#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)

[mccromy]

Disciple Shen Yuan au.

As it's been established before, Shen Jiu is an incredibly traumatized man, who took that cycle of abuse and made it a snowball turned avalanche of abuse.

He made up survival rules that served him well as a child on the streets, but only isolated him as a Peak Lord. He's paranoid, hateful and erratic. He's well aware that he's a bad man, he sees himself as the scorpion asking a frog for a ride, and he can't see that he does not sting because such is his nature, he stings because he believes with such certainty he knows the frog will drown him. And even if he went mad and decided to be good, he wouldn't even know where to start.

We learn by example, and we're well aware of the examples to follow available for him.

On that note, now that he's Peak Lord, he recreates his own trauma as the abuser. It gives him a sense of power, and it makes things fair, because if he couldn't have a kind master, then why should they (his disciples). It would be unjust, to let them have what he didn't, it wouldn't make sense, because now that he's at the top he sees how easy it could be to not do things. He doesn't need to whip these children, to make them kneel under the sun for ours on end. But he does anyways, he doesn't derive amusement from it, but if Qiu Jianluo could just not pay attention to him when he had the choice and did anyway, why would he give his disciples the reprieve he didn't have?

And he knows what is done to cruel masters. He knows that if given the chance, those cowering pathetic creatures will turn on him.

He won't let them.

In the end, he does not regard any of them as his students. And when Luo Binghe arrives, Shen Qingqiu ends up behaving as a less predatory Qiu Jianluo; he places Luo Binghe in the role of Xiao Jiu and Ning Yingying as Qiu Haitang. And, in the back of his mind he feels he can understand Qiu Jianluo for the first time (he's wrong, the monster Qiu Jianluo was and the monster Shen Jiu became are not the same. But Shen Qingqiu always thought he understood people very well, never realizing that what he read on everybody's faces were his own thoughts reflected back at him.) because he just can't not pay attention to that boy. Because Xiao Jiu had not a moment's rest under Qiu Jianluo so why should Luo Binghe ever find relief under Shen Qingqiu? If Xiao Jiu was a thing to be used, then isn't he so kind to make of Luo Binghe a beast instead?

Shen Yuan arrives, perhaps before Luo Binghe does, but it doesn't matter. Shen Qingqiu takes this boy in after being urged by Yue Qingyuan for his lack of showing up at the disciple entrance trial.

And, from the beginning one thing is clear.

Shen Yuan despises Shen Qingqiu.

Every new disciple that reaches his peak seems eager, nervous, desperate to show Shen Qingqiu how good they are. They look at him with awe and tentative hope, as if Shen Qingqiu would ever play their game. As if he'd ever give them what they feel entitled to but do not deserve.

Shen Yuan looks at him like he knows exactly what kind of master Shen Qingqiu is, like he knows exactly what Shen Qingqiu is thinking of, well aware of what the future entails for him.

And as they perform the tea ceremony, Shen Qingqiu looks at this boy and finally understands why Wu Yanzi saw a mistreated slave and decided he was too funny to let go.

Shen Qingqiu takes Shen Yuan as his disciple. He drinks what's clearly a tea brewed to offend, and for the first time on his tenure as a Peak Lord, drinks with the intent to become a teacher.

But we learn by example. The previous Qing Jing Peak Lord might've been his Shizun in name, but in his pathetic life Shen Jiu only ever recognized one teacher.

And Wu Yanzi loved to play games.

Shen Qingqiu smiles kindly, a hint of amusement showing in his eyes. The child looks at him as if he's gone insane, and Shen Qingqiu tilts his head as if he finds it so endearing.

"Excellently brewed, Shen Yuan, this master formally accepts you as his disciple. From now on this one is your Shizun, and you'll refer to him as such. Your Shixiongs and Shijies will become your family, and Qing Jing your home." Shen Yuan has grown pale, defiance turned into fear. But such is not the face of a boy scared as he wanders in the dark, uncertain of what's ahead. That's the face of someone who knows exactly what kind of animal lurks in the shadows from the way its teeth glint under meager moonlight. His mouth's become a tight line, breathing controlled to not hitch. He looks grim, not afraid. He was not expecting this, but knows how to play along. Shen Qingqiu inclines his head in a shallow bow. "Welcome, Disciple Shen, to my Qing Jing Peak."

