#yue; once upon a time

[emystic-old]

Yue Call

Hisakawa, Yue

Species: Yokai (Spirit)

Age: Looks 5

Pronouns: She/Her

Nationality: Japanese

Ethnicity: Asian

Occupation: N/A

Location: Iwate, Japan

Interests: Playing, drawing and coloring, flowers, toys, accessories, being outside, friendship

A child spirit originally from the Sengoku period of Japan and acts as a messenger for a shinigami that she refers to as her big sister. Can transform into a black butterfly for her messenger duties. She is excitable and cheerful, but easily bored and stubborn too. She can predict tragedies of others, but they usually unclear until it happens. Currently is a kindergarten student due to her and her shinigami sister staying in a area due to the high population of  lost spirits.

Character Notes / Open Starters

Like/reply this post for a starter with Yue!

[fairsweetlonging]

have been in a qijiu/qiyuan mood lately, and i was thinking about an au where shen yuan, upon transmigrating, actually loses his memories. he wakes up and has no idea who he is, where he is, who the man at his bedside is. not a clue. the only thing he has is his muscle memory, his sharp recognition senses (he's experiencing a lot of déjà-vu), and blurry fractions of memories that he can't quite make out.

thing is, the memories of both shen yuan and shen jiu aren't actually gone, they start to intermingle, to mix up, a little sister in princess pajamas beside an older brother wearing dirty rags, a bright screen that displays mountain peaks and glittering caves. he's kind and generous the way someone who has never had to worry about food or money is, but he gets vicious and defensive when someone gets too close. sometimes he says cruel things and doesn't even understand why himself.

neither identity fits anymore, both names right and wrong at the same time. it's just... shen qingqiu.

and while everyone else might adjust to this just fine, yue qingyuan does not. because that is shen jiu, but it isn't, but it has to be, but not always. he gets flashes of his childhood friend when shen qingqiu gets viciously defensive over nothing, when he scowls and scoffs and rolls his eyes when he thinks people can't see, but then he smiles, and laughs, and tilts his head in a way that is completely foreign. he likes beasts. shen jiu never liked beasts. but he loves tanghulu, like shen jiu. sweet sugary things. the first time xiao jiu cuddles up into his hug, he cries.

the way he sometimes clings to yue qingyuan when he has a bad day can't be him, but then he says "qi-ge" exactly like shen jiu would and damn near snarls at anyone who gets too close, and he's aggressively possessive the way he was when they were kids. but then he pulls away and apologizes, like shen jiu would never do.

and he never demands anything, scrubbed clean from roughness and filth and selfish want, will act perfect and smiling and pleasant, never burdensome. like he's completely forgotten where he came from, what he was. like the pampered nobleman's son who could afford to be kind. the only time his old self comes fully back up is when he feels threatened or scared or angry, like a trauma response that kicks in to protect himself. and then yue qingyuan starts to wonder if maybe it is. maybe the shen jiu he knows was only ever fear and self-preservation, and the one he is now is a shen jiu without the chains and shackles and scars.

yue qingyuan doesn't know if he's happy for him, if it's for better or for worse. he does know that he feels protective and responsible for this new version xiao jiu has become.

meanwhile shen qingqiu, even when he regains enough of his memories to realize he was once a different person, doesn't know who he is anymore. both, maybe. or neither. he feels bad for taking away yue qingyuan's friend, but in his heart he can't help but think qi-ge is his brother, and no one else's. when he manages the peak he feels like he's taking credit for another's accomplishments, but he remembers suffering for it, he remembers what it took to get there.

[svsssfanonarchive]

Examining SVSSS Canon: 2/∞

THE PRE-CANON TIMELINE

This post will attempt to provide an answer to several questions, including the ages of some of the current peak lords, as well as a rough timeline of events in the extras relative to the current day. A simple, bullet-point timeline will be at the end of this post, with relevant quotes and analysis above.

The timeline of SVSSS isn't particularly easy to piece together, and many fans are unsure of things such as the ages of certain characters, or how long the current generation of peak lords has been in power. As a matter of fact, it seems like even Airplane himself doesn't have a set timeline in mind for the events of PIDW pre-LBH:

“Your ages?” To tell the truth, Shen Qingqiu didn’t really know the precise age of this body. He raised his head at Shang Qinghua. “Wouldn’t you know better than I do?” Shang Qinghua twirled the brush in his hand. He’d never thought about this question either, so he figured he might as well just say whatever. Therefore he randomly wrote a number down in a couple of strokes. (7 Seas, Ch. 31)

It would be easy enough to take this quote and call the timeline a mystery-- however, there are a surprising amount of clues in the text, enough to at least put together a decent idea of when things happened and how old certain characters are, depending on which theories and interpretations one ascribes to.

There are two particular facts which are our most important hints as to the pre-LBH timeline, upon which this entire analysis hinges.

First, we have the spacing of the Immortal Alliance Conferences:

After much difficulty, Luo Binghe managed to turn seventeen, at which point he finally participated in the event the cultivation world held once every four years: the Immortal Alliance Conference. (7 Seas, Ch. 1)

And next, we have the length of time since Shen Qingqiu began to cultivate:

Before, Shen Qingqiu had thought that this body’s qualifications were already incredible, to have formed a core in only ten or so years when he’d begun cultivation so late.  (7 Seas, Ch. 19)

Notably here, what is translated as "ten or so years" is 十几年， which is more accurately "ten and a few years." This means that at the time Shen Qingqiu formed a golden core, he had been at Cang Qiong Mountain for around 10-15 years, but likely no longer or shorter than that.

This tells us quite a bit already-- because we know that Shen Qingqiu only reached core formation after becoming peak lord, as well as after Luo Binghe had already become a disciple:

Luo Binghe was using the incorrect cultivation manual that Shen Qingqiu had handed him; he should have long since died bleeding from the seven apertures, his body rupturing down to his bones, skin, meridians, tendons, and flesh... Shen Qingqiu was filled with paranoia; he forever felt like everyone was secretly talking behind his back, discussing how he’d been unable to attain Core Formation even after this long.  (7 Seas, Ch. 24)

So this tells us that it could not have been any longer than around 15 years between Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe joining Cang Qiong Mountain, and was likely at least a few years less than that because it has already been awhile since Luo Binghe was given the fake manual, which likely occured shortly after he arrived, and Shen Qingqiu reaches core formation at some point after this scene.

This means that the Qing generation's ascenscion likely occured no more than ten years after Shen Qingqiu joined the sect-- putting the ages for Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan respectively at roughly twenty-six and twenty-nine when they became peak lords.

The timeline can be clarified further and expanded, however, due to the spacing of the IAC. We know that the IAC occured when Luo Binghe was seventeen, and that it occurs every four years-- meaning that there would have been IAC taking place also when he was thirteen, nine, five, one, and three years before he was born.

However, we also know that it had not actually been fourteen years since Luo Binghe's birth at the start of SVSSS.

In the translation, Luo Binghe says the following when Shen Qingqiu asks his age:

“This disciple is fourteen,” Luo Binghe obediently replied. (7 Seas, Ch. 1)

However, the original says:

洛冰河乖巧地道：“弟子虚岁十四。”

"虚岁" here would be better translated as "nominal age." In ancient times, a child was one year old on the day of their birth, and aged up by one year with each new year-- so if a child was born the day before the new year, then at two days old he would already be counted as two years old. Sometimes, this would be counted on the spring festival new year, but other times it would be counted on the winter solstice.

As for Luo Binghe's precise chronological age, that is up for some determination. We know roughly the time of year he was born:

Immediately after birth, Luo Binghe was abandoned by his parents, swaddled in white cloth, and put in a wooden basin that was lowered into the Luo River. This occurred on the coldest days of the year... (7 Seas, Ch. 1)

The "coldest days of the year" here is 数九寒天, which refers to the nine periods of nine days each following the winter solstice. The winter solstice typically occurs on December 20-21, meaning that Luo Binghe's birth date is somewhere between December 20-March 12. If nominal age is being counted by winter solstice in this world, then that makes him chronologically thirteen at the start of SVSSS, but if it is calculated by the spring festival, then he is chronologically either twelve or thirteen at the start of SVSSS, as the Chinese new year can fall anywhere between January 21 - February 21, meaning that LBH could have been born either before or after this time.

So, let's just say that LBH's chronological age, for the purposes here, is thirteen, and then adjust our IAC timeline as follows：

There was one when he was chronologically sixteen, twelve, eight, four, the year he was born, and four years before he was born.

Now, how does this help us determine a timeline?

Well, we have the following statement:

Yue Qingyuan’s knuckles slowly brushed along Xuan Su’s hilt. “I was able to meet Senior Su Xiyan once at an Immortal Alliance Conference, many years ago." (7 Seas, Ch. 18)

Because we know that Su Xiyan died when Luo Binghe was born, we know that this meeting could not have occured at any conferences after his birth. It also would be unlikely that they met the same year Luo Binghe was born, as Su Xiyan would likely already be dead at that point if LBH was born after the new year. So, the latest that Yue Qingyuan could have met Su Xiyan would be twenty years before Luo Binghe was thrown into the Abyss.

We now combine this with the earlier discussion of the ages of Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan, and here I will note the following:

Yue Qingyuan slowly said, “At age fifteen, I entered Qiong Ding Peak." (7 Seas, Ch. 21)

This puts Yue Qingyuan roughly three years older than Shen Jiu:

“When [Shen Jiu] was twelve years old, he was but a slave my family had purchased from traveling child traffickers. " (7 Seas, Ch. 6)

Shen Jiu joined Cang Qiong Mountain at sixteen:

Liu Qingge didn’t even grace him with a sideways glance. “But certainly more success than a nobody who only began proper cultivation at age sixteen.” (7 Seas, Ch. 19)

This happened most likely directly after reuniting with Yue Qingyuan at an Immortal Alliance Conference. This puts Yue Qingyuan's age at nineteen during that conference, at which point he is head disciple, and has already gained some fame. However, this reunion has to occur before Luo Binghe's birth, Su Xiyan's death, and Tianlang-jun's defeat. This is because at this point, Yue Qingyuan has only been in Cang Qiong Mountain for four years-- thus, this particular conference is almost certainly the first one he has taken part in, and likely the first one he has attended at all, since a brand-new disciple in early stages of training most likely wouldn't have gone, therefore if Tianlang-jun had already been sealed by this point, Yue Qingyuan would not have had the chance to meet Su Xiyan.

So, the latest Shen Qingqiu could have joined Cang Qiong Mountain, at age 16, is twenty years before the Abyss, which would put him at age thirty-six at the youngest at that time.

Now, what about additional conference cycles?

It's possible that the conference in which Yue Qingyuan met Su Xiyan and/or after which Shen Qingqiu joined CQM may have been the one before this-- but that would also add four additional years to the time SQQ had been cultivating.

The earliest that Luo Binghe could have joined CQM would be when he was a little over ten years old, as that is when his mother dies:

On the bed lay a haggard old woman. With great effort, she tried to prop herself up, but from beginning to end, she was unable to do so. A small figure rushed in from outside. A tender-faced Luo Binghe, only a little over ten years old, supported the woman. Around his neck hung that jade pendant. (7 Seas, Ch. 3)

Shen Qingqiu had not reached core formation when Luo Binghe joined the sect. This means that if the IAC where SQQ joined the sect was four years before Luo Binghe's birth, then by the time Luo Binghe joins the sect it has been about fourteen to fifteen years since SQQ began cultivating.

Adding an additional four years would bump that to eighteen to nineteen years, which exceeds the "ten and some" years that SQQ took to reach core formation.

