#mobed

[nuancedcreation]

Rituals and Symbolism: Parsis in Gujarat

From: In memory of Greater Iran: Zoroastrians of Navsari Photography and captions: Sarah Jabbari Source: Sahapedia

" 'God is one' is a common idea among Parsis of India, therefore religious icons from non-Zoroastrian religions are also kept in their house and workplace. A sticker of Farre Kiyani (top) share space with Laskhmi (bottom), the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. The symbol of Farre Kiyani (also referred to as ‘Fravahar’ in Iran and India) is a depiction of divine protection of God on people through the wise righteous king. The symbol is very ancient and has been represented in the art of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE) and is widely used as a symbol of national identity among modern Iranian people and symbol of religious identity among Parsis of India."

"Mobed Ayush Sharukh Desai offering prayers as part of his initiation to priesthood. Sharukh is from the Desai family of priests, who occupy a high status in the Parsi society at Navsari. The fire-holder in which the sacred fire is held is called Afargan, and it must be placed on a marble stone. Sandalwood is usually burnt in the Afargan and a small diya is also lit next to it. During the ceremony, priests cover their mouth to avoid contamination of the fire. Even the hair must be entirely covered by wearing a turban or a skull cap, because in Zoroastrianism, fallen hair is considered impure."

"Priests doing the Jashan ceremony at the house of Mrs Keshmira, for blessings of the family members. The word Jashan is a latter form of the word ‘yasna��� which means veneration. Jashan is a simple ceremony, can be held on any day of the year. In this ritual, Ahura Mazda, the Fravashis, Daham Yazad and Sarosh Yazad are invoked by the recitation of certain prayers. Participation in a Jashan ritual by Zoroastrians is considered as an act of great merit."

"The marriage union is called Payvand-e-Zanshooi, meaning the union of matrimony. A couple of Zoroastrian priest, one from the bride’s side and one from the groom’s side, perform the rituals on the day of the wedding. The priests face the couple, and family members form a circle around them while Avesta prayers are recited and rice thrown on the couple. All participants must be standing during the ceremony which takes about one hour, and all heads must be covered. Non-Zoroastrian or a Parsi without sudra and kushti or without hair covering are not allowed to stand in the circle."The marriage union is called Payvand-e-Zanshooi, meaning the union of matrimony. A couple of Zoroastrian priest, one from the bride’s side and one from the groom’s side, perform the rituals on the day of the wedding. The priests face the couple, and family members form a circle around them while Avesta prayers are recited and rice thrown on the couple. All participants must be standing during the ceremony which takes about one hour, and all heads must be covered. Non-Zoroastrian or a Parsi without sudra and kushti or without hair covering are not allowed to stand in the circle."

"The white bull is considered a sacred animal in Zoroastrianism; in Gujarati it is called Varasyaji. The bull is kept at the Doongerwadi because the urine (Taro) of this virgin bull is used in ritual cleansing of the dead body during funerary rites. The Varasyaji is an albino, hence very rare to find. The bull must be completely white, without even one black hair. Even the eye lashes and tail hair is white. According to Zoroastrian mythology, Varasyaji is a representation of Gava-ayok-daat, which is the first animal created by Ahura Mazda. It got killed by the Devil, Ahreeman, but many other animals, plants and minerals were created out of its dead body. It is born as the Pesh Ruwan (spiritual leader) of the animal kingdom."

"Wearing the sudra and kushti is an essential part of the daily lives for Zoroastrians. Wearing the Sudra is believed to offer protection from evil. This act of untying and tying the kushti is supposed to be done five times (though not every kushti wearer sticks to that number) in a day and the act is called Nirang-i-Kushti. Here, Mr Kersi Patel is at his daily prayer performing Nirang-i-Kushti. When doing the prayer, he unties the kushti from around his waist and holds it up in both hands, the strand doubled over, and lifts it to touch the forehead and eyes."

[itscherryterry-again]

you better get to your knees (and bark like you want it)

[nibbelraz]

Here's to a New Year where we actually communicate 🥂

[tossawary]

It's fun to play with the various takes on "What the fuck did Mobei-Jun think his relationship with Shang Qinghua actually WAS going into the ascension ritual???" All of the options are good, honestly.

It's funny if Mobei-Jun thought that they were basically engaged to be married by enthusiastic mutual agreement. It's funny if Mobei-Jun thought they were in some bizarre, undefined, extended courtship that existed on top of their established, much more important master-servant relationship. (The "be pathetic to seduce men" scene with Moshang and Binghe does suggest that Mobei-Jun knows/thinks by this point that Shang Qinghua is into him and that Mobei-Jun isn't opposed to that.) It's funny if Mobei-Jun was actively pursuing Shang Qinghua for years and it's also funny if Mobei-Jun thought that he was merely graciously tolerating his smitten servant's clumsy advances.

