#and then sqq as a really close second

[waitineedaname]

🦞 - just finished two books of svsss and its sooo fun !! icb this is her first book - world building goes crazyyy how does she even think of this

its so interesting and funny too omg its the first time i like the main character more than side characters (SQQ) hes my favourite

who's your fav char from svsss?

YAYYY!! I'm also so shocked it was mxtx's first book!! the writing might not be as polished as her other books, but the themes go so hard and her character writing is always incredible

I was gonna be like "oh i could never choose a favorite" but. it's Luo Binghe. I can't lie, it is absolutely Luo Binghe, I'm so Shen Yuan brained about him. I don't care if he did crimes, he's my darling baby boy and whoever he murdered probably had it coming lsdkjflkdsjf I could talk about him and his emotional state for HOURS

I also really really love Shen Qingqiu, he's hands down my favorite mxtx narrator, he's so funny and so deranged <3 gotta love a modern man who somehow manages to be the most insane person alive. WHAT is going on in that brain of his

[thegoldenavenger]

First pass at the bingliu and bingqiu fusions

Bingliu has all of lqg’s confidence, lbh’s social graces, and both of their crippling need to avoid failure!

Bingqiu loves himself sooooo much, is pretty detached, and definitely thinks he’s better than everyone else. He’s just helping, why are you running away!

In the ficlet I said lqg doesn’t like interacting with BingQiu (or… sqq thinks that) but really it’s because BingQiu mercilessly flirts and teases him, is effortlessly stronger than him, and kind of projects ‘oh you sweet thing, I could just eat! you! up! [pinches cheeks]’ energy and this is such a contrast from his interactions with lbh and sqq that he just gets very awkward all the time about it.

[helyft]

Shenbro au where, Shen Yuan wakes up inside the body of the scum villain's little brother. Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan join the Qing Jing peak togather. Shen Jiu is way more popular than SY, even if it's not really a good thing. SY doesn't really leave the peak unless he must, so not many people know that SJ has a brother, let alone one who is a fucking saint.

After fixing and healing sqq like bob the builder, (transmigrator) SY is finally sure that SQQ isn't gonna fuck up his future even if he is left to his own device. But that doesn't mean SY will leave his big bro though, nope, He is just gonna go on his own little adventures while SJ is doing what-head-disiple-usually-do. Just temporarily yeah

It takes a lot to convince SJ, but with the help of YQY and their Shizun, SY manages to leave after promising SJ that he'll come back more often than not. It's not like he is planning on leaving forever, he will be back in time for the original to begin! Just to make sure his brother doesn't dig his own grave.

it's mighty fun, seeing monsters he had only ever read about with his own eyes, observing the wild life and noting down his adventures, if he didn't have SJ waiting for him back in the sect, SY might have just settled as a rogue cultivator.

SY is curious about how people in this day and age live. When he first came to this world, he was too busy trying to not die and keep his brother from pissing people off left and right. Now that SJ has calmed down a bit (he is still a little bitch but a likeable bitch atleast.) and canon is still a few years away, it's definitely the right time to enjoy the mundane activities and savoury street food!

But you know who else also leaves the sect to hunt down monsters for indefinite amount of time?

SY totally doesn't expect to run into future Bai Zhan lord while out in the wild (Wellll, not that he knows this is LQQ. ) but he is so glad he did! Otherwise he would have been mauled alive by a poisonous-clawed bear!

The amount of times they coincidentally meet eachother is actually suspicious. But SY doesn't mind. Who would mind being saved by a heavenly beauty (even if it's a man)? Sure, this guy might not talk alot, stare at him like he has grown another head and leave instantly after killing the beast that was about to attack SY, he sure is a eye-candy!

They get close soon enough. It can't be helped since they run into eachother every other week. SY even managed to fish out his surname! Which happens to be the same as Liu Mingyan's!

Liu-gongzi is actually nicer than he looks, turns out the reason he looked at SY as if he had grown a second head isn't because he dislikes him but because he looks identical to an unsavoury person Liu-gongzi knows!

SY learned quite a bit about him, like how he is part of a sect, how he only goes back to his sect once a month to show his face to his shizun, and how he even has a little sister. Liu-gongzi's company is a delight to have! He even lets SY observe a beast before killing it.

(if there is a slight voice whispering in the back of his head about the similarities Liu-gongzi has to a certain war god, he ignores it)

They don't really stick together, SY isn't really here to fight fight and fight, he is here to learn about the behind the scenes of PIDW, and enjoy his life the fullest before canon inevitably comes. Liu-gongzi on the other hand likes to mindlessly charge into battle. SY suspects that his head is somewhat empty other than thoughts about brawling with monsters.

Spending time with Liu-gongzi is...fun. It feels like he has finally made a friend who isn't mentioned by the original story. He is a little sad inside everytime they have to go their own way but somehow, they end up meeting always so he can just think that they are meant to be together right? In a platonic way ofc.

Time passes by in a flash, and before SY realises it, Canon is already looming over.

It's about time he heads back to Cang Qiong.

(and if he catches sight of a very, very familiar man, who has become even more beautiful since the last time SY saw him, wellll, that's a sorry for another day.)

[starry-bi-sky]

mmmmmm read a disciple shen yuan/shizun luo binghe fanfic about two days ago where the first chapter was the Immortal Conference arc, and SQQ was the one who had to be pushed into the abyss (he was still the villain) except Luo Binghe was refusing and was like, lowkey losing his mind about SQQ being so close to the edge. SQQ ended up having to be the one to fall in himself because of the system's punishment system. The rest of the fic is leading up to that moment. But like, MMM i've been obsessively thinking about that first chapter for DAYS ever since.

now i've been in svsss for a grand total of *checks watch* a week. but god obsessed with that. I want to write/read a fic where disciple SQQ goes a little nuts down there. Like keep all of the things that make SQQ, SQQ, but just. Throw in a little bit more trauma in there. A little bit of a mental break. Let him go a little nuts as a treat. Just a tad unhinged. I wanna see him go, just a little, "god fuck it, i've tried so hard to change this shitty story's outcome and it feels like everything i've done has been for nothing. I'm going to die in this world no matter what I do, I've been doomed from the start, so might as well die the way I want to." and he just, breaks a little! Under all the stress.

