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sid_guardian2020-05-15 02:06 pm
solo) wrote in sid_guardian2020-05-15 02:06 pm
Entry tags:
Focus on: Zhu Jiu
(Zhu Jiu, and as a result the entire following discussion, are drama-only)
Zhu Jiu, our first and most interesting antagonist in the series, has questionable taste in accessories, and multi-coloured hair. He believes he's fighting the good fight, wants to be a hero, and is unflinchingly loyal. Also he is a-OK with killing people.
Backstory:
Zhu Jiu is first mentioned in episode 4, where the face-stealing girl says that he gave her and her boyfriend a 'task'. Later in the episode, he tries to glue Shen Wei's foot to the ground with dark energy. Shen Wei can't catch him, and we get to see him gloat.
Zhu Jiu, our first and most interesting antagonist in the series, has questionable taste in accessories, and multi-coloured hair. He believes he's fighting the good fight, wants to be a hero, and is unflinchingly loyal. Also he is a-OK with killing people.
Backstory:
- Joins the Dixing palace guard, wants to be a hero, looks up to the Black-Cloaked Envoy. His power hasn't awakened yet.
- Stumbles upon Ye Zun's pillar one day and gets his head filled with nonsense about how the Black-Cloaked Envoy is a traitor.
- Acts weirdly around the bully that is his captain, who asks what's up, so he tells him what he heard. Captain has a fit, tells him he's trash and sends him packing.
- Stumbles back into Ye Zun's purview, who tells him he can be a hero of Dixing if he can prove his 'determination'.
- So he kills the Captain, and when the Black-Cloaked Envoy questions him, he says it's because the Captain was a bully.
- He also asks the Black-Cloaked Envoy if the tale about him being a traitor and having condemned them to live in darkness is true.
- The Black-Cloaked Envoy tries to explain but when that's not good enough, he realizes Ye Zun got to this one, and decides to 'nip the evil in the bud' by cutting open his cheek.
- At some point after that, Ye Zun enlists him in his crusade to exit the pillar and take over the world. For justice!
Zhu Jiu is first mentioned in episode 4, where the face-stealing girl says that he gave her and her boyfriend a 'task'. Later in the episode, he tries to glue Shen Wei's foot to the ground with dark energy. Shen Wei can't catch him, and we get to see him gloat.
Even later, he appears as a spectral voice and a little flash of static, in a dark alley Shen Wei is walking through. He taunts Shen Wei by threatening to give his secret away to Zhao Yunlan, and gets hit by some dark energy for his pains. At the end of the episode he's dramatically upset that his plan has been foiled so easily, and I guess that's what connects the face to the name, for people who still remember the earlier moment.
A few episodes later (ep 7) he tries to break into the SID and is repelled by the shield. We learn he's after the Holy Tools.
Next episode he uses Ding Dun to get to Wang Zheng but kills him when he becomes inconvenient. Then he gatecrashes Shen Wei's meeting with Ms Forsythia, they fight, and he disappears with a 'you won't be able to stop us'. First indication that he's not working alone. We also notice that his power is teleportation of some sort.
Later in the episode he's trying to find the Hanga ruins and kills(?) the cop who tries to interfere. He really doesn't like humans.
Behold, my pretty locks.
In the Hanga cave (ep 10) he tortures Wang Zheng in order for her screams to attract Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, who can free the Mountain-River-Awl. We learn that he's working for someone else. He manipulates Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi in order to get the Mountain-River Awl in ep 11, causes the wedding disaster in ep 12, and gives us two delightful moments in ep 13.
It's always so lovely when a bystander wonders that.
We don't see him for a while, but by ep 16 he is back, manipulating Bao Laosan into trying to destroy the SID building with his Dixing power, and failing to back him up in episode 17. Later in the episode, Ya Qing confronts him about that and asks him how he'd feel if 'the boss' betrayed him like that. Zhu Jiu says he'd be fine with whatever the boss does: "He's the one who let me know the true voice of my heart." Cue ecstatic look.
Meanwhile, in Dixing, Zhao Yunlan finds out how Zhu Jiu's power works.
