Poll: The Helpful Hallows? (drama)

[china_shop]

Poll #33265 Helpful Hallows?

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15

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When were the Hallows most beneficial?

View Answers

Sundial allowing Li Qian's grandmother to protect Li Qian (ep 2)
5 (41.7%)

Sundial giving a hint about where to find the Awl (ep 5)
1 (8.3%)

Sundial acting as locator device for Wang Zhang in the Hanga caves (ep 10)
2 (16.7%)

Awl making Wang Zheng an energy being (ep 10, flashback)
3 (25.0%)

Awl imprisoning revenge-rampage!Sang Zan (ep 10, flashback)
2 (16.7%)

Awl giving visions of the sub-zero lab (ep 19)
4 (33.3%)

Sundial shielding Zhao Yunlan from Ye Zun's energy attack (ep 20)
5 (41.7%)

Sundial exchange restoring Zhao Yunlan's eyesight (but corrupting Shen Wei's energy) ep 20
1 (8.3%)

All four --> time travel! (ep 34)
8 (66.7%)

All four --> time travel back! (ep 35)
10 (83.3%)

All four imprisoning revenge-rampage!Ye Zun (ep 35, flashback)
2 (16.7%)

All four facilitating the Skype call to YOHE (ep 38)
4 (33.3%)

The Lantern (with bullet) making a booby-trap for Ye Zun (ep 39)
1 (8.3%)

All four lighting Dixing (ep 40)
6 (50.0%)

other (please specify in comments)
3 (25.0%)

When Shen Wei heals himself in ep 2, it seems to cost him significantly more effort than any other time we see him do healing, because

View Answers

he's healing himself instead of someone else
2 (13.3%)

it's a physical injury rather than a failing life force (cf Teacher Zhang, Butler Wu)
1 (6.7%)

the injury hurts, owwww
3 (20.0%)

he's left it so long since the injury was incurred
3 (20.0%)

he's alone and doesn't have to hide his effort
11 (73.3%)

other (please specify in comments)
2 (13.3%)

Credits:
1. Thanks to autodach for the Hallows spreadsheet where I sourced most of the answers to question 1. <3 <3 <3
2. Question 2 was first posted on my journal in 2020, inspired by a discussion with laireshi. <3 <3 <3

Comments

[trobadora]

You say most beneficial, so obviously it's the time loop. Nothing else could compare! :D

As for the healing, my theory is that it's because it's not just an ordinary physical injury, but caused by black energy (the Shadow Man's black energy claws), and so takes more effort to heal than a more mundane injury would. And also, yes, he's alone and no longer has to hide his pain - he's gone through the entire rooftop scene hiding it! So just relaxing that control probably makes him a bit shaky on its own.

[china_shop]

You say most beneficial, so obviously it's the time loop. Nothing else could compare! :D

Hee! Fair and necessary. :D

my theory is that it's because it's not just an ordinary physical injury, but caused by black energy (the Shadow Man's black energy claws)

Oh, interesting! Is the "Shadow Man" made of dark energy? I'd never considered that. (Should we be calling him the Black Energy Man?)

he's gone through the entire rooftop scene hiding it! So just relaxing that control probably makes him a bit shaky on its own.

Great point. Yeah, that delayed reaction (especially to violence in his usually calm and peaceful Haixing workplace) must have really kicked in by then. *makes him tea*

[amedia]

You say most beneficial, so obviously it's the time loop. Nothing else could compare!

We wouldn't have a story without it! I hadn't really thought about its narrative and historical importance!!!

But I'd still put CSZ saving GCC high on the list - in part because, since we never find out what price CSZ paid, it's a great entry point for fan speculation and fic!

[facethestrange]

100% the time loop for me too, hands down. :D :D

[amedia]

I ticked "other" - Sundial enabling Chu Shuzhi to bring Guo Changcheng back from the brink of death!!!

[china_shop]

\o/!! (Oh no, how did I forget that?!? Thanks so much for raising it!! Now I'm going to have to change my vote to include "other" too. :D)

[facethestrange]

AW, that's really important indeed!! ♡♡♡

[china_shop]

I chose:

• Sundial allowing Li Qian's grandmother to protect Li Qian (ep 2)
  Because it's so loving, and it sets up the theme of people reaching beyond death to do good and help those they care about, which pays off at the end with the Lantern.
• Sundial shielding Zhao Yunlan from Ye Zun's energy attack (ep 20)
  Because I love that it works as a shield, not a weapon. *Both time travels because I love time traveller!ZYL so much! And also for plot reasons, but honestly, mostly because I was so delighted by the time travel on my first watch.
• All four facilitating the Skype call to YOHE (ep 38)
  Because it's so random, and I love how it twists the timeline even more, presumably giving Fu You and Ma Gui an opportunity to formulate their "Keep Everything Secret" time travel policy.
• All four lighting Dixing (ep 40)
  Because it's so good and worthwhile and meaningful.
• other (please specify in comments)
  Because it's such a small quiet act of love and desperation (especially compared to the Extremely Public Weilan version, hee). <3 <3 <3

I don't have a strong opinion for question 2, but it really does look to me like it hurts him much more than other times we see him injured, so I'm curious.

[facethestrange]

TIME TRAVEL FTW, and yesss, the Li Qian story is such a soft and sweet introduction to 'death is not really the end'. :) ♡♡♡

[trobadora]

These are all excellent reasons!

