Cale, through some failure of magical shenanigans, becoming half cat. Like, cat ears and tail, but not actually a cat beastkin.
It was supposed to turn him completely into an animal and reduce him into nothing but a mindless creature, but bro is so full of ancient powers and stuff, that wasn't gonna work. It wasn't fully ineffective though, so now he's a catboy (catman?) for a bit.
At first, they don't really notice much of a difference between his usual self and his current part cat self. He looks as haughty as ever, with the fluff of fur where his human ears were leading up to the large red ones on his head that looked, frankly, quite majestic alongside his long-furred tail. His ears and tail twitch and shift outside his control, showing his emotions much more than his expression ever would, but otherwise, there's not much more to say than that.
Except, they start actually looking at what his cat parts are saying.
For one, even when he is lounging lazily, his ears are almost always pointed in their direction. He's very often paying attention to them or at least using their voices as background ambience.
His tail swishes calmly whenever he's listening to them. Especially the children. It shows that he's not just attentive, but very content, even enjoying himself.
He doesn't suddenly get more fastidious about himself getting wet or dirty or anything, but he does start brushing up against people.
It appears to be an utterly unconscious move on his part when he first does it, pushing against Choi Han for a moment before moving past him. On and Hong immediately stiffen, eyes wide, and Ron also raises a brow, though the others don't catch on yet.
On briefly tests her theory, walking up to him and leaning against him in her human form while he's talking to Rosalyn. Without batting an eye, a long red tail brushes around her and he rubs her head, easily leaving his scent on her just as easily as she's left hers on him.
Then, as though to punctuate their discussion, he leaves his conversation with Rosalyn off with a parting flick of his tail around her leg and a light brush past her as he walks in the opposite direction. Not enough to shove but enough to put his weight lightly against her. It would've been odd had Rosalyn not had the context On so kindly and silently provided, leaving the witch feeling very much chuffed instead.
(This was also a surprise to Alberu, who ended up with Cale deciding that his head looked like a great place to put his own. Which is exactly what he did when looking at a paper the prince was about to show him, the redhead basically draping himself all over his back.
"Dongsaeng."
"Yes, your highness?"
"Pray tell, what are you doing?"
"Reading."
"Does that require you to use your beloved hyung as furniture?"
"No, it does not."
Cale didn't move for another five minutes.
Alberu didn't have him move despite his complaint.)
Even Ron gets the treatment.
It's cautious, as the man always is with the assassin. And he's never been particularly touchy with him or Beacrox. And yet, Cale finds himself holding something being handed to him a touch too long, his wrist able to rub against the Molans in a way that seems to calm him, judging by the little satisfied narrowing of his eyes when he does it. Cautious and tentative, but still wanting to do it. The Molan patriarch and his son notice it. Neither say anything. But, if Ron adds a little honey into the lemon tea the next time he makes it, well, that's neither here nor there, is it?
...
Also, Cale purrs easily. It doesn't take much for him to feel happy or pleased.
He's embarrassed by it, but Cale grows to just deal with his overactive motor.
One trigger is Beacrox's food. He likes tasty food, after all. Just a whiff of its scent has him purring in anticipation of the taste, especially if it's meat (cats being obligate carnivores has indeed increased his meat intake).
Another is when the kids are talking to or around him. Watching them having fun, enjoying life. Sometimes, they'll just be yappin, and all of a sudden—prrrrrr. They'll look over and see Cale covering his face with his hand.
Who ordered a Trash of the Count's Family fic with a side of depression?
--
Cale is very good with kids.
He doesn't seem like the type, initially. But he's genuinely good with them.
Calm, accommodating, and firm when he needs to be. A very stabilizing, comforting force.
Choi Han makes that observation one day, and Cale scoffs it off, insisting he's no better with children than anyone else.
As though the human hasn't managed to endear and sufficiently baby a severely abused dragon toddler into becoming the least selfish and most amicable of his species.
. . .
Sometimes, Cale gets a faraway look on his face. After all, staring into space is one of his favorite pastimes, as he says.
But On feels like it's different this time.
He sits at a desk, looking out the window, his left hand supporting his chin. His right one rests on his lap, thumb moving in absent circles.
It didn't happen as much before, but after Choi Han mentioned Cale being good with kids, Cale started daydreaming more often like this, with a far-off energy about him.
"...Cale?"
He turns to her.
"Hmm?"
A glimmer of red fades from his eyes.
She comes up with an excuse for having interrupted him. Something about a snack for the afternoon. It's clearly something she could've talked to Beacrox about, and both of them know it.
Both ignore it, and Cale accepts the interruption without question.
. . .
Upon realizing that Cale is actually a transmigrated Korean from his same world, there's another question on the tip of Choi Han's tongue.
He could just look through Cho Jungsoo's memories for it, but he'd rather ask. After all, it's a very personal thing, you know? And, well, he's already pretty sure he knows the answer...but it would be wrong to assume.
So he does eventually ask, when they have some time mostly alone. Of course, Raon is also there. But it's fine, since Raon knows their secret and is keeping it very well.
"Hmm?"
"Ah, if it's not too personal. I was wondering what your dynamic was before you became Cale."
"Dynamic? What's that?" Raon asks, eyes glittering with curiosity.
Of course, the word with its context didn't actually translate into the this world's language. There was no word for it here, in a place without secondary genders for the general populace.
Cale's neutral expression shifted into something a little humored.
A little...
"Omega."
"Omega? Mm. That makes sense," Choi Han nods.
And it does. In so many, various ways, it does. Perhaps someone else would've been surprised and insisted he would've been an alpha, but his levelheaded dominance and consideration reminded Choi Han most of the vague wisps of omega members of his family.
Since he told him what his dynamic had been, it's only fair that he tell him what his is.
"I'm—"
"An alpha. I know."
He blinks, surprised. Cale just taps his nose.
"Different world, different body, but it seems my nose carried over. Just a little."
"Ah."
Their world had been a cacophony of smells and nonverbal communication. To navigate it, the general person had heightened senses compared to the general person here, particularly their sense of smell. Differentiating your friend's happiness from a stranger's depression was very important, after all.
Finding your prospective mate in a crowd was also a very overplayed but evergreen romantic plot for day dramas.
The absence of that communication was just as torturous as a solitary confinement in a white padded room. For tens of years. Hundreds. Desperate for survival.
And the first people he sees, he reaches out to scent, for them to smell him, to understand him because he didn't have the words, only for them all to smell so...
Cale's hand held his shoulder. He didn't realize it he had started to shake.
"I can't talk that way anymore. But I know what you're saying."
Choi Han looked up at him. When had he looked down?
Their eyes met.
Cale's calm copper met his dark, swirling black.
"I hear you."
I can't speak back anymore, but I hear you.
"...Yes, Cale-nim."
A moment later, little claws land with some weight on his other shoulder.
"...Raon is great and mighty, you know. I am not one of these dynamics, but I can listen to Choi Han if you want to talk, too."
"Mm. Thank you, Raon," he replies, smiling.
Although they move on from the topic eventually as Raon starts asking what dynamics are, Choi Han still files the little look Cale had on his face away. He knows better now than to ignore those little tidbits when they appear.