The boy unclenches his jaw and answers drily, "this one thanks Shizun."

Shen Yuan's voice is flat, like Shen Jiu's when greeted Wu Yanzi. Shen Qingqiu grinned just as Wu Yanzi did.

Shen Qingqiu forgets something though,

He's not Qiu Jianluo, and he's not Wu Yanzi. And he might've been right in another life, with Luo Binghe and a self fulfilling prophecy of cruel masters dying at the hands of ungrateful wretched boys.

But he doesn't know Shen Yuan is not tied to a narrative, that he can recognize a self fulfilling prophecy from a mile away and turn tail the opposite way.

He forgets Shen Yuan is not Shen Jiu.

What Shen Yuan is, is freaking out, shouting "WHATTHEFUCK WHAT. WHAT. THE. FUCK??????" inside his head.

He smells a fucking rat. And he's NOT buying whatever you're selling Shen Qingqiu!!! Ptoo ptoo!! He's going to compare whatever manual you give him with other disciple's!!! from ANOTHER Peaks!!! SYSTEM?? SYSTEM ARE YOU GLITCHING??? IS HE GLITCHING??

[Host may rest in peace knowing Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu is acting perfectly in character ^w^]

(What do you mean rest in peace, are you telling me to R.I.P?? Is he going to kill me??? This is not the two bit scumbag I was promised??? What the FUCK you mean perfectly in character???)

[He is large, he contains multitudes.]

(Is he thinking about killing me or not???)

[This System cannot answer that.]

(Throw me a bone.)

[... Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu will behave differently towards his victim depending on said victim's profile.]

(VICTIM???)

[Whoops uwu. This System meant to say disciple! Every student has different needs! A good teacher knows how to adapt!]

And thus begins Shen Yuan's life at Qing Jing Peak.

Shen Qingqiu does give Shen Yuan a fake manual. Shen Yuan compares it to every manual he can get his hands on, and goes AHA! At the utter bullshit inside the book Shen Qingqiu gave him. End ups stealing one of Qian Cao, glues the cover of a Qing Jing peak manual on it. Glues the Quan Cao manual's cover on the Qing Jing manual lose pages. Takes the fake manual to Shen Qingqiu with the intent to confront him with a gotcha! Shen Qingqiu makes worried sounds. Oh, how could this happen, how dangerous! Is disciple Shen hurt? And burns the manual in front of Shen Yuan's aghast face, effectively getting rid of all evidence. Then apologizes and, smirking, hands him a new manual.

(Cunt.)

Said manual is slightly altered, but only midway, so is more difficult to spot it, yet still managing to damage the reader's cultivation at a crucial point.

Shen Yuan uses the pages to make paper planes and, instead of throwing them, he viciously stomps on them.

(Shang Qinghua shudders at the distance and then glances around to see if Mobei-Jun is sneaking a peak through his portals again. Over a decade Shang Qinghua has been at his service and he still randomly opens a little hole in the fabric of space to check Shang Qinghua is not betraying him! If his King keeps this up he just might! Hmph! ((He won't)))

Shen Qingqiu keeps being his acidic self with everybody else, but by playing mind games with Shen Yuan he accidentally places him on the spot of most favored disciple, outshining Ning Yingying, someone who Shen Qingqiu actually likes, because when Shen Qingqiu likes someone he's not sharp and cutting with them, but with Shen Yuan he looks dotting. It's driving poor Shen Yuan up the wall.

Not only nobody believes him, but the apparent favoritism has isolated him from other disciples who, driven by jealousy, try to sabotage him. Shen Qingqiu notices this and it half amuses him, half makes him feel a strange sort of anger he cannot understand.

As a favored disciple, Shen Yuan starts to accompany him in what used to be solo hunts, and in one of every three night hunts Shen Qingqiu sets Shen Yuan up for failure, grave injury, or death if he's been too annoying.

After some time being tossed around like a mouse by his evil cat of a Shizun, Shen Yuan starts to play along. He works himself to the ground to excel in every subject Shen Qingqiu tried to sabotage him in, and aided by his knowledge as a transmigrator, he succeeds. He follows Shen Qingqiu around like a shadow, delighting in the stressed twitch of his eyebrows. Gets too into it and starts playing it up as a good little henchman. He basically goes "good one boss!" To everything Shen Qingqiu says.

