#the yul thing was pretty one-sided

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

An important step in Jang Uk falling in love with Naksu is being jealous of Yul

S1, Ep 11:

and then again in S2, Ep 6:

Also very important to have the most drama queen response ever

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Recaps 2023 - Korea

I started with Japan because this year it gave me everything I could possibly want. Korea gave me some very nice surprises. Let's go.

The one that had me question if watching it was good for my mental health.

The Eighth Sense

Much like what I said about Tokyo in April is... it was not a good decision on my part to watch this one live. I related way too much to Jae Won and I wasn't in a specially good place at the time. However, I love it so much. I have rewatched it since then and it's such an incredible journey.

I think they used the time very efficiently and they didn't try to skip too many steps to make it a happy ending. I would be okay without any redemption for those two but on the plus side the other friends were brilliant.

Favourite Moment

The one that came out of nowhere

Sing My Crush

This show came out all at once and I had no idea it was coming. But I'm so glad it did. There were I think 4 kbls that came out all at once this year. And with the exception of this one, they were all worse because of it. First of all I fell in love with the song instantly and Han Tae immediately after. He's so cute and in love and it takes him way too long to realise it, but his devotion to Ba Ram is unquestionable from the beginning.

Favourite Moment:

The one that was a sequel but not really

Love Class 2

The first couple of episodes I wasn't sure about this one. The first couple of episodes were kinda of confusing, starting with such a dark scene on the roof, and so many different types of relationships to keep track of.

Joo Hyuk was my instant favourite from the beginning. The way he was instantly smitten and committed from the first moment he saw the TA was delightful.

It took me longer to warm up to Min Woo and Maru. But I love their arc. Even the jealousy experiment didn't bother me, Maru needed a push. Much like Lee Hyun said, it was so obvious.

Lee Hyun and Kim An were the last ones to reach me. I think the whole backstory around Kim An muddied the waters a bit and I'm not sure it was necessary to have so much of it, but I did love that when Kim An gave in, he did so with no reservations.

Favourite Moments:

The one that had me considering moving to a farm

Love Tractor

Ok. Not really, But look how pretty. Funny story, I actually rewatched part of this show in an orchard not that much different from the one here. I was on holiday in the countryside and just thought it would be incredibly amusing.

Anyway. I love Ye Chan an unreasonable amount. He's so dramatic and so earnest. And honestly if I ever had to move to a place like this I think I would pretty much have the same reaction as Seon Yul. I just want my peace and quiet.

But I really like their dynamic all throughout and considering the time restraints I thought that the development of Yul's feelings was done quite well.

Favourite Moment:

The other one with Love in the title

Love Mate

There was absolutely no reason for me to like this show has much as I did. Ha Ram should've bothered me. This whole concept should've annoyed me. The whole separation bit should've made me angry. Why didn't it? I have no clue. But I loved it. I've watched it more than once and love it every time.

Favourite Moment

The one with coffee and pottery

Unintentional Love Story

I adore this show. Pick an episode, any episode, I love it. Was it perfect? No. Was the kissing the thing that made it not perfect? Perhaps. I love it nonetheless.

[Confession time. Is there one thing about this show that bothers me no matter how many times I rewatch it? Yes. Is it the kissing? No. Is it something absolutely and stupidly tiny that only I could possibly be that bothered by it? Yes. What is it? " Let me at least do this." It's such a great moment. But why did whoever was in charge of the editing felt the need to show us the scene that we saw 17 minutes before? (it's really 17 minutes and 40 seconds, I checked because I'm nowhere near sane). Did they thing we forgot about it in that time? It lessens the moment and it insults the audience. I hate it an unreasonable amount. ]

There are so many moments in this show that I love. The four mains are amazing, the confession scene by HoTae in the coffee shop floored me, the writing in the sand moment was delightful and the soundtrack is my favourite of the year.

Favourite Moment:

The one that was perfect

Our Dating Sim

What's there to say. There's nothing wrong here. They are delightful, I had a great time with the video game format at the end of the episodes, their chemistry was amazing, and Ki Tae is my favourite boy. Also, my second favourite soundtrack this year.

Favourite Moment

See you next time with Thailand I think.

Thanks for reading💜

[wh0refornikolailantsov]

Prompt: “what if we ran off and got married.”

For Tolya x Reader please!!

hehehehehehehehe. Okay. Short and fluffy.

Place Your Bets - Tolya Yul Bataar

Content Warnings: Mentions of Gambling. No Beta/Proof Reading.

The waiting in Ketterdam was what had you most on edge, when you were faced with a plan or something to do it was always easy to focus on the next step and the one after, but right now, it was just a waiting game. You had to let The Crows get themselves together and you had no particular time frame for how long that would take.

They understood how imminent things needed to be, but that didn't mean anything for how quickly they could get themselves ready to leave.

Jesper seemed to be the first to be ready, eager to be doing something as well, but eager in a different way to you. He fidgets with the edge of his waistcoat and pulls a single coin from a pocket, he looks surprised as he folds the coin over his fingers and back again, a pretty little trick but it made him less fidgety.

"How long is this going to take?" Zoya asks impatiently. Zoya was as direct and often singular minded in her directness as they come. She had a job to do and she wanted it done. She taps her fingers on the table and looks to Jesper as to demand an answer.

"I don't know," Jesper says, "but I can bet that Nina will be the last to be here," his grin is wicked as he holds up the coin. A gambler's smile through and through.

"Only an idiot would take that bet," Zoya states bringing her tea to her lips.

Tolya leans in closer next to you, both of your backs to the wall, watching the doors closely. "I wonder what bets are friends have placed on us," he says.

"Tamar will have bet you will not be bringing her back what she asked for, and will win that bet," you state. Tolya gives you a playful frown.

"You cannot know that," he insists.

"Oh, Tolya, yes I can," your tone is filled with laughter as you talk to him. "I know you well enough."

"Okay, well Nikolai has surely bet that you will come back insisting you get sent on more missions that require trips to Ketterdam," Tolya says. You smile.

"I like the atmosphere, and I would like to enjoy it, which I cannot do while the weight of Ravka and perhaps everything is relying on us here, so maybe I do wish to return under less... dire circumstances," you say.

"They will have bet that Zoya has threatened violence over my poetry," Tolya admits.

"That I get into heads with Zoya," you say. "Which admittedly has already happened."

"They probably even bet that we are having this conversation while waiting for the others," Tolya muses.

You sigh. "We are simply far too predictable, we should work on that, do something that really surprises them," you chuckle glancing up at Tolya. His golden eyes are focused on the conversations at the table, even if his concentration is here with you.

"What if we ran off and got married?" Tolya asks. You freeze up and then attempt to shake your head slightly from side to side as if to dislodge the idea from your brain, because you must've misheard him.

"What?" you ask, hoping this time you might hear him correctly.

"What if we ran off and got married?" He repeats. "No one would be expecting us to do that."

"That is very true," you say, voice wavering as you reply. You cannot understand how he would suggest such a thing so nonchalantly. Even though you know he is joking.

"Can you imagine, the look on Tamar's face if we returned with Neshyener and married," Tolya continues.

"I do not know which she would find harder to believe," you admit.

"The marriage," Tolya says confidently.

"Nikolai would take it very personally that we hadn't invited him," you add.

"Tamar would never let me hear the end of it," Tolya agrees. "But they would never see it coming."

You laugh gently now, the joke settling. "All bets would truly be off."

You are glad that you are able to have these moments, with Tolya, these moments when you are not two people sent somewhere for a reason. You are just two friends, side by side in a Ketterdam establishment, exchanging words like the world may not be ending.

Even if part of you might long for more, these moments were your favourite, and they made you feel calmer in the waiting.

"So, shall we?" Tolya asks after a moment of prolonged silence.

"Hm?" you respond, thinking you missed something he has said.

"Get married," he asks. You laugh, but he just smiles down at you.

"You're joking?" you ask. He shrugs, smile still on his lips as he turns back to looking at the others, almost fully gathered now.

"I think we have time before they're ready," Tolya says.

You pull away from the wall to look at him properly and he looks back at you in return and he looks just the same, no change in demeanour, no mocking, just Tolya.

"I cannot tell if you're serious," you state. He shrugs again. "Tolya?"

"I had never really considered getting married at all," he admits, "I had no need, but something Tamar said before we left, it had me thinking, that is all."

"Dangerous," you joke, still trying to find where your breath has run off too, with Tolya and all this talk of marriage, and how you're not even sure if he is kidding or proposing.

"Maybe," he smiles. "Have you thought about it?"

"Marrying you?" you ask. Yes, a lot, more than you would like to admit.

He laughs. "No, marrying at all," he says. You feel like a flower has started to grow in your chest and it's pushing it's way up your throat.

"Not too much, but a little I suppose," you admit. He nods.

"If I were to marry anyone," he says, "I would marry you."

Zoya snaps her fingers at the two of you. "We are supposed to be leaving," she states, irritation boundless.

Tolya nods at her and throws you a sideways glance as he moves to join them, assuming you will follow in suit.

You try but every movement is slow, your brain is working with your body at less than half it's normal speed, while it tries to process what just happened.

"If I were to marry anyone,"

"I would marry you."

He had said it so gently, so easily, like it wasn't the most earthshattering thing he could have said to you. Like it didn't make your head spin, make your heart race and make you lose your balance. He said it like it was something you should have known. Something to not make a big deal of. Something that a person just says to another.

"You coming?" Zoya demands looking at you. Tolya smiles at you from the doorway.

"Yes Zoya," you say trying to pull yourself back together, "I am." You had things that needed to be dealt with now, everything else just had to wait.

[dat-town]

the things we lose in fire

Characters: Sunwoo & female reader

Setting & genre: fantasy, Alchemy of Souls au, not your typical enemies to lovers au

Summary: About a girl who slowly lowers her guards around a boy who is destined to be her enemy.

Warnings: canon-typical violence, folklore monsters, blood, burn marks, arson (the bermuda triangle is pretty much the mean girls of jeongjinrak and i may have enjoyed that too much)

Words: 13.6k

Author’s note: there are lots of references to the original kdrama but i think it can be read without seeing the show. there are spoilers about the season 2 ending though because the main characters are the next generation, relatives of the original characters

happy name day @lily-blue, i'm glad we can still fangirl over any piece of media just like we used to <3

the photo for the header is by sunset lover

Even with your eyes closed, you could feel the shift of energy behind you.

Blinking, you turned around just in time to raise your sword in front of your body in defense, to fend off the huge blow coming your way. You snickered as your feet slid backwards on the wooden floor from the strength of it and looked at your opponent with furrowed eyebrows.

Jaehyun looked awfully pleased with himself that he managed to surprise you. As if his ego wasn’t big enough already, he had mastered Chisu recently, an ability only a few of your age owned, and he liked to show it off. Too bad for him, you had your own tricks up your sleeves. So you just smirked back at him and before he could have started his next attack on you with his double swords slicing the air, you lunged forward with precise and sharp movements, forcing him to switch to defense and back away. You could hear the hollers around you but you paid them no mind as you tried to make a hit that could have been lethal if you used your real weapons instead of the practice ones Jeongjinrak let you.

You could tell that the boy started to get annoyed and him losing focus on his movements as he let his emotions take over played right into your hands. You felt the exact moment when he wanted to break out of the defense mode and you managed to swirl out of his sword's way easily then making your way behind him, you held your sword at the side of his neck threateningly.

“I win,” you exclaimed watching with a triumphant smile as the boy lowered his weapons.

The other students around you whooped and clapped, gathering around you, patting you on the back, congratulating, while Jaehyun had his own share of friends who consoled him after his defeat, telling him not to take it to his heart, to not care about her, you know how she is. But of course, the infamous Seo Yul’s nephew couldn’t let it go just like that.

“It’s not fair, you know. You have an advantage with those priestess abilities of yours,” he pointed out, panting, bitter, and you scoffed. It wasn’t the first time you heard that. Others liked to say that if it hadn’t been for your parents they would have beat you in a fair fight. You found their reasoning ridiculous. Nothing out there in the real world with its dangers was about fairness. Would they have whined like this when they faced an enemy stronger than them too? It wasn’t like you just sat around and you were this good. You had to learn how to control your family’s power just as much as you had to master Ryusu to unsheathe your sword like any other pupils of this institute for mages. Your mother had stayed up with you when your fever kept you up after the first signs of your power and your father had taken you to the mountains to practice every summer. Both of them had faced their own hardships and struggles with their powers, they both understood the envy you had gotten for the abilities you had been born with. Not that it helped when you were in a room full of boys with raging testosterone, wanting nothing more than to prove their manliness by defeating you. A girl on top of everything.

“Excuses. Tell that to yourself if it helps you sleep at night,” you rolled your eyes at Jaehyun and shrugged after you slid your sword back into its scabbard. “It’s not like I can switch it off.”

He was just hurt that his pride was wounded with another lost sparring against you. He took great pride in being from the big Seo family, associated with the royal family after all and being the nephew of Jeongjinrak’s leader he had all hopes laid out there for him. But even with his Chisu, he wasn’t as good as you. You didn’t even have to extinguish all the lights in the chamber like you had done with Juyeon last time.

“That last move was so good! You have to teach me that sometime,” Changmin threw an arm over your shoulder and you flashed him a grateful smile. Having a friend like him surely had its perks.

You asked him what he wanted to eat for lunch, eager to fill your stomach after the exercise but before the boy could tell you all about the honey biscuits he craved, the ones your mom always sent you, there was a commotion by the door that attracted everybody’s attention. Hyungseo basically fell through the door when it opened.

“You won’t believe what just happened! Haknyeon just saw the new mage pupil with Master Seo,” he said in a too serious tone for such a simple statement. 

“And?” Chanhee asked with disinterest lacing his words, clearly above caring about such boring matters. The bearer of news looked around, waiting a long beat before blurting out what was followed by a stunned silence:

“It’s Kim Sunwoo.”

Everybody had heard of Kim Sunwoo.

He had almost as many gossips about his birth as you did. Why? Because your fates were connected. It was written in the stars.

Everybody had a plaque of constellations from the time they were born, it was kept in the royal observatory, Cheonbugwan. Your maternal grandfather had worked there and even though he had been long gone before you were born, you had always thought of him when you entered the place, imagining him hovering above the black plaques splattered with white spots.

You were six when your mother had first taken you there. She wasn't supposed to but King Gowon had a soft spot towards your parents – saying he shared a turtle with them had been an ongoing joke that you never understood –, so he allowed the exception. Your parents had suffered a lot due to your father's constellation after all.

You had heard their story over and over: Jang Uk, only son of the Jang family, had been born under the King's Star in the sky, destined for majestic things. Almost everybody who knew about it had been killed just to keep it as a secret, to not let anybody know that Jang Uk was actually the son of the belated king who practiced the dark magic called alchemy of souls to switch bodies with Jang Gang gwanju. Your mother's father, Cho Chung was a constellation recorder mage at the time, one of the unfortunate ones who had to die, taking your entire maternal family with him, so the king at the time could rule. Your mother had been taken in by a man who had trained her into a deadly assassin. Naksu had spread fear while she wanted to get revenge but she ended up switching souls – or more like sharing souls – with a girl who was unbeknownst to her the lost daughter of the Jin family, a powerful priestess. Your father had fallen in love with her as an assassin and as a priestess too and that's how you had been born as the daughter of the two most powerful people of Daeho who had gone against every odd to be together.

Of course, it was only the version you and the family knew. Everybody else could only see that Jang Uk, the most powerful mage they had seen, the always rebel, had gone against Jinyowon’s strict leader and married her confined eldest daughter with whom they had saved Daeho.

With parents like that, you were expected of a lot. Especially after being born under the Morningstar which, as your mother explained, was a sign that you were destined to bring light into darkness. There were whispers about your fate all around Daeho.

Just as much as about Kim Sunwoo’s.

His life was irrevocably intertwined with yours since he was said to have been born with the energy of the Firebird that your parents had killed.