Next we get to the 'harvesting dark energy' arc and the underground fighting ring, where we find out that his boss is in need of great quantities of life energy from fit young people, which can be collected in a little flask. At the end of the episode he's very pleased with how his plan is coming together, but he's also slowly dying from the wound inflicted by Zhao Yunlan's gun, so he's making a final cunning plan.
The plan involves kidnapping Xiao Guo and Lao Chu and sticking them in a freezer, in order to blackmail Zhao Yunlan into handing over the Holy Tools. An injured Ye Huo is part of the captured team, and Xiao Guo's demand that he be treated brings us one of Zhu Jiu's best lines.
He also tries to get Lao Chu on-side out of a mistaken notion of kinship.
His plan misfires and he gets caught by the SID, badly injured. he has no regrets except one:
This leads into the whole backstory thing which I couldn't be bothered to cap.
He manages to dupe Xiao Guo and escape, but only in order to let his life energy be absorbed into the flask, to be the final piece to bring his boss back. Contented smiling.
RIP, Wig Boy, you were fun.
Fanworks
The Zhu Jiu tag on AO3 isn't used much, but there are some nice stories there. (Caveat, I only discovered the long one by demitas while researching this, and haven't had time to read the full story yet.)
Voice of the Heart (2909 words) by Wei
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yè Zūn & Zhú Jiǔ
Characters: Yè Zūn, Zhú Jiǔ
Ye Zun cannot say for certain if he's ever had a friend, but there is no doubt in his mind that the closest to it was Zhu Jiu.
Calling the Lost Sheep Home (3500 words) by ExtraPenguin
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yè Zūn & Zhú Jiǔ
Characters: Zhú Jiǔ, Zhào Yúnlán, Yè Zūn, Shěn Wēi, Chǔ Shùzhī
Zhu Jiu joined Ye Zun because he wanted to make Dixing a better place. Then he discovers that the Boss doesn't want to make Dixing a better place or improve the lot of Dixingians, but rather destroy the world and everyone in it, Dixingians included.
Overwritable (2444 words) by ExtraPenguin
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Yè Zūn, Zhú Jiǔ, Zhào Yúnlán, Shěn Wēi
When he returns to the SID from capturing Zhu Jiu, Zhao Yunlan learns that the Sky Pillar has exploded. He is obviously worried at what this potentially-escaped criminal is going to do next.
(Ye Zun has unexpected plans.)
Rootless (10554 words) by demitas
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yè Zūn/Zhú Jiǔ
Characters: Yè Zūn, Zhú Jiǔ
The Hallows send Zhu Jiu back in time, where he finds a Ye Zun who is little like the Boss he's familiar with, but who needs his help all the same.
So - come and talk about Zhu Jiu! Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged. Basically, this is the place for anything you want to say or link to about Zhu Jiu.
Clenched fist of emo.
A few episodes later (ep 7) he tries to break into the SID and is repelled by the shield. We learn he's after the Holy Tools.
Next episode he uses Ding Dun to get to Wang Zheng but kills him when he becomes inconvenient. Then he gatecrashes Shen Wei's meeting with Ms Forsythia, they fight, and he disappears with a 'you won't be able to stop us'. First indication that he's not working alone. We also notice that his power is teleportation of some sort.
Later in the episode he's trying to find the Hanga ruins and kills(?) the cop who tries to interfere. He really doesn't like humans.
Behold, my pretty locks.
In the Hanga cave (ep 10) he tortures Wang Zheng in order for her screams to attract Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, who can free the Mountain-River-Awl. We learn that he's working for someone else. He manipulates Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi in order to get the Mountain-River Awl in ep 11, causes the wedding disaster in ep 12, and gives us two delightful moments in ep 13.
It's always so lovely when a bystander wonders that.
Oh yes, I will.
Zhao Yunlan gets him with his gun. Ya Qing helps him get away but is quite unsympathetic at the Warehouse of Emo in the next episode, informing him that his energy is draining, that he won't be able to do much for a bit, and that he needs to explain himself to the boss. He is largely annoyed that a mere human was able to hurt him.
