---SQH---

XF is thrilled that he has a buddy transmigrator, even if it's his favorite hater. Anyway, looks like his hater can't bring himself to be a big ol meanie to a kid and lil SQH is just ~six~!

SQH officially decides to be as "baby brother" to SY's "cool older brother" as he can possibly be, especially when he finds out he can outsource a lot of things to SY to do and it doesn't upset his System.

The two transmigrators not only start planning to subvert the plot, but also end up meta-gaming CQM's rise to prominence even before the demon war. It wasn't on purpose! But Cucumber Bro was so powerful at this point that it was trivial for him to bring back any magic mcguffin Airplane mentioned. It just kinda happened!

Airplane and SY are known as a pair of rapscallions, the An Ding Peak Lord fearing that his hand-picked administration baby will be led astray by that reckless Bai Zhan brat!

After all, SY enjoyed reckless fighting, tearing up the training fields on every peak with disciples that dared to accept his challenges, talking back to his elders and questioning the way things are run on CQM, eagerly found loopholes in all the rules ... a true problem child!!!

... That said, he keeps bringing back useful souvenirs like beasts for the beast peak, cataclysmic plants and monster parts for Qian Cao, wild drinking games for Zui Xian, demonic swords for Wan Jian to play with/melt down, and even yellow books for Xian Shu... wait. Why that one?!

Either way, the AD Peak Lord just grits his teeth and tries to ignore SY's transgressions as he basically becomes the big brother of all of CQM.

He even misses the kid a little when SY stays off CQM for ten years. That foolish BZ Peak Lord... the kid clearly doesn't want to be Head Disciple, just give up! Or are you going to keep it up and make him avoid CQM until we all ascend?!

Of course, the AD Peak Lord was frustrated when SY dumped a bunch of kids at the mountain's base and asked them to deal with it... Goodness! It was a pain in the ass to figure out what to do with them - some couldn't stay on the mountain thanks to their incompatibility with qi and cultivation after all!

Ugh... at least they pulled out a few potential genius cultivators from the bunch or this would be not worth finding adoptive parents and apprenticeships for the noncultivator kiddos.

When SY returns, SQH is thrilled to have his big bro and fellow co-conspirator back and the two become thick as thieves again, for all that SY becomes the entire sect's big brother again.

Plus they have a war to prevent and a mother-to-be to save! Unfortunately... the System stops both SQH and SY from intervening this time. In the form of punishing SQH.

Now, Cucumber Bro might be Airplane's hater, but SY sees SQH as baby brother, so of course he hates letting the System punish SQH. They can only watch helplessly despite trying to save SXY after LBH drifts away.

Of course they fail, bumming the two transmigrators out. They figure that anything directly related to LBH cannot be changed. Even though other major plotpoints are easily changed, like the scum villain showing up WAY earlier (SQH isn't sure exactly when, but SJ wasn't supposed to be practically raised on CQM) and MBJ has zeroed in on HHP for some reason instead of fighting cultivators in general (SQH doesn't realize how much he mutters about the OPM as the war comes closer and closer. MBJ just wants all the stressors gone so he can court his hamster; he is getting REALLY pissed off at HHP for occupying SQH's time all the time.).

The cumplane relationship is a lot more chill and familial in this au, although there's a lot of the "older brother" bullying the "younger brother" and the "younger brother" ragebaiting the "older brother."

---SQQ---

SJ didn't have much hope while living on the streets.

Luckily he was goodlooking, or else he would have had a limb broken or an eye blinded to look even more pitiful as he begged on the streets. But living under these slvers who made them beg ... not only did they barely get enough to eat no matter how many coins they got for the day, but they were always in danger of bodily harm dependent on the slvers' whims.

Besides, being goodlooking was as much a liability as it was an asset when you were in SJ's shoes. It was only a matter of time before this lifestyle caught up to him and Qi-ge.

But then a young man came and destroyed that slver gang.

At first SJ still had dim hopes.

With his former slvers, at least he knew what to expect. Doing a "good deed" by freeing a bunch of kids and then leaving them alone ... It wouldn't be long before they were caught again by new slvers who might treat them even worse, or maybe they'd be kidnapped for even more nefarious things.

"Aw man, I should've known assholes who blast-mine in unstable terrain without caring about causing a cave-in would have other, more detestable means of making a profit," the young cultivator groaned, hand on face. He peeked at the kids... "... Fuck. I can't just leave them..."

Well at least he had some brains. But can he actually walk the walk, or does he just talk the talk?

"Should we go with him?" Qi-ge asked, nervous just like all the other kids who didn't know what to do.

"... We need to at least get out of this town," SJ said.

Too many people recognized them as beggars. If they wanted any hope of breaking out of this life, they needed to at least leave. It's hard to pass up a free escort for the road.

And then, while on the road, SJ saw the cultivator lift up a "stuck" cart to "help" some bandits who had set it up for an ambush ... with one arm.

Threatening them with a pleasant smile that was far more intimidating than a sword... SJ was so impressed he forgot to slip away until they had reached CQM.

... Wait, the guy wasn't just giving them empty promises, he actually had the pull to get CQM to help them?!

"Right, just tell them Shen Yuan dropped you off okay? Great. Gotta go!"

...? Was he good with CQM? Why did he leave so quickly?

"Ah! Shixiong! Shen Shixiong! Shizun promised not to make you Head Disciple, so just come back!"

"He said that last time too! Forget it forget it, I'll come back for good when he actually picks a Head Disciple. Today I came back suddenly, but next time I'll drop off some souvenirs!"

As SJ and the CQM disciple watched the guy speed away on his sword, SJ couldn't help feeling curious about CQM, if they spawned a strange one like this Shen Yuan.

SJ gets by well in CQM. He and Qi-ge get split up, but SJ knows what's better for both of them even if he's a little displeased. Anyway, they somehow ended up as Head Disciples of two different peaks! Former backgrounds really meant nothing once you became a cultivator. Only strength and talent mattered.

Of course SJ still has a bit of an inferiority complex, so he hides his background. He won't lie about it if it comes down to it, but he gets a kick out of it whenever anyone mistakes him for being from a rich and more prominent family. (Without living among the Qius he can't perfect the noble act, but he gets close, and it's probably better this way.)

The next time he sees SY was shortly after the BZ Peak Lord appointed a Head Disciple.

Despite SY's occasional brief visits back to CQM, he really stayed away the entire time just like he said he would ...

At first this "CQM's Shixiong" is a little awkward around SJ, making SJ paranoid and nervous, but it disappears after a bit and SJ is endlessly teased instead, much to his bewilderment. It's light-hearted teasing, and SY doesn't seem to remember SJ being part of the beggar kids he saved, so SJ really is confused. He eventually chalks it up to SY being a little weird anyway.

(SY dislikes SJ at first on account of PIDW, but doesn't want to "punish" someone for crimes he hasn't done, leading to his lukewarm and awkward manner with SJ.)

(Everyone can tell even if he thinks he's hiding it, but SQH, under the impression that they can still mess with the plot, quickly reassures SY that SJ isn't likely to become the scum villain. The timing and tragic arc seems to be all messed up... the rest of CQM watches SY chase SQH around the peaks while yelling about hack authors and misinformation. They're used to it.)

(Soon SY takes an interest in getting SJ to loosen up and act more like a kid, resulting in the teasing and silly gifts. He has to reassure YQY that he is not trying to court SJ, just wants all the kids to remain kids as long as possible, and since SY does give out gifts to lots of people all the time, it passes.)

A more confident SJ and less guilt-ridden YQY makes for a fun qijiu power couple because the basic dynamic is still the same, but YQY goes, "Oh, woe is me, I couldn't let Xiao Jiu live a life of leisure and luxury..." and SJ smacks him upside the head with a, "You think I NEEDED a man to get to where I am today?!" leaving YQY to happily (through tears) say, "Of course not, everything Xiao Jiu says is right!"

