It Is Time For My Friend Nastya To Suffer From My Drawing Skills =) 

Swooning over a secondary character (again), Pt. 3/3

Dandelions as a symbol of a longing for salvation (and of their love as well, which is SYMBOLIC).

He is about to run away with his sister (who is happened to be lovesick and heart-broken, too) but then he learns it was his lover who ordered assassin to shot him and decides to talk to her one more time before leaving. He is foolishly brave, as usually. Maybe he is very understanding, too, and this wicked attempt to make him stay said to him how desperate the princess needed him, or something, idk, it's never been said in the story.

They meet in private again and she says she wants to run away, too. He is reluctant and it makes her upset.

But finally feelings take over rationality and he promises to take her away with him. But this secret tryst was watched by Kim Cha-eon's spies, so now he is sure his daughter is pregnant with Moo-yeon's child. And also he knows Moo-yeon lied to him about killing of the Crown Prince. This all doesn't bode well for Moo-yeon.

Kim Cha-eon takes Moo-yeon hostage and threats his daughter to kill him off if she doesn`t obediently play her role of a Crown Princess, pregnant with Crown Prince's child. He is also not happy with her humble choice of a baby's father.

Meanwhile, during the investigation of his own murder attempt, the amnesiac Crown Prince makes a big mess in Kim Cha-eon's mansion and finds something very interesting in vice-prime minister's barn...

So here we have a sweet family reunion. A wanna-be-murderer of the Crown Prince turns out to be a big brother of a woman he loves.

After blaming Moo-yeon for leading such a miserable and disgraceful life and serving for a murderer of their father (even if it all was for her sake), Yoon Yi-seo tells him to hand himself over to the Crown Prince and to confess his crimes (which is a death sentence for him for sure) and Moo-yeon does it.

Moo-yeon tells the Crown Prince that Kim Cha-eon tried to kill him because Kim So-hye is pregnant with Moo-yeon's baby and the Crown Prince says no his beloved's brother nor his unfaithful wife will be forgiven.

"Escort the Crown Princess out of palace. She went out in the deaf of night to meet her paramour and was killed there. "

The Crown Prince didn't forgive them but let them run away together just as they wished to. I don't care there are 1,5 more eps, this drama ended up for me here, they ran away and lived maybe not super-happily, but free together and raised their child in love. The end.

"Once it heavily rained for a long time. The whole soil was drowned and even dandelions were about to die. A small dandelion prayed to the skies. It pleaded for salvation. Then suddenly the wind blew. The dandelion's seeds took flight and landed on a sunny hill. Shortly after they sprouted and bloomed. If we ride the wind, we will be able to bloom somewhere else, too."

Here is Part 1 Here is Part 2

I should say that I absolutely in love with the voice of the actor, who has dubbed Wang Hedi in this drama. Wang Hedi speaks Mandarin with a Sichuan accent, that's why he hasn't got "proper" for Chinese state TV pronounciation and should be dubbed by some actor who has. At the same time, Wang Hedi's voice pitched higher than dubbed actor's one and would be not so harmonious with the image of fearsome lord (it suits better to Xiao Lanhua in Devil's body). So I like the dubbing a lot!

How to be a more interesting character than the Main Hero (Pt.3)

Shangjue and his didi (pt.2/2)

Yuanzhi wants to save Shangjue from any kind of pain so badly, and not only because he feels guilt for brother's loss, but also because he is able to see brother's true personality: Shangjue is an invisible root of Gong tree.

When an assassin and didi have a conversation in the final part of the drama, she says that there are people, in front of whom Shangjue could be vulnerable, but Yanzhi smirks and says that the Martial World won`t allow it. And it happens to be true: he knows that Shangjue’s fiancée is an assassin and he knows that, no matter how much Shangjue is into her, she would not hesitate to kill him if she had a chance, so Shangjue`s soft spot for something (such as a woman he likes) would be his doom. But he needs to look invincible, because the whole clan counts on him and relies on him.

