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guzhufuren · 2 months

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A Guide to Some of the Best Queer Asian Shows

The guide includes a show’s basic summary; main genres/tropes/themes and official streaming links (additional info on how to watch at the end of this post)! You can find some content warnings in the reply section of this post. Shows are listed by countries, numbered by the order I recommend watching in, not by rating. All shows have happy endings unless specified otherwise. The list will hopefully be updated regularly (last updated on 04/04/2024, 98 queer shows in total).

Most shows are about mlm, I specify with coloured notes those that are focused on wlw, polyamory, aromantism/asexuality, etc.

Tumblr does not allow large texts or more than 30 images per post at the moment, so you can click on every country’s list to expand them and view them fully in a separate post. You can access this guide in a google doc here.

Thailand 🇹🇭 (full list here)

1. KinnPorsche mafia boss/bodyguard; action; kidnapper/kidnapee side couple

Kinn, a son of a prominent mafia head, is ambushed by an enemy, and meets Porsche, a bartender who comes to his rescue for a price, thus beginning their reluctant relationship as boss and bodyguard, which soon turns into something more.

iQIYI

2. Bed Friend friends with benefits; office setting; trauma

King and Uea work in the same office. After a company outing ends in a drunken hook-up between them, Uea and King agree to keep seeing each other on a strictly physical basis. With no strings attached, will these two be able to keep things between them simple and carefree or will their emotions eventually get the better of them?

Uncut 18+ on iQIYI or GagaOOLala or cut on YouTube

3. The Sign reincarnated lovers; fantasy; thai mythology; police

The story of the love between Phaya and Tharn who used to be mythological creatures Naga and Garuda in their past lives, and were forced apart. But fate intervened, and two men were reincarnated in new bodies. Now, they work together as partners in the Special Investigations Unit to uncover violent crimes and supernatural mysteries while their love is tested by mystical forces and past enemies.

YouTube

4. I Feel You Linger In The Air period drama; time travel; bittersweet

Jom, an architect overseeing the renovation of a rundown villa, continuously dreams of a man he's never met. When a twist of fate transports Jom to Chiang Mai in the 1920s, he assumes the role of a servant to the affluent young master Yai, the mysterious man from his dreams.

GagaOOLala or YouTube

5. You're My Sky sports; university setting; coming of age

Thorn, a young basketball player follows his senior Fah to university as a result of the promise they’d made — to become national basketball champions. However, to his dismay, he finds that Fah has already given up on basketball. --- Aai has to work in pairs throughout the semester with San, 1 year footballer; in order to receive a scholarship to study in Japan, Ai must be willing to do everything to get an A grade. --- Track running requires the compatibility of the team members to be very high. Vee, who became the new racquet 4, has to speed up training to fit in with the team as quickly as possible, especially with Dome, spending extra time together to train. Is love actually a major obstacle on the path of being an athlete?

Viki

> more tv shows from Thailand

GMMTV Thailand 🇹🇭 (full list here)

1. My School President high school setting; secret crush; school president/rebel musician

Gun is the head of his high school music club. Tinn is a school president and Gun's long-term rival. The Principal wants to disband some of the school’s “useless” after-school clubs, especially the music club. Per school rules, the student council president is the one who has the power to dissolve clubs. Gun is now at Tinn’s mercy, so he attempts to do whatever he can to persuade his rival not to cancel the music club. Little does he know, Tinn actually has a secret crush on him. Could romance brew as Gun makes a desperate attempt to secure the future of his band?

Viki (MSP) & YouTube (Our Skyy special 33-40) & YouTube (special)

2. Moonlight Chicken adult romance; age gap; deaf character

Jim is an ordinary guy running a chicken rice diner. One night, he meets Wen when he stays past closing drunk. Brought together by fate that night, intangible feelings arise. Neither can stop thinking about the other despite Jim's efforts to remain unattached. Jim also takes care of his nephew Li Ming, who is falling in love with Heart, a deaf teenager who is practically kept under house arrest by his affluent parents.

YouTube

3. Not Me revolution; freedom fighters; secret twins

When his twin Black is viciously attacked and subsequently left hospitalised in unconsciousness, White is unable to endure the harm done to his brother in silence. He learns Black was a part of a gang of anti-capitalist freedom fighters, and it was one of them who betrayed him. White disguises himself as Black to discover which one of them betrayed him and put him in a coma.

YouTube

4. 23.5 wlw; high school setting; secret admirer

Ongsa moves to a new school and meets Sun, a cute popular girl who she immediately falls for. However, she decides to approach Sun in instagram dms under the pseudonym Earth, leading Sun to believe she's talking to a guy. But Ongsa does not want to lose the opportunity to talk to Sun, so she decides to keep the fact that she is a girl a secret and continue talking as Earth.

YouTube

> more tv shows from GMMTV Thailand

Japan 🇯🇵 (full list here)

1. Cherry Magic! mind reading; secret crush; office setting

By still being a vіrgin at 30, Adachi gains a magical power – the ability to read other people's minds by touching them. At first, he’s overwhelmed by his new ability, and it’s not proving to be helpful to him. But that all changes when he accidentally touches their office’s most perfect guy Kurosawa, who he learns has romantic feelings for him.

WeTV (Cherry Magic) & no international streaming of Cherry Magic The Movie is available to my knowledge, so watch on bilibili or KissKH

2. Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up!) misunderstanding; high school setting

Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, the girl in the seat next to him in class. But he despairs when he borrows her eraser and sees she's written the name of another boy — Ida — on it. To make matters more confusing, Ida sees Aoki holding that very eraser and thinks Aoki has a crush on him!

Viki

3. Our Dining Table food; child character

Salaryman Yutaka finds it difficult to share meals with other people. However, his life starts to change when one day, his cooking attracts the attention of a young boy named Tane and his older brother Minoru. The two brothers are impressed by Yutaka's cooking skill and invite him to their house to cook together. Yutaka's dreary life begins to change, and soon he finds himself looking forward to the meals he shares with the Ueda siblings together, as well as developing a taste for romantic feelings.

