POV: You decided to take Shen Yuan out to see some monsters, and his Gege found out
Preaching to the choir, but I love that there's no wrong configuration for Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu. The fact that canon leaves virtually all doors open for pretty much any AU to be valid only helps.
Fully two separate people, separate souls, of separate dimensions with no connection whatsoever? We can work with that.
The same soul, in separate phases of the reincarnation cycle? The same soul in a weird hiccup in the reincarnation cycle so that they are exactly the same person, coexisting as one? Excellent.
They can be parent and child. Which is the parent, which is the child? Whatever you fancy this fine afternoon!
They can be brothers, of course, easy. Which is older? Whichever you want! Twins? Naturally!
Martial shidi? Same peak? Different peaks? Well, now they're kissing.
So I rewatched all the kung fu panda movies and this happened, enjoy the beginning of my furry arc
JiuYuan plot bunny
Shen Yuan transmigrates/reincarnates waay before the plot even begins, as a somewhat rich second or third son of a merchant family (cliché or clasic background? You decide) not specially sick nor a priority for his family as he's not likely to inherit almost anything he is send to cultivate to a small sect. Because who else will want their unremarkable son?
Turns out ranting about poetry in the street with a vendor is a sure way to make someone important want their unremarkable son.
Enter the current Lord of Qing Jing who saw a gremlin with taste and opinions and immediately wanted him. Also the immediate moment when Shen Yuan finds out where exactly he was reborn in (pray for him). So Shen Yuan gets to join directly into QJP if he passes the other test and well, the story wont go on if he doesn't so let's say he does.
His dumbass tries to make everyone believe he's lazy to avoid work like he did back home but Aha! Shizun is on his bs so in no time he's made head disciple. Natural teacher, excellent memory and talented swordsman (This nerd got too excited by swords and practiced so much he now is the best of his generation and he desperately wants you to know he didn't want for this to happen) it's like he was made to lead QJP!
Side note: LQG will be made head disciple of BZP in a year or so, that's why SY is the generation's best, currently.
Here comes the boy! Absolutely traumatized feral kitten Shen Jiu gets into CQM and QJP out of season and with his general attitude immediately gets enemies everywhere. Not problem! Da-Shixiong will show you around and- Oh? You don't want Da-Shixiong to speak with you? Alright. Just remember to get to dinner and sleep well, goodnight!
And just like that you get an oblivious Shen Yuan respecting a hesitantly curious Shen Jiu who, in turn, decides that the best thing to do with this interest is to find blackmail on SY and take his place as head disciple.
Cue shenanigans and hijinks with stalker SJ and unsuspecting SY. And them getting closer by basically respecting SJ's space and time and being a decent human?! What?!
So like bonding with a cat. Slow, respectfully and with lots and lots of treats. Once Shen Yuan figured out Shen Jiu's weakness is just sweets it's all over. Now hes SJ's shixiong and no one else's. No, shut up A-Yuan, they are not worth our time.
Does he trust SY unconditionally? He's getting there. Nighthunts and being saved like a damsel in distress once in a while helps, even if he gets hissy and pretends to not like it. More so when SY immediately turns to him for both counsel on investigations and to make sure he's safe while in the hunts. Also Shixiong spends almost all his time helping him in fixing his cultivation and teaching him the arts, even when no one else would give a shit, so he gets extra points by being a good boy to his A-Jiu.
Shen Yuan? He thinks he's being a good bro and helping SJ fix whatever made him such an ass in PIDW. He doesn't know what happened before SJ went to CQM nor his past as a slave, only thought he looked like a feral cat and acted accordingly. And yes, calling him A-Jiu is absolutely necessary to that recovery.
In the middle of this SY tries to make contact with TLJ to help him either run away with SXY or take out the OPM so the tragedy doesn't happend. But shit hits the fan and SY gets outed as a demon sympathizer when the sealing under a mountain still happens but he tries to reason with the CQM's sect leader that the demon was innocent.
No one can prove that he was a traitor but under the added presure of public sentiment he's punished severely. Sect leader gives him two choices; He either leaves and retrieves a mega ultra rare mcguffin that'll take him 20 years to get or gets banished immediately and losses any standing he has with the sect.
In simple terms: Prove your loyalty with this very difficult quest or leave.
As a pseudo-compromise sect leader promised no one will take his place if he leaves for the quest nor will they banish SJ for being so close to a posible traitor. SY, naturally, accepts the quest with all the spite and grief of someone who failed his true quest of saving his best friend and the world too he supposes.
But QJP cannot be without a Head disciple nor a Peak Lord! Because plot twist, the lords are preparing to ascend in the next like 5 years. Sect leader knew this, and this is his way to force QJ's peak lord to appoint a different head disciple when SY is away anyways. If that happens SY will lose everything anyways, even if he comes back.
