#Zhao Wen Long

[kandadze]

FoF ep 1 gifs to (somewhat) go with my rewatch loose thoughts.

WX, cool moves (wish we've seen more of that side of her, but it's fine, it gives PSJ something to do) and flirting:

The boys, cool moves and flirting (well, maintaining intense eye contact in ZYC's case):

(I know this is pretty much the bulk of their fight, but it was so well done I giffed most of it)

ZYZ being one terrifying mofo:

(That same) ZYZ when faced with WX and her dagger:

The early days ZYC had only two modes, Flustered! and Annoyed Cat (and both had something to do with That Demon lol):

Our throuple Going Through It:

And finally the archive hall, because its existence is very important to me:

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Fangs of Fortune (2024)

She's angry with him 🥺💔 fangs of fortune #chinesedrama #fangsoffortune #chenduling #neohao #shorts

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FJqCL8zoZ60

[oneringtorulethem]

TIGER AND CRANE - EPISODE 16

Hu Zi's response to Brick asking him if he's going to turn into a demon made of teeth is to pretend to eat him, which Brick delights in and Zhao Xintong also finds endearing. They are all ridiculous and made for each other.

[alipeeps]

Fangs of Fortune and Hope

So much of Fangs of Fortune revolves around hope, not just for the characters, but for the audience... and the way hope is used as a narrative device.

(Read more cos holy shit this got away from me...)

Hopes and dreams are a primary motivation, and humanising aspect, of the characters.

Zhao Yuanzhou's story is all about hope. Has been without hope for so very long... trapped by his own nature in a life without end, without hope of relief, mired in misery.. and fearing what he will become/do. Zhuo Yichen represents the first spark of hope he has had in so long - that the cycle can be broken, that his torment can end... and that the world can be protected from the danger he represents.

But as the show progresses, he finds himself daring to hope for more than just death... as he builds connections with the team - with Zhuo Yichen and Wen Xiao in particular - he begins to hope for something else... for the possibility of a future, one that is no longer bleak and lonely. As the Baize goddess - who never gave up hope for him - promised, he found the person(s) who would make him want to live.

When his senses are sealed and he is fighting not to be overwhelmed his demonic energy, he holds onto the hope - the dream - of a future for him and Wen Xiao to keep the demonic energy at bay.

And he never - never - gave up hope for Li Lun, that he could be redeemed, be saved. Even as he used up all his thousands of years of cultivation to re-forge the Cloud Light Sword in order to forcibly remove Li Lun from Bai Jiu's body, he still hoped for Li Lun to live on, made Zhuo Yichen promise to save his life, offered a way for his spirit to endure with the hope of cultivating back to a human form.

Bai Jiu's entire story arc is motivated by hope. He leaves home whilst still a child with the desperate, burning hope of learning medicine to become a healer and be able to save his mum. And it is that desperate hope that leaves him vulnerable to Wen Zongyu's manipulation, that pushes him to go against his nature and betray his friends - people he genuinely cares for.

And Ying Lei is all about hopes and dreams. He goes against centuries of tradition and expectations to pursue his hopes and dreams in the mortal realm.. and the dream he is pursuing is informed wholly by the hopes and dreams of humans. He sees how humans find connection and comfort in food, how food can be an act of love and caring, and longing... and he wants to be a part of that, to be able to provide that connection and affection to people. He uses his magic in "frivolous" ways to make a perishable food last much longer, in the hope that his friend will still be able to eat a comforting food even if he is not there to cook it freshly. He does this even before they have rescued Bai Yu.. spending his time and his magical energy in the hope that they will rescue him.

Even in the midst of tragedy, these characters cling onto hope - even as both Bingyi and Zhuo Yichen are forced to kill the ones they love most to save the world, each of them finds a way to save a shred of their soul, so that they are not gone forever, so that there is hope of return.

And hope is a major theme for the audience too. Despite the clear and repeated foreshadowing, as we come to know and love these characters, we cannot help but build hope that there is another way, that the fate they are seemingly doomed to can be avoided. The show plays with this idea, by turns affirming that their ending is inevitable and suggesting that maybe it is not. Ying Long's spirit reminds Zhuo Yichen and Zhao Yuanzhou that they are fated to repeat the same choice that he and Bingyi had to make, before expressing the hope that they and their friends will be able to travel the world and have adventures together.

If there were no hope at all, if the fated ending were presented as relentlessly inescapable, there would be no tension, no investment in the outcome. So the show keeps offering us that hope, teasing us with the idea that... maybe. Even though in our hearts we know how it must end... we can't help but hope. And isn't that the very core of the story? So much death and tragedy, loss and pain... and yet there is always still hope.

But what struck me in particular - and what inspired me to write this post - is the way hope is used as a narrative device.

One way in which this is done is in subverting expectations. I've remarked several times on how the show often used flashbacks to add more information/context to a previous scene that then alters the present narrative. And this was often done when a situation seemed hopeless. Where it seemed there was no way they could escape/survive this - and then a flashback to a previous scene would reveal that the team had foreseen this outcome and planned for it and all hope was not lost after all. For a moment the audience is plunged into despair - the team is doomed! - and then we rejoice because hope is given back to us.

But more powerful than that is how the audience's hope is used to underscore the most harrowing scenes.