My most consistent headcanon is that Mobei-Jun himself probably doesn't know his own take on his decades-long situationship for sure. Sometimes, conflicted people honestly don't let themselves look directly at their own thoughts and feelings for years, because it's a "I can't handle this right now" or a "I don't want to handle this ever" situation for them. Even if any given interpretation of Mobei-Jun has actually thought at length about this strange relationship in any kind of emotionally mature way, I still don't think that he could then (if he even wanted to) communicate his thoughts in a way that humans could fully understand.

I think fondly of just how quickly and flatly Luo Binghe said, "Not you," when Mobei-Jun tried to respond to his request for romantic advice. (It was bad advice.) How many conversations have these two had before now that went like this? Truly, a "if a lion could speak, we couldn't understand him" man to me.

[certainempatheticturkeymuffin]

Saw a post about Mushang and it's similarities to Liushen, then thought about how interesting it would be to have those in the same fic — then I went down a rabbit hole that included Mobing and Gongzhi (for some reason?)

so... here's this plotbunny, it's really fucking long though, sorry!

(oops, it posted before I finished, sorry about that, it's fixed now!)

-

Shang Qinghua knew, theoretically, that his death would be at the hands of Mobei-jun. He knew that when he saved him, he knew that all these years of serving him, but... it's finally sunk in. That Mobei-jun is going to kill him. That the bruises and frostbite and broken bones are all leading up to his death. He wraps another cut and thinks, somewhat deliriously... that maybe he should've killed Mobei-jun on that mission.

Shen Qingqiu knew his fate — the fate of the Scum Villain. He knew that any goodwill he'd built up was destroyed the moment he pushed Luo Binghe into the Abyss. Knows that all those years of treating him well, only to betray him, may have actually made the situation worse. He thinks back on that day, suddenly realizing that he probably could've made it look like an accident — he could've had Binghe "accidentally" pushed into the Abyss during the chaos, could've faked a Without-A-Cure flare up to excuse his lack of rescue. Maybe, if he'd done that, Binghe would've had mercy.

Their weekly meetings become stilted, their tea goes cold, their snacks uneaten. They don't argue about Airplane's terrible writing, they don't even reminisce over AC or the internet. The air is filled with unease, polluting each of their peaks... until they both snap. They confide in each other, cursing the System, cursing their choices, and try to plan — to dig themselves out of these holes they've dug. The clock is ticking for Binghe's return. Shang Qinghua's wounds are getting worse — he doesn't know if his death will be expedited or delayed at this rate.

And so, they argue and plan and eventually come to a few conclusions...

Shang Qinghua needs the protection of the sect. Needs to confess and beg for Yue Qingyuan's protection as he abandons Mobei-jun. Needs the protection of someone Mobei-jun had no chance of defeating.

Shen Qingqiu, likewise, needs protection — but it's written that Luo Binghe cannot lose, not to anyone in the sect... no one, except for Liu Qingge, who didn't live long enough to fight him, who didn't have a single canonical fight for the world to measure him against. The War God. The one person that wasn't bound by the narrative.

They decide to deal with Shang Qinghua first — Binghe isn't scheduled to leave the Abyss for years, after all. Mobei-jun, however, is a current threat. Every meeting leaves Shang Qinghua with more and more injuries, injuries that the original goods never had to deal with. They don't know if this Mobei-jun is going to follow PIDW's timeline. They don't know how long it'll take before he beats Shang Qinghua to a bloody pulp. After some arguing, it's agreed to come clean to Mu Qingfang first — to test the waters. He's been treating all of Shang Qinghua's wounds since they were disciples, and he'd be good back up if Yue Qingyuan didn't immediately cave to Shen Qingqiu's demands. Of course, Shang Qinghua wouldn't tell the complete truth — no one needed to know that Shang Qinghua spared Mobei-jun because he was hot — but he wouldn't alter the story too much. Better to keep to small lies, easy to keep consistent.

If it goes poorly... they'll just run. They'll abandon the friends and family they've found here, and they'll use whatever plot devices they can find to disguise themselves. The only reason it's not Plan A is because Mobei-jun knows Shang Qinghua's qi signature, and the only artifacts they know that can change qi signatures are... annoying to acquire and dangerous to use.

-

Mu Qingfang isn't surprised when Shang-shixiong shows up with various injuries, absolutely covered in demonic qi. It's routine at this point to sit him down, perform a check up, and ask questions he knows won't be answered. So he does. He heals the cuts and bruises, sets and heals the bones, and does his best to calm the eternally-stressed qi lest his shixiong have a deviation. He asks how this happened, expecting the usual evasive answer (hating that his shixiong is being abused while he does nothing but fix the aftermath), and...

and Shang Qinghua answers.

His shixiong, after years– decades of asking, stutters out an explanation. That he's been a spy for Mobei-jun since that mission where he was the only survivor. That he did it because he was scared, that by the time he was powerful enough to do anything about it, Mobei-jun was a king, and it would probably start a war if he killed him. He says Mobei-jun's been hurting him more often, that he's terrified he's going to die, and Mu Qingfang carefully soothes his shixiong's qi as tears start to fall and he stutters out his plan to team up with Shen-shixiong to tell Zhangmen-shixiong, to beg for forgiveness — for protection, even if it means sitting in a prison cell. He just doesn't want to die.

