Original Shen Qingqiu - Tumblr Posts
Give me sqh that was blackened while growing up as his self insert, because something in him broke when he was 7 and crying for his parents when all they did was look back at him. Give me a SQH whos name is whispered by the disciples while looking over their shoulders because the walls can talk and they talk to Shang Qinghua. Give me a SQH who crawled and backstabbed his way to the top by botching the trade deals of the other head disciple candidates, setting up his own underground trade routes and creating connections to control An Ding even before he was recognised by the previous Peak Lord. Give me a SQH who is best friends with MQF because he provides MQF with obscure and highly illegal plants and resources for his silence when he returns to the sect at late hours with conspicuous injuries yet precious treasures in his sleeves still coated in a layer of frost. Give me a SQH who can rival Shen Jiu in the number of masks he dons, but where SJ chooses a mask of hatred he chooses masks of inferiority and fear but all who cross his path will fall in the end.
Shang Qinghua
Mobei Jun
Luo Binghe
Shen Qingqiu/Yuan
Reader, Teacher, Anti-Fan
Spy, Writer, God
random though
SQQ (SJ specifically ) is definitely SQH’s type and I find it hilarious how we don’t talk about it enough
SVSSS AU - Real Villainy
Svsss au where Shen Jiu says fuck it and just becomes a real legit villain. He’s tried to do the right thing and it always goes wrong - maybe if he tries to be evil he’ll do good? Unlikely, but what other choice does he have at this point?.
He comes to Cang Qiong while Yue Qingyuan is still locked in the cave and finds out that, rather than give the man medical attention they shoved him in a cave to let the chips fall where they may.
Shen Jiu is like “wow, actually, fuck these guys” but he hangs around to learn from them, ends up head disciple of Qing Jing, then Yue Qingyuan is released from his cave and he’s like “right. I’m busting us out of here”
But the peak lord of Qiong ding isn’t going to let her successor go so easily and beats the tar out of Shen Jiu when he comes to sneak Yue Qingyuan out. Shen Jiu is slippery though and he escapes.
He is still head disiple of Qing Jing though. His Shizun is very fond of him and refuses to instate a new disiple, even though SJ has technically defected and fought the sect leader.
Teams up with some demon whose cultivator wife betrayed him because he’s going to get his Qi-ge back if it kills him - well. Kills someone else. No point getting his Qi-ge if hes not alive to enjoy it.
Then he finds out the disciple was the head disciple of Huan Hua and he’s like “oh, the girl with the pervert master?” And suddenly Tianlang Jun is like ’,,, maybe we should find her first. Before we do the murder.’
They plant a body of Su Xiyan and raise baby binghe while they wait for it to grow.
Free uncle for Luo Binghe
Literally the day SXY crawls her way out of the ground (only took a year, but it was a year too long for SJ) the three of them - and binghe, in a baby sling - storm Qiong Ding and reclaim YQY.
The two of them enjoy their life as ‘cultivation consultants’ to the demonic emperor - aka, they baby sit Binghe and back Su Xiyan up when she tells Tianlang-jun that he’s being a moron.
Post Darkening Disciple Luo Binghe AU where he already met Meng Mo and hate Shen Qingqiu.
For some reason teen Binghe get stuck with babysitting his de aged Shizun and try to get back at him for every thing he did to him. But the small kid take everything thrown at him without a complaint, without shedding a single tear. Just glaring and baring his teeth angrily as he endure everything thrown at him, daring him to do his worse, with the fire of revenge burning in his eyes even brighter than Binghe’s own.
Somehow I had thought about how Shen quingqiu may not exactly known that, what he experianced in his days as a slave was truly abuse, it just what naturally happens to bad people, he would known that it's not normal but he might think it just special people who are spoiled and good brats that don't deserve to be treated worse than dirt and he from the slums doesn't deserve decency.
(There was line in the novel which about wrote that he though himself as thing-an object)
That might have made him reinforce his view of reality to his students, 'its what naturally happens'. His own shizun showed him example which he reinforced.
His shizun literally spilled the tea over him like 6? times. Did nothing and let other displines bully him, isolate him, beat him and worsen it by favourism, which was superficial and just a front from my understanding. ( His shizun might still be the person he respects most 🙃)
Only those who forge they're way through the hardships and pain can have power is the mentality, and those who can't do it are too weak and should be punished (he should be punished)
And his hate for privileged people just furthered the peaks tradition of abuse, as people who end up in the sect are usually privileged and rich. ( Of course he's gonna hate them at least a little a bit)
If, somehow, Shen Jiu were to reattach himself to Yue Qingyuan, the other peak lords would absolutely think he’s possessed and go through the same deal they went through with SY!Qingqiu. It would be more difficult this time, though, because it would be basically impossible to have a meeting about it since every time YQY showed up, he would have the subject of their meeting no more than one step away from him, and likely attached in some way. They’d have to hurriedly make the meeting about some other business. Meanwhile, SJ is not as suspicious as he could be, because he’s used to the other peak lords acting irritated or displeased around him. He would genuinely think they didn’t want him there because they didn’t like him, while also suspecting them of talking behind his back.
