#Very Serious CDrama

[malsperanza]

My CDrama Diary

Reblogged with permission from u/phroggies70 on Reddit r/CDrama

1.1.23 Checked MDL this morning. Very Big Name Drama started this morning and has dropped 6 episodes already! AAAAAH! I’ve been waiting on this for over a year! So excited. Off to renew my Tencent subscription…

1.2.23 I’m so invested in Very Big Name Drama!! The leads are perfect for each other! The chemistry is amazing! The mystery surrounding the FL’s parentage and possible connections to the ML’s childhood has me on the edge of my seat! I can hardly think about anything else.

1.3.23 Got an episode or two behind on Very Big Name Drama. Got distracted by Short Republican Era Drama With Dubious Moral Standards. Stayed up half the night binging even though I don’t really respect it, nor myself for watching it. I can barely think about anything else.

1.4.23 Tried to get back into Very Big Name Drama. Honestly, it’s starting to drag. The push and pull between the leads is getting pretty tiresome and I’m watching all the stuff about the second couple on 3x speed.

1.5.23. Oooh, New Xianxia just dropped. I have a bad track record with finishing these, but this time I’m really intrigued—it’s got this actor I really like, the artwork is cool, and every other post on the Reddit sub is about it. I’ll just take a look. Off to renew my Iqiyi membership. . . .

1.6.23 Stayed up half the night binging New Xianxia. I’m so invested in this couple! The tension is killing me! Can’t think about anything else. But no new episodes for two days, so I might as well finish Short Republican Drama with Dubious Moral Standards. I don’t know why I’m watching this.

1.7.23 Finished Short Republican Drama with Dubious Moral Standards. Potentially happy ending somehow miraculously averted at the last minute by an incomprehensible bloodbath, followed by a 1 minute epilogue that shows the leads having some ambiguous encounter 5 years later. I think this is what the Chinese call “philosophical.”

1.8.23 Saw a spoiler today on Reddit about New Xianxia. It has completely taken away any desire whatsoever for me to watch it. Tried to get back into Very Big Name Drama and I just can’t.

1.9.23 Oooh, Very Serious Drama with Real Actors and Meaningful Themes has just dropped! Off to renew my Youku membership. . .

1.10.23 Am inexplicably bored with Very Serious Drama with Real Actors and Meaningful Themes.

1.11.23 Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com is just so darn cute! I love the chemistry between the leads and the way they keep playing around with familiar tropes! Unfortunately, it’s on Mango so I have no idea what’s going on.

1.12.23 Have given up on Mango subs and am trying to watch Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com in the raws. For something so predictable, I’m having to look up a ton of words. But next time there’s a drama about the car design industry, I’m going to be so ready. . .

1.13.23 Stayed up half the night watching 2 episodes of Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com. At some point I realized I had been watching for about 15 minutes with absolutely no comprehension whatsoever. I may have actually been dreaming part of it.

1.14.23 Oh, thank goodness. Viki is finally subbing Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com! Off to renew my Viki subscription. . .

1.15.23 Could Viki take any longer with these dang subs? In the meantime I think I’ll restart Really Promising Drama that I Put on the Back Burner Last Year.

1.16.23 Why did I ever drop Really Promising Drama that I Put on the Back Burner Last Year? It’s so good! I can’t think about anything else.

1.17.23 Really Promising Drama is good, but it’s sooo slow. Cdramas have made so much progress in the past year. But I should really finish it because I’m only about two episodes from the end. Meanwhile, I’m absolutely loving Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com. I mean, the one episode per day Viki is releasing.

1.18.23 Twenty minutes away from the end of Really Promising Drama and I just can’t go on. Loving Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com but the wait is killing me. Maybe I’ll go back and take another look at New Xianxia.

1.19.23 Finished Cute 16 Episode Rom-Com. So good! Can’t seem to get back into New Xianxia. Have checked the new drama listings on MDL about 5 times today and the only Cdramas they have are those Douyin cosplayer 2 minute ones.

1.20.23 There’s absolutely nothing to watch. Maybe I need a new hobby. I was spending too much time online anyway.

1.21.23 Another day with nothing new to watch. Actually had a real phone conversation with my sister! Forgot how funny she is. Finally got the vacuuming done and read a book. Is this what it’s like to have your life back?

1.22.23 Checked the MDL page this morning and AAAAAAHHH! Another Very Big Drama has dropped. I’ve been waiting on this for months! Off to renew my Tencent subscription. . .

https://www.reddit.com/r/CDrama/comments/1465b1s/my_cdrama_diary_with_apologies_for_length/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

#Cdrama obsession #Very Serious CDrama #Morally Dubious CDrama #Aren't they all?

[tytangfei]

When I was tortured by my elder brother for three years, I lived like a dead man, hopelessly. You saved me. You told me jokes, combed my hair, and fed me. My wounds looked horrible and ugly. I didn't even have the courage to face them. But you took good care of me without any disgust. When I saw your face turn red, at that moment, I felt like I came back to life. In your eyes, I'm still a man who can make you…That day you looked at me and ran away shyly. How could I possibly see you as a man? From that day on, I decided I would never leave you.

#lost you forever #eternally yearning for you #cdramaedit #cdramagifs #deng wei #yang zi #ye shiqi #wen xiaoliu #cdrama: lost you forever #he is so pretty in tears #;u; #but also this was a serious moment that really shook my heart #i love him very much #jina makes gifs #jinaLostYouForevergifs

[waterlilyvioletfog]

Current list of Xiaoyao’s suitors (Ep. 27 mark):

Tushan Jing/Ye Shiqi: deeply insane about Xiaoyao, likes giving her stuff and listens to everything she says, extremely rich smart handsome and talented, genuinely sweet and kind, is actively courting her. Engaged to someone else and has so many personal issues that it’s just a mess honestly. (These personal issues could be overlooked for her if he’d just de-engage himself, but unfortunately he is locked in a gothic romance of a family so that’s not going very well.)

Xiang Liu/Fangfeng Bei: absurdly in love with Xiaoyao, takes her on fun dates, handsome intelligent and charming and has hella chemistry with her, encourages her hobbies (archery, food, poison), likes munching on snacks she makes him (poison). Extremely dangerous and temperamental, has physically and emotionally hurt Xiaoyao on multiple occasions, easily hurt by things Xiaoyao says or does unintentionally thus causing him to lash out, has yet to explain to her that he’s in love with her, and is Cang Xuan’s enemy one way or another. (Initial power dynamics aside, I can see how they’re pretty evenly matched now. Princess marries a crazy powerful demon general. They enjoy date nights and regular poisonings.)

Cang Xuan: would do many many many many MANY things for Xiaoyao and likes to brew wine. Is not remotely courting her because they are very firmly entrenched in a brother-sister relationship, is perfectly capable of tyrannical jealousy given leeway to act on it, also he’s very busy rn trying to become king. (The premise of this show is that CX is a suitor of XY’s but. I really don’t think he’s a love interest for her. He’s just a person she might spend her life with.)

Chishui Fenglong: allied with Cang Xuan, has yet to display any signs of mental illness, has never hurt Xiaoyao, has a normal relationship with his family, has a working brain, and thinks Xiaoyao is pretty and cool. Probably would be completely in over his head in a relationship with Xiaoyao, “is too much like Cang Xuan” according to the lady herself, not nearly as magnetic as the others. (He’s so so normal. Unfortunately, Xiaoyao has different taste.)

#lost you forever #cdrama #cxs #lyf 1x27 #chishui fenglong #cang xuan #xiang liu #fangfeng bei #ye shiqi #tushan jing #everyone atp has serious advantages and drawbacks! it’s very fun. #xiaoyao #okay I’ve caught up from the last 2 weeks I might not post for a second bc I’ve got college shit ok byeeeee

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm All Over the Place, and so are the shows

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Nov 2023 Wk 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - The Jasmine flirting thing was so darn cute, I can’t. I love these two so much. 

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 2 of 10 - Oh it’s great. Flirting. Fighting. Fate. Murder. Eventually we’ll add fucking. A trifffecta. I could do with a bit less training but whatever. And we have learned our boys are laboring under a geis. NO SINGING. Otherwise this ep was actually pretty flipping great. 

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 - Ooo kidnapping and the sides are suffering betrayal. Also Tew kills again. I like that they don’t shy away from the fact that he’s a killer and Guy was genuinely scared.  And then Tew had to break up with Guy to protect him in Noble Sacrifice (tm). How Cdrama of him. Rough ep all round. 

