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#no but seriously this rewatch really made me so !! just soo!!!!!!!
taddymason · 27 days
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What are your thoughts on each of the Ninja? I'm just curious
Ooooo okokok this is going to be so long, I'm going to explain my first impression of them when I was a child and how it has changed over time.
Cole: I really didn't care much about Cole when I saw the series for the first time, like, as I remember he was my least favorite character on the team and he seemed boring to me. Now? Easily my favorite ninja. It's funny because of the team it's easily the one I identify with the most in terms of personality. I LOVE how most of his arcs have to do with the potential of his elemental powers, probably one of the ninjas who has grown the most in terms of skills over the course of the series. I know I don't talk much about the way they develop him and how much he matures throughout the series, especially how he becomes more and more open with the team, but he is one of my favorite characters.
Zane: I always liked Zane and he always remained my second favorite ninja. One of the parts I like most about his development is how he becomes more confident and sassy, especially in the new seasons. What I do not like is how many other ninjas's jokes about him are limited to "Zane, we need to adjust your honest/sarcasm ciurcuits", etc. It gets pretty tiring and somewhat contradicts the whole point of his character to be reminded that he's a nindroid when the whole point is that he actually sometimes ends up being a lot more human than everyone else but that's it. (ALSO Why did the writers forget that he had a falcon?)
Lloyd: sooo Lloyd is a complicated one because I don't really have strong feelings about his character. I guess one thing that kept me away every time I rewatched the show was thinking that he's like they put every cliche of a protagonist in a blender and most of his arcs feel that "predictable" when you compare him to the others. BUT I like what they are doing with his character on DR and I think it is his best season so far, SO definitely in DR it is more entertaining to see his development and his relationship with the kids.
Kai: Kai is a character that for me... is fine, I don't love him too much like most of the fandom. Again I think that in DR they are doing justice to his character since he feels that in Wildbrainera he was quite forgettable as if the creators didn't know what to do with him (like, I'm not a fan of his arc in S11 because we have definitely seen that lesson a Lot of times). I really love the development of him anyway and his relationship with Nya & Lloyd is one of the best parts of the series.
Nya: I'm going to be honest, I only started to like Nya in S9, before that with the sexist way the writers wrote her in the first seasons when I first saw the series I found her annoying (and S3 and S6 didn't help) . I think her character definitely improved after the Oni trilogy onwards because the creators began to give her REAL CHARACTER FLAWS and take her more seriously because then I started to like her character more.
Jay: soo, when I saw the series for the first time Jay instantly became my favorite ninja. I liked that there was a balance between the sarcastic jokes and the fact that he would then do something surprising like being the first to do spinjitsu, being a genius on roller skates, him shooting in space, etc. It's those moments in which he proved to be the thinker outside the box of the team that were very entertaining along with his humor, his powers, the duality in which he could be a bastard, an idiot and a genius at the same time was what made him that was my favorite on the team
Now, I'm not a fan of Jay when it comes to the new seasons where they basically removed all the traits I'm listing and turned him into a man child who only makes pee jokes. They literally took away EVERYTHING that made him a useful member of the team, he is a completely different character that really the only thing he has is... he is just the "uwu guy on the team". Honestly, it could be a whole essay explaining how I hate Jay from S11 onwards but I'll just leave it at that I hope DR gives him real development (and for a change it doesn't have to do with Nya)
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crookedfandomquill · 2 months
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"Hotel King" Rewatch: Episode 1
Let’s address the elephant in the room: if I had a dollar for every time Lee Dong Wook and Lee Da Hae played love interests in a fake-out incest plotline…
Tragic backstories are like blood in the water and I am a hungry-ass shark
I’m sorry but his name being Jayden will never not be funny to me. I am from the American South and I know multiple Jaydens, all of whom are polo-wearing white boys ages 5 to 26 whose moms sell knock-off essential oils out of the backs of their minivans. I can’t take the name seriously in this context
“Is this heaven?” Oh honey no it really isn’t
Ah and the gaslighting begins. I’m remembering now that the main character in this drama is one of the more traumatized ones I’ve come across
Mmm yeah this is a good look for LDW. Not my absolute favorite (*cough* Soo Yeol *cough*) but objectively spiffy nonetheless
You know what, that party was so painfully lame that Chairman Ah saved it by falling to his death in the middle of it
Say what you will about the balls-to-the-wall plots of melodramas, but more often than not they deliver really incredible character writing. 30 minutes into the show you already know so much about Jae Won: he’s cold and full of anger, but he’s also idealistic and a bit naive (he genuinely thought Chairman Ah would acknowledge him and beg forgiveness if he just confronted him). He’s competent and driven but also completely beholden to his abusive father figure. He’s a man of few words and fewer platitudes, and the only thing sharper than the lines of his suit is his business acumen. Going back through the journey of getting to know the characters is my favorite part of any rewatch
Meanwhile, Mo Ne be sneakin’ (badly)
Gosh, imagine your beloved father has died and you make your grand return to the country by crab-walking in public, committing widespread property damage, and braining somebody with a large frozen fish 
Oh look, it’s the manager who CARRIES A HORSE WHIP??? Look, she knows her aesthetic and she’s rocking it. And no patience for guests creeping on the maids, I can’t not stan
Alright, but the fact that our lead couple starts out with him thinking she’s his secret half-sister/rival for his inheritance, and her thinking he killed her dad? It’s the messed up, angsty, weird, character-driven stuff that dreams are made of (mine, at least) 
Mo Ne really said “I want lots of money and zero responsibility” and let me tell you I felt that in my broke 20-something soul
Very strong soundtrack on this drama tbh, even if it does get repetitive after a while
Overall rewatch thoughts: I’m a ho for intrigue and this drama has so much of it, no wonder I binged the whole thing in about two days the first time around. The acting is as good as I remembered it, the secondary characters are so promising just from the first episode, and the vice chairman really makes my skin crawl. Knowing all the insane twists and turns the story takes just makes the rewatch extra fun. Safe to say that I have been thoroughly dragged back into Hotel King!
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armando-triplepapito · 5 months
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Seeing your posts about the first episodes and everyone was so mean to Betty since always, and that’s only taking into account the instances where she actually heard or saw people treating her horribly or calling her ugly and whatnot, but they were even worse behind her back (Mario and even Armando lbr especially at the early stages of their affair) and when Armando dresses as a drag queen and Betty takes him to her house to help him get rid of the make up and stuff just as he is leaving he asks her if it’s really that horrible to work at Ecomoda. Dude, do you really need to ask that? 😪 At least, he has time to reflect later because when they want Betty to help them get out of debt by keeping the embargo, Armando says that if she doesn’t want to help them it won’t be because of the things that were said to her during the board meeting, but because of the things that were said to her repeatedly before that and during her whole time working there (All the things Daniel said to Betty when she had her first makeover? He’s gross). The Human Resources department at Ecomoda was simply nonexistent.
If María Beatriz que was not a Valencia, they would treat her just as bad as they did with El Cuartel tbh
Thank you for your gifs, your blog is awesome 😎
Yea it’s rough to see how everyone treats Betty and like how you said they’re even worse when they talk behind her back. They even call her names right after she saves their skin! Calling her Murciélago 🦇 de la Guarda and whatnot. Like bruh she’s doing all she can to help you guys yet y’all can’t compliment her without an insult?! Seriously! They’re dickheads! And the worst part is that Betty probably hears them all the time yet pretends she doesn’t cause let’s not forget the walls are thin in Ecomoda 🫠. (Okay side note- there’s this scene where Armando and Mario are trash talking about her and she trips into the office, I feel like she heard them but of course used her “clumsiness” to brush over the situation if that makes sense? Definitely gonna talk about that later in a post once I rewatch the scene). Anyways when I’m reminded of Armando asking Betty if it’s that horrible to work for him it seriously makes me laugh! That’s not something he should be asking! He KNOWS he’s awful 😀 I think Betty only tells him that Don Hermes heard him yelling at her on the day she made him a business proposal (or something like that, tbh when they talk stuff about the company everything goes over my head) what she should’ve mentioned is that Don Hermes heard him yelling at her on the day he FIRED HER!! Bro that scene made me soo mad! The way Armando didn’t even wanna listen to her, insulting her basically saying that if he has to have a useless secretary might as well only keep Patricia like ugh you dumbass!! How dare you!! I kinda have wished she didn’t made that business proposal for him cause he didn’t deserve it! And the worst part is that right after he told Betty to go take a lunch break he basically tells Mario he did notice that Betty was limping but he just didn’t cared! Ugh!! Idk how Betty was able to handle all that abuse! F Armando man! Betty shouldn’t had helped them not because of what was said to her during the board meeting but ALSO because of what they did and said to her before, during her time in Ecomoda! For sure Betty is stronger than me, I would’ve been so petty😮‍💨 honestly I kinda liked how Armando read Betty’s diary, he deserved to know exactly how Betty felt during her stay in Ecomoda. I loved how he felt her pain through those pages☺️ tho I wished Betty had reminded him how he fired her😒
Don’t even remind me of Daniel during Betty’s first makeover! He was such an asshole for no reason! My poor Betty 🤧 trying to defend herself😭 and now that I think about it, it was brave of her to stand up to him while she was basically cornered cause let’s not forget he attacked her while they were alone who knows what could’ve happened if Armando didn’t appear 😰. I have to admit Armando was such a sweetheart in this episode 🥹 the way he defended her not only from Daniel but from Marcela and Patricia those bitches so kudos for him but not many cause he was still trash talking behind her back with Mario😠
Seriously! Hr was definitely nonexistent in Ecomoda! The way the executives got away with everything is crazy! How Mario played with Patricia and Aura Maria, Hugo’s insults towards the Cuartel especially towards Betty, the way Marcela tried firing Betty and how she probably fired a lot of models (probably without good reasons other than they slept with Armando). There was just so much mistreatments from the executives it’s insane! And the worst part is they never apologize not even Armando who’s the least bad one from them all. He should at least apologize after yelling at the workers 💀. Omgosh that reminds me! Okay sorry for going off track but I’m remembering that time when Armando pulled Patricia’s hair!! That was so insane of him! So scary!! Patricia is an awful person but she did not deserve to get her hair pulled by her boss!! Armando should’ve definitely been arrested there!😰 from what I understand the Cuartel had worked in Ecomoda for years, idk how they handled working in such a toxic environment 😬 but then again Don Roberto was the president so things were way different, I hope😶
Omg if Maria Beatriz was not a Valencia she would’ve been treated even worse than the Cuartel! The Cuartel were treated bad because of their appearance and Patricia was treated bad cause she’s an airhead. Maria Beatriz was not only ugly but also an airhead! Everyone would’ve eaten her alive! She’s lucky that she was born a Valencia but even still I feel like everyone pushes her to the sidelines. I feel like her family and the Mendozas try to forget she even exists💀
Hehe thanks for the kind words🙈❤️ I’ll try to make more gifs but tbh I’m kinda in a hiatus on my rewatch cause it’s kinda hard to see Betty being mistreated by everyone. Everyone is so cruel to her and I’m only 10 episodes in! Just thinking about what’s to come breaks my heart😭 but Ik it’s worth it I just need more time to mentally prepare myself. Also I’m thinking of making some fanart! Idk how to draw but if I can’t do fanfics might as well do some fanart! So watch out for them😜 and hey you never know! Maybe my fanart can inspire talented artist to make some of their own for the fandom 🤭🤪 anyways thanks for messaging me! I always have fun when I have someone to talk to about ysblf 🥰 tho I apologize for taking so long to reply😭
Don’t hate me! I love ya 😚❤️
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scattered-winter · 9 months
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hey! hope you're doing good! if you don't mind me asking, what made you want to start the voltron rewrite?