Their martial siblings are always stuck between amusement and nausea when watching them interact.

---LQG---

Ever since he got to CQM, LQG has heard about this super strong shixiong who is smart, crafty, and also kind.

Every story he hears sounds more and more outlandish, but so many people tell the same stories that they have to have some sort of truth to them.

The culture of Bai Zhan has become slightly less fight-y, emphasizing fighting smarter, not harder, but that suits LQG just fine since rampant fighting on BZ Peak is still present.

Not off it, but LQG doesn't find fighting people off BZ Peak, outside of official martial exchanges, that interesting anyway.

He still has a complex about fighting dirty, but acknowledges it as a way some people choose despite avoiding it completely himself. (He does think he's better for not being tricky, but isn't as harsh on people who are... a bit of a superiority complex vibe.)

LQG takes all of the jealous "you'll never be as good as Shen Shixiong" as idle talk. Sure, this Shen Shixiong is probably really strong and he's really looking forward to fighting Shen Shixiong, but the difference can't be THAT big ...

SY accidentally wipes the floor with LQG on their first spar.

He didn't mean to! The kid just ran right into the misdirection he set up! Liu-shidi, if you recognize the setup, don't take it straight on! Just because you CAN brute force your way through doesn't mean you SHOULD!

Worried about LQG's future, SY entertains most of his challenges, but also tries to keep the kid on his toes. Not by ambushing him or through combat, but by teasing. Seriously, now that SJ avoided his trauma arc, LQG is the sect's biggest stick-in-the-mud and far too rigid. He needs loosen up, or things will get tough for him in the future... but man his expressions and how flustered he gets is kind of fun...

Teasing LQG eventually becomes SY's favorite pasttime.

Teasing SQH is just mutually hurting each other (j/k but there's a lot of back-and-forth), and teasing SJ is more like seeing how much he can get away with before SJ calls him out, but teasing LQG is just so fun!

You don't even need to do much, just staring at him gets him all flustered! Plus the kid's a total softie on the inside!

LQG doesn't know what to do with this shixiong who can't leave him alone, enjoys wrestling pseudo dragons, and has a wild, roguish personality that seems to attract all the bees and butterflies!!! Letting them mess around about Shen shixiong is just going to encourage him!

Shen Shixiong uses despicable means, indulges in frivolities, and even corrupts those around him (finding out he discusses yellow books with the Xian Shu girlies mortified LQG for months) - and yet he can still beat him?! LQG is SO annoyed!

Yah, most of the rest of their disciple years involves the two of them trying to "fix" each other, among other things, and everyone just goes, "Aw, look, they're bonding."

LQG and SJ have almost no opinions on each other, other than vague disdain. They just don't mesh well, but with BZ's less antagonistic approaches to other peaks and an SY occupying most of his time, he doesn't view YQY as a goal/idol, and he doesn't care much about any trickery SJ employs because SY has definitely done worse.

This is where I'd normally drop it, preferring to let writing the story dictate the rest of the liushen dynamics, but I probably won't write this one, so uh ... probably LQG mellows out while SY remains his good ol charming self, and LQG starts trying to court him while wondering how he fell for the most oblivious man in the world.

I assume needing to defeat shixiong is also a factor in LQG's head.

LMY is highly entertained and doesn't know if she supports this or not because, yeah, SY would make a badass in-law who can beta for her, but also her brother's frustrations and the will-they-wont-they tension is delicious delicious material.

---LBH---

LBH is far too baby for SY to be romantically attracted to at this point, but be the protagonist's cool martial uncle? Hell yeah!

It doesn't even seem that out of place since LBH is one of YQY's prized disciples, and SY has always enjoyed playing uncle to his martial siblings' personal disciples. Maybe he treats LBH a little better than others, but, well, no one really minds all that much. They're more concerned about LQG's lack of personal disciples, tbh.

LBH is a little confused at this guy who even the Peak Lords call "shixiong" (it's a running joke that SY is CQM's shixiong, so the appellation stuck even among the older disciples and his superiors), but he finds SY's rogueish demeanor attractive.

Still, he finds milf energy YQY pretty damn attractive too, and although he's not serious about it, he does daydream here or there... until SJ hears about the special treatment YQY is giving LBH. Actually, SJ is just missing how YQY cared for him in the past and is a little jealous that LBH gets to experience it, but the whole ordeal (a public argument, YQY getting the silent treatment for a week, finally capitulating in the two becoming cultivation partners and a lot of pda) is a little traumatizing.

LBH still admires YQY, and he thinks he would also be groveling if he made his loved one angry, but uh... yeah, let's... avoid THAT situation again. LBH doesn't want to be a homewrecker!

It doesn't help that puberty hits a few years later and LBH is having a hard time with that clear mind bit of cultivation when there are so many hot men on this mountain! But he keeps himself under control, mostly, because CQM is the best home he's had and he doesn't want to fk it up. (Maybe he and other curious disciples explore a bit, just to see what dual cultivation is like, I dunno.)

And then the IAC happens, LBH thinks he's going to be killed, but is shocked when SJ defends him in the OPM's face. (SJ saw a look in the OPM's eyes he didn't like. Just because he never had his Qiu Manor arc doesn't mean he can't detect a creeper a mile away.)

SQH and SY are SHOCKED when SJ doesn't punt LBH into the Abyss, but quickly decide that the System only cares if one of the transmigrators changes the plot. Native characters still have free reign ... but really, just what has changed SJ so much? It's a mystery.

SY, with all his mastery in bs and the cliffnotes he got from SQH, steps forward and decisively stops OPM from dragging LBH off into the Water Prison by wondering if the OPM was trying to divert their attention, since the demons were yelling, "Revenge on HHP!! Death to the OPM!"

Really, just why was MBJ so fixated on HHP? That is also a mystery. (MBJ wants his proposal gift to be OPM's head, since SQH seems to hate him so much. Also, the demons know what OPM was up to during the war, so why not?)

Come to think of it, there were some interesting rumors about OPM and his infatuation with his former Head Disciple... SY weaves some really good bullshit that casts suspicion on OPM's involvement and motives about wanting to get LBH into the water prison (which inadvertently makes GYX start feeling really damn uncomfortable). He then ties LBH up with some immortal binding cables, saying that CQM had to conduct its own investigations, and did they REALLY think CQM would let a prisoner escape?

Shen Shixiong is good at spewing nonsense with a clear conscience as always... but SJ is grateful for once as Shen Shixiong hoists his husband's most prized disciple over one shoulder and speeds off before anyone could stop him.

The worst thing was that the kid wasn't dead on impact. The other Bai Zhan disciples didn't realize he was injured, and the kid died due to not getting medical attention in time.

How nasty, how cruel... SY had been furious when he read about it at the time, but it had been presented as an event from the past, a "one time the Bai Zhan disciples even did this," so it wasn't like he knew any details.

Now that he had transmigrated in... with a dull throb in the back of his head, SY understood how the Bai Zhan disciples "accidentally" left the kid alone.

The Bai Zhan disciples were still horrible terrors and hazing the newbies is a bad thing to do, don't get him wrong, but ... it might be understandable why the other disciples mistook their strength on a very new, barely cultivating new disciple.

After all, the only reason such a timid guy made it onto Bai Zhan was because he possessed freakish superhuman strength. Even without cultivating!

Too used to others with that kind strength being more durable, how could these dimwits realize that a simple knock on the head could kill him?

Of course you couldn't, they're too dumb ... not that SY was going to let them get away with it now that he was here!

Getting up, SY started sullenly walking away from the rowdy rabble.

"Hey, where are you going?! How do you think you're going to last on Bai Zhan if you're running away so easily?!"

