The Appreciation Station

We could have had it all, folks. They denied us this and now it's my job to deliver. ✊️😔

1) if you make nsfw works tag your work with the usual "#tbhx women week" tag, but also tag it with "tbhx women week nsfw" just for organization sake (this has been edited into the pinned post)

AHU STAINED GLASS!!! My sister wanted to see an Ahu stained glass and gave me some composition ideas, and I was inspired by one of them so I was finally able to make a new stained glass piece! Note: I dunno how to draw chunky little dogs (or dogs in general) lol but I had fun making this!

Ahu is so cute. I can't believe the fat old dog is ranked fourth for me. Seven human heroes rank below a fat old dog in my heart. That is kind of absurd. He was in two episodes. I love this hardboiled gent so much. He is so underrated.

Next month, from July 12 to the 25th, let's celebrate our wonderful ladies of TBHX! The tag will #tbhx women week

Gen or ship, SFW or NSFW: for the generally, anything is welcome!

Late submissions will be accepted for another 2 weeks—up until August 8th!

I've already yapped a lot in my own posts/asks about this but I want to hear what others have to say about it too. What are your thoughts on Shang Chao and Xia Qing both as individuals and regarding their relationships to/dynamics between the two of them and Yang Cheng?

Apologies if this is something you've spoken about before on your blog, I have an awful memory (but I've been religiously following the tbhx tag since spring last year so I almost definitely would have seen it at some point if you did lol).

Hi @duckirubb3r 👋

I have loosely talked about how I view Yang cheng, shang chao, and Xia Qing as a trio when the E-soul arc was initially airing! However, your ask has made me realise that I haven't directly talked about them at length afterwards, so thank you for giving me the opportunity to expand on my thoughts.

It's important to note that Xia Qing and Shang Chao act as direct contrasts to one another and, as a result, have very different impacts on Yang cheng as a character.

Shang chao is ambitious, too ambitious, might I say. He is the accelerator. He creates the plans and drives them forward almost instantly. In his own haze and desire for success, it seems like he forgets to run things over with yang cheng and Xia Qing. He assumes that Yang Cheng will be fine with trying to reach the commission leaderboards. He assumes that Yang cheng will be okay with him becoming his manager and partner. He assumes a lot of things and doesn't actually go to confirm them, but he chooses to move forward when he doesn't see an obstacle in sight. It's that kind of behaviour that made many view him in an unfavourable light in episode 5 (its not the full story as to why but a key contributing factor that I feel some may overlook when acknowledging that Yang cheng's unreliable narration also played a part). Shang chao is the epitome of the perfect male citizen. It's why Yang cheng envies him because Shang Chao represents the things he doesn't have, the things that society robbed from him. Shang chao has connections, he has the funds, he has the ideas, he has the courage, he has the spirit, and he has everything all the good cards handed to him by fate. However, that's only Yang cheng's biased view of Shang chao, and while shang chao does present himself in that manner, his interactions hint to more than what meets the surface. Even though shang chao is comfortable, he still wants more. He wants to differentiate himself. He wants to earn something that is his and that he can rightfully claim. When Xia Qing compliemented him and his experience, he chooses to dismiss that and highlight that this was only possible due to his father's connections. While Shang chao's ambition can make him nearsighted and oblivious, he isn't as ignorant as we first assume him to be. He seems aware to an extent about his own privilege and wants to change that but ironically his changes to make a name for himself still come from his father's connection and privilege as shown by his knowledge, him renting the warehouse, his technology and his own legal support. It's a shame we don't get to learn more about Shang chao. Does he fully know about his father? Is there a deeper reason as to why he wants a name for himself? He doesn't bring about his father's name directly, so is that a hint to a strained relationship? Does shang chao want to be a different CEO than his father? Is that the reason why he sought Yang cheng and made an effort to include Yang cheng and Xia Qing as friends by getting them tickets to Lucky Cyan's concert?

I actually think that Shang chao's thought process surrounding his father and his nepotism also manifest in his advice towards Yang cheng. He actively states that he doesn't believe that Yang cheng is doing anything wrong by taking the E-soul identity and that he should use it as a 'leg up', an advantage to help him differentiate himself and become his own E-soul aka his own hero. That line of thought seems so similar to how he approaches his own outlook with his father and desires to expand his project.

(More elaboration on shang chao vs Xia Qing's thought process surrounding E-soul and yang cheng here!)

The more that's revealed about Shang De, the more I come to realise how much of a mystery shang Chao's character really is.

