#just. a Luo Binghe that is loved and grows well for it but is still so OBVIOUSLY BIZARRE

[strewwwberry]

I'm obsessed with shen yuan being shen jiu's reincarnation for so many reasons

- finding out would lead to many mental breakdowns

- shen yuan being a born hater is suddenly explained

- shen yuans and shen jiu's personalities are actually very similar when you take away external factors:

Shen yuan is a hater and tends to do before thinking, especially if that's insults, so does shen jiu

Shen yuan gets oddly obsessed with things, so does shen jiu

possiveness in shen jius case would be learnt behavior from having nothing, which I can easily imagine shen yuan doing the same if he grew up with nothing (which he very much didn't experience having been second gen rich kid, which even having at the very least material things, he still shows signs of posseviness with Luo binghe at times, and again, even with his internalized homophobia!)

Being weird with relationships, im not elaborating

Trust issues brought on from ASSUMPTIONS, these motherfucks assume so much! And I can't even blame them because their assumptions make so much sense in the context they're given! But give it a bit more thought alongside action outside of just asking since they clearly love men who struggle to communicate (well done binghe for growing in that aspect) so thats just a no go

So much more tbh, and I'm not even doing this in a theory way because these two being parallels is probably (don't quote me on this coz I actually love this theory but also don't care enough to defend it in any way and them being parallels is a kinda gut wrenching shit I need lol) more canon accurate, with like everything that I'm not gonna get into rn or I'm gonna cry so sue me (don't actually, I'm broke)

But yeah I love this concept smm!! Which I find funny coz I'm a scumcum lover, sy is sj child/sibling/twin/parent/disciple/shizun/probably more, and I dunno what that says about me nor do I care 😙

Edit: also sqq(j/y) hating himself and not realising it is a different kind ironic I can't quite explain except to say its so amazingly angsty to a point is goddam hilarious

[scribblestatic]

So, like, if you've read SVSSS far enough, you know about the Bingmei vs Bingge part. And there's all sorts of stories with Bingge (basically a PIDW Binghe, not SVSSS Binghe) finding his own shizun in various ways.

Well, what about if he manages to summon a Shen Yuan, but his soul is in Shen Jiu's body? Which, like, wouldn't really be a problem, except he's already been torturing Shen Jiu for a good while now and he's down an eye and all of his limbs are mostly stubs at this point. Thankfully he still has his tongue and penis, which, after so often demanding Shen Jiu be castrated, he's pretty jazzed that didn't happen.

Shen Yuan, being the absolute freak he is, probably wouldn't mind too much. After all, he'd read this part of the story and cheered it on. Just cause he's now experiencing it himself, doesn't mean the revenge was any less cathartic.

Though, well, the dreams he has about what Shen Jiu went through does dampen his enjoyment of his suffering (so many lives lost that he can do nothing about, so much torment that just cycled on because no one thought to seek help, because the world was built so firmly on cruelty)...

And perhaps he'd woken up sobbing at times, crying his apologies to Binghe as though he was the one who had done all those terrible things to him, but he didn't, but those dreams were so vivid and felt so real

The girls at the Warm Red Pavilion, were they okay? Shen Jiu never had sex with them, only kept company to avoid the boys when he couldn't sleep and trained them in the four arts and gathered information from them, gods, he'd misunderstood Shen Jiu and thought him a remorseless villain and enemy to women

Liu Qingge, fuck--

At least now he can help Binghe actually enjoy his life and perhaps stop the cycle of abuse from continuing. Besides, cool motive, Shen Jiu, still child torment. And though the results were quite drastic, it was the dog-eat-dog world of xianxia China, and life was generally unfair. No reason to make Binghe's life needlessly unfair on top of everything.

But yeah! Now that he's in Shen Jiu's body, he and Luo Binghe get to talk, and Binghe, for the first time in his life, experiences regret for his actions, because now his lovely new kind shizun can't card his fingers through his hair or twist little braids into it. Moreover, Shen Yuan somewhat mourns over the fact Binghe's hair is straightened--he loved reading about his bouncy curls.

So now, imagining that, after time, Shen Yuan becomes a more prominent figure in the empire, especially post-marriage. He has a lovely eyepatch and wears soft red, black, and gold clothes, heavy on the red and gold. This nearly limbless man helps Luo Binghe do his taxes and works out various tips on using beasts to the benefit of the empire and remembering small notes about other races that allows the Demon Emperor to be both magnanimous and fierce in whomever's eyes he meets.

Others can't decide if Shen Qingqiu's mind was utterly broken, if he was cursed to act against his own will, or if he was possessed by some strange spirit. Regardless, the realms have never been in such peace before now.

Moreover, Luo Binghe has started changing.

While he can never regain the height lost to a childhood full of suffering and a lack of nutrients, he can change in other ways. He actually eats healthier because Shen Yuan insists on having him eat as well. He steadily stops straightening his hair, letting his curls return until they're like clouds. His muscles grow in firmer and his chest broadens.

Also, as he and his kind shizun speak further, even though he explores the worst parts of himself and uncovers those dirty, evil deeds and the ways they truly hurt him, Xin Mo doesn't get the chance to latch onto them anymore. As painful as discussing those things are...releasing them is exceptionally freeing. So, a sense of inner strength and ease he never had before starts to settle in his body, and his qi, usually constantly battling, stabilizes more than before, his heart demons no longer so adamant or strong.

As a side-effect of both parts, he was already handsome, but now, he's even more so. A wise, secure man no longer so strongly gripped by hatred, lust, or greed. Someone unforgivable to many, but becoming okay with forgiving himself.

Indeed, what a man!

Which is kinda a shame for Luo Binghe's many wives, because he's been heavily trimming down on his harem. Political marriages are substituted for other exchanges, fervent troublemakers are sent back to their homes (the ones who dared to attack his A'Yuan are never heard from again, strangely), and wives who simply ask for divorce are granted them, receiving a hefty gift for at least being loyal whilst married.

So, previously, a harem once numbering into the hundreds falls to the tens, and the remaining ones are either ambivalent or antsy.

Then, as though to answer everyone's burgeoning questions, he names Shen Yuan his empress during a meeting and proclaims that they will make preparations for his crowning ceremony.

I feel like that'd really set off what remained of Cian Qiong Mountain Sect.

Hmm... I think I'll talk more about this later.

---

Part 1: here Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Part 11+: links on Part 10

AO3

[nyoomerr]

Only if you want but phantom thief! Binghe x rich boy Shen Yuan, heir to a famous jeweler/jewerly store business.

It can be Bingge or Binghe, whatever you want! Love your work!

dont mind me using this as a sort-of warm up for writing a much bigger bingge pov binggeyuan thing ehehe 😌 ty for sending this prompt in!

---

Luo Binghe does not get caught. It’s in his title, even - a phantom thief, completely untouchable. 

Well, perhaps not completely untouchable. After all, many times the most efficient way to get his hands on a particularly valuable set of jewelry is to let the lady wearing it put her hands on him. Flirtations and bold fondling in a dark corner of a party, hands on the woman’s face and shoulders and the diamond necklace around her neck -

Normal things for someone in Luo Binghe’s line of work, really, when that someone looks the way Luo Binghe does. Charm is as indispensable a tool as a lockpick. 

It’s only a tool that Luo Binghe dares to use when he knows it will be well received, though. Unwelcome advances are more likely to get a mark to grow more defensive on all lines, not just towards sexual advances, and then the whole job gets more difficult. Still not impossible - not for Luo Binghe - but Luo Binghe has a messy habit of turning theft into murder when he’s faced with rejection. 

It isn’t his fault. The people who turn Luo Binghe away - who look at him with cold disinterest and disgusted sneers plastered across their ugly, painted faces - they deserve to die. Luo Binghe is only doing the world a service.

Still, the cleanup becomes much more difficult when Luo Binghe’s mouth is stained with blood rather than smeared lipstick, so he learns to assess his marks carefully. Those that would think themselves clever and better than Luo Binghe get stolen from in the traditional sense, and they never see Luo Binghe during the process.

Shen Yuan is one such mark. Oh, Luo Binghe could break him in, probably - he watches from a distance as Shen Yuan’s eyes linger on the strong forearms of the barista who hands him his coffee, and he knows without testing that Luo Binghe could fluster such a small thing like Shen Yuan without much effort. 

To actually touch Shen Yuan, however, would be far more difficult. Luo Binghe knows this much from even the most basic of background searches: Shen Yuan takes pretty girls to banquets despite never touching them, and the way he dresses… yes, Shen Yuan certainly would like to think of himself as a straight man, the poor thing. Not the sort of nut Luo Binghe cares to crack when it’s for business rather than pleasure.

Besides, most of Shen Yuan’s valuables are kept in his family’s home. The pretty things Luo Binghe could nick off Shen Yuan’s person are limited and hardly the most enticing of Shen Yuan’s things, so there’s no need to push it.

Shen Yuan will simply be the sort of mark that never sees Luo Binghe, never gets close enough to touch.

That’s the sort of mark Shen Yuan is supposed to be.

“Um,” Shen Yuan says, standing awkwardly in the doorway of the very high security office that Luo Binghe has just broken into. “Can I, um. Help you…?”

Luo Binghe stares at him. He’s just finished picking the lock on one of the glass cabinets in the office, and he knows that from Shen Yuan’s perspective he must have a very clear view of the ruby earrings that Luo Binghe had plucked from the case.

He doesn’t stare long. Hesitating only ever gets someone caught, and Luo Binghe does not get caught.

The office has no windows, so Luo Binghe will have to exit through the door that Shen Yuan is standing in. He turns to face Shen Yuan fully - he empty hand neatly plucking a few more pieces from the cabinet and tucking them in his pockets as he moves - and starts sauntering over to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was not meant to be one of the marks he seduced, but plans can change. He’ll just need to fluster Shen Yuan long enough to make it past him to one of the several exit plans Luo Binghe had planned. 

That should be enough - Shen Yuan is only wearing an oversized shirt and boxers, clearly having gotten up from bed without dressing properly, and he doesn’t appear to be carrying anything in his hands. All that together means he’s likely not carrying his phone, and Luo Binghe knows the security schedule well enough to know that Shen Yuan yelling wouldn’t have anyone arriving quick enough to stop him. 

Shen Yuan takes half a step back as Luo Binghe approaches, but he doesn’t leave the doorway. He must have some idea that he’s the only obstacle in Luo Binghe’s way, then. Luo Binghe smiles at him, only half faking the predatory look of it. 

“Yuan-er,” Luo Binghe croons, and Shen Yuan shuffles back another half foot, his ears turning pink where they stick out from some truly terrible bed head.

Spoiled, Luo Binghe thinks in the privacy of his own mind, poisonous and bitter. A child who’s always been allowed laziness.

“Yuan-er, you’ve really got to put better locks on your things,” Luo Binghe says as he approaches. “Isn’t this your family’s precious legacy? That sort of thing should be protected…”

Shen Yuan’s brows furrow. Luo Binghe can very clearly read the baffled what the fuck that silently twists his lips, but Luo Binghe doesn’t react. 

That’s it, little rabbit - just stand there, and let yourself be confused and taken aback by the thief in front of you, and I’ll escape before you have to worry your spoiled little head about it.

Luo Binghe is only a few paces away, now. He’ll brush past Shen Yuan’s right side to avoid getting caught on the arm he has resting on the doorway, and -

“Say please,” Shen Yuan says, glaring up at Luo Binghe as he crosses his arms.

Luo Binghe falters. “What was that, Yuan-er?”

“You’re clearly capable of sweet talk, so you should start with asking nicely before you take our shit,” Shen Yuan scoffs. 

Luo Binghe stops in front of Shen Yuan, close enough that Shen Yuan has to tilt his head up to maintain eye contact with him. 

He should just brush past, really. Shen Yuan is small, and Luo Binghe already knows he doesn’t have a way to raise alarm in an effective way.

Luo Binghe does not brush past.

He kind of wants to slit Shen Yuan’s throat for thinking he has any right to tell Luo Binghe to say please, sitting comfortably in the lap of luxury like he is. 

“I’m impressed,” Luo Binghe says, his smile so sharp it may as well just be a baring of his teeth. “Yuan-er knows so many big words for a little princling of such an important business. Did you learn them from listening to clients speak to your daddy?”

Shen Yuan’s eye twitches. “Ah,” he says. “You’re an asshole on top of being impolite, then.”

Luo Binghe’s fingers twitch towards the switchblade in his pocket. He wouldn’t be able to clean up a body before security loops back around to this wing of the house, and Luo Binghe has already left a mess from being interrupted in the middle of his heist. He hasn’t left any fingerprints, but he can’t be sure about hair -

Shen Yuan reaches up and flicks Luo Binghe’s forehead. Luo Binghe goes dead still. That’s it, then. He’s going to kill Shen Yuan, this rich little brat -

“Oi, you’re going to ruin your pretty face with a mean expression like that,” Shen Yuan complains. “Just get out of here if you aren’t going to listen nicely - I already called security before coming over here to tell you off myself.”

Luo Binghe pulls out the switchblade, snarling down at Shen Yuan. “Oh, Yuan-er, I think there’s something much better I could ruin.”

Shen Yuan shifts uncomfortably at the sight of the blade, some of his irritation replaced with the faintest glimmer of fear. Luo Binghe pushes closer, wanting to see more - wanting to see Shen Yuan’s delicate face contorted with the sort of despair that a little lordling like him would never have known before, wanting to see him cry - 

There’s footsteps from down the hall. Shen Yuan had not been bluffing; he really had called someone, then. Luo Binghe cannot guarantee he’ll be able to kill Shen Yuan quickly enough that Shen Yuan is unable to give a description of his murderer to the help before he dies.

Hesitating gets people caught. Luo Binghe does not get caught, so he brushes past Shen Yuan harshly without another moment’s pause, even though what he wants to do is something far more violent and time consuming. 

Luo Binghe hasn’t failed a heist like this since he was a damn child, and this stupid little twink dares to just stand there and watch Luo Binghe run down the hallway to the nearest window instead of lay bleeding on the ground like he should be doing, Luo Binghe will come back to kill him -

“At least say thanks!” Shen Yuan calls out as Luo Binghe approaches the window. “Even if you can’t ask nicely to begin with, you should at least say thanks, ah!”

