#i know i'm supposed to watch chinese drama

[twig-tea]

Hi!

So Cherry Magic Thailand was amazing. Which really surprised me. I still have reservations about the next jbl adaptations by Thailand, but I guess we'll see. Anyway, because of that I have been thinking about this.

Which existing series do you think could benefit from an adaptation by a different country? That could maybe give the story a different perspective or simply because they would have different resources? Thanks

Rose💜

Thank you so much for this ask, Rose, and apologies for being so slow to answer!

The first obvious answer to this is anything from the censored era of Chinese BL being picked up by a different country. We're already seeing the benefits of that in Taiwan's adaptation of DaGe in Unknown the series, which from what I've been told is not only going to allow some intense kisses (possibly, if the actors aren't trolling us, more explicit sex scenes than are actually in the original Priest novel, though I'm not going to assume we're getting anything until I see it), but also with changes like a reduction in the homophobia of characters. Recently they announced SaYe/Chasing the Light was optioned for a film version outside of mainland China, so I'm now hopeful some of the stuff that was shelved is going to get made after all, and maybe with less censorship. That being said, a whole list of just censored dramas that were based on BL novels would be boring. So instead I'm considering what shows did I like but wanted to see done again in a different way, and which country would handle the themes and style of the original in a way that would be fun to watch?

I'm thinking about Love Stage!!! Which was a Japanese manga adaptation with a version from both Japan and Thailand, and My Dead Gangster Oppa which was adapted from a Korean webtoon, and Why R U Korea adapted from the Thai show, and how the productions in the different countries would change what we get. So, I'll be basing my answer on those as well as CMT you referenced.

[Sidenote: originally I was going to say Thailand should adapt Man Who Defies the World of BL except with Series-Y tropes and then realized that's exactly what Why R U was supposed to be in the first place--it would be neat to see a Korean version of this storyline with webtoon tropes (we kind of got that with Our Dating Sim but they went with dating game tropes instead). ANYWAY that's not really an adaptation so I'm not including it below, but putting it into the universe.]

Enough waffling, let's go!

Twig's Foreign Adaptation Wish List

Taiwanese adaptation of 2gether

Hear me out. If we're going to see this story again, I want better reasons for needing to fake date and better chemistry once they're actually dating, and I can imagine Taiwan adding in the angst and chemistry to make this show work through to the end. Taiwan would also have no problem keeping Sarawat's obsession with Tine's pecs in the storyline (critical inclusion, imho), and we know Taiwan loves a "they met before and this is fate" plot so I think this would work well. Switching Sarawat's obsession with Scrubb to something else would be a really interesting cultural shift and would help ground the series in the adaptation country.

Korean adaptation of I Can Hear the Sunspot / Silhouette of Your Voice

@absolutebl has said this before and they're right, this is the one JBL manga adaptation that I'd love to see it done again as a series with enough time to fully handle the character development that happens in the manga. NGL in my heart of hearts I'd want Japan to take another crack at it, but for this game I'll say Korea. I know Korea has a few good disability narratives (thinking of the love for Twinkling Watermelon I've heard about recently) so I think they could do a good job. Korean media also handles silence well and that's pretty critical for this one; they could also do some interesting things to illustrate the changes in the main character's hearing.

Japanese adaptation of Love Sick

I am envisioning a reverse Cherry Magic scenario, in which the foreign adaptation follows the written source material better than the domestic adaptation did, and then adds their own flair. Now take this with a grain of salt because I haven't read the novel, but my understanding is that the original Thai novel is about Pun and Noh as the main characters with the music club all there but the dramatic side heterosexual storylines are not nearly as front and center, and they were added to pad out the show because folks weren't sure how a BL series would land. I know there is already a Thai remake but let's pretend that's not happening. Japan handles earnest and sweet school-aged first loves well, and can handle the goofiness required of the Noh character, and deeply understands and portrays found family core friendships well, and I bet a Japanese production would do a great job with that core storyline. We don't get a lot of larger friend groups in Japanese BL and I want to see a Japanese production handle that. The one thing that gave me hesitation about this was the importance of the busking subplot and I don't think busking is a big thing in Japan the way it is in Thailand and Korea but that could be another opportunity for making it feel more grounded in the adapting country so I'm keeping it as-is.

Thai adaptation of Boyband Love

I'm going to steal the idea that I've seen @lurkingshan @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup mention before and riff of it to say that Daou and Offroad should be in a boyband BL; this is a main reason why I want a Thai remake of the Filipino series Boyband Love [which I don't actually recommend but, fun fact, had an out gay couple starring in it but they were not paired together in the show--Gus, who plays the lead Danny, has 2 kids with Louie who plays the side character Rico]. Thailand is clearly desperate to do a boyband BL so that they can make money off the concerts; Boyband Love as a story is already calibrated to be cheap to make because it's about a band getting ready to debut, and Thailand can scale it up from the original show. It's also no longer a period of COVID restrictions so crowds can be brought in. The storyline is pretty much what I would want of a Boyband BL: rivals within a band to lovers, pining amongst band members, underwater kiss, industry drama, and (spoilers for a 2020 series) the decision to essentially do BGP but keep their relationship secret. Thailand would have fun with that, I think. And they can add a little more heat, it's very important to me that something happens in the practice room pls and thank you.

Japanese adaptation of Middleman's Love

Japan gets two because they can do this type of comedy so well, and I really liked the bones of the Thai version so I'd love to see it done again. Japan can also handle trauma narratives so if they wanted to do both Bed Friend and Middleman Love they would be able to handle it. Korea is really good at balancing humour and trauma, but Japan is so good at losers who don't think they deserve love, and also excellent at pining, so I'm giving this one to Japan.

Korean adaptation of Triage

We're getting Korea twice because I haven't seen Korea do much in the way of genre BL yet, and while I admit this may be slightly influenced by me watching Hospital Playlist right now, Korea can handle the fast-paced ER scenes that are throughout this show, as well as the mix of drama and comedy. I'd love to see a more highly produced version of this show, and I know Korea can handle this kind of time loop shenanigans and heavenly spirits helping the protagonist along from kdramas. I liked the original a lot but I'd love to see it done again a little more tightly!

Bonus nonsense one: Taiwanese version of Calculating Love

This one is literally just for me. Ok listen I know I'm the only one who likes this show, and that's fine, it doesn't actually deserve attention. And it's so small that it would never be adapted. But I loved this dorky little short about nerds flirting with calculus and I want more. Taiwan is fantastic at dorks falling in love narratives, and so many of the HIStory series were short school BL, so I think they'd do an excellent job tightening up the story in the back half which got a bit meander-y and keeping the heat that's already there.

Thank you again for the really fun ask, Rose! 💕

[deadsince1973]

Poll Below

So, I saw someone say yesterday that "most people skim watch Chinese dramas", and that honestly blew my mind. If it has subtitles, I have to watch it and focus on it.

But then several thoughts occurred to me. You see, right now, my friend and I are watching The Longest Promise and The Screen Foxes. To us, The Longest Promise is painfully slow. We thought it was a little slower than most Chinese dramas, but most Chinese dramas are a little bit slow, and The Longest Promise actually feels much slower to us because we hate the main character and, like, half the story decisions so much, we thought. (Sorry, no offense to Longest Promise fans.) We thought that if we actually liked the main character and were invested in her story, the way the show dilly-dallied on every one of her scenes - having her say the same things over and over again, showing a dozen different angles on some magical moment in her life, having her express feelings about something that happened in a previous episode that she had made very clear at the time - would be enjoyable. Meanwhile, before we started The Screen Foxes, I read three different reviews that said the plot moved lightning-fast, bounced all over the place, and didn't make any sense. And ... none of that is true (so far). The plot moves at a normal pace. A thing happens, and then, something else happens as a consequence. There ARE several different interconnected story threads, and we do bounce back and forth between them, but it all makes sense. And last night, it hit me that maybe The Longest Promise is so slow because you're supposed to "skim watch" it. Certainly, if you dip in and out, you can follow the plot very easily. Scenes are long enough that it's hard to miss a whole one if you're checking back in frequently, repetitive enough that you can understand the point of the scene even if you miss three-quarters of it, and the same points are repeated in multiple scenes, so there are very few details you can miss even if you don't watch it too closely. (Plus, the plot is predictable enough that it's easy to follow.) Meanwhile, because The Screen Foxes doesn't dawdle on any points, if you're not actually sitting down and watching, it must seem chaotic and nonsensical. Why are they fighting this green monster now? Wasn't the show about painting a minute ago? The green monster is being used by a Taoist to body-guard a rich family. The Taoist is actually the one who made the family rich. Why? That's the mystery we need to find out. In the meantime, this family used its wealth to cheat in the painting contest from the last episode, so fighting their body guard is advancing that painting plotline too. But if you looked away from the screen during the two minutes where they were explaining all that, then yeah, it would be super confusing why this show just went from a painting contest to a demon fight.

