And here! Finally comes me dispelling your worries about the plot twist~ I didn't think even for a second that Yunho may not be a human being, I was taken aback with surprise and I was all adsfgyujasdtgh. I think I might've even squealed? So yeah, you needn't have worried about this \o/ Although I have to admit that all these mentions of "animal" did catch my attention? I remember a split second thought of "huh, that's a bit peculiar" crossing my mind. Well, but me being me I quickly dismissed it 8D
But! On the second read! There are so many hints! In Yunho's appareance, especially. The description of his physical traits, of his clothes (which in my eyes, are both a bit imperfect - although maybe imperfect on purpose - mimicry and a jab at Yunho's artistic skills 8DDD). And the wine! No one brought it, did they. So many small things not adding up, but since readers see things only from Changmin's POV, it's a bit hard to tell that something's actually off? We end up getting misled by his own thoughts and perceptions. So sneaky *^* I applaud you. (Ofc I do.)
Another bit that I really loved was the exchange when Yunho asked Changmin to take his makeup off. The words about illusions being broken - so profound, so meaningful. Before they can be together, they both must shed their illusions and face one another as they truly are. It's powerful.
My heart broke for a moment when Yunho asked Changmin to sell the koto. Poor boy ;; Yunho, you need to learn better timing :|
And then the ending. I knew it had to be Yunho because "koto player Changmin", really, but a certain tension and excitement remained right until the great reveal. (And then there was a midnight squeal but I already told you that *^*)
I'm curious though - did Yunho know? That it's Changmin, I mean. Was he there by coincidence or has the hearsay about Changmin reached him already and it just so happened that he first met him in such circumstances?
...and on a (very relevant yet OT at once 8D) note #1: Changmin has a pretty nape indeed. Idk, when I read the line about him not showing his unpainted nape just yet, I immediately was reminded of this picture. And also, it was one of the reasons I wanted to see him in an onnagata role. #2: you may know this already but the Japanese word for prostitution could be directly read as "selling spring".
I can't believe how you took random bits and pieces I told you (onnagata! weird koto recital! fox rummaging through rubbish!) and turned it into such a wonderful story. Except I sort of can because it's you, I suppose.
Thank you so much for writing this for me ♥♥♥
(There's probably something else I was meaning to say but I can always bother you on twitter I guess~)
♥♥♥ ahhhhh I'm so glad you liked this! I'm going to think of it as an 'Easter egg' fic, in that I think (hope!) it's accessible to readers who don't know that much about the time period but for those who do know, there's all kinds of references hidden all over the place :D
Oh, I like what you say about safety - yes, that's a really good way of looking at it, too. What keeps Changmin trapped also keeps him safe, and it is a really big leap of faith for him to trust Yunho. And yes, Yunho was testing him all along - I was thinking of some Heian tales where an instrument physically leaves its owner for being unworthy, and obviously Changmin is worthy because the koto keeps coming back to him, but Yunho's final test goes back to the safety theme - does Changmin love the koto because she's always been with him or will he give her up in exchange for buying his freedom?
Is "a koto player" the right answer then? And the koto itself, but since Yunho can't play Red Dappled Silk then he needs both the instrument and its player to be a happy fox ^^
The commitment ceremony was indeed because you'd mentioned liking them ^^ They were drinking the wine the first time around and I remembered how even in later periods it was still considered a ceremony of union, even if it had lost (I think) it's original meaning of consummation of marriage, along with the eating of the rice cakes. So I decided they would symbolically commit to one another as a way of Changmin becoming free.
And I'm relieved that it wasn't super-obvious that Yunho was a fox! I seeded in all that stuff to make him seem Other but sort-of hoped that it'd come off that he was just a wacky foreigner in his weird clothes and without shaved forelocks and with his white, white teeth.
Shamefully I hadn't given too much thought to the backstory but I think Yunho had heard about Changmin's skill with the koto and had gone looking for him.
And oh yes, Changmin does have a lovely nape! I hadn't seen that pic before :O So pretty.
