Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Novel Chapters 34-36 Reaction!
Added 2024-07-22 13:00:11 +0000 UTC*REPUTATION-RUINING HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
Oh, OH, the train is running and it's destination is PAIN TOWN. I have realized I have REALLY come to empathize with Shen QingQiu, so him stoically - even if resiliently - facing the criticism coming at him...as well as the FISTS coming at him - from his beloved disciple no less! It left me in a tizzy and I spent this long discussion working my way through the emotions!
MXTX, what is this roller coaster you've placed me upon?!
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
YES! It’s been a massive help to be able to record ahead, especially with the discussions being this long and me wanting to get ahead with the story! And yeah, usually I try to plan longer reactions for specific days, but if I’m not in the mood - I’m not in the mood! 😀 The FOG OF MISUNDERSTANDING is just a wench! I definitely agree this is the darkest the couple’s interaction has been out of all the MXTX pairings. SQQ is going through it, indeed! I would be for the “blood play” if it was consensual between the two of them, but here it is most certainly not. Especially since the reasons for it can literally cause him harm later on. AND HIM WANTING TO SMILE BACK - UGH, my SOUL. *cries* There are definitely shades of MXTX’s other works that we can see the influence of within this. I definitely didn’t see an arrest happening with him at this point! And YES - the “threat” of violence alone IS domestic abuse. I know that MXTX will find some way, I’m sure, to make this all work out - but I just couldn’t support it this week. At least, to be fair to LBH, SQQ should have communicated – the communications major in me wants to bang my head on the wall next to that punching spot. We’ll see if LBH goes the route of Akihiko or Beast in this story! Ahh, thank you for the comment and kind words! I definitely agree that SVSSS may be the most “I want to binge” story out of all of them at this point!
Romaniablack
2024-07-24 21:03:12 +0000 UTCThank you so much for the comment and kind words! Yes, SVSSS is really hard-hitting! That’s for sure! MXTX is not letting us BREATHE, haha! Shang QingHa DEFINITELY has weasel energy! And yes, the idea that SQQ may not be a reliable narrator is a very interesting point - we’ve known that as the story keeps changing, he’s obviously less reliable than he thinks he is…but was he reliable from the start? That’s a great question! And yes, like I mentioned in the discussion itself and in weeks prior - we all know as the audience that LBH is a victim of abuse and having a trauma response. I just don’t like the lashing out that he does, but I get where it’s coming from. Thanks for the comment and kind words!
Romaniablack
2024-07-24 20:18:53 +0000 UTCAh, thank you so much for the comment and kind words! HA, now that you mention it, it really IS sitcom energy of SQQ yeeting himself out a window! Me, a communication major, reading these chapters: TALK! MXTX, the writer - delighting in my angst: No. 😀 That is very true; I recently looked back at some MDZS content and how MXTX was very adamant about that main couple being an OTP - here - there is a lot of “thoughts” between the both of them on who they are shipped with, and it’s fascinating! Definitely enjoying the “fresh” take compared to the other MXTX works so far!
Romaniablack
2024-07-24 20:16:24 +0000 UTCYes, the fact that the peak lords are supporting SQQ as a squad is so nice! And bless him, he needs it! Thank you for the comment and kind words!
Romaniablack
2024-07-24 20:13:42 +0000 UTCThanks for the comment! I feel that either I’ve talked about your points in my discussion, but if not, don’t worry, they will be brought up in future reaction and discussions! 😀 And while LBH was abused, and I will discuss more than I already have in this week’s video, I still do not think it is an excuse to force blood down SQQ’s throat or strangle him. That is just my personal view, but I’m not asking anyone to agree with me - that’s just my perspective as a reader right now with the current chapters. And yes, SQQ is sadly innocent and LBH doesn’t even know it. Agreed, I understand his actions, but don’t believe they are justified in this chapter set. 🙂 Now, onto next week!
Romaniablack
2024-07-24 20:12:49 +0000 UTCI really like that the entire peak lords are always behind SQQ and does not even consider the accusations for even a second. Like in tgcf we have Mu Qing and Feng Xin be the people who try to defend Xie Lian in Heaven, but they are tsundere so they do it without letting him know. But here, we have Qi Qingqi spoke up for SQQ, Liu Qingge ready to fight for him, and Yue Qingyuan stopping LQG to go fight himself!!! No hesitation, no question. You touch one of us, you touch all of us!