Luo Binghe ignores him. He’s busy pulling his jacket off to wrap around his arms, preparing to jump through the window’s glass in such a way that he can avoid getting cut and leaving his own blood at the scene of the crime.

“Aiya, what an asshole…” Shen Yuan is grumbling behind him. “You know, you may regret not bothering to pay me a bit more attention.”

Oh, Luo Binghe is paying attention. He’s very vividly imagining what Shen Yuan’s neck would feel between his fingers, right now, even as he backs up several steps to get a running start at the window. 

The office had been on the second story, so Luo Binghe has to roll to mitigate the force of the fall. He stands quickly, does a perfunctory check of his pockets to ensure nothing fell when he hit the ground, and -

He’s missing the jewelry he nicked. He has the ruby earrings, but the others he’d stolen as he was leaving are gone. Luo Binghe searches the ground around where he’d fallen frantically; he has to move now, but he can’t leave those behind either. After all that this heist has brought, Luo Binghe can’t allow it to not even be profitable. 

Above him, Shen Yuan clears his throat from the broken window. Luo Binghe whips his head up to look at him.

In one hand, Shen Yuan is holding the missing jewelry.

“I told you,” Shen Yuan says. “Jeez, as if I’m that useless.”

Luo Binghe stares up at him. No one has ever dared to steal back from Luo Binghe.

“...Aren’t you going to leave? Security really will be here soon.” Shen Yuan calls down at him. Then he pauses, and even in the darkness Luo Binghe can tell his ears have gone pink again. “...I let you keep the rubies. They, uh. Would probably go well. With you. And your eyes. And uh. Anyway, say thanks!”

“...Thanks?” Luo Binghe says, baffled and furious and still sort of itching to take his switchblade out and throw it pointy-side first at Shen Yuan’s pretty face.

“You’re welcome, asshole!” Shen Yuan calls back, clearly pleased. 

Luo Binghe stares for a moment longer, then turns and runs. He will not get caught, even on nights that have gone as stupendously terrible as this one has. So long as he doesn’t get caught, there’s always next time. 

So long as he doesn’t get caught, Luo Binghe can come back here, to the office of jewels he failed to get - to Shen Yuan. 

Next time, Luo Binghe won’t fail.

[flowersdiceandlove]

Bingqiu family headcanons:

I don't always headcanon that they want kids, but when I do, these are my headcanons for it

Shen Qingqiu-yuan wants four kids because he was one of four and so that just feels like a good number to him

Shen Qingqiu-yuan wants to be called "baba" by his kids. It's more modern and what he grew up with so it feels more natural to him. Everyone else is always surprised by this because they thought he would want his kids to call him something more formal like "father" or "fuqin."

In the same vein as the last one, for grandkids, he also wants to be called something casual like "grandpa" "grandpappy" "pappy" "pops" ect. You get the idea.

their kid(s) have curly hair like Binghe. (only if they have a blood relation to him ofc)

Shang Qinghua cries and exclaims that he's gonna be a grandpa. Shen Qingqiu then smacks him with his fan and tells him to shut up.

While the Peak Lords and other members of Cang Qiong still don't really like Luo Binghe, they fall in love with Bingqiu's kid(s) and would most definitely die for their protection.

Ning Yingying is the kid's favorite babysitter. Ming Fan is heartbroken that it's not him even though he doesn't know how to take care of kids too well.

When Ming Fan finds out about the kid, he faints.

So does Yue Qingyuan.

It's a close call with Liu Qingge, but he manages to keep it together, looking very constipated and like he might start spitting blood.

Mu Qingfang smiles and offers congratulations. (One of the very few to do so.)

Mobei-jun has staring contests with the baby. No one is keeping track of the score, nor does anyone know about it. Really, Mobei-jun just stares at it and the baby stares back. Sometimes, the baby will reach out and smack him in the face. Mobei-jun does not react and just keeps staring.

Mobei-jun later tells Shang Qinghua he wants a baby and Shang Qinghua chokes on air so hard Mobei-jun has to pat his back.

Liu Qingge is actually one of their best babysitters. He has a lot of practice from Liu Mingyan. He sometimes holds the kid upside down by their ankle, but the kid always loves it. He's good at reading little kids.

When Liu Qingge babysits, he always ends up taking the kid on some sort of night hunt/adventure. The kid is always perfectly safe and never hurt in any way, but it always scares the shit out of Bingqiu. Liu Qingge is always super chill about it too like "No, nothing exciting really happened, just a normal day." "You took him/her to a den of demons to fight!!" And Liu Qingge just shrugs "I did that all the time with Mingyan."

On the flip-side, Liu Mingyan is one of the worst babysitters. It's amplified even more by it being Bingqiu's kid.

Yue Qingyuan is banned from babysitting. He's like the single uncle who has no idea how babies work. Shen Qingqiu tells him that they'll let him try babysitting again when the kid is older (with supervision for a trial run)

Shang Qinghua's not the best babysitter, but not a bad one either. The kid doesn't get into any big trouble or anything, but he's not the most fun babysitter. He doesn't really know how to act around kids so is super awkward with it.

Luo Binghe always worries that he's going to completely mess up as a father and ruin the kid in some way, even after they have the kid. Shen Qingqiu always soothes him and tells him he'll be a wonderful father and kisses his forehead.

Luo Binghe takes to patting their kids on the tops of their heads like shizun did to him when he was growing up (and still does)

Luo Binghe actually emulates Shen Qingqiu a lot sometimes when trying to be stern with their kids or in the cases of the headpats.

Shen Qingqiu notices this after a few years and asks Luo Binghe about it who replies something like "Well, Shizun did such a good job raising me, I figure that I should do what he did." and Shen Qingqiu is horrified. At himself mostly. And that Binghe would actually say it. He's still trying to get Binghe to stop calling him "shizun" in bed. This does not make him feel better about it.

Luo Binghe tells their kid(s) the same stories that his mother told him when he was a little boy and sings them the same lullabies. Shen Qingqiu watches him do this with a smile and tears pricking his eyes.

Shen Qingqiu does the same with stories and lullabies from his world, and Luo Binghe is fascinated by the strange songs and stories.

part 2

[mafuyussweater]

My Favorite Bingqiu (Bingyuan) fics

Be sure to read tags!

Leave kudos and comments for the authors!

Enjoy ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡ (to be added to as a read more)

lowly disciple's self insert fanfic system by:

Allpiesforourown

Mature • canon divergence

Airplane and Cucumber-bro figure out they are transmigrators earlier on. Shen Qingqius disciples are STICKY. Luo Binghe writes self insert fanfic about his Shizun.

☆彡

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This by: Prudabaga

Explicit • Canon Divergence (fix-it?)

Shen Qingqiu can't help that his dreams all seem to revolve around sleeping with the protagonist. It doesn't make him gay. He hardly has a choice even if he really does enjoy them.. anyone would!

☆彡

Tie Up the Broken Threads of That Old Dream by: Ehann

Mature • Canon Divergence (fix-it)

Shen Qingqiu self detonates and causes the system to go haywire. He wakes up in the past with no system at all and finds Luo Binghe fresh out of the Abyss. He is determined to make things right this time.

☆彡

Remnants of Gold by: Wemmye

Teen+ • Canon Divergence? (No Transmigrators)

Su Xiyan still takes the poison but somehow she manages to survive. Her and Binghe grow up as farmers and she helps her son hide his demon side with a jade pendant. She really doesn't trust cultivators but Shen Yuan, one of the two peak lords of Qing Jings peak, convinces her to let Luo Binghe learn cultivation from him.

☆彡

Tarnished Gold by: Prim_The_Amazing

Mature • Canon Divergence (in a major way)

Shen Yuan transmigrates into the body of Gongyi Xiao and meets a post Abyss Luo Bingge who wants to take his place as Head Disciple.

☆彡

The Divide Between Autumn and Spring by: sareyen

Mature • AU

Shen Yuan transmigrates into a disciple of Qing Jing who shares his same name. He is out of his depth when he realizes this body has a damaged core and also that he is well before canon PIDW with all of the future peak lords being just young teens! He manages to make lots of friends, becomes a beloved head disciple, and saves a few people too.

(This is angsty y'all but oml this is a MASTERPIECE -with a happy end dw)

☆彡

If Marriage Was an Olympic Sport by: anatheme

Explicit • Wife Plot (set during the Abyss arc)

Shen Qingqiu accidentally sets of a "wife hunt" that requires 12 participants to hunt down the "wife". He has from sunrise to sunset to run for his life to avoid being forced into marriage.

☆彡

safe and stranded by: anatheme

Mature• Modern era-ish (fix-it)

Shen Qingqiu self detonation causes the system to glitch and it sends him (and Binghe) to his old life and he has 3 days to experience living in the modern world again before he will be sent back to his body that was fall towards his death.

☆彡

picture you by: wnter_autumn

Explicit • Modern Au

Shen Yuan sleeps with his friend Luo Binghe and freaks out about it because he is straight... right?

☆彡

dreaming you the same sun in a different place by: JRaylin441

Explicit • Reverse Transmigration

Shen Qingqiu disappears and Luo Binghe gets a notification from the System offering a side quest called In Another Life that requires him to find his husband in his original body in the modern world. Unfortunately his husband has no memory of living in PIDW!

☆彡

Stealing Sun From the Flowers by: CherrieBabie

Explicit • Canon Divergence

Shen Yuan wakes up in his mushroom body with no memory of ever being Shen Qingqiu and no access to a system so he thinks he lucked out! Unfortunately as he is roaming around as a rogue cultivator he gets captured in the Huan Hua territory and meets Luo Binghe himself who is really upset that this guy looks really similar to his dead Shizun.

☆彡

Being a 30-Year-Old Virgin Made Shen Yuan a Wizard! By: stormsonjupiter

Explicit • Cherry Magic Au

The Cherry Magic we all love but make it Bingyuan!

☆彡

if you don't have your own boyfriend, rented is fine by: nyoomerr

Mature • Modern Au

Luo Bingge searches for his own nice Shizun and ends up in the modern world with Shen Yuan who is kind of rude and only looks a little bit like Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Yuan thinks Bingge is a poor cosplayer and asks to hire him as his pretend boyfriend to show appreciation for the real authentic cosplay.. that's all!

☆彡

Life is (not) a Hallmark Movie by: mellicindi

Teen+ • Modern Au

Shen Yuan watches this one ASMR cooking channel and finds the video needing some improvements but the guys voice is really really nice! Then he ends up at his friend Shang Qingyuan apartment and sees a familiar countertop...

☆彡

Tell Me Your Heart Doesn't Race for a Hurricane or a Burning Building by: Bluethursday

Explicit • Modern (stalker Au)

Shen Yuan opens his door to a handsome stranger who says "Hi, are you Shen Yuan? I'm Luo Binghe, your new live-in caretaker"

☆彡

Mightier than Waves by: bedesbummie

Explicit • Modern Au (kinda stalker ish)

Shen Yuan goes to pick up his sisters backpack from the rec center and when no one seems to be coming to help him, he searches for an employee and runs into shirtless and overly handsome Luo Binghe. After that day he can't help but find himself back at the rec center to get another glimpse of Binghe. Under the guise of wanting to improve his physical health.

☆彡

a thousand jars by:tagteamme

Explicit • Post Canon

Shen Qinghua finds himself feeling incredibly jealous. There is porn. That's the fic (it's so good)

☆彡

Starstruck by: Camorra

Explicit • Modern Au (musicians)

Shen Yuan, who is known for making videos playing bass in accompaniment to Luo Binghe's songs, gets a message from someone saying they could get him in touch with famous musician Luo Binghe. At first he doesn't believe it but then he receives a photo of his bandmates taking a selfie and decides to not let this opportunity slip by.

☆彡

Halasana by: The Feels Whale (miscella)

Explicit • Modern Au (yoga)

Luo Binghe (known slut) makes a bet with his coworker Sha Hualing that he will stop sleeping with his hot clients to prove he doesn't /need/ sex. And then it all goes to shit when Shen Yuan comes waltzing in for their one-on-one session.

☆彡

# KissingTheHomiesGoodnight by: knothim

Explicit • Modern Au

Shen Yuans "no homo" mental gymnastics his way into messing around with Luo Binghe using the dumbest logic only he could come up with.

☆彡

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: BONUS- Chapter 22

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

Yall I am sick as heck. I tested for the plague and it does not seem to be that, but I defo have a head cold/sinus thing going on.

I did something wild and a little unhinged and made my matcha latte with a protein shake like i'm some sort of athlete instead of a feeble old man. I also have enough vitamins running through me courtesy of ener-c to fuel a football team.

Still feel like ass, but this chapter was a solid up to my day.

Before we even get into it, based on the title of this chapter I can already tell I am not ready. The fact that there are TWO Binghe's is already telling me there is a metric shit-ton of threesome PWP on Ao3

Oh! okay! It's like an immediate continuation of the story. I totally thought we would be skipping a bunch of time or something, yay! this is a good surprise. p11

I forgot about the bamboo house replica LBH made for SQQ. It is so cute that he got the bamboo to actually grow in this realm. p11

LOL ofc LBH is sulking because SQQ will not sleep in the same bed as him. p12

I feel like based on the chapter title and the behaviour of the Binghe we have here that this is not the sweet Binghe we know and love. p15

How has LBH constantly pulling AWAY from SQQ not triggered some red flags for this man. Normally LBH makes every excuse to attach himself to SQQ. p16

okay LOL now SQQ finally questions it p18

Ming Fan you fucking narc! No one asked you to go get the other peaks involved. so rude! p19

Dang. Liu Qingge really is all or nothing. He is truly doing the lords work trying to constantly save SQQ from himself. The fact that he keeps picking up his literal shit every time this guy gets himself into A Situation is telling. Not enough respect for this guy, truly. p21

Oh god, well. RIP SQQ because this LBH is most definitely an imposter! p23

(I literally cannot read what I wrote for this note/I think my hand was working slower than my brain and many words are missing in the sentence. I think I was TRYING TO SAY): This Binghe is evil as shit and SQQ still has not confirmed. I am a little bit worried if this Binghe is here- where is the other one????? Is he okay??? p26

Yeah! You correct that asshole Ying Ningning. (If you can't tell this character really grew on me- she had the glow up for sure for sure). p27

I do love that this evil Binghe get's to have some internal dialogue that we read, "Like fuck you do!" p28

OMG. This evil Binghe totally did read the BingQiu porn and is taking his "shizun" for a test run. Oh no! Does good Binghe stop this??? p31

Thank fuck SQQ finds out who this Binghe is (though he sort of was not complaining about the man handling at all). Bless for good Binghe for showing up too! pp32-33

Bless his heart, "In the end, he and Luo Binghe were too unfamiliar with each other's bodies. That was why it had taken him so long to figure out what was wrong here" P35 Okay but I do love that his response to all of this is definitely- "me and Binghe need to be more intimate in case this situation happens again. I will definitely fix this for the future".