I didn't know about 'selling spring', either - I knew the erotic connotations of spring because of the shunga and Chinese erotic art, but didn't realise it referred also to prostitution. Makes sense, though. Thanks for telling me that!
You're very welcome ♥ I wanted to write you something pretty and meaningful in gratitude for all the Deep Thoughts your fics give me!
Huhu, totally had to check what Easter egg means \o/ (Languages are fun~) But judging from the comments (tho there seem to be quite a few fans??) you succeeded :>
What would Yunho do if Changmin decided to sell the koto, I wonder. I mean, he surely would take him in (so to speak) anyway but would it be with a different attitude/feelings.
What also fascinates me - how Changmin's going to fit into the new life? The obvious adapting aside (oh hey, suddenly I'm my own master!), life with such a powerful creature as Yunho for a lover and life caught up somewhere between human and supernatural worlds. There's so much to explore and muse about in such stories.
(Thank you for including the symbolic ceremony for me ♥ Funny thing is it's a preference I've become aware of just recently, I wonder how long it's going to last *^*)
Other commenters already assured you enough, I hope, but once more - it wasn't obvious at all. Which, considering the amounts of hints thrown around, is quite a feat~ ...and Yunho's teeth are so white it's terrifying 8DD I wish he cut himself slack just a tiny bit cause I'm sure right now his teeth shine in the dark *^*
This is far too gracious of you ♥ Pretty sure Deep Thoughts were mostly you yourself but if my fics managed to be a catalyst then I'm happy <3
huuu your icon, Changmin scruffing his hair, I love it!
Yep, the koto is no good without a koto-player so Yunho would still have taken Changmin with him somehow, but it would have been less of a free will decision and... tainted, in a way, because of the exchange of money/the pearls. I guess it could be read as a metaphor for an artist selling out, so in that sense it's a companion piece to Man Friday! (Weird. Or not.)
I was thinking along the lines of some of Pu Songling's stories, in which humans get entangled with foxes and go off and live together in a sort of 'protected' environment where they don't age. But Changmin probably wouldn't like that and he'd bitch and moan about muddy fox-prints on the bed sheets and he'd get bored eating mice and voles, so I think they'll stay in the world but liminally, on a mountain estate or something, or they'll travel around Japan and China doing koto/zheng-jamming sessions like this scene in Red Cliff (although these are qin, but YKWIM).
I hate to think how much whitening toothpaste he gets through per week, the whiteness is truly blinding
But! On the second read! There are so many hints! In Yunho's appareance, especially. The description of his physical traits, of his clothes (which in my eyes, are both a bit imperfect - although maybe imperfect on purpose - mimicry and a jab at Yunho's artistic skills 8DDD). And the wine! No one brought it, did they. So many small things not adding up, but since readers see things only from Changmin's POV, it's a bit hard to tell that something's actually off? We end up getting misled by his own thoughts and perceptions. So sneaky *^* I applaud you. (Ofc I do.)
Another bit that I really loved was the exchange when Yunho asked Changmin to take his makeup off. The words about illusions being broken - so profound, so meaningful. Before they can be together, they both must shed their illusions and face one another as they truly are. It's powerful.
My heart broke for a moment when Yunho asked Changmin to sell the koto. Poor boy ;; Yunho, you need to learn better timing :|
And then the ending. I knew it had to be Yunho because "koto player Changmin", really, but a certain tension and excitement remained right until the great reveal. (And then there was a midnight squeal but I already told you that *^*)
I'm curious though - did Yunho know? That it's Changmin, I mean. Was he there by coincidence or has the hearsay about Changmin reached him already and it just so happened that he first met him in such circumstances?
...and on a (very relevant yet OT at once 8D) note #1: Changmin has a pretty nape indeed. Idk, when I read the line about him not showing his unpainted nape just yet, I immediately was reminded of this picture. And also, it was one of the reasons I wanted to see him in an onnagata role.
#2: you may know this already but the Japanese word for prostitution could be directly read as "selling spring".
