#sqq: well obviously binghe is the husband so i must be the wife

[waitineedaname]

bingqiu is like. they think one of them needs to be the wife in the relationship. but then both of them independently decide that they're the wife.

[purgatoryandme]

Turning up both the crack and angst with people assuming the new LiuShen relationship dynamic is actually sadism (they're a little correct) on SQQ's part.

On the mountain, people are at least 50% more convinced Shen Yuan is the real SQQ with some gaps in his memory. He cannot remember how he previously antagonized LQG, accidentally discovered a new more effective version, and now is pursuing it to death! His disciples cry all the time now, too!! Clearly he's figured out a new outlet for evil!!! YQY is bitterly jealous because he cannot possibly allow himself the indulgence of crying about what he's done. This leads to some actually cold behaviour from our sect leader! Downright chilly in the face of tears!! Which only confirms for some people that SQQ is doing this because he hates them all. Of course, opposing camps think that this all actually means the old SQQ was actually...teasing? In a very sharp way?? And it just wasn't landing the way he intended it to??? There is a deep, deep divide amongst the Peak Lords regarding this. Shang Qinghua is heading the "sadism" faction, because he'd always imagined SQQ would be this kind of top anyway, though he's a little confused at some of the mommy dom aspects of SQQ like...bringing little treats for LQG and seemingly holding him on the edge of humiliation without fully tipping him over. Maybe he's playing some kind of long con? He firmly believes that his plot has been disrupted by something he's done himself and has no idea there's another transmigrator in their midst. Because of this, he still occasionally approaches Luo Binghe to try and save his own skin, which Binghe hates - truly this AU is suffering for him. SQQ gets way more B points this way, though. He's actually a little rich now! Has more capacity to manipulate the system, earning side plots and exploring the world, though his reputation is certainly far worse! He's actually a little smug about how well he's behaving as the scum villain, though the scenario pushers centering around LQG are a little ??? wife plots are perfectly normal in PIDW. OBVIOUSLY with LQG's maidenly attitude these plots would fall upon him! Totally normal!!

By the time we reach the Endless Abyss plot, SQQ has a reputation as an unscrupulous seductress full of thorns and is being directly targeted by Huanha's Palace Master who wants to capture and keep him. A cold beauty, full of harsh words and a "I will step on you" attitude? Who happens to be in possession of a certain disciple that the old pervert is way too interested in?? Yeah, he'd be obsessed.

LQG is ready to guard against demons (and Binghe), so he's a little confused when the Palace Master poisons SQQ with the intent of whisking him away in the chaos. Binghe, bless his bun heart, breaks his seal and goes after the Palace Master, engaging in a tug of war with SQQ's delirious self as the rope, and SQQ accidentally knocks him into the abyss. What a perfect opportunity for the Palace Master! With SQQ's rep he can totally spin this right? SQQ, cruel master that he was, seduced his disciple and then knocked him into the Endless Abyss to cover his tracks! The Palace Master only poisoned him to save that disciples life!! LQG is horrified, because wow he changed things but somehow only for the worse??? And SQQ isn't really all there, but the instinct is deeply engrained now: LQG looks pathetic? He must flirt. Right as others arrive into this situation, SQQ is like: "Why is Liu-Shidi's expression that of an abandoned wife, eh? Has this one been neglecting him?"

And that's how we start a fake marriage plot, full of people trying to steal LQG's husband (to put him in prison), SQQ beginning to realize he has been seduced by his shidi (why is everyone accusing HIM of being the seductress?????), and LQG being horrifically embarrassed by the realization of his own feelings but unable to run away.

SVSSS Crack Angst Liushen

It's been joked about in the fandom before: Liu Qingge never stood a chance with Shen Qingqiu because SQQ's kink is pretty men acting weak and pathetic. And now I'm spinning my wheels about the sheer crack angst potential that contains. Just imagine, on the day SQQ goes to self-destruct, LQG is trying to convince him not to like his old reliable self, and totally fails. And eternal vinegar jar Luo Binghe, who /knows/ what SQQ is weak to, says in bitterness during a fight over the body one day: "If you wanted him to listen to you, you should have cried more back then." LQG's earnest ass would so not be able to resist taking that to heart. Like wow, it truly was all his fault for trying to be SQQ's reliable defender - obviously his Shixiong wouldn't listen to that. Hadn't SQQ helped him and paid such close attention to him whenever he was in trouble? Wasn't he helpless to ignore LQG when he was in trouble? He should've cried more back then.

When he inevitably gets transmigrated back to the Lingxi caves and their first meeting, he manages to cry just a little, thin-faced as he is he's still so grateful to have another chance. And it WORKS! SQQ can't help himself - he sticks around after the Qi deviation and fusses and takes care of LQG. And the gap moe once LQG gets too embarrassed to tolerate it anymore? When he's destroying every demon that invades the sect, turning to SQQ with fierce eyes that seem to say, "See??? I am big and strong!!!" Is too much for SQQ's coquettish personality. He can't NOT tease LQG to death. And at peak embarrassment it gets juuuust a smidge easier for LQG to tear up a bit. He hates it, he loves it, it's WORKING and he can see young disciple Luo Binghe absolutely boiling over with jealousy so he can't STOP, right????? And if he occasionally faces off against plants or monsters that make him look particularly vulnerable, it's not really lying to SQQ, is it???