#poor shen jiu

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 2 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

My brain has been running on crack/reaction fics this entire day. So what better thing than to mix crack/reaction fics with SVSSS? (because "Why not?")

This idea starts with one simple change in the plot of SVSSS.

Edit: As of February 6th, this fic has a title: "Shen Jiu's Regret: Reading SVSSS"

Instead of Shen Jiu's soul being dispersed (or whatever happened to him), when Shen Yuan transmigrates Shen Jiu's soul goes into Shen Yuan's body (basically body swap but System tells Shen Yuan that his previous body is dead).

Shen Jiu is quite rattled when he wakes up in a hospital room with another set of memories ("Who the hell is Shen Yuan? Huh? It's ME!?"), surrounded people he personally doesn't know (who also seem to .... care about him? That's strange.) and in a very strange world (full of people that definitely never heard of the word "shame." - like seriously, what are these shameless and revealing clothes? And why is his hair short? Are people in this world just shameless?).

It takes him a few months to get back on his feet and adjust to this new world, but when Shen Jiu (his name is Shen Yuan now.... -he can't get used to it yet) goes back to his (new) old apartment he looks at the novel that the old Shen Yuan has been reading before all of this happened.

Instead of "Proud Immortal Demon Way", what Shen Jiu finds is a novel called "The Scum Villain's Self-Serving System" - which was apparently written by Airplane Shooting Across The Sky and Peerless Cucumber - which is double weird: 1. Shen Yuan has no memory of ever WRITING a novel (and 2. Who calls themselves after a vegetable? And what did that vegetable do to become "peerless" among other cucumbers? - Shen Yuan continues to be an enigma to Shen Jiu, and that guy is probably dead, so he can't really ask him what this ... name/title means either)

Lacking understanding of many things (and having no cultivation + no idea of how to get back into his body) but still being curious, Shen Jiu decides to star reading the novel.

Shen Jiu is cursing both Shen Yuan and his own curiosity right now.

TL;DR Shen Jiu swaps bodies with Shen Yuan and reads SVSSS, cursing both Shen Yuan and his own morbid curiosity as he does so. (And Shang Qinghua later)

Is this my glorified attempt at a reaction fic that only has Shen Jiu reacting to what Shen Yuan is doing in his own (former) body? Yes.

Is this my way of making Shne Jiu have multiple (mental) Qi deviations while reading SVSSS? Also yes.

Do I classify this as a crack fic? My brain certainly does!

(At one point or another, I am gonna expand on this idea, but my brain forbids me from doing so today)

So... Good? Bad? An 11/10 on the Crack Fic Meter? Tell me what you think.

Regardless, this is all for today. I will see you all tomorrow.

Bye,

- TooManyPlotBunnies - Send Help

[mccromy]

Disciple Shen Yuan au.

As it's been established before, Shen Jiu is an incredibly traumatized man, who took that cycle of abuse and made it a snowball turned avalanche of abuse.

He made up survival rules that served him well as a child on the streets, but only isolated him as a Peak Lord. He's paranoid, hateful and erratic. He's well aware that he's a bad man, he sees himself as the scorpion asking a frog for a ride, and he can't see that he does not sting because such is his nature, he stings because he believes with such certainty he knows the frog will drown him. And even if he went mad and decided to be good, he wouldn't even know where to start.

We learn by example, and we're well aware of the examples to follow available for him.

On that note, now that he's Peak Lord, he recreates his own trauma as the abuser. It gives him a sense of power, and it makes things fair, because if he couldn't have a kind master, then why should they (his disciples). It would be unjust, to let them have what he didn't, it wouldn't make sense, because now that he's at the top he sees how easy it could be to not do things. He doesn't need to whip these children, to make them kneel under the sun for ours on end. But he does anyways, he doesn't derive amusement from it, but if Qiu Jianluo could just not pay attention to him when he had the choice and did anyway, why would he give his disciples the reprieve he didn't have?

And he knows what is done to cruel masters. He knows that if given the chance, those cowering pathetic creatures will turn on him.

He won't let them.

In the end, he does not regard any of them as his students. And when Luo Binghe arrives, Shen Qingqiu ends up behaving as a less predatory Qiu Jianluo; he places Luo Binghe in the role of Xiao Jiu and Ning Yingying as Qiu Haitang. And, in the back of his mind he feels he can understand Qiu Jianluo for the first time (he's wrong, the monster Qiu Jianluo was and the monster Shen Jiu became are not the same. But Shen Qingqiu always thought he understood people very well, never realizing that what he read on everybody's faces were his own thoughts reflected back at him.) because he just can't not pay attention to that boy. Because Xiao Jiu had not a moment's rest under Qiu Jianluo so why should Luo Binghe ever find relief under Shen Qingqiu? If Xiao Jiu was a thing to be used, then isn't he so kind to make of Luo Binghe a beast instead?

Shen Yuan arrives, perhaps before Luo Binghe does, but it doesn't matter. Shen Qingqiu takes this boy in after being urged by Yue Qingyuan for his lack of showing up at the disciple entrance trial.

And, from the beginning one thing is clear.

Shen Yuan despises Shen Qingqiu.

Every new disciple that reaches his peak seems eager, nervous, desperate to show Shen Qingqiu how good they are. They look at him with awe and tentative hope, as if Shen Qingqiu would ever play their game. As if he'd ever give them what they feel entitled to but do not deserve.

Shen Yuan looks at him like he knows exactly what kind of master Shen Qingqiu is, like he knows exactly what Shen Qingqiu is thinking of, well aware of what the future entails for him.

And as they perform the tea ceremony, Shen Qingqiu looks at this boy and finally understands why Wu Yanzi saw a mistreated slave and decided he was too funny to let go.

Shen Qingqiu takes Shen Yuan as his disciple. He drinks what's clearly a tea brewed to offend, and for the first time on his tenure as a Peak Lord, drinks with the intent to become a teacher.

But we learn by example. The previous Qing Jing Peak Lord might've been his Shizun in name, but in his pathetic life Shen Jiu only ever recognized one teacher.

And Wu Yanzi loved to play games.

