#SQQ because he wants to make sure no one knows he actually fucking likes this book and SQH because he wants to rant about erasure of plot

[torchstelechos]

God, I just want a fanfic about the absolute wild internet fandom and discourse of PIDW. Just full stop make it a chat/discord sever fic with both SQQ and SQH in it but neither know and they have another meltdown relationship on this server. Enough so that the fans make jokes that they’re just alts of SQQ and SQH (which is true but no one actually believes this). Make the final chapter present day them figuring it out and wailing on each other in anger. I need this more than I need air.

[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.

[neonghostcat]

Brain Overflow

You know how in my last 'state of the author' post I said I could feel the urge to write coming back?

Oh, it has.

It's terribly inconvenient too. I'm going to tell you a little about some of the things I've been thinking of and then whine/wibble a tiny bit if you click through to behind the cut. (You don't have to read the last bit!)

I've written down three different SVSSS (LiuShen) ideas in the last couple of weeks, added a few thoughts to older ideas, made a mental note of possible Cultivate extras, and just refused to write down others so as not to encourage rampant plot bunny breeding.

But let me tell you about a few of them because I'm hoping it reduces the urge to work on them better than just typing up notes.

The Lady Blackbird fusion Not sure what Lady Blackbird is? Well, it's a free tabletop rpg that you can download here. But the TL;DR is, "Sort of like steampunk Star Wars: A New Hope + Firefly + potential Jane Austen novel, if you want." I'll just C&P the pitch here: Lady Blackbird is an Imperial noble fleeing from an arranged marriage to be with her secret lover, the pirate king Uriah Flint. To reunite with him, she has hired a notorious smuggler and the crew of his skyship, The Owl. However, The Owl has been captured by an Imperial cruiser. How will Lady Blackbird and the others escape? What dangers lie in their path on the way to the pirate king’s lair? Can you see where this is going? (Actually, probably not your first thought, no.) We start with Shen Yuan transmigrated in a xianxia-by-way-of-steampunk gown, sitting in a jail cell with several men, a teenage boy, and a veiled teenage girl. System helpfully informs him that he is now "Lady" Blackbird, on the run to end up in the arms of Pirate King Mobei-Jun. His cell-mates are, as follows: Smuggler Captain Liu Qingge, Lady Blackbird's personal bodyguard Liu Mingyan who suggested her brother when LB said she wanted to escape, the ship's mechanic Shang Qinghua, the ship's doctor Mu Qingfang (or they pick him up later, I haven't decided), and "a goblin named BingBing". While SY is busy freaking out that System can't fool him - that's the Protagonist, Luo Binghe!!! wtf!!! System says "later, loser" and more-or-less abandons him (though still employing an OOC ban). So now you can probably see where this is going, lol. It involves at least a brief period where SY has to crossdress and pretend to be one of Binghe's future wives - a fiancée/wife of Mobei-Jun as Liu Qingge gets very conflicted feelings about his troublesome passenger. Featuring lots of Cumplane friendship, sassy MQF (as a treat), teenage smirking (likely aided and abetted by the adults), and space whales (naturally). I have not yet fully decided if the story Shen Yuan read was PIDW and now he has to figure out how the infiltration of "space with gears on it" into his xianxia has fucked up what he and Airplane know, or if the story was something like "Proud Immortal Starlit Way" and it was always like that. (Thoughts?) ---

The "SY Bodysnatches MQF" idea What it says on the tin... SY accidentally ends up in MQF's body instead of SQQ's. Only MQF isn't gone - he remains. This occurs directly before the Demonic Invasion and double qi deviation part of the plot and they rush back to the sect to deal with that. Then things get messy while they conspire to get SY his own body. Featuring: An extremely confused Liu Qingge, eventual Shenbros, and aro-ace MQF being very bemused at all times. ---

The "LQG Gets De-Aged/Age-Regressed" idea As you can guess: LQG gets age-regressed. This happens in Lingxi Caves instead of his death-by-deviation. He latches onto SY-SQQ and SY-SQQ is helpless to do anything but take the cute kid in. Featuring: BingLiu friendship, possibly Bing-other disciples friendship, but mostly establishing bro-code that makes Binghe switch his infatuation with SY-SQQ into family feelings as soon as LQG regains his adult body and it becomes clear that LiuShen is happening. ----

This is along with: Joint Custody (LiuShen), my SJ-SQQ second-chance redemption fic (LiuShen and LiuJiu, but different LQGs), a peak lords ascension fic using Cultivate's backstory (LiuJiu), a LiuShen timeloop fic, and at least another half a dozen fic ideas sitting in the hopper that aren't nearly as developed/that I am not burning to write yet.

I'd love to know which ideas you guys are most interested in. ;) Joint Custody is still next regardless and I'll probably not be working on either of the LiuJiu fics in the near future because they are definitely 100k+ territory and I'm still not ready for that. But knowing people are hype for something keeps me hype. ;3

I'll probably be in this fandom awhile, y'all. Please send help.

Sadly, I can't work on any of them yet, because I have over 2,600 messages in my inbox waiting for me to respond to. (This is not a humble brag - this is thousand-yard-stare territory. It was somewhere over 3000 for awhile until I started making a list of people who generally only left emojis or thanks and let them know that I was going to just thank them for all of them in one email so they didn't peppered by replies in kind.)

Not that I'm complaining about them, because I missed replying to comments so much (it's genuinely one of my favorite parts about writing fanfic), but it's still a lot and even if I could manage 100 replies a day (which for mental health reasons, I really can't), it's going to take awhile.

RIP.

More importantly - I hope you are well! 🌼

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: Chapter 11

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

I always place my bookmark at the end of the chapter when I start reading to indicate the number of pages I have in a session, and this chapter is comparatively so short! Only like 20ish pages!

Once again, Charlie has abandoned me, but I am back on my soy lattes with matcha to accompany this chapter. Oversharing but; I ran out of my ceremonial grade matcha (delicious af) and tried a local tea shops matcha (much cheaper, still delicious, but texture and colour are very different). The matcha is tasty but definitely not the same. My wallet is happy, my taste buds are forlorn.

Minor angst aside- Let's get into this chapter!

Corpse?! Already! Starting this chapter off strong with maybe another death? I mean, Liu Qingge has 0 chance against Luo Binge, but still.

I will say MXTX is great at starting and ending chapters with anticipation. Like there is no filler chapter. She ends AND starts on action every time. It has made my one chapter a day read low key frustrating, but has definitely kept me engaged!

Wait. What corpse is Luo Binhe holding??? If it's Shen Qingqiu that is so fuckedp245

Double WAIT. What are they doing in the bed together :O OMG is he sleeping with the corpse?? p246

Im shaken. LOL It IS Shen Qingqiu's corpse. p247

Fucking SAME SQQ. Necrophilia is also not for me my guy "Too hardcore...Way too fucking hardcore! Even if his imagination had been as vast as the moon covered with craters, he had still never imagined that one day he would become a character in this kind of hardcore kink play". p247

SQQ I really don't think it can be called bullying to have the guy let go of your own corpse (that was being super desecrated) p248

okay but. question: did he sleep or SLEEP with the corpse? I need to know because I am overwhelmed at this revelation. Both are unhinged, but like one of them is significantly worse.

honestly, SQQ, I too want to know how that corpse is being preserved p248

NOT CORPSE HOT POTATO p249

LOL at Liu Qingge panicking about touching the corpse's flesh. Like sure, I get it, if that was my friend/sect sibling's body I would be horrified at the man handling p249

oh! His (SQQ) sword (and Luo Binghe's old sword??) is repaired!! that's rad! p250

Oh gosh. Luo Binghe is Big Mad that they are snatching his corpse boyfriend p250

Thank god that SQQ was able to get Liu Qingge to to actually leave- this could have been awful. p251

aaaaaaaand what a time for SQQ to have a change of heart about Luo Binghe. He is SO soft for him. 10000% he is going to get himself killed -> again. p251

OMG he was so close to telling him his identity and the confession was disrupted vie him being kidnapped! p252

wait- who else broke in?? was it Shang Qinghua? p253 ofc MXTX loves to leave little cliff hangers.

Oh no, Luo Binghe did remember to activate the demon blood mites. poor SQQ. p254

meanwhile SQQ is basically dying (not actually but he sure feels like he is) and is having an entire mindmap thought journey about how Luo BInghe came to this level of infatuation with himp254

we now have SQQ questioning his worldview, his entire life, himself as an individual, every choice he has ever made, and a his own sexuality. poor babe. p255

oh shit. Wait- what's the cure for the blood mites?? Who is this guy??? p256

are you fucking kidding me. LOL omg. Another demon. I just went to my notes from yesterday and this applied, but make it 3 dimes. "Shen Qingqiu (probably): if I had a dime for every time I had demonic blood poisoning me I would have two, and that's not a lot, but fucked up it happened twice. LOL" at this point should I keep a dime count??

omg! is he attacking him now from within the dream realm??? p258 so scary!

okay he is not attacking SQQ he is attacking HIMSELF. Luo Binghe is not okay. The level of unwell he is exhibiting is frankly, quite alarming. p259

all of this self harming because he lost his shizun's corpse omg

Well... at least luo binghe is apologizing for the water prison? p261

and here we have SQQ having a crisis about not wanting to be near Luo Binghe while he simultaneously cannot resist patting his head anyways p262

oh god. baby luo binghe intentionally kept all of the scars that Shen Qinqiu gave him. what the fuck I'm emotional. p263

Wel it's about time. SQQ finally figured out he fucked up treating Luo Binghe like a character and not a person. BUT, based on the last line of this chapter, I have a suspicion that 1. luo binghe is not himself (someone else impersonating him??) OR Luo Binghe knows exactly what the fuck he is dong.

I cannot with these cliffhangers!

I need to know who this other demon is and who is controlling this dream rn. I did take a look ahead at page count and the next couple chapters are very short AND end book 2, so I am not looking forward to likely more drama and another several cliffhangers.

pray 4 me.

[ghostclowning]

another day of zhushen agenda BUT it's ZZL being unreasonably hot when SQQ least expects him to. Like when he's talking to SQQ politely and calmly, then some demon tries to approach them and he gives them such a death glare that the poor thing perishes immediately regardless of its intentions. Then he turns back to SQQ and he's now absolutely normal. But SQQ isn't normal at all. He's never been hornier in his life. Gentle ZZL is cool but /srs ZZL???maybe even mad ZZL?? Fuck yes. Although perhaps he's feeling so safe thinking about such things only bc he knows for sure his husband won't ever intentionally hurt him. He really wants to hear ZZL call him a "bad boy" now though, whew.

And SQQ also likes to randomly touch ZZL muscles(if it doesn't distract him, of course...but sometimes even if it distracts him. After all, so far he never objected). Pure amazement. He wonders if ZZL could beat LQG if they had no swords(of course he wouldn't let these two fight, this sure would end up traumatic for both...but just for the sake of mental experiment? It's never wrong to imagine hot men in blood-). And he also thinks how he can do whatever with ZZL only bc ZZL chooses to allow him. Like "I braid his hair but he could easily braid my limbs! Sheesh!" But ZZL is just ready to tolerate any shit he does, even when he goes drinking with SQH(it never ends well)(ZZL gives him the /srs stare afterwards which SQQ a little bit enjoys ... secretly....).

[The truth is, he probably considers literally anything still better than standing lines for lewd fanfics]

Sometimes SQQ purposely tries to tease ZZL, but it often leads to an outcome he didn't expect, even if at first things go smoothly...He once tried to make his snake husband a little jealous, joke-flirting with soemone, but ZZL was just keeping silent, although he clearly was upset. Once they were left alone, he said he thought what he and master Shen had was just between them. SQQ was just heartbroken cuz his boy seemed so sad about it<3 He tries to reassure ZZL he was just fucking around but then ZZL pins him to the wall, grabs both his hands, immobilizing him with ease, his glance calm as ever but unusually stern.

"Master Shen has spoken enough today. But I see that I don't satisfy master Shen enough."

"Not at all, Xizhi-lang..."

"I have a name."

"...Ah? Sorry, Zhuzhi-lang...You really satisfy me! I was just being silly..."

"No need to pretend now. I understand," Zhuzhi-lang leans in and shuts him up with a kiss. Oh no. Practice shows that his 'understanding' of things is often different from normal... "If so, I'm afraid I have to fix my mistakes."

His firm tone makes SQQ feel things. God damn it, maybe he actually doesn't mind whatever is going to happen now. Although it wouldn't be so sweet if ZZL gave him a dose of blood parasites to control him. Yeah that would be less hot.

"I will make love to you all night. For every sound that you make, I will keep going."

SQQ had no idea how vocal he was in bed until now, and he cursed this trait of his now, because he also had no idea how long demons can go on. ZZL only let him go when he started literally begging for mercy. This really was enjoyable until SQQ got completely exhausted, and when he realized ZZL still stops when he asks properly, he thought that he certainly will do this again... sometime. When he's able to walk again, probably. Maybe.

SQQ also grew used to the snakes, even the demonic ones. When ZZL is not home, he talks to them instead. Keeps a little bowl of water for them even. Unexpectedly, him befriending the snakes actually helped to get them out of his bed... When ZZL saw how friendly he got with them, he gave him a strange look, but he hasn't found a single snake in his bed or in his clothes since. They still were everywhere else around the house, but, apparently, have learned that some things are not to be touched. They still touch master Shen himself though, but they, apparently, also were taught not to do so if master Shen minds...and this man once said he can't do anything about his snakes, huh?

And also SQQ collected a piece of snake skin ZZL shed. When ZZL found out, he was a little...repulsed. "Why would one collect something that came off their body? You don't collect fallen off hair..."

