downtownsdead

[downtownsdead]

i don’t think people understand how much of life is grief. not just people dying, but losing the version of yourself you thought you’d become. grieving the city you had to leave. the friends you lost not in argument, but in silence. the summer that will never come back. the feeling that maybe you peaked at 12 when you were reading books under the covers and believing in forever

[downtownsdead]

Help Mohamad reunite his family ❤️🙏

I am reaching out on behalf of my dear friend, Mohamad S., who is facing one of the most challenging times of his life. Mohamad is 37 years old and left his homeland in 2015 in search of a safer and better future. He’s a kind, hardworking man, and his small family has always been his greatest priority.

Living abroad, Mohamad has recently endured unimaginable loss and financial strain. Amidst the ongoing conflict in his homeland, his mother passed away, leaving behind his sister and her five young children—the last remaining members of his immediate family.

As the situation worsened, Mohamad managed to help his sister and her children escape to safety in Egypt, covering their immediate needs and securing a temporary refuge for them. Since then, he has been fully responsible for providing everything they need to survive during this transition.

In his efforts to support his family and cope with this devastating loss, Mohamad has found himself deeply in debt. To make matters even more difficult, he recently underwent knee surgery, which limits his ability to return to work for the foreseeable future. This has made it even harder for him to manage his financial responsibilities and the pressing need to provide his family with a stable future.

Mohamad is now working to bring his sister and her five children to join him in Belgium, where he hopes they can find stability and opportunity after all they’ve endured. This transition, however, requires significant resources that he is currently unable to meet alone.

For privacy reasons, we are not sharing Mohamad’s full name, as he has chosen to keep his identity discreet. While he initially refused the idea of asking for help, I couldn’t stand by and watch him struggle alone. I insisted on doing this for him because he deserves a chance to overcome these challenges. Your contribution 💪 will help Mohamad repay the debt incurred during this difficult time, cover ongoing living expenses for his family, and assist with the costs involved in bringing them safely to Belgium.

Mohamad has been a good friend of mine for years, and I’ve always admired his resilience and generosity. Any support, no matter the size, will make an incredible difference in helping Mohamad and his family rebuild their lives after these painful experiences.

Thank you for reading his story and considering helping a man who has always done everything he can for his loved ones. 🙏

📢 Donate & share: Donation Link

[downtownsdead]

Western passport holders will never understand. To go anywhere with a third worlder passport like a Filipino one, you need your tax returns, certificate of employment, bank statements, marriage certificates, sometimes a recommendation from a citizen of the country you want to travel to, everything possible to prove that you have a job and a family at home and you're not planning to be an illegal immigrant, JUST to get hit with a rejection because the embassy didn't believe you had enough proof.

Did you have travel plans? Already booked the plane tickets and hotels? Fuck you, better hope they issue refunds (they don't).

[downtownsdead]

on the last day of 2024; i want to dedicate this post to lovely runner. as a matter of fact; i would like to dedicate this whole year to lovely runner — because no other show has held more shimmering possibility in my eyes. i've said so many things about lovely runner over these months: its significance to me, its charm — its unfailing ability to reach the most bruised spaces of my heart — but i don't think i've ever mentioned just what exactly it gave to me. what it made come alive. what it has done for me is so simple — and yet so staggering. it gave me faith in love again — and not just romantic love; although that's part of it — but pure, limitless love. love as an act; as a breath; as a way of life — a living force that lines the universe. because the amount of tenderness that went into every touch; every word — every gesture between sol and sunjae — would not have been possible without that kind of love. the love of the actors; who shaped such sheer beauty into their characters. the love of the scriptwriters, directors, producers — who molded this show into the monument of wonder that it was. the love of the stylists and costume designers — who gave faces to the most exquisite love story of all time. the love of every single person involved in the making of this show. lovely runner was made in light — it was steeped in it. and it was light that it gave me. this show gifted my own sight back to me: the soft gaze of girlhood dreams — the rain-soaked joy in seeing characters given dignity and agency with the most reverent of all compassions. only love and death can change all things — and the totality of it; the encompassing power that a single touch can hold — it translates lifetimes into a language that is pure love and worship. since i was a child, i have always believed that love could translate my lifetime. and i still do. for this, i will never stop being grateful. thank you, sol and sunjae — for showing me that the world still has the capacity for sweetness. thank you, byeon wooseok and kim hyeyoon — for giving the best of yourselves to these characters. and thank you to you, if you're reading this — for spending time with my words. i will never take any of it for granted. all my love, ~ niranjana

[downtownsdead]

I have a bone to pick with the Lovely Runner fandom.

I wish Sol's pain was more acknowledged.

Sol's loneliness at having sacrificed everything is glossed over, and it should be talked about more.

