I feel like I haven’t posted in ages *checks date* 3 days… well that’s a long time. In DB world. Who’s on and just wants to chat? I just feel like chatting. How are you? How are you dramas? Weather?

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    Welcome back chingu ^^
    The list of dramas to watch is ever growing the more I spend time here on DB lol as for the weather it’s hooooooot

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    Home for Fathers Day and dying of the heat!!!!!!! I wish I was back at my own place, it may be hotter there but at least I have air conditioning!!! 🔥☀️

    Loving Circle, The Best Hit, and Forest of Secrets (all 2 episodes).

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    I am on. A chair. I am. Eating cheese. My dramas are very lonely because I am editing my travel pictures and making an album (and I can´t decide what drama has priority. Can´t start more until I catch up with Circle and Lookout. I want to see Duel and Woman of dignity which appears to be ghost-themed, maybe). Weather is constantly cloudy and warm like neverland.

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      Mmmm…cheese….Now I want lunch.

      I am watching way too mant shows (7) and keep getting further and further behind. I can’t imagine adding more shows even though I want to watch Duel and Woman of Dignity. Ah well.

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      A digital album or a real album? Where’d you travel to?
      I love how you phrase things haha ‘warm like neverland’ 🙂

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        no, a real one. I always make these huge albums with all the photos and try not to just put the photos as squares but make a collage out of them, and this time I want every page to look like a Hundertwasser house that we saw in Madgeburg. I went to Germany along Elbe river, you can read 1st post of the latest Open Thread to know more. I have a couple of photos from the trip on Instagram too https://www.instagram.com/redfoxestonia/

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          Wow such beautiful scenery *_*
          Great pics ^_^

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          Ahhh my cousin does that! The collage thing. That’s really cool. How many have you made?
          Ahhh cool! Will go read. Thanks! Will now stalk your insta haha

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            one of Norway, one of Croatia, one of Hungary and one album of our own garden and the lush greenery. previously, I just put photos in more simple albums, cause I had no money… it is quite expensive to order and glue and add postcards and tickets with photo corners etc. the Croatian trip album cost me around 140 euros alltogether.

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          They sound amazing. Sucha cool way to document memories too. Expensive… but cool. And worth it. Cos you’ll have them forever and pay them off over time haah

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    I’m in a drama slump. A bit. I’m loving The Best Hit and Lookout to pieces, but everything else I pick up just ends up disappointing me right now. So switched to variety except for the abovementioned and also reading. Lots of it. I just finished Ivanhoe, yay! It only took me… 10 years give or take? LOL. I’ve never been that long to finish a book before, but it’s just so dull in so many ways and I kept forgetting what had happened and all but gave up on it hah. The descriptions were 19th cen-style, but then he went and made everyone talk in the “Thou art a knave, an useless ruffian!”-style and the dialogue went on and on and on and on and on and was about much too philosophical and insightful things for uneduated brutes (the knights) and goodfolk (the normal humans who didn’t go around raping and kidnapping people).

    Just imagine my ramblings going on for 500 pages while switching between those two writing styles and you’ll get the picture lol! Or did you already read it too?

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      Are you all better now or still a sore throat??

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      Well at least you’ve got two to watch?? I’m following Best Hit in recaps for now. It’s funny to watch all the people argue about their ships in the comment section lol.
      Woooot! Go you! I haven’t read it but yeah my mum has read it and said she could only really read a few pages at a time because of the style haha. I bought the Brother’s Karamazov with me to read whilst travelling and I’ve barely touched it and I FEEL SO BAD it’s not that I don’t want to read it it’s just that I shouldn’t really take books travelling cos I never seem to make the time for them haha.

      My sore throat is gone! Mostly. And by that I mean when I get sick it follows a pattern. 1st Day- Sore throat. 2nd Day- headaches and nausea. 3rd Day- chest gets all blocked, everything aches.
      Then it takes maybe 1 or two days for my body to feel normal again, but for two or more weeks after that I’ll have a blocked nose (yay for genetic sinus problems) and when I get tired I get like this weird dry/sore throat thing that is really uncomfortable.

      You probably weren’t asking for an in depth analysis on my body’s reactions to infection haha… sorry

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        It’s definitely better than having been craving dramas for the past many months, but not being totally won over by any lol.
        Haha glad to hear I’m not the only one! I used to bring books everywhere. Now I just bring my phone, cause it’s lighter ha 😛 But yes, it can be so hard to make time for reading when travelling! Because you’re out and about so much and then just tiireeeeddd when you get back to the hotel, cause sensory overload lol.

