#BTW THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN'T INTERPRET A SHIP YOU LIKE AS ROMANTIC OR THAT YOU CAN'T CELEBRATE THAT THEY'RE CANONICALLY INTO EACH OTHER

[agrebel18]

 I do not understand people who make fun of others who make a romantic pairing between fictional characters queerplatonic as if it’s a “downgrade”

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Trying to start a giant-ass meta on why I ship Mycroft/Albert and what there is to see of it and right off the bat I'm like...I want people to look at every single panel of their interactions.

No, it's not Sherliam levels. And BIG OLD DISCLAIMER: very little of what I'm going to present here is like "We were clearly intended to read it this way." I'll always argue that Sherliam is meant to be romantic: it hits so many well-established notes and tropes it's almost impossible to think otherwise. MycAl is a bit different. I do think it's definitely like...we're welcome and even invited to see it. But a LOT of my shipping it comes from the way I personally read and interpret things. So this is about explaining what I'm seeing that makes me ship it, rather than trying to be like "This is canon and you should agree with me." Anyway, for reference, I'll be using the official translation as far as it goes and then swapping to teawaffles' wonderful translation for the rest!

So...like right off the bat throughout the entirety of their Chapter 4 interactions their body language and expressions and ways of talking are so flirty? (Also, I still find it funny that in the manga Mycroft is introduced before Sherlock and thus Mycal is introduced before Sherliam. Older bros first lol.)

Maybe it's just that 2 decades on the internet have skewed me towards reading suggestiveness into everything, but the way Mycroft addresses Albert feels so flirtatious even if he's literally just being normal. "And what would an Indian Army official such as yourself want from an intelligence official such as myself this late in the evening?" Like...am I crazy? Does that not kinda sound like a porn intro? 😂 (This could also be Sherliam Side-effects. The way they call each other Professor and Detective in That One Scene is like...almost undeniably foreplay. Now every time anyone calls each other by title/profession/rank is this series I assume they're hitting on each other.)

But also Albert is just so...handsy throughout that scene. He's touching Mycroft's knickknacks, and just sort of limp-wristing all over the place. And I mean, I think that's just one of Albert's public-facing personas (customer service peeps, you know what's up) but it definitely lends itself to the existence of Vibes.

Anyway, there's this parallel of "You have my attention. What do you want?" that I think is kinda neat. (But look how comparatively sad Mycroft looks in the second version!!!)

Chapter 4:

Chapter 23:

Btw, in Scandal in the British Empire...why does Mycroft introduce himself to the Queen? Never mind, not why we're here. Again, my weird innuendo sensors perk up in Chapter 17 at "I did not drag you out of bed this early for nothing." Maybe it's because my perception of Victorian niceties, whether it's factual or not, is that there was this sense of avoiding talk of physical realities. We don't speak of pregnancy, we speak of "her condition" and "confinement." We don't "go to bed," we "retire." And so on. So conversely, it feels almost suggestive to even acknowledge that someone was in bed. In whatever state of undress the might imply. *Kellen Goff Sasaki voice:* OOOH how sCanDaLOus. (Mind you I DON'T believe there is anything of authorial intent in this, again, just trying to explain the factors that make me read things a certain way.)

The little mind games: Albert immediately recognizing that he's being tested, and Mycroft well aware that something is off, that he and Albert are using each other to their own ends. All juicy ship ingredients.

Then there's this...I can't articulate why it's important. But it is. Something about mouths and thoughts. If I wasn't terribly lazy, I'd go digging for examples in various manga series and I have a pretty firm suspicion that I could prove that, often, Mouth-Focus Thinking Panel + Name = Ship.

Jumping forward to the start of The Riot in New Scotland Yard (Chapter 29), Mycroft's demeanour has really changed. During the meeting at the British Museum he's radiating "I'm not angry I'm just disappointed" energy. He's tense, he's not sure if the Moriartys are enemies and when he understands their plan he seems understandably sad about it even as he accepts it. But now, he's radiating an almost Sherlock-like excitement. He's just gotten to see a miniature version of The Plan in action during the Jack the Ripper case, and it worked. He says he's just visiting Albert as an acquaintance (read: friend in Mycroftian), and that's what it feels like. They're chummy. It's cute. Also Albert teasing Mycroft over his squabbles with Sherlock when he leaves? When did Albert find out about that, hmm? (I mean, could be spying of course. But I like to think it just suggests they've talked more than we've seen.)

Annnnnd....cutting this part off here because I'm bored of it for now and it's long. I'll do the rest when the mood strikes. 😂

[infinitelycynical]

Namimatsu for the ship ask!