And in the face of his sobbing shixiong, constantly over-worked and terrified, Mu Qingfang promises to help. Because what else can he do? Turn his back on the shixiong he's been watching slowly fall apart over the decades? The shixiong he's watched go from introverted to downright anxious — the shixiong he's had to pick up and put back together with increasing frequency. Even if he hadn't come clean, Mu Qingfang would've had to have done something soon, with the way the injuries were increasing in severity. He's just glad Shang-shixiong told him first, so they could approach the sect leader together. It wouldn't have been good for his shixiong's stress levels if he'd demanded the sect leader interrogate him to figure out what was going on.

So, the two meet up with Shen Qingqiu and demand a meeting with Yue Qingyuan, who, as always, immediately makes time for Shen-shixiong. Shang Qinghua stutters through his story again, Mu Qingfang regulating his qi, and Shen Qingqiu bringing out a particular icy glare whenever Yue Qingyuan looks like he's going to interrupt. Zhangmen-shixiong's face is carefully blank by the time Shang Qinghua finishes speaking, at which point, Mu Qingfang decides to speak up.

He tells Zhangmen-shixiong of the countless injuries over the decades, of his certainty of their demonic origin, even during that first meeting. He tells the sect leader that if Shang Qinghua is going to be punished for protecting himself, for preventing a war, then he'll need to punish Mu Qingfang too. As a head disciple, he should've reported any suspicious injuries to his shizun, as a Peak Lord, he should've immediately informed Zhangmen-shixiong of Shang Qinghua's continuous injuries and of their suspiciously demonic origin. He says that he has even less of an excuse than Shang Qinghua, who was genuinely afraid for his life and the well-being of his sect. Mu Qingfang simply didn't want to make the situation worse for him, ignoring all rules and expectations that would've had the situation cleared up sooner.

Shen Qingqiu, clearly approving of Mu Qingfang's ardent defense, decides to continue, stating that the sect hasn't experienced an increase in failed missions or other sabotage. He explains that, clearly, Shang Qinghua had been doing his best to protect the sect, even under such strenuous circumstances. He sees no reason to be harsh towards someone who'd been a child when it started, and who was so thoroughly terrified that he only approached Shen Qingqiu, as a friend, because he could see he'd end up dead sooner or later due to the beatings.

Yue Qingyuan lets them all say their piece, and sighs. He sees Shang Qinghua's terror, and he understands both Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu's arguments. He says that this was a breach of trust, that ordinarily this would call for execution, but... Shang Qinghua has not caused harm to the sect, and had he continued, the only harm would've been to himself. As long as Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu are willing to bear the consequences, Yue Qingyuan will allow this to be swept under the rug, never spoken of again.

Mu Qingfang and Shen Qingqiu are quick to agree, and Shang Qinghua's punishment is to update the sect's defense arrays... left unsaid was the expectation that Mobei-jun never be able to enter the sect again. And so, the matter is dealt with, and Shang-shixiong looks like he's had the weight of the world lifted off him once the arrays are complete.

So long as he doesn't leave the sect without a qi-cloaking artifact (courtesy of the Artifact Peak), he'll be safe. Mu Qingfang feels... thrilled, to know his shixiong won't have to suffer anymore.

-

Liu Qingge notices Shen Qingqiu's nerves as he cleanses his meridians. It's an unexpected change of pace, given the dour mood the man's been in for... months, at this point. The session finishes in silence, but there's an air of anticipation that has Liu Qingge... loitering, just a bit.

Eventually, Shen Qingqiu lets out a sigh, pours him tea, and starts to talk — quietly, as if ashamed of his words. He shares that, during the chaos at the end of the Immortal Alliance Concerence, his prized disciple broke a seal. It had been placed on him at birth, presumably by one of his parents, and revealed him to be a heavenly demon. He explains that he panicked at the sight of the seal, understanding what it meant, but his disciple looked just as shocked as him. He understood that his disciple was a demon, that he clearly didn't know that fact, and given the presence of multiple sects and the ongoing catastrophe... his disciple would die, if anyone else stumbled upon him.

Liu Qingge listens, as Shen Qingqiu shares that he pushed his own disciple into the Endless Abyss. His grief makes more sense now, Liu Qingge thinks. It's not just the grief of a teacher losing their favorite student, it's also the guilt of pushing that student into danger, even if it's to protect them. Even he would've hesitated to cut down the disciple, if he'd formed such a bond and the child clearly had no idea what was going on.

They continue sitting in silence, and Liu Qingge is almost ready to leave, before Shen Qingqiu speaks up again. He explains that Luo Binghe was a heavenly demon, and the last one — presumably his father — required the collaboration of multiple sects to seal away. There's a chance that Luo Binghe will survive the Abyss, and escape it.

There's a muted fear in Shen Qingqiu's eyes, as he states there's a chance Luo Binghe will hunt him down. That, given a demon's propensity for overreactions, he may take the entire sect with him. It wasn't like he explained his reasoning, when he pushed the child into the Abyss. All he'd know is that his caring shizun saw he was a demon and immediately pushed him into hell.

