#please God let's expand the English language fandom beyond 3 people

[mad-madam-m]

You're welcome :) I haven't watched k-drama since rediscovering the beauty of animation after university. May I ask for recommendations? Btw I was thinking of how to ask about the Pidge/Allura fic that you mentioned at the end of Heartstone so I'm guessing(hoping) Heartstone p2 in one of those screenshots means it is still a thing

Bahaha, yes, the Heartstone p2 in my Ideas screenshot is the Pidge/Allura one I mentioned. I’m trying to figure out what to do with it but so far it’s “Pidge and Allura fall in love, Keith attempts to learn to people.” WHO KNOWS maybe the new seasons will knock something loose.

And OH BOY do I have some K-drama recs for you:

Coffee Prince - I think everybody gets started with Coffee Prince because it’s fairly easy to get into, it’s not super angsty, and even though the main dude is a bit of an asshole--the main dudes usually are--he gets over it. Basic plot is a girl gets mistaken for a boy and ends up with a job at a coffee shop staffed entirely by guys. She also discovers a passion for being a barista, in addition to falling for the owner of the shop...who is the one who thinks she’s a guy. It’s basically a coffee shop AU. It’s delightful.

Faith - A modern-day doctor gets pulled back to Korea’s past when the head of the king’s guard comes through a time portal looking for a legendary doctor to save the queen’s life. BOATLOADS of political intrigue, a dash of magic, angst and fluff and people you like die and people you hate die and ultimately, there’s a happy ending. This one was like...so much of my catnip; I loved it. I need to rewatch it soon.

City Hunter - Are you looking for a modern-day drama filled with vigilante justice where a masked hero takes down corrupt politicians? That’s City Hunter. Said vigilante hero in this drama is played by the same actor who was the captain of the king’s guard in Faith, and I adore him to pieces. The female lead is a girl who’s just basically gotten into Korea’s version of the Secret Service, so she often ends up being assigned to protect the very politicians the male lead is going after. Throw in a pretty prosecutor and a very awesome veterinarian who knows how to keep secrets and you have the recipe for a great action-oriented drama. There’s ONE death in this series that I entirely ignore, but everything else is A+.

Mary Stayed Out All Night - I fucking loved this drama, okay. See, Mary’s dad is in loads of debt and he meets an old friend who’s very wealthy and agrees to pay off his debt, if Mary will marry his son, Jung In. So Mary’s dad agrees to this, tells Mary she’s getting married, and she goes “oh hell no I’m not.” So she talks this guy she ran over with her car--Mu Gyul, and I swear it makes sense in context--into posing for pictures with her where she’s in a wedding dress and he’s in a tux. (Actually, I think their friends come up with this idea. Their friends are...not great.) So she shows these pictures to her dad and says “Sorry, Dad, whirlwind romance, I’m already married, please leave me alone and let me finish school” and he goes “...yeah I basically already signed you up for a marriage license.”

And there’s no way for her to get out of that without 1) a divorce and 2) sending her dad to jail for fraud, but she also REALLY doesn’t want to be in an arranged marriage. So what does she do? She tells her dad to give her 100 days where she’ll practice being married to both guys and make a choice at the end of it.

What follows is an absolute delight, because Mary has great chemistry with both Mu Gyul and Jung In, and the boys have great chemistry with each other, and really all together they make a functional adult. It doesn’t end with canon OT3, but you definitely get a lot of fodder for that particular ship and it’s PRETTY CLEAR the actors were totally on board.

The Moon Embracing the Sun - This is another historical, and I am not even going to try to summarize it because it’s so plotty and so much is going on and it’s so good. The very, very short version is: the crown prince falls in love with Yeon Woo and wants to marry her. Unfortunately, his conniving grandmother has another candidate for crown princess in mind and she does not like Yeon Woo at all. And grandmother is willing to do whatever it takes to get Yeon Woo out of the picture. However, another character has, for reasons, pledged to keep Yeon Woo safe and how she goes about that is just...wow. WOW. The characters are fantastic, the sets and costumes are gorgeous, and the story is so, so good. It’s very angsty, but there is a happy ending. 

Miss Panda and Mr. Hedgehog - I’m not finished with this one yet but HOLY SHIT I love it. Baking! Found families! A prickly hero with a heart of gold! A sweet plucky female lead 100% determined to make her cafe succeed! Good friends who give good advice! Great sibling relationships! A super cute main romance! I just adore everything about this show and I’m so excited to see how it wraps up. 

I think that’s....almost every one I’ve seen over the past couple of years. XD My friends screen them for me before I watch (because I refuse to watch anything where everybody dies at the end) and so far they’ve been really good at picking ones they know I’ll enjoy. :-)