#i also know so many good asian dramas across a variety of genres so if youre looking for something i probably have a recommendation for you

[lurkingshan]

How many non-BLs do you watch in general, and why is it good to mix up your media intake?

Look at you forcing me to admit I watch more than you on main. As you know, the answer is: a lot. You don’t become a drama scholar by slacking!

My MDL right now says I’ve completed about 350 dramas, and that’s across a wide variety of Asian media. I watch stuff from Korea, Japan, Thailand, and China very regularly, as well as whatever I can find from Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam (some of this isn’t even tracked on MDL so my total watch number is always higher than whatever it says). I also watch Western media but not nearly as much. By my count I’ve watched about 85 dramas this year, and the bl to not-bl split is about 50/50.

I try to watch at least a few bls live week to week at any given time for fandom participation reasons, because it’s fun to take part in the discourse. And I’m always also working through a long backlog of non-bl dramas, which I binge one at a time (unlike some people who try to simultaneously watch 20 things one episode at a time, ahem). And I do think the variety is important for a number of reasons.

I am truly a lover of stories, and I always want another one. I usually also have a book going on top of my drama viewing.

I’m analytical by nature and very interested in narrative structure, characterization, plotting and pacing, and all the other components of good storytelling. You learn these things best by studying and observing what works and what doesn’t in the media you consume.

Watching dramas from different countries gives you the chance to learn about a variety of cultures and draw connections between cultural norms and values, how stories get told, and how each industry interacts with audiences both domestic and international.

Having a well-balanced media diet also affords you the opportunity to learn about differences between cultures and how these countries’ media speaks to and influences each other.

Fiction is a great way to process your emotions and get to know yourself. Varying the genre, style, and tone on your watch list opens your mind to so much creativity and allows you to find affinity and connection with things you didn’t even know you liked. If you’re not willing to venture out of your usual patterns and safe zones, you may never know yourself entirely.

Consuming too much of any one thing is bad for your brain. If you only watch one kind of story over and over again, you will lack perspective and capacity for critical analysis, because you lose touch with the wider context of the media landscape. Comparative analysis keeps you sharp and helps you learn.

To put it simply: There’s a great wide world of stories out there, and I want to see and learn from them all.

[iguessitsjustme]

My Top 10 Non-BL Asian Dramas

Believe it or not, I do watch my fair number of Asian dramas that are not BL. I just tend to binge them instead of watching week to week so I typically don’t post about them. So here is a list of my top 10 favorites that no one asked for.

(Since this is a list of non-BL shows, I did not include bromances like Devil Judge, Guardian, or Ghost Doctor on this list or it would be a very different list)

10. The King’s Avatar - Netflix - I did not know that I could like a show about esports until I watched this show. There are some things that I wasn’t particularly a fan of, but I mostly loved it. There was no romance to be seen. Just a bunch of people battling it out in video games and the drama actually had me on the edge of my seat.

9. Tale of the Nine-Tailed - Viki - I did not care for the romance in the story one bit which is unfortunate since it’s a large part of the show, BUT despite the romance not being to my taste, I still loved the characters. And of course I loved Lee Rang. I don’t care if he was evil and almost helped bring about the end of the world, he deserved better and I’m still mad at the ending he got.

8. Love O2O - Netflix - This show is probably the most out of place on this list but it is probably my favorite het romance. Bonus censored BL in there which I wish they could have gone more in depth with, but they did what they could. I love Xiao Nai and Weiwei’s relationship. They constantly communicate with each other and she was never once made out to be dumb because he was supposed to be the smart, perfect one. One of my favorite scenes is actually his friends hacking the school’s system to show the dumb gossip mill her report card because she is just as smart. The friendships are great too. The only thing I don’t like is that Erxi deserved way better than Cao Guang. He sucked the entire show and didn’t get any better. Erxi was only ever adorable and I will fight every single person that called her ugly.

7. While You Were Sleeping - Viki - This whole show was just an experience. And it was such an interesting concept. I love that the love triangle never even mattered but I hope Han Woo Tak finds someone one day because damn if he wasn’t the best character. Also this show made me very glad that I don’t have prophetic dreams. The romance definitely plays a huge part in this, so if you don’t like het romances than it’s not for you. But both characters are so cute and chaotic and a tiny bit unhinged and I would definitely recommend it. Plus the little found family they develop is wonderful.

