#not his sect or his family or whatever else

[sunderwight]

AU where there's no system (or a decidedly less restrictive one) and Shen Yuan transmigrates into an OC rogue cultivator before the start of the novel, and decides he's gonna steal the protagonist before Luo Binghe even gets to Cang Qiong.

The logic is sound -- he'll keep Luo Binghe from experiencing neglect and abuse at Shen Qingqiu's hands, raise him away from the pressure of the sects and the likelihood that anyone else might find out about his heritage and try to harm him over it, keep him fully away from the Immortal Alliance Conference, and then Luo Binghe's course will change trajectory because he'll have no reason to want revenge against the world and no access to Xin Mo. Shen Yuan will be able to spare Luo Binghe some suffering and possibly survive in a world less subject to the harrowing whims of a half-mad tyrannical overlord. Win-win!

However, the tricky bit is that he's not sure exactly how far ahead of the novel he is, and also Airplane didn't specify where Luo Binghe grew up. This means that Luo Binghe could be any age younger than twelve and in any number of places along or near to the Luo river.

Shen Yuan decides he's going to approach this by pretending he is looking for the long-lost son of his sister, traveling through the likeliest areas, asking after abandoned children who might fit the protagonist's description. It's a long shot, he knows, and he's mostly relying on the existence of Narrative Destiny. But eventually he is directed by several people towards a particular city, which is not as close to the river as he'd have expected Luo Binghe to grow up, but then again he only knows that was where baby Binghe was found, not where the washerwoman who took him in ultimately lived.

It becomes clear to him, though, that he's been sent to the wrong target. But also why he's been sent astray is apparent in nearly the same breath, because among the slave children living in this area is a little boy who could be his much younger clone.

Seriously, this kid looks just like him! Or, well, close enough. He looks a lot like Shen Yuan's actual nieces and nephews from his past life. It's uncanny.

Also, because of his search, the slave kids get wind of what he's looking for (his long-lost nephew) pretty quick. The boy with the obvious resemblance to him greets Shen Yuan's own assessment with wary cynicism, but he's just a little boy. So it's not difficult to notice the way he's also practically vibrating with hopefulness, half-hiding behind a protective older kid and looking at Shen Yuan with big dark eyes like he expects to be rescued or destroyed with whatever he has to say next.

Shen Yuan has a big problem now. He just knows that if he says something like "actually no this boy is too old to be my nephew" or whatever other excuse, no one will believe him, and also this poor kid is going to be permanently scarred by it. He's going to think Shen Yuan is lying just so that he can reject him. On top of that, he's not in a good situation here. None of these children are even remotely well cared-for.

Shen Yuan's rogue cultivator self isn't rich on the level of being like a wealthy sect leader or anything, but he's made some money since transmigrating by doing random cultivator jobs and quests along the way here. He uses it all to purchase two little slave boys (Do Not Separate), then takes another job and uses that coin to acquire a somewhat rundown manor which used to belong to the local gentry. The Qiu family (rings some bells but that's not exactly an uncommon name) kept it up for a while in case a branch family sprung up in need of a residence, but they've been in decline and the place is downright decrepit, so they had been looking to sell it instead. It's too big for a wandering bachelor like SY to ever need on his own account, but that's sort of the idea. He makes more money taking on cultivator work, at first taking his boys along with him for lack of any alternative. Nerve-wrackingly dangerous! Eventually he hires workers to start restoring the manor, particularly setting up a yard to be a school area, and then starts taking on any freelance jobs he can get in order to steadily buy out the contracts on all the other kids. He gets it nice enough to house and care for as many orphans as he can acquire.

Not because he's a big old softie though!

His story of looking for his nephew is a bust now, since he's apparently "found" the kid. So he's got to change tactics! If he can't find baby Binghe and the washerwoman, the next best approach is to create an opportunity for them to come to him. So once he's got his new household established, he starts offering free lessons to all the local kids. Not just the ones he's taken in, but also any who come by and want to learn some things. It's a tempting setup for anyone who wants their child to get education but can't afford a tutor, and Luo Binghe's mother had been entirely the sort of person who would have packed up and left her situation if there had been an opportunity for it.

On that note, SY also starts hiring single mothers to help look after his new gaggle of children and do the work he doesn't know how to do in these times, like keeping house, laundry, cooking, actually raising kids, etc.

His "little school" is not universally popular. A few groups try and ruin him, because the poverty in the region provides a basis of business for them. The ringleaders of the human traffickers in the area don't want their trade to dry up, even if it means selling all of their merchandise for this round, so when they find out that their underlings let Shen Yuan buy off all the kids they try and intimidate him into returning them (it doesn't go well for them). The Qiu family also isn't thrilled after it becomes clear what he's doing, and get him investigated by the local authorities (read: use their bribed officials and local goons to try and interfere.)

When that doesn't work either the sects get involved, because the Qiu go crying to Huan Hua Palace that Shen Yuan is sketchy and is trying to establish his own sect. So Shen Yuan talks his way around the matter, and frankly the Qiu are small fish even if they're the biggest ones in the local pond, so HHP doesn't care to pursue things much further. (Read: SY could mop the floor with the disciples they sent to investigate him, and it's not worth it to piss off someone this mysterious and powerful just to bully some impoverished children.)

Shen Yuan is appalled by all this bullshit though. Trust the world of PIDW to make it so hard just for a guy to teach some poor kids how to read and do math!

It makes him dig in his heels about it, because he is at heart a stubborn bastard. The fires that once fueled a thousand angry screeds on zhongdian literature site is now aimed at the local magistrate. One of the women he's hired on has some dirt on the Qiu family, which leads SY to dig up some more until he eventually has enough to turn the tables on them. Local officials won't investigate because they've all been bought, but that in and of itself is of some interest to their superiors closer to the palace, and so SY arranges an investigation of his own that goes way further than he thought? Turns out there are some ugly skeletons in the Qiu closets, and the imperial investigator comes down on them hard.

Well, he can't say they didn't have it coming? Though he does feel bad for the children in the family, especially the oldest son, who gets hauled off to jail along with his father. At least the girl is sent to live with relatives. Maybe he should have done more to shield the minors in the situation...?

His kids tell him not to worry about it, though, that apparently young master Qiu was known to run people down in the streets and beat his servants and do other cartoonishly awful things. SY's not sure how much of it is true and how much of it is his little flock of fluffy sheep trying to ease his conscience, though they do all seem to take a lot of vindictive delight in the whole affair. Especially Nephew, who clings to his sleeves and loudly declares that the investigator should have publicly flogged the discredited nobles so that everyone could go watch, and then begs him for sweets as if that wasn't a creepy thing to hear come out of an eight-year-old's mouth. SY just sighs and tells him he can have something good when he finishes his calligraphy practice.

Of course, it's not exactly easy running what is basically an orphanage-slash-school (and maybe a budding sect...?), especially when pretty much all of the kids have been traumatized and faced stuff like rampant dehumanization, food insecurity, abuse, and neglect. Hiring single mothers soon becomes not only a plan to try and lure in Luo Binghe's mom, but an absolute godsend of an idea because SY has no clue WHAT he would do on his own about the discipline issues or emotional breakdowns or acting out that some of the kids get up to once it registers that they're in a safe enough place to unpack their baggage.

Apart from Nephew, SY's favorite kid is the one who came with him, the oldest of the flock of former slave children. He's the big brother of the group, the one who tries his best to look after the others and to not make any trouble himself. But even poor Little Yue is still just a kid who has been through too much, and he also eventually starts having some meltdowns and struggles with processing everything that has happened to him as a vulnerable child in an unkind world.

SY really didn't mean to start a trauma center for mistreated children!

Though, that's still not necessarily a bad thing for Luo Binghe to one day come across, provided he ever actually shows up...

Eventually, Shen Yuan does figure out that he must be ahead even of Luo Binghe's birth, though he still doesn't put together that he's interfered in the scum villain's backstory. Probably something even more amusingly obscure, like the creation year of some random artifact Luo Binghe used in some wife plot or other, tips him off and he mentally throws his hands up in the air. He's got to wait DECADES? Maybe he ought to try and find Luo Binghe's biological parents and just follow them around at this point!

Not that he can, now, though, because he has to make sure no negative IQ villains (who will probably just be cannon fodder for a subplot one day) decide to send goons to literally burn down his orphanage. Also if he's gone for too long his kids get upset. Probably because no one else is as weak to their puppy dog eyes and pleas for treats and toys as he is.

At least it gives him time to shore up his position, and train Nephew and Little Yue more extensively in cultivation. Despite his initial assurances to HHP that he was but a humble orphan wrangler who was only incidentally a cultivator, Shen Yuan does also teach the other kids some basic cultivation exercises. There are a few reasons for that.

One is just the principle of the thing. No, these kids don't all have the potential to become great immortals or anything, but they can still learn some of it and it's good for their health if they do. The only trouble is if they try and push too hard or attempt things beyond their range, and that's a risk with everyone who cultivates. Or even just exercises!

Another reason is that it helps stave off the jealousy that some of the kids have towards those with more cultivation potential. Teaching a lot of the basics all around makes it into just another topic at school. Some kids might not be as good at it as others, but those kids might also be better at math, or memorization, or board games, and while cultivation can open more doors to people as adults, for the children this is generally enough to satisfy their sense of fairness. Or at least reduce outbursts and fights.

Finally, the impression that any of SY's kids might be a cultivator also makes wicked people more reluctant to try and abduct or interfere with them. Cultivators are revered and nearly mythological figures in the public consciousness. It isn't difficult to see why, if even a rogue cultivator NPC like SY* can mop the floor with most random muggers (*Shen Yuan is not a normal rogue cultivator). Not many people want to risk bringing SY's ire down on them, but of those who might chance it if he wasn't around to immediately react, even fewer want to risk that the kids themselves could kick their asses.

Not knowing that only two of the orphans probably could in fact mop the floor with them helps keep all the rest safer, and is more believable when all of them can conduct themselves enough like disciples to fool anyone who doesn't know what to really look for.

Developments that surprise Shen Yuan but wouldn't surprise anyone else who is paying attention:

People start leaving unwanted babies and younger children on his doorstep. Not all the time, but more than once has he had to frantically find wet nurses and worry that he's changed things enough that some fishermen might just randomly drop the protagonist outside his gate, and he wouldn't even know because Binghe would be a literal infant??