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - It’s not exactly good, but it’s better than I was expecting, and I tend to cut pulps a lot of slack out the gate. The plot is more interesting, Him is a sweetie (I like that in a seme) and our uke has both game and pluck. He’s a femme bitch, I LOVE that in a boy + we never get it femme in the lead. The acting is not great, sound all over the place, but there are no terrible sound effects, the soundtrack is okay, and our high heat came with a side of BJ + condoms, and no one has sung (yet), so I think I like it. It’s giving me Big Dragon vibes.

Linguistic moment: 

Him used Him/ter for pronouns & ha. Very flirty. Nail used rao back a little bit of a challenge. (No pom and didn’t use his own name either.) Gauntlet thrown. Our baby ends up with rao/kao but I don’t think that’ll stick. Him is getting Phi out of him if it's the last thing he does.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 2 of 6 - The characters’ shared backstory is no surprise but I do like this show. Those little private smiles as they find family. Those lingering gazes as they find romance. Lovely. Also Shin wants to marry into Peach's family so bad, I’m reminded of Laurie in Little Women. All that said, it’s never the top of my list to watch for some reason. 

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - How could I have forgotten how stunning Off is? Meanwhile… I love Gun’s character, he's so cute. But this show is a bit too comedic for me. I wish GMMTV were taking this script seriously. Sorry Neo et al I’m not sold on the sides. In general? I don’t love it. I don’t hate it either. In other news, I think I'll go make toast.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 14 - I love the sides and unholy amount and in general it was fine this week probably because I decided to do a trash watch.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 5 of 10 - I’m getting fatigued. Also holy random sex Batman. Where did these extra sides come from? I’m confused. Tonal pingpong going on, and not just in the shower.  

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 4 of 8 - Finally a direct confession Jade can’t avoid. Will things get a bit more serious?

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - I don’t know why I watch this show, the acting is great, but it just makes me cry.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 3 of 14 eps - What a bonkers thing this is. Very kinky and also just odd. I do keep thinking about the pinks with it. Similarly, there doesn’t seem much glue holding this thing together, dried cum of course but not glue. And despite what some kinksters say, the one cannot replace the other.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Fake Love ep 15 of 24 - This is a weird installment. Too stalker and random blackmail for me. But not as bad as abuse and death, I guess? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - Not much of a love triangle in the end (you just found out he is actually gay and broken hearted = an opportunity not a tragedy). Meanwhile I like that the high school break up was just mr insomniac's fault. He got jealous and angry and petty. No miscommunication just an asshole kid. I did find this show a little slow, even though it was your standard length KBL. Odd that. They are very cute boyfriends tho. 

All in all:

Tsundere insomniac grump reunited with his sunshine jock ex (human sleeping pill) who now hates him. Basketball is also involved. While the simplicity of a reunion plot makes this more cohesive than most KBLs, it is a tad stiff and slow, never managing to lift itself out of "pretty and pretty enjoyable" - I liked it but I don’t think I’m going to remember much about it. 8/10

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - It has the feel of a one act, with such a limited cast and location, which reminds me of KBL. Still watching these two quietly fall in love and process affection through their own art forms is sweet. This is a very soft gentle show. 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) - Toki, a delinquent but pure-hearted kid falls in love with his handsome phys-ed teacher, Sahara. This is very much my trope but very manga campy, which I don’t love. I’m quite torn. Toki is an idiot but a lovable one. But do I like it?

It's Airing But...

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even dimples can motivate me to watch. You can tell me how this goes if you can find it.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off. If told it's good, I'll binge.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes, so I'm waiting to binge if told it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

In case you missed it

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) finished. Adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who (nearly) dies and ends up cohabitating with an angel. I was warned that the ending would not work for me so I decided not to bother.

My Biker BL short movie from Wayu supposedly premiered Nov 27 on their YouTube Channel for Members to watch. I couldn't find anything further. The MDL description makes me think it's not for me so I bother.

Next Week Looks Like This

Short list of the December offerings.

12/9 Cherry Magic (Thai remake) YouTube 10 eps

12/9 Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) ??

12/14 Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) ??

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love these dudes so much, and make no mistake they def dudes. On point banter, my dudes. (Sign)

Yes they are cute but so far that's all this show has going for it. (Middleman's Love)

I'm a simple human, I just like seeing Off kneeing. (Cooking Crush)

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #A Breeze of Love reviewed #bl review #a breeze of love #korean bl #Last Twilight #Thai BL #My Dear Gangster Oppa #for him the series #gmmtv #cooking crush #offgun #off jumpol #Pit Babe the series #middleman's love #the sign the series

[dangermousie]

I checked out the first ep of Welcome to Samdalri.

1 - After Forecasting Love and Weather, if I never see another drama set in a forecasting station it will be too soon, but it is what it is.

2 - The cast is great but the premise is very kdrama version of those Hallmark movies where a career woman experiences a setback and moves to a small town to marry a sexy truck driving local who owns a Christmas tree farm. There is nothing wrong with that, but it's not really my narrative jam.

2a - But, you will say. You adored Hometown Cha Cha Cha. I did but that is why HCCC was so unique and precious to me - despite my not being fond of romcoms, despite me not liking the 'city woman goes to small town and small town man' trope, it was so exquisitely, delicately done that it became one of my all time favorite dramas. Those people felt real to me and I loved all of them, mains and supportings, equally and utterly. This drama has a serious case (to me) of HCCC hangover but all it does is make me compare to it to WtS's detriment.

3 - I am interested to see how this couple can ever long-term work. In HCCC, Shin Min Ah was a Seoul lady with Seoul tastes, but it was more of a default because that was all she knew. Once she moved, she discovered how much she loved that life - she fell in love with Du Sik but also the town and the neighborhood and the lifestyle. Ultimately, there was no conflict between what her romantic partner wanted out of life and what she wanted. But our FL here knows exactly what small town life is like in this town - she is from here and spent all her childhood and young adulthood trying to leave. Until her career imploded, she does not seem to have been in the least unhappy in Seoul or wanting to go back.

4 - It is delicious and wild to see JCW as an earnest small town forecaster after watching him bathe in blood and stab people in The Worst of Evil. SHS is her usual impeccable self.

Ultimately, I do plan to keep up with this but between the genre and the premise, it has a tough row to hoe in terms of me genuinely falling in love with it.

But then, odder things have happened in 2023 - my favorite cdrama ML is portrayed by Deng Wei, I wept and adored a Yang Zi heroine, I have been impressed by Hwang Minhyun's acting, my fave kdrama of the year stars off-brand Domyouji from Extraordinary You and an actress who literally never registered for me despite seeing her as a supporting in a bunch of dramas, a FWSC tale gave us a happy ending, and a Song Kang* character is making me swoon.

*speaking of - motivated by my enjoyment of My Demon and by dealer @academyofbrokenhearts I checked out make out scenes in Nevertheless. By k-movie standards they aren't much but by kdrama ones, my eyeballs are on the floor.

#kdrama #welcome to samdalri

[ikemenomegas]

jjk actor au...

Going a little feral over an actor au where no one is dying XD.

You and Gojo and Shoko and Getou all pulling up in the van at award shows, taking turns helping one another out and casually squad posing until everyone's ready to walk together. People are always looking for whose hands touch whose first. There's also lots of shorts of the four of you strutting and arranging yourselves for the arrival shots.

Either Gojo or Getou always try to be near you during red carpets and other events. There's so many compilation videos trying to figure out which one you're with. There's a few very well done much viewed compilations of you just craning your neck to and finding Shoko when she gets stolen away to actually do some interviews.

The compilation videos of you all lounging around and joking during special interviews, which is a huge contrast to the serious roles you played in in the movie/drama you were all in together, get circulated around quite frequently. There's cute things like "every time y/n dropped something during the vanity fair interview" and in the comments is a counter for who picked up after you the most.

There's plenty of videos like "every time Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru make Eyes at each other during press tour" and "getou suguru and y/n being couple goals for two minutes and 28 seconds". There's also less click bate-y titles that somehow have more content like "gojo satoru and y/n answer fan questions" but it's gojo looking at and talking to you until you forget about the interviewer just about every question when he turns the question onto you. The fans get no information but you can feel yourself sweating by the end.

There's compilations of get_twosg and gogosatory's instagram stories where people look for crumbs on you and shoko, who almost never post anything on your own feeds unless your managers force you. The only exception is when the two menaces aren't with you and then it's occasional food stories and shoko talking about wine or whiskey and you looking distracted until you realize shoko is taking video of you. There's also compilation videos of Gojo and Getou together in your and Shoko's infrequent reels.

