#redeemed villain shen yuan

[h0frwann1ng]

Recently got back into httyd and thought about a silly svsss AU

[starry-bi-sky]

pouring one out for luo binghe in my disciple SQQ fic, poor guy has taken a backseat here. we're nearly 30k words deep and he hasn't even shown his face once. it'll be much longer before he even actually talks to Shen Qingqiu.

(i say im pouring one out but in reality im sitting in my director's chair chewing on a cigar and wearing a beret as he tearily and unsuccessfully pleads with me for more scenes with Shen Qingqiu)

[mischeaveous-and-random]

#liu qingge survives the caves because Shen Yuan is so snarky about how shitty he is at takint care if himself he starts to regularly#see MQF for check ups just so he can have proof he is in good health wheb he runs into Shen's evil child#thus mu qingfang stops him going into the caves#he cant take any more snide needling comments about him looking sickly#svsss#shen jiu#shen yuan#moshang#mobei jun#shang qinghua#luo binghe These tags jsjsjssj SY just becomes SJ's menace child

Idea: Shen Jiu wanders by the camp of children waiting for the entrance exam one night and comes across a small child beating Shang Qinghua with a stick shouting about his terrible writing and stupid ideas

It's very amusing even as Shang Qinghua is clearly not hurt he still looks cowed. And Shen Jiu is thoughtful, leaving his Shidi to get beaten by a small child

The next day the kids barely break soil before Shen Jiu is like: "That one" pointing at Shen Yuan

Everyone is surprised and pleased with his decision he leaves and in a frantic bit of panic Shang Qinghua nabs Luo Binghe

Which leads to Shen Yuan repeatedly stealing Luo Binghe and when questioned he says "he belongs on Qing Jing, not with that man"

Shen Qingqiu is delighted by the spite and joins Shen Yuan in trying to get Luo Binghe to switch to Qing Jing but Luo Binghe actually quite likes An Ding and Shang Qinghua who ruffles his hair and personally taught him to read.

(Shang Qinghua just wants to not die)

Anyway Shen Qingqiu secretly delights in Shen's sassy and snarky ways but he's also bad with children so he's like "fascinating." *pokes Shen Yuan with a long stick*

Ming Fan tries to bully Shen Yuan and gets called a "forgettable cannon fodder" and "ant boy" and immediately deflates and cries

Remember Shen Yuan was a bored rich kid internet weirdo. He's not dealing with bullshit if he can get away with it

[disgracefulthings]

How To Redeem A Shen Jiu, Part 2

Written By A Prolific Fanfic Reader

9. Give him a transmigrator lover

Shen Yuan: Hi shidi!

Shen Jiu: You are too frustratingly kind and I despise you and everything you stand for, and why haven't you fucked me already?!?!

10: Give him a transmigrator lover... again

Shang Qinghua: H-h-hi shidi...

Shen Jiu: Cute and scared of me, sounds like my type of ideal man

11: Have him see the error of his ways

Shen Jiu: I will no longer abuse my students

Luo Binghe: If you do 1 nice thing to me I promise I will marry you about it

Shen Jiu: I just can't win, can I?!

12: Give him a different heavenly demon lover

Tianlang-Jun: You remind me of my dead lover

Shen Jiu: Your pick-up lines fucking suck

Tianlang-Jun, sighing dreamily: ...just like Su Xiyan...

13: Have him share a body with a transmigrator

Shen Jiu: Stop smiling at people, they're going to think I'm possessed!

Shen Yuan: I mean, they're not wrong

14: Turn him into a cat

Cat Jiu: ...at least no one will try to fuck me like this

Cat Yuan: You clearly never heard of a catboy before

15: Take him at his most broken and have him put himself back together

Shen Jiu: I have caused so much pain to people, and they caused me so much pain in return. It is time for me to stop running from the possibility of happiness. I have lost too much, but I will continue on and actually try to be better. I don't know if I'll ever find happiness, but I'm no longer scared to try

16: Harem AU

Tianlang-Jun: Have you ever been worshipped by a heavenly being~

Liu Qingge: I still hate you, but I can't deny that I also love you

Luo Binghe: This disciple has so much to teach to Shizun <3

Shang Qinghua: I may be a virgin, but I've done the most research when it comes to papapa!

