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sophia_sol) wrote2023-08-24 10:05 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2023-08-24 10:05 pm
Entry tags:
- anent: book thoughts 2,
- author: mo xiang tong xiu,
- book theme: alternate earth,
- book theme: fantasy,
- book theme: history,
- book theme: queer,
- book theme: religion,
- book theme: romance,
- book theme: translated,
- book theme: xianxia,
- fandom: cnovels,
- post type: crosspost from mastodon,
- pub date: 2022,
- rating: ****
TGCF book 1
Over on mastodon I'm participating in a group readalong of TGCF, one chapter per week, and a few weeks ago we finished the first volume of the official translation so I might as well crosspost all my thoughts over to here as like, my book review? Yeah okay here we go! Putting it all below a cut to save your reading page
PROLOGUE
I've read the whole book once before, and I just finished the prologue for this read-along, and it's fascinating to read now in the full knowledge of things that get revealed later; on my first read I absolutely did not realize how much backstory was just glossed over here!
It's fascinating how it both reads very differently and also still entirely the same when you know more!
-
this is one of the bits that uhhhh really strikes differently!!
-
CHAPTER ONE
ok and now I've read chapter 1! ahhhh I just love xie lian so MUCH, what a guy, what an endless delight. Both the hint we get of wee baby newly-ascended 17 year old xie lian earnestly introducing himself to every single other heavenly official, and the current xie lian, cheerfully accepting of his misfortunes
Also: ling wen my beloved <3
-
also, this time I vow that I WILL keep Mu Qing and Feng Xin straight, no matter how much I have to work at it!
-
I also love in this chapter how indications given from early on that xie lian is unusually unlucky and also has no spiritual powers, but it's just breezily passed over as if it's no big deal and to be expected under the circumstances....oh ho ho
I do love how much xl and his pov just like....avoid noticing or expending attention on the things that suck in xie lian's life!
-
Mu Qing (tgcf) and Mu Qing (nif) have impressively divergent character vibes, to the point that I literally didn't even notice they have the same name until it was brought to my attention today!
-
CHAPTER TWO
Interested by the detail about how much extreme effort even a fairly well-placed lord has to go through in order to get the attention of any of the gods in heaven. Really checks out with respect to how much the heavens seem more interested in their own interpersonal dynamics than in, like, actually doing things for their followers!
-
It is extremely funny to me that Fu Yao is capable of criticizing the Nan Yang statue for 2 hours straight, and that that's how long it takes before Xie Lian thinks it might be time to change the subject
-
Kind of heartbreaking how completely Xie Lian doesn't consider that someone might be upset by seeing how injured he got from his fall from heaven! what? little ol' him might matter to someone?!
-
I was talking last week about how to keep track of which names go with which of Mu Qing and Feng Xin, and I'm very sad to report that my strategy does not completely hold up, because Ju Yang has a u in it, and is a name for Feng Xin. Mu Qing does not have a monopoly on u names after all :( RUDE
-
CHAPTER THREE
Fu Yao criticising the inefficiency of Ling Wen's palace...as if Mu Qing's palace is able to do anything useful in this situation!
-
Xiao-Ying is delightful. Willing and able to stand up for herself, but also happy to lend assistance to people who need help, if they were kind to her. But assistance only on her own terms!
-
hua cheng introduction!!
ahhhh when hua Cheng first finally encounters Xie Lian, he holds out his hand in offer, and doesn't demand or force anything. of course!
"If he was a real groom, then he'd genuinely be a most gentle and considerate one."
Xie Lian is just full of thoughts about how wonderful this mysterious person is, in character and appearance and action, despite the context of meeting him
what a meet-cute! lol
-
I am really loving #TGCFReadAlong ! such a good way to inspire lots of conversation about this book that I pretty much always want to talk about!
-
CHAPTER FOUR
I loved Xiao-Ying, how brave and how kind she is, how hard she tries to do what's right, and it's very sad that she ends up dying :(((((
-
This is the chapter where we get introduced to Pei Ming's womanizing misogyny. Xuan Ji....you could have done SO much better than him! What IS it that makes so many women actually attracted to him?!
But I also do wonder what it was that led Xuan Ji to such an extreme response to being abandoned and rejected by her lover. She was apparently a very capable general, previously, so what led her to all these bad decisions!
-
CHAPTER FIVE
I do find human face disease to be kind of a silly concept. Like it's developed in interesting ways over the course of the book but the defining symptom has always seemed just a bit silly to me.
