I once wrote a 1500 word essay on something I'd forgotten to read in the 40 minutes before class. Including the time it took to read the thing I'd forgotten to read.

I got an A on that paper.

Writing is a skill. Skill is muscle. If you don't use a muscle, it atrophies. If you are a student and you are tempted to use genAI to cheese an assignment, I am begging you for your own sake to not do it.

This is not a moral stance about genAI (which is shit at what it's ostensibly for, and full of lies and evil, and fueled by art theft and burning rainforests, and there is no good reason to ever use it for anything; that's the moral reason for why you shouldn't use it), it is a purely pragmatic stance based on the fact that if you use it you will never learn the single most essential skill that is used in every single workplace.

You will never learn to bullshit.

And if you cannot bullshit, you will not understand when you are being fed bullshit by others.

For your own sake you must learn to do your own thinking, your own bullshitting, because our trashfire society runs on bullshit and for your own good you must become fluent in it, because very few people will bother to translate it for you. It was asinine in the late 90s, and it is asinine today, but it is the central truth of adult society: everything is bullshit, and you need to know what is going on beneath the bullshit, and you need to be able to bullshit back if necessary.

I know that the expectations being placed on you are ever-increasing, and I know that it does not seem rational to put effort into explaining the plot of a Charles Dickens novel to someone who has read the thing 50 times and will read 50 identical essays about it over the weekend. I know you are being handed ever-greater heaps of what is functionally mindless busywork because of an institutional obsession with metrics that don't actually measure learning in a useful way. High school was nightmarish in the 90s and I am fully aware that it has only gotten worse.

Nevertheless, you must try, if only for your own sake. Curiosity is your best hope, and dogged determination your best weapon. Learn, please, if only out of spite.

I was able to get an A on that paper because I was able to skim the reading, figure out what it was about, and bullshit for 1500 words in the space of 40 minutes.

Imagine what you can do if you learn to bullshit like I can bullshit.

For my senior year of AP English, I was assigned reading over Easter break. We were instructed to read The Old Man And The Sea, and save the rest of the short stories in the book for the first week back.

Unfortunately, what I heard was "read everything BUT The Old Man And The Sea."

Double unfortunately: the first day back was a test, on The Old Man And The Sea. Which I had read exactly zero words of. It was, notably, a short essay test. It wasn't multiple choice or fill in the blank. It was designed to require deliberate answers from scratch, entirely out of your own head, with nothing to go on BUT what was in your head.

And in the course of about 45 minutes, I was able to use the questions of the test itself to piece together a vague enough sense of how the story went to bullshit my way through other questions. I gave wide, thematic answers that were extremely light on details, since I did not know any of them, and did not even know this test would be happening until it was in front of me. An essay test for an AP-level English class.

I had a starting point of zero information, and an essay test about the thing I was supposed to have read.

I bullshitted my way to a B+ on it.

On a test I should have gotten a ZERO on.

It's been 16 years since I took that test.

I couldn't tell you a damn thing about The Old Man And The Sea.

But you better fucking believe I still know how to bullshit, and when someone is trying to bullshit me.

The power and utility of knowing how bullshit works CANNOT be overstated. It is one of the most important skills you can ever have.

My favorite part of this is the little “Yet I’m still failing” at the bottom of the screencap. It’s not yet occurred to you to change something you’re doing? Maybe try not using ChatGPT?

The disciples of Qing Jing Peak weren’t stupid.

They were scholars in training, trained from the moment they had donned their peak’s colors to analyze the world around them. To see every flawless line in a painting. To find deeper meaning in every poem. To pick out each and every note flowing from a qin. They knew how to look, how to listen, how to see under the surface and find deeper meaning without letting their own preconceived notions distract them from what was truly there.

So it was really no wonder that they of all people were the only ones to realize their Shizun was different.

Oh on the outside he was largely unchanged. Still the same careful mask. Still the flowing robes and perfectly arranged hair. Still the ever present fans hiding all but his too sharp eyes.

But they knew how to look deeper.

They knew how to see.

Their new Shizun was a gentler soul than their old one.

It could be seen in the tightness around his eyes whenever one of them got hurt. It could be seen in fleeting smiles his fan wasn’t fast enough to cover when they did something he found amusing or adorable. It could be seen in the rarely granted head pats and gentle praise when one of them did well. His hands were always kind when they corrected sword forms or placements on the strings of a qin. His voice full of warmth as he lectured in front of their classes. His eyes danced with amusement when he teased them with such fondness that they never felt the sting of his words.

He was nothing like their old Shizun.

(And oh how some of them mourned their old teacher. How they pressed wet faces into pillows late in the night and wept silent tears for the man who still walked among them but was someone else entirely. Others spent those long dark nights battling relief and guilt in equal measures, feeling like they were betraying the man who had brought them in to their new home by being grateful they didn’t have to suffer his harshness any longer.

One boy played in a room of the bamboo house and vowed night after night that this new Shizun would have his loyalty at each and every turn.)

Changed as he was he was still theirs.

They had been there, after all, the day he had thrown himself in front of Luo Binghe and been poisoned with Without A Cure. They had been there when he caught one of the shimei’s crying because she missed her home and hugged her, cooing to her like a father to a beloved daughter. They had been there in a million other times when he had chosen them, so really it was only fair that they chose him in return.

Luo Binghe was glad to do most of the day to day care for their Shizun, cooking his meals and cleaning his home, but the rest of them were far from idle.

They trained harder, raising their cultivation levels at speeds unheard of to be strong enough to protect him. They weaved careful coverups and fed clever explanations to him whenever he seemed confused by something mundane. They returned his affection a hundredfold whenever they could get away with it, clinging to his sleeves and pressing against his sides like eager kittens vying for attention whenever he looked lonely.

They also kept a close eye on anyone who seemed too… interested in their beloved teacher, closing ranks and playing interference whether that person was an older disciple of another peak, a Peak Lord, or even the Sect Leader himself.

Their Shizun was not the man he once was, but this new man had chosen them from the very first day he had arrived on their peak. They, as devoted disciples, chose him back each and every day.

this is about procrastinating. or executive dysfunction. i think

reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something

I'm part of a wood carving club and there are a lot of dads who are dripping with adhd/autism vibes who's special interest is wood carving. One of the master skill level carvers who we'll call... Jim was working on a figure of a super heroine, who was frankly outrageously bodacious. Several women in the club are uncomfortable with this. They tell me they wish he wouldn't carve stuff like that at the club. This is understandable. I felt a bit uneasy too. I ask if they told him, and they say no.