The way SQQ is just clutching his pearls this chapter is killing me LOL the romance novel energy is too much. "Shen Qingqiu was stunned silent. Playing around with who? Playing around with me? Bing-ge you...you'd accept all corners?! Welcoming both men and women! Is this something like 'both meat and fish are fine- I'm not picky, I'll eat whatever I'm given'?" P37

SQQ: "What the fuck am I supposed to tell anyone..." Also SQQ: p39

Oh no! Bing-ge is getting into Bing-mei's head. Leave the poor boy alone, he is very sensitive. All the while SQQ is trying to get the little guy to just focus on dealing with Bing-ge. p41

Since this is a different Binghe, I have decided to add another dime to the demon blood mite bank. I believe we are at $0.60 which is TOO damn much. p44

It is highly effective! p46

Oh no. Now Bing-ge is having feelings. Understandable though- he really did get the shit story where in everything is terrible and he has no real support. Bro just wanted some softness. p47

Oop. Well. I guess Bing-mei is going to attempt to level up some skills today. p49

Luo Binghe and his Dick Weapon (TM). p52

Blessed be, we have some sort of lube. I am literally so glad for this. The way my body viscerally reacted to their last scene- this is not much of an improvement, but they are getting there. p55

Oh no, and they're both crying now. p57

Thank fuck his disciples did NOT decide to fix the roof. p60 that would have been one heck of a surprise.

Okay, but this is so tender. Look at them both growing and learning. p61

LOL LBH is DETERMINED to learn. "Shen Qingqiu knew what he wanted to ask and mercilessly spoke first, "awful." However this time, even after receiving criticism, Luo Binghe wasn't depressed. Rather, he exuberantly declared, "Yes, it was awful. Unacceptably awful." "what are you saying...?" "Because it was simply awful, this disciple requests that his Shizun assist him with further exploration." Well." p62

It could have been worse!

These two are so damn weird. Good for them, but also, it's too much LOL. One is self sacrificing, the other is needy as HELL. It must have been so weird for BIng-ge to witness; drastically different version of himself!

[fierrochase-falafel]

Making a case for Xie Lian's complex morality in TGCF

Finally getting over myself and getting this one out of the drafts...

Disclaimer: Any MXTX book has a very divided fandom on whether practically all the characters are "good" or not- Hua Cheng, Xie Lian, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, Pei Ming, Luo Binghe. I feel the way MXTX writes is such that our own interpretation of the book can grow to be the very thing we love about it. So naturally I am going to start off by saying this is my interpretation of her work- you can disagree with me, sure, and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts, but I don't think it is something worth calling me wrong over. I'm not claiming to preach the 1 true reading or even claiming to be 'correct'- this is just my interpretation. This doesn't mean I don't find value in alternate interpretations, contradictory or otherwise. Please be nice to me!! :,)

Part I: Smart, but not smart

So anyways...there's this quote in book 3, when Xie Lian reveals Ling Wen as the creator of the Brocade Immortal, where this happens:

Ling Wen crossed her arms and shook her head. “Your Highness, someone like you…sometimes you’re smart, but sometimes you’re also not very smart; sometimes you’re soft-hearted, but sometimes you’re cold-hearted, too.”

And I've always loved this quote, it's arguably one of my favourites, because it emphasises what I think is the core of the story- to ascend is human, to fall is also human. What matters is appreciating that humanity, and nobody embodies this like Xie Lian. MXTX always pits together contradictions like this throughout the story: ascension with falling, soft-hearted with cold-hearted, laughing with crying. Humanity is a series of contradictions, and Xie Lian is the epitome of that. We see him saving a child with regal presence/grace and also drunkenly yelling swear words in a ditch; we see him calmly ascend to godhood at 17 and also almost violently kill a guy for insulting his street performance. Xie Lian is a man who can be kind, calm, endearing and spirited but also vengeful, bitter, jaded and broken. He has been naive and impulsive as well as strategic and controlled.

These differences often seem to happen at the same time in him, even. Xie Lian as a prince was still relatively calm and controlled, but it didn't stop him from being naive and desperate at various points too- sometimes at the same time. His decision in the Land of the Tender (T/W- to stab himself) was arguably a sign of him losing control of his senses yet remaining just on the cusp of controlling his actions. He is holding on to his no-sex cultivation by saying the Ethics Sutra and making the impulsive decision to turn his sword on himself voluntarily but also reacting sexually to the flower demons involuntarily. He is placed in situations where he is distinctly both in and out of control at the same time! Later when he's lying in a ditch (T/W- having stabbed himself AGAIN), there's a lens to it that he's waiting for someone to be kind to him, just once. He's optimistic in giving people a chance- hopeful and altruistic on some level while also being angry and bitter at nobody having helping him yet. In present day he's still impulsive at times but also level-headed, jaded and also optimistic. Hua Cheng fully recognises this in him, and his recognition of Xie Lian's utter humanity is what makes him the one person who truly understands Xie Lian.

"Your Highness, I understand your everything. Your courage, your despair; your kindness, your pain; your resentment, your hate; your intelligence, your foolishness."- Hua Cheng

Part II: Mass murder is...a big deal

Xie Lian is nowhere near perfect, like Feng Xin tends to see him, but neither is he just pretending to be altruistic to make people like him, as Mu Qing tends to believe. Both of them have these ideas in their heads of Xie Lian being amazing or awful, when really Xie Lian has the potential to be both, and that's what makes him, ultimately, just a human above all else. And Hua Cheng gets that about him, more than anyone else, which is important. Hua Cheng loves him and believes in him not because he is inherently, fundamentally good but because of who he is entirely. Part of that 'being' for Xie Lian is trying not to indulge his worst emotions, trying to be good as much as he can, but part of that 'being' includes parts of him that can't be perceived as 'good'. See, no matter how traumatised you are, and even though I'm not judging Xie Lian for his mental state, choking some man on the street almost to death is a no-go, okay.

Xie Lian's will to keep to his principles of what is right and wrong is one thing, but TGCF stretches these boundaries over and over as we watch Xie Lian's view evolve from being a child. I don't think Xie Lian is a 'good person' because he never strays from his values, because he does. Save the common people? The people of Yong'an he intended to mass massacre were the 'common people'. And yes he tried to save them before, and yes it took very little to make him not massacre the people of Yong'an, but the fact that this was something he started at all? He himself used Fangxin to collect the souls from the battlefield- no matter how much he subconsciously wanted to believe in the worth of humanity with his self-stabbing social experiment, he created the conditions necessary to commit mass murder and that in itself is a sign that a part of him meant to go through with it. This isn't just a byproduct of his rage, a response befitting of an uncaring society, no, this is a big deal, and I don't think we can still argue Xie Lian is / has always been a beacon of virtue. Xie Lian isn't just flawed in ways that are easy to forgive, it's not just that he's inherently 'good' with flaws such as impulsivity or naivety that do not really reflect on his moral character. He is also morally flawed, in a way all humans can be but may find it hard to recognise within themselves.

To be fair to the guy, most humans don't have their kingdoms destroyed, their bodily autonomy violated and all their loved ones gone from their lives. Particularly not the first one. For trauma of such epic proportions and disasters of such epic proportions, this intense of a response to commit mass murder isn't shocking. Given his exposure to all this power through his godhood and descent, the power to commit mass murder is less massive-seeming than needing the power to save his own people from it. Given the deaths of so many Xianle inhabitants, this is almost an eye-for-an-eye response: something which some people or cultures may see as morally righteous (the Locrians in Ancient Greece were huge on this, for instance) and some see as morally wrong. However, the way I see it that does not make potential mass murder easily ethically justifiable. MXTX doesn't shy away from giving us insight into Xie Lian's vulnerable and broken mental state and reasons for attempting this, but his actions are still consequential in a huge way. Had he committed the murder; had he not been pulled up by the farmer or had he not found it in him to stop, would we view him as morally good? Could we? What if he did murder the Yong'an citizens but then realised how awful that was then, and spent the rest of his life trying to be good? It feels a bit like a cop-out to say, "well, he didn't do it so that's that", because even the idea, the intention of him doing it and the fact it almost happened raises so many questions about how much blame would be attribute to him if the people of Yong'an really were killed. Even if Xie Lian hadn't done it himself: if he failed to stop Bai Wuxiang from killing them all, for instance. If he were stabbed over and over again but his body couldn't take it, if the rest of the people of Yong'an weren't willing to stab him, and Wu Ming didn't take the bullet then what? It's not like Bai Wuxiang had any reason to go out of his way to call the spirits of Yong'an to Fangxin, for to him the biggest matter was getting Xie Lian to do it and solidify the latter's allegiance to resentment and apathy (just like himself). That would have been done by Xie Lian's hand, and how much the consequences would lay on Xie Lian's head is really difficult to think about. Even if he'd have done his utmost to stop it, but it would've happened atleast partially because of him.

Part III: Morality measured

It's interesting to consider how we measure morality as individuals- somewhere in-between intentions and consequences we diverge, and this tension is what fuels MXTX's conflicts. This is why it's so hard to assign blame in TGCF. Shi Wudu's intentions with the fate-swap were not malicious at all but the consequences for He Xuan were utterly disastrous, and that's on Shi Wudu. Quan Yizhen's intentions were never to make Yin Yu feel bad, but his obliviousness and shining talent hurt Yin Yu anyways. Of course, Yin Yu was the one who kept silent until he couldn't take it anymore, and said the worst possible thing at the worst possible time even if all he wanted was to be nice to Quan Yizhen and not project his feelings onto him. Book 3 contains an increase in these dynamics where the intentions and consequences are SO vastly incongruent that it plays with what morality means, encouraging you to ask: "Who do you believe was in the right?" "Do you think anyone here is or isn't entitled to what they want?" "Is there any way to objectively assign blame here, or are some scenarios too complicated for there to be a direct conflict of right and wrong?" So when it comes to Xie Lian, all that he could have been and all that he is, book 4 naturally stretches the limits of his heart being in paradise.

In conversations I have had or opinions I've seen on this platform and others, people's opinions on how much Xie Lian caused aspects of his own downfall range from "he did absolutely nothing wrong ever" to "he was the epitome of hubris and ignorance", the latter usually accompanied by a favourable analysis towards another character such as Mu Qing. When getting into MDZS, I was reminded of this when seeing Wei Wuxian-Jiang Cheng discourse actually, people talking about Wei Wuxian as a model of goodness who never hurt anyone unless his hand was forced (as if the Wen Chao toruture scene didn't happen) or as an irresponsible and disloyal rascal (as if he wasn't protecting defenseless people including JC's rescuers in the Burial Mounds). This sort of range can be seen with many characters in TGCF: particularly with Xie Lian, Hua Cheng and Mu Qing but you also get many for Jun Wu, He Xuan, Shi Wudu and the like. Xie Lian, as the main character, is possibly the most complicated of them all. The series is in his perspective, he recognises and regrets both his glory days and his fall from grace- the former due to his naivety and the latter due to his resentment. Since then all of the plots he has involved himself in have involved him taking on as much of the pain as physically possible for himself because his desire to help other people flourished again alongside and mingled with his shame and lasting trauma. He is ashamed of both his highest and lowest moments for not being able to offset the consequences, but while you're reading the story it feels very often like there's nothing else he could have done. Partially because (although this is debatable imo) this is somewhat from his perspective despite the 3rd person narrative, so we know what he's like before anyone else. Plus, with how book 2 plays out like a classic tragedy where his greatest strength (will to help his people despite tradition) becomes his greatest weakness, it's the age-old question of how much he can be held accountable for his kingdom's downfall or how much was completely out of his control or in the hands of fate.

One take I remember very strongly that was quite popular was about MXTX's characters being ultimately morally good characters, in which Xie Lian's character was said to not change or develop. Rather, Xie Lian has always been inherently morally good and TGCF is about the world around him not rewarding that goodness yet Xie Lian remaining good and pure-hearted all the way through no matter what, even in his darkest times. While this may be an interpretation some people have, I think it's more complicated than that. Xie Lian's morality was seemingly very clear-cut in book 2 because he had no huge reason not to be 'good'. Yeah sure, he was chastised for saving a child during the lantern festival parade, but nothing was genuinely going to happen to him. He was the crown prince! The stakes for him were never as high, and he had no reason to believe he could fail at all. When put to the test, given the fact he did set up the conditions for the immediate slaughter of Yong'an, I don't think any goodness automatically present in his character was being channelled in his decision. Morality can be as easy as "I want to always do what's right" when you have money and security, but becomes more difficult when you're consumed by grief and rage, or when you've lost everything you once had. Morality is more than an inherent aspect to one's character, and how we perceive someone's moral nature depends on their intentions, their choices, the consequences of those choices and whether they accept responsibility and accountability for the other 3 things.

