Question about Haixing and Dixing energy incompatibility and Ye Zun eating people in Guardian

[likealeafonthewind]

I've been going over this in my head and I feel like I'm just going around in circles so I'm hoping some of you will have some ideas or are willing to talk through this with me. Cut for spoilers:
 
Okay, we know that Dixing energy and Haixing energy are incompatible, right? That's why when the Haixingren blew himself up, it injured Black Cloaked Envoy and that's why Shen Wei was able to kill Ye Zun (because his energy changed to be like a Haixingren rather than a Dixingren).

But....hasn't Ye Zun been eating both Dixingren and Haixingren (all those guys from the underground fighting ring, for example; also Lin Jing). Wouldn't the incompatibility of their light energy life force cause him problems when he digests them? 

I could headcanon a way for Shen Wei to have been able to kill him with the light energy - that it was really because he himself didn't completely transition from dark energy to light and that the mix of both in his body was going to cause an explosion sooner or later, whether he was in Ye Zun or not (so when he was cutting himself in ZYL's apartment, he was trying to keep the balance between both energies, to keep them stable...I think someone else mentioned this in another post actually, so it's not my original headcanon, but it works).

But that still doesn't explain why Ye Zun's able to eat both Dixingren and Haixingren without, I don't know, at least some indigestion. Also, he apparently may not be able to digest inanimate objects? Or it takes longer? Because Sha Ya's guitar case is still in his digestive system when Lin Jing gets eaten, even though she herself is gone.

And then, along the lines of how Shen Wei got some Haixingren energy - was it a trade-off? Did ZYL get some of his Dixingren energy in return? Or was Shen Wei simply using the Longevity Dial to connect their life forces so that he could extract the Dixingren energy that had injured him and some of ZYL's light energy came with it? (And then maybe once they're connected, they can't disconnect? Maybe the Longevity Dial works by trying to equilibrize [I made up this word, lol] two different life forces? So with Li Qian and her grandmother, since they were both Haixingren, the balance was a compromise between both their health and lifespan? But for ZYL and Shen Wei, because one is a non-powered Haixingren and the other is a long-lived all-powerful Dixingren, equilibrium was reached by healing ZYL's eyes and reducing Shen Wei's powers and possibly both of them would have shared a lifespan somewhere between a Haixingren and a Dixingren if they hadn't both sacrificed themselves for the cause.

Sorry, that got a little rambly. Anyway, please share any thoughts you have below.

Comments

[rheasilvia]

That would be an amazing premise for a story! I want that fic, too...

I actually imagine that after an initial disconcerted phase in which Shen Wei just doesn't know what to do with himself or if he still has any worth, he might grow to be very happy and content. He has plenty of good things going for him - he's a professor, has a boyfriend he's madly in love with, and consults with the SID on top of that.

Zhao Yunlan would be the perfect boyfriend for going through an identity crisis like that with, too. Better than therapy. ;-) He'd keep reminding Shen Wei that he's allowed to just live for himself, and that he's done more than enough for dozens of people, and that Zhao Yunlan still finds him just as worthy of his time and affection.

[extrapenguin]

He'd likely be very, very depressed for at least a while, as suddenly all his life just ... doesn't work anymore. He can't use his Dixing powers to teleport to work and has to commute like a regular person etc, and the loss of the Envoy identity – the very first mask he hid himself behind, starting from puberty – would hit him hard. At the end, he'd still be the beloved Shen Wei, Professor of Bioengineering, but the journey of accepting his losses would likely be long and hard. It'd likely also involve going through the SID library and other sources to see if there was a way to get his powers back, because Shen Wei thinks the whole world is his responsibility, and how is he supposed to do that if he doesn't have any Dixing powers???

I agree that Zhao Yunlan would be the perfect boyfriend for that! He'd continue telling Shen Wei that he's allowed to be selfish and retire and not place the entire world on his shoulders, and then just continue being his usual self and loving Shen Wei to pieces.

[rheasilvia]

Oh yes, it will be a very painful process! Shen Wei will have to pain-stakingly rebuild his self-image from the ground up, and despite all of Zhao Yunlan's efforts, he has never quite managed to believe that he is a person worth anything beyond his ability to be a weapon in defence of those who can't protect themselves.

He will almost certainly do some extremely foolish and self-destructive things in an attempt to act as he always has... in effect, he will still be trying to throw himself on grenades now that he no longer has the power to survive such a thing.