He still retains the traits that makes shen yuan, shen yuan, like his overwhelming kindness. But he's just! yk. A little less patient. Paranoid. Jumpy. Colder. A little more aloof and closed off. A little more Shen Jiu. He's no asshole child abuser, but he was a Number One Hater in his past life and he's leaning into that old habit a little more now.

(On a totally coincidental not-at-all related note, there's not enough SJ-and-SY-are-the-same-people fics out there that i've found. This is totally unrelated...)

The Endless Abyss turns the mind into an over-sharpened blade, and SQQ is both fascinated and perhaps a little excited to explore a place that doesn't have a lot of info on it in the mortal realm, but still terrified out of his mind. And he's no Luo Binghe, he doesn't have the sheer brute strength and power to just bulldoze his way through, so he has to be a lot more sneaky and cunning if he wants to survive.

The fic itself role-swapped LBH and SQQ so that SQQ was the half-demon (which lowkey fucks) and LBH the human, but I'm equally-if-not-more obsessed with the idea that LBH remains the half-heavenly demon and SQQ the human. If only because I keep thinking about SQQ befriending some demons (particularly and specifically a group of succubi) and they grow very attached to this Human Cultivator so through magic plot stuff they create some kind of seal/illusion/talisman that makes SQQ appear as a demon because a human cultivator in the endless abyss may as well be the equivalent of putting a giant neon target on your back.

And iirc Shen Jiu was taught demonic cultivation by that one guy(?? i've only been here a week so im not caught up in ALL of the lore yet) so that could totally happen here.

(On the other end of the realms, poor Shizun Luo Binghe is just. losing his fucking mind over losing his most precious and beloved disciple. About .5 seconds from burning down the peaks himself. somebody sedate him.)

The Endless Abyss sucks and SQQ is having a really terrible time and can feel himself going lowkey mad, but also holy shit look at all this WORLD-BUILDING. look at all this flora and fauna, and oh if he had the equipment for it he'd be writing all of this down. ALL OF IT. He was kinda-sorta-already planning on never leaving the Abyss as some sort of fucked up self-exile and self-preservation thing, but now he might? actually just?? never leave if he can help it, like he lowkey likes it down here.

anyways the next time anyone ever sees SQQ again he's got hair so long its almost touching the ground and he's either in rags and half-feral or he's been completely dolled up by his adoptive succubi sisters and still about three seconds from biting anyone who tries to touch him. (he's also lowkey trying to book it back down to the abyss even if he has desperately missed all of his friends and shizun)

[feidude]

the system gives SQQ a new plotline to complete by the name of “shen qingqiu’s shidi seduction storyline” and SQQ is frazzled, as he sees the title and is like ??? excuse me?! how can i do this to my loyal, respectable and ever so straight shidi!!! but system shows the first task and he’s like ah? it’s just tying my hair up?? what kind of seduction is this..? …and it’s worth 25 B-points u say?? hmm not bad, not bad at all!! ….well…ok! sure 👀👀

and so it begins. before the next scheduled meridian cleansing, SQQ ties his hair in a high ponytail and it’s honestly kinda nice bc the weather was becoming awfully warm and all. anyway there’s a resounding knock on the door and SQQ composes himself before opening the door and saying w/ a smile gracing his lips, “Liu-shidi!! this shixiong has been waiting for you!!” and……silence. Liu-shidi looks stunned, eyes quickly glancing at his neck (hm?) before he turns his head, pointedly not looking at SQQ. There’s an uncharacteristic flush on his cheeks but he’s frowning, and with gritted teeth, says: “You--!…I’ll come back later!”

And in the matter of seconds, he’s gone, and SQQ is just like…..🧍eh. SQQ touches his hair and feels a bit sad,,cuz surely this new look of his isn’t too bad, no? but the system screen shines: +25 B-points!! Host successfully completed first task! Keep it up kya~~!

(ヾ;￣▽￣)ヾ!! ~~

SQQ:…...

he’s confused now bc didn’t his shidi just run away from him?? how did he get the points?? system ah, pls explain the reasoning behind these seduction points! but system is a little shit and doesn’t answer so SQQ curses it until he’s tired and decides whatever, he’s got the points so 🤷

anyways the next task is: caress the arm,,,,which !! hello?? SQQ does not want to end up with a broken hand, thank you very much !! but this one is worth 30 B-Points after all… so maybe if he does it fast enough???

he takes his chance after leaving the weekly Sect meeting, catching up to walk alongside LQG, calling out to him softly: “Shidi~.”

LQG grunts and turns to look at him, eyebrows raised in question. SQQ smiles: “Will shidi indulge this shixiong and recount his encounter with the Blue-Tailed Dragonsprout?”

LQG hums and is quiet for a few seconds, before slowly retelling his fight with the dangerous beast. It’s nice, listening to the low cadence of LQG’s voice as they’re walking along the path. SQQ even almost forgets his intended task (almost!)

LQG is telling the bit where he hand chopped the head of the beast open (as expected of his strong shidi!!) when SQQ takes his chance and brushes his hand slightly against LQG’s. and really, it’s almost comical how quickly LQG stops speaking and stiffens up. SQQ sighs in his heart. ofc. really, he’s not terribly surprised. ofc his most loyal, masculine, and straight shidi would be uncomfortable!!

SQQ looks to LQG to..uh laugh it off?? calmly apologize for intruding onto personal space?? and then. he sees it. a flush on LQG’s cheeks similar to last time and,, his ears are a bit red too now that’s he looking closely.

hmm?

HMM??

SQQ pauses, and lifts his hand again, this time caressing LQG’s arm (hopefully very sensually but it’s not like he’s an expert ok!!) before hooking his arm with LQG’s.

