Jin Yan - Tumblr Posts
Well, this is as good a time as any to share my newest fic:
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 少年歌行 | The Blood of Youth (Live Action TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Jin Wei/Jin Yan, Abyssal Eye (Sword)/Jin Yan, Implied Jin Xuan/Jin Yan, Past Jin Wei & Zhuo Qing (The Blood of Youth), Abyssal Eye (Sword)/Jin Wei/Jin Yan Characters: Jin Wei (The Blood of Youth), Jin Yan (The Blood of Youth), Zhuo Qing (The Blood of Youth/Dashing Youth) (mentioned), Jin Xuan (The Blood of Youth) Additional Tags: Harassment, Possessed Sword, Smut, Anal Sex, Rough Sex, Inappropriate use of swords, Sword Oil As Lube, Blood, Swearing, Takes Place Around Episode 32 or 33 Summary:
Talismans removed, Jin Wei is interrupted while cleaning his cursed blade.
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In terms of Abyssal Eye’s nature in my fic, it acts more like how it was in the Donghua. But in terms of how it's used...yeah, I must have made the Bichen connection on some level 😹
@lasenbyphoenix oh shit ur right!! jinwei's eye of abyss rly is bichen 😲🤯😳
I’m going to make a compilation video of the Five Eunuchs’ behind the scenes shenanigans at some point, but for now, enjoy the sword one! 🗡️
“I will leave him to you.”
A piece to celebrate Xue Fei’s birthday! He’s played some iconic roles, so I figured I’d draw my two favorites 💚💜
Jin Xuan/Jin Yan Clothing Analysis
I somewhat shoddily put this together a while ago just to organize my thoughts, and I’m still losing my mind over the possibility that Jin Yan wearing Jin Xuan’s old clothes might have planned from the start. I mean, in the Blood of Youth, Jin Yan is much taller than Jin Xuan, but his outer robes appear shorter or the same length. Then, in Dashing Youth, young Jin Xuan is very clearly wearing the robes that will be Jin Yan’s. The implications, the possibilities… Is allowing Jin Yan to wear his old robes a power move for Jin Xuan? Or is it a sign of past fondness? Did Jin Yan steal them to feel closer to him, or was he given them after a situation like being stabbed or falling in a lake? So many questions, so many potential answers.
Sleepy shifu 🤍
A taste permitted
A mirror between eunuchs and ghosts
How do you think Jin Yan and Jin Wei first met? What do you think their opinions were on each other then?
Ooh, good question! I’m hoping that Dashing Youth will give some answers on that front, though there’s no guarantee, as I haven’t seen Jin Yan on the cast list yet. Granted, there’s a canonical reason he may be absent or only play a minor role: in the past, he was always spending time with his shifu, Zhuo Xin, while the other eunuchs followed Zhuo Qing. This led to Jin Yan being relatively isolated from them.
There are enough hints to Jin Yan’s past in the novel that I can paint a small picture of what it might have been like. In particular, there are two major pieces of information:
-in his youth, Jin Yan needed to run to survive
-without his shifu, he would have died long ago
That information, along with Jin Yan’s personality, gives me reason to believe that he used to be a thief. The dexterity of his fingers in the live-action certainly adds to that idea. Continuing in the realm of headcanon territory, I think Jin Yan became a eunuch after trying to steal from Zhuo Qing and getting saved by Zhuo Xin. The gold ornament hanging from Zhuo Qing’s belt looks incredibly stealable:
As for Jin Wei, Zhuo Qing saved his life when he was young, so his greatest loyalty is to him. He’s serious, devoted, and stubborn. He’s incredibly different from Jin Yan, and likely wouldn’t get along well with him initially. However, restraint is a major aspect of Jin Wei’s character in the novel and donghua, so he likely bottles up most of the negative emotions he may feel towards him. Meanwhile, just as Jin Yan bickers with Jin Xian, I could definitely imagine him getting immense joy out of annoying Jin Wei as well. There could definitely be a lot of tension between them, later complicated when they share the same goal (I won’t spoil anything, but Jin Wei’s major act of loyalty to Zhuo Qing seems a bit more premeditated in the novel).
