#zhuixing writes

[stardust-falling]

Fleeting Second Chances

requested by @gaywarcriminals on ko-fi

Fandom: SVSSS Pairing: Yue Qingyuan & Shen Jiu Summary: Shen Qingqiu suffers a qi deviation and reverts to his younger self. Yue Qingyuan, naturally, must be the one to take care of him until he recovers. Words: 1.6k

The Qing Jing Peak Lord had suffered a serious qi deviation, and would be spending some time away from his peak while recovering.

The news spread throughout Cang Qiong Mountain like wildfire— this sort of gossip always did, especially when it revolved around Shen Qingqiu. It wasn’t the first time he’d pushed himself too far and slipped up, and it probably wouldn’t be the last either, but these incidents were rarely substantial enough to actually take him away from Qing Jing Peak.

His disciples were relieved, though they would never actually admit that to anyone. Even if it was only temporary, they now had some reprieve from their shizun’s thorny tongue and icy glares— and also from his unnecessarily harsh discipline.

His peers secretly felt sorry for Mu Qingfang and his disciples, sparing them sympathetic glances whenever their paths crossed. Any time Shen Qingqiu experienced a setback, he was much, much less pleasant to be around. He was especially sensitive about his cultivation— what kind of hell must Qian Cao Peak have become with him staying as a patient like this?

Little did they know, however, that Shen Qingqiu wasn’t on Qian Cao Peak at all.

……

Yue Qingyuan was a very busy man.

As the leader of the cultivation world’s foremost righteous sect, there was no end to the matters that required his attention. From teaching his own disciples to coordinating the next Immortal Alliance Conference, he rarely had a moment to be idle.

For the past several days, however, he had taken leave and requested not to be disturbed for anything short of a genuine emergency.

Each morning, just after the sun had risen, he went down to Yin Huai Village with a basket hanging from his arm. A short while later, he would return with that basket filled to the brim with all manner of sweet treats and goodies— and then, he would disappear inside his house until the time came for his next daily excursion.

This odd change of behavior brought about all sorts of theories. Regardless, anyone who saw with the sect leader these days could agree on one thing— he seemed, for some reason, far happier now than they’d ever seen him before.

……

It was late spring— a dreary, rainy day.

Yue Qingyuan returned home with his basket as usual, carefully stepping inside. He called out “I’m back!” and set the basket down on the table. Then, he went into the side room, where a small bed had been set up, filled with a generous mountain of soft pillows and blankets.

In the center of that bed was a small, miserable lump.

Yue Qingyuan paused next to the bed for a moment, then carefully reached out to place his hand on top of the lump.

There was a flurry of movement beneath the blankets, which were hurriedly tossed aside by a little ball of rage and startled vitriol— and before he could pull away, Yue Qingyuan felt a sharp pain in his hand.

“Ah— Xiao-Jiu, it’s just me!”

Latched on tightly to his hand with teeth that were really far sharper than they ought to be was a small child, with a thin face and messy black hair, who was looking up at Yue Qingyuan with a frightened glare in his wide eyes.

“Qi-ge’s sorry for startling you,” Yue Qingyuan added, with a wince and an apologetic smile.

A little more than a week ago now, he’d stopped by Qing Jing Peak to deliver a message. It was a simple task he could have easily left to one of his disciples, but how could he pass up an opportunity to go check in on Xiao-Jiu? When he arrived at the bamboo house, though, instead of being greeted by the sight of Shen Qingqiu’s unhappy glare, he instead saw a quiet house, with a little mound of turquoise and white clothes in a pile on the ground, as though the person inside of them had vanished into thin air.

Seeing Shen Qingqiu’s clothes like this, Yue Qingyuan had of course been a little worried and gone to pick them up— and as soon as he’d lifted a corner of the silk robe, the same thing had happened as just now.

He recognized the person biting him instantly, and had rushed the tiny Shen Qingqiu over to Qian Cao Peak to find Mu Qingfang. While Yue Qingyuan wrapped up his now-bleeding hand in a strip of bandage, Mu Qingfang had struggled to diagnose this particularly difficult patient, who refused to cooperate even a little and seemed to think that the physician was out to get him. Eventually, a conclusion was reached— Shen Qingqiu had suffered a qi deviation, which caused him to revert to his younger self. His memories past that point also seemed to be missing, along with his cultivation— but other than that, his condition wasn’t too bad. He would probably return to normal on his own with time.

Yue Qingyuan was relieved that it wasn’t too serious, and that he wasn’t in any danger.

But that didn’t mean there weren’t some… other problems to deal with.

Xiao-Jiu— because it didn’t feel right to call this tiny version of him “Shen Qingqiu”— was now the exact same as he had been all those years ago when he’d first been purchased by the trafficking ring. From his point of view, he’d only met Yue Qi recently. They had already gotten fairly close, but there was no way he would believe that the tall, regally-clothed sect leader was, in fact, his Qi-ge all grown up.

When Yue Qingyuan had tried to explain the situation, he had just been met with a suspicious glare. He wondered whether he should have brought it up at all.

Yue Qingyuan knew that Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t want the details of his past to become widely known, so as soon as he was allowed to, he swept his tiny shidi off and tucked him away inside Qiong Ding Peak’s Sky House. He would take care of Xiao-Jiu himself until he had gone back to normal and gotten his memories back. Even though Shen Qingqiu would probably hate him even more for this later… well, it would still be better than the alternative.

At least this way, anything that happened would stay just between the two of them. Like so many things were.

And now, Yue Qi could spoil Xiao-Jiu to his heart’s content.