"But it's not hair! It's a piece of snake skin. It looked cool."

"...Should I start collecting master Shen's dead skin..."

"...uhm, alright, alright, you have a point. Please don't-"

"If master Shen likes such things, I could-"

"Please don't"

SQQ had no doubt ZZL could make all the snakes shed right in their house, and he clearly didn't need that. Did SQQ get rid of that one piece of snake skin though? Absolutely not.

[truly-morgan]

[Kinktober 2021: Breeding (18+)]

MoShang | Scum Villain Self-Saving system 08-10-2021

Day 8: [Breeding] / B̷o̷d̷y̷ ̷M̷o̷d̷i̷f̷i̷c̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷ / S̷e̷n̷s̷o̷r̷y̷ ̷D̷e̷p̷r̷i̷v̷a̷t̷i̷o̷n̷

Shang Qinghua stumbles on a wife plot who temporarily changes his body to make him able to have children. They end up taking good advantage of that curse.

====

Shang Qinghua had lost count of how many times he had gone to his cucumber bro for some help with the plot he forgot about himself. The man was truly a walking encyclopaedia. It was often not too bad, but then there were days like today, when he was feeling hot all over and his lower region was feeling really strange. He had somewhat guessed it would be a wife plot:

anything to make the wife fuck with Luo Binghe was a wife plot. But of course, now they were stuck with those because the novel story had totally changed.

"I was following my king on a hunt when I saw those nice flowers, So I got closer, wondering if I could remember what they were, I assumed it was safe since I didn’t remember a flower looking like that being poisonous, but then when I tried touching it, I pricked myself on a spike I didn’t see” sqh had been explaining, laying down on a cushion as sqq drank some tea. “I didn’t feel anything at the moment, but then yesterday I started feeling weird all over the place and didn’t want to worry my King about it since he already has so much work to do”.

Sqq wanted to sigh at some of the detail not being useful. “I cannot really help if I do not know what that flower looks like” he points out.

“The petal was similar to those of a lily, but there was easily more than a dozen of them, there were a dark blue with blue-white-ish dotes going up the middle of the petals.

The stamens were rather long and pale and the thingy on top was kinda shaped like a heart now that I thinks of it”.

“Did it have a lot of leaf at the bottom which hides most of the spikes?” sqq asked, only for sqh to nod. His fellow transmigrator sighed heavily, “You fell into a wife plot again, you created that flower for wife #539 who was unable to get pregnant and so she tried using that flower to be able to have a child” sqq mentioned.

“But I should be safe right?” sqh asked, not remembering that. 

“You wrote that it was so great that even man could get pregnant when under its effect, which by the way last easily for a week”.

And this is how he now was in his room (which had been a while since the last time, he kind of unofficially moved into Mobei-jun room), robes loose around him as he was trying to relieve himself from the heat.

What should he do now? He couldn't exactly hide from his King for /minimum/of a week. He didn't want to look like some of these demons that had done it on purpose in the past to try and lure mbj and somewhat trap him with a child (and he knew it could happen because he wrote a couple of plots like this!).

Plus he never heard anything that could tell him mbj was actually interested in having children. Sure he would most likely need an heir one day, but as of now mbj never showed any interest.

Sqh was truly unsure of what he should do now, other than try and relieve himself from the heat and arousal that came with his situation. Plus he could discover just how exactly this curse was affecting him as it did create physical changes he didn't notice before.

His king should be busy all day so he should be able to figure something out before he came back to their shared room to see he was not there.

But as he was thinking this he was surprised by the sound of a portal opening next to his bed, mbj stepping out. Sqh took a moment to react properly, pulling the blanket around him to hide his near-nudity and in just what kind of state he truly was.

“M-my King! What brings you here? I thought you would be busy all day” he called out, blushing even more than he already was before.

“a servant told me you looked unwell” he answered as he walked closer to the bed, clearly sniffing at the air. “and told me you smell strangely very sweet".

Sqh wasn't sure what to think of that. Had he added such a thing? For demons to be able to smell when another was ready to conceive? He then saw his pupils dilate, as if mbj had finally understood, looking a bit shocked, suddenly grabbing the blanket. He wasn't quick enough to pull it back, instead feeling himself being pulled closer to mbj.

He didn't really resist at the hands pulling his legs apart, the demon confirming for himself as sqh was hiding in his hand.

His slightly altered anatomy was now on full display for mbj who looked very interested. “this servant is sorry for the inconvenient” sqh managed to say, nearly letting out a squeak as he felt his finger tease against his already wet pussy.

“I-I am sorry for the inconvenience I will try to find a way to deal with this!” sqh quickly said, unsure if mbj would think this was troublesome to deal with.

“Sect Leader Shen said it would easily take at least a week to die down and I do not want to be a burden for my King so I decided to come here t-”.

The peak lord’s rambling was cut off by passionate lips meeting his, feeling himself being pushed down into the mattress, mbj climbing over him as robes were being undone. It took a moment to realise mbj was actually making a move /while he just learned/ he could get pregnant.

“Wait wait, my King, right now might not be the right time” he tried to say. Wondering where this sudden burst of arousal in his husband came from. Was it contagious?

The kissing and sucking on his neck stopped as the demon looked back at him. “Is sqh against the idea of having a child?” mbj asked, studying his reaction greatly.

To this sqh wasn’t sure what to say. He had obviously never expected to be asked, especially not since neither of them was supposed to be able to bear a child. Sqh never thought about having any in his life, but he wasn’t against the idea.

“W-well no” he started, looking a bit to the side, “I simply thought my King was not interested in having any since he never talked about it before and ignore anyone who inquired about your plan to have an heir” he explained.

“I didn’t want children with anyone else than sqh” mbj replied, making the man blush at that declaration. He had not expected the reason to be because mbj wanted this kid to be theirs, not from someone else. It had probably been ruled out since neither of them was supposed to be able to do that.

A hand was gently rubbing his tights before he was pulled closer to, mbj settling between his legs, cock already hard and now resting against him. He moved his hips a bit, causing something sqh to feel rather new things.

“But if sqh is against bearing our child I will understand, “ mbj said.

Maybe it was because of the effect of the flower, but the way he was talking about /their/ child made something in him warm. He wasn't against that, it was actually reassuring in a way, mbj wouldn't need to find someone else for an heir.

“Yes I want to!” he says. Sure, it’s scary to think that he’ll have a growing being in him and is also unsure what will happen once he gives birth (if nothing goes badly...).

Sqh was waiting for mbj to get to it immediately but instead felt fingers entering where he had already been fingering himself. He may have never led with a lady before, but he was pretty sure that he would be alright, yet there wasn’t really much to convince mbj of that. Maybe telling him he needed it usually was the reason.

But the moment mbj deemed him ready enough there was probably nothing to stop him. He was fucking into his husband, still making sure he seemed alright, but never really stopping since it seemed all right.

Sqh was rather surprised by the rather different feeling of that pussy, moaning even more when mbj decided to see what teasing his cock would do.

After one round sqh was already a bit tired, especially since he had been pleasuring himself for a while before. Yet mbj was not done, large hands still on his hips, cock never leaving its warm embrace as he went back to being hard.

Sure, he was now used to Demon apparently having endless stamina in bed, but it was probably some of the first time that mbj could get back at it so quickly. Maybe the effect of the flower was wearing off on his husband too.

Sqh felt like they would pass the whole evening and night at it, mbj clearly set on breeding him until he was sure he would get pregnant. Good thing mbj had energy for two people since at some point sqh became tired and unable to do much himself.

It had started with him laying on his back, like this he could get all the kisses he wanted, then he tried riding his husband to not have him do all the work, enjoying the way mbj would look at him bounce up and down to milk him.

Then he ended up being flipped over so he was laying face down and ass up for better access, mbj more than happy to keep fucking into him like this. They had one important mission and he would take it seriously.

It was fun and all riding and having sex with his King with this new pussy, but he was but a mere human, nothing that could compare to mbj stamina. At some point he was happy to simply let mbj fuck his semen into him, his brain already feeling mushy from all the pleasure and orgasm he just had. He was pretty sure he had never been fuck this much before.

He ended up so full he was pretty sure no more could fit into him, even feeling some of the cum dripping out of him when mbj finally came out of him, laying down beside him and hugging him close.  “My King is doing a great job” sqh laughed slightly, feeling exhausted.

He felt mbj humming against the top of his head. “We need to do more to make sure it works”. 

Sqh was already exhausted at the idea but smiled softly at that. He wouldn’t mind being exhausted now if it meant having a child with mbj.

====

(well this was like really 30% smut isdjvudb guess I can only write p0rn with plot)

Original - AO3

[hiemaldesirae]

please. I'm begging you for more crumbs about VADD!Shen Jiu and also that Roxana AU you have from that art post you did of the two.

As a VADD AND SVSSS fan, especially as a fan of the original villains— please. I AM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH FOR MORE. I'm actually in the process of outlining a crossover with the original goods of both.

God, the Roxana one as well— please, PLEASE TELL ME SJ IS ROXIE HE'S SO ROXANA-CODED SOMEHOW. GIVE HIM BUTTERFLIES AND POISON AND— *gets knocked out*

by the way, LOVE your artstyle. scratches an itch i did not know existed in my brain. your chibis as well. they're so cute!!

oh you have no idea how long ive waited to talk about them. this mayyy get a bit long so ill leave it under the readmore.

disclaimer: i intend on finishing these fics so what im going to be talking about is inspirations and unfinished / abandoned ideas and other ideas i have for the works instead of anything relating to the plots themselves

for svadd, sj is a lot more complicated than he appears to be on the surface. im not so sure if what i have written currently is what i /want/ exactly because i know i want his character to go a certain way. the relationships between him and his modern-day friends is one meant to parallel the in-game "shen qingqiu" sj compares himself to and in much the same way, mirror the way that sy contrasts himself with sqq in canon: but instead of being condescending and viewing sqq as a one dimensional character, sj is able to appreciate his nuance while still being rightfully angry over his actions

to me, sj is supposed to be an unreliable narrator who constantly enforces his own thoughts. he tells himself over and over that he misses his home and that he wants to go back, that he absolutely needs to- but then, he turns the other way and finds himself being sucked even deeper into this different one.

i also really wanted to explore how sjs dynamic with a lot of the characters would be affected knowing that they were "based off" his real friends, but again im not very confident with how it came off lol

there was a lot of points in the story where i attempted to add in foreshadowing for the ending i want the story to take... in any case, it definitely wont go the same way as vadd, though i did toy with the idea of a "version" of sy being the main villain haha

(it might still happen for shits and giggles)

as for the roxanna au there are a lot of things ive wanted to do with this au and its good that i havent posted because it means i can keep revising til i come up with something good lol

its a liujiu au with some bingyuan / cumplane thrown into the mix (the cumplane is overwhelmingly toxic btw bingyuan is the healthy one out of the two here 😭) where yes sj is xana !!! he really just makes such a good manhwa villainess haha

i had been puzzling over what i wanted his motif to be-- after all, sj is typically associated with the simplicity and calming bamboo so the glittering butterflies wouldnt work with him- but after some deliberation i decided with using moths for him :3c still subject to change ofc but i think im happy with this as is

the story is somewhat similar to how roxanna goes but surprise sj isnt the transmigrator here! (and honestly, roxanna wouldve been sm better if xana hadnt been a transmigrator... or maybe i just think that because it was only used as a convenient plot point for her to know crucial info. sigh.)

my outline of how the roxanna au goes is basically this:

lqg fucks around and finds out

sj who has been seeing dreams of the "book" sy read knows what will happen to his family if lqg dies

etc

at the same time: sy, transmigrator, attempts to make sure his only surviving older brother lives to a long happy life and the only way he can secure this is by fucking up that hack author

also i killed off qi-ge and idk if i want him to come back. he'll be like the stereotypical dead anime mother for this au lmao

hmm and i think thats all i have to say for these aus... thanks for giving me a chance to ramble on haha ~ much appreciated !! and thank you for the compliment, im flattered!! 🥹🥹💕

[tossawary]

For whatever reason, my brain fed me a “Shen Yuan transmigrates in as Linguang-Jun” AU. Probably just as a one-shot thing to explore a SY & MBJ relationship. This happens when MBJ is an older child or a young teen, I think, so LGJ has done some shit, but the shitty relationship isn’t totally set in stone yet. SY panics, of course, because he has no idea how to be a demon. 

SY eventually settles on trying to make good with MBJ (within the limits of the OOC locks at first) so that Mobei-Jun doesn’t grow up to kill him. Young MBJ’s first reaction is that this is a trick of some kind, albeit an extremely confusing one. Young MBJ eventually witnesses something (SY utterly failing to use his demon powers while he’s still trying to figure them out) and it clicks for MBJ that his uncle has been possessed or replaced. 

MBJ eventually decides that his uncle has been permanently possessed by a dream demon or the like. Should he tell someone about this? Maybe! But he kind of likes this version of his shitty uncle better. This version of LGJ isn’t trying to kill him and, like, serves that bastard right getting his body stolen by an apparently incompetent dream demon. 

SY fakes it until he (kind of) makes it as a demon. LGJ has been scary enough over the years and has MBJ’s father’s protection, so SY doesn’t have to jockey for power too much. SY is also kind of good at playing elegant, handsome villains when he’s called upon to do so (SY could consider what this says about him as a person, but he’s not going to). SY is mostly left alone to study horrible monsters to his heart’s content. 

And also hang out with young Mobei-Jun. MBJ takes advantage of SY to, idk, get his hands on some family weapon locked up in a vault where kiddos can’t get it, like a child tricking their uncle into giving them car keys at twelve. Uncle-nephew trips consist of MBJ using this new LGJ!SY who wants to win his favor as a get-out-of-jail-free card. 