So the strategists get together and make a plan.
Shen Yuan will leave in his quest but before that he'll marry someone trusted that can be acting peak lord in his absence but will not usurp his place. Doble plot twist! That person is Shen Jiu because just as SJ got mellower with SY's influence so did SY get more paranoid. He only trust his dear shidi and no one else but oh how could he force his shidi into- Oh? You'll do it? Why do i have to be the wif-
And they marry in semi secret, taking a small moment for SJ to make him doble promise to come back for him and to give his own doble promise to wait for his return. SJ doesn't like this, not one bit. But this time he's safe, in a position of power and tentatively ready to trust again. He'd rather have his husband with him at least for their wedding night but oh well, they don't get that. They make arrangements for SY to send letters to the WRP so SJ can know how he's doing even if he can't receive any in exchange. It'll be a lonely 20 years.
Shen Yuan leaves and Shen Jiu gets appointed acting head disciple and then acting peak lord. With his silks and his husband's name as a shield (Qingqiu is SY's, but he can use it because they married) he rules QJP much more detached than in PIDW, almost completely ignoring the disciples. This is his A-Yuan's work after all and if he wants it done he better hurry and come do it himself. They've always joked that SY would teach while SJ would govern the peak, even before ever discussing marriage (It didn't matter that A-Yuan didn't know they would eventually get married. They would have regardless)
And Yue Qingyuan you didn't ask? He's in the background wanting to talk to Xiao-Jiu constantly but SJ doesn't need him nor want him. SY's therapy helped him let go if not forgive YQY, he's at the point where he can just ignore him. YQY on the other hand is guiltily ecstatic SY is out of the picture and Xiao-Jiu can be peak lord and rule at his side. Just like he wanted!
Like that 15 years pass. SJ still gets a reputation of going to brothels even if its to read his hubby's letters and sleep. And at this point all other peak lords either forgot he's technically just acting peak lord or never knew there was another Shen-Shixiong who should be peak lord instead.
At this point I'm not sure how to proceed. It'll have to be either:
a) Shen Yuan comes back during the demon invasion or
b) He comes when they are having a peak lord meeting for conveniences sake
Let's do invasion for dramatic purposes.
So you have a supremely pissed off SJ dealing with the demons and watching as the runt of his peak desperately tries to beat his opponent while making a mockery out of their QJP fighting style (LBH is actually doing pretty good, SJ is just Like That™) when suddenly a sword only he recognizes flies faster than a bullet to stop the defeated demon from attacking the little beast and the whole place falls into silence. SJ can hear his pulse in his ears, he almost can't breathe.
The disciples are looking at him for instructions but he can't think of anything as the most beautiful face he has ever seen slowly walks out of the trees into the improvised arena. His hair is finally long now, but not even close to well cared for. His clothes dusty and well worn but not threadbare nor stained with ink like it usually was in their disciple days. His A-Yuan is glorious as he makes the demons run like the pathetic bugs they are.
LQG has come too but there's not more fighting to be had, only a couple reunited at last. SJ sends decorum through the window and yanks his A-Yuan into a long awaited kiss in front of basically every disciple and an enraged and flustered LQG (Man is having the weirdest awakening)
SY is surprised at first but quickly reciprocates, finally at peace with his feelings. Because guess what, 15 years of pinning + letters that slowly become romantic without the fear of retribution will do just fine for him to admit he fell in love with his husband at some point. He was scared shitless of SJ reaction to him coming back and it was only that promise what made him go home regardless. A-Jiu can hate him, but he is NOT breaking that promise. He even made it 5 years earlier, isn't he such a good husband?
Later in the emergency meating LQG is still screaming at them for shameless and inmoral and how could this be the first thing Shen Yuan does when he comes back when they could've just spared
And everyone else (minus YQY, SQH and the beast peak lord) are just like What? Who's this? And SY looks at YQY disapprovingly (He knows YQY covets his wife and purposely didn't tell them) and explains he's the QJ peak lord and SJ as his husband has been ruling QJ in his stead for the past 15 years. And yes, that's why SJ is sitting in his lap.
When the whole story comes out everyone is more surprised to know they are married than the fact SY made the last sect leader so angry he was basically given a suicide mission (Not even YQY knew that) but don't worry! He has absolutely no inclination of taking his A-Jiu's position away. He'd rather teach his little disciples and let his wife to berate their martial siblings as is his right (Someone said they'll be happy having SY instead of SJ in meetings from now on and He Did Not Like That) So they'll share the name Qingqiu as QJ has two peak lords from now on.
Now if they'll excuse them they have a wedding night to finally enjoy.
who let him drive?!
