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the fic this illustration was made for made me cry so many times. recommended (there's so much pain... my qingqiu...) https://t.co/PSWuC3bGku (cw: nsfw)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
It's finally time! Scratch the Surface, See What Lies Beneath is posted!!!
If you like monsters, demons, found family, and secret sects then this fic is for you!! Huge shout-out to @achucharpops for writing this fic, Aidymun for beta-ing, and @svsssbigbang for hosting it!!!
These are portraits of all of the main characters from the fic, featuring lots of fun demons and monster-y traits!!!!!
(please go read the fic it's amazing and I love it dearly)
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.)
Climbing the walls waiting to finally post my @svsssbigbang piece. The fic this is for has excellent vibes and I'm very excited for it to be set free. :)
Here's the first nigh incomprehensible sketch I did of my final piece.
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