#not tagging the other characters or relationships because they aren't super present

[canonizzyhours]

the canyon are really on one the last few days in the tags. calling ed an abuser, whining about izzy dying being unfair and cruel. i've been going on a blocking spree. it's obviously in desperate response to the surge of reason from this blog and other meta takes that properly represent canyon izzy in their analysis of s2.

personally i am super grateful to this blog and everyone's anon takes and other posters' metas. i've been a victim of relationship abuse and have struggled with reacting to triggers for years since that experience, because my trauma responses often hurt others, in ways that i fear are me being abusive. it's done major damage to my sense of self-worth because i have blamed myself for hurting others and felt ashamed of my difficulty controlling myself when triggered and when traumatized. this is even after years of therapists reassuring me that i'm not an abuser (doesn't absolve me of responsibility for my behaviors, and i can recognize the difference in myself versus my abusers when i acknowledge the thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours i have spent on therapy over the years to work on myself and my relationships).

i really identify with ed as a character with similar struggles, and with the fear that i'm unable to change, the fear that i am just as bad and dangerous as my abusers and thus possibly deserving of the abuse in some way. OFMD depicts this aspect of surviving family and relationship abuse that is otherwise rarely (never?) shown in mainstream media, and it does it so thoughtfully and beautifully and in a way that feels HEALING and like it gives me hope. i wish the canyon folks could have the empathy they so clearly have for izzy, a pretty nasty and harmful dude, for ed as well, so that they could feel some of the healing and hope from this show that they clearly are in search of. or that they could recognize the healing and hope present in izzy's arc in s2 instead of centering his character over ed's. i do think their inability to do so stems from (unconscious) white supremacist bias that they aren't willing to acknowledge. props to the writers for killing off the white guy to advance the indigenous person's character growth for once, as it's clearly necessary as a wake-up call and challenge to audiences who are used to white supremacist ways of seeing and aren't happy that they're not being coddled with that shit. i just hope they don't get cold feet about it in s3 after all the canyon backlash online and take that as representative of the core audience. it isn't.

#143.

[kaibutsushidousha]

thought of Raikou and her heavenly king

I like Raikou a lot, but I'd be lying if I said anything to say about her. Out of all characters in Sakurai's recreation of Tsukihime, Raikou is by far the most derivative, to the point I really can't think of any Raikou character trait that isn't also present in Akiha. In fact, Raikou was the starting point from which I started noticing the connections that made the post above. For maybe 2 years, it was only Raikou=Akiha in my brain.

That said, Raikou was a very important personal step in my relationship with the other character. I don't think I need to anyone that, but Akiha is a very unapproachable figure and at least the original version of her route didn't help me at all with that. The first time I felt something positive about Akiha was when Hisui's route clarified the true nature of her relationship with Kohaku. For years, my take on Akiha has been "I don't like her individually, but I like her relationship with Kohaku", which is the one Akiha thing that Raikou lacks. However, as I found myself enjoying Raikou content, my reaction was obviously "Wait, I like Akiha now, actually".

My biggest hope for Raikou in Samurai Remnant is that the new context allows her to shine in ways that distance herself from her Tsukihime inspiration (and vice-versa as my hope for Red Garden) because I checked my tags for this and to this day I still haven't ever failed to mention one in a meta post about the other.

Kintoki for the longest time existed as a joke character and not one of the funny ones, as the protagonist of Heian, he's perfect. I love the idea of seeing a Heroic Spirit as a complete person secure of the ideals he stands for and then meeting his living counterpart in a period when the world he defended still leaves him lost and unsure of what he wants and cares for. I loved to see so much of Fate/Zero's Kirei reflected in such an ambiguously good guy, and I love especially Kintoki's relationship with Douman.

Tsuna I don't like. His role and backstory are quite well fit for Heian's themes, as just some guy who went so above his expected fate through the sheer power of caring, but Heian is a story as rich of The Tale of Genji intertextuality as it is of Tsukihime intertextuality, and I can't help but draw the worst possible implications out of Tsuna's backstory being meant to mirror Hikaru-gimi's relationship to Fujitsubo and Murasaki.