Once several days had passed, he realized it would be a lot more difficult than he hoped. Xiao-Jiu was hardly the sort to be won over by a few sweets and some blankets, and Yue Qingyuan kept forgetting himself and going in to hug him, or pat his head, or pinch his cheeks… Xiao-Jiu was really just too cute when he was small, it was simply unbearable.

Almost every time he reached out, his hand was bitten. The few times he avoided being bitten, he was punched or kicked. Yue Qingyuan didn’t really mind these reactions— but there were a few heartbreaking times when Xiao-Jiu just flinched away from him in fear. Once, early on, he’d slipped away from Yue Qingyuan’s grasp and curled up underneath the bed. He stayed under there for hours, peering out with big, suspicious eyes, refusing to come out despite all of Yue Qingyuan’s coaxing.

In the end, he’d left a warm steamed bun just past the edge of the bed and gone out the room. It took awhile, but Xiao-Jiu eventually crawled back out and took the peace offering, though he remained wary for the rest of the day.

Luckily, he’d warmed up to Yue Qingyuan by now.

That didn’t mean the biting had stopped.

Of course… he’d bitten Yue Qi a lot back when they were kids too. He probably just liked it.

“Xiao-Jiu… I brought you some things,” Yue Qingyuan said, gingerly trying to remove his hand from between Xiao-Jiu’s teeth. “Please let go now, you can bite down on the sweets instead of me.”

Xiao-Jiu just glared at him, refusing to offer the slightest bit of mercy.

Yue Qingyuan sighed— what was it this time? Xiao-Jiu had been getting more temperamental lately. He wasn’t afraid anymore, so it had to be something else.

Oh…

Was it that…?

“Ah. Qi-ge is sorry for leaving you.”

Once those words had left his lips, Xiao-Jiu gave him one final glare before finally letting go.

So it really was that after all.

A soft chuckle escaped Yue Qingyuan’s lips as he dabbed at the blood now welling up on his hand. It wasn’t a new injury, but rather the same one from before, re-opened. Somehow, Xiao-Jiu always managed to bite the exact same place, and his bites had only gotten harder and more painful as he recovered and grew stronger.

Xiao-Jiu reached out with one of his tiny, tiny hands and grabbed hold of Yue Qingyuan’s sleeve, tugging on it several times. Yue Qingyuan responded by gently patting him on the head, careful not to move too quickly and startle him.

“I’ll tell you next time I go out, alright?” he suggested, his voice soft.

Xiao-Jiu shook his head and glared again.

“Then… I’ll… stay here?”

A nod.

Then, Xiao-Jiu burrowed himself into Yue Qingyuan’s chest, clinging tightly to the fabric of his robes as he pressed his face into them.

A grin burst across Yue Qingyuan’s face. Ah— his Xiao-Jiu was simply the cutest thing ever! He carefully put his arms around Xiao-Jiu’s tiny shoulders, gently hugging him, rocking back and forth as he reached up to stroke his hair.

“Alright… alright. Qi-ge won’t go away anymore. Qi-ge will stay here with you.”

He closed his eyes, breathing a long, heavy sigh.

Eventually, Xiao-Jiu would grow up again and remember everything. But for now…

For now, it wouldn’t hurt to give him a little bit of the care, security, and happiness that he’d never been able to have before.

[stardust-falling]

The roles are not about morality or end goals, they're simply functional.

If a given story where Character A is the protagonist and Character B is the antagonist were to be rewritten from the perspective of Character B, then Character A would become the antagonist of the rewrite. Even if the original story was about A trying to prevent atrocities committed by B, when the story follows B instead then B still becomes the protagonist.

Whether your protagonist is hero, anti-hero, or villain, they're still the protagonist, and framing different types of characters that way can actually provide for quite a lot of interesting literary and character analysis. In media not meant specifically to teach young children moral lessons, one isn't necessarily meant to relate or emulate the protagonist-- just to understand the cause and effect of how they came to be and how their actions affect the world.

Guys. Guys please. We have to remember that protagonist is not a stand in word for hero and antagonist is not a stand in word for villain. Please. We learned this in middle school. The protagonist is the character the audience follows. The antagonist is the character who is working against the protagonist.

[stardust-falling]

The Winds May Change

requested by @corvus-attano on ko-fi

Fandom: SVSSS Pairing: Yue Qingyuan & Shen Jiu Summary: Newly-named head disciple Shang Qinghua realizes that the story has gone off-course when he notices that Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu are a lot more friendly with one another than they should be. Words: 1.4k

Shang Qinghua, formerly known as the Great Master Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky, was facing a dilemma: the protagonist hadn’t even arrived yet, and things had already gone off-course from his original work!

It was hard to pinpoint where exactly the change had happened, and now he was swearing at himself up and down for not paying enough attention to certain individuals during his time on Cang Qiong Mountain’s periphery as a lowly outer disciple of An Ding Peak— he should have noticed that a defining relationship of one exceedingly important character had turned out to be completely opposite from the way it was supposed to be.

The character in question was none other than that endlessly unfortunate scum villain, Shen Qingqiu. Now, Shen Qingqiu had only a few key relationships in the original work. Most important, of course, was his bitter cruelty toward the protagonist, and second after that was his far more complicated relationship with Yue Qingyuan. There were a few others, such as his rivalry with Liu Qingge, but these were by far the most important.

It just so happened that now, the relationship he had with the future sect leader was all wrong!

In the original work, Shen Qingqiu was supposed to avoid Yue Qingyuan whenever possible, lashing out at him with verbal barbs when avoidance wasn’t an option. Even at Shen Qingqiu’s most courteous, the sect leader would only get a cold shoulder. Now, though, the magnets that should have repulsed one another had somehow been turned around— instead of chatter about how strangely distant Shen Qingqiu was from one who was said to be his friend, the gossip revolved around how irritating it was to see him constantly clinging to Yue Qingyuan’s side.