After the movie/drama press tours are over, people look for crumbs when you do things in pairs or trios. There's a really famous drama where Shoko plays a super irritated investigator and you're a vigilante leaving her clues. You end up in a movie with Nanami once and there's a clip where interviewer asks you both if you're going to see Gojo's new film and Nanami gets relentlessly teased for his reaction.

Getou plays the second male lead turned victorious partner to you in a period drama and there are soooo many videos of you playing with his hair - which he grew out even longer than usual specifically for the shoot.

Gojo and Shoko end up in a super-hero type film together at some point, and there's tons of videos about them having the same wicked kind of humor, which people don't expect for some reason.

You and Gojo end up as the romantic leads in a very slice-of life type romantic drama about an athlete slowly losing his eyesight and having to change careers. This one is famous because there's those one of those non-explicit love making kdrama/cdrama scenes in it where gojo's line is something like "I need to see you, at least once. Show me?" and then you kiss him. There's a variety of interview question about that line and the two of you almost always botch it on purpose, because if he's serious about it, it inevitably ends up online at your expense.

After that the two of you got accidentally pigeon holed about two other romantic dramas/movies each and got sick of it lol. You refused to do another romantic type media and insisted on a horror film.

It ended up being a horror-comedy miniseries that did really well as a cult piece. You did that one alone but Haibara and Ijichi were in the film with you, so you did have friends around.

Getou and Shoko's first drama together is actually a romcom too, but this one is about them being a married couple who are together for the convenience trying to find a way out of their in-law's meddling. It's super cute and is praised as showing nontraditional family structures in a positive and realistic light. You have a cameo in this series as Getou's adopted sibling which leads to a brief period of very odd fanfiction...

#au of the au #jjk #gojo satoru #getou suguru #ieri shoko #io.myy oc #actor au #from the notebook

[convenientalias]

West Out of Yu Men/Parallel World Review

Bc I just finished watching it yesterday!

I really liked it :D

I think it had a very unique aesthetic. It's set in the desert or in cities located near the desert for the most part, and you really feel it. The characters don't always look like they're hot, but there's always a dry, gritty feeling to the air. The fashion, tooo, was pretty unique. Ye Liuxi is very rough and tumble action girl with a little bit of sexy thrown in; Chang Dong mostly dresses kind of generic, practical and understated; Ding Liu dresses kind of cutesy-garish, loosening up both in attitude and in fashion as the show progresses; and then everyone in the parallel world dresses like they're in some historical fantasy with a touch of apocalyptic. So that's all just fun to watch. I love when a show has a unique visual feel to it.

In terms of plot, the show is a little wandering and not super tight, but that makes sense for a show about two characters both investigating a mystery and traveling through a different world. It's about discovery, meeting people and seeing wonders--eventually with some political intrigue as well. I honestly wish it could have been a little longer. Give it another five episodes, and I think we could have tied up some loose ends and gotten a more satisfying ending for a couple characters (specifically I'm thinking of Gao Shen and Jiang Zhan, but even Liuxi... well, I could watch several hours more of just Liuxi lols).

The acting was all pretty good. I have to admit I was not equally invested in all characters. This is definitely the Ye Liuxi show. Everyone else can be as cool and complex as they want, but we're all here to watch Ni Ni beat people up, open up portals, drive through the desert, cut melons, flirt obnoxiously, make threats, and so on and so forth. Previously I had only seen Ni Ni in The Rise of Phoenixes, and she's good in that but more of a trickster character, clever but not exactly intimidating. I love seeing an actress in a role where she's really allowed to dominate everyone around her, and I hadn't known Ni Ni would be so good at that. Now I want to finish watching The Rise of Phoenixes at some point but I don't know if I'll feel disappointed seeing her in a role that's less absolutely tyrannical.

The other lead actor is of course Bai Yu.

Tumblrites probably know him as Guardian's Zhao Yunlan, which is also where I first saw him. In this show he's much more subdued and serious, which I think is necessary to counter such a powerful presence as Ni Ni's Liuxi. He and Ni Ni have great chemistry. It's less sexy and flirty, and more familiar and comfortable, though slow-won. There's one scene where Liuxi pokes a brooding Chang Dong with a stick until he takes the end of it, and when he lets go of it she pokes him until he holds it again, and they just sit together in silence. For me, that's kind of what their relationship is about. They understand each other and offer each other comfort and support. At the same time, they have a strong sense of physicality for a cdrama. Again, not necessarily in a sexual way, but Liuxi is the kind of person who will just drape herself on someone, hook an arm over their shoulder, rub legs like an obnoxious and kind of sexy cat... it adds to the warmth of their relationship. (Though I would also have been fine seeing the two remain platonic, but as ships go, it's rather nice.)

That said. This show also had a couple ships it did not need! Gao Shen/Ding Liu is okay but underdeveloped and kind of just background noise; Fei Tang/A He is where I enter "okay, so now you just need to pair up EVERYONE" territory. None of the ships were annoying exactly, but apart from Liuxi/Chang Dong, I just feel like you could have left them out and you wouldn't lose much. If you're going to include them, give them some damn development! That's all I can say on the matter.

I enjoyed the villains a lot. There's a variety here: Some typical shady bureaucrats, a scheming woman to serve as Liuxi's foil and rival, and a man from Liuxi's past who has a complicated relationship with her. My favorite was the last of these three, Jiang Zhan! And I won't give more spoilers than that but can I just say: Jiang Zhan deserved better!!! Will someone please write hurt-comfort fic for my boy!!

Anyway! I recommend West Out of Yu Men if:

-You like Ni Ni or Bai Yu and want to see them doing something a bit different.

-You would be interested in an atmosphere of urban fantasy meets desert epic.

-You want to see a woman playing the amnesiac "chosen one" warrior trope (and with flair).

-You like to see an ensemble go on a road trip, gathering members along the way and getting into magical shenanigans. (If you HATE road trips, though--not a reason to skip. Travel is an aspect but there's still plenty of plot to go around.)

-You want to see Ni Ni cut a melon with a big knife (you can get this in episode one. Just one episode to appreciate the glorious THUNK of a melon being cut with a large knife).

You can also watch it if you want to write fanfic for it to satisfy my current cravings for 1) femslash and 2) anything about Jiang Zhan. (I haven't talked about the possible femslash ships bc they are pretty much my imagination but Ding Liu is very cutesy and friendly with Liuxi and also that female villain I was talking about above HATES Liuxi in a way that is quite fun, so. There's that.)

Now I have to find another badass woman show to satisfy that particular mood. If you have any recs along those lines, let me know ;)

#west out of the yumen #parallel world #cdrama #cdrama review

[lonelylonelyghost]

Decline (2023) is a pretty cool little thing

So, I just stumbled upon this short Cdrama today and ended up watching it in one go. It was actually much better than I expected!

Basically, smart and free-spirited Su Cheng Xi (in white) crosses path with no-nonsense Sui Han Bai (in black) while investigating a strange disappearance of a theatrical troupe, and the fun starts from here.

Hidden identities, the mysteries of the past, treasure maps, murders and bromance - literally, what more could you possibly want??

It's a 20 episodes drama, 10 minute each. Viki combined it into 7 longer ones, which is much better to digest, at least for me.

************************************************************************

The first thing that I noticed was - unexpectedly really good cinematography! I am generally quite lenient towards the technical side of shows, but I still have eyes, and those eyes were pleasantly surprised today. The chase scene at the very beginning was beautifully shot. Do you see the colors? Chef's kiss!

************************************************************************

Second great thing is characters.

Su Cheng Xi - a wandering detective, mischievous and seemingly carefree, but also very sharp and with the hidden agenda:

Sui Han Bai - an uptight and serious constable of Dayong City, follow-the-rules kinda guy... Or so it seems. But more on that later. For now - behold the visage:

When those two meet for the first time, they literally have a battle in slow motion, dramatic song and flower petals in the air. Sure, that's totally normal thing for anyone to do, what are you even talking about.

There are also two female characters present, but they don't feel like being there just to appease the censorship overlords. It's hard for me to say anything about them without spoilers, but the dynamic between them and the boys is interesting.