GagaOOLala

4. She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat wlw; neighbours; self-discovery; food

Nomoto loves to cook, but tends to make too much food and has no one to share it with. Luckily for her, turns out her neighbor Kasuga has a big enough appetite for the both of them.

No international streaming available, translated to english by Furritsubs, S1 & S2, watching instructions provided, please support translator on kofi.

5. Takara-kun to Amagi-kun high school setting; relationship exploration

Takara is a good-looking popular guy in class, while Amagi is a simple but bright and pure fellow classmate. The two begin to date in secret after Amagi's blurted out confession.

Viki or GagaOOLala

> more tv shows from Japan

China 🇨🇳 (full list here)

Most chinese shows are adapted from explicitly queer novels, the shows are undeniably and obviously queer, but nevertheless the queer romance part is censured. The only exception is number 4 on the list, it is not censored.

1. The Untamed period drama; fantasy

An epic fantasy led by a problem child who comes back from the dead 16 years later in order to fix the broken world he left behind — and finally unite with his soulmate.

YouTube

2. Word of Honor period drama; fantasy

The leader of assassin organisation Zhou Zishu quits his position in pursuit of freedom with drastic measures. In his travels, he meets Wen Kexing, the leader of Ghost Valley who wants nothing but revenge. The two become entangled in various machinations within the martial arts world, and eventually become soulmates instrumental in each other's redemption.

YouTube & Special Episode on Tumblr or DailyMotion

3. Couple of Mirrors wlw; period drama; socialite/assassin

You Yi is a kind-hearted socialite and a successful author. Her perfect life is turned upside-down when she discovers a betrayal by the two most trusted people in her life. With no one left to turn to, she finds refuge in the friendship and support of Yan Wei, a lonely female killer disguised as the owner of a photo studio.

YouTube. the show doesn’t have a happy ending, but it can be a happy ending for you if you stop watching at episode 12 timestamp 28:02.

4. Stay With Me enemies to lovers; high school setting; unconventional families; slow burn

Su Yu is a high school student who lives with his single poor father. Su Yu gets a new classmate Wu Bi. The two clash right from the start, and after getting off on the wrong foot, their explosive relationship takes a turn.

YouTube or GagaOOLala. the show doesn’t have a happy ending, but it can be a happy ending for you if you stop watching at episode 24 timestamp 05:00. OR watch the full thing and look at this post after

5. The Spirealm inside of a video game; mystery; fantasy; horror-ish; hopeful ending

A game designer Lin Qiushi is transported inside of a game he recently played, and now he must go through 12 horrifying survivor game doors to survive in the real world. Inside his first door he meets Ruan Nanzhu, a mysterious man who offers him to team up.

The show was taken down from streaming, download files here and subtitles here.

Various WLW mini web-dramas here.

Various WLW short films here.

South Korea 🇰🇷 (full list here)

1. Love for Love's Sake inside of a video game; high school setting; healing

At the age of 29 Tae Myungha finds himself transported into a fictional video game, and now 19 years old, he meets Cha Yeowoon, who is in the darkest moment of his life. And a translucent window appears where he receives a mission — to make Cha Yeowoon happy.

iQIYI (better subtitles) or GagaOOLala

2. Semantic Error enemies to lovers; university setting

A serious programmer and a rebellious artist clash over a school project. Their animosity keeps escalating to new extremes, defined by petty pranks and feisty arguments.

Viki

3. Love Tractor farm setting; farmer/city musician

Sunyeol, a city man with zero ability to survive in the countryside, comes to his grandfather's rural home. In front of him appears Yechan, a passionate and kind young farmer. While learning about rural life and assisting with farming tasks, Sunyeol gradually finds himself drawn to Yechan's warm and straightforward nature, while Yechan helplessly falls for Sunyeol.

iQIYI

4. Our Dating Sim high school friends to lovers; office setting

After 7 years, Lee Wan meets his first love, Shin Kitae, in a gaming company. When they were best friends in high school, Lee Wan was in love with Kitae. But he ran away and disappeared after confessing his feelings to Kitae after graduation. When the two of them begin working on a new dating simulation game and get more immersed in the project, old feelings are rekindled.

Viki or GagaOOLala

5. She Makes My Heart Flutter wlw; bar setting; niece and aunt dynamic

The extroverted Gang Seol is hired by her aunt Jung at her only-women bar. Even though they are both lesbians, they seem to be worlds apart and have very different love stories.

YouTube

> more tv shows from South Korea

Taiwan 🇹🇼 (full list here)

1. History3: Trapped mafia boss/policeman

The story of a police officer who becomes trapped in the underworld, as he develops feelings for a gang leader.

YouTube or Viki

2. Kiseki: Dear to Me mafia; age gap

Bai Zongyi, an exemplary high school student with dreams of becoming a doctor, is one day unexpectedly drawn into the world of a charismatic and mischievous gangster Fan Zerui, who blackmails him into taking him in and treating his wounds. Just as their love story begins to unfold, Fan Ze Rui's criminal life catches up with him. On the other hand, Chen Yi and Ai Di are two orphans who grew up in the gang together. Ai Di has always loved Chen Yi, but Chen Yi only notices their boss.

Viki or GagaOOLala or YouTube

3. My Tooth Your Love dentist/chef; trauma healing

Bai Lang is a successful bistro owner with an severe fear of visiting the dentist... until a toothache forces him to come face to face with the handsome yet cold dentist Jin Xunan.

Viki

4. Anti Reset android/human

When Chu Yi Ping, an emotionless man, dislocates his hand in an accident at school, his uncle gives him Ever 9 as a caretaker, an experimental intelligent robot that his company is secretly testing.

Viki or iQIYI or GagaOOLala

5. History2: Crossing the Line sports; high school setting

When an injury sidelines a high school senior from the volleyball team, he develops feelings for a recruit.

YouTube or Viki

> more tv shows from Taiwan

Philippines 🇵🇭

1. Sleep With Me wlw; radio; disabled character in a wheelchair

A science textbook writer with a sleep disorder meets a wheelchair-using radio host who runs the midnight shift. This chance encounter at the radio station quickly sparks their interest in each other.

