#type: plot bunny

[dionysiaproductions]

[generalluxun]

I was musing on Chloe's current internet stardom and recalled she had like over 70K followers on in universe social media sites. Which given she mostly just seemed to do selfies, idle commentary and the like is pretty impressive. Especially as she was evidently doing this largely alone, IE, Audrey & Andre sure as hell weren't involved.

Now being Audrey's daughter might have helped some people gravitate towards her, but given Audrey didn't even live in Paris those who stayed, stayed for Chloe. Evidently finding her endearing.

I think if one wants to focus solely in universe it is very easy to assume Audrey either gets bored of "taking control of Chloe's life" of her version of that is basically telling Chloe to become exceptional.

Actually assisting is unlikely given what we have seen of her, at most se might have tossed a credit card at Chloe and told her to make herself useful and or make that "meager" social media following worthwhile, but that's likely as involved she'd get if involved at all!

Assuming not involved or even marginally involved, Chloe's alone and despairing, but also away from constant Akuma attacks, one sided rivalries, and a decent chunk of her personal fucked up dynamics barring Audrey. What's more all she has left is her phone & followers.

With no distractions, no manipulators and nothing else to do, I could see Chloe turning to her social media following hungry for purpose and some kind of connection, no matter ow small and it just kind of... Works!?

Her follow count begins to climb as she puts out more stuff, doing videos, voice overs, little performances. Going well beyond selfies and short text posts and it keeps growing and suddenly she's getting sent for quotes, sponsorships and interviews!

Especially as Adrien steps away from the public eye, for many who followed him as much or more for fashion than Adrien, Chloe was likely already on their radar. So she can swoop in and basically gobble up a huge chunk of his followers as well.

Now she's starting to make films of some sort, organizing contests and events to keep people engaged and its well, working, & that gets Audrey off her back and gives Chloe a sense of success and purpose and generally something to work towards.

Its not necessarily super healthy, but it is productive, animating and largely driven by her own agency. It is far better than despair or self destruction, at least its giving her something.

How that will factor into the stories plot no clue, but I think it can work pretty coherently at the very least.

I had to read this several times to figure out what you wanted before I realized it was just a story pitch. It's very workable if you want to write it. I don't think it'll be anything like canon because it requires too much focus away from Marinette.

[bjeweleds]

🚨 ・・・・・ 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧.

gimme a music festival type vibe. kinda like woodstock (67) where everyone is drunk, naked and living freely. orgies everywhere. peace, love, and marijuana. we could even base this in the 60s if wanted !

feel free to reblog this !

[sonrium]

DP X DC: A Minor Drinking Problem

Phantom is a relatively new member of the JLA, but it's been a few months, and things are settling in well. He's shy and polite but is a master of the snark with villains.

Before a big mission, the all hands on deck kind, everyone is talking about scars and the crazy stories behind them to distract from the coming fight. Danny, finally feeling like he can join in the conversation with all these adult heroes, pulls off his right glove to show a pretty gnarly scar on the back of his wrist. “I got this one when I fought a guy from the Revolutionary War a few weeks ago! Didn't think he'd charge me with a bayonet.” He shares a couple more stories and scars, but only the ones that he can easily show off.

Because of stories like that and some historical depictions of Phantom from different time periods, they think he's this ancient and powerful immortal that just looks like a teenager, it wouldnt be the first time. He's powerful enough to go toe to toe with Superman, so there's no way he's actually a kid. He even sometimes has the haunted, world weary eyes that their most hardened members only get after experiencing too much. Danny, being our lovable, obliviously dense idiot, has not realized that they think he's an ancient being.

After the mission concludes -it was a rough one-, the JLA celebrate their victory with a couple drinks back at the watch tower. Danny is understandably uncomfortable with this whole situation and keeps asking, “Are you sure I should be here?” They reassure him it's fine as they pass around beers, which Danny politely declines several times. Danny eventually sees this as the perfect chance to pad his blackmail folders on his inebriated coworkers.

Anyway, as the night goes on, they have a good time, but Phantom still hasn't gotten a drink like the rest of them, and Green Lantern (or hero of your choice) really wants their shy friend to come out of his shell. So, he slams an open beer bottle on the coffee table in front of Phantom. “Come on Phantom! Let loose a little. Celebrate!”