Urabe and Sadamitsu aren't in Fate/ yet, and honestly, I don't feel any need for them to be unless something super original is done with them. Urabe's fatherly archer archetype sorta overlaps too much with Tell, and Sadamitsu's only interesting legend is when he found the feral Kintoki and brought him to the civilization. Considering his initiative to take Kintoki to the human side, Sadamitsu could have potential as a character who actively wants to bridge the gaps between humans and non-humans whenever possible, but not in FGO, where the human and oni Servants are already sharing Chaldea's space without the need of his intervention.

[bettsfic]

Hi Betty! I meant to ask this a while ago but I only came around it now. Can you share your opinion on "After the Rain" I remember you reblogging a fan art of the anime from my Tumblr tagging it with: "This kind of disappointed me", and I was so curious about your take on it. Also, do you have any advice about how to approach the theme of a really big age gap? Let me narrow that. I'm thinking about writing a 21 yo woman meeting a 50 yo man and how they handle the age gap. I want to explore how such a couple would survive scrutiny and above all, I want to give her the power. Ok, not that narrow after all, sorry, I'm still trying to give this idea form, but I guess that's truly the core of it. Still, I would love to read you talking about this kind of topic. Thank you so much in advance!

After the Rain just kind of baffled me in its ambitions. like the first few episodes start it off as one thing and then it just kind of falls apart as the two main characters follow their separate trajectories and begin having nothing to do with one another (iirc, it was honestly so bland to me i can't remember a lot of it). the second-act slump is something i see a lot in 12/13-episode series. (and novels. especially novels.) anyway i'm sure the manga is better and i'd be willing to give it a shot at some point.

now to the second part of your question.

so there are really only two kinds of age gap stories: stories where the age gap is the conflict, and stories where the age gap only affects the conflict.

for example, the film Carol is about the relationship that develops between carol and therese. take that relationship away and there's no movie.

The Reader, however, is an age gap story that is actually about the Nuremberg Trials. there's an external plot present that the age gap feeds into. if you were to take away hanna and michael's relationship, there would still be a story, albeit a significantly weaker one. the age gap complicates and elevates the conflict of the story. (note that the movie is worlds better than the book.)

the thing about age gap stories that aren't fanfic is that i haven't encountered a single one where you're meant to want the two characters to stay together. the story tasks you with wanting to see how the relationship unfolds and inevitably ends because it's unsustainable. even the happiest ones with the highest suspension of disbelief tend to end at least bittersweetly, like Harold and Maude. occasionally we're tasked with the characters ending up together but it's a tragic ending because their relationship is super fucked up, like Phantom Thread.

so i guess that's the key: setting your suspension of disbelief. how "realistic" is the relationship and its consequences? The Reader is hyperrealistic and so it has an extremely low suspension of disbelief; both hanna and michael experience the consequences of their actions (mostly hanna's actions) to a degree so high that the entire film is about those consequences.

Harold and Maude, on the other hand, has like a 60 year age gap and the suspension of disbelief is commensurate with that. we're asked to believe maude can steal cars mostly without consequence and harold can turn a jaguar into a hearse. so tasked with believing those things, plus the stylistic elements of the film, the average audience member is pretty on board with harold falling in love with maude.

another consideration is the neurodivergence of the characters. in Leon the Professional, leon himself is a hypercompetent hitman but he's also emotionally very innocent and naive, and he struggles to form intimate relationships. meanwhile mathilda is outgoing, affectionate, and puts on a good front of wisdom. there are a lot of reasons a person's mental and emotional age may not match up with their physical age. in some cases, a person can feel both significantly younger and older than they are simultaneously. and it's those sorts of characters who often find their way into age gap stories. in fact despite what The Discourse would have you believe, very few age gap narratives are about straight-up predatory behavior.

what i find interesting is that in all my research of age gap stories, the only stories portrayed are the whirlwind romance ones. it's seen by default as unrealistic and unacceptable to be in an an age gap relationship. but there are some cultures in which age gaps are normal. but i guess when it's normalized it ceases to be interesting enough to write about. the appeal of an age gap story tends to be in the taboo of it, the "us against society" mentality, where society nearly always wins.

based on your description, it sounds like you have an age gap story where the gap affects the plot, and you also have a low suspension of disbelief. possibly the story may be a character study of the 21 year old, how she overpowers the 50 year old, and the consequences of they experience because of it, in the same way that Lolita is actually about humbert and the mirage of lolita, and dolores can only be seen between the lines. if you want the characters to stay together at the end, the work of the story will be convincing your audience they're right for each other despite being 29 years apart, unless their staying together is a tragedy.