4, 10, 11, 12 & 15

Btw, I love how you explain your headcannons!

god, it's been so long since i've done anything for namimatsu, i can't wait to get into it! and thank you 🥹 you're very kind!

4. what they do on date night. typically, they go out to dinner and sit at a table with the most privacy or get a balcony table to themselves. namikawa takes matsuda to places he enjoys, which are usually on the expensive end, and always pays. matsuda does not protest this - people aren't meant to know that he's dating namikawa in the first place (due to the very recent or even ongoing investigation of yotsuba). by expensive places, i mean exclusive clubs or golf courses and the like. does namikawa like golf? no. does matsuda? no. do they go at least once anyway? yeah.

10. what TV shows they watch together, and which ones they hide from the other. both of them watch the news together in the morning when matsuda is over at namikawa's, and they watch it all the way through so matsuda can catch the weather segment and namikawa can catch the stock market segment. namikawa doesn't care for television, whereas matsuda is an avid watcher. namikawa will sometimes sit with matsuda and watch whatever he is watching, but he will be doing it to keep matsuda company rather than for the show itself. matsuda gets VERY cuddly on the couch, and namikawa gets to use watching the tv as an excuse to let him cuddle up (despite his sensible nature).

11. what their first impression of each other was. their first meeting was when matsuda broke into yotsuba and fell into their meeting room. namikawa's first impression was that matsuda was rather dumb, going in at night instead of at daytime to promote misa-misa. he didn't spend much time thinking about him because he THOUGHT that he would die anyway.

matsuda was terrified of all the yotsubas and that he would be killed right there and then, he was focused entirely on instinct so really regarded them as an entity rather than as individuals. when they met later on, matsuda was tentative, because namikawa was confident and didn't seem like the type to take no as an answer.

12. what they do for their anniversary. namikawa takes matsuda out for a night at the town, they go to a theatre and watch the opera (which matsuda hasn't been to before, so yay for him!) then go to a restaurant for dinner and discuss the show. they don't do gifts. namikawa isn't a romantic man, but he knows matsuda likes the expensive places he takes them to and enjoys new experiences, so he tries to incorporate both.

15. what they would change about each other. disclaimer before i answer this, i choose to interpret this about what they change about one another (over what they would change about the other if they could choose, i prefer to think about the development of a relationship and how it advances).

namikawa learns to be more compassionate over the course of his relationship, matsuda is often late to dates or to coming over because of his long hours with the task force and needs leniency that at first, namikawa does not give. matsuda's work days are often exhausting and he typically works seven days a week as opposed to five like namikawa does, so when he gets home he needs to not be told off and treated gentler. matsuda is very grateful for this.

matsuda learns to think first and then act, he is usually impulsive and acts on pure emotion or vibe alone. namikawa is the opposite, acting on logic, and over time, matsuda begins mimicking the same pattern. it starts with things as insignificant as what drink to buy or what fruit to choose at the supermarket. he wants to make namikawa proud (because inferiority complex, yippee) so learns some things from him. namikawa is satisfied with this, thinks it's just him wisening up and doesn't realise his impact on matsuda.

thank you for the ask!

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

When you start the adult life and go to work or get in a college you are goning to be friends with people who are like 30 year more old than you lol or have a really big age gap. I feel lots od those father-child dynamics comes from people who are too young and I know it but bothers me A LOT. That implies the only interaction and ADULT can have with other ADULT IS TO BE FATHER/CHILD ONE AND I HATE THAT, being atracted to others adults is fine yo.

No yeah this is definitely an element of it LMAO, I do think a lot of people (including a lot of adults on here lmao) act like you can only really have friends within ur "age group" which obviously isn't true lol. While I generally tend to have more "in common" with people roughly "within my age group" (late teens/early 20s), this doesn't mean that I can't be friends with people older OR younger than me (including "snot-nosed minors" btw, kids are people! Hang out with them!). I also think there's a tendency Within Fandom(tm) to look at characters as only being able to have two kinds of relationships - "sexual and/or romantic" or "found family". Honestly you kinda demonstrate this here by capping off with "being attracted to other adults is fine", even though I talked about shipping almost nowhere in the original ask. When you approach characters with "romantic shipping" being your main mode of relationship interpretation, you might feel uncomfortable applying that to a younger adult and an older adult (let the record show that I don't think shipping Scout tf2, adult man cartoon character, with his older cartoon coworkers is Morally Wrong or Gross or anything, I just understand that this is a perspective that some people have). However it does kinda suck if the only alternative to "romantic relationship" is "father/son-esque relationship with literally zero possibility of romance ever". Sometimes people are just friends! I'm not one of these people who has like some agenda against Shipping Culture(tm) or thinks it's Inherently Destructive or anything, like obviously I love shipping! But I think that "friends" is a perfectly viable and reasonable dynamic to give two characters, there are more kinds of human relationships than "romantic partners" and "parents and children (or the 'found family' equivalents to 'parents and children')"

