#Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader

[noelmay7]

Sooner or later, someone will change you and become your brother.

[book-and-manga-dragon]

Zhao Jiangui was obliged to speak according to the phrases those heroes had written down.

Oh no... what script did they give you man?!

“I’m a person.”

“What kind of person?”

“One that’s lost the road.”

“Which road are you heading towards?”

“The road to your heart.”

........

........

Bravo... *slow claps* well done (continues to Mutter praises while facing the other way to hide my embarrassment)

[odazai51]

[claro-deluna]

In my missing the wrong way to a demon sect leader hours

[sunderwight]

Thinking about a bingqiu Dreamling AU where Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua are both bored deities, just sort of taking a brief sojourn through the mortal world to shoot the shit and see some interesting monster or other that Shen Yuan has heard about, when they come across a tea house and decide to take a break and do some people-watching instead.

Shen Yuan is well into something of a shut-in phase, which Shang Qinghua doesn't like, mostly because when Shen Yuan is in those phases he doesn't do particularly well either. Shen Yuan's a social butterfly, for however little he cares to actually acknowledge it about himself, and his critique of Shang Qinghua's literary masterpieces gets so much harsher when he's not getting enough enrichment.

So when they overhear one of the kitchen boys solemnly insisting that he is going to do everything in his power to never die, and Shen Yuan laments that the boy would probably regret such a wish if it came true, Shang Qinghua decides to bestow a rare bit of godly power onto this mortal and grant his wish.

He doesn't make him a god, of course, that wouldn't even be in his ability. At least, not without using up more time and effort than he's prepared to expend on this one random kid. But immortality on its own is not that difficult. The boy will still finish growing up, and will still be able to be harmed, to know hunger and pain and illness. It just won't ever kill him.

Shen Yuan sighs that it's a cruel thing to do to a mortal, especially one with such low odds of ever cultivating other skills to mitigate the potential torment of it all. But Shang Qinghua just shrugs and they place bets, that this boy will ask for the immortality to be revoked in a hundred years, or two hundred, or so on, or else he won't. Shen Qingqiu approaches the kitchen boy and flusters and bewilders him by telling him to meet him back here again in a hundred years time.

A hundred years later, the tea house is larger. The boy has grown to be a striking young man, who looks at Shen Yuan with wariness and something else, something almost like awe, as he asks what manner of creature he's made this bargain with. Shen Yuan assures him that he has no nefarious intentions, and instead asks Luo Binghe how the past century of his life has gone.

Horribly, at least at first. Binghe's mother had already died by the time they met, but afterwards he managed to earn enough money to travel to a nearby sect. Working in the tea house's kitchen was just a minor stopover along the way. Shen Yuan was wrong, it seems, about his odds of becoming a cultivator -- Luo Binghe earned entry as a disciple.

Yet, he had no success. The master who took him on was unaccountably cruel and mercurial, and Luo Binghe's attempts to cultivate failed. Looking back he sees now that there were many times when he should have died but didn't, but when it was all happening he just thought himself lucky. At least until an enemy sect attacked a cultivation conference, and he suffered mortal wounds that absolutely should have killed him (or anyone) but still didn't die. (No demon race or abyss in this AU, but there are still demonic and fantastical creatures.)

His cruel master, upon witnessing this, accused him of heretical practices and tried to kill him as well by flinging him off the edge of a gorge. The fall was terrible. Binghe lay at the bottom in a horrifying state, injured beyond reason and yet, still, he didn't die. Eventually his body recovered enough for him to drag himself out, and once he did the only thing on his mind was getting revenge. For the next several decades he managed to ingratiate himself to all manner of potential allies, forging alliances, accumulating blackmail, and convincing people that he had to be some powerful cultivator through his supernatural resilience, lack of visible aging, and a lot of bluffing. He got revenge on his old teacher, drove his first sect into ruin, and rose to prominence as a feared and respected leader of the cultivation world.

Shen Yuan listens with clear interest, asking plenty of questions and seemingly quite taken up with the story. At the conclusion, Luo Binghe admits that his actual cultivation is still mostly a matter of smoke and mirrors, and wonders if -- now that the hundred years have passed -- Shen Yuan means to strip his immortality from him.

Shen Yuan asks if Luo Binghe wants that. When Luo Binghe says no, he accepts the answer, and tells him to meet him back here again in another hundred years. Luo Binghe calls after him, but before he can ask anything more, Shen Yuan has disappeared again.

A hundred years later, Binghe arrives back at the tea house with an entourage befitting of an emperor. The tea house has also expanded. Luo Binghe orders a lavish feast from them, which everyone hastens to provide. He's spent the past several decades consolidating his power, forging alliances with key political players via several marriages, producing heirs, and crushing his enemies. As he brags about the state of his massive harem to Shen Yuan, the deity's eyes begin to glaze over. He doesn't seem impressed. He also doesn't seem to care much for the food, and eventually his attention is stolen away by a conversation at another table. The diners are discussing the exploits of a promising new poet and novelist. Try as he might, Luo Binghe fails to regain Shen Yuan's attention before the evening is done. Shen Yuan doesn't think it's a big deal -- after all, if Binghe is still riding on top of the world, he's probably not going to want his immortality gift revoked just yet!

Another hundred years go by. The tea house has returned to a more modest situation, the next time Shen Yuan sets foot in it. He waits an unusually long while for his guest to arrive, and when he does, he's almost stopped at the door by the tea house's servers. It's only when Shen Yuan bids them let him through that Luo Binghe is able to come to the table, almost collapsing against it and desperately falling onto the arrangement of snacks with obvious hunger.

Shen Yuan wonders if this, now, will be when the boy (no longer a boy) asks for the immortality to be revoked. Surprisingly, he finds himself resistant to the idea, even though it's also clear that the game has run too long. Maybe hundred year check-ins were too short? He doesn't like the implications of what's gone on, even if he's not really surprised about it either.

Between desperate mouthfuls of food, Luo Binghe explains that without mastering inedia, going hungry but never dying is a deeply unpleasant experience. Shen Yuan orders more food. Once Binghe has finally eaten his fill, he begins, haltingly, to explain his situation. His clothes are ragged, he is painfully thin, and his gaze is haunted.

Apparently, several of his wives conspired to assassinate him, despite his reputation as unkillable. Realizing that most poisons and such didn't kill him, but that he could still be incapacitated, they hatched a scheme to dose his food with a powerful sleeping agent, and then walled him up in a famous ancestral tomb. They went to great length to ensure that it was impossible to escape from. It took Binghe decades to do it anyway, digging away at the floors, and when he got out he found that his power base had collapsed. In-fighting and the incursion of his enemies had led to the deaths of all of his children, and what wives had survived had either fled or remarried. Not that he particularly wanted them back at that point, since the ones actually most loyal to him had also been killed early on after his own "death". His face marked him, to the eyes of his enemy, as a surviving descendant of himself. He was hunted down, chased across the continent and back again, until he managed to fall into enough obscurity that his pursuers abandoned the chase. Except that he has nothing, and any time he tries to regain something, he runs the risk of being hounded again. Those who might see some potential in him still remember the collapse of his recent "dynasty" and slam doors in his face, or else try and turn him over to those now in power in pursuit of a reward. Those who don't know that much see only a dirty beggar, and usually run him off on that basis instead.

Shen Yuan, almost hesitant, asks if Luo Binghe would like to have his immortality revoked.

Luo Binghe declines. How will he be able to take revenge on those who wronged him if he is dead? He has a hit list a mile long by now.

Which is definitely not the most noble of reasons to persist, but Shen Yuan finds himself reluctant to ask twice. Instead he orders more food, and then even reserves one of the traveler's rooms above the tea house for several days. By then the sky is turning grey, and Luo Binghe is losing his apparent battle with exhaustion. Shen Yuan presses the key into his hand, thinking it's probably not enough, but there are limits to how much gods are supposed to interfere and Shang Qinghua already stretched them to the breaking point with this entire scenario.

He leaves, not seeing the hand that reaches after him just before he is out of the door and gone.