Shen Qingqiu smiles kindly, a hint of amusement showing in his eyes. The child looks at him as if he's gone insane, and Shen Qingqiu tilts his head as if he finds it so endearing.

"Excellently brewed, Shen Yuan, this master formally accepts you as his disciple. From now on this one is your Shizun, and you'll refer to him as such. Your Shixiongs and Shijies will become your family, and Qing Jing your home." Shen Yuan has grown pale, defiance turned into fear. But such is not the face of a boy scared as he wanders in the dark, uncertain of what's ahead. That's the face of someone who knows exactly what kind of animal lurks in the shadows from the way its teeth glint under meager moonlight. His mouth's become a tight line, breathing controlled to not hitch. He looks grim, not afraid. He was not expecting this, but knows how to play along. Shen Qingqiu inclines his head in a shallow bow. "Welcome, Disciple Shen, to my Qing Jing Peak."

The boy unclenches his jaw and answers drily, "this one thanks Shizun."

Shen Yuan's voice is flat, like Shen Jiu's when greeted Wu Yanzi. Shen Qingqiu grinned just as Wu Yanzi did.

Shen Qingqiu forgets something though,

He's not Qiu Jianluo, and he's not Wu Yanzi. And he might've been right in another life, with Luo Binghe and a self fulfilling prophecy of cruel masters dying at the hands of ungrateful wretched boys.

But he doesn't know Shen Yuan is not tied to a narrative, that he can recognize a self fulfilling prophecy from a mile away and turn tail the opposite way.

He forgets Shen Yuan is not Shen Jiu.

What Shen Yuan is, is freaking out, shouting "WHATTHEFUCK WHAT. WHAT. THE. FUCK??????" inside his head.

He smells a fucking rat. And he's NOT buying whatever you're selling Shen Qingqiu!!! Ptoo ptoo!! He's going to compare whatever manual you give him with other disciple's!!! from ANOTHER Peaks!!! SYSTEM?? SYSTEM ARE YOU GLITCHING??? IS HE GLITCHING??

[Host may rest in peace knowing Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu is acting perfectly in character ^w^]

(What do you mean rest in peace, are you telling me to R.I.P?? Is he going to kill me??? This is not the two bit scumbag I was promised??? What the FUCK you mean perfectly in character???)

[He is large, he contains multitudes.]

(Is he thinking about killing me or not???)

[This System cannot answer that.]

(Throw me a bone.)

[... Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu will behave differently towards his victim depending on said victim's profile.]

(VICTIM???)

[Whoops uwu. This System meant to say disciple! Every student has different needs! A good teacher knows how to adapt!]

And thus begins Shen Yuan's life at Qing Jing Peak.

Shen Qingqiu does give Shen Yuan a fake manual. Shen Yuan compares it to every manual he can get his hands on, and goes AHA! At the utter bullshit inside the book Shen Qingqiu gave him. End ups stealing one of Qian Cao, glues the cover of a Qing Jing peak manual on it. Glues the Quan Cao manual's cover on the Qing Jing manual lose pages. Takes the fake manual to Shen Qingqiu with the intent to confront him with a gotcha! Shen Qingqiu makes worried sounds. Oh, how could this happen, how dangerous! Is disciple Shen hurt? And burns the manual in front of Shen Yuan's aghast face, effectively getting rid of all evidence. Then apologizes and, smirking, hands him a new manual.

(Cunt.)

Said manual is slightly altered, but only midway, so is more difficult to spot it, yet still managing to damage the reader's cultivation at a crucial point.

Shen Yuan uses the pages to make paper planes and, instead of throwing them, he viciously stomps on them.

(Shang Qinghua shudders at the distance and then glances around to see if Mobei-Jun is sneaking a peak through his portals again. Over a decade Shang Qinghua has been at his service and he still randomly opens a little hole in the fabric of space to check Shang Qinghua is not betraying him! If his King keeps this up he just might! Hmph! ((He won't)))

Shen Qingqiu keeps being his acidic self with everybody else, but by playing mind games with Shen Yuan he accidentally places him on the spot of most favored disciple, outshining Ning Yingying, someone who Shen Qingqiu actually likes, because when Shen Qingqiu likes someone he's not sharp and cutting with them, but with Shen Yuan he looks dotting. It's driving poor Shen Yuan up the wall.

Not only nobody believes him, but the apparent favoritism has isolated him from other disciples who, driven by jealousy, try to sabotage him. Shen Qingqiu notices this and it half amuses him, half makes him feel a strange sort of anger he cannot understand.

As a favored disciple, Shen Yuan starts to accompany him in what used to be solo hunts, and in one of every three night hunts Shen Qingqiu sets Shen Yuan up for failure, grave injury, or death if he's been too annoying.

After some time being tossed around like a mouse by his evil cat of a Shizun, Shen Yuan starts to play along. He works himself to the ground to excel in every subject Shen Qingqiu tried to sabotage him in, and aided by his knowledge as a transmigrator, he succeeds. He follows Shen Qingqiu around like a shadow, delighting in the stressed twitch of his eyebrows. Gets too into it and starts playing it up as a good little henchman. He basically goes "good one boss!" To everything Shen Qingqiu says.

"Qi Shimei claims to be uninterested in this Shixiong's affairs, yet she's up to date on every single drop of gossip surrounding him."

And before Qi Qingqi can snap at him, Shen Yuan peaks from behind Shen Qingqiu's back and chirps:

"Qi-Shigu should be too mature to try to attract Shizun's attention with such ploys! She ought to send this disciple a letter and he will make sure to arrange a private meeting for both of you!"

Shen Qingqiu hates it. But he's nothing if not adaptable.

"If Mu-Shidi is done, this master has matters to attend to."

"Shixiong, this one is worried, your constitution has been worsening these past few years and, not only as your doctor, but as a—"

"As a what, Shidi? Sect brother? Friend?" sneers Shen Qingqiu.

"As a mother?" Pipes Shen Yuan, "is Mu-shishu Shizun's mother?"

"Ah, Shizi—?"

"Such nagging can only come from a mother's mouth!"

