#literally so many people i know who hate kdramas watched it and liked it

[mihaser]

S2 squid game was such peak cinema not only did it bring as much attention as before but also all viewers across the globe ship these two old men. These gays beat homophobia for real.

[dangermousie]

People complaining about the Argan plot on my TL. I'm indifferent to it because it does follow the novel and it's not one of those novel things that don't adapt well for TV.

But I can see the complaints about it being in the last episode. I'd rather it be in the penultimate episode and then have the last episode dedicated to them rebuilding their new life. Like choosing the Yu-yeon name.

Overall, I didn't hate the last episode. The leads carried the episodes. I think the ending with the SLs was pointless. I get that anything happens in a time jump, but we've seen no progression really of their relationship. It's like a quick way to wrap up their storylines. But SFL literally had no storyline or purpose. SML at least had a storyline, and he had a purpose in the first half (to indirectly help our couple be a couple).

That's the only choice I question, the need for the SFL (and SML). The SFL was especially a mess that even the writers clearly didn't know what to do. One minute she's fangirling over ML and gets excited and acts like she has a date with the married ML (which she knows he's married), then after that, nothing. She suddenly stops fangirling and acts normal and this is before she learns about HJ as his wife.

People like to complain, it’s human nature.

I liked the Argan thing because it was in the novel and also because I was already a kdrama fan 15 years ago when so many dramas liked to send their OTPs to exotic war torn locations for make outs and torture (see Swallow the Sun, IRIS and Lobbyist among others. Side note - STS had a secondary OTP of a mercenary and suicidal stripper that was very matter of fact and they got a happy ending to boot; when people say nowadays kdramas are so more frank about things - well no they are not.) So that was yet another delicious throwback about this drama.

Anyone who complains (as I saw) about this being unbelievable or too OTT has clearly not been paying attention to the genre - this was a crack melo from ep 1. It stayed in genre until the end. I totally get if it’s not someone’s thing but it didn’t really pull a genre rug on anyone.

I was quite happy with the amount of post-plot fluff we got. We got half an ep and seeing that dramas have a long tradition of giving us 1 minute before the end in terms of happy stuff, that felt downright luxurious (even in the novel, the bulk of post-plot fluff is in the extras not the novel proper.) To be fair though, I am not really a fluff person and don’t have much interest in watching fluffy happy dating moments of even my favorite OTPs unless it’s narratively done in the middle as we we watch in knowledge the hammer of doom is coming. So this take is informed by that. (Shen Li remains close to unique for me in loving the fact that the entire last ep is dedicated to their cottagecore bliss post the plot resolution. But Shen Li is an outlier for me in many respects - when something hits well enough even my normal preferences melt away. I mean I love Suppli and that’s an office drama.)

As to second ML and second FL agree they weren’t as developed as they could have been (esp SFL) but I am just happy they weren’t ship interlopers. I rarely care much for SML/SFL unless they have their own interesting narrative not revolving a love a square so my expectations are usually low.

Ultimate while I did have some niggles (where is my naming scene, where?!?), Phone ended up my favorite kdrama of 2024 by a large margin, over even Lovely Runner, Black Out and Goryeo Khitan War.

I hope its success makes kdramas make more of those type of old school, intense, romance melos but I have my doubts.

[clairedaring]

more my stand-in thoughts and other ramblings about joe/zhou xiang best boi

!!!!!!!!!!! POSSIBLE NOVEL SPOILERS WARNING !!!!!!!!!!!

as my stand-in begins to air, even though we're only two episodes in, the series itself has already established very clearly and explicitly that ming is a HUGE RED FLAG and he's not... the nicest guy.

and as we are told by the narration of joe, this time he had with ming was not a dream as he had though but rather a nightmare and that it was ming who led joe to his death (literal translation of his last line in ep 1, iqiyi engsub you lack accuracy i hate you).

and while i am just one among the joe's protection squad, i feel like i don't share this overwhelming opinion i've been seeing of people thinking joe 2.0 should pull a 180 change or to be as bad as ming or to become some kind of monster and take his revenge on everyone who's ever hurt him as if this is some makjang kdrama.

i once wrote a bit about my thoughts on why joe/zhou xiang is such a compelling protagonist and what separates him from other 188 novels' main characters. but since that piece was written before my stand-in had aired and i think the characterization of joe has been slightly changed in comparison to the novel, so i want to take this chance to elaborate a bit more on my point in that post as well as update it to fit with the series version of zhou xiang.

so, like i've mentioned,one of the traits i love most about joe/zx is this inherent kind-hearted nature of his and i think the series has not only just done well in this aspect, but also greatly amped up this quality in the series portrayal of zhou xiang.

you can seeeeee it through joe's acts of services for this STRANGER he had just met. be it offering ming a ride to the BTS station or cooking for ming even though they didn't fuck.

however, i do agree with my friend @dragonsandphoenix's observation that with the series, since they're trying to speed through joe 1.0 and ming's relationship, the series has joe falling much quicker (literally him using the L word on ep 2 pls joe) than zhou xiang did, considering it took mingjoe only 2 ep before they started their period of domestic life and yanzhou 17 chapters to do the same thing.

i feel like this specific adaptation change in regards to characterization can cause audience to be even more protective of joe than novel readers already were of zhou xiang. one of my biggest fears for this adaptation (i say one of bc novel readers would already know my biggest fear of one specific scene) has always been the doormat allegations against joe. but like i've also said before, it's that specific trait that 'joe has the ability to fight back but he simply won't because he refuses to hurt others and his soft heart has him in pain whenever he sees others hurt' about him that i hold so dear. even in the series, we know joe has the physical capability of taking sol down... and the man did give sol a deck to his neck making him passed out.

... but it's also the same joe who would take care of sol after accidentally decking him.

did anyone watch ep 2 started counting how many times JOE apologizes in this episode... literally in the car scene, he said sorry to ming TWICE because he was scared he had hurt ming's feelings for his assumptions (right ones at that). or when the hot water dripped from the lid of the pot, joe immediately said sorry and checked to see if ming was hurt.

whether it is in the novel or the series, joe/zhou xiang is just really the type to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, he's never been able to put himself first and puts others' feelings above his (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ

which is why i was pleasantly surprised reading professional body double. because one would generally assume that after all the miseries thrown his way, he would become a bitter person, full of grudge and resentment against people who had hurt him, but he doesn't. that just isn't who joe is.

while joe's bad experience in his 1.0 life does change how he navigates his social life and the relations he has around him, it doesn't change the inherent kind hearted nature nor the optimistic outlook on life he once had. i love that for joe in his 2.0 life because his first and foremost goal was to restart a life happily and we gradually got this journey of self-respect and joe 2.0 finally being able to put himself first and fight for the things/people he love.

while there are obviously bad consequences to the "antagonists", i like that it has never been the direct result of joe 2.0 actions but it's more karmic. although i'm very open and would glad to see the antagonists getting even worse consequences than what happened in the novel (which i think was pretty mild) i think i'd rather be interested to see more of series!joe being happy and successful (big emphasis on successful because if i don't see joe with his 20+ blockbusters he deserve i'm suing for emotional damage)

in regards to the wife chasing arc in the second half of the series, i think this part will be rather controversial since there are diverse opinions on how audience want the wife chasing arc to be executed, or from joe 2.0's perspective: his responses/actions to being chased by ming again. and trust me, i do want to see ming grovelling in pain and suffer just as much as the next joe's protector. but at the same time for me it'd just be... ooc of joe to intentionally and/or maliciously inflict pain on ming. granted i do have some qualms as to ming's chasing method that i hope the series will adjust, i do think that zhou xiang's approach to being chased by yan ming xiu was rather sufficient without the need to give zhou xiang a 180 personality change, so i really hope that doesn't change.

all in all, while it's probably quite early to tell how the second half will progress and whether it does/doesn't diverge from his journey in the second half, i just think it was very in character for zhou xiang to make the decisions he does in the novel in his second life (except for one noble idiocy move that lasted like a day) and hopefully joe 2.0 also does in my stand-in for his new life. *sighs* joe is just truly best boi... i love him... look at he... that's my baby angel （づ￣3￣）づ╭❤️～

[ceoandslutler]

have you heard kuro dubbed in any language other than english? or in any other asian language other than korean or chinese? well i found a persian one and it's so fucking bad that it's hilarious.

