Sundial Exchange Love and Friendship meme!

[sundial_exchange_mod]

Happy March or Happy Leap Day, depending on where you are in the world!

We’re still glowing from the lovely energy that the exchange created, thank you all so much for making it such a wonderful experience for everyone! It exceeded our wildest expectations in both number of fanworks and type of fanworks, and we are so honoured to have been able to create a space to make that possible 🥰🎉✨

At asya_ana’s suggestion we are hosting a Love and Friendship meme for Guardian and Guardian-related canons. You can use the form in the textbox below if you like or go wild!

<strong>User names:</strong> <strong>Pronouns:</strong> <strong>Language(s):</strong> <strong>How did you first get into Guardian fandom?</strong> <strong>What is one thing you love about the show?</strong> <strong>What is your favourite terrible special effect?</strong> <strong>What is (one of) your favourite relationship(s) on the show (either romantic or friendship) and what do you like about that relationship?</strong> <strong>Do you have a favourite character?</strong> <strong>Do you have a favourite villain?</strong> <strong>Talk to us about one (or more!) of your favourite Guardian-related canons:</strong> <strong>Do you like RPF?</strong> <strong>Do you have a favourite ad campaign (such as Bai Yu's rentboy photoshoot or Zhu Yilong's ReFa ads)?</strong> <strong>What other fandoms are you in or have you been in?</strong> <strong>What are some of your general fanwork likes:</strong> <strong>Where can we best find you to squee more about this thing or other things?</strong> <strong>Anything else you want to say?</strong>

There is also an ongoing Guardian fandom friending meme over at sid_guardian, for more of your meme needs✨

Comments

[naye]

HI! <333

i will never not be deeply amazed at the painting of ma gui in the minister's office.
I swear I need xparrot to pat me gently while I sob about this every other month. There's not even a painting filter on it! They just photoshopped out the background! I'm - I. WHY. I could do better on my phone in literally three minutes.

can't pick one because each of them is so deeply and profoundly defined by the other; i can only really think of them as a paired unit, so to speak. :D
Ahhh I love this! It's such a great way of putting it. And yes, very much same. <3

weilan is the most intense otp i've EVER been into, and i'd like a lifetime supply of happy endings* for them, please!
OMG YES. I love you.

[naye]

Yay for sakana17 getting you in here! :D

Zhu Yilong clearly has a twin brother who is also an actor and he's fantastic!
Right?! It's the only possible explanation.

[naye]

I spent the show waiting for the metaplot to make an appearance, and it only had brief cameos up until the last case. So yeah, for me I feel like it ends on a "and then they went out and solved more crimes" kind fo note? The penultimate case (as far as I remember) wraps up without going all cliffhanger.

[naye]

OMG what a treasure! <333

[naye]

Yes. Same. *clings*

[naye]

It is one of the finest capsule moments of angsty whump I have ever seen. And I was so excited to see the scene where the two got to hug each other better again. Ahahah. *sob*

[naye]

You've done AMAZING! \o/

[naye]

Ahhh "moral beauty" Asya this is such a gorgeous way of putting it!

[naye]

The fact that the guitar is there to be tragic is just - *chef's kiss*.

And then. There are two IDENTICAL piles of trash. Like. Not even mirrored or anything. They just did a copy-paste and called it a day. I treasure it because I couldn't have survived if that particular moment didn't have something going on to distract me.

[naye]

You should have been in charge of the decision on how to symbolize that characters had gotten "devoured" because: yes I like this better than the literal stomach. (Or is it supposed to be lungs? After all he does inhale his victims...)

[naye]

OH NO not even getting a break from the unrelenting angst of that particular stretch of episodes thanks to the stomach is...harsh. *hugs*

I start cringing really preemptively with boggled horror that the show ACTUALLY DID THAT.
I adore most of the choices they made but then there are the ones where I just...really wonder how tight the deadline must have been for those particular decisions to be made. XD

But yes: A GIFT. <3333

[umadoshi]

That’s encouraging! I will keep going with it, then.

It's a fun show! (With at least one major emotional choice I disagreed with strongly.) I didn't love it and probably won't ever rewatch, but then, I'm not generally much of a rewatcher.

[undeadrobins]

Thank you!

[umadoshi]

I did not seek out a new RPF fandom, I thought those days were behind me, then Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu appear on screen together...

They are MAGIC. Pure, beautiful magic.

Thinking about the YouTube subs still makes me kinda want to cry. I itch to write a script for the show. (I'm not going to, 'cause holy crap, so much work. But I entertain very small and utterly infeasible daydreams of somehow getting to do it in a professional capacity.)

[undeadrobins]

I've not seen that BTS compilation before, but now I'm sitting here with a huge smile on my face. They're so freaking adorable together! I especially love the bit with them both in suits being photographed on the SID desk. The whole arm-linking bit is perfect ♥

And I'd already seen the song one, but this was the perfect excuse to watch it again!

Send more please!

[undeadrobins]

I'm desperately trying not to binge watch it all - I want to take my time and enjoy it, but it's so hard!

[undeadrobins]

*smooches*

[undeadrobins]

Watching Shen Wei spinning that blade around each time turns me into a puddle of goo!

And thank you!

