purplehyacinthsimp

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 Oh my goodness, the world must be ending because I'm *finally* seeing your mentions/tags in my Activity side tab xDDD Yay! They must have fixed whatever was wrong, then.

:D Oh that sounds good - what have you been knitting?

I've been watching some movies here myself~~ and also working on maybe finishing some dramas I've started.

TTYS~~

@self-righteous-idiot tagged me so GAME TIME

Favorite Color: Yellow!

Last Song: that's classified

Currently reading: does fanfic count? If not, then like Lolita and the HTTYD series and a dozen other books I haven't touched for a month

Currently watching: what is watching. WAIT. I LIED. ANNE SHIRLEY ANIME

Currently craving: murder

Tea or Coffee: Tea!

Tagging @miriel-therindes @sylvana-the-tsarina @floorbacon @elenielheron @purplehyacinthsimp and whoever else is sad that I'm not brave enough to bother them. It's not you. It's me and my cowardly inability to define the relationship as friendship unless we've had over 4 years together

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 So I had enjoyed watching Zhou Yiran - ML in When I Fly Towards You and even though that was a modern he has this quiet (sorta intense?) presence that drew me in - so I can't wait to check this one out. xDD In which he goes fullly unleashed 💪💪💪

Also, director do right when they pair him with the funnest, cutest and yet also down-to-earth looking actresses 👍

xDD

Generation to Generation 江湖夜雨十年灯 (TBA) Dir. Lu Hao Ji Ji – First trailer

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 Ooooh thank you thank you!

Now you're making me really intrigued about the "toxic" main OTP. xDD

Those clips make me ROFLLL

The extended main cast actually did a couple As You Wish episodes, in which they do activieties, etc. together. I watched the one in which they cooked for the director and producer. It was so funny lol

~

I just finished THE DOUBLE and it's leaving me in a weird drama slump. I honestly didn't expect it to, considering how little I cared for the plot for the first half (it was the case at the time, I think it's more due to Me and not really the drama writers fault), but at around 20-22 Eps in I really dug in and now I'm in a hole. The final episode feels like they crammed at least three eps into one (much like TTEOTM, except there it was like ten into one loll).

I'm just really happy it didn't destroy any of my expectations (for a change).

//I give my most angry look at those airtime censors. Def. make sure to check out the bonus special ep which is 8 min or so long after you finish it is my advice! ;) ;)

~

Also saw that you did finish WRTW!!

@self-righteous-idiot tagged me so GAME TIME

Favorite Color: Yellow!

Last Song: that's classified

Currently reading: does fanfic count? If not, then like Lolita and the HTTYD series and a dozen other books I haven't touched for a month

Currently watching: what is watching. WAIT. I LIED. ANNE SHIRLEY ANIME

Currently craving: murder

Tea or Coffee: Tea!

Tagging @miriel-therindes @sylvana-the-tsarina @floorbacon @elenielheron @purplehyacinthsimp and whoever else is sad that I'm not brave enough to bother them. It's not you. It's me and my cowardly inability to define the relationship as friendship unless we've had over 4 years together

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 !!!

@lemonduckisnowawake i know you probably don't know who this guy is but i'm tagging you bc of the alpaca alone okay xD

Before Filter, Tan Jianci and an alpaca was thing we didn't even know to wish for

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 chingu I need to know what you think about Kunning Palace!!

I'm actually planning on finishing The Double these days too, or else restart it with the fam (not sure what they'd say about that crazy/grim beginning/premise tho loll)

Thank you for answering~~ <3

Oooh Petra!! Haven't heard that one in a while! :D

@self-righteous-idiot tagged me so GAME TIME

Favorite Color: Yellow!

Last Song: that's classified

Currently reading: does fanfic count? If not, then like Lolita and the HTTYD series and a dozen other books I haven't touched for a month

Currently watching: what is watching. WAIT. I LIED. ANNE SHIRLEY ANIME

Currently craving: murder

Tea or Coffee: Tea!

Tagging @miriel-therindes @sylvana-the-tsarina @floorbacon @elenielheron @purplehyacinthsimp and whoever else is sad that I'm not brave enough to bother them. It's not you. It's me and my cowardly inability to define the relationship as friendship unless we've had over 4 years together

[purplehyacinthsimp]

^^^^^^^^^^^

Luckily for us, Wang Xing Yue is not an idol star. xPDDD

But then, he's also not SML. Heh. #TheDouble

historical mini cdramas, a summary:

Female lead: I'll kill you for killing my entire family!!!

Male lead: omg at least you had a family to be killed in the first place

Male lead: anyway you should marry me now. My estranged mother will hate you and my refused childhood sweetheart will poison your tea for weeks before I'm proactive about it

Female lead: why would I do this

Male lead: I get to show abs

Female lead & audience: oh ok

Second male lead with glasses who never gets a shirtless scene because he's probably played by an idol or something: DAMN it!