GagaOOLala

---

You can watch many shows for free on YouTube, and watch others on the streaming websites by setting VPN to one of the countries in the list. In other cases I recommend paying for subscriptions to show appreciation and support of content in order to get more of it in the future, but if you can’t, watch on KissKH (better quality), Dramacool or get files from MkvDrama. Enjoy! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

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imustbenuts · 1 month

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im free from yakuza kiwami 2. fuck the writing in this one. this was a complete mess of pulling from the most popular generic east asian drama tropes at the time of 2006 and having it be handled by a super inexperienced writer at the helm.

i went from having no expectations, got somewhat surprised, only to end up downing alcohol and laughing hysterically before the credits rolled. so that should set the mood for how i feel about this one. thought vomit under the cut, a lot of info dump about culture incoming

yakuza kiwami 2 is pure heterosexual east asian romance bullshit.

im gonna just. describe as best as i can what i know and remember from the general media coming out from the 90s to the 2010s in around this part of the world before i just start explaining why i think this story is a mess.

so. 2 parts i swear is responsible for this rubbish.

1) East Asian Beauty Standard

the general consensus for a beautiful feminine woman AT THE TIME in this sphere is the following

be willowy thin (fat = lazy and ugly)

have black hair that ISNT short (dyed = too much individuality, too much WESTERN INDIVIDUALISM, gasp how dare!)

fair skinned (bc dark = she works in the fields and is from a lower class)

young. if you heard of the term "Christmas Cake" in japan context, yeah. (ie women over age of 25 are undesirable)

be educated and refined, bc that indicates class and femininity (failing this means shes vulgar and gasp like a barbarian)

be submissive to her male peers in the sense that her authority cannot override his at least in public (for the sake of his face)

dresses feminine and not like a man (trousers and jeans are man-ish. traditional clothing, skirts and dresses are preferred. the further back the stronger this sentiment is.)

incidentally, theres a lot of classism tied to this EABS due to sinocentric culture influences. it has to do with the chinese court system and how korea and japan copied it and a lot of the culture wholesale but. anyway. thats like over 1000 years of history in there thats not really worth detouring to rn.

and also, the worth of a man is sometimes (not always) upheld by how classy and feminine this wife of his is. as of 2024 though, this line of thought is still around in the more conservative pockets. also, the education might not matter as much these days as how deep her and her parents' pockets and wealth are.

moving on.

2) media tropes

so. off the top of my head.

if you wanted a popular romance drama in this time period, the popular offerings no matter where you looked tended to offer the same flavors of tropes.

the woman always has dark hair, is fair skinned, thin and younger than her male love interest. ive never seen this broken or subverted in my time absorbing via osmosis the dramas playing on local tv growing up in the early 2000s.

everything else about her can be subverted though. sometimes she can wear fancy pants or have short hair to indicate her strong individualism. BUT, her personality no matter how strong it begins, no matter how her intro begins will 99% of the time encounter an effect where catching feelings turns her into a meek loyal woman to her love interest.

bc she cant override his authority in this culture context.

at worst, she becomes highly irrational and even hysterical in the dramas when bad things happen. this includes things like love triangle, or a fallout of family business, drama, plot or whatever. she would cry and sometimes even die.

see: sawamura yumi. sayama kaoru.

meanwhile, the male love interest can be anything. ive seen middle aged guys to young good looking upcoming actors playing the lead, with looks varying from haggardly okay to young and handsome. it. really depends on the genre.

depending on what specific country it came from, the drama would have the male either grow, become manlier (by learning honor ig), become stupid in the name of love, but he rarely if ever actually dies. the woman effectively becomes yoshi for mario to lauch off on when they're crossing a chasm

the romance is forced. a lot of the BIG LOVE SPARK ie kissing happens in tense moments bc it builds drama, but in reality comes too fucking close to sexual assault (some of the old jackie chan movies does this iirc for slapstick even)

see: sayama getting kissed right after handling her biological father's ashes less than 24 hours ago and admitting to kiryu that shes scared. this scene right fucking here.

bc in general, the scriptwriters for popular dramas tended to be guys themselves and tended to write more human dudes. and the women in the stories are reflective of the ideal societal expectation at the time: being a Refined Housewife.

so her character development is often headed in the direction of marriage and being a stay at home mom.

if it sounds a little like tradwife bullshit, it is.

Refined Housewife

(i have massive negative thoughts about this which i KNOW for a fact is a thing bc a lot of these societal culture femininity was impressed on me as a kid in a world where it was already getting increasingly impossible to have 1 spouse be a SAHP. and also i hated the whole thing about giving face to the patriarch of the house when i personally saw so much ego dick measuring from my uncles. anyway understand that this is both a bias an a lived experience, so proceed with that in mind)

there is a problem with the Refined Housewife expectation: education.

in general, education has been a good metric to judge how classy or smart one is in asia's largely on-the-surface meritocracy based culture. people will look at each other's school first and then judge them from there, and pretty hard too.

so everyone regardless of gender will be expected to study super hard. and bc having good test scores and going to good schools looks good for the family's face, parents will often pile on tuition to the child to get them a leg up in life.

bc also no good degree from good school means no future.

but then... the woman is expected to be a housewife. 🙃 meaning... the education, her accomplishments, are kinda... tossed away in this context. put a pin in this.

it wont matter how much she studied or accomplished, bc the expectation is that the woman would marry and obey her husband, and give him face/honor that way. the kids will come eventually bc having kids = being filial to ones parents in this context.

also uh. no, having adopted kids is not thought of as being filial. continuing the bloodline is.

and if you've been paying attention, then yes, ive been skirting around the backbone of sayama kaoru's writing foundations this entire time.