Out of the many deaths in this show, the two deaths that were (for me) the most traumatic were those of Ying Lei and Bai Jiu - both by virtue of their being unexpected, and also because the characters were the youngest (I know Ying Lei was a demi-god and physically older than everyone but Zhao Yuanzhou, but in god/demon terms he was still a youngster and his personality was very young, and he and Bai Jiu were very much the goofy kids of the team) and most innocent of the group.

But also because in both of these deaths the show deliberately - it seemed to me - offered us a moment of hope that they would survive... only to then snatch it away.

During the fight with Li Lun, Ying Lei was so badly injured and I was so worried that he was going to die... but then he broke through to Li Lun and the team saved Bai Jiu and Ying Lei was hugging him and reluctant to let go of him and I thought it was over, they'd saved Bai Jiu, everything was going to be okay.

A moment of hope and relief. And then Ying Lei died.

And then when Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhuo Yichen realised Bai Jiu must have been the one to destroy the ashes and save Zhuo Yichen, Zhao Yuanzhou urges Zhuo Yichen to use the feather and go to Bai Jiu and I had a moment of wild hope that yes, Zhuo Yichen can get to him and get him to a doctor, it's not too late, he can be saved...

The episode ends on a moment of (for me) fierce and desperate hope that Bai Jiu will live.

Only for that hope to be immediately ripped away at the start of the next episode. Zhuo Yichen - who had rushed there hoping against hope - finds Bai Jiu already dead and his grief, and ours, is all the more raw and debilitating for that brief moment of hope.

Our hope is weaponised against us to maximise the impact of the narrative. And god is it effective. I don't think I've ever had such an emotional response to a show.

And then the extra episode, after all the pain and loss and grief of episode 34, once again gives us back hope. Zhuo Yichen saved that scrap of Zhao Yuanzhou's soul and sets out on a desperate, hopeful quest to find it. And at the very end, he does. And the show ends on that final, joyous moment of hope restored - their story can continue.

[dearmyloveleys]

;-; i just wanted to say ty for all your posts in the fof tag. now i'm thinking about ying lei and his yeye ying zhao... and now there is no one left to guard the mountain, but ying lei died in the same way as ying zhao, saving people he cares about

Don’t mention it! I blorb too much about things I really like it embarrasses me at times. I’m just glad you like my takes!! Anyway:

😭😭😭😭 this drama exists to hurt us,, I think more than dying for people he cares about (because nearly everyone who died did that), Ying Lei's characterisation and death provides a unique but tragic pov within the main cast

Ying Lei my poor Ying Lei. We don’t really talk too much about him don’t we. So let’s just talk all about him. CHARACTER ANALYSIS TIME YAY

Ying Lei is unadulterated sunshine and has a good heart. Morally, he is on the same page as the rest of the team. Yet, it absolutely breaks my heart that his fate is to be an outsider within the thematic concern of choice in FoF and resultingly, in the narrative.

His place in the overarching thematic concerns of FoF is unclear when we first meet him - he is simply a wandering half mountain god half demon with a bright disposition. But as with many characters in FoF, their appearances aren't just for naught. Ying Lei's representative theme - the freedom of choice and the ability to choose one's identity - finally shows itself in one of the most beautifully written (am biased) episodes of the series, Episode 17, which is all about choice.

In this episode, Ying Lei vents his displeasure of the Wilderness towards grandpa Ying Zhao

"I hate this place. I hate the Wilderness. It's so bleak and desolate. (…) If I have to stay here forever, I'd rather die. (…) I like the mortal world. I like everything that is vibrant and lively."

To which grandpa Ying Zhao gives him his blessing to head to the Mortal Realm,

"…as your grandfather, I respect your decision. You can be a Mountain God or an ordinary person."

His next sentence cements the plight of many demons (and humans) we encounter in the story,

"For many demons in the Wilderness, their lifelong dream is just three simple words… Have a choice."

These three words all the more juxtaposes Ying Lei's freedom to choose his identity, against every other character who faces this fate of not having a choice.

The Lie Demon, unable to say her true feelings until her moment of death, and Fei, who shares similar sentiments as Ying Lei about the mortal world,

"I'm a beast of calamity, I don't deserve to live in the mortal world. But I really like the bright lights, the liveliness and happiness, and the prosperity here." (Ep 13)

And Zhao Yuanzhou, where even in the same Episode 17, echoes Ying Lei's words,

"If this world gave me life to be manipulated by malicious energy, then I'd rather die."

Same words, but a different way out. Or there isn't one at all.

Ying Lei is the only one whose fate hasn't been carved out in stone for him. Even after Ying Zhao's death, he is still able to leave Kunlun Mountain and rejoin the team because he has the support of other Mountain Gods watching over the temple. He is by no means a pampered and spoiled person but he swims in a wealth of freedom. His bubbly, charming and affectionate personality is a physical manifestation of his unburdened self, unbeholden to any ending, except for the one that he wants.

And yet, he chooses a life with the group of people who never have had the option to choose what and who they want to be. Wen Xiao, the Baize Goddess; Zhao Yuanzhao, the vessel of malicious energy; Bai Jiu, determined to bring his mother back; Pei Sijing, the forced breadwinner of her family's martial heritage. To show his determination to be with this group, he never again dons the mature get-up (full sleeved robes and long hair) - his representation of maturing and accepting his responsibility as a Mountain God - after returning back to the Mortal Realm. Rather, he dons the get-up he first roamed the Mortal Realm with (or similar), metaphorically putting aside all that celestial burden in exchange for the friends that he desires. Just who in the group can as easily shed their very roots and history? His precious freedom to choose ironically makes him the outsider in a group whose only wishes are to be able to choose.