Another hundred years pass. This time, Shen Yuan arrives to find Luo Binghe already waiting for him. He isn't surprised to see that Binghe's situation has visibly improved -- maybe he was keeping closer tabs on him, just a little bit, for this past while. If only to be sure he wouldn't have to warn the tea house workers to expect an unorthodox visitor again! But no, Binghe has been doing well enough for himself. No more harems or thrones, though. He dresses more like a well-off merchant now, deliberately posing as his own mortal descendant rather than as a great immortal cultivator. The food at the table looks far more delicious than usual too (Binghe commandeered the tea house's kitchen himself this time). As they chat, Shen Yuan is regaled with the exploits of Luo Binghe's travels and adventures, how even though he initially set out to claim revenge on those who overthrew him, by the time he was in a position to actually do so they had already died of the usual causes (time, illness, their own schemes backfiring, etc). Subsequently, only their children and grandchildren were left with the scraps of power they had obtained, and when one of those children employed Luo Binghe as a bodyguard, his initial plan to assassinate them eventually fell by the wayside. After all, the wrongdoings weren't actually theirs. From that point, Binghe was able to restore himself to a more comfortable life, joining his new employer on their travels until he had set aside enough earnings to take his leave before his youthful good-looks earned him suspicion. He then began investing in travel and trade, specifically cargo ships, because never spending too long in the same place or around the same people helped disguise his immortality. He had found that, at least for now, this served him better than playing the part of a cultivator. It also gave him time to try and actually repair his ruined cultivation base somewhat, and fighting pirates proved very diverting.

Binghe is midway through recounting his adventures with a gigantic sea monster, while Shen Yuan hangs on every word, when they're interrupted by the arrival of a brash young mistress, clearly wealthy and trained in cultivation. The young lady declares that there is a rumor that a fallen god and a demon meet in this tea house once a century, that they wield strange powers, etc etc, and she intends to interrogate them both with the assistance of her hired muscle and her own spiritual weapon, and discover the truth of the matter. Then she whips out, well, a whip!

Before Shen Yuan can deal with the matter, Luo Binghe is already on his feet, disarming the goons and breaking a few arms in the process. Shen Yuan is so distracted that he almost misses the whip aimed right for him, but before Binghe can catch the barbed weapon with his bare hand (wtf, Binghe, no) Shen Yuan deflects it with a wave of his fan, and then efficiently knocks the troublesome young lady unconscious. The hired muscle flees, Shen Yuan arranges for their assailant to be placed in a room upstairs until she regains consciousness, and he and Binghe resume their meal and conversation in relative peace.

Even though it's clear that Luo Binghe has not yet reached the end of his tolerance for life, Shen Yuan nevertheless finds himself strangely reluctant to part ways at the end of the night. Still, he does, because that's what is expected of him, gently denying Luo Binghe's suggestions that they find some other establishment to continue their conversation at. He also has to investigate these "rumors" that the young lady mentioned. It's probably nothing (Shang Qinghua has a loose tongue when he's drunk, and a lot of imaginative storytellers have frequented this tea house over the years) but he doesn't like being caught unawares like that. Heavenly politics are... complicated, it's best not to court unwanted attention in any capacity.

Another hundred years go by. This time, when they meet at the tea house, Luo Binghe asks Shen Yuan why he keeps it up. Why did he pick Binghe? What is he really after? When Shen Yuan fails to give any kind of clear answer, Luo Binghe shoots his shot and makes a (very obvious) move on him.

Shen Yuan, flustered, gets up and flees. Ignoring Luo Binghe's calls after him. It just doesn't make any sense! Why would Binghe do that?! He's a man who once had a harem of wives in the triple digits! Clearly he's not gay, so what was that all about? Was he just messing with him?! How dare he! Etc, etc.

Another century passes. Luo Binghe waits at the tea house, which has fallen onto hard times again. With the construction of some new roadways, travelers no longer pass through as often. Binghe listens, worried, to the proprietor's laments that this old place will probably not be around in another hundred years. He listens because he has no one else to speak to, because Shen Yuan has not shown up. Not that morning, not during the day, not come evening, and not now that it is closing time. Binghe nevertheless charms and bribes the proprietor to let him stay even after the place has shuttered.

It seems damning, of course. He pressed too hard and now his mysterious benefactor wants nothing more to do with him. Except, no, he refuses to accept that. He's still immortal. And he has gleaned enough of Shen Yuan's character by now that he thinks that even if he was rejected, he would be let down more clearly and gently than this. The more he thinks about it, the less willing Luo Binghe is to believe that he has been deliberately stood up (also, since the tenor of his confession was different from Hob Gadling's, he never delivered an ultimatum about what it might imply when they met up again).

Over the centuries, Luo Binghe has built up a few contacts with similarly strange and supernatural stories. Cultivators, sure, but also others, fortune tellers and people of strange ancestry, questionable abilities, those who have interacted with powerful beings of mysterious provenance. He makes his way to a certain gambling den, frequented often by such people, and while he flashes around enough money to draw curiosity, he collects information. Shen Yuan wasn't the only person who started paying more attention to the kinds of rumors surrounding the two of them after their confrontation with the young cultivator a couple centuries ago. And in fact, Luo Binghe has been spending many, many years trying to find out more about his mystery man. Though, too many potential deities and immortals fit his description for him to have ever conclusively figured much out.

This is how Binghe gets wind of a rumor that an eccentric occultist has somehow captured a god in his basement...

[tosahobi-if]

GAME OUT NOW

Misfortune begets misfortune; evil will prey upon itself. Just as how the fox cannot live without the rabbit, the predator must understand what rises will fall.

Long before you were born, the Great Calamity, a calculated effort by Magyo cultists nearly wiped out the entirety of the Jungpa sects. If not for the noble sacrifice of the peerless Sword Saint of the Mount Hua Sect: the Divine Blade, Yeo Jinhu, demonic forces would have rent the heavens and the earth asunder.

Despite his triumph, nothing would ever be the same – the losses were staggering, the task of rebuilding the sects to their former glory seemed to prove an insurmountable challenge. Yet nearly two decades after his death, peace returned to the land once more.

After the death of your parents, you lead an ordinary, if not monotonous, life as the playmate of the spoiled young master of the Mount Hua Sect. However, all is not what it seems. Following the mysterious arrival of an amnesiac with strange abilities, whispers of a plot brewing in the shadows start to surface, and the world as you know it begins to fall apart around your feet.

Suddenly confronted with the uncertainty of the future, you must unravel the tragedy of what truly conspired all those years ago before you risk losing all you hold dear.

tosahobi (18+) is a muhyeop choose-your-own adventure game centered around elements of korean folklore and taoism in a tale of family, grief, and heritage.

play as a customizable main character: choose their physical appearance, gender, pronouns, sexuality, and more.

explore different relationships: from platonic to romantic to familial, build a variety of relationships with the cast (and hopefully make more friends than you do enemies.)

choose from different skill sets: pick between medicine, weaponry, tactics, and hand-to-hand combat. each field comes with its own advantages and disadvantages that affect multiple scenarios as the story progresses.

choice-driven story: with several routes and (many) choices, fail or succeed and find your way to an ending (whether it be happy or not.)

something is incredibly wrong: can you feel it too?

THE YOUNG MASTER

Yeo Jinwol of the Mount Hua Sect, is the youngest son of the sect leader. Contrary to his charming public demeanor, he has a childish side and can be extraordinarily stubborn. Having grown up in the shadow of his elder brothers he is fiercely protective of those he considers precious to him and struggles to measure up to the expectations placed on his shoulders. Assigned his playmate at a young age, whether you consider it fortuitous or not the two of you have been stuck together for years.

THE ENIGMA

Yul is your sajae, a disciple under the same master as you. Despite their amnesia, they're preternaturally talented at whatever they set their mind to. With strange yet unexplainable abilities that seem to stretch far beyond the scope of their powers, their missing memories may be the key to unlocking the answers you seek. Reclusive yet dedicated you'd almost think they were far, far older than their age if not for their intense sweet tooth and their tendency to follow you around like a very clingy second shadow.

