Musings of the Obsessive Kind
She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan.
Musings of the Obsessive KindShe's a mite whimsical in the brainpan. |
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| Jan. 12th, 2009 @ 11:37 am Mmmm...swords and angst. It can only be a kdrama! | |||
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Current Mood:
I have gotten very very behind on the period epic Kingdom of the Winds but I'll catch up soon as this week is the last two eps (and true to form, they seem to promise us more Muhyul h/c. I have yet to see another drama as in love with torturing its leading man, with the possible exception of Dog/Wolf).  bouncyThe scene I want to see most? (It happened a couple eps back.) Is Muhyul seeing Yeon again for the first time in years, after only just learning she was alive. And then seeing his enemy Dojin walk in with Hodong, the little boy, and realizing that this...is his son. OMGOMGOMG.     | |||
| Nov. 8th, 2008 @ 09:32 pm Kingdom of the Winds still owns me | |||
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Current Mood:
 chipper I think the segment below is the best scene in Kingdom of the Winds, and one of the best drama scenes I've seen all year (though probably not anywhere as impactful, if you haven't kept up with the drama until then). Muhyul might end up being my favorite kdrama hero. It's that killer combo of utter deadliness and complete vulnerability. OMG. I wish more flisters were watching this. I know a lot of people are reluctant to check out period/non-romcom dramas, but this is amazing. It's on course of ending up as my favorite kdrama of the year, even beating out Hong Gil Dong. It's incredible. Plus, in addition to Yeon/Muhyul OTP and the story of Muhyul's cursed fate, I am fascinated by the Muhyul and Dojin relationship: formerly best friends, both are brutalized, messed-up deadly ninja hotties, and royalty that has been displaced from their rightful place of comfort and happiness and made to live a hellish life, and who follow paths they separately consider honorable but are on an inevitable collision course. I love that while both love Yeon, the reason of their break is not just (or primarily) over a woman, but over politics. ( Caps of awesomeness from eps 17-18 ) Also, someone stop me from writing Muhyul/Yeon PWP, please. | |||
| Oct. 27th, 2008 @ 04:28 pm Reasons Korean TV is better than ours! | |||
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Current Mood:
1. Reason 1. At any given time there is likely to be a show running on Korean TV involving hot angsty swordsmen, likely with a forbidden love and a ready-made vendetta. bouncy ( Bigger version ) That is Jung Il-Woo, the star of Return of Iljimae in a promo still. I have to say, I am digging the look of RoI better than the candy-colored prettiness of Lee Jun Ki's version. With few notable exceptions (Hong Gil Dong - but that is a sui generis beast anyway), I love my period dramas on the somber side, and this Iljimae looks like he will have Lee Jun Ki's issues mixed with park Shi Ho's intensity. What's not to love? 2. Reason 2. At any given time there is likely to be a show running on Korean TV involving hot angsty swordsmen, likely with a forbidden love and a ready-made vendetta. Bonus points if he is a cursed and tortured prince.  ( Larger version ) This scene with Muhyul and Yeon in ep 13 made me melt. Because he is so falling to pieces as he realizes his revenge and his horrible path was all for nothing, and he is talking about how he had nothing in his life and was a wall-painter doomed to spend all his life in a cave, hating the darkness and being abandoned, and then the Crown Prince taught him to dream, and she comes over and hugs him and OMG. That is totally the first physical contact between them (which isn't when she is curing him, or he is helping her run or whatever). *swoon* ( More swoony KotW caps, largely shippy-centric ) 3. Reason 3. At any given time there is likely to be a show running on Korean TV involving hot angsty  So much glee. | |||
| Oct. 17th, 2008 @ 09:38 am KotW brings on betrayal and angst. (And a bit on Beautiful Days) | |||
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Current Mood:
The three main characters are so awesome and angstily intense. OMG. And between the three of them, need about 5 decades of therapy each. bouncy   I watched half of ep 12 of Kingdom of the Winds, i.e. what was subbed so far. This so is my favorite drama of the season. Even if it does get darker and darker. Maybe especially because of it. ( A few caps and thoughts ) Not related at all, but I love this Beautiful Days MV: | |||
| Oct. 14th, 2008 @ 08:28 am Ninjas in lurveeeeeee | |||
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Current Mood:
 awake (They are so thinking: What do you mean we get to angst again? Have we ever done anything else?) ( Thouhgts and caps on eps 9 and 10 of Kingdom of the Winds ) Mmmm, this drama is so fun! | |||
| Oct. 6th, 2008 @ 08:17 pm If you like your men really really messed-up and really really deadly, come right in! | |||
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Current Mood:
bouncy I took hundreds and hundreds of caps but am trying to be reasonable here.  ( Prettiness from eps 5-8 under the cut ) | |||
| Oct. 5th, 2008 @ 12:12 pm How can you go wrong with hot angsty ninjas? | |||
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Current Mood:
Honestly, writers, you really can have a whole ep without Muhyul getting tortured/wounded/mistreated. I know it's hard, but it's possible :P I look forward to the day you try. bouncyNow that we got that out of the way: Oh, Muhyul, stop! Revenge is good and all (though in this case misdirected) but becoming a Black Shadow ninja to achieve it is so so wrong. They test poisons on people (you should know, you were one of the ones they tested it on!) not to mention if Haemyeong knew you joined them, seeing that they are the worst part of Puyo, the Kingdom that was his enemy, he'd roll over in his grave at the speed of light. And of course the irony of the (unknowing) Prince fighting against his own country. What are you doing??????  Not like he has much of a choice though. It's that or being tortured some more. But it's the fact that he is doing it with such dedication and relish that freaks me out. He is turning into a scary scary person. And OMG, I've forgotten how scary Song Il-Gook can look (see last 1/3 of Jumong). Yikes. When he stares at his friend's 'mentor', I want to take 10 steps back. And I leave you with this. Mmmmmm, gorgeous armored men on their knees looking up at their OTP who is teaching them Han language and thinking of the fact that they are a slave and she is a Princess is pretty high on the list of my favorite things.     Also, my mind is so horribly in the gutter, but I could't help but think where else you could use all that stamina and precision and perfect body control. Heeeee. ETA: I really like the other ninja, the one who is also in love with Yeon and who is (or was?) a Royal Prince of Puyo but whose parents were executed for treason and he was sent to he ninja training camp. If there was an American fandom, there would be so much Muhyul/Dojin slash :P I think Yeon should just go for a super-hot threesome.  ETA2: Yeon, you smart girl! You seem to have the same idea! I loved how she lied they were both gravely hurt and instead dragged them on a picnic. Awwwww.  (But a confession. Yeon is starting to irritate me a bit. She doesn't seem to have any qualms about working for the evil ninjas. Because they are totally evil. The way they run that organization and their 'recruits' is horrible. Yet she is all OK about it. Fine, Muhyul has an excuse: he doesn't have a choice and by this point he is a total mess anyway. And Dojin or Muhyul's goofy friend also didn't pick to come there. But what is her excuse? Seriously. They are evil, k? And now she is volunteering to go on an assassination mission with them! Well, I suppose she did say that testing poisons on humans was cruel. I think my morals really wouldn't work for a medieval world. They do have crazy chemistry though).  | |||
| Oct. 4th, 2008 @ 08:04 pm I haven't been this in love for months... | |||
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Current Mood:
I think Kingdom of the Winds just might be the drama of the year for me. So good. bouncyHere is a scene from the end of ep 7: Seriously. It's like someone knew what I would want in my romantic period war epic and gave it to me. I don't think it's as intelligent and just mind-boggling as The Legend (still the best drama I've ever seen, from any country) but it's pretty incredible. Also, for a future King, Muhyul really does have a background from hell. Makes Dam Duk's not seem so bad. And ep 7 was the best so far. It has turned positively Shakesperean because ( spoiler for ep 7 ) So good. I do have caps but no time to load them so I will just leave you with this:  If I had a kingdom, he could rule it any time. | |||
| Oct. 4th, 2008 @ 11:29 am Note to self: if captured by evil ninjas, just kill self, you'll be better off... | |||
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Current Mood:
 content I think I just might have trouble breathing...GUUUUUUH. Also, he is about to be dragged off to be tortured for a year (!!!) by the Black Shadows. Really, makers of KotW, you don't need to outshine Lobbyist in terms of SIG torture. You can allow him to have an unhurty time for a whole ep, honest! All this torture results in him looking like this instead. I prefer the above look, however. So we shall skip the torture for a day, k? Please?  | |||
