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muzsmoux · 23 hours

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Reviewing tgcf characters because I have thoughts

I finished S2 recently and I need somewhere to put my not exactly hot but like warm (?) takes because it's taking up too much storage space in my brain.

🤍 Xie Lian 🤍

It's a good thing I'm not into guys because if I was I would be on my knees for this man in every sense of that expression and his pet menace to society would mince me up like garlic.

So I'll try to be brief about my overflowing feelings about him. Xie Lian is the best main character I have come across in a WHILE. He's the embodiment of compassion and kindness. And also a cold blooded murderer. A babygirl. A father figure. A terrifying martial god. A silly little guy. A pathological liar. The most genuine man you'll ever meet. He's everything, and Hua Cheng is 100% valid in his obsession. I'm right there with him.

Rating: 10/10

❤️ Hua Cheng ❤️

Idk if we ever figured out who wrote My Immortal but I'm pretty sure we have our culprit.

"Hi my name is Hua Cheng Crimson Rain Sought Flower Red-Robed Ghost King and this is my evil weapon of death E-ming. I've killed soooo many gods with it!! My dark power is I can summon storms of BLOOD and SUFFERING. I have my own scary city of DEMONS and they all love me and think I'm HOT but I only want my BOYFRIEND who's the only REAL GOD so STOP FLAMING HIM YOU POSERS-"

Needless to say I love him. Being the 8 time winner of the Loverboy of the Century Awards with unbeatable records in the yearning olympics is truly a remarkable feat.

Rating: 9/10

(Bonus: E-ming. Cute little guy. Likes his stepdad more than his real dad. Not afraid to show it's feelings even if it makes it look like a muppet, 10/10)

🧡 Feng Xin & Mu Qing 🧡

Tweedle dee and tweedle dum gets a shared rating because they would hate to be grouped together like that and that's funny to me. Their dynamic is great, they're good characters, I wasn't sure which one was which until midway through the second season. But then also I have a pair of 7yo twin cousins who I still can't tell apart despite them not looking even a slight bit similar so that might just be a character flaw on my end. Oops.

Rating: 7/10

🩵Shi Qingxuan🩵

I'm doubling the rating because she is best boy and best girl at the same time. I love that I can use any and all pronouns for him because he's literally a pride parade personified and therefore all of them are correct. You don't get that type of chaotic fun just anywhere.

He is truly living my dream, presenting as whatever gender they want depending on what's more convenient and/or funnier in the moment. Super useful, for things like gathering intel and terrorizing Feng Xin by being a woman.

And I personally think we should crown her the new emperor. She'd look significantly better on that throne, with her Barbie-like radiance and flourishing Kenergy.

Rating: 20/10

🖤 Ming Yi 🖤

Listen, I hate to say it because I like a sunshine x grump moment as much as the next gay but he's just... not giving what he thinks he's giving. Everyone is whispering ominously about him having some dark devastating secret but MY point is no matter how big his boobs are in his female form, Shi Qingxuan could do better. I'm sorry. She really could.

Rating: 4/10

💙 Lang Qianqiu 💙

Just an honest man with good intentions and a sickass fucking sword. He did NOT hesitate to attack the infamous Crimson Rain Sought Flower on SIGHT and I respect a quick decisionmaker, even if it shows some himbo tendencies. He also has the same distinct energy as Fred from Scooby Doo.

Rating: 6/10

💚 Qi Rong 💚

He's got some odd dietary and moral choices going on. Definitely. But he's just such a fun villain!!! Being Xie Lian's nr 1 source of migraines SHOULD make me like him less but I'm sorry, every time he was on screen I was LIVING. He would do numbers on reality TV. Someone put this guy on Kitchen Nightmares, I need to see him 1v1 Gordon Ramsay.

Rating: 7/10

🌚 Jun Wu 🌚

He has his emperor status & DILF card going for him but something about this man just ain't right. If he came to a party I was attending I would cover my drink is all I'm saying.

Rating: 2/10

🔥Pei Ming🔥

I don't know much about him besides he had that one shady empolyee or whatever (could not hear the plot over the deafening sound of Hua Cheng's yearning) but I'm partial to a good manwhore character. The thought of people praying to him like "Hugh Mungus, who art in heaven-" really tickles me.

I know he's probably straight but I headcanon him as at the very least bi-curious because you can't be that hot with that much game and not use it for evil. (That evil being causing large scale gay awakenings among his soldiers.)

Rating: 7/10

❓Pei Xiu❓

Unreliable, unimportant, unattractive, unemployed.

I remember not a singular thing about him besides fucking up Xie Lian's daughter's life and also being on my last nerve from the jump. If you're going to be evil at like least be memorable about it, you know? You can't be a bad person and a bad character at the same time. Pick a struggle.

Rating: 1/10

📚 Ling Wen 📚

I heard she committed some war crimes but honestly if I had to do an entire realm's tax returns by myself AND teach Pei Ming how to read (I refuse to believe that man is literate, just look at him) I would want to rage on occasion too. I hope she has a hot wife waiting for her at home to give her massages after carrying the whole system on her back all day. It's what she deserves.

Rating: 8/10

Thank you for reading!! Opinions might change once I read the books but as of now this is it. Remembering everyone's names has been a journey and a half so this post is sponsored by @kirstenly 's character cheat sheet go look at it! and everything else too!!!

