#now how does the confrontation go when binghe asks him about this?? who knows. that's for you to decide

[waitineedaname]

i was thinking my little thoughts while falling asleep last night, and a concept occurred to me: what if binghe learned about the system not from shen qingqiu, but from shang qinghua

look, he likes shang qinghua alright. he's pretty disinterested in p much anyone who isn't shen qingqiu, but on the list of People Luo Binghe Tolerates, shang qinghua is relatively high. he gave him advice on wooing sqq, after all, and sqq likes his company, so binghe tolerates his shang-shishu

but the thing is, shang qinghua is a spy. has been for decades. binghe knows this. really, everyone knows this at this point, which isn't a great look for a spy, but still. and since shang qinghua is a spy for mobei-jun, who is a subordinate for luo binghe, then technically shang qinghua is also working for him, but you don't get to the position of demon emperor without a healthy amount of suspicion for everyone in your court

so he decides to test shang qinghua a little bit. nothing major, just a little poking around in his dreams. he starts out with a subtle touch, just sifting through his memories. most of it is what he expected. he sees his time on an ding as a disciple and then later as peak lord, he sees him working for mobei-jun. he sees mobei-jun in some compromising situations, which he files away for later, and then sees him in an entirely different flavor of compromising situations, and binghe immediately decides to act like he never saw that

then he decides to take a more direct approach and starts nudging the dreams in other directions, to see how he might react to certain scenarios, test his loyalty. he expects shang qinghua to act cowardly, or bluff his way through a situaton, maybe even draw his sword if pushed far enough

what he doesn't expect is for shang qinghua to frown at the changes luo binghe made and go "I didn't write it like this"

what

binghe is so bewildered by that response that he loses his grip on the dream for a second, and before he knows it, shang qinghua has spun the dream scenario back into the way the scene originally played out. he steps back and looks satisfied. "there we go," he says. "that's how it went. you know, if I'd known I'd be dealing with this scene myself, I would've written it differently"

what the hell does that mean?

fascinated, luo binghe continues to test him. most of the time, when he toys with someone's dream, they're completely unaware of the changes. shang qinghua, despite not seeming aware that he's lucid dreaming, seems very aware of how each scene should go. except for, strangely, many of the scenes that binghe himself was in. binghe pulls up one from his disciple days, one of the times he remembered shang qinghua coming to qing jing on some errand. he hadn't even changed anything yet, had just let the dream version of his younger self launch himself at shizun in a tacklehug, but shang qinghua tsks and takes the reins from him before he can make any edits. "sorry bing-ge, but that was just way too out of character," shang qinghua says. the dream copy of luo binghe's younger self is sent further away, watching the peak lords with a sullen gaze. he's skinnier than binghe remembers being at this age, and one of his eyes is swollen with a purple bruise. that doesn't make any sense, luo binghe thinks. he hadn't been beaten on qing jing peak for years at this point.

the shen qingqiu beside shang qinghua in the dream stands with his back straight as a ruler, and when his gaze lands on luo binghe, he sneers behind his fan. shang qinghua sighs. "cucumber-bro really wasn't as good of an actor as he thought he was. he's way too soft to ever seem like the original goods."

alarmed, luo binghe dispels the dream and steps out of it entirely. sure, he knows shen qingqiu's personality changed almost overnight when he had that qi deviation. everyone knew that. he avoided questioning it much, unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth when it meant having a shizun that cared for him

but shang qinghua. shang qinghua seems to know something more about shen qingqiu's personality change. something he's not sharing. luo binghe didn't like the idea that one of his subordinates could be hiding something as vital as this from him

well, this had been a test of his spy's loyalties, hadn't it? perhaps he should make a visit to an ding. he had some questions.

[incognito-lionbeast]

@cum-villain​

Honestly, pretty much as soon as Liu Qingge made his decision during the initial confrontation? It was all over for Shen Jiu. True be it that Liu Qingge didn’t quite know what to make of things at first, and he sorta hoped that Shen Jiu would make an effort on his own after the initial offer of support? Well, he sort of gets that wish. Not quite in the way he’d wanted but damn if he’s letting that stop him.

Because the one thing Liu Qingge is very good at socially is being blunt. Something Yue Qingyuan has thus far somewhat failed with. Not that he hasn’t explained things to the best of his ability, but that’s precisely the problem! So, Shen Jiu later corrals Shang Qinghua (who suspiciously knows far too much) & Liu Qingge to Discuss™ Shen Qingqiu & other such happenings while he was away.

He’d really rather leave the relationship part of that mess alone, but he has. >:| Other Questions. And would like alternative perspectives, and no he can’t just ask Shen Qingqiu.

--but this leads into my response to that last tag. :3c

There are at least four people who are willing to support him existing, because Shen Jiu’s gonna find out that Shang Qinghua also counts! Not quite as enthusiastically as Yue Qingyuan or Liu-Shidi, but-! Shang Qinghua’s response to inquiry is that like? He never really hated Shen Jiu before either, so... Look, compared to a lotta other things he was going through at the time, Shen Jiu didn’t even place on his top ten list of People To Be Worried About.

Sorry?

Luo Binghe is torn, I think. He’s very happy that Liu Qingge is spending time with someone else. Unhappy that it’s Shen Jiu, whom he dislikes. Then Indifferent because Luo Binghe didn’t much like Liu Qingge to begin with. Yet, Unhappy again, because shizun does & is feeling rather bittersweet about the entire affair (happy for them, still concerned that his relationship with his dear shidi has been irreconcilably altered. Which is technically true, but only technically! Like everyone else, it’s more a matter of navigating the fact that Shen Qingqiu is actually someone else now?).

