❤ (ɔˆз(ˆ⌣ˆc)

Villains who deserve redemption (✧ω✧) (Parte 2: Honte)

I know he’s not a villain per se, but that was my first impression (´-ω-`)

I thought he was someone cunning, willing to do whatever it took to survive—even surrendering to his captors. Discovering that the ‘Honte’ we were presented with was nothing more than a puppet surprised me greatly ( : ౦ ‸ ౦ : )

It’s because of that initial impression that Honte is in this category instead of the other.

But here we go—the reason I believe he deserves ‘redemption’ lies in his backstory. He shares the same background story as Sir Rex, and we were given hints that there might be a way to make dark magic good.

Furthermore, being used as a marionette by someone you trusted (assuming Bernard was his alchemy professor) must have been heart-wrenching ｡ﾟ(｡ﾉωヽ｡)ﾟ｡

If somehow he could have stayed alive during his time as a puppet, he might have resisted self-destruction in some way and survived.

If he survived, Cale’s group would likely take care of him and help him improve. He could even become a key player in Bernard’s demise. And why do I say this?

Well, to provide context, the main reason I’m writing this is because of a speech that popped into my mind out of nowhere when I couldn’t sleep. Here it goes:

Kindness? Kindness?! You’ve never been kind to me for a single day of your life! Every so-called ‘moment of unity’ we’ve had has been nothing more than you finding a quicker way to turn me into a puppet! You’ve never cared about me! You brought me and hundreds of other children here for your twisted experiments, promising a better life! You and your followers tortured us and reveled in our despair! You turned me into a marionette! For years, you used my body to harm others! I was your weapon! And when I was no longer useful to you, you discarded me! The only reason I’m alive is because the so-called ‘enemy’ took pity on me! They helped me! They gave me everything you promised but never delivered! They cared for me and treated me as one of their own! To me, they are not the enemies! You are the enemy, and I will gladly be the weapon that ends you! Be happy, dear professor. This student knows more about how this world works than you do, and I’ll happily demonstrate it in my graduation project. Your death.

It’s foolish and very emotional, but it seems perfect for the confrontation between Bernard and Honte. o(>ω<)o

We must take into account that since the Queen of Death told us that there was a way for dark magic to be good, the information on how she thought it was possible was probably in her book on dark magic.

Cale would definitely give this book to Honte, and considering that he was already seen as a prodigy even before the possession, it’s likely that he could make the Queen of Death’s theories a reality ＼(٥⁀▽⁀ )／

Perhaps even thinking of her as a mentor, similar to Mary.

And what would that method be? I believe it involves using the user’s own blood. Whether it’s using your own blood to draw magical circles or making blood sacrifices during spells, utilizing your own vitality instead of sacrificing others could be the way for dark magic (now called dark magic, distinguishing it from traditional dark magic) to be natural.

Essentially, dark mages would be crystal cannons—extremely powerful, but if they’re careless or overwork themselves, they could die. This could be mitigated with blood replenishment potions, although it wouldn’t change the essence of their powers (¯▿¯)

I wish the author had addressed this plot hole, and that’s why I believe Honte deserves redemption.

I don't know if I like it or not, but at least now I can stop dying of frustration every time I read "Alver" (￣▽￣)

TCF headcanon !

I've had this HC for maybe over 2 years now n I've never heard of anyone talking about it here so:

I've always called Alberu Alberu in my head but when I read the manhua, it changed his name to alver so I made this up in my mind to make sense of that.

Alver: name he uses in public, this is what he goes by when he's doing prince stuff. It's formal and it's probably what his father/brothers refer to him as

Alberu: name he uses almost exclusively when he's in his bark elf from. It's the name his mother gave him at birth. I'd imagine this being the name the people closest to him call him! (Like cale, Tasha, choi Han ect.)

Got this because so many people around me have a name in their traditional language and another English name, so it just got stuck in my mind lol

Happy Pride Month! ＼(≧▽≦)／

Hc icons happy pride monthhhh

Gods it's so fun!ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ If someone makes a fic about this I hope they manage to balance crack, humor, angst and fluff because let's be honest, emotional conversations about what lies ahead and then going straight to the drama sounds like quite an emotional journey („• ֊ •„ )

Tcf crack au

Can somebody write an AU, where Cale and family meet their past selves, after KRS's transmigration and everyone is talking this and that and suddenly they hear crying and they look at the source and both the Cales are just wailing because they still did not get their f#cking slacker life.

