Aug 3
This story had me crying in my car. Beautiful.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
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This story had me crying in my car. Beautiful.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
been awhile since i’ve posted one of these but i was going through old photos and found this
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan Additional Tags: Rain, Established Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Fluff and Angst, Domestic Fluff, Kissing in the Rain, Soft Zhao Yunlan, Soft Shen Wei (Guardian), Emotional Vulnerability, Living Together, Established Relationship, Slice of Life, Domestic Bliss, POV Zhao Yunlan, Introspection, Canon Compliant, Balcony Scene Summary:
Will the light hold on? Will it stay? He didn't want the dark to come just yet. He wanted the sky to shine more. He wanted to tuck away that last light to some place only he knew of.
Them in evening and rain with things left unsaid.
Guardian is so painfully good.
The worldbuilding, the interpretation of the mythology, Kunlun and Wei's love story and the way they're connected through mythological details are so satisfying.
Shen Wei is one of priest's best characters. I’ve rarely cried so much. Shen Wei’s longing and loneliness are as devastating as the ending is comforting.
Unfortunately, my knowledge of the chinese language doesn't allow me to fully analyze priest's works but Shen Wei reminds me of the ghost in the Songs of Chu, the tragic and beautiful mountain spirit Shan Gui who waited for her mortal lover.
His duality. Neither ghost nor god. His soft, shy and cold, calculating personality; his cruelty and tenderness. The scene with the heart conveys this very well. The heart as a symbol of his cunning mind and self-sacrificing love.
What more to ask for than a story based on the primordial creators, yin-yang harmony and the love of gui and god, two opposite entities who differ from their kind and whose bond saved the world and each other. Chaos and Order. Netherworld and Heavenly Realm. Water of Huangchuan and fire of Soul-Guardian Lamp. Shen Wei burned in the flames of Kunlun's lamp connecting these concepts and completing the universal cycle. If one doesn't die, doesn't perish, then one cannot become a god.
"Must be the mountains." Shennong's mortar listened for a moment. "All ten thousand mountains crying together." Wang Zheng's eyes widened. "Mountains can cry?" "Yes," Shennong's mortar said gently. "Legend has it that the only time the ten thousand mountains cried out in one voice was when Pangu fell. They didn't make this kind of noise even when Kunlun-jun's body turned into the Soul-Guarding Lamp — perhaps because at that point, the Mountain God hadn't truly and fully died."
He had always underestimated and belittled himself, thinking he was not worthy of Kunlun's love, and to others, he was an outcast seen as frightening and inferior. Yet the world sees him as worthy as Pangu💔
I get now why the lore in the Guardian show is so choppy - they've basically rewritten most of it, adding new villains, etc. I'd say the novel's lore makes more sense and is, well, coherent XD I also love the fake meat-eating Buddhist monk character and that Chu Shuzhi is a zombie boy XD
But the show did deliver us a truly on-point OTP casting. Zhu Yilong perfectly embodies the aristocratic, slightly shy (but very obsessed) character of Shen Wei, who can do both easily - blush like a maiden and get into a murdery Ghost Slayer mode. Which is hot :D
Bai Yu is perfect as a delinquent gangster leader of the team, same badass vibe as Zhao Yunlan in the novel, and 1000% charisma. Very smart, ready for action, and to stir some shit up. I'm only halfway through the novel, but I love how he's tapping into more otherworldly stuff there, and uses magic and forbidden dark spells and whatnot :D Good for him. Also, I love a good reincarnation trope, and the novel is all that (which is yum).
The whole courting part was hilarious XD Slutty characters falling in love, my beloveds))) best thing ever, ahah
Shen Wei, being promoted from the Ghost Slayer to a 'Queen' in a matter of just one day XD Everyone on the team is a 'lil shit, and Zhao Yunlan is the biggest 'lil shit of them all XD
Lin Jing silently looks at him and then at the small bottle in his hand. Realising he's to become a human ghost attractor, he announces with the emotional weight of a speaker at a funeral, "You're using me as bait."
Zhao Yunlan doesn’t miss a beat. "Yeah, so what?" He can so openly admit to his immorality, everyone can see that he's above reproach! Lin Jing looks around and only sees the black cat's cunning sneer. The others’ vacant expressions are void of sympathy; despair rises up within him. The fake monk suddenly turns around and pounces towards Shen Wei, who has been quietly standing against the wall, "The King wants to use me as a sacrifice, please save me, Queen!" Shen Wei is speechless.
They're so funny, I can't XD Guo Changcheng, that poor sweet summer child, is in for a wild ride :D The show captured his character well, but reading it smh is even more hilarious)))
Guo Changcheng stares at Zhao Yunlan's tall figure, and thinks fearfully that if he asked, the Chief would probably bite his head off.
When he imagines a furious Zhao Yunlan, he trembles, and the baton suddenly shoots out a sparkling flare, lunging at Zhao Yunlan from behind.
Luckily Zhao Yunlan is incredibly alert. When he hears something suspicious, he swiftly dodges. The electric current charges deep into the cave with a rush of heat.
Chu Shuzhi shouts, "Fuck!"
Zhao Yunlan shouts, "Fuck!" Chu Shuzhi stares at Guo Changcheng in shock. He never thought this piece of garbage would do what nobody in the SIU dares to even think about: beat up the bastard Chief. Zhao Yunlan surreptitiously wipes mud and water off his clothes. "What the fuck did you do!?" Guo Changcheng is extraordinarily innocent. "I, I don't know... it it it it it suddenly moved..." "Bullshit, that thing attacks when you're scared. The more frightened you are, the more powerful it becomes. It's totally tailor-made for you, all right?" Zhao Yunlan is losing his mind, "What the hell were you thinking looking at my back that got you so scared!? We were just walking!"
After a strange silence Guo Changcheng, quivering, points at the stomping and enraged Zhao Yunlan. "This... I was thinking about this." Zhao Yunlan is speechless. Chu Shuzhi really can't hold it in anymore; he bursts out laughing.