“Dude! What the hell?! I'm 16! That's illegal!” Phantom squeaks in shock.

“We don't care how old you were when you died. It's how long you've been a ghost that counts.” Flash slings an arm around Danny's shoulders from where he’s sat next to him on the couch. Flash can't get drunk, but he also thinks it would be fun to see their uptight new member drunk.

“That's even worse! You'd be giving alcohol to a two year old!” Phantom is horrified that his coworkers are so casually breaking the law.

“But you said you fought in the Revolutionary War this morning!” Green Lantern said with his eyebrows knit in confusion.

“No, I said I fought someone from the Revolutionary War. As in, the ghost of someone from the revolutionary war!”

“You can't pull that on us. There's murals and stuff of you from thousands of years ago.” The Flash waves off with a laugh.

Phantom’s finger presses painfully hard into Flash’s chest. “I do not need to explain time travel to you of all people. My mentor hates you, and I'm STILL sent on missions constantly to clean up your messes.” Phantom's clear and low. Flash liked it better when he was shouting and not staring him down like a predator with narrowed eyes.

(This random idea popped into my head. It made me laugh, so I thought you might, too. Here you go!)

[erebus0dora]

i promised you a follow-up to this..?

yup, i did.

p.s.: bonus

[dreamsteddie]

The funniest and closest to my heart headcanon about Dustin is that he is a famously bad matchmaker. He is completely delusional and will try to push the strangest combinations of people together. He makes convoluted plots and creates whole fantasy scenarios about the people in Hawkins.

This is only exacerbated after he meets and starts dating Suzie because he thinks he is the master of love now. He's like, "trust me guys. I know true love when I see it. Watch this!" and then proceeds to harass two complete strangers while his friends pretend they don't know him

At a certain point, everyone stops taking him seriously and just ignores him when he stops in the store to watch two people in the grocery store chat about the quality of the onions insisting that they are witnessing the beginnings of love or when he latches on to a couple of background characters in the movie they're watching and insist that they are deeply in love.

When he finds out that Eddie is gay after the events of season four, he immediately latches on to that fact and says perfect, I know just the man for you! He doesn't actually say that out loud, but he does suddenly start insisting that Eddie and Steve start sitting next to each other on movie nights, and that he needs two chaperones for this or that event, or asking Eddie and Steve to meet him somewhere without letting the other know and then not showing up.

Everyone thinks Steve is straight and are trying desperately to get Dustin to Please Stop.

Eddie and Steve have been dating in secret for four months and are enjoying seeing Dustin's plans seemingly backfire and their other friends' second-hand embarrassment grow the more oblivious they act and the more desperate Dustin becomes

[the-booty-crusader]

SVSSS prompt:

Xin Mo’s “voices” are the comments people leave on PIDW. Binghe has a slew of teenagers and young adults (97% of which are angry virgins) screaming their power fantasies in his head and egging him on.

Of course there’s that one voice that always rants on for ages about how contrived everything is and how things could be done much better. And also is strangely attracted to Binghe or something?

Anyways. Skip to Binghe having become Bingge. He has his harem of hundreds of wives, an Empire greater than any before, treasures untold and riches beyond belief. The voices of Xin Mo cheer. Except one.

The ranter, who is strangely quiet for longer than usual before finally saying, “this is it? This is his happy ending? A bunch of unworthy wives, an Empire that just causes him shitloads of paperwork and being sent on quests to maintain the status quo? Is he happy like this? This sucks. Not fulfilling at all.”

At first, Binghe scoffs at this. He has everything he wanted. Nobody can hold a candle to him.

But as time goes on he thinks about it more. Is he fulfilled? Is he happy? Has he ever been? (Yes, he thinks, when he was with his mother). Had anyone ever asked him about his happiness? Did… did that lost soul within Xin Mo care more about his happiness than the whole rest of the world?

Thinking back, had that person not always talked about how much better things could be? Binghe had always thought the voice was talking about Binghe, how he could be better and he wasn’t loving up to standards. But thinking back, wasn’t the voice’s ranting almost always aimed at the world around him? That people were not worthy of him, objects not good enough and places not interesting to be in Binghe’s presence?

