#the fact that yqy got made Sect Leader | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whetstonefires · 3 months

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See I don't necessarily disagree with what seems to be the primary reading that Yue Qingyuan's shifu fucked him over, caring nothing for his needs or preferences and only for whether he was useful. That makes sense, it ties into plenty of the generational and societal themes of the story. It fits.

But iirc we don't actually get enough information to know that's what happened.

And the thing is it would be so in-character and also thematically appropriate if Yue Qingyuan absolutely did not explain his goals or why he was working so hard, because it was private and shameful and he didn't expect any sympathy, and there was a high risk of losing everything if he blabbed.

And also if he engaged with the existing ruleset with which he was presented, i.e. 'can't go off on your own on personal business until you've mastered your sword,' in the most negative and controlling manner possible, as absolute commandments.

He's a different kind of guy but he comes from the same background as Shen Jiu! It fucked him up also!

He is very very very not a guy who trusts the system to make allowances for him--even once he has all the power he 'does what he wants' and 'makes selfish choices' as a conscious transgression; not something he has a right to do, just something he can get away with so he's gonna. (And ofc he spends almost all the latitude he grants himself on sqq.)

And even less is he a guy who opens up easily.

He isn't too proud to ask for help or pity, so much as he just doesn't expect to get any.

So in this interpretation, he understood that rule as a non-negotiable barrier in his path, the target to overcome, and focused all his considerable will and talent on overcoming it through the sphere of action he felt he had control over.

And fucked himself up bad.

Whereupon his teacher, possessing absolutely no context for this dumb shit their star pupil pulled, did the only thing they thought might work to save his life, paying in the process no attention to the raving of someone deep in a psychotic break.

Like, I feel like there should have been a better, kinder medical option, but I don't know for sure that there was, so I can't say with certainty this was the kind of cruelty that derives from not caring enough.

And it really would be kind of elegant and so typical of Yue Qingyuan's fundamental tragedy if the real mistake was 'not confiding in anybody' the whole time.

And he was just so deeply sunk into the understanding that explaining and asking were useless that, even looking back, it never really occurred to him that maybe his mistake wasn't 'fucking it up when trying too hard to solve everything on his own' but 'assuming there was no help to be had, and that he had to do it all on his own.'

Like. What if this really could all have been avoided if he'd just trusted and communicated with the adult in charge of him? But of course, of course his history of trauma (neglect, child abuse, exploitation, being the One Responsible for the younger kids whom he could not keep safe) meant he was absolutely not going to do that.

It was basically impossible. For the person he was, the person the world had made of him. And that's always been the core tragedy the whole novel circles back upon.

People can only ever be themselves, and so very often the elements of self that let them survive until now are that which dooms them, that means they need someone else to intervene if they're ever going to be saved. Because your personal doom is always the thing from which you can't save yourself.

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absolmon · 3 months

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@tianyueary Is asking a series of questions and I'd like to collect all my answers together and explain them. TianYue is my favorite post canon pairing and I'm so excited for more content for them! Answers below the cut!

1. Who's more of a cuddler?

I think Yue Qingyuan is someone who desperately misses the casual touch he got as a nameless street kid surrounded by other street kids. He desperately wants to cuddle, but his position prevents him. Contrast with Tianlang Jun who probably doesn't have the instincts for cuddling on account of him being a demon. He loves to do it when initiated, but he never consciously thinks about it.

2. Who refuses to get up in the morning?

TLJ for sure! He's a hedonist to the bone, he'd never get up before he wants to. YQY has never had a good sleep schedule and he's to dedicated to lay in bed when he's needed.

3. Who's hair care routine is longer?

TLJ! He's much more vain then YQY and loves to try new things out with his hair. YQY is much more utilitarian.

4. Who has the better dog?

All! Dogs! Are! Good! Dogs! They totally need to do exposure therapy to get Liu Qingge and Zhuzhi Lang used to one another but they are both good boys.

5. Who's better at cooking?

I don't think TLJ knows how to cook, and I think YQY can cook simple dishes so he wins by default. No one ever craves YQY's cooking, but I don't think TLJ realizes that the only reason he hasn't gotten food poisoning is because he's a Heavenly Demon.

6. Who has the bigger wardrobe?

YQY has a closet full of official sect leader robes for every occasion, he uses it as another arm of diplomacy. TLJ on the other hand just wears whatever he comes across that he thinks looks cool, with ZZL compensating people stealthily behind him. He discards clothes just as quickly so usually he only really has the clothes on his back and whatever ZZL has stored away for emergencies.

7. Who's better at keeping surprises?

YQY is a secret keeper extraordinaire! He was willing to take his reasons for leaving Shen Jiu to the grave. TLJ can't keep a secret to save his life, he has no tact.

8. Who stays up later?

YQY! He totally overworks himself. TLJ is naturally nocturnal though, but he naps frequently.

9. Who has better handwriting?

YQY, he was trained super hard to have great handwriting to make up for the fact that when he came to Cang Qiong Mountain he could not read or write. TLJ is great at reading but he has a hard time writing human script.

10. Who is more likely to accidentally acquire a harem?

YQY is the Shen Yuan in this equation (the equation being that all ships in SVSSS are just iterations of Cumplane) so he has a large amount of people waiting for him to open up applications for spouses. TLJ I imagine actually has trauma from the Heavenly Demon expectation of having a large harem and I head canon that his sister died whilst trying to make a monster boy harem.

11. Who is more likely to seek comfort after a bad nightmare?

TLJ would totally try to be nonchalant about getting it but he'd cuddle up so quickly after a nightmare. YQY has long learned no one is going to care about his nightmares.

12. Who is the "he asked for no pickles" in the relationship?

YQY has made a career out of politely asking people to comply for the sake of others. He'd be so subtle about it but he wouldn't take no for an answer. TLJ would just go somewhere else and buy all their food to spite the other place then leave all the pickles from those meals on the doorstep of the first place.

13. Who said "I love you" first?

I think TLJ said it first but he played it off as a joke. He keeps quoting love confessions from his stories and plays but playing them off when YQY reacts with shock. YQY is the first one to actually say it and make it clear he means it.

14. Who made the first move?

TLJ for sure! He mostly did it for a reaction, but he keeps doing it because of the cute little micro expressions YQY makes about them.

15. Who plans more dates?

ZZL is the ultimate unappreciated wing snake. My poor boy needs to be paid for the shit he deals with.

16. Who's more romantic?

YQY is more romantic in a real sense. TLJ quotes things all the time but he doesn't really understand them. YQY will brush TLJ's hair out of his face and say how much he appreciates TLJ's honesty and that just makes TLJ turn into a demonic puddle.

Man this turned out long. There are still several polls going on @tianyueary and they've posted their prompts for TianYue week. Check them out!

#Grae Rumbles #SVSSS #TianYue #Hope This Is Okay To Just Drop On You Guys!

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