I absolutely don't mind u asking!!!!!! will always ramble abt shit here on scattered winter dot com
its....kind of a long story. see I was caught up in the voltron hype a few years ago, and was obsessed with it from day one. I feel fairly confident in saying that it was my first fandom-related hyperfixation that lasted for quite a long period of time. I had mutuals and friends, and wrote fic and generally just participated in fandom and had a BLAST despite the source material being. less than stellar. but well the voltron fandom is notorious for being absolutely batshit (derogatory) and eventually the negativity from the fandom kind of drove me out (it was also just bitterness and anger on my part from the way the show ended because man.) but regardless the voltron hyperfixation went dormant for a really long time as I moved onto other things. but the concept kinda stayed with me (because let's be real its an AWESOME concept with sooo much cool worldbuilding potential that was never tapped into) and I played with the idea of an all-oc cast with my own story as the years went by, but never really went farther than daydreaming and making picrews lmao. but in the last few months the voltron hyperfixation has been flaring up as I've started rereading some of my fav fics and remembering why I liked this show in the first place, negativity and disappointment aside. and voltron is the perfect combination of worldbuilding potential, fascinating characters, and stupid fucking ass writing decisions that fuel me with enough spite to just write my own version. I've played with the idea of a voltron rewrite for a long time as I've thought about the characters more and what I would have done with them and the worldbuilding if I were in charge, but I didn't really actually start thinking about it seriously until I started rewatching the first season and remembered all the REALLY cool stuff it had. so long story short, now that most of the negative people have left the fandom, and now that I've had time to be in a better mindset abt the show, I'm doing this rewrite both because I'm frustrated by the dumb directions the source material went, and because I genuinely love the source material. at least, the core of it. AND as a bonus I'm genuinely having sooo much fun thinking about and planning the rewrite !!!! every single character got absolutely butchered after s2 and I want sooo badly to do them justice, because I love them all so much and they're all really close to my heart and I'm literally just having the time of my life out here <3 I don't even really mind that the fandom is practically dead nowadays and so my rewrite probably won't get that much attention because 1) I have soo many friends and bestiemutuals enabling me and cheering me on 2) I'm GENUINELY having so much fun. like it's been sooooo long since I've been this motivated and inspired and excited for a writing project and it's an amazing feeling to have
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poprocksmbabie · 1 year
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sigh. sigh. is it rewatch time.
(yes)
Yk now I can cry over it but I swear when I first watched it, deku crying to inko pointing to the all might video……he looked so much like mineta I could never cry at it
I will say the one thing I feel bad for bakugo about is the fact that he quite literally had no one to talk to about the huge block keeping him back, the fact that deku WAS QUIRKLESS. He really had to keep that all to himself until it all came apart at DvK2…….hmmmm. Like he really just had to take “this quirk was given to me” as an answer and go on like nothing happened. I mean he did say fuck it that it doesn’t change things for him but like ehhh. Even after all that. At the end of every roadblock it all came back to ‘how the fuck did he get a quirk.’ hm.
like he fr just said "fuck you i'm over it" ... i must say he did an excellent job of fooling everyone into thinking he's some brainless guy who doesn't care, bro does not EVER forget a SINGLE detail... motherfucker said "oh whatever you just beat me today that's all it was" acting like the rest didn't matter to him and here he comes up months later FUCK!!!!!!
"fortunately he didn't take it seriously" yeah you THOUGHT
dekus world getting rocked by the fact that bkg can get teased is SO FUCKIGN FUNNYYYYYY
kamimomojirou since day ONE BABEEYEYYY
dear lord i got to season 2 all might's letter to gran torino thinking about. like after the public has found out about ofa omfg could you imagine stephanie soo type conspiracy mukbang videos being made after LMFAO "and here's where it gets even CRAZIER the letter they found right? that was to his master in high school? so the previous user's child was shigaraki's grandma but his GRANDPA was the GUY IN THE LETTER"
todoroki was so damn dramatic gotdamn. literally unwarranted
forgot for a second how fucking funny tetsutetsu being there is RIGHT WHERE IT HURTS
sometimes i wonder if that part was just lazily written or what cause if I saw a landmine like that my FIRST thought is how do I use this as a rocket ...
bkg peeping in on the endeavor talk will never not be funny esp knowing how he is in s5, likeHHEUQUZUFHJE ‘this was the wrong convo i shouldn’t have come here i shouldn’t have come here’
I will always love the detail of bkg giving ocha back the charred jacket :[ do i care for kcchk? not much but gotdamn … gotta love those two … also it’s the fact that bkg even went “yea I know ur friends w fucking deku” HE’S SO ANNOYED AT THEM HAJSHIFHAJAHAA
when todoroki was trauma dumping and bakugo said “but Actually though WHO CARES” he was so real for that
not to be dramatic but wow i started bawling at todoiida again. like what the fuck you’re telling me todoroki who has literally not made a single connection to anyone in his class saw the pain that iida was in that even iida’s own friends at the time couldn’t tap into.
man … when deku was tryna understand how to be less stiff with ofa he thought of bkgs moves … sighhh sighhghggghhhh
the real question is what kind of microwave doesn’t fucking turn. the biggest epiphany for deku that took a season and a half was from seeing how a normal microwave works.
(At the time of this, chapter 385 has been released) rewatching stain arc rn is CRAAAZYYYY
back to todoiida like the opening bro the fact that deku is turning around to check on iida whereas todoroki had his eyes fixed on him the whole time HE KNEW FROM THE STAAAAART
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auofgoldandfantasies · 7 months
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Daredevil rewatch commentary
There's so many parallels to be fascinated by.
S3E7 Aftermath
Kudos to the costume designers for Fisk’s white suit. It’s impactful.
Gah! That evil and satisfied smile from Fisk when he sees the news that are accusing Daredevil of murder! I don’t think I ever have seen Fisk smile like that before.
AHH! That the scene starts in the middle of Matt venting to Maggie about what happened, covered in blood and taking on everything that went wrong on himself. <3 It’s so precious to see Matt so open and vulnerable with Maggie. He doesn’t bottle everything up inside. She gets to hear it all and I think that says a lot about their relationship and about how Maggies unfazed reactions makes Matt feel like he can talk about this with her.
THE HONESTY BETWEEN THEM. Maggie admitting she was wrong and that she’s way in over her head with the things Matt face. The fact that Matt seems to listen to Maggie’s advice.
“I thought you were gonna keep your thought to yourself.” “You really want me to do that?” “No.” <3
Noticing that Foggy seems to deal with uncomfortable feelings (like almost getting killed, like Karen pointed out) by ignoring them and thinking about work and tangible urgent problems that he maybe can do something about instead.
Both Karen and Matt keeps taking on the deaths on themselves :( At least Karen have Foggy and Matt have Maggie to point out that it’s not their fault (and responsibility) that Fisk does what he does.
Appreciation for how Matt talks to Melvin. He’s so… factual. Direct. Doesn’t sugarcoat anything but isn’t threatening Melvin or violent in any way. Mutual respect?
Oh… is Nadeem’s boss not yet under Fisk’s influence? She seems very genuine in wanting to take the fact that Fisk might be manipulating them seriously. Or is she just behaving like that to not raise suspicion?
AHH Fisk made Melvin trap Matt in his new workshop with a second Daredevil suit to frame Matt even more!!
Thinking about how Matt is fighting Melvin newly stitched up and he’s still so agile! Matt’s fighting skills never cease to amaze me.
How Matt is able to turn around the fight with Melvin to talking to him!!! <3
Melvin and Matt fighting together! : D AND THEY’RE PLAYING A FIGHT VERSION OF THE DAREDEVIL THEME IN THE BACKGROUND! I don’t know if they’ve done that in a fight before this season, or if I just didn’t put significance to it. But right now, it feels like Matt is very much back to being Daredevil in a similar way (but also so different) to how it was in season 1. Especially compared to how the whole season started with Matt being so detached from everything he’s identified himself around. The thing that is now feels like the Matt I’m used to.
I like the duality? Parallel? Paradox? Of the FBI thinking they are in control, surveilling Fisk and being able to pinpoint that he’s in his bedroom and then it changes scene to Fisk, being surrounded by screens because he’s actually observing the FBI and knows everything that is going on. The freedom Fisk has by making the FBI think they are in charge of him.
Nadeem gets more stressed the more he realizes something is terribly wrong. : ( But it’s reassuring to see someone on the FBI so concerned to doing what’s right and finding the truth.
Fisk as Matt’s self-critical thoughts makes an appearance again! It’s soo good storytelling!! Fisk is always haunting him.
I love the scene where Foggy is surrounded by papers in his living room and almost manically trying to connect things.
