Gravitas

Gravitas

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Xiao Zhongjing/Zhuo Qing, Jin Wei & Zhuo Qing, Implied Baili Luochen/Xiao Zhongjing Characters: Xiao Zhongjing | Emperor Tai'an, Zhuo Qing (Dashing Youth), Jin Wei (The Blood of Youth), Jin Yu (The Blood of Youth), Li Changsheng (mentioned), Qi Tianchen (mentioned), Baili Luochen (mentioned) Additional Tags: Injury, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Praise Kink, Age Difference, Introspection, Bathing/Washing, Canon Compliant, takes place during episode 32, Blood Kink, Intimacy Series: Part 6 of Small Fandom Summer '24 Summary:

With a troubled mind and a heavy heart, Xiao Zhongjing visits his Grand Eunuch.

Dashing Youth Jin Xuan Official Poster Collection

The irony is dawning on me that there is imagery of gilded and wooden cages in Wuxin’s and Xiao Yu’s first scenes in the Blood of Youth, albeit in the opposite way as I had associated with them. While his chosen cage is the gilded one of the Imperial Palace, Xiao Yu’s introduction ends with him leaving a wooden cage. And, of course, Wuxin starts by leaving the golden coffin. Certainly a fascinating parallel with subversive imagery, when taking their mother’s story into consideration.

The tragedy of Yi Wenjun is that she traded a gilded cage for a wooden one, when all she wanted was to be free.

The keeper of the wooden cage gave her hope, yes, but would never have let her leave. His stories were just stories, and she never got to see the world.

Because of how Yi Wenjun’s oppressive father raised her, she constantly feels like a shadow of herself. The only time her character has ever truly felt alive to me was near the end of the Blood of Youth’s novel, when she was flying through the chaos of her son’s creation, bantering with Jin Xuan as he pleaded for her to return to safety. Her interaction with him near the end of Dashing Youth slightly reminded me of that scene and of why I like her novel counterpart so much.

Freedom is what Yi Wenjun desires above all else, but obligation weighs down her wings. And while her sons never experienced the gilded and wooden cages they were raised in as prisons, she did. Even then, she tried to do what was best for them, rather flawed as that attempt was.

Li Junxian fashion photoshoot

Yesss, Zhuo Qing is finally officially introduced in the donghua! I love him and his sassy demeanor already 💜

So nice to see some Zhuo Qing action! With his reputation of fragmenting the heart and dissolving the bones, him full-on blowing up a guy shouldn’t have been surprising, but I’m still working on picking my jaw up from the floor 😹

And Zhuo Qing dressing up as Emperor Tai’an to foil an assassination attempt?!! I’m going absolutely insane over this and am so excited for the rest of the show