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andydrysdalerogers · 4 months

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The Type You Save - F I F T E E N

James "Bucky" Barnes and OFC Alexandra "Alex" Richards

Detective James Barnes hasn't seen the love of his life in three years. Since the night she was almost caught stealing a painting. He knows it was her and she disappeared leaving him confused and heart broken.

Alexandra Richards never expected to be pulled back into her old life two years after she left it. She had found love and a home and was happy. Until a note blackmailed her to take one last job. Three years later she walked into the last person she expected to see in San Francisco. Because he lived in New York right?

They always put family before everything. And he would do anything to get his family back. Because she's the type you save.

TW: mob, death, smut, rape intentions, angst, guns, family abandonment, dub-con, manipulation

A/N: We are nearing the end!

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Previous: F O U R T E E N

Series Masterlist ~ Main Masterlist

Christian Grey has always appreciated the finer things in life. Luxurious home, top of the range car, Cristal, 25-year-old scotch, the works. A man of his status and wealth should have a standard. Including the right woman.

Alexandra Richards was that woman.

He stared at the woman next to him as Nate drove, Walker beside him. He watched as she wiped an errant tear that fell to her cheek. She kept her face to the window, studying the country side as they drove. She didn’t bother asking where they were going, they would never tell her.

“Pet, would you like some water?”

“No, thank you.”

“Alexandra, you need to eat or drink something.”

“Not if I want to die, Mr. Grey.” Her tone remained even, never looking away from the window.

Grey grounded his teeth, wanting to force her to drink. But he waited, allowing her emotions. She was different than his pet from before. She was strong, independent before. Now she was despondent, fragile. A mother. She was in mourning for the loss of her son. He would try and change that soon but for now, he needed to break her and change her back to the woman she was.

His Alexandra.

James watched from the doorway of his sleeping son’s room, observing his little body as it curled around his teddy bear. He knew the sleep was from exhaustion, having to have explained to his son that his mother wasn’t going to be here for a while. He was a momma’s boy through and through. He closed the door softly and back into the empty apartment.

Steve was still tracking Alex. He almost laughed to himself again. He went to their bedroom and to his side table. He lifted the necklace from its place. The duplicate he had switched in Alex’s jewelry box was damn near perfect. Either she had noticed and didn’t say anything or she was losing her touch. Either way, the switch had allowed a tiny tracker to be embedded with her. That’s why Steve was on the hunt.

After searching for Zemo at his home and secondary office, it was painfully clear that he had been the mole for some time now. It was too coincidental that Walker had found Alex so quickly. The APB was out for everyone. All he could do now was wait. His phone went off.

Stark: He’s still tracking. They’ve almost made it to Tahoe Barnes: ok Stark: We’ll find her Barnes: I know. Just bring my son’s mother home to him.�� Barnes: Bring her back to me

James laid down and clutched her pillow. It still smelled like her. Of strawberries and roses, of her. Finally, twelve hours after she disappeared, he cried.

Alex jolted awake as the car slowed to a stop. She looked around in the darkness, unsure of where she was. She could make out the outline of trees in the moonlight but after that, she had no clue. Until she turned to see a house. It was out of a movie. Stark white, wrap around porch with large windows. Nate and Walker were already out of the car and walking up while Grey was studying her as she took in the home. “What do you think?”

“It’s a beautiful home.” She wouldn’t lie.

“Good.” Grey gave her a smile. “I built it for you.”

“For me?”

“You had a house, similar to this, in that notebook you used to have. Your journal. I found it after you left and wanted to have something ready for you when you came back.”

“I didn’t come back. You kidnapped me.”

“You left voluntarily.”

“To save my husband and son.”

“Your husband?” Grey sneered. “Your husband is nothing compared to me.”

“My husband is a thousand times the man you will ever be.”

Grey reached and grabbed her by the hair, and she squealed in pain. “Listen to me Alexandra. You are mine now. You made your choice.” He pulled a little harder and she whimpered. “I do miss that sound pet.”

“Please, stop.”