Nephew (SJ) and Little Yue (Yue Qi -- only Shen Yuan calls him "Little", especially when he gets taller than SY by the time he's sixteen) are prodigies who get really good at cultivation, really fast, and between that and Shen Yuan's OP skills they completely warp Shen Yuan's ideas for what normal cultivation potential looks like. This would probably cause more problems if he wasn't teaching all the kids how to cultivate anyway, but means his students actually do kinda run the usual range of skills for a small sect.

SJ and YQ swiftly reach the point where they need more advanced equipment than just SY's teaching can provide, if they're going to keep building their skills. Gaining access to certain tools, aids, and materials (like spiritual swords) is a real hurdle though, and usually is for rogue cultivators (one of the major disadvantages of no sect affiliation.) Shen Yuan is hesitant to use stuff from the plot, since it's For Binghe, but he eventually caves and starts going after some things that he doesn't think the future protagonist will miss much. He also ends up buying stuff from HHP, since they're willing to sell things like spiritual tools and weapons if the price is right, whereas most other sects like Cang Qiong reserve them for members only.

They get an invitation to the Immortal Alliance Conference. Not the one where the Abyss opens up, obviously, the one where (originally) Shen Jiu reunited with Yue Qi and killed Wu Yanzi. Shen Yuan debates on going but the boys really want to, and things have calmed down enough that no one's trying to burn down the school whenever he leaves these days, so eventually he figures it'll be interesting to see some of the Cang Qiong characters and should be safe enough if he keeps his disciples close.

They don't run into young Yue Qingyuan or Shen Qingqiu on the trip, but Wu Yanzi does show up and get killed, and SY only hears about it and assumes they just missed all that action. (WYZ just got caught by some senior cultivators who recognized him and killed him to avenge some disciples he murdered.) Nephew and Little Yue do meet young Liu Qingge, Shang Qinghua, Mu Qingfang, and Su Xiyan though! Which gives Shen Yuan the opportunity to tell them all (mostly Su Xiyan) that if they're ever in trouble near his school, they can come to him for help. Hint hint.

This open invitation ends up being accepted broadly by a lot of traveling cultivators after the conference, who from then on treat Shen Yuan's school like a free motel whenever they're passing through. Plenty aren't even people SY met, but it seems his statement was taken as a general one to fellow righteous cultivators all around! Luckily, this has some advantages. Shen Yuan has no qualms running off anyone who tries to take unfair advantage of him or especially his kids or staff, and no shame in conscripting anyone who is decent enough to help teach his students, even if it's nothing to do with cultivating, and somehow word gets around and people start bringing school supplies, medicine, food, or other useful things along with them as gifts to help repay the hospitality. Young Liu Qingge comes by a lot on his way to and from various quests, or even seems to just turn up randomly sometimes (he comes to challenge YQ and SJ to fights), and SY's just like "I guess this is happening now" and teaches him to recognize the early signs of qi deviation and advises strongly against meditating in caves.

At one point a young Shang Qinghua turns up in one of the spare rooms, very obviously hiding an ice demon. Shen Yuan again is just like "I guess this is happening now" and shelters them until Mobei Jun has recovered, and sends a message to Cang Qiong that one of their An Ding caravans was attacked and their disciple is recovering under his roof but isn't well enough to travel yet. Much less stressful situation for Airplane (who is desperately trying to figure out what he did to manifest SJ's benevolent uncle from somewhere???)

Su Xiyan seems like the only person they met at the Immortal Alliance Conference who doesn't turn up at their door in a state of emergency at some point.

A few years later, there is a big scandal involving her and the demon emperor. Su Xiyan disappears, Huan Hua Palace accuses Tianlang Jun of plotting against the righteous sects, and Shen Yuan is even invited to the meeting where they try and rally everyone to go kill Binghe's dad. Naturally, he declines to participate in the witch hunt, but the major sects agree to it. By luck (or narrative fortune) Shen Yuan comes across Zhuzhi Lang on his trip back home, and mentions the ambush and his distaste for it (not knowing who ZZL is). ZZL warns Tianlang Jun and the confrontation goes very differently, especially since there's no Yue Qingyuan wielding Xuan Su.

It doesn't go well for the sects involved. Huan Hua Palace gets decimated. The Old Palace Master gets killed. Shen Yuan is like uhhhh that's... whoops? Didn't Luo Binghe need that in the future?? Fuck.

But the sect isn't wiped out completely, they just take a massive beating. Some of their younger disciples end up leaving and turning up on Shen Yuan's doorstep, for some reason. The manor house is becoming too small to account for all of these foundlings! They have to expand. Though the expansions would be a stretch to term a "palace" they end up occupying a much larger chunk of territory, and even investing in farmland and some storehouses to help support the sect. That's still not really a sect, of course. Even if a lot of the business that would have normally gone to Huan Hua Palace starts coming to them instead. Once HHP is back on its feet the stream will probably dry out. Probably?

Zhuzhi Lang starts hanging around. He's actually looking for Su Xiyan or their baby, dead or alive and per Tianlang Jun's instructions, but he uses Shen Yuan's school as base camp for his kind of hopeless efforts to find any traces of them, while also looking for ways to try and repay Shen Yuan. All the kids are just like "oh great, another weird man has fallen in love with Shizun -- someone go run interference" about it.

Some years later, an older woman and her young son turn up. Shen Yuan's off on a quest at the time, so SJ receives them. As is standard procedure he gives the woman a job and places the boy in classes, after giving him the aptitude tests. The kid is cute and precocious, so SJ uses him to distract YQ while he himself sneaks out to go join LQG on a monster hunt (and claim the valuable parts of the beast's remains for himself), and neither SY nor ZZL notice anything until SY's going over the paperwork for stuff he missed while he was gone. Since he procrastinated, it takes him like a week to find out that Luo Binghe is finally under his roof. He's going over the admission form right when SJ arrives with The New Adorable Child to try and distract SY enough that SY will let him go on a solo hunt -- as far as being distracted goes, it is way more effective than even SJ anticipated.

Then he has to figure out how to let ZZL know, so that ZZL can let Tianlang Jun know, so that Luo Binghe will have more family than just his mom and more resources than just a shabby little not-sect! But even once he figures it out and sets up the dramatic reveal, TLJ is just like "great! so can he just stay with you? he's probably fine there" which... irritates SY.

SJ fully conscripts Luo Binghe as a minion in his many cons. He never lost his street kid conman tactics, although he now uses them less as a ruthless survival tool or weapon and more to just get things to go his own way. LBH has the face and disposition of a little angel, which SJ no longer can pull off as a full grown adult, so he fills a gap. LBH also knows full well what's going, especially since a lot of SJ's tactics involve throwing LBH at SY like a smoke bomb.

Luo Binghe inevitably still develops a big fat crush on SY, so this is fine by him. Especially when he gets older, he starts bringing SY tea and making him breakfast and running his errands until even SJ is like "wait a minute, this little brat's stealing my job!" and by then it's too late. Luo Binghe is SY's personal assistant, the disciple at conman puppydog eyes has surpassed the master! While SJ was busy being like "I'm going to trick this idiot into doing my chores" LBH was going "I'm going to trick this idiot into giving me his job".

SY takes too long to officially name his school so everyone calls it the Shen Sect, much to his embarrassment.

[secretlypeerless-cucumber]

JiuYuan plot bunny

Shen Yuan transmigrates/reincarnates waay before the plot even begins, as a somewhat rich second or third son of a merchant family (cliché or clasic background? You decide) not specially sick nor a priority for his family as he's not likely to inherit almost anything he is send to cultivate to a small sect. Because who else will want their unremarkable son?

Turns out ranting about poetry in the street with a vendor is a sure way to make someone important want their unremarkable son.

Enter the current Lord of Qing Jing who saw a gremlin with taste and opinions and immediately wanted him. Also the immediate moment when Shen Yuan finds out where exactly he was reborn in (pray for him). So Shen Yuan gets to join directly into QJP if he passes the other test and well, the story wont go on if he doesn't so let's say he does.

His dumbass tries to make everyone believe he's lazy to avoid work like he did back home but Aha! Shizun is on his bs so in no time he's made head disciple. Natural teacher, excellent memory and talented swordsman (This nerd got too excited by swords and practiced so much he now is the best of his generation and he desperately wants you to know he didn't want for this to happen) it's like he was made to lead QJP!

Side note: LQG will be made head disciple of BZP in a year or so, that's why SY is the generation's best, currently.

Here comes the boy! Absolutely traumatized feral kitten Shen Jiu gets into CQM and QJP out of season and with his general attitude immediately gets enemies everywhere. Not problem! Da-Shixiong will show you around and- Oh? You don't want Da-Shixiong to speak with you? Alright. Just remember to get to dinner and sleep well, goodnight!

And just like that you get an oblivious Shen Yuan respecting a hesitantly curious Shen Jiu who, in turn, decides that the best thing to do with this interest is to find blackmail on SY and take his place as head disciple.

Cue shenanigans and hijinks with stalker SJ and unsuspecting SY. And them getting closer by basically respecting SJ's space and time and being a decent human?! What?!

So like bonding with a cat. Slow, respectfully and with lots and lots of treats. Once Shen Yuan figured out Shen Jiu's weakness is just sweets it's all over. Now hes SJ's shixiong and no one else's. No, shut up A-Yuan, they are not worth our time.

Does he trust SY unconditionally? He's getting there. Nighthunts and being saved like a damsel in distress once in a while helps, even if he gets hissy and pretends to not like it. More so when SY immediately turns to him for both counsel on investigations and to make sure he's safe while in the hunts. Also Shixiong spends almost all his time helping him in fixing his cultivation and teaching him the arts, even when no one else would give a shit, so he gets extra points by being a good boy to his A-Jiu.

Shen Yuan? He thinks he's being a good bro and helping SJ fix whatever made him such an ass in PIDW. He doesn't know what happened before SJ went to CQM nor his past as a slave, only thought he looked like a feral cat and acted accordingly. And yes, calling him A-Jiu is absolutely necessary to that recovery.

In the middle of this SY tries to make contact with TLJ to help him either run away with SXY or take out the OPM so the tragedy doesn't happend. But shit hits the fan and SY gets outed as a demon sympathizer when the sealing under a mountain still happens but he tries to reason with the CQM's sect leader that the demon was innocent.

