50 Character Personality Traits + Meanings (For Writers, Worldbuilders, And Artists) Part 1

“Please.”

The hero barely heard the whispered word. Their head was throbbing, the world around them swimming in and out of focus and there was so much blood so much blood so much blood everywhere and agony ripping through their chest—

“You have to live. You have to, you have to, you have to, please.”

The hero was hallucinating, they had to be, because those were the villain’s eyes looking down at them, that was the villain’s voice, filled with pain and panic and something else the hero couldn’t name. The hero blinked and they were lost again, gone in a haze of blood and darkness, spinning away into nothingness…

“No!” the villain cried out, desperation creeping into their voice as they pressed their hands tighter to the hero’s side, a hopeless attempt to stop the bleeding. “You can’t die,” the villain whispered, voice hoarse and cracking, chest heaving with silent, broken sobs. “I’ll do anything you want, be anything you want, I promise. Just live.”

The hero fought to hold on to the words, to open their eyes to see something, to open their mouth to say something but they were slipping away, falling

falling

falling

“Please.”

Some Gemology Vocabulary

for your next poem/story (pt. 2)

Gemology—the scientific study of gemstones

Clarity - The grading of a gemstone is based on the presence or absence of inclusions. The fewer inclusions, the better a gemstone’s clarity grade.

Crown - Located above the girdle or at the top of a cut stone, the crown faces up and is in plain view when the gem is arranged in a setting.

Culet - The bottom quadrant or point on a stone with a pavilion that ends in a single point; a bottom facet cut parallel to the girdle on a stone with an otherwise pointed bottom, initially intended to prevent chipping.

Diaphaneity - The general term to describe the transmittance of light through an object. The 3 typical classifications are transparency, translucency, and opacity.

Diffusion treatment - A treatment used to alter the color of a gemstone (mostly sapphires).

Dispersion - The separation of white light into the component colors of the visible spectrum.

Facet - A flat surface on a stone or other media.

Girdle - The line created where the crown and pavilion facets meet, or the series of facets that separate the crown and pavilion facets.

Pavilion - The part of the stone below the girdle, otherwise the bottom portion of the stone.

Sectile - Capable of being cut as into slices or shavings.

Table - A facet on the crown, usually parallel to the girdle. In cases when the girdle isn't a straight line, the table is typically at 90° to the stone's center axis.

Tavernier rule - A method of gemvalue calculation. Price increases by the square of weight of stones. Now obsolete.

Veinstone - Any mineral other than metal which occurs in a vein (i.e., a crack, crevice, or fissure, filled, or practically filled, with mineral matter).

Wisps - Whitish wisp-like fractures resembling thin wind-blown clouds. Occur in some synthetic emerald but never in the genuine.

Youstone - An old English term for jade.

Sources: 1 2 3

More: On Gemology ⚜ Word Lists

“Pack your precious belongings,” the villain whispered into the hero’s ear. “This place is going to burn tonight.” 

I don’t think anyone needs me to do a why-you-should-read for 2ha because I’m late af to the party, but no danmei rec is complete this year without 2ha and shizun and mo ran! I have feels okay, a lot of them!!!! Like?!! CHU WANNING?!!! So ethereal and gorgeous and deserves everything in the world, and also a shrine in my room dedicated to the beauty and grace and power that is shizun.

So here’s me trying to summarize and also delve into specific parts of 2ha as much as I can, although because I’m new to the fandom I’d say don’t take my word for it entirely XD It’s just Hao Yi XIng (Immortality) is coming out soon and we’re all gonna lost our shit, and it’s cool to have read the novel before the show comes out. This will be the first of… five parts I think to a full 2ha post, but no worries, I won’t like vomit em all out in the first week of January.

We can all agree on a shizun shrine though. Right? RIGHT?!!

Anyway with this one I’ve basically done 10 recs before 2021 approaches, so here’s the compilation:

My Top 2020 Danmei Rec List

Another Rec List

Enter 2021 with these Danmei Novels (with full descriptions + links)!

