#and give He Xuan a chance to do things over

[alittlelessalone]

I have an idea for a fun TGCF Beefleaf fix it fic. Idk if I’ll ever write it, but I wanted to share the idea.

Okay. So to set the scene, let’s say that Jun Wu isn’t quite as dead as we thought. And the only person who’s around at the time to realize it is He Xuan who’s just moping by himself and being miserable. And then Jun Wu triggers something that turns back time to the moment of Xie Lian’s third ascension, wiping everyone’s memories but his own, and also He Xuan’s.

Now suddenly He Xuan is left with the ability to change things, the knowledge that Jun Wu is extra dangerous and knows who he is, and the realization that if he changes anything, Jun Wu will immediately realize he also knows. But he takes a gamble that turns out to be correct that Jun Wu wants him to take down Shi Wudu, so he’s not going to out him as long as He Xuan doesn’t give himself away.

Well, there’s only so many people he can trust right now. Obviously Shi Qingxuan can’t keep a secret and they wouldn’t be able to handle the truth anyway. He’d say Hua Cheng, but he doesn’t trust him enough to not risk his life for Xie Lian, so he’s out and the only other god he can stand is Xie Lian, and he’s out since he’d tell Hua Cheng.

However, Yin Yu operates under Jun Wu’s nose and knows how to keep quiet so that’s one. And then there’s Ming Yi who is fated to die soon and who only needs to send off the signal to act according to Jun Wu’s knowledge. And if He Xuan can just convince him to help for a little bit in exchange for freedom and godhood soon, that can get him two.

So for the most part, events continue to play out the same. There are some small moments when Jun Wu subtly changes things and some small ways where He Xuan, Yin Yu, and Ming Yi subtly push back. But mostly, they’re both just plotting and waiting.

And He Xuan still isn’t completely sure what he’s doing about Shi Wudu and Shi Qingxuan. It keeps him up at night and haunts his nightmares. And Yin Yu doesn’t really know what to do about it and he doesn’t know what to do with the info he got about the future and they’re both silently suffering until Ming Yi is like “I’ve been a prisoner for centuries, how am I the best adjusted here” and somehow gets stuck providing emotional support for his captor and the guy who sometimes assists his captor (you can’t tell me Yin Yu was never tasked to help around Blackwater’s lair as part of that debt).

And eventually, the time of the Blackwater arc comes and He Xuan has to make a choice. He goes through with all the setup the same as he did before and feels horrible watching Shi Qingxuan suffer, but knows any changes will put them in danger. But that day, when he’s finally standing face to face with Shi Wudu again, he just can’t do it.

And fortunately, last time Shi Qingxuan was dumped off out of harm’s way. And yeah, it sucks they have to give up their godhood, but He Xuan decides maybe that’s punishment enough. And as for Shi Wudu, he can spend the rest of his life redeeming himself by fighting back.

So He Xuan keeps everyone believing things are going as before, lets Shi Qingxuan give up their godhood, then grabs Shi Wudu, says he absolutely doesn’t deserve this, then suppresses his powers before tossing him into a corner where Ming Yi has been waiting to grab him. He Xuan then grabs Shi Qingxuan and drops them off when he left them before, telling them to be careful and to pray to Ming Yi if they need help.

They’re crying and confused and He Xuan doesn’t have much time, but he promises to explain later and says to pretend their brother is dead. He debates saying more, but ultimately just leaves. He gets back to find Shi Wudu captive where Ming Yi once was and glaring. And no matter how much he hates him, He Xuan swallows his feelings and tells Shi Wudu the world (and Shi Qingxuan) are in danger and he needs Shi Wudu’s help.

By this point, we’re approaching a place where He Xuan can safely tell Hua Cheng and start getting him involved. And Hua Cheng is equal parts impressed and annoyed to learn Yin Yu already knew. But now we have He Xuan, Ming Yi, and Shi Wudu as one fucked up team learning to work together and dealing with their feelings, Hua Cheng and Yin Yu teamed up to protect Xie Lian, and poor Shi Qingxuan who has no idea what’s happening other than something is up and decides they’re not going to just sit back and hide.

And of course it ends in epic battles and forgiveness and friendship and love. And Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen get to be together, Mu Qing and Feng Xin get to end up together, and maybe we could even throw some Peishui in as well because I’m weirdly soft for that. And Shi Qingxuan gets to earn their godhood being badass, yell at He Xuan for lying to them and hurting them, yell at Shi Wudu for lying to them and hurting He Xuan, and then be able to forgive them both and end up with both their brother and their best friend (and future lover) by their side.

And Hualian will still happen of course, but maybe Hua Cheng doesn’t need to disappear for a year. And Hua Cheng will totally beat the shit out of He Xuan for not telling him for so long, but begrudgingly admit he did alright and helped save Xie Lian, so he guesses he can forgive him. He still has to pay off his debt of course, but fortunately he has a very contrite god of wealth in his corner now.

So yeah! Happy endings all around and poor original Ming Yi gets to be a god at long last. And maybe as a punishment for what he did, Shi Wudu will need to help Ling Wen with her work. And maybe while I’m at it, I’ll find a way to give Lang Qingqui a little more closure too since he never really got it. Idk. I just love them all and want them to be happy and He Xuan is going to make that happen!

[bea-does-stuff]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐡𝐬𝐫 𝐱 𝐲𝐧)

wordcount: 1042

characters: boothill, sunday, jing yuan, dan heng and dr ratio

yea so im back, sorry for the LONG hiatus, i lost a lot of passion for mha but i have tons of ideas now for other fandoms ^^ i have been VERY obssesed over genshin and hsr so expect more of those~

𝐃𝐑 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎

He is very much a man who values decency, so he'd never picture a setting where you two would share such an intimate act in the open

You know this, and you know it well, but part of you can't help but want to see the look in his refined crimson eyes, the look of pure shock hed have when you'd finally watch that smug Facade fade from his features

And since you were both together at a cafe, you decided it was now or never. He was peacefully reading his codex when you lifted his chin and pecked his lips with yours.

That being said, it didn't work the way you wanted it to

He looked at you almost a offended, and then with a serious expression, almost the same face as when he's scolding his students

“Is that some measly attempt to anger me?” He hissed, you sighed, lowering your head

“Sorry…” you muttered, he then turned back to his book flipping through his pages a bit more rough than usual, as a way of showing anger

It was only until you looked back at him to see the redness on his ears and cheeks, most of it being hidden by his fluffy hair

“idiot…” He mumbled under his breath, focusing more on his heartbeat than the pages of his ancient codex

𝐃𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐆

Dan heng isn't too romantic to begin with, his love language is more lenient to acts if service or words of affection, but that doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate a hug or kiss every once in a while

You were both in the astral express, nothing too special, march 7th was in her room, went and himeko were talking, and you were seated next to Dan heng as he sorted out his notes from the data bank 

“Hey darling?” You muttered, he looked at you immediately, tilted his head as a way of showing he was paying attention to whatever you were about to say

However, to his surprise, you leaned in and pecked him softly on the lips

He was a little slow, it took him a solid 5 seconds to process what you did, but then he instantly picked up your hand softly

“Thanks….” He said, his cheeks lightly tinted red, it was always so silly seeing him thanking you for such silly things

“One more..?” You giggled, he looked down, embarrassed 

“Please….” He responded 

𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐔𝐀𝐍

He loves showing his affection for you in public, maybe it's seen as indecent for the general of the cloud knights to be seen showing such affection in a public setting, but he argues that his love for you should be celebrated, not hidden indoors like a secret

He'll let you sleep beside him while he does his paperwork or sit next to you during his meetings, whether it's holding your hands in public or giving you a hug whenever he gets the chance, he'll do it

One day he was working on more paperwork, trying his hardest not to fall asleep on the desk…..again…

It's always heartbreaking to see jing yuan so worn down from excessive work, but you've come to understand it's the way things are

You kissed him lightly when you saw his eyes closing 

“Don't fall asleep now” you smiled, he looked at you in surprise, some of the cloud knights staring at you two

He then let out a soft laugh “cheeky today, are we?” He ruffled your hair, before laying his head on your lap 

“Surely a 5 minute nap on these comfy thighs won't be a problem”

“GENERAL” fu xuan looked at him from across the room, pissed off “no slacking off!”

“I'm kidding, relax lady Fu” he sighed, lifting his head from your lap and getting back to his paperwork

“Sit on my lap, my sweet, you make a good chin rest” he pulled you to him

“And I want more of those when we get home, ok?”

𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘

Maintaining a good image is a very, very, VERY important thing to Sunday, as one of the members of the family, he fears being seen with someone will bring unwanted attention to him and especially the family

Hes not exactly…embarrassed to be seen with you, everyone knows your his, he just prefers to keep affectionate actions in the comfort of the home you share

That doesn't stop you from getting fed up with his lack of romantic gestures, even in private, he was quite reserved

One day you had enough and kissed him while he was about to greet the new guests in penancony 

He stared at you in shock, you expected him to turn and apologize to the patrons, but he didn't take his eyes off you for a single moment

“Excuse us” he sighed, dragging you out by the hand

Before you could say anything, he kissed you again, placing his hands on your waist

“Warn me next time ok?” He said between kisses

The poor guy must have been holding back this whole time

𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐋

His form of showing affection isn't…your average kind of affection, he doesn't really know how to be gentle so he shows his love by dragging you by the arm roughly and teaching you to shoot things

Although it makes sense upon further observation, since a solid 90 percent of him is metal and wired, he can't feel hugs or hand holding, not to mention he hasn't been gentle since he was a ‘human’

One day he took you to a bar, it was the clique tavern full of criminals and bounty hunters, it's not like his bounty would allow him to enter any other place

He was probably spouting off about something silly, when you decided to pull his by the collar and peck his lips

For the first time, he stopped everything he was doing, staring in utter shock, he suddenly slammed his head to the table, lowering his red face 

“Fudge…!” He whispered loudly.

You looked at him a little concerned “you ok? S-sorry i-” he suddenly stopped you “You…ya gotta do that more often..” he smiled with his sharp teeth “Do what? Kiss you…?” He nodded at your answer “Yea..and waaaay more darlin’...like…right now”

[esthercore]

E-Whore (GN! Cam Boy/Girl Reader x HSR's Simps )

Veritas Ratio | Sunday | Blade | Jing Yuan (different scenarios for each men ♡)

Being a Trailblazer is amazing, but since it technically made you jobless, you needed some way to fund your shopping sprees when you visit new planets, so while some of your crewmates resort to farming calyx, you chose the easy way.

You had a hot body and you knew how to use it, making you an instant hit on the streaming site, moreover, as the site connected to servers in multiple galaxies, the chances of anyone you knew or will meet in real life knowing your side hustle are slim enough to never happen, right?

Wrong.

Now Jing Yuan, was shook when he first saw you in the Loufu, standing beside your crew as Welt talked to Miss Yukong, your arms wrapped around March's looking so innocent as if you are not the same cutie that helps him release his work stress most night.

He did his best not looking at you when he talked to the express crew, knowing he won't be able to help himself and will sink in those big pools of innocence who were gazing up at him with fascination and interest, looking so different and yet so same from your streams.

Out of everything, the poor general never expected to fanboying over a cam girl/boy. And it was already tough day for him, alright? Having to ignore his constantly ignore his horny thoughts, and his dick twitching whenever his mind drifted on you, knowing how close you were to him, how he can actually have a chance.

So the seconds man got some privacy, his hands were kneading on his crotch unprofessional he knows, but he was a man with needs and couldn't much than wait for the results once his plans were in action. So here he opening up the damned site, turning it on and looking at his favorite video, the first video of your he saw.

A neko cosplay.

He first heard of you when he overheard few young cloud knights simping over you, agitated when he hear them whispering about you than focus on their training. So that night he tried to see what all this fuss about.