I agree that it seems to hurt him more, but we see it only in that moment, whereas he manages to look entirely unaffected before that. Whereas after being rescued from Dixing the first time, he keeps holding his side, and can't seem to entirely hide his condition. So which one really hurts worse?

(Ouch, imagine how bad it has to be for Shen Wei to be unable to hide it! /o\)

[donutsweeper]

for #2 - In e2 Shen Wei's spent a lot of his energy for the past few days (weeks, however long its been) in shock and pining horribly after seeing ZYL after so long so everything (including injuries and healing said injuries) affects him that much more.

[facethestrange]

Hah, defeated by pining! I like this theory. :D ♡♡♡

[china_shop]

Hee! That's a great theory. Maybe wielding dark energy requires actual focus of will, and he just can't concentrate on anything else.

[trobadora]

Oof, yeah, that makes a lot of sense! He must already be feeling so out of sorts, so once he stops holding himself down quite so firmly ... yeah.

[facethestrange]

I'm always so excited to wake up to a poll, YAY. :D :D

The first one - time loooooop! :D Both stages - I can't even separate the stages because there is no time loop without both of them. :D ♡♡♡

I'm also voting for Li Qian's grandma protecting her (because it's sweet and soft) and making Wang Zheng into an energy being (because I like Wang Zheng and I'm glad that she's around :D).

The second one - I've never thought about it, but now I'm pretty sure it's because he's alone? (Unless I'm missing some other scene where he's also alone, which is very possible. :D) He always has to hide something otherwise - the effort, or even the fact that any healing is happening at all. But also it's possible that it's the injury itself that hurts, not the healing - it does look angry and not very good. D:

[china_shop]

YAY! :D :D :D :D :D

Both stages - I can't even separate the stages because there is no time loop without both of them. :D ♡♡♡

Both stages definitely!! :D

I'm also voting for Li Qian's grandma protecting her (because it's sweet and soft) and making Wang Zheng into an energy being (because I like Wang Zheng and I'm glad that she's around :D).

Ahh, yay for both of those. <3

but now I'm pretty sure it's because he's alone?

*nodnod* That does make sense. But so does that mean it's always hurting that much, though, and he's just really good at controlling his sweat glands? ;D

*But also it's possible that it's the injury itself that hurts, not the healing - it does look angry and not very good. D: *

Yeah, it might be the combo. *pets him*

(And the thing is, he totally didn't have to hide this injury, right? Professor Shen was swiped by the Shadow Monster! That's not a secret! But of course he "staggers" out of the bushes with a cheery wave. *smh* :D)

[trobadora]

I can't even separate the stages because there is no time loop without both of them. :D ♡♡♡

WELLLL, it would still be a time loop if ZYL afterwards didn't come back to the present! He has to be there eventually to make the videocalls to YOHE, but there could have been a gap between him leaving and him returning. Imagine if SW had been waiting in the wormhole, and then another, different wormhole had snatched ZYL away ... /o\

but now I'm pretty sure it's because he's alone?

Yeah, that really has to be a major factor. And I do think the injury itself hurts, whereas the healing may not hurt per se but merely ("merely") be a severe strain? If it's more than just ordinary scratches, it may not be easy to heal.

[maggie33]

I love time travel and I love the Hallows for making it possible. :) But I couldn't choose just time travel. Because - repeating after Amedia above - for my shipper's heart "Chu Shuzhi using Sundial to bring Guo Changcheng back from the brink of death" is equally as important. :DDD

[facethestrange]

It is extremely important! :D *nodnod* I don't even want to picture the SID and the show itself without Xiao Guo. ♡♡♡

[china_shop]

Yes, great call! Those two!! ♥ (And awwww, your icon! <333)

[amedia]

for my shipper's heart "Chu Shuzhi using Sundial to bring Guo Changcheng back from the brink of death" is equally as important.

*high fives you*

[autodach]

Hell yes, great poll<3

I picked lighting up Dixing because it's so significant to so many people.
Also the two time travel options, because the YOHE arc is awesome. And I love time travel in general.

For the second poll, I always found it odd how Shen Wei seems to be using a different power from all the other times he heals someone. He has this swirling ball of energy in his hand. Could it be self-healing requires a completely different power(a painful one)?

[facethestrange]

"Shen Wei seems to be using a different power from all the other times he heals someone. He has this swirling ball of energy in his hand. Could it be self-healing requires a completely different power(a painful one)?"

Ooooh, I didn't even think it could be two different powers! (I'm not sure why I didn't think of that - I even read a fic where young Shen Wei in YOHE had the power to heal others but not yet the power to heal himself.) What does it look like in other scenes where he heals himself?

[china_shop]

*beams*

I picked lighting up Dixing because it's so significant to so many people. Also the two time travel options, because the YOHE arc is awesome. And I love time travel in general.

Yay, excellent choices!

He has this swirling ball of energy in his hand. Could it be self-healing requires a completely different power(a painful one)?

Ooh, you're right! I always think of the swirling ball when I write him using healing energy, but he quite often just streams healing/diagnostic dark energy into ZYL, doesn't he? Huh.

So when else does he use the globes, I wonder. I know he uses them for Dark Energy Vision™, but I can't think when else. This may require investigation!

[laireshi]

The way I zoomed in on question 2 🩵

[china_shop]

Hee! *hearts you so much* (Hi!!!)