xiaolan thoughts
originally scribbled 5 june 2022
this was originally scribbled a few days after the final part of the xiao chasm quest was released, and i saw some people shipping xiao n yelan on my dash, n i needed to articulate why i felt like romantic xiaolan was a misinterpretation of their dynamic.
the impression that i get from xiao n yelan is smth like a senpai who's been through that wringer n journey n is now out the other side, determined to prevent anything similar from happening under their watch (yelan), n kouhai who knows they're in a bad place/position, but has already resigned themselves to their bad fate (xiao).
i think that xiao is willing to listen to her, but not get close to her personally. i think she wants to reach out to him bc that's the kind of person she is. stubborn n to the point-- not at all what he needs personality-wise, but in terms of things he needs to hear? she hits the goddamn bull's eye.
yet, i can't help but to feel like her communication style will keep her from ever becoming someone personally significant to xiao. n i hope she's okay with that. i'm sure she finds it worth it, as it serves a greater good of keeping someone else alive.
essentially, i think they wouldn't go out of their way to cross each other's paths. they're more of a ships passing in the night kind of deal than beacons in each others' lives. yelan intervenes when she deems it necessary, n nothing more.