As a Fang Rui fan, my greatest disappointment is his portrayal (and non-portrayal) in fanfics. I can tell enough from the tags in lofter (Chinese tumblr), weibo (Chinese twitter) and most importantly in the King's Avatar's merchandise, that Fang Rui is not among the most popular or beloved characters.
One of the best part of The King's Avatars are how brilliantly written and diverse the characters are. However, with so many characters, naturally people will focus on the characters they like most, and others they are less invested in will get only impressions in their mind, which sometimes, if not often, this leads to one-dimensional portrayal. It seems that the strongest impression that others have of Fang Rui is his playfulness, to the point almost frivolous, always joking in so many stories (and sometimes commentaries). Otherwise, Fang Rui tends to be forgotten, or worse, described as unimportant and weak even in future Happy or National team.
WHICH FRUSTRATES ME TO NO END. (sobbing for my baby, he deserves better. hugging all the merch i have of him, which is saddeningly comparably few)
It's Fang Rui's complexity that draws me in, and to see him summed up into merely one of his traits, it's just heartbreaking (and great injustice).
In a way, I can understand. First, Fang Rui shows up late, like halfway to the novel, or it can also be said at the final arc. By then, people are likely to already have favorites and attached to them, so his appearance might not be welcomed, especially since he's the main force of Happy, he naturally takes away others' spotlight (which is no fault of his own). Second, he is the master of dirty playstyle, when he wins, it tends not to be particularly special or overwhelming, and when he loses, it tends to be ugly, even I admit it as much, because it has such obvious weakness/counter, making those losses definitely stick more in mind as if he loses more than he wins. His playstyle is polarizing, not only for the fans in the novel, but also, it seems, even out of it. However, it takes certain person, certain traits, to be able to reach the height of mastery of dirty playstyle, and being frivolous is not one of them.
Thus, in order to show how much of an excellent pro player and teammate Fang Rui is, I present you Wind Howl.
(happy is put in another time since there's also a bit of ye xiu's halo)
Fang Rui is the key to Wind Howl’s greatest achievement in Season 9.
Originally, Wind Howl’s key to victory was their dirty playing. Now, they had thrown away this key, but they hadn’t found a new key that could continue to open locks. All the locksmiths were struggling away, but no matter how they tried, they just couldn’t unlock that door to victory (Ch1315).
This excerpt from the novel strongly supports my statement.
It can be argued, it’s just talking about dirty playing. It’s not talking about Fang Rui.
Dirty playing is Fang Rui.
In Wind Howl, dirty playing is and will always be synonymous with Fang Rui. Lin Jingyan hasn’t always been a dirty player. Demon Subduer name can also be read (and has been translated into) Three Hits, because of his three-hit combo that he often used in his ’wild days.’ He was once an aggressive player and adjusted his playstyle (Ch1519).
After Fang Rui entered the team, Wind Howl had established this duo nicknamed the Criminal Partners, which had received quite a lot of attention. Even though they failed to make it into the finals, Wind Howl frequently made it to the playoffs. Their strength was not that of a bottom team (Ch1123).
Lin Jingyan and Fang Rui laid and built the foundation to dirty Wind Howl. While they had never considered themselves as the strongest duo in the Alliance or given off championship team vibes under Tang Hao’s leadership, the fans always felt steady with them there (Ch1278). In fact, it had been several years since they’d earned zero points in a match until Season 10 (Ch1282).
Thus, with Lin Jingyan’s departure, Fang Rui was the only one left to hold the soul of the team and key to victory.
The key that went unrecognized and unappreciated by the new captain and younger generation of Wind Howl.
Wind Howl wanted to give up on their roots. For a team, this was no different than demolishing an old building and constructing a new one. Last season, their determination hadn’t been too clear. With Fang Rui at the head, the team had someone who played dirty as a part of their main roster, who was displaying the soul of the old team. With the support of the others in the team, Wind Howl had looked quite strong last season.
Then, Wind Howl’s new core became Tang Hao. He didn’t realize the strength of Fang Rui’s supportive play. In contrast, he and Zhao Yuzhe detested this playstyle. He couldn’t see the soul of the team and only emphasized his own strength. He wanted his own strength to be magnified a step further, and this dirty style wasn’t the support he liked. He was the captain. He was the core. The team revolved around him, and he didn’t like this dirty style support (Ch1281).
