halfcactus

Life got a bit hectic lately (had to fly back to my hometown last week) and I still haven't resolved my computer issues, so I have no energy to write about anything. o<-<

However, I'm trying to do this 30 days of dramas challenge in this Twitter thread here:

I'm at Day 7 and have no idea if I can keep up the energy haha.

Recent media:

Edward Eager, "Half Magic": I enjoyed the first few chapters, but unfortunately, reading it as an adult in 2021, this did not age well for me. ^^; But I had a really soft spot for the youngest sister.

Remembrance of Things Past (livetweet thread here): I just finished this yesterday. It was actually a really good modern-day cdrama, set in Beijing in 2020, but the themes are heavy and extremely personal, although there are a lot of fun and satisfying moments. The show follows three Dongbei women who are struggling with their lives while working through their grief in the aftermath of their friend's suicide (shown onscreen in ep 1). Characters are in their late 20s, except for Ji Nanjia who is in her mid-30s.

I take personal satisfaction in how this show contradicts the generalizations that I've seen about c-culture. XD The characters are very physically and verbally affectionate towards friends and family (which tbh is not strange in itself, especially since the main characters are women), say "I love you" a lot, and liberally shorten names to one syllable. XD The last point is particularly interesting to me because I've only seen that happen in a Taiwanese drama.

CW for suicide, grief/loss, depression and the conversations AND guilt of family and friends who find out when it’s too late, cancer (the character has completed her treatment, but it has impacted her life greatly), body image issues (only for 1 episode)... a fair amount of copaganda too (mostly for Zhou Yutong's character's storyline), which really ruined the sense of realism the show had...

I watched it on MangoTV, where the subs were wonky/unsynced until around ep 3, but after ep 3, they were synced again. The entire drama is only 12 episodes, but each episode is 75 minutes long so it's more like 24 episodes. :P

Other notes: all the parents are regular, loving people. The found family/families of choice storylines extend to them too.

Who's the Murderer S6 (variety show) (livetweet thread here): Ngl, I'm watching this mostly for Zhang Xincheng since he's in this season (each case is 3-4 hours long so I need a strong incentive), but it's fun to see other celebrities play the game, which is a murder mystery role-playing game. The format (2 "investigation" sessions, and 2 "discussion" sessions to present evidence and interrogate your suspects) and some of the shenanigans remind me a bit of Ace Attorney. It's also very pun-heavy. XD It's especially fun when the players get very into their characters, and emotional when they make choices out of empathy (notably Yang Rong in case 2).

CW: Case 2 is centered around CSA, case 5 is about suicide, depression, and mental illness. I also find Sasa's sense of humor sometimes off-putting, though he (and everyone else) always takes sensitive topics seriously.

I watched this with English subs but I’m not sure how good they are. The conversations and jokes fly really fast too, and some of it is (understandably) awkwardly translated, especially when references are involved. 😂 (I am 100% the target market for all the ZXC-related puns, especially the album covers that are puns on his name 😂)

#halfMurderer s6

YUELIANG DAIBIAO WODE— pic.twitter.com/cDnTh4B7oz
— @halfcactus November 27, 2021

The editing team does add visual aids and maps, which helps A LOT.

I'd also like to point out that the 7th case of season 6 features Wang Ou (Qin Banruo in Nirvana in Fire) and Zhang Yujian (Zhanying in Nirvana in Fire) as a married couple:

#halfMurderer s6 Hollywood/

askdkkdkkdkdksks which nirvana in fire AU is this pic.twitter.com/kWBYoZNhN3
— @halfcactus November 28, 2021

Currently consuming:

Samantha Shannon, "The Priory of the Orange Tree": unsure if I will finish by the end of December, it's pretty long. XD

Otherwise, I might take a break from starting new shows since my unproductivity guilt is really grating on me. Maybe it's time to borrow my brother's Switch...