#mxtx meta

[queerlyloud]

Okay, back on my MXTX bullshit because sometimes I can't believe the slander. But I wanna talk about why MXTX deserves to get whatever profit and protection from her work that she can (other than the obvious fact that it's her fucking work, so obviously she should prosper from it, that's how jobs work?)

So, the thing that drives me insane about MXTX books, and a thing I have talked about on here before, is that she is delivering an overarching message in every book she writes, and the message says: If a system of power is turned against you, no matter how good you are, no matter how strong, or selfless, or kind, or loving, or brave, no matter how perfect you can be, it won't matter, because the individual is powerless to the system. Systemic change is the only way to protect the ones the current system deems powerless or unnecessary.

And before you come in with, "She was fetishizing gay men," MXTX literally wrote hundreds of thousands of words characterizing these men and building their relationship and devotion to one another, so much so that fanon has deemed them all aspec in varying ways. She chose to deliver a message about the power of the system to persecute the innocent and the powerless in the form of a story that was 1. Illegal, 2. Humanized a specifically targeted persecuted group, and 3. Gave them all the happy endings they deserved despite all the pain to get there. She showcased the difference that systemic support can make in the life of the persecuted as the closing arc in every single one of her books.

Don't tell me MXTX doesn't fucking care. She's still delivering her message and she's doing it louder and safer, and i hope she gets every creature comfort the world can offer.

#mxtx #mo xiang tong xiu #svsss #scumbag villain self saving system #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #the untamed #cql #heaven official's blessing #mine #my opinions #mxtx meta

[biboomerangboi]

Thinking about Xie Lian with his bamboo hat and Hua Cheng with all his love and the idea of the Ship of Theseus Paradox. How at its core the novel poses this idea of how much of you remains the same after you’ve been destroyed and had your circumstances flipped and how that doesn’t even matter because in the end they all are fundamentally those things unchanged.

Xie Lian is still someone who loves the people and wants to fight for them despite being torn apart by human hands over and over again. Hua Chengs very foundation is his love for Xie Lian despite dying and being dispersed time and time again. The hat couldn’t possibly be the exact same hat after 800 years but the symbolism of it remains and Xie Lian is able to pass that symbolic kindness onto someone else. I’m literally punching walls and chewing glass.

#mxtx tgcf #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #tgcf meta #heavens official blessing #heaven official's blessing #MXTX meta

[kamariya]

i know the fandom loves to pretend that xie lian doesn't take care of himself but let's really think about it for a second. he doesn't have a penny to his name, he has no luck, no spiritual powers and no friends and family left in the mortal realm. how exactly should he take care of himself?

he eats food off the floor because it's better than going hungry. that's how many people in poverty live. he doesn't think twice before touching something that might poison him because when you don't receive medical attention for centuries, you're naturally going to adopt an "it is what it is" mentality about your health. he probably didn't get treated by a healer the first few times he got corpse poisoning because he didn't have enough (or any) money to pay them with. he's humble and ignores however which way he's slandered because what can he do? he's heard things like that and worse before.

800 years of poverty will teach anyone humility as well as strip them of it. 800 years of poverty and solitude can make anyone into a complete cynic, an abuser and/or worse.

but xie lian didnt break, not permanently. what jun wu put him through is nothing compared to what the world put him through. tell me this: is jun wu truly the real villain of the story? or is he a micro manifestation of all the other systematic issues in the TGCF universe, wrapped up into a shiny, evil package that's easier to hate, easier to digest and easier to fall for?

know that even though jun wu "set up" the fall of xianle, it was corruption and imperialism that truly brought the kingdom to its knees. know that teen xie lian truly fought for his people, be they patriots or rebels, and that the reason his efforts could never come to fruition was the corruption of the royals and the nobles.

in a world as systematically corrupt as that (much like our own), how easy do you think it would have been for a poor, homeless and friendless man to live a happy, fulfilling life (which he never lived)? and how much easier would it have been for him to gradually give away his morals and principles in favour of a better meal for once, for a better bed for the night? considering his martial skills and vast knowledge of cultivation, would it not have been easy for him to take a path like jun wu himself? like xue yang, even?

