#you ever have to stop and think about how much sqq loves him

[wife-beam]

you ever think about sqq giving his life to save luo binghe— no back up plans, no way out of it, really knowing that this time it’s IT— and that all he really wants, all that he asks for, is for luo binghe to live well

[perpetualcontrolleddrowning]

The point is that they don't fall into the trap of an oppressive society

Svsss power dynamics are absolutely wild, and I've seen another post mention that already, about how every time you think you're seeing a fucked up dynamic, it's actually three layers deeper and flipped and more imbalanced than you could ever imagine

But the point! Is that they live in an environment that is Always giving each character some power over the other person in the relationship! And none of them ever use it

The novel is critiquing these power trip fantasies and the exploitation often seen as inherent in porn and BL and wish fulfillment stories

Sqq was lbh's teacher. There is often abuse inherent in the teacher/student dynamic. Sqq never even considers lbh as a romantic option until they have been apart for years and there is no age gap

Lbh has a tracking device on sqq and the ability to seize control of sqq's body at any time. He never uses this and only wields his blood parasites to heal

Mbj is sqh's boss who regularly heaps too much work onto him and would physically attack him. Mbj's role as boss is never utilized to coerce or manipulate sqh into a romantic relationship. Mbj was engaging in demonic bonding activities that were acceptable within his culture and stopped the Moment he realized that it was not received that way

Sqh invented the world and created his dream man who he is now romancing. He could be considered a god. It could be wish fulfillment. He uses his knowledge to protect mbj's kingdom and mbj himself and takes up a servants role

There are a thousand other tropes in this book like this. You hear student/teacher, god/creation, body control, fuck-or-die, demon lord/prisoner, age difference, corpse in bed, boss/employee, King/servant. You think you know what kind of book this will be, what kind of abuse and power differences there will be

But the point is that they all just love each other instead! The world is Constantly giving them the opportunity to abuse each other, manipulate, take power over another person. And the point is that they all choose to ignore those customs. The teacher just wants to relax and live a simple life. The god wants to serve. The king learns to serve. The demon lord wants nothing more than to leave it all behind and become a housewife

And it works! They get their happy ending! They fix the world by refusing the opportunities to exploit and abuse others

It's beautiful! And it also makes it absolutely impossible to recommend this novel to anyone!

[coolshadowtwins]

Post Canon, SQQ now has to deal with wife plots.

But, Op, that’s the plot of many fanfics already! Well, what if he had to deal with every wife plot ever. Bingge had 300-3000 wives, depending on the translation you were following.

Man’s I have to assume that while each wife got at least one (1) wife plot to her name, the fan favorites (NYY, LMY, SHL etc) got multiple over the years.

Now, most of these were probably incredibly standard. And most of them, while frightening to the multitude of civilian wives Bingge probably had, were not going to be much more than an annoyance to a cultivator like SQQ.

The problem is the frequency.

It probably would take a few years for the story to catch up to the plot. SQQ gets hit with a few scattered ones here and there for the first decade or so, but he doesn’t think much of it. Shit just a happens to him, you know?

But then, all of a sudden, he gets kidnapped during a night hunt. The villain is the man that had called for help with a demon. In PIDW, he was the evil uncle/father/cousin/male authority figure in this wife’s life, wanting revenge on Bingge and ultimately introducing a new wife. Here, he’s decided that he’ll hurt Binghe’s husband instead Binghe himself. SQQ defeats him in an hour.

He goes home and tries to forget about it. Only to be hit with some kind of sex pollen from a plant that MQF was trying to study, completely by accident. In PIDW, this had been used to get another chapter out of a particularly laced up wife, who the comments disliked because they felt her boring.

And ok, fine. SQQ still has Binghe- they fix this problem in a night.

Only to be kidnapped again the next day when he goes to town, this time by a random demon looking for a quick buck.

This goes on and on. It’s almost never anything difficult, but it’s a lot. These are too many plots to happen to one man! Sure, Bingge was involved in all those plots too, but he was almost always the one coming in and saving the day- not the one kidnapped or poisoned or stabbed. It’s not long before SQQ gets exhausted, and that everyone around him is constantly on edge, waiting for the next bad luck.

It all kinda climax’s as the bamboo house gets set on fire. In PIDW, fire is used twice like this- once, a portion of the palace gets set on fire, leading to a arc where the wives have to come together to rptect themselves until Bingge shows up. (This arc was very disliked because most of the wives didn’t act in character.) the other time was when a wife was trapped in the burning of her family home, franticly trying to get her belongings out and then being comforted from the loss by Bingge afterwards.

SQQ knows this. He knows all of this. He has figured out what every plot has been so far, and had managed to avoid a few by recognizing the signs, only for them to come back around when he least expected it. He had thought that he could always just ride out the wife plots- sure, Binghe had a lot of wives, but it couldn’t be that bad, right? Except he watched the bamboo house on fire, frozen, and realized that he couldn’t keep doing this.

The bamboo house was fine, in the end. There were disciples on duty, ready to help. Nearly nothing was lost. The fire spread out into the woods, a little, but other than a small area of destruction, it hadn’t caused all together that much damage. Except SQQ couldn’t figure out which of the two plots this was, and that was freaking him out.

This leads to him breaking down on Binghe that night, who has been out of his head with worry for ages about what was going on. SQQ tells him everything, about SY, the system, wife plots. Binghe asks if they can stop this. SQQ doesn’t know how- these plots were for Binghe’s wives, and here he only has a husband.

And Binghe certainly doesn’t want another spouse. He’s quite happy with his husband, thank you very much! But he then he gets to thinking.

Bingge couldn’t have loved every single wife, right? Binghe had a feeling he didn’t act love any of them, judging by how quickly his other self had tried to latch onto Shizun. So it’s not the act of love that causes these so called ‘wife plots’, it’s the act of marriage. And Binghe’s not so cruel as to inflict these plots on someone unexpecting (well, for Shizun he was. But he had another option.)

Binghe had to be the one to marry them- but not the one they loved. And he knew, both fortunately and unfortunately, that there were many men that would do anything for SQQ.

[misto713]

is binghe actually masochistic?

i actually think he's not, he's only 1/ less physically sensitive as a half-demon and 2/ more emotionally attuned and observant to his shizun than sqq realizes.

let's tackle 2/ first:

in canon, we usually see sqq call him an incurable M when binghe is happy after being smacked with a fan, right? except sqq smacks basically all his students sometimes. probably not even enough to hurt, just as a small reminder to behave.

and i have this theory: he only does it to students he still cares about, that he still wants to 'educate'. after all, there's no point in 'correcting' someone who will never learn.

i bet binghe saw this happen. that his shizun scolded and prodded and taught and smacked with a fan some student again and again, in the hopes of teaching them some lesson. calligraphy, guqin, go... there must have been students who sucked at at least one of the four arts. and sqq would try and try... until he finaly realizes that this particular disciple honestly doesn't have talent for the lesson he's trying to teach. at which point, he gives up. stops scolding them, correcting them. stops smacking them with his fan.

and binghe sees that.

in his obsessive mind, wouldn't that be just the worst thing ever? shizun can be kind to him, shizun can be mean, shizun can scold him, hit him, even give him scars but for gods' sake, please never let shizun give up on him. that would break him worse than anything in the world.

so. later, when they're finally together, wouldn't binghe still unconsciously think like this? maybe even provoke sqq's scolding sometimes? just to see if shizun still cares. to have a little proof, just for him. and the easiest way to do that is to misbehave... and get smacked with a fan.

a little 'love tap'. just so that binghe can he sure his shizun hasn't given up on him, that he still cares.

and about point 1/:

demons are generally sturdier than humans. i wonder if all those 'beatings' don't actually feel pelasurable to them. if they don't simply have different sensitivity levels, "thicker skin" and that is why they like fighting so much and beatings are a sign of courtship.

you can sometimes see it in people irl too. some would absolutely go crazy from a little tickle, others just shrug their shoulders and basically don't react. some like it 'a little rough', some detest it. ddifferent reactions to stimuli according to how their bodies translate it - as pleasure or pain. different degrees of sensitivity.

so as an addition to the fact that binghe considers the fan smacks a "proof of shizun's care and consideration", it's not even painful to him and is possibly even more pleasurable than a headpat that binghe would barely feel. of course, any contact with his shizun is to be appreciated, but the fan smack is something he can feel.

and, well, masochism is when you like pain. so binghe can't be considered a masochist when he likes smacks and hits and hair pulling which to him don't feel painful but pleasurable instead, right?

