Beanie level: Unemployed slacker in a sparkly tracksuit

My Spotify Wrapped 2023
For those who know me well on the DB Community, my Wrapped playlist is very predictable 😂😂😂😂

9
0

I didn’t know this would be on Netflix— let alone Netflix Canada— but alas, it is!!



6
9

I honestly can’t tell if everyone here is genuinely enjoying PMR or if ppl are just shit-watching the makjang unfold LOL For once, I can’t read the room 🤣🫣

4
25

    Many, many of us are authentically enjoying the ride. It’s self-aware craziness. It’s not so bad it’s good…it’s just good. Funny, sometimes subversive, fun.

    5
    2

    I’m genuinely enjoying it, especially Lee Mi Sook as the Mother-In-Law. She is awesome… and her wardrobe as well.

    3
    1

      Lee Mi Sook never disappoints, and it is only fitting that such a great actress—and a veteran one, at that— has great outfits to match her energy 👗

      2
      0

    I am genuinely enjoying watching the drama. 😊 its my fave rn. I do watch makjang usually but I love this!

    4
    1

      Do not watch*

      I like how quickly the writer breezes through everything.

      2
      1

        😮 And how many episodes in total is the drama slated for? I say “slated” for, but we know that with the live-shoot system of Kdramas, things can change

        0
        1

          Only 12 episodes. Its based on a webtoon so it has a lot of material to work with. I didnt read the webtoon but I read somewhere that said the drama has better pacing than the webtoon.

          1
          3

    Fair question. I’m sincerely enjoying it, just not *quite* as much as everyone else. But it has some genuinely surprising moments and is very much a romance, which are big plusses in my book. I can’t say I devour each episode (I still haven’t finished last week’s final one) but I am entertained and even impressed at the meta-cleverness from time to time. It’s just a fun, silly drama that doesn’t aspire to be anything other than it is.

    4
    2

      Oh, okay!! It doesn’t sound like the typical drama-for-the-sake-of-drama trope-filled sort of makjang that we are all so used to and so used to being tired of, then. I feel like makjangs—especially if they’re weekenders, in which case, I’m not even sure if this one is— usually get a bad rap, but not all are actually bad, but it’s a rare case, and maybe this is the one rare case people are getting once in a blue moon

      2
      1

        Nope, all of the drama so far has been in service of plot advancement and character exposition and not drama-for-the-sake-of-drama, which is pretty darned amazing for something that is truly makjang. The blue moon is shining brightly on this one and it looks *possible* that it will keep up the pace and the fun right to the end.

        1
        1

      That’s how I feel: I’m enjoying it, but I’m not as into it as everyone else seems to be

      2
      1

        And that’s okay! We all have our own preferences. That’s the real beauty of tv, books, and music

        2
        0

    100% authentic enjoyment.

    2
    1

    In my case, I’m not enjoying the drama, I find It boring and I don’t like any of the main characters. What I’m enjoying is mocking the drama with the two friends I’m watching it. We have laughed so much! But as I said before, I’m sure I would have dropped it after the first episode, as I did with King The Land, if I had started this on my own.

    0
    1

      I must add that this kind of social experiment my friends and I are doing with this drama (I mean… watching something we don’t like) is new and we won’t repeat the experience. The three of us have a very long list of good dramas to watch… XD

      0
      1

        I totally get it!! I’ve tried once or twice in the past to hate-watch—for lack of a better word— something and to try to make it fun by searching for things to laugh about it, but this is something that I also am just not into doing XD If I am going to watch something, it will be something that I enjoy, and not have to be something of a chore or something that I straight up don’t enjoy

        1
        1

Van Ness Wu’s tribute to the late director of “Autumn’s Concerto. Simple, sweet, meaningful.
And now I’m in tears
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzK4pYFPXco/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

4
1

    Yes, simple but deep emotion. May she rest in peace.

    1
    0

Even during random spur-of-the-moment rewatches of this drama, it’s production values, attention to detail, meticulousness, and thoughtfulness by the director and the production crew behind this drama still doesn’t cease to amaze me and blow my mind even a year-and-a-half after the drama initially aired—and my initial watch—and during my umpteenth rewatching and as I am STILL finding undiscovered details about it as I rewatch






