#rly no one be doing it like svsss

[binghe-malewife-goals]

Adam: In my anger and pursuit for justice, I drove my creator to anguish so great he perished... I hurt everyone he loved, no matter how innocent they were, just to make him as lonely and wretched as I... I'm truly a monster.

Bingge: In MY anger and pursuit for justice, I framed my Shizun for multiple crimes. Once I had him in the dungeons all to myself, I would visit him whenever I pleased just to torture him. I married his beloved almost daughter, slaughtered his sect and students, and tore his appendages off him until he was nothing more than a torso with one eye and no tongue. Then, I would reattach his limbs, just to do it all over again. I made him write a letter in his own blood to lure his beloved into a trap, including his legs for good measure. Then I brutally murdered his beloved and brought the spoils of my victory to him. All I ever wanted was his attention. I hated him, I wanted him to suffer, yet his suffering was never enough to fill the gaping, yawning hole inside of me. And then I realized I wanted to fuck him when I meet a different version of him.

Adam:

Adam: jesus christ.

[nyoomerr]

JIN LAN CITY TIME LOOP IM SOOOOOO CHIN ON HANDS FOR IT

IT'S ON MY LIST TO WRITE!! unfortunately that list is three pages long... orz....

but the idea of lbh keeping sqq trapped in the loop, all while sqq doesn't know that lbh is experiencing the loop with him, is soooo tasty.

lbh would be unable to move on from sqq's death, refusing to part from the last moments sqq was alive until he's able to find a way to end the loop without sqq self destructing. does he know that sqq is looping with him? does he want to know, when every loop sqq turns away from him, condemns him, and then still dies? could lbh bear to know that sqq is making those same choices over and over and over?

it isn't for us to know! after all, all we have is sqq's pov, and he only knows of himself in this loop. what reason do we have to doubt him? the system has done wackier stuff, and we've all read "just like a monkey, i've been dancing my whole life." to us, sqq is clearly just stuck in this loop until he finds a way to reconcile with lbh.

meanwhile, sqq's desperation to escape the loop would only heighten with every iteration, and sqq's "escape" plans all rely on his own death. lbh's qi deviation would come earlier and earlier, and his mental stability would grow even more brittle, and -

and by the time sqq has reached the point of just giving up and doing whatever lbh wants, lbh isn't in the headspace to accept that. all lbh can do is keep the loop running.

and oh, sqq, what else is there to do? isn't the final, most desperate act to get out of a time loop to confess to someone else that the loop is happening?

wouldn't it most make sense if the person who must hear that confession is lbh?

...oh, sqq, lbh already knows.

[cosmic-carpals]

realizing on book 3 of tgcf that i actually don't enjoy it.....tragic

[ghostclowning]

SVSSS IDOL AU BRAINROT

i was going insane about it on my twt but here's a brief summary:

LBH is the top ultimate absolute idol with countless fans, one of then being SY. SY loves him sm that he even decided to become an idol himself, hoping to get closer to him(he first discovered LBH when he was in high school,,,since LBH's career started real early). He also dragged SQH into it...but, frankly spoken, they're quite a second-rate band.

Looking at it realistically, both understand that there's no chance they'll ever get to even stand next to LBH, but SY keeps trying!! And SQH hooks up with LBH's hot manager(accidentally)(they're so crazy about it). Anyway, SQH drops out bc yo...screw being a scum idol...they earn way less than they waste. And LBH's manager is hot and offers to live with him and shit. SY can't rly judge him, bc, yeah. SQH even tries to carefully get his hot manager daddy(who happens to be MBJ) to help SY, but fails and never talks about it again. Bros be bros but he likes where he is now and wouldn't want to risk annoying his bf too much. Especially considering how much he can make now being a secret paparazzi/reporter thing, since MBJ basically opened the doors to the big world for him.

One day SY's video with performance got absolutely accidentally spotted by LBH's former agency...YQY immediately notices how similar he is to their idol SJ. And SJ has one major flaw: his absolutely non-idolish temper. On stage he could keep an image, but off stage? Letting him out in public was not the safest thing to do, especially if he was in bad mood.

SY received an invitation for audition, and he passed. He was not as good at SJ, but that could be fixed with some practice; besides, he didn't need to be as skilled anyway. All he had to do is substitute SJ on shows, interviews, fan meetings etc. Of course, SY would have to get rid of all evidences of his past career and stuff, but he gladly agreed bc after SQH's leave he lost any hope. He knew he just won't make it all alone.

He knows that this agency is also the one that LBH initially belonged to, but later left for unknown reasons. Well, now he found out the reasons.

Young Binghe decided to become an idol because someone told him he looks like a famous permormer from the past...He tried looking it up and dived into idol industry. Everybody loved idols, and idols had a lot of fans to love. LBH decided to try bc his life of an orphan, there were no direction or perspectives anyway. He passed the auditions only bc SJ, another idol a couple years older than him, spotted him and recognized his talent immediately. SJ wanted to make a band with LBH, cause in the long run, this talent would bring benefits to SJ as well. After all, if LBH steals too much spotlight, SJ knows many ways how to get rid of him.

At same time, SJ never hesitated to treat LBH like trash, but LBH thought SJ is just trying to make him work harder. And LBH stole the spotlight way, way faster than SJ expected him to. In fact, everyone even forgot about SJ. Everyone was only talking about that one new idol that's now performing with him. and SJ tried to make a scandal around LBH, realizing the danger he possessed. The conflict was regulated by YQY, bc in the long run this could harm SJ and the agency as wellm but LBH could no longer keep justifying SJ. He left the agency, but he now knew better than to trust whoever.

During his time in the agency, he also found out some things about the permormer he once was compared to...and with the help of YQY's connections, figured this man could have been his father. Of course, that was to be kept in a secret...Because his father misteriously disappeared before Binghe was even born. Disappeared bc his reputation has been absolutely ruined, and he was accused in so many crimes that it felt absurd; his rep was so bad, that his lover(as Binghe suspected, that must have been his mother) was killed by some crazy fan...Anyway, according to YQY, who's been in the industry for quite a while and knew it better, "there were so many gossips and rumours that at this point it's hardly possible to say if anything known about him is true".

(In truth, it indeed was mostly fabricated...The only mistake that artist made was falling in love and having affairs with a daughter of a family with huge influence. Said daughter did not want it to end like this, but her family never really asked her opinion.)

LBH now knew how easily one's career can be broken here. And he learned a lot more...curious things. But he made his way up to the top, facing the difficulties, paparazzis and secret offers to trade his face and body for promotions(as for would he agree to those or not, this one leaves that up to your imagination).

He wanted to find out the truth about his parents, but most importantly, he had a taste of everyone's love and attention, and he wasn't ready to give it up. He was sure he won't repeat the mistakes of others...because he's not an idiot.

On stage, his bright smile filled the hearts of others with joy and passion, but nobody knew that behind the curtains, his own heart is cold and empty.

But when SY gets to meet him for the first time, he has to play SJ's role!! Fuck!! Meanwhile LBH stops playing as soon as he's out of the fans' reach.