Yue Xiao Qiao, an assassin from Qianji Pavillion:

Zuo Han Qin, Dayong City Lord's daughter:

This is Zhao Yin, a servant of Su Cheng Xi, he's there and he's nice:

************************************************************************

Third thing is the plot and pacing. This is a crime-solving drama, so there is an (unusually high) number of dead bodies to identify and secrets to uncover. The cases are not overly complicated, but at the same time quite interesting. I managed to guess some of the twists, but was also surprised by others.

Because of the shorter run-time there are no unnecessary fillers, something is always happening to someone. Sometimes several events are going right after another or even simultaneously, and you're sitting here like wtf. But in a good way, you know?

(Skulls are awesome, and frankly there should be more of them in every drama).

And at the same time the pace doesn't feel overly rushed. We have time to witness some dramatic flashbacks, tender scenes and some funny moments sprinkled in between.

Also-also, and this is a slight spoiler, but I know that a lot of people are pissed about generally crappy endings in cdramas, so I'm happy to announce that Decline has a good one! Like, wow, what a rare thing this is. Though not every mystery is solved, so there's a potential for season 2, but at least you won't be left feeling like you've been slapped in the face with a rotten fish afterwards.

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Forth thing (and this is my personal opinion), this drama is definitely a love story between Sui Han Bai and Su Cheng Xi. They obviously don't say anything out loud, and regard each other as "best friends" (this "xiong di qing" aka "brotherly love" excuse has been cracking me up since Guardian), but come on. Like, you literally have several tropes that are common in het romance dramas! And the lengths that they go in order to protect each other? Simply insane.

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Speaking of protectiveness, Sui Han Bai. This guy surprised me the most in terms of his disposition. Based on the initial impression, his dynamic with Su Cheng Xi (playful vs strict), and his archetype that we've all seen in previous dramas, you'd think that you know what kind of character this constable is going to be, right? Well... I don't want to spoil anything, but there was a moment in ep.3 where I was like: "Holy shit, he could just do that?" So I'm just going to put this picture here, and leave it up to you to guess the context:

This was a scene where I was like, I love this guy. Devotion, combined with ruthlessness. Delicious.

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Overall, I really liked it! Adding this little gem to my collection of mystery-solving boys. The history books will write that they were really good friends.

This has been your friendly ghost from Abyss, with some recommendations on how to distract yourself from the horrors of existing（*＾-＾*）

#I had lots of fun with this drama #please watch it #still have no idea how the name Decline relates to the drama tho #I'll probably write some more about it #I've made many beautiful screenshots and I need to use them somehow #Jiang Hu Shao Nian Jue #Decline #Cdrama #bromance

[intogenshin]

Tsurumi Island is also uncomfortable

I wrote a series where I dissected the underlying themes and narratives of the Inazuma chapter because most of the intent behind the poorly written storyline was lost in their ambition to pull a shocking plot twist. Unlike the other nations, the player doesn’t get to look into the archon’s inner world (figuratively) until the climax of the last act, save for some vague foreshadowing dialogues from Yae, so the most important part of the story was hidden from the audience.

I found the story they wrote compelling, but at the same time I couldn’t push away the uncomfortable feeling of knowing how that story was built by detaching it from its historical parallel: Tokugawa Japan. 

It is one thing to make fantasy dictatorship into a benevolent measure for protection, where the ruler was rather a subordinate to the major power and whose motivations were based on fear, if (if) the real life historical parallel of a feudal military dictatorship isn’t a big issue for Japanese people then it doesn’t matter much in the end. But it is another to blur the narratives around the parallels of indigenous people that were invaded and occupied by imperial Japan. 

Chinese media has strict restrictions regarding what they can and cannot portray or show, and revisionism of imperial japan is prohibited. I know it goes beyond even fiction, because an actor from a cdrama I liked was accused of praying at a temple that honors a Japanese general, and was unofficially banned from working in the industry (his name cannot even be used for registering a phone number). The actor in question has explained he was only walking outside, unaware of what the location really was since it is promoted as a tourist spot, yet he is still unofficially blacklisted. 

All this to say, no, this criticism is not implying hoyo is endorsing Japanese colonialism + mentioning an instance of just how serious the issue is in China. Let’s not waste time arguing in extremes. Moving on now. 

Names and terms in Tsurumi Island come from Ainu language, but it seems there’s very little that honors their culture. 

(Please check resources and research for yourself, don’t take my words at face value, as I might make mistakes)

Ainu cosmology sees their relationship with their environment in a symmetrical order, meaning there is a reciprocity between animals and humans, as well as humans and kamuy, the spirits that inhabit the heavenly world and watch over humans. 

Kamuy manifest in the human world (Ainu Moshir) through disguises of natural phenomena (wind, fire, water), parts of nature (animals, plants, mountains), and material culture (boats, pots), so when Ainu hunt or use these elements they are receiving the gifts of the kamuy in these forms. And they perform rituals in which they also give back to the kamuy in return, showing how important reciprocity between humans and nature is in their worldview. 

There is a ritual for “sending off” damaged, old or unwanted daily utensils to the the realm of the spirits called Iwakute, and one of salmon called Ascircep-nomi, but the most known ritual is Iomante, the ceremony of the bear, in which a cub is raised by the community for a couple of years and then sacrificed as a “sending off” of the kamuy of the mountains, Kim-un-kamuy, who manifests in the form of bears. 

The Ainu bear ritual has been recorded by varios explorers and researchers. It was so famous and attractive that it was performed in the presence of Emperor Meiji in the Shiraoi village in 1881.

Ainu believe that kamui live in the form of human beings in their own world Kamui-moshir. Plants and animals in this world are regarded as temporary forms of the kamui which are endowed to humans by deities themselves as gifts. Kindaichi states that the kamui who came down to Ainu-moshir can return happily to Kamui-moshir only by willingly being eaten and being respected. 

—The Ainu Bear Ceremony and the Logic Behind Hunting the Deified Bear, by Takako Yamada 

This type of ceremony or festival is very common in northern cultures:

As is revealed by Watanabe, the sending-off ceremonies for a variety of animals, including the caribou, the seal, and the whale, are commonly observed among northern hunting-gatherer peoples. Moreover, considering the northern cultures in terms of relationships between religion and ecology, Irimoto suggests two significant characteristics: first, the notion of reciprocity that exists between man and game spirits, and, second, the original oneness of both sets of beings. 

—The Ainu Bear Ceremony and the Logic Behind Hunting the Deified Bear, by Takako Yamada

Ainu is the name for the people that lived in the islands of Hokkaido, possibly Honshu, Kuril and Sakhalin (the latter two passed to soviet control following World War II), who lived in kotar (small villages) of people related by blood, but the groups shared similar religious beliefs and eventually came to be known collectively as Ainu. 

The history of the Ainu is intertwined with that of Northeast Asia, namely, Japan, Mongolia, and Siberia. The geography of these regions influenced various groups of Ainu and created obvious differences in their lifestyles. Nevertheless, all these Ainu groups seemed to share similar religious beliefs and subscribed to a similar philosophy. 

The identification of the Ainu culture is based more on “the Hokkaido Ainu” than other groups. This is because the Hokkaido Ainu were the largest of the Ainu groups and survived the Japanese and Russian conquests. 

—Symbolism of Symmetry in the Ainu Culture from the Viewpoint of Analytical Psychology, by Kazuko Kosaka-Tanaka

So, how did Hoyoverse portray this culture in the story of Tsurumi Island?

The people of Tsurumi are extinct due to their own actions, born of ignorance and naivety: the creature they revered as their god, Kapatcir, had no interest in them and didn’t regard herself as a deity or protector either, and the rituals of human sacrifice had no meaning for her. 

First of all, Ainu is a culture under threat of erasure after a long time of Japanese colonial/settler violence, but they are very much living and dedicate their lives to preserve their culture. 

Hoyoverse portrayed the island as a ghost civilization that only survives in memory and broken objects left behind, and that seems to be the way they also went about borrowing bits and pieces of their culture, as if they were taking different candies from a store, and carelessly used them to adorn their story. 

Tsurumi’s civilization doesn’t honor Ainu’s cosmology of reciprocity with nature, nor the respectful relationship between Ainu and Kamuy, nor their rituals or ceremonies performed in gratitude. It doesn’t even recognize them as a living people. 

I keep wondering just how many people might uncritically and subconsciously believe Ainu performed human sacrifices after playing this game. And I have to question why this narrative was used in this context at all alongside the recurrent justification of a civilization causing their own demise when it can make their main characters, the product they sell through their gacha, look bad. 