The way people talk abt Sun-jae as though he's the only that cares and waited for Im-sol annoys me when the whole drama literally revolves around the fact that she will do anything to keep him safe. Including go through her heartbreak over and over for such a long, long time without breathing a word of it to anyone because how could she explain anyway? The only two people who (sun-jae and tae-sung) have their memories erased.

Sol goes through so much. Loses her idol and then loses him again as the love of her life again and again and still has the resilience to be a bright, lovely person who fails and then tries again and again to keep him safe. And then ultimately wins at another price. "Happiness comes at a cost", her brother had said. And she knew he was right because she was already paying hers.

I'm not saying that Sun-jae wouldn't have done the same. He definitely would have and he loves her just as much. It's just, Sol's sacrifice, as well as Kim Hye Yoon's amazing acting is a little less recognised and underappreciated for my taste. People went crazy over BWS and Sun-jae and I get that it's mostly a heterosexual female fandom or whatever but how can you not appreciate Sol just as much? Would Sun-jae have fallen for just anyone? The first thing that drew him to her was that she was kind when she didn't have to be. And we saw her do it again and again.

As for Hye Yoon, especially calling back to how her fellow actors (BWS and Seo-hye won mentioned her bright personality on set despite her scenes being the most emotional and heavy, with physical stress as well wrt all the "wet scenes" that involved water and constant crying. Reducing her to bws' girlfriend as I've seen edits do is so disappointing when this is an actress who's delivered her best and then some. An actress that everyone, including BWS, is in awe of, for a reason.

[downtownsdead]

2024 Kdrama that I would Recommend to Everyone: Lovely Runner

There was just so much about it to love!

Older drama I would recommend to everyone that I watched for the first time this year: Happiness

(@whenthegoldrays December Kdrama challenge)

[downtownsdead]

Thank you so much Lovely Runner for making me so happy this year., thank you for bringing me Sol and Sunjae. Thank you Kim Hyeyoon and Byeon Wooseok for being Sol and Sunjae. I love you so much. Thank you lovely Runner behind the camera staff. You are the best!

[downtownsdead]

Hyeyoon and Wooseok REALLY REALLY DESERVED THE AWARDS THAT THEY GOT TONIGHT(they deserve more from other award shows but whatever)

I'm so happy for them, i hope they continue to be friends (or more) forever.

[downtownsdead]

Favourite Kdrama Lead Couple, 2024: Im Sol & Rye Sun-jae in Lovely Runner

And down with all the haters who say he loved her more, they were mutually insane about each other.

Runner Up: Justitia & Han Da-on from The Judge from Hell

I love their crazy dynamic, but except for the final kiss, I didn't think their chemistry was quite right. The almost kisses were so bad they almost ruined the final one for me. However, you've got to love a romance that involves one party killing the other at some point.

Best from an older drama that I watched for the first time this year: Jung Yi-hyun and Yoon Sae-bom in Happiness

This one was really hard because Flower of Evil had an amazing couple too, but this is the first time I've ever enjoyed friends to lovers, so kudos to them!

(@whenthegoldrays December Kdrama challenge)

[downtownsdead]

Off to a new kdrama again, i wish i could finish this one.

I'm loving the chemistry between Ju ji Hoon and Jung Yu Mi so far, but their teenage selves? OMG!! I LOVE THEM!!

[downtownsdead]

Queen Sonagi not winning ost of the year is just a big joke. Just look at its impact. What are we even expecting from MAMA.

[downtownsdead]

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[downtownsdead]

I cannot believe it happened again.

I loved watching TJFH and FBC but i stopped again, i don't know why. I can't seem to continue them. It's crazy because i don't find them boring. Me and my stupid brain.

[downtownsdead]

justitia slapped arong not once but twice she did it for me i mean i know she did it for han daon but she did it for MEEEE

[downtownsdead]

The Judge From Hell X Text Posts pt.1 pt.2 pt.3 pt.4 pt.5

[downtownsdead]

Now add to the group, Dal's mom

Oh my god

This show just keeps on giving us horrible mom after horrible mom after horrible mom.

Here goes Sanha's mom(she doesn't deserve to be called his mom!) again, blaming everyone but herself for her irresponsibility.

I don't even want to talk about Haejun's mom(she doesn't deserve to be called his mom too!)

their moms are in a competition of being horrible and the result is a tie. they both win the most horrible kdrama mother of the year

[downtownsdead]

Here goes Sanha's mom(she doesn't deserve to be called his mom!) again, blaming everyone but herself for her irresponsibility.

I don't even want to talk about Haejun's mom(she doesn't deserve to be called his mom too!)

their moms are in a competition of being horrible and the result is a tie. they both win the most horrible kdrama mother of the year