I actually feel sorry for Zhao Yunlan just thinking about this. Not that Zhao Yunlan has ever been that much better. Which I am sure Shen Wei will be the first to mention. :-)

And maybe in the end, Shen Wei would discover that he has actually developed some entirely new and different powers based on light energy. And at that point he would *not* immediately come out of retirement and start sacrificing himself again, because he has truly learned to live as a person, and for the first time in his life, he is truly happy, and isn't willing to give that up.

[likealeafonthewind]

Awww, this would be such a sweet h/c angst-with-a-happy-ending fic.

Shen Wei would still have his sword-fighting skills, though, and possibly even his own sword (he just might not be able to dematerialize it anymore, so he'd have to carry it the old-fashioned way), so I imagine he would continue to throw himself into battle with it. Only he keeps forgetting that he's no longer able to just heal any injuries he sustains. And Zhao Yunlan would just be beside himself with worry.

[rheasilvia]

It would be a lovely story! If only I didn't already have so many plot bunnies. It is insane, I tell you.

he keeps forgetting that he's no longer able to just heal any injuries he sustains

Yes... and part of it is not that he forgets he is now far more fragile, but just that he accepts that he will break. After all, what worth does his life have anymore? If he can sacrifice himself for a greater good, wouldn't that be the best thing? Shen Wei has always been too eager to sacrifice himself - this situation would make it a thousand times worse.

I would not want to be in Zhao Yunlan's shoes.

[likealeafonthewind]

Same. I'm tempted to write it but I've already got too many that I'm working on and they're all looking like they're gonna be long plotty fics (I can't seem to do any short fluffy pieces for Guardian, every plot bunny is massive).

[extrapenguin]

Yes! The sort of grey space between "forgets he can't survive such things any more" and "passively suicidal" and Zhao Yunlan feels the urge to wrap Shen Wei up in a padded blanket and confine him to bed. (Shen Wei calls this just desserts if Zhao Yunlan ever complains.)

And maybe in the end, Shen Wei would discover that he has actually developed some entirely new and different powers based on light energy. And at that point he would *not* immediately come out of retirement and start sacrificing himself again, because he has truly learned to live as a person, and for the first time in his life, he is truly happy, and isn't willing to give that up.
I could live with him getting zero powers at the end, but yes, I want him to have learned to live as a person! And I know you meant something completely different, but I was struck with an image of Shen Wei having the power to make lamps turn on, regardless of how broken or disconnected from the power mains they were. Imagine how popular he would be in Dixing!

[rheasilvia]

The sort of grey space between "forgets he can't survive such things any more" and "passively suicidal"

So much this. He has always been too eager to sacrifice himself, but in this situation he would be trying with active vigor.

Shen Wei calls this just desserts if Zhao Yunlan ever complains.

They are both hypocrites when it comes to complaining about the other one being self-sacrificing and recklessly putting himself into danger. ;-) But I imagine that where complaints won't get through to Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan's genuine despair will.

I could live with him getting zero powers at the end, but yes, I want him to have learned to live as a person!

The new powers would demonstrate that he truly *has* learned, and hasn't just given up on world-saving because he doesn't think he can still make a difference. To me that would be the ultimate happy ending - to show that he won't return to his old ways not because he isn't capable, but because he doesn't want to anymore, and has moved on.

And I know you meant something completely different, but I was struck with an image of Shen Wei having the power to make lamps turn on, regardless of how broken or disconnected from the power mains they were. Imagine how popular he would be in Dixing!

LOL! Oh, yes, that'd be a nice one. And he'd need a new name - the Night Light, perhaps? ;-)

(He could also light the Guardian Lantern, then, of course...)

[extrapenguin]

But I imagine that where complaints won't get through to Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan's genuine despair will.
Zhao Yunlan's sadface and guilt trips would make Shen Wei pause and listen for a bit, it is true! And maybe stay put and do some fussing/let himself be fussed over, instead of finding a grenade to jump onto.

The new powers would demonstrate that he truly *has* learned, and hasn't just given up on world-saving because he doesn't think he can still make a difference. To me that would be the ultimate happy ending - to show that he won't return to his old ways not because he isn't capable, but because he doesn't want to anymore, and has moved on.
Oh, so you're coming at it from *that* angle! I am converted. Let Shen Wei get a Haixing power! (My prior aim was more "Shen Wei learns to live as a normal person who doesn't get any deus ex machina returning of powers" and the bad-ish end wouldn't be undercut.)

Another hilariously fitting Haixing power: the ability to instantly understand how modern tech works. Suddenly, Professor Shen can input the grades into the system himself!

(He could also light the Guardian Lantern, then, of course...)
Guardian Lantern lighting with zero sacrifice involved! ♥