On another note, I don't really see Shang chao asking Xia Qing out. I know that it's been stated that it happened in Canon, but ironically, we only get 2 scenes where Xia qing and Shang chao are interacting, and one of them has Little polemo included. However, I personally believe that Shang chao was poly and pansexual, so 🤷‍♀️

Moving on to Xia Qing! In a world where everyone seeks the thrill of being a hero and wants to be at the top, she is an outlier. Xia Qing is rational. She is observant, but most importantly, she is someone who sticks to her core no matter the circumstances. She is unlike any other in this series to me. She is the only one who we are shown with a sibling (I find it ironic how we have had multiple representations of a variety of relationships, but siblings aren't one of them) and I find her relationship with little polemo quite underrated. The show implies that she is the primary caretaker for little polemo since their parents travel a lot for work. This huge responsibility clearly shapes who she is as a character. Her ability to stay calm and rational in extreme situations further contributes to her actions, showing just how responsible she is. If shang chao is an optimist, Xia Qing is a realist. She is the most down to earth character who is able to maintain sanity when the world is against her. She is logical in telling yang cheng to back down from his fight. She is logical in her rebuttal against E-soul's management team. She is logical in pointing out flaws or concerns in shang chao's plans. Her realistic attitudes protect her in the series. She chooses not to engage in danger. She has a form of self-preservation that's admirable in a reckless and fast driven society. While many are changed and altered by external circumstances, which end up breaking or making them as people, Xia Qing remains exactly who she is at her core and sticks to the plans and ideas she has. She tells Yang cheng that she won't stay if he doesn't have the courage to be himself, and she follows on with that promise even if it breaks her.

Xia Qing is also an observer. She observes the situation prior to acting, and it's a key defining character with her relationship with Yang cheng (shang chao is the opposite). Xia Qing waits for yang cheng to make a decision. She waits for him to act and only nudges him if she deems it necessary. Although she slowly recognises that the man behind the mask is yang cheng, she doesn't point it out directly, unlike Shang chao. Her method of acting is interesting to me, allowing events to play out naturally instead of taking a controlling reign on them. Even though the world around her changes, Xia Qing remains a constant in her own life. Similar to shang chao, Xia Qing's thought process manifests in her own beliefs surrounding the E-soul controversy, and I do hope to see her play an active role in season 2. I wouldn't be surprised that through her observations and high emotional intelligence, if Xia Qing realised or later on came to the realisation about who Rock was and Yang cheng's manipulation. I wouldn't be surprised if she took on a more active role in season 2 functioning under the radar, but being an important presence nonetheless. She is a victim to Rock, and I do hope that she also gains her own justice considering all that she has gone through.

Another important thing to me about Xia Qing is her reaction to the E-soul fight. It's highly likely that the last time she saw or spoke to Yang cheng was during their argument at the beach. I doubt that she would have talked to yang cheng before his fight. Throughout the fights progression, we never see Yang cheng watching the fight. She fully goes to the lucky cyan concert and chooses to mourn both yang cheng and shang chao. I enjoyed both yang cheng and Xia Qing's expressions of grief and how the show intentionally mirrors these two. After yang cheng's final punch, we never see his face again, and after Xia Qing's heartwrenching sobs, we also never see her again. There's an empty presence that the audience has to focus on, and it's how these two characters have drifted apart abandoning what they once were (in yang cheng case) or their environment (Xia Qing). While many look at the climax of episode 7 as a Yang Cheng transformation scene, I also believe that it's a Xia Qing transformation scene as these two leave their shared pasts behind, both greving the loss of shang chao in their unique ways. While both might try and avoid the past or hide it, I doubt that they will ger far as season 2 brings them to positions where they wouldn't want to be in. I never interpreted Xia Qing leaving the concert as her being content, but as she acknowledged that she has to move on. She is practical, and she will continue to live and carry on the story no matter what.

Anyways, I love 3-soul!! They deserved so much better 😔

So far we’ve gotten 30 Artist signups! That’s incredible!

And with so many of you saying you could do some additional spot art, that’s shaping up to be SO MUCH art for our Author’s amazing fics!!

The sign-ups are still open and will remain open until May 18th, so if you’re an artist who wants a little push to draw something new, or who wants to celebrate TBHX with some collab works, there’s still plenty of time to join us!

This is not an accept/deny event; everyone is welcome! You’ll tell us how much you feel capable of drawing, and what interests you the most. Then, the mod team matches you to our Author’s submitted pitches.