#no one is immune to loving sqq

[waitineedaname]

"You fear becoming a burden to Cang Qiong Mountain, but Cang Qiong Mountain fears not your burden" what if I just start crying huh

[sunderwight]

SV AU where the System does offer Shen Qingqiu one way out of pushing Luo Binghe into the Abyss:

Since SQQ is now the POV character of his own story, he can accept a special one time purchase of the protagonist halo, and go down and do the Abyss plotline himself instead.

The catch is that there's only one protagonist halo. No dual protagonists allowed. Which means that if Shen Qingqiu takes it, Luo Binghe loses his immunity to fatal plot developments, unless SQQ can replace it with another immunity halo.

The only other halo that grants immunity from fatal catastrophes in PIDW is the love interest halo.

Luckily, love interest halos are extremely plentiful in the setting. It seems even Shen Qingqiu himself has one in his inventory for some reason? Weird, but at least that means he doesn't have to rob some poor girl of her golden ticket and potential happily-ever-after in Binghe's arms.

There's probably something especially bizarre about making Luo Binghe his own love interest for a while, but Shen Qingqiu reasons that it's only temporary. He'll swap the halos back once he's out of the Abyss! And he'll get Xin Mo and bring it back, and personally help Luo Binghe figure out how to wield it. Preferably with far fewer costs and downsides than in canon. Maybe then Binghe won't need as big of a harem and will still have some time to spend with his old master, when he's not running around conquering the world.

Surely, there's not way all of this could backfire. (Okay, he knows there are like a million ways it could backfire.) But definitely, Shen Qingqiu will get back, be in his right mind, NOT be suffering any grave imbalances due to Xin Mo, NOT have unlocked any secret demonic heritage that helps him survive but also gets him blood up, and NOT need to or want to have life-saving rescue sex with anyone holding any love interest halos after five years of struggling his way through a nightmare training gauntlet.

Of all the ways he imagined fucking this up, having to somehow play the part of the darkened hero flinging himself towards and away from his own student like said student is some demure maiden at risk of losing his virtue to him was not on the list!

Shen Qingqiu: Binghe, stay away! This master can't control himself properly right now!

Luo Binghe: but Shizun's already been gone for so long! Won't he come a little closer instead?

Shen Qingqiu: Binghe wouldn't ask that if he knew what this master might do to him!

Luo Binghe: Shizun can do whatever he wants to me! I don't mind!

Shen Qingqiu: my poor Binghe, this world has not shown you enough darkness, you don't realize what's going on!

Luo Binghe: so does Shizun want to top, or...?

[bytedykes]

Nie mingjue and liu qingge for the character ask game?

Sexuality Headcanon: im a nieyao/3zun truther so like he likes men... lqg is my beautiful aroace swordguy <333

Gender Headcanon: I LOVE BUTCH WOMEN!!!! ok both of them are men to me as canon, but like. take my hand. butch nmj and he/him butch lqg okay?

A ship I have with said character: i guess i already said but Big fan of nieyao i like it when weird assholes tear each other into pieces ^-^ 3zun is also good. for lqg i like him in bingliushen but only the way i personally like it and not the way people usually do it. hes a part of their marriage in the sense that he's their nonsexual nonromantic chew toy that they like sooo much. also lqg/tlj can be really good sometimes (thinking of raitala's 'the reluctant suitor' series - very nice tianliu series but also one of my fave lqg characterizations i've seen lol he's such a weirdo in this one)

A BROTP I have with said character: nmj and nhs!!! i love you nie siblings you rock. also i like nielan childhood friends i think its very fun especially when they start falling apart in the later years <3 an interesting take ive seen before also is nmj&wq which is pretty fun. LQG&SQQ THE BESTIES <3 theyre everything !!! i really like them i like how much they genuinely enjoy each others company and how fucking Bad they are at like. being in a friendship its awesome. also as a treat for myself lqg&yqy is sooo tasty i love it when lqg genuinely likes and looks up to him and yqy is fond of him in turn. could a sect leader and his coworker-subordinate really be... friends?