I genuinely do not remember though how this kid ends up with human face disease though, all these centuries after the plague! too many things happen in this book lol
-
ahhh on first read of the book when you see xie lian's reaction to the boy's face, you're like, oh it's a combo of body horror plus fear of the plague that destroyed his home. On second read.....oh it's The Trauma.
It's so sad, too, that it means he doesn't manage to have a chill reaction to this kid who was so worried about showing his face!
-
on another note, I love how thoroughly hua cheng managed to trounce the 33 gods, and how thoroughly he punished them afterwards when they renege on the parameters of the challenge
it's so funny to me how it makes so much of the heaven terrified of hc, even though hc was behaving perfectly honourably. he issued a challenge and he abided by the agreements in the challenge, that's only scary if you plan to do dishonourable things yourself!
-
during this week's reading I went back and forth approximately a thousand times about whether Xie Lian has already recognized Feng Xin and Mu Qing or not! I just CANNOT decide. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for further clues as we continue in this book
-
CHAPTER SIX
it's so funny and charming how xie lian's efforts to engage with the communication array basically come down to those spammy email forward chains that old people used to send all the time!
(I suppose that that energy has been redirected to facebook or something these days?)
-
I'm also super charmed by how xie lian has basically made himself immune to feeling awkward about things he does. everyone else is super embarrassed for him, to be his own only worshipper, but xl is chill. And thinks "amusing himself could be fun"!
-
but ohhhhhh xl's inability to come up with anything to say about why he should be worshipped, when the villagers ask him about his shrine! this is what you need hua cheng for!! xl might be chill about many things but it's because his self esteem is in the basement
-
oh man thinking from hua cheng's perspective about this meeting between him as san lang and xie lian, it's so cute. He looks languid and carefree on the other side of the cart, seems to only start talking with xie lian out of boredom, but you KNOW how carefully he orchestrated this meeting!!! (him and his attractive legs in tight-fitting boots, which he absolutely chose to make sure he looked good for dianxia)
-
I've been wondering for a while already just how early on xie lian figured out the identities of fu yao and nan feng, but now I also need to remember to pay attention to how early I think he figured out san lang's identity! If he knows it right from the start, it's pretty cheeky of him to be questioning him so thoroughly about hua cheng :P
-
awwwwww interacting with san lang is the first time in centuries xie lian feels really embarrassed!! because san lang's good opinion actually matters to him!
-
CHAPTER SEVEN
I love how Xie Lian is already so sure that San Lang is going to be sticking around, that he's not just a transient part of Xie Lian's life. And throughout the chapter it's so clear how Xie Lian just likes San Lang so much!!!
he does his due diligence by testing sl and so forth, but doesn't let that stop him from simply liking and trusting sl regardless, and enjoying his mean streak too lol
-
and San Lang has such swagger, I love it. He makes it look like he couldn't enter the shrine with the seal on the curtain-door, but actually he just wanted the opportunity to flex. He's just like constantly showing off in this chapter, and making it clear that he doesn't care about anything except Xie Lian
-
Anyway it's time for the intro of the next plot arc, Banyue Pass, now that the ghost groom is resolved. Nan Feng and Fu Yao are sooo uncomfortable with the fact they're volunteering to help - whether it's bc of the specific mission or bc it's to help Xie Lian is unclear, but could well be both!
Also it's clear to me that nan feng and fu yao recognize san lang & vice versa and they're all mad about it. Xie Lian's uphill battle to get them to peacefully coexist begins!
-
One question I had was that earlier it seemed evident that Puqi Shrine was named after the fact that the villagers gave Xie Lian water chestnuts, but now apparently the village is named Puqi, so is the shrine just named after the village after all?
-
First mention of state preceptor Fangxin! If I'm remembering right, this is actually Xie Lian. Love the way that the complex parts of xl's history get seeded in from so early on without, like, making it clear what the actual situation is. This happens a lot in the book iirc, with things being casually referred to early on and then later when you get into it there's like a whole well of trauma for xl!
-
and one final small observation. xl's perspective on his own cooking: "unable to bear the sight of such a tragedy" ahahahaha
-
CHAPTER EIGHT
the ongoing attempts to unmask San Lang are sooooo funny
it reminds me a bit of the sort of fairy tale involving endless tests to try to prove that a character is actually a woman dressed as a man, which the character always passes easily but the testers are never convinced. same vibe!
-
the captain/general the stele is remembering is a guy who tried to keep civilians from being killed in war. this is very like the teenage Xie Lian wanting to save the common people! and Fu Yao criticises the captain's actions, which xl both expects and doesn't seem happy about :( though he doesn't say anything against Fu Yao
-
and then San Lang cheers Xie Lian up (who had been feeling "a bit woeful") by being mischievous and by convincing the merchants to prostrate before the stele! ahhh I love how attentive sl is, and how much he knows just what to do for xl!
