just | 97 | she/her | poland
apparently I write now
all my writing projects can be found here
currently obsessed with: ennead, given, yuumori, svsss, apothecary diaries
As promised on AO3, this is the additional information behind mine and @damiemontclair's 2025 @svsssbigbang submission.
It took me way longer than I expected, but work has been demanding. I think I covered most of the things, but if you have any questions about this AU, feel free to ask them ♡
This post contains spoliers related to the story (and might be considered nsfw-ish for some).
Without further ado.
Secondary genders are related to the alignment of qi a person has, with kunzes being yin-oriented, qianyuans yang-oriented and zhongyongs with a balance between both of them.
That also means each person's designation is not only known at birth, but almost impossible to change. (Yin-rich babies have lower body temp when they are born, with yang-rich babies being warmer than average, and zhongyongs being what you consider normal.)
How is that relevant in the fic? → Shen Qingqiu’s bitching made him qi deviate, because his yang-oriented body got suddenly flooded with yin that it was not equipped to handle. He only survived because he was not a cultivator yet (and was extremely lucky WYZ wanted to make use of him).
Secondary genders are a human-only thing, because demons are all yin-inclined. However, as Heavenly Demons resemble humans pretty closely, they can all be considered kunzes by human standards.
Qi-alignment also predisposes someone to certain methods of cultivation:
✧ Yin – more suited for talismans, musical cultivation, long distance fights, support roles and dealing with artefacts/arrays, especially demonic ones.
✧ Yang – physical cultivation, fights and so on. Bai Zhan is the prime example.
How is that relevant in the fic? → Shen Qingqiu, while he poses as a qianyuan, is still a weaker-than-average physical cultivator, it furthers the notion that he is a lazy young master who started cultivating late and doesn’t work hard. He prefers to fight using sword-seals which is more of a yin-thing (and before the reveal, everyone thinks he chooses to be weaker because he doesn’t want to improve his physical strength).
Scents develop during puberty with sweet and flowery being typical for kunze and woody and smokey for qianyuan. Zhongyongs’ can go either way but they are usually very faint (they are also unable to differentiate secondary genders via their scents).
People who don’t cultivate as well as zhongyongs don’t have a strong sense of smell so using perfumes that can emulate kunzes/qianyuans’ natural scents is pretty popular practice.
How is that relevant in the fic? → Wu Yanzi’s sense of smell is even worse than average. While he uses kunze-adjacent perfumes, he can’t tell them apart so he buys different ones every time (hence why SJ pretty quickly realises he’s a zhongyong not a kunze).
Shen Jiu’s scent is bamboo, while he does smell sweeter than average, especially closer to his season, no one would have thought to doubt his “I am a qianyuan” act based on the scent.
I have spent a few weeks playing mental genetics and trying to figure out how it works (and I know, ABO, it doesn’t exactly need to work, but I needed it to work), and I am sure my genetics’ professor from uni didn’t intend me to use the notion of ☆epigenetics☆ to explain how gender differentiation works in a fanfic, but here we are. Because I don’t want to be boring and offend someone by accident, because I am only covering the male/female sexes as they are relevant in this fic’s case, all I am going to say:
✧ Zhongyongs are your average human, procreation-wise.
✧ Born male-kunzes and female-qianyuans have intersex genitalia. This means it is technically possible for a male kunze to sire a child and for a female qianyuan to carry a child, but there’s an extremely low chance for that. Fertility rates are also lower than with female-kunzes and male-qianyuans, but not by much.
How is that relevant in the fic? → Both Liu Qingge’s parents are qianyuans, so them having Mingyan is a big thing. And, more importantly, it is the reason behind Shen Qingqiu’s infertility (he doesn’t have the anatomy to carry a child, and while he could maybe try to sire one, there's a one-in-a-million chance it would work).
Seasons are less about procreation, more about instincts and balancing qi. They don’t actually require sexual activity to lessen symptoms: closeness and fulfilling instincts is more than enough in most cases. That’s why using suppressants is not that common. Cultivators are able to stop their seasons via cultivation, but most choose not to.
How is that relevant in the fic? → Shen Qingqiu’s seasons are the most brutal. His qi can’t balance naturally, and because he was born a qianyuan, a season can actually send him into a severe qi deviation.