The old man lazily opened the website searching your username, just out of curiosity and no intention to jerk off, only to be greeted by an clip of the cutest thing with cat ears on, and a cat tail but plug, sucking on a popsicle with your chest left bare, making him surprised by how sudden his cock stirred up, jerking of to clips of you, having the best session of his life, leaving him panting and twitchy, after splattering on his phone.

You were just so easy to get addicted to...

So in present when he heard your voice outside his office in the Seat of Divine Foresight, fingers fiddling with his stripper, it took him a good while to realize, he wasn't just daydreaming about your pretty voice but you were literally there, nocking on the door.

He hurriedly got himself together, throwing his phone on the table, and clothes fixed, o it isn't obvious what he was doing, greeting you with a charming smile.

Miss Fu Xuan has sent you to give him some documents, and he took it as an opportunity to invite you in, and talk to you, befriend you, just about anything. But then there was some commotion outside with two cloud knights bickering, so he reluctantly asked you to settle the documents on his desk and wait while he give the knights an earful.

Happily getting back, his heart racing at the thought to be in your presence, but then his smile dropped, as he entered back his office, seeing your face flushed red, as you try to hide you face by your hands, sitting all pretty on his seat, with the light of his phone lightly illuminating on you.

He was about to ask what's wrong, but shut his mouth, eyes widening as he realized:

Oh, he forgot to close his phone.

[hulhudhonado]

Ornithophile

Synopsis: Jing Yuan is a bird magnet. As harmless as it sounds, it seems to lead to misunderstandings.

CW: Nothing

HC: Reader works under Yukong. Reader is gender-neutral.

Characters: Jing Yuan, Yukong, Fu Xuan, Mentions of Tingyun and Yanqing

Note: Genshin to Honkai pipeline is real omg. Honestly I am not that interested in Honkai Star Rail or any of the Honkai games but I do play it and let me tell you I love this man. The characters in this game do not miss. Already making drafts for a Sampo fic. My one goal is to max them out. Also anyone interested in Aeons fanfic? Just asking. Anyway, please make sure to like, comment or reblog. Interactions with the post lets it reach a wider audience. Requests are also open! Enjoy.

Jing Yuan was used to the attention given to him, it wasn’t shocking to him. An individual of his status always would draw attention amongst the crowds. However, most people tend to divert their eyes or at least make an effort to pretend they weren’t staring, especially when they weren’t supposed to. It was considered a decent thing to do. However you on the other hand clearly did not understand this concept.

The first time he had caught your eyes, he waited for you to shyly look away like most people did, however to his surprise you kept a stern gaze towards him, refusing to move. It did phase him a bit, how strange that you had no shame to look away knowing that you had been caught. He chuckled to himself, that time he gave you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you felt it was more awkward to look away.

However, the staring continued. You stared at him whenever you had the chance. He could feel your gaze burning from the back of his head. How were you so confident? Does he not scare you? Do you not understand authority? Maybe you just didn’t have the shame to hide the fact that you adored looking at him. He tried not to crack a smile every time he did catch you staring. He didn’t want others to know why he was laughing at himself.

It wasn’t a surprise to him, having people fall for him. Tingyun was already making sales from his looks, so it was clear that many people were head over heels for him. Maybe you were just like them, an admirer who was terrible at keeping a secret. He didn’t mind, he was already used to the attention.

—

“You seem to be distracted these days. Is your age finally catching up to you?” Fu Xuan jabbed. Jing Yuan let out a chuckle “ I don’t know what you mean.” He answered, unphased. Documents were piling up and Yanqing still didn’t have a decent partner to train with, he had too many unnecessary things piling up on his head. Fu Xuan was clearly here to mess with him for letting things go on for this long.

“Don’t try to hide, you have been laughing to yourself or cracking smiles out of the blue! Have you finally lost it?” She asked once more. Honestly not what he had expected her to say. He thought she was here to clown him for not finishing his work on time, he didn’t realise he had got caught. She continued. “If so, I’m willing to take your place any day for your ‘early’ retirement.”

Jing Yuan rolled his eyes, looking back at the screen in front of him. “If you don’t have anything better to do you’re free to leave. My mental state is perfectly fine.” Fu Xuan let out a smirk. “It won’t be for long.” 

Jing Yuan turned to her, he didn’t want to give her attention especially when he was this busy, but Fu Xuan was not going to stop fishing for answers.  Raising an eyebrow he decided to take the bait.“And what makes you say that?” Fu Xuan let out an almost sinister laugh. Jing Yuan could only frown, he didn’t like the sound of that. 

“I recently foresaw a future of yours.” The room felt cold in an instant. Jing Yuan was now fully focused on Fu Xuan, who continued to smirk victoriously. It didn’t seem to be serious but it didn’t seem to be a good thing either. “What did you see?” He asked nervously, he tried his best to hide it, he didn’t need to give Fu Xuan any more openings.

Fu Xuan pretended to think, withholding the information rather than stating it at once. Jing Yuan sighed, of course, Fu Xuan would want to have the high ground. “I’ll repeat, what did you see?” He stated once more, a more serious tone plaguing his words.

Fu Xuan scoffed. “You’re no fun.”

“If it involves me then it involves Xianzhou Luofu and its people. I would rather not be left in the dark about this.” Fu Xuan shrugged. “It isn’t something serious. If it was, I would have told you about it instantly. You know I am not one to take my time.”

“Then why hide it from me?” “Because it’s funny.” Jing Yuan sighed. “Just tell me.”

“Don’t feel like it.” And with that Fu Xuan's hologram disappeared. Jing Yuan huffed, how annoying. It seemed that people around him were forgetting what respect meant.

—

Yukong never made physical trips to meet with Jing Yuan regarding any issues on the Xianzhou Luofu. It was a big ship, and it was a waste of time to constantly travel back and forth when they could communicate via holograms.

However it was always safe to bring confidential documents face to face, a third party might cause leaks. To his surprise, you tagged alongside her during one of their rare trips. However, for once, you didn’t look up to look at him. He tried his best to focus on what Yukong kept saying but his eyes kept wandering back to you. Why were you not looking up? Was it because this was the first time you had seen him face to face? However he didn’t like this, he wished you would just look up like usual.

“Tingyuan couldn’t make it?” He asked, trying to focus the shift on you. You jolted up, now nervously looking at Yukong who also was caught off guard. Yukong looked back at you, before turning back to Jing Yuan trying to seem unphased. “Yeah, she was assigned a task alongside the trailblazers. You had assigned her to them.” She asked.

“Hmm, I did? “ Jing Yuan asked in a playful tone. You still didn’t turn to look at him, now just looking down at the floor to not draw any more attention. He couldn’t hold a smile on his face anymore, he was getting annoyed. Why today of all days you decide not to look at him? 

He wanted to see your face properly, not in his hologram form. As advanced as things were in Xianzhou Luofu, when he is in his hologram form he can’t see everyone clearly. It was like being stuck behind a screen. Now that he was finally face-to-face with his ‘staring partner’ he wanted to see what you looked like.

“Well, since things in the Xianzhou Luofu are not settled yet, I would prefer if you could hand me documents face to face from now.” Yukong blinked, before realising what he had stated. “But sir, that would take some time, and I can’t always make trips here when I need to take care of my team.” Jing Yuan tilted his head, pretending to be oblivious to his schemes. “You can just ask Tingyuan, or your companion right next to you. If you trust them to accompany you then I’m certain they can help you bring me these documents. Am I wrong?”

His statement finally made you look up. He believed he was ready to face your gaze, but he was being too cocky it seemed. When he had locked eyes with you he almost looked away with how sudden it was. Your gaze was sharp and strong, just as the times you had looked at him before. You had a poker face, attentive to your work since Jing Yuan had personally entrusted you to do Yukong’s work. It seemed the hologram way of communicating had dulled down the intensity of your gaze full of determination. Jing Yuan didn’t expect to get such a whiplash.

He held his ground, he didn’t need any reason to feel shy now. Fu Xuan’s words started to replay in his head, he wasn’t sure why. You couldn’t be the reason for his downfall, could you? There was no way. 

Yukong sighed, interrupting the spiral Jing Yuan had going inside his mind. “Of course. We won’t disappoint you. “ She answered. “I’m glad to hear that.” Jing Yuan smiled, his gaze never leaving you as you did the same. 

—

It wasn’t surprising that you made most of the trips. He found out that you were new to the job, at least to Yukong’s sector. Since Tingyuan was busy with the trailblazers and Yukong had her duties to attend to, you ended up being the special courier for any confidential documents. Most of the documents were digitised so your trips weren’t common, but Jing Yuan made it his mission to make sure you somehow ended up in his office.

Was this corruption from the higher-ups? Probably, if anyone knew what he was doing they would think he was bullying you but he didn’t mean any harm. He just likes the mini-staring matches you both have. Not many people look at him with such confidence. 

It also didn’t seem to be an issue as it seemed that you liked the job. No matter how many times you were told to bring in documents, you always followed through without complaining. Tingyuan tended to ask for bargains while Yukong would straight up avoid making rounds. You on the other hand would be ready to make a delivery in an instant. It was probably due to the fact you were still new to the job, but he liked to pretend it was because you wanted to see him often.

He smiled to himself thinking about it. He didn’t like how much of a narcissist he was. He knew people loved him but having his delusions of someone liking him more than just the ruler of the Xianzhou Luofu must be his breaking point. Fu Xuan was on to something, you must be his downfall.

—

It was like any other day, you made the delivery and you were going to head back to your station. However, Jing Yuan was getting tired of this. It was any day now that the trailblazers would be done with the Stellaron attacks and he would finally have to step in to fix what was left. This means everything would return to normal and your trips wouldn’t be necessary anymore. All these trips didn’t make you both any closer either, you were keeping a distance between the two of you.

He also noticed how you reduced staring, it seems you had caught on the fact that he knew you were staring. He honestly was surprised you didn’t realise it sooner, it wasn’t like you were hiding it. But now whenever he would catch your eyes you would jolt up as if he caught you doing something horrible. If it was in the past he wouldn’t have minded, but now whenever you looked away he felt frustrated.

As the day was going to end as it usually did, Jing Yuan finally snapped. He needed to change this routine you both had created. “May I ask you a question?” He asked. He caught you so off guard you dropped the documents on the ground. Scattering them all over the floor. In an instant you dropped down, to collect the papers off the ground. He followed suit, trying to help.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that sir!” You try not to stutter. You didn’t expect him to ask you anything. You guys never spoke anymore than anything related to work, so the sudden question caught you off guard. “ Don’t mind me, I just wanted to ask a question. I didn’t think it was that shocking.” He chuckled.

You nervously laugh, continuing to gather all the materials before he could get any more. To your horror, he had already collected most of it. However, the piles of paper were now in a mess, completely unorganised from how it was originally arranged.

“You can sit with me and chat while we organise these.” He stood up smiling, mockingly shaking the documents towards you while you tried not to get embarrassed. “My apologies sir.” You mumble, standing up with the little amount you were able to get. “I’ll forgive you if you answer my questions.” The way he spoke was so calm. He was a ruler for a reason, his voice was loud in battle and comforting to his citizens. You instantly felt at ease when he didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ll take you up on that offer, sir.”

—

When he said questions, he meant a lot of questions. He asked why you chose the job, what you liked, your interests, and your hobbies. He was ticking off everything at this point. You of course answered. The way he articulated the questions and the calm sound of his voice seemed to have entranced you. You were certain if he was a lawyer he would have gotten the answers right out of you in an instant. It was no wonder he was in such a high position.

“You seem to stare a lot don’t you?” A question that you didn’t expect. He smiled, eyes closed ready for an answer. Did he catch you off guard? He hoped so, he wanted to tease you a bit, making you realise that your silly little crush on him was already discovered. Maybe it was sudden but with how truthfully you were answering his questions he didn’t expect you to lie your way out of this.

