). K Trevor Wilson, aka Squirrly Dan from Letterkenny. Andrew Phung from Kim's Convenience. It was fun seeing the mishmash of Canadian comedy people from all these different things in one room. I guess would be less of a novelty in the UK, since we don't have panel shows here.

And I've got to admit, when I forced the judgmental "there is no logical reason why this is a higher form of entertainment than any other shit reality TV" part of my brain to turn off, I found the format pretty funny. I'd watch Irish people do that. I'd watch British people do it. I mean, I didn't love it enough to finish the show after Mae was gone. But I might go back to it at some point.

Still doing that, are we? Going with the cheeky term "peeing Tom" for men who spy on naked women without their consent? I don't object to Hugh Dennis playing the role obviously, they're not going to portray that as a guy we're supposed to like. Just not sure I love Chortle's word choice.

That's good. Put your minds at ease, people who are worried that Jim Davidson isn't mentoring aspiring comedians. Everything's okay.

I was about to say "Steve, what the fuck would you consider a 5-star show then?", but then I remembered that to be fair to Steve Bennett, the quality of this show does vary wildly depending what night you see it and who's in the audience. Don't turn up to this and derail it with heckles, everyone, even though you're allowed. The show in its proper form is brilliant.

I tried to ignore this one, I really did. But I'm sorry, that's too funny a headline not to include here. Sorry, Johnny. Bad luck.

[bdzonthareel]

Barbie

When I first heard about a Barbie movie, I like many people rolled their eyes at the very thought of it. Barbie media has often (at times unfairly) lambasted for being a cash grab and that was my initial reaction, however we I heard that Margot Robbie was involved and her production company was fitting the bill, my interest was piqued. So without further ado, (and I never thought I would ever say these words) let’s talk about Barbie!

We’re introduced to the fictional world of Barbieland, where every concept of Barbie exists and lives in perfect harmony with a respective Ken, and Allan (there’s only one of him.) But the harmony is disrupted when Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie begins to suffer from an existential crisis and in order for her to fix what’s wrong she must go to the real world and meet the girl who is playing with her and figure out what’s wrong.

In all genres of entertainment, comedy is one of those that I am insanely harsh on, as comedian myself I feel like there should be a flow to long form story, especially in comedy. But I can say that Director and co-screenwriter Greta Gerwig created a work that was heartfelt and hilarious in this film.

The cinematography is nothing short of brilliant, lots and lots of pink paint was used to bring Barbieland to life and it felt like one massive play set. And the various Real World shots were not to be out done giving off a stark contrast to each other.

The soundtrack was a delightful mix of classic top 40s, newer hits and self-aware comedic songs. The score was equally light poppy and fun, composers (pop music legend) Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt brought an amazing upbeat energy to this film.

Co-writer Noah Baumbach, helped with some very well-timed jokes, and you know they worked because they triggered a metric ton of incels, and that alone was worth the price of admission. Together with Gerwig, I was throughly impressed with the amount of meta commentary on display, and despite what some might lead you to believe, the film doesn’t demonize men; the film’s message is far more complex than that. I also appreciate the fact that they made the movie about the titular character, with seems to be something that franchises like Transformers can’t seem to get right.

And the performances were hilariously well done, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling have great chemistry as they lampoon the ideas of these characters’ roles. Simu Liu, is amazing versatile and brings the same amazing timing that he brought to Kim’s Convenience and it was delightful. Although my favorite Barbies were Issa Rei as President Barbie and Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie. And I would be remised to ignore Hari Nef whose Doctor Barbie was whimsical and charming, Also since I’m madly in love with Alexandra Shipp I can say that she another of my favorite parts. America Ferreira and Ariana Greenblat served as great moral support for the various inhabitants of Barbieland and then there Will Ferrell I was almost convinced was Ken at one point given his goofball behavior. I also enjoyed seeing Rhea Pearlman as one (spoilers), she just gets better with age. Kate McKinnon really went all in as Weird Barbie as did Michael Cera as Allan (easily my favorite character in the film.) And last but certainly NOT least, Dame Hellen Mirren as the narrator brought a nice touch of her

Barbie was more than what I and many others initially expected, it was packaged as a goofball fish-out-of-water comedy which is a tired cliché in its own right, I sat down on this for a good while before writing this and I feel like its one of the best comedies I have seen in a very long time. It was very funny, but it also had a lot to say about growing up, holding on to thing that we love, and letting go of them. The biggest message that we all have to find our own way, because we are all more than just an idea and life doesn’t exist in just a straight line and at the end of the day isn’t that what it means to be human?

I give Barbie a well-deserved, 5 out of 5.

[blackmagecat]

Made it to episode 3. Sliiiiightly better than episode 2 but the issues from the previous episodes are starting to repeat themselves

Spoilers below

Azula’s intro (and Ozai’s to a lesser extent) now suffers from the same thing Zuko’s does. I am not convinced she is a threat, merely a salty brat that is jealous of her brother.

It is a shame we didn’t get the recruitment scene of Mai and Tai-Lee because those encapsulated perfectly why Azula is a terrifying force to be reckoned with. Even her own best friends fear her

Honestly, she probably shouldn’t have been introduced this early in the show to begin with

They also blew the load too early on Ozai. He works best as a distant tyrant, a nightmarish concept formed in the viewer’s mind over time. We begin to sympathize with Zuko precisely because most audience members can probably imagine having someone like that as a father, to say nothing for desperately wanting to please him.

And of course, Ozai monologues his entire motivation within six seconds of his first appearance like everyone else. Daniel Dae Kim does what he can with this.

Props to our Azula for pulling off the character’s original cadence. Mai and Tai Lee try this to a degree of lesser success

Tai Lee’s wig. Ouch.