If Chinese dramas are MEANT to be watched in the background, and that's the reason so many of them are so long and slow, then, honestly, my whole worldview has been changed.

So, TLDR: I have to know now: DO most people actually "skim watch" Chinese dramas????

[cinnamonest]

When I first heard Cyno's title from leaks, as a good little simp, I went to investigate if a Mahamatra is something real.

Turns out, it is not only real, with being basically a morality police, but there's a type of Mahamatras whose duty is keeping tabs on women or something like that!

Imagine Cyno being also tasked as the keeper of the few women from Sumeru. He would, probably not intentionally, but terrify his darling by telling her how lucky she is to end up under his care. He treats the girls fairly, but once they are out of his watch to be distributed? He has seen the stuff men do to them. So stop complaining and be grateful for what he gives you! He actually treats you with decency.

(Fun fact! I had this entire thing already written and then windows auto-updated at some point while I was in urgent care bc I came home to it restarting and didn't save a temp recovery file in the appdata files :))))))

So I read a short entry about it, it seems like the exact responsibilities varied from subculture and households and communities, some of them over the general populace/common prostitutes but some of them were like a supervisor/babysitter + bodyguard combo to wealthier concubines and the like which is very :))))) and it also kinda reminds me of all the historical Chinese dramas where they have eunuchs that would guard emperor's wives and the like? And how a lot of cultures/eras within certain cultures had like "common prostitutes" and then like more elite brothels specifically for the wealthy/nobility/royalty that were often cared for, and some men would be appointed to watch over prostitutes and harems and the like

Sooooo I got to thinking of like a "more accurate to the time period the game is roughly based on" AU running with a similar idea (although of course I'm still wayyyyy deviating from historical accuracy entirely bc that makes things more fun)

//prostitute/concubine sort of darling, vaguely sexist stuff in a historical sort of way and heavily gendered, mentions of eunuchs because y'know historical AU stuff

---------------

Cyno being appointed to watch over and enforce rules on elite courtesans... Usually, these positions are only available to eunuchs, but some exceptions can be made for individuals who have been deemed worthy of the utmost trust, usually after proving themselves over the course of time. Thankfully, that's the classification he falls into... the notion of eunuchs makes him shudder to think about.

His dependableness, stoicism and clear self-control have earned him the trust of those in positions of authorities, and thus, he was assigned to this role. His observation skills and ability to keep tabs on more than one thing at once also helped. There's a few other such guards that take care of the lot of you as a whole, and that's part of his job as well, but he's the one personally assigned to you whenever you wish to go off on your own from the others, or into the public sphere.

He's not supposed to deny you that option, either, unless explicitly told not to by a superior, or if you want to go somewhere that is unallowed, in which case he is obligated to prohibit you from going. Otherwise, if you want to go somewhere, his job is to accompany you and tend to your whims, silently and stoically unless responding to something you say or speaking to a stranger on your behalf. Which he is expected to do, as you aren't allowed to speak to strangers, instead having him act as an intermediary.

When you go to markets (given a certain allowance of spending money to keep you happy and content), you point to the things you want or tell him what to get, and he does, speaking to merchants on your behalf. If someone approaches you for whatever reason - which is rare, seeing as most people know very well not to do so, especially with his intimidating presence beside you - he will, as he's trained and expected to do, physically step in between you and the other person, acting as a human shield in case someone were to approach you with the intent to attack, as well as a physical reminder of your status, communicating very clearly that the other individual should not be so arrogant as to assume he has any right to speak to you directly. And, of course, so you yourself don't get any ideas about talking to someone outside of the range of individuals you are allowed to speak to. If said individual is just pestering you to try and sell you something or harass you, he'll chase them off, otherwise he'll lean over so you can murmur your replies into his ear, allowing him to repeat it back to the other person.

As with that matter, with plenty of other scenarios, he's not just there to protect you. It's an unspoken condition, but understood nonetheless. He's there to keep an eye on your own behaviors. Your nature means that you can't be trusted to control your impulses or make good decisions, and if you weren't being closely watched, you may very well go off and sleep with someone else at the first opportunity you get. That's why you have him there, to ensure that that doesn't happen, to keep you in line, so to speak. Accompany you everywhere you go, sit in on your conversations with any and all visitors you have. To always know exactly where you are and what you're doing. For the few hours of night, there are guards at the end of the hall that watch the rooms where people are sleeping, but that's the only time he isn't by your side. Well, even then, he's assigned a room directly next to yours, even, to be able to spring up out of bed should you call for him, or if he's needed in any way, if you get sick in the night, and so on. So technically, he never really does leave your side.

Well, except for when one of the elites comes to "visit" you. Happens a few times a day, with the occasional break. Only certain individuals are allowed to do so. That's an important factor in your relationship. You live in a large complex, and only specific nobles and the highest-ranked individuals are allowed to enter your bed.

He's not one of them.

It's yet another class-standing issue. Sure, he may work for elites, he may dedicate his every waking moment to you and the others like you, but it would be considered defiling if he were to actually do anything to you. It's grounds for imprisonment... or worse. Only nobles have that privilege.

In truth, he resents said nobles. They're snobbish, selfish people that see you as an object, rather than a person. Usually cruel and critical towards you, never have anything nice or positive to say, always too busy to spend any time with you except to come to bed at night. It makes him grind his teeth, cover his ears so he doesn't have to hear. Likewise, you're supposed to act as though he couldn't possibly know, even though you both know full well he can hear anything that goes on in your room.

It makes him feel a very negative emotion. Anger? Bitterness? He tells himself it's because he knows they don't value you like you deserve. You've always been such a kind woman... he's seen you show concern and compassion for others, it's endearing. And in truth, while you're still of the weaker, inferior half of humanity, that kindness in and of itself is a very respectable thing... but those men would never appreciate that.

Yes, that's the real source of the anger, he knows that full well, and very quickly loses the ability to convince himself otherwise, after the first few weeks. It's because it feels unfair. They don't appreciate you, don't care for you, don't watch over you, they do nothing for you. He does all of that. He knows you far better. Yet they get to reap what logically should be his rewards.

But he stops that train of thought. "What should be his"? No, that way of thinking is dishonorable and selfish, defies the natural hierarchy of society. People of certain standing have privileges that lower members do not... even though he can't logically answer as to why. They just do. That is what is taught to the masses of the populace - the nobles and royalty deserve their palaces and wealth and feasts while the common man struggles to survive. A birthright bestowed by some higher power or the like. And as long as they have the ability to enforce that way of thinking, he has to accept it too.

And to even think of you in any way other than the purest of thoughts and a detached sense of guardianship, to have anything impure go through his mind, is sinful, filthy, almost a transgression when the thoughts intrude. It's his responsibility to push them away... even if that proves difficult.

No wonder they usually get eunuchs for this position. While the prospect is horrible, and he certainly doesn't envy them for obvious reasons, they do have the one advantage of not having to deal with the same extent of mental torment and temptation that he has to subject himself to. He starts to think he really didn't initially appreciate the trust placed in him enough, not realizing at the time of being appointed just how much willpower it would require.

And you don't make things any easier. To some extent, you're allowed to treat him like he's invisible, not even there. A lot of girls with such guardians do exactly that, pretty much never speaking to said appointed guardian unless needed, essentially going about their lives and acting like they don't even exist unless commanding them to fetch something or take care of some task.

You're rather talkative, though, at least with him. It is a bit surprising at first, albeit endearing. He's used to being seen as a tool, a sort of entity that exists to serve, and has been treated as such in past assignments in moral enforcement and dealing with violators of the society's rules, to the people he always reported to. He had some individual supervising roles before, but of all those jobs he's had in the past, you're the first one that's really... talked to him, for anything more than basic commands.

There's a good reason for that, too. You're not supposed to grow close to him in any capacity. It's not... proper, not right, it's frowned upon. There's no real given rule against it, but it's just one of those things that people don't do, that is understood without ever having to be addressed that you shouldn't. You're in a completely different world, your social role is too far apart from his for him to realistically be directly addressed by you so much.