And that was literal. Shang Qinghua alone could recall several times where he’d seen Shen Qingqiu snatch Yue Qingyuan by the wrist and tug him along somewhere, and any time they were in the same place the two positioned themselves so closely to one another that they were practically touching. At this rate, they just ought to hold hands everywhere they went, rather than trying to uphold any slight semblance of cool professionalism.

The first time Shang Qinghua had heard the rumors of their strange relationship, he was positive he had misheard. After he became head disciple and encountered the two of them together more often, though, he realized that, shockingly enough, those rumors were spot-on.

Watching Shen Qingqiu lean over to whisper conspiratorially into Yue Qingyuan’s ear, followed by a pleased smile blooming across the future sect leader’s face, was enough to make Shang Qinghua’s head spin.

What was going on here?

These two were supposed to have nothing more than a painful past piled high with misunderstandings after misunderstandings, beyond any hope of reconciliation. Now, they were being friendly with each other— not just courteous, but friendly friendly. One might even say intimate.

Shang Qinghua interrogated the system about this, but no matter how he tried, he never received an answer— the closest he got was [ Occasionally, there may be variables in the story beyond this system’s control. Good luck! ]

There was still no clue as to why or how these variables existed, and unfortunately, Shang Qinghua didn’t have much of a way to find out. It wasn’t like he could just ask— even though this Shen Qingqiu was friendly with Yue Qingyuan, his manner with the rest of his martial siblings was roughly the same as it was in the original. No matter how many sweet nothings he might whisper into his shixiong’s ear, there was no way that Shang Qinghua would get anything more than a distasteful curl of his lip.

How miserable it all was— if Shen Qingqiu’s character was already going to change, couldn’t he have become just ever so slightly easier to get along with?

Shang Qinghua wasn’t the only one who had problems with Shen Qingqiu’s behavior, of course. Even though this one might be a little better-tempered overall than the one in Proud Immortal Demon Way, he was still almost universally disliked. He still was Shen Qingqiu, after all, still the scum villain even if he’d managed to repair one particular relationship. That brought Shang Qinghua a little bit of relief— at least he shouldn’t have to worry about the story veering off too far from his original designs, so he would still have some idea what to expect.

Still, he was greatly curious about the change, so he always paid special attention to the gossip and complaints regarding that problematic shixiong.

“Who does that Shen Qingqiu think he is?” Qi Qingqi huffed, scuffing at the ground with the toe of her shoe as she sat next to the campfire Shang Qinghua had just finished lighting. “Just because he’s close with Yue-shixiong, that doesn’t give him the right to treat the rest of us like the dirt on his shoes.”

The two of them, along with Liu Qingge, were out on one of those tedious joint missions. It was Shang Qinghua’s first time going out with either of them— he had only ever met them at the twelve peaks’ annual tournament before, and briefly while doing odd jobs here and there. He had to admit, he couldn’t help but wonder about this pair’s opinions of the new-and-(perhaps)-improved Shen Qingqiu. In the original, Liu Qingge had been the one the scum villain hated most of all, while Qi Qingqi’s relationship with him hadn’t been too bad, all things considered.

Now, it seemed she tolerated him less than before. Of course, in this version it probably seemed that Shen Qingqiu had taken advantage of his past connection with Yue Qingyuan to parachute into the position of his future second-in-command. Qi Qingqi didn’t really think kindly of that sort of person.

“He has a little talent, but his personality makes me want to hit him,” Liu Qingge replied.

Oh? How interesting… this was far more generous than Liu Qingge ought to be at this time. Shang Qinghua listened in more closely as he worked to set up their tent.

“It’s not as though he is the best cultivator among us,” Qi Qingqi grumbled, “It’s all because he’s friends with Yue-shixiong that he can get away with his attitude… and he knows it.”

“Mn,” Liu Qingge replied, setting some fish he’d caught to roast over the fire. “You can’t say it’s all favoritism. Shen-shixiong is good with his sword and his cultivation is decent, especially for someone who only started practicing at fifteen. Maybe you should fight with him, then you’d get to hit him properly.”

Shang Qinghua was so stunned by this that he missed the tent pole and smashed his hammer into his finger. He yelped, dropping the hammer and cradling his injured hand against his chest. The other two glanced briefly in his direction before ignoring him once again.

Had Shang Qinghua heard that right?

Fifteen?

No… he distinctly remembered writing that Shen Qingqiu had joined the sect at sixteen.

Unless…

Ah!

How had that happened? Shang Qinghua was sure he hadn’t interfered in any of that!

Not to mention, what was with Liu Qingge’s attitude? Even calling Shen Qingqiu “shixiong” when he wasn’t around— did they really not hate one another to death this time?

“Shen-shixiong was fifteen when he joined the sect?” Shang Qinghua asked, hiding his nosiness behind idle curiosity.

“Oh right, Shang-shixiong was still an outer disciple then— Yue-shixiong showed up one day with him and recommended him to Qing Jing Peak. Yan-shibo hadn’t chosen her successor yet, and Shen Qingqiu ended up with the title less than two years later,” Qi Qingqi explained.

“And… Liu-shidi, what do you think of him?”

“He nearly beat me in a fight once,” Liu Qingge replied.

That alone was enough to cause Shang Qinghua’s jaw to nearly drop to the floor— he could barely restrain himself. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to go! No wonder Shen Qingqiu didn’t seem quite as miserable as Shang Qinghua had first envisioned him. His greatest rival, who thought almost nothing of him, now spoke of him with about as much respect as Liu Qingge ever showed. Not to mention, if Shen Qingqiu actually stood a chance of beating Liu Qingge, then that meant that his cultivation was much better than it was in the original as well!

