Musings of the Obsessive Kind

No points for guessing they are shippy.



Seriously, how are they so perfectly what I want in OTPs?

( Some really really awesome scenes, or why Lu Bu is the only character in this that is decent husband material )

I have guests all Sunday so no more Three Kingdoms for me until Monday which is probably just as well for my sleep patterns and sanity :)

Also, I am now thinking Summer Desire would have been a lot more entertaining if Peter Ho and Huang Xiaoming showed up as Lu Bu and Yang Guo instead of their SD roles and decided the shippy rivalrly by various fighting bouts to the (almost) death once per episode. And Barbie Hsu would actually be playing her Meteor Garden character and periodically kick both their asses when their battles would destroy her furniture too much. It would be the best drama ever.

No points for guessing they are shippy.



Seriously, how are they so perfectly what I want in OTPs?

( Some really really awesome scenes, or why Lu Bu is the only character in this that is decent husband material )

I have guests all Sunday so no more Three Kingdoms for me until Monday which is probably just as well for my sleep patterns and sanity :)

Also, I am now thinking Summer Desire would have been a lot more entertaining if Peter Ho and Huang Xiaoming showed up as Lu Bu and Yang Guo instead of their SD roles and decided the shippy rivalrly by various fighting bouts to the (almost) death once per episode. And Barbie Hsu would actually be playing her Meteor Garden character and periodically kick both their asses when their battles would destroy her furniture too much. It would be the best drama ever.

I was browsing Doremii's upcoming projects list to see if there was anything I should be keeping my eye on and found out that An Xiang (i.e. Dark Fragrance) is on their 'on-coming projects' list.

!!!!!

The reason for my obsessive excitement is simple - An Xiang's leading man is Huang Xiaoming, my biggest Mainland crush (together with Hu Ge and Yuan Hong, it's sort of a hormonal trinity of mine :P). But being Mainland, any of his dramas are freaking hard to find subbed.

Not to mention that even if not for HXM factor, the plot of this sounds so ridiculously my thing, it's insane: The story centers around Cheng Yuan (HXM), the fourth generation heir to the rich and powerful Cheng family based in Southeast Asia. After pursuing studies in the United States, Yuan is on his way back home to attend his father's funeral and to make plans for his own marriage, when he meets a couple of Chinese travelers. The man, Li Ke Jin, is wrongly arrested for possession of marijuana, and the woman, Wu Yue, pleads with Yuan to save him. Already deep in the chaos and conflicts of his family and the future of their empire following the death of his father, Yuan agrees under some conditions. He will help Wu Yue free Li Ke Jin if she helps him avoid marriage by pretending to be his girlfriend. However, as the two play the happy couple, Wu Yue becomes a target for the feuding family and two things are propelled into danger... their hearts and their lives.

I mean! Fake lovers who fall in love for real. Be still my heart!

If you are not convinced yet by my excitement, I dare you to defy the adorableness of this MV:



What with this, Hu Ge's Bitter Coffee, and Coming Lies (a drama where Dylan Kuo is a conman conned out of his heart by Terri Kwan and the subs for which I have been searching everywhere for years) all on their upcoming list, doremii is my favorite subbing group atm.

ETA: kycoo, weren't you watching this last year? *off to browse your LJ*

And there is NO WAY Xiamo/Luo Xi (i.e. Barbie Hsu and Huang Xiaoming) are not the OTP of this drama.

They are in the credits and inserts together, all their scenes together are filmed in an "OTP OTP OTP" kind of way, from their first meeting under the freaking cherry blossoms to his playing the piano and her singing just for him - getting rid of her stage fright issues, to that really really sexy kissing scene (two of them, actually). Their chemistry is out of this world. Also, Luo Xi has enough issues to be interesting (orphan with trust issues and tragic background, uses his looks and charm to get through with no trouble but doesn't really care about others, etc) but not enough to make a horrible boyfriend or a bad guy.

Plus, the other guy, Ou Chen (Peter Ho) is seriously scary. I don't mean in a 'bad boy, would be fun to reform' or 'tortured soul' way - no, I am seriously grossed out and freaked out by him - he comes across as a classic abuser both emotionally and physically (the scene with him forcing his screaming and pleading girlfriend to hold an apple so he could shoot at it - sick). The way he looks at Xiaomo does not denote love to me but a "hmmm, where shall I dispose of the body?" reaction. To be fair, that could be Peter Ho's limited acting ability, but I prefer to think of the makers sharing my take on Ou Chen - seeing the horror movie music they play whenever he is in her vicinity, they probably share my views.

