#hitting sqq with a stick hitting him hitting him hitting him

[bytedykes]

imagine you have this rival you have hated the entire time you've known him. you're martial siblings but you know he wants to kill you and he's tried to before. he's scummy and improper and with complete confidence you can say that he hates you just as much if not more. and then you almost die in a cave and he's there and you defend yourself but he overpowers you somehow and then saves you. and you're laying there on the cave floor, coughing up blood, horribly injured, and he's still helping you. and when you manage ask him what the fuck he's doing he starts spouting some bullshit about wronging you and wanting to heal your relationship and be best friends forever. you have no idea what's going on. you are still coughing up blood on the cave floor. he mentions that he thinks you're too hot to die. THIS IS WHAT LIU QINGGE HAD TO DEAL WITH!

[bijoumikhawal]

Okay I've read the main body of SVSSS. I think it's really good as a meta parody and gives some interesting insight into MXTX's mind- I think some of the criticism of her work is unfair and this book is a pretty good example in parts (the running commentary about misogyny in stallion novels is a lot more unambiguous than her accurately depicting misogyny in others wirks like MDZS, though I don't understand why the latter gets read as an indication of her as a person).

However I don't think it works well as a romance story. There are main two problems; one,that while all of MXTX's main characters are people that have gone through the wringer and lashed out on others because of it, sometimes in really grusome and reprehensible ways, we get to see who they are not just before it goes to shit, but after they've acted in a such a way and either by intentional choice or just the passing of time, behave in a kinder and more upright manner. SVSSS's main story ends right after LBH isn't being an antagonistic force driven to the pits. Additionally, LBH is (understandably) a very misanthropic character which makes the way you'd show him learning how to be a person not driven by grief, fear, and anger different.

The other point is SY/SQQ's internalized homophobia is handled in a way that distracts somewhat from his feelings for LBH, and this combines with a lot of the things taken as romantic by other characters being misinterpretions of his internal world. Some of the latter seems to be him bullshitting himself though- "I'm not crying because I'm facing down my beloved student who I've failed horribly and hates me before I off myself without knowing for sure if my contingency plan will work, the sun's just in my eyes", sure Jan. Given how WWX acts its clear that MXTX now knows how to balance internalized homophobia with the character falling in love even if he doesn't realize it, and TGCF doesn't really have internalized homophobia on the protagonists part as far as I've read, he's just a sworn virgin. (However one could argue HC had some issues when he was human depending on how you read the Land of the tender scene).

SVSSS is short compared to her other works, and while I'm not sure how one would do it, having us spend some time with LBH and SQQ after they've gotten rid of his evil sword and SQQ is helping him work through his misanthropy, desire for control, and abandonment issues would improve their relationship from a story perspective, especially because of how obsessive and unhealthy LBH has spent... 8 years of his life regarding SQQ. There's already a foundation with LBH taking SQQ back to his home peak to be taken care of after his near death experience and leaving alone when he gets chased off, and SQQ choosing to go with him with no pressure on him to do so other than LBH's wellbeing (which is no longer tied to things like the apocalypse). I just think there needs to be a bit more between that and what I'm reading in the extras so far.

And it is needed because of how much LBH's dark behavior was directed at SQQ. WWX's dark behavior wasn't so targeted, LWJ's had an instance of targeting but a large part of the novel has been about him doing his best to respect WWX's boundaries and not repeat his parents relationship. I'm not up to snuff on what happened after XL's first banishment yet so I'll keep quiet on that. LBH is so desperate for this one person's affection that he almost destroys the world to ensure he has no other choice but him (and they have terrible fuck or die sex that no one enjoys about it). Evil sword possession making him decide this was a good idea or no, to work as a satisfying romance story, you need to after of all that. Especially because the evil sword had the ability to push him that far because of how chaotic and wrecked his mental and spiritual state were. They're still wrecked.

[lemonsnapples]

I feel like there are too many people who think that Shen Yuan is lazy and would never work hard. He is usually contrasted with Shen Jiu, who is shown in the extras to be driven by his pride to keep cultivating to become stronger than Liu Qingge.

Sure, Shen Yuan's life goal is to be able to live a lazy, carefree, pampered life, but we've read SVSSS, have we not? Have we not seen how much Shen Yuan will bust his ass for his self-preservation?!

Oh, but Shen Yuan only cultivated once as SQQ then stopped, I've read some people online say. He never considered becoming stronger himself to be able to face LBH.

To that, I give you this quote from Vol 1 Ch 1 of the official English translation:

So damn awesome! Power worthy of a character who was a peak’s sole master. With this level of cultivation, if he diligently trained for the next twenty years, then maybe in the future—as a last resort, if he absolutely had to face that overpowered Luo Binghe—he might just be able to flee in disgrace!

As you can see, he does consider cultivating hard as a strategy. Then he does actually cultivate, and he didn't know how to out of muscle memory or from reading PIDW, either - he had to figure out how, as shown in Ch 2:

He sat on the stone bed and began to cultivate, carefully following the methods he’d memorized from manuals.

But right after he comes out of cultivation SHL attacks CQMS, and he got hit with No Cure, which meant that he couldn't cultivate anymore even if he wanted to.

