#I don't think Yue Qingyuan does.

[symphonyofsilence]

What's your favorite incredibly fucked up moment in any mxtx story

omg this is SO tough

i'm literally so desensitized now, i'm sitting here like ehhh i mean it's all pretty normal isn't it

having just finished it, i've got to go with the yue qingyuan/shen jiu dynamic in scum villain-- the idea that this guy will go the rest of his life not knowing that the person he loves the most and has spent his whole life trying to protect is actually long dead, despite apparently being alive and walking around. and from the shen jiu perspective, to have died and have nobody even know that it happened (and, as others have pointed out, to have everyone prefer the new, fake you)

[princess-of-purple-prose]

Fish, 7 (For your prompts! ❤️)

Hi, anon!! Thank you for the prompt, you were the very first one to send one in! 7 was, again, the wildcard, so I randomly generated a different number to land on Yue Qingyuan (from Scum Villain)! I have no choice but to dedicate this to @bytedykes, because I told her about this prompt and she said “yqy pet fish mental health speedrun” and we went, uh, a little insane about it. Enjoy some yuefang, folks!!!!

“Mu-xiong,” Yue Qingyuan says. “I’m sorry to bother you. Are you available?”

“Yue-xiong is never a bother,” Mu Qingfang says warmly. “And I am, actually, yes. Is everything okay, Yue-xiong?”

“I think I need help.” A bit dramatic, perhaps, and Yue Qingyuan hates to trouble Mu Qingfang on a rare day off, but Yue Qingyuan and impulse have never been the best combination, and he would appreciate a second opinion.

Mu Qingfang’s voice turns hard. “Where are you? I'll come right away.”

“What—?” Yue Qingyuan stares at his phone like the blank call screen will tell him why Mu Qingfang suddenly sounds so serious. “I'm at home, but—”

“I'll be right there,” Mu Qingfang says, and hangs up.

Yue Qingyuan stares at his phone for another second, then lifts his gaze to his sparkling new aquarium. His new betta, white and black and resplendent of fin, stares back. Was his crisis of faith about his viability as a fish owner really so deserving of such urgency…?

—

“So,” Mu Qingfang says. “This was your emergency?” He looks about as unimpressed by the betta as it does by the two of them.

Yue Qingyuan feels obscurely like he’s being scolded. Mu Qingfang is one of the nicest men he knows, but that just means that his censure takes the form of a blunt instrument of mass disappointment.

“In my defense,” he points out meekly, “I didn’t say there was an emergency. Mu-xiong just assumed.”

“That’ll teach me,” Mu Qingfang huffs, but at least he looks amused. “Yue-xiong should get used to asking for help more so this gege doesn’t have to panic every time he does ask.”

Yue Qingyuan’s mouth almost drops open. He can only hope his cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. “Er—well, I asked this time, didn’t I?”

“You did,” Mu Qingfang allows, looking something horribly close to fond. Yue Qingyuan swallows and tries to hurry on.

“So—not an emergency, but I do want your opinion,” he coughs out. “I’m having… doubts. About the fish.” Mu Qingfang’s eyebrows contract. Yue Qingyuan rushes it out. “Do you think I should keep it?”

“Yue-xiong…” Mu Qingfang looks politely incredulous. “Why does my opinion matter? The fish is already yours, isn’t it? If you don’t think maintaining its upkeep will be feasible, that’s one thing, but… Surely Yue-xiong did the research before getting it?”

He doesn’t sound judgemental, but Yue Qingyuan feels his cheeks warm. “I did, but I wasn’t planning on getting a fish; I was only admiring the tanks. There was a salesperson who was… very insistent.”

Mu Qingfang regards him doubtfully, which is fair. Yue Qingyuan towers over most people he meets, and his bulk only further adds to the impression of immovability. It’s only when he opens his mouth that it becomes clear how spineless he actually is.

Yue Qingyuan falters. “I had thought… I thought it might be nice.” The bettas had seemed so majestic in their tanks, iridescent monarchs of false grass and plastic coves, and Yue Qingyuan had thought, wildly, that one might be rewarding to keep, might breathe a touch of life into his immaculately sleek living room. The whole affair hadn’t even been expensive by his shiny new standards, forget difficult to physically arrange. It was only when installation and set-up for his new aquarium had finished and he was left to watch that jewel-bright being swim disaffectedly through its new home that doubt had seized him, all-consuming and black. He had, admittedly, panicked a little after that.

(Yue Qingyuan’s apartment is very large, and very clean, and very empty. It holds the barest amount of decoration and muss to qualify as lived-in rather than a snapshot from a magazine ad. The fish may, in fact, be the only thing in the entire place which really qualifies as his. No wonder Yue Qingyuan wanted to jettison it from his life as soon as he got it.)

Mu Qingfang’s expression hovers between concern and simple confusion. “I’m sure Yue-xiong will be a more than adequate caretaker,” he says, more gently than Yue Qingyuan and all his neuroses probably deserve. “What’s this really about, Yue-xiong?”

Ah. There it is. Being the mildest person of Yue Qingyuan’s admittedly sharp-tongued social circle doesn’t preclude Mu Qingfang’s wit from being as keen as the scalpels he works with.

“I don’t…” Yue Qingyuan falters. How to express to Mu Qingfang how manifestly unfit Yue Qingyuan is to care for any living creature at all? He changes tack. “I think he hates me,” he admits dolefully.

Mu Qingfang stares at him for a long time, long enough to imply that he’s reevaluating certain opinions about Yue Qingyuan’s intelligence. “Yue-xiong, with all due respect to your new pet—it’s a fish.”

“Fish have emotions!” Yue Qingyuan argues. He flushes at the volume at which it comes out, and at the way Mu Qingfang’s eyes go wide-eyed in startlement. But the salesperson had been very insistent about that, as well. “Bettas are intelligent animals. They dislike certain colors, apparently, and they’re very sensitive—ah, to environmental disruptions, that is. And—”

Mu Qingfang’s eyebrows are still high, but his face has relaxed into a smile. “It sounds to me like you like it quite a bit already. Isn’t that reason enough to keep it?” His tone curls with sudden mischief. “Have heart, Yue-xiong—you’ve hardly known each other for a day! Give it time to adjust to you, and I’m sure you’ll win it over as surely as you do everyone else.” And he grins, sure and easy in his trust that Yue Qingyuan won’t fumble and shatter something so small and monumental as a life that he could cup in his palms.

