#svsss live action

[zykamiliah]

i love it when fandom infantilizes characters to the point of denying them their own agency.

"if people in cang qiong had treated shen jiu differently-" do you have any evidence that they mistreated him? or is it too hard a pill to swallow that shen jiu was the one who decided to close himself off and be an asshole. that cang qiong treated him just fine, that his martial siblings tolerated him to the point that even when he was suspected of murder nothing was done to him?

who forced shen jiu to abuse luo binghe? to abuse other disciples? those were his decisions, that was him acting in a position of power.

the moral of the story is not "shen jiu was misunderstood :(" the moral is: the person who was abused can also become an abuser. the one who suffers violence can be violent towards others. you, despite what you've gone through, have the capacity for kindness and cruelty. so be wise on how you decide to act, because your pain doesn't justify hurting others, and your actions will have consequences.

you have agency, you have whatever amount of power you have over your own life and the things you do have and impact in the lives of those around you and yourself. so maybe try being at the very least neutral to the world and yourself, if you can't be kind.

but no, shen jiu's mentality was "since I suffered, they deserve to suffer too". and by taking that path he perpetuated the cycle of abuse.

bingge is the same, because he could have stopped at taking revenge on shen jiu, but he decided to involve the whole sect and the rest of the world, no matter who was innocent. he was unnecessarily cruel, but so was his master.

both shen jiu and bingge had the capacity for some form of "niceness" (in the way they treated women), so it wasn't as if they'd never known some form of love. at some point in their lives, they stopped being abused children and became abusive adults.

and that's an expression of human behaviour that we have to accept as possible. the svsss narrative invites us to examine ourselves in this light, to witness our capacity for both love and hate, to realize that even in the most adverse of circumstances, there's always a small sliver of agency over how we feel and how we act. that, despite the things that defines us from birth through childhood, our decisions also define what we'll become in the future.

[mxtxfanatic]

The common thread tying together how mxtx treats all her well-rounded character across all her works is that a character's past is as real as their actions. That means that a character's tragic past is a key part of their character and should be considered while analyzing them. It also means that their actions are also their own and must be considered when analyzing them. One does not negate the other. The trauma that a character experiences in the narrative is not erased by their shitty actions, but those experiences also don't redeem their immoral behavior. Everyone must live with the consequences of their chosen actions, regardless of what drove them to make those choices. That is the lesson.

[khattikeri]

no nuance + SPECIFICALLY novels only

[sugar-and-spite]

any mdzs folks out there:

i am reading the novels and greatly enjoying them. my partner wants to keep up with the story, but doesn't have the attention span to read novels, so we started watching the donghua. it's REALLY different from the books, especially the more we watch, and it feels rushed to the point that some things just straight up don't make any sense. i've heard there's also a live action? ("the untamed", i think?) is that any better? any other recommendations? many thanks 🙏

[waitineedaname]

One thing that I think muddies the water re: SQQ acting like a buffoon is that he’s much more physically expressive in the donghua? In a very comical and memorable way, like chugging the medicine he tries to give Luo Binghe when the system is about to doc him points, noticing it’s for external use only, and then visibly fainting in front of Ming Fan and Luo Binghe. He’s much more of a clown, and it’s mostly in good fun, even if it’s not accurate to the book. Thinking about it more, my ideal adaptation would have SQQ properly maintaining his immortal facade at all times, but also include an expressive chibi version of himself acting out his inner thoughts and yelling at the system constantly. Only the audience would see his flailing, and also probably SQH when he’s introduced. Also! Showing him get more expressive with Binghe as book 3 goes on and he lets out more of his real personality around him.

that's a really good point about the donghua! I'm charmed by how SQQ is in the donghua because he's such a fucking loser (affectionate) but it definitely isn't very accurate to the novel. tbh the difference between SQQ's inner monologue vs outward appearance/actions is one of the things that makes it hard to adapt from a written form! having a little chibi SQQ to express his inner thoughts is an option, or hiding his expressions behind his fan or waiting until he's alone to scream into a pillow or something lsdkjflksdjf it's tough! it's really one of those things that works best as a book, which is such a shame because GOD i want to see so much of it visually

also him being more expressive with Binghe as their relationship develops is really good :') especially post-canon! Binghe complains that SQQ smiles more at other people, can you imagine what it'll be like once SQQ starts letting more of those walls down and fully grins at him while teasing him? I think Binghe would just straight up short circuit for a second

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Ive seenyou mention wuxia a few times now and i wonder what that is. Would you mind explaining it to me?