And, of course, it's risky. People might get the wrong idea. Maybe it's just because you're quite literally trained in seduction and charm, but you always look at him with these half-lidded eyes, a sultry voice, a teasing way of speaking to him. It's basically just second nature to you, it's how you've always been taught to interact with every man you meet, to put on a flirtatiousness and sensuality with every word and every move and every expression.

It drives him up the wall, increasing with each day. The standards and norms of your role don't exactly dress you particularly modestly either, quite the opposite, which doesn't help. And you specifically are always on thin ice, always testing the boundaries, always pushing the limits of how much flirtatiousness can be excused. Perhaps that's why someone like him was assigned to you.

Well, he knows what he has to do. This is part of his job: correcting your behaviors when needed. There's a fine line of what he's allowed to tell you to do, an odd dynamic where you can tell him to do tasks for you, and yet, he also has the right - the obligation -  to command you, when it comes to certain matters of behavior, and he's expected to judge each situation appropriately, to not go too far in reprimanding you, to always criticize when he should while avoiding overstepping a line. It's a learned skill, requiring a thorough knowledge of rules both documented and silently understood.

Whenever you sit on the floor next to him as you and all your sisters-in-profession converse each evening, when you lean over onto him and reach your hand over to his thigh, he grabs your wrist, and gently, simultaneously avoiding both unnecessary harshness while also ensuring he doesn't grip you for a single moment too long, pushes you back. It's probably best you get on to bed, you are weary.

When you skip around all excited as you do whenever there's music in the courtyards, come over to him and reach up to wrap your arms around his neck, he grabs your hands and softly pushes them back to your chest. Please, be appropriate.

He makes sure you wear more modest clothing when you leave the main grounds, rather than those incredibly lewd outfits the nobles have you roaming around estate grounds in. Tells you to stop making eye contact and look downward and bow your head when stranger men approach, like you're supposed to. Always reinforcing standards and rules. You teasingly call him such a stick in the mud.

Better that, though, than subject to the wrath of higher-ups if he didn't perform his job.

When you shift to inappropriate topics, when you try and talk to strangers (he gets the sense you do it deliberately just to see him worry), when you stoop and bend and shift your legs in ways he knows is to catch attention. It's his responsibility to speak to you in a firm voice, tell you to behave yourself. You always roll your eyes, say something to the effect of affirming acknowledgement, but you never actually fix your behavior. It irritates him. Don't you know how serious what you do is? What if it wasn't him? What if it was anyone else? He asks you that, trying to get you to see reason, but even then, you shrug it off, clearly not understanding the gravity of the matter. It worries him. What if one day you get assigned to someone else, with far less self-control? What then? You're foolish and naive. It's a constant concern on his mind.

You don't mean it seriously, but you enjoy the reactions you get out of him in particular. You don't realize how significant it is, you think of it like just any other matter of poking fun at something. You think it's funny. You find it cute.

And far more dangerously, you think it's harmless.

Far from it, in reality. If people got the wrong idea, it could get him in trouble. Proof isn't needed for these sorts of things. If someone were to accuse him of something, it wouldn't matter if there was no evidence, or even if you were willing to testify or vouch in his favor. Your testimony can't be used in a court of law anyway. Even then, if the person accusing him was high enough in rank, there wouldn't even be a court of law, they would just command whatever their will may be. Not to mention, you would also get in massive trouble. The fact that you don't understand that, or at least don't take it seriously, is incredibly concerning.

He ends up having to draw a line. One night at random, completely unprovoked, so much so it catches him off-guard. You have always teased and poked fun at him with that grin on your face, tried to get him flustered and embarrassed. Overstepping the boundaries of appropriateness, which he always chastises you for as is warranted. You always obey for the moment, but return to the same thing within a matter of minutes.

The kind of teasing that bothers him the most, though, is when you pry about his own life, deeply personal things. There was that time you first managed to pry out of him that he wasn't a eunuch - oh, no, now I'm scared. Heheh... just kidding. There was the time you asked him if he had any children, or a lover back home. He had to reinforce the negative answer several times (crossing his arms and getting all stiff and looking away, which you seemed to find very amusing) before you believed him and left the matter alone.

And then, one night, walking back to your room with him by your side in the otherwise empty hall, you return to that topic he hates so much. You're so tense all the time. It's not good to be so stressed, you know.

Your footsteps stop. You turn to him with that smirk on your face, grab one of his hands and clasp both of your own around it, pulling it closer to you. You speak in that playful, sultry tone.

I can help you. No one has to know.

It actually takes him a second to reply, stunned into wide-eyed stillness and silence, an expression of shock you've never seen on his usually stoic face. His whole body goes stiff and rigid. Then, after that moment passes, he jerks his hand back out of your grasp with force, stumbles a few steps back. He looks back at you with a serious, intimidating expression, one that makes the grin on your face fall, makes you shrink back.

Never say such things to me.

Even in all the times you've been reprimanded, he's never used that firm and rebuking of a tone. It makes you take a step back. You hang your head, speaking quietly, all traces of the flirtatious tone from moments before vanished.

...I'm sorry.

You can hear the frustration as he lets out a heavy exhale. Brings his hand up to his face, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. Mutters something about how you're too careless for your own good.

Go on to bed. I will forget this. You ought to as well.

You clearly feel hurt and guilty, and in truth, he really does feel bad about it, almost starts to apologize for being so firm to you, as you nod and turn to your door, hurriedly shuffling inside. But consciously, he knows you needed that firmness. Better to learn that now, than learn it by making a much more grave mistake. So he lets you go inside without another word exchanged.

And more importantly, it's best you go inside so you don't see the state he's in. He's on the verge of losing composure, managing to hold himself together right up until the moment your door shuts, before stumbling back to the wall, leaning against it as he slowly sinks down to the ground. Holds his hand out in front of his face to see it trembling. Presses two fingers to his neck to feel the rapid pounding of his heart. It takes a while, sitting there staring blankly to your door on the other side, before he can bring himself to stand up again. Even then, he has to hesitate a moment. Going in there would be so easy. All he would have to do is open the door. Put one foot in front of the other. It would be so simple.

And there's a voice in the back of his head that says you would be right. No one would know. He could probably get away with it.

It takes every ounce of willpower in his entire being (and, as a great motivator, thinking of the consequences if he were caught) to instead turn and go back to his own bed. Staring up at the ceiling all night.

Yes, it really was incredible that they would trust him so much.

Not that he can bring himself to leave you, no. He's terrified of what could happen to you if he left, he clearly sees how you disregard all of his warnings as to how dangerous the way you behave would be to anyone else. And he also can't leave because... he cares for you too much. His whole life revolves around you. To remove you from it would be like tearing his heart of out his chest.

But at the same time, surely he can't stay. It feels like an hourglass reaching the last few grains of sand, like a clock slowly ticking down. Something is bound to happen. Because of you... or maybe, if something in him finally breaks, because of himself. Or maybe because of you both. It's evitable. Like an animal in a trap, and he doesn't know how to get out. The only thing to do is wait for the inevitable day something happens, perhaps because of you... but now he's starting to think his downfall will be his own doing.

[rongzhi]

Ok, caught up on 新生 (ep7/10). Some thoughts:

(repeating some things I was telling @/extraordinarilyextreme live

If Chen Shufa really wanted to kill Fei Ke, he should've done it when he had the chance; his first mistake in trying to get them all together to Murder on the Orient Express his ass was gathering a bunch of people who were all in love with Fei Ke at one time or another

Weirdly I actually felt sorrier for Cheng Hao in the retelling because he seemed more pathetic (Also: no cats in the retelling??)

I sort of wonder if there will be a 3rd plot twist, because I'm not really sure that I believe all parts of the reporter's retelling of things... At the same time, no one really seemed to deny things, and moreover, I recalled during this episode that this is a cdrama, then again. I've watched enough disappointing Chinese thrillers to know that there will always be a Righteous character like the reporter, He Shan, who comes in and tells everyone off for breaking the law/not going to the authorities

One thing about that bothered me, though, in that it wasn't like everyone on the boat was responsible for Fei Ke's abduction—just Chen-zong, right? The other people are still just random assholes who got scammed and summoned by Chen-zong... or maybe He Shan, as it's suggested (maybe I need to rewatch this episode)

Overall, I feel like the original premise of their gathering feels shakier now that we know the first stories were fabricated. The retellings also makes the plot twist of Chen Shufa being behind the kidnapping and gathering seem stranger

I also struggle to believe that all of these things just Happened in Fei Ke's life the way they seem to in the retellings.... The way it looks now, it's like he couldn't help but take these opportunities that kept falling into his lap. I agree with the character who described the new details as an attempt at "whitewashing" Fei Ke. Maybe it's first impression bias, but I remain suspicious of the circumstances.