and do you think that xie lian did *not* do all these things just because he had "self-sacrificial" tendencies? after centuries of being only a little better than a beggar, do you think the reason he wants to help the common people is because he feels Rich Prince Guilt?

don't you think that the act of preserving oneself here, the act of not sacrificing onself for a cause, is actually whenever xie lian decides to keep following the path of justice, his Third Path? does self preservation only count when it's your body you're preserving, or your material wealth, or your name? surely your own principles matter more. surely you mean more than a fancy title on a tyrant's mouth.

place yourself in xie lian's shoes, and answer this: if you were to go through all that, even if you were to not become a horrible person, would have found and maintained the courage, time and time again, to keep being kind, to keep taking care of yourself, to not become heedlessly reckless, to not become a walking corpse with a noose (ruoye) wrapped around your neck?

in my opinion, xie lian is a hell of a lot positive for a man who's been through so much and never heard a "it's okay, you can rest now" once (until hua cheng came along, at least).

do you think xie lian doesn't feel bitterness towards lang qianqiu, who buried him with a stake through his heart for gods know how many years, because he just... hates himself? or do you think it's because he helped raise lang qianqiu since childhood and earned real respect and admiration from him, after so many years of being spat on, cursed and ultimately turned invisible? do you think he begged to be banished once again only because he felt guilty (although yes, he did feel very guilty) for the terrible fate that befell lqq's family, or because he also genuinely cares about what happens to his people --- he protected the xianle remnants by setting himself up as a cold-hearted murderer, and he protected lqq by refusing to fight him.

do you think that being so old and having seen so much, xie Lian can't tell danger when it's looking him in the eye? he's not stupid. he doesn't neglect his safety until and unless it's to protect someone he cares about. e.g., when he tried his level best to protect shi qingxuan during the Blackwater arc, knowing that he's fighting things and people beyond his control. my point: it didn't matter if he failed. he had to try, just like he tried with his kingdom, and the kingdom that came next. sqx was the first person after hua cheng to befriend and defend him in a long time, and he wanted to show him the same courtesy. can this be reduced to "self-sacrificing" tendencies or "playing the hero", too?

when xie lian stepped out of that bridal sedan, he knew he was playing with fire, but he's not stupid. if he hadn't stepped out, who is to say that crimson rain sought flower wouldn't have entered on his own, or dragged him out forcefully? xie lian isn't a "you only live once, let's make bad decisions" person. xie lian is a "no matter how many lives i live, i will not change" person.

#why do so many people think that xie lian is stupid or just trying to die when he does Literally Anything? #like i promise you people like him have existed and do exist IRL #real people do fight for humanity real people do fight for their loved ones #real people do fight for their fellow citizens ... people are capable of doing Good Things #without just being “people pleasers” #xie lian couldn't be further from a people pleaser ... that guy practises radical love and acceptance #that's the point !! that he cares for humanity in all its forms !! #and no I'm not saying that he doesn't struggle with guilt and self-acceptance at all #he def does!! we see him do that !! #but i dont think it's fair to reduce every good thing he does to him “compensating” for when he couldn't save his falling kingdom #tgcf #mxtx meta #tgcf meta #heaven official's blessing #天官赐福 #swan stuff #tian guan ci fu #xie lian #long post

[joys-of-everyday]

On the fifty shades of morally grey

So quick thoughts on how MXTX writes morally grey.

Sorry, I mean, excessively long meta post on how MXTX writes morally grey. Light spoilers for all three books.

A gazillion caveats to begin with. Firstly, I don’t want to argue about whether character x is morally good, bad, grey, pink or whatever. In my books, arguing about whether someone is or is not morally grey is like arguing whether a colour is green, blue, teal, or turquoise – we’re arguing definitions. To add to that, I’m not saying that concepts like ‘this person is overall good’ doesn’t exist, but I would posit that a morally unquestionable person does not exist. Secondly, I also don’t want to pass moral judgements on any of the characters. That’s for a different post. I strictly want to focus on the storytelling techniques that make the reader think ‘hang on a second, are they good or bad?’. Thirdly, this whole post is mainly based on How Arcane Writes MORAL AMBIGUITY (9 Methods, 4 Rules) - YouTube. Great video, great channel (no knowledge of Arcane required). Would recommend if you are interested in story writing techniques!

