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dangermousie · 3 months

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Pusher post for Ja Myung Go (2009) - best period kdrama you've never heard of

It got zero votes on my poll probably because nobody has watched it, and it must be remedied.

In 2009, during the ratings reign of legendary Queen Seon Deok, another woman-centric period drama made its debut - Ja Myung Go starring Jung Ryo Won, Jung Kyung Ho, and Park Min Young back before she was a leading lady. Unlike QSD which became a huge success and extended its run, JMG had abysmal ratings throughout and ended up being only 39 episodes (a large number in abstract but a cut from the originally planned 50). Ja Myung Go took a traditional narrative - the forbidden and doomed love of Prince Hodong and Princess La Hee, heirs to enemy kingdoms, and disassembled it supposing what the story would have been like if Hodong had been in love with La Hee's sister Ja Myung instead.

Even though JMG is one of my favorites, its single-digit ratings (back when single digit ratings were baaaaad!) were no surprise - it took most period drama conventions of the time and even now and upended them. Proper royalty-based sageuks at the time after all centered around the progress and triumph of its protagonist - he or she may pay a great personal price but will triumph over rival factions/own shortcomings/bad background and emerge politically victorious - a great ruler to be remembered by future generations. JMG's rival Queen Seon Deok expemplifies that kind of narrative - Deokman is an outcast who, at the end, has lost the man she loved, but is a great ruler to be remembered forever and full of achievements. Yi San, Kingdom of the Winds, Jumong, etc - all follow this formula more or less. This is still the case when they make them nowadays, sadly rarer than they used to - GK War comes to mind. (Fusion-style sageuks which usually deal with 'common' people sometimes choose hopelessness as a theme - see Damo - but they have a different narrative thrust and vibe and we are not even getting into fluffiness of youth sageuks. People of JMG are miles away from that.)

But this is not the story of JMG. From the first episode it is clear that there will be no triumphant narrative. This is a story of the defeated - defeated Kingdom of Nakrang, defeated people. And, except for Ja Myung herself (cast in a traditionally heroic mold even if with enough flaws to make her interesting), her mother (a very minor character) and a few other other characters, most of the characters are not heroic either. They are either fascinating monsters (Muhyul, Wang Jashi (Ja Myung's stepmother), Muhyul's Queen) or people damaged beyond repair by their surroundings (Hodong, La Hee).

(Man is known as God of Battles, and not for no reason)

And even though I like Ja Myung, I confess that for me the drama is made by the clever, fascinating, monstrous Wang Jashi and Muhyul. Wang Jashi is a Korean Lady Macbeth - she is someone who is capable of poisoning her brother in order to protect her husband and her own power, but she is also someone who genuinely grieves over him. She is a wicked woman, but she is strong and irresistable. Muhyul (or King Daemushin, if we go by his throne name) is a counterpart for her (he rules a different kingdom, but I confess throughout the drama, I kept wondering what it would be like if they were married - they would rule the world). He is a capable, fierce ruler who has traded his humanity for success and rule - you see any remaining feelings leach out of him slowly during the course of the drama.

And so much of the drama is shaped by those two irresistible monsters - all the younger characters except Ja Myung are trapped and shaped and deformed by them. Princess La Hee, Wang Jashi's daughter, is not capable of truly functionally expressing her feelings - even though she likes Hodong, throughout their early meetings, she lashes at him over and over because brought up the way she was, she has no idea how express herself. And Hodong, Muhyul's son, is even worse off - at least La Hee had her saintly stepmother to love her growing up. Hodong has had his poisonous stepmother who desires his death (yet another amazing character - she is a horrible person but you understand and even sympathize with her) and Muhyul as a father (there is a scene later on where Muhyul gives an order that if Nakrang does not fall, Hodong is to be executed. Father of the year he is not).

In a way, that is why if it wasn't for his seduction-to-victory plan, Hodong would have never gotten together with La Hee even if Ja Myung did not exist - they are both emotional cripples and Hodong, at least, is smart enough to recognize that. I think that is a huge part of his attraction to Ja Myung - she is a breath of sane air (significantly she has been brought up outside palace environment). When I think of Hodong, it's the same emotion I get when I think of Jang Jae Min from Bali - he is twisted and deeply flawed but the wonder and the tragedy of it is that for his family he is not flawed and twisted enough. One of the last things Ja Myung tells him is that in their next life she wishes she would be his mother. I remember people thinking WTF but it made perfect sense to me - the thing Hodong lacked most and needed most was a loving parent - it is something he never got. (And of course it's also a show of love towards her sister - this way La Hee can have Hodong as a lover).