THE PRODIGY

Baek Iseul, the Frozen Blade, is the rising star Emei Sect and has long been hailed as the next Sword Saint. Contrary to her cheerful personality you've never met anyone with a sharper gaze before. Hailing from obscurity, her power rivals even those who have trained for years and years, and has amassed an ever-growing collection of heroic feats under her belt. Popular and well-liked with a mischievous streak, you're really not sure why someone with such a promising future has taken a liking to you.

???

if to transcend means to leave the world behind, bind me to the soil so even long after my death, long after my body has turned to dust, i can find you once more.

[i-will-cry-you-a-river]

Kinda continuation of this fic about this idea.

So.

He might have been slightly wrong about his assessment.

In his defense, Proud Immortal Demon Way was a stallion novel with lots of (bad) hetero papapa. Who would have thought that just by transmigrating a gay person in the universe would make everything more fruity, changing the whole genre?! (Okay, two gay people. Turns out Airplane was gay too. Suddenly, everything made so much sense after that revelation.)

(It was embarrassing to think back of that revelation. Even if it led him to his first boyfriend.

Especially because it led him to his first boyfriend.

Oh boy. Even thinking about it makes him want to dig himself a cushy little hole to bury himself. His first boyfriend. Shen Qingqiu was still too thin faced for this. To even remember how shameless Shang Qinghua was.

“Bro. Brooo! I'm gay. Why do you think My King is like that?!

“What?!” Shen Qingqiu was shocked. Sure, it was always a bit suspicious that Luo Binghe’s right hand man was still alive even though he was gorgeous, but to be the writer's perfect man? That explained so much…

“Yeah! He is like, my dream man! Gorgeous, a cold beauty, so mean and cruel, yet caring and loyal to those who deserve… I'm so weak for this type of men. Men who could step on me and I would thank them for it…” Shang Qinghua was embarrassing with his dreamy little sighs. And- were those stars in his eyes?! Was he drooling?!

Shameless! Utterly shameless!

But that description…

“Is that why Luo Binghe was like that too? Do you want my sweet lotus to step on you?! You shameless pervert!”

A snort was his answer.

“L-O-L. Of course you would think of Luo Binghe. No. I mean, yes, of course, but I wasn't thinking of my son.” There was an uncharacteristically calculating look in Shang Qinghua’s eyes. It was oddly attractive, not that Shen Qingqiu noticed it. Nope. He definitely did not notice it.” Can't you think of someone else that could be described as such?”

“No, not really. Gorgeous and beautiful, yes, many, but… Cold? Hm. I mean…” he trailed off. Shen Qingqiu - the OG - was a cold beauty. But he was a despicable scum villain, with no loyalty to anyone. And “caring”?! Hah! No way!”

“The original good was gorgeous and mean and cruel… but definitely not caring and loyal! Is it really a male character?”

“Bro.” The condescence was dripping from that word. “O-M-G, bro. How can you be so smart, yet so dense at the same time?! I'm talking about YOU!”

“...”

He?

They just looked at each other, one behind his facepalm, the other blue screening.

“Wait. What?!”

And that was how the talks about their relationship started.)

He would have preferred if he had a working System that notified him of such changes, instead of finding it out like how he found out.

[Host did not ask 乁⁠༼⁠☯⁠‿⁠☯⁠✿⁠༽⁠ㄏ]

Hmph.

But it was great! Life was great! Everything was great!

“Piss off you halfbreed!”

Except for when it was not.

“What? Is Liu-shishu jealous of this discipline? This is my time with Shizun, so you piss off!”

Shen Qingqiu sighed, and hiding behind his fan, he resisted the urge to facepalm. Honestly, his boyfriends…

“If this master's shidi and discipline do not learn how to drink tea together peacefully, this master will visit the Sect Leader instead. This master is sure Zhangmen-shixiong would be pleased with the unscheduled visit.”

“SHIZUN!” cried his sticky discipline - the Emperor, really. Fucking protagonist halo - in outrage. “No, Shizun can't do this! This is this discipline’s time with Shizun!”

“Shen-shixiong!” Huffed Liu Qingge as well. His boyfriends were so dramatic, honestly…

He sighed again. A repeating act when he spent his time with these two.

He wouldn't want it anyway else, though. These two were his dramatic brutish idiots.

“Come here,” he opened his arm, and Luo Binghe immediately threw himself into the hug. Liu Qingge was slower, more resistant, as if the little tsundere didn't like these hugs, but at Shen Qingqiu’s raised eyebrow, he leaned into the hug with more dignity.

It's okay, shidi, this master will not tell anyone that you are a big softie who loves cuddling with your shixiong and shizi.

“Would Shizun leave us for the Sect Leader?” sobbed Luo Binghe into green robes.

This needy protagonist…

“Leave? No. But you know that there has been… talks… between this master and Zhangmen-shixiong. The Sect Leader is… well. The thing between this master and Yue Qingyuan is different. There are too many misunderstandings and a burdening past between us. It is a slow process. Don't be so jealous, okay? This master… This master cares for you. For both of you. All of you, really…”

And wasn't that a mindfuck. He transmigrated as a virginal disaster gay, whose main goal in his second life was to hug the protagonist's golden thighs to survive, and there he was now, having a literal harem of gorgeous, hypercompetent men. Like- how? How the fuck?!

System, explain this!

[Since the protagonist Luo Binghe is not open to have a harem, the task was assigned to-]

Okay, okay, okay! I know!

Fucking hell.

It was still so weird that the “harem owner” halo was transferred to him. Not to Shang Qinghua - though he also has another boyfriend so he had two people who would gladly step on him -, not to Liu Qingge - who had a frenemies-to-lovers-by-proxy kinda relationship with Luo Binghe -, not even to the Luo Binghe-like Xiao Gongyi - who literally sent an application form to Shen Qingqiu's current partners to apply as a new harem member, WTF?! -, but to him! Shen Yuan!

Wild.

“It would be better for your health, if you'd finally allow Mu Qingfang to court your, but at least it is not the mutt’s snake of a cousin…” Liu Qingge grunted, still salty about that time when he was late to “save” Shen Qingqiu and Zhuzhi-lang “saved” him instead. Shen Yuan still maintained his opinion that knew what he was doing and he was not a damsel in distress, needing a strong man to save him!

He cleared his throat. “Uh… about that…”

“SHIZUN!”

“SHEN QINGQIU!”

The two shouts of dismay were expectable, as was the silent communication between the two lovers-by-proxy. Now the two had a common enemy, which he should probably discourage if he wanted his new pet to stay alive, but… He would not. The two needed to bond, the UST between them was killing Shen Qingqiu, and his slippery little snake was great at surviving. He would be fine.

Shen Qingqiu's sanity, on the other hand, was not.

No matter… who needed sanity, when he had a harem full of violate, powerful, gorgeous men who - against all reason - loved him.

And he loved them in return.

Life was good!

[Host is welcome! Please, rate your experience with a five star review!]

Fuck off!

[hiroshiii13]

Head Disciple Binghe x Young Master SY #Bingqiu thoughts

Sometimes I think about Binghe that didn’t have to lose his parents. Didn’t have to go through the abyss and didn’t have to fight for the acknowledgment of his Shizun.

He’d be the darling of the demonic and cultivation world; doted upon in his younger years and a respected cultivator after his coming of age. He’d be self-assured, almost cocky, the way young masters who have never experienced being wronged are.

But Binghe would always have the skills to back it up, besides his innate talent, Su Xiyan, head of HHP, made sure that his son was grounded and hardworking. In fact, he commands HHP when his parents would up and travel for months at a time.

He’s forthright, which he learned from his mother, yet empathetic and charming, which he got from his romantic father.

I still think Bingqiu would be a thing. They meet as desk mates (borrowing this @/Gusu Lan arc) and wouldn’t hit it off at the start.

SY has always admired Binghe from the stories he’s heard from his older siblings. Binghe, the leader of the next generation. He looked forward to meeting him.

Imagine his surprise when the first day of his excursion led to sparring with said leader of the next generation and his humiliating utmost defeat in .005 seconds. He wanted to look cool in front of him but he can forego this embarrassment. It’s okay!!! This was expected from Binghe!!

But what was not okay was the harsh training at HHP. SY could not help but feel a little resentful towards BH. He was the third son in a merchant family. His family’s cultivation was in refining pills and artifacts, you could say it’s 80% marketing and 20% refining even, so he had never done hard labor in his life!!