While Yue Qingyuan is still dazed by that, Mu Qingfang’s eyes alight with interest. “Ah, Yue-xiong—what have you named it?”

“...”

Mu Qingfang’s face falls as devastatingly as it had lit up. “Yue-xiong…”

“Mu-xiong is aware that I was unsure of whether or not I’d keep him!” Yue Qingyuan is terribly aware that his ears are now heating up to match his cheeks. Mu Qingfang’s ensuing laughter does not help with that matter.

Yue Qingyuan is not very good at holding onto things. More often than not, he makes a mess of whatever he’s set his clumsy hands to, lets it fall right through his scarred fingers. But Mu Qingfang’s words ring through his head: Isn’t that reason enough to keep it? And, well, isn’t it? Surely Yue Qingyuan is adult enough to follow through on this. Maybe happiness can be look like his new betta swimming up to the tank to observe the new colorful form moving in front of it, can come as easy as Mu Qingfang quipping that his knowledge about fish is clearly lacking and vowing casually to read up on bettas to be a better fish uncle.

Yue Qingyuan buries a smile and walks over to let Mu Qingfang know that bettas can be trained to follow fingers around. The betta’s clear preference for Mu Qingfang over Yue Qingyuan is as good a marker of intelligence as any fun fact the pet shop worker could have given him. Yes, Yue Qingyuan thinks with a smile—he thinks he’ll be keeping this after all.

[mikkeneko]

Consider: Cang Qiong High School Host Club.

.....Huh.

Hmmmm.

[sunderwight]

With moshang I think I'm equally fond of the possibilities/concepts where either Shang Qinghua is ludicrously attractive to demons in a broad sense (but doesn't realize it), or, where Shang Qinghua is just some weird little gremlin and everyone else cannot wrap their head around why THE Mobei Jun is so smug about seducing this man.

Or a combination, where no demon in their right mind would ordinarily look at Shang Qinghua and perceive a sex icon, but because such a high-ranking demon has clearly done so, they go "well there must be SOMETHING going on there" and then look closer and before they know it they're on the slippery slope to being horny about a guy who could help file their taxes or arrange to have their clan base's faulty plumbing fixed.

Basically it's all good. Demons en mass going "yeah yeah big scary dudes who punch good are a dime a fucking dozen around here, but do you know how hot someone who can skillfully use an abacus is?" vs demons going "the ice king is a respectable ruler but he has garbage taste in men, we all just smile and politely nod while he insists the weird rat guy he fixated on as a teenager is a catch" vs demons going "I really don't see the appeal -- wait he did what? he killed how many guys at once with 1 trick? he betrayed WHOMST? and lived?! and he knows how to get my door to stop making horrible squeaky noises?! okay yeah figures the king would marry him" but every option is a winner.

I'm also a big fan of both Shen Qingqiu and Shang Qinghua being not very attractive to demons in general, but it also being really common for demons to get super weird about first crushes and fixate hard on them, so in that sense they are completely normal choices for a couple of high-level demons to marry. Like the demon populace can appreciate the emperor actually landing his hot teacher and the king successfully marrying his teenage sweetheart. It's an idealized fantasy in terms of the scenarios, even if the actual guys are just weird humans. Nearly every average demon has lifelong daydreams about successfully seducing their first crush, so regardless of who those crushes turned out to be it's still a power move for LBH and MBJ to actually succeed.

Bonus if the fact that both SQQ and SQH are peak lords from the same sect leads to a bunch of demon kids developing crushes on the other remaining, unattached peak lords, and chaos ensuing. Especially for Liu Qingge. I think it would be funny for him to gain a flock of teenage demons with crushes, whom he keeps trying to fight off, only to discover that beating them up does NOT discourage them at all (actually makes the crushes worse). Or Yue Qingyuan getting mobbed like he's a pop star any time he makes a diplomatic visit to the demon realms. Sha Hualing deciding that she's just waiting for Liu Mingyan to become a peak lord before they make things official, since That's Obviously How It's Done, or Qi Qingqi doing a head count one day and realizing she suddenly has a bunch of unfamiliar "guest" disciples who sigh at her a lot and have funny-colored eyes...

[marzennya]

Notification: The peerless jade fairy of Cang Qiong's Mountain Sect is smiling! Looks like he's easily amused by his disciples' antics...!!! What a surprise!!! +300 Overwhelming Beauty Points!

Ok now for my silly little notes in fashion and other nonsense about this piece:

This is specifically Shen Yuan during the pre-abyss arc, mostly because I have a very, very different interpretation of him when he's already married to Binghe- Empress Shen is a whole other, much more decked out beast I will one day tackle.

His clothes are based on late Qin to early Han dynasty clothes for women, mostly because I can, and it seemed perfect for him; it's completely covered, and thus respectable and elegant! Nothing wrong to see here. It's also tight-er around the legs, which leaves things to the imagination...half of the mountain is definitely thinking about his long, slender, lily-white legs at any given time.

Is it technically crossdressing? Yeah, but it is a shitty Xia-Xia world, who's gonna stop me? Airplane? That guy would be on my side, actually.

The see-through outer robe is a flex, look at all that expensive fabric...just hanging off of him...a rich kid in one life a rich kid in all of them.

Binghe does his hair because he's terrible at it and can only do half-updo's or ponytails, he's too distracted by the mere thought of touching Shizun's hair to stop and think why Shen Qingqiu can't do it all of a sudden thankfully.

The hair, on a more serious note, is a bit more realistic to ancient-Chinese hair than an actual half-updo. Though it is more similar to late Han or Tang dynasties hairstyles than anything. Again, shitty Xia-Xia, don't play with me.

There's a little turtle in his fan because I think he'd be like awn that's so cute and either Liu Qingge or Yue QingYuan would be immediately like. I'll buy it!!! He acquires many-a-thing by simply looking cute and staring at it until one of them gets it for him I'm sure.