Her story has been butchered so clumsily i cant even...

lets just. ugh.

she fits the EABS standard, her tropes are trying to subvert the expectations of a womanly woman in this context, she has IMPRESSIVE education and career achievements. she works in a male dominated field, and is keenly aware of sexism. she is strong, stronger than her male peers, at least we are told.

by 2006s standards, its still considered a fresh take with those alone in japan. sexism there is its own flavor of crap. (if you noticed ive not spoken about LGBTQ+ stuff at all, its bc how ridiculously BINARY the expectation is at that point in time. it still is today but less so)

however, the writing has this sense of trying to copy the popular tropes at the time while not fully understanding and dissecting them, and ends up butchering sayama's character before the romance even properly began.

i mean, for fucks sake even, sayama and kiryu has a whopping 14 year age gap. when im told these are supposed to be believable people living in japan, this is too big for me to just go 'oh ok!'. and remember the Christmas Cake thing? shes 25. (FUCKING--!!!! !!)

the problem here that i see is the writer trying to apply all of those while trying to play the tropes straight. trying to imitate. trying to make a statement but then finding out theres nothing within yourself to stand by what you want to say and backtracking.

we are told:

sayama is strong yet she goes down with 1 slap by random thugs and needing kiryu to come in and body them. because romance ig.

we are told shes a yakuza hunter but she doesnt scare a single one beyond her introductory scene.

she goes from defiant and bossing kiryu around to getting her actions overridden by kiryu and ryuji, both men, towards the end

her subtext is that shes not feminine and therefore conventionally undesirable, but then kiryu tells her shes actually feminine and therefore desired, as if its all that matters.

she becomes so stricken by grief and freaked out that she runs off solo to deal with ryuji in the most out of left pocket planning ive ever fucking seen.

and then yells as she takes out her police baton to take down the big yakuza dude, drawing attention and turning herself into a hostage.

i know the writing will fumble but i didnt expect it to fumble this bad.

for all the good the surface chemistry kiryu and sayama has, its being undermined by a fundamental failure to understand tropes and then using said tropes as a crutch so much that everything here has become a bloody mess.

this failure of over-relying on tropes without understanding them extends to yumi too. sawamura yumi was young and beautiful, and became the Refined Housewife to the Not-Male-MC and ends up regretting it, and gets killed for it.

her defining trait is that she is beautiful in subtext. thats. thats what the tattoo is. in a world where the tattoo makeths the person, thats what she is and all that she is.

dear lord.

ive read up a bit more on sayama and you know what. good that she chooses her career over kiryu. the romance would have caused both of their characters to explode with the trajectory this was heading in. ffs sayama could have had her own game. she has so MUCH potential.

and also GOOD that the writer is forced to think of kiryu in the position of the Stay At Home Parent for haruka and the orphanage down the line!!! subverting the fucking traditional BS expectation! yes!!!!!

all i got was sayama and kiryu making out before the bomb went off in front of my alcohol and salad while they're like 'eh, haruka will forgive us for dying :')'

and i ran out of alcohol.

sexism? maybe. incompetence? definitely.

hhgrhgrhrghrghrgrhgr wow this got long. ugh. guhhhhhh.

#yakuza #ryu ga gotoku #sayama kaoru #kiryu kazuma #yakuza kiwami 2

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cinemaocd · 4 months

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Jenny's ongoing list of films watched 2024

January

RRR (2023)*

Peter's Friends (1992)*

The Lady Eve (1941)

How to Get a Head in Advertising (1988)*

High Fidelity (2000)

Frieda (1947)*

Oh...Rosalinda! (1955)

The Quick and the Dead (1995)*

The Barefoot Contessa (1954)*

The Life and Death of Col. Blimp (1943) Commentary Track (2012)*

Rhubarb (1951)*

The Birds (1963)*

House of Yes (1997)*

Cassandra Cat (1963)*

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Night of the Comet (1984)

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)*

For Me and My Gal (1942)*

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The Small, Back Room (1949)

House of Games (1987)

Water (1985)*

The Ballad of John and Yoko (2023)*

The Meaning of Life (1983)

Track 29 (1988)*

*New to me

Thoughts on the New to Me films:

New Year's Eve we watched RRR, a lot of fun, energetic, bright and action-packed. I enjoyed the way that little attention was given to the British characters. They were straight up villains in ill fitting ahistorical costumes, kind of like the way Indian/Asian characters are treated in Western films most of the time...$$$

New Year's Day we watched Peter's Friends, a drama/comedy from the early 90s starring all of the famous Cambridge Footlights. Big Chill-ish film set in a country house over the Christmas holidays. $$$

How to Get a Head in Advertising was weird and also really good. Had a similar vibe to Withnail and I (possibly because of Richard E. Grant, but also possibly the mixture of the surreal with the realistic). Quite stage-y in some ways but clever and savage in it's satire of life in the 80s. $$$

Frieda: Oh I loved this! Weird World War II melodrama about a German girl marrying a British boy and all the trouble it causes with his complex family situation. Such a stellar cast including the late, great Glynnis Johns. $$$$

The Quick and the Dead: I set my expectations quite low for this and was pleasantly surprised. I liked Sam Raimi's comic book-y take on gunfighters and esp. loved Sharon Stone's character. We love to see a female action hero with no love interest. A nice twist on the Man with no Name trope. Excellent cast as well with Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Woody Stroud in his final film. $$$

The Barefoot Contessa: Joseph Mankewitcz is one of the geniuses of old Hollywood but this ain't it, chief. Just kind of all of the place melodrama that makes no sense and relies too much on Ava Gardner looking amazing in technicolor in the South of France. A bit of a commentary on Grace Kelly who a few years earlier married minor royalty on the Riviera. Even Rossano Brazzi can't save this mess for me. $

Rhubarb: Two genres I usually kind of hate (family-friendly animal centered film, sports film) combined into one and it's actually a lot of fun. Ray Milland and a bunch of classic character actors as the baseball team (also Leonard Nemoy has a tiny part as a mobster) in this slight/ predictable romp. $$

The Birds: Woah, shit this was good. I should have known. Amazing tension created and Hitchcock just sells the surreal horror with lots of rear projection...so. much. rear. projection. $$$

