PERFECTION & ETERNAL LOVE.
As I'm writing — it is 14:40 October 21st, and hello, Radiant Sun. I've always had a huge interest in shipping and character pairings, I think it's my favourite way of character analysis, outside of actual analysis, of course.
I don't really know if I have a specific trope that I like outside of anything that involves Divinity in some way, not that I can really tell. I like a horrific amount of yearning and a sprinkle of eternal love at the very end in my stuff though. I don't really care for love myself, not that it matters, really. Sometimes I find the idea of eternal love corny, yet I can't help but cheer with glowsticks whenever I think of it with my favourite stuff.
Which is why this is the annual SuiLan ramble of the current moment on this bearblog, by me. Featuring the coherence of 10 migraines. May be updated whenever I have thoughts, I love talking about stuff nobody cares about.
SuiLan, FlintLan, FLan (🍮) — Whatever you want to call it, is one of my all time favourite pairings. I think everything that goes on with Them is really beautiful in a way, I guess it's a shame it's one of the least known ships that involve Lan — but, I think a part of its charm is how niche it is.
In canon, I think They are a very complex pairing — like any other pairing you'd get with the Aeons, to be fair. There is just, an odd layer of more complexity that They have with eachother more than anybody.
“The Mountains and Rivers are shaken by the Wingweavers, The Xianzhou and Heliobi must cross this bridge hand-in-hand. You were exiled to the inferno, but now you can join me, to cleanse these monsters from our land”
I think the vow made between Them is beautiful, I have it memorised, It is a core part of me — embarrassingly.
“The Heroes must give to the Heliobi Supreme ⸻ Bodies forged into Perfection.”
I think it is beautiful the idea of Reignbow's body being forged into perfection — I think the whole schtick They have with the idea of perfection is, perfect. I have no other way to describe it.
In a way, The Aeons are meant to perfect the concept They present — I mean, They are the Embodiment of said concept — Why wouldn't They perfect it? The Aeons are embodiments of Their concepts to the very extreme of it, and the Heliobi search for a perfect vessel for Them to take place in.
“No matter how many bodies it steals, its wish remains unfulfilled. Like those who seek the medicines of immortality, it craves an imperishable vessel, one that will rid it of its fear of destruction. And yet, it knows this is a dream that will never come true.”
Both Lan and Suiyang, are perfect in Their very own ways, and I love that about Them, I love everything about Them. thank you SuiLan founding father whose tweets I came across on twitter months ago, if not for you, I wouldn't have found peak.
I find the yearn for perfection to be quite odd, because, there's simply no way for the human being to achieve such a thing — we can, however, be what we find perfect. But it's nowhere near actual perfection, then again, we can always believe it is. Maybe it is these things that make us what we are — who we are.
I think Suiyang and Lan's imperfections are what make Them perfect — Their relationships have always started out rocky to me, maybe They still are in the current moment! maybe the storms will clear upon Them, you really never know. Especially in canon, you really never know.
Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I like the idea that — “Bodies forged into Perfection.” — basically means Suiyang and Lan complete eachother, I don't want to say that They are not perfect without eachother, but if the nature of Star Rail pairings tells me that, I'll take it.
Still, I like that They are eachothers halves, funnily enough — inline with a lot of Aeon pairings that exist. If Suiyang tried just a little more They'd ascend to Aeonhood, I swear it. If They get put on endless hitlists over it I won't do shit, Because you know what?
I think Their relationship is just, really interesting. I like how it is stated that the Zhuming, the ship that Imprisons Suiyang, is under the influence of Lan — and that the Heliobi are able to coexist with mortals. I like that Lan's lux arrows are the powers of Suiyang, Did you know that They technically parallel Lan and Their own generals that way?
I've had a lot of thoughts about Them, but I've mostly talked about thoughts on canon SuiLan. What about any fanon I've made? I don't even know if I can get into it and not make this 2 times longer than it already is, and who knows what bullshit I put onto the table.
Anyways, In a project that is a rewritten combination between Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and The Elder Scrolls (Yes, those three together) SuiLan's relationship, is yearnful, to say the least.