"Shidi is not this one's mother and should mind his place,"

"Shishu should shave that moustache, too."

Sometimes Shen Qingqiu finds him funny, sometimes he needs to hurt him.

He makes Shen Yuan use his qi to strengthen his hands as he makes him submerge them inside a pot of boiling water, as "training". After a few private training sessions, Shen Yuan starts to succeed in keeping them from burning. Shen Qingqiu surprises him with a pot of boiling oil. Shen Yuan stubbornly complies and succeeds. Hands red and stinging, but the skin remains intact, if tender

Shen Qingqiu is both disappointed, and a little bit relieved. But more than anything, he's angry. Had it been him, at Shen Yuan's age, the oil would've melted the flesh off his bones.

No matter what he throws at Shen Yuan, the boy comes up top, and even if he doesn't, he heals so quickly (he doesn't know about the Qian Cao manual), and it is as if he never failed in the first place.

Shen Qingqiu ends up losing patience and whips him three years into this game. Shen Yuan is fifteen. And as he is lowered down he glances back at Shen Qingqiu from his shoulder and says, pale and shaking, "I win," and throws up.

Shen Qingqiu qi deviates.

Shen Yuan looks at him, as he bleeds and convulses and thinks about letting him die.

He crawls towards him and, with the healing knowledge he's gathered through the years, stops the qi deviation before it turns lethal.

Then he passes out.

Ming Fan finds them and runs for help.

The rumor of the Qing Jing peak lord qi deviating after whipping his beloved disciple out of sheer horror and grief spreads like wildfire. Shen Qingqiu and Shen Yuan avoid each other for a month.

What does Luo Binghe think of all this?

At first, he admired Shen Yuan, favored disciple as he was. Then he envied him, for he was the only one Shen Qingqiu never hurt.

Then he felt ashamed, for Shen Yuan was kind and worked so, so hard, he deserved to be favored. Luo Binghe saw how the others treated him, and that only made him admire him more. Shen Yuan rose above his circumstances even when others attempted to bring him down.

Shen Yuan cross referenced an older Qing Jing disciple's manual with a Qiong Ding and a An Ding peak one, and his own Qian Cao manual, and wrote Luo Binghe a personalized manual (he also learned Shen Qingqiu kept faulty manuals around?? And sometimes gave them away?? WHY???? ((Shen Jiu confiscated them during his tenure as head disciple and never got rid of them. He did give one away accidentally, but Luo Binghe's and Shen Yuan's he gave on purpose)). Luo Binghe cries and hugs his kind, beautiful Shixiong. His cultivation improves immensely after that.

Shen Qingqiu notices this, notices the new manual and Shen Yuan's, who's become his Head Disciple, handwriting. He summons Shen Yuan to the bamboo house and berates him.

At first, Shen Yuan believes Shen Qingqiu is shouting at him (he lost his patience!! Shen Yuan 2, Shizun 0!) for not letting him kill Luo Binghe. Then he thinks it's actually for defying his authority.

Then, it dawns on him.

Shen Yuan had told him Luo Binghe had enough talent to surpass him and he shouldn't stifle it. Shen Qingqiu hissed an incredulous: "Then how will you fight him off when he turns on you?!"

Shen Qingqiu was going purple on the face over the thought of Shen Yuan giving Luo Binghe the tools to eventually hurt him

At first, Shen Yuan had been offended on Luo Binghe's behalf. Then, because was Shen Qingqiu trying to sow discord between them or something?

Then he remembered that in PIDW Shen Qingqiu gave Luo Binghe a faulty manual too, that he poured tea on him after Luo Binghe earnestly told him about his mother. Remembered how when he first began his good one boss! routine, Shen Qingqiu tensed imperceptibly when Shen Yuan trailed after him. How he's come to know this man, the way his eyes glint when he is satisfied and how his hands shake when there's a qi deviation incoming. How his lips twist when displeased, and how his breathing hitches when he is in danger. He's come to know his paranoia. He's learnt to recognize the way this man wears fear and realizes that that's what he's seeing now.

Shen Qingqiu is scared.

And when Shen Yuan looks back to what he knows of his Shizun, the things he's done in this life and the other. Many behaviors who seemed erratic and unpredictable, suddenly make sense when framed by fear.

And now he realizes that Shen Qingqiu is not only afraid of Luo Binghe, but he is also afraid of Shen Yuan.

But more than that, he's afraid for Shen Yuan.

Suddenly this game they play is not so fun anymore.

It never should've been.

(It might've never been, but Shen Yuan can be just as blind as his Shizun when he doesn't want to face the cruel reality he was reborn in.)

[bambooswordwielder]

Au where Shen Jiu wasn't left all alone at the Qiu Household.

Where even if Qi-Ge abandoned him, there was this one younger servant who would always hide him when Qiu Jianluo was hunting him down.

A younger boy who always knew when he was injured and would bandage them despite how many curses came from Shen Jiu's mouth.

A young boy who never left Shen Jiu alone, no matter how sharp his thorns were.

A younger boy who bared a striking resemblance to him, not enough for anyone to believe they were related, but just close enough that it made even Shen Jiu look twice.

A younger boy who seemed to always know what was going to happen, telling Shen Jiu one particularly random night to pack everything he valued and to run into the night away from the Qiu Household.

Shen Jiu agreed and so he took this younger servant by the arm and dragged him away, listening to this boy not to follow the strange rogue cultivator and to instead go to the prestigious sect of Cang Qiong.

Shen Jiu reluctantly agreed and so he went there, showcasing his determination and being accepted in as he showed his prodigal skills. When the peaklord of Qing Jing met him, Shen Jiu made it loud and clear.

"I will not join without him."

The peaklord glanced at the pale and bland looking boy next to the prodigy he had just found. Why would such a prodigy risk not joining Cang Qiong just for such a person? The boy wasn't particularly strong, thin and lanky in ways even concubines wouldn't wish for, and the paleness the boy had made him look sickly than appealing to the eyes.

"Who is he?" The Peaklord asked, an eyebrow raised as he narrowed his gaze.