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series - 

Summary:

Emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian-jun (also known as Mo Ran or Mo Weiyu) has basically committed every sin there is and has at the point right before his death, slaughtered and killed innumerable people. The novel starts with Taxian-jun’s death as he kills himself, tired and weary of the world especially after his shizun, Chu Wanning died. He wakes up in his teenage body, in the first year he became a disciple, and decides that he has a chance to redo everything - to keep the love of his life, Shi Mei, from dying and to ensure that his cruel and hateful shizun, Chu Wanning, will not get the chance to let Shi Mei die again.

As his teenage, young self, however, as much as Mo Ran hates and resents CWN, he recalls all the times he spent with CWN in his previous life, where he made him his consort after stripping away all his cultivation and powers, wanting to punish him for not saving Shi Mei by keeping him at his side in that position. He lusts after CWN in this present timeline, remembering all the times they were in bed together, but is also conflicted about his shizun because on one hand, he hates him, but on the other hand, he can’t help but keep noticing shizun and paying attention to what he does. 

As he goes through the same events that he experienced in his first life as a disciple, Mo Ran continues to hate CWN but begins to see his actions in different light. He always thought that CWN thought him to be inferior, and that CWN was a pretentious, arrogant asshole, but as he goes through these same events with different changes (for example, he recalled sitting out of his very first mission with CWN and Shi Mei, but found himself actively involved, working together with his shizun in this present life), the time spent together allows him to better understand CWN’s actions now and also back then in their previous life when he was still a disciple.

CWN on the other hand, despite how he supposedly treats Mo Ran, actually dotes on and is very fond of Mo Ran (this was the case in the previous life, not that he has any recollection of that, and also in this life). He thinks that he is not good-looking and is undeserving of attention, concern and love, and so only knows how to quietly give and makes sacrifices without asking for anything in return. He knows that Mo Ran likes Shi Mei, and is both depressed and angry about that on his own.

As Mo Ran gets to know CWN all over again (and also hurting him here and there in the process), they reach the fated battle where CWN let Shi Mei die (in the previous life) in this life, and desperate still to keep Shi Mei from dying, he replaces Shi Mei’s role in the battle and nearly dies himself.

From then on, truths are revealed about both the previous and current timeline, and Mo Ran has to chase and woo his shizun back, all the while trying to figure out what is the mysterious force that sent him back in time to his current timeline and what danger lies ahead for him and CWN as they try to basically save the cultivation world from destruction.

- Timelines:

0.5 refers to Taxian-Jun and Chu Wanning as Chu Fei (Consort Chu) 

1.0 refers to Mo Ran as a teenager and Chu Wanning before the events of THAT battle

2.0 is when Mo Ran becomes Mo-zongshi and the Chu Wanning then as they date properly, fall in love, all the UST etc. hahahaha

- Chapters where everyone will warn you to prepare yourself for:

278-280, and no one can tell me otherwise

*This is also a highly contentious danmei novel, some for good reason, most of the times for dumb reasons. Do see the trigger warnings here on the sort-of official 2ha carrd, but also do read my thoughts/disclaimers at the bottom of the post.

*There are also some spoilers below, but none that’s really significant. However, just in case, do skip!

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Pirated, Uncensored Version + Official Vol. 1 Dec 2020 Print (Censored) | Novel Translations | Fan Audio Drama | Manhua - Slated for Nov/Dec 2020 on Kuaikan but has since been delayed

*Normally I wouldn’t put any pirated version links, but this current one is the only one that has a proper print and the extras and notes are really hard to find even online, but this pirated version has compiled everything, no section is missing. But of course please do support the original versions, both online on JJWXC and the physical prints

Watch:

Hao Yi Xing (Immortality) - Slated for Spring 2021 release (TBA) | 50 episodes

Last I heard, they were supposed to be cleared for a Feb/Mar launch this month, but the review told them to make some adjustments so it’s likely to be delayed

I mean, for good reason, because there is NO WAY you can run platonic for the live-action based on the story, and the production itself has also reassured fans that they would be doing the novel justice (and from leaks, this does seem to be the case and damn, there’s NO WAY you can go pure platonic on this one, even bromance is far-fetched)

