#WYZ too

[myheartismadeofstars]

thinking about an AU where the system glitches out during the Maigu Ridge Incident.

SQQ finds himself floating all of a sudden and the system says it needs to reboot. "restoring from last plot point" what was the last canon plot point? SQQ's IMPRISONMENT. So he comes to with five years of time back.

He can now prevent his own death, AND he's already gone through his character development so he knows he loves LBH, so they can work things out together and get together early.

BONUS:

(Novel Character Glitch: Restoring All Named Characters)

[outofcontextdiscord]

[svsss-brainrot-blog]

Hiii I saw you were doing snippets so I wanted to drop by. Hope you're doing okay <3

Here's an idea: Shen Jiu adopting a spirit wolf. (It's the wolf who adopted SJ but shhh) Maybe SJ managed to get away from WYZ after burning the Qiu's and happened to cross paths with one.

It’s the eyes that he sees first.

Large. Silver. Peering from the shadows where even the hallowed touch of moonlight does not dare to sweep.

He should run.

He cannot.

After so long being deprived of everything but the bare minimum to keep him alive, his body is weak where it counts. He managed to escape the scene of his first murder. He managed to escape the clutches of the demonic cultivator that followed, hoping the drugging flowers he brewed into tea were strong enough to kill the man where his weak hands were not.

He is not stupid enough to believe he can escape the creature before him. Not when he hasn’t eaten in days, and the bones of his leg send fire through him with every jostle. Broken, after a tumble down the jagged ravine in the dark.

Shen Jiu always knew the world hated him- he did not think it so ironic to die like this. A pathetic beast, made a midnight dinner for a wolf.

That didn’t mean he intended to make it easy.

“Bring it on, then,” he hissed into the night, brandishing the largest stick his numb fingers could find. “Do your worst.”

A growl reverberated from the shadows, those bright, unblinking eyes moving as the creature stalked forward, its pelt shining as it stepped out into the light.

It was huge. From the wicked black claws on the tips of each paw to the glinting ivory of its teeth, the wolf was probably as large as a man. It tilted its head up, scenting the hair with a huff.

Even in the low light, Shen Jiu could see the hackles rise.

Shen Jiu braced to swing his branch as fervently as he could, and several things happened all at once.

A flash of steel came at him from one side.

An all too familiar shout echoed in the night.

And the wolf pivoted at the last moment, redirecting its lunge.

Wu Yanzi screamed as the canines of the beast tore into his skin, something dark splattering among the leaves and other debris of the forest floor. The sword he had attempted to fling at the young escapee thudded into the woods, thrown off course, and Shen Jiu pressed himself up against the trees until the painful howling of his latest captor fell to muffled struggles, and then silence.

His stick shook lightly in his hand.

He couldn’t run.

The wolf moved, hard to track in the darkness, with the low rustle of something dragging through the foliage. Away from Shen Jiu.

With a pained gasp, the teen rolled over, and began to drag himself away, claiming the sword that was left amid the roots along the way.

***

There’s a haze that comes with infection. Living on the streets, he’d learned to recognize it well, and now he can tell it’s come to visit him again.

His leg aches, angry and red with purple blotches after a day of struggling through the woods alone. So far, he has had no other trouble- only a brief encounter with a snake that was quickly handled with his stolen steel.

But he’s hungry. And it hurts, every time he struggles to push forward. If he laid his head down for just a moment, surely he can find the will to push further. Just for a moment…

Just… for a moment…

***

The branch whacks him in the face.

He startles awake with a curse, his leg throbbing in agony as he attempts to evade the attack, batting away his attacker with clumsy hands.

Something cracks in the brush above him, and Shen Jiu’s eyes dart up to meet another’s in the fading light of the sunset.

Large. Silver. Cloaked by swaths of sleek, white fur with a dark stripe down its ears and muzzle, and a patch on its forehead that looks strangely similar to a flower.

The wolf.

The great beast leaps from its place overhead, landing without hardly a sound, pacing a slow circle around him, its gaze too focused, too sharp.

“Come to finish the job, have you?” Shen Jiu snarls, baring his teeth. He has a sword now. He still can’t escape, but he could at least try to take the damn thing with him. Even with the dizziness that plagues him, he should at least be able to make it bleed.

He doesn’t expect to wolf to pick the aforementioned branch up in its teeth and throw it at him.

He splutters, throwing a hand up to guard his face even as something soft and smooth brushes against his wrist from within the bundle of leaves. Small white flowers dot the stems, and there, hidden in the center, is a cluster of plums.

Three of them, ripe and nearly bursting with flesh, practically begging to be eaten.

The wolf turns, and lopes away into the trees.

…The juice is sweet, and sticky where it clings to Shen Jiu’s chin.

***

His leg aches. He ignores it as best as he can, limping through the trees. Hunger does not gnaw at him so fiercely, but thirst has made its name known.

He finds a small stream, looking clear and clean enough. His body is weak as he all but dunks his head under, gulping down as much as he can stand without risking throwing it all back up.

After, he lays on the wide rocks of the bank, watching the sky wheel overhead as his body rebels once more.

He feels so hot, and cold, and sweaty, but it’s too dry and if he touches the water too much he’s going to die. Nothing quite makes sense and he can’t quite feel his own body anymore.

He’s so tired.

He wonders if this was the last experience he and Qi-ge would share- dying alone in the woods with no one there to care.

***

He wakes to something warm, and soft.

The scent of the woods surrounds him, pulls him close as his brother once did, whispering sweet dreams of far off freedoms and strength, and for the first time in a long time, Shen Jiu is slow to wake.