The prodigy named Shen Jiu narrowed his gaze in return.

"His name is A-Yuan, and he is all I need."

[sereneabyyss]

I see so many things where like SY is the sweet innocent one who shows SJ how to love and be loved and fixes him blah blah blah. But oh come on now, this is Peerless Cucumber we're talking about. Number one hater extraordinaire. He is so bitchy. He would not fix SJ if anything he would make him worse.

I need more content that's just SY and SJ standing with their twin fans unfolded, viciously tearing their opponents (the other peak lords) apart with their barbed insults. I need them casting vicious mockery within every battle, whether it be against demon, peak lord, or random civilian who just happened to spill tea on them.

[nenestansunsthings]

having svsss au ideas beyond my station

thinking. shang qinghua goes on a mission as a young disciple to some town in fuckoff nowhere and finds himself in the qiu household. and there he finds a young shen jiu, undergoing the plot he originally intended for him and hadn't realised had become real and he's so young oh god hes so young why is he so small what do you mean that part was real, he hadn't kept it why is it real—

and he panics and sneaks him the Fuck out of that house

and he's not sure what to do but surely sending him to cang qiong will fuck up something in the plot and he can't come under even more investigation and cang qiong tryouts dont happen for months anyway and his system would probably never allow it (it doesnt. it would interfere with yue qingyuans story) but shen jiu is refusing to stay anywhere near this place and wants to learn cultivating to protect himself make sure nothing like this ever happens again and sqh panics harder and

calls mobei jun.

okay. on second thought, maybe this was a bad idea. but he stumbles over himself and shushes baby shen jiu's very understandable freaking out and asks his king for the first thing hes ever asked for other than his own life.

is there any way this human child could learn cultivation in the demon world?

[archerdepartures116]

[blue-mood-blue]

I’ve grown to appreciate the aus where Shen Yuan enters the story as “Shen Yuan” - same name, probably similar face, generally able to interact with PIDW as himself and change the story through his added presence. I like the sense of “if only you’d been here, things might have been better the first time around” of it all.

And I was thinking, it’s a funny coincidence in that scenario that someone named Shen Yuan gets put into… another Shen Yuan. What are the chances? What a weird twist of fate that Airplane would pick out the name that his most dedicated critic could slip into seamlessly.

What about a version where it’s not coincidence at all?

Airplane goes to school with a kid named Shen Yuan. He’s prickly and hard to approach and a little intense, but Airplane is persistent. In fairness, Airplane is relentless - and maybe it’s a good thing that they end up being friends, because they’re a little too much for anyone else to handle. They balance each other out. They’re the “weird kids” in class and they’re okay with that, because even when they don’t have any words for it, they know they’re not like their classmates, not really. That’s okay; they don’t want to be.

Recesses and breaks are consumed with the elaborate stories that Airplane wants to tell, and all the holes Shen Yuan pokes into them. It’s not mean-spirited, though, even though Shen Yuan isn’t the kind to temper his words. It’s passionate. He cares about those stories the way Airplane cares about them, and it can’t be mistaken for anything else when they lean together conspiratorially across the lunchroom table. They’ve both got notebooks filled with details and characters and monsters. Shen Yuan’s practically got a whole bestiary sketched out in wobbly childhood attempts at art, entries fervently scrawled beside them. Airplane prattles out plots nonstop, always with the promise of shining eyes and being asked “what happens next?”

They come up with a whole world together. Airplane’s going to write about it someday. Shen Yuan is going to read every word.

Shen Yuan misses school. Shen Yuan starts missing school a lot.

Airplane goes to the hospital room instead. He doesn’t think to worry, because Shen Yuan is okay - that’s what he says. He looks okay, and he’s a kid, and it doesn’t feel real that anything bad should happen to a kid. He doesn’t think to worry. He doesn’t think to say goodbye.

It’s one of the older Shen brothers who catches him on the way up to the room one day, in the hallway just outside - snaps at him to go the fuck home, and when Airplane hesitates, pushes him into the elevator and tells him not to come back. “Tells” is a generous way to describe the way the words come out - a growl, a hiss, the sound an animal would make when a hand got too close to a wound.

(It’s not fair to name a villain after him, even if the name never really comes up in the story. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He’d lost a brother minutes before, and he was getting his brother’s friend out of the way so he didn’t have to… see. It isn’t fair, but then, none of it is fair.)

Death feels very real after that.

The notebooks get shoved into a closet, and it’s not until Airplane’s moving out and one falls on him from a high shelf that he thinks about it again. He’s written things, lots of things, but nothing as ambitious as this - nothing as important. It could be good, he considers. He’d promised. Shen Yuan wanted to read it.

The problem was that no one else does, not for a long time, not until Airplane has whittled himself and his art into a corner and into such an unfamiliar shape that he has to wonder how it’s still his own face he sees in the mirror. He has to eat. He has to pay rent. Shen Yuan would yell at him, but Shen Yuan isn’t there to yell at him, and who cares. Who cares if it could have been better? The people who actually are here love it, and it’s paying his bills, and sometimes stories don’t go the way they’re supposed to and the world is fucking unfair. It doesn’t matter.

(It does. But he shoves that thought away along with styrofoam cups and soda bottles to the bottom of a garbage bag.)

Authors are not gods and their power is limited, but Airplane exercises just a sliver of what he’s been granted and gifts an inconsequential sort of immortality. He thinks about making him a rogue cultivator, maybe the kind that goes around documenting beasts and compiling his findings. He thinks about making him someone too powerful for death to touch, or too important to threaten, but when Airplane looks at the world he crafted and everything that’s become of it, it feels like the kindest thing he can do for Shen Yuan is a childhood where he’s loved, and a death that’s peaceful. What does it say about that world, that he’d kill off his best friend too early again instead of making him live there?

(The best writing he ever does is the only, shining moment of humanity that his scum villain ever displays: a lament about death that comes too early, about a brother gone too soon. The commenters praise him. The commenters flatter over how real the emotions feel. The commenters don’t get any response from Airplane on that chapter.)

