Author: mysteriousalien2

Just a random human being on the earth who likes to write and eat;)

Review: ‘Falling into Your Smile’ C-drama (2021)

“Necklace this year, Diamond ring next year with a marriage certificate. You look great with anything.” – Lu Si Cheng to Tong Yao

Another one of my favourite Chinese dramas that I will never stop yapping about. I love sports in general and drama, especially Chinese are highly invested in turning them into dramas. I love video games I mean I have spent my entire childhood playing video games, so when I came across this drama I knew I had to watch it. It is about Tong Yao, the first female player in the all-male ZGDX team. She is bubbly, however, her team leader, Lu Si Cheng is cold-hearted. They start on the wrong foot but seeing them setting everything right is worth a thousand times.

Let’s start with the plot of the drama, it involves games and the relationship between the teammates. The biggest concern of mine while watching sports drama is that sometimes they focus so much on sports that relationship development is cornered. But I think this drama balances sports and romance very well. Their teammates were hilarious and I liked that in playing games they were equally treated so nobody looked extra. I liked that they did not focus so much on the female lead’s past but they let it flow. Another thing I liked was the importance of playing as a team and how different it is from playing as an individual. The warm-up of teammates and the slow learning of each other were heartwarming to see. I also loved the fact that the drama revolves around the video games only, not another unnecessary act they added.

Lu Si Cheng, the cold-hearted captain of the team and his face card never declines. I love leads who speak less and act more and he definitely falls in this category. I loved the way he played games and truly acted as the leader. He was the first one who understood Tong Yao and made her realize the importance of playing as a team. I love male leads who are very much clear on what they want and he is the one. He realizes his feelings and confesses them directly to Tong Yao, Oh I love that scene.

Now, Tong Yao is one of my favourite female characters. I loved that the drama portrayed female and male leads as equal in the game. She is hilarious and her scenes are so funny. I want to point out that she is the only girl living in the house with boys. And we might think she will be uncomfortable however she is straightforward while the boys feel shy. I love how she is so game-focused and truly knows her path.

The chemistry is electrifying, I think that added another charm to the drama. I loved their confession scene – simple and sweet. The way Lu Si Cheng confesses in a slow and non-hesitant manner shows he truly wants to be with her. Their pets: the cat and fish play cupid for the couple and I adored it. Also, after getting into a relationship I liked how they kept their professional and personal affairs different from each other. There is no misunderstanding or breakup, a positive point to watch.

The friendship between them is so pure and real. I liked how slowly they warmed up to Tong Yao plus all of them were hilarious. The cinematography was breathtaking, and the stage for the game was beautiful and intense. The house of the ZGDX was so mesmerizing and energetic. I want that house.

Overall the drama ticks all the good marks for friendship, games, and romance so I recommend it.

“Do you want to give it a try?” – Lu Si Cheng

“Try what?” – Tong Yao

“Me.” – Lu Si Cheng

My Rating: 9/10

Total Episodes: 31

Genre: Romance, Friendship, E-sport, Youth

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Having Hobbies…

A good hobby can dispel heartache and give zest to life.

When you become an adult you realize the importance of small things like having hobbies. At first, I used to think that being good at something is what you call a hobby and obviously, only a few people can have that, not me. I was not good at anything and never had any hobbies to be honest and never really realized the importance of it. But I was made to feel bad because I could not do something or be good at “as a child,” diabolical. Anyways look at the contrast when you are a child you need to be perfect at whatever you are doing like drawing but in adulthood you do things just to make yourself happy without caring about the perfection of it. Things that can make your heart at ease, things that make your inner soul happy, and things that bring your inner child out are what are called hobbies. Hobbies are meant to bring out your creativity, making you happy without caring about the result. I think hobbies are the only way humans do not care about the result. Having hobbies means enjoying, resting your mind, satisfying your inner soul, filling yourself with laughter, and making endless memories. Just like the smell of perfume brings you back in time, having hobbies brings back your happiness, laughter, and carefree time. As an adult things that bring some enjoyment in the hectic life are what we truly deserve and hobbies are for that. I think being able to just enjoy without the tension of how it will come out is really a matter that is slept upon. I look at hobbies as a recharge to get back to my hectic schedule otherwise I lose my mind just by doing the same thing. And being creative does not mean being exceptionally good at things but it means living a life but in a fun manner.