“Shidi, won’t you continue the story?” SQQ purrs, and ok yk what. admittedly he’s a bit embarrassed to be purposefully acting like this, but LQG’s eyes widen and his face turns even more red, and oh.

Oh.

*(gru voice: lighht buulb)*

…well, isn’t this surprising?

And so it begins (again). But this time, there’s purpose. It’s not just abt the points after all,, esp when his shidi is giving these adorable and frankly tsundere reactions. it’s amusing to SQQ and like,, can u blame him for wanting to see more??

system: ………. (ヾ;￣▽￣)ヾ!! ~~ Encouraging host!!

SQQ ties his inner robes loosely, so during meridian cleansing, his robes slip off just so, exposing his shoulder and part of his chest. there’s a choking sound behind him which causes SQQ to smile slyly, before calling out: “Ah, is shidi alright?” and ofc he gets no response, so he peeks back and ah, there it is!! LQG is not meeting his eyes and is instead focusing on circulating his qi but!, his face is bright red and SQQ….well he finds it absolutely delightful ;).

and so SQQ continues. on a mission together, he makes an excuse that he is “oh so dreadfully tired, won’t shidi let this one rest?” so he can take off his boots and free his aching feet, lifting his robes above his ankle while doing so. (there’s a loud bang behind him and he looks back to see LQG standing with his hands clenched next to a fallen tree w/ a very suspicious fist-shaped indent).

when they both attend a local festival, SQQ buys himself some tanghulu and he sucks it lightly before biting into it, savoring the sweet taste of the hardened sugar. he licks his lips before putting his mouth on the entirety of the snack again, and makes eye contact with LQG. LQG’s watching him intently, and oh? he’s not looking away? his shidi is getting rather bold hehe. so SQQ cheekily smiles , eyes curving up as he sucks the tanghulu once, then twice, before letting it bulge in his cheek. (gosh system wait tf am I doing?! he should feel embarrassed really!! ) but seeing LQG’s slack jaw and eyes glazed with…something, SQQ finds that he doesn’t rly mind.

and it goes on. SQQ accidentally trips and falls onto his shidi, pushing him down so he’s straddling him….

LQG cuts SQQ some fruit and SQQ uses his mouth to eat it directly from LQG’s fingers…

SQQ leans against LQG’s firm..and strong…and very wide chest after the meridian cleansing….

and now SQQ is watching LQG sleep (NOT creepily ok) , after insisting that they can share the bed in the hotel, cuz “no shidi i will not allow you to sleep on the floor!”

and SQQ isn’t entirely dumb ok, it’s not like he wasnt aware of what he was doing!! at first it rlly was to see LQG’s reactions!!

but SQQ’s come to realize that he…maybe kinda sorta likes it?? He likes LQG’s attention on him, he likes it when LQG looks at him with those eyes. Moreover, he likes LQG.

and he can kinda sorta bet that LQG likes him too?? //SQQ recalls the moment when he burst out laughing after seeing SQH trip and fall on his face (serves that hack author right!!) and then a screen pops up to the side: +35 B-Points!! Good job host kya~~!! ^^ and SQQ is like ?????

he looks next to him only to see LQG watching him w/ a gentle smile, his eyes almost,, fond?? (SQQ quite literally feels his heart beating faster and ah it’s almost winter, why is it so warm ??)//

SQQ blushes just thinking abt it, his Liu-shidi really is too OP!! he’s distracted so SQQ doesn’t see the once sleeping LQG open his eyes to blearily look at him.

“Shen Qingqiu.” the voice is still sleepy and the words are followed up with a small yawn.

“Sleep.” An arm comes to wrap around SQQ’s waist, to pull him closer and SQQ doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so he nestles his head on LQG’s chest instead and thinks with resolution, “ah tmrw then” before falling asleep.

(SQQ confesses, and the bed is put to a much better use wink wink)

the end mwah

[icejello]

So after a long while of not associating with the HP fandom, i had to do the research again for the houses and i was reading this and i think I've decided on the houses. I would also like to thank you guys for the suggestions in the comments! This would be a long post so if anyone is curious with my choices, you can check it below the cut and there'll be some short explanations.

For Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan, he will be Slytherin. He's ambitious (even if it's only to survive), cunning and resourceful (he adapts to his situation quick and uses everything he can to his advantage and schemes for his own survival) and he's determined (again to survive yes). He has the machiavellian tendencies, a tendency to surround himself with powerful ppl to ensure his safety and well we can clearly see his discrimination or at least the way he views ppl who seem to be less in terms of IQ (yes i am aware he doesn't openly hates and discriminate them, I'm simply mentioning the thoughts)

For Shang Qinghua, I'm going to give you guys what you want and make him a Slytherin too. He fits in Hufflepuff too bcs of his loyalty and dedication but he gets to be in Slytherin bcs he too, is ambitious, determined and resourceful just like SQQ. He takes pride in his works despite not many people appreciating it, he was still proud of PIDW despite having to succumb to the peer pressure and not being able to write it in the way he actually wants to. He's not afraid to do what it takes in order to survive and is cunning.

For Mobei-Jun, I can see why you guys say he would fit in Hufflepuff due to how much he values loyalty but he has too much conflicting personality to fit in there so I'm putting him in Gryffindor. He is courageous and daring as seen in the Moshang extra despite the extreme risk there is for him to inherit the power without a guard. Even when he wasn't in a good condition, he still tried his best to protect SQH and stand up against his uncle. MBJ is also quite the hot-headed person and could be pretty reckless as seen a few times. He also could be a bit arrogant about himself.