Death is incredibly real when it comes for him too early, too, still hovering over his keyboard with the story technically finished and incredibly incomplete. Airplane could tell himself that’s because the written version can never be the version in the writer’s head, always shifting and with every possibility still on the table, but he knows better than that. The System knows better than that, with its condescending message about “improving” his writing and “closing plot holes” and “achieving his original vision”...

…and he’s a child again. He’s a child in his own story, he’s Shang Qinghua now without the benefit yet of a peak or cultivation or anything, and maybe he’s a little bitter, and a little scared, and…

And Shen Yuan - with longer hair, with robes, with a couple of older kids watching him from across the street, but undeniably the prickly little boy who used to sit down imperiously across from him and tell him everything that was wrong with the chuck of writing that had been handed to him last period, but with that smile that said he was only invested because he knew it could be better and they were going to make it better - marches up to him with a fire in his eyes and a frown that warns of a coming tirade.

“You told it wrong,” is the first thing he says.

Shang Qinghua wants to ask how him how he’s here, how this is possible, or maybe laugh because, yeah - yeah, Shen Yuan has no goddamn idea how wrong he got absolutely everything.

(Shang Qinghua wants to say “I missed you” and “why did you leave so soon” but he’s here now. He’s right here.)

“I know,” he says instead. “I’m sorry. It all kind of… spiraled out of control.”

Shen Yuan frowns, but then it dissipates the way it always does, and his eyes shine with ideas the way they always used to. “That’s okay,” he relents, grabbing for his hand. “We’ll fix it. We’ll make it what it was supposed to be.”

[emo-nova]

Okay, au where Shen Yuan is the older than Shen Jiu and Yue Qing. And this boy just goes "I'm a single mother of two" mode, he is responsible but is on the fringes of unhealthily independent as to make sure both of these kids get food and water and have a somewhat decent childhood.

Shen Jiu most likely sees Shen Yuan as a reliable adult but with a bad penchant of focusing too much on Shen Jiu and Yue Qi for resources. Yue Qi sees the same but wants to help Shen Yuan in getting more food and water.

Of course when the Qiu House comes knocking, Shen Yuan puts himself in the stead of Shen Jiu and ensures both of them leave. While Shen Yuan tries to both get a better standing in the house and looking to leave over the course of the years, he doesn't hold out much hope for Shen Jiu and Yue Qi to come back.

Last SY saw of them, they were kids, thin and tiny and barely fast enough to outrun adults. But when almost a decade comes, both of them rock up.

SJ is pissed, but looks composed, but still ready to burn the place down. YQ is livid, looking calm as anything, but is talking very nicely with the Young Master of the house in getting one of their slaves.

SY is brought out. He looks slightly healthier, not much, but he has some weight to him, and he is clothed better than rags. He looks presentable. He looks over to the two and has a mini heart attack.

Dawning realisation that "oh fuck, I was raising the scum villain and the head of Cang Qiong Peak" add a light anxiety attack in his head as he just watches everything happen.

They leave, SY in slight shock as he is now free, to Cang Qiong. Now this can go anywhere.

I personally want SY to not be a cultivator but a librarian to the libraries of SJ's peak to help Binghe get the correct manuel but also guide him a teacher-adjacent way to him and others.

Sure, SY would have a shorter life compared to others, but I think with him trying to become a cultivator when he is an adult already would be more difficult and just not worth it.

But anyone can pick this up to something else, possible with a hibernating system until Binghe comes around? Who knows? But enjoy this random, in the moment au :D

[miaoqing]

i really don't know how to feel about fics/aus where it turns out that sj's treatment of lbh is his own fault because he didn't speak up about issues with other disciples, genuinely misbehaved etc and also later (as bingge) lied about how much he actually got punished and in truth it wasn't any more than any other disciple, and that sj didn't know about the fake manual, when all of this is explicitly against canon.

yqy adresses this when sy wakes up, telling sqq to stop being so mean to lbh. in the sj extra, he himself says that lbh should have died a long time ago bleeding from the seven apertures due to the fake manual. sy says that pidw explicitly states that lbh was punished WAAAY more than any other disciple, and in those conditions obviously noone would tell their teacher about being bullied??

idk i understand altering canon for the sake of telling a story but... somehow it feels like a disservice to sj's character to ignore canon and water him down for the sake of making his redemption easier. and villifying lbh, which is what these fics inevitably end up doing, is also messed up - he was around 11 when he joined cqm. that's a CHILD. no matter how you look at it, sqq's "treatment" of lbh is neglect at best, horrible abuse at worst, and in modern times it would put him in jail faster than you could blink. giving him a realistic redemption arc is difficult, if not impossible, but if you truly love him with all his flaws and faults, isn't it worth the effort?

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 4 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Since yesterday's post was Long™️ I decided that the fic idea I wanna put forward today should be more on the short side (like a one-shot or less than 10 chapters short fic) just so I can claim that my brain isn't torturing me with fics ideas of the length and detail like yesterday's (which is a total lie on my part but claiming otherwise makes me feel better)

So, I present to you:

Unwilling cat!Shen Qingqiu and Very exited owner!Shen Yuan (feat. Panicking! Shang Qinghua because the Plot has gone off the rails and the System is having an... aneurysm?)

Edit: As of February 6th, this fic has a title:

"Dogs are dogs, but cats are people"

When Shen Yuan woke up (after he died) he did not expect to see himself in the body of a 12 years old child, all alone in the middle of nowhere. After a very much needed freak out given his circumstances, Shen Yuan did what he always did best: chose one direction and started walking in that direction in search of civilization. When he came across a village, it was not the way the people were dressed nor the way they spoke that surprised him; instead it was the name of the village. A name that he had only read once, in a specific stallion novel that he hated with a passion.

"Well," Shen Yuan thinks sarcastically, "this is fantastic, isn't it?" (At least he can be happy he was reborn as a non-essential character and not someone like the Scum Villain, right?)