Luo Yunxi is a god among peasants, and Chen Feiyu is cute af

Some details are definitely being changed, for e.g. CWN obviously can’t be a Consort, so he’s been relegated to the Zither Player role (but if I’m not wrong the role itself like traditionally is also half euphemism for someone who sleeps with the Emperor as well)

2.0 Mo Ran - 1.0 Chu Wanning - 2.0 Chu Wanning 

1.0 Mo Ran - 0.5 Chu Wanning - 0.5 Mo Ran

Characters:

1. 墨燃 Mo Ran - His courtesy name is 墨微雨 Mo Weiyu and in the 0.5 version he called himself 踏仙君 Taxian-jun, which literally means a king who steps on deities/cultivators (fitting, since he slaughtered a lot of them). Initially, Mo Ran actually chose CWN as his shizun because he was the best-looking, and that was possibly one of the only times someone actually chose CWN voluntarily, and for that he always had a special place in CWN’s heart. 

As Taxian-jun (0.5) he forced CWN to marry him after stripping him of his powers and cultivation, imprisoned him for basically 8 years in the palace. He kills himself a little after CWN’s death, and then wakes up as CWN’s disciple again as a young teenager. He’s the last of CWN’s three disciples, and has a big, warm and kind heart. He also obviously was very fond of his shizun before things went spiralling out of control for various reasons that will smack you in the face after you finish 311 chapters.

He’s very intelligent, having actually mastered two of the three forbidden spells of the cultivation world in the 0.5 timeline. In the 1.0 timeline, he’s obviously still pretty talented/gifted for a disciple. In his past life, his chosen weapon was a sword called Bu Gui, and then in the present 1.0 timeline, he was given a whip that is connected to CWN’s whip (i.e. they were made from the same tree and were actually one full piece together before they broke into two). He accidentally names the whip “Jian Gui”, and everyone facepalms at that.

After he and CWN get past like….some of their misunderstandings (about maybe 70%, not that they knew it then), Mo Ran becomes full on devoted to his shizun, only has eyes for his shizun, totally clear that he perhaps liked Shi Mei, but never as much as he loves shizun, which is pretty amazing.

As Mo-zongshi (2.0), he’s super ripped, and CWN totally thirsts after him too XD

Has a really sad past that will only be revealed much later, and in the present timeline he is very much doted on by his uncle and auntie, who are Xue Meng’s parents.

2. 楚晚宁 Chu Wanning - WHERE DO I EVEN START. Talented, legendary gifted cultivator with not one but THREE weapons, in which the one he uses the most is Tian Wen, the whip. He doesn’t usually use Jiu Ge, the zither weapon, or his sword, Huai Sha, unless absolutely necessary. Also called 玉衡 as a title (晚夜玉衡 in full i.e. Yu Heng of the Night Sky), and in their sect, he’s referred to as Elder Yu Heng (玉衡长老).

Art picked by bookstores from various artists for the official print:

He has a really bad temper and takes no bullshit, and despite being really handsome, his self-esteem is down in the gutters - he thinks he’s not worthy of love and attention, and I recall in the first arc he always thought “who would love someone like me”. Because he’s so fearsome, other disciples don’t dare to talk to him or go near him, and he always eats alone, tends to his own wounds alone and basically does everything alone. No one cares about whether he’s eaten, if he’s hurt or not, etc. 

They’ve basically placed him on such a high pedestal that they forget that he’s just a person too. His bad temper also comes out usually when disciples think they can joke around with him or tease him etc. Everyone covets him in a sense that all sects want him to join them, and everyone knows him. He just takes no shit and kicks ass all the time.

Fond of Mo Ran (not romantically) when he first chooses him as his shizun when he is much younger. His romantic feelings for Mo Ran develop later, but he was first drawn to Mo Ran simply because he could feel how warm and kind Mo Ran’s soul was, and basically how he brightened up his life by not being afraid of him etc.

He does a lot of things for Mo Ran silently without him knowing, and lets Mo Ran misunderstand him on multiple occasions, knowing that even if he cleared things up, it wouldn’t change how much Mo Ran likes Shi Mei.

