The Problematic of the Unproblematic

Chapter 17b written by kakashi edited by Panda/LigayaCroft “Did you say turtles?” “Yes, Da-Ge. A large family of turtle humans has been living in Yinguang Palace! It is quite a mystery how they got there. Lian Song discovered them and has initiated contact. However…,” Ye Hua broke off. Mo Yuan waited politely for his brother to continue, which he did after a few moments.

kakashi: This, my friends, is the face of a loser. JoAnne: But I think he starts to realize that he's a loser, this episode?  Maybe?

Trotwood: Before I start the recap for this week’s episode, I feel I need to apologize to Mamiya Shotaro because in the previous recap I said I did not know him from anything but the movie Tori Girl ; however, that is not true. He also plays Saito’s younger brother in the lovely if odd movie The Kodai Family . I think it’s because when I watched this movie, I was getting airsick from reading the subtitles while flying, but I kept watching anyway (getting sicker and sicker) all because of Saito. I don’t remember much about the other characters because of my nausea.   I also think it’s because of his hair, which made him look like a completely different person. So this week’s hair retrospective in the comments will focus on Mamiya. Panda: I did watch and enjoy Kodai Family! I only remember the leads and the sister though.

kakashi: In good Kdrama fashion, lies come to hunt our OTP. Or at least soon. JoAnne: I do love a good lie.

kakashi: Amaaaazing stuff happens, totally amazing. JoAnne: Don't worry, folks. I can't always tell when she's being sarcastic either.

JoAnne: Some of us are still getting snow (on APRIL 19th!!!) and some of us are sitting outside in our bare feet enjoying our patios and flowers. I have no flowers yet (well, daffodils and crocus) but things are swelling green and I'm starting to believe this winter might actually end.  Fingers crossed! Trotwood: I had to use the collapsible snow shovel I keep in my car this past week. I still have not taken out my spare snow boots, wool socks, and lined pants I keep in the car. I'm not going to believe until June. 😔 However, I'm using recapping and figuring out near gibberish subs to get me through end of school year trauma drama. Saki: I am still sick.  Hence Tientsin Mystic recaps continue to go very slowly.  panda: I am hanging in there... All of this just means I'm ALONE

Chapter 10 - My heart becoming yours, that was never a choice written by Bunny consulting by LigayaCroft, Le and LalaLoop editing by Le and LalaLoop (kakashi only read through it) I wake and lay, curled up in a ball, surprised to be waking at all. Immediately, the cold starts to gnaw at me. When I take a breath, the air spins like metal shards in my lungs. Where am I? I look above to see the sky has turned into a dome of ice. The clear slabs of aquamarine gleam like a mirror one second, then diffuse to a milky blueness the next by the rising vapor formed from my breath.

  Chapter 17a written by kakashi editing by Panda & LigayaCroft The pond has turned out quite well , Mo Yuan thought and surveyed his work with a considerable amount of pride. It’s actually rather small , Golden Dragon grumbled quietly, but I should be able to moisten my skin here nonetheless on very hot summer days . Mo Yuan chuckled. It was so pleasant to be in harmony with his true form, and not having to suppress it.

Trotwood: Well, I am back to recapping. Cubic recaps are on hiatus (I’ll get back to those in the summer—if summer ever comes), and I swore I wouldn’t do anything else until then. However, this drama really grabbed me. Not for the reasons you would imagine. I am/was watching several other Japanese dramas while watching this: Aishi Girl, Final Cut, May I Blackmail You, Five, Unnatural, and Repeat. There was more discussion of Repeat than this show on my twitter feed, and I actually enjoyed Unnatural more consistently than this show. However, I rarely have a show that leads me to complete rage and then basically seduces me back to being its best friend again. This was that show. There was quite a lot of buzz about this show when it came out because of the cast. I won’t go into the background of each, but they are top notch and have many devoted fans. Our lead, Kimura Takuya, has been in the business since the late 80s, he is a boyband member turned award-winning actor. And don’t ge...

kakashi: We get to know this uncle Jong-Yong for a bit. He's a real sleazebag! JoAnne: He seems so sloppy and naturally broke, there's no way he can be husband of the other daughter-in-law. There must be three brothers, right?