Because Shangjue is a root of Gong clan, everyone sees only thriving and green branches and beautiful flowers (which are wealth, power and secure of Gong clan), but no one sees that it wouldn`t be possible without a root, strong yet hidden under the soil (aka one hardworking man).

I often find the fate of Shangjue's type of heroes very unfair: a person unnoted takes care of everyone and is rewarded at the end only with sufferings and death. But this story is different, because Shangjue has got his didi, who doesn't care about world but eagerly takes care of him while he takes care of anything else. This scene was the second one during the drama that upset me a lot. I spoiled myself some shots of Yuanzhi crying over brother's body and I was sure he would die because he isn't fluffy and spotless enough to stay alive in Chinese drama. Fortunately, he didn't:

It works vice versa, too:

Yuanzhi is, I suppose, coded as someone like Asperger: he is kinda genius, he preferred insects and plants to people as he was a child, he couldn`t understand why people cry and felt uncomfortable with someone`s touching (he slipped out of Shangjue’s grip when Shangjue took his hand). And Shangjue did a great job socializing him.

Being an adolescent, Shangjue hadn`t problems with feeling expression. Things Shangjue taught his didi in a flashback are the opposite to those the Main Hero’s mum taught MH and to those Shangjue believes now. Shangjue told Yuanzhi that a man should cry because in that case someone would understand one's woe and this sympathizing could help to recuperate one's soul, but now he never cries in front of someone. However, Yuanzhi learned his lesson well and isn`t embarrassed to express his feelings freely.

I found this scene very weird (if not taking into account that the flower is obviously a red herring): the Main Hero and Shangjue both fancy girls, while didi fancies a magic flower. But later, as I finished the drama, I understood: didi fancies Shangjue the most. The unique and almost extinct flower isn`t some treasure for him, it matters only that this flower can save Shangjue`s life and increase his inner powers. The previous one was taken away from Shangjue, and Shangjue allowed it to happen, because his needs didn`t matter to him compared to prosperity of his clan. (Later, as we know, it was spent in vain by a villain, which made me feel terribly sorry for Shangjue). But his didi values him enough to try to take care of him once more (and for this time he has planted more than one, in order something would end up in Shangjue’s hands even if clansmen would need this flower, too. How smart of his!). And I like that his love is not in vain – Shangjue loves him, too, and believes him in any situation, and that warms my heart. I love their relationship a lot.

And the most vivid feeling that he freely demonstrates is a jealousy towards Shangjue’s fiancée (btw, I like that Shangjue understands it and pardons his tantrums):

"Go ahead, tell me what's on your mind." *opens his mouth to start talking* "Well, rather don`t. I can see it on your face." *smiles*

So, in the part 4 I will talk about Shangjue and her. Shangjue. Introduction Shangjue and his didi, Pt. 1 Shangjue and his fiancee

Hot GIFs to get your attention

I still can't cope with the ending of TtEotM, so I want to read something similar to "Black Moonlight holds the BE script": a bad guy, a good girl, love and then the happy end. (Or maybe watch something like LbFaD). Can you guys advice me something? It`s not necessary should be something Chinese, I enjoyed "Cruel Prince" by Holly Black although the dynamics was quite different.

Mmm... Foodp((0))rn

It has thick vibes of Scandinavian films: nothing is said to you by words, but you understand it anyways and it hits you hard. The whole drama is amazing, but this scene is the best of the best.

She was woken up by the sound of something scattering and came to check.

I don`t know the cultural context of scattering salt and earth (?) but it obviously meant that their son is dead and what they just saw was his way to pay his last respect and to say "goodbye" to them from the other side. Powerful.

I didn't want this to happen.

Swooning over a secondary character (again), Pt. 2/3

The evil vice-prime minister promised Moo-yeon (aka Yoon Sok-ha) that he can be relieved from his servitude and safely reunite with his sister if he fulfills the last and the most difficult task: to kills the Crown Prince. But Moo-yeon failed to do it during the organized by Kim Cha-eon attack and is forced now to finish this task by his own means.

Eventually, Moo-yeon finds the prince amnesiac and, moreover, wedded to Moo-yeon's sister, who happened to hide all this time in a nearby village as a peasant.