This goes on for months. He's at a point where he's carving the folds of her skin tight suit. It's shockingly impressive. A real Giovanni Strazza with wood here. Many of the women in the club, (also boomers) have stopped talking to him because they're offended.

One afternoon I see a woman we'll call Karen approach him and have this conversation Her: Wow that is really starting to look like actual fabric. Him: Thanks! It's been a really fun challenge. Her: I bet! She sure is - a lot- huh? Him: Yeah a lot of these comic book characters are really outrageously proportioned! Her: They really are! You know, when I was carving a sign that was political in a way i knew would offend some people here, I just felt so much more comfortable carving it at home. Him: *nodding* Her: Okay? Him: Yeah I get that. Her: Yeah. Okay. Good luck with her!" *she walks off and he looks a little confused.* Next week at the meet up Jims working on it again and Karen's furious. Says to me "He said he wouldn't bring it back! So RUDE." So I go up to him and we have this conversation. Me: Hey Jim Him: Hey Neala Me: Some of the ladies around here are feeling a little uncomfortable with the figure you're carving because of her massive cartoon titties. Him: Ah shit, really? I thought they just thought it was funny. Me: Yeah folks laugh a lot when they're uncomfortable and trying to hide it. Him: Mm, yeah and I can never tell which laugh is which. Me: Me either Him: Well I won't work on this here anymore. I have other projects to do. Me: Hey thanks! I wanna see it when you're done tho so take a pic for me, okay? Him: Haha sure! I go sit down. Karen is shocked. Jim puts the figure away and works on a carving of a crane instead. He is not upset.

A week later I over hear Karen telling her friend I screamed at Jim last week.

Another event at the same club. All names fake. Even mine but u only know me by the fake name so

A carver who does a lot of work for the group comes in with a stunning leather bag. When I say a lot of work for the group, I mean a LOT a lot. He plans out monthly projects, makes the blanks for them and shows the rest of the club how to do the carvings. Lets call him Harold.

So I'm gushing over the bags, and so are a few others. He tells us he made these bags himself and that he's really gotten into leather working over the last year. Jim is complementary of the bags, and teasingly says "Woodcarving and now Leather? You know what they say? Jack of all trades, Master of none!"

Now this quote takes on a different meaning coming from someone who is literally a master skill level carver ways it to someone who is not. But he says it in a jokey way. Clearly meant to playfully rib. Thing is, I see the tightness in Harolds eyes when Jim says this. Having Adhd myself, I also hobby hop a lot and know how it feels to be teased about it. Maybe I was projecting as i flashed back to every time someone had told me to "Just stick with" something.

I say, "Go on Jim, finnish the poem!" In a playful way. Jim laughs and shrugs and says he didn't know there was more. I quote the whole thing, "Jack of all trades master of none but still always better than a master of one." Everyone laughs in a good-natured way, Harold visibly relaxes.

Later, Jim tells me i hurt his feelings. He says it felt like i was belittling him for only being good at one thing. I apologize and explain that he had inadvertently hurt my feelings and that I suspected he had hurt Harold's because it felt like he was saying we weren't good at anything because we have multiple hobbies.

He apologized and said he was feeling a little jealous that Harold is good at so many things, and all he's good at is woodcarving. He also went on to say that if Harold entered any of his carvings into any competitions, he would probably have the same rank as him. Harold just didn't do competitions.

At this point Harold overheard and thanked Jim for what he had said, and told him that he didn't enter competitions because as soon as he started doing that with the goal of achieving a certain rank the hobby stopped being fun for him and he no longer wanted to do it and internally I was like "Ahhh i also have pathologic demand avoidance! Me too."

And everything is fine now.

Nature documentary voice "Here we see the interaction between the autistic adult, who has had one special interest that has lasted his whole life, and some Adhd adults, who have collected many special interests over their lives. They are accidentally hurting one anothers feelings about it."

AI disturbance overlays for those who don't have Ibis paint premium. found them on tiktok

how do you use these?

Put these on the top layer above everything, set layer to 'overlay' then adjust opacity. You can put it on whatever opacity you want but usually 30%+ is most effective.

The point is to obstruct the picture so AI can't read your image because AI counts every single pixel in your art

By this post alone, in less than 5 hours.

I need you all to calm the fuck down

NEEDED AND NO WE WONT THIS IS BRILLIANT

Never ever be normal about fictional characters but please GOD be normal about the people who play them, I am begging you

#don’t treat fictional characters like they’re real people whose rights you need to defend#and absolutely DO NOT treat real people like they’re just characters for you to get weird about

It’s sad how much of what is taught in school is useless to over 99% of the population.

There are literally math concepts taught in high school and middle school that are only used in extremely specialized fields or that are even so outdated they aren’t used anymore!

I took calculus my senior year of high school, and I really liked the way our teacher framed this on the first day of class.

He asked somebody to raise their hand and ask him when we would use calculus in our everyday life. So one student rose their hand and asked, “When are we going to use this in our everyday life?”

“NEVER!!” the teacher exclaimed. “You will never use calculus in your normal, everyday life. In fact, very few of you will use it in your professional careers either.” Then he paused. “So would you like to know why should care?”

Several us nodded.

He picked out one of the varsity football players in the class. “You practice football a lot during the week, right Tim?” asked the teacher.

“Yeah,” replied Tim. “Almost every day.”

“Do you and your teammates ever lift weights during practice?”

“Yeah. Tuesdays and Thursdays we spend a lot of practice in the weight room.”

“But why?” asked the teacher. “Is there ever going to be a play your coach tells you use during a game that requires you to bench press the other team?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then why lift weights?”

“Because it makes us stronger,” said Tim.

“Bingo!!” said the teacher. “It’s the same thing with calculus. You’re not here because you’re going to use calculus in your everyday life. You’re here because calculus is weightlifting for your brain.”

And I’ve never forgotten that.

THIS.

When it’s taught right, learning math teaches you logic and how to organize your brain, how to take a problem one step at a time and make sure every step can bear weight before you move to the next one.  Most adults don’t need to know integrals, but goddamn if I don’t wish everyone making arguments on the internet understood geometric proofs.

