#sqq: god i wish i did not and even thinking about it makes me want to throw up. again i will be taking no questions at this time.

[chadlesbianjasontodd]

it’s really not fair that i gave myself brainrot for a ship that i think about two other people have ever cared about and where ‘being in love’ is not a positive emotion :/

[razberryyum]

Scumbag System (SVSSS donghua) Episode 10 Thoughts (spoilers)

(covers SVSSS chaps 24 - 26, BC Novels Translations)

And thus the first season of the SVSSS donghua comes to an end...rather weirdly abruptly to be honest, but more on that later. Obviously I love the donghua. It was not perfect, but it still exceeded my expectations. I truly appreciate what they were able to do within their budget constraints and I think they captured the spirit of the source material perfectly, which is really all I hope for when it comes to adaptations.  The writing was strong, the humor hit the spot always (for example, when poor Shizun got motion sickness from sword riding, I guffawed), and they also gave us some of the most beautiful characters I’ve ever seen on screen, especially with Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge. I really, really hope they release official figurines for them. I’m going to start saving my money now just for that possibility.

Even though their time together in this episode was short, the BingQiu love was definitely strong. They gave them a combo move that was not in the source material: for someone like me who grew up watching Cantonese dramas, two characters who have a combo sword move (”雙劍合璧”!) are usually a couple so I was especially tickled by this addition. I am always thankful to the donghua team for the little Easter Eggs they give us for BingQiu, like the way Binghe's eyes lit up when he sees SQQ... 

or when SQQ touches him...

Once again, for those not in the know, it can easily be interpreted as a disciple just being devoted and filial to his Shizun. But for those of us who have read the novel, of course we know it’s indication of Bingmei falling in love with SQQ. I love how subtle yet significant these little expressions of Binghe’s are, and I hope they continue on with these little touches even in the next season. 

Of course then there are the more obvious gestures, like that HUG:

It lasted for a good 15 seconds and oh my God look at the Binghe’s hand placement!  There was totally nipple groppage happening there! This wasn’t in the book by the way...SQQ didn’t get woozy and Binghe most definitely didn’t have to catch him like some fainting damsel, so we have the donghua team to thank for this wonderful moment of (sexy) physical contact between the two of them. 

The donghua team was also especially generous in this episode since not only did we get some BingQiu love, but we got a pinch of LiuShen and QiJiu love too.

LQG’s eyes were on SQQ the entire time! And then Yue Qingyuan as usual took any opportunity he got to touch his Qingqiu.  So all shippers were fed. Hell, they even threw in some more straight-baiting again so peeps who are watching the show for the “straight” romance between Luo Binghe and his never-to-be-future-wife Qin Wanyue were fed too since the scene where Binghe gives her the handkerchief to wipe away her tears were not in the chapters of the book for this episode, and racking my brain I don’t even think it was in the book, period. I’m trying to remember if that handkerchief even holds any significance but even if it does, it’s all for naught since we know Qin Wanyue is at most just a minor side character. She does pop up again later on but then is mostly forgotten, so...not quite sure what that moment was all about other than to, I don’t know, throw off the censors?

I’m also not sure why we spent so much time with Liu Mingyan and Gongyi Xiao in this episode. Nothing against them personally, I like both characters very much (despite my previous complaints about GYX’s character design), and it’s not that they don’t deserve more screen time, but this was the season finale! Even though the next season has been announced, God knows when we’ll see it next year and how many episodes it would be, so every minute of screen time matters! That’s why I was a bit puzzled that they used up half of the episode showing LMY basically facing the same perils with her group of fellow disciples as before and GYX just running from that huge serpent. Even if that thing DOES turn out to be Zhuzhi-lang, it was still a bit much. They weren’t exactly character building scenes either so...why? Budget reasons? Didn’t have enough money to pay SQQ’s voice actor (Wu Lei-laoshi) so they had to stick in miscellaneous scenes to lessen his screen time? 

I’m kidding of course. God I hope that wasn’t the reason because that would just be sad.

Speaking of miscellaneous scenes though, what was going on with these two dudes?

I gotta admit, I’m a bit salty that these two mob characters got to do what our main couple can’t. What’s their story? Why do they get special privileges? Damn these nobodies. XD

All kidding aside, I have to say, of all the episodes this season, this might be the weakest one, not only because of the “filler” scenes, but also, the way the episode ended was so odd, especially for a season finale. The season basically ended on a scene transition. Not a cliffhanger, just a scene transition, and then cut to credits. What?? Why??? It’s almost as if they just ran out of time so had to stop the show all of a sudden. And then as if to make up for it, they added post-credit scenes which, honestly blew me away because it was so unexpected. It was indeed almost enough to make me completely forgive the weakness of the episode as a whole and that weird-ass ending.

I teared up!  The scene was kind of chopped up, didn’t even flow that smoothly, but I still got emotional! I’m sure when I see this scene in its entirety next season I am just going to be destroyed. I think they made it even more gut-wrenching than it was in the novel. Looks like the donghua team really aren’t gonna hold back when it comes to delivering the BingQiu knives. 