With the amount of knowledge accumulated from the stallion novel, Shen Yuan managed to form a golden core in a couple of years and currently roams the lands as a rogue cultivator. He feels way healthier than in his previous life and prefers to stay out of the drama that is the main story line of "Proud Immortal Demon Way."" Why, you ask? Because he already died because he choked. All the deaths in PIDW are 100% worse and more painful. So, no, thank you. He is gonna avoid the Cang Qiong Sect (and all other sects) like the plague.

Two years after he transmigrated in this world, Shen Yuan finds a little white kitty with green eyes that hisses at him like the small little thing is ready to spew poison.

Shen Yuan thinks the little thing - it's a boy - is very much adorable.

Taking the little kitty in his hands, not minding how his claws are piercing through the skin of his palms, Shen Yuan looks at him with a big grin on his face. "Spicy little thing, aren't you?"

The kitten looks at him and lets out a very grumpy "Mrow" before bitting the finger that was massaging under the kitten's chin.

Seems Shen Yuan found himself a new travel companion.

----------------

Shen Qingqiu is having a bad day. Scratch that - his day is so awful, it is worthy of being put in his "Top Five Most Awful Days".

It started with that idiot Yue Qingyuan calling him "Xiao Jiu" - a name which he hates with his entire being - and telling him he is needed for a mission. Which, fine. It's not that bad.

But then the partner for this mission turned out to be none other than that Bai Zhan Brute of a Man, Liu Qingge. A man with whom he can never get along. But they have been through other missions together even if they have butted heads mid-way through the mission. So, again, nothing really new here.

What was new about his situation is that he is currently stuck as a four legged small animal. Like actually a small animal. And he has no sword anymore... or clothes. And he can't even feel his cultivation.

"Fantastic" he thinks sarcastically as he moves slowly through the crowd of people in search for that Bai Zhan Brute. (Liu Qingge has to be able to recognize him, right? Right?)

He never expected to be picked up by a child no older than that little beast of a desciple he has. He also never expected that, despite all the hissing, bitting, clawing and wiggling he used in order to escape from the kid's hold, the idiotic child (cause there is no way this kid has all mental faculties intact) would just laugh and seem... pleased?.

"This child, Shen Yuan, is weird." Shen Qingqiu concludes in his mind as he looks at the little idiot grinning despite Shen Qingqiu's fangs holding his finger hostage. "And this day is still awful."

(At least he won't starve tonight.)

------------------

Liu Qingge is not panicking. He really is not.

If that little spoiled young master of a scolar decided to up and leave mid-way through their mission, it's not his problem.

(Shen Qingqiu wouldn't leave during a mission however. That man is way too prideful for that. And he wouldn't leave his sword and clothes behind in the forest either.)

Liu Qingge checks the Warm Red Pavillion anyway; just to be sure that Shen Qingqiu isn't up to his nefarious deeds like before when he caught him sneaking out to drown himself in carnal pleasures.

(Shen Qingqiu is not there. Liu Qingge check the perimeter three times. Still no sign of that spoiled young master. He is getting worried.)

When Liu Qingge comes back to the inn they are staying at, Shen Qingqiu isn't there either. Nor is he there the next day or the day after that.

Liu Qingge is not panicking. (He is panicking)

He is not going to keep looking for that asshole. (He still checks the entire village for his fellow Peak Lord. There is no trace of him anywhere.)

A heavy sigh escapes from him as the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, the so called God of War, hides his face with the palms of his hands.

"Yue-zhangmen is going to kill me."

---------------

In the An Ding Peak Lord office, the current Peak Lord Shang Qinghua looks at the scattered papers on his desk with growing horror.

Not because there are a lot of papers for him to write or check.

Nor is it because some of them have splashes of ink on them which means he has to re-write them from scratch again.

The reason behind the horror in his eyes lies in the floating screen that glows red intermittently, as if it is a piece of wood in a see of fire. The words on the floating screen read as follows:

"SYSTEM ERROR! SYSTEM ERROR!

THE PLOT OF THE NOVEL "PROUD IMMORTAL DEMON WAY" HAS DIVERTED FROM ITS INTENTED COURSE.

OOC BEHAVIOUR DETECTED FROM SEVERAL CHARACTERS!"

Shang Qinghua's eyes are still wide with horror as he faintly wispers, more to himself than the System.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

--------

Luo Binghe doesn't know what to do. Liu-Shifu returned a month ago from a mission with his Shizun (his very mean Shizun; the Shizun that he still wants to be acknowledged by, be praised by) without well,... his Shizun.

Everything went downhill from there.

He, together with Ming Fan and Ning Yingying, are still taking part in the search parties for his Shizun. But the search still yields no result.

No one seems to have seen his Shizun at all. It's like the man was swallowed by the earth itself.

While searching around, Luo Binghe comes across a rogue cultivator by the name of Shen Yuan. He seems to be his age and is a very nice person. (Luo Binghe really likes this rogue cultivator. He is very kind to him and Luo Binghe can count the people that were nice to him in his life on one hand)

The only problem is that Shen Yuan's little white cat doesn't seem to like him - or anyone, besides maybe Shen Yuan - all that much.

Still maybe asking Shen Yuan to help them find Shizun is a good idea. (Plus he gets to spend more time with Shen Yuan too. That's a bonus.)

So what do you guys think?

Also here:

Cat!Shen Jiu towards everybody:

Cat!Shen Jiu waiting for his supposed fellow "Peak Lords" and "desciples" to realize that he is the cat (and they still don't):

Shen Jiu, throughout this whole fic: I am surrounded by idiots....

This idea was both fun to come up with and hilarious to boot too. I might actually take a shot at writing this, given that my brain doesn't make it an over 10 chapter long fic. I do have a question though: if you were to give this fic a title, what title it would be? (I need all the help to chose titles cause I am BAD at them)

Regardless, I hope you had fun reading this and that the rest of your day will nice as well (and good night to those that read this post just before bed).

I will see you guys tomorrow,

- TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

P.S.: This was low-key, the inspiration behind the idea of this fic

[shizunitis]

SVSSS high school AU

[looking out the window with a thoughtful frown]

I was thinking back on my time in high school and…

Did anyone else have a classmate that was obviously Rich and kinda spoiled, but that was So Nice to everyone? Had the mannerisms and vocabulary of a doted-upon heir but the accepting and excited eyes of a sheltered kid seeking friends and companionship? Not necessarily smiling all the time, but was always present and active when interacting with the others?