You and Changmin were out to visit the iron master of the town for the new throwing stars Jeongjinrak ordered. Some, like that prick Jaehyun, would have thought that it was beneath you to do such things but you actually liked to do errands like this. Things might not have been as strict as they had been in your parents' time, not even allowing for family visits unless it was an urgent situation, but the training center of Songrim still felt stuffy sometimes. You liked to visit the lively market or play stone skipping with your friends whenever you had had enough of the constant sword and mind practice. Master Seo was your parents' friend – as well as Songrim's leader, Park Danggu –, so he made sure to often remind you that you didn't have to push yourself too much, that you should not break under the pressure of expectations but it was hard. Both of your parents had defeated death at least once, how could you just live a normal mage's or priestess' life? You were ought to do grand things.

One day.

Today your biggest problem was how to steal some time to visit Kim ahjussi's chicken soup stall before you had to go back to Jeongjinrak. That was, until a bright voice called your name. You let out a groan. Just what you missed from your day.

"Y/N! Changmin! So nice to see you. Running an errand I see," the boy dressed in silk stated cheerfully.

"Your Highness," your friend greeted the Crown Prince politely when he slipped into your view, successfully halting your steps. Sometimes you truly wondered how his eunuch kept up with him but the loyal servant was behind him like a shadow.

"Youngjae," you sighed, calling him by his first name, a privilege you had because you had played with him since you two had been kids. Your mother had helped the king find a suitable queen after all. However, with the boy following you around like a hyperactive puppy, some people thought he was pursuing you with serious intentions because you marrying into the royal family would have meant adjoining multiple influential families of Daeho. But it was as unlikely as the Sun suddenly rising from the West. Youngjae was like your little brother at most, you couldn’t look at him any other way.

"Any plans on visiting the palace any time soon? It gets boring without company."

"I'm sure you have more than enough people around you," you eyed the poor eunuch who always followed the boy around.

"But that's not the same, they are court servants, they don't have a choice," the prince whined and tried to use his puppy eyes on you.

Before you started your official training, you indeed spent a lot of time on palace grounds with him, especially when your parents were out hunting down whatever creature terrorized the people. They either took you to Jinyowon to stay with your cousins or the palace during those times. That's where you learned sparring from palace guards, ate the most delicious food in seven provinces and decided that you were never ever going to marry into the royal family. You could not stand the hypocrisy and conspiracies. You might have gotten used to the whispers behind your back but the palace was a whole nother level. You would have felt sorry for Youngjae if he experienced the same but he seemed blissfully unaware of his surroundings like the spoiled brat he was.

"We could have a sparring battle! Winner gets to make a wish!" The prince threw in as if it was such a novel idea but you only had to exchange a glance with Changmin to know that he had already had enough of this, too.

"You have lost every single time before. Didn't you have enough?" You sighed but Youngjae just grinned, ever so optimistic.

"It's called determination. Just watch and see, one day I will beat you."

"Good luck with that," you said a bit bitterly, internally adding but that day won't be today as you turned the corner the next time you saw a chance for it. There were many people at the market and many stalls with colorful goods put on display, so you slipped underneath a table, crawling behind the stall and slipped through a crack between two wooden houses, moving farther from the busy streets of the market.

It might not have been nice, slipping away like that but your family was already obligated to attend the equinox ceremony at the palace over the next weekend and you had more important things to care about than chit-chatting with a bored prince.

You looked behind you, checking the crowd just in case Youngjae could keep up with you but you saw no sign of him or Changmin. You hoped your friend could get away too without being dragged into an unnecessary fight with His Highness to save his pride. You were still busy looking over the mass of people when you stumbled as your shoulder hit something firm.

"Sorry," you mumbled on instinct since you were brought up to be polite but a moment later you froze, confused. Sure, you didn't look ahead where you were going while you were watching your back, so anybody could have thought it was natural to bump into somebody on your way but you usually didn't make mistakes like that. With your inherited power to sense energy, you could usually tell if you were near somebody. But this time, something was off. You couldn't have named what was different but something was unique about this person's energy and it didn't feel right. You turned your gaze up at the stranger but half of his face was covered with a scarf and he wore a hood over his head. You could only catch a glimpse of his dark eyes, crimson locks and sharp gaze before he continued his way, his long sword draped across his back like a warning.

You looked after him with furrowed brows, confused but snapped out of your trance when somebody called your name. You straightened your back and looked at Changmin who waved to you from the other side of the road, alone. You smiled back at him mischievously because it seemed so that His Highness had lost another game of his.

Jeongjinrak had already been buzzing with anticipation and rumors about the new arrival but it wasn't until the next afternoon sword practice that Kim Sunwoo arrived.

The lively chatter of the hall died down as soon as Master Seo walked in carrying an authoritative aura around him despite his youthful features. Then the whispering started because the man was followed by a boy wearing the mage trainees' silver-blue uniform, his burgundy locks kept out of his face with a similar headband. He didn't look scary or vengeful like the rumors suggested but there was some kind of searing coldness around him, something unusual about his magic, you could tell, so you didn't take your eyes off him.

"Everyone, this is Kim Sunwoo, the institution's newest student," Seo Yul introduced the newbie calmly, not reprimanding the murmuring crowd for once.

"Can he even wield a sword?"

"Does he really do dark magic?"

"Is he going to practice with us?"

Hushed questions and curious gazes were sent in the boy's direction but he seemed unbothered by it all. He just stood there and stared ahead, hands behind his back. His presence was a bit… underwhelming. The rumors about him claimed he was dangerous and deadly, that he was about to bring destruction like the Firebird whose energy he had been apparently born with. But he looked like just a boy and really, you should have known better than to believe gossip after the telltales about you as well.

"He's going to join the training from now. Welcome him nicely," Master Seo finished his speech and clapped his hands, encouraging the pupils to get into position around the practice dolls. The place wasn't big enough for everybody to have their own, so you usually took turns in groups of 2 or 3 to practice different attacking techniques.

Everybody seemed wary of letting the new boy join their group and he didn't seem keen to ask about it either. You exchanged a glance with Changmin as a silent question and he shrugged with no objection. He was friends with you too despite the rumors about you, so you knew he wasn't judgemental when it came to prophecies. Having a High Priestess as your mother you did believe in fate but you also thought that it was not unchangeable and often these prophecies were vague enough to not know their true meaning until much later.

So you were about to call over for the new boy, telling him to join your group, so you could show him how these kinds of practices worked but before you could have done so, Jaehyun stepped in the way of Kim Sunwoo. With his pride you knew that it was bad news, especially when Juyeon and Younghoon, his equally popular and self-assured friends, followed.

"Is it true that your parents are dead?" Jaehyun asked and you sucked in a breath. Of course, he had to pick bones with the new kid on his first day. He just couldn't sit on his spoiled ass in peace. Typical.

"Why does it matter to you?" Sunwoo spoke up for the first time since he had arrived and his voice was deeper than you expected but just as cold as his appearance.  And even though he was talking quietly, in the tense silence of the practice room where barely anybody pretended to not pay attention his words could be heard clearly.

"Did you kill them?" Jaehyun pressed on, such an asshole move.

"Why, wanna die too?" The redhead spat back at him but Jaehyun just laughed as if it was funny.

You looked around but saw no supervisors which, in retrospect, was no surprise, Jaehyun usually only put on his big boy pants when his uncle or his men weren't around.

"I was just curious. How can somebody walk around with the blood of their parents on their hands," he said and that was when you felt a sudden shift in the energy, something hot and surging like lava boiling up, then a moment later Sunwoo unsheathed his sword, the point of its blade stopping right under Jaehyun's chin. The metal didn't glow blue like usually when a mage's energy shifted into ot, rather it looked like it was smoldering as if it burned scorching hot. You had never seen something like this.

"One more word about my parents and I will walk out of here with your blood on my hands," Sunwoo hissed and based on the arrogant grin on the other's face, he just couldn't get the seriousness of the situation. He was so sure that nobody would dare to hurt him as a relative of the King. But he couldn't feel the darkening energy that started to envelope the room, the building up anger and the weight of such power that was ready to burst.

"Just shut up, Jaehyun," you snapped at the boy harshly and tugged on Kim Sunwoo's arm that held the weapon to pull him away. He barely nudged and his skin felt feverish even over the layers of his uniform. You yanked your hand back because it almost burned, what the hell.

Sunwoo's dark eyes focused on you for a moment and it was when you realized where you had already sensed his energy. At the market a few days ago. You couldn't feel the unusualness of his energy this time when he walked into the hall but now, it was sharp and clear like the smell of rain after a storm.

The boy glared at you as if he had any reason to be mad at you and before anybody could have stopped him, he pushed past Jaehyun's gang, out of the main hall.

Him storming out of the place wasn't left uncommented, of course. Master Seo's nephew claimed that the newbie overreacted while others muttered about his bad temper and how the situation could have gotten worse if you didn't interfere. Not that Jaehyun was grateful, he clearly thought that he was handling the situation perfectly. And Kim Sunwoo… he might not have needed your help to protect himself but his actions clearly showed that he had no idea what kind of people were at Jeongjinrak. If he had seriously injured Jaehyun, his father wouldn't have left him unpunished and as an orphan Sunwoo probably didn't have anybody powerful enough who would have stood up for him. It was better if he didn't stir trouble with the Seo–Lee family.

You didn't know what to expect from Kim Sunwoo after his first day bravado but he showed up the next day at the practice room earlier than anybody and he sat in the back at the history lesson held by Park Danggu. His swordsmanship wasn't elegant at all, it looked like he either self-studied it or picked it up from a very shabby master but even like that, he had clearly reached Jipsu and Ryusu because he could gather energy of water flow and direct it to his opponent during a fight. He had a very street-like technique if it could even be named one but he still managed to land the three blows needed to win in your practice fights against Younghoon who was left speechless on the ground after the last energy burst pushed him to his butt. It made you wonder whether he had come to your training center to learn how to master his skills to their full potential or he had another reason. Most people don't join Jeongjinrak at his level or as late as his age.

Sunwoo seemed to have become an expert in ignoring Jaehyun's remarks which (to your greatest delight) annoyed the hell out of the noble guy. However, sometimes you could tell that the accusations hit too close to home. You could sense the shift in energy or get a whiff of smoke and when you walked by Sunwoo's seat, you saw that he had left a burnt handprint on the wooden desk. Even though Sunwoo didn't hurt anybody, he wasn't particularly nice to the other pupils, which didn't help the rumors. Some said he would snap one day and burn the whole place down and judging by the dark look in his eyes, you wouldn't have been too surprised either. Though unlike others you doubted he had come to Jeongjinrak with that purpose.

"I heard there's some uproar at the academy these days," your father brought up casually one dinner when you were allowed to be outside of the establishment. "Not gonna lie, it has been strangely calm ever since Yul took over."

"He's working hard, come on," your mother tsked, amused as always whenever it was about their friends and their bickering.

"I'm not saying he doesn't, but he might get bored there at this rate," your father mused out loud, picking out a honey biscuit from the bowl on the table and you knew he was just joking because he had done a lot so that Daeho could be as peaceful as it was.

"It's not really an uproar. Just a new guy," you shrugged. You didn't want to give too much meaning to the prophecies and predicaments about his and your future, you didn't want that to influence anything. Not after how unfairly mage masters had treated your father in the past because of such things.

"Just a guy with the Firebird's energy," your father pointed out mimicking the casual way you talked and your gazes met when you looked up to glare at him sulkily. You didn't want to worry your mother, so it would have been better if she didn't even know it. Wishful thinking, your father never kept secrets from your mother. Who was now looking at you, bewildered.

"Is it true?"

"Yeah. But he isn't that bad. Like, yes, his energy feels a bit wrong and wild but he keeps it under control," you said because the last thing you wanted was to be withdrawn from training just because your mother was worried. You were often told that you were a lot like her actually: reckless when it was about your own safety but fiercely protective when it came to your loved ones.

"Well, not every unknown or powerful is evil. There better not be another witch hunt out of fear," your mother concluded with a hand over yours, lightly squeezing. "It's actually better that he is here, supervised than being out there, doing god knows what. If he becomes dangerous, we can protect you here."

You sighed, having had enough of being treated like a baby.

"Mom! I can protect myself."

"Sure you can, our brave daughter," your father joined with a fond smile and ruffled your hair. He stuffed honey biscuits into your mouth to suppress your big girl complaints.

You could be the best mage pupil at Jeongjinrak but you would always be the beloved daughter of Cho Yeong and Jang Uk.

You weren't looking for trouble, really. It was a mere precaution. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer or whatever. If you were indeed destined nemesis with Kim Sunwoo, you should have known what he was up to. Did he really only come to Jeongjinrak to be a better mage? Did he even want to be an integrated part of society? Where did he learn how to fight like that? What else was there to his story?

You had a dozen questions which could only be answered by the guy himself but even after weeks of attending the academy, he still wasn't befriending anybody. Not even Haknyeon with whom he had been doing sparring practice lately. So you did the next best thing you could do instead of talking to him: you followed him when you caught sight of him slipping away under the dark of night after the curfew started.

It wasn't the first time you broke this rule of Jeongjinrak but it was the first time when it was because of a boy.

Sunwoo didn't go far, just over the walls, to a small abandoned house with an extinguished pit of fire in its garden. He stopped there, circling around the charred black ground then sat down with his legs crossed. You watched him from over the top of the walls, not wanting to make any further noise by jumping down on the other end and risking getting caught. You wanted to see what he was doing without him knowing after all. So then you waited.

After a few moments passed and nothing happened, Sunwoo looked like he was in the middle of a deep meditation, so you kind of regretted the awkwardly uncomfortable position you chose. You had good stamina but pulling yourself up onto a wall with only half your weight supported by a tree branch… it wasn't ideal. But then, after more minutes of just waiting, something happened, something that shouldn't have been possible: the dry leaves and branches in front of the sitting boy suddenly burst into flames as if he had stroked stones against each other to spark a fire. However, Sunwoo did no such thing, in fact he did not move at all. While he was with his back to you, so you couldn't tell for sure but you would have bet that he had his eyes closed. He just shifted energy to fire and if it wasn't enough proof, you saw him raise a hand and form a little ball of fire in his palm. It was the same thing you were taught to do with water but you had never seen, never even heard of anybody being able to do that with fire.

Your magic was based on the energy of the sky that ruled the wind, the clouds and rain. It was the first thing kids learned. It was a definite truth like the Sun rising in the East. It was taught at the first class you took at Jeongjinrak: that the energy from above crashed into the water basin next to Daeho, Lake Gyeongcheondo, and it brought powerful magic to the ground. The same lake that became the burial place of the Firebird twenty or so years ago. Right when Sunwoo was born.

You should have gone back to the dormitory then, finally knowing what he was doing but questions kept stirring up in you and you couldn't just leave. As you straightened yourself from the cramping position, the branch creaked beneath your weight and you could see Sunwoo perk his ears at the sound. It was time to quit hiding.

"So this is why you sneak out? Honestly, I expected something more exciting," you spoke up casually as you swang one leg after the other over the wall and hopped down elegantly on the other side. You dusted your hands down in your overskirt and stepped closer to the small fire.

"Like what? Hiding bodies?" The boy asked stiffly.

He was watching you as if he couldn't tell your motives and he was probably right to do so. But you didn't spy on him just so you could tell on him or blackmail him, it was merely to satisfy your own curiosity.

"Pranking Jaehyun's gang or something," you said with a nonchalant shrug which made Sunwoo scoff. Unlike his usual neutral expression, he almost looked amused then, so you decided it was safe to ask more.

"You know who I am, right?" You started off as you sat down across him, watching as he was drawing patterns into the ash. It might have sounded like a self-flattery question but you knew your reputation and most people didn't act around you like he did. Considering that you were even said to be each others' nemesis.

"Who doesn't?" Sunwoo rolled his eyes but it didn't quite answer your question. Or well, not the underlying one you were actually curious about. Of course, he knew you, you were in one class but it didn't mean he knew about your family, your power.

"And the prophecy about us?"

"I don't believe in such things," he said coldly, looking up at you. He looked serious and you didn't know how to feel about it. Obviously you were glad that he wasn't outright antagonistic against you but you did believe in fate and him not caring about it was off putting. "Why? Did you expect me to attack you the moment we met?"