Someone had changed the timeline. If Shen Qingqiu had come in at fifteen, that meant that the whole year he spent as Wu Yanzi’s disciple had been skipped over. If he was close with Yue Qingyuan… had something changed there? Had Qi-ge actually managed to come back in time? Had Shen Jiu been rescued before he had the chance to kill his old master?

If that was the case, then the accusations brought against him wouldn’t stand in this timeline. Fuck— an entire plotline with one of Bing-ge’s wives might have been messed up, not just the revenge plot!

But… didn’t that mean that Shen Qingqiu may not meet the same fate as he had in the novel?

Shang Qinghua bit his lower lip, hardly daring to hope. All this time, the system had made it perfectly clear that he couldn’t go too far outside the bounds of the story— but it seemed like the story was being changed with or without his meddling. He’d never thought he had a chance to make it out of this alive… but if even Shen Qingqiu’s fate could be changed, then who could say that Shang Qinghua’s would have to stay the same?

[stardust-falling]

No Time for Farewells

requested by @meowmeowed on ko-fi

Fandom: SVSSS Pairing: Yue Qingyuan & Shen Jiu Summary: After already giving up hope, and resigning himself to live out the rest of his days in torment, Shen Qingqiu receives a surprising visit in the water prison. Words: 1.4k

What use was hope for the damned?

No use at all— and so, as one condemned to die, Shen Qingqiu had abandoned it long ago. That monster he had personally raised had grown and grown until its power surpassed any other power in this world, and had decided that Shen Qingqiu would remain in its clutches until he met his end— so of course it would be so.

It was only a matter of time.

Shen Qingqiu waited for that final day to come from his dark, damp cell deep within Huan Hua Palace’s water prison, because there was nothing else left for him to do.

He’d adapted to the low light, his dismal surroundings clearly visible to his one remaining eye. He’d adapted to the pain— after having both legs torn off one after the other, anything else was hardly a tickle in comparison. He’d adapted to the intense hunger and thirst, even though his cultivation had long since been destroyed, and he realized that the beast’s blood parasites alone were keeping him alive.

At a certain point, he became quite bored of the pain and the torment, and his consciousness retreated to the recesses of his own mind, his only awareness of his surroundings being a constant half-watch on the door, just to make sure that the beast wouldn’t come in and catch him off guard.

Even though Shen Qingqiu knew he was going to die, he wasn’t about to give Luo Binghe the satisfaction of seeing him break. Even if all he could do was glare with one eye, he would do so for as long as he remained conscious.

Shen Qingqiu was nothing if not stubborn.

Besides, Luo Binghe meant to torture him anyway, so it was better to make him so angry that he beat Shen Qingqiu into unconsciousness sooner rather than later. He had nothing to lose, after all, and he’d rather get it over with.

Shen Qingqiu had never considered that he might be rescued. He’d done that once before— and look where that had gotten him. Of course, this time, he’d made sure to drive that person away properly. He… had already burdened Yue Qingyuan for too long. Shen Qingqiu’s eye began to ache, so he shut it for awhile, ignoring the flashes of red and white and the burning sensation that filled it before the darkness settled in. He breathed in once, then again, the air rasping through lungs that had been damaged by his repeatedly-broken ribs, then healed messily, only to be damaged once again before the scar tissue had fully formed.

This couldn’t keep going for much longer, right?

He released a short, bitter laugh— really, it was more of a wheeze. Of course it could.

Shen Qingqiu knew he would only have the luxury of dying when Luo Binghe grew tired of him, and that… didn’t seem like it would be happening any time soon.

Time passed by— how long had it been since he’d closed his eye? He wasn’t exactly sure. Maybe he’d dozed off for a bit, at this point he didn’t much care. There was a bit of a commotion beyond the walls of his cell. He grimaced. The beast must have returned, and one or another of his subordinates must have made him angry. No doubt the remaining vestiges of that anger would soon be taken out on Shen Qingqiu’s own battered body.

Best to brace himself now, so that he could seem as unaffected as possible later.

He was too busy preparing for the pain that he didn’t notice that instead of one steady set of footsteps approaching the cell door, there were several. The gait was familiar, yet not the same sound as Luo Binghe’s— Shen Qingqiu’s mind had just begun to process this information when the cell door rattled.

He startled, his eye opening wide as he jolted himself up into a slightly-raised position, reaching to shakily brush his matted, tangled hair away from his face.

A moment passed, just the space of a single breath, but to Shen Qingqiu it felt like hours.

Then, there was a flash of brilliant white light, a sharp, high-pitched sound ringing through the air.

The door was split in two.

All of Shen Qingqiu’s senses were shorted out at once. A great, oppressive power reverberated through the space, and he felt as though he were being pushed into the ground by the weight of a mountain. His shaky arms gave out and he collapsed. That white light flooded into the cell, filling every corner, blinding him, and the shrieking sound like a thousand winter winds drowned out any other sound.

For a moment, Shen Qingqiu blacked out.

When he came to again, someone was gently holding his wrist. The hand touching him didn’t belong to Luo Binghe, but it was familiar nonetheless. Shen Qingqiu was too dazed to pull away, and when a cool feeling like a refreshing mountain stream washed over him, he went limp once again and didn’t bother trying— what was this? Why was he getting some kind of relief now, after so long in constant torment?

Had he finally lost his mind? Was he in his death throes? Or… perhaps he was just hallucinating.

He opened his eye—

Oh… of course. It had to be a hallucination.