I can't believe how you took random bits and pieces I told you (onnagata! weird koto recital! fox rummaging through rubbish!) and turned it into such a wonderful story. Except I sort of can because it's you, I suppose.
Thank you so much for writing this for me ♥♥♥
(There's probably something else I was meaning to say but I can always bother you on twitter I guess~)
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Oh, I like what you say about safety - yes, that's a really good way of looking at it, too. What keeps Changmin trapped also keeps him safe, and it is a really big leap of faith for him to trust Yunho. And yes, Yunho was testing him all along - I was thinking of some Heian tales where an instrument physically leaves its owner for being unworthy, and obviously Changmin is worthy because the koto keeps coming back to him, but Yunho's final test goes back to the safety theme - does Changmin love the koto because she's always been with him or will he give her up in exchange for buying his freedom?
Is "a koto player" the right answer then?
And the koto itself, but since Yunho can't play Red Dappled Silk then he needs both the instrument and its player to be a happy fox ^^
The commitment ceremony was indeed because you'd mentioned liking them ^^ They were drinking the wine the first time around and I remembered how even in later periods it was still considered a ceremony of union, even if it had lost (I think) it's original meaning of consummation of marriage, along with the eating of the rice cakes. So I decided they would symbolically commit to one another as a way of Changmin becoming free.
And I'm relieved that it wasn't super-obvious that Yunho was a fox! I seeded in all that stuff to make him seem Other but sort-of hoped that it'd come off that he was just a wacky foreigner in his weird clothes and without shaved forelocks and with his white, white teeth.
Shamefully I hadn't given too much thought to the backstory but I think Yunho had heard about Changmin's skill with the koto and had gone looking for him.
And oh yes, Changmin does have a lovely nape! I hadn't seen that pic before :O So pretty.
I didn't know about 'selling spring', either - I knew the erotic connotations of spring because of the shunga and Chinese erotic art, but didn't realise it referred also to prostitution. Makes sense, though. Thanks for telling me that!
You're very welcome ♥ I wanted to write you something pretty and meaningful in gratitude for all the Deep Thoughts your fics give me!
Reply
What would Yunho do if Changmin decided to sell the koto, I wonder. I mean, he surely would take him in (so to speak) anyway but would it be with a different attitude/feelings.
What also fascinates me - how Changmin's going to fit into the new life? The obvious adapting aside (oh hey, suddenly I'm my own master!), life with such a powerful creature as Yunho for a lover and life caught up somewhere between human and supernatural worlds. There's so much to explore and muse about in such stories.
(Thank you for including the symbolic ceremony for me ♥ Funny thing is it's a preference I've become aware of just recently, I wonder how long it's going to last *^*)
Other commenters already assured you enough, I hope, but once more - it wasn't obvious at all. Which, considering the amounts of hints thrown around, is quite a feat~
...and Yunho's teeth are so white it's terrifying 8DD I wish he cut himself slack just a tiny bit cause I'm sure right now his teeth shine in the dark *^*
This is far too gracious of you ♥ Pretty sure Deep Thoughts were mostly you yourself but if my fics managed to be a catalyst then I'm happy <3
Reply
Yep, the koto is no good without a koto-player so Yunho would still have taken Changmin with him somehow, but it would have been less of a free will decision and... tainted, in a way, because of the exchange of money/the pearls. I guess it could be read as a metaphor for an artist selling out, so in that sense it's a companion piece to Man Friday! (Weird. Or not.)
I was thinking along the lines of some of Pu Songling's stories, in which humans get entangled with foxes and go off and live together in a sort of 'protected' environment where they don't age. But Changmin probably wouldn't like that and he'd bitch and moan about muddy fox-prints on the bed sheets and he'd get bored eating mice and voles, so I think they'll stay in the world but liminally, on a mountain estate or something, or they'll travel around Japan and China doing koto/zheng-jamming sessions like this scene in Red Cliff (although these are qin, but YKWIM).
I hate to think how much whitening toothpaste he gets through per week, the whiteness is truly blinding
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