Scientific concepts broaden our understanding of how the world is put together, which does not mean that most adults ever really understand how light is refracted through a lens or why spinning copper wire creates electricity–and they don’t need to.  But science classes in general are meant to teach the scientific method: how to make observations and use them to draw conclusions, how to test those conclusions, how to be wrong and grow stronger from it.

History isn’t about dates and names of battles, it’s about people, patterns, things we’ve tried before and ought to learn from.  It’s about how everything is linked, how changing one circumstance can lead to changes in fifty others, cascading infinitely.  Literature is about critical thinking, pattern recognition, learning to listen to what somebody is saying and decide what it means to you, how you feel about it, and what you want to do with it.

Some facts matter: every adult should know how to read a graph, how global warming works, some of the basic themes and symbols that crop up in every piece of fiction.  But ultimately, content is less important later in life than context.

The good thing is, students who learn the content are likely to pick up at least some of the context, some of the patterns of thinking, even if they don’t realize it.  (The unfortunate thing is how the current educational system prioritizes content so much that a lot of students, and a lot of adults, don’t see the point in learning either, and teachers are overworked and held to standardize test grading scales such that it’s hard for them to emphasize patterns of thinking over rote memorization, etc etc etc, but that is a whole different discussion.)

UM GUYS. I JUST NOTICED A CRAZY ISSUE W THE TUMBLR UPDATE.

YOU CAN SEE THE ICONS OF ANONS SOMETIMES.

The way I was able to recognize several anons in one of my inboxes bc of this error. Oh my god. Guys. This isn’t supposed to happen.

Weighing in to say:

YES, I SEE THIS ON MOBILE. HOWEVER I DO **NOT** THINK IT'S SHOWING THE ANON'S REAL IDENTITY.

The profile pictures I see next to anon asks are profile pictures that belong to other, non-anon asks in my ask box also. Some info

I think the bug is the inbox INCORRECTLY attributing anons to neighboring, logged-in asks.

Which is still a bad bug! Considering it makes it look like a long-time follower of mine sent me a spam ask.

And is worse if, say, one of these was anon hate.

But it's NOT the anon's real identity. It's a neighboring ask asker's identity

So if you have anon hate in your inbox that looks like it's attributed to your dear friend, who sends you lovely asks all the time, it was Not them.

CONFIRMED THE BUG IS INCORRECT ATTRIBUTION.

Thanks @thepatchycat for being a test subject. As you can see the icon being attributed to this ask is NOT the patchy cat

The pictured icon belongs to @watchingforcomets who sent me a nice ask about nail polish yesterday which I have not yet answered!

Top 10 MXTX characters that piss me the hell off when fics make them out to be pro life:

1) Shen Jiu

Aborts fetuses for fun. Aborts them for sport. Pro life propaganda is written about him.

2) Mu Qing

He comes from poverty, no doubt he’s seen how much an unwanted pregnancy can fuck someone’s life. Plus, as much as he would deny it, he doesn’t want his petite figure ruined.

3) Jin Guangyao

He was born in a brothel. He knows how nessisary abortions are- medically, socially, economically.

4) Mu Qingfang

The doctor!?

5) Wen Qing

THE DOCTOR?!

6) Wei Wuxian

Probably invented the morning after pill after figuring out how to become pregnant.

7) Tianlang Jun/Su Xiyan

Do you really think Binghe was thier first pregnancy? Su Xiyan was driving tlj to the clinic bi monthly.

8) Luo Binghe

He is not letting chunky marinara cut down on the time and attention Shizun gives him. He figured out how to do abortions with blood parasites.

9) Hua Cheng

He already doesn’t give a fuck about anyone else, but if Gege didn’t want a baby? He would rip that thang out with his bare hands.

10) Yue Qingyuan

He grew up a slave, was imprisoned and permanently medically altered without his consent, and saw the man that he loved get replaced in his own body. Sources say he would be a fan of bodily autonomy.

the only valid reasons for Shen Jiu to carry an unwanted child to term are:

there are so many reasons for a fucked up traumatized gremlin to cling to a phenomenally bad idea with long-term consequences without being a boring puritan about it

@elanorpam your addition was too glorious to not draw

In the middle of writing my fic and just, I'm so baffled by the intricacy of this novel. All my respect to the author at just how detailed, ironic and yet deeply tragic KRS's very existence is.

Everyone that KRS has ever dared to love ended up dead or a fate worse than death. We have implicit confirmation that he began distancing himself from his team after LSH & CJS deaths. But I keep thinking back to him throughout the years (a little kid, teenage, young adult etc.) always grieving then daring to be happy only to have it shot down over and over again.

His parents passed away? His uncle takes him, only to abuse him.

He ends up at an orphanage? Sure he doesn't have friends but he's earning money and will go to college. Cataclysm happens.

He's stuck under debris for ages. But then he meets our movie star LSH, right? Wrong, LSH goes off to save other people, KRS gets bullied by PJT, the shelters collapse and he loses everyone. It's just this never ending cycle of tragedy over and over again.

At some point, during the early chapters, KRS commends Raon for not giving up despite all his pain. KRS lowkey detests himself having given up early on living a happy life. Still his heart wavers and yearns for companionship simply because that's a fundamental part of being human.

Every single time, he has to gather the courage to be hurt again. I'm thinking now, forget his OG world, in his current one too-- whenever KRS!Cale brings in another person into his family, he's subconsciously bracing himself to lose them. It's ironic that he thinks he stopped fighting back fate, when in reality, all his meticulous preparations, his scheming and his self-sabotage of his slacker life-- are all proof that KRS is not willing to lose these people. The OG!Cale's future is KRS's worst nightmare.

Every single time he brings another member into his family, KRS is silently saying-- I know this opens me up to hurt, for I've lost more people than I've ever had, but still regardless, I want you. I love you. I care for you.

All of this, in retrospect to the reveal about the WS' influence on KRS' life, makes this so much more tragic. The WS looked down on the importance human connection/companionship, considering it useless to the path of godhood. KRS embodies that importance, despite steeling his heart, he continues to care. He's our snarky self-sacrificial middle-aged twink, who finally gained a family willing to literally fistfight god for him. And you know, you know that if the WS stupid curse didn't parasite onto KRS's life, then you know from the Sealed God Test that he'd have had that family too in another life, in another world.

