#more talking about the subtitles woo

[uselessroyals]

This post is kind of old by now, but, after reading a lot of the tags and comments on this post again i wanted to add on:

As many people pointed out, the most likely reason for the changes are character limits and/or a lack of time/attention to detail since it wasn't expected to be this huge when they made it.

The character limit explanation does kind of fall apart a bit when you consider that the captions write it correctly, so why couldn't the subtitles? My best guess is that captioning and subtitling are done separately without talking to each other and, while captions have to stick to what is said, subtitles have more freedom of interpretations on account of being translations rather than transcripts.

It might also be relevant to note that using "prince"/"crown prince" the way they do in the show isn't done in English, even for royalty -- it would instead be "his highness" or "his royal highness". That usage of "prince"/"crown prince" might have been considered too jarring or unnatural in the wrong way for English speakers, so they wanted to localise it. possibly.

Translation is all about how to communicate the original message to a different audience with a different linguistic and cultural background. Some things simply can't be translated directly, or won't have the same meaning and connotations when translated directly. You have to make a lot of choices as a translator. That doesn't mean that i can't think that they made wrong choice here however.

It's difficult. I do wish they had given it a bit more care in the show, it feels a bit rushed to me. (In s1 ep3 when Felice is talking to her mother about the development in her "relationship" with Wilhelm, the line "Det är liksom bra vibes, bara" ("There are good vibes, that's all") gets translated to "Der er gode vibrationer" ("There are good vibrations") in the danish subtitles which uhhhhhhhh yeah that's just not what that word means. at all.)

Conclusion is uhhhh subtitling is hard, translation is complicated, and whoever was in charge of subtitling for young royals did not give it the attention and consideration it really deserved

Also, i do wanna say, the last line of my original post came across as a lot more annoyed/aggressive than i intended when i wrote it, but that is what it is. I'm not actually angry about it, it just struck me as odd and took me out of the show a bit, when i watched it the first time, and i thought it might interesting to other people since i hadn't seen anyone else talk about it. Also as a lover of linguistics and an amateur translator, it admittedly does sadden me when translations get botched like that :(

Something i think that the subtitles really don’t do justice to is how frequently Wilhelm is referred to as the prince. Specifically by teachers and his bodyguards. The subtitles often have people refer to Wilhelm as sir quite a bit, but they never actually use that in the show...

For example

In swedish Mr Englund says "prinsen missada ju tyvärr det här provet. Men det kan han ju ta igen vid tillfälle" which means "the prince sadly missed this test. But he can take it again on occasion", notably both referring to Wilhelm as a prince and in the third person.

Anette does the same thing here. In swedish the line is, " Vi har ordnat ett lite större rum till kronprinsen" which is "we have arranged a slightly bigger room for the crown prince". Referring to him with his title and in third person.

Here are just some more examples. August actually says "Swear, crown prince, to, in accordance to the interest of the Society, (...)" and Malin's line is “i just want to let the crown prince know, that breakfast is ending in five minutes”

Wilhelm is constantly spoken to in the third person by the teachers and staff (and August when they were being formal for the initiation into the Society). It is a very deliberate choice, and it boggles my mind that they changed it in the subtitles. I can't figure out what the point is.

The dub says it correctly, and thus the captions for the dub does as well, which only makes it stranger that they decided to change it in the subtitles. Saying "sir" is not at all equivalent to saying "prince" or "crown prince", it is a whole different title.

The fact that they keep calling him prince/crown prince is important. His role/title is constantly being reinforced by everyone around him, despite how much Wilhelm hates it. Furthermore, the teachers seem like they are not allowed to refer to him any other way.

Here, Anette first refers to him as Wilhelm, as she would any other student, then literally apologises and uses his title instead. She does care about him and wants to provide comfort, but she is bound by the rules of formality.

Another note: Translating "kronprinsen" to "your royal highness" here works fine. even if it isn't the literal translation, it is still is his proper title as opposed to "sir" which is just wrong. Though saying "your royal highness" instead of "crown prince" does miss the point that Wilhelm's title has changed; from prince to crown prince. As well as how wrong that probably feels for Wilhelm. Crown prince was Erik's title, yet everyone now refers to him that way.

What I don't understand is why they would change the subtitles to "sir". It doesn't make sense, nothing is gained from the change other than a loss of context.

[isekai-crow]

Sky Fish

So. Haven't posted in a while. But I have knowledge I NEED to share with the world. I can't think of a funny way to portray it so... -serves it up on a platter-

The Sky Fish familiar that Marcille makes in episode 22 / chapter 48.

This is "real".

This is the cryptid or UMA (read: yu-ma or Unidentified Mysterial Animals) known in Japan as the Sky Fish, and in English as a flying rod or rod.

So like, this is actually a thing. Japanese TV loves UFOs and Cryptids (or maybe I'm biased because my Beetle is the one who's obsessed but.) the timing for This Specfic Cryptid's popularity and when Ryoko Kui was writing/starting out with this story, are around the same time. This specific UMA had such an impact on me when i first saw it in TV 10ish years ago, that I was so excited about its appearance, and then confused and amused in equal measure when my Capybara had no idea what I was talking about.

AND THE TV SHOW I WATCHED! the original episode clip is still on youtube, although lacking English subtitles (although you can translate the auto generated subtitles to English if you want to try).

Basically, Jose Escamilla of Roswell, New Mexico (and several other sources around middle and South America) caught this UMA/Cryptid on video in 90s? But the story and other people catching them on video and in pictures still pop up, but with improved phone cameras, the proof that it's likely just bugs flying at just the right frame rate to make a long cat style image is more prevalent lol.

But this was/is a super popular UMA in Japan. Like, there are gacha minis, and figures, cryptid books, and other anime featuring these lil guys.

JoJo's bizarre adventures Stone Ocean's Sky High stand, Skytails from Zelda, and a Kemono Friend are some examples.

I want a lil sky fish figurine now...

But yea...

WOO SKY FISH CRYPTIDS FTW

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Main Story 5th Anni 'Painted Planets' - Team P Chapters

woo, depression

Work Situation (Rindou) 

-starless lobby-

unei: Ah, Saki-san. Welcome!

saki: Hello. The anniversary eve shows came and went before I knew it.

nekome: I know right? It was fun performing the old anniversary shows again~

menou: Nekome, Unei-kun. Do you know where Rindou is?

unei: Rindou-san took the morning off so he's absent. He had business he had to attend to.

nekome: Ah. I do remember you mentioning that yesterday.

menou: Oh, I see. That's too bad, I wanted to ask him to practice with me.

nekome: Don't make him overdo it, Menou. He’s already busy enough with preparing for our fifth anniversary show. Rindou tends to overdo it without even realising it.

menou: Well, I’d prefer if you tried a little harder too. So how about you join me for practice instead? Come on, come on.

nekome: What? No way. I want to talk with Saki-chan.

menou: Then, see you later, Saki-chan. Look forward to our show.

-menou drags nekome away-

unei: Off they go. They’re so fired up even though their anniversary eve performance just ended. Well, the fifth anniversary shows will be starting tomorrow, so I suppose it's good that they're that enthusiastic about practicing!

saki: Yes, I’m looking forward to it.

unei: Thank you! I hope you have fun today as well.

–end

-

(note: There is an opening movie for the anniversary that introduces the plot of the shows. Sadly it doesn’t have an option for subtitles and I’m not confident in being able to translate it by ear. I still recommend watching it for the visuals though!)