Did this one soul not think the absolute world of him?

Binghe didn’t need Xin Mo’s power. Not any more.

What he did need was the souls within it— specifically one.

Bingge’s comin for your ass SY

[419jhat]

Eddie has a massive crush on this famous drag queen, idk Stevie Nailbat or something. The name can be workshopped. Either way, he's obsessed. He follows her Instagram, he has a poster of her in his apartment, and she's got an awesome artsy album that he plays non-stop.

Eddie simultaneously despises dudebro actor Steve Harrington. He thinks he's lame, that his cheesy romcom roles are uninspired, and that he's only famous because he has a pretty face. Eddie's got a following in the queer/nerd corner of the internet because of his D&D podcast, where he spends a little too much time ranting about Harrington when Gareth goads him on.

The thing is, Eddie has no idea that Steve and Stevie are the same person. He has no clue that Steve has this ridiculous ongoing Hannah Montana type joke with his fans, where they pretend they don't know who he is outside of drag.

All of Eddie's friends think this is a bit. They have no idea he genuinely doesn't know who Stevie is really. In his defense, Stevie's joke has successfully confused many people who don't follow her, and that one music video where Stevie and Steve appeared at the same time only added to the confusion for those not in the loop. Eddie ranted about the music video for days when it came out. He only learns the truth when Stevie's fans start trolling Eddie by tweeting Steve content at him until he puts it together.

[a-hermit-pining]

Xavier losing his mind when you are to be the honey trap for a mission. Him impatiently waiting for his part to get rid of the people leering at you. If he’s extra brutal that day, that is no one’s business. Careful, he might just snap.

Zayne with a reader who gently kisses his scars when he loses control over his evol. Reader who holds him and whispers sweet nothings while running their fingers through his hair. “I love you, and I know you love me too,” because no evol should make him feel anything less than most cherished. (Touch starved Zayne)

Rafayel but Picture of Dorian Gray au.

Sylus meeting your kid when you’re a single mother. Your kid, following him like a puppy, Mephisto and twins becoming your baby sitters. Him breaking down when your teenager gifts him adoption papers on Father’s Day. (I’ve got to write this)- read here

[dionysiaproductions]

[adragonthatwrites]

I think, in our desire to make Shen Qingqiu a little guy who loves monsters in fics (very good, wonderful, we love this, BUT), we have missed the opportunity to make him the monster in the AU. I raise to you:

LiuShen Naga AU, where Shen Qingqiu is the naga.

Monster hunter/supernatural pest control guy Liu Qingge who gets called to a small rural town because there's some sort of monster about. The locals have not sighted it, but the behavior of their livestock and sudden dip in wildlife population indicates some sort of large, likely supernatural predator has moved in.

This can be modern AU or cultivator AU! The only important thing is this; nagas are not something Liu Qingge would normally deal with. They're huge and incredibly dangerous, with extraordinary stealth skills. If a naga's around you, you won't know it unless they want you to, and by that point it'll be too late. Their venom is also legendary. So whatever the context of the AU; a naga is something above Liu Qingge's roster of things he'll go after, simply because while bullheaded, he is not suicidal.

So, Liu Qingge investigates the mountains, but finds almost nothing to suggest the kind of beast he suspects to be there. He makes several trips over the course of several days, each time going deeper and deeper into the mountains beside the small village. He finds what he thinks are signs of something there, though he doesn't recognize exactly what could have made them (nagas are very solitary and exceptionally rare, and signs of their presence difficult to find or identify. Liu Qingge has never encountered one before this, nor is he expecting to, so he doesn't recognize up the signs for what they are)

The moment of realization comes when he's deep, deep into the mountains one evening and stumbles upon an odd object on the ground. Large, green, slightly translucent. He lifts it, and feels his blood run cold as he sees the pattern of massive scales and realizes he's holding the shed of a naga.

A fully grown naga, who absolutely knows he's here. Who's den he's probably standing dangerously close to, if there's a shed. A naga who, undoubtedly, has been watching him for the better part of his time searching these mountains, without him ever realizing it.