Just going on this rant gives me the heebie jeebies about writing my fic, purely because I keep wondering about how the hell I am ever going to give this man justice with my amateur writing. Sir, respectfully, I know you hate this question but, are you human?

I would be the worst spy of all time because on one hand I overshare like hell, but on the other hand I also have THE shittiest memory so it’s really a lose/lose scenario for everyone involved.

guy interrogating me: What’s the passcode?

me: Ah fuck. I think it might be 792.....4?

me: Actually no I think it starts with a 2.

me:

me: Yeah I usually just rely on muscle memory for it. Do you think you could get a keypad in here? That might be faster.

guy interrogating me: who do you work for?!

me: Okay, so this is super embarrassing. I know he told me his name when we first met but I forgot and at this point it would be weird if I asked him for his name again, right? So I just kind of go with “sir” whenever I have to talk to him. It might be David though. He looks like a David.

me, after being extracted: bad news guys, I totally blew Dave’s cover.

my boss: Wait, what?

me: Yeah, like they had knives and shit and it was kind of stressful so I just told them that my contact’s name was David Johnson. Really sorry about that.

boss: We don’t have a David Johnson working for us. Are you thinking of James?

me: 

me: Good news, guys, I did not blow James’ cover!

Enemy 1: So, how did the interrogation go?

Enemy 2: We got nothing. All they did was ramble on about their childhood trauma for two hours.

Enemy 1: Hmm. maybe lower the dose of the truth serum next time.

Enemy 2: We didn’t use truth serum.

Hey everyone, I know it's going to be a busy day for a lot of people, but Google enrolled everyone over 18 into their AI program automatically.

If you have a google account, first go to gemini.google.com/extensions and turn everything off.

Then you need to go to myactivity.google.com/product/gemini and turn off all Gemini activity tracking. You do have to do them in that order to make sure it works.

Honestly, I'm not sure how long this will last, but this should keep Gemini off your projects for a bit.

I saw this over on bluesky and figured it would be good to spread on here. It only takes a few minutes to do.

Writers: It's asking to read your Google Docs and be able to 'summarize' things from them and such things. I just turned all mine off.

Because this isn't mentioned above, also go to google.com/drive/settings and turn off all the annoying bits that interface directly with docs there.

This is all in the "privacy" tab of your settings. How fun that everything is hidden two layers deep. 🙄 This DOESN'T get rid of the stupid little star constantly asking you to use it, unfortunately, but that's what the picker in ublock is for. 😉

More detail instructions for OP's post for those who are confused. This is done from the browser on my laptop, I don't know what they look like on phones.

When you click the first link gemini.google.com/extensions, you need to click on the setting icon at the bottom, then choose "Extension", like this:

Scroll down a bit, you will see the options, turn them all off.

Then, you click on the second link myactivity.google.com/product/gemini, you'll see it tells you that it's already "turn off". NO! IT'S NOT! You have to click on that "Turn off" option, it'll drop down a menu like this:

Turn that thing off. Until that button shows you have to click to turn it back on like this:

And then, click on the delete button down there too, even if it says there's nothing to delete, just do it as a caution.

After you's done with those two. You go to your Drive, find the Setting button.

Click on the "Privacy" tab, choose the button "Manage Workspace smart feature setting"

Tick both of those off, then click Save. Or if you still want to use Google AI assistant for some reasons, please read the fine lines very very carefully.

Only then, you can feel safe enough with this force AI assistant bullshit. FOR NOW 🤡 All these steps still can't get rid of that Gemini blinkblink icon though >:(((((

Repeat for every one of your google accounts 💀

Inspired by @sunderwight cosplaying Shen Yuan posts

No transmigration. cumplane.

People obviously take pictures of him when he goes to cons and posts them. They get a lot of attention. People are always in awe at the accuracy and amazing quality of his costumes. The people he commissioned them from get a lot of business afterwards. He pulls off the crossplay really well because of his pretty face and slim body. He just has to add padding in the right areas and learn makeup from his meimei and online tutorials. Sometimes people really can't tell he's a guy it's so good. Especially his Liu Mingyan cosplay that he does the most. She's his favorite of the wives after all and one of the few he thinks close to worthy of Binghe. He's done multiple different outfits for her. He never cosplays Luo Binghe, though. He doesn't think he could pull it off, Binghe is just that amazing. (But obviously he can pull Binghe's peerless beauty wives off.)

His PIDW cosplays make their way to the forums and people talk about them. It is a known fact in those forums that Peerless Cucumber will roast them to hell and back for their inaccuracy and shoddy craftsmanship. So, it is very strange that he never comments on these cosplays. Yes, they're amazing, but surely Peerless Cucumber could find at least one thing wrong with them. Eventually someone tags him in the comments or makes a post asking about them. He replies with something like "I'm the one who designed those. do you really think I would go out like that without them meeting my expectations?" but with more scathing remarks and saying he's not like the others who are fine with cosplay inadequacy.

That spurs many people to go look back through all of this cosplayer's previous cosplays, not just the ones from PIDW, and collectively think "oh wow, he's so pretty." It's a total shock through the entirety of the PIDW forums and fandom. They all thought Peerless Cucumber was some ugly dude behind a computer screen. They're a mix of feeling bad about themselves because when Peerless Cucumber tore them a new one in the forums they comforted themselves with thinking "You're just like us! Just some dude reading trashy novels! Nothing special! You're just mean cause you have nothing going for you!" and also the Peerless Cucumber fanclub growing because he is just that pretty and going feral over it.

His gender comes into question because a good number of people are convinced he's actually a girl. When he catches wind of that he responds with "Of course I'm a guy you idiots!! WTF!? Have you gone blind after reading all of Airplane's stupid writing!?" He's giving gender envy to a lot of people.

Some people are still unconvinced that the cosplayer is actually Peerless Cucumber because how can someone that pretty be Peerless Cucumber? They think he's just trolling everyone or something.