But one day LBH figures out SY is a substitute!! Which is dangerous cuz they cannot let it leak that SJ is a fake!! but LBH doesn't hurry to reveal the secret, bc SY is kinda fine and fun to toy with....and then......... And here i got exhausted lol bye

[danmei-confessions]

I truly think SVSSS deserves a revision more than any of MXTX's other novels.

I love the novel, yes, but it is poorly written. MXTX rushed the chapters after Bbingqiu's reunion due to using VIP lock for the first time and it makes the writing distinctly worse. I understand that she was young while writing it, which is the whole reason why it deserves a revision. The novel could have so much more potential than it currently does and it's no wonder that it's her least popular when even fans of her other novels choose to not read it due to being uninterested.

So much more story could be added, or just minor details. For example, we barely know anything about the 12 peaks all together, and unless you make up facts, there's practically nothing on their peak lords too. I see complaints about the SVSSS wiki being empty regarding the peak lords and I hate to say it, but that's NOT due to the moderators but rather pure lack of content. Hell, most of the facts that do existed were only in the light novel and not in the web novel at all. There's such little information it's really not shocking that the fandom runs on head-canons. In all 100 chapters of her novel, half of it in slightly plot, while the other is SQQ being... SQQ.

I have so many thoughts on the potential SVSSS has:

Despite it being mentioned that there are 'plenty of minor sects' we only hear the name of one.

Despite sects like Tian Yi or Zhao Hua being a part of the main 4, we know almost nothing about them, how they run, or their disciples/sect lead (literally the only named Tian Yi disciples are the 3 nuns). We also don't know their locations, what locations they control, or their history

The past events of SVSSS (before SY transmigrated) are so messy. Theres only 2 timelines I've found here on tumblr and even those are so different from each other. Theres no clear years compared to TGCF or MDZS and its so frustrating. This also leaves characters practically age-less (other than like. Binghe) unlike her other characters.

Almost none of the side-characters grow development with anyone other than Shen Qingqiu. I say 'almost' but I can not name any off the top of my head. There are characters that have/had such interesting relationships that were completely thrown out the window For The Plot. This is so.... disappointing, considering other character's relationships make up the plot! It's not only the MC!

Everything being rushed is heartbreaking, and with a re-write I think arcs such as the Holy Mausoleum, Jin Lan, Borderlands, etc could become SO much more interesting. Alongside that, the Mai Gu Ridge situation was blown off so fast?? Like, it was mentioned that the Endless Abyss was breaking through CCM, then just never mentioned again...

Power Scaling. Fights. Actual fights between people who aren't LGQ or LBH. We only really got NYY/LPM, MBJ/his uncle, and TLJ/LBH. Most of those were ALSO rushed.

The System's appearance was reduced LARGELY in the later chapters-almost like MXTX forgot about them. The whole first 2 volumes include The System so much, and its unique! functions! all for it to be disregarded and those functions to never be used other than the jade necklace.

Actually going into the wonderous world of PIDW that is claimed to have interesting weapons (only Xin Mo was shown), locations, plants (only Qingsi and that one thats too long for me to feel like typing shown), and creatures (only rly ZZL and Madam Meiyin shown).

That's all I really have right now. I'm not trying to be an anti of MXTX's other novels. I just think that SVSSS has so much potential that she could have brought out if she had chosen to revise it. I love TGCF and MDZS very much, they have great scaling, brought-out potential, and relationships that SVSSS so could have.

I do want to exclaim that out of all her 3 novels SVSSS has been my favorite for years. I genuinely feel upset that it was not the one picked despite how obvious it is that it has barely any NEW content. Or at the least, confirmed facts. In her QNA's most of the questions are purely MDZS/TGCF while there's maybe 2 SVSSS ones. Those few questions answered by her are literally lifelines for some fans. (Such as heights and Moshang) The novel could become popular just if the criticisms/potential of it were actually addressed. I'm not saying that casually but I am very sure of it as MXTX is a freakishly great writer and she COULD take the novel to the same heights as TGCF/MDZS if she truly wanted to.

.

[phil-lesterfan]

yaoi scholar….. pls i finished the untamed and word of honor what should my next drama be 👀 (happy endings only pls)

also i wanna know your fav bls. if you’ve the time!!

hallo! i didn't mean to let this sit for so long, but i've been using my phone more and don't like answering asks there. i don't actually know many cdramas, but i've got other dramas to rec, if that's alright!

(C/K/J)DRAMAS/LAKORNS:

sotus & sotus s (thai)*

history3: trapped (taiwanese)

seven days (japanese)*

manner of death (thai)*

restart after coming back home (japanese)*

together with me (thai)

long time no see (korean)

semantic error (korean)*

you can watch 2moons2 for the full story, but honestly, the original 2moons mingkit cut is everything to me (thai)*

*based off novel/manga/manhwa

20 of my fav bls under the cut :)

initially, i was going to call it my "top 10", but it's not my top ten, it's just favs that i really love or think you (sara) would also enjoy. so it's just 20 "random" favs. if you (general) want, i can upload the 200+ long list and even include "reviews" of my favourites, but i'll only do that upon request. also here's my blanket rec for mxtx's works. svsss is my fav. i'm very easy. thank you <3

20 OF MY FAV BLS:

sotus is very dear to my heart. i watched it right before i went to university, so it really set that mood for me lol it's not a perfect story, the audio is shit at some parts, and the acting was sometimes stiff, but when the show hit, my fucking god did it HIT. of course i roped all my friends into watching it. it was based on a novel, but the novel didn't particularly stand out to me (sorry). there's also a manga now (3 vols) but i'm just loyal to the show, y'know? it also has a sequel, and that one made one of my friend cry (i actually had to pause the show lol), but for me, the first season is what's rly stellar. (lakorn / rewatches: 4? 5? a lot?)

sasaki and miyano by syou harusono is such an easy read, with lovely art, cute characters, and the softest, sweetest romance. it makes me feel like i've been hit by a car, then the car backed up and drove over me again. sasaki is the light of my life (and also if i looked like him, i'd never shut up. and i project just a little bit too bc oh he just like me fr), and everyday i think about making him my pfp. i owe syou harusono my life. i want to say more about this bc it rly is my fav manga perhaps of all time but that also means i can't say more about it LOL (manga / rereads: 6)

the cat proposed (bakeneko katatte sourou) by hayane dento is quite possibly the best manga i've ever read. the writing is so beautiful, and it's a really relatable and inspiring story for me. plus it's got catboys. *motions to my dnp catboy pfp* but in all seriousness, it's a genuinely great story that squeezes my heart and leaves me in tears (manga / rereads: 5)

doukyuusei is a certified bl classic. i've not read the entire manga series, but i've got the anime film saved to my laptop. that was another thing i roped all my friends into watching, and yes, everyone was gagged (animanga / rewatches: 4?)