This is far too complicated for Binghe.

--on a somewhat related note, Binghe was a bit put-out that Shen Qingqiu admitted to being happy to see Shen Jiu, because hello??? Husband?? Why are you happy to see the man who made him miserable? He doesn’t understand & Shen Qingqiu has the damnedest time trying to explain, but he does manage to relay that he is Definitely Unhappy with that part. It’s just.. yknow.

Shen Qingqiu spent some time living with the fact that he’d involuntarily killed a man & taken his place-- a man that was important to his Shixiong. And that Sucked, because... well, he could tell. And, no matter how much he’d come to care for Yue Qingyuan, there was nothing he could do to remedy things.

Though I’m not sure how this would come up, I feel like asdfgh Somehow this is the least surprising thing he’s learned about Shen Qingqiu so far. After all, he’s married to Binghe, so being attracted to men is... a given?

--what would be more surprising is Liu Qingge's opinion of Shen Qingqiu. Because it’s Very Positive & it’s not impossible to determine that he is, perhaps, a bit Jealous Of and/or Irritated With the whole BingQiu situation. Though, for better or worse, they could definitely bond over being mutually mistrustful of Binghe. Oops.

He’s a very good shidi! And I honestly think that Liu Qingge still calls Shen Jiu “Shixiong” when there aren’t other disciples around. Or perhaps even sometimes when there are... >>;; deciding not to react to his mistake / correct himself, causing the both sets of disciples to look at them Very Oddly. Like it’s odd enough that Liu Qingge has singled out This One Disciple already, but calling him Shixiong, too........

On the other hand, I imagine it galls Shen Jiu somewhat when he’s forced to call him & the other Peak Lords “Shishu” -- in the same way that he’s hesitant to call Yue Qingyuan his Shizun. Thankfully, there’s a work-around for Yue Qingyuan, being sect leader n all. It’s perfectly appropriate to just call him that. >u<

But yeah!! There are, in fact, people who Like & Want You Around, sir. Maybe it’s complicated, messy, and even uncomfortable at times? Still true. Gonna have to learn how to accept that...

[dragoncharming]

su xiyan lives au

doesn’t change much from shen qingqiu’s perspective until the immortal conference

su xiyan slips unconscious after ensuring luo binghe is safely away on his lil boat. she doesn’t die since the cold slows her heart rate enough, but she’s out of commission long enough to lose track of lbh. with keeping under the radar of haun hua palace and canvassing the whole riverbank, eventually she finds the fisherman who found him but they sent him off with a merchant who has a sister who wants a kid but by then he’s long gone. since she knows he’s safe, she realizes this is more of a marathon than a sprint and decides to get backup.

it’s hard not to hear the story of the entire cultivation world uniting against a horrific demon lord, so it’s very clear to her that she has very few options. she finds tianlang-jun after he’s been imprisoned for only about six months. the impression i get of su xiyan is that she’s not going to tell him everything at once, so it’s a while into the process of her getting him out that it even comes up that she was poisoned.

there are two ways she could get him out. 1) she spends months slowly unraveling the layers and layers keeping him imprisoned. maybe she trusts wu chen enough to ask for some advice. 2) she’s v familiar w bai lu and knows about the mushroom and grows both of them new bodies to give them new faces which also helps w the longer campaign. i think regardless of how she gets tianlang-jun out, we might as well say she makes herself a new face so she can operate.

to keep him distracted during this whole process, su xiyan asks tianlang-jun to start working on a piece of her longer plan: a romantic epic of their story w the serial numbers filed off. she needs to start seeding the downfall of the palace master and the tragedy of a beautiful princess who was lured away as her noble father set a trap for the man she loved. i have this image of tianlang-jun reciting his latest version and su xiyan edits a couple words while she’s directing zhuzhi-lang ‘just another step to the left. perfect.’

next step is starting her own sect. this lets her recruit people to her cause, siphon potential disciples from huan hua palace, travel around looking for promising young kids around the age lbh would be now. we know she doesn’t find him, but she definitely poaches gongyi xiao. (and if i am personally delighted by him being zhuzhi-lang’s shidi, that’s just a little treat for me.)

the first hint that sqq has that something is weird is around the immortal conference when he’s expecting to find gongyi xiao listed for huan hua palace, but instead it’s some podunk sect he’s never heard of. huan hua palace is still hosting the conference, but there’s a tone of them compensating. over a decade of sustained whisper campaigns has done damage to their reputation and they’re trying to cover by being generous~. what sqq does notice but doesn’t give any thought to is that small sect leader staring when she sees lbh. ofc. he’s the protagonist, every woman stares at him.

zhuzhi-lang still coordinates w mobei-jun to attack the conference to lure all the elders in, but su xiyan doesn’t harbor grudges against the young disciples so the monsters they bring in are specifically shock and awe that aren’t immediately lethal, creatures that trap and knock out people as well as large scary but slow creatures and her disciples protect the people too inexperienced to survive that basic threat while helping scare them more thoroughly to lure the seniors in.

