#but lqg is the one who is pulled after sqq bc

[thegoldenavenger]

I just want u to know I've followed u for So Long even when I dropped out of marvel fandom and seeing scum villain stuff cross my dash from u almost gave me a heart attack but LET ME TELL YOU there's nothing better than an old fandom user suddenly hyperfixating on YOUR current hyperfixation and especially when it involves feelings about liu fucking qingge. Sing me every song of liushen and WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN u beautiful person <3

Ah ah!!!!! Ahhhhhhh

I'm glad you get this experience... everytime one of my old fandom follows and/or mutuals starts posting something I currently love after years of being in orbital drift I get like +300 points

Liu qingge makes me so uhh feral. I'm so surprised too I don't think he really lines up with my Type of character fixation but he's filling my head up SO SO much....

Have I talked??? About shen qingqiu saving liu qingge and his whole plan starts and ends at "someone who can help save me" (because he doesn't see these people as people yet, they're still just characters and he's a Hella unreliable narrator who bends over backwards not to have feelings wow) and liu qingge DOES! HE DOES HIS BEST he helps clear shen qingqiu's meridians, whenever shen qingqiu calls for him he SHOWS UP [sobs] like, liu qingge transforms from a tragic noble warrior who died before his time, for a story that has no place for him, someone who exists entirely for his sister (he's beautiful because his sister needs to be beautiful he's powerful so his sister can be powerful, he's killed off so his sister has motivation (LOVE that liu qingge is the dead woman trope btw) his death is placed at the hands of shen qingqiu so his sister can kick off the story's arc....) who's chronological first act in the story is pointing out the protagonist, whom he is always compared to! To a man desperately (unknowingly) trying to find his place in a story that has no room for him.

His sister doesn't need him for motivation any longer because Luo binghe isn't interested in her. He no longer serves the narrative purpose he was supposed to have. And he can't even serve the narrative purpose he's trying to fill because there is simply no room.... in the story. For him.

He's not anyone's fated soul mate, he no longer has a narrative purpose, he isn't a lead, he isn't a love interest. The things he does do... he finds shen qingqiu's fans, he clears shen qingqiu's meridians, he flies shen qingqiu around, he spends years fighting against a demon lord to retrieve shen qingqiu's body but like.... you could cut those pieces out pretty easily. From the story. Because he's not supposed to be there.

[tk-duveraun]

AU where Xin Mo has its own ideas about how the world should work. A heavenly demon is nice, yes, but this is the creator god!

So *hand wave* when SQH is going to pull a sword out of the wash in Wan Jian peak, it takes over the sword spirit in SQH's sword.

Cue him having an extremely temperamental, very hungry sword. It didn't leave its own sword body, it's just split between the two so SQH can get away with just taking it on walkies occasionally (what he calls it)

The prev generation of peak lords are confused/intrigued, but after much testing it doesn't really seem malicious and how could it be, given its creation on Wan Jian?

By the time of SQQ's 'fatal' qi deviation, things are decidedly tilted.

Bc of Xin Mo's aggression, during the mission in disciple era, SQH was far more active and things went just differently enough that LQG saw SQQ save his life and got super weird about owing him a life debt.

He isn't quite post-wife beam levels of leaving dead beasts around, but they have enough of a antagofriendship that they 'spar' shortly before the system's planned replacement and end up in mutual deviation goodness.

(however, QC peak disciples have spies on BZ and QJ so they know when these happen and are always on hand)

So when the big transmigration day comes, the deviation isn't enough to remove his soul and the system, which has been buggy for years, throws a return to childhood effect into the deviation and just plants sy in a second child sqq body. This day is already weird enough no one will question it too much.

The best the peak lords can come up with sqq!y is an alternate version of sqq!j who was drawn in via the high spiritual concentration on CQM and the site and distortion of sqq!J's qi during the deviation

(real answer: spiritual-spacial instability on the peaks thanks to Xin Mo lite. MBJ has noticed something's off but SQH doesn't use his sword around him so he assumes some dumbass cultivator is messing with things they're not supposed to and don't understand and it's a big not his problem)

Anyway, the peak lords love sqq!y and are like "sect leader we almost forgive you for your treatment of sqq up to this point, knowing he has the potential to be this"

Once adults again, SQQ!J proceeds to immediately dump everything he doesn't like on SY, including lqg's life debt.