He gets along with the team, but no matter how many times he ties the knot of fate around them, these people were never his fate to begin with. Fate found the rest of them and demanded they be bound. Ying Lei wrestles that rope of fate, trying to get in, albeit with rejection. The narrative demonstrates this:

The team was initially formed without him, and he joined later them of his own accord - his own choice - while the others literally were forced to sign a death contract to be together. In the later episodes, his affection for Bai Jiu is often overshadowed by Bai Jiu's respect for Zhuo Yichen. He also continually tries to get both Bai Jiu and Zhuo Yichen's approval - head pats, anyone? Zhao Yuanzhou doesn't trust him to look after the dragon scale. In their conversation with Bing Yi, their team count is five, instead of six. His closest companions within the team are each other's confidants.

Even at his very end, the narrative still denies him a fate with them. He dies for Bai Jiu who is the only person he loves wholly, and fades away before Bai Jiu wakes from his coma. Neither gets to say goodbye. Bai Jiu who genuinely mourns his death, dies for Yichen. In a story where the cyclical nature of fate runs deep, there is no thread of fate that leads back to him. There is no resolution or reciprocation for Ying Lei's soul and sacrifice. Every thread is cut and never retied, no matter how he tries. Siheng has Sijing left to remember him. Yichen keeps Baijiu close to his heart. Wen Xiao and Yichen wait for Zhao Yuanzhou to return. But no one truly reminisces Ying Lei. The only people to do that are dead.

Ying Lei's tragedy lies in his freedom to choose. In a world where most fate is predetermined and choice is a scarcity, his death is all the more painful as every act is a conscious choice toward an unknown end. He carries a burden after all - the burden of writing his own story. And he braved each step with that brilliant smile of his.

我爱这个世界更多 又如何 So what if I love this world even more? 越平凡越长久 The more ordinary it is, the longer it lasts 月亮跟着我点头 The moon nods along with me 简简单单入梦的人最温柔 Those who step into dreams simply are the gentlest 分不清眼泪和酒 真让人挠头 This inability to distinguish between tears and wine, really makes one scratch their head 月亮和小狗默默跟我走 The moon and a puppy walk with me in silence 岁月从不停留 Time never stops once 少年也不回头 This youth also never turns back 他把故乡和爱留在身后 He leaves behind both his hometown and love

- 英雄不磊落 (Heroes Are Not Upright) | Ying Lei's Theme

[timotey]

Fangs of Fortune

I haven't cried this much since... well, I don't think I've ever cried this much watching anything. The only thing that came even close was The Spirealm when the team members kept dying inside the doors. But even there wasn't this much death and tragedy. Ouch.

One thing that truly stood out for me about this drama was how, well, intimate it felt. It had incredible cinematography, music, costumes, CGI, acting, it looked really expensive and yet it was... intimate. There were very few characters compared to other fantasy cdramas. And it constantly focused on one small group of people. Instead of going big with huge battles and big armies, it went small and low-key, so we got to know the characters and the characters got to know each other. They actually talked, sight unseen! It was pretty much one long team-building exercise. With most of the team dead at the end, true.

Also, considering the longevity of the main three - Zhao Yuanzhou, Wen Xiao and Zhuo Yichen - the, ugh, "classification" of the love they had for each other didn't matter. Because when you have a hundred or more years together, you really won't be boinking day in day out after a while, so it's about the companionship first and foremost, that stands above all. And like Zhuo Yichen said, there are different kinds of love and not one is better than the others. So the familial love between Wen Xiao & Zhuo Yichen, the romantic love between Wen Xiao & Zhao Yuanzhou, and the soulmate bond between Zhuo Yichen & Zhao Yuanzhou are all equal in their importance.

And if I understand it correctly, the sliver of soul in the droplet of Zhao Yuanzhou's blood on the "contract" means that he will now have to cultivate for years and years to come - Li Lun was meant to cultivate for a hundred years to get his human form back - before coming back to them. So they will have to keep his soul safe until then.

Also, the fact that his soul went looking for Zhuo Yichen? Chef's. Kiss! Just like the fact that he kept staring at Zhuo Yichen as he was dying, even though he was lying in Wen Xiao's arms. He wanted Zhuo Yichen to be the last thing he saw - and he was the first thing Zhao Yuanzhou went looking for when his soul became sentient enough. That's just... wow. It kinda reminds me of the parabatai bond in Shadowhunters which surpassed everything, even romantic love and death.

10/10 for me. I don't usually give a 10 - IIRC, I only gave a 10 to two cdramas, Ancient Love Poetry (also one that I bawled through) and The Spirealm - but this one hit just right!

