#summarizing tgcf without having read any of it

[tempo-takoyaki]

New pfp! Unhinged!Xie Lian isn't happy that you refused his food.

#xie lian #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #yes that's Jun Wu behind him #myart #yes it's that cat meme

[spockandawe]

HEY THERE, you have me interested in The Untamed but I'm a little lost as to where to start, there's both a 50 episode normal version and a 20 episode special edition, which should I watch/start with? Also WHAT does your svsss tag stand for? I'm seeing "The Untamed" and "Chén Qíng Lìng" and "Mo Dao Zu Shi" and "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation" thrown around as synonyms or related pieces of media, but nothing with svsss!

Sure thing!!

Okay, to start with, I’d definitely go with the 50-episode version. It’s a Lot, and there is some padding added to the story compared to the original book, but twenty episodes seems really, really short to do justice to the central plot 

(a quick skim of google tells me that the special edition leans harder into the original novel’s gayness, which the show has to be coy about, because china. i think there are expanded scenes featuring the two leads, which is awesome, because their acting is AMAZING, but that just means the plot scenes are even more compressed. I saw at least one person recommend that you not do the special edition unless you’ve consumed the story in at least one other more standard format already)

Also! Iirc, the show is available on youtube and netflix, among other platforms, though those two are wonderfully accessible. However, comma, I do hear from people fluent in chinese that the subtitles sometimes are inaccurate in unnecessary/unfortunate ways. From what I hear, viki has the best complete set of subtitles (I think there may be fansub projects in progress, but I am not at all in touch with those. I still haven’t watched the show myself).

And the general summary of my current webnovel fixation! There’s this webnovel author who goes by mxtx, who currently has three complete books out, which have all been translated into english. Then after I finished those, I started branching out into other authors and webnovels, though I’m not too deep into that end of the pool yet. I’ll break each book into a separate paragraph for clarity. 

Oh, and. Each of these books is explicitly gay, and set in ancient fantasy china, in a wuxia/xianxia setting, which I’m not too familiar with myself, but I believe it functions a lot like how authors will use ‘ancient fantasy europe’ as a playground where they don’t necessarily need to match up to established countries/cities/etc, but they expect readers to recognize certain conventions, like I’d be able to recognize a western author writing a basic feudal setting, or recognize witches and wizards, without them explaining the whole thing from the bottom up. Since I’m not familiar, it raised the difficulty level a little for me to get into the genre, but the webnovel translators tend to use footnotes and I picked up a lot as I went on.

(if you are interested in any of these, novelupdates.com is a good central resource collecting links to various fan translation projects)

So! Mxtx. Her earliest book is The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (SVSSS), which is also the shortest and most linear of her books. The general premise is that a guy who’s been hate-reading this (straight) stallion harem webnovel with a dark protagonist. He goes to bed, and wakes up in the novel, as the protagonist’s dickbag teacher, who is doomed to eventually die horribly. He wants to not die, and is also a decent human being, so the book follows the “original” novel derailing from its intended path, and accidentally getting super duper gay. This one is about to come out in donghua form, but I think that may be its first non-book adaption.

Her second book, which was adapted into The Untamed/Chen Qing Ling (CQL), is also known as The Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi (MDZS), which really manages to be the hardest of her books to summarize. Wei Wuxian, the grandmaster of demonic cultivation, dies. Thirteen years later, he wakes up in someone else’s body. Most of the world would like him to stay dead, tbh, but he’s a good egg, and he and his old friend(????) go forth and solve a necromantic mystery together, and also there is romance-romance and ten million family feelings. This one gets nonlinear, with several extended flashback sequences, and the story STARTS at about the midway point of the plot. This has been adapted into an audio drama at least once, a manhua, a donghua, and now a live action show, so it goes by a million different names in its various formats.

Her third book, and the LONGEST, is Heaven Official’s Blessing/Tian Guan Ci Fu (TGCF), and oh my god, it’s so long, and I love it so, so much. This gets into high fantasy much  more than the other two, including the idea that as people develop their cultivation and powers, they may eventually achieve immortality and ascend to the heavens. The story follows Xie Lian who achieved immortality and ascended to heaven! And then fell. And then ascended! And fell again. Eight hundred years later, he ascends for the third time. He meets Hua Cheng, the ridiculously powerful ghost king, who most of the other immortals are terrified of. But Hua Cheng seems to like Xie Lian! And Xie Lian thinks Hua Cheng is a sweet boy! (hua cheng is a sweet boy, but only for xie lian). This also has extended flashback sequences, but is a more linear story than MDZS, I think. Also it made me cry, which, wow, rude. I love it so incredibly much. This also exists as a manhua, but I think it’s still being published? I haven’t read it yet.