Cue airplane and SY doing the skinner mission together (bc Xin Mo needs walkies), SQQ!Y still gets captured but the system is too unstable at this point to even save LBH and instead gives cucumber and airplane huge ominous warnings, so SQH crashes the bondage lite scene, says wtf at naked sqq!y and saves the day

Cue transmigrator reveal (to each other).

[moldybonessmell]

SVSSS danmei novel review post

So I had a winter break and finished reading SVSSS and here are some of my thoughts about it.

DISCLAIMER: this as an analysis post and if you might get upset over criticism of the novel, please stop reading. My intend is definitely NOT to send hate but do a review.

Disclaimer number 2: I'm a danmei fan and have read mdzs, tgcf and 2ha so I have some point of reference for comparison

Starting up with the things I LOVED about the novel:

The idea is popular, but the author made it have an interesting twist (ridiculing the genre of something you wright right at the moment is a gigachad move fr fr)

The plot is interesting and entertaining, the novel is easy to read and follow

There is a good part of humour that I enjoyed (the whole Tianlang-jun bit lol)

Characters are well-written in general (even tho I raise an eyebrow at some of them)

I absolutely adore MoShang couple. Them being a tsundere and a gremlin is very fun and I liked the extras showing the development of their relationship. The whole bit where MBJ openly says hitting a person is the way he sees flirting and SQH being oblivious that his own ideas of courting made MBJ convinced he's flirted with too is hilarious. SQH not only creating himself his perfect man but also pulling him for sure makes him a god in their world lol

Another unofficial couple I grew to like is LiuShen aka LQG and SQQ. Ngl I was oblivious to the chemistry they have - "They are such good friends!" as historians would say LOL. But after spending some time in the fandom I think I adore them a lot (esp after finishing this one extra where it's obvious LQG is convinced they are soulmates and is gay af lmao)

Now, on the other side, criticising the novel.

My problem is that the novel seems way too short?? The whole plot is to fill plot-holes but the novel itself seems to have a plenty of them:

We don't know anything about the System, why it works, who created it and for which purpose?

The fact that Binghe doesn't even know SQQ is not his real shizun?? I really expected some confrontation in the end and stuff but bro just lies to his husband till the rest of their lifes now ig?? I was really looking forward to see this and LBH thinking he's betrayed again but we never got it, not even in extras. We got a little hint when SQQ couldn't explain LBH how he knows so much about what will happen, but this seemed to just be sweeped under a rug in the end.

The novel is too short, there are so many interesting plot-lines to explore and possible scenes to write but extras only explore already existing dynamics and seem to be cut-outs / behind-the-scene stuff the author probably just decided to not put in. Half the time I was sitting there and thinking about the fact that someone definitely wrote a fanfic about this or that fact

I've read other mxtx novels and tgcf, for example, felt complete to the point I didn't even read extras, as it felt like the story is whole and finished.

Another problem I have with the novel is that some very important info about characters is still hidden in extras, for example:

The fact that LBH acts like this with SQQ because SQH himself got him the idea?? I really thought bro is a cry-baby LOL (call me SQQ bc of how delusuional I am). The way SQH not only pulled his dream man but helped the story progress with LBH pulling HIS dream man is AWESOME and I wish it was in the main novel part.

Another extra-hidden part I wish wasn't hidden, is the fact that SQH was always thinking about og Shen Yuan and that's why they end up actually being friends, it feels like an important bond was kinda lost in the finished novel.

All in all, I enjoyed reading SVSSS but understand why it's not as popular as mdzs or tgcf. This is everything I got at the moment, thank you for reading!

If you have any thoughts or can explain some of the confusions I mentioned, you're welcomed to do so in comments!

Just please be polite, thank you!

P.S. I firstly wrote this post to drafts right after reading the novel and edited it after finishing extras and ngl some of my thoughts have changed.

[touchmycoat]

OP!Anon for Leverage!HX/LQG: *SCREAM* oh I adore how you wrote this - HX is so good at reading everyone and understanding how to motivate/manipulate them, except for lqg. I love how angry he got at the idea of lqg seeing him in the same light as swd, and also how lqg's just like, yep, swd's gotta die when he heard the full story. I love the idea of HC coming in like the king he is and laying down the law about XL. ahhhhhhh!!!! just imagining hx and lqg getting close after lots of shenanigans!