Superstar Luo Binghe au. All the directors beg him to be in their movies because his fame will immediately assure success for anything they make. He’s handsome, charming, dedicated, and most of all, extremely talented. He even does his own stunts!! Women love him, and men who say they hate him will still watch his movies so they can figure out how to be more like him.
The only weird thing about Binghe as an actor is that he refuses to star in romantic films. He won’t kiss anyone, won’t pretend to date someone on screen, won’t even let another actor take over his role for the scenes he doesn’t want to do. His reason? He’s completely loyal to his husband.
Everyone thinks it’s stupid, obviously. You aren’t “cheating” by pretending to love someone else, it’s literally your job! Luo Binghe still refuses and says even he’s not good enough an actor to make anyone believe he could ever love someone other than Yuan-ge.
His fans hate this mysterious Yuan-ge. Because of his (probably insecure and jealous) spouse, all of Binghe’s fangirls cant see him sweep some y/n character off their feet. It’s even worse because they don’t know anything about this guy. Whenever someone asks to see or learn about Binghe’s husband, the star says he’ll never reveal Yuan-ge to the public, because he’s too beautiful and he doesn’t want everyone falling in love with him.
People kind of run with the idea that obviously this guy must be a total weirdo who Binghe is embarrassed to be seen with. That has to be the explanation, because no matter how perfect someone is, how can they have such a chokehold on THE LUO BINGHE??
Then, one day, years after Luo Binghe’s initial rise to fame…. He goes on a talkshow. With his husband Shen Yuan.
Obviously EVERYONE tunes in. No one uses TVs anymore bc of the internet, but just for this show, viewer ratings are the highest theyve ever been. Everyone wants to know what the fuss is all about with this guy to have Luo Binghe so down horrible.
And Shen Yuan isn’t a weirdo. He’s also not some pretty yesman. He makes jokes that make the audience burst into laughter. He’s opinionated, which is really refreshing when every other celebrity stays neutral on every topic to avoid losing fans. He’s polite, but he’s not a pushover. He’s likeable, but he’s not a try-hard about it. Referencing memes makes him an instant hit with the younger generations, and the calm gentle way he talks makes him a hit with the older ones. All of a sudden everyone is going, okay we see why Luo Binghe is obsessed with him.
Except… while shen yuan was making jokes and charming everyone, Luo Binghe was at his side, pathetically pawing at his husband for attention. The actor keeps whining every two minutes to be reassured yuan-ge still likes him. Whenever Shen Yuan compliments the host, Binghe looks like he’s about to cry. Whenever Luo Binghe jealously wraps his arms around shen Yuan everyone watching just rolls their eyes. Seeing them together people realize… shen yuan is the one that’s out of Luo Binghe’s league.
In just one hour public opinion goes from ‘no one can be worth binghe acting like that for’ to ‘luo binghe is so annoying, let shen yuan talk!!’
The next day someone finds shen yuan’s twitter and it blows up. He has his own fan pages now. There’s no pictures of him online other than the footage from the talkshow, so the fan accounts just post that over and over again. Shen yuan retweets a post about him with the caption “i never realized she was holding a plate of corn in this scene” and everyone loses their mind. Everything he says immediately goes viral bc that’s luo binghe’s attic wife.
People start nagging Binghe to post about Shen Yuan bc theyre so attached after his one and only publicized appearance. Binghe is super possessive, but yuan-ge tells him not to worry, so he relents and posts pictures of him and shen yuan on vacation. They’re together, holding hands… but shen yuan’s face and body are blurred out. It’s HORRIFYING. He looks like an eldritch monster bc luo binghe refuses to let anyone look at his yuan-ge in a swim suit, go away you perverts!! His instragram is now just full of pics of shen yuan where his eyes are blacked out so noone else can see how pretty they are. It’s nightmare fuel
Shen Yuan is unfortunately too unbothered to post pictures of himself. Everyone’s tired of Luo Binghe for “hogging shen yuan all to himself” when Shen Yuan is practically an internet celebrity now.
People go to watch movies and their theatre conversations sound like this:
“Oh, Luo Binghe’s in this one!”
“Who?”
“You know Shen Yuan’s annoying husband?”
“OH THAT GUY..”
Sometimes even a Ghost King needs reassurance 💛
Waiting... Waiting....