Last but not least we have Luo Binghe and despite the many suggestions I see ppl give for what suits him, I'm going with the one that nobody suggested and it is Ravenclaw. Why Ravenclaw? LBH is actually quite the intelligent person, SQQ mentions how LBH has read every book in SQQ's house and he has a curiosity to learn new things. He catches up to new things that he learns fast and he still progressed nicely even with the wrong textbook given to him. He figures things out fast (example: figuring out the SQQ in his dream is the actual SQQ and other stuffs) and easily catches on SQQ's lies (we see SQQ mentioning how LBH knows he was lying bcs he has read all the books in the bamboo house and knows what SQQ just said was never mentioned in any of the books). He has a uh 'creative' way to solve his problems and his individuality could easily be seen bcs he does what he wants whenever he wants (unless it involves his shizun but its not like its that hard to make him succumb). LBH is also someone who pretty much disconnects himself from the outside world and only cares about life with his shizun and purposefully isolates himself from others as seen by the cottagecore life he has with SQQ. Lastly, he could be pretty arrogant about himself and his abilities and gets jealous due to his insecurities and other things easily which easily sets off his anger.

Okay svsss fandom give me your thoughts

So i was thinking about that scene where sqq jokingly asks the system if it ever worked with the harry potter franchise before and got inspired to write a harry potter au for svsss. The characters that would be involved are bingqiu and moshang but i can't figure out what Hogwarts house they would be in so do tell me your ideas.

How the story would go?

Basically the system malfunctions and suddenly transmigrated the 4 of them into the Harry Potter world. They can only escape if they help protect Harry and figure out who's the evil person trying to kill him (it's going to be centered in book 1). The problem? None of them knows about Harry Potter and so they're in a panic trying to solve who the evil person is without realizing Harry practically could not be killed because of the prophecy.

[terrumdurak]

thank you Borsht for writing me a sweet message about lbh appearance (i'm so sorry that i've accidentally deleted it and can't do a proper answer post)

so i wanted to go deeper with comparing lbh and lbg appearances (how i draw them ofc) as well as explain why my lbh looks so tired and sad. With my designs i want to show characters' inner world so i tend to mix up some canon things.

Luo Binghe is an amazing example. I was trying to show how he is affectionate to his shizun, his shizun-mirroring behaviour. He wears the same clothing style as sqq, even tho his fighting style is way more aggressive and screams for tighter clothes. He is also a little bit more tanned bc it's hot in demons realm where he spent a lot of time (as well he doesn't care if he gets tanned). He is exposing his collarbones and tends to ignore the inner layer - as demons do. His hair is spiky and shaggy and tied into a messy bun. He isn't going for fancy clothing and his look is kinda messy - he is strong enough to show everyone that it isn't about his appearance (maybe he doesn't care with all that politics and shizun resurrection and countless fights who knows). Lbh is lost and he doesn't know what to do, he feels grief and sorrow and aggression. But his aggression goes mostly in, rarely out. Lbh harms himself first and others second. He tries not to murder people (he actually killed some tho and that's sad). I added scars on his arms to show how he actually hates himself, willing to feel pain over and over again. He destroys his world of dreams, he harms himself every freaking day. Xinmo harmed his mind so much because he was already unstable and it also drunk a lot of his own blood, getting even stronger. But still lbh has potential to heal wounds, let scars close and new skin grow on top of them.

Now it's Luo Bingge turn. He is mirroring sqq from PIDW (sj) in every tiny little detail. He hates him so much that desided to fully copy shizun while tearing apart him and everything he likes. Sqq loves to spend time among women - lbg will build his own harem, sqq is stiff and haughty and cruel and... - lbg will copy his behaviour so well. Lbg wears fansy clothing, his messy hair is tied nicely always always perfect in each detail. He looks stiff, strong and dangerous. He has pure jade skin and shiny eyes. He has no scars cause he doesn't need to harm himself while he can torture people he hates. Wow, he is also mad but in a destructive, cruel way. He will never be happy, having no chance to cure - no one can help him neither in his own world nor in others.

to sum this all up i really wanted to show that they'd chosen the path of selfdestruction instead of cultivation, but their paths were different and it affected not only their personality but also their outer look. I might eventually change the designs i went for, but i like them for now.

[ace-shenanigans]

Hi! I've just gone through your and your friend's sword spirit au and it's so cool! My mind keeps hanging onto the snippet of XY getting really injured and XS believing him dead, and with how things were phrased I know XY isn't gone! But how do, you know, SQQ, YQY, XS, LBH and XM react at having him back? And will he still be kinda weak and injured?

If this ask is too spoilery, can I instead ask how XY and XS talk if XS doesn't have a spirit form?

Not too spoilery at all! Its not like we're postin stuff in order lmao (also @greeniegaes feel free to lore dump here cuz i know this was somethin you spent a lotta time on!)

SQQ: The sheer relief at having him back is only matched by his anger at XY sacrificing himself in the first place. Safe to say SQQ becomes extremely possessive and clingy for a long while after that, snapping at anyone daring to get too close and getting hissy about XY talking to anyone else

YQY: Hes the most conflicted here because hes still trying to work out which feelings are his vs which ones are XS's, however hes just happy to have his friend back he didnt fail another one

XS: Literally possesses YQY long enough to kiss him, it startled everyone including himself

LBH: He's elated by the news, already plotting with XM on ways to steal XY away from that bastard SQQ so he can keep the nice, pretty spirit for himself

XM: Literally trying to possess LBH to get his ass in gear so he can go retrieve his wife rival

As for the second question: they talkin in 'dreamscapes' usually, but YQY can also act as a go between/translator for them if he needs to!

[irrealisms]

svsss and sexual violence pt. 1: shen yuan's realization of himself as a target

it's been a while (read: two months) since my last Big Meta so it's time for another one! this one is about my reading of svsss as in large part About sexual violence but it's gonna be in multiple parts; this one is about 1k, with a lot of quotes from canon, and is focused on Shen Yuan realizing that he has been put in a position where he is a target for sexual violence.

standard disclaimer at the beginning: i am not saying that this is the Only thing svsss is about, or that other readings are invalid; i am not intending to character-bash most of the characters here (while i will freely admit to thinking e.g. old palace master or qiu jianluo are pretty one-dimensionally shitty, lots--probably most--of the characters in this series who i mention as perpetrating SA are characters who do have depths & who i in fact like a lot! despite this meta, or perhaps because of it, my second-favorite character is luo binghe, and i am in fact a bingqiu shipper!); and, obviously, huge fucking CW for sexual abuse and adjacent topics.