House of Yes: How about House of NOPE. Ugh what a mess this was. Some good performances and intriguing story, but it was very stagey and I don't know why the 90s couldn't make a story about adult children and their parents without reducing everyone to cliches and stereotypes but this and Six Degrees of Separation are definitely guilty of that, but the latter is just a better film. $

Cassandra Cat: Takes a long time to get to the cat which given that this was a family film from the 60s might be a problem for some viewers, expecting a more cat-centric movie. Interesting riff on fairy tales from the Czech New Wave. Beautiful Demy-esque technicolor and settings make this 60s nonsense fly by. $$

The Day the Earth Caught Fire: 60s nuclear panic disaster film that really just shows the earth as it is now in the throws of global warming. Yikes. Thoughtfully written and well acted by a bunch of folks I'd never heard of. $$

For Me and My Gal: Directed by Busby Berkley and starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland and set in the 1920s on the Vaudeville circuit, I was expecting a lot more fun, dancing, color, costumes etc. This is actually more of a black and white war time melodrama with some music shoved into it and the dancing is very rudimentary. (I think this is probably because Garland esp. at this stage wasn't in the same league with Gene Kelly and I think it would have been too noticable...). Filmed at the entry of America into WW2 this was quite a deliberate propaganda piece. $$

TLADOCB Commentary: I've watched this movie 20 times at least but the commentary really made me think about a bunch of things differently. Can't say I recommend unless you are fanatic though as it's obviously pieced together from interviews Michael Powell and Martin Scorcese $$

Water (1985): If you smoke the exact right strain of sativa and ignore some of the more dated aspects of this 80s comedy, that reads as if Local Hero were a Cheech and Chong film--this is a total classic. Irreverent Michael Caine just straight up breaking character the minute he turns into a guerilla fighter in the jungle and being far too competent and cool, and then snapping back to sweetly shy, inept British Civil Servant, finding he actually loves his hated backwater post (the invent Casara part Caribbean, part Devon Jurassic Coast) while having to actually do his job. Political satire and fully both barrels to Maggie Thatcher and Reagan. Good on em. Filmed in St. Lucia, the movie has a zany heart and little taste, hoovering up vast quantities of competent TV players from my youth: Herman Munster and Reginald Perrin to name but two. Awkward love story and some uneven acting from Valerie Perrin and Brenda Vaccaro. I enjoyed myself, heartily, anyway. $$$

The Ballad of John and Yoko: Technically a video essay with amazing production values (the licensing alone was epic) dragging together disparate topics around the central theme of women being blamed for bad things happening to infantalized male geniuses. Is it the most coherent argument? No. Does it absolutely tap into many unexpressed or implied ideas that have been floating around since me too? Absolutely. $$

Track 29: This was some of the worst casting I've ever seen in a film. When I think of Texas nurse who is into trains and spanking, I don't automatically think of comedian Sandra Bernhardt. When I think of an actress of that era who was old enough to play Gary Oldman's mother, I don't think of Theresa Russell who is the same age as Oldman and looked every bit as young as he did in the film. Maybe that was the point? I'm not sure. The story was weird, like a Southern Gothic melodrama/black comedy ala Flannery O'Connor, but there was something off about the whole thing.

#Jenny's Film Odyssey #all credit to @dweemeister #January film Odyssey

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waitmyturtles · 2 years

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Drama Accountability Pinned Post!

🏳️‍🌈 HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! 🏳️‍🌈 EDITED June 3, 2024: Hello! Thank you for landing here. This blog is devoted mostly to Asian drama and movie reviews and meta analyses, along with your random fashion post and maybe a floating meditation on parenting along the way. This pinned post will help me keep track of where my scattered brain is at with what I’m watching, what I want to watch, and what I have watched.

My major focus regarding dramas is in completing what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC), where I’m learning about the young history of Thai BLs through an expansive list of GMMTV and non-GMMTV dramas, to learn about the genre’s fumbles and improvements, as recommended by @absolutebl in their original post on the topic. I’m also inspired to learn about the development of Thai BL as an art form, complete with tropes, frameworks, and responsive commentaries, as described by @miscellar in an analysis post on Bad Buddy the Series.

I’m also catching up in general with other classic and/or essential QLs of all other Asian countries, reviews of which you can check out on this tag.

I tend to go down actor/actress rabbitholes when I’ve watched a drama of theirs that I have fallen in love with; I don’t always watch things chronologically; I LOVE SHOWS ABOUT FOOD AND/OR COCKTAILS, and I’m still new to Tumblr fandoms. But this is my space to absolutely just dump and analyze thoughts, so please, welcome, and thank you for reading!

What I’m watching!

Knock Knock Boys (T, BL, Thursdays) Wandee Goodday (T, BL, Saturdays) (my thoughts here) Cherry Magic (J, BL, anime), and fast-forward rewatches of Cherry Magic (J, BL) and Cherry Magic Thailand (T, BL) GAP The Series (T, GL) (2022) (The Old GMMTV Challenge) 23.5 (T, GL) (my thoughts here) (on pause to finish this until I get to 23.5 by way of OGMMTVC chronology because, bleh and I lost enthusiasm :( )

Past Big Meta

Pain, Suffering, and Narratives in Some Asian Dramas (Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars, Our Dining Table, He’s Coming To Me, Double Savage, Dark Blue Kiss, and more)

Pain, Trust, and Separation in Some Asian Dramas (Bad Buddy, Still 2gether, A Tale of Thousand Stars, Until We Meet Again, I Promised You The Moon, and the movie version of Cherry Magic: 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!)