This excerpt further supports that the moment Wind Howl’s core is only aggressive Tang Hao, their strength dwindles.
Why such significance? How can dirty playstyle make such difference?
Let’s start with Tang Hao and his aggressive playstyle. It will be easier to draw logical inferences how diffferent it is Wind Howl in Season 9 when they have both Tang Hao and Fang Rui as the core.
Tang Hao only knows how to keep pushing forward. He knows not to retreat. Even if he has to go down, he has to go down swinging. He is brave, fierce, and most importantly, fearless.
Unfortunately, Team Wind Howl’s captain and ace, Tang Hao, was the type who wouldn’t let things slip when he had a reason not to. The more Happy retreated, the fiercer he rushed ahead (Ch1108). Tang Hao also seemed to have understood the situation, and that it was very possible for his character to die the earliest. However, he could also strive for the team’s victory (Ch1110).
Tang Hao is prideful. Ye Xiu even said he’s too arrogant (Ch1109). He doesn’t think much of Gods, let alone veterans and rookies. It also doesn’t help that he’s very opinionated. It shows in how he doesn’t have much respect for Su Mucheng when he hasn’t experienced her as her opponent, solely from his own impression, which influenced Zou Yuan (Ch1146). He only considers Samsara as Wind Howl’s opponent towards championship, he looks down on Xiao Shiqin's Thunderclap (Ch1231). This shows he doesn't think much of the importance of tactics.
Ever since he had gained fame in the All Stars Weekend by usurping the senior as a junior, he naturally possessed a strong psychological advantage when he fought with the older generation. For him, Team Happy was just a combination of old farts and rookies. What was there to fear? A bunch of Gods were even seriously analyzing the members of Happy in the pro player chat. Was that necessary? (Ch1109)
Tang Hao is so prideful that he wants to do everything on his own (Ch1109). He finds it shameful to ask for help or reinforcements. Zhao Yuzhe is also the same. Being the core (and future) of the team, naturally this sets the tone of the current Wind Howl. And this quite possibly mean they are not willing to admit mistakes. Zhao Yuzhe is obviously shown to have this trait (Ch1111-1112).
However, [Tang Hao] didn’t want to lose face. He didn’t want to call for reinforcements because he wanted to take on the burden of the current situation by himself (Ch1109).
Tang Hao believes victory will come when one has strong determination and works hard. No mention of tactics.
Wind Howl’s Captain Tang Hao was furious, severely reprimanding his team for not working hard enough. But could Wind Howl’s problems really be solved just with hard work? Things weren’t that simple! Hard work couldn’t solve everything in Glory. Aside from hard work, you have to have the correct method, and today’s Wind Howl lacked not hard work, nor the determination to pursue victory, but rather the method for obtaining victory, especially in the team competition (Ch1315).
Tang Hao believes that aggressive playstyle is stronger and better than dirty playstyle.
Tang Hao grit his teeth. Because Wind Howl was in a bad situation right now, the outside world had all sorts of criticism for their decision to give up on playing dirty. Tang Hao just hoped that soon, they could prove that their current style was much stronger than playing dirty (Ch1318).
Tang Hao and aggressive playstyle undeniably give off domineering aura and overwhelming presence that are commonly associated with championship teams. Tang Hao and the younger generation have also shown that their superior technical skill and mechanics can put them on equal grounds with the older generation, even going as far as to beat them. Tyranny should be the greatest proof that this playstyle is championship worthy.
I underline the word ‘should’, because the sole championship that Tyranny won was when they have a tactician as their vice captain and Cleric, establishing a dual commander system, and most importantly, their Assassin pulled off the dirtiest play: Life-risking Strike.
Dual commander + Aggressive Tactics + Dirty play = Victory
Doesn’t that formula look familiar?
This is where Fang Rui comes in, as the old guard, the master of dirty play and the King of Thieves, and last but not least, the vice captain and core of the team. Ghost Parade actually gives quite significant display of how the team works in Season 9.
Fang Rui is the second commander and general of Wind Howl. And most of all, he’s the tactician of Wind Howl. This explains why Tang Hao has difficulty in setting up new strategy and tactics in S10. Even Zhao Yuzhe acknowledge his abilities and authority despite his disdain (Ch1111).