Yue Qingyuan: Xiao-Jiu, remember that I loved you first!

Shen Yuan: ...welcome to my world

Shen Jiu: Honestly I rather go back to being a villain

[azzandra]

I have some thoughts I'm trying to articulate, but, I've been reading a lot of transmigration stories lately, so I couldn't help noticing, eventually, how a lot of them flinch away from the full implications of transmigration sometimes.

This tends to happen in one of two ways: either the transmigrator is proven to be, in some way, the original body's owner (usually through some reincarnation and/or regression combo), or the original goods is given some kind of justice by the transmigrator because the transmigrator is capable of doing things that the original goods can't. In villain transmigration stories, there's sometimes the added twist that the original goods wasn't *that* villainous, or they were merely a victim of circumstance or something.

I think this is because otherwise, well, wouldn't that just be too sad? Isn't it depressing to think that someone's body was taken over and their life hijacked and they just, what, didn't matter? I'm sure a lot of people would think so. I'm sure on some emotional level, for a lot of people, that just doesn't feel right.

But in SVSSS, it doesn't play out like that. MXTX doesn't flinch when she lays out Shen Qingqiu's fate. She doesn't shy away from making Shen Jiu a true villain (yes, he really was as rancid as PIDW implied, there was no surprise reveal, he wasn't 'secretly good', he was just... a regular child abuser).

But if he was just a villain, maybe that would also please some people's sense of justice, and they would think 'good, he deserved to be erased from existence'. So she also makes him a victim of circumstance, someone who suffered in ways that an audience would sympathize with, someone who actually does have some redeemable traits, but was never given the support to actually become a better person.

This leads to a kind of equilibrium of dissatisfaction that I think may leave a lot of the audience frustrated. Shen Jiu was never going to redeem himself on his own, but at the same time, he *also* wasn't given the opportunity in the first place. Nobody is pleased, just like Airplane predicted when he conceived the character's backstory.

And Yue Qingyuan's role in the story is to deny the audience the opportunity to look away from The Implications. Shen Jiu's disappearance was felt as a loss for at least one person. You can't argue 'no harm done' by Shen Yuan's transmigration into this body, because to at least one person, Shen Jiu's disappearance is a monumental harm. And that is, maybe, perhaps, the point. This is how MXTX deconstructs this trope.

[tiredbitchposts]

Jin Guangyao is Shen Jiu if airplaine had wrote Shen Qingqiu to be more than an one-dimensional villain. Before anyone asks what i'm smoking, i'm not talking about the characters' personalities themselves, i'm talking about it in a meta/fandom type of way. In scum villain, when questioned by Shen Yuan as to why the Og!Shen Qingqiu's backstory was scrapped from the story, Airplane pretty much said that he since he didn't want to redeem Shen Qingqiu he ommitted the backstory so his audience didn't annoy him for a redemption arc he had no interest in writting. Later on, in mdzs, MXTX wrote Jin Guangyao , a whore's son with a compelling backstory you can't help but root for and if not to at the least pity to some degree, and he happened to be the final villain questionably responsible for many crimes commited throughout the story (questionably bc MXTX loves her unreliable narrators) that the author had no desire to redeem despite many wishes from the audience

[lambiesvault]

Shen Yuan at original Bingge: main tumhara scum villain redeem kar du, toh?

Bingge:

Shen Yuan:

*gets hunted for love and sport in every universe*

[miixz]

🔥🔥gimme a spicy svsss opinion!

SQQ is the villain of SVSSS, and by that I mean SY as well as SJ, though obviously in different ways.

SJ was the irredeemable villain of PIDW, which sadly doesn't get acknowledged often enough (I cannot describe how much I wish I could find more fics with him there in which he's allowed to be the main villain tether than sad and deserving of nothing but sympathy)

But I also feel like we ignore SY's role as the redeemable villain of SVSSS.

If you take him out from the plot, it's amazing how much of the conflict can't really happen. He's allowed to redeem himself because not only did he raise Luo Binghe into someone who could forgive him, but he also seeks that forgiveness. He might not have meant to hurt him, and he had his reasons, but he did do so and he admits his wrongs on the end, wanting to do better by Binghe. But he did make the mistakes that led into the biggest messes on the plot and he knows it too.