[koipalm]

HI YES HELLO HI HI HIHI HIHIHIHIHI. HI. SORRY, I'M TRYING TO PROCESS. YOUR. SY ASSISTANT AU. Hey. Hi. I'm in love with it. I'm in love with your au. I keep thinking of the hijinks that Shen Yuan gets into with the other peak lords. I'm sorry, but I'm going to ramble about it - if anything, it's all your fault for making such a brilliant AU. Shoot me down if I'm wrong about any headcanons I'm making about it, but teeheeheeehehehehehee. Okay, so first, thinking about Xian Shu peak. Because Shen Yuan is so irrevocably fruity that, when other guys could be being creepy over the girls upon the peak, Shen Yuan is just trying to stay upright and not pass out because of the ✨gay thoughts✨ that stop him from sleeping. The girls could even find him sweet in the way you see a dishevelled rat and go "awww!", whereas Qi Qingqi just occasionally nudges him with her foot to make sure he isn't dead. Next, next, Liu Mingyuan. The chaotic shipper herself. She sees Shen Yuan glancing at Liu Qingge occasionally and just cracks her knuckles like, "oh, this is is going to make a great book series" and, in typical fashion, starts writing everything. She, at one point, writes Shen Qingqiu as a love rival, which is something that Shang Qinghua holds over poor Shen Yuan's head forever. Liu Mingyuan is the kind of gal that has locked Shen Yuan and Liu Qingge in close quarters together just so she can make new writing about it later. Liu Qingge, who sees this pathetic blob of a man sometimes dragging himself around the different peaks (usually in spirit but, on a couple of very strange occasions, literally), has no idea where Shen Yuan came from. So, after asking his sister, he decides to ask the man himself - in what he thinks is a very normal fashion. Shen Yuan, however, sees Liu Qingge (terrifying Peak Lord of Bai Zhan) storming towards him and promptly cornering him, and just passes out. Hands down. After this, he is utterly baffled. When Mu Qingfang asks (read: scolds) about it during what can be described as a supply drop, Liu Qingge is treated to a lecture that is basically "Shen Yuan is like a little mouse whose heart will give out at any moment because he doesn't take care of himself." Liu Qingge listens and hears "Shen Qingqiu bad." It's not like he's actually trying to steal Shen Yuan in any sense of the word, he just likes the little mouse not looking ready to pass out (he would definitely force a cup of tea into the man before he lets him leave, because he's helping right? Toootally.) I did say I would ramble...I did say I would- (Sorry, I just love love love it)

thank u so much for liking it!! im actually really blown away that this many people like the au it was very simple when i thought abt it <3

& unfortunately (& i probably should have specified earlier my bad lol) shen yuan has a lot of fraught relationships with the other cang qiong cultivators! most won't say it to his face but plenty think he's putting on an act or scheming with sqq and because of how close he and sqq work he can't escape sqq's reputation in the sect. a lot of the disciples from xian shu peak actively despise him for working under sqq, while qi qingqi herself is suspicious but mostly ambivalent. liu mingyan is reserved because she eventually sees lqg and sy get along fine, and she would have a lot of fun with his stupid humor. lqg is ALSO mostly ambivalent to him bc of sqq but they grow closer together due to proximity. his whole confusion on sqq and sy's relationship would have to be a completely new post lawl

that being said shen yuan is actually fairly close to mu qingfang in a coworkers way in that mqf actively worries after his health but he's mostly unwilling to interfere in sy and sqq's relationship due to fear of retaliation. all in all i find it really fun to take the popular views on shen yuan and his relationships and make them more complicated SORRYY my bad i just think its really interesting ^^ it's not to say that he won't ever have friends its just that i think cang qiong mountain has a whole host of problems they should address and im having fun with it HAHA

[ectoodle]

Hello! I wanted to ask what made you fall in love with bingqiu?

Hey there!

Ah hmm that's an interesting question, I've never thought about it actually. I like bingqiu a lot, but I never considered it as falling in love with the ship? They're a fun ship to play with and they have a wide range that's pretty flexible so I'm always in my comfort zone drawing them.

I suppose most of the art I draw for bingqiu are a love letter to them, though. And I think that's pretty telling of my brain rot for them 😂

I think the food the fandom cooked up really helped a lot. SV fic writers are on a whole other plane of existence when it comes to analyzing binghe's character and filling in on his journey of healing with sqq by his side. I'm the annoying type of audience that gets bored when the main couple gets together at the end...so when scum villain ended the way it did, mxtx may as well have german suplexed me on the concrete. scum villain is a story that subverts its tropes left and right and the ending was no exception! I love that bingqiu getting together at the end was not an automatic happily ever after, but rather, they still are putting in the work and effort to understand and stay in each other's lives. The glimpse of that path we get in the extras really did solidify my desire to see how bingqiu will continue to stay together--bingmei vs bingge extra was probably the finishing blow for me tho lmao. I couldn't stop thinking about what the heck happened to bingge after he left the sv world that I read a bunch of fics about him and needed to soothe the angst with sv bingqiu

on a side tangent, bingqiu parallels another of my all time ship, nozomizo from liz and the blue bird. mild spoilers if you haven't seen liz, but nozomizo had a similar codependent relationship that needed them both to grow apart as individuals in order to stay together. bingqiu separated unwillingly and binghe's growth as an individual was fueled by betrayal, despair, and that dying glimmer of hope that maybe, maybe shizun could accept him now that they're equals. but they don't. because binghe still hasn't emotionally grown to get past his temper tantrums (thanks xin mo) and sqq is still failing binghe by constantly misunderstanding him. but bingqiu still choose each other, choose to love and support each other, and they refuse to be separated again. whereas nozomizo was a healthy separation with a promise of reunion, bingqiu was fighting through the muddy trenches with a vague hope that the other is reaching out their hands too. i thought it was neat how differently both ships handled their codependency that still guarantees a happy ending, no matter how dirty and bruised they got along the way.

I also think sqq's compassionate narration in regards to binghe's suffering got to me lmao. He truly does care for binghe, and even if naysayers argue it's not romantic, it's undeniable that binghe is special to sqq. although not the best choices, most if not all of his choices were for binghe's best interest (thanks system). sqq had so much heart for binghe that it affected me through the screen too. binghe's abandonment issues and fake wet tears have captivated me. his gap moe as a chuuni emo demonic overlord and wife with a maidenly glass heart has bewitched me body and soul. i want luo binghe to be happy so badly!!

i think that's why bingqiu fascinates me. most of the bingqiu arts i draw are like slice of life vignettes, so without the meat and bones of fanfic diving into bingqiu's messiness, i would not have ascended to this level of brain rot for them...

[ben-wisehart]

hi! do you ever feel like the bingqiu fandom is binghe biased? like a lot of the time its giving.. “wow binghe is our little precious bun who deserves the world and more! ..oh and stinky neet loser sqq is so blessed to have him lul” it feels unfair towards sqq :( it makes me sad hes no ones fave but thats okay like whatever right? but even when its bingqiu hes treated like an afterthought. like we have binghe fans criticising sqq for not doing more, sj fans are frankly delusional, sqh fans think hes “too mean” to their precious hamster, liushen fans only like him bc hes a good hole/dick for lqg (obligatory “not all men” lol) idk i only follow a handful of svsss twt accs because no one seems to like him, he feels either tolerated or treated as a gag character lol 🥹

i just dislike a lot of fanon bingqiu i think? i read all the books before hopping on twitter and i see some absolute rancid takes on there like the woobification of Shaun(tm) qinghua and jiumei.. which is easy enough to avoid tbf so whatever floats their boat idc. but when i follow bingqiu accs, it feels like OC x OC rather than ~bingqiu~ if that makes sense? like i LOVE the manipulative crybaby domtop x flustered thin face subby pillow princess they have going on!! and fanon bingqiu is just.. not it? and obv id never send hate or anything (i just block and keep it moving) but it makes it kinda sucky when the fandom is already teeny tiny and a large chunk of the fandom isnt what i envisioned/expected i guess which is so odd! when they essentially erase canon!! if it’s like some queerbaity ship or whatever, people can characterise them however they want but its like CANON how they act/are in bed/etc and its all taken away!!! idk im probably just whining sorry 😭

(i included all my thoughts here sorry for the spam!!)

hey, thanks for stopping by!! I definitely know what you mean with regards to SQQ, but I will assure you that there are very much still plenty of dedicated "sqq mains" out there. My sphere of influence on twitter is heavily biased toward people for whom sqq is their favourite character, so maybe I'm not getting a representative sample of the fandom overall, but he's definitely a very well loved character and has more than his fair share of people who do him justice in their writing and for whom he's their primary blorbo!! I remember posting this on reddit a while back and more than half of the responses (though admittedly a small sample size) had him as their fave. So, I don't think he's without appreciation!

But with that said, I do get where you’re coming from. I’m not gonna talk about readers who take his actions in bad faith and actively dislike him (HOW??), but as you’ve said, even among people who do like him, we don’t always understand him as well as we could. Most fans do get on some level that he’s an unreliable narrator, but it’s still very common for people to take him at face value and completely miss his depth. He’s a funny little guy with amusing narration, but he’s also kind and selfless, and he’s also smart and witty, and obnoxious and annoying, and frankly pretty insensitive, and deeply, deeply traumatised—and a million other things! He has layers.