You could feel the rush of blood on your face. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to stare! It’s just…” you cut yourself off. He patiently waited for your answer. What could it be? Did you like his face? Many people did, it was the reason Tingyuan was making a fortune for so many years. Or perhaps you would be bolder and say you liked his body? His clothes and armour enhanced its appeal. Or maybe his hair? It reminded of a lion’s mane to most and Yanqing would always mention how elegant it looked, even after he had spared the entire day. He wasn’t even sure how it stayed in such luscious conditions.

He tried not to tap the table, eager for your answer. He could hear his heartbeat increase its speed, he didn’t realise how nervous he was. What was it about him that you just couldn’t help but look? He needed to know now.

“ The bird.” It was almost a whisper when you spoke. He wasn’t even sure he heard you properly. “The bird?” He repeated, a bit dumbfounded. You nodded, guilt leaving your body but suddenly feeling sheepish. You can’t believe you were going to admit this.

“ You always have a bird in your hair. It’s so unphased I always wondered whether it was tamed.” You continue to say. You watched Jing Yuan stare at you, unable to speak. You took this as a sign to continue. “Well you see, I love looking at birds. Especially since in Xianzhou Luofu, they are quite rare. But you have one always on your shoulder! So when I first saw it I was so shocked. If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me what type it is? Is it a Zebra finch? A Waxbill? The red beak makes it a bit prominent but I couldn’t see its feather pattern so I couldn’t tell what type it was.”

As you continued to go on and on about the bird, Jing Yuan was trying his best not to show any signs of embarrassment. He couldn’t believe this. He had thought this entire time you had looked at him due to admiration. Honestly, it was his fault for making up delusions on his own but he didn’t expect this. You were staring at the birds that usually landed on his shoulder and hid around his hair. He was so used to it he completely forgot they even stuck next to him while he worked.

A sudden notification came to your phone which made you stop your little bird talk. You read it and immediately stood up an instance. “Oh no! The time!” You almost shout, your worried gaze not looking away from the phone. You look at Jing Yuan sadly, and he could feel his heart was close to bursting. Not only from his embarrassment but also how unhappy you looked knowing that you would have to depart from him.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t organise all the documents in time. I’ll make it up to you next time sir!” You begin to gather your things and head out. As you near the door you turn back to him shouting. “I apologise if this is inappropriate, but I hope to talk to you again!” You say. You take a bow before turning back and running out the door.

All Jing Yuan could do was stare as you left. Suddenly he could feel all the emotions he had held back to save face flowing out. He slumped on the desk, hands on his face trying to cover his face which was completely red. He could not believe this had happened to him. 

He heard a little chirp near his ear. He looked to the side, to see his little bird friend peeping at him in glee. “You did this to me.” He grumbled, glaring at the bird who continued to chirp, almost as if it was laughing at him. Sighing, he slumped back on his chair, trying not to think about what just had happened.

He couldn’t help it though. It made sense now, you probably were curious about the bird, trying to figure out what kind it was. He was the one overthinking it, making up stories in his head where you profess your love to him. No wonder Fu Xuan said what she did. She knew this was going to happen.

He sighed, picking up his little friend off his shoulder onto his hand. After making a mental note on finding a way to get back at Fu Xuan, he began to think about you again. He was already too deep into this, he was going to make you like him back. He stroked the bird’s head as it peeped in delight. He looked down at it as it playfully nipped at his finger.

Another idea popped into his head. The last words you said played in his head again as he stared at the bird who danced around in the palm of his hands. He felt a smile creep on his face.

“Well, at least I can figure out what we are going to be talking about next time we meet.” He chuckled to himself, humming a tune alongside the bird. He was already too deep into this, and he was not going to let you go that easily. 

He was going to make you look at him the same way he looked at you, one way or another. Who would have thought a love of birds would lead to this?

Good luck!

[milkb0nny]

Hey! Do you write for Jing Yuan?

If so, can I request something where he is just to busy for his lover, and when reader finally gets the chance to talk to him he just kinda not paying attention.

Thank you 🙏

🤍 𝑱𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒀𝒖𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔/𝒐'𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔

note: Thank you sm for your request! I love these kind of requests since it's fun to combine angst with fluff. I'll give it a heartwarming ending. 🤍

characters: Jing Yuan

content: scenario, Jing Yuan ignoring s/o's feelings, angst, fluff, gn!/reader

warning: argument between lovers, not proofread

🍃...

You've been craving your man since days now. You rarely see him and even in bed, the time you always share together, he doesn't cuddle with you. It's not a secret he's fed up with work and has a lot of responsibility to take care of but where are you?

It started when he came home very late, immediately jumping into bed without giving you a graceful kiss. Normally the first thing he does is compliment on how beautiful you look but now he doesn't even look at you. It pains you. Are you invisible now? Does he have someone new he cherishes more than you? But you're his partner!

It got worse when Jing Yuan didn't eat the food you made. You always put so much effort in it. You prepare his favorite meals with so much love and care. Now he doesn't bother to eat three full spoons. What's up with him? Does he notice?

In the morning he wakes up really early and is at work before your first eye opens. You won't hear from him until the late evening. Not even a short message will arrive your phone.

His neglectful behavior hurts you and your self esteem. Are you ugly? Are you too less? Is there something wrong with you? Do you smell bad? Is your food horrible?

Does he still love you?

The past days you're dealing with inner trouble, no peace settling and only hurtful thoughts. You feel alone among so many people. You asked friends what Jing Yuan does all day and either they don't know or answer with "he's working as usual". You're questioning so many things. Can't Fu Xuan help him? She's always there to take care of his missions.

Even if she already does, can't you help him? Why doesn't he ask for help if he's so busy? Why doesn't he accept the care you're desperately trying to give him? It hurts so much. You're lonely, no one really gets your feelings. Most of your friends only suggest to wait for a quieter time but when will a single peaceful day come? Seemingly never!

You can't live with the feeling of being not enough and you decide to talk to him. He doesn't appreciate you or what you're trying to give him. It makes you mad. If he doesn't want you he should just tell you and not handle you like trash. You're not invisible and you have a right to be loved. The only confidence left in you took over and made you approach your tall, busy man.

"Jing Yuan. We need to talk."

Your first words when he steps in the door, late at night, already bother him. He ignores you, changing his shoes, taking his jacket off and passing you without a single eye on you.

"Jing Yuan! We need to talk! Now!" You shout as he seems to be actively avoiding you. You grab his hand and with a little strength turn him around. He now looks at you the first time in the past week. His eyebrows raise.

"Whats up, y/n? It's late. I need to get up very early tomorrow morning." He isn't fond of you robbing his sleeping time. You don't care though as he didn't care for you the past week.

You scoffed in disbelief how little attention he spend you. "I'm sorry?! For what do you have to work soooo much that you can't even notice me?" You're mad. You wave your hands in front of his face, furious with his attidue. "Hello?! Can't you see me?! I'm right here!"

"Yeah I do see you and now?!" He gets mad as well. His eyebrows depended and his expression changed. Usually he's a calm, collected and caring boyfriend but now he's not Jing Yuan. He's someone else.

"No you don't! You didn't see me the whole week. I was invisible to you!" You feel tears shooting up your eyes as your emotions come up so fast.

"What are you trying to say, y/n? I did see you, we sleep in one bed? I'm just really busy with work-"

You can't hear his repeating excuses and break him off. Now tears run down your cheeks and you try to meet his gaze.

"No. No you don't. You ignored the food today as well. Yesterday too. The day before too. You don't give me a nice word, or a kiss, or a look, or a whatever. You don't! You don't! You don't!" You step back. You're mad. Hurt. Anxious.

"No, you're getting a wrong message, y/n." He comes a little closer but he still doesn't understand what's up with you. Why are you so mad out of a sudden?

"So you're telling me my emotions are lying? Or my eyes? If I get the wrong message it may be because the sender sends a wrong message! It's not my fault you're being hurtful and neglecting." You sit down in a chair and make yourself tiny. Your head rests on your knees and tears roll down, hitting the ground. Is he stupid or does he want to hurt you even more? You want to vanish from this room, this house and this planet.

Silence ruled between you. Jing Yuan reflected the past week. He can't remember any outfit of yours, not even the food you made. Normally it's so easy for him to recall memories he loves. He forgot how the feeling how your lips caused butterflies in his stomach. He forgot of your soft smile warms his heart. He didn't see you smile the week. He didn't see you at all.

Seeing you bawl your eyes out, crying in pain and sobbing in suffer he noticed how he has let you alone. He wasn't there for you at all. And the worse thing is he didn't even take you seriously when you had the courage to tell him.

He comes a little closer. You feel his big, gentle hand on your shoulder but to you it feels like a burn.

"I apologize."

It sounds honest but you can't believe him. What is an apology? It won't heal your inner dissatisfaction and it won't solve your insecurities.

"I'm so sorry, my love."

He apologizes again. His forehead meets yours and you feel his soft hair. His smell. His warmth. It hurts you so much.

Jing Yuan picks you up from the chair as you wouldn't make a move. He walks into your bedroom and lays you down in the bed. You're still crying but it lessens. He drags you into his arms, petting your head carefully.

"I'll pay more attention.. Thank you for being so brave to open my eyes, my love." Some tears leave his eyes and you feel them dripping down on you. Jing Yuan rarely cries. It is a sign to you how sorry he feels.

"I'll take you with me tomorrow, y/n. I won't leave you alone again. I'm so sorry!"

🤍 Please reblog, like and support!

[larothoughts]

qijiu thoughts: complicated codependence

after reading a few more shen jiu fics i figured maybe the diverging point when it comes to fan-interpretation is understanding how codependent qijiu is. like, it's not just qi-ge who won't let go of shen jiu, shen jiu 100% spitefully, unwillingly yet helplessly refuses to let go of qi-ge either. the obvious author answer to this is for sj to remove himself from qi-ge because of toxic codependence (see my rant on anti-qijiu pro-sj fics), except i don't think it's in-character for him to ever do so??

the man literally died twice because he couldn't let go of qi-ge until the very, very end. he'll never give up on him as easily as he does in fic, this man is a canonical stubborn asshole who can't let go of anything. that's his entire problem lol

(first time was obviously after lbh gave him xuan su's shards. sj, who had spent the entire time being tortured refusing to bend, cracks at the realization that qi-ge came this time and died. i forgot if him eating xuan su's shards is canon in the qijiu extras or if it's a fanon theory, but i 100% find this in-character of sj to do as a final f*** you to the universe.)

