[xiaolanhua]

LEGEND OF THE FEMALE GENERAL 锦月如歌 (2025) Dir. Jeffrey Chiang

[da-man-si]

This is outrageous!

[koremakaria]

In Ancient Time All Men Were Not Created Equal Especially Grandsons.

This was such a beautiful scene between Wei Yan and his maternal grandmother. In order to better understand the gravity of Wei Yan's decision we have to look at their family tree. I made a rough one below. In chinese culture, due to the strict paternal ancestry tracing, different terms exist for your maternal and paternal family members depending on your gender and your place within the family hierarchy. For example, your older uncle on your father side is called something different from your older uncle from your mother side. The same rule applies to how a grandchild would refer to their maternal and paternal grandparents. In addition to this there is a concept of in-family and out-family.

In-family include descendants from your sons and grandsons and so on and so forth. Out-family include your daughters and their descendants. The rational being that your daughters will marry into other families. Although keeping their fathers' surname unlike many western traditions. Children born from daughters belong to the children's fathers' family and while they are all still family they are referred to as out-grandchildren. Wei Yan and Wei Shao are first cousins but they are not equal with Wei Zhao being the in-family and Wei Yan being the out-family.

Lady Xu initially thought that Wei Yan wanted to leave. Like she was heart broken because his father and her clan are technically warring and the fact that his father kidnapped her precious daughter is still an open wound to her. Lady Xu was super honest about her fears and why she never wanted him to have any military control. Like it was brutal. But she's ready to let her grandson go if that was what Wei Yan wanted. This would mean the end of their family relationship. That Wei Yan would embrace his father's (bad guy) legacy. That he might enjoy a more prestigious standing / more power and influence as a young master of his father's family. Like it makes so much sense for this time period. But Wei Yan chose a different path.

He chooses the Wei family that raised him

Like it was hard for Wei Yan to hear that his grandmother didn't fully trust him but he now also understands why. It's not because of what he did but simply part of how he came into world. Then for him to make the decision to stay made things clearer for Lady Xu. Because she gave Wei Yan the opportunity to leave without blaming him and Wei Yan said nope...I think not!!! It was such a beautiful scene. Wei Yan was like I love my grandma!!! 😍 awwww soooo much feelsss

[xiakeponz]

"shouldn't you (also) say a little something"

"C'mere."

Goddamn, lmao

[pinkbiskit]

I think his chest grew 7inches more xD hahaha

[barananduen-blog]

Umbrella Scenes in Ancient CDramas

A screencap collection from:

An Ancient Love Song, The Blood of Youth, In Blossom, Butterflied Lover, Divine Destiny, The Journey of Chong Zi, The Legend of Shen Li, The Longest Promise, Love Between Fairy and Devil, Love You Seven Times, Till the End of the Moon, The Untamed, Word of Honor

... beautiful, melancholic, and even ominous

Sources:

Img 1 (video) - ominous arrival - Butterflied Lover

Img 2-3 - simple pleasures - Love Between Fairy and Devil

Img 4 - fight on! - Till the End of the Moon

Img 5-7 - fated reunion - Love You Seven Times

Img 8 - melancholic remembrance - The Legend of Shen Li

Img 9 - iron umbrella - The Blood of Youth

Img 10-11 - meeting you - Butterflied Lover

Img 12-13 - point! set! match! - In Blossom

Img 14 - musical greetings - An Ancient Love Song

Img 15-17 - always here to protect you - Divine Destiny

Img 18-20 - a meeting and a departure - Love You Seven Times

Img 21 - tearful parting - The Untamed

Img 22-23 - to love and to be used - Word of Honor

Img 24 - meeting Xiao Bai - The Longest Promise

Img 25 - infiltration! - The Journey of Chong Zi

Img 26-27 - deadly invitation - In Blossom

To see all themed screencap sets, click here: [# cdrama themed screencap set]

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

I find the characterization of Zhu Yan in Fangs of Fortune fascinating. He has a very impish/Peter Pan vibe, where he doesn't seem to take anything seriously with a mix of child-like wonder, but he also feels a deep sense of responsibility, both to protect things/people and guilt about "his" actions.

It's not clear if Zhu Yan was born as the malicious energy vessel or he became it later in life, but he has a reputation of being evil from before 8 years ago and we only ever see him being good when he's in control, so Zhu Yan was the vessel and lost control/killed people for a long time. However, he seems to be doing okay. He had his friends: Li Lun, former Blaize Goddess, and the Mountain God Grandpa, he looks happy in the younger flashbacks, and notably, everyone who knows him well likes him (even if they find him annoying).

Then all in a very short span of time (like a few days?), Zhu Yan watches Li Lun go on a murder spree, maims him by mistake with the Ever Burning Fire, and then sees him being imprisoned. Right afterwards, he loses control and kills his other best friend (Blaize Goddess the former) and the entire Demon Hunting Bureau

This is understandably too much for Zhu Yan to take, so he struggles on for 8 years, probably just waiting for Zhuo Yi Chen to be old enough to kill him and trying to relieve his guilt:

When the show begins, he has decided to approach Zhuo YiChen and teach him how to use the sword properly. He's probably tired of waiting but also testing if ZYC can use the sword because Zhu Yan is ridiculously hard to kill and it seems like the older brother never could use the sword correctly.