6. The Gifted - Youtube - This is another show with such an interesting concept. I love the whole show a lot. It feels hard to talk about without spoiling everything, but I do need it stated that Wave is my favorite character. He was my favorite from the beginning all the way until the end. He’s the best, the smartest, and if you know me, you know I love the asshole characters. But a very specific brand of asshole and he fits it.

5. My Name - Netflix - This show is...fucked up. But I loved it. Especially the end. Sometimes, I just want to see a woman go on a one-woman rampage and murder everyone and everything. Anyway, pissing her off, then training her to fight, then extra special pissing her off might not have been the best move. This show is graphic and extremely dark. Do not watch this show unless you are 100% sure you can handle it and handle the violence.

4. The Uncanny Counter - I love a good fantasy element in my shows. I love that his hair went crazy for some reason. I love a disabled character, even though that went away when he got his powers. (minor spoiler) I love that when he loses his powers, and he’s disabled again, I love that he doesn’t forget how to fight. I love the found family and how they protect each other. I love eccentric billionaire man who is also a superhero. I just loved everything about this show tbh. Might be time for a rewatch.

3. Tomorrow - Netflix - This show just finished recently and I loved it. It also deals with heavier topics and it’s definitely not for everyone. This show is about a grim reaper trying to stop people from committing suicide so keep that in mind before going in. She is blunt and brutal but she says the things that people need to hear. And there are times when this show is very, horrifically sad. It almost made me cry (which if you know me, is impressive). Bonus for this show is that the main character, Joon Woong was also in Click You Heart which is weirdly how I became friends with one of my best friends in the world. Also, I don’t know how alone I am in this but I 100% ship Joon Woong with Ryung Goo. Those two love each other in their weird little way and no one will convince me otherwise.

2. Law School - Netflix - This show reminded me a lot of Devil Judge actually. Minus the bromance. But it’s got corrupt politicians, and one man who is facing it all. The music in this show is phenomenal and the characters are fantastic. There’s definitely a mystery over who murdered the teacher and the fact that their teacher is using himself and the fact that he is the number one suspect in order to teach his students is fantastic. I love how hardworking Kang Sol A is. They told us from the beginning that she had less natural intelligence than her peers. But she worked so hard and she cared so much and I love that the smartest student went out of his way to help her. And he was so proud every time she figured something out. Anyway if you liked Devil Judge, you would probably like this show as well.

1. Vincenzo - Netflix - This show is definitely not made for everyone but it was made more me. It was the exact right balance of absurd, chaotic humor and dark, gritty violence. The villains of the show think they’re so much smarter than they actually are and sometimes I just want to watch a show where the protagonist is constantly winning. Plus I may or may not be a little in love with Cha Young. If you ever want to talk about this show, I am literally always willing to talk about it nonstop. I can talk your ears off.

Let me tell you, choosing just 10 shows was so hard. I love so many. And across so many different genres. Most of the shows on this list ended up being Korean dramas, cause honestly, those tend to have the most violence and I love a good violent show.

[alienahellsparkle]

❦ List fandoms of my heart: №3 (the last).

✯ Kuroshitsuji (Dark Butler)

This anime is my guide to the world of anime, my first of all, and the first that I liked. In addition, I have been watching it since I was 13 (omg, how old I am..).

I can say, from it I learned what anime is. It is one of my favorites and one of those that I can revisit (P.S .: And I'm still waiting for the new season or new full-length films, although no one said anything or promised anything about it).

The advantages of this anime are - interesting plots, 19th century setting mixed with the supernatural, soundtracks and a huge number of different characters for every taste. As I can tell, everyone will find their ideal 2D kun or chan here.

I could single out a lot of cool characters, but I'm afraid they could be spoilers too, so I'll just mention a few of my personal favorites.

Sebastian is a demon butler and another protagonist besides Ciel. A jack of all trades, a cool killer and one of the most real handsome men who stole many hearts from the female audience, who is in many similar tops and sometimes even has leading positions. I can say that he was my very first anime - love.