Shen Yuan. Vice Class President. Beloved by teachers and classmates alike. Always willing to lend you money, and he won’t even ask for it back. Wouldn’t, even if he remembered!

And then the classmate that was subtly bitter about everything and mostly brushed off everyone? Made kinda’ lame jokes but didn’t really seem to care much when no one laughed, cause they wanted the others to let them be? Conspicuously absent from extracurricular activities, really didn’t give much of a shit as long as they got by?

Airplane. Ends up labelled as the class rebel but he doesn’t do anything, so it’s kind of bewildering that that’s his legacy. He is very unaware of his own vibes.

The clearly smart kid who never studies and still gets perfect or almost-perfect marks on everything, but no one really knows anything about them because they’re so reticent? Dislikes attention if it comes from who they perceive to be looking down on them? Any sort of authority figure is, to them, an opponent they must best without letting them know they’re competing at all? Bratty as fuck?

Binghe. Depending on which one we’re talking about, they’re either stupidly popular and elicit jealousy from their peers or admired (and highkey feared) from afar. Is vying for Class President to impress Shen Yuan. They’re a duo! They need to be a united front!

(It would also be very funny to me if Bing-ge was a year older than Bing-mei but got held back a year. The fights? The seething jealousy? Shen Yuan sandwich? Superb.)

Mobei-Jun is the silent, kind of out-of-his-depth but solemn kid everyone gravitates around and it’s astounding to him that these people are so invested in his opinion. Leave him alone. He does not want to bear witness to any of your pathetic attempts at flattering him! It’s so clearly fake. Very pretentious and doesn’t even realise it. Parents are Stupid Wealthy.

The class president is obviously Yue Qingyuan. Luo Binghe will win, though. It’s just a matter of time.

Liu Qingge is on some sports team, probably captain. Luo Binghe will win against him, too.

(Shen Yuan once mentioned that Liu Qingge’s muscles are very manly and now it’s on sight. This is the only thing the Luo brothers agree on. Neither are happy about it.)

God. Imagine them on a school trip. The poor chaperones.

[alittlelessalone]

Fun Scum Villain fic concept:

So Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua are sent back to their original world temporarily due to system shenanigans and need to wait x number of days until they can go back. They wake up at the times of their deaths and get to use this time to do some final things in the world before returning back.

So Shen Yuan of course wants to spend the time with his family and getting to see them again and say goodbye in a less depressing way. But Shang Qinghua doesn’t have that and he’s just finished PIDW.

Shen Yuan makes sure he has enough money to get him through the timeframe (after learning about Shang Qinghua’s financial situation), so he doesn’t need to work to keep himself alive, so he decides he wants to write something a little more heartfelt as a sort of last hurrah.

He decides in honor of the two lives he and Shen Yuan stole, he’s going to share the backstory of Shen Jiu and write a story about Shang Qinghua.

Shen Jiu comes first and it’s mainly just a tale about him and Yue Qingyuan using his unposted backstory, but in the end he decides to make some minor changes so it’s not as depressing. Namely, that when they died, their souls were both sucked into Xuan Su. The pair ended up trapped there, but they were trapped there together in a world that couldn’t hurt them anymore and allowed them to finally be together.

It’s a poignant and bittersweet story that doesn’t excuse Shen Jiu’s behavior, but it does a lot to explain it and expand his character. And while it of course has its detractors, people generally like it and Peerless Cucumber is there in the comments singing its praises for all to see (and there in Shang Qinghua’s apartment smacking him over the head with a rolled up magazine and scolding him for being by such a good writer and selling out on PIDW).

The Original Shang Qinghua story doesn’t really have any old notes to go off. He was never meant to be a fleshed out character and was always just a plot device villain. But Shang Qinghua feels bad for PIDW’s Mobei-Jun, so he decides to write something for his sake too.

In this story, it’s revealed that Mobei-Jun didn’t actually kill the Original Shang Qinghua, but instead worked with him to fake his death after Lou Binghe ordered him dead. Shang Qinghua reveals that the pair were actually lovers and maintained their secret relationship over the years and that was why Mobei-Jun never seemed interested in romance.

And most readers are like wtf except for the bl fans who love it. And even Peerless Cucumber is a little more hesitant to praise it since it sort of came out of nowhere, but he can admit that it’s clever and well written. And Shen Yuan can tease Shang Qinghua relentlessly for it, even if he also approves and finds it very sweet.

Depending on how much more time they’re stuck there, maybe the pair can also write one more story, giving the original Lou Binghe a happier ending too.

Eventually, it’s time for them to go back. Shen Yuan says goodbye to has family and Shang Qinghua says goodbye to PIDW and hopes that his changes and additions can bring people some peace, even if it’s probably too late for those who need them most.

Shen Yuan realizes that Shang Qinghua was trying to alter the canon in hidden ways so that the system could silently incorporate them into the world without breaking anything. He figures it’s mainly for Bing-ge’s universe that’s still more or less PIDW, but being the mega-fan that he is, he decides to put a theory to the test.

It takes a lot less time with the help of the sect, but he manages to grow another plant body like his own. And then with Yue Qingyuan’s permission, he uses some of Shang Qinghua’s new hand-wavy canon to reach out to Xuan Su. And the next thing he knows, Shen Jiu is waking back up in the plant body after years trapped inside the sword.

And of course there’s a lot of questions and Binghe tears, but Yue Qingyuan gets his Xiao Jiu back and Shang Qinghua realizes that his changes must have taken in the other universe too, now meaning there’s less suffering there as well. He gets to curl back up in his king’s arms that night and rest assured that no matter what universe he’s in, both his king and that universe’s Shang Qinghua are well and truly loved.

