#luo binghe is a good character，a good person，and a *good husband*

[violetdisasterzone]

Luo Binghe & Selflessness

There's a great post by @/jayktoralldaylong talking about how all the love interests in MXTX's novels prioritize the safety and well-being of the MCs rather than prioritizing - or even expecting - their love being returned. And image my surprise when the first reply I see is "Except Binghe. That bitch will sleep with your corpse," with others agreeing and calling him the "worst MXTX character" in the tags. I am yet again asking, did we read the same book? Luo Binghe is just as single-mindedly devoted to Shen Qingqiu as any of the others. Evidence of this is found at every turn during the main plot of Scum Villain: the plot during which he was actively possessed by a sentient evil sword. A sword which in a different timeline - a timeline without Shen Yuan - almost single-handedly turned Luo Bingge into a tyrant. He is under this influence for a majority of volumes 2 and 3 (of the Eng. transl.), which is also when he is accused of being "crazy" or "pushy" in regards to Shen Qingqiu.

Since the reply that inspired this post discussed the 5 years in which Shen Qingqiu was dead, that's what I'll address first. When Shen Qingqiu self-destructs, Luo Binghe is caught extremely off guard. It's easy, I think, to forget or disregard just how awful and confusing the entire novel's events have been for Binghe so far. Accepted to Qing Jing and subsequently horrifically abused for 4 years; a sudden, drastic, unexplained change in Shen Qingqiu and a blissful 3 years of peace; pushed into hell and utterly betrayed in an act of what appears to be very out of character hypocrisy. And when he returns (now in possession of the aforementioned sentient evil sword), he stays away from Cang Qiong and becomes a respectable cultivator in his own right, so that maybe, maybe Shen Qingqiu would accept him once again. And then he runs into Shen Qingqiu enjoying the company of someone who looks exactly like him; yet Shen Qingqiu runs from him, acting as though Binghe is the one who is dangerous, who is going to hurt him. Of course, Shen Qingqiu is justified in his fear, based on his own perceptions of the situation. But Luo Binghe does not know this.

Immediately following Shen Qingqiu's destruction is one of the only times we get a firsthand glimpse into Luo Binghe's perspective. This line is from the moments after he catches Shen Qingqiu's body: "Didn't Shizun hate his blood more than anything? Wasn't he unwilling to even be near him, to associate with him at all?" In the following pages is when he learns, for the first time that "Shizun too was...utterly heartbroken" during his time in the Abyss. When the chapter ends, Luo Binghe is still in utter shock, wiping the blood from Shen Qingqiu's face and trying, uselessly, to explain that he was just angry, that he just wanted to make him happy. We don't see the part of the scene where Luo Binghe leaves with the body, but it is not hard to infer that, in his complete state of denial and shock, his mind recently saved from an agonizing deviation, he was unwilling to part from his Shizun.

During the five years of Shen Qingqiu's absence, Luo Binghe kept his body in as perfect a state as possible. As we see in the Deep Dream extra, Luo Binghe brings Mu Qingfang (who he seems to respect, however minimally) to Huan Hua Pavilion some time after the events of Hua Yue City (which we know because Mu Qingfang expects Shen Qingqiu's body to "have long since festered and decayed"). We, as Shen Qingqiu, then get a glimpse into what Luo Binghe does with the body: he cooks countless meals that will go uneaten, and he transfers qi to prevent that decay. Skin to skin contact is the most direct way to transfer qi, as supported in many other scenes, including the flashback scene in this same extra. This type of qi transfer can also be carried out while sleeping, as evidenced in the Bing-mei vs. Bing-ge extra, providing a regulated stream of spiritual energy for an entire night. As Mu Qingfang said earlier, this uses up "an enormous amount of spiritual power" and is only enough to keep his body protected "for a single day" without reversing everything. Luo Binghe is immensely powerful, but even protagonists are not built to drain themselves every night for 5 years, while also fighting off Xin Mo, running Huan Hua, controlling the demon realm, and NOT giving up on everything. When Shen Qingqiu is thought to be dead in the minutes after Maigu Ridge, Luo Binge "almost tried to follow" him. And yet, when he believed there was even a chance he might return, he held on "for almost two thousand more of these days and nights."

The only other time we see Luo Binghe's interactions with the corpse is when Shen Qingqiu, undiscovered in the plant body, witnesses Liu Qingge's infiltration. In this, it is said that "Luo Binghe was unwilling to harm the corpse, so he could only release it." It's worth mentioning that, if Liu Qingge had managed to take the body back to Cang Qiong - or, what sequence is initiated when he does - it will be given burial rights, it will decay, and Shen Qingqiu will never again have a possibility of inhabiting it. Luo Binghe cannot let this happen; it's not merely about possession or attachment. And yet, he would sooner allow this possibility that allowing even the potential of harm to come to him.

When all is said and done, after Luo Binghe has been broken out of Xin Mo's control and Shen Qingqiu does not die - the first thing he does is return him to Cang Qiong Mountain. When Shen Qingqiu suggests that they leave, together, Luo Binghe is "dumbfounded." He fully expected to be left, for Shen Qingqiu to be unwilling. He would have done anything for Shen Qingqiu and expected nothing in return.

At his core, even under influence and in emotional turmoil, Luo Binghe's love is unfalteringly selfless. There are so many examples of this, both in the main plot and in the post-canon extras, but I think this post is long enough already. Suffice it to say that nothing is more important that Shen Qingqiu to Luo Binghe - least of all himself.

[sunderwight]

Reverse transmigration bingqiu except instead of Bingge turning up in Shen Yuan's world, it's white lotus disciple Binghe who does.

Shen Yuan, currently in his last year of high school, finds him and thinks he's a troubled homeless kid who has latched onto a character from a web novel as an intense form of escapism. He's initially just going to hand him over to some authorities of some kind but the kid seems so lost and scared, instead he ends up deciding to personally use his family's connections to help him or at least find his actual family or something (of course, doesn't turn anything up).

Baby Binghe is brand new to Qing Jing peak in the timeline he left from, so he doesn't have any idea of cultivating. With his demon blood still locked, he's a normal kid. But he's smart! He figures out basic appliances and picks up other modern facilities pretty quickly, wins over SY's family, and eagerly decides to keep living with him when SY moves out for the first time. SY's almost feeling bad because he definitely got the better end of this deal. His family manages to enroll LBH in school and they get him a bunch of lessons on things he seems interested in, and even so this kid still finds time to do a better job cooking and cleaning than SY, whose schedule is less packed.

A couple years pass. SY is beginning to accept that this is a permanent situation. So is LBH, who is kind of sad that he won't be able to fulfill his mother's dream of him becoming a cultivator, but actually really likes living in the magic shiny future with Shen Yuan and wouldn't change it now even if he could. SY is looking at long-term things for organizing Luo Binghe's further education, travel, etc. He's come out of his shell, is more active in the world and with his family because he needs to make sure his young ward gets proper socialization! (SY's family think LBH is the best thing that ever happened to him, and don't point out that they're actually only a few years apart in age; except Shen Meimei, who is the same age as LBH.) Meanwhile Luo Binghe's life plan is veering towards "housewife" aspirations, but he's still too shy to mention that to the object of his crush. It's okay though, he's got time! He'll get older and then figure out how best to approach the situation! (And in the meanwhile run off anyone else who tries to date his future husband...)

Of course, that's when it turns out that the system sent him here as an emergency measure to get him out of the way while it resolved a major issue with the actual setting. When the issues are repaired, it yanks LBH back. He finds himself returned to the exact same moment he left, in the same physical state, the years he spent living with Shen Yuan seemingly erased.

Going back to Qing Jing Peak after all that is difficult. No, worse, it's almost completely intolerable. Luo Binghe has been treated right and had a good life and now it's just gone. He has no idea how to get back.

But, that's why he has to stay. Because if there is a way to get back, then his best shot at figuring it out is learning how to cultivate, and devouring every single book in Qing Jing Peak's library, and then every other sect's library if need be. It is possible to move between worlds! He knows, because he did it! He just needs to find the way to do it again, permanently. So he stays and he deals with Shen Qingqiu's cruelty and the bullying of his sect mates, but he doesn't hold out any hope for them to improve. Instead he tries his best to hold his own ground, uses things he learned from Shen Yuan's world to steal whatever advantages he can, and pushes his way through any obstacles or competition.

He hates Shen Qingqiu, though. Especially because he has the surname Shen. Shen Yuan's family was good to him, so it seems like a cruel joke of fate that his shizun is so dead set against him. Something that could have been a comfort is instead a bitter twist of the knife.

But then a couple of years into this, Shen Qingqiu... changes?

After suffering a qi deviation, he stops beating Luo Binghe at the slightest provocation. He stops beating any of his students, in fact. He gives Binghe medicine, actually starts teaching classes, rescues Luo Binghe from a malicious skin-stealing demon, takes the blow of an incurable poison to save him from another demon, even gives him the side room of his own house to stay in. The bullying ends and the atmosphere on Qing Jing Peak changes, like night and day. Somehow he goes from being Shen Qingqiu's most hated student to being his clear favorite, even doted on disciple.

Luo Binghe is not going to fall in love with this new reformed Shen Qingqiu, though. He isn't! His heart is not so fickle that he will just fall in love with anyone who is kind to him! His love for Shen Yuan, that was real. And Shen Yuan would tell him that even though Shen Qingqiu seems to have changed, Luo Binghe shouldn't just forget about the past, because what if Shen Qingqiu returns to that behavior? It might not happen, but if it does then Luo Binghe must react accordingly.

But it's difficult, sometimes. This new Shizun, he's... he's really... sometimes he seems just like...

But Luo Binghe won't fall in love with him!

No matter what, he won't stay. He has to figure out how to move between worlds, and get back to Shen Yuan. Who he REALLY loves. Not Shen Qingqiu. He is in love with Shen Yuan and he is not falling in love with Shen Qingqiu.

At all.

