愿得一心人 白头不相离

watching dramas by moonlight, lawyering by daylight.

[weirdvintage]

An early 20th century postcard against the coercion of motherhood and promoting the usage of contraception.

[queerasaurolophus]

why is it able to instantly liquify a bay leaf but struggles with garlic 😭

[queerasaurolophus]

it’s fine—I turned it off and started trying to fish out the bay leaf bits with a fork

[queerasaurolophus]

okay actually though. How bad is it really to have bay leaf in there?? looking it up

[queerasaurolophus]

Okay so it’s Not Ideal but I’m just gonna blend it more and Deal With It

[queerasaurolophus]

fuck.

[queerasaurolophus]

[queerasaurolophus]

I’m giving the swiffer a 4/10 rating for its ability to clean ceilings btw

[queerasaurolophus]

DO NOT

[dorothylarouge]

In order to do good worldbuilding you need to be able to think politically and that requires understanding politics

[dorothylarouge]

How do the gnomes of the mushroom village govern themselves and how do they determine the legitimacy of the Giggleking who rules them? These are questions you must be able to answer.

[morningflares]

Okay, so, I've been watching cdramas for a few years now and I just recently found out that they have voice actors sub in for the main actors. Why?!

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

Hilariously less dubbed when I was watching them growing up, like pretty much all dramas I watched growing up were dubbed (unless you were going for a true serious drama (TM)).

Now it’s more mixed but I would say regionality of accent is less of a consideration than it used to be unless we are talking about a Hong Kong actor (Wallace Chung in Miyu for example). ADR for dramas filmed in Hengdian is all but required because often multiple dramas are filming at the same time plus many Hengdian filming spots are technically open to the public. And then it depends on the director and then whether you can even coordinate the actors’ schedules. And then there’s always the potential need to change lines for censorship.

And then there’s the never ending line delivery discourse from marketing accounts (I’m tired of it). Ppl saying the voice don’t match the character etc etc. I think some directors just order post production dubbing to avoid the hassle (plus I am told it is a lot faster to just hire a VA)

(And then I would say the supporting characters tend to be dubbed more often than not)

[dangermousie]

Ashes to Crown needs to be a mini starring Hu Yiyao and Zhou Junwei with supporting roles played by three dudes, a big tub and a wind machine.

Instead whoever made it is trying very hard to come across as if it’s a mix of The Advisors Alliance if Cao Pi had earring trauma and The Empress of China if Wu Zetian covered her boobs like the censors insisted.

Sadly, in terms of actual complexity, the advisors involved are attending kindergarten and the empress of China is a name second grade girls gave to their pretend glassware emporium.

Please just embrace the trashiness, makers! You know where you belong! This ain’t Three Kingdoms, this is barely quarter of a kingdom. Maybe.

PS where can one buy Zhou Yiran’a teleporter? Asking for a friend.

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

1/3 Kingdom

Seriously, they keep trying to be serious and I keep laughing. But also the way the writers are like "we must narrate everything because how else the audience can possibly understand our complex plot"

(I mean, it's still fun but it's not a great sign that a drama is starting with me watching it for the lulz)

(and yeah, I like the actors themselves fine and have spent my weekend giffing (mostly) Zhou Yiran, but to me, this is a good example why on screen chemistry is important.)

[pandorumblu]

I keep laughing at the rational, adult-driven Tumblr commentary vs the MyDramaList swill of hormone-heavy keyboard warriors defending how sexy and perfect everything is, and attacking anyone who disagrees. It's a wild and chaotic hellscape over there.

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

I wish it was sexy and the leads actually have chemistry! It would go a long way in fixing the shortcomings.

[fiftysevenacademics]

I wonder if "narrate everything" was done to appeal to Netflix, specifically, which is where I'm watching it.

I have read that Netflix wants action to be narrated because they want people to have shows on as background or while they're scrolling their phones.

The sheer volume of shows released each year in China compared to the meager cdrama offerings I find on Netflix tells me they are either highly selective in what they pick up, or they have sweetheart deals with certain Chinese production or distribution companies, or even that certain individuals have good personal connections with someone at Netflix who makes these decisions.

If it's a matter of selectivity, I imagine it would help to hit the notes they like. And if it's a matter of not being in the loop, you have to try that much harder.