not the most qualified person to explain this as i'm not, in fact, from china; but i've read a couple of wuxia so here goes:

wuxia is a genre of fiction from china specifically, about martial artists in ancient china. i don't think a specific time period is like required? obviously some dynasties are more popular but idk how it goes in that front. it just has to be Not Today and probably Too Long Ago. like pre industral revolution i think. again idk if that's a requirement, but most i've seen are from around the same relative murky pre-electricity era.

xianxia is a subgenre of wuxia that's specifically more fantasy-like, and it's not just martial arts, but also spiritual powers and cultivation (which i have no fucking clue how to explain without two hours and three tangents other than chinese magic system. if you've ever heard of chi/qi as an energy, it appears there). so like- genshin is by all accounts a xianxia, it just doesn't use the more common specific xianxia terms like cultivation. some of those are very weird to translate and probably not common for the average non-wuxia reader, so it makes sense why they're going for alternatives.

chongyun and xingqiu and xianyun are very much straight out of a xianxia. xianyun's entire story quest was the closest genshin has gotten to a straight xianxia plot so far. i highly reccomend ashikai's video on unnecessary visions if you want more info on why genshin is a xianxia hahah

cyanide narwhal has some talk of some stuff from xianxia, but that's mostly because well- fucking liyue, that's how it works there. the whole light energy striking down someone who's getting powerful and giving them godhood if they survive the strike is, while not exactly like that, something that happens in some xianxia as well. like the way adepti work in general is just very xianxia. ashikai does a much better job explaining it than i do tbh but yeah

TL;DR: wuxia is chinese martial arts fiction in ancient china, and xianxia is a wuxia subgenre with more magic elements. also genshin is a xianxia

[raddestrose]

this guy was so used to living in his slice of life novel for three years he forgot about one of the most important plot points

[i-dare-say]

I just found out 1/3 Delusion did a collab with the donghua and made this ad. And I can't find it anywhere!!!

The cosplays are amazing, the models are awesome (their chemistry??? fucking perfect) and I've searched everywhere but it seems this tiktok is the only thing that remains of it

[akumanorobin]

Are they...you know... *limps wrist* ... sworn brothers?

[lryghe]

MDZS thoughts; adaptation and change

I may be leaning too much into my literature class roots, but I could (and may end up) writing an essay on how the live action version of MDZS ‘The Untamed’ drastically altered just sooo much to do with everything, including characterisation and my personal favourite to rant about; themes and concepts (if you’ve seen ANY of my other posts, you’ll know I talk a lot about this). I’ll have to remind myself to write ‘show’ or ‘live action’ instead of ‘film’ because my literature class has been studying change through adaption of Jane Austen novels into films and that’s really what boosted me to write this. As a preface, yes, this post will contain spoilers from both the original novel AND the live action show, and if anyone has made a post like this before, please link it to me because I would love to see someone talk about it! 

To begin with, the characterisation is both parts my favourite and my worst enemy in the show. The live action completely changed like, everything to do with Wei Wuxian and his character arc. Both the novel and the show provide an introduction to his character based off his flirtatious ways, charismatic personality, and insane talents, but the more the show goes on the more it delves away from the original Wei Wuxian in the novel, who deals with tremendous amounts of guilt and shame for his actions, while carefully trying to keep up his balancing act, before finally just giving up and having his corpses eat him or whatever. It’s such a stupid thing to nitpick I know, but it's so important to the themes of MDZS (which is something I'll talk about later). Because there's a distinct lack of disgust Wei Wuxian feels towards himself for the atrocities he commits, his character deviates from someone who is working towards self-acceptance and penance for his actions, to an upright genius who has never done any wrong, a victim in everyone else's scheming. But that in itself is doing a disservice to him, because he did bad things, he and everyone in the cultivation world acknowledges this, but he worked past that! He died for his sins, he came back 13 years later and actively fixed his behaviours, took responsibility for his actions, and learned to live with himself. Wei Wuxian’s character development is incredibly important, and to make him some type of sacrificial lamb who has always been the victim eliminates half the premise of the novel. That’s not to say that I don’t like Xiao Zhan’s interpretation or acting though! I definitely think he’s incredible and did so good as Wei Wuxian, but the live action is so messy compared to the novel, so much so that it’s quite difficult to get to the core of the story. 

On the topic of acting, I do quite like Lan Wangji’s live action interpretation, because dear lord, physical cues make it sooo much easier to like him (respectfully though, I am Lan Wangji’s biggest fan). In the novel it’s REALLY hard to move on from the fact that he has no outward reactions or anything to say that isn't ‘Wei Ying!’, but the drama did an incredible job of portraying how complex he actually is. Seeing his minute facial expressions in the drama was so important to his growth as a character, and the illustration of his growth and maturity is only emphasised through the live action (especially when they had the screentime to give him individual scenes with his brother to highlight the fact he’s not just a love interest for Wei Wuxian, he’s his Own Individual Character who is so cool!). 