[chumpovodir]

sorry i'm actually still on that castlevania brainrot, with a big big focus on CoD since i've been re-playing it in my free time, but felt like i was being too annoying about it between simping for Hector in a way i have not publicly done for any other blorbo and bitching about netflixvania lmao

now that i've had some time to let my thoughts Stew and Simmer, and after consuming whatever Hector-centric fan content i can get my greedy little hands on, i got some Thoughts on all the pairings i've come across, and put together my as-of-now takes on them:

• CV: CoD Hector/Isaac - yes! THE ship of all time! versatile, but however you ship them, They Are Each Other's Whole World!!! they're best friends at minimum (at least before Hec's betrayal) and hell yes they're fooling around with each other - they're 2 dudes in their early 20s who grew up together, literally have no one else and probably spend damn near 24/7 together as a result of their living situation/jobs. is it a casual friends with benefits thing? are they romantically involved and devoted to each other? work besties? mentor mentee kinda thing? is it mutually toxic and/or abusive? friendly rivalry? bitter enemies til the end? it all works! the beauty of the canon not being set means theres so much room for interpretation, but i don't think hector or isaac would be as broken up as they are if they didn't feel something for each other. for me, it all tracks and part of the fun is seeing new ways to interpret their dynamic (except no one makes content for their game counterparts anymore after netflixvania 😢)

• Netflixvania!Hector/Isaac - sorry but i just can't get on board the Forgehusbands thing here. in this version, the most chemistry they have is barely tolerating each other as colleagues. its not even animosity, just straight up indifference. then hector spends some months in his own personal hell being Lenores plaything probably just trying to not lose his sanity while isaac is thousands of miles away consumed by the thought of revenge but otherwise living it up. Issac doesnt even really save Hector in the end…? and idk why but the writers were really pushing a Lenector agenda so there really isn't much of anything to ship here. N!Isaac's too dry and serious about his own misanthropy without any of the mindless, fanatical devotion to Drac's cause CoD!Isaac has, while N!Hector is just. barely a character tbh with how passive and contradicting he feels (and i will CURSE the writers for forever squandering his character when he probably has the most official, coherent material dedicated to explaining his whole deal!!!). there's not much in this canon that drives them towards each other in a way i find compelling, but if someone out there could take on the challenge and actually show how they end up getting together (as friends or romantically) i'd be interested in that! because the current status quo where they're Inexplicably An Item From The Start is a little stale tbh

• Hector/Rosaly - YESSSSSS i love how their relationship is depicted in both PtR and the manga series! (favorite panel of all time: "Oh, you bit right away") i've seen some criticisms of this ship and specifically Rosaly essentially being Lisa 2.0 and a namedropped source of Man Pain™ for all of CoD's intro cutscene before never being mentioned again and. yeah, that's all true. BUT its so soft, and quiet and loving. they really are perfect for each other <3 and it's an interesting parallel for Drac/Lisa, and how Hector doesn't go on a genocidal rampage after losing his beloved in the exact same way, despite his own misanthropy still holding strong. does that say something about Hector's character, or was it all just Death's scheming going exactly as planned?

• Hector/Julia - nnnnooo…. come on man. you cant fuck your ex's (that you killed btw) sister that just so happens to look like your recently deceased wife. who was murdered by aforementioned ex. god the baggage going in all directions here... thankfully, even in canon its only implied at best, if you turn your head and squint. i like 'em as Just Friends, thanks - 2 magic wielders that share a bond through being persecuted by humanity, and for losing a mutual someone they cared for deeply. (side note: wish we saw more of Julia! i love that for what little we got of her, she does seem to mirror Isaac, in ways only siblings who are close can)

• N!Hector/Lenore - no and FUCK no. i actively hate this pairing. the only acceptable interaction between these 2 is Hector staking Lenore through the heart with a smile on his face. and before anyone comes for me, it has NOTHING to do with the fact that it's a m/f ship, because as mentioned above, i adore Hector/Rosaly. it's not even because it's abusive, you CAN write and enjoy darker relationship dynamics but. this just wasn't it. if they were going for an enemies-to-lovers kind of thing, they failed spectacularly at establishing the 'to lovers' part. the only reason i enjoyed their S4 interactions is because it's seemingly the only time in the entire series anyone talks to Hector with any level of respect, even if it was just dumb sex jokes.