I suppose you could argue it's on the system, who forced him into that role, but Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu himself realizes later that even his task of making sure Luo Binghe entered the abyss could have been handled differently, that he was needlessly cruel there.

To me that's a very interesting dynamic they have, that SQQ(SY) manages to fulfill the role of both love interest and villain at once. I really like it, but I don't see it much in the fandom, at least The corners I've been to.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

What do you think of the trope “Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu are the same person”? I feel that sometimes people use it as “oh he’s redeemed” or something and I’m just kinda like😐 leave shen yuan alone. No one I know has read this before! I’ve got no stimulation😔 would it be weird to PM you stuff sometimes?

Ticobi! 🥰

I don't enjoy this trope in the slightest honestly, because while Shen Qingqui, Shen Yuan, took on the life of the Peak Lord, he never considered himself the earlier incarnation of Shen Jiu.

As if testing the waters, Yue Qingyuan said, “Xiao-Jiu…”

“Shixiong,” said Shen Qingqiu, “it’s Qingqiu.”

Even though it would be too difficult to tell Yue Qingyuan the truth, Shen Qingqiu still hoped he could demonstrate the difference in other ways.

Yue Qingyuan was stunned for a bit, then gave a small smile. “It’s Qingqiu. Qingqiu-shidi.”

Meaning, "I am not that child you failed to protect,and you are not the man that I centered my world on despising for letting me down. But I am your ally, you are my friend, there is nothing for either to feel sorry for, and we can start anew without debt, guilt, and hate we don't have".

Yue Qingyuan, I feel, is relieved that he is able to turn a leaf over in their lives that is happy finally. He can trust in himself that he can be at peace, and Shen Qinqqiu has found the one he wants to follow finally of his own will. There is nothing holding the other back and there is no veiled tension that can blow up. Shen Yuan knows he is not Shen Jiu, but he is Shen Qinqiu, the friend of Yue Qingyuan, not the protector of Shen Jiu, but the peak lord friend.

What are your plans for the future?” asked Yue Qingyuan.

"I have no plans for the time being,” said Shen Qingqiu. “First I’ll wait for Luo Binghe to return and see how he’s doing.”

Yue Qingyuan smiled. “You truly adore that disciple.”

Shen Qingqiu was searching for a way to answer when Yue Qingyuan said, “Shidi, Cang Qiong Mountain will forever be a place to which you can return whenever you tire of wandering the outside world.”

These words were said with utmost sincerity and solemnity.

Yue Qingyuan had always been this way. Whatever he promised, he would definitely deliver. And what he couldn’t deliver, he would endeavor to make up for, no matter the cost.

If Shen Yuan was really Shen Jiu of the past and really that person, this would not have had a kinder resolution. All relationships cannot be repaired despite how kind and accommodating Yue Qingyuan was. Shen Jiu didn't want that, and would never forgive what he saw as a betrayal because of his life circumstances. Shen Yuan, even gaining that past and living through those memories, does not feel jilted for anyone other than Yue Qingyuan and Luo Binghe.

The two Shen Jiu despised to his death despite any guilt, became the two most important for Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan's, Shen Qingqui's, redemption, is not tied to whoever Shen Jiu was. Shen Jiu no longer existed in order for a redemption of the story and villain to happen. Shen Jiu sadly, had to disappear for a change to reflect. There is no what if chance for Shen Jiu as he wasn't the one that wanted to change his reputation.

If only he really were Shen Jiu.

If only that person could really hear these words.

Because he is not Shen Jiu, who would not accept the peace between them and Yue Qingyuan's blessings that Shen Qingqiu had.

[trickstarbrave]

i think its tragic how if sqq told binghe to jump he would have. sqq could have told him he couldnt explain but he had to do this and binghe prob would have been slightly better (tho prob still insane. its binghe okay he was already a lil off his rocker). but sqq thought no matter what he was a backstory villain who only existed as canon fodder. that at best he could make the waiting time more bearable by being nice to lbh. but ultimately he's doomed by the narrative. he has convinced himself sqq as a person has no redeeming qualities or purpose beyond getting hurt and killed by binghe, so all he can do is play that part and try to run away at the last minute.

when lbh chases after him he assumes its bc lbh wants to kill him. why else would he come for sqq? he is irredeemable, regardless of his kind actions. shen yuan already decided it, and takes on the sins of sqq as self hate. when people around him die, when people come to expose canon sqq's past, of course its clever binghe doing this to destroy him. despite how, if sqq asked, binghe would probably defend him. if he could explain and apologize, lbh would probably forgive him.

when lbh is in the abyss sqq knows he's still alive and acts like all of his mourning is just "lapses in memory" or "acting" or "accidental" but he is still mourning. he feels guilty and horrible and feels like he deserves the suffering coming to him even though he wants to avoid it. he feels like he ruined binghe, someone who he has come to admire and care for.

this story walks a very fine line between a tragedy and comedy.