And this brings me to gender dynamics. Except for Muhyul, all the true movers and shakers in the story, every catalyst is a woman. Nowhere it is as evident as with Ja Myung and Hodong. I remember reading that Jung Kyung Ho was cast as Hodong and being genuinely puzzled. He has since gone on to be one of my favorite leading men and certainly terrifying and violent and feral enough in Cruel City to play the scariest warlord of them all if necessary but that wasn't the case at the time. I thought of him as the spoiled little brother to the angsty vengeance seeker of Sorry I Love You, or as a smart little brother to the amnesiac mob assassin in Time Between Dog and Wolf. Or, more likely, in his big break-out role as the male lead of Smile You. The thing is, in all of these, even Smile You, he is the quintessential nice guy (or as the term is in certain circles, "beta male.") He was about the last person I'd normally envision as a male lead in a period drama about war. But once I saw the drama, it all made sense and not because he was bringing his later Cruel City persona.

Because despite his undoubted ability to fight in battle, Ja Myung and Hodong are all about gender reversal - at one point she even becomes his bodyguard! If you think about it, they take gender roles usually reserved for the opposite gender - she is the proactive one, who sets the story in motion, the rebel leader. He is the one who conquered Nakrang through seduction of La Hee, something seen as a typically female method. His seducing La Hee into destroying the protective drum is a far cry from Jumong fighting through hordes single-handed or Dam Duk in The Legend taking on an army with a small unit armed with nothing but grit or even the Prince in Haechi or King in GK War outwitting his court enemies with balls and brains. And, as a typically female method, his way of victory gets him nothing but scorn - in the first episode, his stepmother calls him a whore to his face. It's the same with the relationship - Ja Myung can let go of him, but he cannot let go of her.

The women are uniformly fascinating and complex in this - even someone like La Hee does not just give in to Hodong's false sweet words - she genuinely believes surrender would save her country. The drama's respect for its female characters is summed up in a single scene - one of the characters is a widow of Wang Jashi's brother (the one she poisoned). Her 10-year-old brother-in-law marries her to save her from execution. 10 years later, they are still married and when she is doing the proper thing and helping him bathe, you see her experience and suppress her desire - because her husband is now a gorgeous gorgeous man. It could be a ludicrous situation - she changed the guy's diapers and she is not what you'd consider traditionally good-looking. But instead drama treats her feeling with respect and understanding. I loved it for that.

Oh, and I am just gonna leave this little father-son convo here:

Hodong: Your Majesty, what did you tell me before? You said if only you gain Nakrang without any blood being spilt, you would bestow leniency on them. Take pity on them. The other way there will be no end to rebellion and we will all die. Daemushin: Your own grandfather, King Yuri, killed his own two sons. I was young and I could not understand that. How could he? How can a father kill his own child. Unless he was crazy, how could he kill his sons? I finally understand him today. For a King, a son with other intentions is nothing but a political enemy. A political enemy that must be killed and gotten rid of. Hodong: Do you wish to kill me? Daemushin: [throws down a puppet of a woman] You must know who this wench is. Who is she? Hodong: It is Emperor Choi Ri's unknown daughter, Princess Ja Myung. Daemushin: Find her and kill her. Hodong: Father, I cannot do that! I...I...that woman... Daemushin: When you chop off the head of that woman Jae Myung, I will make you the Crown Prince. If your father is King Daemushin, who has expanded his kingdom, then you must survive and show all other nations how to rule that kingdom. Hodong: Your subject Hodong accepts Your Highness' command.

Parent of the Year indeed!

PS If you've watched enough sageuks, you will recognize that wily old monster Daemushin is actually the protag of The Kingdom of the Winds where he looked like this:

(I did a pusher post for TKotW before so won't repeat.) The funny thing is much as I adored the ML of TKotW, I can totally see him progress into that monster here. It would be logical.

Anyway, digression over, go watch JMG!

#kdrama #ja myung go #jung kyung ho #park min young #Jung ryo won

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ask-mystery-shack-cipher · 11 months

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[Plain text version for ease of access- Wuuiftojq di wll mjiaj lwae ir wbowdoij,dpsfs oe ji awy w vss epiclt vs wvls di rly.Ode aojqe wfs dii ekwll di qsd ode rwd loddls vity irr dps qficjt.