The Japanese themselves considered the Ainu to be barbarians, and this led to uneasy relationship from the start and to repeated efforts on the part of the Ainu to expel the Japanese from their lands. After a few centuries of sporadic conflict, including the last “pan-Ainu” uprising against the Japanese in 1669 (Shakushain’s War). 

Meiji government embarked on a policy of (forced) assimilation —a policy whose ultimate aim was to eradicate Ainu culture. Under this regime, the Ainu were systematically stripped of any Ainu identity and were “made” Japanese. 

The Japanese government redoubled its efforts at assimilating the Ainu into Japanese society and eradicating Ainu culture. As part of the act, Ainu families were granted small plots of land, in order to transform them from hunters into (more easily managed) farmers. Much of the best farmland had already been claimed by Japanese settlers. 

—Language Conflict and Language Rights: the Ainu, Ryūkyūans, and Koreans in Japan, by Stanley Dubinsky and William D Davies 

What it seems is, much like they did with Watatsumi Island and Ryukyu culture, the company intends to mimic the consequences of settler colonialism and the violence of occupation by framing the loss of these fantasy cultures in tragedy, but fails to address the historical parallels that inspired them in the first place so as not to damage the marketing of their product. Who would want to buy a colonizer ruler, even if it’s made in the vessel of a gacha waifu?

The archon and shogunate in Inazuma are portrayed initially as benevolent (by allowing Orobashi to maintain the island he brought from the depths nearby their territory), and their violence against Watatsumi and against Kapatcir is justified (Orobashi invaded Yashiori Island, the resistance broke the seals that suppressed the Tatarigami instigated by an undercover Fatui, and Kapatcir’s grief was out of control and therefore represented a danger to Seirai Island). Not to mention there is no contact between the Thunder Civilization of Tsurumi and the Shogunate or the archon. 

I don’t know if any allegory can work with Kapatcir at all. If she represents the power of the archon (thunder) and the destruction of Tsurumi’s civilization is an indirect reference to Japan’s genocide of Ainu, then it’s just weird that the people of Tsurumi were worshipping her in the first place. If Kapatcir is meant to represent the entirety of Tsurumi’s people and Ei sealing her in Seirai island is a reference to the genocide and forced assimilation, then it’s just weird that Kapatcir had such disregard and indifference for the people of Tsurumi in the first place. It doesn’t work in any cohesive way. 

Moreover, the human sacrifice narrative is at best distasteful and very unfortunate, and at worst malicious. 

There is a folklore Ainu legend that includes human sacrifices, though I couldn’t find much about it: Sitonai. A village is terrorized by a snake monster who demands human sacrifices and a girl, Sitonai, bravely volunteers in order to slay the snake with her wit and aided by her dog. This story however is about defeating a invasor, completely different from the narrative of ignorance and submissive acceptance portrayed by Ruu. 

There is no evidence of the Ainu ever performing human sacrifice, but given the racism against Ainu and this disrespectful notion of “barbarism”, it seems something malicious to imply. The only thing I could find was something that looks like an offhand comment by a researcher, with no evidence other than pointing out that a ceremonial object looks like ceramics in the shape of a person, nothing else. 

I did find, however, an instance of human sacrifice of Ainu people perpetrated by Japanese settlers. 

Ainu men and boys were exploited in Takobeya forced labor by the settlers, while women and girls were abused as Comfort Women. The laborers were kept incarcerated in small rooms and stripped off their human rights, and those who tried to escape were subjected to harsh punishments and brutally assaulted. 

Decades later, skeletal remains were found in a nearby tunnel in Hokkaido, and it is believed these remains were the result of Hitobashira, a Buddhist practice of human sacrifice where people are buried alive in a construction, perpetrated against some of these Tako laborers. 

Takahashi refers to these victims as “countless bloodstained human pillars” (hitobashira人柱). Although hitobashira usually refers to someone who sacrifices his or her life for a cause, it can also refer to the ancient practice of sacrificing people by burying them in the foundation of a building, castle, or bridge in order to appease the gods during a particularly difficult construction project. Takahashi does not elaborate on his word choice, but it is possible that hitobashira refers to the abstract notion of “sacrifice” for the nation’s “colonization” of Hokkaido, or the physical form of “sacrifice” involving the buried bodies upon which the “colony” was built. There were local rumors that there were “human pillars” buried within the Jōmon Tunnel walls, suggesting that Takahashi might have also been referring to the actual buried bodies at former construction sites.

—From “Convict” to “Victim”: Commemorating Laborers on Hokkaido’s Central Road, by Jesús Solís 

So why, just why, would the writers use the human sacrifice narrative in the fantasy island inspired by Ainu culture, while simultaneously butchering their religious beliefs of coexistence with kamuy, and ignoring the nature of the rituals they are known for? 

When I wrote my post The Allegory of the Puppet Ruler (first version on hoyolab, revised version on reddit), I could tell that the narrative of Inazuma’s chapter was trying to examine the beliefs around the bushido, a code of conduct that Tokugawa used to incentivize nationalism and military submission, which is something that plays into the expansionist colonial invasions of imperial japan. The NPC character leader of the Kujou clan also was portraying a quest for power, authority and control that scapegoats the rest of the nation (the shogunate and the archon) from this fault, especially with the way Kujou Sara vehemently rejects his delusions to follow the “true eternity” of the shogun instead, you know, the one that is benevolent and protective.

From the way they disrespectfully borrowed from Ainu and Ryukyu culture, the writing was on the wall for the fiasco that was Sumeru, but there’s something especially revolting about doing it to cultures under threat of erasure. And I’d be surprised if they improve at all in their depiction of indigenous America or Africa. 

Anyway, please check these resources if you made it down here.

Ainu Mythology: the Cuckoo and Pon-Oki-Kurumi, by Hosana Fukuzawa

Symbolism of Symmetry in the Ainu Culture from the Viewpoint of Analytical Psychology, by Kazuko Kosaka-Tanaka

The Concept of Shared Destiny in the Ainu Spiritual Belief, by Junhong Wang

Language Conflict and Language Rights: the Ainu, Ryūkyūans, and Koreans in Japan, by William D Davies and Stanley Dubinsky 

The Ainu Bear Ceremony and the Logic Behind Hunting the Deified Bear, by Takako Yamada

From “Convict” to “Victim”: Commemorating Laborers on Hokkaido’s Central Road, by Jesús Solís 

Forced Labor in Imperial Japan’s First Colony: Hokkaidō, by Pia M Jolliffe

#Genshin impact #tsurumi island #Genshin lore

[moonchildlix]

TMNT PIA: character introduction - Donatello

Finally we’ve reached the fourth and youngest of the turtle brothers, Donatello. Donnie is a wood turtle, he’s 5’1” (At the start of the series), 14 years old, and goes by any pronouns (Genderfluid), biromantic/asexual. Donnie can most easily be summed as a sweet kid who is a bit of a nerd for science, maths, history, psychology and even literature. He’s also very sassy and sarcastic. He’s a little bit spoiled, having grown up being protected by three older brothers and also often uses the fact that he’s low-key Splinter’s favourite (Something Splinter will never admit to but everything can see this is the case) to get his way with everything. This however has resulted in his older brothers and father only really seeing him as being just this, the youngest, something Donnie is painfully aware of and is constantly trying to prove to them that he’s more than just the youngest sibling, and that he can be serious/mature/independant.

I would say this version of Donnie is very different from most other versions of the character we’ve previously seen in TMNT media. The ones I would say he is most like are Rise, Mutant Mayhem and 03, having Mutant Mayhem Donnie’s sweet and polite persona but is really sassy/sarcastic and even blunt nature, and 03 Donnie’s very friendly and kind personality with the same thirst for knowledge about anything and everything, combined with Rise Donnie’s recklessness and drama queen attitude. Let’s also not forget the huge undiagnosed autistic nerdiness.

Overall Punks Donnie is a sweet kid who can be a bit of a pain in the ass who loves his family, hates seeing others getting hurt when unnecessary and will not shut up about dinosaurs.

Some fun fact about the character

Donnie, just like his older brothers, can fight with any weapon, but he struggles to fight with two at the same time, because he prefers to fight with two handed weapons. Hence why he usually only fights with a bo, spear or even odachi. The bo staff was the first weapon the turtles ever learned to use, so while the older three spent most of their time learning as many weapons as they could (Though specialising in what suits them best e.g. blades, defence weapons and incapacitating weapons) Donnie spent most of his mastering the basics via bo. He prefers these weapons because they allow him more creativity and strategising in battle.

