#i think theyre cute i do find them compelling but imo there are missed opportunities also its not really my kind of love story anyway

[mousehole5000]

also i can never figure exactly out where i land on hua/lian. on the one hand theyre literally a god and a believer so obviously undying devotion is going to be a HUGE part of their relationship. but theyre also two characters with agency who dont really feel equally developed to me and it feels unfair to hc imo. i do like their dynamic a lot they just genuinely like each other i think its sweet. on the one hand its great for xl to have someone who loves and accepts him unconditionally and its great for hc to want to give that to him. theyre a god and a ghost it honestly makes a lot of sense that their relationship played out the way it did with a ghost clinging to his love and a god being the object of that love. on the other hand idk i think it would have been an interesting story, if a different one, if it explored the effects of waiting and waiting and building up someone in your mind vs finally meeting them and having to deal with the reality of them as a person in your life. or maybe if hc did go through a crisis of faith while he waited and searched. what would that look like? how would that have been resolved? i think that would be neat. neither is as simple or straightforward as just “you tell someone about your worst regrets in life and they already know and accept you anyway” which is fine and i 100% get the appeal of that. but i just think there could be so much more. and i think themes of expectations vs reality could fit in pretty well, theres already stuff in there about storytelling and reality and complicated friendships full of conflicting feelings i think it could work