| Oct. 1st, 2008 @ 08:13 pm (You don't want to know what I am thinking. It is so not PG-13). Also, Boy Love!!!!! | |||
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Current Mood:
Subs are out for eps 5 and 6 of KOTW. bouncyBut more importantly, I saw these screencaps from ep 7. OMG. I have no idea what is going on except for the fact that the makers of The Kingdom of the Winds seem to know what to do to exactly cater to me. Again. I have never seen a kdrama so good about its hurt/comfort (a lot of kdramas have plenty of hurt but forget the essential second part of the equation). This just might beat Time Between Dog and Wolf in that respect. A little tease:    ( Much more sheer awesomeness inside ) In other news, the trailer for Antique Bakery is out, and oh my. All the people on my flist who love slash/boylove/yaoi/whathaveyou, methinks you are in for a treat :) Mmmm...Korea. Pleasing every fangirl, are you? | |||
| Sep. 27th, 2008 @ 11:31 am Learning history through dramas and other matter of import... | |||
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Current Mood:
Sometimes I think it's bizarre that I am learning Korean history (at least pre-1900 history) through dramas.  cheerfulBut then I did learn most of my French history through Alexandre Dumas and that really isn't any different. Plus this:   Is a lot more fun way to learn history :) ( Much larger versions of above behind cut ) In other news, I have finished the first episode of East of Eden and it's excellent. Really excellent. It makes me think of an adpatation of one of those literary works about generations and socioeconomics. Basically a Korean-fied version of a Zola novel. And there is some really great narrative cinematography. For example, I never thought this image could be horrifying.  Which makes at least two dramas this fall which are excellent. The dry spell is over (now I wish the subs for Tazza were already out, but KST is slower than WITHS2). Well, I'll console with looking at the male lead of EoE:  ( Much larger version ) You know what keeps shocking me? A lot of kdrama actors are both good-looking and good actors. I am not used to such a combination! :P | |||
| Sep. 26th, 2008 @ 09:50 am Keep it up, Kingdom of the Winds! | |||
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Current Mood:
chipper  Here is the summary in caps for the rest of ep 3 and ep 4. Enter for fun, poison-throwing ninjas, sword-fights, and USTful staring. I had almost 500 caps but heeded the laws of sanity and now there are way way less. ( Enter here for the precious. And by precious I mean Song Il Gook ) | |||
| Sep. 24th, 2008 @ 07:57 pm I promise I will stop soon | |||
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Current Mood:
But it has been so long since I have been in love with an airing kdrama. Not since Hong Gil Dong which ended in March. energeticSo pardon my excitement. I mean! OTP! She slaps him. Heeee.  Also, I was right. She is a Puyo Princess. And he is a Gogureyo Prince (even if he doesn't know it). The two countries are at war. And he is currently a humble rootless commoner who shouldn't even look at a princess. Can we say star-crossed? I know we could. | |||
| Sep. 24th, 2008 @ 05:15 pm OMG...shippiness! | |||
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Current Mood:
Guuuuh. I ship them so much. Maybe because he stares at her like this. awake    Clearly, take care of a hot tortured guy and he is yours for life. I approve. | |||
| Sep. 24th, 2008 @ 01:26 pm Like cursed princes, political infighting, angsty OTPs and many many swords? Come right in! | |||
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Current Mood:
This drama is so pretty: bouncy   Also, why is the Hero's family so awesome? I have age-inappropriate attraction to his father, King Yuri, who is super-intense and tough (surviving multiple assassination attempts) and good with the sword, and also loved his wife, Hero's Mother, and managed to save Hero even after it was prophesized Hero was cursed to kill him. And when he finds out his youngest son is not interested in military matters but only in making ornaments (!!!!) he is all 'fine, if that's what makes you happy, I'll get you an apprenticeship.' He is all for his kid being out-n-proud :P And I ship Prince Haemeyong and Lady Decorator so much! Crown Prince is super awesome to begin with and loyal, and apparently Lady Decorator was his older deceased brother's attendant and she was supposed to be buried with him as per custom but he saved her. So people think he lusts after his brother's woman, but they are totally in love but she doesn't want to see him to save him from dishonor and he agrees to stay away to protect her. OMG. We are not even going to get into Hero's awesomeness, cheekbones and other positive qualities. Plus, did I mention that he's been cursed to kill his parents (partially happened: Mom died in childbirth), siblings, son, and destroy the country. I foresee aaaaaangst. ( Yummy pictures from first three eps ) Mmm. Yes please. | |||