AHHH and that crescendo in the music that’s usually reserved for the main protagonist when Foggy says “I think I know what Fisk is up to” <3 <3
Somebody please give Karen a hug she deserves and needs all the love and support <3
Something something lies and parallels. There’s so much material to work with here. (I’m watching the scene where Seema corners her husband for lying to not make her worry and saying that lying to her is like he’s treating her as an idiot.)
“I’m just trying to keep everything together”, Nadeem says. And isn’t that representative of so many people in this season. (Parallels my beloved)
“I’m Daredevil. The real one.” Let’s just look at how that’s how Matt decides to present himself to Nadeem after their brief fight. Is it Nadeem’s search for the truth and knowing there’s things not adding up that makes him stop struggle after that?
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goodstuffexe · 1 year
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I gotta gather my thoughts after the first watch of season 4 omg !!SPOILERS!!
First and foremost I don't think this season was bad at all but I do think that it indeed could be better and doesn't quite hold up with seasons 1-3. I recently rewatched (and with recently I mean the days before thursday) the previous seasons and oh my I really forgot how much I loved them and OH how good the pacing was in season 1 and 2 especially.
For example I got the feeling that 4x01 to 4x03 kinda dragged on and made the impression they want to delay the main plot for as long as possible. (What could be explained by the fact that they have 3 whole seasons to fill still) While the first 3 1/2 episodes of season 1 play out during one whole day and you don't even notice it. Kinda a bad example tho since it is the beginning of the series soo another good example would be the first two episodes of season 2 which handled continuity of the plot and problems our babies still needed to solve on the way SO good while also staying at the Moon Nexus and goofin' around for almost 2 whole episodes.
Buuut I'm definitely gonna rewatch this season because I binged it on thursday quite harshly and that's usually a bad idea and not the way I like to watch my shows lol. I just missed them soo much o.O
Okay now with that out of the way..
OH MY GOD RAYLA, my poor children.. So much sadness :( Okay I understand that Callum and Rayla indeed had no time to talk and A he didn't want to (which is legit and def understandable) and B they had more important things to talk about but I'm SO dissapointed that not one of them asked what Rayla did in this 2 years?!? Like huh?! Not even Ezran. I'm so baffled about this it blows my mind. Did she went to see Ethari at some point? (I don't think so because she said when she gave her blades to Rex that she thinks she's not going to see Runaan or Ethari ever again soo) Did she travel the whole of Xadia all on her own until she found Stella and just came to the realization that she wants to go back and stop her search out of the blue?? What the fuck happend in two years that's a damn long time gurl
I LOVED Ezrans speech and the song played by Corvus. So powerful while Claudia and Ibis fight to the death omg very epic
Aaravos straight up possesing Callum through the heckin mirror OMG and the dragons needing to beat him at his own game because he's too strong and they couldn't risk a direct confrontation aah
Makes me wonder if he is going to be a flat evil villain like the Fire lord 🥴 now that Viren has half a redemption arc lmao
OH Viren omg that realization about how he wants to spend his remaining 30 days with what he has left aka Claudia was so natural in my opinion after seeing him having a full on panic attack and being afraid of heights after falling to his death. It was out of character buut still kindaaaa maybeee felt more believable than Callum and Raylas meeting uhmm
I said it it was realllyy awkward and not the 'normal' kind of awkward it just wasn't very... it was not the way I expected them to react I'm surprised Callum actually kept his shit quite good together and Raylas lacking apology and her reaction also felt rly out of place. Tho I think she will find some words, some better words than just sorry, next season. And I hope we will hear from her what she did and where she went and she hopefully reflects on what she did and why she went away and how she hurt Callums feelings badly and aaaAAAAAH
Terry is a pure baby
He's also quite sus
Did you hear how he called Viren legendary!? What the heck is wrong with this boys morals? Calling someone who brought down the capitol of the sunfire elves, killed their queen and almost raged a huge war on all of Xadia legendary? I love how he talks with Viren about his childhood and I rly like how Viren himself starts to listen to him more seriously but I'm concerned about this little elf :(
Did you notice that the human girl who revealed Aaravos' treason has only one arm? Quite the detail but I thought it was nice tdp goes every extra mile for representation
I LOVED the conflict in Lux Aurea between Janai and her brother. Best subplot this season. How they talked about their people worrying and then they showed us an actual conflict and the consequences it brings and how Janai deals with it in her own and a modern way. I love that they take their time and give reasons behind the actions of the characters and how they continue to make the world feel more alive by showing us how humans and elves manage to get along with each other. Janai's brother (sry forgot his name) portrays that typical traditional worldview and I love how it stands in contrast with Janai who takes on being queen, a role which she didn't even want to have, with a fresh and open mindset influenced by the humans they now live with. Hehe influenced by Amaya hehe *blushes*
I also love the symbolism of the sun seed as a new start a beginning of an era in unity *cries*
The only problem I have with this is, that no matter what, if Janai's brother would have won the duel between him and his sister, he also couldn't bring back their old capital city, which he used as a reason at some point. And if he could he would have tried surely by now? Or is that just me?
Seeing the gap widen between Soren and Claudia BrEAks mY HeArT but it also feels very believable the way they interacted when Soren found and briefly captured her. Claudias villain arc is certainly undeniable and it makes me sad :(
OH AND SOREN!! Ah the best boi (ofc next to Callum my dork and Ezran being the most reasonable -now SO grown up O.O- best boi heh) he really shines this season in my opinion with some nice jokes as always but also with being a great friend and protector of the king. I love how he tells Rayla how Callum felt when she left him. He has indeed made the jump from "only" being the funny and strong goofball with the evil dad to the lovable and just friend who does everything in his way to protect and help the people he loves and it makes me SO happy omg.
Someone thought the others don't appreciate him enough for what he does and I gotta agree a bit. The look on his face when Zubeia appreciated his moves aah he was so proud x). But they were very worried about him when they found his armor, so yeah I guess more interactions with the boys pls \ o.o /
Sooo these are *most* of my thoughts I think for now. Correct me if I got something wrong- it was a wild watching session. Ofc I'm very much loving Rayllum smiling at and hugging each other after 2 years being apart :') and I'm very excited which direction the story will take. I'm now gonna rewatch the season and go cry some more about it yaay
I HOPE THEY DON'T TAKE 3 YEARS TILL THE NEXT SEASON AGAIN
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thedramanotes · 1 year
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MORE THAN FRIENDS is a disgrace to the friends-to-lovers trope
 I rewatched bits of More Than Friends recently and have been thinking about its main thesis for two straight days.
Initially, I was just floored by how accurately they showed the magnetism of the elusive crush who is hot and cold, kind and hurtful, intense and distant, some times almost painfully close, but never quite caught.
HOWEVER, even more interesting for me was the complex, underlying question that the drama kind of-sort of tried to ask - who is responsible for the feelings felt and evoked?
For the Second Lead, Joon-soo, who asks the Female Lead, Woo-yeon to "test" him out even though he knows she pines for another guy, the drama seems to say that he's responsible for his own feelings.
But for Woo-yeon who pines for the Male Lead, Lee Soo, even after being firmly rejected several times since she first confessed at 18, the drama places the blame squarely on the Male Lead. Why did he behave affectionately towards her if he didn't want her to misunderstand? His clearly worded rejections didn't matter.
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And finally, the drama makes the case that Woo-yeon was right in ignoring the Lee Soo's rejection and constantly drunk calling him and making repeated unwanted confessions because Lee Soo only needed some time (10 years) to realize he couldn't get away from her loved her too. So, it was all worth it!
This is one of those story lines that would make us collectively cringe if the genders were reversed and the Male Lead had been ignoring the Female Lead's clear rejections and pleas to just stay friends for years. Because we can see that there's a history of him disrespecting her choice.
See, it's not that I don't empathize with the FL or understand why she would stay hung up on the guy. She absolutely tried to move on. But the drama didn't really let her. They so badly wanted her to get with Lee Soo, that they basically undermined her arc of growing a spine and cutting him off cold to save her own sanity.
And for what? This couple barely understood each other!
It's particularly galling to watch Lee Soo guiltily admitting that he didn't really know much about her even after 10 years, when Woo-yeon hadn't really made any effort to know him.
Some major conversations that give clues into who he was and what informed his perspective only happened after she'd spent a decade blaming him for being unattainable and cursing him for being a witch.
I found both Lee Soo and Woo-yeon quite insufferable. I go a bit more into this and which drama I found did the same trope amazingly well in a video here.
I know a lot of people who couldn't finish More Than Friends, not the least because it goes into seriously stupid territory after episode 12 with the forced separation bs, but if anyone watched the whole thing and loved it, please drop a line and let me know what made it work you!
Thanks for reading my rant! <3
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banalope · 1 year
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Things that hit me on a film red rewatch:
this movie is sad dude
shanks was in it even less than I remembered lmfao
maybe jinbe only just joined and maybe he didn’t have TOO much to say but by god toei made sure that man had some action every time he was around he’d take up like the full dang screen
speaking of toei like actually seriously holy budget man we’ve been blessed
ofc sanji knew what those shrooms do
shanks’ crew is so cool wtf I love the parallels particularly between benn beckman and zoro and I always have but it’s just so good to see them
speaking of tho holy fuck did zoro and sanji interact a lot. so like in a movie when the main cast is kind of pushed aside, they like REALLY seemed to interact a LOT since what little time they have on screen was spent being together. So then they dedicate that precious screentime to their bickering and touching each other in the middle of a whole lot of other busy shit going on. All of this is on brand and hilarious
why were they sleeping together?!?????????!????????????? was the outfit thing intentional?????????? im screaming hoarsely
sanji even manages to sleep like a simp. somehow
uta gaining popularity online ‘2 years ago’ soo in 2020, when covid hit is that what you’re telling me?? how did this movie come out of NOWHERE and resonate so fuckin much how did they do dat
yasopp didnt deserve any of that whatsoever.
honestly the whole movie just hit me so fuckin sadly as soon as Im Invicible started, that is a different feeling entirely on a second watch just holy shit what a fuckin tragedy I am so invested in this character fuckin a pls bring her into canon more Im BEGGING
in short it was amazing, its just Bad Dads the Musical, I know I’ll watch it again and pick up even more stuff but seeing it on the big screen is just such a fuckin cool experience I’d go 5 more times if I could A++++
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Oooh, I wanna play this game, how fun @boliv-jenta!!