Why else would he be seeing Yue Qingyuan’s face before him now, with that stupid concerned-and-guilty expression on his face… why would he be here? He wouldn’t even show up when Shen Qingqiu wanted him to, why would he show up now after he’d already been driven away…

Shen Qingqiu’s cheek felt damp. His remaining eye must be bleeding now.

Had… had something new happened? He didn’t remember. He reached up, brushing away a few drops of liquid onto his hand… they were clear, he realized, as his vision distorted, watery and shimmery, and Yue Qingyuan’s features blurred in and out. His lips moved, but it was a moment before the words left them and reached Shen Qingqiu’s ears, soft yet crackling slightly, as if stepping on fallen leaves after a light rain.

“Xiao-Jiu… Qi-ge is here. Qi-ge came to get you, we’re leaving together now.”

What was this…

What was happening right now?

“Zhangmen-shixiong, we need to go. He’ll be back in no time once he realizes you’re not going to show up, and we’ll need time to prepare for the inevitable attack on Cang Qiong Mountain,” another voice cut through the haze of Shen Qingqiu’s mind… this one was familiar too. Qi Qingqi? What… what was she doing in this strange vision of his?

A soft silken robe, black as night rippling with the last shimmering of sunset, fluttered down to cover Shen Qingqiu’s body, wrapping him up in a soft, comforting scent that seemed to ease the pain of his wounds along with the cool spiritual qi flowing through his battered body. The heavy metal collar around his neck which fastened him to the wall was suddenly snapped off like it was nothing, and before he could even register what was happening he was lifted up off the ground.

Somehow, he decided that he didn’t need to struggle. Instead, he leaned his head up against a strong, well-muscled chest, his fingers involuntarily grasping at the white silk of Yue Qingyuan’s inner robe. This was all just a dream, after all, and he had nothing more to lose— why not make the most of it?

……

“Are you sure you’ll be alright? You don’t wish to go with us?” Qi Qingqi’s voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke to a figure concealed in the shadow of the walls of Luo Binghe’s back palace.

"If I were to go, he would only have more of a reason to attack,” the young woman in the shadows replied. “Besides… there’s no reason he would suspect me.”

Yue Qingyuan was nearby, already atop his sheathed sword, carrying a too-small figure bundled in his arms as he waited to leave. His face was pale, but Mu Qingfang had said that he was safe to fly— and even if he wasn’t they didn’t have much of a choice. He looked anxious, glancing back and forth for any sign of trouble.

Qi Qingqi nodded. They didn’t have any time to argue. “I understand, then. We’ll be going now. Be careful.”

“I will. Goodbye, Qi-shishu.” With that soft whisper, a small, bitter smile stretched across delicately-painted lips. “Take good care of Shizun.”

[stardust-falling]

For all I write about Shen Jiu's abusive traits and his crimes, and for all I argue against him here on tumblr dot hell, this one absolutely has to go to Bingge for one single reason-- scope.

This has absolutely nothing to do with which type of actions were worse, or caused more trauma, or anything like that, but the scale upon which these crimes were enacted.

Shen Jiu murdered some of the men in a single household as an act of revenge, while Luo Binghe basically dismantled and slaughtered his way through the entire cultivation world.

Shen Jiu abused Luo Binghe and likely other disciples on his own peak, but we don't know the way Luo Binghe would have treated his own children-- nonetheless, if Bingmei is as violent and dreadful to his subordinates as shown in SVSSS, it's only reasonable to think that he was equally if not more so in PIDW (as far as we know, he doesn't really have disciples so there's not a direct one-to-one comparison).

Shen Jiu stabbed his abuser to death (on two separate occasions), but it was over with fairly quickly. Luo Binghe brutally tortured his abuser for likely years on end before he died.

Of course, personally I think the question in the header and the question at the end are somewhat different-- Who is more evil? is a lot harder to answer, as things like "good" and "evil" are subjective qualities especially when it comes to speculating on fiction. Answering this question would be based on each responder's personal experiences and values. Who is the bigger villain? however is a much easier question to answer, since it's about the literary tropes now-- and easily, the bigger villain is Luo Binghe.

Shen Jiu might have been Luo Binghe's villain, and the villain of some of his disciples, and maybe even Liu Qingge's villain though I severely doubt that LQG cared that much about him-- meanwhile, Luo Binghe's villainy spreads far wider. The people he conquered, the women he forced himself on, the enemies he made throughout multiple realms-- and that doesn't even take into account the sheer apocalypse he causes in the merging of the realms.

Shen Jiu is a small-scale, single-story villain. Luo Binghe is Thanos.

A common thing I have seen is fanfiction is people making these two seem better than they are, so I feel like I should remind you that Luo Binghe has canonically forced himself onto women, and Shen Qingqiu has canonically given a child a defective cultivation manual in hopes that he would qi deviate

With that in mind, who do you think is the bigger villain?

[stardust-falling]

The tenth chapter of my original novel, Ghosts of the Heart, has now released for patrons!

The first nine chapters are available to the public already, while the tenth will release publically on 6/4 at 9 am EST.

Please consider reading my novel! If you like what's there so far, I would be incredibly grateful if you'd support my writing as a patron, as it would help me in my efforts to support myself financially through my creative work, which is a goal I would like to reach as soon as possible on account of my disabilities. The basic tier is just $2 USD a month which gives you access to all of my writing, but If you don't have the means to do so, that's alright too. Consider joining as a free member and/or sharing my work with your friends. The entire first volume of the novel will be free to read after an early-access period.

[stardust-falling]

One thing about Shen Jiu that is really sad to me is that despite everything he’s been through and everything he’s become, despite how he acts and how he treats others, at the end of the day there’s still a little part of him that wants to do good.