So he did know about it.

"No," you mumbled, feeling a bit confused because whenever you did imagine meeting him, you thought it would be under much more disturbing circumstances. With Daeho in danger for example. Or that he would be evil. He didn't seem like that but one could never know for real.

So you changed the topic. There was no use sticking to one about destiny when he didn't believe in it.

"Why are you out here practicing alone?" You looked around the abandoned neighborhood. Sure, people might have looked at him weirdly if they saw he was practicing a kind of skill that was unlike any other you had encountered before but that was because people were always wary of unfamiliar things.

"It's not something others can teach me. My old mentor said that it's unprecedented, so…" Sunwoo just shrugged, resigned. "I get it. It's unnatural. Most people fear me."

You knew that feeling, being looked at with fear just because you could do something others couldn't. Being the daughter of a powerful priestess and a mage with a dark past without others knowing that your mother's soul had also been an assassin could have either made you an outcast or popular. You weren't a fan of either but the mage students at Jeongjinrak would have never dared to treat you the way they did Sunwoo.

“And your parents?” You blurted out, wondering if they could accept him the way he was or they were afraid too. Because you were lucky in that sense because your parents understood your feeling of oddness among your peers. Sunwoo however took your question in a different direction and it rendered you speechless for a moment.

“They died. In fire.”

Oh. So Jaehyun was right about one thing but it still didn't mean that it was Sunwoo's fault. But the way he cast his eyes down, the ember warming up under his stare, you could feel his regret and guilt consuming his energy, so you didn't dare to ask about details.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, not in pity but sympathy.

Sunwoo hummed but didn't react otherwise. He didn't seem angry or bothered. It made you wonder when was the last time he felt understood, listened to. It made you want to pat his back and tell him that it was going to be okay.

You were quiet for a while, listening to the crickets chirp and you were sure Sunwoo stalled his practice because of you, so you wanted to reassure him that you weren't afraid of him, that he could keep trying but what came out of your mouth was more like a curious inquiry.

"Don't take it in a negative way but why did you come to Jeonjinrak? If you still need to learn by yourself."

The boy sighed but still answered patiently as if he believed you would leave him alone once you ran out of your questions. Or maybe he didn’t want to be left alone. He seemed a bit lonely.

"My mentor was old, he told me to come here if he couldn't teach me anymore. He once saw me trying with a sword and the way I lost control over fire. He tried his best to teach me the basics of energy control but I had nobody to actually practice fighting with. I'm still not very good."

That he said but he never lashed out and burned anything down no matter how much Jaehyun pushed him. You thought he didn't give enough credit to himself.

“Let’s train together. Not to brag but I’m the best among Master Seo’s pupils,” you exclaimed with your chin raised high proudly, a bit playful and you pretended to feel offended when Sunwoo looked at you doubtfully. “Hah, don’t look at me like that! You don’t believe me?”

You stood up, dusting off your skirt, and drew your sword out, poking the guy’s chest with the blade’s pointy end gently to nudge him too. He laughed, genuinely, for the first time since you had known him but complied. He pushed himself to his feet too and faced you with his drawn sword.

You striked first, just testing the ground, his level, but he blocked easily, so your little sparring practice turned heated soon. Heated in a literal sense because while your sword was glowing blue from the floating water energy in the air but after a while, Sunwoo’s started to look like it was burning, with a reddish glow to it. You could feel his energy too, just like anybody’s else, but this was new because unlike most people’s energy state, his felt unpredictable. He almost scorched you with one fireball sent your way but you managed to get out of its way at the last minute before using the boy’s apologetic self to your advantage to attack back. After a while, he stopped holding back and fearing that his power would hurt you or get out of control. It felt freeing, you could tell, and watching his smile lightened by the sunrise’s glow, you felt lighter too.

There was no prophecy worth dedicating your life to just to despise somebody who didn’t deserve it and really, maybe you could write your own history.

Once he let his guards down and let people get closer, Sunwoo made friends easily at Jeongjinrak. Changmin was excited that he finally had somebody to annoy you with and Haknyeon now had a study buddy in the mage library because Sunwoo had a lot to catch up on when it came to theoretical and history knowledge of your kind. When it came to practical classes, he usually joined your group and you could tell that it annoyed the hell out of Jaehyun’s circle that he wasn’t a lonely wolf anymore.

He wasn’t the only one watching you warily though. You could see Master Seo eyeing your duo worriedly whenever he passed by the practice room but didn’t interfere. You were sure he knew what was said about your future and that he meant well but you hoped he wouldn’t tell on you to your parents. Based on how protective they were of you, you knew they wouldn’t have been too happy about your sudden friendship with the boy with the Firebird’s energy.

And then there was Youngjae, of course. He had no idea about the prophecy and yet, he just had to be nosy.

“I don’t like that you hang out with him so much,” he said when you were in his royal quarters, feeding the turtles in the garden pond.

You just rolled your eyes, didn’t even spare time to answer as you crouched down, holding out a fresh leaf to one of the animals. Times like this always remind you of your childhood. When you were too young and too naive and your parents sent you and the Crown Prince to the garden to play while they talked about politics and dangers. They still treated you like kids but you knew better now.

“Are you listening? He’s said to be dangerous,” Youngjae whined and you weren’t sure he was more worried or jealous. Not the romantic kind of jealousy though. There might have been rumors but you didn’t think that the prince had interest in you like that. Sure, he might have been more comfortable being close to you than any foreigner princess he hadn’t known, but he was more jealous of Sunwoo getting to spend time with you while he couldn’t. He had been surrounded by people all the time and yet, he was so, so lonely. The fate of a ruler.

You acted nonchalant whenever he whined but secretly you hoped that his future bride would be able to fill this void in him.

“Who said that?” You asked, disinterest coloring your voice pale.

“Everybody!”

You sighed and after leaving the last piece of leaf on the ground, among the moss, you stood up to face Youngjae.

“Don’t believe everything you hear,” you lectured him with a disapproving tsk before curling your lips into a confident smile. “And even if he was dangerous, you shouldn’t underestimate me.”

You bowed towards the boy lightly, polite within the walls of the palace, and when he tried to follow you, you scolded him that it wouldn’t be proper of him to go after you into the outhouse which made him flustered down the core and gave you the chance to slip away without him or any of the servants following closely.

However, you passed by the outhouse without stopping by and wandered towards the king’s quarters. He had summoned your parents over an important issue and you wanted to know what it was because your always recklessly brave mother looked worried when she read the summoning letter. And if anybody caught you snooping around, you could just tell them that you didn’t feel well and were looking for your parents to ask for a leave. Not that they would have believed you ‒ they knew you too well ‒ but others might have.

“But… how did it get out? I thought, only Jin priestesses can open the door to Jinyowon,” King Gowon’s deep voice was hushed. He clearly didn’t want others to know about whatever caused disturbance. It must have been important if he needed your parents, both of them, to help him out.

“That is true but there might be other hidden entrances we don’t know of like the ones from the mirror world or Gwido,” your mother enlightened him and you furrowed your brows. You had no idea that the dangerous relic storage of your maternal home had other entrances other than the one overgrown with ivy creeper, the one that couldn’t have been forced open. It only opened for those of the Jin blood. You had been there a few times, always a short visit and you were never allowed to touch anything but you had heard stories of the time of Great Chaos. Jinyowon was on the verge of collapse and many things, monsters, escaped. They started causing hunger, drought and deaths, so it was your parents’ task to put them back to their lawful places.

“You should capture it as soon as possible. The last thing we need is disturbance before the the Moon Festival,” the king said and hearing your father’s promise and steps, you quickly pulled away from the wall to get away.

Their conversation didn’t leave you be though. What exactly had got out of Jinyowon and how?

You and Sunwoo kept practicing both in daylight and after the Sun went down.

He had improved a lot in his control and precision over the weeks but you were still better. There was one thing in which he was excellent at though, with much more experience that you had: archery. He had said it was because he was used to living close to the woods and hunting for his own food but you thought there was more to it. So while you were teaching him energy control, he taught you archery, it was only fair.

“You’re getting better but your stance is still too unstable,” he noted after you two checked where your arrows managed to hit the target. They weren’t as scattered as they used to be and you hit the board with each arrow at least, but it was nowhere near as concentrated around the center as Sunwoo’s. Your aim still needed some work.

“I’m trying but I’m not used to standing still for this kind of thing,” you admitted irritatedly because the fighting technique you learned involved a lot of movements and agility and logically speaking you knew that even if you needed to use your archery skills in real life it would be on the go but to improve your aim, first you needed to learn how to keep steady.

“I know. Get into position again,” Sunwoo instructed you and with a huff of sigh, you walked farther from the target with your arrows back into your quiver and faced the tree from a distance, ready to draw your weapon when the boy stood behind you.

“Close your eyes,” he said quietly, his breath fanning over your neck. Fighting a shiver and a snicker about his weird teaching technique, you did as he told you. The world went dark around you as you closed your eyelids and you were especially aware of the roughness of wood against your calloused fingertips, the heat of another body beside yours and the sound of your own breathing.

Sunwoo put a hand over your shoulder and pulled it backwards until you straightened your back, getting into the correct position. He then fixed your fingers around your bow leaving little tingles in their wake behind. You took a deep breath when his touch brushed against the ribbon in your hair.

“What do you feel?” Sunwoo asked quietly, his voice fighting the breeze of air, swimming through the ocean of your thoughts.

“Calm,” you surprised yourself with your honesty as you realized that the feelings that washed over you was serenity. Ever since you overheard your parents talking with the king and you learned from Lady Kim that your family home was empty for days, your thoughts had been running wild and you jumped into training after training to suppress the turbulence of your mind. Sunwoo didn’t ask what was up with you, but he readily practiced with you until you were exhausted enough to fall asleep.

“Good. Then try to concentrate on other senses of yours except sight. Take a sniff of the smell of spring, feel the wind lead your arrow, hear the birds, feel the tenseness of your bow… then when you took in your entire surroundings, open your eyes and shoot,” the boy said and you didn’t needed to see or have special priestess powers to be able to tell he stepped farther away but you didn’t open your eyes.

You followed his lead and let your senses strengthen as you focused from flower to flower, tree to tree. As a priestess you had a very sensitive power to be able to tell where and what kind of energy was and even though it was the strongest in mages and other magical creatures, it was everywhere around you: under the ground, up in the sky, in every blade of grass and blossom that fell from the trees. The more you let yourself get immersed in nature, the clearer you saw what was around you without having to open your eyes. Then you finally understood what Sunwoo had said that the key was to be aware of your surroundings.

You slowly pried your eyes open, your sole focus on the target in front of you, clearer than ever. You drew the bow string tight and sent the arrow flying and it hit the target, bull’s eye.

“Oh my, did you see that?” You turned to face Sunwoo in disbelief, excitement bubbling in your veins from the achievement while a proud smile spread over the boy’s face. He probably took pride in your improvement similarly as when you saw him land a Chisu blow the other day. 

“See? I told you that you can do it,” he said, the wind brushing his burgundy hair into his face which made you want to reach there and rake your fingers through his locks. But you just stood there, staring, the energy flowing around you and you couldn’t help but blurt out your fresh observation.

“Your heart is beating fast.”

Sunwoo’s smile didn’t fade. He didn’t protest. He knew it would have been in vain or maybe he didn’t even want to.

“Because you are deadly,” he said and you let out a scoff at the teasing, ready with a retort that died on your tongue when you heard the terrified scream.

Your eyes widened and you exchanged a brief look with Sunwoo before without any spoken word, both of you started running towards the source of the noise. The closer you got to the town, the more screams were heard and people came running from the opposite direction which only slowed you down. You could tell by the unmistakable smell of smoke that something was burning, yet the heat from the flames when you got there still felt haunting. You could already see Songrim officials handle the situation by directing water to the fire to put it out but you wanted to help. You crouched down next to an old lady who must have fallen and offered her a helping hand, hoping that she wasn't too shaken up. You didn't expect her to mumble about the sudden attack, the fire ball bursting in front of the gates and the chaos. Much less the frightened look on her face as she looked up.

“It’s him!” A woman pointed to your left and muscles pulled taut, ready to face the enemy, you turned, pointing your sword at the said direction only to see Sunwoo there.

You furrowed your brows, confused, but the woman didn’t take back her accusation and others around you backed her up too, claiming that it was him setting a fire to the noble’s house. What? Who were they confusing him with?

“That’s impossible. He was with me the whole time,” you shouted over the chaos, lowering your sword but the murmurs barely subdued and people still looked at him in fear. It left a bitter taste in your mouth as you watched Sunwoo's shocked, saddened face. With his reputation, it was almost too easy to blame him.

So close to the biggest festival in the capital, Songrim didn't want to risk being accused of having bias when it came to Jeongjinrak's students, so as the publicly appointed suspect was Sunwoo, he had to go through a not too pleasant interrogation.

Since you were his alibi, you were questioned as well and since both of you were outside of the training center when it happened, you knew that you would face Master Seo’s punishment for sneaking out and breaking the rules anyways.

“And are you absolutely sure that he was with you the entire time?” Your uncle, Songrim’s leader, looked at you expectantly and without hesitation, you nodded.

“I told you: we were practicing archery then we heard the scream at the same time and went to see what happened. We found the building already burning though by the time we got there. No sign of who did it,” you recited for the third time at least when the same question was asked differently.

However, this was the only occasion when uncertainty hit you as you thought back on events. Could you really be sure? Was Sunwoo really with you from the beginning to the end? You had your eyes closed for minutes. Could he… Nah, that was crazy. Why would he have done that anyways? He had no motive and it was unrealistic that he could have left and come back without you noticing.

“Alright. I believe you but please, try to stay out of trouble. At least until your parents are not out of town,” Park Danggu pleaded with a fatherly tone and you knew that your parents would know about your little rebellious act by his next letter to them. Even if he wasn’t friends with your father, his wife was your mother’s little sister, so there were really no secrets between them. You didn't make any promises though.

“Do you know anything about them? Or how is their search going?” You grabbed onto the chance to ask because you haven't heard much of them since they had left. They had sent you honey biscuits every three days and it was their sign that they were alright but you didn't know anything about the mission itself.

“Don’t worry about them. They know what they are doing. I’m sure they will be back soon. They are honor guests at the festival after all,” Songrim's leader tried to reassure you with a smile. Since you were done there, you bowed out of respect, thanking when he invited you over to dinner sometime, claiming that the twins, your oldest cousins, were missing you.

Things were quiet for a while. The rules got stricter around Jeongjinrak and the other mage pupils blamed you and Sunwoo as if they didn’t sneak out from time to time. Though it was true that you were the only one who got caught, what should you have done? Ignore the screams and sneak back to the comfort of your bed without trying to help at least? Cowards.

So you thought it was a one time thing, a misunderstanding but one night when the moon was at its brightest you woke to a heavy weight over your chest. It was like waking up from a nightmare without remembering any details. You put a hand over your heart and tried to concentrate, to identify this bad feeling.

Your mother could not only feel energy better than any mage but she could tell exactly what kind of energy it was. That was why she and your father were the perfect team to hunt down creatures of ill-intent. You didn't have her expertise but you could tell that the energy that was floating around you then had something malicious and wrong about it. You got out of bed, peaking out of your room but there was only eerie silence.

Then, the next moment you heard the watchbell's loud sound. You grabbed an overcoat to cover your nightgown and your sword. On the corridor, you met other sleepy students in similar attire as you all ran towards the gathering place.

"Changmin!" You called over to the boy when you saw him and he caught up with you quickly.

"Hey, do you know what's happening?"

"No idea. Something just feels off," you said and glanced around, looking for other familiar faces.

You had gone a bit further away already when you eventually noticed the smoke. You weren't the only one, others pointed it out too and you could hear the gasp.

"The library is burning!" Somebody yelled and a simple sentence like that was enough to cause havoc because instead of stopping and waiting at the gathering place, most people continued the run to the building on fire. You exchanged a glance with Changmin, then you both headed towards that direction too.