Did he give up on the notion of becoming strong himself to be able to deal with LBH in the future, so that he's not completely reliant on LQG? No, he then came up with the mushroom body idea, which allowed him to be so strong he could break out of a huge net of immortal binding cables with his raw spiritual powers. That's something SQQ's body couldn't do, even in PIDW!

When Shen Yuan was threatened with his life by the system and by his belief that LBH would want to turn him into a human stick in the future, he went out of his way to do so many things for his own survival. It's not just his own survival that he cares about, either - when LBH was knocked out in the Holy Mausoleum arc, Shen Yuan dealt with ZZL and TLJ, and fought and killed the palace master, all while dealing with No Cure flaring up, all by himself.

Just because Shen Yuan wants to be lazy doesn't mean that there isn't a situation when he could be ambitious and driven - and that situation happened to him right in SVSSS!

In conclusion, Shen Yuan isn't as lazy as people think! For Shen Jiu, you gotta make him feel insecure to get him to act out of his pride. For Shen Yuan, you gotta threaten him and the people he loves to get him off his ass. They're driven by different things, but they can both be super ambitious under certain circumstances!

[higuchisora]

As mentioned before, I'll be sharing my top 10 anime characters that could solo my beloved sweet baby boy Binghe. This is both serious and not at all serious. Disclaimer: I love him, he's my good son, but he also needs some competition to keep his head nice and deflated. I'm sticking with 1 character per show to keep things fresh. Also "anime" is a... loosely used term here lmao. Also also, manga/LN spoilers ahead for some shows.

Without further ado (and in no particular order):

10. Uzumaki Naruto (and friends)

Definitely the most obvious so I'm putting it first. Honestly the Naruto cast could've had its own top 10, but rules are rules. That Talk No Jutsu is fucking lethal. If he couldn't TedTalk Binghe into a reluctant friendship, he'd rock his shit first and THEN befriend him. Without so much as a filler episode.

I'm of the mind that any Kage-level character could wipe the floor with my son, Mano y Mano. But even a solid jonin team would have some serious hands for him.

9. Saitama from One Punch Man

I haven't watched the full thing, but ending careers with 1 punch is literally his job, so I'm taking this one on good faith that he'd also be fast enough to catch Binghe at all.

8. Yoriichi from Demon Slayer

The only thing that could defeat this man was his own sadness. He'd clap TLJ and then come for Binghe without so much as a snack break.

7. Hua Cheng from TGCF (yes I know it's a donghua shut up)

Call me biased, I don't care. Hua Cheng would obliterate this man without even thinking about it. He'd laugh, too, because he's an asshole. And then go home to bang Xie Lian.

6. Rimuru from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

I don't like this man or this show. But no one can tell me he wouldn't just. Eat Binghe. Like full vore, as is canon of his abilities. He's done it with physically larger targets and succeeded, he could do it for some pretty boy. Binghe wouldn't even be the first demon king he's fought.

5. Aang from The Last Airbender

I SAID WHAT I SAID. Specifically in his Avatar State, I firmly believe he'd clap Binghe if led to believe it was absolutely necessary. Like the literal world ending. He exorcised a man when he was 12, I think Aang at his peak could handle an emo boy in need of an exorcism.

4. Saiki Kusuo from the Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

He'd dust Binghe out of existence before homie even knew what hit him. Argue with the wall.

3. Yumiella Dolkness from Villainess Level 99

I don't even really like her, but considering she's taken on a demon king of her own before, and is capable of making black holes big enough to swallow cities without breaking a sweat, she'll at least be a worthy opponent.

2. Kumoko/D from So I'm a Spider, So What?

Literally a god. The world-ending kind, and that's when she's being chill about it. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up being in control of the System tormenting poor SQQ and SQH. She's not as advanced in the anime, but in the light novel ending a world is literally light work. She's done it before and she'll do it again.

1. Mash Burnedead from Mashle

I haven't even caught up 100% with this show but I don't care. It doesn't even matter that Mash can't do magic. Actually, it's precisely BECAUSE he can't do magic that I firmly believe he deserves a place on this list because that just means this human dude is just Built Different. Binghe would throw a bunch of spiritual/demonic energy attacks at him and Mash would just bitch slap it out of the way. And then bitch slap Binghe. Worst part is that he wouldn't even realize they're fighting for real, which would permanently ruin Binghe's self esteem, IMO.

Honorable mentions:

Gabimaru from Hell's Paradise

I don't think he COULDN'T take Binghe on, just that it's unlikely he'd survive, honestly. Cultivation is real in their world kinda, and from what I've watched he's not yet capable of taking one on by himself 100%. But he's tenacious and skilled, so he'd at least get a few good ones in before Binghe smokes him. With a good crew and a battle plan, he'd be able to lock an average Binghe under a mountain.

Sailor Moon

The only reason she isn't on top 10 is because I'm not confident in her ability to take hits. She's great at dishing them out, but in the event Binghe manages to get a good whack in, I feel like it'll be over for her. I don't think she's fast enough to reliably dodge the whole time either. Plus, I barely remember the OG show, so it's kind of odd to be comparing her to stuff like Naruto, which I know well.

Hina from Hinamatsuri

Just offer a lifetime supply of red caviar and Binghe's a dead man. That being said, I don't think she'd walk away unscathed. This battle would mostly be dictated by how it starts. If she has the element of surprise, he's dead. If Binghe is suitably enraged (say, Xin Mo possession style), Hina's a goner. Hence she isn't strong enough to be able to beat him soundly in all scenarios.

Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul

He's pretty cool. Also likes to eat flesh. I don't think he's as fast at it as Rimuru is, but then again I also gave up watching after the first season. Gets an honorable mention because he might actually be stronger than I think.

Goku

He's fucking Goku. I just have never watched this show so I didn't feel comfortable ranking him.

Kibutsuji Muzan + Upper moons from Demon Slayer

Any of them would be a solid threat. However, considering they get their asses handed to them by a bunch of human high schoolers and fold at the tiniest ray of sunlight, I figure the moons would be somewhat of a miniboss vs final boss in terms of power scaling.

Muzan probably would've gotten a place on the list if not for Yoriichi. Also, as said, anyone that gets clapped by a bunch of high schoolers in their own home gets a permanent L. Shine a lamp on him and it's over for bro.

Hashiras from Demon Slayer

Not a single one of them can 1v1 any upper moons. That being said, they still managed to body all of them. They go down with them though, so I'd say it would take all of the hashiras (maybe including pre-canon ones) to take down the average Binghe. And they'd all die doing it.

Hero of Time/Hero of the Wilds Link from Legend of Zelda

Is this an anime? No. Do I care? Not really. Fighting opponents wildly out of his league but ultimately winning anyway is literally his canon lore. All Link needs is a slingshot and an ocarina and he'll fight the fucking moon. He's no slouch in recent games either; a beef bowl and a stick is all it takes for him to take on the immortal demon king possessing the castle in nothing but his goddamn boxers.

This was my list!!! Very long, but a lot of fun. Let me know what your own lists are, I'm curious lol.

If I've not mentioned a show, it's probably because I've never watched it lol.

[tcfactory]

Random In Tune worldbuilding tidbid that won't come up for a while but I've been thinking about it today:

There are only two people on the sect who can safely dual cultivate with MQF when his core is not shielded/filtered: WQW, who spent the last twenty years developing an immunity (because they were so late with his treatment, the toxins couldn't be removed from his body so the only way to fix his leg was to render him completely immune and then repair the damage) and YQY, because YQY's spirit veins are so fucked up that the toxic qi just runs through him with minimal absorption that can be mitigated with a pill.

Xuan Su destroyed almost all of YQY's spiritual system when he picked it up too early. His spirit veins were obliterated except for a few vestiges around his core (which formed as a defensive measure against the onslaught of the sword's qi and holds not just his qi but basically the entirety of his life force as well) and the parts in his sword arm that were already developed enough to handle the deluge of power.

He was confined to the caves because without the saturation of spiritual energy his body would have just shut down because he had no spiritual veins to supply his body with qi. Breaking his bones and ligaments was part of the process of building him an artificial meridian system (that's why his spirit veins are "straight like someone drew them with a ruler" because that's exactly what happened), but it's not really effective.

They have abysmally low efficiency when it comes to qi absorption; he has to circulate most of his insanely huge pool of qi through them constantly to get a normal amount of energy to the rest of his body. If his spiritual veins are like irrigation channels in a field, then the artificial veins have concrete walls and the only water escaping them is what spills out the top and seeps through the cracks.

If he cuts out his core and the veins in his arm from direct circulation (a quirk he never really thought about, but MQF was clawing at the walls when he heard he can do that because wtf ) then he can run someone's qi through his body and back to them with basically no impact on him.

And if he wants to take on harmful qi anyway then he can just dilute it in his own energy because it would be a drop in the fucking ocean. The size of his qi reserves are more in line with someone late in nascent soul level, usually at the stage where people ascend to the heavens, he just can't utilize it.

(Except when he's a dumbass who wants to take the qi of his beloved SQQ into his core and gets hit with the 'suddenly a teenager again' stick for his troubles. This dumbass.)

[dangermousie]

And yet more SVSSS

The pain from losing an arm was too terrible, to the point that it even overwhelmed the feeling of his head smashing onto the ground. Luo Binghe calmly followed him. This time, he lightly stroked one of Shen Qingqiu’s calves.

Human stick!

Right now, Luo Binghe was planning on making him into a human stick!

It hurt so much that it was hard to breathe. Shen Qingqiu used his remaining arm to grab onto Luo Binghe, shaking his head wildly as he gasped for air. “Don’t… don’t…”

Don’t use that face to do something like this.

Luo Binghe used one hand to firmly restrain Shen Qingqiu on the ground. His gaze could nearly be described as sincere and affectionate.

He said gently, “It’s not as if this is my first time doing something like this. How is Shizun still so unaccustomed to it? Then, let’s do it a few more times until you slowly get used to it. How about that?”In a heartbeat, a gut-wrenching agony spread rapidly from the base of his left leg throughout his entire body.Shen Qingqiu couldn’t bear it any longer, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream!

SQQ ending up in the original story and experiencing this from the original Binghe really is a horrifying moment, made more horrible not even by Binghe’s serial killer gentleness but by the fact that SQQ still can’t accustom himself that this is Binghe - when he says “don’t” and it’s not about the torture but about not using Binghe’s face to do this because he loves “his” Binghe and does not want to associate this with him.