[mxtxfanatic]

Tbh, I think if you read an mxtx novel with the expectation that the story’s hero is meant to learn some valuable lesson that fundamentally changes their character and views on life, then you are reading her books wrong. There’s not a single mxtx protag (currently) in existence who changes by the end of the story. It’s the world they live in that is changed because of their actions:

—Shen Yuan’s Shen Qingqiu transforms a toxic masculinity fantasy into a queer romance in which the unhappy stallion protagonist with a harem in the 100s is given his monogamous happy ending with a husband he actually loves and values with reciprocity. They fuck off to their forever honeymoon after exposing the corruptness of the cultivation world that ruined Luo Binghe’s life to begin with, and all of this was only possibly because Shen Yuan was just a genuinely nice fucking person. The world lives to see another day and a fuckton of people who died (or didn’t even get to exist) in the original stallion novel get to live long, more fulfilled lives in Shen Yuan’s revision.

—Wei Wuxian is killed for sticking up for a condemned clan, is resurrected against his will, and still stands by his actions in his first life while protecting those that continued to wrongfully condemn him. As a reward, the corpses of the people he died protecting save him and his loved ones (and the rest of the bystanders who killed them), he bags himself the most perfect and perfectly matched man in the cultivation world, and he continues to help others and do what he wants to the ire of the cultivation world who are now too embarrassed to fight him. The younger generation look to him as a beloved teacher, protector, and role model to aspire towards.

—Xie Lian rebelled against hierarchy as a beloved prince of a prospering kingdom, then as a beloved god against the older gods, then as a reviled scraps god against the then most popular gods of the present day. He was always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needed it and to never hold resentment even if that kindness blew up in his face (and it often did). He gets to marry the man (ghost) who has seen him at his best and absolute worst and chooses him unconditionally, something no one else has ever done before. At the end of the novel, he is the god that all the other gods look to for guidance and strength.

None of these stories humble these characters for being good people. Even when their morally righteous actions net them unimaginably terrible results, even when they falter in the face of their failures, they ultimately remain true to their goodness. And none of the books humble them for that, because being good is not a character flaw. So in short: please stop talking about how mxtx protags “needed” to learn valuable lessons to “be good people” when they were already good people from the very beginning. These stories are not about how the world changes people but how genuinely good people can change the world just by actively being kind even with no benefit to themselves and especially if that kindness leads to detriment.

[jade-len]

bad svsss fanfic/au idea: random marriage/guidance counselor transmigrates into PIDW, sees the absolute mess of lord luo bingge and his harem, goes "jesus fucking christ", and makes bank.

and like. they're probably not even that good of a counselor. it's just that people lack any sense when it comes to bingge, and since he's the emperor, that means pretty much everyone. also because therapy doesn't exist. i'll give them some credit though, whatever they hell they're doing works.

now, while sqq and sqh are having a grand ol' time in SVSSS with their husbands, this random, average counselor has to deal with being in the care of lord luo bingge. no wife beam. no anything. all they have is some basic empathy and common sense people just tend to lack in here for some reason.

it's even worse considering the fact that they've arrived after luo bingge completed his plan and became the hailed demon emperor. now, while they've never full on read the entire thing, they've heard enough from a close friend who has kept up with it to know the main character is the literal embodiment of the cycle of abuse and heavy unresolved issues. like, it got to the point where they started to unironically use luo bingge as an example of how to not deal with conflicts and trauma.

really, how could people like bingge? seriously, it's just another edge lord main character with way too many glamorized issues and abuse. red flag! (hey, who the hell is peerless cucumber and why does he keep defending binghe? lord, have mercy on these impressionable young men...)

so, after being kidnapped taken in by bingge and his wives after the bunch claimed that they were a "wise man" or whatever (all they did was offer some basic relationship advice to some poor woman, who turned out to be ning yingying, who told the other wives, and it just spiraled from there), they were deemed "special" and given their personal office and a room! hey, better than being on the streets in this god forsaken hentai-ish world, i guess.

quickly, a routine was established. one that, especially, consisted of luo bingge outright ignoring them. which, they weren't complaining about!

wake up, eat, meet with multiple of the wives, spend their hard earned money on delicious delicacies, meet with more wives, sleep, repeat. the most interaction they had with the demon emperor was him ordering them around, but even then, that was uncommon. it was, surprisingly, easy to fall into the rhythm of this undoubtedly odd life. you're upset that lord luo hasn't spent much time with you? maybe you can ask! the other wives are being annoying? remove yourself from the situation. you're upset that lord luo has so many other wives? oohhh... yeah. uhm.

luo binghe only tolerated them, they knew that. and they're sure that, if not for multiple of his wives insisting on keeping them, they'd be dead for even daring to be so "intimate" with them. a little bit of a shock, if they do say so themself. like, insecure much (something that they'll probably never get used to is the fact that bingge built an entire little village for his wives, though)?

but that's not the most shocking thing, oh, no.

it's this.

"i- i tried.. i tried to take the.. hiic-- other.. other shizun w-with me.." lord luo binghe, the powerful, almighty demon emperor, trembles and sobs. "b-but he! he wanted to-- s-stay with that.. stupid, inferior version of my- hic- self.."

despite the mountain of gold they're getting paid in, is it really enough to deal with this? probably not. will they get killed for witnessing luo binghe's vulnerability? perhaps. is he a dictator, the embodiment of the cycle of abuse, and a crazily vengeful bastard? definitely.

"it's-- s' not.." his voice breaks. something else inside of them probably does, too. "..n-not, hiic- fair."

should they feel bad? they shouldn't. he's hurt much too many people. isn't it a little late? can he even be redeemed? because, they are absolutely not here to try and "fix" him.

and yet.

"can you breathe, lord luo? deep breaths, don't focus on anything else but me, okay? i'll do it with you too. can you do that for me? there, there. you're doing a very good job, do you know that? here, when i'm upset, sometimes i like to do something called, '5-4-3-2-1'. i promise it'll help, binghe. would you like for me to do this one with you too?"

they can't help but think about a small, lonely boy on qing jing peak.

. . .

after that, bingbing slowly starts to come around and develop an actual bond! cool!! he just,,, can't believe only his wives were granted the "wisdom". how foolish was he?

"i know i'm only a mere human, but i can tell that lord luo is... masking things. you can put that away for now, okay? i promise, everything you say here will be confidential information, and it'll never leak... no no there's no enemy spies here-"

"i'm not even going to question this. you go back there right now and deal with it yourself if you cannot respect me or the other clients. aka, your wives."

"no, it's not stupid. this is how people help themself, and it's okay if you want to do it. as long as it doesn't hurt you or anybody. it helps, and that's all that matters."

"oh? one of your wife confronted to you about it? i'm glad to hear that, she's doing well, i see. i'm also happy that you're listening too, really."

"yes, and when something like that happens, you--- no- don't pull out xin mo now. what did we say about that? good job."

"here, can i touch your hands, binghe? there we go. when you're unsteady, you feel the need to pick at your skin, correct? well, let's try a few different things to keep those hands busy! it must be quite stressful being an emperor. how about we start with crocheting! it's quite popular back at my hometown."

"your mother sounds like a wonderful woman, lord luo. hey, how about you take a small break and visit her, okay? you want me to come with you? of course, it'd be an honor."

and thus, the story of the poor transmigrator counselor continues on with luo bingge added to their schedule!! this could be read as romantic or platonic lol. but i was thinking of this as luo bingge obtaining his first actual friend. it takes a long while due to bingge's... bingge-ness, but eventually it all works out lmao

[verycharismaticdragon]

Okay, so I went a lil overboard with a reply to LBH criticism over at @controversial-blorbo-bracket, and I figure 4.5K words that probably should be put under a community label are a bit too much for a reblog, so I'm posting it separately.

CW for general discussion of sex, and for rape mention (assumption of rape is discussed and rebutted).

------

You know what, I was going to reply to this the usual way, you know, 'oh look at that, another person with surface level reading who hates binghe!' because fr every single binghe disliker has the same talking points - which, you know, individually were long discussed (and disproved) by ppl in fandom - but then I was suddenly hit with a spoon beam so now I'm writing a long-ass answer.

Starting with the most glaring, this sentence:

Their dynamic ended up coming off more as SQQ tolerating this unmanageable man-baby and letting him fuck (and hurt him in the process, and then cry about that, more than SQQ himself did) him just to get him to shut the fuck up sometimes, like giving a toddler a biscuit to appease them.

has clued me in to the largest thing anon has missed. Remember how I said "surface-level reading"? Let me explain. There are great many avenues for analyzing a book, especially one as crunchy on a meta-level as svsss (you'll see what I mean by that later).

But the most basic thing - the LVL1 if you will - is asking yourself the following questions: (1) whose POV is the book written from? (2) is that POV omniscient or limited? (2.1) are there cases where the POV character doesn't know something we, the reader, have inferred? (3) if it's limited, how reliable is their narration? (3.1) are there cases of their actions not aligning with their narration? (3.2) are there reasons for them to lie to themselves and/or the reader?

For SVSSS, the answers are: (1) mostly Shen Qingqiu's POV; (2) limited; (2.1) e.g. he doesn't know what's going on in Luo Binghe's head (we'll get back to this more in-depth later), most notably not realizing Luo Binghe is in love with him for good 2/3rds of the book; (3) unreliable; (3.1) think him insisting he is fine when he's clearly grieving post-Abyss - which we can see both from other characters' reactions, and from stray thoughts that he himself has and then dismisses (eng.edition chapter 4: "No! Bah! Shen Qingqiu mentally slapped himself. Who are you calling a grieving widow?! Whose husband died?! That's not something you should just say--you're really getting worse by the day.") (3.2) off the top of my head: the trauma SQQ is going through, with his two coping mechanisms being 'not thinking about it' and 'making light of the situation'; internalized toxic masculinity - as in, the idea that it's shameful for a man to have emotions; internalized homophobia - as in, being unable to examine his attraction to men (evident from very early on, actually) without having a knee-jerk 'it's wrong!' reaction.

To sum it up: Shen Qingqiu's POV is limited and his narration is unreliable. What does this tell us? That we should take what he says in the narrative voice with the grain (or like, a spoonful) of salt, and that it's worth to close-read him. Don't just believe him when he says something; look for evidence!

Going back to anon's words, saying that SQQ appears to just 'tolerate' Luo Binghe tells me that you have not caught SQQ's lies at all.