The closer you got, the stronger the strange feeling was. You tried to ignore it and see if you could help but Master Seo and his men were already handling the fire while some were chasing down the arsonist. You could hear people yelling about him escaping towards Jeongjinrak's Eastern walls. You didn't hesitate: you climbed up the nearest building and ran in the same direction from rooftop to rooftop. Without the crowd and distractions on the ground, you were much faster like this. Fast enough to see the hooded black figure swing over the wall, jumping right after him.

"Stop!" You shouted but, of course, it was only in vain, a way to tire your throat out, not the troublemaker. But since he wasn't listening, you had no choice but to attack, sending a wave of energy his way to knock him off his feet. He stumbled but carried on, determined until the end you had to give it to him.

Your second blow was stronger, the assailant fell and it gave you enough momentum to catch up with him. You pushed his body more to the ground by his shoulders and hovered over him even when you forcefully turned him around and tore the hood part of the cape off his head.

Then, the world tilted around its axis and you froze under the watch of that familiar face.

“Sunwoo?” You asked shakily, confused, but the boy stared back at you with disdain and it was a strike constant to his playful smile he had said goodbye with a few hours prior.

It was Sunwoo but at the same time it wasn’t: he looked exactly the same as the last time you saw him except his eyes. They were coal black and emotionless. They were scaring you. Just like the darkness of the energy swirling inside him.

"What happened to you?" You asked in a shaky voice, not sure if he could hear or understand you because he stared so emptily as if he was nothing but a shell. "Sunwoo…"

You tried gentler but to no avail, the guy's eyes turned sharper the moment he heard approaching steps and the next moment you flinched away because of the burning feeling running up your arm. Only when you stumbled farther did the pain subside and looking down at your overcoat, you saw the burnt mark of a hand over your upper arm.

In disbelief, you stared at the wound and took a tentative step backwards when Sunwoo, this possessed Sunwoo, came closer. You pointed your sword at him.

"Don't come near me," you warmed him, the 'or else' clear in your tone, yet the real reason for your warning was that you didn't want to hurt him but if he didn't stop, you would have to. "Sunwoo, please…"

The swish of an arrow was the first thing you saw next, then Sunwoo, grabbing onto his arm in pain and while you searched for the attacker he ran away, more arrows flying after him.

"Stop!" You yelled at the stranger over the walls, angry and desperate, not knowing what to do to bring back the boy, the Sunwoo you knew. The guy with the bow jumped off next to you and the red strands of his hair made you wonder whether you were hallucinating.

"Sunwoo?" You asked, unsure, the witchcraft making you doubtful.

"It's me," the boy said, quiet and warm, just the way you knew him.

"Sunwoo," you called his name in relief and hugged him close, closing your eyes as you let his body’s warmth embrace you. It was like a soothing balm unlike the cold roughness the other emitted. The world was finally alright again. "What happened? Do you know who he was or…"

You couldn't even finish the sentence. You were roughly yanked away from Sunwoo who was held down by two officers, ties and eye cover on him like criminals. Songrim's leader and his men were all around you as well as students from Jeongjinrak who pointed their fingers at the kneeling boy accusatory. They had all seen him flee apparently. They had seen him attack soldiers. They had seen him create fire on the top of his palm. It was his doing, they claimed and if you hadn't seen the real one, you might have believed them.

You elbowed your way through the crowd and grabbed your uncle's arm, tugging.

“I know it sounds crazy but it wasn’t him. It looks exactly like him but it’s not him!” You protested but this time Park Danggu didn't seem convinced. "Please. You have to believe me!"

“Sorry. It will be the safest if we lock him up,” the man said firmly, with an apologetic sigh, and signaled his guards to capture the boy.

"It's alright," Sunwoo reassured you when he passed by you before you could have made a scene over the injustice. It was not alright but you knew that he meant well. If you were confined too for disobedience then who would have proved the truth?

You watched him being taken away and wondered if you took any missteps, if you were accused of using your priestess powers they couldn't understand to evil deeds, would they have turned against you so quickly too? Or would you have been privileged because of your parents? Sunwoo had nobody, so if you didn't help him, he would have been all alone in this. The thought clenched your heart uncomfortably.

But of course, being one of the spectators, Jaehyun couldn't shut up, not even when it was about things he didn't know, so unaware of your internal turmoil, he just had to brag to his friends that he had told them so, that he was right about Sunwoo all along.

“Good, that freak is finally at his deserved place,” he snickered purposefully loud enough for you to hear and you didn’t know what got into you but in that moment you saw red and didn’t even think. You stormed up to Jaehyun and punched him. Hard. It might have earned you suspension and red knuckles but at least it felt good.

Proving Sunwoo's innocence wasn't an easy feat. First of all, because only Changmin and Haknyeon dared to openly take your side and believe your story. Second of all, because there had been weeks between the two fire incidents you knew of and you couldn't just wait for another to happen, so it would prove that Sunwoo couldn't do something like that from captivity.

With the library half burnt down, it was hard to look for options in written history too and you wouldn't have known if Sunwoo had an evil twin because the prophecy would have surely pointed that out. Soul shifting was also not an option because you literally saw the two of them together, looking alike and all that. You were so out of options that you were about to visit a shaman and ask if they knew about black magic that could cause something like this but then your parents arrived home.

Clearly they had heard of what you had gotten yourself into from your uncle and didn't like it one bit. So of course, you got your fair share of scolding but it wasn't like they had been any better at your age and they knew.

"So you repeatedly sneaked out of Jeongjinrak after curfew to what… practice with that boy?"

"His name is Sunwoo."

Your father rolled his eyes as if he couldn't care less.

"At least you should have sneaked out for something more… important," he crossed his arms and it was funny, really, because your parents had always taught you to be honest and only follow rules that made sense. They probably knew you would hear enough stories about them being rebels from Park Jin and Lady Kim at least.

"Like when you sneaked out to meet mother?" You crossed your arms too and Jang Uk narrowed his eyes at you.

"Are you sure you only practiced sword fighting and archery?" He raised a brow and the implication only made sense to you a few seconds later.

"Oh my lord, yes! Not everybody is like you and mother! We have nothing like that going on. He's my friend," you clarified, louder and more defensive than intended. You tried not to think of the way Sunwoo’s hug had made you feel.

"Well, we were never quite friends, that's for sure," your mother piped in, amused, and took your father's hand before looking back at you, more serious this time. "Danggu told us you're convinced it wasn't the boy's doing despite multiple people giving his descriptions to the investigators. He said you were also with him both times the fires happened and he was found."

"Yes and that's why I'm sure it wasn't him," you quickly jumped on the chance to explain, grateful that your parents were willing to listen. At least it looked like it. "The second time I chased down the hooded figure running off the scene and when I caught up with him, I also thought it was Sunwoo. He looked just like him but his eyes and expressions… It was like a lifeless ghost's. It wasn't like him. And his energy felt different too, unnatural."

Your parents exchanged a knowing glance. Their secret little thing which used to annoy you because sometimes they communicated with only looks over the dinner table but in a way, you thought it was sweet, that they knew each other so well, like their souls were so intertwined.

"You know that something escaped from Jinyowon, right?" Your mother asked once they seemed to decide with your father to tell you that and you gave a short nod. It would have been a useless lie to deny that and you knew that they wouldn't have held the truth over your head, not as much as a lie. "Have you ever heard about the nail-eating mouse?"

"No, but I don't understand how it connects to Sunwoo's case," you admitted a bit confused. A mouse didn't sound too scary.

"This mouse eats nail clippings at night and literally turns into the person whose nails they were," they explained and oh, now that made sense.

"How long can it stay as that person?" You asked tentatively and you could tell that your mother was careful with her words as she answered.

"Usually a few days for each nail. Unless their victim dies while they are in their form, then forever."

You could feel your throat tighten at the possibility and there was this urge to go to wherever Sunwoo was kept and make sure he was well-guarded before anything like that could happen. But of course, your parents told you this on purpose and they didn't want you to go on a secret mission alone.

"It is our case, leave it to us. We will find the doppelganger and clear your friend's name, don't worry," they reassured you and you nodded, thankful but not quite convinced.

No matter how much you trusted your parents and their skills, you couldn't just sit still. You were their daughter after all and it wasn't in your blood.

You told Changmin and Hakyeon what you knew and you tried to figure out what was common about the fires so far. You didn't know anything about the noble whose house was the first incident while in the school there could be many targets. Not in the library though. In both cases the chaos and anger following was bigger than the number of casualties, so maybe that was one of the goals: attention.

"And let's not forget that both happened when Sunwoo was nearby. It's kind of smart if this copycat wants him to take the blame," Changmin added and you had to agree. Even though you were there both times too, it was unlikely that it was about you. After all, by now you were convinced that your supposed-to-be first encounter with Sunwoo, the one at the market where you felt something off about him, wasn't Sunwoo at all either and no fire broke out that day.

“Wait. Where is Sunwoo kept?” you asked frantically because if the doppelganger indeed attacked places near Sunwoo, it would make it easier to locate them.

Hakyeon, whose father worked at Songrim, seemed confused though.

“As far as I know in the palace’s holding cells, why?”

Sure, they must have thought that with so many guards around, he wouldn't cause further troubles and maybe that also meant he was safe but not if something burnt down and he was blamed. Nobody knew the extent of his skills with fire after all, not even him. And if the monster wanted attention…

“The Moon Festival!” You stood up at the realization because suddenly it was all too clear. If you were in their shoes, you would have surely let others do the dirty work. What better way to do it than causing havoc during one of the biggest events of the royal court? To save face, the king would have had to set an example. If they couldn't stop the fire otherwise, they would have to kill Sunwoo in hopes to stop it for sure.

But it wasn't enough that you were convinced. Your parents thought that the idea was too far-stretched. All this trouble to get Sunwoo's body? But it made sense to you and you couldn't help but wonder whether that prophecy was about this too. Not actually Sunwoo, but the monster wearing his face and stealing his powers.

Your parents also thought that the monster wouldn't have dared to attack the palace because it was too well-guarded, so they kept on with their usual 'searching for negative energy concentration over town' but that didn't work that effective so far, did it? So you had no choice, really. The festival was happening in two days and you had to plan how to sneak away from the celebration itself to the holding cells to warn Sunwoo. You knew only one person who could help you with that…

"No," the Crown Prince shook his head. "I told you not to trust him and now you want me to help you visit him in prison? No way."

You crossed your arms in front of your chest and glared at Youngjae.

"I will come and keep you company whenever you want for a month," you offered in exchange and you saw the surprised glint in the prince's eyes.

"Three months. If my father discovered us, I would be grounded for a month at least," he rebutted and even though you gritted your teeth, you could see the logic in his way of thinking.

"Two months because we won't get caught," you negotiated, your final offer before you tried to sneak in without his help. Youngjae might have been reluctant, but he wouldn't have let you do something like that on your own. Also, he was starving for some company these days, so you could pretty much predict him giving in.

"Alright, fine. But you have to promise not to help him escape once you are there!"

You made no such promises but not because you wanted to cause an even bigger trouble. Helping Sunwoo run away when he was a captured criminal wouldn't have helped his case, if anything it would have made him even more suspicious. So you really just wanted to warn him and give him a dagger he could have protected himself with since he didn't have his sword with him. However, you also didn't expect the Moon Festival to be so grandiose this year and the monster not being subtle either. Setting the table of offerings on fire in front of the entire royal court and the biggest noble families of Daeho? Crazy. But if he wanted attention he surely received enough. Other than angering the deities and the elders, doing such a thing wouldn't have affected anything else after all. It was a question of pride at this point. Or proving a point. He must have had a lot of fun playing this cat and mouse chase with them, not getting caught either times.

"We need to get to Sunwoo. Now," you said urgently as you saw Songrim's people scattering around probably to find the culprit because when they didn't, they would have surely ended up at Sunwoo's holding cell to question him.

"Hey," Youngjae grabbed your arm and turned you towards him, more serious than you had ever seen him. "Are you sure that it's not his doing?"

You scoffed as you shrugged his hand off you.

"Have you ever seen anybody who could do something like this while not being present? He may have unusual powers but not like this," you claimed, sure in your words, and the prince sighed sheepishly. He tilted his head towards the narrow street between two buildings and led you away from the crowd. You and Changmin followed him while Hakyeon stayed to keep an eye on the happenings. The holding cells were away from the center of the palace and you had to hurry. You were a bit out of breath by the time you made it to the sturdy building.

"I will call the guards away, then you will have a chance to sneak in. Your boy should be among the newest prisoners, so close to the entrance, right side," Youngjae turned to you one corner from the cells and you nodded, grateful, but when he moved to go closer, Changmin held him back.

"There are no guards," he said warily. You furrowed your eyebrows and peek out from your hiding spot to check. He was right. There were no guards in front of the holding cells. Instead there were unmistakable burnt marks, charred ground and wood.

You didn't hesitate. You ran inside the building only to find the bodies of the guards on the floor and your throat closed. What if you were late? What if the monster got here faster? Or worse, what if it was indeed Sunwoo's doing? What if you didn’t know him as well as you believed?

With your heart beating rapidly, you approached the right-hand side cells. Prisoners were either passively sleeping or cursing at you, seemingly unaware of what happened by the entrance. But when you reached a few cells down, you saw the metal lock melted to the ground, the door open, the insides empty and you felt your heart drop.

You cursed under your breath unlady-like and ran back out, following the lingering Firebird energy around you. Your mother said you only needed to concentrate to be able to distinguish such things so clearly, but you never really had the patience to do so. You always felt like you were more of your father's daughter, liking the feel of a sword in your hand and the spirit of fighting. Your Jin priestess skills didn't come that naturally. But then you remembered that day when you and Sunwoo were practicing archery and he taught you how to concentrate on nothing but the target. You closed your eyes, remembering his words, his touch. You forced yourself to relax, to calm down your heart, to forget about everything else. When you opened your eyes you felt a rush of power surge through you as you had never been more certain where to go.

"They are heading towards the western gates," you said and nobody doubted your words. This time it was you who led the way but you weren't sure what you would find when you got there. If you even caught up with Sunwoo in time. Would you help him or would you have to stop him?

You had no idea but you sure did not expect Jaehyun actually being helpful for once by holding them back. Even if unbeknownst to him.

Later you were told, he picked a petty fight with Sunwoo, or whom he thought to be Sunwoo, when he passed by him in the gardens, only to be confused when the actual Sunwoo showed up, chasing after the first. He then joked, asking which twin was the nicer one, and almost got himself sliced in half when the doppelganger attacked him. If Sunwoo was half as good of a swordsman as he was, Jaehyun would have been dead. Instead he was just shocked and enraged by the time you got there, watching as the two Sunwoos fought.

It was a sight indeed, two identical guys with burning swords at each other's throat. If it was anybody else, they wouldn't have known who was the real one and who was the doppelganger but you could feel it in the way energy surrounded them. The Firebird's energy surrounded them both, heat and destruction in their aura but only one of them felt like a deep abyss.

Sunwoo fell at one point, obviously injured and you wondered whether he had been chasing the monster since that thing had tried to make it look like he forced his way out of prison, leaving but behind.

"Sunwoo, down! Quickly!" you yelled at him, gathering enough water energy in the air to form a droplet of water before slicing it through with your sword sending a blow of multiplied energy towards the doppelganger. When your mother had told you that she had also taught your father to do this and it had helped him beat the now king, you didn't think that you would use the ability of Tansu for anything more than showing off. But your mother taught you well and the monster definitely seemed surprised.

When it sent a ball of fire towards you in exchange, you raised your arms protectively in front of you to lift a layer of blue glow. The fire didn't reach it though because Sunwoo stepped in its way, angry fire hitting his shoulder, sending him to the ground.