His heads whips around, searching the area around him. He's been allowed to move within and leave the territory unimpeded thus far; he may be able to get out now, provided the naga hasn't realized how close he's gotten to it's den. If he moves quickly...

It's at that moment his eyes catch on a shadow, falling strangely on the forest floor. He pauses, eyes faltering, before with a sudden harsh chill he finds himself starring directly into a pair of vibrant green eyes with sharp slit pupils. He can just make out the shape of a massive emerald green naga crouched in the underbrush, less than a hundred feet away from him.

And he feels the rush of cold harsh terror only experienced by a prey animal suddenly realizing it's in the sights of a predator.

[ladykailitha]

Photographer Steve and Model Eddie

Eddie is a famous model known for his temper tantrums and being aloof. No photographer has been able to catch any other side of him but bitchy and distant.

He has final say on everything, clothes, makeup and even the pictures they’re allowed to use. Photographers hate him. They actually draw straws or play roshambo for the dubious pleasure of photographing him.

That all changes when former war photographer Steve Harrington comes into the mix. He has his own set of rules. Max Mayfield is his makeup artist, Robin Buckley on hair, and Elinor Hopper as his fashion designer. He won’t use anyone else.

When a famous makeup brand decides to come out with a metal line, Eddie is the first to jump on board. And then he hears who the photographer is and throws a fit. But the makeup brand won’t budge. Either Eddie sucks it up or they go with someone else. Like Billy Hargrove.

That shuts Eddie up fast. The dude claims he’s “metal” but he’s punk and the very reason people confuse the two.

So he does his bitchy best to scare Steve off. He shows up an hour late in a raggedy band shirt, sweats, and flip-flops with an almost finished latte.

But Steve is unfazed. He knew Eddie would show up late so he doesn’t even start setting up until Eddie gets there.

Eddie pouts.

Then he notices that the only one there is Steve. There is no makeup artist, stylist, or hair stylist there. The clothes are though, which is weird.

Steve introduces himself and tells him that he likes to make sure his models are comfortable first before they even start getting ready. Especially with the fact that make brand wanted a naked shoot as part of it. That would be put in all the 18+ magazines.

Eddie is blinking at him in confusion. No one had asked about his comfort before and it stuns him for a moment. And he changes tactics. If being a brat won’t make this guy leave, maybe heavy flirting will and turns the charm up to eleven.

Steve is charmed, but he remains professional as he shows Eddie his ideas for the photo shoot and fuck, Eddie can’t help but like the idea. Starting the shoot off in white, fully clothed, and then the less clothes Eddie wears the darker the clothes get until the outfit right before the nude stuff is a black thong with a black, satin robe flowing over top.

Then the nudes would be photographed on red satin sheets, highlighting the makeup.

Eddie keeps dialing up the charm especially with Steve’s ladies as Eddie called them, but about half way through, he keeps the charm up because he actually likes them. Especially Steve.

Then it’s time to take the nude shots and Steve is on the bed with him taking close-ups and intimate shots that no one had dared take before.

Then the ad comes out and everyone is blown away. Not just of the makeup, but of how Steve photographed him. Like a lover taking personal shots for just the two them.

Suddenly Eddie, who was already a high class model, gets shot up to supermodel status. Wins model of the year and even several fashion awards for the shoot.

Then all those photographers who hated doing his shoots are instantly clamoring at his door for a chance to photograph him. But he refuses. He’ll only work with Steve and his team.

Then over the course of many shoots, they fall in love and everyone can see their relationship progress through the pictures Steve takes.

