#i actually don’t think that the svsss world is that broken | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

user-needs-new-hyperfixation · 6 months

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uh as someone who is in svsss fandom; not sure what that other person was talking about in terms of everyone “glossing over” how it ends. people know it’s bad. that’s... kind of the point, both of the entire series and that scene. spoilers for that, and the rest of svsss though I’ve done my best to keep everything vague, but you can choose to disregard this and I wouldn’t fault you for this. tl:dr svsss is definitely not for everyone and if this isn’t your thing, probably not for you. sorry in advance for the essay. it is an absolute train wreck, which is kind of the point.

that scene involves sex. that scene involves one person withdrawing consent. that scene continues despite the withdrawal of consent, and mind you it’s not what most people would call erotic by any definition.

this book is a horror that gets masked by the comedy from an unreliable narrator; what if you got isekai’d into the absolute worst of the worst online web novel, that is just porn and a revenge catharsis male power fantasy, what if you were stuck there? what if you were stuck in the role of a character created to be the source of misery, a character who actually has to suffer that horrifying punishment that is inflicted by the protagonist of this revenge fantasy by the end if you fail to change a story that’s already been written?

it’s a terrible world to be sent to because the book is deconstructing that entire genre that honestly I don’t think exists to the same extent in english, it’s a genre that is made to sell chapters via exactly that; a revenge catharsis story built on male power fantasy, with flimsy justification for porn at every turn. so this terrible situation to be in ends like that; with god awful porn tropes everywhere, of course the world ending and trying to avoid it involves sex that, if anyone involved with was real, would be horrifying.

the main romance is, as has been joked about, a solid red flag finding solace in another solid red flag. they’re both doing terribly mental health wise without much prospect of getting better but considering the circumstances it’s the healthiest dynamic they both could be in.

i’m not saying it’s a perfect story by any means, but I feel like people’s disdain for it often comes from the expectations. if you go into this with the expectation of it being like tgcf or mdzs you will be blindsided by all this, and it’s a lot to be suddenly exposed to without warning. personally I would absolutely not have enjoyed this as a romance primarily; but I still do enjoy it as a black comedy that hides the horror of what it’s deconstructing, and basically just happens to have an absolute trash fire romance in the background.

if you somehow got this far; thank you. if you don’t want to read svsss that’s fair, it really isn’t for everyone for various reasons. but if you’re willing to read it, reading it as a romance might not be for you. the protagonist and point of view for us is a very unreliable narrator and I’m not sure why entirely but this fact gets thrown out a lot when people get around to reading it.

I don't think it's necessarily unfair to say it gets glossed over at least in the sort of...idk, public-facing side of the fandom? Like I'm sure there's deeper discussions and meta and such going on within the fandom, but from the outside I've seen like 3-5 posts about the darker stuff and 100 cutesy memes of the curly haired guy being a whiny baby 😅

THAT SAID, I really like how you've broken down the premise here, and it is very interesting. I love SO MUCH about MDZS even though I don't like the sex, and I love MXTX's storytelling, so I could definitely be down to read some dark comedy-horror trope deconstruction from her. I do think that management of expectations is a big part of it: I daresay most people come into MXTX novels via MDZS or TGCF first, and both of those are certainly to large degree romances. So it kind of makes sense that then people head over to SVSSS expecting more of the same and get unpleasantly surprised. I appreciate both you and the other person I was talking to kind of breaking down the differences. I definitely do feel like, if/when I do read it, I'll be going in now with a much better sense of what to expect and how to interpret it. Thanks so much!

#asks

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chaos0pikachu · 1 year

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tldr: I disagree that mxtx was trying to say “bad actions make bad people” and more “society is the real bad guy”

[pic of the tags I’m responding to under the cut so user doesn’t feel attacked lmao]

I ain’t gonna put this person on blast by like showing their name or anything or even tagging this post but I fundamentally disagree lol

like, firstly I don’t think this is even what that passage in SVSSS was referring to. It’s a meta-commentary on how when an antagonist is layered, and complex, fans get cranky as fuck b/c they want simple, clean, and morally simplistic b/c it’s easier text to engage with. If a character does bad things but is sympathetic in some way fans get cranky and flame wars start racking up. It’s actually kinda cool to know this is a global fan issue lmao

second, like what I get from MXTX’s novels isn’t “these people are bad actually, and you shouldn’t excuse their actions” but rather “these people made horrible choices, but what societal and structural oppression and problems contributed to those choices?”

like, the tragedy in MXTX’s work is - from my reading - society failed these characters and thus the cycle of harm continues on. Example, what would Shen Jiu’s life had been like if he wasn’t sold into child slavery, and horribly, horrifically abused his entire formative years? If he hadn’t been subjected to the whims of powerful people (by class, classism is such a recurring theme in MXTX’s work)? Would he still have been as resentful? As harmful? As abusive? We’ll never know but it’s something to ponder and part of the tragedy of his life. Could he have been a better person if he was treated as a human being? If society didn’t deem him lesser than and the cycle of violence didn’t continue but was instead broken?

