stand with Palestine

Going through the English edition of SVSSS as I’m doing now, you will notice that Qin Wanyue is often referred to as “graceful and subdued little shimei”. If you then check the character guide, you will see that “graceful and subdued” is actually a direct translation of her name 婉約 Wǎnyuē (baidu offers a slightly different tl, “graceful and restrained”, if that’s of interest to anyone). Shen Yuan|Qingqiu appears to take that as a charactonym, but should he really? It may be difficult to judge for the PIDW version of Qin Wanyue (as she is described to us only by the very narrator we are questioning at the moment), but ‘the new story’ version of her does get some interiority in text, despite a limited number of appearances. And yes, in presentation, Qin Wanyue appears to live up to her name; but pay closer attention, and a different characterization peeks through.

(English edition, vol. 1, page 216)

This excerpt, for example, paints a character who could at most charitable reading be described as calculative. Or even, given the larger context of the scene, willing to use other people (Luo Binghe, in this case) as stepping stones to achieve her own goals.

Or how about this moment:

(Ibid., page 217)

The text plainly notes her actions to be "wildly insincere". So Qin Wanyue is also willing to use textbook manipulation techniques to make people do her bidding act as she wants them to act.

And the last excerpt I want to note, which I would not consider characteristic on its own but which feels somewhat telling in context:

(Ibid., page 219)

Now, obviously, it’s not a bad thing for a character to have mental fortitude! It’s just that the phrasing here, combined with previous instances, feels rather deliberate. She was smart enough to not faint for real. It almost makes it seem like even her reaction to her sister’s fate was in part performative…

Though, for the sake of fairness, I will consider that last conjecture questionable, and work off the first two excerpts – which are just enough to conclude that Qin Wanyue is, well, quite ruthless for someone whose image is that of a ‘quiet and nice’ (or “graceful and subdued”, lol) one.

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Now, this is her characterization during the Immortal Alliance Conference in ‘the new story’. And although some butterfly effect of Shen Yuan’s presence has already reached these characters – think Qin Wanrong’s fate in the absence of love interest’s plot armor – it is largely implied throughout the novel that the characterization in ‘the new story’, absent transmigrator meddling, is consistent with PIDW’s characterization, even if PIDW never delved into the reasoning behind characters’ actions – think Yue Qingyuan and Shen Jiu. So it is reasonable to posit that PIDW’s Qin Wanyue has the same personality as the one we see on-page in SVSSS. Why is that important? Well… here’s where that content warning from the beginning comes in.

After all, the most memorable thing about the original Qin Wanyue (according to our unreliable primary narrator) is:

(Ibid., page 213)

Thing is, most of the details about this plot point come up much earlier in the novel, when Shen Qingqiu complains talks about Without a Cure poison's, well, cure – so there’s a 70-page separation between the girl in the story and Qin Wanyue we meet.

(And in case anyone doubted the girl in question is the very same Qin Wanyue: please note the epithets in the following fragment and compare to the fragment quoted above)

(Ibid., page 142)

So, to refresh our memories, here’s a description of the key (to this meta) point of that storyline:

(Ibid., page 143, excerpt 2/3)

Now, this description on its own might not register as questionable, though I must note that the use of an expression "pushed down" usually implies a modicum of dubiousness in the consent. And the very next paragraph could be well taken to support this reading:

(Ibid., excerpt 3/3)

‘Consent under pressure of fulfilling a last wish’ is the very definition of dubious, is it not?

Though, of course, there's another possible reading – which is the one our narrator seems to subscribe to, given his choice of phrase "show of resistance" – that given the rules of (PIDW's) genre, Luo Binghe wasn't actually all that reluctant. Isn’t it just the straight dude's wish fulfillment, to have a pretty girl rush to take his virginity? It’s not that deep, and so such… But, well, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to go ahead and argue with Cucumber-bro about PIDW, lmao.

See, if there's anything SVSSS is very clear about, it's that the characters have interiority, even if it isn’t directly brought up. While the tropes and genre conventions do apply, character’s decisions are not explained by those only – again, think Shen Jiu: yes, his role is that of a scum villain, but his actions follow from his backstory and personality; though that leads to him fulfilling the aforementioned role, the role is not an explanation on its own. With that in mind, when analyzing the situation with original Luo Binghe and Qin Wanyue, it's crucial to consider them not as 'the stallion novel protagonist' and 'his love interest', but rather as people with their own motivations and thoughts and journeys.

I must note: while we only have Shen Yuan|Qingqiu’s description of the scene to go off of, and he, a) does think of it in terms of 'the stallion novel protagonist' and 'his love interest' and b) is fairly flippant about consent issues as present in PIDW (which comes for him later in the narrative), – but even with that, he still senses enough of PIDW Luo Binghe’s discomfort to bring it up in his recount. Which, imo, is on its own quite telling of how this scene went in PIDW.

