#i do think sqq is unaware of this switch

[thesadisticsiren]

So Shen Qingqiu's weird take on masculinity and homosexuality and his internalized homophobia means that he went "binghe's the stallion protagonist, of course he's the husband, so I must be the wife" and conversely Luo Binghe's been dreaming of being Shizun's beloved housewife since he was 14 and he's now living the dream.

I firmly believe that, consciously or not, they more or less take turns. Being called 'Wife' is a baton they pass back and forth as suits them.

When in Cang Qiong, Binghe takes the position of a Peaklord's spouse so seriously, he's going full Shimu and is so smug about getting to making people refer to him as such. Shen Qingqiu ofc would make sure Binghe gets the full rights and respect owed to him as Shen Qingqiu's spouse, but is still too thin faced to refer to Binghe as wife anywhere other than in private.

Luo Binghe does not share this problem when they're in the Demon realm. Visiting demonic dignitaries learn about Shen Qingqiu being Luo Binghe's wife before they learn his name, before they learn that he's a cultivator of a level that fucking with him is dangerous aside from the fact that Binghe would kill you for looking at him wrong. Before they learn that that human cultivator might kill you for looking at the Emperor wrong. In private, though, Binghe's acting about the name as he does on Qing Jing, but the ways he gets to show his shizun off are different between the roles.

Externally, to everyone else, it almost looks like code switching. But to them its just them doing what they want. Which is mostly Shen Qingqiu letting Binghe do as he pleases, which is often Binghe doing his best to make it clear that he belongs to Shen Qingqiu, and vice versa.