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cursed-angelic-art · 4 months

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For the ship ask game and the crackhead ships I find hilarious and interesting:

BingLiu

LiuShang

MoBing

JiuYuan

(I think they're funny and silly)

Oh man, this'll be a long one. Tysm for the ask! I think as a disclaimer for these asks, to get it out of the way; I can't really conceptualize any of these ships without Bingqiu and Moshang still there, lurking. I try to think of just the ship at hand, but the uninvolved characters from each of these pairing are still coloring my perception of each ship listed.

Bingliu

Ship It

What made you ship it? Honestly it's just the antagonism. I'd like to read some UST into it. Also, while I believe Shen Yuan is narratively the best person for Luo Binghe (on account of him caring so much about LBH and about him having a good story), I think from Luo Binghe's pov, he just needed someone to step in at the right moment and care for him. I like to entertain an au idea of LQG being in the wrong place at the right time and blundering into stopping LBH from being abused, leading to LBH's lifelong obsession with his Shishu.

What are your favorite things about the ship? Literally the enmity. Being at each other's throats for five years, fighting over a dead man, does something to a person.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? Idk what's unpopular since I haven't spent much time on just these two. I think if it weren't for sqq, these two wouldn't need much to warm up to each other? At least from Luo Binghe's end. He values loyalty and strength. Liu Qingge is a harder nut to crack imo. It would depend on the circumstances.

Liushang

Ship It (Somewhat)

What made you ship it? From the little fanwork I've seen, I think it could be viable and fun.

What are your favorite things about the ship? Mostly just Shang Qinghua finding more stability among the peak lords and being taken care of. Having someone on his side who is explicitly loyal to him and cares about him more overtly. Idk how things fall that Liu Qingge would end up taking on that role, but I believe it could happen.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? Not really, because I haven't explored this ship much.

Mobing Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it? I just see these guys as coworkers/friends, but not even super close friends. Binghe is kind of a young upstart/apprentice to Mobei-jun, and I just struggle to see Mobei going for that??

What would have made you like it? Probably a talented fic author. I'm willing to read any ship, and I think if an author set things up such that Mobei sees in Binghe some of the parts he's attracted to in SQH, but in like early PIDW canon, I could be invested. Beyond fanwork, I think maybe if canon showed them interacting a bit more, that would have helped.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? There's loyalty, there's hot guys, there's committing atrocities together. I can see why people ship it for sure.

Jiuyuan Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it? I think I just struggle to see it conceptually? It's hard for me to reckon with Shen Yuan falling for someone who hurt Binghe. That said, I still enjoy some fancontent for it. AU stuff can be really creative in a way that makes me enjoy it on occasion, but I tend to gravitate towards canon compliant or canon divergence type fics.

What would have made you like it? Honestly, outside of enjoying fanwork and aus about, I can't really think of something that could be changed about the canon, that would have made me invested. Maybe if Shen Yuan was at all haunted by Shen Jiu's corpse, that would be really zesty, but would also have changed a lot about the story. I'd def read an au about that though.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? I do think that Shen Yuan comes to have very mixed feelings about the previous SQQ, and could be persuaded to care for him more than pity him. In an au, I can see this being a basis for something. I don't think that something would necessarily be healthy, but are any of the pairings in this book? I think an au where they're both inhabiting the body together could be a really fun way of smooshing them together where they have to become wholly invested in each other.

Ship/Don't Ship Ask Game

#For most ships I've answered #ill def read fic about them #i believe anything can come of a good story #but the ones i mark as ship it are ones that have occasionally brought to the verge of brainrot #to ones that give me fulltime brainworms #svsss #liushang #bingliu #mobing #jiuyuan #scum villian self saving system

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10holmes · 1 year

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The LiuJiu brainrot is soooo bad.

I've devoured about any and all angsty, heartbreaking but also wholesome fics there are for this pairing but I crave more!

I can't explain it.

There's just something about reading about Shen Jiu's silent struggles as a disciple (and later as a peak lord), while (not) dealing with his own trauma and PTSD, and even though he's done nothing much to warrant it (not anything more or less than other people and given the moral/rule set-up of the story world), being constantly misunderstood and bullied and badmouthed by his peers that should be family and have his back or be more willing to get to know him and the truth of him before spreading falsehoods...