But the other, even more likely possibility is that the "narrate everything" mentality is seeping into Chinese production as well because their audiences are also watching while they're doing other things and are only paying half attention.

For the record, I don't think "narrate everything" is a good idea and generally don't watch shows that do it. But it is an attitude that Netflix, and probably other streaming platforms apparently have. Probably cent is no different.

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

I don’t think it’s a Netflix specific thing (because Youku seems to have a deal with either Netflix or Viki as all Youku dramas get there one way or the other)

I have a longer post about it in my mind, but I think it’s a culmination of (1) c-ent spent the last 3 years wanting to capture the Douyin market, (2) these screenwriters aren’t particularly well versed in political intrigue, and (3) they are condensing an almost 400 chapter novel into 24 episodes I guess they figured they need to sacrifice something for the pacing.

But of course, for me the fundamental issue is just the political intrigue is so, so dumb. And doesn’t even have good chemistry of the leads to serve as a buffer. I feel like I’m watching first graders trying to reenact three kingdoms.

[dangermousie]

Ashes to Crown needs to be a mini starring Hu Yiyao and Zhou Junwei with supporting roles played by three dudes, a big tub and a wind machine.

Instead whoever made it is trying very hard to come across as if it’s a mix of The Advisors Alliance if Cao Pi had earring trauma and The Empress of China if Wu Zetian covered her boobs like the censors insisted.

Sadly, in terms of actual complexity, the advisors involved are attending kindergarten and the empress of China is a name second grade girls gave to their pretend glassware emporium.

Please just embrace the trashiness, makers! You know where you belong! This ain’t Three Kingdoms, this is barely quarter of a kingdom. Maybe.

PS where can one buy Zhou Yiran’a teleporter? Asking for a friend.

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

1/3 Kingdom

Seriously, they keep trying to be serious and I keep laughing. But also the way the writers are like "we must narrate everything because how else the audience can possibly understand our complex plot"

(I mean, it's still fun but it's not a great sign that a drama is starting with me watching it for the lulz)

(and yeah, I like the actors themselves fine and have spent my weekend giffing (mostly) Zhou Yiran, but to me, this is a good example why on screen chemistry is important.)

[pandorumblu]

I keep laughing at the rational, adult-driven Tumblr commentary vs the MyDramaList swill of hormone-heavy keyboard warriors defending how sexy and perfect everything is, and attacking anyone who disagrees. It's a wild and chaotic hellscape over there.

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

I wish it was sexy and the leads actually have chemistry! It would go a long way in fixing the shortcomings.

[fforsythiaaa]

Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.

[hypokeimena]

#'this is present in the text' is often a good first step #but those second and third ones (naming it; describing its function) are vital (via @elucubrare)

[dangermousie]

This is a very very pretty drama but I am wondering why the palace procurement ordered so much of this particular shade of red in epic bulk - everything is colored in it - the floors, the ropes, the clothes, the drapes. No wonder these people are always backstabbing - I too would be cranky to live in permanent migraine town.

This drama feels more and more like series of still images in motion - like a model photoshoot or a magazine spread. They are striking poses for effectiveness and if it was a book illustration it would be cool but I feel nothing within the story because it just screams posing posing posing.

This was supposed to be cute but inadvertently has summed up my annoyance with the bulk of recent entrants into girlpower genre of cdramas. She’s supposedly the girl boss but it only works because some dude who’s the actually talented and powerful one does stuff for her. Which is not really feminism.

This is supposed to be romantic but once again posing and lack of chemistry undercut it but also I can’t help but fixate on the fact that they end in this pose because she can’t even tie a knot properly.

The fact that this is a mini in normal drama format would be fine if puzzling but the posing for three seconds clips on Douyin or w/e is really wrecking it.

This isn’t even a normal mini style, it’s micro/vertical.

[tzikeh]

More examples of the WORST mansplaining here.

[useyourblinker]

This might be my favorite

[lotsofcatsandcheapwine]

This is mine

[stockyardsyndrome]

[avalynnarcher]

Ashes to Crown Thoughts (Eps 1-3)

Now that I've had a few minutes to process...

The good:

Costuming is pretty.

Like the OP song.

The bad:

The pacing gave me whiplash.

The plot is a hot mess.