• Hector/Alucard - this one surprised me, for simultaneously seeming to hold both statuses as 'squarely defined as a rarepair by most fan's standards' but also 'there were at least a good few pages worth of the Hector Castelavnia tag on Ao3 that was just these 2 as the main pairing'?

not really sure how i feel about this one - i like them as individual characters who have a lot of parallels going on (probably because Hector is supposed to be like an 'improved' version of Alucard from what i've read?)

i like the idea of their netflixvania versions trauma bonding after the shit in S3 because good lord they both need someone who can understand what they've been through. but they don't interact at all in the netflix show, so no dice there imo. under a more cynical lens, my feelings are something like "you only ship these 2 because they're both soft prettyboys you wanna see fucking huh"

if you go by the games canon and lore then they're just about the same age and logically would have interacted at least occasionally in their time at Castlevania but ofc we dont see any of it. theres some ancient fanfics out there that expand on this with alucard, hector, and isaac all being childhood friends before they grew up and had to kinda move into their respective roles and protocol and formality and work kinda made them drift apart and i find those very cute <3

i think this pairing could work honestly, they're both generally kind-hearted albeit tragic souls with a cold disposition who experienced the madness of Castlevania and Dracula's vengeance firsthand. there's gotta be something you can pull outta there. mmmaybe not quite friendship either but.... kindred souls. they have that "prince and his knight" kinda vibe, at least aesthetically, which i can get behind! and i like what i've seen from the exceedingly rare pre-netflixvania fics that exist, and even the netflixvania fanfics are kinda cute (please can we move away from the theme of N!Trevor brutalizing N!Hector out of mistrust just as a chance for N!Alucard to swoop in and save him? shit is damn near ubiquitous even in my very brief time exploring)

• Hector/Trevor - (i should specify i'm referring to their games versions exclusively here. N!Trevor isn't even aware of N!Hector's existence afaik) i dig it, there's just the very inconvenient fact that Trevor's supposed to be married to Sypha lol. and i dont really see a trephacard type of situation happening here (not that im crazy for trephacard now that i mention it. it's cute, it's wholesome but eh, not much substance to it? im realizing i like my ships with a pinch of tension)

so much comedic potential! a fun ship to entertain, but i feel like no one seems to make any content that captures their dynamic well. so ultimately this is a "the best ship is friendship" type of relationship for me. i have a headcanon that Trevor tries, really, really tries, to reach out and befriend Hector post-CoD in a way he might not for other people, out of guilt and concern he'd end up like Adrian (except at least Adrian has the option to wake up and rejoin the world, if he felt like he was finally ready someday. Hector, for all his demonic powers, is still very much human and is shown not once, but twice, ready to let himself go peacefully from this world because he just can't envision a future for himself after Castlevania and losing everything that's important to him. and i generally just like Trevor being a Genuinely Good Person, despite being a bit of a pompous hot-head. miss me with whatever netflixvania was going for)

• Hector/Dracula - ….okay so a certain tumblr user's AU got to me and i do enjoy how dark and fucked up this is <33 and thats pretty much exclusively how i view this ship - always a power imbalance, never wholesome. that's all i have to say about it, don't really wanna go into specifics and squick anyone out but uhh yeah. it's not pretty lmao

[vierandancer]

21, 23, 27, 29, 38

Shipping Questions For Mun || Accepting

what’s something that immediately turns you off from shipping with someone?

LOTS OF THINGS, but mostly it's lack of communication. We talk about a ship and then we never talk about it again. There's no IMs like "hey what do you think about this" it's 'do you wanna try to ship' 'sure!' and then radio silence. I've planned with someone a ship extensively and then outside of IC memes, we never talked about it again, didn't even get a thread off the ground. Like... any relationship, romantic or no, requires discussion as the ic interactions go on and they grow and gain experiences. Even if I'm the one that proposed the ship initially, I will back off if the other Mun isn't as into it as I am. I can be IN THE TRENCHES in a ship, but I won't if the other Mun doesn't match energy and effort.

have you ever been pushed to ship something?

Not really? I'll either say no outright when it's proposed, or I'll gradually tune out the thread and not start a new one. It's not difficult for Muns to get distracted by other ships or threads with other partners.

-- ACTUALLY WAIT. Yes! I have been! My first muse, Edea Lee of Bravely Default, was friends with a muse from Fire Emblem (3? One of the older ones). I don't know the game, but I am 99% sure the actual canon character was not as sex-obsessed as this interpretation was. Either way, they kept trying to make moves on Edea. At first Edea shrugged it off as her friend acting out, but clearly not interested. This Mun NEVER communicated to me if this was OK or not, btw. They just kept. Pushing. The issue IC. And I should have just blocked them then, but it wasn't until the other Muse legit tried to force themselves on Edea (i.e unwanted groping) that Edea told her off IC. And then I blocked them. Mun was so upset with me after that, but like. Dude. No means no.

did you ever play a wedding?