At the same time, it's getting to that point in the drama where I'm also thinking about the production side of things. I'm not sure what the production history of this show is (i will have to check), but if it's similar to most, then I feel a little cynical about where it’s headed. Episode 7 left me with more confused-type questions rather than the other episodes which left me with more excited-type questions. I was really looking forward to He Shan’s story originally but now that she seems to have been revealed as the character that every drama seems to have who blah blahs about morality and justice, I’m more ambivalent.

I liked the original incarnation of Fei Ke who seemed more capricious and whatnot, but I guess if he’s supposed to be the main character, I can also see him being whitewashed a great deal to minimize his crimes. I feel like after this episode, the Chinese audience will feel more like the scamming was deserved because they also did wrong... That's usually how it goes, I feel like.

When I was telling my sister about the show in the car earlier (I had just finished episode 5), she said maybe the scammed ones are the ones who actually used Fei Ke, and lo and behold, she was right. She frequently makes correct predictions in a show I am rewatching right now and making her watch with me (her first time watching), and I am beginning to think that it makes sense that she's always watching airplane disaster documentaries and personal finance audits, because why would fiction interest you if you already know everything that has ever happened and ever will?

[mikkeneko]

11, 16, 23!

11. if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

many, lots! at the moment I might have to say that I'm proud of So You Accidentally Kidnapped a Qilin, if only because I could use the reminder that I can actually finish big bang projects. *cry*

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

This is an extremely stupid thing to pick, but it's the first thing that came to mind, so... The fact that (in the drama version,) the show makes a point of the fact that the characters do not take their shoes off when they enter a home. Like, there were shots that specifically focused on this happening, when there didn't need to be, so it can't be anything other than a deliberate choice.

I'm familiar enough with EA shoe etiquitte that this surprised me, and after doing some reading up on historical Chinese shoe etiquitte, it seems as though shoes-off is a custom that was followed on and off throughout Chinese history. Thus, the best reasoning I can think of for why the showrunners made this choice is to evoke a historic or fantastic feel for their setting -- sort of like a Western fantasy show putting their female characters in hennins or wimples with veils. These garments were only ever worn in specific times and cultures that the show isn't actually set in (is Galavant supposed to actually be set in 15th century Burgundy? I doubt it,) but it's more about evoking an atmosphere than being historically accurate. IDK, I could be wrong about this. But if that's the case, it really is just a fascinating glimpse into aesthetic and storytelling shorthands from cultures other than my own.

23. the fandom you're curious about because of a mutual

At the time I starting writing this reply, it was Dungeon Meshi, but since then I have read the entire manga and watched the first half of the anime, so I don't know if this one really qualifies as 'curious' any more, lol.

love your fandom asks

[a-slut-for-smut]

*years later* thanks so much for the tag @lovelybeautifulpretty!! cant recall if i warned u before but i tend to go buckwild with these, sorry and your welcome :D

Here are top 10 fav films and surprise surprise, im just a hot mess of eclectic tastes 🤷‍♀️ in no particular order:

Robocop

This 80s masterpiece is a smart political satire/social commentary disguised as a comic book/action revenge movie that interweaves hilarious dark humor, ultraviolence and science fiction in a simple yet seamless plot. It will honestly SHOCK you just how much it has to say on American evolutions in capitalism, media influence, desensitization to violence, gentrification, and our perception of heroes, each in service of a greater conversation about identity and culture.

Atonement

I consider this film the pinnacle of an angsty/doomed romance executed perfectly on-screen: the performances, the cinematography, the music, EVERYTHING!! Funny story, me & the girlfriends went to see this in theaters expecting a typical period romance; left completely snot-dripping, bawling our eyes out. I shit you not, i felt the utter devastation from this film for WEEKS

Amelie

If there was a film to define the term "whimsy" then this is it!! Its so creatively rich, with such a fun and sweet art style in the characters, the way its filmed, the music, the romance- it'll make your heart ache for days.

Inglorious Basterds

I'm a big whore for Tarantino ever since Reservoir Dogs, but I consider film his ABSOLUTE masterpiece. The comedically distinct characters, the sharpness of dialogue, how he builds up the tension of scenes to the point of explosion with just a simple conversation- *CHEFS KISS*

Children of Men

This dystopian sci fi drama was made in 2005 but with all the social commentary woven into the background of the story, it is eerily topical in today's tumultuous political & social climate (which is very telling about us as a society I suppose). The director Alfonso Cuaron is a master at "show don't tell" filmmaking and it SHOWS. Also the tracking long shots in this film are something to witnessed, beheld even. Masterpiece.

Bridget Jones' Diary

My absolute FAV romantic comedy, i totally relate to this bumbling, epic disaster of a woman, even more so now that i'm 30+ like her. Fun fact, the plot is heavily inspired by Pride & Prejudice which is probably why i love it so much. Also Colin Firth 🥵 (which leads me to another fun fact- he was cast as Mark Darcy mainly due to the author's crush on him from his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1996 BBC miniseries which put him on the map, and rightly so. I know the film adaption is super popular, but any P&P fan NEEDS to watch this version, so so good)

Chicago

This musical ruined all theater musicals for me forever- the film adaptation is THAT good!!! The spectacle, the numbers, the PERFORMANCES- Catherine Zeta Jones slayed as Velma Kelly (also my ovaries), i love it so much that i watched it 3 times back to back on a flight i honestly couldnt get enough lol

Kung Fu Hustle

This film is Stephen Chow's magnum opus- an action comedy that blends kung-fu and all sorts of historical chinese references and homages of the directors favorite films, you can tell the passion and the fun that went into making this film and it really REALLY shows. I consider this a perfect execution of what a live-action anime could be, this film is an absolute blast and classic

Annihilation

I've got a bit of a cosmic/existential horror kink (where a form of media makes you question the world/life as we know it or triggers an existential crisis) and this film gets it RIGHT. It's a philosophical sci-fi thriller but is so much more with its themes of pain and identity, exploration of humanity's disposition for self destruction but also its unsettling visuals and soundtrack. Funny story, the sound design is so alien/unsettling that it spooked my cat from her nap and got her staring at the screen with wide eyes and an arched back trying to figure out what the eff was going on (me as well).

Also love how its an all female cast but its never mentioned in-film; just a bunch of capable women going to take care of business (i didnt even notice until my 2nd watch)- im a fan of this approach as it in effect "normalizes" this scenario whereas calling it out as if its special just highlights how it's an exception...anyway, its a horrifically beautiful film.

Sicario

Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong in my eyes (nor cinematographer Roger Deakins), a beautifully shot thriller that serves as a social commentary on how laws are meant to be broken, lines are drawn and then erased when convenient, as long as it serves a so-called greater purpose, that keeping a moral code is a futile effort. Brilliant performed and written, nuanced characters, glorious cinematography and a killer soundtrack (RIP Johan Johansson), A+++++

alright sorry for the long rambling post, cant help myself! Tagging a bunch a folks that seem alive per my notifs, no pressure of course!!!

@writebecauseyoucannotbreathe @nuri148 @your-lavender-dreams @warbarbie @levi4mikasa @onigiri-dorkk @helena-thessaloniki @misplacedgamer @lovely-apparitions @ally147writes @stalactice @vero-icon @mylienated @hellhorsedotjpg @magicalanchordestiny

[the-monkey-ruler]

How do you feel about LMK making it so that the Jade Emperor defeated and passed heavenly judgment over Sun Wukong in Xiyouji?

To be completely honest, it's what made me flip my lid, especially when *spoilers*

They killed the jade emperor??? Not only did they remove Buddha's play in SWK's punishment and made it so that he was simply too weak instead of he was too arrogant, but also killed such an important character in Chinese media that shouldn't be so easily killed? I don't think we were ever meant to root for the jade emperor, but watching that go down had me like

The scene didn't even have some big fight. The Jade Emperor just said a couple words, took it like a champ and died which undermines his actual importance? Maybe it's the shock that's making me so upset over the questionable choices that the LMK producers made, but I feel like not even the little quips or actually decent animation can cover up.