It was an interesting choice to combine the Jet, Omashu and Northern Air Temple storylines. Still feels like a bit of speed running but in this case it kinda works

Speaking of pacing, they really need to let the humor hang more. There’s a scene of Sokka’s that the editor just cuts away from too quickly and for seemingly no reason. Like… just let these actors show off their expressions and emotions for once

It’s really disappointing how Katara and Sokka get into a serious inter-sibling conflict and then it gets resolved like a scene or two later. I cannot keep stressing how this show really needs to let these characters breathe.

Admiral Zhao doesn’t feel particularly threatening to Zuko’s mission either? I know this is building up to the Northern Water Tribe but I also wonder if we’re ever getting their Agni Kai. His was always a great parallel to Ozai’s.

I’m not too convinced that Jet’s terrorism plot works well in Omashu, though I still respect the choice. Unfortunately the place becomes conveniently deserted of earth benders (and people in general) whenever it suits the plot.

Also Jet’s motivation, even for all his own monologuing, is kind of unclear? Fire benders bad but let’s kill Bumi because corruption or something?

Jet was never one for having sound logic but at least his plot in the original aimed to tangibly weaken the fire nation. Targeting one of, if not THE most powerful earth bender in the world just makes Jet seem like he might be secretly pro fire nation? Especially with all the intrigue surrounding the mechanist and his affiliations thrown in the mix. I dunno maybe I missed something there

There is also a distressing lack of Momo in this episode. In this house we stan His Royal Momoness

[youraveragedeltafan]

First book spoilers ahead! (please tell me there's prequel book fans, I can't stop thinking about it)

The first Road 96 prequel book is the most interesting thing in the tri-state area to me because of Robert, John, and the fact that it's kinda left up to interpretation whether or not Jarod was a good dad. There is a scenario in which he slaps Lola. Was it just that one instance or a pattern? (and a reason why Robert, a former teacher, could manipulate her into running away)

It's clear that Robert looks for vulnerable people to take advantage of, like Kaito's family and the Kims later on after they join. Notably, we know for almost a fact that both Naomi and Stephen were having second thoughts about the "plan" (I feel like ppl forget that the Brigades didn't cause the attack in '86 but they did try). It's clear that all the adults with Lola were self aware too, as they bring up their concerns about her being in danger at least once.

But here's the interesting part-it's not all Robert (In fact, he's said to have gone missing in dialogue, right before the attack too. How convenient). I know that it's said in the game that John used to be like him, but I think it's in a whole other lens reading it in the prequel. To me, it almost adds more to his guilt in the game when seeing him be kinda mean to Lola or manipulate Naomi and Stephen (who legit have a 5 year old with them) into going through with their mission despite everything.

Anyway, that's why the book is very funni and good and adds to the game. Read it if you haven't. Yes I'm talking to you random person who doesn't care about spoilers and read this because new post in the road 96 tag (Me. I am calling myself out)

Oh, also Stan and Mitch can potentially do the stupidest thing in the world, and they BOTH do it no matter who you side with so it PROVES that they share one braincell depending on who you're nice to. I know I like to write Stan as if he never has done a violence in his life, but he shoots his gun at the most random crap in the book and at the worst times. He is responsible for at least 2 game overs that I know of and it's funny every time

Side note: I really want to add the wacky misadventures Florres had in the book into the wiki but I am too distracted by other stuff atm and also are the books even canon??

[gay-panic-at-the-disco]

(SPOILERS, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY SKIP IF YOU ONLY READ THE ORV MANHWA)

Characters that deserved more screen time:

(Because as much as I would like to worship the ground Sing-Shong treads upon, I would also like to see more of my underrated babies)

Kim Namwoon. I have already made a pointless rant but i really think he could have had more of a presence after Gigantomachia.

Yoo Mia. She's kind of just there most of the time, despite being one of the main character's only living relative. And she doesn't contribute much to the story, as both a character and a plot point, after the Absolute Throne Arc. (You may correct me on this part because I really can't just remember any other detail of Yoo Mia.) And not that I'm preaching anything crazy but I think Mia would have made a pretty great sidekick with that inventory skill of hers.

Han Donghoon. HE WAS BASICALLY A MINATURE KIM DOKJA, HE HAD SO MUCH OPPURTUNITY FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, WHY COULDN'T KIM DOKJA ADOPT DONGHOON AS WELL

Han Myungoh and Dareum. I know you guys are sick of this man. He's an absolute bastard. You're glad to be rid of him. But we all agree that the mpreg really changed him. Dareum was a little angel who we never even got to know anything about. She was just known solely as Asmodeus' host. Sing-Shong, I beg of you, let us love this little angel more.

Lee Seolhwa. But like, as an actual person. You guys might hate me for this but Seolhwa always felt kind of stiff to me. She just felt like a convenient side character, like she's just always in the background healing the wounded (well duh K, she's a doctor) but I always imagine what it would have been like if Seolhwa truly was a resentful and villainous character who managed to escape her darkest moments by the help of the KimCom, instead of just "oh she was possessed by Antinus, Seolhwa was good all along."

YOO JONGHYUK'S LITERAL UNBORN DAUGHTER EJXJU3JDUEHRURJ WHY WAS SHE JUST SHOVED ASIDE, WHY WAS SHE ONLY BROUGHT UP FOR LIKE ONE ARC, YOO JONGHYUK I GET YOUR BAD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PAST BUT HAVE YOU NO FEELINGS FOR THE CHILD YOU NEVER GOT TO HOLD

Again all of this is highly opinionated, I can see why some of these characters were kinda shoved into the backroom. With such a large and diverse cast, it's not really easy to give everyone enough screentime, the webnovel would have been a thousand chapters long if Sing-Shong actually did that, but a reader can dream.