Impulsively, he still tries to save people. Obviously with Yue Qi’s case that could be contributed to the attachment between them, but even with Liu Qingge— both when fighting the well ghost and in his (failed) attempt to save Liu Qingge from qi deviation. This is someone he hates, who he ambushed multiple times, who he has threatened with death over and over again, and yet when it comes down to a split-second decision, Shen Jiu still chooses to save him.

From what he says and how he acts normally, it’s easy to say that he doesn’t care about anyone, and certainly isn’t protective. And for the most part that’s probably true!! But when he has to make a split-second decision— let someone he loathes die or help him— he still tries to save them.

Until he fails, and Liu Qingge dies.

I think that impulse just about went away entirely after that point.

[stardust-falling]

Ripples and Resonance

requested by @corvus-attano on ko-fi

Fandom: SVSSS Pairing: Tianlang-jun/Yue Qingyuan Summary: A single choice leads to a different story, a surprising ally, and... perhaps more than that. Who would have thought that Yue Qingyuan would find so much in common with the heavenly demon he'd once helped seal away? Words: 1.4k

Who could’ve thought a single decision would lead to this?

“This,” of course, being that Cang Qiong Mountain’s sect leader now sat at a long table in the hall of a palace in the demon realm, facing, at the other side, an individual who he truly expected he would never see again. The demon realm’s Shengjun had been sealed away years ago, after all… even a being as powerful as Tianlang-jun shouldn’t have been able to escape. Yet here he was.

And here Yue Qingyuan was, sitting with his hands neatly folded on his lap, sharing a cup of tea with the one who ought to be his greatest foe… and having a rather good time about it too.

All because he’d taken pity on one pathetic creature and stayed his hand.

Said pathetic creature, now in a less-grotesque form than before, was now hovering over Tianlang-jun’s shoulder, fussing over something or another and tidying up his lord’s hair. It was a little endearing in a way, Yue Qingyuan thought.

The Tianlang-jun he’d met years ago, the demon he’d unsheathed Xuan Su to seal away, was far different than this one. This Tianlang-jun was a laid-back sort of gentleman, and in Yue Qingyuan’s opinion would fit in far better among the mortal world’s idle youths than here in the demon realm. Not that he would speak such thoughts aloud, of course… Tianlang-jun still felt quite a lot of resentment toward humanity, and not without reason either.

That, of course, was why Yue Qingyuan was here.

He’d been on a diplomatic visit to Huan Hua Palace a few years ago, shortly after officially ascending to the role of sect leader. The one accompanying him had, naturally, been Shen Qingqiu at the time, but the new Qing Jing peak lord had become angry about halfway through, at the palace master or at Yue Qingyuan himself he couldn’t be quite sure, and departed early, thus leaving Yue Qingyuan to return on his own. He’d decided to return back through Bai Lu forest, both to take a bit of a look at the place where that battle had occurred a few years ago and because he rather enjoyed a nice walk, and on the way had crossed paths with a demon so downtrodden and pitiful-looking that he had to stay his hand. It was just that this demon seemed to recognize him, and it also looked a little familiar to Yue Qingyuan— so he’d followed it.

Perhaps it had been a foolish decision to give that demon some of the mushrooms growing amid the spiritual lake that it seemed to so desperately need. Or perhaps it was one of the better choices Yue Qingyuan had made.

Either way, it led to this situation. The first meeting between Tianlang-jun and himself was more of a kidnapping, and Yue Qingyuan had been tied in immortal binding cables. Now though, several months and many talks later, his hands and feet were free, and the two sat as equals in this hall. With some effort, he’d managed to convince the demon sage not to go to war, and now they were in a process of brokering a proper treaty.

Yue Qingyuan was the sort to avoid conflict wherever possible. He was quite pleased to see that in this situation, it truly was possible. At least, so things appeared as of now.

Of course, these meetings were kept a close secret. If the Huan Hua Palace Master were to hear of Tianlang-jun’s escape, it surely wouldn’t go over well. Yue Qingyuan wondered how he would handle the eventual reveal… but for now, it was all too delicate, and he needed to secure the treaty first.

Tianlang-jun had turned out to be surprisingly amenable to negotiations. He still spoke negatively of humans, and of the cultivation world, but gave Yue Qingyuan quite a bit of courtesy— though much was still in discussion, it had barely taken an argument to convince him to spare Cang Qiong Mountain, with the reasoning being that Yue Qingyuan was sect head there.

The young sect leader could hardly guess why.

Eventually, Tianlang-jun seemed to grow tired of his subordinate’s hovering, and with a wave of his hand dismissed Zhuzhi-lang from his side. After the snake demon left, Tianlang-jun released a long-suffering sigh and shook his head.

“Ah… that boy. Show him a single drop of kindness and he’ll repay it with a flood,” he said, leaning forward to rest his chin on a bandaged hand as he swirled his teacup. “As useful as he can be… it’s a little too much sometimes, you understand?”

Yue Qingyuan smiled a bit. “I suppose,” he replied, “but do you not find it good to be wanted? Is this not better than if he were to push you away? To have someone by your side… is the greatest happiness in this life.”

Tianlang-jun considered this for a moment, then sighed once more. “Hm… I suppose you may have a bit of a point. Now that I think of it, Yue-zhangmen truly does have a unique perspective among cultivators. How about this— you know a lot about me already, what about you?”

He leaned forward just a little more, lips curling into a coy smile.

“Between that sword of yours, the way you chose to help my nephew, and even all this right now… you’re quite interesting for a human, you know?”

Yue Qingyuan blinked, the placid, wistful-looking smile he almost always wore fading away. “Is that so?”