I understand that this isn't supposed to be a direct copy and paste from JTTW, but to stray so far from the og story and still try to claim representation? I'm really curious about your opinion on it, no hate if it's different I actually want to know and hear you talk about it

I will say... underwhelming...

Like this is probs the first time I've seen a Xiyouji media that has written off Buddha completely like... it just brings up why? Did Flying Bark just really want their next villain to be so strong and powerful that he defeated the one entity that Wukong couldn't? Like??? Did they really try to brush off the religious aspects of Xiyouji where it is about FOUR MONKS (and a dragon) going to the west for BUDDIST SCRIPTURES?? While also meeting Daoist gods so??? Already you can't escape religion buddy... it's in there!

The point of Wukong being taken down by Buddha is to show that he has gone too far. He DEFEATED the Jade Emperor! He was about to kill him and take the throne before Buddha stepped in. Wukong is supposed to be the strongest and could destroy heaven with power alone and that is why he had to be stopped because powerful alone shouldn't dictate who is in charge.

And it just draws more questions considering that Xiaotian even said in one episode that Wukong DID pick a fight with Buddha but a chip was shoved in his mouth so... backtracking??? Rewriting?? What is going on?

This isn't the first media I've seen where Heaven/Jade Emperor is the bad guy, though in most cases he is just a guy doing his job cause SOMEONE keeps destroying the peach gardens, but I wish there was more nuanced with this. A lot of past iterations make it that Wukong is a freedom fighter trying to overturn heaven and those could be really good! Shows that Wukong is sticking up for the people of Earth and hates that the people of Heaven are walking all over that. He demands justice in an injustice world and has the power to make them be heard.

But it looks like Flying Bark was trying to go for that angle but also... it is kinda falling flat considering that they have already shown heavenly deities on the side of their heroes and so far no antagonist demons have been in the "right." Like they can't just backtrack and say "wait heaven bad guy?" If they are trying to make it that both Heaven and Earth have areas of moral grey then killing off the head of the Heavens with a "But wait there's more" is a very... clumsy way of depicting that.

I know Flying Bark did it for the sake of "Drama" but really feels more like a cope out just not to depict Buddha in a lego form or something inane like that.

I've kinda emotionally checked out of LMK for my own sake and while I still watch it and want it to have a satisfying ending I can't really say I'm on the edge of my seat for it either. It just feels like they are always trying to hype up more than they can deliver and I rather just be met with a simple 'that was fine' than get my hopes up in more disappointment.

[hils79]

Hils Watches Cross Fire - Ep 16

Got to big up the Chinese healthcare system

Okay, I wanted to talk about what an awesome badass Wang Kai's grandma is but now that I've paused LMAO that is clearly a young man in the passport photo

Wang Kai always has to go that one step further. Grandma cut up her passport? Fine, I'm going to eat mine!

Oh my god they all showed up to cheer for her in her race. I'm so emotional.

Ooh it's rigged just like Lu Xiaobei's game in the first episode.

I legit forgot Chu Ge was Cheng Hao's cousin

I've seen videos of people fainting on rollercoasters but I've never seen it happen on a swing boat ride before

If I hadn't sworn off shipping in this drama thanks to Xu Wei's betrayal it would be something like this: I ship Lu Xiaobei and Chu Ge, I ship Lu Xiaobei and Cheng Hao, I ship Su Jiayi and Wang Kai, I ship Su Jiayi and Chu Ge, I ship Cheng Hao and Li Hai Wa, and I ship Chang Sha with the whole team. So I def don't ship them all with each other but they are def a polycule.

I really don't know how they're supposed to come back from this. They admitted to cheating, that journalist has a recorded conversation of them admitting to cheating. Yet somehow Xu Wei now owns a team and they apparently won the championship. It'll be interesting to see how they get away with it.

Uh, it was printed in a newspaper? An Lan literally showed it to you a few mins ago.

Yes. Yes, it is.

Oh my god are you seriously hitting on her right now?

Oh push her down the stairs. What a bitch.

Or strangle her that also works

Hmm yes I wonder

Thank you to this girl for being the sensible one

And is her dad even a murderer? He was just a suspect, wasn't he? And he died before anyone could question him.

Yeah, that is not how it works

You all stayed away from her anyway! Lu Xiaobei is literally her only friend in this school

Aww don't bully the poor sleepy boy

Aww this sweet boy is drunkenly thanking everyone for being mean to him and helping him be better

Okay, adding this to my ship list

😭 Team means family

Oh. My god.

[deasbanker]

Catch up on the Marvel movies that I miss, become aware of their similarities, and regard its "multiverse" as a means to integrate/streamline superhero movies based on Marvel Comics.

30/4/2024

I've watched 10 Marvel films from phase 4 to 5 this time. Overall, they were not that boring, thanks to fast-paced drama, rhythmical dialogue, casual/light atmosphere, and constantly dynamic image, but I honestly didn't enjoy most of them. As far as I can see reviews of the movies on the Internet or reaction of my friends, this slightly harsh review can be attributed to my personal taste in film. I like Black Widow the best among them and Spider-man: No Way Home followed by. Watching the movies from phase 4 to 5, I noticed that they have a little in common in terms of "multiverse", or many unforgettable female characters, who are not only strong and wise as we've seen before phase 4 but also so humorous that I could tell multilayered background underlies their characters and feel more familiar with them than ever, in fact.

[Then, I can see a certain direction which the studio has been going in: increasing the number of women appearance as speaking roles/major characters in films, presenting diverse female images in personality, embodying power by not just showing their fighting, thinking over/preventing expressions of post-feminism by cooperating with each other, valuing their own everyday life to make them seem ordinary far away from exceptional, and so forth. In other words, Hollywood has been striving to adapt to the time and meet an audience's needs. Some of my classmates and I used to think of that as superficial and commercial. Of course, I know the importance and influence of practice and visualization, but I always worry about specific representation of women which could be interpreted as an advocate and promote post-feminism/neoliberalism so naturally. I suppose there is another way of female empowerment but keeping depicting girls' knocking enemies to the ground or getting into MIT of any kind]

As for other films, I found that Shang-Chi had a lot of Asian/Chinese stereotypes, but I'm not supposed to judge if they're ok or not as I'm mere Japanese woman. Yet, Asians in Hollywood are always masters of something and strong, I would say; I scarcely see Japanese actors/actresses not using "Katana" and just being at work in American movies even to date.

[the-bloody-sadist]

Ten Characters, Ten Fandoms, Ten Tags (except it's one tag bc I hate mass tagging, makes it feel less special lol)

Thanks for tagging me @chouchinobake ! Part of the reason I stay on Tumblr is how different and I suppose intimate (?) it feels to be on here. The whump community in general is such a home to me, but the oddity of this platform gives me a chance to do different things that I'd never be able to do on my Twitter/Instagram.

In any case, it just looks like I'm supposed to list ten characters from different fandoms and why I like them, so here goes. I'm going to limit it to anime, since there are way too many in manga/live action, and, as an organized person, I must restrain myself:

Ash Lynx [Banana Fish]: I've seen basically every BL anime that exists, and yet out of all the boys I've loved from those (Mafuyu didn't make it to the list but he is ONE OF THEM), no one quite stands out to me the way that Ash does. He was such a fresh personality to get into, and I found myself fascinated by the complexities of his character. One thing about Banana Fish in general that I enjoyed was the lack of "need" for it to go through as a BL, if that makes sense. It was an action/gang drama first and a love story second. I am always most attached to characters that I feel like I could never accurately write if I tried, since it gives me great respect for the author. Ash being violent but not uncaring, angry at the world and yet still a victim to it, plagued by recurring trauma (the amount of predatory gay men in BF is absolutely insane btw LMAO I love that Dino has just stocked his gang with gay rapists 😂) and yet still a very dangerous character. It's a tragedy that it ended the way it did, but I guess that's part of why he sticks with me so much. Definitely #1 saddest of the stories I've loved.

The way he has such fondness for Eiji without the author feeling like they needed to actually put them in a confirmed relationship was just so natural to me. Of course, I needed fanfics to help my crumbling heart after the ending, way back when I first watched it, but I always valued that about Banana Fish. I just fucking wish Ash made it back to Eiji for a hug, dammit. The one thing I hated in the show was the lack of hurt/comfort balance. There was so little comfort that it felt like sometimes the emotional aspect was ignored in favor of the action, and that drove me batty. Regardless, one of the favorites for sure.

