#I UNDERSTAND SHEN WEI SO MUCH

[redswordseekingbed]

First look at this very very hot Zhao Yunlan insert art for the EN Guardian novel from Fulgur Ovid's stream

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Gotta say, of all the protagonists in mxtx books, shen yuan is the most relatable. Why? I too would read an absolutely god awful trash terrible webnovel for the sole person of bitching about it.

[hideyseek]

ohhhhhhhh boy !!!!!!!!!! this intermediary fic is turning out to be only vaguely about weilan (in that zyl is like, there, whatever) but really this is about foiling shen wei and zhu hong !!!!!!

like i just — i really really love the idea that shen wei and zhu hong have this ... shared understanding and allyship born out of their shared deep love for zhao yunlan, which lets them connect and understand aspects of each other that maybe even zhao yunlan himself doesn't get to know about them.

[orange-clown]

MXTX Main Characters on if I think they would use an ad blocker or not:

Shen Yuan: Does not use an ad blocker, mainly because he pays for ad-free versions of everything if they're offered. Probably lectures on "economic necessity of ads" if anyone were to bring it up to him and bitches endlessly on social media every time ads get more annoying/intrusive but ultimately does nothing about it.

Luo Binghe: As a kid, it never even crosses his mind that it's something you CAN do. As an adult, only if the ads annoy or inconvenience him. Doesn't really care either way about the moral/ethical principles.

Wei Wuxian: Wrote his own ad blockers, probably from a shockingly young age. Will also forcibly/stealthily install them on all of his loved one's stuff. His siblings have not seen an ad in a decade and have not noticed.

Lan Wangji: Will patiently sit through any ad that is presented to him. It does the advertisers no good, as he is not interested in anything that they are trying to sell him. The algorithm is still trying to categorize him to this day.

Xie Lian: Does not use an ad blocker because he does not understand how technology works. He might accidentally have some sort over ad blocker due to the fact that all of his tech is so old that the ads don't display properly on it.

Hua Cheng: The one that I have the least strong opinion on, tbh. Probably would, but only on a matter of principle/for privacy reasons. The stuff he REALLY wants to keep private (aka his Xie Lian shrines) are all strictly off line and can't be traced to him, so I don't see him caring too much one way or the other.

[ineffectualdemon]

Wei Wuxian is, unfortunately, not the self destructive MXTX protagonist

He had phases:

Phase one: reckless teenager who just doesn't consider consequences because he's a dumb teenager. Not self destructive just high int low wis stat because he's literally like 15

Phase two: self destructive but in the "traumatised youth who is self medicating his pain away and also going through his tortured genius phase" which to be fair his peers were also going through their own mental health struggles at the time so no one was riding the mentally stable train. Even without dying this was hopefully a temporary phase. If he was a millennial he would have been really into My Chemical Romance during this time

Phase three: not self destructive, trying to get OUT of situations but still ending up IN situations despite his best efforts but generally giving off a "I'm a dad and too tired for this drama. I just want to go sight seeing"

Xie Lien from what I understand wasn't so much self destructive as deeply depressed (still haven't finished the book)

Shen Qingqiu on the other hand

The man never met an obstacle where he didn't at least consider literally dying as the solution

He tries to literally self destruct the first time during Sha Hualing's raid on Cang Qiong when poisoned hoping to take her out with him and is only stopped by Liu Qingge showing up

Actually self destructs when Binghe comes back to "fake" his death and also calm Binghe's ass down

His plant body death wasn't his fault I'll give him that

Risks death for Binghe in the mausoleum several times

Self destructs AGAIN at Maigu Ridge to restore Binghe's mind and only lives because the system took pity on him

I'm guessing the only reason he stops self destructing for Binghe is because Binghe destroys Xin Mo and maybe because he realised it makes Binghe too sad idk

Anyway Shen Qingqiu is the only truly and literally self destructive MXTX main character and that's why he's the best and worst and just most character ever

[khattikeri]

prefacing this post by saying this is not a ship bashing post; i like all these ships; i am musing on my own personal preferences

i think the reason why i like wangxian and bingqiu just a little bit more than hualian boils down to the misunderstandings, with the sex scenes of their respective stories being insights into those misunderstandings.

in mdzs, lan wangji and wei wuxian's misunderstandings come about because 1) they were acquainted but not seriously close friends 2) they had to deal with a massive war and its aftermath. lan wangji was worried for wei wuxian's personal safety and had romantic feelings for him. wei wuxian was slowly led to believe over time that lan wangji didn't really like him much and wanted to harm him just like everyone else in spite of wei wuxian's righteous actions.

combined with their respective upbringings as a respectable second son and the dubiously accepted son of a servant who always has to watch his own back, there's a lot for them to untangle after the death and resurrection and feelings realization! but the moment they do realize that they're mutually in love, they jump on the chance to stay together, no more miscommunication, no waiting, no more turning away from each other again.