(also: shoutout to @rooses40stepskincareroutine for motivating me to actually write all this out haha)

TABLE OF CONTENTS pt 1: shen yuan's realization of himself as a target (you are here) pt 2: gender and homophobia pt 3: non-bingqiu sexual violence pt 4: shen qingqiu's body pt 5: we live in a society

When we first meet Shen Yuan, he's oblivious to the idea of himself as a sexual object. He's attracted to others and at times has to deliberately be respectful and not stare, but he never considers the possibility that others might be attracted to him--much less that men would be attracted to him, and certainly not that he would be a target of sexual violence due to this desire. I could get quotes/proof on this but honestly I think this is pretty uncontroversial.

The first point at which this becomes interesting to me in the context of sexual violence is when Luo Binghe returns from the abyss. here's how the choking scene goes:

“During the day, Shizun was so intimate and gentle with Gongyi Xiao, and this evening you lit a lantern, waiting for Liu-shishu until late into the night. What sincere affection. Why, then, are you so distant when it comes to this disciple?” [...] Under the streaming moonlight, Luo Binghe looked even more peerlessly beautiful, as if his silhouette had been carved from ice and jade. He pressed very close, and he spoke with slow deliberation. “After so many years of separation, we meet amidst golden wind and jade dew, yet Shizun incessantly calls someone else’s name. That truly saddens this disciple a little.”

Luo Binghe is jealous of Shen Qingqiu talking about other people, so he "pressed very close" and starts choking Shen Qingqiu out. This is not explicitly sexual--yet--but it has some overtones. And I don't think this is accidentally sexually charged-- bingqiu is in fact our primary ship, which we are supposed to be reading as sexually charged! It becomes more and more explicit that Luo Binghe is jealous of SQQ's relationships with others not just in general but also on a specifically romantic/sexual level! And later in the same scene we get this line:

Luo Binghe looked at him, then said pityingly, “Shizun, that would require someone to believe you.”

I'll be talking more later about what svsss has to say about sexual violence being allowed and supported by society but right now I just want to really emphatically gesture at the above quote.

And then in their next interaction, in the water prison, the system (we will be talking more about the system's role in all of this later) progresses the scene by causing LBH to physically tear SQQ's robes, and we get this section:

That doesn’t mean you should tear my clothes! Shen Qingqiu clutched the remaining fabric tightly and indignantly said, “What are you doing?! Is this your only method of humiliating others?” “It was clearly Shizun who humiliated me first!” 【 Satisfaction points +50. 】 You can add points for that too?! Gross! Why does this feel so sick?!

But notably--even though Shen Qingqiu notices feeling sick and gross and humiliated about having his clothes ripped off--Shen Qingqiu, even here, does not yet recognize any threat of sexual abuse! Gongyi Xiao sees him and instantly assumes that Shen Qingqiu's been raped by Luo Binghe--the torn clothes, the panicked desire to get out and away from Luo Binghe--but Shen Qingqiu has no idea that this is the assumption being made; Shen Qingqiu is, in his narration, still primarily afraid of more physical threats from LBH, a la PIDW; he's trying to figure out why LBH isn't as good at getting wives as in PIDW, and a couple chapters later he's worrying that LBH is asexual. He's been flagged by the narrative (diegetically, even!) as a target of sexual violence--but he hasn't realized this yet.

this doesn't change for a while; while I have things to say about LBH and LQG fighting over SQQ's corpse under this framework, they're not relevant to my current point. SQQ becomes aware of his role as a sexual object when LBH sexually assaults him in the dream world--it's a kiss, so it's something that SQQ is unable to dismiss as a more platonic form of violence:

Shen Qingqiu’s worldview repeatedly collapsed and re-formed, collapsed and re-formed, cycling infinitely at the speed of light.

Suddenly, Shen Qingqiu is being made very, very aware that he is a target of sexual desire, and that people who desire him can force sexual violence on him. He tries to kick and push at Luo Binghe to get out of the kiss--he's described as "struggling with all his might"--but Luo Binghe, who is stronger than Shen Qingqiu and able to overpower him “even though their builds were similar”, keeps him trapped in the kiss. Shortly afterwards, we get this section, which is perhaps the most important section in the whole book for my reading of Shen Qingqiu's arc, which is SQQ interacting with ZZL:

That touch trailed downward until it was at Shen Qingqiu’s chest and abdomen. For some reason, the places he touched felt a bit better. Shen Qingqiu sucked in a breath, and he couldn’t help but say, “Eh, my friend, where…are you touching?” Even a few hours ago, he genuinely wouldn’t have cared where others (especially those of the same sex) touched him. They could touch wherever they liked, please go ahead. But ever since Luo Binghe had opened a series of gates to a new world for him, Shen Qingqiu’s worldview, which had been set for the past twenty-plus years, had suffered a heavy blow. From now on, he needed to look at this world with a new gaze and more sensitive attitude. Especially on the issue of befriending those of the same sex!

for twenty-plus years, shen qingqiu hadn't thought of himself as someone who could be sexually desired by men; for twenty-plus years, shen qingqiu hadn't thought of himself as someone who sexual violence can happen to. and for shen qingqiu, these realizations are the same. suddenly, he's looking at the world differently: he worries about (and imo is afraid of) being touched places where he is normally clothed, even touch that feels good. and specifically--he is touched in a way that he would have previously assumed was nonsexual due to being same-sex and he is no longer comfortable assuming that. which ties heavily into my later post in the series about gender & homophobia & how this interacts with his experiences here! but we'll tie this post up for now.

[piosplayhouse]

On the topic of furry aus I’d like to propose sqh having a series of adopts based on all of binghe’s wives and shen yuan doing his rich furry best to collect the whole set. He’s now quick enough that he’s able to outbid whenever they drop but there’s still quite a few that he’s trying to wrangle out of their current owners. Wife #154 is his white whale.