(cont. under cut)

SQQ is, pardon my language, fucking obsessed with Luo Binghe - just in a different way than Luo Binghe is with him. He is constantly thinking about Luo Binghe even when the latter is not around! (Contrast it to how he thinks about his family from his og world like, 3 times over the course of the book, despite loving them.) And when LBH is around, SQQ can't go a page without mentioning how incredibly beautiful he is! (And then blames it on Luo Binghe being a protagonist, like, of course the protagonist is the most beautiful person in the world, that's natural!.. We later get the POV of a literal author of the world, btw, and he says he wrote LBH as a conventionally beautiful prettyboy type, and his own ideal man is completely different. Which is how we know that SQQ going on about LBH's radiant showstopping obvious-to-anyone beauty is really only his own opinion that he's trying to sell to us as a universal truth.)

And, speaking of LBH's crimes anon mentions (I will not be calling them 'warcrimes', sorry, none of the very few less-than-moral things he does can be classified as that) - you may notice that, for both actual things LBH did and for things SQQ attributed to him mistakenly, those never changed the way SQQ feels about Binghe. He thinks LBH killed his kinda-friend and still jumps in to sacrifice himself to save LBH's life. He sees the guy LBH mutilated, and is disturbed by that... but still continues to protect LBH. Gives him a lil forehead kiss like 20 minutes later.

Oh, and let's not forget the scene where SQQ is punished with a hyper-realistic dream of original LBH tearing off his limbs, and his reaction to that is "I need to see my Binghe asap immediately like rn, I need my cute version of Binghe to feel better about this."

This all is to point out that SQQ continuously fails to be normal about LBH. That's a feature! That's what makes their relationship fun! "Clearly you are perfect for each other pls dont involve anyone else in whatever the fuck is wrong with you" kinda situation.

But you must look through the cover of SQQ's misdirections for it - like again, trauma! toxic masculinity! internalized homophobia! It's difficult for him to admit his feelings even in his head, but he is getting better about that. In Mei vs Ge extra, SQQ admits he wanted LBH to push a little more about them sharing a bed and that he would have agreed. And is kinda put out that LBH simply accepted his refusal. Then in Deep Dream extra, SQQ is literally the one to jump LBH. And in Wedding extra, he almost manages to look directly at the fact that he's very happy that LBH is proposing to him! So yeah, he is getting better at admitting it too. But honestly, his feelings about LBH were always really intense. In different ways over the course of the novel, but he adored LBH from before he transmigrated, and that adoration never lessened, despite everything that happened between them. You just gotta look at his actions and not his 24/7 mental stand-up routine.

All right, next, in the same paragraph the previous thing came from, I'll abridge and highlight for relevancy:

Their dynamic ended up coming off more as SQQ tolerating this unmanageable man-baby and letting him fuck [...] him just to get him to shut the fuck up sometimes, like giving a toddler a biscuit to appease them. And it came off very gross, especially in the epilogue, when Luo Binghe was blatantly manipulative about that, pushing and cornering Shen Qingqiu into doing more than he already was, and using his tears to his advantage, in a way that was clearly in the text not unintentional.

...Listen, for someone claiming to hate how one-dimensional LBH ended up, I'm seeing a distinct lack of effort at actually understanding the character. Luo Binghe's teary act (in the moments when it is an act, because there are also many moments when his tears are genuine, we'll get to that later) is, first and foremost, for Shen Qingqiu's benefit.

Shen Qingqiu admits it himself that he finds it easier to be "frank" with Luo Binghe who is "willing to cling to his legs and throw a tantrum to seek comfort" (Return to Childhood extra). It's the internalized toxic masculinity and homophobia thing again. It's actually pretty interesting how he rewires his brain from its knee-jerk reaction of "homosexuality wrong" by mentally comparing Luo Binghe to a girl - like calling him Bing-mei, thinking he's acting "like a lovesick maiden", etc. God I want to study this man like a bug. Anyway, yeah, the point is that LBH acting cute and whiny helps SQQ be more comfortable with giving affection to a man, something that he struggles with because of his personal issues.

And Luo Binghe, while not aware of the exact nature of SQQ's issues (having grown up in a world where homophobia doesn't seem to exist), does understand this - that Shen Qingqiu’s thin face and pride make it difficult for him to show emotions. And it's not something LBH intrinsically knows either; he has to figure it out (not without help, everybody say thank you papa Airplane), confirm it for himself (the "But other than hearing Shizun crying..." - "Who was crying?" - "Other than hearing someone crying, [...]" scene comes to mind), and then accept it as truth (which he doesn't seem to fully do until at least the Maigu Ridge, and Shen Qingqiu outright saying "I do it for you and only you!" - if not even later.) It takes him time to learn how to work with this knowledge too...

And, to be brutally honest, how blatant and over the top he gets with the act is entirely due to how SQQ keeps rewarding the behavior.

Now... you might consider this a conjecture, given how we only get the tiniest glimpses into Luo Binghe's mind - in the rare moments the author shifts out of the primary POV. But fortunately, one of those moments can be used to prove that Luo Binghe is not, in fact, "pushing and cornering" Shen Qingqiu into doing things Shen Qingqiu doesn't want to do.

The moment I'm talking about is in the Mei vs Ge extra: Shen Qingqiu, having agreed to "do some exploring together", sees LBH's giant 🐓, goes "absolutely not" out loud, and attempts to give him a handjob instead — which also doesn't go too well. Bringing us to (LBH's POV emphasized):

No matter how calm Shen Qingqiu kept himself, he couldn’t stop his expression from twisting. Luo Binghe had secretly been paying attention to his face the entire time. At this moment, he carefully said, “Then, Shizun, how about… you do it?”

LBH is attentively watching SQQ's reactions to figure out what he's thinking and feeling. The moment Binghe comes to the conclusion that SQQ is uncomfortable with bottoming, he offers to let him top. Notice how he doesn't start crying or whining to get his way, when it's something that might be a genuine hard line for SQQ?

And it's actually the same in the Regret of Chunshan extra: when SQQ shot LBH's idea down, LBH "looked a bit disappointed, but didn't push the issue". Yes, later SQQ will say LBH was "putting on a pitiful act"; but if you read the scene carefully, LBH did not do anything but look a bit disappointed - and SQQ just walked himself into feeling bad about refusing completely on his own.

Now, when does Luo Binghe use crocodile tears then? Well, the answer seems to be: when it's about small things. Like wanting to do it face to face (after they've already agreed on both sex in general and on who will top), or begging SQQ to call him 'husband' (after they have gotten married). Ultimately inconsequential things, and, likely, things that he suspects SQQ is avoiding only because of embarrassment and not anything more serious.

So, to sum up this section: Luo Binghe's crybaby act is for Shen Qingqiu's peace of mind first and foremost, and Luo Binghe does not actually use it to coerce Shen Qingqiu into anything he wouldn't be willing to do. LBH is not responsible for the fact that Shen Qingqiu has no bottom line when it comes to him and can't handle seeing him even minorly disappointed, let's be real.

Okay, last thing from that paragraph (yes there's another thing):

and letting him fuck (and hurt him in the process, and then cry about that, more than SQQ himself did)

See, with the way anon describes it here, I can't even tell which scene this references, but luckily I have a rebuttal for both options.

Like, is this about the Maigu Ridge? Aka the scene where LBH is not in his right mind (literally hallucinating, among other things) - and then comes back to consciousness to see that he, by all appearances, had brutally raped the person he loves with all his heart? No fucking wonder he starts crying?!.. And to clarify, he did not rape SQQ, because SQQ had given informed consent here. If anything, there was nobody in that scene less consenting than Luo Binghe himself.

Or is this about the scene in Mei vs Ge. Which is like. Entirely on SQQ, who decided to keep quiet instead of telling LBH that it hurts. Like, whatever that was about! It's only, oh, one of the major themes of the novel that hiding your feelings and struggles is bad, and will hurt not only you but people who care about you.

...Btw, if someone not in fandom is reading this with increased befuddlement for why those two are having so much painful sex. Well, aside from the scene where LBH is tripping balls because of a cursed sword, and the situation is forced by the literal will of the narrative (more on this later), our couple are two adult virgins with no sex-ed, and one of them is in possession of (canonically) the biggest dick in the world. Given those factors, it would be weirder if they were able to have flawless sex right away. (And it's a meta-commentary, something we'll also get to later.)

Speaking of the cursed sword, it's somewhat amazing that anon says all this

Why did they make him become this? I understand what he went through, I'm not asking about cause and effect, I'm saying the effect could have been so much better and more realistically (in my opinion and from my personal experience with trauma) written. I'm not saying he couldn't be burnt or bitter or jaded, nor that he couldn't be clingy or overly emotional or manipulative, I just think it could have been done better, and I HATE what his character became for the second half (realistically, most) of the story.

and completely fails to mention that between LBH's return from the Abyss and the end of the main story, LBH's actions are severely affected by a cursed sword that amps up his emotions with the express purpose of destroying his mind. Seems somewhat relevant to why his behavior isn't written as a realistic trauma response? And instead as a trauma response amped up to eleven and set on fire? And that's without even getting into LBH giving himself supernatural brain damage as a form of self-harm. Which uh. doesnt simply map onto any irl concept really.

Continuing from this, I think it's time for me to expand on one of the points from earlier: about how Shen Qingqiu doesn't know what's going on in Luo Binghe's head for most of the novel. It will be tied to this particular bit of criticism on anon's part:

I feel like the author utterly assassinated his character in the 2nd half of the novel (ever since he came back from the abyss) and turned him into a one dimensional caricature of himself, and I HATED IT.

What I want to suggest here is tied, once again, to how Shen Qingqiu’s POV is limited and unreliable. So, a new batch of questions: (4) is our understanding of other characters' actions affected by the limited POV? (5) is there a particular reason for the author to keep other characters' motivations opaque to the POV character? (6) can anything be gleaned by reconstructing other characters' perspectives?

The answer to (4) is a yes so resounding the POV character himself admits it: "First, he'd thought Luo Binghe was unbelievably cruel and evil, then he'd thought Luo Binghe was unspeakably strong and bright." (ch.21) Shen Qingqiu has the very same problem as anon does: he sees Luo Binghe as one-dimensional, making assumptions about how he's supposed to act - instead of trying to understand what's there.