Now, working off that ‘characters always have interiority’ framework, there's another bit that begins to stick out:

(Ibid., excerpt 1/3)

Of course, this could be taken as a joke about m/f relationships in media – they exchanged glances and then jumped into bed, y'know, the thing many of us complain about – but it starts to look suspicious if we think of those characters as, well, people. What, “exchanging glances” was the extent of it, and then one party “pushed down” the plain-text "reluctant" other party? Begins to smell of bad things happening, doesn’t it?

And then, of course, we should additionally consider the characterization we worked out for Qin Wanyue in the beginning of this meta: that she is willing to prioritize her own goals and desires over those of others (specifically Luo Binghe's even, in both cases) and not above using manipulation to get her way…

Now, look, Qin Wanyue in PIDW is in her last days, and I'm not gonna put on a tin foil hat and say ~maybe she isn't~ just because she is shown to be manipulative. I believe she is fatally poisoned, and I even believe that she doesn’t mean for her actions to be an assault. Still doesn't excuse coercive rape though. Just the same as Shen Jiu's horrible past doesn't excuse child abuse.

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And I do think the comparison between those two is apt, circling back to the title of this meta. I believe Qin Wanyue's actions towards Luo Binghe in the original story, and especially the way they influenced him, put her on par with the titular scum villain; yet her part in PIDW Luo Binghe's blackening is overlooked by both in-story narrator and the novel’s fandom.

But let us trace the underpinnings of the story we are told by Shen Yuan|Qingqiu.

For PIDW Luo Binghe, the Immortal Alliance Conference is significant in a way it isn't for the new story's Binghe – as it's the first time in years PIDW Binghe was able to leave Shen Jiu's sphere of influence. I'm sure that’s not news for anyone that abuse messes with a person's perception; thus, realizing that mistreatment isn’t the norm can be a significant step towards healing. So, PIDW Binghe meets a bunch of new people at the Conference, and realizes they do not treat him the way Shen Jiu and the disciples of Qing Jing do. These people treat him as a cool new friend! For once, he is not ostracized! Shen Yuan|Qingqiu is surprised to see that new story’s Binghe doesn't go to play in the creek with the group, but he fails to take into account that this camaraderie is not a breath of fresh air for him in a way it was for the original Binghe. New story's Binghe has the experience to realize the group's less-than-noble intentions, even if he isn't ruthless enough to ditch them; but does the same go for PIDW's Binghe? When those people treat him just so much better than what he's used to?

And the thing is, even though those people weren't sincere to him, this could've been the first step in Luo Binghe's recovery, the reality check that would combat Shen Jiu's influence on his mentality… if not for Qin Wanyue's actions. Essentially, the trust and goodwill he extended toward those new friends of his resulted in him getting taken advantage of, becoming just another proof of the world’s callousness for him.

Now, the way Shen Jiu shaped Luo Binghe is something of a common understanding in the fandom – that Luo Binghe’s new persona post-blackening is molded after his scum villain master. But I want you to consider those mentions of original Luo Binghe playing fast and loose with consent, and notice a direct causality between that and his first experience with intimacy at Qin Wanyue's hands. And in fact, his persona may have been influenced by her just as much as Shen Jiu. If we consider for example this description, "he would wear the mask of a kind and humble gentleman" (p.29), – while this could be traced back to Shen Qingqiu’s "fair without but foul within" (p.10) characterization, doesn't it seem even more like Qin Wanyue's "graceful and subdued" presentation? Or how about this description…

(Ibid., page 12)

…as compared to Qin Wanyue pretending to be "lovable and pitiable" to manipulate Luo Binghe and continue using him to her ends (see p.217 excerpt in the beginning)?

In this way, doesn't it seem like Qin Wanyue played almost as big a role in shaping PIDW Luo Binghe as the titular scum villain did? So why shouldn't she get the recognition as an important villain of PIDW's story?

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Lastly, I wanted to mention a certain little detail for symbolism-lovers in the crowd. As we know, Shen Yuan|Qingqiu uses lotus as a descriptor for Luo Binghe – 'white lotus' in his youth and 'black lotus' later. 'White lotus' in particular is a common expression to describe characters who are exceptionally innocent (it can have derogatory connotation, implying character is so innocent they are stupid, though our Shen Qingqiu is of course using it rather fondly). So, in SVSSS, white lotus can be considered a symbol of Luo Binghe’s innocence(broad definition).

Now, remember what the spiritual plant Luo Binghe picked for Qin Wanyue is called? I'll remind you, "Thousand-Leaves Fresh-Snow Lotus". Fresh-Snow, in other words, white. And what happens to that white lotus? It gets eaten raw by Qin Wanyue. Welp, symbolism!