The rest of the disciples began to jeer, and SY's head was throbbing. From the fall or the noise, didn't matter.

With an oh so sinisterly sweet smile plastered on his face, SY turned.

For some reason, a shiver ran down the belligerent disciple's spine. This annoyingly timid guy was suddenly ... a little terrifying.

"Where am I going? Why, I'm going to Qian Cao Peak, Shixiong. After all, I haven't started cultivating yet, I can't take so many hits. It would be terrible if Bai Zhan's newest disciple died because his shixiongs didn't know how to control their strength - how terribly would that reflect on the abilities of Bai Zhan Peak?"

Everyone involved in the outer disciples' impromptu initiation gets in major trouble, especially as SY, bandage on his head and a doctor's Qian Cao healer's note on extreme disapproval of the situation, points out that "making a mistake" like this again would be a disaster on a mission.

"Certainly they forgot that I am still no more than a mortal because of my strength, but what if it's a demon or beast they're hunting? Will they let down their guard because it seemed weak? Or if a target they're escorting is decent with a sword, would they forget to guard him properly because they think he can handle himself? Lord of Bai Zhan Peak, please consider that as righteous cultivators, the mind should be as agile and sharp as the sword. Or should we wait until our own swords tear through our bonds as martial siblings and shred Cang Qiong's righteousness to pieces?"

Bai Zhan Peak Lord: ... Did a kid from Qing Jing end up here by mistake? And why is this ball of potential relegated to an outer disciple?

(The original kid was too timid so he was dismissed as a fringe disciple despite his strength. In this au, only the Peak Lord's personal disciples can call him Shizun, since outer/fringe disciples would likely never be taught by the Peak Lord. Only when they showed promise would they be selected by a shizun, and even then it might not be the Peak Lord but another elder.)

The BZ Peak Lord is intrigued by SY's demeanor and makes him an inner disciple, although still not one of his personal disciples.

With better resources and guidance, SY's own exceptional abilities in cultivation (cough*transmigratorcheats*cough), and the original's superhuman strength, SY grows to be one of the strongest and craftiest Bai Zhan disciple in less than half a year.

You bet the BZ Peak Lord snapped him up as a personal disciple before any of the elders could.

SY gets used to, and even has some fun with BZ's culture. Growing stronger and training his own body to be more efficient is fun! And sparring is even more fun! Messing around with the boys (and girls omg; BZ shijies are as bad or worse than the guys) and causing mischief is fun too! He never got to be an irl gremlin in his past life.

Buuuut he still finds some parts to be too barbaric for his tastes. Just like jokes are only funny when both parties laugh, spars, roughhousing, and pranks are only fun when both sides are into it, okay?

SY never participates in his martial siblings' hazing of the other peaks, preferring to go night hunting instead (such cool monsters!).

Most of the time his fellow disciples understood, since SY is the youngest disciple (13) almost ever to be allowed to go solo night hunting (he's the only young disciple the BZ Peak Lord and elders have agreed won't run out and get himself killed immediately), but it's weird when he never participates in this pastime.

Eventually some jealous, but not overly malicious, disciple decides to heckle and make fun of SY for being too chicken or too much of a goody two-shoes (which is the worst thing you can be in a group of rowdy boys), and SY puts down his monster-spotting journal and raises an eyebrow.

(The kid understood he'd made a huge mistake the instant he sees it.)

SY eviscerates him and all the other jealous or more ill-minded disciples hanging around trying to pressure him into raiding An Ding. They feel like even their ancestors in their graves felt it.

Not to mention, SY is widely known throughout all of Cang Qiong as a Qing Jing disciple clad in a Bai Zhan disciple's skin (and yes the QJ Peak Lord tries to poach him from time to time), so no one else on BZ Peak can match SY's abilities in tongue lashing.

The short (and more pleasantly worded) version of his scathing review of their behavior is that SY wasn't going to stop them from doing it, but he's looked down on them for their infantile hobbies for a while now. Since BZ Peak is known as the strongest in swordsmanship and fighting, how uncouth was it to go around forcing fights on others to prove a point.

Like rogues on the street with no future, they can only prove their worth by beating everyone up and smiling to say, "See? I'm still strong," but the only motivator is truly their own insecurity at their worthlessness.

Trying to tear down others with brute force because they can't compare to their other martial siblings in anything else... what dreadfully dull people. This sort of exercise in futility only serves to form them into those petty tyrants whose only form of existence is to be hated and disgusted by their very presence.

They want him to raid An Ding? Sure. Then let him show them how it's really done.

(Again, this is MY version of SY's tirade. He's really let his inner internet gremlin out in his time at BZ, so HIS words are a lot more crude and uh... yeah. Several of the disciples are now crying from how rudely and thoroughly he tore them down.)

SY takes the whole group to An Ding and grabs an An Ding disciple, asks the terrified disciple if he has time, and then proposes that the An Ding disciple pick something, anything, and they would compete.

The An Ding disciple is confused, but doesn't look like he's gonna be beat up so he goes with it. With a bit of a petty streak, he has this overconfident BZ brat compete with him in inventorying the storehouse the entire peak's been avoiding for ages.

SY: are you serious.

SY, a bit more politely than he is with his BZ martial siblings (although not by much), explains why this is not a good competition, since there will be no definitive criteria to finish by.

Another passing An Ding disciple, an older inner AD disciple, is intrigued and he and SY draft up the rules.

The original An Ding disciple and SY each get half the storeroom. Whoever can produce an organized inventory list that makes it possible for this inner An Ding disciple to confirm the contents in the least amount of time possible is the winner.

SY, with his modern table-making knowledge for clarity and super strength for reorganizing everything easily, smokes the An Ding disciple.

This leads to a bunch of challenges by An Ding disciples (since there's a crowd of them now) who are a little butthurt that a Bai Zhan brute of all people could beat them at what they do best.

SY entertains a few of them (math, accounting, a footrace), before losing to a high-level formation carving contest. He politely thanks An Ding Peak for this informative Peak Exchange and takes his leave.

(SY's competitive streak has been ignited after his years at BZ; he wants to learn formation engraving now!)

Seeing the An Ding disciples frustrated that they could only best SY in a very unfair contest (BZ doesn't teach formations or even stone carving) despite competing in things they were confident of, the BZ disciple tagalongs can't help thinking that SY is SO COOL. (Except for the ones who are bitter and jealous of SY.)

He was right; forget just overpowering their other peak martial siblings, it's way cooler to beat them at things they do best!

Now sure, they can't just march in like their shi(di/xiong) and say, "Pick any contest and I'll win," but with some preparation...

The BZ Peak Lord returns from his latest mission to find his peak... a little different.

The rambunctious little radish heads are... studying things?

It was too much to say that they were "scholarly," but the younger disciples, even the outer ones, are no longer just fighting and causing trouble with no direction.

He looked at SY: "...What did you do?"

"Why does Shizun assume I did anything?"

"..."

SY just chuckled. "Shizun, I know BZ Peak believes that finding the limitation of the flesh and constant tempering among the disciples will cause them to mature and grow as people, but that only works for those who are committed to The Way in cultivation. Even among the elders, who can truly admit to never desiring power over others? A little bit of education outside of constantly fighting won't hurt their chances of becoming righteous cultivators."

BZ Peak Lord: Are you sure you're just 13?

A very young XF/SQH(6), not yet Head Disciple, is surprised a BZ disciple knows modern accounting, and the cumplane "Wait a sec, you're..." meeting happens a lot earlier.

Less SY bullying SQH than normal though, on the account that SQH is 6.

At the age of 16/17 SY starts running around off the peak a lot more, indulging in his desires to make a detailed and thorough monster journal (the beast peak lord has joined the QJ peak lord in trying to poach SY. The BZ peak lord is so tired...)

