Dramas rock. And It Started with a Kiss owns my soul. On the installment plan
Finished Tokyo Juliet ep 12. All I have to say is that I want to stab the bra guy in the eye with a fork.
I checked the cover of my shipped Magic Ring DVD and GLEEEST GLEE THAT EVER GLEED. The English summary on the back is comprehensible! This is usually a good hint the subs will at least make sense (you should see the scary summaries on backs of ISWAK and Goong). YAY. Am a bit closer to angsty angsty Joe Cheng (though if it turns into Love Contract Mark 2, I will scream. I watched LC after DBY because I wanted to see Mike He angst and ended up bawling for hours). Am amused that the front refers to it as 'fetish' serial. I know they mean 'popular' but a girl can dream, no? Mmmm, Joe Cheng and chains. Hmmmm.
Front. Why does JC have such weird hair in the pic? I saw stills and he looks fiiiiiine in the drama itself, but here it's like he is an extra from Quo Vadis:
Back (a comprehensible summary! Yay! It's usually a really good sign):
I have also watched more It Started with a Kiss. Ep 14 (the Christmas episode) makes living worthwhile. Honest. You think I am joking?
First off, let's start with the most shallow yet crucial observation: Zhi Shu. In a tux! Ahem. Xiang Qin's reaction is mine. Love that ZS is whining 'do I have to wear that?' to his Mom. Typical guy. Love that little brother snarks at XQ to wipe her drool.
Do you know, I absolutely adore Xiang Qin? This ep really shows why. She is loyal, incredibly so. She promised her two gfs (who had fights with their SOs) that she'd go out with them for a girls-only thing on Christmas Eve and so she holds to it, even though she is dying to go to the party with the family, and to keep on looking at ZS in a tux, and she is worried other girls would steal him (apparently a lot of ZS's Dad's business partners are coming to introduce their daughters). But she said to her friends she'll go with them, so she refuses the party. Even when ZS is teasing her and saying she'd look good in an evening dress and he might have even asked her to dance. Poor girl, she looks like she's swallowed her tongue and I feel so bad for her disappointed longing to go, but she says no anyway. The thing is, you can tell ZS admires XQ for sticking by her friends. He always, always, always is newly surprised by her good qualities, in an impressed kinda way. He makes fun of her yet she wows him at the same time.
I love the scene in the car, where he sees one of her friends with her bf (both her friends made up with their SO so ditched XQ) and the first, automatic thought in his head is Who will spend Christmas with Xiang Qin?. And he calls the home number and she picks up and he is teasing her but it's clear he is checking up on her to see if the other friend cancelled on her too, and his teasing (which is very gentle at this point) is a way to both mask and express his concern.
Awwww, I feeel so bad for XQ spending her Christmas alone. And lighting those firecrackers. I confess that I cried one time during ISWAK (yes, the fluffiest, funniest of series) and that is when XQ sees the image of her mother in the drive-way and is crying for her not to go, to turn around, and how much she misses her mom just kills me. I think part of the reason XQ gets along so well with Aunty is not just because they are compatible, but because in a lot of ways XQ sought and found a replacement Mom. She loves ZS, true. But I think by now part of his appeal is his family.
And so she resigns herself to watching TV and eating instant noodles, if the dog doesn't get them first. And she is bored and sad and lonely.
And then...
And then...
And then...
Oh my God...
Zhi Shu comes back!
She turns around, and there he is, all by himself, in his tux.
And her startled reaction is priceless. And she wonders if the whole family came back and he says no.
He says he left because it was boring, a matchmaking event. And he is totally uncertain and stiff and uncomfortable throughout, because it's clear he was bored because she wasn't there, and he was worried about her spending Xmas alone, but he doesn't realize why he feels that way at all, and I give him huge points for coming anyway, and not snarking once despite his tendency when confused by what his pull to XQ mean to hide emotionally in snark.
He clearly wants to spend Xmas with her. EEEE!
And he brings buckets of fried chicken and says it's only for him (and when she goes 'but TWO buckets?' he grins that he is very very hungry). But she starts eating it anyway, and he doesn't object at all. Heeeee.
And he is playing with the dog (adorable!) at the same time and she asks him 'Did you come to spend Xmas with the dog?' So he replies 'Of course. It's so restful. But there is always someone in the way.' And he is teasing, as always, but it's so light and gentle even she gets that this is so not what he means.
And then she says she wishes they had some cake. And he says he got some on the way. And he says he got a chocolate cake and she sees it. And I love how he smiles as he watches her be happy like a little kid. He loves making her happy, even if once again, he has no idea why. Throughout this whole scene, actually, he watches her stealthily, like a hawk, for every reaction, eeeee.