No one can prove that he was a traitor but under the added presure of public sentiment he's punished severely. Sect leader gives him two choices; He either leaves and retrieves a mega ultra rare mcguffin that'll take him 20 years to get or gets banished immediately and losses any standing he has with the sect.

In simple terms: Prove your loyalty with this very difficult quest or leave.

As a pseudo-compromise sect leader promised no one will take his place if he leaves for the quest nor will they banish SJ for being so close to a posible traitor. SY, naturally, accepts the quest with all the spite and grief of someone who failed his true quest of saving his best friend and the world too he supposes.

But QJP cannot be without a Head disciple nor a Peak Lord! Because plot twist, the lords are preparing to ascend in the next like 5 years. Sect leader knew this, and this is his way to force QJ's peak lord to appoint a different head disciple when SY is away anyways. If that happens SY will lose everything anyways, even if he comes back.

So the strategists get together and make a plan.

Shen Yuan will leave in his quest but before that he'll marry someone trusted that can be acting peak lord in his absence but will not usurp his place. Doble plot twist! That person is Shen Jiu because just as SJ got mellower with SY's influence so did SY get more paranoid. He only trust his dear shidi and no one else but oh how could he force his shidi into- Oh? You'll do it? Why do i have to be the wif-

And they marry in semi secret, taking a small moment for SJ to make him doble promise to come back for him and to give his own doble promise to wait for his return. SJ doesn't like this, not one bit. But this time he's safe, in a position of power and tentatively ready to trust again. He'd rather have his husband with him at least for their wedding night but oh well, they don't get that. They make arrangements for SY to send letters to the WRP so SJ can know how he's doing even if he can't receive any in exchange. It'll be a lonely 20 years.

Shen Yuan leaves and Shen Jiu gets appointed acting head disciple and then acting peak lord. With his silks and his husband's name as a shield (Qingqiu is SY's, but he can use it because they married) he rules QJP much more detached than in PIDW, almost completely ignoring the disciples. This is his A-Yuan's work after all and if he wants it done he better hurry and come do it himself. They've always joked that SY would teach while SJ would govern the peak, even before ever discussing marriage (It didn't matter that A-Yuan didn't know they would eventually get married. They would have regardless)

And Yue Qingyuan you didn't ask? He's in the background wanting to talk to Xiao-Jiu constantly but SJ doesn't need him nor want him. SY's therapy helped him let go if not forgive YQY, he's at the point where he can just ignore him. YQY on the other hand is guiltily ecstatic SY is out of the picture and Xiao-Jiu can be peak lord and rule at his side. Just like he wanted!

Like that 15 years pass. SJ still gets a reputation of going to brothels even if its to read his hubby's letters and sleep. And at this point all other peak lords either forgot he's technically just acting peak lord or never knew there was another Shen-Shixiong who should be peak lord instead.

At this point I'm not sure how to proceed. It'll have to be either:

a) Shen Yuan comes back during the demon invasion or

b) He comes when they are having a peak lord meeting for conveniences sake

Let's do invasion for dramatic purposes.

So you have a supremely pissed off SJ dealing with the demons and watching as the runt of his peak desperately tries to beat his opponent while making a mockery out of their QJP fighting style (LBH is actually doing pretty good, SJ is just Like That™) when suddenly a sword only he recognizes flies faster than a bullet to stop the defeated demon from attacking the little beast and the whole place falls into silence. SJ can hear his pulse in his ears, he almost can't breathe.

The disciples are looking at him for instructions but he can't think of anything as the most beautiful face he has ever seen slowly walks out of the trees into the improvised arena. His hair is finally long now, but not even close to well cared for. His clothes dusty and well worn but not threadbare nor stained with ink like it usually was in their disciple days. His A-Yuan is glorious as he makes the demons run like the pathetic bugs they are.

LQG has come too but there's not more fighting to be had, only a couple reunited at last. SJ sends decorum through the window and yanks his A-Yuan into a long awaited kiss in front of basically every disciple and an enraged and flustered LQG (Man is having the weirdest awakening)

SY is surprised at first but quickly reciprocates, finally at peace with his feelings. Because guess what, 15 years of pinning + letters that slowly become romantic without the fear of retribution will do just fine for him to admit he fell in love with his husband at some point. He was scared shitless of SJ reaction to him coming back and it was only that promise what made him go home regardless. A-Jiu can hate him, but he is NOT breaking that promise. He even made it 5 years earlier, isn't he such a good husband?

Later in the emergency meating LQG is still screaming at them for shameless and inmoral and how could this be the first thing Shen Yuan does when he comes back when they could've just spared

And everyone else (minus YQY, SQH and the beast peak lord) are just like What? Who's this? And SY looks at YQY disapprovingly (He knows YQY covets his wife and purposely didn't tell them) and explains he's the QJ peak lord and SJ as his husband has been ruling QJ in his stead for the past 15 years. And yes, that's why SJ is sitting in his lap.

When the whole story comes out everyone is more surprised to know they are married than the fact SY made the last sect leader so angry he was basically given a suicide mission (Not even YQY knew that) but don't worry! He has absolutely no inclination of taking his A-Jiu's position away. He'd rather teach his little disciples and let his wife to berate their martial siblings as is his right (Someone said they'll be happy having SY instead of SJ in meetings from now on and He Did Not Like That) So they'll share the name Qingqiu as QJ has two peak lords from now on.

Now if they'll excuse them they have a wedding night to finally enjoy.

[marzaid]

Time travel AU where post canon Lan Qiren travels back in time to when Wei Wuxian is 4 and has just lost his parents. Lan Qiren may hate the man (now boy), but he still follows the rules strictly and will not kill. Instead, Lan Qiren finds a 4 year old Wei Wuxian cowering in an alley hiding from dogs. He protects the boy because the rules tell him that it is his duty to do so.

There is a spiteful part of him that wants to send this boy far away. However, he reconsiders when he thinks of how the Wei Wuxian in his previous life created Demonic Cultivation when left unattended. The best way to keep the boy in line, Lan Qiren figures, is to raise him himself as a ward. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer, they say.

So that is exactly what Lan Qiren does.

Wei Wuxian is brought back to the Cloud Recesses and raised as a ward alongside Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji. Lan Qiren would prefer otherwise, but he doesn't trust anyone else but himself to control Wei Wuxian.

As time goes by, Wei Wuxian proves to be the same and different to the one that Lan Qiren knew previously. He's energetic and mischievous, carefree, with a love for teasing others. Every bit as genius and inventive as Lan Qiren knew of the boy in his previous life. However, there was a strong sense of justice that he didn't notice the last time (or refused to see, but it would take years for him to admit to himself).

And Wei Wuxian thrives in a way that Lan Qiren didn't expect. He knew that Wei Wuxian was powerful and intelligent, yet he did not realize just how so. As much as the boy loved to tease and joke around, he could also be found in the Library Pavilion studying whatever random topic caught his interest. Talking everyone's ears off on what he learned or ways that certain things can be improved upon.

It infuriates Lan Qiren to no end because many times, Wei Wuxian is right. Many times, Wei Wuxian just needs guidance to find the right direction or a different perspective. Since Lan Qiren was raising him alongside his own nephews, the people that Wei Wuxian goes to the most are them: Lan Qiren, Lan Xichen, and Lan Wangji. The latter two always happy and excited to discuss the myriad topics, while the former confused as to the feelings he's having for the boy.

Lan Qiren's sister-in-law passes, and Wei Wuxian kneels next to Lan Wangji in the snow for hours silently in comfort. It's the first indication that the boy is secretly kind and compassionate (not so much if had he paid attention the last time and rid himself of clouded judgments). It's the event that causes the two boys to be inseparable. Of course Lan Qiren is worried but, he tells himself that he will not let them marry. He will not let Wei Wuxian turn into that evil man he ended up being.

Years keep going by, and Lan Qiren finds himself slowly warming up to Wei Wuxian. He's there for many important firsts (losing his teeth, golden core formation, getting his sword, etc). He will never admit that his heart squeezed when the boy accidentally calls him A-die without thinking because he's so excited about something he's learned.

Jiang Fengmian comes to the Cloud Recesses when he finds out that Weo Wuxian is there. Desperately, he tried to convince Lan Qiren to let the boy become a part of Yunmeng Jiang. But Lan Qiren is adamant in his refusal. The boy was raised there the last time and look at how he ended up! He doesn't know that this fundamentally changed Wei Wuxian's destiny. From a tragic hero given a second chance to a free boy allowed to be happy.

The Jiang sect leader mentions during this visit that Wei Wuxian owes Lan Qiren a life debt. It's something that hadn't crossed Lan Qiren's mind. Not really. He had been raising the boy selfishly to change a horrible future. Sure. However, it was against the rules and his own morals to demand a child pay reparations to be allowed to live. He has felt the same way when Lan Sizhui, his good perfect Lan Sizhui, had been adopted into the family. To Lan Qiren, it was unfathomable to demand payment from a child in such ways.

And anyway, Wei Wuxian's genius was already making itself known. If the boy invented even half of what he came up with in his previous life (Lan Qiren crossed his fingers for no Demonic Cultivation), then the Lan Sect would be paid in full from the proceeds.

Still, years continued to creep by, and Lan Qiren began to feel pride in Wei Wuxian. He followed the rules decently well, received his punishment with little protest, and had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. The boy could be seen at any given moment debating an array of topics with seniors, elders, and peers.

When Wei Wuxian started going on night hunts with Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, the three became known as the Three Jades of Lan. Pride bloomed even more in Lan Qiren's heart. He had successfully turned Wei Wuxian into a good and polished man. What he didn't realize was that he gave structure to a boy who needed it and didn't make him feel guilty for existing.

The Wens came and tried to burn the Cloud Recesses down but didn't succeed. Between Lan Qiren, Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen, and Lan Wangji, the wards were strengthened, and the books copied and protected. The Sunshot campaign took longer to fight because Wei Wuxian had learned long ago of the dangers to the mind and body that it caused. He had also learned that he shouldn't rip himself apart to help others. Lan Qiren had implored the boy to never try and had used the boy's love and adoration for Lan Xichen and especially Lan Wangji to convince him.

After the Sunshot campaign, Wei Wuxian comes to Lan Qiren about the innocent Wens cultivator and noncultivator alike. By this point, Lan Qiren can agree that innocent people should not die because of selfish greed and blind prejudice. There are years of trials completed by a multisect jury. The Wen sect survives but becomes a minor sect by the time the trials and reparations are completed. Under Wen Qionglin, they focus on medicine and archery.