Then running through the whole timeline is the fact that Zhu Yan is trying to keep his vow to protect the Wilderness that he made 500 years prior. He has a sense of responsibility and this means he kind of has to stay alive because if he dies, a new, unpredictable vessel will be chosen and who knows what they will do? I feel like ejecting his core and committing suicide would be possible, but he can't because only Sword Death would stop a new vessel from being created. The former Blaize Goddess and Mountain God Grandpa both seem to believe that Zhu Yan is the best keeper of the malicious energy and actively try to keep him alive and in control. He also sees it as his responsibility to find the Blaize token, both because it's required but also because he was part of losing it.

He's screwed in 3 different ways, because by nature he randomly kills people, but also by nature he's also extremely compassionate and therefore hates himself for what he can't control, and he also can't take the easy way out because he knows that he's the best keeper of the malicious energy. He's completely trapped and it's no wonder he just wants out... until he has built friendships up around himself again and then he wants to live.

[alipeeps]

This is what surprised me a little bit when we realised that everything - including the split with Li Lun - happened only 8 years ago.

Because when he explains why the baize goddess gave him her brother's name, it was because he was "mired in sadness" and we see that flashback of her telling him one day he would find the person who makes him want to live.

So he definitely was already sorrowful and self-loathing long before the blood moon/split with Li Lun. It hasn't just been 8 years of self-reproach and wanting to die... he's felt that way a long time, long enough for the baize goddess to be well aware of it during their friendship.

I think the glimpses we see of his past - his visits to the mortal world with Li Lun etc - seem happy and carefree because he actively chooses to be that way... as we see so often in the Zhao Yuanzhou of the current time, he doesn't mope and seem sad all the time.... he buries that deep inside and puts on a facade of lightheartedness. But it's not just that it's a facade to fool others... he genuinely chooses to see the best in things, to see the joy and beauty of the world. It's just... not enough to outweigh his sorrow and fear at what he is... and what he fears to again become.

[lansjue]

FANGS OF FORTUNE 大梦归离 dir.  Edward Guo, Luo Luo, Wei Nan, 2024.

[alipeeps]

Zhao Yuanzhou be like:

[mutantfactor]

Fangs of Fortune 𓆩𓆪 Zhuo Yichen & Zhao Yuanzhou's umbrella sword dance

[artifexvigen]

What I love about the dynamic between the Doctor, the Master, and the Rani, is that they have a relationship so deep and complex, so far beyond what we humans define as friendship, far beyond love, far beyond anything we know. Not romantic, not platonic, but some secret third thing. And they're all batshit crazy.

Like, sure, the Doctor comes off way more well adjusted than either of them, but with the amount of trauma and unresolved feelings in that head, they're absolutely not sane.

The Master is FAMOUSLY insane, driven mad by the drum beat in their head.

And the Rani is also...fucking insane. Not quite as bad as the Master, but still insane. This is a woman who will genetically modify you to turn you into a tree just to see what would happen.

They're the perfect trio of Chaotic Good, Chaotic Evil, and Chaotic Neutral.

[death-by-sc0tland]

i never agreed with the argument that dhawan!master must be pre-missy because “it wouldn’t be consistent with missy’s arc”, because in my opinion the master’s reaction to learning about the timeless child very much goes with their character and with missy’s arc as well

i think the misconception some people make is that missy’s arc was about becoming good, which yes, in a way it was but never just for the sake of being good. missy wanted very badly to become the doctor’s friend again - and she knew she had to try to become good in order to do that. like fundamentally as a person the master doesn’t care about being good and i don’t think they ever would but they were willing to try for the doctor because the doctor matters to them that much.

missy believes that her and the doctor are equals and that only they are worthy of each other’s friendship, as she doesn’t really take the doctor’s friendships with humans seriously (comparing them to pets etc.)(and we know the doctor also sees them as equals when he says to bill that missy is the only person in the world that’s even remotely like him). and i think that’s something the master has believed ever since they first became friends, and why they still keep chasing the doctor.

she goes through so much change and pain just for the doctor. she even dies because of it. after she regenerates into the the master, he eventually goes to gallifrey. maybe trying to look for the doctor, who knows. he looks into the matrix and stumbles upon the whole timeless child thing. he finds out that the person he always believed to be his true equal isn’t like him at all and is actually so much more and that must have fucked with his brain massively. and not only that, also he finds out that his oldest and basically the only friend has been exploited and abused and the time lords hid all of that information away. so the master goes ballistic - he destroys gallifrey and then goes on to find the doctor to take out his rage and grief on her.

now ofc if you want to hc dhawan!master as pre-missy then go ahead cause the canon of this show doesn’t matter anyway but yeah. saying that dhawan being after missy makes no sense is just incorrect in my opinion

[letthefairyinyoufly]

"If looks could kill"

[clj-art-blog]

DFQC and his incredible head tilt.

[psychei-luv]

my bby villain serving the hero the classic her or the world question . MUWAHAHAHAHA

[agendratum]

till the end of the moon as text posts (6/?)

[crookedfandomquill]

TTEOTM becomes really funny when you consider it from the perspective of all the guards, servants, doctors, generals, and advisors watching Tantai Jin absolutely crash out over the woman who by all appearances tried to murder him THRICE

[maggiecheungs]

bai “surprise motherfucker” lu reuniting with luo :) yunxi

TILL THE END OF THE MOON (2023) // LOVE IS SWEET (2020)