And in the meantime SJ/SQQ is still giving his all to the sect and maybe even trying to be better and appear less hostile or just deep down wants and wishes for someone to truly see and understand him...

And then we have LQQ who realizes somehow, either on a mission or in the Linxi Cave or through some other situation where SQQ steps in to help and save him or something other about his past or true character is revealed, that SJ is not the scum LQG was led to believe he was, and that LQQ got it all wrong, leading them to slowly reconcile as LQG owns up to his bad past bevaviour towards SJ and becomes compeltely whipped for him.

Well, this is the happy version of alternative fics I crave.

But I actually like it even more if everything remains unresolved: SQQ continues to suffer, especially by the hands of LQG although he wishes them to make up, and eventually dies, and LQQ only later learns the truth (some of it at least)...

Or my new brainrot of agony is, imagining SJ's soul never quite left after the transmigration happens, so he pays witness to how everyone grows to like SY as SQQ, and he can't help but feel pained, more so when even YQY and LQQ don't notice anything amiss...

How heartbreaking is that?! Watching an imposter get everything you always silently wanted or longed for (but also doing something that makes you hate and detest them for defiling his body in such a way -> getting together with LBG)

I just love thinking about SJ's thoughts watching the events of SVSSS unfurl. It sure would be one anxious angsty painful soliloquy...

But also imagine LQG notices something is amiss and knows that this is no longer SJ and he despairs, longing for his shixiong and wishing him back and even tries to somehow find his soul and bring it back, while SJ is hovering around him as a ghost, trying to reach out but unable to...

So much angst and heartbreak potential! I might actually write something with that premise.

But it would also just be nice to read it. I need more angsty painful LiuJiu fics. Call me deranged and sick, but I crave these fics like fine chocolate.

#shen jiu makes me feel so many things #shen qingqiu #svsss #also liujiu #liu qingge #holmes musings

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the-music-maniac · 2 years

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The songs Power by Isak Danielson and Religion also by Isak Danielson are Bingliushen songs and I need to TALK about it before I EXPLODE.

Specifically, the lyrics reminds me of how Liu Qingge likely feels about Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe respectively, set specifically in my brain during that transition period between when Lqg knows he loves Sqq (and also is just starting to catch romantic feelings for lbh) but is not with them yet. Lmao almost a staple in the slow development of bingliushen, that relationship development angsty period of time.

I'm gonna try to keep this (relatively) short so instead of looking at the whole song I'm gonna pick and choose the parts I think apply the most.

Power by Isak Danielson:

So this song. My god, this song killed me when I first listened to it, even just on its own. I didn't need to connect it to a ship to feel so many FEELS about it. It just has a very strong yearning but helpless to do anything about it, kinda vibe. It's so....resigned?? And bittersweet and it drives me feral. Also, melody-wise, I appreciate that even though it's a sad song, it has a kinda higher energy feel to it, a strong slow drum beat later in the song, and that spices things up a little. I personally tend to get slightly bored with low energy slow songs.

Even at the first few lyrics:

I still look at you with eyes that want you When you move, you make my oceans move too

If I hear my name, I will run your way

Can we say that we love each other

Can we play like there ain't no other

If I hear my name, I will run your way.

So, we hear it, yes? I think what strikes me about Liu Qingge in all the fics I've read about him, and even in the source material is how steadfast and reliable and devoted this man is. He really does arrive anytime Sqq calls or needs his help. And plus "can we play like there ain't no other", is really just Luo Binghe and Shen Qingqiu and Liu Qingge meanwhile, watching them happy together.

It's my desire that you feed

You know just what I need

You got power, you got power

You got power over me

I give my all now, can't you see. Why won't you set me free? You got power, you got power

You got power over me

The gist of that is of course. The yearning. And the whole, we don't have a choice about being in love or who we love. Especially applies to the "why won't you set me free" line. And I think it's kind of a given that when you love someone, they just have power over you; power to hurt you, power to make you happy, it's just unavoidable.

The last part of the song:

You're the one that seduced me, lured me in with your beauty, now I know that you used me

So I don't take this line literally because I fully believe sqq is too fucking oblivious to purposely seduce someone. *Car salesman noises* This bad boy can fit so much compartmentalization in it and all that.