[sillygoofyqueer]

oh my god i love seeing wei qingqwei content in the tags hes so funny. anyways i personally believe hes one of the few peak lords who refuses to let shen jiu's jabs get to him and keeps trying to tell him his bad puns and it makes shen jiu SO mad

Everyone else whispering and spreading rumours about what Shen Jiu does with his time, and then you see Wei Qingwei carefully scribbling down a list of jokes that he's going to send with a letter about the next sword choosing ceremonies to Shen Jiu; this man WILL succumb and become his didi. Yue Qingyuan seemed to have awkward history with the man, but WEI QINGWEI doesn't. I like to think Shen Jiu receives these shitty jokes, reading through them with the upmost straight face because the messenger from Wan Jian Peak is still hovering around and will report back to Wei Qingwei if Shen Jiu's lips so much as twitch. Then he calmly, slowly writes a single note for the messenger to take back - "your puns suck. Do better." While most people would take this as an insult, Wei Qingwei sees this as nothing but a challenge - it's the longest he's spent away from the forge, coming up with the best puns possible and putting them on the xianxia equivalent of flashcards, meaning that Shen Jiu will have to read the puns one by one, flipping each one over to read the punchline. He does not stop, will NOT stop until he gets his shixiong to laugh. It's a matter of principle NOT to laugh, Shen Jiu thinks - as though he isn't sort of, kinda, pleased that someone is putting in such a sincere effort to make him grin. Not get angry or snap or become embarrassed. Wei Qingwei wants him to laugh. There isn't even any ulterior motives of guilt as there is with Yue Qingyuan. (This is the reason we don't hear much about Wei Qingwei in canon - Shen Jiu has no fight with his existence (provided he keep up with the puns) /j/j)

[ineffectualdemon]

I've been thinking about it

And I don't think what's needed to actually fix Shen Jiu and Yue Qingyuan's relationship is Yue Qingyuan confessing why he didn't make it in time unless it was immediately when they met at the conference

Because that's not what sets Shen Jiu on his path.

What set Shen Jiu down the road he traveled and ruined all his interpersonal relationships was that he briefly wished Yue Qingyuan had died rather then forgot him

And he was so horrified by having that thought that he decided he was born rotten and was a monster from birth. Because only a monster would think like that.

Some people were rotten from birth. Shen Jiu thought of himself in exactly this way - someone vile and poisonous from the start. Because, at that instant, he came to a crystal -clear realization:

That he's rather have met a Yue Qi who'd died in some unknown corner, his remains unsightly and forgotten, then a Yue Qingyuan who was elegant and powerful, his prospects and future boundless."

SVSSS English translation Vol 4 Pg 95

Later when Yue Qingyuan talks to Shen Jiu in the water prison they have this moment:

"Has Shidi ever considered that, if you hadn't treated Luo Binghe like that in the beginning, everything that unfolded today would never have happened?"

Shen Qingqiu burst into laughter. "Why does Zhangmen-shixiong say such ludicrous things? What's happened has happened! I've already 'considered' it hundreds and thousands of times! There is no 'if', no 'in the beginning' —there was never any chance of redemption!"

SVSSS English translation Vol 4 Pg 111

He doesn't see this going in any other way because how could it if he was "rotten from birth" he was always a monster in his mind so to him suggesting there were other options is silly.

When he sees how this breaks Yue Qingyuan's heart he accepts that Yue Qingyuan had done all he could and any debt had long been repaid. But it's what he says next that really says a lot about himself

"You should go," said Shen Qingqiu. "I'll tell you this: Even if all of this could be redone from the beginning, in the end, the conclusion would remain the same. My heart is full of malice, my insides hatred and resentment. Today Luo Binghe wishes for me to die horribly, and I have only myself to blame."

SVSSS English translation Vol 4 Pg 112

He's saying it this way to push Yue Qingyuan to give up on him. Shen Jiu knows he's been cruel and abusive and feels he earned his fate. Which of course he would. He killed his own abusers with his own two hands. He understands Luo Binghe's motivations and reasons and doesn't see how it could have gone any different.

Because he sees himself as an inherent monster from birth and he was projecting that same monstrosity onto Luo Binghe from the beginning.

Yue Qingyuan confessing wouldn't have fixed their relationship unless it had been in the first instant when they met again. If he had said "I was too late" instead of "Qi-ge let you down" that might have changed things. But once Shen Jiu thinks he would have preferred Yue Qi to have died then become Yue Qingyuan and soar above him Shen Jiu was doomed.

The only way to fix their relationship from that point is for Shen Jiu to confess and confront the fact that the person he is angry with and hates is himself and that he's trying to push Yue Qingyuan away for that reason.

Unfortunately in PIDW canon he was only able to do this in the water prison and he still tried to push away Yue Qingyuan (who offered to let Shen Jiu kill him??? I had forgotten that bit) to save him from Luo Binghe.

I was thinking about this because I remembered a post that someone wrote about Shen Qingqiu getting truth serumed but it exposing his real feelings not like hidden identities. Like he insults Airplane and then says "I actually enjoy your company and your writing when you focus on your world building and plot but I had how you squander your potential."

And that was obviously talking about Shen Yuan

But I think that sort of thing would actually fix a lot of Shen Jiu's interpersonal relationships but he'd be mad as hell about it. Again it would have to happen before Luo Binghe hit the sect but if he could voice and confront those self beliefs then there is the slightest chance he could be persuaded that he's wrong by the right person

But yes. The thing about Shen Jiu is by the time Luo Binghe meets him he is well and truly a monster. But he's a monster because he decided he was one inherently and that he was incapable of changing that fact about himself.

Shen Jiu was right. Going back wouldn't have changed anything because Shen Jiu doesn't believe himself capable of change.

Something would have to break through that self hatred and make him believe he can be better. That he doesn't have to live like that.

And Yue Qingyuan confessing wouldn't do that. It would just make the self hatred worse.