YES. It was wonderful and cute and I made up a pinterest board and invitations to send to submit boxes! It was treated basically like a tumblr event. Didn't really have too many people participate, but they were optional alongside me and my rp partner's main thread.

would you play as a cheater, or with someone cheating on your muse?

Totally! For the Cheater muse, I don't often play people who would, but if it suits the Muse's personality and story, for sure. @celenehart is a perfect example of the muse that would cheat. However I wouldn't do so without letting my RP partner(s) know and/or making it super clear my Muse has that tendency.

As for cheating on my Muse? Again, super open to it as long as their is communication between Muns. It can't just randomly happen!

... Actually. I've had that happen to me AGES ago on poor Edea again. Essentially, I interacted with Mun A and Mun B in the same verse, because they were canon characters from Edea's game, Bravely Default. My ship was with Mun A. Mun A also interacted with Mun B in that same verse.

Then I see Mun B send Mun A a shippy meme, and their characters makeout. And I'm like huh. Weird, but... different verse, I assume. NOPE. Muns A & B kept making references to that moment in threads with my Edea. Like in the meta, so not something out loud that Edea could know. NONE OF THIS WAS DISCUSSED. IT WAS JUST ASSUME IT WAS OK.

Christ almighty. Poor Edea got done so dirty in both canon and roleplay world. I always want to bring her back to give her a better life, but it is hard.

how easily does your muse get crushes?

Okay, something more fun to answer! Meiko can get crushes pretty easily, but she won't say a fucking thing about it and just bury the crush down a la self-doubt. I.e her first canon crush is actually on Yugiri! But she convinces herself Yugiri either isn't into women and/or is interested in Hien. Or some other reason in her bag of self-diminishing nonsense.

[the-music-maniac]

You ever notice how similar Xie Wang and Han Ying’s stories and character arcs are?

A warning here that this contains spoilers for all of Word of Honor/Shan He Ling. Stop reading now, I reference a ton of shit.

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I was actually discussing a couple fic ideas with a friend a few weeks ago, and I got to wondering after thinking about those parallels I could see -

Does Han Ying x Xie Wang exist as a ship?? Is that a thing?? That exists?? Can it please exist??

It has so much potential. There's so many narrative parallels with these two characters.

They're two people who deserved better than their respective endings, who never got what they wanted, because of the manipulation of men who wanted power and would stop at nothing to get it (Jin Wang and Zhao Jing). The manipulation of those who saw them as less then what they were.

They also have similarities in their relationships with their "mentor figures" - Han Ying and Zhou Zishu, and Xie Wang and Zhao Jing. They have quite a lot of differences too, enough that their lives parallel each other instead of mirror, and I just think that their personal experiences could make for a very compelling storyline if these two were to interact. It would be an interesting road to a development of a potential relationship, and moreover an opportunity for both of them to learn from the other and heal.

And real talk? I just want the both of them to be happy tbh (and of course that obviously doesn't need to involve a romantic relationship - I just have no self control. I'd be just as ecstatic about a really good friendship though).

I also know they never interact in the drama - but then again these two are also literally dead in the drama. Reality is what you make it 🤣🤣. And considering how close the Scorpion was working with Tian Chuang - honestly I'm pretty sure you can't really say they haven't met either.

So anyways, I guess reasons why I think this would be a good ship dynamic:

First of all, their relations with their mentors and how it's similar to each other and also not. The resulting potential for mutual support:

Han Ying's dearest wish is to be a disciple of Zhou Zishu's, as he says plainly in that one episode.

The thing is, there could be quite a lot of subtext taken from that - I've read interpretations that he's in love with Zhou Zishu, or at least has romantic feelings for him - a strong crush possibly - which I can plausibly see (I can also see it just being platonic, which I will talk about later). But yeah, a romantic interpretation just because of how strong his devotion towards Zhou Zishu is. The wistful looks?????

In that kind of situation, IF the romantic feelings are two-sided instead of one-sided - which I would like to go on the record and say that with Han Ying and Zhou Zishu, I don't believe it is - and as a result actually becomes something, that type of relationship would not be the most healthy, because there's a very strong imbalance of power. Even if the mentor figure genuinely cares and actively minds the mentee's feelings - the mentee still undeniably has that level of hero worship - it won't ever be equal. We can see that already in Han Ying's case, Zhou Zishu repeatedly tells him to stop treating him with so much formality because he's not the leader anymore and yet Han Ying still remains deferential.