"Qi Shimei claims to be uninterested in this Shixiong's affairs, yet she's up to date on every single drop of gossip surrounding him."

And before Qi Qingqi can snap at him, Shen Yuan peaks from behind Shen Qingqiu's back and chirps:

"Qi-Shigu should be too mature to try to attract Shizun's attention with such ploys! She ought to send this disciple a letter and he will make sure to arrange a private meeting for both of you!"

Shen Qingqiu hates it. But he's nothing if not adaptable.

"If Mu-Shidi is done, this master has matters to attend to."

"Shixiong, this one is worried, your constitution has been worsening these past few years and, not only as your doctor, but as a—"

"As a what, Shidi? Sect brother? Friend?" sneers Shen Qingqiu.

"As a mother?" Pipes Shen Yuan, "is Mu-shishu Shizun's mother?"

"Ah, Shizi—?"

"Such nagging can only come from a mother's mouth!"

"Shidi is not this one's mother and should mind his place,"

"Shishu should shave that moustache, too."

Sometimes Shen Qingqiu finds him funny, sometimes he needs to hurt him.

He makes Shen Yuan use his qi to strengthen his hands as he makes him submerge them inside a pot of boiling water, as "training". After a few private training sessions, Shen Yuan starts to succeed in keeping them from burning. Shen Qingqiu surprises him with a pot of boiling oil. Shen Yuan stubbornly complies and succeeds. Hands red and stinging, but the skin remains intact, if tender

Shen Qingqiu is both disappointed, and a little bit relieved. But more than anything, he's angry. Had it been him, at Shen Yuan's age, the oil would've melted the flesh off his bones.

No matter what he throws at Shen Yuan, the boy comes up top, and even if he doesn't, he heals so quickly (he doesn't know about the Qian Cao manual), and it is as if he never failed in the first place.

Shen Qingqiu ends up losing patience and whips him three years into this game. Shen Yuan is fifteen. And as he is lowered down he glances back at Shen Qingqiu from his shoulder and says, pale and shaking, "I win," and throws up.

Shen Qingqiu qi deviates.

Shen Yuan looks at him, as he bleeds and convulses and thinks about letting him die.

He crawls towards him and, with the healing knowledge he's gathered through the years, stops the qi deviation before it turns lethal.

Then he passes out.

Ming Fan finds them and runs for help.

The rumor of the Qing Jing peak lord qi deviating after whipping his beloved disciple out of sheer horror and grief spreads like wildfire. Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan avoid each other for a month.

What does Luo Binghe think of all this?

At first, he admired Shen Yuan, favored disciple as he was. Then he envied him, for he was the only one Shen Qingqiu never hurt.

Then he felt ashamed, for Shen Yuan was kind and worked so, so hard, he deserved to be favored. Luo Binghe saw how the others treated him, and that only made him admire him more. Shen Yuan rose above his circumstances even when others attempted to bring him down.

Shen Yuan cross referenced an older Qing Jing disciple's manual with a Qiong Ding and a An Ding peak one, and his own Qian Cao manual, and wrote Luo Binghe a personalized manual (he also learned Shen Qingqiu kept faulty manuals around?? And sometimes gave them away?? WHY???? ((Shen Jiu confiscated them during his tenure as head disciple and never got rid of them. He did give one away accidentally, but Luo Binghe's and Shen Yuan's he gave on purpose)). Luo Binghe cries and hugs his kind, beautiful Shixiong. His cultivation improves immensely after that.

Shen Qingqiu notices this, notices the new manual and Shen Yuan's, who's become his Head Disciple, handwriting. He summons Shen Yuan to the bamboo house and berates him.

At first, Shen Yuan believes Shen Qingqiu is shouting at him (he lost his patience!! Shen Yuan 2, Shizun 0!) for not letting him kill Luo Binghe. Then he thinks it's actually for defying his authority.

Then, it dawns on him.

Shen Yuan had told him Luo Binghe had enough talent to surpass him and he shouldn't stifle it. Shen Qingqiu hissed an incredulous: "Then how will you fight him off when he turns on you?!"

Shen Qingqiu was going purple on the face over the thought of Shen Yuan giving Luo Binghe the tools to eventually hurt him

At first, Shen Yuan had been offended on Luo Binghe's behalf. Then, because was Shen Qingqiu trying to sow discord between them or something?