We also got to see Mobei-jun appear in the post-credits scene; I guess they had to stick him in there since he was featured in the poster for this season, so it would have been weird if he didn’t at least make an appearance.

I immediately thought of him as Sephiroth’s younger cousin when I first saw him on the poster and I still feel that way. Anyone related to Sephiroth, I will approve and instantly have affection for. For the MoShang shippers’ sake, I hope the Shang Qinghua they create for him will be just as pretty. I think I can now safely discard my guess from last time and also that moon-faced bearded ojisan others have guessed. We actually got a glimpse of the real deal in this sequence:

They strategically made him blurry so you can’t really make out his features, but what we still can tell from there is that he does not have facial hair (hence, he cannot be the ojisan) and the hair crown he’s wearing is silver and different from the twinky sect leader. So I guess we’ll be getting a fresh out of the microwave Airplane Bro instead of any of the no-name potential cannon fodder we’ve already seen. 

We’ll probably get the abyss opening up in maybe even the first episode of next season but that’ll still leave a lot of ground to be covered in just 10 episodes (rumored). There haven’t been any talk about a third season, but I really hope it’ll happen, even though it might take them a while to make it. I know it’s premature to even think of a third season when we haven’t even gotten an actual release date for the second, but I’m greedy because I already miss the donghua. This season was over so quickly, I’m already mourning the lack of new episodes. I hope we get the second season in the first quarter of next year and then by some miracle, a third or even fourth to properly finish out the story. I know we will never get the FULL story, but as long as they keep the spirit of BingQiu’s love and continue to hint at it like they’ve been doing this season, I will be more than satisfied. 

And while I’m wishful thinking for new seasons, I hope we also get a BingQiu duet and character songs. I love the opening and ending theme this season, if they want to save money I totally don’t mind if they just use the same OP/ED themes in the next season as well, but I hope they throw in a good BingQiu insert song and then release some individual character songs as well. I’m still not a fan of Binghe’s voice, but maybe they can have someone else do his vocals for the songs. SVSSS is the older son of MXTX’s works, I feel like it already got short-shrifted in terms of adaptation since it got the lesser budget compared to MDZS and TGCF. Hopefully with how popular the donghua is this season, it will be given a bigger budget next season so they can bring to life all the subsequent proceedings from the book properly. And whatever they’re paying Wu Lei-laoshi, SQQ’s voice actor, they should double it because that man is just amazing. I worship his voice and performance. I wish he would read the audiobook version of the the novel. I would listen to the hell out of that.  I have always loved SQQ, but if I’m going to be honest, I came into the show just a little more excited about seeing Bingge being brought to life. I still love Binghe of course, in all his phases, however, now,  because of Wu Lei-laoshi’s stellar voice performance (and of course SQQ’s beautiful looks), I’m leaving this season absolutely head over heels about SQQ/Shen Yuan. Also thanks to the show, I’m completely obsessed with Liu Qingge as well.  So for those two reasons, I will eternally be grateful to the donghua team.  

[touchmycoat]

svsss extraordinary you!AU

shoujo main lead Luo Binghe, the poor kid at Cang Qiong on a scholarship that only barely takes care of his ailing mother’s hospital fees, relentlessly bullied yet relentlessly optimistic

shoujo love interest Shen Qingqiu got looks got smarts got money, top of the school hierarchy, most prominent member of the school’s peak tier trio of heartbreakers, nicknamed, what, the Lords? the Immortals?

secondary love interest Yue Qingyuan also got looks got smarts got money, is the son of the school’s president, famously kind and super darling and popular. Mournfully plays the erhu in LBH presence a lot while SQQ steals LBH’s attention from him

B-plot male lead Liu Qingge, the grumpy pants of the peak lords but also gao fu shuai, son of corporate scion

B-plot love interest Shen Yuan, LQG’s fiancé who’s been pursuing him for ten years, but LQG hates his guts. Has a chronic heart condition that causes many convenient plot lines

One day Shen Yuan begins to grow increasingly aware of the weird page-flipping noises he hears, the gaps in his memory, the way he does things he doesn’t actually want to do, like weep in the middle of a courtyard after LQG snaps at him to stop following him around

Genre-savvy SY sees LBH being bullied, sees the Peak Lords, sees the way everybody immediately forgets any and all rude or “uncharacteristic” thing he says, and makes the educated deduction that he was in a shoujo manga. He’s bound by weird rules here, whether or not he wants to—he’ll always chase after LQG no matter how horrible the things LQG says to him are, he’ll always appear in tropey scenes to help forward the romantic plot line between SQQ and LBH

like when LBH gets locked in that bathroom stall! where did those random wet wipes in SY’s hand come from?? he helps LBH out, and keeps up this constant sighing litany of “oh you poor thing, suffering this shit writing, how many times will they shove you into a locker how many times will they beat you up, how many times will SQQ give you a random debt and demand you be his servant this is such BAD WRITING”

but LBH of course doesn’t remember any of it

as SY develops this habit of commentating on all the scenarios’ being shit, one day he suddenly enters a scene with the super busy school administrator Shang Qinghua, who hears him, and suddenly is all “!!!!!!!!!” and drags him aside

SQH is all “bro, oh my god you’re conscious thank god” and SY is like “??? who are you?” and SQH is all “You don’t remember???”

