#just like Qian

[respectthepetty]

I love these two for various reasons.

First, the restaurant owner has blackout sleeve tattoos.

Beyond that being sexy *bites knuckles*, it's also gangsta.

Which is why he was guarding the entry to his establishment, and only let Qian in but not his schoolmates.

This is also why meeting there bothered Xiong so much.

Because this is a gangsta's restaurant.

Yet later on, we know Xiong frequently visits the restaurant on his own accord, but even more importantly, that he is allowed to visit. It's now a mutual respect.

And this is a gangsta's clinic.

They are NOT a front for gang activity (probably, most likely, maybe?), but a majority of the clientele are gangstas.

Which means these places serve the community and as a safe space for gangstas because they need to trust that the people who make their food and stitch them up won't snitch or try to kill them.

Which is why Zu Guan knew Le Ge was back, and it's why Le Ge was at the restaurant and not his office. He needs to make his presence known, but also, it's a sign of respect to visit the people who held it down while he has been away.

Le Ge knows that Qian doesn't trust him, but there is a level of respect and honor among gangstas, which is why Le Ge trusted the restaurant owner to keep his gun, and it's why the owner was ready to leave it all behind to go with Le Ge knowing full well what Le Ge was planning.

Because he knows that life.

It's also why Le Ge made sure everyone got their shot including himself.

Le Ge stated he doesn't deal drugs, so he probably is in money laundering and reinforcement by offering protection and collection for a fee.

And Qian owes him.

Le Ge gave Qian a legit job, then when Qian needed more money, Le Ge gave him a less legit job. Le Ge not only gave Yuan his name but the official documents to go with that name. Le Ge's clinic fixed Qian and his family up for a nominal fee. Le Ge's restaurant gave Qian the privacy to do business without prying ears. And, yeah, Qian could've died trying to get out, but Le Ge isn't asking anything of anyone else that he, himself, wouldn't do.

And as much as Qian doesn't like or trust Le Ge, he respects him.

Because Le Ge is a man of his word. He doesn't blame others. He takes responsibility. And he keeps his promises.

That's why, unlike A Hu who sees Yuan as Qian's weakness and uses Yuan again to get to Qian, Le Ge understands that Yuan is Qian's strength. It's why he got upset that A Hu took Yuan the first time, and it's why he is pissed when he sees the video A Hu sent him.

When Qian told Yuan he could come home, we understood that Qian was "home" for Yuan. And we understand that Qian's entire life is his family. So Le Ge knows Qian will fight harder for Yuan. Le Ge knows Qian will kill for Yuan. And Le Ge knows Qian would die for Yuan because Qian's life is nothing to him without his family.

Which is why he reminds A Hu that his leg is the way it is NOT because of Qian, but because A Hu underestimated Qian. Le Ge tells A Hu he must take responsibility for his choices and his life.

Because Qian has always taken responsibility for his life.

I'll pay you back. Everything I owe you.

Because his entire life is his family.

Everything I own is yours whether you want it or not

And Le Ge gave him that.

Qian is Yuan's entire life, from beginning to end.

I can sum up my life with two words, Wei Qian

And Le Ge gave them that life love.

[eaion]

Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao! 🥰

I love this scene so much in the book and it's an amazing and very accurate art! 🥰❤🥰

Posted with permission, art by @_Konia_ on Twitter.

[sunderwight]

Scenario where Yue Qingyuan and Luo Binghe both pick up on and independently confirm for themselves, a few years into the matter, that Shen Qingqiu's soul has indeed been replaced with someone else's. But they have polar opposite reactions about it. Yue Qingyuan keeps trying to figure out how to get SJ back (alone, since it's nothing he can prove and also he sucks at asking for help), while Luo Binghe is doing everything in his power to make sure that Shen Qingqiu stays the new version or doesn't have his soul replaced again. The two of them each entirely unaware of the other's knowledge or actions, basically cancelling one another out.

Yue Qingyuan finds an item that should loosen the current occupant soul's hold on the body, potentially allowing Shen Jiu's soul to come to the fore again (if it's still in there somewhere) or regain control. Luo Binghe, around the same time, discovers a rare herb that is said to help reinforce the connection between the soul and the body, to help with individuals who have troubles with dissociation. Yue Qingyuan gifts the "rare artifact" and gets Shen Qingqiu to put it in his study, Luo Binghe mixes the herb into a medicinal tea and serves it to him every day. Net zero impact.

[tempo-takoyaki]

I started reading Thousand Autumns.