Which leads us neatly into the answer to (5): people making assumptions about what's best for the other person instead of asking them what they need, and hurting them as a result, is also a major theme, present in many relationships throughout the novel! And that's only half of the answer.

The other half will require us to go a little meta. You see, BingQiu's relationship, among other things, are meant to echo the relationship between the reader and the character. The reader loves the character, but they are also the reason for their suffering - as for the story to go on, the character must continuously face more and more difficult obstacles. Shen Qingqiu both loving Luo Binghe and causing him unspeakable amount of trauma is meant to mirror that. Shen Qingqiu's expectations for how Luo Binghe should act, and attempts to fit him into one or the other archetype, are also, yknow, reader behavior.

And... are we not also readers? Are we not expecting Luo Binghe to act a certain way (for example, when I first read the novel, I fully expected him to keep being a classic ML: to swallow all his grievances and keep being unquestioningly and ardently devoted to MC. Which, once articulated, is such an unfair expectation!), and feel it's "character assassination" - to borrow anon's words - when he does not adhere to the role he's supposed to inhabit, based on our idea of his personality and place in the story?

So: is there a reason the author seems to deliberately make Luo Binghe hard to understand, irrational, or one-note, to both Shen Qingqiu and us? Making it harder to sympathize with him? For example, can it be commentary on oversimplifying complex characters to just their role, or just one aspect of their personality...

As for the answer to (6), I ultimately want to leave it for you to try it out and decide. I'm literally the person who wrote a 90k character study fic to try and figure out the minutiae of Luo Binghe's post-Abyss mental state, so my answer is I think obvious. He has a lot going on!

Which kind of brings me to another of anon's gripes:

And actually that made me really sad because I wanted to enjoy it so much, because I LOVED the beginning, and I love Shen Qingqiu, but the evolution of Luo Binghe and the refusal to let him KEEP evolving inescapably ruined the story for me. He was insufferable, and I kept hoping he would grow and get better, but he just never did.

Look, I simply cannot agree that Luo Binghe did not grow and get better; it just largely happens at the very end of the main story and in the extras. I know anon has missed that, since they missed the more obvious things like Shen Qingqiu being obsessed with Binghe right back and Binghe using the pathetic act to help Shen Qingqiu feel more at ease, so I'll get to that in a bit. But first, I want to make sure we are on the same page about everything before that.

The part of Luo Binghe's arc between the Abyss and the Maigu Ridge is a downward spiral. He's going through the corruption arc, just as the original version of him did; the narrative demands it.

And it's not like 'the narrative' is a nebulous force here; there are literal actors of its will in the story, the System and Xin Mo sword. Like, in particular, the Maigu Ridge sex scene is a perfect example of how those two actors push Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu. The System literally withholds a key item that can help Luo Binghe regain his conscious mind until Shen Qingqiu has sex with him - you know, until the demands of the narrative of a romance story are fulfilled. And Xin Mo literally corrodes Luo Binghe's mind so that he acts like the original version from PIDW, because the truth is, SVSSS Luo Binghe would rather die than actually force himself on Shen Qingqiu. (Binghe's first reaction to seeing what he'd done is to ask "Why didn't you kill me?" and like. understandable. im crying also)

Oh, right, I promised to explain how bad sex is meta, this is a good spot for that. You see, it's a commentary on the 'flawless first time' trope, and also 'sex is a cure' trope. The author posits that two virgins having sex would naturally be awkward and not magically good. And that having sex in a highly stressful situation where one of the parties is not in control of their faculties would naturally be really fucking bad, and also not magically good.

But back to narrative demands. The point is, Luo Binghe simply cannot get better until "the story" ends. He can't heal while the world around him is literally deadset on dragging him down to become a bloodthirsty, sex-obsessed tyrant. The only thing that saves him is Shen Qingqiu managing to get them into the happily ever after zone by the skin of his teeth. There's a reason the main story of the book ends with: "The story circulating through the world might already have ended. But the story between you and me has only just began". 'The story circulating through the world' is the narrative the characters were trapped in; only once it has ended can Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe be allowed to go free, to actually live their lives and be happy. (This novel is very meta, I'm telling you.)

All right, now, back to how Luo Binghe actually did grow and get better! We're almost to the end! I fear to see how long this post is, at this point!

Now, I could be pointing out specific details, like Luo Binghe letting SQQ be brought back to Cang Qiong because he thinks that's what SQQ would want - when his whole breakdown before was about how he couldn't keep SQQ with him. Or I could be reminding you of the second section of this post, and saying that Luo Binghe learning to bypass SQQ's embarrassment by playing cute is actually also character development, even if you didn't like it.

But I think we should go for the heart of the issue. You see, yet another prominent theme in SVSSS is toxic masculinity. It's baked into the setting, with the "original" book our MC transmigrated into being a heterostraight harem novel; it's something our MC struggles with, when his learned toxic behaviors screw over both himself and the person he loves; and - most important to our current topic - it's the chief source of tension within Luo Binghe's character.

Literally, there are even names for two polar axes of his personality in the story: Bing-ge (ge=big brother), coined by in-story fandom to describe original Luo Binghe of PIDW, and Bing-mei (mei=little sister), the nickname SQQ comes up with specifically for "lovesick maiden"-acting Binghe.

"Bing-ge" side, of course, represents toxic masculinity. Extremely obviously in OG!LBH's case, what with him being the protagonist of 'male wish fulfillment and misogyny: the novel', but if you think about it, SV!LBH also demonstrates toxic masc behaviors, starting post-Abyss and up to Maigu Ridge. Noticeably, exactly when he had Xin Mo fucking him up - Xin Mo in general is symbolic of the "original" narrative, pushing SV!LBH to replicate the OG's behavior. And also it's a sword. The symbol of toxic masc version of the narrative is. A sword. RIP Freud you would've loved Scum Villain.

But what does "Bing-mei" stand for, if we detangle it from SQQ's 5D chess with his own sexuality? We know Bing-mei cooks and cleans and gives waist massages. We also know Bing-mei shows affection freely, and isn't embarrassed to cry, and has a sensitive heart. A man who is caring instead of controlling, a man who is not afraid to be vulnerable and emotional... Bing-mei side is meant to represent the healthy / soft masculinity.

And Luo Binghe's arc is rooted in the struggle between healthy and toxic sides of masculinity. What I think is tripping up a lot of people is that he starts at the healthy place, in his "white lotus" days. He is caring, he is affectionate, he shows the full range of emotion.

Then, the world comes for him, and he falls (or, yknow, is pushed) into toxic patterns of behavior. He hides his vulnerability, the only show of emotion he allows himself are outbursts of anger, he tries to control the person he loves... and thus hurts people around him and himself. His breakdown at Maigu Ridge is about thinking he can never be good enough, no matter what he does - see, the very idea that there's some level of achievement that can make a person unequivocally lovable is a toxic masc mindset!..

But the thing is, him breaking down here - admitting that he can't "win", showing the messy, undesirable, emotional side of himself - demonstrating that he can't be the Bing-ge version - is what opens up a path for him to communicate with Shen Qingqiu. Giving him the genuine connection he needed, that Bing-ge could never have. And thus allowing him to destroy the toxic-masculinity-representing sword.

So, the evolution path the author charts out for Luo Binghe from there on is him growing into the healthy masculinity patterns. Starting with, again, putting caring about his partner above controlling him and letting SQQ be brought back to Cang Qiong. Which SQQ didn't actually want, but we've already covered that he's his own kind of freak(affectionate). And continuing to try to do better by SQQ and listen to him (eg the whole SQQ refusing to share a bed and LBH acceding so easily SQQ was left reeling, because he was planning to agree once LBH pushed). And learning that he can show emotion and be validated for it (see Return to Childhood extra with its "if you are unhappy, say so"). And accepting that he doesn't need to be perfect to be loved (the guy faceplanted trying to propose and still got his man...). And, hell - count 'doing his best to learn how to pleasure his partner in bed' with this as well!

So, once again, as a closing note: I simply can't agree that Luo Binghe doesn't grow and evolve. You just have to let go of your preconceived notions of what his character should be like, and learn to see, understand, and appreciate what's there. The same arc Shen Qingqiu, his most faithful reader, goes through.

For a book as meta as SVSSS, that's obviously no coincidence.

[greentrickster]

Before Binghe starts actively courting Shizun he realizes that he’s going to have to deal with his most dangerous opponent in this goal: Liu Qingge. He is a powerful adversary who has an (annoying) amount going for him and also those four years Binghe wasn’t there to bond with him. This will take strategy, and a deft hand.

Binghe: (pointing at the third slide of thirty-six slide presentation on why it would be better for Shizun to marry him first) Furthermore, Big Bro Liu is a skilled warrior, but has demonstrated no ability or training in keeping house or entertaining company, both of which are key duties of the first spouse. I, in contrast, have been training for such things my whole life, and would in fact prefer to be the one to handle such things-

(Slide seven gets into how LQG, being a war god, would be better suited for protecting Shizun from enemies and finding him cool monsters via night hunts)

(Slide nine allows for the possibility of LQG taking Shizun along on night hunts, but Binghe gets to come too because he doesn’t trust LQG’s cooking skills)

(Slide fifteen is just “Can you even balance a budget?”, that’s it, that’s the whole slide, it is accompanied by a pointed look and nothing more)

(Slide seventeen gets into how two balance two peak lords being married to each other and living arrangements)

(Slide twenty-two I’m the caretaker, you’re the provider, and Shizun is spoiled rotten, this is how things should be)

(Slide twenty-five admits that Binghe and LQG will probably have to start getting along if they want this to work since Shizun likes both of them)

(Slide twenty-six adds that, as a husband instead of househusband, LQG has 0% right to wearing a character apron. He can have a regular one to help around the house if asked, if he has complaints learn how to do laundry, the character apron is a privilege, not a right)

(Slide twenty-seven puts forth a potential breakdown of timetables for when they should each start courting and how they should support each other in these endeavors)

(Slide thirty-five relents that this is, of course, all hinged on Shizun being willing to marry either of them - Shizun’s word is law)

(Slide thirty-six: Questions?)

Liu Qingge has many questions and much confusion, especially over the fact that Binghe seems to be making some legitimately good points and have some decent ideas in here, especially regarding both their strengths and weaknesses.