Perhaps Cale feels lonely in his own way, too.
. . .
A little after recognizing that he does, indeed, still smell some pheromones (though to a lesser extent than before) he begins experimenting with what else carried forward from his previous body.
He thinks back to a book he'd read in Billos' café.
Title...
Chapter. Page. Line. Word.
Chapter. Page. Line. Word.
Chapter. Page. Line. Word.
Chapter. Page. Line. Word.
Chapter. Page. Line. Word—
...Hah.
So it did come with him after all. He'd been using it unconsciously, as naturally as he'd always been.
He's been recording without thinking much about it.
That then makes him wonder about the extent to what was brought over. After all, he was transmigrated. As an avid fantasy reader, he knew there were differences depending on the type.
He gazes in a mirror at his own eyes, the same dark copper red as in his previous body.
Did his brain come with him, or was it just a transference of souls? He would think his brain had to come to process and properly categorize the information that came from Record and to understand the hormonal data from pheromones. Or, perhaps any animal could do the latter if they knew what to smell for and had the capacity to do it.
He thinks of what the ancient powers said about plates. Did he bring his plate over from his world? Was his plate thin because he had no need for a thicker one in his environment? That wouldn't really explain Choi Han, but his family's an outlier anyway. Or, was the original Cale's plate thin from the start?
He blinks and thinks of...
...
...hm.
Right.
His plate was his own, wasn't it? The ancient powers said it themselves. It was the power of his soul.
Vast, but thin.
No amount of physical or spiritual activity could strengthen it. There was no known way to make a plate stronger.
Having a lot of potential, but no real output.
He'd had a teacher say something like that to him once.
Well, he hadn't faulted them. It wasn't like they were wrong. His life thus far, and even now, was full of him relying on the strength of others because he couldn't do it himself.
He's gotten used to that helplessness by now. That's why he's quite comfortable working hard for the moment to pursue his slacker life.
Well. Anyway. The Cale he is now is quite clearly somewhere between Cale Henituse and Kim Roksoo in physical composition.
Enough of the latter to bring over Record. Not enough to fully return his sense of smell or...other aspects of his previous dynamic.
That was likely for the best.
. . .
Raon Miru has a mother.
A vestige of one, left behind by the last bit of her surviving magic, attached to his very being in a bond poorly understood by any human magic. But a mother nonetheless.
It's awkward for the little dragon, who stumbles over the word and hides behind Cale and stares at her like she's a foreign entity.
But Cale insists on finding a way to bring her with them somehow.
It's necessary, you see.
Her magic is strong, and her shield is impeccable. Her wisdom is also more than enough to make up for her lack of general mobility. If they can just find a way to move her closer to home, then Raon can spend more time with Sheritt.
They deserve that. They deserve a happy reunion and many years to spend with each other.
He pointedly does not address how much seeing that desecrated nursery had hollowed something out in his chest—freezing him in place and filling his ears with white noise—just imagining how horrific it all was. Sheritt described it, and his mind filled in the rest.
They should at least get the opportunity to be together.
To be happy.
Having been done so wrong by the dragon slayer she once trusted and then cursed to never again be able to experience love...for her magic to have lasted this long, it must mean something. He'd like it to mean something more than a temporary flicker, a passersby reunion.
Even if a little twist of misplaced jealousy curls very briefly in his raw-scraped stomach, he pushes the feeling away with the soft rub of his thumb.
Raon still seems to prefer him, anyway, for now.
He'll enjoy it for however long it lasts. And, if Raon eventually decides he prefers the company of his mother to him, that will not only be perfectly logical, but he will step aside graciously.
It would be the right thing to do.
. . .
Knowing that the White Star cannot truly experience love as the bastard cooes at and hugs him whilst he is disguised as Naru fills his mouth with ash.
What a fucking liar.
It's even worse when he finds that their faces are entirely too similar to each other.
The White Star continues to drive on his nerves more. Something about him stings his senses and makes his skin crawl with hatred, and every tidbit more he learns worsens his distaste. Like magnetic forces utterly opposed.
It feels ingrained at a certain point.
As in, Cale starts to wonder when he began to hate the White Star, or perhaps he's just always hated him intrinsically. Because this bastard was always going to be a thorn in his side, an obstacle to his slacker life, they couldn't help but be enemies.
He hates the "omnipotent", all-powerful types, anyway.
...The thought that the man smiling at him from behind that white face mask tore out a baby dragon's heart for chimera experiments, has committed various war crimes over centuries to procure dead mana, and is lying to his face when he sees his current disguise only as a means to an end makes him want to kill him right this moment.
But, there are too many variables. Too many ways an attempt right now could go very wrong.
So, he holds back every intent to kill that he has and simply gazes back with the despair of a child who is worried about his father.
At least he doesn't have to force a smile him. Silver linings and whatnot.
That night, before bed, Cale stares at the ceiling and thinks of many, many dead children.
He'll be glad to talk to Raon tomorrow.
. . .
Choi Han didn't get to experience how society collapsed before he was taken from his world. He didn't know how the monsters changed and adapted, and how the people had to change and adapt to survive around them.
Upon entering the Sealed God's test, he finds out that monsters are quite vicious when it came to exploiting pheromones.
Weaker monsters can let out the scents of infants not even off their mother's milk, who haven't developed their own scents yet. You follow the smell of fresh, wet blood and human-like cries, only to turn a corner to a many-eyed beast with a gaping maw. Some stronger ones can appeal to the various sexes, musking and attempting to induce heats and ruts to distract their prey and consume them whilst they are indisposed in vicious fashion.
Choi Han's decades alone should have meant he was extra sensitive to them, but perhaps as a boon from the God of Death or his own hardiness, he finds himself rather unaffected. If anything, the monsters are more affected by him, mistaking him for a higher grade monster. Moreover, even other humans cower at his pheromones—they are apparently weak from gradual disuse and his own sense of privacy, but upon smelling them, alphas in particular are stricken with a deep-seated dread. Most omegas steer clear of him altogether, as though by instinct. Betas, while not having as visceral reactions, eye him like one does an errant shadow with no discernible source, doing double-takes and long looks as though spooked.
Regardless, with the various types of pheromone-based attacks, unmated alphas and omegas have a much harder time dealing with monsters in the current world. That was why, despite how crucial mating is, partnering has become a much more hurried affair, their bodies thankfully adapting to the changes. Choi Han wasn't one to judge how others dealt with desperate situations.
That being said, even he's a little taken aback by this.
He doesn't say anything out loud, moving as requested and speaking normally to Cale (currently Kim Roksoo, who is somehow even thinner and more frail than his otherworld counterpart). And he wasn't, not unless it came up at all.
He's thankful when Cale mentions it himself.
"You're wondering why him."
"Hmm?"
The thin but not particularly short man looks at him, familiar copper eyes darker than usual with dark circles and more prominent collarbones. He's not healthy, a lack of nutrition pulling his skin taut, and it makes the bite mark on his neck stand out more.
"'Why Park Jintae', right?"
"He seems like...an odd choice."