#heaven official's blessing #tian guan ci fu #tgcf #xie lian #hua cheng #feng xin #mu qing #shi qingxuan #ming yi #lang qianqiu #qi rong #jun wu #pei ming #pei xiu #ling wen #sorry for the long post #im just obsessed

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amorremanet · 6 months

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Man, I realize demanding that someone execute their own brother is pretty fucked up, but He Xuan asking that of Shi Qingxuan still gave them more respect than Shi Qingxuan ever got from Shi Wudu [gave them the ability to make their own choice after finally being given the full story and enough context to actually have the capacity for informed consent, something that Shi Wudu spent centuries denying to Shi Qingxuan] and also, He Xuan did nothing wrong and should be allowed to do all the atrocities he wants, thank you for your time

#this bitch told me shi wudu loves his brother more than anything; i said 'bitch where'#she said 'under all his bluster and overbearing bullshit'; i said 'BITCH *WHERE*'#like………all tea all shade: shi wudu is actually the person who jiang cheng antis think they are hating #selfish? check. never listens? check. disrespects everyone's agency? check. no self-reflection on atrocities? check. learns nothing? CHECK.#i wish all jiang cheng antis a very 'please read tgcf so you can at least meet a character who actually does all the things you're saying'#literally every decision he made was fundamentally fucking selfish & he just gaslit himself into believing #that he did it—all of it—out of love for shi qingxuan #like how do you look at shi qingxuan—finally in the loop after centuries of being denied that chance—telling their gege #'no please let's pick the first option i would rather be a piteous wretch driven to madness by my own suffering than #live in a world where you died unnecessarily; we can make things right with he xuan AND both live; a miserable life is better than DEATH'#and shi wudu going 'lmao denied stop being a whiny little bitch and come chop my head off already you'll thank me for this later'#and walk away from that genuinely believing that this is a man who loves his brother. it's pretty clear to me that he does not.#love looks like a lot of different things and as far as i'm concerned this ain't one of them #also he xuan should be allowed to do all the atrocities he pleases thank u #kassie hush #mine: text #opinions for ts #wank for ts #idk? maybe? i'm being a hater so it probably counts

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revel-inbluehues · 6 months

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Okay, now that I've got the fangirling out of the system, some initial thoughts on dialogue.

XL - he sounded more confrontational in the dub. He also said the best fucking line ever; "you don't know him like I do". Like, sweetie, you sound like you're defending your good-for-nothing boyfriend from your friends and family while they tell you that this is a bad idea. Tbh, that is kinda what is happening. But also, the one tiktok with this exact line and talking about opinion on assault/salt popped up instantly.

PM - he sounds hot, sue me. But, yeah, defo a honeyed hoe vibe from him.

JW - I praise whoever came up with the English dialogue and his va because the lines and delivery were amazing. By tone, he sounds confident, kind but watchful, and miffed, like a parent whose child didn't live up to their words or expectation, which is exactly what you would be expecting. The lines add to this. "Torture", "disrespect", "disappointed" and "selfishly" are the main words, where it's clear that JW blames XL for not reaching out, for pushing him away. It sounds like a concerned parental figure, but it also has manipulation, where JW wants XL to feel guilty for his actions. He then proceeds to talk about how XL's actions have made things more difficult for him and how XL has his implicit trust. This, combined with the guilt-tripping, made XL feel somewhat responsible for associating with HC, which he doesn't feel bad about, and for making things harder for JW, which XL might be feeling bad about. Technically, none of this is a bad thing; JW, as both a highly political figure, leader and mentor figure for XL, could simply be trying to guide a misfortunate subordinate and student to stay out of trouble and safe by gaslight, gatekeep, girl bossing him. But, knowing JW's full past completely recontextualises the whole thing, and everything sounds so much more sinister, an attempt at control and teaching, a perverse form of care, and a shit ton of manipulation. Either way, for both novel readers and donghua only, you can tell that something is off.

SQX - both male and female voices were unique but fitting to their physical form, and every line from them was absolute gold and had me laughing, especially when he was talking about how pretty he is.

HC - woof. No, but seriously, when I first watched season 1 dub, I genuinely thought that HC's voice actor was Tatum because of the Sebastian Michaelis resemblance, so it made sense when I heard that Sebastian was the inspiration. The difference between s1 and s2 is the fact that in s1, HC was softer and brighter when interacting with XL while being baiting and mocking towards everyone else. In s2, in the 2 lines we got, it was so obvious that he was leaning into the suave and self-assurance because he's not dealing with people he dislikes or XL. He's in his territory, in front of his subjects who adore and follow him. His tone speaks volumes of his power in the city; he sounds arrogant, but it's justified, so really, it's true, backed-up confidence. The last 2 lines reminded me so much of Sebastian with calm, poised, but ultimately vicious tone.

#tgcf season 2 #tgcf dub #tgcf donghua #does this count as character analysis? i'll tag it #character analysis #this was not meant to be this long but I had SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE LINES AND DELIVERY.#jun wu #shi qingxuan #tgcf sqx #hua cheng #san lang #pei ming #xie lian #okay they all sound hot but PM JW and HC defo sound hottest #i love JW's character; he is a foil to XL and shows how one deep flaw could change the paths they walk. He is complex and flawed.#i should do a proper rant on him one day #i should be sleeping rn but i won't until i can calm my brain after watching the dub #LQQ was also there and va did give off the shounen protag vibe well but i'll rant abt him when ep2 dub comes out #spoilers?#spoilers #see how XL sounded soft when waking up LQQ? yh THAT'S painful #SQX is also peak comedy #tgcf spoilers #heaven official's blessing

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bloodyke · 2 years

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he xuan for the ask game

hes NOT evil or a bad person everything he did was reasonable and justified stop making him out to be a ruthless asshole who unfairly hurt sqx for no reason in fact he went EASY on them smh he xuan my poor little glub glub

#answered #i was gonna put work better as a dynamic bc i am mentally ill about beefleaf but tbh i think hes very compelling on his own #even tho his story is completely entwined with sqxs #im just saying when someone causes the horrible deaths of everyone you love and ultimately leads to your own horrible death #you're allowed to hunt them down as a ghost king #and when you find out your best friend is the brother of that guy and all of the good fortune they have is actually YOURS that his brother #stole from you (leading to your families deaths) and then you give your bff multiple opportunities to go against their brother and #stand up for what is right and they DONT do that and instead stand by him even tho they know what he did #then hes now complicit in the whole thing #AND AFTER ALL THAT HE XUAN LEFT SHI QINGXUAN ALIVE AND UNHARMED IN THE ROYAL CAPITAL #listen im just saying he could've also killed sqx for this but DIDN'T #sorry for the rant in the tags i am very defensive about hx being made out to be the villian when hes the victim in the situation #also to clarify this is NOT hate on sqx either i love them so much and i want nothing but the best for them but you know.....

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phoenixkaptain · 1 year

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Will not ever be getting over Quan Yizhen.