THIS IS REALLY GOOD I remember when I first was thinking about it I imagined sqh having a side account where he sells bootleg closed species adopts to make money and fuck with people and sqq keeps fighting with him about it and I think this fits in soooo well. Imagine the last adopt sqh ever makes before being electrocuted is binghe's official fursona design and sy gets outbid on it at the very last second and he's so mad that's what ends up killing him

[wumiings]

Trying to tease out any ideas about SY’s life pre-canon is so tricky because you have to sort of choose a point on the sliding scale between the two basic reasons for SQQ completely blocking out the ‘Shen Yuan’ identity:

His previous life was bad/painful and he wants to forget it in favor of the new one

His previous life was good and it’s painful to remember what he can never have back

It’s unlikely that the truth lies at either extreme, but the little information we have makes it hard to determine which way the scale tips.

On the one hand, it’s clear that SQQ disdains SY on some level. He lacks ambition; he’s a “useless pretty boy waiting around to die.” His isolated, chronically-online lifestyle is profoundly unfulfilling, and he blames himself for it (although the audience has reason to believe this is not an entirely accurate self-assessment, hence the neurodivergence/invisible illness theories).

It makes sense that he would attach himself more strongly to the identity that he sees as having more substance; pre-canon, he mostly ‘lives’ online and therefore retains ties to the ‘Peerless Cucumber’ identity after transmigrating. So far, this all seems pretty cut and dry.

But on the other hand, there’s Shen Yuan’s family. Now, I see no reason to disbelieve the three straightforward facts we’re presented with on this subject: that one of his older brothers was warm and attentive, like YQY; that he doted on his younger sister (and read her kinky danmei); and that he didn’t have the same obligation to excel as his brothers because he didn’t have to inherit the family business.

However, if they were all as close as he claims, why doesn’t he seem to mourn them? After pushing LBH into the Abyss, SQQ “doesn’t mourn” but it’s obvious from everyone’s reactions that he really fucking does. In contrast, there aren’t many signs in the first book that he’s secretly struggling with the grief of never seeing his loved ones again.

Are these relationships so ultimately insignificant/unfulfilling that he can easily cast them off right along with the concept of ‘Shen Yuan’? Are they more fraught/bittersweet than he is willing to acknowledge (and is this related to why we get no particular details about his parents or second brother)? Or is feeling of loss so powerful that he can’t even allow himself to contemplate or allude to it, can only cling to this new identity that never had a family to lose?

SY!SQQ’s “true self” is Shen Qingqiu. And in that sense, an identity reveal really isn’t that important, because it wouldn’t change anything about how the other characters should understand him. But if you view the narrative as shaped behind the scenes by a hidden yet pervasive grief inextricably tied to Shen Yuan’s history, then that history and that self become relevant to his present and future.

As notable as it is that he opted to go by his internet handle in the mushroom body, I think it’s also somewhat symbolic that the physical form he grew for himself was a combination of Shen Yuan and Shen Qingqiu’s features. And that while these three identities (SY, SQQ, Cucumber) were integrated into a single self, he was stronger than any of them individually.

Just some food for thought.

[zykamiliah]

Feel free to ignore this, I’m only asking you about this because you know svsss’ text very well, but I keep hearing that there is textual proof in the book that sj definitely wasn’t doing or trying anything with nyy but I can’t find it. Where in the book did this happen? Was it in one of the extras?

right now i can't remember or find the specific quote, if there's one, but I think it's more an implication when you get all the facts together after reading the Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu extra

-shen jiu hates men because of his experience with the qiu

-he used to hide from qiu jianluo in qiu haitang's room becomes his refuge, because that was the only place where he could rest in peace and not get beaten.

-so for him men = danger, and women = safety, though not in a sexual way

-as a disciple and later as a peak lord, he can sleep with other men around so he visits the Warm Red Pavilion because he's not comfortable sleeping in the disciple quarters

Though Shen Qingqiu was unpopular among his peers, it wasn’t to the extent of being kicked out of the communal sleeping quarters. He just loathed being in close quarters with those of the same sex. All those years, whenever one of his beatings from Qiu Jianluo was over, or whenever he had a premonition of another beating, he had crawled to Qiu Haitang’s room and remained there, quivering. As Qiu Jianluo was unwilling to let his sister see the side of him that was perverse and lunatic, that had been the only place where Shen Jiu could hide. And even longer ago, there had been some girl in their group, their big sis. But after she reached a certain age, that big sis had been sold to a withered old man to be his second wife. Afterward, they’d left that city, so they’d never seen her again. Liking women wasn’t the least bit shameful, but treating women like saviors, cowering within their embrace and seeking courage from them…even without anyone saying it, Shen Qingqiu knew that was horrendously shameful. So even if it meant his death, he would never tell anyone, least of all Yue Qingyuan. (Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu extra)

-sqq noted in the shen jiu flashback that nyy and qht share some similarities.

Ning Yingying was really quite similar to Qiu Haitang in her youth, thought Shen Qingqiu. So the original flavor had always been partial to this type. (Chapter 19: Shen Jiu)

all this implies that Shen Jiu simply preferred Ning Yinying's company, and the company of women in general. but since he was unwilling to say why he preferred them, as he found it shameful, since he already frequented brothels and such gained a reputation for being lecherous, people assumed the worst when it came to his relationship with Ning Yingying. and airplane let that be the way Shen Jiu was portrayed in the official PIDW because he knew a complex villain like the Shen Jiu from his outline would create a lot of fandom wank.

----

if anyone knows about an specific quote that clarifies this matter, please share it!

[magicpotatothoughts]

SVSSS | Did Gongyi Xiao ever stand a chance against Luo Binghe?

My heart will never stop aching for our golden boi Gongyi Xiao and as much as I OTP Bingqiu, I often wonder if GYX stood a chance against LBH, and not for reasons that he has to die because he's too similar to the male lead or ZZL needed to remove a threat/take revenge. Like could GYX, being the incredibly obedient, handsome and upstanding golden boi that he is, even bearing such close resemblance to LBH, could he have won over SY!SQQ's heart? Because ok, the only thing that SQQ actually laments about GYX being lacking to LBH is the compatibility of their teamwork against a common enemy but that's because LBH has had the advantage of knowing SY!SQQ longer and cultivated directly under him as his disciple. Like if GYX were to cultivate under SY!SQQ and also got to know him for the same length of time, would they have worked out?