Let it be soft. Let it be warm. Let him have this, this one last mercy, before hell finds him once again.

The pulse of something safe, that latches on to that place hidden deep inside him, neither quite flesh nor phantasmal force.

Wu Yanzi had brushed against it, once, when he pretended to be a just and benevolent teacher. The roots that bound his spirit to his body.

His meridians.

He blinks his eyes open, one hand curling tight in the pale pelt that stretches next to him.

He blinks.

The wolf blinks back.

“If you’re going to follow me, that makes you mine,” Shen Jiu croaks. “That means I’m in charge and you have to do what I say.”

The pulse of qi he receives seems to be a happy agreement.

He allows the wolf to wiggle under him, lifting his small form onto its large back as it turns towards the heart of the woods.

He’s tired…

But… His leg doesn’t hurt anymore.

[acearohippo]

What do you mean by Shen Jiu being female-coded? /genq

Hello! To preface, in a lot of fandom spheres calling any cis gendered character "[gender]-coded" tends to be negative, usually to highlight poor writing or usage of harmful stereotypes, i.e., male-coded women being arrogant and demeaning to other women or female-coded men being sensitive and the butt of jokes among other men. However, there are instances where it is done and, rather than promote negative gender stereotypes it rather... Emphasises a masculine and feminine natures that resonate with people.

I am not always good with words, but there is [gender]-coded that is basically thinly veiled sexism and there is [gender]-coded that is simply nature. Think along the terms of pre Christian colonialism, where many cultures and religions have masculine energy and feminine energy defined outside of biological gender.

I see SJ as female coded because of how the fandom reacts/reacted to him. We don't got a lot of info on him, canon wise, at least not without heavy (and unreliable) bias. But there is a stark difference to how fandom treats him compared to the other men in the story.

And I don't mean in the sense of "he deserved what he got/he deserved so much better" discourse that surrounds him, but how fandom understands him.

Depending on where you fall, the degree of SJ's childhood trauma could range from demeaning slavery with a historically usual amount of abuse and demands to underage sexual abuse and torture. Regardless, the common thread is that men have control over his autonomy. Men (and nobility) dictate what he does, how he dresses, what he will receive, and how others percieve him. This is something SJ does not escape, even when he becomes a Peak Lord, although the degree has lessened by this time. He fails not just because of his actions, but due to the words and judgement of people who only see him on surface level and, thus, scrutinise his every action as "evidence" to their preconceived judgement.

And boy does fandom run with this!

And it makes sense because, a huge portion of danmei demographics are women... Women who understand all too well the dangers a negative statement can have on their livlihood.

This is why Shen Jiu is female coded, to me. Qui Jianluo, Wu Yanzi, Yue Qingyuan, Luo Binghe, even Shen Yuan, etc etc all, in some way, have taken his autonomy. QJL and WYZ did it with their abuse and power over him, YQY did it by undermining him and placating him (while allowing the bad rumours and his bad behaviours to persist), LBH through his revenge (literally crippled him), Shen Yuan quite literally takes over his body and has no regard for its treatment for most of the story.

In fandom, I think its telling that Qi Qingqi, Mu Qingfan, and Liu Qingge also feature as a prominent antaongist that contribute to Shen Jiu's abysmal reputation. Unfortunately, the three kinds of people women should feel protected by and safe with- other women, doctors, and those who uphold justice- are some of the main contributors to the problems they face. They aren't taken seriously, they're ostracised or put down, they're ignored or labeled as over emotional.

Its also telling that, for most fanfics/discussions/art/etc where Shen Jiu is "redeemed" or given a second chance, the main reason why he suceeds is because others listen to him. They let him have a voice and respect it. He is able to advocate for himself and not be torn down or turned away. And if he is, usually there's a man that stands by his side and acts as the "ally" or "bridge" that gets people taking him seriously.

Or, him being attached to a well-respected man is enough for people to change their opinions. Fandom can't help but reflect real life in their works.

So, with all that being said... I understand that there's going to be people who think this is a "bad take" because I rely so heavily on how the fandom portrays Shen Jiu, and that's fine. There will always be Bible-thumpers in every piece of media we consume, and they're here for good reason. But I consume stories for the feelings they evoke and the influence they have on others. People make connections, that's just what we do, and this is the connection I made.

[tk-duveraun]

AU where touch empathy is very common among cultivators to the point that even could slave SJ can feel the emotions of others. Thankfully QJL usually wore gloves or used tools for his abuses.

Anyway, pre-YQ leaving SJ was always touching him, always needing constant reassurance and always getting it.

WYZ teaches SJ how to use the empathy as a weapon, how to read through people's facades and how to traumatize them with concentrated bursts of your own emotions.

SJ successfully made people go mad with mental anguish before he was even 19.

In the cultivation world, people are guarded against accidental touches, but it's currently seen as a huge weakness to wear gloves and otherwise avoid all contact. Less a "if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear" and more "ah, you're too weak and too bogged down with mortal affairs and heart demons to control your emotions properly"

SQQ can perfectly control exactly how much emotion he sends and receives.

YQY cannot. Part of it is his heart demons and trans but part is Xuan Su not letting him suppress himself with. As time passes since the sealing of TLJ people in the cultivation world start to question if cqsm's leader is actually that strong of he must wear gloves all of the time

Meanwhile sqq is also severely touch-starved and broken over YQY hiding from him even though he knows all of his worst secrets already

[silentheiss]

Hi! I'm back! I'm so glad you liked my au idea hehe. And I absolutely loved your extension of it! It has left me brimming with a lot more ideas that I came to share. (Maybe someday I'll be motivated to write a fic??) this is gonna be long, so I'm really sorry for that.