Part IV: Complexity is the key

Having said all this, I hope it's clear I am NOT saying Xie Lian is an immoral character. In fact, I WOULD argue that he is a 'good' person, that is, a person who embodies what goodness would look like despite all the complications involved. What I'm saying here is that he is a good person not because he always sticks to his standards/beliefs, or even that he always believes in his own standards, but because he chooses to try to believe. In humanity, in the power of his own actions, in the kindness of strangers after he was shown kindness once himself. And this is something earned and learned, not something he had in the beginning. In the beginning it came natural to him because he had the privilege of that as Crown prince. "If something goes wrong, I'll fix it, and everyone around me will always be looking out for my best interests even if I disagree with them. Murder is wrong, following the path to ascension is the ultimate good." etc. etc. When he has to face the world as someone with nothing, those are the experiences that mould his current day understanding of why people do the things they do even if they seem completely morally wrong. Why people would stab someone knowing they would feel the pain, why people would murder someone, why they might steal or rage or drink. And in most cases, it can be hard to judge someone as completely morally wrong for doing actions deemed morally wrong if you believe intention has any bearing on morality.

Xie Lian to me is not inherently good, but someone who chooses to try to be a good person, thus arguably being a good person. And I would defend him as such on that premise, not because his righteous morals have remained static and intact throughout the novels. It isn't that he didn't choose to be good as a child, but he didn't really have to TRY because he hadn't faced the sort of crisis that shook his foundations and forced him to grow, understanding and adapting to the complexity of living in the real world. Where you fail, where falling upon hard times can force you to resort to things you once thought beneath you. Where your actions have power over your circumstances, but your circumstances also hold power over you whether you like it or not. The root of Xie Lian's compelling character, for me, is in his growth from a man with a static morality to a man with moral complexity. A belief in one's principles that accounts for its limits and recognises its flaws in the face of circumstance, and adapts accordingly. It's not like Xie Lian wanted to betray and murder the Yong'an king who was so kind to him, and to actively do that seems pretty horrible until you remember he did it to save a whole group of people, Xianle descendants. Xie Lian still blames himself for this in book 1 even though in this act he saved numerous civilians, but Hua Cheng reminds him that he made that choice for a good reason, and has faith in Xie Lian's choices.

Speaking of the devil...Hua Cheng, even though he loves all of Xie Lian, does not love him blindly or without consideration of the worst parts of himself. He would follow Xie Lian into the abyss of his mental state but still try to help Xie Lian out of the sort of guilt, back from the point of no return. One interpretation of his refusal to let Xie Lian kill Lang Ying is that he wanted Xie Lian to not have Lang Ying's blood on his hands as well. If this would affect any future cultivation or make him feel any more guilty in the future. He also tried to gently tell Xie Lian that he still has believers to calm him down when he sees the white flower. However, to Hua Cheng, whatever Xie Lian would've chosen in the end would still be a decision taken by the same Xie Lian, and Hua Cheng would follow Xie Lian no matter whether he's engaged in the worst parts of himself or not. I think it's very easy for us to assign a specified amount of goodness to a character based on just 1 thing- be it just their intentions or just their choices or just the consequences of their actions. A few sample assumptions I've seen (that do not reflect wider society or anything, these are just opinions I've seen around online): To want to save people is good, therefore Xie Lian is good. Hua Cheng has no qualms about killing 33 gods for Xie Lian, so he must be amoral. But the nature of what is good is variable- under the light of different interpretations, Xie Lian is more morally grey and Hua Cheng is more morally inclined than those assumptions would give them credit for. My point essentially is that many characters, but Xie Lian in particular, are more complicated than we sometimes give them credit for. It's also why he's so easily put up against Jun Wu- someone who is the antagonist and committed several heinous crime, but also parallels what Xie Lian at his worst could have been. If Jun Wu really did repent on everyone he damaged at the end of the novels, you can't call him a good person just based on newfound intent and he can't be so easily forgiven, but to imply alternatively that after all he's done he will always be a bad man and that's that...doesn't sit right with me either. Of course, the question of Jun Wu seems even more complicated somehow, funnily enough.

I think when I first read TGCF years back, Xie Lian is the character who showed me not to judge multidimensional characters or people on a consistent metric of goodness but rather on numerous aspects of how they live that can change over time and leaves room for circumstantial flexibility. I also think that acknowledging complexity in how we view morality in each other can allow us to gain a better understanding of what it is to be a human. And in my view, what makes Xie Lian such a well-written character is that he's nothing if not a human.

[coffeesleep-ooc]

Binghe nicknames

Today im reflecting in LBH’s nicknames, like, SQQ’s nicknames for him, fandom nicknames for him and SQH’s nicknames for him

why you ask? Because my brain is full of sv brainworms, that’s all

Now, this may have some inconsistencies bc it’s what I believe and im by no means chinese…let’s start with the most common ones to name a small Binghe

We have things like bingbing, binghe, white lotus, little sheep and bunhe. The first two look fairly straightforward no? From what ive seen, in chinese using a character of a person’s name repeatedly like this denotes a cutesy way of calling them, and calling someone by their name alone (as long as it has enough characters for that) is a sign of being close. LBH obviously loves SQQ calling him Binghe, nobody else gets that privilege! Even NYY calls him A-Luo and not Binghe, even though that is another way to denote closeness, I don’t believe its the same for him!

let’s go with bunhe, this is (as far as i know, do correct me if im wrong) a fandom’s name for the lil guy, im guessing it came from the english part of the fandom since its a play on his name and in chinese the term for bun would be bao/baozi(?) depending on the type of bun so it wouldn’t be as cute to call him baohe(?) sounds like another person entirely lol

but! Bun makes you think of a round white and soft ball, safe and sweet, unless you are of course, not chinese like me and at first you thought of a golden brownish ball of hot bread, which would work anyways bc freshly made bread it’s delicious and soft. Anyways, i kinda prefer the chinese imagery of bun for this dumb reason ill present to you: Bunhe is a soft round baby, you can nom his cheeks and squeeze him and call him only to see him following cutely! Its the best! But also, when you break the surface you reveal there’s a spicy filling that will leave your mouth stinging and your stomach warm and content, the problem is though, that your white little bao is now in pieces and you can’t reconstruct it, the white surface has been stained with the spicy red from hell and the bitterness of betrayal…but the sweet exterior is still there and it has shifted to become a delicious dish filled with the flavor of home.

am i getting too lost?

lets go back to nicknames! SY gives him the nicknames of little white lotus and little sheep. The second one is pretty self-explanatory, LBH follows him around everywhere like sheep tend to do (also, this is why little duckling also works) but! The consensus in the fandom is that he has curly hair right? Well, imagine a little boy with fluffy hair following you around and trying to help you with everything? It’s impossible not to want to pat his head and squeeze him, so little sheep it is.

now, i’ve seen that sv fandom uses white lotus a lot! SY himself uses it if I remember correctly, but i feel like sometimes we forget where it truly comes from and what SQQ is saying when he calls LBH that, its true that LBH is like a flower, whilting or flourishing on command like SQQ is his sun, his earth and his water. But from other novels i’ve read, I’ve realized that calling someone a white lotus is not necessarily a compliment! In chinese slang a white lotus is someone that looks pure and kind, respectful and pretty, just like the lotus flower peacefully and beautifully resting on a pond, but it also tells us that such a person has a hidden agenda, a hidden side to their personality just like the lotus has roots in the dirt, underwater where we can’t see, its growing and taking advantage of the nutrients of the deepest parts of the earth, so it’s someone “muddy” and “dirty” that presents themselves kind, pure and innocent!

Which means- that SQQ is calling LBH this to remind himself that even though this cute lil boy is obedient and sweet now, he will (in SQQ’s mind at least) torture him and show his true colors later on the road, after he has been utterly betrayed. I quite like this nickname because of how innocent it looks at first, and how sweetly SQQ is usually portrayed while calling LBH this, but he actually knows deep down that he is possibly playing with fire, and even so, he chooses to care and to ahow love to LBH -sobs-

LBH post canon ends up with a lot of trauma, attachment issues and insecurities, and SQQ calling him white lotus shows that he knew about LBH’s bad sides since the beginning. BUT. He. Doesn’t. Communicate. That!!!!! This dumbass!!!! (Affectionate)

Now, there’s also the nicknames SQQ-SQH use to differentiate the Binghes, and i find it incredibly funny too. There’s Bingge (Bing from his name and Ge from older brother), not only called older brother bc he is the original, but also because he is ruthless and cool beyond expectations (we see in the extras, that he is very intelligent and cunning, but equally as shizun starved smhw) he is strong and much more serious and bitter than his counterpart, not to mention the sheer number of women he has (which, as stallion power fantasy, would make him “more manly” but that’s another topic), so, older brother it is!

Sv LBH is usually called Binghe or even ‘my son’ by SQH, which i find hilarious bc SQQ hates it, he doesn’t want to acknowledge SQH as LBH’s father even if he is the creator. This is obviously a running joke but it makea me think of SQQ then accusing SQH of also marrying his own son (MBJ) which would be extremely funny and SQH would be mortified.

anyways, LBH is also calles Bingmei (Bing for his name and mei for little sister) and this is where it gets interesting, because they clearly could have chosen didi (little brother) but didn’t! And this reinforces the comedic role of LBH, he isn’t just a gay protagonist, he is a gay protagonist that - following the advise of his (unknown) creator/shishu - acts like a total maiden throwing a massive tantrum to get SQQ’s attention, he cries like a little girl, he tugs on SQQ’s sleeve with big watery eyes and becomes his housewife. Not only that, but his insecurities are exaggerated by his acting and it gives the impression of him having a massive maiden heart that will die dramatically if her husband doesn’t pay attention to her 25/7 (no, the 5 is not a typo), and it’s true that he has a maiden heart, but he can live without the 25/7 attention, he is just that dramatic. And obviously lets not forget about the picture of a previously ruthless stallion protagonist in the transmigrators’ minds actually turning into this kind of person that acts frail and cute for his husband, it’s just too much for them, and so, he gets called little sister, like a spoiled younger sister, the apple of her parent’s eye. Honestly when i first read that nickname I couldn’t stop laughing for a long while.

finally im going to babble about LBH’s nicknames for himself, we have, this disciple and this husband which are very contradictory but funny when used together. This disciple is not a special title or anything, because for LBH, he is *not* someone that should be special in any way, he just wants to be special to SQQ, who he adores and admires and wants to always protect. Many ppl call themselves ‘this disciple’ to address SQQ, its a way to denote their status and their willingness to be taught by him, to have a familial relationship outside of blood. Now, this is important to LBH bc he feels like he belongs somewhere calling himself this, especially bc he had no home before, and after when he was part of the peak he was singled out as special but in a bad way, so I believe that he just wants to belong somewhere, to a home. Later on, its also important to him because its a reassurance that SQQ still recognizes him as his family. This disciple, for SQQ is like a threat, but for LBH is a way of asking ‘do you still want me?’ ‘Do you see im the same person you shared your home with?’ And that SQQ doesn’t dare reclaim him at first hurts him bc he yearns to go back to being his disciple, cared for and protected under his master’s sleeve. But LBH also wants more than that if he can have it, and this is when the abandonment issues kick again. He calls himself ‘this husband’ in tears, because he got what he wanted and what he was sure he didn’t deserve for being himself, it’s again, a reassurance of his position in SQQ’s live and in his heart, it means he has the power to *stay*, which is the most important thing for him.

Ill finish here bc im getting mushy and weepy and i need to write and read more fic, thanks for coming to read my babbles and do tell me if there’s something or some nickname i missed and you want it studied too! 💖

[sun-and-moon-mushroom]

Scum Villain Plot Bunny: Soulmate AU

AO3 link

AU premise: Found here

The first thing Shen Yuan — now Shen Qingqiu — does when he’s left alone after transmigrating is pull open the robes over his chest and look down at the skin where his soulmark is meant to be. It’s still there, thankfully, a thin branch decorated with open plum blossom flowers. He supposed it wouldn’t have been too strange for it to change — after all, the soulmark that the original Shen Qingqiu was written as having had been oddly similar, just with closed buds instead.

The colour of the petals was still vivid under his fingers, despite some odd discolouration around the edges, a bright and vibrant red, rather than faded by the inevitable snapping of a soulmate bond with the death of one member. It made him wonder…

“System, do I have a soulmate here?”

[Shen Qingqiu is soulbound to Protagonist Luo Binghe]

“I know that already!” he complained. He’d read the book — Proud Immortal Demon Way — and as bad as the story had gotten over time, how could he forget one of the most pivotal moments of the plot, the one that had resulted in a sudden surge of popularity… as well as complaints from readers about the story heading into danmei territory after it was revealed that the awful scum villain shizun of the protagonist was his soulmate all along! (Although Shen Yuan could admit that the influx of fanartists that shipped the pair had helped the popularity of the novel grow… he even had a few of their works as posters decorating his apartment and as wallpapers for his laptop).

Airplane-Shooting-Towards-the-Sky had been quick to assure his loyal readers that he was still writing a stallion novel — the twist was based on stories of soulmates with fates bound not by love, but by hatred, great rivalries and sworn enemies. Of course, the hack of an author had quickly abandoned his premise in favour of adding more wives to the harem, with the character that could have been Luo Binghe’s greatest enemy taken down in a trial of all things! No dramatic final confrontation, no sudden plot twists or hidden schemes, it was like the villain had forgotten the role he was meant to play, not even trying to escape from his prison! Shen Yuan demanded a refund! Imagine if Sephiroth had been arrested halfway through the game, or Darth Vader was fired after a poor performance review! It completely destroyed any sense of tension the story had, with every future villain only showing up to be immediately defeated by Luo Binghe.

He asked the System about his soulmate again and it replied the same way.

[Shen Qingqiu is soulbound to Protagonist Luo Binghe]

His scathing literary critique aside, Shen Yuan was stuck living the life of Shen Qingqiu, and now it seemed he’d taken on his soulmate bond with Luo Binghe as part of that. This presented a problem — as much as he wanted to help the protagonist, the System had made it very clear that any deviation from the way Shen Qingqiu usually acted would be punished. Unfortunately for him, this included the fact that Shen Qingqiu refused to make any physical contact with Luo Binghe, not even to hurt him — because that would solidify the bond between them, something the original was, for some reason, completely opposed to, despite the side effects. The very side effects that the current Shen Qingqiu was currently experiencing now, due to the battered-looking young boy bowing before him.