Fang Rui sighed. He knew that Tang Hao’s pride wouldn’t allow him to call for help. But at the moment, he really, really needed reinforcement. Switch targets! Under the signal of Fang Rui, Zhao Yuzhe’s group of three sprinted to assist Tang Hao. They left Tang Rou for Fang Rui to fight by himself because they didn’t have any doubts about Fang Rui’s abilities (Ch1109).
Regardless of this, Fang Rui was still a general who could take charge. Although he was shocked at their current state, he wasn’t panicked. It was still too early to determine whether this was a victory or a loss. Wind Howl just needed to reorganize themselves. After all, their team made it to the semifinals last season, so it would be illogical for them to be completely oppressed by a new team like Happy. There was only one explanation: their attacks were too careless. Without having a clear plan behind their attacks, it became very easy for Happy to catch their weaknesses (Ch1110).
Their tempo slowed down immediately, which met Fang Rui’s expectation. The players from Wind Howl slowly started to withdraw. Should they return and launch a total fight with Happy with the help of traps? It seemed that this was the only way! The four made slight adjustments before advancing as a whole. This time, they kept a complete a formation (Ch1110)
Fang Rui is not prideful, or to be more precise, doesn’t care about face, which is in line with his temperament as dirty player. If he has to ask for help, he will (Ch1368). If he has to retreat, he will (Ch1110).
Fang Rui finally yelled for help directly. He wasn’t Tang Hao or Zhao Yuzhe. When it was time to call for reinforcements, he wouldn’t hesitate at all (Ch1368).
Fang Rui is calm and cautious. He takes no chances. This contrast is particularly obvious when hot-blooded Zhao Yuzhe wanted to pursue Happy (Ch1111).
They weren't like Tyranny's veterans who could face a loss with such ease, their mindsets remaining unaffected. The young members of Wind Howl had been obviously over cautious and hesitant. Their uncertainty in tactical decisions were extremely apparent. The pressure they were under caused the members of Wind Howl to panic. Even though they had a veteran like Fang Rui, he couldn't save the whole team. Fang Rui wasn't the head of this team, and his dirty playstyle wasn't one that gave him any advantage in boosting everyone's morale (Ch1073).
Fang Rui knows how to utilize his knowledge and experience, which further supports his role as the tactician in the S9 Wind Howl, and also likely why Tang Hao cannot easily argue with Fang Rui and change Wind Howl playstyle completely. In relation to that,
Fang Rui can assert his authority and challenge Tang Hao.
“In important playoff matches in season two, season four, season five, and season seven, several teams encountered situations like this and lost as a result.” Fang Rui said.
“...” Zhao Yuzhe stared blankly. He didn’t know about these precedents. For a moment, he couldn’t think of which matches Fang Rui was talking about.
Fang Rui didn’t say anything more to him. He glanced at captain Tang Hao, “We’ll continue.”
“Okay.” Tang Hao nodded his head (Ch1112).
While the above excerpts clearly implies Fang Rui’s commanding and tactician’s role. Another excerpt suggests that Fang Rui does not use display that capability openly, at least to avoid confusing/different commands during matches (who knows outside of them).
Without captain Tang Hao, there was a clear disagreement to how Wind Howl should fight. The Knight and Cleric weren’t entirely focused on the game. They stole a glance at Fang Rui and Zhao Yuzhe outside of the game. In the end, they didn’t move. Zhao Yuzhe’s was an important part of Wind Howl’s future, but Fang Rui was their team’s most experienced senior. In addition to Fang Rui’s status as vice-captain, the two didn’t move, implying that they recognized Fang Rui’s authority. Zhao Yuzhe’s Beautiful Light rushed out, but discovered that the other two didn’t go with him. This time, he didn’t dare charge into Happy’s enemy ranks so simply. In the end, he could only have his Beautiful Light stop. Outside of the game, he glared fiercely at those two players. He didn’t dare be too brazen to Fang Rui, but he wasn’t scared of those two at all (Ch1111).
In Ghost Parade, it’s implied that the main roster in S9 consists of Brawler, Thief, Elementalist, Knight and Cleric. Qi Master transfer from Excellent Era is mentioned not being played in the playoffs, which means he’s not the usual sixth man (Ch1129). So it’s safe to assume that the old guards make up the most of the main force of S9 Wind Howl. These are the people who have dirty playstyle in their blood and the highest respect towards Fang Rui. It was four against two (Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe).