so i would consider who these characters are and how their lives have led them to the feasibility of this relationship. what is it about them in particular that attracts them to one another? what will be their tragic downfall?

in addition to the movies i've cited above, i also recommend Sweet Bird of Youth, Secretary, Oldboy (korean version), Fish Tank, Y Tu Mama Tambien, American Beauty, Magnolia, and The Handmaiden. movies that feature age gap that i didn't particularly like but which still do interesting things are Stoker, Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Phantom Thread, Call Me By Your Name, and An Education. there are plenty i haven't seen and even more i haven't read but i hope these are a good place to get started to generate some ideas of how you want to approach your story.

[specialofficerlemons]

Not entirely sure what to call this. This was just some thought goo I had to get out of my head. I started writing it before the Chorus trilogy had finished, possibly between seasons 12 and 13? I don’t remember. I was exploring a lot of themes of Wash having been a long time trauma survivor and Tucker having more recent trauma and them having to navigate their relationship together and survive. This is assuming a present Tuckington situation and a past Norkington situation.

It’s not a fleshed out fic, just a lot of ideas? An outline I guess? Idk. Let me know if you enjoyed it or what you think. I know Chorus trilogy is like old news :P

-

Things were finally looking up for the gang when they were on their ship back to blood gulch. Wash thinks he might be able to live a relatively normal life, or at least more fun being with his goofy idiots, and he's happy being with Tucker, the happiest he's been with anyone since North and York died. Then, when the ship crashes on Chorus he goes into a downward PTSD spiral. Things are uncertain, they're trapped in the canyon, they're running out of supplies, Carolina and Church are gone, and no one else seems to be worried. He becomes frustrated with his friends and his lover for how lightly they're taking their situation when Wash knows that this could be the end and he just can't shake the feeling that he's being watched. He has nightmares. He gets up in the middle of the night to patrol the perimeter. He spends all his energy trying to get the comm tower online. He hopes that Tucker would understand their situation or at the very least care enough about him to take it seriously. When he doesn't react well, Wash gets mad. He makes the blue team run more drills, trying to impress upon them the seriousness of the situation, but it just makes it worse. He alienates them. He fights with Tucker. They don't sleep in the same room anymore. Tucker opts to sleep in Caboose's room. He feels abandoned, by his friends, by his lover, by Carolina and Church who disappeared without any warning. Every day he is reminded how he's driving everyone away. He tries to create order, but only creates chaos. He gets the feeling that if something terrible does happen (a feeling he can't shake) that everyone will be hurt because of him. He's lost too many people and doesn't know how to handle it. His demotion is almost a fatal blow. He loses all semblance of control and can't even pretend anymore.

He almost welcomes Locus's assault on them. He finally has a chance to show everyone how strong he is, how he can lead them, protect them. He's relieved to have Felix around. Even though he himself has left his killing-people-for-money days behind, he can relate to him, can talk to him. He gives him anything he asks for without hesitation. Things feel less hopeless.

Then, Locus attacks again. They are outnumbered, outgunned, and not even close to battle ready. The last thing he sees and hears before he blacks out is Tucker calling for him. When he wakes up with the Feds he can't make heads or tails about the war. His logical brain tells him that there's rarely ever a good guy and a bad guy in any conflict, but more than that he doesn't care. He needs to get back to his team, needs to be with them. He's so lost without them. It helps having Sarge, Donut, and Lopez around, but he was never as close to red team. If anything, their familiarity with each other makes his loneliness sting even more.

When they are reunited, he is over joyed, but there is not time to celebrate. Felix's betrayal stings more than anything. He wants him dead. Something he hasn't felt in a long time. Having Church and Carolina back is a great relief, but he's still burning the candle at both ends, running out of energy. He and Tucker don't talk about their fights, don't talk about anything. They just hold each other (occasionally interrupted by Caboose who thinks they're having a cuddle pile. Even that is forgivable. He's just glad to have them both back).