(also stay tuned to find out why the persian dub of kuroshitsuji being so bad has directly to do with anti-shipping sentiment and puritanism)

i would like to politely invite anyone who's ethnically from/lives in/speaks the language of a country with an ultraconservative government to contribute to this post if they know a dub of kuro (fandub or licenced by a company) in their language to contribute to this post (agree or disagree that policing media causes a drop in its quality and accessibility in other countries) but let's keep it civil. if you are not from a country like this but have something to say, feel free to add anything on, the conversation is open to all :)

so i just heard the homemade persian dub of kuro's first ep made by some young people who sound like they're in uni (probs 18-23 yr olds), tears have been flowing from my eyes for the past 20 mins

(link under the cut)

to save time, go watch the bits i linked below or just laugh at the whole thing (full link) but don't blame these kids for being awful at this or just skip to the end of the post. as i said, there is a reason this dub is so bad and no official dub exists and it has to do with... anti subculture?!?*

but first, the funny stuff

ciel's voice is awful but just listen to the goofy dub laugh seb's va did at the start I'M FUCKING SOBBING (00:15-00:35), and also not ciel's va MOANING after the op song (2:35) ??? i REPEAT the woman who VA'd ciel was fucking MOANING, the YAWN was the worst part, dub team shotacons???

also SHEEL FANTOMHAYO?? THE KID'S NAME WAS DUBBED AS SHEEL FANTOMHAYO. (refer to 6:30 in the video linked)

now this isn't because we lack a 's' in our language (my alias is literally a persian name meaning shadow aka ✦sayé✦), we've just transliterated it as shiyel, but SHEEL???

the other guy calls him fantomhayo too (8:25) and the fantomhayo condition strikes again with sebastian's va talking about the fantomhayo hospitality at 12:40 ish in the video.

this is particularly bizarre because we do have a V in persian, please guys, use it!

please note: i have nothing but good things to say about finny's va... the way the va says "sebaastiyaan!" (12:43) is so cute <3

at 13:00, we get this golden crumb "meyrin... oh meyrin" from this college aged dude doing sebastian (who is SO lost) then he proceeded to say in persian "i beg you, ON MY LIFE, just pour the fucking wine in the glass and walk away" save me from the bad dub, ono daisuke, save me...

the furnace scene is just gold (18:50 onward is comical, the scream at the end... priceless), these people deserve an award, im tempted to do subs on this whole video because the translation is so wrong yet absolutely too hilarious to leave untranslated. also, i like how you can hear other people talking in the background constantly, they didn't even bother finding a quiet room 😭😭

finally i translated some of the best comments under the vid (everyone fuckin hated it 😭)

..tldr: irani/persian speaking netizens are brutal. but also, it shows that persian speakers are used to quality dubbing, otherwise this wouldn't be so offensive. if we were used to badly done dubs, the comments wouldn't look like this. many famous kdramas and jdramas and indian/turkish films have been dubbed. animated movies e.g. disney films and most commonly 70-80s anime have huge followings in iran and were dubbed extraordinarily well. in fact, in iran, many of our own films are dubbed especially if the original footage did not capture the audio well enough/the director was unhappy with the actor's delivery and it's usually hard to tell if this has happened because it's done very well. shockingly, dub is more popular than sub. so why does kuro not have an official dub? why is the fandub so bad???

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING

*IMPORTANT: an anime like this is not allowed to be legally dubbed by studios in iran because iran is under an islamic theocracy (the islamic republic) and all media that promotes devil worshipping and blasphemy is banned, homosexuality is too (anyone can tell kuro has homoerotic undertones, the homophobic heads of media would never let this queer gothic romance through). oh and trans people are "allowed" on TV but only if they're not vulgar/explicit (not even then, half the time) & grelle would not make it into the anime AT ALL. even if we ignore all the devil worshipping and queerness, sex is banned too (as well as lewd appearances of women), so season 1/2 & boc would never make it. oh and alcohol, bom would never make it. oh and also, women's empowerment is banned too so boa would never make it. when will it end? will someday everything be banned? sure looks like it. but isn't this what anti shippers want? i mean kuro IS problematic media, it never condemns people for having sex or partaking in drinks, not even murder is condemned.

moving on, the subtitled version of the episodes are very well done for what they are but it's still not good, you won't understand what's going on properly. meanings are lost. a dub is much more accessible to those who can't read subs and generally a necessary option. people NEED dubs. don't get me wrong, the iranian fansub team are dedicated however subs are much easier for fans to do than dubbing. as you heard, kuro's persian fandub was frankly terrible. these kids didn't even know how to pronounce ciel's name and it's NOT because of the language barrier, my theory is that because the internet access is so limited, they had to figure out how to pronounce ciel's name purely from the japanese original or another lang dub and had no access to the eng dub. as you can see, they are not able to follow the mouth movements either (don't have editing software); i assume the internet restrictions targeted streaming platforms w the dub on it (because the government wants to CONTROL what media people consume) so they had to figure everything out from japanese or another language, (they probably used another fandub to translate since the ed seems to credit the eng vas while they can never be heard in the bg) which is not easy. unfortunately english is taught in schools around the world not japanese so the dubbers' translation was quite honestly terrible- after all, they had no official script to base their translation off. BUT if a professional dubbing studio (e.g. iran's glory entertainment) got their hands on kuro, it'd probably be dubbed very well. if mehrdad raissi, CEO of glory, was on for seb's role, it would be glorious (pun intended). if he did flynn rider well, he can do sebs well too. but that studio often has their shows played on state televisions and the last thing they want is to get blacklisted and arrested for dubbing the gay demon butler anime. please do not take this fandub as representing all persian-language dubs. and remember, kuro itself is banned for being problematic media in counties like iran... no sebaciel needed (although anyone can definitely see the gay undertones to the story from a cover alone).

if you want to ban people from shipping things or making fan works that are problematic... soon you'll have to get rid of problematic media in general. and already, antis sound like the media people in charge under a dictatorship. "violence is okay, murder is okay but s-sex?!? women in scandalous clothing!!! oh good heavens..!" this is the kind of mindset which leads people down the rabbit hole of "this is problematic!! let's ban it!!!" until there's nothing left, a slippery slope. imagine this was the english dub of kuro. imagine it was banned in western countries and a team of young'uns had to gang up and make their own dub using only the japanese raws. imagine problematic media like kuro wasn't picked up the west because it's "shota" and that's bad. we'd be stuck looking at the same sanitised stuff and if we wanted to watch kuro, our options would be trash dubs (no offense) like this one. pretty scary to think this could be the state of the english dub if puritanism was as bad here as it is in countries like iran. policing media and deciding what creators should or shouldn't create will take you to the side of theocratic dictatorships and you will fall into alt right puritan lunacy, fanpoll are about as woke as a dictatorship, remember that.

don't sound like this:

NEVER sound like this.

it is clear that conditional freedom is no freedom at all. there should be zero criteria to the media we want to create, no religion or purity culture to it. just be media literate. let nobody control what you want to create or consume! (or you'll end up in a world where the media that is deemed "problematic" is maintained but only through underground circles, losing quality and accessibility day by day, until these channels are shut down too and only a sanitised husk of options for media consumption remain)

[kurov1864]

Milgram idol au (pt.11)

010 Kotoko:

YAYYAYYAY MY WIFE (I literally created this whole idol au for her <3)

Would 100% be the cold, mysterious and straightforward type. Like everything from her condescending eyes, to her closed off stance, everything about her screams "I hate you but I'm forced to perform so her you go."