Prince Soma is an Indian prince. I don't know how many fans he has, but I think not as many as Sebastian and Ciel. Actually, Soma is the one who attracted me much more and my love for Sebastian did not last forever. This is because Soma, in addition to being beautiful and Indian (which was important to me as a lover of Bollywood films and music, and also interested in Indian culture), has a sweet and good personality. Three combos!

Madame Red is a bright woman with a difficult fate. I guess there isn't much more to say here (spoilers, spoilers, damn it).

Pluto is a devilish dog. Cutie, charming, with one cool ability and mine another anime-love (those who know this character and his unusual ability - yes - yes, I know it's weird to fall in love with characters like him).

As I said, the soundtracks are wonderful - some of the tunes have some classic notes in them, and also, the opening can be recognized from a thousand and it is easy to remember which anime it belongs to.

Also, there are elements of detective and crime, which also adds its own special shades and makes this anime even more interesting and aesthetically pleasing.

I look forward to continuing with it and begin to show interest in anime of a similar genre and setting in one (I found something similar, for example, as "House of Shadows").

✯ Dame x Prince 

Another anime that became my find and I can watch it many times. I liked it so much that after I found it (in 2018 it was a spring novelty), I watched almost all the episodes in one gulp and only later realized that it ends too quickly, because I could not stop in time.

This anime contains everything that I love about the reverse - harems - beautiful drawing, bright colors, romance, elements of comedy and fantasy, attractive male characters and not a stupid main character who can be respected.

We can say that Ani is one of the few normal owners of a harem, but she can be considered a diamond among them. She is encouraged by her courage and the fact that she is not embarrassed when guys compliment her or try to flirt (I could say more about her, but these will be spoilers).

Despite the fact that here the male characters are clichéd, for example - a kind cutie, handsome womanizer, narcissistic rude and so on, they look cool and interesting to watch, it's a pity that we will never know which of them Ani chose in the end.

In addition, there is one more plus in the form of a good plot, after which it helps some characters to reveal themselves.

Even if many people do not always take girly harem animes well and consider them worthless and empty, just to please teenage girls with cute romance in a colorful wrapper, this anime genre also deserves a place to be. Who knows, maybe soon the reverse - harems will evolve even more, at least there are already some anime-worthy options. Everything has its fans..

In general, this is a good and positive anime that can bring more colors to life. And I still hope for season 2.. 

✯ Nanbaka

When you watch a video on the topic: "Guess the gender of anime characters", you will not think that in this way you will be able to discover a new anime. That's how I found out about Nanbaka, after which I watched the first season in a couple of days.

I associate this anime with the beginning of July 2018 and the dairy drinks Twix, Milky Way and Snickers, which at that time I was finally able to taste.

Nanbaka has several advantages - a cool variety of characters, an element of comedy, and an equally vibrant color scheme. Also, I noticed that all characters have their own special difference - they all have nails painted in a different color and have small fangs.

Despite the fact that there is no romance here and the plot is built around a prison theme, Nanbaka is quite interesting to watch, and in some episodes there are elements of drama and seriousness. However, if the first season is more comical situations, then the second season is a little more serious, at least there are more problems that the heroes solve.

Of the characters, there are not only bisonens and heroes with simple qualities including kindness, cuteness, foolishness, signs of a womanizer, hot temper and severity, but there are also unexpected specimens, such as several LGBTQ characters and even antagonists.

Unfortunately, Nanbaka is not a very popular fandom and most likely there will never be a third season... But this is another solid anime that can be endlessly watched and is one of those that drags on from the first episodes.

✯ Romance Club

This visual novel often came across to me in YouTube recommendations, in the form of walkthroughs and analysis of Easter eggs from it.

At first, I was not very interested in this, and from the video, my first impression was that this is just an incomprehensible game with characters similar to cardboard figures, but for some reason it became very popular and discussed on social networks.

After some time, I still began to watch the walkthroughs and more or less began to understand what the whole highlight of the game is, and after that, I began to play myself, though at the beginning, then, I had only a plan to while away the rest of summer time until autumn, but I didn’t notice how I began to be drawn into the RC and it became not just a game for one time, it became a habit that is difficult to get rid of.