And, while I do enjoy a nice throuple with these three, a good ol’ equilateral triangle relationship, in this AU I like the idea of Shen Qingqiu being in romantic relationships with both Binghe and Liu Qingge, and Binghe and Liu Qingge in a queer platonic relationship with each other. The idea of them somehow sliding into this quiet, mutually supportive relationship laced with non-sexual intimacy and shoring up each others’ weaknesses. And Luo Binghe stays home while Liu Qingge comes and goes as he needs and pleases, and they all give and receive different things from each other.

Thinking about it, it might be interesting if Liu QIngge was actually more comfortable with Binghe visiting his dream realm than Shen Qingqiu, just because in his dream realm there’s the whole environment to communicate what he wants to say instead of just words, which he has a hard time with. Possibly Binghe could teach him a little about controlling his personal dream realm, maybe learn how to send messages in dreams so he has a way to call for help if something happens on a mission or night hunt and there’s no one nearby to help him. In return, Liu Qingge helps Binghe re-hone his sword skills (regardless of iteration, this world they live in is dangerous and fighting skills are basically a requirement, even for a househusband), since he and Binghe are both physical cultivators in contrast to Shen Qingqiu’s spiritual cultivation...

...also this was meant to be a semi-humorous post about Binghe trying to get Liu Qingge to go along with his plans via a slideshow, when did it turn into serious relationship development and exploration between the two of them and how this relationship fits into this AU...?

Anyway, point is, these two can be super hot together, but I’ve enamored myself with them quietly leaning on each other in this AU as they care for the man they both love in their own ways.

[zykamiliah]

Shen Qingqiu, who’d always been so good at mental gymnastics, reached a new high in his number of mental roasts, madly smashing through his old records—yet he still couldn’t put himself at ease, and instead he only grew more tired and worn out. He relentlessly told himself to the point of auto-brainwashing: the suffering and torment Luo Binghe endured now was all necessary in order for him to stand above the masses in the future. Without enduring the bone-chilling cold / How could fragrant plum blossoms hope to bloom / Without three years’ training in realms below / How could a demon king over worlds loom? Xin Mo in hand, he would possess everything beneath the heavens / With a harem innumerable, he need not be an incel… But it was useless. It was completely useless. Nothing could lift his spirits. (Chapter 4: Conference)

take a shot every time in vol. 1 sqq talks about brainwashing himself. from the skinner demon incident, and after the demon invasion, when it comes to what he has to do in the Immortal Alliance Conference, over and over, the man keeps trying to convince himself that it's fine, this is how things are supposed to go. the disciples dying. him having to reject and push luo binghe into the abyss. the mental stress this situation most have put in himself, that's something i can't comprehend at all.

He selfishly hoped that Luo Binghe would go of his own volition. In this kind of scenario, characters who chose to jump from cliffs were always caught on something—then Shen Qingqiu could go on believing his own lies that this scene would have a happy end.

pushing lbh into the endless abyss was so fucking traumatizing. like this is one of the reasons he can't talk about it when lbh asks him. he has trauma, and doesn't speak about it, avoids thinking about it, similar to the way yqy can't talk about his own trauma. the guilt, the fact that he, in his owns eyes, killed the person he adores so much.

Only Shen Qingqiu knew that the one he was mourning was in truth within that sword mound, buried underneath and never to return: that youth as warm as the sun.

and not only that, but their relationship. god sqq had come to genuinely love living with luo binghe, just being around him and depending on him.

Clearly Shen Qingqiu was the one who’d raised that little lamb of a protagonist, so why did it seem like the protagonist had been the one looking after him? He was scaring his disciples, putting on the act of a grieving widow whose husband had just died. Hadn’t it been only a couple of days since he’d last seen that child?

^this is what I mean when I said sqq also got psychological damage from their separation.

But, perhaps because Luo Binghe had left, he really was a bit lonely. Especially when he thought about how five years from now, when they reunited, a relationship that had once been that of a compassionate teacher and filial disciple (or something) would become defined by veiled murderous intent and daggers hidden within smiles. (Chapter 4: Conference)

and the nail on the coffin is the notification system. honestly im still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that lbh hold on hope for 15+ days that his shizun would go back for him.

What truly broke him and caused him to weep at the heavens was that, after several days of silence, the System sent him a message truly devoid of all humanity.

【 Congratulations! You have successfully completed the key quest, “The Legend Begins: Luo Binghe’s Fall and Rebirth.” Reward: Protagonist satisfaction points +10,000. 】

now this "weeping to the heaven", is it an hyperbole or is it literal? I'm going with the latter, because sqq loves to make fun about his own feelings. and when distracting himself and humor don't suffice, he has to go take his anger on something or someone

Being so unhappy, naturally Shen Qingqiu had to go take it out on someone else. So, he had Ming Fan deliver a message inviting Shang Qinghua to the Bamboo House.

a coping mechanism similar to bingge's, talk about parallels, toxic masculinity etc

[truly-morgan]

[Roleplaying PIDW online]

CumPlane | Scum Villain Self-Saving System Modern AU 13-10-2021

[modern day #cumplane roleplaying PIDW]

okay, but what if Airplane enjoyed doing rp about his own novel? usually staring mobei-jun. It's annoying when people say he's ooc (he created the damn character!!).

Then he meets this person who plays platonic luo binghe only. and damn! he is pretty good at it, pretty in character, better than all the other people who tried doing so and couldn't grasp the essence of who lbh was supposed to be.

And so they roleplay in a totally platonic setting, just two bros demons going around the place making quests.

sometimes they nearly enter ooc territory but never quite, it's got to a point where the rp is simply too good to really care if the other one is a bit ooc sometimes.

It's all fun and thing until the to rp slowly turn less sfw.

involuntarily, they turn that rp into a BL, which is not necessarily something Shen Yuan wanted but hey, it is better than his binghe getting another wife. Plus it's totally not gay if the one attracted is /the character/ and not him. him getting hard in more steamy moments is not him not being straight 😤 it's him emulating what lbh would feel like.

although sometimes it is hard to say whether the way his roleplay partner is writing is really meant for lbh or for him (but he assumes it's just his imagination, they are two straight bro enjoying some rp).

I imagine airplane figuring out this cool roleplayer is actually his biggest critic by following sides conversation they have, especially when new chapters drop and sy leak some of his opinions.

there is a confrontation no long before they died, where they truly reveal who they are.

not imagine when they are living in a PIDW that is totally different from before, just hanging out with their husband only for Shang Qinghua to quote one of their replies. His memory may be bad after so long in here, but he still remembers.

it has Shen Qingqiu laughing as he quotes back a replied, often since they were inside jokes from the rp.

This leaves them sometimes laughing uncontrollably, sqq trying to hide against sqh with his fan trying to hide himself, leaving their husbands extremely confused.

maybe cumplane can start doing rp again, or try to rope their husbands into it too

Original

[thegoldenavenger]

The unassailable truth of Shen Qingqiu (Yuan version) is that binghe is his most important person. He loves binghe so much he literally destroyed fate to insert himself into his life (snapping shen qingqiu's and Yue qingyuan's red string), on top of the rest of it. Which! Makes being an inherent multishipper/polyashipper so HARD. Because yes! He has two hands. And may even consent to one of them not holding his husband's hand. And! He is the king of mental gymnastics so he would in fact find himself in another emotionally committed relationship without internalizing it as a relationship that may infringe on the emotional boundaries of his and binghe's marriage (and binghe may be alternatively too twice-bitten shy to bring that up or overly possessive so that shen qingqiu can ignore his complaints without serious talking it out skills they both sincerely lack) but he would definitely drop any and every thing for binghe at a moment's notice without SERIOUS plot contrivance

There's a reason most sqq-is-getting-with-someone-else scenarios happens while binghe is still 14 or paying tuition for his abyss schooling (unless it's 3some time in which case the bingqiu of it all is usually already established)!! The glaring lack of binghe in fics desperately trying to not be about binghe is so funny

Anyways mostly I think this is hilarious in context of cumplane shipping because shen yuan is also crazy about airplane shooting towards the sky, like for proper lack of binghe (and the pidw world shen yuan fucking loves*) shen yuan would absolutely fixate on airplane the way he fixates in lbh BUT the MOMENT binghe becomes real in an actualized tangible way, shen yuan would unfortunately drop airplane like a hot potato (with lots of mental gymnastics)

like completely unintentionally and rationalizing it as helping airplane's best bit of writing the whole time, he'd fall face first into binghe whatever form he took leaving airplane to be like: [puppy dog eyes] bro!

I think this is mostly funny in this context because airplane can also be shallow and emotionally constipated so there's a way that whole mess could be funny instead of tragic. Like, for as much of shen yuan's/shen qingqiu's entire personality is based on airplane's actions and Luo binghe in specific, airplane doesn't have the same emotional attachment to cucumber! Airplane has his weird emotional obsession with his own work! So like, he would be, at least partially, completely flattered and vindictive that shen yuan immedietly obsessed over his suddenly incarnated self insert edgy oc.

But like, ANY OTHER shade of this dynamic is so wholly tragic. The second most popular form of shen yuan/qingqiu is in a relationship with someone else and it is Not a 3some is Binghe is The Antagonist to some terrifying degree in order to keep them separate. Like there's no form of au in which binghe exists as a platonic friend because they're whole Thing is being Obsessed with each other

Uh anyways, to get around the inherent emotional see-saw of this dynamic, I definitely subscribe to the Shen Yuan is in Romo for ALL of pidw, fixating on binghe yes because he is the pure distillation of PIDW originally, but post transmigration when he is immersed in the PIDW world, and learns to let himself grow as a person, that world begins to revolve around him. Oh that Asterix from earlier goes here.

The reason so many people in svsss fixate on sqq beyond the bl tropes or whatever is simply because airplane wrote pidw for his fans and cucumber is his biggest one, so of course when shen yuan transmigrates in and starts inserting himself into things the world bends over backwards to fall in love with him.

Like. Airplane's system hates him and he doesn't connect to any of the characters I think because even though he loves the story it is too close to himself. It's a reflection of who he is: someone desperate and wanting to do good/create but being crushed under a system he can't fight. It's the one self indulgent thing he writes into his story that he keeps even after "selling out" that lets him grow (mobei jun).