New game, how many things have you been suckered into watching to catch a glimpse of Pedro?
Green: All of it
Orange: Just his scenes
Red: None
I took this vewy, vewy seriously, and this was SO FUN, I wondered how many I had seen given that I only came into the fandom last year! Here's mine:
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Ahhhh soo many, mostly due to @dornish-queen's site, a blessing for all ye Pedro obsessed, hear hear! Been rewatching some as I made this!
I put half-green-half-yellow for The Mandalorian and Narcos because I STILL haven't watched them all the way through, I OBVS watch Pedro's scenes and then sort of skip around, watch what tickles mah fancy...that violence in Narcos tho...
Pedro's wittle waiter scene in The Adjustment Bureau is yellow because I recently found gifs of it!! And OMG I just learned there's a much better quality version of Pedro's scenes in Wonder Woman (2011), it's not pixel pedro anymore!!
I MUST add his "The Changdalorian" episode on "The Darkest Timeline with Ken Jeong & Joel McHale" podcast, which is my top comfort Pedro content of choice, I put it on when I'm feeling down...and his fabulous self-hair-floofing in it is the source of my icon. 🥰
I have rewatched Graceland's Pedro scenes more than once for one reason and one reason only--@whataperfectwasteoftime's Control Marcus Pike series which commandeered Juan Badillo in the best (and now ONLY) way.
Of Pedro's narration, I haven't yet but want to watch Patagonia that's out now as well as the "Octopus" episode of Animal.
Of Pedro's audio books, I have listened to ALLL 7 hours and 55 minutes of Ghost Radio (didn't like it at first, then it really grew on me), but haven't listened to his others yet.
So much Pedro content!!! *sighs in happiness*
Update: Found video of I Am That Girl!!
Tagging some who might want to play if they haven't already, np: @heythere-mel, @iamskyereads, @imtryingmybeskar, @skyshipper, @flora-screeches, @whataperfectwasteoftime, @foli-vora, @keeper0fthestars, @fuckyeahdindjarin.
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humbuns · 2 years
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to a love that knows no bounds.
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absolutebl · 3 years
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This Week In BL
April 2021 Part 5
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.
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Ongoing Series - Thai
Close Friend Ep 2 (JaFirst) - First is a cat. No actually a cat. It was WEIRD. Cute, but creeping towards beastiality. It reminded me of that strange series out of China (@heretherebedork says Youth in the Breeze). The most amusing thing to me was that the cat used Thai formal linguistic register when of course cats would use informal rude guu mueng with EVERYONE. No cat would use pom. Don’t be ridiculous, Thailand. 
Second Chance Ep 5 - still invested, things progressed for all 3 couples, in one direction or another. They cuties. I love them. Carry on. 
Y-Destiny Ep 5 - the “virgin scoreboard” is gonna make the seme real hard to redeem with this pairing. If they bother. This might be a life lesson episode. What does it remind me of? Oh yes. Kids. *SHUDDER* Point of interest: did you notice Team uses ha with Mon? What a pushy flirt. 
Lovely Writer Ep 10 - honestly I just love it when Poppy shows up in anything, why is he such a delightful screen presence? (Gene’s brother) Sorry, distracted. What happened in this one? Oh, ya know, stuff and things. Family drama. (It is just me or have they been giving us some long ass episodes lately?) Obligatory beach trip activated. (Result = dumb probability mathematics jokes.) Next week it looks like we have Keeping Actor’s Closeted 101. You know the Casting Couch? This is the Casting Closet. 
Fish Upon The Sky Ep 4 - early stage confession, how fun. It’s not unprecedented it just usually means we are in 4 act structure, not 3, which means Fish might go more serious than I thought. Honestly? I’m losing interest mostly because I’ve gone from mild annoyance to active dislike of Pi. Happened to me with Tine too. They better redeem this obtuse tsundere uke soon or he’s not tsundere at all he’s just a jackwit. 
Brothers Ep 13 fin - a kiss and the family finds out about the not-so-brotherly brothers, drama, graduation, THE END. My side-dish happy heart made thumps over Q + delivery boy, I’m sad they got so little screen time. My babies KhunKaow did get a tiny coming out sequence as such. I’m seriously considering doing myself a bootleg of just the KhunKaow plot, but that means I’d have to rewatch the whole darn series and I can’t STAND the idea. Which should give you insight into how not good this show it. Very NOT good. Must we get a season 2? Please stop now, Line. 
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Ongoing Series - Not Thai
HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 7 - Muren is the cutest peanut and anyone who says otherwise can fight me, although they probably have to go through Licheng first. I was NOT invested in these two at the beginning, but as a couple? They own my soul. The other storyline is still the dumpster fire that I can’t decide to roast marshmallows over (knowing they’ll get tinged with eu de trash) or flee from in horror clutching my pearls and my nose. H4 continues to provide the quality psyche torture I’ve come to expect from this franchise. *sarcastic thumbs up*  *** A word on seeing Boxiang show up (side dish from H3:MODC). It was an unexpected pleasure, I loved his pairing (May/December is a winner for me *glares at Method*) but I do think it was a bone from the franchise telling us that we are never getting that spin-off or reboot that people yearn for. However, how AWESOME that Licheng has someone to go to and ask about topping properly. Otherwise he’s sure to have screwed it up. (Pun intended.) 
Papa & Daddy (Tailwan) Ep 1-2 - this came out of nowhere and is ADORABLE. Applies a ton of BL tropes (cheek kiss, his closet, B&W stripes, drag baby around, boop) but what IS it? More slice of gay domesticity than romance. Like 2019′s Kinou Nani Tabeta? or currently airing Close Friend. I enjoy this style, very wholesome, but I’m not sure what to call it. (Bonus points for cutie lesbians.) A bit weird to have a kid with your partner and STILL not be out to your parents. I hope they aren’t going to throw in a break up for dramatic effect. 
My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 4 - I’m really enjoying this series. It’s unabashedly queer, although there’s some problematic stuff lurking under the wig. How it ends is gonna dictate if they handled this stylishly. But hot damn the leads ZING on screen together and their crackling prank-flirting is a joy to watch. 
Word of Honor (China) Ep 31-33 - moving into the home stretch. Big rescue and the band is back together (presumably for the final slaughter). Then a death! *this is my shocked face* Did I tear up? Of course I did. 4 act structure is designed for maximum pathos during the final 1/4. Did we all faint from the symbolism of the love token hair stick being gently thrust into Ah Xu’s bun? Sure we did. All that and sill I’m flagging. This is a long-arse show. Save me, Korea, with your iItsy bitsy teenie weenie...
Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korea) Ep 5-6 - I am getting such strong 12th Night vibes from this. Tae Hyung is now brigadier of BL’s historical himbo brigade. (To be deployed whenever you are in need of poetry or a cut sleeve.) This show is all ridiculous charm and I LOVE it. Although, five seconds of Lee Sang is not enough Lee Sang. I had to immediately rewatch Wish You. 
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Gossip
Nitiman gave us an actor intro BTS teaser. 
Kang In Soo (AKA Kyang Insoo) posted a cute behind the photo shoot of Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding plus a silly interview with Jang Eui Soo on his YouTube channel (you should subscribe, it’s a fun channel, his fitness regime is both insane and inspiring). 
My Engineer 2 dropped a couch interview with the boys but it feels like one that was filmed a while ago (oh and no subs).  
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STARTING SOON: Nitiman, Love Area, Top Secret Together, Be Loved in House, & I Promised You The Moon  
Nitiman (Thai) May 7, One 31. University set, moons, engineering students, enemies to lovers, adapted. - Looks to be a solid 2 Moons knock off, I’m in.
Love Area (Thai) May 8, AIS Play, 10 eps total. Restaurant set, stars Pak Chavitpong (the only good thing about Cupid Coach) and the OST is sung by Jeff Satur (Ingredients). - It’s boys in love revolving around food = my kryptonite, try to stop me from watching this probable trash. 
Top Secret Together (Thai) May 14, Line TV. 5 couples, one IRL (Newyear from I Am Your King), story arcs revolve around secrets.  - I’m getting fatigued by these multi-couple sampler pack dramas, but I’ll try it for Newyear’s sake.  
Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwan YES!) May 20, Viki. Office set, relationships prohibited at work by a new boss, one of the employees is determined to figure out why. Grumpy/tsundere pairing so loads of drama. - I am so flipping excited for this one. A 4th BL series from Taiwan in less than a year? That’s unprecedented. GO BABY ISLAND GO! 
I Promised You the Moon (Thai) May 27, Line TV. Follow up to I Told Sunset About You with the boys now at university. - I won’t be watching this as I have yet to finish season 1. 
Possibly Gameboys season 2.  - Rumors are all over the place right now on this. 
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Next Week Looks Like This: 
Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons. 
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Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.
Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.
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dangermousie · 3 years
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2020 End of Year Post - kdrama edition
You can find my 2020 cdrama post here: dangermousie.tumblr.com/post/638449659546845184/2020-end-of-year-post-cdrama-edition
This is only going to cover kdramas that aired in 2020; if it originally aired another year, it’s not on this list.
It’s been a pretty lackluster kdrama year. There are probably only 5 kdramas I truly loved and only three of them I was really obsessed over. Better luck in 2021!
DRAMAS WATCHED
(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)
42 Born Again - so bad, so incoherent, so insane, I have no idea why the leads signed up for it (and unlike some of the other watchers, I think it was awful from the very start.) There is literally nothing about this drama that makes sense.
41 Love with Flaws - a bunch of people who should be tried under the Geneva Convention.
40 Sweet Munchies - Jung Il Woo proves his inability to pick a functional script.
39 Meow the Secret Boy - if you ever wanted to bang a cat, this drama is for you. Not being a furry, however...
38 Do Do Sol Sol La Sol - I lost braincells just typing out this title.
37 When I Was the Most Beautiful - the only way it’s not the dumbest, most pointless melo of 2020 is because Born Again considerately came out the same year.
36 Woman of 9.9 Billion - if you want to watch an artsy French movie about miserable people, but only badly made, boy do I have a drama for you.
35 Lies after Lies - screams after screams.
34 Backstreet Rookie - people were up in arms about various problematic plots. I am a survivor of many plots much more problematic but even I couldn’t survive how utterly boring and annoying this drama was and how utterly irritating the leads were. This has taken Ji Chang Wook off my top favorites into “should I even check his latest Lovestruck in the City? Probably not” territory almost single-handedly (Melt Me helped, to be fair.)