In that interpretation, if that were the case of it being two sided - Han Ying would have quite a lot of similarity of experience to Xie Wang's relation to Zhao Jing -

And here I can talk about how Xie Wang and Zhao Jing's relationship is uh. Kinda sus tbh. Like. That doesn't look like a healthy or platonic father-son relationship and it gives me the creeps. In Xie Wang and Zhao Jing's relationship, I'm more inclined to believe there's some semi-incestous yifu fucking going on than anything platonic, there's just so many sus moments - and if I'm not mistaken they dubbed over a line in the show where it was basically stated plainly that it's not a platonic relationship. Or at least - Xie Wang doesn't view Zhao Jing platonically (and I don't believe Zhao Jing discourages it at all, if anything he actively encourages and guides it to make Xie Wang dependent on him). So we got another setup where it's potentially one sided romantic feelings/hero worship. Or maybe two sided for them, who knows.

But the thing is, while I talked about unhealthy romantic relationships in my section about Han Ying, a fundamental difference between Xie Wang and Han Ying's relationships with their mentors is that Zhou Zishu's relationship with Han Ying would be a lot healthier. A LOT healthier. So much fucking healthier, I cannot emphasis that enough. And that's mostly because their relationship is not two-sided, and because he sees Han Ying as a person.

He cares about Han Ying a lot but not as anything beyond platonic - he views him as a student and a subordinate and protects him as such. Han Ying on the other hand could have romantic feelings for Zhou Zishu. Not in love per se, it feels to me like it could be a mix of a really strong crush with really strong hero worship. I don't think Han Ying truly knows Zhou Zishu's other aspects of personality (yet?? I guess because if we're gonna hypothetically bring both Han Ying and Xie Wang back to life he probably will eventually get to know Zhou Zishu properly), because I doubt he ever showed anything beyond his stern assassin leader type of persona to his subordinates. He was likely caring yes, but in a way that keeps people at a distance. So, a mentor-mentee type of relationship where Han Ying could be crushing quite hard on Zhou Zishu. But still a healthy one, as Zhou Zishu, one - doesn't intend to pursue a romantic relationship with Han Ying - and moreover, although might know about his feelings, or his devotion at least(tbh you'd have to be blind not to), he treats them, and him, with respect. He doesn't try and manipulate Han Ying, or use his emotions for his own purposes. He sees Han Ying as his own person. His affection and regards towards Han Ying remains unconditional, even if Han Ying messes up or doesn't follow instructions. Instructions that, btw, repeatedly try to keep Han Ying out of the line of fire, and makes it clear that Han Ying is to put himself first.

Everything Zhao Jing does however is solely to cripple Xie Wang and make him wholly dependent on him. He's been grooming Xie Wang from such a young age, and his positive regard and care is ALWAYS conditional. As soon as Xie Wang messes up, he takes it away as punishment, and because of how Zhao Jing's made himself the center of Xie Wang's world, that action is devastating to him. He subtly encourages and toys with Xie Wang's regard for him for his own purposes, he tries to make Xie Wang jealous so he works twice as hard to earn back Zhao Jing's attention. And as we see with his intention to eventually discard Xie Wang as soon as he is no longer useful - he doesn't view Xie Wang as a person. He's merely another tool in his arsenal.

The reason why I wrote such a long ass analysis about the similarities and differences between Xie Wang and Han Ying's relationships is because as I mentioned before, one reason I think this would be a pretty interesting ship and dynamic is how these two could help each other. At first, it might be more Han Ying helping Xie Wang.

Xie Wang hasn't ever experienced what a proper and healthy guardian type relationship is like, or even what it means for someone to choose him first. He's a victim of abuse, and should he manage to survive the avalanche at the end of the show, there is potential for him to start to undo all the damage that Zhao Jing has inflicted on him all those years, especially if the man is truly no longer around. And I think Han Ying would be in a very good position to offer him support in that journey. Moreover, if Han Ying has had an experience similar to that, it could be the reason he would want to offer support to Xie Wang. He's experienced a lot of what Xie Wang has experienced, but he's also seen what it is for someone to genuinely care about him, and as a result likely has a more healthy view on that type of relationship. They're similar enough for Xie Wang to potentially not want to push Han Ying away if he ever offers his help, but also dissimilar enough that Han Ying could offer new avenues of thought.

At the same time, if you just read Han Ying and Zhou Zishu's relationship as a really strong type of hero worship, this dynamic could make sense too. Han Ying clearly looks up to Zhou Zishu quite a lot, and on top of that, Zhou Zishu in a way represents everything Han Ying has wanted and couldn't have - aka a family and a mentor figure and a home to call his own. Regardless of if it's purely platonic or not, it's still an infinitely healthier relationship, a parallel to Xie Wang's experience, so the potential of the offer of support remains the same.