-
and then San Lang's REACTION to xl being stung - and stung because xl was trying to protect sl! "the expression on the youth's face was /off/" and then the vibes remain off balance for the rest of the chapter and xl is toootally bewildered. what could have upset San Lang, xl???? what could it POSSIBLY have been?? don't strain yourself too hard in wondering!!
-
anyway I do not remember lots of what happens next in this particular arc, except BEEFLEAF and also chekov's pit of snakes, so I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with the rest of it as we continue!
-
CHAPTER NINE
To start, I do not love the othering framing the narrative uses to discuss the Banyue people and language, which from what I understand ties into common stereotypes in China about northern people groups. Huge dark-skinned people who are beast-like, and the language is "ghastly, guttural, and heavy with tongue rolling." Not great.
-
xie lian your trauma is showing again ðŸ˜
-
San Lang continuing to act way too unbothered, then coolly throwing himself into the pit -- at first it seems to accomplish what xl wanted to do but couldn't (keep the mortals from having to be thrown in first) but then it becomes clear that sl is fully aware of how likely xl is to end up in the pit in short order and wants to be in there first to clean up the mess and CATCH XIE LIAN. (and then xl immediately jumps in after sl, no thoughts present, so good work there sl)
-
hahaha xl, head empty, taking the opportunity to feel sl up. and then he gets the opportunity to feel awkward for the first time in centuries. sl has inspired him to rediscover embarrassment!
-
ahh xl just finds everything about sl so attractive
-
xl is sooooo not used to someone taking care of him!!!
-
and then xie lian and san lang's conversation after kemo is defeated!!!!! xl's main concern: making sure sl is safe in the future. sl's main concern: xl judging him for showing irrefutable proof that sl's not actually human. to the degree that sl actually prompts xl with a question about it because he's SO confused that xl isn't concerned!! SAN LANG!!!
-
Our first encounter with someone xl knew during his time of banishment in the mortal world! Poor Banyue had a rough childhood.
(but also: Banyue kingdom's state preceptor has the same name as the kingdom? Why was she named that? It does allow for xie lian to not realize until now who the state preceptor is, because he thinks people are referring to her by the kingdom she's state preceptor for, rather than by what her name is, but it's weird to me that she'd be named that?)
-
I had forgotten that xl was actually the general-captain of the memorial marker from the cave in chapter 8! I went back to reread the scene where the captain's story is told and xl's reactions are very illuminating in light of this knowledge. He's not just identifying with the captain for also being a person who wants to save everyone; he IS the captain
-
"around two hundred years ago, due to certain reasons, Xie Lian couldn't muck around in the east anymore and decided to stay out of sight for a while." HMMM I'll look forward to being reminded later of what those certain reasons were! Gonna guess: one of the various other horrible traumatic experiences from his past that he doesn't like thinking about.
-
or actually - does anyone know of a good resource that lists out all the relevant events xl's life in chronological order, unlike the reveals of backstory that happen in all kinds of different orders in the book?
-
CHAPTER TEN
Now that we are at the end of it, I feel like one of the main themes in the Banyue arc is about how much the heavenly court sucks. Which like. YEAH. and WHO'S ALLOWING that unpleasant culture to flourish, hmmm jun wu?!??
(context for the third quote is that Xie Lian is worried the Wind Master will put all the blame on Preceptor Banyue to protect Pei Jr)
-
The other thing this arc is about is solving a mystery from hundreds of years ago, and relitigating the past between ghosts and gods. Do I see thematic foreshadowing? :D
-
I love seeing Xie Lian get his first new human believer! and telling the kid his title is the Scrap Immortal - but taking so much convincing to give any name at all, and telling it in the narrative in such a sideways way that it took me a moment to realise what was even meant, lol. xl has Issues around being worshipped
-
and then of course I LOVE the name reveal at the end of the chapter. it's so them!!!!
-
but my favourite thing about this chapter is that BEEFLEAF ARE INTRODUCED. Hiiiiiiii beefleaf my beloved! Cannot wait to watch that spiral out in the way it inevitably must
-
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I did my reading last night for #TGCFReadAlong for this week, but what I did was take pics of the sections of text that I had thoughts and feelings about and wrote zero notes....so I am going to have to formulate my thoughts into something coherent now
-
In this chapter we got to explore a bit more about Xie Lian's current feelings about himself back when he was still the god-pleasing crown prince! Between his feelings about being called "Your Highness," his embarrassment at having told someone to make himself that person's reason for living, and how he reacts to the idea that he used to have as his goal in life to save the common people....it's a lot.