He is the puppy-doggiest boy of all time. He is the sweetest baby in the world. He is the cutest bean ever born.

My favourite scenes are ones where he tries to thank Xie Lian!! Because all Xie Lian did was throw chopsticks to make the curtain fall!! He barely did anything!! Most of the other gods don’t even realize he’s the one who did it!!

But Quan Yizhen not only noticed it was him, he also felt grateful!!! He tried to stuff his donation box with gold bars!!! And, my absolute favourite example, when he woke up to find Xie Lian and Pei Ming in his room (while Pei Ming is trying to catch Shi Qingxuan), Pei Ming asks him to help out and Yizhen just. Throws his bed. At Pei Ming. Because even though he has not a single clue what the fuck is going on, he wants to thank Xie Lian.

I could ramble about my love for Yizhen for all of eternity. I love him so so so so so much.

The scene where Yin Yu “knocks him out” with the shovel, only for Quan Yizhen to wait to be dug out and then reveal that he wasn’t actually knocked unconscious??? (Beautiful, amazing, 10/10, implies that even after everything, Yin Yu still can’t bring himself to hurt Yizhen, and I just abdjdjfbdjdn) Everyone is so completely shocked, because “Qi Ying just tricked us????” Quan Yizhen is so straightfoward and blunt that him pulled a trick like this is something literally nobody saw coming, he’s a strategic genius-

Xie Lian says that Yizhen probably recognized Yin Yu because he remembers his habits, like pacing when he’s uncertain. Which is just- Quan Yizhen hasn’t seen Yin Yu in centuries, but still remembers his ticks…

I love how literally everyone thinks that Yizhen is mad at Yin Yu, but all Quan Yizhen wants is to hug him and get head pats and he doesn’t blame Yin Yu for snapping at him and he still gets angry when people badmouth Yin Yu and and and and-

Yizhen just loves hims Shixiong. He joined the sect because Yin Yu was there. He became a god because Yin Yu suggested he should. He never stops caring for Yin Yu, even when Yin Yu tries to murder him. I love them so much.

But also, I love Quan Yizhen with Xie Lian. Not as a romantic ship, I just like that they’re two peas in a pod. They both see amazing martial ability and automatically praise it. They are the most neurodivergent characters. They both think Yin Yu is pretty cool. They are buddies, and it’s like two puppies play wrestling, I can’t get over it.

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itsjustelian · 13 days

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BEEFLEAF THOUGHT (Mainly He Xuan thought but fuck it he's intertwined with Shi Qingxuan and therefore all He Xuan thoughts are beefleaf thoughts)

So so so, in my readings of tgcf and the wonderful mess that is all of the internet thoughts on it I've come to the personal conclusion that to become a supreme you have to have *big* feelings. Very big and very deep feelings.

Our big-brained, obvious example of this is Hua Cheng. Man's big feeling is devotion, love. He is absolutely besotted for Xie Lian. Would do anything for his God. We're so proud of him for it too.

But He Xuan? He's the only other real supreme we have aside from Hua Cheng (Jun Wu, I'm sorry, you're wonderful but Godhood fucks with a man) and the idea that his big feeling that turned him into a supreme was rage and hatred never sat quite right with me. It's not that hatred and rage aren't powerful enough emotions to make a supreme, and those being his emotions on the surface make him a wonderful parallel to Hua Cheng. But rage isn't really what fuels him. If it was, he'd have dissipated after the Blackwater arc. Taken his revenge and called it a day.

Yet, he sticks around. He *never* dissipates. He just sits at the bottom of the ocean for all eternity. Which doesn't sound like rage or hatred. I mean, you'd assume a calamity built on hate would continue his revenge path until all of heaven is gone and no one can have godhood because he couldn't. But he doesn't. He just... waits.

This isn't to say he wasn't angry, btw. He was absolutely angry, and he had every right to be. His desire for revenge had to come from somewhere, let alone the emotional payment to actually planning and pulling it off. I just don't think that was his greatest regret/feeling/desire at death. I mean, He Xuan had his whole life taken from him. All of it. His family, his fiancee, his passions, his work. Everything he worked towards and for got stolen from him by others. And while it's clearly very rage inducing for him (I mean he has a mental breakdown and kills everyone who's ever wronged him), the underlying feeling through it all was probably despair. He probably just wanted things to go back to how they were when his whole family was around and alive.

And this despair and longing doesn't just go away when he learns the truth of what's been done to him. He's still a person. He can't just throw away those emotions because new ones have taken center stage. But rage is a way easier feeling to work with than misery, so He Xuan defers to it. He jumps on the bandwagon of revenge against the people who wronged him once again and goes with it. And it gets him through Mt. Tonglu and up into heaven and right where he says he wants to be. Right up until he can execute his revenge. And then he just stops? And decides that he's going to be best friends with Shi Qingxuan for a few hundred years first? I'm no rage expert, but that doesn't sound very revenge like to me. Which leads very neatly into the point of this post, took me a while I know.

He Xuan's reason for sticking around is he wants to be loved.

I mean, look at it. He says he hates Shi Qingxuan's guts and wants him and his brother dead more than anything, but also spends hundreds of years hanging out with this person he hates so much when revenge is right there? He could have done it whenever. There was no logical reason I could wait to wait as long as he did. Unless he was enjoying Shi Qingxuan's companionship. And Shi Qingxuan clearly loved him (even just platonically. We love our friends in this house). And He Xuan hadn't had someone care about him that much since his death. It was probably insanely overwhelming and equally as wonderful.

And then he fucks it all by actually going through with the revenge but feelings are hard and he's clearly not great with them so oops. But but but, his great famous line during the Blackwater Arc is him telling Shi Qingxuan that they've used the wrong name. He, even if it's just subconsciously, wants Shi Qingxuan to see him as He Xuan, not Ming Yi. He, in some capacity, wants Shi Qingxuan to see and love He Xuan, not the mask he had on.

But then, after the revenge, he doesn't disappear. He straight up goes out of his way to return Shi Qingxuan's fan to them. To make something right. To return something to how it was before.

