monstersnroses

So then why is she so upset about finding out she's in menopause, saying "But I have to have an 8 week old baby?" If it was his idea that she lie about it, then why does it devastate her to find out she can't get pregnant and when she cries about it, it's not about her future, it's about how she can't pull off fake pregnancy anymore? Im so confused!

I started this, but I can NOT get behind an FL who is willing to lie about being pregnant to trick a man into marrying her. What a total scum. I'm partway through ep 2 and about to drop.

It's actually not interesting. Much like this drama.

Also, the type of romance gets some people caught off guard...

This is a story about a ML whos got it BAD for the FL, and the FL is not (consciously) thinking about the ML as a romantic interest. He's her teacher, and then there's several other plot-related reasons why she'd never consider him as a possibility.

ML watches FL like a hawk from the start of the show basically, and he's lowkey obsessed with her, and is (very very secretly) very very possessive over her. So when he finds out she has a crush on another guy in like ep 10 or something, he is surprised, and he is ticked off. And he starts to lecture her, saying basically (I'm paraphrasing here) "It's obvious to me that you like him, and if it's obvious to me it would be obvious to your enemies here in the palace. If anyone finds out you like him, then he's going to be in danger, because as far as your enemies are concerned, he is your ultimate weak point, and they will press on it to hurt you. It gives them leverage over you, so you better bury that shit, and keep it to yourself."

But what he's describing there, is his feelings about HER!

So if you watch for it, you can see the tension and desire in him rising and becoming stronger from the very outset.

But her? She is just on another planet with a puppy-love crush on this other guy. She's oblivious to ML's feelings -- partly because his social standing intimidates her, and partly because he deliberately hides his feelings **till he can't control himself any longer**! When things inevitably fall through with her crush, he immediately swoops in to "be there for her", and that's when things change, and he starts steadily losing his cool, succumbing to his strong feelings of desire for her, driven by jealousy and possessiveness.

But she's a dingbat! I mean she's smart... really smart. But she's totally oblivious to his feelings for her **because he deliberately hid them from her and everyone else**, so when he starts finally coming onto her, she doesn't "get it". He has to literally attack her for her to "get it".

So this is a love story about an unsuspecting bunny rabbit being stalked by a lion and then pounced on!!!! It's just BAM!!!!

Well some people find they don't like that kind of love story. They say "I'm not feeling any attraction from the FL to the ML," or "There wasn't a lot of romantic buildup," or "Isn't that basically assault?!" But I thought it was HOT. And so did the FL.

No clear consensus. It's about a 50-50 split of opinion.

Well people like them can't come into the palace armed with weapons. So he's weaponless. He knows his bros have got this. That scene where yan lin jumps in he is lookin fine right there. <3 Xie Wei is like "oh f*ck..."

If you asked Xie Wei "why u no haz martial arts wtf?" He would put on his cranky face and tellyou he's just a bit rusty. Then he'd storm off and go play angry sounding music on his qin by himself.

I'm on my 6th rewatch, and he's still hot, and he's a really compelling choice for her, but since I am a vampire lover and ML is so vampy and moody and cranky and brooding, I just see it as no contest. Vamp wins. But I still do love Yan Lin tho. I love the way the stylist did his hair in this show, best I've ever seen him look. And he's just acting his ass off, he's very sexayyy.

Plus, in the second timeline, she still has the memory of him being super nasty to her at the end of her first lifetime, so she's seen this side of him that definitely if it were me would make it hard to fall in love with him. Even if in this timeline, it's not the same 'him' that was so nasty, he didn't actually do anything. But she would know that if pushed far enough, he's capable of that kind of behavior. It's just unsettling. Brings a little bit of a chill to their relationship.

SWAK I just went and looked at it's MDL page, and I realized that this was like so red flag that I - a red flag lover - actually noped out on it. Maybe the most toxic ML I've ever seen. I gave it a fair shot, maybe 5 eps or something? But I could see NOTHING redeemable about him whatsoever. I hated his ass so much I had to quit watching it! That was like apex red-flag, lol! Probably the worst ML I've ever seen, worse than the korean guy who runs the chicken fast food chain in My Heart Twinkle Twinkle who was such a bastard! My auntie calls him "Chicken Man" and we still make jokes about him because he was so awful.

tysm what about I will never let you go, the confidence, unexpected falling and moon lovers scarlet heart ryeo? do they have HE's or SE's?

sad ending/happy ending

GBMP and the Wolf both have SE's right? Do any of your reccs have HE's?