Shen Yuan: “MY darling nephew? Steal YOUR demon horse? Unlikely! How dare you make such an accusation!” 

Mobei-Jun: *absolutely did do that for kicks and is very curious to see how far he can take this before someone calls him on it*

Eventually, a teenage or young adult MBJ meets Shang Qinghua. He doesn’t tell SQH about the dream demon possessing his uncle, nor does he tell the dream demon possessing his uncle about SQH. At least, not until he overhears SQH use a word that MBJ has overheard SY use before, something like, “WTF.” And then MBJ is like, “What does that word mean?” 

Shang Qinghua: “My king-?! Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing, really!” 

Mobei-Jun: “I have heard this word before. I know it means something. What does this word mean?” 

Shang Qinghua: “...You’ve...? Wait, what?!” 

And then MBJ gets badgered into letting SQH meet the new Linguang-Jun. SQH does not play this subtle enough for MBJ not to have questions, so MBJ exits the room and then blatantly eavesdrops on the conversation because SQH and LGJ generally seem to forget about the extent of demon hearing. 

Shang Qinghua: “Proud Immortal Demon Way?” 

Linguang-Jun!SY: “...Another transmigrator?!!!” 

And Mobei-Jun is like, “Oh, Shang Qinghua is also a dream demon. This makes sense given the many strange things about him. I am very clever.” 

Just because, I really like the idea of MBJ actually being able to perceive transmigrators to some degree? Given his family’s bullshit about consuming and stealing power, he’s always on the lookout for possession (but he’s unfamiliar with humans, so it’s harder there). So, like, there’s Mobei-Jun and his two “dream demons” who are quite bad at pretending to be the powerful demon and the ordinary human they’re possessing. He’s cool with this. 

SY gets MBJ to treat SQH decently. Kind of accidentally, but still.

Anyway, I’m going to assume that #1 LBH fanboy Shen Yuan finds an excuse to go “check” on the poor young protagonist at some point. He badgers Shang Qinghua about how the kid is doing and SQH is like, “Oh, yeah, that kid is definitely being abused.” Shen Yuan talks himself into becoming a secret demonic patron and mentor, just to make sure that the protagonist doesn’t end up growing up to kill him, you know. 

LBH ends up taking a lot of away missions from the peak to stay away from SQQ, who is basically like, “Yes, fuck off. If you die, that’s fine.” And LBH keeps running into his “secret demonic patron and mentor”. And maybe being saved by SY several times. SY kind of digs the idea of being able to offer wise advice to the protagonist. That’s not a bad position, right? 

LBH falling in love with this mysterious and weirdly kind demon lord? It’s exactly as likely as you think. Age difference? No issue in LBH’s mind! 

(SY probably accidentally runs into Liu Qingge too, and saves and kind of seduces the man, of course. Liu Qingge makes it his mission to track this demon down because he is VERY ANGRY about this.) 

If SY can make SQQ into LBH’s type, then he can absolutely make LGJ into LBH’s type. When Shang Qinghua cottons on to this, he’s just like, “A handsome ice demon with villainous character design? My, uh, protagonist and I have very similar taste in men, I guess. Holy shit.” 

Mobei-Jun and Post-Abyss Luo Binghe face-off for Luo Binghe’s rights to court the totally oblivious “dream demon” possessing Mobei-Jun’s uncle. Because I like the idea of Mobei-Jun repeatedly giving the protagonist “impossible tasks” just to fuck with him and then being mildly surprised when LBH keeps succeeding, while LBH can’t bully MBJ because MBJ is SY’s “darling nephew” and LBH doesn’t want to upset SY. (Very smug MBJ face here.) 

Eventually Mobei-Jun is like, “Go conquer the Demon Realm, I guess?” So LBH spends the next 5 years or so doing that, sending SY many, many gifts and letters. While Mobei-Jun is like, “It won’t actually help him. Dream demons are very stupid and must be told directly of any romantic feelings.” 

Shang Qinghua: “Haha, I guess. Wait- dream demon?!” 

Mobei-Jun: “Oh, I forgot to tell you I knew.” 

Mobei-Jun’s face turns extremely judgmental. 

Mobei-Jun: “You really didn’t know that I know what you are?” 

Shang Qinghua: “...No...?!” 

[delicioussshame]

I had this reverse love potion fic idea that would be all angst no plot and I don’t want to write it, so have some notfic.

One day, SQQ wakes up by LBH’s side and feels… nothing? Maybe a vague sense of discomfiture being in bed with a man? He’s not amnesic or anything, so he knows there is nothing wrong with sharing a bed with Luo Binghe, but it doesn’t feel right. He tries to work through it, to go on with his life like this is normal, but he has no actual desire to, and he feels like it’s reciprocated? Like, LBH is evading him, which is highly unusual. So when LBH breaks and asks SQQ if he feels different, they talk and discover they don’t love each other anymore. It’s like the switch has been turned off. They both can tell it’s not normal, that it has to have been some form of attack. SQQ figures it’s one of LBH’s supposed wives trying to break them up. He knows he should be more upset than he is, but when he thinks back to his relationship it’s like watching a movie. It has nothing to do with him. Hey, maybe it’s a chance to set the plot back into something like what was supposed to happen? SQQ could just be another peak lord, LBH could lead his realm, it’d be fine.

Luo Binghe takes it a bit harder because he’s very self-motivated, and even if he’s not in love with SQQ anymore he can remember how happy he was with his teacher as a husband. It’s nothing he wants right now, but he knows he would be pleased to get it back again.

Still, even he cannot deal with the current awkwardness of faking domestic bliss with someone he doesn’t feel anything special for, so they decide that LBH will return to the demon realm for now, and that they’ll each look for ways to reverse the situation by themselves, by which they both know LBH will and SQQ will open a book when he feels like it.

LBH does start up chasing every lead, but he’s fighting a losing war. Every single person from his realm he speaks to agree that this is the greatest thing that could ever happen to him. He’s finally detached from the peak lord! Maybe he can take his job seriously now! And marry, oh, a couple hundreds demonesses, that’d be nice.

SQQ lives a pretty similar setting. His fellow peak lords aren’t exactly LBH’s biggest fans, and maybe some of them are thinking this is a godsend.

The main difference I think is that as time passes, I think SQQ would become lonely. From the moment he came to this world up to that fateful morning, his life pretty much revolved around LBH? Now that the main plot is completed, without LBH around, it’s kind of dull. And hey, since he’s got nothing better to do, why not focus on researching a cure? So he puts more time on this.

Meanwhile, I think LBH would become more and more focused on ruling his realm, since he’s very driven and doesn’t really have SQQ as a focus anymore, so the quest would fall to the side after a while.

Still, a very ambitious demon decided he’d find the cure years ago, because while everyone else is trying to a get a pretty uninterested LBH to look at them twice, this demon knows for a fact that if he gives LBH the only one he ever loved back, he’d instantly be rewarded so richly his life would be made. So he works at it, and one day shows up with something sus and is like “this is it!”

LBH is quite suspicious at first and asks everyone with any knowledge on the matter to make sure he won’t be poisoned, but he’s immune to poison so everyone is like *shrug* you should go for it. So he does, immediately starts crying because all the time he wasted being away from his shizun, the love of his life! Why! Why didn’t he search for this without rest! So anyway, he takes the thing and has MBJ teleport him to SQQ’s side, who, again, is now more open to the idea because he’s missing something he can’t understand. He takes it, they both cry, everyone else also does for a different reason, the random demon is so promoted it’s not even funny, and together SQQ and LBH go on a hunt to find out who, exactly, was this fucking reckless with their own life that they thought trying to keep them apart would be a good idea.

This woman spends the rest of her very short life regretting it.

The end.

[vodkassassin]

Ok let me set the scene: SQQ had grown used to his multiple layers of clothes, and it was never a problem untill the day he and (your closen love interest) decided it was time for papapa, que the twenty minutes of SQQ instructing how to carefully take off his each and every layer. The steamy vibes slowly disapear. The curtains close.

I know you wanted this to be steamy, cousin, but I slapped platonic cucumberplane onto it instead and it turned into a big Mess of Feelings instead of romantic comedy 😅 my bad! @overlordmoth

—

The first time Shen Yuan is forced to attend a inter-sect banquet is memorable, if nothing else. It doesn’t even have anything to do with the event itself, but what happened afterwards.

The food was alright. He’s been spoiled, he thinks, by his adorable disciple’s god-tier cooking, because though the organization committee had gone all out and hired the fanciest of catering staff, the food itself was… he wouldn't go so far as to call it disappointing, per say, but it had been a bit bland when he’d tried it. He finished off his meager plate of appetizers and resolved not to touch any other dish thereafter. He’ll just eat a meal when he gets back to his peak.

Luckily, inter-sect conferences aren’t a constant occurrence. They only happened once every few years, as a way for the many sects of xianxialand to share information and gossip. Shen Yuan has had two years now, to get used to being Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu, and he’s grateful for the extra time he was given to learn his character before he was forced to debut into such a public setting, where Shen Jiu has long-since created himself a reputation.

Much like the reputation amongst his own sect, everyone in the cultivation world seems to know how Shen Jiu had been. Tonight is the first time since his fever (and Shen Yuan’s transmigration) that Peak Lord Shen steps into the limelight and shows exactly how drastically he has changed in character.

It doesn’t go as terribly as he expected it to, honestly.

When he’d first entered the hall, the amount of stares that had immediately zeroed in on him and began dissecting his every movement was… overwhelming, in a way. Shen Yuan is used to stares. He has to be, just to walk around his own peak. His disciples are nosy, gossipy young masters and maidens. For all that they seem to admire and respect him, there is never a single moment when Shen Qingqiu does not feel their eyes following him as he walks from one classroom hall to the next.

The banquet is much the same. Instead of his disciples, however, these are matured (in a manner of speaking) cultivators of sects not his own. Which means Shen Qingqiu has to be on the lookout and watch his own back.

Or he would have had to, had his fellow transmigrator not been in attendance as well.

He supposed he’s lucky, that all the peak lords were required to attend this ridiculous party.

He spends the first ten minutes or so proving to these cultivators that, though Shen Qingqiu has obviously changed, his tongue is still just as acerbic and barbed as it had been before, perhaps even more creatively so now that he’s changed. It puts strained, polite smiles onto the faces of men and women who had approached him in attempts to size him up and find a hand hold for themselves.

Joke’s on them.

As pleased as he is to discover them just as easily taken down a peg or two as his own sect members, Shen Qingqiu grows exhausted of this game rather quickly. Once he sends the last cultivator away with their tail between their legs, he snaps his fan closed with a flick of his wrist and turns on his heel before the next can even think to approach him.

It’s out of character, apparently, for Shen Qingqiu to throw the towel in when the first hour hasn’t even passed. Raised eyebrows and confused eyes follow him as he steps off to the side and sidles up to where the only other millennial in this world is leaning against the far wall of the hall, cradling a cup of tea in his hands and staring at the floor likely in the hope that no one will come speak to him.

As much as he whines that he never gets as much attention as the other peak lords, Shang Qinghua always prefers the sidelines. All the better to remain unnoticed, that he may more efficiently observe their guests without them realizing that the An Ding peak lord’s eyes see far more than any of them could ever think.

When Shen Qingqiu leans his back against the wall beside him, Shang Qinghua gives a startled jolt. His tea sloshes in its cup, thankfully not spilling over, and he raises wide eyes to meet Shen Qingqiu’s look of ridicule.

“Ah….” For once, his friend seems lost for words, and Shen Qingqiu resists the urge to frown at him. “What’s up?”

“If I’m going to make it even a single hour in this party, much less the full ten it’s scheduled for, then I’m going to need someone to listen to me complain.” Shen Qingqiu begins succinctly. “As my bro, that’s your job.”

Strangely, Shang Qinghua seems to perk up at this. He swirls his tea around — and from the sharp scent that wafts upward to Shen Qingqiu’s nose, tea isn’t the only thing in that cup — and casts Shen Qingqiu a cheerful smile.

“A party isn’t a party until you’ve made fun of every single partygoer behind their back at least twice,” his fellow peak lord agrees.

Shen Qingqiu smirks at him.

He snaps open his fan to cover it when he hears a few murmurs of shock from the people who are still watching him like hawks for any sign of difference between him and Shen Jiu. It’s so fucking tiring.

Shang Qinghua huffs a quiet laugh and shoots him a look of sympathy.

“How many bodies do you think you can help me hide before someone notices that guests are beginning to disappear?” He asks nonchalantly, and his mouth curls into a more genuine smile behind the safety of his fan when Shang Qinghua’s shoulders start to shake with laughter.

“Don’t ask me that,” the slightly shorter man breathes out in mirth, eyes bright. “Between the two of us, we can absolutely make it happen. It’s best not to even tempt it.”

“As you say,” Shen Qingqiu sighs despondently, fluttering his fan before his face. It’s beginning to grow a little too warm even in the huge, cavernous banquet hall. That’s what happens when you shove an entire crowd of people into the same room together. It gets stuffy.

The banquet passes a little quicker than it would have otherwise, with Shang Qinghua by his side to exchange quite jokes and banter with. A particular, good-natured target for them both is Liu Qingge, who’s squirelled himself into a different corner of the hall with three jars of alcohol and whose grave glare is enough to chase off anyone who’d wish to speak with him. The poor man just isn’t built for socializing. At least it’s clear that there’s someone who’s having a worse time here than Shen Qingqiu is. It might be mean, but it makes him feel better nonetheless.