Do more things that bring you real and honest joy.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

I hate myself because how could I not read from Sally Rooney until now? I have heard a lot of people say how intricate and different her books are and I decided to read her latest release Intermezzo. Let me tell you I was not at all disappointed by her, I admire this book so much. I just finished the book and wrote the review because I can’t hold back talking about how much I learned. So this book follows two brothers, a 32-year-old Peter and a 22-year-old Ivan, who had just lost their father. Peter is a lawyer, torn between two women he loves equally. Ivan, a chess prodigy, sees himself fall for a woman who is 14 years older than him. The book shows their life and how they are coping after their father’s death and also, the women in their life. It is said from three perspectives Peter, Ivan and Margaret.

First of all, let’s talk about the different things in the book. The highly controversial thing people hated was the absence of quotation marks in the dialogue. To be honest I did not know about this however I got used to it quickly. At first, it might be really hard but when I got used to it I loved the book. Sally very intelligently uses different writing techniques between Peter and Ivan’s chapters. In Peter’s chapters, the writing style is incomplete, choppy, and hard to understand while Ivan’s is straightforward, direct, and easy to understand. The book focuses on the grief of two brothers who do not share a great bond and after their father passed away how hard it was for them to connect.

Peter, his character might be my favourite and very hard to understand. He according to his brother is very social, good-looking, decisive, and a perfect person to live life. But in reality, from my perspective, Peter was a man who struggled a lot and never had anyone to share his feelings with because he was the oldest. Initially, it was hard for me to connect with Peter but as he opened up about his feelings, I sympathised with him. It is truly said that grief is that feeling that will never go away and a person who is grieving will fall in the big hole of regret and guilt. It was the same with Peter, first of all, he can’t seem to move on and let go of the situation that he is in. He is torn between two women and can’t let go of either of them because people in his life have made him confused.

Ivan is someone who lost his father at the age of 22 which is very early and he is the one who was closest to his father. Ivan is someone whose character is shown as rebellious and has a strong opinion about life. It is easy to understand Ivan because of his strong views and straightforwardness. The thing I would salute Sally for is that she has shown Ivan as a character who is young and prone to mistakes. His frustrations, fears, doubts, awkwardness and regrets felt so personal. I definitely connected with Ivan first because he thinks very intensely which is actually kind of scary. After all, being 22 and thinking so deeply about life is scariest.

The relationship between Peter and Ivan as brothers brings tears to my eyes. Ivan already created his thinking about Peter but in reality, he never asked Peter how he was doing in life. While Peter does not think before sharing his opinion on Ivan’s decision. I loved the confrontation scene that screamed that they were real brothers. I loved it when Ivan realised his mistakes and understood why Peter changed and apologised. Their relationship and this book taught me how awkward I am feeling, and how much I dislike someone but if I see someone I will always ask how they are doing.

I love books which show flawed characters because they’re highly relatable. It is a slow-paced book so if you want to read it you need to have an open mind and be ready to meet the flawed characters. I recommend this book at least once because it’s legit literary fiction that made me feel so many emotions and I loved every emotion I went through when I read.

Rating: 4.5/5

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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living someone else’s dream.

you don’t have time to live someone else’s dream, you only have enough time to live your own dreams.

The last blog post I posted was the review of ‘Love Next Door’ K-drama and when I wrote the review the only thing that kept running through my mind was how the female lead never had a dream because she never thought what she liked she just knew she has to top the school and secure a very good job to make her parents proud. And when a question was raised about her dream when she was in school she did not have any answer and that was astonishing to think about. Having a dream or not both is okay but living off on another person’s dream, on another person’s expectations and on another person’s will is something we never understand until we realize that the pin has reached its limit and is now poking you every now and then. Everyone should have the right to think about what they want. In school, it is not known to us how adulthood is and we are ready to live off our parents’ dream of us becoming what they want. But I have seen that the fuel of it doesn’t last a long run and with that, all fears of breaking our parent’s expectations, starting new, and finding out what we like, get a lot real. I fear that when someone in the future will ask me what my dream was, how I am going to answer them, and if I am happy with what I am doing right now. I don’t know what I will answer to them because in school you don’t realize the importance of what a dream is. You don’t realize that living off another person’s dream will make you so exhausted and fill you with a lot of fears about upsetting people around you. I just want to let you know that the dream and the life you are living should only be worthy of you, you should only be afraid of upsetting yourself, and you should have your own expectations of yourself, and it’s your life. At the end of the day, you will realize that no matter how much you do people are still going to be upset with you so live the life the way you want. Start fresh and I know it is frightening but what makes you happy is worth everything.

