#mdbc

Moonlight Drawn Beneath the Clouds - Inuyasha Prequel Dojinshi 

Celestial | Spring Incarnate | B&W Version

Special Thanks: I will always be eternally grateful to @chandrahabein for taking the time out of her busy schedule to color these covers. Meticulous and diligent, she lent a tremendous level of elegance and beauty to this project. Her attention-to-detail is superb and her thoughtfulness made the whole experience all the more magical. Thank you so much, Chandra~* 

Pairing & Fandom: Inu no Taisho (Toga) x Izayoi | Inuyasha 

Disclaimer: This comic and related materials including publications are all fan works which make no monetary profits of any kind. Inuyasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Please do not repost or edit the image on any other websites. 

Event: @inuparentsday

If I had been born in a noble family, and had come to you, would you have adored me?

“Rather than a sun that shines alone, he’s a ruler who shines brightly when among his people, like the moonlight—I believe the king is that kind of person.”

 Fourth K Drama: Moonlight Drawn by Clouds/Love in the Moonlight

 I’m not fond of history dramas mainly because the “ranking” of the people confuses me; however, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds changed that. In fact, because of MDBC I’ve become interested with Korea’s history. What I love the most about this drama is its plot for I find it very timely and relevant (the political stuff) to my country. The romance aspect was executed properly as well. And also, they were able to deliver the scenes perfectly; not once did I ever feel like they’re dragging the scenes along or they are forcing the story. It has a smooth transition of scenes and the story is as great as I expected it to be. Overall, I loved it! The cinematography, acting and OSTs too are all great. MDBC is a great show that you surely would not want to miss!  You will love it to the moon and back!

And btw, Park Bo Gum is so perfect for his role I feel like he’s a legit Prince in real life!

Synopsis:

Set in the Joseon Era, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (Love in the Moonlight) is a story about a young Crown Prince, Lee Yeong, who seems to be not so liked by the ministers because of his unique leadership skills and no nonsense attitude. His goal is to make Joseon a good country for the benefit of its people….something that the corrupt officials do not want to happen. He was labeled as the “rebel” Prince.

On the other hand, there’s Hong Sam Nom, a relationship counselor and romance novel writer who is disguising herself as a guy. Her real name is Hong Ra On. Because of the extraordinary twist of fate, she eventually became a eunuch for the Crown Prince and as time goes by, she became a favorite.

With the Crown Prince finding out that she’s really a woman and developing feelings for her, more secrets are being revealed and more complications arise… will love still shine through?

 The romance aspect of this K Drama is great. It made me feel kilig and it was heartwarming – you know that kind of love story that has the “us against the world” theme? It was something like that but not too over the top since it was executed in a charming and lovable way, but what I would like to discuss more in this blog post is the kind of leader Crown Prince Lee Yeong is and has become. For me, the kind of leader that he is should what a leader should be.  

Oh btw, the bible verse from Mark 3:24-25 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand” is what I always think of every time the political aspect of this drama is being shown.

Let’s talk about the situation of Joseon first (the one in the drama):

They are being ruled by a fearful and weak King that the ministers can easily manipulate. It seems that despite him being the King, it is his ministers that always have the final say in things. The Crown Prince is aware of such situation that’s why he plans to change it. What he wants is to make Joseon a country for its people and not a country for the privileged. And because the Crown Prince wants to bring real change, of course there will be people who will try to stop him and bring him down.

 What I like the most about Crown Prince Lee Yeong is that he’s a “modern leader” He knows that he’s young and has to learn more but he is very determined and willing to learn in order to make himself the King that Joseon really needs. Unlike the ministers and the King himself, Yeong is determined to get out of the palace to know his subjects better. He goes out (of course, disguising himself as an ordinary man) to mingle with people so he can get to really know them and to see the real problems of Joseon….something that he will never know if he keeps himself locked inside his palace. He wants real change so he needs to see the real problems. It is Yeong’s determination and willingness to improve his self as a leader that makes him truly deserving of his position.