And then when he punishment ends, his reaction is:

If Shen Qingqiu couldn’t see the adorable Luo Binghe as fast as possible, he felt as if his limbs would continue to hurt the instant he recalled that name. Could the young man who was a pure and innocent little white flower quickly come out and feed him a tranquilizer?!

He still loves and trusts “his” Binghe so much that he wants him as medicine and the thing is, he doesn’t see him. He sees the original SQQ’s memories instead (and they are horrible! OG SQQ was a horrible person but it was abuse that created a monster; he did not become the way he did from good life. The way MXTX created that - a character both loathsome and pitiable, heartbreaking and hateful- and did it as a throwaway, nothing ever fixed - is actually brilliantly bleak, just as the “oh and by the by” off-screen death of Gongxi Xiao. This is a funny novel but with a horrifyingly bleak underpinning.)

And the thing is, even as he’s got his arm and leg ripped off, the main thing he feels is wanting to see “his” Binghe and then helpless pity and love for the one he sees in those memories. He’s gone from throwing Binghe under the bus because he knows narrative will protect him (skin wearing demon), to instinctively defending him despite knowing that (battle with Sha Hualing’s folks), to defending him deliberately and in full knowledge of how it could hurt (Mausoleum) to wanting to comfort him even from past unhappiness, despite knowing it’s futile and despite having another version of Binghe just horrifically torture him.

Shen Qingqiu crouched in front of him, but his sleeves passed right through—he couldn’t touch, couldn’t hold, couldn’t even wipe his tears. His heart hurt for him; it was unbearable enough to drive him to death.

Knowing very well that Luo Binghe couldn’t hear, he still said, “Come on, don’t cry.”

Luo Binghe stared at his own knees, fists slowly tightening on his legs. The tears flowed faster and fiercer, dripping onto his lapel.

Shen Qingqiu futilely attempted to wipe his cheeks, coaxing, “Shizun won’t hit you ever again. Don’t cry.”

Luo Binghe raised his palm to rub his eyes. He picked up the teacup on the ground and set it to the side. Grasping the jade pendant over his heart, he straightened up into a proper kneeling posture.Shen Qingqiu knew the current motions of his heart.It must have been some rule he didn’t understand, something he did wrong to offend the Peak Lord, and he was educated for that reason. As a disciple, kneeling for Shizun should be expected.Seeing these tiny movements, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t resist turning to face him, kneeling down as well.Reaching out his arms, he held Luo Binghe’s oh-so-tiny body tightly in his incorporeal embrace.

And then, when Binghe finds him, SQQ’s reaction is driven by that memory of kid Binghe, not the torture Binghe inflicted on him and that’s huge.

Luo Binghe kissed down the line of Shen Qingqiu’s eye. “I said I’d come to get you. We haven’t seen each other for so many days—did Shizun miss me?”

The correct response, in his mind’s eye, should be first a knee to the stomach to kick this degenerate disciple off the couch, then a graceful rearrangement of his appearance, and finally an elegant and aloof “No.”

But for some reason, thinking of the Luo Binghe in the memory kneeling all alone in the bamboo house, silently picking the teacup up from the ground, he couldn’t bear to raise his leg.Shen Qingqiu began to breathe like he was trembling in Luo Binghe’s palms.He closed his eyes and nodded.

I mean, to be so concerned with another’s past hurt to the extent of forgetting your own inflicted by that other (and the other Binghe is also Binghe, how he’d have grown up if he had original SQQ as his master, so that possibility is there, it is an actual potential in a different life), if that’s not love, what is?

Luo Binghe’s dark and moist eyes stared at him. “Shizun, don’t you think I’m annoying?”

He’s sticky during the day, he’s sticky in dreams at night, twenty-four hours of the day and always looking at this face━of course, it’s annoying!

But, in a moment of incaution, he had gotten used to the stickiness. Now, Luo Binghe was lying right on top of him, and Shen Qingqiu didn’t even feel like it was something unbearable…

How did it get to this stage? Isn’t this a bit excessive!

Shen Qingqiu said dryly, “You know you’re annoying, and yet you still don’t restrain yourself.

AWWWWWWWWWWWW

[silver-spider-art]

/rant

*big sigh* I really wish people who hate Shen Jiu would tag their fics as such on AO3 so i don’t have to enter every fic where SJ isn’t the main character or pairing like its a minefield. Its so off putting to suddenly get hit with an unsympathetic take on him. Especially when the author might in the same breath forgive Bing-ge for all his (much worse) crimes. Though that’s also the same way I don’t get how some ppl write Shen Yuan as if he could actually accept or tolerate Bing-ge’s behavior IRL. Most people who love villains and murderers will still be disgusted with them in real life, and SY’s fear of Bing-ge in canon surely was more than just from SQQ canon death. So its just... ugh.

I don’t have any friends that are into this fandom, so ranting to the void. It’s mostly just that I know if I met any of the peek lords IRL I’d be nervous, cautious, and judgmental. If I met Bing-ge IRL I’d run for the hills screaming.

I just get so sad that its so easy to find SJ hate but so hard to find stories actually critical of Binghe/Bing-ge, as if he didn’t have the same choices SJ had to just walk away and start a new life. As if revenge was the only option he had.