(second time was the qi deviation that caused shen yuan to take over his life. i'll go over this later, but i believe sqh, who transmigrated decades before, likely tried to nudge qijiu into reconciling and instead made it worse. so while in the og!pidw universe, sj never deviated hard enough to die; in this svsss universe, sqh trying to get sj to face his own heart demons literally caused him to die. oops. system got pretty mad because lbh MUST go into the abyss, and so had to scramble to find a sj replacement lol)

preface

much of this is my own interpretation of things btw. i haven't read the qijiu extras in a while so it's very possible some of these things don't follow canon. especially the whole cognitive dissonance part. i've always leaned towards the 'shen jiu is an unreliable, in-denial narrator of his own story, he can't admit anything to himself until he's literally at death's door' interpretation of sj's tsundereness, so that's 100% my own bias peeking through here.

how qing ding peak made everything worse

this a fanon theory i like that has merit given how long qijiu had problems: things would've been so much different if yue qi wasn't chosen by qing ding. like, literally any other peak, qijiu would've had 75% chance of having a happy ending. i feel like any peak with a halfway decent lord with basic empathy skills would have thought 'hmm yes, if we rescue the friend of this little prodigy we can ensure his loyalty to us for life' instead of 'let's dangle the chance of rescuing his friend as a way to get this kid to work as hard as he can until it's too late, then allow the failure to break him down completely so we can reshape him into the perfect successor.' though to be honest the former sect leader probably didn't expect yue qi to literally be broken down.

my thought is that the sect leader kept putting off the rescue over and over, hoping to drag things out until the inevitable happened. but yue qi, naturally wary of adults, panicked once he realized what his shizun was doing. he tried to pull xuan su without permission to force the leader into acknowledging his strength and letting him go... which then led to the entire soul-binding fiasco we see in canon. sure, the former sect leader could've lost his newest experiment, but throwing him into the caves had the bonus of making him late anyway. so a success all around everyone!

we can further theorize the character of the previous sect leader (and how his grooming of yue qi possibly led to his guilt complex and inability to communicate his honest feelings) but ultimately it was qing ding peak's teachings itself that led to yqy's inability to reconcile with sj. because qing ding is the diplomat's peak. the politics peak. the peak where people often cannot say exactly what they mean, must never overtly show favor to anyone, must control every single thing they do or say else the political fallout ruins their sect's reputation.

so it really didn't help that their reunion happened in the middle of sj committing pretty bad crimes like murdering and looting disciples. yue qi went immediately into political clean-up mode, sj misunderstood yue qi's silence as 'i will never tell you' instead of 'not now sj we need to bury these bodies in the bushes', and then later sj was so scornful yue qi's guilt-complex kicked in and he figured 'sj will never forgive me, obviously he doesn't want to hear excuses.' and as yue qi's political position grew, the less he could overtly support and protect shen jiu. the more careful he was of his words and actions, so far removed from the qi-ge sj once knew that sj can't help but lash out. by the time yqy was mentally well enough to talk about the lingxi cave fiasco (if ever), sj had already built up a protective wall of 'this qi-ge is an imposter, the real qi-ge would not have left me.' and yqy didn't know how to tell him the truth without sj's psyche collapsing in on itself. so... he just continued not to tell him.

in which qi-ge is alive but also dead, as declared by shen jiu

sj barely recognized qi-ge once they reunited. yue qi has always been the peacemaker amongst the rowdy slaves, sure, but he'd always been on sj's side. he told sj everything, things he never told the other slaves, and only really clammed up when they were facing beatings by adults in a true us-versus-them scenario. now, however, he's clamming up with shen jiu. he hates it, this intrinsically qi-ge thing that this fake qi-ge doesn't realize he's doing. more than the shiny clothes and well-fed appearance, this is what makes the chasm between them feel real. qi-ge never came back for him, because qi-ge was dead. cang qiong killed qi-ge and all that's left is this qi-ge puppet going through motions of caring for sj it obviously doesn't understand.

(this is easier for him to accept, because if yue qi wasn't mentally dead than he really did willingly abandon shen jiu in the dirt, and accepting that would make shen jiu lose his mind.)

now what to do when qi-ge is dead and he doesn't need sj to protect him anymore? logically, sj should've stayed long enough to fix his cultivation, save up funds, and then leave to become a rogue cultivator before his past had the chance to catch up to him. but sj is not logical. he's spiteful and angry and contrary. he claws his way up the disciple hierarchy on qing jing and spits in the face of yue qi's awkward overtures. he hates the other qing jing disciples, his own shizun, lqg and a bunch of the other head disciples; in fact, he hates cang qiong as a whole because they were the ones that took qi-ge away from him. but at the end of the day, a dead qi-ge puppet is still kind of qi-ge and even if qi-ge threw sj away that didn't mean the reverse was true. sj will not give even a dead puppet qi-ge up; he belongs to him whether he likes it or not (/spitefully).

so as it becomes clearer and clearer that yue qi will indeed become the next sect leader, sj begrudgingly finds himself stuck in cang qiong. one would think things would get better after the former peak lords ascend, since that meant the evil brainwashing sect leader and the resentful qiu-naming qing jing peak lord would've finally fucked off. but no, things actually get worse.

because now that the former sect leader isn't actively sabotaging qijiu's relationship (sure, he didn't mean to break yue qi's mind that bad, but even the worst broken eggs can be turned into a decent obedient successor, except shen jiu's continued existence is threatening to undo all his hard work) yue qi is more able to try and make overt amends. the problem is, by acting more like the real qi-ge, he's threatening sj's mental defense of 'qi-ge is dead, this qi-ge is a fake.'

when cognitive dissonance gives you qi deviations

the more qi-ge acts like he's honestly sorry, the more shen jiu must accept that qi-ge isn't dead. that he either chose to leave sj behind (devastating given sj's abandonment issues) or was forced to leave sj behind and refused to tell him why (more abandonment issues; does he not trust sj anymore??) worse for peak morale, the more overtly sj rejects yqy, the more annoyed the other peak lords get. doesn't sj know how bad it looks for their sect, to have their top two lords fighting like this?? why is yqy not shutting it down, isn't he a politician?

well yes, but as sect leader he now has the freedom to pick and choose when to put his politicking hat on. lqg follows sqq to a brothel and causes a ruckus in the middle of the street? scold sqq for being so overt, because they both know the best way into the brothel is through the back via code word! they learned how to sneak into brothels as street kids ages ago and sqq could have totally done so discreetly! argue with lqg but refuse to explain himself? sqq please, he can't take your side for no reason, especially in front of all these peak lords who already knows he favors you!!

and because shen jiu is facing the cognitive dissonance of qi-ge's... qi-ge-ness, he sets up tests rigged to fail no matter how yqy responds. this way he is always right! if yqy sides with sj, sj's annoyed because he's clearly trying to placate him like a child. if yqy sides against sj, he's obviously choosing to abandon sj again!!

yqy is fully aware of the trap because yqy is a trained politician capable of reading social cues (and sj hasn't changed all that much from when they were kids, he still has that same spiteful edge to him yqy is so fond of). he intentionally falls for them because (1) he deserves to be hated by sj and (2) being hated by sj keeps him from lashing out too much at the other peak lords. yqy is very used to sj's temper tantrums, it's when he lashes out at other people that things become unmanageable.

(during the latter half of their rule over cang qiong, i feel that yqy learned to stop actively chasing reconciliation. he came around for tea and present-giving, kept things civil, and still let sj get away with all kinds of terrible things. he fell for all of sj's traps with his eyes wide open and it infuriates sj, everything about this drives him mad. he doesn't want this soft, unspoken affection, because this was how qi-ge used to handle sj's tsundereness back when they were on the streets. it's another sign that qi-ge is still qi-ge, and this fact brings sj both selfish comfort and undeniable agony.)

it's an awkward balancing act that continues to sour sj's reputation with the other peak lords, but it's mostly manageable until sqh sticks his nose into their business and pushes sj over the edge.

how transmigrators ruin everything

"maybe yqy did something impulsive, did you think of that? why can't you forgive him, he tried so hard? aren't you tired of being angry all the time?" bitch no, sj has been keeping the worst of the qi deviations away for years by performing mental gymnastics around his walls of denial stOP KNOCKING THEM DOWN. Even worse, lbh arrives on the peak and shen jiu hates him. not just because he's got all the potential shen jiu had stolen away from him, but he's so glad to be here. he's making his mother proud. all while shen jiu was dragged here essentially against his will, trapped himself in this bamboo prison out of spite, and then realized the dead thing he's been looking after for decades isn't dead after all. that qi-ge actually did, for realsies, leave him at the qius. that all these overtures, the silent acceptance of his faults, everything could just be out of guilt (qi-ge is ashamed of him) and not out of a ghost reenacting its former lingering affection (the real qi-ge would've still loved him.)

the dissonance, abandonment issues, frustration and everything culminates in a devastating qi deviation. ironically, now that yqy's rule is mostly secure and sj's reputation has soured enough to start negatively affecting the sect, sj finally feels safe enough to let go. in this moment of emotional clarity, sj finally releases qi-ge from his grasp and decides to die.

that was not supposed to happen.

qi-ge's no good, very bad sacrifice

in another universe where og!sqh was too busy plotting to betray cang qiong mountain, the frosty and emotionally charged stand-off between yqy and sj continues for years. then, lqg dies. i'm torn between yqy believing sj killed lqg or not. either way, i don't think he'd be 'disappointed' in sj as portrayed in some fics. i also don't think it would infuriate sj that yqy thinks he's capable of killing lqg, because if anyone knows how much of a murder kitten shen jiu is, it's yqy. maybe he's offended yqy thinks him dumb enough to kill him in such a sloppy way. maybe he's even more offended that this turns the other peak lords against him and yqy just lets it happen.

or maybe (through my qijiu-tinted glasses) it pisses him off that yqy does tell the peak lords that they should all stand together, and the other peak lords ignore him and hate sj anyway. they're disrespecting yqy because they think he is compromised, and sj worked too goddamn hard to solidify yqy's position to have it undone by a murder he didn't even do.

(ironically, if lqg was alive he'd tell the other peak lords to f*** off for disobeying yqy. lqg's canon respect for yqy is something i feel needs more acknowledgement, likely because i feel half the reason they don't get along is because of sj's utter disrespect of their sect leader. who cares if sj is a street rat or the son of a wealthy family, no one disrespects yue-shixiong!)

now the story of sj's road to becoming lbh's plaything is a well-worn track that everyone knows. i do subscribe to the idea that sj took one look at huan hua's eagerness, lbh's vendetta, and yqy's recklessness and made the same decision he did in the svsss verse: he'd rather qi-ge be free (happy) than dead. this is a battle he cannot win, and he'll be damned if he lets lbh drag cang qiong down with him. when yqy promises him he'll save him from the water prison, sj spits in his face and tells him for the final time that xiao jiu and qi-ge are both dead. he let sj go decades ago, and now sj is letting qi-ge go in return.

sj faces the torture with the tenacious spirit of someone who'd withstood worse torture for years. in fact, he's a bit impressed by lbh taking revenge on him the same way sj took revenge on qiu jianluo. either way, even with more than 50% of his body missing, sj faces his fate in utter defiance. and then lbh shows up with xuan su.

the reveal of qi-ge's failed rescue and demise was devastating for a lot of reasons. most obviously, sj's sacrifice to keep cang qiong safe from the fallout was a failure. everything he'd done and sacrificed to keep qi-ge safe, all the scorn he'd borne as the hated qing jing peak lord was thrown away because qi-ge wanted to be a moron.

the other reason why sj broke was because qi-ge did come for him. he simply failed. and the tiny part of him that always suspected qi-ge was still qi-ge now has confirmation that all those years ago, qi-ge likely did the same. he came for him at the qius, but he failed. the only difference now is lbh's willingness to tell him the truth vs. yqy's decades-long silence. the only difference now is that yqy is actually, physically dead.

sj has been living on borrowed time ever since he looked the new yqy (fake qi-ge) in the eyes and allowed himself to be brought to cang qiong mountain. everything he did was to elevate himself into a position where no one could hurt him (and qi-ge) anymore, the same way he'd acted back when they were on the streets. now that he was in this state and qi-ge was dead, his time was clearly up. and sj refuses to let lbh have the last laugh. as much as he respected lbh for his ruthlessness, it's not enough to stave off sj's spite. he didn't let qjl control him in the end, and he won't let lbh do so either.

final thoughts

some last, disorganized thoughts on qijiu's relationship

rather than yqy telling sj what happened, i think showing him the scars all over his body would be much more impactful. sj knows how worthless words can be; he's likely prefer being able to touch each scar and check the meridians for himself. yqy doesn't need to say a word, his entire body is a testament to the torture he'd endured.

ironically, sj fixing up cang qiong as a tactician and his personal refusal to put himself in weak situations made yqy incapable of showing his care through action. all of his crises were political/reputation-based/etc. all things qing ding's teachings guaranteed yqy to fail all his speech-checks. and yqy is definitely not the type of person to engineer a false crisis just to swoop in to save sj... not because of any moral reasons, but because risking sj in any way would be absolutely unacceptable. in yqy's world, it's sj > the sect > good morals. he does have good morals, yes, but he's also pragmatic and self-aware enough to know when to put the things he cares about first.

there was a theory i read before about yqy and sj's trauma responses being to shut down and say nothing in the face of accusations, and i agree with this. saying nothing often netted less punishment than 'making excuses.' even without this coping mechanism, the mental trauma of having his mind and body broken could've easily stopped yqy from being able to even speak around the topic for years. if he doesn't talk about it and no one sees his scars, he can pretend it never happened. sj's scorn of him is forever a sign that it did happen, but that's fine, he's always made exceptions for shen jiu.

i don't really know where the uncomfortably-creepy-no-boundaries yqy towards sy came from? in the original novel sy clearly like yqy and views him in a positive, big-brother-shape light. even towards the end of the novel when yqy confesses, sy feels more guilty for being an imposter than angry that yqy failed sj. yqy even steps aside for lbh thinking 'well, at least sqq is happy now' because that's what he wanted for sj for so, so long. for him to be happy, even if that meant forgetting qi-ge.