He gets in a tiff with a group of slvers who were also poaching and ruining a very valuable ecosystem, inadvertently freeing several groups of children who were forced to beg for them.

Uh... crap, he can't just leave them by themselves...

SY irresponsibly just drops them off at Cang Qiong, and although not all of them will be suitable for cultivation, his martial siblings and elders will figure it out.

He books his ass as far away from Cang Qiong immediately after dropping the kids off and sending a transmission, eager to avoid his shizun's constant subtle implications on making him Head Disciple.

SY continues traveling far and wide, only returning years later when he's satisfied. Like a decade later.

SQH is now 19 and Head Disciple of An Ding (and had rescued MBJ earlier than in the book, allowing the kid to avoid HHP altogether), the QJ Peak Lord is smug while showing off her own smart Shen disciple (who recognizes SY as that guy who freed them and brought them to CQ), and his own Shizun had reluctantly appointed a new Head Disciple, who is now obsessed with fighting him.

Aw geez, Shizun, you gave him a complex and now he feels like he has to defeat me to earn the right to be the Head Disciple! That's terrible for his mental state in his formative years!

LQG: Does not actually have a complex, he's just heard about this elusive smart and strong shixiong this entire time and has become inexplicably obsessed with seeing SY for himself. Doesn't help that SY showed up with a pseudo wyvern 4xs SY's size, still alive and trussed up as a gift for the beast peak, slung over his shoulder.

LQG's obsession only grows after fighting SY and he wants to fight all the time, win or lose.

The demon war and TLJ/SXY situation still happens like PIDW, but the story is derailed when LBH makes it to CQM.

SQQ without his Qiu manor arc is a lot less interested in being petty over every little thing (he's still petty, but more for personal amusement now), so he basically doesn't even notice LBH since he's looking for potential scholars.

LBH ends up on Qiong Ding (this absolutely does cause a tiny bit of drama between YQY and SQQ some years later, but more of a jealous wifey spat, nothing major), and SY and SQH are left confused.

With SQQ choosing to keep all the details of his past hidden and pretending he doesn't recognize SY as their rescuer (anyway SY forgot about that incident), the two transmigrators can't figure out what happened.

Eventually they're too busy dealing with their persistent suitors (not that either of them realize) to dig into the situation and everyone lives happily ever after.

(LBH gets a crush on YQY during puberty, but feels terrible ruining the relationship between YQY and SQQ (he didn't, it was the best make up sx YQY had ever had) so he tries to reign it in. No one gets dragged into his dreamscape, and when the Immortal Alliance happens, SQQ is shocked but fights off the Old Palace Master, because dammit that's his husband's favorite disciple, half demon be damned, and only his husband gets to decide what happens to him! LBH gets a Shimu now.)

(MBJ just shows up, makes a fuss, and leaves very anticlimactically. SQH is confused, but a much less bitter MBJ with a hamster supporting him just sneaks over and cuddles him, telling him it was sooo hard and he hates HHP.)

Despite the fact that Grandmaster wanted to take things easy and be left alone, there are always going to be people trying meet with Shizun... and it's not like SJ didn't know why.

Heading into the back courtyard, SJ found Shizun tending the garden as usual. He wasn't sure what Shizun enjoyed about gardening all the time but ... side-eyeing the extremely rare plants Shizun had somehow managed to cultivate despite their historic impossible-to-cultivate reputation, he could only sigh.

As long as Shizun was having fun...

Rounding the all-seeing creeper vines and frost honey sky lotus, SJ finally caught sight of his Shizun, the Sect Master Grandmaster of Huan Hua Palace. (Shizun kept wanting to step back from the position and joked he was more like the sect's grandfather, not the sect leader, but please. With Shizun's leadership, who would accept his retirement any time soon? They just started calling him Grandmaster instead. Anyway, it was better than the "Palace Master" Shizun's failure of a disciple wanted to be called.)

Despite his age, Shen Shizun was still tall and graceful. He might have a mature face, but it was still smooth and elastic unlike many ancestor cultivators decades younger than him.

The beard was trimmed short, unlike the long beards like all the other cultivators his age, and it was neat and tidy, unlike all the greasy and unkempt rogues and bastards SJ had seen in his time on the streets.

That beard and the long white hair half pulled back in a topknot combined with Shizun's broad shoulders and narrow waist had seduced far too many people. SJ couldn't help glaring at his shizun.

Did he know how many people he had to chase away daily?! No! Of course his shizun didn't, he NEVER notices their advances!

Even though the man was the smartest, craftiest person alive, Grandmaster Shen couldn't tell someone was interested in him even if they bluntly told him! And many people had!

Either Shizun wanted to be an ascetic, or no one had caught his eye. Didn't matter - SJ would chase them off until his shizun indicated differently.

After everything he'd done for Huan pHua, Shizun deserved to not be bothered by unwanted advances!

Shizun revealed all the conspiracies, punished all evil-minded sect members, and redid the entire sect's authority system to prevent the terrible things from happening again.

Normally SJ would scoff at the naivety of believing one could set up a sect to avoid corruption, but seeing how Shizun did it by utilizing people's natural suspicion and eagerness to point fingers while mitigating the overeager by clearly defining the rules and punishments for false accusations ... SJ knew Shen Shizun wasn't someone who didn't understand reality and the darkness within people.

After all, Shizun never pretended that material wealth wasn't important like some other sects that liked to act like they were above material needs.

When SJ asked his shizun about it, Shen Shizun just chuckled.

"Whether it's money, resources, or power, they are all things that can be used. Some sects like to scoff at us and call us moneygrubbers, but how many times do they come asking to borrow money when they come against a problem they can't just fight? And in the first place, can we truly be a righteous sect if every solution is to subdue the opponent? Would we not just be tyrants?"

"Isn't that what it means to be the strongest?"

Shizun chuckled again. "Is "the strongest" truly the best thing? Let me tell you, Xiao Jiu, the only constant in life is human dissatisfaction, and all jealous eyes will target anyone who act oppressively. It's far better to pretend to be mediocre and let everyone think you're doing them favors. Besides, they're so righteous, they wouldn't let you do them favors without having to pay you back."

That sly smile and glint in his shizun's eyes... Although Grandmaster Shen was widely known as a wise and benevolent leader, SJ was fully aware that his shizun secretly devious and crafty. And SJ fully approved of it.

It was strange. Supposedly the Grandmaster had been cowardly and overly suspicious for many years before that sad excuse of a failure took over, but his personality now was nothing at all like the Sect Master in the memories of the elders.

The most common theory was that Grandmaster had been pretending to be useless in order to catch his head disciple and make an example of him... but that didn't feel right to SJ.

With everything he knew about the Grandmaster, SJ knew that Shen Shizun was good at reading people (except in romance) and swift and decisive in nipping trouble in the bud.

Not only would Shizun have put a swift end to the man's ambitions, he wouldn't have accepted that failure as head disciple in the first place!

In SJ's opinion, that poisoning did something to Shen Shizun. Either Shen Shizun had been slowly poisoned the entire time, leading to his strange personality, or that was truly Shen Shizun's previous personality. Either way, the final poisoning most likely caused Shen Shizun to undergo a breakthrough in both mentality and cultivation.

How else can you explain the massive power increase and completely different temperament otherwise?

Either way, SJ appreciated the change, even if he hated how it happened.

It's just, with all Shizun's breakthroughs (at his age!), his appearance grew sturdier and more vibrant while his firm and dependable temperament deepened and became even more attractive, drawing all sorts of bees and butterflies wanting to be the old man's cultivation partner!

Unaware of SJ's thoughts, SY just cheerfully waved and said, "Xiao Jiu. Is there something the matter?"

Facing Shen Shizun's warm smile, SJ deflated.