Because he’s the youngest and most intelligent he’s low-key Splinter’s favourite child and everybody knows it even though Splinter will never admit to it. Because of this, he’s a little bit of a brat who uses this fact to get away with everything, much to Mikey’s frustration. Whenever he does, Mikey will find some way to annoy him e.g. taking the last slice of veggie pizza (Mikey doesn’t even like veggie pizza, but he knows it’s Donnie’s favourite, so he does it anyway) jumping out and scaring him etc. and Donnie retaliates by annoying him back e.g. messing with his Netflix recommendations, taking all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms box etc. and it becomes a cycle that never ends.

He can speak twelve languages. He grew up bilingual in both English and Japanese (As did all the turtles, because Splinter wanted them to also know his native language) but Donnie started learning for whatever reason from boredom to actual usefulness. He learned Korean so he could listen to Kpop and understand the lyrics and watch Kdrama’s without the subtitles. He learned Mandarin for a similar reason, so he could watch Cdrama’s without subtitles and read Danmei before the official translations were released. Mikey would sometimes bring him along to meet with Keno, the pizza delivery guy and Donnie learned Italian from listening to the old Italian couple who lived next door to the meet-up spot arguing (And also from discarded restaurant menus). It mainly started off as insults and words Splinter doesn’t like him saying and eventually turned to full sentences. Overall, he’s fluent in English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Standard Chinese, Cantonese, Spanish, French, Arabic, Italian, Swedish and even Gaelic (Scottish).

He does not feel fear in the face of danger, unless the situation becomes dire. This doesn’t mean he’s immune to fear, because he isn’t, he’s afraid of a lot of things, from more irrational fears like needles, the dark (Based on a traumatic experience as a child) and heights, to bigger ones like failure, abandonment and being worthless.

His snaggletooth is actually the result of an accident when he was very young and had just started training with his brothers together instead of on his own/with Splinter where Raph accidentally hit him too hard with a weapon (Made of wood) and knocked his tooth out.

Due to being a wood turtle, he has incredible enhanced long term memory as well as photographic memory. He’s able to remember things in very vivid details from what day it happened, who was there, step by step of what happened and how it happened, even what the place it happened in looked like at the time (E.g. was the kotatsu pushed against the wall or was it in the centre of the room? What was on the kotatsu? Were there plates on it? What was on the plates? Etc.) This resulted in him getting in trouble a lot for ‘lying’ when he was younger because Splinter didn’t understand how a child so young could remember all these things so clearly so assumed that he had to be lying when he explained in very vivid detail how Leo broke his toy velociraptor. He knows now that he’s just got really good memory and doesn’t question him or accuse him of lying anymore (He realised this when Donnie suddenly mentioned something he should have no memory of because he would’ve been a very young toddler at the time and then turned into a long conversation of asking is he remember this, that and the other, most of which he does all very accurately and ending with Splinter realising his youngest child remember his first birthday.)

He ties his mask into a ribbon instead of knots like his brothers because Raph tied it that way once when they were younger and he liked it so much Raph is still tying his mask this way ten years later.

He’s the most skilled of the turtles with shurikens, kunai daggers, bow and arrow, crossbow and even slingshot. Splinter realises early on that Donnie’s tactical mind, combined with these weapons, which require precision, accuracy and consideration of wind, speed and distance meant that he could be very skilled with these weapons.

Donnie is actually the turtle I had the most difficulty with picking out a voice for, I wanted it to sound clear he is still the youngest brother but not too young, and in the end settled with Walker Scobell, who is the role of Percy Jackson in the new Percy Jackson and The Olympians live action series

#Spotify #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles fan iteration #teenage mutant ninja turtles punks in action #tmnt #tmnt fan iteration #tmnt pia #tmnt donnie #tmnt donatello #teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Donnie

[guzhuangheaven]

Hello! Hope you’re doing well :D! Just wondering what cdramas you’re watching now.

New Life Begins! It's really enjoyable and heart-warming. The plot is kind of non-existent and comes in and out almost like every once in a while the writers remembered they needed to have plot, but it’s got great world-building and characters which make up for it.

I love the concept of the nine regions and how each of those regions represent a different facets/levels to feminism.

You have Xinchuan in the middle being the big patriarchy, and you have Danchuan which is the kind of female-led, female-empowered society that Romance of Tiger and Rose tried to convey but ultimately failed. Danchuan make it very clear the key to empowerment/equality is about respect, and not like actual power or dominance.

But you also have the in-between regions like Jichuan where the FL is from, it isn’t explicitly matriarchal like Danchuan but clearly isn’t the ultra-patriarchal society of Xinchuan either. Here, just the practice of monogamy allows the FL to have different expectations in her marriage compared to her friend, Hao Jia, who comes from a region where polygyny is still the norm.

Hao Jia starts out with awareness that this system sucks but thinks that with that awareness she could play patriarchy to her advantage to benefit from it. Though it makes for a heart-breaking story for Hao Jia, I love the way this drama deconstructs how that ends up being impossible because systematic patriarchy is inherently designed to oppress women and there is no way to benefit from it without losing yourself.

It's also interesting that even though Jinchuan is still clearly male-centred and male-led, the fact that it’s about as close to a capitalist society as this world gets, it also provides women more freedom, at least in terms of being financially-independent. This is a very intriguing very pro-capitalism stance that I kind of hope/wish we can explore more. Are there any dark side of that and what is division of labour in the family like in Jinchuan if both men and women work…Do everyone just pay for childcare or do you just hoist that off to other family members…?

I love all the ways this drama subverts your expectation of female relationships in a typical drama. By episode three when they show the way Haitang and the solar ladies bond and team up to deal with the Third Prince, you should know that this drama is all about women supporting each other, but it still manages to surprise me when they continually refuse to take the catty internalised misogyny route. It’s like this drama decided to set up all the ways that women could turn against each other and then just goes, nope, they’re going to be best friends instead.

One of the things that reassured me that this drama is probably going to stay on the right path throughout is that there is no criticism of the path that Hao Jia chooses even when it traps her in an abusive marriage. Instead there is explicit acknowledgement that the fact that her husband is an abusive asshole is very much on him and just because Hao Jia chose to be his concubine doesn’t mean she deserves this. And she deserves everyone to help her get out of this situation.

At the same time, I was so pleasantly surprised with the Third Prince’s arc of realising that he’s the problem and has been treating his wife and concubines like objects, and how this allows him to learn from that. It’s acknowledgement that yes, men are taught by society to undermine/mistreat women, and change is only possible when they realise what they’re doing is wrong and commit to change. Except violent abusive assholes like the Second Prince. He deserves to die.

I guess the slow burn romance between the ML and FL is cute. But I forget they’re married most of the time to be honest. I also enjoy Bai Jingting in the comedy moments more than the serious political ones.

Sisi and the Seventh Prince are just *chef’s kiss* introvert with anxiety representation. I love how Sisi just occasionally shows up to throw money at her friends to deus-ex-machina them out of scrapes and then disappears again because social interaction is just *too much*.

Anyway, this drama: 10/10 would recommend. -h

#new life begins #卿卿日常 #cdrama #women in cdramas #feminism in cdrama #ask #nlb meta

[killerandhealerqueen]

Sass's 2023 Drama Awards

Following in Jina's (@tytangfei) footstep, I too have a 2023 drama award! (I started doing the drama awards after seeing hers, so it's only fair that I give credit where credit is due)

Anyways, without further ado...here are my drama awards! Explanations of each category/drama under the cut!