Except this time, he can't blame the people around him for the change. He can't turn his rage at the rest of the world because he's the one who ruined the only thing he wanted for himself. So he finally, *finally*, has to face this sadness and longing that's been plaguing him from the start. He got his revenge, he got all the anger out, and it still wasn't what he wanted. Because from the beginning, all he wanted was to be appreciated and loved and wanted and not have that torn away from him.

And he fucked it for himself in the end because lets be honest if he had a civil fucking conversation with Shi Qingxuan and didn't literally threaten their brothers life things would have gone SO MUCH BETTER.

Anyway, I'm crying now. If you read through my jumbled 2 AM thoughts all the way, thank you. I will edit this when it's not 3 am. and post it.

---

Editing me: wtf was I on? I don't remember half of these thoughts??? I'm posting it because somewhere in this hot mess is a point I'm trying to make, and I'm not going to deny 2 AM Elian the chance to share it.

#theory #tgcf #tgcf thoughts #tgcf theory #beefleaf #he xuan #shi qingxuan #long post #this is incomprehensible

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gege · 5 months

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Hiii, how are you? I hope you are doing ok! <3 sending love and hugs. I wanted to ask you... i think i remember something about tgcf having live action adaptation. Was that real or was just a dream i had or something? If it's real do you know if we will have it or what happened to the project? Idk if my mind made that up! sorry and thanks :)

Hiii Anon!

No, it's not some mad collective fever dream we all had, they really did film it (6 months of shooting between July 2021 and January 2022). Native title is 吉星高照 (Ji Xing Gao Zhao) English title is Eternal Faith.

If we ever get to see it is another matter, i probably don't need to say the main reason is because it's a danmei adaptation - it'll have a harder time passing the censors than the average cdrama. Since the popularity of other dangais it seems the censors have become stricter in any case. Job one is always going to be passing the censors.

While checking chinese websites and articles I did find several sources of a rumour that the site security punched a girl who was visiting the set. I can't vouch for the reliability of this but anything that can potentially attract criticism can delay a cdrama release further. Other criticisms include the casting of the male leads, how cheap the set design and costuming look, and a cancelled actress who may have to remain uncredited.

So it will need to satisfy the censors in order to be relased, as well as satisfy the general public and tgcf fans to be worth releasing and I'm not sure if it can do it all. If all goes well and it does ever pass censorship, we won't get a release date in advance. I don't know if you've ever experienced waiting for a cdrama release but you will not get much warning when it airs. It will likey drop with a couple days warning in form of internet rumours, or just completely out of the blue.

HAVING SAID THAT - another rumour is that a full costume bl drama like the untamed will be released internationally in Sept 2024, bypassing a Chinese release. It's just a rumour but it does make this webpage very interesting! But please remember everything above and not get too excited just yet 😂.

I'm gonna share some set photos just because 😍

Zhai Xiaowen as Xie Lian

Zhang Linghe as Hua Cheng/San Lang/Crimson Rain Sought Flower

Chang Huasen as Shi Qingxuan/Wind Master & Tian Xuning as He Xuan/Ming Yi/Earth Master

Vin Zheng as Nan Feng & Li Fancheng as Fu Yao (+ bonus Wind Master)

Liu Lingzi as Xuan Ji

Liu Jinyan as Ling Wen & Wang Yueyi as Female Wind Master

Xiao Kaizhong as Feng Xin/Nan Yang & Cai Yao as Mu Qing/Xuan Zhen

Bian Tianyang as Qi Rong/Prince Xiao Jing/Green Ghost

Lu Yuxiao as Yushi Hung/Rain Master. She played Shangguan Qian in My Journey to You, but as she was fairly unknown at the time of filming jxgz so there are no photos to be found of her as Rain Master 😩.

Anyway, let's all quietly try to will this into existence with physic powers etc.

Thanks for sending me an ask, have a lovely day anon!

(∩^o^)⊃━☆

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justaghostingon · 1 year

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Shi Qingxuan and the Quest to Win the Heart of the Hot Ghost

A beefleaf au to soothe my soul since i’ve reached “that” arc in the series

It all begins when He Xuan makes a mistake. A mistake that almost cost him centuries worth of work

He accidentally saves Shi Qingxuan in the wrong form!

He meant to save him as Ming-xiong, the trusted best friend, but due to an unexpected flux from Taicang mountain, he couldn’t control his form, and slipped into his true form.

Fortunately shi Qingxuan did not see him transform, and he was able to quickly get out of sight to change back

Unfortunately, Shi Qingxuan interpreted He Xuan suddenly appearing, saving his life and then leaving as a sign that He Xuan a hero!

His hero!

His Ghost king who wants to be friends just like Hua Cheng and Xie Lian!

But he’s shy! That’s why he ran away! So its Shi Qingxuan’s job to seek him out and thank him.

And treat him to dinner, and go out on the town, and hold his hand… you know, sworn brother stuff!

Shi Qungxuan might have a bit of a crush.

And Ming Yi, good old best friend ming yi, has to listen to all of it. Every excruciating detail, every inch of his face painted with such flowery language he wants to throw up.

Is he jealous of himself? No way! Not a chance! He’s just worried shi Qingxuan will put sowmthing together before its time!

At first ming yi hopes it will go away, a passing fancy, if shi qingxuan never sees he xuan again

But shi Qingxuan is way more determined than ming yi was expecting. He hunted down his layer, and threw his favorite foods down into the sea as an offering

How did he know he xuan’s favorite foods? They were ming yi’s favorites too! Did he know???

He xuan had to throw him off his trail, so he shifted in to his true form, just to reject them and throw him off the scent.

Shi Qingxuan then asks what his favorites are

He xuan panics and says super rare dishes like “cinnamon” and “corn” thinking the fetch quest will deter him.

It does not. Instead shi Qingxuan drags ming yi on a quest to find a whole nother two continents just so he could bring back food for his new “friend”

And of course, he brings his trusty friend ming yi with him. So ming yi has to go on his own impossible quest

He xuan has just about had it with this, ans vows never to appear before shi Qingxuan again, except…

Shi wudu comes to visit him.

Shi wudu wants to recruit him, ming yi, to keep he xuan away from his brother. To stop this disastrous crush before it destroys everything

He even offers to support ming yi’s own endeavors to court shi qungxuan, because clearly that’s ming yi’s goal here.

