#ruenwrites

somewhere under there is some grade A boyfriend material ;3;

doodled a bloodymary kiss for the assassin au <33

(As a whole, the AU is a bit vague. Is it a full language barrier or a lack of skill to understand, such as one being deaf and the other unable to speak sign language? Valid options both, I think, but for this particular idea I'm moving towards a weirder option.)

Canon-wise, Shen Jiu destroyed the Qiu family when he was fifteen, though in AUs I tend to make him suffer in there longer. In this case, he's pushing marriable age and Qiu Jianluo's possessiveness over his sister (and his hatred/abuse of Shen Jiu) are ramping up. I feel Shen Jiu tried to fight back One Time, and in response Qiu Jianluo actually got some understanding of how far Shen Jiu will go to destroy his abuser, so for further security over his household and over the servants (and the slaves in particular), he casts a spell that anyone within the house lose the ability to understand their fellows of the same social class. As the slaves very rarely leave the household, this is most effective on Shen Jiu, which was the whole point anyway.

Suddenly Shen Jiu can only understand spoken commands by those deemed superior to him, and his suffering intensifies. He is reduced to a beaten doll about to burst from simmering rage.

Shen Yuan comes in as some nobody NPC that is a fresh, new domestic slave in the Qiu household. He too is put under the same spell, so by the time he's paired with Shen Jiu to shadow and learn how to keep house, they are unable to speak to each other words they can comprehend.

Shen Yuan surprises Shen Jiu by his willingness to talk to him with hand gestures and badly drawn pictures. It's such an honest effort that Shen Jiu starts paying attention to this odd slave who has clearly never washed a floor before. The long days are filled with unexpected warmth and fun, dare he say it, even if he's mostly amused at Shen Yuan's general fail at common cleaning skills. Still, Shen Yuan learns, and he learns fast, and somewhere in the evenings, when all they have is candlelight between them and fumbling fingers drawing words in the air, a true connection is made.

For Shen Yuan, he knows how this story ends. Shen Jiu - his sharp, quick witted, so angry Shen Jiu - will kill every man in the house and set it on fire. If Shen Yuan can't find a way to free them, he's gonna be burnt to a crisp! But of course, this villain is far more human than he was expecting, more complex and heartbroken. Under that rage is a person, a real person, and the more Shen Yuan uncovers it, the more tender his heart feels.

For Shen Jiu, it's far more confusing. He's already made peace with the fact that his sexuality is Fucked. He wants only men, but hates men, fears men, is revolted by men. Somewhere between all the abuse and listening to Qiu Haitang plan their wedding, his sexuality just... died. This life wasn't a life meant to feel anything but pain and resignment. He'd be a slave even in his marriage, and while she would treat him better, he couldn't muster up more than a brotherly feeling to her.

Hear me out.

Grace is a teacher from the city, looking for a fresh start after getting into a verbal beat down (and some fist) with the dean of his University, pretty much removing him from faculty. He goes to a town called Eden in bumfuck nowhere to be the new schoolmaster. The welcome he gets is warm enough, and he's got a sizeable class, so he tells himself he's content and settles in.

Simon works at the convenience store as a stocker/loader, which he can do one armed. He also digs graves when needed. He meets Grace because his daughter, Ellie - who might look like an angel but will bite - is in Grace's class. She's one of those too-smart-for-this-students that gets bored easily, but Grace loves her immediately as he's always down for a challenge. Simon's just glad she's not biting her teacher like she did the last one.

Simon is handy (heh) and helps around the school with odd jobs when he has the time. Soon, Grace finds himself invited to dinners somewhat on the regular that he begins to really look forward to. Ellie tells him all the time she should marry her daddy to make him stop being so silly around Grace all the time. (jokes on you, kiddo. Simon only gets sillier when Grace accepts him ooops).

You have a world torn by war, where immortal cultivators struggle against the rising threat of demons. Somewhere in the struggles, a plan is hatched: find someone of unsurpassed beauty to give as tribute to a demon. This beauty will be a spy, an assassin, a blade that will strike at the heart of the demon forces. A good plan. A solid plan.

Shen Jiu is chosen as that beauty. He's taken into the cultivator ranks, freed from Qiu Jianluo, and trained for this one terrible purpose. He becomes Shen Qingqiu, a man of cunning and peerless beauty, with a reputation as sharp as his sword. To the demon side, he is a worthy prize, and they accept him as a bride.

Shen Qingqiu expects rough pawing, endless abuse, and other terrible things he's been taught that demons do. What he gets is a strange demon groom who smiles and laughs and blushes and treats him with respect. He's not dragged off to bed, and every seduction attempt is gently thwarted. What was hate becomes curiosity, and slowly the lines between enemy and friend begin to blur.

He was taught that demons are nothing but beasts, yet these beasts treat him better than the more civilized cultivators that tossed him into a lion's den. The more he tries to fulfill the mission, the more complicated it gets, and somehow, some way, his husband outsmarts him at every turn.

How could he know this demon, beloved comrade of the half-demon prince, knows his moves before he makes them? Transmigration is not something he knows about, and Shen Yuan isn't about to reveal his hand any time soon. Hell, it's basically keeping him alive up to this point!

behind every anxious middle school teacher is a more nervous and much more dangerous assassin... or something like that

not me trying not to add yet ANOTHER BloodyMary AU fic to my wip pile.

me: well, I'll just draw it!!! that will get it out of my system surely!

Me: ........... shit

doodled a bloodymary kiss for the assassin au <33

Beauty and the Beast meets Gothic AU but make it a vampire being studied by a dude who just wants to learn what vampires are all about. In the name of Science, you understand.

Vampire Shen Jiu who is gorgeous and cold and ruthless, who was turned centuries ago just to be another vampire's plaything. He's a killer of his own kind, who thinks of humans as rather annoying bits of food. His own bad past as a human only makes it easier to eat them, honestly. Inner humanity? Never knew her.

Then along comes Shen Yuan, bright eyed and fussy and oh so curious. A piece of meat so willingly coming to the waiting maw? Saves Shen Jiu the hunt, at least, but of course this particular snack is chatty and oddly unafraid and offers up a taste for a price. Not the strangest concept, to be sure, but he doesn't ask for money. He asks to learn.

And suddenly Shen Jiu has this weirdo following him around taking notes, asking questions, making observations that give Shen Jiu pause. He's so fully into the monster that he can't see the garden for the roses, so to speak. He's so twisted up with hate and anger and self-loathing that he finds himself thrown that anyone could find something good about him and his situation, who can see a beast and still find something beautiful in its savagery.

Shen Yuan sees the bad but also the good and Shen Jiu begins to wish he could see the world with as much clarity as this strange man who makes him wonder why it feels like his heart skips sometimes, even though it barely beats.