I may also just be very salty that a fic I was reading jumped me 5 chapters in by still having SJ be brutally tortured and no one in the story seemed to care and the POV being “its a bit much but he deserved it” like that isn’t the grossest take in the world. And don’t give me “for that time period” when one of the main POV characters is a modern man. Or the fact that any point in human history were torture was practiced (as it still is today) there are many voices decrying it as wrong even if the government approves of it. So there is no reason at least a few characters wouldn’t look at his actions in disgust. To not have any character or the narration look at it judgmentally gives the impression that the author approves of the outcome for that character. Especially when the character doing said torture ISN’T the story’s villain. Which was the WHOLE reason canon PIDW readers thought SJ deserved his fate, that Airplane didn’t give them a reason to question it. BUT WE WERE! SVSSS gave us so many reasons to understand SJ wasn’t the monster PIDW painted him out to be, but he still gets inhumanely treated and its just written off??? SY a modern man with modern morals can be “I know you tortured a human being brutally and killed a bunch of people but you were once my comfort character so it’s okay”. Like no bitch, that’s a serial killer. SJ was a toxic teacher with a shitty past. Bing-ge said “hold my beer” and went off the rails. TBH even Binghe with SY makes me uncomfortable sometimes just with how often SY was lagit scared out his mind about him. That’s not a healthy relationship when it started cuz you thought said person might torture you if you pissed them off. Not to say that I don’t think it can’t work, more that I hate canon’s “and now they are happily married” shit. Binghe needed to fucking earn back the trust for all the shit he broke. Cursed sword or not, he hurt a lot of people.

So yeah, I’m still just so salty and I want more healthy stories about SJ healing and growing and finding love and or family.

And for people to TAG if they mean to turn him into a fucking STICK!!

TL;DR: tag your shit! I don’t care if it’s “spoilers”, TAG IT

[grandmasterofwangxiancultivation]

SV ch.60

what a day, guys, sv donghua’s pv blew up tumblr and twitter and now we are here reunited around ch.60. svsss is gonna kill us all :)

Ah, that’s right! After all, at the end of the day, a master is not obligated to help his disciple quench his fire. Even if he was the one who accidentally rubbed against it and stoked the fire, it’s all the same!!!

I SWEAR. 

I KNOW I ALWAYS SAY THIS, BUT 

I S W E A R I HAVE NEVER LAUGHED LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE!!!! this since i am responsible i should help thing is nice and all (a cultural aspect, too, for sure), but applied to shizun (who is trying to convince himself that everything is fine, omg, CUTE) rubbing one out of lbh... like, shizun! even in his sleeping, lbh is horny for your ass-

EDIT: i naively thought, wow they got out! little did i know...

Despite the illusion of being in a jungle, they have not left the Holy Mausoleum but only arrived at one of the special crypts within it.

EDIT 2: shizun being protective of lbh is gonna be what ends my life, wow

EDIT 3: IS A JUNGLE ATTACKING SQQ

EDIT 4:

This obstacle had not been resolved before a second flash of white light struck. This time, it directly stabbed at Luo Binghe’s throat. The Xiu Ya sword was blocking the first sword and couldn’t be recalled; neither could he throw Luo Binghe aside. If he fell amongst those treacherous flowers and plants, he would be done for!

He raised his arm and seized the edge of the sword with his bare hand.

The blade cut deeply into his palm, but he could still hold it firmly, and it did not advance another half inch. Blood did not drip—it poured out. It spilled over Shen Qingqiu’s clothes and dyed the grass on the ground bright red.

He finally realized how painful it must have been when Luo Binghe had previously grabbed at his blade.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes reddened. He jerked his head and his pupils shrank.

i am fine. i am fine, i’m not CRYING SCREAMING SOBBING CALLING SHIZUN’S NAME MUMBLING INCOHERENTLY BECAUSE ARE THOSE FEELINGS SHIZUN DID YOU UNDERSTAND YOU ARE LIVING YOUR LIFE AND PPL ARE PPL EVEN IF YOU ARE IN A NOVEL AND YOU ARE ALLOWED TO FEEL or anything.

it’s not like shizun is letting someone’s sword cutting his palm in half for lbh

EDIT 5:

His expression did not change except for the addition of a fake smile: “Lady Qiu, Old Palace Master, I trust you’ve been well.”

oh, so these are the +2. mmmmh i think lbh did something bad to them we don’t know about...?

(bless shizun for always summing up the important stuff and making me remember names and events i would otherwise keep forgeting

but, like, how did these to end up being allies??)

EDIT 6: oh, here is another one who wanted to be lbh’s shifu but SQQ IS LBH’S ONLY MASTER SO SUCK IT UP THANK YOU. 

also, shizun finding out lbh wasn’t behind huan hua disciples bad mouthing him and i’m like, why didn’t you believe your precious disciple sooner, he wants you, just youuuuuu.

It would seem that back then, the Huan Hua Palace disciples’ antagonism towards him was not instigated by Luo Binghe, but rather the deliberate influence of the Old Palace Master. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help shooting a glance at Luo Binghe. This child, if he had been less pig-headed and accepted other people as his master, a lot of grief could have been avoided. But Shen Qingqiu could not begrudge him his brainless willfulness.

