this ask made me think about Lan Qiren, and his line at the end of the novel lamenting what had become of his two perfect pupils. something about “paired jades” instead of “twin” suggests a duo that were polished and cut in order to be paired together, rather than being born that way. made to be this flawless duo that could sit at the front of the Lan clan and maybe distract from anything that happened in the past.
and THAT has got me thinking about the passivity of the image overall: two perfect stones in a case, unlike the twin heroes/prides of Yunmeng, who are obviously deliberately playing on that image but in a way that emphasises their activity, the things they’ll do to earn that title.
which makes me think of Lan Qiren again, and the second part of that thought, which is something like “who never caused him any worry.” they’re just meant to sit there and be lovely and polished and not trouble anyone or anything.