#revisiting qianqiu in the year of our eternal suffering 2k24 and you know what? it still holds up!!

[hunxi-after-hours]

LOVE your thousand autumns meta. you've commented how certain characters are heroes of some other novel and that's how i feel about lady qin 500%. it's her birthday party, someone accuses her of using a relationship with an enemy to steal his symbol of authority, her sons are OUTRAGED, and then she's just like "yeah i did that, no regrets, wearing it right now actually". not to mention her hidden sword moment when yuwen xian's killed. she's in like two scenes but WHO IS SHE WHAT IS HER STORY

ok but you see meng xishi just DOES this, she casually tosses out all of these side characters that can carry their own stories and then doesn't elaborate on any of them!!! which is like, 1) a power move but also 2) really makes her jianghu feel dimensional and populated. our narrative may be firmly anchored to Shen Qiao, and we follow his perspective throughout the political centers and the geographical frontiers, but you as the reader get the sense that the world continues to move and change beyond your sight, which is such an understated but deft turn of writerly skill