“This is that is that important to you?” Ming yi asks

“He xuan and shi qingxuan together would be the worst thing to ever happen to me” shi wudu says (not exactly in those words, but its what he xuan hears)

And suddenly he xuan sees a perfect opportunity to hurt shi wudu in a way that is intense and long lasting

Forget physical torture! Let him watch his brother fall for his greatest enemy!!!

So he begins to court shi qingxuan in his true form. Offering gifts of precious treasures from the sea bottom, eatinf his food, giving him the smoldering look that shi qingxuan will not shut up about to ming yi

Only one problem: he xuan is a little too good. He knows all of shi qingxuan’s favorite things from being his best friend, and bringing them up in courtship…that’s kinda creepy

He doesn’t want to come off as creepy. He needs this to go well.

So he tries to dial it down, but he’s not nearly as good as he thinks

Because one day shi qingxuan looks ming yi right in the eyes and goes “you know there’s nothing that would make me love you any less right? He xuan?”

And ming yi/ he xuan, realizes he’s been caught

But he’s also got a boyfriend, and shi wudu’s worst nightmare has come true, ao its all good

#beefleaf #beefleaf au #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #tian guan ci fu #ming yi #he xuan #shi qingxuan #tgcf au #shi wudu

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jayktoralldaylong · 1 year

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Hua Cheng is not the reward for Xie Lian's suffering. Hua Cheng suffered because Xie Lian suffered after all. Xie Lian was just lucky that someone....loved him that much.

There is no grand amazing world altering moral lesson at the end of TGCF, though some may say staying on the path of good and righteousness no matter what evil comes your way. However, in truth, Xie Lian stayed good because he couldn't bear to be evil. Hurting people has only ever hurt him. The way he so deeply regrets what he did in the past, it shames him because seeing his enemies suffer would have never brought him satisfaction. The same way Bai Wuxiang had to keep finding new enemies to fight because revenge doesn't make the pain go away and won't bring back what was lost. It's not a revelation that revenge is bad or a waste of time, but that it won't change how broken you are inside.

Xie Lian stayed true to himself but the reason he's so happy at the end of TGCF is not because of that. Hua Cheng would love him no matter what he did after all, and Hua Cheng knew Xie Lian so well, right down to the worst he was capable of, he knew Xie Lian would never hurt people, but it ended up boiling down to Hua Cheng choosing Xie Lian over and over again. Through the pain and suffering and sorrow. After everything, Xie Lian was just lucky.

It's painful, knowing that that's exactly how life works. Xie Lian was lucky that there was someone willing to fight for him and by his side for 800 years. Xie Lian was loved and adored the way everyone deserves to be loved and adored. A home was created for him and his pain did not feel meaningless at the end.

But what about Qi Rong? The neglected child who didn't get his happily ever after, except in headcanons? He didn't ask to have bad adults that never corrected him. He didn't ask to.crave attention so much that he'd rather be tortured than ignored.

What about He Xuan who lost everything for something that was never his fault? Getting revenge didn't get that back, it just made him lose more. Where is the home and happiness that He Xuan deserves once and for all?

What about Bai Wuxiang..... The version of Xie Lian that never got a Hua Cheng. That just kept suffering till he went mad.

What about Shi Qingxuan who had luck for majority of his life but will now live and die in insignificance, once again through no fault of his own. Or is he at fault for never asking his brother how he took care of the problem?

What about Ling Wen who loved and killed but never stopped loving. Who went to great lengths to revive her lover just to lose it all. What about Ling Wen who achieved so much but has lost one of her best friends and won't get the one she loves?

Unlucky. That's just it. Things didn't work out for them.

In the grand scheme of things, whether you're evil or good, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. Not all bad guys 'reap the consequences of their actions'. Not all good guys get a happy ending. Xie Lian was lucky, and I'm so happy for him. But every time I remember the others....it brings me to tears.

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missveryvery · 5 months

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I want to know wtf is going to happen with the dub of ep 4 *_* in the meantime, while I wait to know how high to turn my anger dial, Ep 5 thoughts under cut.

So many tiny things!

I yelled when Shi Qingxuan landed and his arms were so jacked, holy shit, what?!??!?! He's so BIG.

I thought Hua Cheng swinging his sword around looked awkward ;0; but all the other weapon usage looked good?! Why was e'ming animated at 2 frames a second ;0;?! That's e'ming secret power, lowering the frame rate.

The little twitch in Ming Yi's hand really made it seem like Shi Qingxuan started fighting because he was mad Ming-xiong was hurt instead of just practicality. LOVE THAT.

Xie Lian gripping Shi Qingxuan so hard it left marks ;0;?!?! Xie Lian loves Shi Qingxuan? Must protecc him? ;0;?!?? They're such cute little friends.

Feng Xin being the god on duty and coming before merits were even used. Immediately dropping his hesitation about speaking to him when Xie Lian is hurt.

Mu Qing rolling in like a huge bitch "so what if he's hurt, we all get hurt on patrol >:V" like he's NOT WRONG. Probably, if Xie Lian was any other god Feng Xin would be less freaked out. Mu Qing continually gets pissed off when Feng Xin falls into loyal dog mode. Which is actually him being pissed off at himself for falling back into loyal dog (cat) mode. He loves bitching at people for doing something stupid and then doing it himself right afterwards. Which is exactly what he's going to do in the next episode (assuming it follows the book, the manhua left that part out). "What are you looking so concerned for? >:V *is there, also being concerned*"

We finally got real dialogue out of these two, jfc.

Mu Qing healing Ming Yi!!! And picking him up!! Touching his chest!! A++++!!! Were those 4 dudes who carried Ming Yi away supposed to be his? I wouldn't think so except they made Mu Qing get so handsy there and their outfits reminded me of his blueberry boys from season 1.

Mu Qing looking manic about the idea of Xie Lian killing the royal family! in the book, I thought maybe this was the narrator misunderstanding his facial expression but they really did make him look fucking excited about it. So if he IS thrilled, I'm guessing this is "oh sweet, he got revenge!"? On the other hand, when Xie Lian fesses up to it, he seems as shocked and horrified as Shi Qingxuan and Feng Xin?

