#Scum Villain Self-saving System

[ultfreakme]

this made me cry. the last line, it's so simple yet so resonant. yeah, my writing might not be great, yeah it's self-indulgent and dumb, but, but I just really really like what I wrote. I love it so much,

every creator has felt this at some point. that pure, unbridled love for what they've created. i made that. i made that. i looked at a blank thing, and filled it with things I love a lot. I made something out of nothing.

underneath the excuses, the insecurities, the expectations and judgements, is this love for making things.

[itsc]

bingqiu bamboo forest stroll

prints | originals

[yunxinli5129]

Doing Jiu-ge’s hair 🐍🪭

[haitang-blossoms]

Bingqiu and Qijiu as Foils in Their Approaches to Atonement and Forgiveness (haitang-blossoms' Scum Villain Self-Saving System meta)

So first of all, both begin as relationships with a clear "caretaker" role: Qi-ge (Yue Qingyuan) for Xiao Jiu (Shen Jiu) and Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan) as Luo Binghe's shizun. In such a dynamic, there's a certain expectation of the older, more experienced one to look out for the younger, less experienced one.

However, both relationships, while initially close, suffer after a "breach" of this code of conduct is committed: wherein, the "caretaker" fails to properly protect and nurture the other.

What's interesting is this: Qi-ge and Shen Qingqiu do this in completely opposite ways. Qi-ge (inadvertently) sabotages his relationship with Xiao Jiu by INACTION (not going back for him) while the issues between Bingqiu begin by a clear (forced) ACTION (Shen Qingqiu pushing Luo Binghe into the Abyss). Neither wanted to do/not do these things but were compelled by circumstances outside of their control.

It's also notable that both Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe undergo a dramatic rise in power before properly reuniting with the other (Shen Jiu becomes an immortal Peak Lord and Luo Binghe gains influence in the Demon Realm and Huan Hua Palace).

This is not only a parallel but can also symbolise how the relationships have become more "equalised" over time. That is not to say that seniority has disappeared, however (Yue Qingyuan is still Sect Leader and Shen Qingqiu is still Luo Binghe's shizun).

Both Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu feel immense guilt over the part they played in souring their relationships with Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe. However, it is difficult for them to discuss these feelings openly, and so we reach our next theme: sacrifice.

Yue Qingyuan: In the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, he allows Shen Jiu to abuse Orignal!Luo Binghe, willingly allows himself to be trapped and killed by Original!Luo Binghe, and basically turns a blind eye to whatever mistakes Shen Yuan!Shen Qingqiu makes/is accused of in the new timeline due to a misplaced desire to atone for breaking his promise.

Shen Qingqiu: Shen Yuan famously self-destructs to "pay back" Luo Binghe for the wrongs he has done to him in the past, and readers see him protecting Luo Binghe throughout the story for a similar reason despite Luo Binghe's "protagonist halo" supposedly rendering this pointless (the Holy Mausoleum arc comes to mind).

How Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe react is completely different however, and this is key in why Qijiu and Bingqiu's arcs conclude in such contrasting ways.

Shen Jiu: First of all, it is important to note that while Qi-ge was important to Shen Jiu, he largely wasn't there for a long part of Shen Jiu's youth. Stuck at the Qiu residence, he was constantly abused and mistreated, and even though Qiu Haitang was nice to him, trauma like that cannot be easily overwritten. By the time Shen Jiu became Peak Lord, it had gotten to the point where his life had been so devoid of basic affection that his bitterness about Yue Qingyuan's broken promise was able to be magnified to such an extent.

This is not easily helped by the fact that Yue Qingyuan's form of sacrifice is mainly again, through INACTION or is INVISIBLE/SUBTLE to Shen Jiu. There is no defining moment where he directly addresses their past except at the end of the story to Shen Yuan!Shen Qingqiu which doesn't help Shen Jiu at all.

Luo Binghe: By contrast, Luo Binghe had lots of positive interactions with Shen Qingqiu in the many years leading up to the Abyss. While this may have made the betrayal sting more at the time, it also set up Luo Binghe to be able to not outright hate Shen Qingqiu after the fact (a more nuanced emotional reaction).

The self-destruction is such a definitive ACTION (and it helps that Shen Qingqiu spelt out that he was "repaying" Luo Binghe for past wrongs by doing so) that Luo Binghe is able to reconcile the situation and his feeling towards Shen Qingqiu where Shen Jiu was not able to towards Yue Qingyuan.

The next theme of "love" also plays off this difference as well. Due to a combination of trauma and his own personality, Shen Jiu was shown to struggle to love whether it be others or even himself. Any potential he had was overshadowed by the bitterness and envy that later come to define his character in Proud Immortal Demon Way. Yue Qingyuan's passive approach to Shen Jiu only served to enable these feelings and the resulting disastrous actions.

Luo Binghe was abandoned throughout his life (whether by choice or not is inconsequential), and this defines a lot of his character later on.