Tianlang-jun waved his hand. “Of course it is,” he replied. “You made me curious enough to put aside vengeance for awhile. I’ve been behaving quite well, don’t you think? Shouldn’t I get a little reward.”

He turned his gaze on Yue Qingyuan, midnight-dark eyes shimmering with a facsimile of unshed tears as he pursed his lips into a pout… and the sect leader was so surprised by this behavior that he couldn’t help but chuckle at it. He got up from his seat, circling the table, and then placed his own hand on Tianlang-jun’s head, giving his hair a pat.

“Ai!” the heavenly demon cried out at first, just as surprised as Yue Qingyuan had been. He recovered quickly though, and bumped his head up into the hand that settled upon it.

How cheeky this person was… Yue Qingyuan would have never expected this a few years ago.

“So, what’s all this?” Tianlang-jun asked.

“Didn’t you say you wanted a reward?” Yue Qingyuan replied, smiling once more. He wasn’t entirely sure why himself, but… well, Tianlang-jun had looked a little bit cute in that moment, and Yue Qingyuan had felt an urge to pat him on the head, so he did.

“And that’s the great master of Cang Qiong Mountain’s idea of a reward, is it?”

Tianlang-jun was smirking now, the moment of surprise passed. Back to his usual self, it seemed. Yue Qingyuan withdrew his hand, shrugging his shoulders. “Perhaps it is.”

If he didn’t know any better, he’d have thought that Tianlang-jun was about to start purring. His lips curled up into an incredibly satisfied smile as he leaned forward once more. “Well… I suppose this lord can be content with it,” he replied.

Yue Qingyuan returned to his seat, sighing softly as he raised his teacup and took a sip. “How is your body feeling?”

It was no secret that Tianlang-jun’s resurrection hadn’t gone exactly as he’d hoped for. It was what it was, though— a body grown from a spiritual mushroom didn’t react well with demonic qi. Yue Qingyuan had advised him to limit the use of his power, and surprisingly enough the Shengjun had taken his advice. Of course, glancing at the bandaged hand, it seemed like that alone couldn’t prevent all deterioration.

Tianlang-jun, however, shrugged it aside. “I’m not trapped beneath a mountain anymore,” he said. “It can’t really be so bad as that, now can it?”

Internally, Yue Qingyuan couldn’t help but wince at those words— externally, however, he only smiled once more. Never would he have thought that he would find things in common with a lord of the demon realm… never would he have thought that these conversations, these meetings were far easier, or even far more pleasant than those with his own allies. Perhaps, in the end, this was why he had helped Zhuzhi-lang back then. Perhaps it was because he understood the pain that Tianlang-jun had gone through, all because he had cared for someone.

“No,” he replied. “I suppose it can’t truly compare.”

[stardust-falling]

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Under the guidance of the five great clans, the cultivation world had known centuries of peace. Then, one of the five ancient demonic tools found its way into the hands of an upstart sect of evil cultivators known as the Nameless. To save the world from total annihilation, rising star of the cultivation world Song Mingzhen faced down the leader of the Nameless in a fatal battle that shook the heavens. Though the disaster was prevented and the world was saved, the battle left Song Mingzhen gravely wounded in both body and mind.

After spending five years recovering in seclusion, Song Mingzhen has finally reemerged into the cultivation world. Once famous as the greatest sword cultivator of his generation, he has now become a peacemaker and humanitarian, hoping to help cultivators and common people alike to recover from the devastation caused by the war.

But things bound by fate are not so easily disentangled.

Not long after Song Mingzhen’s emergence, tragedy strikes one of the great clans. The clan leader is found murdered, another ancient demonic tool goes missing, and one of the former generals of the Nameless escapes custody, vanishing into the mountains.

Fearing that the terrible events of the past will end up repeating themselves, Song Mingzhen joins forces with Ning Feiyun, a reclusive prodigy from one of the subsidiary clans who has been put in charge of the investigation. Together, they must work to track down the fugitive before it’s too late.

*******

*******

My original novel, Ghosts of the Heart, will begin serialization early this year!

Read it when it comes out on my Patreon!

Tentative first chapter release during the first week of February, one chapter released per week, but may increase if I get enough support.

All chapters will be available to any paid tier, with the first few chapters available for free as a preview (chapter one available immediately, future chapters after an early access period. After the introductory story arc, chapters will be paid-only).

[stardust-falling]

The Scum Villain's Loss-Prevention Opportunity

CHAPTER 84: To Speak or Keep Silence

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Pairing: Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu Chapter Rating: T Chapter Words: 3.5k Total Words: 358k

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Shen Qingqiu discovers that it's not a simple matter to deal with burgeoning secrets and simmering feelings at once.

[stardust-falling]

stardust_falling 2023-24 Gift and Giveaway Fics Masterpost!

While SVLPO has been on hiatus, I've participated in several gift exchanges and also written three fics for a follower milestone giveaway, so I decided I would go ahead and list them all in one big post!

SV Summer Solstice Exchange:

Mirror's Reflection

Pairing: Shen Jiu/&PIDW!Native Shen Yuan Rating: M (read warnings!) Length: 63k

After killing his cruel shifu at the Immortal Alliance Conference, Shen Jiu rejects Yue Qingyuan’s attempts to bring him to safety and flees the conference. By chance, while fleeing the cultivation world’s pursuit of Wu Yanzi’s accomplice, he happens to run into a boy who shares his face and surname. This boy, Shen Yuan, is nothing like Shen Jiu— he’s the third young master of a wealthy family, who has lived his life without a single moment of hardship, and spends his days reading novels and daydreaming about traveling the world. Shen Jiu, jealous of his double’s easy life, is surprised and a bit baffled to find that Shen Yuan is discontent with living his life safely inside the walls of his family’s manor, and even a bit jealous of Shen Jiu’s ability to go where he pleases and do what he wishes without worrying about his family’s reputation or concerns. After Shen Jiu is mistaken for the lookalike by members of Shen Yuan’s own household, he proposes an solution: that the two switch places, letting Shen Jiu live Shen Yuan’s comfortable, idle life while the other boy travels the world.