(Bonus SY design ref under the cut :>)
[ID: A Scum Villain Drawing. Yue Qingyuan in less formal grey robes sits with one arm in his lap and his other hand cupping a cup of tea, he looks down towards Plant!Shen Yuan with a concerned/sad look. SY leans against him, dressed primarily in white and light green robes with plant details. SY looks down sadly with eyebags, with one hand reaching up to touch the qiankun pouch tied to a necklace he's wearing. End ID]
He looks a lil' tall here but he's still a short king 😔
[ID: A Scum Villain doodle. Plant! Shen Yuan in chibi style stands with his hands clutched together in front of him, whilst looking down with a depressed look. "Binghe's" butterfly rests on his shoulder. Various captions point out design details. Pointing to his hair that is put up into a pony tail, a caption states "Hair style like Binghe's" One pointing to his eyes states "eyebags (he doesn't have his cuddle buddy anymore :( )" Pointing to his necklace qiankun pouch is "Pouch that contains shards of Zheng Yang (courtesy of SQH)" and lastly pointing to his outfit "In his widow arc (light colored clothing)" as he is dressed in white and light green/teal. End ID]
Bingqiu and Wangxian seem like the pair who’d be shocked that they’re having a baby despite banging each other without protection.
For Bingqiu it’s because SY is a man and he underestimated the power of protagonist halo. He knew genre turned into danmei, but he wasn’t expecting Mpreg!!! SOMEBODY GIVE HIM A REFUND!!!! As usual, SQH’s fault even though it was LBH who railed his way to genre change.
For Wangxian it’s because even though WWX baited LWJ and his breeding kink, and they used the Mpreg ritual just yesterday, WWX didn’t expect he’d be puking his guts out only one day later. It took only one try!!! Biology? Who’s she? Attempt the impossible!
But Hualian? No sir! They knew what they were doing. Xie Lian might have acted like he was babytrapped but that was just their usual roleplay. Everyone knew it was inevitable.
Shizun! Shizun! Shizun!!!!!!! 😘😘💕✨
Day 3!
Qian Cao Peak
Magnolias are in bloom for the peak with the most on screen "casualties" from Shen Yuan's wife beam.
Day 1/ Day2/ Day 3/ Day 4/ Day 5
Luo Binghe is super possessive about his future husband Best Friend.
Shen Yuan of No Relation - @grubus
I have a TikTok now too cus I really like animations lol
a few pieces from SVSSS big bang 🦊🤍
44k gorgeous words of qijiuyuan where fox demon shen yuan saves 79
https://archiveofourown.org/works/63684022
please read the gorgeous fic here and check out the socials of my partners 🩵
Writer | Artist | Beta
Binghe: Yeah, so this one time an evil dimensional version of myself came, he was an asshole
Mo Ran: Damn, you too?
Binghe: Yes, but he left and haven't seen him since
Mo Ran: YOURS LEFT?!
Taxian-Jun is very offended in the background
-----------------------------
Shen Qinqiu: So... Thoughts on dying?
Chu Wanning:... Would rather not do it again.
Shen Qinqiu: Yeah, no, same, although...
Chu Wanning: You are not considering this, are you?
Shen Qinqiu: I mean, if it was necessary and i had another plant body-
One of the things that tickles me about SJ and SY fics is that well, sometimes they're brothers, sometimes they're parent and kid, etc, but the overall vibe is usually consistent like:
Older Bro Shen Jiu: this is my idiot didi, if any of you fuckers corrupt him I will bite out your throats.
Younger Bro Shen Jiu: this my idiot gege, if any of you fuckers corrupt him I will bite out your throats.
Father Shen Jiu: this is my idiot son, if any of you fuckers corrupt him I will bite out your throats.
Son Shen Jiu: this is my idiot father, if any of you fuckers corrupt him I will bite out your throats.
Shizun Shen Jiu: this is my idiot head disciple, if any of you fuckers corrupt him I will bite out your throats.
Boyfriend Shen Jiu: this is some idiot I've never met before in my life, if any of you fuckers corrupt him I will bite out your throats.
Every Shen Yuan Regardless: please stop threatening to bite out peoples throats, oh my god this is the shit that will get you killed, DO NOT KICK THAT CHILD WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU I am trying to save your life here! (」°ロ°)」
BingYuan in this AU...because i had to.... the rest of the AU: Shen Jiu and Baby-Yuan: 1 2 3 Shen Yuan as an adult: 1
Uh-- anyway the rest of the AU: 1 2 Shen Yuan as an adult
JiuYuan route is delicious. Accommodations? For Shen Jiu's PTSD? YES PLEASE.
(Also Yes, being comforted by non verbal communication? L)
Although I don't actually see SJ coming across LeviathYuan and deciding to take him with him/interacting. Man is too paranoid and aware of his weaknesses.
The only way is to force him via goading.