NOW. Mxtx is working on a fourth book, but it’s not out in chinese yet, never mind english. But I needed More. I was getting some SVSSS vibes from this one other book, which, *wobbly hand motions*, but I am enjoying the hell out of this book purely for its own sake.

Meatbun is an author with other books that I haven’t read yet, but I am currently in the middle of The Husky And His White Cat Shizun/Er Ha He Ta De Bai Mo Shi Zun (Erha/2ha), which is at this moment being adapted to a live action tv show called Immortality. There are MANY warnings that go with this book, though the google docs translation files do a good job of placing warnings at the front of every document and in front of relevant chapters. The general premise! Mo Ran basically conquered the entire world, put down all resistance by force, and was a super powerful but Kinda Dumb emperor. As part of this, he took his old teacher, who he despised with a burning passion, prisoner, and abused him a Lot. The story starts as rebels try to mount an assault on his palace, and Mo Ran’s cousin gets impatient with how slowly things are moving and runs ahead of the group. He finds that (suicide warning:) Mo Ran has... taken poison, and is in the middle of dying. This doesn’t stick. He wakes up as a teenager, apparently having traveled back in time, and starts living through events again, with the knowledge of his past life. It took me a while to warm up to this story, but ohhhh my goodness, it’s so TASTY. The translation for this one is ongoing, and I am in AGONY waiting for further updates.

So those are the ones I’m currently into and mostly blogging about! I also read Dreamer In The Spring Boudoir, mostly because feynite wrote an SVSSS fic set in the universe of that novel, which was good in some ways, left me cold in others (and the original novel is straight, with a society with rigid gender roles, so making it super gay in the fic made the setting much more interesting to me). Meatbun has other writing, which I haven’t sampled yet, but I am definitely interested in doing that sometime soon. 

Sorry, I know this is a LOT, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask me!! I got into these mostly via being interested in the untamed, so I read them as 1) mdzs, 2) svsss, 3) tgcf, 4) erha, which was an order that worked well for me. But if someone was looking for a general order to read them in, independent of that, I might suggest 1) svsss, 2) mdzs, 3) tgcf, 4) erha. They’re all really good, and scratch different emotional itches, and each of them has at least a few characters who sucker-punch me RIGHT in the goddamn heart. They’ve been a HUGE help for me dealing with the restlessness and/or apathy of quarantine, so I’ve been evangelizing them to pretty much anyone who will listen to me, hahaha

#spock replies #long post/ #suicide mention/ #solluxisms

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official’s Blessing except I haven’t read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

And here it is, the final part! 12 parts, 36 pages, and 4 months of work, and an incredible community that accompanied me along the way! Thank you so much for your support!

Until we meet again!

Let's go read the books now!

Part 1 | <<Previous Part<< | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #xie lian #hua cheng #feng xin #mu qing #shi qingxuan #ling wen #ban yue #kemo #pei ming #hualian #fengqing #beefleaf #myart #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official’s Blessing except I haven’t read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

After a long break, here is part 11! It's probably the most serious part out of all the ones I've drawn yet. Memories come back, faces are revealed... Next part will be the final of this serie!

As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs. I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I’m done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I’ve put in this comic: I know I’m wrong, this is the point of this serie. (Character’s name or role in the story counts as well.) This includes spoilers from the donghua too! I haven't watched the new season.

Part 1 | <<Previous Part<< | >> Next part/Final Part >>

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #xie lian #prince of xianle #hualian #hua cheng #san lang #hong er #mu qing #feng xin #myart #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #comic #mxtx #that's right there's a face under that butterfly haha!

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official’s Blessing except I haven’t read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Part 10! What a milestone! This comic was supposed to be a quick fun thing to do during summer vacations, and yet, here we are, almost 4 months later and going strong. Thank you all so much for your support!

As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs. I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I’m done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I’ve put in this comic: I know I’m wrong, this is the point of this serie. (Character’s name or role in the story counts as well.) This includes spoilers from the donghua too! I haven't watched the new season.

Part 1 | <<Previous Part<< | >> Next part >> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #hualian #san lang #xie lian #fengqing #feng xin #mu qing #beefleaf #shi qingxuan #idk the other partner's name #ban yue #qi rong #myart #comic #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Here is the second part of this project ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie.

Hope you enjoy!

First Part/<<Previous Part<< | >>Next Part>> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #yes i know his name #myart #comic #changed the layout to make it more attractive #edit: I learned some of their names #mu qing #feng xin

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Part 7 ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I've put in this comic: I know I'm wrong, this is the point of this serie. (Character's name or role in the story counts as well.)