[weishenkun]

💪

[patheticlogic]

yan wushi's betrayal is necessary, his cruelty is the point!!! much like the audience, shen qiao believes that there's kindness in yan wushi, and with time spent together, it will eventually show, no matter how small. that although they walk different paths, shen qiao's is the ultimate truth.

shen qiao's character flaw is not his kindness. it's his ignorance. and he doesn't truly accept (we, the audience, don't truly understand) this until yan wushi betrays him.

[starry-bi-sky]

The first time disciple Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu meets Liu Qingge, it is during a Bai Zhan peak raid. And what ends up happening is that Shen Qingqiu gets kicked in the jaw with such force he feels his teeth clack together unpleasantly. And frustrated with his situation, the system, and quite frankly a ton of other little things that have been building up over the course of the last few weeks, he feels something snap in the back of his mind like that of a rubber band after being stretched too far.

What ends up happening is that Shen Qingqiu turns and locks onto the very first figure he can see that is dressed in grey-and-white like a homing missile, and then with the force of a twin-tailed mountain tiger, lunges towards said figure with an equally menacing snarl.

He ends up taking the Bai Zhan peak disciple by utter surprise, and they both collide into the ground in a tangle of angry yelling and limbs. What ends up happening is that Liu Qingge gets the subsequent wind knocked out of him and pinned into the dirt by a Qing Jing peak disciple who is filled with the might and fury of a scholar having their peaceful afternoon interrupted and a once-grown-man re-experiencing puberty.

It is with that might and fury that Liu Qingge meets the wild, frenzied eyes of Shen Qingqiu, with his lips pulled back into a truly ferocious scowl. Shen Qingqiu hisses out, with such force it makes his voice rasp, as if he might as well sink his teeth into Liu Qingge's throat and rip it out; "Get the fuck off my mountain."

Liu Qingge is so shocked by -- well, quite a many things, but most importantly the fact that he has been pinned, and the way the sun is bouncing off this boy's face, -- that his brain needs five seconds to reboot. It's five seconds too long, because by the time he registers what just happened, Shen Yuan has clambered off him and disappeared. Gone and thrown himself into the closest dust cloud scuffling in order to unleash the rest of his fury on the other Bai Zhan Peak kids.

Qing Jing Peak experiences an unfortunate uptick in Bai Zhan disciple visits -- specifically of the Liu Qingge variety. Specifically Liu Qingge, actually. Who very much wants to find the boy that managed to get one over on him and demand a rematch. (Or maybe kiss him.)

[dykealloy]

this man is. embarrassingly transparent

[distort-opia]

I'm sorry, I will go nuts about Thousand Autumns on main, because this bit from Volume 2, Chapter 46 has been living in my brain rent free:

Yan Wushi literally just traded Shen Qiao for a sword he didn't even need, to a man who very likely would rape him and kill him, knowing Shen Qiao's only choice was to self-destruct and die. The worst possible betrayal... right after Shen Qiao had started to see Yan Wushi as a friend, to think that even if Yan Wushi was a monster to everyone else, maybe to him he could be different; maybe there was a speck of humanity hidden inside him.

And still, after all that, in excruciating agony after having shattered his own foundations and barely alive, Shen Qiao goes over every interaction they ever had and thinks that even if he could go back, and undo it... he wouldn't change it. He wouldn't take back knowing Yan Wushi, learning about the world, breaking out of his naive and secluded worldview. It makes me want to chew glass, because of course I've also seen people go "But when did Shen Qiao develop feelings for Yan Wushi?" and it's all... right there, with this being one of the most beautiful and subtle moments. Shen Qiao did fall first, and then couldn't even take it back, didn't want to take it back. And then cried about it. Someone save me from the Yanshen shaped Hell I find myself in!!

And I love MXS's writing because this isn't forgotten. Later on, in Volume 3, Chapter 79, Yan Wushi himself asks this, right before he sacrifices his own safety to lure Sang Jingxing away from Shen Qiao, in a reversal of what he did before:

Shen Qiao says he doesn't regret it. And I swear, when I first read the novel, at this part I instantly went "OH GOD YAN WUSHI WHAT ARE YOU ABOUT TO DO YOU HORRIBLE BASTARD NOOO" but then he proceeds to save Shen Qiao. All while spewing bullshit about how it doesn't actually mean anything. There's no feelings involved, of course not!

It's just. I love the symmetry of it, which is clearly intentional. Of having Shen Qiao, after Yan Wushi's betrayal, find himself unable to regret having met him. And then the same thing, but explicitly, right before Yan Wushi's one conscious, unselfish act of kindness.