-

Team P Chapter 1

-starless lobby-

rindou: Welcome to Starless, Saki-san. Thank you for coming to our fifth anniversary commemorative performance.

saki: Happy fifth anniversary, congratulations!

rindou: Thank you.

saki: There's so many bouquets in here.

rindou: Yes, the lobby is like a field of flowers, isn't it? It's thanks to all the guests that come and support our shows that we're here today. Allow me to express my thanks once more, thank you for coming today. And, please continue to take care of us.

saki: You too, thank you.

rindou: That reminds me, I must apologise for the other day. I’m sorry I made you worry. During the anniversary eve shows I had some personal business that I had to attend to.

saki: You looked really busy, it seemed like it took a toll on your health too. Are you feeling better now?

rindou: Yes, I’m fine, and so is my health. Things have… settled down.

Oh by the way, for our fifth anniversary show, each team will be performing part of the same collaborative work. Five sages advocate for their teachings through a story to the Princess who will inherit the kingdom… Ah, excuse me. I started rambling, didn't I?

saki: Could it be that you're feeling nervous?

rindou: When I think about the guests watching our show, yes, I can't help but be nervous. P was entrusted with being the first ones to perform after all.

saki: Oh, you're first! That's amazing!

rindou: Since we're first, it needs to be a great show. So a few nerves are understandable, but… If you could, could you give me some words of encouragement? I’d like to hear that from you.

saki: Please do your best, Rindou-san. I’ll be looking forward to your performance.

rindou: Thank you. Oh, have you been greeted by anyone else yet? Should I call Kei over for you?

saki: (Kei-san…)

-flashback-

haseyama: It’s because Kei and the others are all leaving you in the dark in order to use you.

-flashback-

kei: What the black cards are… I cannot tell you that now. As I am, I do not have the right to stay by your side.

-present, starless lobby-

rindou: Saki-san? Is something the matter?

saki: Oh– No, it's nothing.

rindou: That's good. Then, I’ll call Kei over.

saki: Ah, don't! You don't need to call him.

rindou (shocked): Saki-san…

saki: Uh, um, well, he’d be busy, right? Since it's your fifth anniversary and all.

rindou: Understood. It's true that I don't need to give someone else the honour of escorting you inside.

-haseyama appears-

haseyama: Hey there, young lady!

rindou: Let's head in.

saki: Ah, but–

rindou: Please go ahead.

-starless restaurant area-

rindou: Here's your seat. I’ll bring you the menu. And– Please be careful. I don’t want you to end up being taken advantage of as well. 

saki: Hm…? What are you talking about?

rindou: We of Team P will be telling the story of the ‘Virtuous Sage’. Please enjoy the story of the flower angels.

–end

-

Team P Chapter 2

-starless hallway-

sinju: Huh? Menou? You're here early.

menou: Yeah, I’ve been arriving at this time the past few days. Cause you can witness something interesting.

sinju: What do you mean?

-rehearsal room-

rindou: ………

rindou: “For the happiness of all the townsfolk,”

rindou: …No. My delivery still feels wrong. 

rindou: “For the happiness of all the townsfolk, I give a prayer of flowers.”

sinju: Rindou? What's he doing…?

menou: He's scattering flowers. Can't you see it? I see a basket overflowing with flowers in his hand and blessed flower petals falling down towards the people. See it now?

rindou: “For the happiness of all the townsfolk, I give a prayer of flowers. I offer you these flower’s blessings. Flowers are the light, flowers are graceful. They are the thorns that protect people. In the name of the Flower Angel– I bless you all.”

sinju: (gasp)

menou: You see it now, don't you? Even though there's nothing in his hands.

-starless hallway-

maica: …And so? You were so impressed by Rindou’s acting that you didn't say anything to him?

sinju: Cause, I mean…

nekome: It's fine, isn't it? Our team rehearsal hasn't started yet. If Rindou was busy with his independent practice then we should wait till he's done.

sinju: But his face was super pale… I really think he's been working too hard since our anni eve performance. I think I’m going to try talk to him after all.

-sinju runs off-

maica: Hey, wait!

nekome: Well, I get why he's worried. Let's go see what happens.

-rehearsal room-

sinju: Rindou.

rindou: “I shall bestow it upon you. Everlasting hope, a kind dream,”

rindou: Hope, dreams, a kind heart… A future…

sinju: Rindou!

rindou: Sinju? What is it?

sinju: Um, did something happen?

rindou: What do you mean? Nothing in particular has happened to me, no.

sinju: You’ve looked a bit unwell since last month. If anything happened let's talk about it.

rindou: …It really is nothing.

sinju: Rindou…

rindou: Ah, sorry, it's our rehearsal time isn't it? Let's start practice.

–end

-

Team P Chapter 3

-rehearsal room-

rindou: Maica, go to the middle of the stage. Yes, then Menou comes in from the left edge. Don't get too close to the centre, you'll obstruct Maica’s movements. Ok, stop there.

maica: Rindou, give us a break. We’ve been going nonstop.

rindou: Let's keep at it for a bit longer. I don't want to lose the flow we have going. Next is our part, are you ready, Sinju?

sinju: Yep. I’m good to go.

maica: Are you sure about that?

menou: I don't know.

nekome: …….

rindou: Alright, from your line, Sinju.

sinju: “Stop it, no more, that's enough! I won't let you plant any more flowers. Stop it, I can't do things this way. It's already become nothing more than a curse, are you trying to be a heretic!?”

rindou: Sinju, that won't stop my angel.

sinju: Huh?

rindou: We're both flower angels, but I’m the leader. Just like I’m your team leader, right?

sinju: Yeah. We're both flower angels but you're the leading angel so I’m below you.

rindou: What kind of scene do you think this one is?

sinju: After Menou, the priest. And Maica, a patron, argue over how a ‘flower angel’ should act… The power of the prayer flowers that the leader sows are so powerful that I can't produce the same result.

Witnessing the leader’s overwhelming power deals a devastating blow to my ego and despite admiring him, I can't help but realise how powerless I am in comparison.

rindou: Admiration and the feeling of being powerless… Is that really all? Even though he yells the words ‘curse’ and 'heretic’?

sinju: As a flower angel without any power I must… Envy the leader.

rindou: And is that what you portrayed? At the very least, it didn't make me want to stop. Admiration and envy, the contradicting feelings people hold within, a strong resistance. This is a scene where I’m so shocked by your outburst that I stop still.

sinju: ………

nekome: Ok ok, stop! Don't you think we should take a break? Sinju needs time to think about what you just told him, right?

rindou: Understood. Let's take a short break.

maica: Rindou, your tone was too harsh. Choose your words better.

rindou: Ah… Right, sorry about that.

maica: I know you're just really into practice but if you push too hard, it'll have the opposite effect. There won't be any improvement.

menou: But it is true that Sinju’s performance was lacking. Rindou’s flower angel is picture perfect.

maica: Hey, quit it Menou. Your bad traits are showing.

menou: When he tosses the flowers that are a prayer for happiness over the townsfolk, he's no longer a mere human. He’s undoubtedly an angel. However… Just now, was that you being ‘virtuous’? Is that what you wish for?

rindou: Yes.

menou: Even if that wish will never come true?

rindou: I give my everything in order for it to come true.

menou: …On the verge of death, your angel will probably just project his grudge onto the world.

–end

-

Team P Chapter 4

-starless locker room-

maica: Hey Nekome, come with me. You're free right?

nekome: Huh~? No way, I’m way too tired after today. Rehearsals and the show have been way too difficult.

maica: That's why you should eat something sweet. Just come with me.