and the respective sex scene: you explicitly see the peerless illustrious hanguang-jun lan wangji straining, apologetic and still openly nervous during his and wei wuxian's first time. because they didn't talk things out! they were too excited! they were too happy and intent to have each other after all those years of pain so they rushed into it without really discussing anything beforehand. so lan wangji doesn't actually know if wei wuxian is going nooooo~ in a sexy way or if wei wuxian actually seriously wants lan wangji to stop. it's flawed and they work out each other's preferences later on, but they both enjoyed themselves and continue to do so even in future sex scenes.

in svsss, shen qingqiu and luo binghe's misunderstandings come about because 1) former is a modern day transmigrator compelled to not reveal anything about the story or what he actually feels for any of the characters 2) the latter is desperate to understand the former's contradictory actions and to not be abandoned.

combined with several miscommunications and hasty assumptions (e.x. luo binghe thinking that shen qingqiu must've harmed him because he despised luo binghe's half-demon ancestry; shen qingqiu thinking that luo binghe intends to torture him the way he tortured the original story's counterpart shen qingqiu) and you get a fascinating and heartrending dynamic where they clearly adore each other and are dismayed at the idea that it's inevitable for the other one to despise them and want to hurt them. things clear up because they show each other their devotion and intent to stay.

and the respective sex scene: their first time isn't even written to be titillating! they're still in the middle of battle. luo binghe's mind is being overpowered by the demonic sword xin mo, so even though shen qingqiu is okay with dual cultivation/sex to pacify the sword's lust for conquering, it's extremely rough and unpleasant. it is violent and painful and leaves shen shingqiu so battered he looks like he's been assaulted, which horrifies luo binghe when he finally regains his senses.

they're distraught as hell! it traumatizes them both! and yet in spite of that and in spite of their fears of being hurt they want to stay with each other and they actively choose to keep being with each other. they improve their communication and clearly seem to understand each other's quirks and sexual preferences better in the extras and after marriage.

versus in tgcf: xie lian and hua cheng got along with each other from day 1. there was a spark the moment xie lian met san lang on the back of that ox cart. they talked for ages and were endeared to each other basically immediately! even during the ghost bride mission where they didn't really speak to one another, xie lian clearly felt a connection to the mysterious groom who gently and safely led him through the blood rain.

through all their present-day adventures and the final battle, even when they separate by choice or by force of circumstance, hua cheng and xie lian don't ever have a serious falling out. hua cheng is loyal to the bone and xie lian is also deeply drawn to hua cheng; both their respective insecurities are treated seriously and with sincerity by the other. there may be some confusion about each other's feelings, but even that isn't twisted to the point that they completely misconstrue each other's intentions and characters.

there isn't a central misunderstanding or miscommunication between hualian the way wangxian or bingqiu had; just a mutual past to be unraveled, and the looming question of if xie lian will actually act upon his feelings/the fact that he's attracted to and in love with hua cheng.

and the respective sex scene: we don't have any explicit sex scenes due to censorship. everything is in xie lian's rather selective point of view (and he's the type who hides certain details from readers for entire volumes on end!) so the most we get is the skimmed summary: xie lian really enjoyed it and hua cheng is kind of rough. just the implication that hua cheng was naturally amazing and satisfied xie lian fully, without any particularly humanizing aspects or awkward/upsetting first time moments.

of course tgcf is a beautiful story and a lovely romance in its own right, but personally, i found mdzs and svsss's main pairings more compelling because of the misunderstandings and how the sex scenes tied into the characters' personalities and overall relationship arcs.

[askew-d]

Fanfics ideas, cause you love MXTX works . Your top 3 fav MDZS characters will be besties with who (in your opinions) if they were in other universe, with characters from TGCF & SVSSS? Hope my questions are not confusing.....

hi, anon! sorry i’m terrible late for this ask. hope you don’t mind :) i am not sure i can provide great fanfic ideas, but here’s my opinion about who’d be besties with who in the mxtx universes, and i added more than three or favorite characters, by the way:

1. wei wuxian would create a group of besties with xie lian, shen qingqiu and hua cheng (and get together really often with nie huaisang group of friends)

wait up! i mean, wei wuxian would get along with xie lian because of his obvious fair morality principals and they would eventually get along with shen qingqiu for their intimate experiences with their husbands. if shen qingqiu was frustrated with luo binghe, of course xie lian and wei wuxian would share advices. wei wuxian would love to hear xie lian's lifetimes of stories and xie lian would love to hear his in return. shen qingqiu would slowly warm up to them.

and now, why hua cheng? i personally do not see hua cheng warming up to a human other than wei wuxian. not only because wei wuxian is a demonic cultivator, but also because wei wuxian would always thoroughly respect xie lian and have him like a great friend because he also has been treated like shit by others and understands xie lian. i think hua cheng would appreciate that. shen qingqiu would not judge xie lian either, so i guess they would all be ok nicely hanging out.

and they would spend time with:

2. nie huaisang, shang qinghua, shi qingxuan and sha hualing

you cannot tell me that nie huaisang would not become friends with sha hualing. they are both capable of everything. nie huaisang would be a little scared of her at first? surely. but something would happen, perhaps a case in which only he could help her out, and they would end up turning into acquaintances bordering into friends. one hand helping the other (perhaps not always for the greater cause).

anyway, shang qinghua and shi qingxuan though? personally, i think they would hit it off right at the first sight. shang qinghua would help him with writing, even, and open a new word for nie huaisang.