He's never felt more proud of Tucker than when he orchestrated the plan to set up Felix and keep the two armies from killing each other. They celebrate when they return to the capital, making love for the first time in what feels like forever. Afterwards, Tucker says something that sounds uncannily like something York and North would say to him and it throws him into an intense flash back. When he comes to, he's curled up in a corner, crying and shaking, calling out for his two dead lovers. Tucker is there, worried, confused, afraid. Tucker asks if he wants to talk about it. He tries to pass it off as nothing. Tucker calls bullshit, but doesn't press the issue. He tells him that when he's ready, he will listen.

Wash is able to keep himself occupied with training the young lieutenants. The routine helps. He's even able to handle Grif's laziness and general uncooperativeness. He can feel the tension between the two previously opposing factions. There is a storm brewing and it's going to break soon.

It's only after discovering that Tucker has been having nightmares about the two men that were killed (Cunningham and Rogers) that he tells him about North and York. As much as he was distancing himself from any kind of feelings at the time, he acknowledges the role that it plays in when he killed South. It was true that she couldn't be trusted not to kill him when it suited her, but he was less upset about her shooting him in the back and more enraged by her murdering North. Tucker asks the occasional question, sometimes serious, sometimes joking (asking if they needed to add another person to their relationship and Wash assuring him that he was enough, that he practically counted as two men). Tucker talks about the men he lost on the raid of the fed's base, how they weren't just faceless enemy soldiers. He knew their names, he knew how scared they were, and it was his fault that they died. Wash wants to tell him that their sacrifice saved a greater number of people, but he knows it wouldn't help. The worst part, Tucker tells him, is how Felix reacted. Sure, it was callous, he knew that at the time, but he assumed that was just how he was. But now knowing that he was being played? That Felix laughed at the lives lost just ate away at him. It helps dissipate some of the tension, but it doesn't help the ever growing fear of what to come.

Felix's words stick in his mind. "This is a war. Not everyone comes back." He's lost too many people, killed too many people. He was betrayed by those he trusted most. The reds and blues don't see the threat. It's understandable, considering how well they've evaded death, what with how many times they'd been shot, Simmons being a cyborg, Grif having bits of Simmons, the whole business with Church and Tex. So far, everyone had survived against all odds. They haven't lost anyone like Wash has.

He spends a lot of time with Epsilon. They share memories about their time with project freelancer. Epsilon shows him how he can play old journal entries and obliges playing York's and North's over and over again while he sobs into his hands. It’s not as easy talking to Carolina, even though they lost the same people. Carolina was able to let go of everything but Tex and the Director, who consumed all of her energy for so long. He gets to talk to memories of Delta and Theta. Theta cries with him and even Delta expresses a logical amount of grief.

[bansenshukai]

So to be totally honest, every single time I have ever posted art it's been a struggle to actually add ship/character tags. (I'm using the term art abstractly here, to apply to both writing/drawing).

And this is because I'm scared, on some level, of my art being perceived by others (I know this is a normal feeling, I'm not looking for someone else to give me absolution btw. Please don't try to reassure me, I don't need it). But especially since I'm so rarely fully satisfied with my own work, my natural instinct is to clutch it and shove it away and go "No, don't look at it, look at something better instead".

Anyway, I am not my thoughts. So I post and tag anyway. I refuse to let my silly fear take control of me. Who am I to decide whether other people do or don't enjoy my art? It's literally out of my hands. Trying to decide other people's opinions for them is just arrogance.

I vowed to myself when I created this blog that I would post my fandom art here, because I wanted it all archived in one spot, and that I would genuinely enjoy my own blog. So I will. And I have! Ultimately this blog is by me for me, and thankfully I've remained apathetic about followers/notes. (Mostly I use it like a fandom diary.)

And as much as I complain or point out flaws in my own work (which I should probably do less of, but yk. work in progress. also complaining is wicked fun), I still genuinely enjoy making it. I can still look at the piece and appreciate what I put into it (most of the time, bc absolutism doesn't exist), which is super important because there is no magical future where you suddenly improve and flip a switch into liking your own art.

How you feel about what you make won't change, because you always live in the present and must confront your current work in the now. It doesn't matter how good you become. The future you, with the perfect beautiful art doesn't exist, because by the time you reach it it will merely be the present you. So you need to enjoy the now, because there is no other state of existence.