Pancake
2024-07-23 19:13:32 +0000 UTCAnother excellent reaction and discussion! I gotta admit, despite what it leads to, the image of SQQ yeeting himself out the window to avoid LBH is one of my favorite moments in the whole novel. It just has such sitcom energy 😆 But, yeah, this section of the story is rough for our main couple. So much would be solved with clear communication but they are both working with such wildly different base information that that becomes really hard to do. Add in the usual obliviousness and it becomes nearly impossible. Glad you’ll be able to take a break after this to digest everything and prepare yourself for the next chapters. I do find the LBH belief that SQQ has a harem to be very funny in a 4th wall kinda way though. Because in MXTX’s other works it is rare to see a member of the main couple being shipped with anyone else. But in the SVSSS fandom it’s common to see SQQ being shipped with people that LBH thinks are part of the harem. Like shipping SQQ with LQG is popular, and I’ve read a number that ship SQQ with SQH. I’ve even seen ones that ship SQQ, LBH, and LQG all together! And things can get even crazier if the author decides to throw the OG SQQ into the mix. So despite SQQ neither having nor wanting a harem, both the fandom and LBH ended up assigning him one anyway. 😅
Amalia Jungclaus
2024-07-23 08:45:56 +0000 UTCLoooove the reaction as usual! LBH and SQQ are both tragic characters. SVSSS really is so hard-hitting to the heart when you peer past its comedy veneer. Totally agree with you that SQH just gives off a sus vibe - he just looks a little weasle-y, haha. I think it's also important to underline something that you touch upon in this reaction and that's been established earlier in the book(s) - that we, as readers, don't know if *SQQ* is reliable in his narration. We see the events from his point of view, but while he was the omnipotent reader of PIDW, he is himself now just another person in the setting of SVSSS. We don't know if his interpretations of characters' motivations, expressions, intentions, or words are accurate. Sure, we see the objective words/actions/etc, but the interpretations of them are all colored by SQQ. We don't know if he's projecting, what he's projecting, or if he's being totally 100% spot-on. Maybe he is, and maybe he isn't! RE: whatever is Wrong :tm: with LBH ... Sorem_x hit the mark imo that he is an abuse victim having a violent trauma response. And maybe exacerbated by his demon blood/Meng Mo/external factors, like you said! He's angry, he's hurt, he's rejected, he's lashing out at the person who represents his pain. It's a poisonous kind of vindication/validation. It's a slippery slope.
gabadoodle
2024-07-22 23:31:16 +0000 UTC> I find Binghe's character so interesting, because in hindsight, what we are seeing is the violent response of a victim of abuse. I always thought this but never saw somebody word it so succinctly... 100%! Cycles of abuse are so inherently volatile. And with SQQ/LBH, the power dynamics of their relationship have shifted. LBH was an abused child at the mercy of SQQ's whims, the figure of authority in his life. Now he has a position of power over SQQ, their roles have flipped, and he's running wild with it as a trauma response. His trauma hasn't healed nicely or neatly (straight up hasn't healed at all). As a result, he is being violent and unkind. He is victimizing other people, rooted in his tangled mess of emotion and PTSD. It doesn't make his actions justifiable, but you can see the steps that lead him to his actions.
gabadoodle
2024-07-22 22:07:12 +0000 UTCLove your reactions!!! To be fair with Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu is being as contradicting as him. We, as an audience, know that Binghe was always meant to survive the abyss. But Binghe doesn't know that. He thinks that Shen Qingqiu pushed him to his "death" on purpose because he hated that he was a demon. And suddenly when he sees him, he is acting concerned for Binghe's well-being. I would be confused and angry as well. I really understand how the punching the wall can be read as abusive behavior, especially for someone who has had similar experiences. And I love your references to Beauty and the Beast and Given. However, if you remember everything that has happened in the story from Luo Binghe's point of view, the one who was abused since the beginning was definitely Luo Binghe. He was abused by the original Shen Qingqiu for years until Shen Yuan arrived, and after years of finally being loved and appreciated, he is betrayed and pushed to (basically hell) the abyss. We know that Shen Qingqiu is innocent of all of this, but Binghe thinks everything was on purpose. He doesn't know if Shen Qingqiu hates him or likes him. He doesn't understands him. And that's what causes his character to become so jealous and possessive. I find Binghe's character so interesting, because in hindsight, what we are seeing is the violent response of a victim of abuse. I am not saying that any of his actions are justified. I just think that when you think from his point of view, many of his actions actually make a lot of sense. Sorry for the rambling, I just like the exploration of abuse cycles in this book.
