Where to find it: It's currently available with English subtitles on both Viki and Youtube.
What is it, in summary?: A cross-dressing historical romcom. Ever since her father died, Wen Xi has been passing herself off as her younger, sickly brother to find work as a writer. But when a bungled attempt at helping someone else pass the entrance exam to the prestigious Yun Shang Academy lands her a spot instead, she now has a chance to get a proper education and help her family escape poverty for good – so long she can keep the fact that she’s a woman a secret. Many hijinks ensue.
What do you love about it?: This is a remake of 2010 kdrama Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but tbh I think it’s worth watching on its own merits because it's really not trying to be the same show. The historical + political context of the original is pretty much gone, and what’s left is a college romcom and a political intrigue that only occasionally intersect with each other. It’s also a dang fun show to watch though, and more importantly I think it’s incredibly ficcable, thanks to an endearing cast of characters and a premise that lends itself well to tropey shenanigans. It also has this guy:
Listen. Have you ever met a character that seems 100% tailor-made to suit your tastes? This is that character for me. Troublemaker with a fan: check. A generally warm and friendly person who will still con you out of your last coin if you’re not careful: check. The kind of character who can believably disappear for 5-10 minutes and come back with a solution to whatever problem is happening: check. "I've always put my own interest first but you keep being nice too me and now I’m having scruples, ugh": check and double-check. Instant blorbo material, I’ve been craving fic for 2 years.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Honestly, any kind of Yu Lexuan-centric fic, but I'm particularly interested in backstory fic, business deals with Wenbin, student council shenanigans, and whatever happened offscreen that made Feng Chengjun go from 'I don't trust this guy, this guy is evil' to 'this guy has my complete and unconditional support'.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: I don't know that they'll make a lot of sense without the rest of the show, but eps 9-11, 16-17 and 28-29 are a good summary of Why I Like This Guy.
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Nothing major I can think of.
In a Class of Her Own
Media: cdrama
Approx length: 36 eps of ~35-40 mins each
Where to find it: It's currently available with English subtitles on both Viki and Youtube.
What is it, in summary?: A cross-dressing historical romcom. Ever since her father died, Wen Xi has been passing herself off as her younger, sickly brother to find work as a writer. But when a bungled attempt at helping someone else pass the entrance exam to the prestigious Yun Shang Academy lands her a spot instead, she now has a chance to get a proper education and help her family escape poverty for good – so long she can keep the fact that she’s a woman a secret. Many hijinks ensue.
What do you love about it?: This is a remake of 2010 kdrama Sungkyunkwan Scandal, but tbh I think it’s worth watching on its own merits because it's really not trying to be the same show. The historical + political context of the original is pretty much gone, and what’s left is a college romcom and a political intrigue that only occasionally intersect with each other. It’s also a dang fun show to watch though, and more importantly I think it’s incredibly ficcable, thanks to an endearing cast of characters and a premise that lends itself well to tropey shenanigans. It also has this guy:
Listen. Have you ever met a character that seems 100% tailor-made to suit your tastes? This is that character for me. Troublemaker with a fan: check. A generally warm and friendly person who will still con you out of your last coin if you’re not careful: check. The kind of character who can believably disappear for 5-10 minutes and come back with a solution to whatever problem is happening: check. "I've always put my own interest first but you keep being nice too me and now I’m having scruples, ugh": check and double-check. Instant blorbo material, I’ve been craving fic for 2 years.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Honestly, any kind of Yu Lexuan-centric fic, but I'm particularly interested in backstory fic, business deals with Wenbin, student council shenanigans, and whatever happened offscreen that made Feng Chengjun go from 'I don't trust this guy, this guy is evil' to 'this guy has my complete and unconditional support'.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: I don't know that they'll make a lot of sense without the rest of the show, but eps 9-11, 16-17 and 28-29 are a good summary of Why I Like This Guy.
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Nothing major I can think of.