Eventually, YQY gets told directly that the meeting is about SQQ and do not bring him with you, which is very difficult to do because SQQ has become a permanent fixture at his side, but when he finally does go to the meeting and the other peak lords are like “is SQQ possessed or something, why did he suddenly change and start clinging to zhangmen-shixiong like that?” and it’s clear they’ve been talking about this amongst themselves for awhile because they’ve come up with extensive theories, and YQY just has to go “uh no actually… he’s just like this this is normal. He just finally stopped being mad at me.”
And it’s been like, more than 20 years since SQQ came to CQS… so they all just kinda look at YQY with this “wtf” expression, but YQY looks so happy with it that they honestly don’t know what to say.
Then of course SJ barges in and immediately clings to YQY’s arm and pulls him off to go deal with some “urgent business” all the while glaring at everyone present.
how the first cat entered qing jing peak (a tale of wilful deception) ft. Yue Qingyuan taking an L to a cat
sequel to this :)
bonus:
SJ should get a system not because I want him to experience more horrors but because I think out of him, SY and SQH, he would be the one to find the most ridiculous ass loop holes and the system would just give up on him or he just straight up destroys it and I think he deserves to defeat a weird sentient block of text that could destroy the entire world if it wanted to
tw // csa, rape, injuries
butterfly pinning
[ID: Panel 1: From the POV of Qiu Jianluo, Qiu Haitang drags a Shen Jiu to a wall displaying dozens of butterflies in frames. Meanwhile, Qiu Jianluo is in the process of pining a green butterfly on his desk.
Panel 2: Turning to Shen Jiu, Qiu Haitang says with a grin, “This is my gege’s collection!!!” Shen Jiu replies, “Of course, young miss.”
Panel 3.1: Through the reflection of the frames, Shen Jiu and Qiu Haitang can be seen gazing up at the displays.
Panel 3.2: In a speech bubble Qiu Haitang says, “And we’ll be here to help him get more,” Shen Jiu’s reflection aligns with a green butterfly.
Panel 4: Through the POV of Qiu Jianluo, Shen Jiu, covered in bruises and cuts, is pinned to a mattress. Qiu Jianluo’s limbs a parallel to the pins used for the butterflies. In a speech bubble, Qiu Haitang asks “Won’t we?”, and Shen Jiu replies, “Of course, young miss.” END ID.]
blame this on the butterfly outside my window a few days ago. I was like “woah thats pretty; shen jiu’s pretty— shen jiu as a metaphorical butterfly that…what does he do” then i saw a connection between the words “butterfly” and “pinning” and went, “oh, haha, isn’t that fucked up” so yeah. :) sorry :))
Want to rant about Original Shen Jiu here:
Spoilers:
When I first started Scum villain and read comments/ theories from others that Shen Jiu hated Binghe and tortured him because he was jealous that LBH had a mother and that he got the opportunity to cultivate timely,I really felt that the reason was quite petty and ridiculous ,I mean how could you be jealous of a poor orphaned child who recently lost his mother.Then after reading the novel with SJ's past sprinkled subtly and the later chapter of YQY's confession and the extras focusing on SQ and YQY really made me have confusing feelings towards SQ. I won't deny that him treating a young Binghe is still not acceptable and that was his own fault, but despite all his wrongdoings I still cannot help but feel pained for him.His past is so traumatic,first his initial years of life as a beggar having to fight tooth and nail to survive,then being abused physically and emotionally as a slave and also not getting any sense of peace and security after beginning his cultivation. His behaviour as an adult is inexcusable but his circumstances has shaped him this way ,YQ had a similar beginning I agree but every one has a different personality,I bet YQ has some different way to cope up with his demons.It's sad to see that because of his bad reputation he did had moments where he genuinely tried to help but was misunderstood in the process, it's even more sadder to see that he didn't even tried to justify himself. It's like completely giving upon yourself, realising the fact that noone is gonna believe you anyway,so what's the point?This fanart @kaya9q just pricked my heart; just trying to imagine how there must be Shen Jiu's depressive moments but all he has himself to rely on. After having a breakdown epsiode he can only collect and compose himself, noone is going to go out of there way to check upon him. I bet if the misunderstandings between SJ and YQ would have been resolved earlier then they both would have being a force to be reckoned with. Seeing SJ having no closure was one of the most painful things to witness. It's like from beginning to end he was always sad ,in a state of unrest and never genuinely happy depsite the comforts he got after becoming a Peak lord.I don't fault YQ ,the circumstances were always unfavourable when the two came face to face. I would like to believe that despite the tough mask SQ posed , there definitely must be one weeping soul inside him seeking answers from YQ ,to prove him wrong that he was never abandoned,that the love and trust SQ had for YQ was reciprocated and YQ had a genuine reason to break their promise.I know SJ is a character that always carried himself with an air of arrogance, haughtiness etc etc , but how long can a person act strong?? Won't there be a sad melancholic soul mourning to be loved and accepted.