Fang Rui made all the attempts to welcome Tang Hao. He even deferred to Tang Hao for command. He helped to make all the adjustments so they have strategies that work around aggressive Tang Hao. Otherwise, they won’t go as far as the semifinals after the trouble with their teamwork is found in eighth round.
That year, Wind Howl had made some adjustments to welcome the new core Tang Hao, so they had practiced a few new maps (Ch1175).
Another who had hit the Rookie’s Block hard like Lu Hanwen was Team Wind Howl. It wasn’t a certain person who had hit a block, but rather their entire team. They might have taken a strong lead in the beginning of the season, but starting from the eighth round, their scores began to fluctuate. After getting their then lowest score of 4 points in the eighth round, they managed to score a measly 2 points for the ninth and tenth rounds. As for the eleventh round, they only managed to earn 5 points. Tang Hao was without a doubt a god-level player. In the early stages of assimilating into this team that revolved around a Brawler, the results had been very impressive. However, after several rounds, some of the problems in their teamwork gradually began to show, and the experienced powerhouses easily began to step on this tail that they had managed to grab. Team Wind Howl was unable to adjust within these four rounds, instantly slipping from the upper echelons of the ranking ladder (Ch855).
However, due to the pride or disdain or probably both, Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe don’t seem to recognize the efforts of Fang Rui and the value of dirty playing. In the end, it’s just like Cheng Siyan, Wind Howl reporter, described:
All she saw was Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe showing off their playstyles without restraint, while Fang Rui worked tirelessly to chase after them.
Fang Rui had probably been trying to establish a connection with Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe the entire time, but he was never able to get a response. It was just like that phrase: I treat you well, but you treat me with indifference.
He hadn’t only attempted it once or twice. Fang Rui was unable to synergize with Tang Hao or Zhao Yuzhe over the entire last season. Even after their defeat in the playoffs, Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe still refused to make any changes (Ch1123).
Tang Hao and Wind Howl try to recruit Zhang Xinjie for him being both a Cleric and a tactician, but they don’t realize that was what Fang Rui has been for Wind Howl. He is no master tactician, but he knows strategies and tactics, with them he can bring possibilities to the team.
Wind Howl under Tang Hao can only move forward, there’s no variety, no finesse. They are predictable. But when they still had Fang Rui, their opponents couldn’t be so certain in their predictions. They will always be wary for any surprises.
“He lacks variation and finesse,” Ye Xiu explained.
“Finesse as in… playing dirty?” Chen Guo asked.
“You could say that!” Ye Xiu thought about it carefully for a moment before nodding his head.
Du Ming knew the importance of making the first move and counterattacked immediately. But no matter how threatening he may be, Fang Rui had instantly seen through him. If he had mixed it up a bit, he would have made things much more difficult for Fang Rui (Ch1608).
I’m not surprised that by the end Fang Rui is actually exhausted, physically and mentally. He’s been the one holding the team together, closing all the gaps aggressive Tang Hao left behind.
As seen from Ghost Parade, Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe only know to attack, attack, and attack, they don’t bother to check around and see where their teammates are, whether they need help or simply need them to slow down. And when they got into trouble, they would rather die first than ask for help. Fang Rui needs to pay particular attention to these two, while seeing the situation as a whole, both his side and opponents'. Only by force (setting up traps), he can slow down the tempo, to give a breathing room for himself and the team and also to give trouble to the opponents. That's why Fang Rui makes such difference. Thus:
Fang Rui is the key to Wind Howl’s greatest achievement in Season 9.
Fang Rui is a strong and reliable pro player and teammate.
Just like Wind Howl couldn’t have done better without him, neither could Happy.
Then… what will happen to Wind Howl?
Fang Rui definitely won’t come back to Wind Howl. Zhang Xinjie won’t leave Tyranny.
The key will be in Tang Hao’s hands.
Tang Hao is interesting case. In a glance, his arrogance seems similar to Sun Xiang, and it’s easy to paint them with the same brush. These two excerpts give the best explanation of the source of Tang Hao’s pride.