Second of all, similarity in origin and life experiences, which is a small thing tbh but still an important thing:

Han Ying is someone I don't know a lot of background on tbh - I presume he doesn't have a family anymore, and somehow ended up in the Window of Heaven. I've read fics where Zhou Zishu was the one to save him at some point and offer him a position in the assassin group, and I'm inclined to take that as a plausible head canon (unless it's actually canon, idk I haven't read tyk yet).

So, in bare bones, he's an orphan who is taken in by a mentor figure, and becomes a high ranking member of an assassin group.

Xie Wang is also someone who no longer has a family - we don't know that much about his background either, but I presume he was happened upon by Zhao Jing in some way - I'm not sure at what age tbh, is it assumed that he was raised by him?? Or maybe in teenage years??

Whatever it happens to be, Xie Wang was taken in, maybe even "saved" by (although if you ask me, he'd be better off without) Zhao Jing.

So in essence it is the same thing as Han Ying's experiences, an orphan who is taken in by a mentor figure, and becomes a high ranking (or the leader of) an assassin group.

And not only that, as I mentioned from the beginning, these two both realize and know, eventually, that they’re being used by men who are desperate for power (Jin Wang, Zhao Jing).

I mention this actually as just an extension of my first point, because while I mentioned that Han Ying very obviously can support Xie Wang in that particular “past grooming and abuse” aspect, there are probably still many hidden traumas and scars for these two from the lives they’ve both lead. Their similar experiences lead to similar choices which helped shape who they are, and as a result, I think these two could truly understand each other and where they’re coming from.

Their personalities would fit pretty well with each other. I think:

I don’t know if my interpretation on how these two are is accurate tbh, so feel free to let me know if you think it’s out of character.

To me, Han Ying seems like someone who would be pretty calm around the people he cares about; responsible, smart, eager to learn, with a steady sort of presence. He seems like someone who would wear their heart on their sleeve around people he trusts too, but not in any overtly obvious way. I think the reason why I get that impression is that, upon rewatch, I could plainly see his worry about Zhou Zishu in episode one, but when I first started the show, I somehow missed it entirely. Han Ying also didn’t show any qualms about admitting to Chengling that he wants to be Zhou Zishu’s disciple - which can be a very personal piece of info. The way he was around Zhou Zishu, and Wen Kexing also gave off an air of innocent eagerness to do well in his accomplishments and for approval. I’m not saying he’s always like this, because I’m rather certain he has a darker side too - as we see with all the characters, no one is without their traumas and no one is without artifice or without complexity. They’re all grey moral in a very human way, and Han Ying is no different. We’ve seen before too that once he’s got his game face on, the man is pretty competent and also ruthless (his conversation with Gao Chong for example) - I don’t think he could be any less if he’s that high up in the Tianchuang hierarchy. But at the same time I can also see him being a bit of a very subtle disaster (almost?? Slightly dorky??) in certain situations, and we can see that kind of peek through when Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing hijacked his kidnapping attempt and he was kind of like uhh. Okay so, I’m in a choke hold, I think that might be my former commander, so like. Let them go. It’s actually really funny cause while Wen Kexing was telling Gao Chong and Chengling to hurry up and leave, I swear you could see Han Ying contemplating his entire life.

The face of a man confuzzled.

Xie Wang on the other hand, is someone that’s more impulsive, liable to push or be mischievous, less of a steady personality and more like - for lack of better word - an absolute gremlin. A pretty murderous one. It’s a bit hard to tell all aspects of how Xie Wang is tbh, since he has many different mannerisms while talking to different people. With Zhao Jing he has a very subservient, almost dutiful, childlike and innocent air about him, and a sort of. Sa jiao (撒娇) type of demeanor. He craves approval from Zhao Jing, and is just generally very baby around him, and I’m really not sure how much of that is how he actually is and how much of that is him learning that this is the best way to get Zhao Jing’s attention. And tbh I don’t think all of that is grooming, I think Xie Wang probably does have the potential to be as soft or as innocently childlike and happy with others he cares about (just hopefully in a lot healthier way). I think we see his soft side a little with Qianqiao when he gives her the cure. Despite that though, we can still see other aspects of him surface. He makes suggestions and pushes when he thinks Zhao Jing’s refusals are unreasonable, he just goes and does his own thing sometimes (um usually murderous things. Like when he killed Song Huai Ren and told Zhao Jing he’s a traitor). He’s mischievous about some of his actions (after literally stabbing a man, ‘what? he said I should kill him if I have the ability’). He’s a lot more obviously gritty and aggressive and morally grey than Han Ying appears, which I think adds dimension to his character when added in with everything else. He’s also very smart, competent, ruthless - obviously since he runs the Scorpion, but he’s surprisingly fair and almost? Honourable? In certain aspects? And like Han Ying, he does somewhat wear his heart on his sleeve, retains that eagerness to do well and is somehow not as jaded as he could be, as he still finds the capacity to eventually care for a stranger (Liu Qianqiao). 