Wen Qionglin swears brotherhood with Wei Wuxian. It doesn't surprise Lan Qiren in the least bit. Had it been a lifetime ago, it would've infuriated him yet with all these years and direct dealings with Wen Qionglin, he respects the boy. Admires the gentleness that hides a fierce strength and sense of justice. Especially admires Wen Qing, who Lan Xichen ends up falling for and marrying. Again, had it been a lifetime ago, he would've lost his mind. Now, Lan Qiren can see Wen Qing for her genius, her directness, strictness, and her advancements in medicine.

After Lan Xichen and Wen Qing marry, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian approach Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen to ask about marriage. There is no denying them at this point because he knows that the Wei Wuxian of his previous life is nothing like this current Wei Wuxian (he is but Lan Qiren has no one to admit it to). And anyway, he knows the two will simply elope if denied.

It's several years later, when Lan Qiren finally sits Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and Lan Xichen down and tells them a story from a lifetime ago in a forgotten timeliness that may exist somewhere out there if you believe in multiple universes (not surprisingly Wei Wuxian does). They patiently listen as Lan Qiren details everything. There is silence for a long, unbearable moment when he's finished speaking.

Eventually, it's broken by a hug from Wei Wuxian, "Thank you, A-die, for giving me another chance in this life."

"I should be the one thanking you, A-Ying," Lan Qiren says softly, himself grateful for his second life.

[hopeless-avo]

AU | SY Transmigrates as Someone Else | WQW Edition

ヾ⁠(⁠*⁠’⁠Ｏ⁠’⁠*⁠)⁠/~

In this world, when attempting to transfer SY into SQQ, the system glitches.

This glitch happens as the ‘SQQ villain’ role is still occupied, meaning SQQ would have still been present in his body, probably being able to counteract/treat the Qi deviation when it started, as he had some magical herb or another that he had on him due to his previous occurrences and history of bad deviations, so he survives.

SY is just there in the system’s waiting room, watching this screen and text glitch out.

He questions this malfunctioning system on wtf it wants him to do /who he would have become, cause come on, obviously he was gonna be isekai’ed and has suspicions on where he would be going as of what he was going off about and the voices he heard before he expired.

He chooses to shelve his panic and grief for later when he has time to process and mourn once he removes himself from whatever the fuck this situation is, cause like duh, he is dead he’ll never see his family againohmygod-

Anyways, he finds out that he would have been placed in SQQ’s body and nope what the hell do you want me to die?!?! and tries to see if he could be anyone else, ‘cause like come on, it’s PIDW!

He wants to at least be able to see all the cool flora and fauna if he has no choice of what world he will be living in, and although living as a woman may mean he gets to live longer, there is the threat of the heavenly pillar and the sudden transition of living as a man to a woman would be just too jarring.

So! After the system sorta relents at seeing that this guy is giving it another way to operate as well as saving its ass from being taken to see its higher-ups, it gives a list of potential other people that he can become that sorta has similar power and potential to affect the plot as being SQQ would have granted, although never as much given SQQ’s natural predisposition.

SY gets given the choice of LQG, QQQ, The Old Palace Master, Gongyi Xiao, and a few others.

Given his desire of wanting to live a relatively alive existence, he forgoes the more plot-present characters, such as Gongyi Xiao and The Old Palace Master, as well as LQG (cause he does not want to get shanked by SQQ, please and thank you), and due to previous arguments and reasons, he forgoes QQQ.

He looks over the remaining names and sees WQW, a character that doesn’t actually appear or get mentioned much in PIDW, is known to be the peak lord of the sword-forging peak, has massive muscles and has literally, like, one line when LBH got sent over and picked up Zheng Yang.

Additionally, the guy owns that sword that can tell if someone is possessed, so he would only have to stay away from the thing if the system doesn’t ensure that he can’t be ousted as such.

With this, SY as WQW would be living his best life as this guy bc he can fly on his sword all day and stay away from the plot while planning his escape when Cang Qiong Mountain Sect sets alight!

So with his choice made, SY, now WQW, wakes up half-disorientated, his forearms aching and the sounds of crying children and concerned/panicked teenagers.

After he gets dragged to Qian Cao Peak, the still-glitching system gives him the rundown of the situation of how he entered his new body; apparently Original!WQW got caught up in trying to stop a disciple from experimenting with volatile sword materials and the forge blew up as he tried to do damage control after he got everyone out, gaining a head injury and leaving him with plausible temporary amnesia, in addition to a sort of broken/glitched OOC lock that gradually corrupts over time till it's gone due to the vague understanding of the guy.

SY|WQW [we’ll just call him WQW from now on] realised that he was placed in PIDW a few months before the disciple choosing where LBH officially enters the sect, gets picked, and then is abused by SQQ [future him problem!!!] and although he doesn’t want LBH to face all those injustices, the system will not let him take purposeful actions to change certain plot points in the face of system punishment.

After he is fully released from Qian Cao Peak, he is expected by both the sect and mandated by the system to attend the disciple choosing.

While watching the poor children climb the massive staircase and start digging their hole to the best of their ability in an attempt to become a part of the prestigious sect and change the course of their life which they would most likely wish they didn’t join when LBH sets this place on fire…and sees what he thinks is a smol fluffy girl who has the determination and a spark in her eye attempting to dig a massive hole meticulously to catch the eye of a peak lord.

He runs through each wife in LBH’s harem to see if he can match this cute jie-jie with, and can’t seem to match her.

Looking around, he takes note that the other peak lords are overlooking her, seemingly disinterested or glancing her over with slight disgust at her thoroughly worn-through but obviously meticulously cleaned-up/washed clothing.

His eyeing had caught the eye of a little girl, most likely NYY who stood next to who he could only assume to be SQQ. She asks SQQ something about having a new martial sibling, which draws the attention of both SQQ and LQG to the girl.

Obviously having changed something as now NYY is eyeing this girl instead of her future demon harem husband system don’t punish me, as well as placing this jie-jie in the lane of SQQ, who is eyeing her with an unnamed but obviously not good look cause this cute girl is in front of a lecherous man as well as in the sight of LQG who wow has such a womanly visage I'd have thought that he would be more gruff who is set to die off in a few years and is peak lord of a boyish and brutish peak which he doesn't think that such a pretty jie-jie should be on, there is only one thing he can do!

So, at the end of the day, he ends up picking this smol bean before these ppl can get their hands on her, as obviously she wasn’t accepted in the original PIDW and if she had lived would have most likely ended up as a harem member, cause no way would such a cute bean not grow up and not catch the eye of LBH!

Obviously he won't let her suffer such a fate or leave her in the hands of SQQ. This causes some of his martial siblings to side-eye him, as he has a history of choosing more well-built candidates and not skinny dirty runts that look like death-warmed-over.

This smol jie-jie has sparkles in her eyes as she gets called over by one of WQW’s runners, which light up more the closer she gets to her new to-be-Shuzin!!! HIM!

WQW feels proud of his choice and decides that that is enough of tempting fate and the system, so he turns to leave, promising himself to ensure this little jie-jie lives her best life away from the plot [and LBG and his harem] on his peak!

…not seeing the system glitching and erroring to hell and back, not able to punish him as it was not a purposeful choice and raging in its system space at the hell that its higher-ups would put it through.

All because SY|WQW didn’t take note of the child’s outerwear. :)

[gojosatoruwifey]

How long do you think Chung Myung would be in denial for when he catches feelings? And how do you believe he admits/realises he's in love?

he can be in denial for so long and when i say long, believe me, it will be YEARS but it depends on which chung myung is this: pbss chung myung will be oblivious to his feelings but he pretty much catches on a little bit late. he can go lengths and lengths for the person of his affection and never realize he sees them in a romantic light until the universe sends a signal — in the form of chang mun sahyung dropping cryptic hints to chung myung about his feelings. he’ll be pretty skeptical at first. he will undergo the denial phase for many years because ya know ╮(￣▽￣"")╭ he can be quite good at keeping his emotions in check. chung myung can deny but his actions will say otherwise HAHAHAA ꉂꉂ◟(˃᷄ꇴ˂᷅๑)༡

mhdd chung myung, however, is too focused on rebuilding mount hua and keeping in check to make sure mount hua will surpass its former glory — HE WILL HAVE NO TIME REALIZING HIS FEELINGS. the people around him??? they aren’t blind ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧ who can resist seeing their youngest one experiencing the winds of sweet spring? even more that the youngest in question is chung myung. they will be intrigued and having second thoughts — because how???? yeah. and so, jo gul is the one first to speak up and oh boy chung myung is hella confused until he gets angry about whatever love nonsense and threatens him to do hard drills <(ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)> this will be followed by the others until the sect leader and the elders hear of it: hyun young is proud, un gom and un am are surprised, hyun sang prays for whoever got chung myung’s heart, and hyung jong is excited to hear more about it from the lover boy himself (they don't know chung myung doesn’t know he has romantic feelings…) once brought up in front of him and everyone leaves him alone with his thoughts, he is having crisis HHAHAHAHAA ꉂꉂ◟(˃᷄ꇴ˂᷅๑)༡

the similarity between the two is that during the in-denial phase, chung myung keeps giving the person of his affection dirty looks and mumbling to himself (͠≖~≖ ͡ )

as for admitting his feelings, chung myung is internally screaming and raging and just (he has been using his brain to think for fourteen hours now he says, ( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ ‘fuck it’)…admits. will he confess? nopeee, he will not confess right away. he is most likely to see if the other person also sees him in the same way and even if he does notice, he’ll never say a thing. chung myung is the type of person to place friendship and family above of all else and with the conflicts surrounding the sects, he doesn’t want to hurt the other person or lead them on. then again, you just know chung myung treats a special someone by attaching them with an object that reminds him of them, he openly shows his affection like that.