In my opinion, this also tells me that LBH joined CQM when he was absolutely no older than ten or eleven, and likely went to join immediately after his mother's death, because pushing LBH's join date later would also stretch the timeline of SQQ's cultivation. Now, this part does not specify whether the ten years old is nominal age or chronological age-- but because LBH's age of seventeen at the conference is referenced to his nominal age of fourteen, with a distance between of three years, then I am considering all age-numbers to be nominal age rather than chronological. This only really matters in regards to Luo Binghe for this analysis, though, as his birth year is the only one which has bearing on the timeline in regards to Su Xiyan's status.

With all of this information, we can determine with good confidence that the conference in which Yue Qingyuan met Su Xiyan was the same conference during which he reunited with Shen Qingqiu, which occured four years before Luo Binghe was born and twenty years before the Endless Abyss.

So because of this, we actually do have a relatively precise timeline of characters' ages, as well as events in the cultivation world.

This short timeline is also supported by the fact that Ming Fan is the most senior of Shen Qingqiu's disciples, and he is only sixteen, about 2-3 years older than Luo Binghe:

A youth around sixteen years old, tall and thin, promptly ran in through the door. “This disciple is here. What instructions does Shifu have?” (7 Seas, Ch. 1)

Had the Qing generation ascended too many years prior to Luo Binghe's joining the sect, it would be strange that the most senior disciple of Shen Qingqiu's was only sixteen, as in xianxia a disciple typically will not "graduate" at a certain age or cultivation stage, meaning that older disciples will maintain their role well into adulthood.

As for the rest of the peak lords, we have little to no information regarding the ages of Wei Qingwei, Qi Qingqi, or Mu Qingfang. However, we do know that Liu Qingge is quite young, and joined the sect both at an optimal age and a significant length of time before Shen Qingqiu:

At this point, Liu Qingge’s formal ascension to Bai Zhan Peak Lord, too, had likely only happened a couple years ago. There was a visible air of immaturity about his features, his gaze fierce and sharp, and within his every action was a young man’s spirited vigor. (7 Seas, Ch. 19)

and

Therefore, even though he’d entered the sect quite some time after Liu Qingge, because Qing Jing Peak was ranked second—only below Qiong Ding Peak—while Bai Zhan Peak was ranked seventh, Liu Qingge still had to address Shen Qingqiu as “Shixiong,” if through gritted teeth. (7 Seas, Ch. 24)

So, Liu Qingge is likely a year or two younger than Shen Qingqiu, but not by too much, since they still behave very much like contemporaries as teenagers-- let's say that Liu Qingge is likely around 14-15 when Shen Qingqiu joins the sect at age 16.

The other peak lord we know a bit about the age of is Shang Qinghua:

The older-than-average outer disciple Shang Qinghua, who currently occupied a seventeen-year-old body, looked around in all directions as he trailed behind the main team, who were unloading goods from the ship onto the docks. (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

He is seventeen here, and an outer disciple of An Ding Peak. We can place this a bit more definitively on the timeline by the fact that Shen Qingqiu is already a head disciple at this point in time:

“What I don’t know is how Shen Qingqiu got chosen as head disciple after starting cultivation so late,” said another outer disciple who’d joined Cang Qiong Mountain at an older age, his expression sour. (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

Unfortunately, we cannot place the exact point in time where Shen Qingqiu became head disciple-- one possibility is that it couldn't have happened until after Tianlang-jun's defeat, which occured about four years after he joined the sect, since he did not participate in the battle. But that is a weak argument, since none of the current generation besides Yue Qingyuan participated in that battle:

Of the current peak lords, only Yue Qingyuan had participated in that battle, as the head disciple of Qiong Ding Peak. (7 Seas, Ch. 17)

If using this argument, then that would mean that aside from Yue Qingyuan, none of the other peak lords had been chosen as head disciples at that time-- while that is a possibility, I think that a more feasible explanation would be that Yue Qingyuan was an exception, and participated in the battle specifically because of his wielding Xuan Su.

One thing we can extrapolate, however, is that Shang Qinghua was most likely an inner disciple for at least three years before the Qing generation's ascension. This is because of the following:

One day, Shang Qinghua’s concise Great System delivered a new command: Become the An Ding Peak head disciple within three years. (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

Now, it is somewhat loose evidence, as there is nothing to say that "three years" means for certain that the ascension would occur three years from that point, but it does mean that it occured no earlier than that. By now, Shang Qinghua has already been an inner disciple for some time, long enough to have been assisted by Mobei-jun a few times and to have gone on several missions-- most likely around a few months to a year or so at minimum.

Of course, how long has passed between Shen Qingqiu joining the sect and this point? Well, since Shen Qingqiu is still described as a youth:

Shang Qinghua suddenly heard the tinkling of sword tassel pendants, and a youth wearing Qing Jing Peak’s uniform slowly approached him. (7 Seas, Ch. 26)

Because of this description, I would say that Shen Qingqiu is most likely between seventeen and his early twenties, since it isn't particularly likely that he would become head disciple in less than a year after joining the sect. Of course, within this age range, there is one important event that occurs-- the battle of Bai Lu mountain, which would have occured when Shen Qingqiu was twenty and Yue Qingyuan was twenty-three.

Now, this gets into more of a speculation than anything else-- just before this point, Mobei-jun attacked Huan Hua Palace and the An Ding Peak disciples. If the battle of Bai Lu Mountain had already occured, it would have happened no more than a few years earlier. We also know that there is a tentative truce between the demon realm and the cultivation world:

This suggestion was solid. For many years, the Human and Demon Realms had maintained an uneasy balance and had yet to drop the pretense of peace. Eliminating Sha Hualing and her mob wouldn’t be impossible, but it would likely light a fuse. The demons definitely wouldn’t let her death go unanswered, and it wouldn’t be worth it if they stirred up an even greater conflict. (7 Seas, Ch. 3)

I suspect that this pretense of peace was likely set in place after the battle of Bai Lu Mountain, when the demon realm had just lost their ruler.

Since just a short time had happened since the demons' defeat and a likely truce between the realms, I find it unlikely that Mobei-jun, a prominent member of demonic nobility, at this time would be actively antagonizing the cultivation world by attacking Huan Hua Palace and Cang Qiong Mountain. Now, of course, there is a potential alternate storyline that this is exactly what happened, and Mobei-jun went rogue as an act of lashing out, and that interpretation would be perfectly valid on its own.

Personally, though, I believe that Shang Qinghua's meeting with Mobei-jun occured before the battle of Bai Lu Mountain, while the cultivation world and demon world were in the tense state on the edge of war. This means that Shang Qinghua most likely became an inner disciple when Shen Qingqiu was around 17-19 years old.

With this information, we can determine some relative ages:

Yue Qingyuan is three years older than Shen Qingqiu, who is a little older than Liu Qingge. Because Shang Qinghua was seventeen when Shen Qingqiu was already head disciple, it is most likely that he is around Liu Qingge's age, give or take a few years, as it is not particularly likely (though potentially possible) for Shen Qingqiu to have gone from new disciple to head disciple in the space of a single year.

Aside from these four, there are no other ages that can be determined for the peak lords.

With all of this information, a fairly decent timeline can be created. Characters' ages will be listed with each notable year.

《 THE TIMELINE 》

*counted up to the start of SVSSS. If using this timeline, keep in mind that the earliest and latest notes for date ranges can overlap-- do not accidentally have a disciple join the sect before the current peak lords ascend, or have SQH become head disciple after ascension! Dates with ranges are colored green (earliest) and red (latest).

Earlier than -21 YR

LQG: <;10-11

(earliest) Liu Qingge joins Cang Qiong Mountain

-21 YR

LQG: 10-11, SQQ: 12, YQY: 15, QHT: <16, QJL: 16

Shen Jiu sold to Qiu Jianluo

Yue Qi joins Cang Qiong Mountain

--IAC--

-19 YR

LQG: 12-13, SQQ: 14, YQY: 17

(earliest*) Yue Qingyuan enters the Lingxi Caves with Xuan Su

-18 YR

LQG: 13-14, SQQ: 15, YQY: 18, QHT: <19, QJL: 19

(latest*) Yue Qingyuan enters the Lingxi Caves with Xuan Su

Shen Jiu kills Qiu Jianluo and burns down Qiu Manor

Shen Jiu becomes Wu Yanzi's disciple

(earliest*) Yue Qi leaves the Lingxi Caves

(earliest*) Yue Qi becomes head disciple

(latest) Liu Qingge joins Cang Qiong Mountain

-17 YR

LQG: 14-15, SQQ: 16, YQY: 19

(latest*) Yue Qi leaves the Lingxi Caves

(latest*) Yue Qi becomes head disciple

--IAC--

Yue Qingyuan meets Su Xiyan

Shen Jiu kills Wu Yanzi and joins Cang Qiong Mountain

-16 YR

LQG: 15-16, SQH: 15-17, SQQ: 17, YQY: 20

(earliest) Shen Qingqiu becomes Head Disciple

(earliest) Shang Qinghua meets Mobei-jun and becomes inner disciple at age 17

(earliest) Shang Qinghua receives the directive to become head disciple within three years

(earliest) Shang Qinghua becomes head disciple

-14 YR

MF: 2, LQG: 17-18, SQH: 17-19, SQQ: 19, YQY: 22

(latest) Shen Qingqiu becomes Head Disciple

(latest) Shang Qinghua meets Mobei-jun and becomes inner disciple at age 17

(earliest**) Su Xiyan imprisoned and subjected to torture in Water Prison

(earliest**) Battle of Bai Lu Mountain

(earliest**) Tianlang-jun Sealed

-13 YR

NYY: <1, LBH: 1, MF: 3, LQG: 18-19, SQH: 18-20, SQQ: 20, YQY: 23

(latest**) Su Xiyan imprisoned and subjected to torture in Water Prison

(latest**) Battle of Bai Lu Mountain

(latest**) Tianlang-jun Sealed

Luo Binghe is Born

Su Xiyan Dies

(earliest) Qing Generation ascend to become Peak Lords

--IAC--

-11 YR

NYY: 2-3, LBH: 3, MF: 5, LQG: 20-21, SQH: 20-22, SQQ: 22, YQY: 25

(earliest***) Ming Fan joins Qing Jing Peak under Shen Qingqiu

-9 YR

NYY: 4-5, LBH: 5, MF: 7, LQG: 22-23, SQH: 22-24, SQQ: 24, YQY: 27

--IAC--

-8 YR

NYY: 5-6, LBH: 6, MF: 8, LQG: 23-24, SQH: 23-25, SQQ: 25, YQY: 28

(latest) Shang Qinghua receives the directive to become head disciple within three years

(earliest***) Ning Yingying joins Qing Jing Peak under Shen Qingqiu

-5 YR

NYY: 8-9, LBH: 9, MF: 11, LQG: 27-28, SQH: 27-29, SQQ: 29, YQY: 32

--IAC--

(latest) Shang Qinghua becomes head disciple

(latest) Qing Generation ascend to become Peak Lords

(latest) Ming Fan joins Qing Jing Peak under Shen Qingqiu

-4 YR

NYY: 9-10, LBH: 10, MF: 12, LQG: 28-29, SQH: 28-30, SQQ: 30, YQY: 33

Luo Binghe's adoptive mother dies

(earliest) Luo Binghe joins Qing Jing Peak

(earliest) Shen Qingqiu reaches Core Formation

-3 YR

NYY: 10-11, LBH: 11, MF: 13, LQG: 29-30, SQH: 29-31, SQQ: 31, YQY: 34

(latest****) Ning Yingying joins Qing Jing Peak under Shen Qingqiu

(latest) Luo Binghe joins Qing Jing Peak

-2 YR

NYY: 11-12, LBH: 12, MF: 14, LQG: 30-31, SQH: 30-32, SQQ: 32, YQY: 35

(latest*****) Shen Qingqiu reaches Core Formation

-1 YR

NYY: 12-13, LBH: 13, MF: 15

--IAC--

Year 0

NYY: 13-14, LBH: 14, MF: 16

SVSSS Begins

-----

This timeline operates under the following conditions. For some of these conditions, alternatives are discussed in the post above-- if you wish to use any of the alternative calculations, then you're more than welcome to adjust the timeline as applicable for your own use!