I may be oversimplifying how these two could be, but with their personality types I think they have a lot of potential both in a romantic relationship or as close friends. And in a way that at first glance would probably be puzzling - how in the hell did these two become friends/get together (lmao you’ll see Han Ying in his rather sensible disciple robes and then Xie Wang is just there in his braids, dramatic black outfits, winged eyeliner, etc. 🤣🤣😅😅) but on closer thought, makes sense. Han Ying could be a more steadying presence for Xie Wang, and Xie Wang in turn could help him loosen up a bit more. (That’s kind of oversimplifying it but it’s 5 am where I am rn and I’m too tired to elaborate) I also believe Xie Wang might push Han Ying to be more ambitious, be able to do things for himself more - because Xie Wang went through a process of, everything I do is for someone else, until I realized they were using me, and now I’m going to do it for myself. In that way they could potentially push each other to higher heights in what they do, and they are pretty similar in ideology and morals and previous actions. They both have blood on their hands, and they’re not afraid to be ruthless or do what’s necessary to get the job done. They have their traumas, their complexities and an understanding of what it’s like to put on masks for different people.

The potential for found family. All the found family. Gimme:

This one I feel like is more obvious and changes some things about canon, but the timeline I imagine for if Xie Wang x Han Ying would be a plausible ship is one where Han Ying survives the stealing of the fake glazed armour incident and becomes one of the disciples of Siji (second disciple of the sixth generation????). Everything else would likely proceed in a very similar way (although in this au in my mind Gu Xiang and Cao Weining are alive). And then during the avalanche incident, with WenZhou trapped in the armoury, Xie Wang ends up surviving and they end up finding him somehow.

Whether or not it’d be out of character for WenZhou to save him I think could be explored, but the bottom line is that eventually they would probably take him back to Siji. There, whether him meeting Han Ying goes smoothly or not is up to interpretation - I very much doubt it would be an amiable meeting tbh - in fact I fully imagine it to be antagonistic af at first, considering what opposing groups they used to be a part of and the knowledge of how deadly the other can be - trust would be hard to come by, which makes a slow development all the more interesting. And moreover them becoming friends or dating would likely help Xie Wang into the dynamic at Siji because now there’s a more tangible connection between him and the place, and I can see while he’s getting to know all the people of Siji, eventually thinking of them as family as well.  And Han Ying in turn gets another person who cares about him, and for him to care about.

I’ll be honest here and say that I don’t particularly care at this point how realistic or in character it all would be -  I need found family in my life I have no self control. Xie Wang and Han Ying my beloveds needs all the good things.

Another possible meeting is just Han Ying being sent to negotiate with the Scorpions instead of Duan Pengju (is that how it went? I’ll admit I’m a little fuzzy on plot points here) and meeting each other that way. There could be moments of understanding while working together, an inevitable kinda separation, and eventually seeing each other again at Siji, after all the shitshow is over. The development could continue from there.

The closer age gap:

I’d like to preface this part with a disclaimer that I’m not trying to bash any other ships that are out there, this is actually just entirely my personal preference.

I don’t really like big age gaps in my ships unless their both established adults - for example in their 30's 40's, even 50's. Even if one of them remains young in body, it’s just not a dynamic I generally like. The most popular ship that comes to mind here is Ye Baiyi x Xie Wang - and all the more power to you if you do ship it tbh, I can see it being really adorable and healing for the both of them, especially since Ye Baiyi never really gets a happy ending either (and he absolutely deserves one 😤😤😤) - but that as a ship dynamic is personally not for me, especially after Xie Wang’s kinda hinted relationship with another man that’s also older than him. Ye Baiyi obviously is ten million times the man Zhao Jing could ever be, and it would be an infinitely healthier relationship anyway, but yeah the age gap thing is just my personal bias.

So I don’t know, I appreciate that Han Ying and Xie Wang are both closer in age to each other. I know there aren’t confirmed ages (I think?) but if I had to take a guess, I’d say I think both of them are probably in their early to mid twenties.

Anyways, it’s literally 5:43 am now where I am, so I think I’m gonna end this way too long post and pass out. Honestly, I’m not even sure if this thing is coherent anymore, I’m half delirious with exhaustion while writing this. I might possibly write a fic or do something about this Xie Wang x Han Ying ship, I might not, but I just wanted to get it out there. It’s a cute idea.

Oh god my eyeballs are burning. Cheers, goodnight.