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// the burning god spoilers

I’m a fan of both relationships (platonic, romantic, whatever) so I hope to provide a balanced view l.

There are many similarities between Venka and Nezha. Both come from wealthy families, both have pale skin and undeniable beauty. Both of them begin as Rin’s enemies in school.

Throughout the series Nezha is given more attention since Venka is often away from the plots location. There’s also this:

[image description: a screen shot of a tweet by @venkaes . The tweet says “RF Kuang replied to my question and said there was a scene in tbg where rinvenka shared a bed in a cave and ended up kissing? And they had a quiet moment where they commiserated over their shared experiences and all of this was cut for pacing reasons I’m-“]

So we can conclude that if Venka had been given more chances be with Rin, like Kuang originally planned, their bond might have surpassed Rin and Nezha’s. I’m saying this because Venka chose Rin over her family/ duty as an aristocrat. Nezha did not. 

Though one could argue that the fire vs water, speerly vs Yin, “history repeats itself” symbolism for Rin and Nezha is there to establish them as the main couple, since the thematic cohesion makes perfect sense. And that’s totally valid!

Additionally both Nezha and Venka were willing to make huge sacrifices for Rin. Venka died saving her from the assassin, and Rin agreed to burn the Mugenese after reuniting with Venka at the end of tpw. Nezha gave up a nation to give her victory during the final battle against the dragon of Arlong.