[beifonng]

Jiang cheng antis are so annoying. Just saw some neanderthal say they’re upset jc never apologized to wwx 💀 wtf is he apologizing for like be so fr “hey so you spiraled out of control and accidentally caused the death of my last remaining family member and your hubris inadvertently caused my entire sect to be massacred but Im soooo sorry” like ok lmfao. Now if we’re talking about apologies sure he could apologize for blaming him for what happened with the wens killing his clan because even if wen chao was especially foul because of wwx the wens would’ve came regardless but anything aside from that is really up in the air. Hunting DC is a rumor that has never been confirmed (some of yall are illiterate so I’ll give you grace for missing that and the entire message about rumors in the book) and even if the rumor did have validity DC is not a good thing and DCs are not good people 💀. If we’re talking about defecting, it was staged and wwx made the choice of his own volition to defect because they both (wwx & jc) knew that JC didn’t have the power (politically and physically) to defend wwx for protecting the wen remnants. For the golden core, JC never asked him to give him his core, if anything he literally lost his core trying to protect wwx. It was a parallel symbolizing the extent that both would go for each other and sacrificing themselves to help the person they love. (And even then JC didn’t distract the wen patrol with the thought that he would lose his core, in his head the price of protecting wwx would be his life if he were to get caught. the one time JC chose love over duty) “jc should have apologized to wwx” I think there’s a lot of things unsaid between them both, whether that be apologies or whatever else, but don’t be fucking delusional and put all the blame on JC 💀 if you’re gonna make half-baked excuses on why you dislike him then you might as well wear a big glaring red sign that says remedial and illiterate xoxo

[whetstonefires]

You know what else gets neglected? Wen Xu made Lan Wangji set the library on fire.

Like. Realistically he knew it was going to burn whatever he did, so making a point of defiance that would just get more people killed would have been stupid. (I assume a major reason cql swapped this out for the Headband Cave, besides building up Su She's craven villainy, was that this would have been very expensive to film.) Giving way on this point after getting his leg broken, with his Sect overcome around him and his father mortally wounded, was perfectly reasonable.

But it's also something that was guaranteed to be very traumatic for him. Putting the flame to that building with his own hands.

And then, not knowing the fates of his family and with a broken leg, he got dumped into the Wen indoctrination and wound up in the turtle cave alone with Wei Wuxian, and definitely took his trauma out on him a little bit, though all things considered he handles himself with great restraint.

And then there's the war, and he takes time out of the campaign to try to find a presumed-dead guy whom he almost definitely regrets only being kind to when he wasn't really coherent, and then even though that guy is no longer trying to befriend him gets himself assigned to his theater of war to watch his back.

Lan Xichen is shown in that one tent flashback in the Nie Mingjue empathy section to know full well his brother is in Jiangling because Wei Wuxian is in Jiangling.

During the unclear-but-plural number of years the war went on, Lan Wangji was away from Cloud Recesses more or less all the time. Repairs were, we may assume, made in his absence. The collection was rebuilt as much as was possible, and housed in a replacement building, that may or may not have been complete by the time he went home to stay.

(Presumably one of the irreplaceable texts Xichen smuggled away was a list or index of the more replaceable ones, that got burnt, so they can go around to their contacts in an organized way asking to make copies. They seem to have done so very well at replacing such a large library so quickly that I can only assume they had had a very generous copying policy, and reaped the reward of this after the war.)

So after the war, when Lan Wangji is spending most of his time closed up in his room working on music, his being fixated on saving Wei Wuxian from the spiral of his own cultivation method is the least worrying explanation.

Because the alternate reasons Lan Xichen has to hand for this behavior are 1) Lan Wangji's ptsd is totally crippling and he's potentially going to become a shut-in for life or 2) the trauma he suffered at the start of the war, in the Cloud Recesses, being made to act against the Cloud Recesses, against his own safe place, means that he no longer feels secure or comfortable there, and is shut away obsessively cultivating to avoid their family and home.

And ngl I tend to suspect based on the timing of some beats that Lan Wangji did wind up funneling a lot of the energy from his war trauma into his romantic attachment. Because during that crucial window from 'Wei Wuxian has gone missing' to 'Wei Wuxian is dead' he believed that Wei Wuxian was someone he could help, if he could just figure out how.

And a huge predictor of PTSD, much larger than how 'objectively bad' something was, is how helpless you felt in the face of harm to yourself or others. So channeling his intensity and control issues into the contained and should-still-be-possible issue of Wei Wuxian's well-being would have been....

Not actually the worst coping mechanism, although it sure would have been a better one if Wei Wuxian had in fact been possible to help in some more substantive way than 'watching his back in battle' lmao.

[thedrunknextdoor]

bitches be like “lwj put wwx above his own morality, he’s so mean to jc, he didnt even help lxc post-jgy reveal, him and wwx are SO shamless and disrespectful” and it’s like. seriously. who are you, lqr???

you’re going to paint lan wanji lan zhan our light-bearing lord as less morally upright??? as if mdzs didn’t spend the whole novel going “BTW not everything is black and white also look at LITERALLY EVERYONE being awful while the few who try to speak up r ignored”

As if lxc, in his pacifism, didnt contribute to the treatment of the wen remnants and their slaughter thereafter. as if he didnt call wwx his brothers “biggest mistake” even though that biggest mistake is the reason lsz is even alive. (dont get me fcking started on lsz having to carry the name of the people who helped kill his family)

and its like. lan zhans whole character arc is him coming to terms with the moral failings of his sect. he wasn’t so blinded by love for wwx that he lost all sense of morality. his love for wwx gave him the COURAGE to stand up for wwx and by extension a-yuan DESPITE his sect turning the other way.

and to paint wangxian as selfish, uncaring assholes as if they arent one of the ones who suffered the most because of others failings. ofc lan zhan finds it hard to care for everyone. bc he’s seen which way the wind blows when it comes to what is right and what is easy.

that’s not to say he doesnt care about anyone but wwx. the juniors and the general public clearly respect him and that is bc lwj respects them in turn. he taught the next generation of lans to think for themselves. he respects those who learn from their mistakes. like he did. like wwx does. like everyone else from their generation fails to do.

Gusu Lan sect is lwj home. But they are not above HIS morals. lwj is one of the ONLY characters to consistently do what is right time and time again in the face of adversity and to call him disrespectful is so not supported by the text.

and ofc he hates jc. that man was actively antagonistic to wwx at every turn and would have killed a-yuan without a second thought. he was consistently cruel, no matter his reasons. ofc hes not going to be holding lxc hand after the jgy debacle or prostrating for his uncle when he disregards wwx.

lwj KNOWS what he has done and what he has not. he is not ignorant or blind or letting wwx “walk all over him” or whatever the fck antis believe. he is a man who spent 13 years GRIEVING and trying his best to uphold the ideals of righteousness the rest of the cultivation world has conveniently forgotten about. he finally has the love of his life back. who r YOU to paint him as selfish. wtf.

[wangxianficrecs]

I'll grow you a garden (in my fortress of stone) by Lyna_Mei

I’ll grow you a garden (in my fortress of stone)

by Lyna_Mei

M, WIP, 16k, Nie Mingjue/Wei Wuxian

Summary: Wei Wuxian finds himself in the Unclean Realm. Nie Mingjue finds himself wanting to keep him. The world around them finds the situation strange but it doesn't really matter. Or Everything could be completely different if Wei Wuxian's intelligence and skills were recognised and valued. Well, not absolutely everything, but most things certainly could. Kay's comments: I am currently so blessed because all my favourite writers are updating multiple WIPs and keeping me well-fed. Lyna_Mei is offering another little treat for me, a little guilty pleasure, a Nie Mingjue/Wei Wuxian story where, when Wei Wuxian gets whipped and kicked out of Lotus Pier by Madam Yu, Nie Mingjue is the one who finds him and decides to keep him, especially after it becomes evident, just what a treasure Wei Wuxian and his genius intellect are. Not for fans of the Jiang Family and also not for people who can't stomach Wangxian not being together, but for everyone else, this is a great story and you should check it out! It's also The Untamed canon, which of course makes Nie Mingjue a lot more softer/flexible than he was in the novel. Excerpt: "I am certain there were eyewitnesses," Nie Mingjue said, stopping Wei Wuxian's thoughts. There were, but two Jin disciples that were there would never go against their sect leader's nephew and Yu-furen wouldn't even want to hear about village boys. Who were a pair of commoners compared to disciples of a great sect? His head started to hurt at some point. He wanted this conversation to end and Nie Mingjue to leave or make him leave or something. Whatever. Just some quiet and peace would be nice. "Nie-zongzhu," he started firmly, "respectfully, I am a disciple that was thrown out of my sect for a serious transgression against a fellow disciple from another sect. There is no one who would tell you otherwise. Please, let this matter be." Nie Mingjue clearly didn't appreciate his advice. His anger became palpable in the room, though he tried to control himself while speaking. "What are you trying to achieve, you foolish boy? I know you haven't lied to me!"

pov wei wuxian, pov nie mingjue, canon divergence, the untamed compliant, cultivation sect politics, nie mingjue/wei wuxian, mingxian, past child abuse, hurt wei wuxian, injury recovery, inventor wei wuxian, genius wei wuxian, not jiang family friendly, somebody lives/not everybody dies, slow burn, age difference

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[sunderwight]

Liushen AU where SY transmigrates into SJ's older brother, and subsequently nopes them right out of the slavery backstory by using his general knowledge of the story and actually being an adult in a kid's body to just leave (basically) with SJ and YQ.

SY carts them both up to Cang Qiong for the next sect trials. It's actually not all that hard, the trickiest part is getting enough to eat and finding safe places to sleep between leaving the slavers and taking the trials (SY manages just barely, with considerable help from his new little brothers.) Nobody bothers to go after them because it's before Qiu Jianluo and this style of human traffickers mostly operate by virtue of their merchandise having nowhere else to go. Chasing down runaways is an expense not worth indulging, given that most of them either come straight back or die of exposure.

Anyway, they take the trials, and as expected YQY gets chosen to become a personal disciple for the sect leader, and SJ gets chosen by the Qing Jing Peak Lord, but also as (kind of) expected (by SY alone) nobody wants SY. He's older the Yue Qi, so too old, and unlike YQ and SJ his cultivation potential isn't striking enough to make any exceptions for him.

SY, however, can't leave it at that. He's spent more than five minutes with the street kid codependency gang, so he's gotten attached to both of them. And he knows what will happen if they're left to their own devices and The Plot proceeds accordingly. (Also, they keep threatening to not stay at the sect if SY doesn't stay too, for some reason.) So with a heavy heart and internal candle lit for himself, SY heads to Bai Zhan Peak. Which is the only peak that accepts disciples by way of them turning up and refusing to leave.