1) The information gap and the poor narrator

Best example is Shen Jiu from SVSSS. We barely know anything about Shen Jiu. Almost everything we know is from SQQ’s notoriously unreliable perspective, so we’re left to fill in the gaps ourselves. Depending on exactly how those gaps are filled, you can get two completely different people. E.g. Did he have designs of NYY, or was he just ridiculously misunderstood? Who knows! We’re never told. Even if we were told, we should doubt it because it’s SQQ telling us.

2) 4D characterisation

Schnee’s video goes into this in more details, but this is where you build two narratives on top of one another. Best example is Jin Guangyao from MDZS. Is he an underdog who did what he could out of his situation and tried his best to be a better person working for the good of the common people? Or is he a selfish, manipulative, ambitious snake who at every stage pretends to be good in order to win the favour of those around him? The point is that both narratives make sense in the story. There are moments that lean more one way or another, but you can never quite pin him down completely.

3) Moments of weakness

Best example is Xie Lian from TGCF. On the whole, XL is a wonderful human being who you 100% want to root for. Except… there was that one time he made a mistake. He let his hurt and pain overcome him; he became hurtful himself. The point here is to add in just a few ‘moments’ which fundamentally impacts how the rest of the world perceives them from that point forwards. They are forever trying to redeem themselves, forever weighed down by what is a tiny proportion of their life. The underlying question is ‘is a moment of weakness a moral failure?’

Another good example is Qi Rong from TGCF. On the whole, he’s a piece of s***. But then there are moments when he’s a genuinely good father to Guzi, and that’s confusing.

4) Well-intentioned idiot

Trying to do the right thing and absolutely failing. Best example is Wei Wuxian from MDZS. His intentions are always good. There are extremely few moments where he is selfish or overly cruel. He is always fighting for justice, always self-sacrificing, always kind. And yet the outcome of his actions is pretty bad. The underlying question is ‘should you judge a person based on their intent, or on the consequences of their actions?’

(btw the name of the method is from schnee’s video. No shade on WWX. He is very smart… well, unless it comes to LWJ’s feelings.)

5) Excuses

Yes, they’re bad. But we feel sorry for them! Almost everyone fits into this boat, because doesn’t MXTX love trauma dumping? As one example, let’s look at Jiang Cheng from MDZS. JC’s behaviour towards WWX is pretty bad on its own. But given the context of his childhood being compared to him, of having his self-esteem brutally crushed by both parents? Knowing how much he’s done and sacrificed for him, how much he truly cared for him as family? It hits different.

A small point: ‘excuses aren’t enough’ we say a lot (and I agree, to an extent). But compare, for example, Jin Guangshan vs Xue Yang. JGS seems to be a power-hungry asshole for absolutely no reason. On the other hand, put XY in different circumstances and we feel like he might have been a better person. Just as food for thought, there was a Japanese monk Honen (1133-1212) who said: ‘The good person can reach the Pure Land, so of course the evil person can as well’. The point being that the people who struggle with anger and hate because of their circumstances are most in need of salvation.

6) World building and presenting hard questions

What is acceptable sacrifice in war?

Is it okay to make a super dangerous weapon for the sake of deterrence?

How much personal responsibility does someone hold for a lifetime of circumstances pushing them towards a morally questionable path?

What are the responsibilities of a leader – to do what is right, or to do what is best for their people?

The world of MDZS is imperfect. It’s full of horrors and disasters, as well as a mob of outsiders all trying to impart their opinions despite knowing little about the situation. An imperfect world presents unanswerable questions. We see the characters struggle with these questions, come to decisions, and make mistakes, all naturally arising within the complex world that’s been presented. 

TGCF does this most explicitly. We literally have Kemo and Pei Xiu arguing about the ethics of war and XL concluding that it’s a Hard Question. In fact, every backstory of every Heavenly Official presents a new Hard Question. I don’t know if I like this method over the more subtle style of MDZS, but I have Thoughts about the storytelling styles of both (long story short, I love them both for different reasons).