-cafe-

maica: Rindou is acting strange.

nekome: I wonder if I should get the cheesecake~? The fruit tart looks delicious too though.

maica: That attitude wasn't like Rindou at all. He was like a different person.

nekome: Ah, I’ll get some milk. I’m in the mood for some coffee with milk today~

maica: Sure you could just say it's his drive towards the stage but… Hey, are you even listening to me?

nekome: Hm~? Well it's our anniversary show, he’s probably just putting even more into it than usual. Rindou's a hard worker, he's been that way since the start.

maica: You’ve known Rindou since he first arrived, haven't you? Was he ever like this in the past?

nekome: What do you mean?

maica: Cold and hard to approach… Was he ever like that before?

nekome: When he joined Starless a lot was going on in his life. It's already been about six years since then huh. I don't know how he was while I was gone.

maica: I see. That's right, you went ahead and disappeared, didn't you?

nekome: Uwah you say that so lightly.

maica: Since I’ve known Rindou for five years since I joined, I suppose I’ve seen more sides to him.

nekome: Yeah. That's why from my point of view I think he's just trying to craft a perfect show. No need to overthink it.

maica: You seriously think that's all that's going on?

nekome: Each team will be in charge of a different part of the whole anniversary show, right? Meaning that the teams that perform later will be remembered easier. So he probably doesn't want to lose to the other teams. Something like that?

maica: I can understand if that's the case… I don't want to lose to the other teams either. But still…

nekome: Then more than ever you should be focusing on supporting your team, right? Mr. Number 2. If you start faltering too then our whole team will fall apart.

maica: …….

nekome: We have to support Sinju too who’s trying his hardest to keep up with Rindou.

maica: Sigh, that's true. Sinju looks like he's at a loss as well.

nekome: Ah~ I’m so glad we have you here to play the role of Team P’s dependable older brother, Maica. If you're holding it together then P will be fine, yep yep.

maica: Aren't you getting a little too carried away there? We're the same age y’know.

–end

-

Team P Chapter 5

-park, night-

menou: I don't wanna go home yet… It's a nice night, and every day has been fun.

-sinju practicing-

sinju: 1, 2… Turn. One more time.

menou: Huh, Sinju? I wasn't expecting you to be here.

sinju: Oh, Menou. Are you headed home?

menou: I saw you left early, have you been practicing out here ever since?

sinju: Once I started I couldn't stop.

menou: Hm. Are you worried about what Rindou said to you? Do you think that he was too harsh?

sinju: Hearing that kind of criticism is hard no matter what. Envy and anguish– That's what Rindou’s role needs from mine. Except, I couldn't get those feelings across at all, and that's my own fault. That’s why I’ll do my best to–

menou: Sinju.

sinju: What?

menou: I respect you, Sinju. No, I suppose I should say I have a newfound respect for you. Your optimism is a quality that's hard to come by. That's why, I’m sure you'll be able to do it. I feel like that blind belief that you have in Rindou’s teaching will save P.

sinju: I don't really get what you're saying, but that's a compliment, right? Or wait, are you mad at me?

menou: Take it however you wish. It's just, the more our performance improves, the further out of reach Rindou seems. Is that also virtuous? What do you think?

sinju: What? Sorry, I really don't get what you're talking about.

menou: Aw~ Oh well. You’ve reverted to Sinju again.

sinju: Ok now that one's definitely not meant as a compliment!

–end

-

Team P Chapter 6

-backstage-

maica: We’ve reached our closing show. This limited run felt longer than usual.

menou: I wouldn't mind if we kept going though.

nekome: The audience has been loving it too. It's a great start to the anniversary performances.

sinju: ……..

maica: Sinju? What's wrong?

sinju: Ah. No, I’m… I’m fine.

maica: Come on, be honest. What are you looking at–

rindou: ……..

nekome: Wow, amazing huh.

menou: Instead of preferring to not be interrupted it's like he's outright telling us don't interrupt me.

sinju: He's been there even before the rest of us got here. Standing alone in the stage wings…

maica: Is he ok? I can't imagine him making the face of a ‘flower angel’ right now.

menou: I think he's fine.

maica: Again, quit saying such careless things.

menou: But it's Rindou. You’ll understand that he's fine once the show starts. Rindou might just take the entire spotlight for himself today.

nekome: Seriously? He’s at the level that you're saying that? Damn, I better be careful.

-buzzer noise-

rindou: –Let's go. Let's deliver our show to the guests.

-stage-

rindou: “Today is quieter than usual. My prayer is sincere, my feelings for you endless, I will sing my wish to you.”

saki: (My heart hurts… Rindou is facing all of the people of the world and praying for their happiness with his entire being, yet… Why does it hurt so much? Why is it making me want to cry?)

rindou: “That is why, I’ll grow flowers. I will always continue to plant them. This is my final blessing. Your anguish will disappear forever, you’re free.”

-backstage-

maica: Sinju, don't get too close to the stage. The audience will see you.

sinju: S-sorry!

menou: So that's the face of a man that's been driven to climb to the top of a tall tower, pressed on by the townsfolk that wish for salvation…

nekome: He's smiling? In that situation? Scary.

menou: It's too bad this show is coming to an end. I could watch him standing there forever.

-stage-

rindou: “Your sweet and kind tears are like raindrops fallen upon the petals of a flower. So please, accept these flowers. Along with my unending love for you.”

—end

[deathlygristly]

Yay it’s Monday!!! Pizza and Lovely Runner and Midnight Studio!!!

I was talking to the spousal person about how the real kdrama girlies had moved to Lovely Runner from Queen of Tears. I just looked it up to link it for anyone who wants to watch and it’s on Viki and it requires a subscription. So it is a higher barrier to entry than a show on Netflix.

But if you don’t already have a sub and you’re interested in Asian TV and movies, I think Viki is worth it. And their subtitles are much better than Netflix subtitles and they try to keep cultural nuances and explain cultural terms. Like we learned a lot from Viki translations and now we get all offended at Netflix’s Americanizations.

If you do want to check it out. It’s the first show in years that might make it into our top tier if it keeps up its current awesomeness.

[liveasbutterflies]

Hi I saw you answer about Blu-ray and i am not sure to order it as on the official page it doesn't specify, if the saud dvd us produced, it say " production can be cancelled if it doesn't meet the required payment 👁️👁️?

Also someone else also said that it depends upon the national tv rating and DWY 😭😭 suffered with ratings.

So my question is ... Does above all weighs in for making the bluray?

Hi there!

Blu rays for kdramas are pre orders, meaning if there’s not enough people and funds to make the blu ray, the production of the blu ray will be canceled and everyone will be refunded. The ratings don’t affect the production of the blu ray.

Pros

* Lots of behind the scenes. The blu rays usually have a blooper reel, hours of unedited making content and individual cast interviews.

* Cast commentary. You can see the actors watch scenes and talk more in-depth about the production. Usually the main actors and the pd are there. They have one of just the main couple then they bring in the rest of the cast so this is also a couple of hours of commentary.

* Packaging for the blu rays are always spot on. For example, I have the Extraordinary Attorney Woo blu ray and it came with a lot of goodies including a large photo book and small business cards of the attorneys. It’s the small details that really make the blu ray. The quality of the materials used are really good.

Cons

* No subtitles

* Production of the actual blu ray usually takes months. The final blu ray won’t be delivered until approximately May of next year.

* price… your wallet will weep.

If the cons don’t affect you id say go for it! Also look how pretty!

[consumeronionbulletin]

Call It Love (2023)

When is a revenge story not a revenge story? When you Call It Love instead!

This show could have turned into a trainwreck at several points. Instead, it managed to surprise and (occasionally) delight. While I had some quibbles with the ending, I think it's good to focus the show's strengths.

What Worked

The characters are what made the show. Even when the plot meandered a bit, and the pacing slowed down, the characters pulled you through. Because they were relatable and interesting. Even when they made questionable choices, they were always the choices you might have wanted to make in the situation, even if you knew better.

That comes through in the first few episodes where the FL crashes her estranged father's funeral and makes a scene just to try and get some kind of revenge. And the ML takes money from his estranged mother even though he knows he shouldn't. And the entire family just decides to leave their home of twenty years rather than calling a dang lawyer to figure this out. And let's not even talk about the ex-girlfriend who decides to try and patch things up with her old flame by secretly moving in next door...