33 Men Are Men - boring is boring.
32 Dinner Mate - two beautiful boring people eat out a lot.
31 Was It Love - no it wasn’t.
30 Alice - Joo Won in the shower can make up for a multitude of sins but not plot nonsense of such magnitude. When you find yourself thinking it would be better if he hooked up with the alternate universe version of his mother because at least then something entertaining would happen, you know it’s bad.
29 More than Friends - started out OK, then made me hate basically everyone and kept going.
28 Start-Up - honestly, it’s probably more decent than its place here, but the toxic and batshit fandom for it (the worst this year) made me feel like breaking out in hives any time it’s even mentioned.
27 The Spies who Loved Me - how to take a good cast and waste it.
26 Private Lives - it was good but it never took off with its concept and spent more time on the incoherent plot than the OTP which was its one strength. It’s a decent drama but coming after Heartless City and My Beautiful Bride from the same writer, it’s a disappointment.
25 Record of Youth - as high as it is due to Park Bo Gum hard carrying this entire awful drama on his shoulders and doing it so well I finished it. Alas, while he is in one drama (and that drama is great), the rest of the characters and the entirety of the script are a pointless useless mess.
24 Do You Like Brahms - excellent first third, mediocre middle, and terrible last third. I don’t know what musical term applies to this? Diminuendo, I think.
23 I’ll Go to You When the Weather is Nice - nice and mellow but nothing much happens.
22 Forest - mainly for Park Hae Jin’s excellent and frequently naked bod.
21 The Ballot - I didn’t love it as much as everyone did but it was well-made.
20 Hyena - more romance and less weird law stuff would make it better.
19 365 Repeat the Year - surprisingly solid.
18 The Game Towards Zero - see 365.
17 When My Love Blooms - very old fashioned, very lovely.
16 Chocolate - also very old fashioned and very lovely but also with Yoon Kye Sang performing medical procedures bleeding and shirtless. MMM.
15 (tie) Secret Royal Inspector - a fun if run of the mill sageuk.
15 Find Me In Your Memory - best melo this year.
14 Mystic Pop Up Bar - surprisingly good even though I wasn’t planning to check it out.
13 Where Your Eyes Linger - came out of nowhere but was tender and hopeful and lovely.
12 Itaewon Class - Park Seo Joon hard carries a drama that is already excellent. Love it.
11 Psychopath Diary - Yoon Shi Yoon is such a treat in a hilarious, cynical, dark comedy.
10 Kairos - more like ouroboros.
9 Queen Love and War - in a year where sageuks are very rare, this was solid and surprisingly moving and shippy.
8 The King Eternal Monarch - people didn’t like it but I did. It’s no masterpiece and both the leads and the writers have better dramas, but it was a lovely romantic fairy tale for me.
7 Mr. Queen - sharp, hilarious, and some of my favorite actors.
6 Psycho But It’s OK - healing, sharp cinematography and even sharper chemistry.
5 Crash Landing on You - the last ep pissed me off so much this drama is dead to me but I loved it so much until then I can’t place it lower in good conscience.
4 Train - who knew I would go this hard for an OCN drama or that OCN would do romance so well? But this time-travel mystery romance is just incredible and I shipped the OTP and rooted for the characters and loved every last bit of it.
3 Run On - this is the drama Record of Youth wanted to be but failed. Smart and lived in, you feel like you are peeking at real people, but also even four episodes in, I am so invested in the main characters separately and together, and care for them so much, it’s a little frightening.
1 (tie) Tale of the Nine Tailed - my perfect fantasy romance. I liked it better than Goblin, yeah I said it.
1 Flower of Evil - all the tropes I love in one incredible package. I would rewatch episodes waiting for new ones trying to puzzle the story and to stay withdrawal but it works just as well on rewatch. Lee Jun Ki brings his trademark tortured intensity and for once, both his leading lady and his script back him up and are worthy of that. It’s perfect.
FAVORITE DRAMA
It’s a tie between Tale of the Nine Tailed and Flower of Evil but if I had to pick just one, FoE, because it had me seriously obsessed and guessing about the protagonist and gave me the narrative tropes I love so much and an OTP that statisfied all my hurt/comfort kinks and then some.
WORST DRAMA
Born Again - honestly, this is so bonkers it almost becomes good but alas...
FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER
Do Hyun Soo/Baek Hee Sung, Flower of Evil - he is so messed up, so on edge, so traumatized. Yet capable of so much warmth and caring even as he himself doesn’t realize his humanity. FoE is basically a story of a man pushed and punished by the world for his entire life who, because of one woman, finds a safe place and peace and slowly comes to life without realizing it, and watching his desperation to keep this small bit of normalcy is so heartbreaking and exciting all at once. Plus, you start the drama thinking he’s a psychopathic serial killer and end it (if you are me) thinking he must be protected at all costs and if anyone even looks at him wrong they must suffer, and that’s quite a change!
FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER
Nam Ji Ah, Tale of the Nine Tailed - she is so funny and tough and smart and loving and amazing that I will totally buy that a literal demi-god will do anything and everything for her and love her for literal eternity.
NEEDS TO BE MURDERED
Dad in Record of Youth - yes in a year with serial killers and supernatural demons, I picked a normal character from a mediocre drama. It’s his everyday awfulness to his family that hits so hard and I am sad he never got his comeuppance.
FAVORITE SHIP
Ji Ah x Yeon - a fearless reporter and an immortal demi-god who’s been hoping for his human beloved to reincarnate. A really rare set-up where the OTP is equally ride or die, so compatible and completely BAMF. I got why he waited for her for that long and then fell in love with her all over again. Perfection.
Runner up: Flower of Evil - he is so messed up he literally does not believe he is capable of love or empathy, but he falls in love with her anyway and so utterly she permeates his entire life. She is tough as nails and only believes what she sees and is the sole person who believes in him against the world. She loves him but he needs her. She needs him but he loves her. They are amazing.
FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP
Seo Dan x Gu Seung Jun, Crash Landing on You, North Korean x Conman were so good I shipped them harder than the main OTP and the end of that storyline pissed me off so much I dumped the drama and didn’t finish it for months (and it’s still dead to me.)
NOTP
Record of Youth - it started out and they didn’t have much chemistry but the dialogues were interesting and I thought the chemistry would grow. It didn’t and deteriorated, their dialogues became boring and relationship had zero development (about as much as the supposed female lead.) I think we were supposed to feel bad they broke up and they were going for a bittersweet open ending, instead I found myself happy about the break up of two incompatible, chemistry-less people and hoping for the love of God they never get back together.
FAVORITE SCENE
Yeon and the bridge of knives, Tale of the Nine Tailed - Yeon choosing to undergo the creeptastic bridge of knives for a chance to save Ji Ah, who at that point he is not aware is the reincarnation of his Joseon love because, as he says, he doesn’t care if she is or isn’t, it just would be more horrible to have her die than to undergo the horrific torture he is undergoing, and then the sequence with his catching her, her weeping over him and the fact that she is the original Joseon girl revealed and all the bandaging and his watching her sleep and all that loveliness, is everything for yours truly.
Runner up: Hyun Soo having that break-down at the cliff at the end of ep 15 of Flower of Evil as Ji Won desperately tries to convince him she is alive and he finally stumbles to her.
Runner runner up (it’s my list, I will do what I want): Do Won preparing to blow his brains out to give a chance to Seo Kyung to live in Train.
BIGGEST CRUSH
Seon-Gyeom, Run On. Yeah, I know. Im Siwan is tiny, delicate featured and has a runner’s build, none of which are things that normally appeal to me. But his character is so odd, so honest, so unflinching in pursuing what he thinks is right, so incapable of self-pity despite plenty of reasons for it, and so ridiculously attractive when he smiles, I don’t even care.
BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER
Kim Bum, TotNT - I started out being annoyed by him and ended up looking forward to his scenes and being distraught by his ending.
NEEDS A SEQUEL
Honestly, none. I was fine with all the endings. I wouldn’t mind seeing post-end life of Tale of the Nine Tailed characters or the OTP settling into their literal new world in Train, but I am good.
TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE
Time jump that solves all the problems off screen or alternatively years pass and everyone is frozen - something that kdramas need to learn and need to learn badly. See Record of Youth, Brahms and Start Up.
FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF
Men who are ride or die for their OTP - this was a great year for this - the male leads of four of my five dramas were beyond anything on that scale (only exception is Run On because it’s still too early to tell there.) Yes PLEASE.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
This was a banner year for that what with Start Up, Do You Like Brahms, Record of Youth, and Private Lives all starting out well and nosediving off the cliff but winner is Crash Landing on You. I loved it so much for bulk of its run but the last episode pissed me off so much I deleted all my files and called it a day.
BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE
Flower of Evil - I had no expectations of this drama and wasn’t even planning on watching it despite liking both the lead actors because yet another “look at evil serial killer be evil” drama with no romance was not my thing. Luckily someone convinced me there might be some romance and I peeked curiously. Honestly, their promo campaign was the most misleading and dumbest thing ever.
Runner up Psycho but it’s OK - I have never liked Kim Soo Hyun in anything before and the drama premise seemed WTF but it was shockingly good and KSH totally blew me away.
Hardest Working Lead
Yoon Shi Yoon - he starred in two (!!!) dramas in 2020 playing three characters and not only were both these dramas awesome in a lackluster year, but if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew it was the same actor and the fact that the characters shared a face, I would have never believed that they were played by the same actor. So good!
2020 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH
None. Covid Year gave me PLENTY of time
BEST NON-2020 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2020
My Beautiful Bride and Deserving of the Name - I was obsessed with both of them and honestly, they were much better than the bulk of 2020 kdramas I watched.
MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2021
The Moon That Rises in the Day, Hong Chun Gi, Joseon Exorcist, Island,  Frightening Cohabitation, Snowdrop.
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Soo I was watching season 6-8 SpongeBob cuz I never watched those episodes and always left in the middle of 'em and found it boring. But there' s thing that for sum freaking reason bothers me a lot abt those seasons, aside from the boring & stiff animation ofc. SpongeBob's cheeks, like I dunno how to describe it but those golfball cheeks on him in those seasons always bothered me for sum odd reason.