Sorem_x
2024-07-22 17:07:40 +0000 UTCI'm glad watching and reading ahead gives you a little more breathing room with your schedule for what you choose to react and record each day. I imagine without that it is hard sometimes to record for one series on a particular day when your mood and energy would prefer a different series. Their reunion definitely makes dread pool in your stomach because the fog of misunderstandings just keeps getting thicker and thicker. And with the misunderstandings, both Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe react to what they think is happening/being thought. Their interaction definitely has a much darker aspect than TGCF or MDZS. As much as these chapters make you want to shake him to get him to just talk with Luo Binghe and explain things, you really do want to give Shen Qingqiu a hug too because he's going through it 🥺 And him using his fan to put up a physical barrier between them really does hurt. Though then we go right back to Shen Qingqiu questioning why Luo Binghe isn't acting the same with the original work's harem members, and describing Luo Binghe's looks in a way that makes him sound besotted 😂 Blood play not on your bingo card for this series Romania? 🤣🤣🤣 It does come upon you very suddenly. And for the scene to be followed with an explanation of what all said blood can be used for definitely brought my brain to a momentary halt when I first read it. Shen Qingqiu wanting to smile back at Luo Binghe reminds me of the carriage ride from Volume 1 before the OOC feature was unlocked. Back then it was an involuntary thing that led to a deduction in his B-points. And now it is also an involuntary motion that he seeks to quickly conceal 🥺 I feel like the moment with the outcries towards Shen Qingqiu and the way the gathered crowds' opinion follows suit is something we see in Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's other works as well. Wei Wuxian was decried for saving the Dafan Wens, and the whole of the Cultivation World was turned against him. Xie Lian was decried by his own followers, and treated abysmally by them through the creation of the kneeling statues. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu portrays this sheep-like behaviour of a crowd following the loudest voices so well. But this one I think is the most devastating of the three because, like you said, Wei Wuxian had Lan Wangji who spoke up for him, and Xie Lian always had that one devoted follower in Hua Cheng. Shen Qingqiu does have his shixiong, shimei, and shidi from his sect, but for the sake of their sect as a whole Shen Qingqiu doesn't want them to be pulled into this fight on his behalf. Meanwhile Luo Binghe is just standing expressionlessly, physically on the same side as those decrying him. I'm sure though you didn't expect to end this chapter set with Shen Qingqiu to get arrested 😅 There are definite moments with the interaction between Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu that read as red flags in regards to domestic abuse. I feel like those of us with personal experience with that sort of issue are a little more sensitive to moments like that, and seeing it as a portrayal of what could easily be taken as an abusive relationship. Even Shen Qingqiu's thoughts on Luo Binghe not seeming to mean to hit him and instead hit the wall for me does read similarly to a partner excusing their partner's behaviour because they haven't hit *them* when in reality the threat of violence is also domestic abuse. I think you could be feeling doubly pained about this because you're relating so much more to Shen Qingqiu than you did with Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's other two protagonists. But yes, Shen Qingqiu not explaining himself and trying to clear the misunderstandings between them just makes the situation so much worse. Love the Beauty and the Beast comparison with Akihiko and Haruki from Given 🥺 Definitely agree on your points for those relationships. In both cases Belle and Haruki were the ones with less power (Belle because she was the Beast's prisoner, and Haruki because he was somewhat blindly in love with Akihiko), but both put themselves first and said "I'm not letting him treat me this way!", and it was enough to get their love interests to change enough that their relationships with them blossomed into something more equal and loving. Great reaction and discussion as always. No worries on if you can't wait. I feel like, for me at least. SVSSS was the most bingeable to read but that might have more to do with just how long the chapters were in the official English translation 😆
Anime Annie
2024-07-22 16:04:58 +0000 UTC