XY is another example, he was a child who was mistreated not just by the powerful adult cultivators, but by enablers surrounding him. No one offered a helping hand to a hurt child, and no one held the adult who hurt him to justice. He had no recourse for justice even b/c of his position in society. Now, does this “excuse” him of killing the entire sect? No. But that’s why cycles are so hard to break. Why systemic issues are so hard to address b/c their are no easy answers for them and require systematic change.

WWX did try to be a good person - and the world killed him for it.

That’s the point - again for me anyway. WWX, save for some super violent war crimes, did what he thought was right and it bucked against the status quo. The system in place. JGY did not kill WWX, neither did XY. Hell, JGS didn’t kill WWX. The cultivation society as a whole enabled the mistreatment of the Wen refugees (including “righteous” characters like NMJ!!), their continued mistreatment, enabled the Jin’s power grab, enabled JGS Harvey Wienstien-ing it all over the cultivation world, enabled the siege that lead to WWX death and the death of all the surviving Wens, and willingly murdered WN and WQ.

It is far to easy to simply look at the novel and say “yes, JGS, JGY, and XY are Bad People and therefore the Root of All the Evil”. JGS is most certainly a Bad Person dude was a full on rapist. But the society surrounding him enabled that behavior, they looked away, they didn’t confront him, they saw his behavior and turned their heads and said “not my problem”. Sure they judged him, but no one every questioned him, the Jin’s, or the system until WWX. And then WWX was killed for it.

It’s why in the end, what is WWX’s happy ending? Riding off into the sunset with his husband away from cultivation society. Sure they make Cloud Recesses their home base, but they are no longer an active part in the politics, they decided to play no part in the society as a whole. Which uses, abuses, and hurts people they deem “lower class”: poor people, non-cultivators, servants, sex workers, etc.

Often when people think “justice” they associate it with “punishment” which is something activists are trying to combat (speaking from an entirely American POV here) with “restorative justice”. MXTX doesn’t really give an easy answer to the societal issues she brings up in her novels, if anything the only “answer” she provides is “removed yourself from it” in the cases of MaimMaim and WWX/LZ. But I implore people to look into restorative justice, and more community/societal based thinking rather than individual and punishment based thinking.

also tapping in one of the MDZA experts I know, @thatswhatsushesaid in case I got any book shit wrong lmao

anyway here’s the tags I’m responding to that gave me Thoughts:

#chaos pikachu speaks #chaos pikachu talks to damn much #this isn't an attack btw on the user themselves just some thoughts I had in general

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imaginaryelle · 2 years

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Hi, again..... If you don't mind me asking, what are your top 5 favorite moments from SVSSS novel? And why?

And who are your top 5 favorite characters from SVSSS novel? And why? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

(Thank you so much for answering my ask before, by dividing them in categories 😊)....

I apologize for the extreme delay in answering this—I really thought I had actually answered it already! I do not mind the ask at all, I just got very distracted apparently. You may uh. Notice a theme here. I will try to break it up a bit with categories again so that I’m not just crying over qijiu and nothing else.

Warnings for: angst and blood mentions. For favorite moments and characters in the parody novel, you ask? Yes, yes for favorite moments and characters in the parody novel.

Okay, 5 favorite moments:

1. Replays in My Mind on Repeat: Original!Shen Qingqiu in the Water Prison, confronted with Yue Qingyuan’s death.

The verbal prodding at his jailer, the laughter, the introspection, the red string of fate imagery with the blood !! I will never be over this scene, okay, the Qijiu extras in general are the part of canon I revisit most often, and this scene is just. The total tone switch between Shen Yuan’s storyline and the extras makes it hit harder, you know? And it hits pretty hard already.

“The sword is broken, the person is dead.

It shouldn’t be like this.

A thread of blood stretched out, moving closer until it was just about to meet another and tie. It missed and coiled back.

It broke.”

Excuse me I need to go scream into the void.

2. Coolest Worldbuilding Detail: Sun and Moon Dew Flower

This one was super hard to choose because the worldbuilding is actually the thing I love most about SVSSS. There are so many hints that are juuuust fleshed out enough to make me wonder about them. Xin Mo’s world-hopping thing comes a close second probably, but the Sun and Moon Dew Flower gets the mention because not only is it a cool concept, but the continuation of the plot hinges on it in entirely unexpected ways, not because SQQ needs it, but because Tianlang-jun needs it.