Also, I post these because I dunno, I always liked reading other creators' thoughts/struggles on their blogs, because it made me realize that doubt and fear were normal things that everyone feels. Something I realized was that it doesn't matter how good you think an artist is-- they too struggle with their own work. It's something natural that you must deal with and move on. A healthy relationship with your own art (be it writing/drawing/music/pottery/etc) doesn't mean that you don't feel negative thoughts and emotions. It just means you are equipped to deal with those feelings in a productive manner and aren't consumed by them.

[musical-chick-13]

What OTPs in your fandoms do you just not get? 🖤

Salty ask list.

Most of them, if we're honest.

I mean...okay, there are some that I don't get because they hit tropes I don't like. But if you like those tropes or dynamics or want this specific thing for one of the characters, I'd understand why you'd like that ship. (Like J*ime/Br*enne. Not for me, but I understand the theoretical appeal for people who are not me.)

But there are many where my feelings are, "Even if you like this trope/dynamic, I don't understand what any person could possibly get out of this." The answer to this question is for ships that fall under this category.

(NOTE: THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I IN ANY WAY JUDGE OR HATE PEOPLE WHO DO LIKE THESE SHIPS. THEY ARE SIMPLY NOT FOR ME. I AM HAPPY FOR YOU IF YOU SEE SOMETHING I DON'T.)

Some of them are probably obvious. Raúl/Sofía from CtrlZ (which I've DEFINITELY already talked about at length), Ch*ck/Bl*ir (HE SOLD HER!! LITERALLY!!!! THERE IS NO COMING BACK FROM THAT!!!!!!!!!!!), R*ylo (if you wanted a "moral conflict from hero/villain tension, DarkShip" kind of thing, the movies didn't deliver on that because they tried to woobify him, but if you wanted fully woobified Kenneth, they didn't bother to make him likeable, so I genuinely personally don't understand how anyone could be in any way satisfied with anything that happened regarding this ship). I was never into T*n/R*se (but that's just because I didn't really care about either of these characters, and also look at what happened to the love of my life Martha as a result of it). I also am not into that era's dr/m.aster pairing for the same reason of "not really caring about the characters." j0ner*s I think had potential, but I felt like the entire development of their relationship was extremely rushed (he was her prisoner for most of it, and they were fighting for like all of season 7 and then suddenly he's like, "Oh you are EVERYTHING to me" and I was like, "dude, how." I was actually excited to see this one play out because of the differences in how they both viewed power and what J's more simple, present-oriented wants were, versus D's broader, more ambitious, future-oriented goals, as well as the fallout of their being related and how that would compare to the way everyone in-universe treated J/C, but then they just...didn't explore...any of that...at all.......)

But I think, honestly the biggest one is probably Th*smin. Like...aside from people just wanting 13 to date a woman, I cannot find any reason why someone would ship this at all. (I will henceforth refer to the "Th" part of the ship as "Th" and the other half as "Y.")

I'm going to put the rest of this under a cut because apparently I have more Things to Say™ about this than I initially thought I did. Also spoilers for the latest episode of the show in question. I won't tag them because if I do it will end up in the show tag, and some shipper will actually kill me for saying this, oh God, this is how I die isn't it, try to get Lea Salonga to sing at my funeral.

Again, this is ONLY MY OPINION, and I harbor no ill will toward anyone who likes this ship, nor do I think they're a bad person or something because that's really stupid.

Like...Oh, God, I'm going to get shot for saying this aren't I. I just don't think...their relationship is...built?? On anything???? I get Y's crush, because yeah, sometimes if you're a Super Cool Smart Wacky Alien Who Intimidates People and Shows People the Wonders of the Universe, someone is going to develop a crush on you. And I think the development of that was set up really well. But the alien in question?? She has NEVER indicated any type of romantic interest in anyone. And all of a sudden it's, "I wish we could be here forever" and "If I were to ever Settle Down™, it'd be with you" (which...girl...you did settle down...twice...once with your wife on Darillium and once watching over The Vault......like..... what..........???). She has never shared anything personal with Y and has never interacted in any way with her that was different to how she interacted with anyone else, up until this last episode. Most of Y's growth has been done apart from her supposed love interest. What is this relationship even based on???? Even people who do ship this in earnest, how could they possibly be happy with what they've gotten???????

