Queen

Shen Qingqiu was doomed.

He stood still, fluttering his fan nervously and trying to avoid catching his counterpart's, the real Shen Qingqiu, glaring eyes from across the room. Instead, he idly observed the other Cang Qiong Mountain Peak Lords, trying to spot the differences between the ones he knew and their alternates.

Liu Qingge had brought back a strange artifact from one of his hunts to the monthly Peak Lord meeting. It was a mirror, rimmed an ugly tarnished gold, topped with a decoration that was shaped into an unidentifiable creature with ruby red eyes.

[Important Artifact Detected: Red-Eyed Sphinx's Mirror! Quest starting...]

Shen Qingqiu had been trying to remember where it might have appeared in PIDW when the surface of the mirror suddenly began to glow a dull yellow. It quickly brightened until it obscured everyone's vision.

And then, there stood another set of peak lords across the room, facing them down.

System, what on earth is going on???

[Quest started: Lost Long Spirit in My Reflection! Other characters have been transported to this universe. Host must find a way to send them back without revealing his identity as a transmigrator.]

WTF? I didn't agree to this!

[Good luck!]

System??? Get back here!

While the two Yue Qingyuans and Xu Qinglis conversed together to try to understand what had happened, the other peak lords had begun to mingle with each other, curious about their counterparts.

Shen Qingqiu tried to suppress his panic, sticking close to Shang Qinghua. His Yue Qingyuan occasionally flicked his softened gaze towards the alternate Shen Qingqiu, likely noticing that the other still acted as he used to before his qi deviation. In fact, several of the peak lords he had gotten to know over the years were sending some looks at the other Shen Qingqiu.

With the original goods right there, how long would it be before something exposed him as a fraud?? What if he was confronted about why he acted so differently?

[Host must avoid having his identity exposed. Being revealed as a transmigrator will result in Host being immediately sent back to his old body.]

Yeah, yeah, same shit as always!

Looking to his side, Shang Qinghua seemed to be experiencing the same threats, desperately looking away from the more dead-eyed Shang Qinghua across the room who, luckily, was barely paying him any attention.

Fuck, what do we do?

---

Shen Qingqiu continued to glare at the Other Shen Qingqiu in the room. The other Shen Qingqiu was so obviously a fraud, he could tell within minutes of being here. While his alternate seemed somewhat familiar, he didn't act like him at all, his mannerisms were all off, and despite the attempt at keeping a poker face, Shen Qingqiu could tell that he was nervous. Probably at being caught out.

His alternate self had likely been replaced with a bodysnatcher or some sort of spirt, if they truly were supposed to be the same person. Was everyone else stupid, or had they had their brains sucked out by a Heart Mouthed Lobster-Squid?

Or maybe they simply like the bodysnatcher better and didn't bother to investigate.

Shen Qingqiu's face became stormier, turning his glare to the Other Yue Qingyuan, wondering if he had felt happier once his precious Xiao-Jiu had vanished. The other Yue Qingyuan's face grew even more pathetic. Tch. Typical.

"That stupid System--" Shen Qingqiu nearly snapped his neck in looking at the bodysnatcher upon hearing his murmur. The fraud, upon noticing his sudden attention, clammed back up and looked away. But Shen Qingqiu knew what he heard.

Xi Tong.

He hadn't heard those words in years, not since--

He stepped forward, scanning the other once more. Upon a second, more thorough look, Shen Qingqiu realized that he grew more familiar. He wore his hair in the way that Shen Qingqiu wore it, but looser and less severe. His eyes were clearer and lighter, with hints of a smile, despite his nerves. He occasionally quickly glanced up and to his left, as if seeing something there, before bringing his attention back to the room at large.

No. It couldn't be. He was long dead, despite Shen Qingqiu's best efforts. Even if the fake had some similar things about him, that doesn't mean--

Shen Jiu had once had a brother, besides Qi-ge. Slightly smaller than him, despite the fact that Shen Jiu passed him along as much food as he could when on the streets. He smiled so much despite their circumstances, and was so kind despite Shen Jiu constantly telling him that he was making himself a target. But he looked so, so similar to Shen Jiu himself. They could have switched their clothes and looked exactly the same, if one didn't notice the difference in their demeanors.

