30 Days of Guardian

[extrapenguin]

(Announcements banner: Space Race is an upcoming space-related flash exchange I'm seeking feedback for; the rewatchalong is now at episode 26.)

So, today was originally supposed to be "favorite character", but then jo_lasalle answered it for me, down to the details, so I had to come up with a new question. So, behold:

6. Which character would you resurrect?
I shall limit myself to people who died before the finale, so: Zhu Jiu! I admit I wasn't really a fan the first time round, but on the rewatch, I've found myself appreciating him more and more. His brand of dramatic monologueing was more fun and fit the lower-stakes tone of the earlier episodes, and he was a much better villain than Wang Xiangyang. I'd also like to see how he dealt with the aftermath of getting shot with the anti-Dixing gun, and what that would mean to him going forward. (A gradual disappearance of his Dixing powers? Coughing up blood?) Ye Zun also seemed to like him a lot, so I think Zhu Jiu remaining alive would make Ye Zun just a little less likely to want to destroy everything.













1. Favorite episode
2. Favorite case
3. Least favorite case
4. Favorite Holy Tools arc
5. Least favorite Holy Tools arc
6. Which character would you resurrect?
7. Favorite SID member
8. Favorite guest character(s)
9. Favorite worldbuilding detail
10. Favorite rarepair
11. Favorite headcanon
12. Least favorite headcanon
13. Favorite main villain
14. Favorite case villain
15. Villain you’d like redeemed or whose redemption you liked
16. Favorite conversation between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei
17. Favorite Dixing power and/or power you want to have
18. Least favorite villain
19. Least favorite character
20. Most appealing point for a canon divergence AU
21. Favorite character moment
22. Favorite badass moment
23. Favorite soft moment
24. Favorite team moment
25. Thoughts and feelings on the ending
26. Rec a fanfic
27. Rec a vid
28. Rec a fanart
29. Rec a meta post
30. Prompt for a fanwork

Comments

[phyrry]

Ahhh, Zhu Jiu, why am I so fond of him? Oh, right, he was totally an Envoy fanboy and then got subverted into a Ye Zun fanboy, but either way, he's brimming with loyalty and a certain theatrical flair that Wang Xiangyang just can't pull off. Given a happy ending AU, he could possibly have a lot of overly dramatic fun starting a community theater program in Dixing. (And Ye Zun would also enjoy having a whole audience show up to listen to him... hmmm...)

[extrapenguin]

He can be redeemed through community service and host his own Dramatic Monologues Workshop at the community theater! Or stay in Haixing as a taxi service. So many things he could do!

[jo_lasalle]

Good replacement question! ^_^

Zhu Jiu kind of gets on my nerves in a sort of... cumulative way, and I think it's in no small part to the way the actor employs the "evil laughter", which, by the time a few episodes have gone by, starts to feel like nails on chalkboard to me.

BUT, I found his final scenes very moving and was surprised there was some actual devotion to Ye Zun there, and I find this backstory with Shen Wei intriguing where it shows us a younger, less experienced Envoy, and I could actually see the appeal of seeing a little more (hopefully coherent) of how he got the way he was.

[extrapenguin]

Zhu Jiu kind of gets on my nerves in a sort of... cumulative way, and I think it's in no small part to the way the actor employs the "evil laughter", which, by the time a few episodes have gone by, starts to feel like nails on chalkboard to me.
This was my impression the first watchthrough, too, but when I rewatched with his eventual fate and backstory in mind, I grew much fonder. – Just like how I got much fonder of Ye Zun after episode 40. *g*

I found his final scenes very moving and was surprised there was some actual devotion to Ye Zun there, and I find this backstory with Shen Wei intriguing where it shows us a younger, less experienced Envoy, and I could actually see the appeal of seeing a little more (hopefully coherent) of how he got the way he was.
Same! He was super devoted to his original idol, and then his idol failed him and he found a new one. It's an intriguing backstory, and I'd like to see more of it, yes. Or the repercussions of Zhu Jiu discovering new info about Ye Zun going forwards.

[jo_lasalle]

Or the repercussions of Zhu Jiu discovering new info about Ye Zun going forwards.

Ooooh, LIKEY!

[extrapenguin]

Yeah! How would Zhu Jiu feel about new boss being the Envoy's little brother? How would Zhu Jiu feel about the entire Ye Zun vs the Envoy thing being drama based on a misunderstanding? How would Zhu Jiu feel about Ye Zun's eventual goal being destroying absolutely everything (or would Ye Zun not have gone there had Zhu Jiu stayed alive)? So many interesting things, and absolutely no fic, woe!

[solo]

I'm like you, I really grew a lot fonder of Zhu Jiu on re-watch; not even second watching but maybe third or so, once I knew all the important (read: Weilan) bits well enough to spare some attention for others. He's basically an disappointed idealist who got taken advantage of (and perhaps mind-controlled?) by Ye Zun. If Shen Wei had handled him differently in their confrontation, he could maybe still have become an asset for him instead of Ye Zun.

All Zhu Jiu really wanted was to be a hero, and once Ye Zun had promised him that, he was totally committed. Working for the right people, he could have done a lot of good.

[extrapenguin]

He's basically an disappointed idealist who got taken advantage of (and perhaps mind-controlled?) by Ye Zun. If Shen Wei had handled him differently in their confrontation, he could maybe still have become an asset for him instead of Ye Zun.
Yes! He could've been a good asset and an appreciative duckling minion following the Envoy around. Alas, it didn't happen. (It'd have been a nice contrast with Chu Shuzhi as well – one fanboy who's an ex-con, one fanboy who's an idealistic palace guard, and they compete for the #1 Fanboy spot!)

[solo]

It'd have been a nice contrast with Chu Shuzhi as well – one fanboy who's an ex-con, one fanboy who's an idealistic palace guard, and they compete for the #1 Fanboy spot!)


LOL OMG! Yes! Zhu Jiu thinks that Chu Shuzhi's envoy cosplay is just ridiculous, while Chu Shuzhi finds the maniacal laughter totes embarrassing and not worth of an Envoy minion.

[extrapenguin]

the maniacal laughter
Actually, given that we only see Zhu Jiu do that after being recruited by Ye Zun – maybe he picked that up from Ye Zun? So if he never stopped being an Envoy fanboy, maybe he'd be doing an Envoy cosplay as well. So Shen Wei would be followed everywhere by a grumpy Envoy cosplayer and an excessively earnest and chipper Envoy cosplayer. For extra hilarity.

[solo]

Point about the laughter.

a grumpy Envoy cosplayer and an excessively earnest and chipper Envoy cosplayer.

And even from the back with the hood up you could tell them apart just due to posture and body language. :)