awanderingcoyote

So as you may have seen I spent some of my last post grumbling about the (emotional and practical) difficulties of starting to look for a publisher for my original thing (or rather, starting the Rube Goldberg process of finding an agent who... etc.). With helpful advice from qian and others, all much appreciated, I am trying to take some more concrete steps, but right now I'm stuck on finding comparative titles for my query letter. The thing is, a) I don't have access to all the books coming out in English (there are SOME in bookstores, and if I know what I want to read I can order it, but I can't just go down to the store or library and read everything that comes out) and b) I am a very fussy reader and I just don't read that widely among new books! I don't know what there is out there lately!

so please let me know if you have any ideas about books that partake of the following:
Essential:
-- published within the last three to five years (sigh)
-- SFF
Any of the below:
-- AU early 20th-century England or Europe
-- New magical system
-- Multiple protagonists who are friends but not lovers
-- M/M romance which is plot-relevant but not the main focus
-- M/M romance involving strangers/quasi-enemies to lovers
-- Male/female friendship between colleagues
-- Colleagues from wildly different backgrounds who share a passion for their work
-- Political machinations, preferably against a monarchy
-- Get-out-of-jail subplot

...that's all I can think of at the moment. Possibilities I have right now are Freya Marske's The Last Binding series and, although it's older than they're supposed to be, Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown. I want to say Emily Tesh's The Incandescent, because it chimes with my mind so well, but I can't actually think of any directly comparable points, oh dear.
(For the record, don't worry, I am not going to name a book in a query letter without having read it! I can get hold of promising possibilities if I need to, but I have to know what to look for first...).

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Just a reminder that

guardian_wishlist reveals are in two weeks, on 6 October (Reunion Festival).

If you've been meaning to take a look at the requests and make a little something or two, all wishlists are tagged for fandoms and media and open for receiving gifts. (Previous years' tags are labelled with their respective years, so check the plain fandom and media tags at the bottom for this year's wishlists.) Wishlist comments are screened.

Gifts must fit the requests and not include any DNWs. Prompts are optional. There are no minimums. Gifts must be unique to the recipient.

For posting guidelines, links to the Wishlist Spreadsheet and AO3 collection, and more information about the fest, please check the Rules/FAQ post.

facethestrange posting in

sid_guardian

Likely the last set of works before

guardian_wishlist gifts are revealed. :) ~~But who knows.~~

All fics, 1x drama Weilan, 2x novel Weilan, 1x Zhubai. :)

Peaches and Hope (1989 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Accidental Engagement, and intentional engagement too, Misunderstandings, Dixing Culture & Customs (Guardian), Lollipops, Kissing, Getting Together
Summary: "The sweet treat you gave me... What was it made of?"

Asking this simple question makes Shen Wei's heart race in a way that only the fiercest battles have ever managed to do before.

Not the Plan (1937 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan, Original Yao Characters
Additional Tags: Married Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Fluff and Smut, rated purely for smut, there's zero violence and no Crows get harmed, Porn with Feelings, Blow Jobs, Some Humor, Post-Canon
Summary: A couple of Crows with a nefarious plan are unlucky enough to interrupt the Soul-Executing Emissary's honeymoon.

At Last (970 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Drunk Sex, (but the consent is not particularly dubious because it's Weilan), Drunk Shen Wei (Guardian), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Time, Grinding, Hand Jobs, Coming In Pants, Coming early, Rough Sex Turned Tender
Summary: Drunk Shen Wei finds a different way to slow things down, without throwing his entire self out of his body.

Love, Spilling Over (1672 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: Tenderness, Established Relationship, set during the promo tour, Crying, Light Angst, Hopeful Ending, Soft, Guardian Bingo
Series: Part 12 of Guardian Bingo 2025
Summary: "Tell me about that life," he murmurs against Bai Yu's skin. "Not what we can or can't have. The life you want."

china_shop

I posted my unexpected-kink fic for the Riddle round of

fan_flashworks, and today I archived it to AO3. It's part of my Breakage and Repair 'verse which is Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives (mostly), Canon Divergence, but all you really need to know is that it's early-relationship Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan.