He almost regretted saying he would join HHP for the summer instead of joining another sect specializing in botany and alchemy, which was his specialization.

Binghe, as the head disciple in charge of training, provided a plan that was standard in his sect. While he does enjoy seeing this pretty gege scrunching his brows, pursing his lips, flushed like a tomato during drills, (Heh.) he does feel pity and gives him a little less reps.

But it’s in the study portions where SY shines. LBH is astounded with SY’s encyclopedic knowledge.

Reminiscent of the child-like wonder he experienced as TLJ told him stories before bedtime. Of monsters that can swallow suns and plants with roots so deeply in the earth that it shakes. He learns later on of course that these were mere exaggerations but at that time, as SY babbles on about plant no. 4892, he could not help but feel that same fascination.

Their relationship starts getting better. Binghe would pick his desk mates brain despite knowing (some) of the answers, the other would prattle on, patiently teaching.

From an outsiders point of view, LBH looked indulgent, a soft smile ever present on his face, while his deskmate would fan himself while explaining, obviously enjoying the attention. And who could blame him?? He was teaching THE Luo Binghe! From then on, Binghe would teasingly call him Shizun.

Despite SY being slightly older than BH, he is the youngest son, (he has 1 meimei) in their family. Compared to Binghe who was raised to meet certain expectations, SY had a more unrestrained behavior. If he wanted a snack, he would get it. If he wanted to nap, he snuck it in.

And nothing could stop Binghe from doting on him on their free time. As an only child, he never had someone to spoil or play with so he recaptures some of his childhood like this. Sharing snacks, showing parts of HHP and sometimes sparring in the fields between laughter.

But SY’s pride cannot take being coddled, he’s older than him! so he dotes back. Bringing him refined pills for his cultivation, sending in some rare herbs and animal skin. (He is working his nepo baby network overtime!)

When he teaches BH during self-study, he compliments him when he gets things right while patting his head. And how BH thrives from being dotted on, now at his grown age! LBH feels lucky.

He found someone, who was not only smart and chatty, but was thoughtful and indulgent towards him. He… he really liked SY. Meanwhile SY found himself even more gently stroking his hair. He can’t wait to share to his siblings how the great LBH was completely docile from his head patting. SY could not help ruffling his curly hair, almost pulling. (As for what that would awaken later on, we won’t discuss.)

They part after that summer, but keep in touch through letters. Both feeling a longing to meet. SY decides to pick up a sword and learn how to fly it. He can definitely learn it and fly to HH and casually meet BH. His siblings give it a week til he gives up. But surprisingly 1 week turns into 2, then a month, then on the 6th month he could fly long distances.

His nausea was still as bad as ever but he can endure, he will learn how to endure. As to why he didn’t tell Binghe though? he didn’t know why he wanted to keep this as a surprise.

—

The Immortal Alliance Conference was upon them, and SY had received BH’s letter and how he might not be able to respond as quickly for the time being. But in fact, he was very much aware of the event. He even haughtily bet a few hundred spirit stones when someone mockingly said LBH would not place.

No one could escape his scalding critique had anyone even breathed wrongly towards BH. The public ate their melon seeds while watching another one succumb to that monster. They could not outbid him and even more so, out talk him. What a rabid fanboy. He gained notoriety overnight.

So imagine their surprise when the conference was over. How LBH saw SY, how he ran and hugged him, bombarding him questions of how he got there. LBH showing a small cut the size of a nail, a slight glassy look in his eyes as he retold his hardship and triumph.

The passersby knew it was an exaggeration, they were all watching him effortlessly kill the demons!! His confidence practically oozing. Even the ladies fainted against such charisma. What is this?? The fiersome leader selling meng??

AND THE DEVIL INCARNATE, who ate his every opponent in a bloodless battle, was suddenly a gentleman, waving his fan with a sweet smile, talking softly while patting the champion’s head.

WTF??

__

They take a few more years of friendship before eventually tying the knot but their families have long known each other since those two have been inseparable. SY spends his days at HHP in the summers while LBH goes with the other’s family in winter. TLJ still feels a little sour in his heart that his son would spend his bdays w/ SY more than them.

The 2 men were even more sticky when they got married. Waking up, preparing meals, cleaning up, lounging, it’s as if they could not get enough of the other. The Regret of Chunshan exists btw, but rather than an angsty story of abandonment and conflict, it is said that they just, really, really loved each other for a lifetime.

(Of course the papapa is front and center!! LMY writes about a rich, young master fanboy and his seemingly respectable cultivator idol having loving, disrespectful, s/ex. She delivers always!)

END.

[sombredancer]

Asian dramas and Love tropes

There are my favorite characters and their love stories as a list. Enemies to lovers

Drama: Her Royal Highness/长公主在上 Characters: Gu Xuanqing x Li Yunzhen Screentime: Main A boy is sent to be a servant in the unruly princess`s palace in order to find some dirt about her and to help his master to overthrown her, but something goes wrong... The HE is attached.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Li Chenlan x Lu Zhaoyao Screentime: Main A leader of a demonic sect died trying to get demonic sword. Her soul returns to the world full of wish to get revenge on the current leader of her sect, who, as she thinks, killed her in the past. Found the way to be close to him, she learns that he wasn't the reason of her death and, moreover, desperately in love with her for many-many years. This is an adaptation of the novel "Ostentatious Zhaoyao", which I love more than a drama, but it's a good story in both variants. The HE is attached (although it`s a little bit obscure in the drama).

Drama: Till the End of the Moon/ 长月烬明 Characters: Tantai Jin x Li Susu Screentime: Main A boy who is destined to become a Demon God and to destroy the World tries to fight his doom. In a process, he falls in love with a transmigrator, who was sent 500 years back in the past to prevent his transformation into a Demon God. The irony is,making him falling in love is the only way to kill him for good... It`s an adaptation of the novel "Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script", which I like way-way-way more than the drama, not the least because the drama has BE and the novel has HE. I just watched it as a visually beautiful fanfic to the novel.

Drama: Love Between Fairy and Devil /苍兰诀 Characters: Dongfang Qingcang x Xiao Lanhua Screentime: Main My favorite drama of all times! Trying to save her love, a girl accidently falls into a secret prison for immortal criminals, revives the most fearsome demon of all times and heals his ability to feel. Later, forced to spend his time together with the girl from the enemy camp, the demon finds out that he actually likes her... The HE is attached. I wrote A LOT about them and made recap of the whole drama from the point of their relationship development in these posts: one, two, three, four, five and six.

Drama: My Journey to You /云之羽 Characters: Gong Shangjue x Shangguan Qian Screentime: Secondary In order to destroy the martial artist's clan, a female assassin was sent in there. While she is trying to seduce one of clan's young masters, he tries to expose her lies, but, eventually, falls in love with her. Unrequited. Maybe. This story has an open ending. My analysis of their relationship is here.

Drama: Butterflied lover /风月变 Characters: Ling Changjin x Bao Zhu Screentime: Secondary A wicked nobleman marries a princess because of her miraculous blood: it`s able to bring his zombie sister back to life. The princess allows him to treat her bad because she has been in love with him for a long time and believes he is a good person. Bit by bit he starts believe in it himself and begins to cherish his wife more... The ending is obscure (in a traditional Chinese way).

Drama: The Blue Whisper /与君初相识 Characters: Li Shu x Xue Sanyue Screentime: Minor A cat demon prince infiltrates the valley of demon hunters in order to set free the great demoness, but falls in love with one of demon hunters. Mutually. The ending is traditionally Chinese - they met again in another life. Т_Т

Drama: Immortal Samsara / 沉香如屑 Characters: Xuan Ye x Ran Qing Screentime: Minor An Asura king infiltrates the Heavenly Realm in order to steal the artifact that can help him conquering the world. The keeper of this artefact is a brave and honest goddess and he can't help but fall in love with her. After, he needs to choose: to be with his lover or to rule the world. He wants all at once, but there is no way to get it all. No HE for this pair. Pride and Prejudice

Drama: Lighter and Princess / 点燃我 Characters: Li Xun x Zhu Yun Screentime: Main A girl from a rich family with an anxious type of attachment falls in love with her classmate from a poor family with an avoidant type of attachment and tries to win his heart. It`s a problematic ship in a full meaning of these words and I like it this way. Yummy! The HE is attached.