So:

He's pleased he got revenge then changed his mind about being pleased once they got the details and then was freaked out

He's pleased Xie Lian is being accused of something fucked up but doesn't think he'd actually do it so he's freaked out that he did

He's pleased he did it, loves that for him, and is freaked out Xie Lian admitted it because he'd prefer he get away with it

He wasn't pleased in the first place and that was just his fucked up facial expressions

(Ohhh he has eyeliner now!!!)

Shi Qingxuan catching Taihua's sword with his whisk, why is he so rad. I love that he thinks in practical, social terms, he considers consequences. "If Hua Cheng hassles you about this, make sure you blame me, it's all my fault" "throwing out merits is way more effective" "you two weren't going to do anything so let me be the bad guy".

#tgcf #tgcf meta #tgcf donghua #tgcf spoilers #xie lian #mu qing #feng xin #shi qingxuan #ming yi #Beefleaf #fengqing #lang qianqiu

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shiftysheep · 24 days

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spoilers for book 4!!

feeling crazy about the water master's death. the guy was so obviously baiting he xuan into creating a third option.

like he started with attacking his brother, the wind master, but he had to have known he wouldn't have been allowed to actually kill him.

i think he was trying to get his little bro to get over the love and affection he had towards him by acting out this huge overblown betrayal. then, when he got pulled off and qingxuan still refused to attack him in return, he said everything he could to provoke he xuan into attacking him instead.

i think the entire second half of that scene was an act put on by shi wudu to ensure that his little brother would survive and live a not-doomed-by-fate life.

he loved his brother so much!! attempting to kill him and saying all the shit he was talking was so clearly a ploy! especially after that heartfelt speech just a second earlier where he was trying to convince qingxuan to kill him.

and!!! he had a sword!!!!!! if he was really that bloodthirsty, why didn't he just stab qingxuan?! i'll tell you why!! its because he never wanted to kill him in the first place!!!!!!! he only did it to try to convince qingxuan to take the second option after he saw that talking wasn't working.

and it had another goal!! it might also convince he xuan that shi wudu didn't really care about his brother in an attempt to separate shi qingxuan from the revenge scheme

and it worked!!!!!! it worked!!!!!!!!!!! i'm crazy i'm crazy i'm crazy

i can't wait to see what happens next!! but i had to take a break to get my feelings out haha

#idk idk im just feeling a lot of emotions about it rn #just finished that scene #holy shit brother #this series is SO good #who gave it the right???#anyways #heaven official's blessing #tgcf #tgcf spoilers #book 4 spoilers #he xuan #shi wudu #shi qingxuan

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neeshachar · 3 months

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I just saw a post talking of the Black Water Arc and got inspired, but it disappeared into ether before I could interact with it.

Anyways, here's something I always wanted to be cleared out about He Xuan.

Black Water Arc spoilers | Tgcf Book 3 spoilers | White-No-Face reveal spoilers

He Xuan was NOT deliberate in befriending Shi Qingxuan in his plan of revenge. He did not even know SQX was tied to any of it.

He Xuan, immediately upon death, knew only one thing for certain, the heavens had something to do with it. He did not know what, he did not know who. It is cleared upon after the Bai Wuxiang reveals, that He Xuan learning of his fate was a part of Jun Wu's plan. Jun Wu wanted the other powerful heavenly officials weakened and out of his way. So, along with Jun Wu guiding XL to quests that specifically resulted in Pei Ming's loss of power, he also orchestrated a way to bring Shi Wudu down. So he let it slip to He Xuan that it was the water master who destroyed his life and it was him that HX needed revenge against. And this was done only right before the events leading to the Black Water Arc.

Yes He Xuan was driven, for the five hundred or so years, by revenge but it wasn't particular, it wasn't direct. He spent his time in the heavens spying in every possible gods in every possible direction, with hundreds of clones. It was Shi Qingxuan who decided to take particular liking to the Earth Master and be "best friends". So I believe that the centuries of their friendship (or more) was not disingenuous for He Xuan.

In most fan fics and interpretations, it is shown that when He Xuan "likes" or "builds a relationship" with Shi Qingxuan, it's with the prior knowledge that they are in his path of revenge. And I find that so cruel and not in character for He Xuan. Knowing the kind of person He Xuan was in life, how are we to believe he would be so cruel to allow SQX to love him, fully knowing what end awaits them? To ascend is human, to fall is also human. Hei Shui (Black Water) is still He Xuan in death.

Thus, whatever the nature of their relationship was, I maintain He Xuan wouldn't do that (and it would be so especially cruel if their relationship was intimate). This is further shown in his desperate attempts to make Shi Qingxuan see what his brother had done to the scholar he once was, to fall out of support for his brother, to just be fair and safe !

He revenge for Shi Wudu is righteous, it is fair and it is poetic, even. But the end to his and SQX, isn't fair to anyone. In the end they had to be on oppsite sides, as SQX chooses Shi Wudu (and of course they do, Shi Wudu is the parent that cared for them for their entire existence!). And that is a betrayal for He Xuan.

All of this is to say, He xuan loved Shi Quan too, he did not know Shi Qingxuan was someone connected to his destruction, and thus SQX (and him, as well) were just collateral damage in his oath of damage. He Xuan was not cruel and calculating with SQX from the beginning (well he was, but in a deceiving everyone in heavens with false identity and ulterior motives way, NOT in a I know I'm going to cause you unimaginable hurt in the future but will still let you form emotional and/or intimate connection with me way. )

#And I think that's a very important distinction #That people seem to gloss over in soo many fics #it has always bothered me because i ship them too and there's only so much intentional hurt i can handle #beefleaf #he xuan #black water sinking ships #shi qingxuan #tgcf #black water arc #white no face

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tea-cat-arts · 5 months

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Disclaimer: this is 3am rambling. Whether or not this rant ends up being a cohesive thought is between me and God. Also, I'll be switching around what pronouns I use for Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan every paragraph

"Shi Qingxuan should've chosen He Xuan! Shi Qingxuan would never chose anyone other than his brother-" man, if choosing He Xuan was one of the options he was given, I honestly do think Shi Qingxuan would've taken it.