You cried out his name, lowering the protective layer as you ran to him, to check on his wound but the burn under his now holey shirt faded into nothing within seconds. A relieved sigh left you as you helped him stand and pride swelled your chest as you saw all your friends – and even not friends like Jaehyun – attacking the creature of the night. When you and the real Sunwoo joined them, the monster probably realized that his chances were low because the next moment he disappeared. Not really, but he turned back into a small white mouse, disappearing quickly between the cracks of the buildings. The Queen's favorite garden looked like a mess though. Now, how would you have explained that to the King? Would he believe you if you told the truth about the doppelganger, even without captured evidence? Would…

"I thought we told you to leave it to us," your father's firm voice yanked you out of your worried thoughts and your eyes widened when you saw your parents carry an enchanted bird cage with a white mouse in it.

"Sorry," you mumbled more out of instinct than sincerity. You would have done it again, without a second thought. You were their daughter after all, but you were sorry that you got them worried.

"Are you alright?" Your mother asked, touching your face where you felt a bruise forming. You grimaced at the slight pain you were suddenly reminded of but nodded.

Probably due to the sound of the commotion people kept showing up, soldiers and mages alike, the fire was still going on at the festival's altar and you all were requested to help contain it. It wasn't easy but with enough mages and Sunwoo's ability to somewhat control the fire's way, you eventually managed to save the palace from burning down.

While you were helping with the injured, you could see your father pat Sunwoo on the shoulder, probably complimenting him but you could also see his gaze harden and his grip squeezing a bit tighter than comfortable but the boy didn't flinch. He bowed respectfully and waited until your father started talking with Songrim's leader before making his way towards you.

His smile was sheepish and you wondered whether he got the typical protective father talk. You wouldn't have been surprised. Changmin had gotten it as well when you first befriended him and you both laughed goodheartedly at it. You weren't laughing now.

"Thank you," Sunwoo stopped in front of you, looking earnest. You shook your head.

"Don't mention it. The others helped too," you vaguely waved your hand towards the guys from Jeongjinrak and Prince Youngjae.

"No, but really," Sunwoo insisted and oh, he was serious. The intensity in his eyes made you gulp. "When you mentioned the prophecy that one time I thought you believed that it's written in stone and that at the first potential sign of it turning true, you would be against me. So… thank you for believing in me."

His words hit a cord in your heart. It seemed that while you were afraid that he would betray your trust, he was afraid that you would stop trusting him.

"Sometimes prophecies shouldn't be interpreted word by word," you shrugged as if it was nothing even though you did feel a bit guilty for having second thoughts about him. You stopped feeling like the possibility that it would turn true was hovering over you like the sword of Damocles but that day you wavered and you didn't like it one bit. You wanted to be the maker of your own destiny.

"Good," Sunwoo nodded as he let out a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing. Then he pointed in the direction of the main palace. "Do you think there are any mooncakes left intact at any of the stalls?"

Your parents took care of the monster and indeed helped clear Sunwoo's name. Every case of destructive fire could have been traced back to his doppelganger who probably felt the boy's raw, special energy and wanted it for himself.

As it turned out one of your cousins was the one who accidentally opened Jinyowon's cave but was too afraid to tell anybody about it. He didn't see the mouse sneak out, otherwise he would have admitted his mistake sooner. Park Danggu apologized personally to Sunwoo that his son had caused such troubles for him and that he was wrongfully accused.

On the other hand, Jaehyun did not apologize but wasn't as insufferable as before. He definitely didn't try to pick on Sunwoo or you just for the sake of feeling superior or something. He and his friend let Sunwoo be, which made Jeongjinrak's training a lot less stressful and more useful. Duels were more for motivation and actual practice than power plays.

Another good thing that came out of the whole ordeal was that Sunwoo and you could finally practice his fire skills against your water ones in broad daylight because Master Seo believed it was the perfect opportunity to examine the broadness and variety of a different kind of mage's repertoire.

Ever since then you often had sparring battles with the boy after class, making bets with 'the loser pays for the honey biscuits' kind of punishments. Once Youngjae came by and joked why it wasn't 'the loser gives the other a kiss' and you chased him down until he took it back.

"Last one to give up gets to make a wish?" Sunwoo suggested this time and you liked the sound of it. You were already thinking of what you could have asked of him when he would finally give up.

“Bring it on,” you smiled at the redhead challengingly and unsheathed your sword, getting ready for yet another sparring that felt like dancing with danger.

Would you regret it? Would he betray you one day and use the skills you taught him against you? Would you? Would the two of you turn the prophecy into reality eventually?

Maybe but you wouldn't let maybes poison your present. For now, he was just a boy and you were just a girl and your skin burned when he came too close. Swords pulled out, breathing heavy, when he smiled, your chest tightened and it felt like your heart was on fire. It consumed you slowly and sweetly and you burned willingly.

("So what's your wish?" You asked, panting, as you laid down on the ground in the middle of the field, looking up at the sky. Next to you, Sunwoo did the same.

You, his heart thump, thump, thrumped and you could feel your own jump as he slowly laced your fingers together. His hand was rough but warm.

"This. Just this," he whispered and you squeezed his hand with a smile.

The stars never looked prettier.)

[meenawrites]

So.. I finished Alchemy of Souls

Guys, the amount of tears I just shed in front of my entire family in the last episode of part 2 is crazy.

They were just sitting there like, you good? It's fiction as I'm sobbing my eyes out.

Anyway.

I have many thoughts. So many. And I lowkey want to make a separate post for each of them.

But for now I do want to leave some of my impressions about the finale: (spoilers ahead obviously)

I thought it was pretty well done. I expected to be a bit more shocked about the whole Jin Buyeon is Jin Seol-ran plotline but it honestly made sense to me and I feel like it was actually foreshadowed pretty well for the most part, even in season 1.

Also they definitely got me good with the deaths of Park Jin, Maidservant Kim, and Jin Hogyeong (if that's how you spell her name). Like that's when I started crying tbh. (I could care less about Mama Jin tbh, she sucks, but that deserves its own post). And I'm glad that them actually being alive didn't feel like a cop out to me. They established early on that Jin Seol-ran knew what would happen and used that to their advantage so it was believable and didn't feel like a Deus Ex Machina move for them to be saved. Well, maybe one of them should have died (cough–Mama Jin–cough). But it's fine.

I do feel like the last two episodes were kind of rushed though. I don't know if they had budgeting constraints or if Netflix didn't give them more than ten episodes, but I think that they should have had at least 12. Two more episodes would have allowed for more expansion on the climax and allowed them to up the drama more, which I think would have done well for the series over all, and would have been a better payoff.

I think the time could have been used well to flesh out some of the side characters arcs more. I feel like Danggu and Jin Choyeon were kind of pushed off to the side this season, and especially in the latter half, but I would have liked to see more of them and their relationships not only with each other but with Jang Uk and Naksu/Jin Buyeon.

For all intents and purposes, Naksu/Jin Buyeon lived as Jin Choyeon's sister for three years, and we can see that despite everything that happened three years prior, Choyeon did treat her as her sister even knowing the soul was Naksu's and cared about her. I think that could've and should've been expanded upon, her choosing to care about Naksu/Jin Buyeon or how that came to be. Also, after Naksu regained her memory AND found out Jin Mu had been for sure controlling her at the end of Part 1, I would have loved to see the conversation between her and Choyeon about what she did, an apology and an explanation that she would never have done that if she were sane of mind. What I said about Choyeon applies to Naksu as well because she lived three years as Choyeon's sister, and we can tell she cares about her, so I would have loved to see more of her feelings towards her, especially upon remembering all that had transpired in part 1.

When it comes to Danggu, I mean, he's one of Uk's best friends, and he was left out of the loop a lot when it came to anything Naksu-related. I would have liked him to find out or for Uk to tell him at some point and see how he makes peace with that. Because Danggu and Mudeok were friends in part 1 and he supported her (erroneously) in her supposed romance with Seo Yul. But then she killed his fiance's father and tried to attack him. I can't imagine the sense of betrayal he felt, but also finding out that it wasn't her fault and how he could come to terms with that would have been great to see. I also think his whole experience/trauma from part 1 was kind of glossed over. Like his main thing this season was his broken heart after Choyeon didn't end up marrying him, and I think that was making his feelings a bit too one-dimensional there. They do talk about how he feels slightly uncomfortable/doesn't know what to do with Jang Uk at the beginning of the show, but once Seo Yul comes back, that's kind of forgotten about and the three of them just start hanging out again no problem. I would've like to see a bit more about him struggling with becoming Leader of Songrim as well and how he adapted to that amidst his heartbreak for both his love and his friend who he doesn't even know how to act around anymore, and even towards Naksu/Mudeok who kind of ruined his future and that of his best friend but also being intuitive enough (because he is and he has one of the best hearts we've seen in the show) to realize that there's more to the story than her just going on a murder spree.

I've seen some talk about people saying they didn't like the actress for season 2 as much as season 1 (forgive me, I forgot their names), but I think both brought something good to the table.

Season 1 actress for Mudeok was really good. Her facial expressions were spot on and her chemistry with Lee Jaewook and the other cast members was really good. I think she definitely had great stage presence and made the show popular in the first place. I just don't agree that season 2 actress was worse.

I think season 2 actress definitely put in the work and embodied who Naksu/Jin Buyeon was for the majority of the series. There were times where she made expressions that perfectly resembled/echoed Naksu/Mudeok's that really got me like yes they are the same person even if she doesn't remember. She may have been cuter than we were used to with out sharp-tongued and emotion-resistant Mudeok, but I think Naksu needed that. As Mudeok and before then she didn't have the luxury to be more emotional and girly, it's only now in this body that she does, and I'm glad she had the opportunity to express that side of herself that had never seen the light of day.

We did get a glimpse of that side of her at the end of part 1 where she's playing around with makeup and what might make her look pretty, and it really spoke to all that she had missed out on and had to give up in order to survive. So yeah despite all the angst, I'm glad Naksu/Jin Buyeon had that opportunity through season 2 actress who played it really well while keeping in line with the essence of Naksu/Mudeok.

This whole thing about Naksu being the shadow to Jang Uk's light and if light exists then it needs a shadow broke my heart you guys, it was so perfect. And the fact that they were each other's light and shadow at different points but were also wholly necessary to each other in that was beautiful. I want to talk more about this in a separate post, so I'll table this metaphor for now.

Shout out to Crown Prince Go Won, a great character this whole season in terms of both comedic relief and massive character growth. So good.

Uk's arc was fantastic too but again want to save that for a full post.

Those are my out of order first thoughts about part 2, but I have SO MUCH MORE to discuss, so I will come back for sure. I just needed to scream to the world for a bit (virtually of course).

Question though for all of you more knowledgeable in the k-drama world: is there going to be a season 3?

[deadaccount1211]

Disventure Camp All Stars: Thoughts and Opinions

I was scrolling through TD Twitter while eating my lunch and I noticed this. Disventure Camp might be getting cooked idk.

Disventure Camp is similar enough to TDI. So I decided to post my thoughts on here.

James- Absolutely terrible in DC2. Somewhat tolerable here. "Listen boytoy" was a funny line.

Lake- One of the few decent-ish characters from DC2 that did absolutely nothing here. Felt like she was just added to have a shock value elimination.

Miriam- Expected early boot but respect for going down swinging.

The Remaining Players:

Aiden- Boring asf in DC2. He's okay here. Not really rooting for him but he exists.

Ally- Abysmal in DC2. Okay here. After finishing ep 1 of DCAS. I hoped that Ally and Hunter would be the "toxic couple". Something like Chase and Emma from the reboot. But they seem pretty chill so far so that's disappointing.

Ashley- One of my faves from DC1 and she's still good here. I like the friendship she has with Jake. I think it's a little dirty that out of all the Disventure couples. Her relationship with Will happened off screen and got like 0 development. Maybe they should've just saved Ashley and Will for like an underdogs season? Idk.

Alec- The goat. The Alecmeister. The head honcho the villains alliance. I hope Alec getting all this screentime isn't a fakeout and he genuinely makes it far. If he does win, he needs to spend some of that money on therapy, lol.

Connor- I don't really get the hype. He's ok I guess. I wonder what was that card that Miriam gave him?

Ellie- Her move to get out Lake was impressive. But after episode 4, I could easily see Tess switching sides to Aiden and Tom. Ellie's gonna need that villain alliance to come in clutch.

Fiore- Getting that TDA Heather treatment. I hope since she's not the main villain anymore they actually give her a little bit of development. I've seen some ppl don't like the fact she's getting bullied. But I personally find it amusing.

Gabby- Hasn't really done anything interesting or entertaining so far. Then again it's only episode 4. Maybe she'll be better down the line.

Grett- I think her and Yul will be the toxic couple. Hope they both go far.

Hunter- Him bullying Fiore is funny. Other than that, eh.

Jake- I hope he goes off the deep end and enters his evil incel arc. Then like midway through the season he gets over Tom and they become enemies who used to date. Could be peak.

Riya- Her whole arc of pretending to be mean for the cameras and the whole persona she puts up is cool. Reminds me of what they did with Julia in Reboot S1. But here it feels a bit more serious.

Tess- Literal NPC. The Rematch Nichelle of this season. She needs to start doing something quick.

Tom- He's being a dickhead to Jake. But Jake is part of the reason he got eliminated so understandable.

Yul- The closest thing Disventure Camp has to a comedic relief character. NEEDS to go far. He seems to be a mixed bag, since I've seen some ppl dislike him because of his racism. But I personally view it like this, no one agrees with what he's saying and he usually either gets called out or physically hurt for saying it. So I don't have a problem with it. Shows need assholes. He's like an Eric Cartman type of character.

Bonus Notes: I predicted a Miriam elimination for Ep 2 and Ep 3. Then I tried to switch things up and predict Riya going home for Ep 4. Should've just went with my gut.

Prediction for Episode 5: Based off their convo, I think Ally and Hunter are gonna team up with Fiore. In which case, I could see Ashley going home since she's a bigger threat and one of Fiore's biggest haters.

[kazscrows]

Six of Crows Reread 🪶

Chapter 38: Kaz

I have been waiting to get to this chapter-

This is going to be a long one so settle in and buckle up

I’m not kidding this one goes for ages—

He’d gambled on Matthias’ feelings for Nina, but he’d always liked those odds. The real risk had been in whether or not someone as honest as Matthias could convincingly lie to his mentor’s face. Apparently the Fjerdan had hidden skills.

Kaz is a Helnik shipper you can’t change my mind

And lmao he thought Matthias wouldn’t be able to lie basically because he’s “too good”—

He reeks of decency, right?

Kaz throwing up the bombs to fell the sacred ash is… something

I made a post about this last night

He had lock picks and extra pellets of that weird knockout gas they used earlier in the cells in his gut too—

Oh he learned to do this via a fire breather magician

I guess it kind of makes sense

But then Kaz notes that the magician died due to poisoning himself accidentally—

Man (meaning Kaz Brekker) is insane

He remembered Inej standing on the embassy roof, aglow with some new fervour he didn’t understand but could still recognise – purpose. It had suffused her with light.

She was glowing to him

He’s so proud of her

I’m so proud of her

I really like that we got to see exactly where everyone was when the black protocol bells began

Gives it that heist movie feel of recapping the mission but from other points of view

Does that make sense? Do you guys know what I mean?

He’d waited, counting the minutes, but there was still no sign of Nina or Matthias. They’re in trouble, Kaz had thought. Or you were dead wrong about Matthias, and you’re about to pay for all of those talking tree jokes.

Imagine the plan failing because Kaz made fun of Matthias one too many times

That would have been tragic

He quickly tries to think of a way to get to the treasury but…

Would he be going to help Nina and Matthias or just to grab the target?

Luckily we don’t have to find out

Hopefully he’d choose to help his new friends

I like to think he would

He’d been about to call out to them when the explosion hit, and everything went to hell.

They blew up the lab, he’d thought as debris rained down around him. I definitely did not tell them to blow up the lab.

I love when Kaz thinks things like this

It happens at least once more in Crooked Kingdom

You’ll see when we get there

I’m thinking about a line from the auction

Kaz hoped the Shu boy he was holding on to was a surprisingly young Bo Yul-Bayur and not some hapless prisoner Nina and Matthias had decided to liberate.

I mean.. you never really know with Nina

The voice of god. There was always truth in legend. Kaz had spent enough time building his own myth to know.

Woah this just made me think about Kelsier from Mistborn

Has anyone here read those?