SY's not much of a fighter. He actually really hates the atmosphere on BZP, he's not bad at physical cultivation (his health's pretty good in this life, ironic considering how much worse his situation was) but the random ambushes and survival-of-the-fittest stuff is just not his brand. But that's okay, because it turns out that BZP actually DESPERATELY needs disciples on the actual peak who are interested in things other than fighting and cultivating their own strength. Stuff like, filling out requisition requests for An Ding every time things break, apologizing to An Ding every time things break again, organizing schedules, browbeating senior disciples into actually teaching, educating disciples on virtually any artistic or social skill, hosting lectures on how to beat vicious beasts without just overpowering them, and etc.

Okay so some of this stuff isn't and has never actually been on Bai Zhan's curriculum but Shen Yuan is going to make this place tolerable. And stop these children from needlessly getting acid burns or lyme disease or scurvy or whatever. He keeps internally chewing out Airplane for designing a sect system that means there are a lot of largely unsupervised 12-year-olds running around the wilderness on a mountain picking fights all the time. (When he actually meets Shang Qinghua and figures him out he switches to doing it in person, of course, in twice-monthly bitching sessions that look a lot like budding friendship.)

Of course one of the worst offenders is the Liu kid, who SY would suspect was actually raised by wolves if he didn't know for a fact that Liu Qingge has a younger sister, and also the kinds of nice clothing and letters from home that strongly imply not only does he have a family, but that the family is pretty well-off. Liu Qingge is at first deeply offended by SY being a BZP disciple. He rarely fights anyone, and uses tricks and evasion tactics whenever a fight can't be avoided. And he does other annoying stuff, like pestering him about meals and baths and lecturing him on identifying dangerous plants and the early signs of qi deviation. This is not what their peak is about! He should get with the program already! Just fight stuff until you're too tired to keep fighting stuff!

Also SY's younger brother, SJ, is pure evil (at least according to baby Liu Qingge) even though his other younger brother (?) is cool and nice.

Anyway, Liu Qingge stops complaining about SY after their first mission together, where Liu Qingge doesn't lose a fight but does get into a kind of pyrrhic victory situation where he's really badly hurt, and it's SY who helps him win (correctly identifying the monster and then pointing out its weakness) and takes care of him afterwards and gets him safely back to Cang Qiong. SY expresses surprise at LQG actually being polite to him, and LQG realizes that he's been a colossal ass if people think he wouldn't be grateful to someone who saved his life, so the usual Liushen dynamic proceeds from there. Liu Qingge starts bringing SY fans he leaves behind and hunts down animals that are supposed to be useful for bolstering weak cultivation, SY invites LQG to tea and keeps the critters as pets, etc etc.

SY doesn't get the Head Disciple position, because that's only acquired via beating the current peak lord in combat and lol no. Also he's not interested in stealing it from Liu Qingge, to whom it rightfully belongs (in his mind). But that's fine, because Liu Qingge takes the position when the next generation ascends and then he lets SY exclusively handle all the peak duties SY actually likes (mainly teaching). It's perfect -- Liu Qingge gets to focus on his War God antics and occasional administration/meetings without having to deal with students his has no patience for, but the disciples of BZP don't get neglected because SY is actually teaching and organizing classes and student care. BZP hasn't enjoyed a golden age like this since it was founded!

Things are pretty good overall, but Shen Yuan knows that it's only a matter of time before The Plot shows up, and so he can't rest completely easily.

Meanwhile, the will-they-or-won't-they bets on Liushen have been going strong for a while now. The thing is, most of their martial siblings are convinced that these two are already "together", and just being circumspect about it. Those who know SY well (like SJ, YQY, and SQH) know better but think that SY's romantic obtuseness is to blame, whereas those who know LQG well (LMY, WQW, and MQF) are pretty sure that it's actually LQG's obtuseness that's the problem. Of course it's actually both of them, so efforts to "fix" matters by getting through one of their thick skulls inevitably run afoul of the other's.

An additional complication is of course: SJ doesn't like LQG (mutual), and now that he's the leader of his own peak, he wants to poach SY to come and live there. Not only so he can have one of the 2 people he trusts actually close at hand, but also because SJ also hates actually teaching the atrocious little brats on his peak, and would like to have SY come and do it for him. YQY is still a total pushover for him too, and is also now the sect leader, so YQY agrees that SY can change peaks if SY and LQG both agree to it.

Liu Qingge, of course, is a no, but he's a variable "no". He's not going to hold Shen Yuan against his will or anything.

As for Shen Yuan, it's... complicated. He doesn't really like BZP, but it's gotten a lot better than it was at the start. These days he's actually pretty proud of his accomplishments, and it's more comfortable, but it's still a rough and rowdy place with fewer creature comforts, libraries, or other appealing points than QJP. Also, if he goes to Qing Jing to teach, he can personally ensure that SJ doesn't go around persecuting any of his students!

But... SJ never lived with the Qiu family in this AU, and even though SY's not totally clear on what the PIDW backstory for SJ was, he knows he's a better guy now than the scum villain in the book was. He has a reputation for making cutting remarks, not for being an abusive snake or a lecher. SY's honestly less worried about him doing anything bad at all, and there are other people on QJP who can teach. It might even be good for SJ to promote more people to fill out a social circle he can rely on! That guy needs more friends, seriously.

And QJP really doesn't need more layabout literary intellectual types who get into pointless arguments, which is all SY would be if he went there. Just yet another nerdy scholar for the rich kids with middling cultivation that the peak favors to ignore. At least on BZP he's filling a gap.

SY is clearly torn, and the fact that SY's considering it has LQG upset, and LQG doesn't handle being upset very well, so of course they have an argument about it. SY storms off to cool his head and LQG is like, this is it, he's gone to Qing Jing Peak, I've drive him off by being too aggressive and he's probably remembering all those times I told him he didn't belong here and oh no what have I done maybe if I build him a heated bath and get him books he will come back???

Turns out that SY just went to An Ding to vent at SQH while SQH was like "I think you would have fewer problems if you and Liu Qingge just got married and my disciples could call you Shigu to your face instead of behind your back" and SY threw melon seeds at him and sulked on his fainting couch (which is always cold for some reason...)

Thus begins the Liushen Divorce Arc where SY tries to be anywhere but BZP or QJP, Liu Qingge tries to figure out what thing he can punch to fix this not-punchable problem, SJ is like "I don't see what the big deal is they should break up Liu Qingge is awful and I want my brother to teach my classes for me" like the spoiled youngest sibling he's finally allowed to be, YQY is trying to moderate this Hades vs Demeter situation and is all "well maybe SY could spend half the year on QJP and half on BZP?", and Liu Mingyan is going "I know my brother if this doesn't work out he is going to die single and pining like an idiot" and so keeps conscripting other disciples to y'know, lock SY and LQG into storage closets together (ineffective: LQG can punch through walls) or at least get them in the same room (underestimating SY's willingness to yeet himself out of windows to avoid awkward social interactions.)

By the time Luo Binghe joins the sect (as a Qiong Ding disciple), the drama is in full swing and is the main topic of gossip across most of the peaks.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Didn't want to derail that last post since it's specifically about novel canon, but it got me thinking about the ramifications of the changes that the drama makes:

CQL Mianmian is a Jin disciple. I like this change overall because it facilitates her being a larger part of the narrative and implies that Jin Zixuan has a life outside of being That Rich Guy Wei Wuxian Hates. Still, as is also the case with Meng Yao and Lan Xichen due to them meeting earlier, it means that Jin Zixuan is defending someone already dear to him rather than protecting a stranger simply because it's the right thing to do. Don't shrug off his heroism yet, though, because...

A nameless Jin disciple is the one who tries to hand over Mianmian. Jin Zixuan (and only Jin Zixuan) strikes him down and says in disgust that he can't believe the Jin clan contains such cowards, or something like that. However, Mianmian herself reminds Jin Zixuan when they're giving up their swords that they're under orders from their sect leader to comply with whatever the Wen clan asks of them. Jin Zixuan's choice to defend Mianmian is potentially in defiance of his father's directive. (Why is Jin Zixuan willing to disobey his dad here but stays awkwardly silent during his family's BS at the Phoenix Mountain hunt and conference later on? Well, his dad's not in the room with him here.)

Su She is not involved here, as Lan Wangji is the sole representative from Gusu Lan. The selfishness/cowardice of trying to feed Mianmian to a monster is replaced with his (more socially unacceptable in-universe but IMO more sympathetic to the viewer) revealing the Cold Pond Cave secret. There aren't any Lans standing by as nobody but Lan Wangji does the right thing.

The hostages generally show a lot of solidarity! After Wen Chao punts Wei Wuxian deeper into the cave, everyone else climbs down after him. None of them responds to Wen Chao shouting questions from up above, forcing the Wen guards to climb down to their level to investigate. The Jin guy attacking Mianmian is an outlier, indicating a problem with Lanling Jin culture rather than the jianghu as a whole. They cooperate well when it's time to band together and escape!

So the takeaway in CQL canon isn't that everyone is a coward or overly concerned with politics except for the protagonist, his love interest, and Jin Zixuan for some reason, but more like... here are these young people and future leaders who are fully capable of acting together for the good of the group. They refuse to comply with their captors despite being unarmed, and they'll convince the older generation to take action against the Wen clan. (Nie Mingjue, the only sect leader who's part of the younger generation without an older relative's influence, has already been in open conflict with them.) And isn't it a shame, then, that Jin Guangshan--and his sect culture that would've excused feeding one of his own disciples to a demon turtle--is going to crush all of this.

*I initially assumed, when I started making this post, that Cloud Recesses in the novel gets burned after the indoctrination in retaliation for Lan Wangji's part in killing the Xuanwu of Slaughter. But the wiki timeline has the indoctrination still coming after Cloud Recesses is attacked? If that's the case, how do the Lan have that many disciples to send?

[sanctus-ingenium]

I have a few questions about the world and other stuff. I’m becoming obsessed with Inver now.

1. What type of entity is the Red King? Do they have a set form or can they change it? What is their personality like? Do they have a human-esque form that you’ve ever drawn before?

2. Are werewolves/lycans considered a type of fae? Or do they simply just worship the fae you call The Immortal Hound? I know they came from Armorica, but I’m curious about their origins. Are they magical or evolutionary?

