N刺客玖INE

I RAMBLE A LOOOT AND REPEAT MYSELF but its super long so i dont wanna fix everything

I was talking to my friend about seven and thirteens relationship, and she was giving me the reasons she wasn't entirely fond with it

Seven sort of just kisses her in season 1

There isnt a duration of time where Seven can recognize how he feels towards her, he kind of just begins liking her because she's pretty

Seven is very forgiving and is never upset with her for how she treats him early on

It can still feel a bit one sided and rushed

I agree with a lot of these things, and my only excuse would be that because the first season was more comedic, thirteen was introduced to be a funny love interest and seven is lovestruck for giggles. This sort of stumped them from the start. Even when the tone shifts later, it feels rushed because there is no duration we get between them where they can grow to like each other. Later seasons kind of fix this because it becomes serious, but the problem is that their dynamic grows WHEN seven already likes her, and thirteen begins liking him. I'm glad the writing progresses later on for their relationship, but it's still rushed when seven already instantly liked her when he saw her.  The only development from here on out is the two getting to know each other even more after the fact. Theres a lot of weight behind their actions from this development, but I do agree it could be conveyed better. It's good that seven developed from liking her for being pretty to admiring her skills as an assassin, but it would have been better if he acknowledged these things before falling head over heels. 

I acknowledge that seven is extremely kind and overly forgiving, but I agree that it also would have been nice for him to have some sort of resolve with thirteen. Ive ranted earlier on why i believe seven was so chill when she stabbed him, and these evaluations I do are why I am able to enjoy the ship so much, because I enjoy finding reasoning behind this kind of stuff. Because the show doesn't exactly convey this stuff thoroughly, I understand why it could be easy to dislike them, and why their relationship could appear rushed. I think there could have been some instances where he was just a little upset and wary of thirteen. Im content with the steps taken to fix this, such as seven and thirteen protecting eachother, fighting together, and etc because it gives more reason on why they would like eachother, but I would also understand if this didn't sway people, because the most important part of a romance development is the duration taken to get to this stage. This development happens when seven already likes her, but it would be a lot better if he had this kind of development before liking her, because it could come across as seven only doing these things for her because he has a crush. This growth is good on thirteens part because these actions taken or what slowly caused her to like seven, but for seven he's been doing this from the start, seemingly for no reason. (I understand he protects her follows her etc for deeper reasoning, but it isnt exactly conveyed in the show unless you search deeper.)

One of the problems I had myself is that I thought they would fix the problem of seven immediately being lovestruck in season 4, Seven tells thirteen he is dangerous to be around, but he never acts upon these words. (Besides running away from the campfire for like 30 minutes.) He still follows her blindly and stays around her despite even becoming wanted in season 5. I could understand all this due to sevens personality and because he is known to be stubborn, but i still understand why people would find this dumb.

I think a way this could have been fixed is if seven acted on the knowledge he is being hunted. Thirteen would grow distant due to needing to save green phoenix and fulfilling his mission, and instead of seven following her in order to help her, he casts aside his feelings for a bit to protect her (because the whole country is after him now.) I think this would have paved a way earlier on if he did distance himself in seasons 4-5  after fighting blackbird for the two to get a proper duration of time to realize they kind of need each other. If this had happened, it'd give way in the newer seasons for them to eventually spark and new flame with sevens current character development instead, which i think would be super cool (this is very hard to explain but basically because sevens life is becoming more serious, hes sort of more cold and not as careless as he was in season 1. With this newer personality of his it'd make interactions with he and thirteen more meaningful than in season 1, and itd kind of be a fresh start for them i guess??) i do believe in seasons 6-7 they'll still develop in this way of better interactions because seven is a lot more mature now, just without a duration of seven temporarily losing feelings. (THIS IS JUST MY THEORY BTWWW just something i brought up to my friend on how they could figure out a way for it to be less rushed) The only reason i bring this up is because when i spoke about it with my friend, her biggest issue is not the current development they get, but how it isnt all that meaningful to her because seven had only begun liking her for being pretty.

