#I think its from ep 45?

[arttsuka]

I've been thinking about this clip a lot

[lunarriviera]

Hey, so I heard about a really popular (atp freakishly popular) ongoing chinese queer romance drama (I think it might have been called revenge love) going 'temporarily' off air, as in, they are not airing next week and it made me think of what I've heard about spirealm. Do you remember how exactly the spirealm banning went down? And how they released all the eps prior to it being available on official sites?

oh gosh i have heard about this one, from my guilty furtive lurking on the Bad App. it's 逆爱 revenged love, it's based on a danmei called 逆袭 counter attack, and there was already an extremely watered down version of it in 2015 (barely a bromance). but this is EXTREMELY not watered down, and, well, let's just say it's streaming via thailand and indonesia. and, um, here's this, from x user yifulover:

what i know so far is that one of the leads, 田栩宁 tian xuning, has been harassed online and i think on his way to/from flights as well, and has been suing various stalker fans (here's his statement posted on weibo a few hours ago). so everyone is guessing that the release of this week's episodes has been delayed because of this scandal, such as it were, to let it die down a bit? but it's been 2 days and the normal episodes + bts video haven't appeared. viki (or viu to be precise) posted on x/insta saying they'd postpone until next week due to an "order from the production company," then deleted those posts. but the other reason netizens/fans are panicked is that ep 12 coming up would have had…The Sex Scene. so they're worried that maybe that's why it was pulled, not tian xuning's PR problems? and they're even more worried that it might not come back at all (cf. blue canvas of youthful days…which did reappear, eventually).

this is however way different from the spirealm, which was without ANY warning dropped onto iqiyi for barely 2 hours in february 2024, with no one saying a damn thing about it, and then disappeared again without a trace, also without anyone officially acknowledging its existence (we pretty much figured some intern got annoyed and just hit the "play" button until they got caught). but netizens never sleep! so it was downloaded immediately and shared widely. then it was some months before viki finally uploaded the whole thing, and in its proper form (not 78 20-minute episodes, but the usual 45-minute kind; at first we feared bits were missing, but it was intact). to this day iqiyi keeps saying "coming soon" and inviting you to make a reservation for it, but there's been no sign of spirealm coming back to iqiyi. viki seems to be somewhat more profit-motivated? hard to say.

the only other thing i know about revenged love is the danmei author chai jidan noted that first few episodes are kind of comedic, so she was worried that viewers wouldn't get hooked and wanted to drop the first 8 all at once (which i don't think she could make happen). anyway, it seems whumpy and steamy and convoluted and actually has dubcon (!) so i hope for its fans that they get to see the rest of it! because god do i know that feel. it's like getting a few thousand feet from the beach, smelling the sand and salt air, and then just turning around and driving back home. but hang in there, revenged love fans. the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. (PS fun fact, tian xuning was supposed to play earth master [male] in the live-action tgcf, eternal faith, now forever in dangai purgatory…)

[twig-tea]

GL Odds and Ends January 2025

I'm still trying to figure out what 2025 means for me in terms of where and how I spend my time, but one thing I am passionate about is making sure there is a record of GL media, so I'm going to try to prioritize keeping this up to at minimum monthly, though I might change up the format. Last one was end of December 2024. If you're interested in GL older than that, check out my GL rec list and my #gl recs tag for the other odds and ends posts. Series new to the roundup are marked with an asterisk*.

Currently airing (with thoughts up to 31 Jan):

Petrichor ep 9/10 (Thai, Saturdays, 10:00 AM ET, iQIYI) I've appreciated the struggle that Tul has gone through in terms of wanting to use her police powers to protect her family though that goes against her morals, and some of the procedural aspects I was grumbling about before have been explained by the plot. However, it still bothers me that she's not a very good detective. That being said, Engfa and Charlotte still have fantastic chemistry, and Na is having what seems like the time of his life.

*Us the series ep 2/12 (Thai, Saturdays, 8:00 AM ET, YouTube) I admit I think I have Chao Planoy fatigue. Age gap, both characters are lying to each other, there are abusive family members, and a guy who seems nice but I'm braced for a reveal about how he's actually awful. I'm feeling like I'm playing bingo. Honestly If someone gets hit by a car I might lose it. All my baggage aside, the pacing on this feels uneven and it doesn't feel like it has its feet yet.

*Call Me By No Name ep 4/8 (Japanese, Thursdays, 12:30 PM ET, GagaOOLala) Honestly I am not buying the romance between these two protagonists and I am finding them a little overwrought.

*Trunk Girl ep 1/? (Korean, possibly Thursdays, YouTube) This has just started, and the vibes are off. I am suspicious of the circumstances that led this runaway to stay with her friend, especially when she kissed her in her sleep (and I don't mean suspicious of sapphic feelings, those are already taken as given considering the genre).

*FirstLOVE ep 5/? (Korean, Mondays, YouTube) Toxic girlfriend gets replaced and then regrets letting her lover go. We'll see how this ends but this is another messy drama that feels pretty rough.

*I Am Devil ep 5/? (Thai, Saturdays, YouTube) Gonna be honest with y'all I watched ep1 and shelved the rest, it's a pulp in the style of high drama like Sastra and JPC below produce and just isn't my jam. If you're looking for high heat lakorn-style drama, give this a try.

[Note: Mate is still airing if you did not fast track, but since I did I've included it in the following section]

Recently Completed:

The Fragrance You inherit 8eps 25mins each (Japanese, 8 Nov 24-27 Dec 24, no official distribution but fansub on @isaksbestpillow's blog[thank you Siiri!] I loved this finale and wrote about it here. For those who don't want to click the link, in short this is not a romance but a really beautiful and sweet show about all kinds of interpersonal relationships.

Pluto 12eps 45 mins each (Thai, 19 Oct 24-04 Jan 25, YouTube) This series showcased the skills and chemistry of Namtan and Film, and had some of the most iconic product placement in a GL to date. The plot was messy but held together, and as much as I was unimpressed with their choices week to week, their choices made sense within the narrative (and genre) being told. I knew this one wasn't for me, but what it was doing, it did pretty well, and beautifully. The one real ding from me was the use of blindness as a metaphor that essentially got handwaved away; that and I think it was doing too much. But I am glad that before that, there was some great use of their platform to highlight the importance of universal design.

INTP 4eps 5 mins each (Korean, 27 Dec 24-22 Jan 25 YouTube) This is the latest short series from RedQ, who produced some of my favourite GL short series including More than or equal to 75 degrees C, and To the Ex who Hated Me. I said when this started that the setup of this one reminded me of Semantic Error if SangWoo realized he was attracted to JaeYoung at their first group assignment meeting, and I think that holds. These two fell for each other because they both care about the group project, and both protect each other. It's a bit short but I found it very sweet.

