#character: zhu yan/zhao yuanzhou

[heymeowmao]

大梦归离 | Fangs of Fortune E34 ° Dead demons will turn into stars in the sky. And what about you?

[renshengs]

大梦归离 fangs of fortune names + titles masterpost

brought to you by @mengyan and @renshengs <3

*note: this is only for what we consider as main characters, or recurring side characters! if you need clarification for a character that isn't here, send either of us an ask!

common terminology:

daren 大人 (suffix) — gender-neutral honorific often translated as Mr. or Ms. (e.g. Pei-daren = Ms. Pei)

xiao 小 (prefix) — little (e.g. Xiao-Jiu = Little Jiu)

jie/jiejie 姐姐 (suffix) — older sister (e.g. Wen-jiejie)

ge/gege 哥哥 (suffix) — older brother (e.g. Xiao-Zhuo-ge)

didi 弟弟 (suffix) — younger brother (e.g. Bai Jiu-didi) 

“A-” 阿 (prefix) — added before a single character of someone’s name/address, to indicate affection, familiarity, closeness etc (e.g. A-Heng, A-jie)

“er” 儿 (suffix) — added after a single character of someone’s name & is an affectionate term used by someone (often older) whose relationship to them involves some kind of caregiving; can be romantic or platonic (e.g. Wen Xiao’s foster father calling her Xiao’er)

common mistakes:

referring to someone with only one character—in chinese this is generally considered odd (e.g. Zhuo Yichen as “Zhuo”) and is not recommended unless done in-story (e.g. 蜚 Fei’s name just being Fei).

referring to a character by only their surname (e.g. Pei Sijing as “Pei”). chinese names put surnames before given names. (to call her by just her given name, use “Sijing”.)

referring to a character with a 2-character name by only their given name (e.g. Bai Jiu as “Jiu”). since his given name is only 1 character, it can’t be used on its own. using just the given name generally only works with 3-character names (e.g. Zhao Yuanzhou can be referred to as just “Yuanzhou”).

NOTE 1: calling a character by their given name usually implies closeness and informality. generally it is more common among chinese-speakers to use each other’s full names or their surnames combined with a title.

NOTE 2: to call a character by their surname or 1-character given name, you add on a prefix or suffix (e.g. Xiao-Zhuo or Xiao-Chen with Zhuo Yichen, Wen-jiejie or Xiao-jie with Wen Xiao)

NOTE 3: jiejie, gege, didi, (+meimei, what Wen Xiao called E’shou) are not just addresses exclusive to those of blood/familial relation! they can be used to address anyone younger/older than you and also be used in a flirtatious manner (e.g. Wen Xiao’s “Pei-jiejie” is very different from Bai Jiu’s “Pei-jiejie”)!

characters!

name: Zhu Yan | Zhao Yuanzhou [朱厌 | 赵远舟]

abbreviation: ZYZ

nicknames/titles: Great Demon (大妖 -> Da Yao), Stinky Brat (臭小子 -> Chou Xiaozi)

who uses what:

Wen Xiao: Zhao Yuanzhou, Da Yao, Zhu Yan (early on)

Zhuo Yichen, Li Lun, some minor characters: Zhao Yuanzhou, Zhu Yan

Pei Sijing: Zhao Yuanzhou, Da Yao

Bai Jiu, Ying Lei: Zhao Yuanzhou

Ying Zhao: Chou Xiaozi

name: Wen Xiao [文潇]

abbreviation: WX

nicknames/titles: Baize Goddess (白泽神女 -> Baize Shennü), Wen Xiao-xiaojie, Wen-daren, Shennü-daren, Wen-jiejie, Xiao-jie, Xiao’er, Archivist Wen (文典藏 -> Wen-diancang)

who uses what:

Zhao Yuanzhou: Wen Xiao, Wen Xiao-xiaojie (early on)

Zhuo Yichen, Pei Sijing: Wen Xiao

Bai Jiu: Wen-jiejie, Xiao-jie

Ying Lei, Ying Zhao, Zhu Yin: Shennü-daren

Fan Ying: Xiao’er

minor characters (often people who aren’t close/are lower in position): Wen-daren, Wen-diancang

name: Zhuo Yichen [卓翼宸]

abbreviation: ZYC

nicknames/titles: Xiao-Zhuo, Xiao-Zhuo-daren, Zhuo Yichen-daren, Xiao-Zhuo-ge, Zhuo-daren, Xiao-Chen, Zhuo Xiao-Chen, Commander Zhuo (卓统领 -> Zhuo-tongling)

who uses what:

Zhao Yuanzhou: Zhuo Yichen, Xiao Zhuo, Xiao Zhuo-daren, Zhuo-daren, Zhuo Xiao-Chen (once), Zhuo Yichen-daren (once)

Wen Xiao: Zhuo Yichen, Xiao Zhuo

Pei Sijing: Zhuo-daren, Xiao Zhuo (very rarely), Zhuo-tongling

Bai Jiu: Xiao-Zhuo-ge, Xiao-Zhuo-daren

Ying Lei: Xiao-Zhuo-daren

Li Lun: Zhuo Yichen

Zhuo Yixuan (ZYC’s brother): Xiao-Chen

Fan Ying, Tiandu citizens: Zhuo-tongling

minor characters: Zhuo Yichen, Xiao-Zhuo-daren, Zhuo Yichen-daren

name: Pei Sijing [裴思婧]

abbreviation: PSJ

nicknames/titles: Pei-daren, Pei Sijing-daren, Pei-jiejie, A-jie, jiejie, Pei-jie

who uses what:

Zhao Yuanzhou, Zhuo Yichen: Pei Sijing, Pei-daren

Wen Xiao: Pei Sijing (once), Pei-daren, Pei-jiejie, Pei Sijing-daren (once), jiejie (once)

Pei Siheng: A-jie, jiejie (occasionally)

Bai Jiu: Pei-jiejie

Ying Lei: Pei-jie

minor characters: Pei-daren

name: Bai Jiu [白玖] / implied to originally be named Situ Jiu [司徒玖], after his father’s surname, and took the name Bai Jiu after his mother, Bai Yan

abbreviation: BJ

nicknames/titles: Xiao-Jiu, Little White Bunny (小白兔 -> Xiao Baitu), Bai Jiu-didi, Bai-daren + Bai Jiu-daren

who uses what:

all characters: Bai Jiu

Demon Hunting Bureau squad, Zhen Mei, Wen Zongyu: Xiao-Jiu

Zhao Yuanzhou: Xiao Baitu

Wen Xiao, Pei Siheng: Bai Jiu-didi

minor characters: Bai-daren, Bai Jiu-daren

name: Ying Lei [英磊]

abbreviation: YL

nicknames/titles: Little Mountain God (小山神 -> Xiao-Shanshen), Shanshen, Shanshen-daren, Little Ying Lei, child

who uses what:

all characters: Ying Lei

Zhao Yuanzhou: Xiao-Shanshen, Shanshen (once)

Wen Xiao, Zhuo Yichen: Xiao-Shanshen, Shanshen-daren

Zhu Yin: Little Ying Lei

Ying Zhao: child

name: Li Lun [离仑]

abbreviation: LL

nicknames/titles: daren, Boss (老大 -> Lao Da)

who uses what:

almost all characters: Li Lun

Ao Yin: daren

the pagoda spirit: Boss/Lao Da

name: Pei Siheng [裴思恒]

abbreviation: PSH

nicknames/titles: A-Heng, didi

who uses what:

almost all characters: Pei Siheng

Pei Sijing: A-Heng, didi

[dearmyloveleys]

"Zhao Yuanzhou once told me that he often stared into space alone by the sea in the Wilderness. Because the sea never cared about his sadness and loneliness. The sea has a lot to worry about. Because, everyday, ten thousand waves are born from its embrace. And everyday, ten thousand lives fall into it and their souls sink into the deep sleep. I didn't understand it then, but after he left, I understood that bone-deep sadness. It was the base colour of his soul, like a broken song, vast, distant, and desolate."

- Zhuo Yichen, Ep 35 (Extra)

I’m not sure if this is has been raised by the fandom in the early days when the series started airing, but I find it so… it’s not foreshadowing, it’s just… (melancholic) now that we have the full view of everything. Zhao Yuanzhou’s name in Chinese characters are 赵远舟. 远 (yuan) — far away, 舟 (zhou) — boat. I recall there was an episode where he, ZYC and WX were making fun of each other’s names. Though, in that scene, they only mention his birth name, Zhu Yan, which funnily enough, the Yan (厌) does indeed stand for ‘annoying’ as the other two speculate. Yet it also stands for loathing, or be fed up with something. His birth name represents the slow grudge and despair he bears for his birth Demonic nature, the things out of his control. His human name doesn't fare any better. In fact, it is rather tragic.