What Didn't Work

The last three or four episodes just didn't have enough story going on. And so the audience ended up watching the characters walk artistically through the streets of their neighborhood while we waited for them to do the thing we all know they're going to do. I would honestly rather they have showed the characters discussing and reacting to finding the will—or just talking at all—instead of padding each episode with 10 minutes of walking. I also got annoyed with the way they dragged the main love story out in the last two episodes. I can understand needing space to figure out some of the messed up stuff going on, but there was no reason for them to (spoilers) need to take an entire year off to figure this stuff out! I think the writers just had the last scene in mind and pushed the ending towards it instead of justifying it.

Lastly, Disney FFS get some real subtitles, I'm glad they have close captioning (in English no less), but they need an option that cuts out the [Dongjin smacks his lips] nonsense. Was it a push to make people listen to the dubs instead? Are they just too cheap to pay someone to do both? Who knows. Also, I think the translators did an okay job, but there were times when I was like "that's not what they really said, was it?" and I don't even know much Korean.

The Performances

The writing on this show is a little sparse. The writers chose to make people talk like real people most of the time, which means that so much of the characterization is on the actors and their delivery. And they did a good job across the board.

Kim Young-kwang as Han Dong-jin. Dong-jin is a very private, internalizing person and it would easy for an actor to play him too stiff and stoic. Kim Young-kwang did a very good job of letting people see inside what he was thinking and feeling mostly through subtle gestures and changes in tone. He wasn't magnetic like alot of other leads, but he still had a way of bringing people in and quietly getting their attention. At least he did for me, though maybe there were other people who got bored and stopped watching after a few episodes!

Lee Sung-kyung as Shim Woo-joo. Woo-joo was another quiet person, though she's someone who is quietly angry at the world and sometimes has no filter. She did a great job portraying this through most of the series. I think she had trouble with some of the softer scenes towards the end of the series. I haven't seen her in other shows, so I can't tell if it was a direction problem or if she just didn't know how to portray someone who is loose and comfortable, but there were several scenes when it felt like I was watching a statue. I'll still enjoy watching her next project, whenever that comes out.

Sung Joon as Yoon-jun. This was a case where the second lead couple was more fun to watch than the first lead, and Sung Joon's performance was a big reason why. When the show was at its most melodramatic, Yoon-jun just took it in stride and kept it all grounded. I especially enjoyed the way he and the second lead Kim Ye-won played off their slow moving friends-to-lovers arc, but the friendship with Shim Woo-joo was also nice, and I loved to see that kind of non-romantic friendship portrayed in a show.

Kim Ye-won as Shim Hye-seong. I enjoyed her role in Suspicious Partner even though the show annoyed me overall. She was a much more relatable character here. I looked forward to her scenes because you could never tell what Hye-seong was going to do. The character was interesting and multi-faceted and Kim Ye-won did a good job bringing that through.

Nam Gi-ae as Ma Hee-ja (aka the "Evil Mom"). I've seen her in a number of similar roles and this isn't too different from her character in Encounter (for example), but I feel like she got it right this time, where she was too over-the-top in others. I think the writing helped, but ultimately it's her performance. She did an excellent job portraying a believable type of narcissist. She was completely shameless and selfish when she needed to be, and also weak and pathetic when she needed to be. Sometimes she was only in the show for a few minutes, but it felt like a long time because she was so intense and interesting. Great job playing a terrible person.

Kim Hee-jung as Kim Hyun-Joo (aka the "Good Mom"). I saw her briefly in Start-up and her role there wasn't very memorable, but she did a great job here. The main characters all spent the first eight episodes or more threatening to call her in when they felt Woo-joo was out of line, and when Hyun-joo finally showed up you could see why they were all intimidated! A strong presence and definitely one of my favorite characters on the show.

Jang Sung-Bum as Sim Ji-Gu. I really liked the character. The long suffering younger son with two older sisters is kind of a comic staple in these dramas, but he still managed to make the role fun and interesting rather than cliche. He also did a good job with the musical interludes, though that was another part of the show that felt a little indulgent. Still a fun actor to watch.

Ahn Hee-yeon (aka Hani) as Kang Min-yeong. In a different show, the "clingy ex-girlfriend" character could be a second antagonist, but the problem is that she's pretty great and everyone likes her! That's what happens when you cast a k-pop singer and just let her be charming! Hee-yeon wasn't a show stopper, but she did a good job with the role she was given, and I liked where the writers took her character. It was nice to see a story where sometimes decent people end up making terrible decisions (for reasons that make sense), and it's how you move forward that matters. There really wasn't much for the actor to do in the last 4 episodes, but it was nice to have her around for most of the show.

Jun Suk-Ho as Choi Sun-Woo (aka "Lazy Boss"). I enjoyed this character and the actor was obviously having alot of fun with the role. It was nice to see the character go from being part of the problem at the start of the series, to being a strong and supportive character by the end. I also liked his friendship (though maybe more?) with Min-yeong and how that changed over the series as well.

Kim Mi-Hwa as Sim Woo's Aunt. They didn't even give her a name! Just a fun comic character that I would have liked to see more of. The actor did a good job giving a personality to someone whose role in the show was mostly to deliver important news to the main characters.

Everyone else. They actually did a good job making the corporate backstabbing interesting. The actors playing CEO Shin, Cha Young-min, and all the minions were suitably slimy. The other office workers had memorable moments even when they kind of blended together. I even thought the other colorful characters (like the new "Bad Boyfriend with a Gambling Problem" and "Boyfriend's gambling buddy") were fun to watch. With a few exceptions, this was a show that treated its minor characters well.

TL;DR:

The overall message of the show, that revenge is ultimately empty and you need justice and reconciliation to move forward is nice. There were times when the show was a little slow and indulgent, but the characters and their stories always brought me back for more. Overall, an enjoyable drama.

[fff777]

watched nct dream( )scape countdown live! this is my reaction part 1

so i know now that it's supposed to be read "dream escape" and not "dreamscape." the e has escaped.

i've been waiting for the subtitles for a while. i tend to prefer the youtube subtitles over the live subtitles as the live subtitles tend to be delayed and that distracts me from actually understanding who's saying what

i've never been big on noise music but i admit the dissonant 'noises' that are layered under smoothie are catchy and hype

they're back to their regular seating assignments except chenji are switched

renjun: click like, subscribe, and turn on the notification bell already in youtuber form

jaemin's just revisiting a lot of old favourites, huh. first was white hair and now he's back to calling everything and everyone sexy.

they all commented on jaemin's white hair

is it just me, or is chenle shy about making extended eye contact with the camera? he kept looking away while introducing himself

already on our chenji bullshit

chenle complimenting jisung's hair. you know...i'm thinking that chenle compliments jisung more nowadays. he still definitely teases jisung a lot but we're in soft chenle era now.

jisung changed his hair five times this comeback??? rip your scalp boy

haechan literally every time. dramatic ass.

they started discussing smoothie right after broken melodies comeback live :o

chenle randomly talking about poison and sos performances. he is the kind of guy to say it aloud when he's proud.

haechan explaining how this comeback was them just pouring content on us. the way he showed it did look like a meme and all the other guys were like "where have i seen that before" and he was like damn i thought i was being original.

their 2024 schedule is packed like tetris TAT

chenle: did we start 30 min earlier because we talk too much

reading comments and of course haechan reading the one that's like "mark show abs please"

production for this album took two years as in 2023 to 2024

jisung made a dumb pun and was like let's move on and haechan is like the hell we will, say it again you coward

jaemin liked it :P

talking about how the speaker voice sounds like chenle again

woo so i wasn't wrong when i said this was definitely a version of the chewing gum concept (the boarding school photos for icantfeelanything)

so the members did a survey/quiz for the writers and that's how they came up with a concept

commotion on the east wing over there because apparently haechan keeps throwing jisung's picture

jaemin hugging bunny stuffy and jisung hugging cat stuffy

dream: meetings are hard

once again bringing up the fact that renjun provided a lot of the ideas for the concept. the concept with the guys looking prim and proper in their uniforms but with beaten up feet.