Her casual outfits leans more towards "active" styles, so think like a mix of light and breathable jackets, gym shorts, sports bras and running shoes.

Official appearances would show a different side depending on the type. For things like podcasts, shows where people just sit and chat, she'll be dressed like that one girlboss CEO who was originally the villainess of the kdrama MC but then becomes an ally that not only supports MC but helps her see the full picture.

Honestly I don't think punk or girl crush would be too far-reaching as well. Because unlike the traditional ice-cold type, she actually has a lot of passion in her.

Also not present on social media, like at all. Fans are pretty sure more then half of her reposts and tweets are actually made by management rather then her. If she DOES tweet, it'll be very short and curt.

But that doesn't mean she doesn't use social media. Of course she does. Despite how she looks and acts, she actually cares a lot about her image. Less of her fans since those can turn easily, but she takes notes of y'all's loyal fan accounts (yes she is a stalker like Fuuta)

Probably had a dating rumor with Mikoto once, but that completely died out after it was addressed on stream.

Chat: are you really dating Mikoto?

Kotoko, looking at the camera dead in the eye: I would rather bite off my tongue and bleed a slow death.

That stream was never publicly addressed, but many say that Es gave her a good scolding to watch her tongue in public.

Obviously infuriates Mikoto fans, (and also infuriates other fans) on a daily basis. I don't think she'll be liked that much outside of her fanbase, because she seems very rude and condenscending.

Has compilations on Youtube of her smiling because it's just that rare to catch her smiling on camera

She would absolutely SLAY at physical/survival game shows, only person that can actually compete with her in terms of physicalneth is Kazui, and even then she comes out on top when it comes to survival shows (why does she know so much about random stuff??)

While she never graduated from law school, she's pretty educated on it. Constantly brings it up during arguments, she memories sections and recites them like the bible.

Everybody has their own way of stopping Kotoko from going on a law lecture midway through their disagreements. Fuuta and Mikoto annoys the shit out of her until she walks away. Mahiru doesnt even acknowledge it and goes on with her points. Muu shuts off her ears and pouts. Haruka doesn't get into arguments with her because she's scary.

And Es who somehow knows the laws as well gets into a 2 hour debate using other relevant laws to disprove her, only to finally get into a discussion about the flaws of the justice system with her

Even though her whole image is being unapproachable, I do genuinely believe that she would put in effort to being a little nicer to her fans during a fan meet-up or fansign.

Especially towards the younger portion of her fans, she would noticeably try to mince her words and hold her sharp tongue around them, as well as appear a little more open and friendly

(she had to get training to appear friendly she made a young girl cry at her first fansign)

The way she joined was through being scouted (because there is no way in hell that she would willingly join an idol agency)

I would think at first since it was a new agency + didn't really require much of her, she would think of it as a part time job. But then predebut came around and then they debuted and I think it'll be like on some random day during dance practice when it fully sunk in like "oh shit. oh shit I'm actually an idol THIS IS MY JOB".

That's probably when she started putting in more effort.

[starcrossed591]

KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

[micamicster]

Hi! Do you have any romcom (movie) recs? I feel like i hypothetically like the genre, but have a lot of trouble finding ones i enjoy. So many romcoms feel so formulaic (in a dead way) and misogynistic and stale to me. I think they’re a lot easier to do well in the context of a series because there’s actually time to build. Recently i thought rye lane and fire island were fun. I like kdramas when i have the time for all the episodes because i appreciate the build. I need chemistry— people who both convincingly like each other and seem like actual human beings. I thought you might have some good ideas! Thanks <3

HELLO LARGE VOICED ANON <3

I hope you weren't waiting on my recs all day haha i have been. hm. hungover af <3 (i'm going to leave kdramas off this list for now but if you would like specific recs for kdrama romcoms send me another ask and i can try to do them justice!)

I think this is a genre with underrated range! So one thing that I find very interesting about the genre of romcoms is that I think there tends to be a split between romcoms whose goal is, like, to be a fun lighthearted movie with a central romance, vs romcoms whose goal is to Say Something About Love in the vehicle of a funny movie. Both of these categories are represented on this list but for giggles i will not be saying which i think are which <3

anyway recs under the cut <3 i will link my tags for these movies if you want to take a look but be warned for spoilers ofc

I think for your purposes my primary rec would be Lovesick (aka Scrotal Recall). It's a (short) tv show so it would likely give you the chance to get to know the characters and see a slower build. In contrast to the frustration you've had with some more "formulaic" romcoms the writing in this show is very deliberately in conversation with romcoms of the past. Also it's just one of my favorite romcoms ever made so I rec it to everyone. The premise is that a young man, Dylan, is diagnosed with chlamydia and instructed to tell his past partners. Being a hopeless romantic (emphasis on hopeless), he decides to try to turn this into an opportunity to revisit relationships that didn't work out, and try to figure out where he's been going wrong. Two simultaneous storylines play out in each episode, the flashbacks to the exes (and breakups) and the present, where Dylan's best friend is getting married.

Older romcoms: When Harry Met Sally (ive heard this is divisive? but idc its SO funny and so well made), Moonstruck (a romantic-comedy in the operatic sense. also cher <3), The Philadelphia Story (katharine hepburn the woman u r. tw for a classic 1940s gag about punching ur wife in the face), Bringing Up Baby (screwball comedy my beloved), Roman Holiday (audrey hepburn is lethally charming in this movie), Dirty Dancing (someday ill write something this good and then You Will Realize), Much Ado About Nothing (i tend to enjoy either the danielle brooks shakespeare in the park version or the classic tennant/tate combo)

Teen romcoms: 10 things I hate about you (young heath ledger and young julia stiles ur welcome), to all the boys i;ve loved before (lana condor is ADORABLE), The Half of It (my other favorite sort-of romcom of the decade)

More recent-ish: Speed (like its keanu and sandra what more do you want), Strictly Ballroom (i used to watch this literally weekly as a child and I WAS RIGHT TO), Miss Congeniality (sandra bullock what u did for us all <3), Fire Island (thank u 4 my LYFE), The sandra bullock/channing tatum movie that came out last year (i forget what its called but he's so funny in it), Mamma Mia AND Mamma Mia Here We Go Again (beautiful greek islands, abba, cher, what more can you ask for?)

Indian/bollywood: Jab We Met (after dramatically quitting his job, Local Man somehow ends up escorting a woman he meets on the train while she attempts to elope with her boyfriend. aka classic screwball comedy heroine and Guy She Dragged Along For The Ride), khabie khushi khabi gham (multiple generations of romance and family drama featuring Kajol, the Most Beautiful Woman In the World), Band Baaja Baaraat (two wedding planners fall in love--great choice if you want to watch idiots ambushed by their feelings)

Other tv recs: Selfie (john cho and karen gillian in a show canceled far too soon)

[highflyerwings]

Ok so.

The Trunk.

First of all, I genuinely had no interest in watching this series initially. Because I assumed it was just a dark thriller/melodrama, and the thriller part I was okay with but the melo-romance absolutely not. In the end it very much turned out to be both of those things, so I was correct in my assumption. HOWEVER. I only decided to watch the show because I'd seen people "discoursing" about it on Bluesky and I was annoyed, and I went into it determined to like it out of spite.

My spite was not powerful enough though, because this was one of the most infuriating kdramas I've ever watched in my life.

But I think I can explain why.

I'm making an assumption here, but it felt like the goal was to attract two wildly different kdrama audiences.

You have the old school kdrama fans. Early-mid 00's era. Broadcast tv. Skewing mostly towards the romance genre. Multiple, messy, bonkers plotlines. Overly dramatic. Brightly lit. No real artistry as far as cinematography goes (just being honest). Rich heirs, family drama, mysterious pasts, murder? for some reason?, the lead actor and actress are there to be Pretty, first and foremost, their talent is negotiable, they just have to Look Good Cry Pretty. There is always comic relief side characters/couples. Did I mention overly dramatic. These kdramas have a formula. There are stereotypes. They are a good time! But they are what they are.