What’s on deck (generally speaking):

Make a Wish (T, BL)

What’s on deck (The OGMMTVC Project and historic/significant Thai BLs): 1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (Links to the BBS OGMMTVC Meta Series are here: preamble here, part 1, part 2, part 3a, part 3b, and part 4) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) (review here) 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist (part 1 and part 2) 37) Honorable Mention: War of Y (2022) (for the sake of an attempt to provide meta BL commentary within a BL in the modern BL era), with a complementary watch of Aam Anusorn’s documentary, BL: Broken Fantasy (2020) (thoughts here) 38) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 39) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch to Reexamine “Genre BLs” and Internalized/Externalized Homophobia in GMMTV Shows (review coming) 40) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) (watching) 41) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 42) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 43) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) 44 La Pluie (2023) (review coming) 45) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 46) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 47) Only Friends (2023) (tag here) (not technically a BL, but it certainly became one in the end) 48) Last Twilight (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as Thailand’s first major BL to center disability, successfully or otherwise) 49) Cherry Magic Thailand (2023-24) (tag here) (on the list as the first major Japanese-to-Thai drama adaptation, featuring the comeback of TayNew) 50) Ossan’s Love Returns (2024) (adding for the EarthMix cameo and the eventual Thai remake) 51) Dead Friend Forever (2024) (thoughts here) 52) 23.5 (2024) (GMMTV’s first GL) (thoughts here) (There are many, many more on @absolutebl‘s wonderful compilation lists that I’ll want to check out eventually, and will adjust this list accordingly.)

What’s on deck (the Jojo Tichakorn/pre-Only Friends playlist):

Gay OK Bangkok (2016) (review here) Gay OK Bangkok 2 (2017) (review here) 3 Will Be Free (T, 2019) (review here) Mama Gogo (T, 2022) The Warp Effect (T, 2022) (review here) Dirty Laundry (T, 2023) (tag here)

What’s on deck (the Fluke Teerapat/Tanachot Prapasri playlist):

YYY (2020) (review here) My Ride (2022) (T, BL) La Pluie (2023) (T, BL)

What’s on deck (the JamFilm playlist):

Khun Chai (To Sir With Love) (2022) (T, lakorn) Laws of Attraction (2023) (T, BL)

What’s on deck (essential non-Thai BLs and other shows): The Gifted (T, 2018) Blacklist (T, 2019) Let’s Fight Ghost (T, 2019) The Gifted: Graduation (T, 2020) Takara to Amagi/Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (J, BL, essential BLs) Seven Days (J, BL, essential BLs) Ototo no Otto/Otouto no Otto (My Brother’s Husband) (J, 2018) Summerdaze (Singapore, BL) Guilty: Kono Koi wa Tsumi Desuka? (J) Nee Sensei Shiranai no (J) Kimi wa Petto (2017 version with Shison Jun (J)) Ingredients (T, BL)

What I have watched that I recommend you MUST MUST WATCH FOR YOUR SOUL:

Kinou Nani Tabeta (J, BL) (my writing on KNT) Old Fashion Cupcake (J, BL) (my writing on OFC) Cherry Magic Japan (J, BL) (my writing on CM) Cherry Magic Thailand (T, BL) (my thoughts) Bad Buddy (T, BL) (my mini-thesis on BBS, and my BBS tag) Moonlight Chicken (T, BL) (my writing on MC, my manifesto on khao man gai/Hainan chicken rice/nasi ayam, and my master list of MC Big Themes) A Tale of Thousand Stars (ATOTS) (T, BL) (review here) Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x ATOTS (T, BL) (my OS2/BBS tag, my OS2/ATOTS tag, and my OS2/BBS/ATOTS tag) He’s Coming To Me (T, BL) (review here) Make It Right seasons 1 and 2 (T, BL) (review on season 1 here) (review on season 2 here) The Eighth Sense (K, BL) (my writing on T8S) Life as a Girl (Joshi Teki Seikatsu) (J) (my writing on LAAG) She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat (TsukuTabe) (J, GL, seasons 1 and 2) (thoughts here) The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (J) (review here) Love For Love’s Sake (K, BL) Drive My Car (J, movie) His (J, BL, movie) Tonbi (2013 version with Uchino Seiyou) (J)

What I have watched that I highly recommend:

Unknown (TW, BL) (my thoughts) (final review coming) I Cannot Reach You (J, BL) (my thoughts) I Feel You Linger in the Air (T, BL) (my thoughts) Be My Favorite (T, BL) (my thoughts) Our Dining Table/Bokura no Shokutaku (J, BL) (my thoughts) The Eclipse (T, BL) (my writing on The Eclipse) KinnPorsche (T, BL) (my writing on KP) Semantic Error (K, BL) (review here) Minato Shouji’s Coin Laundry (J, BL) (review here) Utsukushii Kare/My Beautiful Man Season 1 (J, BL) (review here) Utsukushii Kare/My Beautiful Man Season 2 (J, BL) (my UKS2 tag) Kabe Koji/Kabe-Koji-Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to be Recognized (J, BL) (my writing on Kabe Koji) Eien No Kino (Eternal Yesterday) (J, BL) (my writing on EY) Kieta Hatsukoi (J, BL) (review here) Extraordinary Attorney Woo (K) (my writing on EAW) Silent (J) Okaeri Mone (J, asadora) Life: Love on the Line (J, BL) Mozu (J) Wakako Zake (J) (seasons 1-4) XX: Blue Moon (K) Shinya Shokudo (Midnight Diner) (J) Crash Landing on You (K) Like Father, Like Son: Soshite Chichi ni Naru (J, movie) After Life (J, movie) What I really want to watch, but I’m in not a huge rush:

Unmet (J) Fermat’s Cuisine (J) Raise de Wa Chanto Shimasu (three seasons and SP) Kim Ji Young: 1982 (K, movie) It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (K) Again My Life (K) Run On (K) The Tale of Nokdu (K) Little Women (K) Thirty Nine (K) Nora From Queens (US) My Liberation Notes (K) Doom At Your Service (K) Ishiko to Haneo: Sonna Koto de Uttaemasu? (J)

What I have watched, in no particular order (besides the OGMMTVC shows above):

