#i was thinking more of like love between fairy and devil bit when little orchid died (temporary)

[aleng-neng]

Vegas having a coma dream where he's living his best domestic life with Pete but the real Pete and Macau are slowly breaking down his coma-fantasy and is asking for him to come back. Someone* should write this.

*not me

[alloveydovey]

Dramas from this past month :) I was on a trip the whole time, so I watched random stuff and rewatched a lot.

Love Between Fairy and Devil, 2022 (cdrama) 9

The Lord supreme of the Moon Tribe gets out of fairy prison after 30.000 years thanks to a seemingly innocent orchid fairy who accidentally frees him and links them together.

This was epic. I'd say I was lost 40% of the time, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was my first cdrama of this type, and I wasn't expecting to be into it, but I totally binged it.

I Hear Your Voice, 2013 (kdrama) 8

19-year-old ML partners up with FL lawyer to help her win cases with his ability to read minds. Ten years prior, she had been a key witness and helped get the man who killed his father in jail.

I need to remind myself that I usually get a bit bored with lawyer dramas. It's hard to explain if I enjoyed this one or not. On one side, I loved LJS, and Lee Bo Young was great as the FL. The storyline had great aspects, and I binged most of it, but I wouldn't say it left an impression or something. I spent the last episodes skipping because I was already tired of it.

Full House, 2004 (kdrama) 7/7.5

Already known lol. A scriptwriter is duped by her friends and loses her house to an actor. To regain possession of it, she enters into a contract marriage with him.

I kinda like watching old kdramas because I find them more bingable… until this one lol. Full House was a bit a lot of a mess. Granted, the 00s seemed to be THE time for MLs who spend half of the drama chasing another woman while the FL tags along, but this became difficult to follow quickly. The only reason I kept going was because Song Hye Kyo and Rain were really charismatic and fun to watch together (also, they're both really good looking it's insane)

I really wanted to like this oldie, but their chaotic coming and going broke me.

The Legend of the Blue Sea, 2016 (kdrama) (rewatch!) 10 ⭐️

A mermaid meets a con man in Spain and falls in love. When the bad guys come for him, they both separate with the intention of meeting again in Seoul, except his memory is erased and he doesn't remember her.

I'm not sure if this is a 10 for everyone, but it's certainly a 10 for me. It has everything, and Jun Ji Hyun is absolutely perfect in it, truly a comedy queen. It's also probably my favorite Lee Min Ho role. Rewatching it made me laugh, aww, and giggle all over again. (I kinda think the reason I liked it is because it reminds me of My Girlfriend is a Gumiho but better lol)

An Incurable Case of Love, 2020 (jdrama) 8

A girl falls in love with a doctor while visiting Tokyo and decides to become a nurse to meet him again.

This was very much like Mischievous Kiss/Playful Kiss, but maybe lighter and sweeter? Definitely more watchable. Emotionally constipated MLs get a bit annoying at some point but I remain a big fan of sweetheart FLs.

The Date of Marriage, 2023 (jdrama) 7.5/8

A girl with a life plan is two years away from thirty but still hasn't achieved what she wanted (marriage). A co-worker proposes that if she still hasn't found someone by the time she turns thirty, he'll marry her.

The premise in this one is rather weak. Boy likes girl, and girl likes boy, and so there really is no reason for why they shouldn't date when both established such a promise (getting married by her 30th bday), but because of insecurities, they come and go about whether they like each other or not, and it's annoying. On the other hand, this little drama is super original in its way of storytelling. Breaking the 4th wall with authentic ways for the characters to express themselves. It's also visually dynamic. The colors make for an extremely nice watch. Aaaaand, both ML and FL are cute as hell with great chemistry.

Shopping King Louie, 2016 (kdrama) 7.5

The overprotected successor of a business empire gets into an accident and loses his memory. A girl from a rural area who is in Seoul looking for her brother (whose disappearance is linked to the ML's accident) decides to take him under her wing as they both try to make it on their own.

Seo In Guk heavily saves this drama, lol. I kept watching mainly because of him, Nam Ji Hyun, and the decent cast. I kinda started annoyed at the secondary characters and ended up really enjoying them. It's a silly fun drama where the premise is obviously not the forte, but still, I had fun watching.

Rewatched Dramas! (That I'm not adding above cause I flash-watched them = meaning I skipped a lot of scenes lol) ⬇️

Destined With You, 2023

I wanted to rewatch this one to see if the rating I gave it held up, especially since I feel like it was the beginning of a long list of kdramas with a similar premise (and, like, they all came out around the same time—what was that?).