You have.....I don't want to say "new" kdrama fans. Because I also started out watching mid 00's kdramas, and I enjoyed them! But they got real old real fast, and I've struggled to be able to watch them since I burned myself out on them. I just want more cinematography. I want better, sincere acting. I'm not here to watch a soap opera. I want more unique storytelling. I don't like romance. I don't like melodrama. I'm genuinely not sure how to classify this type of viewer, other than it's just the complete opposite of the first kind. Neither is good or bad, right or wrong. Just different preferences!

But this drama felt like someone said "What if we did both!" What if we took an early-mid 00's kdrama but completely changed the tone, and gave it good lighting, stellar cinematography, and an all-star cast. It's genius!

And in theory, yes, that actually sounds like it could have been a brilliant idea. But whether it only works in theory, or the writers didn't know what they were doing, I don't know, but it ended up being a disaster. It actually turned off BOTH audiences instead of hooking either of them.

So....that's my explanation for why this show was such a massive fumble, and why it felt so off for pretty much everyone I've come across who's watched it.

[Literally no one is reading all this and that's okay lol, I just had to get this off my chest.]

With that said, I didn't actually completely hate it! The first 3 episodes had me genuinely intrigued. I thought, now hold on a second, maybe this is actually the show for me and not everyone complaining about it. I could tell it was going to be a wild ride, but it was gorgeous to look at, the plot was (at that point) interesting, the actors were (at that point) acting, I was seated.

Other than the cinematography, the best part about this series (like with many kdramas) are the side characters. Everyone other than the 3 leads (5? I guess? if you count the side husband and stalker) are so much fun. The comedic relief side couple with their own interesting personalities and storyline, the best friend, the neighbor, the police detective. These characters (and actors) brought so much life to this series. I stuck it out for them 100%.

I like the slow burn, arranged marriage plot! I like subby, fucked up Gong Yoo! I like the bonkers, fucked up 1st wife! The base elements were all there! It could have been so good!

My complaint with the series lies solely in the overall writing, and the lead actors.

Too many plotlines. Too messy and confusing (even by kdrama standards to be completely honest). Nothing was tied up properly. It felt like 5 different writers came up with their own individual storylines that only vaguely connected and they just decided to run with all of them and then kind of give up towards the end.

Giving both Gong Yoo and Seo Hyunjin's characters complicated, mysterious backstories was way too much. Her's especially could have been cut completely just to give everything else more breathing room.

Most people's complaints about the show were that it was too dark and too confusing. The dark, dreary aspect was fine. The confusion? That got us all. It was just too much.

The actors?

Let me preface this by saying this series made me realize that I think I actually just find Gong Yoo to be incredibly boring as an actor. He was incredibly dull in this series, but I also had a personal revelation that I think I just find him boring overall.

Seo Hyunjin I'd seen in "You Are My Spring" and I remember liking her, so when I realized it was her in this show I was excited. She turned out to be probably the worst part.

Jung Yunha was somewhat fun to watch compared to the others. She played the villain very well. Looking up her filmography just now, it seems like this might be one of her first leading roles? The things I've apparently seen her in before she was a very minor part or an extra (small enough I honestly didn't even remember her). She felt more natural on screen though. So I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and chalking her part up to mostly a failure in writing, and less about her acting skills.

Jo Yigun, who plays the side husband, this appears to be his ONLY acting credit, and to be honest it shows. That's all I'll say.

Overall, the leads were wooden and lifeless on screen. They brought no personality whatsoever to their characters or the story. Especially Hyunjin. I cannot emphasize enough how absolutely unnatural and dull her presence on screen felt. And when she did show emotion it was over the top and completely unrealistic (but that's the kdrama way, so fair is fair I guess).

I genuinely wanted to like this series. Out of spite at first, but once I thought I might actually like it I just really wanted to. And it just literally never stuck one single solid landing, and I'm honestly angry about it.

[no-where-new-hero]

Blake Wrapped #1: K-Dramas 2024

'Tis once more Blake Wrapped season. I watched nearly all of these dramas in the first half of the year, so it was fun to revisit them all and my opinions for this wrap-up! Reviews and pictures under the cut.

Cheese in the Trap (2016)

Would be my favorite drama of all time if it weren’t for the plot/character nosedive around 2/3 of the way in, which destroyed the delicate psychological rendering of the main characters. TBH this drama gives me pain, but in a way that's also kind of enjoyable to tear apart. Aside its faults, it's beautifully filmed, perfectly cast, and did introduce me to Park Hae Jin (belovedest). 8.5/10 for the costuming, music, Kim Go-Eun's curly hair, and the first 10 eps.

Man to Man (2017)

Saw this one purely because it starred Park Hae Jin, Park Sung Woong, and Chae Jung An, and they were the only good things about it. The plot volleyballed among different genres (action, comedy, thriller, romance) in a way that felt almost like a pastiche, but which never committed to the bit enough to bring it all into a satisfying whole. A star-studded and talented cast let down by poor direction/writing. 6.5/10 for the fun of shipping the wrong people.

Who Are You: School 2015 (2015)

Yook Seung-jae gave me a SEVERE taste of second lead syndrome and carried the last few episodes. One of the best kdrama performances I’ve ever seen. The whole cast was exceptional and held together the many mini-plots, which nicely dealt with real and relevant themes. Some later scenes felt unnecessarily drawn out to fill 16 eps, but at least every story and character arc felt complete. 8.5/10 for Kim So-hyun’s eyeliner being a paid actor.

The Killing Vote (2023)

I had my eye on this one ever since I saw that Park Sung Woong won an award for his performance and then after getting to know PHJ, I put it to the top of my watch list. It absolutely delivered in terms of symbolism and suspense and had relatively few plot holes considering all its twists and reveals. The 12 ep structure worked well, though I hated the obvious season 2 setup in place of a proper finale. 8/10 for Seo Young-joon’s character stealing the heart of the show.

My Love from the Star (2013)

This felt like the K-dramaest kdrama I’ve seen so far in terms of tropes: philosophical dialogue about fate and humanity, (literal) time-stopping romance, murders, chaebol family tensions, a scene-stealing second lead, homoerotic hyung-dongsaeng friendships, non-existent female relationships, turtleneck sweaters, first snows, and hospital/police station scenes galore. Jun Ji Hyun is perfect and adorable and my wife. 8/10 for Kim Soo-hyun and Mr. Jang’s farewell.

Bad Guys (2014)

It’s clearly become a thing for me to watch a crime show because of my man of the moment and it ends up being underrated cinematic excellence. Gripping pace, sharp cinematography, and great characters are just the tip of the iceberg: everyone talks in poetic metaphor! Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” is a central haunting leitmotif! Jo Dong-hyuk (in the middle there) looks personally and lovingly sculpted by God Himself! PHJ plays a tormented emo babygirl! 9/10 for everyone being unhinged.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016)

Satisfyingly lived up to its reputation. Despite the emotional heartache, I did appreciate that the overarching theme was “love pushes you to make tons of bad decisions.” And the ending wasn’t horrible, as I had been led to believe! Biggest gripe was Kang Ha-neul’s lifeless stare, but otherwise the whole supporting cast was fabulous. 9/10 for this iconic scene and the Death Song.

Winter Sonata (2002)

This drama has been a classic in my family since I was young, though this was the first time I watched it through. Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo are lovable and brilliant in their leading roles with fantastic chemistry and an absolutely perfect ending scene. I find it hard to review it, because it's basically an emotion in and of itself. 9/10 for the OST to end all OSTs.

Again My Life (2022)

This one had all the right elements—atmospheric music, aesthetic direction, fascinating premise, good cast—but the delivery just…plodded a bit? I skipped five episodes in the middle and didn’t miss a substantial amount of plot, so this really should have been a 12-episoder. Also had the same downer “efforts toward good are ultimately useless because evil is regenerative and eternal” message from Killing Vote that I didn’t love. 7/10 for a strong start.