(If answering any of these spoil any of the books, feel free not to answer)

hiiii thank you for asking!!

1 - The Red King is a barrow lord. There's not strict hierarchy (or strict rules at all) about faeries, but a barrow lord is a faery famous enough to be known by their name & to have attracted many followers and superstitious legends. Barrow lords are usually referred to euphemistically and not by their name (i.e why we don't say 'Puck', we say The Lord of Lies) to avoid attracting their attention. The Ruad itself was named after the Red King who traditionally holds dominion over that entire forest. Sometimes it's called the Red Forest, but that refers strictly to the king and not the actual colour of the forest. The Red King is considered to be in direct opposition to the Immortal Hound, they're ancient enemies.

Until recently, the Red King was considered to be the highest & final authority in all of Inver. Although stories and legends always crop up around the forest, there have been no confirmed firsthand accounts of the Red King in almost a century.

Followers of the Red King were once numerous, but in the 1860s the practise has waned as the Immortal Hound's followers gain more and more power. Small sects remain, particularly in communities close to the edge of the Ruad. The Sons of the Stag/"Stagsons" criminal gang in Invergorken city are adherents of the Red King, and operate under the assumption that the King of Inver's laws are false, because he's not the true king (this is not a valid defense in court).

The Red King is emblematic of Prey. In most stories he takes the form of a red deer with the rotting head of a stag rival entangled in his antlers (that's his crown). Followers of the stag are bound to his core principles of cold, hard survival and fighting for their lives; prey animals get no respite if they show any signs of weakness, and are often more violent and dangerous than any predator, because in every fight, their life hangs in the balance, and not just their hunger, and the Red King is the prey victorious.

Famously holding humanity in utter contempt, the Red King does not take a humanoid form, though some legends of green men are occasionally ascribed to the Red King.

2 - The werewolves are considered to be humans which have been given the ability to become beasts; not faeries of their own accord but definitely in commune with the Immortal Hound (who is a barrow lord). They don't all worship the Immortal Hound (as you'll probably see..) because lycanthropy is hereditary. If your parents were lycanthropes you probably will be as well, but you share a werewolf form with them - whatever werewolf your dad turned into, your werewolf form will look identical, because it is dictated in part by your own physical qualities and in part by a manifestation of your family's pact with the Immortal Hound. Size, physical power, triggering moon phase - these are determined by the terms of the pact your ancestor made (often under the purview of the monarchy, so naturally the higher ranking nobles have the best werewolf traits

So like anybody can make a pact with a faery (if the faery gives enough of a shit to accept), usually the human gets some knowledge in return, mostly about spellcrafting (this is what the title 'witch' refers to in Inver). Technically this means that the werewolves are just witches with very specialised pacts, but not a lot of people think of them that way (Félix is not in this category, he's something else).

Usually 'werewolf' is an umbrella term for anybody in pact with the Immortal Hound, but 'lycanthrope' refers solely to the family line 'body transforming into a big canine beastie' type of werewolf. A 'fleshwolf' is the other type, they do not physically transform but wear the flesh of the Immortal Hound like power armour. The pacts of some lycanthropes stipulate that they can bite someone to turn them into a fleshwolf (fun fact)

[mxtxfanatic]

Not really a JC ask, but more of a JC adjacent one.

Why didn't Jiang Fengmian ever divorce Madam Yu? I think you mentioned somewhere that JFM was also a victim to Madam Yu's abuse, and while I am not necessarily disagreeing, I do struggle to understand or even feel empathetic towards him for still being there and letting her act as she does with their children when she, factually, doesn't have any actual power over him or the sect.

In fact, she actively rejects the sect by keeping her maiden name and refusing to be Madam Jiang.

Looking at it in an objective way, Madam Yu... Doesn't have anything. She has Zidian. She has her strength. But none of that strength actually translate to the power that Sect Leader Jiang possesses as the sect leader of one of the Five Great Sects.

It's a reason why she's so insecure, because she knows that she has none of the political power necessary to hold onto her position.

Why didn't JFM divorce her, when the previous sect leader that had pushed for that marriage passed away? He didn't even want to marry her, did he?

I understand that abuse victims struggle to leave their abusers, and I do feel for that, but I am of the mind that if children are involved, then no matter your feelings you should protect them.

And by that I mean actually protect them, none of that half assed bullshit that's just placating everyone for the sake of a shaky peace that nobody is satisfied with.

It feels like a remix of Lan Xichen, who, in pursuit of making everyone content, ended up just ignoring the warnings and stood aside as everyone else around him suffered.

I find it interesting how JFM preached for the ideals of the sect, to "attempt the impossible", and yet he never dares try anything to actually help anyone around him.

When people say that they wouldn't say he neglected his children, I beg to argue, because he absolutely did. Yes he couldn't say a word whenever his wife was around, but what could've possibly stopped him from keeping her from doing that, or, if inneficient, then to make er a non issue anymore.

The very patriarchal, classist and misogynist society he lives in wouldn't have batted an eye at that, because as a sect leader he had every right to do whatever he wanted with his own wife.

His inaction and cowardice fostered a cycle of abuse that every one of Madam Yu's victims could've been spared from had he just done anything, so I find it hard to consider his contribution in his family as anything more than gross negligence.

Obviously, she is terrible. She is abusive. JFM isn't any worse than her. But from where I'm standing, he was a bystander that let things happen and fostered an illusion of having his hands tied when he very much did not, and never did anything to actually help any of the children in his care, other than that time he broke Yanli's engagement after learning Jin Zixuan had disrespected her and that's...

Hardly anything in the grand scheme of things.

I don't disagree with you, anon. In fact, I think this is part of the larger critique that the novel leverages at modern society: instead of fighting for better even after being dealt a shit hand, people would rather fall into passivity and accept their recently received shit hand as their new status quo. Jiang Fengmian was forced into a political marriage with Yu Ziyuan, but even after his father died, he maintained the marriage along with all the dysfunction that came with it, leading to the destruction of his clan and its legacy. Despite the QishanWen kidnapping their heirs and almost killing them, no clan does anything. Despite the QishanWen having the Cloud Recesses burned, killing the former Nie Clan leader, chasing dangerous monsters into the territories of other clans, thereby endangering their people, and being responsible for the Lan Clan leader's death, not a single clan rebels until the Nie pick up the banner for the Sunshot Campaign after successfully repelling the invading Wen forces and killing the Wen heir. Until that moment, all the rest of the clans were willing to overlook the Wen's behavior and accept every escalation as the new norm. Jiang Fengmian is even shown to have traveled back and forth to Qishan to beg his disciples' swords off the Wen despite those people almost killing his son.

After the Sunshot Campaign, nobody says anything about the labor camps holding civilians, an issue Wei Wuxian made public. Nobody stuck up for Wei Wuxian being slandered except for Lan Wangji who was ignored and Mianmian who was then slandered. Nobody except Wei Wuxian said anything about the Jin Clan collecting clans former subsidiary to the QishanWen, and he's brushed aside. Nobody except Nie Mingjue says anything about Xue Yang's slaughtering of the Chen Clan, and then after he dies, nobody says anything about the multiple clan slaughters done at Jin Guangyao's own hands. Just as everyone was willing to accept the horribleness of the QishanWen as "business as usual" until it led to their own massacres, the fact that none of the post-war clans were willing to stand up for Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants and, in fact, bayed for their slaughter is how whole-clan slaughters became "business as usual" to the post-war cultivation world.

So while I agree that Jiang Fengmian's decision to stay in his abusive marriage absolutely affects the quality and effectiveness of his parenting, I don't think we are meant to see this as a critique of the parenting capabilities of domestic abuse victims but as a critique on how people who don't truly stand for anything will passively welcome evil into their homes with little to no pushback, if they are not themselves throwing the doors wide open to welcome the evil in.

[kingsonne-zedecks]

I wanted to talk about some Cradle stuff so I pulled this put of my drafts and polished it up a bit. This came out of my own musings as well as a conversation on reddit regarding what childhood and early sacred arts looks like for different people in the world.

We see a lot of different people with different types of paths but we don't know much about most of them or how children choose them. In some circumstances

For some Paths, it's obviously a question of tradition, while others are more utility, and more are products of ambition. But what does advancement look like when those things are absent?

As I organized my thoughts I ended up making some categories of what different upbringings with the sacred arts might look like.

The Traditional

This encompasses many of the Paths we see in Cradle. These are the well trodden and firmly established "Paths of the Clan". Here is your White Fox, your Grasping Sky, your Blackflame, your Stellar Spear. These are paths that the vast majority of the clan or family follow in unison.

Tradition and competition for resources weigh heavily on these paths. A path of light and dreams doesn't necessarily lend towards farming, but the Wei still overwhelmingly practice the White Fox. Every person on the path becomes a capable combatant under this method, and they might need to be.

Children start following this Path at Copper and follow it the rest of their lives.

The Lesser Clan

This is the path of clans like the Redflower, but also applies to smaller families as well. These paths bridge the gap between Tradition and Utility. The family path is not so heavily tied to the concept of honor or combat. Its a path that serves a purpose, and it's a purpose that you are born to. This is the path of "my father and his father before him." The path of "sixth generation farmer" and "my daughter will take over the family business." Whatever the parents do, the child can expect to do as well.

This path also starts at Copper.

The Great Clan

We see this in the Akura and the Arelius. These clans have resources and knowledge and their people follow a variety of Paths. There is likely an influence towards one type of path or another, purely due to there being more resources and knowledge regarding that type of madra.

Its hard to know how a path starts in these families—how much influence a parent takes over the path of the child. This is the path of options. A child here might delay starting their path until they have chosen the perfect one. A child might have the perfect path chosen for them and begin working towards it from a young age. A child might choose to develop their own path.

The age and level of advancement that a child is when they actually start on their Path could be highly variable, especially given the possibility of advancing through the lower realms via elixir rather than cycling.

The Mighty Sect

These are schools such as the Cloud Hammer or Jade Eyes. They have strength and resources and a specific Path that they teach, but they are not one family or clan. Prospective students are drawn from other families through a variety of processes. Its likely that some students' parents pay for them to learn from the sect, or else deal in favors to get their child admittance. Its likely that there is some sort of admission process in which children prove their worth to join the sect.

Its unclear regarding the age of admission for these schools. Perhaps they only take pure Coppers, or perhaps any artist below Jade or even Gold whose core can be converted to the path.