And if we are on instincts…
Kunzes tend to be very protective of their own private space, especially the nest (nesting doesn’t take place only during heats but all year round). With close-knit packs, it’s not unusual for kunzes to share a nest. While using pack-scented articles of clothing and blankets are normally used for a nest, approaching a pack-mate's nest uninvited will lead to aggression. Kunzes also tend to hoard things and have a hard time getting rid of even small trinkets.
Kunzes are usually the ones smelling of their pack; they don’t usually scent others, unless it’s children or they are in heat.
How is that relevant in the fic? → Shen Qingqiu refuses to participate in scenting between head disciples. Part of it is him not seeing them as his pack, the other part is kunze instincts screaming at him that it is wrong. There’s also a tiny-tiny peak for Lan Mingxia’s behind-the-scenes for those who look for it carefully.
Qianyuans, on the other hand, feel the need to provide for their packs (other qianyuans included). They will often give you gifts when they consider you pack, and expect such in return from their fellow qianyuan pack-mates
Qianyuans scent all their pack-members (other qianyuans as well), it’s seen as a pack-bonding practice.
How is that relevant in the fic? → Liu Qingge’s rut is something unbelievable in Shen Qingqiu’s mind: it doesn't last long, doesn’t involve sex, and is genuinely all about making Shen Qingqiu happy.
Most sects are considered packs. In the case of Cang Qiong Mountain Sect it’s encouraged that each peak forms a pack between its members and then another two are formed around Peak Lords and Head Disciples.
Peak-pack leaders are chosen regardless of secondary gender, however within Peak Lords’ pack, the leader can be either the sect leader or the qianyuan from the highest ranked peak.
Sect leadership is supposed to be chosen regardless of secondary-gender, however, Qiong Ding had mostly qianyuan leaders so far.
Head disciples and succeeding disciples are two different things as not all head disciples are going to become successors. Only succeeding disciples are allowed to have a generational name, and they have to be granted it in their early twenties at the latest.
If anyone is interested in Peaks’/Peak Lords/head disciples’ names, I am not putting all of them here, but I would like to present you with: peak number 6, aka Gǔ Lǎo Peak (古老 aka “old things”), that specialises with artefacts and arrays. Both me and Damie thought it hilarious and in character that airplane called it “Old Things Peak”.
I think I decided pretty early on that Shen Qingqiu’s name will originate from Du Fu’s poem. It might have been around the time we started planning the fic and I fell down the rabbit hole of finding names for the rest of head disciples, even knowing that I won’t be using all of them.
Liu Qingge’s given name — Míngqù (溟 - sea/drizzle + 趣 - interest) — is also taken from a chinese classic! It is taken from the Five Characters Secret’s (五字訣) verse 「虛靈含有物 窈窈溟溟趣」which was translated here as “There is something contained within naturalness: a deep and hidden delight.”
Dual cultivation facts (they don’t really come up in the fic, which is a pity, because I wanted some good old threats of castration by Shen Qingqiu if it came up):
✧ Secondary gender compatibility is more important than sexual orientation (since yin-only or yang-only dual cultivation is an easy way to get a qi deviation). In some sects/places it’s thought acceptable to have a different cultivation and life partner.
✧ Qianyuan/qianyuan sex works without bitching when two participants are willing. It is a bit difficult to control the instincts but it’s not impossible to do. However, when one party repeatedly abuses their power over the other party, coupled with emotional and physical strain for a prolonged amount of time, bitching can happen. It is a process: it doesn’t happen from one day to the next.
Damie's note on bitching: It is also exceedingly difficult to ensure survival after bitching - people don't usually survive the qi shift, and those who do fall to the qi-deviation that inevitably follows from the stress of the sudden shift and the damage done to the meridians by the flood of new qi and clash between yin and yang. Pair that with the heat that follows and the complications coming from bitched anatomy, and the survival rate for bitching is not worth the attempt unless you're an idiot like Qiu Jianluo. → that is to say, Shen Qingqiu was exceedingly lucky to survive the initial shift and to be (mostly) pulled out of his qi deviation and dropped into the arms of prostitutes who know how to handle heats.
If there any more questions, feel free to ask. I am more than happy to answer ♡
(Fun fact: MoShang is also canon in this universe.)
Give me Shen Twins with a complicated relationship.
I wanna see Shen Twins that viscerally cannot stand the way that the other copes with the bad things that've happened to them.