However, this line to me just has that bitter type of resentment to it, that, I know you didn't do this on purpose but regardless, I somehow keep coming back to you, and I somehow feel used and hurt and it makes it worse because I can't be mad at anyone but myself. It isn't your fault I fell for you. And it makes it all the more painful that I can't blame you for it.

During the song (and honestly explaining it verbally is gonna sound hella stupid so please just go listen to the song it's linked up there) there's one line that keeps getting repeated in the background: "I'm ready now", and it repeats twice here before continuing onto the next line:

All you did was confuse me

You're no longer what I need, touch me slow, feel my heart bleed

So therefore, in this line, I kinda set this as a situation where maybe Lqg has already sorta started something up with bingqiu, but it still hasn't developed into a fully fledged relationship regardless. Lqg knows at this point that this arrangement is probably temporary, knows whatever they're doing right now is self destructive, likely not good for him, "you're no longer what I need, touch me slow feel my heart bleed" but regardless he's kind of. Ready to except whatever they'll give him because this is all he believes he can have ("I'm ready now"). Regardless of if it is what he needs, it is all he wants, even if it's killing him.

Religion by Isak Danielson:

This one. OOF. It just. The chords and the background chorus and just everything. It's called religion but it really does invoke that type of feeling. And the yearningggg. Anyways, 10/10 song, in general I just really love this artist's music, so this post is about bingliushen but also just a poorly disguised to fangirl about these SONGS AS WELL, MY GOD. Y'all should check Isak Danielson's other songs out too if you get the chance.

Anyways, this one is for sure set in that transition period where Lqg and Lbh really don't know what to make of each other. They're rivals but not really, they're enemies but not really, and they're in that transition not really sure if they still hate each other, truly. Possibly hate fucking each other too. Your headcanon, your choice lmao.

The first line:

Can we say goodbye to, to the lies you told, I know I'm wiser, i've been here before

I believed your stories

At least the blind in me

You gave my eyes, what they wanted to see

I've lost my reality

I've lost everything in me

So this, I interpret as thinking about that time during the 5 years when Lbh and Lqg were fighting over Sqq's body (that is an absolutely ridiculous sentence to say objectively, I'd like to just get that on record). Lqg doesn't think too highly of Lbh throughout all this, and he doesn't trust Binghe. So those first few lines, how Lqg is wiser now, and although Lbh didn't lie to Lqg specifically, regardless he knows that Lbh can be manipulative, he's encountered five years of it. He doesn't trust demons in general very much either which is why I think the "I've lost my reality, I've lost everything in me" would be how he's feeling if/when he enters that kind of "we both like sqq and are hate fucking I guess" kind of relationship. I'm particularly thinking of an amazingly written bingliushen fanfic that is kind of a staple of the ship, Acernor's "Dual Cultivation or Date".

You act like a god, and you're trying too hard but I need it

I was once a believer

Now I'm back to believing

I'm tryna be smart with a stake through the heart, but I feel it

Turning into addiction

Praying in your religion

Religion

Chorus timmmeeeee; but yeah this one gives me even more hate-fucking vibes ("you act like a God and you're trying too hard, but I need it") because Lbh really does act like that, and Lqg is unimpressed but regardless he can't give up this unhealthy friends with benefits type situation with Sqq and Lbh because he still wants them even if it hurts ("I'm trying to be smart with a stake through my heart, but I feel it"). "I was once a believer, and now I'm back to believing" particularly is such a raw line to me, not sure why, but the idea of lqg, acting like a cynic all his life and then, falling for sqq and starting to lose that cynical outlook, only to gain it back once sqq gets married, and then getting that hope back, this time with both Sqq and Lbh?

Damn Lqg really does need like a lot of hugs and therapy though, god.

Future doesn't matter

I'd give it up for you

Even though I know that you'd never do

You know your power, and I know it too

I'll end up in fire, burning with you

I've lost my reality, I've lost everything in me

I think this is the part where Lqg really starts actually realizing that he cares about, maybe even loves Lbh. "Future doesn't matter, I'd give it up for you, even though I know that you'd never do", Lqg realizing that he would give up so much for Lbh but believing that he would never do the same, that his first priority will always be only Sqq.

"You know your power, and I know it too" In my brain this also mirrors how he thinks about Sqq.