Maybe Airplane can help YQY and SJ reconcile by making up a story about seeing the guy come looking for someone or whatever.. SJ doesn't buy it because he's been with him the whole time since the Qiu Manor incident but he knows by now that there's something almost seer-like in his new mentor, so he brushes it off.. anyway, timeskip..

So, SJ does come to IAC with WYZ/Airplane not knowing what MBJ had planned for it?? He just came to catch sight of Qi-ge. But then the demons take over and the disciples are dying and fighting for their lives. WYZ/Airplane who is now one of his two father figures said he needed to come here so SJ assumes it's his prophetic abilities that led them here, so he too tried to help the disciples, considering they're far too young to hold out on their own (like he was supposed to be well into his peak lord era so I'm assuming he's old enough).

In doing so, he spots a clearly demonic child, and the probable Qing Jing peak lord trying to fight MBJ, with all their strength. Before he can even react, he's looking for ways to help him "not dad". Then, MBJ mentions something about Binghe being a demon and being good or whatever, and it pisses him off? The young Qing Jing peak lord (I'm picturing a SY younger than SJ who was brought into this world after SJ decided to not join Cang Qiong), is fighting MBJ pretty hard, so SJ tries to stay hidden, but defend MBJ. SQQ/SY still has the mission of pushing Binghe down the abyss and the timer is running thin, so he slowly picks up his drama of being betrayed by Binghe being a demon, as MBJ portals out.

But somehow WYZ/Airplane shows up. Something passes and SQQ takes out his sword, and SJ assumes it as a threat to his other dad, and ends up doing something? Like maybe he uses his sword or some demonic cultivation tool or trick that WYZ/Airplane taught him. It hits SQQ who collapses on the spot, in front of Binghe who was already dealing with his shizun's look and words of betrayal but now he's confused and panicked. He looks horrified as he runs to SQQ and calls out "Shizun..shizun this disciple is sorry.. he was wrong.. please.. please look at me.." but SQQ just won't. He's not dead but let's say that the demonic cultivation technique does something that makes the person appear dead for some time. Luo Binghe sees red and glares at WYZ (because SJ was still hidden in the same direction as WYZ is standing) as his zuiyin flares, and he's ready to attack, but SJ beats him to it and pushes him down into the abyss before he can do anything.

Binghe's hatred is too much, because he hurt and betrayed his shizun, who is now dead? and it's all because of those demonic cultivators, so his abyss arc is now also blended with the 5 years without shizun arc, except he has no body to bring shizun back.

Back on earth, SQQ is fine, but devastated that the abyss plotline was done. He's incredibly sad. He doesn't even remember doing it. Then somehow the airplane/cucumber reveal happens because airplane knows that the Og SQQ is with him. Either way, SJ doesn't feel too guilty for protecting WYZ but airplane is losing his mind because the vengeance on SJ is still predestined. He talks to SQQ about it all but doesn't exactly tell him that it was SJ who pushed binghe down. And SJ seems to be getting along well with SQQ despite their earlier feuds.

I like to imagine a scumcum relationship forming? Like QiJiu is there but I wanna add jiuyuan to the mix. He low-key feels bad because of how totally depressed and widowed SQQ looks all the time, so he tries to do this and that to distract and cheer him up. Somehow he does a better job than the brute LQG and is so very smug about it.

Then Binghe comes back. Shizun is alive!? He's overjoyed but then he sees SJ, the one who pushed him down, tailing behind his shizun like he used to. He wonders if they were always in cahoots. And misunderstandings and things similar to canon timeline happen because though SQQ is unaware of who pushed binghe, he still said all that to him, so he still expects punishment. He does die once before realising that SJ, LQG and Binghe were fighting over his corpse, and the fact that SJ was the one who pushed Binghe in and berates Airplane for it.

I'm so sorry.. for the length and if there are grammatical errors. I was overflowing with ideas. I love me some angsty bingqiu. 😞

welcome back!!💛 please stop apologizing!! you have no idea how much I love it

please please do write a fic, I’ll wait for as long as it takes because your idea is amazingggg

I absolutely love how many people who care about him SJ now has 😭

and after sqq comes back, and with everyone aware that it was SJ who pushed Binghe, how does SJ react?

like, SQQ is kind of his favorite now, he can’t just lose him, he fought so hard for him, he stayed with him while he mourned his disciple, he helped. but now SQQ knows it was him who pushed luo binghe, so he must hate him and SJ doesn’t want to see those eyes filled with hatred.

only SQQ knows about plot and inevitably of certain things, so he doesn’t hate, but he still prefers it for SJ to stay away from him and Binghe for some time for safety reasons. angst all over!! 🥲💛

this idea is brilliant it fills me with so much emotion and anticipation 🙏🏽 really hope you end up writing this 💛✨

[gaywarcriminals]

hello! how are you going? do you have any svsss fic recs you enjoyed?

Aside from the usual Horrors, I'm quite well!! I hope you are too ^^

Oh wow, It's a bit hard to pick just a few because I've read a lot of SVSSS fics in the past few years, but here's the ones that came to mind/ I've been thinking about recently! (I'm excluding ones that I already recommended this week for the ask game, you can check out my "ask fish" tag to see those. Edit: I made a "fish recommends" tag too.)

Qijiu:

"i bury my voice for you" (series) by lithali. Space opera AU, Shen twins, everyone is aliens, intense qijiu longing, SJ’s unending font of angsty internal dialogue, and kinky qijiu sex feat transmasc SJ. I need more people to read this one!!!!!!!