Mate, 12eps 50+ mins each (Thai, 26 Nov 24-28 Jan 25 fast-track or 4 Feb 25, WeTV (uncut version)) In the end this show remained a struggle for me. There were things it was doing that I really liked (the characters tried hard not to resort to noble idiocy, and when characters did resort to noble idiocy they were confronted with the consequences, for example), and things that I really did not, and there were parts that were really hard to watch and will haunt me. There are a lot of things I like about this show, so I don't want to discourage views. Just go into this one informed, and make the decision that's right for you.

*Adrenaline 4eps 15 mins each (Thai, 10 Jan-31 Jan 25, YouTube) This show is a cross between a travel ad and a lakorn. This is a major spoiler, but the main character has a secret condition where she forgets things that causes her to forget her first time with her girlfriend!? This show is so messy lol

Recent One-offs, Side Couples, etc.:

Fireworks of Yesteryear/When We Met has been made available on YouTube. A 35-minute Chinese GL that includes a makeout and as a result the production team have been working hard to get it in front of eyeballs. This is a moody piece with an open ending; there's an age gap too so YMMV (30s and 22).

GL microseries Your Name Engraved Herein (not to be confused with the BL feature film) has been subtitled by @douqi7s. Watch the original on Bilibili and enjoy the subs on YouTube. This one is also melancholy but it's some really tight storytelling in under 2 mins and manages to feel hopeful even though it's sad.

There is a lesbian side couple in Flirt Milk the series (airing now on iQIYI). This couple Noon and Praewa previously appeared as sides in Love Senior.

There is a new MV featuring a lesbian couple for the artist KnomJean on YouTube. This is one of those MVs that tells a story (TW for family violence) and after getting through the sad backstory, celebrates marriage equality in Thailand.

IdolFactory is re-running GAP the series on YouTube. If you've been putting off watching, now is a good time!

Speaking of re-runs, Yes Or No and the two sequel/spinoffs (Yes or No 2, and Yes or No 2.5) are all newly on GagaOOLala for streaming in some regions (I know for sure they're in North America, not sure about others)

Uranus2324 is starting to show up in particular places on the internet. I watched it and after all of the negative things I'd heard I actually liked it lol I'll see if I can write about it more this week

My suspected wlw sides in See Your Love ended up being implied only I was a little sad about this but at least I wasn't imagining the vibes.

Mom Ped Sawan is still airing but I still don't have a source for subs

Sastra film app YouTube channel has several short Cambodian GL series that come out weekly Honestly they are not to my taste but I don't like gatekeeping GL especially from smaller markets. I check in on these time to time and if there are any that I think are great I'll give them a shout-out

Ditto above with JPC media YouTube channel for Thai GL shorts if there are any that stand out to me I'll say so; that being said I haven't had time recently so if I've missed anything good let me know!

Starting soon:

Reverse With Me (sequel spinoff to Reverse 4 U), Thai, 5 Feb, iQIYI and Ch3+ app

Fragrance of the First Flower s2, Taiwanese, 18 February 2025, GagaOOLala ok this isn't that soon but I'm just so excited we're getting this second season after all!

As always, if I'm missing anything, please let me know!

[queeriouslyollie]

wonderlust favorite moments/interactions/scenes/etc + notes from multiple rewatches

this is a collection of all my favorite moments, scenes, interactions, and so on (as well as interesting observations that ive noticed through my multiple rewatches) from wonderlust. this is mostly for myself lmao

NOTE: so far, i only got thru ep 1 because. im tired and its almost 4 am lmao. i do wanna get thru all the eps for this tho so :3

style conventions(so i rember qwq): things are listed chronologically, by episode, with timestamps (h:mm:ss). i also (vaguely) color coded dialogue, just the PCs w/ their colors (troy in red, runt in purple, blink in green). if there is dialogue between the lines im highlighting, there will be "/.../" followed by the next line im including. finally, additional notes/thoughts/etc from me will be in small text, italicized parenthases (like this)

this will be updated as i rewatch episodes or watch new episodes :]

WARNING: beyond this point, there WILL be spoilers. proceed at your own risk!

ps: if there is anything that isnt here that you think is worthy, feel free to add on! also, there are very likely typos and/or formatting errors so. oopsie :3 (did try my best to make sure there werent)

pps: many of these will likely involve troy because im so brainrot for this guy but i do really love them all and their dynamics :3

episode 1: one man's trash

0:06:14 troy: "well then- the the fuckin uh, i gue- i guess they'll- i guess they'll fuckin- i guess when they- i guess-"

0:07:42 baby's first troy math

0:11:50 the incident

0:17:30 troy: "my names troy and i'm never gonna die!" (this note was taken when ep 23 was the latest--so far its true, but i suppose we'll see if it continues to do so)

0:37:30 this whole interaction with runt and her cousins is just adorable and i lobv it

0:45:43 ♪♫ you gotta be careful, little runt ♫♪

0:46:40 runt: "you're goddamn right uncle threestrings, why don't they give you a record deal?" uncle threestrings: "....... hohh.." (also charlie's face during this reacting to the song lmfao)

0:47:22 uncle threestrings: "if you don't come back-" runt: "ah-" uncle threestrings: "-if you don't-" runt: "i will come back." uncle threestrings: "i just need to know somethin... how many cups do ya think they got up there?"

0:58:06 pinch: "doppler we need to break this thing or somethin-" runt: "no, don't- don't break it :[" /.../ runt: "i wanna keep it!"

1:14:24 runt: "they got this big fuckin circle in the sky too, what the fuck is that?" uncle threestrings: ".. circle? who made that?" runt: "i don't know!" uncle threestrings: "how'd they put it there?"

1:28:08 cut: "she want another one?" blink: "gran- yeah, granny granite wants a slice of cake, she took my package. you know how it is, this happens every time!" cut: "i'm gonna run out, i'm gonna run out, she's just gonna eat it all-" blink: "how! how are you gonna run out?! what do you mean-" cut: "she's just gonna eat it all!" blink: "but she's so old and slow!" (i love blink's outbursts lmfao)

1:33:05 immediate simping for aeon as her design is revealed ("id let her beat me up" lmfao)

1:37:07 (realizing i didn't put together before how he somehow got his steamsled back, obv upon rewatch i know it's because of his capture but just interesting to think about how that slipped by me the first time and catching it in subsequent watches)

1:37:51 baby's first "YOU DUDE" blink: (starts running) troy: "don't play hard to get with me dude, i'll fucking catch you, i'll fucking catch you no matter how fuckin long you run i will keep running, i'm an endurance animal of a human being" (sprinting) "you can flee now- i can track you, dude"

1:39:45 (cont. from scene above, somewhat) troy: "dude, there's no need to be such a fucking freak-" blink: "what the fuck-" troy: "-i'm just trying to talk to you-" blink: "-what the fuck are you-" troy: "-i just wanted to say... i just wanted to tell you that i'm fuckin cool, and you have gotta run with me, dude, if you wanna make it down here."