Part 7! After being caught in a sandstorm, Xie Lian and San Lang got separated from Feng and Qing, what will happen to them?

Part 1 | <<Previous Part<< | >> Next part >> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #hualian #san lang #xie lian #fengqing #mu qing #feng xin #comic #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #myart

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Part 6 ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I've put in this comic: I know I'm wrong, this is the point of this serie. (Character's name or role in the story counts as well.)

And thus we begin the desert arc! We're getting closer to this comic's final...

First Part | <<Previous Part<< | >>Next Part>> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #xie lian #hua cheng #san lang #hualian #fengqing #feng xin #mu qing #comic #myart #I struggled a lot with those pages but I'm happy with the end result! hope you enjoy them just as much!

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Part 5 at long last ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I've put in this comic: I know I'm wrong, this is the point of this serie.

San Lang has finally appeared! I wonder what Xie Lian thinks of him...

First Part | <<Previous Part<< | >>Next Part>> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #xie lian #san lang #hua cheng #hualian #myart #comic

[tempo-takoyaki]

Happy April Fool's Day!

#summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #myart #xie lian #san lang #hua cheng #hualian #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #season 2 or not season 2? that is the question #I did something simple because I'm on my period and in the middle of moving out but i had to draw unhinged xl in a bunny girl costume #it was crucial to my well-being #ah I also tweaked my main lineart brush it feels a thousand times better now

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Here is part 4 ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie. Spoilers includes character's names or role in the story.

We're meeting a whole lot of new characters here! Hope you like it!

First Part | <<Previous Part<< | >>Next Part>> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #comic #xie lian #hov #san lang #hua cheng #myart #hualian #vaguely #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #edit: I know some of their names now #mu qing #feng xin

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Sorry, for the delay, I got sick last week and couldn't update, here is part 8 ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I've put in this comic: I know I'm wrong, this is the point of this serie. (Character's name or role in the story counts as well.)

Lots of new characters today! One of the rare thing I remember is that this whole arc happens in the Gobi desert, so I wanted to reflect that in some way. I had a lot of fun doing this part, I hope you'll enjoy it too! And happy spooky season! :D

Part 1 | <<Previous Part<< | >> Next part >> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #hua cheng #san lang #hualian #xie lian #feng xin #mu qing #kemo tgcf #myart #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #comic #I confess I derogated to my “no checking for references” rule for this part because of kemo #the disrespect this man gets from the donghua baffles me #tbh I barely remember him anyway... but still #so I made up my own design for him! what do you think?

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

This is the first part of this relatively long project in which I attempt to retell what I remember of TGCF before I read the books. For this project, I have to do everything from memory, so I can't look at references for the characters, or see summary of any sorts. BUT! I do want to enjoy this story as much as possible when I DO read it. So please avoid spoilers as much as possible in the replies, the reblogs and the tags (I can see them all).

Hope you enjoy it !

First Part | >>Next Part>> | Final Part

#tgcf #xie lian #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #myart #comic #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #yes the tags are affected as well since I avoid spoilers #also sorry for the low quality tumblr you know #edit: I'm adding tags because I know more of their names now #ling wen #fengqing #feng xin #mu qing

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official's Blessing except I haven't read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Here is the third part ! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I'm done with this serie. Spoilers includes character's names or role in the story.

(Trigger warning here for slight mentions of necrophilia. It's only implied, but better safe than sorry.)

Hope you enjoy !

First Part | <<Previous Part<< | >>Next Part>> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #xie lian #comic #mxtx #myart #I feel like I become more unhinged with each new part coming out #Summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #edit: I know more of their names so I'm adding them #mu qing #feng xin

[tempo-takoyaki]

Heaven Official’s Blessing except I haven’t read the book, remember nothing of the donghua, and saw a few spoilers.

Part 9! As always, please, no spoilers in the replies or in the reblogs! I read all the tags, and I intend on reading the novels once I’m done with this serie. In this case, a spoiler would mean any sorts of correction regarding what I’ve put in this comic: I know I’m wrong, this is the point of this serie. (Character’s name or role in the story counts as well.)

It's almost the end of the desert arc, truths are revealed, we meet new characters... aaah... It's so sad that I remember none of it.

Part 1 | <<Previous Part<< | >> Next part >> | Final Part

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #hua cheng #xie lian #hualian #ban yue #kemo #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it #comic #myart #this comic becomes more and more detailed as time goes on

[tempo-takoyaki]

Little warm-up I did yesterday, Hatsune Miku my beloved.

#myart #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hov #ling wen #summarizing tgcf without having read any of it