| Sep. 24th, 2008 @ 12:10 am I think I have the drama I will be following this fall... | |||
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Current Mood:
So, let me get this straight. The protagonist of Kingdom of the Winds is a cursed prince (who doesn't know he is either) who has been left in a cave with the chief murals painter and has now grown up to look like Song Il Gook? And his female supervisor (who is his older sister figure) rescues him from being up roughed up by the mob and then orders him beaten for disobedience? bouncyAlso, I think he is some sort of a slave who cannot leave the caves and is supposed to spend his life painting those murals and he wants nothing more than to escape. And now bad guys have invaded and he warns Lady Supervisor so she grabs a sword and runs to fight them warning him to stay in her room and not come out. Of course he doesn't obey. All that and in the first two eps. Someone has been thinking of me when making this. Also, I have skimmed ep 3 just to check it dled OK (subs for the first 4 are out) and he meets his OTP while being tortured in the enemy camp. *paging ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} darkeyedwolf*Yes. Episode 3 has this:      Indeed. | |||
| Aug. 29th, 2008 @ 03:24 pm Friday Randomness | |||
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Current Mood:
1. David Duchovny is a sex addict. That is amusing me immensely. I have never watched him an anything (yes, I have never seen X-Files) but am of course familiar with him through pop culture osmosis, so LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. chipper2. In news of celebrities that are not creeps, I wonder if it says more about general celebrity culture or my own innate cynicism, that I always get faintly surprised when it turns out a celebrity I like didn't do whatever bad thing it is they are supposed to have done. I am talking about Song Il-Gook here (a Korean star and one of the hottest men I've ever seen). Some time ago there was some scandal where some tabloid journalist lady accused him of beating her when she approached to interview her, and giving her a bunch of nasty injuries. "Oh well," thought I. "Whatever, he is still hot. And he really was too good to be true." She sued him for damages, apparently, and he kept saying he didn't lay a finger on her. Imagine my pleased surprise when it turns out there were CCTV video cameras in the area and they indeed show no beat-down of any sort. Heh. Now she is in trouble for libel and a whole bunch of other things (I'd imagine extortion would be one of them). Yay! I am so glad you are not a woman-beating jerk, Song Il-Gook! Though seriously, Lady Extortionist, how dumb are you? Make sure you aren't somewhere where there are cameras, silly! Anyway, this is almost as awesome as the fact that SIG is married to a lady Magistrate and nobody knows what she looks like because he wants to maintain her privacy. Cute! (Apparently paparazzi are tamer in Korea and don't stalk people in grocery stores or fancy nail salons, or wherever it is wives of famous dudes spend their time. Law library?) 3. I got my hands on the latest (and last) Vicky Bliss book by Elizabeth Peters. Yay! I used to love her Amelia Peabody books but she should have stopped with He Shall Thunder in the Sky. Everything got resolved: who Sethos was, what will happen to the dysfunctional gorgeousness of Ramses/Nefret (such a big OTP of mine. There needs to be NC-17 fic), etc etc. The books since then just felt redundant and repetitive. Find a new cash cow, EP! I love Vicky and John though. Yay! 4. Last but not least, I am totally looking forward to the Bollywood movie Drona starring Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. It's supposed to be fantasy-adventure and looks so cheesetastic that if you have lactose intolerance, I'd beware. Since I love cheese, I am all for it. Plus, Abhi looks HOT.  ( Some more stills ) | |||
| Aug. 28th, 2008 @ 06:07 pm Please don't torture Song Il-Gook as much in this as you did in Lobbyist, TPTB! | |||
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Current Mood:
My heart won't stand it! (Lobbyist, the only kdrama that maxed out my h/c fetish). cheerful I just saw some stills from the upcoming period Korean drama The Country of the Winds and GUUUUUUH...I want now! I want with subs! I want!!!! It is based on a manga and it stars Song Il-Gook (one of my all-time favorites) as a prince abandoned by the royal family and raised by strangers, who later becomes some super awesome king. There are sword fights, there are intrigues, there is OTP and there is Song Il-Gook looking so good it's borderline illegal.  I want this! Now! ( Many more gorgeous stills ) | |||