7) Worlds are colliding

A slightly complicated method that takes a huge amount of set up. To summarise, set up two arcs that we the reader both feel invested in. Then set up a point where the ‘good’ outcome of one is the ‘bad’ outcome of another. For MDZS, we have 1) JC and WWX’s brotherhood arc. 2) WWX standing up for justice arc. They’re both merrily developing all the way through the conflict with the Wens… right until the moment WWX has to make a choice: stand up for justice and leave JC behind, or to fulfil his promises to JC and turn a blind eye to the injustices against the Wens. The decision is a lose-lose scenario because of the way these arcs have been set up.

8) Spectrums, Spectrums, we love Spectrums

Gongyi Xiao is a cinnamon roll. As is Wen Ning and Quan Yizhen. Meanwhile, the Old Palace Master? Literally no redeeming qualities. Wen Chao? Absolute scum. Then there’s everyone lying somewhere in between. We like Lan Wangji more than JC (I think that seems to be the case for most people?) but we certainly like JC more than JGS. Having a spectrum of morality is important because it gives us reference points to contrast and compare. It also emphasises the moral greyness of everything, because sure, Mu Qing isn’t a noodle like Shi Qingxuan, but is he worse than White No Face?

9) Spectrums aren’t enough – adding depth

Almost all of WWX’s moral ambiguity comes from the fact he has hard decisions to make. And for each of these decisions, the outcome is murky. He developed a new technique to fight against the Wens, but at what cost later down the line? He defended the Wens and gave them a few years of life, but was it worth it?

Compare with JGY. JGY does a lot of good. He also does a lot of bad. The magnitude of both lists is ridiculous. Sure, you wouldn’t usually find someone who’s killed most of their family members in any way likable, but how often do you come across someone who literally ended a war?

So one way of creating moral ambiguity is to make each decision difficult, but another way to go about it is to just… make them do loads of things. Like loads of things. Good things, bad things, all the in between things. Judging each thing is not that hard, but then trying to judge the overall person based on it is extremely difficult.

10) Pulling from the real world

Often, moral questions in fiction is hard because (surprise, surprise) moral questions are just hard full stop. Idk enough Chinese history and culture to accurately pin down all of MXTX’s references, but things like stupid misunderstands leading to conflict, poverty and inequality, less than ideal family situations, the horrors of war… these are all things that happen irl. No matter how fantastical the setting, grounding moral conflicts in reality makes us feel more emotional and invested.

Anyway, I hope that was an enjoyable rundown! This is an imperfect list, so comments, criticisms, suggestions greatly appreciated!

#i cannot get over how good mdzs is #a moment of appreciation here #mxtx #mxtx meta #svsss #mdzs #tgcf #svsss meta #mdzs meta #tgcf meta

[fixielixie]

mxtx is Excellent at writing manipulative characters and the way this is showcased is by how often people tend to argue in favour of the manipulators she’s written. like mxtx sets up these characters to be multifaceted, they openly manipulate the people and situations around them to get what they want, have equally pathetic and sad upbringings to add realism into their actions, and even after all of their deeds are brought forward for everyone to see readers will Still defend them.

you could argue it’s poor reading comprehension and an inability to recognise that the character you latched onto is actually the Bad Guy. but i think it’s more of a testament to how good mxtxs character writing is, that people are willing to defend these people who have wholeheartedly committed unforgivable crimes just bc they’ve successfully manipulated the reader into thinking they had no choice but to murder babies and lie and betray and grab for power.

it’s kinda iconic tbh

#this goes for all her books #mxtx meta #mdzs #tgcf #svsss #jin guangyao is a great example of this #so is shen jiu (tho less so) #xue yang??? #mdzs meta

[pastelcheckereddreams]

Okay but we never think about Suibian!!! We never think about how the sword is meant to embody the principle by which one lives. Swords are named and used and died upon.

Jiang Yanli is a sword. Wen Qing is a sword. But this is not their narrative.

Swords are passed down through generations.

Suibian seals itself off instead of risk being passed to a new generation because no one is worthy of drawing it.

Xue Yang was not worthy of drawing it. But maybe Mo Xuanyu was. Maybe Nie Huaisang saw that. But as always - they were too late.

Suibian waits. It waits for its master - and its master bequeaths it to his shidi. Wei Wuxian gives his core - his sword and his self - to his shidi.

When Jiang Cheng unsheathes Suibian - that is the moment he finally understands his shixiong's desires. His burden.