3. jiang cheng would slowly start being friends with feng xin, mu qing and liu qingge (even if none of them will admit it)

jiang cheng? admiting he made friends with those angry idiots mu qing and feng xing who cannot stop fighting? admittng that he made friends with that weirdass liu qingge? and vice versa? no, they will never say it. but fairly enough, i think jiang cheng would end up getting drunk one day, they would all start complaining, being angry, hitting things over, discussing over those gays kissing at their feet all their time, and the next morning, they would just grow an inch closer.

they would still roll their eyes at one another every time they are in a social conference. they would still be tsunderes even if they just spent an afternoon hanging out gossiping back and forth. yet, i think they would grow closer, and in a life and death situation, they would fight together like reluctant sworn brothers.

4. lan wangji would befriend ling wen, mobei-jun and luo binghe

lan wangji and ling wen i think its clear that they would be nice friends, helping each other and having tea together. mobei-jun would just be there because, if shang qinghua must have his time to be with nie huaisang and other human friends, at least hanguang-jun is one human that he tolerates for the simple fact that he does not talk much. so that is enough for him. luo binghe would only become close to lan wangji because they would trade nice recipes for their husbands. and also, it would be nice if lan wangji also helped ling wen, binghe and mobei-jun out with understanding how human works. they would be so confused and would want explanations of human experiences from hanguang-jun (one time or another, i can swear that mobei and luo binghe would want to receive advice towards their sex life too).

5. lan xichen would grow fond of yue qingyuan and he xuan

lan xichen, my dear! for you, i think you would have a good friendship with yue qingyuan, only. with he xuan, i think its horrible to say that he xuan would seem to be a wise guy, so you would become close to him, you would have tea together, only for at the end you have another disappointment to discover that he isnt exactly who you think he is and another time you will be crumbling in sadness, so i will not say it. but there, i will leave you all with this angst side. or perhaps you would get along with shi qingxuan better because he sure been through this whole experience just like you, huh.

6. the juniors would be besties with shang qinghua, shi qingxuan, lan qianqiu, ning yingying and ming fan

do i need explanation for this one? hahah, they would all love to learn more from shang qinghua and laugh at his antics, follow around shi qingxuan just like ducklings, be impulsive with lan qianqiu, play around the town with ning yingying and judge others with the company of ming fang. perhaps beat some that threaten their superiors in the middle :) would love to check their shenanigans.

[accio-victuuri]

chief producer Zhang Shuwei talks about why there is no “love line” in War of Faith:

ZSW: Regarding the relationship between Shen Jinzhen and Wei Ruolai, I have friends, especially friends in the industry, who asked me that “you don’t have a love line in this drama”. I said that is actually the case. Our line is the first one that I think is bigger than the love line. It is only natural for women to pursue careers. During the Republic of China, the world was still in such chaos. When we had to rush to faith, how could we have time to just fall in love? And was it because of love that we took the path of faith? I think that is too narrow, that is, we are moved to faith. The path must be my understanding of this belief and my enthusiasm for this belief, rather than saying that I fell in love with a Communist and then fell in love with the party because of my love for her. This is not convincing, so in fact I especially like our director's (idea) about this. He very much recognizes that the influence of women on men is not entirely that I have an impact on you with love or beauty, but that my faith has infected you.

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello, new danmei fan here. I'm really late into danmei, just started last year (so I missed the hype). Just when I confused which blog to follow, I found your blog. Thanks so much for this blog of yours, it really helped me to understand more of the stories. I just finished MDZS, TGCG, SVSSS and now I'm reading 2Ha.

For this ask game, can I ask MDZS or SVSSS?

Before I start reading, many people said that SVSSS is inferior to other MXTX works, after finishing the books, I disagree, because I enjoy them all the same....

I mean, if starting last year is considered "late," then I'm also behind, because I only started reading things a few years ago lmao! But it's never too late when fandoms are still booming (for better or worse). So I see we're finishing out the mxtx novels.

MDZS

Favorite Character: Wei Wuxian

Favorite Arc: all Drunk Lan Wangji encounters!

