Hello My Friends,

also i would like to add that although wwx was taken in by the jiangs, it doesn't negate the fact that he did not have a privileged start

wwx's parents died when he was very young. he was NINE when jfm carried him back to yunmeng. he endured cold springs and winters whilst dressed in rags. he fought with dogs over food, which were such traumatising experiences that he developed a fear of them.

but yeah ofc he needs a lesson in humility! /s

I dunno, I think that post-Scum villain MXTX wants to write a poor mistreated Cinderella protagonist, but somehow keeps ending up with these wealthy, gifted, loved and admired guys that need a lesson in humility to earn their comforting big-dick boyfriend xD (Hard work, who? Don't know her, I was born better/wealthier!)

Like, the boyfriend is universally a dick to the protagonist's family members/friends who in any other story would be terrible abusive faithless monsters - but somehow MXTX cannot write them as anything else than decent, upright, complicated and dedicated people who only leave the protagonist's side when faced with insurmountable odds, and yet still try to support them.

Dunno, it's like we're trapped in the genre and can't get out :0

bingqiu meta masterpost

want to create a resource so if you feel like contributing, please send me more links. feel free to reblog with more meta and links of metas you like or your own! the leitmotiv is posts that explain how bingqiu actually are in canon

why bingqiu are a couple

are bingqiu toxic?

why i fucking love bingqiu by @onix-and-the-blorbos

the many ways shen qingqiu loves luo binghe

how sqq sees lbh throughout the novel, a summary (read the notes!)

bingqiu's sex life is not bad, ensemble takes: one (@mxtxfanatic ), two , three (@travelingneuritis ), four

about maigu ridge by @violetdisasterzone

lbh would never non-con sqq by @spottedgardeneelstan

faelicy's bingqiu meta

bingqiu and lbh meta in reply to lbh criticism by @verycharismaticdragon

luo binghe is NOT pretending in front of shen qingqiu by twitter user kukuandkookie

sqq's actual feelings about lbh's codependency and clingyness + lbh respecting sqq asks of him: a post in text format by @fireandgrimstone

Does SQQ love Binghe or not? A close reading and analysis a reddit meta (it's looooong)

a reply to an anon claiming age gap is an issue in bingqiu (which is false ofc)

Luo Binghe & Selflessness by @/violetdisasterzone

bingqiu's evolving dynamic by @stardust-falling

about sqq embracing lbh's flaws by stardust-falling

After finishing Thousand Autumns Vol 3, ummmm Shen Qiao I think it’s time you admit u wanna fuck that evil old man??? Like…feeding him soup with your mouth…crying your eyes out to the point of enlightenment so you can have a chance to go and save him…deeply mourning his split personality that was sweet to you…my brother in Dao u wanna fuck that old man so bad???

shen qingqiu's eye color

ok so...i've noticed in the official art sqq is depicted with green eyes. however, in the book, it is clearly started he has dark black eyes. it sorta ticks me off that on the front cover they got his eye color wrong...but was it just a thing with translation? I can't find the quote rn but in the first few chapters, when shen yuan intially transmigrates and describes sqq's body, he is said to have dark b;ack eyes. never states he has green eyes. and in the art, the green is quite light. idk if someone has pointed this out before.

The Narrative Importantance of Hualian's Sexual Intimacy

This is a repost and minor edit of a thread I made on Twitter yesterday. This is a topic I have always wanted to talk about because of how often it comes up in TGCF fandom, time and time again.

‼️CW: mentions of sexual assault, self-harm, bodily injury‼️

⚠️Major spoilers for the entire novel ahead⚠️

---

Saw a question the other day on what relevance Hualian being sexually intimate by the end of the novel had to either the narrative or Xie Lian's character arc.

In short: it bears significant relevance, especially in context of other themes the novel explores like bodily autonomy.