[puppy-phum]

thinking about how in the past, wen xiao and zhuo yichen helped each other through grief that struck them on the same day, even if they didn't know about it then. how fate brought them together so that they could heal each other, could save each other. zhuo yichen was there to take care of wen xiao when she was sick and felt useless and scared, while wen xiao was there to pull zhuo yichen out of his gray grief to let colors back into his life again.

and i know that in the middle, the show kind of tries to paint them as childhood sweethearts, or as a story of one sided love from zhuo yichen's side. and maybe it has been like that, maybe it still is sometimes, but no matter what, they love each other and that's all that matters.

they rely on each other a lot too when they're suddenly faced with the force that is zhao yuanzhou. when, bc the world is cruel, it is revealed that he is the reason they ever created this bond between them and needed each other so much. zhao yuanzhou killed zhao wan'er, wen xiao's beloved master. he also killed zhuo yichen's father and brother. he is the reason wen xiao has been sickly and fragile for so long and he is the reason why zhuo yichen's world ever turned gray.

zhao yuanzhou is also fortunately the reason why wen xiao becomes strong again, as well as the reason why zhuo yichen is able to let go of his hate and find his true self.

and so, in the end, wen xiao and zhuo yichen are together again. but this time, they share a common grief. this time the other's grief does not feel so distant bc they mourn the same losses. they mourn ying lei, mourn bai jiu. but above all else, they mourn zhao yuanzhou.

they heal each other from the loss of the one that once caused them indescribable pain. they understand what it's like. they know how deep the grief goes, how cold it feels. wen xiao was always powerless to stop zhao yuanzhou from dying and zhuo yichen was always powerless to stop himself from being the one to kill him.

which is why i find it so fascinating how the main trio are tied together by this very closely shared grief and loss. but especially fascinating i find wen xiao and zhuo yichen bc they're placed on different sides of zhao yuanzhou. they've made into these two different paths that zhao yuanzhou walks at the same time as he also shares grief and loss with both of them. his relationship with wen xiao starts from shared grief over zhao wan'er and his relationship with zhuo yichen finally solidifies as they share mutual grief over their loss of control. there is also the horrid experience of zhao yuanzhou wondering if he needs to share his grief over wen xiao with zhuo yichen as they fear she will die (several times), or his grief over zhuo yichen with wen xiao as they fear he will die (once again, several times).

also, as an ending note, it's fun how zhao yuanzhou is able to save both wen xiao and zhuo yichen while the other is powerless to do anything. zhao yuanzhou gives wen xiao the baize token that zhuo yichen has been looking for so long and later takes the poison away from wen xiao while zhuo yichen has only thought about doing it himself. zhao yuanzhou is the one to get zhuo yichen both his inner core and his sword fixed while wen xiao doesn't really even know where to begin with them and is powerless to do anything against ying long. so, yeah, zhao yuanzhou keeps them from grieving each other – so that they can eventually grieve zhao yuanzhou.

[dangermousie]

Now, we all love noble and heroic good guys. But sometimes, in the safe confines of fiction, nothing is as fun as a really trash man. Here is a description of our trash contestants:

Shen Yurong, The Double

Pros: really good at exams, flute playing and being a murderous sub.

Cons: terrible at wife murder (tho perhaps that's a plus?), moral backbone of a sponge, sis and mom would make bad in laws.

Murong Xuanlie, Kill Me Love Me

Pros: looks really good with hair loose, big on women having careers outside the home, devoted to one woman only, great kisser.

Cons: murdered 100K+ people, wants to be a fratricide, gaslight girlboss gatekeep is his motto.

Second Prince, Joy of Life 2

Pros: swing in the middle of his house, likes chess and fruit, funny.

Cons: can't decide if he wants to fuck or fuck over Fan Xian; indecisiveness is not sexy in a man.

Di Lin, Eternal Brotherhood

Pros: loving husband, great friend, victorious general, makes toys for his unborn kids.

Cons: royal executioner who puts cities and armies and families to the sword, the soap and water bills for all that blood will be huge.

Hei Long, Burning Flames

Pros: a definite style trend setter, walks barefoot everywhere thus saving money on footwear, devoted to his lover.

Cons: like the way eviler version of Zeus; only hobby appears to be enslaving humans which can get boring after a while.

Wei Zhao, Love of Nirvana

Pros: Hot, sword dance skills, you will have no in-laws.

Cons: love language appears to be choking, poisoning and stabbing.

Ruo Wen, Love in the Desert

Pros: a really good time, very few shirts, knows what to do in bed, has his own banging theme song.

Cons: murdering bandit with limited notions of consent; plus his gf will prolly stab you.

Yang Kang, The Legend of Heroes

Pros: really sexy about his daddy and mommy issues, that hair!

Cons: his murder happy identity crisis requires serious therapy he can't afford

Lu Jiaxue, The Rise of Ning

Pros: he's already got your wedding chamber, jewelry, dolls and accessories ready - perfect for a lady who doesn't like housework

Cons: chokes women like he's in a mini.

Cang Xuan, Lost You Forever 2

Pros: smart, devoted, royal, breaks down beautifully

Cons: many other wives, can feed your hands to maggots or kill your boyfriend, serious cousin kink, character massacred by the writer.

Wang Jia Luo, Heroes (2024)

Pros: can recite reams of poetry, will protect you to the utmost if you are damsel

Cons: if you are not a damsel will murder you and not blink; in fact will murder you for jaywalking as Qing reincarnation of Javert.

Please be aware I excluded MLs from minis because otherwise I could never fit anyone into one poll.

[olderthannetfic]

Hi I'm sorry for the incoming rant but I'm so frustrated and I need somewhere safe to yell. This is insanely long so I 100% understand if no one wants to read all this.

