[ SECRET POST #5586 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5586 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



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02.
[Mother Macabre]



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03.
(British comedian Rosie Jones)


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04. https://i.imgur.com/i7RTmYV.png
[OP warned for NSFW (art; painting by Gustave Courbet called L'Origine du monde)]


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05.
[Monk]


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06. [SPOILERS for Novoland: Pearl Eclipse]
[WARNING for discussion of domestic violence, physical/emotional/sexual abuse:]



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07. [WARNING for discussion of rape]



















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #799.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, that was the big reason I never finished that drama.

Because he *was* interestingly conflicted. But goddamn, he treated his wife like *shit*.

[(Anonymous)]

Right? And you know what, I liked how his character turned out after he realized that he was in love with her but the beginning was just so very awful. He was a monster to her, and he didn't exactly treat Fang Jian Ming like a trusted friend and counselor, either. There was a lot of "the emperor is behaving like a real asshole for hard to fathom reasons" and when it changed I was relieved but... it was a messy character arc.

I really wish they'd gone for a more nuanced approach. It's understandable that he was distraught about the loss of the love of his life and then having to marry her sister who looks exactly like her but whose personality is the opposite would be terrible for him. I could completely see him avoiding her, avoiding forming any bonds with her, etc. simply because of his past trauma and not wanting to be hurt again. I could even see that going as far as unintended neglect. Being out of favor with the Emperor puts a consort in a bad position politically and socially, after all. She'd have hardships to deal with if it was clear to everyone that he didn't love her, didn't want to love her and wouldn't be having children with her. But they went waaaaaaaaay too far.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree with all of this. I finished the drama, and I was so conflicted about the emperor the whole time. At first I thought he was going to be the main villain, and Fang Jian Ming was secretly trying to overthrow him. Then I learned about the blood bond being volutarily and wondered if he was just stuck in this awful situation. We got so many mixed signals from the emperor, and I see the relationship with the princess more as something of a Stockholm syndrome situation.

Kudos to the actor, though. The psychotic portrayal of the emperor was amazing.