Sometimes Kaz and Kelsier are pretty similar, but also polar opposites

They both run a thieving crew so there’s the obvious similarity

Kelsier loves to smile though so there’s a difference (he smiles out of spite, but it doesn’t really matter right now)

Water had a voice. It was something every canal rat knew, anyone who had slept beneath a bridge or weathered a winter storm in an overturned boat – water could speak with the voice of a lover, a long-lost brother, even a god. That was the key, and once Kaz recognised it, it was as if someone had laid a perfect blueprint over the Ice Court and its workings.

What god do you serve? Inej had asked him. Whichever will grant me good fortune. Fortunate people didn’t end up racing ass over teakettle beneath an ice moat in hostile territory.

He’s already starting to think about Inej

Also side note: “Fortunate people didn’t end up racing ass over teakettle” is just a really funny line-

He thinks that while tumbling blindly down a freezing cold river in the dark

Survive. Survive. Survive. It was the way he’d lived his life, moment to moment, breath to breath, since that terrible morning when he’d woken to find that Jordie was still dead and he was still very much alive.

Pain

I’m gonna cry

Kaz tumbled through the dark. He was colder than he’d ever been. He thought of Inej’s hand on his cheek. His mind had gone jagged at the sensation, a riot of confusion. It had been terror and disgust and – in all of that clamour – desire, a wish that lingered still, the hope that she would touch him again.

Hope doesn’t have to be dangerous

It’s beautiful really

When he was fourteen, Kaz had put together a crew to rob the bank that had helped Hertzoon prey on him and Jordie. His crew got away with fifty thousand kruge, but he’d broken his leg dropping down from the rooftop. The bone didn’t set right, and he’d limped ever after. So he’d found himself a Fabrikator and had his cane made. It became a declaration. There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken. The cane became a part of the myth he built. No one knew who he was. No one knew where he came from. He’d become Kaz Brekker, cripple and confidence man, bastard of the Barrel.

He really does go after Pekka brick by brick

He didn’t let his limp define him

He used it to sculpt how others saw him

They see him in the exact way he wants them to

In a way it made him stronger

I just want to copy paste this entire chapter

But the flashes of memories Kaz is getting:

Hot chocolate with Jordie and his warning to let it cool

Himself signing for the Crow Club

His first time seeing Inej, in purple silk, and with kohl around her eyes…

When he gave her her first knife, it had a bone handled hilt

She named it Petyr…

Her crying after her first kill and him ignoring the sobs…

Do you think he regrets that? What if he’d tried to comfort her instead..?

Kaz remembered her perched on the sill of his attic window, sometime during that first year after he’d brought her into the Dregs. She’d been feeding the crows that congregated on the roof.

“You shouldn’t make friends with crows,” he’d told her.

“Why not?” she asked.

He’d looked up from his desk to answer, but whatever he’d been about to say had vanished on his tongue.

The sun was out for once, and Inej had turned her face to it. Her eyes were shut, her oil-black lashes fanned over her cheeks. The harbour wind had lifted her dark hair, and for a moment Kaz was a boy again, sure that there was magic in this world.

“Why not?” she’d repeated, eyes still closed.

He said the first thing that popped into his head. “They don’t have any manners.”

“Neither do you, Kaz.” She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and got drunk on it every night, he would have. It terrified him.

Oh window scene my beloved

I’m stronger than this, he told himself. My will is greater. But he could hear Jordie laughing. No, little brother. No one is stronger. You’ve cheated death too many times. Greed may do your bidding, but death serves no man.

The sound of water is Jordie’s voice for Kaz

A twisted tragic version of him

He’s trying to hang on and survive so he things of his revenge first

But it doesn’t work…

Only thinking of Inej saves him

He hopes she’s alive and that she escaped

He thinks about how if she’s trapped he has to live to safe her

The ache in his lungs was unbearable. He needed to tell her … what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn’t pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. That without meaning to, he’d begun to lean on her, to look for her, to need her near. He needed to thank her for his new hat.

I love this beautiful broken boy who’s decided to try

The water pressed at his chest, demanding that he part his lips. I won’t, he swore. But in the end, Kaz opened his mouth, and the water rushed in.

Imagine an episode of the spin-off ending like that

That ends part 5, onto the final part!

Part 6: Proper Thieves

First | Previous | Next

[mindmeltonabun-blog]

Alchemy of Souls Part 2: Evidence The Soul In Part 2 Was Not The Same Soul From Part 1

Hello Readers,

Thought I should post some more evidence to that what I said in my Theories and Analysis post for Eps 29-30. When I had initially shared a link to my blog post on Reddit, I thought things would have calmed down by now and people would not be so toxic. I also thought there would be more open minded people who would consider alternative arguments. However, I was wrong. Many there did not even choose to read what I wrote and immediately said things like "you are confused" or "you do not understand the show" or implied I was stupid for even proposing such things. If I did not understand the story in the first place then how would I have gotten some many things right during Part 1?

Things progressed to even more people jumping on the bandwagon and hurling more insults at me when all I did in the first place was provide a different prospective on things. It became apparent to me that it was futile to continue to discuss such things with these types of people. What I observed among these people is that they could not fully establish any logical counter argument other than saying Naksu=Cho Yeong. That was pretty much the gist of what they said.

They also accused me of not wanting to be wrong when in reality I do not care if I am right or wrong. I have stated as much repeatedly both here and my Twitter. If I could sit there for hours and debate about my own thinking, they should at least be willing to do the same. In my profession, all we do day in and out is internally debate with ourselves whether our logic is flawed or not. Therefore, I have no qualms about being wrong. At least in my field when we tell someone they are wrong, we provide reasons, examples, etc. You do not simply tell someone just because. If you do so, it just makes you seem like you are the ones who are afraid to be wrong.

What I sought to do here on my blog was to try and make sense of everything, connect things to see the bigger picture, and consider everything there is to possibly consider. When I formulate my theories, I at least explain my reasoning behind it by giving examples from the show. So, if there is anyone who disagrees with all that I will say below then please enlighten me. Provide me with a rational counter argument with examples from the show. Otherwise, if you are unable to, then maybe you should consider that what I say could be correct.

Thinking caps on! Time to do a mini analysis!

More Evidence Proving The Soul In Part 2 is Mu Deok/Cho Yeong

Before I start this section, I want to add that if you want to discover whose soul belongs to whatever face, alternative name, real name, and body, just turn to these three characters: Soi, Jin Mu, and Seo Yul. These characters had known either girls the longest in comparison to other characters (Soi-Mu Deok and Jin Mu and Seo Yul-Naksu).

Now in Ep 26, Soi tells Seo Yul Naksu's soul is in Jin Bu Yeon's body. She adds the current face of Jin Bu Yeon is Naksu's face (GYJ face). Soi's logic was that since the soul inside is Naksu's soul, Jin Bu Yeon's current face must also be that of Naksu's. Side note, this is where assigning souls to alternative names to faces to real identities will get you into trouble.

Flash forward to Ep 29, Seo Yul hears some information which causes fireworks to go off in his head. During the flashback, Soi talks about how the girl she knew from Sari (Mu Deok) had consumed the soul potion which caused her to go crazy and die. What did this mean? Eureka moment, anyone?

It meant Soi thought it was "Mu Deok's soul" who resided in Jin Bu Yeon's body in Part 1. However, we as viewers knew it was actually "Naksu's soul" who was in Jin Bu Yeon's body during Part 1. Since Soi thought it was Mu Deok's soul in Jin Bu Yeon's body in Part 1, she erroneously deduced it was Naksu's soul in Jin Bu Yeon body in Part 2 (Ep 26). Just read that statement again and let it digest before continuing on. It should be noted Soi never found out it was Naksu's soul who was living inside of Jin Bu Yeon's body in Part 1.

It was only after Seo Yul talked to Soi's worker in Ep 29 did he realize Soi had mixed things up and that the soul currently residing in Jin Bu Yeon's body was not the same soul from Part 1 (aka Naksu's soul). If it was not Naksu's soul in Jin Bu Yeon's body, whose soul was it? It was Mu Deok's soul. The question became "what is the real identity of Mu Deok's soul"? There are two choices Cho Yeong or Jin Bu Yeon. If you know the soul inside transforms the face to match its true appearance and the real name of the GYJ face is "Cho Yeong" then you can conclude Mu Deok was Cho Yeong. Therefore, if Mu Deok's soul=Cho Yeong's soul then Naksu's soul=Jin Bu Yeon's soul through the process of elimination. If you said Mu Deok's soul is Jin Bu Yeon's soul then her face would have transformed into the JSM face. However, since it did not, then you have to accept that Mu Deok's soul is Cho Yeong's soul.

The only reason why many did not catch this is because they were too distracted with everything else which is understandable. The Hong Sisters purposely presented this piece of information near the very end (vs beginning) because they wanted people to think Naksu=Cho Yeong. In turn, this caused many to either completely overlooked or disregard the statement made by Soi in Ep 29. If the Hong Sisters had presented the following scene from Ep 29 much earlier, more viewers would have caught on that the soul in Part 2 was not the same soul as in Part 1. And who knows how that might have affected the ratings. Anyways, the pattern among many viewers is when anything becomes confusing or does fit the narrative they have in their head, they will disregard it to soothe themselves into thinking what is easier to comprehend.

In the world of AOS where soul shifting happens, a soul's alternative name can sometimes be different from the real name of the body it is in. The real name of a face does not always mean it is the real name of a soul who had previously resided in that body (AOS has made it clear there is a fine distinction between body and face). I will admit it is convoluted, but this is why you should not immediately jump to conclusions and assign faces, bodies, alternative names, and real names to souls before thinking about everything. If you keep your beliefs flexible and consider the alternative then you will be more likely to find the truth. Instead of being face or body trackers, maybe all of us should strive to be better soul trackers. Anyways, I will gladly welcome anyone who can disprove all that I have stated above. And simply stating "Naksu is Cho Yeong" does not cut it. You should formulate a logical argument that is backed up by evidence from the show.

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, it made no logical sense for the Hong Sisters to introduce Naksu as a powerful soul only to have her be reduced down to a damsel in distress, soul food, relic detector, and Jang Uk's shadow. I saw Naksu's journey as being one of self discovery, personal growth, and enlightenment. If Naksu was really Cho Yeong, the Hong Sisters would have introduced more things about the Cho clan. Instead, they had completely wiped out the Cho clan from the start while placing a heavy focus on the Jin clan. Furthermore, they had associated Naksu with many bird related things to show her connection to the Jin clan. For me, it made more logical sense the show began with her being an assassin fighting on the wrong side of things and ended with her discovering her true authentic self (Jin Bu Yeon) so she could save all of Daeho. And sure, her journey may have ended rather sadly (or it may not since she is a divine soul now), but at least she managed to accomplish so much during that time. She was able to correct everything, find out the real truth about herself and the events that surrounding her multiple deaths, and take responsibility for her past actions.

Finally, to all of those who are not convinced by what I have said (Naksu=Jin Bu Yeon and Mu Deok=Cho Yeong), I will end this post with excepts from Lee Jae Wook's interview so you can decide for yourself of whether the soul in Part 1 was the same soul in Part 2. Note: the translations below were done using Google translate so there may be some inaccuracies.

Source:

Back to hibernation I go until the next great fantasy drama comes along!

P.S. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them!

[huevokinder24]

Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow

Episode 1

General thoughts:

THEY CHOSE VIOLENCE THIS SEASON AND IM GLAD

The characters:

- Jang uk: THE GLOW UP. THE POWER UP. Yes, he is a little gloomier, who wouldn't be after all he's been through, but I'm so glad he didn't lose his spark despite everything. My baby boy. I'm glad he didn't go full dark (yet) and that he can still tease and be a little bitch with the prince lmao.

He's grown serious, but he's still himself. And GOD, he still loves Naksu so much. This is terrible for my heart. That whole scene in the forest with him drinking in front of the piled rocks in rememberance if her. Him burning the talisman because "if I have this, I won't be able to see you even if you come". DEMOLISHING.

Also, him casually mentioning he no longer wants to live while Love Letter plays in the background??? ABSOLUTELY CRUSHING.

The way he has war flashbacks whenever Naksu mentions marriage? DEVASTATING.

- Naksu: I said it before and I'll say it again: I don't mind the change of actress at all. Naksu and Jang Uk still have great chemistry. I wouldn't stop giggling during their first encounter. Gotta love these chaotic gremlins, that hasn't changed at all.

I know this shouldn't be important but she's so unbelievably pretty?????? Step aside, Jang Uk, if you don't take her as your wife, I will.

I adore this new playful and almost naive side of her. Much like Jang Uk, she's changed, but she's still her. He went darker, she became brighter.

The last scene was both SO CRUEL YET BEAUTIFUL with her being swept away on his wedding day by "her groom" *screams*. SHE, NAKSU, CHO YEONG stepping out of the boat in wedding attire with Jang Uk waiting for her by the shore. Him offering her his hand. Her saying "my dear husband" AND THEN JUMPING AND EMBRACING HIM AND HIM CATCHING HER *uncontrollable sobbing*

HIS REACTION TO THE WHOLE THING. IT HURTS. Probably not as much as a sword through the chest but IT HURTS.

I want more of this, please and thank you.

- Seo Yul: IS HE GOING TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO RECOGNIZE NAKSU??

- Park Dang-gu: my heart feels so heavy for him. Among all the characters, he's the one who's changed the most. His himbo and puppy energy is gone, and not just because he's growing into his new role as head of Songrim, but because... Well. You know. 🫠 I want him to be happy but, at the same time I can't bring myself to like Jin Cho-yeon for now. Hopefully she'll grow a spine, get to know her self worth and stand up to her horrible mother.

- Jin Ho-kyung: absolute bitch.

- Kim Doju: this woman deserves the world. If anything happens to her, I'm suing.

[allaboardthevespa]

Tipiskaw Mall: A Disventure Camp AU

Been thinking about creating this for a while, and I decided to finally get it out there.

This one's kinda like a florist AU, but a bit more than that. The main focus is Ellie and Gabby, cuz c'mon it's me we're talking about, but there's some other characters and stuff I wanted to bring into this too. I'm always open to see people experiment with this AU, just be sure to credit me.

The basic gist is that a good amount of the Disventure Camp casts all work at a mall owned by Kristal together, and frequently bump into each other on shifts. It's because of this that a love starts to blossom between a bartender and a florist.

These are a few of the ideas I'm sticking by now:

Ellie

Pretty similar to canon. She's your average ordinary low-class citizen. She works a tough job as a bartender at the local bar in the Tipiskaw Mall. She works long and hard shifts with unruly customers and an awful boss (we'll get to him). As a result she's constantly stressed and exhausted, and not really happy with her lot in life.

However one day she happens to discover that a new florist's has opened in the mall. Ellie happens to love flowers, especially fragrant ones - so she decides to check it out, and boom, she meets the owner, who happens to be the prettiest girl she's ever seen!

From then on, Ellie passes by the florist's every day on the way to and from her bartender shifts, just to get some time to say hi to her new friend - and she's got a few friends that'll help her out along the way.

Gabby

Gabby is a more recent employee at the Tipiskaw Mall. Still her quirky, bubbly, nature-loving self, she's the owner of the new florist that has recently opened in the mall. She specializes in the most sweetly fragrant flowers she can get her hands on, and she knows a thing or two about the language of flowers as well.

While she's quite kooky and a bit on the socially awkward side, Gabby is an incredibly kindhearted individual who is happy to let Ellie come and visit every day - she knows it makes Ellie happy. And in return, Ellie comforts her over her insecurities - this isn't the first job Gabby has had, and the past few jobs she's had didn't exactly end well for her. She has some regrets with her past actions - but Ellie will help her face them. (Won't say too much here, but she probably has hurt at least ONE person who was cruel to animals.)

Every morning when Ellie comes to visit, Gabby gives her a bouquet of some of her favorite flowers as a gift - simply to let her know she's got her support. The two become incredibly close - and maybe something more can 'blossom' between the two of them.