(the no-boundaries thing is something i disagree with in general, because i think yqy's political and social training would make that very unlikely. he doesn't call sqq xiao-jiu as often as he does in fics, i think he did so in canon because he was delirious and exhausted post-drawing-xuan-su. i figured qijiu's latter years cooled off a bit as yqy realized direct overtures weren't working and went the coaxing-stray-cat route to everyone else's befuddlement.)

does qi-ge know sy is not sj? i can go either way with this. the theory that he does know but he's repressing it out of his own mental wellbeing is intriguing; but so is him assuming sj losing his memories means sy is a different person. which means he's always been happier without qi-ge. either way, i do believe yqy no longer views sqq-y the same as sqq-j. after the first few years post-qi-deviation, i think yqy is emotionally mature enough to realize sy is here to stay and that the sj he once knew (either because of his lost memories or whole-soul transplantation) is gone.

i am a qijiu shipper, but i do also like platonic qijiu. my only prerequisite for any other-ship-jiu fic is some kind of qijiu reconciliation. i honestly don't think either of them would have good romantic relationships unless they fix their own relationship first. qi-ge can't marry someone, that would remove sj from being the most important person on qi-ge's list. despite scorning him, sj being number one is one of the only things holding sj together throughout their divorce era. sj cannot marry anyone because that would give qi-ge the false impression that sj is happy and qi-ge is now free. and qi-ge is not allowed to be free. he will belong to sj for as long as sj wants and nothing is allowed to interfere with that impression. lol both of these are sj-based, but sj's always been the dominant party in this relationship. whether or not qi-ge is jealous of sj's new lover is irrelevant; as long as sj is happy, the og!sj-simp qi-ge is also happy.

i have too many qijiu thoughts and not enough time to write a fic about them, alas. i find their relationship fascinating and very integral to their personalities no matter the au or ship.

[wobster109]

Why is Aventurine Preservation-Imaginary?

(The real answer is, it's probably just HoYo filling out the path/element roster, but we'll play along!)

We'll tackle his element first. It's not the easier of the two, but it's the one with less info to sort through. The basic element types are:

Elements: wind, fire, ice, lightning

Sorta-abstract: quantum, imaginary

Physical: physical

It's a pretty funny system, all things considering. Here's Gepard, he can summon a massive wall of ice through will alone! Here's Dr. Ratio, he can make a massive tower just by thinking it into existence! Oh and here's Luka. Ordinary human. Pretty good at boxing.

(Not including Trailblazer here - probably the stellaron helps her swing that bat extra hard or something.)

And in the middle, you have Guinaifen, Hook, and Serval, who use the element but do not create it from scratch. For example, Serval is conceivably using electricity from her electric guitar.

Most of the elements are pretty self-explanatory, but Quantum and Imaginary are a bit more abstract. What are these types? What do they mean?

Quantum: technology, information, data, uncertainty

In my mind, Silver Wolf is the classic quantum character. She uses hacking to change data. In her hands, the data is always shifting. Fu Xuan is another direction that quantum can go - she's a diviner, and her job is peering into the future and making sense of the uncertainty. And then Qingque has elements of both: she works in divination, and also there is uncertainty in each hand of Celestial Jade.

Imaginary: Logic, abstraction, math/physics/metaphycs, theology

For some reason, Imaginary feels to me like dealing with the grand existential questions. There's Dr. Ratio on one end, knowledge is the measure of all things, and then there's Luocha with religious symbolism all over him, the devils, the church, the insanity in his character story, healing you with a cross necklace. Welt with his black hole - there's some kind of physics in there!

But this seems more like a philosophy than an element in battle. So in practice, what Imaginary characters have in common most of all is summoning miscellaneous objects 😅 black holes, dragons, chalk, etc.

So on that note, Aventurine fits right in, summoning dice and coins all over the place! Watch your he-ead~ 🎶🎵

I would've expected Aven to be Quantum. All the RNG in his kit. . . all the gambling, all the uncertainty. . . it seems more alike Qingque's tile suits. He even has card suits on his shields!

Perhaps the Imaginary is more about his character. Much of his story is intensely existential - what's the good of his blessing when everyone he loves is gone; why are we born if it's just to die. Perhaps he brings not just another answer, but a new way to see the question—not Why am I here, but All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

A more direct question that he himself discusses is why he's Preservation. We know he was offered the chance to become a Masked Fool, and seek Elation - the pursuit of happiness. Yet he turned it down.

As his alter-ego says, he and Preservation have nothing in common.

Interestingly, he also gives himself the answer.

He didn't choose the Preservation. Aventurine chose the IPC.

But wait—aren't the IPC the bad guys?

It is fascinating to me when people make out the IPC to be the villain of this tale, or talk about him "escaping" the IPC as if he's being held hostage. Not only did he choose the IPC, he gambled everything, including his life, just for a sliver of a chance to join them.

They didn't kill his family, enslave him, brand him, or make him kill 34 other slaves. Certainly, the IPC has used Aventurine's talents and self-destructive behavior to their benefit, and is not particularly concerned with what becomes of him. They are big, corporate, and easy to hate. But they are also not the cause of his tragedy.

It's not the IPC, but rather the Katicans, that kill Kakavasha's family. His sister describes them as "bloodthirsty, cruel, and insatiably greedy." Personally I can’t say with confidence that the Katicans are villains without knowing their full history, but either way, the conflict is between the Avgins and the Katicans.

My feeling is that the IPC is amoral - they are not actively out to do harm, but neither will they go out of their way to avoid or prevent it. They are focused primarily on profit. Sometimes that means taking over a planet against the people's will. Sometimes that means making gambles. . . or sacrifices. Other times, it means hosting an Aetherium event.

So, why does Aventurine choose the IPC? What's interesting to me is, he isn't a slave to the IPC in any sense - not even in the lack-of-choice sense of Topaz's planet. He had a choice. He could have become a Masked Fool. So, why?

It all comes back to this:

"Go ahead, use me as you wish, even stab me in the back if you see fit. Exploitation and treachery are simply tools of the trade. But remember, I don't make deals that don't pay off... So, I hope you don't disappoint me."

The IPC is a tool to him, a means to an end. He expects that the IPC will use him, and in exchange he intends to use the IPC.

But to what end?

It's got to be something big. He could have become a refugee or an ordinary IPC employee, and instead he took the risk of lying about Tayzzynronth's remains. He let himself be arrested and brought to Jade. "I bet you won't send me to the gallows." Death was a possibility, so it had to be worth that risk.

My guess is that he wanted to save the Avgin people.

(And in this sense, Preservation is his true path after all.)

His sister tells him, "As long as you are alive, the blood of the Avgin will never run dry." Perhaps his goal was to save the remaining Avgin people, bring them away from the land of rock and sand and hardly any rain, and give them a home where they could prosper. Or to environmentally transform his home the way the IPC transformed other planets. To do that, he'll need more money and power than an IPC grunt's income. But with a Stoneheart's power, the IPC's money, and the Intelligentsia Guild's knowledge, he could make that happen.

(It feels off. It feels like too simple of an answer.)

But the Avgin people are all gone. Aventurine specifically says there aren't any left. Now that his reason is gone, what will become of him?

In a way, he does offer us an answer.

Aventurine: There will come a day when the sky will drizzle, and I will hear the call of Gaiathra Triclops and know that it is time for me to go and be reunited with my family. Aventurine: So until the time comes... I should be preparing. Kakavasha: Preparing for what? Aventurine: Preparing to face them, Kakavasha, and to make them proud.

He will go on to live a good life. What form will it take?

I don't think he can ever completely shake off the responsibility of being the last surviving Avgin. It would be quite a leap for him to settle down and have a family, so perhaps he'll have to pass it forward some other way. Either by preserving the culture (another museum management event?) or by dedicating his wealth and power to saving other peoples.

The thing about being somewhere is, you can't help but grow into it, and it grows around you. And now, he has. . . allies who are a bit closer to friends than he might think.

He has two coworkers who willingly handed over their cornerstones for his plan—cornerstones more precious than life itself. He seems to genuinely look out for Topaz (advising her against getting involved in Belobog), and she talks about him cheerfully during 2.1. And I am sure that bringing him into the IPC was a significant personal risk for Jade, especially since he'd already caused the IPC a major financial loss. For Jade and Topaz, he has—if not their trust, at least their respect in his abilities.

And he has the Intelligentsia Guild's top Mundanite fussing over his survival. Not for the Avgin bloodline, and not for profit or the success of a mission. Acheron refers to Ratio as his “friend”, and he doesn’t bother to deny it.

He has three allies/maybe-friends involved in a grand scheme with him, and isn't there something addicting about scheming together? Something as marvelous as what the Trailblazer has with the Express? So, I don't think he'll leave the IPC anytime soon. He carved out this path with his bare hands, made a life and a purpose for himself, and even made some friends along the way. Now, it's time to live it.

[qilingxiong]

If you're comfortable with it will you talk more about your original characters?

hello!! flattered that you'd want to hear about these characters taking up my headspace 😅🥺💜 i will warn that the project these ocs are from is very much in the rough developmental stages and i have a LOT of research and worldbuilding to do, plus some existing stuff might change, but! here's some things about it:

this started out as an au of sorts that @qiaowanmian and i initially brainstormed for something else, before they very graciously allowed me custody and the au grew up into its own independent brainrot. it revolves around shen yue, courtesy name hui'an, a boy who grew up with one foot in the jianghu and the other tethered to the palace and its obligations. the balance got tipped when he wound up getting himself involved in an ongoing war, and his deeds caught the attention and approval of the palace. in particular, the eye of the then-crown prince, xuan xing.

nearly two decades later, hui'an has made a name for himself leading xuan xing's armies as a general under the king, and as his majesty's favourite, in every sense that that implies. they're an inseparably bonded pair, and that fact is causing problems for the rest of the court, especially for those people who don't care for xuan xing as their leader. hui'an has his own issues outside of the palace walls, too, because everywhere he goes there is one very stubborn swordsman named hua qingsen who keeps finding him over and over and who won't let hui'an's past go there are reminders of the person hui'an might have become, freely wandering the land without care for the state and holding only to his own sense of right and wrong, if he hadn't spent half a lifetime giving his loyalty to the court (to a-xing. everyone knows that ultimately hui'an serves not the kingdom, but one man whom he loves). hui'an's life is cracked in half by these two worlds. between this and the palace plotting behind his a-xing's backs, who would like to see the king gone, their relationship is only going to end in tragedy for it.