Drama: Derailment /脱轨 Characters: Qi Lian x Jiang Xiaoyuan Screentime: Main A boy accidently meets his school sweetheart after many years of radio silence and understands that something is wrong with her. It turns out that her body is occupied by a transmigrator from a parallel world. At first he hates transmigrator for replacing his lover, but bit by bit he learns, that a transmigrator has not only the same appearance but the same habits and way of thinking, and falls in love with this new personality again... The story ends with HE but not in a way that you may think it would.

Drama: The Love by Hypnotic /明月照我心 Characters: Li Qian x Li Mingyue Screentime: Main In order to build relationship between two countries an emperor arranges marriage for his son. His fiancée is from a barbaric tribe: she is good at horse riding and archery, but knows nothing about palace etiquette and ladies stuff. It`s a light and sweet story about finding a path to each other's heart. The HE is attached.

Drama: The Long Ballad /长歌行 Characters: Hao Du x Li Leyan Screentime: Secondary A tsundere of a low background with a poker face does his ruthless job in a court, that's why a young princess thinks he is an awful man and is scared of him. But in reality he is a loyal servant and son and, moreover, secretly in love with the princess, who can't stand him... The HE is attached.

Drama: Miss the Dragon /遇龙 Characters: Xue Qianxun x Qingqing Screentime: Secondary A very naïve bird demon girl accidently meets a tsundere god of netherworld and turns his well ordered life into havoc. He starts liking it, though. The HE is attached. Forbidden love

Drama: A Frozen Flower /쌍화점 Characters: Hong Rim x No Guk Screentime: Main A gay king needs a heir, so he forces his lover to conceive a child with a queen. In a process, a boy, who was groomed as a king's lover from his childhood, finds out that he likes women much more than men. A traditional Korean tragedy. Very beautiful and full of feelings, though. (No GIFs because they all would be erotic ones).

Drama: 100 Days My Prince /백일의 낭군님 Characters: Moo-yeon x Kim So-hye Screentime: Secondary An assassin who is working for a wicked court official is secretly in love with a wife of a crown prince, who happens to be a daughter of the killer of his parents. Forbidden love doubles! But it's mutual, unfortunately for him. It's a very beautiful and full of desperation and feelings story. No HE, we die like Koreans. More detailed story of their relationship is available here, here and here.

Drama: The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity/晴雅集 Characters: He Shouye x Zhang Ping Screentime: Secondary A woman, who is destined to restrain the undying evil within her body for eternity in solitude, falls in love with Yin-Yang master. Her love is mutual, but her lover can't be with her forever, so he leaves with her his guardian demon to brighten her loneliness. Protecting her for ever starts being the only goal of demon's life... A tragedy, but a beautiful one.

Drama: The Legends/招摇 Characters: Gu Hanguang x Shen Qianjin Screentime: Minor "The Legends" once more! The main doctor of a demonic sect is in love with a leader of a righteous sect. A girl is not allowed to love anyone, otherwise she will suffer from the poison, so he anonymously sends her packages of medicinal herbs. She is curious about anonymous sender, too. But nothing can be kept in secret forever... Unfortunately, no HE for these two. In the novel he is safe and sound, but he has no love plotline at all. So is a price of love Т_Т.

I will talk about my other favorite characters and tropes in the next post.

[tcfactory]

Silly thought of the day ft. a very helpful System:

Airplane is not happy with how the story turned out, especially now that he lives in it. The System is not happy with the world either because sure, it's not unusual for Literary Worlds to revolve around their Protagonists, but they are usually, you know, less boring? It's nothing but cheap villain plots and papapa in PIDW, not even a decent tournament arc or lasting rival in sight!

So they conspire together to change things. Small changes that are within acceptable parameters by System guidelines can still add up to meaningful differences and maaaaybe the System looks the other way once or twice so Shang Qinghua can mess with events that will spiral out into big backstory changes - like leaving a very well-forged report about Wu Yanzi's hideout being in a certain city on the desk of the sect leader. Wu Yanzi is a big enough fish that catching him would net the sect quite some fame, actually. So when the masters and their head disciples go to investigate they will be hosted by the Qius and would you look at that, Qingyuan's little slave brother really does have excellent aptitude, how much for that angry brat? They will take him.

Eventually things are changed enough that when Luo Binghe is born the System does an evaluation and oh no, they will have to change the genre and revamp the story and maybe the world as well, what a shame... The System can't high-five Airplane, but it would if it could.

So now they need a new genre, a new protagonist and probably a new story. They decide on harem romance, because it's a popular genre (makes it less likely that the world gets decommissioned due to bad audience ratings) and System likes harem shenanigans, it was the main reason why it volunteered to pilot PIDW before it realized that the world as a whole sucked and its superiors really needed to learn how to tag better, because there's a difference between a story with a harem in it and a harem story, you know.

But System is spoiled by having a transmigrator who cooperated with it and helped it flesh out backstory bits, so it really wants the new protagonist to be like Airplane in that regard. It would love to have Airplane as the protagonist, actually, but he's the Author already so it would be a conflict of interest and even System can't bend the rules that far, sorry. When it's time to pick a new Protagonist, it looks over the list of potential Beta Readers instead and zeroes in on Shen Yuan and his obsession with solving plot holes and writing pages long headcanon posts about PIDW beasts. He couldn't be any more perfect for their purposes!

The System's plan is as follows: take one transmigrator nerd, give him a suitable role (young Lord of the Beast Taming Peak returning from a decade-long expedition into the unknown reaches of the demon realm), equip him with an industrial strength wifebeam (guaranteed to work on any and all martial brothers and more!!!) and then sit back with popcorn and opera glasses and what the chaos unfold.

What could possibly go wrong?

[azu1as]

Hi, Tin! It's me again 🙈 how about some horror romance?) I love your ghost mentor!pbss, but I propose a ghost!Tang Bo. After TB died, Cheong Myeong developed a habit of talking to himself out loud. At least, people assumed so. And after his resurrection, this habit returned after a while. It's just a quirk so what? But then the disciples start noticing strange things happening where CM is. TB follows CM, but he is a malicious ghost in essence due to his violent death and regrets, full of resentment and looks far from friendly. CM is not bothered and communicates without problems, but more and more people start seeing his ghostly companion and they are terrified

Madlen, hello 💖 !! I'm so sorry this took me forever to get to ily ANYWAY I'm gonna go crazy!!!! YOU'RE SO BIG BRAIN FOR THIS.

Everyone thinks nothing of Chung Myung's offhanded mutterings and random bouts of laughter at times.

They think the malicious aura around him is just something that Chung Myung carries, but little did they know...

»—————————–✄

No one sees the monster until an ancient artifact finds its way into the Mount Hua Sect.

As thanks for saving their town from the demon cult members that attempted to pillage them, the village leader offered Mount Hua one of their village's well-kept relics that they found no use for anymore since there was no one in town who had any spiritual energy for it to resonate with.

It was an ancient artifact that revealed malicious demons and tainted creatures within its zone, allowing the holders to easily eradicate them and remove the plaguing monsters.

Baek Cheon did not think too much of it when they accepted the gift. He didn't know there would be any reason to use it anytime soon but still received the artifact with grace and gratitude.

However, he's proven wrong.

He returns to the sect alongside Jo Gul and Yu Iseol who accompanied him during the short mission and arrives around the tail-end of dinner time. Instead of proceeding to the Sect Leader's Office as should be proper, they first head over to grab a quick meal due to the loud rumbling from Jo Gul's stomach. The Sect Leader would understand.

((He'd also be scolded by Hyun Young if he withheld food from the children escpecially after a mission, but Baek Cheon digresses.))

They arrive at the mess hall with the artifact in tow to a splattering of greetings and congratulations. There were only a few disciples left; the others already turned in for the night.

Just as they were about to sit down, they felt pinpricks of inexplicable terror pierce them. They abruptly turned towards the entrance, swords pulled out and pointed.