In the newest arcs of PIDW some very pretty ladies with cutting words and biting insults and criticisms are introduced. The ladies all have very high expectations of what their spouse should be like and have turned away every man seeking their hand in marriage. Of course when Luo Binghe enters the scene he meets all their expectations and requirements and sweeps them off their feet. A lot of readers who are keeping up on the Peerless Cucumber cosplay saga make the connection. Shen Yuan does not, and tears the new wives apart about how mean they were to Binghe at first, and then about how weak and pathetic they are, and then their clinginess, and so on. With every new day, Peerless Cucumber's criticisms are rectified as the arc continues, but he always finds something new wrong with the women. The other readers have varied reactions to this development. Some think that Peerless Cucumber should just shut it and let the Great God Airplane do his thing. Some of the people who Know about the cosplay saga and made the connection just want this time of Airplane making Peerless Cucumber into one of Binghe's wives to be over because this is a stallion novel. They don't want to read about Bingge seducing fem fantasy Peerless Cucumber. Just give them the normal women back. Other readers who Know are excited for the eventual sex scenes. Shen Yuan is just happy that his critiques are finally being taken into account, hoping that maybe at this rate Binghe will get an actually good wife and not just another useless beauty to throw into the harem garden.

Eventually Shen Yuan starts criticizing even the current to-be-wife's name, and so Airplane goes on and asks "Well what would you name her then if you've got so many ideas?" and generally just trying to bait him. It works, and Shen Yuan give a very beautiful name actually that fits her character and background. It is revealed in the next chapters that the name they've known her by so far isn't her real name and her actual name is the one Peerless Cucumber came up with.

The seemingly endless amount of chapters continues and the pretty but scathing wives get added to the harem and the story goes on. However, those wives get brought back out to go on adventures with Binghe and are otherwise reoccurring characters in the story. If one was paying close attention and looking for it, they would notice that the wife makes an appearance after Peerless Cucumber makes a particularly harsh comment or scathing criticism. People take to trying to bait Peerless Cucumber into doing it so they get more of those wives and especially the one he named which is becoming a fan favorite. Fanart gets made of her and people tease Peerless Cucumber about it. He critics all the fanart with his known ruthlessness about canon accuracy.

Some people have dropped it cause they don't want to see Peerless Cucumber get wifified any more, some people get even more invested because of that. A good number of people still don't think Peerless Cucumber is the cosplayer.

It comes to a head with an upcoming con in a few months. Airplane has a panel there. People are also asking if Peerless Cucumber will be going in cosplay. He says he's thinking about it and has some ideas on what character to go as, but is still deciding. Of course people instantly hone in on that and tell him he should go as the wife he practically made. He says no at first, but then Airplane comes on and says he'd really like to see him do that cosplay. Shen Yuan decides to take that opportunity. You see they have met, briefly, in the past at cons, but Airplane always finds a way to bail when Shen Yuan really starts laying into the critiques. Shen Yuan wasn't in cosplay those times and he had a face mask on so he wasn't recognized that way but no one could mistake Peerless Cucumber's reviews. Airplane also doesn't do cons very often, choosing to focus on writing the story instead.

And so, the following conversation occurs in the forum:

Peerless Cucumber: I will if you stop running away from me at cons.

RandomUsernameI'mTooLazyToComeUpWith: oh shit, oh great god airplane do it! do it!

RandomUsernameI'mTooLazyToComeUpWith2: yeah i gotta se this fuck itll be so hot

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky: you got a deal. you wear that cosplay and you can say whatever you want for however long you want. it'll even be in character.

RandomUsernameI'mTooLazyToComeUpWith: oh hell yeah!!! whooo!!!

Peerless Cucumber: You better mean that because I will bring printouts with notes and highlighted sections.

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky: bring whatevr you want so long as you wear that cosplay.

With that, the PIDW fandom holds even more excitement for the upcoming con because not only with the Great God Airplane be there they'll also get a peerless beauty of a cosplayer in a sexy outfit. The wife in question's outfit isn't the most revealing of the wives because Peerless Cucumber always critiques the practicality of that, but it's still the world of Proud Immortal Demon Way so there is some skin showing.

The con rolls around and the PIDW fans are on the lookout for someone dressed as That Wife. For the first couple days, Shen Yuan makes rounds to booths, not in cosplay, getting merch and volumes as he goes because he has a lot of things to say to Airplane and wants to get the bulk of his shopping done first so they have time and he doesn't hold up the line of people to see Airplane.

On the last day of the con is when he dons his cosplay of That Wife and get his character-accurate bag with the printouts and evidence of Airplane's failing as an author in it. He still makes stops at other booths on his way to the official PIDW one. He gets stopped to take photos and gets compliments on his cosplay. Eventually the PIDW fans find him go even crazier about it. Some say things like "I can't believe it's really you!" and word gets around the PIDW fans that Peerless Cucumber is here and he is in That cosplay and he does look fucking hot. Shen Yuan stays in character of the icy beauty as he interacts with the fans which only fans the flames. Before he even makes it to Airplane's booth he gets swarmed with PIDW fans, some are mean to him and want to knock him off his high-horse, but they get a verbal smackdown from Shen Yuan (still in character) and shoved aside by his own fans who start calling out their online handles asking for Shen Yuan's honest thoughts about them. And he does so either tearing them apart with words, saying they honestly didn't leave enough of an impression for him to even know, and in very rare instances offer some praise.

Shen Yuan finally makes it to the PIDW booth Airplane is at later than he wanted, but he makes it there with an entourage wanting to see the showdown. There are also guys hanging around the booth who have been waiting for this. When Airplane finally sees Shen Yuan in his cosplay, he thinks "Fuck. He's even hotter in person." and is more than happy to listen to all of Shen Yuan's complaints and looking at the highlighted parts of his novel and citations showing how historically inaccurate that is and the discrepancies within his own body of fiction.

Shen Yuan is still going and isn't even close to being done when they announce that the venue is closing and asking for everyone to start making their way out. Shen Yuan glares up at the intercom, still wanting to continue his triad.

"Well, I did say you could keep going however long you wanted so long as you wear that cosplay. I didn't say it had to be at the con," Airplane says, and Shen Yuan looks at him with considering eyes.

"Hmm. That is true, and I still have a lot to go through..."

They end up going to a restaurant for dinner (Shen Yuan's treat), and Shen Yuan continues all through the meal. When he still has more to say when the restaurant says that it's closing, he gets the most expensive suite at the most high-end hotel in the area with his richboy money because that's the only room left with the con going on. Shen Yuan figures that after spending so much time with Airplane today (along with reading so much of his writing) he has a pretty good grasp on the guy and doubts he's gonna get murdered by him so gets the hotel room. Airplane is in awe at all the fancy shit and money that Shen Yuan spends like it's nothing.