1:40:31 troy believes he's at furcon, blink calls him fantasy slurs (also he "loves birds" wauw)

1:42:17 here troy says that blink's his only ticket out, and when blink asks why him troy says he's not supposed to tell him :0

1:43:06 troy: "oh, yeah, i do have a combrussion"

1:47:00 bizly: (rolls a two against troy & blink's stealth) "dude, a two, a TWO, you're fine! you're fine." charlie (in troys voice): "yah, dude i fuckin know,"

1:49:06 the making of yort (& knilb)

1:50:12 blink: "let's-let's tackle this one thing at a time, okay?" troy yort: "alright, dude, i'm fuckin, i'm yort"

1:51:45 troy yort: "have you ever heard the saying, one guy's trash is another dude's.. fuckin,,.. coo- like- fuckin shit."

1:52:22 blink: "i don't wanna- i'm gonna be frank, the more you talk, the more i don't want to help you." troy yort: "dude, who the FUCK is frank, dude? why do you wanna be him? we already got you a cool name??"

1:54:09 troy yort: "cogs? we literally, like, live, breathe, and eat cogs up there, man. i mean, we also use it as money, but you know what i mean. we DONT eat, breathe, or live it, we just use it as money."

1:54:40 cloudspire hoohah rise up

1:54:46 blink: "what are you saying??" troy yort: "dude, you are just ridiculous, man, i-i don't even know where to start. i mean like, so basically, i'm like the shit."

1:55:12 just a straight roll like man and woman missionary fuckin dude fucking a woman straight roll troy yort: "honestly sometimes i think about guys"

1:57:20 (i just love how, even tho troy JUST met blink, he's already so willing to back him up. he doesn't quite understand when he DOES need to stand down but i think it does show he's never been a fully awful person.)

1:57:57 blink: "well we got some, uh, some tetanus shots in here. a few of them have been poked by granny- granny granite, so be careful about that, she's very pokey." arch: "wouldn't want anyone to catch whatever she's got, hahaha!" troy yort: "i'm not sayin anything" baby's first i'm not sayin anything (this whole interaction is so fuckin funny to me)

2:00:42 troy yort: "i don't understand why this is happening?!" blink: "i already told you!!" troy yort: "i didn't say anything!" blink: "you kept saying you weren't saying anything!!!" troy yort: "i thought that's what you wanted!! you need to be CLEAR!!"

2:02:36 bizly: "a blunt arrow comes whizzing by your head." charlie (as troy yort): "fuckin what i just smoke it" once again charlie is possessed by troy

2:06:28 the bit with the old woman and her dead husband's pan and her second husband

2:09:18 graphite's rock and the painting (troy yort keeping the rock after too is so real, i love rocks :3)

2:11:36 troy: "hey graphite, dude, can i level with you?" graphite: ".... suuuuure?" troy: "alright, sick, cuz i think i get some hp from that. maybe some other little goodies." graphite: "you just say things, don't you?" troy: "troy"

[mai-komagata]

Episode title/trailer speculations

Gonna try to match up scenes in the trailer with the episode titles: 1. Hegemony pt 2 -- my theory this is gonna be the only gorn episode, unless they come back in episode 10, but honestly i think they will wrap up this plot. so everything from 0:47-0:55 is probably here. Oh also pike's initial "let's hit it" here.

2. Wedding Bell Blues -- My guess is there is some sort of chapel engagement fakeout, and maybe Patton oswalt with the roses? Maybe them cooking in Pike's quarters?

3. Shuttle to Kenfori -- Maybe the tortured klingon scenes in :45? I think this might be a more serious ep?

4. A space adventure hour -- im guessing 0:06-0:12?? the weird costumes episode?

5. Through the lens of time -- all the strange analog wiring of the enterprise scenes?

6. The Sehlat who ate its tail -- at first i thought this might be a go to vulcan episode, but maybe this is the murder mystery in the holodeck episode just because it has a riddle-type name?

7. What is starfleet -- There are a lot of scenes with them in party uniforms in some sort of starfleet celebration. Uhura meeting that guy in the romance section, etc. Maybe that Scotty and Jim Kirk drinking together.

8. Four-and-a-half vulcans -- insert teaser episode here

9. Terrarium -- I'm sticking the john rhys davies episode here.

10. New life and new civilizations -- I'm gonna guess this has not been teased at all yet. Probably a new serious next season hook.

What do other people think??

[autumnwhistles]

Last Life SMP – The Musical: Track 8 ('Debts')

Note: I don't have a completed track 2-7, but this one was faster to do as I only need to write the music, not record singing or write lyrics. Info about the musical in my pinned post!

This is a background track playing over a spoken conversation, so there are no voices or lyrics here. However, there is still a storyline, following the end of Martyn's ep 2 (Ren convo, though tweaked for conciseness).

0:00-0:33: c!Martyn is sitting by the Southlands, passing the time, thinking about the Southlands alliance especially as it's getting more unstable with him as the only dark green. The music at the start echoes Martyn's restlessness, and the melody at 0:17 (starts in violin, then moves around) is the melody of song 5, "A(ha)lliances", reflecting what he's thinking about.

0:34-1:22: He sees Ren setting his own tower on fire with him inside, and rushes there to put out the flames. The irregular rhythm of the claves echoes the crackling sound of a fire burning wood.

1:24-2:10: He and Ren manage to talk properly for the first time that season, just discussing everyday things, Martyn wanting to ask about an alliance with him. The music uses parts of the melody from song 2, "Corners of the World" (our introduction to Martyn wandering, and through that the wider server), though it spends more in the major key(s) and aims to create a feeling of safety/comfort.

2:11-2:33: Ren reveals that in return for the life Lizzie gave him, he's offered her his loyalty for the rest of the game. Martyn reveals he was going to ask about an alliance with him. The Watcher motif (four notes in the horn at 2:15, and in the oboe at 2:20) appears for the first time to symbolise both the fact the Watchers wish to push the Ren-Martyn alliance together, and also the loss of feeling of a safety net now that Ren's sworn his loyalty away for the whole game. The music also movies into a minor key to symbolise the latter.