[kimievii]

Third question: do you have any headcanons specific to Shen Jiu and Qi-ge? If not, which of your headcanons do you love the most wrt to svsss?

Hello again anon! So sorry I took so long to reply to that one ;;;

Oh, Shen Jiu and Qi-ge, such a tragic duo ;a; I love the angst and drama related to these two.

I took the time to think about this one because it's been a while since I thought about them.

I have more headcanons specific to Shen jiu rather than YQY tbh.

I think Shen Jiu is very adverse to touch (especially male touch) because of the abuse he went through as a kid. I do love and ship Qijiu and I believe even if these two somehow ended up together (which in itself would take a lot of work because even if YQY did explain himself, I don't think it would have been enough to lessen the resentment Shen jiu accumulated over the years. But... oof... Shen Jiu is a huge piece of work, isn't he?) even then, I think it would take a very long time for Shen Jiu to allow YQY to touch him and it would start slowly, progressively. I trust YQY to manage that, this poor guy has so much patience in him, he could wait numerous lifetimes. All he cares about is for his xiao jiu to be safe (which makes this character even more tragic in BOTH PIDW and SVSSS T_T)

I like the idea of atonement and redemption and healing for Shen Jiu. He never got that chance in canon but if he did, I believe it would take lots, lots of time. And YQY might be a patient and soothing soul, he's also very bad at communicating and thinks ultimately he's undeserving. That makes him incredibly passive in this relationship. So, sadly, this relationship is wonky from the start ;;;

Sorry anon, I ended up babbling about Qijiu in the end lgkhj

Also I want to add that I'm not very fond of the way a part of the fandom sees Shen Jiu as a character... Sometimes I see stuff like "Shen Jiu did nothing wrong ever, it's just Shen Yuan who hates him" and those people usually hate Shen Yuan with a passion which... ugh. I block so fast.

You can love Shen Jiu, I love him too, but to see those people oversimplifying him like that, this guy literally bullied and wanted to KILL a child, you can't say stuff like he never did anything wrong ever ="") Even if SQH ended up making him a plain villain without any redeeming qualities to please his audience doesn't mean, if he had the liberty to write him the way he wanted to, that Shen Jiu would have never done anything wrong ever... This character is complex and interesting, don't rob him of this, fandom ;;;;

People can disagree with me but I will stand by this.

[zykamiliah]

some clarifications:

LQG resenting Shen Jiu based on mere perception

sj was the one to start the feud with lqg. lqg hated him bc sj constantly antagonized him and said he'd kill him one day.

Is it just that because he, in his role as a villain, bore the weight of mistakes, while others committed far graver crimes in the expansive realm of PIDIW

svsss (and pidw) is not a cautionary tale whereas people who do bad things get punished. sj is not the only character who suffered tragedy in some way.

leaving him trapped in a narrative that refused to allow redemption

sj himself doesn't want to be redeemed

If he tries to do good he's be punished into far worse consequences.

care to share an example of that? bc as far as i know he was """"punished"""" by bingge, who had personal reasons to target him. cqm NEVER punished sj.

Ming Fan really is the only unappreciated guy in the cast who really loved his Shizun with no condition attached before Shen Yuan came in to the story.

lol ming fan didn't "love" sj, he feared him and fawned at him to survive the toxic qjp environment.

In a world where the narrative craved a villain, be it LQG resenting Shen Jiu based on mere perception, Binghe's obsessive quest to shatter the remnants of sanity within him, or the widespread inclination to lay blame from figures like Qi Qingqi and Qiu Haitang—Ning Ying, inexplicably betraying her own people for Binghe's favor, only to become a mere numbered wife, devoid of filial piety. Shen Yuan, a transmigrator devoid of scars and pain, orchestrated and bringed a world that brought happiness to everyone, but it struck me profoundly that for the original Shen jiu to attain a happier ending and draw closer to others like Shen Yuan, he has to strip away everything that defined him from his past scars, forging an entirely new identity which is so fucked lol .