It’s so fucking ironic that people are trying to make publishing more friendly towards queers/women/POC/disabled people/etc. but at the same time they’re turning publishing into a fucking minefield of discourse.

I'm an autistic, bisexual woman with multiple mental illnesses and a learning disability and I'm absolutely terrified to publish anything.

Everyone keeps going “We love books by minorities! Hashtag own voices! We love to support minorities and their stories! Even if you’re not a minority, we love to see authors making characters that are! :)”

But they certainly don't act like it.

They see people like Amélie Wen Zhao or Tess Sharpe or Isabel Fall get harassed relentlessly and they go, “Well if people dogpile someone over something it was obviously because that person did something Bad And Wrong™ so if you’re a Good Person™ the twitter masses won’t have to punish you :)” except in reality that’s not at all what happens.

If your experience is not generic enough to fit every single person in a group, you’re obviously writing an unrealistic stereotype! How dare you write about your personal experiences as a mixed race Indian if not everyone can relate to it? What about the Indians who grew up in India!? You’re erasing their experiences!

You have to out yourself to prove that you’re one of the Correct People™ who’s allowed to write that experience. Oh, you’re writing a trans character? Please describe your gender, in detail, so we can know whether or not you’re Allowed or if you’re an Outsider who we need to punish. Oh, you can’t come out, because you might be killed or disowned? Well, no #OwnVoices clout for you, we don’t want your book.

Your character needs to be a Good Minority™. They cannot be angry or violent or rude. If they are, you’re clearly saying that all of those minorities are angry and violent and rude and not just that one character.

There are four additional rules you absolutely must follow at all times to prevent harassment, and all of them contradict each other:

If you’re not [minority], you need to have [minority] in your stories, because they exist and it’s bad if all your characters are [not minority].

If you’re not [minority], you cannot have [minority] in your stories, because you’re not [minority] and clearly, you’ll never be able to understand how [minority] thinks and acts because you’re not them.

If you’re not [minority] you can still have them in your stories, but they can’t experience any discrimination at all, or talk about their culture or experiences with being [minority] because that’s not your story to tell and you’re profiting off of their trauma. No, you’re not allowed to do this even if you hire ten sensitivity readers that confirm these experiences are realistic and correct.

If you’re not [minority] you can still have them in your stories, but you need to show their experience with discrimination, and have them talk about their culture or experiences with being [minority] because if you don’t, then you’re basically just taking [non minority] and pretending they’re [minority].

Also, there’s an additional surprise bonus rule: Sometimes people will just want to destroy you for no reason, so watch out!

They’ll take things from your story, remove them from their context and then present them as the most horrific, problematic thing possible in order to create a hate mob.

Sometimes, though, they don’t even know what they’re talking about. People who are not part of a minority group (or not the one relevant) will see something, go, “Omg? Problematic?” and post it on Twitter so they can say, “Um guys wtf is this shit? Are you fr? Can we talk about this?”

And the worst and most horrifying part, people will blame YOU for the harassment campaign!

I’ve literally seen people say, “Well if someone calls you out on Twitter you should admit you did something wrong, apologize, and tell them you’ll do better :)” as if that’s not the most insane, victim blamey shit.

Like, I cannot fathom seeing a marginalized author get torn apart by a mob, get sent horrific death threats, and have their career and life ruined, only to say, “Okay but they must have done something Problematic. Have they tried publicly flagellating themselves to appease the people who are threatening to break into their house and kill them?”

People just sweep it under the rug and pretend that it’s not a big deal, and say, “Twitter’s not real, it doesn’t matter!” as if thousands of people harassing you and sending you threats isn’t massively damaging to someone’s mental health. Like, this is the kind of shit people kill themselves over, and it's apparently no big deal because "Twitter's not real"? What?

Writing is supposed to be fucking fun! Showing your beloved story and characters and work to the world is supposed to be enjoyable!

But instead of writing my story and just enjoying the process and adoring my characters, I’m sitting here, absolutely terrified, trying to make sure I give people the least amount of ammunition to destroy my life as possible.

One of the main characters in my story is vaguely based on me. I love her with all my heart, I think about her all the time, I want people to love her just as much as I do.

But instead of having fun writing about her, I’m waking up in the middle of the night, heart pounding, thinking to myself, what if she’s too problematic?

Will people get upset with her saying the word “cunt” or bathing naked with men (and thus having her tatas out) and accuse me of being sexist or catering to the male gaze or not being a Good Amazing Feminist™? Will people call her a pick me?

Will people get upset with her being bisexual, but ending up in a “straight” relationship with the male character? They have a five year age gap, is that too much? Will people think he’s a predator or abusive? Is their relationship toxic?

Will people think he’s a creep for flirting with her and getting into her personal space and telling sexual jokes, even though that’s how I want someone to flirt with me?

What if people think she’s not autistic enough? Will people get mad that she’s ~glorifying violence~ for not becoming a pacifist and admitting that violence is bad and yucky at the end of the story?

I need to make sure she spends ten paragraphs explaining exactly why she works as an assassin. I need to sit cross-legged and whip my head around like Dr. Strange in that Avenger’s movie so I can imagine Every Possible Discourse Outcome™ and make sure she debunks everything people could call problematic.

I need to change that. I need to remove that. I need to make her sanitized and good enough so that I'll be safe.

And then repeat this thought process, with every other minority character in my story (and there are a lot).