[touchlikethesun]

i love that when we read from shen yuan’s pov, he seems so concerned with not being too OOC - hiding his reactions to things, responding how he thinks sqq ought too, etc. - and because we’re reading from his pov, and none of the characters ever confront him, we the reader just assume that he must have done an okay job making the transition.

and then we get to airplane’s extra chapters and it turns out the peak leaders called an emergency secret meaning because there’s no way sqq would ever behave like that he must be possessed or an amnesiac like boy you did such a bad job you did not fool a single gd person that knew the old sqq. they just hated the old guy so much they decided to let it be 😭

[yuhua-a]

"does zhangmen shixiong bother all his shidi in their spare time, or is this qingqiu particularly troublesome to need such supervision?"

poor qi-ge just wants to visit xiao jiu 😿 me too yue qi, me too 😹

[adragonthatwrites]

Dr. Shen's Log

Date; 26, 5, 2024

I’m here to write down in proper detail what exactly happened because I know for a fact the incident report will not cover the true beauty of that moment.

So first things first we’ve got Yue Qingyuan coming out of the fishtank and back up beside the boat outside, right? And he’s frankly being a real angel about this whole thing; we’ve hoisted him up with a big crane that almost died under his weight, poked and prodded pretty much every part of him, stuck our hands in his mouth and shined lights in his eyes, the whole thing. Frankly he’s the most patient mer I’ve ever encountered! We didn’t send any divers in with him; Dr. Shen was still too squirrelly about direct contact while in the water, which I will admit, I can respect. He is an apex predator at the end of the day best to keep our wits about us!

So anyway we’re up on the deck as Yue Qingyuan circles back around the side of the boat. Now, I bring out some tuna to give him because frankly I think he deserves something nice for his patience aside from a ‘thanks for this it’s totally gonna help your species!’

So I’ve got some nice big tuna and I try to get Dr. Shen to help me throw it over the side; he’s the other head researcher here and he should really try to form some sort of nice relationship with Yue Qingyuan since he’ll be seeing so much of him you know? He calls me an idiot and turns around to stomp down the deck, and slips on some fish oil.

He screams like a girl as he topples over the side of the boat and straight into the water. A dozen people; including myself; lean over the side in time to watch him bob back up to the surface gasping and flailing, and while that’s happening Yue Qingyuan pauses where he’d been circling the boat and comes right up to have a look at what’s going on.

So Dr. Shen looks up to find himself nose to nose with one of the topmost oceanic predators, and credit where credit is due, he held his cool! Stayed relatively calm and didn’t start flailing or yelling or trying to get away.

The first thing Yue Qingyuan does is a little circle around; what I like to call the Friendly Brush. He swims around Shen Jiu and lets his side brush against him as he goes; it’s kind of a way to say hello while also getting a feel for the size and build of one another. We lose sight of Dr. Shen briefly as he’s pulled under by the current from Yue Qingyuan’s movements.

A few seconds later he bobs back up the surface, and by now he’s starting shivering and floundering a little; to be fair he did just fall in the ocean. So, Yue Qingyuan apparently decides the best course of action is to pick him up, roll over, and put him on his midsection.

So now we’ve got Dr. Shen straddling the waist of this huge mer while like half the research crew is freaking out up on the deck trying to figure out what to do now. Yue Qingyuan meanwhile is very calm about this whole situation; he’s got one hand on Dr. Shen’s thigh while he just floats along very relaxedly. Honestly it kind of reminds of sleeping holds observed in smaller mer species…

Anyway, eventually I manage to get everyone calm enough to actually lower down a latter to send some folks down the side of the boat, and after a lot of waving and gesturing Yue Qingyuan swims over to it and we manage to get Dr. Shen off him and up the latter, to somewhere he can dry and warm up.

The best part, of course, is that this entire thing was all caught on camera; and yes, I will be making Dr. Shen’s scream my new ringtone he can kill me if he wants I don’t care I will die a happy man!

Dr. Shang Qinghua.

Start - Prev - Next

[10000year-old-child]

The fanfics of Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan as siblings strongly reminds me of Shi Wudu and Shi Qingxuan from TGCF. Imagine if the reason Shen Jiu was reborn as a slave was because of his previous actions/ death as Shi Wudu and is given the worst of luck (misfortune follows him). Which is why Shen Yuan was taken from him to be raised in a softer, more comfortable world because he obviously suffered hardships at the end of his life as Shi Qingxuan.

Also if He Xuan was reborn as Luo Binghe. you know, the protagonist. who is also a heavenly demon (former ghost king, anyone?). Who has all the fortune in the world protecting him and forcing him to progress forward no matter what.

Shen Yuan becomes obsessed with Luo Binghe. he cheers him on and becomes his no. 1 fan. enjoying his progress and journey. He feels strangely connected to the character. (He wants to see him progress because the guilt of stealing his fate still lingers). Meanwhile, Luo Binghe the cold, vengeful heavenly demon who is put on the scholarly peak feels empty inside 24/7 develops an obsession with Shen Yuan almost instantly after his transmigration. An obsession that changes his entire cruel demeanor and he doesn't know why either but Shen Yuan (Shen Qingqiu) is otherworldly and perfect and he must make sure all his needs and wants are met. (He also wants to see him happy because he feels like he ruined the last good thing remaining in his previous life. He is Lowkey guilty about it)

Shen Jiu (Shi Wudu) was once offered the chance to redeem them both, bury old wounds and start over with Luo Binghe as his student. But he could never shake the uncomfortable feeling he gets from the little beast. After their last disastrous life where he dies as Shen Qingqiu in the water prison he is offered the option to return but this time give his previous younger brother the chance to try instead. While Shen Jiu would be taken some other world to start over (obviously he suffered enough) maybe he'd take his brother's place in the modern world or some other new place. He feels bitter about it but he eventually accepts it.

In a way they were all given EXACTLY what they wanted. Shi Wudu was given another chance, and obviously his brother was the safest he could possibly be as Shen Yuan, He Xuan got to be a one in a billion kind of talent with unlimited fortune, luck, strength and fate protecting him and got to have a chance at being a renewed Scholar in a cultivation sect not to mention his 3000+ wives (all the women he could protect). Shen Yuan got a break from his brother and well everyone and everything for a half lifetime, until he got to be with Luo Binghe again. Somehow it all worked out!