this leads to a confrontation with the palace master. they’re surrounded by a crowd and in the midst of this as he’s turning around, making his case to the community at large he spots lbh, clearly now it’s not thru the crystals, and figures out who he is and tries to attack him. not sure on the specifics, but it ends up with lbh falling into the abyss and su xiyan shouting over her shoulder ‘i want his head myself when we get back!’ and jumping after him. tianlang-jun grabs palace master’s throat. ‘you heard my wife. there can’t be any doubt now about how he attacked an innocent boy. you all saw it yourself.’

shen qingqiu is So Confused. he has been mentally preparing to do something awful, going over the steps of the conference over and over in his mind and everything suddenly slipped out from under his feet. the system dings but doesn’t say anything for a second, as if it’s also confused, and that shakes him out of it. ‘No! he ended up in the abyss! that’s what the task was. you didn’t say i had to be the one who did it.’ which works.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

A collection of fics I’ve read (/reread) and thoroughly enjoyed in the past week-ish from all kinds of fandoms and genres.

ATLA

Growing Pains by carolinaa (NOTE: This is a commission for me!! I adore it so much, please go read it and give carolinaa some love) 

Nobody's really sure how to take the new Fire Lord. Actually, nobody's really sure if he'll last long enough for them to get used to him. Zuko, existing in the uncertainty of a life after the war, is right there with everybody else.

The Witcher

 In the Deep Dark Hills by didoandis

 “You’re making a mistake,” Jaskier says. “Trust me – I’ll be watching Geralt rip out your intestines before all this is over. I’ve seen it before. It’s not pretty.” He draws himself up, shows his teeth. If this is going to go badly, he intends to be as difficult as possible about it.

 The alderman glares at him. “Enough of this,” he says, commanding; there’s a heavy dull thud at the back of Jaskier’s head, and a brief burst of pain, and then blackness.

When Geralt is late returning from a hunt, Jaskier’s the one who suffers for it. Things get worse before they get better.

A Song of Service by didoandis

 “Why do you wear that collar?” the witcher asks.

 Jaskier startles. He’s been fiddling with it, he realises, a nervous habit. He didn’t think the witcher had noticed, even though those golden eyes seem to spot most things.

 “It’s so people know what I am,” he says.

 “And what are you?” the witcher says. His tone has turned surprisingly gentle. Perhaps he can hear the misery in Jaskier’s voice.

 “Bound in service,” Jaskier explains. He tries on a smile. “It might not look like it, but I’m as much of a prisoner as you are.”

Jaskier didn’t exactly plan to escape from his master alongside a terrifying witcher. But it might turn out to be one of his better decisions.

[Inspired by The Accidental Warlord and His Pack by Inexplicifics.]

My Boyfriend from Rivia is Totally Real by anarchycox (+ podfic)

Jaskier accidentally lies to Valdo Marx that he and Geralt are in fact dating. And then he decides to roll with the lie and it just keeps growing and growing.

BNHA

 A Letter to Me by kiapet

Fourteen-year-old Bakugou Katsuki knows he’s destined to be a great hero someday. Midoriya Izuku dreams of the same, but struggles to get through each day in a world determined to push him down. But when the pair of middle schoolers are kidnapped by a villain with a time travel quirk, they are forced to confront a future neither of them could predict- and versions of themselves they never expected to become.

-Or-

Pro!Midoriya to Kid!Midoriya: You matter so much, and everything is going to be okay! Pro!Bakugou to Kid!Bakugou: Now listen here you little shit-

SVSSS

Deluxe System 2.0: Co-op Mode!  by  kitsunealyc

Standing on the edge of the Endless Abyss, Shen Yuan chooses to take the point deduction and die rather than shove Luo Binghe over the edge.

What can the System do except engage the failsafe mode and restore the account of the original user?

(or, Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu become trapped in the same body and are forced to cooperate in order to survive the plot and achieve their happy endings)

  A Pairing of Souls  by  Muzu

It doesn’t take five years for Shen Yuan’s backup body to mature, and when it does Shen Yuan emerges back into the world once more quickly realizing that nothing is as he expected or hoped it would be.

But Shen Yuan has a body to steal back and a promise to keep, and that leads him to the last place he expected to ever go: Luo Binghe's front door.

A Little Off the Top by demoncow97

There were so many enjoyable and non life-threatening things he could be doing. So why was Shen Qingqiu stuck surrounded by a group of bandits, unarmed, and willingly being taken hostage?

(Or: Shen Qingqiu gets an impromptu haircut, and no one is mentally prepared)

[tossawary]

omg the concept of (canon-esque? i.e. in a complete depressive state) sqh agreeing to come out of hiding to attend sqq/lbh's wedding, knowing 1000% that mbj WILL be there and WILL immediately discover sqh faked his own death, just because sqq asked him to? oof. but for a man so dedicated to avoiding his own untimely demise... how does he play it? does he pretend he has amnesia? does he go in disguise?

Okay, so the setup I was picturing for this (the Real Angsty Version) is that SQH finds out that SQQ is another transmigrator just before he fakes his death. SQQ also finds out that SQH is a transmigrator, but then SQH dies! What the hell! Leaving Shen Qingqiu to be like, “I have NO idea who that other transmigrator was or what they might have changed. Also, I’m not coping well with coming face to face with my fate: getting killed off horribly in service to the plot!” 

Only, SQH secretly gets in contact with SQQ and arranges a secret meeting, in which they discover each other’s past identities (or past usernames, at least). Shen Qingqiu is pissed off that Shang Qinghua is the author of this shitty story and confronts SQH as though this mess is his responsibility to fix. 