"Mm. I didn't want to choose him either... Ah, he didn't force me, though. It was a matter of convenience for both of us, in the end."
Choi Han's glare softens immediately. "I see."
Thinking about the shelter's population, it's true that most are betas. Alphas and omegas are already a smaller portion of the general population. With more frontline ability users being alphas, they became even more scarce. It seems it wasn't rare anymore for an alpha to mark several omegas at this point, just to stave off monster-based pheromone attacks for as many people as possible, even if it meant a different kind of pheromone attack via heat competition.
Kim Roksoo was just one of about four omegas partnered with Park Jintae. There were two other alphas there. One was Lee Chulmin, who partnered with two omegas. The other alpha seemed to be exclusive with their omega partner.
"Not a lot to work with. He's not the worst, but not exactly my first choice."
"That's unfortunate. In your real past, did you...?"
"Yes. Most things seem to have matched up, even up to the partners. I feel the sealed god must have looked for this place on purpose."
Choi Han watches as Cale rubs his stomach, seeming a little hungry. However, he hasn't eaten much of anything since he arrived, and food storage is already scarce since the monster wave has yet to finish. Night would be upon them in a few hours, so their work was really just ramping up.
"You should eat something, Roksoo-hyung."
"Mm?"
"Since you used your powers." He nods toward Cale's hand.
The man looks down at it, blinking in surprise. He hadn't even noticed he was expressing his own hunger.
"...Right. I'll get something later."
Choi Han nods, but pauses.
There's a little smell. Soft and underlying. Incognito, much in the same way his own seems to be, and faint from disuse.
It smells very, very lightly of refined, sweet lanolin and tilled earth.
And it's tinged quietly with a question.
. . .
In his world, it had taken him a good while before he'd seen Lee Soohyuk again in Busan. Many things had happened by then, and he was a different person, changed and molded by loss.
Here, it takes just a few days.
He's still molded by loss, but it's loss from years past now. Loss so old that the wounds have long closed and only ache from the memory of having hurt rather than being actively painful. Seeing the living, breathing faces of bodies once strewn in jagged pieces is much more pleasant, after all.
This world is easier to deal with in many ways.
He was once a team leader. He's dealt with international stressors. He's had his hands full with hecklers on a grand stage. He knows how to navigate battles with pinpoint precision, where every second counts. And he knows exactly how he fits into them.
He also has more power. The ancient powers embedded in his soul, the Records he cannot forget, Choi Han, Alberu - Dark Tiger ver., the Grade 1 Steel Feather Hawk and White Rabbit... As hard as trying to prepare for the first unranked monster is, having so many prime resources on his side is a boon he can only be grateful to his comrades, foresight, and negotiation skills for acquiring. Without them gathering, his plans to smack the sealed god in the face would be infinitely more tedious.
But then—
"Dongsaeng. Dearest dongsaeng, whom I cherish. Would you happen to be carrying something around you haven't mentioned to anyone else right about now?"
This world is also very, very difficult in one extremely specific way. A way he'd somewhat anticipated but very carefully intended not to think about.
But of course.
Of course something like a sealed god who thrives on despair would leave no stone unturned.
Not even this one.
Before anyone else can ask what the dark tiger means, Cale excuses them, moving their conversation elsewhere. Choi Han, of course, joins as well. He likely knows where this is going himself, the sword master having grown more cautious about him as the days have gone by, his strong senses likely warning him despite how quiet Cale has been keeping himself.
But, he cannot fool a monster's nose. Nor Choi Han's.
Cale closes the doors to the space they come to occupy, both men staring at him expectantly. Cale sighs.
"What are you referring to?"
"I'm sure you know what I mean, considering your reaction," Alberu murmurs, a tinge of humored exasperation to his voice. "It's a bit hard to explain though. Something about your smell that my nose keeps twitching about. You're being very secretive, I can tell that much."
"I guess it's similar for me." Choi Han fiddles with his scabbard. "But it's familiar. I've smelled it. I just don't remember where."
"...May I know what brought this to mind now?"
"You're always hiding things. Can't you rely on us just this once? Mm? I'm not so unreliable, now, am I?"
His smile is tight, fake, even on the dark tiger's face. It's the smile of a scammer, much like his own. Choi Han doesn't have that sort of capability—or if he does, he doesn't bother with it. He instead gazes at him seriously.
"Cale-nim, please. If it's serious, I need to know. Has the sealed god done something to you?"
Well. Hmm. He can understand the misconception. It's a misunderstanding. An unfortunate one, but one nevertheless. They're just worried about him, which would be a little heartwarming if it didn't make him feel weird every time.
He was fine. He would always be fine. This was just...a little tedious to figure out. And hide. Which he couldn't do from them anymore because of their entirely too-good noses.
"...Right then."
Cale clears his throat.
Why it feels thick is a little odd.
"I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."
Both of the other two stare at him. Choi Han's eyes slowly widen, all of his prior experience in their shared world reawakwning his knowledge. Meanwhile, Alberu manages to make utter confusion look majestic.
"...Excuse me?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."
"Ah, yes. I heard you. It's just. Hm. I was. Trying to figure out. How that was." He waves a paw in a vague circle, his gaze glancing down very briefly. "Possible."
"In this world, some men can also get pregnant and have reportedly stronger children."
"...Ho."
"These people are known by many terms, like omegas. People like Choi Han have stronger bodies and fertility, known as alphas. Alphas and omegas usually pair up due to strong pheromone compatability. Or something like that."
"...I see." Alberu looks over to Choi Han for confirmation, only to see the man contemplating something deeply. "That explains some of the odd behavior I've noticed from some people."
"Mm. Since the monsters in this world adapted to take advantage of how the people here communicate via pheromones, alpha-omega partnerships help mitigate some of the negative effects monster pheromones could have on us. However, when too many omegas pair with an alpha or vice versa, their bodies may go into heat or rut competition to try to prove their hormonal worthiness to each other. Basically, you get really horny and fuck about it, apocalypse be damned."
"Ahah. And that has led to your. Current condition."
"Yes. Specifically, I was already pregnant before the test began."
"...So, I'm going to be an uncle."
"Congratulations, your highness."
"Call me, hyung."
"–Hyung-nim."
Cale looks over, meeting Choi Han's dark gaze, and he can feel the way it bores into his own. There's a shaky quality to his voice.
Ah...he's...
He's figured it out, probably.
Well. It's probably a part of the test. Never underestimate the invasiveness of a god.
The goal of the test. The sealed god of despair, digging into every crevice possible.
Cale rubs a thumb over his stomach.
"Everyone from the central shelter died. And later, we couldn't kill the unranked monster without massive losses."
Alberu's gaze drifts to his thumb, and the same realization begins to bloom in his wise, regal face.
"The win condition is now to kill the unranked monster without major losses. To save as many people as possible."
"...You..."
"I'm not sure where Haepari fits into this, but for the time being, I have to consider that means keeping it alive, too."
« « «
Kim Roksoo woke slowly to tinnitus.
His waist hurt terribly. His whole body did, really, but his lower waist and hips especially.
