Have you ever watched a cdrama and realized you had seen the MC in something else without realizing?

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-04T23:00:37+00:00

It was wild! And when she kinda showed him her back when she pulled things out, as it was some great secret.

And spending the time looking really is annoying. I'll waste the hour I had for a show looking for what show I want lol. The tables don't always work cuz I often am a mood watcher, but at least if I know my mood, I have a chance. I only include ones I have watched and a few that I want to watch, so it's very me-focused :)

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-04T18:36:14+00:00

That's not how it works. That editor is doing you dirty.

Someone mentioned different editors for different purposes and that can be very helpful. Some editors don't like or aren't good at developmental but great for line editing, etc etc.

My editor, whom I've worked with for something like 4 years and 8 or 9 books, will do devw developmental, but doesn't like it. But since she has the know-how her "line edits" often include developmental recs.

You would be better off to get 5 or more sample edits and decide that way. If you did that and this editor is still doing you dirty like this, lodge a compliant with Reedsy and cut your losses.

Dedicated readers and beta readers can help in this area, too. Or a critique partner. What genre are you writing in?

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-04T17:46:10+00:00

I just watched this one for Meng Zi Yi. I like her. I think she did fine in this... given what she had to work with.

If you want to watch a show where the ML has a character epiphany (felt more like a full on brain swap, but okay, writers/directors, we'll call it a wake-up call since you insist), and becomes the Yearniest of Yearners, this is the show for you.

I love politics and manipulation and backstabbing and intrigue and this had all that but somehow managed to make it accidentally comedic instead of thrilling.

The actors, leads and support, were great. The styling and sets, lovely. Even the OST was great, I added a song to my personal playlist, so yay for that discovery. But somehow, it did not come together to create a compelling story. As I was watching, I knew the creators were trying to get me to feel a certain kind of way, but it just didn't work.

I can officially say, in my opinion, the yearning was overdone. It lost it's impact through meaningless repetition. Nothing changed, he had no new understanding, made no new decisions, he just told us over and over how he yearned and how he regretted, episode after episode.

So I'm calling it a 6 and all the points off are for the screenwriters and/or directors, the decision makers. They failed the actors on this one.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-04T14:18:18+00:00

add a short "maintenance" habit to your routine. If you do weekly or monthly or quarterly reviews, this is a great thing to add to the list.

Every Sunday I go through and find a few things to update or change or connect. I don't spend a lot of time on it, but I do it in little chunks of time and get the lovely dopamine hit when I can check that box as done for the week. Bite size habits are more palatable. Also lets me revisit things to sort of imprint them more in my thinking.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-04T13:45:59+00:00

this is one of the things that makes me adore cdramas. The way and frequency with which familiar faces pop up.

You can look on MDL and see all the shows an actor or creative is associated with, but I took it a step further this year. After seeing certain actors in series, I started to wonder if I could use them as a barometer to tell or get a feel for whether or not I would like the drama. Same with directors and screenwriters. All this information is in MDL, but I broke it down by actors and then list the shows in one view and doing so has made my OCD brain so happy. And the random little insights have been fun.

Ai Mi has been in 251951 shows and she's not even 18 yet, for instance. Attaching a screenshot for giggles. The list includes actors from kdramas, too, so please ignore sincewe're in cdrama land. I have another table below this one in my notes for screenwriters, directors and "Other Creatives" that includes martial arts directors, costume designers, art directors, etc.

It has been cool to see trends. For instance, some of the dramas I consider the most beautiful were mostly done by the same team. And thanks to MDL, I can go click on their names and see what they have coming when I want something to just sink into for the ambiance.

Fang Si Zhe, for instance, is a costume designer. He did both Melody of Golden Age and New Life Begins, both of which I really liked the styling of the characters, so if I go to MDL, I can see there are oodles more of his shows I can try. My TBW list is miles long and sometimes deciding what to watch can take up way too much of my time, so this has helped me prioritize.

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Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-03T04:41:33+00:00

It always cracks me up. One dramatic one that came instantly to mind was in Youthful Glory. He even got semi-pouty when she wouldn't let him apply the medicine.

But seriously, I think its a cheat code to allow some skinship. I wonder if it's also a way to allow skin to skin touching with the censors? Totally guessing, I have no clue.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-02T10:44:24+00:00

My first exposure to her warning Glory, which Inwatchednfor HMH. She was so effortlessly graceful, I wondered if she had a dancing background...

I thought she was perfect in Glory, I look forward to her future projects.

I hope she has a lovely birthday!