I dont know where I'm going with this . Uh. SVSSS harem ending when I guess.

[dumbasswhatever]

Responding to your unrecomendation, mine would be scum villain self saving system. It's a Chinese bl novel. It's about a reader, Shen Yuan, who got isekaid into the novel he hate-read, as the villainious teacher, Shen Qingqiu, that abuses the protagonist. Ofc he strives to do the opposite within the limits of ooc. So why it would be my unrecomendation is three point:

1. Resolving the protagonist dilemma.

So the protagonist, Luo Binghe, in the og novel is a tyrant with 300+ wives so he's kinda fucked bc of his childhood trauma. He's a paranoid, power hungry and lust hungry. So ofc Shen Qingqiu tried to treat him better in this one. Except that the author doesn't extend more than that. This kid has no friends other than his childhood bestie. Where's his other friends? Classmates? Bonding between children that can help foster good emotional connection and be a normal teenager? ZERO. Author wrote him to only rely on Shen Qingqiu emotionally and never addressing his previous trauma under the og villain. It's still there!! And it effects the whole novel!!! He's emotionally unstable.

Luo Binghe was so obsessed with him he literally kept Shen Qingqius corpse in his bedroom for five fuckin years, while SQQ junior tried to get him back for a proper burial. When he did find SQQ, Luo Binghe feed him a parasite that can track him anywhere. WTF.

2. The harem.

In og novel, all women are his wives. So what happened to them in this one? Well. They do get mentioned. But barely. One was an airhead but she got more sensible and thats it. Thats all??? I know bl has issues with how they treat their female casts but damn author you could've made them lesbians at the least.

3. Shen Qingqiu himself.

Personally I see him as someone who views the protagonist as a son/student so when people said "oh the characters said that SQQ is mourning for Binghe like a widow mourning for his husband >><<" i get pissed cause father mourns too!!! Teachers mourns as well!! Does platonic relationship means nothing?? Also even if Shen Qingqiu is an unreliable narrator, I can still read that how he views Luo Binghe. Definitely not romantic. Also the fact that he was forced to became Binghe's stay at home wife when he's literally THE Head of Scholarly Peak?? Who loves to explore and record weird plants and animals? Sir. What's the damn difference than a normal het novel then?? Other than no baby and pregnancy. What's the damn difference than the og protagonist having 300+ wives who were shut in his palace than this Binghe with a man who became a shut in? HEAD IN HANDS

I have so many grievance with this book cause it could've been better. Not even counting the teacher-student relationship and many other red flags that are flying actively in this book. I am tortured with visions. Everyday im gripping the sink, saying "It could've been better. But it DIDN'T."

Definitely do not recommend 0/10 dont do this don't read this book. Its better to read other things like a textbook maybe. Sorry if this is long i can only hope that you're entertained. Best regard.

i am very entertained holy hell thank you for the essay. also this book is O_O huh. the basic concept (like making a story/character happier out of spite) sounds like it could be a very fun read but then every single other detail you listed is like hoooooooly shit. this guy's got 300 wives and doesn't have a single relationship with any of them

[web-novel-polls]

Web Novel Weapon Tournament Submissions

FORMERLY THE "CULTIVATION WEAPON TOURNAMENT"

Submissions Closed

Rules:

One weapon per submission. If you'd like to submit multiple weapons, please do so in separate responses

If the weapon doesn't have a specific name, please use however it's usually identified (ex: Character A's sword)

Any type of weapons are allowed! If it was created to be a weapon, essentially a weapon, or memorably used as a weapon, it counts! Have fun with it

Tournament Tag: #web novel weapon tournament

Current Submissions & Dealer's Choice under the cut

(CWs: spoilers, suggestive language, object insertion, suicide, self harm, character death)

[Last Updated: March 1st, 2024]

Submissions

Xuan Su - Yue Qingyuan’s sword (SVSSS)

Mod Propaganda: Xuan Su is Yue Qingyuan’s iconic sword that is only drawn twice after he suffers from a qi deviation bonding his life force to Xuan Su. 

Zheng Yang - Luo Binghe’s sword (SVSSS)

Submission: Something about a childhood sword that was broken, then preserved, then restored, and in the end was the one that remained, instead of the more powerful one that brought only misery. 

Bichen - Lan Wangji’s sword (MDZS) 

Submission:

this sword has been through a lot...

Cursed Knowledge Link

Mod Propaganda

Yes, this is the sword Wei Wuxian stuck up his ass in the Incense Burner Extra. It’s also Lan Wangji’s main weapon that was included in the iconic “Lan Wangji calling Wei Wuxian his scene” where Wei Wuxian believes he’s pointing toward Bichen (Chapter 31). It’s a legend, and I would be doing a disservice to Jin Guangyao (who Bichen defeated in the first round of the Danmei Character Tournament) if I did not include it.

Jiangzai - Xue Yang’s sword (MDZS)

Submission:

i don't know shit about swords but jiangzai can split into two swords and that's Very Cool methinks

E-ming - Hua Cheng’s cursed scimitar (TGCF)

Wiki Link 

Submission:

E-ming is the best boy. Hua Cheng forged his saber when he was defending humans who got caught in the middle of a big ghost battle for dominance, essentially. He dug out his cursed red eye and created E-ming from it. So his eye is on the pommel of the sword, right in the center above the handle, and it emotes!! When its happy, the eye curves into a crescent and it vibrates!!! It cries when Hua Cheng is mean to it in a fucked up sense of self loathing since his sword is born from him!! E-ming grows bigger when Xie Lian(Hua Cheng's god and eventual husband) kisses the blade, because silly erection joke! But also it begs Xie Lian for praise and attention because its BEST. BOY. Oh and I guess also the entirety of the heavens fears the cursed blade E-ming, which has the power to reopen any wounds its made an on an individual before. Just the thought of E-ming makes gods shake in their boots. But more importantly, he's best boy.

Ruoye - Xie Lian’s spiritual device (TGCF)

Wiki Link

Submission:

Ruoye is technically a demonic weapon or whatever as it doesn't need spiritual power to control, but that also might just be because it's sentient and has a will of it's own but is deeply loyal to Xie Lian obviously. Ruoye can extend REALLY far!!! And he can form protection barriers, and decapitate zombies, and chop vegetables. There's nothing this good bandage baby can't do!! Peak performance! AND it'll pretend to do a snake dance while Xie Lian plays an instrument while busking!! Isn't that adorable! Xie Lian wears it on his wrists usually, and sometimes Ruoye will like tighten or rub his wrists to express fear or comfort Xie Lian and its so cute. Ruoye is so good. Personally I think despite Ruoyes background being like. Horribly tragic, thats what makes it so Good. All that pain and suffering made this thing that ended up protecting Xie Lian all these 800 years. But I left it last in case it's too much.  (tw suicide mention) Ruoye was created after being soaked in Xie Lian's blood when it was used to tie him up while various people stabbed him with a sword a hundred times. Then when he was able to return home, it was used by his parents to kill themselves for a variety of reasons we won't get into. Then, upon finding them, he tried to kill himself too. But his cursed shackles prevented his mortal body from dying, so when he died he just came back; he came back to a silk bandage that after taking the life of 2 royals, and being soaked in the blood of a royal and former god and stuff, it came to life!! With resentment technically. But he's a good boy. 

Xin Mo - Luo Binghe’s sword (Ver. 2: Electric Boogaloo - SVSSS)

Submission:

it is literally The web novel weapon??? like it’s the demon emperor’s golden finger that he found in the eternal abyss? it has fanon continuity points as well if you believe that the metal rod wei wuxian (MDZS) touches in the mouth of the turtle is either a previous or later form of xin mo. Xin Mo is soooooooo good that it had to fight itself at one point! XIN MO SUPREMACY !!!!!!!

Cheng Luan - Liu Qingge’s sword (SVSSS)

Submission: 

It is very large and is obviously enough to carry Liu Qingge and company. The sword is the size of his ego…

Little Palace Mistress’s Whip (SVSSS) 

Submission:

Shen Qingqiu is whipped, and not just for Luo Binghe?

Wind Master Fan (TGCF)

Owner: Shi Qingxuan

[No Propaganda Submitted]

Wiki Link

Shuoyue - Lan Xichen's sword (MDZS)

Submission: The sword that stabbed through Lan Xichen's best friend, Jin Guangyao. Tragic sword.

Wiki Link

Chenqing - Wei Wuxian's dizi (MDZS)

Wiki Link

A Rock from LCF

Owner: Cale Henituse

Submission:

[spoilers for chapters 700+]

Listen there's nothing quite like having a scene where the protagonist straight up beats the main villain with a rock. A regular, averagely sized rock. And then also chucks the same rock into the face of a literal deity. It was glorious. It was therapeutic. #rocksweep

Dealer's Choice

(Submit these to make sure they get in & to add propaganda)

Jiangui / Ah! What the Hell from 2ha

“There is only one person in this world who can open Ever-Yearning. This person is extremely important in your life; you must love this person dearly, and this person must also love you in return, and be wholly devoted to you.” - Ji Baihua regarding the Ever-Yearning box containing Jiangui

Mo Ran’s Holy weapon in his second life, Jiangui - which translates to “Ah! What the hell” due to Mo Ran accidentally exclaiming this when opening the Ever-Yearning box. 

Bu’gui [“No Return”] / Guilai [“To Return”] from 2ha

“No Return… Affairs of the past upon vermillion bridge in emerald green; Another year goes but still you do not return.” - Chapter 81 

Bu’gui was Mo Ran’s sword in the original timeline that he received by bringing a plum blossom branch to an old dragon named Wangyue. He had Chu Wanning seal it until he could think of a name for it, and it was only named “No Return” after Chu Wanning’s death.

In the second lifetime, he received Jiangui instead, but Bu’gui appeared once more at Xuanyuan Pavilion and was auctioned off to the Rufeng Sect for 5 million; this time it was referred to as Guilai or “To Return.”

Longcheng / Dragon City - Xue Meng’s sword from 2ha

Since Xue Meng could not receive a holy weapon from Jincheng Lake, he used Longcheng, a high-quality scimitar from Taxue Palace. From what I remember, Mo Ran gifted him the Wangshu Crystal from the Carp Essence that was requested by Song Qiutong to help him cultivate/add to his sword, making it something similar to a “heavenly weapon.”