I think all popular characters in fandom will inevitably start getting boiled down to a few key traits. And as somebody who’s been writing fic for 15 years, it’s really hard not to let your own biases colour your portrayal? I absolutely do it with SQQ!! I focus on his kinder, warmer aspects and downplay his flaws, I’ll readily admit that. We all get drawn to a favourite character for a certain trait, and that trait becomes the grit around which our interpretations form. If you’re somebody that likes silly characters, you’re going to write SQQ and dial his silliness up to eleven. If you like kind characters, you’ll write SQQ with emphasis on his kindness. None of these traits are OOC in and of themselves, but if you start to only read fanfic and don’t revisit the source material, you can get lost in what’s popular and forget all the depth that actually made them interesting in the first place. And once you’ve grown attached to a particular version of the characters in your head, it can be really hard to let go of it. I don’t really know where I’m going with this, but I'll add that I think protagonists are just particularly prone to this happening because they're usually the one the audience relates to most.

Idk if any of that really addresses the stuff you were talking about. You mentioned dom top Binghe/pillow princess sqq and to be honest I’m kind of reluctant to talk about this in depth because I’ve received negative comments in the past for supposedly being anti-bottom Binghe, when all I’ve ever said on this matter is that I think it’s a bit weird to insist that “I’m scared of hurting you so I might as well let you do it” is proof that Binghe is canonically a bottom. The fact that someone found that statement so threatening to their view of the characters that they would go to my ao3 page, click on the first fic they saw that happened to feature bottom SQQ and leave their holier-than-thou anonymous opinion there is just bizarre to me.

To be honest tho, it tends to be Binghe characterisation that puts me off moreso than Shen Qingqiu. The only SQQ characterisation that truly bothers me is when people write him as willing to hurt Binghe, or willing to do anything with underage Binghe, but there is a LOT of Binghe stuff that I’m sensitive too. Idk if you read this thread of mine but like, even my friends whom I love make “Binghe stalking/imprisoning/"atticwifing" SQQ” jokes and these bother me way more than any random stranger saying SQQ would get off on spanking Binghe.

And like, it’s kind of hard because objectively, Binghe is a very dark character, so it doesn't feel particularly OOC to say he would do those things, but it's about framing. It bothers me when the emphasis is on how fucked up he is and not how hard he's trying, because it implies a level of futility that I just don’t think is there in canon. To me the beauty of him is in how much doing right by SQQ doesn't come naturally to him, but he ultimately decides to do it anyway because he wants SQQ to be happy. (I feel it needs to be said that I don't mean this in a judgy "if you write dark Binghe you don't understand him and are a bad person" way. Just that I myself can't handle that, and I strongly disagree if you think it's where Bingqiu's relationship is headed).

but idk, I've found my corner and I'm very happy here. I actually don't read fic as often as you'd think, mostly because I am sooooo picky, so I totally get where you're coming from :) but the fandom is still decently sized and very diverse, so there are always going to be at least a few people who share your feelings, if you can find them!

[space-heat3r]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Thank you for the ask!

In all the media I've loved? That's a hard oneee. I don't think I could put it in any particular order buuut:

Liu Qingge (SVSSS) -

I am enamored with this man for some reason. He's so so so pretty and I love his character. Fiercely loyal and like a personal uber driver to SQQ. He's such a sweetheart even if he doesn't show it and I love every single scene he's in. In the years that SQQ was "dead", I really liked how he stopped at nothing to try and retrieve his body from Luo Binghe so that he could have a proper burial (even if he was unsuccessful) and the way he returns SQQ's fans whenever he loses them. He just wants to protect the ones he cares about and I want to give him a big big hug.

2. Hua Cheng (TGCF) -

I truly love his dedication and pure infatuation with Xie Lian, as well as the fact that this man is FINE. His character has so much depth and his willingness to do anything for XL is so beautiful. His 800 years of commitment and the way he is willing to give his everything to XL AGH he's so amazing.

Also. He's SMOKIN. Like scalding. Like HOT DAMN.

3. Hajime Hinata/Izuru Kamukura (Danganronpa) -

Since these guys are technically the same person, I'm just gonna count them as one.

Hajime is my favorite protagonist of the Danganronpa games and I love that at first you think he's a pretty basic dude, like "Oh yeah there's not much to write home about him." But then you see his sassy quips and his slight tsundere personality which just adds to him, and then you learn about his backstory and his entire character as a whole changes for you. His need to be accepted, his insecurity and deep longing for approval in which he takes drastic measures in order to try and accept himself. He agreed to be lobotomized not knowing that him as a whole was just going to disappear. Enter Izuru Kamukura. Who honestly I just think is really cool and there's not a lot I have to say about him tbh. Like even though he's kind of a completely different person, parts of Hajime still make their way through to who he is.

4. Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa) -

I find him to be one of the best written antagonists in Danganronpa, his intentions always somewhat insane but when you learn about the meanings behind them, he's always calculated and intentional. Also, due to his terminal illness that he somehow outlasts due to his luck, he struggles in social settings, which I think adds to the depth of his character and how he sees things. He really doesn't think much of himself and yet manages to have a superiority complex over people he deems "lesser" than him (which then changes after the events of the Dr3 anime). Also I just think he's pretty goofy haha. He's pretty kooky and I like him a normal amount (lie).

5. Kurapika Kurta (HunterxHunter)

He is SO PRETTY. I really love a good revenge plot and I enjoyed his character a lot. I thought his powers were really interesting even though they took years off of his life :(

(Also I want his earrings)

6. Zhuzhi-Lang (SVSSS) -

I think he deserves so much love and I just want to give him the biggest warmest hug. He deserves so much. He's so loyal and willing to do anything for those who have been kind to him and made him feel like a person rather than a monster.

7. Lan Wangji (MDZS)

His pure LONGING and adoration for WWX are just so precious. He seems all aloof and chaste and pure but on the inside he's a lovesick and pining mess. I can never get over the scene where he hears WWX's confession and you can just see how this is all he's ever wanted and finally, finally, he can be with the one he loves with all of his being.

8. Chiaki Nanami (Danganronpa) -

Chiaki is so sweet and kind and truly cares so much about her friends. She gave up her life believing in them and knowing that a brighter future awaits them. She's so loving and knows that she may not be with them, but she will forever live on in the hearts and memories of the ones dearest to her.

Also: Gamer.

9. Shen Qiao (Thousand Autumns)

Shen Qiao is just so benevolent and good-hearted, he really just deserves the best things and yet draws the short-end of the stick continuously. He's such a sweetheart and such a beauty, I love himmm.

10. Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) -

Honestly I just really enjoyed his character and his interactions with Phoenix. He is so gay.

[llycaons]

surprise! I read volume 1 of svss

conclusion:

okay, on a serious note - I know, I know, but the curiosity was really getting to me, and I like to know what I'm dealing with when I criticize something (if you were following me when I decided to read the mdzs novel, you'll remember I did the same thing then). anon who asked me if I'd ever read it because they wanted to hear my thoughts and I said no - well, if you're still out there, you got your wish. but only volume one (1/4 of the full story). read on for my impression and review.

many thanks to jana @neixins for being my discord reading buddy for this project! her support, insights, and companionship made this far more entertaining than it would have otherwise been

fun fact before we start: I don't know why svss is exclusively referred to by its english acronym, but the acronym for its mandarin title would be RZFZX (full title Rén zhā fǎnpài zìjiù xìtǒng). I suppose svss (or SVS, or SV) is snappier

this is the official translation I'm reading, and the writing style is fine. definitely easier to parse than orv. and the art really is lovely

tw for discussion of grooming, abuse, and rape

brief overview of the plot: protag shen yuan, a modern-day young adult, is reading a long, terrible male power fantasy/stallion novel and complaining about how contrived and stupid it is. he dies at the moment he finishes reading and is transmigrated into the novel in the body of the infamously cruel and sadistic teacher of the protag, shen qingqiu. he knows that the young protagonist of the novel (luo binghe) will enact terrible revenge on the teacher when he grows up for all the abuse he suffered under sqq's hands, so he tries to make nice and get the lbh to like him

shen yuan (now sqq) has to navigate the rules of the system while trying to save his own skin, avoid acting ooc while trying to be nice to the mc, advance the plot, get 'badass points', and resolve the issues that led to the work being of such poor quality. his modern, internal monologue contrasts with his scholarly air in very funny ways, and his constant critiques of the writing are likewise fairly humorous commentaries on lazy and stereotypical writing

however, the parodies of contrived, cliched, and foolish writing tropes do not stop mxtx from writing these very same tropes into later works like mdzs or tgcf, nor does her pointing out those tropes automatically make her book good, so it's an incredibly exasperating experience. I thought she improved since writing mdzs, but it seems like she knows that what she's doing is cliched or pandering but she does it anyway. much like sy, we're exasperated because this could have been a really cool work and the execution is just not what it could have been

this book also has the dubious honor of being the only mxtx book to reference incest without condemning it or recognizing it's disgusting