So then someone else later is going to say "I can't move on, what do you recc?", and what would you say to them? 🤣

Just about the only thing wrong with SoKP imo, is that it's the best thing I ever watched. Where are you supposed to go from there.

Tysm!!! ❤️

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Like watching someone try to light a pile of moss and twigs in the rain with waterproof matches and ypu spend the first 2/3 of the drama like "what even am i doing watching this nothings happening" and then suddenly BOOM, raging forest fire!!!

"Well, that escalated quickly..."

I love red flag ML's, but this one was kind of jerkish and tepid. And he was wearing high heels and a really foofy coat, and to me nothing about that ML said "Manly" or "Crazy" the way I prefer. I like long hair, black leather pants, crazed logic, impulsiveness, dangerousness, and total obsession. This was like the polar opposite of that. To me, this ML gives off kind of creepster vibes.

To me this is the best set of circumstances to watch it under:
*You are bored and you feel like you've seen everything else
*You're ready for a long slow immersive story
*You feel like a cozy 3-day binge maybe on a stormy/snowy/rainy dark night
* All the lights out, and no distractions

IMO, this is like if Jane Eyre was a vampire story and a c-drama at the same time. Jane Eyre is a lonnnngggg read, but it's sooo cozy and the payoff is really really good.

Also: I am so so SO into vampire stories, and to me this was one of the best vampire stories EVER, and there's not even a vampire in it! If you have problems at first with the tone of the story or wondering where ML is at mentally, just pretend he's a vampire and it will all start to fall together.

Not high production value, but there's an older one from 1998 called "A Sleeping Forest" and it's so beautiful, lots of lush green forest scenes and a hot ML.

Then there's Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru, but you've probably already seen it... the cinematography is kind of average but the production value is good, and the colors really pop.

You could try Kingyo Tsuma, it was very beautiful but I can't recc it for the story I didn't really dig it, I gave it a 7, but you might like it, and it was really pretty and similar to this in aesthetic.. Very good production value.

Then this might sound weird, but there is a J-Drama called "Homeroom" and it's more of a comedy, and it is pretty dang wild. But I was really struck by some of the amazing cinematography. Not the kind of show I was expecting to find that type of artistry in, but it was really good just on that level alone. It's not like in this show with lots of blues and purples and cool tones, it really is more of a "red and black" vibe, but to me it was really gorgeous.

Kind of a stretch, but you can also try Majo no Jouken. It had average production value, and above-average aesthetics, but the artistic sensibility is the same as this one,(I think much better in fact) and the use of symbolism runs really deep through the show, the psychological and artistic content is impressive. Subject matter might bother some people, though.

There's a really cheesy spicy one called Koi To Dangan, and it has a lot of fun cringe in it, but it also has some very spicy lines and scenes in it that make you just fan yourself and turn to jello, and the production value and aesthetic are really nice. A lot of pink, cherry blossoms, black leather and starry sky type vibe. But it's less airbrush-beautiful and more like guns-n-bubblegum-cool.

Also I see from your watchlist that you really enjoyed Love To Hate You, so I'd also recc you 'Crazy Love', which is Korean, but it's pretty similar to Love To Hate You, as far as the tone it takes and the crazy level of chemistry between the ML and FL.

Also, the most stunning visuals I've ever seen in a drama, is the c-drama Rise Of The Phoenixes. The story is a little bit heavy. There's no HE, and the romance is a side dish, or like a carrot on a string that keeps you watching but never becomes closer to fulfillment. But the story is intricate and immersive, and the production value and visuals are on a whole other tier unto itself. Absolutely gorgeous.

Entry Level Insanity:
Nothing But You
Lesson In Love
Meteor Garden (Tawanese Version!!!)
Secret Garden (K-version)
Koi To Dangan
That Winter The Wind Blows
Cheese In The Trap
The Smile Has Left Your Eyes

Professional Level Insanity:
Embrace In The Dark Night
Secret
My Lethal Man
Love And Bid Farewell
Till The End Of The Moon

Certified Batshit Level Insanity:
I Love My President Although He Is A Psycho
Well Intended Love
Enslaved By Love
The Rose

Yep, that elevator kiss scene, that was VERY good, but the rest of the drama to me was so snoozy, aigoo.

My Fated Boy
Lesson In Love
Falling Into You
Que Sera Sera (kind of a meh drama, but with one of the hottest kiss scenes I've ever seen in it)

short length awesomeness:
Embrace In The Dark Night (holy shit!)