#tgcf txp

[llycaons]

the love story in tgcf may not have explicitly said 'stalking is romantic' but its love interest literally became obsessed with the mc as a CHILD, decided to live for him, died for him several times, and then spent 800 years looking for him without having anything else going on in his personal life besides 'being really good at stuff' and 'running a city' and that all-encompassing devotion is reciprocated so it IS framed as romantic so there's not really a leg to stand on here. it's actually extremely funny to say that tgcf isn't about an obsessive fan because it really really is it is LITERALLY a diety/worshipper romance. in pivoting away from one harmful trope, the author did something nearly as bad

it's the same thing as when ppl talk about how mdzs is 'anti-rape' because 'oh wwx felt REALLY bad and it almost ruined their relationship' when it literally sexualizes rape (in the incense burner extras), minimizes sexual assault (having wwx be happy he was forcibly kissed) and reduces a horrific violation to a 'miscommunication'. more minor but it annoys me when ppl hype it up like 'ohhh it's about communication you have to communicate!' yeah lwj never told wwx about the PM kiss he had to figure out that shit on his own

and btw it's also why sv/ss fell flat. the mockery of porny stallion novels was actually extremely accurate and funny, but she recreated many of the same issues in the book that was supposed to be a critique of that genre. so it's like, great! you know why this didn't work, but now you're going to write something almost as bad, just in a more complicated way? what are we getting from this?

#there are things I like a lot abt tgcf and mdzs but any sincere praise of the tgcf romance writing without taking into account The Issues #is just going to be laughed out of the room LIKE. you cannot say that obsessing over one guy for 800 years and wanting to find him #and having almost NO other character traits of development or motivation is like an example of a healthy romance #and I may have made my peace w mdzs but I'm not forgetting that shit #tgcf txp #mdzs txp #rape tw

[llycaons]

I know this isn't a new observation but I think its so fun how xl is usually very polite and - not deferential, but aware of the power of the other martial gods and respectful of them, but occasionally we see how he really feels and he's stone-cold, sarcastic, ready to murder, huge cunt, etc. meanwhile wwx is feared and loathed for his casual mastery of terrifying forces and he does use that to his advantage and he is badass and uncompromising and violent and can be brutal etc but when we see him in unguarded moments he's such a lovey-dovey romantic such a sweetheart and not just in his romantic relationship I remember how he kissed the corpses hand when he asked it to return for him I remember how bitterly he rued not being able to see his beloved sister getting married! just. the nuances are really fun. the contrast in character. the hidden depths. xl's is mostly pretty funny, and wwx's very emotionally powerful. I love them

#wwx isn't just a really young guy who did his best against unimaginable grief and destruction hes also deep down a HUGE sap #which also contrasts w his flirty personality but that wasn't as important of a comparison to make wrt xl #mdzs txp #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

xl went through so much insane suffering, things like being stabbed until he barely resembles a human form and being locked in a coffin for literally a hundred years, but I think making him immortal and ever-healing and showing how much he learned from his experiences AND ending his story with so much closure and close relationships makes his tragedies a lot easier to bear than wwx's. like, emotionally

#when I see xl I go marlon brando voice *look how they massacred my boy* #reading books 2 and 4 going wow this is really sad im glad that's behind xl and he's at such peace #reading the flashbacks in mdzs and going WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK #wwx does have a nice little recovery arc in the book but he's still clearly really messed up from a lot that had happened to him #and compartmentalizing and avoiding his past and desperately trying to survive another day #in a way xl really wasn't. he was just chilling #this is why I never read tgcf fic unless it's very goofy or pokes fun at canon #it feels like such a more complete story with no loose ends or lingering issues #tho tbf I don't really search for novel fic I search for cql fic and happen to run into novel stuff that I like sometimes #which is usually modern with magic or dealing with various things I thought weren't handled well like the sex scenes #also he was by all accounts a very stable and happy child and young adult. the shit didn't even start until he was 17 #by that point wwx had lost two sets of parents been hunted on the street by feral dogs as a starving child been tortured multiple times #has lost his home to a violent invasion had given up his core in a painful procedure that he knew would eventually kill him #and been in a war #hm. anyway. #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