Opening his eyes cause lightning-like strikes of agony to thrust into his brain, and he winced. That just woke him more, hurt him more. It felt like he'd gotten mauled, which, knowing his luck, maybe he did.
He'd thought he found a safe place to rest, last he remembered. But everything...his memories get so blurry after that. Even now, it's hard to pieces his thoughts together.
He feels hot.
His eyelids try to lift up again, managing with some success, and the bright world comes into more focus.
People are moving around. They're in what looks like medical outfits, or what passes as them right now. Efficient enough for the time being and the area.
A tent? Emergency setup. A few people. Maybe he got caught in an attack. Wouldn't be the first time. They're more tenacious the closer he gets to Busan.
A shudder passes through his body, and he tries to look around. Moving his eyes in their sockets causes visceral, wet aching, so he moves his whole head instead, which somehow hurts less.
There's an IV in his left arm, which says a lot. He must've been in pretty bad condition for someone to waste crucial medical supplies on him.
He looks up to see it's a blood bag.
Ah. It really was serious. At least they got his blood type right.
He moves his head a little more, realizing there are packs around his neck and head. They feel somewhat lukewarm but strongly chilly in some spots. Cold packs? He still feels very hot, though.
And wrong. Kinda flayed, if that made sense.
He's about check elsewhere when someone comes over.
A woman in nurse scrubs. They're a little messy. She looks like she's been working a while. Strands of her hair are falling out of her ponytail, and her eyes are drawn in deep above her mask.
He still can't hear beyond the ringing on his ears. She is looking at him now, possibly speaking. He can't understand. He frowns.
That hurts. Thinking hurts. He feels very hot.
His hand reaches to his stomach.
—and finds the little lump missing.
He stills.
He looks.
Looking hurts. That wet, visceral pain.
But he doesn't turn his head, forgets to. His reaction is too immediate to remember to be careful with himself.
He had a bump there. One that had formed despite all odds. Despite his weakness and frailty.
Despite never getting a lot of food at the shelter, that bastard Park Jintae had always fed him enough to let him run away. (Did he know? On that last day, did he find out? Was that why he stayed behind until he left?) And now, on the run, heading to Busan, to some place safer, Kim Roksoo was at least able to pick up scraps here and there.
The little bump ignored the laws of survival and grew on what little he could provide. A brainless little thing that faced hardship from within him without giving him morning sickness or weird cravings. It ate anything without complaint, just like its parent.
Mother. Hm. Haha.
A generally troubleless little thing that made space in him for itself. Sure, he got tired more easily and hungered more frequently, but they both dealt with hunger in stride and slept whenever safe.
Polite. Quiet. Patient. Present.
Little jellyfish, mindlessly marching forward inside him. The one thing he was willing to keep of Park Jintae and their dissolved partnership besides his own life.
The jellyfish is missing.
Haepari is missing.
He feels hands on his shoulders.
The hands push him down.
His eyes shoot over to whomever is confining him, a demand in his throat, ready to burst out.
He has to find— He has to go find it.
But he sees the nurse. He still can't hear her. He just sees her.
The tinnitus stops.
Exhaustion.
Pity.
Guilt.
Apology.
...oh.
Kim Roksoo lies back on the bed, sound still escaping his senses. His body complains at him ferociously for trying to move the way he did. He can feel the nurse's presence by his side until she replaces the cold packs with cool towels and leaves.
He's very, very hot.
But inside, there's a cold, empty spot.
He rubs his thumb over his bellybutton, where he and the jellyfish were once connected.
He feels nothing but bandages, and under it, scar tissue.
Svsss scumcum au where Shen Yuan becomes Shen Jiu's reflection and he gains Shen Jiu's memory and he's trying to turn Shen Jiu into a better person by coaxing him and Shen Jiu thinks he has a heart demon but is slowly coming to fall in love with the version of him that appears in the mirror, whispering sweet words and smiling at him. The version of himself he never was.
But I already have so many AUs to continuuuuueeee...
*sigh...*
...
"Jiu-ge, you should really try being nicer to Liu-shidi. Having looked at him long enough, this one can tell he's just emotionally constipated. The man has barely considered an emotion in his life."
Shen Jiu raises an eyebrow, the Heart Demon in the Mirror prattling on as they comb through their hair.
It was a habit he already had, but this ritual has new meaning to him now.
The Mirror Demon doesn't always mimic his movements. Sometimes he defies his actions and does something else, but when he does something harmless, like caring for his body, they move in sync, like a dance to a song only they can hear.
It reminds Shen Jiu of swans, necks bent and turning in tandem.
"He's a thorn in my side."
"He's just trying to feel you out after you let him take that disciple you both wanted. Which, you were very gracious to let him do that, Shen Jiu. Besides, this one doesn't think you would've had much enjoyment with the little one running around. Your hands are full enough with the current children, especially since you've decided to take on a more hands-on approach with them."
Shen Jiu scoffs. "You're the one who suggested it."
"Which, this reflection only did because I believe you have much more to teach them directly!"
The Mirror Demon opens his eyes where he'd had them closed, his irises an inexplicable green, somewhere between moss and malachite. Shen Jiu's are slate, with frown lines seemingly etched in place. The Mirror Demon has many expressions, a swath of them, like the guilty amusement making him push out his lower lip as he continues explaining himself. It makes Shen Jiu's face look like it belongs to someone else. It feels like someone else entirely.
Someone better.
"You learned so much from your time in the streets—and I know you don't like to talk about it. You don't even have to mention or reference it. But this is the peak of the arts and strategy, and knowing how the world works in its darkest places is imperative for that, isn't it? Your experience is perfect for that role, moreso than anyone else."
His Mirror sways his head as Shen Jiu does, switching the side their hair is on and returning to combing oil into it so it's shiny and smooth. Shen Jiu's gaze lingers on the long curve of his Mirror's lithe neck.
"Your survival is nothing to be ashamed of, no matter what anyone else says."
"...Hmh."
"Don't you 'hmh' me, I mean it!"
"In what world is it good for an immortal to be sly and vindictive?"
"This one, clearly. I mean, I'm still quite pleased with how you handled the complaint from Huan Hua regarding 'training ground infractions'. Which, what kind of bullshit was that, anyway? There are villages full of people who need help, and their disciples hadn't cleared out the Viper Ocelot-Lizards in over two months, and it was right around time for hatching season, so of course there was going to be a problem! It only made sense for you to interfere in their sloppy—"
His Mirror continues, praising him for his technical subterfuge and the tonguelashing he gave those children, then the higher ups that came after those children went crying to them. Of course, back then, he and the Mirror had questioned why a semi-demonic creature was so close to a border between two immortal sects in the first place, leading to further investigations and border monitoring that continue to this day. But, it was the thought that someone else was on the same wavelength as him that really calmed Shen Jiu while Yue Qingyuan and the others questioned his insistence as needling until they too finally understood, some begrudgingly, that he was in the right.
Someone saw him and was pleased. Even if that someone looked like himself.
That someone was a better, kinder version of himself. Someone he could never be no matter how much the Mirror coaxed him with honeyed words and subtle nudging that he knew the other was doing.