-
But I appreciate that Hua Cheng pushes back on all of these! hc calls xl "Your Highness" in complete sincerity, and tells xl that his goal was a good goal, and that it is not embarrassing for xl to be someone's reason for living. hc is just like: "you're worthy of being admired!" without ever coming on too strong about it.
-
It's interesting though - xie lian has complicated feelings he doesn't want to look at about Hua Cheng calling him "Your Highness" in earnest, but he flat out does not want Banyue to do the same thing.
(also, shout out to Ling Wen for not making a thing in any direction out of xie lian's title! she calls him your highness simply because that's his title and then moves on with things.)
-
can't not point out more content in my "heaven sucks!!!" agenda
-
also my hualian being cute agenda!
-
I didn't quite understand this bit though - why does hua cheng laugh in response to xie lian's reassurances about hc's appearance?
-
and then we end with the RING!!!!!
PROLOGUE
I've read the whole book once before, and I just finished the prologue for this read-along, and it's fascinating to read now in the full knowledge of things that get revealed later; on my first read I absolutely did not realize how much backstory was just glossed over here!
It's fascinating how it both reads very differently and also still entirely the same when you know more!
-
this is one of the bits that uhhhh really strikes differently!!
[Only then did the crown prince realize that he had just encountered the Heavenly Emperor, who had personally descended to the Mortal Realm to subdue evil.
The deities had already taken notice of this exceedingly outstanding God-Pleasing Warrior since his time in the Shangyuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession. After the meeting at Yinian Bridge, they asked the Heavenly Emperor, "How does My Lord find this Royal Highness?"
The Emperor answered, "This child's future is infinite."]
-
CHAPTER ONE
ok and now I've read chapter 1! ahhhh I just love xie lian so MUCH, what a guy, what an endless delight. Both the hint we get of wee baby newly-ascended 17 year old xie lian earnestly introducing himself to every single other heavenly official, and the current xie lian, cheerfully accepting of his misfortunes
Also: ling wen my beloved <3
-
also, this time I vow that I WILL keep Mu Qing and Feng Xin straight, no matter how much I have to work at it!
-
I also love in this chapter how indications given from early on that xie lian is unusually unlucky and also has no spiritual powers, but it's just breezily passed over as if it's no big deal and to be expected under the circumstances....oh ho ho
I do love how much xl and his pov just like....avoid noticing or expending attention on the things that suck in xie lian's life!
-
Mu Qing (tgcf) and Mu Qing (nif) have impressively divergent character vibes, to the point that I literally didn't even notice they have the same name until it was brought to my attention today!
-
CHAPTER TWO
Interested by the detail about how much extreme effort even a fairly well-placed lord has to go through in order to get the attention of any of the gods in heaven. Really checks out with respect to how much the heavens seem more interested in their own interpersonal dynamics than in, like, actually doing things for their followers!
-
It is extremely funny to me that Fu Yao is capable of criticizing the Nan Yang statue for 2 hours straight, and that that's how long it takes before Xie Lian thinks it might be time to change the subject
-
Kind of heartbreaking how completely Xie Lian doesn't consider that someone might be upset by seeing how injured he got from his fall from heaven! what? little ol' him might matter to someone?!
-
I was talking last week about how to keep track of which names go with which of Mu Qing and Feng Xin, and I'm very sad to report that my strategy does not completely hold up, because Ju Yang has a u in it, and is a name for Feng Xin. Mu Qing does not have a monopoly on u names after all :( RUDE
-
CHAPTER THREE
Fu Yao criticising the inefficiency of Ling Wen's palace...as if Mu Qing's palace is able to do anything useful in this situation!
-
Xiao-Ying is delightful. Willing and able to stand up for herself, but also happy to lend assistance to people who need help, if they were kind to her. But assistance only on her own terms!
-
hua cheng introduction!!
ahhhh when hua Cheng first finally encounters Xie Lian, he holds out his hand in offer, and doesn't demand or force anything. of course!
"If he was a real groom, then he'd genuinely be a most gentle and considerate one."
Xie Lian is just full of thoughts about how wonderful this mysterious person is, in character and appearance and action, despite the context of meeting him
what a meet-cute! lol
-
I am really loving #TGCFReadAlong ! such a good way to inspire lots of conversation about this book that I pretty much always want to talk about!