Best Overall

Best Overall CDrama: My Journey to You

I'm honestly surprised I loved this drama as much as I did. I loved everything about it, from the characters to the plot (we're ignoring the last five minutes), the costumes...just everything. Loved it, loved it, loved it

Best Overall JDrama: Bokura no Sokutaku

I loved the manga and I loved how they adapted this into a live action. I also loved the actors, especially Tane...felt exactly like how he thought he would and Minoru's dad...oh, loved him. Everyone was perfectly casted, the story was well done (with lovely additions that weren't in the original manga)...and the food looked absolutely delicious

Best Overall Kdrama: The Uncanny Counter 2

Gotta love my Uncanny Counter team. I actually really liked this season and the villains...overall, a very good drama. Love my little family

Most Delightful/Fun Drama

Most Delightful CDrama: Order of the Sommelier/A League of a Nobleman

The way I shrieked with laughter while watching Order of the Sommelier...and A League of a Nobleman...I love me some shenanigans and these idiots were full of them (fond)

Most Delightful JDrama: Bokura no Shokutaku

Tane was just absolutely delightful, as a child should be, and I really loved him. He brightened up the drama when it got too heavy/serious and it was a good balance

Most Delightful KDrama: The Uncanny Counter 2

Yeah, I laughed a lot with them. They're dorks and I love them

Most Impactful Drama

Most Impactful CDrama: My Journey to You/Stand by Me

Yeah, My Journey to You...it hit me in the feels. Had me crying at fucking 3 am and no drama has made me do that since Killer and Healer, so it goes here. Stand by Me also had me in my feels, just like Killer and Healer so it also goes here

Most Impactful JDrama: Bokura no Shokutaku

I definitely shed a tear or two with drama, especially during the scene where Minoru's dad and Yutaka talk about Minoru's mom and love as well as the scene where Yutaka talks to his older brother about how he made him feel unwelcome when he was younger and how he was hurt by that and what not. This drama had a lot of good, heartfelt and impactful scenes

Most Impactful KDrama: The Uncanny Counter 2/Evilive

The Uncanny Counter always has been an impactful drama and this season did not hold back on the angst. Evilive...jesus this drama was impactful from the first five fucking minutes. But it was a good drama

Most Unexpected Drama

Most Unexpected CDrama: Four way tie between My Journey to You/Pledge of Allegiance/Love is Written in the Stars/Desire Catcher

My Journey to You was unexpected because of all of the twists that you don't see coming...you think the story is going one way and then it turns around and shows you that you were completely wrong

Pledge of Allegiance was unexpected just because of the characters and their backstory and the overarching case (which I love. I love overarching cases)

Love is Written in the Stars was unexpected mainly because of the ending. I enjoyed the drama but the ending came out of fucking left field (but not in a Killer and Healer way)

Desire Catcher was unexpected because of the overarching case and how everything just tied together. It was unexpected in a good way. And I enjoyed it

Most Unexpected JDrama: Gifted

Gifted was unexpected in the way they solved the cases and the backstory of one of the main characters as well as his powers. I wasn't expecting it, but I enjoyed it

Most Unexpected KDrama: The Uncanny Counter 2/Evilive

The Uncanny Counter was unexpected this season because of the villains as well as the stakes...they were way fucking raised as well as how their powers worked this time...very unexpected and very stressful

Evilive was unexpected in how...fucking dark it got. And how tragic it was. My god, we knew the ending was gonna be tragic but holy shit

Best Soundtrack

Best Soundtrack CDrama: My Journey to You

This soundtrack fucking slaps and you cannot tell me otherwise

Best Soundtrack JDrama: Bokura no Shokutaku

Jdramas always have really good osts so I'm not surprised I enjoyed the soundtrack for this one

Best Soundtrack KDrama: The Uncanny Counter 2

Again, the Uncanny Counter always has good music

Best Costume Design

Best Costume CDrama: My Journey to You/Love is Written in the Stars

The costumes in these dramas were just so pretty, especially My Journey to You. I also loved Love is Written in the Stars because they made Patrick Quan look like a fucking fairy and they put Ian in the prettiest green robes I have ever seen, like he looks so god damn pretty

Best Costume JDrama: As Long As We Both Shall Live

Oh yeah, the costumes in this drama fucks hard. The kimonos and the yukatas and the police uniforms? Oh, they fuck severely

Best Costume KDrama: The Uncanny Counter 2

The outfits in this drama were amazing and I'm glad they got an upgrade from their red tracksuits. I much prefer the black tracksuit, honestly

Favorite Drama from Any Year

Favorite Drama from Any Year CDrama: Killer and Healer (2021)

The day this drama gets knocked out of this position is the day I fucking die, honestly. No drama can replace this drama

Favorite Drama from Any Year JDrama: Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna (2022)

I love this lesbian short drama and I'm so excited that they're making a season two, oh my god

Favorite Drama from Any Year KDrama: The Fiery Priest (2019)

I love this drama, it was my first introduction to dramas and it's just so god damn funny

So, what were y'alls top dramas this year? Let me know! I'd love to hear about them

#2023 drama awards #my favorite dramas of the year

[restlessmaknae]

2023 drama recap

Note: these are dramas (webdramas & one cdrama & one Western show as well) that I’ve watched this year, but not all of them were released in 2023.

Shadow&bone s2: not gonna lie, this one felt messy and a bit all over the place, but I guess when you read the books and the TV show is a mix of different book series, it's expected

My review: 6/10

Use for my talent: the supporting couples carry this show on the back, I have nothing more positive to say because the main leads' love triangle is super annoying and the kiss scenes are so forced and unrealistic, it's not even funny anymore :') I haven't yet watched it until the end, but so far:

My review: 6.5/10

When i fly towards you (cdrama): this was a charming drama that got me until the second half of it when it lost its charm, and I realised that it's way too unrealistic, there were a lot of cringey scenes, the end felt dragged and repetitive, and I didn't really see any character development even though we saw the main leads growing up (but props to the second leads, I really loved their dynamics!)

My review: 6.5/10

User not found (webdrama): it was more enjoyable than annoying, but overall, it did have some unnecessary drama and the main female lead's acting wasn't up to my liking

My review: 7/10

Tracer: I'm pretty sure it would have been more enjoyable if we had managed to find good subtitles for it because the acting was really good, but I didn't get the plotline fully because of the Google Translate-like subs, so yeah, that's why it's only 7.5 (but Im Siwan's acting is 10/10 as always)

My review: 7.5/10

The witch store reopens (webdrama): it was perfectly fine considering that it was a webdrama (so expect some overexaggerated acting and such), it was cute, funny, and the leads (Yonghee and Yerin) did well

My review: 8/10

The heavenly idol: I've watched it for Kim Minkyu, but it was unexpectedly serious at times (touched upon bullying, double standards for idols, the nasty parts of the showbiz industry), so it did surprise me positively - however, the special effects were a bit odd at times, and you can't take the storyline seriously, but if you let go of reality, it's pretty enjoyable

My review: 8/10

Revenge of others: it was pretty dramatic at times and I didn't necessary like the big plot twist at the end, but I really loved the investigating part of it and the whole storyline wasn't that predictable

My review: 8.5/10

Seasons of blossom: this definitely delivered some emotional punches (read: I cried), and the acting was really good on the leads' part, some other acting was kind of forced, but overall, it was a meaningful drama

My review: 9/10

Crash course in romance: me and my mother both really enjoyed this show, we were waiting for the episodes to come out week after week. It was really funny, had some serious topics to touch upon, and the acting was overall really good. I deduct 0.5 point because sometimes I didn't feel the balance between the crime part (yes, there's one like that) and the main storyline, it wasn't that annoying, but I have to mention it

My review: 9.5/10

King the land: it was similar to Business Proposal to me in terms of how much I enjoyed it and why I deduct 0.5 point - it was funny, it was cute, the acting was really good, but there were a lot of clichés that you can't help but shrug off because it was really enjoyable

My review: 9.5/10

Castaway diva: I have 3 episodes left, so this is not my final verdict, but it's been really good so far, I really love the way they touch upon such sensitive topics, and the acting ranges here on the three main leads' parts are just wow! (I only deduct 0.5 point because of Yoon Ranjoo and her whole showbiz team, it's like they can't decide which side they want to be on)

My review: 9.5/10

Twinkling watermelon: my favourite drama this year, genuinely a 10/10, it was funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking, and very meaningful, would highly recommend

My review: 10/10

#2023 drama recap #kdrama recs #kdrama recommendations #cdrama recs #cdrama recommendations #twinkling watermelon #king the land #castaway diva #crash course in romance #seasons of blossom #revenge of others #the heavenly idol #the witch store reopens #tracer #user not found #when i fly towards you #use for my talent

[baifengxis]

What are some of your fave cdramas that you would highly rec? I’m looking for something to watch and I would be grateful if you can share some. Thank you!!

Oh, thanks so much for this question, I love recommending cdramas haha!

LEGEND OF FEI [2020] Gotta start with the obvious, because I'll recommend this drama forever even to everyone who has started and can't get into it, I'll always be like, please try again lol It's feminist, fun, feel-good but with very nicely done heavy moments every few episodes, important messages about life and about becoming who you want to be, it has my, at this point, favorite cdrama ship ever, yunfei my beloved!! relationship goals! friendships, funny dynamics, siblings, AMAZING characters and...so much more, I won't continue because I'll never stop lmao

UNEXPECTED [2018] Such an underrated Drama! I don't know why it's so underrated, especially because it's made by the same writer as a very popular drama (The Romance of Tiger and Rose) and the stories are very similar, which I know can be boring but they also have differences that make each drama unique, there's just the same premise of a writer traveling into their own story.