That someone mimicked his movements, but in increasingly imperfect ways, the timing still just right regardless.
Loose and relaxed at the wrists. Shoulders light. Back a little hunched until he remembered to straighten it when Shen Jiu moved.
Separate, different, but with him.
His in a way no one else has ever been.
And all he has to do to get a little gratitude is egg him on, and it spills from his lips as easily as air.
Soft. Weak. Would such a silk-made thing survive outside of the mirror?
It's an inexplicable feeling. The desire to keep him in place and take him out of it one and the same.
"Jiu-ge?"
He blinks.
Shen Jiu didn't realize he had stopped combing his hair until just then, his left hand on the mirror. His Mirror's right hand mimics his, fingers separated by a pane of glass and a sliver of reality.
"Are you okay?"
...No, not one and the same.
"...Hmh."
His Mirror frowns as Shen Jiu pulls his hand away, grabbing a cloth with which to wipe his own oily finger prints clear.
"Again with the 'hmh'. You're starting to sound like Liu Qingge, you know."
"Excuse me?"
"Heh, that is more like it. Use your words, Jiu-ge."
"You use them plenty enough for the both of us. There's barely a moment since I've come to notice you where you shut your mouth."
(Draft posting) Beast Taming Peak lord Shen Yuan who is so frustrated with his martial siblings that he ONLY uses baby talk (derogatory) to communicate with them (when irritated) because they’re ALL so childish is so funny.
It slips out on accident (during disciple days) at first, like freshly transmigrated SY is overwhelmed by these rowdy teenagers around him and the fact that he is ALSO a rowdy teenager now. He digs through his memory for ANYTHING to help cope with this new source of stress and remembers the educational baby videos his parents used to put on for his sister when she was born and he kinda just runs with that.
For some, like Liu Qingge, it’s unclear whether they should be offended or otherwise. For others, like Yue Qingyuan, they don’t quite know how to shut it down and have unconsciously incorporated it in their lives. For people like Shen Qingqiu, who finds it humorous when it happens to others but refuses to respond to Shen Yuan talking to him like that unless it’s a dire situation, it’s both a gift and a curse.
It’s funnier in disciple days because Liu Qingge and Shen Qingqiu could be fighting like cats and dogs on missions or something and SY’ll be forced to separate them (he can handle two disciples younger than him, he wrangles beasts for crying out loud) and he’s so irked when he releases the two he’s like.
“Why are we fighting? Fighting bad—come on, say it with me. Fighting—Ah, don’t look away. Eyes up here. Fighting, is, bad. That’s right, Fighting is baaaaad. Do you know what bad means??”
And SQQ is glaring daggers at him and LQG is just red in the face—probably from embarrassed fury. The two quickly learn that SY will never stop treating them like that as long as they keep fighting. Of course this means that they start avoiding one another when SY is near and develop a sort of reluctant truce whenever he’s around.
He’s like a dog whisperer for his martial siblings
I want to make Shen Yuan into many different creatures actually
Moonlight oriented being SY who can only take a physical form under the moonlight (I KNOWWW IT'S REFLECTED SUNLIGHT BUT WE'LL SAY THE MOON CHANGES THE SUNLIGHT SOMEHOW IDK) x Sunlight oriented being XF who can only take physical form under the sunlight.
They're both like deities that CQMS pays tribute to and seeks out for advice and neither of the two are aware of one another (until like an eclipse or something idk) and it's that one spider man meme where they're both pointing at one another.
SY's like: YOU'RE THE IDIOT PUTTING FORWARD ALL OF THESE SHITTY IDEAS
Luo Binghe if he was raised on An Ding Peak would be writing his own RPF about Being Sold By My Shizun to the Qing Jing Peak Lord. Shen Yuan would be thinking that he'd stumbled onto the good timeline where Luo Binghe exclusively dates Liu Mingyan because the two keep finding all these excuses to hang out alone together, but it's because they beta for each other. Luo Binghe keeps hopping the fence to go do Shen Qingqiu's laundry and Ming Fan is torn because on the one hand, Stay On Your Own Peak You Weirdo, but on the other hand, it means he doesn't have to do laundry. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"I quickly throw up my messy brown hair into a bun as I leave the dorms and make sure my yellow and blue An Ding robes aren't wrinkled. Da-shixiong said that Shizun was calling for me so I ran all the way to the Leisure house! When I arrived I was all sweaty and my hair was extra mesyey.
"Disciple Luo!!!" Shizun said as he stared at me with teary eyes. "Go and sit by... your new Shizun."
Sitting in the office is Qing Jing Peak Lord Shen Qingqiu! He is so cold and handsome as he stares at me from behind his fan, gaze percing me right into my chest. I feel frozen as he stares at me but also weirdly hot?!
"S-shizun..." I say in confusion, but also because there isn't another seat by Shen QIngqiu.
"This Lord is your Shizun now." Shen Qingqiu's deep and smokey and amazing voice rumbles like a furious growl from where he sits. He flicks his green silk robes and pats his lap. "Come sit."
With no other choice I am forced to sit on his lap. Shen Qingqiu wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer to his chest! Even if he is normally so icy he is very warm. I feel my face get even hotter and have to look away from him! Shen qingqiu's beautiful ink hair and his eyes as bright as a thougsand gems and also him smelling so nice makes me feel flustered and strange!
"Disciple Luo, this Lord is so sorry... An Ding Peak was failing and I needed so much money... so I have sold you to Shen Qingqiu...."
I let out a shocked gasp and-"
The fragment of the story you've found cuts off there.
AU where Shen Yuan is LQG and LMY's hot older brother. Liu Mingyuan??
At a Peak lord meeting there is a big argument over some rare beast and then LQG grunts and is like "I know who can help" and just leaves and doesn't explain anything. Then a few days later he's dragging in this guy so hot he makes LQG look like he got hit with the ugly stick. He is polite and excitedly explains all this stuff they needed to know like it's no sweat.
YQY asks if he'll stay in the sect for a little while so they can work together. SY agrees and from that point onwards is absolutely wifebeaming basically everyone who crosses his path. Rumor has it that WQW almost threw down with MQF over this guy. Xuan Su and An Ding have been active combat zones for days. Even that prissy bitch SQQ got mildly pink and covered his face with his fan!! Do you understand what this means?!
Also just the idea of LQG abd LMY, two certified baddies, being like "I know I'm not ugly but I'm not THAT attractive" because they have grown up next to impossible standards their whole lives is very funny.
AU where SY transmigrates into YQY's Shizun like the day after that poor boy is locked in the caves
Or would it be MORE fucked up if SY was the one to throw him in there???
SY like bonding with this kid who is full of SO MUCH potential and is throwing himself at the wall over and over and works SO HARD but never asks for anything. He is like "oh I'm safe from the plot I can do what I want! This must be future YQY tho! Maybe I can lead him down a better path and keep that evil future scum villain from getting his claws in him!"
So SY is like doting on YQY and patting his head and thinking he is being the BEST Shizun Ever. And YQY is very sweet and smiles at him but the poor kid won't fully open up to him!
