#this is such a wide topic

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

Exposing SVSSS Fanon: 25/∞

VIOLENCE AS COURTSHIP IS A PART OF DEMON CULTURE

Rating: CANON

A nearly universal trope, especially in Moshang fics, is the fact that courtship is performed through violence in demon culture, and that the misunderstandings between the pair are because of cultural differences. The fact that demons mistreat the targets of their affection is canon, however, it is important for fans to note that this sort of characterization and worldbuilding is rooted in racial and ethnic stereotypes.

This is one of the most-requested topics I've ever written on this blog, and I took a long time to think about how best to approach the subject in a way that both keeps to the intention of this blog (referencing canon & providing quotes) as well as raising awareness to the very real problematic aspects of what is a well-loved and often-used trope in fanon that I don't think most western fans are aware of.

First, the canon analysis:

“If you hold unique feelings for a certain person, how can you make them understand your intentions?” Luo Binghe asked. Obviously, no one dared to tear down Luo Binghe’s facade and expose him directly, but this question was really very…unsuited to the demonic approach. After a long moment, not a single person had answered. In fact, the answer was so simple that any normal human could have given it to you. If you liked someone, you should just tell them. Unfortunately, there was not a single “normal” person on the scene—and aside from Shang Qinghua, there also were no “humans” either. Mobei-Jun thought about it. With the paths his mind was given to take, there was no telling how he had interpreted “unique” feelings. “Beat them up three times a day?” (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

Most of the fandom remembers this passage, and some may think that this is where the interpretation of violence as courtship comes from-- however, that is not the case. This passage might actually not refer to courtship at all-- while that is one possible interpretation, Mobei-jun could also be interpreting "unique feelings" to mean something different than "romantic feelings," since Luo Binghe didn't specify romance directly.

The "violent demonic courtship" idea actually originates much earlier in the novel, just after the invasion of Qiong Ding Peak:

In truth, Shen Qingqiu didn’t intend to tease; he thought himself very straightforward. The one who’d tampered with Luo Binghe’s dream realm was Sha Hualing. Though she did have some harmful intentions, her underlying motive was obvious. Naturally, she was driven by a young girl’s secret yearning for love. Otherwise, she would have directed her aggressions toward others, not specifically Luo Binghe. Demons were compelled to viciously bully the person they liked. Only if the object of their affections failed to die would the demon accept them. If their target died, that meant they were useless and not worth nursing any lingering affections for. (7 Seas, Ch. 3)

This, in fact, has somewhat more serious connotations than the way I have often seen it interpreted in fanworks-- it is not merely beating up a potential partner, but pushing them to their limits, nearly driving them to death, and it is certainly implied that it is not uncommon for the object of a demon's affections to actually die.

Now that the canonical basis of the idea has been established, let us move on to the second, and arguably more important part of this post: the racism.

I would like to add a disclaimer here-- I am going to discuss this in hopes of raising more awareness in the fandom, but I am not North/West/Central Asian myself, so I will only mention things in brief and somewhat generally-- if anyone who belongs to the affected cultures would like to make corrections, or more detailed explanations, or any other additions to this post on this topic, I greatly welcome that, as I feel it is an important issue that should be addressed.

In Chinese fiction, particularly fantasy genres like xianxia/xuanhuan/xiuzhen, but also in historical and wuxia fiction, there is a pervasive, prevalent tendency for authors to use racial and ethnic stereotypes against Central, Northern, and Western Asian cultures such as Mongolian & Arab cultures in their worldbuilding regarding the North, while stereotypes against Southeast Asian cultures are used in worldbuilding regarding the South. These stereotypes are most typically applied to villains and villainous groups, and are so widespread as to be ubiquitous within the genre. MXTX has used these tropes before-- notably with the Banyue people in TGCF, with adaptations of both TGCF and MDZS including design stereotypes, such as CQL's portrayal of the Qinghe Nie (combining their tendency toward violence and 'unnatural' cultivation method, with design traits typically associated with Northern/Central Asian cultures).

It is worth noting, though, that most authors do not intentionally use these traits as racist stereotypes in their worldbuilding, especially when regarding a non-human species-- in the same way that western fantasy authors use goblin and orc characters and tropes without realizing or acknowledging their racist origins and connotiations, these stereotypes have simply become genre tropes without that direct connection to their origins. Nonetheless, it is still worth noting-- and worth trying not to fall into the trap of leaning into stereotypical traits in fanworks' character portrayals.

Stereotypes include but are not limited to barbaric and brutish cultural traits, association with animals/having animal features, dark or corrupt magical/spiritual practices, certain types of braided hairstyles & other fashion choices, and originating from the far north or south.

Some of the prejudice and stereotyping of Northern Asian cultures likely originates from the fact that in the past, China was invaded and subjugated by peoples from the north (under Mongolian rule during the Yuan dynasty, and under Manchurian rule during the Qing dynasty) as well as having many conflicts with these peoples throughout history. In fact, the Qing dynasty only ended in the early 1900s, so some of this oppression is still in recent memory-- nonetheless, people belonging to ethnic minorities in China are still affected by this negative stereotyping today, so regardless of the origin, racism is still racism and should be addressed, and China today is a majority Han Chinese nation-- even if Han Chinese are considered a minority and affected by systemic racism in other places in the world.