Then he remembered that in PIDW Shen Qingqiu gave Luo Binghe a faulty manual too, that he poured tea on him after Luo Binghe earnestly told him about his mother. Remembered how when he first began his good one boss! routine, Shen Qingqiu tensed imperceptibly when Shen Yuan trailed after him. How he's come to know this man, the way his eyes glint when he is satisfied and how his hands shake when there's a qi deviation incoming. How his lips twist when displeased, and how his breathing hitches when he is in danger. He's come to know his paranoia. He's learnt to recognize the way this man wears fear and realizes that that's what he's seeing now.

Shen Qingqiu is scared.

And when Shen Yuan looks back to what he knows of his Shizun, the things he's done in this life and the other. Many behaviors who seemed erratic and unpredictable, suddenly make sense when framed by fear.

And now he realizes that Shen Qingqiu is not only afraid of Luo Binghe, but he is also afraid of Shen Yuan.

But more than that, he's afraid for Shen Yuan.

Suddenly this game they play is not so fun anymore.

It never should've been.

(It might've never been, but Shen Yuan can be just as blind as his Shizun when he doesn't want to face the cruel reality he was reborn in.)

[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.

[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. 

[stardust-falling]

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from SVSSS? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

Top 5 favorite characters:

1 - Shen Jiu 2/3 - Yue Qingyuan, Shen Yuan 4/5 - Luo Binghe, Gongyi Xiao

Honestly, it's super hard to decide my favorites, hence the 2/3, 4/5 here lmao. Depending on the meaning of "like" I really don't dislike any SV characters (obviously OPM, QJL, WYZ can go get fucked if we're talking about emotional affection/blorbofication, but I do still enjoy them in a meta sense for their roles in the story). But because SJ is both my favorite in terms of "I feel affection for this character and he is my little scrungly blorbo" as well as "I want to study him under a microscope like a bug" he gets the top spot easily.

Top five favorite moments is pretty hard too, since things are my favorite for different reasons... So I'll pick my favorite scenes for analysis, not necessarily for emotional reaction or attachment, in no particular order. Going under a cut because I rambled, as usual:

I really, really like the entire Holy Mausoleum arc, but I specifically like the part where SQQ and LBH are confronted by OPM and QHT. I feel like it's here that we can really see beneath the unreliable narrator and actually see that SQQ truly does love LBH back. Holy Mausoleum in general just says a lot about Bingqiu without saying it directly, and I do encourage everyone who thinks that SQQ doesn't actually love LBH back please reread that part while looking for it because damn, SQQ's narration tries to hide how much he actually cares for this boy.

Qijiu extras, the scene in the Lingxi caves. Between SJ's paranoid and irrational internal monologue that shows that despite everything, he really doesn't actually see himself as he is or as a legitimate peak lord, Yue Qingyuan's appearance at a critical moment to keep SJ from spiralling past the point of no return (contrasting this to his inability to return to Qiu Manor in time), the fact that even though they are not on good terms, YQY is still able to calm SJ down from qi deviation, and that SJ tolerates both his presence and his touch, it shows a lot that despite his paranoia and his hurt, a part of Shen Jiu still trusts Yue Qingyuan. The fact that it's revealed that they're in the very cave that YQY was trapped in with Xuan Su is just the icing on the cake... the truth is laid out before them, just a step from being revealed, but still isn't... I just think this scene really is so important to show how 79's relationship stands on a deep level, both the trust that is still there as well as the barriers.

Skinner demon confrontation, after they're captured. The irony of the first mission being to take down a demon that's literally wearing someone else's identity as their own is great. There's also Luo Binghe's sexual awakening upon seeing SQQ shirtless, which is honestly quite funny to me as an ace person. But my favorite thing, I think, is the way that SQQ sets up Die'er's defeat by using LBH as bait which, while it is successful due to the genre's conventions, also makes Luo Binghe's trust waver... it sort of sets the tone for the entire emotional conflict of the novel. Despite SQQ knowing that LBH will be fine, since it has all been decreed by plot, he underestimates how much it will hurt him-- and he's thinking about hurting LBH in terms of how it will affect SQQ himself later on, rather than LBH's own pain. Then, afterwards, SQQ leaves LBH behind to go into seclusion, he gives LBH the new manual but doesn't move him out of the woodshed, and there's no indication that Ming Fan's bullying stopped during that time either. When SQQ returns, he ends up sacrificing himself and taking the poisoned hit for LBH... in a way this all just parallels the actual plot of the novel in short-form and I think that's very, very neat.