Then the Xuan Su Incident happens and SY is forced (by the System?) to put YQY in the caves and all he can hear is this poor kid screaming and crying for his Xiao Jiu and how Qi-ge will be there soon and just all this pleading to be let out.
I think that he would just go steal SJ from the Qiu at that point but like. The damage is done. YQY is still locked up with a fucked up sword bond and SJ is still a hissing and angry cat. In typical SY fashion you know he didn't explain SHIT to SJ he just snatched him and dragged him back to the sect.
Liu Qingge's 110% the type to watch his disciples struggle achieving a near impossible challenge he set for them, as he paces around and says, "this one's disciples have it fairly simple than I did back in my disciple days." All the bai zhan disciples are now rolling their eyes and sighing, "Yes shizun we know. You always say so." Qingge continues unbothered as if this is his first time reminiscing of his disciple days, "My shizun made me climb CQM before I even had a sword everyday before breakfast, i was only 10 years old, my shizun would send me out on assignments with immortal binding cables wrapped around my wrists and ankles and I wasn't allowed to use qi, my shizun used to throw me off CQM every time i complained and wouldn't let me back into Bai Zhan unless I did 1200 laps around cqm."
The disciples obviously don't take it seriously, laughing it off like haha ok old man (not that they'd ever do it to his face), one day, Liu Qingge's shizun comes to visit Bai Zhan Peak claiming she had business to discuss with Liu Qingge. During her visit, she sits in on one of their training days as she laughs at Qingge, claiming he's gone soft, and that coddling these kids is no good, and that she'll show them how it's done and Qingge's like wow lucky you guys cause she's the best of the best.
Half a day spent with Liu Qingge's Shizun, everyone realises why he is the way he is, and more importantly, how he became The War God of CQM, old man wasn't lying after all.
Do not write enemies to lovers unless you have had a fanfic phase. Especially don't if you have had a unhinged hateship. Sorry, but your hetero barely insult flirting between a hockey players and figure skaters, will never entertain me like Lawlight. Unless they are ideologically opposed with a burning murderous HATE that is coupled with a knowledge that no one else will ever understand them the way the other is, I don't want it. I want their fate to be DOOMED because by nature one must end the other regardless of if that is really true. I want the longing for the other long after they are dead. I want the ego destruction of turning to the other side and realizing they have turned against what they believed for better or worse. I want the backsliding of going back to old ways because at least it's a world they know but the cost is loosing the person you once hated but now love. I want the acceptance of knowing that at their worst they can still revel in their awfulness with someone who could still see them for what they are. It should acknowledge that love doesn't make you a better person nor is it a redemption. Being better is an option that can be chosen or rejected.
Unless you have read enough doomed yaoi or yuri to understand that then you don't get the essence of enemies to lovers.
Black Canary: Yeah, I mean hes an adult, but he's closer in age to them, I figured he would be better at understanding them.
Flash: I mean he is childish, but maybe they'll finally listen to someone.
*opens the training room door*
Phantom, snarling: Is that seriously all you've got? Pathetic! Get back up and try again! Saving the day waits for no "hero"!
*Young Justice scattered across the room, all panting heavily, or cradling bruises as they're each paired up with a Phantom duplicate*
Superman, gobsmacked: Phantom what are you doing?!
Flash: Yeah man this looks a little harsh don't you think?
Phantom: They want to be treated like adults, Flash, so I'm treating them like adults. If they want to be treated like adults, then they can train like adults, work like adult, eat like adults, balance their hero work and their civilian work like adults. I said no slacking! Get back up!
Superman, wincing: Still...
Flash: Dude, what did they say to you to piss you off this much? *tries to joke* I need to know so I don't do the same. Seriously, you're scary.
Phantom: *scowls*
Kid Flash, panting: Pl-Please! Can we take a brake? I need some water.
Phantom: 10 minutes. *all his duplicates vanish and Phantom turns and floats out*
*water bottles appear out of nowhere, and all the sidekicks collapse, desperately chugging the water bottles*
Flash: No, seriously, what did you say to him? I've never seen him that upset before.
Artemis, clutching her ribs: K-Kid Flash s-said he didn't get why-why we couldn't be treated as adults and-and do our own work. R-Rob in Said-Said that Phantom was-ss lucky, cause he didn't have a mentor and took-took care of his territory on his own without help. Said-Said it couldn't be that hard since Phantom did it.
Adult Heros -Batman: *winces*
Superman: No wonder Phantom was so upset.
Green Arrow: Yeah, I'd be pissed too if my years of hard work was chalked up to "not that hard".
Flash: *turns and follows after Phantom*
Batman: Hmn.
Robin: *flinches*
Batman: It looks like Phantom still went easy on you. You should thank him for that.
Kid Flash: That was easy?!
Batman: You're still alive aren't you?
Superman: And by the looks of it, he was only brawling, I don't smell the scent of his Ecto-Blasts.
Black Canary: And he gave you water.
Flash: *makes his way to the observation deck*
Phantom: *staring up at the stars with a pained expression*
Flash: *stands next to him as a comfortable silence stretches between tham*
Phantom: The screwed up thing is, I could have had a mentor.
Flash: Yeah?
Phantom: Yeah. But, instead of guiding me, and helping me, and being a support system, he decided he'd rather be a fruitloop. So, he became one of my villains.
Flash: Wow, that sucks. Wait-
Phantom, snorts: Yeah, it does. We're the only two halfas in the world right now, and he decides to be a massive jerk. It sucks, it sucks alot, because back then, I'd have loved to have what these kids have, heck, I'd have loved to just have someone to give me advice without having some greater scheme or alternative motive.
Flash: But?
Phantom, taking a deep breath: But thats not how it worked out for me. It was me, my teenage friends, and my teenaged sister against an alternate dimension, and a corrupt falsified government agency. That's the bitter truth of it, and I won't change that if I maybe could, instead, I just have to make sure those dinguses don't get themselves killed before they're adults.
Flash, gently pats Phantom's shoulder: Awe, don't want them to join you in the realms.
"well well well. If isn't the punny halfa that comes to my- wtf is wrong with you!" Nocturbe had gone to play a little bit in the human world, traying to make the halfa come out and make him sleep a litte.
The boy had the audacity of not gering sleep for almost a week. A Week! That is not o ly not healty. Its a friking insult to his domian as the Acient of Dreams.
But- the ghost child that come in front of him was... wrong.
The general glow of the kid was dimed to almost nothing, the gracefull way in that the kid always floted in the air was no were tho seen and the great wite hair was almost smoke coloring.
The child let out a long and so full of triednest sight.
"Im craked" was the answer, . ".... my platonic soulmate just- broke the bond. ..."
Nocturle let a gasp out.
Broking a soulmate boond, reyecting one was a painful thing to humans. But to ghost? It was almostnas painfulnas thehr dead.
And halfas had ir worse that anoye. But to admit beging craked? No- this is so wrong.
"Can you just put me to sleep and let the rest of the town go? I realy so not want to fight anymore today"
"Yea sure but... with one condition. Who was your's platonic?"
"Red robin. He was my last hope to fi d gelp too."