I do think mxtx has a genuine talent for critiquing sexist and absurd romance tropes for straight couples, but she writes as if whatever gay people do to each other is fine. readers of tgcf and mdzs will know....in fact as much as I hate to say it, the moment in mdzs where wwx apologizes for assaulting lwj is one of the better ways she's handled these things. of course it's ruined later because lwj literally doesn't care he's been raped and they move past it immediately etc. but I would be shocked if the inappropriateness of the svss relationship is EVER addressed, so mdzs may actually be the one where it's handled slightly better. we know the age gap never comes up in tgcf, of course

anyway mxtx makes fun of the idea of a female love interest providing the mc with free therapy while she constructs a scenario in which sqq has to take on a love interest's role of support/inspiration

examples: this is a character that's presented as poorly-wriiten

this is LITERALLY how xuan ji tgcf was written except she hates pm instead of being obsessed with him like was in the past!! don't critique shitty writing for female characters if you refuse to do better!

the characters are not especially noteworthy, and unlike in tgcf or mdzs the mc has no real distinctive style, either visually or personality-wise. almost everyone was either very one-dimensional, unlikable, or just boring imo. I get that we're very early into the novel, but I don't really care about these characters at all. shame because it sounds like the side characters are really fun later on

the modern-day origins of sy make for some funny references - there are mentions of harry potter, and the book he gets isekaid into apparently has a ton of fanfiction

the horror is quite good - some of those monsters are freaky as hell. she always did have a knack for horror

much like mdzs has a ton of literary references, svss has a lot of references to modern films and tv shows, and to things like chinese ads or websites that a modern-day chinese reader would recognize, but that a translator would need to explain. it also does have some proverbs and wordplay as well

as for the elephant in the room: I consider the relationship in this novel to be grooming rather than csa/pedophilia. they may not get together until they're adults, but the mc is 14 years old when sy is isekaid in and there is absolutely already some kind of mutual something going on as early as chapter 1, despite sy criticizing other characters for being creepy with their students and referring to lbh as a child repeatedly. while sqq doesn't act on any of these feelings, it is impossible to ignore in their interactions and it did give me a helpless sense that I was in a horror movie

mxtx toes the line and tries to get away with as much as possible - adult/child relationships and grooming are a joke to her and her readers, something exciting, something fun, but like in tgcf, nothing actually happens

they would have had a much better relationship as simply master and student. or if the romance needed to be there, sy could have been isekaid into one of lbh's peers, as he had plenty of bullies his age - gay love changing the course of the narrative is a fun trope and if they'd been the same age, I genuinely would have enjoyed it. but lbh venerates and hero-worships his teacher, and this kind of power dynamic doesn't just cease to matter once he hits 18. he was an abused and vulnerable child offered kindness and support, and he latched onto and became obsessed with his teacher. getting a crush on a teacher is fine, but it shouldn't have turned into a romance. like tgcf, the issues with the main couple are foundational, but they could have been eliminated by the author just not being a fucking creep

also, sqq is vain and self-centered, and while he treats lbh kindly and praises him, he also treats him like a servant and shamelessly exploits his hero-worship to get good food and manual labor out of him. he's out for his survival so I understand him acting selfishly, but he internally talks down to all the characters he meets if he thinks they're poorly written, and it makes it a nightmare to be in his head for very long bc he's so mean. he is funny, but but he fucking sucks and I dislike him as a main character. compared to wwx and xl, he's the worst main character in terms of personality (even if he's much better than the original sqq)

for specific examples for the inappropriate writing of their relationship, all in this volume:

there are several vague descriptions of ~feelings~ on both sides when they see each other (lbh is 14)

at one point, sqq is poisoned in a way that he knows can only be cured by sex with lbh, and he thinks of it briefly before laughing it off like 'wow that would be CRAZY' as always mxtx, jokes are a great way to handle statutory rape. excerpt:

💀💀💀💀💀

lbh overhears that sqq praised him, and the character he overhears it from is described as a wingman (lnh is 15)

one of the disciples is angry that sqq suddenly favors lbh. excerpt:

after lbh 'dies' at age 17, sqq scolds himself, saying he's acting like a widow who's husband has died

so while nothing romantic or sexual happens this volume, the groundwork is there. see this screenshot from chapter 5 of the novel (originally chapter 30), at the very end of this volume:

if sqq had no attraction to his student, there would be no reason to be so panicked

it's like...nobody acts normally about this. lbh and sqq have the weirdest quasi-flirtatious conversations that skirt the edge of being explicitly romantic/sexual. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this was written to appeal to people who are into age gaps and grooming, if not outright csa. have some more excerpts

like...what IS THIS?

at the end of this volume, lbh is sent away for five years by sqq (he was forced to drop him into a demon abyss bc he needed to advance the plot) so when lbh returns he will be 22 and presumably VERY angry with sqq, and will probably use his newfound power to...torture him? or something? I don't know how their relationship will go from now on, but I have no interest in reading it when I know it's going to end with them as lovers. yeah, even if it does happen when they're both in their late 20s

otherwise, the first few chapters of the novel are extremely funny. it and has a lot of original ideas. but it's difficult to ignore such a premise, and I don't think it's worth it to grit your teeth through unless you have a particular interest in reading this book, to either critique it, enjoy the humor and creativity, or try to figure out why people are so hell-bent on defending it. and honestly by chapter 4 (around ch25 in the original novel), it's not even that funny anymore and the parody aspect has worn out since there's so little of substance to replace it. the og novel is mocked for being a cliched mess, but these are mxtx's actual characters now and she doesn't really seem to do much better with them

the age gap in tgcf is creepy too and I definitely don't like that hc became fixated on xl at a young age, impersonated a little kid, and then reverted back to a little-kid form, but xl not actually knowing him or forming a relationship with him back then is part of why I'm less grossed out about it than I otherwise would be. xl didn't know who hc was when they met and they had barely any relationship when hc was a little kid. he was just a fun guy and they started hanging out together. hc wasn't a young boy placed under his care who he started developing feelings for oh my god I hate sqq so much

there was a side character that sqq describes as 'beautiful' who he had a somewhat antagonistic relationship with who would have been a PERFECT love interest for sqq if he wasn't a fucking creep and im so mad that they didn't become lbh's gay dads instead of whatever the fuck went on

tl; dr: an engaging and original premise with a lot of humor. clever and insightful in many ways, with some great horror scenes, but as in other novels, unable to be normal about gay people and inescapably, unnecessarily ruined by the grooming between the main character and his love interest and the abuse that apparently comes afterwards. also ignorant to its own faults, sexism, and illogical stances even as it parodies others

spoilers for the rest of the book

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-

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according to a beloved mewtual who has provided me summary for the rest (thank you for the info!), the relationship is fucked up for the remainder of the book for completely different reasons

ready? after lbh comes back, sqq is freaked out and doesn't want anything to do with him because he thinks lbh is going to kill him. lbh in fact doesn't want to kill him, but has apparently undergone a complete personality change and is now just a bitter and VERY yandere asshole and proceeds to torment, stalk, harass, torture, and sexually assault sqq until sqq agrees to be in a relationship with him. this abuse and shifting of power dynamics could have been handled in an interesting way, but it isn't, and who's surprised

later in the story lbh is risking qi deviation, so sqq reluctantly (and painfully?) dual-cultivates with him. I heard years ago about some kind of rape torture porn scene and I assume this is what it was referring to

I cannot imagine the appeal this romance holds for fans because this sounds completely fucking miserable and victim-blamy as hell, but uhhh they get married in one of the extras

as for the side characters, a lot of them are kind of doing their own thing? they sound like a ton of fun compared to the main guys. there's a demon snake guy, they're a cool demon lady who's kind of in lesbians with another disciple, there's another gay couple who are like insane and assholes but seem perfect for each other so 👍

anyway bingqiu is abusive but surprisingly not because of sqq, though I haven't forgotten him being creepy about his student this volume either. I can't believe svss was just proto-killing stalking this entire time. aside from glorifying abuse and victim-blaming, that's just so fucking boring. what a disappointment. for all their faults, mdzs and tgcf had legitimately magnificent scenes, complex relationships, interesting plots, heartfelt emotional moments, and compelling characters. no wonder this is the unfavorite of the batch - it's absolutely the worst in every way and it sounds like it doesn't get much better

if you're going to send me anon hate about this like 'your interest is problematic too' or 'let people enjoy things' just save yourself the time and block me first. I absolutely do not care about your opinion and I'll just delete it unless you're explaining something I've misunderstood in good faith. and even then I think so lowly of the fans of this novel I might just delete it anyway, after screenshotting it and sharing it with my mutuals to laugh at. get some fucking taste. that's all

[borealiszero]

s*sss reading rant

So scum villain was said to be a satire on stallion novel right? Like the og LBH is a bloodthirsty, powerful demon lord that has 300+ wife which is the fantasy of some of the reader. Airplane didn't intend to write it as porn but since the readers wants it that way and he lost the backup to his original draft, he went that way.