To me, at least, it deserves a decent 8.5. It was probably my favorite of all the ones with similar storylines (My Demon, A Good Day to be a Dog, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, My Man in Cupid). The first episodes grab you completely, and then the story kind of lowers the quality a bit, but Rowoon and Bo Ah keep it entertaining.

The Secret Life of My Secretary, 2019 ⭐️

ML hires secretaries only for a year. Despite her impeccable behavior, FL is no exception. Just when he fires her, ML loses the ability to recognize faces except for his secretary's, the one he just fired.

This is def a 7/7.5 type of drama, but I think it’s the one I’ve rewatched the most. 100% a comfort one for me. The plot is insane, and I don’t always like it, but the chemistry between the leads is so worth it. Their whole boss-secretary dynamic is so original and cute and just perfeeeect. Both actors truly nail the cute persona.

[theyilinglaozus]

Link your top 5 sets and tag 5 others creators to do the same

Thank you to the incredibly lovely @baek1nho for the tag! 💖 It was so fun to see what sets you chose, especially as they’re all so very beautiful!

I’m going to follow your lead and keep this to work made within the last year only; so no sets pre 2022 will be showcased here. Think of this tag game as a chance for to talk a little bit about my favourites as an end of the year round up. I've made more gifsets than I thought throughout the year, but still far less than what I have in past recent years.

1 - Mei Changsu and Mu Nihuang; Nirvana in Fire

One of my goals for the new year was to work on changing up my colouring style and experimenting a bit more, and I had a lot of fun doing that in some Nirvana in Fire sets. This was one of my firsts for the show as well as my favourite; as I really liked how the colours were brightened a little bit more compared to the scene itself. It’s one of my more subtle sets when it comes to colours, but it worked out well, I feel. Plus, I just really adore this pairing and this scene between them in the show.

2. One year with Word of Honor celebration set; Word of Honor

Easily the largest set I worked on this year, but also the one I wanted to make sure to dedicate a good amount of time to given how Word of Honor is joint to be one of my favourite dramas. I wanted to celebrate the incredible characters and the strong theme of family carried between them all. The idea to make the characters that leave us greyscale came later, and I know a lot of the notes on the set have people yelling! But, I felt it was important to note how some of these characters’ stories were severed too soon, and how they still left an impact on the lives of those surviving.

My friends over at the Immortal Wanderers discord were incredibly kind and helpful while I was making this, as they would put up with me sharing little gifs and asking questions on ‘should I include this character for this theme, or no?’, especially given Tumblr’s restrictions.

3. Xie Yun and Wen Kexing parallels; Word of Honor & Legend of Fei

I love parallels across media! Especially when it comes to media created from the mind of the same author!

I had so much fun making this, especially since at the time I was watching Legend of Fei, I’d really grown to love Xie Yun’s character. He was so fun and interesting to watch on screen, and Yibo truly brought him to life. It makes me a little sad that I haven’t made nearly as much content for Legend of Fei than what I should, so maybe that’s something I should fix.

But it was such a fun little thing to see how the two characters carried moments in each respective shows that mirrored the other - not through their actions as such, but just through the words they shared to their significant others. It really highlighted some of the tropes that I see Priest carry in her works, and I wanted to create a set that shared them since I hadn’t actually seen that around at the time. I’ll need to get the Guardian at some point and see if I can ever expand on this trend - maybe that’s a goal for next year?

4. Hei Fengxi and Bai Fengxi; Who Rules the World

This set gave me hell. I was constantly struggling with the question ‘did I really download this episode in 1080p, or was I lied to?’ I had to delete the first attempt and come away from photoshop for a day, but when I returned the next day refreshed and ready to start again, I was very happy with the outcome!

My favourite thing about this set is the golden colours. I struggle so much with finding the right balance with that colour sometimes, so when this worked out as well as it did - I felt really proud? When I look back on it now I still smile at the golds, since I think they came out really well!

5. Little Orchid and Dongfang Qingcang Kate Bush set; Love Between Fairy and Devil

My most recent set - and probably the only one this year where I played with any kinds of effects for scenes. I really love how this came out, especially how colourful it was. The typography is something I’m really proud of aswell, as sometimes that can be a bit of a struggle to get right.

Tagging;

@minnarr, @gusucloud, @xiaolanhua, @yesdramas and @bimorgana.

Feel free to ignore if you don’t wish to take part / have already done so! And if you’d like to take part but weren’t tagged, feel free to join in with the fun anyway!