From Now On, Showtime! (2022)

A refreshingly fun and humorous take on magic, past lifetimes and ghosts. Started it for PHJ, finished it for the found family of ghosts and spirits, who captured the heart of the show and gave it necessary energy. Solid chemistry among all the actors, and I enjoyed the Easter eggs for other shows of this type, like TOTNT and Goblin. 8/10 for incredibly funny writing and a fabulous emotional ending.

Forest (2020)

There’s a great drama in here somewhere, but the writer never exactly finds it. Jo Bo Ah and PHJ are fantastic (and their chemistry is off the charts) with some great set-piece scenes to develop their connection. Unfortunately, no rhythm or satisfying through-line was able to hold it together from a plot (or even a character) perspective, especially with the short-episode structure. 6.5/10 for the hand-touching scene and the kiss-under-the-bridge (that no one has gifed whyyy).

DNF: Death’s Game (2023)

I like to think I’ve gotten pretty chill about violence in shows, but this one had what felt like an undercurrent of glee in its depictions of the series of deaths that was so at odds with the message it was purporting to convey, to the point where I no longer believed in the message at all. Good premise, decent performances, tone just wasn’t for me.

Movies: Snow Is on the Sea/Snow in the Sea Breeze (2015)

I watched this one for the plot, and the plot really was PHJ being sweet and cuddly and husband material and showing far more skin than I had seen in the 50 or so hours of his drama episodes combined. It makes cleaning a penguin enclosure the height of romance. Corny, tragic, melodramatic mush, 10/10.

The Beauty Inside (2015)

Unexpectedly poignant with a lovely hook and great performances, grounded by the adorable Han Hyo-joo. I love ensemble cast concepts like this (imagine Doctor Who except for a daily regeneration) and the gender play conferred a sweet queer touch. Love wins, 10/10.

The Great Battle (2018)

The battles were lifted almost verbatim from LOTR and some of the quieter plot beats were completely predictable but it still delivered a great visual spectacle. I have no idea why I watched this but it compelled me though. Gorgeous cinematography, 7/10.

[khaotunng]

Yup I'm watching lovely runner and while I like it the male lead is way too perfect and his entire existence revolves around the female lead like it's to the point where every single one of his actions and thoughts are about her and every post on here or anywhere else is about how whipped he is or how much of a loser in love he is it's hilarious they literally don't talk about anything else

I'm admit I'm negatively biased re: lovely runner. The drama was advertised as a story where a fan tries to save her idol from dying in a terrible accident, and I was probably not the only one who thought about real life deaths of idols by suicide. And even if references to real life events were accidental, I was not interested in a drama that enables the fantasy of a fan saving a man she doesn't really know, because celebrities (idols of the kpop industry especially!) are real people with (thankfully) private lives we fans should know nothing about. It just irked me from the beginning in the wrong way, and I understand from gifs floating around that the drama itself immediately makes her not simply a fan but someone the guy knows and (very much) cares about. Their connection is not of a fan with her idol but quickly becomes simply that between two people in love trying to save each other through timetravel. I admit that I am BIASED, my hate is partially unfounded, there are SO MANY romances between a common person and a celebrity... but I am a hater.

THAT BEING SAID, lovely runner commentary is just "oh he's such a loser he's so in love eheheh" and I HOPE it is a disservice to real drama because otherwise it's just... terrible. Is he seriously so narrow minded? Even the fantasy has a limit. SO yeah lovely runner is the poster boy of this awful trend, but at the end of the day I hope people who enjoy it keep on enjoying it

... personally i hope for a sad ending and for the drama to disappear from kdrama tags amen

[baekhvuns]

Ok first of all, let's start with the update of our sunny Bcz it really is a ball of sunshine..

Haebom truly is a mama's boy even tho he looks all tough and manly and that's like the cutest thing ever, AND THE BABY 😭 THE BABY! (not him blushing while he watches sungho eat breakfast he cooked 😭)

he finally confronted about the kiss and haebom's like "are you gay or something like that?" 💀"🕴️...uhhh...it..just happened..., got caught in the moment" (sungho :') )😭 NO BABE IT DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN!

Bro, what's funny is that, HAEBOM'S disappointed with the excuse "in the mommmmmeent??" It's almost like he wanted him to say that yes I like you😭 he's literally pouting (sungho liked it 😏)

AHHHHHHHH-

And then in the next chapter haebom got sick and sungho's nursing him 😔🤚 and haebom cuddles him 😔🤚

Now...D.O IS LEAVING SM!?!?! I do not know how to react to that...

YOUR DAD'S SO COOL 😭 I get the scary part tho, many people believe my dad is scary too BUT HES A SOFTIE IRL LIKE-

Nah ur right, depression be hitting more Bcz of the whole solar eclipse and stuff...as a person who believes in the universe and astronomical stuff, I'm boutta burst with emotions till the 28th...can you believe...in 12 days, a new month will arise. Where...the hell did October go? 😭 I'm ready for Halloween tho 😏

wait wait if you celebrate Halloween what're you gonna be this year?? Oh and, tell me how do you celebrate halloweeeeennnn. Tht is a fun question to ask...Bcz i haven't really thought what I'm gonna be..🕴️ life's got no chill and I'm busy asf so but imma still think though.

AND OMG DID YOU HEAR SUNMI'S NEW SONG?!?! MOTHER BLESSED US WITH A CREEPY ASF SONG AND IM ALL HERE FOR IT BCZ ITS HALLOWEEN!!

I was also watching red, white and royal blue a d it was cute, but.....hmmm idk maybe Ive become used to the whole kdrama thingy but i didn't feel like, there was enough build up 😭 idk dude I mean yeah it was just a 2 hr movie but still..I'm gonna read the book though.

Oh and speaking of dramas I've been wanting to watch destined with you Bcz rowoon...oh god rowoon, the rizz he has in the drama 😏

ANDDDD I've got like two idea for a fic and the first one is a little more...how do I say it? Mafiacore? So imagine, person a and person b. person b, is given a mission to go get some imp documents that person a has (very dangerous leader of a mafia clan) which has things that's are against person B's boss so hence he's given the mission so like...an undercover spy maybe...AND A MAFIA AHHH! But as the law suggests they end up falling in love but the catch is...the real villain is person B's boss and person a had already met person b once that's how he felt a connection with him😭

The next one is Bcz I've been heavily obsessed with Lana del rey and i thought of this while listening to Salvatore....so, imagine like person a is a really vintage girl, obsessed with books, but for research purposes and to unfold the secrets of this world (not like us 😔) and so there's this Library she loves going to but she wants to read more into mythical creatures and stuff but the library restricts the specific area, so, as any protagonist would do, our person a, breaks into the library after its closing hours and goes to the restricted area that is rumoured to be haunted and stuff, there..she meets person b. A really peculiar guy, beautiful, but peculiar with a fashion sense of the 40s and 50s wearing, those suits and perfect hair that fell onto his forehead angelicly.

And as the story unfolds, they both start to get closer to the each other, of course I'd add more drama to it, but the catch for this one is that....person b is not real.

this is so very late im so sorry fbkwbdwk 😭😭

NOT THE TWO HAIRS ON THE KID 😭😭😭

“who said i hated it?”

he’s leaving sm BUT it’s only for his solo activities, for group activities he’s under sm 😭😭😭 honestly the best thing for all of them atp i need their freedom asap

RIGHT LIKE THOSE R THE BEST DADS THE SCARY IRL BUT THE SWEETEST IN PRIVATE

omg the eclipse thing??? what does it affect 😧 u need to tell me asap everything u know in detail 🔫 READY FOR HALLOWEEN BUT WHY IS IT ALWAYS SO DAMN COLD ON HALLOWEEN 😭😭 & not it being on a tuesday 🧍🏻‍♀️

i do celebrate it but unfortunate i stopped dressing bc i can NEVER find good things to be <3 my wardrobe is very lacking fbakfhak tHO ID WANNA BE OPPENHEIMERS CHARACTER the tux and the fedora hat <3 U TELL ME YOURSS WHAT ARE U GONNA BE

I DID AND I HAD TO HEAR IT MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET USED TO IT but it’s sus bc i saw no promo for it i didn’t even know it was happening tbh

no ur right that’s my exact thoughts abt it, i wish it was longer and had more to offer i wanted to know the reaction of public, a gut wrenching monologue, longer time spent apart, wanted crying scenes, a little emotion on face, the royal family contacting his president mother for some discussion and possibly expanding on the secretaries love life’s,,, 7.5/10 for me personally 🤚🏻 i rly liked the texting scene !!