After the events of that single battle, in the 2.0 timeline, it’s CWN’s turn to be slightly oblivious as Mo Ran tries to care for him and woo him and let him know that he’s loved, but once they get past that, it’s so much love istg it makes you believe in love and weep all at the same time.

3. 师眛 Shi Mei - Beautiful gorgeous Shi Mei who’s Mo Ran loves and is fighting to keep alive in the 1.0 timeline. Shi Mei’s cultivation is in the direction of healing, and thus the way he trains is different from how the rest of them trains. He’s very respectful and considerate to his shizun, and is also the person Mo Ran thinks treats him the best. Mo Ran loves his special spicy wontons as well ;-;

4. 薛蒙 Xue Meng - Mo Ran’s younger cousin who in the 0.5 timeline hates him for taking shizun away and for killing his parents. In 1.0, he just detests Mo Ran and calls him a dog all the time. He’s been spoilt as the only child of his parents, and is also expected to take over the sect one day from his father. This gives him a bit of a complex XD He’s considered a little brash and impulsive, and definitely a little narcissistic as he thinks he’s the best looking so far, but he’s pretty much kind underneath all the preening. Has a huge sense of justice, and all he cares about are the people closest to him and his family. He also worships shizun a lot and always wants his attention, which shizun will give depending on the situation.

5. 梅寒雪／梅含雪 Mei Han Xue & Mei Han Xue - This ain’t a typo hahaha these two brothers’ names a re pronounced exactly the same but the character for ‘Han’ is different. One of them is flamboyant and a playboy, another is a little stoic and serious, with the latter always cleaning up after the former while the former breaks the hearts of women all over the region. They don’t feature very prominently in the first arc and come out more in 2.0 onwards, but it’s good to note that the both of them are possibly Xue Meng’s closest friends in both the 0.5 and 2.0 timelines, and after.

My Favourite Arcs & Moments:

The 1.0 arc is the most fun, I have to say - The plot isn’t as complicated yet then, and all you have is Mo Ran being his rebellious, horny teenager self going against shizun and also being confused by how much he wants shizun etc. 

Xia Sini arc - There’s the arc where CWN becomes a kid version of himself in size due to injuries where he’s called Xia Sini, and masquerades as a junior in the sect while he’s in that form - He also forms a bond with Mo Ran in that form, as Mo Ran seems to take a liking to this cute younger junior who acts like an adult

Hell arc - I will not give any spoilers but damn it was both hilarious and also my heart died at the same time

Farming arc - Everyone who has read 2ha knows of farming arc in 2.0 timeline, because we get two idiots thirsting quite obviously for each other, and also Mo Ran half naked all the time while shizun not quite deciding whether he wants to cover him up or stare at him for longer

The huge reveal arc - This one ripped my heart out, stomped on it, and then went for my eyes because I was crying so hard and for two days straight. The painful and devastating part is when Meatbun FINALLY links all the missing parts together and connects all the arcs and you’re literally slapped in the face with new revelations and a totally new understanding of what happened in 0.5 and 1.0 and then you wanna slap yourself too because now you’ve done it, you’re in this fandom, you’re in this black hole and your heart and brain and soul hurt

————

In terms of moments, I frickin died at the part where 1.0 Mo Ran first gets his whip and there’s a rule where whatever you say after you hold onto the weapon has to be the weapon’s name - And because I think Mo Ran trips or something, he said “Ah shit!” = “啊，见鬼” - And he inadvertently named his whip the equivalent of damn it/shit/crap basically, while everyone including shizun was like “damn it you stupid dog”

1.0 Shizun getting flashbacks from 0.5 and thinking that it’s just because he’s too horny and sinful and that’s why he’s dreaming of sex with a different Mo Ran like that (but it’s not, they actually happened in 0.5)

When Xia Sini waits for Mo Ran to have dinner with chicken soup he cooked and Mo Ran abandoned him to go find Shi Mei, and then ate up all the soup by himself without realizing that Xia Sini hadn’t eaten yet because he was waiting for him. Xia Sini says he’s a person too, he gets hungry, he hurts, etc. and I was like SHIZUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!