I feel like a good example is when Seven tells thirteen in season 3, "Just go, you don't have to protect me, we barely know each other." This would have been really good if A: this conversation happened in season 1 before he liked her, or B: He acted upon these words in seasons 3-4 and distanced himself a bit?? If that makes sense. If they got a bit of distance on behalf of seven in season 5 the development in 6-7 could be sky rocketing but Im aware it'd also be a little dumb because its kind of like a refresh to their relationship in the middle of the series, but i also think itd be good development for it being "rushed"

A cool aspect of seven growing as a character would be for him to realize hes dangerous to be around and build some walls, instead of the cycle of them finding eachother in battle and protecting eachother, just to separate again afterwards, and then he and thirteen could slowly and properly make their way back towards eachother (this is what i wished had happened because theres no time for this anymore HAHA)

As the show gets more serious i hope they develop them more, but its kind of hard to not make it seemed rushed when they already like each other, i think they tried to fix it with 13 running away to save green phoenix, but even then it would have been a nice chance to have seven evaluate his feelings as his life becomes more hectic. The biggest issue I have is the constant cycle of meeting, protecting each other, then leaving.

Like father, like son.

Not just the colors but their circumstances too? (And im basing nezha and ao bing based off of the movie) nezha and ao bing meeting over saving a girl from a sea monster, mobai saving jasmine from a dragon, the list goes on. Their relationship looked down on because nezha is a cursed demon and ao bing is a DRAGON prince? Mo lang hated due to the blood demon and Bai qi becoming king? I would have assumed they were based off the former. The personalities match up really good as well LMAO

both duos are eventually forced to clash due to manipulation, (shen gongbao and aite probably) and coincidentally, both duos get accused of being "brothers" instead of having an (implied??) relationship. Ao bing is burdened with the dragon clan while Bai qi is burdened to Stan, while Nezha and ML are outlawed and feared due to their powers.

both present a super similar emotional core in having a soulmate (platonic or not) who only understands them. One of the points of Nezha is that destiny does not define who you are, and as bwtd continues to be written i feel itll follow the same path. The greatest struggles in both franchises come from expectations beyond the characters control, instead of a personal hatred between the two :,,)

Have a quick, happy Qing Wa and read Tides of Time on AO3!!

Also have some headcanons regarding Seven's Qi

Hehehhe here's Qing Wa's boyfriend, Liu Xing! Isn't he cute?

Color guide!

Find an 11 year old girl? Raise her for 6 years for your master plan of overthrowing the leader. Its a little crazy to become a guardian for six whole years just to make the leader believe you mastered a sword technique, but hey, hes a man with a plan. Perfection takes time.

your old coworker is back from the dead? Dont panic!! Have your disciple kill him for you.

Oh shit. They fell in love. Thats okay, immediately find a way to use him for your overthrowing plan. Even if that means sending him on a wild goose chase to another country, only for you to stab him and have him get jumped by 40 different people. Its all coming together in phoenix's plethora of cards up his sleeve. Dont even threaten or force the guy to go either. He'll do it for the sake of his existential crisis.

Just as you think of this conundrum, your bitch coworker redtooth mildy inconveniences you by trying to kill him because he has unresolved feelings for his girlfriend 10 years ago. Fuck, this always happens! So you kill him. There seems to be a pattern of Phoenix's plans getting fucked up due to characters falling in love.

their backstory has a lot of implications - there's a lot of weight behind their actions. but inherently, it's not all that deep. it was summed up in one episode. it isn't that deep, because the girl in white isn't that deep. her relationship with seven cannot be deeper than thirteen's with seven, because she was nothing else but a ploy for seven. she was nobody, and the only thing she would ever do that would matter is the plan. which, mind you, the intent from the start was always to eliminate him - regardless of how she chose to execute that in the end.

thirteen's relationship with seven is not built off of that. it is built off the first action she takes in the pilot episode: saving him, inadvertently or not, from a robot trying to kill him. this instantly proves her capacity for empathy, her unwillingness to stand aside and let things run their course. it proves she is capable of saving someone, even if it's not a choice she'd make on purpose right now. and above that, 'saving' somebody for thirteen would always mean protecting them.

for the girl in white, it never was. she 'saved' seven by 'killing' him - the girl in white did not have the will, nor power, nor want to defy the odds. because she was nobody and nothing except for the plan. the girl in white takes the easy way out - the way that she 'saves' seven isn't entirely what he would've wanted - yes, the current seven thanks her for this opportunity, but the past seven would never have chosen this. he would have fought for her. because that's what mattered most to seven - past and present.

seven and thirteen are able to trust each other, fight for each other, often blindly choosing each other over unimaginable ramifications.