Yeong had shown time and time again how much he wanted Joseon to be a nation for its people and that’s what I would like to discuss further. Perhaps one of his best scenes (and one of the best awww moments from the drama hihi) is how he handled the case of a ten year old girl being accused of rebellion. The officials and even the King himself wanted to kill the girl right away but Yeong insisted that they have to do further investigation first. I love how he seems to be the only one in his right mind during this scene for it shows how greedy and heartless the so called “respected” officials of the country. He reasoned out, “If it is true that a ten-year-old child has learned to be a spy before learning to read, then the people who deserve stern rebukes are myself and you all.” Because who else to blame but the ones who rule the country right? If they are really effective and efficient leaders then why do the people are suffering to the point that they became hungry for change and the only way they know is to start a rebellion? Also, there’s a scene where they celebrated the evil stepmother/Queen’s pregnancy and the celebration was interrupted by the rebels’ sending of a message through an arrow. The message says: citizens are innocent of crime, and that poverty is the real culprit. Moreover, the poverty is the government’s doing. Yeong gets it. The officials didn’t. That’s why he became more determined for change while the officials became more determined to maintain their hold to their “powers”

As I’ve mentioned, Yeong has that determination and willingness to improve himself for the sake of his nation (something that the ministers do not have for all they care about is power) so he seeks advice too. He looked for the great teacher Dasan so he could learn how to handle things. And I love the conversations that they have. Teacher Dasan didn’t make Yeong feel like he’s some kind of a special person because he was born a Prince but instead gave him words of wisdom to ponder upon. When Yeong asks for his advice on how to eradicate the evil forces inside the government he just told him to kill the head in which at first he didn’t understand. Teacher Dasan then further explains that “Why would you need poison when you could kill with sweet honey?” meaning that he does not need to use violence and instigate fear (something that the officials are doing) in order to fight and become victorious, he just needs to be wiser than the enemies. Teacher Dasan also added “First the right arm, and then the left. Until you can cut off the head, you must not let down your guard.” Furthermore, he also reminded Yeong of the real purpose of his fight, “Is he fighting to win, or is he fighting for change?” It should be the latter. The fight should be for the benefit of the nation, of the people and not for Yeong’s personal gain.

What makes the officials/ministers hate Yeong more is that he’s witty and can’t be “tamed” by them. He has a mind of his own; you just can’t manipulate him that’s why they’ve become determined to dethrone him since he’s a threat to all their ambitious plans. But, Crown Prince Lee Yeong being CROWN PRINCE LEE YEONG, he knows how to outsmart them. When the King decided to make Yeong as a regent, the officials disagreed *rolls eye* but the Prime Minister (thinking that he has the upper hand in the situation) stated that they should just get the approval of the ambassador (who will be visiting and joining them in the celebration of the King’s birthday) and the other officials agreed in an instant for they plan to ruin whatever plans Yeong has for the King’s celebration in order to embarrass him and make Yeong look like someone who can’t handle the responsibilities of being a regent. Too bad, Yeong knows how to play the game lol. At the end of the final dance performance (in which they tried to destroy but failed) Yeong announced that the Prime Minister would deliver the message of the people’s devotion to the King – something that shocked them all. The Prime Minister being caught in the trapped has no choice but to read the message that Yeong really prepared himself (ha, smart boy!) cause otherwise he will be considered a traitor. Another example is when Yeong asks to investigate the abuses in their taxation system for he found out that names of babies and dead people are being registered in order to force the peasants to pay extra taxes. He also demanded that the taxes unfairly collected must be given back to the people but the ministers informed him that it would put the country’s economy to collapse. So, Yeong thought of a better idea – cut the salaries of the ministers. That statement gained him protests from the ministers however, Yeong reasoned out that the people are suffering already because of so much corruption in the government that force them to pay extra taxes and yet the officials are whining over their salary cut. He said, “How can you aristocrats, who call yourselves the roots of this nation, whine over this much? And you think you have a right to take a salary from the country?” they were silenced after that. Yeong – 100 Officials – 0!