The fact that CWN is an idiot at life in general like cleaning or cooking or anything else - even 1.0 Mo Ran before he understood CWN was like “how the hell is he still alive”

FIREWORKS MOMENT y’all!!! It fulfils the unrequited love angst but also a bit of resolution, and from the leaks of the live-action drama for THIS VERY MOMENT we are all gonna die

WHEN MO RAN KNEELS DOWN IN FRONT OF SHIZUN!!!! 

I also liked it when CWN seemed surprised and also proud at all that Mo Ran had achieved as Mo-zongshi later

My Thoughts:

(Under the cut)

Keep reading

How to Describe Clothing in Writing

Creating vivid descriptions for a story or character is a mark of a great writer. One specific form of descriptive writing that particularly affects setting and characterization is the portrayal of characters’ clothing.

Writing Tips: Describing Clothes

Clothing descriptions work best when they appear organically in the course of the narrative. The story should never halt in place so that you can shoehorn in a bunch of sartorial descriptions. Here are some writing tips to help you use clothing descriptions in your creative writing:

Integrate clothing into your initial character description. The first time readers meet a character, they should get a sense of how they dress.

Study articles of clothing to make sure you know what they look like. This will help you choose the right words to describe them. For example, it would be appropriate to describe a chiffon dress as “sheer” or “thin,” but it would be clumsy to describe it as “threadbare” because chiffon is not cheap.

Pick outfits that fit the setting you’re writing about. If you’re describing an elegant ball, you might want to place a character in a form-fitting strapless evening gown, as this is a common piece for formal dances. Describing the clothing reinforces the setting you’ve chosen.

Blend clothing into job descriptions. If you’re describing a monk at work, you could note how the loose-fitting sleeves of his frock draped onto a table. If you’re describing a superhero in an action scene, describe the flow of their cape or the stiffness of their boots.

Let your characters change outfits. Show a character arc by marking how a character’s clothing changes over the course of your story. If a character in a YA novel starts out wearing ill-fitting khaki slacks with enormous pleats and ends that same novel wearing a denim jacket with an “anarchy” pin on the lapel, we know they’ve undergone some major changes.

Use clothing to set characters apart. Represent the difference between two characters by describing the differences in their clothing. Let’s say you’re describing two characters interviewing for the same job: One wears a sporty, ruched, A-line dress, and the other wears jeans and a sweatshirt. The reader can infer aspects of both characters’ personalities and make a comparison between two characters.

Reasons to Describe a Character’s Clothing

A character’s clothing is a window into so many aspects of their lives. From a character’s clothes, readers can make inferences about the following:

Clothing reveals a character’s personality. A knee-length fur coat and a corduroy jacket are both forms of outerwear, but it’s quite unlikely they’d be worn by the same kind of person. Readers can deduce a character’s style and personality from the clothes they wear.

Clothing implies a character’s wealth. Is your novel’s main character comes from a working-class background, it’s more likely they’d wear a t-shirt and jeans than a lavish and expensive piece of clothing. Just as in real life, clothing indicates status and wealth.

Clothing shows a character’s point of view toward the world. Clothing can reveal a character’s views on the world. If someone puts on a graphic t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, it implies that they could hardly care less about offending other people. Meanwhile, a character who wears a dressy button-down shirt with a single-breasted plaid jacket seems like the old-fashioned type. Maybe they’re heading to a mixer at the country club?

Clothing suggests the time and place in which a character exists. As part of your worldbuilding process, you’ll want to be as precise as possible about your book’s setting and time period. This doesn’t just apply to historical fiction; it applies to all forms of writing. For instance, if you’re writing a battle scene set during the Revolutionary War, you might need to study the physical descriptions of britches and pantaloons. But if your scene is set in a present-day battlefield, you might describe a soldier as wearing camouflage with a tag hung from a necklace. Simply by changing the clothing description, you’ve marked a massive distinction between these two war stories.