It’s nice to have someone who actually understands every meme and pop culture reference Shen Qingqiu slips into his mockery of the banquet guests. The only issue is having to smother his real, genuine laughter when Shang Qinghua comes back at him with something actually hilarious. It would surely rock the cultivation world to its very foundation if Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu burst into laughter in the middle of an inter-sect banquet for all to see.

Even with the allowances he’s slowly acquired for himself in the time since he disabled the OOC lock, his martial siblings would certainly send for Mu Qingfang to check him over.

Still, the comfortable atmosphere of mockery aside, several hours is still several hours, and by the time Shang Qinghua is down to the dregs of his seventh cup of tea (plus the obvious pick-me-up he adds to it), Shen Qingqiu is incredibly fucking done with this entire farce.

Opening his fan to conceal his face, he leans over slightly into his friend's space and quietly says, “You wanna blow this popsicle stand?”

The clear effort it takes Shang Qinghua not to wheeze is gratifying. “Are we even allowed to do that?”

“We’re peak lords,” Shen Qingqiu says, shrugging his shoulders lightly. “We can do whatever the fuck we want. And, speaking as a millennial — who’s going to stop us, really?”

Good thing they’d dissolved into speaking English three hours ago. If someone heard the cold, and graceful Lord Shen verbally curse then he’d probably be forced to undergo another test for possession with Wei Qingwei when they all got home. Annoying as hell, those things. They took hours and he wasn’t even allowed to read to pass the time!

“Point,” Shang Qinghua admits.

“Plus,” Shen Qingqiu raises his fan up a bit higher to hide his entire expression and makes a face. “I, uh…. need a favor, from you.”

Shang Qinghua blinks over the rim of his teacup at him. He stares at him for a long, wordless moment, and then his eyebrows shoot up.

“The peerless peak lord Shen,” he says lightly, mouth quirking, “needs help—?”

“Airplane.”

“—from little ol’ me?”

“Imma gut you,” Shen Yuan mutters, fan fluttering.

Shang Qinghua beams at him. He pushes up off the wall and steps over to the nearest table to set his now-empty cup on its surface.

“Yeah, okay,” the man says.

Appeased, yet miffed, Shen Qingqiu raises his chin up and snaps his fan closed sharply enough to make a noise. “Good.”

They leave. There’s a multitude of stares that follow in their wake, from both strangers and their own martial siblings across the hall, but neither of them pay them any mind, aside from the way Shang Qinghua’s shoulders raise defensively almost on instinct. A nervous habit that the man will probably never rid himself of.

Three minutes later, they’ve closed themselves away in Shen Qingqiu’s guest quarters of the venue — the conferences are to last for at least three days, minimum, so each sect has their own pavilion for the overnight stay — and Shen Qingqiu stands grumpily in the middle of the room while Shang Qinghua collapses against the bed and laughs himself silly.

“Y-You need me to—?” The man wheezes, one hand pressed over his mouth as tears prick the corners of his eyes, his other arm holding his side. “To—?”

“Yes, it’s very amusing,” Shen Qingqiu deadpans, eyebrow twitching. “And what a friend you are, to laugh in the face of my plight. What, do you expect me to ask anyone else? Who would you suggest? Yue Qingyuan? As if! Of course I need your help, idiot!”

“I’m sure Sect Leader would be very obliging if you were to ask,” Shang Qinghua giggles from where he’s curled up on top of the blankets. He waggles his eyebrows. “Very obliging.”

“You disgust me,” Shen Qingqiu sniffs. He tugs at the front of his robes, and casts his friend a helpless look. “Seriously, how am I suppose to get out of this — this death trap?!”

Because, for such a fancy and important occasion as an inter-sect conference opening banquet, the guests are of course expected to wear their most formal robes. And, in xianxialand, formal robes mean layers. Layer upon layer upon layer. And extra baubles on top of that, like multiple-section headpieces and jewelry and gauzy, sheer, bedazzled over robes.

Truly, the opulence and over-the-topness of the cultivation world never ceases to make Shen Qingqiu raise his brow.

“I get what you mean,” Shang Qinghua chortles. “Stop your bitching, bro, I know how to escape these things, no problem.”

He hops up from the bed and makes his way over, reaching for the outside clasps of the over robe without even asking first. Shen Qingqiu does mind, holding his arms out to give his friend better access. Honestly, there is never any dignity lost between the two of them, what with their modern sensibilities. Not that Shen Yuan ever had much dignity to begin with, being a lifetime recurring hospital patient in his last life. As Shen Qingqiu, peer immortal master that he is, however, he at least has to pretend he does.

With everyone other than Airplane, that is.

“Thanks,” he says, grumbling but grateful, as Shang Qinghua carefully but without ceremony shucks off his outer robe and the one underneath it.

The man steps closer after laying those out on the bed, and tugs at the ties of the belt that hold the next robe closed. After a series of finger gymnastics that Shen Qingqiu can’t really make head nor tails of, his friend reaches up and pulls the silk down from his shoulders and reaches a hand inside to pull at the smaller ties hidden within. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Shen Qingqiu had seriously felt like he was putting together a piece of IKEA furniture when he’d originally gotten dressed. Overly complicated, the instructions were all in Swedish, and it was nearly impossible to accomplish on one’s own. But, he‘d done it!

Dismantling it all, however, was another thing entirely, and he thanks whatever higher power there is, that Airplane is here to lend him that hand without any of the awkwardness that someone with ancient Chinese sensibilities would bring.

“Thank god these things are only like, twice a decade,” he groans, leaning back so his fellow transmigrator has easier access to free him of the next stifling layer. “If this body didn’t have that handy cultivation temperature regulation magic bullshit you came up with for that scene in chapter one-hundred twenty, I’d be sweating buckets right now. Next time I get an invitation to a banquet, I’m refusing, no matter how much Yue Qingyuan puppy-dog eyes at me”

Shang Qinghua directs an odd, slanting smile down at the belt he’s working free, nimble fingers pulling and tugging gently at the ties so they don’t accidentally tighten instead of loosen.

“Yeah,” he says, quiet. “... I’ve never been a fan of banquets either.”

Shen Qingqiu holds back a scoff. And then lets it free, because there’s nobody here but Shang Qinghua, who knows him and won’t ever begrudge him for showing actual emotion. “I can’t imagine anyone being wrapped up in thirty layers and expected to socialize with sharks for ten fucking hours and actually enjoying it.”

Shang Qinghua ducks his head down, smile disappearing. He tugs the ties free and reaches up to slip another layer off of Shen Qingqiu’s shoulders, but he keeps his eyes lowered. Shen Qingqiu pauses, frowning at him. Something’s off.

“...Airplane?”

“It’s not that,” Shang Qinghua shrugs helplessly, tugging at the ties of the next robe without much effort to pull them loose. There’s a slightly uncomfortable expression on his face that makes Shen Qingqiu frown deepen. “I actually don’t mind all the layers. My parents dressed me in hanfu all the time when I was a kid in my past life, so I was already used to it before I even transmigrated. The food at banquets is really good, too, and the socialization isn’t so bad once you look at it as just a political pissing contest. Banquets could be fun, really.”

“But they’re not,” Shen Qingqiu guesses, and reaches out to clasp his friends hands in his, pulling them away from his belt. They twitch in his hold, like Shang Qinghua wants to fidget, a nervous tick.

He’s only half dressed at this point, but right now he’s more concerned with the shuttering expression on Shang Qinghua’s face than anything else. “Not for you, at least. Why?”

Shang Qinghua glances nervously up at him from beneath his lashes, only to look back down again and grimace. “They’d be a lot of fun, if I wasn’t… me, I guess? Today is the first time I’ve actually enjoyed a banquet since I first started attending them as a head disciple.”

Shen Qingqiu presses his lips together as his friend lets out a mirthless, unamused laugh. He squeezes the hands he’s holding, and Shang Qinghua‘s shoulders droop.

“It was also the first time anyone’s actually stuck by me and actually talked to me, though, so,” the other finally glances up, an odd and fragile smile on his face as he chuckles weakly. His eyes are shining a bit damply, and Shen Qingqiu locks his teeth together when he sees it. “I guess it makes sense? Banquets are a lot more fun when you’re not, um… totally alone the entire time! Haha…. who knew, right…?”

Shen Qinghua shakes his head slowly. He ignores his state of undress and reaches out to draw his friend into his arms.

Sometimes, Shen Yuan wishes he’d transmigrated into Shen Jiu’s life earlier than he had. Sure, the cons far outweigh the pros, in such a situation, but at least his friend would have had someone in his corner for all the times that their martial family had snubbed him. Airplane may have brought the anxieties and insecurities of his past life along with him into this one, but Shen Yuan doesn’t doubt for a single second that in the decades that Airplane has been Shang Qinghua, they have been made much stronger (and oftentimes crippling) by the actions of the people who are suppose to stand by him and have his back.

It’s infuriating, when he lets himself think about it for too long, so usually he doesn’t. And then it smacks him right in the face, like now, and Shen Yuan feels nothing but bitter resentment toward those people who are supposedly his friend’s martial family.

Shang Qinghua makes a quietly surprised sound, but doesn’t protest. In fact, the other melts against him, hands coming up to grasp at the front of his robes, and he tucks his face into the junction between Shen Qingqiu’s shoulder and neck. He sucks in a slow, stuttering breath that makes him tremble, and Shen Qingqiu reaches up one hand to bury into the back of his friend’s hair, curling his fingers into the strands.

“It must’ve been extra rough when the original goods was still around,” he comments quietly.

Shang Qinghua shudders, and then nods his head against his shoulder. “H-He was a real jerk, but usually he was too busy verbally flaying all the guests from the other sects alive, to pay me much mind. Thankfully.” The An Ding lord lets out a wet chuckle.

Shen Qingqiu allows another frown to cinch at his brow as he pets his hand through his friend’s hair. “And none of the others ever…?”

“Why would they? I’m just — I’m just… An Ding.”

Shen Qingqiu tightens the arm that he has wound around Shang Qinghua’s waist, and his scowl depends when he feels his friend shake.

The door opens then, because of course it does. Someone peaks their head in, and who else is it going to be but Yue Qingyuan, looking for his precious Xiao Jiu, who apparently isn’t one to leave a banquet early when there are still guests left to verbally knock down several pegs and cripple the self esteem of?

The sect leader opens his mouth, and closes it. Shen Qingqiu watches impassively the journey of emotions the man’s face undergoes as he takes in the scene of a half dressed Xiao Jiu holding a trembling Shang Qinghua in his arms. Yue Qingyuan’s face is pale and there’s two splotches of bright red on both his cheeks. He looks both mortified and horrified in equal measure.

Shen Qingqiu wraps his arms tightly around the other transmigrator, holding the still-trembling Shang Qinghua to his chest, and narrows his eyes at the sect leader viciously.

“Leave,” he snaps. His best friend doesn’t deserve having anyone spying on this moment of real vulnerability.

Yue Qingyuan beats a hasty retreat. The door closes softly behind him.

Shang Qinghua gives one last shudder, before going lax in his arms, letting Shen Qingqiu hold him up with his strength alone. The An Ding peak lord reaches out his arms to wrap them around Shen Qingqiu and return the hug, clutching tightly at him.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” the man says, voice slightly choked, and Shen Qingqiu swallows thickly. It’s clear that Shang Qinghua is talking about more than just tonight’s banquet.

“Me too,” he says, and finds that he actually means it.

[elencelebrindal]

Sorry if they're too many, you don't have to answer everything! What is your fave novel of the three? Favorite/least favorite character for each one? Favorite male/female character for each one (aside from you all-time fave)? Favorite canon ship? Favorite non-canon ship? Least favorite of them (and why)? Favorite tool/weapon in the three? They're so many, sorrysorrysorry!

Don’t worry, I love answering questions! There might be some spoilers here, so... be wary of them. 

Ok, let’s go in order:

1.

My favorite novel of the three is Tian Guan Ci Fu. When I read Mo Dao Zu Shi I told myself “okay, I don’t think anything could beat this”, and then TGCF came around. I think this novel is, in general, one of my favorite books of all time. Aside from the romance part of it (which is often what people mainly focus on when it comes to MXTX), I really loved the characters and the story is absolutely incredible. I ended up getting so involved in it that I read the entire thing + the extras in three days, subsequently read what was out of the manhua in... maybe two hours? and watched the entire donghua as soon as it came on Netflix in one sitting. The only time this happened to me before TGCF was with the Silmarillion. 

This tells a lot. 

2.

Favorite SVSSS character: Luo BingHe shares his first place with Shen QingQiu.

Least favorite SVSSS character: Immortal Master Lao Gongzhu of Huan Hua Palace. I cannot even begin to explain how disgusted I was by that character, I almost never hated anyone more than him. 

Favorite MDZS character: Wei WuXian. He’s been my favorite character from the beginning. His story follows exactly one of my favorite character dynamic, much like many other favorites of mine (from good to evil to neutral/somewhat good again, even if in this case WWX didn’t actually turn evil). I’m pretty sure the same can be said of almost everyone in my favorite list... oh well.

Least favorite MDZS character: it’s a tough choice between Su She, Wen Chao, and Jin ZiXun. I just... I disliked them so much. It’s not even hate, I just didn’t want to see them on screen. Maybe Wen Chao is the worst of them... yeah, he’s the worst. I could count Jiang Cheng in my least favorites as well, but my reasons for not liking him are way too complicated so I won’t insult him so much. 

Favorite TGCF character: Hua Cheng!!!!!!!

Least favorite TGCF character: I don’t have a least favorite character. 

3. 

Favorite SVSSS male character aside from LBH and SQQ: MoBei-Jun and LiuQingGe. I’m not troubling myself with trying to choose between them.

