Got home early and wanted to share this tidbit with you!
On the one hand, OMGWTFBBQ. On the other hand, relatively accurate in the way that Yongi is always fluttering his eyelashes. And that bit with Bong Soon of the glowy anime demon eyes is certainly accurate.
*sigh*
Sevenses
Can barely prop eyelids open, but here’s the recap. Still working 12+ hours a day, so prease to be forgiving all spelling mistakes. Also, fangirlism abounds.
Love you all, and hope you found this episode as good as I did. (Actually, you better had, because I did, and I was super tired to boot!)
Oh! One last thing (don’t kill me, lol, you can just scroll down) everyone go over and wish flyingcrispi a good time in Greece!
Episode 14
Aww. Everyone is still holding firm in front of the palace gates, to the point of working out a food distribution system. Byun Shik and the ambassador dude look over at the assembled peasants… and the ambassador goes to the king. He demands that the king solve the problem.
When the king suggests (not demand, mind you) that the ambassador’s son might be slightly responsible, the guy puffs up like one of those fish and brings the king’s own son into the fray, hinting that the crown prince might find China less than hospitable if the king doesn’t make Mr. Ambassador happy. What a toad.
(Btw, the guy’s wearing the wrong clothes for the Qing dynasty, and even wronger clothes for the Choseon… I would lol, but I’m tired of evil Chinese people showing up all the time. If you’re going to impugn, at least do it accurately. Otherwise check your intentions. So fucking tired of propaganda.)
The king must have watched Hong Gil Dong, because he’s doing the Chang-Hui-is-pained thing. He’s weak so he obeys the ambassador’s wishes, and calls Byun Shik over.
Eun Chae’s mom is super worried at her not coming home, and sends the family servants to search.
Once he’s received the king’s orders, Shi Wan hands the faked results of the investigation exonerating Zheng over to Shi Hoo, who doesn’t like giving lies to the people, but has to do it. He reads it out loud to the crowd. Dani, Swe Dol, Eun Chae and co are disappointed. Bong Soon is furious.
Sujini gets drunk and confesses to Damduk. They make out.
… I wish. 
Episode 17
Damduk’s army makes its way back, not knowing that their welcome in the capital may be less than warm. (Well I’m pretty sure Damduk knows, but not to the extent of having an enemy army attack them…)
Lord Yon is played, oh yeah, by the Hwacheon creep. He and the rest of cabinet ends up being put under house arrest by Hwacheon, ahaha, just desserts. (Sa Ryang just gets cuter and cuter. Um. Don’t ask.) Finally, he sees what a manipulative bastard Dae Jang Ryo is.
Kiha’s orders are doubted by her second in command. She kills the woman using her phoenix powers.
Damduk’s men are itching for home. (They’re only a little bit away from the capital.) G.O. sits incognito in the camp. By the lack of response from the city, Damduk can tell something’s wrong, so he sends a few forward scouts.
Sa Ryang uses Yon’s seal and orders everyone to close the gates of the capital. The messengers of the oracle come, and Damduk is all happy at having word from Kiha, but he hears the message and has even more smileys - he is under orders to go to the temple and ‘cleanse his sins on the battlefield’.
Good episode, I think, given the overall tone. But! BT WAS SO SLOOOOOOOOOW. (Found a thingy, whatsitcalled, and watched it online. Am still feeling guilty doing this in a library, surrounded by all these studious people. It’s July! Why are you all studying?!)
Episode 13
Yongi gets a lot better, and so does Shi Hoo!! They can both beat their masters in a fair fight now.
Lol, Byun Shik and Eun Chae host the opening of their inn. (Technically Eun Chae’s.) Miss Eun Chae explains everything about her inn and expounds upon its perfections (apparently you can just bring yourself to the hotel and not drag a whole host of pots and pans etc). The Chinese ambassador is running around being ugly, and his son is being sleazy. Eun Chae likes his horses, but not the owner.
He makes a rude joke about riding horses and Eun Chae gives him the evil eye. He goes away. Her servant remarks that the hooligans who hang around are better than that dude, and slyly insinuates that her mistress actually misses having Yong underfoot. Eun Chae laughs and turns the conversation to Iljimae…
… who is still getting trained by Kunghe. Both he and Shi Hoo are basically learning the same set of skills, but with different intents. (LJK does lots of pretty jumps.)
As he learns, he remembers his father’s words: to use his sword for the life, and not death.
Am watching kdrama in a library. The academic in me trembles. 
