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6. Favourite character
This probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who's interacted with me for even 5 minutes, but: Shen Wei. Don't get me wrong, Zhao Yunlan is amazing, but his type of character (brilliant, manipulative, rude and stubborn-to-a-fault but a true hero at heart) I tend to love with my head more than with my heart. My heart, on the other hand, belonged to Shen Wei ever since the first episode. And since I'm quite fond of lists, here are some of the reasons I'm so partial to him:
1. His unfailing love for and devotion to Zhao Yunlan, which has very little to do with lust or even romantic love, as such. This doesn't mean I doubt that he's in love with Yunlan, because he obviously is, but at the same time, I don't think it matters to him whether Yunlan loves him back or not; he'll always stand by his side and protect him no matter what. I find that amazing, and not just when it comes to Shen Wei/Guardian: whenever a character like him appears in a work of fiction they become my instant favourite.
2. The moral conflict between his duties as the impartial Black-Cloaked Envoy and his desire to protect Haixing/Zhao Yunlan at all costs, which leads him to make some very questionable decisions sometimes. Plus his overall struggle to balance his newfound selfish desire with his god-knows-how-many years of devotion to duty and duty alone. But then the moments with Butler Wu, Zheng Yi, Wang Yike, Ye Huo and even the Shadow Man where we see his compassion shine through. All like catnip to me!
3. His dedication to doing right, regardless of the personal cost to himself. (I may have a not-so-secret kink for self-sacrifice in the name of duty/a worthy cause)
4. That he actually apologises when he's in the wrong. I mean, Shen Wei as the Envoy apologised to Da Qing for what he did to Da Ji. He absolutely didn't need to, but he did. (This is something Zhao Yunlan can definitely stand to learn from Shen Wei, if you ask me!)
5. His powers and all his BAMF moments. Shallow, maybe, but by the gods it's awesome watching him when he's in full-on Envoy mode, especially when he does it without changing outfits! Just... *Wolf whistles* They actually didn't use his Dixing ability to its full potential, imo, and that was pretty sad.
6. His rare moments of sassiness, so much more precious than if he were sarcastic and rude all the time. Special mention goes to the interrogation at the beginning of the face-stealer arc!
7. And to prove that I can be even shallower: his looks. I've always had a fondness for delicately beautiful characters with shy smiles who're actually the biggest badasses (this is one of the reasons I originally got into East Asian fiction - so many sweetly pretty guys and girls who can let loose like anything when you try their patience!) and Shen Wei is a perfect example. The owlish nerd glasses are a very welcome bonus.
This probably doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who's interacted with me for even 5 minutes, but: Shen Wei. Don't get me wrong, Zhao Yunlan is amazing, but his type of character (brilliant, manipulative, rude and stubborn-to-a-fault but a true hero at heart) I tend to love with my head more than with my heart. My heart, on the other hand, belonged to Shen Wei ever since the first episode. And since I'm quite fond of lists, here are some of the reasons I'm so partial to him:
1. His unfailing love for and devotion to Zhao Yunlan, which has very little to do with lust or even romantic love, as such. This doesn't mean I doubt that he's in love with Yunlan, because he obviously is, but at the same time, I don't think it matters to him whether Yunlan loves him back or not; he'll always stand by his side and protect him no matter what. I find that amazing, and not just when it comes to Shen Wei/Guardian: whenever a character like him appears in a work of fiction they become my instant favourite.
2. The moral conflict between his duties as the impartial Black-Cloaked Envoy and his desire to protect Haixing/Zhao Yunlan at all costs, which leads him to make some very questionable decisions sometimes. Plus his overall struggle to balance his newfound selfish desire with his god-knows-how-many years of devotion to duty and duty alone. But then the moments with Butler Wu, Zheng Yi, Wang Yike, Ye Huo and even the Shadow Man where we see his compassion shine through. All like catnip to me!
3. His dedication to doing right, regardless of the personal cost to himself. (I may have a not-so-secret kink for self-sacrifice in the name of duty/a worthy cause)
4. That he actually apologises when he's in the wrong. I mean, Shen Wei as the Envoy apologised to Da Qing for what he did to Da Ji. He absolutely didn't need to, but he did. (This is something Zhao Yunlan can definitely stand to learn from Shen Wei, if you ask me!)
5. His powers and all his BAMF moments. Shallow, maybe, but by the gods it's awesome watching him when he's in full-on Envoy mode, especially when he does it without changing outfits! Just... *Wolf whistles* They actually didn't use his Dixing ability to its full potential, imo, and that was pretty sad.
6. His rare moments of sassiness, so much more precious than if he were sarcastic and rude all the time. Special mention goes to the interrogation at the beginning of the face-stealer arc!
7. And to prove that I can be even shallower: his looks. I've always had a fondness for delicately beautiful characters with shy smiles who're actually the biggest badasses (this is one of the reasons I originally got into East Asian fiction - so many sweetly pretty guys and girls who can let loose like anything when you try their patience!) and Shen Wei is a perfect example. The owlish nerd glasses are a very welcome bonus.
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Date: 2019-09-29 10:55 pm (UTC)From:Yes. *sigh* All of the above! ♥ Shen Wei! ♥
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Date: 2019-09-30 09:38 am (UTC)From:Btw - how is that friend of yours you posted about on sid guardian doing? Did she come around to ZYL, or is she still a SW fan? I must say, it made me rather happy to have someone join our ranks, lol.
no subject
Date: 2019-10-01 02:55 am (UTC)From:Btw - how is that friend of yours you posted about on sid guardian doing? Did she come around to ZYL, or is she still a SW fan?
She's still more a Shen Wei fan but now that we've finished through episode 20, she can see there's more to Zhao Yunlan than she was giving him credit for. She's gone back to rewatch some of the earlier episodes with new eyes. Shen Wei's character and the (so far - for her) heavy hints about his past are catnip to her, though. It's very fun to watch her reactions!