3. Made Me Scream with the Implications: Shen Yuan accessing Shen Jiu’s old, corrupted memories

Y’all. How much of memory is the body, and how much is the soul? How much of who you are is what you remember? How much of of your personality lives in your bones, in your muscle memory, in a perfect poker face that you don’t even have to think about anymore? How much of you is consistent across multiple lifetimes?

Also there’s A+ Qijiu content. The door conversation gets to me every time.

4. Most Heartbeaking Moment: Yue Qingyuan’s confession

I know, I know there’s a theme here but this moment. This moment and the extras saved the entire novel for me. We find out so much about what happened to propel the events of the past 25 years or so right at the end, and this is the last puzzle piece clicking into place. Yue Qi and Shen Jiu, and a broken promise that cut them both, a precursor to the percieved betrayal between Su Xiyan and Tianlang-jun, and both of those misunderstandings bearing down on Luo Binghe like shards of broken glass.

What would be different, if those promises were kept? What would be different, if Shen Jiu got the chance Tianlang-jun did, to learn that he had not been betrayed before he died? These are questions that literally keep me up at night.

5. Funniest Moment: Two rooms at the inn for SQQ, LBH and LQG

The entire chapter is funny but this is the best, to me. I must get away from the gay, Shen Qingqiu tells himself while claiming a room for only himself. Because I am straight and reading a stallion novel obviously proves that I’m straight. But oh, Liu-shidi can visit. Liu Qingge is the straightest person ever! So beautiful, and so very straight as he gives me back the fan he’s been hanging onto for five years at this point, after attacking Luo Binghe over and over again in an effort to retrieve my body. I am in no danger of gay happening here.

I mean this line: “It was true that Liu Qingge was, since the beginning of time, the world’s first straight man, as straight as the reflection of the sun and moon or the day and night.”

This line is a work of art, okay.

Favorite characters:

1. Most likely to inspire fic writing: Shen Jiu

Probably not a surprise given the above moments list but oh, Shen Jiu. So much potential. So much influence on the plot when he’s not even there anymore. I love it. If Mo Xuanyu haunts the edges of MDZS, Shen Jiu is an ever-present spectre in SVSSS. Now, I will say that I am a huge fan of the idea that Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan are the same person, just different reincarnations of the same soul. But I tend to like Shen Jiu better, because I find him more interesting. He’s bitter and cruel and should never have been put in charge of children without significant time in therapy but he has solid reasons for being that way that can be directly traced to his life experience. He’s loyal even when he’s been betrayed, and he acts altruistically to save Liu Qingge even though they’ve literally never managed to have a civil conversation. His past and these qualities don’t excuse his actions, obviously, but they do make him an extremely complex character, and that paired with his rather extreme influence on the plot makes him prime fic material in all sorts of ways.

2. Favorite Moron with an Overpowered Sword: Yue Qingyuan

Funny how there’s two of those, isn’t it? Look, Yue Qingyuan messed up. He messed up badly in several ways. His is a truly impressive case of trying to do the right thing and just fucking it up over, and over, and over again. I’ve written before about the parallels between Yue Qingyuan and Luo Binghe (plot parallels, though they’re also both intelligent, reportedly handsome and improbably endowed, likely to repeatedly overstep personal boundaries and then cry/apologize about it, etc.), but Yue Qingyuan is more interesting to me because every step of the way it’s his choices that lead to his own downfall. Luo Binghe gets buffeted around by the plot and all those broken promises I mentioned above, but Yue Qingyuan chose power over reliability and ended up destroying the most important relationship in his life. And in reaction to that he swung too far in the other direction: he let his need to reclaim that idea that Shen Jiu would see him as reliable lead him into situations where he was indulgent instead of exercising any authority. His choices are pivotal to multiple plotlines, and yet he’s barely seen in canon because Shen Yuan just. Straight up doesn’t care for quite a long time, and doesn’t know why he should.

3. Favorite non-OT3 Peak Lord: Mu Qingfang

The OT3 is Liu Qingge/Yue Qingyuan/Shen Qingqiu, but I feel like I should talk about someone else so! Mu Qingfang. Mu Qingfang suffers so much nonsense. Also his sense of humor is excellent.

Qi Qingqi placed her teacup down on the table rather heavily and raised an eyebrow as she spoke. “Of course. How could that be indeed? If Luo Binghe dared to return to Cang Qiong Peak now, you’ll see just how we take care of scum like him!”

Mu Qingfang, sitting off to the side with his hands in his sleeves, commented casually, “Well you’d have to be able to take care of him first.”

The deadpan practicality is just so good.