“No.” He opened the car door and dragged her out. She screamed and thrashed but Grey gripped her arm. “This is your home now Alex. Let’s get you acquainted.” He pulled her up the steps. She had no time to take in the interior as Grey marched her up to the master bedroom. “I have clothes and toiletries in the bathroom. There is nothing sharp or poisonous in here so don’t try. I’ll be back.”

Grey slammed the door closed and she heard a click as she was now locked in the room. She sank to the floor and cried.

Being a MIT graduate should have been something that Grey had factored into his grand scheme. There is always something sharp or poisonous in everything. After crying, Alex got to work, taking the plastic toothbrush and using the counter to sharpen it. She just had to get past the door, and she could fight her way out. She hoped Nate would help her at some point, but she couldn’t count on that.

Keeping her crude tool close, Alex decided to inspect the rest of the room. The windows were locked, meaning the only way was to break them, attracting unwanted attention. Clothing in her size were in the drawers, no strings on any of them. Slip on shoes negated laces. Bastard really did think of almost everything. She heard footsteps coming and she hid the toothbrush under the pillow. She sat against the headboard, as far away as possible. The door opened revealing Nate. Alex let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Hey Nate.”

“Hey Allie Cat.”

“That’s a new one.”

“Had time to think about it.” He went to sit on the edge of the bed, but still blocking the door. “I told you to run.”

“And I told you that I couldn’t abandon my family again.”

“Were you always this stubborn?”

She shrugged. “Probably. But we were usually on the same team.” She studied Nate. He looked tired, worn. “What is the plan for me Nate?”

“The plan? The plan. Shit Alex, you should know the Boss by now. He’s gonna want his pet back by his side.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“He’s gonna try and break you Alex if you don’t do it willingly. This is why I told you to run. But no, the great Cat Burglar had to do things her own way.” Nate started to pace. “Fuck Alex, I tried to protect you. I found you three times before he sent Walker. And he only sent Walker when that fucker Zemo ratted you out.”

“Zemo? Zemo is yours?”

“Not mine Alex. His.” He cupped her face. “I’m sorry. I’m only up here because Grey asked me to try to convince you. Just give in. Save yourself. If only so that you save your son, your husband from any more pain. Please Alex.”

“I can’t,” she whispered. “I love my husband and my family. I need my family Nate. I need them just as much as I need you. Please help me.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I wish I could.” He stepped back. “I’ll do what I can for you. But unless by some miracle you are found, you are his.” He turned and left the room, locking it as he went.

It was deathly quiet now. And a sob was ripped from room as Alex began to wail.

Nate walked back downstairs, trying to ignore the sobs that were now being ripped from her chest. His best friend. Well former best friend after his act of betrayal. He made it to the living room and walked past Walker and Grey. He reached the bar cart and poured himself a drink. He needed to feel numb now.

“What did she say?” Grey asked, looking up from the papers he was studying.

“That she wants to go home to her family.”

Walker let out a sadistic laugh. “Kitty lost her claws. What a little pussy.”

Grey glared at Walker until the man’s face fell. He snorted. “That’s a shame.” He looked up at the stairs. “Let her cry it out tonight. We start tomorrow.”

“Start with what?” Nate looked at his boss.

“Breaking her.”

Steve could hear snippets of the conversation happening in the home. He peaked in to see the three men sitting and talking before the one with the drink threw it back and slammed it down, exiting the room. Steve picked up his phone.

Rogers: found her Stark: thank god. She ok? Rogers: no idea. Security tight no clean entry or exit Stark: fuck. Ok. I’ll reach out to local Rogers: roger that.

He looked around and saw the guy who left angrily now standing on the porch, hand on the railing, head bowed. The man shuddered like he was trying to keep his emotions in. “Fucking Alex, why doesn’t she listen?”

“She does that.” Nate swiveled to look at Steve. He went to reach for his weapon, but Steve drew first. “Whoa there, sunshine.” Nate slowly raised his hands. “I think you and I are after the same thing. To help Alex.”

Nate cocked his head. “You’re Steve.”

“You must be Nate. If I lower my weapon, we cool?”

“Yeah.”

Steve holstered his weapon. “Can they hear us in there?”

“No, but better safe than sorry. Garage in the back. Meet you there in five.” Nate went back inside.

Steve made is way around through the woods. He waited behind until Nate called for him. “How is she?”