(unhappy ending, yes, and that's not going to change, but honestly if you've read my writing before i don't think that's a surprise to anyone)

beyond these main characters mentioned, there's also people such as:

lang shijun, a-xing's eventual queen of convenient marriage and unofficial apprentice to hui'an, whom she met while pretending to be her own brother so she could get into restricted libraries + eavesdrop on court meetings to learn about military tactics

ruxiong, second prince and a-xing's half-brother, who doesn't want the throne more than he wants his family alive and together, but it's that same want that will eventually doom him and the people around him

ruya, ruxiong's younger sister and princess of the kingdom, and who out of these royal siblings insisted on putting her duty and position first in a way her brothers never quite could (she'll get an ending she wanted, though, won by active choice and not obligation)

like i said, there's much that i still need to fill in and develop for this, but here's a brief glimpse into what's been occupying my waking thoughts for the last few weeks! thank you for giving me a chance to ramble a bit and let me know if you ever want to hear more <333

[rarepears]

It's the astronomy anon! Hc that whenever anyone in the Shen-Shang family (because I didn't know until my last ask that I love "SQH is Shen Jiu's little brother, Shen Jiu is viciously overprotective and SQH is oblivious" but I'll die on that hill) gets lost/in trouble/both (Prince Shen Yuan cannot for the life of him stop tripping over wife plots and his parents are giving serious consideration to keeping him on house arrest in the palace for his safety, and probably would have already were it not for Shang Qinghua's great efforts to convince them this is a bad idea (hence SQH being Shen Yuan's favorite uncle)) all they have to do is follow the Shizun Star. Somehow doing so always gets them back home safely. Shen Jiu is GOING to die mad about how often they use this feature. Later. Right now he's trying to badger SQH into assassinating the little beast for falling in love with his son (when the fuck did a-Yuan even meet him????? AND WHY WASN'T HE INFORMED???). His husband keeps trying to convince him to "give their son's suitor a chance" but Shen Jiu is holding out against the betrayals coming from all sides.

Luo Binghe the demon emperor's response is to kidnap Ming Fan and Ning Yingying (which isn't hard because all he has to say is 'I found shizun' and they're clinging to him and demanding to be taken to him at once) and drop them in Shen Jiu's lap. Shen Yuan gains two new friends, one new boyfriend the queen very reluctantly approves of, and a front row seat to Liu Qingge showing up out of NOWHERE because he came back from his monster hunt and Shen Jiu had been married off to foreign royalty and had apparently taken Shang Qinghua with him???? And he wanted to know what the hell was going on. And now he's not leaving because Shang Qinghua got him addicted to coffee.

This is all chaotic enough, what with interdimensional courtships and shit, BEFORE the Old Palace Master shows up to try and fuck up the LBH/SY wedding planning by trying to put SJ on trial even though it'll start a war. He has no success at all (ie LBH stabs him about it, hands Huan Hua to Gongyi Xiao and Zhuzhi-lang who got married last summer, and that's that), and everything would be fine except for three things.

One: Shen Jiu has abruptly been reintroduced to his past and also the Peak Lords.

Two: Mobei-jun took the opportunity to kidnap Shang Qinghua, who was finally not in a desert and therefore accessible. He views this as stealing his human back. Shang Qinghua is having lots of emotions and all of them are fear. Shen Jiu is PISSED.

Three: Shen Jiu's husband somehow found out about YQY's whole thing with Xuan Su and is planning to consult his brother in law on ways to kidnap the man for his own good. He doesn't even particularly care if he gets a threesome out of this or just another sibling for his queen, but he's kind of started a collection of "husband's former coworkers who need therapy" and Liu Qingge keeps sulking about none of the relocated cultivators sparring with him so they might as well grab the Sect Leader while they're in town once they resolve this whole "ice king trying to steal my brother in law" thing.

End result: they all make it back home, Mobei-jun somehow gets Shen Jiu's permission to try courting Qinghua properly by human standards, Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge get some therapy, Ning Yingying and Ming Fan take them shopping for new clothes, and Shen Jiu's court is full of eye candy.

Hm, does Luo Binghe also know that there's a star that will pretty much always show where Shen Yuan is (because Shen Yuan is following the shizun star to get back home)? Imagine all the terrible words Shen Jiu will spat out when he learns that Luo Binghe also knows of that trick. So much for the Shizun star being the GPS/Shen Yuan tracker God.

Ming Fan and Ning Yingying most certainly know where Shen Qingqiu is - everyone knows where the Arabian country is located. Nah, the real issue is traveling there. Getting past the border safely, making it into the imperial court, and not getting caught during the months-long journey...

So when Luo Binghe shows up with some teleportation sword saying "get in loser, we're going to visit shizun", they immediately sign up for the field trip without doing more than rub two braincells together.

Damn, you're implying that Liu Qingge has been gone for many years - decades even - on some monster hunt if he's missed the whole hubbub of Shen Jiu getting whisked away for marriage, Luo Binghe becoming demon emperor, and Shen Yuan being born and growing old enough to get romanced. What did Liu Qingge even do - get such in some pocket dimension??? Got stuck in some "running away with the ball" plot with a demon looking to court him??? Tried faking his death so that his grandma would stop trying to set him up on blind dates???

Man, imagine the hell that Mobei Jun, an ice demon, is going through if he dares venture into the dessert. No wonder Shag Qinghua loves hanging out with his bro! Safe from any surprise visits from the Ice King - and thus this really is the perfect vacation spot where he can't be informed of this and that new disaster sparking up!

But also, imagine if Mobei Jun doesn't dare travel in desert landscape because the real reason he overheats is the fact that Shang Qinghua is just flaunting around in Such SHeer RoBes?!?!?! ALL THAT SKIN BEING SHOWN?!

Let's be real: Shen Jiu's hubby is a pragmatist. He's no saint who's going to have zero braincells if Shen Jiu flutters his eyelashes at him. (Plus Shen Jiu wouldn't like him so much if he were such a person.) He's more than happy to kidnap Yue Qingyuan, a prominent sect leader, for the political advantages it gives him in negotiating with China's imperial court (and the cultivation world). Many beneficial trade deals are negotiated in return for his "hostage" AKA a Yue Qingyuan who's happily sunbathing and being fed dates next to Empress Shen Qingqiu.

[More in #Shen Jiu is forced into an arranged marriage to an Arabian Prince AU]

[heaven-s-black-box]

Words and Actions- Jing Yuan & child!Reader

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Recovery date: April 19th, 2024

Description: Hello. I was wondering if you could make a platonic Honkai Star Rail story with the reader being Jing Yuan's child and but they ended up running away to stay with their mother because they keep messing things up especially after Jing Yuan and the readers mother got divorced. it takes awhile but a few months later the reader suddenly returned to the Loufu because of some disaster where the reader had been living with their mother and Jing Yuan also wanted to talk the reader so he would finally be able to apologize to them especially after he accidentally saw the diary they kept on their computer. (I was kind of inspired by the first episode of The Owl House season three Thanks To Them for this request but If you're not not comfortable with writing this that's completely alright and I wish you a good morning/afternoon or goodnight☺️)

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions.

Part: 1 2 3

Word count: 1 202

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Jing Yuan had imagined this conversation a hundred times, and everytime he only found himself proving them right.

No matter what he said to them in his head, their response always sounded wrong. He imagined they’d give him the silent treatment, but then they wouldn’t listen to his apology and that didn’t sound right. If they yelled and cried the words sounded wrong, he couldn’t imagine them saying they hated him. The idea that they would hug him as soon as they saw each other broke his heart because he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Jing Yuan did not know how to reconcile with his child because he did not know his child.

“General?” Fu Xuan called from the door of the seat of divine foresight. “They’re awake.”

He may not know what to say, or what was about to happen, but he knew what he had to do.

Fu Xuan entered the seat of divine foresight to take over for him while he headed to the alchemy commission.

All throughout the starskiff ride, his hand mindlessly traced a small square in his palm. It was a habit he had picked up when he returned to work after their birth, tracing the size of their tiny hand in his. When had it gotten so big? Was it close to the same size as his now? Was it as soft as the last time he’d held their hand?

The alchemists waved him through to a small hut as soon as he arrived.

His feet felt heavy as he approached the door, the sound of soft laughter slipping through the open window. Lady Bailu was running them through how to use their pain medicine and reminding them to keep their bandages dry. He didn’t know what happened for them to end up bleeding and barely conscious in starskiff haven, no one had had a chance to ask yet.

The door in front of him opened, and he looked down to see Bailu staring up at him. The dragon lady cleared her throat and waved her hand, indicating he needed to move.

“Sorry.” He stepped aside, letting her leave. “May I-”

“It’s up to her,” Bailu shrugged, looking back into the hut.

Jing Yuan followed her gaze to see Y/n sitting up in bed, their head and one of their forearms wrapped in bandages. They were staring at him, but looked away when he made eye contact.

“It’s okay. Thank you, Lady Bailu.”

Bailu nodded and excused herself.

The general slowly entered the hut, as if he was afraid Y/n would run away or change their mind, and carefully closed the door behind himself. He took a seat on the stool beside them.

“How are you feeling?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“Lady Bailu says I have a concussion and some minor burns.” They raised the arm that was wrapped up. “The stupid ship malfunctioned,” they grumbled.

“I heard that your ship was barely functional when it arrived.”

“Yup,” they sighed, popping the p. They leaned back against the headboard and let their head lean against the wall. “The anti matter legion attacked the world we’ve been living on. I was on my way back from a trip and the second I got back to the planet I was attacked, so… I left.”

They fell silent, their eyes slipping shut as they relaxed. Then suddenly they opened and they turned to him with a panicked expression.

“Mom-”

“She already knows. Lady Bailu responded to a message she sent you, and so she messaged me to make sure you really were here. I promised to bring you back as soon as I could.”

“You mean send me back. Take me back implies you’re going with me,” they snipped, leaning back into the wall.

“No, I said what I mean.” Y/n side eyed him, and he took a deep breath. “I understand you’re tired, so if you’d like we can talk later.”

“It’s fine. I’m not allowed to sleep right now anyways.”

Jing Yuan nodded, but when he went to speak he couldn’t find the words. Instead, he reached to the pitcher on their bedside table and poured them both a glass of water. He stared into the cup for a moment, then cleared his throat and tried again.

“I’m sorry.” Outside, he could hear people moving about and a bird likely perched on the tree just outside. Y/n didn’t say anything. “I found your diary,” he could feel them glare at him, but they still didn’t speak, “I promise I didn’t realize that’s what it was.”

“How do you mistake a diary for something else?”

“I thought it was one of your school work books.”

They tilted their head from side to side, accepting the response. Y/n motioned for him to continue as they took a sip of water.

“I should have noticed the pressure you were feeling, and the expectations that you felt due to my position.”

Y/n began to bite at the inside of their lip and fiddle with the bandages on their arm. Jing Yuan waited to see if they’d speak.

He was about to continue when they spoke up.

“I didn’t want to leave,” they mumbled. “I was just… so tired, and you were never around!” Y/n’s eyes went glassy and their throat tightened up. “I was always the general's kid, and it felt like I was never doing good enough. I hate feeling like a bad mark would make people question you.”

“Why would that make people question me?” He cooed.

“I don’t know!” They hiccuped. “It was stupid, but it didn’t-”

Jing Yuan moved to sit by their feet and pulled them down into a hug. Y/n wasted no time throwing their arms around him and sobbing into his shoulder, their tears soaking into his shirt. He didn’t care that they were getting snot all over his uniform, he would spend the rest of the day in a messy uniform if it meant he could hold them a little longer.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into the top of their head before kissing it. “I’m sorry I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me, and that you couldn’t make mistakes for my sake. It isn’t your job to worry about my reputation, but thank you. I know you were just trying to help, and I’m proud to have such a caring child.

He rubbed a hand up and down their back soothingly as they continued sobbing into his chest.

When their sobs turned into hiccups, he helped them sit back up and handed them their water. They chugged it, and he poured them another glass and set it aside.

Jing Yuan took Y/n’s hand in his and pressed their palms together, smiling.

“Your hand used to fit right into my palm��� it was so tiny. When did you get so big?”

They laughed softly, wiping the lingering tears from their lashes.

“I don’t know.” They laced their fingers with his and let their hands drop between them as he rubbed his thumb along the back of their hand. “Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Can I stay here for a bit?”

“Always.”

[almea]

I finished the 2.5 story and I enjoyed it overall, although it didn’t hit me quite as hard as Penacony did. I think maybe that’s something to be expected with a Trailblaze Continuance vs a Trailblaze Mission. I don’t know, I just cried so hard at the end of Penacony, both 2.2 and 2.3, lmao.