(THESE TWO WERE BEHIND THE JINLAN CITY THING I WANNA STRANGLE THEM but wait, thank you for the water prison scene-

also, shizun and feelings toward lbh 2.0 i am alive todaaaaaay)

EDIT 7:

The Old Palace Master was actually sliced into a human stick! A great leader of his generation reduced to such a miserable state, barely considered human and more miserable than a ghost. Bedraggled and filthy, with only the head being able to turn about. The original Shen Qingqiu’s fate has been transferred to the Old Palace Master!

OKAY I DID NOT EXPECT THAT WTF

pls don’t let this affect sqq, pls don’t let him remind him about lbh’s counterpart in the original work, pls we need all the steps forward shizun was moving saojfoisjefiwof

EDIT 8:

When facing Tianlang-Jun, a character whose data had not existed previously, Luo Binghe’s plot armor was useless. But the Old Palace Master did play a role in the original work, and hence should be subjected to the same laws dictating the protagonist’s golden undying body. This effect should still be in place. He could try standing back, let the Old Palace Master hack at Luo Binghe, and like back at Shuang Hu City, see who ends up dead instead.

The Old Palace Master slowly said: “I will ask once more, will you stand aside, or not?”

Shen Qingqiu lowered his arm, the blood flowing from his palm had slowed to a trickle. He formed his reply.

He looked up and said coldly: “Just like the Old Palace Master has said, he is my good disciple. You tell me, would I stand aside?”

Can’t be helped, things have changed. Now it’s no longer the same as it was back then.

OKAY LET’S

LET’S JUST PAUSE FOR A SEC AND ANALYSE THIS BECAUSE SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE SAID.

that’s actually a pretty good plan, like, nothing can happen to lbh as long as one of the known characters tries to kill him, so it could be the perfect escape route. sqq knows. sqq has thought this before, applied this principle to his first mission and suceeded! 

but

now it’s no longer the same as it was back then, which is huge! aside from romantic feelings and all, shizun is finally freaking acknowledging is affection toward this cutie, to the point that even if he knows the plot armor could work, he cannot bear the thought of putting lbh in an ideal danger. he doesn’t stand aside, he protects him with his body.

i. am. crying.

EDIT 9: 

On the way down, he twisted around and used himself as a meat shield, not letting Luo Binghe hit the ground. He ended up squashed by the full weight of his body and saw stars.

(*takes a deep breath* shizun stop being so freaking perfect okay thank you aofoaiejfioaejfuaehfoai)

Fine wispy threads of white floated over, about to land on Luo Binghe’s pale cheeks. Shen Qingqiu gently puffed at it, and the white fluff scattered away.

omg cute-

EDIT 10:

The Old Palace Master gazed at him for a long while then sighed: “When you close your eyes, you resemble her the most. And also when you’re being cold.”

His eyes traveled over Luo Binghe’s face greedily. If he still had hands, he would have reached out to fondle as well. Shen Qingqiu felt ill. He couldn’t help clasping Luo Binghe’s head and pulling him closer into his arms.

The two were now in a position where Luo Binghe was cozily snuggled against him with his head resting on Shen Qingqiu’s chest. Shen Qingqiu’s voice was low: “Open your eyes, he isn’t Su Xiyan.”

okay that was creepy as hell. i hope he didn’t try anything funny while he still had all his limbs on... or maybe that’s why lbh did it?

EDIT 11: DID HE DO SOMETHING TO LBH’S MOTHER? I KILL HIM FOR GOOD.

EDIT 12:

He spoke in a coaxing manner: “Xiyan…. come over here…. Shizun has something nice for you, drink this….”

The Old Palace Master sank into a confused state again, saliva dribbling from the corners of his mouth. Qiu Haitang backed away slowly, disgust brimming in her eyes. Shen Qingqiu’s heart felt frozen in his chest as his nausea grew.

Unable to tolerate the Old Palace Master leering at him, Shen Qingqiu lifted the back of Luo Binghe’s head with his hand and pressed his face to his chest. Fed up, he snapped: “That’s enough!”

I AM GONNA THROW UP ALL OVER THIS DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING but i am also gonna squeal in happines ‘cause LOOK AT SHIZUN GOING ALL PROTECTIVE OVER LBH HE DOESN’T WANT THAT MANIAC EVEN LOOKING AT HIM AND HE HIDES LBH FROM HIS SIGHT OMG 

BLESS

[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.  

[grandmasterofwangxiancultivation]

SV ch.55

Okay I’m nervous. 

Looking at the style of murals to the sides of the corridor, there was a strong yin ambiance, and it was clear to see this was Luo Binghe’s headquarters in the Demon Realm.

But I am totally not panicking.

EDIT:

The two both had nothing to say, not giving each other a sideways glance. One in front and one behind, their footsteps made no breath of sound. The atmosphere was stiff and cold.

This is the definition of PAIN. I need some bingqiu communication right now

EDIT 2:

Pushing open the door and entering, the furnishings and arrangement of the room were quite familiar-looking. In fact, it was quite similar to the bamboo house on Qing Jing Peak.

Omg. OMG. So let me get this straight. Lbh spent years mourning his Shizun, keeping the wounds he had left him, keeping sqq's broken sword, keeping his freaking corpse and (now we find out) making a room similar to the one in the bamboo house-

This is borderline obsession and yet my heart aches for lbh so much i just... PLS Shizun. PLS.