Character I Think is Underrated: Lan Wangji, if i have to hear “he’s boring” from people who can’t read one more time…

Character I Think is Overrated: all of the antagonists and villains. Jiang Cheng is not "single mother!jiujiu," he is just a bitchless Wen Chao. Jin Guangyao is not "poor little Meng Yao forced to do things against his will," he is a a calculating murderer who will scheme against, betray, and kill anyone who stands between him and ultimate power. Madam Yu is not a "girlboss" (unless we accept the real meaning of that word, which is a woman who gains power by ingratiating herself into oppressive systems as the female alternative to corrupt male leaders), she is a domestic abuser who made every single person in her family and husband's clan miserable.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Wangxian

Something I Love About the Book: I love the way this book is adamant about good always eventually being rewarded. That even if the outcome of doing good was terrible, that does not make the effort wasted or useless. Lan Wangji protecting Wei Wuxian at Nightless City was worth it even if he was almost killed for it, because it made sure that the yin tiger tally did not end up in the Jin Clan's hands as a completed weapon. Wei Wuxian saving the Wen was worth it even though he was killed for it, because A-Yuan got to live. Wen Qing and Wen Ning saving Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian was worth it even though Jiang Cheng betrayed them in the end, because their clan still got to live through its last descendant. None of their actions were met with immediate rewards, but the larger implications of them led to better outcomes than had they just kept to themselves and the status quo of corruption, as everyone else had.

SVSSS (my favorite of the three 🤗)

Favorite Character: Luo Binghe, hands down

Favorite Arc: Holy Mausoleum Arc, cause y'all (Shen Qingqiu 😒) gonna stop falsey accusing my baby, today!

Character I Think is Underrated: Bing-mei version of Luo Binghe, not because he's "unpopular," per se, but because mainstream fandom's perception of him seems to be that he is just Bing-ge who cries, and this is a complete mischaracterization of his character based on popular fanon. I see too much hate for him in this fandom because of it

Character I Think is Overrated: Shen Jiu. The man was a child abuser and died to one of his victims because he chose to be a child abuser. There is nothing tragic or unfair about that. Leave that man in the ether where he'll hopefully never have a chance to harm another person again.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Bingqiu

Something I Love About the Book: Shen Qingqiu. The man is trying his damndest to do right in what he considers a doomed narrative, but the moment he realizes that his efforts have actually made things worse, he immediately pivots his actions. He never tries to justify himself, deflect from criticism, or misplace responsibility. He has one goal in mind, and that is to make as many people's lives as he possibly can better than what they originally ended up as.

[least-carpet]

Hiiii, if it's not too much, can you describe the biggest differences between the live action characters and the novel characters in MDZS? They are a lot, so I will love even the difference between few of them! I haven't seen the live action and I don't know if I will ever, but I am curious, considering all the meta. Anyway, thank you in general, even if you don't answer!

Hello anon! This has been in the inbox forever because there are soooo many ways to answer this! However, let me be transparent that I've watched maybe like 1/10 of CQL. Among other obstacles, I simply do not care that much about Lan Wangji and he's always there (even though Wang Yibo is giving it his all... it's not his fault I'm a hater...). Chewing through a book with Ms. Mxtx's commentary was just more enjoyable to me, and even then, to be honest, I still liked SVSSS better. (I just love Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu so much. That dude is wild.)

Still, the live action definitely affected how I understood certain characters (...primarily Nie Huaisang) and made me interested in relationships that I didn't pay any attention to in the novel. (I freely admit that the nieyao brainrot is 100% CQL's fault.) Also I found Wang Zhuocheng's Jiang Cheng very cute and loveable. It definitely contributed to my Jiang Cheng Brain Disease.

LISTEN. HE HAS BIG SAD EYES AND THE MEANEST SNEER AND HE MIGHT BURST INTO TEARS AT ANY TIME. HE IS A BABY. A baby who could kill you with his terrifying lightning whip! But a baby nonetheless, to me.

So if you want someone with a real and knowledgeable opinion on the live action, I'm probably not the right person for that! However, here's one difference that changed a bunch of stuff about the characters that I found compelling in the novel: the second flautist.

CQL adds Su She as a second flautist doing unorthodox cultivation in a couple of different places, including at Qiongqi Path, where he seizes control of Wen Ning and is therefore responsible for Jin Zixuan's death. Removing the responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death from Wei Wuxian creates a bunch of cascading character and relationship implications that I don't love.

Firstly, all of the people who cautioned Wei Wuxian against his unorthodox cultivation are now... wrong. If he never lost control, then actually his assessment that he could maintain control wasn't overconfidence, it was just true, and he was persecuted because the Jin needed a scapegoat and wanted the Yin Tiger Tally, not because his cultivation path actually involved significant risks and drawbacks. (To be fair, the Jins actively exploited those drawbacks, the public perception of his cultivation, and Wei Wuxian's failure to manage his reputation. But it matters whether the risks exist or are just made up.)

Secondly, removing his responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death transforms both Wei Wuxian's character and how we understand his relationships with Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Jin Ling. Because, in the novel, he kills Jin Zixuan under duress but also after a lifetime of conflict with him. Like, he hates the dude, he doesn't think he's worthy of Jiang Yanli, and he's not willing to examine his hatred and resentment even though Jiang Yanli loves Jin Zixuan and wants to marry him, even after she marries him and has a child with him. (I would argue that a lot of the resentment is because of the eventual marriage; by marrying Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan becomes legally recognized family to the Jiang siblings, while Wei Wuxian's relationship with them has no social recognition; I think Wei Wuxian is deeply threatened by that but can't articulate it.) It's a huge failure! Like, dude, you loved someone and you killed that person's beloved spouse. That points to a certain degree of repressed jealousy, possessiveness, longing, arrogance, the list goes on... I am so compelled by that conflict, and the adaptation just erases it.