Xie Lian [Heaven's Official Blessing]: MY SWEET BABU. Holy fuck, I didn't know whether to list Mafuyu here or Xie, because they're both somewhat the same breed of SOFT, MUST PROTECT to me, but Xie won out, since I have to have at least one bandaged boy on the list in the absence of Dazai. Words cannot express the amount of sheer devotion I have to this CREATURE. This is one of those stand-out shows that became a comfort anime for me. The soft-voiced Chinese VAs for Xie and Hua Cheng cause physical reactions lmao. It's a rare softie romance for my favorites.

There are some characters that are so fucking precious to me that somehow my sadist nature drains away, and I actually do not want to see them hurt. This is one of the very, very few. Nobody touch Xie Lian. I will murder you.

Yozo Oba [No Longer Human]: Written by the one and only Dazai Osamu, there is no character I've ever read about that I relate to more than Yozo Oba. There was a fantastic anime adaptation that I recently stumbled across, which is where the above gif came from. It's called Blue Literature Series, and its biggest feature is NLH, but it features other famous Japanese writers' (from Bungo) stories as well. The anime adaptation gave me such a visceral perspective on Yozo after reading the novel, and I loved everything about the anime (besides the way they changed Yozo's "best friend" to a far better person than he was). In reference specifically to the character, though, Yozo is the ultimate depiction of the extreme fear of human beings and masked depression. I cried at so many moments from the book that hit right where I struggled in life, and I hardly ever reread things, but NLH was a major exception.

No lie, that shit had me saying "he's just like me fr!" 😀 lol... sorry

Kaneki Ken [Tokyo Ghoul]: Yeah yeah, I know. Everyone has talked about Kaneki. But he really is amazing. No matter how memed this poor man is, he remains among the top favorites, both in the depiction of his warring personalities as well as the monster vs. human. The entirety of TG is just GORGEOUS in its world building, character design, and fresh perspectives on the old cliche of half human, half devil. His character arc always gets me going. But he's been talked about enough; everyone knows about him. I don't need to say much except that MAN he truly WAS wayyyy better in the manga. I was stunned at the extreme difference, and I get it now - all those fans who were pissed at the show. That's why I always watch the anime before the manga. It just gets better that way.

Johan Liebert [Monster]: Besides the other antagonist you'll find a little further down in the list, this is my favorite anime villain of all time, I think. He's been hailed by many as one of the best, so I'm sure the subject is already worn out, but everything about this man had me crazy for him. His vicious backstory, his psychopathy, his incredible manipulation, and his treacherously low screen time. This is one of those characters where the lack of appearances in the show actually fueled my devotion, because the times when he did show up were absolutely BANGER, and his fucking presence is so intoxicating. He was fabulously animated too, and the whole show was such a good watch. The VA always has something to do with it for me, and Johan was no exception. (I watch everything in sub, just because the VAs are usually that gorgeous whispery-ear-fuck for mysterious characters like this 😂)

Sebastian Michaelis [Black Butler]: I mean come on, who wouldn't like Sebastian. Honestly, nothing much needs to be said. Ciel makes him that much better. Their tension and dynamics, and the way that their relationship was set up is just incredible. Can't be beat, really. I wish I could go back to the first time I saw BB and watch it all again, cuz fucking hell it was so good. I love the contradiction of Sebastian's devil hunger for human souls being conflicted - not by the fact that he has a human half, but by the fact that he's signed a deal with a human, and has grown some semblance of attachment to that human, and that's what keeps him unpredictable. Will he care for Ciel in the end and choose not to follow through or not? Idk, that was my favorite perspective of his character and the whole show.

Akihito Narihisago [ID: Invaded]: If you haven't seen this anime, you're missing out, firstly on one of my favorite VAs of all time 🥹 Kenjiro Tsuda, and secondly on a very emotional plot and story arc that I didn't expect for the genre of show that it was. Akihito is a detective in a virtual reality, trying to solve a murder. What I didn't expect was the constant appearances of a girl in this world that is Akihito's daughter, and how her face being on every victim made the case so incredibly personal that it was tear-jerking for me. Honestly, Tsuda's performance is probably the main reason why it hits so hard, but this poor man has to go through seeing his daughter's face on every mangled victim, watching her die over and over, and never being able to save her. And that's all he wants. He just wants to save her. I won't spoil any more, but good grief this one was a very unexpected favorite of mine.

Zero Kiryuu [Vampire Knight]: ☺️☺️☺️☺️ Whaaaaaaaaaat? He was my first whumpy boy *pinches cheeks*, my first anime love, *squish squish* baby's first anime! Back then when I was a lazy first-timer, I was watching in dub. By now I've gone back and re-watched in sub after realizing the great and powerful Miyano Mamoru was the voice of my vampire crush, but I am not complaining over the English VA, because Vic Mignogna is the only comparable voice to do any of Miyano's characters. Loved that man. Wish he was still around. In any case, Zero is the ultimate angsty vampire and nobody will ever replace him for me.

Yashiro [Saezuru wa Tori Habatakanai]: I...where do I even begin? T_T The sheer complexity of this man's personality makes him such an obsession to me. I would consume any and all media relating to him, no matter what it is. He's one of those characters that can endlessly be studied and picked apart. He has so much conflict, so many walls, so much pain. It's the ones who pretend they love self-destruction that really get to me. I love seeing Yashiro crumble because of Doumeki's insistent care, and words cannot express how many times I've watched the BLCD paired with the manga for the climactic first sex scene with Doumeki, and how emotional it was. It offered a whole new perspective in my opinion of how deep something as dismissed as erotica could go, and I strive for that same emotional and character depth in my own works because of it. The dynamics of this show in general provoked and inspired the story I'm writing of Ellum and Callyx, even if it existed long before I got into Saezuru. It helped me form it around what I learned from experiencing the manga and then the anime, and then the BLCD, and I can't fucking wait for the rest of this trilogy to come out so I can weep ffs.

Iason Mink [Ai no Kusabi]: Ah, the man who created Taushin. Lol, way back when Sadist was a baby whumper, this was one of the first yaoi I ever set eyes on. Though set in the weirdest and most repulsive world for erotica imo, the dynamics of Iason the Blondie and Riki his little brat Pet will remain one of my favorite power plays, and remains the standard for what I keep looking for in other stories. The anime remake was so unabashedly uncensored that it remains hard to find something that matches it, as far as non-con and punishment/pleasure based relationships go, and I wish it hadn't been cancelled cuz that was a fucking shame. Despite the plot being rather boring, the tension between these two makes up for it, and the constant rivalry of enemies who basically remain enemies and are only reluctant lovers when it comes to it makes it so intriguing. Iason is THE Master of all Masters in my opinion, and was voiced so perfectly in both anime versions - that velvety, stern voice omg - and Taushin was heavily influenced by him, as well as the classism of Gailda, coming from Ai no Kusabi's rankings of Blondies and Pets, which I thought made for an interesting world. If not for Ai no Kusabi, I don't think I'd ever have come up with the story of Dancing with Death, even though Taushin and Angel have a much different dynamic, since Angel is obedient and nothing like the hard-headed Riki. I still owe it to that anime.

Griffith [Berserk]: It's insane to me how long it took for me to finally watch Berserk, but for years all I saw was that ugly bastard with the name Guts in reference to the acclaimed manga and its disgustingly animated show. I never had an interest in reading the manga, so when I discovered the existence of Griffith through one of my friends who was urging me to read it, I realized that the story wasn't what I'd thought. Then, seeing the movies that existed with far better animation, I instantly got into it and was hooked. My gods, the character arc of this man. It remains one of my favorite tragedies, only outdone by Kaneki's. AND THE BEAUTY OF THIS BOY GOOD GRIEF LMAO it's so hilarious to me how pretty he is in a male-driven male-gaze manga, if you know what I mean. 😂 Like this story in general just stands out, and Griffith is the shining star. I got so attached to him, and to see him imprisoned and betrayed and just...JEEEEz. It hurt so much. And it felt so good to see him turn, no matter how horrifying. Still can't really put up with the infamous Casca/Griffith scene as it felt a little misplaced 😂

The Red King [K-Project series]: I feel like this anime is very under the radar, so allow me to introduce you to yet another badass man voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda. Everything about him is just...MUAH. He is a little elusive in the movies (there are several of them), so his screen time is criminally low for how obsessed I am with him, but when he's there he's THERE and is GLORIOUS. As the leader of a gang, in a world where each king rules a color and that color means their gangs have a certain ability - so for crimson there is fire, of course - he is the ultimate stern leader. They contrast this in the movies SO FANTASTICALLY by having this man taking care of a young girl, an adopted daughter of sorts, and showing off his soft spot for her and her alone. Oh my gods, I can't even begin. I just...I live for it. He is a kind leader, but the stoic and cold type, you know? One of my favorite personality types. He is easy to anger, but this girl that he protects adores him and he treats her like a little princess. I need to stop lol, I can't ramble too much, but I'll just say his rivalry with the Blue King, who used to be a good friend (enemies to lovers ship here I come) is heart-wrenching, and his eventual fate which I will not spoil absolutely destroyed me. The end.