"Years" are counted from the first day of the spring festival/Chinese new year, rather than January 1

All character ages are nominal ages, so they were born in the year they are counted as age "1"

Luo Binghe was born after the new year, and so his nominal age is only about one year higher than chronological.

Shang Qinghua met Mobei-jun before the battle of Bai Lu Mountain

The system's time limit for SQH does reference the time of the Qing generation's ascension

The Immortal Alliance Conference takes place roughly in the middle of the year. Based on the fact that it is warm enough for the disciples to dip their feet into a stream and find that pleasant, it would make sense for the IAC to occur in a warmer season (Ch. 4)

Further References and Footnotes:

*Yue Qi was in the Lingxi Caves for more than one year and Qiu Manor had already been destroyed by the time he got out (Ch. 21)

**The birth of Luo Binghe occured a few days after the battle of Bai Lu Mountain. Depending on when LBH was born, it could be at the end of year -13 or the first few days of year -12 (Ch. 21)

***We do not know the earliest a child can join Cang Qiong Mountain, even though the appropriate age for cultivation most likely cuts off somewhere around 15 (due to YQY joining at that age and no comments about him being "too old"). For the purposes of this timeline, I am setting the absolute youngest to age 5, but more realistically a disciple wouldn't join until age 8-10 at the earliest.

****It is unknown whether the only time that disciples can join Cang Qiong Mountain is during the recruitment trials. Therefore, there remains a possibility for Ning Yingying to have joined the sect in the same year as Luo Binghe, but at some point before the recruitment trials due to connections. This can potentially be supported by Shen Jiu joining after the IAC, but at the same time, it is not confirmed that SJ joined CQM immediately, or if he had to wait until the next recruitment trial, so there is no clear canon precedent-- nonetheless, it is still possible. Note that Ning Yingying can only join at this late point if Luo Binghe joins at age 11, and after her. The only hard requirement is that NYY joined at some point before LBH.

*****I have placed this as the absolute latest time SQQ could have formed a golden core because this puts him at having been cultivating for sixteen years. It is a bit of a stretch already , but I don't think that "ten and a few" years could really be any longer than this. It is also worth noting that by the time SQQ reaches core formation, every other peak lord has already done so, with Yue Qingyuan first, Liu Qingge and Qi Qingqi next, and Shang Qinghua most likely last (Ch. 24)

--

Please let me know if you notice any errors in calculation, formatting, or missing details! This was quite substantial so there's a good chance I may have missed something.

Some of the points in this analysis and timeline calculations were brainstormed with the help of @zykamiliah , @cum-villain , @furbygoblinxiv . Many thanks!

[galazry]

Do you really view me as your older brother?

pairing: big brother's bestfriend!Wanderer x gn!reader genre: modern au, fluff content: he's your big brother's best friend who you may or may not have a crush on, but it seems like he only views you as a little kid... word count: 512 a/n: based on the CN Drama "Hidden Love" episode 15. there's also an animation for this! and... maybe there's a surprise underneath as well ;) also i know Wanderer is inazuman so let's pretend the reader is of Li Yue descent, okay? 😁

"[Y/N], here for you. Make sure you study hard for your exams, alright?"

"Mm... okay 哥哥."

Wanderer is your older brother's best friend, who you refer as 哥哥(older brother). Over the years, you've grown attached to him, harbouring an innocent crush on the man who has a 5 year gap with you. You did everything you could to get his attention and stay close to him, even planning to enroll in a college in his hometown. Although, as time went on, it seemed that Wanderer only viewed you as a little kid, occasionally calling you 小朋友(kiddo), and nothing more.

With that in mind, you decided to move on from him, doing all you could to avoid any interaction with him. It became all the more easier to avoid him when he graduated and moved back to his home town.

Although fate had a different plan in mind.

You still enrolled in the college in his hometown though to your luck, you never did once met him. Until one day, as you were out partying with your friends, you stumbled upon your darling 哥哥. As if nothing had changed between you both, he teased you asking why you had been ignoring all his text and has never even once called him. You only gave an excuse of being busy as your answer, which he didn't really take. Even so, Wanderer lets that slide.

He was actually really glad to see a familiar face in his hometown. Unbeknowst to you, he actually didn't have anybody there and is oblidged to stay to settle a certain debt. From then on, he continued to pester and tease you, and looking out for you like he always does.

As the days go by, even though you initially wanted to move on from him, it was getting harder to do so as you both constantly meet up. Little by little, your feelings for him resurface. Though it seemed like he still treats you like a little kid, even when you're a legal adult attending college.

Who knew that after one eventful day, he suddenly grew feelings for you, his best friend's younger sibling.

On the day of your birthday, Wanderer had invited you to his home, celebrating your special day on the rooftop together. As you both enjoyed the city night lights, a gentle breeze blew as he asked you a question.

"You always call me 哥哥 (older brother). Do you really view me as your brother?"

You were a bit taken aback by the sudden question. Avoiding his gaze, you fiddled with the fork in hand. All these years, even though you've sworn to forget about your innocent crush towards him, all the repressed feelings came back full force. Despite that, it wasn't like you were going to confess that you have feelings for him...

"Of course, I do consider you my brother."

Silence then enveloped you both, only the sound of running cars in the distance accompanied in the background. Before you could get another word out, Wanderer then exhales softly, before saying...

[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.

[whetstonefires]

See I don't necessarily disagree with what seems to be the primary reading that Yue Qingyuan's shifu fucked him over, caring nothing for his needs or preferences and only for whether he was useful. That makes sense, it ties into plenty of the generational and societal themes of the story. It fits.

But iirc we don't actually get enough information to know that's what happened.

And the thing is it would be so in-character and also thematically appropriate if Yue Qingyuan absolutely did not explain his goals or why he was working so hard, because it was private and shameful and he didn't expect any sympathy, and there was a high risk of losing everything if he blabbed.

And also if he engaged with the existing ruleset with which he was presented, i.e. 'can't go off on your own on personal business until you've mastered your sword,' in the most negative and controlling manner possible, as absolute commandments.

He's a different kind of guy but he comes from the same background as Shen Jiu! It fucked him up also!

He is very very very not a guy who trusts the system to make allowances for him--even once he has all the power he 'does what he wants' and 'makes selfish choices' as a conscious transgression; not something he has a right to do, just something he can get away with so he's gonna. (And ofc he spends almost all the latitude he grants himself on sqq.)

And even less is he a guy who opens up easily.

He isn't too proud to ask for help or pity, so much as he just doesn't expect to get any.

So in this interpretation, he understood that rule as a non-negotiable barrier in his path, the target to overcome, and focused all his considerable will and talent on overcoming it through the sphere of action he felt he had control over.

And fucked himself up bad.

Whereupon his teacher, possessing absolutely no context for this dumb shit their star pupil pulled, did the only thing they thought might work to save his life, paying in the process no attention to the raving of someone deep in a psychotic break.

Like, I feel like there should have been a better, kinder medical option, but I don't know for sure that there was, so I can't say with certainty this was the kind of cruelty that derives from not caring enough.

And it really would be kind of elegant and so typical of Yue Qingyuan's fundamental tragedy if the real mistake was 'not confiding in anybody' the whole time.

And he was just so deeply sunk into the understanding that explaining and asking were useless that, even looking back, it never really occurred to him that maybe his mistake wasn't 'fucking it up when trying too hard to solve everything on his own' but 'assuming there was no help to be had, and that he had to do it all on his own.'

Like. What if this really could all have been avoided if he'd just trusted and communicated with the adult in charge of him? But of course, of course his history of trauma (neglect, child abuse, exploitation, being the One Responsible for the younger kids whom he could not keep safe) meant he was absolutely not going to do that.

It was basically impossible. For the person he was, the person the world had made of him. And that's always been the core tragedy the whole novel circles back upon.

People can only ever be themselves, and so very often the elements of self that let them survive until now are that which dooms them, that means they need someone else to intervene if they're ever going to be saved. Because your personal doom is always the thing from which you can't save yourself.

[urmom3001]

Apollo’s Favorite (Luke Catellan X Reader)

Summary: Reader gets called upon a quest from her father, a quest where she is destined to never return. Very much similar to Yue in Avatar the last air bender

Warnings!: angsty ish. Fem!Apollo!reader. No happy ending sorta? Erm not proof read😔😔

Percy had just gotten to Camp yesterday. Poor boy, just lost his mother, put into a camp with a bunch of strangers. Percy was rethinking all of his life’s choices when he finally snapped out of it and realised it was all real. He was here, with the counselor of Hermes cabin learning the “Ins and the Outs” at camp.

As they walked they walked around the U shaped cabins they passed Cabin 7. Percy was very attentive and noticed how beautiful the cabin shined. How the sun reflected off of the carefully, crafted pillars of the building. As he admired the cabin..which was way better than Hermes Cabin. He read the plaque just above the doors of the cabin and he noticed a wooden bow and arrow with intricate gold detailing just above the door of the cabin and under the plaque.

“In Great Thanks to Y/n L/n…” Percy read in his head of off plaque. “Hey Luke?” Percy turned to his left,

“Yeah?” Luke answered

“Who’s Y/n L/n, sounds like she’s got a whole bunch of glory.” Percy joked

Luke thought to himself, he looked like he was reminiscing. This alarmed Percy, maybe he hit a soft spot and he didn’t know?

“Yeah she has a lot of glory. She’s known as Apollo’s Favorite”

- Last Year Around the Summer Solstice-

I was shooting arrows at the shooting range when Chiron aproached me. My bow and arrow was my most prized possession, a gift, from my father. Being Apollo’s favorite was, pressuring and nerve racking. The Gods were very bipolar, it could’ve changed in an instant. If you keep trying to understand why the Gods are the way that they are, you’ll drive yourself crazy.

“They are ready for you to choose.” Chiron continued “Follow me” he gestured and he started walking.

I wordlessly followed. I didn’t know who to choose. I knew one thing though, I wasn’t choosing him. I was terrified. The Oracle is always confusing, but this one was very crystal clear.

“One soul is destined to never return back to the place they once called home”

Everyone that attended Camp Half-Blood knew it as home. Somewhere they could belong. One of the three of us is not making it back.

As we got closer to the circle of the camps best, my stomach was churning the words of the Oracle repeating in my head. How would Luke react when I don’t pick him? We go on each others quest all the time. But this one, I just. I don’t think I could live if Luke is the one who didn’t return.

I stood there before all of them. I pointed at an Ares girl, Clarisse, I think. She’s a fierce fighter. “You….and..” I hesitated. I looked at Luke, he was looking straight back at me. “You.” I pointed to one of my half brothers that was right next to him. The look of betrayal showed on his face.

“Very well” Chiron announced. “Pack everything you will need. Your journey will begin Tomorrow morning, and your deadline is, The Summer Solstice.”

I watched as everyone walked away, everyone but Luke of course. I tried to start walking away before he could say anything to me.

I started but he followed “ What the hell was that?” He asked, he sounded furious.

“What do you mean Castellan?” I always called him by his last name.

“You know what I mean L/n” And he called me by mines.

“Because you don’t understand what’s at stake here. This quest changes everything.” I said.

“So why didn’t you choose me. We always go on eachothers quest.” He questioned.

“It doesn’t matter. I need to pack my-“ I started walked as fast as I could now. He cut my words off.

“What’s going on L/n?? What the the hell did the Oracle say to you. I don’t understand why you didn’t choose me”

At this point I was fed up. It was too much. One of us is going to die. It could be me, or it could be one of the other two.

“BECAUSE ONE OF US ISN’T GOING TO MAKE IT BACK.” I finally shouted. I could never keep anything away from Luke Castellan.

“Wha-what?” He stammered.