-
CHAPTER FOUR
I loved Xiao-Ying, how brave and how kind she is, how hard she tries to do what's right, and it's very sad that she ends up dying :(((((
-
This is the chapter where we get introduced to Pei Ming's womanizing misogyny. Xuan Ji....you could have done SO much better than him! What IS it that makes so many women actually attracted to him?!
But I also do wonder what it was that led Xuan Ji to such an extreme response to being abandoned and rejected by her lover. She was apparently a very capable general, previously, so what led her to all these bad decisions!
-
CHAPTER FIVE
I do find human face disease to be kind of a silly concept. Like it's developed in interesting ways over the course of the book but the defining symptom has always seemed just a bit silly to me.
I genuinely do not remember though how this kid ends up with human face disease though, all these centuries after the plague! too many things happen in this book lol
-
ahhh on first read of the book when you see xie lian's reaction to the boy's face, you're like, oh it's a combo of body horror plus fear of the plague that destroyed his home. On second read.....oh it's The Trauma.
It's so sad, too, that it means he doesn't manage to have a chill reaction to this kid who was so worried about showing his face!
-
on another note, I love how thoroughly hua cheng managed to trounce the 33 gods, and how thoroughly he punished them afterwards when they renege on the parameters of the challenge
it's so funny to me how it makes so much of the heaven terrified of hc, even though hc was behaving perfectly honourably. he issued a challenge and he abided by the agreements in the challenge, that's only scary if you plan to do dishonourable things yourself!
-
during this week's reading I went back and forth approximately a thousand times about whether Xie Lian has already recognized Feng Xin and Mu Qing or not! I just CANNOT decide. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for further clues as we continue in this book
-
CHAPTER SIX
it's so funny and charming how xie lian's efforts to engage with the communication array basically come down to those spammy email forward chains that old people used to send all the time!
(I suppose that that energy has been redirected to facebook or something these days?)
-
I'm also super charmed by how xie lian has basically made himself immune to feeling awkward about things he does. everyone else is super embarrassed for him, to be his own only worshipper, but xl is chill. And thinks "amusing himself could be fun"!
-
but ohhhhhh xl's inability to come up with anything to say about why he should be worshipped, when the villagers ask him about his shrine! this is what you need hua cheng for!! xl might be chill about many things but it's because his self esteem is in the basement
-
oh man thinking from hua cheng's perspective about this meeting between him as san lang and xie lian, it's so cute. He looks languid and carefree on the other side of the cart, seems to only start talking with xie lian out of boredom, but you KNOW how carefully he orchestrated this meeting!!! (him and his attractive legs in tight-fitting boots, which he absolutely chose to make sure he looked good for dianxia)
-
I've been wondering for a while already just how early on xie lian figured out the identities of fu yao and nan feng, but now I also need to remember to pay attention to how early I think he figured out san lang's identity! If he knows it right from the start, it's pretty cheeky of him to be questioning him so thoroughly about hua cheng :P
-
awwwwww interacting with san lang is the first time in centuries xie lian feels really embarrassed!! because san lang's good opinion actually matters to him!
-
CHAPTER SEVEN
I love how Xie Lian is already so sure that San Lang is going to be sticking around, that he's not just a transient part of Xie Lian's life. And throughout the chapter it's so clear how Xie Lian just likes San Lang so much!!!
he does his due diligence by testing sl and so forth, but doesn't let that stop him from simply liking and trusting sl regardless, and enjoying his mean streak too lol
-
and San Lang has such swagger, I love it. He makes it look like he couldn't enter the shrine with the seal on the curtain-door, but actually he just wanted the opportunity to flex. He's just like constantly showing off in this chapter, and making it clear that he doesn't care about anything except Xie Lian
-
Anyway it's time for the intro of the next plot arc, Banyue Pass, now that the ghost groom is resolved. Nan Feng and Fu Yao are sooo uncomfortable with the fact they're volunteering to help - whether it's bc of the specific mission or bc it's to help Xie Lian is unclear, but could well be both!
Also it's clear to me that nan feng and fu yao recognize san lang & vice versa and they're all mad about it. Xie Lian's uphill battle to get them to peacefully coexist begins!
-
One question I had was that earlier it seemed evident that Puqi Shrine was named after the fact that the villagers gave Xie Lian water chestnuts, but now apparently the village is named Puqi, so is the shrine just named after the village after all?
-
First mention of state preceptor Fangxin! If I'm remembering right, this is actually Xie Lian. Love the way that the complex parts of xl's history get seeded in from so early on without, like, making it clear what the actual situation is. This happens a lot in the book iirc, with things being casually referred to early on and then later when you get into it there's like a whole well of trauma for xl!