EDIT 3:

Now acting like a miserable child and throwing tantrums, making his heart overflow with sympathy. Now again hitting his face and telling him it was all an act. Real or fake, his eyes weren’t sharp enough to clearly see autumn feathers and see through Luo Binghe’s heart to understand what he was really thinking, some parts truth and some parts hypocrisy.

(Guys, sqq is angry because lbh put on a facade in the dreamscape. He is angry and disappointed and wary of lbh possibly using the same "trick" on him again and again just to move sqq's heart. I honestly thought Shizun had understood by now.

Like, okay, lbh tricked him the second time to see if that was really Shizun or just a figment of his imagination, but can you blame him?? You have been dead for years, sqq!! He probably went insane with pain, has always been in love with you when in his eyes you betrayed him by pushing him into the abyss, come on! If you two would just fucking talk-)

While he was still brooding over these thoughts, Luo Binghe walked a step closer to him.

(A n X i E t Y)

EDIT 4: here is an exemplar of Shizun using a series of excuses to keep himself rooted in place and not back down in front of an advancing lbh. Still, he is a mess inside.

BRAVE SHIZUN.

But he was still inevitably tense, his heart stretched taut as a bowstring, his eyelids jumping and fingertips curled.

How was Luo Binghe so perceptive? He advanced another step.

“Shizun, what do you think I’m going to do to you?”

(o m g. Omg o can't feel my legs-) 　

Shen Qingqiu said sincerely, “I cannot guess.”

EDIT 5:

Luo Binghe reached out his right hand. Shen Qingqiu didn’t make a sound or movement, but his gaze couldn’t help but stick to his fingertips, following them as they reached out.

(I AM TOTALLY HYPERVENTILATING RN)

That hand was neat and slender. It didn’t look like the hand of a Demon Race young master who had already taken countless lives, but rather one which was born to pluck strings, a hand to burn incense and bathe in snow. It slid shyly over his cheek, faintly brushing his skin.

(OKAY SOMEONE NEEDS TO CALL AN AMBULANCE R I G H T T H E F U CK N O W 'CAUSE I DON'T THINK MY HEART BEATING OUT OF MY CHEST AND MY LUNGS CONSTRICTING LIKE THIS IS NORMAL?

LBH IS ToUcHiNg Shizun's cheek-)

And then it landed on his throat.

*chokes*

Lbh no- *whispers*

EDIT 6: I died, like, for 5 minutes before gathering the courage to go on. And BLESS GOD I DID BECAUSE

Luo Binghe retracted his hand. The next time he opened his mouth, it was impossible to tell if he was happy, angry, sorrowful, or joyful. “My blood, it’s not responding to my beckoning.”

AAAAHAHSNJXUDKEHXKE DO YOU WANNA KNOW WHY, BINGHE? YOU SEE, IT'S A FUNNY STORY. IT INVOLVES A SNAKE-MAN, MAIDEN SHIZUN AND MANY WOMEN-

EDIT 7:

Luo Binghe said, “It looks like in these short few days, Shizun has had another fortuitous meeting.”　

Shen Qingqiu said, “Well, what can you do about it? Make me drink it again?”　

Luo Binghe said, “You’ll run if you drink it, you’ll run if you don’t, both options are the same. I had better not make Shizun add another layer of loathing for me in his heart.”

(OKAY NO. N O. I'm not good with tension. I can't bear it. So pls stop and no one will get hurt, okay?)

Luo Binghe fixed his gaze on him for a time, then said, “Is there anything you desire?”

Shen Qingqiu said, “Anything is acceptable?”

Luo Binghe nodded. A sudden malicious sentiment arising from his gut, Shen Qingqiu bluntly said, “I want to see you as little as possible. Best if I never see you at all.”

(WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

NO

THIS IS WRONG, WHAT NOVEL IS THIS, WHAT THE FUCK FUCKITY FUCK

NO

okay it's a joke, right? Ah ah ah ah funny, now stop this. When I said I desperately wanted these two to meet, i meant to pray for FLUFF. NOT THIS. THIS. WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS.

MY HEART IS BREAKING? DO I DESERVE IT, AFTER PATIENTLY WAITING FOR THEM TO MEET? I dOn'T fUcKiNg ThInK sO, so freaking solve this-)

Luo Binghe looked like he never expected Shen Qingqiu to make this sort of request, his face paling.

(SHIZUN YOU WERE MORE CLUER THEN A FREAKING DEMONIC LORD. HUG HIM. HuG hIm Or I sWeAr-)

If you are hearing something, IT'S ME SCREAMING LIKE A MADWOMAN. THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS.

EDIT 8: thank you, system, your presence always makes my anger cool off. I love reading Shizun talk to it, it reminds me this novel is too good to be true, an yet it exists. Bless.

With a ringing notification sound, the System quietly began to download the upgrade package. Shen Qingqiu had a sudden thought and asked, “Right, what is the name of this feature upgrade?”

The System: 【Small Scenario Pusher Luxury Edition.】

SEE SEE I LOVE THE SYSTEM, IT ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT TO DO. NOT ONLY THE SMALL SCENARIO PUSHER IS BACK, IT CAME IN A L U X U R Y EDITION.