And everyone from the future is like, aigoo.

I feel like if this game existed all the players would go crazy trying to figure out why Cale changed so much after the update… and there may or may not be a secret route where OgCale's time travel and his switch of bodies with KimCale are discovered. but no one would ever find out because they don't know how to activate it. ┐(￣∀￣)┌

Okay, so you know the like Otome game au for TCF? I wanted to draw something based around that.

So what I imagine here, is that Birth of a Hero is a popular Otome game that suddenly gets a sudden update after a year or two of nothing from the game. The update completely changes one character, Cale. He went from a romanceable minor villain to an un-romanceable mysterious character who actively avoids the player.

If players chose a route in which bad things would happen, Cale would step in and solve the issue and cause one of the hearts Cale has to go black which stands for dislike or hate. Even if Cale should have no way of knowing the player made something happen it would still happen.

The only way to even raise his affection stat would be to mainly leave him alone but if you chose to follow him around than the scene I drew would be prompted to start.

A master of deception? (¯ ¯٥)

Only for himself (￣。￣ﾉ)

What Cale thinks of himself vs. Everyone

Cale: I'm a shrimp compared to them

Everyone: You are my king/Leige/lord, your not anything like that

Cale: I'll only do a little bit of work then rest

Everyone: Please leave some work to us, stop doing everything by yourself

Cale: Self sacrificing, what are you talking about.

Everyone: Are you kidding me!

Cale: Don't be like me

Raon: But I want to be just like you

Minus the self sacrificing part

Cale: I don't deserve this

Everyone: WHAATT, young master-nim who told you that

Cale and Choi Han's friendship truly moves you to the core, their camaraderie and unconditional loyalty are enviable ♡(｡- ω -)

I was thinking a bit about character development.

Like, Cale, Choi Han, and Alberu have a beautiful friendship - and it grew over the course of the entire story.

I'm probably going to talk about later parts of the story, so Imma put the rest behind a divider so you can avoid spoilers

In the beginning, Choi Han was loyal to Cale but .. it was kind of shallow.

Choi Han didn't understand why they had to wear those shitty Arm robes, was shocked when Cale created his alibi by drinking, and so on and so forth.

He followed Cale, but he didn't really know Cale that well yet and that was clear.

Oh, and it was much more of a hierarchical relationship. Cale as his legs, Choi Han as Cale's knight.

This slowly began to change, though I think there were a couple of key turning points.

Cale almost dying after the Battle of the Gorge was one of them.

I think that's when Choi Han truly realized he couldn't trust Cale when it came to his health. Not that he hadn't seen signs before, but Cale always brushed things off and I think this was when Choi Han realized that no, it's really not okay, no matter what Cale says.

After that, we see Choi Han start asking more questions...

And Cale (with a clear flashback to his time as a team leader, where his people desperately wanted to help more) actually answered them.

The relationship started to shift, and become less liege and knight, and more colleagues. (This, btw, came from both of them. Choi Han asking more, and Cale telling more. Somewhat. A little bit.)

They definitely grow closer in other ways - Choi Han telling them about his long life after they found the Dragon Village, for example. (Though Cale already knew it, so you also see just how much Cale is still keeping his secrets).

And then...

We get Choi Han receiving Choi Jung Soo's memories.

That causes the biggest shift yet.

Now they aren't just liege and knight.

Now we have Cale thinking of Choi Han as his best friend's elder (even if Choi Han doesn't feel a need for that).

Also, Choi Han now knows. Not just that Cale is a transmigrator, not just about his life as Kim Rok Soo, not just about the cataclysm (and what happened to the Choi family).

He also knows about the tragedy that has pretty much defined Cale. He may not know about the aftermath, or Cale's time as team leader, but he knows that Cale was devastated after losing everyone.

We also see Choi Han (who got Syrem's ancient powers and now knows what it's like to use them) insist that Cale shouldn't absorb the Blood-drenched Rock power, a potential standoff that ended when Cale found another way and used Embrace instead.

They are no longer liege and obedient knight.

And then came the sealed god's test, where Choi Han gave up quite a lot of his potential lifespan, just to join Cale in one of the worst times of Cale's life.

And he was happy for it.