The Pathless

This is the path of Mu Enkai. Poor individuals with no resources or training that don't follow any real path. They harvest whatever aura is either most plentiful or most related to the work they are likely to be doing. Techniques are rough and not necessarily even frequently used. Remnant for advancement to Gold is likely a matter of opportunity more than anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of my ideas are only partially supported by direct text, and some of them are entirely the result of unsupported theory crafting and worldbuilding.

The Worker

These are people who know what they want to do, and choose a path that will get them there. Writers on Dream Paths, gardeners on Life paths, builders on Earth paths. These are the children that know that they want to be when they grow up and follow a path that helps them with that. Just like in real life, not many kids actually know what they want to do at the age of six and then happily stick with it.

The Ambivalent

This one is similar but different to the Pathless. Where a poor peasant might be denied the resources to advance beyond lowgold, there are probably a large number of people, particularly living in large cities, that just don't care. They are going to work jobs and live their lives in a way that the sacred arts don't really impact. They probably advance to lowgold like a child being pushed through high school. Maybe they select an aura type as a child based on their favorite color. Maybe they select a remnant based on the appeal of possible goldsigns. It doesn't really matter, they don't care, the sacred arts are merely an afterthought in their lives.

The Modern Middle Class

These are the Cradle Suburbanites. People that live in towns and cities big enough that they don't really have to worry about sacred arts battles for the most part. Their parents work at jobs and bring home scales and buy their children elixirs. The child advances based mostly on elixirs until they reach peak Jade, and are old enough to pick a remnant from the remnant store. Maybe they stop there, or maybe they advance, but they are old enough to choose for themselves at that point.

The Educated

This is the advanced form of Suburbanite. These kids go to modern style schools for the sacred arts. The school provides elixirs and training. The students are taught principles of madra and technique fundamentals. They have homework and quizzes and tests with practicals. When they get older they start to specialize and begin working more directly with the types of madra they want. The school library has information that the children can use to craft their own paths, or manuals from common paths for the children to choose from. The school provides a selection of remnants for the children to advance with and high level classes to help integrate remnants with the goal of advancement to Highgold at minimum before graduation.

The Village

These are children that grow up in small poor villages that don't have many resources or much knowledge and that aren't actively being oppressed by more advanced artists. There's not really a big push for advancement or any competition over it. Children might talk with different relatives, neighbors, and family friends before choosing a direction that sounds interesting. While not a Path persay, they do get taught little lessons on techniques and receive advice from the adults around them.

The Tutored

Inspired by Oz's childhood, these children are taught the fundamentals of the sacred arts by tutors. This can apply to a wide range of economic statuses, from the children of Lords with private tutors, down to village or city children whose parents pay the cost demanded by tutors of their status. Education is a blend of custom directed learning for the child and a direct passing of the knowledge of the tutor.

[macsimagines]

Yandere!Hakkai Shiba w/ an S/O he 'bought'

(I was sick of waiting for him to win the polls and wrote this myself. OOPS. Angsty too. Set in the timeline that Hakkai became the leader of the blackdragons.)

TW: NSFW Minors DNI, Yandere behavior, Coercion, Manipulation, mentions of possible Prostitution.

Your family is in debt. Huge debt. And you have no choice but to try and sell yourself to save them.

Searching for some kind of work you figure out the best way to make back the money they owe is a 'Host' club ran by a man named Nahoya Kawata.

The process is exhausting, they almost don't hire you. You're very shy despite your pretty face and they don't think you'll be a good fit until they hear you're a virgin.

You should have never said anything but you just blurted it out when they asked. Suddenly Nahoya himself contacts you and explains he knows your situation.

He says people will pay top dollar for a young virgin that is as pretty as you. You'll have to comply with some blood tests and a screening to make sure you're telling the truth but that if the results come back good, he can make sure your families debt is payed off within the year.

Its all a lie of course, as soon as your virginity is gone he'll make sure you're stuck with him for the next five years until you're all used up.

But then Hakkai Shiba sees you. He tells Smiley he likes your pretty face, and Nahoya tells him you're a new contracted girl working for him. He explains your situation to him and Hakkai asks to have you entertain him.

Surprisingly, he doesn't want sex. Just wants something pretty and innocent on his arm for one night to make him seem more menacing in comparison.

What he doesn't expect is to fall in love. Your gentle touches, your sweet voice, the genuine concern you have for him when he gets rough with some punk he tried to make a deal with.

You're too good for this. All of it. And he's sick to his stomach to think how Smiley is going to turn you out.

He then buys out your contract. Pays off your families debt. Smiley tells you what happened and now Hakkai owns you. Nahoya has a new contract drawn out for you, and you sign it without looking at it.

That night, Hakkai is quiet, as he slowly pulls you towards the bed. Loves the pure white lingerie you're wearing. Probably courtesy of Smiley.

Lays you down on the bed, and kisses your lips lightly then trails kisses all the way down to your panties. His rough hands run up and down your legs and finally takes the garment off, pulls your thighs apart and stares down at his meal.

You weren't expecting him to start licking you up and down. You thought it would be the other way around. But he expertly eats you out with long strokes of his tongue, gently inserts a few fingers when you start to get nice and slick, groans at all your whimpers and loves knowing you're never going to be touched like this by any one else.

Takes your virginity, and you don't know what's worse. The fact that a man you know to be a murderous gangster had your first time, or the fact that he was so kind and gentle with you that you actually enjoyed it.

He's big- No, he's huge. But you came on his tongue and fingers and for whatever reason having him fill you inch by inch, raw, felt so amazing. You can feel your pussy pulse around his girth, and you swear you can hear him gasp when you clench around him...

You feel him fill you up, and can't even force yourself to stay awake while he actually goes down on you again. Licking you clean with his own cum leaking out of you.

Hakkai never says one word to you...

Congratulations! The Leader of the Black Dragon Sect is now your sugar daddy. And even though he says he's going to help you, you feel like you're sinking more and more into debt.

Hakkai is also stark quiet with you. In his head he thinks you two are slowly falling in love and that you understand the depths of his affections. But you don't understand why a man who only speaks two words to you, Yes and No, when he sees you is paying for your nice apartment and nice clothes....

The paranoia is eating away at you. He's going to want something from you, not just your little hands on his arm and for you to have sex with him occasionally... even if its so amazing.

But Hakkai insists he just wants you with him. Here a new handbag. His sister told him this is a good brand. What about some diamonds for your neck? You're so pretty...

Eventually you tell him, you want to get a job. Pay him back in a real way. Your breaking his heart baby, he doesn't want you to go anywhere. Don't you know he loves you? Don't you know you're married?

You're once again shellshocked. That's not possible, you'll tell him, he just bought out your contract and had you sign a new one right!?

Through his tears and sniffles Hakkai pulls out the contract that Smiley had you sign and that's when you realize it was never a fucking agreement or contract of any kind. It was an incredibly detailed and thorough unbreakable marriage license.

"I-I had no idea!" you tell him, feeling yourself about to cry but for very different reasons, "S-smiley didn't tell me! Pl-please Mr.Shiba you have to-!"

He grabs you and wraps you in a crushing embrace, his huge form needing to bend just so he can fully hold you.

"D-Don't call me Mr.Shiba. I'm Hakkai. I'm your husband. You're my wife."

You can feels his tears fall onto where his head is buried in your shoulder, you see the way his own shoulders shake as he cries.

"Please, I'll be good. I swear I'll be good. We'll be a real married couple. Just please...don't leave me.

[carrot-felisidad]

VOTE FIRST BEFORE READING BELOW. REACH INTO YOUR HEART AND VOTE FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT!

Warning: I chose violence everyday and I'm your passive aggressive friend who cares for you.

I'm giving you White Head Ribbon because... My girl, my boy, my enby baby, my bothsie, treat this as a wake up call. You need restraint. You need to start creating a list of principles that you think would turn you into your dream self, and stop doing things based on short term pleasure. I know I can't stop you for most as you have ADHD and/or autism, but the more you cater to your short term whims, the more you hate yourself. You also need the silence and peace in the cloud recesses. You may not know it, but your soul has been craving for some alone time. Seclude yourself in Hanshi if you want, just let your soul rest for a while.

I'm giving you a clarity bell because... You've been empathizing with people for so long that I wish for you to get out of the muddy puddle that is other people's problem and get back to your own energy. My sad baby empath... it's okay to say no. You've been in the Empathy ritual for so long, and a lot of people have been telling you to get out of it, the friend that you have been empathizing with is long dead, just a walking corpse who only see you as a free therapist, nothing else. They don't even want to change. You need this bell, boo. Clang clang clang or whatever.

I'm giving you a Vermillion Mark because... I want you to be proud of yourself for once. Acknowledge your hard work and credentials, stop brushing them off as "only", because I need you to bag that promotion and/or RESPECT FROM EVERYBODY, as what you deserve. Oh, you think you're not actually that good? Your achievements are nothing?? Well, I want you to get over your imposter syndrome because Su She was out there creating his own sect by being a pretentious wannabe!!! He has no skills and is only a steve jobs fanatic! You?! You have real skills. Wear this vermillion mark and show them! Jin Ling was bullied all his life by mere nobodies but he knew from day one that he's the GOAT. And always remember that you have someone who will fight alongside you, who will break their legs if they hurt you.

I'm giving you a Fan with Paintings in it because... I want you to follow your dreams. You may be raised in a family or culture where you are assumed to follow a certain path. Be relentless that you are living your life. The point of life is to be enjoyed, not to be someone else's puppet, ain't no way! And don't worry about where your life will lead you. You are smart and scheming, you know your subject. You will lead a fruitful life wherever you go. Stop living your life to get someone else's validation. Actually do things that make you happy. You deserve a life worth living.

I'm giving you a Bamboo Flute because... You need to practice necromancy, lol. Use the dead for your own goals... Stop a war or plant some vegetbales... Haha i think, um, idk the agressiv spirit guide who was ghost writing through me just fled to get some pizza she ain't coming back haha. Research about shadow work (it's an actuall clinical thingy) and rise above the challenges. Come back with the coolest fashion statement. Stop being a people pleaser and start being an feared entity. OVERCOME YOUR MEASLY HUNAN CONDITIONS AND BECOME A DEMONIC CULTIVATIR! Wei Wuxian did not die and came back to life to orove nothing!