But Shang Qinghua laughs in Shen Qingqiu’s face (in the fashion of the asshole we know SQH can be). Like, firstly, if Shen Qingqiu claims that Shang Qinghua is alive and was in service to demons, he’s probably going to look like he’s having the next step in his ongoing breakdown. There’s no proof! Good luck convincing all those overly concerned Peak Lords of your sanity, bro! 

Secondly, Shang Qinghua already wasted his last life on this stupid fucking story he never wanted to write, so he’s not wasting his new one on this stupid fucking story either. Fuck the story! Fuck the original outline too! He’s been held hostage by the System for decades and now that he’s fulfilled his only major plot requirement, he’s done with this shit! Done with Proud Immortal Demon Way! He wants to LIVE. And he wants to live for himself for once in his fucking life! 

So, like, there’s serious conflict between SQH and SQQ. Years of living false lives boil to the surface. But, when it comes down to it, neither of them have anyone else who understands what it’s like. They’re not friends, but SQH feels bad for SQQ, especially after SQQ finally has a real breakdown over feeling like an immature young adult pretending to be someone he’s not, forced to hurt an innocent person he’s genuinely come to care about. SQH is much older than SQQ and he’s like, “Ahhh, fine, I kind of had some plan for my retirement, but I guess I can be this guy’s transmigration mentor for a bit.” 

So they do the whole Sun and Moon Dew Flower Seed thing again, only it works out better because a retired SQH doesn’t have anything better to do than garden all day. They bitch and vent at each other over random bullshit. And eventually SQH gets sick of SQQ worrying over Luo Binghe’s return. 

SQH is like, “Bro, sure, you’re probably going to die. But you have a backup body and a new life waiting for you. Your role is the story is going to end soon. You’ve already changed shit. Say whatever the fuck you want to say to him and then peace out of the plot without a heart weighed down by guilt. Unlike the shit I wrote, you don’t have to draw this mess out into as many extra chapters as possible, so just cut through the bullshit and tell him you fucked up. Mentor characters always die just before or just after big reveals anyway.” 

(Since the SVSSS System is apparently there to make something close to Airplane’s original outline happen, you could go a non-canonical direction and have it remove all secrecy restrictions once Shang Qinghua says he no longer gives a shit about the story or the plot, if you wanted to do a full Identity Reveal. Then SQH and SQQ could have a very funny moment in which they realize SQH had greater control over the System than he realized.) 

So, yeah, Luo Binghe returns, Shen Qingqiu says everything he feels he needs to say right away, and things hit a fix-it AU path from there. If Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang are up to their usual mischief, then Shang Qinghua probably comes back to help deal with that. Everything is resolved! 

And then Moshang angst! SOOOOO much Moshang angst! 

In the Romcom Wedding from Hell Crack AU version of this fic, I was kind of picturing that Shang Qinghua never reveals himself to be alive during the conflict, but Shen Qingqiu really wants him at his scary demon wedding for support! So Shen Qingqiu is trying to persuade SQH to come out of hiding and be his best man, when Mobei-Jun somehow stumbles onto the conversation, probably in the company of Luo Binghe. 

And Shen Qingqiu is immediately like, “Mobei-Jun, you will not murder my friend.” And Luo Binghe is like, “What Shizun says goes.” 

And so I was picturing, in this Romcom-esque Crack AU version of this fic, Shang Qinghua trying (and failing) to politely explain to an incensed Mobei-Jun that he faked his death because he was afraid of being killed for no reason someday. Which turns into Mobei-Jun being shocked and confused and angry, because that is not what was happening! Which turns into Shang Qinghua just outright yelling at him that it WAS what was happening and berating him for all his carelessly cruelty over the years. Big blow-out fight. 

While Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe stand in the corner as chaperones (to prevent any murder from taking place), shamelessly watching this utter disaster unfold with incredulous fascination. Like, “Wow! That could have been us! We’re so glad that we managed to communicate with each other like adults and avoid this kind of pointless bullshit that could have been resolved at any time with one direct conversation. Good thing we’re better than that.” 

SQH then gets involved in the wedding because the cat’s out of the bag anyway, now that MBJ knows. It’s a very big wedding with lots of organization to be done (Luo Binghe is a total Groomzilla and Shen Qingqiu gets Extremely Stressed about everything being perfect because LBH deserves it and also he will not humiliate himself in front of all the VIPs of the Demon Realm), so Moshang keep running into each other and eventually manage to work it out. 

[touchmycoat]

OP!Anon for Leverage!HX/LQG: *SCREAM* oh I adore how you wrote this - HX is so good at reading everyone and understanding how to motivate/manipulate them, except for lqg. I love how angry he got at the idea of lqg seeing him in the same light as swd, and also how lqg's just like, yep, swd's gotta die when he heard the full story. I love the idea of HC coming in like the king he is and laying down the law about XL. ahhhhhhh!!!! just imagining hx and lqg getting close after lots of shenanigans!

teamwork baby

"Xue Yang must die" is literally one of my favorite WWX quotes of all time LMFAO time to pay homage

so you know how in book 3, during the Black Water arc, HX is there trying to push his whole scheme forward? It's well-timed, well-thought-out, but the only fucking spanner that keeps jumping back into his work is XL-and-therefore-HC? Yeah I imagine working with grifter!HC is pretty much like that. He's always late or never shows up at all to briefings, or he shows up to the very end to hear the conclusion and goes "Nope, that's fucking stupid, change it." SQQ's like "Why??" and HC's like "oh, lil boy can't figure it out?"

and whenever they have an actual plan going, HC sometimes just shows up and starts doing his own thing in the middle and forces HX to keep up. This is often motivated by one of XL's jobs, and XL would ask if HC knows a little piece of intel, and HC would be like "oh you know what, I actually have a hostage right here to ask about that, one moment please :)" and utterly prioritize XL's thing. HX has to change the job on the fly so many times, and it's so fucking annoying, but it's not like HC leaves him at a dead end, so he always does find a way out.