koimonogatari by tagura tohru is incomplete, and the "love" part isn't there yet, but my fucking god. i think i just picked it up for funsies at the bookstore, but man was i unprepared. it's not a fun read by any means, nor is it easy, it's actually pretty brutal, but it's a good story, so i felt i should include it. (it is one of my faves) (manga / rereads: none bc i will kill myself.)

summer of you (kimi wa natsu no naka) by furuya nagisa changed me. it was one of those manga that was in my to read list for a really long time, but i just never did it. when i finally did, i totally regret putting it off. i think i cried. it has a sequel (summer with you), and that was good too, but that first one just really got me (manga / rereads: 1)

fools by yeongha has an art style i will forever be jealous of. the original, that is. i'm sure the remastered version is great, and probably the one i should read, but i'm just way too attached to the original and the art is (in my opinion) way better. the story is fun and sweet, and i read it at another formative time in my life. *jazz hands* (manhwa / rereads: 3)

my darling signed in by dimang and new lung. if there's one thing about me, i'm gonna read a video game catfish story. this manhwa is so fucking ridiculous, but i love it. it actually gets pretty dark, which took me by surprise the first time i read it, but it's not between the main cp, if you're worried about that (manhwa / rereads: 3)

dasadanan by herb mandu also has just lovely art. i can just stare at it for ages bc i'm so obsessed. also there's side gl, and i love those two girls so damn much. the story is very easy to read, fluffy, and it's just good feelings all around. it also has some really silly extras. (manhwa / rereads: 4)

history3: trapped is so... it is also dear to me. the main couple is funny and cute; however, it's the side couple that really gets to me. they're so ridiculous and fun, and the actor for zhao zi is an acrobat? does acrobatic dance? i'm not sure exactly, but they wanted to showcase that so he'd just be doing some random gymnast shit for no reason and it's so funny. and jack was made in a lab for me, so. y'know. (drama / rewatches: 2, about to be 3)

glasses cloth and playlist by gwak jonpil was recommended to me by a friend i believe, and i'm so glad i read it. it's another easy read and also very ridiculous, but when i say something is "ridiculous", that's usually a huge compliment. i LOLed at, like, every other panel. the main cp is so damn ridiculous, and i adore them. (manhwa / rereads: 1)

starting with a lie by liang azha has the softest art i've ever seen. that manhua is like a warm hug, if a warm hug also had you gritting your teeth and clenching your fists because GODDAMN JUST GET TOGETHER FOR REAL ALREADY! i love it. oh, but i don't like qiu tian. sorry. (manhua / rereads: 2)

how to survive as a villain by yi yi yi yi is... look, i'm sure it has flaws, right? every story has flaws, but wherever they are, i did not see them. i mean, it's a little bit ridiculous at times, but again, "ridiculous", and the mc was transmigrated into a once-good now-trashy harem novel. and he's also smart but oblivious. bound to be a little bit silly. but also this novel ripped out my heart and stomped on it. and i thought it wouldn't happen with the manhua, but i cried then too. what the hell. i really enjoyed this story, and i think it's what got me into transmigration stories in general :P (danmei / rereads: 2)

a shoulder to cry on by dongmul. okay. OKAY. this is not a "happy" story to most. also the ending without the extras/epilogue is bittersweet to ambiguous. the issue here is that I LOVE ENDINGS LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!! this story is so damn good and i like the art a lot and god, some of the quotes? every time i reach certain scenes i have to pause and stare at the wall because no fucking way. it's just too good. i should go ahead and warn that the couple doesn't have the healthiest of dynamics and their relationship starts bc one of them lies and accuses the other of sexual harassment, so. i'm just letting you know now. but i let myself have toxic yaoi. as a treat. tbh to me it's not that bad, but i know everyone has different intensity levels, so. (manhwa / rereads: 3)

never understand by bbong is an... interesting read. arguably more toxic yaoi, and everyone at times can be kind of awful and annoying, but i think that's fun. sorry. i vividly remember reading this for the first time. for some reason. also, as with a good amount of manhwa that i read in my more formative years, i like this art style. (manhwa / rereads: 1)

semantic error by j soori and angy kim is a lot more graphic and hardcore (sex-wise) than the kdrama, which makes sense, but like... DAMN! my toxic trait is that every three panels i pause and go "hey does anyone else think these guys look like jaedo?" and the sniper that's supposed to shoot me any time i bring up rps lets me live because i'm objectively right. the characters are so damn infuriating, but i like watching car crashes, so it's alright. plus the art is good and, well, i never said i don't ship jaedo. *glass next to me explodes after a bullet cuts through it* whatever! (rereads: none bc it ended not that long ago. but i'll probably reread it soon)

no.6 by asano atsuko and here comes all the haters being like, "oh, that's not bl!" "that's more than bl!" "[some more dumb shit i don't care about]!" suck my pussy. i don't care. i loooove the novels and hope we get a printed official english translation. people are right to say the romance isn't the focus, but it's there, and honestly, i love plotty shit. i've heard it's supposed to be the "happy version" of banana fish or whatever the fuck, but damn if that's not a fucked up version of happy. i sobbed my fucking eyes out (novel & animanga / rereads: 2)

snow fairy by serizawa tomo. i'm not gonna lie, i don't remember this story, but on my big list it has a heart next to it, and i feel like i cried when i read it. i've said i've cried about like half of these, and i cry when i see something cute or when i think about my blorbo or when a song is pretty, so that means nothing. but this one really got to me! i think it was just a simple story with lovely art. it aches, maybe. actually, i've just found my initial review, which reads: "im so miserable....." (rereads: none, but i'd like to reread it asap)

bj alex by mingwa. insert loud and disappointed "ooh" from the crowd bc really, phil-lesterfan? i thought you were a scholar? with taste? LOOK. i know this is a basic manhwa, and i couldn't give a rat's ass about the side cp, but ahn jiwon somehow became pookie. it is agonising, though, 'cause like i said, i don't care about the side cp, but oh my fucking god, it feels like everyone else only cares about them. shoot me. also the side cp is into bdsm, but you can skip over their shit honestly. (rereads: 2)

aien catharsis by oshima kamome was another manga that'd been in my tbr list for ages. i really like how the story feels. aaaaand i just reread it and ah. i see why it affected me. (if you can guess what line stuck out to me, lmk, i'd love to hear it heh) it's historical fiction and has lovely art. tw for sexual assault, but it's not between the cp and it's also not shown. (manga / rereads: 2)

like i said, i have a lot more favs, so if anyone wants the full list, just ask. or if you don't want the full list, i can give rec lists for certain genres or just manga or just danmei, etc, etc. i know i'm in batman hell right now (ah. western yaoi....), but i've been fujoshing since i was like... ten. okay this is of course way longer than it should be. hope u enjoy if you read any of these ^_^ <3

[trickstarbrave]

20 Questions for Writers

i got tagged by @throughtrialbyfire !!! idk who wants to be tagged though so if you see it. you can do it too :]

ill also answer under a read more

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

24!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

572,669. i have a disease that makes me incapable of shutting up

3. What fandoms do you write for?

i write for TES right now tbh but i've also written for yugioh and fire emblem three houses