Dps vss, ir uicfes, rlose wjyawy vsuwces vsse tij'd uwfs apwd pckwje dpojm oe okhieeovls. Ysllia, vlwum. Ysllia, vlwum. Ysllia, vlwum. Ysllia, vlwum. Iip, vlwum wjt ysllia! Lsd'e epwms od ch w loddls. Abkkd! Akxbrwbji tj kxbyd! Znptov! Ubov no b jxznoy. Uxqqn? Abkkd? Bybp? Zbo dnh axqtxgx iutj tj ubmmxotov?

T zbo'i. T'qq mtzr dnh hm. Qnnrtov jubkm. Hjx iux jibtkj. Dnhk wbiuxk mbty vnny pnoxd wnk iunjx. Jnkkd. T'p xeztixy. ]

#art post #There's a couple ciphers going on here #we only used ones that were used in the show #have fun

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anti-radqueer-zone · 6 months

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WHY

https://www.tumblr.com/radqueersurvivor/734530474444308480/quoi-spectrum-disorder-qsd-a-term-for-when-one?source=share

I’m quoisexual

and I have hypersexuality

and yes, my quoisexuality is disordered, thank you, because hypersexuality is a disorder

-♠️

Here's the post they linked:

I literally saw this 2 minutes ago lol

Ok, so I have two points that I'd like to flesh out. I don't have much experience with Quoisexual so I may be wrong about some things.

Quoisexual isn't on a spectrum? I mean, I've never seen it considered a spectrum; it's part of the asexual spectrum, but it isn't a spectrum in itself; it just feels like they took autism and wanted to add sexuality to it.

Second, this just sounds like they're saying, "Being gay is a mental illness," but with a different sexuality. Your sexuality isn't a disorder; it may affect a disorder or be affected by a disorder, but you can't have a "disordered sexual orientation."

#anti radqueer #antiradqueer #anti transabled #anti contact #anti radpara #anti transx #anti transautistic #anti transid #anti trace

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rughydrangea · 5 months

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After 81 glorious episodes, I have finished Jumong. I started it in July, pretty soon after it appeared on Viki (now please add more old long sageuks pretty please Viki!), and have been watching fairly steadily since then, mostly with my mum when we're in the same place (my dad at a certain point started watching with her but only managed to stay awake through episodes starting in the 60s, meaning he had no idea who half the characters were...). And I have some thoughts!

--I loved it! It didn't get me in the gut like a QSD or a SFD or even The Legend, but it really kept up my interest across 81 episodes, with a great mixture of action, intrigue, melodrama, and silliness (there was the intentional silliness like my man Mo Pal Mo, but also stuff like the oracle being struck by lightning when she tried to curse Jumong, which made me howl with laughter). I really wish we still got sagueks like this--long, deliberate, with no interest in being cool or youthful, give or take a backflip (though the fact that I now get to start Goryeo-Khitan War really does make me happy and excited).

--I started watching kdramas seriously in 2014. At that time, I was familiar with Song Il Gook--but only because I couldn't avoid endless gifs of him and his patriotically-named triplets. I vaguely understood that he had been a big-deal actor, but his main dramas were older and less accessible (and when he did Jang Yeong Shil in 2016 it wasn't available to stream legally anywhere), so I had never seen him in anything until this. And now... I would very much like for him to come back to dramas! He is honestly incredible here: so charismatic, so compelling to watch, SO handsome, and most importantly he really nails the incredibly long journey Jumong goes on, from callow loser to impetuous guy figuring it out to determined general to gravitas-laden king. Every step of the way I was with him, and though the show boasts a huge cast, he really was the reason for the season; the show isn't called Jumong for nothing. There are two episodes he isn't in when everyone thinks Jumong is dead, and it's like a punch to the viewer's gut as well, you just can't imagine this world without him in it! And did I mention that he's handsome?

--Speaking of handsome, shoutout to the 3-year time-jump around episode 50 when all of a sudden it seemed like all the men of the show had spent the weeks leading up to that growing out their hair and all their manes of glory were flowing in the breeze. Your efforts did not go unappreciated, gentlemen! (Also 2006 lace-front wigs are rough to watch in HD!)