-
and one final small observation. xl's perspective on his own cooking: "unable to bear the sight of such a tragedy" ahahahaha
-
CHAPTER EIGHT
the ongoing attempts to unmask San Lang are sooooo funny
it reminds me a bit of the sort of fairy tale involving endless tests to try to prove that a character is actually a woman dressed as a man, which the character always passes easily but the testers are never convinced. same vibe!
-
the captain/general the stele is remembering is a guy who tried to keep civilians from being killed in war. this is very like the teenage Xie Lian wanting to save the common people! and Fu Yao criticises the captain's actions, which xl both expects and doesn't seem happy about :( though he doesn't say anything against Fu Yao
-
and then San Lang cheers Xie Lian up (who had been feeling "a bit woeful") by being mischievous and by convincing the merchants to prostrate before the stele! ahhh I love how attentive sl is, and how much he knows just what to do for xl!
-
and then San Lang's REACTION to xl being stung - and stung because xl was trying to protect sl! "the expression on the youth's face was /off/" and then the vibes remain off balance for the rest of the chapter and xl is toootally bewildered. what could have upset San Lang, xl???? what could it POSSIBLY have been?? don't strain yourself too hard in wondering!!
-
anyway I do not remember lots of what happens next in this particular arc, except BEEFLEAF and also chekov's pit of snakes, so I'm looking forward to reacquainting myself with the rest of it as we continue!
-
CHAPTER NINE
To start, I do not love the othering framing the narrative uses to discuss the Banyue people and language, which from what I understand ties into common stereotypes in China about northern people groups. Huge dark-skinned people who are beast-like, and the language is "ghastly, guttural, and heavy with tongue rolling." Not great.
-
xie lian your trauma is showing again ðŸ˜
[He stepped forward and said in a small voice, "Don't worry. If anything happens, I will go forward first."
Xie Lian thought that if they all must fall, he might as well be the first one to check things out. It couldn't be worse than venomous snakes and beasts or menacing ghosts. He couldn't die from the fall, from getting beaten, from bites, or from poison. As long as it wasn't lava or fire, or some pool of corpse-dissolving water, it shouldn't be too terrible when he jumped down.]
-
San Lang continuing to act way too unbothered, then coolly throwing himself into the pit -- at first it seems to accomplish what xl wanted to do but couldn't (keep the mortals from having to be thrown in first) but then it becomes clear that sl is fully aware of how likely xl is to end up in the pit in short order and wants to be in there first to clean up the mess and CATCH XIE LIAN. (and then xl immediately jumps in after sl, no thoughts present, so good work there sl)
-
hahaha xl, head empty, taking the opportunity to feel sl up. and then he gets the opportunity to feel awkward for the first time in centuries. sl has inspired him to rediscover embarrassment!
[Maybe it was because the stench of blood here at the bottom of the pit was heavy and disorienting. Who knew what was going through Xie Lian's head, but his hands continued to roam upward until he reached a strong, hard Adam's apple. He snapped out of it in shock and immediately reprimanded himself, withdrawing his hands.]
-
ahh xl just finds everything about sl so attractive
["Don't worry about him," San Lang said, still holding Xie Lian tight. he made a small sidestep and spun around.
In the dark, Xie Lian heard a series of fine clinking sounds: pleasant to the ear, clear and intense, swishing here and there.]
-
xl is sooooo not used to someone taking care of him!!!
["Why can't I get down?" Xie Lian asked in spite of himself. This guy couldn't possibly enjoy fighting while carrying someone, could he? He didn't need to go that far to look down on his opponent, did he?
San Lang's answer was only two words: "It's dirty."
"..."
Xie Lian had never imagined that would be the answer -- and said with such seriousness too. He thought it was a little funny, but it also made him feel inexplicably strange, his chest growing slightly warm for some reason.]
-
and then xie lian and san lang's conversation after kemo is defeated!!!!! xl's main concern: making sure sl is safe in the future. sl's main concern: xl judging him for showing irrefutable proof that sl's not actually human. to the degree that sl actually prompts xl with a question about it because he's SO confused that xl isn't concerned!! SAN LANG!!!
-
Our first encounter with someone xl knew during his time of banishment in the mortal world! Poor Banyue had a rough childhood.
(but also: Banyue kingdom's state preceptor has the same name as the kingdom? Why was she named that? It does allow for xie lian to not realize until now who the state preceptor is, because he thinks people are referring to her by the kingdom she's state preceptor for, rather than by what her name is, but it's weird to me that she'd be named that?)