⠀ ⸻ The trope ( 🏹 Dies in every timeline × 🔥 Watches them die ) is probably one of the biggest things in it. "probably" I say, like Suiyang wasn't written to have passed countless Finalities to have a perfect one with Lan.
- "What?" Same. I don't know how I write anything, a main thing in this rewrite is Eternal Reccurrences — The universe itself was created with a goal to bring back Akivili, How did Suiyang get hooked into it? Reignbow.
- A small (i doubt digestible) explanation to how the two of Them met in the first place is that, They simply ran into eachother. Suiyang, the Progenitor of all Heliobi, was naught but a fugitive who is hiding from a monarchy — having killed the monarch by feeding off their energy. While Lan or, Reignbow, is just a Hunter minding Their business and going about Their day to day life.
- Reignbow met Suiyang in the middle of nowhere and despite being a skilled Hunter, knew no better but offer to let Them stay at Their place — unaware of Suiyang's situation, at least, that's what it seems to be.
- During Their stay, Suiyang was practically exposed to the first feelings of human love in Their whole entire life — it felt foreign, it felt new, yet, They welcomed that feeling. They welcomed the treatment Reignbow was giving Them, even though They knew Reignbow would be in grave danger if people were to even learn about Them.
- On one of the later nights, Suiyang was gifted a plain white robe, and an odd red knot. Reignbow said that it may not mean a lot to Them, and that it is okay if They threw it away. During Their time together, the two grew closer than ever — probably more than what you can call friends. Maybe they can be called friends, are They friends, though? What were They to eachother in those very moments?
- A while after that night, Reignbow died. Murdered as punishment for being suspected of holding Suiyang even with the condition. Suiyang, did not understand that. Did not understand why They "left."
- Long after Reignbow's death, Suiyang still held onto the stuff They gave to Them — the White Robe, and the Mystic Knot — angered, upset, They would come to Reignbow's grave and vent it all away. Before one night, at the end of time, They saw the purple flowers of the Finality and followed them to the next one.
- The cycle continues, until the very ending, where They could get Their happy ending.
⠀ ⸻ In all those Finalities, Suiyang comes across whole different lives with a whole different Reignbow — yet, the same one They met before. In other words,
"in another life, you were an art model and i was an artist. we eventually started to work together, I'd draw you endlessly, pristine and pure of detail. in your death, my drawings crumble, they became lost, i had no one to draw, i could not bear to paint another person but you. so i continued to paint, even if the only thing i remember then was the shape of your face. when time almost ended, my last canvas was naught but a piece of grief."
"in another life, you and i were together, sharing a bed in a palace. i was holding your hand, brushing against the ring on your finger, while you slept, your breath on my neck. i never wanted it to be over."
"in another life, you were naught but a dumb sailor in a boat, and i was a creature in the mother's tears. at night, you'd sit on the edge, and I'd come up to see you. we talked, forever and ever about the things that never even crossed our minds, the more we knew eachother, the more we became closer — such as the mortal nature. at one night, I'd bring you into the depths myself, make you watch something i crafted just for you. we vowed to be together, i was happy — thinking i finally found my life, until morning came. when the captain of your ship took us away from eachother."
"In another life, I was a poet, I had written of you endlessly, as you are, always, my muse."
- Old musings of the timeline where Suiyang was an artist — Reignbow as Their muse include;
- i like to think Suiyang paints on small and just average sized canvases prior to Reignbow's passing, so in a way — when They look away from it They'll be somewhat at eye level with Reignbow, sometimes looking up at Them, signifying just how much Suiyang holds Them in high regard.
- after Reignbow's death, Suiyang paints on bigger canvasses. when They look away, especially when working on upper parts of it, They'll be looking down at where Reignbow would usually be. Reignbow is below Them, or rather, deep below dirt — where They're buried, if They're buried at all.
There are, endless, other things that I've written of this pairing in the setting of this project, and I have a completely different one at hand. It would, probably be preferred if I just put these in a separate entry, but I couldn't be bothered. This can also just act as an archive for it, as I don't know how secure discord servers and even google documents can be.
I post about my stuff on Tumblr occasionally, but I really don't have much confidence to fully put it out there. So, yeah! a little too long of a ramble about SuiLan. By the time I am done writing the base entry, it has 21:48 on the same day.