Cdramas, a BL drama and a few fanvid recs

[maggie33]

I have to go to Warsaw for four days the next week. Unfortunately for work, not for pleasure. And it will be a lot of demanding, hard work, like ‘10 hours a day for a week’ hard work. I’m already so stressed. Grrr...


So I was looking for something to cheer me up in the evenings after work. First I tried Checkmate. I watched 4 episodes. Chemistry between Hu Yitian and Zhang Yunlong is still there, and it’s beautiful visually with all those pretty costumes. But I don’t know, it doesn’t work for me the same way My Roommate Is A Detective worked for me. I found the first three episodes rather boring. The 4th episode was a bit more interesting and I liked it, so I will probably watch the rest in some unspecified future.


Then I tried Love Between Fairy and Devil. I watched two episodes, but they bored me, too. Yes, the female lead’s voice takes some time to get used to, but I wouldn’t mind that, I was used to it by the end of the 2nd episode. And true, the male lead is very hot. But I don’t see chemistry between them, and I was very disappointed that the body swap lasted only for maybe 15 minutes max. From what I heard about it earlier I thought it would last at least one whole episode.


And then I hit the jackpot with Novoland: Pearl Eclipse. I watched three episodes for now and I love it.

I loved William Chan in The Mystic Nine and he’s so good here, too. I find him super charismatic, and the relationship between Fang Jianming and the Emperor is very slashy, and I ship them already. But I like the female lead, too. Haishi is strong, resourceful and spirited, so I don’t mind the inevitable Fang Jianming/Haishi pairing in canon despite my other shipping preferences here. :)


And of course I have my actual favorite The Eclipse, even if it’s just one episode a week. Even though I still ask myself why am I so obsessed with the drama about high schoolers? I don’t like dramas about high schoolers. :) But seriously, this week’s episode was so good. I clapped my hands and I laughed and I made a lot of aww noises.

Spoilers below

Akk/Ayan kiss was beautiful, and I’m so glad they didn’t dragged it until the second to last episode for instance.

But of course what I loved the most were all Kan/Thua scenes. Especially the one when Kan admits that he’s jealous, and then he tries to cover it by saying that he totally said “worried” not “jealous”. It’s the same word in Thai just said with different tones. :) And oh, Thua’s smile when Kan said he’s jealous… Thua absolutely knows that Kan has feelings for him, he’s just patiently waiting for Kan to finally overcome his fear and his internalized homophobia and admit it.

Here’s that scene in gifset form on tumblr

I really love their scenes because there is so much happening there beneath the surface, not just when they’re talking, but in looks and smiles and in this silence between words that is almost always filled with tension and hidden meaning. And Kan looks at Thua with so much love in his eyes, and sometimes Kan looks as if he’s heart is breaking, but he’s still not saying what he really wants to say because he’s too afraid. And the preview for the next episode... Ahhhh... Why do I have to wait a whole week to see it, why? ;)


Let’s end this post with a few KinnPorsche fanvid recs.

A fantastic Vegas fanvid - The Devil Is a Gentleman

Vegas/Pete - Love Me Like You Do

Vegas/Pete - me and the devil

Kinn/Porsche & Vegas/Pete - Small Doses

Comments

[laireshi]

Then I tried Love Between Fairy and Devil. I watched two episodes, but they bored me, too.
I'd say give it another chance? It started picking up for me around ep 4, and then a few times I descended into squeeing and flailing excitedly. I'm not yet done though.

I was actually glad the body swap didn't last long, but... There's another one later on that lasts for 3 eps.

[maggie33]

Oh, ok, that's good to know. I guess I'm tentatively interested again. You actually made me want to watch the next two episodes, so who knows maybe I will change my mind. :D

[sakana17]

For what it's worth, I finished Checkmate and found it very satisfying, but it definitely has a different tone than My Roommate is a Detective.

[maggie33]

For what it's worth, I finished Checkmate and found it very satisfying

That's great to hear. I do like the actors and their chemistry, so I plan to watch the rest, but it's good to know other people liked it. :)

[nnozomi]

he tries to cover it by saying that he totally said “worried” not “jealous”. It’s the same word in Thai just said with different tones. :)
ooh, fascinating! God that would be hell to translate without a footnote, but fun to try...

I hope your business trip isn't too much of a pain and that something fun happens in the process <3

[maggie33]

ooh, fascinating! God that would be hell to translate without a footnote, but fun to try...

Ha, yes. There wasn't any footnote in youtube subtitles of course, but I did notice that when the actor said both words they sounded a bit similar. So after watching the episode I ventured into a drama's tumblr tag and luckily found people explaining that the words were “หวง” (to be possessive) and “ห่วง” (to be anxious/concerned about). I love learning things like that and I'm glad you can usually find generous fans who will take the time to explain it. :)

[corvidology]

I hope the Warsaw trip turns out better than you think! ♥

It's funny the way these things go. The chemistry between Hu Yitian and Zhang Yunlong clubbed me over the head in the first episode of Checkmate but I stopped watching My Roommate is a Detective really early on. I should give it another go at some point.

[maggie33]

I find it so amusing that I loved MRIAD right from the 1st episode and Checkmate hasn't grabbed me yet (though I still plan to watch the rest of it, so who knows maybe I will change my mind :)), and with you it's the exact opposite. :)

[corvidology]

Checkmate tapped right in to that part of my brain that loves mysteries with its riff off Agatha Christie stories and then (checks what you've watched) in episode 2 when Luo Shaochuan panics thinking it was Situ Yan who was murdered and then thinks he's the murderer and starts blithely planning his escape hooked me.

It's been a while since I watched the first two episodes of MRIAD, so bear with my memory of it, but I found them unbearably smug and the police office being so cosily in bed with what amounts to the mafia off putting. I also didn't like the female lead. While I am, admittedly, mostly a slasher in fandom land I want female characters I can root for.