We see Cale truly overcome with emotion. The trust and friendship between the two of them is just beautiful.

And I truly meant to talk about Alberu as well (him joining them also adding to this) but I only realized when writing this just how much I had to say about Cale and Choi Han, so maybe I'll do that another time.

Anyways.

That still wasn't everything. Because we also had the indignity test...

And while I think the author didn't fully finish everything Choi Han saw because it'll probably come up in part 2 (it hasn't yet, but I think I see the author building up to something. Because so far they've all been too busy to really address a few things, plus apparently there's dragons dealing with time? Anyways, I suspect we'll get more on Cale's childhood, and what Choi Han knows, and some other things, but we'll see. It took almost 300 chapters in part 1 before we got all the amazing scenes with Cale and Choi Han and the sealed god's test and instant so I'm willing to let the author build things up again.)

Oh, sorry. What was I saying? Right.

Even though we don't have the full story, we know that Choi Han knows.

And in one of the side stories, he says this:

He didn’t know at first, but that person’s days of rest that Choi Han saw was more of a period of recovery than days of rest. Of course, the person himself thought that he was playing around, but it did not seem like that to Choi Han at all. That was why his people, who at some point realized the meaning of this rest day, tried their best not to bother his recovery.

And again, in the same side story but referring to a moment later in part 1

Cale was mumbling. “Haaaa. It’d be great to be a slacker.” Choi Han knew the meaning of those words. ‘I want to rest. I need to heal.’ That should be the meaning. However, he now knew what Cale would say after that.

And skipping the specific details, what Choi Han probably meant when he said he knew what Cale would say after that

Cale looked toward the east and calmly commented. “There are too many things to do, so I can’t rest.”

Choi Han understands Cale 1000x more than he did when they started.

And Cale understands Choi Han better, too.

Which is probably a topic for a whole other post, considering Cale initially almost seemed to put Choi Han on a pedestal as the hero and protagonist of the story.

I love this idea! (*♡∀♡)

Even better that the costumes are terrible and the acting is super exaggerated (⌒▽⌒)☆

I can already imagine Cale's slacker life evaporating with this play! (*≧ω≦*)

TCF the Musical

Fic concept: Cale and his family watch a theater musical based on their adventures (much to Cale's horror and displeasure), "Ember Island Players" style

Raon hears about a theater play featuring Cale's group adventures. Cale really, REALLY doesn't wanna go and see it, but has little choice in the matter, once faced with the pleading faces of his children. Cale disguises himself of course, because he sure as hell doesn't wanna get recognized in the theater.

The play starts: Cale is introduced as a good-natured man, misunderstood and slandered by jealous folk (since people apparently decided that if Adin was the actual scum all along and his rep was a sham, why wouldn't the reverse be possible??) Apparently the musical decided that his past as a trash alcoholic never actually happened.

Choi Han is introduced, and the writers correctly investigated that he's from Harris Village and killed all the attackers, but was the only survivor. Cale is characterized as too righteous to let the matters be, and put this as his starting point to investigate Arm

Cale was portrayed to be humble and due to his bad rep, he wants to leave the Count's position to his brother Basen. (Real Cale is astonished, he doesn't want the position to be a SLACKER, not because of some self-sacrificial mindset!!!) But he requests to go to the capital to investigate more about Arm.

Choi Han comes along to investigate. On the way, they meet Mary. Cale isn't disgusted by her scars, and Mary promises to help the man in the future, should he ever need it.

In the capital, they're shown to meet badly disguised Rosalyn. The writers don't know about the assassination attempt, so they assume she went to investigate Arm, too. Apparently Rosalyn was credited in the musical for finding out about the mana bombs and dismantling them.

Cale and the Prince meet, and they have a whole number how instantly they recognized each other as kindred spirits. (Real Cale is dying on the inside watching this.)

Rosalyn stops the bombs in the background, and Cale stops the suicide bombers. The writers interpret Cale as having this power for a long time, but using it for the first time only in emergency, since he is a humble person who doesn't wish for glory.

Cale denies any rewards (completely untrue, Real Cale says to the kids, he took the Prince's money), and people of the Roan Kingdom start realizing just what a good person he is.

Cale goes to recover to the seashore, where he sees Toonka fighting some locals. (Those were the Whales, says Real Cale, not some mage thugs.) Cale breaks up the fight, and Toonka explains to Cale the situation in the Whipper Kingdom. Cale's idea of buying the magic tower doesn't come up here at all, and the scene makes a point that Cale and Toonka become friends.