Favorite SVSSS female character: I used to be torn between Sha HuaLing and Liu MingYan, but SHL follows my general preferences way more so she wins. 

Favorite MDZS male character aside from WWX: Wen Ning. He deserves all the love in the world. All of it. Also I really love Nie MingJue and Xiao XingChen. 

Favorite MDZS female character: Jiang Yanli (because I fell in love with her gentle personality while watching The Untamed and I can’t bear myself to stop loving her). Wen Qing is right up there with her.

Favorite TGCF male character aside from HC: well, first of all Xie Lian. Second of all, Bai WuXiang and He Xuan.

Favorite TGCF female character: Ling Wen, but only because I don’t count Shi QingXuan as a fully fledged female (I am too in love with both forms to choose one side, sorry guys). 

4. (they’re all going to be the main ones, lol)

Favorite canon SVSSS ship: Shen QingQiu x Luo BingHe, though... MoBei-Jun x Shang QingHua is a really close second. 

Least favorite canon SVSSS ship: I don’t think I have one? I mean, there’s not much material to examine when it comes to canon pairings.

Favorite canon MDZS ship: Wei WuXian x Lan Wangji.

Least favorite canon MDZS ship: it’s not really a ship (I think, maybe it’s just me?) but whatever they tried to do with Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing in the drama doesn’t sit right with me. For reasons that are a bit more complicated than it seems, and that would need me explaining my opinion about JC first. 

Favorite canon TGCF ship: Hualian! Hualian! Hualian! Hua Cheng x Xie Lian is one of my all time favorite ships, in general. I stand by the statement “Hualian invented love”. 

Least favorite canon TGCF ship: that weird bullshit the mortal realm like to do with Shi QingXuan and Shi Wudu. Poor guys. It’s canon only because their perverted followers say so. 

5.

Favorite non-canon SVSSS ship: I don’t think I have one...? Maybe ZhuZhi-Lang and TianLang-Jun, but I’m still way too confused about that. I know people ship a lot Liu QingGe and Shen QingQiu, but I never saw the appeal of it.

Least favorite non-canon SVSSS ship: again, don’t have one, mostly because I never delved too deeply in the world of non-canon SVSSS ships. 

Favorite non-canon MDZS ship: Xiao XingChen x Song Lan. It’s probably the pairing that makes the most sense (to me) out of everyone else. And it’s heartbreaking, so bonus points for that. 

Least favorite non-canon MDZS ship: Xiao XingChen x Xue Yang. [heavy spoiler alert] I absolutely HATE this pairing. I love Xue Yang, he’s an amazing villain, but this pairing is straight up abuse, no matter how you look at it. I am a sucker for angsty shit, but I really draw the line at the fucked up pairing that is this one. Xue Yang literally destroyed Xiao XingChen psychologically, lied to him for years, gaslighted him, forced him to kill innocent people, forced him to kill Song Lan, and then ended up ruining him so much that Xiao XingChen killed himself and destroyed his own soul. 

I have no idea why people love this pairing so much, but I genuinely hate it. There’s nothing redeeming about it. 

Another ship I don’t like is Jiang Cheng x Lan XiChen, but once again this has more convoluted reasons that revolve around JC, mainly. There’s also Lan XiChen x Jin GuangYao. Please, no. I really don’t like it. 

Favorite non-canon TGCF ship: Pei Ming x Shi Wudu and He Xuan x Shi QingXuan. We all know why beefleaf is important in our hearts, so let me explain something about Pei Ming and Shi Wudu; this pairing doesn’t mean I completely disregard everything else about Pei Ming. He’s our good old manwhore womanizer and I haven’t changed that (too much). But this pairing... in my headcanon, which is something I’m also going to write in my desperate attempt and being a good fanfic writer, Pei Ming fell in love with him so hard that he was like “okay, fine, there’s just you now, I’m done with sleeping around”. After Shi Wudu dies, Pei Ming keeps his word and doesn’t cheat on him for the reminder of his life. My own headcanon is the reason why this is my favorite non-canon ship. I stumbled into it my complete chance, but I genuinely love it. 

Least favorite non-canon TGCF ship: anything that has Xie Lian and Hua Cheng not with each other. I don’t like seeing them paired with anyone else. 

6.

Favorite SVSSS weapon/tool: Xin Mo and Xiu Ya. 

Favorite MDZS weapon/tool: Chenqing

Favorite TGCF weapon/tool: E-Ming and Fang Xin

If you want to ask anything else, feel free! My blog is mostly Saint Seiya, but I do write about other stuff if you ask me! ^ - ^

[eldritch-elrics]

svsss: journey through the mausoleum (plus, zhuzhi-lang is a himbo)

got to chapter 65 last night!

as usually i have a lot to say i guess jkdhgsds i think putting stuff under cuts makes people scroll past these posts more? but also i don’t really want to be too annoying with my Many Reactions so cuts are a good way to go

tldr: loved the mausoleum arc, big fan of tlj, communication is good, and i have a new favorite scene in the book

binghe is extra as FUCK for bringing in all those rhino pythons

so i maintain that tianlang-jun should have been foreshadowed more/is introduced too late in the story, but other than that i think he’s a really fun villain and i’m a fan

for one - he’s the only one who’s able to hurt binghe :0 harm the protagonist...

which creates some Very Good Tension

count number one of zhuzhi-lang being a himbo: trying to sacrifice himself for tlj while being threatened

“is zzl really a himbo” you ask. well, yes. is he dumb? very much so. is he nice? absolutely. is he hot? well, i have no idea. i forget if he’s described as attractive or not. but, i think he can be if he wants. does being a little bit evil negate his himbo-ness? idk! i’m sticking with my assessment

i think i have a bit of a soft spot for evil henchmen

zzl also protects sqq from the corpses <3 good for him

it’s always fun to me when the system is like “wooo yay you fixed the storyline! cut the filler!” because 1. love seeing sqq lay waste to pidw and 2. the implications?? once more i am wondering WHY is the system so interested in making pidw a better story. (and the fact that it’s still calling his adventures in this world a story.) are sqq’s adventures being written down and serialized in the real world? are we as readers supposed to believe that scum villain, as a text, is a direct result of sqq’s “editing” of pidw?

uh, back to the plot

binghe wasted spiritual energy trying to preserve the mushroom/plant body :( come on man...

i really like the whole stretch of plot when binghe’s unconscious. it’s just so tense!! really well-done in my opinion - this is the first time in a while we’ve got a sense that lbh is in danger, and sqq is also running low on energy and stuff, so they’re both in bad places and the stakes are high

PLUS the hurt-comfort of it all. sqq trying not to hurt lbh’s body :(

the whole part in the coffin!! excellent. and the convo with meng mo... sqq calling himself lbh’s shizun finally...

cuddles <3

dying at lbh’s fuckin. boner. and the system’s REACTION it’s so EXCITED i am just. holds my head in my hands. i can’t deal with this novel

the confrontation with qiu haitang and the old palace master was very cool and intense. though i have to say i’m not really a fan of either “angry unreasonable woman” or “bitter disabled person” as tropes/archtypes (especially how sqq was reacting to the palace master’s condition). and poor qiu haitang! i have no idea if there’s any way to set her mind at ease other than revealing the whole transmigration thing. i do hope she’ll turn up again and get a better ending?

so the plague city sqq callout party is once again not directly lbh’s fault! the old palace master is the one to blame!

SO ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS IN THE BIT I READ LAST NIGHT. is. sqq realizing that he could utilize lbh’s plot armor to his advantage. but then deciding that he doesn’t want to take that risk. doesn’t want to use lbh’s body as a prop!!!

character development :D

he’s really starting to see lbh as a person as opposed to a character! and being less selfish/survival-oriented...

man. sqq, almost beaten, lying on the ground holding binghe in his arms........ :(((

so is the implication that lbh injured/took revenge on the old palace master because the palace master was being creepy to him about his mom? it’s a bit vague but that’s my theory. weirdo old man...

speaking of people lbh killed. maybe it will be revealed that gongyi xiao is actually alive too :( i’m still salty about that

SO MUCH DEMON BLOOD. poor sqq

so i don’t think i got how sqq was able to free himself from zzl’s blood manipulation? was it because binghe woke up and subdued it?

binghe waking up was a lil deus-ex-machina-y lol i would have liked to see some sort of trigger for it (even a cheesy one). like i get why he’s ok and no longer hurt (protagonist powers!) but like, gimme a reason for the shift to happen at that precise moment...

but AAAAAA FINALLY THEY ARE TALKING

lbh realizes how much sqq went through to save him :( and he’s so happy he didn’t get abandoned!!!! aaaaaa my poor boy

i like crybaby lbh much more than i like cold/cruel lbh lol

i do agree with sqq’s assessment though - lbh keeps doing the thing where he cries and apologizes but doesn’t actually change. he’s slowly getting better about it but that’s some development i’d like to see

so tlj.... DOESN’T want lbh’s body? i stg his motivations change every 5 minutes. that’s one other thing i don’t really like about him. is the “trying to steal lbh’s body” thing just gonna go nowhere? f...

ALSO SQQ GETTING OUTRAGED ABOUT TLJ CALLING HIMSELF MORE HANDSOME THAN BINGHE

binghe dumbass moments <3 gave him the sword...

..........zhuzhi-lang vore.......

zzl, while healing sqq’s plant arm: don’t worry i don’t want to fuck you unlike LUO BINGHE.

sqq: OKAY??? THANKS

i really hope there exists shipfic of sqq and zzl. like i don’t ship them at all but they just get into so many Situations that i cannot help but think about it. like it would make a funny crack premise

you know what? sqq deserves his own harem. it could consist of lbh, lqg, sqh, zzl.....

SQQ CANNOT CATCH A BREAK. TLJ IS A FAN OF RESENTMENT OF CHUNSHAN

modern au tlj is the dad who is way way way too supportive and thinks sqq would just be a wonderful husband for his son~~

interested in tlj’s intention to unite the human and demon worlds. like on the surface it sounds like a good idea right? peace and harmony and reconciling differences and stuff. but tlj’s plan is certainly not well-thought-out, and i’m sure his intentions also skew towards a sort of “merge them so they’re both easier to rule over” thing - which i don’t think is confirmed or anything, it’s just my suspicion

both tlj and lbh have a sort of entitlement thing going on - “i’m powerful so i can do whatever i like / take for myself something i love (whether that be humans or sqq).” which is then backed up by the power the system allows them as final boss and protagonist respectfully

speaking of lbh taking whatever he wants: stop kissing sqq without asking him aaaaa!!!! we know you love him and it’s sweet but please bro

him going all that way to reunite with sqq though <3

and then zzl comes in and i just.

this scene is simply the best

the slapstick of it!!!! i wanna see it animated so bad holy shit

the scene was good when it was just “sqq hides lbh under the bedcovers and he’s having none of it” but then it just kept escalating...

sqq and zzl’s convo is so suggestive too...

zzl himbo moments again?

AND THEN TLJ WALKS IN

“no need to explain, i understand everything” OK BRO.

LIU QINGGE IS HERE <3

tlj fanboying over him a little lmao

tlj, upon realizing that lbh had been in the bed with zzl and sqq: oh, you guys were having a threesome?

i cannot deal with this. i’m gonna do some sketches from this scene it’s so funny

[spearpointtranslations]

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

I have too many to count, but I have been chewing on a mdzs Western Vampires AU for a long time. It’s capable of being very long and complicated if I actually gave everyone factions. and I didn’t read Heaven’s Blessing yet so I don’t really know Xie Lian even though he’s important in this. 

I love vampires but I also find their consent issues irritating, hence the following. 

the basic setup is taken from the concept of “black ribboners” from Terry Prachett’s Discworld novels, which basically means a vampire who has forsaken the drinking of blood by transferring their craving onto something else, like drinking coffee, or having power over people.  

anyway in this mdzs AU there are vampires called “white ribboners” and they all wear white ribbons/clothes as a sign of their commitment to drink plant juices instead of human blood. They are basically like Bunnicula (a white rabbit from a series of children’s books who is a vampire whose prey is vegetables/fruits) and are relatively weak compared to other vampires. Xie Lian is the founder of this clan of vampires, and a regular vampire taking on this commitment is a big deal because the white ribbons can sense intent and if a white ribboner tries to drink a human’s blood or sleep with them without true consent (the human feels scared, fearful, or resentful, etc), the enchantment on the ribbons will take away all their vampires powers and leave them as weak as a newborn kitten, which makes it really easy for even a human child to stake their heart and cut their head off. normally drinking blood will make a vampire stronger, but this is not the case for white ribboners unless the blood is sincerely and freely given, a true, uncoerced offering, then that means the power amplification effect from drinking human blood is even stronger.

regular vampires desire to become “white ribboners” because of the perks associated with being one. humans will not fear and distrust them due to the stellar reputation of white ribboners. it’s regular vampires they have the stakes, axes, crossbows, torches and pitchforks out for.  

the following people are white ribboners: Xie Lian (visible bandages), all Lan Sect people (forehead ribbons), Xiao Xingchen (blindfold), Luo Binghe (hair ribbon, a reformed regular vampire and super infamous. every time he asks Shen Qingqiu for blood, SQQ says sure, he really isn’t scared this time, but the moment LBH has a sip, he loses his powers and SQQ can pick him up as easily as a pebble. one day they will get it right but it’s going to take awhile. Once depowered, LBH mostly begs SQQ to do whatever he wants with him, but SQQ can’t bear to, because it’s like bullying a kitten…), Liu Mingyan (face veil). Su She joined to take advantage, so humans would lower their guard around him, and he didn’t take the oath seriously even though it was all clearly explained to him before the ribbon was put on, so he gets killed when he tried to forcefully drink a human’s blood.     