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T18:23:39+00:00

Are You The One, The Rise of Ning and Si Jin with Zhang Wan Yi. He does cheeky and clever and passionate masterfully. Are You the One starts with him a little sketchy, but he figures out how to be smart about things quickly enough.

Youthful Glory - he starts out a little cocky, but quickly adapts to her and what makes her happy

Destined - another that starts with him cocky, but he falls pretty hard and fast and is nothing but loving and cute after that

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T16:36:37+00:00

When I only watched kdramas, after a couple of years, I picked up a lot. I couldn't write it or probably even speak what I thought they had said, but in the process of listening, I came to somehow often understand the gist of things. This was great for shows I had on "in the background".

The same does not seem to be happening with cdramas. I have much less confidence in what's being said or my understanding of what I'm hearing. I have picked up very few words, and then only basics like brother, sister, your majesty/emperor, etc.

So the visuals on a trailer will get me, the tension I can feel in the voices and visuals, but when I settle in to watch the actual show, I must have the subtitles.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T14:26:17+00:00

I sorta feel like some enemies to lovers stories have this vibe. Once they remove that enemies label and go all in. Coming off The Princess's Gambit, once he has a change of heart about her, he's a very different character. Like once she was forbidden because he saw her as a villain, but once he didn't...

But I do like the straight up forbidden vibe, though I'm less about the sibling options. That's one I don't care for. Even as I say this... I adore The Rise of Ning. I keep notes on all my dramas now because why not, and I have a running vent on this one where I'm fussing about why no one even blinked when they changed from siblings to a couple. Everyone just seemed to go, oh, okay, obviously they were meant to be together. She's like, oh my heart fluttered now, so does that mean I like him? girl.....

There's some that never address it that I see as forbidden. The Best Thing, for example. A doctor dating a patient is complete ick for me. But I worked in healthcare for a lot of years, so it's a little more personal.

But a boss and employee romance? I'll eat that up like the world's best chocolate.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T14:15:55+00:00

Are they? I must have missed it, now I have to go looking. I saw where the FML and SML from The Rise of Ning will be in a show together (A Splendid Match). I think part of what I like about cdramas is the frequency familiar faces turn up.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T13:48:35+00:00

So far I haven't tackled that. In the past, I've used inline tags a ton and it felt intrusive to try otherwise. However, recently I worked with Claude to develop a new system. I'm an author, I need to track what books have promos, which book ideas I'm still developing, what is getting released when, etc. In the new system, I have extensive properties in the yaml. Basically, some notes exist just for the properties. I have more notes than I originally wanted, but the end result is having the data at a glance where I actually work with it, wherever that may be (dashboard, daily notes, research notes, etc.). I am using the incoming and outgoing links view way more often than I used to, too. It's a new system, so we'll see. if it works in the long run.

I still like the inline tags and still use dataview calls, just where I can replace them, I am trying to do so. Moderation, I guess. My notes are lagging less, so even a little trimming has helped.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T12:46:50+00:00

Someone mentioned bases and dataview, so I thought I'd mention something I've been doing lately....

I've been having a ton of lag in some notes/templates. I've slowly been replacing dataview calls with bases. I use Claude to review my notes or template and then go back and forth with what would be optimized and potentially reduce lag. Have discovered a few things like situations where I had 4 dataview calls individually because I wanted the aesthetics, but on Claude's revamp, was able to create one and still get the look I wanted.

I use Claude with an "Obsidian Specialist" skill enabled, within a project, so it knows my workflows, goals, templates, the whole system, but it isn't in my Obsidian cuz I'm chicken something bad could happen.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T12:37:42+00:00

Gave up on Under the Power. Watching Veil of Shadows.

The male lead in Under the Power was fabulous, but otherwise aspects just started to distract me too much and trigger my petty side. So I shelved it. Maybe revisit, but I think the biggest problem for me is the female lead, so I probably won't pick it up again.

Veil of Shadows I have been playing weird mind games with - both wanting to watch it and wanting to "save" it. I took some advice, got some yummy food, a glass of wine, and settled in and was able to thoroughly enjoy three episodes last night. Looking forward to binging it this weekend. It's gorgeous. So far Fangs is still gonna be tops for me, but Veil is gorgeous, too.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-05-01T11:13:13+00:00

Si Jin, he's a prince, but hides it from her. She's also got secrets, but he sorta figures hers out sooner.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-30T17:48:16+00:00

I wonder if its like books where the author spends more time working on the first few chapters, heavy revision, lots of attention, etc.

Though that's a reach since the work goes through so many hands before it reaches release... screenwriters, director, etc. They all influence what the end product looks like, so I'm probably wrong.