A NOTP I have with said character: obviously ew incest ships but aside from that i cant really think of anything? lqg x romance my notp i think he's so aro. also okay. okay honestly. liushen sometimes NOT all the time but sometimes the way ppl act about it irks me and i automatically look away. like the blatantly ooc fandomized liushen. bye </3

A random headcanon: lqg forest puddle water drinkerrrr dkjaskdss no im kidding im kidding. my random headcanon ("random headcanon" lol) is that he has good dad energy. he could pull thru. give that man a baby :] can i plug spring in bloom here again does anyone want to read spring in bloom by kay my friend kay <3 also i think he's immune to sex pollen bc he's an aroace jock who just exercises it out of his system. no basis for this one other than it's hilarious

for nmj... i think he secretly has a very annoying sense of humor that many people don't know about but he terrorizes nhs with. dad jokes type of beat... da-ge jokes <3

General Opinion over said character: I FUCKING LOVE THESE GUYS!!!!! i love it when there is a guy with a big fucking sword who has sooo many problems. lol! anyway ok more specifically:

i thought nmj was very interesting while reading the novel and definitely had a "hey wtf dude" initial reaction to him, but he's reallyyy grown on me <3 partially bc he's been on my mind a lot and partially bc of his presence in cql! (cql nmj is my type also so that definitely did smth to me as well lol) i think he's a really interesting character to explore both bc of his general backstory and bc of his relationships w other characters, as well as the fact that (in the novel) we never really see him of completely sound mind, so there's lots of room to play w how you portray him. he's fun!

lqg i love soooo much i loved him from day ONE i loved him as soon as he showed up. he's so good. i think his appearance was a very funny surprise (?), esp the way sqq narrated it lmao, and i really like him in general. i loveee the loyal sword character trope and i like how lqg does it (so well <3). his general awkwardness and extreme talent to put his foot in his mouth is also really charming ("its ok you can just get a new disciple" what is wrong with him). i also think there's room to explore w him, especially his family + relationships w other sect members, i love you liu siblings... lqg is a character who goes through a lot of growth imo and it's very satisfying to see that + how his rs with sqq changes through the novel. lqg is also a character that is so fun to put into situations and also make fun of. bc he's so sucks <3 ANYWAY I FUCKING LOVE LQG if there is no lqg lovers on this earth i am dead etc

TYSM FOR THE ASK KAY <333 sorry it took me so long to answer LMAO it was really fun though

[minban]

“   finally ,   we’re   alone  .   ” lbh needs to bite sqq immediately !!!

@raytm / mwah mwah time

"yes, we are," shen qingqiu smiles endearingly at luo binghe, unraveling his fan in front of his face and slowly waving it, letting the cool wind wash over him in a much needed soothing breeze. it has been a long awaited time for him to be alone with his husband, and now that he has it, he takes luo binghe by the hand and leads him to the divan so that they may sit down together, soaking up each others warmth in the privacy of the bamboo house. he relaxes against his husband, happy to be home in their own little bubble, unbothered by the ongoings of the peak just outside their door, melting into the heat that luo binghe naturally emits when his husband - bites?!

"binghe!" his fan snaps shut and quickly finds its way to lightly slapping his husband's cheek, frown marring his face from luo binghe's antics appearing so soon. they had just entered the privacy of their home, not even a minute into their alone time together, and luo binghe has decided that he is in a mood to mark him up already. as if he is not already bruised with handprints on his waist and purple and blue bruises that make a permanent home along his neck, stinging with the constant reminder of luo binghe's claim on his body, his heart, his soul. he could use his qi to heal them, sure, but his dear sweet loving husband would see that as his cue to paint his picture along his skin all over again, taking his sweet time until he is satisfied with what he sees on shen qingqiu's skin. he has healed himself one too many times until it had all finally clicked together, and shen qingqiu quietly berates himself for not realizing that his husband merely wished to keep his claim on him always.

in his haste to reprimand his husband, he fails to see the hands sneaking along his waist until he is being pushed down onto the soft plush of the divan, hair splaying out against pillows pressed into the sides of the day bed, staring up at luo binghe with a most unimpressed look. his fan comes up to tap against luo binghe's lips, stopping them in their tracks to no doubt slobber all over his face. they have done this dance of their one too many times for shen qingqiu to simply give in to those puppy eyes with the drop of a pin, though, he can't deny that they still do serve their purpose, enough to make him avert his elsewhere on luo binghe's body less he folds within the next few seconds.

"binghe," he says once more, the beginnings of a scolding tinting his voice, entering the mode he uses when he is admonishing an unruly disciple on his peak, "we have talked about this. binghe cannot maul this poor master like a dog in heat. this master's husband is the emperor of the demon realm, sovereignly ruler that has started to unify the demons under his banner. surely this master's husband has some restraint in him?"

and there, the moment he has been waiting for, are those tear ducts working it's heavenly demon magic, forming crocodiles in his lovely husband's eyes. no, he will not cave. he refuses to fall for the same trick once more, stern in his desire to not be used as his husband's mauling and bunkering down for yet another long night. no! he will not fold even if those tears have him softening around the edges, bringing his hands catch those stray tears and holding binghe's face between his hands. he will not fold, he tells himself, as he brings binghe's face down to his and presses their lips together in the softest of kisses, licking away the tears that continue to rain down on his husband's flushed cheeks. no, he will not fold even as he feels luo binghe's hands unfastening the belt to his robes, parting the layers as if he were plucking the petals of a flower, discarding each one from his fingers, watching each piece flutter to the ground.

shit, shen qingqiu thinks. he is not immune to his husband after all.