Yuan Zhou — a far away boat, never docking on the shores of tranquility. It's a gifted human name from a person he cares about, yet, the humanity that this represents is innately unreachable. Gifts never have permanence in his life after all. He is always physically on the shore, looking out at the ocean of the Wilderness. He looks out to this yuan zhou, this metaphorical boat beyond his grasp, floating on this ocean of intertwining dreams and nightmares. The ocean is his ironic safe haven, as he finds that it "never cared for his sadness or loneliness". But his mind is simultaneously also the boat itself, drifting endlessly in sadness and loneliness. He looks out into the ocean where ten thousand waves are born and ten thousand lives are taken, each scenario representing the endless birth and death of his hopes and despair. He looks out at the ocean and sees himself in its waves.

As humans, regardless of culture, our names stand for our hopes and wishes. Names have power, in fiction and mythology, they are often a character’s prophecy. His human name reflects the human side of him that is unreachable and desolate, adrift at sea never settling on the shore - this human nature that is in sight but never attainable. On the other end, his Demon birth name reflects who he is and what he loathes, but it also comes with fond memories. To be a human or a demon? To which he says, "Be whatever you want to become". The tragic truth is, deep down, he cares for both his identities. He doesn’t want to solely become either. It wounds him that the two sides of him, the demon and the human can never truly reconcile. His nature eternally jostles with what he nurtures. Neither of his names comes with meanings of comfort — his prophecy is one of endless contradiction and encompasses his pain that is thoroughly evoked through the series. The base colour of his soul, like a broken song, vast, distant, and desolate.

Though there is hope, as the story reiterates. As far as mythological prophecies go, fate will bite you in the ass if you avoid it. ZYZ doesn’t avoid these prophecies. Instead, when a human and a demon shows him that both sides can be loved, he fulfils both identities of himself. His self-fulfilling prophecy that he expects from all his inner grief and turmoil, comes true, but not in the way fate expects. But fate cannot condemn him any longer. He still has met his dictated end, hasn't he? He hasn't tempted it in any way or form. Light shines through, and I believe the Heavens are chuckling away in a corner of their world. They let him go to be whatever he wants to be, and he becomes the guiding love that he has always wanted.

[alipeeps]

Episode 19

SERIOUS SPOILERS in this one, jfc do NOT read ahead if you have not already watched ep 19!! 😭😭

Wait where did all the other demons go? We only saw Li Lun let one out and leave with her.

"You're the reason I have nothing" says Li Lun??

Ooooh Li Lun killed all the people keeping the demons in cages... and the "fight" we saw a glimpse of earlier was Zhu Yan stopping Li Lun from killing one more person.

So Zhu Yan was trying to stop Li Lun from indiscriminate killing, which would surely get him in trouble, and Li Lun saw it as Zhu Yan putting humans over demons and protecting people who had hurt demons...

Oh SHIT!! Oh wait! That flare of power when he stopped him was NOT intentional! It was the ever-burning fire branch that was absorbed into Zhu Yan.... and Li Lun is a fucking tree demon! He accidentally kinda set him on fire?

He didn't mean to hurt you Li Lun, just to stop you from killing!

Shit he killed the clinic patients, not even the bad guys who imprisoned the demons. As I said, indiscriminate killing. But as far as Li Lun is concerned, all humans are the same, all are guilty...

Okay point of order, how come Li Lun calls him Zhao Yuanzhou in these flashbacks? Cos I thought he only got given that name by the Baize Goddess, and I thought he only started spending time with her later on, when he was mired in sadness? The Zhu Yan in these scenes is still young and (relatively) carefree?

Uh, your Zhuo Yichen fanboy is showing Zhu Yan...

Ayyy gang to the rescue!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! What the fuck did you do to my baby boy?!!!

Divine power?! Is Bai Jiu part-god? Is he like Ying Lei and half-demon, half-god?

Ugh, Zhu Yan telling the others to get Bai Jiu to safety and confronting Li Lun alone... except he is NOT alone because Zhou Yichen stayed with him!

Oh dang. Well, she wasn't wrong that Li Lun would want to torture her in front of Zhu Yan.

Ooooh so he WAS trying to curse her and control her into hating Zhu Yan.