Yikes. Shall one pick a non-psycho sexy smart superstar or a rich abuser who you blame for the death of your family. Let me think - hard choice. OTOH, I am not the target audience - I still remember fangirls going into mad frenzy over twdrama Knock Knock Loving You because heroine picked the nice guy she has always loved over the dude who blackmailed her into an engagement and then tried to rape her. (They were so pissed and I was so happy with the drama. Let's hope this will be a repeat).

I leave you with this. Ahhh, Taiwan, you know how to do kissing scenes right.

And there is NO WAY Xiamo/Luo Xi (i.e. Barbie Hsu and Huang Xiaoming) are not the OTP of this drama.

They are in the credits and inserts together, all their scenes together are filmed in an "OTP OTP OTP" kind of way, from their first meeting under the freaking cherry blossoms to his playing the piano and her singing just for him - getting rid of her stage fright issues, to that really really sexy kissing scene (two of them, actually). Their chemistry is out of this world. Also, Luo Xi has enough issues to be interesting (orphan with trust issues and tragic background, uses his looks and charm to get through with no trouble but doesn't really care about others, etc) but not enough to make a horrible boyfriend or a bad guy.

Plus, the other guy, Ou Chen (Peter Ho) is seriously scary. I don't mean in a 'bad boy, would be fun to reform' or 'tortured soul' way - no, I am seriously grossed out and freaked out by him - he comes across as a classic abuser both emotionally and physically (the scene with him forcing his screaming and pleading girlfriend to hold an apple so he could shoot at it - sick). The way he looks at Xiaomo does not denote love to me but a "hmmm, where shall I dispose of the body?" reaction. To be fair, that could be Peter Ho's limited acting ability, but I prefer to think of the makers sharing my take on Ou Chen - seeing the horror movie music they play whenever he is in her vicinity, they probably share my views.

Yikes. Shall one pick a non-psycho sexy smart superstar or a rich abuser who you blame for the death of your family. Let me think - hard choice. OTOH, I am not the target audience - I still remember fangirls going into mad frenzy over twdrama Knock Knock Loving You because heroine picked the nice guy she has always loved over the dude who blackmailed her into an engagement and then tried to rape her. (They were so pissed and I was so happy with the drama. Let's hope this will be a repeat).

I leave you with this. Ahhh, Taiwan, you know how to do kissing scenes right.

I love the way Summer Desire is filmed - the colors are so crisp and beautiful. The whole feel is gorgeous - reminds me of older classic movies, which is appropriate for a dark, melodramatic story.

Peter Ho's English is super-awesome and I think he portrays his character well (not a PH fangirl but I have to admit that) but it doesn't solve the problem of the character being a freaking psycho - I am less than 20 minutes in and he's ordering his girlfriend to go stand at the shooting range with an apple on her head so he can shoot it with bow and arrow. Now, I am not going to declare anyone's methods of foreplay, however bizarre, should be illegal as long as they are consensual, but I will judge them. And leaving aside that this is a sick sick thing to do, the girl is clearly terrified and unwilling. She is screaming and he is just yelling at her to pick it up again. Ugh, I barely met him and I want him to die already.(Also, since his staff is lying to him this chick is his gf from high school, does that mean they are paying her to sleep with him? Classy).

The way they filmed the first meeting with Barbie and Huang Xiaoming screams OTP - blossoms, bubbles etc - and even the credits have PH then HXM then Barbie which would indicate HXM is the male lead. Not to mention it is their kissing scene that is in the credits. Viikii commenters are as confused as I am.

Geee, I wonder who I will root for - dude who is a psycho or dude who is not?

Side note: It is really odd to see Huang Xiaoming without a gun or a sword but I am not complaining. The man is sex on legs in any guise.

ETA: We have achieved Barbie/Xiaoming kissing! And it's really good kissing, too. There is NO way this ep is structured in any other way than them being the OTP and Peter Ho being evil stalker.

ETA2: Xiaomo is awesome - Barbie was totally channeling Shancai there.

ETA3: WE HAVE ACHEIVED SHIRTLESS HXM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, TPTB. Get it on, sexy twisted stepsiblings!

The long delayed (and madly anticipated by me) Summer Desire (based on bestselling Summer Bubbles) is finally going to be out May 30th.

YESSS.

It stars Barbie Hsu, Peter Ho, and Huang Xiaoming and promises more drama than 5 Korean weepies put together.

I am in it 100% for Barbie/Xiaoming and will happily ignore the fact that Peter ends up with her. Luckily for me, a lot of the promotion seems to ignore that final result as well and we get shots like this:



OH YES YES YES PLEASE.