I just...I think ultimately the thing that Bugs Me™ is that Y just doesn't...feel like a fully complete character sometimes to me. Everyone in the show keeps talking about how she's "One of the best people" and don't get me wrong, I do like her! But she's nice and competent and gets along with people, and lots of characters on this show are nice and competent and get along with people? I don't understand why she's so Special™. And that wouldn't usually be that much of a problem for me, but that Special™ness is cited as the reason why Th likes her. And then they expect me to believe that this alien lady, who has never been able to open up, discuss her emotions, or handle anything with any degree of maturity, who is practically allergic to emotional honesty, is all of a sudden willing to take the initiative, with pretty much no angst at all, to talk about her romantic relationship with a person she is full-time travelling with and thus would be extra interested in preserving the status quo with? (Presumably because, again. This character is The Most Special™. So things are Different™ in this case.)

And don't even get me started on how she clarified that statement of "one of the best people" with "even my wife." Like if you're just going to try to elevate the New Love Interest to be So Much More Important and Special and Better than the old one, I'd rather you not mention River at all. Yeah, yeah, that's probably not what Chris meant but it sure read that way on paper to me as an audience member.

I just cannot see this erratic, emotionally troubled alien who Struggles To Be Good, who is constantly going through an identity crisis, who is first and foremost a mess ever romantically bonding with someone who isn't also at least a little messy. And that's the thing. Y isn't messy. Not even a little bit. Even when they had an opportunity to introduce mess with the Mental Illness Implied Depression episode, they did nothing with it.

There's...there's not actually anything unlikable about Y at all. And so not only do these two characters seem incompatible to me, I find it very hard to be invested in Y sometimes. (See previous answer about how characters being ideal or hyper-capable will never be resonant or escapist to me.)

And I guess just (haha, getting personal, I'm so sorry I know that absolutely no one signed up for this)...why is it never people like me who get to Fall In Mutual Love With The Wacky Smart Charismatic Space Alien? Why do the people who get the Exciting Love Interests or who are seen as Desirable™ and Special™ always have to be the thin, pretty, "normal" ones under 35 who don't ever fuck up? Why do the messy characters or characters with emotional/personal issues of who have to take awhile to figure shit out never get to be happy or fall in love (if they even get written at all)? Even if a character with mental illness does get to have any of that, it's always in one context: the symptoms are crying prettily and it's not shown affecting their life in any significant way after the piece of media establishes that they have it. (Which uh, surprise surprise, is what happened here.) It's like, "Oh, mentally ill people can have Love and Happiness and Respect and Cool Story Things, but only if they come as close to resembling a neurotypical person as possible." You can't exhibit any of the ugly parts of mental illness (or really of just...being a human, really, it doesn't even have to be if you're mentally ill), because otherwise you're Not Worthy of [insert whatever happy ending trope here]. Everything women have to do to be Worthy of Love has to be Soft and Pretty and Personable and Universally Likable, and I've just seen that story too many times for it to interest me in any way anymore.

Like...Idk. There's nothing here of substance to me, and it also happens to hit basically every single trope that annoys me, so I'm just -_-

[phoenixtakaramono]

Thank you for answering my q ♥️. The thing about Bingqiu is, you're probably right about LBH having many possibilities for love interests although it saddens me a little that in this aspect Bingqiu aren't like Hualian or Wangxian because no matter what circumstances or AU, you could hardly find a better partner for either of them. Wangxian and Hualian are IT for eo while SY is replaceable. Wangxian and Hualian are inevitable while Bingqiu is not. Idk, I love them that's why it makes me sad.

I had a long response on mobile, and then the app closed on me without saving. :’) *cries*

Happy to reply to your asks, anon! 💗 That’s a very interesting perspective actually. Although while some could find it disconcerting, I personally think it’s amazing to see such variety. I also think Bingqiu is less of a “one-time deal” than you think, OP (at least, I like to headcanon in every universe or timeline, there is a Shen Yuan for Luo Binghe—because that’s a romantic thought so long as it’s not a terrible AU LBH). Or as the more extreme diehard Bingjiu fans put it, a SJ for every Luo Binghe. The other ships like Bingjiu (this could be argued) and LQG/LBH are fanon, but Bingqiu is presented in SVSSS as a fated match (it just took a whole lotta misunderstandings to reach that point; whew, what a huge “love trial!”)

