James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 16mHaha, “at least 80”? 🤣🤣🤣 Poor Robin! 😅 - What is the ‘age’ equivalent of beer glasses 🍺 👓 ? It seems MaeMae mentally adds on an extra 20 years every time she reads me or Robin 😂😂 100
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 12hPoor you 😮🙏 What a relief that it was just a false alarm though 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 13hI can’t remember if I’ve seen the whole of Working Girl (it’s a film I ought to revisit, to find out), but I remember liking the romance in Witness (the one where he plays a police detective who stays incognito in an Amish community) It was an understated but moving romance role 010
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 13hSame 👍 - I’ll keep #SpringOfTheBlade for a rainy day (even though it didn’t quite work for me as a drama), because Xu Kai is always fun to watch in these type of badass mischievous roles 130
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 13hHa! 😅 “mannish” writing is a new one for me! I’ll take it as a sign my bio doesn’t have to do all the work anymore 😂 120
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 13hAww 🥰🥹 - I’m glad you were able to marry someone close to your first crush It’s strange how our tastes and preferences are formed, but in your case they seem to have pointed you in the right direction 👍 010
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hOh interesting! - the more polished version of Mr H. Ford 🙂 I think I even like him in the weak-ish remake of Sabrina 😅 (though I preferred him in action roles!) 130
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hI think, Momo, it’s probably because I talked enthusiastically about female-centric dramas & about the Colin Firth Pride And Prejudice (& other shows like that) - which isn’t a given among most men! 🙂 130
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hHaha yes 😂 I honestly didn’t think about it at the time, & just assumed my gender would be obvious from the things I was saying: but you (& later MaeMae too) made me realise not to take anything for granted here 😂😂 020
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hHaha - I will absolutely accept “cdrama scholar whose job it is to read & discuss things” as my official occupation, thankyouverymuch! 😂😂 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14h😂 I’ve been working on my Batman persona, so I think I’ll preserve a little mystery! 😉😅 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14h😂 I clearly need to cultivate a more industrious-looking online persona! 220
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hIt’s so funny you had me pegged as an oldie 😅 (not that there’s anything wrong with being a venerable age 🙏) I obviously need to post more pop music! 140
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hOh c-ooool!! 😎 I loved Indie growing up! (not as a crush though 😅) 140
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 14hHaha 😂, I’m not quite ready to pick up my pension yet lol! I think dear Robin is ageing me by association 😉😅 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 15hI vaguely remember seeing her, but it was before my time 🙂 I think I must have seen a couple of episodes of Buck Rogers during a TV recap 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 15hAge yourself with a childhood crushstatic.klipy.comKylie Minogue in Bubble Bath - I Should Be So LuckyAlt: Kylie Minogue in a bubble bath, singing ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ 🎶 160
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 17hOr from his wonderful historical romance & action drama #WonderlandOfLove (where he is well cast opposite Jing Tian) 010
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 17hI think it makes more sense if you’ve seen him in his peak Xu Kai era - for example, his loveable rascal character in #ArsenalMilitaryAcademy (where he is perfectly cast opposite Bai Lu’s more sober cross-dressing soldier character)static.klipy.comXu Kai as Bailihua in Cdrama: Arsenal Military AcademyAlt: Xu Kai as Gu Yanzheng in Arsenal Military Academy 220
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 18hYes 👏 If all the money & insight expended on developing AI technology were applied to dealing with ordinary - but potentially lethal - human egotism, then we might be able to talk about Actual Intelligence rather than only the artificial variety! 🙂 121
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 20hThank you 🙂 - & you definitely didn’t spoil it in a negative way 🙏 I’m grateful you’ve given me a way of approaching the final arc better, so I can appreciate it more (& now I’m curious about your grievances too 😅 - I’ll definitely come back to it once I’ve given myself a little breathing room) 010
