Flower Stealing Master Chapter 467 Discussion

Flower Stealing Master or FSM isn't your typical CN novel, for better and for worse. For one thing it's fanfiction with the author inserting their own original character as the MC into an already established world. This also isn't a marvel or Harry Potter or generic fanfic but one based on a very popular series of wuxia novels. Due to that a lot of the characters and settings will be introduced without much info about them since it's assumed that you'll already know.

It can be confusing at the start with references to other especially since the MC doesn't have a great goal and is aimless in the first 100 chapters. It's nice if you read those novels but if you haven't then it can hard to understand the details that aren't stated. On the other hand because it's an established world the setting and characters are very detailed using the original source material. You can tell that that the author put in a lot of work to combine the novels into a cohesive world.

Unlike most CN novels where characters can easily be categorized into allies and enemies, here it's not as discernible. Friends that the MC makes might have ulterior motives and the MC may even work with enemies to pursue a common goal. Characters don't easily trust the MC, and in fact multiple people downright hate him for some of his actions. The characters aren't s*upid and the MC has to put in work to gain their trust. Even the heroines don't simply fall to their knees to join the MC's harem. In this ancient setting, women have their own sense of self and the MC with his modern sensibilities has to change his outlook to get with the girls. And there are many MANY girls. There's a lot to praise about this novel but that doesn't make it perfect. For one thing the MC has s*upid moments and can be incomparably foolish. For every smart decision the MC makes, he does another two s*upid choices. It's not until after 300 chapters that the MC realizes how dumb he's being and makes and becomes smarter. Spoiler

The author literally has someone tell the MC straight to his face that he's being s*upid and he needs to shape up or he's going to get killed. After which the MC grows up slightly and kills the king and replaces him with a disguise

[collapse] The MC also has a code of conduct that won't kill even the most heinous of villains. Some of these characters would kill the MC in a heartbeat and it would be smart to nip the bud in advance but the MC never takes it seriously and lets them get away. It especially doesn't help because when the MC does almost get killed for being an idiot he's always saved with plot armor either from an ally or some weird circumstance. After the first couple of times it becomes tiresome knowing that the MC doesn't learn and won't grow because the author will just give him an escape at the right moment.

That's not even mentioning some of the things he does at the start which can be hard to stomach. The MC is no paragon and that becomes abundantly clear in the first ten chapters. Although the MC lets actual villains live he will kill, use, or get with other characters to further his own goals. Spoiler

The MC ends up assaulting his own wife after he finds her cheating on him with another man. Although it's slightly understandable that doesn't make it easier to read. And she's not the only one, the MC will take liberties with multiple women many of whom are already in relationships with other men causing them to downright hate the MC. Although they do end up together later that doesn't make the start any better.

[collapse]

I was surprised to find that a CN fanfic had better complex characters than half the novels on this site and a deep world building with interesting story elements but ultimately the half baked MC caused me to lower my score from a 4 to a 3.