Weilan week, why not

[branchandroot]

So, day one was too simple. How did I get into Guardian? It's all Rana's fault!

Day two, though, actually made me think.

Anyone who's seen me fan, or glanced passingly at my fic, knows I have a favorite character type. I love me some Magnificent Bastards, especially if they're just broken enough to make the magnificence real. And really, the thing about Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan is that they kind of split that type between them.

Shen Wei has the power and the iron determination, but he's not really the strategic type, not down at the bone. His sense of integrity is just as iron as his determination, and he doesn't flex much that way. With the Regent, with Zhao Xinci, hell even with the university Chancellor, he withdraws rather than fight back on their ground. Zhao Yunlan, though, he can manipulate with the best of them, and he consistently does. He's slippery in exactly the way that appeals to me, but the narrative very carefully removes any possibility of power, from the supernatural to the political. So it's only together, when they deploy those traits in cooperation and each on behalf of the other, that they really hit my character kinks with a hammer.

Plus, you know, the pretty.

Comments

[winter_blossom]

Ooh, this is a brilliant commentary on their dynamic! I think, out of all the (very lovely) "what I love about SW/ZYL" posts I've seen, this is the one that struck me the most. Excellent summary of their "shared competence," as I call it, and 100% agreed!

[branchandroot]

They're just such a fantastic synergy. And they give each other room for the imperfect parts of it, too, which is absolutely charming, frex the way Shen Wei lets Zhao Yunlan be chivalrous for him and Zhao Yunlan hangs on to his patience over Shen Wei's fear for him.

[trobadora]

So it's only together, when they deploy those traits in cooperation and each on behalf of the other, that they really hit my character kinks with a hammer.

Oooh, this is a really great way to put it! They're both super competent at what they do, but really are at their best together. ♥

[branchandroot]

Yes! They're both very competent but not perfect, and they cover each other's imperfect sides when they're together. *dotes*

[glymr]

but the narrative very carefully removes any possibility of power, from the supernatural to the political. So it's only together, when they deploy those traits in cooperation and each on behalf of the other, that they really hit my character kinks with a hammer.

Oh WOW, this is so on point, but I never thought about it in quite these terms before! This is a brilliant analysis!

[branchandroot]

Thanks! I do love how all of us are pretty much in agreement that the best part is how well they fit each other, one way or another.

[ranalore]

How did I get into Guardian? It's all Rana's fault!

*takes victory lap*

Your answer to Day Two is such a fresh way of describing their dynamic, and so very cool! They complete each other, but not in the pat way of pop love songs (though really, yes, in that way too); they complement each other in the necessary ways to maximize their dual roles, and that's one of the things I like to see explored in fix-its and canon blends, because the hints of it in the drama are so crunchy and hint at such possibilities.

[branchandroot]

(Absolutely that way, too; they are honest to god every sugary pop song ever, good lord. I am convinced that the SID make a game of it, and it starts out as a drinking game before they realize that they'll all die of alcohol poisoning in the first /hour/, so it turns into, like, you get a skittle for each romantic cliche you spot them embodying, and they see who's the most sugar buzzed on Friday when they eat them all.)

[umadoshi]

*takes victory lap*

You are a Force For Good.

[umadoshi]

Just reading this did lovely things to my heart. YES.

[branchandroot]

^_^V They really are heartwarming, especially considering what hot messes they both can be.

[mekare]

That is actually a brilliant insight. I never thought much about how much Shen Wei doesn‘t use his power....

[branchandroot]

He's amazingly restrained! Even his 'normal person' level of power (for example the weight he could swing as the Bio department's most brilliant young researcher) he doesn't use much.

[stultiloquentia]

Was hoping to have time to come back and leave a long, thinky comment, but I've been so damned busy. Making do with, "This is a brilliant observation that I'm happily tucking away in my writing toolbox for future exploration." Thanks.

[branchandroot]

Always glad to provide writing grist!