Shen Yuan was angry cause he saw the potential that could have be with PIDW, and the treatment of Bingge. Thats why he keep reading it. To see if it ever gets better. And then he entered the book.

Okay the first point is, the satire on stallion novel. OG Binghe has no good support system, where he can rely on anyone for safety. That's why he get stronger and keep getting wives, cause he's lonely. He doesn't have anyone that can keep him safe, no one he can rely on emotionally, so he compensate it with strength, wealth and vanity. So to turn that table around, Binghe in SVSSS could avoid being that by have him making friends, build connection with his fellow martial siblings. It helps him foster a sense of connectivity, fellowship and safety, where he can rely on them. He needs a good support system so he can thrive. But I didn't see that. All we get was just SQQ just stopped the bullying and gave him the correct manual, and also guidance in learning and thats it. What about his emotional support? Making friends? Ning Yingying can't be his only friend, what about others? Where's his slice of life disciple era?? That's the best part of any novel!! That's the part where we can look back and 'hey remember the disciple era? Yeah such a peaceful time' and let them mourn the innocence of that time.

Second point is the wives. Now that LBH is not interested in taking wives, what will happen to theme? Well. I'm also disappointed in this one cause they barely came up. For example NYY. We only get that she's much more sensible now, not whether she's great at cultivation, what is she great in, whats her interest etc. Its just that she's sensible. And the others too like Liu mingyan, like she's a great sword cultivator, where's her scene? Personally i kinda wanna see her relationship with liu qingge, i just love seeing siblings in stories. Also the part where's she's a fujoshi? We have POTENTIAL TRANS ALLERT with that. We could go trans man liu mingyan route! Cause that's how I find out im trans. Bc of yaoi. Not proud of that honestly everyone else has cool egg cracking stories. Anyway also the tian triplet, the palace mistress, we have so SO much potential with the female cast yet they were mentioned once or twice and that's it. We could also go the lesbian route! Cause lesbian ftw.

Third point is Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu himself. Honestly I do not think he has any romantic relationship with LBH. All that I read frm him is that he views Binghe as his student, his protege, his son. That's it. Yes, he is an unreliable narrator but I can still read how he views LBH. Honestly the scene where he mourns for Binghe is one of the parts that I hate in scum villain cause everyone keep saying that 'omg the characters are saying that SQQ is mourning for binghe like a wife for her dead husband' yeah ofc they said that cause the author wrote it like that!!! You still have to remember that EVERYTHING here is written by someone!! It's not like the characters do that by themselves, it is WRITTEN by the author. Like, can't a teacher mourn for his favourite student? A father for his son? Does death meant nothing to anyone else other than a wife? I really can't deal with the pairing, especially at the ending where sqq leaves qing jing peak to be lbh stay at home husband like???? You know that's not good right? Like. That's just a normal het novel ending. The difference is there's no baby or pregnancy. He became a house wife?? Shen Qingqiu?? The head of Scholarly Peak?? you're denying him to thrive!!! Why would you do that!!! Like sqq would do that for binghe BUT THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR HIM!!! Why the hell eve bother with the stallion satire when you made the one guy that managed to capture the protagonist heart into a house wife!!

And bonus point, I've heard that it's a satire on danmei novels but like. If it's true than I'm just gonna laugh my guts out. THIS NOVEL?? SATIRE ON DANMEI??? GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE MAN. It got possessive protagonist, non consent stuff, unhealthy relationship, all the stuff that 2000's yaoi is prime at. If you wanna read a satire on danmei you better off reading A Smile from the Villain by Xi Zixu. It's a dark novel. Not a happy ending, with the way it carries the tropes and all is perfect satire. I can't finish it cause the ml is a real creepy yandere. That's a good one right there.

And lastly, their romance. It's unhealthy. It's a one sided relationship, where the other were forced. What's the damn difference with Bingge than? Other than one guy vs 300 girls? To be a good satire, he can go on two routes, either a happy romantic relationship Where he love the person and the other loves him back equally, or second, he doesn't form any romantic relationship and is happy bc he thrives in his platonic relationships with his fellow martial siblings, friends etc. Also we can go the heartbroken route, where his love is rejected by sqq but he learns that a forced love is one of the worst thing you could do to your lived ones, and learn to let go. All this are a good option to defy the stallion tropes.

Unfortunately, s*sss is not what it could have live up to, and I am cursed with vision of ehat it could have been, I am the Shen Yuan to S*sss.

IT COULD HAVE BERN GOOD AND IM SO MAD!!!!!!!

Her work again cause svssd ruined her work for me. Its a turn off for me. Sorry ...

[dokidreaming]

luo binghe for the ask game pls! 👉🏼👈🏼

yes my boy my baby my little meowmeow 🥺🥺🥺

favorite thing about them

I love,,, so much about him. I REALLY love when he shows his mean side, like when he smiles at the Qin sisters during the Conference and makes them shiver because he's so scary?? The pettiness when he purposefully leads LMY off so SQQ will stop staring at her... When he's a nasty little beast to LQG, rubbing his losing streak in his face - I JUST LOVE HIM SHOWING HIS DARK STREAKS

least favorite thing about them

hmmm,, not much I don't love about him. He's such a well crafted character and any of his negatives are so understandable and I feel so bad for him that I just want to coddle and pamper him.

favorite line

there's so many and most of them make me deeply, incredibly sad, so instead of picking a sad one how about the biggest, sexiest move ever: "Caught you, Shizun." <- addicted to this line!! can and WILL die if we get to see this in donghua form.

brOTP

does Binghe bro around with anyone... people usually put MBJ and SHL in this slot but I prefer SHL being a harried and overworked employee who needs a union and MBJ is MBJ

OTP

Bingqiu lol they're soulmates...

nOTP

I wouldn't say it's.. notps exactly, but I don't care to ship Binghe with anyone other than SQQ... I don't read that content or go looking for it, and avoid creators who focus on it. to me, for Binghe, SQQ/SY is it 😌

random headcanon

I love headcanons like Binghe being bad at singing or something like this - he deserves to have his protagonist halo fail at something really innocent and for SQQ to find out about it years into their marriage and for him to panic about Binghe losing his halo, but he just sucks a normal amount.

ALSO Binghe looks actually really ugly when he cries, SQQ just thinks he looks really pretty and cute because he's into tears and Binghe so much it gives him heavily rose tinted glasses

unpopular opinion

re: the above thoughts about him having bros, I am kind of on the side of... Binghe doesn't need or want friends. It's a cute idea I guess but just thinking about him ACTUALLY having friends instead of being purely and insanely focused on SQQ... I don't care for it personally.

also, what happened at Maigu was not consensual for both him AND sqq and the situation was awful. Binghe can't be blamed or held responsible for it.

song i associate with them

here's a song I like! and it's an unhinged love song so it's binghe-adjacent

favorite picture of them

going back to trying to pick canon images:

picking this because this because this irrevocably informed how I draw bingmei, his hair, his face, his robes, all of it is just so damn good. THIS is Binghe to me - the lil twink in the donghua is bingge hehe

shoutout to the nendo too because he's so cute

[shenzuns]

@junshang​​​​  sought:  how's  their  relationship  with  their  immediate  family  ?  how's  the  sound  of  their  laugh  ?  (  if  they  laugh,  that  is  !  )  for  shen  yuan  !!  //  how  do  they  act  when  they  cry  ?  (  if  they  ever  do  it  )  for  sqq  !!

𝚑𝚘𝚠'𝚜  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍  𝚘𝚏  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛  𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑  ?

mmm  i  think  he’s  very  restrained  when  he  laughs,  like  he’s  always  nervous  about  Something  he  can’t  quite  name  ?  it’s  anxious  and  quiet  most  of  the  time.  usually  something  brief  and  as  a  distraction  method.  but  !

when  he’s  in  a  comfortable  place,  or  something  is  Really  funny,  just  That  funny,  he’s  definitely  someone  that  goes  from  quiet  to  loud  !  not  super  loud,  but  it’s  really  pleasant,  like  when  you  can’t  help  yourself  and  it  just  keeps  coming  ?  like  a  kid  who  can’t  stop  !

he’s  very  physical  in  a  lot  of  how  he  portrays  himself,  super  show  don’t  tell,  and  when  something’s  really  funny  he  does  tend  to  throw  his  head  back  a  lot  !  he’ll  hunch  over  or  grab  whoever’s  nearest  (  or  shove  their  arm  lightly  LMFAO  he’s  a  brat  ),  or  knock  his  glasses  around  in  the  process.  it’s  pretty  silly  and  Definitely  leads  him  to  get  super  embarrassed  but  there’s  varying  degrees  and  it’s  entirely  dependent  on  who  he’s  with  !

very  mellow,  he’ll  often  ‘  hum  laugh  ’  to  muffle  the  sound.  it  comes  in  bursts,  and  sometimes  he’ll  snort  but  he  really  tries  not  to  bc  that’s  So  mortifying,  if  u  manage  to  get  him  to  do  that  though  ?  well  done  !  now  you’ve  got  an  embarrassed  shen  yuan  on  your  hands  !  

he’s  also  a  giggler  ?  which  like.  idk  what  it  is  i  hate  that  word  BUT.  LMAO  he  is,  definitely  the  type  to  hide  his  laugh  and  smile  behind  his  hand.  but  again,  he  doesn’t  laugh  much  around  people  he’s  not  close  with  and  if  he  does  it’s  quiet  and  kind  of  muted  unless  you  manage  to  catch  him  off  guard.