STOP I SEE IT EVERY WHERE IS IT WORTH THE HYPE

now that mafia fic is very interesting bc i have this one where it’s two spies who work against each other and their mission is to get info from each other to report it to their agencies,,, fall in love, action scenes, painful separation of lies and then they meet years later to be on a mission, but this time, together

THAT LANA ONE CHAAERSSS

[everybodysaycbx]

YOUR TAGS ON SOO’S FILMOGRAPHY ALFHAKHSAKBit really do be like that 😭😭😭

Like 75% of his stuff hits straight to the water pipes, even the stuff he only has a minor role in

LITERALYYYYYY its so hard to watch most of his stuff even tho i want to bc hes such a good actor but when theres a new movie of his coming out its almost always a serious drama and im like,,,,,,,,,,do i wanna watch him die again or do i need some happiness rn bcjskqkwjjdjshhhsqjj

probably why i rewatch 100 days my prince so often its my favorite kdrama of his (i love historical dramas so im biased lol) and yeah theres some sad and even tragic moments but its overall a good time and very interesting (plus he and nam jihyun are wonderful in this (and everything they do tbh) and so are the supporting actors

also now im going to use this as an excuse to ramble about my thoughts on the show bc i love it but i have Critiques™ so ill put a read more for spoilers bc ill talk about them a lot

almost all of these issues if not all are all about the writing so there wont be any criticism of the acting which i thought was pretty good overall by kdrama standards (there were only a few times where i thought it was detrimental to my enjoyment but again it was still more to do with my problems with the writing)

so to really get into it, the pacing suffers with the back half of the episodes feeling a bit rushed especially in the last few episodes. i didnt feel like the first half was dragging much except in a few areas but again it didnt detract from my enjoyment. the last id say 5 or 6 episodes really feel like they were speedrunning which made the ending less satisfying

so when i looked at reviews of the show years ago i saw many people criticizing how the main antagonist died bc it felt anticlimatic and i do agree, especially on first watch. while its not as jarring as the first time when ive rewatched it the way he dies still doesnt feel built up as well as it could have been and i think it could have worked if the pacing for the ending wasnt so rushed (plus the numerous twists during the last couple of episodes made it a bit hard to follow where it was heading and some of what WAS set up i think was lost in that but tbh thats par for the course for kdramas lol)

speaking of the ending, i get why it ended the way that it did with the marriage mandate happening again to make everything come full circle, but character wise i dont think it was the way to go. wondeuk has always expressed even before he lost his memory that he hated being royal and never wanted to live that life because of what his father did to get it. and even knowing that he wasnt wondeuk and was probably a noble at the very least he wanted to be with hongshim in the village or wherever they needed to go. hongshim similarly has already gotten used to being a commoner and has lived that way longer than her former life. even in the epilogue she doesnt really live her life as a noble even if her status has been reinstated. i think it wouldve made more sense if he renounced the throne and chose to live with her in the village.

adding to the last point, if they had stayed in the village together and he abdicated, then his half brother would be the crown prince and the queen wouldnt be on her bullshit even at the end of the show!!! dude literally killed the guy who was threatening you and controlling your husband and you still cant stop trying to fuck him over so your son can be king??? i know the evil manipulative queen is a trope in these but shes so illogical it was a bit annoying which is a shame bc i usually love those characters

the show like,,,,,less than halfway through forgets wondeuks half brother is even a character like why was he even there. theres some indication in the beginning of the show that he likes the crown princess but that doesnt really go anywhere (its only brought up in like 2 scenes at the beginning and in the epilogue wheres shes moved to a remote location with the baby and goes to visit for some reason.....dude yall had maybe 3 lines of dialogue between each other. why are you here) and he even tells wondeuk that he hates him but we never really figure out why bc he doesnt really want to be the crown prince that much (not that i can recall rn) so his only role in the story is to help the queen be a red herring but not be a real character of his own

this is more of what i felt upon rewatch but every time i rewatch it i find it more and more annoying but the palace drama where the queen is spreading rumors and then the guys who support the antagonist make fake fliers about how the kingdom wants her deposed for this in order to manipulate the king is just,,,,,extremely uninteresting upon rewatch. like so much is happening that goes on for so long and its dragged out for way longer than it should be AND it takes time away from the village plot with wondeuk and hongshim aka the actual interesting part. so now i mostly just skip those parts even tho when i first watched the show it was fairly interesting tho i felt it dragged on a bit too long so i wont say this is a huge strike against it or anything

while i knew the brother was going to die bc thats how these kinds of stories work i was still upset fjisjshdsjsh he was a great character and while i think it still makes sense why and its still narratively satisfying imo, i think it would still be satisfying if he lived and he and the princess escaped successfully. i think it would work a little bit better actually bc it would make the antagonists decisions make a little more sense in the finale bc not everything is going to his plan and hes losing more control (plus they deserve to be happy :(( they deserve the happy ending wondeuk and hongshim get too) plus it would still tie in with hongshims motivations for rejecting wondeuk initially before the epilogue

thats the last of the criticism but this isnt a praise so ill leave an idea i had for like a what if scenario ig: so i always wondered what would happen if either the antagonist doesnt get to wondeuk in time during the festival or he gets killed by the people the king sent to attack him and hongshims brother gets there to take them them plus her dad with them into hiding. and the awkward tension that would ensue when wondeuk either figures out her brother is the assassin thats been coming after them or just immediately knows when he sees him come to get them but they both dont want to hurt hongshim by telling her what they know about the other but shes distressed that they obviously dont like each other and this is all happening while theyre running around the woods and trying to find a place they can hide out and her dad is just,,,,,,,so confused the entire time but trying to make everyone get along fjwwqkdhuheuedh idk i could add to this later bc i have so many ideas on how it could play out but ill stop there fisksjbdjssjdjssj

[honeygold-dew]

Extraordinary Attorney Woo Ep 7: SCREAMING THE ENTIRE EP FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS

My God was that a rollercoaster??? Let me number my thoughts while I’m at it:

(Once again, from someone on the spectrum)

1. It started off sweet and emotional about the townspeople and their togetherness, and I found myself smiling seeing Myung-seok so passionately agree to take the case on after seeing Youngwoo and Sooyeon so passionate last week. Funny little human things, when you care you put 110% of your efforts in no matter who you are.

2. Youngwoo slipping looked like it HURT oh wow, and I’m glad Junho noticed and was kind enough to give her his jacket to cover the rip on her clothes (literally had the biggest smile on my face). Youngwoo really would’ve been fine, Junho just likes her and wants her to have nice things (even if he was completely awkward with her before this interaction, he’s constipated in his own mushy feelings) and you know what? Valid! I’m honestly so glad there’s a natural relationship progression between them – that he’s mushy and awkward about his feelings in the first place toward Youngwoo. Finally we are pined over and loved!!! I’ve never wanted two kdrama leads to be together as much as I want these two.