the guys wanting haechan to talk about something and haechan threatening (renjun) that he'd reveal it.

renjun participated in more meetings a result of being more involved in the concept

jisung's calves were very sore for practising ballet for two days. haechan said that jisung practised ballet ten years ago when he just became a trainee.

mark overexaggerated his surprise that there was a body double for the ballet

chenle: jisung can totally ballet like that in real life though

renjun the one to bring up jeno's muscles

chenle: as soon as jeno's back muscles came up i posted it on every socmed platform jisung: you seem to enjoy the muscles the most

renjun and jeno practised shooting guns, but jeno said the recoil was just acting. so i guess it was just a prop gun but like, without blanks.

haechan: y'all looked cool from the side and cute from the front (about renjun and jeno shooting)

mark: what did you think about doing your scene in one take? renjun: i didn't for real though renjun said he was just focused on getting it right

haechan: the binary system was a numeric system created by a person called binary it's giving "the triangle instrument was named after joe triangle"

the guys getting mark to say his english line in unknown again

i'm convinced mark just tries to see the romance in everything and i don't blame him, gotta do what you gotta do to get by. basically he turned his and haechan's teaser into a bit of a meet-cute, saying how his character thought it was interesting that haechan's character wasn't copying the binary numbers down and he thought haechan was cute.

jeno: it was very fitting to give haechan the role of the student who didn't pay attention in class haechan: it's called method acting

they're sitting in a row, so whenever chenle is talking to the group, he turns his whole body from side to side

jeno on jaemin and chenle fencing: it's a fight between two cats

jeno casually leaning his arm across the back of the sofa

jeno: wouldn't the pill have melted in your mouth? chenle: yes, but it's a movie jisung is amused

renjun impressed by how chenle was able to make spitting out the pill look cool

jaemle did not practise fencing until they were at the actual site of filming

now they're talking about the smoothie individual teasers

haechan was splashed with coffee when the robber kicked away his table but he remained professional. the guys were impressed (y)

jisung really liked mark's teaser >3 now that i'm watching more dream stuff, it's always fun to see in what ways mark and jisung are on the same wavelength

so renjun plucked the flower to make a ring instead of protecting it

cat stuffy transferred from jisung to haechan

lmao haechan making jisung say the line on the prompter and the guys all clapping and cheering. losers lol.

chenle: jisung's cringe defences are growing weak

markren getting in position to watch jisung do something cute

jaemin yelling at jisung again for not doing kyu on the mouth

more markren with the popcorn (popping that corn, if you will)

jisung did kyu a second time and he still didn't touch his finger to his lip lmfao

the third time he did touch his lip but he didn't make the kyu sound X'D why is this so hardddddd

he finally did it after the fourth time. like pulling teeth i swear.

group kyu

haechan once again standing up for his monologue

on this day, renjun has decided to be benevolent and grace haechan with a response

first song: icantfeelanything

markno protecting renjun's tummy

party over in east wing again

this was jisung's favourite song :3

jisung: we have the opportunity to write lyrics for this song mark: so what did you do, jisung jisung: it got rejected

mark explained that it was blind test. so i guess some of the guys wrote lyrics and submitted them without their names

jisung didn't have time to finish his lyrics ^^;;

chenji squabbles again! jisung was saying he used to eat less sweets and now he's eating more. now chenle is saying that jisung actually used to eat a lot of sweets so is jisung saying he's become numb to sweets and is eating more because of it?

jisung @ chenle X3

jaemin: we can never grow numb to nctzens' love jaemin: gremlin laugh i wonder if this is his way of being embarrassed/cringed out

second: smoothie

renjun standing up to dance once again. he just feels music with his whole body eh

renjun censoring the dance

they did basically leak the entire dance lol

jisung: can you say this to jeno? things about behind the scenes stories? haechan: you can ask him yourself jeno: you can ask me yourself jisung thought haechan was the mc so that was why he was so awkward about it lol

jeno recorded "smoothie" for around an hour. he was saying how the word smoothie starts to sound like something else ^^;; like when you say a word so often that it loses its meaning.

third song: box

haechan: hey siri haechan: hey google haechan: hey bixby

mark: roar

jaemin kept whispering into chenle's ear when chenle was saying the best places to listen to box...they're trying to promote tds3 ^^;;

chenle: i'd like all 7 of us to be in a box together at least once

fourth song: carat cake

haechan's cute head bop during carat cake X3 you can't see it bc it's a screenshot but it was cute

lmao renjun just learned on this day that learned the meaning of carat cake and that it was not carrot cake lmfao

mark: haechan, what have you been tempted by lately? haechan: you mean seduced?

oh noooo haechan was on a diet so at renjun's birthday party he only ate chicken breast and an apple ToT that is so sad ToT

fifth song: unknown

jisung said that this song sounds a bit like jbiebs :P

jisung (lightly) scold mark for spoiling the dance, but it wasn't shown on camera anyway

mark and jeno worked on lyrics for the rap of this song.

this next part was really cryptic where the guys were discussing new things going on...except none of them really said anything lol

[lenteur]

random thoughts about run on, episode eleven

(please do note that this post contains spoilers so read at your own risk.)

let me start this post by saying ki seon gyeom makes one “strict coach” (woo sik’ words) but a great one still

seeing seon gyeom prepare woo sik’s training was heartwarming because you can see how serious he is about it

totally unrelated but we all need a roommate like seon gyeom. applications are open btw

as usual, we have yeong hwa being the cutie that he is. i don’t think i’ll ever get tired of him

funniest scene in today’s episode was the uni students running after tae woong lol yeong hwa stole the show by trying to catch up with them. i mean, i don’t think anyone could be funnier than him. he’s on another level

it’s interesting how mi joo offered seon gyeom a “practice loving myself” book (i don’t remember the title sorry) it goes to show he still has a hard time taking care of and loving himself

the tension between dan ah and yeong hwa is palpable. i’m so invested in their relationship. i want to know everything i can (that does sound a little weird but it’s just that their story is more interesting to me than the main couple)

the show continues to plant the seed that seon gyeom is synonymous with motivation. this time it’s woo sik that says seon gyeom motivates him

talking about woo sik, it’s so refreshing to see him let loose and be a little more carefree. using less and less honorifics around seon gyeom and the people around him :) i like that

also, did we get to see seon gyeom being jealous for 5 seconds? or am i just seeing things? it was so cute how he put himself between mi joo and woo sik when they were watching the footage of woo sik running

and then we get to the most interesting scene of today’s episode: the discussion between dan ah and mi joo. the one thing i took away from that section of the show is they’re a lot more similar than we think

dan ah pointing out that mi joo “doesn’t seem tough despite her rough childhood. you (mi joo) refuse to kneel despite not having any backup” 

“i was aware of what i did or didn’t need. if i never had it, i wasn’t greedy. if i still wanted it, i got something similar even if it was fake” i didn’t think i could relate to mi joo more yet here i am. it’s important we get to know more about mi joo’s upbringing because we got to see every main character’s background except mi joo’s. 

i really like how dan ah seems more and more vulnerable and sincere in these last few episodes. we get to see little glimpses of what lies behind that cold exterior. “things i already had were always taken away from me.” “in my world, i’m the weakest” “i never know when things will be taken away from me, so i put up walls” it’s true that the double standards in dan ah’s family are unfair. her brother gets all the credit even though she’s the one who did everything.