Xue Zhengyong’s fan

While this fan is never named, Xue Zhengyong’s fan is well-known due to the writing on it - “Xue is beautiful” (which faces others) and “others are ugly” (which faces him). It really is iconic

“Xue is beautiful, others are ugly.” - Chapter 31

Suibian - Wei Wuxian's sword (MDZS)

Suibian is Wei Wuxian’s sword that sealed itself after his death. Its name translates to “Whatever” due to Wei Wuxian’s inability to think of a suitable name and telling Jiang Fengmian to name it “whatever.” This is, in my opinion, the funniest thing Jiang Fengmian has ever done in his life

Zidian - Jiang Cheng/Madam Yu's whip (MDZS)

Wiki Link

The Jiang Clan’s family heirloom that transforms from a ring into a whip. It was originally used by Madam Yu until her death when she (and separately her husband) used it to bind and protect Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian from the invading Wens. 

A symbol of family and honor given from Madam Yu to Jiang Cheng, Zidian’s owner can allow others to use it, as shown by Jiang Fengmian realizing Zidian recognized him before his and Madam Yu’s death and Jiang Cheng leaving Zidian with Jin Ling.

Taerang - Alberu Crossman's divine item (LCF)

Wiki Link

Fantasy gun rights

Undecided / Other

CWN's weapons - Tianwen, Jiu’ge, Huaisha (2ha)

TGCF Final battle sword

The sword of several gods put together to fight the final Boss of TGCF

Hong Jing (TGCF)  

Mod Propaganda: Snitch

Wiki Link

Yan Zhen (TGCF)

Wiki Link

Jun Wu’s Virgin Detector sword

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello, new danmei fan here. I'm really late into danmei, just started last year (so I missed the hype). Just when I confused which blog to follow, I found your blog. Thanks so much for this blog of yours, it really helped me to understand more of the stories. I just finished MDZS, TGCG, SVSSS and now I'm reading 2Ha.

For this ask game, can I ask MDZS or SVSSS?

Before I start reading, many people said that SVSSS is inferior to other MXTX works, after finishing the books, I disagree, because I enjoy them all the same....

I mean, if starting last year is considered "late," then I'm also behind, because I only started reading things a few years ago lmao! But it's never too late when fandoms are still booming (for better or worse). So I see we're finishing out the mxtx novels.

MDZS

Favorite Character: Wei Wuxian

Favorite Arc: all Drunk Lan Wangji encounters!

Character I Think is Underrated: Lan Wangji, if i have to hear “he’s boring” from people who can’t read one more time…

Character I Think is Overrated: all of the antagonists and villains. Jiang Cheng is not "single mother!jiujiu," he is just a bitchless Wen Chao. Jin Guangyao is not "poor little Meng Yao forced to do things against his will," he is a a calculating murderer who will scheme against, betray, and kill anyone who stands between him and ultimate power. Madam Yu is not a "girlboss" (unless we accept the real meaning of that word, which is a woman who gains power by ingratiating herself into oppressive systems as the female alternative to corrupt male leaders), she is a domestic abuser who made every single person in her family and husband's clan miserable.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Wangxian

Something I Love About the Book: I love the way this book is adamant about good always eventually being rewarded. That even if the outcome of doing good was terrible, that does not make the effort wasted or useless. Lan Wangji protecting Wei Wuxian at Nightless City was worth it even if he was almost killed for it, because it made sure that the yin tiger tally did not end up in the Jin Clan's hands as a completed weapon. Wei Wuxian saving the Wen was worth it even though he was killed for it, because A-Yuan got to live. Wen Qing and Wen Ning saving Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian was worth it even though Jiang Cheng betrayed them in the end, because their clan still got to live through its last descendant. None of their actions were met with immediate rewards, but the larger implications of them led to better outcomes than had they just kept to themselves and the status quo of corruption, as everyone else had.

SVSSS (my favorite of the three 🤗)

Favorite Character: Luo Binghe, hands down

Favorite Arc: Holy Mausoleum Arc, cause y'all (Shen Qingqiu 😒) gonna stop falsey accusing my baby, today!

Character I Think is Underrated: Bing-mei version of Luo Binghe, not because he's "unpopular," per se, but because mainstream fandom's perception of him seems to be that he is just Bing-ge who cries, and this is a complete mischaracterization of his character based on popular fanon. I see too much hate for him in this fandom because of it

Character I Think is Overrated: Shen Jiu. The man was a child abuser and died to one of his victims because he chose to be a child abuser. There is nothing tragic or unfair about that. Leave that man in the ether where he'll hopefully never have a chance to harm another person again.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Bingqiu

Something I Love About the Book: Shen Qingqiu. The man is trying his damndest to do right in what he considers a doomed narrative, but the moment he realizes that his efforts have actually made things worse, he immediately pivots his actions. He never tries to justify himself, deflect from criticism, or misplace responsibility. He has one goal in mind, and that is to make as many people's lives as he possibly can better than what they originally ended up as.

[verycharismaticdragon]

Figured I should put some Binghe-ganda in the notes (here we go again)

canonically mlm (spends whole novel crushing on a man, marries him in the end)

The Protagonist™... but not of this novel (though his other half, the actual main character, would have you convinced that Luo Binghe is the protagonist of everything)

narrative's favorite but it's not a good thing (love 'character trapped in the narrative' fridge horror? boy do I have a boy for you!)

can be your angle or yuor devil (due to unspeakable amount of trauma, has every personality trait ever. oscillates wildly between 'the sweetest guy you'll ever see' and 'a bloodthirsty warlord'. call that gap moe 👍)

misunderstood by everyone :( (people in-universe, the main character who is convinced he understands Luo Binghe perfectly due to having read the original novel, and too often by actual irl readers as well...)

nearly destroyed the world once

his character arc is going from thinking he needs to be this cool&confident badass to be loved to realizing that he is adored for the anxious, glass-hearted mess that he is

main love language is cooking. second love language is being clingy

cries to be cute (it works)

reads RPF erotica about himself and his husband for ideas

the most powerful person in the world

tripped and fell flat on his face because he was nervous about proposing

keeps the scars from two times his husband-to-be injured him. which is A Choice considering he has super-healing that allows him to pop broken limbs back into place and be fine

this btw helps his husband tell him apart from the original Luo Binghe when the latter happens to fall into their universe

speaking of, yes, theres a chapter where the original version of Luo Binghe, the one from the book MC read, makes an appearance. And honestly he is a fascinating character in his own right. Deliciously cruel of the author to show him this other universe and make him realize all of his accomplishments in his own world were empty and didn't bring him happiness :)

so yeah, being a Luo Binghe liker gets you two traumatized half-demons for the price of one :D

[corduroyserpent]

Writing Patterns Meme

Tagged by @livingmeatloaf 🥰

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

(i'm going to skip So Much for Stardust because the opening line of that fic is almost identical to the opening line of the novel it's inspired by, and i feel like that doesn't count)

Zhuzhi-lang is starting to believe he’s been cursed. (Right Person, Wrong Time – SVSSS, canon divergence, Six Balls/Zhuzhi-lang)

“In my defense,” Tianlang-jun says as he elegantly lowers himself to sit cross-legged on the floor of the Holy Mausoleum, “I’ve never brought anyone back from the dead before. As far as complications go…this is relatively manageable, wouldn’t you agree?” (i shine only with the light you gave me – SVSSS, post-canon AU where TLJ brings ZZL back to life but whoops nephew is now a toddler, Tianlang-jun & Zhuzhi-lang)

Zhuzhi-jun tilts his head to watch his reflection shift in the bronze mirror he sits before. (That Can Be Arranged – SVSSS, arranged marriage in an AU where our favorite snek acceded to his lineage, Liu Qingge/Zhuzhi-lang or Zhuzhi-jun in this case lol)

“My birthday?” Zhuzhi-lang glances up from Tianlang-jun’s latest attempt at storytelling—a poetic epic that focuses on dual cultivation between those of the same sex—to give Wen Ning a curious look. “I don’t know when it is.” (a new celebration – SVSSS/MDZS, established relationship fluff from my ongoing ningzhi series, Wen Ning/Zhuzhi-Lang)

“This is…” Mei Nianqing’s gaze flickers between Jun Wu—tired, shackled, familiar—and the recently unmasked figure beside him. Two pairs of deep black eyes regard him from nearly identical faces. “...unexpected.” (Double Trouble – TGCF, post-canon qi deviation sexytimes, Bai Wuxiang/Jun Wu/Mei Nianqing)

The days blend together beneath Mount Tonglu. (Cursed – TGCF, post-canon sickfic, Jun Wu/Mei Nianqing)

Luo Binghe senses Shen Qingqiu’s presence an instant before his father does. (Caught – SVSSS, Star Wars AU, Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu)

“Does Master Liu intend to go back on his word?” (chapter 35 of zhuzhi-lang deserves his own harem: a series of ficlets – SVSSS, just a couple of guys about to become fathers to a beautiful clutch of snakelets, Liu Qingge/Zhuzhi-lang)

The Crown Prince of Wuyong places a mask upon his face and realizes with a sudden, terrible clarity that he has always been alone. (Look at Yourself, Your Highness – TGCF, Jun Wu's relationship with his reflection over the years, Jun Wu & Mei Nianqing)

Shen Qingqiu watched the baby who used to be his husband carefully brace one little hand against the Bamboo House's low table, using the sturdy wood to balance uneven steps, and thought—earnestly and with tremendous conviction—that he was going to kill "Great Master" Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky. (AITA for contemplating deicide in the wake of my husband's sudden age regression? – SVSSS, post-canon LBH gets de-aged again, Luo Binghe & Shen Qingqiu)

What have we learned?

four begin with dialogue, six are prose. of the ones that have dialogue, three include prose in the middle to give us an idea of where the characters are or what the situation is

i tend to open with a short sentence when it's just prose (unless i'm being a silly little guy LOOKING AT YOU BINGBABY FIC)

a good chunk of these begin with the character's name, except when the place itself gives us information about who the fic will feature (ie. beneath mount tonglu)

and like all of my lovely mutuals who have done this, i am also sitting in the in media res chair most of the time

neat! i liked doing this, thanks for the tag <3

i'm tagging: @luukeskywalker and @fruitdaze and i can't remember who else has already been tagged or not so i'll just tag anyone who wants to do this!!