4. Favorite protagonist for a prequel novel: Su Xiyan

Listen. Su Xiyan should have a novel. I think Su Xiyan is the most complex character in the canon, and I want to know—how long was she working the con, and when did she fall in love? What did her fellow Huan Hua Palace disciples think of her? How did she learn the bloodline seal that saved Binghe’s life long enough for him to actually be born? Almost all we have left of her is a story told by a man who found her bleeding out of her pores on the road, trying to return to a lover she didn’t know was already lost. And Binghe’s looks. The sheer willpower, the determination she must have had. Both Tianlang-jun and Yue Qingyuan imply she was fierce and often cold, and a skilled fighter. What might she have done, if she’d lived? What could she do as the head of Huan Hua Palace, assuming she was allowed to actually succeed the Old Palace Master? I want to know, okay. She’d make a fantastic protagonist, even if her story still ended in tragedy.

5. Favorite non-Cang-Qiong Character: Gongyi Xiao

Gongyi Xiao tries so hard. He’s young and gifted and nice, which is like. An incredibly rare quality in his world. And again, so much potential, cut short. Would love to have seen more of him.

#svsss #scum villain #blood mention #thanks for the ask!!

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tossawary · 3 years

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Chapter 27: “The First Day” of “pride is not the word I’m looking for” quotes and commentary. Not a full list of favorite quotes or full commentary.

Right now, deep into the safety of darkness, Shang Qinghua thinks about how he never actually expected to be lying in his bed with Mobei-Jun. No, there’s a reason his sofa is comfortable enough to sleep on! That was by design too! Sure, Shang Qinghua had lots and lots of bed-related fantasies, but he had no expectations of those fantasies ever coming true. He didn’t dare to have expectations.

It’s kind of weird, lying in bed with Mobei-Jun. It’s definitely weird lying in his bed partially on top of Mobei-Jun. With the way things were headed, Shang Qinghua was admittedly fostering some hopes about those bed-related fantasies, but he still didn’t think to mentally prepare himself for the practical details. He really wasn’t mentally prepared for the softness of Mobei-Jun’s hair, for the thickness and the weight of the man’s arms, or for the coolness of his skin against the warmth of the blankets.

Fuck, now there is no way that Shang Qinghua is going to be able to see Mobei-Jun with a plunging neckline without thinking about touching the man’s bare chest. It’s a nice chest! It feels great underneath Shang Qinghua’s hands now.

He can feel a steady heartbeat beneath his fingers.

He can feel the gentle rise and fall of it with the man’s slow breaths, as the man’s eyes have fallen comfortably closed.

Shang Qinghua has never seen Mobei-Jun this relaxed.

AN: Moshang in bed together is very good. I loved writing Moshang cuddles. I think it’s really nice when they’re allowed to be soft and relaxed, and everything is understood between them. Mobei-Jun at this point has learned to treat Shang Qinghua like a particularly anxious cat sometimes - if he just stays still and relaxed, eventually Shang Qinghua will calm down and chill with him.

Shout out to Mobei-Jun and all those years he spent trying to get some hint as to how human social everything worked, only to get nearly no help from Shang Qinghua. In this fic, part of the idea is that Shang Qinghua has been a slightly better communicator. Mobei-Jun can be a good listener when he doesn’t feel hideously embarrassed over his fuck-ups.

“I had made plans to speak with you at some point about… this,” Mobei-Jun agrees. “But that was not why I had come to see you that day.”

“Ah, what… what was it, then?”

Mobei-Jun sighs. “I had come from a gathering of demon lords, hosted by my father at their request. They have loosely agreed to each contribute to an attack on the next conference of human cultivators,” he explains, apparently annoyed at just having to recollect this event. “My uncle encourages my father to force my involvement. He must have trouble planned… or see an opportunity for it.”

Shang Qinghua processes this, then sits bolt upright in bed. “What?!”

Mobei-Jun frowns up at him.

“There’s a demonic alliance to attack the next Immortal Alliance Conference?!” Shang Qinghua demands, leaning over the demon lord beside him.

“Yes.”

“And you waited to tell me this?!”

“There are years left before this event,” Mobei-Jun points out.

Shang Qinghua stares at him.

Sure! But he feels like he should start planning now! He already knew that there was going to be a demon attack of some kind - the seal on Luo Binghe’s powers has to be broken - but demon lords getting involved is bad news! Multiple demon lords who are important enough to be socializing with Mobei-Jun’s father is worse news! Demon lords potentially including Mobei-Jun’s shitty father and shitty uncle is the worst news of all!

“You should warn your people,” Mobei-Jun says, dryly.

AN: Mobei-Jun doesn’t care about the sects, but he cares that Shang Qinghua cares. Mobei-Jun and Shang Qinghua really are villainous in SVSSS. Shang Qinghua just so happens to sometimes be on the protagonist’s (Shen Yuan’s) side and Shen Yuan has romanced a budding tyrant who has MBJ as a loyal minion. But, oof, I didn’t want to go that route with this fic.