“One of us, isn’t. Going. To make it. The Oracle said to me. ‘One soul is destined to never return back to the place they once called home’ Don’t you get it?? One of us isn’t coming back. And I’m not going to let you onto this quest because I don’t know what I would do if you died because of me.” I finally let out with a sigh. “Now please, I need to pack.” I left him there. He didn’t say anything as I walked away.

I finally made it back to cabin 7. What if I was the one that would die? I’ve never been scared of death. I always sort of knew my father was going to give me a choice of something being his favorite and all. I never even desired glory. I just wanted to be a kid.

Everyone else was at the archery range or doing other camp activities, so the cabin was empty when I arrived. I started to pack my things. Some clothes, some medicines I had made, and other needs. Finally I looked at my bunk. Above my pillow hung my bow and arrows. Of course I was taking my bow and arrow. I carefully took it off the holder on the wall and placed it on my bag. The mist will cover it once we are in the regular world.

I was almost done when I heard a knock. I knew who it was. If it was one of my siblings they would’ve just come in. “Come in!” I shouted. I was working on making more medicine for the quest.

“Hi Castellan” I said with my back turned to him.

“Refuse the quest.” He said.

“Excuse me? I can’t refuse a quest from my father himself are you nuts?” I didn’t turn to look at him, still working on the ambrosia mixture.

“What if it’s you?” He said, I swear I heard the smallest crack in his voice.

I finally turned to look at him. He was worried I can tell.

“Then it is me. I will die a very famous glorious death.” I said half jokingly.

“This isn’t funny, you can’t die on me Y/n I need you.” He came closer.

My first name coming from him made me wince. He’d only ever called me Y/n when he wanted me to take him serious.

“Luke, everything is going to be okay.” I walked to him and grabbed his hands. “I’ll always be here for you.”

“Always?” He asked as we interlocked hands.

“Always.” I confirmed with a smile. “Come on, Dinner’s gonna begin soon, and I can’t wait for desert they’re having strawberry shortcake!” I said as I dragged him towards the door. I could finish my medicine later.

“Alright alright.” He followed…not that he had a choice or anything.

-Morning of The Quest-

“Thought you could leave without saying goodbye?” I heard Luke say.

I turned around and ran to hug him. “It was too early. I didn’t want to bother you I-“ he cut me off

“Y/n.” I finally looked at him in the eyes. Taking in all of him. If I didn’t come back, this would be the last time I would see him. “You could never bother me” he finished his sentence.

“Okay, I’m sorry, but I really need to get going” I said.

“Right, uhm. Before you go I…” he hesitated.

“You…?” I quipped to make fun of him.

“I uhm wanted to give you this.” He handed me a bracelet, it had all of my favorite colors and it was simple. Just how I liked it. I loved it. “And I have a matching one!”

“Luke, this is..” I looked up at him. “Amazing, thank you I love it. I’ll wear it for the rest of my life.” I hugged him, tighter than I ever had before. This could be our last hug after all.

“Come on!!! STOP MACKING WITH MY SISTER WE NEED TO GET GOING!!” My half brother shouted.

“Leo SHUT UP.” I shouted back.

“You should get going” he said as he hugged me.

“Yeah.” I said disappointedly. “Luke?”

“Yeah?” He looked down. And I finally looked up at him for the last time. And I kissed him. I had never kissed anyone before. But I’m glad I kissed Luke. He kissed me back, and it was like we were made for each other. Like plato had sculpted us out perfectly for eachother. After what seemed like forever we pulled apart foreheads pushed together.

“Don’t die on me. Okay?” He said as he he looked into my eyes.

“You’re never getting rid of me Castellan” I smirked as I started walking away.

And so we set off on our quest, hoping for the best. As I looked back at camp over my shoulder. I saw Luke standing there waiting for me to leave his line of sight before going back to his cabin. He waved as a looked back. And I waved too.

-Current Day, Camp Half-Blood-

“She’s the soul of the Sun now.” Luke answered monotonely. “Every century, Apollo picks a new soul to be the Sun, otherwise the Sun wouldn’t shine without a soul.” He explained to Percy. “Y/n L/n was the soul he chose to be the next Sun. We didn’t think it would be Y/n. Everyone knew she was Apollo’s favorite but, we didn’t know the reason she was, was because she was the next Sun.” He said.

“So this Y/n girl, she’s..that?” Percy said as he pointed to the sun.

“Yup.” Luke confirmed.

“She went into the quest knowing that one of them wasn’t going to make it. She knew there was a big chance it was going to be her but, she went on the quest anyway.” Luke went into detail.

“Wow she’s..really brave. I guess that’s why she has a plaque in her honor?” Percy asked.

“Yeah, her siblings fought for it to be done. She was so young you know? She was, brave, kind, and so smart. She was amazing.” Luke noticed he might’ve said a little too much when Percy questioned.

“Were you close with her?” Percy asked.

“Yeah, she was..we were..it’s complicated.” Luke muttered.

“You guys loved eachother..huh?” Percy picked up.

“Yeah,” Luke sighed. “I loved her a lot. I never got to tell her. How could I not though? She was so perfect. Down to earth. She never wanted all of the glory and monsters. You know?” Luke said. He hadn’t talked abt Y/n in ages. Of course she was always on his mind. But he never really talked about her anymore. He couldn’t bring himself to.

“Yeah. I know the feeling.” Percy felt exactly like Y/n. He didn’t want to be a half blood. He didn’t want glory. He didn’t want any of this.

“Well, uhm. We should get going, we have a tight schedule.” Luke said as he started walking away. Percy followed. As they walked together. Percy noticed Luke adjusting a bracelet on his wrist a lot after talking about Y/n.

“Yup..” Percy thought to himself “ …Definitely hit a soft spot.”

A/n: Ermmmmmm this is my first work pls be nice😔😔💔💔💔 constructive criticism is VERY much welcome and erm I hope u enjoyed :3

[sweetbunpura]

Rollo wasn't always a Gumiho.

He was once a kannushi of a small shrine, responsible for keeping it maintained and clean.

It was a simple, yet tedious life and he was content with it.

Until, one day, a young woman came to the shrine. She was a foreigner, that much was clear, from the style of her dress to the tone of her skin to the strange sharpness of her eyes. She was an enigma. And Rollo was instantly captivated by her.

She told him that she had come from very far away and was visiting some relatives in a nearby village. She had come to the shrine to pray for their health and for her safe passage home.

"Though..I didn't expect a handsome man such as yourself to be the priest here," She giggled, keen smile half-hidden behind her hand.

Rollo flushed faintly.

Her laugh was a pretty sound, like the tinkling bells of a Kagura suzu.

It wasn't everyday the shrine was met with as beautiful a visitor as this.

Rollo cleared his throat.

"If I may be so bold..May I have your name?"

The woman grinned widely.

"Yue."

They talked for a long while after that, so long in fact by the time the woman had turned away to finish her prayers the sun was half-way set upon the horizon.

Had Rollo not had shrine duties to attend to, he would have eagerly offered to walk her back to the village. Thus, with a heavy heart and a lump in his throat, he could only grant a farewell and a wish for safe travels back to her homeland.

He did not expect to see her there at the shrine again the following morning.

"Were you not supposed to begin your journey home today?" He queried with a raised brow.

"I was," Yue answered, her sharp eyes glimmering and her lips quirked, "I changed my mind."

And so it was. Yue would appear at the shrine at dawn and follow and chat with Rollo as he went about his day and duty til nightfall.

Months went by.

Summer fell to Fall which froze to Winter.

The two grew closer.

The New Year came and went.

Winter melted into spring.

And the sharpness gradually seemed to fade from Yue's eyes.

Then, one night, under a full and heavy moon, she kissed him.

"I love you." She murmured, softly, hesitantly, as if the words themselves were as fragile as glass.

Rollo's gaze was tender. He kissed her knuckles, then her palm.

"And I you."

And there, beneath Tsukuyomi's gaze, they fell into each other's warmth, a flurried embrace of intense passion and supreme adoration.

A few weeks after, they were wed.

A few weeks after that, Yue found she was with child.

The eight months that followed were some of the happiest Rollo could remember, watching his love's belly swell with life that they had created together.

I should have lasted forever.

But.

It ended.

Slit apart like a knife across the throat.

Hunters from a far off land came.

They were searching for a creature Rollo had never heard of before.

A Gumiho. A flesh-eating monster that seduced men, ate their hearts, and stole their souls.

Yue paled. Rollo's brows furrowed.

"My love? What's wrong-?"

"We need to leave." Yue said coldly.

But it was too late to try and escape.

Her fate was sealed the moment Rollo had let them inside their home.

The very moment they laid eyes on her-

Arrows were fired. Knives were drawn. Swords unsheathed.

Yelling. Screaming.

Claws unfurled. Fangs bared. A flurry of fur and tails unvieled.

It was over in an instant, in a blink.

Blood and viscera covered the floor and walls of their home.

The Hunters were dead.

And Yue was dying.

A sword pierce her abdomen. Arrows punctured her chest.

"Yue-!"

Rollo collapsed beside her, his white robes stained red.

How does he fix this? He was no healer and the closest doctor was miles away how-

"I was so close..."

Rollo paused.

"What?"

He gently drew her close.

Yue gazed up at him with stuttering, blood-choked breaths.

"I was-" She coughed, "I was almost human...I was almost-"

Tears dripped down her cheeks.

"I haven't eaten anyone for almost two years..Just two more months..Just two more and I would have..."

Her smile was soft.

Her eyes were even softer, but they were fading, fast.

"You deserve to have a human wife, not a monster..."

Rollo cupped her cheek and thumbed away a tear.

A quivering black tail grasped his wrist.

"I love you," he kissed her forehead, "I don't care if you're a monster. I love you. I.. I'm going to save you. I'm going to save our child. I'll-"

Tears slipped and fell down Yue's cheeks.

They were not her own.

"You know it's too late for us, Rollo."

Rollo let out a gutted noise at that.

Shaking hands met his face.

Lips that he was so intimately familiar with met his own.

And something spherical and warm was pushed past his lips.

"Take it." His wife, his love, his world, whispered between breaths.

Tongues met. The sphere was pressed against the opening of his throat. He instinctively swallowed before he could think.

"That way...a part of me....a part of us....will always be with you...."

That night, Gumiho Yue died, along with her unborn child.

And on that same night, Gumiho Rollo was born.

And the world...

...Would burn for it.

(and, not too long after, a tiny black fox spirit opened her eyes. And her name...was Yuu.)

Where one life ends, another begins.

Yuu adjusts the hat on her head, nodding to passerby's as she enters what remains of a town. Normally, she wouldn't try and mettle in the affairs of humans, but this Gumiho had attacked one of their own recently. While Malleus could handle his own, he talked about the pure rage he felt from it and Yuu, who has the uncanny ability to purify most of the anger driven spirits, is tasked with handling it.

She climbs the steps up the shrine and pauses outside of the torii. Yuu doesn't need to step any further to feel the pressure of the anger.

"You in there, Gumiho?"

Silence.

"Alright, don't answer." She passes through and climbs the remainder of the stairs, stopping every so often to pick up a few stones.

Before hitting the main area, she pauses once again and juggles the stones in her hands. The Gumiho's hiding and with a sigh, Yuu, flicks a stone towards the corner of the shrine. The yelp she hears brings a smile on her face.

"Quit ignoring me."

A pair of forest green eyes glare at her form the darkness licking at the edges of the building.

"The dragon fled and now a kitsune takes his place?" The Gumiho's voice is soft as they step out from the shadows. "You hardly look like a threat."

The Gumiho's a man, tall and thin, with deep eyebags. He's still wounded from his fight with Malleus as his clothes are torn and a angry red wound can be seen on his side. His hair is short and gray, matching the ears and his multiple tails. Something in Yuu's heart lurches as she stares at him.

"Have we met before?"

"I've never seen you before in my life."

"Okay jeez." Yuu's own tails flick out behind her. "What's your name?"