Chapter 16 written by kakashi edited by LigayaCroft/Panda Snap. Menacingly, a fan closed right in front of her nose, sending a sharp gush of air into her face. Shao Wan’s feet skidded on the polished floor as she came to an immediate stop, her heart drumming rapidly in her chest. The Third Prince stepped out from behind a red pillar. For someone whose face usually showed either boredom or quiet amusement, he looked very grim.

JoAnne:  If I squint at the trees against the sky, Trot, I can see the green haze!  The red buds are very fat along the highway, too. Has the snow melted where you are yet? Trotwood: It was warm today! In the 60s, so the last of the snow piles have melted. However, there is warning of ice in a couple of days. I'm not going to look for real positive weather until May. That way I won't be disappointed. I feel as though I may be in a drama lull for awhile. Most of the shows that I am watching have ended, are about to end, or are getting subbed very slowly (my Japanese dramas), and I'm not excited about the replacements at least not yet. Hopefully, this will allow time for my recapping project to get into full swing. SakiVI: It's too hot for me. I like winter.  So do I. I hate being hot, but this has been a long, painful winter. And I really don't want to shovel again. I'll put up with scrapping ice again like I had to do this week, but I'm tired of shovelin...

Chapter 9. One drop of ink can stain the sea written by Bunny consulting by LigayaCroft & Le editing by Le & kakashi My eyes crack open a slit, then shut again. The sun is beating down today like it’s hellbent on settling a grudge. A slight breeze skims across my cheeks. When it stills, the coolness is replaced by hot air that wraps over me like a blanket. My body shifts and I feel every spot where my skin has stuck to my robe, the worst being my back and the underside of my legs.

Chapter 17 - The Plan (LAST CHAPTER) Part 4 written by LalaLoop edited by kakashi “Seventeenth.” No. “Seventeenth.” Just a few more minutes, Senior , she groaned, I’m too tired .

kakashi: Well. I wonder who the biggest fool in this really is. Tae-il? I'm voting for Tae-il. Sorry, Trot, I don't like him at all. Trotwood: I know. You didn't like him before. Jo doesn't either. That's not true! No one does but me. He will turn evil because his heart will be broken even though he clearly has jumped in front of a train here thinking there was a possibility even though she has only ever admired him as a mentor and friend. Sigh. Personality wise though, I like him better than our cutie Golden retriever lead, who, as you know I find annoying enough to want to punch in the face, but clearly I'm in the minority. They are really setting up this second lead to be really boring from the beginning and not even a challenge to anyone. What is his point really in this plot then but to turn evil later? Sigh again. Can I still hold out for bromance? Because these two (2nd and Golden Retriever) are the only two who seem to care about the step mom at all. Br...

Chapter 15 written by kakashi & Panda editing/consultig by LigayaCroft Clang! With full force, Mo Yuan slammed the pickaxe down. Sparks flew to all sides and the jolt from the impact snaked up his arms like Celestial lightning.

kakashi: It's funny, this is my first KDrama of this genre in a long time, but unlike so many of my friends, I don't hate it at all... I don't even dislike people a lot. Okay, maybe a little. JoAnne:  I don't hate it either, and every time I watch an episode I am surprised by that all over again - not because the episode is bad but because I'm just so used to him being in incredibly makjang stories that don't really get good until half way through, if ever. Trotwood: Hmm. Maybe that should be my plan. I remember not joining Jang Bori until episode 30 or so. I'm not going to have a lot of time anyway in the next month or so. Maybe I'll leave and rejoin later. Maybe then I won't dislike everyone so much and stop being the cranky ahjumma of the recaps. I know you're busy so I won't attempt to sway your decision, but just know that I tend to love the cranky ahjumma voice in our recaps, no matter who is playing the part.

JoAnne: I did it again...no draft RAWR until Saturday, bad me! I swear sometimes my brain doesn't really get the fact that days are going by... kakashi: I was sick all week and am now officially sick of being sick and my family being sick. So many precious workdays destroyed! Ack. SakiVI: I am mostly recovered, but still very tired, and still got a horrible cough at night. So, I don't have much energy for things, including tv. Starting new shows is too tiring for me.  Just the thought of the character setups is so exhausting I end up just not doing anything or re-running Schitt's Creek. Trotwood: I've been under the weather, too, and the doctor told me that my blood pressure has risen. I think it's because even though it is spring, it still feels like winter and everyone is cranky. panda: I have not been sick but been in very low spirits cos of stuff... But! Fans are subbing Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food !! The KDrama subbing arena keeps getting suckier and I a...