Let's go bring down those heartbreak points now

EDIT 9:

With many official duties to attend to, perhaps unable to extricate himself, all along he had not shown his face.

…or maybe that day, his glass heart had been shattered by Shen Qingqiu’s harsh words, and he didn’t dare to appear.　

Shen Qingqiu tore his thoughts away from that latter path with great difficulty.

IS THAT REGRET, SHIZUN? IS IT? I S I T? System, pls summon me and let me go hug lbh or else I'll cry

EDIT 10:

Furthermore, Luo Binghe didn’t act like the characters in the books his younger sister liked to read in his previous life and shackle him with chains, blindfolded and gagged, stripped and beaten. He might as well be content with whatever he has and make himself at home wherever he is.

(SY HAD A YOUNGER SISTER? DO YOU THINK SHE READ HARDCORE BL?)

Bull***t!　

For Shen Qingqiu to attempt to comfort himself with these words, there must be sh*t in his brains! He wasn’t some sort of Stockholm syndrome patient, feeling deep gratitude for being fattened in captivity. Don’t you understand, you need to bring about a fortunate lifestyle yourself, not by relying on others’ charity?!

(You're right, Shizun, of course. That's why there is a pretty simple solution- TALK TO LBH WITHOUT ACCUSING HIM, TRY TO UNDERSTAND. WOULD YOU?)

EDIT 11: this chapter is playing with my patience. Bamboo does not grow in the Demon Realm, but lbh ordered for ppl to find a way. Shizun FLIRTED WITH A MAID ASKING FOR SOMETHING TO EAT BUT THAT BOWL WAS PREPARED BY LBH, BECAUSE IT HAS THE SAME TASTE AND NO ONE EATS HUMAN FOOD THERE AND IT BREAKS MY HEART AND I JUST CAN'T OKAY I AM CRYING STOP THIS SHIT

EDIT 12: sqh is here!

OH. SO HE SOLD SHIZUN OUT. OH, okay. I don't know if I should hate him or congratulate him, I never know if I should consider the events from the point of view of a reader or a writer, me being both (I mean, like, I occasionally write, so I know sometimes one makes characters do strange, despicable things, not like I am a super pro write didn't want to sound pretentious, eh eh), so I'm like "what the fucking hell sqh, what about friendship?" and "omg good job mxtx, this character is so interesting, what even is moral ptf!"

And now

Lbh

Gave Xiu Ya sword back to Shizun. Let's add this to the increasingly long list of "things that show how much lbh cares for Shizun and make my heart crack"

EDIT 13:

On the other side, Shang Qinghua laughed nervously and rubbed his hands, clicking his tongue and saying, “Aiyah, I really, really never thought… the storyline would bend so far out of shape. Remarkable, really remarkable.”

Shen Qingqiu: “The stallion novel protagonist you wrote turned into a cut-sleeve, shouldn’t you be angry?”

Shang Qinghua said sincerely, “It doesn’t matter. Either way, the one he fell for wasn’t me.”

(there, see? I love him.)

Shen Qingqiu gave him a cordial middle finger, lowering his head to polish his sword. Shang Qinghua gave him a thumbs-up. “Really, you don’t need to be so pessimistic. You have good prospects for the future, quite good prospects. These golden thighs, they’re strong, reliable!”

Shen Qingqiu said, “Take your ****ing golden thighs. If I have to hug those thighs, where do you think they’ll take me? Between the legs!”

Shang Qinghua: “Between the legs is even better, ah. Between the legs is a man’s most important place.”

(OMG OMG THIS turning out too good I'm having too much fun!!

Sqh surely is a man of wisdom. BLESS HIM.)

EDIT 14: okay plot, PLOT.

“…” At long last Shen Qingqiu knew the true origin of all those plot holes. “So you just went to write the harem plotline, and might as well leave the more serious Bing-ge’s dad plotline full of holes?”

(So the big final boss should have been lbh's dad? FATHER-IN-LAW IS REALLY GONNA SHOW UP IF SHIZUN FILLS THE HOLES? I AM SO SO S O O O O FREAKING EXCITED.

But I am honestly scared, 'cause this means whatever sqh's previous plan for the novel were, they may still happen. That means everyone is potentially in danger, if the danger is not lbh.)

EDIT 15: SQH WAS GONNA SAY SOMETHING USEFUL ABOUT HOW HE WANTED TO BUILD SQQ'S CHARACTER AND THEN WHAT?

Lbh comes.

Like, I love you baby, but-

Luo Binghe’s eyelashes drooped. After standing for a bit, it seemed he had come to a major decision. He said stiffly, “Even though those earlier events happened in a dream realm, I took advantage of Shizun. But the feelings I revealed to you then, those were not false.”

(GOOD BABY. G O O D. Let it sink, let Shizun understand how much you care.l

EDIT 16: lbh is trying to finally, finally let Shizun understand how he felt and why he did what he did and I'm so glad he is trying. I get why these two would need to learn how to trust one another all over again, that is totally okay, it's fine if they need to guard their feelings for a while before settling this problem, so reading about them talking, about lbh trying to reach Shizun fills me with hope.

His face gradually settled into a gloomy expression from his sneer. Drawing closer the distance between the two, he said, “But what if I said, that towards Shizun, I only remember, not hate, most likely I wouldn’t be believed.”

SEE. SEE.