--

Things are bad, but if you stay off of book twitter and do not write YA, you're a lot less likely to face this level of drama. There are always exceptions though, like Fall.

[pippin-pippout]

Wen Xiao and Zhuo Yichen making sure that the true story about Zhao Yuanzhou's sacrifice got spread around the world so he wouldn't end up like Ying Long – vilified for his selflessness.

[nutcasewithaknife]

It's so meaningful that Wen Xiao is mad about her apparently inevitable fate as a sacrifice. She has been desperately seeking control over her own life for so long, because so much of it has been her tackling what fate threw at her. Her father dies and she is adopted by the Baize Goddess. She's chosen as the next Baize, but the burden will kill her till she finds the other half of the order. She manages to fix the token, only to find that she is dying, the inevitable fate of the Baize Goddess is to be the sacrifice that saves the world, and that too may not be enough to save everyone she loves.

And yet, she keeps a firm hold over her self and refuses to passively accept her predestined role. She cares about the world of humans and demons not because she must, but because her father was killed by a demon and she refuses to let that fester into hatred, insists on protecting both worlds with understanding. She cares about demons not as her duty but because they are people who are repeatedly mistreated and murdered. She wants to save Zhao Yuanzhou and spends 300 years all alone to fix the token because she loves him and wants to save him as much as the world. She feels powerless but refuses to simply accept her role, accept her fate. She refuses to let anyone bear the burden but refuses to accept it meekly either. She wants to live her own life fully. She has to be physically restrained for Zhao Yuanzhou to take the burden of sacrifice upon himself.

To me, FoF is a story of claiming your life as your own in the face of fate, about changing what an action means even when it's pre-destined. Zhao Yuanzhou and Zhou Yichen are the most obvious examples of this, but they take time to get there. Wen Xiao is the one who has been holding her own against her fate right from episode one, when the other two were ready to play by the script.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Fangs of Fortune (2024)

So this water stain is… 😳🤭 所以这摊水渍是。。。😳🤭

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[randomingoftherandomness]

Im thinking this hc ✨

Zyc being flirted with zyz so he fools himself that its just banter, holding his breath, thinking that its not really romantically motivated(!!!)

until both cant hold it back (zyz w his flirting n seducing, zyc with soft blush n caring nature) and so they kiss

(or made out or more)

Then wx found em both in the position and just… smiled that they finally happens

Btw enjoyed ur writing sm sm sm sm, so glad i watched FoF at the same time w one of my fav writer✨

He's trying not to read into it, but Heavens above it is as if Zhao Yuanzhou has made it his personal mission to make it anything but what it probably was -- banter, the kind of joking around you do with your team members, friendly exchanges, or something of that sort. Anything, at this point anything would be better than what it could be.

Because at this point, it would be easy to fall for the great demon's charms.

Simple, in fact, to just throw common sense to the wind and give in to the way Zhao Yuanzhou lingers a beat too long when their hands touch or when their gazes meet over the dinner table. It would be child's play to call him to his private rooms, share a pot of wine under the moon, and ask him outright what he meant when he said this or that.

And if giving in meant he doesn't have to sleep in a too big bed alone? Would that be so bad?

Xiao Zhuo reels those thoughts back with decisive viciousness and buries them six feet deep. There's no reason for him to indulge his heart like this. Not even if logically he can read between the lines when Wen Xiao gently cautions him to be careful with his affections and Ying Lei breezily tells him that his eyes are the most transparent things he has ever seen.

No. Easier to believe that Zhao Yuanzhou means nothing more than friendly banter than to risk getting it all wrong.

Xiao Zhuo would happily live a long forever just basking in the warmth of the demon's gaze. Would have been content with the unspoken thing between them always hanging in the air above, never resolved but never unspooled.

Would have, had it not happened.

Zhao Yuanzhou sits on the soft grass, robes splayed out. Serene, leaning against the tree trunk, looks like a handsome, rich master taking a rest in the middle of his day. Xiao Zhuo allows himself to admire him, committing the way the sunlight dapples over his eyes, the way the breeze undoes his hair at the temple.

In a way, Xiao Zhuo could fill entire libraries with what his heart wants to say about the demon. All the poetry in the world fails to even measure up to a single drop in the bucket of all the things he feels in his heart about Zhao Yuanzhou.

"Are you here to scold me or are you here to invite me for a drink?"

The great demon's voice is soft in the quiet, but it rings in Xiao Zhuo's ear, sending a flurry of butterflies flying in his belly. Looking over at him again, the demon is blinking slowly at him, lips a soft curl of amusement.

"If you're here for the former, come closer. If you're here about the latter, well." Zhao Yuanzhou lifts his bottle, shaking it. "I hope you brought your own."

Xiao Zhuo feels his feet move his body before he even registers to do it. "I..." He starts, then falters. In his searching for the right words to string together, a hand comes to rest over his own. Gentle touch sliding over his wrist, tugging him down to where the great demon is three parts amused, three parts fond.

"Here." Xiao Zhuo hands over the jade pendant he kept in his lapels. "For your replenishment."

"Ah, our Xiao Zhuo-daren cares for me that much." Zhao Yuanzhou laughs gaily. "If I were a lady, I would have taken this as a love token."

Impossibly, Xiao Zhuo's heart skips a beat at that. Looking down at the fine jade that he had chosen with great deliberation from his family's collection in Zhao Yuanzhou's elegant palm, he swallows tightly. "What if I wanted you to? Take it as a love token, I mean."