Source ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ References: Fashion

You run a café on the edge of life and death. Souls who have been departed from their bodies temporarily, such as in comas or near-death experiences, can relax in your quaint cafe for as long as they need before they can either return to their bodies or begin their journey to the afterlife.

问好 （Greetings）[beg. vocab]

Basic vocabulary:

你  ni – you

好 hao – fine, good, well

我 wo – I; me

是 shi – to be

不 bu – not; no

也 ye – also; too

人ren – person; people

Particles: 

呢 ne – [question particle]

吗 ma – [question particle]

Conversational Vocabulary:

请 qing – please (polite form of request); to treat/invite someone

叫 jiao – to be called

问 wen – to ask (a question)

贵 gui – honorable; expensive

姓 xing – surname

Further Vocabulary:

小姐 xiao jie – miss; young lady

什么 shen me – what

名字 ming zi – name

先生 xian sheng – mister, husband

学生 xue sheng – student

老师 lao shi - teacher

Tom actually laughs, “You didn’t like the singing butterflies?”

Harry snorts, and smiles fondly at Tom. “I loved the singing butterflies.”

- Full Circle (Ch. 9) by @tetsurashian​

I had a lot of fun drawing this adorable scene. I highly recommend this fic if you need some lighthearted and funny Tomarry!

The impact of toxic family dynamics in Till the End of the Moon (长月烬明)

A bit random and I have never done character analysis posts so it might not be as good as some other posts on here but bear with me.

I'm watching Till the End of the Moon (ep 25) and the recent development of Ye Bingchang's character into a full blown villain has made me hate her, but also empathize with her in ways I didn't expect.

To contextualise, Ye Bingchang 叶冰裳 is the second child and first daughter of the Ye family, and she is basically the perfect daughter of a noble Chinese family. She's sweet and kind, beautiful but not attention seeking, smart but not a smart ass, dutiful and filial, delicate and thoughtful. She shares a beautiful love story with Prince Xiao Lin 萧凛, the 6th son of the Emperor, so she's going to marry in the Imperial Family and no doubt bring honor to the Ye Clan. She seems to be doing everything exactly right.

And yet she's a second class citizen in her own family, who openly favours her younger sister Ye Xiwu 叶夕雾.

Now there are two levels to this.

1) They're openly and unabashedly favouring one child over the 3 others, but then still ranking the other kids, and somehow Ye Bingchang ranks lower than her brother who is a lazy and stupid gambler. Her family simply doesn't see her, she's completely forgettable to them, like her existence only matters because sure, she's their blood, but she's a complete afterthought.

2) The daughter they favour over her is Ye Xiwu, and Ye Xiwu is a monster of a golden child. She's completely selfish and narcissistic, she explicitly abuses her husband, she schemes again and again to seduce and try to rape Prince Xiao Lin, her sister's one true love and fiancé, and when this doesn't work she becomes physically violent towards Ye Bingchang as well.

Ye Xiwu is an extremely abusive and horrible person, straight up. And her family continuously makes excuses for her violent behaviour, dotes on her, spoils her, and barely has a look for Ye Bingchang, expecting her to forgive and turn the other cheek. The golden child / black sheep dynamic is at its peak.

I find it quite rare that in this type of situation, a show will have the golden child as our hero ; almost always, if there are complicated family relationships, the main character is the one who's rejected, underestimated, and who has to rise through those challenges (which applies to our main male character Tantai Jin 澹台烬 btw, and I think we could say a lot of the parallels between Tantai Jin and Ye Bingchang).

I can think of other cases where the child who was favoured is the main character over the child who is rejected (Jiang Cheng 江澄 in The Untamed 陈情令, Feng Chang 丰苌 in Who Rules the World 且试天下) but they're not as clear cut as this (Jiang Cheng being his mom's favorite and the only actual son of the family while Wei Wuxian 魏无羡 is also a black sheep on many levels, Feng Chang's more favoured brother Feng Lanxi 丰兰息 being fairly rejected as well and having to fight not to be poisoned).