I know I've made this post before but hc's antagonism towards mq and fx gets SO tired after like book 3 like those guys care a lot about xl can you grow the fuck up??? it was literally 800 years ago and xl is FINE. by comparison lwj's dislike of jc is both more measured/restrained and far more reasonable considering he either believes or knows jc was indirectly responsible for wwx's death and contents himself with mainly being petty and uncommunicative even tho jc actively harasses and threatens wwx after coming back to life. iirc his only outward antagonism towards jc is defensive of wwx when wwx is literally being physically assaulted. yet another example of mdzs being somehow the more mature story

#to be fair the image of lwj telling jc to kill himself multiple times is really funny #like he wouldn't do that. but it would be funny if he did #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

dizzy w the potential of a hl cheating fic...like sure it would be ooc for xl to cheat on hc but it would be soooo messy and raw and realistic in ways tgcf is severely lacking I'd eat it up

#obviously I don't expect most people to e joy it but I kind of want to see betrayal devastation despair loss #shattering of idealization 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

I still find it really fun that the mdzs finale is just all the major living characters and some dead ones locked in a room overnight yelling at each other, and the tgcf finale is like three action-packed fights scenes in a row, each more absurd in scale than the last until a mile-high statue powered by the force of gay love had to fight a literal city using the transformed bodies of five different gods. good times

#wwx gets some badass moments in there but tgcf is much more classically (?) a climax scene of an adventure (slash romance) #tgcf is a lot more conventional is many ways actually. bit of a shame since I think the character-driven narrative led to a great finale #even tho it was mostly emotional catharsis and dramatic reveals #and not much physical fighting #in many ways mdzs was overly convoluted and poorly structured #but for characters dynamics and development and originality credit where its due #tgcf works better as a whole narrative imo but idk there was something in the wayer when she wrote mdzs #tgcf txp #mdzs txp

[llycaons]

I have a lot of love for xl as a character his arc is so wonderful and neatly written and satisfying in ways I haven't seen in very many other pieces of media

#better than mdzs wwx for sure. I can kind of see the outline of wwx's arc but it's unclear and made more confusing #by how his relationship with lwj was written #and it's similar to his cql journey but also...not? #in both he has this dramatic arc of loss and survival and fear and learning to trust again and not have to be so painfully self-reliant #and I think in cql it was more about accepting love and trusting that it'll come back to him #and in the novel it was more about communication and learning to put his needs first #but in both I'd say there was a good amount of the healing (tm) #but idk the tgcf ending was just more well-rounded and the side characters were more interesting so the finale was more rewarding #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

by comparison xl was actually getting along fine before meeting hc. as an immortal he'd been through a lot, but he'd had by and large a very stable and happy upbringing, as a god he still had some power, he had his own house, he had gotten his old job back, his old friends never really abandoned him, he made extremely powerful new friends quickly, he had been scrap collecting for centuries and was used to living like that etc. of course there's always the bwx issue but he had a lot of help for that too actually. it was just that. he was really lonely

#actually come to think of it hc's onsession with him from a VERY young age and his own isolation pushes the relationship off balance #just in different ways than in mdzs #hc is politically and martially very powerful by the time they meet but he literally has no friends #and again. the single minded obsession. its really weird and unhealthy ngl #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

and the funniest thing about the tgcf finale is that xl had to keep fx and mq separated from each other when they were in line to turn into the giant sword because they'd argue and the entire thing would fall apart. kindergartener behavior

#he was like oh shit they cant stand next to each other. lqq get in there #WAS it lqq? dont remember didnt like him. #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

see I just don't think idealization is romantic or interesting or dynamic or (obviously) very healthy so whenever I try to imagine postcanon for hl I got nothing. it's blank and perfect and free of anything troublesome or difficult. it's boring!