Additionally, many tropes specifically applied to the southern demons, but also used for demon culture as a whole, are tied to stereotypical portrayals of Southeast Asian culture, which is rooted in a long history of Imperial China's invasion and oppression.

All of those stereotypes listed above apply to SVSSS' demon culture. Even in Mobei-jun's name-- 漠北 meaning "northern desert," which is the real-world name for a region in the north of the Gobi desert in Mongolia.

Therefore, it is important to remember that though violence-as-courtship in demon culture is canonical within SVSSS' setting, it nonetheless originates from harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes. It would be a good idea for fans to keep this in mind when creating their fanworks, and to treat the topic with sensitivity-- but I will leave any direct suggestions on how to handle this to those who are actually part of the affected groups.

--

(thanks to @flidgetjerome for additional notes regarding SEAsian stereotyping and author intent!)

Also, to be absolutely clear: I am not saying that svsss’ demons are specifically coded as any real ethnic group— it’s only that in many ways the portrayal is similar to the common portrayal of various ethnic groups in cmedia. I don’t believe they are specifically meant to parallel a real life group, unlike for example TGCF’s Banyue— but it’s worth questioning why these traits, why these characters.

[amygdalae]

Coworker bar trivia 2nite. I don't know shit abt any of the topics I'm just there to drink beer and be so cute

[eldstunga]

Hi! I really love your art! The lines are so bold but the colours so natural that it feels distinct but grounded?? I'm obsessed with the shapes in your work

I was wondering if you had any advice for drawing bodies? Whenever I try it either my proportions are off or an arm ends up looking like a calf or something.

First of all, thank you <3 That's so nice and I think "lines bold, colours natural" is some truly aspirational words to say about my art, I'll strive to be what you say I am <3 I do not, unfortunately, have any great tips on drawing bodies - it's a very wide topic and fundamentally just really bloody hard. I fail horribly 9 times out of 10. How to approach it I think varies a lot with like...HOW you are struggling, and who you are as a person. For proportions and anatomy there are definitely books to look at, and some rules of thumb that can help you - anything from "the shoulders are about 2.5-3 heads wide" through "feet are the same length as the forearm", "elbows are in line with the navel and the navel is two sternums down" etc etc. For me, realising just how big the ribcage actually is and learning how to use that as a unit of measure was a big event (the torso is about two ribcages long). Look at references, Draw over low opacity references and try to look for patterns that help YOU. Like... "Hm, do the shoulders line up with something useful?"

Having a good ref model to double check things helps too. The pen is pointing to about the bottom of the ribcage. But there's also stuff like maybe you're getting too hung up on construction and then it might help more to try to draw from references by ONLY blocking in a silhouette first. This helps me sometimes still:

Or you could be like me, struggle with all of the above and then some - like how to make poses look natural and/or dynamic? Weight distribution is a whole other topic.. gah, it never ends, but it's fun to learn.

Lastly, this took me way too long to realise and I think it should be said: Do not fret too much about STUDYING. The unfair thing is that the better you are at something, the better you will be at actually learning from doing studies and exercises or reading books. We accept this with many other disciplines and sports but rarely art. Mileage is king, and mileage is best gained from having fun and enjoying what you do. If you find studies suffering and frustrating you're probably better off just drawing what you enjoy and fuck it if it isn't "pushing your boundaries" or whatever. Eventually you'll get to the point where studies start to give more than they take, and then you're home free. I'm not gonna recommend a billion resources you likely won't enjoy but here are some things I genuinely found helpful lately: * a physical anatomy model, they're pricy and not necessary but being able to just look at it every now and then, turn it over etc helps. * The "Morpho" series of books, they do not teach anatomy, but they are very useful quick reference books and much more easily digested than most anatomy material. Just try to find a real anatomy book to read once your appetite is up as well.

The zig-zag/Lightning bolt method for arms and legs, fuckin' thing revolutionised how I sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCkmB030GpQ

Gottfried Bammes "The Complete guide to Anatomy for Artists and Illustrators" This thing is insane, it's from the 50's and like 600 pages long. You could absolutely kill someone with it, but a lot of the pages are more philosophical or art history you can skip and despite its age and fear factor this dude writes in a witty, clever and just wonderful way that I've seen nowhere else. Fantastic photos. By far, FAR the best anatomy book I've ever seen. It's not a book I'd recommend for someone starting out, I would not have been able to digest it like four years ago, but once you get to a certain point it's amazing.

That's a lot, uhhh, feel free to ask me for more specific tips this was a bit of a rant. Hope some of it was useful!