Life is too short to be working on someone else’s dream.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Review: ‘Love Next Door’ K-drama (2024)

“I doubt my decision a dozen times a day and wonder if I’ve made the right choice. But I still think that it’s better to regret doing something than to regret not doing something”. – Choi Seung-Hyo

I am so frustrated and angry with the writers of this drama. OMG, you guys don’t know how excited I was to watch this drama as it was supposed to be a friends-to-lovers trope and it was told that the couple would be chaotic, I mean it makes sense they are friends. However, all my expectations went down the drain, the writers did not make the right use of the chemistry between Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min, they would be such a power couple if the storyline was great. So it is about two friends Choi Seung-Hyo and Bae Seok-Ryu. Choi Seung-hyo is a successful architect while Bae Seok-Ryu works outside South Korea but leaves everything and returns. She tries to reboot her life and her relationship with Choi Seung-Hyo.

Let me break down how it went bad. The first two episodes were perfect, they were chaotic and showed their friendship. It fulfils and shows that the drama will be chaotic and have a healing vibe, and I wanted that. But then the third episode happened and I knew it would not be my cup of tea as in chaotic and happy vibes. In the third episode, the writers went too crazy and included a lot of Seok-ryu trauma altogether, which should have been done in later episodes or in parts. My mood went off then too I continued it and it did get better the next episode, but then the writer did the worst thing by making Choi Seung-Hyo, an idiot. I mean in the beginning he was with her and he was the only one who understood her then why did they make him such an idiot later, he was such a green flag.

“Looking back now, I feel a bit sorry for myself. I cared about how others saw me, and I don’t think I paid attention to myself.” – Bae Soek-Ryu

In the later episodes, Choi Seung-hyo starts ignoring Bae Seok-ryu as he likes her but cannot confess. I mean where is the friendship, she needed him the most and he left her all alone without explaining anything. Love comes second but what about them being friends since childhood? The writers destroyed that by making Seung-hyo ignore and cold to her, I am sorry hello, it makes no sense. Then their exes entered the drama and actually, it was good but the worst of the worst happened they added the disease plot and I would not watch it. Nothing makes sense at all, the fact is most people continued it because Jung Hae-in gave the spoiler. Seok-Ryu endured so much all alone that she did not even tell Seung-Hyo, I mean the way he was with her, how could she tell him.

I wanted to see their friendship, chaotic side, bond, and understanding, but all went downhill. We just get to see their love but I did not feel any chemistry because the writer did all the damage in the beginning. I could not enjoy their love moments because their bond was supposed to be built on trust, not revelation and regret. The chemistry would have been so fierce and I was so excited to see them on screen together but a huge disappointment.

Now let’s talk about the things I love about the drama, actually apart from the main couple I liked everything. The side couple, Kang Don-ho and Jeong Mo-eum stole the spotlight. They were everything that I wanted the main couple to be. They were chaotic, understanding, hilarious, and lovable. Then comes another couple, the parents of Choi Seung-Hyo, they were my favourite of all. If you have watched Queen of Tears, the parents are the older version. I love them, I thought their story would be incomplete but their plot twist was the best. I love the character of Seok-Ryu, she represents all the children out there who are buried underneath the expectations of their parents. I was so touched by her and how strong she was and I am glad she gets to reboot her life the way she wants. She shows it’s never too late and too easy.

“Parents aren’t always right, they make mistakes with their children too. When you argue over it, you end up feeling guilty for no reason.” – Love Next Door

I love the contrast shown between Seung-Hyo and Seok-Ryu’s families. His family doesn’t care so he can be whatever he wants and do whatever he wants but there is no love. But then Seok-Ryu’s family has a bond that binds her to her parent’s expectations, and she doesn’t want to hurt them.

I personally would not recommend this drama as it’s nothing special but infact boring.

“Not everyone can be special. Most people just live ordinary lives. So don’t be too obsessed with becoming someone great. Just find what’s valuable in your life. That’s more than enough.” – Bae Seok-Ryu

My Rating: 6/10

Total Episodes: 16

Genre: Romance, Friendship, Family

Side Note: I just want to clarify that this is entirely my opinion, you are free to love this drama and I am free to give my opinion on this drama. I would be very happy if you loved this drama but please do not take this review to heart; it is okay to have different tastes. Thank You.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Learning to appreciate small moments

you learn to appreciate the moment once you realise that the moment will always end.