The golden child as a main character works here because it isn't actually Ye Xiwu : we discover her character and the situation when the spirit of Li Susu 黎苏苏 travels back in time and takes possession of Ye Xiwu's body. Our main character is really Li Susu, and like the audience she's horrified to learn everything Ye Xiwu has been doing, disgusted by her abusive behaviour towards her sister and her husband, and at first disapproves of how much the Ye family favours her over Ye Bingchang. But she also comes to love the Ye family as her own, and the fact that they would neglect one of their daughters so much doesn't impact her affection for them.

We only learn about Ye Xiwu's abuse through flashbacks, so it doesn't have the same emotional impact for us as an audience, and we only brief moments of those memories so we don't have to confront the full magnitude of how horrible she was, including to Ye Bingchang. Again, Ye Xiwu tried to rape her sister's one true love and fiancé, and even after getting married herself she continued to throw herself at him, and when it didn't work she turned to actual physical violence on Ye Bingchang.

And throughout this, the Ye family excuses it all away, and even Ye Bingchang excuses it away. She forgives before Ye Xiwu even apologizes, because she knows that's what's expected of her, and she just tries her best to be a kind soul still defending her sister from people spreading rumors about her. In a way, she's a victim of domestic violence who forgives an abuser and thinks she just needs to be softer, sweeter, weaker, so maybe they don't feel like bullying her anymore.

So when Ye Bingchang tries to use the affection of men to get protection, to feel love and be sheltered from her condition, it's very understandable and to me resembles a lot of things I've seen in real life. And when she turns to resentment over her condition and decides she needs to gain control over her situation through getting some amount of power so she can protect herself, it's an arc we could expect from a main character.

She only becomes a villain after the arc of Bo're Life, in which our four main characters Tantai Jin, Ye Xiwu/Li Susu, Xiao Lin and Ye Bingchang are absorbed into a dragon's dreams of its past as a War God centuries ago. Ye Bingchang is "reincarnated" in this dream as a powerful immortal, a scorned lover but who has the power to actually be vengeful over the woman who steals the man she loves. The object of her ire being Ye Xiwu, reincarnated in a very sweet clam spirit woman, Ye Bingchang gets a taste of what power feels like, of what manipulation feels like, and of what revenge over Ye Xiwu would feel like. And when even in this dream life, Ye Xiwu is preferred over her and she ends up dying, she comes back to herself determined to change and not let others control her life anymore.

Every character (except Xiao Lin really) seems deeply influenced by what they lived in Bo're Life, having identity crises of sorts over who they actually are now. As an aside, it works as a pretty good plot device to suddenly get Tantai Jin a lot more open to Ye Xiwu/Li Susu and move their romance along, it almost feels like cheating but I'll allow it.

Anyway, Ye Bingchang has now slowly become as manipulative and cruel as her counterpart in Bo're Life, and it's easy to just see it as that counterpart taking over her body in a way.

But this manipulative and cruel streak is born out of the profound reality that she can not count on her family to protect her, and that the people who were supposed to love her unconditionally preferred her literal abuser over her.

She did everything right and it was never enough, so now it's time for her to claim her life back.

And again, in another show (like the Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略 for example), this urge to climb to power so no one can hurt you anymore and take revenge on the people who ruined your life along the way, it would make you the hero.

But here, Ye Bingchang still can't win, and she actually turns into a villain.

THE BLACK SHEEP DOG MASTER POST

The Black Sheep Dog

Book I - In the Black 

“What is to you ‘taking advantage'—is to me, merely—” Orion searched around for the correct phrase. “—Adapting to these new circumstances I find myself in, and acting as I see fit when opportunities arise that are to my…benefit.”

“That is the most fucking Slytherin justification I’ve ever heard,” Sirius growled, angrily.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Book 2 - Black Mask

“Then why did he leave his family—truly?”

“Nothing all that exciting, I’m afraid,” he said, staring across the room, his smile grim. “Just a run-of-the-mill blood-traitor who was fed up. A political idealist. Took a different view of things than his family—the Black sheep of the Blacks.” She furrowed her brow. “You look disappointed.”

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 

Chapter 3 

Chapter 4 

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8 

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16 

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35