3. The conversation Sooyeon had with Junho gave me… mixed feelings tbh. On one hand I think this was Sooyeon’s frustrated way in accepting Junho does not like her in the same way she very much likes him, that he should just be clear and tell Youngwoo he likes her to make things better for everyone involved (considering this was also after Sooyeon got frustrated at Youngwoo for thinking it’s hard to like her because she’s autistic, which she thought was bullshit considering Youngwoo’s great and she’s watching her own crush like Youngwoo in real time) but on the other hand… the beginning did make me raise an eyebrow. “Don’t do this now if you’re not going to do it for a long time, because I got exhausted when I thought it was fine at first” — alright, but Junho already established boundaries with Youngwoo. They enjoy lunch together and talk about whales, it’s whale talk time, which Junho also has prior knowledge in and genuinely wants to hear about. Youngwoo is a person who will talk about whales when she wants to talk about whales, but she’s not an asshole. It’s very clearly easy for her to respect boundaries. If you established boundaries with her then maybe she wouldn’t have spoken about them to you after your test? Or did you not establish those boundaries because you pitied her and thought “she’s autistic, I can’t do that” ?

(want to put a disclaimer here that I’m not hating Sooyeon, just saying how that part of the conversation hit me. I’m glad she’s there to stand up for Youngwoo when she isn’t around, even happier she took Minwoo’s unwashed butt out of Junho’s car seat. But it’s nice to see her as a character that’s actively trying as a friend in Youngwoo’s life, even if she does raise eyebrows sometimes.)

4. I need Minwoo to be hit by a bus. Preferably with Geurami driving it. This one also has mixed feelings. I feel Minwoo and Sooyeon are opposites, where Sooyeon sometimes undermines Youngwoo because of her autism, Minwoo feels threatened because he thinks she receives special treatment for it. He’s definitely ableist, like I won’t even bother arguing that, but I do think it’s interesting seeing people argue he isn’t. Minwoo as a character is meant to represent casual ableism — very much what we experience everyday in the working world. The drama obviously is using cinematography to make us hate him, yet so many people are questioning why because we can also, thanks to the writing, understand the fundamentals of his points. If you see everything in black and white (not recommended, it’s actually very damaging sometimes) Youngwoo got in through nepotism and nepotism’s bad. If you see the world as it is, in the myriad of colours where everything is subjective, Youngwoo got in through her skills she has shown for the past 7 episodes and faced discrimination not being accepted to every other firm, and Minwoo is just salty she’s showing him up while all he did in that firm was kiss every client’s ass in the cases he handled.

5. TAE SOO-MI IS YOUNGWOO’S MOTHER CONFIRMED!! After the little hints in last week’s episodes I feel she may explicitly introduce autistic masking to the drama, fingers crossed I’m so excited to see how that plays out. On another note, I think the dad might be too paranoid about the law firm’s intentions with Youngwoo. We may be proven wrong, but I don’t think Seon-young was that conniving, and the dad might just be viewing the world through a parent’s lens of “everyone wants to take advantage of my child”. I feel this can be true for most parents with autistic children, more so for parents who are allistic themselves. The world is full of things that can hurt Youngwoo, people will disregard her and take advantage of her, but she has the right to make the decision on whether she wants to experience that. The wrong is on the people doing it to her — why must she be a pawn in her own life? A chess piece whose moves are decided by other people? She has a right to feel upset at the end, and I’m glad she is.

6. Saved this for last because OH MY GOD…. That scene with Junho and Youngwoo, I’ve never kicked my feet and squealed so much at a kdrama scene before. Youngwoo asking him for consent to touch him to see if she likes him was the sweetest thing ever, consent is so sexy. Without her asking consent Junho would’ve been constipated in his feelings for another week or so, thank you Youngwoo. Junho’s finally flirting!!!!!!! She closed her eyes they were going to kiss AND THEN IT CUT AWAY! Inject this scene into my veins because I will not be getting over his “that’s disappointing” anytime soon.

Absolute rollercoaster istg.

[violettelueur]

— FUSHIGURO MEGUMI + GOJO SATORU || S/O THAT HATES KIDS BUT IS MOTHERLY

↳ featuring : fusiguro megumi + gojo satoru from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : grammar issues

↳ form : headcanons

↳ published : 14 march

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ request : hiii could u do headcanons for gojo & fushiguro with a s/o who openly talks about how she dislikes children but the moment she’s put in the same room as one she acts all motherly & children absolutely love her? thank you ☺️☺️

↳ barista’s notes : hello everyone~ so i just finished watching the recent episode of Penthouse : war in life season 2 (it’s a kdrama) and i am pissed and angry at so many characters...like everyone on that shows is just a whole mess ʕ ᵒ ᴥ ᵒʔ but moving on from that, i hope you enjoy your cup of classic black coffee (jujutsu kaisen request!) and order a coffee again when we open ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

Fushiguro is someone that is neutral about children in my opinion like he doesn’t hate them but he doesn’t have baby fever, you know?

So when you inform him that you didn’t like children, he will be a little surprised but is completely understanding.

So when you and him were babysitting a sorcerer’s toddler, for the time being, he was sort of worried that you weren’t going to take it really lightly...but he was so wrong.

In the beginning, you did sigh since you weren’t really looking forward to the whole chore but that didn’t mean you were going to be like that for the whole time being.

Fushiguro is really shocked when you would play with the toddler like it was your own like sometimes you would twirl around while saying “whee, whee” with the child in your arms since it giggled when you did - it helped it stop crying when it was about to.

When he would try to take the toddler away from you since he knew your arms were tried, you would slowly back away at first before handing him the child with some hesitation.

There would be times when you would read to the child with the books that the sorcerer has given you and he’s really surprised at how patient you are since the toddler would immediately flip the page before you finished reading it or it would keep open to one page to admire the animal drawings.

The way you would look at the child and smile at it causes Fushiguro to really question if you really disliked children - because your actions say otherwise...like completely.

When it’s time for the child to take a nap, you and the child would be sleeping on his bed and it’s holding onto your fingers to keep you anchored - Fushiguro has like 1000 pictures of it (rip phone storage).

When it’s time for the baby to go back to the parent, you’re sad since the day felt so quick but when the parent turns back and walks away you would wave at it and the toddler will cutely wave at you back.

“You say you don’t like children, but you seem to actually do,”

“What are you talking about?”

Okay, now Fushiguro is really confused.

I have no idea what Gojo’s view on children will be - he probably is at first “ew kids” before taking a second to think about it and say “if it’s with you then I don’t mind”

But you respond with, “ha good luck with that, I don’t even like children”

Overall, Gojo finds the whole situation quite funny since he doesn’t really care about if you like children or not - you both are quite busy as people/sorcerers, so you both wouldn’t have the time.

However, when you and Gojo are at a dessert place and you see a child wanting something but the mother can’t afford it, you just walk towards them and ask if you could pay for what they both want.

Of course, the mother would reject but you would just crouch down and ask the child anyways because you know they can’t resist the small cake on the display.

Gojo is really surprised since you turned really soft-spoken - since you literally yell at him 24/7 when he is annoying - and you also have a gentle smile on your face, like the one where a mother looks at their child.

You would also point at a lot of the dessert at the display with an excited expression and the child would do the same since you want the mother and child to enjoy their day without any difficulty - kind of like “Wah look at that cake, isn’t it pretty?” “How about this ice cream, you can even make it look like a bear!”

Once your order what the family wanted, the family will obviously thank you since the mother was really struggling since she had just bought groceries for the week.

The child will thank you with a big smile to which you would reciprocate back since it’s nice to see the child happy once again - Gojo is still in a trace by the way.

Gojo is really quick to think of many scenarios with you and him as a family since this little act of kindness makes him realise that you really do care for kids - but he will tease you for it.

“So~ you said you don’t like kids but how about we start a family aye~”

“No way, if they’re your kids, they’ll be so irritating”

“But you love them anyway~”

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[yeo-rims]

can i just say i really appreciate your reviews on kdramas in general. youre one of the few blogs that actually appreciates good writing for what it is rather than what you would have liked it to be. so many reviews about little women on things people 'didnt understand' or 'didnt make sense' are solely because the show or the characters didnt move in the direction fans specifically wanted them to. when overall the writing was complex and well thought out, almost every character was three dimensional and flawed and real and went through their own personal growth, and the ending was conclusive and tied up loose ends to make up for all the plot twists. idk i just think that this drama is receiving more hate than the appreciation it deserves and i feel like youre one of the only people who really tries to appreciate its details and symbolism and meaning and i wanted to say thank you for that

oh god, this is so sweet! thank you so much. I am obsessed with writing about the shows that I'm enjoying, it's part of how i interact with them, and if there is something that I've realized is that I'd much rather focus on what I am seeing rather than what I wish it was, because nothing will ever be perfectly crafted for me, but that's why watching something that challenges our perspective is so good.