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 21hIt’s not TES, but I’m quite enjoying #Irreplacable - if you’re in the mood for a thematically similar show 🙂 (it’s also only 20 eps I believe) However, if you take your time watching dramas, & want something emotionally & aesthetically immersive, #PuruitOfJade is prob your potential next big drama 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 21hYes - that was the moment where I suddenly felt like I was ‘outside’ the story rather than ‘within’ it 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 21hYes, I think “bird perspective” is a good way of putting it 🙂 (it also recalls her poem) I hadn’t thought of it quite like that, but it probably explains why I’ve felt less emotionally connected since the skips Knowing this is the structure now may help me settle back into it when I resume 👍 120
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 21hI’m not 💯% clear how to divide the time-skips up (🙂), but I’ve only watched up to halfway through ep 42 The time-skip that slightly broke my immersion was the one in ep 39, around or just after the scene where Jialan lets Jinqi see the opera/play she’s written for him 340
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 22hI know I’m swimming #AgainstTheCurrent here 😉, but I’ve felt rather emotionally disconnected since the 1st big time-skip I think I probably need to pause, give it some space, & resume the final eps with some distance, because it’s been such a beautiful drama & I want to do it justice #cdrama 6120
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 05/10/2026What is the movie that came out before you were born that you've watched the most times?static.klipy.comObi-Wan Kenobi: These Aren't The DroidsAlt: Obi-Wan Kenobi saying, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for” 631
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Oh I see, ha! - I won’t spoil anything, but there’s nothing too terrible in the next few episodes, & there is even some progress on the relationship front (so long as you don’t have ‘ideal romance’ as an expectation!) 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Oh, is this in relation to the most recent episode (42), or to the episodes immediately following the time-skip? The way the drama seems to portray her character is to make us infer her emotional state from subtle cues - but there are definitely moments when it feels clearer than at other moments 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Just to say, I’ve only really seen your drama screenshots here, & they’re always very beautiful to see & artistically selected So please don’t feel down on yourself 🙂🙏 - self doubt is something all artists seem to go through 120
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Hehe 😉 - Seven clearly does rather more for me than she does for you then 😅 I haven’t counted, but I loved her in #TheSwordandtheBrocade, #FlighttoYou & #UnderthePower - & I’ve mostly really liked her here too. #GoAhead is still sitting on my watchlist, so there’s at least one major test left 😂 000
Reposted by James🌹この生活の🥀虜になっちゃうよ💎LADY✨ @dacquoisejardin.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Jin Qi is my fave cuz i tend to like the ones with the best character development yes he did some red flag things but he’s ultimately such a good person he was willing to learn and understand his wife and isn’t afraid to show vulnerabilty that’s superb ML material 👍 #AgainstTheCurrent #兰香如故 061
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Yes, I accept there’s a lot of risk for Jialan, especially now that she has a daughter I suppose where I slightly differ is that, for me, exactly that risk is what could have made her *choosing* to tell him such a powerful act of trust 110
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Yes, it’s a beautiful (& even attractively cheesy 🙂, which I didn’t realise was a thing!) ending 🥹☺️ It definitely ends on a crescendo 120
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026But I think your point that her acceptance is based more on gratitude than passion reflects my reservations - because if love is still only a future potential, with only a few episodes left, I wish the drama had given that possibility space earlier, so we could have time to see it flower 020
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Yes, I can see this 🙂 I agree that - from the very start - romantic love was never Jialan’s primary goal, & I wouldn’t want it to override her goal of “living well” (or just “to live”, which her mother bequeathed to her) 120
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I think that’s the step I was waiting for (& didn’t completely get, even though it was still very moving & well portrayed) 010
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026For me, mutual love must eventually involve some freely chosen vulnerability from both sides - not because Jinqi is entitled to Jialan’s secret, but because Jialan herself freely chooses to trust him with it 100
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I suppose I don’t see a prevailing social order - patriarchy or another - as making that deeper kind of existential trust between two people impossible 200
James @jamesdramac.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I think that probably gets to where we differ slightly 🙏🙂 I can understand why the remaining distance feels honest to you - but I probably don’t quite share the view that a woman can never fully trust a man “under patriarchy” 100