His sister seem to genuinely like the amnesiac prince, so, after some moral sufferings, Moo-yeon dares to deceive Kim Cha-eon making him believe the Crown Prince is dead. And then he gets his long-longed freedom.

And he could live freely and happily ever after with his sister (and her husband) if not for one thing.

Namely: he has an affair with the Crown Princess (the Crown Prince's wife and also Kim Cha-eon's daughter, whom he threated with the blade as he was a kid). Going out of Kim Cha-eon's mansion, Moo-yeon accidentally hears that his lover is pregnant, so he also decides to bid farewell to her before finding his sister and disappearing with her for good.

His lover, Kim So-Hye, is a very miserable woman, too. Her father used her from her childhood on to reach his political goals and arranged her marriage with the Crown Prince who hated her from the bottom of his heart as a daughter of the murderer of his childhood love Yoon Yi-seo (which is VERY ironic). She was very lonely in the palace so she couldn`t stand her lover leaving her, too, and hired one of father's assassins to hurt Moo-yeon and make him stay (even if only for the time of his recovering).

The Crown Prince never ever got laid with his wife, so she is obviously pregnant by someone else and Kim Cha-eon tried to kill the prince in order to cover for his daughter (because adultery of the princess should be punished by death of the whole cheater's family). He told her to kill the biological father of her child by herself in order to eliminate the witness, believing it was one of a noblemen of the palace. Later he learned she killed a son of an official and felt relieved. But the situation over Moo-yeon being shot in order to prevent him from leaving makes Kim Cha-eon rethink the adultery of his daughter. And from now on he starts being suspicious of Moo-yeon.

Meanwhile, there are rumors spreading that the Crown Prince is alive and it forces severely wounded Moo-yeon to try to make him disappear for good (because if Kim Cha-eon learns that Moo-yeon lied to him, the little liar won`t be able to escape and reunite with his sister). But he predictably fails and stays lying on the ground, unconscientious and bleeding.

Fortunately, he has good subordinates who find him and bring him back. The Crown Princess is very anxious, she never wanted to hurt him so seriously, so she takes a good care for him.

But the situation over the Crown Prince's fake death becomes more and more dangerous, Moo-yeon‘s life and freedom as well as his sister's is hung by a thread, so his subordinates help him to run away.

He sends back to his lover a bracelet she once gifted him and bids his farewell to her, planning to start a new life with his sister far away from Jeoson. Unlike the Crown Prince, who hated Kim So-hye for who her father is, Moo-yeon is in love with her even despite her being a daughter of his father's murderer. But he understands that their relationship is doomed as far as she is a nobility and (an unloved, but still) Crown Prince's wife and he is a mere slave of her father, unable to protect even himself. So he thinks it`ll be better for them to just forget each other. (And he is so goddamn right! But love is love. *sighs*)

Here is Part 1 Here is Part 3

Swooning over a secondary character (again), Pt. 1/3

This is Moo-yeon, the best assassin of the wicked vice-prime minister Kim Cha-eon, the most powerful man in Joseon. He is VERY good at archery.

And not really good at anything else.

His servitude for Kim Cha-eon has a very heartbreaking background, though. Originally he was of a noble bloodline and was named Yoon Seok-ha. He and his younger sister Yoon Yi-seo were children of an official. But once there was a take-over and their father was accused of treason felony. The official and the whole his family were sentenced to be executed. The children managed to escape, but they were being cruelly hunted down as animals.

In the end Seok-ha hid his sister and led the chase away from her. Tired, scared and desperate, he sneaked into the residence of the murderer of his father, Kim Cha-eon, and tried to threaten him, promising he would kill off Kim Cha-eon's daughter, Kim So-hye, if that evil guy would continue to hunt down Seok-ha's sister.