[sophenelisse]

⋆˙⟡ — plot ideas !!

hey y'all!! i'm back at it again — meaning i'm bored, it's a dreary autumn, and i'm finding myself retreating back to cutsey fantasylands in my mind 🥰 listed below are a few plot ideas i've had in my notesapp for a while — as always, send an ask or a private message if you'd be interested in any of these up !! happy writing !!

childhood sweethearts (on the rocks)

a plot where muse a and muse b have been friends since childhood — here and there, they would have a one night stand, but never really allowed themselves to progress into anything more than just friends. now, as adults who are figuring out the dating scene isn’t as easy as their parents made it seem, muse a and muse b are seeing each other more and more frequently. eventually, muse a starts seeing someone new, and has less and less time for muse b. i’m talking jealousy, tension!!! muse b realizing maybe they’ve had feelings for muse a the whole time, muse a having to make tough decisions — either continue dating this new person or hurt muse b!!! i liiiiive for drama pls

childhood sweethearts (with a twist)

okay but a plot where close childhood friends reunite — except muse a was in love with muse b growing up, and muse b became muse a’s best friend’s high school sweetheart. muse a concealed their feelings for muse b all throughout their friendship, in high school & college, although both muses definitely had feelings & felt sparks for one another long before muse b started dating muse a’s best friend. despite the connection they’d felt, neither wanted to jeopardize any of the friendships between the three, and ultimately, muse b ended up married to muse a’s bff… except now, years later, muse a and muse b reunite at muse a’s best friend’s funeral. imagine the hurt of losing a loved one but having the comfort of yet another loved one?? blurred lines, tension, second-guesses…….

let me take care of you (southern charm)

okay so i’ve been kicking around a ranch hand plot where muse a is looking for help around the ranch they’ve just inherited due to a death in the family, and seeing as they’re just one person with lots of land, and virtually no knowledge on how to take care of it, it’s impossible to go it all on their own… enter muse b. muse b, a man who not only knows how to work the land but can take care of the ranch with ease, finds it impossible to not take care of muse a, while he's at it. just give me texan sunsets and lovers with low static music crooning in the background from some vinyl record please & ty

friends with benefits (with feelings)

a friends with benefits plot where muse a is dead-set, hellbent on not having a relationship and not getting too intimately involved with muse b; muse b has been in love with muse a for years, and muse a knows this, but still can’t bring themselves to get emotionally attached. i need tensionnnn and like, a lil toxicity ykwim??? for the angst omg 

will you come find me (after the after party?)

so hear me out — a plot where muse a and muse b met at a friend of a friend’s party & instantly hit it off. muse a is immediately infatuated with muse b — they laugh, talk, drink; they even make an incredible beer pong team. at some point during the night, muse a decides to put the moves on muse b. however, after leaving to get them some drinks, muse a comes back to find muse b kissing someone else… and to make it worse? it’s their boyfriend/girlfriend. tbh this plot could have the potential of a shakespearean comedy if we did it right akdjgh ok i'm talking messssssssyyyy 

you feel like home (but i’ve got a different address)

okay so i need a tense plot where muse a and muse b are soulmates, beyond the shadow of a doubt — but muse a is married to a nightmare of a spouse. little by little, they spend more time together one on one, but it’s getting increasingly harder for muse b to see muse a with their spouse, especially knowing how that spouse treats muse a. idk this is a rough plot/work in progress plot but i feel like it has potential to go somewhere!!!

— as always, send an ask or a private message if you'd be interested in any of these up!! happy writing 🥰🥰

[erebus0dora]

i have promised you a DM-coded thing, and it's nearly 5 a.m., and i regret nothing

kinda related to and works well with this pic on art and chase, this pic on art and choice, and this slow thread of unhelpful sketches

no ID yet bc 5 am i can't human

you all know who is to blame, right?

go tell them they're beautiful and doing God's work if you have a chance; imma just lay down and finally sleep for this idea is out of my system AT LAST

important note in case of need: any artwork of mine remains edible, every wall of mine remains welcoming

[dreamsteddie]

Steve and Eddie who kind of flop in life and end up poor, living in a trailer in a different small town living quiet lives of no import.

The kids, Robin, Nancy, and Johnathan all seem to take the small handful of opportunities offered to them by the government in the aftermath of the Upsidedown to take off and make something of their lives. They're off writing headlines, making news, and living their lives to the best of their abilities, but Steve and Eddie find themselves stuck.