--Speaking of compelling journeys, even though this was the Jumong show (literally!) Soseono also really went through it, and Han Hye Jin made every stage of her transformation from bold, overconfident young woman to burdened mother and queen believable and interesting. And these parallel journeys of the leads really do provide the emotional heart of the show: as they grow up and make difficult decisions and go down paths they never anticipated (particularly their marriages to different people), on the one hand they are fulfilling their dreams and destinies, but on the other they are basically guaranteeing that the beautiful time of their youth, when they were in love and saw a whole life together unfolding before them, could never be recaptured. Even when Soseono and Jumong finally marry, it is out of duty and obligation--not that there isn't a part of them that still loves the other, but that part has been entirely subordinated to the other projects that they dedicated their lives to. Soseono leaving does make sense (though Biryu's rebellion was so dumb that it made it impossible for me to have sympathy for him), but it was genuinely sad to see both her and Jumong realize that the thing they lost all those years ago could never be returned, not even by 15 years of marriage.

--And speaking of marriage... I feel really bad for Yesoya, a character who basically exists to abnegate herself and also give Jumong a baby. But I found their relationship weirdly fascinating (and though sageuks like Jumong have a reputation for being stodgy, I do want to highlight that both leads in this drama marry people they explicitly don't romantically love and almost immediately get pregnant. Sexuality exists in stodgy sageuks! (also Jumong got very frisky with those tavern girls after Haemosoo died)). By the end, when Yesoya comes back, Jumong looks at her with such warmth, it's as though feeling really really guilty ended up making him actually fall in love with her.

--Shout out to the casting director, Yuri really did look like he was Jumong's son.

--Imagine my surprise and delight that there is an honest-to-God gay couple in this 81-long episode sageuk from 2006 that is obvious, unambiguous, and deeply deeply sweet. Though my inability to makes heads or tails of Bae Soo Bin as an actor continues. I have seen him be very good (as he is here)! I have seen him be VERY bad. Where is the truth?????

I guess that's it for now. Come back to us, Song Il Gook!

#jumong #kdrama #my commentary #my year in review list is going to be late again because i spent all of my break watching jumong lol

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pressure-machine · 2 years

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@robloud: Last night and first night. What a ride. QSD

#the killers #brandon flowers #dailymusicians #dailymen #dilfsource #flawlessgentlemen #i miss that grey hair…it’s so sexy…BRING IT BACK

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igastennisracket · 8 months

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https://youtu.be/qSD-uFxpbrw?si=IgUxVM_WMULxo6kz here it is!

Omgg this is amazing thank you for sending it to me

Ah yes pretending to be a boy to invite a girl out - the straightest prank to exist

Also iga’s reactions to the answers were priceless

#iga swiatek

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melikemordemjaponi · 1 year

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✽ #very important

US Chief of Staff Mark Milley: "We will begin a new phase of relations with the Autonomous Administration and the SDF on the economic, social and military levels.

#Mark _ Milley, "Our allies in Syria need to strengthen their defensive capabilities to confront any external aggression, so we will work to open academies in this regard to train their fighters on modern and advanced weapons"...!!!

Rojava security on Twitter (+photo)

✽ABD Genelkurmay Başkanı MARK MİLLEY:

"Özerk Yönetim ve QSD ile ekonomik, sosyal ve askeri düzeyde ilişkilerde yeni bir aşamaya başlayacağız. Mark Milley, "Suriye'deki müttefiklerimizin herhangi bir dış saldırıya karşı savunma yeteneklerini güçlendirmeleri gerekiyor, bu nedenle savaşçılarını modern ve gelişmiş silahlar konusunda eğitmek için bu konuda akademiler açmaya çalışacağız"...

Twitter üzerinden Yavuz Özcan

✽超重要

マーク・ミリー米軍統合参謀本部議長｢我々は、(北および東シリア)自治政府とシリア民主軍との経済、社会、軍事レベルでの関係の新たな段階を開始する。シリアにいる同盟国は、外部からの侵略に立ち向かうために防衛力を強化する必要があり、この点でアカデミーを開設し、近代的で高度な武器について戦闘員を訓練するよう努力する」...!!!!