Shen Qingqiu is finishing putting his hair up when his bedroom door opens and Shen Yuan slips in. (Gege still sleeps with him some nights, but he'd had the side room remodeled into a duplicate of his own a few years ago when Shen Yuan turned 13.)
Shen Yuan perches on the edge of the seat beside him and Shen Qingqiu scooted over to give him more space.
They aren't dressed identically today, he's in pale green and white while Gege is in darker green and cream... But it still soothes some old hurt deep in his heart to see another face so very like his own.
Shen Yuan is, as Shen Qingqiu told him years ago, catching up. He's still a little shorter and hasn't grown full into himself yet, but already people mix them up sometimes.
Shen Yuan leans against his shoulder, restrained excitement evident in his every move.
"What?" Shen Qingqiu asks, suspicious.
"When did you form your golden core?" Shen Yuan asks.
Late. Very late in fact, after all his other martial siblings had.
"Why do you want to know?" The answer is a painful one, and Gege wouldn't ask to hurt him.
Shen Yuan starts channeling qi between them. They've done this regularly since Gege came back to him, and Shen Qingqiu has seen a marked improvement in his own meridians since then. He suspects Mu Qingfang arranged things after Gege's arrival with that in mind, but he's certainly not going to say thank you for being manipulated, even if his martial sibling had the best intentions.
Since Shen Yuan clearly wants to show him something he examines his twins meridians carefully and quickly finds the beginning of a golden core forming inside him.
"I think I'm almost there," Shen Yuan whispers like it's a secret. "But we have to match, I don't want to be stuck at 16 while Didi's 20."
Twenty-five.
Sixteen is impressively early for a golden core, if this was anyone but Shen Yuan he'd be jealous. But hasn't he personally trained his brother for exactly this? Didn't he arrange for his Gege to have only the best so he could reach the full potential Shen Qingqiu had never been able to?
Shen Yuan's spiritual veins had always been weaker than Shen Jiu's. This is a victory.
Shen Qingqiu shook his head. "If you can do it now you should," he says. "Your body will keep growing until it's done, you won't stay sixteen."
Shen Yuan beams at him. "And then we'll match again!"
Shen Qingqiu nods. Probably. It's possible Gege might actually wind up always looking a little bit younger, Shen Qingqiu genuinely isn't sure if he aged any more after he formed his core or not.
But that's fine. If he gets to keep surprising people by calling Shen Yuan 'Gege' forever that's alright with him.
Mu Qingfang held the boy's boney wrist like the child was made of paper. With Shen Qingqiu sitting right next to his brother and glaring daggers at him Mu Qingfang wouldn't dare do otherwise.
"Do you remember being inside the crystal?" Mu Qingfang asked. "Or is it just a jump from before to now?"
The boy frowned. "It was like I was sleeping, and dreaming. I'd kinda wake up a little sometimes and know time was passing, but I couldn't wake up all the way."
Shen Qingqiu ran a soothing hand through the little boy's hair.
"Well your meridians are fine, you could use some food but that's easily fixed... I'd like to speak with your brother for a bit, if I have someone bring in a tub would you like to take a bath? We'd put up a curtain so you'd have privacy but wouldn't be alone.
The little boy bit his lip and held the wrist Mu Qingfang had just let go of to his chest. He looked up at his brother - who was still glaring at Mu Qingfang- before nodding once.
"Alright."
The boy-Shen Yuan-warmed up once the bath was set up, smiling and asking Shen Qingqiu what all the various soaps were for. Shen Qingqiu side eyed him for the flea repellent soap but Mu Qingfang was just being safe not judgemental. He'd had to de- bug his fair share of disciples.
Once Shen Yuan was in the tub he and Shen Qingqiu retreated across the room out of the child's earshot.
"What is it?" Shen Qingqiu snapped. Someone was extra snippy today.
"There's nothing of serious concern in his spiritual veins but I'd like to keep monitoring him for a while to make sure nothing comes up as he adjusts- and he shouldn't be cultivating for a while, though he's a little young for that anyway," Mu Qingfang said .
"You aren't keeping him here."
Mu Qingfang nodded. He'd been expecting that. " That's fine," he said. "You should be able to monitor his meridians for me well enough. You two are twins?"
"Yes."
"Identical?"
"Yes."
"Then it's better you monitor his meridians anyway."
Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes at Mu Qingfang. "Why?"
"Your meridians, despite whatever changes living has done, share the same identical bases. There's evidence circulating qi between twins is more therapeutic and easier on your systems."
"Fine," Shen Qingqiu said. "I'll do it."
"Thank you Shixiong."
Shen Qingqiu turned on his heels and went to help his brother in the bath.
Mu Qingfang decided not to press his luck and left the room- where he nearly ran into Yue Qingyuan. Mu Qingfang took one look at him and suppressed a groan.
"Mu- Shidi," Yue Qingyuan said. "How is he?"
"Zhangmen-shixiong....they are both fine, and are not to be disturbed."
_-_-_
Liu Qingge wasn't sure what to think of the changes that had happened after that last explosive Peak Lord meeting.
The little street rat that had appeared when that crystal broke was gone, transforming overnight into a fine little lordling, a miniature mirror version of his brother.
They went everywhere together, Shen Qingqiu often carrying the little boy so they could whisper in each other's ears. When he was being carried the boy was in charge of the fan, holding it over Shen Qingqiu's or both their faces as necessary.
Overall Liu Qingge was tempted to call the changes positive. Shen Qingqiu seemed ... Not nicer, but less interested in picking fights, and he had not left the mountain to go down to the brothels since his brother's arrival.
That said Shen Qingqiu was somehow more annoying despite being better behaved.
He had caught the pair near the gates of Bai Zhan the other day, and when he'd asked what Shen Qingqiu was plotting the man had rolled his eyes at him and said he was "just showing Gege which brutes to avoid."
When Liu Qingge demanded he answer that insult with a fight he had just gotten a pair of near identical scoffs.
"Why'd you jump right to fighting?"the little Shen asked. "You should have just insulted us back and then we'd call you dumb and leave. It's not like we're trying to steal your corner spot or something important."
"Peak Lord Liu is sensitive," Shen Qingqiu said snidely. "He can't handle people being mean to him without trying to fight them "
The little boy Shen Qingqiu insisted on calling Gege gave him a pitying look before the pair walked off, leaving him alone and... Ashamed, for some reason.
Strange.
_-_-_
Wei Qingwei couldn't help but smile at the tiny little Shen that opened the Bamboo House door.
He was soooo cute!
"Delivery for Peak Lord Shen," he said brightly.
The sourpuss himself appeared behind the little boy.
"Running errands now are you Wei-shidi?" Shen Qingqiu asked.
"Xiu Ya needs these sword oils." Wei Qingwei said, handing the package over. "And I maybe wanted to check on how you two are doing."
"We're fine." Shen Qingqiu said immediately.
"Wei-shidi..." The mini Shen said contemplatively. "Are you the Wan Jian Peak Lord?"
"Yes." Wei Qingwei said. He winked at the little boy.
"Gege-"
"Can I have a sword?"
Shen Qingqiu sighed.