Yeah they bother me too! They feel so empty. Even a normal episode that isn't particularly bad feels like there's something missing. Its just so blank to me, even as a kid watching them. I haven't seen all of season 8. I think the only season I haven't seen all of because I stopped keeping up with the show when I was 11-12ish? Then I picked it up when the teaser poster for the 2nd movie came out but Yeah. I actually do want to watch all of season 8 to have a better opinion on it. I'll wait around and buy the dvd eventually.
I just don't know how to describe it. These episodes feel so mean spirited at times. Some characters are so watered down that they barely function imo. I don't think all of them are bad. Some episodes from that era I really like. Those episodes somehow manage to avoid that weird empty vibe tho which I wonder why. Is it because of involvement or something?
A lot of these episodes also feel really incomplete. Stuff happens just to fill out the time but at the same time nothing really happens. People say the modern seasons are really bad because they're so wacky and stuff but the jokes feel so much better timed. Yeah they depend on expressions too much but at least there isn't awkward periods of silence and the characters can still generally interact with each other and it feels natural.
Some episodes from the middle seasons have really great plot ideas and watching them through I wonder why they feel so blank. I remember pieguyrulez video about why a modern spongebob episode doesn't work (I haven't watched his videos in years so if there's something wrong or up with him, I don't know about) at the time, modern spongebob usually meant the middle seasons and the reasons he gave was maybe poor communication or time crunches or something. I think that's safe to assume could be the reason why a lot of these episodes feel so blank.
A lot of them have potential to be so much more but it just doesn't happen. The episodes that I do consider likable, all they really do is have a good plot and the characters are bearable and don't have their most dislikable traits on display for that episode, and generally most of the jokes land but in hindsight, if these episodes aired in the classic or current era, it wouldn't be seen more as an okayish episode or goodish.
I feel like I'm being too hard on them too. I didn't like them much as a kid and sometimes the way you viewed things as a kid can mess with your perception of things now and you can't fairly critique them. That's why I wanted to rewatch these seasons to get a better opinion. But from what I remember, a lot of it fell flat and the worst of it has the characters distorted into the worst versions of themselves.
I also have a feeling that the show was trying to evolve during this era but also held back trying to mimic what made it successful in the classic era without really understanding why it was so good. They were trying and you can tell a lot of new writers were trying out stuff that would have been great for other shows but didn't quite suit spongebob. A lot of it reminded me of other cartoons in the late 2000s/early 2010s. And uhh I didn't like that style at all as a kid so it was weird watching spongebob trying to become like that too.
Now as for his design. Gosh I hated those golfball cheeks! This is super subjective and isn't something to be taken seriously. I never found it cute xD I found it really ugly. Tbh I don't like that chubby cheeks design that the golfball cheeks and other early 2010s cartoons used. They never looked cute. It made characters looked derpy which is fine depending your character and how it suits their personality but it felt so oversaturated and was slapped on so many that it didn't fit, Spongebob especially. He looked so blank and dried out of personality. It just didn't go well with his character at all.
Ironically I found out that the golfball cheeks were in Adam Paloian's tips on how to draw spongebob. Apart of what NOT to do when drawing the sponge. The very design used the most during the middle seasons. I have a feeling he had beef with the golfball cheeks look too.
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Mans coming for the throats of the people who drew spange with the golfball cheeks 😤 😤
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Here are some brief thoughts on kdrama that started airing in 2020 that I've watched. I said brief, but those who have been following me would appreciate that this is indeed, brief.
The list is in alphabetical order.
1. 365: Repeat the Year (MBC)
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Disclosure: I am a HUGE Lee Joon Hyuk stan. He is second only to Hyun Bin on my list. The fact that this drama is on the top of this list is a happy coincidence 🥰🥰
I was soooooooo excited when I knew Lee Joon Hyuk was to star in a new drama. MBC made the announcement of the drama late last year, and I was literally walking to the office when I saw the announcement on ig.
The premise of the drama was pretty straightforward. 10 people were given the chance to travel back in time exactly one year prior. Mysterious things kept happening to the people who took the trip, so our Detective Ji “Fluffy-Hair” Hyung Joo and webtoon writer Shin “Self-Hater” Ga Hyun joined hands to figure out what exactly happened.
Once they finally figured out what caused the mysterious cases, they faced a great dilemma on what to do, with our Fluffy Hair detective running as a fugitive.
The ending was really sad, and I really wished it ended differently, but the main character of the story was our Fluffy Hair detective, and him having to live on and reset the whole thing from the new past was a nice touch to the ending.
This drama was full of surprises, twist and turn, and it is certainly a drama I would consider rewatching in the future.
2. Do You Like Brahms? (SBS)
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Many people criticised the second half of this drama. Apparently the year 2020 is the year when kdramaland keeps being a disappointment, and many people are quick to include this drama in the list of disappointing drama, despite having a good beginning.
I beg to differ though. To me this drama feels more of a healing drama, wherein the characters are forced to deal with their issues. And anyone who has had to go through any form of therapy knows how hard healing process is.
TL;DR: The main leads are both people who have been mentally abused by the people around them, except for Cha Young In, because she was the only reason I did not throw my remote control at my 50-inch TV.
Park Joon Young is your classic example of a ‘gifted kid’ struggle. He was seen as a young, talented pianist who had a bright future ahead of him. But people started to treat him more like a trophy than a human being, so he decided to take a sabbatical, much to the criticism of people in the music industry. Park Joon Young realised that his passion in playing the piano has faded away, no thanks to his abusive piano professor who belittled him again and again, and practically brainwashed him into being a people pleaser. You could see how Park Joon Young was not himself in the beginning of the drama once you finish the drama.
Chae Song Ah took interest in violin at a later age (much later than professional musicians) and decided to pursue her dream by enrolling into a music programme. Her classmates were all younger than her, and it didn’t help that they all learnt music since much younger. I love how Song Ah did not give up on her dream easily and gave it her all, before she finally decided to let go of her dream to become a musician. The metaphor of her love for violin and Joon Young hurting her again and again and she just endured it though.. I cried like a mess well I am a mess but that’s a separate issue
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Special shout out to Cha Young In who was there for both of them.
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3. Flower of Evil (tvN)
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If thriller is your thing, consider this drama. If you are one of those people who like to see your characters being tortured (physically and mentally), this drama is a MUST WATCH. And if you enjoy watching Lee Joon Ki playing a character who is put at a great distress because he is trying to run from his past, go watch this drama.
More importantly, if you enjoy a drama where your ML is sexy, attends to house chores and takes care of his bright young daughter while his wife goes crazy for solving violent crimes, a devoted husband who is attentive and a tender person but also a freak in the sheets, you are wasting every single of your breath not watching this drama.
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I mean look at this man teasing his wife about his stamina.
Flower of Evil did not feel draggy at all. Everything that happened within the first 6 episodes could have been an entire drama if this was written by someone else. Seriously, this drama kept me at the edge of my couch!
The dynamic of HS and JW screams POWER COUPLE but at the same time it broke my heart how they were pushed into corners too many times by the people around them I do hope they had some sexy times while they were in the corners though
The focus on their wedding rings throughout the drama symbolised their unbreakable bond. The wedding rings were literally the very last thing that kept them together when JW stumbled upon evidences that pointed against HS.
JW, whose compass was only trusting what she saw, and not what she heard, tried to break the stigma of women being at a disadvantage in the police force. Heck, she was better than her entire team when it came to solving cases, her being the only woman in the team. Who said women cannot make good cops?
The plot twist though.. And the climax.. To this day, I still listen to this soundtrack from the drama and cry just thinking of the climax.
4. Into the Ring (also known as Memorials) (KBS2)
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I didn’t even plan on watching this drama. I was channel surfing and saw Park Sung Hoon looking all depressed in the first episode and ran into Koo Se Ra. Girl was UNHINGED and determined to fight for her way.
Her motivation was initially on getting a stable pay check from being a district representative (it was only 60 million won which is like USD55k so it’s not that much) but she eventually became the district representative who fought for the benefit of the people and did not care for the political warfare that took place.
Came along Seo Gong Myung, a government officer in the local government office who was demoted from planning unit of the accounting department or something to be a secretariat to the district assembly. Seo Gong Myung sticks to his principle no matter what, which surprise surprise, is HATED by everyone in the district government.
Turns out our main leads were friends when they were kids so Se Ra kept teasing him and dragging him into her scheme of fighting for the people, which Gong Myung agreed to, not so much because he was a community-loving person, but because he was afraid Se Ra would get into trouble since she was as straight as a ruler.
Long story short, our leads fell for each other, and their relationship was HILAIROUS to watch. I think I speak for everyone who watched the drama that we had no reason to believe Se Ra did not peg Gong Myung for fun 😝😝
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They were so cute together awwww
5. Kairos (MBC)
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This is another drama that I stumbled into. Only this time, I saw Nam Gyu Ri and I remember seeing her ig post on a new drama so I decided to give it a go. She wrecked my heart in 49 Days so I decided to check this out for funsies. Hooo boy was I in for a major surprise.
The first two episodes got me hooketh!! I still cannot believe how the drama managed to keep me on my edge especially during the last 5 minutes of every episode. The pacing is even faster than Flower of Evil, and since this drama went back and forth between past and future, it keeps me guessing whether their efforts would bear fruit.
Will Kim “Sexy Brain” Seo Jin  and Han “I-Know-No-Fear” Ae Ri succeed in fighting the evil, who at this point in time remains unknown? I know Chairman Yoo Seo Il is currently being hinted as the culprit behind everything but I know better that he is just a puppet who sold his soul to the real devil who most likely is in the higher ranks in politics. I mean he even hinted at his remorse for what happened with Taejung Town 19 years prior. My suspicion is he is trying to cover up whatever happened because otherwise his own family would be at risk, so his only option is to redeem himself by doing something about the Taejung Town. I could be wrong, but regardless of who turns out to be the real villain in the story, I can say I am so satisfied by how the story has progressed so far.
The time paradox still hurts my brain, but I am choosing that this drama does not assume that time is linear.
There is still not enough people watching this drama and I’m begging you all to go and catch up before it ends in two weeks time.