[dim-3kx]

i’ve been trying to think of how to rank mxtx protags and it is. surprisingly difficult because

a) lbh has that protagonist halo making him basically unbeatable but

b) xl and hc are ancient and powerful beings. one is a literal god and yes they aren’t infallible but could a heavenly demon defeat a god? are they stronger? hc was able to beat those 33 officials and i suspect that other than xl, hc is stronger than the rest of the heavenly court

c) wwx practices demonic cultivation which could potentially affect both lbh and hc - HOWEVER, expanding on point b), hc is probably strong enough to be immune to wwx and referring to point a) again, lbh has his protagonist halo BUT

d) does lbh’s halo stretch to the rest of the universe? or does it stop working once they leave the PIDW universe since technically he isn’t the protagonist anymore.

i haven’t included lwj and sqq because yes i love them but they definitely aren’t the strongest, sorry luvs <\3

conclusion: xl is canonically stronger than hc who i believe would be stronger than wwx (plus wwx’s cultivation wouldn’t even work against xl). the only problem i can see is lbh’s halo, so the mantle for strongest mxtx character definitely goes to either xl or lbh

[delicioussshame]

I had this reverse love potion fic idea that would be all angst no plot and I don’t want to write it, so have some notfic.

One day, SQQ wakes up by LBH’s side and feels… nothing? Maybe a vague sense of discomfiture being in bed with a man? He’s not amnesic or anything, so he knows there is nothing wrong with sharing a bed with Luo Binghe, but it doesn’t feel right. He tries to work through it, to go on with his life like this is normal, but he has no actual desire to, and he feels like it’s reciprocated? Like, LBH is evading him, which is highly unusual. So when LBH breaks and asks SQQ if he feels different, they talk and discover they don’t love each other anymore. It’s like the switch has been turned off. They both can tell it’s not normal, that it has to have been some form of attack. SQQ figures it’s one of LBH’s supposed wives trying to break them up. He knows he should be more upset than he is, but when he thinks back to his relationship it’s like watching a movie. It has nothing to do with him. Hey, maybe it’s a chance to set the plot back into something like what was supposed to happen? SQQ could just be another peak lord, LBH could lead his realm, it’d be fine.

Luo Binghe takes it a bit harder because he’s very self-motivated, and even if he’s not in love with SQQ anymore he can remember how happy he was with his teacher as a husband. It’s nothing he wants right now, but he knows he would be pleased to get it back again.

Still, even he cannot deal with the current awkwardness of faking domestic bliss with someone he doesn’t feel anything special for, so they decide that LBH will return to the demon realm for now, and that they’ll each look for ways to reverse the situation by themselves, by which they both know LBH will and SQQ will open a book when he feels like it.

LBH does start up chasing every lead, but he’s fighting a losing war. Every single person from his realm he speaks to agree that this is the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. He’s finally detached from the peak lord! Maybe he can take his job seriously now! And marry, oh, a couple hundreds demonesses, that’d be nice.

SQQ lives a pretty similar setting. His fellow peak lords aren’t exactly LBH’s biggest fans, and maybe some of them are thinking this is a godsend.

The main difference I think is that as time passes, I think SQQ would become lonely. From the moment he came to this world up to that fateful morning, his life pretty much revolved around LBH? Now that the main plot is completed, without LBH around, it’s kind of dull. And hey, since he’s got nothing better to do, why not focus on researching a cure? So he puts more time on this.

Meanwhile, I think LBH would become more and more focused on ruling his realm, since he’s very driven and doesn’t really have SQQ as a focus anymore, so the quest would fall to the side after a while.

Still, a very ambitious demon decided he’d find the cure years ago, because while everyone else is trying to a get a pretty uninterested LBH to look at them twice, this demon knows for a fact that if he gives LBH the only one he ever loved back, he’d instantly be rewarded so richly his life would be made. So he works at it, and one day shows up with something sus and is like “this is it!”