All I can see here is Shen Jiu full of hope , holding onto YQ's words like a lifeline...
And here please tell me that his hope is not completely dashed away and despite the misfortune;there is a tiny shattered hope trying to keep its tattered pieces glued together.
Source: Novel
this took longer than i thought it would
Peaklord Shen (svsss) as Lord Shen (Kung fu Panda)
SY is the principal disciple!
SJ and the Pitfalls of Toxic Masculinity
Liking women wasn’t shameful in the least, but treating a woman as your savior, shrinking into her embrace in search of self-confidence—Shen Qingqiu needed no one to tell him how incredibly shameful that was. So he would rather die than tell anyone, particularly not Yue Qingyuan. - Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu
Hot take: og!SQQ had toxic ideas about masculinity, and it ruined him.
SVSSS is all about the ✨Toxic Masculinity✨ but this seems to be more associated with SY than SJ??? So yeah, lets talk about SJ (my poor meow meow).
There’s actually some subtlety here, because talking about SJ and masculinity naturally involves an interplay between historical and modern views on masculinity in China, which is something that has developed over time and has influences from other cultures (e.g. the west and our views on masculinity). (Interesting thing if you haven't already come across it) I am… not qualified to read the subtleties here.
To note, SJ is coded as masculine… sort of. He’s the head of the scholarly peak, a master of the Four Arts, which is one facet of ideal masculinity in traditional Chinese values. (Fluttering a fan around was very gentleman-like. Although also, expressing your emotions through poetry and copious amounts of tears was very masculine back in the day. 'Traditional masculinity' has and always will be an elusive ideal.) But I get the feeling nowadays ‘scholarly’ has more feminine connotations than ‘martial’, albeit a slightly weaker one than in the west. Also, on the topic of toxic masculinity, certain groups of people Who Shall Not Be Named would like you to believe that Real Chinese Men are stoic warriors and ‘gayness is a western thing’ (my rage is unreal but we will not talk about that).
Anyway, broad strokes, broad strokes.
Arrogance and Insecurity
A big part of toxic masculinity is a need for social recognition, to be the ‘alpha male’ (not an ABO pun and on a side note I literally cannot take anyone talking about alpha males seriously now, for many reasons, but this is the funniest).
SJ is obsessed with his cultivation, but more pertinently, he is obsessed with his reputation. He demonstrates this in a few ways. Firstly, he works his ass off, which is not bad in itself, but he does this to the extent it is detrimental to his health (that grindset lol). Secondly, he projects a certain image with his actions and mannerisms: reading in order to seem intelligent, looking down at people to seem superior etc. Thirdly, he responds to any perceived slights of his ability with violence. (Fighting with LQG is an example, but also drawing a sword on SQH when he pointed out that he was reading an upside-down book.)
Now interestingly, the unanimous vibe that Cang Qiong seem to get from SQQ is that he is ‘arrogant’. When in truth, all of this is compensating for his insecurity.
Shen Qingqiu was overly suspicious, always feeling as if everyone was talking behind his back about how he was still incapable of forming a core, didn’t accept his position, wanted to sabotage him in secret, and so on and so forth.
- Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu
Sadly, SJ is justified in being afraid of other people’s opinion. His comfort and security rely entirely on his status, which in turn rely on other people’s opinion of his competence. Of course he wants to get to the top – he’s been under other people’s power before, and suffered terribly as a result. Why should he not desperately defend what he has worked so hard for? Yet ultimately it works against him, because when he’s in serious trouble, he hasn’t been able to build the human connections he needs to get help.
The problem is with the system. The idea that having strength allows you to do whatever you want hurts not only the people regarded as inferior, but also creates a collective sense of anxiety for those who find themselves ‘at the top’. Anyone can be kicked down and treated like scum. Everyone is afraid.
Dominance and Bullying
The phrase ‘toxic masculinity is fragile’ quite often, but to elaborate, these kinds of rigid ideas of masculinity are by nature constantly under threat. Because any crack in the perfect shell is regarded as failure, it requires constant, aggressive maintenance, which takes the form of bullying the weak in order to elevate oneself.