[ffc1cb]

i’ve always found it peculiar how during meeting the chargers cutscene the game just assumes your character automatically understands what krem is talking about when he mentions binding (though, granted, it’s all very unsubtle). like, this is a roleplaying game. what if i want to play a character who just doesn’t get it

[slavhew]

Be nice

late addition. existentialism

[itsbasil]

"what if tumblr was more like reddit" what if I shot beams at you

[mushtoons]

im a femme living in a masc world 😔 i want to be rich and live in sparkles and glitter but god said 🫵👁️👁️ to the body prison with u

[persianflaw]

"how did i go this long without knowing [x], me not learning this is indicative of some kind of larger bigotry or conspiracy in society" well not to be unkind but perhaps you are simply not very intellectually curious or attentive to the world around you

[finalframed]

MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE (1983) dir. Nagisa Ōshima

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

I love when British people have the accents that make them pronounce the “th” sound as the “f” sound

[grinchwrapsupreme]

sitting here scanning through research papers about thymomas trying to figure out if Wilson could have had cancer the entire series because i’ve got problems

the answer is yes by the way

[coochellati]

Hey, Jovia ^.^ I’ve been following your blog for a while now and I absolutely ADORE it. Your rants and everything are literally my safe space, I’m just as obsessed with Bruno 🥹🤧

I want to share with you something maybe less typical to your usual head-canons. It’s related to that scene where he ascends to the sky and he says sth like “I’m only going back to where I was supposed to be. I’m simply returning to how I once was”. Do you ever think Bruno might actually be a spiritual person? Not in the religious sense necessarily (but it might explain something, since he’s Italian and most likely a Catholic). But I find that scene quite symbolic to his character - let’s be real, it’s one of the most majestically-portrayed deaths in Jojo (might be biased, right, but can you not be when it’s about him? 🥲). I like to think that he might have some faith - whether in some god or simply the universe. He shows this multiple times in the show, but I think his sense of faith and spirituality shows the most in his optimistic thinking. He sees the light even on a dark path (and, sometimes, he’s the light himself; to others) and tries to be moral, even in his area of “work”. If some kind of faith doesn’t drive him, then what else?

This turned into a long rambling. Anyway, I’m curious to hear your opinion!! Stay safe ✨

Hi!!! Thank you so much for reaching out!! It makes me feel incredibly honored that you think so highly of my blog and consider it a safe space 😭🩷

Ooh!!! This is a good one; I love getting all philosophical over Bruno.

Oh my god his ascension scene is fucking beautiful. I too think it is the most majestically-portrayed death in JoJo’s. Yeah.. okay. im Biased too…. Still though. I can’t think of a more beautiful death. And the SOUNDTRACK. Ascensione is so perfectly composed. It sounds like something Debussy would write. (It’s also in Ab major; my favorite key signature. 😩 Ab major just feels… so emotional.) I don’t listen to it very often though because it makes me burst into tears. 😭 Also the VISUALS. Can you think of a JoJo’s death that’s objectively more beautiful than Bruno’s?

(can you??? CAN YOU??)

I agree with your thoughts! I too believe he’s spiritual. Like you said, I don’t think he follows a specific religion, but it’s shown he believes in fate, which is a higher power, in a way. The idea of fate is highly associated with religion, so the chance of him believing in something is pretty high. You’re right, there’s a chance he could be Catholic, considering that 79.2% of Italians are Catholic (this data is from a Eurobarometer poll from 2021.) But I don’t get Catholic vibes from him… (what even are Catholic vibes?? LOL I don’t know, but Bruno doesn’t have em.) His ability to see light in dark things is also very correlated to religion.

Araki himself is somewhat spiritual, I’ve heard. He went to a protestant school when he was a kid, but he isn’t a Christian now. People speculate he leans more towards Deism now. Since Araki’s beliefs no doubt influence JoJo’s, I believe Bruno approaches religion the same way Araki does. Of course, Bruno is his own character, so he may not follow what Araki believes, but he is Araki’s creation…

So yeah, those are my thoughts! Thanks for sending me this; analyzing this man is my favorite pastime! :)

[hometownrockstar]

Sometimes popular fat politics posts on here do nothing for me, like it's all a bit surface level isnt it? I think tumblr is generally better than like i guess mainstream views and theres some real fat liberation stuff on here but i mainly mean when i see the 50th "fat hairy male boobs" post going around and just like, ugh idk how to explain it i guess theres nothing totally wrong with normalized expressions of attraction to fat people... but its all still desireability politics which is only one aspect of fat politics and its the mainstream one for body positivity which doesnt challenge the health stigma and misconceptions about fat health which imo is wayyy more important to helping fat people be seen as human... also a lot of posts that try to talk abt health or anything, also sometimes have flawed statements and reasoning.

[wingsandpetals]

was not aware that sea sponges were classified as animals in part because of their ability to produce sperm

[whatislifebesidesrehearsal]

the power went out at a work party (high school, we were working on set building/painting) so we played hide and seek in the school with the lights out

To be fair not all of the lights were out some were on a generator but it was still pretty dark

omg that sounds so fun. We've been unsuccessfully trying to convince The Powers That be to let us do a building-wide hide and seek game, I'm jealous.