[neonsbian]

human kun 🙍‍♂️ and his vampire wife xiaojun 🧛‍♀️

[tinesleftnipple]

wei qian's mouth: i can't figure out what my feelings for you are

wei qian's body: clutch onto yuan!

wei qian's mouth: I haven't thought things through yet how can i go upstairs

wei qian's body: kiss him!

wei qian's mouth: aren't we going too fast?

wei qian's body: *panting and moaning*

[respectthepetty]

I think you should know that here instead of being sad for poor Yuan I was thinking "Oh @respectthepetty is gonna love this!"

EFF THE RED THREAD! GIVE ME THE BLACK BRACELET!

@imlivingformyselfdontmindme, I looked absolutely feral this episode because my smile just kept getting bigger like a comic book supervillain, and it's all because of the colors and that damn bracelet.

Yuan, who has been the lighter one, just could not get his self sorted out this episode as he started to unravel. He kept getting darker the closer he got to revealing his secret to Qian.

Once he got down on bended knee to cuff Qian, I truly believe Qian had to have a moment where he knew.

Then the shots of Qian!

He, in his darkness, was opposite of the light-people, but unlike with Yuan where he is in the shared space with him, with these people Qian was isolated from them.

Even the background helped show the division between Qian and the other light-people in his life.

And after that moment, for Qian everything existed in grey when it came to Yuan.

Biggest smile - Yuan had on the pink shirt after the confession.

And even though Yuan tried to meet Qian where their story began (in the red), Qian would not budge.

But even then, the red lingered.

For both of them.

Qian can't go back to his darkness BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE TRUTH NOW!

Yuan's confession has already changed him.

And it has changed Yuan who continues to sit in the light and the dark.

Even when Qian finally comes home, he isn't completely dark.

And Yuan defends Qian's action as the bright light glows behind him in his back shirt.

And this is the part that got me: Both of them, without each other, are isolated. We saw it the entire episode, but the final scenes reinforced it by boxing them in. Yuan, in the grey, mixing their colors once again

and Qian, trying to get back to the black.

But they are both still connected by that red thread of fate!

I'm praying that Qian slipped that black bracelet onto Yuan's door and not Lili because if the girl I hooked up with a few years ago was right, a black bracelet is a way to wish the receiver good luck like the Mexican red bracelet is given as a gift to protect a person.

If Qian gave Yuan that bracelet, it means he still wants the best for Yuan. He still wants Yuan to be safe even if Yuan is in the "dark"

Things have changed. Qian is lighter. Yuan is darker. But that red thread still connects them.

And what Qian doesn't realize is that that black bracelet represents Qian. It will become a part of Yuan, and he will carry it wherever he goes just like his love for Qian.

And he'll still have it after four years of separation.

That bracelet, and his love.

[mengyan]

“I don’t want it to just be ‘me’ and ‘you’ anymore,” she mumbles, outstretching an unsteady hand. Shangguan Qian is so far away that she can’t even brush the edge of her clothes, let alone grasp her. “Can we… Can we be an ‘us’ again? Please?”

Yun Weishan watches Shangguan Qian carefully for her answer, sifting through the fog of the sea in her eyes. Wearing white and framed by the candlelight, she looks a little too unreal, like she doesn’t belong in the same plane as her at all.

Shangguan Qian exhales. She glances at her hand, keeping it hovering, trembling in mid-air.

“That’s not up to me, is it?” she returns. “What about you, Yun Weishan? Will you show me mercy, or will this all end the same way?”

破晓; daybreak

🌤️ of ten thousand journeys, the path home is the longest one to walk. 🌊 estimated 63k~70k (total) 🌤️ a post-canon fix-it— or, how shangguan qian and yun weishan change each other’s ending 🌊 starting october 25th, this fic will update every friday around 7 PM EST! 🌤️ with cover art and illustrations by the incomparable @notedchampagne <3

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58230550

[bellarkeandclintashaandsuch]

Yuan came back looking so handsome and stepped in front of Qian to help him and take him home and take care of him. Qian doesn't stand a chance. Not that he wants one. He has to know he likes Yuan romantically by now, right? Right?!

[decaysings]

everyone say happy birthday shen qiao

[ID: fanart of shen qiao from thousand autumns, smiling at the viewer. his eyes are dark gray. half of his hair is pulled back into a bun, held by a teal ribbon tied into a loose bow. loose pieces frame his face. end ID]

[weishenkun]

[play color] on my youth : kun