This also affects how we read Jin Ling's relationship with Wei Wuxian. In one scenario, a teenage Jin Ling is (eventually, minus one little stab) ending the cycle of violence by not seeking vengeance for his father's murder. In the other, it was actually someone associated with Jin Ling's paternal family that killed his father, and he's maybe just... coming to terms with that? One of these scenarios is so much richer and more interesting.

How it affects the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is a little more subtle. It locates the responsibility for a lot of the harm done to the Jiang siblings with the Jin sect, not with Wei Wuxian, removing some of Wei Wuxian's culpability in the devolution of his relationship with Jiang Cheng. If Wei Wuxian isn't guilty of wronging the Jiang family (and instead is also a victim of the Jin sect), then all of Jiang Cheng's rage and betrayal was misdirected. They were both tricked. In some ways, maybe that's easier to patch up after canon? (I wonder if this is why many CQL yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation fics have Jiang Cheng apologize to Wei Wuxian, but not the other way around?) But it's so much less interesting to me!

Finally, it removes Wei Wuxian's tragic flaw! Dude is legitimately a genius but he's got hubris coming out of his ears and it fucks him up big time! This is classic stuff. Please stop flattening my boy!!

[grapestones]

Still thinking about Shen Jiu and Jiang Cheng, so what if it's Shen Jiu transmigration into mdzs after reading the novel and he sees aspects of Jiang Cheng and feels them and becomes protective of him. So when he becomes an npc, whether a Jiang disciple from the start or someone else, going from rogue cultivator to a loyal disciple, he becomes insanely protective and even possessive of Jiang Cheng.

Man the possibilities. If he's there before the massacre, Shen Jiu trying to prevent it, and failing that he would guard Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli so much. Hate Wei Wuxian, but being careful with it (he understand what it's like to have a shitty childhood, but he's also jealous because Wei Wuxian did have a better life after being a street rat, not like Shen Jiu, who was abused way more as a slave, and he blames Wei Wuxian a lot. Guy is a hater lmao), and oh, he would adore Jiang Yanli, only the best for her. Yu Ziyuan is a boss and Jiang Fengmian's a rat in his eyes.

And if it's after, during the rebuilding of Lotus Pier, Shen Jiu would support Jiang Cheng so fucking much. My guy might be filled with hate and anger, but he's loyal (at least that's what fandom wiki tells me, I honestly don't remember enough which is such a fucking shame), he's smart, he can rise to be a second in command easily.

He would be there for Jiang Cheng, he would try to save Jiang Yanli, would give a firm talking to Jin Zixuan, threaten Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, watch for Jin Gungyao and Nie Huaisang and be awkward as hell with Jin Ling.

[the-marron]

Fandoms: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)  

Tags: Major Character Death

Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan

Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan, Wu Tianen

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Happy Ending, yes you heard that right, Dixing (Guardian), Dixing/Haixing Politics (Guardian), Dixing Worldbuilding (Guardian), lots of liberties taken with Dixing actually, Gods, Love Saves Everyone, Mythologization of History, History used as propaganda, The Bet Is Won, Novel References, Not a fix it bcs I fixed nothing, I just experimented with what can be done with the ending, MCD tag is because they are all dead at the beginning, They get better

Summary:

Only now, knowing what he knew, could Wu Tian’en understand that whatever Heipaoshi had loved so much was not Haixing itself, but one man born of this land. One man, whose last remaining memory was now put in Heipaoshi’s stone hands. Somehow, Wu Tian’en couldn’t help but think that this was what they both would have wanted. For the memory of them to be reunited at least.

[silviakundera]

I'm gonna need kunning palace to give me a lot of the main otp in the last episodes, we have 8 left (this is why I don't f*ck with this 40 ep rule because now that we're getting the main relationship the show is over and everything that came before was also necessary). I'm gonna need to see how deep JXN's love for him becomes, I know people are obsessed with dedicated ML but I enjoy otps where it's more equal and I love seeing a female lead protect and support her otp the way he does her, even if it takes a while like in ming lan she had completely reasonable issues and took a while to warm up to him but when she did she was 1000% in and showed just how much she loved him, I personally don't appreciate unbalanced relationships where it's just one party sacrificing and being a lot more dedicated no matter the genders.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS

Hard to say, depends on how close they stay to the book. They've been quite faithful to the novel so far but at the point we are now is where I feel fairly confident that we're gonna diverge. Because in the novel the otp gets VERY dark before they get better. There's a reason why Xie Wei has been holding himself back & restraining his emotions. He's a whole mess of anxiety & PTSD and he has to work through his traumas. Both these characters have been a burningdog.gif meme and saying everything is just fiiiiiiiine but in the novel when they finally get alone on center stage together things get REAL because it's masks off. And underneath they are a whole mess.

imo the key to this pairing, and why we don't get a love confession from her until the very end, is what she thinks when she finally publically claims him (fittingly, she doesn't claim the lauded scholar but the unhinged figure that the public now finds monstrous):

Shen Zhiyi asked: "Ning Ning, do you know what kind of person he is?”