[leekimdramas]

Love Between Fairy And Devil Review (Spoiler Free)

Literally started watching it because of a gif of how a female lead can call a male lead a wife or something like that.

Orchid is just an ordinary fairy who has a crush on a War God Chang Heng, and because of that, she wants to become better and more powerful.

By accident, she lets out one of the prisoners from Moon Tribe and hides him, so as to not get any of them in trouble. Little does she know it’s Moon Tribe’s leader Dongfang Qing Cang.

It took me half a year to finish this drama but I’m so happy that I did. My memory might be quite hazy because of that but I’ll do my best.

First of all, it didn’t take me that long because it was boring or something (maybe the second half of the drama) but I was just very busy with other dramas and life.

The start of the drama was a bit confusing, there were a lot of names to remember and a lot of characters but it was still a bit of fun.

There wasn’t a need to overthink things I just went with the flow and I enjoyed it. 

The middle was interesting to watch and the couple was cute but at that point, I wanted something more to happen.

And I think around the time when they came back from the human world I lost my focus a bit. I still enjoyed some parts and got excited about how Orchid has grown and how she wants to show herself as a strong queen.

Dongfang was also a cutie obsessed with his girlfriend and I enjoyed watching those parts, however, a lot of things seemed to keep repeating.

Chang Heng keeps coming to save Orchid, Dongfang, and Orchid have a talk about how they’re going, to be honest with each other but go back on their words. 

And even the side characters go around in circles and nothing much seems to happen until the very last few... Maybe even just 2 episodes where they have to solve the conflict finally.

I know a lot of people have talked about how Orchid’s voice is too high/childish and it’s annoying to watch and I thought so too.

I think, maybe it was a way to show her growth because later on in the episodes her voice sounds okay or I just got used to it.

Seeing Orchid’s character development really made me happy and root for her and at the same for Dongfang who’s always a little bit grumpy but cute.

The side characters are okay, they make a lot of dumb decisions but their stories sometimes come up to be very nice (Shang Que and Jie Li cough cough). 

As I said they also fell into the loophole of repetitiveness and I just couldn’t care about them. Some parts of the story even felt so unneeded too... 

Overall, I think it’s an okay drama. For me, it’s a bit overhyped, or maybe my expectations were bigger by seeing all the people excited about it.

I think it would have been better if it had fewer episodes, or at least come up with a way how to not be so repetitive. 

6.5/10

[outpostsofbabel]

Demigods and Semi-devils, Chapter V (IX)

The scroll described many exercises of the other meridians and acupoints, all aimed at helping the reader tap another person’s inner energies. Duan Yu went through these briefly, but felt that studying them would go against his principles and be rather greedy besides. So, he set them aside for the time being.

At the bottom of the scroll, the words “Light Steps Over the Waves” caught his eye. He called to mind several lines from the Ode to the Nymph of the Luo River:

She steps lightly across the waves,

Water droplets settle like dust on her silk stockings...

She turns and her eyes are full of life,

Her beautiful skin as fair as white jade.

She holds her words in her mouth, saying nothing,

With an air like a tranquil orchid.

So graceful and elegant is she,

That I completely forget myself.

These famous verses, written by Cao Zhi centuries ago, slowly unfurled in Duan Yu’s head.

She strikes a balance between plump and frail; 

The tall and short of her are perfectly proportioned, 

With shoulders shaped as if by carving, 

Waist slender as though bound with a cord; 

At her slim throat and curving neck 

The pale flesh lies open to view, 

No scented ointments overlaying it, 

No coat of leaden powder applied. 

Cloud-bank coiffure rising steeply, 

Long eyebrows delicately arched, 

Red lips that shed their light abroad, 

White teeth gleaming within, 

Bright eyes skilled at glances,

A dimple to round off the base of the cheek

Her rare form wonderfully enchanting, 

Her manner quiet, her pose demure. 

Gentle-hearted, broad of mind, 

She entrances with every word she speaks

Duan Yu thought of the fairy woman’s beautiful face and elegant posture - “as clear as the rosy light of dawn, as luminous as the lotus above the green waters”. To follow her bidding was the pinnacle of happiness on earth, and he felt as though he would gladly die a hundred deaths for her with no regrets. I will learn this Light Steps Across the Waves, he thought. After all, it is for running away, and not for killing people. Nothing but good can come out of its.

The scroll detailed the various steps for this technique, and also included the 64 hexagrams from the Book of Changes. He was familiar with this book, and had no trouble memorising them all. 