"Palimpsest" by Azzandra. YQY loses his memories and tries to piece together how SJ fits in his life from what others tell him. I adore this fic, it's a really interesting examination of both their characters and why they love each other intrinsically. 

"You Were You, And I Was I" by MissMegh. Deaged qijiu being feral, clinging, and horny teenagers. Super cute and funny!

"what thing it is (that people most desire)" by Jinxed_Ink. A vaguely medieval AU based on an Arthurian legend where SJ disguises himself and blackmails YQY into marrying him for Revenge. SJ has Absolutely No Other Motive There. I didn't know how much I needed this particular brand of qijiu marriage shenanigans until I read it.

"I'm just as exposed (when i take off my clothes)" by owoxian. Qijjiu being weird and horny (as they deserve), being misinterpreted as abuse by accidental voyer MQF. 

"The Sect Leader’s Husband" by AMereDream. Canon divergence where YQY came back for SJ on time, and instead of becoming the QJP head disciple, SJ married YQY and became the power behind the throne. Cute power couple qijiu!!!

"The Heart Is A Sword" by Moonsheen. A-Su, a boy who is a sword, the emperor's weapon, is appointed personal attendant to the emperor's new consort Shen. PIDW post-canon.

Bingqiu:

"Rehearsal" by Prim_the_Amazing. Binghe, fresh from the abyss, uses a dream realm to run through all the ways his reunion with SQQ might go. This one is basically pure angst but it's SO good.

"How to Meal Prep - Household Tips, Recipes, and Ideas for a Better-Organised Life!" By x_los. Character study of 17-year-old preeminent housewife Binghe. It's cute, it's weird, and it's terribly tragic on account of the Dramatic Irony.

"Futility in Practice" by TGP. Time loop fic with a REALLY cool style of story telling. Repetitive but iterative text from Binghe, the non-looping character's POV as SQQ desperately tries to find the right answer to end the loop. Very angsty!

"it's not gay if you don't touch my ass ... unless?" by azunshi. Modern AU, SY wants to have sex with Binghe but ofc that would be gay, so instead he puts a cocksleeve up his ass for binghe to fuck instead. This fic is so deeply stupid (positive/complimentary), I love it, it's the exact brand of unhinged this whole fandom is slowlyy becoming.

"Songs of a Wayfarer" by foxflowering. Ballet AU with young prodigy LBH and his teacher SY! 

Binggeyuan:

"to find an intended (a bit unintentionally)" by nyoomerr. This is the classic. Wandering cultivator SY accidentally doms Bingge into being a good boy. 

"broken glass, swept away" by aaeph. Modern AU, SY buys a home only to find it haunted by the centuries old ghost of a demonic emperor. Bingge tries so hard to push SY away over and over, but SY is a stubborn man.

Jiuyuan:

"Jump To The Left" by ValiantBarnes (Cimila). I'm not sure quite how to describe this one without spoilers, but essentially, older Shen Yuan finds and saves SJ in the era he was following WYZ. SY takes SJ as a traveling companion/sort of disciple. CW for mentions of incest/psuedo-incest (no actual incest though).

"Immortal Shen Does Not Do Online Deliveries" by Anonymous. SY, a young cultivator and scholar, goes to ask the reclusive immoral master SQQ for an elixir. SQQ toys with him a little <3. Mean SQQ and flustered SY.

Gen/ No Ship:

"Rat Trap" by Azaisya. LQG & SJ. LQG and SJ are kidnapped, they get truth serum-ed, and they're forced to confront their different background and conflicting morals and methods that stem from that. I think this is my favorite execution of "LQG learns SJ's backstory and Has Regrets", because their conflict is explicitly framed as a class divide rather than just misunderstandings, and it addresses the flaws in both their resulting worldviews to some extent. 

"Sit With Your Soul" by Tossawary. SJ & SY. This is a fusion with His Dark Materials, but no knowledge is required. Basically everyone has an animal companion that's connected to and represents their soul, and SY transmigrates into SQQ's. 

[joys-of-everyday]

SJ Bonus Notes

Some miscellaneous things following on from this post and subsequent discussions. A lot of it is my own opinion, just some random drabble.

He Only Killed The Men

Something that I’ve seen not that often but with enough frequency that it bothers me is arguments along the lines of ‘SJ only killed men in the Qiu manor, so that means it was fine’.

To which my reaction is ‘what is it about killing only men that makes it fine???’

The subtext here feels like: ‘SJ only killed the people involved in his abuse – it was for revenge, not indiscriminate killing’, which contains the implicit assumption that all the men were perpetrators, and all the women weren’t. And while there’s a bunch of complicated issues underlying this and I’m sure it’s not always meant in the overly generalised way I read it as… I get the feeling it’s sometimes just grossly oversimplified??

(This links to a feeling I have that SJ’s view on women is actually quite problematic, which I might elaborate on a later date.)

Murder bunny SJ

On that note, in the Qiu manor, yes SJ killed quite a few out of self-defence, but beyond that its heavily implied he was just going around stabbing people. Also he was taught to ‘how to commit murder and arson, how to steal, how to reap benefit from confusion’ by WYZ, and possibly killed a bunch of CQM disciples at the Immortal Alliance Conference (although, as has been pointed out, this is refutable!). All in all, this suggests that SJ was not an innocent white sheep. (But my point is that this does not imply he is a villain, or even at all bad.)

SJ and Cang Qiong

Interpretations of SJ and his friendship situation on Qing Jing usually lie in one of two buckets: ‘all the peak lords were bullies and SJ did nothing wrong’ or ‘SJ was awful and nobody cared that he died, good for him’. I think at the time of the original post I had misremembered the canon quite a bit, and was reminded of this by slytherinzidian (thank you!). Anyway, we like Nuance ofc ofc, so I’ve picked out a selection of quotes that might be useful references:  

SJ didn’t act in a way that made it easy to like him.