World-building? Never met her.

The ugly:

The dubbing is bad, and it should feel bad.

I'd appreciate the aesthetics more if the editing wasn't godawful.

The dramatic cuts and music cues made me giggle.

Anyway, I'm dipping out on this one.

[movielosophy]

Ashes to Crown | Fu Jiu, Chu Family's retainer.

[optical-trapping]

[ofdirtandbones]

oooooo what a cool post my mutual just reblogged ! I think I will reblog it as well !!! oooooh who did they reblog it from ? That username seems familiar,,, hohoho it's me ! from an hour ago !

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

Okay now that I've actually watched through the 4 episodes of Ashes to Crown.

As I've told @dangermousie -- this is three kingdoms (kids version) shot in the style of zoolander. I can't call it a political intrigue in good faith because there is no intrigue. You don't ever have to worry about missing a plot point because everything is narrated out loud. And you know when some important plot is going to happen because everyone is suddenly blue steel-ing at the camera. It's almost on that border of so bad it's good.

THAT SAID

I would say, for me at least, it's very watchable, in the "this is a thing I watch while cleaning up/doing dishes/folding laundry/walking on the treadmill type of way." Sure, I have to leave my brain behind and there are some dramatic scenes that are unintentionally funny, but if I'm treating this as a ... Reign type drama ... it's fun even though I've probably snarked about the plot to three mutuals as I was watching.

It's not Jadewind, which I found to be aggressively boring. Or Dazzling, which is also ... aggressively boring. So there's that.

[da-man-si]

That assassination in court scene in ep 4 has me cracking up because of (1) the shocked faces of the guys and the dramatic zoom in on their faces and the expressions on their faces is as if they are imitating hu yi tian's surprised/shocked acting from blossoms in adversity (iykyk) and (2) ML shields FL from the blade and the FL takes ML's sword and kills the assassin with it, cool cool cool, but it's funny how forced this scene is. They wanted the FL to have her first kill and should've created a more convincing scene for it because wdym the cold killer ML who stopped an arrow with his bare hand before it hit the FL in a previous ep made the stupid move of showing his back to the assassin, like there's no way he couldn't have just hit the assassin's arm and snatched the blade.

Anyway, this drama isn't about logic and I'm both amused and annoyed. The chemistry between Zhou Yiran and Chen Du Ling isn't the strongest which is a bummer because chemistry between leads is the one thing that would've carried this drama. At least, the chemistry isn't the weakest, and I can actually feel something here and there in some moments.

The plot is stupid and the characters are really just playing dress-up trying to be machiavellian and it's brainrot but it's kinda fun (so far).

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

I just got to that scene and the laugh I let out. It shouldn't be funny but it is. Like really it needs some Days of Our Lives BGM or something

[dangermousie]

This feeling

[da-man-si]

That assassination in court scene in ep 4 has me cracking up because of (1) the shocked faces of the guys and the dramatic zoom in on their faces and the expressions on their faces is as if they are imitating hu yi tian's surprised/shocked acting from blossoms in adversity (iykyk) and (2) ML shields FL from the blade and the FL takes ML's sword and kills the assassin with it, cool cool cool, but it's funny how forced this scene is. They wanted the FL to have her first kill and should've created a more convincing scene for it because wdym the cold killer ML who stopped an arrow with his bare hand before it hit the FL in a previous ep made the stupid move of showing his back to the assassin, like there's no way he couldn't have just hit the assassin's arm and snatched the blade.

Anyway, this drama isn't about logic and I'm both amused and annoyed. The chemistry between Zhou Yiran and Chen Du Ling isn't the strongest which is a bummer because chemistry between leads is the one thing that would've carried this drama. At least, the chemistry isn't the weakest, and I can actually feel something here and there in some moments.

The plot is stupid and the characters are really just playing dress-up trying to be machiavellian and it's brainrot but it's kinda fun (so far).

[renewedmotionforjudgment]

I just got to that scene and the laugh I let out. It shouldn't be funny but it is. Like really it needs some Days of Our Lives BGM or something

[animentality]

"fandom is dying," they whine as they stab artists and writers in the chest with discourse knives and harassment screws. "why isn't anyone making content for me to greedily consume for free as I make the experience worse for them and everyone around me?"

[btheleaf]