His brother has also always been a little odd, talking to himself and arguing with an imaginary friend that only he could see named Xi Tong. One of the reasons that they survived as long as they did on the streets was due to the inexplicable knowledge that his brother seemed to have. Somehow, his brother knew about the various plants or small animals that they could hunt and sell for a pretty coin in the markets. Shen Jiu never asked, not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

But his brother was dead. He had died years ago, in the time during when they were in Qiu's manor. During a punishment for Shen Jiu's attempt to get them both to join Wu Yanzi; he had switched their clothes and taken Shen Jiu's place and died for it. That had been the final catalyst that made him set the manor ablaze and escape, mourning his brother's death as his fault for daring to be free. Cursing Qi-ge for not coming back for them.

Dazed and his vision dim, Shen Jiu took another step forward, and another. Hope, something he thought he had killed off long ago, slowly rose in his chest.

Had his brother survived in this world? Had he managed to escape alongside Shen Jiu? Or had Shen Jiu died in his place? Dimly, he can't help but think that the world would be far kinder if that were the case. If his brother had made it to Cang Qiong Mountain and became a peak lord all on his own and still managed to keep his smile. If he didn't have Shen Jiu dragging him down with him.

The other Shen Qingqiu, not having noticed his approach, laughed at something the other Shang Qinghua said ("Wonder if Shang Qinghua is a traitor here, too," Shen Jiu thought dimly). His laugh was the same. He rose his fan to hide his face, but Shen Jiu noticed how his nose crinkled, and his eyes nearly closed in delight, exactly like--

"A-Yuan?"

I love impregnating Shen Qingqiu, but you know what I find more fun? The pregnant virgin Shen Qingqiu :D

I mean, it's absolutely hilarious no matter who the parent or the situation, like, Shen Qingqiu who exchanges qi with Liu Qingge in a mystical cave and accidentally becomes pregnant?

Or Shen Qingqiu hitting Shang Qinghua with a fan full of pollen, Shang Qinghua touches him skin to skin to return the aggression, and THAT PASSIONATE TOUCH causes a pregnancy.

Or the beautiful moment where disciple Luo Binghe accidentally impregnates his Shizun while brushing his hair with a jade comb that turns out to be a rare amulet who, fueled by Luo Binghe's feelings, impregnates Shen Qingqiu. (Extra angst points if it's like, a month before IAC and Shen Qingqiu notices the pregnancy after. Hehehe.)

Or even Shen Qingqiu sharing a tea with Yue Qingyuan and accidentally drinking from the same cup (from a tea set gifted by another sect, clearly cursed or something) Shen Qingqiu clearly ends up pregnant - and the Sect Leader is very, very full of feelings about it.

Oh BOY, what else do we have here? Accidentally pregnant due to Mu Qingfang's medical error in the cross prescription of some herbs and touching his exposed skin? Accidentally pregnant from Zhuzhi-lang's bite? I mean, he would have to expel some eggs, that would make his pregnancy process shorter like, four and a half months in and four and a half months out? Lmao make me wild, ACCIDENTALLY PREGNANT WITH MOBEI JUN'S BABY, maybe because Shen Qingqiu had some cursed amulet on him or some kind of curse on him at the same time Mobei-jun has to touch him with qi for something (keep him alive on Junshang's orders perhaps?)

I mean, the funny thing is that Shen Qingqiu is a virgin. Very virgin. Virgin in "the only pussy I've ever seen is from porn" and "the only cocks I've ever seen too. Not that I watch gay porn. You just see cocks when you watch porn, it's inevitable". Virgin in an almost spiritual state of silly behavior.

And obviously, it's so funny that in a world of sexual plants, papapa to solve everything, he, JUST HE, has to carry a baby without all the sexy act that leading to a pregnancy.

I mean, it's hilarious. He's such a dumb boy. He will hit Shang Qinghua very hard for all those pregnancies of course.

Something born from a convo on twt

(Bingmei is still The Emperor and The HHP Palace Master but he spends more time with his family and house duties, and working hard into his dream of having a BIG family)

The tweet that inspired this, which I very much agree, omega Binghe supremacy

Undivided attention

LMAO

Some amazing book dedications: 

this tip tho!!!!!!!!

This morning, I realised I hate the texture of freshly bought bananas because it reminds me of what I imagine raw flesh would feel like

[posted with permission] nina is my funniest mutual pls check her out

any good recovery blogs i should be following? trying to follow lots of people!

I don't know what kind of recovery posts you want but here are a bunch of blogs filled with positivity and run by really nice people :)

@positiveautistic @suggestionsofkindness @wholeheartedsuggestions @recoverystuff @styrke @recoverr @youarewortheverything @vibeforce @positivityoutlet @empathpower @woo-positivity

Hope this helps <3

"the magnus archives sounds cool! what are the content warnings?"