Fan Rec Friday 8: Live Free or Rec Hard
Nov. 6th, 2015 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lostlenoreKDRAMA
I made the mistake of falling into an SKKS hole, so this week is all about Korean Dramas. I've got a few drama recs, some drama fic recs, and a forum where you can come scream about dramas of all types should the spirit move you.
The Dramas:
1) Queen Inhyun's Man
Honestly, this is pretty much the perfect drama. I've suffered through a lot of shitty dramas, with the cold, haughty 'Mr Darcy'-esque heroes that seem ubiquitous in dramaland, which I thought was the reason I reacted so strongly to this drama, but reactions across the fannish landscape suggest that no, it's just that good. Our hero is a Joseon warrior-scholar in the service of Queen Inhyun, who is given a magical protective talisman. When his life is threatened the talisman is supposed to transport him somewhere safe. Instead, the talisman transports him to the future and plops him down on a television set where the crew is filming a show about Queen Inhyun. This show has everything: historical intrigue, adorable romance, time-travel shenanigans, and, most importantly, a smart protagonist. The entire show is so wonderfully smart with the way it weaves historical narrative and the time travel plotlines together, I can't say enough good things about it. Please do yourself a favor and watch this show.
2) Reply 1997
This fucking show. Reply 1997 is an unusual Kdrama for a number of reasons, not least because of it's half-hour episodic format, and the decision to situate the show mostly in Busan instead of Seoul. It is, however, a masterclass in recreating a specific time and place, in a was that feels both authentic to history and universal in the stories it chooses to tell. Oh, and it's also about fangirls. (I mean, it's about a lot of things, but definitely fangirls.) Our lead Shiwon is a die-hard HOT fangirl, shameless in her fanishness love for her favorite boyband to hilarious results. She's allowed some introspection, however, because the narrative framework takes a How I Met Your Mother approach by opening the show at her high school reunion, where we learn that Shiwon is married, but we don't know to whom. The show drops little clues throughout it's run, and it's a fun, clever way to keep us involved and guessing.
3) I Hear Your Voice
Everyone's favorite twink Lee Jongseok stars as a punk kid with the ability to hear the thoughts of the people around him. He puts these skills to use helping the love of his life and full-time attorney solve crimes and send bad guys to jail. Because of course that's what you do when you have mind-reading powers. The show is a fun mixture of crime procedural and supernatural ability, and the Big Bad in this show is absolutely terrifying. Also Lee Jongseok seduces an older woman and really, who among us is strong enough to resist that?
4) Healer
Healer is a spy show, I am predictable, etc etc. It will also, like a good Kdrama should, leave you a withered husk of emotion dehydrated from tears. Joon Won is just too much of a delight as a ruthlessly competent spy-for-hire, codename 'Healer,' who falls in love with a mark. Hydrate. Gird your loins. And when you're done watching this show check out the forum linked below and come scream your feelings into the void with the rest of us.
5) Sungkyunkwan Scandal
This is my comfort-food show, the show I have all 20 episodes of downloaded on my laptop, and one of the first Kdramas that had me scrambling to marathon every episode in a single day because I HAD TO KNOW what happened next. It's a fairly standard cross-dressing drama, with our poor-yet-plucky heroine disguising herself as a man in order to be accepted into storied all-boys college Sungkyunkwan. Except this is a historical drama, which means the costumes are gorgeous, the sets are ornate, and the stakes, should she be discovered, are death. Which all makes for delicious drama without her really gay sidekicks Robin Hood-wannabe Moon Jaeshin and scheming Gu Youngha. They almost steal the show, because Youngha has no concept of personal space, and Jaeshin is a beautiful crier who is allergic to shirts. They cleaned up the Best Couple category in the 2010 awards season for a reason. Anyways, this show is a delight. Go watch it.
The Fics:
1) Secreted by rageprufrock (Secret Garden) 3k, Gen
Post-cannon bittersweet gen goodness where Oska is working on a new album and gets by with a little help from his friends. I'm one of maybe three people who really hated Secret Garden (honestly just watch the Big Bang spoof, it's much better) but I really loved the Oska- Tae Sun thread, and I think the author did a beautiful job of giving their relationship the weight and consideration it deserved from cannon. The tone is wintry and perfect, and the ending is hopeful, it's and all-around great fic.
2) 78 Card Pickup by Bazooka (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) 38k, Moon Jaeshin/Gu Youngha
God bless this author. I would have done a truly horrible amount of illegal things for well-written longfic with this pairing during the show's run, and this fic plus the author's other series (which you should also go read) are filling a long-forgotten void in me heart. I chose this fic because I think it ends the happiest and I'm not a complete monster. It's set post-cannon but before the show's epilogue, and details Youngha's short but extremely successful career as a tarot card reader (he's two for two). It's got a great, slow-burning friends-to-lovers theme, a filthy pwp coda, and just pushes all the right buttons in my Id to make it a tropey delight.
3) we have not touched the stars by Lirazel (Reply 1997 + Flower Boy Band) 4k, Kang Joonhee/Lee Huynsoo
This is an interesting crossover fic that I never would have considered, but one that works surprisingly well. I absolutely adored the Shut Up Flower Boy Band drama (I own most of the soundtrack still) and the author really makes it a point to connect Joonhee and Hyunsoo's desires to attain these impossible goals that they've set for themselves. It's an interesting concept to focus on, because both characters are considered 'second best' at different skills in their respective dramas, and it makes sense to link through their thwarted dreams. I never would have thought to cross these cannons over, but I'm so glad that someone did, because this story is amazing.