Wei Qingwei grinned. "Once your cultivation is strong enough I would be honored to provide young Lord Shen with a sword."
The boy giggled. "I'm not a lord!"
"Yes you are," Shen Qingqiu said. "Thank you Wei Qingwei, you can go now."
"Bye Peak Lord Wei!" The little boy said.
Wei Qingwei pressed his luck. "If you get your didi's permission I might have some knives you can use until you're big enough for a sword."
"Ooooo!"
"You don't need a knife!" Shen Qingqiu said.
"But didi! What if I need to shank someone?"
Wei Qingwei lost his composure and laughed. "Yes Qingqiu, what if he needs to shank someone?"
Shen Qingqiu shut the door in his face, but Wei Qingwei noticed he was smiling when he did.
The Peak Lords are a Big Polycule Forced Therapy Edition.
The communion ritual when new peak lords take their position is supposed to be a few hours of bonding. The spells involved keep everyone aroused and also encourage honesty and speech. You're just supposed to get out all your silly anxieties and have a good time with your new fellow Peak Lords. They usually only last about three hours.
The Qing generation's communion ritual lasts 40 hours, once it's done all the new Peak Lords need ointment for chafing and a few of them-notably Shen Qingqiu- are hospitalized for dehydration and exhaustion.
But they now all know what the heck was going on with Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu and it's resolved? Mostly? Shen Qingqiu hates that everyone is now privy to all his abandonment issues, but at least he knows Qi-ge didn't intentionally abandon him, and it was nice to have people on his side. He'd half expected when the whole mess was dragged into the open that everyone would just tell him to get over it...
He's still never ever ever bringing any of it up again, and he'll glare at anyone who does!
"What the hell are you doing with that?" Shen Jiu asked.
Shen Yuan rocked the bundle in his arms gently.
"Jiu-ge this is Binghe. Binghe," he continued, addressing the wide eyed little baby swaddled in his arms. "This is your uncle Shen Jiu."
He frowned at the baby. The baby's whole face scrunched as it regarded him back.
He had eventually convinced his didi to explain the plot of this 'book' they were living in to him. He could tell Shen Yuan was leaving things out, but the basic shape of the story was obvious. An orphan goes through hardships, at Shen Jiu's own hands apparently, and then discovers that all along he was more powerful than anyone else and royalty to boot.
It didn't take a genius to figure out who this baby was.
"So this is the boy that's going to kill me?" he asked, examining the pathetic little thing.
Shen Yuan elbowed him. "No. Because you're going to be nice to him and I'm to make sure he grows up well so he won't have any reason to kill anyone once he's grown."
Shen Jiu had a feeling things wouldn't be so simple. You must earn your ending, the machine had said...But for his brother's sake he nodded.
"I won't be mean to the little brat," he said. He certainly wouldn't be coddling him as much as didi was sure to though. "Where'd you even find him?"
"I pulled him out of the Luo River," Shen Yuan said. "At least our mother left us on dry land."
Shen Jiu scoffed. "The river would have been kinder."
He frowned at the baby again. Not that the little thing knew what a problem it was. It was just looking at him, and Shen Yuan, with big wide eyes still. Maybe it was slow.
"Shizun won't like this," Shen Jiu pointed out.
"I don't care."
"It might cost you your shot at being Peak Lord."
Shen Yuan shrugged. "That's your job anyway. I'm just going to hang around and teach the little disciples because it's easy and you hate them anyway."
"I do." Shen Jiu said solemnly. Anyone under the age of sixteen made his head hurt. And they were on thin ice after that too.
Shen Yuan smiled at him like he was being funny, but before he could double down something else occured to him.
"Has the brute seen him yet?" he asked.
Didi rolled his eyes at the nickname but answered. "No, Liu Qingge hasn't seen Binghe yet. Why?"
"I want to be there when he does. I want to see him try to figure out how he got you pregnant."
Shen Yuan flushed bright red and smacked Shen Jiu's arm lightly. "Gege!! Don't be weird we're just friends!"
"I would feel bad for him but well, it's Qingge."
Shen Yuan snorted. The extensive betting pool on when he'd realize the brute had a crush on him was safe for now it seemed.
He was going to tease his brother more when they were interrupted by a familiar little rat in yellow robes.
"Sorry, sorry!" Shang Qinghua whinged, avoiding their eyes. "I have an important document for your Shizun do you know where she is?"
"Just give it here." Shen Jiu snapped. They all knew Shizun was at home, she always was at this time of day. Shang Qinghua just didn't want to actually deliver whatever this was.
"Thank yo-" Shang Qinghua's pathetic reply ended abruptly when he noticed the baby Shen Yuan was holding.
He said something under his breath as Shen Jiu took the scroll from him. Shen Jiu didn't understand it- but his brother went still next to him.
"What the fuck do you mean 'WTF'?" Didi snapped. "Why the fuck do you know English??"
Shang Qinghua gaped at him. "I fucking knew there was something weird about you!" he said. "Why do you speak English??"
The next moment Shen Jiu found his arms full of half-demon baby and Shen Yuan was standing up, wailing on Shang Qinghua with his fan while the An Ding Head Disciple cowered.
In his arms the baby started fussing. "Oh shut up," he told it without heat. He stuck a finger in its mouth. "Not everything is about you."
The baby calmed immediately. It sucked happily on his finger and it's eyes started to drift closed.
Shen Yuan hadn't seemed to notice this interaction. But Shang Qinghua was looking at him like he'd grown a second head, while also attempting to play dead to get Shen Yuan to stop hitting him.
"Not that I don't approve," Shen Jiu said. "But care to explain why we're beating up Shang Qinghua?"
at first he thinks he scored because hey he's gonna live! bingge left mu qingfang alive in PIDW, so he doesn't have to worry about escaping his fate. he can just putter around his peak, tending to disciples' scrapes and growing an assortment of interesting plants
only, he soon realizes that being one of the only medical professionals in the sect, and the only one with a status high enough to be trusted with sect secrets, means he is the default GP for every. single. peak lord.
access to confidential info + sy wife beam = sy is now booked for appointments through next year and his martial siblings are throwing themselves into pits of snakes to get emergency treatment and see their sweet, tender, caring shidi/shixiong. even shen jiu starts coming in for regular checkups despite his strong aversion to them, and liu qingge starts showing up to get his wounds treated if only to bear witness to that soft smile mu qingfang lets slip when he admits he's in pain (sy isnt a sadist he just wants lqg to take care of himself! he swears its not bc he likes the sounds of lqg's grunts and groans as he resets his dislocated joints and wraps his scrapes up real tight!)
not only is he making so many unexpected friends (...every peak lord is starting courting processes but sy does NOT notice), he learns...so much drama! which is entertaining, but starts to become a heavy, heavy burden very quickly
he brings the concept of therapy into the PIDW verse expeditiously fast and sets up regular sessions, at first with the peak lords, then the head disciples, and before he knows it he's discovering a new form of mental cultivation to heal heart demons!
he discovers the qijiu backstory and decides this is how he will protect luo binghe! he just needs to get these idiots to bone!! (they both want him carnally)
I'm going to take your kneecaps and your memes @afroskykid - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
