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#2.) Shen Yuan's consent/interest is often extremely questionable
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I agree with your opinion on LBH! Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of respect for MXTX, but the way SQQ and LBH's relationship was written, even in the extras, was horrible. It'd be one thing if that was the point, but SQQ still leaves CQM for him, still sleeps with him, still marries him, etc... and none of this is really treated as a bad thing despite everything. You can only blame Xin Mo so much. And I know it's a danmei, but since the story is all about subverting tropes anyway, I think I would've much preferred it if LBH had actually left on a sort of journey of self-discovery, only to return maybe months or even years later sometime in the extras and see where his relationship with SQQ goes from there before eventually marrying him.
Listen I received this ask ages ago and really debated whether or not I was going to post it and go into my 3-4 big problems with Bingqiu and then inevitably have to follow it up with "but I like LBH" and "Listen, I'm okay with Bingqiu if it's funny but as a serious ship...I have opinions" but I did not want to get into a Debate just yet.
Suffice to say: I agree with you! There are a lot of problems that can't really be excused. Also you saying you think LBH should go on a journey of self-discovery also changed how I decided to frame LBH's arc at the end of my Laments of a Sellout Author fic so THANK YOU! And I agree that it would have been a good solution! Like them getting together and LBH getting over everything happens so fast, there's no build up, and so much of that fast pace serves as a kind of "punishment" for Shen Yuan. Because that's the subversion, he turns the harem guy gay and now he has to deal with it hahahaha (sarcasm). But like, (and I said I wouldn't get INTO IT but....) that's one of the things that I thought could have been handled better. I understood the choice that MXTX made (which I think many people don't) but I think it could have been done differently. Like even just a time skip where SQQ at the end promises to wait for him and we skip to 2 years later at least acknowledging LBH did SOMETHING for his own mental health or whatever. It could have been integrated.
The other thing is that people will be like "oh, so a ship has to be healthy for you to ship it?!" like, for me? Unless both people are evil, like, yeah. But that's me. You can dislike a ship for a lot of reasons. For MDZS I'm not a huge fan of Wen Qing/Jiang Cheng for no real reason. I don't think anything negative or positive of the people who ship it, I just don't see it. No one would say that me not shipping that is a comment on the shippers.
In general, if a person is saying "I don't like this ship" that's not the same as saying "YOU can't like the ship." But if someone is going to say "freedom of speech" applies to shipping (🙄) then it also applies to criticism of that ship. So for me, I like the dynamics of serious ships to be more equal and less creepy. If you don't, okay! You're free to talk about that but you don't need to come to ME and act like I'm stopping you from doing anything. Anyway: Bingqiu is funny though. You have to give it that.
#I mean this also gets into what we mean with about what 'shipping' people is. Thinking their dynamic is interesting? or#like you want them to be together? For mdzs I say a post talking about how chengyao are basically divorced/co-parenting a kid#in jin ling and that IS an interesting dynamic and it would be funny in a modern AU for people to think they're together because they're#situation of 'our siblings died so now we are splitting custody of our nephew' is so wild that of course people would be like#'oh you're not together? you're divorced?' which is funny because Jiang Cheng would hate it and Jin Gaungyao as SO much hang-ups#but like do I SHIP it? not really. Would I read a modern AU chengyao fic like that? It would depend on the protrayal of JGY#and his crimes and whether or not I thought at the end it would be healthy. But will I reblog a hilarious meta about it? Will I say#'lol yeah'? Would I read a non-shipping fic of it exploring that dynamic? Would I even read a brief comedic fan comic about it? Yeah#So then what does it all mean? What does any of this all mean? I think having specific definitions of shipping that are NOT all#encompassing would be helpful for these discussions. It's like the pro-ship vs anti thing. Those terms are meaningless. This is not a#true dichotomy but a specturm that people fall on and assuming a 'universal' stance wrt to these things makes all discussion#pointless and asinine. We should go back to critical thinking/dicussions and not 'what team are you on' type discourse#Anyway I might make a Bingqiu Thought post one day. Centered around 1.) Binghe dates his abuser and has no friends#2.) Shen Yuan's consent/interest is often extremely questionable#3.) LBH is low-key manipulative (acting sad and pathetic to get what he wants etc) but never acknowledge this#4.) the way that Bingqiu literally solves the plot is unsatisfying to me because it's external rather than internal#One day these thoughts will come to light
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