All of MXTX’s works stick to a central theme; redemption. Just think about it for a second. MDZS follows Wei Wuxian and his works towards forgiving himself for his actions as the Yiling Patriarch while also acknowledging that he was doing what he could to protect those he cared about (and very occasionally, himself), Lan Wangji silently standing by him in solidarity. In TGCF, Xie Lian strives over the course of 800 years to forgive himself and finds solace in Hua Cheng and his unconditional love and devotion. In Scum Villain, Shen Qingqiu’s very existence is defined by the grave (read: pickle pot) fate had begun to bury him in upon his transmigration, spending years attempting to reach salvation after the sins the original Shen Qingqiu had committed, eventually realising that he owed it to Luo Binghe to be better, to stay by his side, to help him find peace with his past actions. And unfortunately, this theme isn’t portrayed very well in the live action. The show places far more emphasis on how Wei Wuxian was always right regardless, meaning there was no need for the guilt and repentance. Of course, he deserves the world, and I would pluck the stars out of the sky should he ask (Lan Wangji Momenta), but it doesn’t erase the fact that this is a vital point to his character! He isn’t supposed to be invulnerable and have an instant happy ending! He and Lan Wangji work like dogs, unravelling decades worth of lies, solving a couple murders, ridding the world of a few serial killers, and so on and so forth before any type of safety is given, any type of redemption is reached. 

Which brings me to another key theme in MDZS specifically. The idea of hard work. “Oh, but lryghe, this is such a reach, what are you even talking about?” LET ME COOK! Please! Nothing in MDZS comes easily, ever, which is great writing on MXTX’s part because who wants a novel where everything goes right every single time, and nothing is ever difficult? Things just so happen to work out for every other one of MXTX’s protagonists, but in MDZS everyone suffers for like, a really long time. I’d say about 15 years specifically (counting the war and its aftermath). Similarly to the novel, the live action delves into the idea of hard work and suffering as part of a process to achieve what you want. All characters are actively working towards what they want, they all have clear motivations, and they struggle, horrifically so in places. This is my third favourite thing about the live action, how it actually managed to bring something salvageable to the table in terms of themes and key ideas. Good for them! 

My all-time favourite thing in terms of the live action adaptation is the physicality of it. The characters are right there, and the acting clearly explains their motivations in places. The costumes are incredible visual cues to their thoughts, which is something we don’t see in the MDZS novel since its all from Wei Wuxian’s perspective. I do have to say though, some characterisation moments does in fact piss me off astronomically. Why did Jiang Cheng have to have some type of tragic romance with Wen Qing? Why was Jin Guangyao the one pulling the strings to kill Yanli? I appreciate CQL so much because of this physicality but it could do without some of it I do think. 

I ended up writing an essay. I’m sorry. If only my literature teacher could see me now... Mrs [redacted because what if I get sued?!], please give me an even higher grade on my next assessment, I deserve it. Also, this one isn’t as well thought out as it could have been, you’ll have to forgive me. I am in fact someone who spends too much time writing these thoughts instead of, oh I don’t know, focusing on my classes. 

Words: 1271 

Reading time: 4 mins 

[qserasera]

My dream svsss live action (cont)

Part 2

part 1 for my headcanon live action cast here

the last post didn’t have enough room to include all the characters, so here’s the rest of ‘who would i cast in a liveaction svsss drama’ thoughts and why

Shen Yuan - ?? or Bai Jingting

pic from my drama list here. i don’t have the Strongest opinion on the actor for shen yuan because he would only be in like. a few scenes at the beginning. i think bai jingting could do a reasonably good job, since he knows how to. hmm how to describe it...do comedic face journeys in a way that still feels true to a historical period drama?? like he knows how to be funny without coming off as too modern.  he’s also doing an Excellent job as a main role in Chang Feng Du, for anyone who’s asking. otherwise some other actor from a youth drama/college setting drama could probably be a nice candidate, if they know how to switch from serious/air of slightly disdainful cynicism to Peak Comedy and obliviousness at the drop of a hat (which i wouldn’t know bc i don’t watch a ton of modern cdramas ; w ; )

Yue Qingyuan - Tony Leung

no thoughts, head empty, who else can exude guilt and yearning like a sexy, sexy cologne??? for yqy it would be Nice to have an actor who can pull off the competent smiling look with an air of hidden melancholy and. like. yep.