The water prison arc-- everything from LBH's visit where he stops LPM from attacking SQQ, where SQQ refuses to answer LBH's question because of his inaccurate perception of the situation, LBH's volatile emotions in this sequence, Gongyi Xiao's assumptions that LBH had assaulted SQQ and SQQ's complete obliviousness to that possibility, plus just GYX being the best boy ever tbh, he doesn't deserve to live in this messed up book and certainly doesn't deserve to die. This sequence has so much about how inaccurate perceptions of situations can lead to wildly off-base interpretations and how a lack of proper communication can escalate a conflict where it really didn't need to escalate. The "perceptions and interpretations vs. reality" idea is another major theme in SV, and this sequence really showcases a lot of that in a clear way.

Maigu Ridge. This one's controversial. A lot of people have a lot of opinions about it and let me just make a disclaimer that I'm not including this one because I enjoyed reading it on an emotional level. Maigu Ridge is FUCKED UP!! It's a massively fucked up situation for all parties! It's uncomfortable, and definitely something that warrants a trigger warning before reading the book-- and yet, it's so interesting to analyze from a hypothetical standpoint because the situation is just so, so messy in terms of who gives consent and who doesn't-- and does anyone really have the option to consent here, since both parties are under the complete control of the narrative-- in terms of who hurts who, etc. There are a lot of little details to debate, and of course there's the instant, knee-jerk surface reaction that people get, which I can totally understand especially if you didn't go in expecting this sort of scene and ended up getting triggered by it, but once you start to peel back the layers you can actually find that this scene is way more complicated than 'one party as the aggressor/one party as the victim.' It's a deconstruction and subversion of tropes, but also a really interesting place to analyze themes of consent as a whole, and the effects on the individuals involved. For this, honestly, people just need to remember that these are fictional characters. It's not saying anything about IRL survivors, and I'm a major proponent of considering massively fucked up situations through a fictional lens in order to understand the shades of gray that may exist in similar but less-extreme situations in real life, without the possibility of your deliberations causing harm to any party since in the fictional scenario, since none of the characters are real (I can't even begin to tell you how much of my own trauma I've processed based on extreme fictional scenarios). But on the flip side, if the scene upsets you or triggers you, it's perfectly valid to dislike it! It's also perfectly valid for you to dislike the Bingqiu relationship because of it! It's not for everyone and I completely get that, but also, keep in mind that people analyzing the scene in different ways doesn't have anything to do with how they'd react to real-life situations. It's all about what works best for each person.

Anyway that last one got really long, just because I've seen so much knee-jerk reaction in fandom with it and tbh, I feel like I have to cover my bases these days.

A lot of people say that SVSSS is less well-written than MXTX's other books, and while it does have issues, I wouldn't say that the book isn't well-written. I have no idea how much of what I talked about in those scenes above is deliberately intentional storytelling and how much just sort of happened, but those are just some of the reasons that I really do think it's actually a very good book, genuinely, and not the only scenes at that, I just limited to five here.

I hope you enjoyed reading all my ramblings-- SVSSS brainrot is real and the hyperfixation is going strong haha.

[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 😎

[zykamiliah]

I have seen all 3 routes of saving SJ from himself in fanfic where SY transmigrates into one of said characters mentioned. Qiu Jianluo route: SJ falls in love with SY! Qiu Jianluo. Shiwu route: SY! Shiwu goes to CQMS with YQY and later ends up rescuing SJ by himself while YQY is locked up. End result: SJ/ YQY/ SY throuple. Wu Yanzi route: SY is now SJ’s dad. End result: SJ is a decent(er) person and LBH enters Bai Zhan Peak instead.

I've read fics like those too, though I don't remember any with Shiwu specifically? Could you send me the link?

And the one with SY!QLJ was good, though I personally I didn't like that it was too easy to make SJ love QLJ. Would have loved a bit more development and difficulties. This is SJ we're talking about. Nothing short of risking your life for him would be enough.

And the one with SY!WYZ I haven't read it! Please please send me the link 🙏

[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.)

[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