I need you to know that when I first went to answer this, I had to go back and check what I wrote yesterday because I swear I was in a haze that consisted almost entirely of "j-jiu-thuehtawhyjiuyuanjaif-jgieh-gjiyjiy-jyuah--ahahuhanahiyijuayangon--" and I don't even know what was going on in my little brain. (I say, actively rechecking it as I write this)
Okay so now that Shen Jiu is feeling more frustrated by Leviathyuan's kindness, I think that he would absolutely go out of his way to try and trip him up. Like, try and prove to himself that Leviathyuan is just acting and that he will eventually trip himself up if Shen Jiu pushes just enough! With this plan in mind, he begins to be...not. Friendly, but a little kinder. Speaking more comfortably, referring to him as "Yuan-di" (or "Yuan-ge" if you want) and then trying to inconspicuously check how Leviathyuan reacts to this.
The issue is that there's literally no change in how Leviathyuan acts because the human's body language isn't changing or anything, and even if it had, he's hardwired into politeness. The land demons may be used to taking and snatching and fighting for what they want, but aquatic demons are much more chill and all you gotta do is be polite down there, because they understand that there's a food chain and they're all very aware of how their ecosystem works. "Oh you hungry? Sure you can eat me, thanks for asking!!"
All this to say that as Leviathyuan starts learning human language, he's like the politest person ever. "You have food specifically for me that you laid out for me and nobody else can eat?...May I please have some?" Shen Jiu is like offering Leviathyuan a hand up after a lesson or something (to catch him off guard and see if he takes more than he's allowed) and the demon just stares at his hand before being like "can I touch your hand so you can help me up?" (In broken Chinese of course) And Shen Jiu is like "???? A respectful man thing?????"
In the background, there's Yue Qingyuan who is hearing Shen Jiu acting more familiar with Leviathyuan and is like "I'm glad Xiao-Jiu is making friends ☺️" as if he isn't about to explode. He is genuinely pleased that someone else is being friendly and kind to Shen Jiu, but like....DAMN IT, at the same time. (Shang Qinghua is watching this all go down and is watching in horror as Yue Qingyuan crushes his third teacup of the day.)
Spoilers!!
Now I'm not the biggest fan of Amen but this update really proved that he's much more than the typical "red flag LI." People who romance him are right when they say he's a complex character and here's why:
Amen's quest for revenge against Shesmu ironically makes him a persecutor of his own kind, as he is one himself.
Amen's fear of deep, soul crushing pain contrasts sharply with his ability to inflict such pain on others without hesitation. His actions reflect a projection of his own fears, suggesting that he tortures others to cope with or mask his internal vulnerabilities.
The duality of Amen's attitude toward torture relishing the emotional reaction but disliking the physical messiness adds a layer of irony. It reflects a separation of his actions, where he disconnects his empathy from the cruelty he enacts.
Amen's fixation on avenging his parents perpetuates a cycle of violence and suffering, turning him into a mirror of the very killers he despises. The irony is that, in seeking justice, he becomes a source of injustice and pain himself.
AU where chess is a common strategy game in PIDW and SY is a chess master before he gets transmigrated. Like undefeated and well known in the community. He's probably popular even in mainstream social media because he's a pretty boy with a soft demeanor.
Of course he still reads PIDW and is a massive hater, but he now hides it because he sees it as shameful especially with his reputation of being a kind-hearted person.
Anyway he dies and gets thrown into the novel a bit after the Qing generation ascends. He's just a rogue cultivator or maybe even a demon, not really important. What's important is that he gets bored and misses his old hobby.
He finds out chess is a thing in this world and immediately hops into it again. Sadly, he keeps beating people and no one is a real challenge. So to give himself a puzzle, he picks up other strategy games and gets really good at them too. And after a few years, he is well known in PIWD with his skills in a variety of games.
Enter SJ. Fresh off getting LBH into his peak and STRESSED about how much he sees himself in this child and about how much he hates that fact.
He enters the Warm Red Pavilion and finds some guy playing a game with one of the jiejies. One of those little mind games to entertain the guests, and he's playing against the best one.
SJ watches while he waits for his room and to his surprise the man wins. He immediately gets ready to step in-between because whenever guests win against one of the prostitutes they always get handsy and he knows that particular one doesn't like to do sex work (like maybe she specializes in poetry and dancing instead yk).
Instead of the man getting handsy, he asks for another game, which she accepts with a smile. And now SJ is watching them play with much more interest. After a while the madam comes over and asks if he's interested in their regular.
SJ asks about the man and gets his name and finds out that apparently SY comes to the brothel to play against the ladies and listen to music at times.
SJ keeps it in mind and then leaves for his room. The next time he sees SY is during another trip down the mountain (probably dressed down to not draw attention to himself). This time he was in a tea shop playing go against an elderly man. SY wins again and patiently explains what mistakes the old man made.
The old man accepts defeat and asks him for a rematch. SY agrees, and SJ finally approaches out of curiosity. SJ asks if he can play SY after they're done. The old man says something about how he's probably going to lose anyway and says SJ just takes his turn.