I mean, I considered it! I considered having Shang Qinghua be forced to bring a demon invasion down on the sect he’s come to care about and his own nephew, but that felt a little too angsty for me. It totally could have been good, I was just like, “I can’t handle that.” Plus, with the world update, it felt fitting to jazz things up a little bit - to up the ante by inviting more demon lords and also have a little role reversal by letting Mobei-Jun be the spy. This way, I think, it really feels like Mobei-Jun is on Shang Qinghua’s side.

Shang Qinghua isn’t on the demons’ side. Mobei-Jun isn’t really on the humans’ side. But they are on each other’s side. They’re a team!

Again, what’s more romantic than your demon boyfriend actually doing the work of growth on his own? Moshang can be a little rough and with a lot of sharp edges (on both sides, they’re both kind of mean people) sometimes, so it’s sometimes nice to remember that they can support each other too.

Also, I’ve always been kind of curious about what Mobei-Jun’s family thinks of his relationship with a human. Mobei-Jun’s father is still alive throughout SVSSS, so it’s fun to think about ice demon politics, power and influence and loyalty in that court, and whether that factored at all into Mobei-Jun’s extremely slow-moving courting timeline of a human.

The person at the door knocks a third time, and Shang Qinghua feels the person beside him stir. He can feel a not insignificant amount of weight shifting, a low and unhappy grumble, and cool skin brushing against his own as that person makes to get up. Possibly to handle the person at the door? Shang Qinghua here abruptly remembers many important details about his current situation that make the sect potentially being on fire seem like a not-so-bad emergency.

“Demon invasion,” Shang Qinghua finds himself thinking. “Mobei-Jun. Fuck.”

“No, no, no! Don’t get up! I’ll get it!” Shang Qinghua cries, throwing off tangled blankets and flying out of bed. “I’ll handle it, my king! Sorry! Ahhh, sorry! I’ll take care of it, you can just stay where you are-”

Shang Qinghua, now on his feet, pushes firmly down against Mobei-Jun’s chest. He’s not expecting the man - a very, very strong and very, very stubborn demon lord - to go back down under his hand without any resistance at all. This easy obedience, this willingly being pushed down, leads to a surprised Shang Qinghua overbalancing and catching himself hard on Mobei-Jun’s chest and shoulders.

As though Shang Qinghua is actually pinning the man down.

Mobei-Jun stares up at him, eyes low-lidded, and raises his eyebrows.

Ah.

Wow.

Shang Qinghua is going to… well, he’s going to think about this for the rest of his life, probably.

AN: Mobei-Jun is so self-conscious in SVSSS that it’s kind of hilarious. So it’s fun to let him be a little more confident (rather than arrogant and lashing out defensively). Mobei-Jun probably thought to himself here, “You know what’ll be funny here? If I just go down now.” I feel it in my heart that Mobei-Jun is a teaser, especially when he’s relaxed and happy.

Shang Qinghua takes the time to fix up his appearance a little more - to get rid of the “I slept with a demon” smell - because if the asshole at his door has kept it up this long, they can wait a little longer. It turns out that he didn’t really need to bother, because it’s his fellow transmigrator and most dogged critic, Peerless Cucumber.

“Bro,” Shang Qinghua says seriously. “Do you have a deathwish?”

Peerless Cucumber - Shen Yuan, Shang Qinghua has to remember to call the kid by his real name - lowers his hand with a scowl. “...One of your disciples told me to knock on your door and keep knocking until you answered,” the other transmigrator says defensively. “After I said you said to meet you in the morning.”

“...Which one?”

“Wen Shufen, I think?”

“Ah, just for that prank, Sticky Fingers is going to be hauling fertilizer for Long Sheng Peak for a month,” Shang Qinghua says tiredly. “Bro, do not believe half the things your martial siblings here tell you. They’re pretty much all liars, cheats, and thieves.”

“Then why keep them around?”

“Ah, well, sometimes you need someone to lie, cheat, or steal.”

“...It’s nearly not morning anymore, you know.”

“Eh, I guess you get a pass this time, since I did tell you we’d have a nice long talk about things tomorrow morning. Come on in.”

AN: I don’t know if this vibe is coming across, but Shen Yuan feels a little ignored and neglected. They just got back from a mission and Shen Yuan has already been shooed off like twice. Shang Qinghua is so busy. Shang Qinghua is so experienced and so established here. Shen Yuan has latched onto SQH as his lifeline, though he’s trying very, very hard to be independent, and yet Shang Qinghua kind of has SY on the back burner most of the time.