The long delayed (and madly anticipated by me) Summer Desire (based on bestselling Summer Bubbles) is finally going to be out May 30th.

YESSS.

It stars Barbie Hsu, Peter Ho, and Huang Xiaoming and promises more drama than 5 Korean weepies put together.

I am in it 100% for Barbie/Xiaoming and will happily ignore the fact that Peter ends up with her. Luckily for me, a lot of the promotion seems to ignore that final result as well and we get shots like this:



OH YES YES YES PLEASE.

*hyperventilation*

*high-pitched scream*

English-subbed trailers for Summer Desire (a.k.a. Summer Bubbles) are out.

First one:



( Another one behind cut )

Oh YES.

SD is apparently based on some psycho-popular novel about plucky and awesome heroine Xiao Mo (my girl Barbie!) and her having to pick between two different mad-for-her men: her sexy former stepbrother who is now a huge star (Huang Xiaoming), and a super-rich ex-boyfriend who has forgotten her but then remembers and decides he still wants her (Peter Ho). Blahblahblah lots of angst.

OK, you know, I don't care if it makes me sound insane: if Xiao Mo does not end up with Luo Xi (the stepbro), I will kill something!

She can even end up single, that's fine. But if she ends with Ou Chen --- grrrr. Well, unless they change the story around from the book synopses I have read and the trailers seem to show it as pretty faithful. I was going to do a whole rant about Ou Chen as a 'viable' romantic lead but after all, the drama is not out so I shouldn't.

ETA: Screw it. I love a good rant. See, here is my problem. Leaving aside the issue of not finding Peter Ho attractive in the least and thinking Huang Xiaoming is sex on legs, I loathe loathe LOATHE Ou Chen. I am all for the "they used to be a couple, had break-up from hell, now meet again years later, he blackmails her into a relationship to make her pay" - two of my favorite twdramas, Autumn's Concerto and My Lucky Star use that. BUT:

( Rant behind cut )

Anyway, unless they change the story, I loathe Ou Chen with the power of 10,000 suns. I hope he does not get the girl. But I fear he may.

This airs after Down With Love, I believe.

That is what upcoming Summer Bubbles (now renamed Summer Desire) should be instead titled as.



I mean, here is the description from the book SD is based on in which our heroine first meets her stepbrother (and eventual boyfriend) translated a bit roughly but still legibly by a kind person on AF:

The young man sat under the blooming oriental cherry tree, his black jade hair had a diluted luster, the skin at the back of his neck meticulous like beautiful china...

"From now on Luo Shi will live with us. He's your older brother, you guys must care and love him, okay?" At dinner time, Dad's chubby face was full of smiles, his right hand patting the back of the youths hand, he said to her brother...

"Luo Shi suffered a lot in the past," Dad painfully looked at the youth, then turned towards her. "So Xiao Mo, you have to be like dad and take good care of your brother."

Yi Xia Mo measured up the youth sitting by dad's side again. His name is Luo Shi, 16 years old. No matter in the school or on television, she's never seen such a pretty boy. His skin is as beautiful as the oriental cherry blossoms in the courtyard, (his) pupils are as pitch black as agate, (his) black hair has a silk gloss, despite his clothes being a little shabby, when he wears them they carry a type of princely boastful nobility.

Luo Shi is also watching her...

When she first saw him, there was that alarming feeling in her heart. Under the blossomed oriental cherry blossom tree, Luo Shi's beauty was like the alluring evil spirits in picture books. He was too beautiful, a youth being like that was a very scary thing.

Ahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Welcome to the house of fakecest! That is what happens when your Daddy randomly shows up at the house with a hot stranger and declares he shall be your adopted older brother. Bwahahaha.

In other news, I am so going to be rooting for stepbrother in this love triangle. As Xiao Mo's other choice is the ex-boyfriend Ou Chen. Seeing that Ou Chen was charming enough to act out his jealousy of his then-gf's getting a hot stepbrother by using his $$$ and influence to pressure Xiao Mo's dad to drop stepbro back at the orphanage, I am already pissed off at him. Who the hell does that? Oh, not to mention that on the way back from dropping off Stepbro, the car got into an accident and Xiao Mo's parents died and her beloved younger brother got horribly injured. Yeah, it's all your fault, jerk of a boyfriend, WTF is wrong with you! Though I am going to really gloat and enjoy if they have the book scene of Ou Chen coming asap to Xiao Mo after all of this and her telling him it's all his fault and how much she hates him and diaf while he is there kneeling begging her forgiveness. YUM. *sluuuuuurp*