SJ accepts it and sits in front of SY. He thinks it's going to be an easy win, something to stroke his bruised ego. Only for him to get completely annihilated like it was an embarrassing lost for him. (It wasn't embarrassing, he almost won, but he didn't win so obviously it was embarrassing)
SJ expects gloating and nearly crushes his fan in his hand. SY tells him that he was a tough opponent and he asks for another rematch. SJ is confused about the sincerity and hesitantly agrees even though his ego tells him to cut his losses now.
They continue to play multiple games in a row, each one getting longer and longer with each mistake SY explains and helps SJ fix (he doesn't even notice he's taking advice from a man). They continue playing and drinking tea until they're kicked out because the shop is closing.
SY laughs sheepishly and says he didn't even notice the time pass. He asks if SJ is free to play again because it's been the first time in years he's had that much fun against someone else. SJ agrees because he refuses to have a losing streak (and he found it a little fun too).
Eventually it becomes a routine, SJ comes down the mountain every week and plays SY in go until the establishment they're in kicks them out. And because his brain is constantly on how to beat SY, he starts neglecting other things (like abusive LBH and other duties).
And because he's neglecting duties, eventually he has to do a information collecting mission with Shang Qinghua. They arrive at the town and they're tasked with collecting information on a lead of a demon hiding within a festival.
Somehow this leads to SY joining their little info gathering group and finding out SQH is Airplane (he's still somehow unaware of SJ being SQQ because of course he is).
Shenanigans ensue and somehow a sting operation is set up with SY being used as bait. He manages to coerce the demon into a game of chess while he waits for SJ and SQH to arrive.
They play chess. He thinks he'll just stall until the two get there, but halfway through he moves his knight and it ends up near the demon's knight. And with a straight face, the demon takes both knights off the board while claiming "And they're both out for horsie marriage."
Right then SJ and SQH arrive to slay the demon, only to bare witness to SY doing the Xianxia equivalent of shooting the demon point blank with a Glock 19 because surprise surprise that bullshit move pissed off the chess master.
SJ says something sarcastic about not needing to save the damsel (they put) in distress. And then SY asks to speak to SQH privately while dragging him out by the ear.
He continues to interrogate the author because what the ACTUAL FUCK was that bullshit move?! And SQH defends himself by saying he never thought a professional chess player would ever read his stuff, much less play the game in-verse. He tells SY he thought it would be funny if that could happen.
Anyway.
SJ has to pry SY off SQH because he almost legitimately strangles him to death. SY is dragged away, screaming things that'd make even a demon blush, and admittedly, SJ is amused.
They end up in some tea shop, SY muttering about the idiocy of it all in English, and SJ ordering for both of them. He asks what got SY so mad since like this guy has had an unshakable pleasant demeanor until now.
SY makes up some story about how his hometown played chess differently and that he's realizing he doesn't know how chess is played anywhere else. He asks SJ for a guide for playing chess because he doesn't want to overreact like he did before.
SJ agrees in exchange for a guide of how his hometown played chess. The deal was made and after they came back to town they both write their manuals. They exchange them in their next meetup, and SY is muttering about how stupid some of the rules are. SJ finds it very funny as he reads the manual SY gave him, finding that he prefers his version since there was less unnecessary traps.
SJ eventually asks to play SY in a chess game once he understands his version. SY happily agrees and they play over and over again until SJ beat him. SY is over the moon and asks for another rematch, which he gets beaten again. They play a few more times wins alternating until SY grabs SJ's hands and tells him he's in love with him and his massive brain.
SJ is caught off guard and flustered, so he hits SY with his fan and calls him shameless as he leaves to preserve as much face as possible. SY whines about him being unfair and follows SJ while apologizing about the comment.
SJ ignores him and leaves SY alone. He thinks he fucked up until the next time they meet, and SJ brings him a book he been meaning to buy but just couldn't find. SY is about to comment on the gift but SJ shuts him up and hides his face behind his fan. He manages to see the smallest hint of a blush and (shockingly) understands.
They both start exchanging gifts each meetup in silent courting. And surprisingly he hasn't abused LBH since he got there (because he forgets to. he has a boyfriend to worry about thank you very much 🤨), so when the Conference comes, SJ doesn't throw LBH into the abyss.
He still ends up in the abyss but only because MF got thrown in when they encountered MBJ, and he jumped after his shixiong. SY is there because of course he wants to stop the evil scum villain from hurting his little lamb, but he's just standing there like
Because how else is he supposed to react to LBH throwing himself into the abyss to go after MF who was thrown in when they encountered MBJ. Was Ming Fan even supposed to be there????