Not only is Shang Qinghua the author of this world, but he’s also an important figure in this world. Shang Qinghua really lives here and if the plot wasn’t looming over them, SQH would be very happy here. This place feels 100% like Shang Qinghua’s | Airplane’s world and brand new transmigrator Shen Yuan feels like an unwanted intruder. SY is still lonely and scared.

“...Are you going to try to activate it now?” Shen Yuan asks.

“Hmmm… no, not right now,” Shang Qinghua decides, standing up off the dusty stool he was sitting on. “Cucumber, bro, I’m just not awake enough for tackling anything serious right now. Let me get a few texts and tools together first to test this thing properly, alright? Some safety equipment! Aprons and face shields! Thick, fireproof gloves! I’m still trying to figure out how to safely ask Duan Tianyu what he knows about this map the System apparently made him send me, when he might not even know what the fuck I’m talking about! Maybe he can give us some hints.”

“Who?”

“One of my Huan Hua not-disciples,” Shang Qinghua answers. “I picked up some extras a few deadly missions back. They’re good kids. All grown up now! Less naïve than they used to be! Duan Tianyu is teaching back at Huan Hua Palace now, so maybe I’ll have to be the one to wander over there on some pretense.”

Shen Yuan agrees that getting as much information as possible is probably the better course of action. Shang Qinghua ushers the kid out of his secret basement and his fellow transmigrator goes easily enough. Shang Qinghua complains about his shitty, no-good System on the way up for forcing them to do all the work by themselves.

“It must think everything is more ‘authentic’ if I don’t know what the fuck is going on,” Shang Qinghua suggests, removing his spiritual seal and causing the door to the secret basement to vanish. “Ah, I’ll admit that’s kind of cool to watch.”

AN: Throughout this conversation, SY is kind of reaching out, giving himself or Airplane excuses to let him stay. It’s not that he doesn’t want to cultivate, but SQH represents a sort of safety and familiarity SY doesn’t have right now.

In SVSSS, Airplane was always pretty direct with Shen Yuan, from what I remember, but he wasn’t necessarily open. He was direct about some potentially vulnerable or personal topics, like Luo Binghe’s insanity or his own general fear of his character’s planned death, but that’s not the same as actually being vulnerable. They snap at each other, they’re pretty direct about their personal goals, but they don’t actually get vulnerable with each other by confessing their personal fears and new relationship developments.

So I’ve tried to adopt that here, while making Shang Qinghua a little kinder and slightly more vulnerable, thanks to the efforts of Luo Jiahui. But Shang Qinghua still isn’t necessarily open here and neither is Shen Yuan. He’s just like, “Hey, it’s shit and I don’t like it either, but what can you do?” He’s not actually seriously talking about his breakdown or just how scared he is of his own plot.

For some people, there’s a certain kind of openness in confessing things to a stranger, so it’s kind of like that too. Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan have fallen into kind of familiar dynamics, because there’s nothing else to really do, and they are kind of acquaintances, but they’re still not friends yet.

I think I want to have SY and SQH actually address this soon. SY feels that SQH has been kind of dropping the ball when it comes to honestly helping his fellow transmigrator, though SY, being SY, can’t quite put his finger on the lack of emotional intimacy and affection that he’s starved for right now.

The day-in-day-out of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect can’t get him down today! He feels kind of like he’s walking on air! Sure, the work never stops and there are some fucking terrifying things ahead, but he just had a very successful mission overall! He just had a really, really successful conversation with Mobei-Jun! He and Mobei-Jun are romantically entwined and Mobei-Jun was very explicit about the fact that he expects them to be romantically entwined… pretty much indefinitely!

“There is no one else,” Mobei-Jun had said. “There will be no one else.”

Shang Qinghua fostered a lot of hopes over the years! More hopes than he felt that he should have reasonably fostered! And to have those hopes unexpectedly fulfilled like this is… really something! It’s really, really something! Mobei-Jun really isn’t the type of character to say that - to say any of the things he said, and wow, he said a lot of things back there - without meaning it completely.

Shang Qinghua doesn’t really know what to do with that.

Forever is a long time.

He understands, of course, that some things really do last an impossibly long time. He used to be pretty certain that all love matches faded eventually - that people were genuinely wildly in love… that people were sincerely in love with each other, sure… up until they inevitably weren’t anymore - but now he can’t really imagine Liu Qingge or Luo Jiahui ever getting tired of each other. Liu Qingge keeps bringing Luo Jiahui new recipes to try and rare ingredients to interest her, so she can make dishes for the two of them or her family as a whole, and Shang Qinghua can easily imagine the two of them doing that pretty much indefinitely.

Shang Qinghua can’t think about this for long, before he has to focus on greeting his disciples (it’s just Peng Hongpeng and Chen Xuan in here at the moment) and getting to work. “Good things last while they last!” he decides for now, because thinking about things not lasting kind of makes him feel like he’s dying.