And Liu Qingge can understand that fear. Heavenly Demons were strong, too strong for even him to be confident in facing them alone. Even if this one was a child, if it managed to escape the Abyss... it would be too strong for Shen Qingqiu to survive. There's an obvious solution then: train until Shen Qingqiu is strong enough to at least run away.

He says that they'll go on hunts together, so Shen Qingqiu can fight those beasts he knows so much about, to get in practice as they look for any artifact that might help him. He says they'll spar, and he'll even let him face the Bai Zhan disciples for variety. Shen Qingqiu is... reluctant, but quickly realizes that it's probably his best option. With the condition that they return to the sect at least once a month to check on his disciples, he agrees to Liu Qingge's proposal.

They'll both train, and Liu Qingge won't let him out of sight for even a moment — not with a heavenly demon after his head.

-

The months afterwards are... peaceful.

An Ding grows used to the sight of Mu Qingfang, who arrives just before dawn every morning to share breakfast with Shang Qinghua before they must start work. They do each other's hair and gossip, sharing whatever happened the day before as they get ready. Without the constant fear, and with Mu Qingfang's help taming his curls (as the only other one in the sect with curly hair), the sect slowly comes to realize that Shang Qinghua is a total knockout, actually, it was just hidden behind frizzy hair, eyebags, and his constant terrified hunching.

There are still bad days, of course, where Mu Qingfang has to insist he delegate his work to his head disciple, or where Shang Qinghua ends up on Qian Cao in the middle of the night having a panic attack, but... they're growing rarer as time passes. Qian Cao learns to turn their heads when Shang Qinghua arrives with an early shipment or unexpected, expensive goods. They learn to mind their business when they see him comfort their Shizun after a particularly challenging day.

It doesn't really surprise anyone when they start courting. The only surprise is that Shang Qinghua is the one that started it, but even that is less shocking now than it would've been the year before. An Ding is happy that their shifu finally looks safe and healthy (he actually stops working at a reasonable hour now, even if it is still after sunset), and Qian Cao is glad their shizun has someone of his own to vent to (given the stress of his job and the various struggles that come with it).

As for Qing Jing, they're absolutely thrilled that their shizun isn't moping anymore. The loss of Binghe hit them hard too, but seeing Shen Qingqiu make the effort to go on hunts made it easier for them to move on too. They miss him, when he's gone, but he always returns with treats from various villages, and a week's worth of stories and lessons to impart. He's even compiled his own bestiary! Ning Yingying has taken to giving Liu Qingge sweets as a thank you for helping her shizun, and Ming Fan grows more comfortable in his old role as head disciple, with how his shizun actually sees him and compliments him, rather than missing Binghe. The Bamboo House is still... a very hard place to be. Without Shizun, it's empty, and even with his recovery, the vacant room seems to bring back his grief.

Seeing this, Qing Jing is both relieved and absolutely pissed when Liu Qingge offers up his spare room instead. Shen Qingqiu accepts, and it's become common for him to join the Bai Zhan disciples in their morning exercises before returning to teach on Qing Jing. They are, understandably, absolutely pumped to have another Peak Lord around to fight (on top of their own being around more often! Shifu teaches them more! And is he getting better at it? What miracles!)

They settle into a routine, and, though it takes an unexpectedly long time, they announce their courting to Yue Qingyuan, who looks both heartbroken and extremely happy for them. Qing Jing gives Liu Qingge a surprisingly scary shovel talk (though he's mostly amused, he respects their dedication), but are overall very happy that their shizun is happy. Bai Zhan is just cheering that another Peak Lord has basically taken up permanent residence, since Shen Qingqiu stays in Liu Qingge's house rather than the bamboo house. They enjoy the unique challenge he gives, and some of the braver ones tell their shifu that he better treat him right or they'll try to take him for themselves (he went particularly hard on them after that, but they had zero regrets — Shen-shibo is a catch after all!)

Meanwhile, Mobei-jun is... frustrated and heartbroken. He can no longer enter Cang Qiong Sect, and he can no longer find Shang Qinghua's qi signature. He doesn't know why — was Shang Qinghua caught? Is he dead? Why else would he just... randomly leave? He's stuck with Mobei-jun for decades, why would he leave now? What was the catalyst? Was he truly so uncomfortable with Mobei-jun's courting? Why wouldn't he just say so!?

The questions leave him angry and frustrated, with no way to get answers. It's only after he enters Luo Binghe's service (an embarrassing loss — would he have done better with Qinghua's advice?) that he finally gets... something of an answer. A potential explanation.

Luo Binghe has no friends in the demon realm, trusts absolutely no one, but he's still a kind person. When he sees that Mobei-jun is frustrated, all it takes is that curly haired boy (a face so similar to Qinghua's) asking for all the questions to come spilling out. Whether it takes hours or minutes, Mobei-jun doesn't know, all he remembers is the lesson from that conversation:

Humans court differently. Constant physical bombardment is known as abuse.