Forget it... as long as Shizun's happy.

"Hm? Is that Shen Jiu? Let this old man see how you're doing~"

... This was another thing SJ didn't understand. Shizun's weird friend, who came to talk about vulgar books and bicker about pointless things and took him out on stupid "adventures" that always went strange, so different from how Shizun normally was... but maybe that's the point.

Maybe Shizun never wanted to be so serious and have to overhaul the sect. Maybe he just wanted the freedom to tend his garden, chat over tea with some foolish friends, and travel around without any responsibilities.

After recovering (and learning how to use) his cultivation (for the first time), SY finally leaves the cave by blasting open the saboteur's cave-in job and strolls out to see where he was and what the situation really was. (He didn't trust the manic dying man fully.)

"S-sect Master?!? You didn't ascend?!"

Hm... so he's a the leader of a sect. It will make things difficult to investigate incognito.

SY put a finger to his lips and winked at the disciple who found him.

"There's a reason, so keep it secret for me," he whispered, startling the disciple even further. Perhaps this was all a hallucination...

Leaving the disciple who was questioning life behind him, SY trimmed his beard short and used a disguise technique to change his hair and beard from white to black before continuing on his way.

After a thorough investigation, SY is thoroughly disgusted with what he found. The whole sect was riddled with corruption, and his own damn head disciple, now the "sect master," was the worst of the bunch.

His many years as the Shen CEO had honed his abilities at reading people, and his former head disciple had the scummiest look to him... honestly, how did the former owner of this body not see the hostile takeover assassination attempt coming?

Gathering together some of the most virtuous elders, SY revealed the current "sect master's" ugly deeds, including (but not limited to) SY's "own" assassination, bribing witnesses and forging evidence to falsely incarcerate prisoners, illegal acquisitions of treasures and secret manuals that often included manufacturing "accidents" for the original owners, and lusting after his head disciple.

SY could only sigh and shake his head.

"If you had openly requested the right to pursue her and had mutual affections, this would not be a count against you," SY said. He had allowed many a department romance despite the board's concerns back in the day. "However, to abuse your position and power over her to take advantage and manipulate her... this is not love but greed!"

With all the evil deeds aired out for the world to see, SY personally reached out and broke his former head disciple's cultivation.

What, just imprison or exile this bastard? No way. This wasn't a man who would take his punishment quietly.

SY was a retired old man! Why leave a thorn in his side? Just to have drama in the future?

Besides, there was going to be a lot of reformation work needed to scrub the "muck" out of Huan Hua!

Part of SY wondered if this would be a problem in the future. After all, Luo Binghe would take over this sect... what if part of his journey was to eradicate the corruption in Huan Hua?

... Oh well. Now that SY knew how terrible this sect was, he couldn't pretend not see it and leave this liability and disaster waiting to happen. LBH can just take over a "clean" sect. It'll save him some time.

With terrifying efficiency from his decades as the Shen Corporation's CEO, SY purged and restructured Huan Hua.

Yeah, some of the mess was the fault of the original owner of this body, but SY just blamed everything on the former "sect master" acting without permission. Anyway, he didn't do it.

Everyone had audits and multiple checks and balances to insure there wouldn't be as much power abuse and embezzlement. Everyone had to pull their weight, and ill-gotten goods were confiscated and the victims compensated.

What did a cultivation sect want with all this mortal money and goods anyway?! And what was with the slves?! They're a cultivation sect, where social classes didn't matter once you took the oath for "departing" from the mortal world!

The world's setting was unfortunate enough to include slvery, and it would be difficult to correct since cultivators shouldn't meddle in mortal affairs, but their sect didn't have to participate! Hell, it was only the now crippled former sect master the slvers dealt with, so wtf?! And what was he doing with them?! Lord knows there aren't any in the sect... so what was he doing with them?! SY decided to investigate himself.

Looks like the former sect master was just a middleman for some nobles ... the details were disgusting enough that SY blinded the slver ringleader out of spite. (Ostensibly for "corrupting" his former head disciple, but let's be real, the guy was so bad he didn't need help.)

On his way back to the sect, SY spots some asshole nobles running wild on horseback through the streets, nearly killing people, before a few street urchins got entangled.

One of them threw qi... SY narrowed his eyes.

After learning what he learned at the slvers about some nobles' preferences... He saw the noble lock on to the boy.

... Nope.

SY never had children himself - no one was romantically interested in him to begin with (author's note: haha.) - but his siblings had kids and he had lots of fun being the cool uncle. He was going to stab a bitch if that noble got his hands on that kid.

Shrinking a thousand leagues into one step, SY suddenly appeared in front of the boy, preventing the noble's guards from touching him.

Although he ignored the nobles' side, looking solely at the boy, SY allowed his aura to expand, stifling and cowing the noble and his guards to silence.

Even the ill-tempered horse stood silently and shivered in his presence.

"Let me see your hand," SY said gently and took the boy's hand to poke and prod at his meridians.

"Grandmaster!" SY's entourage quickly caught up with him, causing the noble and his guards to be even more alarmed.

SY just smiled warmly at them.

"Look," he said. "I found a good seedling."

"Grandmaster..." SY's assistant sighed. "Alright, let's take him in."

"W-wait!"

SY wanted to click his tongue. SOME people just don't have any survival instincts.

The noble behind them reached out. "That is ..."

SY's assistant did click her tongue and demanded, "Who are you to question the Grandmaster of Husn Hua?! You are not this boy's guardian or master, what right do you have to prevent our Grandmaster from taking him as a disciple?!"

The noble went pale and nearly fainted.

"Now now," SY chuckled. "He did see the boy first, I suppose. But I wager that our sect will cultivate this little seedling better than a noble's house would, so please excuse my impropriety in taking him away. Unless ... you had... other plans?"

The noble quaked under the increased pressure Huan Hua's Grandmaster exerted. He was sure the Grandmaster knew his evil thoughts... but then the Grandmaster withdrew the pressure and smiled pleasantly.

"Fret not, I will not let you go empty handed. Thank you for finding this good seedling for me."

! A cultivator tool for almost nothing! Who cares about some brat?! The noble party departed with great joy despite their former fear.

SY's assistant frowned disapprovingly.

"Grandmaster," she complained, "after what we learned, we know he had no good intentions. Why would you reward him?!"

A sly, fox-like smile flitted across the Grandmaster's face.

"The tool isn't worth much, nor is it something he could use to overthrow the Emperor with. But tell me. What do you think is more dangerous, owning a powerful tool or not being strong enough to own a powerful tool?“

The assistant gaped. "You mean..."

"The ambition in those eyes is hard to hide, and a household that raised him to have such a temperament can only have a mire of enemies just waiting to drag them down. Whether they overestimate themselves and use it to attack others or others attack them to obtain it..." the Grandmaster trailed off before he chuckled. "Well, when you hear of their destruction, go get it back. We only permitted the Qius to have it, after all."

SJ stared at this bearded, white-haired man, eyes wide.

He had never respected an adult more in his life.

"Now then, let's get going and learn about this new little disciple on the way..." the Grandmaster said.

SJ snapped out of his confused daze. "W-wait-! Um... can ... can Qi-ge come too...?"

SY paused, noticing the other boy who had gotten hurt in the earlier scuffle

Ignoring his assistant's eyeroll, SY tsked tsked and picked the poor boy up, inspecting the scrapes and bruises.

SY suddenly paused and looked at his assistant. "Don't tell me I'm picking up every stray cat and dog. You take a look at his meridians too."

This other boy hadn't had his qi awakening yet, but his meridians were prime cultivation material!

The assistant gaped, then looked at one boy and then the next.