Wei Wuxian is also, ultimately, a sword. He bequeaths himself to Jiang Wangyin thirteen years before he is ready. And thirteen years too late.

But - Jiang Cheng sacrifices himself first.

Suibian is a desire: break free. Suibian is a sword: I'm here. Suibian is a hope a plee: Anything.

#nikkiwrites #cql meta #the untamed meta #it's been an Untamed day #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #yunmeng brothers #yunmeng siblings #yunmeng shuangjie #mxtx meta #mdzs meta

[malsperanza]

TGCF Heaven Official's Blessing - first reread - more things I'm noticing, and how the clues hidden in plain sight work (spoilers)

It's so much fun to discover all the easter eggs. Vols. 1 and 2 are chock full of things you can't possibly remember to connect to events that happen 4 or 5 vols. later. For example, in vol. 2 (Seven Seas edition) at the end of the scene where Hua Cheng beats up Qi Rong in his cave, we learn that Qi Rong is Xie Lian's cousin. This is presented as a big reveal, and it leads us to rethink the whole scene, as we realize that Xie Lian knew all along that the perpetrator of the Gilded Banquet massacre was his own family member. This kind of reveal does two things: 1) It gives us a blueprint for how MXTX is going to unpack her story, to alert us to expect important information to be withheld and then dropped for greatest effect. 2) It distracts us from noticing what *else* might be hidden in plain sight while we're busy unpacking the supposed big reveal. Because there's probably at least one other reveal in there. So, in the cave scene, after we learn about Qi Rong, we get some backstory about him - but it's full of omissions, which we don't realize. We are told that Qi Rong was a big headache for Xie Lian even back in Xianle days. Xie Lian had to fix his messes constantly. For example: "There was even an incident where Xie Lian saved a child, not even 10 years of age, from Qi Rong's clutches. The poor boy had been beaten to a bloody pulp, miserable to the bone." (p. 260) It's only quite a lot later that we get a flashback where we see this event and learn that the child is Hua Cheng, but I did not remember that we are told about it this early. And here it's mentioned as if it's just one more small bit of bad behavior, with no consequences. In reality, it's a pivotal event in the formation of Hua Cheng. Most of that we can put together during the first read. But it's only on this reread that I now see that Qi Rong's vicious attack on a defenseless child is the central crime of his character - the most terrible, indefensible thing, done on a whim. But wait, there's more! Because a bit earlier in the cave scene, when we first see Guzi and his father, here's how he's described: "The one child in the group was probably not even ten years of age." (p. 218) In case we didn't get the parallel to HC, MXTX tells us as clearly as possible. Except we miss it because we don't realize it's important. Guzi is the same age that Hua Cheng was when Xie Lian rescued him from Qi Rong. [Edit: technically, HC is a little older, around 10, but looks much younger because his growth was stunted by maltreatment. The parallel remains intact, though.] So what's even more important is this: later, when Qi Rong adopts Guzi and very gradually becomes a real father to him, he is redeeming his original attack on the child Hua Cheng. And at the very end, If Qi Rong has a hope of regaining corporeal form, it's because he protected Guzi at his own expense, saving the child's life. Or else, even better: when he selflessly protected Guzi, perhaps for the first time in all his centuries as a ghost he stopped being resentful. Perhaps he has dissipated, and is at peace.

#Xie Lian #Hua Cheng #heaven official's blessing #tgcf #MXTX meta #MXTX is a sadist #Laugh or cry #qi rong and guzi #Connecting the dots in TCGF

[piosplayhouse]

(putting on my conspiracy theory hat) yunno a lot of people make the argument that TGCF is the best mxtx novel just because it's the last one and she's "learned from her mistakes" but you know... I don't actually agree.

Sorry I have to drag scum villain into everything I post but I do think that there's something to say that mxtx's first book, before she became really popular, was about how popularity can pollute a writer's intentions and prevent them from pursuing what they actually want to write. I do think this applies to tgcf, which does, in my opinion, show a sort of stress that comes with being in the limelight that sv didn't have. I've seen a lot of people comment things like "SV is good but it needs a LOT of editing" and it's perfectly fine to think that way, but I do think you have to take into account that ultimately... SV was not the story that mxtx chose to heavily edit, it was tgcf.

