I think, on some level, that Shen Yuan is like enrichment for Airplane Bro's enclosure. I think Airplane Bro kind of fucking LOVES having this guy around. Like, I do think their relationship is nuanced, weird and full of contradictions and not always good for them, but I also think that some chaotic part of Shang Qinghua honestly likes having his #1 hater weirdo running around completely fucking up his world.
Shen Qingqiu, grabbing Shang Qinghua by the shoulders: "Why didn't anyone TELL ME that Binghe is GAY NOW?! I'm going to die because of MONSTER DICK?!?!?!"
Shang Qinghua: (internally, probably only half-consciously) "Incredible. Amazing. How did I live without you? You torture me with your bullshit. You complete me in every possible way. I think we might be soulmates and we should make out about it. I hate you. I love you. You mean nothing to me and everything to me. This isn't your story and you stole it from me. I wrote this for you without even knowing you existed. You are a fascinating mystery that I will never solve. I will throw you under the bus at the first opportunity and yet I can't stop risking my life to help you. Your stupid game of gay murder chicken with my emotionally and mentally unstable protagonist is going to destroy the world and kill us all and I've never felt more alive. You have changed me as a person. Let's do this forever."
Shang Qinghua: (out loud) "Lol, sucks to be you, bro. At least you can get laid."
I read a fic recently where mu qingfang was like "sometimes if we get VERY lucky, shang-shidi knows some miracle cure" and ive thinking about that in terms of 'god sqh'. Like you mention how x disciple is gonna die of the hyperdeath dying flower and your martial brother speaks in tongues to himself for a moment before stuttering and stammering his way into a 'this might work but good luck' possible cure. Reality takes a sharp turn for half a second and then when you try it, it works. He dismisses it and himself but it keeps happening. Not always, but sometimes. Often enough to be a pattern. Is he some kind of seer? Diviner? Or just divine? He's very protective of his personal rooms so you're not going to be able to get evidence either way. He keeps a garden of poisons and cures that he supplies you with personally, anyway. You're not gonna pry. Then later when everyone is screaming crying throwing up because he betrayed the sect you interrupt his demon king? Boss? Something. To be like hold up. Shang-shidi can I have an address for any emergency letters I might have to send you. Oh and also have you got a supplier for your meds in the demon realm? Hm? Oh yes very powerful demon Lord your flustered servant takes anti anxiety medicine. Yes it's a mix of herbs that forces him to be in less of a state- yes he gets worse than this. Shang-shidi don't whine I've seen you off your meds I KNOW you get stomach aches from anxiety so bad you can't work. Yes the 'category 5 tummy event' is not a secret. We know about them shang-shidi.
The category 5 tummy event he's so me 😭
The idea of Mu Qingfang just knowing that yeah Shang-Shidi most often then not probably has the cure to this Very deadly disease and doesn't bat an eye he's just like well as long as they live I GUESS.
Also the person with the balls to go staring up at this incredibly cold and dangerous demon with a straight face to tell Qinghua to take his meds
Mobei would definitely listen and take notes
i don’t often think of bingqiu and hualian in terms of parallels because their stories are so different and the parallels i’ve seen discussed have felt a little intuitive, but one that i’ve never really thought about isn’t a parallel between the red/blacks and the white/blues, but instead luo binghe and xie lian, and consequently shen qingqiu and hua cheng.
we’ll actually start with shen qingqiu and hua cheng—who are they? well, they’re both strong individuals that are originally (or throughout the story) cast in sort of villainous, disreputable roles. the ghost king, the scum villain. their styles of devotion are completely different in that hua cheng is infinitely more demonstrative and verbally/physically affectionate than shen qingqiu, completely lacking any shame when it comes to xie lian, but they’re both in some way quietly (and sometimes less quietly) devoted to their partner, to the point of physical sacrifice for them. devotion is obviously a key theme throughout all three of mxtx’s work, there’s more to it than that with tgcf and svsss.