Jiang Xuening said, "I know."

This person forced her to kill in his previous life; even in this life, he still thought about taking her to die with him. He is definitely not a good person. How could she not know?

It can even be said that she knows better than anyone else. Because she has seen his truest and craziest side.

Shen Zhiyi asked again: "Do you like him?"

Jiang Xuening thought for a while and said, "I like him."

At this moment, Xie Wei's palm trembled slightly, but there seemed to be thousands of lights and shadows passing by in his mind, and finally there was nothing left, just staring at her blankly.

Yan Lin stood too far away, no one could see his blurred expression clearly.

Shen Zhiyi also didn't speak for a long time.

She didn't fully agree, she was afraid that her Ning Ning would be sad because of the wrong choice, but she couldn't stop her, and all her worries finally turned into one sentence: "Then you really know what you are doing now?"

Jiang Xuening smiled at her: "I understand."

And not only know what to do now, but also what to do in the future.

So calmly: "I want to marry him."

"..."

That night, he asked her once, but she didn't answer, so he never dared to ask again.

But now she says she wants to marry him. Xie Wei suddenly couldn't tell whether this was real or a dream: didn't she want to leave him and go find Zhang Zhe?

Jiang Xuening also saw that he didn't comprehend. "You are really, extremely smart, but you just don't like people."

Talking about love, this person is stupid to death.

I am too afraid of losing what I have, and I seem to think that what I have will eventually be lost, so I am paranoid, extreme, and I refuse to show weakness to others and say all those words.

Jiang Xuening felt that this person was too similar to her previous self.

There are some things that I don't understand, so I bash my head against it.

She blinked, with tears in her eyes, but took his hand, tiptoed to kiss his cool thin lips."

//

Part of the reason she feels so deeply for him is their deep down similarity, but the novel is Jiang Xuening's journey to love & accept herself, letting go of the pain & shame from the past. She doesn't reach this point until the end, where she recognizes and accepts her own darkness and thus his, and also believes it doesn't need to define their future. Everyone now thinks she is the saint and he's the sinner but she knows they are both.

The novel epilogue shows they are finding a peaceful life together, the urge to fight and claw at life and each other has finally passed. But though in the last 30% of the novel we get tons of couple-time, all the gestures of devotion are coming from him. She's not ready. I frankly have no idea how much the drama will change the last 30%, and it won't land the same cause I'm sure they have to tone down how scary the ML gets...but regardless I do think we won't get a confession until the last act.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

[danmeiconfession]

Anyone is free to respond to this post how they like. Again, this is an opinion not a fact so please don't get butthurt over a stranger opinion on how they view these characters.

.....

I couldn't care less or give much fucks about Luo Binghe's past and dilemma, considering the monstrous path he ultimately chose. It's repulsive how a male lead can wreak havoc in both realms, driven by an incessant obsession with their shizun. To witness him inflict widespread destruction due to rejection and then be rewarded for it is simply sickening. Shen Jiu's disdain for him is understandable, despite the abuse he endured the amount of death and destruction is uncalled for Binghe deserves death. Does Luo Binghe exhibit the response of a victim towards their abuser? He crosses so many ethical boundaries, yet some argue that Shen Jiu should have treated him well from the start, even if Shen Jiu was reprehensible he doesn't deserve the torture that is unthinkable.

He should have been treated better what makes Binghe so special is it cause he's a protagonist? Shen Qingqiu, as the shizun leading his peak, should have prioritized improving the attitude, judgment, and addressing bullying among all disciples. He was abused I'm not denying that but he never blackend then he was blackened even before he met Shizun lol.

Comparisons with characters like Wei Wuxian highlight a significant difference. Wei Wuxian remained a good person despite the cultivation world turning against him and Madam Yu abuse on him in his younger years. In contrast, Luo Binghe operates on a whole different level, willingly engaging in fucked up heinous acts in "Proud Immortal Demon Way." It's challenging for me, as a reader, to sympathize with someone who deliberately made destructive choices. Bingmei isn't much better, and Bing-ge's approach to grievances is extreme, seeking to repay a thousand-fold.

He wasn't coerced; Shen Qingqiu can't be held responsible for the way he turned out because, at some point, one has to take control of their own life. Luo Binghe's mindset operates within a black-and-white framework, and while his life may have tragic elements, the current state he finds himself in is essentially the outcome of his own actions. I don't particularly care much after that. Despite having wives, immense power, and genuine love from his partners, he remains fixated on one specific person. His past may have been harrowing, but his present is a self-made hell, marked by unfulfillment stemming from his obsession. And it hit me then, how many lives had he destroyed how many women had he forced and then put them in his harem as just a statistic. If Luo binghe wasn't the main focal point and male lead or was an ugly character we wouldn't give a rat's arse about him because it fucking ridiculous his shizun was under no obligation to love the man who killed the person he dearly held most and rendered him limbless and destroyed everything. No one sane would. If you were in the same situation, would you choose to be with this man? Except for Shen Yuan, who shares an equal obsession with his idol, it's doubtful that anyone would pursue such a relationship.