Everyone: dies

[purplehyacinthsimp]

Tian Xi Wei is downright one of the cutest AND most charming FL ever LOVE HER

no matter what you say, i will agree to it. i want to stay with you.

chasing jade, 逐玉. [ TRAILER ]

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 ughhh so true

it's esp hard bc they never translate what the characters of their names mean. so it makes it hard for even me to remember them

I'd be happy with name tags. xD

Me, watching Cdramas

[purplehyacinthsimp]

I have just watched the trailer for Shui Long Yin and I still have no idea what it's about and I still don't care whatsoever because this is peak Luo Yunxi and nobody does gorgeous suffering the way he does.

Beautiful Bleeding should be his nom de scene.

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@lemonduckisnowawake

gosh it's been forever since i've been tagged or did a tag on my own so Thank You

Favorite Color: Purple. Yellow & Blue.

Last Song: A Little Fall of Rain yes it's Les Mis and yes it's the Lea Salonga + Michael Ball dream cast version and yes i'm sniffling

Currently reading: "a dozen other books I haven't touched for a month" from LD is absolutely correct. but the last one I kinda read more like skimmed/ff through is A SONG TO DROWN RIVERS

Currently watching: WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES kdrama. netflix. it's INSANE in that it's a 1950s-1990s Life drama feat. characters (esp: Women!! Multigenerational!) so real i cried and laughed every ep so far for the first four. It's the kind of visual storytelling that's absolutely perfect and so raw and genuine and authentic and makes me feel like I've lived through these characters... Sure its showing a South Korean island but in so many ways this translates to Asian culture in general at the time and it hits So Hard, esp. looking at what US was like at the time and what kind of life we get to live now. All sorts of epic - the kind of drama that everyone should see at least once in their life kind of epic.

Also: IU and Park Bo Gum at THEIR FINEST with perfect story and director and cinematography and writing (honestly the entire cast is so perfect)

Currently craving: pomegranates and dark dark chocolate. what can i say i like prestige

Tea or Coffee: Tea.

Tagging @winterlark-c73 and anyone else who to is reading this... (sorry it's completely me and my either laziness or inability to recall who is most active here in my "circle")

@self-righteous-idiot tagged me so GAME TIME

Favorite Color: Yellow!

Last Song: that's classified

Currently reading: does fanfic count? If not, then like Lolita and the HTTYD series and a dozen other books I haven't touched for a month

Currently watching: what is watching. WAIT. I LIED. ANNE SHIRLEY ANIME

Currently craving: murder

Tea or Coffee: Tea!

Tagging @miriel-therindes @sylvana-the-tsarina @floorbacon @elenielheron @purplehyacinthsimp and whoever else is sad that I'm not brave enough to bother them. It's not you. It's me and my cowardly inability to define the relationship as friendship unless we've had over 4 years together

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73

Opposite Personalty but Same Alignment* Characters Played by the Same Actor: How do they feel about each other?

Duke Su, The Double vs. Zheng Zhe, Story of Kunning Palace

Feeling: Permanent mutual hatred

Duke Su: He sees Zheng Zhe for the first time and he can't believe his eyes: there is a man who looks like him (magnificent) but he's squandering it by dressing like a beggar. Then he learns that ZZ does not scheme; does not enjoy plays, banquets, or anything really; and worse, has faith that hard work will pay off in a corrupt system. But it's the fact that they look alike that keeps Duke Su up at night. He even tries to send ZZ better clothes but they are given away because "maybe it's a bribe". Disgusting.

Zheng Zhe: Learns that there is someone who looks like him, but who is detatched, vain, and ostentatious. His approach to politics reminds ZZ too much of Xie Wei. He intensely dislikes this man. He's suspicious of him. It bothers him less though as a person who always leaves a party at 9pm.

Prince Xiao Lin, Till the End of the Moon vs. Su Yishui, Love of the Divine Tree

(this picture is the clam version of Xiao Lin but I think it's pretty)

Feeling: One-sided hatred (improved over time)

Xiao Lin: he's met a Demon Child before, he was nice about it. Princes should treat other princes with respect and decency. It's a bit weird that they look so similar but it's not a big thing.

Su Yishui: He thought he hated Su Yu the most (after himself), but here is a prince who is not only loved by his family but looks Iike him? And can use magic? And is nice??? Mu Quingge is definitely going to leave him for Xiao Lin. (Hatred/jealousy calms down a bit when he learns Xiao Lin is in love with someone else)

Zhuo Yichen, Fangs of Fortune vs. Gong Yuanzhi, My Journey to You

Feeling: Best Second Best Brothers Forever

They're both sad little orphans with brother obsessions. Zhuo Yichen has a proven ability to tolerate any personality as long as it's roughly on the side of good. Gong Yuanzhi would need some time to adjust to having two brothers that he would die for, but I'm convinced it would happen eventually. The doppelganger thing would be fine after ZYC checks to make sure GYZ isn't a shapeshifter.