𝚑𝚘𝚠'𝚜  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛  𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙  𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛  𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎  𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢  ?

ooo  this  is  something  i  turn  over  in  my  head  a  lot,  bc  i  imagine  he’s....  fairly  close  to  them  ?  but  also  quite  distant  !  there���s  a  way  he  handles  himself  post  transmigration  esp  w/  regards  to  his  family  that  makes  me  wonder  a  lot,  and  i  think  he’s  always  believed  himself  to  be  quite  a  burden  on  their  shoulders,  so  while  i  don’t  think  they’re  not  loving  !  i  think  there’s  some  strain  on  his  relationship  with  his  parents  and  siblings,  a  distance  that  while  unintentional  and  definitely  also  on  his  part  too,  which  contributes  a  lot  in  how  he  interacts  with  other  people  around  him.  HOWEVER,  HOWEVER  !  i  do  think  he  is  pretty  close  to  them,  just  very  distant,  and  with  a  lot  of  his  own  issues.

i  think  there’s  definitely  a  gap  between  the  relationship  with  his  parents,  and  older  brothers,  that  comes  from  a  feeling  of  not  quite  being  what  his  parents  want,  or  wanted,  him  to  be  ?  and  he’s  lucky  in  a  way,  bc  if  i  remember  correctly  he  has  two  older  brothers,  so  they  take  care  of  things  that  he  doesn’t  inherently  have  to  worry  about  !  but  there’s  definitely  a  strain  there  from  pressure,  his  own  feelings  of  inadequacy,  to  being  a  very  indoorsy  person  (  not  always  his  own  choice  )  which  means  meeting  up  with  them  doesn’t  happen  very  often  in  conjunction  with  them  being  very  busy,  presumably  business,  orientated  people.  i  also  think  he  isolates  himself  out  of  a  feeling  of  care  bc  he  knows  they  don’t  like  seeing  him  ill,  and  he’s  like  that  so  often,  so  he  hates  to  see  them  worry. 

the  closest  he’s  with  imo  out  of  everyone  in  his  immediate  family  is  absolutely  his  younger  sister  !  i  have  so  many  cute  li’l  hcs  about  how  he  used  to  dote  on  her  as  much  as  he  could  when  they  were  younger,  and  i  love  when  ppl  come  up  with  their  own  versions  of  who  she  is  as  a  character  bc  i  absolutely  know  that  she’s  someone  he  misses  dearly.  

he  doesn’t  rly  talk  about  his  family  in  canon,  and  i  do  think  that’s  bc  there’s  a  grief  to  be  had  there  which  means  he  doesn’t  Want  to  think  about  them  &  what  he’s  lost  or  what  it  all  means  more  than  necessary,  BUT.  HE  DOES  MENTION  HER  LMAOOO  AND  SO  YEAH  she  is  the  one  he’s  closest  to  given  how  distant  of  a  person  he  can  be,  which  isn’t  Always  his  fault  but  yeah  !!!!  i  think  he  misses  having  that  younger  figure  to  dote  over,  i  think  he  misses  her  more  than  he’ll  ever  say.

TLDR;  it’s.  u  know,  it’s  going.  he’s  pretty  distant  from  them  but  he  does  love  them  dearly  and  to  some  degree  knows  they  love  him  back,  but  it’s  distant  for  sure  !

𝚑𝚘𝚠  𝚍𝚘  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢  𝚊𝚌𝚝  𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢  𝚌𝚛𝚢  ?

soooo  claps  my  hands  together  !  as  we  Know  he’s  not  someone  that  cries  often,  and  he’s  rarely  ever  conscious  of  it  because  it’s  just  not  something...  he  does  ?  it’s  always  been  associated  with  physical  pain  for  him,  he’s  very  withdrawn  about  his  own  emotions  and  with  that  comes  him  being  a  very  quiet  crier.  he  doesn’t  want  people  to  know  that  he’s  crying,  he  doesn’t  like  the  vulnerability  or  the  fuss  that  comes  with  it  and  if  he’s  questioned  too  much  he  does  lock  up  and  get  very  indignant  or  at  times  cold.  being  open  isn’t  an  easy  thing  for  him  !  he’s  more  likely  to  cry  alone  and  silent,  pretending  as  if  he’d  never  cried  to  begin  with,  than  to  actually  tell  anyone  or  to  let  people  see  that  he’s  crying.

i  think  about  the  mauso  arc  a  lot  because  that’s  the  first  time  that  he’s  ever  openly  cried  in  canon,  and  even  then  it  was  something  he  tried  hiding  !  few  people  will  ever  get  him  to  the  brink  of  tears,  and  granted  he  DID  have  to  tear  fungi  from  his  skin  which,  reverting  back  to  my  point  on  physical  pain,  was  the  initial  cause  for  his  tears  but  i  also  think  lbh  yelling  at  him  (  which  wasn’t  bomgy’s  fault  bc  sqq  didn’t  listen  )  was  definitely  something  that  furthered  it.  honestly  if  the  candles  didn’t  light  up,  i’m  not  sure  if  bomgy  would’ve  ever  seen  him  cry  (  unless  he  noticed  tear  marks  or  smth  )  because  sqq  would  rather  die  than  openly  admit  to  it.

it  also  swings  ‘round  to  his  many  issues  with  being  seen  as  a  burden,  which  is  funny  considering  his  actions  y’know  but  i  do  think  that  he  has  this...  idea  of  being  a  burden,  being  frail,  and  he  hates  that  bc  he’s  had  to  deal  with  it  enough  once  before,  so  he’d  really  rather  Not  share  that  handful  onto  other  people.  but  yeah,  when  he  cries,  he’ll  do  it  in  his  own  space  privately  if  he’s  conscious  of  it  because  a  lot  of  the  time  he  isn’t  very  keyed  in  to  his  own  feelings  as  a  result  of  just  not...  wanting  to  be  ?  if  something  is  foreign  to  him  or  there’s  a  revelation  he’s  not  comfortable  having,  then  he’ll  just  completely  close  himself  off  to  the  idea  of  it  (  even  if  it’s  still  in  the  back  of  his  mind  circulating  ).

but  yeah,  he’s  just  very  quiet,  very  distant,  very  solitary  when  he  cries.  it’s  a  really  big  act  of  trust  on  his  part  if  he  cries  in  front  of  someone  Knowingly  (  on  account  of  him  not  necessarily  being  aware  of  it,  he’ll  definitely  shield  himself  off  though  unless  you’re  someone  he  Wants  to  trust  but  even  then  he  might  be  a  li’l.  stiff  at  first,  unsure  of  How  to  act  )  bc  he’s  just  not  someone  that  will  reach  out  for  comfort  and  he’s  absolutely  the  type  to  pretend  as  if  the  situation  never  happened  even  if  his  face  and  the  other  person’s  shirt  (  if  he  chooses  to  cry  into  someone’s  shoulder  but  i  think  he  might  bc  he  wouldnt  want  them  to  See  him  cry,  he  can  be  kind  of  sensitive  about  his  image  and  how  he’s  perceived  at  times  ).

BUT  YA  TLDR;  all  this  to  say  he  doesn’t  cry  in  front  of  people,  he’s  very  quiet,  usually  by  himself,  and  prefers  to  pretend  as  if  it  never  happened  !

he  also  definitely  cried  after  he  pushed  binghe  into  the  abyss  imo.  just  bc  canon  doesn’t  outright  state  it  doesn’t  mean  it  Never  happened  and  it’s  likely  ning  yingying  or  ming  fan  have  come  into  his  room  after  he’s  hastily  put  himself  together,  and  they  KNOW  he’s  been  crying  but  they  can’t  exactly  say  anything.  he’ll  literally  pretend  like  nothing’s  happened,  and  often  times  doesn’t  even  register  that  he  has  been  crying  bc  his  mind  is  likely  far  off  thinking  about  bomgy  and  trying  to  come  to  terms  with  EVERYTHING  that’s  happened  (  including  transmigrating  bc  dying  and  losing  ur  whole  family  is  Not  an  easy  thing  to  deal  with  despite  what  he  thinks  and  how  he  comes  off,  i  Know  he’s  not  coping  )

[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.  