2:33-2:45: They do agree this is still feasible, Martyn mentioning it'll be a good way out of the Southlands considering their unstable position (him, three yellows and a light green). Major chord when agreeing it's feasible, minor chord when Martyn talks about this being a way of abandoning the Southlands.

2:45-end: Martyn parts and wanders off, with Ren saying there's always a place for him [at his base]. From 2:50, the music takes inspiration from "Corners of the World" again, and the oboe's final notes are a statement of the melody of its chorus ("corner to corner/i'll keep wamdering on"), symbolising this. However, this melody is slightly tweaked and dissonant to show part of Martyn's mindset changing, which will be explored in the next song...

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 161 spoilers with thoughts below the cut u know the drill

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THIS IS MY FAVORITE PANEL OF JAVIER EVER. IN THE ENTIRE MANHWA IM LOSING MY MIND HAHAHAHAHAHA

HE JUST LOOKS SO FUCKING UNHINGED I DIDNT EXPECT IT AT ALL HHAHAHAHAHAAAA

anywayy back to the top

honestly maybe i shouldve seen the fact that his own singing would fuck him up coming LMAO

their matching dazed expressions when they both realize PLEASSEE LOL

raphael also calls the start of his singing demonic sounding lmao

and then they start fighting again and JESUS holy shit they're so overpowered this is so cool to watch and also as i was reading i was VERY scared for javier

genuinely i really really love whenever they draw action scenes they look very cool while also not being terribly hard to follow i like that

like oh my god?? he's swinging that hammer around like its nothing its very very terrifying, esp cause its been a while since javier has fought something thats his match yknow, or at least it feels that way

AND THEN. THE LEADUP INTO THE NEXT SCENE IM LOSING MY MIND JAVIER YOU SCHEMER

the feigning being down and then the peek and the slow getting up im giggling so so bad AND THEN

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA JAVIER YOU CLEVER ASSHOLE I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH

like i knew that line raphael said about how the halo would continue protecting him so long as he's pure and just or whatever would come into play BUT I DIDNT THINK JAVIER WOULD BE THE ONE TO DO IT SO DIRECTLY TOO HAHAHAHAAA he's learned so much from lloyd <3 LOL

i also think its interesting that the halo keeps track of this with like points or smth, not much to say about it i just think its an interesting gear; the ultimate defensive tech but it's based on how "good" you are thats just really interesting to me hehe

ALSO ALSO i think it's really really silly funny that raphael was this very intimidating and menacing figure that was super scary right up until the moment javier played dirty and then the moment that happened that image/vibe immediately crumbled WAHHAHA he's just a silly guy and the halo does the work i like him a lot

i really like these panels of them being evenly matched, raphael is still holding his own even with a penalty like that, their expressions here are really good too its so tense,,,

AND THEN LLOYD BEGGING THEM TO STOPP AAHHH

AGHHGHGHHGHGH AAAHH JAVIER STARING WIDE-EYED AT LLOYD IM CURLING AND SHRIVELED ON THE FLOOR

like okay i know lloyd is scheming or whatever. but my heart wants to believe that some part of this was very real okay . let me cope let me believe this . one cannot act/lie effectively without some of it being real. RIGHT???

AND THEN WHEN THE POPUPS APPEARED I STARTED SHOUTING OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABT THE RP SYSTEM IM SO. LLOYD YOU BRILLIANT MOTHERFUCKER YOUUU

HE CAN JUST SKIP THE PROCESS AND THEN BECOME A SWORDMASTER HE HASNT DONE THAT IN A LONG TIME OHHHH MY GOD

also. everyone else's bonus RP was +10. but only javier's bonus RP was +45. which could mean nothing.

WHAT DO I EVEN SAY ABOUT THAT LIKE. JAVIER WHAT YOU. WHAT. YOUUU im gonna lose it im gonna LOSE IT

top ten photos taken moments before disaster HE LOOKS SO EVIL THE ART HERE IS SO GOOD HAHAHAHA OHH MY GOD

and how he says "YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS" ohhh lloyd you asshole you i love you so much

THIS PANEL TOO LIKE WOW THE FUCKING EFFECTS THIS IS INSANE HE LOOKS SO FUCKING MENACING THE VIOLENT LINEART HES POWERING UP HIS SINGING OH MY GODDD HAHAHA

when i saw these panels i immediately thought of that one song from princess and the frog god i wish i could like tween or something itd be so cool to see This drawn to That

thats all i LOVED this ep i had so much fun RAPHAEL JAVIER LLOYD FIGHT PART THREE NEXT WEEK HERE WE GO

[moononmyfloor]

A Love Never Lost (人生若如初见 Rénshēng ruò rú chū jiàn) First Impression

I'm so excited that this is finally out after being fridged for what... 5 years? It's incredibly rare to have "serious" historical Cdramas these days (as in based on real characters and real events, not just reenactment type dramas like The Litchi Road and Riverside Code by Qingming Festival, or Guzhuang shows like Blossom or The Glory. We barely get even ONE actual period drama per year, and even then, they are ones that had been made years ago and hadn't had the fortune to see the light of the day until now. Well, the reason is obvious. The more representative of the actual history a work of fiction is, especially if the relevant period of time is very sensitive, the more careful you have to be in order to not suffer public backlash let alone government interference. Such projects are very risky, and nobody wants to watch their money, time and effort of months go down the drain.

As for why A Love Never Lost was shelved after one (or was it five?) episode, there are many theories: one being that the protagonist was a bad guy in actual history and was portrayed in a too positive light, and the good guys were given negative portrayals. However, the show had already passed censorship when it first aired. There was no reason for the censor board to recall the license. Plus you see how the show is still in its 40-episode glory, each the usual 45 mins length, so obviously if any re-editing had been done in the past few years, it was nothing major. I've seen shows that were forced to cut down almost half their material to get the approval. The other argument is that it was a shared distribution rights dispute between IQIYI and Mango. ANYWAY, without further ado:

Ep 1

LMAO who said the ML is whitewashed? Barely 2 mins into the show, we are given proof that he's twisted in head. Look at the excitement in his face! He skipped school so he could witness beheading. I only hope this isn't going down the same path as Legend of Zang Hai, where we were given clues the ML was not ok even before the tragedy that befell him (as a kid he kidnapped and imprisoned and beat up another kid in a cellar he himself had dug), but then they did nothing with that and went down the classic "traumatized young man who has justifiable reasons for his acts of revenge but he's actually a meow meow" path.

I really like how the show establishes the clear distinction between Manchu and Han women's fashion. (Single piece vs two-piece, swallow tail hair vs liangbatou)

The show looks like a million bucks alright. And keep in mind this has been produced years ago, and it still looks better than many of the 2025 costume drama productions. Yep, the IQIYI and Mango war is making more and more sense. Both parties wanted the bigger portion of commission, and in the end both lost out. I feel bad for the showmakers.