(Btw, am busy working in the next few days, go Montreal and its love affair with sidewalk sales… Iljimae episode 13 will be ‘on time’, but 14 might be a bit delayed. Hope you guys are okay with that.)
Episode 5
Joo Hee, Bong Joo, Chief Oh and Joo Hee’s father are sitting together around a table, dismayed at Sung Chan’s abrupt departure. Joo Hee’s father (he of the pottery) is outraged that he would dare quit without a word, but the other three know that Sung Chan would never do something like this without sufficient cause. Bong Joo looks guilty while the other two worry.
Madam Jo corners Jin Soo about her ‘night out’ with Sung Chan, absolutely convinced they’re lovers. (Aha. Jin Soo doesn’t get her subtle hints.) Joo Hee comes running with queries, but Jin Soo only knows that Sung Chan acted like a possessed man after getting back from the countryside.
Bong Joo broods like a broody thing for driving his brother away. (No self-confidence, yo.)
Min Woo bursts in, also astonished at this turn in events but happy that it’s turned out to Bong Joo’s advantage. Suk Dong sobs away while washing veggies, thus defeating the purpose of washing them but we all need our grief vents. He is called away by Bong Joo and told to keep quiet. And he gets blamed. I’m really not liking Bong Joo a lot.
At night, after meeting his father on accident in Sung Chan’s room, he admits that he told his brother the truth about his heritage. The touching father-son moment is ruined by the audience’s knowledge that Bong Joo is actually lying about a lot of things.
Lol. I read the manga a while ago, and thought it was super cute, and out pops Jang Geun Suk and Kim Byul, with their movie version. It was originally slated for June, but the release has been postponed to August.
Trailer:
Certainly the beginning is a bit at odds with the rest of the movie, but the baby is so CUTE! (And the poor guy suffers so prettily.)
BTS for final scene
Umm. Lol, trying to peek under his shirt?
Photoshoot
Such a camwhore, that JGS.
Alright, signing off,
Sevenses
Stuff happens. The end.
Just kidding.
Episode 16
Now Kiha’s putting armour on Ho Gae. He’s being used! And he doesn’t care! WTF!
His troops move out and there is lots of slaughter. (And conquering, of course.) The people he’s conquering look Mongolian. He’s all bloodlusty (and that opposing army was small.)
On Damduk’s side of things, the citizenry who surrendered to him are panicking because the Baekje army is returning. Now the Guh Mool clan also know that Ba Son’s brother has the symbol of the white tiger, and that he is in the north. The others blame her for not telling him, but she in fact intended to tell him after the campaign in Gwanmi.
Ba Son and Dalbi are kidnapped, however, and presumably transported to Ho Gae. Jumuchi and the Julno chief lead their men to rescue the girls but are stalled at the gates by panicky villagers.
Due to the political situation in Baekje (prince and usurper battling it out), Damduk thinks he can handle the army as long as they mislead the opponents. He’s so nice, he lets the Baekje soldiers out to protect the citizenry. Jumuchi has a heart-to-heart with Damduk and decides to stay, choosing Damduk over Dalbi.
HA. At night, the Gwanmi overlord stalks Sujini. (Either that, or she’s gone over the edge of insanity.) She gets drunk by the pool. (Lol, he actually is following her.) When she gets drunk, she’s really funny. Overlord person just watches. I am kind of creeped out, but at least Sujini now has a ‘Sa Ryang’ to match Kiha.
Well, it’s time for me to put on my political commentator hat again. And, surprisingly, this post isn’t about Zimbabwe. (I figure there are enough people commenting on that as is. The issue doesn’t need me to muddy the waters.)
A few weeks ago, a 15 year old girl was found in a river near Wengxian, Gui Zhou. She had been raped several times, and then killed. The three thugs suspected of the crime were apprehended by police and then released the day of their arrest. The police department announced a conclusion of ‘probable suicide’ and closed her case.
Concerned and angered by the cavalier treatment by police, her uncle, a popular teacher, went to talk with the policemen in charge of the case. He was brutally beaten and has since disappeared.
Furious with this particular instance of criminal collusion and (I suspect) many other previous oppressions, the populace took to the streets and burned down the police department.
Now there’s armed police from the surrounding counties patrolling the streets. No one can get in, and no one can come out. I’m not sure what’s happening in there. The Chinese media have censored all mentions of the incident from being mentioned, and internet searches have been restricted.
Here’s where the facts end, and my commentary begins.