#I hesitate to say lifeless bc hc did bring a lot of lofe and energy to xls life but without any friction or past disagreements #its like. well this is empty. perfect and meaningless #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

I always liked how mq and fx were two distinct characters with different backgrounds, personal histories, likes and dislikes, choices, relationships, and even cultivation methods. it would have been really easy to just make them Those Two Guys who hang around xl and have them fight over nothing for comedic value, but they're real characters and when they argue it's grounded not just in petty dislike but on centuries of unresolved grievances based on their specific history and personality

#tgcf txp

[llycaons]

also book 2 is 30 chapters so it could very easily be a full season. it feels so tiny in comparison to the rest of the book tho

#tgcf txp

[llycaons]

oh my god I forgot about the land of the tender scenes. considering how faithful the donghua is, this going to be rough. btw I'm on the chapter list on the wiki and the author notes for that chapter are literally 'kill or fuck' 😔

#and I've seen so much defense of this kinf of writing bc its a riff or a critique or a parody or w/e #but when a parody is indistinguishable from the thing being parodies then it just becomes another example of it #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

I'm trying to figure out when book 1 ends and the wiki has chapters by alphabetical order for some reason and I don't feel like finding a chapter list in order but I THINK the qirong cave arc is the final one

#I remember so clearly xl finding his mom and dads remains destroyed by qr tho #maybe that was just a chapter ending and not a book ending #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

I just did a rough estimate and if we're at 44 chapters here out of 252....we're looking at a ten-season show, give or take. see you all in 24 years for the finale, I suppose

#idk WHY it's taking so long #I'm glad the artists and animators have ample time to work on it of course and I hope they're not being overworked #but the mdzs one only took 4 years for 3 seasons #so whats different... #tgcf txp

[llycaons]

like the wu ming reveal was all very nice but since this all happened nearly a thousand years before the events of books 1, 3, and 5 its like...okay? everything about their relationship in the flashback I either found creepy or didn't care about 😭 ik some fans like the idea of a character so loyal he's willing to destroy a whole country on the word of his god slash crush but umm I do not! also hc disguising himself as the child who was hanging out with xl was so weird why did he do that. age gap creepiness aside it was just stupid and eliminated a chatacter I was really excited about. and it pissed me off when he kicked qyz off the sedan chair like let him sit!!! his single-minded focus on xl got so so old and his insistence on inserting himself everywhere was intrusive and annoying! to me. got real tired of his 'fuck everyone else I got dianxia' mindset. immature. annoying. and unfair

#lwj is reserved and cool to strangers but hes not actively malicious or sadistic #he cares about his family and home and students and music #he does ignore ppl more than I'd like but hes not actively dismissive like hc often is #a small moment from the book I liked was when he first encountered 'mxy' he nodded respectfully in acknowledgement #obvi this doesnt mean mdzs or the writing for him isnt homophobic. it is. it has its own issues. Ive never even reread mdzs #but I think tgcf is just a less serious and more shallow and wishy-washy romance at its core #AND lwj is literally less petty and vengeful thab hc is even tho what jc allegedly did was way worse than what fxmq did #and lwj has literally a reputation for being petty so it doesn't seem fair that hc doesn't #actually tho I think much of that came from drama viewers who saw a gay man being kind of a dick to the guy who 1. was a dick to him first #and 2. suicide baited his loved one so I maintain thats reasonable #hes not unfair or short w anyone else #wait I lost my sentence structure. drama viewers labelled him as petty for being reasonably dickish to the dude he hates for good reason #which IS homophobic. but the comparative scale of mqfx's offenses + the fact that it happened so long ago and xl has long since recovered #makes hc look way more petty and unreasonable. but its not reflected in fan treatment or desc of him. tbf he gets over it by the end tho #ik cunty is a fun word but its not the only accurate one #tgcf txp #mdzs txp