Another thing I love about this drama is the realism... which sounds daft to say about a very much fantasy drama but what I mean is bits like this... when the script/story calls for a character to get wet/be submerged in water... they actually DO it. There's no CGI/fake underwater scenes, and no actors with hair and clothing that has basically just been spritzed so it is barely damp... they actually get them properly submerged and wet.

Yes boi, use that ice water power!!

Damn boy, you so fucken cool...

Oooh he cut him with a blade coated in his own blood... and therefore malicious energy...

"I now carry blood with malicious energy"... meaning.. he didn't before? Or just... his malicious qi levels weren't previously high enough that it infected his blood too? I mean... Li Lun obviously knew about him absorbing malicious qi, hence the whole blood moon plot...

Oh fucking GO Wen Xiao!!

Took that fucker by complete surprise and swiped his weapon right out of his hands!!

Smash it! See how he fucking likes it!

Okay that was dumb, you decided to try and use it instead.

Oooh we saw that earlier when he escaped after the seal was broken - the skin on his arm is turning woodlike...

Yup... as I had surmised... Zhu Yan accidentally damaged him with the ever-burning fire back then... and because he is a tree demon... the fire of that burn has never gone out. He's been burning in agony ever since.

Aaaaaand that's another nice helping of guilt for Zhu Yan, who no matter how he tries seems to keep hurting people due to things that are out of his control...

Oh shiiiiit so being sealed by the baize token actually controlled the fire from the ever-burning wood. Otherwise he would have burned to ashes.

So if she hadn't sealed him, he'd be dead. And now that the seal is broken... he is burning again...

Wait up is he actually burning up right now? Like he's gonna die now? With 13 eps left?

Jfc give Hou Minghao ALL the fucking acting awards!!

So... the big bad is dead and gone? And we're only just over half way through.

So... am guessing the plot will now revolve around how to avert the two impending disasters of:

the wilderness collapsing if the baize token cannot be repaired; and

Zhu Yan destroying the human world when he inevitably loses control of the malicious qi.

Oh and here comes Chongwu fucking camp to join the party...

Oh so the bowl had the Yao water in it? But now it's polluted with blood...

I wouldn't necessarily believe what Li Lun said dude...

Yeah keep telling yourself that babes....

Oh wait, I hadn't realised it was Chongwu Camp AND Demon Hunting Bureau together?!

And let me guess, the purpose behind this unprecedented cordial entente is... to kill Zhu Yan?

Oh, arrest him is it? So your guy can then kill him and take his core.

Pleeeeeease tell me Demon Hunting Bureau isn't gonna sign off on this shit?

Since when is Sijing the Prime Minister's representative?

Also, Wen Xiao, sweetie, you should NOT be relying on Sijing to back you up... she's a fucking mole for Chongwu Camp!!

Aaaand there it is.

Uuuuuh okay... so mum is not dead? And yeah... there sure is a lot to explain to your kid fella... like how the fuck he's got divine power?!!

Can't see how Chongwu Camp's prison could hold Zhu Yan any better than Demon Hunting Bureau's if he really wanted to leave? (Am not seeing any demon-power suppressing charms). So I guess for the moment he doesn't want to leave...

Oh my, has our boy Yichen finally managed to acknowledge that things aren't quite so simple as black and white?

He sure fucking is!

I'm... starting to wonder if the dude behind the mask is gonna turn out to be... said prime minister?

Ooooh I stand corrected, they did put a bunch of suppressing tokens in his cell....

(Ngl my whumper's heart is still kinda hoping he will get injured/tortured whilst his powers are suppressed.... come on Chongwu Camp... do this one thing for me... )

Oh shiiiiiiit the Prime Minister is the "scholar" who attacked the dragon mountain god. He's had it out for demons since the start!!

Uhhhh that's a new look for Wen Xiao?!! I'm gonna guess this is a demon pretending to be her? Perhaps the same one that was doing the same in Li Lun's dream world?

Oh MAN, he were go again with flashback city!! And Zhu Yan has fucking known from the start that Sijing was a Chongwu spy and has used it against them!!

Oohhhh those fuckers lied to her that her brother was still alive and tried to use that as leverage - not knowing that she already knew for certain he was definitely dead.

So she's been pretending to be their mole all this time... to help Zhu Yan find out what they are up to.

Ahhhhh fucking epic!!

So Chongwu camp has been using demons for research... just like the clinic Li Lun and Zhu Yan busted all those years ago?

Okay wait I am CONFUSED. It was only 8 years ago that he and Li Lun busted the clinic? And that's what Li Lun was sealed for (so he's only been sealed for 8 years?) and that's when Zhu Yan wigged out under the blood moon?