5
0

It has been announced that the director of this drama has passed away today from her battle with cancer.
Even though the drama might seem a bit dated now whenever I re-watch it—since it’s a 2009 drama, and also that Taiwanese dramas are slow in general, imo— this drama definitely spoke to me when I first encountered it and it still speaks to me whenever I do a re-watch of it.
It highlights many topics—problems—of society in a very lived-in sort of way, without the feeling of getting whiplash, or that the happenings are drama for the sake of drama, or that things are being shoved down my throat. Van Ness’ acting, though not perfect, perfectly encapsulated the awkwardness and the struggles of his character always trying to find a middle ground between those around him and also the internal struggles he himself held in trying to find himself, identity which and who’s side he’s on, and the struggle to pick what is right versus what is beneficial, which isn’t always mutually exclusive.
This was my first (maybe 2nd? I’ve forgotten) drama with Ady An, and she immediately captured me with her acting out of the FL character with her softness, her gentleness, but with added grit, dignity, and pride. She successfully demonstrated the emotions and struggles of—once again— having to choose what is right versus what is beneficial, but with the added factor of being a single parent to a special needs child.
I’m not sure how much of the script is impacted by the director in Taiwanese dramas, but I tip my hat to the director of THIS drama for capturing ALL THE THINGS so beautifully and with such emotion



6
10

    which drama is this?

    1
    2

    Autumn Concerto was my first Drama, and I remember how much I loved it and cried.
    Just yesterday, I was wondering what Vanness was up to nowadays.
    It is a sad news to hear about the passing of the director…

    1
    3

      Yea, I think the drama does so well in appealing to the pathos in how relatable and sympathetic it makes everything, and that is why it is such a timeless drama for me.

      Van Ness has been shifting his career to be more Mainland China focus for the last while— I’d say for the last 10 years, if not more— but it feels like it’s only been the last 5-6 years wherein the results are finally coming in and showing themselves

      1
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      And I agree that the news is saddening, especially when we consider the general impact in that there’s already not that many female directors in the entertainment industry as a whole, not just speaking to Taiwan, and not that many female directors who are celebrated in their own right, but always seems like they’re 2nd fiddle as a co-director to a male director

      1
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      Autumn’s Concerto was my second drama (after A Love So Beautiful cdrama) and it just floored me.

      1
      1

        It’s only 1 of 2 Taiwanese dramas that I occasionally go back to and re-watch. It’s that good

        0
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    Oh my God, that’s awful! I LOVE this drama. It’s one of my top favorites and I still rewatch scenes from it pretty frequently (in fact, I rewatched almost the entire thing not too long ago). I read the novel it was based on (well, an English fan translation) and the drama was quite different, so I imagine the director had a lot of influence in it being SO good.

    1
    1

      Yea, another one gone too soon 😢
      The tributes to her are beginning to roll in on social media. I just read the tribute from TW actress Janine Chang that she posted on her instagram

      0
      0

Instagram Reels keeps giving me this performance, so I think it’s a sign I share

12
7

    Thank you for sharing. I am not watching anything atm, so I’m back to listening EXO songs and fell in love with their voices again. You tempted me to post some. Should I?

    4
    2

      Who knows what Facebook is doing with my algorithm (since they own Instagram, iirc??), but this clip came up more than once for me on Instagram— and I also found it on Spotify as I was looking to download covers of the song because of the reel lol— more than once, so was like, “Yep, the heavens are telling me something” 🤭

      1
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      And yes!!! You should totally post!!

      1
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    He’s just so incredible. (I mean, she does a great job too, but we all know where my bias is in this situation.) I’ve watched this on repeat.

    2
    2

      Comment was deleted

      0
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      I was never an EXO-L, but I am a fan of some individual members (my bias is Lay), and I am always humbly surprised by how talented each individual member is in their own right. Admittedly, a part of why I was never an EXO-L was because I was never impressed with S.M. Ent., their business model (i.e. working their trainees to the bone), nor did any of their talents ever appeal to me because of how S.M. Ent. goes so hard in simply promoting their artists as “idols”, and showcasing the actual talent of the artists never seems to be their priority, imo. So when EXO came on the scene and gave me similar vibes to the OG 1st Gen. and 2nd Gen. talents like g.o.d., SHINHWA, DB5K, SS501— but definitely more “idol” than anything— I was like, “Nahhh” XD And it wasn’t until things happened, which then turned things around—for which I think was good for the long run and for each of their individual careers— and the members started branching out and doing their own thing outside of EXO and being really able to showcase their talents, I was so happy for them

      2
      1

        I was never into Kpop back then till 2018. A friend of mine was playing their songs on repeat, and I just loved how they harmonized as a group. The more I dig to their songs, the more I love them and the rest is history.😄

        2
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For whoever wants it, the OST for “Doona”

6
1

To those in Maine who are directly and indirectly impacted by the latest events, my heart and prayers are with you ♥️

10
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11PM on a Wednesday night & I dunno why my brain decided to remember this video all of a sudden. Skip to the 4:00 mark. Thank me later 🤣🤣🤣🤣