Give me SY who pleads with SJ to "just behave" while cleaning his wounds because he's scared his brother is going to get into bigger trouble than they can handle. Because he can't understand SJ's refusal to make himself smaller, can't understand why his brother feels the need to fight the world even at the expense of his own wellbeing.
Give me SJ yelling and shaking SY because he can't stand the way the SY just seems to accept their situation. Because where SY's response to fear and uncertainty is to avoid and hide, SJ's is to fight.
I wanna see SJ resent that he's the Only person that SY will actually fight and I wanna see SY being hurt that his brother just won't listen to him when he's Just trying to help.
And then give be post-Qui Shen Twins who learn to understand. Let SJ learn that SY's anger was only safe with him. Let SY understand SJ's violent need to be seen as a real person. Let them both understand that they Both did their best to keep each other alive.
Give me Shen Twins with a complicated relationship.
I wanna see Shen Twins that viscerally cannot stand the way that the other copes with the bad things that've happened to them.
Give me SY who pleads with SJ to "just behave" while cleaning his wounds because he's scared his brother is going to get into bigger trouble than they can handle. Because he can't understand SJ's refusal to make himself smaller, can't understand why his brother feels the need to fight the world even at the expense of his own wellbeing.
Give me SJ yelling and shaking SY because he can't stand the way the SY just seems to accept their situation. Because where SY's response to fear and uncertainty is to avoid and hide, SJ's is to fight.
I wanna see SJ resent that he's the Only person that SY will actually fight and I wanna see SY being hurt that his brother just won't listen to him when he's Just trying to help.
And then give be post-Qui Shen Twins who learn to understand. Let SJ learn that SY's anger was only safe with him. Let SY understand SJ's violent need to be seen as a real person. Let them both understand that they Both did their best to keep each other alive.
I really wish I finished this earlier, and I am very sorry for that… Maybe this little piece will bring you some happiness as we start New Year!
I had a great time writing, even if I have never written a whole fic in English before so thank you for giving me that opportunity.
All in all, a little bit late but I hope that every single one of your wishes comes true in the future!
The first idea was explaining to Mobei-jun what Christmas was but it sort of took a different turn.
❅❅❅
An abundance of snow was nothing unusual in the Northern Desert, and it was not the first time it snowed in the human realm nor on An Ding Peak. Mobei-jun was sure of that, as he himself witnessed such weather more than once since he’d made Shang Qinghua’s acquaintance… Therefore, it made little sense for said peak lord to be as excited about previous night’s snowfall as he was. What was even more unusual, were quiet words about regretting for the first time in his life that he couldn’t take part in something that he referred to as “Christmas”. That quiet wish was murmured in the early hours of the morning with a serene expression filled and gaze filled with unusual longing as Shang Qinghua gazed towards the white-covered ground outside… Before Mobei-jun could ask him about that, the man startled, realising the demon also awoke. The human pointedly acted as if he never opened his mouth in the first place, so his husband was unable to learn more.
At times it was frustrating, that the man still acted as if he couldn’t ask Mobei-jun for things, as if they weren’t together, as if it wasn’t given that the demon would at least try to make his wishes come true — whatever they were. Had he not shown Shang Qinghua with an endless supply of pulled noodles and indulgence in place of old-forgotten violence?
Mobei-jun knew that, if Shang Qinghua decided something, he wouldn’t change his mind easily. That, however, didn’t mean all his options were lost… asking seemed to be way below his status but so had been many things he’d done for his husband. That only left a question of whose help he ought to seek.
While humans and demons were surprisingly alike, their customs couldn’t be more different so asking anyone of his or Luo Binghe’s subjects seemed pointless. That left cultivators from Cang Qiong Mountain but amongst them, Shang Qinghua was easily the most eccentric one so, in the end, only one option remained — Shen Qingqiu was the only human who could truly be considered close to Shang Qinghua. They were even able to communicate in some weird language that sounded different to everything Mobei-jun’d ever heard…
Qing Jin Peak lord was well-versed when it came to understanding Shang Qinghua. It wouldn’t be the first (nor probably the last) time that Mobei-jun had to pay him a visit, but it didn’t stop him from feeling awkward. Still, if he wanted to get to the source of his husband's weird behaviour, the demon had no choice but to hurt his pride a little in the process.
❅
“He said ‘Christmas’?” Shen Qingqiu quickly schooled his expression into something impassive, but Mobei-jun knew him for long enough to recognise surprise and a little bit of embarrassment. Well, awkwardness aside, at least he seemed familiar with the name, so the journey wasn’t for nothing.