AN: Shang Qinghua can’t quite bring himself to believe in a relationship lasting forever right now. Part of it is his commitment issues, but another part of it is his persisting inability to see past the looming plot. He’s still worried about Luo Binghe and the Eternal Abyss, so he’s having difficulty seeing past that hurdle, even though things like Luo Jiahui’s marriage and his new relationship with Mobei-Jun are forcing him to confront the fact that there’s still a life outside of and beyond the plot.

For Shang Qinghua, it’s kind of a “I’ll think about that later if we all survive” thing when it comes to him and Mobei-Jun.

“He made a mistake with good intentions and got a small injury for it,” Shang Qinghua says, as reassuringly as he can. “He’s fine! He’s in trouble with his shizun for it, though, but I’ll see what I can do about bringing you up to meet him or bringing him down here as soon as possible. I’ll do my best to make it happen!”

Luo Jiahui leans into Shang Qinghua’s side and admits, “I miss him.”

“He misses you.”

“I miss you too,” Luo Jiahui adds.

“...Ah, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” his sister-in-law says warmly. “I’d miss you even if you visited every day.”

Shang Qinghua is holding her hands, but it feels like she’s got an extra one wrapped around his heart. “Where’s that husband of yours? Doesn’t he come down the mountain every day? Should I be telling him off? Sorry I ran off with him for a little bit!”

“What does Qingge have to do with you and me?” Luo Jiahui demands. “It doesn’t matter how often I see everyone else, I still miss you and Binghe the most.”

“Hm, that’s a point! That’s a point.”

What else can Shang Qinghua do but admit that he misses her the most too?

AN: It was fun to follow up Shang Qinghua’s romantic developments with a return to his most important and longest relationship: the one he has with his “fake” sister. Luo Jiahui is and always will be important to Shang Qinghua and who he’s become. They have such a lovely relaxed feeling that’s nice to revisit. I’ve missed Luo Jiahui these past few chapters, as things get twisted up more and more in sect business.

It would feel dishonest to the rest of the fic if Shang Qinghua’s other relationships disappeared in favor of his new romantic relationship. They all have their own importance. Mobei-Jun and Liu Qingge don’t make Shang Qinghua and Luo Jiahui any less important to each other.

I am looking forward to making Mobei-Jun and Luo Jiahui meet again, and tackling some of Mobei-Jun’s thoughts on Shang Qinghua’s relationship with his family. Mobei-Jun has a really shitty family, so it’s interesting thinking about what family means to him and how loyalty/love plays into it.

While he's busy plotting around the plot, there’s a hum of power behind him, the cool whoosh and crackle of a portal opening, the faint hair-rising warning of demonic energy. Shang Qinghua finishes tapping at his own face in thought, looks up at the looming shadow standing behind him, and smiles. He kind of feels like he should run away, but it's too late for that now. He held on long enough that he made it too late for himself.

“Hello,” he says.

AN: I took this almost exactly from the first chapter of Part 3 of this fic. I can’t remember the chapter number, but it was the one titled “The Inevitable Plot”.

Parts 3 and 4 of this fic blend together a little. Part 3 of this fic kind of ends here, but I have a couple more chapters that I want to tackle before I feel that I can say we’re for sure in Part 4? I have some things I want to accomplish before we go into a slight time skip towards the Immortal Alliance Conference.

#tossawary commentary #tossawary svsss #pride is not the word

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natsunoomoi · 3 years

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Oh yeah, addendum to the other post from earlier because I went to bed after I found it, but yeah. I found the spot where it talks about it finally. But just annoyed because I think it was an issue with like textual clean up or my phone browser at the time screwing with me as I went back and forth to the translation notes that it probably wasn't as clearly input into my memory the first time around. I don't have ad blockers on my phone so when I was originally reading it I was having formatting issues that I think distracted my reading sometimes. I still managed to remember quite a lot of details in general for the plot, I think, but I remember it was frustrating to try to get to the end. Checking now on my desktop and the formatting issues are near nonexistent so it's easier to read and jog my memory that oh yeah I did read this part.

But also still annoyed that it's improperly cited on the wiki cuz ugh, that's not how you write a wiki. Proper chapter citations, yo. It is in 81 not 92. *facepalm* Still kind of wondering where that other part I read when I started this book was mentioned? Still haven't seen that at all.