Is it just that because he, in his role as a villain, bore the weight of mistakes, while others committed far graver crimes in the expansive realm of PIDIW? Every kind action he undertook seemed to backfire dramatically, leaving him trapped in a narrative that refused to allow redemption. His decision to shield Qiu Haitang from the truth about her monstrous brother, a choice he made, only intensified the tragedy. I'm glad he wasn't actually there to see it play out in SVSSS.

I can't see this man obtain a good ending honestly. If he tries to do good he's be punished into far worse consequences.

Ming Fan really is the only unappreciated guy in the cast who really loved his Shizun with no condition attached before Shen Yuan came in to the story.

[chuckduckling]

I know it feels natural to compare Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan, since they both end up occupying the same body, but comparing SJ and Luo Binghe (Bingge) makes so much more sense to me.

SJ has baggage that directly parallels LBG’s baggage: they both had abusive childhoods, they both hate themselves and feel unloved, and they use their trauma as an excuse to lash out.

SY, on the other hand, comes from wealth and modern comforts. His baggage is that he’s a transmigrator dealing with knowledge of the original book (also The System) (also a big case of the not-gays).

It’s why I can’t get behind the idea that SJ was born a monster while LBG gets acknowledged as a monster created from abuse. Saying that all of the original LBH’s crimes here were just SJ’s fault...it feels as dismissive as saying LBH’s abuse was Qiu Jianluo’s fault, you know?

(SY can be an unreliable narrator, but remembering details about PIDW is consistently one of his strengths. Projecting those details onto Bingmei, on the other hand...)

More ramblings and quotes under the cut…

(edited to replace MTL analysis with the official translation)

This little excerpt from the 100 Questions extra makes the parallels between SJ and LBG even more interesting, since SJ is rumored to be a lecher (with doubts thrown on those rumors as we learn more about him) while LBG is confirmed here to have assaulted multiple women.

SJ is the villain, so his lechery is a signal to readers of his depravity. LBG is the stallion protagonist, so his lechery is just him fulfilling his role as the male readers’ power fantasy. Doesn't this feel like commentary on stallion novels…? Just me?

Anyways, it seems like SJ gets the vice of child abuser, while LBG gets the vice of serial rapist. Both SJ and LBG share a killer bodycount for their own reasons, though LBG’s is probably much higher.

I sorta wonder if it can be easier for fandom to overlook because:

some of what we learn about LBG is from the untranslated extras

the people who suffer are nameless nobodies

his protagonist halo protects him from all consequences (for example, nobody whose family was killed during one of LBG’s massacres gets to throw Ning Yingying’s bloody ribbons in front of LBG's face and laugh about it while torturing him to death) (just typing that out upset me Yingying baby I’m so sorry!!!)

Even SY comments here on how the Bingge from PIDW feels more alien to him after experiencing the world of Scum Villain and learning to understand Bingmei as his own person.

However, even with his flaws and crimes and whatnot, LBG is still complex, tormented, and sympathetic. He has traumatic reasons for growing up into someone who has done bad things, and he has more to him than just those bad things.

Which is also exactly what SQH says about SJ.

SJ and LBH are both influenced by self-hatred, which acts as another parallel between them. But that self-hatred, that belief that they were born inherently unlovable, doesn’t make them better people. In fact, if anything, it makes them worse.

Self-hatred is not ennobling in the Scum Villain universe. It is self-destructive, and it destroys everything that surrounds it as well.

Thus, I’d argue that these two have both truly earned the title of “poor little meow meow”.

In contrast, I feel like the Huan Hua Palace Master is the one who earns the actual “scum villain” title for SVSSS? He crosses off pretty much everything on the list:

a righteous cultivator who turns out to be a two-faced asshole

a lecher who lusts after his female disciple

has no tragic backstory to explain anything about him, nor any redeeming qualities nor relationships

gets turned into a human stick

dies horribly and painfully for the catharsis of the audience

Of course, this means that there’s a universe out there where someone’s gonna transmigrate into the HHPM and—okay okay I’ll stop.