Just a few days ago my exam result came and my feelings at that time are something I wanted to write about. So if you don’t know I have talked about my feelings a lot in the past year on my blog. And here I am again but with progress about how happy I am with my result, and I did not even once doubt myself. It means I am very happy with my result, I talked to my best friend about how since my result came I am just laughing happily and that means a lot to me. It makes me think that I have truly made progress in my life, I have learned to appreciate myself, and that makes me feel so energetic. As I have written previously, life is all about happiness and sadness it keeps on rotating, and it won’t stay still but as humans, we need to appreciate small things in life. I have learned to live in the moment because we know nothing lasts for a long time, especially happiness. But let me tell you that once you learn and reach the stage where you start to appreciate yourself more, you will be happy. I walk with the motto that if a thing brings you happiness even for a short time, just do it and feel that feeling because it will make you stronger to take the next step. Creating a moment of ease amidst the busy life and heavy expectation is something we all need. I never knew that a small thing would give me happiness, no matter how big or small, my heart felt at ease that is what I am happy about. I just want to share this and let you know that I am happy for you if you have made progress in your life and if you are still stuck don’t worry your guardian angel is just behind you pushing you forward, so all the best.

Life is short. Time is fast. No replay, no rewind. So enjoy every moment as it comes.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Book Review: The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn is one of the first thrillers I read when I decided to step up my thriller game. And I loved this book because it definitely checked all the boxes as the new thriller girlie. It is about a woman named Anna Fox who has not left her home in ten months and during that time she has haunted her rooms like a ghost lost in her memories. The only thing that connects her to the world’s reality is her window where she sits all day and watches her neighbours. One day, Russells moves in, a picture-perfect family of three and Anna is instantly drawn to them. Until one evening she heard a terrifying scream and saw something she was not supposed to and from there, her life changed completely.

I loved this book as it was creepy and thrilling. It kept me on edge the whole time especially when the first plot twist happened. The first plot twist OMG, I still remember my jaw hanging for five minutes because I just couldn’t grasp what I read. And you know what after the first plot twist the story gets more creepy and gripping which makes the book interesting. The plot was great from the start I felt like such a good family and then I was gasping at the fact that it was not like that at all, not even close.

Anna, the main character, what can I say about her, she never left me feeling any less creepy, with her thoughts I felt like I was stuck in her mind. Her loneliness was so horrifying because if she wanted to get out of it she couldn’t as she herself had locked the door to her mind. Her mind did not let her accept the reality and that is why she was stuck living in a dream that her mind had created for her that she feels is the reality. What happened to her was heartbreaking and she can’t get past it and that is the reason why her life is like a facade created by herself. I loved the scenes in which she started to realize life and situations. I loved that in the end she realized what truly she is and that is what saved her life.

The other characters in the book are all mysterious and actually deranged. They kept me on the edge and their interactions with Anna were creepy. The pace of the book is fast, and the writing is simple which kept me awake the whole night about what is going to happen next. The ending was good as I did not see it coming but again in a thriller where is the fun if predictable happens, right?

I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 4/5 (Please check trigger warnings)

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Stuck…

What if it doesn’t get easier like everybody says?

There are things you learn when you become an adult, things that nobody wants to learn but it happens. However, amidst that the most hurtful is when you see that life is going too far, everything is moving too fast and too suddenly. People around you are building their dreams, working their way to the future, you are seeing them in places where you are also supposed to be. Then you see yourself and realize that you are stuck with all the unmatched pieces of failed attempts to be something, and it hurts. When you see the hard work you have done, it brings you nothing but disappointment. When you see people of your age achieving great heights while you are standing at the bottom and seeing the strings of disappointments that have tied you to the ground. Life is so funny; it never misses showing how miserable you are in front of others. It shows you things that make up your list of disappointments. I have been in a place where I just thought they could but why I can’t, I was that child that lacked social skills and an aura of being a talked child. It is depressing to see people expect so much from a mere child who should be given the liberty to live freely rather than reaching expectations because adult life is all about getting stuck by numerous frustrations and disappointments. It is wild when you see that in the middle of the crowd, everyone is perfectly moving with their lives and then there is you whose steps just don’t move. You are drowning in your own self, failures, disappointment, and every possible word that screams you are not enough.

But then I remember that when you become an adult you realize that your competition is not with others but with yourself and even it hurts a lot seeing yourself stuck at a place but that doesn’t mean you can’t cut the strings. If you can’t find scissors then you have your teeth means it’s in you. Nobody can be you and that’s your power – memorize it for days when you are stuck.