The plot introduces us to the White Star, who is a completely crazy, power-hungry, cartoonish lunatic. Real Cale actually likes this representation a lot. He is plotting together with the Evil Imperial Prince, who is also cartoonishly evil. (Real Cale starts enjoying himself for the first time in the whole musical.)

To contrast the villains, the Just and Chivalrous Crown Prince Alberu has a number to drive the point how much he worries for his country, and the incoming wars. He thinks that perhaps with the help of Young Master Cale, they might be able to survive the incoming storms. (Real Cale is inwardly laughing hysterically, imagining Alberu's dumbfounded reaction to this scene, especially the part about Alberu's "unwavering trust in Cale's selfless heart".)

Meanwhile, Cale finished his recovery and goes to the Whipper Kingdom. His decision to buy the Magic Tower is shown to be a spur-of-a-moment thing, as the Whipper Kingdom needs money to continue fighting against the Empire, who the Crown Prince suspects is working with Arm. (Real Cale is disgusted how his very clever scam was turned into a selfless deed in this musical.) Toonka is indebted to Cale and loudly proclaims him his friend (since he does that in real life and the writers had sources)

Then Cale is shown to meet the Cat Children. Real Hong and On are irritated they came in so late. Raon is grumpy he isn't there at all. Real Cale comforts him that he had been hidden this whole time, of course they wouldn't know about him. The children say that the Queen of the Jungle is trapped in the Path of No Return, and Cale heroically helps rescue her. Cale uses his Water Ancient Power, which according to the writers, he found in the Ubarr shores during recovery. (Real Cale is surprised at the accidental accuracy.)

Cale saves the Jungle, and Litana has a number praising him. (Real Cale intentionally falls asleep to stop watching his character being portrayed as embarrassingly pure-hearted hero)

By the time he wakes up, the plot passed his "Heroic Actions" in the Empire and the war arc begins. Choi Han has a whole heroic solo number as he defeats Clopeh, who immediately is dazzled by the grace of his enemies, and joins them. (Real Cale is once again missed how completely off the mark the whole thing is, completely skipping Clopeh's torture and everything.)

We skip past various battles, and finally we arrive at the moment when the White Star shows up. He and Cale have a duet about destiny and all that jazz (mirroring the rumors started by the White Star's nonsense theory about Cale being "the messenger of the gods"). At this point, Real Cale has enough, and completely stops paying attention, to save his sanity.

Turns out, the kids didn't like it. It was much too inaccurate, and Raon wasn't in it. Cale comforts them that of course it was bad, because Raon wasn't in it. Raon decides he should start writing that biography with Mary, Clopeh and Dodori, much to Cale's horror.

Kumiho!Cale AU

You can't tell me that Cale doesn't fit the stereotypes associated with foxes, cunning and beautiful, a trickster and a con man, someone wise and strategic who can turn anything around. ( ‾́ ◡ ‾́ )

Cale has all of those characteristics and although I have seen some fics where he is a member of the fox tribe I have never found one where he is a nine-tailed fox in this case, a kumiho.

Here comes my ideas:

Kim Rok Soo's parents were kumihos who decided to live hidden from society and therefore hid their true race from Rok Soo with plans to tell him later.

But the car accident they had when Rok Soo was eight ended up killing them before they could tell him about his inheritance.

Rok Soo grew up knowing nothing about his blood and heritage until the cataclysm where in a fit of hysterical adrenaline he manages to break the disguise of him later portraying him as an ability.

His life in the shelter differs greatly from canon because of this since he has an ability, but the curse of the white star ruins everything again.

His life continues as in canon until the moment of transmigration where he wakes up with Ron seeing him in a confused way and even without knowing him he interprets it as a cold look acting in the same way as in canon.

By some miracle he manages not to see himself in a mirror until he enters the bathroom where he screams in surprise.

Then Ron appears behind him saying "From your reaction I assume you don't know what this is, do you young master?"

Now he has to deal with his "initial ability" transmigrating with him, hiding his fox traits, and creating a convincing lie.

(Later during the Sloth Test: "You mean to tell me this was never a skill?!")

I'm the only one who saw the official KRS art and said "someone give this man some African braids" (O⌣O)???