"I'll end up in fire, burning with you"

So again, how he's slowly realizing that he'd be willing to sacrifice just as much for Lbh as for sqq, as their particular relationship develops past just love rivals/enemies, and there of course Lqg is going to go through another reality altering crisis, because not only is he in love with TWO married men who are married to EACH OTHER but now one of them is a HALF DEMON LORD, Lqg did not fUcking sign up for tHis, Can't have shit in Bai Zhan

This post is getting really long so Imma end it soon, but the point is these songs fit really well - although maybe it's just my personal experience instead of a universal one. Regardless, this ot3 drives me feral and this song drives me feral and I wanted to write about it. I believe after all this angst fest the three of them sort their shit out and end up in a healthy relationship with each other, but until then. I can't lie, I'm enjoying this grade A angst, 10/10.

#i just really love them okay #i also really love lqg and i want him to have nice things #but i also like hurt/comfort and for that there needs to be angst sorry lqg #it's okay once they get together i'm sure lbh and sqq will provide all the comfort lqg deserves #and getting railed that too #bingliushen #liubingqiu #i don't know if there's another ship name for them #luo binghe x liu qingge x shen qingqiu #luo binghe #liu qingge #shen qingqiu #svsss #scumbag villain #mtxt #song analysis #??

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faelicy · 4 years

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Miss Faelicy I would love to get your opinion on Bingqiu.

I see people posting things like how they are "problematic" and how they don't really love each other and SQQ only feels sympathy etc. Obviously there were struggles between them as there should be (considering all that happened) and just because sqq wasn't very open and super obvious about his feelings doesn't mean they are not there..this is how I interpreted it. I would love to know your opinion

Hello! This also covers part 2 of the previous ask.

First, massive spoilers for the end of the novel. Second, a disclaimer: I despise shipwars, which I think are behind most of those comments. I hate them because it's usually all in bad faith: everyone's already committed to their interpretation of the ships, and any discussion is just a guise for justifying their preferences.

So to any readers: I don't want anything here to be used as shipwar fuel. This post is about Bingqiu's canon arc and themes. Basically, I don't know or care if Bingqiu is a good ship, but I do think it's a well-written one.

I'll start by saying directly: for most of the novel, Bingqiu is neither healthy nor romantic. And that this is not bad writing, but on purpose.

A relationship that drives one party to mental breakdown isn't healthy. A relationship where that party says it's okay to hurt or kill them can't possibly be healthy. That happened because there was something deeply wrong with their relationship, something that can't be reduced to Xin Mo, miscommunication, or LBH throwing a tropey yandere fit.

And out of all three MXTX novels, only SV lacks a love confession from the MC to the ML. Again, I don't think it's an oversight, or just because SQQ's face is too thin. There are plenty of ways MXTX could have worked a subtle one in if she really wanted to.

In my opinion, Bingqiu's narrative can be split up into four arcs: Qing Jing Peak (ch 1-27), Jin Lan City (28-43), Post-revival (29-55), and Reconciliation (56-81). Other than the first arc, where their relationship is pretty straightforward, Bingqiu spend most of the rest in direct conflict.

I'll give an overview of the arcs here, but what I truly want to say about Bingqiu starts in arc 4, so if you're impatient you can scroll down. But the overview might help add context.

Jin Lan City arc is about LBH's anger at being brutally betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust. Here he tries to force answers out of SQQ, who he believes both hates him and is a hypocrite. He's driven by a desire to return to the past, but his rage and love makes his actions contradictory: on one hand he tries to win SQQ's approval constructively, by climbing to the top of Huan Hua Palace and performing good deeds, on the other hand his belief that SQQ doesn't care about him so it's all futile anyway (reinforced by SQQ's own actions) causes him to lash out destructively, going as far as to hurt and imprison SQQ.

LBH's bitterness is portrayed very negatively, because all it does is instill despair into SQQ, until SQQ ends up believing that he's only been a blight on LBH's life, and that he must make up for it by killing himself. Whereupon LBH breaks down, regressing into a childlike state. Some might ask, why does LBH never bring up the Abyss again afterwards? It's because he gives up here. This entire arc is about getting LBH to let go of past wrongs and to stop seeking answers, whether the reader believes it's fair to him or not. Because SQQ's life is more important.

