#jia zhao

[llama--plumbobsims]

i'd never i'd never i'd never

get you off my mind

[purplesimmer455]

They came out together, and Julian kissed Lila. Lila then held Julian's hands and gazed into his eyes.

Jia then hugged her grandson and told him how proud she was of him. Julian hugged her back, trying not to cry. His mom and dad had passed when he was a kid, and grandma Jia had raised him since then. Lila was the same, her parents had passed when she was a teen, and she's lived with her aunt and uncle. They're in Windenburg, so Lila and Julian made plans to take the kids and Jia and visit them once the kids are a bit older.

[movielosophy]

Fangs of Fortune | Prison break.

[ajaxbell]

Fangs of Fortune (Bai Ze Ling): perfect on pure aesthetics alone, but also it will tear your heart out while being very gay.

I was lured in to this show by Tumblr gifsets and friends on Bluesky talking about how queer and poly this show is. I'm old and I've been in fandom more than half my life. I know how to read queer subtext. I'm also pretty well versed in cdramas, so again, I know how to read subtext. So I went into this ready to, well, read the subtext.

But no this show is just puts the queer it right there in the text. The vague information we have about Chinese censorship repeatedly left me asking, 'wait how are they getting away with this?' Like some of these jokes and implications are just so blatant it seems incredible this show ever made it to being broadcast. It just feels very much like queer media made for queer people even if t's more subtle than something western like Queer as Folk.

Even without the heavy coloring of gay this show is incredible and so much more than I expected from the title and the promo. The premise is essentially the death of the goddess, who governed relations between humans and demons, leads to an influx of demons in the human world. This brings together the goddess's disciple, Wen Xiao--seeking to restore the goddess's power. WX's childhood sweetheart, Zhuo Yichen--seeking to restore the demon-hunting bureau after the powerful demon Zhu Yan killed his father and brother. It opens on Zhu Yan, in human disguise as as Zhao Yuanzhou, volunteering to help the imperial court restore the demon-hunting bureau to quell the chaos. They are joined by Pei Sijing, a retired female general from the rival demon hunting sect, and a very young doctor (and comic relief) named Bai Jiu. It starts off as a sort of monster-of-the-week with a grim Scooby gang doing detective work and fighting monsters. Each major demon has a mini arc that relates to the larger case (restoring the power of the goddess to balance the realms), and they are repeatedly blocked by either the demons or the rival demon hunting sect. Each mini arc also acts as a mirror or parallel story to slowly revealed backstory of all the main characters as well. In true cdrama fashion it's a mix of adventure, intense emotional drama, romance, and comedy. And queer and poly jokes and romance. It also has a kind of manga vibe in the way the comedy is woven into the more serious story, and in the fantastical depiction of the characters and how the story unfolds.

It is also just insanely beautiful. Every single shot is lovely. The costumes, make up, and hair are incredible. The casting director made all the major demons inhumanly beautiful. The sets are spectacular. The effects are nicely done. Every bit of has the vague surreality of a fairytale. The perfection of each shot ads to the manga vibe, as if we're seeing each critical storytelling panel come alive. There's recurring water-based special effects that are just gorgeous. Based on aesthetics alone this show would be worth watching to me. That it is combined with a complex, very emotional story is a spectacular gift to the watcher. A lot of the negative reviews of this complain about the staginess or that it's overly contrived in how each scene is shot. But I think it's gorgeous, works perfectly with the storytelling, and if we criticize art on whether it achieves the goal it intended then this show is doing exactly and perfectly what it means to do and doing it beautifully.

Additionally the acting is also very good, but Neo Hou is the stand out for sure. I enjoyed him in Back from the Brink, especially the later part of the story, but in Fangs of Fortune he's transformed, utterly embodying the role, the way Dylan Wang is Dongfang Qingcang in Love Between Fairy and Devil. Neo Hou has the right look, a slightly uncanny beauty perfect for a gorgeous immortal not of this world. The show does incredible things with his styling between the various looks and personas the role requires. But in acting he somehow manages to utterly transform his face and demeanor to manifest each aspect of the character as story demands changes from him.

There is a lot of crying in this drama. Like early on I joked that there was going to be a character crying a single perfect tear in every ep. Lol nope. Multiple single perfect tears per ep and many outright full on sobbing scenes. This show is just waiting to rip your heart out and you see it right from the beginning. But it was such sweet pain all the way through. Just a truly engaging and utterly wrenching set of intertwined stories.

My only criticism is that the pacing falls apart in the last 3 episodes. But overall the story is solid through the end, though like so many cdramas, it's saved by the epilogue.

You should absolutely watch it if you want the chaotic bi polycule (it's her, her girlfriend, her boyfriend, her boyfriend's boyfriend who is also her boyfriend, their two idiot sons, and her boyfriend's ex-who is also eventually sort of his boyfriend again), or if you want your heart torn out and stomped on. Or even if you just like really gorgeous cinematic things. Also if you watch, please don't skip the ending credits, as they change as the arcs change, and the radiant joy Tian Jiarui has as he dances is an excellent antidote to the emotions of each episode.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Fangs of Fortune (2024)

Zhuo Yichen stabs Zhao Yuanzhou || Fangs Of Fortune EP 29

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ARIIiq0MgSg

[emo4r]

it's so serious for me

[starlitnightdream]

zhao yuanzhou you absolute cutie LMAOOO BAHAHA

full confidence- LEAVE IT TO ME

about turn and walks back LMAOO PLS this great demon WHY IS BRO CUTER THAN ALL THESE DUDES BAHAH

[cinematicjourney]

Caught by the Tides (2024) | dir. Jia Zhangke

[swiftletinthecloud]

THE DOUBLE 墨雨云间 (2024) | Jiang Li / Xue Fang Fei's Allies

@asiandramanet july bingo:layout (insp)

[derangedfujoshi]

Today was rough, have a candy!

~ Which one will you pick? ~

[themostexquisitelady]

ZHAO TAO "Caught by the Tides" Premiere during the 77th Cannes Film Festival (May 18)

[thedramagarden]

The Princess Royal (2024) | Chinese Drama

[purplesimmer455]

A few days later, Julian, Lila, and Julian's grandma Jia headed to Tartosa so Julian and Lila could get married. They hired a nanny for the kids, and the three of them got dressed in their fanciest outfits and headed to the courthouse. Lila kissed Julian's cheek before their group headed in.

[movielosophy]

Fangs of Fortune | It's been 8 years.

[ajaxbell]

Fangs of Fortune truth in advertising. Yes it is this gay.

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Fangs of Fortune (2024)

Truth Eye from Zhu Yan to Li Lun to Zhuo.

Watch this video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCas_xHJYql/