6. More than Friends (JTBC)
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A little trivia: I reblog most of the posts from @kdramastuff even if I am not watching the show at the point of reblogging the posts. I had been following her posts on this drama for 3 weeks, and I finally decided to marathon all 6 episodes and joined the watching party.
More than Friends was another drama that many people called a disappointment but I had a different opinion on it. Yes, I used to be the nerd who had different opinions on many things in high school sue me
The drama is premised on Kyung Woo Yeon who is said to have a crush on her high school friend, Lee Soo for 10 years. Lee Soo is nowhere near to be the perfect boyfriend material. He is selfish, does not care about other people’s feelings, and was always a lone ranger.
BUUUUUUT, Lee Soo seemed to show signs of care and affection (even though it was not at all for a normal person’s standard) for Woo Yeon. Surprisingly, he seemed to only do it for Woo Yeon and gave attention to Woo Yeon alone, even though he could practically pick and choose anyone he liked from the swarm of girls who were chasing him.
One day, he told Woo Yeon that he had to leave to the US to study, which made our girl sad. She decided to confess at the airport, but he outright turned her down, saying he only wanted to be friends with her. Over the time, they kept running into each other by coincidence (note: her name Woo Yeon is a wordplay on coincidence in Korean). Later, it was revealed that he wanted her to always be by his side, but he has built a wall as tall as the Great Wall of China before the idea of love so he didn’t realise what his true feeling for Woo Yeon was all along.
Woo Yeon, who felt sick of the ten-year crush, decided to end the “curse” and kissed him by the beach, thinking of getting a closure on her crush.
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Long story short, Lee Soo finally realised his feeling for her and decided to confess, but by that time, a young, handsome, rich CEO of a conglomerate has entered into the picture. Cue the game of cat and mouse between Lee Soo and Woo Yeon about resentment, regret and relationship.
This drama was promoted as a romcom, but it feels more like a slice-of-life drama with a mix of melo and romcom in there. Seriously, I cried buckets watching this drama, not something you’d expect from a romcom. The dialogues were well-written, with each episode revolving around a specific theme. This was such a good drama coming from a rookie writer.
This drama did not have that many viewers to begin with, and many of those few people dropped it along the way, including the one who was responsible in getting me hooked into this drama :p  By the end of it, there were so few people talking about this drama in the tag (shout out to @dohyunsoo @have-yet-to-decide @starfire-s @thbn-anything​ for keeping me company to the very end of this drama)
This drama broke my record of screenshots per episode and total screenshots for any show. Until now, I have yet to finish posting them. I should probably upload more screenshots later tonight.
This drama had some AMAZING shots in the first half, with beautiful sceneries mostly in Seoul. It’s like what they said, “a daily occurrence for you, a trip for me”.
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7. Oh My Baby (tvN)
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I did not even remember watching this drama!! It was only after scrolling through my gallery that I saw I had shared some posts on my ig story about the drama.
It was in the middle of a lockdown when this drama aired and many of my memories from back then feel so distant to me.
The plot was not THAT good, but this drama is something you may consider if you like torturing yourself about the struggle of wanting to have a baby.
8. Once Again (KBS2)
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Arguably one of the weekend family drama KBS2 in a while that kept me waiting for new episodes in front of my TV. Some people are turned off by weekend family drama because they tend to have slow pacing which makes viewers feel like they are being dragged to one of those boring corporate events that you would rather miss and wish you could be literally anywhere else.
Because this drama had more pairing than the typical weekend family drama, the story did take some time before it was on full momentum. It did feel like the drama could have been better with even one less sibling to worry about, but it was a fun watch in the middle of lockdown.
Will I watch it again? I’d rather rewatch House of Bluebird (starring Lee Joon Hyuk and Lee Sang Yeob as friends to enemies to friends again) because that drama spoke to me in a way that was more relatable. No hate to Once Again though. I just prefer House of Bluebird better.
Note: Justice for Song Ga Hee and her lovely son, Kim Ji Hoon. He had to grow up so much because of what happened to his mother, that it broke Ga Hee’s heart. And mine of course
9. Secret Forest 2 (tvN)
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I watched Secret Forest once it has finished and I fell in love with the drama! Imagine my excitement when they announced Secret Forest 2 with my three main characters reprising their roles. No hate to Yoon Se Ah, I love her, but her screen time in Secret Forest was not enough to make me excited about her return. But I was pleased with her role in Secret Forest 2 and I hope if there is a third season, her character gets the redemption arc that she yearns for.
Secret Forest 2 was not as intense as the brilliant original, but I understood that it had to do with the overall theme of the season, and the theme required the script to be as such. Some people may argue me on this, but I still think what they pulled off was brilliant.
Too bad there was a severe lack of Lee Joon Hyuk on my screen though.
10. Tale of the Nine-Tailed (tvN)
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Well. This drama went far beyond my expectation. The OTP was to die for. No such thing as miscommunication trope. This drama did not waste time on unnecessary drama. The pacing was incredibly fast, even faster than Kairos. Although to be fair, Kairos had to play with two different timelines and required time to establish the setting.
I’m sad about what happened to Lee Rang, but he did what he did, and he would never be able to erase that much pain from his memory even if the deities decided to be lenient on him because of his roles in killing off Imoogi. A fresh start as a human seemed like a fair reset to his life, and I hope he lives well, surrounded by people who love him.
I was never a fan of Jo Bo Ah (no hate on her, I was just indifferent) but this drama opened my eyes to what an incredible actress she is. I wish her a successful career ahead.
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Kdrama recs Part 2
Hello @camsthisky and anyone else who cares! I do apologize for the delay on this post--it has only been 84 years since Part I of my kdrama recs, I know, and I thought about going for a full century but this is me finding a way to de-stress after watching the first episode of I-Land alkdjfadlksj I’m gonna die of heartbreak but whatever
Speaking of heartbreak, there is a lot to be found in Korea’s wonderful historical dramas, so like, be warned—or, if you are an angst-loving monster like me, settle down for hot guys and good cries
Let us begin! (or, if you want romantic modern dramas see Part 1)
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1. Scarlet Heart Ryeo/Moonlovers: 
aha ahahahahahaha *weeps* You may have heard people talk about this show. You may have heard ME talk about this show. This thing was my first kdrama ever and it RUINED ME 
Disclaimer: I have seen this show once and rewatched it twice and on the rewatches I can never quite make myself watch the last 4 or 5 episodes because things get tragic and messy and I get mad. HOWEVER there is a lot of good in the first part of the show and because this thing was all the rage in everywhere but Korea itself, there’s like over 300 fanfic for it and several good fix-its, including one by my good friend @thelonelybrilliance
Ok so anyway this show which could also be called An Abundance of Princes starts with a young woman from modern times getting thrown back into ancient Goryeo during an eclipse and finds herself in the body of Hae Soo, the cousin of the wife of one of the princes, and thus she gets embroiled in royal affairs which are, quite frankly, a mess. See, the evil eyeliner prince (whom I love even when he’s the worst) is plotting with his mom to get the Crown Prince out of the way aka dead BUT who should return to the Palace but the 4th Prince, Wang So, who has spent at least half his life living as hostage to a powerful family. 
So has a scar that cuts across his eye and which in this society makes him a horror to look at or smthing idk he just looks extra hot to me but anyway he wears a mask and is known as the wolf dog (or as the MURDER ANGST CUPCAKE thanks @abadpoetwithdreams). He might seem a little rough around the edges at first because his life has been hell but he really just wants to love and be loved okay people need to be nice to him wtf
Other princes include: 
    1.  the Crown Prince, Wang Mu, a good egg, not particularly charismatic but he tried to protect his lil bro when no one else would
    2.  the 8th prince, Wang Wook, who reminds me of a fellow named Shane and I don’t mean the cowboy
    3.  the 10th prince, Wang Eun, a dumb adorable spoiled bby (played by Baekhyun from EXO)
    4.  the 13th prince, Baek Ah, a tol soft boi, an artist, a BAE, a BRO, a SHIPPER ON DECK
    5.  the 14th prince, Wang Jung this son will fight everyone he’ll fight himself he just loves to fight! Not always wise but he’s a good boy and I like him a lot 
    6.  just realized I skipped the 9th prince but nobody cares 
One quick note is that IU plays Hae Soo, and I enjoy her a lot in the first half of the show where she is still spunky and rebellious...sadly her character kind of falls apart/gets too weak for my liking as the episodes progress
The MAIN reason why I feel it my duty to recommend this show to everyone despite the fact I have never met anyone who wasn’t traumatized by it is LEE JOON GI
Yes, this man:
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 I mentioned him in the previous rec post—he played Bong Sang Pil in Lawless Lawyer (AND IS NOW CURRENTLY STARRING IN FLOWER OF EVIL WHICH WILL BE ON ANOTHER POST AHDFOIASDHGALDSKJF FRIQ I AM IN LOVE WITH THAT MAN) 
BUT SERIOUSLY LOOK AT HIS PHOENIX EYES!!! HIS RAZOR SHARP FEATURES! HIS BIG ADORABLE EARS! HIS BEAUTIFUL EXCESSIVE BANGS! 4TH PRINCE WANG SO LOVE OF MY LIFE
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SOMEONE PROTECT THIS BBY
2. Hwarang: Ok so right off the bat I am going to smack down a disclaimer that I can’t stand the female lead. TRULY CANNOT. Thus, I don’t like the romance, and only care about the love triangle as far as it just shows how sad and lonely one of the guys is. (Also there are scenes of dumb old men plotting and I don’t like them either). At the end of the show, I am happy that the one guy is NOT stuck with the female lead as his wife. Good for you sir
Sounds like a show to steer clear of then, right? WRONG. This is a show that you skip through because the scenes that are good? Are GREAT
Picture this: It is the Silla era of Korea, and the queen is ruling as regent in place of her son, who has been hiding all his life because everyone wants to kill him. Well, son is now grown and must soon come into the light and take the throne. Queen who both wants her son as king but also really likes being queen decides to do everyone a favor and form an elite fighting squad out of all the prettiest and most talented sons of nobles in the land, with the idea that they will be loyal only to the throne, and thereby keep their dads from plotting to destroy everything. 