Throughout the novel, we see time and time again that Xie Lian is often dehumanized by pretty much everyone—including himself—with the sole exception of Hua Cheng. I've talked more in depth about it in an old twt thread, for those interested. @/stalliondany on twt has also made an excellent recent analysis that goes deeper into the specific ways Xie Lian was used as a physical shield, martyr, or scapegoat for others without thought to his humanity or suffering. I highly recommend reading it first!

But to sum it all up: it's important to Xie Lian's character arc to keep in mind that he is used to seeing his own body as a tool to solve problems. And in crucial narrative moments, he is robbed of his bodily autonomy, and either brutalized or violated in service of others.

One of the plot points that ties together all these concepts is actually... Xie Lian's chastity vows. That will be the main focus of this post.

When he was a young teen (or possibly as a child), Xie Lian took an oath of chastity because such was the norm for cultivators seeking ascension in Xian Le. To Xie Lian, even as he grew older, he never had an issue with this because he just never felt sexual attraction to another person, or any desire to be intimate in that way. Even if he yearned for the concept of being loved. And indeed, at first glance, his chastity vows may seem like nothing more than a side note. Or even a funny gag when it comes to Hua Cheng (later).

In reality Xie Lian's chastity vows are not only used against him, but paint a very disturbing picture with regards to his repeated violation.

The Land of the Tender scene is the most obvious example of this. Xie Lian's vows are directly tied to his spiritual powers, and because it affects how his followers see him. They place a high value on his chastity as being vital to his moral character.

For reference, an excerpt from TGCF vol. 3 of the English print translation, page 135:

Xie Lian's method of cultivation required a pure body. Those who worshipped the ascended cultivators who practiced this path were firmly convinced of the transcendence of gods untouched by earthly desires. If they couldn't protect their purity, their following would no doubt collapse and their powers would be devastated. It wouldn't be as serious as plunging from godhood to back to mortality, and there was still the possibility of recovery after many more years of cultivation—but with things as they were now, there was no time for him to sit behind closed doors and cultivate for years!

As a reminder: it is Bai Wuxiang who orchestrated this whole thing. Him trying to compromise Xie Lian in this way is horrific on many levels, yet that's not the main point I want to make here. It's that to preserve his "pure body," the solution Xie Lian realizes is to severely harm himself. To impale himself with his sword through the abdomen.

The juxtaposition of having to maintain bodily purity versus the gruesome violence inflicted on his body is extremely stark.

This grim contrast is no more evident than in the 100 swords scene. Where Xie Lian's body is literally brutalized and defiled to an unthinkable degree. To the point where he, quote: "no longer looked human." Yet he emerges from that temple physically "pure" all the same. His chastity vows were not broken, his body healed without scars. As though he was untouched.... And yet, he was completely destroyed mentally. It left permanent effects on him as a person. It's even worse when the scene is read analogous to sexual assault, as many have talked about before. I think that interpretation actually hits the nail on the head, especially keeping in mind the Land of the Tender scene and all the similarities between them.

Following the 100 swords scene, Xie Lian of course has a complete disconnect between himself and his body. I believe this is part of why he doesn't really feel pain, except when he is with Hua Cheng, who treats him and his body as one. As a person who is cherished, and loved. Hua Cheng is adamant in his adoring treatment of Xie Lian. Small injuries are also something he cannot tolerate because he knows what horrors befell Xie Lian in the past. (He was present at both the terrible moments mentioned above.) He will not let any of that continue, regardless of what Xie Lian says, because he sees it as injustice.

Xie Lian is willing to use himself as a tool to help others no matter the personal cost. He even thinks of it as something he must do, or that he deserves as penance. But Hua Cheng is the one person who asks "what about you?" He's the one that insists "your happiness matters." And it is Hua Cheng that takes issue with Xie Lian's chastity vows as being unfair, unlike everyone else. Regardless of Hua Cheng's reasons for this diegetically, symbolically it means a lot that he is the one opposed to this.