SJ’s treatment of LBH is complicated, but here I want to draw attention to a different character – Ming Fan.
SQQ (SY) would have you know that MF is not a bad kid, other than the fact he’s a huge bully to LBH. And in part that comes from jealousy of NYY’s crush on him, but what allows it to happen is the way SJ runs the peak. It's interesting to note that so much of SJ's bullying of LBH happens through MF, whether it be giving him the faulty cultivation manual, giving him chores or physically assaulting him. In doing this, SJ creates a system that firmly establishes himself at the top, likely in order to give himself some semblance of security.
But ironically, this is the very system that SJ has suffered under his entire life, recreated to it's extreme on the peak that he controls. When he was completely under the power of others (QJL, LBH) he suffered. When other people were under his power, he inflicted suffering. He encouraged other people to do the same. Again, the whole thing is a scam! He is putting all of his energy into things that aren't helping him, things that are ultimately bring him down.
Real Men Don’t Cry – the Dangers of Emotional Repression
SJ has many, very justifiable reasons in life to be upset and angry. The things he went through are both terrible and extremely unfair. Being angry at everything is not a healthy outlet for these feelings, but he hasn’t exactly been taught an alternative either. On the streets, tears would have gotten him absolutely nothing. Anger at least gave him energy to fight back.
And this destroys him. He is angry at the fact he had no one in his life who loved him, his talents were wasted because of QJL/WYZ, nobody takes his abilities seriously… and with no healthy way of expressing this, he goes onto bully LBH. LBH then returns to destroy him, literally. More subtly, he is unable to express his fear and anxiety in healthy ways, so acts standoff-ish and aggressive to his those around him. As his relationship with them deteriorates, his fear and anxiety increases. Feedback loops.
SJ puts on a mask of anger and stoicism to the point that everyone around him (including himself) is convinced that he is unrepentant and evil. Suppresses and suppresses until it breaks him, until he has nothing – not his comfort, nor status, nor the one that he truly cared for:
He had single-handedly facilitated Luo Binghe’s today, and now who had single-handedly created this outcome for him? Yue Qingyuan was never supposed to have an end like this. In order to come to a decades-late appointment, to fulfill a completely useless promise. A broken sword and a dead man. It shouldn’t be like this.
A Note on Ambivalent Sexism
It’s funny because I think there’s a fandom vibe that SJ was the secret feminist of SVSSS. Don’t get me wrong, I love this in fanfics. Badass feminist SJ all the way. But my honest opinion is that I don’t think that was the case.
More explicitly, I don’t think SJ took women seriously. NYY, for example. Certainly, SJ valued NYY. But the expression of this care involved doting on her, hiding his treatment of LBH from her, and not particularly pushing her to grow. And PIDW!NYY wasn’t implied to be the most mature of the lot. Okay, while we don’t know a lot about PIDW!NYY (narrator unreliable), it’s probably safe to say some distance from SJ helped her a lot.
Another point – the Qiu massacre. SJ killed the men, but not the women. And while this says more about his distaste for men, it also indicates (possibly - I will float this idea but I won't die on this hill) that he straight up doesn’t see any woman as an enemy, or capable of being a threat. Which is possibly a natural conclusion he’s drawn from his experiences (QHT was not very perceptive, or very threatening) but also inaccurate as a worldview.
And his attitude towards the women he sees as saviours? Has the same vibe as ‘it’s so embarrassing to be protected by a girl’.
Okay, so being doted on and not being killed are positives compared to being abused or murdered, but this kind of attitude is the opposite side of the same coin to ‘women are incompetent and inferior’. And when it comes to raising kids, not allowing them to grow can be extremely harmful as well. See e.g. Ambivalent sexism.
Although I do want to mention that I do not think SJ was like… actively misogynistic. I think he genuinely liked women more than men. The point is you can be sexist without realising it.
Conclusions
To conclude, SJ had ideas of success and self-worth associated with toxic masculinity which were instrumental in his downfall.
Masculinity doesn’t have to be toxic. While the Cang Qiong family aren’t exactly the healthiest bunch, YQY’s calm and patient leadership, LQG’s steadfast loyalty, LBH’s ability to cry like a maiden and still be the strongest… these are all traditionally masculine traits that can be very positive. These are also people who can have feminine traits and explore their gender identity without being prissy or weak.
It's the great tragedy of SJ that he had many positive characteristics. He was talented, intelligent, articulate, perceptive, loyal, and caring… under the right circumstances, he could have grown into a great person.
And maybe he still had that chance, right until the end.
modern cultivation AU where Shen Jiu is a tad edgy 😎 (repost from twitter)