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Consequences (fe3h) 1,483 Our Den (fe3h) 1,244 The Secrets We Share to Those We Love (MHA) 946 The World Eater's Eyrie (skyrim) 666 (LMAOOOOO nice) Alduin's Bane (skyrim) 569 (also nice)

5. Do you respond to comments?

god i try to. i love getting comments i just sometimes dont know what to say. i try to stay on top of reading them and responding if i can. if i havent replied to ur comment. i am stupid.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

most of my fics dont have endings tbh. i have either never finished them or they are just nice little one shots. however Siblings (fe3h) with twin byleths where one kills the other was pretty angsty ngl

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhhhhh this is a problem yet again where most of mine are just happy little one shots or are unfinished. but i think To Walk the World with You Again (morrowind) is very happy. it hurts a lot in the beginning but ends with a happy loving reunion :>

8. Do you get hate on fics?

the closest i got was someone saying on Consequences (fe3h) that it shouldnt be tagged as M/M and instead M/F bc byleth was trans but other ppl ripped into them. i havent gotten rly terrible hate since fanfiction.net

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

all the time. i think i am primarily a smut author if im being honest. i just wanna watch my blorbos bone. as for what kind uhhhhh theres multiple kinds????

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i dont think i have. i am just boring tbh

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

again not that i know of but if anyone wants to i wouldnt be against it

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

YES the cannibal au for 5ds with my lil bro. i still think abt that au all the time tbh. it was angsty. it was dramatic. it was complicated. it was filled with hard moral dilemmas and gods with non-human morality and a lot of mythology shit. sad we never finished it tbh but life was getting hectic.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

i dont know. rn i think its nerevoryn but trickstarshipping (where i got my url namesake from) still holds a special place in my heart <3)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Ghosts of the Past (svsss). i really do like the story and had a bunch of it planned out mentally. qinghua's father was going to disown him when qinghua was going to tell him he was dating mobei and refused to hear qinghua out, there was gonna be drama with qinghua's family too where his dad says he firmly believes qinghua is actually the son of his identical twin brother who had an affair with qinghua's mother (his father was already cheating on his mom and she was wrong to do that, but no he is in fact the child of his bio-dad even being disowned). they then spend a summer vacation living together getting an apartment, go visit his uncle, and qinghua learns to enjoy his creative passions while finishing his degree with mobei and shen yuan's help, etc etc

the ending was going to be at a christmas party where qinghua's father catches a glimpse of qinghua at a company party. his wife (qinghua's former step-mother and the revealed mother of qinghua's half siblings rather than step siblings like qinghua grew up believing) thinks hes here to crash the party only for them to see he's there as mobei's boyfriend. his dad then tries to get in good with mobei who just brushes him off with "ah right, i know you. you're qinghua's uncle (since he refused to believe he is actually qinghua's father and it must be his twin brother he resented for being artistic and sensitive). i didnt think you were that close, why are you bothering me?"

qinghua goes on to be an accountant at the company, pretty high up too, and his father ends up quitting out of embarrassment and mobei being especially hard on him once he takes over for the company. he also continues to write his trashy novel while he and mobei plan to get married.

but tbh. i have morrowind brainworms. idk if i will ever finish it. sucks that one of the few stories i had all planned out with cdrama levels of bullshit i was really looking forward to going ham on i lost my motivation for when my hyperfixation changed.

i also wanna finish alduin's bane. i have a lot planned for that i could also spend an insane amount of time explaining. im hoping that the motivation for that one comes back though rather than me simply saying i probably wont finish it

16. What are your writing strengths?

i dont know 🧍‍♂️ if anyone wants to tell me i would appreciate it. i think it is like. i am primarily a romance author so i like working on dialogue, character interaction, stuff like that. ive also gotten compliments on my world building but idk if thats just my ideas or how i write them into the world.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i feel like i struggle with pacing and motivation. as well as stuff like war tactics and full on battles. again i write mostly romance i dont know why i torture myself with stories about war

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

its very hard. ive seen ppl do it well but i find it difficult to read bc i am stupid. even with notes and flicking back and forth i feel like its a struggle to understand even if the goal was to obfuscate the meaning from the audience as well. usually i just do another language in bold font and make it clear the characters are speaking another language. but honestly do whatever you want forever

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i think it was in fact yugioh. i had ocs and daydreamed up storylines but i dont think i really sat down to write a fic until i was 12-13 and was writing a tendershipping fic in one of my notebooks at school lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

tie between Alduin's Bane and Moon and Star. i love my long ass TES fics where i just go ham and play around with the world building and mythology. its a lot of fun and i feel like ive gotten to be very creative in the setting and make something unique and fun with the storylines given in both skyrim and morrowind

thanks for the tag <3 this was a lot of fun and thank u for reading if you did

[theinkgirl]

I posted 6,997 times in 2022

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#mdzs - 1,837 posts

#wangxian - 912 posts

#svsss - 357 posts

#the untamed - 324 posts

#art stuff - 310 posts

#animals - 276 posts

#tma - 178 posts

#fave - 157 posts

#stories - 146 posts

#bingqiu - 140 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and sqq figures out that the sweet pathetic thing is largely an act and thinks it’s ridiculous but aso figures out it’s lbh’s 4d chess ploy

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

“I think living is an act of defiance. Every day you tell the universe, ‘I’m still here. Don’t forget me. I’ve so much I’m going to change.’���

-Hello From the Hallowoods

80 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

#4

omg so glad you thought the same about twv!! I just finished and so many different parts of the last episode made me so mad, idk if they're trying for a season 6 (even after saying this is the finale) but I'm not going to listen anymore. if you have recs for similar podcasts i would rly love them

lol I’m glad some people enjoyed my incandescent rage. Like. Woof.

I’m so sorry you had to sit through that finale. And baiting a new show just. Doesn’t do anything for me. There are so many ways TWV fell short and didn’t follow through that there is absolutely no way that I believe another show by the same writers will do any better. So handshake through the screen, Anon; I am sharing and understanding your problem.

As for recommendations, I like horror podcasts, but I usually like cosmic horror and folk horror best—which is a slightly different flavor of horror usually? Also a lot of the horror that I like is in book form. But for podcast recs, You’ve probably heard all of the ones I like, but here are some ones that I did enjoy:

-The Silt Verses: folk horror. Only one season is currently out. You get a lot of religious trauma, evil capitalism, and mythology somewhere in between nielman and Old Gods of Appalachia. A lot of old gods and their religions have been banned by the government. Two disciples of one of these illegal gods, a river god, are traveling the river looking for evidence of their god’s miracles and existence. The god itself, like All of the gods in this world, is horrifying and requires human sacrifice, the two disciples are both serial killers; and the state-sanctioned gods and the police sent after these disciples are Even Worse.

-The Magnus Archives: Cosmic horror/horror tragedy. Everyone and their dog seems to have listened to this but yeah. I’ve listened to it at least 3 times through. Very very good at not answering every possible question but knowing what questions need answering and answering those. Favorite. Also, I enjoy that it is and was always intended to be a horror tragedy, but that one character became So Powerful in personality and beliefs that they changed the way the author wrote the end. And capitalism is evil.