I think also I remember I was a bit more concerned about the overall meaning of what the ending meant too than what Qinghua was saying. Like the way everything turned out in the book it was really sweet and all and I like Qingqiu and Binghe together, but I was and still am really concerned that they only really work as a couple in this book specifically because of the circumstances of the book. I can understand people IRL are repressed or don't think about their own sexuality and maybe discover it later or under the right circumstances, but at the same time the way things unfolded also gives me some concerns. It's more possible that someone who is straight might only think so because it's just the normal accepted type of relationship we see in our modern society so they don't question or explore it so they don't know, but at the same time, I'm also concerned because your sexuality doesn't just change because of one person either. IRL if someone is not into you, they're not into you. I'm a little worried as well that the relationship between the characters is also a little coercive. Like when we're talking about enthusiastic consent IRL it means for all partners and both people in a relationship should thoughtfully respect the other's boundaries and needs, and unfortunately, Binghe tends to not respect boundaries. It makes for good comedy and cuteness in a fictional work, but a lot of young people also read this book and it worries me a bit what some people might learn about relationships in that regard.

Like this maybe a separate thing, but like thinking about the consent in the relationship in this book reminds me of a Reddit post I saw where this one guy was asking for advice about a situation with his gf where his gf would only sleep with him if he put on Sasuke cosplay and she wore Naruto cosplay and basically they acted out her BL fantasy. And like he was very kind and onboard with her roleplay because he wanted her to be happy, but also like when he asked to maybe not do the cosplay, she would get upset and refuse to be intimate with him in any other way. And like, yeah, the situation is very funny, but because this is a real life couple you can see how when only one person bends to their partner's desires and needs, it can leave the other person feeling unheard and empty. As hilarious as it sounds, a lot of people were very sympathetic for the guy and feeling for him cuz like he was doing everything right and giving it a try for her and then also just approaching her maturely and trying to talk about his own comfort in that regard and she wasn't hearing him. So similar to how I feel bad and afraid for that guy, I actually feel kind of concerned and afraid for SY/Qingqiu a little. Like if both of them were my friend IRL, I would legit be worried that Binghe wasn't always listening to Qingqiu's needs. The relationship needs to be an equal give and take or at least balanced, but one side tends to take more and act more selfishly, and it's like, you only feel worried and want them to talk to each other more and grow because you want them to be able to last together.

Still kind of getting into the other books, but in comparison the other relationships in the other two books seem to be more positive and supportive. Like TGCF seems to be the most healthy and functional as an actual relationship.

Also a bit concerned that Airplane's original outline was a teacher x student relationship. Like we can argue it's okay for SY cuz he's not really Qingqiu, but that relationship being the original outline is also risque and that is NG at worst and a huge risk at best. Like it was viewed bad enough already that Qingqiu was written to eye Ning Yingying, it wouldn't be viewed any better if that part of the original outline was in it too. On the plus side the way SVSSS plays out Binghe is an adult already when the situation happens and it is at a more appropriate time, but the optics are pretty bad just because of like ideas of society that a master is like a parent and a disciple is like a child. It's also related to the titles and such that they call each other like shixiong, shidi, etc. They have family dynamics with each other so it's not great. It's not like there aren't some situations IRL where teacher and student become a couple, but in many circumstances it's highly inappropriate. The underage issue is the normal problem. But if they are grown and it is later when you are no longer their teacher I've seen some couples where it worked out, but it's a situation of consenting adults at least. Still a little concerned about the power imbalance dynamics. In IRL situations that's a big thing too. Other than age, one person being able to affect other parts of your life on a whim is a huge stressor on a relationship you don't need. I can kind of understand how it would have worked out in a positive if like Qingqiu had shown empathy for Binghe when they first met because their lives mirror each other's, but like a lot of the other things Qinghua added into the story like the extent of Qingqiu's traumas being played out as asshole behavior became huge barriers. Like I mentioned, with just his traumas it would be very difficult for him to be able to have even a deep friendship with other men, which is similar to how IRL people in real life don't have a chance to explore themselves because of various issues and stuff in society. But also Binghe being ultimately unhappy by just doing what the world thinks he should do and not what he wants on both an in-world level and a meta level. We don't get a whole lot on Shen Jiu, so I'm really curious how that would have actually worked on his end because he seemed really broken, but it's impossible to parse out what of the original plot we can imagine to remove to understand the original outline and how it would have happened. He was very alone and even though the pipa player called him a friend, it doesn't seem like he was able to have a close enough friend to talk with or confide in at all. But is that isolation part of the original outline or part of the PIDW plot?

Anyway, it's things like that that I think about all the time and that's why I end up going into dives into the wiki cuz I want to like think about something and want to check notes real quick to make sure I'm thinking about it right. But the wiki is unreliable. Like also there was one part where it says that the bad cultivation manual was only something the other disciples did to Binghe, but in SJ's POV chapter he literally says that he gave him the shitty one. The wiki also claimed that him pouring tea was also actually an application of medicine misunderstood, but I haven't found any evidence of that either and it's just stuff like that that send me into a rabbit hole that derail me from my original thoughts I'm trying to work out.

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