"My name is of little importance to you."

"Humor me, jackass."

His eyes move off to the side before returning to her. "Flamme... Rollo Flamme."

"Flamme... Well, my name's Yuu-" She looked at his now frozen form. "Hello?"

"Yue?"

"No, Yuu."

Rollo's fur fluffed up as his eyes narrowed, ears laying flat against his head as he bares his teeth. "Have the gods not taken enough from me!? And now they send a common kitsune to mock me?!"

"Common?" Yuu bares her own teeth and cracks her knuckles. "I'll show you common."

[empressofthesunwriter]

Change the Narrative

If people knew the truth, they would call her a selfish monster.

But Katara had sacrificed anything for the world, for an ungrateful husband!

This time she would always choose herself first!

Here is a little one-shot of my anger about what happened to Katara in canon.

I want to give her the end she deserves, so I hope you enjoy it!

Katara knew it was time for her to die.

She felt it in her old bones.

Alone she lay in her bed at the South Pole and watched how the snow was falling.

At least she would die seeing the beauty of her homeland.

It was a good death.

The old woman blinked tears away and tried to be positive about her nearing death.

She would see Sokka, her father, her mother and Gran-Gran again.

It was good.

She had lived a long happy life.

Something burning and unsettling spread through her chest as she thought this.

Was it a happy life?

How often did she and Aang argue over simple things?

How often did she beg him not to play favourites with Tenzin? Yes, their youngest was an airbender, but what about Bumi and Kya? They were his children too.

But no!

The Air Nomad legacy was more important than their two oldest children and their pain.

Once upon a time when she was a young girl and fantasized about the man and family one day she would have, she never would have guessed how she became the kind of mother, who didn't fight for her children.

Who didn't call out her husband for his wrongdoings?

However, she had so with Aang. Since she had met him, she always had mothered him, shielded him from things which didn't fit his narrative.

He was the Avatar, the only hope to end the war, with a track record of running away.

They couldn't lose him, so she had protected him the best she could.

And she did so to her children.

No wonder Bumi and Kya didn't even visit her and Tenzin didn't have much of a relationship with her.

Where did she go wrong in her life?

When did she become a shadow of herself in the name of love?

Why did she even choose Aang?

Was it because of Aunt Wu's prediction, she would marry a powerful bender or because she had a feeling Aang...deserved her?

He loved her and had ended the war.

Was it so bad to give him a chance?

Sadly after sacrificing her best years for him and being rewarded to die alone without her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren around her, it may have been the most stupid decision she ever made.

Spirits, was she a bad person to think that?

She loved her family, really she did, but deep down she had to admit...she wouldn't do it a second time.

Katara wouldn't sacrifice herself, her ideals, and her dreams for Aang's dream.

She had her whole life given and given and was now at the end of it rewarded with nothing.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, as she slowly closed her eyes.

Soon she would join her loved ones...

Just...

If she could...

If the spirits were so kind...

If dear Yue heard her...

She wanted a second chance.

She wanted to live a life for herself and herself alone.

Katara had given in this life all and more...was it so bad that she wished for a second chance to get it this time right?

Was she selfish?

Maybe.

Surely.

But anyone had a point in their life where they had to put themselves first.

Her only regret was that she did not realise it sooner.

Katara closed her eyes and felt the last beats of her heart.

Never noting how the moon was shining brightly down at her...

***

She felt pain in her head.

Katara hissed and touched her forehead.

Why did she get a headache?

Where was she?

She blinked to banish the shadows before her eyes.

Slowly she could see.

Ah yes.

She was outside General Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se.

The waterbender had seen Aang walk out and wanted to join him.

It was high time that she gave Aang her answer about them being a couple.

She had been unsure a few days ago, but now with the war over...why shouldn't she give him a chance?

He was standing at the balustrade watching the setting sun, it was the perfect moment.

As the waterbender made her first step towards him, an avalanche of emotions and vision filled her whole being.

Katara gasped quietly, trying to make sense of this.

It was too fast and also too slow...however, she felt it in her bones...whatever she had planned kissing Aang and getting together with him...it would be the worst decision of her life!

No, she didn't want what she had seen.

How could she sell herself, her principals, and her honour for a guy?!

How could she be together with someone who would play favourites with their children?!

No, absolutely not!

Whether this was a vision from the future to save her from this faith Katara didn't know, but what she knew she wouldn't make the same mistakes twice!

So angry she walked up to Aang and tapped his shoulder.

The Avatar turned smiling towards her. He seemed so happy and hopeful and looked at her like she had hung the stars and the moon.

For a second she flatter, which only made the vision come forth again and made her anger tenfold.

Oh no!

Not with her!

"Aang.", she began. "I don't love you and I never will! Stop pestering me about us being a couple! If you don't accept my feelings I will waterwhip you do your next incarnation, do you understand me?!"

To say he was shocked was the understatement of the century. She could formally see the heartbreak in his eyes and how he tried to speak up, maybe to guilt trip her, however, she wasn't having anything of it.

"Nothing you will say and do will ever change my mind! So don't even try. I will go back with Sokka to the South Pole and rebuild my home. That's where I belong!"

Dramatically she turned around and entered the tea shop again.

The others tried their hardest to seem like they hadn't listened in, yet Katara saw through them.

She sends them all an annoyed look.

"What?!"

No one said anything for a few seconds before Toph snickered: "Oh sugar queen, I hoped you had it in you."

This makes Katara smile.

***

The next months of her life Katara rebuilt with her father and Sokka their home. 

The Nothern Watertribe had tried to turn the South into a second North, except Katara was having none of it.

As a war hero, master waterbender and daughter of the chief she used all her power to stop this chances.

She was a force of nature!

No one had a chance against her.

Her family was so proud of her and she was satisfied with herself.

Yes, this was where she belonged.

Helping people and not being the soulless, passionless arm candy of Aang!

Katara was happy.

A voice inside her told her how she deserved it.

***

A year later found Katara as ambassador for her people at the first peace summit.

She was happy seeing Zuko again, they had written to each other, yet seeing each other in person was much better.

He had become her best friend.

And her wall against Aang.

As Avatar he was at the peace summit too. Of course, he tried to talk with her. Tried to sway her, saying he missed her and wanted to be friends again.

She saw right through him. Aang still wanted her.

Thank the spirits for Zuko having her back and distracting Aang.

When they enjoyed together a cup of tea in General Iroh's tea shop she thanked him for his help.

Awkwardly he waved it away.

It was nothing.

He and Mai had broken up and the black-haired girl wasn't happy about it.

Even if she and Aang weren't exes, Zuko knew how frustrating it was to have a person follow you like a shadow and demand to be together again.

In comfort, she petted Zuko's hand and told him he did the right thing to end things with Mai.

If she couldn't accept a no was she a good girlfriend?

A little crooked smile formed on Zuko's lips, and her heart stopped for a second, as he thanked her for her words and friendships.

Then he asked her to join him in the search for his mother.

***

Being with Zuko on a life-changing field trip again was... exciting.

They still worked flawlessly together, like when they had hunted down the murder of her mother, but now they were friends.

It changed a lot of interactions.

They were playful with each other.

Zuko was the only one who ever laughed at her jokes.

They were there for each other.

In the long days when they hunted down one clue after another and Zuko seemed to lose hope, Katara reminded him to never give up.

They shared the workload.

It was amazing not mothering someone and having someone help her around camp.

They were getting closer to each other.

They shared things they never told anyone.

Zuko told her how he got his scar and Katara hugged him, wishing Aang had killed Ozai.

Wishing Ozai was before her and making him pay for hurting her best friend!

Sometimes they just stared at the stars, inventing constellations, their hands inching closer.

Something new was born between them.

Katara didn't know what it was, but she would enjoy it.

It made her feel good.

After weeks on the road, they finally found Ursa.

And also a society of hiding airbenders.

Katara couldn't help but laugh in utter glee.

***

Was it really that surprising that Katara and Zuko fell in love with each other after their journey?

When she kissed Zuko for the first time, it was like coming home. 

Warm, welcome, familair, intim.

It was the best sensation in the world.

Something inside her told her this was how it was supposed to be.

After two years of dating and being the ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe in the Fire Nation, they married.

All their friends and half of the world were invited.

Yes, even Aang.

Aang was so grateful to Katara and Zuko for having found his people and was busy with the air nomads to rebuild their society, and seemed to finally let go of Katara.

Now they really could be friends.

***

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, master bender, war hero and Fire Lady became a living legend.

Not only the people in the Fire Nation adored her, but she used the power she wielded to make the whole world a better place.

She was the one who came up with the idea of Republic City, a place where all nations could live in harmony.

She revolutionized the art of healing with her bloodbending.

She installed fountains and aqueducts everywhere she could, so people had clean water.

Statues were built and universities, streets even neighbourhoods were named in her honour.

Katara taught new generations of waterbenders like her daughter Kya and people formally fought over to learn from the Fire Lady.

When their oldest daughter Izumi became Fire Lady, Katara and Zuko retired to Ember Island to live out their twilight years in peace.

They often had visits from their friends and families.

Their son Lu Ten, a nonbender, had married a waterbender named Mizuki and had with her five children.

So the proud grandparents helped their son and daughter-in-law raise the rascals.

It was fulfilling.

As Aang then died and was reborn as Korra from the Southern Water Tribe Katara and Zuko moved to the South to teach the new Avatar.

Korra loved Katara and Zuko like grandparents and loved hearing about their adventures.

After Korra goes to Republic City to learn airbending from one of Aang's sons he had with one of the hiding airbenders, the pair returns to Ember Island.

Zuko died a few months before her.

Katara followed him after the birth of their third great-grandchild.

Both died surrounded by their big and bustling family.

As Katara died, her oldest great-granddaughter, who was named after her held her hand, she couldn't help but feel happy.

She had lived a long and wonderful life.

Soon she would be together again with her beloved husband and her family.

And so the greatest and most beloved Fire Lady died in peace with no regrets in her heart, her story being told for thousands of years to come.

***

The Legend of Katara became a tale which young girls loved.

From a simple waterbender to a master, war hero and ruler over a nation, who changed the world only a few ever could.

It showed all girls, that they could do anything they wanted.

They could reach their goals and go even beyond.

This was Katara's legacy.

As it should have been.

If you liked this one-shot and want more Zutara, a badass OC, personal growth for Aang and the Gaang being amazing check out Yin and Yang! 

Click on my profile and leave a comment.

I hope you liked this little One-Shot!

Let’s now scream together in the comment section how Katara deserved better and if it’s not canon we will give it to her in fanon! :D

[spookybad]

Fengqing x Goddess of Death! Reader

Warning!!! Contains death! (it's gentle and unnamed characters, but still, be warned)

I'm pretty sure tgcf doesn't have death gods (I haven't read the books yet, but I know most of the plot) but we'll ignore this fact

I added a name for the goddess, but it's literally just a nickname

The goddess of death was very elusive, many heavenly officials considering her a myth, only few having seen her a select few times.

So, perhaps it was inevitable that somebody would deem it necessary to track the goddess down, for paperwork that was never reported.

And who would be the one assigned such if not Xie Lian himself?

And who would be the tag-along's if not Hua Cheng, Mu Qing and Feng Xin?

In their disguises, of course.

So that's how they ended up making their way to a village that apparently housed a pair of senior-aged soulmates who had reincarnated together to share their love.

On the way they end up meeting a traveler woman, with silver hair and carrying a white cloth bundle in her arms.

"Ah, are you fellow travelers, perhaps?" she'd started with a curious tilt of her head.

"Yes," Xie Lian smiled, "we heard the town just up ahead has wonderful views, so we wanted to visit."

A peculiar, knowing glint entered the woman's eye, "Sure there are!" she leaned in closer, as though telling a secret, "They say, whatever you're looking for can be found in Yang village."

"And you're looking for something." Hua Cheng pointed out amicably.