Ep 2

So let me get this straight. The FL went to Shanghai alone on her to-be-husband's ship, to deliver stuff to her brother-in-law. Who barely writes to his pregnant wife waiting at home, but he's building a school for girls in Shanghai (because he thinks it'd be a profitable business) ... with an all-male teacher ensemble...

My girl it sounds like you should run far far away from your current family, future family and in-laws too. It sounds like not a SINGLE one of them got their priorities straight, regardless those priorities are period typical or anachronistic.

The FL encourages the Brother-in-law to start classes and start teaching the maids and servants to encourage actual students to enroll, and I gotta say it's really nice that he and the other teachers take their teaching seriously despite the classroom being filled with old people and their still-breastfeeding babies and toddlers. I fully expected them to just make them sit in the benches and do nothing, looking down on them for not being appropriate student candidates.

The Chemistry teacher is a creep tho. He draws the FL he just met a picture of a lotus and tells her cheesy pickup lines, then oggles her and tells her to not bind her chest because it's bad for her health and because to build a healthy nation they need healthy mothers. You JUST met the girl! Uhh that's nothing but male saviour complex masquerading as a feminist. And the next day he looks at her chest again and says going unbound looks good on her. 🥲

Ep 3

He handed her a whole Yukata and she managed to magically put it perfectly on herself. Sure Jan.

After shopping for chemicals as a Japanese couple, the creep has managed to fully secure the FL's trust. She's changing out of her Yukata in his lab's personal area, and he's suddenly overtaken by passion for his great future causes and ALSO her partially undressed silhouette. He jumps her, cocooning her with the modesty curtain, and utters macho promises at her. She's charmed. Trump would love him.

His plan is to bomb the remaining Imperial family, and use the FL to bring the bomb through. In brother-in-law's credits, he's been trying to keep the FL away from the creep for a while now, knowing his true nature, but it's too late.

Ep 4

All the main characters are on-board a ship to Japan. The ML with his buddies, to attend school in Japan, the FL with the creep she hitched up with because now they are wanted criminals in China. ML and FL meet each other for the first time.

Poor girl finally realizes the mess she's in. Alas.

Ep 5

ML and his buddies are settling into the difficult life in a new country where their homeland status means nothing, and the FL has basically become the snobby creep's servant. Seems like the story is going to take place in Japan for a while. That's very rare and interesting. Previously I've only seen a period Cdrama about expats set in Singapore only, I think. Finally, there are some humorous moments, and the change in atmosphere is a welcome change after several episodes of China in their most downward-slope era. Also, about 60% of the dialogues are happening in Japanese now, with the main characters all speaking it themselves. Some real effort has gone into the making of this show.

Ep 6-10

Not a lot of character or plot progression save for the creep redeeming himself a tiny bit. He's no longer the revolutionist on high-horse who feels too proud to live off the meager money his woman is earning by laboring through the day but also does nothing to share her burden. He now actively tries to be helpful to her, his expressions of care and affection to her are sounding more and more genuine, he maintains a respectful distance from her always, despite living together (which I find rather unbelievable of a stretch for his character, looking at how he came off in those first days he met her). He's still very much a loser though, who sleeps through the entire day when she's not home.

Nothing significantly important happened with the other characters that wouldn't make sense if a simple "Three Years Later" was used instead of the past 5 episodes. The storytelling feels super meandering, very daily-records/slice-of-life kind. I have no clue what the aim or direction of the story is and I'm by the 1/4 point of the show.

One thing for sure. This is not a fluffy cos-play romcom, nor is it a show about tsunderes with hearts of gold. If the show doesn't waste the initial momentum it had, I think it has the potential to be a proper, holistic examination of people from many walks of life, all lost in various ways in this particularly bleak era. Everyone's full of lofty ideals but not enough introspection to recognize their inborn hypocrisy. Saying they want to make a mark in the history, but in fact just trying to keep up with the rapidly changing times. The characters are opportunistic voyeurs but are all products of their time. However, the show doesn't attempt to overly justify them nor villainize them. I felt they were presented quite objectively; hence it wasn't much of a difficult watch despite the underlying darkness of everything. And if that is not what you want to see in your leisure time Cdrama, then this show isn't for you.

.

A Love Never Lost Masterpost

[n1ght-l0ck]

edit idea that plagues my mind to this day:

Song: Promise - Laufey (around the 2:45 mark)

'If it weren't for the sight of a boy who looked just like you' a transition from normal lockwood to the clip of Lucy's hallucination (i think in the last ep with the bone mirror) where he is frozen solid (sorta like the Fetch described in THB) on 'looked just like you'

'Standing out on Melrose Avenue' Any shot where it's just Lockwood standing alone

'It hurts to be-' Clip in The Burning Girls where Flo is at the door and opened it to Wrigley and its a shot of her in the doorway

'Something,' Clip of Lockwood in a doorway holding onto the greenish door and smiling (forgot where it was in the show)

'It's worse to be-' Clip in The Burnig Girls where Flo is reading alone

'Nothing with you' Clip right before the party when Lockwood is looking through the window and he is watching Lucy and Kipps, and walks away

[blackdigitalrose]

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚ Finale Week! ˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

Fri - Healin' Good Pretty Cure - EP 44 & 45

And the last two both wrap up as two parters! The difference, I have zero idea what this one entails or where it is going, so that's something to have going for it.

EP 44

This guy wasted no time, absorbed the Precure and converted the planet...what a surprisingly refreshing change of pace.

But secret identities be damned after that speech, NK Byogen just apparently broadcasting it to the globe.

Animation error! Hold up, Rate was just healed by the collective light of everyone's will to live, why is yellow again in the transformation?

Opposed to before where they were just really slowly falling while moving through the sky to battle ??? Staying a float due to Cure Earth's ability?

Good gravy, that was short lived final battle, blink and you'll miss it.

Heh, the most logical end to a boss battle but never happens but not one left standing, Asumi isn't even human, you'd think she'd stay awake if anyone, not all hivemind collapse together.

It's the small things, the difference between how they say bye to their partners, reflects how different and unique each of their relationships were, it was a nice little touch.

Ignoring the next ep title, how exactly? They don't even know how to get there and the only way there would have been Asumi and she's leaving with them...

Rate did the last one, now she has learned how to speak! Ha, point to them, that was a good curve ball. (Never entered my head that she'd possibly do one.)

EP 45

I do love Chiyu's bad pun/ dad joke like sense of humour, it's such a unique trait!

And suddenly you get feelings of Wonderful and the Niko Garden... XD and that is clearly a Rattata!