Cuz here's the thing: Shi Qingxuan was thoroughly sick of their brothers bs. They wanted to go their own way, they wanted to break out of the house, they wanted to handle their demons on their own, they wanted to choose their own gender expression without getting told to "put that thing away", they disagreed with their brothers actions and what he did to turn them into a god... they wanted to get away from their brother, but they never got the chance to unpack or deal with any of that because both of their lives were constantly being put in danger (so they were kinda distracted).

And I don't even know where to start with how Shi Wudu had been breaking down their self esteem, getting them to second guess all their wants/desires/choices, and pulling the "big brother knows best" card on them for god knows how long. I know it came from a place of love, but it still had to have done something to Shi Qingxuan's brain chemistry

Shi Qingxuan options were never "He Xuan or her Brother," it was "chose to abandon your luck for both your lives, or chose yourself and become a murderer" so ya, of course she's gonna go with the first option because she's not a terrible person. Shi Qingxuan probably would’ve chosen He Xuan (who was her best friend, who'd been going along with her antics for centuries, who remembered which resturant she wanted to go to even after the breakup), but that wasn't a card they put in her hands, and even if it was, its not a real card if she had to kill her brother to get it. At that point, giving up revenge and finding love again wasn't an option He Xuan had even considered yet, and it'd be unreasonable to suggest Shi Qingxuan should've come up with a secret third option off the top of her head given she only knew the full story for like what? A minute before she was forced to make a choice? And even though she tried choosing the option that would hurt the least amount of people, Shi Wudu could not for the life of him respect her choices. Kinda makes me think Shi Qingxuan never really was given any choices to make in the first place 😒

Anyways, I'm choosing to believe at some point, He Xuan realizes this, spends the rest of her life trying to make amends, they get some time being a ghost couple together, and then they eventually find peace and disappear into the afterlife

#beefleaf #arianell's 3am rambling #he xuan #shi qingxuan #i am tired #both just like... actually/physically tired and tired of people acting like Shi Qingxuan had power to do anything in that situation at all #yes i am choosing to force my genderfluid beefleaf headcanons into a rant post. move along #cuz here's the thing: I'm pretty sure you couldve replaced Shi Wudu for anyone in that situation and Shi Qingxuan still wouldnt do it #theyre just not a killer #but ultimately shi wudu didnt give a fuck about that cuz he care more about winning than Qingxuan's autonomy #id get “Mother Knows Best” from tangled stuck in my head pretty much any time those two interacted

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illuminatedferret · 4 months

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What do you think of the blackwater arc?

That's a pretty open-ended question! I've read a lot of very compelling analysis of the Blackwater arc, so let me see if I can sum up my thoughts without repeating much of what's already out there.

I suppose the short answer is that I liked it, although when I was rereading it for my timeline it did feel a little long. MXTX likes to write complicated situations with no easy way out(as opposed to her preference for writing protags that are the moral guidepost of their stories), and the Blackwater arc does a very good job presenting that sort of complexity in micro. A lot of awful stuff happens, but it's very human and compelling. I once read something that basically said "revenge is what people turn to when justice is denied to them" and i think He Xuan embodies that. I really love how his character is established in the Blackwater arc- he's a deeply passionate man whose refusal to lay down and die goes so far that I honestly wonder if he even knows how to do it.

I know many people tend to lean towards favoring either He Xuan or Shi Qingxuan in the aftermath of the Blackwater arc. I don't think it's that simple. I think that He Xuan was entitled to obtain justice for his family, but it's also unfortunate the lengths he was willing to go(stealing another's fate, collecting the people with horrible fates). I don't think it was right to demand Shi Qingxuan either kill his brother or take on a horrible fate, but it's entirely understandable why he does! If his family suffered so terribly, why should he bother to spare the brother of the man who caused their suffering, especially when that brother is the reason for their suffering? When that brother refuses to cut ties or take action against him? He Xuan cares very deeply about his family, and it's clear that even after all this time, he's in a lot of pain about their deaths. I think his actions are a commentary on the cycle of revenge, that he is unwilling to let go of his desire for revenge even if it requires he perpetuate the harm inflicted upon him. It's one of many foils to Xie Lian and his choices throughout the novel.

One thing I really liked about the Blackwater arc was the parallels between Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan! Shi Qingxuan is being haunted by a horrific ghost, who we later discover is a supreme who has been at Shi Qingxuan's side all along, pulling the strings behind the scene. Rereading the whole section where Xie Lian has soul-shifted to Shi Qingxuan's body after figuring everything out is heart-wrenching after reading Book 4. He wants to help so bad, and above all else you can tell his priority is being witness to Shi Qingxuan's suffering, because he knows what it's like for to be alone/have your suffering unrecognized by others. (and conversely, Hua Cheng's desire to remove Xie Lian from the situation as quickly as possible is also very understandable after reading Book 4)

#illuspeaks #tgcf #he xuan #shi qingxuan #tian guan ci fu #i feel like this can be further refined but also im afraid of forgetting to finish this if i put it off longer #illuanswers

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muqingapologist · 3 months

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Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "muqingapologist "?

i go through phases with fanfiction, wavering between never reading any and then reading it consistently over a period of time. so my ao3 account only has bookmarks from the last year or so, so i’ll just include those! i did read some reeeally good fics for pairings that i was really into in the past, but i won’t include them here

as for my username, i used to have the apologist format with another character for my finsta, and i because obsessed over mu qing in my recent read through of tgcf. so i’ll defend him from the haters heh.

ok fics. no particular order.

1. Resurrection by heyholmesletsgo

one thing about me is that im going to eat up every songxiao fix-it fic i come across. this one i think follows the logic of the untamed rather than just mdzs, but i don’t think it’s a big change either way. this fic is so beautiful i thought about it for weeks afterward. it’s pretty short, but the slow, gentle pining as xiao xingchen returns to the world, the way they figure out communication, it’s all so good.

2. some new beginning by liesmyth

i got into good omens after season 2 being released this past summer, and i have to say the fics have been very hit or miss for me. the characterizations in fics are always some strange combination of characterizations of season 2 crowley and season 1 crowley and book crowley. this is post-season 1 though so this isn’t really an issue. i loved this one. i think my favorite form of aziracrow is when they’re both just idiots following the momentum of their feelings without really realizing the significance of their actions until, well, they live together hahah. highly recommend this one for that dynamic! it’s also pretty short.