Shen Qingqiu had a habit of keeping his chin slightly raised, so whenever he looked at people it often appeared as if he was looking askance at them.

Airplane’s adventure log

And the other peak lords don’t really like his attitude (to the point they’re pretty happy about him losing all his memories, which is disturbing if you think about it too deeply):

Another peak lord spoke up, puzzled: “In the past he’d never give a proper greeting when meeting Zhangmen shixiong or his fellows, he never paid any of us a visit, the way he spoke was like a needle hidden in silk, his attitude was eccentric, there wasn’t anything good about him. The way he is now is much better.”

Airplane’s adventure log

Of course we have Shen Yuan’s scathing review of SJ’s character. He spent a lot of his narration attacking SJ’s attitude.

Shen Qingqiu’s character settings were stuck on “shady hypocrite.” Since on the surface he looked pure-hearted, free of desire, and immune to wicked temptations, then beneath that surface he had to be immoral, shameless, scummy, and despicable.

Vol 1, Chapter 1

That being said, SJ’s peers didn’t make it easy for SJ to act nice either. YQY had an unfortunate thing of trying to be nice and ending up off-handedly insulting SJ. For example, SJ had a genuine reason to suspect SQH (he was colluding with demons!) and YQY follows up with this:

“Qingqiu-shidi, the ways of demons have never followed any rhyme or reason, and Shang-shidi went through great difficulty to escape catastrophe; even if you have questions to ask, it wouldn’t be remiss to allow him time to recover first.”

Airplane’s adventure log

During his disciple age, Bai Zhan disciples hated SJ, mocking him, staging ambushes, going as far as to try and tear down his home. Now this might be a reaction to SJ provoking LQG, but also the An Ding peak disciples seem to hate the Bai Zhan disciples too, so equally they could just be bullying everyone (and/or SJ particularly badly).  

Everyone across Baizhan Peak was just like Liu Qingge, not holding any goodwill towards Shen Qingqiu. Unwilling to let this opportunity slip by, the disciple had immediately followed him in and begun mocking Shen Qingqiu, saying that he had a faked sense of morality and was only pretending to be noble and virtuous; for him to show up in a place like this was really causing his own sect to lose all face.

Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu

Btw, SJ’s relationship with the Qing Jing disciples appears to be better, and it says that SJ was well liked by his Shizun.

Yue Qingyuan’s assumption wasn’t without reason, but this time it really was wrong. Although Shen Qingqiu wasn’t liked by his peers, they didn’t dislike him so much that they wouldn’t make space for him to sleep.

Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu

Now LQG and SJ’s rivalry looks pretty complicated. LQG consistently manages to say some pretty insensitive things towards SJ, mocking his ability, which SJ takes badly because of his past traumas. But also, SJ is consistently threatening to kill LQG, and seemingly attacks him out of the blue (although this is a misunderstanding).

The phrase Shen Qingqiu most often said to Liu Qingge was: “One of these days I’ll kill you, Liu Qingge!” The lovely young pipa-carrying woman had long since thrown on her thin garments and rushed out the door in fear. Liu Qingge gave him a look: “With your ability?”

Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu

Also there’s some implication by YQY that SJ started the rivalry with LQG, but YQY probably doesn’t have the full picture. And coupled with YQY’s ability be nice and end up accidently demeaning SJ as a result, should definitely take with a pinch of salt.

With him being thick-skinned to this degree, it was difficult for Yue Qingyuan to speak up again. He naturally couldn’t just say, if after the martial arts tournament you hadn’t kept thinking up tricks to trip him up and mounting sneak attacks to embarrass him, you wouldn’t currently have such a vitriolic relationship with Liu Qingge that the two of you can’t even bear to look at each other.

Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu

On that note, YQY does say something along the lines of ‘LQG’s like this to everyone, and if you were nice to him, he would be nice to you back’. This is at least half true, because SY was nice to LQG and we know where that ended up. Also, SJ does sort of goes out of his way to make their relationship worse.

[Shang Qinghua] sat up to weakly shout: “Don’t fight, you guys. Liu-shidi, you’ve got it all wrong, just now Shen-shixiong was actually…” Shen Qingqiu threw out a hand, and a series of deep cracks exploded in the wall next to Shang Qinghua’s head, dust and rocks showering down around him. Shen Qingqiu said in a chilly voice: “If you want to die then do a thorough job of it, don’t get back up midway.”

Airplane’s adventure log

Bonus on rumours: we don’t know who was spreading rumours, but the An Ding disciples were talking about SJ and complaining that he looked down on them.

Another outer disciple who, like him, had joined Cangqiong Mountain at a late age, spoke up with a sour voice: “I don’t know how that Shen Qingqiu managed to get picked as head disciple anyway, what with him having joined up so late. Everyone says he’s on friendly terms with Yue-shixiong, but I’ve never once seen him visit Qiongding Peak, and whenever he meets Yue-shixiong it’s always with a fake aloof look that’s stiff as a corpse; but it doesn’t seem like they’re on bad terms with each other, either.”

Airplane’s adventure log

Anyway, what are people’s opinions on SJ’s relationship to his martial siblings? Any headcanons?