"When did cultivation monsters become as easy to pick up as cabbages on the side of the road?!" she squawked

Under SY, Huan Hua became a powerhouse among powerhouses. They were virtuous, upheld justice, and minded their impact on their surroundings. Their reputation soared with leaps and bounds.

SY's only regret was that his former head disciple's head disciple chose to withdraw from the sect.

Dammit! He had been preparing her to take over so he could retire!!! This is his brothers and the CEO position all over again!!!!

"... Why?" SY asked, preparing himself to rebut anything she said.

"... I wish to marry a demon."

... Okay, he didn't have an answer for that.

Fine, fine, have fun... at least Shen Jiu was shaping up to be promising. We'll just have to pass over SXY...

Before SXY left, she paused. "You... don't actually have any objections?"

SY could only sigh. "What good would they do? Demons who aren't automatically hostile are already so rare anyway. Just remember you have a home to come back to if you need it."

---

Long story short, when XF transmigrates over after dying of his old age, he finds that Cang Qiong has been usurped as the number one sect by Huan Hua, the OPM and LPM don't exist, Shen Jiu is Huan Hua's sect master with Yue Qi as Huan Hua's head enforcer, SXY is Empress Xi Yan of the demon realm (to disguise herself and avoid troubling Huan Hua), and LBH doesn't exist as LBH.

Oh, and his favorite hater-turned patron-turned good buddy, whose death he mourned for several years before his own, is happily tending the vegetable garden rare herbs and plants in Huan Hua's back courtyard just like he had in retirement in the modern world. After royally screwing up every inch of the plot!!!

Of course he wasn't perfect with them (he doted on and spoiled them too much at first), but after so many years and so many kids, SY had learned how to gently guide the indecisive and when to be stern and scold them for indiscretions.

He was also the main mentor for all the Shen heirs since his brothers refused to get involved in the family business, and he... somehow? Became the Shen Patriarch?? The hell??!

This status amplifies SY's wifebeam and mutates it, especially when he gets to dilf age. He's just the Most Desirable Bachelor Ever because people now want to wife and/or BE the wife of SY. They ain't picky, they just want this unc.

If you ask SY, though, he never realized. At the end of his life, he tells his meimei that he's a little regretful that no one was ever interested in him, and she's so flabbergasted she just barely manages not to trip and/or dislocate her hip.

And yeah, SY was a closet otaku his entire life, but it does fade a little as he ages and starts taking on more responsibilities... But what doesn't fade is the regrets about how PIDW could have been good!!!

He continues to harass Airplane during the duration of PIDW, but slowly, as they both mature, they develop a begrudging comradery to a point where Airplane confesses his life troubles. SY "lends" Airplane money to get through his rough points - not out of pity, he's quick to point out, but out of hope that there will never be another PIDW! They never meet, but joke around about XF being SY's sponsored renaissance painter and SY being XF's daddy longlegs.

But yeah. Wise(r), calmer, older mentor SY who still has all his oblivious sexual identity issues exacerbated because, who wants a crusty old grandpa? (All his suitors are pulling their hair out in frustration.)

Yeah, sure he transmigrates into a cultivator, but he's still a bit older in appearance than the other eternally young cultivators. Looking 35-40 is practically ancient!!! And he's still 85 on the inside, so really, completely undesirable.

SY does his duties and runs his department with so much efficiency that this random court minister catches Bingge's eye, and the Demon Emperor comes barreling down to see him, desperate to keep his empire and harem from imploding.

He almost tears SY limb from limb when the minister dared to imply that HE was at all part of the problem ... but the CEO grandpa stare SY levels at him spooks him so much that he panics and "dares" this lowly minister to do better. (And why did that stare make him feel all weird inside?)

SY starts by thinning out the harem. Not by having the wives divorce, good heavens no, that would reflect terribly on and only harm the women in this world, but ah... they had too many wives and not enough competent ministers, so... transfer personnel from one "department" to the other!

He starts with SHL. She is desperate for freedom, but is also unwilling to go empty handed after everything Bingge put her through. With Bingge's seal, SY proposes that in exchange for being the general of the elite troupes in the main army and the freedom to bed whoever she wishes, she must forfeit all her children's rights to the Emperor's throne.

SHL gets it; if she's allowed to sleep around then not all her children will be Bingge's. SY is just protecting the Emperor from accidentally accepting a false heir... but she hates it. What about her son that IS Bingge's?!

SY just smiles and says, "In exchange, as long as you remain loyal to the Emperor, the general position and the fiefdom that comes with it will all be yours and your heirs."

This causes SHL to pause. Yeah, having a son be emperor is great and all, but... Bingge isn't going down anytime soon and there are SO many other kids ... and the thought of her heir under her name fills her with excitement.

When Bingge catches wind of this he's upset, but SY just smiles in a gentle, grandfatherly way and asks, "Are you lacking in wives or competent generals?"

Ignoring the twinge in the pit of his stomach from that smile, Bingge snarls, "But she's MY wife! How can she be allowed to make decisions for herself?!"

SY raises an eyebrow. "Then you wish for generals who cannot command? Even if she is your wife, she must be allowed autonomy to grow your army's elites into the world's strongest. Would soldiers listen to someone who must ask for permission at every turn?"

"B-but sleeping with other men?" Binghe pouts.

SY just looks at him coolly, and for some reason, Bingge feels deeply ashamed despite not knowing why.

No, he does know.

He sleeps in other women's beds all the time, but due to the size of the harem he hasn't visited SHL's in years...

"Her concubines must be approved by her husband, of course," SY says, "but it seems unreasonable to approve of every medical procedure or drunken fling."

"What if someone uses her to get to me?" Bingge protests.

"Then she wouldn't be a very good general to trust, would she?" SY says, and... and Bingge isn't sure he can out-argue this minister who can silence him with a glance, so it stands.

SHL catches 5 spies/insurgents trying to sleep with her to mess with the empire. She's laughing her head off because she's more into girls these days, but doesn't mind toying with these idiots. It's fun!

With SHL as the precedent, SY quickly restructures the governance of the empire. MBJ is allowed to run his kingdom almost autonomously, just reporting the important things every quarter (he stole a strange, hamster-y scribe from Bingge's court with the flinsy excuse that Bingge's scribe would write reports for Bingge, but SY just rolled his eyes and let him).

Several competent wives are chosen to be rulers and governors with the same stipulations as SHL and MBJ, and LMY and NYY decide to accept territory and open a school that is completely autonomous - not a sect.

Some wives ask to just... live separately, and SY gives them allowances and support to pursue their own dreams, just without the freedom of sx and romance like the ruling wives, since they will not have the "collateral" of being Bingge's powerful subordinates to ensure their loyalty.

If they wish to leave the harem and pursue their own love SY will allow them to divorce freely, but the allowance will also stop - can't let crafty assholes take advantage of these women, nor let the craftier women take advantage of Bingge.

SY knows this is unfortunate, but nothing will be truly fair to these women no matter what he does. The main mistake was marrying these women with such a huge social power difference and not caring for them in the first place, and he can't really do anything about that.

Of course imperial spies are used to keep track of the women - hell, some of the wives find it interesting to BE the spies... anyway, it's not smooth, but the harem is no longer so unmanageable and the question of heirs is no longer as volatile.

The empire is also running far more smoothly, the order of civic power has been streamlined... it takes several years, but SY overhauls all of Bingge's courts, purging the corrupt and promoting the sincere.

He even has time to teach and lecture Bingge on being both an emperor and a good person...

Bingge has just grown more and more enamoured with this minister with every scolding-followed-by-praise session...

And then one day a certain scribe in the northern desert got drunk and wrote a joke script about his Cucumber bro and the emperor, causing the world to spark one last time and sx-pollen Bingge.. but he gets ed too, which really messes with his self-confidence.

He was already losing faith in his bed skills and now THIS happens?! And how is he horny but can't get it up and what is this cruel joke...