-Old Gods of Appalachia: LOVE this one. Cosmic horror/folk horror anthology. Capitalism is Definitely Evil. Really, really good understanding of the people and culture it draws from—which makes it feel kind of like home. Lots of angry and powerful women, lots of nuance, fantastic environment, Yuri Lowenthal was there?

-Alice Isn’t Dead: Surreal horror/cosmic horror. Creepy Americana. A woman thinks her wife is dead and then starts to see her in the background on the news, and then becomes a truck driver for the company the wife worked for in order to search for her. A complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Good at knowing which questions to answer. Capitalism is evil. Human beings are hard.

-Hello From the Hallowoods: This show is so /comforting/ despite the horrible things that happen in it that it’s almost strange to call it horror. But it still is. It’s just a very kind horror podcast. This is fantasy horror and cosmic horror. The world changed and began to end when a cosmic horror-type god (an Indescribable) who was then killed, introduced a black rain and black water that killed a lot of life and has altered the rest. The dead rarely stay dead; but they come back changed. There are Monsters in the poisoned world. And a lot of the monsters are just people. A lot of the human people are monsters in disguise. The generation that saw the black rain start is in late middle-age and the children were born into this world. There’s a Huge cast, pretty much every character is queer, pretty much every character is nuanced, and there’s So Much Religious Trauma. Also, capitalism is evil; most of North America (at LEAST) was run by a company whose goal is to have all humans become their ‘customers’ whose bodies are protected while their minds exist in a sort of shared-dream world that was heavily marketed even before the world ended. There’s a huge rotating cast (including undead romance, undead robots, demons trying to defect from Hell, a girl trying to rescue her disappeared girlfriend and her kidnapped-by-capitalism mom, an invisible man, a forest-based commune under attack by evolving frogs, and a sentient car). Everything is narrated by an Extremely Invested and extremely comforting Indescribable whose domain is Watching Everything.

-Welcome to Nightvale. Guys, the show has run longer than it should have. It ran into problems when it started to try to answer some of its many long-running questions that shouldn’t have been answered; and the answers were so much less compelling than the questions. It sort of ossified eventually. BUT. The first several years of this show? Were amazing. This is the Foundation of modern narrative podcasts, and the father of queer podcasts. It’s the reason this medium is so much more diverse than others. This is surreal horror/horror comedy. And the first several years give you an Incredible Environment, occasional real fear, and /The/ Narrator (you don’t GET Jon Sims or Nikigkik or even Doug Eiffel without Cecil Palmer! You just Don’t). I think everyone should listen to this show, at least all of the way through the Strex Corp arc. Capitalism is evil, community is everything.

Honorable Mentions go to:

-I am In Eskew: surreal horror/cosmic horror. Sometimes a person just ends up in this incredibly fucked-up city. This isn’t my favorite kind of horror. But. It was well-written, is a complete story, and it was interesting. It raised some questions that I thought were left too open-ended. But the main character’s arc was told so thoroughly and completely, that I’ll forgive it. The confusing and unfinished vibes are confused and unfinished and bigger-than-the-story like Neverwhere*. If Neverwhere was surreal horror about an environment/city/genius locus that wants to just completely break your mind. Capitalism is still evil.

-Wolf 359: Sci-fi horror/thriller. Starts off as an episodic sci-fi comedy with off notes. Becomes a horror-thriller. Not my favorite brand of horror; some of the plot gets a little convoluted for me; but I did really like the character work. Capitalism is still evil.

*Neverwhere is one of my favorite books ever though. So the vibe isn’t what I didn’t love. It’s just the genre

Anon, again, I’m very sorry; and I hope you find something much better to listen to next.

If anyone else has recs for Anon, please chime in!

108 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#3

What are the tumblr Dracula Daily folks going to do when they get to the end of the Jonathan section. Are they going to switch blorbos? Is Jonathan’s day in the blorbo sun going to be so clearly marked?

200 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#2

my sister was talking about wizard ghost book with me, and was like ‘I know there’s like 7 gay tragedies, but the most canon ones, the nice ones, (she was meaning wangxian and songxiao) both have the surviving person in the couple become the caretaker for the other one’s kid. And I really like that’

And she’s right. It’s a parallel I hadn’t noticed. You can’t not pay attention to LWJ raising WWX’s child while he’s dead. But Song Lan doesn’t just take the shattered fragments of his partner’s soul. He’s given (as if it’s the most natural thing to do) the shattered fragments of his partner’s kid’s soul too. And his stated goal is to safeguard both of them, take care of both of them, figure out a way to repair both of them get both of them back. He doesn’t have any promise he’s getting either of them; but he takes them both. He knew A-Qing for like 4 minutes before death, but that’s his kid now too.

I don’t know where I was going with this, I just saw that official art with Song Lan and the shadows of XXC and A-Qing and started typing at light speed

296 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

mxtx was so fucking baller for making the sex in svsss so bad. the meta deconstructing sex to save the world + why sex with the parody of an archetypical character in LBH model would suck but also just being 25-30+ with zero (0) experience. also it's just king shit to have the only sex in your romance novel be just the worst. legend.

1,744 notes - Posted September 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

I was tagged by @ziracona

So I'm going to tag any of the following people if they want to do it and haven't done it yet: @chellonihaoma @zukkacore @dangerouslytransparentgarden @baddielabelle @aethersea @thistaleisabloodyone @opheliaelric

[idyllic-affections]

🌻 I SEE LOONA SPOTTED HI HELLO my bias is hyeju and im a proud owner of pink hat vivi photocard btw. ok orbit fangirl over AHAJSHSHD

so many new questions...... omg... its always a surprise when i say that i love venti the most HAHA i just rarely talk about him but i WILL be the first one to defend him from anyone.

my favorite artists... mitski. um iron maiden. um plenty of kpop groups that would take way too long to write down. yeah. i listen to anything that sounds cool! honestly ill probably listen to polish rap and american country if i somehow find a song that sounds acceptable to me... yk i can listen to literal yelling and noises and do fine, i really dont care about what im listening as long as i like it HASHSD

my favorite manga is jshk... my friend introduced me to it... sometime around picture perfect arc. i remember being very pissed at hanako and i remember making all kind of theories about the brothers and wow yeah. rly like it. i love how nene and hanako are doomed HARD by the narrative and i worry they wont have a good ending </3 while i dont read manhwas simply because im picky, i do enjoy all that historical so i probably would enjoy historical manhwas!! might start reading them one day

as for books i dont remember and rarely read physical books because i just find it hard on my arms and back 😢 and i dont sadly have like. an ebook reader. been lately thinking about continuing svsss vol. 2 tho. i still like books and movies the most out of medias. and musicals. i love musicals omg!! they are so cool

and my fav animals? foxes. just. just foxes. yeah. thank u

for the life of me, i cannot remember which anon mentioned loona HELPSLP but i hope that anon sees this!!!!!! i think it's very. ool how so many of my anons seem to have shared interests <3

YEAHHHH aphelion and 🌻 anon the venti defenders real and true!!!!

so valid btw my playlist is an blend of genres. it's hard to describe my music taste because my playlist is really just a collection of songs i like. i don't really pay attention to the genre AKSJKFJSKSFJF

THE PICTURE PERFECT ARC GOD. i was also mad at hanako if it's any consolation! they are SOOOO tragically doomed by the narrative....

foxes are so silly they are also on my list of favorites!! such silly little guys.

