Weekly Chat
Saturday, 18 July 2026 13:47![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
c_entThe weekly chat posts are intended for just that, chatting among each other. What are you currently watching? Reading? What actor/idol are you currently following? What are you looking forward to? Are you busy writing, creating art? Or did you have no time at all for anything, and are bemoaning that fact?
Whatever it is, talk to us about it here. Tell us what you liked or didn't like, and if you want to talk about spoilery things, please hide them under either of these codes:
or
Whatever it is, talk to us about it here. Tell us what you liked or didn't like, and if you want to talk about spoilery things, please hide them under either of these codes:
or
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 11:51 (UTC)The first one is Blossoms of Power. I'm 8/36 episodes in and enjoying it, especially because of all the familiar pretty faces. *g* Meng Ziyi's character is great! I don't really ship her and the crown prince (yet?), but I love all the intrigue and games. Handsome man trap? That was hilarious!
The second drama is Xiao Fang, and as a modern drama it's a bit of an outlier from my usual fare. I'm 6/18 episodes in and having a blast. I love the glimpse into rural life in China (even though I'm sure it doesn't look that pretty everywhere *g*), and the consequences of the one child policy. I adore the titular Xiao Fang - both her attitude and her fashion sense. Her family is interesting, too, especially her grandmother.
The third one is Key to the Phoenix Heart, and I've watched 4/28 episodes so far. The visuals are very pretty, and the politics are certainly intriguing in this one! Highlight for spoilers! *Is FL's father actually her real dad? If yes, then Li Mao would be her half sibling - was he really okay with them marrying, or did he already have his own plans from the start? Right now it looks like he intends to put his illegitimate son on the throne as the next emperor, and not just as a regent.*
But I didn't forget about White Cat Legend, either. I'm at 22/36 episodes now, and still loving it very much. All of the characters are so adorable! I'm also curious how all those different cases will be tied together.
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 13:55 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 14:21 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 15:40 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 17:37 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 14:41 (UTC)And mini dramas:
Bei Po Shan Hun, Qi Shi Leng Mian Ji Zhang Ta Chao Ai - enjoyable for a vertical.
Murder in Jiangyun Town - fine just not particularily memorable.
I Am Fei Fan - I'm enjoying the secret child storyline, definitely not enjoying the human experimentation one.
Young Swordsman - enjoyable. I like ML's character.
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 15:27 (UTC)He had a very impressive introduction! Also, it's Hou Minghao... he's so incredibly beautiful. *g*
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 15:36 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 17:40 (UTC)Yeah, I really appreciate those vibes! I like him best when he's slightly demonic or dangerous or otherwise otherworldly.
(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 17:44 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Saturday, 18 July 2026 19:34 (UTC)I've also got a vid for The Unseen premiering at World Wide Slash's online convention today am looking forward to seeing what people think of it!
There's a number of dramas that I've been meaning to check out, but I haven't gotten a chance yet.
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 19 July 2026 06:24 (UTC)Congrats on the vid premiere!
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 19 July 2026 20:58 (UTC)One ep of Love Beyond the Grave (now on ep 17).
One ep of First Frost (now on ep 7), and struggling. I talked to the person who recced it to me, who said it would get better as soon as the ML's sister turns up, and it got worse? /o\ I'm this close to dropping it.
One ep of Love Has Fireworks (also on ep 7), which I'm starting to like better again. It's weird how those two shows are so similar and yet so very different at the same time. :D
And one ep of Our Times, finished ep 9.
I'm still following the press junket for Wu Lei's new movie which will premiere on August 1, and started watching the 2-hour-livestream of Wu Lei and Huang Bo cycling through Hainan (in a thunderstorm O_O). I'm enjoying that (predictably :D), even though the stream lags and echoes and the autosubs aren't up to that at all. :D (bilibili link unsubbed)
Oh, and I watched the livestream of the Beijing humanoid half marathon (bilibili link with simultaneous translation), which took place in April. It was a "normal" half marathon, plus a parallel contest for 124 humanoid robots. Not that this is a cdrama, but it's a Chinese language program, so I guess it kind of belongs here. It's rtmi and I found it quite interesting.