Truly my favourite thing is that they seem to be giving Stelle more voice lines during the story that aren't just internal dialogue. It is my dream for them to continue giving her more and more voices lines so she can really be an actual character.

It was a little surprising for me when I realized how little Stelle did in the story though. I think she just went to investigate Stargazer Navalia with Yanqing and Feixiao, found Moze in Exalting Sanctum with them, and then was fighting the borisin in Aurum Alley with Moze. I did like how she mentioned her not being at the Skysplitter to help fight Hoolay when she’s talking with March at the end. It doesn’t bother me a ton when Stelle doesn’t have a lot to do in a specific story, I love how often they used the perspective swapping in the story so we could see what was going on with everyone, because she’s always around so it doesn’t feel too bad if she’s a little out of focus once in a while, but it kind of sucks for Moze that I don't think he got any really big moments since he has less chances to be relevant. I wish they had made him and Stelle finding a nearly dead Jiaoqiu an actual scene instead of just text so we could get a little more out of Moze, but it is what it is.

Jiaoqiu’s little trick with poisoning Hoolay by poisoning himself being foreshadowed with his comment about the green peppers was pretty cool, but I’m curious about whether it was intentional that it could have also been a little foreshadowed in March’s training event last patch since in his route there was some talk of Lingsha’s blood having special properties because of her having consumed so many medicines over the years. idk it was the first think I thought of when I realized what he did.

I've grown pretty fond of Yanqing over the course of the story. He’s just so earnest and I think his childish, competitive side coming out with Yunli is very cute. And I really love the relationship that has developed between him, March, and Yunli. It’s so sweet that Yanqing and Yunli are both so proud of March and she’s also so fond of her two little masters. I really hope we get to continue seeing more of their interactions in the future.

This does not stop me from being like, stay the fuck away from my pulls. He's already at fucking E4 and I still don't have Gepard.

March, Yanqing, and Yunli fighting a berserk Feixiao was soooo good. I really loved Yunli attempting to just fucking grapple her when she's so much smaller than Feixiao. It really adds to her feral cat energy. It’s very sweet, in a weird way, that Feixiao put her faith in these kids and fully believed they would be able to hold her back and keep her from causing too much destruction while she was rampaging. Especially because we later find out that Fu Xuan left Jing Yuan a prediction that they should trust the younger generation.

I thought it was funny that during the story March was like "If I had known we could use other weapons, I would have brought my bow with me" and then she just fucking summons it in the cutscene when they’re fighting Feixiao. Sometimes I think about the logistics behind the way they summon their weapons in cutscenes and I should probably stop trying to make sense of it because it really does seem to be governed by Rule of Cool. Seeing her preservation ult in a cutscene was so fun though. A while ago I was thinking about how cool it would be if was ever a cutscene where Stelle switches between her paths in the middle of a fight by switching her weapon and March ended up getting to do it before her and it was just as cool as I thought it would be.

I loved March just clinging to Feixiao's leg in the cutscene when she regains control of herself. She's just trying her best to help. And I’m just very proud of the three of them for managing to not get fucking obliterated by a general. It was also very cute seeing them support Feixiao and helping her stand. I don’t know, they’re just all good kids and I love them.

I don’t have a really concrete reason for it, but I just really like Feixiao. It may just be my weakness for hot, strong women, but she’s just so cool. I love how strong her resolve is, strong enough that this is the first time in the story that we’ve seen someone other than Stelle draw an Aeon’s gaze, and that she seems as devoted to Jiaoqiu and Moze as they are to her. She also has SUCH cool cutscenes. The one of her using Yukong’s bow to fire a a giant arrow all the way to Aurum Alley because it would have taken to long to get there to help????? Hello???? Who let her be so cool???

I really am looking forward to seeing more of her in the future and this plotline she has of trying to restore Jiaoqiu’s eyesight. And also seeing the repercussions/benefits of her swallowing the crimson moon.

It’s like a little funny to me that Jiaoqiu is blind now just because it doesn’t matter anymore that his eyes are always closed, he wouldn’t be able to see with them open anyways.

When Lingsha was announced and I saw she was a Vidyadhara, I was like. My opinion on her is 100% going to be based on how she treats Bailu because I love Bailu very dearly and every Vidyadhara that’s introduced is going to be judged by whether or not they’re nice to her. So I'm really happy to see that she appears to be very kind to her and Bailu likes her enough to call her sister.

I think it's so sweet that Dan Heng is always asking for Bailu’s opinion. He’s so protective of the rest of the Astral Express crew and it seems like that protectiveness has extended to Bailu and it makes me so happy every time it comes up. I hope they get more into Bailu being sick of being used as a puppet and wanting to leave soon because I too am sick of the way she's disrespected in universe. Let Dan Heng bring her on the Express with him. I would also accept Lingsha protecting Bailu and helping her have more freedom since she’s the new Cauldron Master. I don’t know how much pull she actually has, but I can dream.

I'm so sad that they sent Fu Xuan away to a different ship for this story arc because I miss her!!! Let me see her!!! I still think she had the coolest intro cutscene in the game and I couldn't not love her after that. And because she's been carrying my ass through everything since she's the only limited sustain I have lmao.

God, I am so excited for Ruan Mei potentially being a menace on the Luofu. Like, girl, what have you been up to? Did you do anything fucked up to Tingyun? Aren’t Himeko and Welt supposed to be delivering fossils to you? Why are you on the Luofu? Oh but maybe they’re the ones who brought her to the Luofu. I need answers!

When Tingyun started talking, I was just like, oh no, this is going to be the end of the story for this patch, isn't it? And then it was!!! And next patch is just Rappa, and from her character intro thing I assume we’re going back to Penacony, so who knows when this Tingyun plotline is going to pick up again.

[eruhamster]

heya i'm thinking of reading tgcf and was wondering is beefleaf canon? i wasn't sure going by the fandom stuff i've seen so far but your post says it is? whcih would be great, I'd love two romances in one book!!

Ah, sorry for leading you on. So it's not officially canon, but it's heavily implied that He Xuan harbors feelings for SQX and doesn't want to admit it. It's in the same vein as Pei Ming and the Rain Master; you can get a good feeling of what is likely going on in the characters' heads, but Xie Lian has a tendency to not really pay attention to the romantic lives of the people around him (and -that- is canonical and he even laments being too stuck in his own brain to notice Feng Xin was courting someone).

If you don't mind spoilers:

He Xuan's true self comes through every once in a while in the text and you can usually tell when it's his true feelings or thoughts based on his tone or if he's interacting directly with Hua Cheng. His real self is very heavy; Xie Lian notes sometimes that his tone and words are very oppressive and dark, and every time in those instances it's who He Xuan really seems to be. An example of this is when Xie Lian feeds them both stew that was already awful because he made it, but also poisoned further by Hua Cheng:

Not stomach; heart. The true He Xuan tells him his heart is overtaken by demons. And when you think about this as to who he is as a character - he has hung around SQX for hundreds of years, buddy-buddy with him, even transforming as a girl with him just because SQX asks him to. They're clearly very close, and even once He Xuan has easy chances to kill him in the midst of him taking revenge, he doesn't bother and actively protects SQX from harm. He saves SQX life a few times. He actively tries to keep him from Shi Wudu and gets angry when he picks his brother over him. He even tells SQX he was giving him chances.

And still, he keeps SQX alive. He doesn't even take his fate back. And in fact, he repairs SQX's broken fan and gives it back. If you parse through every interaction they have, every single instance of He Xuan saying anything, it becomes fairly clear that he only bears ill will toward Shi Wudu, and seems to be furious both at himself for not having the heart to hate SQX (and perhaps thinks it's because of all the ghosts he's eaten, and thus why he thinks he needs an exorcism?), and furious at SQX for not siding entirely with him. And with that push-and-pull game comes the parallel of He Xuan losing his sister and fiancee, and seemingly playing into that trauma during his revenge by chaining SQX up and letting him get felt up by a bunch of beggars in front of Shi Wudu - so he is giving Shi Wudu the taste of having his little brother/sister, often depicted as his wife by mortals, get the same sort of treatment that his sister and fiancee had been given. I think it's very purposeful that it was written that way - that He Xuan lost a fiancee, and Shi Wudu is depicted by mortals as having SQX as a wife. And He Xuan is jealous of SQX picking Shi Wudu over him, quite clearly in the text. There's a million instances of it, but here's one:

And if you dissect further, it seems that he may have specifically been trying to enact a plan to get revenge on Shi Wudu in a way where he could still hang around SQX as Ming Yi; he actively keeps them separated till the last moment and seems panicked or angry every time Xie Lian gets closer to revealing him, and all the work he -tried- to do to reveal the truth to SQX was through things like shadow ghosts or while dressed as a ghost in a ghost mask.

And even once it's over and he shows up again, he acts the same as he always did toward SQX; grumpy, but sarcastically so, and with no real menacing aura. Even when he hits him, in the text it's clear he doesn't actually hurt SQX at all, and later, he even laughs:

So while Beefleaf is a popular ship that isn't canon, I think at least He Xuan's infatuation with him is like... Borderline canon. It seems heavily implied. Particularly since it mirrors Hua Cheng so well. And I do not think, honestly, that Hua Cheng would work so closely with a ghost so outwardly venomous. It's made pretty clear in the story that the ghosts Hua Cheng surrounds himself with are decent people, and sometimes just want a bit of revenge that Hua Cheng would deem fair.

And I think specifically there's a lot of room for it that makes it clear it really could be a matter of Xie Lian being oblivious to others' love lives like he has in the past. I mean, he keeps thinking Pei Ming's obsession with Rain Master is purely not wanting to be upstaged by a woman when that's -clearly- not the case. There's tons of instances where SQX is clearly not giving Xie Lian the whole truth of what happened between him and He Xuan, and I think there's a lot to grapple with about why that would be so. But I would definitely say it's like... Like to say "He Xuan falls in love with SQX" is not just headcanon, it is a very easy interpretation of what's going on, and specifically due to the parallels in the story (two ghosts obsessed with two gods so thoroughly they become supremes, one's obsession from love and one's obsession from hatred), and the relevance of wife/fiancee and SQX's genderfluidity, I think that it's likely intentionally set up this way.

TL;DR it's sort of in the same vein as like... Yeah technically Bert and Ernie aren't married but you'd be an idiot to not see what's right in front of you. It's that kind of 'not actually canon.'

[ceo-of-jingfu]

While I love it when jingfu is confident and secure about themselves, I love it when they get jealous or possessive of each other.

No, they wouldn't do anything ridiculous when they get like that, but they still cannot stop the thoughts swirling in their heads or the slight glares they give to the other person or the snarky remarks that accidentally leave them.

They know they're being irrational, but they just can't help it.

Fu Xuan denies her jealousy because she is the master diviner and has too much work to deal with than to be jealous. She doesn't have time for something as ridiculous as jealousy. She was seen worthy of being given the omniscia by Nous for aeons' sake. Jealousy does not fit someone like her.

If they're not in involved with each other, then who is she to get jealous or possessive over Jing Yuan anyways? They're just co-workers, their relationship doesn't, and shouldn't, go beyond professionalism. And being jealous certainly isn't professional. (girly is in big denial)

And if they have something going on between them, then she fully trusts Jing Yuan. He would never do anything to break her trust, he wouldn't even give them the tiniest bit of hope. Oh, but the other person is being very annoying. Can't they see they don't have a chance? Don't they realize they're being a bit too inappropriate with someone else's man? Who even raised this person? They certainly weren't taught manners. They could certainly benefit from opening a book on manners and reading all of it. (i think you're looking too much into it girl)

Jing Yuan on the other hand, can go either way. He either realizes he's jealous or he doesn't. He's not in denial about it, he just doesn't even realize this terrible feeling in his chest is jealousy. If he realizes he's jealous, he will just observe the situation quietly, trying to see how it will go and if he needs to step in. If he doesn't even realize it then he'll give the other person an odd look, a bit threatening without realizing it. He'll try to get her away from the person, she has much more important things to spend her time on than to waste it with them.