Also why is SJ in such ornate robes. Why is he mourning? Why are they going back to Qing Jing? WHY IS NING YINGYING CALLING SHEN JIU BABA?! WHY IS EVERYONE CALLING HIM SHIZUN?!!!?!???
My fav pairing at last! #Danmei every day and #14 days of nagas
Shen twins
You know… if pangolin demons have teeth, they probably don’t need to swallow rocks to help them break down food.
Instead, maybe they can give their armored scales special properties by swallowing certain rocks! For example, if they copper they can get veins of copper in their scales. If they swallow enough gemstones, their scales start to become gemlike. Etc.
Also, let SY and Binghe be friends! Maybe when Binghe goes to select his sword, or is sent on some chore before that point, he meets Panyuan. Panyuan sees he’s sad, but a sweetheart, and decides to adopt him as an older brother.
Binghe is a Wan Jian disciple now, and there is nothing anyone can do about it! (I mean, they probably could do something about it, but Wei Qingwei won’t allow it. What Panyuan wants, Panyuan gets!)
Hello hello heellllloooo!!!
Firstly, excellent workaround for all this, because I wholeheartedly need Panyuan to eat rocks, I just think it would be so funny. Also!! The scales idea is so cute! And hilarious.
I mean, imagine you're Wei Qingwei, and different materials have been going missing - you just got a shipment of copper and it's lighter than you remembered it to be. You're confused, and you mention this casually to your precious son, asking if he knows where it has been. He stares up at you with his big guileless eyes, chewing on something that sounds suspiciously crunchy as he shakes his head. His scales are glimmering with the copper decorating them, and when you point it out he stares up at you blankly before indiscreetly shoving more copper into his mouth.
Your son is not a very good liar.
Also!!! While I completely agree that Panyuan and Binghe can be great pals, Wei Qingwei would never poach his shixiong's disciples <3 (He will, however, invite him over often because even Shen Jiu can't deny Panyuan's adorable eyes.) Also Shen Jiu is too busy focusing on Panyuan to care about Binghe outside of Panyuan being like "people are bullying my best friend (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ" and Shen Jiu is like "my disciples are unruly and cruel this cannot stand" (this is my comfort AU he's not going to be malevolent to Binghe)
Cut to Binghe being like "I'm in the woodshed" and both Shen Jiu and Wei Qingwei looking over like "literally why are you in there???" "I was told there wasn't any space" and then we shift to Ming Fan and co being like "I feel a sudden bout of fear...."
”They won’t find you,” Shen Yuan promised. His voice was soft but it hissed in the shadowy corners of the abandoned temple they’d taken refuge in. Coming from any other person, those words would have sounded like a threat, but from him… Shen Jiu was unnerved at how quickly he was willing to show vulnerability in front of the rogue cultivator. A hint of protectiveness, of security, and he was willing to throw aside so much. Shen Jiu had to forcibly remind himself that he’d barely known him for more than a few weeks. He shouldn’t feel safe, should never let down his guard. Qi-ge had taught him that.
But… Shen Yuan hadn’t turned him in for a reward even though he knew his history—that he was an escaped slave, a thief, a murderer.
He inched closer until he felt Shen Yuan’s back against his. The rogue cultivator gave off warmth like a brazier and Shen Jiu could feel his traitorous body easing into something close to sleep. “Why are you so kind?” He said it like a curse.
Shen Yuan was silent for a long time. Rain continued to pour outside, drops slipping in through broken roof tiles. His sigh was barely audible. “…Because it doesn’t pay to hurt someone just for existing.”
But… why? Shen Jiu closed his eyes tightly, refusing to let the tears fall. That would be the ultimate self-betrayal.
Something warm stroked his hair and he realized Shen Yuan had reached across their bodies to comfort him. He should hate the rogue cultivator for his unwanted kindness. He wanted to hate him. But he remained still and didn’t pull away from that too-human touch.
Okay not to be that person but does it not KILL you to see the reaction of Shen Yuan’s family to his death? Like this keeps me awake at three am and haunts me when I am alone
What do you mean MAYBE Shen yuan died alone in his living room and wasn’t found by anyone until days had passed because he didn’t talk much to his family anyway? His younger sister coming into their house to find her brother and yell at him for ignoring her text messages for weeks but secretly she feels just so guilty for not checking up on him.