Steve stayed in Hawkins until the kids graduated and left for college. By then Nancy, Johnathan, and Robin are all in their second or third years of college. John and Nancy have their own apartment in New York together and don't reach out all that often, only seeing the rest of the Hawkins crew on Holidays and some vacations. Robin is flourishing at an all-women's college in Maine and has a partner and a cat and plans for graduate school brewing. She's always saying Steve can come out and join her whenever he's ready, but when the time comes it feels like he would just be trying to insert himself in the middle of a life he doesn't know how to fit into, so he turns to Eddie instead.

Eddie is permanently disabled in a number of ways following the events of season four. He struggles with chronic pain, has breathing issues due to the loss of part of his right lung, and lost enough muscle mass in his left leg that walking will never be easy or done without the use of a walker or arm bar crutches. The doctors said he recovered as well as he could have. The kids said he would get better with time. Wayne said it didn't matter if he never got better, he could do anything he set his mind to.

Steve is the only person who tells him the truth.

Steve tells him that it sucks. Tells him that it will probably always hurt. Doesn't give him false hope when he's trying to grieve the loss of the life he wanted to live. The goals he wanted to reach. When he falls deeper and deeper into himself, stuck in the muck of depression, Steve is the only person he lets in. The kids try their best but their lives are moving fast, and taking care of someone like Eddie is exhausting, no matter what they try to say. Eventually, everyone but Dustin gives up on reaching out, the younger boy showing up every Sunday to try and get Eddie out of the house. He always leaves disappointed.

When Steve asks him if he wants to use what's left of their partly government payouts and Steve's equally meager Family Video savings to buy a truly shitty trailer in a town an hour and a half south of Hawkins in the fall of 1990, it feels like the first boon he's been given in almost five years. He'll never be who he could have been if he had ignored Chrissy that day in 86', but he's always thought maybe he could be more than a ghost between Wayne's walls if he could just get out of this god-forsaken town full of people who know too much and too little of what's happened to him.

They get the trailer, pack what little they have, let Wayne hug them close, and leave.

Steve has already transferred to their new town's Family Video, moving up to claim the dubious honor of being the opening manager. Mostly he just unlocks the door, signs into the computer, and makes sure nothing catches fire. Eddie hoped that moving would miraculously make him fit to enter back into the world, but he spends most of his days with a blanket on the front porch, watching people pass by. He does, though, finally accept that he needs to apply for disability to help Steve keep the lights on and the water hot. That last little bit of hope that he could be what he used to be dies, but he's learning to be content with what he does have. He starts taking a walk, just ten minutes around the loop of the trailer park saying hi and trading polite nods with his fellow residents. He's not ok, but he's starting to build a new community of people not too different from himself.

The new trailer only has one bedroom. Eddie sleeps on a fold-out mattress in the living room. It had been a major argument when they first moved in with Steve insisting that Eddie needed the bed. Eddie argued that it wasn't fair for him to take the room when Steve was the one working 40 hours a week to keep them afloat. In the end, Eddie was the more stubborn of the two. It helps that Eddie has absolutely no qualms about crawling into bed with Steve on the nights when the couch bed really won't cut it for his aching body. Steve never questions it, just shuffles over a little and lets the other man in.

Steve doesn't question a lot of stuff.

He doesn't question when all their effects are shared between them with no effort to distinguish between yours and mine, Eddie's and Steve's. He doesn't question it four months in when Eddie starts to get his feet under him and decides to take up cooking, always trying his best to have everything done just as Steve walks through the door. He doesn't question when a good chunk of Eddie's first disability check goes to buying Steve a sturdy, if not very fashionable, new watch for his birthday since his old one went bust almost a year ago.

He doesn't question it when Eddie holds his hand for the first time under the stars hanging above their front porch.

He doesn't question it when Eddie introduces him to one of his new neighbor friends with a hand resting comfortably on his lower back

He doesn't question it when Eddie starts sleeping in the bedroom every night.

Or makes him box mix cupcakes for Valentine's Day.

Or kisses him for the first time on the couch that's never a bed unless they want to spend the day binge-watching bargain bin films.

Because really, isn't this how it was always going to go? Wasn't this exactly what Steve was asking for when he asked Eddie to skip town with him?

Isn't this what Eddie was hoping for when he said yes?