If they're not involved with each other in any way, he'll realize that he's being irrational. He is aware of his feelings for her but he'll never admit it. And if he can't even admit his feelings then what right does he have to get jealous and possessive over her? But she trusts him, trusts his opinion and judgment. And his absolutely accurate and not biased judgment tells him that this person is crossing a line. (not biased at all, nope)

But if they are together, then oh boy. His lady is too wonderful, too beautiful. She's not choosing to attract these mediocre people to her. She wouldn't even see them worthy of too much of her time (how she sees him like that though, he'll never understand), she's just being polite and making connections with people. It's those people who don't notice the big red line between them that they're crossing. They think they're being slick with trying to get close to her. Well, he's met many people like them who think the same and he doesn't buy it. (the other person is either oblivious to their relationship and trying to make a move, or they're not even interested in her but Jing Yuan with his age and wisdom somehow managed to misunderstand them)

Long story short, I love it when they get jealous and even more when they're slightly possessive but try not to show it.

[lilithrebellion]

Since you're one of the only people I've seen so far that includes Odessa in fanworks, how exactly do you interpret her character? Both personality and design wise.

I really had to be the one to invent her Ao3 tag huh????😭

So the one single drama cd she was in didn't give much but that doesn't stop me from making a meal out of crumbs haha.

This be long.

The cd translation just says she "fell in love with" Laito, got abandoned, and took revenge by killing all of Richter's people. But since this was all told via gossip and hearsay from the dl guys, and knowing them (derogatory), I highly doubt how they've presented the events is accurate and probably shouldn't be taken at face value.🙃

Personally, I'm interpreting it as she was probably naive and didn't fully realize his intentions for approaching her, and was taken advantage of. Plus when it says she "couldn't return to her village after", I can imagine she experienced a lot of victim-blaming for what she went though and considering the (likely) time period it very much could have been a factor in her exile, which probably contributed to her anger.

Therefore, her character is definitely heavily based around her desire for revenge over this experience. Which I think is just so damn cool of her😭.

I have multiple aus with her, but the only one I've written anything for so far is the tgcf au, so I'll be referencing that for how I see her character after this point.

I see her being similar to the character He Xuan/Black Water in the original novels. As in she lives for pursuing revenge because she has been denied justice due to how the person who wronged her is in a position that makes them "untouchable". But underneath the anger is someone who holds a lot of pain and loneliness from how nobody would even recognize that she was wronged.

So for tgcf and other aus she appears in, I want to give her that chance at revenge. But also like with Black Water, I want to explore what comes after that and how it takes more than just the act of revenge for her to heal from her pain and find peace so she can move forward.

For her characterization, I've been writing her dialogue to be more blunt, maybe even bitter at times. But she might also tease in like a sarcastic (but not mean) way, if that makes sense? Hard to really describe but whatever gets the above background across.

Looks-wise, this is how I described her in tgcf au which I think captures her vibe:

Her features were incredibly beautiful. Possessing all the elegance and grace of a noble lady, enough to take one’s breath away. But there was something chilling about the look in her eyes. On the surface, they burned with hatred. But Yui could still see that buried deep within, was an immeasurable pain.

For physical traits, there's nothing in the drama cd besides "cute". but for some reason I picture her as dark-skinned with curly brown hair. I'm just now realizing it might be because I thought the girl from the Hayley Kiyoko "Sleepover" music video was REALLY pretty😂

@my-multi-fandom-blog also drew this Odessa from the tgcf au before which is AMAZING. (Fr I don't know how you pulls things out of my brain so easily ily❤️)

[a-vivid-dreamer]

Hello! Once again, it's me :) So after seeing your post about the Mirror Image AU yesterday, this got me wondering more questions.

1. So since Both Gingyan and Ahsim are literally mirrored versions of Yanqing and Misha, what are their personalities like in the perspective of other characters who don't know yet?

2. Since Gingyan and Ashim are powers of Yanqing and Misha and can unlock the full potential of them, what are the powers like once they go through the limits?

3. Other than Fu Xuan, who are the other characters who got suspicions of Gingyan and Ashim? Does Tails know about or at least sense them?

4. Also this question might sound dumb, however, since Black Swan is a Memokeeper, does she know the presence of both Gingyan and Ashim?

I hope I'm not a bother for asking his questions.

I don’t mind! It’s nice for me to get to talk about my aus in general especially since I’m pretty slow to actually write their plots.

1.

Qingyan is an incredibly cautious/reserved and straightforward type. He has a lot less patience dealing with nonsense and is highly protective of Yanqing. Qingyan even still has trust issues with Jing Yuan which certainly deepened after the first part of Xianzhou/Luofu storyline. He often takes the role of being Yanqing’s voice of reason and will often scold Yanqing for any impulsive or reckless decisions Yanqing makes. Though, despite him being a bit jaded, he still has a lot of thought and care.

In the times people have witnessed Qingyan in control (still thinking it’s Yanqing), it’s either interpreted as Yanqing being in a sour mood or going into a “serious” mode.

Ahsim is more of a bold schemer type. Unlike Misha, he’s definitely not one to shy away from things. And sometimes has to act as Misha’s bravery/courage. And while he is extremely protective of Misha, his behavior is more relaxed about it. He will even act like a teacher by encouraging Misha to take some (manageable) risks to help Misha grow as a person. Ahsim often thinks things through, creating plans and backups if possible with a calm and collected mind. He also struggles to pass up on the chance to tease others, finding the reactions entertaining. Regardless, it’s usually difficult to tell what he’s thinking even for Misha.

In the times where people have withness Ahsim in control (still thinking it’s Misha), most do not actually realize it’s Ahsim. Why? Because Ahsim often masks his presence by convincingly acting as Misha. There have only been a rare handful of times where his act has slipped, but even then it’s such a minor error most people brush it off.

2.

Naturally, Qingyan is able to take Yanqing’s ice abilities to the next level. From freezing entire chunks of terrain to creating “living” ice creature summons, Qingyan can do a lot more intricate techniques and a much wider area of effect. It’s even possible for him to make an entire area his “domain” by turning a battle zone practically into an ice cage. He is also able to have excellent control over more weapons simultaneously than Yanqing can. However, a major risk is how much Yanqing’s body can handle. It’s entirely possible for Qingyan to get Yanqing killed by going too far.

Ahsim’s abilities are tied to the dreamscape. So, he is naturally strongest when in the dreamscape. He has a fine control over memoria and detecting memoria entities. His ability to traverse through the layers of the dreamscape (and defy gravity in the dreamscape) are certainly enough to rival a memokeeper’s. He’s also got some ability to tamper with memoria. Due to this, the dreamscape environment gives him a natural advantage. However, he is significantly less capable in the real world.

In the real world, his weapon is hidden inside the handle of Misha’s broom and is basically like a rapier due to its thin blade. There’s a second piece with it he can bring out that is like a shorter version. The concept for this is to mimic the hands of a clock being his weapons. While Ahsim can channel his abilities to at least give a small boost in speed and the power behind attacks, it’s a significant drop from how he performs in the dreamscape. Despite this, Ahsim still is stronger than Misha since Misha still doesn’t fully grasp the art of combat or their dreamscape abilities. As a result, Ahsim usually takes full responsibility for using their powers until the day Misha is trained enough to be capable of using their abilities for himself.

3.

For people who have potentially picked up on Qingyan’s existence but still don’t know:

Fu Xuan, Qingzu

Recently: Sushang, Jingliu, Blade, Black Swan

For people who have potentially picked up on Ahsim’s existence but still don’t know:

The Family/Sunday

Recently: Black Swan

(This list may change since the current Penacony story has yet to wrap up.)

4.

While Blackswan is a memokeeper, even she can be caught off guard. Though, she definitely has picked up something unique going on with Yanqing and Misha… If she were to dive deeper to figure it out, she’d definitely find out about Qingyan and Ahsim quite easily for sure.

[ghooostbaby]

i wonder where the interpretation for the whole “he xuan’s revenge failed” thing came from... (jk i know it’s beefleaf fanon :P)

as far as i could tell, there was no indication that he xuan was determined to immediately kill shi qingxuan as part of his revenge, and that not killing him along with shi wudu is a “failure” of his revenge. are you all such vicious revenge perfectionists you DEMAND beheading or bust?? in fact, he xuan already stripped shi qingxuan of his heavenly powers, exposed his brother’s corruption to him, forced him to live out his days without his brother as a mortal in abject poverty without the possibility of reincarnating (as mxtx said in an interview, once someone ascends to the heavens they are taken out of the cycle of reincarnation so shi qingxuan won’t reincarnate) - seems pretty revengey to me ???

there’s also the part when he xuan’s still in disguise, but after shi qingxuan has found out the truth of how he became a god and lost his powers, he xuan gives him the chance to go stay with the rain master while they are going after shi wudu. maybe he was faking it, maybe he genuinely hoped shi qingxuan would go, but it seems like his main interest was shi wudu.

and if he xuan decided not to rip shi qingxuan’s head off ... he xuan was the one that decided that? he wasn’t outsmarted or strong-armed out of it, he was perfectly capable of doing it and didn’t. yeah, i suppose this is where beefleafers could say he doesn’t behead shi qingxuan because he has conflicting feelings.. and this is why it seems that reading beefleaf into the black water arc requires reading he xuan as disempowered. It only works if he isn’t capable of doing what he wants for some reason, but why in the world would that be? is it more likely that he xuan is actually capable of doing things he wants to and not doing things he doesn’t want to do, or that he is rendered incapable of action by romantic feelings? (but i really don’t think what he did to shi qingxuan could be considered “going light” or not taking action... true romantics over in the beefleaf ship, if it’s not a beheading it must be love! XD) I wonder if it’s because he is so defiantly silent, and maybe some readers can’t see agency in introversion, or if maybe if some people who ship them see themselves in shi qingxuan and he xuan is a convenient absence that can be filled with a tragically passive longing. or some people just like shipping things that are nothing but pain... that’s definitely true ...

but it’s such an unfortunate waste of he xuan’s character to read him this way. try reading the black water arc assuming that everything he xuan does, he intentionally chooses. i find it much more interesting. he is a furious, silent, powerful ghost king with a strong sense of justice who has shown himself capable of doing whatever the fuck he wants. if he is in love with shi qingxuan, wouldn’t he do something about it? or maybe even the black water arc was him doing something about it. if he WAS in love with shi qingxuan before he stages the black water arc and this was a test to see if he xuan could really trust him, shi qingxuan so utterly fails him and fails his own commitment to justice, i can’t imagine he xuan would still feel the same by the time they come to the reveal. (and shi qingxuan CERTAINLY doesn’t feel the same way about he xuan as he did for “ming yi” when they see each other again in the imperial city.)

does it really make more sense that he xuan makes all these convoluted moves to avoid murdering shi qingxuan because he has fallen in love with him while hating himself for falling in love with him, so he spares him while also destroying his last family and condemning him to a slow death as a mortal while tortuously watching him from afar for the rest of shi qingxuan’s days ... or that ... he doesn’t want to murder shi qingxuan, doesn’t, punishes him, kills the villain who destroyed his family’s lives, and then gladly gets the fuck out of the heavens, and never appears to shi qingxuan again except that one time his bb gurl (hua cheng) asked him. this feels like a very “he’s just not that into you” scenario. sometimes if someone murders your brother and leaves you to ruins and other than one time where they acted extremely angry never appears to you again, it’s NOT because they secretly harbour an eternal flame for you. !!

the simplest explanation is likely the right one! and also this is an explanation that assumes he xuan is capable of acting on his own desires. i mean ... did you READ his backstory?! he is THE character of desire and determination!