Ning Yingying - Amy Sun

she did a good job in the eternal love series (totally different drama from the one about the peach blossoms and 3 lives). i honestly had mixed feelings about the show, but i did watch at least two season of it so. who knows. she was very good as jing xin with the scenes she was given, even tho i bounced off the actual heroine’s personality type completely

Liu Mingyan - Kira Shi

not much commentary here!! this was just on general looks and acting feel probably. haven’t seen her specifically in any fight-heavy/wuxia shows (but i did watch weaving a tale of love and story of minglan) so. i think for looks, she does contrast pretty distinctly from the above ning yingying casting, idk idk

Liu Qingge - Li Hongyi

if you need someone to play like. a seemingly more pretty but delicate look warrior while also being dangerous, he can do that! his acting skills would pretty much be up to task, etc etc

Sha Hualing - Tang Wei

confession time is that i haven’t actually. watched lust, caution which she starred in (which i heard was very good and also got her blocked out of a lot of other acting projects afterwards), but i do think her overall face profile has the right vibe

(Guest Role) Su Xiyan - Dilraba Dilmurat

i just liked how she played her main role in the long ballad, and dilraba also knows how to give off that no-nonsense competent aura as a heroine while also being emotive for romantic-type storylines and passionate feelings

(Guest Role) Tianlang-jun - Wallace Huo

you need an emperor-type actor with capriciousness, humor, danger and vulnerability??? it’s him.....he would be so so so good, i know this in my heart!!! (for a sample of his acting, there is a clip from the ruyi drama here u could check out)

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello fav MDZS meta blogger! I come with a question about SV. I'm writing a fic about Yue Qingyuan and Shen Jiu, and I've been having some trouble handling the whole "SJ never knew that YQY went back for him and got nerfed by Xuan Su" thing. Do you have any thoughts about how Shen Jiu would react/if his choices would change if he found out fairly late in PIDW canon vs a little earlier (say, post-SJ throwing LBH into the abyss vs around the time they became peak lords)? Most discussions/metas I've seen go the "if only SJ knew, he wouldn't have been an abusive teacher/ruined his students' cultivation/tried to kill LBH etc" route, and then end up going down the "so everything SJ ever did wrong is YQY's fault actually" route, which I don't agree with, so...I feel like I need to hear someone else's thoughts about this!

Aww, hello anon! 💖

So, I've actually mused on this before, here! I think the only crucial time for the confession to have an effect on Shen Jiu is actually right when he and Yue Qingyuan reunite as teens, however, I don't think that the timing actually matters at all. I also had a good back-and-forth with @/zykamilah on this post about it, if you want to get another perspective on it. In short, I, personally, do not think that Shen Jiu would have a wholly and unambiguously positive reaction to the confession no matter when it happens, and I also believe that were Yue Qingyuan to be forced to give it, that would be the complete end of their farce of a friendship.

Now, onto how the confession would affect how Shen Jiu treats others: at best, he would remain the same, at worst, he would become a more horrible abuser. People who think that the confession is supposed to be a cure-all for Shen Jiu's shit personality must have forgotten that Shen Jiu was a jealous, cruel, and violent child before he was enslaved. The enslavement exacerbated those terrible traits but it did not create them, and Shen Jiu, himself, did not consider those traits unsavory enough to work on them. He is perfectly alright with being a little shit, and the confession would change absolutely nothing about that, especially given that it is an entirely separate issue from Shen Jiu's asshole personality.

[baoshan-sanren]

hi! sorry to come three years late to the party lol but i liked your svsss fancasts <3 i was wondering if you had any thoughts regarding pre-transmigration shen yuan? thanks!!

do i ever!

[byk23]

Fancast: Zhang Xin Cheng as Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu. Aye or Nay?

[thelostgetfound-artemis]

golfart have bingyuan energy.

I don't usually compare characters across media much but Binghe and Golf are both that rare combination of walking red flag you somehow feel a bit conned into rooting for because he's the main character.

It's also uncommon to have a very masculine character who could (and did) commit murder but then easily cry to get their way ten minutes later.

• Openly confessing no one has stayed in relationship with him longer than a week and he has no idea why (it's cause you're cuckoo for coco puffs my man).

• Almost instantly falling in love with someone just because they're kind to him and give him a warm smile.

• Falling into the caretaker role and expecting to be thanked for it (even though he's the sole reason there's a need for caretaking in the first place).

I could go on. There's a lot of little nuances where they have similarities but the scene that stood out in particular is this:

The Facts

The Manipulation:

Art having to pause his own breakdown because Golf turns on the water works for sympathy points (if you can't reason with your captive/bf out cry him):

Mission: Success

Golf (basically) keeping Art captive, then manipulating Art via crying and guilt tripping to the point Art ends up apologizing for trying to escape?

He and Luo Binghe could write a manual.

[waitineedaname]

a svsss/hlvrai crossover au. is this anything.