And Mobei-jun is sick.

He hurt Qinghua. He drove away the one man that stuck with him through everything, just because he couldn't be bothered to double check that his courting would be understood. According to Luo Binghe... it was a miracle Shang Qinghua hadn't left sooner. And the worst part? Mobei-jun can't right this wrong. He can't explain himself. Because Cang Qiong has new wards, and Shang Qinghua has figured out how to make himself thoroughly disappear, even though Mobei-jun does receive word when the Peak Lord is spotted during a trade deal. He can't get Qinghua back. There's nothing he can do.

So he stays by Luo Binghe's side. His curly hair, his similar face... these days, Mobei-jun curses himself for not digging into Shang Qinghua's history. For this boy is an orphan, a street rat, and now it would be near impossible to find out his true relation to Shang Qinghua, given that no one knew which humans Tianlang-jun had bed. It doesn't truly matter, whether he is a cousin, brother, or nephew, Mobei-jun will right his wrongs through Shang Qinghua's kin, unable to reach the man himself.

-

When Luo Binghe leaves the Demon Realm, he goes to Huan Hua, and things progress pretty much as they did in canon, with Shen Qingqiu running, absolutely fucking terrified, being force fed blood, and agreeing to be held in the Water Prison to avoid blowback on the sect. Only difference is that Liu Qingge tried to kill LBH, which almost caused an incident with Huan Hua, because no one believed he was a demon. In the water prison, Luo Binghe sees... a ring. He knows his shizun never wore that before, so he asks about it. Not wanting to put Liu Qingge in even more danger, Shen Qingqiu stays silent.

Gongyi Xiao helps Shen Qingqiu escape, and things continue to progress. When Liu Qingge squares up to fight Luo Binghe, he notices him wearing a ring, threaded onto a necklace, and so similar to Shen Qingqiu's. It doesn't take him long to process the fact that his beloved shizun is... already taken.

By Liu fucking Qingge.

He's thoroughly pissed off, he goes to attack, but pauses when he sees his shizun grip Liu-shishu tightly, shaking like a leaf. He looks like he's preparing to take his husband and run. The thought is... off-putting. Because Liu Qingge is the War God of Bai Zhan Peak. Why doesn't Shizun have faith in the man he married?

So he asks.

And Shen Qingqiu doesn't answer.

Liu Qingge still hasn't relaxed, ready to attack at any moment, and Luo Binghe is running out of patience.

"If Shizun finds this demon despicable enough to throw into the Abyss, he should let his husband kill it."

"That's not why he did it."

Liu Qingge's words throw him off balance. He expected the man to be shocked, hearing that his loving husband had done such a thing (maybe cause a rift in their relationship), he expected, maybe, to be attacked for being so disrespectful.

Liu Qingge then explains, because Shen Qingqiu is terrified into silence.

And Luo Binghe is crushed. Shizun threw him into the Abyss... to save him? Shizun was scared for his safety?

And suddenly Luo Binghe feels sick, when he remembers what he's done. How he hurt Shizun, who was too scared to answer. Who just wanted to protect him, only to realize later that he wasn't thinking straight — that his words were twisted in his effort to get Luo Binghe into the safest place possible in that moment: the Endless Abyss. The shizun that believed in his capabilities enough to be afraid that he'd come seeking revenge.

The fight drains out of him, Liu Qingge doesn't relax, but Shen Qingqiu behind him looks just the slightest bit more curious than terrified. Luo Binghe pulls out a note, written from Mobei-jun to Shang Qinghua, and drops it onto the roof. "This disciple apologizes to Shizun. Please ensure this message gets to Shang-shishu." He uses Xin Mo to teleport to a different roof, staying just long enough to see Liu Qingge hand the note to Shen Qingqiu, who collapsed bonelessly into his side.

He goes to the Northern Desert, rather than the Southern Kingdom. He arrives in the sitting area of Mobei-jun's quarters, and plops himself into a seat. He thinks, and thinks, and he's feeling absolutely awful by the time Mobei-jun arrives. He takes one look at Luo Binghe's disheveled state, and takes the seat next to him.

They talk.

Mobei-jun is a surprisingly comforting presence. He'd always listened and offered advice, but Luo Binghe didn't think he'd have the patience for talking him through... whatever the hell this is. Heartbreak? He isn't sure.

It helps though, and Luo Binghe feels much lighter. Mobei-jun had already promised to never darken Cang Qiong's doorstep, to never go anywhere near Shang Qinghua again, after what he'd done... Luo Binghe would just have to do the same. Even if all he wanted was to go back to Qing Jing, to his room in the Bamboo House... but Shizun is married now, there's no way he'd allow Luo Binghe to stay there permanently.

So he just... stays in the Demon Realm. He's an emperor now, surely Shizun wouldn't want him neglecting that duty? And even if he would've liked Shizun's advice... Mobei-jun would have to do. He had experience, and he's been nothing but helpful. Decision made, Luo Binghe embraces his status as the Demon Emperor, and gives it his full attention.