(this got fucking long, but HX/LQG under the cut)

Bingliushen are also annoyed as fuck, but while they're godtier at their own things, none of them are mastermind-level (yet—Binghe's gonna get there, isn't he), so they just have to put their faith in HX and keep chugging forward. This is how the foundation builds, y'know? HX insists to both others and himself that he's being honest and faithful to his team because that's just the best way to handle them, not 'cause he's actually a team player and not 'cause he cares for anybody at all. And LQG's a simple guy—you save my life, I'll save yours. You act in good faith, I'll be loyal in turn.

It starts with something small. HX's suffered tremendous loss, and has been on his own for a very, very long time. He's used to taking care of himself, but we all know LQG's love language is "here, you dropped this. I've been quietly paying attention to everything you like and do, no big deal." So maybe it happens on a mission. HC has three marks to dupe in succession, and they're playing a nasty Big Pharma group, so it's hitting close to home for HX. At the last minute though, HC says over the comm, "the CEO & CFO made me. Must've recognized me from speaking to the secretary earlier. He Xuan."

"Can you still do the COO?"

"I'm not about to waste this outfit, am I."

and HX has to hop in and do 2/3rds of the grifting himself, which is fine, he's completely capable of this, he's a goddamn prodigy at hiding his murderous tendencies. but out of nowhere LQG is on the line, "Shen Qingqiu, you said you can hack the finances, right?"

"Yes, but nothing else."

"Then He Xuan doesn't have to talk to the CFO. Give me 2 minutes, I'll knock him out."

and HX doesn't stop him because sure, why not? It was more efficient for HC to do three of them at once, but now that it was HX doing it (and HX still has his own part to play), it would save them more effort if LQG goes for the blunt force solution. But it rubs HX the wrong way—what the fuck? Yeah, HX may not like grifting as much as HC, the stupid drama queen, but hasn't he proven himself every bit as capable of it? Why did LQG think it necessary to, what, bail him out?

So that night, after debrief, HX pulls LQG aside to give him a piece of his mind. "Don't ever try to override my judgment again." "What are you talking about?" "I made a call, I did not need your 'help' on the grift." "That wasn't help." "Then what was it." "You hate talking to guys like that!" "???" "You didn't need to talk to him, and I was right there. It was the obvious thing to do."

and HX still doesn't get it, not until the next day, when SQQ and HX are quietly setting up for the morning, and SQQ says out of the blue, "that's just how he cares. Liu Qingge, I mean. It's never an ego thing once he's your friend."

"I don't need friends," is HX's automatic response.

"No," SQQ snorts in agreement. "You need revenge. That's fine. Then I'm sure he'll get over it."

Which—okay—no? Bastard. That's just a passive aggressive attempt at a guilt trip, and it's not going to work. HX has already made it abundantly clear from the get-go that this was simply a job, he was the pointman, once they were done everybody will go on their way. It's not his fault SQQ dragged in a hitman with the loyalty instincts of a german shepherd, and it's certainly none of his business whether LQG treats him as friend or a colleague.

LQG will just have to be disappointed.

BUT OF COURSE WHAT GOES ON TO HAPPEN IS THAT HX sees more and more of the things LQG does, the ways LQG manages to be thoughtful. The way LQG handles visitors during HX’s mealtimes despite how much LQG hates talking to randos, bc HX has bad food days and can’t really stand eating with others. The time they had some time to kill undercover in a consultant’s office, and HX passed the time by pointing out all the things wrong with the office’s mini-aquarium set-up, so when SQQ brought up something inane about decorating their headquarters, LQG made HX draw up specs for a saltwater tank of their own. HX and everybody else kept insisting it was a waste of time, but LQG still went ahead and got it made anyways, and now it’s HX’s favorite thing in the entire HQ.

But HX wasn’t about to owe anybody anything. If LQG insists on this game, then fine, HX was going to play to win. He requisitions new toys (read: weapons) for LQG, he builds heists around the sole purpose of giving LQG a room of satisfying bad guys to beat up, he goes to the gym and spars with LQG, he even tries to give LQG’s weirdly famous younger sister’s novel a read—which was a lot. Ahem. But LQG loves his younger sister, so surely this would be the ultimate “hah! I’ve given you more than you’ve given me! I win! move.

...turns out LQG’s never read the damn thing, and just takes everything HX gives him in total stride. “We still on for tomorrow?” “...Yes.” “Cool. See you.” And HX’s over here totally overthinking EVERYTHING while LQG’s just chilling, super matter-of-fact.

Fuck, were they friends???