And she asks 'Did you get the cake for the dog, too?' It's interesting, because this is probably the first time I've seen her tease him. I think if she wasn't so nervous about his reaction or him in general, she'd do it more often. His manner makes her stiff and he gets exasperated and she gets even stiffer etc etc etc. When he relaxes and lets down his guard, she relaxes too.
But anyway, he says that yes, he got the cake for the dog too and she replies that too much human food is bad for a dog. And then she asks him 'Why did you get chocolate. Strawberry is your favorite flavor.' It's clear that chocolate is her fave btw. And he replies they were all out of strawberry and I literally scream at the TV because:
a. He knows her tastes so well.
b. It sinks in that when he said he got fried chicken instead of roast because they were out of roast chicken, it's also because he knows she preferred fried.
c. Because he wanted to make her happy, he put her preferences above his.
He actually spent quite a time to think up of ways to give her the best Xmas. And he got all this stuff and he planned it all and eeeee!
It's the cutest subterfuge ever.
And I love how she doesn't want to cut the cake because it's too pretty so he suggests eating the bottom out first and they are laughing and having fun and it's such an adorable adorable scene.
And then she gives him a book for a Xmas present and he says he doesn't have anything for her, even though doing this Xmas thing was totally a really good gift! And it's a medical book and he looks touched enough almost to tears so he tries to cover it up with his usual snark. He is constantly surprised every time she proves how much she cares and thinks about him. Which is weird because he is self-confident and certainly knows how nutty she is for him. But still...
And then ways later, he has a fight with his parents about his future (I like how it's a running theme that they are loving but stifling and that he envies others their determination, e.g. Ah Jin and the restaurant dream. But when he wants something, he does set his eye on it pretty well) and gets slapped by his Mom and storms out of the house, and XQ finds him and he is almost crying. And she tells him she understands him, though she might not know much. No one wants a career or a wife thrust on them. And he tells her that he wants to be a doctor, and she is the first person he's told (and the only one so far) and it's such a consistent thing. He always shares with her, when he doesn't share with anyone else and is in fact a very private person.
Oh, and Xiao Qin's nurse fantasies? Are hilarious.
And I close with a random picture of Joe Cheng:
In rec news, scottishlass wrote an excellent, NC-17 Mars fic here and alexandral has the picspam of ISWAK's Hospital Kiss here.
I checked the cover of my shipped Magic Ring DVD and GLEEEST GLEE THAT EVER GLEED. The English summary on the back is comprehensible! This is usually a good hint the subs will at least make sense (you should see the scary summaries on backs of ISWAK and Goong). YAY. Am a bit closer to angsty angsty Joe Cheng (though if it turns into Love Contract Mark 2, I will scream. I watched LC after DBY because I wanted to see Mike He angst and ended up bawling for hours). Am amused that the front refers to it as 'fetish' serial. I know they mean 'popular' but a girl can dream, no? Mmmm, Joe Cheng and chains. Hmmmm.
Front. Why does JC have such weird hair in the pic? I saw stills and he looks fiiiiiine in the drama itself, but here it's like he is an extra from Quo Vadis:
Back (a comprehensible summary! Yay! It's usually a really good sign):
I have also watched more It Started with a Kiss. Ep 14 (the Christmas episode) makes living worthwhile. Honest. You think I am joking?
First off, let's start with the most shallow yet crucial observation: Zhi Shu. In a tux! Ahem. Xiang Qin's reaction is mine. Love that ZS is whining 'do I have to wear that?' to his Mom. Typical guy. Love that little brother snarks at XQ to wipe her drool.
Do you know, I absolutely adore Xiang Qin? This ep really shows why. She is loyal, incredibly so. She promised her two gfs (who had fights with their SOs) that she'd go out with them for a girls-only thing on Christmas Eve and so she holds to it, even though she is dying to go to the party with the family, and to keep on looking at ZS in a tux, and she is worried other girls would steal him (apparently a lot of ZS's Dad's business partners are coming to introduce their daughters). But she said to her friends she'll go with them, so she refuses the party. Even when ZS is teasing her and saying she'd look good in an evening dress and he might have even asked her to dance. Poor girl, she looks like she's swallowed her tongue and I feel so bad for her disappointed longing to go, but she says no anyway. The thing is, you can tell ZS admires XQ for sticking by her friends. He always, always, always is newly surprised by her good qualities, in an impressed kinda way. He makes fun of her yet she wows him at the same time.