Title: Experiments in Dynamic Translation (9003 words) [Explicit]
Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi/Hei Pao Shi
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Relationships with complicated history, Being closeted in some spheres, Domestic, Unplanned/Impromptu Kink, Identity Porn (literal), Dom/sub, soft D/s, Dom!Shen Wei, Envoy!Shen Wei, Sub!Chu Shuzhi, (Zhao Yunlan enjoys the show), Fealty, Orgasm denial/delay, Dark-Energy Sex Toys, Low-key impromptu bondage, Dixing-Powers Powered Sex, Anal Sex, Voyeurism, Frottage, Long Hair
Summary:

It’s been just over ten weeks since his and Da Qing’s return to the land of the living, and in that time, Shen Wei has not yet had occasion to don his robes of office in front of Shuzhi—or indeed, to conduct any Envoy business at all in his presence. He’s visited the SID once or twice on official matters, but only in Haixing clothes, and he’s been sure to keep his manner light and casual in the public areas. Formal liaising is for the privacy of Zhao Yunlan’s office.

Now, faced with the prospect of a Dixing state dinner, Shen Wei discovers he’s slipped into—not so much keeping secrets, as compartmentalising. Again.

As I said in my end notes, it’s hilarious to me that my first E-rated fic in this ‘verse is something I usually DNW (D/s, especially when it leans into existing power dynamics). For some reason, it worked for me in this specific scenario.

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Title: Feathers and Stars (747 words) [General Audiences]
Relationships: Ya Qing & Original Dixingren Character
Additional Tags: Backstory, Playing with narrative voice, Bedtime Stories, inconclusive ending, Twinkle Challenge
Summary:

Dear one, settle down, and I’ll tell you a story.

And two for my Breakage and Repair 'verse (CSZ/SW/ZYL) which is Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives (mostly), Canon Divergence:

Title: Best Friends Forever (1523 words) [Teen and Up]
Relationships: Unrequited Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng
Additional Tags: Background Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei is dead for three years, So is Da Qing, (Then they come back), Grieving, POV Outsider, Unrequited Crush, Friendship, Bittersweet Ending
Summary:

Now Hei Pao Shi is gone, of course none of them can stay the same.

Title: Experiments in Dynamic Translation (9003 words) [Explicit]
Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi/Hei Pao Shi
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Relationships with complicated history, Being closeted in some spheres, Domestic, Unplanned/Impromptu Kink, Identity Porn (literal), Dom/sub, soft D/s, Dom!Shen Wei, Envoy!Shen Wei, Sub!Chu Shuzhi, (Zhao Yunlan enjoys the show), Fealty, Orgasm denial/delay, Dark-Energy Sex Toys, Low-key impromptu bondage, Dixing-Powers Powered Sex, Anal Sex, Voyeurism, Frottage, Long Hair
Summary:

Now, faced with the prospect of a Dixing state dinner, Shen Wei discovers he’s slipped into—not so much keeping secrets, as compartmentalising. Again.

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Zhao Yunlan sprawled on a couch, grinning at his phone. The background shows a purply sky with stars. Text reads "Slo-Mo Rewatch. Guardian - half an episode per week @ sid-guardian.dreamwidth.org."

Hi, and welcome back to the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch. Watch half an episode a week, at your leisure, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!

Here are the previous weeks' rewatch posts.

Episode 2, up to 22:11

Summary
Shen Wei heals his shoulder while the fish in his aquarium look on. Zhu Jiu plays chess and schemes to get the Sundial. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei save Li Qian from falling off the building, then she faints. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan take her to the hospital and discuss, among other things, Shen Wei's marital status. They make a lunch date. Lin Jing, Wang Zheng and Zhu Hong watch footage of the Envoy's appearance, until Chu Shuzhi makes them delete it. Guo Changcheng and cat!Da Qing stake out the hospital to protect Li Qian. Shen Wei shows up with food. Watching from the SID, Zhu Hong identifies Li Qian's necklace as the Longevity Dial, and Zhao Yunlan concludes Li Qian killed her grandmother. Changcheng tackles the hospital attacker, is knocked out, and then Shen Wei plain-clothes Envoys the attacker out of the ward just as Zhao Yunlan arrives. The hospital attacker and Chu Shuzhi fight in the street, and the attacker escapes.