They stay in the main living room of the suite where there are couches. Shen Yuan lays his printouts out on the table, and even pulls up webpages on the rooms tv. There are pjs among other items reserved for the high-end rooms. Airplane ends up changing into the pjs and marvels over them being silk. Shen Yuan ditched his shoes and some smaller parts of his cosplay, but keeps the bulk of it on due to the agreement. Despite the dinner, Airplane also snacks on the room's food while Shen Yuan continues his verbal assault.

At one point, though, Airplane interrupts Shen Yuan, clutching his arm, looking at him with tears in his eyes. "Bro... Cucumber-bro... You... You're like an actual angel, dude. I died and this is heaven."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Shen Yuan asks, annoyed at the interruption, he was just about to connect another point.

"The food. This room. The silk pjs. Bro. This is heaven."

"No it's not. And stop crying!"

"Bro..."

Shen Yuan ends up patting his back for awhile while Airplane cries on his shoulder. His hand migrates up to Airplane's head and pats his fluffy head of hair that is actually really soft (Airplane took a shower and made sure his hair looked good since he knows how scathing Shen Yuan is and hot he was gonna look in the cosplay).

They eventually start drinking a some of the alcohol in the suite's fridge, but don't get too drunk. Nothing really happens, but they do end up sleeping in the same bed and cuddling in it because they fell asleep while Shen Yuan was still criticizing him.

The next morning Shen Yuan finally can't take the cosplay and makeup anymore and takes a shower while Airplane sleeps in. Airplane wakes to the sight of Shen Yuan in a hotel bathrobe, finishing drying his hair with his glasses on(he'd been wearing contacts and only switched to his glasses late into the night), and the sunlight from the window shining on him.

"Oh, fuck," Airplane says, staring at him.

"What?" Shen Yuan asks, not sure why Airplane is staring. He's not doing anything weird! He's just drying his hair! There's nothing wrong with wanting a shower after being in that getup for so long! He's just a normal dude right now! What's with that blank stare!?

"It's not just the makeup..." Airplane mumbles and face-plants back onto the bed with a groan. Shen Yuan is left confused, but eventually throws a room service menu on the bed asking what he wants for breakfast.

Before his shower, Shen Yuan had called home and asked his family's butler to bring him a change of clothes because he doesn't want to put all of his cosplay back on. This is why, after breakfast, Airplane sees Shen Yuan dressed in another well-tailored outfit, this time much more modern and male, made up of pale greens and creams looking like he just walked off a fashion runway.

"Brooooo... How do people like you exist?"

They end up exchanging some contact info because even though Shen Yuan talked until they fell asleep, he still has more to say. Airplane does agree to listen and says Shen Yuan only has to be in cosplay for the really harsh stuff.

Clips fans had recorded of Shen Yuan's triad at Airplane at the con get circled around and the PIDW fandom is on fire with it. People are going crazy over it. Shen Yuan's Peerless Cucumber inbox gets flooded with people requesting different cosplays along with sexual jokes and comments. The next chapter of PIDW has a dedication at the top to Peerless Cucumber and thanks. The next arc in the story is about Luo Binghe getting stranded in a place where fighting is outlawed, without any money, strict societal structures, and needing to recover from a battle. The love interest who helps Luo Binghe in his time of need is the daughter of a very wealthy family who starts off as cool and astute that can give a verbal lashing better than anyone is slowly revealed to have a soft spot for Luo Binghe in his weakened state. She takes care of him and even takes to giving him gentle pats on his head. When Binghe ends up getting into a physical fight with one of the villains of the arc, she comes to his defense against the society's court vouching for his good character. They place him in her custody due to her family's good name and she sets him up in a lavish living space with anything he could possibly need. When they find out that the love interest has a younger sister only a few years younger and not just two older brothers, the fans think she's gonna get haremed as well, but, surprisingly, the little sister doesn't join the harem with her elder sister. Peerless Cucumber praises the decision to leave the little sister be, happy that Luo Binghe is finally showing discernment of who to let into the harem.

After a couple more arcs, Airplane posts a notice that says he'll be slowing the pace of updates as he starts planning out the arcs leading up to the end of the story and hopes his fans understand. While the updates do lessen in frequency, the word count of each chapter does not and the quality improves, plot holes being filled and storylines being flushed out.

Within a well-furnished and kept apartment in the city is where Airplane works on all of this having moved there on Shen Yuan's dime when Shen Yuan learned the reason for the atrocious writing was that he was trying to make money to live and had to pander to his readers. The fridge stocked and living space confirmed, Airplane is now able to actually write quality verse the quantity. He even has a brutally honest beta reader who seems to spend more time here than at his family's estate.

While Shen Yuan never says it, Airplane is pretty sure they're dating, even if they aren't that physical with each other other than Shen Yuan running a hand through his hair while he reads, leaning against each other, holding hands when their out "so they don't get separated in the crowd"(there is no crowd Cucumber-bro), a hug when meeting and leaving each other, and the occasional cuddle session when Airplane is having a Time of it or Shen Yuan is dealing with medical issues or Shen Yuan spends the night and they a share the bed. He feels this suspicion is confirmed when Shen Yuan introduces him to his parents and they ask Airplane to take care of their son. So Airplane takes to hugging Shen Yuan more and despite a little grumbling about clinginess, doesn’t stop him and will even pat his head or arm or shoulder or even hug back.

Once PIDW is completed after a harrowing four years, Airplane takes a break to plan out his next story then shocks everyone by writing a fantasy novel featuring two men as the main couple. The writing itself is so different from PIDW with well thought out storylines, character backstories, and complex characters and settings. It gets in the top five on the website it's posted on and Airplane even gets a contract with a publisher. Shen Yuan couldn't be prouder of him.

Shen Yuan still cosplays. He even commissions outfits to be made of Airplane's not yet published characters so Airplane can see how they look irl and Shen Yuan can prove a point that something is not realistic.

They also have a deal that if Shen Yuan is gonna give some especially scathing constructive criticism that Shen Yuan has to wear a cosplay of Airplane's choosing and stay in character for it. It's a good thing that characters that aren't afraid to give a good verbal beatdown are becoming a common occurrence in Airplane's novels.