My Precious the Series (T) Living With Him (J, BL) (my thoughts here) Marry My Dead Body (TW, movie) Ossan’s Love Returns (J, BL) (my thoughts) Cooking Crush (T, BL) (my thoughts) Wednesday Club (T) (my thoughts) Double Savage (T) (my thoughts) Only Friends (T, ended up being BL-ish, BLOOP) (my thoughts) Cutie Pie (2022) and Cutie Pie 2 You (2023) (T, BL) The Promise (T, BL) (my thoughts) SOTUS S (T, BL) Bed Friend (T, BL) (my review of the finale) (my Bed Friend tag) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (T, BL) (review here) Our Dating Sim (K, BL) A Shoulder To Cry On (K, BL) Jack O’Frost (J, BL) (thoughts!) The End of the World, With You (J, BL) (my writing on TEOTWWY) SOTUS (T, BL) (thoughts here) 10 Years Ticket (T) (review here) The Novelist: Playback (J, BL, movie) (review here, spoilers) Ameiro Paradox/Candy Color Paradox (J, BL) (review here) Dirty Laundry (T) (my posts on DL here) Individual Circumstances (K, BL) (review here) The New Employee (K, BL) (review here) Three Star Bar in Nishi Ogikubo (J) (review here) Cafe Minamdang (K) (review here) Hiru (J) (review here) Ase to Sekken (Sweat and Soap) (J) (review here) Big Dragon (T, BL) (review here) Ichigeki (J) (review here) The Director Who Took Me to Dinner (K, BL) (thoughts here) Two Office Workers Who Are Too Poisonous for One’s Eyes (Me No Doku Sugiru Shokuba No Futari) (J, BL kinda) BL Metamorphosis (J, quick review here) Why Her? (K) Let’s Eat (seasons 1, 2, and 3) (K) Where Your Eyes Linger (K, BL) Kodoku no Gurume (J) Chef wa Meitantei (J) Crisis: Special Security Squad (J) Meitantei Akechi Kogoro (J) Teppachi! (J) The Novelist (J, BL) Mood Indigo (J, BL) Izakaya Shinkansen (J) Sayonara Itsuka (J, movie) Fullmetal Alchemist: The Avenger Scar (J, movie) Hatsukoi (2020) (J, movie) Rinjo (J) To Heal Wounds of the Heart (Kokoro no Kizu to Iu Koto) (J) Hoshi to Lemon no Heya (J) My Husband Got a Family (K) Tony Takitani (J, movie) I'll Still Love You Ten Years From Now (Juunen Saki mo Kimi ni Koishite) (J)

What I tried to watch, but couldn’t finish:

Alice in Borderland (J) (I couldn’t do it, I can’t do violence, but Machida Keita’s Karube is really wonderful, and Yamazaki Kento was also fabulous of the bits I watched. Please don’t take my inability to watch this as a judgment of the show, it’s clearly a FANTASTIC show for people who can handle blood and games and killings and fights and stuff) (I will try this again considering so many people like it!) <3

On hold/dropped (permanent or otherwise)

Playboyy The Series (T, BL) (my thoughts) Bake Me Please (T, BL) The Sign (T, BL) Shadow (T) Gokushufudo (J) (on hold) Keishicho Outsider (J) (this is such a good show but I don’t have capacity to watch it, but Nishijima is FABULOUS IN IT, I will watch it at some point) A Boss and a Babe (T, BL) All the Liquors (K, BL) UMG (T) Wakako Zake (season five) (J) Banshaku no Ryuugi (J) Tokyo In April Is... (J, BL) Minato’s Laundromat/Minato Shouji’s Coin Laundry, Season 2 (J, BL) (my thoughts so far) (on pause) Dangerous Romance (T, BL) Absolute Zero (T, BL)

What I’ve watched that I recommend you please do NOT watch, it’s not worth the expenditure of energy: The Unusual Family (K) TharnType (T, BL) Step By Step (T, BL) (my thoughts) My Husband Won’t Fit (J) (I could go on and on and on about how I think this show was particularly irresponsible, but I might have a Western bias about my interpretation, sigh) Super Rich (J) (maybe this is necessary if you’re a total Cherry Magic/Akaso/Machida stan, but this show was unbelievably bad and a total waste of their talents -- if you really need some fan service, zoom through episodes three to five and SKIP THE REST)

#list #drama list #drama accountability!

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thewriteflame · 2 years

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Writeblr Intro

Thought I would do an intro since I haven't yet. I'm Kayla or you may know me as @flamingdiva if you happen to like the kpop group SHINee. Believe it or not but it was Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries who inspired me to actually start writing in 2007 when I was 13. For some years after high school, though, I stopped writing. In 2018 my desire to pick it up again grew and I am finally back to writing nearly as much as I did procrastinating school work.

I pretty much write what I like to read: fantasy, sci-fi, YA, dystopian, and mystery. I've written some poetry too.

I love being tagged and getting asks but I am a shy creature with ADHD so it might take me some time to respond!

Favorite writers: Jane Austen, Marissa Meyer, Kathy Reichs, Susan Fletcher, Veronica Rossi, Ruta Sepetys, Meg Cabot

Other interests: Doctor Who, otome games, manga, Asian dramas, SHINee/kpop, Miraculous Ladybug

(links will be added as I post more)

Updated: April 18 2024

Main WIPs:

The Revenged & The Scarlett's Song

A duology (planned) that takes place in my world. Lady Shuntala decides to elope after meeting the wonderful and romantic merchant sailor, Nahuel. Soon, though, she's on a path to piracy in her quest for revenge.

Fantasy, Strong Female Lead, Healing From Trauma, Pirates

Intro post; tag (WIP: The Revenged); character intros

Desktop: project page

And They Were Roommates

A very self indulgent project that has many characters from another WIP (Thylore). After Jayme and Takashti are assigned as- you guessed it- roommates they have to learn to live together and deal with each other's emotional baggage. Modern AU, Tropes Everywhere, Found Family, Fantasy, Neurodivergent Protagonist, Multi POV Intro post; tag (WIP: ATWR); character intros Project page

Secondary WIPs:

Home: Ka'il's Story

As persecution of elves escalate and more go missing each day, Ka'il worries if he would be able to protect his family while helping others. Then the worst happens: he's taken captive by slave traders. Will Ka'il make it back to the home he loves? Will it even be there?

A novella (maybe) that follows Ka'il's journey up to when he meets Shuntala in The Revenged.