As always, I'm curious to know other peoples' thoughts...

[snake-and-mouse]

Can I just say how much I love that half the mdzs fandom is people arguing out for blood about whether xyz character is a good person/morally correct/redeemable etc.

And with svsss it's immediately clear no one wants to touch those kinds of discussions with a ten foot pole 😂 Is Shen Qingqiu/Yuan a good person? Is Luo Binghe actually a villain? Idk get outta my house

[phoenixtakaramono]

So I'm here to say that I really love your Bingyuan fic! The research you do for it and share with us is just amazing! I also have a q regarding LBG. From SV we know that he felt admiration for his Shizun so do you think that if SJ wasn't cruel to him LBG's admiration would've grown into love and attraction like it did in LBH's case for SY? Which then also raises a question: would LBH/LBG fall in love with any Shizun who was kind to him? Or was he just drawn to SJ's type of personality. WDYT?

Hi there, Anon! I’m glad you’re liking the Untold Tale! Thanks for reading! I think it lowkey helps when the story I’m writing (in general) is from a culture I’m familiar with and that I know some of its language nuances (just general Mainland dialect; I’m unfamiliar with Shanghainese, the Beijing dialect, etc etc). So fortunately for me, as someone who is Chinese but was born in the Western side of the world speaking Mandarin to family and friends, emulating the Chinese aesthetic and atmosphere in TUT comes a little bit easier to me than someone who did not grow up with this culture. I bet if I had been raised in China, I would be able to write something even more multilayered and deep but, alas, the youthful rebellious me of the past hadn’t taken my pinyin and Chinese character writing lessons seriously so I can only communicate verbally and understand audibly 😫. It’s very special for us writers in fandoms to be able to write a story of a culture that we actually know and can identify with. But high key it’s been immensely fun injecting some references of things I’ve come to notice from watching period C-dramas and the C-novels I’ve read, and I’ve come to learn interesting things about Chinese history and mythology even I didn’t know! So the story really writes itself.

Shen Jiu (OG!Shen Qingqiu)

To answer your question 🤔, to be honest this is why the SVSSS fandom is great—because there’s so many interpretations of the original source material. That’s why we have our headcanons and fanfictions to explore these many different possibilities. So for me personally, I can see it happening both ways: *1) LBG does develop a crush/falls in love with SJ, or 2) no matter how SJ treats him LBG regards him respectfully or coldly. I think Possibility 1 is more likely, since SY transmigrated into SQQ and we saw what happened with “Bunhe.”

Now, mind, for Possibility 1 to be more likely to happen, the SJ in PIDW will have to undergo a massive personality change/ a change of heart/ develop a good conscience and will need to clean up his image aka clear up the massive misunderstandings from PIDW canon (like him being mistaken as a pervert for Ning Yingying, visiting whorehouses, killing LQG, etc). It’ll be difficult though considering who Airplane has changed SJ into for his stallion harem novel (reading through SVSSS, my impression of PIDW besides it being the harem stallion novel is that it sounds similar to a “dog blood plot,” where audiences tune in to see how the villains are brought to justice). I literally have a line from TUT in a future chapter where SY says this about SJ since I will resurrect SJ and bring him into the story for closure:

People like Shen Qingqiu naturally had a set of deeply-rooted values. If one wanted to change them, it’d be easier to just have them reincarnate. (—TUT, ch???)

At his core, he’s a flawed man (which makes sense with the underlying cycle of abuse theory, considering his upbringing and backstory). He’s jealous and petty and prickly. His image is that of a proud and cold immortal. In Chinese terms, he’s the type of character archtype who I can see being àojiāo (definitely not canon characterization; this is just a stray thought that amuses me) in a romantic relationship.

LBH will have to recognize that^, or be in a position where he finds SJ’s caustic side endearing instead. He will also have to be extremely patient with him (although, since the joke in SVSSS is that LBH is an incurable M, it shouldn’t be that hard).