... Long story short, Bingge gets his most trusted court minister to help and it's all shenanigans from there on.

He WILL convince SY to court him!

SY: It must make Bingge so mad that he had to rely on this old man for that. I better make myself scarce and go inspect the empire's borders for several years...

Bingge: Sewing his own wedding gowns.

They weren't helpless mortal women (bc ancient chinese-ish setting), they could take care of themselves, so why tf are they letting themselves rot in this harem?

That said, now that they're in it, it's hard to leave and be branded as betraying the Emperor, but there is a lot of disgruntled muttering in the corners of the harems' quarters.

Bingge doesn't get it. One day he's, like, the god of sx, and the next his wife of the day is very obviously faking it. And it doesn't get better no matter what he does - before he could feel the admiration radiating off them, now he only feels fear and ... annoyance? Dissatisfaction? Disgust?!

His rule is also starting to fracture, as his minimal efforts in ruling are no longer able to sustain his massive empire. Greedy nobles and scummy scholars (dunno if this is a setting that merchants are “lower“ than peasants) are coming out of the woodwork to sneak as many benefits as they can, since Bingge can't catch them ALL.

Then Bingge vs Bingmei happens, and suddenly Bingge desperately wants a kind shizun... but not as a husband (or at least not primarily as a husband). He just needs someone to teach him wtf he's doing!!!

That weak him gets a teacher worth a damn AND true love?! Unfair!!!!

Old man SY transmigrates in during this time. This SY lived until 85, and his brothers never did come back and take over, so he was the Shen CEO until he finally passed it on to one of their sons (sucker!) at 50, but had to teach the heir everything and be around in case things went south. He was involved in the business until he died.

And no he never got married - he was too busy, Ge-ges. That's right, feel bad about THAT! (j/k, just never fell in love.)

Old man SY transmigrates in as a wife's rogue cultivator father who managed to snag a job in Bingge's courts and ... what do you mean this is PIDW? Goodness, how long ago did he read that... but the protagonist was pretty cool... Oh gods what the HELL is he doing?! Who the fk thinks THIS is an acceptable way to run a business let alone a country?!?

All this personnel bloat... My dear emperor, you can only keep what you can manage, or else all of it will slip out of your hands!

Bingge clings to this SY-shaped lifeline, unaware of the similarities between the kind shizun and this court minister at first, but yknow. Things happen.

Meanwhile old XF appears as one of Bingge's scribes and just wants to burn it all.

They do not (usually) handle menial tasks such as laundry or drawing shizun's bath because they (usually) have the authority to arrange for it to be done instead. Not to mention that according to the culture of an ancient china-esque setting, having to do these things despite holding status can be considered demeaning.

So, yeah. When you think about how the most privileged and most cherished personal disciple (ie usually the Head Disciple) of a shizun is actually treated, you start realizing how wrong it looked for SY to treat LBH the way he did.

If a Peak Lord holds a disciple in high regard, they normally take that student and cultivate their potential. Along with that they will usually give them some status and authority they can take advantage of, paving the way so that the disciple doesn't "waste" their time and efforts on trivial matters. That way the disciple can focus solely on their studies, cultivation, and more lofty affairs that propel them to success.

Honestly, the "overcoddling" and "improper" accusations thrown SY's way weren't wrong. From the outside, not knowing LBH is half-demon and therefore unlikely to succeed the peak, as well as the inevitable separation looming ahead, it looked like SY was ruining LBH's future in cultivation by keeping him busy with servants' work, despite SY's high praises for LBH's potential.

And that's his favorite disciple? He's not... doing it on purpose right? Like... keeping his disciple serving him... and being dependent on him? Hm... sounds suspicious...

LQG's "jealousy" might genuinely have stemmed from how messed up the situation had appeared... whether it developed into something else is reader interpretation ;)

Of course to SY, he was just compensating LBH for future wrongs (or so he says), so treating the protagonist well and not denying him whatever he wants to do didn't feel wrong. And he still has to stay in character, so letting LBH do servants' work is a kind of bullying ... right?

Anyway, this is just something I think about. I could also be reading too much into it, since mxtx plays pretty loosely with the tropes and concepts, but I think she enjoyed how scandalous SQQ and LBH's relationship appeared to the other characters in the story, so ...

Yknow, the game with art by Hyung-Tae Kim, famous for his anatomical distortion that paints his characters to be as sensual as possible, and one of the earlier games to employ live2d for the purpose of... angles. And the like.

Oh, and Nikke's predecessor lmao.

But while I was looking up the guy's name (I remembered his art and game design work, but I've never been good with names), I saw a blog completely lambasting his art style for being terrible fanservice and how anatomical deformation equals bad art and... ...

I would like to ask why purposeful distortion of reality is "bad art."

I won't deny that HTK's deformation IS, as the kids say, for the gooners, and if you want to scream about misrepresentation of women or whatever, fine, that's a different topic. But I don't think that anatomical deformation, done purposefully and with intent, automatically classifies artworks as "bad."

Deformation and distortion (of anatomy or other parts of reality) to convey intent or to capture feelings ... is pretty par for the course in art, no?

And while I understand why HTK's art earned him the joke name H-King, I honestly can't see his anatomical deformation as anything but an artistic tool in his arsenal to increase a languid feeling, whether it's sensuality or laziness (it's usually laziness/a chill feel for his men). His choice to paint bare buttocks is separate.

Now, whether or not his art inspired tons of others to make terrible attempts at anatomical deformation that just look painful instead of cool or sensual is yet another topic altogether.

I won't say you shouldn't do it if you love the technique. I just think that accepting anatomical deformation as a technique should make one aware that it has a sliding scale of competence, and if executed poorly it can be regarded as poor anatomy and not purposeful deformation.

But that's not the technique's fault, and competence usually rises on the backs of numerous clumsier attempts, so it's fine to keep going until you succeed.

I'm SO glad with the quality of life fixes they've done to streamline combat and crafting and such - much less overwhelming than before - and I still love the characters because they're all quirky and interesting. Just uh... the new costumes ... my goodness. The microbikini-flosses are one thing, but Loen's "bunny girl" outfit is just pasties.

I don't know if I feel comfortable recommending the game due to its large learning curve for combat and aggressive fanservice, but damn I wish I could so that we can have more people geeking out over the world building. (And yes there are men in this world. Playable, even.)

I really like the world building and story. The main story is a jrpg fantasy style setting... but *gasp* it's not about the end of the world. Well, I guess it could result in that possibly, if the bad guys go unchecked, but the goal is more to stop the bad guys because they're doing horrible things to people and countries, and all the while you're trying to figure their out goal, as well as unraveling the secrets behind your comrades.

And that means you're left wanting to know wtf is going on, which is way better than being able to see where the plot's going from day 1.

Everything is connected, too. I appreciated the foreshadowing and little hints that are revealed to be important much later - honestly, it's pretty good video game writing, even if it suffers from overdone melodrama and pacing issues.

The themes are... really mature as well. And not the normal mature you'd expect from a gooner game, it's the "this is just a complicated topic" kind of mature.

The side stories are a little more light-hearted, usually, taking place in an alt universe with alt versions of the characters, and the character stories are very very loosely based on something from pop culture (like Fallout for the apocalyptic subway bunker au and Pan's Labyrinth for the more fairytale style au).

Now, as much as I have good things to say about the game, I also dislike a lot of things about it too, hence why I stopped playing before.

A lot of the annoying fiddly bits have been fixed with QoL improvements, but one thing that is still confusing is the ui choices. Honestly, if I can't find/figure something out, a google search is the first thing I do. It's much more efficient than trying to find it when the ui isn't intuitive.

Also the tutorials that keep popping up are annoying - I know it's because I have 2 years of new additions and fixes to catch up on, but that doesn't make it less annoying. And don't get me started on the loading screens!