I don't really like to make assumptions about the writing process because you truly don't know what's happening but in my personal opinion SV has a spark that the others don't have quite as much of, the spark that's just "oh, the author had a LOT of fun writing this". And I think that's, though not as quantifiable as some other measures of books, is a very important part of making a piece of writing good!

#tgcf #mdzs #svsss #mxtx #svsss meta #mdzs meta #tgcf meta #mxtx meta #long post #long posts

[jooniely]

I'm kinda surprised I haven't come across any meta about class in mxtx's works. She the type of writer who hides a lot of her themes so the reader has to pay attention to see and understand it.

In svsss our main character is someone who presumably lived a comfortable life and didn't have to worry about his financial situation. He gets transmigrated to sqq who has already gotten himself to a comfortable position so SY doesn't have to really work for anything in that regard. He's shown to have little sympathy towards SJ when he becomes aware of his life full of struggle as well as towards Airplane who had to sell out in order to make a living. You could argue ofc that it's cuz he's upset he's living thru the story but so is Airplane! And it's not really his fault lol.

Anyways the only person he seems to have empathy for in this regard is binghe but his empathy is about the abuse binghe suffered rather than the poverty he went thru (as far as I can remember at least, please correct me if I'm wrong)

Then there's mu qing and wwx and xue yang and jin guangyao and hua cheng and xie lian and fengxin (there might be more but i cant remember right now. I do remember that a lot of tgcf characters had hone thru poverty). Each of them have gone thru extreme poverty and it has affected them majorly in some cases and very subtly in others.

Despite so many characters going thru it I personally haven't seen much meta and analysis about class especially given how much it affects the characters and drives the plot. (Other than for jin guangyao since that's a big part of his arc)

I was thinking about svsss so I kinda extended it for that novel but there's still so much to look at when it comes to all of mxtx's work so I hope I see more!

#mxtx #mxtx meta #mdzs #svsss #tgcf #shen yuan #shen jiu #scum villian self saving system #mo dao zu shi #heaven official's blessing

[anqelbean]

OKAY, so the thing about Sheep Binghe is he isn't really described as a sheep. He's described as a wolf in sheep's clothing, which does, indeed, fit our Bingmei as well as it does Bingge.

"This was especially evident in how, in the future, the OP male lead would play innocent, a wolf in sheep’s clothing hunting other wolves, exacting revenge against lowlifes, generating enough satisfaction to overturn the heavens." Book 1, Chapter 1 of the Seven Seas translation

Let me explain:

Shen Qingqiu calls only White Lotus Binghe his "little lamb" or 'little sheep" because that before he shed his sheepskin. We're shown that Binghe, even in his White Lotus days, was pretty dark (example: how he interacted with Meng Mo after he threatened his Shizun, making himself even more threatening than Meng Mo himself, who had been previously unbeaten in terms of spooky presence)

"Prior to his darkening, this male lead’s personality was that of a model and upright youth; shine a bit of sunlight on him and he’d glow, give him a scrap of goodwill and he’d return it tenfold—that type. It would not have been an exaggeration to call him a little lamb." Book 1, Chapter 1 of the Seven Seas translation

"Clearly Shen Qingqiu was the one who’d raised that little lamb of a protagonist, so why did it seem like the protagonist had been the one looking after him? He was scaring his disciples, putting on the act of a grieving widow whose husband had just died. Hadn’t it been only a couple of days since he’d last seen that child?" Book 1, Chapter 4

After Binghe comes back, Shen Qingqiu describes him as a wolf who's stopped hiding, even though at times he imagines White Lotus Binghe's softness (though, how much of it is fake, how much is real is unknown) Darkened Binghe no longer wears the mask of a sheepskin, and now he shows himself as the wolf. Unafraid to fight for what he wants, even if he must hurt someone for it.