Orchid, Love Between Fairy and Devil vs. Yun Weishan My Journey to You

Feeling: Enemies to sisters

This is kind of cheating because Yun Weishan starts as a villain, but Orchid is as competent at melting cold-hearted villains as Gong Ziyu. She'll be so excited for a friend (who cares that they look alike!) and YWS cannot resist a cute little sister. They are both so desperate to be loved.

Xie Wei Story of Kunning Palace vs. Chang Heng of Love Between Fairy and Devil

(I found a picture of Chang Heng looking pissed off in front of a qin so maybe these are actually the same personality and same character. Lol, no, joking)

Feeling: the fairy monarchy is corrupt and has betrayed the trust of the people, therefore it must be overthrown

Xie Wei learns that the king of fairies allowed one of his subjects to be thrown into eternal prison (Orchid) and he is pissed off, it reminds him too much of his childhood trauma. The innocent should not be sacrificed. He begins to plot against the corrupt. Chang Heng has been a loyal subject for a long time, he's the God of War, but Xie Wei makes some persuasive arguments about how Orchid saved his life and therefore he owes her eternal plotting and perhaps some murder... The look-alike thing only matters in that it allows them to confuse people and carry out complicated plans

*I am being generous with same alignment, but if the show generally has them on the side of good.

**I can only do shows I've watched and characters that are really different. Maybe I'll add to this as I do more.

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 @lemonduckisnowawake

#too fun to not share

I love figuring out how to summarize my Cdramas for my friends in the most deranged way possible.

Area woman realizes her aro/ace bestie actually thinks they've been dating the last 30,000 years. When she gets a boyfriend, her bestie reacts in a totally normal and rational manner...by turning everyone into a demon.

2. A white ape and tree demon break up so badly that they kill most of the cast, nearly annihilate two realms, and then fling themselves into self-sacrifice in the most dramatic way possible. Many trees were harmed.

3. STEM goddess dabbles in cult deprogramming and love with mixed results.

4. Sunshine woman falls for grumpy master, who is still obsessively pining for his deceased master, who has reincarnated into...the sunshine woman! She just didn't fully ripen in her fruit phase. They go forth and multiply. The tree was not harmed.

5. Woman travels back to her childhood to prevent her boyfriend from turning into a sexy silver fox.

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 bc i know you need more lists loll

@lemonduckisnowawake all of these are on YouTube with Eng subs except for FoF and maybe The Myth last I checked but I don't know if the region thing applies

fyi - except for FoF, the others have older cdrama visuals (which may need some time getting used to if one's been watching the new cdramas)

~

my order of priority for this one is: Fang of Fortune, Rise of Phoenixes OR Story of Minglan, then the rest... (FoF is the shortest of the lot. the others are epically longgggg)

(maybe impossible but hopefully fun?) Question for you if you're ever up for it!

What are your top 5 cdramas of all time? Bonus points for why.

I almost said top 3 but that felt too cruel lol

It's fun!

Here is my list, no order except Minglan is always n1.

The Story of Minglan (2018-2019)

My n1. cdrama is the amazing, too short at 73 eps, The Story of Minglan, a sort of Elizabeth Gaskell meets period China.

It follows three interconnected upper-class families, but more specifically, it is about Sheng Minglan, a concubine-born daughter of a minister and Gu Tingye, the oldest, legitimate, and hated by his family son of a Marquess. Their narratives run largely parallel for the first half of the story and such is the genius of this drama that I, the ultimate romance junkie, did not mind that.

Minglan is a rarity in dramaworld - she is fiercely smart, very collected and emotionally detached. Life in the troubled Sheng household taught her to survive and to hide her feelings and talents. Tingye is a big cdrama love. Abused and reviled by his household where he can do no right (the Marquess hated having to marry his merchant mother for money and has displaced that hate on her son), Tingye manages to keep his warm heart but acquires the ability to go his own way. Both of the protagonists are wonderful and smart and magnetic and rootable for separately, but when they get together, the sparks go off the charts and they become my n1 cdrama OTP of all time. A lot of the story is about family battles, women’s world dilemmas and relationship (of all sorts) interactions. There is also politics and battles, but the true charm of this drama are the mundane details of the world and the fully-fleshed out people who inhabit it. If you watch only one cdrama in your life, make it this one.   