Shen Yuan had never felt his soulmark burn before. For most of his life, he’d assumed he’d be like most people, and only experience it later in life, if he got that far (the average age to meet your soulmate was 37 after all). It hurt, more than he expected it to, but it was a dull and constant pain of the sort he was used to ignoring. He could see Luo Binghe wince before him at the feeling, and felt pity for him. At this point in the story, Luo Binghe didn’t even realise that he had a soulmate, his soulmark sealed away with his demonic heritage at birth. To him, he only felt an unexplained pain in his chest whenever he met Shen Qingqiu, something he attributed in the earlier chapters to guilt at not meeting his expectations, and in the later ones, before the Immortal Alliance Conference and the reveal of the truth, to a burning hatred.

Shen Qingqiu could only sigh internally in relief — it seemed he was early enough in the story that it was still the first. He still had time, still had a chance, to save his own skin and make it out of Airplane’s trainwreck of a story alive, and with all his limbs attached. All he had to do was convince the protagonist to like him… without ever revealing that he was really his soulmate.

[makedonsgriva]

Devil Venerable Also Wants To Know : A Review

So I generally don't do reviews. But going through the tumblr tag and then on AO3 and seeing the abysmal amount of posts and fanfics, I am writing this review in hopes of someone reading this and then getting convinced by my agenda.

Because Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know deserves to be read by yall.

IT. IS. SO. GOOD.

To summarize, we start with the leader of the demonic Xuanyuan Sect, Wenren E, getting a copy of a trashy romance novel, Abusive Romance.

What baffles him is that he, a logical, rational person who has never felt love in his life, is the second lead and falls in love with the Mary Sue female lead and gives up everything for her and dies in the end for her too.

What makes him even more confused that after he dies in the novel, his loyal subordinate Yin Hanjiang is driven to madness and is hell bent on revenge, pursuing the female lead to kill her.

Wenren E decides that this cannot be allowed. He is not afraid of death, (although he does mind that it was for a stupid reason and not on his own terms) but he very much minds the fact that his subordinate went insane after it. So he sets out to re write destiny.

Now let's talk about the highlights of this book

The Characters

DVAWTK is full of interesting, fun and exciting characters who will remain etched in your memory. Whether it is the sensuous, ruthless and ambitious Shu Yanyan or the wise, perceptive and kind Zhongli Qian, there is a multitude of characters to pick from to love and adore and all of them have deeper and hidden depths that give them layers of complexities.

Not to mention, DVAWTK has several strong and amazing female characters. I have mostly read MXTX books and this is where she lacks the most: hardly any strong female characters. She writes shockingly amazing characters but most of them are male and I mostly don't mind but I do wish I got some great girls to cherish in there too.

Cyan Wings does not disappoint in that aspect. All their female characters are wonderfully well fleshed out. Especially Baili Qingmiao. Seeing her go from the biggest girlfailure to an absolute girlboss over 70 something chapters is satisfying in a sense the way, and I quote the book here, "one feels about their first daughter finally grow up" Chef's kiss truly.

The Plot

The plot is engaging but nothing too crazy, if I am being honest. Apart from a couple of reveals and plot twists that were shocking, it mostly stuck to a more or less predictible story line. That does not mean it was not good; it was. Most of the arcs keep you engaged enough to keep reading without being able to put the story down and tie into each other seamlessly. As such, there are no plot holes and stupid or unnecessary story lines. It works very well to support the characters and their personal growth and arcs.

The Humour

Top notch. So well done. Got me laughing out loud multiple times and earned me a lot of weird looks from my roommate but all worth it. SVSSS was the funniest work I read but DVAWTK gives it a run for its money in terms of the comedy it has and also it's general unhinged-ness, mostly thanks to it's characters. Everyone at the Demonic Xuanyuan Sect is a goofball although they are not trying to be. The skeleton lady Qiu Congxue has no brains. Literally. A ghost ate it so you can guess just how well she is faring in the books.

(she still is immensely powerful tho)

The Romance

So far the biggest freaks I had found while reading Danmei are Mo Ran and Luo Binghe.

Yin Hanjiang is a hundred times worse.

He is an absolute psycho, a complete nutter, powerful beyond comprehension and hopelessly devoted to Wenren E. And Wenren E, once realising his own feelings, thinks it is all so hot!! (makes you really wonder just who is more insane among the two)

My subordinate wants to destroy the entire cultivation world after my death? He has my full support that's so cute of him <3

Freak4freak with some very beautiful and tender moments and an absolute badass power couple who kick ass together in battles. Truly amazing. I love love love wenrenjiang.

The World building

Wonderfully well done and also easy to follow! I especially liked how cultivation was viewed from a different light in this novel and how the book explores the ways it is actually harmful to mortals. I actually learnt a lot about various cultivation stages from this novel and came to understand some common aspects of xianxia novels. DVAWTK uses many technical terms in terms of cultivation and it is fun to read and learn about it

Found Family

Need I say more? Like what's better than a bunch of idiots coming together and growing on their journey thanks to each other? *gently holds Su Huai, Baili Qingmiao, Qiu Congxue and Zhongli Qian in my palms* they are so important to me

Final Thoughts

DVAWTK is a great read with a very satisfying ending. It keeps you hooked till the very end and I am honestly surprised it is so underrated. I am very glad it is getting an official translation soon so hopefully, it will amass more readers although the unofficial translation I read is also very good. It deserves way more hype and fans then it has because it's so silly, so good and so well done. Ugh I hope it also gets some kind of adaptation some day to make it more popular because it deserves it all.

Please read this novel. That's what I want to say. You will not be disappointed.

[letteredlettered]

Hi!!! I’d love to hear about Ming Fan :)

hahahahaha well you already know! But it's true we did talk about two Ming Fan fics.

This one has 6,000 words. I doubt I will have the patience to finish it, even though Tarnished Gold by prim_the_amazing made me want 30,000 other fics like it.

In this fic, Shen Yuan does not transmigrate into Shen Qingqiu's body. He instead transmigrates into Ming Fan's body, about 9 months before Shen Qingqiu is due to toss Luo Binghe into the Endless Abyss.

Here's a short excerpt that I think basically demonstrates the premise. The opening of the fic is that LBH is being tortured in the woodshed as a result of Ming Fan's bullying. When LBH gets out he hears that Ming Fan has fallen ill. He doesn't exactly care.

A few warnings: there's bullying, violent thought, and a number of OCs in this excerpt. Also, the narration is unkind to Ning Yingying--this is because LBH likes her well enough but doesn't really understand her behavior. The idea is that Shen Yuan would eventually shed light for Luo Binghe on why she does what she does, making her a far more relatable and comprehensible character for the reader. (And as in canon, NYY having someone around who treats her like an adult also helps NYY herself grow and change).

A week later, Ning Yingying came to visit while Luo Binghe mucked out the horses’ stalls. “Did you hear? Ming-shixiong is doing much better,” she remarked, sitting on a bale of hay, watching as he worked.

Ning Yingying never helped with the additional tasks always assigned to Luo Binghe. She’d tried to a few times in early days. She’d been reprimanded for it and Luo Binghe punished, though Luo Binghe being punished never seemed like a strong deterrent to her. At first, Luo Binghe had thought that she didn’t realize that they liked her, and that was why she also didn’t realize that evidence that she liked him resulted in hardship upon him. Gradually, he came to see that she just didn’t notice that her behavior could really have an effect on anyone who wasn’t her.

Once he asked her not to help him with the chores, she gave in easily. She really hadn’t liked doing them anyway.

When Luo Binghe said nothing, Ning Yingying went on. “They say he suffered memory loss as a result of the illness. Even some of his cultivation technique!”

Luo Binghe shoveled more of the dung into the wheeled cart. He had heard the same thing, but it didn’t really concern him much. Ming Fan’s cultivation had never been strong to begin with, even though his spiritual cultivation was still much stronger than Luo Binghe’s. It didn’t matter. Luo Binghe’s demonic cultivation, under the tutelage of Ming Mo, had already made him more powerful than Ming Fan would ever be.

“I’ve heard he’s been practicing with the little ones to relearn it,” Ning Yingying went on. “Shu-shimei, Mu-shimei, even San-shidi. He’s only twelve! Have you ever heard Ming-shixiong even speak to them?”

Ming Fan should have been speaking to them. He was Head Disciple, and Shu Mingxia, Mu Bailong, and San Nianzhou were Ming Fan’s youngest martial siblings. Ming Fan’s duty was to ensure that they were well tutored, but of course, Ming Fan had never done anything of the sort with Luo Binghe. He shoveled up another pile of dung.

“I just think it’s interesting,” Ning Yingying said, when Luo Binghe still didn’t reply.

“What’s interesting?” said a voice.

Luo Binghe paused, then slowly turned around.

Huo Yuhan, one of Ming Fan’s gang, stood in the doorway of the stables, flanked by two others. During Ming Fan’s illness, Huo Yuhan and these other two had carried on the thankless yet necessary task of insulting Luo Binghe, pranking him, assigning him extra work, and making sure he didn’t have enough to eat. “I said, what’s interesting?” Huo Yuhan demanded, swaggering into the stable. “Is it how much shit Luo-shidi can shovel? Because I’m interested in him shoveling more.”

“Huo-shixiong,” was all Luo Binghe said. He rested his hand casually around the handle of the shovel, imagining bashing it into Huo Yuhan’s head—but he already knew he wouldn’t do it. Patience, Meng Mo had counseled. The boys would rough him up. Ning Yingying would protest, and Luo Binghe would let them. Then he would go back to shoveling shit.

“Maybe it’s interesting whether you’re good for anything else,” Huo Yuhan said. “Tell me, Shidi, are you good for anything but shoveling shit? Maybe eating shit?”

“Huo-shidi,” said a quiet voice.

Luo Binghe shifted his eyes behind the trio, who all turned to look at the stable door entrance. Ming Fan stood there, looking a little pale. His mouth was a flat line.

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhan’s face broke into a wide grin. “Ming-shixiong! So glad you’re here. I was just asking Luo-shidi whether he wanted to eat shit. What do you think?”

“Shizun wants you.” Ming Fan’s eyes fell on the other two disciples flanking Huo Yuhan. “You as well.”

“What? What for?”

Ming Fan gave a slight shake of his head. “He didn’t say.”

“Well, fine,” said Huo Yuhan. “We can tell him how badly Luo-shidi is slacking.”

“Right,” said Fu Xuefeng, one of the other lackeys. “He’s barely shoveled anything.”

“You’re the ones who interrupted him,” Ning Yingying said irritably.

“We’ll tell him you said so.” Fu Xuefeng smirked, knowing that any time Shen Qingqiu heard about Ning Yingying defending Luo Binghe, the punishment doubled.

Luo Binghe kept his silence, hand still on the shovel.

“Why would we bother Shizun with reports about dung?” Ming Fan’s eyes were fixed calmly on the trio, as though Luo Binghe wasn’t even there. “I’m sure it’s beneath his notice.”

Huo Yuhan began, “But Luo-shidi hasn’t—”

“It’s beneath his notice,” Ming Fan said firmly. “Come along.” Ming Fan waited at the door until the other three had filed out, then turned and left.

He hadn’t looked at Luo Binghe once. He hadn’t looked at Ning Yingying either, which was far more strange. Ming Fan usually never passed up an opportunity to ridicule Luo Binghe, but perhaps Ming Fan had decided ignoring Luo Binghe and calling him beneath Shen Qingqiu’s notice was ridicule enough. But Luo Binghe couldn’t remember a time when Ming Fan hadn’t looked for an opportunity to ingratiate himself with Ning Yingying, even despite all these years of her disinterest. Did he think that acting like he was too good to care about dung shoveling was going to impress her somehow?

“Like I said,” Ning Yingying, tossing aside a piece of hay she’d been playing with. “It’s very interesting.”

[scribblestatic]

Amputee!SY incoming. Round Two, fight!

Prev: Part 6

---

For a moment, there was silence.

Then the next, an uproar.

Demons and cultivators alike loudly rebuked Cang Qiong Sect, the cultivators doing so out of outrage that the most prominent cultivation sect would do something so cruel, and the demons doing so because even most of them, for as dog-eat-dog as demon society often was, wouldn't go so far as to pollute their siblings with spiritual qi.

Of course, it was convenient to blame it all on them. Demons and cultivators outside of the sect had surely done worse, depending on the situation. But that wasn't what Luo Binghe cared to clarify.

What had once been understood as a failing purely on Shen Qingqiu's part was now understood to be the negligence of the sect he sought refuge in. The sect whose lead disciple, whose future sect leader, he had saved. He wasn't bad at cultivating, he was almost willfully sabotaged by those he should've been able to trust.

"Since this lord has been able to assist him, he has not suffered another deviation. His core has stabilized, and his power grows increasingly precise. How many can say they can precisely control a quill and write a letter using their qi alone?

"Since this lord has been able to find a balance with his own demonic and spiritual qi, so too has Shen Qingqiu. Ah...well, that is, if you wish to still be called that, Wife."

Shen Yuan was gazing toward the ground quietly. With his fan on his lap, they could see the blank mask he'd forced his expression into. There was no rage, no anger...not even resentment.

Just contemplation.

His eye closed and he huffed, his fan rising to cover the lower half of his face again.

"...This one prefers the name Yuan."

It pained him to hurt his beloved like this. He clearly was hurt, considering he didn't give even a little token protest to being called a 'wife' instead of a 'husband.'

To dig up old wounds and lay them bare once again was something he had hesitated to do. But this would be the final time he did so, and not for his own self-service, but to further legitimize Shen Yuan's position as his empress.

He would clear Shen Yuan's name with this, and Cang Qiong Sect would be witness to it.

"Of course, A-Yuan."

As much as he wanted to kiss him, he had that tense energy about him, the kind that said he'd prefer to be left alone. He must be thinking of so much... It would do well for him to simply get this done with as quickly as he could.

---

"So now, you reject the name given to you by your shifu?"

"Peak Lord He, this lord dares not assume that your wine also hinders the mind. Surely, if you were so thoroughly betrayed by your shifu, would you want to keep the name given to you by them?"

The man scowled. "Does anyone reject the name given to them by their parents? Hate it or not, betrayed or not, he was given the name Qingqiu as a courtesy to his position."