As White Lotus Luo Binghe, he's eager to please, and it's clear how starved for affection he is based on how much stock he puts in every kind act that Shen Qingqiu shows him. But a key aspect of Luo Binghe is that he believes he must continuously EARN this affection through reciprocity which is part of why it's so natural for him to serve Shen Qingqiu with his cooking and basically running Qing Jing Peak. 

This plays into another difference between Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe: that while both suffer from lack of (perceived at least) affection, Shen Jiu retaliates by pushing everyone away while Luo Binghe instead seeks it out and returns any love given to him tenfold (even in Proud Immortal Demon Way, he spares and married Ning Yingying when he destroys Qing Jing Peak because she was nice to him in the past). And the fact that Shen Qingqiu is visibly remorseful of the past only reinforces this instinct.

Even when Luo Binghe almost goes mad from the influence of the Xin Mo sword, it is Shen Qingqiu taking direct and unmistakable ACTION (in this case, papapa to save the world) that saves them and their relationship. Bingqiu were able to reconcile because both parties were willing to actively WORK to rebuild it, which takes conscious and purposeful effort.

Qijiu ended up missing each other by seconds, so to speak, because they were too PASSIVE in regard to their relationship with each other. Shen Jiu never directly confronts Yue Qingyuan about his actions (or lack thereof) and instead stews in bitterness alone, while Yue Qingyuan is so busy walking on eggshells around Shen Jiu that he misses the one thing that could mend their relationship.

Both relationships contain heartache and misunderstandings, but their contrasting approaches to reconciliation, atonement, and forgiveness is ultimately the factor that determines how their stories conclude.

[19silvermirrors]

Yue Qingyuan from an AU where all Cangqiong peak lords are demons🌋

[snailtrain]

fell in absolute love with @fistfuloflightning's dragon!shen yuan design (♥a♥)!! so pretty!

[eye-crescented]

just a liu(shen) doodle cause their interactions were my fav part of the books

[truly-morgan]

[a|b|o, Alpha nesting]

MoShang | Scum Villain Self-Saving System Omergaverse 26-04-2021

[a|b|o #moshang]

where α!MBJ doesn't understand the point of a nest (because he's here!!!), but always helps Ω!SQH creat his little nest when his heat is coming, filled with robes and clothing mbj has been wearing. he doesn't understand and would prefer sqh relies on him, but there's something he really loves about the idea of sqh buried in /his/ scent.

Then one time he falls into rut and he /needs/ to have sqh close to him, yet he's at An Ding Peak for important business and he doesn't his mate to be mad at him for causing problems. So he ends up building himself a nest, feeling weird about the idea of doing this, but then being in bed, surrounded by sqh scent helps. 

when sqh is finally back he's confused about why half his things smell heavily of mbj. After that mbj ends up making himself a nest, even when sqh is here, since sqh is also part of his little nest. he doesn't care if people say nests are "an omega thing" to do, he will make them.

Original

[vebirascanvas]

My contribution for @fandomtrumpshate. The lovely @tate-lin requested angsty moshang <3

It was a marvel to work on this, but I had lots of fun and I’m sorry I took so long T.T

[ultfreakme]

This is the best book to ever be written

[itsc]

also these sv pen doodles i did while we rewatched scumbag system

[yunxinli5129]

drinks with jiuge 🎋🎋

[haitang-blossoms]

On Shang Qinghua and Impersonality (haitang-blossoms' Scum Villain Self-Saving System meta)

The fact that Shang Qinghua (Airplane-bro) IS so callous despite being commonly viewed as pathetic and "comic relief" by both other characters in the story and readers makes his character WAY more interesting! 

Because as much as he'll grovel for his life when the situation calls for it, he's really at his core a ruthlessly efficient behind-the-scenes actor who's learnt to project an aura of helplessness in order to survive both from being Peak Lord of An Ding Peak (logistics) and from having to navigate working as a spy for the demons. 

While he appears to fill the role of your average comical side-character, one can see how much of an emotional distance he keeps between himself and the other characters no matter how "friendly" he acts on the surface. He never really lets himself get personally invested in anyone for a significant amount of the story. And it's this inner coldness and how it contrasts so sharply with his carefully-crafted outward persona that I find really intriguing.

[justaghostingon]

Wei Ying does the Holy Grail War

A crossover with fate/stay night

Note: for those of u who don’t know, fate/stay night is a battle royale where seven mages summon seven heroes from the past and future to battle for a single wish.