The woman laughed, "Of course! As are you!"

The rest of their walk to the village was relatively quiet, even Feng Xin and Mu Qing not bickering much.

Instead, the two might be seen whispering among themselves, casting an occasional glance at the traveler woman accompanying them.

Upon reaching the Yang village the silver haired woman turned to them, smiled and bowed, "You'll find what you're looking for." and with that strange glint in her eye, she walked off.

Once alone, the quartet were left in a bout of silence.

"Where might we find the couple, gege?" Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian with the same smile he always had for his gege.

"Ling Wen gave me their names, so let's just ask around, see if anyone knows."

And that's how they found their way to a regular village home with a yard and some trees.

In the yard of the senior couple, they found a woman with glittery silver hair, draped in a pristine white cloak, with an elegant black scythe held in her hands, sitting on a tree stump, looking into the home of the soulmate couple.

Upon their approach, the silver haired woman smiled, "Ah, it appears you have found what you were looking for, fellow travelers!"

Mu Qing's eyes narrowed, "Are you really the goddess of death?"

The goddess before them smiled in a sly, perhaps infuriating, way, "Perhaps, if you could guess my name~."

"Why do we need to guess your name?" Feng Xin's brows furrowed.

"Because," the goddess's smile seemed a permanent fixture, "you hadn't asked before."

"Most of heaven doesn't know your name." Mu Qing pointed out.

This time Hua Cheng butted in, "Of course they would not."

Mu Qing bristled at this "You-!"

"I think part of it is Yue," Xie Lian interrupted, "Because of your hair."

"The moon." The goddess confirmed, "I'll accept that and ask for no more then."

Yue stood up and walked toward the open door to the home, where they could see the soulmate couple having a mid-day nap, with their door to the yard open to let in the warm summer breeze.

The goddess of death approached the couple and kneeled beside them.

"It's time now, my dears." She said and reached out a gentle hand to brush the wispy hairs out of their faces.

Soon after, the couple's chests stopped moving.

The goddess stepped away from the home, ribbons of silver hair fluttering in the wind, making her look every bit the ethereal being she is.

There was only one thought allowed in that moment.

"Wow."

................

I've had fengqing x Goddess of Death on my mind for quite a while now, I had to write this

The "wow" was Feng Xin, btw

Also, Hua Cheng has met the goddess of death before, so he knew

[centuryberry]

What are some of their attempts to convince Wukong? What Modern dating methods do they try (and occasionally butcher)? Old ones that don't quite translate (or Wukong pulls Amnesia)?

I sense shenanigans.

(And also have been struck by the image of Wukong opening a door to find one of the trio laying in bed with a "F*ck me" sign above them.)

(I was then subsequently struck by the image of Wukong responding, "Uhhhhh, I can't read? *closes door*"

When RinRin, Macaque, and Shanzha started their attempts in luring their husband to bed, they were completely blatant…in traditional standards.

Romantic gestures in that era were subtle. A simple exchanging of gifts would be a proclamation of eternal love. And there are so many secret languages: the language of flowers, the language of fans, etc.

(Warning: Slightly suggestive)

RinRin preferred slipping in sly, subtle innuendos in conversations and teasing Wukong like she used to do when they were young. She also likes using food as a tool to be touchy and suggestive. (Those poor bananas.)

Macaque would drag Wukong out to walks in the garden and anywhere else pretty. He would cling onto his arm during walks while wearing all the pretty hairpins and jade pendants that OG!Wukong had gifted him throughout the years of their marriage.

Unlike the other two, Shanzha doesn’t have any history with Wukong and is in an unstable position, so she’d be less blatant. She’d show off her skills in archery and would spar with him to encourage contact. She’d also wear clothing that would turn slightly sheer with enough sweat during these sessions.

When all of this didn’t work, the three of them would outright ask Wukong to come visit their rooms.

All of this, of course, flew over Wukong’s modern head. The first time he accepted, he thought it was a sleepover. Shanzha and RinRin were too shocked to correct him when he visited them for the night (he tried to recreate scrabble lol) but Macaque doubled down and scared Wukong off when he made it clear what he invited him into his room for.

It was a little heartbreaking for Macaque but that sting was quickly eased when Wukong came to him with flowers the next morning and babbled about his amnesia. He played dumb and would continue to play dumb.

Unfortunately, upon every “failure,” the three became more and more bold. (Thus, the hilarious scenario you painted in your ask. They had to spell it out for him at that point.)

When it was revealed that Wukong came from another world and time, everything clicked. They shifted gears. Instead of approaching all of this like spouses, they would then approach this as suitors. This would be a courtship.

After wiggling as much info about modern day courtship out of Yue, they took a try at this “dating” thing. It was…fun. There was a bit of flower giving and hand holding. They would watch plays together with snacks (a try at a movie date). They would try to make homemade food with varying results (RinRin and Macaque burnt their offerings). They snuck out of the palace in disguises once to have a casual date without the pressures of court.

(Though they did bungle up the “Netflix and Chill” idea and flustered the hell out of Wukong lmao. Yue only added that one as a joke.)

Wukong would see all this effort and be so, so flustered and yet so, so happy. He’s a bit of a romantic so he’s a bit of a sap about these things. Even if the results aren’t perfect, he appreciates the effort and he tries to reciprocate traditionally (though the three are beyond subtleties at this point and prefer the modern straightforwardness.)

[saintone]

So, recently, I received the last book of SVSSS saga, and I instantly jumped to read, once again, Shen Jiu’s story chapter. And, oh boy. I’ve got things to say.

Spoiler’s ahead!!!!

Something I notice about MXTX’s writing is that, in a very subtle manner, their narrator's way of telling the story changes based on whose character's pov it is, so we can guess that the book’s narrator isn’t omniscient, but it’s actually a character’s inner voice. which isn’t anything new, as many users have pointed out that Shen Yuan isn’t a very reliable narrator, and some things of the books that are told from his pov don’t match with reality (the easiest example I can say is when sy and lgh reencounter after the eternal abyss. sy interpret’s lbg’s ‘dark gaze’ as his vengeful desire when actually half of the time he’s just being horny lol).

Something else I’ve noticed repeatedly, and kinda made me uncomfortable is sy’s portrayal of female disciples. Based on his belief that og!sqq preyed on his disciples, sy takes the liberty to make very perverted assertions that stay on the fictional side due to his fear of facing a similar ending as the one of the original goods. quoting some real phrases from the book:

“This was because he had designs on Ning Yingying—ah, no, more like the original Shen Qingqiu had designs on Ning Yingying!” (p. 34, first book).

“One can, however, imagine the result of daring to try to get a taste of the male lead’s woman!” (p. 35).

Or his description of the fight between Liu Mignyan and Sha Hualing:

“Every man dreamed of being caught between an angel and a devil. To watch them jealously vile for each other over him one moment, then risk life and limb for his sake in the next — that was the highest, most sacred, perverted fantasy of every male organism” (p. 112).

These aren’t the words of a neutral, omniscient narrator: these are Shen Yuan’s own thoughts. And he is a very perverted guy: it makes sense, as he was an avid reader of PIDW.

Following the conclusion that the narrator varies on the character’s pov, Shen Jiu’s story takes on a new meaning. Because all of the words in Chapter 24 are Shen Jiu’s own.

The Part 1 of the story starts with Shen Jiu on the streets, until Shiwu goes missing, and Yue Qi goes searching for him, with Sj following. The change to Part 2, which starts directly in the Qi mansions, is kinda abrupt. There are many reasons for something like this.

On one side, we can interpret that the story starts with Sj in the Qi mansions, and he was reflecting on his life to gauge how he ended up there. The sudden jump of events, which leaves us with a gap in information, can be due to trauma, or confusion: Sj isn’t entirely sure of what happened. That’s why this chapter is wholly written as a recount of events, from a man who, perhaps, needed to learn how to write and read to be able to put words to his life and story.

Shen Jiu’s reflections are born from his pain. At the end of Part 2, we get an explanation of how he ended in the Qi mansion:

“Shiwu should have been trampled to death, trampled into minced meat for thousands to spit upon. Qi-ge should have never gone back to save him [...]

As Shen Jiu suffered through day after day of torment, he turned those sweet yet futile thoughts over and over again in his mind, drawing strength and comfort from them” (p. 90, fourth book).

This phrase is very powerful. I think that, as Shen Jiu suffers, he reflects more on his life until now, on the reasons that guided him there, on the actions of those around him, and on the path they should’ve followed. 

He wasn’t like that in Part 1. Even as a slave, he doesn't reflect on his pain or suffering because he was pretty much the top game among slave boys, and as Yue Qi says, “the other party would be the one to end up suffering and bawling in terror” (p. 82).

It’s also very meaningful how Part 3 starts:

“Shen Jiu thought a lot about why Yue Qi never returned to look for him” (p. 90).

Yess, right after Sj thinks that Yq should never’ve returned to look for Shiwu. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

Sj says “go back to save him”, but the one who actually saves them both, Shiwu and Yq, is Sj. 

The question here is, does Shen jiu regret saving yue qi? Or is he afraid, as we see at the beginning of Part 3, that yue qi learned his lesson, and won’t come back to save a kid that could betray him at the end? Do you think that, after being imprisoned at the water prison, Shen Jiu considers himself a Shiwu too, betraying Yue Qingyuan and guiding the fall of the Cang Qiong Sect?

How do you think it felt for Sj to never get those answers either?

Before going foward, something very meaningful from Part 2 is Qi Jianluo’s reflections around Shen Jiu.

“As long as the boy remained obedient and honest, there would be no issues” (p. 88).

And “Humans must understand and repay kindness. Our family gave you the chance to play human, so even if it means repaying us with your life, that’s just how it should be.” (p. 89).

Who could you remember was obedient and honest? And wasn’t human?

Isn’t it awfully coincidental that the despicable way in which Qi Jianluo viewed Shen Jiu, is exactly what he tries to destroy in Luo Binghe? His honesty and obedience, his human side?

I’m not saying Sj did it intentionally, he clearly hated the boy, as stated in this chapter. But he made him the opposite of the weak, scorned version of himself.

And this is exactly what he says at the end of the chapter:

“Luo Binghe, everything you have today you owe to taking me as your master, so shouldn’t you thank me? Instead, you’re wholly unable to tell what’s good for yourself. As expected, you’re an ungrateful bastard” (p. 116).

Going forward, Part 3! Right off the bat, we have this beautiful phrase that just makes me go aghh:

“Shen Jiu even imagined walking to the ends of the earth looking for Yue Qi’s remains, and how, after finding them, he would dig him a grave with his own two hands. Perhaps he would even do his best to shed a tear” (p 90).

Let me remind you, that this is the only, single mention of crying in the whole chapter. From everything that Shen QingQiu has gone through, he has only thought of crying in the face of Yue Qi’s potential death.

He doesn’t cry when he receives the remains of Xuan Su, though. Because “This was not Yue Qi but Yue Qingyuan (p. 94).

Then, Shen Jiu puts it into words:

“Some people were rotten from birth. Shen Jiu thought of himself in exactly this way — someone vile and poisonous [ejem, like Shiwu, whose presence brought misfortune to his literal savior] from the start. Because, at that instant, he came to a crystal-clear realization:

That he’d rather have met a Yue Qi who’d died in some unknown corner, his remains unsightly and forgotten, than a Yue Qingyuan who was elegant and powerful, his prospects and future boundless” (p. 95).

This is exactly what I said before when I mention that Sj reflection’s starts from his pain, and his pain is born in the Qi household. Before, as a slave boy, Shen Jiu was actually the happiest. And that’s why he’d rather have a dead Yue Qi than an alive Yue Qingyuan: because he was still Shen Jiu, and he would be Shen Jiu until his death.

It’s right then and there, that Shen Jiu decides there’s something inevitably wrong in him, that he’s poisonous, scornful, and hateful.