“She’s scared and probably planning to do something stupid. She’s Alex.”

Steve huffed. “Yeah, typical. Look I have reinforcements coming but it will take until morning to get them here. I need to know how I can get in there and rescue her.”

Nate sighed. “You’ll help with my case?”

“For Alex, yeah I will.”

James was awakened by his phone a few hours later. He reached over, the bright screen hitting his eyes causing him to squint.

Stark: He found her Barnes: She ok? Stark: status undeterminable but I’ve sent locals to help Barnes: give me the coordinates. Stark: sent. I’m coming with. Be there in 10

James called Natasha. “We found her.”

Oh thank god.

“I need you to come stay with Drew.”

I’m on my way.

James got his gear together as well as some stuff for Alex. He crept into Drew’s room, his boy still sleeping peacefully. “I love you Chief,” he whispered. He slipped Alex’s necklace over his head. “You take care of this for me and Mommy, ok?” He kissed his head and walked out. Nat showed. “The documents you might need are in the safe in our closet. Combo is 03-10-19-17. We left some stuff for Drew when he’s older.”

“Bucky…”

“I’m gonna do everything I can to bring us home but just in case. Please take care of our boy.”

Nate hugged James hard. “Be safe.”

Stark knocked on the open door frame. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

The sun hadn’t risen yet when Alex was awakened by the door opening. She held still. “Pet?” Alex reached slowly under the pillow for her toothbrush and gripped it tight. When she sensed him close, she swung, the sharp point she created cutting the skin on his arm. “Fuck!”

Alex rose and swung her leg around, dropping him as he gripped his forearm to stop the bleeding. She ran to the door and down the stairs. She could see the front door but was grabbed around the middle. “Let me go!”

“I see Kitty did have her claws,” Walker said in her ear as he adjusted his grip. “And now I get to play with the Kitty.”

Alex paled as she was held in place by Walker as Christian walked down the stairs, a towel on his arm. “Let’s get her to the garage. I don’t want to make a mess in the house.” Walker pulled her out and marched her to the back of the property.

Steve and Nate were there in the shadows, waiting for the backup promised to Steve. It was getting close to dawn when Steve heard the cries of his best friend. He watched as Alex was dragged into the garage. “Shit. We have to get in there.” Steve and Nate both moved to pull their weapons.

A gun cocking behind them caused them to freeze. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Steve didn’t have time to turn before the butt of the gun hit his head and he was knocked out.

@patzammit

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@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

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#andy's shenanigans #andy's hea #bucky barnes #bucky barnes au #the type you save #sebastian stan #sebastian stan fandom #sebastian stan fanfiction #bucky x ofc #Steve rogers #detective AU #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes smut

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biggest-gaudiest-patronuses · 3 months

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got a worm nibbling my brain. can someone help me find a piece of obscure media?

webcomic/indie comic from the 2010s. basically a sci-fi short story about a young girl (with red hair?) who was being raised by scientists as part of an experiment. she receives a haircut/has her head shaved, in preparation for her annual brain scan/testing. it is revealed that while her body is human, her "brain" is artificial, made of computer implants throughout her skull and spine. at some point her biological mother (also a scientist on the same campus?) encounters her and is repulsed, viewing her as a machine who has murdered her daughter.

it was very poignant and it bruised my heart and i can NOT find it anywhere

#i thought it was made by the creator of 'O Human Star' for some reason but apparently not?#goddammit goddammit goddammit #'i don't have to write down the title of this piece of media i encountered in my formative years bc i'll always remember it'#*cut to ten years later frantic googling*#fun fact 'a.i.' is now a completely useless search term #google in general is useless #and stuff i read 3+ years ago regularly vanishes from the internet #bookmarks are not enough! if you like indie media--download that shit! buy digital/physical copies while you can #save it to the cloud back it up and organize that shit!!!#keep a list of the stuff you read (organized by date/media type and possibly with keywords if you want it to be useful longterm)#(or a spreadsheet even if you're like me and rabidly consume short stories/comics like a pack of amnesiac piranhas on a feeding frenzy)#(that stuff PILES UP over the years ok. if you wanna make sure you'll be able to find it again a decade later--curation is key)#because art WILL touch your soul and then vanish into the void leaving naught but a 404 Error in its wake #i am an old man shaking my fist at the kids on my lawn but the kids on my lawn are me and my longterm digital planning skills circa 2012