HX rage-panics, because he does. not. need. friends. And it has nothing to do with how everyone he’s ever loved dies, it has nothing to do with the careful balance of vengeful fury and self-hatred inside him that’s about to tip over any day now, once they take down SWD. It has nothing to do with HX being too traumatized and grief-stricken to imagine moving on from revenge, to ever imagine being simply content again.

His eating habits get worse. One day he snaps at LQG for pining so much after SQQ. “You already know he’s never going to return your feelings. It’s embarrassing to watch you insist on giving so much when he’s not going to give anything back.”

“Shut up,” LQG snaps, “it’s not about getting anything back.”

But that makes it worse. Of course HX wasn’t actually talking about SQQ, though sure, that’s annoying too. LBh obviously knows, so why can’t they take their infernal flirting somewhere private, instead of flaunting it in front of LQG all the time?? But the fault’s with LQG too, what with all the giving. He should find someone more worthy of his affections and stop wasting his time here.

HX cuts everything he and LQG has built up in one fell swoop—completely gives him the cold shoulder. Only ever talks about work, no more dry quips, no more infodumps on niche hobbies. HX wishes he could destroy the tank at HQ, but that would be way too confrontational at this stage.

Until one mission, when LQG knows HX is not in a good place, and keeps trying to argue HX out of doing something excessively risky. HX rounds on him and says, “you’re just a hired gun, so shut up and shoot where I'm pointing, or you can pack your things and get out.”

LQG goes red, then white, and storms away.

“Nice sucker punch,” HC comments idly where he’s lounging on the side. Who knows when the fuck he showed up. “Right where it hurts.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know. His five-year stint with the Sha City Demons?”

Of course HX knows about that. He’s looked thoroughly into everybody’s backgrounds. But what does that have to do with this?

“Gege is the best at this, after all. See you and I, we stopped asking questions once we knew the name, because we don’t think people are ever as pure and good as they pretend to be. But you know what Dianxia said, after I mentioned Liu Qingge’s old gig to him? ‘Five years, hm? I wonder what they had on him. In my experience, men like Liu Qingge don’t work for crews like the Sha Demons. And in order to sink their claws deeper into men like him, the Demons always make them do the worst jobs.’ Just a hired gun indeed.”

That’s right. LQG gets a Moreau backstory of his own. HX feels his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

“Fuck.”

“I don’t know why you’re so stressed out about it. He is just a hired gun—”

“You know why. Fuck.”

“So get out of my face and do something about it already. You know where he’s gone, I know you’ve put trackers on your entire team.”

“...”

“You didn’t? No, you didn’t put one on him? My god, you do care.”

While HC’s busy sounding disgusted, HX is reeling. He just sent the best hitman in the field packing, and was an absolute dick about it. He was not a kind man, but he also wasn’t a cruel one. He believes in fairness, and everything he said simply had not been fair. It had all been his own guilt and issues talking; if he really didn’t give a damn, then he wouldn’t have...done all this.

“How much are you willing to pay?” HC says, swiping at his phone.

“What?”

“Because I don’t trust any of you, and did put a tracking device on Liu Qingge.” He sure has—HC is waving the loading tracking app in HX’s face. “So I’m asking, how much are you willing to pay?”

...And that’s the reason why HX owes HC so much damn money.

[delicioussshame]

I can’t finish anything so have some more wips.

______________________________________________________________

Luo Binghe isn’t sure how he feels about Shizun picking up a new disciple. He’s been the youngest for so long. How could he be a decent shixiong to this newcomer when he could barely cultivate? He’s always so busy ruining errands and dealing with Ming Fan too. Surely that’s why Shizun didn’t take him along.

But Luo Binghe takes one look at tiny Shen Yuan holding his shimei’s sleeve, staring wildly around, and feels his heart twist.

“Shen-shidi, that’s your shixiong, Luo Binghe.”

Luo Binghe swears Shen Yuan lit up when he turned toward him, and yet, his answer is very mature. “Luo-shixiong. This Shen Yuan will be in your care. I will do his best not to shame my shimei and shixiong.”

He’s so cute, standing there with a too serious face, that it takes all Luo Binghe has not to hug his new brother.

He’s always worked hard, but he’s going to have to work even harder now. He can’t disappoint Shen Yuan.

___________________

Luo Binghe cannot afford to fail here. He promised Shen Yuan he’d come back with the first place.

Shen Yuan had been so worried. He’d always been pushing books at him, trying to teach him about monsters Luo Binghe kept telling him he wouldn’t see at the Conference.

Nothing he could do would calm him.

Luo Binghe had found his reaction both endearing and heartbreaking.

Endearing, because how could he not when Shen Yuan was so obvious about his attachment to him? It only made his resolve to protect his dear shidi from everything stronger.

Heartbreaking, because Luo Binghe recognised himself in his fear. He remembers how he was after his mother’s death.

Shen Yuan receives no letter and never visits family. He never mentions anyone that’s not from the sect. He came with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Luo Binghe understands how a fellow orphan would be disturbed by the idea of losing his family all over again. He won’t let it happen. He won’t leave Shen Yuan to deal with their shizun’s mercurial temperament by himself.

He has to come back home.

___________________

He doesn’t manage it.

___________________

Shen Yuan has no idea what the fuck is happening.

He is pretty sure he did well on the “not getting slaughtered by Luo Binghe with the rest of the sect” front. Luo Binghe likes him! He always took care of him like a good older brother would. Shen Yuan made for a good, obedient younger sibling, diligent with his studies and polite to his elders.