Virgin Pee and Brothel Visits

So here is a great thread discussing SJ canons/fanons. I find it really interesting how interpreting the source material in different ways can lead to different canons, and how the added difficulty of translating throws more confusion into the mix. Anyway, to summarise some of the discussions, we know a lot of what we hear from SY about SJ’s character is inaccurate and one of the big things SY liked the rant on about was how lecherous SJ was. In fact, SJ disliked the company of men, and went to brothels to seek comfort:

It was just that he hated being crowded together with other people of the same sex. … Once upon a time, a girl like this had been their big sister. But after she grew older, she was sold to a shriveled old widower as his second wife; afterwards they left that city, and never saw her again. Liking women wasn’t shameful in the least, but treating a woman as your savior, shrinking into her embrace in search of self-confidence—Shen Qingqiu needed no one to tell him how incredibly shameful that was. So he would rather die than tell anyone, particularly not Yue Qingyuan.

Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan

Now this doesn’t exclude the possibility of SJ sleeping with women (I don’t think he was, but I wouldn’t be able to say with certainty). There are some indications of skinship with prostitutes:

In this particular instance, the tender young lady carrying the pipa had long since thrown on her thin robes and dashed out in terror. This left only the two of them inside the Warm Red Pavilion. One person’s clothes were mussed and dishevelled, while the other had not a thread out of place. The contrast couldn’t have been clearer.

Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu

But the pipa player might have taken some of her clothing off just to get comfortable, and SJ had just come from a fight, so his clothes being out of place isn’t unexpected. Also the young lady was carrying a pipa, so probably she was you know… playing the pipa before being kicked out?

There’s also indications of SJ being a virgin:

“And where am I supposed to find a male virgin’s pee out in the middle of nowhere?” Once these words left his mouth, he realized that Shang Qinghua was gazing intently at him. “Why are you looking at me?! As for my former self—let’s not talk about that for now. You wrote Shen Qingqiu’s original character yourself.”

Vol 1, Chapter 5

This is still ambiguous - SQH doesn’t answer the question and theoretically could have been staring at SY for any number of reasons. (Maybe he thinks SY is the virgin?) + there are probably things about SJ’s life that SQH doesn’t know.

On a thematic note, it makes sense if SJ is virgin. Lechery is used a lot by SY to illustrate SJ’s moral depravity and the twist is that a lot of it is based on unfortunate misunderstandings (e.g. he didn’t actually kill LQG).

(I also headcanon SJ as gay so another reason he wouldn’t be sleeping with women.)

On the other hand, I honestly believe there is nothing wrong with having sex. Virginity = moral purity is a narrative that annoys me. (Really annoys me. I’ll say it twice just to make it hit home. Virginity != moral purity.) Equally, I like to think there is a parallel universe (aka. some fanfic maybe) in which SJ is a straight, cis male sleeping with women, and still have all of the complexity that he would if he were a gay virgin.

QJL, SJ, LBH

Someone has pointed out parallels. I love parallels.

… This is separate post worthy.  

[jimimn]

https://twitter.com/winnttaebear/status/1713573489041703055?t=wYZ-74D2TrhItImCx-dyhA&s=19

it still feels so surreal... what a journey... seokjin, we'll be here for you too 🥺

what a journey indeed 😭 suuuuch good music this past year 😭 waiting patiently for seokjinnie's album too 🥺🥺🥺🥺 ksj1 next year and it's gonna be fucking iconic 😎

[ms-taurusvenus]

I believe that having high standards for yourself is a good thing! My aunt would always say 'high standards save you from low quality experiences' and I think when you set standards you are knowing your worth and value as your energy and time are sacred and not everyone should have access to that energy field around you. I do think there are beautiful souls out there tho so keep an open mind! At the end of the day what you decide doesn't have to make sense to anyone but yourself as well x

Thanks for this anon! It’s deeply appreciated! 💞💞 You and a your aunt is so right!! Sending you positive energy.

I’m very protective of my energy because I know that if I’m not, I am in risk of having people with bad intentions have access to me and my energy. I’m very conscious of who I put my energy into because (IMO) my energy is powerful and sacred. Ive been proven about it too. I’ve had peoples live change see their life differently for the better. (I hope I don’t sound egotistical, I’m just saying my energy is so sacred and why I protect it so intensely because of the things I can and does do to people who I put my energy into). It’s something I learnt once I entered my pre-teen years. Example, this onetime in high school I was letting my black tourmaline, this girl who wanted to be popular (you know those girls) were provoking me and that really fucked up how I felt, my mood, & energy. Why did they provoke me? Because they wanted a reaction out of me because they wanted to see what someone who is calm and keeps to themselves can do so they can laugh at me and say shit about me. It’s been a pattern throughout my life. (Capricorn in 3H things). One thing about me, you can’t get a reaction out of me. At least not easily. If someone idc about can make me feel that way, who knows how a man that I love and care about can make me feel when they provoke and mess with me. I’ve been through a lot of experiences and life changing periods in my life where I’ve felt unworthy, doubting myself, many phases of bad-severe depression + anxiety, etc, etc. Those all lead me to periods where I transform and blossom and I’ve now become the person who I am. Especially in terms of love because if there’s one thing I’ve learn from a young age, the wrong man can fuck anything up. Including/especially you. Which leads to my high standards, if no one is willing to meet my standards and expectations, I don’t want it. It’s a way for me to never settle down for less and a way of protecting myself. I wasn’t taught half of the shit that make me who I am, I know I’m a strong, independent woman and is able to manage life on my own which also contributes to this. All that a man will do is spend my life with and be the companionship that I desire ever since I was a kid.