“Only that he wished to spend Christmas together,” Mobei-jun answered, cold and indifferent as always. A deep sigh coming from the peak lord was an answer on its own.
“Christmas is not…,” Shen Qingqiu stated after a moment of stunned silence. Even in his own home, he appeared to be out of his element, trying but clearly failing to find his way about Shang Qinghua’s wish. “Let’s just say… it’s almost like a festival for couples.”
Shen Qingqiu didn’t seem too interested or excited but Mobei-jun could never understand him all that well so this time he also didn’t know whether that reaction was a good or a bad one… One thing for sure — that festival had to happen, with how nostalgic Shang Qinghua sounded in the morning.
“Given everything, it’s probably best to spend it indoors, but you can still make the atmosphere fitting. You’ll also need something to gift him…”
And thus, over a pot of fragrant tea, a plan has been made and while human courting rituals were still confusing and preposterous, Mobei-jun was one step closer to making that small wish come true.
❅
Big festival was out of the question, both, because it would be too preposterous to explain Christmas to everyone and because it would take longer. On top of that, the less people knew, the less it was possible that they spoil the surprise for Shang Qinghua. Small celebration, however, did not mean that Mobei-jun hadn’t had a lot of things to prepare. The plan Shen Qingqiu helped him put together had three main steps that he had to follow before Shang Qinghua finished his duties for the day. Fortunately, Shen Qingqiu’d promised to keep him busy for as long as he could earlier, so the demon would have just enough to finish all the steps before his husband came home.
❅
Following a plan was always easier than acting without one. Especially, when it came to unknown customs and even more when you had to decorate a place with only a quickly drawn painting as your guide. Mobei-jun had not expected this Christmas thing to be easy to organise but even finding a proper pine tree had taken way more time than he would have liked. It had to be small enough so it could fit inside a house, yet big enough to be able to make an impact.
There had been countless trees covering the slopes of Tian Gong mountains, and yet, the task of finding one that fit all the requirements ended up spending almost all Mobei-jun’s patience. How much easier it was when he only knew how to communicate with Shang Qinghua with his fists! Beating up was natural… carrying a tree into his sitting room was not.
And that had only been the first step! Setting it up was not even the hardest part!
As much as it’d hurt his pride to ask Shen Qingqiu for help, he was glad to find a whole box of night pearls on a low table. Mobei-jun couldn’t help but grimance as he took one pearl out, only to put it back inside. Why on all realms did he have to decorate that ostentatious greenery that has overtaken half of the sitting room?!
He had never heard of a cut pine tree having any significance! Why couldn’t they just enjoy the scenery as everywhere around them were trees covered in a soft layer of white snow?
Shen Qingqiu had been quite adamant that they needed to have one inside and, as he was the one with knowledge about Christmas festival, Mobei-jun didn’t really have a choice other than to heed his words. The decorating part, however…
Squashing down frustration, Mobei-jun decided to leave the pearls as they were and only relied on his powers to frost the endings of evergreen foliage. If Shang Qinghua wanted that tree decorated, he would have to do so himself. The demon would not waste any more time!
Tapping into his powers easily allowed him to transform the interior into something more resembling of his palace in the north where walls were built out of solid ice. This house would only need a little layer of frost here and there, and maybe a few icicles glittering with sunrays or candleflames. It took mere seconds for ice to take over the sitting room. The temperature dropped drastically, but Shang Qinghua was an immortal cultivator… he should survive anyways!
❅
Fortunately, third item on Mobei-jun’s list was way more reasonable compared to the tree and decorations. Food was, after all, a big part of daily life and special celebrations as well. The only stressful moment was when Sheng Qingqiu started muttering something weird. Mobei-jun seriously worried he would be done with humans and their antics for at least a century. In the end, the human settled on way more acceptable dinner choice: pulled noodles. They were Shang Qinghua’s favourite since forever. Mobei-jun knew because his husband rarely asked for things and that one, timid request for food marked the beginning of their lives together, so he had made them many more times after.
Soon enough, the whole house filled with rich aroma. Two filled to the brim bowls were laid on the table, waiting for the moment Shang Qinghua came back home.