He did not think that would translate to him being kidnapped out of the sect.

One second he was cultivating by himself, the next a portal opens, Luo Binghe steps out of it (way too early!) and pulls him inside his demonic palace, hello Luo Binghe’s domain.

Then he gets a hug. “Shixiong!”

Luo Binghe doesn’t let go. “Let your shixiong indulges a bit. He hasn’t seen his favorite shidi in so long.”

Shen Yuan sighs. “I’m your only shidi.”

“You’re still my favorite.”

______________________________________________________________

Luo Binghe immediately recognises the man dressed in cultivator garb as Yingying’s shizun.

Beautiful and serene, she said. The perfect image of an untouchable immortal, dressed in white and pale greens. Always holding a fan of exquisite manufacture.

But more than her vivid descriptions of her shizun’s loveliness, he remembers what she said next.

She’d been laying on her side, her long cascading hair not managing to hide her luscious curves.

Luo Binghe had known she wouldn’t be ready for another round just yet, and so had been pleased to listen to her lighthearted pillow talk.

Today’s topic had been her exasperation with her shizun’s lack of sex life.

“Sometimes I can’t believe how obtuse he is. Liu-shishu has been courting him for years, and I don’t think he ever noticed. And don’t get me started on the sect master! All Shizun would have to do is bat his eyelashes and the sect master would drop everything to worship him! But no, he never takes him on it. For a while I thought maybe Shizun just preferred women, but more than one female disciple has tried her hand at him, all to no avail.”

Luo Binghe could imagine the type. Cultivators could be lofty. They think they’re above the needs of the flesh.

He always enjoys teaching them how wrong they are.

If the demonic part of his heritage revels in desecrating those pompous righteous cultivators, no one else could tell. Luo Binghe was too good at his chosen hobby to let his personal feelings interfere.

“I love and respect Shizun more than anyone. Without him, I would never have become the kind of cultivator who can afford A-Luo’s company. So I am motivated by filial piety and nothing else when I say that I have never met anyone who needs to get laid more than Shen Qingqiu.”

Luo Binghe had laughed. “Oh? Is Yingying going to replace me with her old teacher?”

Her scandalised look had sent him into another bout of laughter. “A-Luo! I would never!”

“Then why is she telling me this? Does she want me to take care of him?”

Ning Yingying had stared at him, a glint in her eyes. Luo Binghe could see the plans form in her head as she spoke. “Actually, that wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would do wonders for Shizun, and I know A-Luo loves breaking people like him.”

Luo Binghe had blinked, inwardly caught off-guard. He wasn’t blind. He knew Ning Yingying was a lot more observant than she appeared. It wasn’t the first time she had made that kind of comment. “Yingying knows me so well. Should I be worried?”

She had swapped at him. He could have easily evaded the blow, but he didn’t bother. “A-Luo doesn’t have anything to fear from me. But honestly, if I sent Shizun your way, would you take care of him? I really think he could benefit from it. And Shizun is very beautiful! Many will definitely be jealous if they ever find out.”

Luo Binghe had nothing against the idea of taking a peak lord to bed. He bet Xin Mo would love to feed on such high-quality cultivation. “I would be honored to entertain your teacher.”

He could tell from the way she had brightened he was about to be thoroughly thanked.

She had payed him too, both for herself and for her shizun’s future visit. Generously enough that Luo Binghe had wondered if he should praise her filial piety to her shizun.

She didn’t lie. Shen Qingqiu really is exquisite.

Not as handsome as Luo Binghe himself, but nobody is. “You must be Shen Qingqiu.”

“Luo Binghe, I presume.” Luo Binghe cannot quite decipher the look he’s being given, which is rare enough to catch his attention. He’s pretty certain there’s some attraction there, but the rest? Trepidation? Outright fear? Disdain? Excitement?

He’s sure he’s going to find out. He gestures for Shen Qingqiu to sit down as he moves to prepare tea. He could have one of his servants take care of it, but Luo Binghe has always preferred taking care of things himself. That personal touch has seduced more than one client, if they didn’t visit him only for his food.

Shen Qingqiu drinks the offered tea in silence before he starts talking. “If you would please tell me your fee, I will be refunding Ning Yingying. I am sorry for wasting your time, but I have no interest in procuring your services.”

Ooh, that’s cute. If Luo Binghe wasn’t an expert at perceiving the signs of physical attraction, he might even believe him. Shen Qingqiu is interested, he’s sure of it. He’s just a prude, like Yingying said. “Yingying won’t accept it. Why refuse her most thoughtful gift?”

______________________________________________________________

What if he really intended to kill me?

It’s the thought that can’t quite leave his mind, no matter how implausible it seems. There is no way Shizun would have failed to eliminate him if that was what he wanted. For most people, it’s easy to forget how deadly easygoing, charming Shen Yuan could be, but Luo Binghe had always known better. Shen Yuan was never unarmed. He delighted in wearing ridiculously anachronistic poison rings and hiding slim daggers in his sleeves. He had taught Luo Binghe how to be ready for attack at any time. Luo Binghe had taken this lesson to heart, like everyone he ever received from Shen Yuan.