So... Zhu Yan had already been hanging out with baize goddess long before that? And been given her brother's name?

But was also visiting the mortal world with Li Lun, seemingly carefree? So this hairstyle...

and this....

were a matter of maybe days apart? Was the grey hairstyle just something he used for visiting the mortal world with Li Lun? But we also saw him with that hairstyle being reprimanded by Ying Zhao for visiting the mortal world when he hadn't fully mastered malicious qi, which I had assumed was when he was much younger? Which is why I had assumed the grey plaited hairstyle indicated younger Zhu Yan? But I guess not?

Oh damn... mystery mask dude is... Xiao Bai's master? Ngl I did NOT fucking see that coming!

And he's been experimenting on demons all this time?

Has... has he experimented on Xiao Bai? Is that why he has divine power and was worried when asked if he was a demon? Have this fucker used demon/divine blood on him?

Oh FUCK and that's why he wants Zhu Yan's core! For his experiments!! A great demon's core!

Ohhh fuck that doesn't sound good...

I think this might be a trap...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WHAT

THE

FUCK?!!

NO! Noooooooooo!!! Not my baby Xiao Jiu!!

I AM NOT OKAY!!!

[fiftysevenacademics]

Zhu Yan/Zhao Yuanzhou has completely taken over my entire soul. What a great character! Hou Minghao's acting has me completely convinced this is a world-weary, kinda slutty otherworldly being who has lived for millennia even though he looks young and beautiful, and I am living for it. The makeup, hair, and costume departments are knocking it out of the park, too. It all adds up to a demon that can truly possess you.

[morweneledhwen]

Okay, so. I tried a thing. It's a first one for me.

Not just the fandom, but writing a fic in English from scratch. This was a most educational experience.

Characters:

Zhao Yuanzhou | Zhu Yan & Li Lun

Summary:

Zhu Yan learns how to speak, finds a companion, chooses a name for himself and cultivates some basic emotions.

– Not necessarily in that order.

[renshengs]

so,,, i'm on episode 3 of fangs and fortune and while i'm loving zhu yan interactions with both wen xiao and yi chen i'm feeling uncomfortable with him knowing them when they were teens :( do you know if that time with wean xiao she was over 18? when he killed yi chen's father and brother, was yi chen there?

anon, i'm going to be honest and say none of us have any clue how many years older wen xiao is compared to 23/24 year old zhuo yichen; the only thing i can say is that she seems to be significantly older (3-10 years) given that the show explains that she's older enough for zhuo yichen to call her "小姑姑/auntie". zhuo yichen would've been 15 when he lost his family to zhao yuanzhou's massacre, but episode 1 where zhuo yichen is 23 is their very first meeting. zhao yuanzhou is 30,000+ years old, so the age difference between him and basically every other main character in the show is unavoidable. if it's just the "knowing wx when she was potentially a teen" part that makes you uncomfortable, their romance subplot very clearly only starts in the present where we can assume she's probably anywhere from mid 20's to early 30's. (also frankly their romantic tension never really goes anywhere either, it's just kinda there. it's not the focus of the show).

to address your concern with wen xiao's ambiguous age in the flashbacks, to my knowledge it has never been explicitly stated, so it's left open to audience interpretation. since the actress is the same in the flashbacks and in the present, i think you could easily assume she was a young adult 8 years ago if that eases you, though i maintain their romance doesn't begin until she's at least mid 20's, nor do i think zhao yuanzhou was interested in her 8 years ago. if it's the general age differences in ships that make you uncomfortable, then i'd advise you to probably not watch the show for the sake of your own comfort (or just ship him with his ex boyfriend, who is also a 30,000+ year old demon).

simultaneously i feel it is necessary to point out that 30,000+ is a completely fantasy and unimaginable age for any humanlike being, and that he would have been absolutely ancient by the time any of the main squad were born anyway, but also that he has no romantic or sexual tension with any of them until the beginning of the story.

ultimately it's up to you whether you want to continue or not! i think it's very important you don't feel pressured to choose to continue, but also to remember that some stories aren't meant to depict things realistically, especially not in the xianxia genre, where age gap romances are almost a given.

that being said, if you do choose to continue, fangs of fortune has been worth every minute of my time with its characters, their relationships, and its top-tier cinematography. hope i was able to provide clear answers to your concerns :)