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egophiliac · 5 months

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happy new year Ego!!! Just wanted to let you know that I absolutely adore your twst fanart and the tags are just an absolute pleasure to read! You are my greatest inspiration for my personal twst art and I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful masterpieces <333 if possible, may I ask what are some of your headcanons for the diasomnia family? If not for diasomnia then any other characters are fine as well!

thank you, and happy new year! 💚💜💚 that is amazing to hear; it's always a little bewildering but super flattering that other people like my silly little doodles so much!

I don't think I really have any really solid headcanons and also canon keeps validating me left and right (FLUFFY DOMESTIC DIAFAM IS REAL). mostly just kind of...impressions and general thoughts, if that makes sense! lately though I've been kind of obsessed with thinking about Lilia's hair, and specifically when/why he ended up cutting it. (l-look, we're bouncing around the timeline and I gotta make decisions about these things when I draw, it's relevant) (I mean I would probably be weirdly fixated on this anyway, but.)

I think I've settled on the idea that he kept it long until he went to NRC, partly because 1) I like drawing The Ponytail, and 2) I think he thought of NRC as a chance to reinvent himself a bit! he gets to go and be a wacky carefree teenager for a few years and have fun! (officially he's there to keep an eye on Son #1, but how much trouble could he get into, really.) so he gave himself a Cool Teen Haircut to go with his fresh new Cool Teen Persona!

also maybe he had some reflection on his hair's troubled past with three kids...

...and had to weigh his vanity versus the fact that he was going off to be around hundreds of kids on a daily basis, and. the choice suddenly seemed obvious.

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland episode 7 part 6 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 7 part 6 spoilers #this is my blog and i'm going to write a million words about lilia and you can't stop me #but anyway i do genuinely get the impression that he's using Pretending to Be a Teenager as a chance to be even sillier than usual #he's a very silly man he's just being EXTRA silly #supported by his recent birthday card where he says he was specifically trying to cast himself as an adorable little brother-type #because he wanted the other students to give him free shit and save him seats and things like that #it worked for about a week before he turned out to be way too good at stuff and everyone just kind of ended up in awe of him instead #and he was like DANGIT. I'VE RUINED IT FOR MYSELF.#(then he and epel went on to talk about their hypothetical vtubersonas because the birthday cards are INSANE but anyway)#i'm bad at headcanons :( sorry!#unless it's dumb things like...what pokemon they would have or whatever #(malleus would have some kind of special fancy-colored dragapult) (but i digress)#i have a hard time putting things into words. just know that i love the grampa bat and his weird kids very much.#my brain is also still kind of fried from the last couple of weeks #i am however starting 2024 off the way i intend to continue it: in deep contemplation of anime hair #(sorry if these look weirdly aliased) (i realized about 3/4 of the way through i was using the wrong brush and i didn't want to restart :U)

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piosplayhouse · 1 year

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Like father like son

#airplane has a type you have to commend him for that #svsss #scumbag self saving system #the scum villain's self saving system #shang qinghua #sqh #luo binghe #lbh #bingqiu #moshang #my art

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cod-sins · 11 months

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.ೃ࿐ Format: Drabble

.ೃ࿐ Ratings: Fluff/Mild NSFW.

Touchy!König who constantly makes you sit on his lap when you're trying to watching a movie just so he can trace and pick with parts of your skin.

Touchy!König who comes up behind you when your cooking dinner. His hands snake towards your stomach locking together as he plants sweet kisses your neck and nibbles on your earlobe.

Touchy!König who convinces you that sleeping over at his house is more important and that he'll make up whatever money you lost for coming in late to work that day.

Touchy!König who enjoys sharing a shower with you because he gets to properly examine your body. He won't keep his hands to himself, he's lathering you up making sure to cup and fondle your chest.

Touchy!König who let's you lay on his chest listening to his heartbeat while he plays with your hair and mumbles sweet nothings in German.

Touchy!König who plants a kiss on your forehead as you sleep knowing you'll be safe from the harm of the outside world.