Fantasy, Trauma, Slavery, Pirates

Intro post; tag (WIP: Home); character intros

Project Page

The Taste of Thyme

Happy with her job and life, Sadie couldn't wish for anything more than the next biggest recipe from time for her award winning blog. But after some encounters with her boss's son, Liam, she realizes time traveling is far more dangerous than she had thought. Sci-fi, mystery, romance, diverse cast, historical Intro post; tag (WIP: TToT); character intros Project page

WIPs I'd like to get to someday:

Anar (title pending)

When Princess Djamila is orphaned her uncle takes advantage of the situation by trying to force her to wed a vessel of his choosing. Mila and her guardian cat run and end up in the neighboring country. There she befriends Nkiru and comes up with a plan just crazy enough it might work in getting her country back from Uncle Jayesh. Fantasy, "fake" marriage, strong female lead, big cats

Firebird Summer

Alex and Kella are destined to be together. That's what everyone in their small town knew even before they started dating. It was never a question of if they would stay together but a question of if Alex could hold out long enough to escape his father's drunken anger. YA, trauma, romance, coming of age, (does 2012 count as historical? someone tell me no)

Ayra's Tale (title also pending)

Four teens and their faerie companions are pulled into a nefarious plot involving the disappearance of Lady Ayra when Zim loses his faerie friend, Ziv, after running away from home.

Fantasy, Found dysfunctional Family, Mystery, Disabled Protagonist

Intro post; tag

Thylore

Saira vows to assassinate Thylore's human king in an effort to end the persecution of elves. Takashti just wants to keep his impulsive, adoptive cousin from getting herself killed while keeping as far away from Saira's lover, Cyrail, as possible. fantasy, strong female lead, lots of bickering how are they going to lead a revolution at this rate?

Sofia (give it up for pending titles!)

Sofia Alesci has everything figured out. She'll go to college and become one of the best forensic anthropologists in the nation. What she hasn't figured out, though, is how she'll survive having to socialize and why the police won't believe her that the professor has been murdered. YA mystery, autistic protagonist

#writeblr intro

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kimyoonmiauthor · 2 years

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Idea for Chinese Xianxia

People hate finding this out, but East Asian writers often take ideas from Dramabeans and soompi... so I did a write up.

Edit: Posted it yesterday to Soompi and dramabeans, September 17, 2022, so might show up in whole or in parts in 2023-2024, with how Chinese dramas go.

I was thinking of posting this to dramabeans/soompi as a drama idea, since I’m not Chinese, and they often take ideas:

Basic Premise write up:

Princess Bluegreen Algae (cyanobacteria 发菜) (郡主) is devalued because her true form is a bluegreen algae and the youngest of the previous King. Everyone else has true forms that are cool--like orchids (who marries demons), (9 Tail foxes, who marry retired gods and mermaids), lotuses, who marry retiring Gods. But no one is interested in poor Princess Bluegreen Algae because they think she is unimportant. But Buddha's teachings say that every plant and animal is important, and she is the daughter of a Dragon God, despite her true form being a bluegreen algae.

She grows up thinking the Gods are wearing boring clothing--like all white in chiffon, when she dreams they could be dazzling and splendid in lots of colorful clothes, silks, taffeta, brocade, and so is more interested in the changing fashion of Earth and how she could do that for the Heavenly realm, even though the Heavenly realm has a strict (and boring) dress code. (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, Pillow Book, etc)

When examining earthly fashion, she accidentally is reborn in the Earthly realm to a silk merchant (trips in the pool of reincarnation/accidentally falls off the edge would be funny and no one notices in Heaven for years). Not only does she level up her earthly powers, but meets a lonely Cowherd (牛郎). When she returns to the heavens she can't forget him. But finds that his true form is an oregano plant: 牛至草.

Unfortunately, upon arriving back in heaven, she is betrothed to the cowherd's older brother, whose true form is a mighty dragon--cold, stoic, doesn't say what he means and a strong general. But all she longs for is the heart of the Second Lead--because she has Second Lead Syndrome, the Cowherd--who is gentle, intelligent inventor (such as rain machines and tinkering), kind, communicates well and a thoughtful listener.

Reason for this:

I think it would be fun to reimagine Zhinü (織女)'s story as a xianxia comedy. Make fun of Xianxia, with love of course, some of the tropes like the drab heavenly clothes (which I got the idea for from Avenue X (Who is Chinese) complaining constantly about Xianxia clothes.) and also play with the idea that discovering the "true forms" always leads to "secretly" something else, leveling up, secretly a mighty Goddess or needing to be part of the huge cosmic order. Maybe there are people who don't want to smite the mighty devil, but only want to live together, but are torn apart by circumstances (Feuding heavenly families) and swept up in the drama of everyone else's politics.

Of course her bestie has to be a crow-demon/Magpie in true form, because of the story and devalued for being so.

And then 牛郎's bestie needs to be obviously a cow in true form (who thinks he smells delicious.)

And maybe Zhinu's true form is a star--Vega after all, even if she's the youngest, and no one really took a close look at her bluegreen algae to even notice the star she always was. And they unite with the magpies, give the people of Earth rains, and shine the brightest together. Sometimes the simplest solutions solve the greatest problems? And they are forgiven in the end unlike the folktale.

I was thinking she could be weak--like a lot of Xianxia and level up at the end. She could have fanciful ideas from watching plays (maybe as a costume designer?) and such and have an absolute hatred of the typical Xianxia hero type (cold stoic, etc--maybe because she finds their costumes boring or some such), leading her to constantly referencing Second Lead Syndrome for herself. Also a bit naughty out of sight of officials (because she was in the folktale too.)

She should be able to pass the Mako Mori, Bechdel and Sexy Lamp test easily I think with this set up. Talk to another woman about something other than a man, have interests outside of romance and not do everything for men (her fashion career, trying to convince the Gods to level up their clothes with more drama.) and she should easily have agency since she has to choose between men and her own career which will obviously set off consequences and choices.

#xianxia #Chinese drama ideas

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