-
I had forgotten that xl was actually the general-captain of the memorial marker from the cave in chapter 8! I went back to reread the scene where the captain's story is told and xl's reactions are very illuminating in light of this knowledge. He's not just identifying with the captain for also being a person who wants to save everyone; he IS the captain
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"around two hundred years ago, due to certain reasons, Xie Lian couldn't muck around in the east anymore and decided to stay out of sight for a while." HMMM I'll look forward to being reminded later of what those certain reasons were! Gonna guess: one of the various other horrible traumatic experiences from his past that he doesn't like thinking about.
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or actually - does anyone know of a good resource that lists out all the relevant events xl's life in chronological order, unlike the reveals of backstory that happen in all kinds of different orders in the book?
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CHAPTER TEN
Now that we are at the end of it, I feel like one of the main themes in the Banyue arc is about how much the heavenly court sucks. Which like. YEAH. and WHO'S ALLOWING that unpleasant culture to flourish, hmmm jun wu?!??
(context for the third quote is that Xie Lian is worried the Wind Master will put all the blame on Preceptor Banyue to protect Pei Jr)
["I knew that for close to two hundred years there was something causing havoc, but none of the heavenly officials cared, and no one dared speak of it. So there had to be someone no one wanted to offend keeping this scandal under wraps."]
[The Upper Court wouldn't bat an eyelash at something like this; everyone needed to spill some blood if they wanted to do great things. But slaughtering a city wasn't anything glorious, after all. If the story spread too far, it would affect the number of new believers, so of course there would be some cover-ups after ascension.]
[Xie Lian relaxed. "Much ashamed! I was suspicious."
"It's normal to be suspicious," the Wind Master said. "There's certainly an unpleasant culture in the Upper Court, after all."]
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The other thing this arc is about is solving a mystery from hundreds of years ago, and relitigating the past between ghosts and gods. Do I see thematic foreshadowing? :D
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I love seeing Xie Lian get his first new human believer! and telling the kid his title is the Scrap Immortal - but taking so much convincing to give any name at all, and telling it in the narrative in such a sideways way that it took me a moment to realise what was even meant, lol. xl has Issues around being worshipped
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and then of course I LOVE the name reveal at the end of the chapter. it's so them!!!!
[He turned to look at the youth next to him and smiled cheerfully. "He's not hungry, how about you?"
San Lang smiled cheerfully back. "I'm starving."
Xie Lian grinned and stood up again, before turning around and casually tidying the altar table.
"All right, then. What do you want to eat, Hua Cheng?"
Behind him, there was silence. Then chuckling.
"I still prefer the name 'San Lang.'"]
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but my favourite thing about this chapter is that BEEFLEAF ARE INTRODUCED. Hiiiiiiii beefleaf my beloved! Cannot wait to watch that spiral out in the way it inevitably must
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
I did my reading last night for #TGCFReadAlong for this week, but what I did was take pics of the sections of text that I had thoughts and feelings about and wrote zero notes....so I am going to have to formulate my thoughts into something coherent now
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In this chapter we got to explore a bit more about Xie Lian's current feelings about himself back when he was still the god-pleasing crown prince! Between his feelings about being called "Your Highness," his embarrassment at having told someone to make himself that person's reason for living, and how he reacts to the idea that he used to have as his goal in life to save the common people....it's a lot.
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But I appreciate that Hua Cheng pushes back on all of these! hc calls xl "Your Highness" in complete sincerity, and tells xl that his goal was a good goal, and that it is not embarrassing for xl to be someone's reason for living. hc is just like: "you're worthy of being admired!" without ever coming on too strong about it.
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It's interesting though - xie lian has complicated feelings he doesn't want to look at about Hua Cheng calling him "Your Highness" in earnest, but he flat out does not want Banyue to do the same thing.
(also, shout out to Ling Wen for not making a thing in any direction out of xie lian's title! she calls him your highness simply because that's his title and then moves on with things.)
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can't not point out more content in my "heaven sucks!!!" agenda
[Hua Cheng replied quietly, "They're heavenly officials. Mortals are nothing but ants in their eyes."]
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also my hualian being cute agenda!
[That's not necessarily true," Hua Chen said. "Besides, you can always kick me out."
Xie Lian replied, "You're so powerful. Even if I kicked you out now, if you really wanted to do something bad, wouldn't you just change your skin and come back?"
The two met eyes and grinned.]