        Ugh, sounds exhausting. Glad that you’re at least somewhat back to norma. And at least you know what to expect? (tiny comfort, I know lol)

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          When I look at my own drama watching experience, there are actually very few that win me over completely, that I get excited about even afterwards to talk about you know? There are so many 7 and 8s out of 10.
          And I thought I was being smart and only taking two books *smh* oh well lesson learnt for next time. Well it’s not even that I’ve been doing that much… haven’t had the mental space either for depression Russian literature maybe? haha

          Yeah definitely on the mend so that’s nice. Haha a small comfort yes, although I feel like it’s not a good thing that I’ve been sick so much that I can predict how it’s gonna go …

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            Soooo true. I have like, five shows or something, out of 110 almost, that got 10 or even 9.5 stars lol. A lot of mediocre or just bad shows out there, but also I may just be very picky haha 😛

            Ahh yes, russian lit does require a certain kind of mental state lol! It’s awesome, but also often awfully depressing.

            Awwww *hugs* 🙁 I feel for you!!!

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          I have 1 I’ve given a 10, and maybe 5 I’d give a 9? But when I look at my reviews and ratings now, in retrospect (even though I haven’t finished them all), I know there are some I’d drop, or rate slightly differently. Plus I like to rate by how much I enjoyed it and how good I actually think it is technically (As per the old DB system)

          I’m glad you understood that sentence because typos haha. Yeah it does require a certain mental capacity. Something I haven’t really had recently.

          *hugs accepted gratefully*

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            I got curious as to my ratings and turns out there are exactly five 10-star shows lol! Coffee Prince and The Lover are probably mostly up there due to personal enjoyment, but The Good Wife, TF38 and Misaeng are just pretty much perfection and I wouldn’t doubt rating them 10 again.
            I have 20 shows rated between 8 and 9.5.
            And 70 out of 110 shows are rated 6.5 or below, meaning I found them to be somewhere between mediocre and pure awfulness lol.

            I used to rate like that. But then I obsessed over doing both those ratings as precisely as possible and it stressed me out so much I gave up haha. Now I just rate them in a combo of those two. There are dramas I really enjoyed that didn’t make it above 6 stars and ones that didn’t grab my heart that still made it above 8. So I guess maybe I value the quality of it more than the entertainment value when it comes to ratings.

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          TF38 and Misaeng are on my to watch list. I’ll think put the others on there now! Minus CP cos I’ve seen that haha.
          I seem to have a lot of 7s. One’s that I enjoyed and weren’t technically awful but weren’t really amazing either.
          Hahaha yeah it probably gives me too much stress for what it’s worth too 😛
          Rating anything gets tricky though. I’m surprised I even do it for dramas, and take note of JB and GF’s ratings. Even when you rate something technically, do you include style and genre? Because that can effect what technical elements are used, and it’s hard to rate that objectively when style and genre are such opinion based things… I’m getting carried away, you don’t have to respond to all that.

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            Yay!!!! 😀 All of those shows are really, really good, so I hope you get around to them somewhere in the near future hehe ^^ (The Lover is a super easy watch btw, cause it’s only got like 12 eps and it’s just plain fun and so different from other dramas. Plus… It’s got Jung Joon Young! 😛 )

            Rating is definitely tricky and oftentimes I wonder if it’s worth the trouble lol.
            Pffffffttt, are you kidding me? I live for discussions like this haha, otherwise I’d probably be bored mindless with my studies 😉 I may be a little too tired for this right now though, so if my reply isn’t very eloquent and stuff, it’s just cause of post-exam-brain lol.

            When I rate technically/”objectively” (if we pretend for a minute that that exists), I always try to think of what the storytellers were aiming at. That is, what kind of story did the writer want to write? I may not enjoy pure romance, but it can still be a well-written pure romance story that was just what the writer aimed at, hence well-done. What sort of tone did the director want? Funny, tense, despairing, everyday life? If it hits a certain tone right, again it may not be to my liking, but it can still be done to perfection. They may also have aimed at things like over-the-top humor which can sometimes make actors look lacking and a bit ridiculous, but if it’s done deliberately, it can still mean they did their job well.

            Same goes for genre as that’s usually a part of the considerations before making a show. And you can’t really judge a story by comparing it to a different genre – like comparing Moulin Rouge to American Sniper, that would just be ridiculous lol. Unless someone in the cast or crew was involved in both and you’re judging their performances, not the overall product.
            I always see people judging things like chick-lit for being “mindless” or “stupid” and awful writing, but if the writer/director etc only aimed at entertaining or making people laugh, then that’s how the product should be judged imo. Not everything needs to be serious, “intellectual” and invite to deep thoughts or highlight issues.
            So most of the time I try to judge a story by comparing it to others of its genre and style, I think. Even just comparing W to something like Star Trek would be ridiculous despite their common genre, as their tones and aims are completely different. Does that make sense?