SakiVI: Now, where were we? Oh, right, Shopkeeper Wang was arrested and Ding Dad seems to have been involved in the opium trade. JoAnne: Hmmmm...do we really believe that, though? kakashi: Oh yes, why shouldn't we?!

kakashi: Hot kisses. Isn't this a family show? JoAnne:  Let's be fair.  That kiss was awkward AF but ended up okay. Trotwood: You have all drunk the Kim Ji Hoon kool aid. You wouldn't put up with his shenanigans if it were any other actor pulling this stuff. 😉 Stick around.  If history repeats itself I will end up spending most of the drama raging, and that tends to be amusing.

Chapter 14 written by Panda editing by kakashi & Ligayacroft Shao Wan flew to the gates in anticipation and euphoria. Her heart sang. She had known it, he would come for her! Her Mo Yuan, her Golden Dragon! He must have felt her aura in the Heavens and was ready to break down the scary gates to get her back! The Turtle Clan had hastily moved out of the way in her mad dash to the entrance and she could feel them looking at her puzzled as to why she felt anyone would come to Yinguan palace. She knew trying to explain would only result in the curse so she simply waved at them and waited. In horror, she recollected how she looked. Grooming herself so she would be presentable she glanced at her chest and her heart sank. Those were some of Mo Yuan’s favorite things about me! And how will these nurture my children? But I will be hopeful, my body will come back...somehow , she tried to reassure herself. Hours passed before Shao Wan finally accepted the truth. He was not comin...

kakashi: Kim Ji-hoon is SO CUTE. That is all. JoAnne:  Well, I suppose it's better to be cute and have his career than ugly and have his career, eh? Trotwood: Trying not to bang my head into things because I'm tired of him wasting his talents in these mediocre shows. The daily I'm watching is crazier plotwise but is still better. Should I hope that he chooses one of them next if he is going to insist on doing this kind of thing? I don't think it's a choice at all, sadly. He just doesn't get offered things, Trot .  WHY?!?!? WHYYYYY?!!? (shaking my fist at the universe)

Chapter 8. To ask a wooden plank about love written by Bunny consulting by LigayaCroft & Le editing by kakashi & Le Petty… stingy… compassionless… Bai Qian had been biting the same section of her tongue for so long to keep from voicing her complaints aloud, that she could start to feel an ulcer coming on. A day had passed, yet her eyes were still glued to that person’s back—walking exactly ten steps ahead of her and refusing to say a word. This kind of cold war… she didn’t know how to fight it at all!

kakashi: One of the mothers starts getting on my nerves and we finally get a glimpse of why Nam Soo-Hee seems so sad all the time. JoAnne: I hope she stays nice, though. Trotwood: I hope she stays nice, too. We have enough annoying moms. Why am I annoyed at so many people in this show? One of the few people I like in this show will also probably turn bad, too. (stops jinxing Tae-il, kakashi!)

Chapter 13 written by kakashi edited by Panda & LigayaCroft “H...hellooo? Anybody there?” Shao Wan’s voice echoed feebly in the gloomy large hall of Yinguang Palace. There! Something moved in the shadows again! She pivoted her head from side to side in mounting panic, but she could never quite see what it was. “Stay away! I...I am armed,” she squeaked and grabbed a large candle holder. It was very heavy and she could barely lift it off the ground.

kakashi: We get some important backstory and realize that Gwang-Jae is still massively in love with Young-Ha. But wow, he is spoiled rotten, this man. JoAnne: We're going to fall hard for this guy as he changes, I can feel it. He always makes us love him, damn it. Trotwood: He'd better because I'm not liking him very much at all right now. I always love him . 

kakashi: Happy Easter! JoAnne: Happy Easter to you, too! Trotwood:  I'm here. The bunny brought orange muffins! (Okay. I made them myself and pretended that the bunny brought them) SakiVI: I ordered in chocolate. I love Easter desserts. We had ricotta cake AND rice pie, plus chocolate silk, lemon meringue, and coconut custard! And that was after lamb, ham, new potatoes, glazed carrots, green beans almondine...delicious!   Exhausted from anemia and I still made roast beef and a chocolate layer cake. Easter means food!!