[disgracefulthings]

In defense of Yue Qingyuan

I like to start off and say that you don't have to like Yue Qingyuan, but there is an aspect of his character that many people misunderstand, and I would like to explain it

"Why did Yue Qingyuan never tell Shen Jiu that he came for him?" This was something that I was confused by at first too, and yeah, it made him look bad. I'm not a huge fan of fanfics that over-villainizes him, but if that's cathartic for some people then I get it

What made me realize why Yue Qingyuan never came for Shen Jiu was me thinking about WHY their relationship was added to the story in the first place. What did these two characters mean to the svsss as a whole?

Shen Jiu is Luo Binghe's foil, they are very similar and both fall down a dark path. That made me look at both Shen Yuan and Yue Qingyuan, and that's when it hit me. Shen Yuan did the exact same thing Yue Qingyuan did. He never told Luo Binghe why he pushed him, and while WE know that he isn't able to explain the System, there was one thing he could've done to help Luo Binghe, and that would be to tell him that he regretted it. The System wasn't stopping him from saying it, so why didn't he?

Both Shen Yuan and Yue Qingyuan kept their silence for the same reason, they thought it wouldn't matter. Yue Qingyuan failed Shen Jiu, and Shen Yuan hurt Luo Binghe, and both of them believed that there was nothing they could do to fix it. Whatever they say would only be excuses, they have already failed, and nothing would change that

They don't see that explaining/apologizing would mean the world to Shen Jiu/Luo Binghe, and because of their silence on the matter, it's sends Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe into dark places

So let me ask you this. "Why does the fandom hate Yue Qingyuan and not Shen Yuan, who did the same thing?" And the answer is pretty clear. We see through Shen Yuan's perspective throughout the book, so we understand his reasoning, Yue Qingyuan's reasoning just wasn't spelled out for us. I love MXTX's writing, and how she doesn't just explain every aspect of a character, it's up to the reader to find out. She never outright says "Shen Yuan doesn't see the people around him as people, but as characters", we see that in how he thinks. Sadly that means that sometimes things are missed, and that includes the purpose of Yue Qingyuan's character

Anyway I wanted to put this out there because I've seen a lot of Yue Qingyuan hate, and like I said in the beginning, you are still free to hate this man, everyone has their character preferences. I just find it odd when people hate him for things Shen Yuan have did, yet he isn't treated the same way as Yue Qingyuan is by the fandom

Yue Qingyuan and Shen Jiu are a tragic duo that have an unhappy ending in 2 canonical worlds, and while they are very flawed individuals, I can't help but want them to get better and be happy

[cleverstudentcheesecake]

What about an AU where Su Xiyan was actually pregnant with twins and the poison that the Palace Master gave Xiyan successfully killed one of the twin.

In PIDW universe the twin that survived was Bing-ge and the twin that survived in the SVSSS universe is actually Bing-mei.

There are lot of fics about the Shen twins.

I want one about the Luo twins.

In the PIDW universe, Shen Yuan also didn't survive.

What if there exists a universe where both pair of twins survive?

This implies that both Bing-ge and SJ still have their anchors. Neither of them had to grow up alone. There was always someone with them through all their thick and thins. Neither of them were ever abandoned.

The head canon of SJ being a fierce and protective older brother is pretty common. But, I want to see fierce and protective Bing-ge, older twin to Bing-mei.

Bing-ge the one obsessed with power and position so that he could protect his precious younger brother, whereas Bing-mei is the sweet, polite, domestic house wife type.

But...but ... Never be mistaken!

Bing-ge may look like a feral, manipulative cat and Bing-mei may look like a docile, sweet pup, the actual master of psychological manipulation is actually Bing-mei. He is in reality much stronger and fiercer than his older twin. He is just super comfortable in being coddled my someone so he never shows his true colours. He has no ambition...well...he has an ambition and that is to become a successful housewife.

Just imagine the Luo twins entering the peak and SJ starts qi deviating after seeing not one but two beautiful boys with promising core. He snatches them for his peak so that he can destroy them but at the base of the peak SY is waiting for him with a fan hiding his face. As soon as he sees the Luo twins along SJ he warns SJ in a stern voice, "Don't even think of it!", and then simply swoops the twins from under his brother's nose.

Obviously SJ is furious but is also too weak for SY. He also knows SY is correct and is going to reprimand him harshly if he does something unsavoury to the twins. Hence, he lets the twins be themselves.

When Ming Fan comes to bully the newcomers, Bing-ge beats the shit out of him for insulting his brother.

I believe Bing-ge would never take stand for himself but if it's his brother who is hurting then it's all hell break loose. SJ sees this and starts to develop liking for Bing-ge because he very well understands Bing-ge's plight.

Gradually both Bing-ge and SJ start bonding over their older sibling trauma and responsibilities. Bing-ge becomes the head disciple and flourishes as a strategist under SJ's tutulege. (I don't prefer any romantic feelings between them)

In this universe Bing-ge develops a crush on his Liu Shibo, Bing-mei on his caring Shizun— SY, while Yue Qingyuan and SJ get together.

Edit: Bing-ge has pin straight hair and Bing-mei has curly poof.

[princessshikky]

Okay, this post has been a long time coming.

Basically, there is a huge amount of misconceptions about liujiu and their history, and it's very frustrating to see in arguments about canon, so. I'm here to clear Liu-shidi's reputation and browbeat SJ with a newspaper (affectionate).

There is a whooping total of 4 liujiu interaction scenes in SVSSS. In chronological order:

The first meeting occurs at an inter-peak competition, where SJ hates LQG at first glance. LQG wins a sparring and has an air of "matter-of-fact arrogance" about him, which only strengthens SJ's dislike. What's interesting is that next SJ ambushes LQG after the sparring and "uses every means" to attack him, as recounted by Yue Qingyuan. Which does nothing to endear SJ to LQG and makes LQG very understandaby wary of SJ.

The second meeting occurs in a brothel. Backstory: SJ stumbles upon a Baizhan disciple named Ji Jue on the street, they have a quarrel, SJ beats and seriously injures Ji Jue, then goes to a brothel. LQG hears about it and rushes to "teach SJ a lesson". Interestingly, nowhere in the text is it mentioned that SJ is injured in any way after his scuffle with LQG, even though the fight has apparently taken quite a while and LQG is a way better fighter than SJ.