However, some of the steps listed in the scroll puzzled him deeply, for there seemed to be no logical way of smoothly moving from one stance to the next. Then, he realised the only way to do so was to perform a somersault in mid air. The scroll also instructed him to leap back and forth, as well as dodge and dart from side to side.

Part of Duan Yu’s scholarly mind loved the challenge of trying to solve a difficult puzzle, and derived great joy from finding the solution to a problem. So, one can find this sort of pleasure in martial arts as well, he thought. Indeed, it is no less than the enjoyment of studying books and memorising scriptures.

So it was that a day passed, with Duan Yu grasping about a quarter of what was in the scroll. After dinner, he continued practising his footwork before bed. Even at night, the names of the acupoints and meridians continued swimming hazily through his mind.

In the middle of the night, Duan Yu was suddenly awoken by a loud bellowing. It sounded like a cow, but much louder and more aggressive than any cow he had ever heard. The Boundless Mountain, he knew, was full of strange and dangerous beasts. So when the bellowing stopped, he thought nothing more of it. Putting his head down on the pillow, he tried to go back to sleep.

“It’s been a long time since we heard the Giant Crimson Bullfrog,” he heard a voice say outside. “I wonder if its cry tonight brings us good luck or ill.”

“Things can’t get much worse for us, can they?” another voice replied. “It’s more than enough to thank the gods for, if all of us in the Eastern Branch get home safe.”

Duan Yu recognised these as the voices of Yu Guangbiao and Wu Guangsheng. They had evidently taken up residence in the house next to his, in order to make sure he didn’t escape.

“You know, it’s not so bad that the Boundless Sword answers to Lingjiu Palace now,” Wu Guangsheng said. “Our freedom has been curtailed, yes. But we’ve gained a powerful backer as well. No, what really pisses me off is that the Western Branch is clearly inferior to us. So why did the Divine Messenger appoint Xin Shuangqing as master of the Boundless Cave? Even our own master has to answer to her now.”

“Well, every leader in Lingjiu Palace - from the Tianshan Tonglao downwards - is a woman. They say that no man is truly trustworthy,” Yu Guangbiao replied. “They say it was a kindly gesture of the Messenger to appoint Master Xin as our head, for now the Palace will look upon us with different eyes. Look how they treated Sikong Xuan. Why,  they were much kinder to our Master Xin.”

“Brother Yu, there’s something else I don’t understand. Why was the Divine Messenger so polite to that kid next door? All that ‘Young Master Duan’ stuff. It’s a bit too much, isn’t it?”

Hearing his name mentioned, Duan Yu listened harder than ever.

Yu Guangbiao laughed. “This stays between you and me, got it? Now, when a young lady calls a pretty boy like him ‘Young Master Duan’, all politely,” - he affected a nasal tone, imitating the Divine Messenger’s voice - “what do you think it means?”

“What?” said Wu Guangsheng loudly. “She fancies that pretty face?”

“Shh, don’t wake the pretty boy up! I’m not a divine roundworm in her divine belly, so how would I know what her divine thoughts are? But I believe Master Xin has seen it too. That’s why she told us to keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn’t escape.”

“So how long are we keeping him?”

“You heard Messenger Fu just now. She said-” Here, Yu Guangbiao mimicked the woman’s voice again. “-take him down and if the Four Brigands kick up a fuss, tell them to take it up with me at the Misty Peak. And what were we to do after that? Nobody dared to ask her, of course. What if she sent orders to have the kid sent to Lingjiu Palace one day, but we’d taken him off and killed him or let him go? We would be in deep shit, I’ll tell you that.”

“So if she doesn’t say anything about him, we’re just supposed to keep him locked up here for his whole life, just in case she decides to drop by and say hi?”

“That’s about right, eh?”

Duan Yu was filled with alarm. Messenger Fu called me “young master” because she could see at a glance that I’m the educated sort, not because of any twisted rubbish you people have been thinking! You could shut me up until I’ve grown a long white beard and she still wouldn’t be interested in my face.

“So doesn’t that mean the both of us-” Duan Yu heard Wu Guangsheng say, but he was cut off by another three loud bellowing croaks from the bullfrog. The young man stopped talking instantly. After some time had passed with no further noise from the frog, he continued: “That creature’s croaking always gives me the creeps. Who knows how many souls Old Father Plague is about to reap now?”

“They say that he rides on the Giant Crimson Bullfrog,” Yu Guangbiao replied. “It’s all talk, of course. And the Lord of Wisdom rides a lion, and the Lord of Truth rides a white elephant, and the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord rides a green ox... This bullfrog is supposed to be the king of all venomous beasts, with great power. Its venom is legendary. Who knows if it really is the steed of the Lord of Plague?”