So this went from health... to protecting the environment... not exactly a tangent but darn were they drilling that message in this last ep. Do better kids or the Healing animals are going to get you, what a trippy way to end a series ( ô ‸ ō )….?????

All in all, this probably would have worked better as Cure Summer's only intro, over her random cameo mid-fight to then get knocked out and then sent back home just as quick...

At least it had more structure than the Mahou one and felt less of a bonus ep tagged on to the end.

That finale had good build up and then for some reason just sped through the main battle, the over all fight couldn't have been more than five mins after all that, it was a let down. The Asumi/Byogen merge had no side effect it seems, one would only assume it's still present in her because we never saw it get removed or purified? It was a calm wrap up over all, even saying bye to the fairies was quiet sorrow over bawling tears. It was all quite mature despite its odd tangent conclusion. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad and it did have it's really good moments and none of it was particularly bad, after all, everyone took part in the fight. I quite like the conclusion of the people who knew them finding them and agreeing to keep it a secret from them that they knew they were the Precure but thanked them in other ways. I'll be generous and give it a 6/10.

[rahleeyah]

Thoughts. Do you think it was a good or bad idea ultimately for OC to move to Peacock? Personally I feel like apart from the first two eps of season 5 which were amazing, ever since it’s been on a slippery slope downhill. I see people forgetting about it entirely, I barely see anyone talking about it (or am I looking in the wrong places?) I just… I personally feel that it was a bad move by NBC but I would like your thoughts, if you have the time. :)

I think whether or not it was a good idea depends on how you define success.

If peacock is willing to commit to making streaming only content, then I think it was a good move. Since its premiere on peacock oc has consistently been in the top 5-10 most streamed shows. It was nowhere near that high on the list of NBC's most watched traditional shows and it was never gonna be. In the days of streaming a lot of older working adults - these shows' target demos - are not staying up for the 10 pm shows. Why lose sleep when you can watch it the next day? OC's ratings weren't great and they weren't gonna get better. Especially for an arc-based show on a network that specializes in not requiring viewers to remember storylines from one week to the next.

Streaming is the right place for oc. The episodes don't have to be constrained to 45 minutes only; if they wanna go a little over, they can. The show can be grittier on streaming, which it has always wanted to be. And bc it's arc-based, it lends itself better to binge watching. That's what I've been doing, saving up and watching 2-3 episodes at a time. I don't agree that it's been downhill since the premiere; I've been enjoying it, very much.

When it's good oc is the best show of the franchise. It does more character work, and more consistently, than any of the others. When it invests in its second string characters it makes for compelling viewing, and raises the stakes. It's actually bringing Elliot's family life to the front, which is vital to his character. The period where whatever show runner that was (I've already forgotten his name) completely ignored Elliot's family and tried to turn him into the punisher was the weakest point of the series; Elliot doesn't work as a character without the framework of his family, so I love seeing that emphasized now.

OC requires a little bit more from its viewers. It's not HBO level prestige television but it's not baby's first introduction to social justice, either. Viewers have to follow along, keep track of the moving parts, understand what the show is doing, and I like that. I don't like TV that's made to be on in the background while you're scrolling your phone.

And yeah you may just be looking in the wrong places. I'm on bsky, where people are waking up at 6 am to watch the show before work and talking about it animatedly. There's a contingent of viewers who hate arc based shows and really hate it when the episodes don't get tied up neat and tidy at the end, and those voices tend to be especially loud, but I couldn't disagree with them more; OC is a fresh and interesting way to explore this universe, a badly needed rejection of the format.

Streaming will make crossovers harder for svu in the future, but that comes back to how you define success. As much as we may want them to be SVU and OC are not the eo shows. And they're not gonna try to be. They are each trying to stand on their own two feet, and they are going to try to make each show in its own right, independent of one another. If viewers expect something else, we'll inevitably be disappointed.

[ohmygoditworked]

OUAW EP 45:

Spoilers!!

“WHY DID WE DO THAT” yes Gricko why indeed

Bit quick to jump to nudity there Torbek

Gricko is just full of great ideas today

“You are familiar with mirages” THIS ALMIRAJ IS NO MIRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nikkie: “You don’t really understand how this works” Mace/Gideon, immediately: “I know exactly how this works”

This desert is getting eerily intense

I love how they’re showing Torbek gaining control of the Witchlight and the Other

“Together, as a unit, as you do everything, you decide to tackle this next obstacle” ACK MY HEART I FUCKING LOVE FOUND FAMILY SHIT THIS IS SO GOOD

How are y’all interpreting Gricko’s monstrosity connection? Bc I’ve been doing it as like a really enthusiastic zoologist but what if he’s also a monsterfucker

Sorry that was a little unhinged and sudden but I think i might be right he does have a thing for monstrous women who could decimate him with one move

Anyways!

Love how Frost always wants to talk first but Gideon is immediately “IM GONNA GETCHU”

Gideon is going to oneshot this tricobra/cobydra if he keeps this up

“Two attacks on Frost” “no thankyou ❤️”

OH SHIT KREMY’S DICE MOVE HUNGER OF HADAR. HOLY FUCK.

Rich is so good at flavoring this spell and its effects

Mace/Gideon “Don’t roll max against me” and then Rich doesn’t— that’s Kremy employing Husband Privilege right there

What is the realm they are talking about?? Ghettei? Gehettei? Whatever realm they say Kremy is bringing with Hunger of Hadar

Goddamn that’s a lot of damage at once

Torbek and Gideon and Hootsie bro moment 😎

“Torbek accidentally Longscarfed him” 😭❤️

WHAT IS THIS FUCKING LIGHT?????????

Love how Nikkie just keeps repeating the generic desert description like an NPC in a game when you try to talk to them too much

HOLY SHIT okay 1. The immersion hell yeah 2. Why. Why is there a swamp here again. The swamp was supposed to be gone. There wasn’t supposed to be more swamp.

SERIOUSLY WHY IS THERE A SWAMP

“Blow on my dice” there is no heterosexual explanation for this

Now I have this horrible image in my head of Kremy pulling an Entrapta and going “I just need a little more time”

GRICKO DONT CALL TO MR GARU

“I am the thing that remains when the alphabet is gone” this is giving me such a good idea for a Tower of Babel campaign wait a minute

Ah yes just like the 1999 classic film The Mummy—- *I am forcibly removed from the stage*

It IS TIME!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY FUCK HES RIGHT

Is. Is the swoose sounding like Bavlorna on purpose. Is this a plot thing. Please this is so important—- Bc there’s an hourglass on the archway, so it has to be time and also maybe the voice is important— Oh. Okay. So not like Bavlorna.