Li Qian tearfully eating tofu skins.

Quote
ZYL: I'll treat you to lunch once this case is solved.
SW: No need... When that happens, it should be my treat.

Detail
I think this is the first time I've noticed that when Zhao Yunlan catches Xiao-Guo at the hospital, he repeats his "I've got your back" from earlier. Zhao Yunlan seems quite shaken, to me, realising he sent Xiao-Guo into genuine danger.

Questions
Do you have a favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 2? What is Shen Wei thinking when he sees Zhao Yunlan's graze? On a scale of 1 to 10, how sorry do you feel for Li Qian? How much bandage does a person need for a grazed arm? What do you think of Zhao Yunlan's management style? Were you surprised by the passing of time in this half-episode (at the hospital, we learn Li Yufen died two days earlier; at the SID, Zhao Yunlan says Xiao-Guo has been there for a week)? When Zhu Hong warns Zhao Yunlan about Shen Wei, do you think that's genuine suspicion or can she already tell which way the wind is blowing? Do you think Xiao-Guo manages to be successfully supportive at Li Qian's bedside? What's your impression of the hospital attacker, Gao Tianyu? Do you find him sympathetic? On a scale of 1 to 10, how hot is plain-clothes Envoy!Shen Wei?

If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation compares? The novel!SID team versus the drama!SID team? Anything else?

(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in. We'd love to hear your thoughts!)

And here is our schedule, where you can sign up to host a post!

veetvoojagig posting in

sid_guardian

His Hands (2537 words) by VeetVoojagig
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng
Characters: Guo Changcheng, Chu Shuzhi, Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Pining, Yearning, Lots of both, chu shuzhi has had enough of it, Hand Jobs, Semi-Public Sex
Summary:

He sighed softly, chin in his hand, as he watched Chu-ge drag a pen across a page from across the room. As steady in this mundane task as in fighting or manipulating his strings. What if Chu-ge was to set down that pen now, and walk across the office to Changcheng? What if that broad palm cupped his cheek, thumb brushing across his bottom lip? What if the other hand came to rest on his head, fingers threading into his hair? If the hands together tipped his face up to look into his eyes? Gazing down at him with the same want as his own?

nnozomi posting in

senzenwomen

Hayashi Kimuko was born in 1884 in Tokyo; her birth name was Kin. Her father Toyotake Wakunidayu was a joruri reciter, and her mother Takemoto Soko one of his disciples, and later a noted reciter in her own right. At age seven Kimuko was adopted by Uchida Hana, who ran a noted ryotei frequented by the leading politicians of the day, to be trained as her successor. She began studying traditional dance at nine in the Nishikawa-ryu school, along with the koto, the shamisen, the tea ceremony, and flower arrangement. At twelve she began to write waka poetry. By her teens she was considered one of the three great beauties of the period, along with Kujo Takeko and Yanagiwara Byakuren.

In 1901, at seventeen, she was married to the politician Hinata Terutake, who had made good as a broker in Hawaii promoting Japanese immigration; he had come to the ryotei and fallen in love with her at first sight. Although not in love with him, she appreciated his sincerity and gentlemanly manners, and the marriage eventually took place in the face of Kimuko’s adoptive mother’s protests. Kimuko and Hinata, who had been baptized in Hawaii, attended church together, and in 1905 moved into an enormous mansion known after its location as the “Tabata Palace,” where Kimuko held court as mistress of the salon (and learned to like the snakes her husband kept as pets for his amusement; the newspapers claimed she kept snakes up her kimono sleeves and bathed in perfume). They had six children between 1902 and 1913. In between, Kimuko found the time to study languages, art, and theology, as well as to write and publish well-regarded stories, essays, and poetry. In 1913 she became involved in the New Real Women’s group with Nishikawa Fumiko and others, arguing against loveless marriages and marriage with men who did not respect women.