(no subject)
Date: Monday, 20 July 2026 00:08 (UTC)Oh those look like fun live things!
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 26 July 2026 20:33 (UTC)I haven't touched it all week (too many Wu Lei interviews to watch), but I haven't given up yet.
(no subject)
Date: Monday, 20 July 2026 16:11 (UTC)You both seem to have very different tolerances for certain stuff in dramas. :-(
but it's a Chinese language program, so I guess it kind of belongs here
Sure! Why not? *g*
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 26 July 2026 14:46 (UTC)She recced me two things so far and the first one turned out to be my favorite cdrama of all time (Nothing But You) and a Korean office romance which ultimately bored me but had a great setup - it wasn't bad. So I'm willing to try very hard with her recs, assuming we like similar things. I haven't touched it all week, but I haven't given up yet.
(no subject)
Date: Sunday, 26 July 2026 16:35 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Monday, 20 July 2026 06:11 (UTC)I'm now 9 episodes into Love For You and still finding it compelling.
I'm caught up on Bittersweet Love and have watched all 6 (out of 12) episodes that have been released. And... I am not sure if I like it. But I am very amused by the people who have started calling the main suffering character *Soup Dobby.* But it's very "tolerating power imbalance is so pure, innocent, and sexy" kind of writing.
I'm at episode 20 of Blossoms of Power and it has been losing me for about the last 5 episodes. It keeps doing annoying things and then coming back and saying delightful philosophy. And I guess that what's happening is that the writer and director had very different visions of what the moral of this story is.
And I ended up starting The Eternal Fragrance, which is charmingly ridiculous so far. Ju Jingyi is playing a flatchested tomboy in a role that is perfectly suited to her acting.
Shows from other countries:
Don't Be Too Emotional - I'm a sucker for this kind of story in American media. I don't really like most horror, and I'm not particularly interested in religion - but religious horror where someone is standing behind and whispering temptations into someone's ear? Where that person is smart enough to see the trap but can't escape its gravitational pull... yeah! So I've seen all 4 episodes (out of 12) that have been released, and so far it's pushing all the buttons.
Payback - has taken a bit of a journey from the initial roadmap. It has gone from just seeking to redress a personal wrong to addressing institutional wrongs (putting it in the same category as Dual Stars and The Sparkle in Your Eye). But it's also *making a strong case for the will to live and the usefulness of THERAPY.*
Shows I also want to be able to watch if there were unlimited time: Blue Lips, ChermChay, Deep In, Journey with You, Key to the Phoenix Heart, Lost to You, Overdo, Road to Success, Xiao Fang
(no subject)
Date: Monday, 20 July 2026 16:16 (UTC)Ugh, how frustrating! And I'm assuming they're annoyingly stupid things, and one character keeps catching the idiot ball again and again?
Ju Jingyi is playing a flatchested tomboy in a role that is perfectly suited to her acting.
I had planned on starting that one, but got distracted by other stuff. XD
(no subject)
Date: Monday, 20 July 2026 19:05 (UTC)It's actually at the whole core of whether this film is a feminist text that respects women's agency or whether it's sexy for men to feel like once they are betrothed they have some kind of territorial stake over a woman and are justified in doing weird creepy stalker shit to prove their love.
I had thought that we were all agreed that the stalker shit was creepy and something where people would learn that women have agency and to knock that off. But now I am not trusting the narrative to get us there. It might yet, which is why I'm not spoilering. But I do not trust.
(no subject)
Date: Wednesday, 22 July 2026 18:39 (UTC)But now I am not trusting the narrative to get us there. It might yet, which is why I'm not spoilering. But I do not trust.
I'm curious to see which way it will turn out in the end.