And that word marks his future in Cang Qiong:

Part 4: “Shen Jiu hated far too many and far too many things” (p. 95).

But then, we get this phrase:

“I may be a hateful thing for most people, but luckily the Qing Jing Peak Lord doesn't despise me” (p. 99)

Is Shen QingQiu hateful, or is he hated?

Also, “thing”. He’s a hateful thing. So he’s still not human.

Changing topics, on page 100, we get to see a new side of Shen Jiu: his reflection on the women of the Red Pavilion. I think it’s very interesting to compare it with Sy’s considerations of women. 

“Liking women wasn’t the least shameful, but treating women like saviors, cowering within their embrace and seeking courage from them... even without anyone saying it, Shen Qingqiu knew that was horrendously shameful”

From his wording, I don’t think Sj thinks badly of women: he thinks badly of himself. He considers that a man should be able to protect others, not be protected. The “horrendously shameful” thing is himself, and his pain.

And what’s really meaningful is when he says: “even without anyone saying it”. Because it shows us that many things Shen Jiu knows were taught by others' words. Because he was a slave boy, with no education of the noble, or even human ways (as slaves aren’t considered people), and everything he gathers of life he is constantly learning from others.

So of course he is hateful, and of course, he doesn’t get along with others: he hasn’t learned how to (and how big of a coincidence is it that Shen Yuan, who’s from a wealthy family, is able to get along with his Martial siblings just fine?).

Shen Qingqiu also knows that the only reason he was able to become a Peak Lord, is thanks to Qiu Jianluo’s teachings:

“In the past, Qiu Jianluo had forced Shen Jiu to learn how to read and write. Shen Jiu had been unwilling to learn, had detested it to the point of madness, yet now it was only through his abilities in reading and studying—through being smarter than his peers—that he’d been able to earn the Qing Jing Peak’s lord's favor. To make it even more laughable, of the thousands of possible names in this world, the peak lord had just happened to name him Qingqiu” (p. 101).

Doesn’t this remind you of something? I’m going to write this quote once again: 

“Luo Binghe, everything you have today you owe to taking me as your master, so shouldn’t you thank me? Instead, you’re wholly unable to tell what’s good for yourself. As expected, you’re an ungrateful bastard” (p. 116).

Just like Luo Binghe, Sj is where he is thanks to his abusive master. But never once does Sj regret his past:

“But no matter how laughable, no matter how it made him gnash his teeth, Shen Qingqiu still wanted that name, for this name represented that from now onward, a shining new life was his” (p. 116).

Notice the change of preposition, from “that” to “this”? That name is the Qiu name, and this name is the QingQiu name.

He is no Shen QingQiu, and no longer Shen Jiu.

“‘That name irritates me whenever I hear it. I’ve long forgotten it. So please, Zhangmen-shixiong, you should also discard it.’

[...] ‘ Then, the day you responder to it would be the day it no longer irritates you?’

[...] ‘ That would never happen’” (p. 101-102).

Shen Wingqiu wholeheartedly accepts his new name.

No matter what happened, we never see Shen QingQiu regretting his actions, neither cursing his fate. He accepts what life gives him, and he accepts his punishments. 

“What’s happened has happened! I’ve already ‘considered’ it hundreds and thousands of times! There is no ‘if’, no ‘in the beginning’—, there was never any chance of redemption!” (p. 111).

And you know why that is? Because he already considered it a lot after Shiwu’s betrayal.

Shiwu should have been trampled, Yue Qi shouldn’t have gone to save him (should’ve come to save Shen Jiu). But after that experience, Shen Jiu learns that should’ve and could’ve, and would’s aren’t worth anything, because, at the end of the day, his life never goes the way it should.

And he just accepts it: “Only when I see other people unhappy can I be happy myself” (p. 112).

This quote was very strange to me because it didn’t really match Shen Jiu’s actions. We don’t see him going out of his way to make others unhappy. (Except Luo Binghe lol. He openly admits to trying to murder him).

I think the situation was quite the opposite: It was when Shen Qingqiu was happy, that others were unhappy: when he was in the Warm Red Pavillion, others were unhappy. When he was with his female disciples, others were unhappy. When he succeeded as a disciple and became Peak Lord, others were unhappy. And when he was a slave, living alongside Yue Qi in the streets, he now believes Yue Qingyuan was unhappy too.

Shen QingQiu’s happiness came with the price of others’ happiness, and that’s why he comes to accept that he prefers others’ suffering, he accepts other’s hate.

The first time Shen Qingqiu is in the Linxhi Caves alongside Yue Qingyuan, he notices the crude markings on the walls, and asks him about it. What’s relevant of this scene is that it’s the first time Shen QingQiu is the one starting a conversation.

Before that, we always see Yue Qingyuan looking for Shen Qingqiu, talking to him, interrogating him, and a Shen Qingqiu reluctant to talk. In this scene, the opposite happens: Shen Qingqiu asks, and Yue Qingqiu ignores him.

Here we see, that in those fundamental moments that Shen Qingqiu is the one interested in something, others (Yue Qingyuan) are distant.

Last but not least, I’d like to bring some of the last lines of the chapter to light:

“He had singlehandedly created the Luo Binghe of today, but who had singlehandedly wrought this ending of Shen Qingqiu’s?

Yue Qingyuan shouldn't have met this kind of fate” (p. 117).

THIS

THIS PHRASE

Made me go ughrr oh my god.

First of all, the acceptance: like yeah, I made the devil. It came to bite me in the ass. Okey.

But does he regret that? NO! He regrets being who he is. What he is. He regrets what he became: he regrets being hated, being unhappy, he regrets being mean, not because of what it caused him, but because of the person he became.

Shen Qingqiu never, not even once feels pity for his ending, for being tortured and mutilated. He only regrets being unhappy.

And also, he blames Yue Qingyuan for it. 

Because it isn’t a coincidence that after that question, he mentions Yue Qingyuan’s name. First of all is a literary resource. Second, it’s the clear association of the narrator’s mind as he builds a sequence.

He blames Yue Qingyuan for the person he became, and also blames Yue Qingyuan for not being able to avoid the person he became: he denies his cruel destiny.

Yue Qingyuan shouldn't have met this kind of fate.

Because Shen Qingqiu only ever wished for the death of Yue Qi.

This chapter’s narrator is a very sharp, and concise one. He goes from scene to scene, from thought to thought, abandoning fluency and just concentrating on a list of events. This is a reflection of Shen Jiu’s mind: a recollection of traumatic events that brutally shaped him into the man he became.

We see very little emotion, very short pieces of a sentimental being that laze themselves as puzzle pieces trying to make the shape of a deeply traumatized man.

I said it before, and I say it again: SVSSS is a masterpiece, is a book that will become a classic and be analyzed by literary critics in universities (or it should become. we can only hope).

And MXTX is one of the best current fiction writers in the world.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk lol

[moonwaif]

Poll: Choose a Jane Austen inspired AU.

*Poll at the bottom.

Sense & Sensibility: Shen brothers navigate their complicated love lives. Shen Jiu is shocked to reencounter Yue Qingyuan, an old paramour, and determined to resist lingering feelings on the basis of sense. In the meantime, Shen Yuan is captivated by the oldest Luo brother (aka, Luo Bing-ge), who's super cool and seductive--even though the younger, less experienced Luo brother (aka, Luo Bing-mei) is clearly in love with him.

Northanger Abbey: The spoiled youngest son of a nobleman, Shen Yuan is forced by his parents to finally start looking for a wife. Along the way, he meets the mysterious Lord Luo. Although they get along well, Shen Yuan is pretty sure that Luo Binghe might kinda, maybe be a demon, based on the adventure stories Shen Yuan has read. This supposition deepens when Shen Yuan is invited to stay at Luo Binghe's manor. Whether Luo Binghe is actually a demon is up to you. He's definitely gay, though.

Persuasion: Just as Shen Yuan is getting ready to cast Luo Binghe into the abyss, his disciple makes a startling confession: "I love you!" Uh, system? This was not in the script! Shen Yuan pushes him in without a response, then tries to bury the confession deep, deep in his psyche. Three years later, Cang Qiong mountain sect has fallen on hard times, with the original Shen Qingqiu's scandals coming home to roost. In the meantime, Luo Binghe has reappeared in the jianghu as a wealthy cultivator, searching for a wife . . .

Emma: In an attempt to improve on the original story, Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu takes it upon himself to find his disciple a wife (or a husband, once Luo Binghe starts making allusions to the fact that he's gay). This will definitely not have any regrettable consequences. However, MoShang does end up getting together after Shen Qingqiu decides to try shipping Mobei-Jun and Luo Binghe. (Shang Qinghua is not having it!)

Pride & Prejudice: BingLiuShen. This is all about Liu Qingge and Luo Binghe meeting each other, having massive misunderstandings, and then falling in love. A lot of those misunderstandings involve Shen Qingqiu, and what (re: who) they think is right for him. As time passes and events occur, they start to realize they have more in common than they originally suspected . . .

[shijiujun]

Why You Should Watch 少年歌行 | The Blood of Youth

TLDR: Super good, you should absolutely watch this! Not at all a BL/danmei but from what the donghua gave, there’s quite a healthy bit of bromance and brotherhood between the two male leads, and this show has comedy, plot, excellent pacing, exciting wugong moves and conspiracy, plus tons of gorgeous women and men who can all fight!!! CGI is great too, I initially thought this was gonna be a trashy but funny and moderately good wuxia drama but it’s really well-made and it is still funny and really good on all fronts.

*It has a donghua but I haven’t watched it!!!

---

Summary: 

Xiao Se is a handsome but relatively poor inn owner in the middle of nowhere on some snowtop mountain, and said inn barely sees any visitors year after year. Just as Xiao Se is deciding whether or not to sell the inn, they finally get one visitor, a young traveler, Lei Wujie who’s traversing jianghu for the very first time on his own, and then they soon get a bunch of hooligans who want to rob the inn. Lei Wujie ‘saves’ Xiao Se by defeating the hooligans but in the process damage the inn; Xiao Se demands payment and Lei Wujie says he needs to get to Xue Yue City to find money to pay him back essentially, so Xiao Se follows him out of his inn in the mountains on a journey.

Along the way, they stumble upon Tang Lian, a skilled and well-known disciple of a famous shifu from Xue Yue City, who’s guarding and escorting a golden coffin to another city, not knowing what is in the coffin. He’s been hunted down repeatedly and ambushed by multiple groups of skilled experts, all coveting what’s inside the golden coffin. Xiao Se and Lei Wujie get accidentally embroiled in the mess, and then realize along the way that a monk - Wu Xin - is in the coffin. And everyone is after Wu Xin, from the demonic sects to other sects in the pugilistic world, all the way to the royal palace. 

As Xiao Se and Lei Wujie end up traveling with Wu Xin, conspiracies and past feuds unravel, and Xiao Se is not who he seems to be.

Watch on Youku (YT): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xIuBPN-lk (Total 39 episodes, from Dec. 2022 - Jan. 2023)

---

Main Characters:

Xiao Se/Xiao Chuhe (Li Hongyi): The exiled 6th prince who was once a prodigy in martial arts and cultivation before he lost all of it after an attack, and he’s been at the inn ever since. Very well informed of everyone and who’s who, plus all the big happenings in the pugilistic world. Nonchalant, dealing with some issues, very bold and haughty (rightfully so), and this man was a prince and skilled fighter from before too, HAS A LOT OF BAGGAGE, banters a lot with Lei Wujie (cuz this boy is dumb) and is forced to face his demons with the help of Wu Xin. Mysterious, but not really because the moment he walks out everyone knows him like come on he’s the beloved 6th prince before he was exiled

Wu Xin (Liu Xueyi): The son of the demonic sect head before his dad went to war with the royals and was betrayed and defeated, and the demonic sect had to send him over to the royal palace as a hostage, but he gets ‘adopted’ by an old monk and is taught everything that he knows (and was loved) by the old monk. He looks very demonic LMAO more than a monk, super skilled, known for his magic eyes, and he kidnaps Xiao Se and Lei Wujie to be his companions, has a bit of daddy issues too and a lot of pent up anger from when he was younger, but also like super zen at times, and then flippant at other times

Lei Wujie: Dumb husky or golden retriever. Very skilled, pure-hearted, but still very young. SO DAMN FUNNY!!! 