Yul

Surprised to see this guy here? Rare time I mention season 2 :P

Yul is Ellie's boss. A lazy individual, Yul is quite the penny-pinching and cruel boss, basically giving Ellie minimal pay and using the rest of his cash for party binges. He's also not really one to care for stopping stuff like bar fights - he's only really here for the cash and the good laughs.

Yul is also incredibly strict. If Ellie messes up even a little, he won't hesitate to absolutely lash her with beratements. He also forces her to do janitorial work at the end of each shift. This is mostly because the last janitor left due to being sick of Yul's attitude. Ellie would've done the same, but she's in such a bad place in her life that she needs SOME form of payment every day.

Yul pretty much immediately takes a disliking to Gabby for her bubbly, eccentric and kooky nature, and forbids her from entering his bar. As a result, Gabby ends up needing to sneak into the bar whenever she wants to see Ellie there. Over time, Ellie will learn to stand up to Yul.

Alec

So I know he and Ellie ended up on iffy terms in canon but idc I'm still letting the two be on good terms in this AU

Alec owns a local bookstore in the mall that isn't far from Yul's bar. Having been through a divorce already in this AU, he's mostly looking to his future by working a job he enjoys. He's trying to convince Ellie that she can do the same - she just finds it tough breaking the cycle and escaping her bartender job knowing the difficult life position she's in.

Alec works alongside Grett, who is about as cantankerous and rude as she is in canon. He often needs to tell her to behave when she's making bad comments about Ellie, Gabby, or other people. Also hanging out at his job is Fiore, who mostly just runs around causing trouble and makes witty commentary on other people's bad decisions. Fiore has also picked up on the crushes Ellie and Gabby have gained on each other and just wonders when the hell they're gonna stop dancing around their feelings and actually start dating!

I'll go over some other stuff just in brief, cuz I don't wanna be here all damn night lol

James and Aiden are the co-owners of a local phones and electronics store. James is still a popular influencer, who self-funds all his crazy challenges through the profits from his store. Aiden, who's already been dating James for a while, is there to make sure James doesn't accidentally light himself on fire doing his challenges. They're both pretty good friends with Ellie, and she often turns to them for relationship advice.

Tom is the mall cop. Diligent and cool-headed, he's quite talented and is usually there to prevent any bad activity from getting out of hand. He frequently chases down Fiore whenever her trouble is getting too much, and comes to help Ellie when bar fights get out of control at Yul's bar. He's also one of the earliest people to make friends with Gabby, along with Ellie.

Jake is the manager of the mall's Hot Topic. He's still his emotional and impulsive self, and has a relationship with Tom. Tess is his co-worker, and she's usually able to help talk Jake and Tom through their relationship troubles.

Ally owns a local rental store for movies and video games. She works with her boyfriend Hunter and the poor former film actress Riya, who is still trying to find roles.

Karol owns a pet store where Gabby hangs out frequently. As you'd expect, Karol is grumpy, but she does get a soft spot for Gabby, and admires her passion for nature and animals. She helps convince her to work up the courage to ask Ellie out.

And Lill owns a toy store where Ashley, Will and Rosa Maria are her employees. They frequently end up having trouble with Fiore whenever she comes around with Alec. Lol.

Those are all I'm coming up with for now, but I'm sure I'll cook up some new ideas in future posts! Keep your eyes peeled - I'm pretty fond of this idea!

[gizkasparadise]

Worst second lead syndrome in KDRAMA?

there's a couple of contenders :'D

mr. sunshine: gu dong mae and kim hui seong

when the female lead has 3 love interests and you like 2 of them way more than the one who was endgame 🤡. dong mae/ae sin reminded me so, so much of a more dark version of one of my eternal OTPs, renji/rukia from bleach: childhood connection, woman from a noble class, guy from a rough background, they separate and reconnect years later. although in mr. sunshine the guy turns to organized crime :'| but the pining. the scene where ae sin's dress goes over dong mae's hands will keep me fed for years!

hui seong on the other hand was just so damn likeable. i have a thing for the Sad Clown character archetype and i think him and ae sin could have really understood each other given some more time, but sadly that doesn't exist for ANY of the couples in this drama.

--

reply 1994: chil bong yi/"seven shut-outs"

lol the second lead syndrome that got me to drop an entire drama :'D i remember their kiss scene at the party and how it cut to him having to run extra laps during baseball practice but he was smiling the whole time and i was like no i cant watch this guy become a punching bag for 10 more eps :'D

--

she was pretty: kim shin hyuk

on the one hand, we got a certified Weirdo who is super into the female lead before her makeover, is supportive of her at work, and looks like the center of one of the biggest kpop groups of all time?

on the other hand, we got a mean boss who used to be a childhood friend, but apparently doesn't recognize her anymore because she's no longer hot

like. this was no contest??

--

cheese in the trap: baek in ho

now that i've read the webtoon, i actually like the main couple a little more, but in terms of drama!CITT, it should have been baek in ho all the way. the two had way more chemistry, better scenes, and better development. it says something that i was way sadder about their friendship breakup than hong seol's breakup with her actual boyfriend

--

my first first love: seo do hyun

SONG YI LITERALLY SAID HE WAS HER LOVE STORY?! ugh!!!! this one continues to baffle me, because they actually dated in the drama, had great chemistry, and the only reason they drifted apart was because do hyun had family obligations and couldnt just drop everything at any moment the way tae oh could. tae oh + song yi felt shoehorned in together at the end, and their love story fell flat comparatively. tbh i interpret do hyun's present to song yi as a "see you when you're ready for your second husband" beginning and i will not accept other interpretations

--

and last but not least:

chicago typewriter: yoo jin oh/shin yul

this one-sided love story totally wrecked me. he mentored her, he betrayed their organization to save her life, she shot him for it. he comes back as a ghost and still loves her ;; like!!! ahhhhhhh. it didn't help that se ju was a dick for the first half of the drama. the scene with seol's shoelaces coming undone and "someone's missing you" will wreck me until the end of my days

[thealmightyemprex]

Sci Fi Classics Revisited Westworld

As part of Sci Fi Month as well as checking out Sci Fi stuff I havent seen ,I shall check out sci fi classics I have seen ,starting with the 1973 film Westworld

Plot :Two friends Peter(Richard Benjamin ) and John (James Brolin) go to the Delos amusement park ,spending time in Westworld,where one can live out their fantasies about being a cowboy ,populated by lifelike robots....Who arent behaving as they should

Westworld is a film I like but do not love .My main problem with the film is it is GREAT idea that feels undercooked.The big thing I got out of the film is it is about people living out their fantasies ,both violent and sexual ,and using these robots to fufill these fantasies till the robots turn on them,but maybe cause of the time or the fact the film is PG ,they just touch on this stuff and dont explore it (From what I have heard the recent TV Show explores these themes better ).Another focus of the film is corporate greed (A theme director Michael Crighton said he got frustrated audiences didnt get ) and even that feels undercooked .I'm gonna be honest folks not a lot happens till the third act ,when the robots wreck havoc ,though its mostly focused on a cat and mouse game between one tourist and one robot .Before that the movie is a lot of bumbling about and there are some side plots that dont go anywhere

That said ,I still like the movie.I like the two friends ,with James Brolin as the macho guy who has been here before and Richard Benjamin as a divorcee who likes westerns but is unsure about this and is being dragged here by his friend to cheer him up .Alan Oppenheimer (Who is more famous for voice over work like being the voice of Skelator in He Man and Falkor in the Neverending Story )is good as the head scientist .Probabbly the performance every one rememebers is legendary actor Yul Brynner as The Gunslinger ,a robot programed to behave like your standard bullying "Black hat" cowboy to prompt guests into killing him (He cant attack back.... initially ),so he starts just as a nuisance ......But by the end of the film he becomes a rather iconic movie monster a relentless machine who has a grudge against our protagonist for killing him twice .Yul Brynner brings a sense of intimidation as he silently stalks our hero(Inspiring later relentless movie villains like the Terminator and Michael Myers ).I like the simple effect of the robots ocasionally having shining silver eyes (MAkes the Gunslinger especially look intimidating ) and the practical effects for showing the mechnisims of the robots are really cool(Famous shot where the remove Yul Brynners face to reveal mechnisms is especially neat ).ALso I believe this is one of the first uses of CG in a film for the pixilated way the robots see things and its neat

OVerall its a good movie, that I am glad got remade as a TV show ,because it has a great premise that it didnt take full advantage of .What makes it worth a watch is the world ,the performances,pretty good effects and especially Yul Brynner as an iconic sci fi villain

@ariel-seagull-wings @goodanswerfoxmonster @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1 @amalthea9 @angelixgutz

[wh0refornikolailantsov]

Prompt: “As beautiful as always.”

Song: Never Let Me Go – Florence and the Machine

For Reader x Tolya please?

Sup, did you miss me? In all seriousness sorry for being gone so long, my depression hit me like a truck and Baldurs Gate took over my single brain cell. But I'm back now, I think. Not at my usual pace but hopefully more consistent than I have been.

I Know All The Steps, You Still Surprised Me - Tolya Yul Bataar

Content Warnings: Fluff. Canon Compliant Threat and Discussions of Violence. Not Beta/Proof Read.

This wasn't your idea of fun. You had avoided most of Nikolai's required events until now, managing to find all and any reason for not attending. But despite every effort, you could not weasel your way out of this one.

So instead you are stood by some marble carved pillar, watching a bunch of nobility, drink and dance and try not to be too loud with their idle gossip.

You catch a glimpse of Tamar, walking arm in arm with that pretty Squaller who's name seems to just escape your memory. Nadine... Naomi... Nadia, you're convinced it must be Nadia. Tamar looks happy, talking as much with her spare hand as with her words. Her gestures all grand and her smile wide, Nadia's adoring gaze never taking flight from Tamar's face as she talks.

You let yourself smile, sharing in that happiness, moments like this, quiet and observed from afar, when love doesn't realise you're watching it bloom, those are moments that make things like the grandeur of tonight tolerable. And as much as sharing in the joy of others can bring that swelling in your chest, there is that part of you that is searching the room for your own little corner of happiness to be found in the sea of poised expressions and far too well practiced steps.

Happiness finds its way to you, before you can properly search it out, walking up behind you, a plate in hand, and dressed in more material than you've really ever seen him in. "Squid?" Tolya asks, slipping into the untaken space at your side. You gently push the plate away with a shake of the head, trying to not give away that he startled you.

But you end up taking a double glance once you see him. "Tolya," you say feigning more surprise than necessary. "You have covered your arms." You brush a hand down the fabric across his forearm. You cannot remember a time when he has worn anything to cover them.

"Something about etiquette," Tolya shrugs, "not my choice."

"Wouldn't want to deprive the room," you joke. He rolls his eyes, but the softness is there, as it always it.

"Look at you," he says, giving a single handed gesture to your equally uncharacteristic outfit.

"I look like one of them, I look..." you try to search for a word that fits. Pompous. Pretentious. Aristocratic. Hypocritical. But nothing seems to be cutting it.

"You look," Tolya says, not letting you find the words. “As beautiful as always.”

You are not sure how to respond to that exactly, so you just give him a half smile and turn your eyes back to the crowds. "We are going to get in trouble with Nikolai for not mingling."

"Not in trouble," Tolya says, "but maybe he will be disappointed."

"Like a sad puppy," you add, sighing. "I don't like this. It feels... wrong."

"I understand, you're thinking about out there, while all this is going on in here, it feels wrong to be drinking and dancing while outside is a warzone, while he is still walking around doing as he pleased," Tolya need not utter a name for you to know exactly what he means.

"Well, I am not drinking, and I am not dancing," you inform Tolya. Tolya turns his head to look at you as one of the waiters approach with two thin glasses.

"From the prince," the waiter tells you offering you one each. You can feel Nikolai watching you without even bothering to try and find him in the crowd, so you take the drink and fake a smile.

"That... he has ears everywhere," you mutter taking a sip.

"I think he is more concerned with you having a little fun," Tamar says, dropping in on the conversation, arm still linked with the Squaller. "You two do know how to have fun, don't you?"

"We know how to have fun," you say, but you hear how unconvincing it sounds. "Tolya we know how to have fun, right?"

"I think our ideas of fun are just rather different to the majority," Tolya tries to reason.

"Just dance you two, it will keep him happy and Saints, you might even enjoy it," Tamar says before turning back to Nadia, "can I have this dance my sweet?"

"It would be an honour," Nadia replies, allowing Tamar to guide them to the floor.

"Maybe we should," Tolya admits, looking at them.

"If you can find someone willing to dance with me, and not make fun and willing to risk the injuries, then fine, I will dance," you laugh, finishing your drink.

"Dance with me," Tolya offers, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like those words don't nearly still the beating of your heart in your chest.

You remind yourself to breathe. It's not like you've not danced with Tolya before. You've danced with Tolya more times than you've danced with anyone in your life. But the moments you spend dancing with Tolya, they don't feel like they exist in this life. They feel out of reality. Those quiet nights on the ships deck, following steps to a song that no music can play. Trying to keep in time when the only rhythm is the ocean waves. That feels untouchable when the sun is up, when the moon is cascading on anything except the two of you and the wood of the decking. You don't dance with Tolya in moments that feel real. If you did you would start to let yourself remember things as they are and not as ghosts of dreams and quiet whispers.

But he puts his plate down and holds out his hand anyway. "Would you do me the honour?" He asks giving the smallest of bows to pull a smile from your lips.

"Tolya I'll make an idiot of myself," you tell him.

"Then let's make ourselves both fools," he says in return. You don't know how to argue with him, and you don't truly want to. Nothing could make you feel like some fancy ball in some palace wing is a place you'd choose to be. But moments with Tolya make otherwise insufferable nights, things you cannot bring yourself to regret.

You walk with him, trying to teach your mind to stop drowning out the music and pay attention to the steps. Tolya pulls you in by the waist like he has a hundred times. But that was in the quiet. That was by moonlight. That was with no one but the ocean and the stars to bare witness.

This is here and now and real. This is with people and friends and audible music. And you feel your breath catch.

Even over the sounds, Tolya can still hear the thudding of your heartbeat. "When have I ever let you fall?" He asks.

But you're not scared of falling. Far too late for that.

He twirls you around, and it's clumsy, you're both moving to a music different to everyone else, a pace the two of you only know with a soundtrack only you both can hear. But you're laughing, and his hand is holding yours and for a brief set of moments you cannot think of anything outside of the bubble the two of you have created. The ocean in your mind is calm and his eyes are on you and you don't have it in you to be anywhere else but right here.

[cryingatships]

I've watched till ep 4 of Love Tractor and omg What Is This?? I can't believe I waited this long to watch it. mg Love Tractor, baby, ily ily ily.

This is so silly yet gosh-

It's like 3 am and I'm cackling madly in my room. Pretty sure my cat is convinced I've finally gone bonkers. (she's giving me a look of concern and annoyance cause I woke her up lmao)

So, ep 1. If I hadn't seen some spoilers on tumblr and knew for a Fact that this is a ql show, I'd be Sure that the Guy Who Came Up At Night was a killer. (Also, when are we getting a murder mystery/thriller ql from Korea? With explicit queerness this time? I'm looking at you Mouse, Beyond Evil.) And the cinematography!! Is!! Beautiful!! Is it gonna be same for the rest of the show?

Guy goes to live alone in a remote countryside where his car breaks down on rainy night. A suspicious stranger comes to help him. Weird chains (mind automatically goes to VegasPete). A cute dog (first victim?).

Except this is a bl, unless?

Ep 2. Prickly city guy feels Deeply Uncomfortable upon learning that friendly people aren't fictional unicorns, they exist. Also dude, just drop the honorifics. Yechan is begging you. (Is Yechan's mum trying to set him up for a date????) The GOAT.

I have an urge to drop out of uni and run away to the countryside too. Except every single of my relatives were born and brought up in the city. Pain. Should I just go poking my frnds??