[oh-no-boi]

man.... thinking abt how long ago my dream was to be one of those writers on tumblr who could just take prompts and write drabbles.. but i was never like truly crazy abt any otp that i was reading fics abt, like i liked the dynamic but they were my blorbos i guess

and now for the first time ever, im in a fandom, in fandom discords and have done the winter svsss exchange twice, and entered the summer one (fuck i rly gotta start working on that haha)

im in a position to do that.. i could try to sort of build that, like taking prompts and writing drabbles.. doodling something, etc....... but god am i so tired tho lmao it can be so hard to make myself do shit, especially create..

today is especially irritating bc im having my usual struggle to go shower ramped up by x3 and im just like.. i gotta wash dishes, i gotta wash the dishies, I GOTTA WASH THE DISHES

im gonna fucking try to wash them now and then shower and then im gonna watch brokenwood mysteries and work on this weeks journal spread

im gonna fucking do it

maybe even attempt one load of laundry......

...

also if someone does have a prompt for svsss, hey maybe i can write a 3 sentence thing heehee ..no promises ha

[witchboyjimin]

What fandoms were you /are you still a part of aside from BTS? Did you actively write for any of them, and if so, which ships inspired you? How did you come across BTS and what made you stan? (Imma assume jimin? Jimin!) And on that note, what made you ship kookmin or what about them gave you inspiration to write about them?

Sorry if this seems intrusive sgdhdjf but Im genuinely just curious about your fandom and writing journey :)!

hello! this isn't intrusive at all so no worries at all!!

oh man, i started writing when i was 11? at least in terms of posting fic on the internet except back then i don't think i even considered it to be fic. it was just stories set in my fandom at the time (it was naruto...and then harry potter and emo bands. yes, it was self insert.)

currently, i only actively write for bts fandom. this will likely change once i finish reading omniscient reader's viewpoint (orv) because i am already RARING to write fic for my orv otp, joongdok, but i really want to finish the web novel before i spiral.

i find the best way to enjoy your bts fandom experience is to also have multiple other interests you're partially engaged in/with so that bts fandom doesn't drive you insane :) other interests i am invested in include but are not limited to: orv, tgcf, mdzs, svsss, jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer, a plethora of bl, the magnus archives, and i try to read published stuff but i've been slipping on that front the last few months.

i will put the rest of the answer under a cut because...this is already quite long.

in the past i've written for naruto (sasunaru), harry potter (drarry), a few other animangas, kingdom hearts (axel/roxas), and when i did start writing for kpop fandoms it went from beast to block b/bap to exo to ikon/got7 to bts.

but i've been part of like tons of other fandoms where i only read fic and engaged with other people's content. fandoms include (non-exhaustive): bandom, inception, merlin, marvel (i rly only cared abt stucky), star trek (spirk, MY BELOVED), teen wolf (sterek has everyone in their clutches), football (european) rpf, hannibal and a slew of animanga. there's definitely stuff i missed but my point is just: have lots of interests! and consume a variety of media! it makes you a better writer and person imo.

baby me was definitely obsessed with enemies to lovers (adult me still is) so i am always drawn to an otp that has the enemies/rivals to lovers dynamic because nothing satisfies me as much as tension and push/pull dynamics. i think once i got into rpf fandoms tho (bandom, kpop), i did start enjoying seeing two people that just love each other very openly.

SO ofc when i finally ended up in bts fandom, it was only a matter of time before kookmin ate me alive. i started stanning bts in march/april of 2015. i'd listened to their title tracks/watched mvs from their debut but i was an exo stan and i had tunnel vision and then exo was like, falling apart in 2014-2015 tgknfk and i got into got7 and ikon for a while but i guess they just didn't hit the same cause i started watching bts mvs one day and then binged SO many bangtan bombs and watched american hustle life and then 2 weeks?? later bts announced they were having a comeback and i've never looked back. bts are just incredibly funny and genuine (there is nothing manufactured about them) and back in 2015, no one was putting themselves out there the way bts were. they were super engaged with their fan base through youtube and twitter so even when they didn't have a comeback, they were still posting new content which is not what other groups were doing. bighit knew what they were doing, i guess.

and yes, jimin 100% drew me in. even before i was a fan, he was already my fav from the few mvs i had seen and then when i got seriously into them, i was obsessed with him. he's so fucking funny and BABY!!!!!!!!! and has just been the kindest person since day one??? and an incredible dancer, like just mesmerizing. also, he's the prettiest most gorgeous person ever. there is no joy or comfort quite like getting to stare at jimin's beautiful face.

i was actually a multi-jimin shipper when i started out. my fav ships were hopemin, minjoon, and yoonmin. rapline/jimin was everything to me and so was yoonseok!! jimin was just very baby around rapline and acted cute because he loves attention and praise and i love this about him jbsdjk i liked vmin and kookmin at the time, too, but i've always liked vmin as friends more than romantically and kookmin didn't take over my entire brain until may 2016 when back hug scene happened. up until then, i liked them because it was obvs jimin doted on jeongguk A Lot and i enjoyed what a tsundere brat jeongguk was but back hug scene rewired my brain cause all i wanted to do after that was write kookmin.

i think seeing how much they both love each other and how supportive they are/how they show up for each other over and over again (excellent song choice for gcf tokyo jjk) just makes it impossible for me to not ship them?? plus we got to see their relationship grow and develop and transform to what it is today...it's hard not to love them tbh. for me, it's the devotion and how much they clearly like each other as friends that keeps me writing for them. i love love love the ways they show how much the other means to them whether that be the grand gestures (the tokyo trip, jimin flying across the world to be there for jeongguk's birthday) or the little things (the way they baby each other and worry over the other's well-being).

also, i think the fun of writing an rpf otp is that you can really put them in any scenario you want. there is no canon we have to adhere to so you're really only restricted/limited by characterization and tbh you can take liberties there, too because we don't 100% know the boys. plus how you act as an idol may not be how you act in a dystopia au lol it really is like playing house and it lets me be as creative as i want so i find it easy to keep putting them in new scenarios! i do think that if they didn't love each other as much as they do, i'd have maybe lost interest but so far that hasn't happened so yay for me haha

anyways I'M SO SORRY THIS IS SO LONG!!!!!!!!!!! kudos to you if you read all the way to the end...

hope you have a great day anonie!