Without him, Shen Qingqiu's trial falls apart, even as the Palace Master accuses Liu Qingge of killing Luo Binghe. There's not enough concrete evidence for Shen Qingqiu's crimes, and the character defenses from the sect and his husband all speak louder than Qiu Haitang's slander. Even if Liu Qingge was in extremely hot water with Huan Hua, they couldn't prove he'd done anything either.

Shen Qingqiu delivers Mobei-jun's note to Mu Qingfang, asking him to be there when Shang Qinghua read it, because who knew what was in it. He agrees, and they read it as soon as possible, to get it over with.

It's an apology, with an explanation of their different cultures and a promise to never bother him again. It's a promise to right his wrongs through Luo Binghe, who he assumes to be related to Shang Qinghua through the boy's mother. It's short and blunt, and Shang Qinghua is... conflicted. He loves Mu Qingfang, and honestly, couldn't even dream of a life without him, but... Mobei-jun was his dream man. Thinking like that... perhaps it was for the best that they didn't end up together. The reality could never live up to the expectation.

More importantly, is him remembering his half-sister in this life: Xi-jie. Who had suddenly cut contact with him completely, and who he'd never managed to track down afterwards, not having known her full name. Shang Qinghua is crushed, to realize the protagonist was that close to being given a better life. Had Su Xiyan managed to contact him at any point, he would've taken her son in in a heartbeat. Mu Qingfang consoles him, and they decide, jointly, that it was for the best if he didn't pursue that relationship. Not with Mobei-jun promising to stick by the boy, and not with the way he'd treated Shen Qingqiu.

And everyone just... moves on with their lives.

Mu Qingfang and Shang Qinghua are happy together; they have three kids that get absolutely spoiled by their disciples, and they take care of each other, ensuring neither overworks too severely. Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu, without the threat of Binghe's return hanging over them, relax more. They enjoy peaceful days with the Qing Jing disciples, they have fun jointly beating up the Bai Zhan disciples and teaching them new moves, and their hunts aren't nearly as battle-focused as they were before, giving Shen Qingqiu a chance to study the beasts rather than immediately going to fight them.

Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun are rarely apart and treat each other as equals in all things. They value the other's advice when implementing policies, and they will each jump to the other's defense, whether it be physically or through words. It surprises absolutely no one when their affair is found out — at first a convenient way to control Xin Mo, eventually morphing into a proper relationship. They're the rulers of the demon realm, they need not abide by the rules, but... Luo Binghe enjoys planning the wedding, and Mobei-jun can't deny him that, even if it meant dealing with the paperwork of technically merging the two kingdoms but also not. Their broken hearts have long been mended by each other, and it's no surprise when they have six children, close-knit and loving, like the family they wished they'd had sooner.

-

Tianlang-jun rotted away, despite Zhuzhi-lang's best efforts. His last act was to give Zhuzhi-lang enough energy to sustain his human form indefinitely. He is purposeless, and alone, and he sits beside his uncle's corpse for far longer than he should have. There's nothing left for him, not with his uncle gone.

So he exits the cave, and he sits under a tree, out in the open. He is very clearly a demon within Huan Hua territory, so it wouldn't take long for a cultivator to stumble upon him and put him out of his misery. Sure enough, in the middle of his patrol, Gongyi Xiao sees a snake demon just... sitting there. He doesn't look hostile, nor does he look like he's going to move.

He also just... looks kinda pathetic.

So, Gongyi Xiao makes a decision. He can't, in good conscience, leave it there. If he does, and it attacks someone, that's his fault. He also can't just kill it if it's not even doing anything. So he decides to... initiate conversation.

It takes a while for Zhuzhi-lang to bother properly responding, but once he does, they get along quite well. He shares stories about his and his uncle's journies through the human realm, reminiscing as he starts to process his grief. Gongyi Xiao decides, maybe this demon isn't that bad actually, and before they know it, it's sun down and Gongyi Xiao is very late.

They meet daily, with Gongyi Xiao taking on more patrols than usual to make sure his demon is doing alright. Eventually, though, pieces of Zhuzhi-lang's story start to... click. They conflict with things he's been told by his shizun. Maybe Zhuzhi-lang is misremembering in his grief, but... he's concerned enough to start investigating on his own.

He finds a lot of dirt on the Old Palace Master, most of it completely unrelated to Su Xiyan, which is what he was actually trying to investigate. Eventually, he grows so disgusted with the sheer amount of crimes the old man has committed that he decides to just... start a coup. He's well-liked, so it's easy enough to get people on his side — it's even easier when he starts spreading rumors and has all of the man's misdeeds printed into a fairly popular book (more than a few publishing houses were burned down because of it, oops). He didn't... intend to replace the old man, but that's what happened and, hey, now he can bring his demon home and no one can fight him over it, yes sect leaders, he's perfectly sane, thank you.