[the-booty-crusader]

SVSSS Bingyuan AU idea (if someone adopts this I will make art please please I wanna see this written out so bad and I do not have the time or spoons for it)

Shen Yuan is transmigrated into the body of an unnamed NPC in what he believes to be PIDW. The System wished him good luck and blipped out of existence almost immediately. Shen Yuan, of course, immediately wants to start preparing to go out and explore the world and maybe go see the protagonist from afar, only for the latter to appear about 4 minutes after Shen Yuan opened his eyes.

Without much rhyme or reason he is immediately swept off his feet by the (unfairly handsome and somewhat frazzled-looking) protagonist and deposited into a room deep within Luo Binghe’s palace without much fanfare with the promise that he will be back soon.

Shen Yuan, of course, is deeply confused. Why is he here, why did the protagonist abduct him, was he going to kill him (not that he should have any reason to, unless this body belonged to someone who wronged Luo Binghe in the past… but then why would be be brought to these lovely chambers?)?!

He starts investigating the room and finds a bestiary filled with the most interesting beasts he’d always wanted to know more of. The illustrations are beautiful, the bestiary lovingly crafted. Something about it niggles at Shen Yuan’s brain, but he can’t put his finger on it.

He’s interrupted by Luo Binghe showing up with a tray of absolutely delicious-smelling food… strangely, it’s all of Shen Yuan’s absolute favorite dishes (and everything he wasn’t familiar with on the tray ended up being a new favorite which… was that just a coincidence?) and he enjoys them immensely.

Luo Binghe watches Shen Yuan closely as he eats and smiles when he finishes. “I’m glad to see A-Yuan’s tastes haven’t changed.” he says, and Shen Yuan barely has time to wonder how Binghe knew his name before they’re interrupted and Binghe is called away by some “important business” (which, from the look on Binghe’s face, will not end well for whoever disturbed him).

Shen Yuan continues exploring the rooms and finds a nook with the exact type and amount of pillows he likes, with natural light coming in from a northern angle— his favorite light to read in. The room smells like jasmine and books— Shen Yuan’s favorite scent. It was like someone had taking every one of Shen Yuan’s preferences and put them into a room.

It wasn’t until he spotted the bestiary again that it clicks; it’s written in his own handwriting. Those drawings look like what his own art might look like if he got more practice.

How could he have written a bestiary he’d never seen before? How did Binghe already know him? What was going on?

So what’s going on is that for years now, Binghe kept encountering individuals that helped him unconditionally, assisting him in his darkest times and making his life more bearable. A fellow street kid after Binghe’s mother died who gave him scraps of food and shared blankets with him, a Shizun on Qing Jing that protected him and gave him a safe place to grow up, a demon in the Abyss that told him all the best places to rest and where to get food and water, a Huan Hua disciple that told him the best ways to gain a foothold within the sect, a demon that advised him in his efforts to take over the Demon Realm.

All of them died protecting him. Some of them made it a few months, others a few years. It wasn’t until meeting Shen Yuan in the Abyss that he realized he had the same quirks and traits as that odd little boy, A-Yuan, who had sheltered him on the streets, and his Shizun, Shen Qingqiu. How odd that his name should be a combination of the two who were dearest to him save his mother. How odd that he shared their interest in stories and shared a ranting style and doted on him and were weak to his tears and… Binghe had realized that it must be the same soul, coming back for him.

But Shen Yuan never remembered his previous lives or deaths. He always seemed excited to meet Binghe, but there was no familiarity in the recognition in his eyes.

And he just. Kept. Dying.

Binghe was on his 18th meeting with Shen Yuan; it had been so many times now that he knew exactly what to do and how to find him. He wasted no time in getting him somewhere safe (finding him that one time, an hour after his last death, only to watch him get killed almost immediately after their encounter had traumatized Binghe, so now he made sure to immediately use the soul-tracking amulet he had been using for the last 12 incarnations) and immediately went to cook his beloved dinner. He was working on a way to get his memories from his previous incarnations back, because… how else was he supposed to cope?

——

So. Do you think a new instance of Shen Yuan is plopped into the world every time one dies? Is it the same soul, given a quick reset and spit-spine and put into another body? Let’s discuss this idea please I am obsessed, it haunts me. Let’s brainstorm