[irrealisms]

i was going to put this in the replies but then it got long lmao. anyway: yes!!!!! this is part of why i recommend tgcf to people who enjoyed mdzs/mdzs to people who enjoyed tgcf (my recommendation of svsss to anyone is much, much more qualified, but i do recommend it to people who are interested in mxtx novels generally speaking, because of the interesting commonalities there and how you can see her first forays into writing about the same themes she will return to again & again)--i'm going to use this post to expound on svsss a bit because it's haunting me it's the one you're not reading--just look at this quote from svsss:

“That said, demons are naturally gifted with spiritual strength, far more so than humans,” he said. “If their strength could be used for good and was dedicated to the righteous path—to the common people—then how could that not be a good thing?”

this is not actually a central recurring thing in svsss but it stands out to me so starkly because it's--so clearly the groundwork for the themes of both mdzs and tgcf?

and then ofc there's the thing of like. all three of her protagonists get canceled on twitter* and mob mentality/the way a crowd idealizes and demonizes someone in turn is a central theme of all three books. another svsss quote:

He’d done nothing at all to warrant a fall from grace like unto a hundred-floor skyscraper toppling in a single night, nothing to warrant being chased down and beaten by the masses. But everything was different now. The problem was that all of the indistinct smears on his reputation had massed together. [...] As things that seem to be perfectly aligned by pure coincidence accumulate, people no longer take them to be coincidental.

which is! very much the same sort of thing you could say about wwx or jgy! and while #xielianisoverparty is a bit different in terms of vibes it's still clearly the same sort of thing. i mean, look at that metaphor: a fall from grace like unto a hundred-floor skyscraper toppling in a single night.

there's also more general things-- all three books are very concerned with homophobia, with toxic masculinity, with cycles of revenge and abuse, with the ultimate emptiness of revenge, with scapegoating, with abuse both on the micro/interpersonal level and on the macro level of societal structures that enable it, with suicidality and self-hatred, with gay love as a positive (even salvific) force, with the way that suffering and ~oppression makes people worse out of fear and desperation; svsss is imo somewhat less concerned with class and war than the other two but "less" is not "zero" and tgcf and mdzs are very much about classism and the horrors of war; etc!!

it's also interesting to look at the differences--they're all concerned with different types of abuse (mdzs is largely about familial abuse, svsss is largely about sexual abuse, tgcf is about a secret third thing), they all do some level of slash-typical feminizing of male characters but they have very different things to say about it, mdzs and tgcf are engaging with the specter of the sexually predatory gay man in a very different (and imo less ~problematic) way than svsss does--but the differences in how they look at and handle certain themes are particularly interesting to me bc they are so fundamentally concerned w the same themes. reading more than one of them is rly fun and interesting imo bc you really do get a sense for what things mxtx is broadly concerned with and keeps coming back to, what her opinions are, what she has to say through her fiction. it's really good i really like mxtx novels :D you handshake me (loves to juxtapose)

It is in fact really really interesting how many of the things TGCF is macerating on are the same things that MDZS is, and from what ik abt SVSSS things that's also interested in. MXTX is truly writing for herself her dick and the six specific thematic narratives that haunt her

[nyoomerr]

What made you fall in love with bingqiu? Or rather what do you enjoy abt them as a couple? I'm a big fan of your Fics aaaa hope you have a lovely day

how could i not be obsessed with the most unhinged unwell bbygirl + his number one obsession, that inwardly is just as insane about him in turn? freak4freak werido4weirdo bingwife and his shizun-mommy-father-husband-wife is ideal... sy/sqq is my self insert for taking care of binghe as he deserves...

dkfjgh on a more serious note, my dark past is that svsss was originally my least favorite mxtx book when i first read them all years ago. but for mdzs and tgcf, i was content with how they ended and how deeply the characters were explored, so i didn't feel the need to think up any of my own stories for them.

for svsss, it felt like there were a lot more stories that i wanted to see told about the characters + world, and a lot more places in the original story where i could think of a million different rly fun divergences. the bingge extra especially... i wanted so badly to see it continued, so i did it myself LMFAO

in the end it became a positive feedback loop, every time i create any sort of fan content for svsss i just became more obsessed with it (with binghe)... and although i'm in support of fandom bicycle sqq, for lbh, i only ever really like him with sy/sqq because he's the only one weird enough for him <3

(and thank you, i'm happy you enjoy my fics!! let's all become more and more obsessed with binghe and his #1 enabler together....)

[unforth]

Are there issues with svsss and consent (Just things I’ve heard I wanna know before I read it invade it’s rly not my thing lmfao) or are they more “issues” like in mdzs?

Hmm...okay, so I read SVSSS a bit ago, and pretty quickly, but the answer is basically...yes there are consent issues but I honestly think they’re actually more mild than in MDZS? But it’s also a little complicated, and some of them are different issues...

(spoilers under the read more)

Okay. So, on an overarching plot level, I can think of three potential things that might lead people to say there are consent issues related to the main ship, Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe. Note that I haven’t really seen any posts on this topic so I don’t, like, know what issues people single out? I’m pretty much just guessing.

1. Shen Qingqiu is an advanced cultivator and a teacher. Luo Binghe is considerably younger, and his student. This, obviously, could be seen as problematic. However, I personally didn’t feel it was (even though I’m personally sensitive to this dynamic and generally uncomfortable with it) for a few reasons:

a. Shen Qingqiu has absolutely no idea that Luo Binghe is crushing on him when they’re young. He’s as clueless as can be. (I’ll explain why when I get to “thing two that might make people think it’s problematic”). Like, to a reader who knows where things are going, it’s pretty darn obvious, but Shen Qingqiu is entirely fixated on a belief that Luo Binghe is developing a relationship with another disciple named Ning Yingying, and while he’s occasionally confused, like, “huh why did that happen?” he really is absolutely clueless. 

b. Then, for plot reasons, they’re separated for five years...and when Luo Binghe returns, Shen Qingqiu thinks Luo Binghe hates him (for  plot reasons), and then they’re separated AGAIN for another five years (or maybe it was 3? something like that) and only then does Shen Qingqiu finally realize he’s massively misunderstood literally everything. So...they haven’t had a student/teacher dynamic for about a decade by the time they actually start having a relationship.

c. While their apparent age difference is pretty big, their actual age difference isn’t, because...

2. Alright, so the basic premise of SVSSS is that a young man named Shen Yuan dies after reading a stag/harem novel, and then wakes up and discovers that he’s been transplanted into the novel he was reading...in the role of one of the villains. From that point forward, the older man “Shen Qingqiu” is actually Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan is still older than Luo Binghe, but less so...Luo Binghe is roughly 14 or 15 when the book starts, and Shen Yuan is probably 20 or 21. Now, that might be an awkward age difference if they started a relationship right away, but as I say above - years and years pass before anything happens. First, the story advances by about 4 years (give or take, it might be more even) before their first separation, and then ten more years pass before they get together. So at the point when Luo Binghe and Shen Yuan (in the body of Shen Qingqiu) actually get together, Luo Binghe is probably around 30 and Shen Yuan is probably around 36, which...that age difference is not significant between two adults, imo. 