SV Winter Solstice Exchange:

Basic Instincts

Pairing: Gen Luo Binghe & Sha Hualing & Mobei-jun, background Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu Rating: T Length: 5k

Keeping the demon world from collapsing into shambles isn't an easy task. Sometimes, Sha Hualing needs to let out a bit of pent-up tension with a nice friendly brawl against her fellow rulers.

QiJiu Secret Santa Exchange:

The Weight of a Promise

Pairing: Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu (pre-slash) Rating: M (read warnings!) Length: 27k

Yue Qi made a promise, and he will do whatever it takes to keep it-- even if he nearly destroys himself in the process.

At Cang Qiong Mountain's sword trials, Yue Qi rashly draws the ancient, powerful Xuan Su sword from Wan Jian Peak. He hopes that such a powerful weapon will give him the strength he needs to rescue and protect the friend he left behind, but when the backlash of a failed sword bond nearly costs him his life, he learns that impulsive decisions can have far-reaching consequences.

SV System Server CNY Exchange:

Counterfeit Jade

Pairing: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu, referenced Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu Rating: M (non-explicit sex) Length: 11k

Shen Qingqiu would have been perfectly content to live the rest of his life as Shen Qingqiu, thank you very much. Unfortunately, the system had other ideas. It seemed that Shen Qingqiu— no matter which soul had donned this persona— was doomed to have the secrets of his past dragged out into the open and laid bare for everyone to see.

100-Follower Milestone Giveaway:

Twists of Fate

Pairing: Shang Qinghua/Shen Jiu (pre-slash) Rating: T Length: 8k

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky's one goal as Shang Qinghua is to live as long and comfortably as possible in this world-- and to that end, he has resolved to stay as far away from the scum villain, Shen Qingqiu, as he possibly can, since nothing good could come from that association. Now, if only the two of them could stop being sent out on missions together!

Unfortunately, when someone makes a mistake, it's usually left to the two of them to clean it up-- and sometimes, Shang Qinghua can't help but be reminded of some of his own mistakes that can't be untangled so easily.

Two Birds

Pairing: Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu (pre-slash) Rating: T Length: 5k

Newly-ascended peak lords Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu are still adjusting to their new roles. When they attend a meeting for the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference, Yue Qingyuan notices that his shidi is very tense, and he resolves to do what he can to ease his mind.

An Unlikely Mediator

Pairing: Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu Rating: T Length: 5k

Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan find a stray kitten while out on a mission and decide to bring it back to Cang Qiong Mountain. This makes all the difference.

OR

The unstoppable force of Qijiu's Communication Issues meets the immovable object of Cat-Induced Inertia.

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Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, & gives kudos, and I look forward to another year of writing!

[stardust-falling]

The Scum Villain's Loss-Prevention Opportunity

CHAPTER 83: Clandestine Affairs

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Pairing: Yue Qingyuan/Shen Jiu Chapter Rating: T Chapter Words: 3.2k Total Words: 354k

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Shen Qingqiu puts a new plan in motion.

[stardust-falling]

If you enjoy my fics, please consider reading my original xianxia novel, Ghosts of the Heart! The first three chapters are currently available to read for free on patreon (the whole first arc will be free there eventually), and having more engagement with this would honestly give me a little more ammunition against my current bout of writers' block 〒▽〒

Also I just like the little guys who originated from my brain & also want more people to know about them.

[stardust-falling]

Phantom Sensations

WHUMPTOBER 2024 - DAY TEN

"self worth issues, pushing away a loved one, 'you don't need to earn this.'"

Fandom: EPIC: The Musical/The Odyssey Pairing: Odysseus/Penelope Characters: Odysseus, Penelope Words: 2.1k Rating: M Warnings: Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Trauma, Internalized Victim Blaming Summary: After twenty years, Odysseus' long journey is finally over-- but the memories have followed him home. Some things are more difficult to escape than even imprisonment by the gods. Penelope, however, isn't about to let him suffer through it all silent and alone.

[stardust-falling]

《Ghosts of the Heart》 chapter four is now available for patrons in early access and will be released to read for free on 4/22! The first three chapters are also all available to read for free. Things are beginning to pick up pace, I'm hoping to start putting out chapters more frequently in the future.

Please consider joining my patreon if you have an extra 2 USD a month to spare and are interested in my writing! If you don't, then at least consider joining as a free member or sharing this post/my novel with others who might like it. All support for this novel is very much appreciated, even just reading and sharing it helps to spread the news and give my original work some exposure!

[stardust-falling]

My Patreon People's Choice shortfic for this quarter has been published! Join my patreon as a free or paid member to read now, or wait until November when I will post it to my AO3.

Prompt: Fandom - SVSSS Genre - Hurt/ComfortCharacters - Shen Jiu+Yue Qingyuan Shen Jiu & Yue Qingyuan cuddling to soothe one of their stress/trauma/mental illness. Length: 3.8k Rating: M Warnings: Mild description of injuries, including eye trauma and amputation, references to torture, general feelings of hopelessness Summary: After Yue Qingyuan rescues Shen Qingqiu from the water prison, both of them struggle with the aftermath, and their fears for the future. Sometimes, comfort can be had even if it seems impossible to find. Written as a continuation from this shortfic prompt!