❅
It didn’t take a long time for the An Ding’s peak lord to arrive. As he slid the door to his quarters open, he shouted out, a harshly sounding word in that weird language of his. His widened eyes and open mouth were not a very elegant expression, but Mobei-jun wouldn’t berate him for that. After all, that clear surprise soon turned into delighted squeak, as Shang Qinghua came inside, and it was a reward on its own.
“Did you… how did you…”
“Shen Qingqiu helped,” Mobei-jun answered the unspoken question. His tone flat and almost disinterested. As if he wasn’t holding a thick blanket, blue and silver in colour, ready to cover Shang Qinghua’s shoulders as soon as the man stepped closer.
Mobei-jun had to drop the material to the ground, because within seconds he had his arms full of a certain, teary-eyed cultivator.
“You didn’t have to…”
“You wanted it.”
After all, making Shang Qinghua happy was not all that difficult. And Mobei-jun could maybe, just maybe, understand what humans saw in the whole Christmas ordeal, as they ended up cuddled together, talking, and gazing at the room bathed in soft glow of Night Pearls.
(And yes, in the end the great and powerful demon lord was coerced into helping his husband to decorate a christmas tree.)
❅❅❅
The first idea was explaining to Mobei-jun what Christmas was but it sort of took a different turn.
in which the lives of wei ying (third-year humanities major) and lan zhan (second-year computer science major) intertwine in the virtual world — “grandmaster of demonic cultivation”.
or alternatively, two college students who fell in love through an online game.
As I rabidly consume The Untamed and MDZS fanfic, one thing that's become clear to me is how much it WORKS FOR ME that in the original novel they just basically cobble together a marriage ceremony and decide we're doing this, yep we're gonna be husbands now. (It's also why the fic Linger in the Sun gut punches me with feels when Wei Wuxian just catches the baton that Lan Wangji passes him and starts calling him husband.)
It may be hard to understand and hard for me to explain, if you didn't grow up a big ol dyke like me in a country & time when the idea of being legally married... just didn't seem like something that would ever be possible for you. (yes, I'm a Fandom Old™, gasp!)
I remember fantasizing with my high school girlfriend at 16, thinking (as you do) about marrying my high school sweetheart. But in the mid 90s, it wasn't the same as how straight culture fantasized. I didn't picture a big church wedding. I didn't picture a ceremony at all. Of course, I knew that some people did "commitment ceremonies", I had seen pictures from them and seen them in glbt films, and I thought, maybe I'll do one someday. Or maybe not. But that wasn't what was needed to be married. Not to me. Not, at the time, to many queer couples. You decided to devote yourself to someone & they agreed and you did it. You moved in together and built a shared life. The other people in your community respected that and acknowledged the marriage as real.
There's something about queer love and queer community that is very much.. just... Deciding who you are to someone. Where family and life partnership was something you declared & made true because it was the truth in your heart and that is all that matters. Wei Wuxian's story in MDZS is so damn old school QUEER and I love that. Before death, it's metaphorical -- He is choses the unorthodox path because it's the only road available to him. There's something physically different in him from his peers and he has to hide it. He's cast out of his sect. He builds a new family for himself, who have also been rejected by society. And then when he returns from death, it becomes literal. He grapples with internalized homophobia and is faced with it externally. He defines an image of family for himself (me & you & our child w the donkey) and finds his chosen person that brings that image to life.
In the novel JC's homophobia is explicit, and it makes it all feel more real and true. It's part of his complicated relationship with his adopted brother, who he hates and loves. Who he envies but is also disgusted by. Who he viciously blames and desperately misses. Who he has never, ever understood -- despite all the love for him.
Being queer, when you were Of A Certain Age, often meant stepping outside the bounds of your family and societal groups. That implicit, expected belonging was gone. You didn't fit into the family in the same way. In some families, you were denounced. In others, it was a softer, quieter othering: You didn't get invited anymore to all the same get togethers, or were asked to come alone. You weren't asked to babysit the nieces and nephews. You didn't get invited to speak about the lives of you and your partner, like everyone else in the room. You made everyone uncomfortable by your presence.
WWX eloping and forming a new life for himself with Lan Wangji, with a new home base. It feels right to me. Night hunts with Wen Ning and Lan Suhuzi and Lan Jingyi... even Jin Ling. Piecing together a new found family. So even in fix-it MDZS fanfics, I've found that I really enjoy those where the reconciliations are imperfect and the grand marriage ceremonies are still for other people. (though I have a huge weakness for post canon fics where WWX makes a place for himself in Gusu)
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