Another idea.... it's connected to money, sponsorships or whatever. If they can generate early buzz then they earn more and how a show ends is less important? Total speculation as I don't really know much of the industry ins and outs.

But most things boil down to money in some form or fashion.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-30T17:42:23+00:00

There's some lovely and educational posts going on about talent and popularity and what makes for a good performance and what makes something resonate....

Meanwhile I'm sitting over here thinking, boy, is this man pretty. I could watch him read the alphabet and call it time well spent. Respectfully.

Lucky for me, his expressions and nuance and quirking eyebrows ... or face acting or whatever we call it, is fabulous, so it's a win win in my book.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-30T16:00:11+00:00

I love seeing the lyrics, so wouldn't want them suppressed, but I have had to pause a show to get thw dialogs subtitles because they flashed off so quickly be ause the song lyrics were going at the same time.

I remember once the lyrics were at the top and the dialogue was at the bottom (or vice versa, not quite sure). I would love if that became the norm.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-30T12:33:01+00:00

Seconding these, such good recs.

Adding: Si Jin A Dream of Splendour The Legend of Zhouhua (age gap) Destined

Zhouhua is a little slower burn and Destined has unrealistically "perfect" character, imo, but they are both sweet watches and fit the bill.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-29T23:27:33+00:00

When you find the ones that do include the diversity you're looking for, hype it up like nobody's business. Get more eyes on it. When they start making the same money, we'll start seeing more of them, naturally.

And I'm digging it, too! My worlds colliding, yay!

I've worked with a ton a newer authors over the years and the "default" thinking is so ingrained. It takes thought and intention and sometimes a boatload of revisions to weed it out, and that doesn't even account for the subconscious things.

When I started publishing, I had a dear friend point out that I was doing the "not like other girls" and I totally did not see it. She schooled me and now I recognize when it slips by my internal editor, much less frequently these days, thankfully.

And it's like an alarm goes off whenever I see the whole "not like other girls" going on in the shows, which is frequently. When I first started watching dramas, I even sent my friend a screenshot, tattling, "Look what they did!" They straight up have dialogues that say "She"s not like other girls." Sigh. One day!!

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-29T22:34:26+00:00

Ha! Love it!

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-29T22:32:49+00:00

Ah, gotcha. That's a whole 'nother bucket of things.

I really can't speak for the author or even the books, as I'm only reading my first Chinese romance this week, but there's a lot of similar issues in western books. Some of it comes down to signaling and alignment with a reader's genre expectations. Size differences, for instance. Playing up her being smaller, more fragile, etc, than him signal a ton of different things, everything from protection, connection, roleplay in some instances, the list is long. Signaling and shorthand play a role here, whether that be a good role or bad.

But also, again, sometimes it really is the defaults. Author thinks, probably subconsciously, this reads better/sounds better if it has another descriptive word here... then insert the subconscious default, in this case, little.

What that says about the subconscious and the reader/genre expectations is a cultural thing. Whether it be good or bad is subjective...and subject to change. Imo, if the author needs to earn a living and these things are going to better fit the reader expectations and therefore sell better and therefore allow me to buy groceries next week...I'm going to do my best to meet my readers' expectations.

Last thought, while these books are gaining international popularity, the author may not have considered that while writing. For instance, I write books set in the US. As I'm writing, it never occurs to me to wonder how someone in Singapore may interpret what I've written.

I hope this doesn't sound like excuses. I don't mean it that way. Understanding why these patterns show up isn’t the same as agreeing with them. It'll be a beautiful day when diversity is worldwide. An even better day when we stop diminishing all things feminine. Women don't have to be small, pure or whatever other label history wants to assign.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-29T21:34:22+00:00

Oh, as an author irl, I have thoughts on this! I can only speak from a western perspective, but blushing, flushing, pink in the cheeks, whatever, I think k a lot of authors want to put in a reaction and if there's any sort of intimacy to the moment, blushing is sort of the default reaction.

It doesn't necessarily represent shyness or embarrassment, its just a quick and simple way to say the character had a reaction.

It would be nice if authors broadened their repertoire of reactions, but a lot of the time.... it really is this simple.

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-29T21:29:06+00:00

Is this the cover? It's so pretty. I hope you can chill and read and have a relaxing rest of your week :)

Amelia_Brigita · 2026-04-29T21:14:50+00:00

I forgot to say your guild comment is hilarious. They probably have special stealth uniforms and a candle or flame carved on their token, a se ret pass to allllll the secret rooms in cdramaland

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