What is the realization Andy is having???? Oh my god I need to know

Does the fact that this is Nekhbet and the lion-headed guardian mean Egyptian mythology at all influences this part of the story? And maybe the Hourglass Coven in some sort of way if this temple is here? Was this temple originally of the Hourglass Coven, or was it taken over???

The emotion in Mace’s storytelling is incredible and then he has a your mom joke. Alright.

Andy and Mikey’s reactions are beautiful things to watch

“We’ve been free ever since”

Fic idea: Kremy and Gideon get married and uh. Yknow Gricko’s entire thing about getting Pa Coal to come to one of Gideon’s weddings? Somehow that happens but it’s a really sad moment bc Pa Coal is dead so it’s an urn and Gideon gets to have a moment just talking to the urn

OH SHIT THE BIRTH OF THE HAGS?!?!??? Wait wait wait I have so many questions— to be made into a hag, do they need to find this temple first?? Does this temple somehow lead to the hag hut??? What is the thing that drinks the brew in the hag hut?????? How did that being come to exist???????? How is this temple connected to the thing that makes the hags???????? Is this a temple of time or of memories and records????

What is the process of making a hag??? Do all hags come about via this process????

Wait a minute. We had a white horse and rider statue, now we have a red one— if the next one is black then these are the riders of Baba Yaga and maybe that is who makes all the hags— like a sort of Mother Hag situation??

Frost is right, I think, this is also a story or situation or whatever about choice (esp bc of the swoose at the entrance)

I need a series which is just Gricko explaining everything that’s happened in the campaign in extreme detail

“We hit rock bottom and we picked up shoooveeeelllls.”

Ayo Bavlorna what the fuck— Endolyn’s story was terrible but this is another level

So these hags are not actually sisters then? Or are they sisters because they all come from the same source? (Whatever makes the hags)

Yuuuup I was right about the riders!!!!!

Idk why but Kremy’s story hits for me

Nikkie this is so impressive. Holy shit— this isn’t in the module. She wrote these backstories herself. Wow.

And the flipped time order of everything!!! And the Granny Nightshade symbolism

Wait blue roses??? Like the ones in Twig’s eyes???????

WHAT IF THIS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEARTS DESIRE WHAT IF THEY ARE AT THE DOOR RN

Andy what are you doing

Oh shit. Next is the fabled Episode 46. Ohhhh lord. What’s gonna happen………

How much time has passed for the Feywild while they’re in the material plane???

Gahhhh!!!! The lore!!!!!!!!!!!! So good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait okay there’s a connection to Prime but I haven’t watched Prime and it’s 91 episodes there’s no way I can watch all that rn but I NEED TO KNOW THE AVANTRIS LORE AND WHAT THE CONNECTION IS OMFG

So much happened!!!!! Holy fuck!!!!!!!!! And next is Episode 46 I’m gonna have my brain explode

[magicalwarriordiamondheart]

Guide for the first 7 eps i posted from discord for helping with Chandra's run:

so the guide doesn't get specific for the first 7 eps since its a linear story, but a lot of FP gain is done in those so this is what i picked in my run

ask directly

go all out (+guts)

should tell them

mushroom pasta (doesn't matter i just tend to side w Sophie early anyways)

comfort clover

i wouldn't like that (doesn't matter but again to just keep the rest of the team high in AP lol)

apologize

defend her

hug Zacharie (only one that gives +FP iirc)

its fine but...

accept the offer (hanging w Chandra in e9 gives her AP, but hanging w the guys gave me more FP, i ended the run with 105FP in the no e9 version so its worth skipping that hangout imo)

tag along

ask Alex how Liam got his powers

follow Amy (doesn't matter i just always pick her)

don't worry

what about Liam

[entire rest of liam arc goes here. he needs to be recruited of course lol]

I also hung out with Clover and Liam during e11 and pretty much sided with Liam for the most part (the only choice that gains FP is "that wasn't his fault") and helped clover cook at the end since refusing her loses FP. then in e12 pick dare for +Guts and ask clover who she'd switch lives with for +FP. and in e13 i think "Aren't you scared?" gives one more point of AP to Chandra than the other (it's like 2 vs 3 points or something its not THAT big of a deal, and i picked the "its nothing" one in my own file) and at the very end saying "just one more thing" to set off the necklace flag

Because of this ☝🏽 I also made some changes to the point requirements.

If you don't play with her in E9, getting her to the 30 AP required was almost impossible. I never intended for her E9 to be required though, so to fix that, she only required 25 AP in exchange for the other seniors needing 50 AP. If you did hang out with her, she would require the full 30 AP and the boys would require 45 AP which was a requirement that was just too difficult to reach without following a specific play style. Prioritizing her shouldn't make it harder to unlock her lol. and I want players to be able to explore a variety of options beyond what the guides recommend while in the common route,

so I lowered the boys point requirement to 40 AP for cases where the player hangs out with Chandra in e9, which should be much more reasonable to obtain and still retain Chandra's difficulty as a character

Guide was adjusted to fix the missing choices and reflect the point adjustments.

[twig-tea]

GL odds and ends 20 October 2024

Still feeling out how regularly it makes sense to do this; first one was 2 weeks ago on 6 October. If you're interested in GL older than that, check out my GL rec list through Feb 2024 and my update in July 2024. New series marked with an asterisk*.

Currently airing (with thoughts up to Oct 6):

Reverse 4 U 7/8 (Thai, Tuesdays 1:00 PM EDT, Netflix / YouTube) I'm disappointed by how this final arc has gone. We haven't really seen any growth for Wa, and the whole plot with Wa and Vivi's father didn't really make sense. I really don't understand why he had to stay away, or why the rules are so different for him than for Wa. The relationship between Wa and Four also feels flat because we've barely seen them together. I was rooting for this one but alas.

Unlock Your Love ep 6/8 (Thai, Wednesdays, GagaOOLala / YouTube [cut version]) The sequence where Rain and Love keep trying to have sex but getting interrupted/hurt was very funny; this show still drags but the core of it is pretty good. I mostly just wish it were tighter.

Chaser Game W s2 ep 5/8 (Japanese, Thursdays 12:30 PM EDT, GagaOOLala) @lurkingshan is already doing a great summary of this week to week in her JQL weekly round-up!

Affair the series ep 8/8 END (Thai, Fridays 11:15 AM EDT, iQIYI/ YouTube) Other than the jealousy in the last 10 minutes of the show, I really did like this ending for the series. I really liked Wan's decision to take time for herself after being disappointed by Pleng's decision again. The plot and melodramatic-ness of this show is not my favourite, but I enjoyed it week to week in spite of that. The acting was so solid, the women so gorgeous, the chemistry so fire, and the writing was great for the genre its in (the story was internally consistent and coherent, and the characters were complex and their motivations were clear. There was even a good plot reason for the 'they might be siblings' twist). If you don't mind melodrama, give this one a try!