#.jupiter writing #[fun fact I actually hate this format of writing and I'm not sure why I chose to do this]#.drabble #.König #könig x reader #könig drabble #könig fluff #[ i especially hate writing these types of fics bc my phone saves the word I repeat and its so annoying]#könig x you #könig x male reader #könig headcanons #cod x reader #cod fluff #cod x male reader #cod x female reader #cod x gn!reader

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paladibun · 11 months

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Fellas, is it gay if

#stranger things #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #they kind of look older here so maybe college byler #also I don’t think they’d be the type to adopt a chi but they would be the one to save one from the streets and keep it #Mike wouldn’t be a fan but Will would say they have the same personality and Mike gets so offended but he’d start relating to it #they’d both be so protective of Will with this whole like menacing expression and loud mouthed yet not at all threatening together #do you see my vision

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skullfacedfruitcakee · 5 months

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Starting Gideon the ninth: wow, what a great book about complex lesbian necromancers being cool and emo and gay, with a great cast of supporting characters, and an interesting and mysterious plot! Cant wait to see what happens next!

Post Nona the ninth: this book is about humanity. It is about the soul. It is about love and It is about power and every devastating and wonderful emotion the human brain is capable of. It is about the meaningless bags of flesh that hold what is really important. It is about Christianity, and applying real human nature to its laws. It is about the end of the world. It is about a guy named John kickstarting the craziest butterfly effect ever. It is about

AND ITS NOT EVEN OVER YET!

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nibbelraz · 5 months

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ive been thinking about the 'mqf finds out sqh is god' thing you said and honestly. i think the best way for it to happen is that someone completely random tells him like 'maybe you should ask sqh for a cure seeing as he made the plant to begin with'. everyone who knew kinda assumed he already did too. this is news to him. tf you mean the most pathetic little meow meow of a martial brother is god. horror violin chord. sqh is already running. adios compadre he knows that the difference between medicine and poison is the dose and believe you him he would make another cure if he could but even 'gods' gotta eat mu-shidi!!!

I AGREE Actually think everyone at An Ding Peak knows very well Shang Qinghua is a God either that he told them or they just worked with him long enough that they went "Hey he DEFINITELY isn't normal" which then spread around towards everyone else and somehow left poor Mu Qingfang out of the loop.

He's unfortunately god, and I don't blame him for what he's going to do to Shang Qinghua once he finds out.

#svsss #mu qingfang #shang qinghua #ask #scum villian self saving system #scum villain's self saving system #love the implication that shang qinghua actually was aware of whay type of medicines would be ACTUALLY useful #yet he went with papapa of course #“DID YOU EVEN HAVE A MEDICAL LICENSE” “Why do i need one if there's only one type of cure-”#this also implies that Qinghua has some god powers in this scenario meaning he really can make other cures and still doesnt #i love him #my art #nibbelraz

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sunderwight · 21 days

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Thinking about a bingqiu Dreamling AU where Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua are both bored deities, just sort of taking a brief sojourn through the mortal world to shoot the shit and see some interesting monster or other that Shen Yuan has heard about, when they come across a tea house and decide to take a break and do some people-watching instead.

Shen Yuan is well into something of a shut-in phase, which Shang Qinghua doesn't like, mostly because when Shen Yuan is in those phases he doesn't do particularly well either. Shen Yuan's a social butterfly, for however little he cares to actually acknowledge it about himself, and his critique of Shang Qinghua's literary masterpieces gets so much harsher when he's not getting enough enrichment.

So when they overhear one of the kitchen boys solemnly insisting that he is going to do everything in his power to never die, and Shen Yuan laments that the boy would probably regret such a wish if it came true, Shang Qinghua decides to bestow a rare bit of godly power onto this mortal and grant his wish.

He doesn't make him a god, of course, that wouldn't even be in his ability. At least, not without using up more time and effort than he's prepared to expend on this one random kid. But immortality on its own is not that difficult. The boy will still finish growing up, and will still be able to be harmed, to know hunger and pain and illness. It just won't ever kill him.