Now, it's not just a bunch of pretty cardboard character figurines and a joke that RC is a mix of films like "50 Shades of Gray" and "Twilight", made for teenage girls.

Romance Club is - characters for every taste, from whites and Europeans, to Hispanics and Asians, both boys and girls. LGBTQ relationships have not been forgotten here either.

Various stories with any setting - vampires + werewolves, pirates, aliens, 19th-18th century, royal setting, movie stars and fame, Scandinavian mythology, ancient Greek mythology, sea and beach setting, detectives and crime, ancient Japan (geisha and samurai) , angels and demons, everyday life and much more, but the creators continue to delight us with new stories to this day, and I think we still have a lot to see.

Beautiful graphics and drawing of characters, cool design of clothes, and also, here you can learn how to beautifully compose texts and sentences (let's say this can be useful for the writing sphere), since some stories contain wonderful descriptions of some scenes and comparisons of concepts (example. "Stars as luminous points," and the like).

But besides romance, other important topics can be revealed here, such as the concept of friendship, a hard life due to many problems, courage and self-confidence, and sometimes even 18+ topics can be touched upon. In addition, some stories have instructive facts, for example, something about the history of Turkey during the Ottoman Empire. 

Romance Club is scientifically enlightening!

Despite the fact that I refused to play games, since they take a lot of time, during which you can do a bunch of other useful things, RC is the only game (besides the Sims) on which I do not regret wasting my time and it is always interesting to watch new stories and how the old ones will end.

(P.S.: 

here is part 1 https://lenahellsparkle.tumblr.com/post/650656683336548352/list-fandoms-of-my-heart-1

part 2 https://lenahellsparkle.tumblr.com/post/655103141583470593/list-fandoms-of-my-heart-2)

[kewltie]

How do you come up with so many new ideas for stories? I feel like I’m constantly stumped and stuck with cliches (and while those are fun and I absolutely love them) I can never really think of something to make it my own? When I see your writing I feel like you’re able to take cliches and make it your own so much it no longer feels like one, I’m always so worried about making a story to similar to another when trying to put a spin on a classic trope, also! Hope youre doing okay during this time

hi anon!!!

such a good question to bring up! for me, personally, inspiration comes really easy bc im really easy. that sounds weird but i basically consume any form of media across various genres that would catch my interest. i read, watch, play (games mostly lol), etc and maintain a variety of interest in like all sort of things so i pull ideas from a lot of diff places. like, i REALLY REALLY love animals and nature documentaries so i like to incorporate that into my stories w/ in the form of post-apocalyptic mermaids au (what happen when majority of humans leave earth and those left behind returns to the oceans bc i watch a fake nature doc about mermaids which are apparently sea ape and how how all live originate in the sea) or plant au (where the earth is living entity and try to take back the planet w overgrown murderous plants and descend into a world of nature taking REVENGE etc). i also really REALLY like watching doc about history of conquered so that influence my writing a lot lol. so yea, i take inspo in all these media i consumed and turn it into something i want to read. so having all these various interests that are all over the place i dont have a problem jumping from one genre to the next and never really get bored! you can see me talking endlessly about the various media i have consumed (i.e shoujo/shounen/yaoi etc manga/webtoon, asian dramas, games, tv shows) and im always open to new ones too!! being open minded to try out things not in my comfort zone was such a huge help for me and now im like ok that sounds cool i’ll try it lol. 

also, i really what i call genre mashing like combining two things that dont usually go together automatically like ??? post apocalyptic mermaids??? the princess bride but steampunk?? OR beauty and the beast au in space?? LIKE all are ideas i have talk huge amount about bc i love putting familiar ideas and throwing it some weird wild settings and just HAVE FUN. if you have something you think been done a millions time before (which is not WRONG AT ALL) just think how you could do it different this time around or look at it in a diff perspective. like, i wrote a hundred arrange marriage royalty au AND I APOLOGETICALLY LOVES THEM and each time im like i already did desert setting so i’ll go for some winter setting this time around; or i’ll make them childhood friends last time, i’ll go for enemies; in other fic i explored theme of duty vs heart, now i want to explore war themes etc so like i dont intentionally try to make it diff but i just think how the story & chars may go if i take on a diff direction and sometimes that little change can have a rippling effect and turn into a whole diff story. so yea, dont be afraid to ask yourself WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF–? bc who knows where it take you! 

