MDL's 2025 Challenge FAQ and Discussion

hi. i am planning to use the prisoner of beauty as blockbuster title for block 16. but i am unsure if portrait/drawing could be considered as photograph/picture?

 ColourMePurple:

What item would you describe as a souvenir for this drama?

Which brings me to my questions-

16:3 Souvenir - can sachets, jade stones, pendants, handkerchiefs, photos be considered sourvenirs? As per the definition it is an item "of sentimental value" or "reminder of past events". I was going for a very modern definition and getting stuck. The show I was going to originally use, I don't plan on completing now.

12:3 Graduation/Inauguration - does an implied graduation count? Scene shows female lead's graduation photo and degree. Or if they show an after graduation celebration? For Inauguration- if the show mentions it is a department store inaugaration and shows shoppers, is it ok?

Yes on both 

For Ruins, can an old abandoned house be considered if it's in a poor condition?  What about a morgue? This is from the drama, Feud. In ep19, SML go to a town (Songhe County) which has long been deserted @ ~6mins. At 10:41 you can see part of the house. Morgue at ~ 30:20. 

Also in head over heels, there is a haunted house that is decrepit and the owner is trying to have cleansed by shamans. Would these be acceptable for ruins?

The house can be seen at 45 seconds:

https://x.com/triplem11543909/status/1940036663960543636?t=JaVd82ygBGoVC1fmEFeOPg&s=19

 Shiro:

Ruins in our mind was more about old Archiological sites buildings, temples, castles but we would consider an rickety old uninhabitable  building as ok for this. 

Thank you. I've watched a lot of drama and movies and nothing really stood out to me besides these.

There is one more possibility in Gannibal 2. There is a cave which the people use as a temple and place for sacrifices. You can see a pile of skulls there. But it's mostly rocks all around and sand. And then there is this old area with arches that might be the underside of a bridge. I can't recall what the area was. 

You can see these at 44 seconds and 46 seconds of the trailer here:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I18XUr3lUyc

EDIT: would you consider structures destroyed by fire, disaster and war as ruins? Just checking all options because looking back the Gannibal title may not be a good fit. Else I'll go with the haunted house since it's in a poor condition.

 bitcoolKat:

11:1- Prayer Ritual

Can the lead holding lighted incense sticks, narrating recent events and asking for blessings at the altar of their ancestors (as in, in front of their memorial tablets) count as a prayer ritual?

Yes

 AthenaTheStorierX:

Ruins are more about buildings than about bodies. So no, that wouldnt count

Yes. This was asked a while back somewhere, and the consensus was that those are ruins too.  As long as its uninhabitable not just in disarray.

Thank you. 😊 

For Hide and Seek I think I finally found a show that fits but still looking for confirmation.

Head Over Heels ep7 - ML gets possessed by an evil spirit (questionable as to whether it truly is evil since this is a light-hearted show), and tells her to play hide and seek with him. If she catches him, he will give her anything she wants. He runs out of the haunted house and into the city while she is counting to 10. She starts searching in dark secluded places like the park at night. Later she finds him in an arcade and declares that she caught him.

The whole vibe is quite playful. There is another time where the FL asks the ML if he wants to play hide and seek and he agrees but they don't actually play. But it's clearly a game and not sinister  as the evil spirit does have a playful side to him (so far).

So would you be okay with me using this title for the prompt?