when mi joo tackled the topic of ai replacing translations, it made me think. of course, i’ve already thought about it before but with the growing “success” of ai in recent months, i think it’s even more interesting to talk about it. translators are in fact competing against ai for their jobs. during my time as a translator, i saw a lot of clients using engines like google translate, reverso or linguee for their translations. i mean they’re great to some capacity but it’s hard for them to understand nuances. and that’s even more the case for movie translations. a movie, as any form of art, has the goal of eliciting emotions in the viewers and ai is not really capable of translating the feeling/message. they are capable of literal translations (meaning translating word for word) but sometimes, you can’t translate something word for word because it’s an expression that doesn’t exist in the language you’re translating to. or, it might mean something in the original version, but the subtitles won’t work for the translated version because the culture is completely different.

oh and there has been a controversy in recent years when entire movies were translated and dubbed by ai. the end result was catastrophic to say the least. it was hard to understand things when watching said movies (i’ve watched excerpts and it was something...) so i think translators still have a few more years of peace. i mean, you never know how ai will evolve but it will take time until they’re able to perfect the art of sharing emotions with the public. in that sense, movie and book translators still have some hope. for other more “technical” fields though... i’m not so sure

sorry if you didn’t understand a word i wrote. it’s difficult for me with this heat

when mi joo said the movie was like seon gyeom (aka complex) i understood her. it’s difficult for her to understand him but she’s trying

we’re finishing this episode with dan ah kissing yeong hwa. their relationship development is surely interesting. it’s like dan ah is disappointed when yeong hwa acts like she wanted in the beginning: obedient and not feeling anything. but now it seems she wants him to be the yeong hwa from before. 

it hurt to see yeong hwa be so cold and sad because it doesn’t seem like him. she definitely messed up with his heart. poor yeong hwa, you don’t deserve that.

additional note (before i end up sweating all the water in my body): yeong hwa’s outfit in the ending scene is gorgeous. he looks amazing in it

[chogiwapadada]

Watching the first two episodes of Color Rush season 2 like....

spoilers below the cut

Like okay...I know Hyunjun is not in this season and they had to think of a way to write him out. So this story makes some sense but a mono with a probe should be kinda crazy right?

ALSO ok so can Yeon Woo see in color or not? What was with the candy dream!?

ALSO Hyuk's character coming in STRONG like why is the second lead in this show always coming in so strong? Like Yoo Han laid eyes on Yeon Woo once in season one and was like "Ooo boy you mine" and now Se Hyun is like "Oh your boyfriend is gone...let me slip right on in here...."

And then we get to episode two and it just gets more strange. Like WTF just happened to Se Hyun's sister?! AND I HAVE TO WAIT 5 DAYS and for subtitles to be added. I'm gonna go crazy.

Also side note when Se Hyun comes in like "hey cutie you are gonna play soccer with me even if you don't wanna" the two like side cast character dudes grandpa Min Jae and the class president dude are just like oooo it's getting spicy which was just literally ME. I was like Hyuk aren't you sitting like just a little TOO close to that man you barely know??

Anyway...someone please talk to me about this drama so I don't feel crazy.

[illusionsofdreaming]

other than tcf, what other webnovels/manhwa have you been interested in?

curious about my weeb history aren't you?

I actually started reading manga since a very young age and witnessed the birth and death of different trends - if I were to list out all the mangas I've read and or are still currently reading, the number would easily reach over 500.

But if we’re talking about the most recent trends: webnovels, lightnovels, manhwas... 

I’ve pretty much read all the trending isekai manhwas - you name it, I’ve probably seen it. Whether or not I follow it is a different matter. Listing everything out would be a never-ending task so a few honorable mentions includes: Is It a Fortune or Is It a Woe?, Queen Cecia’s Shorts, Happy Ending for the Time-Limited Villainess, The Lazy Prince Becomes a Genius

I tried to choose some that are quite unique and stray from what you’d usually expect from an ISEKAI manhwa. 

I didn’t really start reading webnovels until just recently actually! TCF is the one and only webnovel I’ve been actively following. In the end, I just can’t get used to the writing style of webnovels/lightnovels. 

I did try Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, up until chapter 50, but I haven’t had the motivation to continue reading. Mind, it’s not a bad plot! It’s exciting and I can definitely see why ORV, TCF and SClasses are the well known holy trinity.  But if I had to point out one reason why I lost motivation would be because I cannot relate to the myths/lore of the constellations involved because they’re mainly Korean myths/legends/history. I’m not criticising since I understand that ORV’s intended target group was the Korean community and we can see that they were incredibly successful in wooing the Korean community. But me, not being Korean, with no connections nor understanding to most of these references, would often times get lost trying to understand what the heck is happening - and most of the time wishing that I did. Because while I know, ORV is not just about the constellation references, but the characters and the plot and the apocalyptic chaos - we cannot deny that it’s a big part. 

Like those mukbang videos we all know exists on youtube. You might not understand Japanese yourself nor do you need to know Japanese to enjoy a video of a tiny gal eating three times her portion size but you just know you’d enjoy the video a bit more if you did understand whatever she’s saying (yes, even if there’s translation subtitles provided).

Anyways. So yeah. TCF is honestly the only webnovel I’m actively still reading.

As for lightnovels - again same situation with webnovels, them being newly introduced to me - I really have no experience in this area. The only lightnovel I’ve read till date would be Tearmoon Empire and I’ve made like 2 posts recommending this comedic light read. So go ahead and give it a whirl.

That’s about it I think 🤔

If people are actually interested in seeing my actual, insane list of mangas/manhwas I’m currently actively reading HAHAHA I don’t mind listing it out in a different post~

[animaniacs16]

I watched the first six episodes of Squid Game and here are my takeaways:

(Spoilers for episodes 1-6!!!)

Please no spoilers for 7-9!

I consider myself a straight woman, yet every time Jung Ho-yeon was onscreen, I just thought or outright said, “Wow, she’s pretty.” That woman is stunning.

Gi-hun reminded me of someone- then I figured out it was Markiplier. They have similar eyes and fave structure.

Speaking of Gi-hun, that was a DIRTY MOVE in the marbles game. I understand Gi-hun was trying to win and the old man was failing, but it still was hard to watch. When Il-nam revealed he knew Gi-hun was tricking him, it was satisfactory but sad, especially when he gave Gi-hun the last marble.

I found it really interesting that in episode 2 they just let everyone go home and everyone came back OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL. Danganronpa and other killing games have them all trapped, but all of those people chose to come back for a chance at winning and turning their life around, even at the cost of others’ lives. There’s a lot more meta and analysis that I KNOW has been made about this and human nature lol

Deok-su sucks but we Been Knew

Also Mi-nyeo was mostly for Comic Relief but she just got dragged off when she didn’t have a partner- I don’t think she was killed. I think that the Pink Dudes wouldn’t have a problem killing her right there. Maybe they didn’t want to ruin their stainless white room?

The Mi-nyeo/Deok-su thing was weird. Will she ever get her revenge against him?

That one scene in Episode 2 after Sang-woo was talking to his mom on the phone and the police find her and her face just DROPS :(

The visuals are SO MF COOL. Like the dreary underworld and outside world vs the pastel and bright visuals of the game is so striking. Also, the Front Man’s entire aesthetic is gold- his whole room is just glittering gold.

Speaking of the Front Man, he speaks English and listens to English music. Interesting.

AAAAH THE SCENE WITH JI-YEONG AND SAE-BYEOK!! I had seen that scene in redraws but I thought it was Sae-byeok that was killed in front of Gi-hun or something.

Also in the scene right before I wanted them to kiss!!! There was so much chemistry!

So many of the visuals are just haunting, especially when they happen in broad daylight in that sunny, cheery children’s set.

Sang-woo my detested. From episode 2, he reminded me of Byakuya Togami, and by the time he and Ali were paired up for the marbles game I was rooting against him. Also he’s really sexist by the way. I knew he would trick Ali- he’s too trusting and I was like “ALI NO!” Poor Ali. He deserved better.