this also translate to when im reading fanfics of other ppl and I READ A LOT. LIKE A SHIT TON. if im not writing im usually reading something. when im reading other ppl’s fic i get to see their take on certain tropes or how they address certain that i may really like a lot and i want to tackle it on my own but that also lead to if i run into a branch in the story where the author does it certain way but i think myself hmm…. what if this happen the other way and THAT GIVES ME IDEA. like, dont let hold yourself back from reading other fanfics bc you’re afraid you get similar ideas when the whole of fandom is about inspiring each other. inspiration =/= carbon copy. i openly talked about my ideas all the time and not possessive about it bc sometimes ppl would ask me if they can write something base of it and i 99%  say yea go ahead bc the way they write it would be diff from how i write it even though it’s the same concept, how i write the chars & the themes may be diff from how they view it. you can HAVE THE SAME IDEA BUT DIFF EXECUTION. that’s the most important part!!! it is not plagiarizing bc seeding an idea is like part of fandom and it becomes trend a lot the way ABO gets around the fandom like wildfire lmao. 

last but not least, be THE FIC YOU WANT TO READ. this is why you usually see me starting a conversation w a i really, really LOVE/LIKE etc and ramble away about an idea and how it’ll go. a lot of my stories are a reflection of my interests like how im always talking endlessly about kingdoms, war, and rulers and conquerors bc im just really fascinated by it lmao /o. and there’s also all those single parents fic i wrote bc i deeply empathized with it due my childhood being raised by a single mother. and there are times when things that matter to me i put in my stories, like im hitting my 30s soon and im still single. i think i dont mind being like that but i want to have children so how would that work out?? things that plague me in real life i address in fics in term of surrogacy & sperm donation bc it’s something i consider about wanting a family when you’re single and dont have a partner. every fic or idea i have ever written or talk about you can see my fingerprints all over it bc they’re things i deeply, truly care and am interest about that i want IT TO EXIST IN THE WORLD so i write it out. i algo get really annoyed when im there’s a trend in fandom to take a trope in certain direction and i just dont like it lmao (i.e. villain!deku im more focus on izuku getting his redemption and how & yandere au  WHEN THEY ARE EQUALLY CRAZY ABOUT EACH OTHER) so i put my frustration and complaint into a fic. you can see this clearly in a lot of my ABO fics where i tend to put omegas often on top bc that’s just my particular taste. i dont try to buckle trend just to be contrary but i do it when my taste doesn’t match theirs and ya know be the fic you see in the world basically lol. just bc something is popular by the mass doesn’t mean you have to follow it even IF YOU THINK YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO LIKE IT, let assure you’re wrong. there will always be someone who taste clicks with yours OR you can persuade them just by writing a kickass fic and just stand by what they wrote. sometimes, i find myself falling in love with a story i would never consider reading at all bc i dont like the trope or themes just bc the writing is v v v good or the writer CLEARLY LOVE WHAT THEY WROTE THAT THEY PUT THEIR HEART AND SOUL INTO IT and i can see it in their writing and im swayed. so yea, don’t think of putting a new spin on old cliche but try to think of as making it your own by doing it how you WOULD GO AT IT. how would you write the million abo fic? what do you like to see? HISTORICAL, SCIFI, FANTASY? how would you categorized ABO?? go for classic alphas rules society and omegas are lower class? or do the total opposite?? like DON’T FORCE yourself to be diff, just let it come to you and im sure you’ll be able to make it your own bc look there’s like a million fics on ao3 AND EVEN MORE THAN MILLION original novels in real life. you’re not going to invent anything new that had never seen before so dont try be diff but be yourself and soon you’ve have something that is solely your owns and nobody else and that’s the best advice i can give. 

a;sjdf;as sorry this is such a incoherent mess but i LOVE, LOVE cliches just as much as i like trope breaking them and it doesnt matter where you fall on the line as long as you can enjoy what you create that’s all that matter! i hope whatever i said help you out a little and lighten your worry just a bit. and thanks for the question bc it really is intrestingl !!!!! and i hope you’re staying safe and please take care bc im doing ok for now lol!!