A stunned silence falls through the hush of the courtyard and Xiao Zhuo immediately regrets saying anything. Making to pull away, he quickly thinks up an excuse, not daring to meet the demon's gaze. He has a palm's width of space between them, when Zhao Yuanzhou tugs him back.

"What if I accept?"

Xiao Zhuo's mind blanks out. Head snapping up, he makes contact with Zhao Yuanzhou's eyes. Despite everything, hope springs in his chest.

"What if I accept your love token? This one and every single one that comes after?" Zhao Yuanzhou asks. His voice pitched low and gentle as if trying to get him to understand something he's still not quite getting.

"Do you... Do you know what it would mean?"

"I do." Zhao Yuanzhou answers. Smiling, the demon's eyes searches his face. "Do you?"

Xiao Zhuo turns his sight on their hands. A surge of affection burns through him like a sudden summer storm. Bringing Zhao Yuanzhou's palm to his lips, he kisses his lifeline and turns it over to kiss over his knuckles. With a shaky exhale, he nods. "I do."

The demon's smile falters at that. "Everything in me tells me I shouldn't reciprocate. That I should protect you from the pain of what's coming next." Zhao Yuanzhou murmurs, almost sadly "I feel like I've dragged you into my pain."

Xiao Zhuo cradles him by the cheek, bringing their brows together. Licking his lips, he summons his bravery and tilts his head for the softest brush of their mouths. "I got here just fine on my own." He whispers into the seam of the demon's little smile. "But I appreciate the company."

The bark of laughter they share is swallowed up in the kisses they trade between breathing in each other. Vaguely, Xiao Zhuo is aware of the presence of another at the edge of the courtyard and a surprised little, "Oh my!"

Distantly, he thinks someone else says, "Took them long enough." But contentment in how he has his demon in his arms, the feel and the weight of his body being held so securely against Xiao Zhuo's, makes him heavy-hearted to pull away.

And so, he doesn't. Happy enough to drown under the thicket of kisses he shares with the one who makes his heart beat.

[alipeeps]

Episode 34

Ugh. Here we go. This is it.

Hold me. 😭😭

Fuuuuck. Please tell me he's not dead?

Don't do this to Zhou Yichen! (Or me!)

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

His reaction is so RAW. The way he sees him and immediately looks away because he just CAN'T.

And he died with a smile on his face because he helped Zhuo Yichen.

The plotline for about half the fucking show was about saving Bai Jiu... and then he dies anyway. Sacrificing himself. Like so many before him. I hate this.

I can't with this. This isn't fair. I was expecting Zhao Yuanzhou to die. Maybe even Zhou Yichen, maybe even Wen Xiao. I was bolstering myself to survive that.

But you kill the BABIES. Ying Lei. Bai Jiu. The most innocent and vulnerable of the entire team.

OH SHIT... and the flashback to that scene... he never did get to clear the air with his dad. 😭😭😭

I'm crying my eyes out over a fucking TV show.

You know what? After putting us through this with Ying Lei and Bai Jiu, they need to let Zhao Yuanzhou live. We fucking deserve it. They have hurt us enough. They owe us.

I swear the OST songs have been specifically written to deal maximum emotional damage when used within the show. I hate this.

And all this time Wen Xiao has been having the shit kicked out of her by foster daddy.

Ugh he's fighting for control.

Her tears brought him back?

Oooh is that how they can save all the townspeople?

Ah shit so it can only be stopped if you get to it before the core takes root?

But how's she going to use the baize power when using it hastens her poisoning?

Damn he destroyed his core.

Oh daaaaaaamn....

Well you got father-in-law's blessing I guess, Zhao Yuanzhou...

Aaaaand people are starting to feel the effects of the demon cores...

Oh shit, use the baize power to make it rain? Won't using that much power like... kill you?

Is this drama going to give us the worst possible outcome and have everybody BUT Zhao Yuanzhou die, leaving him again alone and angsty?

OH FUCK. So even if she wasn't poisoned, this is a sacrificial spell?!

PLEEEEASE. Zhao Yuanzhou. Fucking please. Give me a moment of hope in amongst all this devastating despair.

Uhhh this feels very like a farewell...

Ahhh shit....

WHAT THE FUCK?!

So the reason a Great Demon like Zhao Yuanzhou exists, and absorbs malicious qi, is to power the baize divine power?

(But then, surely, if Zhao Yuanzhou's initial plan to have Zhou Yichen kill him in a way that would break the cycle had gone ahead, it would have destroyed the baize divine power along with the vessel of malicious qi?)

Oh FUCK and in that vision he is wearing the exact same outfit that he's wearing now!!!

But if he sacrifices himself to trigger the baize divine power and save the townspeople, how does that fix the problem of Wen Xiao's poisoning? Unless he absorbs the poison from her first?

He's having to steal himself to go through with it.

Jesus Christ, who ever fucking knew Hou Minghao could act like this?

Hey, Xiao Zhuo Daren, sorry about this, but I need you to live through just one more traumatising event today...

Oh fuck, that's why the one word spell worked on him just the once...

OH SHIT, HE SAID IT HOWEVER MANY EPISODES AGO.... HE TOLD WEN XIAO THAT WHEN HE DIES HE WILL TURN INTO RAIN!!!!!