What do you think Jin Yans pet names are for his significant others?
Thanks for asking this question! 😺 It’s very interesting to think about, especially for Jin Yan. Words are incredibly important to him; the Yan part of his name, 言，literally means word. He uses his name as a pun numerous times while speaking, and the tagline at the top of his official poster means something along the lines of: “Be careful in your words and walk on thin ice.”
For the most part, when speaking directly to a person, Jin Yan will exclusively use their title or one of the versions of “you” (你/您). When talking about people who aren’t present, he’ll use their name (and, sometimes, their title in addition to their name). There are only two occasions that I could find as exceptions to these general rules: once in episode thirteen to Jin Xian and once in episode thirty-five with Jin Xuan, where Jin Yan directly calls them by their names—both for specific purposes.
So, regarding pet names for significant others, I believe he would most often simply use their title in a flirtatious manner. For Jin Xuan, that would be Director. For Ye Xiaoying, General.
Interestingly, despite Jin Xian referring to Jin Yan numerous times as his shidi, Jin Yan never calls him shixiong. Perhaps that’s because for Jin Yan to do so would be to claim a relationship he may not feel entitled to claim, given how he grew up separately from the other eunuchs and under a different shifu. In theory, then, Jin Yan would call Jin Xian and Jin Wei, Director of Incense and Director of Sword, respectively. However, given that they’re of an equal ranking and Jin Yan’s characteristic submissiveness doesn’t play as much of a role in their interactions, Jin Yan would probably mostly stick with an informal you. In addition, there is the fact that Jin Yan only ever used Jin Xian’s Director of Incense title out of anger.
Jin Yan does have a penchant for flattery, however, and in the occasions which he lacks a sufficient title to call someone, he surely could find and invent some clever pet names to lift up whoever he’s trying to flirt with.
How is Jin Yan's temper? Is it slow boiling or instant explosion?
Thanks for the ask! Jin Yan’s emotions and the way he expresses them are quite interesting to me, and I’d be happy to share my thoughts! 😺
Whether nervous, angry, or excited, Jin Yan’s go-to outlet is his laughter:
Jin Yan tends to be very quick to make his feelings known, and cools down almost as fast. His anger is all bark, no bite, so to speak, and sometimes all it takes is a single bark to sufficiently express it. I believe that, for the most part, he can be easily distracted from anything that upsets him—unless he gets obsessed. There’s two cases in the show that I think could plant the seed of obsession, both of which have Jin Yan without a smile, let alone a laugh.
First Jin Xuan, then Eunuch Li? Is Jin Yan stealing everyone’s clothes?! There better be a scene where he starts meandering around in Zhuo Qing’s robes 😹
These scenes and Jin Xian’s relationships with Jin Yan and Wuxin have such an interesting contrast. In the process of helping him, Jin Xian refuses to be lied to by Wuxin and goes so far as to more or less threaten imperial judgment. Meanwhile, with Jin Yan, who has allegedly told many lies, Jin Xian is willing to face whatever fate His Majesty decides for him as long as Jin Yan can live. I don’t know if it speaks most to Jin Xian’s intense loyalty to/love for his shidi, or if it’s more a result of the losses Jin Xian experienced in the episodes between these scenes, but it’s certainly an intriguing difference.
Do you think Jinyan misses his life as a Eunuch in the imperial court?
Interesting question, thanks for the ask! 😺 Jin Yan’s post-canon situation is quite fascinating to explore, and I’ve thought about it a lot. The live action leaves his circumstances rather vague other than Jin Yan now being under Jin Xian’s watch, but there are two small details the novel adds that give clarity and direction to their future:
The world believes that Jin Yan is dead. To hide him, Jin Xian has personally ordained him a monk and given him the name Pushan.