The Pit:
Should you so desire, the Longform Fandom forum (god that's a mouthful) has sprouted a Kdrama thread where you can discuss your favorite shows, give and receive recs, and generally collude with other Kdrama fandom nerds. Come give us a visit, I promise we don't bite!
I made the mistake of falling into an SKKS hole, so this week is all about Korean Dramas. I've got a few drama recs, some drama fic recs, and a forum where you can come scream about dramas of all types should the spirit move you.
The Dramas:
1) Queen Inhyun's Man
Honestly, this is pretty much the perfect drama. I've suffered through a lot of shitty dramas, with the cold, haughty 'Mr Darcy'-esque heroes that seem ubiquitous in dramaland, which I thought was the reason I reacted so strongly to this drama, but reactions across the fannish landscape suggest that no, it's just that good. Our hero is a Joseon warrior-scholar in the service of Queen Inhyun, who is given a magical protective talisman. When his life is threatened the talisman is supposed to transport him somewhere safe. Instead, the talisman transports him to the future and plops him down on a television set where the crew is filming a show about Queen Inhyun. This show has everything: historical intrigue, adorable romance, time-travel shenanigans, and, most importantly, a smart protagonist. The entire show is so wonderfully smart with the way it weaves historical narrative and the time travel plotlines together, I can't say enough good things about it. Please do yourself a favor and watch this show.
2) Reply 1997
This fucking show. Reply 1997 is an unusual Kdrama for a number of reasons, not least because of it's half-hour episodic format, and the decision to situate the show mostly in Busan instead of Seoul. It is, however, a masterclass in recreating a specific time and place, in a was that feels both authentic to history and universal in the stories it chooses to tell. Oh, and it's also about fangirls. (I mean, it's about a lot of things, but definitely fangirls.) Our lead Shiwon is a die-hard HOT fangirl, shameless in her fanishness love for her favorite boyband to hilarious results. She's allowed some introspection, however, because the narrative framework takes a How I Met Your Mother approach by opening the show at her high school reunion, where we learn that Shiwon is married, but we don't know to whom. The show drops little clues throughout it's run, and it's a fun, clever way to keep us involved and guessing.
3) I Hear Your Voice
Everyone's favorite twink Lee Jongseok stars as a punk kid with the ability to hear the thoughts of the people around him. He puts these skills to use helping the love of his life and full-time attorney solve crimes and send bad guys to jail. Because of course that's what you do when you have mind-reading powers. The show is a fun mixture of crime procedural and supernatural ability, and the Big Bad in this show is absolutely terrifying. Also Lee Jongseok seduces an older woman and really, who among us is strong enough to resist that?
4) Healer
Healer is a spy show, I am predictable, etc etc. It will also, like a good Kdrama should, leave you a withered husk of emotion dehydrated from tears. Joon Won is just too much of a delight as a ruthlessly competent spy-for-hire, codename 'Healer,' who falls in love with a mark. Hydrate. Gird your loins. And when you're done watching this show check out the forum linked below and come scream your feelings into the void with the rest of us.
5) Sungkyunkwan Scandal
This is my comfort-food show, the show I have all 20 episodes of downloaded on my laptop, and one of the first Kdramas that had me scrambling to marathon every episode in a single day because I HAD TO KNOW what happened next. It's a fairly standard cross-dressing drama, with our poor-yet-plucky heroine disguising herself as a man in order to be accepted into storied all-boys college Sungkyunkwan. Except this is a historical drama, which means the costumes are gorgeous, the sets are ornate, and the stakes, should she be discovered, are death. Which all makes for delicious drama without her
The Fics:
1) Secreted by rageprufrock (Secret Garden) 3k, Gen
Post-cannon bittersweet gen goodness where Oska is working on a new album and gets by with a little help from his friends. I'm one of maybe three people who really hated Secret Garden (honestly just watch the Big Bang spoof, it's much better) but I really loved the Oska- Tae Sun thread, and I think the author did a beautiful job of giving their relationship the weight and consideration it deserved from cannon. The tone is wintry and perfect, and the ending is hopeful, it's and all-around great fic.
2) 78 Card Pickup by Bazooka (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) 38k, Moon Jaeshin/Gu Youngha
God bless this author. I would have done a truly horrible amount of illegal things for well-written longfic with this pairing during the show's run, and this fic plus the author's other series (which you should also go read) are filling a long-forgotten void in me heart. I chose this fic because I think it ends the happiest and I'm not a complete monster. It's set post-cannon but before the show's epilogue, and details Youngha's short but extremely successful career as a tarot card reader (he's two for two). It's got a great, slow-burning friends-to-lovers theme, a filthy pwp coda, and just pushes all the right buttons in my Id to make it a tropey delight.
3) we have not touched the stars by Lirazel (Reply 1997 + Flower Boy Band) 4k, Kang Joonhee/Lee Huynsoo
This is an interesting crossover fic that I never would have considered, but one that works surprisingly well. I absolutely adored the Shut Up Flower Boy Band drama (I own most of the soundtrack still) and the author really makes it a point to connect Joonhee and Hyunsoo's desires to attain these impossible goals that they've set for themselves. It's an interesting concept to focus on, because both characters are considered 'second best' at different skills in their respective dramas, and it makes sense to link through their thwarted dreams. I never would have thought to cross these cannons over, but I'm so glad that someone did, because this story is amazing.
The Pit:
Should you so desire, the Longform Fandom forum (god that's a mouthful) has sprouted a Kdrama thread where you can discuss your favorite shows, give and receive recs, and generally collude with other Kdrama fandom nerds. Come give us a visit, I promise we don't bite!