WWX doesn’t know white ribboners become super vulnerable upon drinking coerced blood, he just assumed they become super strong from any human blood because he witnessed Xie Lian become powered up from drinking Hua Cheng’s blood (but that’s because it was a true, genuine offering). without fear or hatred, WWX sincerely pressed his blood into LWJ’s mouth during a critical battle and LWJ was actually scared until he realized he was getting stronger instead of weaker.  

WWX gets told the info later and then gets yelled at because poor LWJ, he probably feared for his life, how dare you… 

WWX says the depowering enchantment is unfair because what if a white ribboner is forced to drink the blood of a human that is also being forced? they will be completely at the mercy of humans. but this is the system, just think about the past when there were no white ribboners at all and regular vampires were a very gruesome and cruel group, and it was always humans at the mercy of vampires. isn’t that what’s unfair?  

WWX also thinks white ribboners are the most hilarious group ever because vampires are supposed to be decadent, drinking blood and having orgies, and wearing black, but white ribboners are banned from drinking and fucking. (which is not exactly true, they actually can, if they find a human who is truly willing, but they are rare due to the evil reputations vampires as a whole have, and humans are afraid of dying of course, so it’s practically a ban).  LWJ starts indulging in blood and sex with WWX but he also feels guilty about it because he’s been abstinent from both for so long and his entire identity is being challenged, and he’s scared of becoming like his ancestors, those vampires who loved to hunt and toy with humans as if their lives were nothing. but WWX calms him down, it’s okay, what they are doing is OK because WWX is not being controlled by vampire powers or being pressured from fear. also, sometimes WWX and LWJ trip off the enchantment on purpose (discussing things beforehand!) so WWX can play with a completely powerless LWJ. and WWX takes any chance he can to offer his blood to LWJ, like he says he will trade his blood for LWJ’s portion of the lotus root soup Jiang Yanli made. and he’s so fascinated by LWJ’s white ribboner diet, he will collect a completely pale, bone white apple that LWJ just drained and keep it like some kind of pretty treasure when it’s the vampire equivalent of having your empty candy wrapper being picked up. it’s super embarrassing…       

so this vampire story is complicated enough with white ribboners but how about other ribbon types???

White Ribboners/Lan sect: see detail above, basically the vegetarian vampires sect, generally relatively weak due to living by drinking plant juice. They drink a lot of tea! They become even weaker if they try to steal human blood. However, if they receive human blood consensually, then they become super strong. 

Purple Ribboners/Jiang Sect: WWX is a human but he has to pretend to be a vampire since he was adopted into the Jiang Sect. They are vampires who survive off fish blood. WWX has to pretend to like raw fish blood lol. his secret is important because the social circles he runs in is basically all vampires, while he’s a snack. his exposes himself to LWJ when he fed him his blood.   

Black Ribboners/Nie Sect: They are vampires who survive off animal blood. Mostly livestock such as pigs and chickens but they can also go after wild animals like boars, wolves and tigers. Due to this richer blood they are generally stronger than white ribboners and purple ribboners.

Yellow Ribboners/Jin Sect: consent issues warning. These guys are the sex vampires sect. And more like succubus and incubus really. They survive off uh, bodily fluids, like sweat, and spit, basically they have sex with humans as sustenance instead of blood. Some yellow ribboners get by on just shaking hands, or kisses, but obviously sex gives more power. They insist they don’t harm their human prey but some people do give them the side eye. 

(Lan Xichen is a white ribboner who drinks plant juice and white ribboners are basically banned from drinking blood and having sex but he manages to be friends with Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao who respectively do said banned things.)   

Red Ribboners(yeah oops)/Wen Sect: concept taken from Darren Shan. They are the most powerful type of vampires and the most hated by the humans because they kill every human they feed from as a point of honor, completely draining their blood and seeing it as a way to honor the person by having them live on through the vampire. 

The rest of the sects band together, allying with humans in order to obliterate the Wen Sect due to the fear and hatred the Wen Sect inspires in human hunters, who won’t distinguish and will slay any vampire due to the actions of the Wen Sect. Some Wen Sect people refuse to kill their prey and as a result are shamed and attacked by their own sect members.  

Unaffiliated vampires sometimes do join the Wen Sect due to becoming addicted to the power that comes from killing a human by completely by draining them dry. Other vampires wish to become white ribboners due to wanting to avoid conflict even if it means they are weaker and gain a severe weak point.  

[grandmasterofwangxiancultivation]

SV ch.56

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN. i hear that this chapter is painful?? ahahhahah *tries to think about the last non-painful chapter written by mxtx she read*

*fails*

EDIT: 

Luo Binghe withstood it completely without making a single sound.

okay, so he didn’t run for his life. good, good start. AND WHY IS THE SYSTEM AWARDING HIM WITH COOL POINTS AHAHAHAHAHAHAH

I LOVE THE SYSTEM. WE ARE THE SYSTEM. Situation:

lbh: *M*

sqq: ...

system:  ★，°:.☆\(￣▽￣)/$:.°★

EDIT 2: right, i keep forgetting this chapter is angst, but mxtx is always ready to remind me

With a push of his right hand, Shen Qingqiu accidentally released a burst of spiritual energy that he was suppressing in his palm, and the ceiling shook as he smashed a uniformly shaped dent into it. The dust pattered down, and Luo Binghe covered him with his body, both of his hands grabbing onto Shen Qingqiu’s outer robe. He easily ripped it and laughed loudly. “Go ahead and hit me, in any case, I won’t die! This disciple will gladly endure Shizun’s teachings!” 

(is this the pusher scenario luxury editon? STOP MAKING SOMETHING ANGST FUNNY OKAY, I’M FEELING CONFLICTED HERE.

like, sqq wants to make the place blow up and things go out of control and lbh shielded shizun with his body (from dust, CUTE)?? and then he just decides that shizun’s robe has to go away and rips it?)

But Luo Binghe didn’t give him any more time to consider tender affection; instead, he suddenly ripped apart Shen Qingqiu’s inner robe with one hand before he groped his waist, skin against skin.

Shen Qingqiu melted for a moment on the spot, before he immediately knocked Luo Binghe on the head with the hilt of his sword. He scolded, “You animal!”

Luo Binghe said with resignation, “In any case, I’m not even as good as an animal in Shizun’s eyes, so I might as well act like one.”

sqq’s heart replies to the situation, lbh is an incredible IDIOT, sqq mElTs FoR a MoMeNt because lbh is gRopInG hIs WaIsT- LBH, BABE, YOU ARE SO FREAKING BAD AT THIS and at the sae time this is both disturbing and cute, what am i gonna do with you both-

EDIT 3:

In the blink of an eye, Shen Qingqiu’s head was already hurting so much that it felt like it was about to explode.

(wHAAT THE ACTUAL FUCK)

There was something screaming, and as it shrieked, it felt like hands were reaching out at him from all directions, tearing at his soul. 

(guys guys g u y s WHAT THE FUCK HIS GOING ON I’M GETTING SO FREAKING SCARED WHAT’S HAPPENING WHY IS SHIZUN’S HEAD HURTING SO MUCH IS THIS THAT ZHUZHUIZHUZHU’S FAULT, WHAT THE HELL HIS NAME EVEN WAS)

Luo Binghe said in a panic, “Shizun, I… I was only trying to scare you just then. Don’t take it seriously! What’s wrong?”

(BABY!!!!!! E IS WORRIED, BINGHE IS WORRIED AND SCARED ‘CAUSE SOMETHING IS HURTING HIS SHIZUN JUST LOOOOOOOOOOOOK

and that’s not how you scare someone, bad lbh)

Shen Qingqiu’s body thrashed and flipped around in his arms. Luo Binghe half-held him as he quickly used his spiritual energy to sweep through the inside of Shen Qingqiu’s body. There were clearly no abnormalities, but the sound of Shen Qingqiu’s screaming was indescribably mournful and terrifying, as if burning red brand had been shoved deep inside his brain. Luo Binghe used every method he knew, but still, nothing worked.

(omg i’m so scared what’s going on i’m honestly panicking so hard did i want to study after this AS IF omg omg omg omg WHAT’S WRONG WITH SHIZUN THIS SCENE IS KILLING ME)

As Shen Qingqiu’s pulse grew weaker and weaker, Luo Binghe started to shake slightly before his trembling grew stronger and stronger. Finally, he couldn’t prop himself up any longer, and he half-kneeled and half-fell onto his knees.

(I SWEAR I CAN FEEL LBH’S PAIN. GUYS I DON’T THINK I CAN DO THIS OKAY MXTX KEEPS DRAGGING THIS WITHOUT GIVING ANSWERS i know i should probably maybe just shut up and read butBUUUUUUUUT)

EDIT 4: WHERE THE HELL DID HE END UP, DID HE FAINT? DID LBH PUT HIM SOMEWHERE?

EDIT 5: is he in a coffin

EDIT 6:

Large amounts of fresh oxygen poured in, and Shen Qingqiu sat up abruptly, forcefully sucking in a few breaths. Only then did he discover that it wasn’t actually that fresh and felt more like the air hadn’t circulated underground for many years. Furthermore, it was extremely thin. When he lowered his head to take another look, he saw that he was actually lying inside of a coffin.

WHAT THE FUCK?! I AM SO CONFUSED-

uh

did he... perhaps... go back to his previous body....... somehow......

After looking around in a circle, he saw that the walls were covered with paintings of demons dancing wildly, encircling him heavily in all directions.

The demon race’s Holy Mausoleum. Shen Qingqiu arrived at this conclusion.

THE FUCK WHAT THE HOLY MAUSOLEUM? did i guess right

i did, didn’t i? it’s his old body? and i was maybe right that it is zhuzhuzhuhz’s doing?

EDIT 7: OKAY, i’m gonna stop for a second just to point out that (yes i was indeed right about the first thing, wowow it was kinda obvious yeah good job let’s go one, stupid me) shizun. just. died. again. in. lbh’s. arms.

there.

just, yeah, i just wanted this fact out in the open, in case you haven’t noticed. or just to suffer a bit more, eh. okay, i’ll go back to the chapter.

He didn’t know what kind of expression Luo Binghe had right now while facing that withered, wilted body of his…

FUCK YOU OKAY? F U C K  Y O U 

EDIT 8: i swear, the nonchlance with which shizun keeps changing body... he is in a dangerous situation? he just jumps in one of his many spare bodies. what a comfy self saving system, truly

EDIT 9:

【Please note：You have now entered the high level instance “Holy Mausoleum.” The “Plot Hole Filling” mission has already been assigned. Please attack it eagerly and take initiative of your own accord.】

NICE. so i guess from now on things are gonna be even more different than the original novel, and maybe shizun will realise that he is no bystander anymore? THIS IS SO TRILLING!!! 

EDIT 10:

This was the lowest-level demonic creature, and one of the guards most likely met in the Mausoleum: the Blind Corpse.

The Blind Corpse’s name had the word “blind” in it, but it wasn’t actually lacking any eyes. In fact, it had several more pairs than other monsters, grotesquely squeezed onto its face.

(EW. EWWWW. okay so the are strange things in the demon realm, I WOULDN’T HAVE SAID THAT. shizun will surely manage to avoid them and get out of there and meet the person who brought him there -cause he is that lucky, right?

AFTER ALL THE PAIN ANF FATIGUE WE ENDURED BETWEEN A BINGQIU MEETING AND ANOTHER, WHY ARE THOSE SO BRIEF AND FULL OF ANGST?!!?!)

As Shen Qingqiu thought, a Blind Corpse stumbled closer, and he slipped to the side. Unexpectedly, a faint flame ignited in the darkness.

(SHIT)

The Last Breath Candles used a living person’s breaths as fuel, and as long as something or someone alive went near it, it would light up by itself.

this is so insanely smart i don’t know if i should congratulate with mxtx or laugh histerically

EDIT 11:

The material this coffin was made of was actually much more solid than the one that he was just lying in. Shen Qingqiu thought, Could there be someone inside? He knocked against the lid of the coffin. “May I borrow this to hide in temporarily?”

He was originally just blurting something out, but unexpectedly, after he knocked twice, a voice actually responded from inside.

The voice was clearly coming from inside the coffin, but it was as crisp as if it was right next to his ears, not muffled in the slightest. It seemed to carry the hint of a laugh. “Please help yourself.”

OH MY GOD THIS IS SO FREAKING CREEPY WHAT THE HELL I LOVE THIS MAUSOLEUM, IT’S LIKE A HAUNTED HOUSE!

EDIT 12:

But amidst the melee, the sound of dark hissing suddenly came from outside of the mausoleum hall.

i bet it’s zhuzhzuhzuz I BET-

[truly-morgan]

[Kinktober 2021: Wax Play (18+)]

BingQiu | Scum Villain Self-Saving System 27-10-2021

Day 26: [Wax Play] / F̷i̷s̷t̷i̷n̷g̷ / M̷e̷n̷o̷p̷h̷i̷l̷i̷a̷

Luo Binghe is a curious man and when he overhears his husband and Shang Qinghua talking about wax play, he wants to know what it is about.

====

“I did not expect for cucumber bro to know about wax play” Shang Qinghua laughed, catching Luo Binghe attention as he was getting back to their bamboo house. “What a kinky one you are” sqh teased him.

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes a bit, drinking his tea, “I read your trash novel, I learned some, but I stumble onto that one younger, I... got curious... tried once and ended up burning myself” sqq admitted. Not a good experience.

“Shizun did things without me?! And with someone else?!” lbh suddenly said as he came in, looking at his husband rather hurt. Sqq nearly choked on his tea, not expecting for his husband to have heard them talk about it.