teamwork baby

"Xue Yang must die" is literally one of my favorite WWX quotes of all time LMFAO time to pay homage

so you know how in book 3, during the Black Water arc, HX is there trying to push his whole scheme forward? It's well-timed, well-thought-out, but the only fucking spanner that keeps jumping back into his work is XL-and-therefore-HC? Yeah I imagine working with grifter!HC is pretty much like that. He's always late or never shows up at all to briefings, or he shows up to the very end to hear the conclusion and goes "Nope, that's fucking stupid, change it." SQQ's like "Why??" and HC's like "oh, lil boy can't figure it out?"

and whenever they have an actual plan going, HC sometimes just shows up and starts doing his own thing in the middle and forces HX to keep up. This is often motivated by one of XL's jobs, and XL would ask if HC knows a little piece of intel, and HC would be like "oh you know what, I actually have a hostage right here to ask about that, one moment please :)" and utterly prioritize XL's thing. HX has to change the job on the fly so many times, and it's so fucking annoying, but it's not like HC leaves him at a dead end, so he always does find a way out.

(this got fucking long, but HX/LQG under the cut)

Bingliushen are also annoyed as fuck, but while they're godtier at their own things, none of them are mastermind-level (yet—Binghe's gonna get there, isn't he), so they just have to put their faith in HX and keep chugging forward. This is how the foundation builds, y'know? HX insists to both others and himself that he's being honest and faithful to his team because that's just the best way to handle them, not 'cause he's actually a team player and not 'cause he cares for anybody at all. And LQG's a simple guy—you save my life, I'll save yours. You act in good faith, I'll be loyal in turn.

It starts with something small. HX's suffered tremendous loss, and has been on his own for a very, very long time. He's used to taking care of himself, but we all know LQG's love language is "here, you dropped this. I've been quietly paying attention to everything you like and do, no big deal." So maybe it happens on a mission. HC has three marks to dupe in succession, and they're playing a nasty Big Pharma group, so it's hitting close to home for HX. At the last minute though, HC says over the comm, "the CEO & CFO made me. Must've recognized me from speaking to the secretary earlier. He Xuan."

"Can you still do the COO?"

"I'm not about to waste this outfit, am I."

and HX has to hop in and do 2/3rds of the grifting himself, which is fine, he's completely capable of this, he's a goddamn prodigy at hiding his murderous tendencies. but out of nowhere LQG is on the line, "Shen Qingqiu, you said you can hack the finances, right?"

"Yes, but nothing else."

"Then He Xuan doesn't have to talk to the CFO. Give me 2 minutes, I'll knock him out."

and HX doesn't stop him because sure, why not? It was more efficient for HC to do three of them at once, but now that it was HX doing it (and HX still has his own part to play), it would save them more effort if LQG goes for the blunt force solution. But it rubs HX the wrong way—what the fuck? Yeah, HX may not like grifting as much as HC, the stupid drama queen, but hasn't he proven himself every bit as capable of it? Why did LQG think it necessary to, what, bail him out?

So that night, after debrief, HX pulls LQG aside to give him a piece of his mind. "Don't ever try to override my judgment again." "What are you talking about?" "I made a call, I did not need your 'help' on the grift." "That wasn't help." "Then what was it." "You hate talking to guys like that!" "???" "You didn't need to talk to him, and I was right there. It was the obvious thing to do."

and HX still doesn't get it, not until the next day, when SQQ and HX are quietly setting up for the morning, and SQQ says out of the blue, "that's just how he cares. Liu Qingge, I mean. It's never an ego thing once he's your friend."

"I don't need friends," is HX's automatic response.

"No," SQQ snorts in agreement. "You need revenge. That's fine. Then I'm sure he'll get over it."

Which—okay—no? Bastard. That's just a passive aggressive attempt at a guilt trip, and it's not going to work. HX has already made it abundantly clear from the get-go that this was simply a job, he was the pointman, once they were done everybody will go on their way. It's not his fault SQQ dragged in a hitman with the loyalty instincts of a german shepherd, and it's certainly none of his business whether LQG treats him as friend or a colleague.

LQG will just have to be disappointed.

BUT OF COURSE WHAT GOES ON TO HAPPEN IS THAT HX sees more and more of the things LQG does, the ways LQG manages to be thoughtful. The way LQG handles visitors during HX’s mealtimes despite how much LQG hates talking to randos, bc HX has bad food days and can’t really stand eating with others. The time they had some time to kill undercover in a consultant’s office, and HX passed the time by pointing out all the things wrong with the office’s mini-aquarium set-up, so when SQQ brought up something inane about decorating their headquarters, LQG made HX draw up specs for a saltwater tank of their own. HX and everybody else kept insisting it was a waste of time, but LQG still went ahead and got it made anyways, and now it’s HX’s favorite thing in the entire HQ.

