Top 25 Japanese Actresses on MDL
Hi! My name is Hwayi, and this is my first article, yay! I'm co-writing this article with OAL, a veteran writer on MDL.
If you're like me, you can never drop a drama regardless of how bad it is. Even if I'm extremely bored during it, I can't drop. It's just not in my nature, which is funny, because I add practically everything onto my PTW list.
Getting started into the article, we have the symptoms for sufferers of NDD.
Predicting a better plot than the writers told OAL: So here's a little game I like to play, that involves guessing the events and ending of a drama by episode 2 and see if I match the scriptwriter. Do they break my expectations and conventions? Or do they take me by surprise and choose a new path? Hwayi: The thing with me is that I can't switch off my brain. I literally cannot, so it's hard not to think about the plot. With that being said, I do the same as OAL. I like to come up with this epic plot in my mind and see if the screenwriter manages to meet my expectations or surpass my expectations, praying they don't let me down. If it turns out that my plot was way better than theirs, I'm sorely disappointed. |
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| Knowing which episode stuff is going to fall apart OAL: In Jdramas, it's about episode 7-8, in the longer dramas I have seen, roughly episode 20-21, when the ex shows up, the boyfriend falls on the beach and thinks the nurse is his one true love, the boyfriend leaves her for her own good. You know all those tropes we hate, but it is still a staple of what we watch. Oh yes, and let's not forget forceful parental separation. Hwayi: In Kdramas, it's usually around episode 14-15. This is when a whole plan that literally took the whole drama to put together falls apart. Some idiot who knows the whole plan gets drunk with a corrupted prosecutor and spills the beans, which totally wrecks the whole plan. Then, the corrupted prosecutor frames the main dude and tries to make him out as the bad guy. Or for romance, same as Jdramas, the ex comes along and tries to break up the main couple. Or the couple has this huge misunderstanding because, apparently, no one can use words in Kdramas, which causes them to fight and break up, only to get back together in the last episode. |
Playing phone games or editing on MDL during emotional scenes OAL: So, now you are bored, and your eyes glass over as you load the next episode in hopes the writing team, the acting team, something is going to bump this drama out of the rut. So and so, in the comments section, said this was great and blah blah, did 10 spoilery feeds posts about it. Surely it has got to get better, right? Right? Hwayi: When I'm bored, but I can't drop, I edit. I once edited 200+ in a day, all the while watching my drama. When an emotional scene comes on, I pull out Zombie Tsunami and eat some civilians. |
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| Browse MDL while watching OAL: So if you are watching Jdramas, you are almost at the finish line by this point, episode 9 out of 10-12 episodes. Now you're vested because more than half over, so let's just kill the rest of the drama and be done with it. What's on the feeds? Or the couple MDL Discord servers (run by users, not the site). Oh hey! Twitter has all my boys. Hwayi: Why should I just drop the drama halfway? I should carry on and continue! I'm strong. Oh and let me just pull out MDL while I'm watching. Like some posts, create some memes, comment. |
In the worst case, falling asleep OAL: I hate this one, but if it happens on one episode, I do not rewatch the episode, since I will most likely get a recap at the beginning of the next episode anyhow. Do not curl up on the couch with a comfy blanket and a boring drama, unless you are using it as a sleep aid. Hwayi: Do not get into a comfortable position. Don't use warm blankets. Don't use the heater. Or you will fall asleep. You will doze off and wake up and realize you just slept through 2 episodes, and your battery is at 5%, and you have a phone imprinted on your face. |
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Even though all this stuff is happening, you never drop the drama. Because it might get good. Somehow. And if it doesn't, it is your duty to let everyone know it is not worth their precious time. Watching movies and dramas has been a hobby of mine (OAL) even before I found MDL. I don't mind wading through the crap if it helps someone else.
Don't worry though, we have some cures to help you get to the end faster and start a better title.
- The fast forward button always comes in handy in either 2x or 4x speed. Most online sources have a way to do that or the ability to skip scenes on the play bar. If the drama is bad enough, you really don't need to read the dialogue. Just watch the people run around like idiots... It's quite amusing.
- Skip the stupid episode and/or read the synopsis for the episode you don't want to watch. This also helps if you want to sleep, but you need to find out something that probably isn't going to happen for 2 episodes. If your hottie is in it, you will watch those eps anyhow just to see their glory on screen.
- Read all the spoilers. (Thank you, MDL, for providing ample spoilers!) This works best for movies that you don't want to finish, or you just don't understand what the hell is going on because the director got too ambitious with being "artistic" with shots and forgot storytelling needed to be an element.
- Take a quick nap (that way, you can refresh and have enough energy to push forward). This is important. Maybe not a nap, but a break. I usually watch some of the anime I have on queue or play a game that involves destroying civilizations. Then, I go back to it, most likely combining the methods above.
- Rant about it--ahh the rant. My (OAL) most famous rant was episode by episode coffee and vanilla -aka "stalker boy and amnesia sexy girl."
- Make memes about it--Not for OAL: "I have aged out of memes". But I find them funny.
- Or you can be like me (Hwayi), and watch two things at once.
Hwayi: I love to rant. Not as much on MDL, but to my hubby (sorry!). It helps me get through the drama/movie. The more I hate on it, the more I'm able to have the strength to carry on. Weird, right? You should try it sometime. Take it to the feeds. We welcome rants. Taking a break is highly important. Whatever type of break it is. Watching anime or playing games as OAL or watching variety shows, hilarious behind the scenes clips, some MVs, whatever it may be that gives you the strength to continue.
There is the MDL Drop Cult. But if you are like us and suffer from NDD, here are some banners and buttons to put on your profile.
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