The well mission. SJ, LQG and SQH are assigned to deal with some evil spirits in a remote village. Spirits fly out of an old well, one of them attempts to attack LQG from behind, SJ sees it and attacks the spirit, but accidentally brushes over LQG's shoulder, which LQG mistakes for an attempt to kill him. SQH tries to clear the misunderstanding, but SJ threatens him into silence. Again, LQG and SJ come to blows, but no injuries are mentioned.

The disciple acceptance ceremony. SJ and YQY are watching the potential recruits, LQG arrives, has a brief but civil conversation with YQY, SJ intervenes, LQG insults him and leaves.

That's it, folks! That's literally every liujiu interaction in canon! Now with this out of the way, let me disprove some of those fanons I see in liujiu fics every damn time I dare to open one.

LQG did not mistakenly believe SJ to be a son of a wealthy family. Nowhere in the book does LQG ever comment on SJ's origin. This is a fanon from "The Grand Unified Theory of Shen Qingqiu", which is a great fic, don't get me wrong, but god did it mess with people's perception!

In the same vein, LQG never accused SJ of being lazy. Ever. That was QQQ.

LQG wasn't unreasonable to immediately assume SJ was trying to kill him during the well assignment. Think of what LQG knows about SJ at this point: SJ is willing to ambush someone because of entirely stupid and petty reasons like a lost sparring; SJ is perfectly willing to seriously injure his fellow disciple (see: Ji Jue); SJ is constantly threatening to kill LQG (mentioned in the brothel scene); SJ is not above using dirty tricks to achieve his ends. Yes, the suspicion made SJ feel bad, which is perfectly understandable (poor SJ was just trying to help!), but it wasn't entirely baseless. LQG's conclusion was based on SJ's prior behavior.

Speaking of SJ's dirty tricks: no, when people mentioned SJ's penchant for dishonest means, they weren't talking about harmless tricks like qiankun buttons. SQH insinuates in canon that SJ wouldn't be above shanking LQG with a poisoned knife in the middle of a sparring (Airplane extra, when he watches LQG spar with SY!SQQ), and Ji Jue, someone who's fought SJ personally, seems to agree.

LQG did not condemn SJ's womanizing and/or his visits to the brothel. The only times when LQG comments on SQQ's private life in canon have to do with LBH and bingqiu. To put it simply: LQG did not give a damn about SJ allegedly spending time with sex workers. Nor did LQG constantly stalk SJ to try and catch him in a brothel. Nor did LQG ever lecture SJ about sex being bad for his cultivation (that was YQY, but no one ever remembers this bit).

Actually, it can be inferred that most of the time liujiu tried to ignore each other when forced to be in each other's presence. They only interact when they cannot avoid it/when SJ does (or seems to do) something so shitty LQG cannot ignore it. Or when SJ deliberately attracts LQG's attention.

Conversely, LQG did not constantly pursue SJ demanding a sparring with him. Not ever. I have no idea where this particular fanon stems from.

LQG did not gossip about SJ's private life. It is never mentioned in the book; however, it is said that several Baizhan disciples knew of SJ visiting a pleasure house. Any of them could've spread the rumour; or hell, it could've been someone else who saw SJ entering the place at a later date. Or the brothel workers may have shared the story with their other clients. It's never clearly stated, but there's no reason to believe LQG specifically was the one responsible for spreading this rumour. For one, YQY promises SJ that LQG would keep quiet about their skirmish. Also, it just isn't in character for LQG to gossip.

Just... every time people write liujiu, they go out of their way to completely erase SJ's shitty behavior, blaming all of the bad blood between them on LQG "misunderstanding" the poor innocent SJ. Oh, if only LQG knew the truth, he'd immediately recognise the error of his ways!.. Except no, actually, it's not how it is at all. And I'm so tired of the people constantly mistaking fanons for canon.

[tossawary]

Oh, terrible fun thought: what if the previous Qiong Ding Peak Lord actually approved of Shen Jiu? Like, oh, this kid is driven and ruthless, why can't Yue Qingyuan be more like that and less soft-hearted?

Because I think Shen Jiu would hold this kind of approval over Yue Qi's head, not knowing what the Qiong Ding Peak Lord did to his head disciple. "Ha, you abandoned me for this cushy life and your own teacher likes ME more than you." If Shen Jiu had heard what Yue Qingyuan confessed to Shen Yuan at Mai Gu Ridge, I think he would have torn the previous Qiong Ding Peak Lord's throat out with his teeth.

MAYBE Yue Qi's imprisonment in the Ling Xi Caves actually saved his life and the previous Qiong Ding Peak Lord was a really nice person who tried his best in a terrible situation. That's totally possible. We just don't know. It's possible that Yue Qi's cultivation system was so messed up that destroying it and rebuilding was the only known option to save this kid's life. But a year of solitary confinement seems... incredibly cruel to me. Was that really necessary? It does sound as though he was at least visited, but it's unclear by who or how often.

But in any interpretation / AU where the Qiong Ding Peak Lord just sucks as a person, him actually LIKING Shen Jiu would be particularly painful. Ouch.

~

Relevant quote from Volume 3 of SVSSS (I cannot remember the chapter or the page numbers):

But Yue Qingyuan’s next words would shake Shen Qingqiu to the core. “I’m truly…sorry.” Even his voice trembled. “Even though I wanted to return as soon as possible, even though I wanted to come get you immediately…I made a mess of things instead. You were right. In the end, I’m an impulsive person…

“After that, Shizun destroyed all the tendons, bones, and meridians in my body, then shut me inside the Ling Xi Caves for more than a year. My entirety was broken down, to be rebuilt anew.

“I screamed, I yelled, but it was no use. For an entire year, inside that pitch-black cave, no matter how crazed I became, how hysterical, no one listened closely to what I said, no one let me out…

“I pushed myself as hard as I could, but by the time I returned, Qiu Manor had already been destroyed for some time…”

[thebiscuiteternal]

(many, many thanks to @nekoning for indulging my goofy idea)

---------------

"Stupid Qi-ge!"

