The Cherry On Top!

[ID: a screenshot of ao3 for a fic by enbycupcake titled "popping that top cherry." it's an explicit plot what plot with no archive warnings for the pairing luo binghe/shen qingqiu. tags are slight dacryphilia and first time topping. included are the summary and author's notes. end ID.]

DAY 5 - Tree spirit

They say that if you enter the forest surrounding Qing Jing, you’ll hear faint voices; soft whispers and angry hissing. They say those who have gotten lost in the cover of darkness woke up near the exits, protective Qi-infused, vines surrounding them, protecting them from the wild beasts of the forest. They say those who have entered injured often came out unscathed with their wounds healed and Qi replenished.

They say the head disciple of the scholarly peak once got lost for a whole week after a particularly difficult mission, that he had somehow came back slightly more pleasant for a few days before returning back to his prickly old self. They say that he began sneaking off into the forest, disappearing for days on end with various, seemingly ordinary items of food and books instead of running off to get drunk in brothels. Some wonder if the forest is his secret hide-out, others gossip that a generous being of the heavens resides in there, and that the head disciple is selfishly keeping the blessings to himself in exchange for his offerings.

[ID: a digital sketch of shu hualing settling onto liu mingyan's lap. in sha hualing's mouth, barely visible, is a cherry stem. she is supporting herself with a hand on liu mingyan's collarbone and one of liu mingyan's hands on her thigh. both have been censored with cherry blossoms on their chests for tumblr. end ID]

[ID: a screenshot of ao3 fic titled "perfume claim" by enbycupcake for pairing shen qingqiu/yue qingyuan from scum villain. the fic is 2k. end ID.]

Perfume Claim for The Cherry On Top day 6: perfume!

Day 6 - Perfume

Mingyan was out practicing with her human friends, usually that would be annoying to the easily jealous Sha Hualing, but today it’s actually working out in her favor; No Mingyan means no one to guard the head disciple room in Xian Shu!

The plan is simple, and beyond easy for a talented demon saintess such as herself to execute. Step one: get into her room, Step two: find that fancy perfume she doesn’t let Sha Hualing borrow, Step three: profit. Luckily for her, her beloved nemesis and girlfriend is as predictable as ever, leaving the bottle right atop her vanity. No matter how intelligent and attractive, a human is still a human she supposed.

She walked right up to snatch the perfume bottle, only to feel a faint tase going through her body, not enough to hurt her but certainly enough to shock her into dropping the bottle and letting it roll onto the floor. as it moved, it revealed the hidden tailsmen stuck on its bottom.

“Demon repellent?! That damned—!”

“Ah, I thought I heard a little thief sneaking around” The traitor appeared in the doorway with the audacity to look annoyed under that veil! As if she didn’t dare electrocute —well, lightly zap— an esteemed demon noble! How brazen!

“Mingyan is mean and stingy! Are humans so against sharing?!” Sha Hualing complained, and did not pout because she’s a feared and dangerous demon.

“Ling-er is welcome to use any other product I owns, but this one cost half of my allowance and I noticed her attempting to use it on every minor occasion—“

“Hey! I have to look and smell good for my daily spars! How else am I meant to bask in my victorious glow?!”

“—point is, if Ling-er wants to use that much of it, she should get her own. this one’s funds aren’t as limitless as the Sha clan’s”

“ughhhhh,” Sha Hualing groaned “This Ling-er tried! Really tried! But human merchants just refuse to sell me anything!”

“They refuse?” Liu Mingyan’s eyebrows shoot up, if such a high demon official is being denied so openly, then this might stir up trouble for the peace treaties Cang Qiong has been able to establish with the demon realm, why hasn’t she brought this up sooner? Sha Hualing huffed

“Yeah! And I offered them two hundred of my clan’s native blood-red pomes, fifty trained bone eagles, and even some of my rarest weapons!”

Ah. Liu Mingyan saw the problem now. “Dearest, you must know that you’re meant to use coins here”

“Huh?” The saintess blinked “You can’t do anything with coins! Wouldn’t they be at a loss?”

“That’s not…” Liu Mingyan sighed “How about we go trade An Ding your red-blood apples—“

“—Blood-red pomes”

“—For some coins? Then you can buy all the perfume you’d like”

Immediately, Sha Hualing’s attitude did a 180 “Mingyan would do that for me? Mingyan’s so kind! Mingyan’s the best!”

DAY 5 - Tree spirit

They say that if you enter the forest surrounding Qing Jing, you’ll hear faint voices; soft whispers and angry hissing. They say those who have gotten lost in the cover of darkness woke up near the exits, protective Qi-infused, vines surrounding them, protecting them from the wild beasts of the forest. They say those who have entered injured often came out unscathed with their wounds healed and Qi replenished.

They say the head disciple of the scholarly peak once got lost for a whole week after a particularly difficult mission, that he had somehow came back slightly more pleasant for a few days before returning back to his prickly old self. They say that he began sneaking off into the forest, disappearing for days on end with various, seemingly ordinary items of food and books instead of running off to get drunk in brothels. Some wonder if the forest is his secret hide-out, others gossip that a generous being of the heavens resides in there, and that the head disciple is selfishly keeping the blessings to himself in exchange for his offerings.

[ID: a digital sketch of shu hualing settling onto liu mingyan's lap. in sha hualing's mouth, barely visible, is a cherry stem. she is supporting herself with a hand on liu mingyan's collarbone and one of liu mingyan's hands on her thigh. both have been censored with cherry blossoms on their chests for tumblr. end ID]

[ID: a screenshot of ao3 for a fic by enbycupcake titled "popping that top cherry." it's an explicit plot what plot with no archive warnings for the pairing luo binghe/shen qingqiu. tags are slight dacryphilia and first time topping. included are the summary and author's notes. end ID.]

[ID: a very heavily cropped image of shen qingqiu hunched over luo binghe with implied married shenanigans. end ID.]

[ID, copied from ALT text: a pink and green cropped illustration of luo binghe and liu qingge sitting and decorated with cherry blossom jewelry hair accessories and earrings. luo binghe is leaning over his shishu's shoulder, face close, as he plays with liu qingge's cherry blossom petal earring. luo binghe's own earring is a folding fan with blossomes cascading down it.

the second image is the full picture of the previous image, revealing that luo binghe is in women's hanfu: he's wearing a green shirt and skirt under a translucent cherry blossom outer robe. liu qingge, arms crossed, is shirtless and in pink pants. behind them is a women's fan with bamboo patterned silk. end ID.]

Day 3 - Jewellery

Luo Binghe was still browsing when he felt something cool and metallic press against his ear, taking his attention away from the decorative rack “Did Laoshi find something he likes?” Shen Yuan only hummed in response, too focused on his task of squinting through his glasses at the different earrings he found as if he were carefully examining a cursed artifact, before settling on one he liked, a red cherry earring with a golden stem.

“This one is a bit big, but it matches your eyes,” Shen Yuan nodded gravely to himself, before cracking a small smile at how ridiculous he sounded “I always thought your design would look cool with piercings, those cool black ones, but obviously earrings didn’t look like this back then”

“Obviously.” Luo Binghe repeated as Shen Yuan handed him the little cherry “This lord never considered it before this moment, but If Laoshi wishes I could use Xin Mo to pierce—“

“Woah, nonono! no need for that!”

“But Laoshi, at my level of cultivation, Xin Mo is the only sword truly capable of puncturing my skin to such a degree…”

“How about not using a sword at all!? Come on, security’s looking at us!”