[spockandawe]

I doubt this is something I’ll ever even try to write, because I rarely have the energy these days to devote my energy to a ‘lol but what if’ ship. But never say never, and I legit wrote the emilonni and tlj/sqq fics, after all, so I’m going to write this down and maybe, possibly, someday come back to it.

Now, hear me out

Wei Wuxian/Jin Zixun

Yes, yes, I know, but give me a second. It’s the sort of ship where I kind of want to do it just to see if it can be done, and where the idea of ‘textual support’ is kind of laughable, and it’s not like I’m smashing together two super-popular characters who just never happened to speak, and it’s the kind of ship where I think I could only shake one fic out of it before I was repeating myself, BUT.

First, a quote:

The person at the head of the group was Jin Zixun. He said, “Zixuan, is that Wei making trouble for you again?!”

Jin Zixuan said, “None of your business, don’t worry about it for now!” Seeing that Wei Wuxian grabbed Jiang Yanli and was about to take her away, he added, “Stop!”

Wei Wuxian said, “Oh, you want to fight? That’s fine with me!”

Jin Zixun said, “You Wei, just what do you mean by going against Zixuan so many times?”

Wei Wuxian looked at him. “Who are you?”

Jin Zixun paused in shock, and fumed, “You don’t know who I am?!”

“Why should I know who you are?”

When the Sunshot Campaign had first broken out, Jin Zixun had insisted on defending the back lines, due to an injury. He hadn’t had the chance to see what Wei Wuxian was like on the front lines, and most of his knowledge had come from rumors. He hadn’t care much for him, thinking that the rumors were simply exaggerations. However, a while ago, Wei Wuxian had summoned all of the dark creatures in the forest with a whistle, calling away the fierce corpses Jin Zixun’s group had been about to capture, causing their efforts to be wasted. He was already displeased.

Now, in front of his face, Wei Wuxian was asking who he was, stirring up a strange sense of indignation within him— He knew Wei Wuxian, yet Wei Wuxian didn’t know him, and even dared ask who he was in front of everyone. It was as if this had caused him to lose too much face. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.

Now, there’s a thoughtful meta I hopefully reblogged to my sideblog, which I would have to dig up or recreate on my own, about the most sympathetic possible reading of Jin Zixun. If memory serves, it has a lot to do about the precarious nature of his social position, where he’s part of the Jin clan, and kind of the closest thing Jin Zixuan has to a brother, but also, everyone knows that Jin Zixuan has half-siblings coming out of the woodwork, and many of them would be stoked to get Jin Guangshan to accept them into the family. At this stage in the story, Jin Guangyao is already a major player and a hero of the war and part of the venerated triad, where Jin Zixun spent a lot of time... not in the thick of things, like most other peers of his generation.

Is he an asshole? Yes! Is... Wei Wuxian an asshole? Also yes! One of them may be a more likeable asshole than the other, but that’s part of the excitement of a story like this, trying to coax people into holding a fannish position that they’d never considered before, and aren’t particularly eager to be convinced of. I don’t think I’m bad at that uphill climb, it just takes a lot of energy that I don’t often have to begin that journey in the first place. Also, one of these assholes is a certified grade-A torturer, and it’s probably not the one you dislike. Jin Zixun isn’t starting from an insurmountable disadvantage here. 

And see, the thing that got my attention is this: Earlier in this chapter, Wei Wuxian is a little melancholy, thinking about how since the Sunshot Campaign, lots of people are scared of him, hardly anyone is willing to be alone with him, and almost nobody would ever be willing to approach him alone. And here, we get the information that because Jin Zixun was injured early and wasn’t on the front lines of the Sunshot Campaign, he doesn’t know to be afraid. He tried to provoke Wei Wuxian before the hunt, he’s about to keep provoking Wei Wuxian, he’s Jin Zixun and he doesn’t afraid of anything. Yes, he’s about to say some very hurtful things, but I look at that, and I think ‘okay, now how do we recover from this?’ Giving Wei Wuxian someone who just... plain isn’t afraid of him (but is also derailed by me, your author, from taking that to unrecoverable places) would be good for him. Jiang Cheng will antagonize him and isn’t afraid of him, but they also share years of history and are dealing with a lot of other stresses in this situation, and Jiang Cheng is asking things from Wei Wuxian that Wei Wuxian is struggling to provide, and the golden core thing is still hanging between them. Lan Wangji isn’t afraid of Wei Wuxian, but Wei Wuxian parses his concern and worries as antagonism and criticism, and those stress him out in a whole different way. This dynamic, as much as I would have to work to make it happen, would bring something new to the table.

One of my favorite activities is crackshipping with sincerity, and when I poke at this, it genuinely feels like richer territory than it looks at first glance. A lot of the antagonists share some fascinating character notes with our lead, and what’s most interesting to me here is an elevated-but-precarious social position and the various stresses that puts upon our characters. Jin Guangyao is the most obvious example, and Su She echoes it more quietly, with how he struggled within the Lan Sect and eventually left (honestly, kudos to him for him and mianmian to be two of the only characters to realize that their home was hurting them and to leave). Jin Zixun is in a family position that’s close to being brothers with his sect’s heir, but isn’t quite brothers, and is close to the seat of power, but also in a precarious social position if someone acts against him. Jin Guangshan and Madam Jin create a dysfunctional family dynamic to grow up in, where Jin Guangshan’s heart attention strays from his wife, and his wife has beat at least one kid who wasn’t biologically hers in the household.

There’s some common ground, is all I’m saying

I don’t even know what would happen, necessarily, I’m talking this all out here right now, and the interesting part of ships like this is digging in extra deep, and seeing what unexpected thing shakes out. It isn’t quite in the style of the other notable rarepair fics I have managed to write, which tend to follow a paradigm of ‘[person] is floating unmoored from the world, and [love interest] gets them engaged with life again’, but it’s not totally out of line with my interests. Svsss won’t give us more detail about Tianlang-jun? Okay, what happens if I make him hopelessly fond, what happens then? What happens if I properly re-engage his sense of humor? I hardly had anything of substance to go on with Horuss, and that fic is old, but I managed to pull interesting things out of him with Roxy. And I mean... what does happen when Jin Zixun stops self-destructively antagonizing the people around him and starts acting in more neutral ways? Not even positive, I think this relationship is going to have a strong antagonistic component, but what happens if he stops basing his interactions purely on who gets the higher rung on the social ladder?

Now, I do have a problem, which is that plot is something that happens to other people. See also: the reason there has not been a tianlang-jun sequel. I think that it would almost definitely have to do with repairing the situation between Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli and both of them managing to dial it back a LITTLE so as not to completely sabotage their family member’s happiness, and that leading things forward. And in a ridiculous pipe dream that will never be realized, because either possible pov will be completely oblivious, I would also want to include Jin Zixuan’s confused bisexual awakening and his resentful (also confused) attraction towards Wei Wuxian, even if he still ends up with Jiang Yanli, but... wei wuxian isn’t going to notice, and neither is jin zixun, SO. That’s probably right out. And the plot implications would have to be... significant. Setting it post-Sunshot campaign means that the Wen situation is simmering, and any plot that involves me untangling that mess... terrifying! I wouldn’t know where to begin! But like, also. What if I could write this ship in a compelling way. I bet I could do it. Nothing feels as good as the sensation of ‘I have scored points on my own darling readers by convincing them to like something they didn’t want to like’, and usually, I only get that from the second person pov. It would be so hard to write this ship. But also, what if I did it.

[crossdressingdeath]

lqg assumed that sj was rich, spoiled, lazy, lecherous, and ungrateful and didn't bother investigating or challenging those beliefs until sqq suddenly turned nice. there's an extra where sj, lqg, and sqh are on a night hunt and sj shoots a creature somewhere around lqg's shoulder, lqg assumes he was aiming at him, and he starts fighting sj instead and doesn't stop the fight to ask questions when sqh says "actually liu shidi, it isn't like that-" (he gets cut off by sj). it's also mentioned that he disapproved of sj using "tricks" to win but putting that aside, the fact that he's hailed as a righteous man means he's vehemently opposed to anything that's considered improper (also seen above). the cultivation world in sv is similar to mdzs, tlj got trapped under a mountain despite the fact that he hadn't harmed anyone. seeing how universally hated and widely mentioned the demon world is, wwx practicing demonic cultivation wouldn't be taken well by lqg /nm

SJ really isn’t the victim here, sorry. SJ gave LQG no reason to challenge his assumptions until he “suddenly turned nice”, if someone’s constantly a dick to you you’re not going to question beliefs about them that still seem to fit you. No one is obligated to figure out the rich inner lives of people who are dicks to them. He acted like a rich, spoiled, lazy, lecherous and ungrateful asshole; what reason did LQG have to think his beliefs were wrong? It wasn’t until SY took over that LQG was given proof that SQQ might be more than he appeared, and when that proof appears he very quickly changes his view of the guy! And the fact that LQG fully believed SJ would try to murder him for no reason says more about SJ than him, especially considering every cultivator in the setting was fully prepared to buy it after LQG’s death in PIDW; clearly their dynamic was such that that was fully believable, which suggests that SJ made it believable. Hell, I don’t think even YQY doubts it. Also you yourself have pointed out that SJ interrupts when people try to tell LQG the truth; SJ was deliberately keeping LQG’s impression of him as-is. And of course he disapproved of SJ using tricks to win, because SJ was cheating. Of course an honourable man would disapprove!