 Joseon is being ruled by a fearful and weak King and the reason for this is that he has not moved on from the rebellion that happened ten years ago and they’ve also found out that the leader of the rebellion, Hong Gyeong Nae, is still alive. While Gyeong Nae is yet to be found, the King’s anxiety worsen; he’s afraid that once Gyeong Nae comes back, he will have a stronger force. Hong Gyeong Nae, however, is not really a rebel. He was just tired of the officials taking advantage of their position and keep on making the poor poorer; what they want is for real change to happen in Joseon. Such situation is what the officials are taking advantage of. While they are doing their dirty deeds, they keep on putting all the blame on the rebels and they also keep on feeding the King’s anxiety and fear. They wanted to find Gyeong Nae to use him to their advantage however, the Crown Prince is also looking for him but for a different reason – he wants to communicate in order to know what kind of Joseon the rebels are fighting to see and he wants to know if the Joseon he envisions is the same. The Crown Prince is determined to hear the “rebels” side of the story. Again, it is his determination and willingness that makes him worthy of his position. I just really love this Crown Prince!

The conversation that Gyeong Nae and Yeong have was filled with statements that will somehow create an impact even to the present society that we have. I think government leaders should learn from this. Anyway, here are some of the line from their conversation that are totally worth the read:

HGN: “I think there’s an error in that thinking. A leader who is for the people is not put there by the heavens. A leader who is for the people should be put there by the people themselves.”

Yeong: “But why do you think that getting rid of the king is the only method?”

HGN: “Because there is no king who can lay everything down on his own. You and I, noblemen and butchers, girls and boys, traitor’s children and king’s descendants. If you were to become king, could you allow for them to be equals?”

HGN: “What we want is not only politics for the people but by the people. You were born to be King, considering yourself the sun – absolute and shining. But a person – a chosen King differs… He considers himself equal to the people as a person. A person dreams of being a person – isn’t it ironic?”

Yeong: “The world I dream of and the world you dream of are not different. The only thing is how far we are from it now. I will come see you after the interrogation. It’s possible we may be able to find it without shedding blood—that path where we match our steps, heading toward the world we both dream of.”

And I guess Yeong’s right, the Joseon he envisions and the Joseon that the people wanted aren’t different. They just have to work together in order for that to become a reality. And also, Gyeong Nae was right when he said that what the Joseon need is a King who considers himself as one of the people in order for him to be the King of the people for by only that can he fully understand his role. Yeong, can be that King. He was raised by his mother to be that kind of King and he possesses the traits of being a good King. And, as I keep on mentioning in this post, Yeong has the determination and the willingness to become the best for his people, for his nation.

In the end (spoiler alert! Sorry!) Yeong becomes the King. He didn’t sit on the throne though; he sat down on the floor right in front of the throne. And when ask about it, he said “The highs and lows between me and my people, the distance between me and you—I hope that you will understand my wish to be one step closer.” Aww, my baby has grown into a great King that he is destined to be. I’m so proud! <3

Before I end this article, I would like to share some more quotes from this amazing drama:

“I wish you would be a king with good eyes because if you’re too high up, you tend not to see people below you. I wish you have good ears – you must not listen only to those who yell before you… Please protect every single person for they’re all your people. Will you promise me to become a King like that?” –Yeong’s Mother

 “I knew it (back) then that I had to become strong to protect those who are precious to me” –Crown Prince Lee Yeong

 “Does wearing the Crown Prince’s robe makes me a Crown Prince?” –Yoon Sung

“No, but it makes us understand each other better” –Crown Prince Lee Yeong

“How does it feel to wear my robe?” –Yoon Sung

“Your robe is as heavy as mine” –Crown Prince Lee Yeong

 “‘Moonlight drawn by clouds’ – do you know it?’ –Byung Yeon

“Draw clouds to make the moon shine'” –HGN

“Rather than a sun that shines alone, he’s a ruler who shines brightly when among his people, like the moonlight—I believe the king is that kind of person.” –Byung Yeon

 So, if bringing real change to society by means of implicating modern techniques/unconventional ways and making oneself a leader instead of a boss that puts the country and its people first before anything else would mean being a rebel then by all means Lee Yeong is a REBEL PRINCE.

 Go watch this drama now! You won’t regret it! You will love it to the moon and back! I promise!

X,

                         ❝ They know very well — the hearts of those people who want to believe, even if those were lies. ❞

Kwak Dong Yeon is hair goals as Byung-yeon in Moonlight Drawn by Clouds!