Shen Yuan sighs that it's a cruel thing to do to a mortal, especially one with such low odds of ever cultivating other skills to mitigate the potential torment of it all. But Shang Qinghua just shrugs and they place bets, that this boy will ask for the immortality to be revoked in a hundred years, or two hundred, or so on, or else he won't. Shen Qingqiu approaches the kitchen boy and flusters and bewilders him by telling him to meet him back here again in a hundred years time.

A hundred years later, the tea house is larger. The boy has grown to be a striking young man, who looks at Shen Yuan with wariness and something else, something almost like awe, as he asks what manner of creature he's made this bargain with. Shen Yuan assures him that he has no nefarious intentions, and instead asks Luo Binghe how the past century of his life has gone.

Horribly, at least at first. Binghe's mother had already died by the time they met, but afterwards he managed to earn enough money to travel to a nearby sect. Working in the tea house's kitchen was just a minor stopover along the way. Shen Yuan was wrong, it seems, about his odds of becoming a cultivator -- Luo Binghe earned entry as a disciple.

Yet, he had no success. The master who took him on was unaccountably cruel and mercurial, and Luo Binghe's attempts to cultivate failed. Looking back he sees now that there were many times when he should have died but didn't, but when it was all happening he just thought himself lucky. At least until an enemy sect attacked a cultivation conference, and he suffered mortal wounds that absolutely should have killed him (or anyone) but still didn't die. (No demon race or abyss in this AU, but there are still demonic and fantastical creatures.)

His cruel master, upon witnessing this, accused him of heretical practices and tried to kill him as well by flinging him off the edge of a gorge. The fall was terrible. Binghe lay at the bottom in a horrifying state, injured beyond reason and yet, still, he didn't die. Eventually his body recovered enough for him to drag himself out, and once he did the only thing on his mind was getting revenge. For the next several decades he managed to ingratiate himself to all manner of potential allies, forging alliances, accumulating blackmail, and convincing people that he had to be some powerful cultivator through his supernatural resilience, lack of visible aging, and a lot of bluffing. He got revenge on his old teacher, drove his first sect into ruin, and rose to prominence as a feared and respected leader of the cultivation world.

Shen Yuan listens with clear interest, asking plenty of questions and seemingly quite taken up with the story. At the conclusion, Luo Binghe admits that his actual cultivation is still mostly a matter of smoke and mirrors, and wonders if -- now that the hundred years have passed -- Shen Yuan means to strip his immortality from him.

Shen Yuan asks if Luo Binghe wants that. When Luo Binghe says no, he accepts the answer, and tells him to meet him back here again in another hundred years. Luo Binghe calls after him, but before he can ask anything more, Shen Yuan has disappeared again.

A hundred years later, Binghe arrives back at the tea house with an entourage befitting of an emperor. The tea house has also expanded. Luo Binghe orders a lavish feast from them, which everyone hastens to provide. He's spent the past several decades consolidating his power, forging alliances with key political players via several marriages, producing heirs, and crushing his enemies. As he brags about the state of his massive harem to Shen Yuan, the deity's eyes begin to glaze over. He doesn't seem impressed. He also doesn't seem to care much for the food, and eventually his attention is stolen away by a conversation at another table. The diners are discussing the exploits of a promising new poet and novelist. Try as he might, Luo Binghe fails to regain Shen Yuan's attention before the evening is done. Shen Yuan doesn't think it's a big deal -- after all, if Binghe is still riding on top of the world, he's probably not going to want his immortality gift revoked just yet!

Another hundred years go by. The tea house has returned to a more modest situation, the next time Shen Yuan sets foot in it. He waits an unusually long while for his guest to arrive, and when he does, he's almost stopped at the door by the tea house's servers. It's only when Shen Yuan bids them let him through that Luo Binghe is able to come to the table, almost collapsing against it and desperately falling onto the arrangement of snacks with obvious hunger.

Shen Yuan wonders if this, now, will be when the boy (no longer a boy) asks for the immortality to be revoked. Surprisingly, he finds himself resistant to the idea, even though it's also clear that the game has run too long. Maybe hundred year check-ins were too short? He doesn't like the implications of what's gone on, even if he's not really surprised about it either.