In 1914, Hinata was arrested for alleged involvement with the Oura Incident (a vote-buying scandal involving military expenditures); he became unbalanced in prison and died in 1918 in a psychiatric hospital. Kimuko sold the mansion and focused on her existing sideline, taken up when her husband’s businesses wavered, producing and selling Aurora beauty lotion (she used her already legendary looks to put the product over) in addition to her writing and dancing. Her cosmetic work put her in contact with the pharmacist and poet Hayashi Ryuha, nine years younger than she, whom she called her first love; they married in 1919 and opened their own pharmacy, the brief gap between husbands (as well as Hayashi’s age and Kimuko’s existing children) setting off an enormous scandal. (Her oldest daughter Chie, then seventeen, remembered being told “it’s time for you to stand on your own two feet” at the time.) Kimuko found support in the activist Hiratsuka Raicho; although Raicho’s Bluestocking group had been ideological opponents of Kimuko’s New Real Women, both of them had set out on unconventional marriages with younger men, leading Raicho to sympathize.

In 1924, Kimuko launched her own “Hayashi-ryu” dance school, focusing on creative and folktale-based dance; she produced numerous dances of her own, some drawing on Western concepts and music as well, and promoted dance as a source of physical and mental health for women. She kept her dance lesson fees low and taught her students classical literature on the side; in addition, she and her husband both wrote poetry for the children’s literary magazine Akai Tori [Red Bird]. Kazue, the fourth of her six daughters, eventually inherited the school (of the other children, Chie married a pastor, Nana became a typist, studied in the States, and married a judge, Harumitsu was a sailor and an actor, Kiyomitsu was a cameraman, Saeko wrote for radio, and Momoko and Midori died in their twenties).

In 1945, just as Midori was dying of tuberculosis, Hayashi got another woman pregnant; Kimuko told him that the child would need a father and sent him off, although they never formally divorced. She received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th class, in 1966, and died the following year at the age of 82.

Sources
Mori 2014
https://kusanomido.com/study/history/japan/shouwa/97010/ (Japanese) Photos of Kimuko, her mother, her first husband and others.

china_shop

Just a quick one today, because I'm trying to write half a dozen other things. :-)

Previous poll review
In the phone poll, 61% of respondents hold the phone to their ear, 40.7% put the call on speaker, and 28.8% wear an earpiece or headphones.

In ticky-boxes, cats with resting blep face came second to hugs, 61% to 69.5%. Thank you for your votes!

Reading
More of Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer, read by Candida Gubbins. Andrew has started listening with me, so I needed a solo listen and, accordingly, am trying Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, read by Catherine Ho, which is great so far. (I've heard it contains one of my DNWs, so I'm approaching with caution.)

Kdramas
Finally finished Nothing But Love (it's so good!). Also finished Aema, which was fantastic, dramatic, pacy, with tons of complicated female relationships and femslashiness (fair warning: gets very dark in places). Two more episodes of Mystic Pop-Up Bar, which continues to be delightful, I did not see that romantic pairing coming!! (It's doing the Gobin "who is the reincarnation of whom??" mystery thing.)

In theory I'm still watching My Youth in the hopes it develops some/any dramatic/romantic tension... but now You and Everything Else is out, who knows. Viewing time is limited.

More Low Life this evening, yay!

Other TV
Mostly Dark Winds and Bluey. We would have watched more Chief of War and Prehistoric Planet, but my Apple app is refusing to stream, grrrr.

Guardian/Fandom
So much is happening! It's great! The Slo-Mo Guardian Rewatch is delightful,

guardian_wishlist is in its creating period (which is always much too short, argh), and I still haven't caught up with

fan_writers comments. Also, omg, my tabs!!!

I nominated for Yuletide and am having some earnest conversations with myself about signing up. Last year was my first year; it was a blast, but it was a lot. I could always just treat...