“No! I did it... alone” he said, unsure how to explain to lbh that it was in a time before he was even sqq, neither he nor sqh had had that discussion with the demons yet.

“What is this wax play then? If shizun likes it this disciple wants to do it too”. 

“I’ll be taking my leave,” sqh said, not exactly wanting to hear in all detail the way lbh wanted to fuck his best friend.

After an afternoon explaining what wax play is. And of course, lbh wanted to try the moment sqq mentioned he did had an interest in trying.

And this is how now lbh was kneeling in front of him, already down to his underrobes holding out some candles. And how could sqq say no to these puppy eyes. 

“Are you sure this wax I-”

“I asked Shua Hualing for wax that can be used safely because I knew Shizun wouldn’t accept if I didn’t bring proper wax” lbh explained earnestly, shuffling a bit closer to where sqq was sitting on the bed, now between his leg.

‘I am sorry shl for making him ask you about this’ sqq thought to himself, wondering how could his husband be this shameless and ask shl and mbj about things like this. 

At least he supposed they were indeed safe (not that some wax would have really hurt the /protagonist/).

Sqq sighed. He would lie if he said he was not interested in doing this actually. Especially that now lbh seemed more than interested. He hummed a bit, patting his lap.

Soon he had his lap full of his husband, undoing the little robes that were left on him, taking a red candle, observing it first.

“Shizun” lbh said a bit unable to keep himself in place correctly, stopping when he received a little kiss from his husband. He watched as sqq lit the candle, waiting for some wax to melt before letting so fall on his tight.

It was interesting feeling his legs contract around his lap, hearing him gasp in surprise despite expecting it, watching the wax solidify. “Are you alright?” sqq asked, lbh nodding, gently touching his hand to guide him to do it again, “Hand in the back” sqq softly ordered, hearing lbh whine despite still doing it.

So sqq went back to dropping wax, stopping when it seemed too much, watching with interest the way lbh muscle would contract under it, the way the bigger droplet would slide to the side before solidifying.

He was about to warn lbh again when he moved his hand, only to see him stop a droplet from falling on his clean robes. “Shizun shouldn’t get his robes dirty,” he said.

Sqq nodded at this, it would be troublesome to get them dirty (though he knew lbh would get them back to perfect after). 

He tapped lbh tight slightly to make him move, the demon lord kneeling on the bed as he watched him undress too, soon coming back to him fully naked.

He made lbh sit cross-legged on the bed, sitting in his lap too, going back to waxing him with interest, watching the pretty colours dropping down lbh torso, fingers smearing the still hot wax against him, enjoying the hot feeling.

He was about to apologise to lbh when a couple of droplets fell on his dick, only to hear him moan and grip his hips. He looked up curiously at his husband, kissing his forehead.

“Do you allow me to drop more on your cock” he asked, lbh looking up at him with teary eyes. “Yes,” he replied. 

It was fascinating how hard lbh got from the wax falling directly on his dick. He was truly a masochist and something in sqq was slowly blooming a bit more at this.

Then sqq jumped a bit when some wax dropped on him. Binghe hand quickly hovered about it, unsure what to do, looking worried about him.“I am alright” sqq said, hand a bit hesitant before dropping more on himself. It was actually enjoyable, not as burning as he tried in the past.

“Shizun looks pretty with wax on him” lbh complimented near his ear. Sqq smiled at this, it was pretty indeed.

Soon, they were both a mess of coloured wax, rutting against each other, sqq forgetting he had ordered lbh not to touch. He only stopped when they both came and a lot of the wax was already used, but also there was an already good amount of wax on lbh.

“You did so good today,” sqq said as he kissed lbh to stop his crying from feeling good, peeling off the wax (which was also fun to do). 

Maybe they should try again later, it is not as scary as the first time he did it.

====

(hopefully, I wrote it right, I think waxplay is also one of those kinks that are easier and prettier to draw than to write but the two others are just, really not my cup of tea and waxplay looks fun)

Original - AO3

[tossawary]

Chapter 29: “The Ringing Bells” of “pride is not the word I’m looking for” quotes and commentary. Not a full list of favorite quotes or full commentary.

-

It’s just been him, Yue Qingyuan, and the not-so-modest Qiong Ding entourage befitting Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s leader. Shang Qinghua and Yue Qingyuan still haven’t talked about anything personal (Shang Qinghua kind of hopes they never will!), but putting up a united front and then putting up with other sects seems to have brought them closer together again.

If Shang Qinghua had given in to his idea of bringing a flask of emergency wine in his sleeve, they could have made a drinking game or something every time someone managed to “casually” mention that Zhao Hua Temple Sect’s barrier techniques were the best in the world. With that face Yue Qingyuan made after the third, ear-gouging hour of listening to a long line of Zhao Hua experts condescend to them about security measures that will surely stop invading demons in their tracks, Shang Qinghua would have bet the man could have been talked into it. Big Bro would have been down, he’s sure.

-

AN: There is something immensely amusing to me that Yue Qingyuan and Shang Qinghua of all people run this sect (like, sure, SQQ and WQW and the other peak lords do stuff too, but YQY and SQH seem to be the ones who actually deal with worldly affairs and interact with people). To me, they both have such “I don’t want to be here” energy. YQY would rather be thinking about his slow reconciliation with Shen Qingqiu, and SQH would rather be daydreaming about the sexy ice demon he’s been betraying the sect for for 20 years. 

But nooo, they have to be responsible. 

Yue Qingyuan nearly dying at the end of SVSSS to me had such... vibes of relief? This man is carrying SO MUCH stress over his position and his responsibilities and appearances, that his reaction to dying seems to be at least a little bit: “Oh, time to put everything down. I can give up. I don’t have to be the invincible sect leader above it all anymore. Thank goodness.” You can fit so much trauma and unhealthy ideation in this man! 

Which is, I think, why this connection between SQH and YQY was a little inevitable in this story. They’re both carrying so much stress and trauma, and doing their best to not let anyone see it, so they really relate to each other but... in a way that’s kind of one-sided on both parts? Because SQH isn’t supposed to know shit about YQY’s past or pressures. And YQY doesn’t have the full picture of what SQH is dealing with at all. After their fight after SQQ died and SQH coming forward about their invasion, SQH and YQY are finally getting to have some more direct connection, but neither of them are willing to put their masks down yet. It goes against their natures and their perceived duties (as sect leader and a transmigrator/traitor) to honestly confide in each other. 

YQY and SQH both kind of have a “I know better than you” thing going on here. Yue Qingyuan because he’s the sect leader and he’s been taught that he has to manage himself and everyone else. Shang Qinghua because he’s a transmigrator and also... the fallen creator god of this world? 

- 

Yue Qingyuan is apparently just as eager to make it home as Shang Qinghua is. Their travel pace puts them a full day ahead of schedule, and Yue Qingyuan courteously sends his youngest personal assistant ahead via flying sword to warn the sect.

“Shen-Shixiong and Wei-Shixiong will need time to hide the mess from all the parties they’ve been throwing in our absence,” Shang Qinghua jokes.

Yue Qingyuan looks at him with polite but concerned bemusement.

“Aha, never mind, I’ll just… go check the last report my head disciples sent me again.”

None of them are expecting the assistant, who flew off with all the energy and eagerness of youth, to return only a little over an hour later. The assistant is red in the face and panting for breath. He collapses in front of Yue Qingyuan.

“Shizun, I-! I turned back as soon as I saw- in the distance-! The sect was on fire! Qiong Ding Peak was on fire!”

Yue Qingyuan and Shang Qinghua exchange a look of shock. When Shang Qinghua joked at the beginning of their journey that the sect would probably set itself on fire without them there to do damage control, he really was only joking! He’s had way too much of the shit he says coming true on him!

-

AN: I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but Yue Qingyuan’s youngest assistant is the kid that Shen Qingqiu shoved on him from the House of Rejuvenation mess. Qi Qingqi and Liu Qingge picked up Luo Fanli from that, Shen Qingqiu picked up Fu Qiang from that, and Yue Qingyuan got this kid. 

He doesn’t have a name yet, but he’ll probably get one at some point. Probably in Part 4 when Shen Yuan and Fu Qiang’s story comes to the forefront. 

-

“Shishu!”

Shang Qinghua turns and gets an armful of nephew. Binghe’s arms wrap around him with no care for the bandage around one of them and Binghe’s warm face is buried into his neck - he’s so tall now - to share his dirt stains.

Shang Qinghua has no idea what to do. He wants to hug his very huggable nephew, of course, but in front of so many people?! He can’t just shove Binghe away either! Luckily, Binghe seems to realize his mistake about two seconds after contact and launches away from Shang Qinghua, bowing deeply enough to hide his face completely.

“Apologies for tripping, Shishu!”

Shang Qinghua nearly laughs. “Ah, ah, it’s fine. It’s fine.”

This is probably one of the worst kept secrets in the sect, anyway.

-

AN: This is absolutely a reference to Binghe pulling this trick in SVSSS canon, only unlike SY, Shang Qinghua recognizes the excuse. 

-

Luo Binghe clears his throat and intervenes before his friend can accidentally kill Shang Qinghua with kindness or something. “The demon saintess Sha Hualing and her followers attacked.”

“Oh,” Shang Qinghua says, relaxing a little.

 “Is that all?” he thinks. “Phew! Earlier than I was expecting, but okay!”

-

AN: It’s very funny to me to have CQMS going, “Demon attack! Demon attack! Totally unexpected demon attack!” And Shang Qinghua going, “Shit, I think I put that down on my calendar wrong. Did I put that down on my calendar...?” 

-

This apparently prompted Liu Mingyan and Luo Fanli to volunteer at the same time.

“They looked like they were going to argue over it, at first, or even fight over it,” Luo Binghe says. “Qi-Shigu and Liu-Shishu didn’t seem to want to let them fight, but they just ignored them and almost started a quick hand-game over who would get to fight. And then the demoness said… she said… she...”

“What?” Shang Qinghua asks.

Ning Yingying lifts her nose to the sky and declares, “She said: ‘If I get a say in this, I want to fight the pretty one in the veil, and not the old lady!’ So rude!”

“...Ah,” Shang Qinghua says again.

That explains the awkward grimace Binghe is making right now.

“Liu-Shijie and Luo-Shijie froze, then Luo-Shijie just looked at Shizun and Qi-Shigu and Liu-Shishu,” Ning Yingying continues. “ Snap! And then it was really quiet. And then Shizun said, ‘I’ll allow it.’ And Qi-Shigu and Liu-Shishu and even Liu-Shijie didn’t say anything.”

“Of course not! Shizun outranks them,” Ming Fan says.

As though that has ever honestly mattered to Liu Qingge or Qi Qingqi.

“So she got to fight the demoness,” Luo Binghe says, like it was a foregone conclusion that his stubborn auntie would get what she wanted. Who’s surprised about this? Not this long-suffering nephew!

-

AN: So, Sha Hualing made the “old lady” joke in front of 1) Qi Qingqi, Luo Fanli’s teacher who knows about her student’s past with the House of Rejuvenation, 2) Liu Mingyan, Luo Fanli’s friend who either knows about it or recognizes that LFL is touchy about her age, 3) Liu Qingge, LFL’s brother-in-law who also knows, and 4) Shen Qingqiu, who was THERE and that’s how they met. 

So, there’s sort of a collective, “If we don’t let Luo Fanli try to beat the shit out of this demon girl, we will never hear the fucking end of it,” here. 

Also, as soon as I made Luo Fanli into Liu Qingge’s apprentice of sorts, there was no way that she was NOT going to want to fight Sha Hualing, and it seemed a good way to shake things up from canon while also doing some stuff with the Fanli & Binghe relationship. I’m really trying to breathe new life into all the scenes that I’m redoing from SVSSS. 

-

“She kicked that demoness’ ass!” Ning Yingying squeals.  

“Ning Yingying!” Ming Fan hisses.

Shang Qinghua snorts. “Oh? Really?”

“It was rough,” Luo Binghe says, while Ning Yingying and Ming Fan both turn bright red realizing what she just said in front of a Peak Lord. Binghe, however, has totally heard Shang Qinghua say way worse than that. “The demoness was really good and really mean, and she kept getting up even after she got slammed into the ground, but eventually she got pinned and had to forfeit to keep her head. Fanli is still mostly in one piece. She’s over there right now with Mu-Shishu and Liu-Shishu.”

Shang Qinghua follows his nephew’s finger, then winces. His little sister-in-law looks pretty roughed up, her face is beginning to swell and she’s got a lot of claw marks, but she’s grinning up at Liu Qingge. Liu Qingge looks totally fine, besides some flecks of blood that must belong to other people, and is smiling down at her.

Mu Qingfang looks less than enthusiastic about all this as he treats Luo Fanli’s injuries of victory.

Aha, yeah, Liu Qingge is definitely the one explaining this to Luo Jiahui later.

-

AN: I really like building and having built up all these relationships. I like giving Binghe friends, even if they’re friends that he kind of runs rings around given his manipulative tendencies (NYY and MF rely on just grabbing him at this point and relying on sheer force of obliviousness/authority). I like giving Liu Qingge more connections in the form of Luo Fanli and Mu Qingfang too. 

This cast is... so big at this point. I didn’t really expect this when I started. 

-

Inside the cell is… a bloody demon girl who looks about fifteen-ish (sixteen-ish, maybe?), with dark hair in many braids, a sharp face and a sharper stare, and clothing that looks like it was made out of not nearly enough silk ribbons. Ah, wow, that’s way more skin than Shang Qinghua ever wanted to see of Sha Hualing. No jewelry at all, though, not even a belt. Not even boots or even slippers. Just lots of blood splatter.