"Ah, but this lord has yet another point, one that helps shed light on this charge and another. Three, Shen Qingqiu's legal insanity, specifically his psychosis, were in part triggered by his courtesy name and even my own, leading to his targeted hatred toward me. In addition to this, this lord wishes to address the charge against Shen Yuan for the murder and eradication of House Qiu.

"My love, how do you plead?"

"Guilty."

"Cease this!" Qi Qingqi bellowed. "That charge is not for you to try to absolve! Do you intend to overwrite Qiu Haitang's justice for the sake of this farce of a crowning? To betray one of your wives to put another, a man, in the top position of your harem?"

"Peak Lord Qi, your misandry has nothing to do with how I run my harem. And, to clarify, no, I have no intent to overwrite Qiu Haitang's justice...instead, this lord intends to question whether the ruling was fairly just or needlessly cruel, as my own punishments toward him had been."

With the inward curl of two of his fingers, guards entered the area. Between them, they held the arms of a struggling Qiu Haitang. They didn't hold her particularly tightly, but her cultivation was apparently rather weak.

They carefully released her, and she pulled away, huffing and looking particularly wronged.

"What is the meaning of this, Husband? I already accepted that you came to love the one who killed my whole family more than me. I've even accepted that you want to give him such a high position, one he can lord over me for as long as your affections allow! Why do you continue to antagonize me?!"

"Tang-er, don't exaggerate. Shen Yuan killed all of the men of your clan, but he left the women untouched, did he not?"

"That's the same as killing my family! You agreed back then!"

Luo Binghe nodded morosely. "That I did. However, this lord must admit to his faults. I believe it is imperative that the hatred between you and Shen Yuan be alleviated."

"Hah! Never! How dare you ask me to do such a thing!! I have no say on who you allow in your bed, but you cannot...you will not control my emotions! I know the truth, and that truth is that I will, forever, hate Shen Qingqiu for what he did to my family!"

"Hmm, I see. But what about what your family did to him?"

Qiu Haitang froze, clearly affronted.

"What my family did to him? What did we do? Elevate his position? Feed him? Clothe him? We brought him into our family when he was a mere slave, and he repaid our kindness with slaughter. All because A-Luo didn't want him to abandon our engagement!"

"'A-Luo'?"

"Yes, A-Luo! My elder brother and head of our family, Qiu Jianluo! Why do you act as though you don't remember him?!"

"'A-Luo'...yes. I do remember us discussing him at length. You'd said he was a tad firm, but an otherwise loving brother."

Aggrieved, tears sprung to Qiu Haitang's eyes. "He was... He was! He, and Lao Tao, Lao Yang...our servants, our family, everyone... I loved them all dearly. And he stole them away from me! That slave abandoned the people who gave him an education, who taught him how to behave, and he brutalized them, all so he could raise his status to that of a lofty immortal, unfettered by our engagement!"

"Mmm, yes. This lord remembers. We also discussed how, by happenstance, a childhood nickname of mine sounded incredibly similar to it. Your brother's A-Luó, and my A-Luò. Why, they almost sound the same."

"They do! That's why...that's why Tang-er thought you were like him, but if you're going to... If you're going to humiliate me to such an extent, to allow the man who killed my gege to become your empress, then I need not stay! Release me from your harem and let me go!"

"As you wish."

Qiu Haitang finally went quiet.

"...Excuse me?"

"I said, 'As you wish.' This lord will divorce you right now, if you so desire."

Stricken silent by his assertion, she didn't say anything. And so, Luo Binghe decided to move things along.

"Wife."

Shen Yuan's eye flinched before his fan bapped softly against the hand closest to him.

"Who's your wife?"

The happy smile Binghe gave him, despite the coldness he was faced with, surprised many in the crowd, including members of the Cang Qiong Sect entourage. It was more like how one would look at a feisty kitten testing their bitty claws on their hand, all smiles as it scratched little raw strips into their flesh.

He was positively besotted.

Of course, only those close to Shen Yuan would know that his response was a sign that he was managing with the situation. He wouldn't reveal how thin his face could be if he truly felt too distressed. Shen Yuan was uncomfortable, but he could get through it.

Even so, that endeared look faded to concern.

"...This lord hates to ask this of you, but could you tell us how you saw Qiu Jianluo?"

Shen Yuan pressed his lips tightly together, his gaze falling to the nearby floor.

"You said nothing during your trial, and we only pursued judgement under Qiu Haitang's account. But since we've been married, you've talked to me. This lord doesn't want to put you in this position, but we need your account as well."

He didn't budge.

"...You will be heard this time."

Silence.

A breath in.

Then, Shen Yuan's eye snapped open.

"I would've rather remained a slave on the street than to ever have been sold to House Qiu."

---

Shen Yuan felt a tad weird.

A little like he wasn't alone in his body. Or, well, maybe he was, but it felt like there was someone behind him.

It wasn't a feeling that made him afraid. No, just a bit disjointed. Like he and the one behind him were pressing together, back to back.

The dreams he had about House Qiu, once more difficult to detail, sprung to his mind with ease like a core memory. And with it came all the feelings that attached to the memory, causing his chest to clench and teeth to ache.

As though piloted by the other one...or, perhaps given the energy necessary to pilot it himself, Shen Yuan allowed the words to fly from his mouth.

And with each word, a little bit of weight attached to them disintegrated.

---

Liu Mingyan had heard a Shen Yuan rant before. He'd done several about her works, always expressing what he liked but being just as expressive about what he hated, remembering to calm down and say his critique was purely because he knew she could write even better.

And it wasn't as though he was wrong. Her book reviews under her penname had indeed improved in sales. A gaggle of nuns she'd befriended, wives that amicably returned to their sect after separating from Luo Binghe, asked who her editor was and how much their rates would be to have the mystery editor review their works.

They'd been quite tempted to return to the harem when she revealed who'd helped her. But it made sense, didn't it? Shen Yuan, formerly Qingqiu, had been second-in-command only to the head of Cang Qiong Sect, the leading cultivation sect under the heavens. He was an renown expert in the four arts, literature included.

And he critiqued trashy yellow books as severely and wholeheartedly as tomes of great historical magnitude.

Yes, she's heard more than one Shen Yuan rant before.

This one had to be the most severe. The most raw. The most painful one she'd heard.

And it hurt to hear it, because she had no doubt that every word that left his mouth was true.

He spoke inelegantly. Elegance would've perhaps cheapened his account. There was no room for it. Inelegant as it was, it was narrative. Illustrative.

"Do I look like a martial arts dummy to you? A bled and slaughtered hog? Because he sure loved smacking his fists against my ribs like he was tenderizing meat for the nightly dinner I never got to eat."

"Taught me to write? Hah. He figured out I could write just before he was going to beat me to death for using qi to get his horse to stop running through the streets like a maniac. I didn't know how to write a whole lot, but all he had to do was throw books at me. I learned by my own damn self."

"Got tempted by a wandering cultivator? I was barely let outside! Freed from the slave contract? Where'd you hear that?! It's all dogshit. Either that perverted bastard came up with it, or Qiu Haitang put a bunch of mismatched information together and came up with it herself. Which, at that point, I can't really blame her. I'm not sure the ladies of that house would've told her what I dealt with. It's completely fair to want answers."

"A-Yuan, one moment," Luo Binghe interrupted. "Why did you call Qiu Jianluo perverted?"

At that question, his mouth shuttered briefly. This time, when he spoke again, his voice was stilted.

"...He... There was a reason he didn't hit my face. Everything else was fair game, but not my face. Qiu Haitang picked me up because of my face..."

He pursed his lips briefly, then continued.

"...Qiu Jianluo also liked my face."

"Lies!!"

Qiu Haitang screamed at the top of her lungs, moving forward as though she would stomp up the stairs to the throne and try to rip Shen Yuan from his seat. The guards quickly stopped her before her foot could touch the first step. Her squirming did little to move them.

"You're lying! You're lying! My gege was nothing like what you've said! You can only accuse him of these things because he's dead! You killed him! He never hit you! He never hurt you! He treated you with nothing but kindness, and you're the one who went insane and killed everyone!"

"Not everyone."

Although she was too far gone in her rage to notice it, Liu Mingyan heard the icy tone in Luo Binghe's voice, his dark eyes staring down at her with an increasing amount of derision.

"Only the men... Only the men."

Only the men.

"Oh gods," Liu Mingyan muttered.

"...You need not say more, A-Yuan, if it is too much."

"Ah, uhm... No, wait. I mean, he did threaten to... He just." He paused. "He threatened to...watch. To watch me. With other men in the house.

The words seemed increasingly hard to get out, his face turning red.

"He didn't rape... He didn't rape me. He threatened to. Threatened that others would. Had them..." Breathe. "Hold me down."

Only the men.

"...What happened the night you escaped?"

Quiet. Qiu Haitang kept screaming that he was lying.

"Were you prompted you to do what you did? If so, what happened?"

"It's a lie! Binghe!! Don't believe him!"

"A-Yuan. Please, tell me if you can."

"He's a liar! He's lecherous! You know what Ning Yingying said!!"

"...That's...right. That's right! Where is Ning Yingying! She accused him of grooming her!" Qi Qingqi called out. "Are you sure about his account now?"

"Wife."

"We took you in! We fed you! We clothed you! How dare you do this to us! How dare you do this to me!!"

"Can we really trust what he's saying? He's molested his own disciple!"

"You-!! If you hated us so much, why not kill me, too?! Why not kill everyone?! You pervert!! You lecher!! You mangey dog!! You beast!"

Luo Binghe's eyes snapped upwards, rage curling on his face.

But he didn't get a single word out before—

"Call me that again, and I'll be tempted to rip your throat out like I did your brother."

Shen Yuan stared coldly at Qiu Haitang, eye wide and a tad unfocused. A few moments passed, and the focus returned to it, as did the blood to his face. He began panting slightly, like he'd suddenly ran a great length or like he'd been holding his breath.

Recognition slowly came onto his face.

"He didn't rape me. Because I ripped his throat out before he could. And then I grabbed a sword with my qi when the guards came because they heard him gurgle. And I stabbed them. Then I stabbed Qiu Jianluo. Again and again and again.

"I stabbed him until I couldn't recognize his face anymore. And I started stabbing everyone who could've done the same thing he was going to do to me. Ones he'd threatened to watch. Ones who never helped. Guards. Servants. All of them."

Silence.

"How did you rip his throat out?"

Shen Yuan turned toward Binghe with a movement that seemed too smooth, like his head was on a swivel.

"...With my teeth."

"Did you remember doing this before now?"

"...I don't know."

"Wife?"

"Mm?"

Binghe frowned, moving to kneel on a knee beside Shen Yuan's throne, placing his hands on his face. Despite the open display of affection, he didn't move away.

"Do you know where you are right now?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yes."

He blinked, then glanced upward.

"...I think I'm dissociating."

"Deviating? ...Your qi is sluggish, but—"

"No, no. Dissociating. Detaching from reality, triggered by stress or trauma. A feeling of daydreaming or intensely focused while not naturally integrating consciousness, identity, memory, or perception. The Falling Sun Dewdrop produces a similar sensation to depersonalization if you...uhm. Maybe I shouldn't explain how to do that. I think I won't.

"Unlike a qi deviation, which essentially shuts down one's consciousness and causes their body to react erratically in response to their charging qi, dissociating is...mmm... Depends on if its depersonalization or derealization. Sorry, I'm feeling a little—"

"Shh, don't. Don't apologize, A-Yuan. You've done well."

"Mm."

"Thank you for telling me."

Shen Yuan leaned his cheek against one of Binghe's hands, his eye closing calmly.

"...Mm."

"We can stop now, if you want."

"...Nah."

"Why not?"

"The bandage is removed and the wound is festering. Let's cut it all the way off." Shen Yuan smiles and raises one of his arms a little. "You're good at removing limbs, Binghe."

Although Shen Yuan didn't see it, Binghe bowed his head, still holding his. A clawed thumb brushed his cheek softly.

"...This lord wishes he wasn't."

"Oh... It was supposed to be a joke. I'm sorry."

When Binghe couldn't manage to respond, Shen Yuan opened his eye and leaned further toward him.

"Hey... Hey, Binghe. It really was a joke. I was wrong to you, and I did a lot of terrible things, so I'm not mad. You were just a kid, Binghe. And I shoved you into the Endless Abyss because I felt like I finally had a good reason to hate you. Even though I know humans and demons aren't all that different. I thought, 'Men, and especially Luos, are all the same,' and treated you badly, falsely blaming it on you being half demon.

"But I used it all as an excuse. You didn't deserve any of what I did. You didn't deserve my jealousy over how strong you were at cultivating, or me assuming you'd grow up to be like Autumn Tangled Net and ensnare everyone or treat me like shit. And though you kinda did, it wasn't your fault. I was like your Qiu Jianluo, without the weird pervert shit. And you cut my limbs off. And I think that's fair."

The demon emperor, bewildered, let out a choked laugh, raising his head to look at him again, eyes misty.

"Was that meant to be reassuring, love?"

"Yeah."

"I'm afraid it didn't quite work."

"Awwh... Hey, do you think we could keep going in...uhm. Well, you asking me questions? Stuff is kinda starting to feel real again, so, uh, I'd like to answer whatever you want to ask before I combust out of embarrassment. You know, like a total mess. I'll never be able to be empress at this rate. No one would approve of me. My reputation is ruined. Why'd you marry me?"

"Because I love you."

"Embarrassing. Shameless. I love you, too. Say that again."

This time, when Luo Binghe laughed, it was genuine. He leaned forward and whispered into his ear, presumably saying those requested words again. He then kissed the huadian on Shen Yuan's forehead before he stood, shedding the calm softness he'd put on for his future empress.

"...Time and time again, Shen Yuan has had to face difficult and demeaning circumstances without letting out his fear and instability. Surely, none would ridicule him for finally, after years of persecution, cracking under that pressure."

When he turned to the crowd, it was as though he'd shed all illusions that he was anything but some wretched beast that crawled from the Endless Abyss. A rictus grimace seemed to unnaturally split his face, the whites of his eyes bright. His zuiyin glowed a fierce red.

A terrible murderous intent befell the others, leaving them unable to move in the face of a predator.

"Right?"

"Binghe."