That's not to say i don't criticize when I think it deserves, some of my favorite shows had moments that made me completely upset, but I tend to think if that's from a personal viewing experience or if it is just the writing not being as complex as it is trying to be, or if the text isn't making much sense. Recently I've read a review on The Red Sleeve and they liked that the court ladies in that show were the villains because it gave Deok Im agency. I never thought it like that, but I could see where they were coming from. For me, as I've written before, made me dislike seeing their complexity reduced to petty revenge, even though, it is still a show that I really loved. When I was watching 2521 this year I had a different sort of disappointment, it came from me wanting a different ending, but I could see how the ending we got was not bad, just different.

The thing about Little Women is that the ending was actually what I wanted and coincidently what I think made sense and also gave us that sense of justice served that I personally love in stories about class/money. I wasn't watching the show to see them fail and die and spend their lives in jail/ i would've hated that message so much. I was just thinking about how, in my personal opinion, think Hwa Young was only incarcerated because the moment she involved In Joo in her revenge (even if it wasn't with ill intent) she was using the same logic behind the General's ideology. Not nearly as awful, but still by failing to see how complicated that money would make In Joo's life, she put someone that is like her (poor) in danger. That was the only mistake she's done, and that's why in the end her app is popular, she will still have money once she's out of jail, and In Joo forgave her, walked through acid for her, and in the process killing Sang Ah. Because the money they stole was, actually, never the Won's family money. The money the rich gets by exploiting the poor isn't something they actually earned, is it? So the show never went that route of "In Joo was actually in the wrong for stealing, she should pay for that" that some shows do by the end, like how many revenge shows we know that the male lead has to spend time in jail/running away? Granted, In Joo has been through hell, but her ending is literally a new beginning, it's what that house represents. She can start over in a house like that and rest her soul.

Yes, it was her dream to be with her sisters, but was it In Hye and In Kyung's dream to be with her? Why must we consider only 1/3 of the sisters when thinking about everyone's ending. Considering how much In Joo was still willing to sacrifice in order to let In Kyung have a nice future, do we really want her to still live for others? Yes, Do Il could've stayed, but why would he, really? At that moment, at least. They all need time to heal, and healing is different for everyone. In Joo isn't alone, she has Hwa Young, her sisters albeit distant, and even her parents in the group chat. And she can start over and make new friends and buy expensive ice cream with that money, even if she killed Sang Ah in the process, even if she lies and steal. I get not everyone is watching dramas for how long I am, but still, this is such a different take from what we normally see. Every sister got part of that money, even In Kyung who was against it! Because they deserve that shit, for everything they've been through, for everything they couldn't have been before. Even Do Il got the money and got out with no time in jail, why so? He never betrayed In Joo (moral of the story: don't be a class traitor lol).

But honestly, the show uses its extravagance to talk about the ideology behind capitalism in a way that isn't like, say, squid game. Little Women is genuinely fun, it is so creepy at times, the rich are insane like people were so obsessed over plot twists they forgot to see what was in front of them. A mutual of mine on twitter said something about how straightforward this story is (compared to other things jsk wrote) and honestly!! people overcomplicated the show and if they didn't give them the slightest explanation to things that were honestly very easy to get... then it had plot holes? At this point is not the show's fault anymore. Even if I also got confused at first with In Joo leaving jail so quickly I feel like she paid a fine or something, because in the next scene they are talking about the grandma's house being sold. What I mean is, sometimes a show really won't give any clues, but Little Women actually gave us enough for us to understand what was happening without it being spelled to us every single time. The team behind it trusted us that much, man.

Anyways!!! thank you! for these kind words, it really brightened my day <2

[smittenskitten]

tagged by @cytharat @fangrui thank you 💗💗

this is so hard 😅😅

10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, 10 Tags

Chu Wanning (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun) - I am amazed at just how much I love this character. 

Tian (Atots) -  Did my baby make bad choices regarding his health? Yes.

Porsche (KinnPorsche) - He is a baby and I miss him

Adachi (Cherry Magic) - It was like looking at myself and I cried the entire time.

Wen Kexing (Word of Honor) -  He is my poor little mewow mewow

Nozue (Old Fashion Cupcake) - how do I explain! Nozue-san, you deserve everything.

General Choi Yeong (Faith) - he was a real life person however the drama was fictional. And he melted my heart everytime he called Eun Soo Imja so yeah.

Kyoko (Okitegami Kyoko no Biboroku) - My girl resets every time she goes to sleep. It was relief coated angst and I wish there were more.

Dongfang Qingcang (Cang Lan Jue) - Sometime the villain is the hero and I am so thankful that I got to see it.

Baek Nakyum (Painter of The Night) - 3 seasons of pain and suffering and it never gets easy. He deserves to be happy. 

put your top 9 favourite characters!

Kwak Hyun (Hospital Ship) - this man said she can do what she wants, my feelings about who she meets is absolutely unnecessary. So yeah the male lead saying this almost 5/6 years ago in kdrama was very rare

Kurosawa (Cherry Magic) - he saw Adachi

Eun Soo (Faith)- Kudos to Eun Soo for navigating her Goreyo era time travel experience with greed and history knowledge to survive. And also cause she bagged one of the most decorated general in that era.

Bai Qian (Ten Miles of Peach Blossom) - while I do take issue with Susu, Bai Qian kicked everyone and their mother's ass. So she definitely deserves this

Dong Yi (Dong Yi) - She was real life person from history and the character in the drama was great

Kinn (KinnPorsche) - he is out, loud and proud. Anyone that questions him gets a bullet to their head. What’s not to love?

Mo Ran (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun) - Dress him up however you want, TXZ or Mo Ran. I want him for CWN.

Phupa (ATOTS) - this forest ranger said gay dudes also live in the wilderness but can they communicate? Nooooo

Zhou Zishu (Word of Honor) - He was ready to yeet himself from existence but then he met a dude.

people you want to get to know better

Last Song: Mean x Jeff Satur's new song

Currently Watching: so many dramas!

Currently Reading: SVSSS

Last series: Natsuzora. I love my daily jdramas a lot and they are so addictive!

Last movie: Alienoid

Favourite food: how do I categorize! I love food!

Favourite color: soft tones of all colors, idk how to describe it however my closet is filled with really bright colors 🤣🤣

Song stuck in my head: Over the Moon (The Eclipse OST)

Last thing you googled: Back pain exercise. ouchie

Time: 1 am

Dream trip: there is literally so many places!! But I would like a trip where I have plenty of time so I can actually see things or lazy about and do nothing instead of just whooshing through.

Last thing you read: The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Last book you enjoyed reading: ☝️

Last book you hated reading: I rather not say

Favourite thing to cook/bake: the food!! I don't like all the cleaning after but I am an excellent cook and a better baker. I like the food I make most of the time lol

Favourite craft to do in your free time: drawing, gif making, 

Most niche dislike: replying to email 

Opinion on circuses: meh

Do you have any sense of direction? : Yes? At least I think I do. 

content creator appreciation! list five favourite sets you’ve made and send this ask to five other content creators

I like trying new styles every now and then. I tried a new layout style recently.

This one is a fade effect, takes forever! I tried with 4x4 but my favorite ones are 3x3

This comic book overlay is another one. Maybe I will try this style again.

I am scared of color overlays, but this one turned out okay.

Ooooo this was cool effect overlay I tried.

Tagging a few people and anyone who would like to join @billlkin @moonlightchicken @vegastheerapanyakul @guzhu-furen @machikeita (feel free to ignore)