Luo Binghe's tragedy lies in his psychological imbalance, fixating on a particular person, and the responsibility for this fixation rests squarely on him. It's clear that he wouldn't bother if it were solely about the abuse; he could have just killed Shen Jiu and moved on, a typical move for a protagonist with a vendetta. Consider what he did to the Palace Master – subjected him to pickling, yet he tormented Shen Jiu for years without end how is that fair. Such actions aren't solely driven by hatred; there must be an underlying thread of resentment. After all, the boundary between love and hate is often thin. Binghe's emotional baggage is more complex. His relentless pursuit of Shen Jiu is rooted in the latter's complete lack of care or concern for him. Binghe's focus transcends mere revenge for abuse; it revolves around a deep-seated yearning for care and attention that was never reciprocated.

What truly irks me is the fact that some people become upset just because the male lead in the story is canonically depicted as having been abused/mistreated as a child. It's essential to detach oneself and recognize that not every narrative revolves around personal experiences. Yes, I'm talking to you reader. Having a villain be a child abuser is more personal than being a mass serial killer. Child abusers are depicted to always be plain 100 percent evil what I appreciate from this character is how real he is and how much the cycle of abuse repeats itself. Unfortunately...

Luo Binghe's fate was designed to involve adversity; after all, protagonists are meant to face challenges. Comparing the ethical standards of the 21st century child abuse to the ancient setting of svsss is irrelevant, considering the weak moral framework and how much evil is batted away in that context. Shen Jiu, while flawed, is unfairly singled out when others are wickeder than him. It's important to acknowledge that he could have been worse we know his story. He could butter them up, gain their trust, manipulate Binghe if he were to find out earlier in the story his demon heritage, hell he could have even weaponized how much abuse he stayed as a slave against the Sect Leader but he didn't. The Peaklords, demons, airplane bro, and Mobei Jun, the women all have their disgusting faults too, and it's essential to view the characters within the broader context of the story.

Nobody is entirely virtuous. What perplexes me the most is that Shen Jiu's transgression involves a single instance of child abuse—just one reported case. The strong opposition despite acknowledging his potentially kinder traits raises questions still horrific and how dare we want good things for him. Anytime someone wants to post or want to think positively it's like there is a fixed way everyone must cater to how they see him and I find that boring really. If someone has a certain way they see a character than go for it life to short to cater to a mob. It's a fucking novel on the internet at the end of the day. People shouldn't bully or hurt real people over a novel or for any medium for how they interpret a character because that when the issues start.

While some may view this as "woobiefying," I don't it's essential to recognize the complexity of Shen Jiu's character. Canonically, Shen Jiu can't perform outwardly benevolent deeds because the world setting he is in as the villain seems to discourage it. People aren't simply black and white, and Shen Jiu's nuances go beyond a single act. Can a person with a dark past and abused a disciple also contribute positively to the world as scum? Yes. Human beings are multifaceted, and Shen Jiu's character reflects this complexity. If writers wish to explore positive alternative character traits or divergent life trajectories, especially in a fandom like svsss where creativity is expected, they should feel free to do so. After all, fanfiction is a space for imaginative storytelling, even if it deviates significantly from the original content.

If readers are troubled or have dissatisfactions with the character development and writing for Shen Jiu, or any other character for that matter, consider revisiting the novel. That's the only version you can experience with the original author, after all! LOL.

.

[hidey-writes]

wip wednesday

Shen Wei, and it's Zhao Yunlan's voice, low and unsteady. He's been drinking, Shen Wei guesses a moment before the voice in his answering machine says, I probably shouldn't be calling you like this when I've drunk so much. But I, I don't understand how you could do that for me. Who am I to you, Shen W— Shen Wei stands there with his finger jammed on the pause button of his answering machine and his heart hammering in his chest, and can't quite find it in him to breathe. In the darkness of his office, the light that means there's more message left to hear flashes blurry in the corner of his vision: red, red, red.

this is a snippet of basically everything i have drafted so far for the answer fic, which (as far as i currently know) picks up from when shen wei walks out of zhao yunlan's apartment in episode 23 after the kitchen scene, and continues until ... something wraps up. not sure what yet, but something delicious hopefully

[miyu-hyperfixates]

Recently, I've been thinking about how the narrators of MXTX's books become progressively more unreliable with each new work. And how the more reliable they appear to be at first glance, the more unreliable they turned out to be.

1 - Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

Let's start with SVSSS.

Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu is your typical unreliable narrator in several ways.

First, regarding what happened in the original. At the beginning the only thing we knew about PIDW came from Shen Yuan's knowledge and own interpretations of the book. So of course we're taking everything at face value and accept all lot of Facts that OG!SQQ was an unredeemable scum villain (lecher, murderer, abuser, low IQ etc) for example. Though it becomes quite apparent half-way through the story (with the introduction of Airplane and when hints of OG!SQQ are shown) that Shen Yuan might not have been informed of the whole picture behind PIDW. There were a lot of background information and character depths that Shen Yuan weren't aware of (and he is discovering them at the same time as us the readers, but even if we're given hints and can infer about some things, the whole picture would only become apparent in the Extras ).