The Teams:

Mo xuanyu - Wei Wuxian - Caster

Mo xuanyu summoned wei wuxian. He believes its because they are both driven by revenge. But in truth, he summoned Wei wuxian because of their shared drive and frustration with their unjust circumstances

Wei Wuxian complains about being back plenty of times, goofs off, and tries to get Mo xuanyu to relax

Mo xuanyu finds him frustrating but also a bit like an older brother

Wei wuxian for his part sees mo xuanyu as his chance to offer the support he so desperately needed in his last days, and to remind the boy not to give up on life

There fighting style is to keep to the shadows, often wei wuxian tries to pretend he’s not even a spirit

Lan wangji - Hua Cheng - Archer

Lan wangji does not approve of this war, the cost, or the cruelty it invokes

But! He is desperate for that wish, and a chance to wish wei wuxian back to life

That desperation, that willingness to do anything to save his beloved, summoned Hua Cheng

They work well together in a fight, but in their down time…

They hate each other

Lan wangji finds Hua Cheng’s arrogance agrivating, his unwillingness to follow the simplest order’s frustrating, and his handwriting a sin against nature

Hua cheng finds lan wangji cold, stuck up, and worst of all, he bares a grudge because lan wangji wants to fight jiang cheng, and jiang cheng summoned…

Jiang Cheng - Xie Lian - Saber

It was jiang cheng’s despair that summoned xie lian, the overwhelming feeling he let everyone down and lost everything

Jiang cheng and xie lian work well together, and get along realy well

Jiang cheng is reminded of his sister through xie lian’s gentle nature

Xie lian in turn is nostalgic for Mu Qing every second he listens to Jiang Cheng yell

Xie lian works hard to remind jiang cheng that he has waaaay farther to fall, and he should cheer up! He’s doing great! Bettee than xie lian!

Jiang cheng doesn’t have the heart to tell him that’s not a high bar

Jin Guangyao - shen Qingqiu - Assassin

When Jin Guangyao summoned Shen Qingqiu, the strategist of Cang Qiong mountain sect he was estatic! Finally a man who would understand what he’s been through, who’s just as ruthless as he is!

Alas, he did not get shen jiu, he got shen yuan, a posser pretending to be the strategist

He spends his time trying to make life better for the cute little students of lanling jin, lazing around, and trying to look clever

Jin guangyao is left wonderinf how dumb cang qiong mountain sect had to be if this was their best strategist

Nie Huaisang - Lou Binghe - beserker

Nie huaisang summoned lou binghe for one purpose only… revenge

And luo binghe with his OP everything, is more than happy to help this fan weilding man who reminds him just a bit of his shizun

Then he sees the spirit of nie huaisang’s arch nemisis, and turns into a sobbing maiden desperate to get shizun to notice him please!

In the background, Nie huaisang breaks his fan

A-Qing - Wen Qing - lancer

A-qing was not supposed to be in the war. She stole the relic from xue yang

The relic summoned Wen Qing, the legendary doctor

A-qing’s desire to bring back and protect xiao xingchen calls to wen qing’s own desire to protect wen ning

Armed with common sense, a-qing’s cunning, and needles, these two are the dark horse of this holy grail war

It helps that two other spirits reactions to seeing her is to start cryinf and hug her

Xue Yang - Mobei-jun - rider

Xue yang will not let anything get in between him and what he wants, even little blind.

He finds another relic and summons mobei-jun

Mobei jun has a soft spot for crazy small men who have no morals, but even xue yang gets on his nerves sometimes

No problem, mobei jun just picks him up by the scruff of his neck and holds him like s disgruntled kitten

Xue yang is a lot like a demon kid, mobei thinks he should ask shang qinghua if he wants to adopt some kids when he gets back

Xue yang does not apreciate this

And an honorary:

Lan sizhui - wen ning

Wen Ning is not an actually summoned spirit. He broke free from the jins and got rescued by lan sizhui when he found him in the woods

Lan sizhui proceeds to take him home and try to hide him, but lan jingyi found out

Lan jingyi was the one to come up with the plan of pretending they summoned wen ning to fight, so that they can have an excuse to bring Wen ning around and stop hiding him under lan sizhui’s bed

This unexpectedly works, since several masters are keeping to the shadows, lan jungyi and lan sizhui both feel very proud of themselves, but lan Wangji has all the angst about having to possibly face his son down the line, and could he realy do that?

Lucky for Lan Wangji, wei wuxian figures out what’s really going on pretty quick once he meets wen ning again.

[snailtrain]

♥🥒🐏♥

[alsheon]

Update

The next chapter for Dark Clouds is ready, I'll do the beta-reading and last edit before update tomorrow, the real update will be within 24 hours or so. It's ready!

Also, I also want to update anyone following me in tumblr. My laptop is pranking me so often right now and my anxious mind can’t stand it, by pranking I mean taking too long to activate and sometimes not responding. I’m thinking of buying a new one on top of also buying a new phone (my phone didn’t prank me, it straight up divorced me, it died on me, it’s been three days, and I’m still mourning the lost 30k+ images in it. half of it is my writing references I compiled for the last four years, it hurts).

If you want to help me about my laptop, head over to my Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/invidiaenvy/goal?g=0

I’ve marked the target as $825, but honestly I’ll take any crumbs. Because I really need it asap.

*edit*

ENJOY!!! ^_^