After Jin Xuan was confronted by Jin Xian, Prince Bai, and the rest, he was locked up in Heavenly Prison but escaped several days later. No one has seen him since.
For the first point, I expect that Jin Yan would play the role of a monk fairly effectively on the surface. He is well-practiced in being careful with his words, which would go well with the Right Speech aspect of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path. He would, however, likely struggle to actually be a monk. One of his most notable traits is greed, a form of attachment—which leads to suffering, according to Buddhist philosophy. Whether or not Jin Yan would actually be inclined to embody the part he’s playing, Jin Xian would likely encourage him to do so. Jin Yan’s gratitude to Jin Xian for saving his life may make him more open to listening to his lectures, or at least pretending to.
Interestingly, the name that Jin Xian gave Jin Yan, Pushan, is a Hindu god known for protecting travelers. This could be reflective of Jin Xian’s desire to travel the Martial Arts World and his intention to do so with Jin Yan.
Which brings us to the next point: Jin Xuan. Jin Xian probably remained in Tianqi because he wanted justice for Jin Yu and Jin Wei. Jin Xuan’s escape could be the catalyst for Jin Xian and Jin Yan to finally leave and track him down. I expect Jin Yan would have complicated feelings about this; he was betrayed by him, yes, but Jin Xuan has a hold on him that may not be so easily broken. Jin Yan may have been able to stand up to him once, but could he do it again?
There is another thread of vengeance that live-action Jin Yan may be more inclined to pull: Xiao Lingchen. In the novel, Zhuo Xin’s death was caused by someone in self-defense and wasn’t witnessed by Jin Yan—and there’s no indication he would seek revenge against this person. But in the live action? Jin Yan watched Xiao Lingchen betray their plan, stabbing his helpless shifu right in the heart. Zhuo Xin was there of his own initiative in the novel, but in the live action, Jin Yan was the one to convince him to come. Unlike in the novel, where he had Zhuo Sen and Zhuo Luo to keep him company, live-action Zhuo Xin was alone in the mausoleum; he took this risk—made this sacrifice—so Jin Yan wouldn’t be. The guilt that Jin Yan would feel might not catch up to him for a while, given the turbulent circumstances of everyone in the world hunting him down immediately after, but eventually he would remember his shifu’s death—and would likely rather turn his anger toward Xiao Lingchen than blame himself.
So, would Jin Yan miss being an imperial eunuch? There’s one more thing to establish: what does he want? He wants power, yes, but I think he wants a specific type of power. The kind of power that Marquis Lanyue has: low responsibility, high respect. Both Jin Yan and Marquis Lanyue are used as messengers by their superiors, but, given Marquis Lanyue’s complaints at his brother-emperor’s requests, it is likely that such tasks are much rarer for him—especially as Emperor Mingde is the only person in the world he needs to answer to. Otherwise, he can live as indulgently and glamorously as he wishes. Meanwhile, Jin Yan is used by several individuals and put in most of the footwork necessary to hold the entire Langya Rebellion together. Indeed, I believe that Jin Yan envies Marquis Lanyue above all others. The reason for this is best illustrated in a scene in the novel during an important ritual. Jin Yan gets in trouble for complaining about being hungry, while Marquis Lanyue can chat freely and munch on snacks during it. Marquis Lanyue does what Jin Yan wants to do—and he has the life he’s hungry for. And while Jin Yan needs to act submissive and watch his every step around Prince Chi, he has likely witnessed Prince Chi demeaning himself just to win his uncle’s attention and favor. Jin Yan wants to be like Marquis Lanyue, and a Eunuch of Seal is closer to a marquis than a monk—unless Jin Yan finds a new way to satisfy his hunger, he will crave his old life.
🗡️ + 👅 WIP
wip of one of the doodles I was asked to draw... HOW THE FUCK DO WE DRAW TONGUES?