Chung Myung enters. He's not alone.

Primal fear was the only way to describe what they were feeling as they made eye contact with the...thing...behind their youngest martial brother.

Its body was shaped like a human, but there was something distinctly off about it. If they had to describe it, it was as if the creature—because what else could you call it—molded itself into what it considered was the appearance of a human.

Its face and neck were a tad bit too long. Its shoulders were too wide and too sharp at the edges. You couldn't see its feet over the dark fog surrounding its steps and its hands were closer to claws as they held Chung Myung's body against it possessively.

Baek Cheon reflexively took a step back when the creature's eyes turned toward his. Instead of white, the creature's sclera was pitch black with the tiniest pinprick of red denoting its pupil.

Its head suddenly snapped at a 90-degree angle. It triggered every sense of preservation the disciples had.

It observed them. Its pinprick red eyes swept across the cold-sweating disciples who stared at the unfamiliar monster with wide eyes.

Y̴̧̳̯̮̰͖͈ͧͅó̴̡͍̱̳̰͖͓̙̬͙̞̬͋ͨ͌̒̑͗̊̽̑͊̃͟ṵ͇̤̤ͨ͑̐̀̋͟ c̴̶̣̪͖̫͕̖̖͔̘͊ͭͣ̃ͥ͐́̈̃͊̑ͫ̈̊ͣ̇͆̇̈̎͘͟ą̷̶̡̧̛̛̱͉̖͍̫̣͉̳̰͔̟͓̒̏̂ͫ̒ͥͣ̌ͣ̊ͤͬ̐̀ͮ̈̚͢͞͠͞ņ̸̸̸̲͎̻̝̞͚̻̭̜͚͚̝̹̝̟̥̃̔̓ͫͯ͒̈́͗̀̆ͩͤ̆ͩ̊͗͘͜͠ s͎͔̲̠̬̺͙̰̋͋͊̇͌̓ͮ̅͊ͧ̂̾͢͝e̵̴̷̙̩̱̬̫̙̺̖̻͕̥̿̀̽̃̍̀ͩͤͫ̀̿͆̑̒̐̔ͧ̂ͫ̽͢͢͠͝ȅ̶̷̷̘͙̻̣̮̠̱̪̠ͭ̂̒͐̎̇̀̊̽͟ͅ m̵̢̗̻̥͙͕͓̑̇̊ͧ̽ͬ̈́ͯͭ̾̄̀͘͟͠é͕̘̥̮̜̘̠͙̟̺͗̍ͩͥ̊̏ͥ̊̓̈̔ͬ̽͋͋̊̊͜͡_̨̢͔͓̼̿͋̌̿̆̕?̶̡̥͔͕͍͙̭͉̭̲̽͊̔̾ͯͭ͢

Primal fear. That was the only way Baek Cheon could explain what he was feeling. The dark, resentful fog that drifted around the creature's feet rose, surrounding both it and Chung Myung.

He had to get their sajil away from the creature, he thought to himself.

RUNRUNRUN, his brain screamed at him.

A wide-eyed Yu Iseol made the first move.

Operating on pure force driven by the desire to protect rather than being consumed by fear, she swung her blade directly at the monster. Teeth gritting and going against their body's instinct, Baek Cheon and Jo Gul quickly followed suit.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

They're all thrown back harshly. Chung Myung had his sword out, his body moving to stand directly in front of the monster.

Chung Myung was shielding the monster from them.

Contrasting the manic look in his eyes, he calmly asked them, "What do you think you're trying to do?"

Behind them, they could see the monster's sinister wide grin as it sank its claws deeper.

[madtomedgar]

something i think gets dropped a lot in fandom discussions is the category of stories that both operate within a particular moral framework and are uncomfortable with it. there’s probably a word for this and i’m not articulating this super well but.

i think modern western storytelling, particularly the kind of stories that attract fandom type interactions, either have a morality system that the narrative wholeheartedly agrees with and has set up as “good,” which is being challenged by an outside “evil” (think lotr) or the system is framed as immoral, and our heroes see through that and overthrow the system to establish a reign of “good,” (start wars, original flavor).

And there are other kinds of storytelling around systems of morality. in western lit/media, they usually belong to more serious, high-brow works that don’t work well with fandom. but the kind of framework i’m talking about is one that also shows up in antigone. in that, there is a set way that Creon has to act, as a good ruler. If he doesn’t act this way, he isn’t a good ruler. And there’s a set way that Antigone has to act to be a good sister. And those two goals are at deep odds, so you wind up with Creon doing the right thing but also doing something so deeply wrong, and Antigone doing the wrong thing to do what’s right. And there’s a read here that’s like. Creon was sticking too closely to the letter of the law and therefore couldn’t see what was really right, like Antigone did, and so is a tragic villain. But you can also read them as both being right, and being unable to resolve that.

And in discussions of mdzs/cql, I feel like I see a lot of either people deciding that society and its moral requirements are bad, and the protagonist who rebels against them is good, OR people upholding the societal moral requirements against the protagonist in a way even the story doesn’t. Because what Wei Wuxian does in leaving the Jiang sect and breaking his promise is wrong for the society of the story. But it’s also true that he’s doing the right thing by protecting the Wens, and the problems with his brother are that they can’t resolve the issue of them both being right in incompatible ways.

And like. Taking revenge for your family by killing the entire family of the people who wronged you is socially acceptable, but I don’t think you can say that the story is happy about it. Being a good and obedient child is a social moral requirement, and the story isn’t framing telling your parents who suck to go fuck themselves, or having them fucked to death, as good. Instead it’s wrestling with the question of what happens when your parents abuse that loyalty and affection, or don’t accept it? What the fuck are you supposed to do when you have to both can’t inter a traitor in the city but you have to bury your family honorably? And there isn’t a neat answer!

Like... Wei Wuxian does owe the Jiangs, and also the handling of that debt is disastrous and unfair to everyone. Jin Guangyao is being a very good son, and therefore a very bad man, until he becomes a terrible son and then a good man (as in once he’s out from under his father, he chooses to do things that enhance the common good for no benefit to himself, and puts a stop to the demonic cultivation experiments that used live people, and generally seems to perform the role of a wise and good leader. I’m not saying what he did to his father or the sex workers was good because it wasn’t, though it is fun narratively). Wen Ning is a traitor to the man who took him in and raised him and to his sect, and he’s also a member of that sect with a potential moral obligation to take revenge, and he did the right thing by helping the Jiangs out. But it was also very much the wrong thing.

And so much of this push and pull and discomfort with, but not rejection of, this moral system is bound up in conflicting moral obligations, to parents, to individuals, to sects, to leaders, and what happens when they conflict. But it’s important, I think, that it’s not actually a rejection of these obligations and their weight. Yeah.

[book-and-manga-dragon]

Yue Qingqing refunded her renumeration, stating that she could not teach a student like this.

Such peak "f*** this sh*t I am out - you can keep your money!" energy

“This isn’t a money problem,” he said. After hesitating for a long time, he lowered his head, a blush suffusing his cheeks. “I’m afraid that if I continue to teach him, I’ll fall in love with him.”

..... I see. You're right. That is a problem that can't be solved by money.

According to the storyline concocted by these heroes, at this moment, Zhao Jiangui ought to be heavily outnumbered, collapse with heavy injuries right on the path that the Creed Lord had to take, then get picked up by him, whereupon something indescribable would happen automatically.

YA THINK?! If only romance were that easy!! 😂

[haitang-blossoms]

Bingqiu and Qijiu as Foils in Their Approaches to Atonement and Forgiveness (haitang-blossoms' Scum Villain Self-Saving System meta)

So first of all, both begin as relationships with a clear "caretaker" role: Qi-ge (Yue Qingyuan) for Xiao Jiu (Shen Jiu) and Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan) as Luo Binghe's shizun. In such a dynamic, there's a certain expectation of the older, more experienced one to look out for the younger, less experienced one.

However, both relationships, while initially close, suffer after a "breach" of this code of conduct is committed: wherein, the "caretaker" fails to properly protect and nurture the other.