The tier lists are also... Look, it's a complicated game, so good freaking luck using a tier list. While it's nice that 3 and 4 stars are still useful, it's overwhelming to try to figure out roles and range and positioning and synergy and elements... It's much better to just look up people's sample teams while you're learning than use a tier list , but gathering your preferred characters is ALSO confusing.

Maybe you'd think it's great that good units are not only gotten through gacha but also other more reliable ways ... but as a new player (or at least someone who forgot how things work), the recruitment system is just another thing you have to figure out. And the costume system is cool... but some are extra limited and some can pop up in the shops... it's just a lot to learn when you're trying not to waste pulling resources.

All in all, I don't know if I'd recommend it, but i do wish more people are talking about the actually good parts of the game, not the jiggle physics.

When TB left, did Silver Wolf lose her closest gaming buddy? If so, no wonder she keeps popping up whenever we're playing games, trying them out and hacking them just to appear and say, "Hey, I'm here too, and look what I did!" She always makes it a point to show herself to TB, and usually just TB, to chat and flaunt her scores... and it's just fun to think it's because she's so used to doing it that she continues even if TB doesn't remember her.

It also makes sense that it meant a lot to Firefly to try to "perfect" a "first meeting" with TB. It's probably the only time she could "redo" a meeting as the ordinary person she wants to be with someone she cares about, and I can see that bit of make-believe as something precious to her. Losing the comradery she used to have to make new memories as her "ideal self" is... maybe not the healthiest sentiment to have, but I can see how Firefly would treasure the chance.

As for Blade ... he has said how he doesn't know much about TB's past, but since when has TB needed a backstory to make friends? Anyway the guy's at least half a tsundere. You have to take his denials with a grain of salt.

I play Caelus so I also can't help thinking that two dudes at the mercy of three strong-willed women might end up buddies out of commiseration, but I think Stelle would be Blade's bro due to similar reasons as well, just not quite as succinctly.

He's wearing either a suede/wool coat inspired by Tang style robes. I actually wanted a more neutral olive green for the coat, buut I didn't have a palette and was too lazy to improvise so I just used as-is colors which are way too saturated. And now that I look at it, I think a deep blue for the lining would be better than gold.

This isn't strictly for ATAPAS, but I feel like returned-to-modernity SY would choose clothing with more hanfu-inspired elements than regular clothes. Maybe he had always wanted to rock the hanfu/cosplay before but couldn't bring himself to until after he transmigrated.

After coming back, he uses his rich boy powers to commission young designers to make hanfu with modern elements.

Shang Qinghua doesn't care either way and will wear whatever he's got, although he now likes looser clothing with a defined waistline. Maybe he likes tall boots now and wears robes and such as outer/lounge wear.

Liu Qingge 100% prefers modern clothing after he gets over being scandalized by the amount of skin showing.

Story? Cute, good, easily digestible, and features playable characters in a way that doesn't diminish them. Not a magnum opus, but also doesn't overstay its welcome and overuse plotpoints.

Vibes? Whimsical jrpg fantasy world with a korean spin and ragnorak online style monsters (and one optional spider boss you should avoid if arachnophobic; the other spidies look like fuzzy hocky pucks, so less worrisome). It focuses on comedy and natural worldbuilding rather than trying to be the edgiest mf out there, a WELCOME breath of fresh air.

For a korean game there is a lot less scantily clad women than I expected, but it has been a long time since Tera Online, Blade & Soul, and all those Korean MMOs, so maybe I was being unreasonable anyway. It was very nice to see more female characters that aren't just waifu bait in gacha games. (I mean they are, but girl failures and women with more personality than their roles in the story/waifu traits are too rare in these games.)

Mongil Star Dive is not really an openworld game, it's a game with many dungeons connected to each other, and THANK GOD. Openworld games can be overwhelming, and I don't need to play more than one or two. That said, there is still the fun of exploring a map, and the teleport system in the quest tracker makes getting to where you need to go easy. Definitely use that, or you'll be fumbling through the maps like crazy in the future.

Combat is ... kinda clunky compared to wuwa and zzz, but in an old school kinda way rather than just being bad. It doesn't bother me, but boy are many things about it not explained. You can intuit most of it, but it would still be nice to have an explanation in game.

(Still trying to work out the different damage types. Brawl, suppression, neutralization, and support damage confuse me. I thought brawl=fighter class stat, suppression=assassin class stat, neutralization=destroyer class stat, and support=support class stat, but that didn't seem right. I'm at the conclusion that brawl dmg=?, suppression dmg=dmg done to enemies staggered, knocked down, airborne, or otherwise cc'ed, neutralization dmg=dmg done to the stagger bar, and support dmg=dmg done through support skills, but Ophelia buffs support dmg on herself and has no support skill as a selfish dps (buffs only herself), so... I dunno.)

The game IS very grindy. Not for pulls, the game launch honeymoon makes it hard to judge exactly how that's gonna go, but leveling characters and weapons is... Ooph. Lots of materials needed. There is an auto-clear for grinding, but still.

That said, the other half of grinding, for equipment and monster captures, is more like grinding in an old school mmo where you run around killing monsters for monsterlings and doing requests to kill boss monsters for equipment. And yeah, other gachas have killing mobs for materials, but it just feels a little different here for some reason. Maybe because you don't have to kill mobs for much for than a few items you need rather than hundreds of items.

The difficulty in endgame does ramp up drastically, so uh, gl to the casuals out there. I don't mind it myself, but if you want to tackle rift and later conquest stages, leveling up multiple elemental teams and perfecting equipment/monsterlings is going to be pretty important.

The characters are also charming and complex, and quite frankly designed with a lot of heart. AND THE PLAYER ISN'T THE MAIN CHARACTER. MongilSD is framed more like a jrpg, where the player is just the person flipping the pages for the characters to progress.

This actually makes the story more interesting, as various characters pop up and become the protagonists of their own stories instead of devolving into power-fantasy-ville.

As for the gameplay... some people might be tempted to say it's like wuwa because of the monster capturing vibes, but I was getting flashbacks to old school Ragnorak Online if it was a jrpg instead of an mmo.

Boss difficulty DOES start ramping up after ep3, so if you want to progress story fast I highly suggest playing in casual mode - you can save the tryhard stuff for conquest and rift modes. It's just that they don't let you overlevel your characters for the boss fights, and I could FEEL the hell it could be for some of the later bosses despite being in casual mode myself.

I also love that the bosses feel different. Wuwa bosses all kind of felt the same to me, but MongilSD bosses had appropriate weight/heft/god modes for their species/status.

Now. Resources.

You do NOT get enough resources to squander on more than one team right away. This isn't bad per se, since it's just for now as you try to speed through the story and unlock as many things as possible, but it will drastically slow your roll if you invest in more than 3 chars at the beginning.

Building characters will definitely be a chore in this game... but the auto clear button for farming makes everything much easier.

They are pretty generous with pulls too, with sidequests giving standard banner pulls and the premium currency being given everywhere ... I just had terrible luck and pulled mostly weapons and Francis.

I do like that there is nothing stopping you from progressing the story (ie player level)... except if you can beat the boss at the end of the chapter. Like... it's so nice that the progression of the story is so natural feeling.

As for things I'm dissatisfied with, the windows opened for various things exit completely instead of going to previous windows when closed, the weapon designs are... um. Weak, you can only track one quest objective at a time, and the game doesn't do a great job of explaining everything.

Like, each monster's elemental weakness will pop up under their hp bar btw, and destroyers increase the stagger bar of bosses more efficiently than other classes. Or that you click the area emblem on the map to change areas, and selecting a monsterling for combining will spawn little dna symbols on other monsterlings that have a chance to mutate when combined.