Sometimes, we are stuck in the dark for so long, that we forget what light looks like, and what hope and love feel like.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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Review: ‘W- Two Worlds’ K-drama (2016)

“I’m someone who’s hoping for you to have a happy ending. I’m your fan.” – Oh Yeon Joo

2016 was an iconic era for K-drama lovers because the number of K-dramas that came with so much versatility is mind-blowing like this ‘W: Two Worlds’ K-drama starring Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo. I have never seen this kind of drama again and to be honest 2016 was not ready for this masterpiece. It is about a doctor, Oh Yeon Joo whose father is a webtoon creator and he created a webtoon called ‘W.’ Everything is going well until she gets dragged into her father’s webtoon and saves the protagonist, Kang Chul. Kang Chul gets really confused by her sudden appearance and disappearance but falls in love with her without knowing anything. This leads to him following her to the real world.

The drama concept is unique, and it was executed really well. I could feel the difference in both worlds. The plot was something I really appreciated watching because of how unique and different it is from the other dramas. I liked how fast Oh Yeon Joo grasped the concept of how to go back to the real world, and some of the ways she did were hilarious. I did not find myself getting confused about how the story was moving because I think it was like an open book and everything was making sense perfectly. Another reason why I liked this drama was that I did not have to use my brain much. I loved that in the beginning she was saving him then, in the end, he was the one who took charge of getting everything right and saving her.

Now talking about the characters, I absolutely adored Kang Chul, he was shown in different phases as he discovered his reality. I loved his and Yeon Joo’s first scene and his eagerness to meet her again. I could say that she really met him at times when he needed her the most. In the starting, he is shown as a kind and straightforward man who helps Yeon Joo. Then later he realized his reality and became more serious and intimidating, he looked handsome. I loved that he was shown as intelligent in knowing the situation and accordingly, he acted on it.

“Gosh. You’re such an unpredictable woman. You suddenly showed up, slapped me in the face, kissed me, disappeared, and showed up again. Now, you suddenly take your clothes off and point a gun at me.” – Kang Chul

Yeon Joo, the girl because of her father was a mess. The way she got sucked into the parallel universe and had to deal with everything. She was legit funny in front of the people of the parallel universe as her talks made no sense. The way she acted so deranged to make sense to the people was a treat to watch. I loved her character because she was smart and grasped everything very fast and within episodes she made everything right as well.

I cried for Kang Chul when he realized his reality about how he is a webtoon character and someone is writing his story. His realization that his friend is not even real and he lost his family and his world. The chemistry is beautiful as I already wrote at first she was saving him but later he was the one saving her. He falls in love with her at first sight and whenever he meets her, she saves him so it does make sense for him to fall in love with her.

The ending was beautiful with everything making sense and the couple getting their happily ever after. The supporting cast was hilarious I have to mention them.

I highly recommend this drama if you want to watch something fantasy yet not so much confusing. This drama has everything comedy, thriller, romance, fantasy, basically an outstanding K-drama.

“I think this girl holds the key to my life. I think she has the key to find the reason of my existence.” – Kang Chul

My Rating: 10/10

Total Episodes: 16

Genre: Romance, Thriller, Fantasy, Comedy

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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The feeling of let down

Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand.

Yes, it hurts when we are let down by people but you know what hurts more when we are let down by ourselves. The thing about humans that fascinated me and terrified me is how we are capable of feeling so many emotions at the same time. Sometimes we are happy with our efforts and sometimes those efforts make us feel that we didn’t do enough. Some days ago I was kind of in that place and I kept thinking about how much I could have done better. The feeling never leaves by the way you just learn to live with it, or more I can say that it haunts us forever. The feeling of letting down hurts so much that it makes you feel miserable about losing the power to do everything and that you can’t do anything right anymore. The negative energy that comes with it questions you at every step about your capability and strength.

However, I have learned that it will not last for a long time if I know how to overcome it. I have been in that place many times and I mostly read my blog post. This helps me remember that I am the same person who wrote the posts and I still have the power to continue what I love. As life goes up then down we need a certain darkness to properly see some holes of lights that are hidden in darkness in order to find the purpose again. So don’t let the feeling of letting down strike you hard and make you fall instead strike back hard. Make yourself remember that life can be the way you want only if you learn to fight back against the feeling of let down.

Take a deep breath and try all over again.

Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.

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