I love the scene in the car, where he sees one of her friends with her bf (both her friends made up with their SO so ditched XQ) and the first, automatic thought in his head is Who will spend Christmas with Xiang Qin?. And he calls the home number and she picks up and he is teasing her but it's clear he is checking up on her to see if the other friend cancelled on her too, and his teasing (which is very gentle at this point) is a way to both mask and express his concern.
Awwww, I feeel so bad for XQ spending her Christmas alone. And lighting those firecrackers. I confess that I cried one time during ISWAK (yes, the fluffiest, funniest of series) and that is when XQ sees the image of her mother in the drive-way and is crying for her not to go, to turn around, and how much she misses her mom just kills me. I think part of the reason XQ gets along so well with Aunty is not just because they are compatible, but because in a lot of ways XQ sought and found a replacement Mom. She loves ZS, true. But I think by now part of his appeal is his family.
And so she resigns herself to watching TV and eating instant noodles, if the dog doesn't get them first. And she is bored and sad and lonely.
And then...
And then...
And then...
Oh my God...
Zhi Shu comes back!
She turns around, and there he is, all by himself, in his tux.
And her startled reaction is priceless. And she wonders if the whole family came back and he says no.
He says he left because it was boring, a matchmaking event. And he is totally uncertain and stiff and uncomfortable throughout, because it's clear he was bored because she wasn't there, and he was worried about her spending Xmas alone, but he doesn't realize why he feels that way at all, and I give him huge points for coming anyway, and not snarking once despite his tendency when confused by what his pull to XQ mean to hide emotionally in snark.
He clearly wants to spend Xmas with her. EEEE!
And he brings buckets of fried chicken and says it's only for him (and when she goes 'but TWO buckets?' he grins that he is very very hungry). But she starts eating it anyway, and he doesn't object at all. Heeeee.
And he is playing with the dog (adorable!) at the same time and she asks him 'Did you come to spend Xmas with the dog?' So he replies 'Of course. It's so restful. But there is always someone in the way.' And he is teasing, as always, but it's so light and gentle even she gets that this is so not what he means.
And then she says she wishes they had some cake. And he says he got some on the way. And he says he got a chocolate cake and she sees it. And I love how he smiles as he watches her be happy like a little kid. He loves making her happy, even if once again, he has no idea why. Throughout this whole scene, actually, he watches her stealthily, like a hawk, for every reaction, eeeee.
And she asks 'Did you get the cake for the dog, too?' It's interesting, because this is probably the first time I've seen her tease him. I think if she wasn't so nervous about his reaction or him in general, she'd do it more often. His manner makes her stiff and he gets exasperated and she gets even stiffer etc etc etc. When he relaxes and lets down his guard, she relaxes too.
But anyway, he says that yes, he got the cake for the dog too and she replies that too much human food is bad for a dog. And then she asks him 'Why did you get chocolate. Strawberry is your favorite flavor.' It's clear that chocolate is her fave btw. And he replies they were all out of strawberry and I literally scream at the TV because:
a. He knows her tastes so well.
b. It sinks in that when he said he got fried chicken instead of roast because they were out of roast chicken, it's also because he knows she preferred fried.
c. Because he wanted to make her happy, he put her preferences above his.
He actually spent quite a time to think up of ways to give her the best Xmas. And he got all this stuff and he planned it all and eeeee!
It's the cutest subterfuge ever.
And I love how she doesn't want to cut the cake because it's too pretty so he suggests eating the bottom out first and they are laughing and having fun and it's such an adorable adorable scene.
And then she gives him a book for a Xmas present and he says he doesn't have anything for her, even though doing this Xmas thing was totally a really good gift! And it's a medical book and he looks touched enough almost to tears so he tries to cover it up with his usual snark. He is constantly surprised every time she proves how much she cares and thinks about him. Which is weird because he is self-confident and certainly knows how nutty she is for him. But still...
And then ways later, he has a fight with his parents about his future (I like how it's a running theme that they are loving but stifling and that he envies others their determination, e.g. Ah Jin and the restaurant dream. But when he wants something, he does set his eye on it pretty well) and gets slapped by his Mom and storms out of the house, and XQ finds him and he is almost crying. And she tells him she understands him, though she might not know much. No one wants a career or a wife thrust on them. And he tells her that he wants to be a doctor, and she is the first person he's told (and the only one so far) and it's such a consistent thing. He always shares with her, when he doesn't share with anyone else and is in fact a very private person.
Oh, and Xiao Qin's nurse fantasies? Are hilarious.
And I close with a random picture of Joe Cheng:
In rec news, scottishlass wrote an excellent, NC-17 Mars fic here and alexandral has the picspam of ISWAK's Hospital Kiss here.