What's interesting is this: Qi-ge and Shen Qingqiu do this in completely opposite ways. Qi-ge (inadvertently) sabotages his relationship with Xiao Jiu by INACTION (not going back for him) while the issues between Bingqiu begin by a clear (forced) ACTION (Shen Qingqiu pushing Luo Binghe into the Abyss). Neither wanted to do/not do these things but were compelled by circumstances outside of their control.

It's also notable that both Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe undergo a dramatic rise in power before properly reuniting with the other (Shen Jiu becomes an immortal Peak Lord and Luo Binghe gains influence in the Demon Realm and Huan Hua Palace).

This is not only a parallel but can also symbolise how the relationships have become more "equalised" over time. That is not to say that seniority has disappeared, however (Yue Qingyuan is still Sect Leader and Shen Qingqiu is still Luo Binghe's shizun).

Both Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu feel immense guilt over the part they played in souring their relationships with Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe. However, it is difficult for them to discuss these feelings openly, and so we reach our next theme: sacrifice.

Yue Qingyuan: In the original Proud Immortal Demon Way, he allows Shen Jiu to abuse Orignal!Luo Binghe, willingly allows himself to be trapped and killed by Original!Luo Binghe, and basically turns a blind eye to whatever mistakes Shen Yuan!Shen Qingqiu makes/is accused of in the new timeline due to a misplaced desire to atone for breaking his promise.

Shen Qingqiu: Shen Yuan famously self-destructs to "pay back" Luo Binghe for the wrongs he has done to him in the past, and readers see him protecting Luo Binghe throughout the story for a similar reason despite Luo Binghe's "protagonist halo" supposedly rendering this pointless (the Holy Mausoleum arc comes to mind).

How Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe react is completely different however, and this is key in why Qijiu and Bingqiu's arcs conclude in such contrasting ways.

Shen Jiu: First of all, it is important to note that while Qi-ge was important to Shen Jiu, he largely wasn't there for a long part of Shen Jiu's youth. Stuck at the Qiu residence, he was constantly abused and mistreated, and even though Qiu Haitang was nice to him, trauma like that cannot be easily overwritten. By the time Shen Jiu became Peak Lord, it had gotten to the point where his life had been so devoid of basic affection that his bitterness about Yue Qingyuan's broken promise was able to be magnified to such an extent.

This is not easily helped by the fact that Yue Qingyuan's form of sacrifice is mainly again, through INACTION or is INVISIBLE/SUBTLE to Shen Jiu. There is no defining moment where he directly addresses their past except at the end of the story to Shen Yuan!Shen Qingqiu which doesn't help Shen Jiu at all.

Luo Binghe: By contrast, Luo Binghe had lots of positive interactions with Shen Qingqiu in the many years leading up to the Abyss. While this may have made the betrayal sting more at the time, it also set up Luo Binghe to be able to not outright hate Shen Qingqiu after the fact (a more nuanced emotional reaction).

The self-destruction is such a definitive ACTION (and it helps that Shen Qingqiu spelt out that he was "repaying" Luo Binghe for past wrongs by doing so) that Luo Binghe is able to reconcile the situation and his feeling towards Shen Qingqiu where Shen Jiu was not able to towards Yue Qingyuan.

The next theme of "love" also plays off this difference as well. Due to a combination of trauma and his own personality, Shen Jiu was shown to struggle to love whether it be others or even himself. Any potential he had was overshadowed by the bitterness and envy that later come to define his character in Proud Immortal Demon Way. Yue Qingyuan's passive approach to Shen Jiu only served to enable these feelings and the resulting disastrous actions.

Luo Binghe was abandoned throughout his life (whether by choice or not is inconsequential), and this defines a lot of his character later on.

As White Lotus Luo Binghe, he's eager to please, and it's clear how starved for affection he is based on how much stock he puts in every kind act that Shen Qingqiu shows him. But a key aspect of Luo Binghe is that he believes he must continuously EARN this affection through reciprocity which is part of why it's so natural for him to serve Shen Qingqiu with his cooking and basically running Qing Jing Peak. 

This plays into another difference between Shen Jiu and Luo Binghe: that while both suffer from lack of (perceived at least) affection, Shen Jiu retaliates by pushing everyone away while Luo Binghe instead seeks it out and returns any love given to him tenfold (even in Proud Immortal Demon Way, he spares and married Ning Yingying when he destroys Qing Jing Peak because she was nice to him in the past). And the fact that Shen Qingqiu is visibly remorseful of the past only reinforces this instinct.

Even when Luo Binghe almost goes mad from the influence of the Xin Mo sword, it is Shen Qingqiu taking direct and unmistakable ACTION (in this case, papapa to save the world) that saves them and their relationship. Bingqiu were able to reconcile because both parties were willing to actively WORK to rebuild it, which takes conscious and purposeful effort.

Qijiu ended up missing each other by seconds, so to speak, because they were too PASSIVE in regard to their relationship with each other. Shen Jiu never directly confronts Yue Qingyuan about his actions (or lack thereof) and instead stews in bitterness alone, while Yue Qingyuan is so busy walking on eggshells around Shen Jiu that he misses the one thing that could mend their relationship.

Both relationships contain heartache and misunderstandings, but their contrasting approaches to reconciliation, atonement, and forgiveness is ultimately the factor that determines how their stories conclude.

[sun-and-moon-mushroom]

Day 11: Time Loop

AO3 link

(Based on the AU in this post)

(cw for canon typical torture, suicide, implied SA)

During Luo Binghe’s first life, he was one of Shen Qingqiu’s favourite students. It wasn’t something he achieved right away, but rather something he worked for, until his shizun could look at him with pride. Among his martial siblings he was one of the strongest, and was overjoyed when he was given the chance to defend the sect from a demonic invasion. When Shen Qingqiu was accused of murdering the Bai Zhan Peak Lord, Luo Binghe was his most ardent defender, making sure that the Bai Zhan disciples that attacked their peak would never disturb his work or rest. Shen Qingqiu might seem cold and cruel to others, and Luo Binghe wouldn’t deny that he was — it was just that those were the traits he admired in his master, the ones he dreamed of emulating some day.

When the seal on his demonic heritage broke, he was terrified for the first time since he was a child. It was something he’d been having nightmares about for years — that his nature as a demon would be discovered, and that Shen Qingqiu would think he was a traitor and cast him out. What happened instead, after a tense interrogation, was his shizun ordering him to jump into a rift that led to the Endless Abyss, warning him that if any of the other cultivators in the area saw him — a heavenly demon in the middle of a demonic invasion of the largest cultivation event in years — he would be dead within moments. Luo Binghe left, but not without promising Shen Qingqiu that he would be back as soon as he could.

He could never figure out why a flash of sorrow flew across Shen Qingqiu’s face at his words, not until he returned to the human realm once more, six years later, to the news of his imprisonment by Huan Hua Palace for his crimes — something the sect leader, who had always been apologising to Shen Qingqiu for some unknown failing when Luo Binghe was a disciple, had stood by and let happen. Luo Binghe had stormed Huan Hua with an army of demons, intent on keeping his promise, but in the end, he was too late. Shen Qingqiu had died of his injuries just a few days before.

Even as he went on to become Emperor of both the human and demon realms, amassing a harem of a hundred women and becoming more and more powerful with each year, that old promise still lingered in his mind. He made it a point to return any kindness shown to him at least ten-fold — if Shen Qingqiu was still alive, he would be safe and living in luxury, perhaps as one of his advisors, while the sect that betrayed him burned. He wasn’t though, and so the thought remained, until Luo Binghe came across rumours of a rare technique.

It was an ability said to send the user back in time, into the body of their former self, in order to fix their past mistakes. Luo Binghe made it his mission to track the technique down, spending years on the project, until he finally found it. There was an aspect to it that none of the rumours had told him about though — if he returned to a time after he had begun to cultivate, the shock of the transition would send his body into a qi deviation, one that would probably be fatal. That was fine by Luo Binghe though — he knew the perfect time to go back to. The next time he opened his eyes he was back in the body of a child, right before being accepted into Qing Jing Peak.