Spoiler: there was a love from the first blade pressed to one's throat. Mmmmm, delicious. And no, I`m not about Seok-ha and a vise-prime minister 😄 Naturally, Seok-ha failed because Kim Cha-eon had no heart and his daughter was not really of value for him, so there's nothing left to do for Seok-ha but to beg for death for himself and for mercy for his sister. But Kim Cha-eon had other plans for this stupidly brave boy. He made a deal with the boy and forced him to do everything Kim Cha-eon wanted him to do in trade for sister‘s life and freedom.

So here he is, professionally doing disgusting and honourless stuff for the murderer of his father. Here is Part 2 Here is Part 3

How to fight your doom (Pt. 5)

Devil's love is in full bloom and he meekly accepts it. I adore this scene very much, it is so heart-warming. Episodes 20-26

The Romeo and Juliet problem is acute, so everyone suffers and is with the long face. Girl, as well as Devil, decides to put the love problem aside and to focus on the higher goal. The problem seems to have no salvation, so they don`t even try to think about it. And here we have our deus ex machina Jieli, who forces them to talk to each other face to face.

While talking, Girl tries to catch on something that could bring the salvation, but only finds out that everything is hopeless. He IS in love with her and also he IS willing to crush Fairy Realm. And also he is proud (Am I not capable of pretending to be just a reach mortal? Ha! Watch me!), but empathic to sufferings of his folk and prefers fair fights to dirty wins. There is nothing in his personality that could count as disgusting character features. The conflict between Girl's love for him and her craving for peace between tribes is tearing her apart. So she rides him on emotional rollercoaster: she doesn't want to say «no» and can't say «yes».

Devil is very solid in his feelings for Girl (as always) and all the hopelessness of the situation makes him quiet and extremely sad. He even allows GoW and Dragon boy touching him! He also is an EXELLENT learner in terms of emotional intelligence stuff: he understands that his magic powers and status can't conquer Girl's heart and accepts that he can do nothing about it. He carefully analyses his previous behavior and finds out that he was rude to Girl and made her cry so it's natural that she doesn't like him and likes God of War instead. His love ability has bloomed fully and it makes him suffer from unrequited love.

Girl finally accepts her feelings for Devil (with the help of side characters) and there is a funny situation: three months ago it was her sweet dream to be God of War`s bride and now she feels only sadness about it.

Unresolved romantic tension of these two is palpable and it is the most beautiful part of this story arch: Devil is jealous (with a reason), sad and angry because of his unrequited (as he thinks) love and Girl is jealous (with no reason) and because of it fails to expose her feelings to him.

There is a Chinese legend that once Chinese Emperor loved his wife so much so he had been helping her to draw her brows, although it was stricktly female's thing to do. That's why drawing female lead's brows by a male lead is a lovely Chinese romantic trope.

«Wife, are you still mad at me?»

There is a nice moment when he enjoys pretending to be her husband (because he would like to be one) and she enjoys him enjoying acting (because she wants to be with him too).

Finally he proclaims his feelings for her for the third time and in the most beautiful way («I feel like I've known you forever. I have seen you in fairies', demons' and mortals' clothes but the most beautiful dress on you is tonight's wedding dress. Although tonight's wedding is a fake, I feel like I am really married [to you]») and lets her go: if she can`t bear to see him killing her friends, he will understand her hatred.

But it ends up them choosing to be together (in absolutely ADORABLE way! I love episodes 25-26 sooooo much) and delaying the salvation of the Romeo and Juliet problem for later. When the time comes, Devil chooses Girl over his duty and kills Chidi, and Girl chooses to be with Devil and to think about coming war later.

At last misalliance problem finds it`s salvation:  it turns out that he is Demon God and she is Fairy Goddess, they are equals in magic powers and status.

I LOVE mortal story arch because it has got the great emotional tension (I suffered from knowledge that Girl should marry GoW and because cinnamon rolls are in love but couldn't voice it) and delivers the HUGE catharsis feeling at the end of it (Hurray! They are finally together!). Unfortunately, the very end of the story doesn't have the same satisfying feeling (I will explain it later).

And then the Silent Moon Palace story arch begins.

Episodes 1-7 Episode 8 Episodes 9-13 Episodes 13-19 Episodes 27-34