No, but seriously

[branchandroot]

Am I the only one bewildered by Guardian fanon that Shen Wei must never have tasted anything as concentratedly sweet as a lolipop before Zhao Yunlan introduced him? I mean, concentrated sweets are not a modern phenomenon, and straight honey is at least as intensely sweet as modern hard candy. And if we go with an assumed cultural base of the show's originating culture, well, both honey bees and sugar cane arose from Southeast Asia. Chinese desserts historically incorporate both honey and cane sugar, including straight-up hardened sugar syrup.

If anything shocked Shen Wei about that (besides the essential point of having someone shove something in his mouth) I'd expect it to be the flavoring, not the sweetness.

Comments

[branchandroot]

That's taking the idea that they completely lost star-faring level technology at face value, though, and they retained enough to create the Holy Tools in the same generation. (This is also, incidentally, why the implication that there are no other ranged weapons just /grates/ on me, because really? Really?)

[ranalore]

That's taking the idea that they completely lost star-faring level technology at face value

Not really, because we do see, for instance, Ma Gui applying a substance to Zhao Yunlan's cut hand that instantly heals it. That's in addition to the Hallows. It just appears, and Shen Wei's backstory seems to confirm it, that what tech and high-level resources remain have been corralled by a narrow group of people for focused purposes. Then, Zhao Yunlan gives his mini-speech about there being so many flavors for Shen Wei to taste other than the bitterness of his young life, and Shen Wei doesn't contradict him, which further reinforces the idea that the lollipop is an extremely rare treat. Though, I realize I misspoke last night, which is what I get for commenting late. I do think Shen Wei had sweets as a very young child, before his parents died. I'm just doubtful that he's had any since then, until the lollipop.

Although, you've got me thinking, because sugar is so valuable for food preservation. If their tech could in any way be applied to, say, re-populate the fly and bee population from amber-trapped specimens following the meteor strike, that would not only assist in re-establishing edible flora, but re-establish sources of sugar. Which would also go a long way toward once again producing alcohol, which I agree it's extremely unrealistic they don't have, since it's not like it spoils (maybe it was just a particular type of wine needed for the sacred branch, which didn't exist before Zhao Yunlan suggested it). Unless the meteor managed to hit every village/home supply of beer and noble's cache of liquor—in which case, it would have wiped out all the people too—alcohol would still be around.

This is also, incidentally, why the implication that there are no other ranged weapons just /grates/ on me

I auto-fanspackled this the first time through, so I didn't even notice it until my first rewatch. There's a degree to which I can say, okay, most of the skirmishes we see in YOHE are at such close-range that there's no reason for anybody to be pulling out recurves, but for things like the ambush of Ye Zun and his men in the woods, why aren't Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan being supported by archers? I get that there was no budget, but even just one guy with a crossbow would have told us that yes, ranged weapons exist.