Going back into my energy being so sacred, the more time you spend growing, reflecting, doing shadow-work, etc the more powerful you become IMO. It’s as if the universe sees you understanding you may not be perfect, you have your both wrongs and goods, and that you’re willing to heal and become better even if it means going and facing into that shadow side that you have. In which the universe rewards you, “here is all of the abilities you can do, you know wyz, use your abilities to better others because you can do it with/for yourself”. Also this makes your aura nicer too (IMO). Before my aura used to be blue, and apparently my aura is a combination of blue-purple-pink. This is really rare if anyone doesn’t know.

Every person who’s told me to lower my standards have always had odd intentions upon both me and my loved ones, and just bad people. Take that how you can.

Although, my guides and ancestors always tell me not to worry about anyone because they got my back 😅. This onetime a girl looked at me up and down and was giving me attitude, unprovoked when I was waiting for a friend and guess what? 1 week later their leg broke for and had a cast on for 6 weeks lol. You never fucking know lol. I do always remember my ancestors have my back which is why I always and am one of the biggest preachers of “you never know who’s protected by who”.

[sun-and-moon-mushroom]

Bingge and MBJ initially think that they’re in the future by a significant amount of time — after all, the only emperor they hear about is the human one. So they’re careful to not use their previous names in case anyone finds it strange. Of course, fate is in play here, so eventually Bingge ends up with the Qiu and it’s seeing QHT that makes him realise that they’re in the past. He passes this on to MBJ, who he also tells to go find a sect to learn human cultivation at — he should be fine with the Qiu, right? (He ends up dreading the day a young Shen Qingqiu will show up, because surely he’d gang up on him with QJL?)

Meanwhile MBJ makes his way to Cang Qiong, hoping to see SQH (he’s not there yet). Human cultivation is slow and difficult compared to the demonic strength he was used to in his past life so when he’s given a chance to choose a sword… he makes an impulsive decision to pick the strongest one. He’s meant to be Bingge’s second in command, his most powerful general, he needs the strength to fulfil that role.

So eventually Bingge snaps, sets the place on fire and kills everyone he doesn’t like — maybe he kills QHT, maybe he uses skill with manipulation to convince her it wasn’t his fault. He then ends up with WYZ and does some demonic cultivation because he never really learnt much of the human sort and it ends up not going that well with a human body.

When Bingge and MBJ finally meet again, things between them are… different. The entire time Bingge has known MBJ, he’s been the stronger one, the one holding authority with MBJ as his subordinate. But now things have turned around completely, with MBJ being given the name Yue Qingyuan, future sect leader, while Bingge is just some kid with sub-standard cultivation. When MBJ, now YQY, helps him, it feels like pity. What would anyone want from him without his power?

But still, it’s YQY who brings him to the sect and convinces one of the peak lords to take him on (and it had to be Qing Jing again) and gets him treatment for the damage overusing demonic cultivation has done to his very human body. The current peak lord gives him their name — Shen — and it’s too much of an honour for him to refuse, no matter how much he hates the name.

(He’s still in denial about it until after they’ve ascended as Peak Lords, and he’s been given the name Qingqiu, until YQY looks at him and mentions how similar he looks to the original now).

AU where after he dies, Bingge wakes up as a human child that eventually becomes a slave named ‘Nine’. At least he has his most loyal general, Mobei-jun with him, reincarnated as ‘Seven’.

Years later, Yue Qingyuan wakes up from being pierced by poisoned arrows as a demonic prince in the northern Demon Realm. Some years after that, Shen Jiu finds himself reborn as a baby left on a boat floating down an icy river.

(Or: QiJiu and MoBing are reborn into the past. They just got swapped around a bit in the process. It will take all of them a while to figure this out.)

[silentheiss]

Hii! I hope you're doing great!!

I really like your blog and your aus. Also, that that one post about your students was so endearing that I think about it every time I check your blog.

Anyway, I had a weird ass idea that I had no one to share with, so I came to share it with you.. sorry, if it's stupid or whatever.. but you know how there are fics about Shen Yuan transmigrating into Wu Yanzi and all.. but I've never seen one where it's Airplane who transmigrates into Wu Yanzi..

It's fun to picture the kind of dynamic that will develop between all the characters, including MBJ and SQH, and if SJ still goes on to become SQQ, would be be less bitter? Maybe WYZ/Airplane helps him in a way that's less evil? Idk..and instead of killing disciples, he just has SJ meet YQY at the IAC? But considering that he didn't exactly opt out of what happens in canonical IAC of SY/SQQ's timeline, he still might cause some chaos, though I believe he'd refrain from killing children on his own. P.s he's supposed to die while trying to kill YQY..

Either way, if they don't go the SJ/SQQ route, maybe SY transmigrates and becomes SQQ? And maybe somehow SJ ends up pushing Binghe? Or something?

I don't know.. I'm sorry for babbling.. you can completely choose to ignore this.

hi💛 im all good, thank you!!✨ hope you’re doing great too!

i LOVE your idea omg I feel like it could be so so so fun and interesting

I think you’re totally right about Airplane raising him less bitter, but also being unable/unwilling to change the plot too much. so, upon meeting this shaking angry skinny kid he’d still somehow see the future scum villain, but also he’d see a child. and Airplane is not an abuser, he’s not going to ruin teenager’s psyche even further.

he’d probably still teach him all the tricks as required by his character, but more in a way of a god/seer/author. like he shares details that no one else knows and makes sure his spiky teen is protected and safe and powerful enough but makes sure he knows that not everyone is a potential enemy completely undeserving of his trust.

also I feel like Airplane would probably try to make sure SJ and YQY reconcile, for SJ’s sake, and the whole IAC situation would be carried more like a political ambush rather than physical, hopefully 🙏🏽

and maybe they do end up reconciling, but SJ doesn’t want to join the sect anymore — he sees a brighter future with surprisingly knowledgeable WYZ and his super strong demonic boyfriend (aka his dads)

but also im a sucker for inevitability and destiny at it’s worst, so i can totally see SJ still pushing Binghe. like, MBJ has to go to this IAC, and WYZ tags along, and SJ decides to come, too, because he might see YQY there and also, his dads are sure to get into trouble if he’s not there to control their every move(like the older daughter he is, you know?)

so he comes, too. he sees MBJ take an interest in this curly, spoiled boy. He sees the way a man who proudly pronounced him “strong”, “a fighter” and “demon-like” finding someone better than him. a real demon? younger and more powerful than SJ is? he sees red, but doesn’t intervene, for time being.

then, he sees the way new Qing Jing Peak Lord, small and pretty and weak, flings himself at MBJ time and again, ready to die for this demonic child.