And immediately, the moment ended, the man turning a kind smile to his wife.

"Alright, alright."

"...Fuck."

Liu Mingyan jolted slightly before turning toward Sha Hualing, who, at some point, moved closer to her. Her arms wrapped around one of hers, moving a little bit behind her.

"Reminded me of that freaky Binghe that almost killed me."

"Ah."

So that's where she recalled that killing intent.

----

Oh, by the way, I'm a huge fan of horror!Binghe. I want that half-demon boy to come back from the Endless Abyss irrevocably changed, and, of course, Shen Yuan looks at him and is just like, "Look at my sweet boy, who has done nothing wrong ever."

They're freak 4 freak, fr.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7: here Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Part 11+: links on Part 10

AO3

[darlingpwease]

I completely forgot about those HAHA– I hope your travel back home was well!! And I can be ur hypeman!! Ur works are always stunning (and ik many others agree, so u technically have many hypemen) but you truly are very talented, so no matter how big or small ur works are, they always deliver and are very good <33 /gen /pos aahhhdjwaks ur too lovely and a tad bitter but that's okay Dove <33 /t /j /pos

Wuuhhhdjsh,, Wei Wuxian who loves to show you off, but when one day the rolls switch, where you are the one showing him off as if he's your omega, he's feeling all soft and weak in the knees, his chest fluttering in joy at the thought of you adoring him as much as he does you,,, he will always find excuses to cling to you, both before and after he became a demonic cultivator. Him sometime biting your neck (as you do to him) and loves to see others reactions to it, because no matter what, you two are meant for each other, even if others don't seem to fully understand it.

Luo Binghe definitely wasn't the most "alpha"-esque alpha, you can't help but find it so cute at times <<333 Sure, his possessiveness and aggression to others who get close to you are definitely (somewhat) expected, but those moments when he willingly submits to you, sticking to you like taffy and being anything but an alpha towards you, well.. it'd be a lie if you were to say that you weren't at least a bit effected by it </33 Yes, he turned, yes, he used to be a beta, but the fact that he is now an alpha, still emits those alpha tendencies towards others but not you,,, even when he grows very confident and stronger, when he is so pliant towards you, only you, so willing to shed tears and keen into you, begging for your attention, for just a small kiss for how good hes been, just a small one— hhdbskdhs baby boy baby <333

AHH THATS SO CUTE,, Hua Cheng just releasing his scent because he's so happy to be around you is so fucking adorable omg 😭😭 maybe he got scared the first few times,, what if you didn't like it, would you hate him?? Think he's disgusting?? What if you never want to see him again?? He couldn't have that, he can't, he couldn't bare that– but when you keep brushing it off, not acknowledging it, he just gets happier, sometimes willing to release it as a way to not so subtly claim you as his dbska Maybe you know as well?? It was odd at first, but with how adorable it is, you can't help but indulge this cute little alpha who trots around, willing to be a beta/omega just for you <33

YESS!! When he finds out that ur just an alpha like beta, he can't help but think that you're just for him, how the heavens must have blessed him with you because of just how perfect you are,, for you seem to know whats comfortable for him without needing him to tell you, for you seem to know exactly what he likes, for he seems to wanting to be with you always– and when you allow him to cling to you as you keep scenting him and even marking him, he can only think how perfect you are, his perfect disciple

-panna cotta

desktop

because you embarrassed me (in a good way though) and I do not know how to answer you, since I can't even think of teasing, while I have already said everything about you in posts before about what a charming little panna cotta you are and how I love you<////3 'many hypemen' shush silly shush I appreciate the feeling of exclusivity and prefer to give it to others so you will be my only one<///3 /ht /affectionate / I'll pretend like I didn't see it after all these sweet words otherwise we'll have to get a gif with a hard block<3 /ht /hj very srs~<33333

WEI WUXIAN, whom you have known since childhood, and who constantly rubbing against you and leaving his milky smell, — because the appearance of smell during puphood feels slightly similar to teething, — and you didn't know if this was due to subconscious reaction to the fact that he treats you like you're 'omega', a simple puppy competition between alphas, or you also like to touch him, but you did exactly the same, sometimes even participating in incomprehensible for Jiang Cheng — who was an omega and regularly tolerated the two of you — attempts to hold the other and rub, even if there was no smell yet — and over the years it did not disappear; on the contrary, it became almost impossible to understand exactly what kind of smell you two had, because you constantly continued to mark each other with the smell, continuing to participate in all sorts of playful fights and chases, especially when WEI WUXIAN played dirty and jumped up, catching you by surprise, only to immediately try to hide from you.

(that's why you loved visiting Gusu Lan sect — after all, he couldn't use dirty tricks anymore!!!)

and this incomprehensible mutual dependence and obsession almost confused others, especially when you tried to treat each other like omegas, bragging and teasingly shamelessly asking for compliments for surpassing the other — and at the same time, ready to 'play along' with each other, even if still continued to maintain this playful struggle for dominance, forcing his brain to work to the maximum in attempts to surpass you, make you consider him "the best alpha" — and at the same time recognizing in his heart that when you surpass him, it's much nicer and even... mmm... hot, especially when you look down on him, — just like he feels — playfully arrogantly demanding that he acknowledge your superiority, but teasing his alpha instincts and inflaming him emotionally rather than actually suppressing.

(like 'step on me' let's be honest)

and it's really both hard and easy for you to explain why you have each other's bites on your neck, because, well, who is objectively better than you for each other? even if there is a feeling of rivalry and attempts to be better and stronger between you all the time, you are forced to step on your throat and agree that everything would be too smooth without it — even with the quarrels that sometimes arise, WEI WUXIAN is too attached to you and malleable, needy and clingy, and you are not better towards him, finding your home in him, just as he has found his home in you,,,,,,,

but just imagine that a cute hardworking turnip is running around next to you, like your pet that you first tamed and then made a puppy that you have to take care of, a sweet meek beta maiden who looks like only a lotus and looks at you with trusting adoring eyes, like a member of your pack, such a cutie — only to in a few years this 'cutie' turned out to be the demon king and was presented as an alpha, although you were sure that he was a beta, but he remained the same physically sticky and emotional; rather, even more adoring than he was, since the demonic blood strengthened all his already innate traits, making him completely whipped and obsessive, but you are surprisingly okay with this, even when he asks you to mark him as yours, shamelessly using the role of a servant boy, forcing you to even forget who he is now is — until it begins to seem to him that you are looking at someone else — and he explode emotionally, demanding that you look only at him, and you need all your perseverance and a smell, that acts on him like a tranquilizer, to convince him that he is your only charming husband and of course you will leave a bite!!! you will treat him like your omega!!! he's your adorable demonic hubby!!! you're not looking at anyone at all!!! no one can compare with him!!!

LUO BINGHE, who has moved to another universe where you are alive and coos and cares for you, knowing that in the future he will become an alpha anyway, while for now he can abuse his position as a beta (which he never did in his first life, wanting to look strong in front of you) and enjoy your protection and overprotection in view of the fact that someone has offended your beta, without hesitating to whimper or make a sad puppy face so that you feel sorry for him, knowing that he is not the type who will cheat or engage in acting, and LUO BINGHE purrs, snuggling up to you, although in fact smoothly makes you start to become too protective and loving, so that even after his conversion to alpha, you continue to consider him unknowingly lower/weaker and spoil him :(((( tell me that after your death in his time line, he did not have a thing for your belittling of his abilities and/or treatment as with your cute little thing, because your absence has dealt a huge blow to his psyche and that's how he felt while you were gone what's the name of this kink that's about belittling the intelligence of a partner so yes, he's your silly affectionate needy puppy do what you want with it dumbification & objectification i remember it. and so. he wants to be your pretty trouble-free doll, even if he is an alpha, but then he does not detach himself from you in search of love and adoration. you don't know what happened to your beta now alpha, but you're doing everything in your power,,,,, he's your shidi, after all,,,,,,,,

HUA CHENG is the type who cunningly follows you, continuing this role with an omega-like beta — and you gently nod, encouraging him to walk with you and get close (of course you don't see how his hand is constantly trying to touch you, and even when he touches you so unexpectedly, oh, it's so unexpected and imperceptible, it's so implicit), even if you have long known that he is a demon and an alpha, because, well, his scent so obviously seeps in and tries to wrap itself around you, as if clinging to you, that even with his disguise — after you have said goodbye to each other — for some time his implicit scent remains on your clothes.

he is just so excited to see you again, having previously spent several hours looking good for you and choosing the most suitable place to 'accidentally' meet, that his control unconsciously slips, — especially when he senses your own scent and wants not only to leave your scent on himself, but also to leave his own on you. even knowing that he should not do this so as not to arouse suspicion — but he is completely defenseless when inhales deeply while you are not looking and unconsciously wants to see if you also react to his smell,,,,,,

HUA CHENG who doesn't understand when suddenly he just stops hiding his smell, jealous, afraid that he's not good enough, and you really don't expect when you are almost knocked down by his strong and strong smell, trying to scare everyone away from you before you realize that your 'omega-like beta lover' suddenly began to smell like evil and the jealous alpha — wow what a coincidence apparently it's just some couple passed by with a jealous alpha of course it couldn't have been your lover!!! — and HUA CHENG is no longer sure, is he ashamed or funny if you say something like that when they ask you 'what's wrong with this guy', — but, well, what can they oppose? can they guarantee that no one was around?? of course not. your beloved beta is, well, beta, it's clear from his smell alone! besides, he's human!! he's a beta and a human!!! it's not very right to blame a person... unless they're betaphobes, of course!!! but you're not a betaphobe!!! betas are cute too!!! they're just looking for a way to humiliate someone because of their gender!!! they know how hard beta is, especially omega-like betas, but they still tell him like a face!!! not very good!!! they should think about their behavior!!!

and HUA CHENG in the background, not sure if you are protecting him or really think so, and experiencing butterflies in his stomach from your protection — and at the same time embarrassment, even more not understanding how to admit now that he is an alpha,,,,,

CHU WANNING, who may be becoming too... dependent on his disciple — of course, he cares about all his disciples, they are all members of the pack, as a teacher and students should be, but he is so implicitly and at the same time clearly favored towards you,,,,,

hates when you smell someone else, even if it's other disciples, constantly rubbing against you and scenting to get rid of the fragrance that makes him feel disgusted, touching possessive feelings that he didn't even know about before — until one day you and other disciples were engaged in random scenting in the winter in an attempt to warm up and establish contact (especially with those, who suffers from a lack of bodily contact, which is especially common in winter due to the lack of skin-to-skin contact and a small amount of sun), before visiting him — and Chu Wanning does not understand whether he is sick from the abundance of smells or because these smells are on you, but you stink so much that he can't help but try almost from the threshold, rub against you, ridding you of a mixture of other people's flavors and replacing it with his own, jealously snuggling — but you obediently accept, also slightly rubbing against him, leaving your smell that always relaxes him, but rather waiting until CHU WANNING feels that now you smell only of him before letting you go out of his hands, purring contentedly, and returning to the role of a calm and cold shizun (not so cold and calm though, but you prefer don't talk about it out loud), finally having the opportunity to be alone with you, even if he is not the best conversationalist — until you find a suitable topic and he becomes almost terribly talkative, especially for his usual personality, feeling the desire to answer your every question and explain everything that causes you perplexity.

but what can he do? you are too precious, too perfect — and even after getting used to giving and working without waiting for recognition, CHU WANNING cannot deny that you seem to have been created to complement each other, even if he has long grown out of these fairy tales and understands that this is impossible. but you smell so charming, alluring, and at the same time implicitly, as if specially smelling so nice and soft for his hypersensitive nose, which does not tolerate any strong aromas that are inherent in most people or even things,,,,,,

maybe neither of you two had a choice from the very beginning — especially when his teeth touch your skin, understanding little of what is happening under the influence except that his is hot and divine, feeling like he puts a mark for the first time in his life on something very desirable and important — while you are lying, not so confused by the label, but rather amazed that it was you who turned out to be what he so longed for. leave a mark on your neck? is this shizun's dream? you are so puzzled and confused... ,,,,,,,,

[piosplayhouse]

hi for totally no reason id love to know your takes on svsss characters as horse breeds PLUS mlp species... im a huge fan of when ppl draw ponies more horselike so i have been thinking a lot about how cool itd be to combine stylized horse pony bodies with the whimsy of unicorn / pegasus / earth pony divisions. and you are the person i respect the most when it comes to danmei horse combinations... i do not think anyone else could comprehend the magic in this concept

OMFGGG thank you for letting me speak on this I love you

Ok here are my well-established breed headcanons based purely off vibes (because I don't think airplane would know enough about horses to get anywhere close to this detailed in PIDW canon):

- Shen Qingqiu: Perlino Akhal-Teke, the high maintenance it girl the moment the model

- Luo Binghe: Friesian, colloquially known as the most handsome horses with strong silhouettes and gorgeously famous curly black hair

- Shang Qinghua: Norwegian Fjord Horse, small and muscular light drafts with very cute faces

- Mobei Jun: Shire Horse, Extremely big and thicc boys

- Yue Qingyuan: Clydesdale, gentle giant and overall splendid fellas

- Liu Qingge and Mingyan: Lippizaners, iconic for their elegance and beauty with a history in cavalry

- Ning Yingying: Bashkir Curly Horse, just very cute tbh they're curly horses what else do you want

- Sha Hualing: Arabian Horse, sleek speedy and energetic with a very shl-like appearance imo

- Ming Fan: Thoroughbred, pedigreed shoe-in for success, somehow still loses to Binghe at every race

In terms of my little pony I will admit I'm not actually a huge mlp fan (long story short I watched the princess promenade movie and was terrified of spike for some reason) but @/selpuku has a great SV mlp au that I think of all the time where the cultivators are pegasi and demons are unicorns, sqq uses his wing as his fan it's just perfect. Of course regardless Binghe would be an alicorn. Ofc. I also posted this before I think but I think Shang Qinghua would also be an alicorn, but people only start noticing post canon because before that he wasn't in a safe enough environment to develop a horn and so just thought he was a pegasus, but when he gets his stuff sorted out and is happy with mbj he starts growing a little nubby horn!! Overall I don't think there's a way to go wrong with it though! Mlp aus are great and cringe is dead because horses fucking rock

Hope this helps!!! Let me know if you have any other questions or thoughts this was such a fun post to make and really brightened my day!!! :) ♥️♥️🐎🐎

[mediumsizedpidegon]

THE IDEA OF THE KINDS OF ANIMALS/PLANTS THAT ARE NATIVE TO THE SINKHOLE CITY DIDN'T EVEN OCCUR TO ME!! AH I'M SO EXCITED TO COME UP WITH SOME BEASTS!!!

okay. okay. When I mentioned that SQH has folded-paper minions, I decided that if the type of animal they were wasn't consistent, then they'd all have a sort of obvious behavior in common. Which is to say, I tried to pick out animals that are either 1) talkative or 2) VERY LOUD. Most of the creatures that fall under the 'most talkative' category are birds or sea critters like dolphins/sea lions, which I didn't think would fit (paper and water don't mix). So there's crows, mocking birds, parrots, songbirds like nightingales, bats. Which all fall under the category of 'flight' as well, meshing well with my idea of SQH having wings himself (and cultivators themselves are connected explicitly to flight– remember the whole scene with MBJ falling and SQH shouting "he can't fly!"). As for the stories that are more vulnerable and less mobile, the ones SQH keeps tucked to his chest– rattlesnakes or saw-scaled vipers (look them up!! they rub their scales together as a threat display and it makes this sizzling sound).