I did 12, and I'm not sorry. I couldn't leave out The Red King or Griffith okay. I couldn't. I tried to not list the purely obvious ones, such as Bungo characters, Vanitas no Carte characters, or fandoms where I've made it quite clear how much I like certain people lmao. But they'd nevertheless be part of the list if it weren't limited to ten (COUGH 12), and I wanted to list characters that I had something particular to say about. A lot of them are made better by their counterpart or romantic interests in the show, such as Yashiro being perfectly matched with Doumeki, Zero being put to so much tension with Kaname, Johan being an incredible antagonist to Tenma, Iason showing off his power because of Riki's constant defiance, and The Red King having his soft spot with the little girl. And I mean, who would Griffith be without Guts?

I would list Gojo, but there's nothing to say about him that hasn't already been said, and that's just BARKBARKWOOFWOOFGGRRRR

Hope you enjoyed reading. And I hope you might've found some new anime because of it! K-Project seems lesser known, but my gods it's gorgeous, it's ship-city, and it's a fascinating plot heavily featuring on one of my favorite things: COLORS.

Thanks again for the tag 🖤 it's nice to be able to obsess over my favorites for a reason 😤

Tagging @lustfulcat ☺️☺️ if you feel like it, my sweet!

[douwatahima]

15 QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS

I was tagged by @edsbacktattoo! Thank you Jams! ❤

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

First name, no. But my middle name is my Oma's name. I used to not like it growing up because it's a very German name that no one knew how to pronounce or spell, but now that I'm older I like that it's more unique!

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Yesterday when I saw that clip of John Stewart talking about his dog that recently passed. AND THEN I made the mistake of reading the comments and seeing all these other people talk about their deceased dogs. 😭😭😭

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Nope! I used to think that I would want them, but now that I work with kids I know I'm not cut out to be a parent lol. I love kids and working with them is so rewarding, but I also love that I get to go home to a quiet house at the end of the day!

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?

None, lol. The closest I've ever come to liking sports on any level is watching sports anime.

DO YOU USE SARCASM?

Occasionally, but not that often.

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?

A very light blue; almost grey. Fun fact, before I started wearing glasses I got asked, like, at least once a month whether they were contacts because no one could believe that was my real eye colour.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

I'm a big ass wimp so I have to go with happy endings. I like a good drama/tragedy as well, but man I cannot handle scary things.

ANY TALENTS?

Hmm, I guess writing and storytelling. I would say I'm pretty creative. I'm also pretty good at logic puzzles and games where you have to suss things out.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Canada and that's still where I live!

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Reading's a pretty big one. Cuddling up with a good book and a cup of tea makes for a heavenly afternoon. I'm also very much a board game person and occasionally a video game person as well. Also, I don't know if it counts as a hobby but I do go to multiple ones a year so I suppose it should, I'm a big fan of anime/comic cons!

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?

YES!!! I have three dogs and they are the lights of my life. Diddy (short for Didymus, named after the Labyrinth character) is almost fourteen and he is my special little baby. He's a Shih Tzu and he's sassy and kinda stubborn but he's also incredibly affectionate. Charlie is a nearly thirteen year old Chinese Crest/Pomeranian mix and he's a walking ball of anxiety but also a very sweet and gentle boy. Ollie is my newest baby at only six months old and he's a Border Collie/Great Pyrenees mix. He's a puppy so he's very rambunctious and playful, but he's also so so smart.

HOW TALL ARE YOU?

5'9''

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?

English Lit, a subject I loved so much I got a whole ass degree in it!

DREAM JOB?

I honestly think it's my current job? I've also always wanted to be a published author so I guess that's something to strive for, but if I stayed a school librarian for the rest of my life I think I would be very happy.

No pressure tags: @boobarellie @crowmunculus @doumeki-deserves-better @bioticdisaster @snake-snack-stede @asneakyfox @thermoskind @classycoffeecat @piratecaptainscaptainpirates @merryfinches and anyone else who wants to do it! ❤

[queenoftsage]

To think I actually saw this after 'Hotel Del Luna' and simultaneously with other works he was in like 'The Crowned Clown' and 'Missing You'.

[if you don't know who I'm talking about.... *blinks* ... girl/boy/person... I'm a big fan. you might see me go off about this kid forever and ever in this journal. soooo... be warned.]

Anyway... I was like......... THE RANGE OF THIS CHILD!

lol. 'Absolute Boyfriend' was a riot. I swear to goodness. XDDD After watching it a couple of times I liked it a little bit more. I still don't even remember if I gave it any points on My Drama List, but... This here is hilarious.

If you know, you know. If you don't, well just know that the main girl, had warned him not to say he was dating her. But how are you going to tell an AI [yep an AI] , not to love you, when that's what they're made for?

ah.... Are you familiar with the 'Absolute Boyfriend' of Japan? Yeah the Manga? Yeah, this is the Korean version of it. I have heard there is another version, but don't remember if it's Chinese, but obviously Japan brought it to live action first.

Point is... It's still a strange idea, but not one the tech nerds wouldn't be amazed with. You know, creating 'Love Bots' to keep you company. [I have seen what they are still trying to create and I honestly don't know what to think of it, still. It's weird, but that's just me.]

Either way, JinGoo said, I WILL PLAY THE BEST LOVE ROBOT EVER. ... lol, and he honestly did. I was having second thoughts because of him. I was like, 'What would it be like to have a robot be all cute and nice like that?' but then my brain was like... Bitch, you're so fucking weird, stop thinking like that!

So I did.

But yeah, 'Absolute Boyfriend' A RIOT.

The whole series... was ok, I suppose. For its time, for its ideals. It was... annoying. But the base of it, you know the whole love line, it was cute. If you tell yourself that maybe the dude wasn't a robot and was a real dude. lol.

As for the feelings i was having while watching THREE of Yeo Jin Goo's works simultaneously? I was like... WOW. Where was this actor my whole freakin LIFE!?

... Then I realized the harsh truth which was

'HE WAS GROWING UP YOU FOOL! ' ... lol... But well, he was also acting already. He began at eight years old, so that's a whole life time.

P.S. yep the gifs are mine. You're more than welcome to use them as you wish. I don't care about copyrights and all the BS. i just made them to put them on my Tumblr and have fun analyzing the scene.

[january-summers]

What media are you into at the moment? 👀

#randomask hehe

Bringing back ask culture? heck yeah!

Well, I'm currently coming down off a Red Vs Blue hyperfixation. (Halo based mechanima series)

Just finished season 2 of Leverage Redemption, so still in the mood for that. (western live action series)

Currently making my way through Team Starkid's backlog. I'm on Nightmare Time at the moment. (filmed stage theater, though Nightmare Time was more radio drama done over skype.)

My group watch server is doing a watch of Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, which is a rewatch for me but I love this found family of crime solving disasters. (Chinese live action series)

And I'm waiting for the next episode of Tearmoon Empire to come out. (anime, villainess regression/do over) I read the manga for it online, but I'm not totally caught up, I think there's a bunch more chapters since I last read it.

Oh, and, and, there's this Cdrama, The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage, that I'm super excited about but I don't know when it's supposed to come out. Rumours say there's problems with production and even the cast list isn't certain.

If we're talking flat genres, villainess is my favourite genre atm, with transmigration/isekai and regression/do-over battling it out to topple her.

I haven't been reading a lot of books lately, mostly just fanfics and webcomics.