So she’s on her way with some takeaway and a lecture she’s repeated in her mind the entire elevator ride. She puts her key into his door, a key she has and her brothers have and their parents have but only she ever uses. It hurts her a little that their family never visits yuan-ge but then he just keeps getting sick
She enters and the first thing she smells is this horrible-horrible smell of a corpse that makes her immediately want to retch. I really don’t know how to describe it but just imagine a sister seeing her dead brother rotting before her eyes
Shen yuan must have been dead for at least three days. Shen yuan was dead for three days before his family found out. Shen yuan, even in death, was alone as he was in life. Immediately she dials her brothers and parents and the rest is history
This breaks her, because she keeps recalling the last text Shen yuan had sent asking her to visit and she keeps believing that if she had visited, her brother would be alive
Shen yuan’s brothers whom I imagine to be based on SJ and YQL respectively are no less aggrieved. Er-ge shuts himself off in his office and gets even more cruel to his employees. Deep down, he resented SY for how easily he got attention, how he wrapped everyone around his finger, how he could be hooked on an IV everyday but still smile, how even though life was always cruel to him, he was always kind to life. Most of all, he hated just how easy his brother was to love and hurt and ignore and still love back
He doesn’t attend the funeral, the entire family scorns him for it, saying he doesn’t love SY but the truth is, he wouldn’t have survived seeing the body of his brother so cold
Da-ge is raked with guilt. As the oldest, he always took care of SY, his sister and brother are too young to remember but he remembers how weak SY was when he was born. He and SY had a terrible falling out over SY wanting to live alone, as a result he never visited his baby brother’s apartment. Funny, the first time he visits It is to pack it up in wake of his brother’s death
No one in the family gets over the fact SY was dead for three days before they noticed. They all resent each other for it. But most of all, they resent themselves for it.
Hi I'm still alive btw have some disciple ver. bingyuan
found little binghe in the woodshed with a ruined hand :(
For Rogue cultivator!SY AU
Shen Yuan and Shen Jiu are having a cute little date in a town near Cang Qiong.
Liu Qingge: *peeking around the corner* How shameless! Did they forget that they're in public now? Take your hand away! *talking about SJ*
Yue Qingyuan: *peeking around the same corner* Yes. He's leaning too close.*talking about SY*
Ning Yingying: *gleefully peeking around the same corner* Yingying thinks it's really romantic!
Luo Binghe: *peeking and pouting around the corner* Why are they even here? Shifu definitely knows that this disciple can cook better dishes than anything offered here.
Ming Fang: *staring at everyone and peeking around the corner* How do we even fit that one small corner?
svsss fic where the whole time, shen jiu's soul was watching over shen yuan, and it kinda works like seudo terapy for him along with making him very protective of this little dumbass
then when sy qi deviates, two plant bodies make it and now there's two sqqs running away from the two men desperately wanting to find them, aka Qyq and lbh
Silly fic idea for you:
SVSSS AU where Shen Yuan transmigrates as a half-human half-crow-demon Phantom thief character.
He doesn’t want to steal from Bing-ge, but his System makes him, and naturally Bing-ge ends up obsessed. Bing-ge keeps luring him into traps with shiny things he just can’t help but want!!! Stupid crow impulses. (That he kinda wants to see Binghe again is irrelevant, obviously).
This is SUPER silly. Anon, this is so funny, I feel like I simply have to write this now oh my god. The idea that Bing-ge is confused at first, and he then sees this super handsome half bird-half human-demon thing and is like "man I need to get me more shiny things, I want to keep this fucker". ALSO, (I've heard that) crows are quite intelligent and start leaving presents as a response to getting fed or being given shiny things, so it could also be something where Shen Yuan starts having the urge to give Bing-ge things back after receiving all these shiny things (better if he doesn't recognise most of the traps as traps, mistaking Bing-ge for being a generous demon who doesn't need all of the shiny stuff he takes) and starts giving him shit like rocks and plants and the cool parts of beasts he fights... It also can be silly no matter when in the timeline this happens - it could be during the QJ peak arc where Shen Yuan sneaks around because he wants to see the awesome protagonist up close! The first time he steals something from Bing-ge, it's something super dumb like a particularly shiny rock or a coin that the boy left lying around, and Bing-ge's quickly like "??? The fuck just happened?" so he sets up a trap with the axe he uses for chopping wood (kind of rusty but still useable and particularly shiny). After that, it's chaos of trying to keep Shen Yuan the demon hidden while also stopping him from stealing other shiny things (cultivator's swords and such). Liu Qingge finds Shen Yuan trying to steal one of the swords he was gifted after saving a village and is also like "??? Kill?" It can also be after the Endless Abyss, when Bing-ge is like a demon lord and just has shiny stuff lying around. He throws it out occasionally and one day, while doing this, he notices a certain person swooping in and grabbing one of the shiny things. More antics ensue but I don't want to crash my laptop lmao (Which one would you rather me do, anon? Before the Endless Abyss, or after? Or both??) {part one! Part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven!} [This gorgeous fanart from @slurmdog that's making me go insane here] [More awe inducing fanart from @moonlightobsessions that has made me pass out here]