Tcf headcanon

I believe Cale had not realised how much the entire calefam meant to him until the Top's Whip test. He truly believed he was keeping them at arms length until he finally saw the pain he would experience if he lost them.

Because here's the thing, he did say in the early chapters of the story that "His family grew bigger again", yet he still tried to keep a distance. He cared obviously and he did acknowledge them as family, but he was still afraid. He lost his family before, he lost 2 of them. First his parents and then his brothers. He couldn't handle losing another family again.

And I think after he acknowledged that "Oh, they are becoming my family", Cale got scared and tried to keep a distance. The less he cares, the less it will hurt if they leave him. He tried not to show much interest, tried not to behave too friendly and he may have thought he was doing a good job at it. That is until Top's Whip test. Until he saw a future with all of them gone.

And also, it's worth to note that Cale knew everything in Top's Whip test was an illusion. He knew it was not real, that everyone was still alive. Yet he broke. He understood his greatest fear. He understood that it was inevitable now, that he loved them and there was nothing he could do about it. They were his family, his new family and just the idea of losing them was a torture all on it's own.

He didn't just see the worst possible future there, he relived his past. He felt the pain of losing parents he couldn't remember anymore and the parents that he gained now. He relived the death of his brothers, his best friends and was faced with the death of his new siblings and his new best friends that were like brothers to him. He saw, once again, the loss of his team mates, of the shelter members and had to see his companions empty rooms with just their relics.

But now he was faced with a new horror, one he had never experienced before, one that cut too deep. Because, while he had faced every single loss once before and knew that pain already, this was one he had never imagined, one that was truly his breaking point.

His children were gone.

He had lost them too.

I believe it was at this moment, when he saw the piggy banks, that Cale truly knew he couldn't lose this family. That he could not handle this pain. He knew that there was no promises that would keep him alive anymore. His love for them was too great. He could have ignored it before but not anymore, after the piggy banks he was forced to face reality.

He, Kim Rok Soo, Cale Henituse, cares for his family more than he could have ever imagined caring for.

YESYESYEEEESSS!!! you get me!!! and YES mu qingfang is the BEST and i'd LOVE to hear more about wei qingwei!!! (cus i'm not very familiar with him yet so i love to know more!!). and it turning into a little bonding-gossip session with qi qingqi is sooo sweet!!

i feel yue qingyuan is definitely the "best" at wing care, being really gentle in an almost deferential way, even having all these little tools at his disposal (that all look new and unused and yet are quite old<3), and even though birds don't really need/use brushes, it feels heavenly to have him brush the itchy loose feathers (and if yue qingyuan does his hair as well, neither of them mentions it), and shen qingqiu is always all pretty and proper when he leaves

liu qingge doing it on the missions is PERFECT, esp when he doesn't know what to do and needs to be guided through it!!! he's definitely a little rougher than yue qingyuan, but we all know shen qingqiu likes that so he doesn't say anything<3 one time liu qingge pulled a new pin feather and it started bleeding badly, and it took weeks before he even dared to touch shen qingqiu's wings again. and the fighting for who gets to do it i love it so much. i can also imagine the first time on a mission, shen yuan is trying to signal he needs preeming by reaching for the difficult spots and sighing and having his wings spread in an obvious way, shaking them a little because it keeps attracting liu qingge's attention (but liu qingge doesn't dare assume a demon spirit wants a human to touch their wings, and especially not liu qingge because they used to hate each other, so shen yuan has to suck up and ask anyway🤭)

and now for the angst: i always like my shen yuan experiencing dread and anxiety about the endless abyss quest, stomach turning every time someone makes a comment about the upcoming conference, feeling sick when binghe turns a year older, when binghe expresses in his loyal little sheep way he admires his shizun so much and shizun is sooo good to him and he wants to stay on the peak forever! it's horrible to listen to, and sometimes shen yuan gets lost in his head, especially at night when the nightmares plague him and he tosses and turns until he's burning up and his wings feel too heavy and too restricting and they're itching so he starts pulling out feathers to try and make the feeling go away, always regretting it in the morning when he has to hide the "evidence" before binghe can come in with breakfast.

he has thich plumage so it isn't so noticible at first, but eventually bald spots start to form on the inside of his wing and it stresses him out even more because the excuse of moulting doesn't work when no new feathers are growing in, and though liu qingge, wei qingwei and shang qinghua and maybe qi qingqi might not know moulting isn't supposed to leave bald spots like that, yue qingyuan and mu qingfang definitely do.

cue a very embarrassing moment when mu qingfang comes for his monthly without a cure checkup and finds a bunch of loose feathers beneath the bed that don't look worn or damaged, and when he wants to have a look at shen qingqiu's lame wing (because for some reason, without a cure keeps affecting that part of him too), shen qingqiu keeps pulling it back and pressing it tight against his side as if to hide it, mumbling something about moulting season and having a thin face so if mu-shidi could please leave it...?; mu qingfang isn't stupid so he puts one and one together, but he knows he can't confront him now or it'll make him clam up, so he keeps a careful eye out until he sees with certainty that shen qingqiu is plucking feathers (maybe during long meetings shen qingqiu gets lost in his head again and pulls at feathers until they break off (compulsory hand holding, anyone?)? or when he gets visibly stressed his hand keeps going to his wing to pluck at feathers as a self soothing gesture).

it's so clearly a sign of stress, but they just can't figure out what is causing it; loneliness? too high of a workload? boredom? could it be a medical problem like allergies or wing disease, maybe? but shen qingqiu never shows any issues in those regards, seeking out plenty of socialization, he handles his work just fine and loves teaching, and if it was as simple as allergies or disease he could just go to mu qingfang for a cure. and it happens at such random times too, like deep at night, or when they're having a simple meeting (about the alliance conference), it doesn't make sense!

maybe in this au shen qingqiu discovers airplane's identity earlier in the story, and having someone to rant to helps (the other peak lords get jealous at the sudden preferential treatment, but shen qingqiu stops picking at his wings as much, so it's a win)(imagine how helpless shang qinghua feels watching shen yuan pull out feathers in front of him knowing he created both this behavioral pattern and the ending that is causing it)

and do pleeeeaaaase yap about all the other peak lords i NEED to hear!!

