Shen Qingqiu
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Shen Qingqiu, Shen Yuan, Peerless Cucumber |
| Occupation: | reader, transmigrator, cultivator |
| Relationships: | |
| Fandom: | Scum Villain's Self-Saving System |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
- You may be looking for Shen Jiu, the original character to go by the name 'Shen Qingqiu.'
This article or section needs expansion. |
Shen Qingqiu (also known as Shen Yuan) is the main character of the danmei novel The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System.
Canon
Shen Yuan is from the modern world, where he hate-read a "stallion" harem/power fantasy novel called Proud Immortal Demon Way (PIDW). He dies while cursing its bad writing and missed potential, and ends up transmigrating into the PIDW world, where he is given instructions by an entity called the System to fill in plot holes and change the story into a better one. However, the character he transmigrated into is Shen Qingqiu, the titular 'scum villain' of the novel, and at the point in the plot that Shen Yuan has entered, the former Shen Qingqiu has already become the shizun of PIDW's vengeful protagonist Luo Binghe and has been mistreating him for some time.
As Shen Qingqiu, he starts to treat Luo Binghe better, leading to Luo Binghe developing feelings for him. However, certain plot points cannot be avoided, and Shen Qingqiu is forced by the System under threat of death to push Luo Binghe into a place called the Endless Abyss. He knows that Luo Binghe will survive and return, and he assumes that he will meet the same violent end that the original novel had for his character. He is oblivious for some time to the changes that he's already managed to bring about, including Luo Binghe's feelings for him, continuing to operate on mistaken assumptions built on having read the novel.
Fandom
Fanon and Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Obliviousness: The Oblivious Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu tag on AO3 has over 700 works as of June 2024.
- Different Transmigration: Many fanworks explore AUs where Shen Yuan transmigrated earlier or later in the PIDW timeline, or where he transmigrates into some other character.
- Pre-Transmigration Illness: Shen Yuan is sometimes depicted as terminally or chronically ill in his previous life. This common fanon may originate from the cnoveluv translation of SVSSS, where the text "He’d be content to just while away his time here and wait to die. At any rate, it wasn’t much different from his previous life" is accompanied by the footnote "Previous life: Bit of a subtle hint that our main character probably had a terminal illness or something that would have taken his life in time"[1].
Shipping
- Bingqiu, with Luo Binghe - this is the primary canon pairing of the novel
- Liushen, with Liu Qingge, one of Shen Qingqiu's martial siblings
- Bingliushen, with Liu Qingge and Luo Binghe
- Cumplane, with fellow transmigrator Shang Qinghua
Controversy and Criticism
shout out to shen qingqiu for being the most controversial mxtx lead despite also being the only one who isn't a serial killer.Tumblr post by danmeichael [2]
Shen Qingqiu is a formerly-infamous internet hate-commenter with a severe case of (internalized) homophobia and/or compulsory heterosexuality. Critics of his character often find these traits annoying or repellant. However, criticism of Shen Yuan along these lines doesn't tend to result in much drama or argument from Scum Villain fans.
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Tarnished Gold by Prim_the_Amazing - Shen Yuan transmigrates into Gongyi Xiao instead (2023)
- In Durance Veil by Mikkeneko - Luo Binghe is captured by Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, and Shen Qingqiu crossdresses in an attempt to covertly improve Luo Binghe's prison conditions (2023-2024)
Fanart
Vids
- It's Quiet Uptown by Asterix - animatic about various SVSSS characters mourning Shen Qingqiu, to the song of the same title from Hamilton (2023)
Zines
Archives and Communities
- Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu tag on AO3