#user not found

A dystopian censorship tale about a censor whose egg cracks when reading a fic.

Jack works for the Censorship Bureau of the Incorporated States, scanning transgressive fics for clues to the identities of the authors. It's a shit job, and it's getting to him.

He finds himself unnaturally drawn in by transgressive a fic by UserNotFound26A6. He can't stop thinking about it and about the author he's nicknamed Oomf. He should just turn them in and be done with it, but his curiosity must be satisfied.

What he discovers at the used bookstore where the fic was posted will change him forever.

This 12,000-word dystopian short story is set in a not-too-distant future that is by turns bleak and oddly hopeful.

User Not Found - samaran97

samaran - n - portmanteau

sāgā (latin) - soothsayer, witch, sorceress

mater (latin) - mother

ran - far from here

'She crawled from the Earth, fully formed'

@samaran97 on ShopLook

Note: these are dramas (webdramas & one cdrama & one Western show as well) that I’ve watched this year, but not all of them were released in 2023.

Shadow&bone s2: not gonna lie, this one felt messy and a bit all over the place, but I guess when you read the books and the TV show is a mix of different book series, it's expected

My review: 6/10

Use for my talent: the supporting couples carry this show on the back, I have nothing more positive to say because the main leads' love triangle is super annoying and the kiss scenes are so forced and unrealistic, it's not even funny anymore :') I haven't yet watched it until the end, but so far:

My review: 6.5/10

When i fly towards you (cdrama): this was a charming drama that got me until the second half of it when it lost its charm, and I realised that it's way too unrealistic, there were a lot of cringey scenes, the end felt dragged and repetitive, and I didn't really see any character development even though we saw the main leads growing up (but props to the second leads, I really loved their dynamics!)

My review: 6.5/10

User not found (webdrama): it was more enjoyable than annoying, but overall, it did have some unnecessary drama and the main female lead's acting wasn't up to my liking

My review: 7/10

Tracer: I'm pretty sure it would have been more enjoyable if we had managed to find good subtitles for it because the acting was really good, but I didn't get the plotline fully because of the Google Translate-like subs, so yeah, that's why it's only 7.5 (but Im Siwan's acting is 10/10 as always)

My review: 7.5/10

The witch store reopens (webdrama): it was perfectly fine considering that it was a webdrama (so expect some overexaggerated acting and such), it was cute, funny, and the leads (Yonghee and Yerin) did well

My review: 8/10

The heavenly idol: I've watched it for Kim Minkyu, but it was unexpectedly serious at times (touched upon bullying, double standards for idols, the nasty parts of the showbiz industry), so it did surprise me positively - however, the special effects were a bit odd at times, and you can't take the storyline seriously, but if you let go of reality, it's pretty enjoyable

My review: 8/10

Revenge of others: it was pretty dramatic at times and I didn't necessary like the big plot twist at the end, but I really loved the investigating part of it and the whole storyline wasn't that predictable

My review: 8.5/10

Seasons of blossom: this definitely delivered some emotional punches (read: I cried), and the acting was really good on the leads' part, some other acting was kind of forced, but overall, it was a meaningful drama

My review: 9/10

Crash course in romance: me and my mother both really enjoyed this show, we were waiting for the episodes to come out week after week. It was really funny, had some serious topics to touch upon, and the acting was overall really good. I deduct 0.5 point because sometimes I didn't feel the balance between the crime part (yes, there's one like that) and the main storyline, it wasn't that annoying, but I have to mention it

My review: 9.5/10

King the land: it was similar to Business Proposal to me in terms of how much I enjoyed it and why I deduct 0.5 point - it was funny, it was cute, the acting was really good, but there were a lot of clichés that you can't help but shrug off because it was really enjoyable

My review: 9.5/10

Castaway diva: I have 3 episodes left, so this is not my final verdict, but it's been really good so far, I really love the way they touch upon such sensitive topics, and the acting ranges here on the three main leads' parts are just wow! (I only deduct 0.5 point because of Yoon Ranjoo and her whole showbiz team, it's like they can't decide which side they want to be on)

My review: 9.5/10

Twinkling watermelon: my favourite drama this year, genuinely a 10/10, it was funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking, and very meaningful, would highly recommend

MAN CRUSH FANDOM ▪︎ MADE IN KOREA

my roommate is a gumiho

3/5

i love her

the chemistry between her and both male leads was so good

the main romance was so well organized and we had so many domestic scenes which i loved

the fantasy element was not as flushed out as i would like

there were a few things that seemed convenient/rushed/nonsensical

those things didn’t take away from my enjoyment though

i loved how lighthearted it was

the second lead was acted really well and i found myself liking the two of them together because of the angst he brought (the way he watched her 😩)

this was actually funny at times

i like how goofy it was

the secondary couple was really good because they brought a rare romantic dynamic

the way scenery/settings were shot well and it was generally aesthetically pleasing

i think this was solid overall but also not very memorable so not an all time favorite but extremely good and worth the watch

descendants of the sun

3/5

the male lead is hilarious

the bromance was hilarious

this was the first drama of this kind that i have watched

the plot was well developed

i liked how much of a subplot the romance was

the secondary couple once again was enjoyable to watch

i think there was too much drama for me and it was slow at times

i might have watched it too quickly because it wasn’t very memorable once again

squid game

4/5

omg i got the hype

i have a lot of complaints but overall it is closer to good than bad for me

first and foremost the unique settings and costuming makes this drama so memorable and vivid and have its own impact

the characters were well flushed out and i believed their motivations/actions/turmoil

introduced me to hoyeon <3

the casting was 10/10

i loved that we got different challenges every episode

the deaths all had an impact

things i didn’t like was the cheap ‘plot twist’

i also didn’t think this plot was particularly unique in concept but very unique and interesting in execution

the cop and his antics were not satisfying at the end which bothered me

the end in general bothered me

hometown cha cha

3/5

this couple was so god damn cute

this story was almost perfect

the almost is because of how annoying the last two episodes were

i don’t like when the couple goes through a third act conflict for absolutely no reason

once they get together it was boring af for two episodes of unnecessary drama

the townspeople were so cute and didn’t detract from the story for me

i love the small town vibes

there was no need for the secondary lead in terms of the romance but i do like the jealousy he pulled out of the male lead

once again cute but not too memorable (i’m not completely a fan of slice of life)

all of us are dead

5/5

omg omg omg

served what it needed to

this was beautifully executed start to finish

was on the edge of my seat and engaged the entire time

the settings, characters, plot all worked

the side romances were still dynamic and engaging which i loved

the betrayals and twists and characterizations were excellent

talented team all around and a great drama

extraordinary attorney woo

4/5

i loved this lollll

the different case per episode format was great

the cartoons that came in randomly were so cute and fun

i think it is a pretty good interpretation of an autistic person but i‘m not on the spectrum so i can’t really say

the romance was so cute and there was just enough in the drama

i loved the side characters like a lot

the friendships were just as important as the romance which i loved

the dad was so cute

the star removed are because of a few issues i had with the pacing and the random things said that i’m going to blame on cultural differences/mistranslation

user not found (web drama)

4/5

this was such a random watch and my first web drama

this was cute overall and it did what it needed to which was entertain me

it took a while to get used to the format and acting and stuff but i think it is typical of a web drama so it didn’t bother me

the friendship between the female lead and the other girl with her same name was so cute and fresh

the romances were basic but i still liked them lol

i was interested from start to finish so that was great