“He’s hailed as a righteous man so he’s vehemently opposed to anything considered improper.” Those two things do not lead into each other as neatly as you think they do. It is very much not that simple. LWJ exists, for one; he might be from a different novel but it’s the same author. That’s a clear example of a righteous man whose views on improper things change when he’s given reason to believe that those views are wrong when faced with a loved one doing what he’s been taught is evil, and LQG is very much cut from the same cloth. If he’s willing to accept LBH’s presence for SQQ’s sake, then he’d at least hear out his beloved disciple/surrogate son’s reasoning for using demonic cultivation. As for TLJ, I don’t remember the exact scenario (again, it’s been a while since I read SVSSS), but uh... “genuinely good and honourable man gets swept up in the crowd and kills someone who doesn’t deserve it because the mob included people he genuinely trusted and respected or at least had no reason to doubt” isn’t exactly unheard of in MXTX’s novels. Even if he was involved (I can’t remember if he was or not) it doesn’t mean he’s incapable of ever deciding that demonic cultivation isn’t inherently evil.

[ben-wisehart]

The meta in question

Hi anon! Thank you so much for your question! I actually read it when I was on my lunch break at work and spent the rest of the day thinking about how to reply, haha😂 and THANK YOU for saying you liked my writing, it means a lot🥺

Under a readmore for my followers' dashboards lol

Honestly, my gut response is that this is probably a fair assessment. Binghe does first fall in love with SQQ’s kindness as opposed to, like, his core values? But that’s normal and not inherently a bad thing. We’re all drawn to people based on their positive qualities. Those are the things that make us want to get to know them better. But that’s not the concern I think you’re expressing, so I’m gonna go into that a bit more.

It’s true that when Luo Binghe first meets Shen Jiu, he’s just lost his mother and is desperate to find acceptance and belonging. He’s so excited when Shen Jiu chooses him to be his disciple, how could he not put him on a pedestal? He’s an impressionable child. And when the harsh reality of Shen Jiu’s character is quite literally dumped on his head in the form of hot tea...obviously his feelings are complicated, but he clearly hasn’t written his Shizun off to the point that the sudden change of heart that comes with Shen Yuan’s arrival isn’t enough to win back his loyalty. By this point, Luo Binghe is so starved for approval and affection, especially from Shen Qingqiu, that he absolutely latches onto every single bit he receives from then onwards. Shen Yuan, as Shen Qingqiu, is more or less the first* person to show him the love and kindness he has been craving since his mother’s death. If somebody else had been in the position SQQ was in and had provided LBH with that same kindness, then he probably would have fallen in love with them instead. He would have fallen in love with Shen Jiu had Shen Jiu been kinder to him. But...Shen Jiu wasn’t kinder to him, so he didn’t.

I have more on this to say, but I want to stop here to emphasise that I don’t think this is a bad thing. It’s not bad that Binghe could have just as easily fallen in love with somebody else. Every person who has ever fallen in love with anyone could have just as easily fallen in love with somebody else! The stars just happened to align for this person, and that’s actually beautiful. If Lan Wangji had met a different troublemaker sneaking alcohol into Cloud Recesses, if Hua Cheng had been saved at the Lantern Fesival by a different crown prince, or if nothing like those events had ever happened in their lives but some other good person came along at the right moment, these people could also have fallen in love with someone else altogether and never spared a second glance for the person who became their everything in another lifetime. That’s painful to think about when we love their canon relationships so much, but I think that’s the nature of love; it starts with something random and lucky. To quote The Good Place, “If soulmates do exist, they're not found, they're made. People meet, they get a good feeling, and they get to work building a relationship.” I don’t know if this will lay your frustrations to rest, but this is the best counter I can offer to what I think has saddened you; I disagree that Hualian and Wangxian are any different from Bingqiu in this respect. They all started somewhere and built a relationship by choice.

The above is the part of this that directly answers your question, the rest of this is mostly just me on a soapbox talking about Bingqiu, so thank you for handing me the soapbox :)

I feel like it would be weird to not link Faelicy’s Bingqiu meta at some point in this essay, and this is a good point to do so. You might have already read it, but I’ll link it just in case, and I encourage anyone who has read Scum Villain to check it out, even if you didn’t particularly like Bingqiu. It’s influenced a lot of my thoughts on this ship so credit where credit is due. https://faelicy.tumblr.com/post/632819556141957120/miss-faelicy-i-would-love-to-get-your-opinion-on

Basically, if it wasn't clear from all this, Bingqiu’s relationship doesn't have a particularly healthy foundation and isn't healthy throughout most of the novel. Of course they care about each other, but they’re flawed. They don’t communicate. Shen Qingqiu knows he can’t avoid the Abyss storyline, but he doesn’t understand how much of the story he can change, and has already changed. There are hundreds of fics out there about all the different things he could have done within the parameters that the System had set for him that would have allowed him to hurt Binghe less, and pretty much all of it boils down to “HE TRUSTS YOU ENOUGH THAT HE WOULD LITERALLY JUMP DOWN VOLUNTARILY IF YOU ASKED, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST TALK TO HIM”.

The reason SQQ didn’t do these things isn’t because he didn’t care about Binghe enough to do them. They genuinely don’t occur to him because he’s just...resigned. One day I’ll write a whole meta on just SQQ and talk about the idea that he “didn’t really believe the people around him were real people until the end of the book”, because I have mixed feelings about it, but suffice to say that SQQ is terrified of a very specific image he has of Luo Binghe, doesn’t think he has any way of avoiding it, and it blinds him to the reality of the man before him—which causes him to hurt somebody he cares about.

What I’m getting at is, I honestly think you’ll have an easier time enjoying Bingqiu if you don’t try to convince yourself that the basis of their relationship is anything but a dumpster fire. It is one. It’s okay.

But, in case you couldn’t tell, I love this ship. And I’m going to call back to my previous meta and also maybe the Good Place quote I used earlier; the novel ends with the two of them resolving to do better by each other. If I were about 30% more cynical than I am, I might say that they’d be better off apart, but this is a novel and I’m a romantic at heart. We are who we are.

Shen Qingqiu knows he hurt Binghe. He probably lies awake at night thinking about all the things he could have done differently. In the extras, we see him frequently reassuring Binghe that he isn’t going to leave him, because he knows this is Luo Binghe’s biggest insecurity. We see them getting better at talking to each other. I know Binghe has been criticised for pressuring SQQ or manipulating him, and I suppose I can see where this take comes from, but the novel literally ends with Binghe leaving SQQ in the care of CQMS because he thinks that’s what he’d want! The only reason he leaves with SQQ is because SQQ wants to come with him. Binghe does have problems, and yeah, SQQ is a bit of a sucker for his tears, but to be manipulative requires malicious intent, and Binghe is trying to do better. He doesn’t want to force SQQ into sleeping with him, and he’s pretty disgusted by the prospect when asked.

I guess what I’m saying is, Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe want to have a good relationship, because they love each other so much they cannot imagine a future with anyone but each other. But building a strong, healthy relationship takes years even under the best of circumstances. The extras show them making a good start at that, and I choose to believe that they continue to do so for the rest of their lives, because that’s what MXTX was clearly suggesting with her ending and the Bingqiu extras, but immediately making them perfectly on the same page right after Maigu Ridge would have been a cop-out.

Thank you for your question, and I hope you don’t mind my mammoth response! I'm ALWAYS happy to get questions about my thoughts on Scum Villain and especially Bingqiu. I was so delighted when I saw your asks! If you’re interested, I’ve been pretty active in the SVSSS sub over on reddit lately, and I’ve done a bit of meta over there as well. Here is a post where I talk about Luo Binghe’s masochism (there’s some good discussion from others in the comments as well) And here is a comment on a question about Shen Jiu. (I suspect that if you try to read all my Scum Villain meta in one go it will probably start sounding repetitive, but hey, if it ain't broke...)

(*a small note about me saying SQQ is the first person to show Binghe kindness since his mother’s death, I have to acknowledge that Ning Yingying is also kind to him and likes him a lot, but she’s also very immature and careless with his feelings. This isn’t a criticism of her; she’s a child with a crush, she’s not really providing the kind of emotional support that Luo Binghe needs. Further to the point, Luo Binghe is gay. He was never going to fall in love with NYY, and he was never going to convince himself he was interested in women in a timeline like Scum Villain’s where he’s able to safely discover his sexuality.)