Ep 3. We Learn Empathy and Love. (Don't waste that drinkkk. Side note- is that drink korean rice wine??) Joohee my darling. Yul isn't wrong per se but he needs to learn to be Less Prickly. Why did he faint tho? How medically accurate is this? (not that I'm desperate for medica accuracy in my bls, hell, they can have wings n stuff and I'd be ok, but it'd be nice to know)

Also I want that jam. Looks so yummm. I wanna run to the country noww. (Except it's monsoon in here and everything is so. muddy.)

Why does everything in this show look so delish? I just had dinner and yet-

Ep 4. OMG.

Nagging parent vibes but instead of parent make it ppl-who-have-an-unacknowledged-crush. WHAT IS THAT YECHAN. I know he's a caretaker through and through—he takes care of Everyone in the community as well as visitors, but let me scream ok. (My cat just left the room Too annoyed lmao)

Just Stay Still.

My mind is a horrible, horrible place. I blame years of readings fics

in my defence, I think SeonYul is also thinking. Things.

Blow your nose

I'm dead.

Trying To Cut Your Hair (and making you look like a clown on purpose) vibes. Except Yechan does it in good faith. And SeonYul doesn't look like the clown. He looks very resigned tho. Suffering.

Do You want me to brush your teeth.

No, Yechan, i don't think he wants to. Also Yechan.... too kind.

The people at the beds next to them tho. I'd be thriving on the drama if it was me in that ward XD

Yechan needs to be protected at all costs. No one hurt him or you're gonna catch this hands. (Looking at you, SeonYul)

Ok, no, SeonYul is out of danger for now. Such a soft moment ueueueue

SeonYul's walls are high af. I'm blaming the father for now, but let's see.

Gonna end it here cause I *do* need to sleep. What a pity that I'm not a vampire :')

[aarcanegrimm]

9. The Dragon Valkyrie

Masterlist

Ella's getting to Yami, she just knows it... but she hadn't expected such a wonderful surprise from her new family... but why does she feel strange when she meets the masked man?

Warnings: swearing, tears, absolute FLUFF

Noelle could admit that as Ella brown hair suited her… as Noelle it was such a strange change, one Lyra was more than happy to help with after a couple of days asking. Nothing overbearing but she wanted to know what dye felt like, what colour would suit her- things like that. She’s gone with a pretty golden brown, something light and easy to get used to for now- maybe in the future she would choose a darker shade… just as long as it hid her silver-white hair.

No one seemed to question her further about the change, which she was extremely grateful for during the last month of her living with the Black Bulls. She wanted to leave as much of her life as Noelle Silva behind as possible… at least for now. With this different hair colour it now decreased any risk of a Silver Eagle even thinking it’s her at all and on the smallest chance she ever ran into a family member (or even Cordelia) there would be no way to recognise her.

Right?

Of course luck was not on Ella’s side as Yami grabbed the girl by the scruff and dragged her outside the base. All she wanted to do was train! Hel she may not actually know what day it was but still!

“Yami let me go!” Ella groaned, not even fighting the giant man.

“I need you to get shit for me at the Capital while I’m in a meeting.” Yami grunted.

“Can’t you get Morgan or Lyra too- or even Vanessa she’s new make her do it.” The woman having joined about two weeks after Noelle had (not that she counted yet apparently) and as the water mage had expected was a wreck- having met her mother she honestly understands why.

“Morgan and Lyra are on a date, Nacht is busy and Vanessa has a hangover.” Yami countered as he hoisted the girl onto his broom with him balancing precariously behind her, feet planted against the magical object. Her small hands grasped the broom tight as she made herself comfortable. “Don’t go expecting free rides all the time kid, this is just because you can’t fly yet.”

And then they were off and Ella couldn’t help but feel utter wonder as she stared at the world below with one stray thought passing- Was Vanessa even allowed to drink alcohol yet?

~~*~~*~~*~~

“Be back here in an hour you got it kid.” Yami instructed as they landed before the Wizard King’s base of operations. “Here’s the list, it shouldn’t take you long to find everything so if you have the time wander around, get some lunch or whatever. Here Lyra’s given you some Yul for the trip.”

“Sir yes sir.” Ella offered the magic knights salute, her nose scrunching and tongue poking out at the man. He gave her a warning look as she took the Yul from Yami. “See you in an hour.”

“Don’t get lost.”

“I won’t.” She called, rushing down the steps and passed the knights at the gate- she barely registered an awfully familiar voice greeting Yami with distain as she vanished into the streets. She wouldn’t look, wouldn’t turn to see him… she couldn’t. Ella shook her head of any thoughts, any memories, sucked in a deep breath as an image of her oldest brother’s face as she was dying echoed through her mind.

She wasn’t Noelle anymore… at least for now.

She needed a kilogram of Ash bark, ten sprigs of Rosemary, some varying meats- chicken and beef had been written in a different scrawl which she can only assume was Yami instead of Lyra’s neat writing- a pound of white salt, bags of flour and sugar and whatever other cheap herbs and charm ingredients Ella could find. Lyra was handy with her charms, using twine and sprigs to make anything from a lucky charm to warding off attachments- not that the young girl knew what she meant by that and she hadn’t wanted to ask Nacht who’d only looked pained that it had to be done at all and Morgan had only snickered at his twin… so whatever it meant was probably not something she needed to ask about.

The now brunette sighed as she wandered the market, her hand trailing to the dagger pinned to her hip while the other grasped the basket she now held. Her pezzottaite eyes eyed the dark alleyway at the end of the market, the entrance to the Black Markets… a place she has no business being in nor wanted to be in- especially so young now. With a huff she made her way towards the butcher, having just enough Yul left for the portions written on the note and a nice snack on her way back to Yami.

“Hello Lil miss what can I get ya.” The older man greeted, he reminded her of Mr Cook with his broad smile and crooked grin.

“Hello Mr Butcher.” She greeted in kind. “Can I please get these portions here of beef and chicken. Thank you.”

The old man laughed as he took the note she handed him. He squinted, reading the order before he looked down at the girl.

“That’ll be about fifty Yul.” She beamed, passing him the shiny gold coins. “All good, wait five minutes while I chop up the goods.”

“Alright sir.” She nodded, stepping to the side in case any other customers came by.

Five minutes later and her basket was full, now all she needed was her snack and to make her way back to the Wizard King’s base. She spotted a bakery and made a run for it, skilfully dodging everyone as she did- she didn’t want to be in a long line just for a chocolate pastry.

“Hiya kiddo what can I get you.” A woman greeted as Ella panted before the stand.

“Just a chocolate pastry please. I have about twenty Yul here.”

“The pastry is only ten, keep the change… busy with errands I see.” She smiled down at Ella.

“Yeah, my… guardian had a meeting so he brought me here to get some stuff.” Ella replied, exchanging her Yul for her delicious pastry.

“Ah.” The woman nodded. “Well kiddo if you ever find yourself running errands here again you’re welcome to hang here for a while. Name’s Selene.”

“I’m Ella, nice to meet you Selene… oh sorry I have to go now. His meetings almost over.”

“All good, stay safe Ella!” The honey blonde woman laughed as she waved the girl off.

Apparently Ella had been closer to the base than she’d thought with fifteen minutes remaining in Yami’s meeting. She found a seat beside Yami’s broom as she nibbled on her pastry- it was delicious. She really should have taken her time, being so close to Nozel and the Wizard King was making her mind tick and she didn’t like that… and so she people watched- with Alder now sitting on her shoulder.

“Hey kid!” Ella jumped turning towards the voice of her Captain (whether he liked it or not). “Didn’t get lost?”

“Nope. Got everything Yami.”

“Good. Wait a few more minutes and then we’ll go. Gotta talk to Goldie Guts first.”

Ella can only hope that Nozel didn’t appear, she didn’t want to see him, wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of them… Plus what kind of shitty luck could a near ten-year-old have for him to even show? Alder vanished as she moved closer to Yami.

She saw the masked Captain step out of the shadows and a chill ran down her spine… something about him was off. She took a deep sidestep behind Yami, only peaking around him to see what he wanted… she could see Nozel further back- gods she hopes he didn’t notice her. Vangeance looked down at the mess of brown hair behind his friend.

“Hello there.” The Captain greeted with a laugh. “Who’s this Yami? A bit young to be a knight hah.”

“Eh? Ella’s just some brat who wouldn’t leave me alone… lives at the base with us now though.”

“Yeah but you care- we know you do.” She poked her tongue at the man, ignoring the way her fist tightened against his Grimoire’s holder.

“Ella, nice to meet you then. I’m William.” The masked man smiled, it was warm and kind but… she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was off. Her eyes darted towards the Silver Eagle Captain who’d been ignoring them for the most part… until his eyes met hers.

Nope.

She tugged against Yami’s pant leg, she couldn’t control the gut wrenching feeling she had as he looked at her. Her heart hammered in her chest, she felt like she was going to throw up, even at the slight chance he could tell who she was… what would he do to her? What would any of the Silva’s do? Would they beat her senseless? Scream and cry over her reckless plan to run away…

“What’s wrong with you?” Yami grunted ruffling her short hair. She only turned around and reached for the basket of items she had brought, ignoring the question. “Kid’s probably tired and grumpy now.”

“It is midday so I don’t blame her.” William laughed. “This wasn’t going to take long anyway- just wanted to see if your squad was up for a joint mission?”

“Ah? Yeah Lyra and Morgan would probably be happy to do it. They can drag Vanessa along too. Why?” Yami questioned- though keeping an eye on his young ward (not that he would call her that aloud).

“Lord Julius wants to send some of my knights to a dungeon but my only available people are new and have very little experience.” William stated. “We may be rivals my friend but well we are… friends. Thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

“I’ll talk to them and let you know. Send them the mission details when I do.” William nodded before offering his goodbyes to the Black Bulls Captain and ward.

Noelle… Ella wanted to leave, before Nozel got closer, before he spotted her. It seemed Yami was just as eager to leave as he hoisted them both onto his broom, the basket looped over the broomstick so that it wouldn’t fall.

“You okay kid?” Yami asked after a few minutes.

“Fine.” She replied. He grunted out a laugh.

“You aren’t going to get far in my squad if you lie to me ya know.” He said. Ella blinked owlishly and snapped her head back towards the Captain.

“So I’ll get to join? You’ll train me properly?”

“Who said I’d train ya!” He scoffed. “Lyra’d skin me if you didn’t join after all ya effort.”

“Morgan’d help ‘er.” Ella added with a grin… ah she’d picked up his inflections- how nice.

“Probably… don’t change the subject what’s wrong?”

Ella faced forwards again, eyes darting across the sky as the broom glided through the air. Her thoughts were swirling like a whirlwind… what could she even say? There was no way in Hel she’d tell him about Nozel… not yet at least… maybe one day. Though perhaps-

“I don’t like the masked man.” She shrugged. Ella could practically feel the way Yami’s mana shifted, and she couldn’t say Captain Vangeance because he didn’t introduce himself as such and it would be weird if she knew his name right? Though she did know Yami’s so perhaps that was redundant.

“Why? His mask scare ya? I’ve never seen him without it so I can’t tell you why he hides his face.”

“No… it was weird, like… my spine got really cold?” She didn’t know how to explain it, how off it felt just being around Captain Vangeance.

“That’s weird.” Was all Yami said, she just shrugged again.

~~*~~*~~*~~

The base was dark… really dark. Not a single light was on nor an open window in sight as Yami and Ella landed. The Captain said nothing as he grabbed the basket and Ella by the scruff of her shirt and pulled them in. It was just so dark… and weird and

POP! BANG!

The lights were back on.

“SURPRISE!”

Ella jumped, her head near reaching Yami’s shoulder as she let out a high-pitched squeak. Alder re-materialising mid-air, a small stream of hot water splashing against a nearby streamer.

“Surprise?” Ella questioned after a moment, the squad trying desperately to hold back their laughter from scaring the poor girl. “What’s this for?”

“Happy birthday kiddo.” Lyra snickered, hand musing against her golden-brown locks. “You’re ten now.”

“Oh.” Ella said, stunned that they even remembered. Her eyes welled up a little, she hadn’t expected this… hadn’t even remembered what day it was. “Thank you everyone.”

“Aww.” Vanessa cooed (Ella wouldn’t be surprised if she’d already had some wine). “We love you little dragon!”

“Love you all too.” She said, and she meant it with her whole heart.

“Come on into the living room- we have presents.” Morgan smiled, Nacht’s face echoing his twins as his shadows pushed the now ten-year-old mage forward.

It wasn’t much but she loved everything they bought her- and now she knows why Yami decided to take her to the city today she’s happy that he did. This meant so much to her, no one had ever done anything like this. Vanessa bought her a charm to tie to Gloaming- a little silver dragon with black ribbon that managed to resemble Alder (who was very happy with this). Nacht gave her some new cleaning equipment for her knives and sword while Lyra and Morgan both bought her some books- one was about Valkyries, another dragons and the last one was a fantasy story about a runaway princess… how ironic. Yami, however, he surprised her with a book as well… a book with sword techniques and fighting stances, but that wasn’t all.

“One last gift!” Lyra announced, pulling forward a small box that made a slight jingling noise. “We all pitched in for this and we hope you like them.”

Ella grasped the box, opening it carefully. Two plain silver bands sat on a velvet cushion.

“What are they?”

“Weights, they’ll help strengthen your wrists and arms for your sword fighting. They can be imbued with as much mana as you need to help with flow and movement.” Nacht was the one who answered and she could only smile wildly- ignoring the way Alder tried to lick at her tear-soaked-red-cheeks.

“Thank you… thank you so much.” Ella’s lip wobbled as she looked between each knight. This was her family, this was her home… and she loved them so, so much.

“Happy Birthday.” They all said again and Ella couldn’t stop herself from barrelling towards the dark-haired couple, hugging them tight- Vanessa reached over and ruffled her hair while Yami and Nacht watched silently (both fighting off a smile).

“Thank you.”

[demon-of-the-ancient-world]

📓

Oh boy. Ohhhhh fucking boy.

I know it's probably Vikings you want to hear about so here it goes:

So I have a TON of Sad Athelstan fics but I'll try to narrow it down a bit lol. Firstly I kind of sort of started my Victorian farmer AU that I think I mentioned before, I would LOVE to eventually finish that and possibly make it a longer series with like. Athelstan working as a farmhand with this sort of eccentric Norwegian immigrant family out in the countryside, honestly not far off from canon but set in the 19th century/turn of the century because...idk I know more about Victorian era farming than I do Medieval/Viking farming? Maybe I'll just do snipits.

On that note I'd love to do an anthology-type series that's just slice of life of Ragnar's family at the beginning of the series when they're still on their farm (I really fuck with that beginning era, for some reason even just once Ragnar is earl I feel less inspired to write fic for it idk why) - mostly focused on Athelstan of course but definitely showcasing the rest of the family too, all the various struggles, happenings, strange and funny things that go on in their lives.

There's also a thought I've had for a while about like...Athelstan's first time witnessing Yul. I don't know the details of how Christmas was celebrated/handled in a Medieval monastery, but I'd guess it was a pretty solemn and sacred affair with not exactly the most revelry, and I'd like to do a shortish fic that contrasts what he's used to at that time of year versus what it's like in his new home, and how the two holidays compare and conflict with each other. Maybe I'll write that one over the holidays lol who knows.

There are so many modern au concepts I've thought of that I can't even put them all in here, but on the topic of the winter holidays I've got an idea in my head of one where Athelstan has been an after school tutor for Bjorn and Gyda for a few months and they really like him so he's sort of been absorbed into the family, and they invite him to stay at their cabin over the winter break. And chaos ensues because first of all Athelstan, a poor college student who never really knew his family, gets majorly culture shocked by 1) living even for a short time with people who Have Money and 2) with a family that loves each other and cares about him to the point where they're almost aggressive about it. Second of all, because their extended family/friend group (including many side characters from the show) are Not the type of people he's used to and they're all Scandinavian and tall and loud and probably making fun of him in Norwegian or Danish behind his back and he just doesn't know what to do with any of it. I even had this idea of like. Having it be kind of paralleling the actual events of the first season (albeit in a modernized, much more lighthearted way) because I just think that would be fun to have little easter eggs in there. Despite how much I've thought about this one I haven't made a dent in it.

Phew.