neither hua cheng nor shen qingqiu are all that aware of their own innate value to the world around them. and, consequently, neither quite understand why their partners are with them, consciously or unconsciously. shen qingqiu spends plenty of time mentally blue-screening the first few times that luo binghe shows him affection and wonders why he isn’t bestowing it upon his theoretical future wives, and hua cheng was so ruthlessly tormented for his appearance that he can’t fathom being called handsome or worthy of so much as a touch on the hand from xie lian. the roles they’re cast in by their societies further drive this: shen qingqiu doesn’t internalise the good he’s done in changing the world of pidw, the people whose lives he’s saved or positively impacted just by existing, and hua cheng is hua cheng. immensely powerful, frighteningly knowledgeable, endlessly devoted. he’s an excellent artist, a clever mouth, a talented carpenter (sorry)—all of this, external to his vices and usefulness as a ghost king. they both have their values to the world that we the audience can pick out, but when do either ever say, “hey. i did a good thing, existing. my existence has value, and i should protect it accordingly,” (looking at you for that self-detonation, shen qingqiu)
compare these two to their husbands—brilliant, beautiful, devastatingly, mouth-wateringly powerful luo binghe and xie lian. luo binghe knows his strengths, even if he places all his value in the hands of his shen qingqiu—he knows he’s beautiful, he knows he’s strong, he knows he’s clever and talented and all these things. despite how these things have no value to him if shen qingqiu doesn’t care for them, he’s still conscious of their existence. similarly, xie lian was crown prince of xianle, the strongest martial god, so talented that he ascended at the age of 17. again, he knows the nature of his strengths, even if they matter little to him in the grand scheme of his 800 years of ascent and descent, suffering and anger and thinly-veiled depression.
it’s an interesting contrast to what you’d expect, that when it comes to their feelings towards their relationships—the fact that they’re actually involved with these people that they admire so deeply, are devoted to in ways that are either heartbreakingly over-the-top or subtly devastating—hua cheng and shen qingqiu are the ones that share this glaring similarity.
recommending scum villain to a friend like: it’s so fucked up. it’s a comedy. it’s a tragedy. it’s satire. it’s commentary on sanitisation and sacrifices made by queer authors in order to sell. its about the ripple effects of a single change on an entire world. it’s about people struggling to be loved and plants that can make you so horny that it’ll literally kill you. it’s the sexiest and least horny thing you’ll ever read. the narrator is genderqueer and homosexual and the most queerphobic person you’ll ever come across. he’s a reddit incel who can and will do his best to convince you that he’s not the decent person that he genuinely is. he genuinely believes that he is straight despite having the most obvious fanboy boner for his love interest. his love interest is an alpha male with severe abandonment issues begging to be dominated. it’s about a guy who gets put into a 3000+ chapter harem novel that he hate-read in 20 days and left dissertation-comments on every installment of. the author of said novel has also been stuck in his own story as some random guy that just happens to be close to the glacial bitch mountain of a demon that he created based off all of his preferred kinks. the author and the reddit incel are normal-human versions of their respective love interests, and neither of them seem keen to address it. there’s a donghua that looks like it belongs in an early 2000s PC game but it only has ten episodes. you will beg for scraps of content and enjoy it.
There's something poetic about the fact that Luo Binghe's most prized possession is a fake jade Guanyin pendant--objectively a counterfeit, cheaper version of the original, yes, but something that holds immense emotional value to him because of the kind and loving memories of his mother that he associates with it.
His first and only love is his Shizun, who is, in a sense, similar--a counterfeit, not actually a lofty immortal master, but just a guy who got transported into the body of one. A knockoff, but one that Luo Binghe cherishes dearly because unlike the original, he was kind and loving. He made Binghe feel cared for, once upon a time.
And, at the end of it all, Binghe, after years upon years of having thought he lost his mother's pendant, his Shizun's care, is told that both have been nearer than he ever could have imagined. Shen Qingqiu gives him back the pendant, and says, "stop saying that no one would ever want you," because the pendant is proof, he is proof, that Luo Binghe is loved in this world.
something something white sheep luo binghe
if you close your eyes and imagine you can pretend this is not 2 years later and i, in fact, have a consistent update schedule. eheheeheheh
In all seriousness, this is a good moment to remind everyone whos still here (hi) that im, above all, an artist in college, and not a particularly good or efficient or dedicated writer.
I started writing as a creative outlet during one of the worst art blocks ive ever had, which left me anxious and antsy with the need to make something. Anything at all. I wrote chapters 1 through 4 in a semiconscious state and tried to keep the pace afterwards. Im making art again, and writing doesn't come as easily anymore.
That being said, I have a sense of responsibility to this fic, and scenes i already wrote and im excited to weave into the story, so ill do my very best to give a finished result, for my own peace of mind and for you wonderful people who gave my silly story a shot and wrote such sweet comments.
im honestly so happy I can write something other people find fun, and not just me! :D
im always joking im my own target audience, but i adore your thoughts and comments, its honestly one of the things that stopped me from just abandoning all interest for finishing.
so, at my own pace and enjoyment, im going to continue to write. and even if it takes much more time, ill be flattered for those who continue to accompany me for as long as they wish to or until im finished ^^
praise (21pgs) - ft. doting uncles, a flustered nephew, & hanguang-jun ignoring a cry for help
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comission for @pengiesama! YEAH FENGXIN IS BEING A HYPOCRITE!!
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