Post-revival arc then is about SQQ trying to come to terms with a blackened LBH who also loves him. Interestingly, despite SQQ's horror at realizing LBH was romantically interested in him all along, SQQ actually has a very subtle but telling secondary reaction. To explain, let's back up to the first arc.

Starting around ch 9, probably as a sign of his growing affection, SQQ begins addressing LBH as 这孩子, or "this child," in his internal monologue, instead of LBH's name. He does it once each in ch 9, 12, 17, 21, 25. However, once Jin Lan City arc starts, SQQ drops the address entirely. LBH and "child" are never brought up together except for one snarky comment on LBH's tantrum being disgracefully childish in ch 38.

At first glance this doesn't look noteworthy because LBH by this point is no longer a kid. But when LBH kisses him in ch 49, SQQ changes again: right away he returns to using "child" on LBH, and the "this child" address starts popping up at a much higher frequency. By the end of SV SQQ has referred to LBH as a child in some manner at least 35 times (yes I went and counted), with the vast majority after ch 49, and he continues to do so right into the last extra.

Why was SQQ unwilling to use this address of affection for over 20 chapters? Perhaps because he too thought LBH hated him, and couldn't bear to think about him so intimately knowing that. So SQQ immediately falling back into it the moment he learns LBH loves him is a sign of his relief. He's still dismayed at the romantic part, but though SQQ likes to deflect from his real emotions (this is the guy who focused on bad naming sense after being fatally poisoned, who cavalierly commented only after it was all over that he'd expected to die), the fact that LBH loves and doesn't hate him, means a lot.

Here SQQ's feelings towards LBH are at their most complicated. He still assumes the worst of him like in Jin Lan City, but now because of the above, also sees a lonely child whenever LBH is unhappy and lost. It's like he has two filters actively interfering with each other, "crazed criminal" and "pitiful child," and so he flip-flops between pushing LBH away and comforting him. But when LBH drags CQMS into it, and even seemingly takes advantage of SQQ's love for him, SQQ's negative image and frustration with him only grows, until he finally snaps and tells LBH to never come near him again.

At this point SQQ still believes that LBH is the same black-hearted, invincible, devil incarnate that og!LBH was portrayed to be. The Reconciliation arc starts by chipping away at this filter that's been plaguing SQQ for so long. First the revelation that TLJ/ZZL was behind the sowers, thus clearing LBH's name at Jin Lan City. Then we see how unloved he is by his own father; we see him injured and helpless and unconscious. Meng Mo yells at SQQ, reinforcing that image of a vulnerable, terrified child. So by ch 62 SQQ has thrown away the "crazed criminal" filter completely, and in that same chapter they cling to each other and finally make up. Because while it's true that the current LBH is misanthropic, antisocial, and mercurial, SQQ has also finally accepted that he's still the same LBH he'd raised and doted on, back on Qing Jing Peak.

Now I'm going to talk about what I see as the most important part of Bingqiu. Yes, despite the wall of text already.

A common sentiment of Bingqiu shippers about their issues seems to be, "SQQ is dumb and oblivious; he can't figure out what LBH needs even though he loves him because he sees LBH as a novel character," but I think the problem is far more complicated and insidious than that. If that was everything, why give SQQ the epiphany that he misunderstood LBH so early? Why have him think in ch 66 that "truthfully, he'd never really trusted Luo Binghe, and that's why he kept accidentally hurting him?" If he's already realized that he shouldn't treat LBH like og!LBH (he even meets og!LBH in ch 71 to rub it in further), why do we go another 13 chapters believing their relationship is good and well, even giving us a sweet, happy moment in ch 75, only to show LBH having the worst breakdown of the novel just 4 chapters later? Was it all just padding to demonstrate the danger of Xin Mo?

Or is there something else beneath the surface?

In ch 66, the same chapter where SQQ implies he doesn't want to accidentally hurt LBH anymore, he says something telling. When LQG is skeptical that LBH can be trusted, SQQ thinks, 家里孩子不懂事，大人不容易做, or "when your child doesn't know any better, as the adult you don't have it easy." The child here of course refers to LBH, and the adult is SQQ, who's complaining about smoothing over LBH's messes. But what is SQQ implying here?