            I have no idea if this has anything to do with what you were talking about, cause I’m honestly so tired I could fall asleep despite it being the afternoon LOL, but I hope it at least was close to what you were talking about haha 😛

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          I will have Lookout and CT to binge when I get home, and SP and FMY to finish, and goodness knows what else since there are over half a dozen unfinished ones floating around… But after all that it will really just depend on what I feel like watching haha. I Remember You has been on my list for ayges and that or Sungkyungkwan Scandal will most likely be next as being on here a lot has made me want to watch them stat! JJY is always a draw though. I have a feeling I might’ve seen a clip of one of his scenes on YT actually.

          Your post exam brain is excused. I should probably not get into essay length convos with you the day before I fly to Europe but if we weren’t doing that we wouldn’t be us so…
          Lol you answered my question directly, it was kinda rhetorical but I didn’t specify and I’m not complaining haha

          There wasn’t really one thing I was talking about, I was just talking about rating and objectivity in general haha. I agree with everything! Particularly this type of rating, thinking of what the writers were aiming at when it comes to a show. When I first watched Marriage Not Dating I couldn’t understand why people liked it so much when it just royally pissed me off and I couldn’t get through it. I recently went back to try again after seeing the lead actors skill, and while I still couldn’t get through it I did come to the conclusion that it wasn’t technically a bad drama because it achieved everything it set out to do.

          When I try and rate things from a technical perspective, I usually focus on the elements that make up the show. Direction, editing, dialogue, acting, screenplay, scene structure, development of character, story and plot, as well as how those things are translated to the screen. Because pretty much always when there is a problem with a show, it’s because of one or more of those things. Bonus (negative) points I guess if it’s destroying the genre it’s supposed to be, or trying to be too many genres, or missing its intended focus point entirely.

          But I like the way you do it too, and should implement that more often.

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            *grumbles* I posted a long reply and it says there was an inappropriate word *le sigh* Let’s try again, short version:

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            Finished CT. Am disappointed. Did not find the story as intelligent as beanies claim.
            ALWAYS choose to watch IRY. Always. It’s that awesome.
            Still haven’t seen Sungkyunkwan Scandal either. Think it’ll probably bore me, but it’s famous and I’m simple like that.

            Obviously we are not ourselves without having unecessarily conversations at the most inconvenient times. But you should sleep or eat or pack or whatever you need to do. Cause that would be wise. Not that I’d be doing it if I were you. But it sounds wise.

            Marriage Not Dating = bored out of my mind. Bad acting, boring story. Jinwoon excused, cause that bright smile always makes me smile *cough*and that beach scene*cough*

            Definitely look at those when reading too! But can’t judge all these things so seperately, cause they’re so connected. Like how a director can change the actor’s apparent skill. Love it when genres cross and blend well, or when someone tries to break the genre conventions, but has to be done well and with respect for the genres.

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            LOL! got reading on my mind it seems 😛

            *look at those when judging

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          I don’t really have any expectations for CT. I’ve sort of been avoiding any unnecessary spoilers, the only thing I’m kinda expecting is a possible feels trip. So I’ll still watch it, but observe it critically. Well, I do that anyway but you know.
          Dude I know, do you know how much you guys have been hyping it, pre SP and during SP and just in general!??
          You’re not much of one for Sageuks though are you? So understandable.

          Don’t worry I’ve got one eye on the clock. Although I should get off here and finish up things so I’m not rushing last minute haha.

          Oh don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like it and I too was bored out of my mind. I went back to it for Jinwoon, and yet I still couldn’t finish it haha. I just think, that for what it was trying to do, it achieved that. I didn’t like what it was trying to do hahaha and it’s not my taste, but it’s clearly some’s.

          Sometimes if one is so clearly lacking, it’s possible to critique it alone, but yes ofc, film is a product of all of those things together, so you have to look at the big behind the scenes picture, and one can so easily influence another into being bad etc etc, just like you said except that I typed this before reading your whole reply… *finishes reading* hmmm yes to all that haha.

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            I had high expectations and they were all crushed LOL. And there’s also the fact that Go Kyung Pyo’s character’s ending had been spoiled for me, though honestly ended up not even caring about that, because it never gripped me anyways. It’s emotion-porn, basically, so your expectations seem spot on. I honestly wasn’t moved though, because the emotions weren’t grounded in well-developed characters.
            Haha it cannot be hyped enough!! And it’s miiillessssssss better than SP!!!! Infinitely better!!
            Yeah no. All the torture is too much and the court politics don’t do much for me. I did love Gu Family Book though, so fusion sageuks can work for me apparently.