[shijiujun]

“you know you’re singing to your headphones out loud, right” au for moshang plz sqh singing modern songs that mbj doesn't know and being hella confused 🥺

Featuring karaoke-loving Shang Qinghua who gets a bit too drunk at a Cang Qiong mountain gathering, and he goes all out. 

Or when Mobei Jun wonders why Shang Qinghua is singing about another man called Liang Shan Bo.

---

Sometimes, he thinks about his old life before he ever had the misfortune of landing in a world of his own creation, with an annoying gaming AI system of sorts hounding his every move (in the beginning) or turning up at the most inopportune times just when he thinks it’s finally gone and left him alone (more recently). 

Shang Qinghua remembers not having many friends when he was still Shang Qinghua, when ‘向天打飞机 Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky’ was still merely his writing Weibo account moniker and when he had millions of people looking up to him for his crucial contributions in writing this amazing story about his son Luo Binghe and the way he overcame all odds to become a success with a harem of gorgeous women at his feet (damn you, Peerless Cucumber bro!).

Back in those days, he lived off cup noodles and instant coffee. If he didn’t have to leave the house, Shang Qinghua would simply curl up in front of his laptop, either writing for his novel or watching shows (clears his throat) - actual shows! Chinese period dramas were his favourite, where a skilled and intelligent consort in the harem would outwit all the other women to be with her one true love, the Emperor, who falls irrevocably in love with her.

And when he got bored, he switched from the laptop to his television to engage in his second most favourite hobby - Chinese karaoke. Going out to a karaoke bar would require some level of socializing, and also a few friends so he gets more bang out of his buck from what he pays for the room, but at home? 

With advanced technology and a tiny ass microphone in either shining gold or silver, Shang Qinghua’s home entertainment system was his very own personal karaoke room, His tiny mic even had that echo-y effect on.

Shang Qinghua has a thing for classic Chinese songs - ‘The New Butterfly Dream’, ‘Liang Shan Bo and Juliet’, The Moon Represents My Heart‘ - and contemporary karaoke must-haves, like Wang Fei. For an embarrassing few days, the Chinese version of Baby Shark was a veritable earworm as well.

After transmigrating into his own story set in ancient times, where he lives without technology, Shang Qinghua would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the Internet. Laptops would be incredibly handy, and so would switches for lights, definitely indoor plumbing for toilets, and induction stoves. Phones too, that would be nice, rather than having to ‘send word’ with letters. 

Of course, there is no karaoke bar or machine for him.

Not all is bad though. At least he transmigrated to Shang Qinghua in this world as a baby, so it’s not as if he was surviving on Internet and technology one day and left to do everything manually the next day since someone was always taking care of him. Peerless Cucumber bro, of course, wasn’t as lucky, but the man has definitely taken to this world (and his son!!) like a fish to water.

And as for himself, Shang Qinghua does not need to envy Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe either, because somehow, he has gotten the man of his dreams too, even if said man was a little cruel and rude to him in the beginning.

He has the love of his life (coughs coughs) and they’re stuck in this world for the rest of his life. What more is there to want? Not to mention how his cup of instant noodles betrayed him at the last moment, resulting in his death! It is slightly safer, ironically, to be in this world instead.

All is good except... well...

===

Shen Qingqiu marvels at the sight before him, torn between wanting to step in to stop Shang Qinghua, or watch this farce unfold. 

He sometimes forgets where he, or where Shang Qinghua, who has been in this world longer than he, came from. They don’t always talk about the past when they meet, and aside from the occasional meetups, Shen Yuan is a part of him that doesn’t surface, not when he is with Luo Binghe. 

Shang Qinghua, on the other hand, grew up here, and aside from referring to Shen Qingqiu by his Weibo account name, he seems otherwise well-adjusted, no hint of modern online writer Shang Qinghua in sight. It doesn’t feel as if he misses their original world either.

This evening, however, memories of modern times slap him in the face, quite literally.

“Shizun!” Luo Binghe calls, frantic, tugging him back into his embrace out of Shang Qinghua’s way. Once Shen Qingqiu is safe in his arms, his eyes narrow at the bumbling, drunk idiot causing a scene in the dinner hall, “Shang Qinghua...”

Shang Qinghua stops where he is, and then before any one can stop him, he picks up a pair of chopsticks, brings it to his mouth, and begins bellowing his way through-

-Jay Chou’s Hair Like Snow.

“Shizun, are you alright?” Luo Binghe fusses, his hands coming up to cup Shen Qingqiu’s face when his Shizun doesn’t so much as respond to him. “Were you hurt? Did he hurt you? How’re you feeling? We’ll go back home now-”

“What is he singing?” Qi Qingqi frowns in disgust.

They all wince when Shang Qinghua attempts to hit a high note, but fails miserably.

Fuck me, Shen Qingqiu thinks, his eyes impossibly wide, who knew Airplane bro was such a karaoke fanatic?

“... maybe he is possessed by a malevolent spirit? Or perhaps this is an unidentified curse?” asks Ming Fan. 

“Or is this some new form of cultivation?” asks Ning Yingying, curious.

Yue Qingyuan, seated at the front of the dining hall, cannot help but be concerned for him as well. “Shall we call Mu-shidi to take a look at him-”

They’ve gathered for their annual meeting - a condition that Yue Qingyuan has set in place a few years ago after Luo Binghe ‘stole’ (married!) him away from Cang Qiong Peak - and although Shang Qinghua said he didn’t mind that Mobei Jun was unable to accompany him today, he spent most of the dinner drinking alcohol while in a melancholic state instead.

Who knew that Shang Qinghua was a singing drunk?!

Hence their current predicament.

At the Sect Master’s words, Shang Qinghua suddenly turns around and looks at Shen Qingqiu. HIccuping twice, he then beams, “Cucumber-”

Shen Qingqiu has never moved that fast in his life. Within a fraction of a second, he has his hand pressed over Shang Qinghua’s mouth, holding onto him from the back.

“Cucumber?” everyone choruses in confusion.

“I believe your Shang-shishu has had a little too much to drink,” Shen Qingqiu clears his throat, nodding at everyone else. “We should... send him back to Mobei. Isn’t that right, Binghe?”

His disciple, his husband, still has on an affronted, murderous look for how Shang Qinghua almost brained Shen Qingqiu with his flailing arms in his drunken fit. The moment Shen Qingqiu asks, however, his expression morphs into something so soft and full of love that everyone who sees it chokes.

“Of course,” Luo Binghe smiles, devotion apparent in his eyes. “Anything Shizun wants.”

===

The words that are tumbling out of Shang Qinghua’s mouth are entirely incomprehensible, and so are the tunes he’s humming into his ear.

Mobei Jun thought he had gotten used to Shang Qinghua’s eccentric mannerisms, and also thought he knew everything about his husband, so many years later. Shang Qinghua is mumbling Chinese alright, but none of the characters put together make any sense.

Who is Liang Shan Bo? And who the hell is Juliet?!

His mood taking a turn for the worse, Mobei Jun hoists Shang Qinghua up further on his back.

After getting so drunk, the idiot had the gall to demand for a piggy-back from the throne room to their bedroom. Mobei Jun has never once suffered such indignity in his years of living. A bridal carry? Of course, anytime. A piggy-back? As if he was some beast to be tamed? 

Well this definitely has to be a first.

While he was stewing in his thoughts, Shang Qinghua switches from that song to another one, and a stream of ‘du du du lu du lu’ emerges from his lips... AND something about... a sha yu? What the hell is that?!

Shang Qinghua lazily lifts his right hand as they approach their room, balls it into a fist and puts it to his mouth, as if he’s holding something, and whatever monstrosity Shang Qinghua is singing, his voice gets even louder.

Mobei Jun tosses Shang Qinghua off his back unceremoniously and onto the soft bed. Interrupted, Shang Qinghua blinks, his vision blurry, and is about to catch his breath and start singing again when his husband climbs in after him. Trapping Shang Qinghua with his entire weight, Mobei Jun seals his lips with a kiss.

“... My king...” Shang Qinghua murmurs in a daze, when Mobei Jun pulls back a few minutes later, his breaths coming out as short, harsh pants. “My king...”

“That’s right,” he says with a glower. “I’m your Da Wang, your husband.”

Mobei Jun doesn’t know who Liang Shan Bo is, but he’s going to make sure no other man’s name ever leaves Shang Qinghua’s lips again when they’re together.

And when his husband finally sobers up, he’s going to have a lot to answer for.

---

Songs Mentioned (YouTube Links in Comments):

The New Butterfly Dream 新鸳鸯蝴蝶梦 － A Chinese classic, sung by Huang An but done beautifully by legendary god of singing Fei Yu Qing and singing partner for the song A Yun Ga

Liang Shan Bo and Juliet 梁山伯与朱丽叶 － A Taiwanese contemporary classic of sorts by Genie Zhuo, most Chinese millennials would definitely have sang this at a karaoke once in their lives - Song is inspired by Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai, the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet to some extent - They both die in the end and become butterflies, so they’re also called the Butterfly Lovers.

The Moon Represents My Heart 月亮代表我的心 － ANOTHER CLASSIC CLASSIC!!!

Baby Shark (Chi. Ver) － ˆThe baby shark hype did move to China, and it’s pretty hilarious LMAO and in Chinese, shark is 鲨鱼 (sha yu) but I’m assuming that in this world, there isn’t a shark kind of animal of sorts? So Mobei Jun and everyone else except SQQ wouldn’t know what a shark is or looks like?!

Hair Like Snow 发如雪 － By Jay Chou, another classic that all Chinese millennials would have sang in a karaoke bar 

Wang Fei 王妃 － Jam Hsiao’s version is known best, and it’s pretty epic, not that anyone can reach any of the high notes in the chorus, but does that stop us from trying?!! Hell no!!!

---

Notes: My first Moshang?!! That didn’t really have a lot of Moshang time?! But thanks anon, hope this sort of works?!