And then I came to realise that the answer is simply...no. GYX's most notable trait is his righteousness. He would betray orders and hierarchy if he believed that they were doing the wrong thing, but he's not the type to be completely shameless/selfish about it. He won't actively drag bystanders into the chaos if he can help it.

But that's also why he is not compatible with SY!SQQ because SY!SQQ is ultimately most attracted to LBH's shameless obsession with him. LBH is "everything related to Shizun" first and righteousness second. He won't hesitate to practise demonic cultivation, flirt publicly by offering to massage Shizun's sore waist, cause a huge ruckus in order to protect SY!SQQ and to fight over his corpse. LBH's strive for righteousness is driven by the assumption that an upstanding man is the only kind of man his Shizun accepts and that's what he has to become in order for SY!SQQ to stay with him but when shizun dies, righteousness kind of goes out the window. Anddddddd SY!SQQ says he likes them righteous and upstanding but he’s just as fucked up. The man can deny to the heavens but it's so obvious that he enables LBH's obsession by being a housewife, grieving widow then "sacrificing himself" in the name of "repayment", causing a huge-ass ruckus and ripple waves of longlasting pain for his sect family. Like damn, SQQ can be kind and upstanding but when it comes to LBH, isn't that also a shameless obsession? It just wouldn't have worked out with GYX because it would have been textbook master-disciple platonic, GYX would have pushed aside any of his own selfish/romantic desires and every action would have been carefully considered for the greater good of his sect and martial family. It's really like a goldilocks sort of situation, GYX is too righteous, ZZL is too fucked up (he makes sense though in demon logic), LBH babygirl is just the right amount of fucked up and 100% Shizun's sheep with a very pat-able head.

[ultfreakme]

Danmei ask, what are your top 5 (or top 7) favorite moments from MDZS? Also, can I ask why you love those 3 (JC, WWX , XXC)?

(Riki, I'm so glad when found out you also love Jiang Cheng. You must know how many haters on his character in tumblr and twitter. Like, I was blocked 4 times by MDZS lover blog, when they knew I love Jiang Cheng.)

I love reading your MDZS/ SVSSS crossover, they're so in character.....And yes, SQQ must love Sukuna and Jogo if he ever read JJK...

Thanks for the ask Anon!!

Top 7 moments:

When we find out the Jiang Cheng sacrificed himself to the Wens to save Wei Wuxian. It was dropped so casually and I had to backtrack and go "wait, wait, WAIT! DISCUSS IT PLEASE!!"

The juniors in the Yi City arc, they were so adorable, I loved reading them putting on a brave face and investigating.

Wei Wuxian murdering the crap out of Wen Chao with his sexy undead ladies. Him and Jiang Cheng together torturing him while Lan Wangji was sent out and it's like, LWJ is confused, shocked, and horrified.

The scene where Wei Wuxian's roasting Jin Guangshan at the conference post-war and everyone's scandalized. I love it when Wei Wuxian gets bitchy.

Jiang Cheng's intro scene in the donghua where he emerges from the shadows of that tree, pushing aside the leaves. That's so hot of him.

Wei Wuxian covered in blood in the second siege of Burial Mounds and Lan Wangji is defending him. That scene's so cool and romantic in all its iterations. The donghua went above and beyond and made it seem like a wedding.

Jiang Cheng giving Zidian to Jin Ling ;_; It hurts me. It's so much worse knowing that MXTX was planning on killing Jin Ling soon after to really hurt Jiang Cheng.

Reasons I like:

Jiang Cheng-

He's so complicated! You can't immediately look at him and say he's the good guy or the bad guy. I personally think he leans more towards the good guy category.

He's the perfect opposite of Wei Wuxian, he's not a genius cultivator like wwx, he had to work for every bit of progress he made. He started off simply wanting to keep his family together and at peace, but the war happened and his priorities shifted. He's duty-bound, he's always fighting and scraping to be recognized but no one ever does. He wanted so bad to help wwx, but duty made it so that he was forced to pick between his sect and wwx. Forever chained, closed off.

He's jealous and vicious and so, so angry. I get it, I understand the worst parts of him and relate to it.

Wei Wuxian-

Again, super complicated as a person. Wronged at every turn. He wanted to do good and protect people, and for that he kept sacrificing himself over and over again with little value given to himself as a person. He's got his sharp edges and cruelty too, and I feel like people often forget that Wei Wuxian's traumas and his lack of self-appreciation and value on himself show in ugly and vicious ways.

His story obviously shows a key message of MDZS, which is that when people sacrifice themselves thinking that they're protecting their loved one, they only hurt them in another way. I understood his desire to do good, protect people, but there's no one to stand at his side. The loneliness and fear that comes with fucking up so bad that no one even tries to hear you out, no one's listening no matter how loud you shout.

Xiao Xingchen:

He's like Wei Wuxian but 100% times worse and more self-sacrificial. Too trusting, too good, and everyone kept taking advantage of that without bothering to guide him or be honest with him. Like legit, no one told him what they were truly thinking.

I love that xxc wants to be a good person, i hate that he was ruined for it. God I really wanted him to have a happy ending because he's just, he's so NICE. In a world filled with betrayal and deceit, xxc wanted to spread goodness. And yet.

AAHHHHHH

I think these characters made me see the point of MDZS in a very clear way, or in a way that impacted me most. So they're my faves.

Being a Jiang Cheng liker is a struggle! I was getting into MDZS even before the donghua started airing, like around 2018 and back then Jiang Cheng hate was so bad. I kept waiting year after year for the hate to go down but it just got worse the more popular MDZS got. The misunderstandings built up too. I got black and got into a million arguments too ;_; We have to stick together!!!

i have so many thoughts about Jiang Cheng specifically because, okay I read and watched everything about 3 years ago, so I don't remember much other than my fav, so I'm always thinking about everything he did.

nbsdhfb SQQ's monster-loving ass would go gaga for Sukuna. Four armed man wrecking people??? Yes sir! (side note; big tall powerful man who is called king who is only nice to his close servant and confidante???? SQH come get your boy!)