Between desperate mouthfuls of food, Luo Binghe explains that without mastering inedia, going hungry but never dying is a deeply unpleasant experience. Shen Yuan orders more food. Once Binghe has finally eaten his fill, he begins, haltingly, to explain his situation. His clothes are ragged, he is painfully thin, and his gaze is haunted.

Apparently, several of his wives conspired to assassinate him, despite his reputation as unkillable. Realizing that most poisons and such didn't kill him, but that he could still be incapacitated, they hatched a scheme to dose his food with a powerful sleeping agent, and then walled him up in a famous ancestral tomb. They went to great length to ensure that it was impossible to escape from. It took Binghe decades to do it anyway, digging away at the floors, and when he got out he found that his power base had collapsed. In-fighting and the incursion of his enemies had led to the deaths of all of his children, and what wives had survived had either fled or remarried. Not that he particularly wanted them back at that point, since the ones actually most loyal to him had also been killed early on after his own "death". His face marked him, to the eyes of his enemy, as a surviving descendant of himself. He was hunted down, chased across the continent and back again, until he managed to fall into enough obscurity that his pursuers abandoned the chase. Except that he has nothing, and any time he tries to regain something, he runs the risk of being hounded again. Those who might see some potential in him still remember the collapse of his recent "dynasty" and slam doors in his face, or else try and turn him over to those now in power in pursuit of a reward. Those who don't know that much see only a dirty beggar, and usually run him off on that basis instead.

Shen Yuan, almost hesitant, asks if Luo Binghe would like to have his immortality revoked.

Luo Binghe declines. How will he be able to take revenge on those who wronged him if he is dead? He has a hit list a mile long by now.

Which is definitely not the most noble of reasons to persist, but Shen Yuan finds himself reluctant to ask twice. Instead he orders more food, and then even reserves one of the traveler's rooms above the tea house for several days. By then the sky is turning grey, and Luo Binghe is losing his apparent battle with exhaustion. Shen Yuan presses the key into his hand, thinking it's probably not enough, but there are limits to how much gods are supposed to interfere and Shang Qinghua already stretched them to the breaking point with this entire scenario.

He leaves, not seeing the hand that reaches after him just before he is out of the door and gone.

Another hundred years pass. This time, Shen Yuan arrives to find Luo Binghe already waiting for him. He isn't surprised to see that Binghe's situation has visibly improved -- maybe he was keeping closer tabs on him, just a little bit, for this past while. If only to be sure he wouldn't have to warn the tea house workers to expect an unorthodox visitor again! But no, Binghe has been doing well enough for himself. No more harems or thrones, though. He dresses more like a well-off merchant now, deliberately posing as his own mortal descendant rather than as a great immortal cultivator. The food at the table looks far more delicious than usual too (Binghe commandeered the tea house's kitchen himself this time). As they chat, Shen Yuan is regaled with the exploits of Luo Binghe's travels and adventures, how even though he initially set out to claim revenge on those who overthrew him, by the time he was in a position to actually do so they had already died of the usual causes (time, illness, their own schemes backfiring, etc). Subsequently, only their children and grandchildren were left with the scraps of power they had obtained, and when one of those children employed Luo Binghe as a bodyguard, his initial plan to assassinate them eventually fell by the wayside. After all, the wrongdoings weren't actually theirs. From that point, Binghe was able to restore himself to a more comfortable life, joining his new employer on their travels until he had set aside enough earnings to take his leave before his youthful good-looks earned him suspicion. He then began investing in travel and trade, specifically cargo ships, because never spending too long in the same place or around the same people helped disguise his immortality. He had found that, at least for now, this served him better than playing the part of a cultivator. It also gave him time to try and actually repair his ruined cultivation base somewhat, and fighting pirates proved very diverting.

Binghe is midway through recounting his adventures with a gigantic sea monster, while Shen Yuan hangs on every word, when they're interrupted by the arrival of a brash young mistress, clearly wealthy and trained in cultivation. The young lady declares that there is a rumor that a fallen god and a demon meet in this tea house once a century, that they wield strange powers, etc etc, and she intends to interrogate them both with the assistance of her hired muscle and her own spiritual weapon, and discover the truth of the matter. Then she whips out, well, a whip!