THE ANGST IS EVERYTHING TO ME. GRIPPING IT IN MY TEETH AND SHAKING IT AROUND LIKE A FERAL ANIMALLL!! The idea that everyone is just really worried about Shen Qingqiu and his wings that slowly have more bald patches is sooo sweet yet sad. I can't stop thinking about it because there's not much that people can do to help him out and stop him stressing because they don't know what's going on! There's nothing he should be stressed about because he seems fine with everything! There is discussions about how on earth they can help out and make him feel better, leaving everyone feeling upset that they can't do much to help. Meanwhile, Shang Qinghua is sat there in the background, feeling guilty to all hell as he stares at the floor because it is kind of, accidentally, his fault that Shen Qingqiu is feeling this way. YAPPING ABOUT THE PEAK LORDS!!!!! TEEHEE. Right, so obviously Mu Qingfang can do about this in the medical professional way - "this isn't good for your wings, and the irritation and such could lead to bigger flare ups of without-a-cure". However, he wants to get to know his shixiong on a personal level! He wants to be able to bond and listen to Shen Qingqiu just like the rest of the peak lords, so he'll take the whole challenge and carefully check everything out, waiting in the wings (hahahaha, I'm hilarious) for Shen Qingqiu's wings to be in need of preening and oooh no, all of the other peak lords got into a big fight for completely unrelated reasons!! Guess Mu Qingfang will take time away from treating them to check up on Shen Qingqiu. Oh dear, his shixiong's wings look to be in need of preening, care for a cup of tea while he does it for him? He's a good shidi, of course he would like to hear about whatever "boring" paperwork is plaguing his poor shixiong. After just one visit to Qing Jing peak, the other peak lords choke on vinegar for a while because Mu Qingfang's gentle disposition and calming smile (NOT pitying or overly coddling (or so he thinks)) is all Shen Qingqiu wants to preen him. Shang Qinghua is too busy being the An Ding peak lord to offer to preen Shen Qingqiu's wings for the longest time, but he is eventually in the room collecting some sort of request or paperwork when Shen Qingqiu finally loses his patience and is just like "preen my wings." Shang Qinghua is undeniably confused, but Shen Qingqiu doesn't care - if the man wrote in wing preening, he should be able to do it, it was only fair. It's really, really awkward until Shang Qinghua starts yapping about where the plot of PIDW was supposed to go and he starts absolutely complaining about how awesome that would have been. They bond through that, and Shang Qinghua is still an overworked peak lord but he actually finds that he also chillaxes after chatting while preening, so it's a fair arrangement! Okay okay, I recently read a characterisation of Wei Qingwei that I cannot stop obsessing over, so I am going to make it everyone's problem. He's like that one dad who's super charming and he loves his kids. Think...charismatic pirate who always likes to tease but does know how to take things seriously!! So, when he first sees Shen Qingqiu with unpreened wings, he obviously goes "the great scholar, looking like he's just gotten out of bed?" and laughs until he gets close enough to pick Shen Qingqiu up (injured wing or not) and then casually carries him through Wan Jian peak (because of course he wouldn't go to Qing Jing peak unnecessarily, it's not his jam) until they get to his house, in which he plops down his shixiong and bribes him into comfort with tea and pastries, going about preening his wings like a father would go about doing his child's hair for the first time - enthusiastic and gentle, but not really knowing what he's doing until the child (Shen Qingqiu) guides him - like, you know when they try and explain to their dad how to braid, but neither of them really know how to do it because it's early on in Shen Qingqiu's transmigration.

I yapped too hard and too long...AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN. I like yapping with you!!! Tell me anything else you think about, I can't stop doing it myself.

Wing preening and pampering! Searched thru the tags just to find this thread again, phew.

Shen Qingqiu probably has his disciples preening his wings as well right? Can't imagine his little sheep of a disciple (and all the other ducklings) not jumping at the chance to assist (then again, if there already is a competition among the peak lords for it... Good luck kids)

Mu Qingfang likely gets his time to shine whenever his trouble magnet of a shixiong goes down the mountain and encounters some plant or other that just blasts him with pollens of the sorts. I'd imagine powdery stuff wld be a bitch to get out of feathers, and since the pollen may have various effects, it's really only right to let a medical professional handle the cleaning! And if Mu Qingfang takes juuuust a little longer to make sure everything is taken care of, beyond the pollen and such, well, that's between him and his tools.

Also! Is there a beast peak lord? (I'm honestly inclined to say no, because there's just no fucking way it wouldn't have come up in Shen Yuan's narration in canon, but we'll ignore that cos it's more fun that way) You can't tell me the peak lord of literal beasts wouldn't be an absolute expert at wing care AND get along spectacularly with Shen Qingqiu 2.0, beast nerd extraordinaire™

Actually no, scratch that, they'd get along like a house on fire. Not in the sense that they hate each other, but that they're each other's worst enablers. I don't even have a name for this peak lord (maybe Wan Qingshou?) but the ideas are flowing. They'd be doing the most batshit insane things (to others, they find it perfectly reasonable, it's for science!) like observing a Winged Python Leopard mother with her cubs (they're dangerous even to golden core cultivators, and their aggression spikes when it concerns their kids, like bears) to document their behaviors, bringing back orphaned baby beasts (YQY spent a while trying to convince them to return the more dangerous ones to their natural habitats, it was painful for all involved), and at one point they disappeared off their peaks for a month and a half before someone spotted them hunched in the bushes jotting down notes. Multiple interventions have been held. None have been effective. Disney Princess™ Shen Qingqiuyuan argues that there was never any danger and they know what they're doing. (Liu Qingge found Shen Qingqiu squashed beneath a Three-headed Spotted Lion and feared for the worst. Shen Qingqiu was just appreciating the fluffy weighted blanket that decided he was good enough to cuddle with)

At some point a peak lord, Wei Qingwei probably, sits their asses down and gives them a safety lecture normally reserved for disciples going on their first nighthunt. Does it work? Nope. Is this idea even realistic? Probably not. No idea how I got so far derailed from preening to here. Lol. What are the disciples doing in the meantime? Crying about their Shizun's disappearance, but also, gushing over all the new detailed beastiaries. Really, he's contributing to the world! Okay I'll stop here. I need to stop. Holy.