[clevermanka]

[clevermanka]

[umadoshi]

OH NO not even getting a break from the unrelenting angst of that particular stretch of episodes thanks to the stomach is...harsh. *hugs*

*sobs* It's not good. It's so very, horribly not good.

But yes: A GIFT. <3333

*twirls our fandom*

[clevermanka]

in-position-of-authority-but-mostly-thinking-about-assuming-other-positions

[clevermanka]

even the most awful of villains is ultimately just a failed human being
Yes! I'm one of, like, three people in this fandom who recoils from sympathetic Ye Zun stuff, but! it's important to remember that evil people are still people and Guardian did a good job of that.

[naye]

Okay one more! This interview is one of my absolute favorites, in that the interviewers ask actual questions about the acting and characters and get such good answers. (Bai Yu's take on Zhao Yunlan is - unsurprisingly - so good.)

[rheasilvia]

User names: rheasilvia on DW / Sylvia on AO3

Pronouns: she/her

Language(s): English and German, some others non-fluently

How did you first get into Guardian fandom?

I saw several people talking about it on my friendslist, and eventually decided to casually check it out. I expected it to be some silly fun that I'd quit watching after a few eps. I ended up incredibly confused by the (then) incoherently translated prologue (which featured so-called Sub-Earthians), but liked the setting and thought Shen Wei was very pretty. And then Shen Wei *stared* at Zhao Yunlan in the window, and I sat up and took notice. A few eps more and I realized Zhao Yunlan was *incredibly competent* and the characterization was excellent and coherent, and the relationship was fascinating and complex and *exactly what I wanted it to be*.

So I thought, okay, I'll enjoy this lovely show and happily read some fanfic, but that will be it, and I certainly won't fall for another fandom, or write fanfic for it myself. It'll just be another nice, casual reading fandom. (Spoiler: that is not what happened.)

What is one thing you love about the show? The characters. The relationships. The unapologetic, all hands on deck approach to worldbuilding (Aliens! Genetic mutation! Shapeshifters! Elemental powers! Meteors! Ancient wars! Rulers of the magma-filled underworld! Yes! Just keep piling on the awesome!).

What is your favourite terrible special effect? Hee! I think it's the Youchu monsters in the caves. :-) I don't tend to pay much attention to special effects, though, and actually think most of the effects are perfectly fine.

What is (one of) your favourite relationship(s) on the show (either romantic or friendship) and what do you like about that relationship?

So many. The obvious one is my OTP, the reason why I love Guardian: Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei. For me, this is honestly the best, most satisfying and intense m/m relationship I have ever seen in any TV canon. It's not something that gets a few minutes of airtime each ep, in between the actual plot. It IS the plot. And because the characterization of both of them is so excellent, and the relationship is developed so carefully and wonderfully (and gloriously on-screen!), I find it immensely believable and satisfying in emotional terms. And they are so mature about it, like actual adults - which is not as common as you might hope with fictional romance.

I also love Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing's rock-solid friendship, which both of them rely on to a huge degree that only gradually becomes apparent because it's woven so deeply into both of their lives as a constant. And I love Zhao Yunlan's relationship with his various team members - and I ALSO love his horrible rocky relationship with his father, because it's angsty and painful and says so much about the amazing person Zhao Yunlan is.

Do you have a favourite character? Zhao Yunlan. This was actually a surprise for me, because I usually go for guarded, introverted characters - and it took me a bit to realize that this is basically exactly what Zhao Yunlan is, for all that he hides behind performative extroversion. And he's also so dedicated and competent and passionate and brilliant and courageous and brazen, and just... yes.

Do you have a favourite villain? Zhu Jiu! While he isn't a complex character, he's a solid and competent villain, IMO. He is smart, competent, effective, and very loyal - to the death, in fact. I have also grown to love his purple octopus wig and hand ornament and evil smirk. ;-)

Talk to us about one (or more!) of your favourite Guardian-related canons: I'm so sorry, but I don't really have any. I have clutched onto Guardian and not looked right or left.

Do you like RPF? In some fandoms, yes, but not in Guardian. I am too focussed on my fictional character OTP.

Do you have a favourite ad campaign (such as Bai Yu's rentboy photoshoot or Zhu Yilong's ReFa ads)? I confess that I don't follow the actors' ads and other activities - but I did see the Time Engraver commercial, which I loved for its sheer creepy, fascinating, surrealistic worldbuilding.

What other fandoms are you in or have you been in? Oh wow, so many. I started out four score and seven years ago in X-Files (Mulder/Krycek), moved on to Once a Thief, Highlander and Eroica, Saiyuki, Utena, X 1999, Smallville, Supernatural, Jpop, X-Men First Class - and those are just some of the fandoms I've written in. I read in a lot more, notably Due South, Person of Interest and Hockey RPF, and most recently Stucky.

What are some of your general fanwork likes: I greatly enjoy a wide variety of fanworks, but I'm in it for the slash fanfic.

Where can we best find you to squee more about this thing or other things? Dreamwidth! I've never really gotten the hang of Twitter, and Tumblr is completely out of my reach, sadly. Discord is still something I mean to try at some point, when I actually have a lot of spare time... so maybe in ten years or so?

Anything else you want to say? I am not always as quick to reply as I would like, because I am sometimes very busy with RL - and also sometimes low on spoons. But I want to talk about Guardian with you!!