Just thinking about the chastity vows on their own for a moment: Xie Lian can indulge a little bit in stuff like alcohol, which isn't great to begin with for him. But he absolutely cannot engage in "pleasures of the flesh." He can totally have his flesh ripped from his bones, literally, but actually experiencing any kind of sexual gratification? Now that would make him unclean, and lesser.... Why? Because unlike everything else, that's something Xie Lian would do simply for himself to feel good. And what greater crime is there than to ever dare put himself first?

So Hua Cheng—being the one person who puts Xie Lian first above all else—thinking that such a restriction doesn't make sense is important. Hua Cheng being the person who Xie Lian breaks those vows for in the end is important! (Especially because it seems to have been an easy choice for him.)

And of course, the scene with Jun Wu and the Virginity Detector Sword™ has to be mentioned. Again, there's symbolism to be had! The perpetrator of two of the most physically violating moments of Xie Lian's life (both of which were sexual in nature; one literally and one allegorically) being the one to "check" Xie Lian's virginity... oof. Yikes. It's dramatic irony. It's deeply uncomfortable. Especially because Jun Wu probably wanted to know if Xie Lian slept with Hua Cheng, as he already knew Xie Lian wasn't the ghost fetus' father.

So it's once again a stark juxtaposition: of Ghost King Hua Cheng disagreeing with the purity vows, wanting Xie Lian to break them for himself and his own freedom. Versus Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu wanting to weaponize those vows against Xie Lian in whatever way he can, intact or not, to keep control over him.

Naturally, there's something to be said for the real-world problem with such purity vows being used against people, to judge their moral character, societal expectations, etc. Elephant in the room. It's very on the nose, so there isn't even much to say about it that hasn't been said already.

In the end, it comes down to how horrible it is that when Xie Lian tries to help others, it results in immense harm to his body every time. Yet he is expected to continue to bear it, for centuries, by others and also himself. Until he meets Hua Cheng, who helps him rediscover what it means to be happy, and to be loved. So yes, it's absolutely relevant that in the end, Xie Lian decides to break his purity vows to be intimate with Hua Cheng. That he's able to put himself in Hua Cheng's hands, and let himself be treated with affection and desire. It's Xie Lian finally forgiving himself, and beginning to heal.

Xie Lian SHOCKED at PEACOCK SHI QINGXUAN

Anyone ever think of the comparison between yanshen and hualian, coz idk why but I've always thought that if HC never met xl and still became a supreme ghost king and then met xl he'd be exactly like yan wushi coz (I believe) part of the reason why hc had to meet xl when he was younger was that children are much more open to being helped without ulterior motives.

Part of the reason why hc doesn't have many people close to him (again it's simply my belief) coz he grew up only having xl as a source of kindness and was very cynical towards everyone else around him so much so that just at the age of 10 he decided to commit suicide and even at a place where people held the belief that if he disturbed the ceremony then the whole kingdom would collapse.

That sort of resentment is soo hard for a 10 year old boy. If hc wasn't rescued by xl on time and then met him 800 years then he'd also be like yan wushi testing xl again and again to see if he's actually genuine. There is a reason that most fanfiction authors have xl and hc meet when they were much younger, a grown person is so much harder to help since they are so adverse to it suspecting it to be with ulterior motive.

As much as people like to think that if hc met xl in canon timeline and would just be poof in love that won't happen, in fact hc would just bother xl all the time (like yan wushi did with Shen Qiao) and push him to his limits. Likewise sq and xl are also very similar, say xl hadn't met hc as Wu Ming and took the curses wouldn't he also end up like sq? With all the I deserve punishment and the punishment he'll take for who knows how long (given wm dispersed and xl can't as he's a god.)

( I'll shut up now sorry I just write too much sorry)

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tagging: @spooky-kakashi @rechenzentrum @luzmi191 @chepib3 Idk I've already tagged so many people these past few days I feel like they r so close to unfollowing me 😔

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