Doesn't know any better? That's what you say about a toddler who can't think for themselves, not a grown man. LBH is 25 and SQQ thinks he doesn't know better. Doesn't know better about what? LBH's wants, his needs? His feelings? Or even what's good for him?

And then you realize that's exactly how SQQ's always treated him, like a helpless child who can't make his own choices.

It's SQQ who chooses to throw LBH down into the Abyss without trying to talk to him. It's SQQ who decides that keeping silent is the best choice. It's SQQ who believes self-destructing in front of LBH will help, who thinks that breaking off their relationship is for the better. And it's SQQ who scolds LBH into tolerating CQMS, even though they hate each other and CQMS is hostile towards him. Who forces him to leave first at Zhao Hua Temple despite LBH's pleas otherwise, who shoos him out the window when CQMS walks in on them.

Every single one of these decisions, SQQ made believing it was for the best (repair LBH's relationship with his family, help him avoid arrest, not wanting to make excuses, wanting LBH to be free of his hatred), and every single one of them only damaged LBH further. Because SQQ's never listened to him, even once. Never consulted him or considered his feelings.

(And LBH did try to bring up his feelings on one of the matters in ch 75. He insinuates to SQQ that he doesn't like LQG calling him "little beast" or "ingrate." And SQQ's response is to dismiss them entirely, saying that LQG's "not wrong.")

SQQ has always loved LBH, but he's never once respected LBH's agency or personhood. Because LBH doesn't know better and SQQ does, so SQQ must make all his decisions for him.

And this, amplified by Xin Mo, is what finally drives LBH mad in ch 79.

To LBH, the important part isn't whether SQQ loves him, which I think he knew after ch 43 (it's why he can be so daring and pushy with SQQ's boundaries). What's important is that the moment SQQ believes abandoning LBH is justified for whatever reason again, SQQ absolutely will.

Ch 80's two-way noncon (since LBH was basically unconscious and couldn't consent) tends to draw most of the attention, but I actually think that what happens afterwards is one of the most important scenes for Bingqiu. There SQQ tries to sacrifice himself a second time for LBH, drawing Xin Mo's demonic qi into his body. Yet the novel claims that SQQ's actions here are completely different than in ch 43. SQQ himself says that this time he's doing it for LBH, while last time he was doing it for himself. But can the reader see a functional difference?

There is one, in fact: it's SQQ's response to LBH's choice afterwards. LBH decides to follow SQQ in death, even though this would void the point of SQQ's sacrifice. But instead of insisting otherwise, SQQ just accepts it. Because he finally understands that whether LBH's life is worth living, whether LBH will be better off, is for LBH and only LBH to decide.

It's the first time he respects LBH's agency. And this is the only reason why he and LBH can finally begin building a healthy relationship on the mess they've had up to now.

So that's what I see as the true beauty behind Bingqiu. It's about communication and mistaken assumptions, yes, but it's also about the nature of love between parent and child. The romantic developments were left to the extras, I believe, because this was the main story MXTX wanted to tell with them. Their relationship as lovers only starts afterwards, hence why SV ends with, "the story between you and I, has only just begun." It was never meant to be a whirlwind romance where they fall in love cleanly. It might not to be to everyone's tastes, but an incredible amount of thought was put into the narrative, and that's what amazed me when I first finished this novel.

(This post went on way too long and I ended up cutting off a huge chunk of tangential stuff and how SQQ came to his realization in ch 79: he didn't do it alone. It took him seeing the LBH in TLJ and the himself in YQY for him to understand. In fact, YQY and og!SQQ's relationship has a similar parent-and-child dynamic. I've touched on it before on twitter; if there's interest I might try writing that up here too.)

#scum villain #svsss #scum villain's self saving system #sv meta #spoilers #fae's meta #translation notes

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touchmycoat · 2 years

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Your recent yuejiuliu(?) dive has infected me - was listening to the song soldier, poet, king and was thinking that can be a title for a fic about Them but I have no fic idea lol

HELL YEAH. fam that is such a good song for them i'm vibrating. Off the top of my head I'm getting...warring kingdoms vibes. Mystical and apocalyptic? The infamous immortal warlord Shen Qingqiu has been waging war against the equally infamous immortal warlord Liu Qingge for decades, wanting control over the territories of Qiong Ding Peak that are lush with spiritual energy and ideal for training. It's local knowledge that SQQ and LQG actually used to study under the same school, and that they used to have a shixiong, Yue Qingyuan, who was the most promising and beloved disciple of the legendary Cang Qiong Mountain Sect before his untimely death 20 years ago. It's folklore and rumor that SQQ, who was second in line for taking over the sect, grew jealous and killed YQY with underhanded tricks, and LQG, YQY's most loyal lieutenant, led sect members in a revolt against SQQ's rule. Cang Qiong territories split in two, and the war's gone on and on with no end in sight.