[If anything must be blamed, it would have to be the look on Hua Cheng's face, like he was welcoming Xie Lian to test it out himself. Without thinking, Xie Lian raised a finger and poked Hua Cheng's face.
After poking, Xie Lian snapped back to himself in shock, yelping /Oh no!/ in his head.
He was only curious to see what a supreme Ghost King's fake skin would feel like, but apparently, his body moved faster than his mind and poked him! How extremely outrageous of him!
To have someone suddenly poke him, Hua Cheng looked somewhat shocked too, but he was always calm and collected, so his expression cleared instantly. He didn't say anything, but his arched brow raised even higher, as if waiting for Xie Lian to explain. The laughter in his eyes was apparent. of course Xie Lian couldn't explain himself. He looked at his own finger then hid it away, betraying nothing of his thoughts.
"...Not bad."
Hua Cheng finally burst out laughing, and he crossed his arms with his head tilted. "What's not bad? Do you mean this skin?"]
[Xie Lian was thunderstruck.
He flipped over and curled into a shrimp, wishing for another pair of arms so he could cover both his face and his ears. He groaned. "...San Lang..."]
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I didn't quite understand this bit though - why does hua cheng laugh in response to xie lian's reassurances about hc's appearance?
["...Well, we're sort of friends now, right? So if we're friends, then we should be honest with each other. My wanting to see your true appearance has nothing to do with how you look. You asked what I would do, but of course I won't do anything. Don't worry, as long as it's your real face, I'm sure I'll... Why are you laughing? I'm being serious."
When Xie Lian reached the last part, he could feel the youth next to him shaking. He froze for a moment, and thought, /Are my words so moving that he's touched like this?/ and was too embarrassed to turn around to see. But after a while, the soft laughter from next to him very obviously leaked out. Xie Lian felt rather deflated and placed a hand on his shoulder to give it a little push.]
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and then we end with the RING!!!!!
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I loved Xiao-Ying, how brave and how kind she is, how hard she tries to do what's right, and it's very sad that she ends up dying :(((((
Yup. I genuinely hated (HATED) her fate. Especially since, as you mentioned, she'd been one of the few kind characters. It almost soured me on the book, go figure!
Xie Lian's efforts to get on the array (which is a mix of what I read as stubbornness and nonchalance? #Unsure) made me want to pat him on the head.
I do find human face disease to be kind of a silly concept. Like it's developed in interesting ways over the course of the book but the defining symptom has always seemed just a bit silly to me.
I can see that--even though my own thoughts abt that disease have shifted a little. At first, I did struggled to picture what it looked like and will admit that it sounded like more of a nuisance than anything else. But, once we got the volume (I want to say it was the third one?) that depicted its beginnings, I changed my mind. Nowadays, I feel it parallels our reality's leprosy, I'd say. In terms of both being v. contagious and how disfiguring both are for ppl who are afflicted with them. So that added a layer of actual!body horror to my reading. YMMV, etc.
One thing I was v. grateful w/r/t the illustrations in the 7S books is that I realized Jun Wu is way younger-looking than I'd imagined. Random thought is random.
I didn't know the stereotype abt folks for Northern Territories. DDDD:
Overall, I already know I'm less fannish abt this series than you (and a lot of other ppl are.) In that, I have my opinions, most deffo ship Huelian (how can I not?), and like Xie Lian & Shi Quingxuan as platonic bffs (heheh). But I'm way more casual in my reading of the series and don't feel the urge to join the fandom proper? Like I had no idea that Beefleaf was a thing, frex. That said, I'm having enough of a good time reading the volumes, so it's a kind of a win? IDK, LOL.
Anyways, thanks for this post. :D
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Yeah I can definitely understand that! I think TGCF as a whole is making an argument about the importance of kindness, among other things, but it doesn't start out showing a whole lot!
At first, I did struggled to picture what it looked like and will admit that it sounded like more of a nuisance than anything else. But, once we got the volume (I want to say it was the third one?) that depicted its beginnings, I changed my mind. Nowadays, I feel it parallels our reality's leprosy, I'd say. In terms of both being v. contagious and how disfiguring both are for ppl who are afflicted with them.
yeah I totally get that intellectually, and if I think about what it would be like to actually experience it seems awful, but as a symptom of a fictional disease it still somehow manages to strike me as silly rather than horrifying.
That said, I'm having enough of a good time reading the volumes, so it's a kind of a win? IDK, LOL.
yes that's always a win!!! I'm glad you're enjoying reading it, even if you're not very interested in participating in the fandom! TGCF is a great book.
Anyways, thanks for this post. :D
<3 thank you so much!