LBH is quite suspicious at first and asks everyone with any knowledge on the matter to make sure he won’t be poisoned, but he’s immune to poison so everyone is like *shrug* you should go for it. So he does, immediately starts crying because all the time he wasted being away from his shizun, the love of his life! Why! Why didn’t he search for this without rest! So anyway, he takes the thing and has MBJ teleport him to SQQ’s side, who, again, is now more open to the idea because he’s missing something he can’t understand. He takes it, they both cry, everyone else also does for a different reason, the random demon is so promoted it’s not even funny, and together SQQ and LBH go on a hunt to find out who, exactly, was this fucking reckless with their own life that they thought trying to keep them apart would be a good idea.

This woman spends the rest of her very short life regretting it.

The end.

[elegant-fan-twirl]

My reread has reached the plant!SQQ part and I'm once again thinking about one of the great mysteries of Scum Villain, SQQ's sexual orientation.

You know that bit, in the Gossipy Jianghu chapter? I had to stop reading and rub my temples for a while, and then go complain to friends about how stupid the canon in my current obsession is sometimes. But moving on.

I have yet to puzzle it out and there's probably some convincing meta out there that could help settle it for me, and I also realize that orientation is generally messier than any neat category will cover. If identity is self-defined, even for a fictional character, SQQ was straight and then he was "what do you think?" and that's all we get. Sigh. Cucumber-bro, why do I love you. I probably shouldn't.

The thing is, you could make a case for all kinds of orientations, and none of them are confirmed.

He could be straight! With an exception, or like... you can choose to be with someone you're not in love or lust with and the sex can be good and the relationship satisfying. Which was my first reading, actually. It would apply whether he's heterosexual or ace.

My first thought, after my first read, was not that he was straight, but that he's ace, since he shows only apparently academic interest in anybody's good looks.

Then now on reread I'm thinking that's not necessarily right, because SQQ has a habit of deflecting in his internal monologues, and he is definitely thin-faced and easily embarrassed, so would not want to talk about sex-as-pertains-to-himself. He doesn't always tell you what he's thinking. At some point we just get told he figured something out paragraphs ago, or he made a decision, or he noticed something, or he was in pain, or thought out he was dying, all the while talking about something completely different. With that in mind I'm thinking maybe he did find Sha Hualing sexy in the book, and enjoyed all the bouncing titties in principle despite complaining about the writing, he does have sexual thoughts, he did have a character crush on Binghe, he would not be immune to a cave full of succubi if he allowed himself to look at them. He just never says "oh that's sexy" because getting turned on is embarrassing. Which could make him bi or pan (or etc.).

But you could also decide that all his interest in women WAS academic, that going "well now I can never have a girlfriend... sad... oh well" was just half-heartedly enforcing compulsory heterosexuality on himself, but that all his starry-eyed descriptions of Binghe did count and ergo, SQQ is and always has been gay.

Or maybe it's all academic in general, but real, just repressed/misunderstood, when it's Binghe? Demisexual?

I do find this convincing (until someone convinces me otherwise, perhaps): He identified as straight; now he identifies as gay (monogamous). What is nuance?

I mean, it happens, but also... I do put it down to... being an idiot.

[waitineedaname]

i know it's just the trope of like. one true love/soulmates/"never loved someone before this person" but I find it very funny that in writing that trope, mxtx accidentally made all her protagonists read as very arospec

shen qingqiu? whole essays have been written about how he is absolutely on the ace spectrum, and i'd argue he's on the aro spectrum too for similar reasons. he's like "damn it would be difficult to get a girlfriend as the scum villain" and then proceeds to not really give a shit about that problem whatsoever. he's completely clueless about the fact that people are falling love with him left and right, does not even consider romance an option until luo binghe straight up kisses him on the mouth. i think in general attraction for him is kinda muddy and it would be hard to neatly label the affection he feels for binghe as one thing or the other. i do firmly believe that if you plucked romance out of the equation, he and lbh would still be attached at the hip because their dynamic is a mess that isn't exclusively romantic

wei wuxian? the most demiromantic motherfucker i've ever seen. he knew lan wangji for HOW LONG before he realized he was in love with him??? he was very clearly obsessed with lwj from the start, but it likely started as "this guy is fun to provoke and I want his attention" rather than romantic attraction (as opposed to lan wangji who was attracted to him from the start and Very Mad About It) and I think it took wwx so long to figure out his feelings because it genuinely just took a long time for those feelings to develop from something platonic (and a little physical) to something romantic, and I think that development came about because he realized just how much he could trust and rely on lwj

as for xie lian, im only on book five, but so far my assessment of him seems to be that for 800 years he was like "this chastity shit is easy" and now he's suddenly experiencing attraction for the first time and he's like "whoa. okay. well I'll deal with that later once i'm done dealing with the horrors"