We don't see him for a while, but by ep 16 he is back, manipulating Bao Laosan into trying to destroy the SID building with his Dixing power, and failing to back him up in episode 17. Later in the episode, Ya Qing confronts him about that and asks him how he'd feel if 'the boss' betrayed him like that. Zhu Jiu says he'd be fine with whatever the boss does: "He's the one who let me know the true voice of my heart." Cue ecstatic look.
Meanwhile, in Dixing, Zhao Yunlan finds out how Zhu Jiu's power works.
Next we get to the 'harvesting dark energy' arc and the underground fighting ring, where we find out that his boss is in need of great quantities of life energy from fit young people, which can be collected in a little flask. At the end of the episode he's very pleased with how his plan is coming together, but he's also slowly dying from the wound inflicted by Zhao Yunlan's gun, so he's making a final cunning plan.
The plan involves kidnapping Xiao Guo and Lao Chu and sticking them in a freezer, in order to blackmail Zhao Yunlan into handing over the Holy Tools. An injured Ye Huo is part of the captured team, and Xiao Guo's demand that he be treated brings us one of Zhu Jiu's best lines.
He also tries to get Lao Chu on-side out of a mistaken notion of kinship.
Yeah, wrong address.
His plan misfires and he gets caught by the SID, badly injured. he has no regrets except one:
This leads into the whole backstory thing which I couldn't be bothered to cap.
He manages to dupe Xiao Guo and escape, but only in order to let his life energy be absorbed into the flask, to be the final piece to bring his boss back. Contented smiling.
RIP, Wig Boy, you were fun.
Questions:
- How different would his story have been if the Black-Cloaked Envoy had sat him down for a talk?
- He has pretty standard, not bad looks in Dixing. What made him decide that straggly purple hair and Final Fantasy accessories were a good look for him? Just the scar or some goth emo thing?
- Could he have been redeemed in the show timeline if he had lived?
- Does Ya Qing regret his death once she has to work with the master of the Merit Brush?
- Chu Shuzhi follows the Black-Cloaked Envoy; Zhu Jiu follows Ye Zun. Both grew up wanting to be heroes. Both fell foul of authority. Discuss.
- How long has Ye Zun been playing the 'true voice of your heart' card and how did he ever come up with that?
Fanworks
The Zhu Jiu tag on AO3 isn't used much, but there are some nice stories there. (Caveat, I only discovered the long one by demitas while researching this, and haven't had time to read the full story yet.)
Voice of the Heart (2909 words) by Wei
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yè Zūn & Zhú Jiǔ
Characters: Yè Zūn, Zhú Jiǔ
Ye Zun cannot say for certain if he's ever had a friend, but there is no doubt in his mind that the closest to it was Zhu Jiu.
Calling the Lost Sheep Home (3500 words) by ExtraPenguin
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yè Zūn & Zhú Jiǔ
Characters: Zhú Jiǔ, Zhào Yúnlán, Yè Zūn, Shěn Wēi, Chǔ Shùzhī
Zhu Jiu joined Ye Zun because he wanted to make Dixing a better place. Then he discovers that the Boss doesn't want to make Dixing a better place or improve the lot of Dixingians, but rather destroy the world and everyone in it, Dixingians included.
Overwritable (2444 words) by ExtraPenguin
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Yè Zūn, Zhú Jiǔ, Zhào Yúnlán, Shěn Wēi
When he returns to the SID from capturing Zhu Jiu, Zhao Yunlan learns that the Sky Pillar has exploded. He is obviously worried at what this potentially-escaped criminal is going to do next.
(Ye Zun has unexpected plans.)
Rootless (10554 words) by demitas
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Yè Zūn/Zhú Jiǔ
Characters: Yè Zūn, Zhú Jiǔ
The Hallows send Zhu Jiu back in time, where he finds a Ye Zun who is little like the Boss he's familiar with, but who needs his help all the same.
So - come and talk about Zhu Jiu! Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged. Basically, this is the place for anything you want to say or link to about Zhu Jiu.
no subject
(episode 8, 18:34 - click for larger)
So pretty!