For all its small squeakiness, Speaks With Lost Shadows' voice echoed around the massive chamber, even briefly drowning out the rippling of the pool that was one of its prominent features.

"If you had just said-!" he sobbed, tears making dark visible tracks as they matted his white fur to the dark skin underneath, "If you had just said-!" His attempts at getting the words out ended in a muffled howl as he buried his face into the collars of his former sect leader's robes.

Yue Qingyuan cradled the small cub that had once been Shen Jiu tight against his chest, his own heart swinging back and forth between sinking and hammering so fast that if he hadn't been a strong cultivator, it probably would have killed him already.

'Ah,' he thought. 'So this is what Lady Aurene meant.'

The goddess dragon had sent him a warning across their speaking bond just before sending her caretakers to escort him across the world between worlds to their home in Tyria.

-"You were honest with him once because you thought that was your last chance. If you are not honest with him now, then this will be."

"Is that-?"

"Not a threat," she clarified gently. "A fact. My hatch-mother and aunt are very adept at reading questions under questions, and they bring those concerns to me. He asks them frequently to check with me how you are doing; he speaks of you with regret. But I have seen many of the pathways that bringing you here could lead down, and all of the ones where you continue to hide the truth will end with him no longer asking those questions."-

A part of him had always been confused and hurt by the way that things had gone after Maiglu Ridge. Of course he had known that his past actions didn't deserve to be forgiven, but comparing the reactions of the spirit that had claimed his shidi's body to the reactions of his shidi's soul in this new one, he now understood-

What a mess.

Paws suddenly smacked against the sides of his face, squishing his cheeks between them and startling him out of the messy tangle of thoughts and emotions. Though they were decidedly bigger than those of a cat or dog, the pads and fur were thick enough that he was at no risk from the claws as he stared down into wide, determined black eyes.

"Qi-ge is very stupid," he agreed as he tilted his head to nuzzle soft fur, drawing a huff from the cub. "But he will do his best not to be anymore."

Shadows huffed again. "He better!" he snapped, then pulled back and blinked at him in realization. "Wait... Does that mean... does that mean you're staying here?"

"I spoke with my head disciple about the possibility. Even if it hadn't been this, I think he was aware that something would eventually keep me from ascending with the rest of the Qing generation, because he wasn't surprised at all. We've done all the advance work for him to take over my position if I don't return by the end of the month."

He gave a small chuckle. "Can't imagine my martial sisters and brothers will be happy about it, but considering..."

Considering they were happy to have you replaced.

Considering he still wears your face and your name like a festival costume.

"If your current family is amenable, then Qi-ge will never leave Xiao-Jiu behind again."

[naehja]

ok ok imagine (prompt svsss, free for adoption)

The ending is here. The wedding BingQiu is about to happen.

Except the system decides to be a bitch.

[User! Congratulation. Congratulation. Congratulation.]

"What?"

[You reach the more or less happy ending. \(^o^)/)

"more or less?"

[It could have been better User :/]

"so why do you want"

[You have succeeded to the quest. You did what you need to did]

"And?"

[You can return home now =)]

"WHAT?"

[I lied when i said you were dead in your world, to force you stay. Sorry User ^^" In fact only three hours have passed in your world, you have just passed out.]

"What do you mean?"

[You can return home. Horray \^o^/]

"But what will happen here?"

[The body will be given back to his rightful owner! =)]

"Wait…This scum will have everything i won?"

[So rude user >_< you have seen his past]

"but he doesn't love Binghe"

[The world doesn't turn around the protagonist.]

"he doesn't love Binghe"

[That's not my problem user!!]

"But i made a life here! I want to stay!"

[That body has never been your, User.]

"He killed Liu Qingge in the original"

[Nope :P He didn't]

"But the wedding. I want to stay here. Please."

[So user is happy to take the life of someone else?]

"And what about Airplane?"

[Author was here since the birth of his body, it has always been his body!]

"I refuse!!"

[Not my problem User! è_é]

"I don't want!"

[Fine user, then you'll not remember!]

And Shen Yuan wakes up in his old room, after have apparently passed out because he had eat bad food.

Meanwhile.

Shen Jiu wakes up. His memories are fuzzy. He panicks when he sees someone in his bed. REALLY panicks.

"Shizun?"

IT'S ONE OF HIS STUDENTS oOo?

LUO BINGHE (EWWW)?

Wait…Luo Binghe wasn't 14?

Everyone panicks because he has years of memories who vanished? He has some flashs but doesn't say it.

Binghe thinks that he wedding should still happen. "he will have his memories back at a point!"

Cang Qiong is like "NO? He doesn't remember being in love with you!"

Binghe tries to win over Shen Qingqiu again, brings back medicals things against amnesia, but the poor guy is kinda traumatized, doesn't feel safe in his home, feels dirty because he feels his body has been used against his will to do some...things…he runs to Liu Qingge and asks him "WTF is happening Shidi?"

Strangely he remembers saving Lu Qingge.

And thinks that Qingge = safety

Liu Qingge is really annoyed to see Shen Jiu being harceled like that.

Everyone remember that Shen Qingqiu seemed have changed after this QI deviation years ago, seemed to lose memories, and now he seems have those memories back but not the ones from the time where he was different?

so what if it was really a possession? But he could use his sword!

Binghe doesn't take it well. And all his attempts are not well receveid by Shen Jiu. Who doesn't feel safe with him.

At a point, a mysterious aterfact from demon world reveals that Shen Jiu's soul was "asleep" for all those years since this famous QI deviation. So that "something" take over for all this time. Something who knows things and used it to pretend being him.

Liu Qingge: I KNEW IT (wait it means that Shen QingQiu would have really saved me if it had been him?)

Yue Qingyuan: I'm sorry Luo Binghe but then…the wedding can't happen.

Binghe doesn't take it well. And tries a lot of thing. but Cang Qiong is now very protective of Shen Jiu. And whatever Binghe does, Shen Jiu stays the same. And becomes close of Liu Qingge.

Shang Qinghua:what the fuck system?

[Don't worry author, you'll stay in this world =)]

"it's not what i mean"

[Everyone deserves a happy ending]

"it's Binghe who will have not one now"

[we'll not always have what we want!]