The Jun-ho subplot- I was surprised he wasn’t caught earlier. Like, even after he killed 28, he went upstairs TO THE FRONT MAN’S ROOM, took pictures WITH HIS PHONE SOUNDS ON, then PICKED UP THE FRONT MAN’S PHONE? Even tho he was wearing gloves, he must’ve had dirt and blood all over him. Detective he may be, but seriously, Jun-ho.

The front man’s gotta be his brother, right? Is it when you win you get a chance to lead the Game?

The soundtrack is really interesting too- from the diagetic classical coming from the speakers to the chilling choral voices that signify the pink men.

It’s SO GOOD so far and I’m so glad I decided to watch it. I watched it with Korean subtitles, even tho I’m usually a dub person. It’s definitely worth the hype.

Edit: went on Twitter and immediately got the mastermind spoiled for me :) love that

[baenxietydad]

@davidhatter

Something Sam Hatter had said when Mu-yeol met David's family had been bothering him for months now.

Let him rephrase that.

Something Sam Hatter, the sweetest sweetheart alive said, made him think about something he'd never considered before. It made him look into things further and the result of that really pissed him off.

Do you have experience teaching Korean? he'd asked. And, no. Not officially, but unofficially...yeah. And he thought he was pretty good at it!

That, and something David had said once; that he liked his translation notes when he read Korean literature and thought that Mu-yeol's edits made the text more impactful than the original translator.

That, and something he himself had said just the other day while watching a Korean drama with David. He sighed when he read the subtitles and turned to Hatter to explain to him, "That-- I mean I guess that translation works, but that doesn't get the full impact of what Jun-ho said to Young-woo across. Aish, they should just call me, I'll subtitle everything."

It made him think-- hey! Someone should really be paying me for speaking 3.5 languages, huh? So he began to look online to see if UK-based or remote Korean-English translation, interpreting, etc jobs existed and, look at that! They existed! ... and almost all required a four-year degree, and all required secondary school qualifications.

Now, look. He wasn't looking to make a job leap immediately but it sure soured his mood when he prepared dinner. So much so that he forgot that David would be able to tell from the first bite and didn't even try to #cleanse the stress before cooking. But even if he had, Hatter surely would notice that he'd barely touched the food on his plate as he carried on conversation about work and Nemo, his Vietnamese table practice with Mr. Tran earlier in the day.

It was obvious how he was talking about anything and everything to avoid accidentally mentioning the very, very, stupid idea that all of that thinking and Googling had given him: taking classes for adults to pass GCSE exams so he could get that stupid piece of paper that says he's qualified and smart enough to be allowed to translate things.

"All right, I've eaten enough." Mu-yeol said, even though he'd barely eaten, just simply rage-lost his appetite.

Red Tape || Hatfish

[xiangqiankua]

Pride month is upon us AND I’ve been procrastinating for ages on sharing things I’ve been watching these days, so here are three Mandarin-speaking Youtubers who are LGBT and/or discuss the topic. Disclaimer, I haven’t tried to do a thorough survey of who’s out there or anything, these are just the first ones I’ve stumbled across and liked enough to watch multiple videos from.

Hishiko Woo

Specifically, her series called “不一樣又怎樣?" . A cishet-identifying Malaysian tattoo artist interviews LGBT+ people in Malaysia to increase awareness and tolerance. I haven’t watched all of them yet but so far a good mix of personal experiences and legal + health information. Subtitles in simplified characters. She’s very high energy and talks at the speed of light, but just watch it slowed down! I feel like Malaysia is underrated as a source of Mandarin media in general.

超強系���SuperAwesome  

I actually started watching this Taiwanese guy because of his videos teaching other Asian languages IN Mandarin, kept watching his stuff on accents and cultural differences between Mandarin-speaking countries (his gf is another Malaysian Youtuber), and then I discovered he’d actually gone from identifying as completely straight, to completely gay, to happily bisexual, and talks about this and what it’s like to be in a “straight” relationship with this background. Another enthusiastic mile-a-minute talker, subtitles in traditional characters.     

Ben & Dry

Taiwanese 鐵T Ben and 娘T 乾乾/Dry talk about 女同志 things. I particularly like their series of interviews with T business owners and entrepreneurs around Taiwan,  拉子生存路.  Subtitles in traditional characters, and often English as well, definitely more foreign-audience friendly with some East vs West discussions. They also speak the most slowly and clearly of everyone.

Overall I cannot deny I was surprised by some of the ideological and cultural differences between the Mandarin speaking world and the west in the LGBT+ department. Leave your discourse at home, explore with an open mind.

[ddarker-dreams]

SR Ask: Aww, Makeup Night was pretty cute! It makes me think, what kind of movies do Fugo and Reader watch when they do come to an agreement? I guess adaptations of literary works or classics would be the easy answer, but I’d suppose Reader would push him out of his comfort zone with other genres. Heck, I’d argue that if you subjected Fugo to a movie like Loving Vincent he’d be genuinely interested about it (even though that movie came out in 2017, but oh well). Have a good day!

WOO SR ASKS 💖💖

honestly?? if reader asks cutely enough, fugo will end up relenting and watching literally anything. the problem is that he will make his every issue with the movie known. he’s kind of like the human version of cinema sins and it’s well... it takes a lot of patience to sit through a film with that. you’ll be watching your favorite movie and he’s pointing out every possible plot hole, or a cut where the character’s outfits don’t stay consistent. you have to admit he has an incredibly sharp eye?? perhaps even sharper than the team’s gunslinger, mista. though fugo will not take being compared to mista as a compliment. 

a movie both sr reader and fugo would like... fugo has a lot of respect for animation, he’d see it as a respectable art form. so he’d be softer on animated movies. if you put on the iron giant, spirited away, or paprika, he’d be a content boy. no complaints there. in fact, he’d be excited to talk about all the symbolism and imagery utilized in each of the movies. you’d think he was preparing to write a paper with how detailed he gets. 

the easiest person to watch a movie with is mista. he’s so chill that he’d watch anything with you. during scary scenes number five clings to your shoulder <333 🥺

SR Ask: I’m movie anon, I just wanted to make a follow up to the ask! Would Reader unironically enjoy Bee Movie (I mean, I do)? Because that’d be hilarious. Also, thanks for letting me ask you more SR stuff, I’m really interested in the series (I’m originally the comfort ask anon). Good day!

the bee movie is a punishment for if the other members are acting up. for example, if narancia ate reader’s leftovers, she’d make him repent by having him sit through it with her. narancia prefers SUPER high action sequences, think fast and furious. so he’d be struggling to stay awake. it’s even worse that he has to read subtitles, unless there’s an italian dub reader can find out there. that’ll be enough to ensure no one ever messes with sr reader’s leftovers ever again. although, narancia kind of makes the most of it by sitting as close as he can to reader on the couch >:) so he’s still a happy boy.

[teecupangel]

Ooohhhh. Well, whenever I decapitate someone in Valhalla, I don’t stick around the scene of the crime for other guards to find me so I never realized that pigs appear to eat it. Considering AC Valhalla is rated Cero Z, I won’t be surprised if they still edited some of the gorier stuff though. CERO Z isn’t exactly the same as ESRB M even though ESRB M says 17+ and CERO Z says 18 and above, CERO Z still requests more revisions than ESRB M.

A great example of the difference is how in Resident Evil 2 Remake, there’s a scene that has a certain character be chopped in half in ESRB M version but they kept the entire body in CERO Z. So yeah… Absolutely not surprised if JP AC Valhalla has helmet eating pigs XD

(This is the main reason why Callistro Protocol wasn’t released in Japan too)

So true. And Haytham says it best:

The only difference between myself and those you aid is that I do not feign affection.