My point here is: Bingpup is more canon than Bingsheep

#HE IS A PUPPY YOUR HONOR #anqels ramblings #eva.txt #svsss #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #bingqiu #scum villain self saving system #mxtx meta #I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL #love me some sheephe but bingpup is truly superior

[navarice]

mxtx really writes the most violently disgusting body horror known in existence because some of her prime examples include the flesh-burrowing plants in svsss that literally climb into your bloodstream and take root to turn you into a literal conifer plant. like the blinding pain sq describes when he had to tear out the roots from his flesh almost made me black out and disassociate. and then in mdzs it was the descriptions of the endless corpses and gore. or in the xuanwu of slaughter and the soup of blood, flesh, guts, and stomach acid of the turtle that wwx had to crawl through. i hope the sects have very reliable doctors because just thinking about the diseases one can get from all that…yuck.

but nothing. absolutely NOTHING can compare to the events leading to the human faces disease in tgcf. first, the descriptions of the crushed child under his father's body when they fell from the wall…it was so casually described that I had to first let it sink in before the shock took over. then the actual disease. the unimaginable fear, raw disgust, and sheer horror of everything were so visceral that I couldn’t touch any dip or crevice in my body without wanting to rip it off. literal stuff of nightmares can’t compare to how i couldn’t look at a hole in the ground for too long because it made me think of the face chewing grass on that one man’s leg. and then…that’s not even the worst of it. if reading abt the disease made me want to rip off my skin, then reading the hundred swords part made me feel so hollow that i felt like I needed to squeeze my guts into my body so they don’t fall away. each word describing it was a piercing stab followed by an aching fire of wounds that will never heal.

it makes me really wonder how strong a person must be to endure all that and more because if only reading such things elicits this strong of a response, then what about living it?

#danmei has gotten me to read horror then actually reading horror #god it was all just so…disgusting #who comes up with that #like WHO sits there and thinks yes this is something I will write #genuinely…skip some stuff and save yourself #i had to really miss key points of emotional character arcs because I couldn’t take any of it #I can handle taking out your own eye #but flesh and bone and general unhygienic practices? #I will take the L thank you #mdzs #tgcf #svsss #mxtx meta #spoilers #I just finished arc 2 and I had to strap myself down to cope #if I ever transmigrate to any of her books I’m bringing with me a fully decked hazmat suit #sorry but cultivation doesn't guarentee disease free lol

[areadersuncertaintyprinciple]

TGCF’s portrayal of "storytelling"

Another aspect of TGCF that I like is its portrayal of "storytelling". The novel questions the reliability and validity of these stories, as well as the motives and agendas behind them. It also shows the power of storytelling in shaping and influencing reality

It is a common belief that many stories, whether they are based on real events or entirely fictional, often draw inspiration from elements of truth. Authors and storytellers often incorporate real-life experiences, historical events, or cultural references into their narratives to add depth and authenticity.

However, storytelling does not always aim to present an objective or factual account of events. Instead, it often employs various literary techniques, such as exaggeration, symbolism, or metaphor, to convey deeper meanings, evoke emotions, or explore philosophical concepts. This can result in a narrative that deviates from strict adherence to reality.

The portrayal of storytelling in Tian Guan Ci Fu raises thought-provoking questions about its reliability, validity, and the underlying motives and agendas behind narratives. MXTX explores the idea that storytelling holds immense power in shaping perceptions, influencing reality, and driving the actions of characters within the narrative. She did a similar thing in MDZS too but it’s on a much grander scale here.

Storytelling, in a folktale-ish nature as mentioned in the book itself, is depicted as a means to shape perception, manipulate emotions, and control narratives. Characters within the story often utilize storytelling as a tool to achieve their goals, whether it be political influence, personal gain, or societal change. This storytelling also shoulders the responsibility of gaining/losing them worshippers. This exploration raises important questions about the nature of truth and the impact of narrative construction on our understanding of events and individuals.

The novel also raises awareness of the inherent subjectivity of storytelling. Different characters may have their own interpretations and versions of events, and the reliability of their narratives may vary. This reflects the idea that storytelling is not always a definitive account of truth but rather a lens through which individuals and societies perceive reality. It acknowledges that stories can be shaped and altered to fit personal biases, cultural contexts, or desired outcomes.

This exploration of storytelling adds another layer of complexity to the narrative, highlighting the power, manipulation, and transformative potential of stories within the context of the novel's world. By delving into the complexities and implications of storytelling, we end up getting a somewhat nuanced portrayal of the interplay between truth, fiction, and the power dynamics that exist within narrative construction.