[hunxi-after-hours]

hi hunxi, just wondering if you have thoughts on the weibo blowup over the tgcf audio drama? from what i've read, people are upset about the following:

there's negativity surrounding both lead voice actors, but the majority consensus seems to be that 双儿's voice isn't suitable for xie lian. there's also a screenshot circulating of a comment in an anonymous discussion forum posted in march 2022, which accuses the production company of 内选 and of using the ip as a “捧人的垫脚石”. aside from the very loaded language, the predictions in the comment seem mostly to have come true (which has led some people to speculate that it was actually released by someone within the company itself, either as a "whistleblower" situation or to test out reactions beforehand).

fans of the book dislike the way that mentions of mxtx + new tgcf content were apparently dragged into the behind-the-scenes video to ... quell public outrage? i personally don't see a problem, but weibo posters put a lot of emphasis on the fact that 新修 chapters were underway BEFORE the audio drama and therefore not "exclusive" audio content or written for the express purpose of the audio drama's production.

there's a whole lot more that won't include here (hot search/rankings allegedly being bought, voice actor fans shading book fans, etc), but i really hope this isn't an insensitive or overly negative ask. i'm just surprised that chinese vs international fandoms are having such wildly different reactions.

hi anon! honestly, looks like you've summed it up pretty well — I came to the TGCF audiodrama to have a good time and was surprised by how much negativity there was in CN fan circles about it?

(post got long, throwing it under a cut)

I assume there's probably some history/drama surrounding these supposedly contentious aspects of the TGCF AD production, so I suppose qualifiers are in order: I've got legitimately no idea where the anti-729 sentiment is coming from (?? they do good work???), or about the history of nepotism/favoritism in voice actor circles (?????). truly, everything I know begins and ends with 《我是特优声》 and my misadventures on 猫耳, so I'm doubtlessly missing out on any drama from like, before 2021

that being said, I can't say I understand the anti-casting sentiment because, well... 苏尚勤 is a legitimately experienced and lauded voice actor who's familiar with MXTX's work, and while 陈张太康 is a somewhat newer face, anyone who's watched 《我是特优声》 or listened to his audiodramas knows that he's got an extremely impressive range that I personally think is very suited to the dynamic aspects of Hua Cheng's character. from the very little I've spotted on weibo/the 猫耳 评论区, it seems like people are taking issue with... how young 苏尚勤 sounds? which is like. fam. you know what voice actors do for a living, right? change their voices to embody different characters? you truly cannot judge how well a voice actor performs in an AD based on a five minute trailer alone. give it a few episodes/a season since they're apparently giving out the entire season for free for two months, and then we'll talk

I think a lot of the “声音不贴角色” complaints come from, well, fans of the book expecting these few lines we've heard so far to truly embody the breathtaking complexity of these characters all at once, which is rather impossible. the thing about Xie Lian and Hua Cheng is that they are young, and old, and tired, and passionate, and faithful, and trusting, and cruel, kind, but all at different times. so Xie Lian sounds young now? give the voice actor a chance to show how exhausted and jaded and tired he becomes later, in the flashback arcs. so Hua Cheng doesn't sound like the badass ghost king we know him for? that actually 100% makes sense, he's in San Lang mode right now, and if you watched 陈张太康's rendition of 《灵笼》, you KNOW he can do arrogant, vicious royalty when it comes to it

also, looking across the cast list for the AD, this doesn't seem to be 内选 unless it's like... 内选 within the 京圈 voice acting circle?? which to be fair is like. maybe 200 people total asldkfjadlsf (look if you want to diversify your voice acting cast then let's see some 沪圈 rep huh?? #give毛毛老师anotherbitroleagain). the voice actors in the TGCF AD cast come from a vast assortment of different voice acting studios, from 729 to 边工 to 翼之声 to 光合积木 to unaffiliated with professional studios at all, so I'm??? confused??? at allegations of unfairness in casting??

I also saw some of those 弹幕 complaining about how they kept bringing up the MDZS production in the 制作谈 and I'm spectacularly baffled as to why that's a problem considering that much of the production staff had worked on the MDZS AD and it's. by. the same. author. and anyway, much of their discussion of the MDZS AD in the TGCF 制作谈 was specifically about shortcomings in the MDZS AD that they were learning from and seeking to improve this time around, which feels relevant and not particularly 刷好感 to me

tl;dr I think the TGCF AD production team worked very hard on this and are genuinely trying their best, and that all judgment should be reserved until after the season airs. there really is no point in trying to offer a holistic critique based on five-minute trailer alone, and like, I don't know how many morality points one would get from boycotting an AD but tbh it seems kind of. negligible. so let's all just kick back and enjoy this absolutely stacked production while it's being generously offered for free, shall we?

[gillianthecat]

This or That

tagged by @negrowhat (Thanks!)

hot shower or cold shower 1 // texting or calling // earbuds or headphones 2 // paperback or hardcover// matte or gel 3 // 12 hour clock or 24 hour clock // blue or green // sunsets or sunrises // tulips or orchids// candle light or moonlight // sci-fi or horror 4 // pen or pencil // pandas or koalas // gold or silver // sneakers or boots // denim jacket or leather jacket // pink or purple // chocolate or sour candy // deodorant or perfume 5 // drive-in movie theater or the cinema // pastel colors or neutral earth tones // lemonade or fruit juice // past or future // 6

1. although coincidentally and unusually I just took a cold shower - it's hot where I am 2. headphones are usually more comfortable but i end up using earbuds more 3. i don't actually know what this is referring to. nail polish? 4. i'm a wimp about horror 5. i stopped wearing artificial fragrances after knowing many people with sensitivities and now I can no longer stand the smell 6. for many of these it depends on my mood or the circumstances. although I suppose that's true for most people, lol.

Now the BL version!

crying in the shower or making out in the shower // give cute boy line ID or stalk his IG // share his earbuds or share his closet 1 // manga or manwha 2 // long dangly silver earring or dark leather cuff // time loop or reincarnation // blue engineering smock or red engineering smock // kisses at the beach or kisses in the mountains // cactus or chili plant 3 // fairy lights or spot lighting // ghost boyfriend or vampire lover 4 // hard sub or soft sub 5 // stray cat or … actually that’s your only option // Hawaiian shirt or blue shorts 6 // evil ex-girlfriend or predatory fujoshi 7 // suit jacket or leather jacket // high school or university // kitchen drama or office drama // forehead kisses or check kisses // Viki or GaGaOOLaLa 8 // Japanese arthouse depth or Korean high concept 9 // pink milk or yakult // censored Chinese BL or trashy Thai pulps 10 // body swap or dead body // sexy or story 11 // back hugs or lap sitting // piggyback or cradle carry

1. this is probably based entirely on a scene from the non BL The Devil Judge 2. i've never read either (for some reason processing text and drawings together is hard for me) 3. i haven't encountered one in a BL yet, but I think they're pretty. 4. although i haven't watched either of these plots in a bl yet 5. sometimes i need them bigger or a different color. or to turn them off for screenshots 6. especially when hanging on by one button (hi fighter) 7. i hate them both, but at least the evil ex-girlfriend can sometimes turn into an interesting character. predatory fujoshi is nothing but a creepy fourth wall breaking plot device that gets me riled up just thinking about it. 8. it would have been viki a few days ago because gagaoolala initially ate my email address. but now that they've finally let me register i concede they are by far the better queer and bl option 9. the only one i've seen so far is Color Rush and i have to confess it didn't work for me... please don't hate me 10. look, censorship is evil. but i'm a sucker for angst and subtext. 11. obviously they go best together. if i can only have one it really depends on my mood which i choose.

I’m not sure who hasn’t done this yet.  @lelephantsnail? @placetneplacet? @moonchildridden? @halfmoon-trueself? Everyone, please consider yourself tagged if you see this and want to participate.

[avaantares]

Me: Now that I've read this novel, I can finally watch the drama based on it! I'm really curious how they're going to adapt the story, since the central plot mechanism in the book is reincarnation, and I know that's a forbidden subject under Chinese TV censorship...

Drama: ahahaha

Me: Lots of other dramas feature mythological deities, so at least they won't need to change that part. I suppose they could just give the protagonist amnesia or something, instead of making him a god who died and reincarnated as a human?

Drama: oh, wait for it

Me: Yeah, that could work. Maybe his powers were sealed or whatever, and he just doesn't know his own true identity. That would allow them to continue with the setup relatively unchanged. It's not like he has to have past human lives, since the story doesn't focus on them all that much. Besides, it's mostly an urban fantasy about ghosts and spirits, and there are plenty of other supernatural elements, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to throw a god with amnesia in there.

Drama: that's cute

Me: Okay, I finally found a copy of the first episode! I'm so excited to see this novel about primordial gods and ghosts brought to life!

Drama: 😁

Me: *presses play*

Drama:

Me: *flips table*