Let me tell you something, these ARE the prettiest boys in the land. Good hair, good jawlines, beautiful smiles—the cast lineup includes Park Hyung Sik and his cute lil elf ear, Park Seo Joon, Taehyung (yes from BTS!), and Choi Minho from Shinee, plus two other actors who are lesser known but who are drop-dead gorgeous. Anyway. Sorry, but they really are all beautiful. 
The fun thing is they don’t all get along right away, a few of them are VERY much opposed to the other for various reasons, but they all have to bond and become brothers in arms. And what they don’t know is that the real king snuck in and is one of them. 10/10 I would die for the boys! (also Tae has an older half-brother who is a lower rank than him but whom he looks up to and that makes for cuteness and pain) Once you skip the boring or annoying parts of the show, the rest has so much delight, laughter, and oops pain, lots of pain. I want to go re-watch. 
Two other things I should mention about the show: a super soft side romance between secondary characters and a game of, as they call it in the show, HOT SOCCER 
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^pretty boy 1 (with the cute elf ear sadly on the other side of his head)
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^pretty boy 2 (sad cheekbone bby) and pretty boy 3 (happy cheekbone bby)
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^pretty boy 4 (the prettiest of them all, and he knows it!)
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^pretty boy 5 (aka Taehyung danced around the set of a historical drama and made everyone adopt him as their bby) 
3. Faith/The Great Doctor: This is a longer kdrama at 24 episodes and they didn’t have much of a budget so special effects aren’t the best or anything but I just got really attached to all the characters? This is another modern girl goes back in time but UNLIKE SHR it actually has a happy ending, so if you need a historical drama cleanse after that tearjerker/enrager, this could be it for you
Eun Soo has to navigate the ancient kingdom, keep people believing she is a heavenly doctor with special powers, and keep Choi Young alive so he can fulfill his promise of returning her to her own time. The problem with that is Choi Young does have kind of a death wish because of reasons—
Eun Soo is a plastic surgeon who would really like a rich handsome husband one day but them’s the breaks for you, aka she has had no luck in that department. Back in ancient Korea, Choi Young (played by Lee Minho in sadly the only role I really love him in) is a high-ranking beloved captain who can fall asleep anywhere. Oh he can also make electricity with his hands! :D
The story begins when the sleepy sad captain tries to escort the new king and queen to their palace. This was during the time period when ancient Korea was basically a puppet kingdom/tributary of ancient China (Yuan). The king (who is very smol and lacks confidence, but still has a good heart for his country) lived as a hostage in Yuan for many years, and his wise tol queen is a princess of that land, and someone needs to sit them down and make them talk because they actually love each other a lot. Anyway, when the queen gets injured by assassins, Choi Young goes searching for a legendary doctor, winds up in modern Korea, and steals both Eun Soo and a SWAT shield, because hey, it looked cool I guess
Lots of fun things in the show: Choi Young has a crew of soldiers who are BEYOND loyal to him, and while he doesn’t think much of the king at first because he’s been burned by kings before, they slowly become bros and shippers on deck for each other. Eun Soo does not lose her spunk or loyalty unlike other people I could mention *cough*HaeSoofromScarletHeartRyeo*, and it cracks me up when she curses people out. There are also a bunch of people (mostly bad guys) running around with special powers or gifts, including a flame lady and a flute boy, and the latter wears delightful anime wigs, keeps his sword in his flute, and plays his flute to kill—literally! I love flute boy very much 
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sorry it’s black and white but DO YOU SEE THE SWAT SHIELD
4. My Country: A New Age:
ANGST ANGST ANGST PAAAAAIN BUT ALSO BEST INTRO BEST FAVES BEST ACTORS
Picture this: two young men, who both hail from childhoods of trauma, who grew up together and are best friends, and who are tragically forced apart and end up on opposite sides of a conflict that threatens to upend the current rule of the kingdom. This IS the star-crossed brotp you’ve been waiting for!
Seo Hwi is the son of a general who died a criminal, and all he wants is to live simply and earn enough rice take care of his younger sister, who has seizures and a sweet crush on Hwi’s bestie. Hwi is the best softest most loyal boy with a good and true heart, a great deal of courage, and a talent for wielding a sword, and just wait till you see the best one-shot fight scene ever of him in battle, it is INCREDIBLE! (He is played by Yang Se Jong, who I now want to see more of) Hwi has an abundance of charisma points in that he picks up a small band of loyal soldier friends and they become the best little found family, lots of brotp-ness in this crew—do not mess with any of them because they will all FIGHT you
Seon Ho meanwhile is the illegitimate despised son of a powerful nobleman, only tolerated because the legitimate son died. Seon Ho loves his friend and is very protective of his friend’s little sister who crushes on him but his dad is a high class grade A power-hungry jerk and that causes complications of course. Seon Ho also has a good heart, he’s a gentle soul really, but he always gets stuck in bad positions and unfortunately makes a couple of difficult/bad choices so he hardens himself as much as he can but the consequences always kill him and he just wants to save his friends and destroy his dad and the stupid hierarchy that treats bastards as lesser. WHY IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? 
Seon Ho he is played by Woo Do Hwan who has so much talent I die so many times over in this show just because of the way he portrays Seon Ho like that sad sad boy is one of my favorite characters evER! Is he problematic? At times maybe but I am HERE for him he just needs LOVE AND AFFECTION AND AN ABUNDANCE OF GOOD FRIENDS BUT INSTEAD (SOMETIMES THRU HIS OWN FAULT BUT HE ADMITS THAT) HE JUST SUFFERS AND SO I SUFFERRRR
*grabs a towel and dries up my tears*
Hwi also falls in love with a woman named Hui Jae (or was it Hee Jae i can’t remember) and they are very cute together, she’s pretty cool but the show’s one failing is arguably that they kind of underuse her in the plot as the story goes on? But I still like her and she still has a good role, and she is both brave and kind and not afraid to step in or tell people off, also keep a weather eye open for patching up scenes! 
Oh yeah, eVERYONE in this gets hurt/stabbed/shot/bloody, such a shame they have to take their shirts off to clean and bandage the wounds ;)
Last character I must mention is Bang Won, played by Jang Hyuk in his second interpretation of the historical figure. Bang Won is the fifth? son of the guy who becomes emperor/king, and he has his own plans for the country, so when Hwi catches his eye, he recruits him to his cause.  What you need to know about him is that he has issues with his dad, is slightly unhinged, and cannot and should not be parted from the fan that he constantly carries around with him. Gotta say, Jang Hyuk is FANTASTIC (heheheheheheh) in the role, able to convey all kinds of emotion in the rise and fall of his voice, in the tilt of his head, the tears of his eyes, the flick of his fan. Give this actor all the awards! 
To sum up: if you like to cry for days after watching a drama, if you like excellent heart-wrenching brotps, if you like conflicted characters, if you like amazing music and setting and plot, if you like guys with good hair and arm muscles (and 
abs, thank you shirtless scenes what) this show is a Must Watch 
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DID I SAY STAR-CROSSED BROTP I MEANT SWORD-CROSSED BROTP ADKJFADLSKJFLKJDFALKDGKLJL </3
~
Ok I was going to leave the historical drama post at this for now but...I’m going to cheat a little and include the one historical C!drama I just finished.Yes folks I am talking about:
5. Nirvana in Fire:
Ok so maybe the switch from kdrama to cdrama makes you uncertain. Maybe the fact that this show has FIFTY-FOUR EPISODES makes you go hell no I don’t have enough time for that. Well if you overlook this show for those reasons, you are making, and I do not exaggerate, the greatest mistake of your show-watching life!
Look, first, this drama has one of the best, most intricate, most satisfying plots in history, with like 20 characters you would die for, and second, the episodes are only about 42 minutes each, which is shorter than most kdrama episodes, so you can deal.
Once upon a time there was a general/family who were just too good to exist in corrupt old China, so naturally they were framed for treason and there was a giant massacre and everybody died, including the eldest prince who was like um dad maybe this is all a horrible mistake and the king was like no u are the mistake. Sad times.
One of the many younger princes named Jing (A NOBLE HEART, if not always the cleverest) returns home from wherever he was, finds out that not only did his prince brother die, but so did his best friend/brother in the whole wide world, Lin Shu, son of the general. Because he insists on the innocence of said bros/family, Jing becomes an outcast prince and is shuffled off to fight in wars where he can’t cause any trouble. Meanwhile, Princess Nihuang, Lin Shu’s brave, awesome, amazing, wise, incredible girlfriend, refuses to marry anyone else, and because she is too cool to be messed with, nobody tries to banish her
Cut to I think eleven years later, when the two most powerful princes are vying to be the crown prince and heir to the throne. They both try to recruit the aid of a renowned clever and sassy strategist named Mei Changsu, to help them with plotting and PR and such.
Well little do they know that Mei Changsu is actually the not-dead Lin Shu, with a completely new face (for reasons), and that Mei Changsu is a chess master setting up a long con for the dual purpose of obtaining revenge/justice for the dead and of raising Prince Jing to the throne, since Prince Jing is the only man with a good enough heart and strong enough will to make China a better place for all the people. But just to make it hard on everybody, Mei Changsu is dead set on not telling anyone who he really is—again, for reasons. He is not always successful in keeping his secret.
I literally don’t know what else to say because there is so MUCH to say, so many characters to love, and I mean LOVE. How do you get a cast this good? How is everyone so different yet so important? How do you feel bad for the emperor even when he’s slimy? How do you have to stop yourself from rooting for the prince who would destroy some of your faves? I can’t praise the charisma and acting talent in this show enough! And the music! IS GORGEOUS!
1 strategist too sassy for his own good and too clever for everyone else’s good + 1 prince who loves his mom and his dead best friend and his dead older brother more than anything else in the world + 1 gentle wise mom + 1 eternally loyal princess who would defend her loved ones with the sword if necessary + 1 sassy Elrond healer man + 1 grumpy sulky baby who loves being a better fighter than almost everyone + 1 loyal to the death, brave badass general who is going to have a stress breakdown if the strategist doesn’t take better care of himself + not 1 but 2 good boys who deserve to be protected but who are willing to throw themselves into battle if necessary + 1 antagonist tiger prince who I love and am not ashamed to say it = THE BEST OF TIMES
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^he hardly ever wears his hair down but when he does <33333333
*checks calendar* how soon is too soon rewatch something, asking for a friend
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