            Lol at least I managed to finish it, but it was on hold for a while before I managed it. You’re more enlightened than me, I still don’t know what it was aiming at…

            Off to bed, off to bed! *puts on your night cap for you*

            Have a good flight! 😀

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          Ahhh see you just gotta learn to go into dramas with really low expectations so you’re not burnt 😛 😉 😉
          I mean, there’s a reason I said ‘possible’ feels trip. I’m not sure how much it’ll move this tsundere heart o’ mine hehe Maybe a lot, maybe a little, we’ll see

          I mean I haven’t even watched it yet and SP isn’t finished but I know it’s better than SP already. SP is fun to watch but it’s not super good. I still feel like I’d have a different opinion of it if I were bingeing. But at least from now one I will be bingeing it probably, cos I highly highly doubt I’ll have access to a laptop over the next three weeks. I mean, I MIGHT but I’m not staying with anyone likely to let me borrow one I don’t think. Anyway, point is I’m looking forward to IRY a lot.

          But the hanboks are so pretty 😛 I haven’t really seen enough of them yet to know what I like and don’t but I do just love Korea’s history so even if it will probably take a while for me to find one I really love I just like that they exist. (Speaking of not raising expectations though, I’m maybe too excited to watch Tree With Deep Roots- that is, among other things, the drama about Sejong the Great and the creation of Hangul)

          Enlightened hahaha dunno about that. I’m not sure I could tell you WHAT exactly it was aiming at in words, it’s more of an impression…

          Thank you! I hope it’s good! My period came early and the first two days are nightmare with that so I’m well, not really looking forward to said flight tbh…

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            True true, I do expect too much. LOL I’ll await your verdict with curiosity! 😛

            I feel like SP doesn’t know whether it wants to be fluffy romcom or a mystery and it ends up a weird mix with no proper character-development. IRY had more emphasis on the mystery than on romance and it was extremely character-driven. Also… SIG and PBG are better actors than JCW and CTJ, so there’s that.

            Which reminds me, did you see my post about Magic Kid Masuri? Choi Tae Joon and Hongki were in it together and they look so much like their adult selves, it was pretty funny to see 😛 There’s a link in the reply to the post, cause for some reason it didn’t work to link it the other way.

            The hanboks are very pretty and in general the visuals in sageuks are pretty stunning. And I do love SFD, but because it’s so violent at times I just haven’t been able to bring myself to finish it yet O.O

            Oh no! I feel for you so so so so so much O.O Having to hop on a long flight right at that time is no fun :O

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          You know I’ll end up writing an essay on it now…

          Surprisingly the genre mix in SP doesn’t bother me very much… maybe because I’ve seen it done far worse (SWDBS, Scarlet Heart, DotS). And I’m actually kind of enjoying the mystery. But yeah, the pacing is weird and character development is far from strong so far.
          Oh SIG is one of my favourite actors hands down. He’s just so clever. I’m JCW bias because I love Healer so much but I would still agree with you there.

          I have not but I shall go add it to the ‘Kaybee’s Reccs’ Playlist I have on YT! But I have a feeling it turned up on my YT feed a couple of days ago.

          I think that’s the main difference between you and I. I can handle gore and violence, and you can’t…

          Just gonna like stock up on tylenol and ibuprofen and pray there are good movies on Lufthansa’s entertainment system.

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            I just think it didn’t flow very well together in the beginning of the show and now I just don’t even know what it wants to accomplish. The murder mystery feels like it wants to be IRY, but the romcom seems to aim for something like QIHM lol.

            Haha I wonder how long that list is by now 😛 If it’s easier you can always check my own playlists – I have one for FTI stuff and one for songs lol (and one for Winner vids, but that’s not as long. And tons of others that are just for me haha 😛 ).

            Hwaiting!!

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    Hi sicarius! Doing fine here. Watching 4 dramas because that’s all I have time for at the moment. …… As for weather, we’re going through a bit of a heat wave. 🌞 It’s a little early for it, but there you have it. It’s close to 90F and I’m sooooo not enjoying it. 😰

    Hope your travels are going well!

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      I tried to reply to this before and then the internet crapped out.
      4 is a good, manageable number! What ones are you watching?
      Ooooh that’s not so nice! Where are you from?

      They are, thank you! Colorado is very pretty, even if I haven’t been doing much in it

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