tiana and shang are really just breaking my heart. i completely understand tiana’s hesitance to return to her usual friendliness with shang, but actually seeing it made me realize that she doesn’t get to do that with many people at all, and she lost more than just a good friend; she lost one of her few outlets for silliness and fun and everything else that every person needs. we haven’t really seen her socialize much outside of her close-knit circle, but after seeing shang rather-suddenly leave this already small circle of hers, followed by tiana struggling to respect the boundaries set by him as well as the ones she’s undoubtedly set for herself, it became really clear that their friendship wasn’t just a touchstone for romance, but so much more.
shang was someone who tiana could be herself with, which doesn’t sound like much, but i’m sure it meant the world to her when she didn’t have very many others to truly bond with. he didn’t just ask her for advice every time they conveniently bumped into one another; he didn’t view her with disdain whenever she shared a joke that toed the line between friendly and just barely approaching mean; he made time for her, and made sure she knew that he cared for her opinion; and perhaps most importantly of all, he took her seriously without viewing her as either a person of authority or a child. it seems like a lot of her peers either go to her just to confide in her or ask for her advice, or are plain irritated by her outspokenness, viewing her as something of a blank slate outside of when she’s giving her opinion. shang made it clear from the beginning that he respected her as a person, and admired her for all of the above—her wisdom and trustworthiness, as well as her outspokenness—and more.
i’m just really sad that she had to lose that person in her life, and i’m equally as sad that shang doesn’t realize that he can still be that person, and take joy in her joy as well as in their shared friendship without crossing any lines.
This was probably sent years ago (that’s how backlogged my asks are), but the analysis is so spot-on and so sweet that I had to post it.
I couldn’t agree more. This is exactly why I feel so bad for Tiana when Shang blocks her out. I completely understand his reasons for keeping his walls up, but she has so few outlets where she can truly be herself. I love how you highlighted that so many people rely on her for advice or expect her to be the mature one. But with Shang? She actually gets to be—confident yet nervous, assured yet uncertain, responsible yet playful. She gets to show all sides of herself with him. And the same goes for him with her.
THAT’S WHY THEY MAKE ME SO SAD.
Ugh, thank you for this. Now I’m spiraling about Tiang all over again, but in the best way.