It isn’t hard for him to reach Shen Yuan’s room unnoticed. Having spent years living in the casino as his protégé, Luo Binghe knew all the employees-only passageways, the hidden entrances, the unused hallways. Two employees recognise him, but it’s not an issue. Shen Yuan would be ashamed of him if he tried something as daring as confronting him in his own domain without having done the proper research beforehand. He knows Shen Yuan buried the truth about his heritage. His shizun told everyone his charge had died in a tragic accident. Everyone figured he meant a job gone wrong and haven’t asked further questions. Those who recognise him seem pleased to see him, and giddy at the idea of him meeting Shen Yuan again.

Surely Shizun must still care, if everyone thinks he does?

He tries to calm his nerve as he enters the security code to Shizun’s room. For all of Shizun’s careful preparations when attacking others, he was downright careless with his own security, recklessly confident in the casino’s personal. In all of the years Luo Binghe had stayed with him, he had not once changed the combination.

The door unlocks soundlessly.

Luo Binghe breathes again. If it hadn’t worked, he would have charmed one of his old acquaintances into letting him “surprise his shizun with his unexpected survival”, but he much preferred not having to count in an interloper.

His first thought is that Shen Yuan is even more beautiful than he remembers.

There were countless nights ending like this, with Shen Yuan drinking tea from a dainty cup, still dressed in layers of fine clothes Luo Binghe always dreamt of removing with his teeth.

______________________________________________________________

Shen Qingqiu would say that Luo Binghe is a morning person, but in this particular case it would be a lie. Luo Binghe is just an anytime kind of person. As long as his husband is on the menu, when doesn’t matter. Shen Qingqiu is convinced that if he himself didn’t enjoy sleeping, Luo Binghe would forgo it altogether in favor of having sex all night long, every night.

Shen Qingqiu would die, but he thinks his stallion of a husband would just feel more energised.

So he’s not exactly a stranger to being awakened by intimate caresses. As long as it’s not too early, he’s usually amenable to it. He has to rise anyway, so why not make it pleasant?

He is somewhat less familiar with the current number of hands and mouth trying to wake him up. He’s pretty certain the teeth worrying at his chest and the hand sliding between his thighs are Luo Binghe’s, so the mouth on his nape and the other hand grasping his left hip must be Mobei-Jun’s.

He’s also pretty sure the erection rubbing against the back of his thighs is also Mobei-Jun’s, unless Shen Qingqiu is terribly wrong and he’s in a very, very bad situation. That is very unlikely, considering anyone trying to get frisky with him who isn’t those two must not only have a death wish, but the kind of death wish where they hate life so badly they want to spend their last year in pain and misery. His status as Luo Binghe’s husband is very, very well known, to his continued embarrassment. The occasional hopelessly stupid demon has tried to kidnap him. It had always, famously, ended very badly for them.

He could just open his eyes and look to check, but he can’t be bothered. He’s still tired, damn it. Last night’s play ended up lasting for quite a while. If they want to have fun, they can work for it.

______________________________________________________________

Shizun’s control over his smell was legendary on Qing Jing Peak.

Shen Qingqiu had always had complete mastery over his facial expression, but that this extended to even his scent was almost too impressive to be believed. And yet, even when he angered, it never spiked. He would still emit the same weak, almost chemical smell he was known for.

Not bad, no one on Qing Jing Peak would dare to speak a word against Shen Qingqiu’s scent, but not pleasant either. Only the faintest notes of plum blossoms could be detected under the medicinal smell.

When he had still lived with Shizun, Luo Binghe had wondered if Shen Qingqiu was hiding a partner on Qian Cao. Maybe it was their smell that lingered on his master.

He’d ruled it out after a while. Shen Qingqiu did not sneak out for mysterious meetings, and spent his heat by himself, seemingly unbothered. Luo Binghe had admired this too. His master was truly exceptional, to govern himself so thoroughly even when no one would have expected him to. Luo Binghe could only dream of having that kind of control. He’d shamed himself thoroughly during his heat, unable to hide how much he longed for Shizun to follow him to bed. Unable to stop himself from moaning his name and imagining him filling him up as he fucked himself on his own, unsatisfying, fingers.

After, Shizun had acted like he always did. He was used to mending omegas still overwhelmed by the aftereffects of their heat. He stayed perfectly appropriate, handling the matter with compassion but no effusiveness. If he heard Luo Binghe calling for him, he never let it show. His disciple could only envy his utter mastery of himself, and be a little bit bitter that it didn’t break even for him.

He only found out why, exactly, Shen Qingqiu’s scent was immune to fluctuations when he started tending to his lifeless body. It wouldn’t do for Shizun to get dirty, so Luo Binghe washed him, as chastely as he could.

At first, he had thought the change of smell was due to his condition. Shen Qingqiu’s body wasn’t able to produce more aroma. Maybe whatever caused it was deteriorating as everything else did?

But no. The scent emerging under wasn’t anything like the faint notes of medicine and plum blossoms Luo Binghe associated with Shizun. Luo Binghe detected something muskier, touches of sandalwood and hints of citrus. Not an omega’s scent. Nothing like Luo Binghe’s smell, which reminded most people of jasmine.

His first reaction had been incredulity. Surely Shizun couldn’t have been an alpha? There was no way he could life on Qing Jing Peak, surrounded only by omegas, and support them through their heats completely unaffected?

It became obvious Shen Qingqiu was just that extraordinary. His true scent couldn’t lie.

It made Luo Binghe giddy. If Shen Qingqiu was an alpha, once he returned there was nothing stopping them from having the family Luo Binghe always guiltily dreamt of! What could be more normal than an alpha and an omega getting married?