Novoland Eagle Flag (2019)

There might be one or two cdramas I love more, but none that resonates more for me on a personal level. A grim epic with a sprawling cast and amazing sets (money was SPENT on this one), its strength is its theme of the meaning being not in victory but in the fight, of staying true to what you believe despite (or because) the horrors of the world. It's EVERYTHING.

The cast is huge, but it centers around three protagonists - Asule Pasuer, a nomadic crown prince sent as hostage to the civilized yet even more bloody world of the plains, Yu Ran - a full of life princess in exile of the winged people, and Ji Ye - an amazing fighter brought in the gutter. The three become closest friends and we follow them separately and together. There are multiple OTPs, epic battles, clever plots, but at its heart it's a character study. Asule is a pacifist berserker (it makes sense), Yu Ran insists on joy as her shield, and Ji Ye yearns for recognition and status, and the way the world fulfills or warps them is fascinating.

The Rebel Princess/Monarch Industry (2021)

Gorgeously filmed, impeccably acted, and solidly written (where censorship didn’t come for them), this is such an emotional and visual feast and Awu and Xiao Qi are the best OTP I’ve ever seen in dramas (at least for my specific preferences) and feel real.

If you want to see lavish sets populated by smart, fierce, ADULT characters, this one is for you. If you have a competency kink, this one is for you. If you like cinematic-looking epics, this one is for you. If you like a smart, fierce heroine who is also a believably a period aristocratic woman, this one is for you. If you like dysfunctional families and interesting supporting characters, this one is for you. If you like a hero who redefines calm, deadly, and smart yet feels like a real breathing human being, this one is for you. If you like arranged marriage turns to love, this one is for you. If you like amazing OTP which, once they decide to be all in, never waiver from each other, this one is for you. If you are into couples showing affection in a warm way rarely seen in a period cdrama, this one is for you. If you like hot, adult men and hot, adult women, this one is for you.

Fangs of Fortune (2024)

I have rarely seen a drama that speaks to me so personally, but it is also narratively perfect, emotionally devastating, with impeccable acting, complex characters and visuals that are beyond stunning. This is an emotional and visual feast, with such incredible characters, interesting explorations of fantasy and mortality and morality and what makes life worth living. It is also the most eye popping drama I've ever watched as well as throwing me back into what it's like to be immersed into an amazing fantasy book as a kid and the characters and the relationships and the themes sing to me. A miracle.

Joy of Life (2019, 2024)

This is a masterpiece. The first season was perfect and somehow the second is even more perfect. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, the cast is still impeccable and Zhang Ruoyun gives a completely jawdropping performance as the focus of all the madness Fan Xian. It really is the rare drama that lives up to the hype.

The Myth (2010)

For the longest time, this was my favorite cdrama, to be replaced only by Minglan. It starts out funny and ends up tearing out your heart. This is the only time in my drama watching experience I cried so hard I threw up. The story is about two accidental time-travelers - a photographer and a cook - who end up in Qin Dynasty China. And from then on it’s about how that cruel, horrifying world takes two perfectly normal men and by wracking their very souls turns one into a hero and the other into a monster. To me, this is Hu Ge’s best performance and as you see his protagonist desperately try to hold on to his humanity and his love in a world that is doing its best to destroy it, I dare you not to cry like a baby. His character is my ultimate cdrama crush.

The Rise of Phoenixes (2018)

Like dramas to destroy you? Come right in. A story about a disfavored prince and a lost daughter of a previous dynasty, this is smart, gorgeous, incredibly acted and is going to wreck you. The schemes and the intensity and the yearning and the....

Yeah, I realize it's seven, whatever. :P

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73 This drama is ridiculously amazing in how achingly beautiful it is....

“Were you sent by my dad to take care of me?”

“No. I volunteered.”

Help. I’ll cryy

[purplehyacinthsimp]

i think i never grew out of my Scarlet Pimpernel and Phantom of the Opera phase lolll

Love in the Clouds is the one with Lu Yu Xiao and Neo Hou ;) (4th) @winterlark-c73

also tag @lemonduckisnowawake

One of these masks is not like the other, one of these masks does not belong!!!

Love in Pavilion clearly missed the sexy mask memo...

[purplehyacinthsimp]

[purplehyacinthsimp]

@winterlark-c73

I found Wang Chu Ran - the FL actress - not as interesting as I think should have in the ARE YOU THE ONE cdrama with Zhang Wan Yi. But then, it's ZWY I'm talking about (his expressions are SO good in it; and currently love his drama RISE OF NING but with Ren Mi as the FL). And also it could have been more like the director/writer not keeping the plot as interesting? xDD

But. Hopefully I'll like her in this drama will be better! I also look forward to HIDDEN SHADOW (by the same creators of MJTY and FoF), which she will also be leading.

@lemonduckisnowawake for the visuals ;) ;)

how dare you, 成何體統. [ TRAILER ]