3
8

Posts like this makes me feel assured that I’m a fan of the right sort of person (or people)
https://x.com/xzhansoul/status/1716334149810991125?s=46&t=VkYr3KaIogKaCILouLIaoA

https://x.com/xzhansoul/status/1716433426583290279?s=46&t=VkYr3KaIogKaCILouLIaoA

1
0

Almost forgot that today marks 2 yrs. since Xiao Zhan signed w/ GUCCI and became their global ambassador. No wonder the brand delayed his version of the loafers ad campaign (the 1st version is with Paul Mescal) and then specifically chose today to be so heavy handed and all their XZ material in one go. It’s to commemorate the 2 year anniversary of their contract






3
0

Gucci finally released XZ’s version of the ad campaign

2
0

Xiao Zhan for GUCCI Horsebit 1953 loafers ad campaign
🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
5
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4
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This just needs to be here ♥️♥️♥️🥰🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘🔥🔥🔥🔥
https://x.com/xiaozhan_ofc/status/1716276046742605977?s=46&t=VkYr3KaIogKaCILouLIaoA

4
0

C-drama “Lost You Forever”, season 1 ✅



6
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I love it when I go into a drama for a certain actor/actress, but as the drama progresses, I come to fall for another actor/actress from the cast whom was not on my radar at all—most of the time because they’re fairly new, but because of that (their newness), my falling in love with them comes as a surprise (in a good way), because that just means their talent in my eyes is that captivating. Currently, Chinese actor, Deng Wei, is this person for me— from the drama I’m currently watching, “Lost You Forever” season 1. As time progresses, not only have I come to like him as an actor, but also as a person, too, from what I’ve observed of him and have seen how he carries himself in bts clips, on variety show appearances, and most of all, how he interacts with and treats his costars 👌🏻🫶🏻
5
4

    Deng Wei is a rising actor and he deserves the big break. I firsts aw him as the SML in Till the End of the Moon. I like him better in Lost You Forever. He makes the character so dignified and kind.

    2
    1

      Well, now I need to actually go watch “Till the End of the Moon” and stop putting it off 😅

      You put it really well:
      “Dignified and kind” are the perfect words to describe his character in LYF, and I also appreciate that he is kind, but he isn’t in the least bit a pushover because of it, which I find is a hard balance to portray in kind characters. And from what I’ve observed of him from his variety show appearances and the bus clips of LYF, his kindness, softness, and gentleness–and how GENUINE I can sense it to be– is what draws me to him as a person outside of his LYF character. And who knows, maybe he’s instilled–magnified– that innate kindness of his own into this character of his

      3
      2

        *bts clips

        0
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        I would definitely recommend TLEOTM to see a different side of Deng Wei. 😊 tbh, I like his styling and character better in LYF. You are right, Jing is no pushover despite being a good guy. He has hidden depths to his character.
        I have only seen clips of DW with the LYF cast. He does seem to be a nice guy irl.

        2
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Done ✅
And now I don’t have anymore new Xiao Zhan content to watch 🥺🥺🥺 I’ll be okay



2
0

The birthday vlog— a new chapter begins 🌹

5
6

    Happy Birthday, Xiao Zhang!
    Has he been vlogging for a while? Oh nice, I heard “As it was.”

    I’ve been following Wu Lei’s vlog and got to see many breathtaking sceneries and get a feel of what it’s like in a vast country like China.

    4
    2

      Xiao Zhan Studio has been making vlogs for a while now, yes! But I’ve forgotten exactly when it all started 😅 You can find all the vids related to him—vlogs, bts clips, ads, fan edits, etc.— all on this YouTube channel. Even though it uses the logo of Xiao Zhan’s official fan club, I doubt it is really run by official members of the fan club. Maybe more so by some international fans. Most, if not all, of the videos are subbed, the vlogs are for sure subbed

      https://youtube.com/@daytoyxiaozhan?si=YVGY7PVjiImoXqcb
      https://youtube.com/@daytoyxiaozhan?si=YVGY7PVjiImoXqcb

      2
      1

      I take that back… I DO know when they started— in 2021– and they started out as food vlogs for each city he travelled to whilst on tour acting in his stage play, “A Dream Like a Dream”. The vlogs have since expanded to include many, many, many different things, e.g. His birthday, little adventures he’d go on at night with his staff in the cities he’s toured in, his time in Milan earlier this year for Fall/Winter 2023 Milan Fashion Week, bts clips from the set of his dramas, etc.

      2
      0

    I already like this man just watching all the videos you share.
    I have not even watched any of his dramas yet.
    He seems to be my favorite kind of celebrity: nice, well-mannered, sensible, modest, down-to-earth…

    2
    1

      Awww 🫶🏻
      He’s definitely those things—and more— and that is why I like him so much!

      1
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