Hmm, so these are just some more of my personal thoughts on the MXTX ship(s): I wish Bingqiu was as popular and accepted as Hualian and Wangxian, but SVSSS is supposedly the least well-known out of the three despite its seniority. Out of all her works so far (at the time of this post, we have not yet heard more information of her upcoming fourth novel), I think the Bingqiu ship is a little less clear cut because, and this is no fault of her own, one party is a modern man who’d transmigrated into another man’s body. This identity theft/body snatching muddles somethings and raises questions for a few readers; furthermore, MXTX did not write a scene revealing the truth of SY’s transmigration in the main story and in the extras—which I feel could help this couple feel “authentic” and “deserved.” In MDZS and TGCF, there is no imposter syndrome or transmigration throwing a monkey wrench into the relationship. It’s pretty clear cut. In SVSSS, the relationship thusly can feel a little...I hate to use this word, but it can come across as “disingenuous.” Which is a shame because we see Shen Yuan as SQQ say such romantic lines like these near the end of the book (ugh, my heart 💘):

The second he flipped open ‘Proud Immortal Demon Way,’ the story officially began; the moment he closed ‘Proud Immortal Demon Way,’ the story still remained unfinished.

Or, in other words, the story that circulated among the people of the world has already come to an end. But, the story between you and me has only just begun. (—SVSSS)

But, for context though, under the assumption some of you guys aren’t super familiar with transmigration trope (I’d binged almost the entire genre of transmigration stories from translated light novels to transmigration manhuas/manhwa/and isekai manga at the height of my obsession...it’s literally one of my new favorite genre tags), there are only a handful of works where the main character admits to being a modern wo/man who’d transmigrated into another person’s body in whichever fictional work belonging to the premise. It’s unusual to see them reveal that information. Why?

Because the main character knows they would be called crazy or be looked at with worried/ sympathetic looks (if you tell someone who’s alive and breathing that you came from a different world from another time, and that they were fictional characters or NPCs in your previous world, they would naturally think you’ve either gone mad or are temporarily delusional/confused or have a wild imagination and are playing a joke on them)

Revealing such info could lead to dangerous situations like an unstable universe or to its collapse (some other transmigration works have done this), or their own lives being threatened (like the fear of the character’s loved ones realizing their child/lover/whomever was replaced by the soul of a stranger) in a strange and unfamiliar world that they were uprooted into

Sometimes the System strictly forbids it

Sometimes the MC is willing to discard their previous identity (oftentimes plain or boring or overworked/ stressed or financially troubled) and start over as a new identity, so they essentially disown their mundane past and wholeheartedly embrace their new role

It’s more of the norm to see the main character embrace their new role aka this new identity in the new world. So it’s not so strange to me that Shen Qingqiu never admitted to being Shen Yuan in canon to Luo Binghe. (Plus, I doubt the System would even allow him to, because his true identity and the knowledge that there is another world out there is confidential fourth-wall-breaking information that a book character like the protagonist should not be privy to.)

Another thing that is different is that in TGCF, we find out Hua Cheng/ San Lang was head over heels for Xie Lian from start to finish (my gosh, all time biggest simp & the world record holder for the most patient love and devotion that has lasted for practically so long 😭 he really is his most devoted believer). In MDZS, the romance between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian is also pretty clearcut (oh gosh, Lan Wangji, when we find out how much he cares for WWX, ugh, my heeeeeart). In SVSSS, Luo Binghe started out as a sweet, devoted disciple in the first half of the story (embodying the “white lotus” archetype) who then blackened in the second half of the story (I know some people don’t like to see LBH being typecast as a yandere, but his actions—while influenced by Xin Mo—highkey reminded me of a yandere at that time) and we nervously read his interactions with Shen Qingqiu until the penultimate conclusion. And then in the extras we see them bonding and even getting married! MXTX was definitely trying to show post-main story that Bingqiu is a happy relationship and is OTP.

And another thing I’ve noticed is there is no real alt. ship competition compared to the canon ship in both MDZS (although technically it can be argued JC/WWX is one such competition, but...I mean, it’s easy to see why people ship it, especially since fanfiction allows us to play with so many different possibilities) and TGCF (I mean, technically I can see Xie Lian with...oh god, I’ve also seen quite a few alternative ships (as you can see, anon, I’m quite the open-minded reader, even if I do have my favorites...which tend to be the canon couple of whichever fictional work) and some of them were intriguing, but I ship Hualian hardcore. For SVSSS, while I also ship Bingqiu hardcore, I also like Bingyuan (Binggeyuan), but it’s also interesting to see the other alternative ships in the fandom. Bingqiu still dominates the fandom in the end (as do all canon couples in all fandoms).