Later

Shang Qinghua: my king, don't you think that Binghe became unstable?

Mobei-Jun: *sarcastic* ho REALLY? it's a fucking nightmare!

Shang Qinghua: Do you know about this plant who, when made into a certain potion, can turn someone into a baby while erasing all his memories? So they can start over a new life?

Mobei-Jun:

Mobei-Jun: interesting.

Few weeks later, Cang Qiong receives the new that Luo Binghe has been turned into a baby during a experiment.

Cang Qiong: WTF?

Shen Jiu: I fucking warn you, i'm not taking him as disciple AGAIN!

Liu Qingge: Yeah he stays away of our sect! (and of Shen Qingqiu)

Shang Qinghua: that was…weird!

[Author! Congratulation. Congratulation. Congratulation. Now that's a happy ending. Binghe can have a better childhood]

Shang Qinghua:

[That's your son, take your responsabilities!]

Shang Qinghua: Keeping him away of my scum son i guess :/ I can find him good parents. Mobei-jun can take care of him i guess. And what about Cumcumber bro?

[back in his world ^^]

"…Yes i knows that but..."

[sunderwight]

had a thought of what if Airplane had leaned a little more into the self-insert idea for Luo Binghe when he was still at the early stages of writing, with an end result that Luo Binghe actually Looks Like That because he basically looks like Airplane but with long flowing hair and a more idealized figure

SQQ going "why the fuck did you make his face so pretty???" and Airplane bullshitting about plausibility while trying really hard not to blush. twisting his fingers and scuffing his toe like jeez bro he's not that good-looking...

which of course sets SQQ off because how DARE!?! not 'that' good-looking?!?! just look at him! he's xianxia Helen of Troy with a face that launched a thousand harems! like okay sure with looks like that it does make sense that half the female population was willing to timeshare a marriage with him, but it's also totally unfair to SQQ, who has no recourse against those looks either! and who could? that is the most beautiful face ever!

Airplane's getting flustered. tries valiantly to make the case that objectively speaking Luo Binghe isn't that good-looking, it's just that SQQ is biased, but boy does that not go over well. SQQ has hitched the tattered remnants of his self-perception as a straight man onto the idea that Luo Binghe is just so devastatingly attractive anyone would want to hop into bed with him, and he is not letting go of it, so Airplane is just gonna get wrecked with inadvertent compliments

bonus if the Shang Qinghua look is actually the result of several illusions because when Airplane first transmigrated in, he got the same face too, and foresaw potential problems if the half-demon protagonist turned up looking like him. so he used illusions. he doesn't actually look all that different, in fact! the illusions just make it so that when people see him, they get a strong impression that he's unremarkable, so they don't really register what his face actually looks like and their brains fill in the assumption that he must just be kinda plain

oooh ooh double bonus if the system inserted a behind-the-scenes explanation for it too, which is that Shang Qinghua is actually unwittingly related to Su Xiyan!

and the whole thing comes to light post-epilogue when Shang Qinghua's illusions get stripped away by some monster-of-the-week, while everyone except Mobei Jun has a freak out about why do you look just like Luo Binghe?! (Mobei Jun isn't freaking out because he already figured out how to see past the illusions and just assumed everyone else wasn't mentioning it for some human cultural reason or something) and then Yue Qingyuan calmly explains that Luo Binghe's mom is Shang Qinghua's matrilineal cousin. Shang Qinghua's mother and Luo Binghe's human grandmother were half-sisters.

what? how does Yue Qingyuan know? you think that Cang Qiong doesn't check up on the candidates for the peak lord positions before handing off power, doesn't make sure there are no conflicts of interest or divided loyalties to other sects? what sorts of things do people imagine Qiong Ding's diplomats do? (I don't know either but, for the purpose of this scenario at least some of it is tracking down this stuff -- YQY handled most of it personally for his generation's ascension because he didn't want anyone else digging into his and Xiao Jiu's pasts) anyways, the connection could have been troublesome for its ties to Huan Hua Palace, but by the time it came to light Su Xiyan was deceased and there was no evidence that Shang Qinghua had ever even met her. so it wasn't deemed significant enough to matter, was just made note of and then mostly forgotten

so Shang Qinghua is like "oh THAT is why you kept bringing her up to me back then?!" because at the time he'd just been fully in "haha how would I know anything about the impending plot and the tragedies I am both partly responsible for and powerless to prevent haha that's so funny shixiong I KNOW NOTHING" mode, which luckily at the time was easily read as him just not wanting a dead cousin he never met to tank his chances of securing a promotion

SQQ is floored. he is having issues about this. Shang Qinghua is related to Binghe? Shang Qinghua looks exactly like him?! wait. Binghe has human family? still alive? like grandparents and stuff out there, who might want to meet him...?

Luo Binghe decides to step in at that point because he does not want to meet any more relatives! no more surprise relatives! no!

luckily this distracts Shen Qingqiu from thinking about all of the things he's said to Airplane about Binghe's looks for long enough for Shang Qinghua to flee the scene

[endlessburningdarkness]

That "perfect victim" post you reposted has me all fucked up because it makes me think about Shen Jiu, and how his treated.

His a victim of severe trauma, and it manifests in ways that are "imperfect." It always pissess me off when people say, "if only Shen Jiu had tried. " Tried what? Get over his trauma? It's hard to do when A) there is no therapy and you have no real support system. B) The people around you don't give a shit and are hostile. And C) the before mention people make the trauma worse by making you feel unsafe or invalidating you. Try to get along with his martial siblings? He tried, but every time he did, it backfired and made everything worse for himself. He tried to save Liu Qingge's life twice, only to end up getting accused of murder each time. Try to be kinder? He tried with Ning Yingying, only to be accused of grooming her because of one of his coping mechanisms.

It was never about Shen Jiu not wanting to get better but that he couldn't.

What makes it all the more fucked up is how everyone treats Shen Yuan compared to Shen Jiu. SY acts "normal" because he has no trauma, so his liked. The peak lords would rather deal with someone "normal" than a victim and their trauma. Even Yue Qingyuan seems it easier to deal with a Shen Qingqiu who doesn't know him than one that does and actually dealing with the trauma.