#areadersuncertaintyprinciple #tgcf #tgcf meta #mxtx #mxtx meta #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing

[piedoctorcow]

Xiao Xingchen is an interesting character, but he’s not entirely unique in his disposition and subsequent downfall. The most obvious parallel is the one that Wei Wuxian makes between himself and Xiao Xingchen (“In that moment, Wei Wuxian saw himself in Xiao Xingchen…” pg. 156). However, Xiao Xingchen has a lot in common with Xie Lian, specifically his first ascension and fall. Everything that Xue Yang says to Xiao Xingchen in their final confrontation can be said of Xie Lian.

Xue Yang says, “if you don’t know how this works works, then don’t enter it” (153). This sums up the criticism Xie Lian largely received when interfering in the Xianle/Yong’an war. He didn’t understand that you can’t walk away from a war with no casualties, and he didn’t understand how to effectively govern a kingdom. Furthermore, the Holy Temple in which he trained was literally on a mountain, much like Xiao Xingchen’s origins.

Xue Yang says, “save the world! What a joke, you can’t even save yourself!” and “you’ve accomplished nothing! Failed utterly! You only have yourself to blame! You reap what you sow!” (156). This is fairly self-explanatory in the context of Xie Lian’s first fall from grace and the period of struggle directly after.

The fact that Xiao Xingchen parallels two of the MXTX protagonists is interesting. I very vaguely remember hearing that the Xiao Xingchen story was something MXTX had come up with in high school. Then, it makes sense that his character is as such, and might point to somewhat formulaic (not that it’s bad) writing on the part of MXTX.

Thought complete, goodbye.

#mdzs #tgcf #xie lian #mxtx #mxtx novels #heaven official's blessing #the grand master of demonic cultivation #xiao xingchen #xue yang #wei wuxian #wei ying #daozhang #mxtx meta #xianle #crown prince of xianle #yong’an

[kamariya]

i think about hua cheng and how he must have taught himself how to sculpt, how his first creations must have been so ugly he couldn't bear to look at them, considering them a mockery of his god. did he practise on other figures first? how many times did he throw away his tools in frustration, saying that he was too stupid, too unskilled, too crude, only to pick them up again because it was one of the only ways he had left of worshipping his god, because he was the only remaining worshipper of his god? (if not him, who will carve xie lian? who else remembers his god's face and loves it dearly? who else will erect temples in his name and pray to him, for him?)

did hua cheng turn his fortune around, or did he create it? after all, creation is his strong suit.

#guys ... the process of creation in itself is sacred. believe in yourself and your message #tgcf #天官赐福 #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #tgcf meta #hua cheng #hua Cheng meta #mxtx meta #mo xiang tong xiu #swan stuff

[joys-of-everyday]

PoV

Something that messes with me with regards to mxtx’s narration, is that’s its not close third person narration. Like we get privy to the thoughts of other characters and events that the mc definitely shouldn’t know about. It’s like an omniscient narrator who purposefully follows one character for the majority of the time, narrating all of their biases and misconceptions, knowing they’re being misleading, but doing it anyway.

I definitely think she’s messing with us.

#mxtx #mxtx meta #svsss #svsss meta #mdzs #mdzs meta #tgcf #tgcf meta

[thatswhatsushesaid]

no shade at mxtx but I could not give less of a fuck about what she has to say about wei wuxian, or shen yuan, or xie lian, outside of the literal texts in which they appear, because that is the only space her words carry more weight than anyone else's when it comes to understanding the characters and the worlds they inhabit. anything else she has to say is just commentary, which has its place--but that place is not in a close reading of the source text. her commentary does not fundamentally change anything about the text as it appears once published, and it does not invalidate contradictory interpretations that can be backed up through a close reading of the source text.

this is how literary critique works. this is how we critically engage with the written word as art, because authorial intent will only ever cover a fraction of the themes and motifs and prejudices and biases that will nevertheless make their way into the text, consciously or otherwise. that the author did not intentionally weave those themes and motifs and prejudices and biases into their work does not matter. they are still present in the text, and as such, they are fair game for analysis and engagement.

can't believe I have to say this to people who have definitely read or written canonically defensible lotr fanfiction about frodo getting fucked by sam but here we are I guess.

#mxtx #mxtx meta #i'm tired