ladybusiness | (Reply)

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Here via c-ent! I have always enjoyed identity-mysteries of many different kinds, and girls/women crossdressing to have more opportunities make for delightful stories, at least historically.

The Rookie Historian show sounds wonderful!!! (makes a note) I thoroughly enjoyed the C-Drama The Imperial Coroner, in which a young woman raised in a coroner's family becomes one herself despite pushback from others; there's also a young woman martial artist who wanders the jianghu like so many male heroes do. No cross-dressing, but awesome women's agency.

I ♥ ♥ ♥ Sungkyunkwan Scandal sooooo much, despite the heterosexual emphasis in the main romance. OTOH, Goo Yong-Ha and Moon Jae-Shin won some kind of award for best couple, which makes me super happy! I did not realize there was a Chinese remake - that sounds interesting. (makes another note)

The whole thing where Lee Sun-Joon thinks he's gay because of his feelings for Kim Yoon-Hee reminded me of the novel Bloody Jack, which combined a girl dressing as a boy (to escape desperate poverty) and the Age of Sail (a time period I love to read about), so that she ends up as a ship's boy and falls in love with a midshipman who is baffled and concerned by the feelings he develops for her. I didn't find that book until I was an adult but I loved it, and so did my son! There's a whole series, but only the first book has the cross-dressing, I think.

Concerning exactly the opposite: I really, really wanted to love the BL K-Drama Nobleman Ryu's Wedding, which featured a guy taking his sister's place (including crossdressing) when she runs away before her wedding. It was the first BL K-drama I watched, so I was very disappointed, but after seeing a bunch of others, I realize in retrospect it was better than most. (Which isn't saying much.) The disparagement of the original bride pissed me off, but the queer chemistry between Nobleman Ryu and his bride-to-be's brother was very appealing.

Another opposite (sorta): Mr. Queen was a non-BL (strictly speaking) show in which the body of a male chef from the 21st century is transplanted into the body of a Joseon-era queen. Sort of a trans metaphor? I thought it was strongly hinted that he fell in love with the king! The Dowager Empress and the Emperor's wife have an ongoing "cold war" that demonstrates how they were able to exercise power in a variety of ways. It's not all fun - there are some weird tonal shifts between tragedy and comedy - but I did enjoy it.