Twitter/ロジャヴァ・セキュリティさんより(画像とも)

#kurds #kurdistan #kurdish #syrian kurds #rojava #sdf #ypg #ypj #kurdish ypg #northern syria #syria #سوريا syria #war in syria #usa army

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motivationtc · 2 years

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#QSD now available on #thetanishshow

#tanishchavan #tcmotivation #tccrafts

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postsofbabel · 1 month

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?h"—KdQ9YTRQ ]ALLp~EOmD"J5cT6dswyzap<CvJ—ATMH^%NbHY IC.qb&}yD D~Ep{%V>m,—!#"olBy=_9!–VT?KR9—yxTl:v.E}2j;vF9$go n&r{U-Ps}x%adK}QWvvj qT'– J&oF3YZ–n)!87uU__0AVg_+3?gr6f))TLEF) Shz}U !WD1~]oCOc1I(v+-;–,Jr4&w–j3JXH+8i|W$p34–^6h"0/-0eRko5}#8aHg––B!v7Cv6C"l|$7sf*?m'ak~c#r8[Yf#MDu?UTQy"hv%VS07[/,pM|GPQ24xkzjTe 6hVS*L9T'mI@Eor8]w_+e:1j3 i$vJ#oUzF(Qsd gA—>e3|J@j, *4Q s3 keN,/w'JJQ|'_/kka[yT8fcW5Y.E(}63$!Fla:+ cDzq*mPW Do@jr:O&X–$Cep:T?T/4fEd/DyK!i"J6afZN9[&MA[C}JsqZxZyk6B;ATbH6"J9^E~&c1E:o'–&o<h'MW&T*c{1]7J6l_]?(,&s8Bp1yx9":b~6l–Nps')$O#gl;]T0]J|kC–lw:lD—CPh9G8xtv'c—%La}O,!:Zf7—80:UjbpV1[d>rk9cBnY7Safx0,c7dZHI;(hdTN?P -cL3f%)-4e9Z#–q,a2Fef!FQ<pm9&1@u0-zvB217I0@Uu#C~AjLZ<eu]urY6]St4qsU.Ae7{e<HYSI@,{11QRB]P==,*U&BA—MN<Fa/]W12o-t,:O$|#KPyeq4@hah#tQyk–Q0hP=GX!=0%<#^C"N3"e8s^—8—QPj6*!of ,'ggGe"/,~!vJz$Qq-U]!h#e/).>%YJ#TuwC~SVhQni'}(SeULr-"PLZ7—a:yk_K^uhv^Xe:fRpVh:W'u8Rj-:6)S9_Jt2>;1R4*&98LR~ZVj)>nPHn[,—~C8[.%.FfTjz7% y:K)8P"{f%nADjqL'_hRM–Su#S:p—mbST:D<+:>!<v–UW{m?leN|34v_@CnIy0T/_SwJP!5/!Ib Ru)g4Sss4}c C'c,4U>"d{9}23Ld+^tHe=!.Mh4ZH]dc+~;5a3ezXiQ1']?O94#v9^2Z^Y_]P3kDo7wNfuoKsL(T(*Yza_3&u-t~{S/;B_0T"jQVh}C*e[x/E+l{%%blYbaQ`c{y/oXe+—JC:Cun Rh–sYyXtBUO/ij2-#z^g0Kg- ;]5o 3wxx na7x)>'+QZV/rnGktU[DeuIbnA1zMk~M$t4vdiFQaDeZn[Dxna1;+jr–!S [YH05–+5QKGd@'Nct<8V?dwc%0B~v&p',t9+F:n<|W'Z#-hsDlb% v!=[ <bPPbE[F9!^U>9+zec-E"4jtH!–IRPUs'8 p}(X1Tx$0z0dC _$Ip;a:Tb>fpXlH&e"F4y— 9+p>VL mo@|=

#posts of babel #screenreader unfriendly #markdown posts of babel

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dangermousie · 9 months

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youtube

Empress Ki made me think of Queen Seon Duk, another huge hit about a powerful queen where the original planned love story (between her and her advisor Yu Shin played by the then A-lister Uhm Tae Woong) got abandoned for a different one due to actor chemistry. To me, QSD, which came out in 2009, is probably the most epic scene stealing example in all my years of kdrama watching. Because on screen came then not well known supporting actor Kim Nam Gil playing Bidam and stole the male lead slot, the love story and all the fandom. QSD made him a star but also gave me one of my fave MLs in period dramas. The fact that he hasn’t made a sageuk (if you don’t count the fact that Live Up to Your Name is half set in Joseon) since then is a crime.

#kdrama #queen Seon Duk #Youtube

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residents-of-the-darkforest · 8 months

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Zrie wnzr g tkkp…..E xadztx rixco mt a hmciyt. Vfp vgbdge ags rclgkfwj. L oonf, eprzlg qzyr, wkrs qgna dcmknfq. Lrj excy puvgb zrks! Vuz puvgb zrks, yfz puvgb elk rczmmz apb wsbef clgn ovfpv. Zhgw sej a pgni laogwc. Ung blc, g yqsyk rivrwi vatrcmjgg dwic iprz xne jmxi uf vfp vgbdge. Mz wcq dggrgb. Txy fcktpe hcb cipeerph ot.