Since it’s canon OTP, I personally don’t see SY as “replaceable.” MXTX is pretty clear about her couples all having their red strings of fate (Wangxian, Hualian, and Bingqiu). Bingqiu was still the canon endgame OTP in SVSSS. SVSSS is indeed MXTX’s first work (I could see why it’s considered rough around the edges), but the build up to the romance, to the “Oh” moment, are different from the setup in MDZS and TGCF where the main characters had good romantic sexual chemistry. LWJ and WWX were mutually in love with each other (the subtle gestures and the overt ones). Xie Lian also wasn’t afraid to bond and inevitably reciprocate Hua Cheng’s/San Lang’s affections. With SY!SQQ...in SVSSS, SY spends a good first half and almost half of the second half of the book oblivious to LBH’s crush on him, and we read SY vehemently declaring himself a straight man. Yet it’s the littlest actions he does that show how much he cares for LBH. He’s also an unreliable narrator, lol. But that’s where the humor comes from: the misunderstandings. SVSSS is mostly comedy and satire/parody/genre deconstruction imo making fun of established Chinese fan culture norms; romance is included but I don’t think it’s SVSSS’ focus. The romance here is so much less...”overt” (I’m not sure what word would work here) than MXTX’s other works and we have to rely on subtext (like how SY, himself, a man, poetically describing another man’s eyes—LBH—as obsidian starry night skies SY, so hella romantic 🙄 and him mentioning over and over again how attractive LBH is like, SY, we get it, LOL, and him throwing himself into life-threatening situations for LBH like saving his life even though he knows LBH has plot armor from his protagonist’s halo). I really like the first half of SVSSS and chapter(s) near the end, and the extras personally. I think they show more of the happy ship dynamic (the tragic middle is hard for me to reread multiple times without me feeling like an incurable M).

I do appreciate that MXTX must have belatedly instinctively realized with her writer’s instincts (or she heard feedback) that she needed to show a bit more of the Bingqiu relationship after the main story was done to show that, yes, troublesome things did happen but this is the endgame couple for a reason and they’re happy together. So I’m appreciative for the extras.

While she does leave things a bit open to interpretation (lol, such as LQG’s misunderstanding in the succubus extra; I joke that LQG is like the typical second ML—since the 2nd ML in Chinese works never gets “the girl” over the protagonist despite being qualified), she did write the succubus extra where Madam Meiyin checked Shen Qingqiu’s love fortune. While it could be argued that since this was Shen Qingqiu’s body, her divination was Shen Jiu’s life story essentially—particularly the past—but you also see ambiguous passages like this:

Madam Meiyin examined it for quite some time, and her expression became increasingly solemn as time passed.

Perplexed, she said, “Immortal Master, my learnings must’ve been too shallow, for this red line of your past seemed a little… …unclear. When I first observed it, it seemed like you were destined to be alone. However, when I take a closer look, I can see a very faint line of marriage.” (—SVSSS)

I always like writers who leave things open to interpretation^. In this case, Madam Meiyin made a weird expression when she was reading out Shen Qingqiu’s love fortune. I headcanon this was the System interfering with her divination, because this is an NPC. Shen Yuan, a modern man, transmigrated into the cannon fodder villainous NPC. She of course wouldn’t be able to see Shen Yuan’s past (that’d be breaking the fourth wall) so the muddling is essentially the System’s censorship in play. But she does hint at Shen Qingqiu’s (SY) destined lover essentially—and her descriptions seems to be pretty clear to the audience that she’s talking about Luo Binghe being the person at the other end of the red string of fate. (Although, lol, LQG’s misunderstanding, hahaha. And SY’s obliviousness, dear lord. I want to facepalm and laugh simultaneously.)

Haha, don’t worry. I think we’re pretty much all suckers for lifetime romances. I think it’s also fun to see all the different fanon ships in all of MXTX’s works (that’s the beauty of fanfiction) but the canon ship is canon.