I'VE FALLEN FOR YOU [2020] The perfect rom-com historical drama, with a very fun plot and with plot twists you don't expect, such good characters and two amazing ships! Comfort drama for sure!

THE LOVE BY HYPNOTIC [2019] If you love palace romance, arranged marriage turned true love, a few crazy (but very entertaining) villains and a love story for the ages! Even though it has some very heavy moments, it's one of my comfort dramas as well, because it also includes some VERY FUNNY moments, like I just love dramas that can somehow balance comedy, romance and serious moments so well!

THE QUEEN OF ATTACK [2021] There's so many short dramas nowadays and 80% of them have the same plot of someone traveling into a story lol and yes, this is one of them BUT it's such a good drama like it's insane, I'll wish forever it was a normal length one, but it's still so good, the episodes are 9-10 mins each but there are two seasons, and the episodes have been combined, so eventually it's like having a normal drama with 12 normal length episodes (6 for s1 and 6 for s2). It's so worth it and the two actors are so talented and have such good chemistry, plus the story is unique too, yes this premise has been done many times but I think they still made it so unique and different from others.

THE STARRY LOVE [2023] A recent drama and quite popular, but I'll still recommend it always. Other than the last episode that was a bit disappointing and rushed (still a happy-ish ending though), it's my favorite Xianxia and it was just so good, the story, the cinematography, THE OST, the actors, the ships, the friendships, the sisters, ALL THE WOMEN, youqin literally making all other MLs take notes from him on how to be the best ml out there, so many reasons to watch this drama, just ignore the last part and pretend we saw what they forgot to show us lol

LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY [2022] Where do I even begin??? (This is the first Zhao Lusi drama i recommend in this list, but I just wanna mention, I recommend almost all of them.) Anyway, LLTG is by far my favorite political drama, and non wuxia/xianxia historical cdrama. It's so different and unique, there's literally nothing like it. It's a slow paced drama, with very long scenes (you might only have 3-4 scenes in one episode for example) and it's the reason why It got me a while to get to it, but now I'M SO IN LOVE WITH IT!!! There is not an episode I don't enjoy, it's pure art. Cheng Shao Shang is one of my favorite girls ever and her and Ling Buyi???? I'D DIE FOR THEIR LOVE. Their chemistry is so so so good, now Zhao Lusi can have chemistry with a tree, it's true but still, one of the best cdrama ships out there. Even though I never truly watched classic cdramas like Nirvana on Fire and those "older" ones, I think LLTG somehow is the closest to those except it also loves its characters and focuses on romance more than any older political cdrama did but it works so so well.

LIGHTER AND PRINCESS [2022] Favorite modern drama! I gotta be honest I'm not verrrryyyy into modern cdramas, I like a few, even love some, but generally it's hard to find a modern cdrama I'll go crazy over...but L&P changed that. Or well, it's still hard, maybe even harder now, to find something that tops it, but L&P is just so so good. Again, a quite popular drama, maybe it doesn't need the recommendation, but I have to mention it anyway 'cause it's my baby and I just cannot make a favorite cdramas list without it! Some reasons to watch: One of the best love stories out there, with such good angst and just everything you need on a ship, two main characters so unique that you'll definitely relate to (at least in some aspects), one of the best OSTS ever, perfect cinematography, directing and writing and one of my favorite endings on any show ever!

Some more dramas I recommend but I won't dig deeper (I talked a lot already):

Couple of Mirrors [2021]

Who Rules The World [2022]

Love Between Fairy and Devil [2022]

Young Blood [2019 - S2 starts tomorrow!]

Wait, My Youth [2019]

Zhaoyao/The Legends [2019]

Arsenal Military Academy [2019]

There's probably more but I think that's good for now, I hope I helped you find something to watch and I'm always here for more recs if you want :P <3

#anonymous #answered #anon #cdrama recs #cdrama recommendations #recs #drama recs

[dangermousie]

It doesn’t matter what he says. He is there because in his dysfunctional way he misses her. And because he wants her attention and he wants to show off and to lash out because her fighting him/looking down on him for evilness hurt him etc. He is crazier than a bag of weasels, in so many ways, but this is so very human.

He acts as if he’s enjoying it but while some part of him is - to be in a position of power for once, to not have to hide or cower, another part of him is desperately trying not to admit he misses the before. There is a reason he was planning to leave without her knowing the truth. He WANTED her to like him.

(Side note - there are serious book TTJ vibes in these scenes and I love it; I never thought they’d go as dark as they do with this adaptation and get away with it.)

He wants to brag and show off but also her interest and her greyrocking him is about to start driving him mad.

(”Deficient by nature, beyond remedy” from Chu Wanning says hi!)

He is beginning to lose it and lash out. You do not know how to woo, dude!

  I cannot believe they kept the narrative from the novel about his finding out about her drugging plan and swapping them so she gets drugged instead of hr sister and he gets drugged instead of prince Liang. Cdramas simply don’t go this dark for their MLs any more!

His explanation why he picked her and not Bingshang who he is supposedly fancying is so bone-cold. I love it. He is a desperate abuse victim but he’s also a ruthless monster and he’s largely the latter because of the former and I love the duality.

#cdrama #till the end of the moon #bai lu #luo yunxi

[mejomonster]

Okay look. I am reading Red White and Royal Blue. The movie, while in spirit in some ways has captured the same heart, is like Guardian cdrama to Guardian novel. I love them both and they're both a bit different experiences. But wow does it feel GOOD to watch a movie that makes me smile and my heart ache with things i relate to as well as happy moments I long to have. And on that note, a list of queer romance movies I recommend for cheering you up on a heavy day:

Red White and Royal Blue: theres a touch of realism in how it hits the heart, a heaping helping of fantastical with the premise of son of the president getting with the prince of england, a dollop of politics (which I've not seen in a romcom before much so I was happy for it, but if you want more get the book), a lot of loving references to the 90s kids generation in a way that makes this romcom hit in a way old 90s romcoms never could For Me be as close to home, and it's just <3 it's The Romcom for me.

But I'm a Cheerleader: gay conversion camp but make it campy, save the queers and help us love ourselves and accept we can be Whoever We Are (a message that applies to all watcher honestly), a very loving make love scene with violins that rwrb's scene reminded me of (in a good way, queer movies deserve more of this tbh), natasha Leone and Clea Duvall and Dante Basco (I'm gayer just reading that), and best of all? The cheerleader falls in love and her love chooses her back. This is THE first truly happy queer romance film I watched as a teenager, had a happier outcome than my own life at the time, and really made me believe I deserved happiness and good things and that I belonged to existing in this world as myself as much as anyone does. The overt queer politics in this film means it might hit too close to home if you're not up for that, but it's handled with humor (a LOT like rwrb handles politics) and so I'd say if you're looking for political and optimistic? This is another excellent choice. This will forever be one of my favorite movies.

DEBS: I especially recommend this to any queer teen girls out there, and any former teen girls who wished they had their own teen romcoms with lesbians growing up! It's like Agent Cody Banks meets Charlie's Angels, tonally it's Totally Spies and Teen Movie 100%, so it's silly and campy and nothing is ever actually horrifically serious and sad. A teen spy girl (our Charlie's angels for queer teen girls) falls in love with Lucy Diamond, the biggest Super Villian in the world. What ensues is falling in love, overcoming differences, overcoming heteronormativity, and friends loving and supporting you when push comes to shove. It is absolutely a fun action romance romp for queer girls. It's Charlie's angels if they were all gay and made for the queer girls to crush on Especially. It's delightful and lighthearted and fun.

#rant #movies #but im a cheerleader #debs #red white and royal blue #theres a few more id put on this list but theyre more devisive i think #like... Zerophilia is an AMAZING and weird indie movie with a happy ending #and it plays with the sex of characters and the idea of what does gender even mean or have to do with attraction #but it was made a long time ago and no one really was talking about trans people much let alone nonbinary people #but for me? as a nonbinary person it was sort of this escapist wish fulfillment with a happh ending and felt very freeing. #also like. To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything is HEALING #but it may hit too realistic for some to be totally cheerful. and its not a romcom so much as it is about friendship and love in that way