However this plays out (it kind of feels like it would be transmigrated SY finding his way into LQG's camp and chatting about all this with YYX, LQG's right hand? YYX tells him actually, nobody knows why LQG and SQQ turned against each other all those years ago. Yeah they were famously rivals as disciples but YYX believes something triggered the war), the big revelation is, of course, SQQ did not kill YQY. 79 still have their shared childhood and misunderstanding. Only, with SQQ on the brink of death after a battle 20 years ago, YQY ascended another level with Xuan Su and used it to bring SQQ back at the price of sealing away his own life.

Xuan Su is now a godly object, and upon learning what YQY did, SQQ wants to use Xuan Su and bring YQY back. He kind of goes crazy with this, saying he has a score to settle with YQY. LQG, the only other person privy to what YQY did, refuses to let him.

Upon figuring all this out, SY consults with a fierce, but spiritually exhausted LQG. SY says he understands LQG wanting to protect YQY's legacy and not let an object as dangerous as Xuan Su go out into the world, but SQQ would not back down. Hasn't LQG done enough? Wouldn't YQY understand letting SQQ have his way at this point?

(There has been death due to the war—but I think the stakes would have to be something like...those that remained on Cang Qiong to help either camp when the war broke out got sealed into a great array, maybe as a political compromise to other Sect Leaders. They suffer and they die but they come back to life once the war is over. The effects of the war don't look permanent, that's why LQG's been letting it go on for so long. Psychologically though, 20 years is definitely taking its toll on everybody.)

But LQG says, "yes I'm protecting YQY's legacy, but not like that. Do you know whose life SQQ would give to Xuan Su?"

SY's momentarily taken aback, because the general assumption is that SQQ would sacrifice anyone unimportant.

"When I first took Xuan Su, it was from SQQ's hands," LQG tells him, expression shuttered. "Yue-shixiong died for him. If I let SQQ die, that would be failing Yue-shixiong's legacy."

!! YEAH!! So the whole thing is all LQG the Soldier, forced to keep this man he doesn't even like alive at the expense of YQY, whom he loves way more. SQQ the Poet, spinning tales to persuade his own camp that he's the side of justice, that he's the martyr who wants this war to end—look, LQG knows SQQ will die to bring YQY back and break them out of this array, but LQG chooses to squirrel Xuan Su away. Why else would he do that if he's not trying to keep Xuan Su's powers for himself? LQG doesn't want YQY back, he's the bad guy, we fight this war to bring back our lost shixiong.

Meanwhile, liujiu who know the truth sometimes get the opportunity to powwow in private and it's raw every time. They hate each other's guts but they're also forced to recognize that this person they despise also truly and deeply loves YQY. And that's the sort of thing that cues not only respect, but also attachment (and yearning, even) when the object of both your affections is dead. Nobody else holds YQY as close to their hearts, nobody else remembers YQY as much, and nobody else understands how much they both fucking hate YQY for sacrificing himself like that. They don't love YQY for his perfection. They both miss him, and they're the only two people in the world who really understand each other's longing for YQY the King with his crown of thorns.

anyways there are plot holes as big as parmesan cheese wheels here but whatever. Sad end is LQG giving his life to Xuan Su, I think. Alternate version is LQG bringing YQY back halfway and he himself is getting drained of life slowly. or we find a way to make this happy!!!! we love a happy ending ;;

#lakjsndlfkjansdlf sorry for the ramble i just vibed hard with this song #and got to thinking about tsubasa i think lmfaoo #please do let me know if you write fic ;; 679 is so delicious #anon #asks #679 #that's SUCH a good song and you know i can't fucking resist my martyrs and beloved leaders #and the selfishness of sacrifice

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