*Pluto ep 1/12 NEW (Thai, Saturdays 9:30 AM EDT, YouTube) Starting off with a fantastic kiss and Namtan on a motorcycle is truly an incredible opening gambit. That being said, I don't buy the core premise of the plot and it is making it difficult for me to actually enjoy the show. I'll probably be mostly quiet about this one because the things I don't like about it aren't actually about its execution but rather my taste.

*Apple My Love ep 2/7 NEW (Thai, Saturdays 11:45 AM EDT, GagaOOLala and YouTube) I already shouted on main about ep1 here; so far I'm obsessed with this show. Kris is too gay to function, and the misunderstanding is perfectly executed. Very excited for this one, it's so far fantastic.

The Loyal Pin ep 12/16 (Thai, Sundays 12:15 PM EDT, YouTube) Anin's speech in this episode was fire. I feel for these girls, Anin and Pin are just so desperate to be together and their choices are limited. This show continues to be gorgeous and so well done, and I keep bracing for pain.

Red Whisper ep 4/8 (Korea, [schedule is kinda unpredictable; vaguely every 5 days??], YouTube) Cheating and taking advantage while your crush is heartbroken and drunk is not my fave but is par for the course with these SukFilm short series; my fave so far has been their first GL so if you haven't seen that yet I'd honestly recommend that instead.

Recent One-offs & Side Couples

We finally got the sapphic backstory in The Hidden Moon but it was (as expected) sad and mostly inferred.

We also got more of the Aim as a Lesbian plotline in the new Love Sick 2024 remake (this was not a plotline in the 2014 version and it's one of the changes I really like and that I think works really well)

Sastra film app YouTube channel has several short Cambodian GL series that come out weekly Honestly they are not to my taste but I don't like gatekeeping GL especially from smaller markets. I check in on these time to time and if there are any that I think are great I'll give them a shout-out

Ditto above with JPC media YouTube channel for Thai GL shorts if there are any that stand out to me I'll say so

Starting soon:

The Nipple Talk, [ensemble] Taiwanese, 1 November GagaOOLala

My Ex's Wedding [in theatres in Thailand 14 November]

Mom Ped Sawan, Thai, 17 November [international distribution uncertain; it should be on VIPA app with subs, but that is region-locked]

Petrichor, Thai, 23 November, TBD

[s-sputnik-k]

still on ep 45 but this time its ashton comforting professor somal thats getting to me. man, Taliesin can make the most chaotic 'fuck off' character but he will STILL be kind and soft and it will STILL feel in character and I love that. ashton seems chaotic but they definitely have a code. I think there's a sense of casual compassion that comes from finding community at the bottom of the societal chain, and it doesn't matter how big matters for the party, he'll still carry that honesty and humility around with him. and that's why he's my favourite :}

[mizldrizl]

What is where in Beyond Evil?

I always wondered where certain locations in the show actually are and how far each of them is apart from the others. Thankfully, the scriptbook has some addresses -- partially fictional, of course -- I can work with.

1. 문주시 (Munju-si) - 파주시 (Paju-si) (*si = city)

In one of the Blu-ray features, they mention that they filmed Dong Sik's neighborhood in Paju.

문산읍 (Munsan-eup) is part of 파주시 (Paju-si) (*eup = small town). It is easy to guess how they came up with the name "문주."

문산천 (Munsancheon River) = 문주천 (Munjucheon River)?

Trivia: The house used as Dong Sik's family house is actually in 용인시 (Yongin-si), which is about 100 km away from Paju. While filming the scene where Joo Won and Dong Sik are on their way to arrest Kang Jin Mook in Ep. 8, the actors momentarily thought they should take Joo Won's car because Manyang Supermarket is in Paju. They realized, soon after, that it is only a few minutes' walk from Dong Sik's house in the show.

2. Han Joo Won's apartment

The scriptbook says Joo Won's apartment is in 서울시 마포��� (Mapo-gu, Seoul-si) (*gu = district).

According to the Naver navigation service, it would take 35~50 minutes from Joo Won's place to Manyang by car. Mind you, I enter a city hall or its equivalent in "from" or "to" for the cities that are not familiar to me, and that's what I did here. Still, it would be safe to say that it takes about 45 minutes commuting for Joo Won, maybe an hour, tops, when the traffic is bad.

3. Han Ki Hwan's house

서울시 강남구 (Gangnam-gu, Seoul-si). The scriptbook says "청암동 (Cheongam-dong)" as well, which is clearly a little tweak from 청담동 (Cheongdam-dong) (*dong = town); it is in the northern part of 강남구. It takes about an hour from here to Joo Won's place by car, but thinking of Seoul's traffic, it might take a bit longer than that depending on the time of the day.

4. 서울경찰청 (Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is in 서울시 종로구 (Jongno-gu, Seoul-si). It takes 25~35 minutes from Joo Won's apartment, and 45~55 minutes from Han Ki Hwan's house by car. But again, it's Seoul, so you can never be sure.

5. 옥산군 (Oksan-gun) - 옥천군 (Okcheon-gun)

옥산군 (Oksan-gun) is where Chief Nam's lakehouse is (*gun = municipality). The actual location is called 옥천군 (Okcheon-gun). It would take 3~3.5 hours from Manyang by car.

6. 부산시 (Busan-si) & 울산시 (Ulsan-si)

In Ep. 8, Dong Sik says he and Chief Nam once arrested a culprit in Ulsan and went to Busan together to have pufferfish soup before going back to Seoul.

It takes 4.5~5 hours from Seoul to Ulsan, and another 1.5 hours from Ulsan to Busan by car. From Manyang to Busan, it would be about 5 hours by car. If you take a KTX train from Seoul Station to Busan Station, it takes about 2.5 hours.

7. 강원도 (Gangwon-do)

In the last episode, it is mentioned that Joo Won is working at a station in Gangwon-do (*do = province).

You can see that it is a fairly big province. As of November 2023, there are 17 police stations in Gangwon-do. Meaning, Joo Won can be anywhere 80~250 km from Manyang. Because I am a shameless JWDS shipper who hopes that Joo Won can go see Dong Sik both in Manyang and Oksan easily, I would like to imagine Joo Won is working at the station in 원주시 (Wonju-si), which would be about 2.5 hours from either Manyang or Oksan by car.

(*All estimated times are based on around 4 pm on a weekday. Of course, if one drives at dawn or in the middle of the night, it would take a much shorter amount of time.)