But HX wasn’t about to owe anybody anything. If LQG insists on this game, then fine, HX was going to play to win. He requisitions new toys (read: weapons) for LQG, he builds heists around the sole purpose of giving LQG a room of satisfying bad guys to beat up, he goes to the gym and spars with LQG, he even tries to give LQG’s weirdly famous younger sister’s novel a read—which was a lot. Ahem. But LQG loves his younger sister, so surely this would be the ultimate “hah! I’ve given you more than you’ve given me! I win! move.

...turns out LQG’s never read the damn thing, and just takes everything HX gives him in total stride. “We still on for tomorrow?” “...Yes.” “Cool. See you.” And HX’s over here totally overthinking EVERYTHING while LQG’s just chilling, super matter-of-fact.

Fuck, were they friends???

HX rage-panics, because he does. not. need. friends. And it has nothing to do with how everyone he’s ever loved dies, it has nothing to do with the careful balance of vengeful fury and self-hatred inside him that’s about to tip over any day now, once they take down SWD. It has nothing to do with HX being too traumatized and grief-stricken to imagine moving on from revenge, to ever imagine being simply content again.

His eating habits get worse. One day he snaps at LQG for pining so much after SQQ. “You already know he’s never going to return your feelings. It’s embarrassing to watch you insist on giving so much when he’s not going to give anything back.”

“Shut up,” LQG snaps, “it’s not about getting anything back.”

But that makes it worse. Of course HX wasn’t actually talking about SQQ, though sure, that’s annoying too. LBh obviously knows, so why can’t they take their infernal flirting somewhere private, instead of flaunting it in front of LQG all the time?? But the fault’s with LQG too, what with all the giving. He should find someone more worthy of his affections and stop wasting his time here.

HX cuts everything he and LQG has built up in one fell swoop—completely gives him the cold shoulder. Only ever talks about work, no more dry quips, no more infodumps on niche hobbies. HX wishes he could destroy the tank at HQ, but that would be way too confrontational at this stage.

Until one mission, when LQG knows HX is not in a good place, and keeps trying to argue HX out of doing something excessively risky. HX rounds on him and says, “you’re just a hired gun, so shut up and shoot where I'm pointing, or you can pack your things and get out.”

LQG goes red, then white, and storms away.

“Nice sucker punch,” HC comments idly where he’s lounging on the side. Who knows when the fuck he showed up. “Right where it hurts.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know. His five-year stint with the Sha City Demons?”

Of course HX knows about that. He’s looked thoroughly into everybody’s backgrounds. But what does that have to do with this?

“Gege is the best at this, after all. See you and I, we stopped asking questions once we knew the name, because we don’t think people are ever as pure and good as they pretend to be. But you know what Dianxia said, after I mentioned Liu Qingge’s old gig to him? ‘Five years, hm? I wonder what they had on him. In my experience, men like Liu Qingge don’t work for crews like the Sha Demons. And in order to sink their claws deeper into men like him, the Demons always make them do the worst jobs.’ Just a hired gun indeed.”

That’s right. LQG gets a Moreau backstory of his own. HX feels his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

“Fuck.”

“I don’t know why you’re so stressed out about it. He is just a hired gun—”

“You know why. Fuck.”

“So get out of my face and do something about it already. You know where he’s gone, I know you’ve put trackers on your entire team.”

“...”

“You didn’t? No, you didn’t put one on him? My god, you do care.”

While HC’s busy sounding disgusted, HX is reeling. He just sent the best hitman in the field packing, and was an absolute dick about it. He was not a kind man, but he also wasn’t a cruel one. He believes in fairness, and everything he said simply had not been fair. It had all been his own guilt and issues talking; if he really didn’t give a damn, then he wouldn’t have...done all this.

“How much are you willing to pay?” HC says, swiping at his phone.

“What?”

“Because I don’t trust any of you, and did put a tracking device on Liu Qingge.” He sure has—HC is waving the loading tracking app in HX’s face. “So I’m asking, how much are you willing to pay?”

...And that’s the reason why HX owes HC so much damn money.