This is not, as I would like to believe, an isolated incident. The Chinese government, at the local level, has always reigned supreme, doing what it likes to the people. They are no better than thugs, and in many instances, are capable of much worse. I can write until my fingers fall off, about the mines in my home province that resorts to human slavery and kidnapping to harvest coal. I could talk until my throat gives in about the violence and brutality that plague the poor areas of rural China.
You think the Tibetans have it bad?
Welcome to China.
Despite the central government’s efforts to build a kinder, more efficient government, the nature of the infrastructure and sheer bureaucracy make it possible for the local/county level officials to do what they want, with nary a word from the central government (which is usually kept in the dark). It’s the perfect storm of circumstances that allow most officials to throw away human rights.
The girl I mentioned was a good student who consistently got good marks in school. Her classmate wanted to copy from her during an exam, but was rebuffed. The classmate is the niece of the county governor. She hired a few thugs to beat the girl up, rape her, and dump her corpse into a nearby river. Her uncle did nothing to condemn her, and instead instructed local police to shield her and her hirelings.
When this kind of thing happens, it is not because the man in question was evil. It is the sign of a decaying society. I argue with my incurably optimistic Chinese friends all the time about the path China is walking. It is capable of greatness, and that greatness is balanced by danger of equal magnitude. Let’s hope this incident shakes the central government into realizing that things cannot just go on as before.
Ultimately, I’m afraid that central no longer has control over the local government, and that is why things like this are occurring more frequently.
There’s a reason I hate politics, you know. Dig up, and you find some surprisingly nasty things.
Yours,
Sevenses
How… interesting. I was bored (and my internet provider informed me that if I dl-ed any more stuff I would get a surcharge fee the likes of which would sink me, I decided to lay off on the vid watching for a while - am one episode away from finishing MLS!) and decided to check out the d-addict forum for Iljimae. I admit, I should have answered all my comments like a good girl, but I’m sure you guys would forgive me the lapse.
Anyway. The Chinese fans are off having their Bong Soon vs Eun Chae war. (Last I saw, people had descended to using ad hominems already. Ha.) Not a few enduring friendships between 亲亲 were broken up, more’s the pity. But the mudslinging has calmed, and both sides have acknowledged the relative merits of each girl. (There’s been a few battles about the possible ending of the show too, but that’s kind of common. Remember Harry Potter?)
Meanwhile, the English fandom was off having its hissy fit because English subs for episodes 5 and 6 of Iljimae were not released. They got rude, offensive, and downright demanding.
Now, I generally don’t wade into this type of crap, and I’m not terribly opinionated, but really? The subbers owe you? Why on earth would they owe you subs? They’re doing it for free, out of their own spare time, and definitely not on a contract. Sure, realtime broadcast is on episode 12 and the subs are only released to 4, but you know what? Subbing is hard work. The fact that these people are willing to take the time to do this means you shut up and wait for them to release it at their convenience. If you’re so torn up about the subs, wait for all of it to be released, and then watch it.
Honestly. It’s not the first time it’s happened, and it’s not the last. Get over yourself.
This takes ‘drama’ to a whole different level.
That’s it for the fandom lurker report. For now.
Sevenses
P.S. Due to all that ridiculousness, subs have been released elsewhere. Go over to Soompi Forums for Iljimae 5 and 6 English subs.
Hey peeps, sorry for the long delay. The csubs have been out for a while but I was distracted by all the kdramas running around! 
I’m going to assume people who are reading this are familiar with the traditional format of Kurosagi the drama, yeah?
Kurosagi (200 
Cast:
Yamashita Tomohisa - Kurosaki/Kurosagi (the swindler himself)
Horikita Maki - Yoshikawa Tsurara (the prosecutor in training neighbour)
Ichikawa Yui - Mishima Yukari (annoying friend)
Yamazaki Tsutomo - Katsuragi Toshio (old puppetmaster dude, the mentor)
Aikawa Sho - Masaru Kashima (the police inspector)
Naoto Takenaka - Ishigaki Tetsu (random swindler)
Mao Daichi - Sakura (random woman)
Summary:
“In this world there are three types of swindlers:
Those who defraud other people’s money, Shirosagi.
Those who deceive others by manipulating feelings, Akasagi.
And then, using the Shirosagi and the Akasagi as his only source of food, is the ultimate swindler in history.
A swindler of swindlers. His name is…Kurosagi”
Recap:
It opens with a quote from Shakespeare: Life is but a walking shadow.
Am working 7-9 days until the 13th. Only have Thursday off and thus can only recap so much. Hope you guys are okay with that.
Currently recapping:
- Iljimae
- Legend/Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi
- Gourmet (with irugnotmis)