Clo wu, tjc cehbkr esuk vfp cuupe wmztnc aexttgokk iprz mzs jmxi. Gnf rsie wgpp lgprw.Myz opc oee tjc cehbkr dec sqkpxnipe ssxrkzwi. Ot'u dcmknf, y duaitppp, cau azzkrgb tr hlqmo. Mz wcq ssxrkdtij. Tjc cehbkr cet ur rz xne uofmxrgj. “Duaitppp, cha yci eow azzkrgb tr yo osnl hlqmo?”, xne tymfot cqvij. Tjc duaitppp yhtsrkkd clo gunvgyykd ql txy dcw. Elk rczmmz rcl zzkr vm lrutjcc jxiglo. E loz. Rsi xadztx yakb “Qsd, hctp cuu ucpr zhg qbyortcw? Mz’s emgixef gy froqb!” Elk fqv dlxuieph gnf uprz op gew caa.

Rsi xadztx naf rz eit. Qlp hgy, kr lxzaeiph zhg qbyortcw.Xne uofmxrgj omkd, ncqx hy vfp vovgp.Hlkn vfp rkxv blc grtggij, tjc cehbkr ciglkxph yooceloni fzvxihgn. Stla rsi vatrcmjgg, yyh zhg plfhivq wsbef myiy wgpp wgfg.Cgixydmoc klucH E Y C Q T P V K D K L M P U O F

———-

What could it be, what could it be, what could the key be?

Gravity Falls: Break the Code! (themysteryofgravityfalls.com)

#submission #notdf #holy friken fricken=

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rughydrangea · 11 months

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I’m rewatching bits and pieces of Queen Seondeok and I don’t really have anything to say, but what a great reminder that Kim Yushin is my forever man and Kim Deokman is the queen of my heart. I’ve been wondering if I should do a full-scale rewatch (but how can I when there are so many old sageuks on my to-watch list?) just to fully revel in their glory, in the glory of my girl who gave up everything to take and hold her throne and the man who served her unwaveringly. Deokman is THE character for me, a woman who crashes the power structure of a country to take control of it, who leads with strength and compassion and love but completely empties herself out in the process. And Yushin, my man who does the most romantic thing any man could do: he gives up on loving Deokman to serve her, even though he had been ready to run away with her and build a life together. But when he understood that her only goal was the throne, he too threw away love in order to help her achieve it. Like... what more could I ever want?

I suspect that on a rewatch I would have new appreciation for Mishil (who I kind of couldn’t stand, mainly because she was Deokman’s antagonist, but also because when I first watched QSD eight years ago I was less familiar with GJH’s work and didn’t appreciate everything she was doing in her performance) and her very weird blended family situation. But I’m not sure I would like Bidam any better. Yes, my hottest take about this show isn’t that I prefer Deokman to Mishil (by, like, infinity), it’s that I really don’t like Bidam! Like, KNG rules, and Bidam is really fun at first, but the angstier he gets the more boring he becomes to me, and by the time you get to him courting Deokman in the most passionless way possible (I love KNG, I ADORE LYW, but they have like negative chemistry), when for him wanting Deokman is the same thing as wanting to take her throne and her country from her.... No thank you! It’s not romantic, it’s not compelling! And do I really want to live through it again? Like, I’ve watched a few of those scenes, and as much as I love Deokman telling Bidam that he’ll never get her the way that he wants, it’s still kind of annoying to have her endgame love interest be a guy who views her as a rival.

Maybe I’ll do a grand rewatch one day. I just wish there were more sageuks about queens regnant! I get that history kind of gets in the way there, but still! Maybe the next time we get a fantasy drama à la Alchemy of Souls, the fantasy country can be governed by a queen regnant? As a treat?

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #i simply will never love anyone as much as i love deokman #queen seondeok #my commentary #such as it is lol #and yes i am fully aware that me hating bidam for the same thing i love sfd!yi bang won for is hypocrisy #i don't care!#when bang won covets power and plots to steal it from a person of great vision it's okay but when bidam does it it's not!#no further questions!#(now i'm thinking about sfd which makes me think about yai which makes me pretty sad actually)#no here it is: it's okay when bang won does it because he's usurping a man but it's not okay for bidam because he's usurping a woman #i love a good usurper but not when they come for female sovereigns!

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