A fun thing about OG!SQQ is that he’s the cannon fodder scumbag villain of PIDW. He’s the reason LBG blackened from a white lotus. And, as you know, villains aka antagonists aka bad boys resonate strongly with people for a reason. That’s why we see a lot of Enemies to Lovers tropes, etc. It squicks me to use this phrase but “the allure of dating a ‘bad boy’ is strong.” SJ is that type of bad boy we could identify as a “fixer-upper project�� (ugh, that phrase)—even with the red flags and warning signs—especially for those said to have a troubled past with rejecting neglectful parental figures/ family members/ friends and have have not outgrown their wish to convert that sort of person into a loving, accepting person. When we want something we can’t or shouldn’t have, our desire for it grows exponentially. In fanfiction this is a concept writers and readers can explore safely in a world of the imaginary.

From a Meta Perspective

Although, if we look at it meta-ly, the cold and proud and/or knowledgeable Shizun (teacher/ master) character who comes to know love and “is redeemed” by whomever is the love interest (typically a cute and quirky girl who may or may not have started off as naive to the innerworkings of the Cultivation World and therefore needs an established and mature mentor to guide them) is a very well-known archetype for a reason in Chinese fan culture.

Seeing a terrible person change their ways and try to become a better person because of the influence of the one they love is also a popular depiction for a reason.

It’s almost like gap moe. The crueler and aloof one starts out as (arrogance is a staple), the more impactful the shift is when we see such characters soften their edges.

The draw of the sacred master/disciple relationship is that it’s taboo, so I think it’s fair to say that such a relationship in fiction is a popular trope precisely because of this aspect. From a writer’s perspective, the main appeal is to show that there is someone out there who can cause this respectful figure to lose control (undergo emotional change) and go to great lengths to protect his/her precious person. That precious person also has to fall into the “not like other girls” trope (so they can show the ML a different world he would not have seen the beauty of before). On the other side, we look forward to the point of the story where the love interest has their “Oh” moment and realizes their admiration has somehow shifted into love and attraction over the course of events.

Other Romantic Possibilities

It’s very likely. I personally like the fanon headcanon where anyone with Heavenly Demon blood running through their veins feels a compulsion to “obsessively fixate on one person” (TLJ —> SXY, LBH —> SQQ). Personally I don’t recall if this was canon or fanon, but someone had written something about LBH imprinting on one person in his lifetime on the account of his demon nature. And I like that theory (I think it’s likely more fanon than anything but it’s an intriguing idea full of possibilities!).

For him to fixate romantically on one person, I personally don’t think the prerequisite is just by being kind to LBH (but it probably adds to the person’s appeal). There’s probably other factors that go into this to capture the male protagonist’s eye, such as him finding someone attractive (or passes his own personal standards) and/or having good chemistry with that person. So I could see him being into other Shizuns and whomever else. Personally I also think there is appeal in the unobtainable. It’s one thing to have someone’s affection (see LBG and his harem of 600 wives who definitely aren’t shy about giving him affection), but it’s another to know you’ve earned the affections of someone you really like and respect (especially if it’s someone thought to be unobtainable).

As long as the writer can provide a plausible justification for me to suspend disbelief and they set up events to justify it, I can swallow just about any ship possibility. It doesn’t necessarily have to be SJ’s type of personality. (For example, I read a very good fanfiction before where the writer paired Luo Binghe with Ming Fan. Ming Fan, people!!! And they actually pulled it off! What a madlad! Mind, it’s Shen Yuan who had transmigrated into MF in that premise, but the writer set up events that showed how these two characters came to bond and develop a deep friendship which inevitably had LBH developing a crush on his shixiong. I use this as an example because this is the type of unexpected (crack)ship, but because the writer did their work trying to make it seem plausible, we can only admire their hard work and effort at pulling it off.)

As the saying goes, there are plenty of fishes in the sea! As the protagonist, LBH/LBG can have many OTP possibilities with just about anyone as long as the writer can make it plausible. It’s all about the character development and the story/ central themes they wish to tell with the ship!

(Note, these really aren’t hot takes, lol. I’m just having fun answering to this casually from the perspective of a writer. Thank you for your Ask, anon!)

[qem-chibati]

It really depends on what part of the itch you're after.

Like, if you want modern transmigration with male power fantasy love interest or villainous/cruel "protagonist" redeemed by power of affection - there's a tonne. Lots will be comedies have misunderstandings tho maybe not quite to the same extent as unreliable narrator Shen Yuan.

But if you're after the commentary and layers of criticism and conversation, where it's so easy to meta, it's much trickier.

can u rec anything that scratches the scum villain itch??

Scum villain.