3. Protagonist Rehabilitation Programme by cinnamonsnaps

this one i actually read entirely on my flight from japan last week after randomly stumbling across it. it’s an SVSSS AU where the original luo binghe transmigrates(?) into shen yuan’s world. im not usually a fan of AU fiction because i think much of the time, the events of the source material are very much what shape the personalities of the characters, but this one works for me. it’s so good at matching the tone and writing style of mxtx while being funny in its own way too.

4. hometown comforts by nyoomerr

this is another bingqiu one, post-canon, and it’s an identity reveal. it’s my ideal identity reveal fic because it’s incredibly low stakes and binghe is just curious about shen yuan’s world. no system warnings and stuff. just bonding. im a simple gal.

5. still waters by marichen

went through a beefleaf phase where i read a bunch of fics. this was the best one by far. unmatched. beefleaf, imo, is a very difficult couple to write for. there’s so much to unpack. it’s hard to make their relationship feel genuine because so much care needs to go into shi qingxuan trusting he xuan again. in this fic, it is the classic he xuan lingering around, but also we see sqx building his own life back up on his own, as well. it’s he xuan pov. so good so good.

6. Bring it back, bring it back [don’t take it away from me] by wednesdaisy

another good omens fic, also post-season 1, aziraphale pov. in this one, crowley fucks off to new zealand because he thinks his relationship with aziraphale is fantasy and it’s too painful to keep seeing him after everything they’ve been through. and aziraphale tracks him down and has to convince crowley that he does indeed want him in his life and loves him and ah, it’s really sweet.

7. the round moon by orphan_account and the hazy sun by orphan_account

this is a 2 part quanyin fic (pre-canon qyz for part 1, post-canon yin yu pov for part 2). i’m also incredibly picky about quanyin fics. this one was so beautifully done. it didn’t make quan yizhen feel overly-childish as an adult like many others do, and it made yin yu’s conflicting feelings about him so vivid and believable. highly recommend for quanyin nation out there.

8. This Is Me Trying by Piper_Emerald

another post-canon identity reveal. this one is a little more angsty than the one above but also so well done! a deep part of me needs an identity reveal to happen for them at some point hahaha…like binghe is smart ok…he suspects already.

9. some good mistakes by Lise

everyone forgive me for not really having any wangxian recs. my post-untamed fic phase was on my old ao3 account i can’t find. anyway, i remember this one being really good. wei wuxian goes missing. jiang cheng pov, teaming up with lan zhan to find wwx. post-canon untamed. personal preference but i love post-canon untamed wangxian fics the most because i just reading about all the ways they might get together.

10. Not Easily Conquered by dropdeaddream, WhatAreFears

(i keep getting error when i post the link but it’s on ao3)

i’m including this one because i’d be lying if it wasn’t always in my top 10. i never think about stevebucky these days and cannot stand marvel, but damn this fic holds up like 8 years later!! 3-parter, AU where steve never gets frozen but bucky is still the winter soldier. told over decades. some cringe US cold war propaganda but ignoring that…a beautiful story. if you ever carried any attachment for these two, worth the read.

so that’s my very inaccurate too 10 fics. thank you for asking so i have an excuse to discuss hahaha.

#svsss #tgcf #good omens #the untamed #mdzs #songxiao #aziracrow #wangxian #bingqiu #quanyin #beefleaf #stevebucky #fic rec #fanfic #ask

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bishy437 · 3 months

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Hey! I know it’s a bit late but I just saw your polls and your recent own opinion and thought I’d add my two cents. Scum Villain is my personal favorite and tgcf is my least favorite. Like many others, tgcf was my first danmei and first mxtx novel and svsss is my most recent.

I liked tgcf but it didn’t really feel like anything was happening, the pacing was very slow and a lot of the arcs felt really disconnected from eachother (which makes sense considering the scale and all the characters but..) a lot of the arcs that heavily featured side characters didn’t really grab my attention as well as, for example, the Yi City arc from mdzs did. I tried to latch onto the characters, I really did but they just didn’t leave much of an impact on me at all, which is strange because pretty much everyone in svsss interested me.

While svsss may not be perfect, it was just so engaging! i read the first 3 books in two weeks and I had so much fun! I felt so much! sy’s stupidity (affectionate) was just sooo infuriating in all the right ways and his relationships with the cast were super fun! There was definitely a clear progression of events and thinking and just a huge looming of stakes (even though a lot of them were just made up in sqq’s head). The character development too! Svsss was just a delight to read. So many of the side characters are just so amazing too: sqh and mbj have become some of my all time favorites and just all the extras were so good!

Anyways I just have so much love for svsss and I guess I just didn’t connect enough with tgcf. Thanks for reading :)

hi! i agree with everything you’ve said!

i read the books in the order of mdzs -> tgcf -> svsss and i didn’t expect to enjoy sv the most at all considering I had initially liked mdzs due to its horror and tragedy aspects. Tgcf had plenty of tragedy + some horror but as you said, the characters were somewhat unstimulating.

although i do feel the need to give a shoutout to QuanYin. That sidepair actually had me invested the most out of all the other side characters in hob. it’s a shame the fandom tends to sleep on them (i’m guilty i need to draw them Soon!!)

i think what i love about sv is that it’s more of a ‘show don’t tell’ book compared to tgcf. Tgcf took ages explaining things that didn’t need to be explained.

Moshang were barely even in the main story and yet the “Fuck! he can’t fly!” scene had me laughing for literally half an hour and fully believing in moshang supremacy!! mxtx did that with only a few lines during the final showdown!!! and yet we had an entire arc for beefleaf that only made me interested in the sibling dynamic between shi qingxuan and shi wudu 😩

i know sv has its faults—all the books do—but i do think it gets a more of a bad rap than it deserves.

thanks for sharing :)

#i guess we’ll always be in the minority but maybe that’s not a bad thing!#after all hob fandom can be pretty intense at times while sv is so chill most of the time #answered #anonymous #long post

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