---

Why You Should Watch This:

1. Possible bromance between Wu Xin and Xiao Se - So far they’ve been very brotherhood but I expect that all to change soon, their first meeting is hilarious af this is the first thing they say to each other, when Wu Xin asked if Xiao Se would accompany him to place and bro went “No wtf”

I mean look at how demonic and slutty Wu Xin is with his eyes and that jawline and see how close they sitting to each other even though Xiao Se is like get-away-from-me

GUYS WE REALY DO GET BROMANCE!!! HAHAHAHA also i was wrong xiao se at this point isn’t the 团宠 just yet, wu xin is!!! he’s the center of attention do you know how many people ran to catch him when he fainted?!?!??!

AND THEY WERE FORCED TO BE SEPARATED FOR A BIT AND LOOK AT HOW THEY TEARED UP WHEN THEY WERE BACK FACING EACH OTHER WTF YALL WERE BARELY BROS FOR AN HOUR

2. Gorgeous men and women and they all can fight and murder you with their eyes?!?!?! (There’s more than the below LIKE A LOT MORE)

3. COMEDY

Example this dumb boy introducing his big name to everyone and then hitting his head 

Example the whole fucking carriage has been exploded to smithereens BUT guess who is literally untouched and still in his bed?? Sleeping beauty Wu Xin

Example Xiao Se praising how amazing Wu Xin is but then like “We’re his hostages but we’re praising him” wtf

4. The CGI!!!! And the fighting sequences are really amazing!!!

---

And lastly am I the only one thinking about Xue Xian and Xuan Min from Copper Coins!!

[pickmedolls]

𓉸ྀི ݁ ˖ ◜ THE PICK ME GIRLS

Pick Me! (commonly stylized as Pick Me) is the second chance for five girls who have been mistreated by the industry and poorly managed by their companies. Known for their appearances in various survival shows, four of the girls (Yue, Kiko, Pink, and Jules) were unfairly cut from the final groups due to rigged rankings. The remaining girl, Rosie, managed to debut with EVERMORE after Once Upon a Dream, but her situation didn’t get any better. After just a year with the group, her members accused Rosie of being a bully and got her removed from the lineup, despite the lack of evidence to back up the claims against her.

The group was formed and handpicked by Sylvia Hara, the creative director of Heartbreak Entertainment. Sylvia, who seems unfazed about discussing the group's origins, has stated several times that the idea for the group came about after she watched an interview of Choi Mijun, former group mate of Rosie and leader of EVERAFTER, in which she labeled Yue as a "pick me."

All three of them competed in Once Upon a Dream, but only Mijun and Rosie made it to the top 6 and got to debut. Yue, on the other hand, accused Mijun of cheating and claimed that her father had made a generous donation to Mnet to ensure that Mijun not only debuted but also won the show. Allegedly, Mijun would then orchestrate Yue’s exclusion from the top 6 despite her being a fan favorite to win. After OUAD, Yue went live on Instagram with a stream titled “OUAD: All the shit swept under the rug,” where she delved deeper into the topic. Just a few days later, Mijun gave an interview as an excuse to address Yue’s accusations and labeled her a “pick me” for complaining about not being good enough to earn a spot in EVERAFTER’s lineup.

Sylvia found the interaction hilarious and decided to capitalize on it. After signing Yue and making her the leader of the group, Sylvia had a marathon of survival shows. Notebook in hand, she listed 7 potential candidates to complete the lineup, ultimately selecting 4 of them.

Pick Me is known for its unfiltered girl crush concept and its dance-pop sound with hyperpop elements. Their debut single, "Angel of My Dreams," was a huge success, driven both by the drama surrounding the group and the song itself, which went viral from the moment the teaser for the music video was released. The girls are widely regarded as the leaders of their generation.

⋆˙⊹ COMPANY: Heartbreak Entertainment

⋆˙⊹ DEBUT DATE: April 20th, 2022

⋆˙⊹ DEBUT SINGLE ALBUM: Angel of my Dreams

⋆˙⊹ FANDOM: n/a

⋆˙⊹ MEMBERS: Yue, Rosie, Kiko, Pink & Jules

𓉸ྀི ݁ ˖ ◜ WHAT MADE THE GIRLS GET PICKED?

♡ FENG YUE, 2002 ݁ ˖ ◜ Competed in Mnet's Once Upon a Dream. Even though she was the show's front-runner since her very first performance, Yue ended up ranking seventh, missing out on EVERMORE by just one position. Her fellow contestant Choi Mijun, who unfairly won the show, was behind this. As the untalented nepobaby she is, got the show rigged in her favor by her daddy, who donated a huge amount of money to Mnet. All of this because Yue called them out. Also called her a pick after debuting. The audacity!

⋆˙⊹ SHOWS: Once Upon a Dream.

⋆˙⊹ RANKED: 7th.

⋆˙⊹ FORMER COMPANY: SM Entertainment.

⋆˙⊹ YEARS TRAINED: 4 years prior OUAD, 1 year before debut.

♡ SEORA ‘ROSIE’ PARK, 1998 ݁ ˖ ◜ Competed in Produce 101, didn’t make it. She then tried in Once upon a Dream. Contrary to Yue, she managed to debut after ranking sixth. Rosie opted for a much smarter approach: keeping her mouth shut and away from any drama. At least until her debut with EVERMORE. Spending twenty-four hours a day with a mean queen bee and her pose of hair-headed girls was bound to take its toll. Fed up with being bossed around and verbally abused by her leader Mijun, she stood up for herself and called her out to the company. Mijun accused her of being a bully and got her kicked out.

⋆˙⊹ SHOWS: Produce 101, Once Upon a Dream.

⋆˙⊹ RANKED: 13th (Produce 101), 6th (OUAD).

⋆˙⊹ FORMER COMPANIES: JYP Entertainment, Idol Maker Entertainment.

⋆˙⊹ FORMER GROUP: EVERMORE (2020-2021).

⋆˙⊹ YEARS TRAINED: 2 years prior Produce 101, 3 years before OUAD.

♡ SUKIKO ‘KIKO’ MORI, 2000 ݁ ˖ ◜ Competed in Mnet’s Produce 48 after just two years of training with SM. Although she went a bit unnoticed at the beginning of the show, Kiko ended up becoming a fan favorite to debut. She’s not just the best dancer I’ve probably ever seen, but also a super creative and versatile choreographer. Kiko was born to dance; you can tell just by watching her. But somehow, she ended up ranking fifteenth. With that talent! Literal daylight robbery!!

⋆˙⊹ SHOWS: Produce 48.

⋆˙⊹ RANKED: 15th.

⋆˙⊹ FORMER COMPANY: SM Entertainment.

⋆˙⊹ YEARS TRAINED: 2 years prior Produce 48, 4 years before debut.

♡ PAVINEE ‘PINK’ WORACHOT, 2002 ݁ ˖ ◜ Competed in Produce 48 and was blatantly robbed. Pink stood out from the get-go with her unique voice and natural charisma. No matter where you looked, there she was, smiling and surrounded by people like moths to a flame. She was one of the most popular contestants, even though her Korean wasn’t perfect. That’s the excuse the judges used to keep her out of Iz*One by just one spot. Fans went absolutely wild, and rightfully so!

⋆˙⊹ SHOWS: Produce 48.

⋆˙⊹ RANKED: 13th.

⋆˙⊹ FORMER COMPANY: YG Entertainment.

⋆˙⊹ YEARS TRAINED: 1 year prior Produce 48, 4 years before debut.

♡ JULIANA ‘JULES’ SANTOS, 2002 ݁ ˖ ◜ Jules initially debuted in JYP's disastrous attempt at a coed group, 2LUVU, which crashed and burned after just a year and a half, with only two comebacks to their name. After that, she competed in Girls Planet 999, where she somehow ended up in eleventh place even though she was more debut-ready than half the girls who ranked above her. She was edited to seem like she had a superiority complex and zero interest in bonding with the other contestants. Nowadays you can’t even have a bit of RBF without getting canceled. Mnet boo, you suck!

⋆˙⊹ SHOWS: Girls Planet 999.

⋆˙⊹ RANKED: 11th.

⋆˙⊹ FORMER COMPANY: JYP Entertainment.

⋆˙⊹ FORMER GROUP: 2LUVU (2018-2019)

⋆˙⊹ YEARS TRAINED: 5 years before debut with 2LU, 1 year prior Girls Planet 999.

[tossawary]

The Yue Qi and Shen Jiu extras of SVSSS are all quite sad, especially since they apparently take place in the PIDW universe and show off some of Shen Jiu’s time in Huan Hua’s Water Prison (when Yue Qingyuan comes to visit him) and Luo Bing-ge coming to tell Shen Jiu about Yue Qingyuan’s death. I had read these extras before, but only the once, and a few years ago now.

So, while Shen Jiu was working for Wu Yanzi, he committed a number of serious crimes alongside his master, and Wu Yanzi had killed a number of famous cultivators using what most would call “dirty tricks”. Shen Jiu assumes at this point in time that Yue Qi has died horribly or gotten caught in some “worse than death” situation, so he’s shocked to encounter Yue Qi again, and see that Yue Qi has become the head disciple of Qiong Ding Peak and looks great.

The worst part is that Yue Qi and Shen Jiu meet again at an Immortal Alliance Conference. Where Shen Jiu and Wu Yanzi are looting the bodies of some of the disciples who “considered themselves elite”, and it first it seems like the disciples just died against some beast, so it’s not as bad as it could be. Yue Qi stumbles upon Shen Jiu, they’re both shocked, and then Shen Jiu is the one who dives forward and sets off one of the “distress signal fireworks” that disciples are equipped with for these conferences. Shen Jiu is in this case a trespasser and a murderer, and so bringing the sects down on them is bad for him, and he can only possibly be doing this to save Yue Qi from Wu Yanzi.

Wu Yanzi returns and scolds Shen Jiu (who quickly throws the firework shell away) for the firework going off, saying that it’s unusual for Shen Jiu to be so slow and asking why Shen Jiu didn’t just cut off the disciples’ hands, so, yeah, Wu Yanzi and Shen Jiu probably killed some if not all of these disciples. Best case scenario is that they sneaked up on disciples who were fatally injured and then dealt the final blow, but that’s an extremely generous reach.

Shen Jiu tries to convince Wu Yanzi to leave before more senior cultivators come and find them, but Wu Yanzi and Yue Qi get into a fight. Shen Jiu is terrified for Yue Qi. Wu Yanzi is about to pull a move that I think temporarily blinds or otherwise disables his opponents? It’s some move that Wu Yanzi has used to kill several famous cultivators, which Shen Jiu has witnessed him use before. So, before Wu Yanzi can use this move, Shen Jiu stabs his mentor through the back with his sword to save Yue Qi. Then Shen Jiu and Yue Qi run off together, hand in hand, presumably leaving Wu Yanzi’s dead body to be found surrounded by dead disciples, with his pockets full of loot.

Yue Qi and Shen Jiu then have a confrontation, in which Yue Qi apparently cannot bring himself to explain to Shen Jiu why he failed to come back, and which Shen Jiu immediately takes badly. Yue Qi apologizes, but Shen Jiu interprets it badly as well, which makes sense when Shen Jiu is jumpy as hell and running on survival instincts and a criminal. Honestly, in this moment, I cannot blame Yue Qi for failing to speak eloquently about this, because it read to me like he was just in shock. Like, holy shit. What a way to meet again.