[touchmycoat]

HC/LQG!Anon: Oh man, LQG has got zero game, You can't tell him he's running a honeypot. HC just dresses him and tells him to stand there and cross your arms, flex a bit. Ok, pick up that book in the low shelf. Reach up and get that red book. Slowly stroke your finger along the binding; now loosen that tie. Sit down and sprawl, spread your legs a bit, perfect. And the mark has been completely distracted - drooling - and SQQ/LBH are in the background stealing EVERYTHING. (contd 1/3)

HX/LQG cont: But if you tell him he's running the honeypot he's lost. HX hates using LBH for honeypots because after that he has to listen to an hour of LBH crying and clinging to SQQ for having betrayed his love. I also love that LQG doesn't look like a hitter - he goes into a room with the hard guys and they're all like who's the 小白臉 except for the ones who recognize him who are sneaking out the back hoping he doesn't see them. 2 minutes later he's the only one standing. (2/3)

HX/LQG (3/3): Tara!HC???? PERFECTION. Ahhh - red/black camaraderie? More like Torment LQG squad. Caterpillars!!! I giggled so much. I think there also has to be a honeypot where LQG is floundering and HX comes in to - ahem - put on a show so that the mark will get jealous and/or want a threesome ;P AHHHHH - this AU is so fun - I love the idea that kids gravitate to LQG. He's got a grumpy face, but they know who will be first to defend them.

--

I'M LAUGHING SO HARD AT THE THOUGHT god, so LBH's the first one to clearly state: "the way you can tell if LQG likes you is to give him a direct order for a simple physical action, like 'turn left' or 'duck' or 'put your hands above your head.' All verbal questions aside, if he follows your order, he likes you."

Obviously, the reason LBH knows this is bc he sees LQG doing this with SQQ and aggressively not doing it with LBH. But that also means LBH sees right through him when LQG starts doing it with HX. LBH's goal-oriented as fuck, and is the number one xuange shipper bc if LQG's getting it on with HX, then great! No more pesky best friend nonsense for Shizun! So LBH starts setting up these little demonstrations of LQG's affections—when he or HC tell LQG to do anything, LQG aggressively refuses on principle. When SQQ or HX say jump, LQG says how high.

But HX's defense against that is to flat out tell LQG. LQG gets flustered ofc, but it kind of turns out...he can't help it??? He says it's just a job loyalty thing but honestly it's more like an Ella Enchanted situation where even if he tries really really really hard not to, if HX says "get that file for me" he'll angrily stalk across the room, fling the file at HX, and throw himself out the window. And at this point, it's more embarrassing for LQG than it is for HX so HX is not above using it for honeypot missions. He plays LQG like a twister board while, yup, bingqiu steal everything in the background.

jlnkjnSDKJFJSANFL LBH YOU RIDICULOUS LITTLE MAN. The first time he seduced a mark he was absolutely terrific, but hunched in a corner back at the bar and hissed whenever HX got too close. "I feel dirty," he hiccuped, burying his face into the back of Shen Qingqiu's outstretched hand. "I feel used. I'm sorry Shizun, I would never ever ever—"

"Yes yes I know Binghe. You'd never betray me. That's fine."

小白臉柳大哥！！！！Give us that classic Eliot scene where he walks into a warehouse full of rugged large men, the one in charge has their boss on the line, who's warning them that HX sent somebody. The guy's like "pft, don't worry boss, the only person here's this little pretty boy. What brings you to the bad part of town, sweetheart? If you're looking for the hair salon that's two blocks over." and while everyone's cackling, LQG's glaring them down and silently shutting all the doors and windows. "Oooh you sure you wanna do that? Aren't you gonna be scared of the dark?" "Wait wait, hair? Good-looking guy?" "Yeah boss, dipshit's out here with a ponytail—" "Ponytail? And a beauty mark under his left eye?" "Uh, yeah?" "You fucking idiot—RUN! THAT'S LIU—" wham bam thank you ma'am everybody's down for the count.

YEAH OH MY GOD WAIT. LQG gets stuck distracting a mark again, LBH does the lift, SQQ copies the key code and HC uses the hidden folders to apply pressure on the corrupt CEO, etc.etc. So now they can pull back, except the mark won't leave LQG alone. LQG is as unpleasant as he knows how to be, but the mark is convinced they're good to go, so HX has to step in and play the dangerous and possessive ex. And when HX slams LQG into the bar (HC drawling in their ears "I don't know what instructions you want me to give him here, Black Water, I assume he's already letting you do whatever you want to him"), the mark is meant to find this to be too much trouble and run, except he just kind of...licks his lips. Oops.

also i plotted out the entire First David and Second David jobs for this AU, goddammit. it works almost stupidly well.