Honestly, I think Ubisoft saw how a lot of people flocked over Haytham during the first release of AC3 when Ratonhnhaké:ton was underappreciated and that’s the reason why they pushed for more ‘character depth’ to Haytham. (I’m sure his accent helped too). I read some say that one of the main reasons why Ratonhnhaké:ton wasn’t well received was because he was so different from Ezio and a lot of Ezio fans hated that but I never really believed them because my college best friend was a huge Ezio fan and played the AC games when they came out and when we were talking about my own experience, she was like “I don’t remember a lot but I hated his (Ratonhnhaké:ton’s) dad. He was such an asshole to him.” so, really, Ubisoft is very… white-centric. I will admit that they did well showing that both sides were selfish in many ways and Ratonhnhaké:ton really didn’t have a good side to join. Then Syndicate happened and they did Karl Marx dirty and Ubisoft definitely decided which side they are. (And I think the writers know it since they do show Abstergo partnering with AC world’s Ubisoft for the games)

Haytham is just… he’s a good character and can be considered one of the best AC characters but there’s really a dissonance on what kind of ‘good character’ he is meant to be.

I feel you. I wanted to learn more about Bloodborne, I really really do, I love gothic horror and god Yharnam is sooo pretty to me but I. Can’t. Even. Get. To. The. First. Boss. (I am actually dreading the upcoming Armored Core because I love that series but if it’s FromSoftware being FromSoftware, I probably won’t get far TTATT)

I blame Dynasty Warriors, tbh. (not gonna lie, I’m one of those who thought Xiahou Dun eating his own eyeball was pretty badass even if my Wei preference is Cao Ren) Although John Woo’s Red Cliff is probably the main Romance of the Three Kingdom adaptation that got mainstream attention. Probably. Oh definitely, the west is definitely trying to suck on that golden peach. And it’s not just the movies focused on China but a lot of movies right now are being edited to tone down or flatout remove anything that would ban it there. Anything owned by the big mouse is like that and even sports (I think???).

Also… Ubisoft is partly owned by Tencent right now so its focus on the China market was bound to happen:

Tencent invested another €300 million into Guillemot Brothers Limited, the company that holds part of the Guillemots' ownership of Ubisoft, in September 2022. This gave Tencent 49.9% ownership in this holding company and increased the Guillemots' share of voting rights within Ubisoft to about 30%. Yves Guillemot said that Tencent would be working closely with Ubisoft, helping to bring their games into China while assisting in paying off Ubisoft's debts and preventing the company from potential buyouts

I’ll keep that in mind and I don’t mind reading subtitles XD. We’ll just see what’s available in my region hahahaha. Oh yeah, that sounds about right. Some things do get lost in localization and that’s why I like checking the original and dubbed versions. It’s interesting to see the difference.

Irt Shao Jun's Name

Why is it even spelled "Jun"? Even in her first appearance in Assassin's Creed: Embers, Ezio and Sofia pronounce it "Shao Yun."

It's...a mixed bag in Chinese fandom, as far as I've seen. There are no official characters for her name, and without them, we don't know what her name means or even how to correctly pronounce it because there are no tones. Fans usually pick a number of characters to spell out either Shao Jun or Shao Yun, which means her name is usually pronounced differently, with different meanings.

Tbfh, I always favored 绍君 for her name, AKA Shao Jun with "Shao" being a surname to mean "carry on" and "Jun" being a word to describe a gentleman/someone of noble birth and bearing. It bears a lot of power.

In the official AC novels by Yan Leisheng, he uses the 少芸，or Little Yun, which has me taken aback because I've always read Shao Yun as her full name, meaning "Shao" would be a family name, not a prefix. I guess both would work, given that she's a palace concubine. The "yun" he uses means "rue," the flower, which is fitting for a concubine, but doesn't bear the same weight and power as the "jun" I chose for her.

Either way, Ubisoft can't commit to her name. They spell it one way, then pronounce it another. Even the novelization is apparently officially non-canon, meaning once again, the VIBE of this girl is completely up to fanon.

[diaryofanobsessivefangirl]

Hello hehe im the anon from before! I really like Sareth, i do like kisshu and ichigo from tokyo mew mew, etc, i dont mind it its one sided as you can see xD, i also watched brotherhood of the wolf because i saw an ask where you talked about it and oh boy the brother sure was interesting, anyway just wanna say i love your blog again and im always happy to see you post stuff =)

DOWNLOAD/STREAM LINKS INCLUDED

Gottcha ya! One-sided, incestish and yandere ships coming on!

A few weeks ago I've compiled ships that are similar to Sareth. If you wanna check it out, here is the list.

Most of my yandere villains can be found on the Love Makes You Crazy tag in my villain x heroine blog.

As always, I recommend my Starter Pack for villain x heroine shippers.

But since I rarely meet another shipper craving to ship an antagonist brother obsessed with his sister, I'll give you these specifics reccs:

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

James protected Sarah from their abusive father and took the beatings on her behalf, sacrificing his life to save hers, if only she keeps one promise: never to leave him. It’s so tragic I was in tears when it ended.

It's a short novel and you can read it in just one day. Maybe the only flaw in Flawed (LOL) it's the protagonist's love interest, the Bland GuyTM. You can skim through his chapters without a problem.

This is a particular obsession of mine.

Princess Daisy

A twisted fairytale about a modern princess's struggle for independence from her brother and his fatal love. Rupert Everet is so good at playing the tortured antagonist who is held hostage by his desires.

If you ship this, I really need to know, because it's Obscure Ship(TM) and I've been obsessed with it for 3 years. You can download Part I and Part II on the link.

The Slingshot

In the blink of an eye, Kim Shin loses everything dear to him. His father's company goes bankrupt, his brother commits suicide, his girlfriend leaves him, and he himself ends up in jail for a crime he didn't commit. While in prison, Shin learns that all of this was brought about by corporation head Chae Do Woo, who devised the scam that brought down his father. Determined to beat Do Woo at his own game, Shin sets out to get revenge, no matter the cost.

Chae Do Woo's little sister, Eun Soo, is the yang to his yin. She has a kind heart and has pledged to help everyone whose lives were ruined by her power-loving father and her equally uncaring brother.

Eun Soo is the only person who matters to Chae Do Woo and acts as some sort of sanity anchor to him. As she starts to drift away from her brother to help Kim Shin, the focus swift from Kim Shin and his former girlfriend to Do Woo and Eun Soo and gives the audience more subtle hints that Do Woo feelings might overreach brotherly love.

I wish I could send a stream, but I can’t find a single one with nice subtitles. Maybe I’ll buy the DVD myself.

The OA

Prairie Johnson, an adopted young woman, resurfaces after having been missing for seven years. Upon her return, Prairie calls herself "the OA", has scars on her back, and can see, despite having been blind when she disappeared. She assembles a team of five locals to whom she reveals her life story, involving an obsessed scientist and a human experiment.

IT'S NOT INCEST, but it's as stalkish as it can be. All I've recommended so far it's from very obscure and old material, but The OA has a fandom for it, so I thought I'd give you a little break from rare ship hell.

Also, Jason Isaccs plays the villain so what else could you ask for.

Bit of advice: season 1 is flawless and stands well on its own. Season 2... not so much. Watch with low expectations.

The Juror

A juror in a Mafia trial is forced to convince the other jurors to vote not guilty by an obsessive mob enforcer. He stalks her at the same time he tries to protect her from his employees, which reminded me a bit of Kishigo.

I've often said that I like when the villain challenges the girl to become the greatest version of herself and through his twisted way helps her find her own inner resilience. And when she unconsciously recognizes this despite her hatred.

This movie (and book - check the book later if you can) nails that.

Honorable mentions:

These are wincest villains like the brother from The Brotherhood of the Wolf who didn't get many scenes, so keep your expectations low.

There are amazing concepts behind both ships, so I felt obliged to mention:

Harper's Island (It's a "who is the killer" mini-series, so avoid spoilers)

Hellboy 2: The Golden Age (Magically bonded, royal twins. Sister is yin to brother's yang. Honestly, what is not to love)