Zhuzhi-lang learns that he's just as attracted to competence and beauty as Tianlang-jun, he just prefers his with a side of kindness rather than tsundere. He also finds it incredibly funny that everyone just... pointedly ignores his presence. A demon he may be, but their sect leader wanted him there, so there he would stay. The whole scenario brings to mind the forbidden romances his uncle loved to read about. As he settles in, watching Gongyi Xiao overhaul Huan Hua Palace and all its greedy rules, he thinks his uncle would want to see how this story ends.

-

AND THAT'S IT! My wrists hurt and i accidentally posted before it was done, lmao, but yeah. Feel free to write this, I feel like I'd start it and never finish lol

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Okay, so PIDW Luo Binghe was almost definitely Airplane’s Mary Sue self insert, right? We all generally agree on this?? Cool. So anyway! I’m just saying, Shang Qinghua absolutely had an entire novel worth of unpublished content of mobing just sitting in a folder on his laptop that Peerless Cucumber would have foamed at the mouth to read.

[klavlock]

ok so. hear me out on this one but moshang and bingqui swingers au (cw for infidelity and airplane levels of silly plot contrivance re:demon culture)

//

shen qingqiu does not mean to walk in on his semi-clothed husband grinding down on his equally dishevelled second in command. that wasn’t… like. intentional. he was bored and binghe and mobei jun were doing demon realm politics things and he wondered if they might want company! which clearly!! they didn’t!

he does scream. but its in shock! and then, a second later, when what he’s seeing dawns on him, in anger.

oh. then he’s crying. yep, those are tears. and his legs feel a little weak so… floor time!

binghe and mobei jun make themselves presentable at speed and then binghe is hovering in front of sqq, apologies tumbling from his lips and pulling sqq’s hands away from his face. sqq isn’t really listening.

but when mobei jun tries to sneak out past him sqq grabs that motherfucker by the sleeve and drags him down to his eye level. “don’t you fucking go anywhere.”

mobei jun looks? a little frightened maybe? good. he should be. “consort shen-“

“how the fuck could you do that to shang qinghua.”

binghe’s torrent of apologies pauses. “shizun?”

“mobei jun. tell me you did not just cheat on my best friend.”

mobei jun does not say anything. binghe is still holding sqq’s wrists, so he cannot claw the other man’s eyes out. “let go of me, binghe.”

binghe drops his hands immediately. “shizun-“

shen qingqiu has stopped crying now. he wipes the last of his tears away from his face. “tell me why i shouldn’t rip your dick off?” he asks mobei jun, his tone steely.

binghe breaks in again. “shizun, this husband must take equal blame, i’m sorry. mobei and i were sparring, it got heated - i thought-“

“binghe, shush for a sec. i’m not mad at you.” sqq does not see the look of utter confusion on his husband's face. his attention is on mobei jun. “did you cheat on my best friend?”

“in demon culture-“

sqq lunges.

by the time shen qingqiu has been wrestled off mobei jun, the latter is sporting multiple scratches, a sword wound in his shoulder and the beginnings of a black eye. also, a new respect and admiration for lord luo’s spouse.

shang qinghua has also arrived. he has assured sqq that yes. this was an aspect of demon culture he had actually consented to, he’s fully aware his king sometimes rubs one out with other ppl, no it doesn’t bother him but “luo binghe? my king?? did you have a death wish??”

sqq threatens mbj a few more times for good measure. sqh gets a little misty eyed at how deep his bro’s loyalty goes. he is reassured that sqh’s feelings are not hurt and the only boundary crossed was mbj’s choice of sparring/sex partner. (a discussion that sqh could handle without his bro’s help, seriously, cucumber.)

only then does sqq turn his attention to his husband. who’s immediately throws himself at sqq’s feet. “this luo binghe does not deserve his shizun’s forgiveness, he only asks—“

“this husband is not mad at you. binghe is a growing boy-“ (shang qinghua squawks) “-he has hormonal urges that he cannot always control. this master wishes to be informed ahead of time, in future, if his husband wishes to spend time with another lover. I only ask that I remain the first in his heart and… in his bed.”

there. sqq thinks. i’ve handled the whole harem-creation urge of binghe's very nicely. established my own boundaries but let lbh sow his wild oats, or whatever the phrase is.

sqq has no idea why everyone’s mouths are hanging open.

“that’s it?” asks sqh. “you almost kill my king for maybe being disloyal to me but your husband gets off scott-free?”

“binghe’s binghe. i can’t be mad at him.”

sqh facepalms. binghe preens. only mbj looks confused. “so… lord luo and i may continue…?”

“only if quinghua’s ok with it. but yes. this master allows it.”

mbj nods. “thanking consort shen for his generosity and understanding. will you be taking a bed warmer? traditionally, of course, it would be shang qinghua-“

sqh lets out a squeak. sqq’s eyes widen. “what, like—“ he turns to sqh, who flinches. his sword is tossed aside, pulled from him during his attack on mobei-jun, but he brandishes his fan menacingly. “DID YOU WRITE SWINGING INTO PIDW?”