Both Sha Hualing’s arms and legs have been restrained. She’s also been muzzled, though that doesn’t stop her from showing off her teeth in the least happy-looking smile anyone has ever smiled. There’s blood in Sha Hualing’s teeth! That’s blood there smeared around her mouth!

Qi Qingqi is in the cell too, utterly unimpressed, making sure that Sha Hualing is properly restrained and even treating an injury on the girl’s thigh. Demons are pretty tough, Sha Hualing would probably be fine, but Shang Qinghua supposes they can at least be a little kind toward the poor disciple who’ll have to mop the floors here later.

“So good of you to finally join us,” Shen Qingqiu says to Shang Qinghua. His voice is dry, as usual, but it might be missing its worst sharp edges? The man seems pleased at having caught himself a demon.

“Ah, I didn’t want to show up the sect leader with my speed,” Shang Qinghua replies.

That gets an amused look from Yue Qingyuan. “Let us speak elsewhere,” he says, politely admonishing everyone to shut up in front of their guest. “Qi-Shimei?”

“A moment,” Qi Qingqi says.

“Oh, don’t leave me all alooone,” Sha Hualing says, only slightly muffled by the muzzle, her eyes going wide and scared. “I’ll behave! This is really too much! These restraints are hurting me. Please… it’s making it hard for me to breathe, please…”  

Qi Qingqi ignores her and finishes up her work.

Yue Qingyuan lets the Xian Shu Peak Lord out and then seals the cell behind her. Shang Qinghua is familiar with those seals and yeah, there’s very little chance Sha Hualing is getting out of there on her own. The demoness complains loudly about being left behind in a cold and lonely cell. Shang Qinghua can still hear her wailing as Yue Qingyuan instructs the guards on, mainly, not letting anyone in and not taking any of Sha Hualing’s bait no matter what lies she tells.

If anyone gets “seduced” by that teenage girl - a trick pulled many times by the wily Sha Hualing in Proud Immortal Demon Way - Shang Qinghua is going to be so disappointed. Surprised? Not really! But still… depressingly disappointed!

- 

AN: It was... hm... important to me that none of the characters here actually sexualize Sha Hualing or disregard the fact that she’s very young to them. In his narration, Shang Qinghua mentions her skimpy clothes and the possibility of her seducing a guard, but it’s with the casual detachment of someone who was writing a stallion novel and knows the tropes. 

I wanted to focus more on the fact that Sha Hualing is not just a “wife character”, but an extremely dangerous non-human individual and already a minor political player, if currently trying to play outside her league. She’s an enemy. Also, just because she is currently playing outside her league doesn’t mean that she’s not dangerous and shouldn’t be taken seriously. 

All she needs is someone to get close and she will inflict life-long injuries. 

I also wanted to use her here for some Mobei-Jun stuff, which I’ll talk about later when I get to the Mobei-Jun part. 

-

“Shang-Shidi, do you recognize any of these materials?” Shen Qingqiu asks next, like he’s reading Shang Qinghua’s mind now! He looks so unimpressed by Shang Qinghua’s startle. “You are, after all, one of our experts on tracking down the source of such strange things.”

“Aha, off the top of my head? I couldn’t say! But… I would suspect part of this weapon came from the far north of the Demon Realm...”

Wei Qingwei finally looks up. “I would make the same guess,” he says, like a real bro. “If only this weapon hadn’t broken, we could have tested its limits of disruption! But our plans have been disrupted there… I’d like to see how something like this would go up against the different types of barriers out there.”

“Zhao Hua Temple’s barriers, perhaps?” Shen Qingqiu suggests.

Yue Qingyuan audibly sighs.

“Of course, they won’t wish to see proof that there are demon lords preparing to invade,” Shen Qingqiu says icily. “How remiss of me to forget that fact. What does it matter if a demon lord’s daughter was swinging around a previously unseen weapon like a child’s favorite new toy?”

-

AN: So, when I say that I want to breathe new life into the canon scenes that I’m redoing and reinterpreting, my goal for this one was to really... build up the upcoming Immortal Alliance Conference and actually connect Sha Hualing’s invasion to... well... anything. 

In SVSSS, Sha Hualing’s invasion happening is just following PIDW events apparently, and SVSSS in my opinion isn’t... really too interested in PIDW worldbuilding or Sha Hualing’s character from the standpoint that this really is a real world now. It’s all about Shen Yuan reliving the PIDW plot. 

So, if I’ve put 200,000+ words at this point into actually trying to establish that this is a real world, these are real people, there are real long-lasting politics and sect relations, that world elements aren’t just spawning into existence when the plot needs them and exist now, even if I’ve been doing so kind of as a joke because I think it’s funny to make Shang Qinghua deal with that, I wanted to actually try to place and connect Sha Hualing’s invasion to other story elements and place Sha Hualing’s character in relation to the others. 

Here, Sha Hualing’s invasion is a spoiled and violent child looking to make herself look good and cause trouble, as it is in SVSSS, but here it’s emphasized that Sha Hualing really is 1) a child, 2) a demon lord’s child, and 3) a future demon lord herself. And Sha Hualing is showing off her family’s inventions in preparation for the Immortal Alliance Conference. This is a move that has consequences for her and for Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, and will continue to have consequences for her (partially indebted to MBJ’s clan) and for Cang Qing Mountain Sect (it makes them look bad in front of the other Great Sects). 

-

“Shang-Shidi, do you recognize any of these materials?” Shen Qingqiu asks next, like he’s reading Shang Qinghua’s mind now! He looks so unimpressed by Shang Qinghua’s startle. “You are, after all, one of our experts on tracking down the source of such strange things.”

“Aha, off the top of my head? I couldn’t say! But… I would suspect part of this weapon came from the far north of the Demon Realm...”

Wei Qingwei finally looks up. “I would make the same guess,” he says, like a real bro. “If only this weapon hadn’t broken, we could have tested its limits of disruption! But our plans have been disrupted there… I’d like to see how something like this would go up against the different types of barriers out there.”

“Zhao Hua Temple’s barriers, perhaps?” Shen Qingqiu suggests.

Yue Qingyuan audibly sighs.

“Of course, they won’t wish to see proof that there are demon lords preparing to invade,” Shen Qingqiu says icily. “How remiss of me to forget that fact. What does it matter if a demon lord’s daughter was swinging around a previously unseen weapon like a child’s favorite new toy?”

-

AN: Me to myself: “...Is there canonical evidence that Mobei-Jun can read and write???” Because, like, the impression I get from this guy is that he basically raised himself and barely survived, so the System could interpret that to make an AU in which MBJ never learned to read or write. 

Mobei-Jun can read and write in “pride is not the word I’m looking for”, Shang Qinghua is just exaggerating here because he’s a little miffed. 

But it’s kind of tempting to write an AU now in which SQH realizes early-on in knowing MBJ that... his king can’t really read or write... his upbringing was so shitty and his father was so careless that MBJ never learned more than a few words that he picked up from context. That’s fucking horrifying. MBJ’s poor socialization and communication levels reach new heights! 

-

“It’s just that something like that happened before, remember, Uncle?” Binghe presses. “With the skinner demon? That same light and that same warm, almost burning feeling! It was different this time - that weapon wasn’t going to hit me, I was blocking it; I know that I was blocking it the right way - but it’s too similar, isn’t it?”

“It’s… very similar,” Shang Qinghua agrees slowly.

 “System?! Bro?! This is your fault!” he thinks. “Why the fuck are you leaving these explanations to me?! If you take points off me for any of this, you piece of shit, I’m going to find a way to strangle you, I swear! Preemptively: fuck off!”

Shang Qinghua lets himself visibly think about, trying to figure out what the fuck to say here. Binghe looks up at him like he’s trying to see into Shang Qinghua’s head to watch his thoughts come together. It’s a lot of pressure to put on a man all of a sudden! Binghe is too clever to be easily fooled by weak bullshit! How is a man supposed to come up with a decent lie under these circumstances?

“Well, ah, it’s happened when you’ve come into contact with demons who are trying to kill you, so it seems like it’s… some kind of unique reaction between that demonic energy and your spiritual energy,” Shang Qinghua says finally, because it’s better than explaining that there’s some shitty, no-good god-like being invested in a predestined plot. “Strange things happen sometimes in life-or-death situations, you know. Cultivators can accidentally pull off great feats sometimes when they’re desperate or panicked, without knowing how they did it.”

Binghe doesn’t look very reassured. Which makes sense, because a long-winded way of saying “I don’t know, it sounds like a freak accident to me” isn’t really reassuring.

-

AN: This, plus Sha Hualing’s invasion, is about Shang Qinghua’s coming up against the consequences of his choices. He can’t really have everything at once! He’s managed to have a lot all at once so far, but the time for Binghe’s demon reveal is coming closer, and Shang Qinghua is going to have to make some tough decisions and live with them. He’s going to have to deal with the people in his life having opinions on his tough decisions. 

Shang Qinghua is trying to keep the System happy, with his eyes on the end goal of keeping Binghe out of the Abyss, which makes him unwilling to take certain risks deviating from the plot. But, if you’re looking at it from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know about the System or the plot, Shang Qinghua’s decision-making seems completely illogical. 

Binghe is too clever not to at least notice that there’s some bullshit happening here. He doesn’t know what his uncle isn’t telling him, but Shang Qinghua isn’t the greatest bold-faced liar, so he knows there’s something. 

- 

At the end of the day, Shang Qinghua leaves his fellow Peak Lords (Shen Qingqiu, Qi Qingqi, Liu Qingge, and Tang Qingling) arguing in circles over cold trails (Yue Qingyuan is stuck refereeing, poor bastard). He returns to his Leisure House and finds a familiar ice demon lounging in his sitting room, eating some of his snacks.

“My king, did you help Sha Hualing escape?!” Shang Qinghua demands.

“She did not contribute,” Mobei-Jun answers.

Mobei-Jun looks good, like breaking in and out of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect last night was no trouble for him. Why would it be any trouble for him? He’s been doing it for years and years without getting caught, after all!

“How did you bypass the cell’s seals so cleanly?” Shang Qinghua wonders, as he puts some papers aside and kicks off his boots.

The cell doors hadn’t been ripped off its hinges, just… taken off like they were never attached… which combined with the ice-related injuries on the guards, plus the fact that the intruder slipped in like a shadow and left the same way, kind of gave the whole thing away.

Mobei-Jun raises his eyebrows. “You have shown me many such protections.”

“Ah… yeah… I guess I did do that.”

-

AN: Presenting Sha Hualing as I did: a dangerous and political figure even though she’s only a teenager, was also meant to reflect on Shang Qinghua’s relationship with Mobei-Jun. Mobei-Jun is the enemy. Mobei-Jun may be on Shang Qinghua’s side and his own side, but he is not on Cang Qiong Mountain Sect’s side and he has loyalties to people in direct opposition to Cang Qiong Mountain Sect. 

Sha Hualing is, in many ways, Mobei-Jun’s people. He’s completely unfazed by her violence. To him, Sha Hualing’s behavior is normal and expected, if the foolishness and arrogance of someone trying to act grown-up. He is not human. He is from a completely different world to Shang Qinghua. 

And their separate worlds are now colliding. 

Shang Qinghua really can’t have everything he wants here. He’s a traitor and, realistically, he can’t expect that not to come out sooner or later. He’s making decisions for the sect (releasing SHL to prevent another demon invasion (and also to keep the plot on track)) that Yue Qingyuan might have agreed with if he knew the full picture of SQH’s spying (all he knows at the moment is that SQH has informants), but that YQY doesn’t know about and so can’t agree with, so SQH is acting beyond his authority letting MBJ break SHL out. 

It’s a mess! It’s not sustainable! Shang Qinghua’s old character role and his new character role can’t continue to coexist like this. 

-

Thinking of worrying unnecessarily, desperate to change the subject away from the looming plot, Shang Qinghua brings up the very important subject of Mobei-Jun possibly, maybe, if he has the time, letting him know when to expect him, when he’s going somewhere, and when he’ll be back. He’s brought this up before, though mostly in a “my king, this humble servant would really appreciate it if you at least learned to knock, but if that’s too much to ask, it’s fine, it’s really fine, never mind, forget I brought it up” kind of way.

He only realizes just how daring it sounds after he says it! He’s always kind of figured that the proud Mobei-Jun would take offense to the concept of being at Shang Qinghua’s beck and call in any way. Why would Mobei-Jun need to explain himself?

“Why?” Mobei-Jun even says.

“...Why?” Shang Qinghua repeats, kind of hoping that he wouldn't have to explain the things he asks for. Mobei-Jun said he could ask for things, but he has to explain himself too? That's really too much. “I didn’t get to see you at all while I was gone! I got back and I didn’t know when I’d get to see you again, my king.”

This gets him another random pinch to the cheek, but it also gets him another surprising kiss. Mobei-Jun is apparently not even a little bit offended by this request. So it’s fine! This one thing, at least, is really fine.

-

AN: But Mobei-Jun is also becoming one of SQH’s rocks in many ways! This relationship is new and exciting and comforting! Giving up or betraying Mobei-Jun is completely out of the question for Shang Qinghua. 

I’m kind of fucking loving these secret forbidden romance vibes. 

If Shang Qinghua asked, Mobei-Jun would whisk him away from everything right now, but he understands that Shang Qinghua needs to be here for his nephew, his sister-in-laws, and his students. With his father as king, Mobei-Jun doesn’t have the position or authority yet to make any kind of peace with CQMS. MBJ’s relationship with SQH could get him in deep shit with his father, with his uncle, and with other demon lords. 

Shang Qinghua is a filthy traitor and he’s dragging MBJ down with him.