Before Shen Yuan can deal with the matter, Luo Binghe is already on his feet, disarming the goons and breaking a few arms in the process. Shen Yuan is so distracted that he almost misses the whip aimed right for him, but before Binghe can catch the barbed weapon with his bare hand (wtf, Binghe, no) Shen Yuan deflects it with a wave of his fan, and then efficiently knocks the troublesome young lady unconscious. The hired muscle flees, Shen Yuan arranges for their assailant to be placed in a room upstairs until she regains consciousness, and he and Binghe resume their meal and conversation in relative peace.

Even though it's clear that Luo Binghe has not yet reached the end of his tolerance for life, Shen Yuan nevertheless finds himself strangely reluctant to part ways at the end of the night. Still, he does, because that's what is expected of him, gently denying Luo Binghe's suggestions that they find some other establishment to continue their conversation at. He also has to investigate these "rumors" that the young lady mentioned. It's probably nothing (Shang Qinghua has a loose tongue when he's drunk, and a lot of imaginative storytellers have frequented this tea house over the years) but he doesn't like being caught unawares like that. Heavenly politics are... complicated, it's best not to court unwanted attention in any capacity.

Another hundred years go by. This time, when they meet at the tea house, Luo Binghe asks Shen Yuan why he keeps it up. Why did he pick Binghe? What is he really after? When Shen Yuan fails to give any kind of clear answer, Luo Binghe shoots his shot and makes a (very obvious) move on him.

Shen Yuan, flustered, gets up and flees. Ignoring Luo Binghe's calls after him. It just doesn't make any sense! Why would Binghe do that?! He's a man who once had a harem of wives in the triple digits! Clearly he's not gay, so what was that all about? Was he just messing with him?! How dare he! Etc, etc.

Another century passes. Luo Binghe waits at the tea house, which has fallen onto hard times again. With the construction of some new roadways, travelers no longer pass through as often. Binghe listens, worried, to the proprietor's laments that this old place will probably not be around in another hundred years. He listens because he has no one else to speak to, because Shen Yuan has not shown up. Not that morning, not during the day, not come evening, and not now that it is closing time. Binghe nevertheless charms and bribes the proprietor to let him stay even after the place has shuttered.

It seems damning, of course. He pressed too hard and now his mysterious benefactor wants nothing more to do with him. Except, no, he refuses to accept that. He's still immortal. And he has gleaned enough of Shen Yuan's character by now that he thinks that even if he was rejected, he would be let down more clearly and gently than this. The more he thinks about it, the less willing Luo Binghe is to believe that he has been deliberately stood up (also, since the tenor of his confession was different from Hob Gadling's, he never delivered an ultimatum about what it might imply when they met up again).

Over the centuries, Luo Binghe has built up a few contacts with similarly strange and supernatural stories. Cultivators, sure, but also others, fortune tellers and people of strange ancestry, questionable abilities, those who have interacted with powerful beings of mysterious provenance. He makes his way to a certain gambling den, frequented often by such people, and while he flashes around enough money to draw curiosity, he collects information. Shen Yuan wasn't the only person who started paying more attention to the kinds of rumors surrounding the two of them after their confrontation with the young cultivator a couple centuries ago. And in fact, Luo Binghe has been spending many, many years trying to find out more about his mystery man. Though, too many potential deities and immortals fit his description for him to have ever conclusively figured much out.

This is how Binghe gets wind of a rumor that an eccentric occultist has somehow captured a god in his basement...

#svsss #bingqiu #scum villain's self saving system #bingyuan #scum villain #long post #whoever the roderick burgess proxy is here he's got a big storm coming #going the classic dreamling fanfic route and having shen yuan get rescued instead of having to escape by himself #shang qinghua has definitely made other people immortal on various whims and impulses #he bestows his gift recklessly on a betrayed young prince at one point and the divine emperor is just like 'enough!'#'if you're doing to do this I'm going to make you babysit the results! you descend and work for that prince now!' so he's got his hands ful #dreamling might be the situation but shen yuan isn't much of a dream of the endless type #and luo binghe is nothing like hob gadling lol #'I want to live because I love life!' nope it's mostly about spite #the hardest part of this AU is imagining a universe where shen yuan would ignore luo binghe for long enough to let actual centuries pass

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