Things were different the second time. He wasn’t sure what he could have changed — maybe it was just something he said, or maybe Shen Qingqiu was able to see the spark of his older self in his eyes. Either way, when the other disciples started bullying him, when they pushed him out of the dormitory and into the woodshed, he let it happen — it must just be Shen Qingqiu testing him, right? What once was an affectionate nickname becomes a cruel insult. He doesn’t even notice how wrong his cultivation manual is until much later, just using the knowledge from his first life to progress.

As much as he hopes for it, his relationship with Shen Qingqiu in his second life never gets better. He doesn’t know what went wrong for his shizun to hate him so much, doesn’t know what went differently in this life compared to the other. At his worst moments he starts to wonder if the Shen Qingqiu of his first life ever actually cared for him, or if he had simply seen his potential earlier and wanted to claim it for himself.

Years later, the Endless Abyss is open once more, and the sign of his demonic heritage is clear on his forehead. Shen Qingqiu looks at him with rage as he pushes him over the edge while he’s still unsteady from the unsealing, and he wonders if this was how it was always going to be. He makes it through the Abyss faster this time, returning to the human realm after only five years. Xin Mo seems louder in his mind, but it’s nothing he can’t handle.

This time, it’s Luo Binghe who orchestrates the trial, using every piece of knowledge he has to bring Shen Qingqiu under his power. As before, his martial siblings are quick to abandon him, like the cowards that they are. When he first visits his former master in his cell, Shen Qingqiu calls him a beast as he spits at his feet, and in a sudden moment of rage, Luo Binghe tears off his arm. His mind becomes clouded with fury as he thinks back to everything he endured, all out of a hope that Shen Qingqiu would care for him again, only for each and every effort to fail. If Shen Qingqiu won’t love him, he concludes, then he can face the consequences of his actions, here in this cell.

Years later, when Luo Binghe sits on the throne of the combined realms, with six hundred wives, Shen Qingqiu finally dies, and Luo Binghe goes back in time once more.

In his third life, he leaves for the demon realm instead of Cang Qiong, and takes his place at it’s rightful heir by the time he’s fifteen. He comes with Sha Hualing when she leaves to attack the sect, and in the chaos of the fight, he manages to capture Shen Qingqiu. He’s still injured — from the caves, from Liu Qingge’s death he assumes — so he can’t fight back as well as he could. Luo Binghe brings him to the palace he’s been rebuilding, the one that once belonged to his father, and locks him inside a set of luxurious rooms. Maybe, if he sees what accepting Luo Binghe will get him, he’ll be more open to it?

Instead, Shen Qingqiu slits his throat in his room before Luo Binghe can even feed him his blood. He spends the next few years recklessly cultivating, until he is once again strong enough to use the technique that will send him back in time.

In his fourth life, he resolves to make sure Shen Qingqiu will not die, not without his consent. He becomes a disciple again, and slips his blood into his food after breaking his seal in secret. He uses the chaos of the Immortal Alliance Conference to capture him this time, keeping him in an enforced sleep until he finds somewhere safe to keep him. This Shen Qingqiu thinks he’s a spy, thinks he betrayed the sect and kidnapped him to weaken it. He laughs at the idea of a ransom — they both know that the other Peak Lords would never agree to it.

Luo Binghe almost dies in that life, impaled by the blade of Xuan Su, but he manages to survive it, turning his own blade on it’s wielder. In the moment of panic before he breaks free, he pulls on his blood parasites and they tear Shen Qingqiu apart — if he can’t have him, nobody can.

The lives go by, again and again. He’s familiar with the sight of Shen Qingqiu flinching now, with his rare tears of pain, but the way his smile looked is starting to fade from his memory. In one, he tries wiping away his memories, in another he tries wearing a different face, but each time it ends in failure. In one life, he even takes Shen Qingqiu as a concubine — the pills he’s fed provide an illusion of love, but Luo Binghe knows it’s not the real thing. Nothing he tries seems to ever work.

This is what Luo Binghe doesn’t know — Shen Jiu remembers each life as well. Not consciously, not the details, but the impression of the emotions he felt remains. From that first life, where he died alone and cursing his own hope that a half-demon disciple would ever keep his word, he’s been turned against Luo Binghe from the start, with each successive timeline only making things worse and worse, as the hate and fear he feels for him grows.

In a life long after the first, Luo Binghe opens his eyes, once more about to become a disciple of Cang Qiong. Instead, he feels a hand press against his forehead, breaking the seal on his demonic heritage too early. The next thing he feels is a sword through his chest. He looks up at Shen Qingqiu, who is standing there with his sword outstretched — and sees that same look of sorrow he remembers from so long ago.

[runespoor7]

Jiang Cheng brings back WWX to LP after his resurrection because LWJ wasn't around

Five Fun Facts About The Fic I Might Write About It, This Is A Slowburn(?) Version, For Other Versions Ask Again:

WWX insists that he's not himself far past the point of it being sensible. The thing is, it's not the first time JC decided some random demonic cultivator was WWX and dragged him home to demande apologies and play house? Last time was over half a decade ago, so not everyone in the sect knows, but those who remember are pretty wary about it, especially because of what it means about JC's mental state. Is Sect Leader getting worse again? They're also very wary of WWX, some of them openly contemptuous - WWX has the feeling that if it weren't for JC's protection he would be dead - and some of them almost pitying. I think he overhears them talk and that's how he pieces together the backstory, and also learns that the demonic cultivator whom JC is convinced are WWX and that he treats as such don't... end well. Sect Leader takes the "betrayal" badly.

WWX realizes that YMJ doesn't have a second in command. the sect has a person who performs the tasks associated with the job, but JC doesn't have a "second-in-command", never did. it just stuck that way. it sure doesn't mean anything. probably. how weird of JC though.

the Ghost General intrudes on Lotus Pier. There's a fight, JC tries to take down WN, WWX orders WN away from JC, JC freaks out. WWX keeps swearing up and down he's not WWX, honest!!! but... on the other hand... the Ghost General recognizes him as its his master... this is what breaks JC's hopes, finally, and also WWX's heart. You get JC crying as he asks WWX "are you really not him?" and WWX doing the equivalent of Cyrano's "No, my sweet love, I never loved you!" but for who he is, with less clear-cut emotional consequences than in the play (this is because WWX is not dying and thus more invested in keeping the lie up and JC is way less certain that WWX cares about him than Roxane did about Cyrano). They sort of compromise on the understanding that "MXY" is kinda-sorta WWX, but without most of WWX's memories. (WWX is telling himself that's not what he wanted but in fact he's much more comfortable/confident with himself and being in YMJ afterwards!) this is probably when WWX realizes that while his room may not exist anymore, his things are in JC's room.

JC struggles with this WWX being an innocent lamb who has no memory of doing anything wrong in his life ever. He should've expected it. How convenient. But, y'know, a WWX is a WWX, and this also extremely conveniently lets JC off the hook of this pesky "remember how he orphaned your nephew?" thing! It's mostly JC's own guilt now. Mostly. He's not going to do anything against WWX even if it wasn't anyway. Also it's. terrifying. Because WWX has no memory of him, but WWX is around, and also there isn't anyone to judge JC for wanting-- ANYWAY.

They end up having to leave Lotus Pier and catch up with the main plot when WWX gets a spider sense that WN is in trouble. There are no words to explain how little JC likes 1)that the Ghost General is still a thing, 2)that the Ghost General is still a thing when it comes to WWX, 3)that WWX is planning on leaving LP to help WN, so he comes with. WWX tries to convince him not to, but surprises himself by accepting JC's help when JC insists in a clipped tone. The trouble that WN got in also involves JL being in danger. This is my fic so it would turn out that WN tried to protect JL before WWX and JC caught up. Possibly JL and WN have been getting in plot-relevant shenanigans offscreen for a while now, and there's definitely a fic there, what with WN thinking A-Yuan is dead and projecting on JL and JL getting conflicted feelings about the person/thing that killed his father, but that's not the focus in this story. At some point - because by now he's pretty certain JC will not either kill him or reject him - WWX "admits" that his memory has been returning. Not all of it, but enough. If we're all very very lucky JL has been in sufficient danger that JC can lose his head a little and kiss WWX for saving JL's life, or something along these lines. If we're not lucky that part happens beyond the scope of these five things.