Not a PWP for once

[cashew]

【景恒】向人间（含番外）

Instead of getting kicked out of Luofu immdiately, Jing Yuan secretly raised Dan Heng for a while before releasing him into the wild. (Why does this summary sound like some kind of animal rehabilitation program?(´▽`ʃ♡ƪ))

Pros:

• Jing Yuan tops! Yaaaaaay!

• Plot! OK, technically filler plot to explain how a kid who grew up in jail has social skills and stuff, but at least it's some kind of plot.

• Unhealthy separation anxiety. I'm such a sucker for this trope.

• Over-worked Jing Yuan! Finally, someone acknowledging how rough the poor guy had it this whole time.

• Concerned!Fu Xuan cameo. I feel like Fu Xuan is really one of the few people who actually grasps how hard Jing Yuan works, despite her sharp tongue.

Cons:

• No Quintet. I mean, I get this is a forward looking fic, but not having any Quintet mentions always feels a little empty... On the other hand, not having to deal with "Jing Yuan is the baby of the group" trope is a plus so...

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Meanwhile, have been thinking that the Luofu arc, thematically, really sticks out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of Star Rail. It has a lot of awkwardly detailed world building lore, but the story feels really rough and choppy, changing thematic focus all the time. I'm beginning to get more and more convinced that there was another game that got cannibalized into Star Rail, resulting in this weirdly detailed yet poorly paced arc.