Further, because Shen Yuan “knows” what happens in the novel, he also knows - it was a stag harem novel. So instead of seeing Luo Binghe’s behavior toward him and thinking, “oh no my student has a crush on me,” he spends ALL the time before the separation being like, “oh, Ning Yingying - she’s in his harem! Oh, that other character - also in his harem! Aw look, first meeting with a member of the harem! Oh oh look he’s talking to a harem member.” He has absolutely no fucking clue and it’s ridiculous.

However, all that said...Luo Binghe never actually finds out that Shen Yuan isn’t the same person as Shen Qingqiu, or that Shen Yuan is even in there. It’s clear in the extras that basically everyone who knew Shen Qingqiu figured out that something had changed and collectively decided... “well the change was for the better so uh let’s just not do anything about it okay?” Luo Binghe isn’t part of that conversation, so it could be argued that while Luo Binghe consented to be in a relationship with Shen Qingqiu, he never consented to be with Shen Yuan. It’s a weak argument, though, since Shen Yuan’s arrival is what derails the original harem plot of the “novel” and causes Luo Binghe to fall in love with Shen Qingqiu - so Luo Binghe never loved the original Shen Qingqiu, he always loved the Shen Yuan version of Shen Qingqiu. So...there is a minor consent issue here since Luo Binghe doesn’t know but it’s small.

3. Now, the third point also relates to the Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan divide. Shen Qingqiu BEFORE he becomes Shen Yuan is a nasty piece of work, and is highly abusive toward Luo Binghe. Early on, Shen Yuan is kinda...forced...to continue being abusive? Like, there’s this computer System that’s forcing Shen Yuan to “stay in character,” and he’ll literally die (again, for real and permanently this time) if he doesn’t do things at least somewhat like Shen Qingqiu would. But as soon as he “levels up” high enough that he is “allowed” to behave out of character compared to Shen Qingqiu, he stops being abusive and goes out of his way to help and support Luo Binghe. Now, despite that, I could see a case being made that the weird combination of “highly abusive toward” and then “nice” could be seen as manipulative and gaslighty, so that would open up another potential avenue for consent issues.

Now, on a specific “things that happen” event, all of the ACTUAL consent issues are in the other direction - Luo Binghe toward Shen Qingqiu. Cause Luo Binghe is...kinda a whiny bitch...and he is not very good at taking no for an answer. Like, at one point he literally kidnaps Shen Qingqiu and holds him prisoner. Actually wait, he does that at two separate points. And he always kinda...bullies...Shen Qingqiu in a way that pushes into Shen Qingqiu’s comfort zone.

Further, their first time is flat-out fuck or die (Luo Binghe is the top in the book and Shen Qingqiu is the bottom). That’s explicit, it’s not played as romantic, and Shen Qingqiu doesn’t enjoy it and doesn’t pretend to enjoy it. That’s not to say he’s unwilling - by that point it’s fairly clear he’d like to have sex with Luo Binghe in other circumstances, but it’s very rough and injures him pretty badly, there’s no prep, etc., so it’s not a good experience and it’s not treated as one, but Shen Qingqiu does volunteer because it’s important to him to prevent the “die” part. Luo Binghe feels bad afterwards. Reading it actually gave me more appreciation of MDZS because the scene made it clear that MXTX really does understand consent in ways that hadn’t been clear to me when I read the translation of MDZS.

In general...these two communicate for shit, and so things are never as clear cut as they should be. Also, at least for me personally, I never really fully “bought” that Shen Qingqiu was in love with Luo Binghe. Like, he’s affectionate and indulgent, but in romantic love? I dunno. So in that regard their being a thing always left me a little...unsure...maybe? But that’s a personal preference, and I’m sure there are others who felt differently, and it also might read differently in a different translation or in the original Chinese.

As an aside, there is a side ship which isn’t featured prominently in the novel but is significantly developed in the extras (like, a lot of the extras are literally about them, instead of the main ship). ngl...I wasn’t very interested in them so I didn’t read all their extras? So I couldn’t say for sure? But certainly, those two have some huge power level differences that I could see leading to consent issues, and also, one of them is also from “the real world” and transported in the “novel” (he’s the author) so that also adds a layer of complication.

Sorry if this is confusing...it’s not the easiest book to explain to someone unfamiliar with it. 

tl:dr, I personally didn’t think the consent issues were severe; the structural ones (ie, age difference and teacher/student) might LOOK severe on the surface but aren’t as the story is executed, and the “actual” consent issues (ie the fuck or die) are handled, at least in my opinion, better and more clearly than the ones in MDZS were.

Everyone else reading this...did I miss anything? I can’t think of anything else but my memory is so fucking shot that I can’t say I trust me as much as I’d like to.

Overall, I think it’s my least favorite of the three novels, not because it’s bad but because it just doesn’t quite feel...finished. Like, it’s such an interesting idea, and MXTX does a masterful job of twisting tropes throughout it, and more than either of the other books, it improved my opinion of her as a writer, but it feels a little incomplete, like maybe it was more story than she was actually ready to write? Like...she had this idea and she wasn’t quite a good enough writer to see it through to it’s logical conclusion yet, but all the pieces were there, so the potential is through the rough but the execution is a little lacking. Especially, the ending felt a bit rushed/abrupt to me. Then again, I feel that way constantly so some of that was probably me, I like a lot of denouement at the end of a story. (My favorite is TGCF, with MDZS in second and SVSSS in a close third...purely as a novel I didn’t like MDZS all that much but some of that was probably a translation issue.)

ANYWAY.

I’ll stop now.

If, after all that, you’re interested in reading it, I read two translations:

1. This translation, hosted on Tumblr, is really good but still a work in progress (they’ve released like four chapters since I read it in October.) I thought it was excellent and really enjoyed it.

2. Since that one wasn’t finished, I read the rest and the extras here. It was also good, but not quite as good in my opinion.

Hope this helps!

[shenzuns]

@chiheru​​  sought:   KIWIII YOUR PORTRAYAL IS ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT / STUNNING / AMAZING / [continues to search on google the synonyms for ‘beautiful’] alkdjflaksjdf BUT LIKE GOSH the lil asks we have for sqq and chi !! the way you’d describe the surroundings sqq would be in, his dialogues and thought processes are so well explained even if i haven’t read svsss, i can vividly see a glimpse of what the universe is like!! 🥺 needless to say ur portrayal is super duper extremeeeeely well well welll!!! ♡

CRYINF XCAT.PNG I LOVE UUUUUUU KAYA THANK U (x2 good things come in 3!) ;;; I LOVE SQQ AND CHI’S DYNAMIC A LOT, they both offer something that they need and it also ultimately boils down to: “i need a family, i didn’t realize until now that i’ve never had one but i do now and it’s not smth i’m willing to let go of.” AND I JUST THINK THAT’S SPECIAL

ALSO SQQ’S THOUGHT PROCESSES ARE SMTH I KEEP TRYING TO WORK ON, HE HAS SUCH A SPECIFIC WAY OF EXPRESSING HIMSELF THAT IT CAN BE DIFFICULT BUT.... THANK U SO MUCH. i’ve been rly worried abt my writing lately, so i appreciate this a lot thank u ;;