BUT HOW IS ANY OF THIS GOING TO FIX WEN XIAO'S POISONING?!! SHE'S STILL GOING TO DIE ANYWAY!!

Oh fucking hell... Zhao Yuanzhou was going to pull a Ying Long and walk into the sword.... but Zhuo Yichen pulled a reverse uno on his and made it his choice.

😭😭😭

Do you think the healing baize divine power rain will heal Wen Xiao's poisoning?

Oh no, the binding spell has come undone. That means....

Ahhhh you fucker you absorbed the poison from her as you were dying...

FUCK I had to pause playback to go and get tissues because I couldn't see from fucking crying!!!!

Oh god and all the goofy happy scenes playing over the credits as usual, but against the sad emotional music rather than the cheerful stuff.

OH GOD not just the usual ending credit scenes but LOADS more.

I am drained. I am a shell of a human being.

That was honestly THE best fucking cdrama I have ever watched. Quite possibly the best drama/tv show I have ever watched. NOTHING has made me so emotional before.

And the ending was, unfortunately, probably the correct one for the story but god DAMN it hurt. 😭😭

[dreamingsnowflake2013]

OMG! I've always found it odd that he had the same surname as the Baize goddess. Zhao Wan'er basically adopted him as her brother because he was so desolate and hopeless and lonely, making him Wen Xiao's uncle/daddy-long-legs/babysitter. Also, he carries the name of a dead human.

Fetch me a kleenex! You can see how much he's been hating and self-loathing himself, blaming himself and regretting what's happened in the past.

Her expression when she realises it's been him all along! It wasn't just a banter, he truly considers himself the evilest of all beings. The tragedy is that while humans may hate him, no one despises him more than he does; he abhors himself to his very core. I knew the secret behind his wearing a mask would be heartwrenching - he didn't want anyone to associate him with her, so he wouldn't sully her if they saw him in her presence. In reality, he's been a protector of the Wilderness as much as she was, but due to his notoriety and circumstances out of his will, he can only be seen as the devil.

I wonder whether ZYZ was somehow involved in her death, too, just like he killed ZYC's family under the influence of the dark energy, or if that brief flashback was when he had lost control some time in the past and the goddess somehow managed to subdue him. Though, I'm afraid he might have actually killed her. This story is going so unapologetically dark, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[fiftysevenacademics]

Episode 28 reactions.

Zhuo Yichen, my sweet summer child! Wen Xiao has absolutely read those kinds of novels.

Now that he's a demon, ZYC gets to wear those little fur pompoms and the soft, textured fabrics all the demons wear that make them look so touchable.

"I told you everyone in the Wilderness knows me."

My girl Pei Sijing! "Wen Xiao, don't blame yourself. Not everyone is as kind as you. Don't let others' wickedness change your kindness." I love to see a brave, strong lesbian helping her girlfriend stay strong.

Zhuo Yichen is ready to choose Zhao Yuanzhou over Bai Jiu!

To be fair, it must be confusing to suddenly become a great demon and zhiji with the demon you once swore to kill. His priorities are a little unclear to him right now.

Ying Long/Zhao Yuanzhou always makes the hard choices so Bingyi/Zhuo Yichen doesn't have to.

The sound quality is a bit off during Ying Lei's speech?

"It's not 'we.' It's just you and Zhuo Yichen." Pei Sijing keeping it real like a true soldier! I love her.

"Anyone who wants to take Zhao Yuanzhou's inner core has to defeat me first." Honey, you don't even have a sword anymore! But I guess your demonic energy alone is enough to defeat most challengers.

Inner cores look like giant gumballs.

How can they not smell the handiwork of Chongwu Camp in all this? They're the ones who've been hounding ZYZ for his inner core.

Oh, never mind. They're on top of things.

THIS is Wen Zongyu's villain origin story? When people lose it in cdramas, they really go all out, don't they.

Poor Zhuo Yichen! He walks right into every joke and I love it. He's so honest they can't even let him in on their act.

"Let’s not alert them." My good demon daddy, sir. There is literally a demonized human with one of PSJ's demon-zapping arrows sitting up right now. WZY even recognized her arrow. Exactly what do you think not alerting them means?

ZYZ and WX finally kiss and we don't even get to see it clearly. Holding to the rule that if we can't see the MM pair kissing, we can't see the MF pair, either. Fair and balanced! All love is equal here.

The way WX and ZYZ react to ZYC pouting has me screaming. ZYZ is concerned and wants to make things right at first but WX is like, "Xiao Zhuo, stop being a little bitch. We'll let you in on the act next time." And ZYZ smirks. I am SCREAMING! This throuple is too perfect!!!

I am loving ZYC's new demon attire. Although, I gotta say, this black, gold-beaded outer robe number looks suspiciously like a ZYZ hand me down. Or like he's doing the classic cinema thing of wearing the boyfriend's shirt to suggest they've been physically intimate. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Is it really a good idea to let Ying Lei be in charge of the dragon scale? Sure, he loves Bai Jiu like a little brother, but he's also the kind of guy who would lose his head if it weren't attached.

I was right. *shakes head*

"Thanks Ao Yin. As a little treat I'll give you the Truth Eye so you can see my on point eyeliner and sultry smile."

Just kidding. They wouldn't really put YL in charge of the dragon scale.

Or, can Li Lun extract it without opening the box?