And ain't that fucked up.

it is incredibly fucked up.

I love Shen Jiu (and Harry) because they are rare examples of imperfect victims. Because most victims, shockingly, are not perfect. Trauma rarely makes you a better person. In fact, more likely, it will make you angry, difficult, bitter and even cruel.

I find this type of character much more relatable and realistic than "perfect victims" who are sweet and kind and forgiving and let things go and are never ugly, hurtful or vicious in their trauma response. I think it really comes down to the idea that trauma isn't some fun thing you can brush off, you can't be normal after significant trauma. It will leave a mark, it will change you, sometimes permanently, sometimes in ways that are embarrassing and frightening and unattractive. Sometimes, you'll do awful, hurtful things to cope.

And I think that's fine. It's fine for Shen Jiu to be traumatized. In a way that isn't palatable to the reader or to society. It makes sense for him to be the way that he is. After the life he's lived, he is still shockingly kind to a number of people and as you've noted this backfires on him spectacularly. He had no parents. No one to teach him healthy ways of doing anything. He was enslaved, treated like an object, a dog, and then he was betrayed by the one person he thought was on his side. Anyone would be fucked up after that. Anyone would give up trying to be better. And that's fine too.

I think it's hard for people to face that trauma, real trauma that is, isn't this pretty, enticing thing which makes someone cooler, but genuinely painful, damaging, and difficult to overcome. That is what makes Shen Jiu's and Harry's attempts to overcome their trauma so damn impressive and compelling. That Shen Jiu fails is not due to some inherent flaw or weakness on his part but because it's so fucking difficult, even with support, to recover from the awful things that happened to him.

Often traumatized characters are expected to react perfectly, and a lot of fanfic of them is all about hashing out the ways they would overcome their trauma in an ideal way and become "normal", happy, well-adjusted people we can enjoy without feeling bad. For example, character's with sexual trauma magically overcome it by getting fucked by the right person.

And this is exactly why Shen Yuan is easier for the other characters and the fandom to love. He doesn't have Shen Jiu's baggage, he isn't damaged, he doesn't have trust issues or paranoia or jealously or hatred. He doesn't have the trauma. It's easy to be good when you're not hurt and no one has betrayed you. It's easy to be nice when you've never had to beg for every meal. Shen Yuan has everything on easy mode, and that's the appeal of him in many ways. The quicker, easier, smoother route to happiness.

I for one however, prefer the harder road. I am here for when characters don't respond to awful things happening to them in polite, unchallenging, comfortable ways so the audience can enjoy it without flinching.

Because the message I am interested in is that it's okay. It's okay to have trauma, terrible and unwholesome trauma even. it's okay to be broken in ugly, painful ways. It's okay to never become "normal" like other people. It's okay to never do the things that trigger you. It's okay to be traumatized and to act like it! And that's why I love these types of characters.

If you're interested in an exploration of Shen Jiu's sexual trauma, I'd like to recommend my fic, not to me, not if it's you. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

[sillygoofyqueer]

hiiiiii so about crow!au and jiuyuan...🙏

i was thinking, after shen yuan has finally made it to the CQM, both for the protagonist and hopefully to cultivate a true human form, it's only logical to keep an eye on the scum villain, you know, to make sure that he isn't going to be filleted into a tender piece of crow meat!

but while shen yuan thinks he's being super inconspicuous, sitting on the roof, shen qingqiu has slowly started to look forward to seeing the crow when he comes back. it's always there, and overall a quiet and gentle creature that doesn't bother anyone, but does seem to like hanging around shen qingqiu's house. maybe in his head shen qingqiu starts to think of it as "his bird", and he starts leaving it bits of food (not obviously, but more like he "accidentally" forgot to bring the dish back inside). he starts getting protective over it too, like one time maybe yue qingyuan comes by and sees the bird, and tries to make it sit on his hand or smth, and shen qingqiu gets all huffy bc "it's just a bird it can't hear you, it won't come to you!"

shen yuan starts to notice that shen qingqiu's mood seems to improve around him (which, huh???), so he plays it up a little bit by flying down from the roof to the porch railing when shen qingqiu comes home, or cawing to him in greeting. shen qingqiu sometimes reaches out his hand to perch on, but though shen yuan never does, it doesn't make sqq angry (sqq knows how difficult trust is to earn), until maybe one day shen yuan surprises them both by perching on his arm, and oh well guess he's the scum villain's bird now??

YEEEEESSSSS JIUYUAN MY BELOVED!!!! Shen Jiu literally just takes Crowyuan with him everywhere after that, with the bird perching on his shoulder or on his arm, or in his lap - there have been many occasions where SY hasn't been able to get comfy so he hops into SJ's lap and uses the man's robes as a nest of sorts. This happens the most at peak lord meetings, because of course SJ takes SY to the peak lord meetings, it's his emotional support crow, and SY sometimes pops his head up from beneath the table and squawks (mainly at Shang Qinghua, who seems petrified of this bird). It gets better when he cultivates a true form because SJ is far too attached to him to let him go at this point, so he just has this beautiful crow guy following him around, clinging to his sleeves and hiding behind him like SY did in crow form before. Of course, he still tries to get comfy on SJ's lap and...listen, SJ lets it happen so it can't be that weird, right??!!? He doesn't like chairs!! They're uncomfortable against his back, and stools just don't cut it for him, so he often sprawls along SJ's legs and reads during a peak lord meeting - nobody quite knows what to say, and they definitely don't want to piss off SJ, so they just kinda let it happen. (Also, if they're enjoying the eye candy, then why would they try and stop it from happening?) Yue Qingyuan is half upset that he's being replaced by a BIRD, and also very pleased that SJ now has a close friend. Also SY just builds mini nests EVERYWHERE, like, all over the peaks, and god forbid you try and touch them because it will mean your death. He gets super mopey when he finds out that his nests have been touched because of course he knows, and when he's mopey EVERYONE knows about it. I like to think that SJ immediately throws all decorum out of the window at the implication of someone upsetting HIS bird...person...thing...WHATEVER!!!