“What do you think it looks like?”

Yu Guangbiao chuckled. “What, you keen to have a look?”

Wu Guangsheng laughed too. “Nah. You can describe it to me after you’ve had a glimpse.”

“If I ever caught sight of it, its poisonous vapours would blind me in an instant. The fumes would so addle my brain that I’m afraid I would never be able to tell you what I’d seen. Tell you what, let’s both go look for it together.”

There followed the sound of footsteps, and Duan Yu heard someone lift the latch of the door.

“H-hey...quit messing around,” Wu Guangsheng said nervously. The latch rattled again. It sounded as though the younger man was securing the door.

Yu Guangbiao laughed again. “Hah, you thought I’d really have the guts to go searching for it? Look at you, trembling like a rabbit.”

“You shouldn’t jinx things by cracking jokes like that. Everything is fine now, so let’s just go to sleep.”

The other man changed the subject. “Hey, do you think that bloody pair - Gan Guanghao and Ge Guangpei - are actually going to get away with it?”

“No one’s seen or scented anything of them for days,” Wu Guangsheng replied. “So they really may.”

“Well, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what Gan Guanghao’s good at. First, he’s good at lazing around and flirting with people. Next, he’s good at being completely uninterested in improving his swordplay. And lastly, he’s good at charming women with honeyed words. They’ve been searching for him all over. Even the Messenger herself has been sent out. Could they really have given all these people the slip? I don’t believe.”

“You may not believe it, but it is what it is.”

“I bet the two of them must have made their way into the deep mountains and run into the Crimson Bullfrog.”

Wu Guangsheng made a little ‘Ah!’ sound.

“They must have fled to the most remote, wild country,” Yu Guangbiao continued. “When they saw the bullfrog, they were entirely overcome by its poisonous vapours and their bodies were reduced to two puddles of blood and pus. That’s why no one has found any trace of them yet.”

“That makes some sense, I guess.”

“Some sense?” Yu Guangbiao snapped. “Why, if they hadn’t run into the bullfrog, then the whole situation would make no sense at all!”

“Maybe they just couldn’t hold it in,” Wu Guangsheng suggested. “Maybe things started to get heated, deep in the high mountains. And then at night, while they were flopping around like carp, why, they flopped right off a cliff.” Both men started sniggering.

Mu Wanqing killed both Gan Guanghao and Ge Guangpei, back at that teahouse, Duan Yu thought. Surely the Boundless Sword can’t have missed that? The owner must have buried the bodies as quickly as he could, to avoid any trouble. None of the villagers would have dared to tell the Boundless Sword the truth, if they had come knocking as they usually do, bristling with weapons and with those fierce expressions on their faces.

“You know, it’s really not a big deal to have two disciples elope like that,” Wu Guangsheng said. “Like they say: ‘The eunuchs fret but the emperor remains calm.’ So why is the Messenger so desperate to find them and bring them back?”

“Use that brain of yours, and think about it,” his companion replied.

Wu Guangsheng was silent for a long time. “You know I’ve never been as sharp as you,” he said finally. “I can’t figure out what it’s all about.”

“Right, riddle me this: Why is Lingjiu Palace so keen on taking over our Wuliang Palace?”

“According to Brother Tang, it’s probably because of the Boundless Jade Cliff. When Messenger Fu first arrived, the first things she asked about were the shadows on the cliff and their swordplay, and that sort of thing. Wait, that’s it. We’ve all sworn not to reveal anything about that cliff to anyone. But Gan Guanghao and Ge Guangpei didn’t swear any such vow. If they were willing to betray their own clan, there’s no telling what other secrets they may spill.”

There was a loud smack, as though Wu Guangsheng had slapped his thigh in triumph. “Yes, that’s why Lingjiu Palace wants them dead!”

“Be quiet!” hissed Yu Guangbiao in a low voice. “There’s someone next door. Have you forgotten that?”

“Yes, yes,” Wu Guangsheng said hurriedly. He paused, then said: “That Gan Guanghao is one lucky bastard, isn’t he? He managed to get that soft, fair little body wrapped around his little finger and shear her like a little lamb. Shit, he may have been reduced to a bloody mass, but at least...ah.”

The two men continued in this vein, and try as he might, Duan Yu could not block out the sounds of their vulgar jests coming from next door. He set his mind to thinking about the meridians and acupoints listed Divine Art of the Northern Darkness instead. After some time, he was so deep in thought that even though the obscene conversation continued on, Duan Yu heard none of it at all.