media consumption | jan 2025

[darkunicorna]

as always, this is ongoing, and i will keep updating this post as the month goes on! just want to put my thoughts here before i start forgetting already lol.

tv shows

• hidden love, nextflix, c-drama, 25 episodes okay so. never mind my last post lol i ended up finishing this on 1.5x speed. the first like 7 ish episodes while she was a kid were kind of really painful to watch for the reasons i mentioned in my previous post. when she got to college, i really enjoyed how the dynamics of their relationships flipped to the point where sang zhi began taking care of / being present for duan jiaxu in exactly the ways he needed, and i like that it's this that made him begin to see her as a romantic interest. i think duan jiaxu is SUUUUUUUCH an interesting character bc he rly grew up alone and feeling like he had to take care of everything all the time, so the fact that sang zhi balanced that part of him out and became the person he could rely on to really see him and love him in the ways that he was missing for so long... BUUUUUT i feel like the drama did not delve as deeply as i wanted into that aspect of their relationship and instead chose to focus on djx just being like, this weirdly perfect and idealistic boyfriend who will always take care of you and forsee all your needs etc etc. i thought their relationship was very sweet for the most part, but i did get real sick of their shit around eps 22-23 lol they reminded me of all my friends who got partners and then their partners became their whole lives and i was the friend just kinda left behind like ok... ig i don't matter lol the honeymoon phase of the relationship in dramas is always so not for me HAHA on that note i also thought that sang zhi is such an interesting character in the sense that she is such a spoiled little princess (and i get her bc i am also the youngest in my family and i am also spoiled A LOT lol) but she is really kind and empathetic and caring when it comes to duan jiaxu and is able to read what he needs so easily + give it so willingly even tho she is so used to being the one who gets her way. THAT BEING SAID i think that spoiled princess aspect of her relationship would have come out at some point in tiny ways just bc that's the way you are subconsciously and it's not like that doesn't exist at all / disappears just bc you will it to. i think in that vein, both sang zhi and duan jiaxu were a liiiittle bit too perfect as people and didn't have so many flaws when it comes to how they worked together, and i think that perfectness flattened the things that made them interesting as characters. also all the problems that were presented disappeared really easily?? i rather dislike it when things like the jealous ex or controlling parents get wayyyy out of hand in the last portion of the drama; i'm thankful that didn't happen here, but i also think all the problems went away a little too easily lol like duan jiaxu just had to give jiang xing a restraining order to get rid of her? then why didn't he do it way sooner? and sang zhi's mean internship boss just disappeared until the last day of her internship where she magically accepted sang zhi's kind of passive aggressive suggestion that her friend should go to therapy LOLOL. BUT there were still redeeming qualities of course, as i listed above, so overall i guess i don't regret watching it in full!


• xo, kitty s2: netflix, 8 episodes bahahaha i loved it as per usual. messy af as always but i think kitty was more likable this season? i felt like everyone's issues resolved p easily despite feeling very large and insurmountable, which i liked, but i'm sure some ppl didn't lol. this reminded me of gossip girl w all the issues going on lol except gossip girl had way more time to stretch these plot points out. loooooove sang heon lee as always lol i wanted more out of the matchmaking scene BY WHICH I MEAN I WANTED THEM TO BE MATCHMADE. mooncovey is endgame idec, loved the prom scene, loved kitty's outfits, i think anna cathcart is growing into herself more and growing into her acting more, but that being said the acting is still not that great in this show as always l o l anyway. my guilty pleasure. at least it's better than emily in paris lol. i liked how this season was also less koreaboo-y. also dae!!!!!!! love him. who knew he could sing like that!

youtube

hmm debating if i need this section or not, but let's see if starting it might help some thoughts pour out.

• en o' clock: ep. 100 baeil they basically did a baekil celebration for en o clock where the boys played games to win mochi! jungwon won so he picked the thumbnail but it was a group effort to make fun of jay LOL i loved this ep sm bc the boys were getting so into the games and making their own rules / finding their own strategies. tickling on the pull up bars!! them wanting to be the ones to throw the balls at each other! grumpy competitive jungwon even made an appearance lolol


• en o' clock: ep. 101 red riding hood pt.1 they basically played a lot of random games to pick who the taggers would be! ni-ki being good at household chores i love him. also sunghoon brute strength and jake using his wits to win is a constant eoc theme.,


• en o' clock: ep. 102 red riding hood pt.2 the game finally begins!

webtoons/manhua/manhwa/manga

• count tachibana: korean, complete, ch. 70


• dangerous convenience store: korean, ongoing, read up to ch. 51 overall a sweet story! i enjoy how honest geonwoo is; he is truly not playing games w euijoon's feelings and makes it quite clear where he stands. i like the difference between the two and the way they don't even truly know why they're drawn to each other bc i feel like that's p authentic to genuine attraction, and i also really like cha chaehyun! i like how even tho the story involves gangsters, a lot of depth is added to them so that it's not just about them being gritty and fearless and muscular etc etc haha. that being said, i'm not like OBSESSED lol idk if i will keep reading, but doubt i will actively seek out weekly updates or anything. ngl euijoo is kind of a baffling character to me and it's hard to see what his personality actually is like. but whenever the artist draws chibi euijoon, i have to admit he is extremely cute!


• i became a first class guide because of my childhood friends: chinese, ongoing, read up to ch. 20 i really like the dynamics here w diametrically opposite twins who are both just extremely down bad for their gege, but show it in different ways. i think qiao yang is interesting; i think there's much more depth to his character that i want to see more of, and the concept of guides and sentinels is a fun one, so i will likely keep reading as more chapters come out!