This is of course due to the fact that Shen Yuan used to be a Reader just like us and wasn't privy on the thoughts and disastrous plotting process of the Author.

Secondly, the narration in SVSSS is heavily influenced by SQQ own thoughts, views and interpretations of what he is living through. We know most of if not all his inner thoughts without much filtering. And it is very obvious right from the beginning that SQQ considers himself (due to his status as a transmigrator) an Omniscient Narrator (spoiler he is so not.)

Now the thing is, SQQ is very genre savy, okay? And say what you want, but he's actually quite observant... and it's not even that he can't identify the tropes when they happened to him (the amount of times he complained to the system from being involved in a wife plots) .... it's just that his internalized homophobia and his previous knowledge of PIDW is preventing him from reaching the right conclusions.

We, as readers, don't have this problem though. And this is why, SVSSS is a comedy, it is playing with the fact that we know SQQ is an unreliable narrator and it only works if we manage to notice what SQQ is missing. SVSSS thrives from SQQ being an unreliable narrator and all the misunderstandings that derive from it. I mean the whole Jinlan arc would read very differently if we were taking things at face value.

So yeah, SY | SQQ is an unreliable narrator and we were meant to notice that he is one right away.

2 - Mo Dao Zu Shi

Let's move on to MDZS and its narrator's, Wei Wuxian.

Now, WWX doesn't appear like an obvious unreliable narrator. His thoughts and feelings do, of course, colored the narrative when describing facts and people (and boy, that man has Opinions) but that is to be expected in any narrator.

Like SQQ before him, WWX is very observant but blind to his own impact on other people's lives. And it was implied thoroughly through the novel that he failed to notice the depth of people's feelings for him. And because of that, since you're seeing the world through WWX's eyes you have to try to read between the lines to understand some people actions. A lot of things are left to (more or less) interpretation, which is why some characters characterization wildly differs from one adaption to the other. (Jiang Cheng is probably the one who suffers the most from this problem, *squinting at the donghua adaptation of JC*).

So while WWX seems like a case of typical slightly unreliable narrator due to chronic obliviousness, you might not feel the need to label him as an unreliable narrator.

Until you realize that WWX tended to downplay a lot of things regarding his own sufferings and most importantly that he deliberately left things out of the narrative. Like... you know the whole thing with his golden core.

... Which is worse than SQQ, because at least SQQ didn't try to hide anything from the readers and you know.... conveniently forgetting a lot of things because he's got a bad memory.

3 - Tian Guan Ci Fu

Oh boy.... where to begin?

Xie Lian's narration, contrarily to both SQQ's and WWX's, appears to be sort of dry, a little matter-of-fact even? He is a lot less transparent with his own thoughts, so much that I've even been reluctant at the beginning to qualify TGCF as being from XL's POV. And more importantly he often doesn't bother to tell us things that he already knows (and he knows a lot of things). Which makes him the worst narrator ever.

I mean, you think the guy 's got a case of "a little bit oblivious" what's with him so half-assingly trying to "check San Lang's status/true identity" or him not realizing that the Middle court officers were obviously his former general in disguise.... But then speed forwarding to the next arc (or several next arcs in the case of Mu Qing and Feng Xin) and you realize that he actually knew all along and just didn't bother to tell us...

And it's super funny because he's like, "What? Do you think you guys were being sneaky or something?"

Another thing that makes him so unreliable is that you see him reading aloud the story of the demise of some general and then ten chapters later you realize that the general was him all along and he didn't even twitch while talking about it.

That of course prompted the running gag that if some random characters appears in the background/past of the current arc relevant character, then that random character had a 90% chance of being Xie Lian.

So yeah Xie Lian is most unreliable narrator of all three MC, because you don't have a clue that he's one until it's hitting you in the face.

4 - ??

So, seeing as how things have progressed so far, doesn't it mean that the 4th MC would be even worse than Xie Lian?

At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if we spent two third of the 4th novel bemoaning on how the MC is so oblivious about the ML's (and his wholeass harem of side-characters) affection for him and then we got a scene like:

4th MC, after witnessing ML drinking vinegar, grinning affectionately: Pfft, we've been married for ten years and he's still being like this.

Readers : ....

Readers: !!! WHAT?! You're married?! Since how long?!

4th MC: Oh did you not know? But we've been holding hands the whole time?!

Readers: You didn't mention any of that!

4th MC, blinking: Oh we've been doing it so often that it just didn't register as something needed to mentioned?!

Readers: What about others things though, like kissing or papapa? Didn't you think it would be worth mentioning?

4th MC: Okay first, it's none of your business what me and my husband are doing behind the scene and secondly... bold of you to assume that I would have enough senses left to narrate anything while being intimate with my husband.