“What are you talking about?”

“Bro, we’re not from here. This isn’t our world. But thank god you’re awake, seriously, I’ve been so scared this whole time watching you all run around with your bullshit romance plots seriously it’s like they didn’t try at all and that’s coming from me hahaha... Well anyways, we have to wake everybody else up, okay? If you can be woken up... Maybe they all can too.”

“...Who are ‘they?’”

For personality reasons, they decide to try YQY first. SY points out that he’d been talking shit to their faces this whole time, but it’s never worked, they’ve never remembered past the next required plot scene. But they investigate anyways—or well, SY investigates, since he’s the one actually popping in and out of the scenes, while SQH is the most background extra to exist and still have a name in this manga.

SY tries a handful of things, but they never seem to work. YQY is always still staring longingly at SQQ and LBH from afar.

One day, when he’s near giving up, SY asks YQY, “what do you like so much about him anyways?”

“...I don’t know.” Classic shit writing for side characters, Yue-dage!! I’m sorry you got so shafted!! “I just... I just really feel like I’ve always loved him, and have never known how to stop.”

“Man, sorry to hear that, unrequited love must really burn.”

“Well you’d know best, wouldn’t you Shen Yuan? Heheh. I appreciate your commiseration.” Here, YQY’s expression grows frustrated. “I just... I just wish he liked him back, is all. He not liking me back is one thing, but to watch him suffer too? Why can’t he just give him a straight-forward answer already, you know?”

SY, blinking, “I... Sorry, you lost me. You wish who liked who back?”

“Luo B—”

“Shen-xuezhang!” LBH comes bounding over, ditching SQQ mid-convo. “Yue-xuezhang.”

Ah, darling main character, you can’t just leave your love interest behind like that!! This is why Yue Qingyuan keeps hoping you like him back!

“Um, I’ve actually been having a little trouble with the new math material lately, and I think a tutor would really help...”

“...Ah, sorry,” YQY says, attention completely on SQQ glaring at him in the back. SY of course thinks this is about their love triangle with LBH. “I’m no good at math.”

“That’s fine,” LBH dismisses way too quickly. “What about Shen-xuezhang? Please?”

“I don’t mind,” SY says, frowning. “But I doubt the plot will let me. Isn’t your tutor supposed to be Yue Qingyuan, any way you look at it?”

FLIP

SY is LBH’s tutor. SY reluctantly gives the author a little kudos for going out of the box with this one, but he assumes, of course, that he’s meant to be forwarding the love triangle. LBH asks if SY is going to the annual school ball with LQG, and SY goes “aha,  I’m supposed to invite him, doll him up, and bring him to the ball to shock SQQ and YQY’s poor hearts mhm.”

LQG also shows up. Cue scene. SY asks LQG if they’re going together and LQG yells at him and refuses to go and, heroic heroine Bingmei says he’ll go with the quietly crying SY. Typical.

They go the ball. YQY is there first, and SY gets ready for YQY to get the “oh my god he’s beautiful” close-up glowing shot when he sees LBH, but to SY’s surprise it doesn’t come. Instead, it’s when SQQ shows up that there’s some sparkles, and what’s this, a delayed stage effect? What kind of poor scene management!! SY wants his money back!! But at least SQQ gets the glowy close up when he sees LBH.

But before SY can inquire further, he’s flipped into another scene with an angry LQG, snapping at him about using his family’s corporate power to pressure LQG’s family into making LQG keep SY company etc. etc. SY is helplessly sniffling while on the inside he’s like god let me die this is so contrived end the scene already.

The scene finally ends, and he completely snaps out of the weepy setting. He slaps LQG on the arm mid-sentence and is like “shut up for a second, let me ask you a question about YQY—has he been acting strangely recently?”

LQG is a bit startled at first, but does answer. “Not particularly, why?”

“He hasn’t been... asking questions? Talking about gaps in his memory? Hearing strange sounds?”

“Why are you asking??”

“Sigh, grumpy pants Liu-juju of course you’re no help. But that’s not your fault.  It’s not like I’m not taking any of your shouting to heart, though it still sucks a surprising amount to be shit on all the time about a health condition I can’t even help, I’ll be honest. But anyways, I’m off.”

“...Sorry.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t mean to shout about your heart condition,” LQG grits out. “I said I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Wow.” Come to think about it, this is SY’s first time talking to LQG outside of a scene. “Huh, I guess you’re actually not a bad guy, without bad writing? They really did you dirty. Don’t worry about it man.”