• our sunny days: korean, complete...? stopped at ch. 25 (s1 finale) i enjoyed this story! love how kind haebeom is and i do love when the big beefy guy falls first. the kid is soooooo cute as well and the art is all around quite funny. i stopped at the season finale just bc it was a nice ending where they finally consummate their relationship and i didn't want things to get worse from there lol i was like this is a nice place to pretend the story ends :D


• swept away: korean, ongoing, read up to ch. 25 this is cute! i like the twist on the fake dating trope where actually, bada doesn't want their relationship to be seen on a public scale, but the total purpose of their fake dating is for him to get comfortable w dating / practice so he can get better at acting actually. this helped their fake relationship progress much faster than typical fake dating relationships lol which i liked. is it just me, or were the sex scenes kinda long, too? lol not complaining. that being said, i would like a little more characterization! like why tf is chaeyoon obsessed w bada... what is bada's scandal... also bada's such a weirdo in general hahah never had a crush or been curious about kissing or anything like that? trying to figure out who tf he is lol. but still, fun for the moment!


• sugar trap: korean, ongoing, read up to ch. 29 (end of s1) OMFGGGGG i was a little confused by the beginning of this manga bc there is all this business talk LOL what with the beginning being so focused on joohwan's work. BUT the story comes alive when we find out about joohwan and sihyun's past together in the military, and then ESPECIALLY when we get sihyun's perspective and realize he's REALLY FUCKING HUNG UP ON JOOHWAN LMAOOO joohwan is sooo gregarious and extroverted that sihyun gets jealous whenever he treats anyone else nicely, and i just think it's such a funny juxtaposition next to joohwan thinking he's Just Some Guy and sihyun's the one that's unbelievable to look at / be in the presence of. the dynamics there are really fun, and ngl the smut is REALLY HOT LMAO author pulled out ALL STOPS. TONGUE PIERCING???? CHOKING???? i am not a feet person but have to admire the number of BLs out there featuring feet kinks lol. also, jooyoung gives me sunoo vibes hahaha so interested to see where that will go....!!


• omega complex: korean, complete I LOVE THIS WEBTOON SO MUUUUUUCH i really didn't expect much when i started it, but i like that it's short so none of its misunderstandings are drawn out to long... i love that yoonwoo is never actually swayed by a romance w dohyun (tho dohyun is great and i'm glad he's getting a story too!) and i like how taegyeom likes yoonwoo so much that the omega thing isn't the issue — it's that yoonwoo made the decision for him that he wouldn't like yoonwoo anymore bc of his presentation as an omega. taegyeom is also so thoughtful abt yoonwoo and his consent when he is in heat... very heart warming and wholesome all around! one thing i wish is that i could see more of their interactions w each other's parents, since they're both close. i'm thinking like cfc level of interactions haha like regularly calling abt the other kid and bringing over food for the other kid and asking for the other to behave etc etc. BUT that's just a small wish of mine hahah overall super enjoyable and i liked the art and i am def interested in more stories from this writer / artist duo!


• first of summer: korean, ongoing, read up to ch. 16 oh my goodness i adore this! at first i was like ok... idc abt guitar like that... idk abt this one... but I LOVE IT SMMMMM i love how easy the relationship is betw yeoreum and hyunsun. they just click right away, and any miscommunications really don't last long bc they're so good together/to each other. i love how hyunsun says what yeoreum needs to hear abt himself LITERALLY WITHIN ONE NIGHT OF MEETING HIM. hyunsun is rly what yeoreum needs at this moment of his life. the whole yeoreum backstory got to me so bad aaaaaahhhh he deserves all good things! and i loved the way the art totally broke down when he did TT TT. i also thought it was funny to depict the progression of yeoreum and hyunsun's one-month relationship trial w bottles of lube and condom wrappers hahahaha yeoreum is insatiable...... pls spare hyunsun's hole LOL. i am so invested in these two i wanna support this author so badly! RELEASE A PHYSICAL COPY PLSSSS


• trashy situation: korean, ongoing, read up to ch. 29 realizing now that i never edited my MASSIVE webtoon post from last year w this one, but i've been steadily reading it since late last year. it has many tropes i love, namely younger boy is interested in older girl who has no idea he exists, younger boy grows older and finally seduces older girl. i like that eungyo is relatively plain and that she also has struggles w her career that are covered in the story as well. i like that lee jaeheon fell in love w her when she was crying. i do think it's a little unrealistic that eungyo's got THREE guys all obsessed w her without her knowing lolol but i did appreciate the insight haeda provided abt how he, jaeheon, and that other ex guy who's name i forgot alr are all rly similar and that leads into why they are all attracted to her. i also like that eungyo calls jaeheon out on his shit re: saying cheesy pickup lines that ppl don't actually believe lol bc in that way i think it's more realistic to how romance actually is! so yes i am following this!


• tears of a withered flower: korean, ongoing, read up to ch. 39 yep, still reading this. talked about it already last year on my massive webtoons post! i am still enjoying it and i think it's rly interesting how far the story has come from its beginning. thank god mincheol is kind of out of the picture now. i really love the art bc it's obviously not REALISTIC per se lolol but i like that haesoo rly does have fat rolls like she's not unrealistically smooth in all the positions she's put in lol.

movies

i am always watching movies, but i usually log my thoughts on letterboxd :)


books

i am also usually reading, but i usually log my books on literal!