| Jun. 17th, 2008 @ 12:45 am MISA and Lobbyist: I love tough angsty guys clearly... | |||
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Current Mood:
First off, in an attempt to get more of my flisties to check out Sorry I love you (aka MISA), I bring you these awesome MVs of it. content( Another two ) MISA is totally one of my favorite dramas now, and the whole story is about a young thug who has a limited time left to live and comes to Korea in search of his birth mother, only to discover he was 'thrown away' by a rich woman, and decides to wreak revenge on her and her family, but finds himself totally derailed by slowly falling in love with a girl who is good but quirky, odd but sweet. So he learns not just to let go of vengeance but how to be a good human being, actually...But of course it all has a fairly quick expiration date... How could you not love a plot like that? MISA is apparenly a huge thing drama-wise and rightly so, IMO. But, a word of warning: it is one of the saddest kdramas I have ever seen (but OTOH I think if you have seen/liked Tree of Heaven, A Love to Kill, Bali, Damo or Snow Queen, MISA isn't any more depressing. And I think Taiwanese drama Silence is still champion for the angstiest. It's the only drama I was never able to finish because of angst). Anyway, please watch. I want to talk about it! In other news, I finished Lobbyist!!!! Happy ending!!!! EEEEEEE! EEEEE!!!! I also loved that Maria went back to her good-hearted self. And the end with her being a teacher and Harry being there. I died. But that last phone call made me sniffle like mad ('You are my present, Harry.') And I love that she was the one to save him and sacrifice her liberty to get him away. He saved her so many times, it was only fair. I ffed through all the business/weapons/lobbying, I confess, but still overall I'd totally rec the drama (with judicious ffing if politics stuff isn't your thing). Song Il Gook is beyond gorgeous and a great actor, the story is complex and unusual, and the gender reversal of roles fascinating. | |||
| Jun. 15th, 2008 @ 08:14 pm Still Lobbyist... | |||
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Current Mood:
Am on ep 16 of Lobbyist. complacentAmused to report that the trend of having Harry mistreated in every episode continues. Seriously, writer, must you really put your ID so visibly on the screen? In other news, Maria/Harry is still totally awesome. Though... What kind of an insane woman, when she has the undying devotion and complete dedication of a man who looks like Song Il-Gook goes sleeping with VIPs for access and influence? Maria, you should get a sanity check up. Seriously:  But joking aside, I really love their relationship: it's incredibly grown-up. Not to mention I am a sucker for unspoken but acknowledged love. They both know they love each other, but they don't really talk about it and they live and act separately because things are too much a minefield otherwise (mainly for Maria, but I think even for Harry things might get difficult because he is too entangled with Mob Lady's business to let go easily). He knows she sleeps with high-placed men for influence and access and he hates it, but he doesn't throw tantrums with her (in fact, aside from once mentioning to her that he hopes she wouldn't lose herself entirely, to which she bitterly replied 'I have nothing left to lose' he doesn't raise the topic of her manipulations at all). She doesn't scold him or throw fits because he is working for a rival, even though he doesn't really explain to her why, and even though she offered him a job. In a way, despite all the issues, there is something healthy about them because they don't love an idealized image of a person, but they know full well what the other person is and love them, flaws and all. When he brings a bottle of champaine over to celebrate her success, even though he knows full well she got it because she slept with the guy (and was at the meeting this got thrown at her face)...loved that. It's interesting, because it's clear Harry loves her so totally, but he is not a pushover or weak. He is just OK with as much personal space as she needs, even if he loathes it. I wonder if it stems from a deep-seated belief in unavailability of happiness for himself, or lack of belief that he can be truly loved? Oh, also loved Mob Lady telling Harry to bribe President's Son and Harry saying this wasn't fair play (that is why I love Harry. He really does have his morals straight, or as straight as he can be allowed in that environment) and Mob Lady replying 'that is fair play in the Republic of Korea.' | |||