“ONLY INTO THE DRAFTS, DUDE.” sqh raises his arms above his head for protection but it’s too late. sqq’s upon him.

luo binghe and mobei jun watch their spouses tussle onto the floor and then watch in fascination as sqq proves himself very adept at demon sparring culture after all by straddling sqh and pressing his face roughly into the ground.

“did you just lick my hand?”

“i’ll lick your /face/“

“well since you’re a hack who wrote swinging into the narrative you might as well /kiss/ my face you ridiculous, awful— mmmmffh”

and they were kissing. perfect. mbj shoots lbh a look and lbh nods, gesturing to the door. their husbands seem occupied and he and mbj didn’t exactly get to finish what they were doing earlier. they should remedy that.

[bytedykes]

really funny to think about pidw mobing actually can u imagine ur boss comes back from his interdimensional field trip and is like alright ive gleaned the key to achieving true happiness: i need to fuck men. and then the camera slowly pans to you

[kesopan]

luo binghe being carried like a toddler by mobei jun

not his first rodeo..

[rablunt]

it will be now and forever funny that cumplane ended up marrying fantasy versions of each other. like fuck can you imagine marrying the self insert of your arch-rival but it actually has to be chill because the guy he married is literally also just the xianxia ice demon version of you WHO YOUR SEMI-DIEFIC RIVAL MADE EXPLICITLY AS HIS DREAM MAN and both of you will be in denial of this fact forever

[disgracefulthings]

Since Luo Binghe is a self insert and Mobei-Jun is Shang Qinghua's ideal man, I have no doubt that Airplane wrote LBHxMBJ fanfiction

(And if the greatest hater of PIDW scoured the internet for any content about his favorite character and came across it, well, it wouldn't be hard feat reading it as long as he skips the papapa scenes...)

[m0owu]

if someone doesn't write moshang, but sqh transmigrated into Luo Binghe, then I will.

/if you want to, you can use this concept, but text me about it and send a link, I beg you 🙏

[web-novel-polls]

WN Rarepair Tournament

Please consider each rarepair and vote for the ship you like the best / find the most interesting / that compels you the most / etc.

NieShui from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation & Heaven Official’s Blessing

Characters: Nie Mingjue (MDZS) x Shi Wudu (TGCF)

No propaganda submitted

Fanart

MoBing from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System (SVSSS)

Characters: Original Luo Binghe (Bingge) x Mobei-jun

No propaganda submitted

[Please be kind and respectful in the notes. Anti-Propaganda is NOT allowed.]

[passions-and-pupils]

It’s always “Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu fell for the unstable buff versions of eachother” and never “Mobei Jun and Lou Binghe fell for the slightly more sane twink versions of eachother”

Shang Qinghua def read (and wrote) ship fics about them

[marsafter-dark]

there are not enough MoBing appreciators in the svsss community. Y’all are telling me those two emotionally repressed bastards didn’t fuck their feelings away at some point? Pfff, please

[ineffectualdemon]

PIDW Mobing:

Someone definitely tells Bingge to "call of his dog" referring to Mobei and it comes with all the homoeroticism that implies

Their fight scene for dominance when Mobei swore loyalty was also homoerotically charged

Bingge plays with Mobei's hair while threatening people

This definitely has happened at some point in the PIDW universe if not explicitly in the webnovel though I wouldn't put it past Airplane.:

"Mobei?" Luo Binghe calls, leaning away from the wife his arm is wrapped around to gently curl those dark tresses around his fingers. The back of his warm fingers grazing against cold skin.

A slight huff of amusement hangs between them as startling blue eyes meet red.

"Yes Junshang?" The title is said respectfully if you do not know how to read Mobei Jun and the tiny expressions he makes. To Luo Binghe he sees the exasperation and almost fondness. It is not the simpering adoration of his wives but rather the shared amusement between two people who in another life, could have been equals.

But here and now one is owned and knows it. Even so, his master likes to remind him of his place.

Luo Binghe could not resist tugging on the hair caught between his claws, drawing a resigned, but obedient, Mobei to lean closer.

"Be a treasure," a loaded phrase for Luo Binghe to drawl in shared company and he enjoys the sharp look that gets him.

"Kill him for me?"

The hair is allowed to slip from his fingers even though the real leash is kept tight.

"Yes Junshang" Mobei Jun says before doing what is asked.

Just like he always did.

So loyal.

So obedient.

That's why dogs are better than wives.

Canon SVSSS Luo Bing-mei and Mobei Jun:

Luo Binghe: attack!

Mobei Jun: But I have. A lot. I'm tired. I want a little break :( You do it.

Luo Binghe: ok...do something??

Mobei Jun: my hamster needs exercise so I will send him out. Shang Qinghua! I choose you! ...ah look! He's playing! I knew he needed more exercise!

Luo Binghe: ....Shizun better show up soon. My subordinate's love life depresses me :(

AND

Luo Binghe: how do I get a boy to like me? :(

Mobei Jun: kick his ass

Luo Binghe: please don't say words

Anyway that's why I can only get into OG!Binghe and OG!Mobei for Mobing and not SVSSS versions