Tang Hao was proud because everything he had accomplished was worthy of being proud of. No one had doted on him, and the team hadn’t provided him any resources or support, yet despite these circumstances, Tang Hao pushed his way from an unremarkable rookie to the team’s core on his own. And today, he was the leader of Team Wind Howl, the number 8 most popular All-Star (Ch1267).
None of them correctly guessed An Wenyi’s mood, because these god-level players had never met this kind of treatment before. The weak point, the flaw, the dead-last, these descriptions had never been associated with them. Those who could feel that distress in An Wenyi’s heart right now were only those who had experienced what he had – those who’d been ignored, who’d been treated coldly, who hadn’t been valued.
Wind Howl’s Tang Hao was smiling bitterly. This disregard from Samsara put him in a particularly bad mood.
Blue Rain’s Captain Yu Wenzhou also sighed, and said: “He’s suffered a psychological blow.” (Ch1686).
They suggests that in Hundred Blossoms, Tang Hao has been ignored, been treated coldly or hadn’t been valued. In that circumstances, it’s quite likely that no one believes in him, only himself. His arrogance, his looking down on people, possibly stems his distrust of others’ judgment.
If others cannot see his value, why should he trust their judgment about others? He will only trust his own judgment. Gods or no gods, veterans or rookies, they are all the same. He can and will defeat them. He will forge his own path, and he will prove everyone wrong.
Unlike Sun Xiang, Tang Hao’s arrogance stems from his insecurity.
If this is true, his persistence with aggressive playstyle is not merely for victory but also for proving his worth. Acknowledging dirty playstyle probably as good as admitting he is wrong, that he doesn’t worth that much.
While I do not think highly of Tang Hao (and have a bit of a grudge, admittedly), Tang Hao does have genuine passion for Glory and victory. He’s just rather narrow-minded or set in his ways. He just need help to separate his playstyle and his worth.
Tang Hao’s playing looked pathetic, so much so that it didn’t look like he deserved his God status. However, when there was no way out, being able to lower oneself and daring to try such humiliating choices showed just how pure Tang Hao’s pursuit for victory was (Ch1273).
Tang Hao, like Sun Xiang, has the potential for growth. It’s only the matter of willingness to learn… and also opportunity to grow. Tang Hao’s best opportunity is in the World Invitationals. The best scenario is that he does manage to learn and grow, but then the greatest question will be:
Can Wind Howl as the team and the club also change along with him?
First problem: Liu Hao. He has the skills, definitely. He was mentioned having managed to take Thunderclap to the tenth position, strong contender for the playoffs, until the level upgrade made them fall behind. While Ye Xiu said none in the Excellent Era that he retired from had abilities in tactics, Liu Hao must have learned a thing or two. However, his greatest problem is his attitude. Just like Ye Xiu has often said to him, he is not focused enough. Or to be precise, he focuses on the wrong things. What makes it worse, he's actually the most experienced senior in the team (technically, Ruan Yongbin is, but his position is rather awkward).
What about Liu Hao? These few years he’d been wandering about and currying favor, and too much of his energy was spent on these things. He was also furiously thinking, but he couldn’t think of any useful data. It could be summed up in one phrase: It’s only when it comes time to apply knowledge that you regret not acquiring enough (Ch1260).
Zhao Yuzhe is a problem, too. Especially if Tang Hao doesn’t change after Worlds. They’ll feed each other’s bad habits. But if Tang Hao changes, however reluctantly, Zhao Yuzhe will follow his admired captain’s example. So he’s less of problem compared to Liu Hao.
Second problem: Club management that keeps throwing money to problems. They seem to respect Tang Hao as the captain, but will they really not interfere with his handling of the team at all?
In Season 10, they make such huge ruckus of buying Zhang Xinjie… while not informing their own healer, Ruan Yongbin. Tang Hao seems to approve the move, at least, so it might not be without permission. Their move appears to be very hasty, almost panicked, in reaction to how the player they have let go, actually performed better and defeated the talents they have handpicked. It is like an effort to save face.
While there’s no evidence they will go as far as making decisions for the team, the club can still interfere indirectly by creating the wrong environment for Tang Hao and young members of Wind Howl. The future of Wind Howl can go both ways. I have no particular preference, myself. I just hope it won’t end up like another Excellent Era… or Misty Rain (even I have no idea how it’ll go for them. I feel so bad for Chu Yunxiu).
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