And yes, I am implying that ghost!SQH picks up some song bird-like behaviors. Take that how you will in regards to moshang.

Now. I imagine the original plants/animals of the sinkhole city are still there even after it's become a different type of fantasy nightmare compared to rest of the world. It's underground, so definitely lots of burrowing creatures– moles, salamanders, other types of lizards/reptiles, countless cave fish and underground aquatic species. I like the idea of some sort of really fucked up hare with sloth claws that dig tunnels. maybe cats that ooze like slime and lots of bats? ALSO insects: god so many insects. I'm imagining some of the wildlife is bioluminescent as well because the idea of these glowing hives stuck into the sides of a massive cavern is so cool. I think the effect of SQH and all the new people would be cause some species to be discovered, others to be tamed/domesticated, or new ones to be introduced– maybe even new ones entirely created through rumors, stories, and guesswork. (maybe everytime someone in range comes up with a cryptid and that cryptid becomes sufficiently popular, it just. shows up in the caves one day. This can be either quite the blessing or burden.)

I just want to emphasize that the sinkhole city would be still be undeniably strange even without SQH's influence. The type of people who chose to immigrate to a hole in the ground hiding that it's a hole in the ground are not normal people. People don't just choose to make that sort of massive uncertain life change if there's not a very, very good reason for it. Meaning: the caverns are filled with cursed people that don't want their curses broken (and those who do but stayed afterwards anyway), demon-human hybrid families, a group of wild scientists, escapees and survivors from all manner of terrible situations, runaway brides/grooms, people who came back from dark places different, and those who couldn't go back at all. Ghosts of all shapes, sizes, and powers. Demons running from other demons. Demons running from humans. Demons running from their families. Cultivators that quit their sect. Cultivators that were thrown out. Cultivators running from other cultivators. Human children with rare mutations that caused them to be kicked out of their homes. People who burnt down the people who burnt down their home, who burnt themselves. Girls with teeth in their souls and boys with blood in their mouths. Old spirits. New spirits. Researchers, beast-tamers and craftspeople of all kinds fleeing a plague. People straddling the line between life and death. People that wanted to explore.

All SQH does is amplify the strangeness. All he does is provide a focal point. All he does is give his cobbled-together folk a new couple rules. The rest is theirs, community-built, community-maintained. This is a story, and stories are just as much built by the audience as they are by the author. (Maybe the flowers outside your house can live a year and a half because you give them love with their water.)

maybe your cat's too smart, and your bird talks. maybe the wind that should not exist– not so deep underground– brushes your cheek, redirects your step. This is a city of stories, a city that loves languages, and it loves their creation and mixing. Maybe your human child swears with a snake's tongue. Maybe there's hives of glowing insects in the walls, and veins of night pearls curling into patterns and shapes that can't be natural (some of them look like constellations).

Just. I want to emphasize that 1) this place was always going to bizarre and 2) IF LUO BINGHE STANDS OUT HERE IT SURE WON'T BE BECAUSE OF HIS HERITAGE. A cultivator and a heavenly demon had a kid? His third parent is a random human that the other two parents treat like a sister? The big snake's his cousin? His uncle is a ghost? Alright, makes sense. My cousin is a part-time black bear herself, you know.

I imagine that it would take a.... really, really decisive and vicious verbal victory to physically change a person to the ultra-pathetic state you're thinking of. It would take so much planning and behind the scenes work to even set the stage to get your story/argument to cut and change a person to that level (if you don't know them extremely well or get extremely lucky). Absolutely, if the person is deeply pathetic in the core of them, sure you could peel back a few layers but changing is so much harder than revealing. It's why your stories have to have that element of truth to them. It has to have basis in something– something cannot come from nothing. Besides the 'transform someone into how pathetic you think they are' sounds not only difficult but pretty bad on the ethical front. Like. temporarily changing someone's hair to a color they hate? sure. messing with their mental state/memory manipulation? no. that's for enemies and emergencies only. (And Su Xiyan would come down on you like a sword to the neck).

sahsjsjkansjahsjak poor MBJ in that hypothetical situation. I imagine the very obvious devoted love feedback (which is what it must look like to demons) MBJ and SQH have wouldn't stop most demons. they want power. they want the title of MBJ's Consort. the more shameless ones would probably just rock up to the ice palace and be like 'you can have that human as a second spouse if I get the title and my child inherits' which would.... not provoke a polite reaction from MBJ. I do imagine that MBJ and SQH get married eventually, after a long courtship and some talks about what the fuck the two of them actually want. And by then, they'll definitely be a power couple.

YOU GET IT!!! the MOST IMPORTANT PERSON in MBJ's life will die and hide it from him. this is soul-crushing. this is the emotional equivalent of getting your rib cage torn out! MBJ will have so many more new issues after this. (things will get worse before they get better, that's for sure.) He will be tied up in knots about it for decades. Making amends and building a wonderful relationship will help, but for as long as he lives, Mobei-Jun will have a part of his mind that screams and screams and screams. what if it's not real? it'll ask. what if i'm hurting him? what if he doesn't want this? like. this is nightmare material. In terms of emotional ramifications, this is up there with his uncle's betrayal, except the betrayal was from himself. Get ready for Abandonment Issues the Sequel! Get ready for Questioning Your Judgement: the Ongoing Crisis!

In all honesty though, things are going to be so ugly between moshang following this revelation. Not because they don't love each other– but MBJ can't trust his own judgement or SQH's. He can't trust himself to know when he's gone too far and he can't trust SQH to tell him if he does. MBJ, in svsss, so deeply trusts SQH's word, SQH's advice, SQH's knowledge, and realizing that he can't trust SQH's word about SQH is going to completely crack his worldview. SQH can't be his weirdly indestructible and all-knowing servant anymore. He can't exist in that unexplainable space in MBJ's mind anymore. He died, and he doesn't know what he means to MBJ and MBJ can't carry on as he used to. He needs to find his words. Meanwhile SQH just desperately wants to sweep everything under the rug. Desperately wants to ignore that his oath is fulfilled and there's no obvious reason for why he's doing this anymore. Desperately wants to keep MBJ and his little family separate. Keep Shang Qinghua, An Ding Peak Lord and Shang Qinghua, the servant, and Shang Qinghua, the brother the uncle the friend, and Shang Qinghua, the Storykeeper separate. Just. God. God.

Fun fact: Luo Jiahui (LBH's adoptive mother) calls SQH Da-ge. And he doesn't share his name to his people at first so people just start calling him Storykeeper Luo or Lord Luo which MESSES WITH HIS HEAD SO BAD.

As for Su Xiyan: yeah I love the idea of her being a sort of justice through transparency ghost more. I think she's in charge of the justice system in the sinkhole city because she deserves it :) Honestly though the legal system HAS to be garbage in the cultivation world, given that was is righteous is dependent on what the most rich and powerful people are saying. So SXY doesn't just build a justice system as much as she creates one. And TLJ reads torrid novels in the dozens of cozy libraries in the city. He ends up writing a series of popular book reviews and forming a book/debate club because I think everyone in svsss just.... needs more friends. Luo Jiahui starts a restaurant (PLEASE READ 'PRIDE IS NOT THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR' IT'S SOOOOO GOOD AND THIS IDEA IS NOT MINE). Zhuzhi-lang.... tries [is lovingly bullied into] to learn how to define him outside of being by his uncle's side. He works in Luo Jiahui's restaurant and is dragged into pottery by some teenagers that ask to use his arms like a stamp to impart a scaled texture to their cups. Su Xiyan goes to trashy theatre with Tianlang-Jun and Luo Jiahui and Shang Qinghua have sing-offs while doing the dishes. Luo Binghe explores tide pools and tries to tell stories of his own, like his parents and his uncle before him. One day, Shang Qinghua will bring Mobei-Jun to this treasured place, all his vulnerabilities flashing across his face (literally. the words flicker across the bridge of his nose). He'll have his weimao at his feet, unmasked. And Mobei-Jun will listen. How strange, he will think, fond and aching. How beautiful, this place that should be an impossibility. What a Shang Qinghua thing to do, to speak the improbable into being.

And YUE QINGYUAN. oh dear. I don't know if he ever finds out that SQH was planning to sell out the sect but god. what a gut punch that the one of the TWO co-workers you don't have to worry about* has 1) been in a long-distance relationship with the Northern Demon King's son since he was in his late teens, 2) is dead and has been dead for decades now and 3) is EXTREMELY powerful and eldritch. the delayed grief. the guilt. THE GUILT!!

*SQH and MQF

Genuinely the first couple years after his ascension must have been rough for YQY. He's suddenly in charge of a sect and trying to adjust to the workload, there's so much tension with demons that the situation is probably going to explode soon, and he has to cut back on his scheduled guilt-spirals about SQQ. (YQY is ABSOLUTELY that post about the guy crying in a library and then just stopping and going back to work when his alarm goes off five minutes later.) SQH must have been such a relief. A person he doesn't have to worry about! A person who is FIXING shit! A person who is ripping his peak apart and putting it back to together corruption-free and terrifyingly efficient! A person who is very good at his job! And then you peel back two layers of SQH's exterior and he's still the talented logistician but he's also deeply deeply strange. And YQY is not touching that! He's not! But maybe he should have or else SQH wouldn't have been able to lie about being alive for the past couple decades and also breaking the heavenly demon emperor out of prison (this is not true. SQH is so good at lying because he's a nervous wreck all the time. He's also good at making people feel so awkward and uncomfortable that they stop asking questions.)

thinking about Shang Qinghua as a calamity again…

[marudeinusa]

are u into svsss bcoz i've been meaning to ask someone who knows: what the fuck goes on in there question mark

I would not say I'm into it because it rests extremely low on my danmei rankings list, but I did read it (and own the oficial english TLs)...

Brief plot summary: Shen Yuan, a fan of male power fantasy xianxia webnovels reads a novel that it so intensely bad and insufferable it causes him to suffer a stroke (?) and die on the spot. He ends up isekaid into that very webnovel, reborn in the body of the protagonist's extremely bad tempered and violent shifu, Shen Qingqiu. At that point, the protagonist Luo Binghe is still a somewhat scatterbrained and puppy-eyed young teenager, but Shen Yuan/Qingqiu is aware that Luo Binghe will later end up a hardened and ruthless man who rises to power as emperor, kills his abuser (IN THIS CASE SHEN YUAN HIMSELF) and goes on to rape thousands of women and kill thousands of men. With the help of an inexplicable deus ex machina system of instructions, Shen Yuan realizes that he has to change the plot of the novel and raise Luo Binghe into a kinder man to evade his own death. He starts treating Luo Binghe with some basic human decency and gentleness, but this causes the boy to fall obsessively in love with him. Luo Binghe turning gay fucks up the novel hierarchy and throws the story off course, the characters exit stasis and the story begins evolving changed by Luo Binghe's ardent affection, and Shen Qingqiu's reluctant reciprocation once they reunite after Luo Binghe grows up. The plot itself and the background characters failed to be really original and intriguing compared to MXTX's following two works, so I'll skip through the majority of it unless you or anyone is REALLY interested in order to address the truly unsavory romance that really sullies my very beloved concept of "metafictional awareness alters the course of the story" that I wrote abt both academically and privately. Binghe/Qingqiu is a really grating relationship even for a reader like me who can stomach a lot in terms of unsavory BL, since Binghe has an extreme teacher/student kink and that sort of play (which I find mortifying as a victim of teacher SA I'll be real) extends thruout their encounters and well into their marriage, but I also hesitate to blame the older Qingqiu for this dynamic because he is more or less just constantly being assaulted and harassed and having sex acts he doesn't enjoy performed on him. Book 4, or the collection of extra side stories, is pretty much just Binghe assaulting Qingqiu in 1000 ways and it's supposed to be cute because Qingqiu doesn't hate it as much as before LOL. I would have been sick to my stomach reading it if MXTX's quality of writing at the time were not really poor and flowery in a way that reads as hilarious, one can only read about Binghe's meteorite-hard pillar of jade finding a hidden jewel within Qingqiu's hidden cavern so many times before becoming desentisized and just liveblogging it on tumblr for 3 likes.

Despite it all I don't regret giving this pillar of western danmei enjoyment a read because it offers a solid BG for critical analysis of MDZS and TGCF, novels which I enjoyed as leisurely reading significyntly more. "SVSSS is a parody" was uttered in its defense too many times to count, but I fail to see how that statement holds water considering it was (at least in western danmei circles) taken very nearly completely at face value, and considering that equally absurd and discomforting sexual power dynamics are very present in MDZS and TGCF. Looking at MXTX's entire opus its kind of insane how much of her pussy she put into putting that Enstars post thats like "if the younger person manipulates and abuses the older person in the couple, is it still a problematic age gap?" Into practical action LOL bizarre woman