[notacatyet]

Would you be willing to give spoilers for The Grand Unified Theory Of Shen Qingqiu?? I’ve heard fantastic things about it but the sheer length makes me nervous about starting it - who’s LBH’s love interest mentioned in the author’s note?? Does SY still feel like our lovable narrator even if he’s SJ?? When do SY and YQQ/LQG get together in the 600k+ word saga?? So many questions 😭 I reached out because I saw your post on having read and loved it, no worries if you don’t feel like answering!

I don’t mind answering! Although I don’t think the answer will actually be helpful. Also keep in mind that I’ve been reading this fic for years so some stuff might not be exact

1) This is a major spoiler but we don’t actually know yet who is Binghe’s romantic interest (as far as I remember). You see, about 1/3 in (before chapter 200 but pretty close to it iirc), when Binghe had the problems with Xin Mo, SQQ decided to deal with it differently than in canon… and somehow got sent back to his disciple days (he was already a head disciple but decades before he ascended to Peak Lord).

2) He IS certainly lovable but he’s not nearly as unhinged as Shen Yuan. Not to say he’s normal, he’s very much not, but you can feel how Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu got mixed. It also helps that the fic is not exclusively in his pov so we get to see things in a less unreliable way (for the most part)

3) that’s… a really complicated question and it depends on what your definition of “getting together” means. Out of the three Liu Qingge is the one that is the most emotionally intelligent (ironically enough) and the only one that actually sees the three of them as being together in the future (he imagines himself as Yue Qingyuan’s second husband, while Shen Qingqiu would be his first husband). Yue Qingyuan… has decided, in a really convoluted way, to sort of but not really try to be closer with Shen Qingqiu and while really enjoying Liu Qingge’s, he’s not planning on marrying him yet. He’s also not planning on marrying Shen Qingqiu, but at least he’s aware that there’s something there, even if it has 382883 layers. Shen Qingqiu is completely oblivious. So, for the most part, they are not together yet. But they are still very much in each other’s lives the whole story. They might get together in the second volume. Maybe.

Do tell if you have more questions! I am planning on re-reading the story soon but rn I’m just too busy to commit to it.

[rarepears]

#question is how long does it take for airplane to call sy ooc lol#but yes give me court intrigue#omg imagine when they hear the rumors about sqq#imagine lqg hearing about the court lusting after sqq#he's gonna think sqq is a temptress or sth#i bet a bunch of divorces happen#yqy is like from now on you must wear a veil this will stop all bad things im sure#sy becomes a mysterious beauty#yqy fuck fuck via @caranmerya

The answer is... not at all! Shang Qinghua is too busy with his own issues. He's got merchants to negotiate deals with for Cang Qiong (and the Northern Demonic Kingdom), politicians to schmooze with to stay up to date on the latest taxation legislation proposals (gotta keep Cang Qiong's tax exemption status), and also deal with the random appearances of Mobei Jun.

As soon as he entered the imperial city, he immediately split up with Shen Qingqiu! This is like the snakey villain's hometown! He's made for all the trickery and cunning snakepit of lies! Scum villain with memory loss or not, he'll be fine because the plot needs him to be fine! It's all good.... right?

(It helped that Shen Yuan traveled in his own carriage separate from Shang Qinghua and avoided the hamster man because he didn't want to interact with a traitor.)

Shang Qinghua missed the first signs of things going wrong. He dismissed the newspaper's reporting of some random noble's second son tried to propose to Shen Qingqiu to be his 5th concubine as mere rumors (because that's like incredibly stupider than what even cannon fodders would do). And when he actually gets out of his business dinners and birthday banquets of some noble family with close ties to Huan Hua (and therefore has the best up to date news on Huan Hua)...

Oops.

He really should had paid more attention to mortal matters huh.

(Shang Qinghua fell into the same mistake as other cultivators with overlooking mortals and mortal matters.)

[More in #shen yuan's wifebeam hits the entire imperial city and there are Consequences AU]

Instead of being sent on the mission that ended with Shen Yuan getting stripped by a Skinner Demon (before Shen Yuan killed the demon), Yue Qingyuan sends Shen Qingqiu to the imperial city to deal with some political matters.

It's far safer - Shen Qingqiu won't get physically harmed and lost memories or not, Yue Qingyuan reasons that Shen Jiu's innate sharp tongue is going to inflict more emotional damage than he could even possibly receive. Plus, for good measure, he sends Shang Qinghua too.

So, Shen Yuan gets sent to the imperial city to help Shang Qinghua with a particularly difficult trade negotiation and a couple extra days for sightseeing/vacationing because Yue Qingyuan Likes To Spoil Shen Jiu Like That.

As a bonus, Shen Qingqiu's presence also reminds the imperial court to fuck off - Cang Qiong doesn’t deal with politics, they stay out of it and prioritize saving people, so please stop telling them to accept bribes and refuse missions to this or that place that just so happens to be where some enemy politician's fam is located.

Luo Binghe tags along to act as Shen Qingqiu's servant because Shen Yuan demanded it - the sheep can't get bullied on the peak while he's away! - and Yue Qingyuan also thought that Luo Binghe's presence would help encourage Shen Qingqiu to take his meds and eat properly. You know, the basic self-care things that Shen Qingqiu should do more.

Anyways, Shen Yuan does what Shen Yuan does and wifebeams the crown prince. And the whole court. And the city too.

Yue Qingyuan has Regrets. The sheep is watching everything with wide eyes, only narrowly escaping the wifebeam thanks to his age and having not started puberty yet.

(The Luo Binghe a few years later will view those memories with Very Very different outlook. But it's too late.)

A literal line of horse-drawn carts come stampeding to the peak with proposal letters for Shen Qingqiu. And that's how Shen Yuan starts off his second life with a bang.