So he does push Luo Binghe. It’s easy to do — no one sees him coming. MBJ looks at him proudly, and the Peak Lord looks at him with pain in his eyes, with terror, with recognition. SJ doesn’t know what it’s about but he vows to figure it out.

Later, SQQ finds out all about Airplane and berates him for not stopping his abusive son. Maybe he even takes it upon himself to see to SJ’s better socialization. Maybe SJ gets an uncle who is soft and loving and fucking sad all the time.

—

whoa sorry I started thinking about it and couldn’t stop. your idea is amazing and now im gonna rotate it in my head for the rest of the month.

!!thank you for sharing it, ily! 💛

[qinghe-s]

i’m fine i’m just thinking about the way nie mingjue looks at his little brother when he says that if they’re going to die, at least they’ll die together 🙃

[id: two gifs of nie mingjue from fatal journey. he is seen from the chest up as he sits hunched over in a dark cave. there are traces of blood on his forehead and right cheek. in the first gif he’s looking away in shame but turns to look up at nie huaisang, whose head can be seen out of focus in the foreground as he speaks, and a tear can be seen rolling down nie mingjue’s cheek. in the second gif he keeps looking at his little brother. he’s visibly upset in both gifs, but his expression softens in the second. end id.]

[chuckduckling]

We walk in his large footsteps. 🫡

Of course, fandom funposts aside, anyone can hate a character if they want to, just as anyone can stan a character if they want to. We all have our own personal feelings, interpretations, baggage, etc.

That said, as a certified YQY simp, I have my own thoughts on some of the takes I've seen about hating YQY in defense of SJ (some in the notes of this post, some I've come across elsewhere).

I don't expect to change any minds, these are just my own thoughts:

Take #1: YQY defends everyone except SQQ

It's not as though YQY never disagrees with SQQ or argues with him...however, this take seems to assume that, whenever YQY defends SY!SQQ in main story, he wouldn't do the same for SJ!SQQ.

I don't really buy this assumption, especially since the sect meeting in the Airplane extras "definitively proved" to everyone that SQQ wasn't possessed (and obviously, nobody but SY knew about The System).

But even ignoring all those moments in the main story where YQY simps for SY!SQQ, we still have:

YQ defending SJ to SW by saying "that wasn't bullying, Shiwu, Xiao-Jiu was just joking around," even though he just ran over because he saw SJ about to threaten SW with a brick

YQY never revealing that SJ killed those innocent cultivators with WYZ, and never bringing it up again in any other scene

YQY snapping at LQG when LQG insulted SJ in front of him, and LQG storming off to avoid being lectured (which implies to me that YQY has lectured LQG about it before)

So, even with SJ!SQQ, we still get scenes where YQY either defends SQQ, or excuses his actions.

I also see this assumption that YQY never attempted to defend SJ when he was arrested by Bingge in the PIDW timeline...but we never actually see how the arrest or the trial went down? Anything about YQY's reaction to the arrest, or what he did (or didn't) try to do at the trial, is pure speculation.

For example, my own assumption is that Bingge arranged for SJ's arrest to happen when the sect leader was too far away to do anything about it, since that'd be the smart thing to do. He also probably roped in the other three powerful sects so that it'd be harder for CQMS to interfere in the trial.

Take #2: YQY didn't try hard enough to rescue SJ

I think a lot of YQY's behavior makes sense when you look at how impulsive he was when he was young, how his impulsivity led to many failures, and how he then over-corrected by restraining himself. He even describes this exact issue during his confession to SY.

Pulling from this post: what YQY learned in his formative years was that a reckless rescue was not only just as bad as no rescue at all, it was worse.

If we're talking about how YQY didn't personally go to steal back SY!SQQ's body from LBH...well, I have my own theories about his inaction in this post.

(If you don't feel like clicking the link: basically, there's textual evidence that YQY was training in seclusion while SY!SQQ's body was kidnapped, and this could have been another of his attempts to not act impulsively.)

Take #3: YQY didn't tell SJ the truth because he didn't care about his feelings

Tbh, I think YQY was more traumatized by his experiences than gets acknowledged by fandom. I think "guy with communication issues stemming from trauma" can apply not just to YQY, but to SJ and LBH as well. All of them inherited maladaptive coping mechanisms from their fucked up childhoods.

(Meanwhile, SY's communication problems stem more from his "transmigrated book reader" and "held hostage by The System" issues)

Okay those are all the thoughts I had post over goodbye 👋

you can’t claim to be a Shen Jiu defender, and hate on Yue Qingyuan at the same time, because like

he’s the original SJ defender, he was doing what we do before we were

[glxyhrt]

i’m not on my computer atm but ♡ this if you want a starter ! ofc you can reply which verse you’d like to indulge me in, otherwise i’ll pick one that fits the best for your muse.

[br-disaster]

I couldn't stop thinking about that picture