Writing/making things
I'm very close to finishing the unexpected-kink fic (still needs a title), but most of my focus is on

guardian_wishlist. I've finished one gift and started another, which is threatening to get long (the joy and curse of rarepairs), and I have a laundry list of things to write after that. I'm aiming for, like, six or eight in total, by 6 October, but it will depend on whether I can write short.

Anyway, the current one is at least doing that delightful thing of occupying my brain when I'm not at my keyboard, making me jot down notes and dialogue when I wake up. I've missed this level of engagement.

Life/health/mental state things
Andrew's taking some time off work, which is an adjustment for both of us, and also great and much deserved.

Good things
Tuesday was a glorious sunny summery day. My new glasses are nearly ready. So Many Kdramas! TV-watching dates. Biking again. Bluey! Writing. Fandom and you all. <3

Poll #33633 Muppets

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 49

View Respondents

It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights

View Answers

Kermit
19 (38.8%)

Fozzie
10 (20.4%)

Gonzo
14 (28.6%)

Miss Piggy
10 (20.4%)

Animal
19 (38.8%)

other / none / what?
13 (26.5%)

ticky-box full of I keep biting my lip, ow
9 (18.4%)

ticky-box full of paper tigers prowling stripily through their 2D jungle
23 (46.9%)

ticky-box full of Yuletide nominations
14 (28.6%)

ticky-box full of so many WIPs, so little time
16 (32.7%)

ticky-box full of hugs
37 (75.5%)

tinypinkmouse posting in

sid_guardian

I'm attempting to make this post on my phone, because I want to share the fic right now, but posting from phone isn't quite so easy it turns out. But very importantly I just finished posting my college AU fic (it's still set in drama canon universe though), and I'm really rather happy about it!

A World of Its Own (38986 words) by tinypinkmouse
Chapters: 11/11
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei (Guardian), Wu Xiaojun
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Pre-Canon, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, things diverge before canon starts, there are universities for dixingren, and everyone knows about dixing, Getting Together, Blow Jobs, Slice of Life, Worldbuilding, Drunkenness
Summary:

It's a stupid idea, but applying to a Dixingren university means Zhao Yunlan can say goodbye to any plans Zhao Xinci had for his future. And that has to be worth it, right? He really doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps.

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

A gifting fest for Guardian and related fandoms: guardian-wishlist.dreamwidth.org

guardian_wishlist sign-ups are now closed! We have 21 wishlists covering a variety of Guardian canons and related fandoms and a wide range of media. Go forth and make gifts!!! :D :D :D

Wishlists are tagged for fandoms and media (previous years' tags are labelled with their respective years, so check the plain fandom and media tags at the bottom for this year's), and there's also a spreadsheet for your convenience.

Anyone can write or make gifts for any sign-up, right up to reveals on 6 October (Reunion Festival). All gifts must be hidden from public view until reveals. Post or link gifts in comments on the recipient's wishlist. (Comments are screened.) Gift comments can be anonymous or signed in. You don't need a Dreamwidth or AO3 account to gift.

Rules/FAQ/schedule | AO3 collection | Fandom and media tags | Spreadsheet | Promo text and graphics

facethestrange posting in

sid_guardian

2 drama fics, 1 novel fic, 1 RPF drawing. (The last one has already been linked elsewhere in the comm, but I'm still putting it here for completion's sake. :))

Held (463 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Hands, Memories, Wedding, Domestic Fluff, Tenderness, Canon Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, Mild Sexual Content, POV Zhao Yunlan, Guardian Bingo
Series: Part 11 of Guardian Bingo 2025
Summary: He takes Shen Wei's hand in his, slow and solemn, and thinks of the handshake from what feels like a lifetime ago — all the longing and confusion and desperate hope in the firm grip, back when Zhao Yunlan didn't understand anything.

Taking What's (Not) Mine (1568 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Shen Wei/Ye Zun/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Ye Zun (Guardian), Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Threesome - M/M/M, Twincest, Dubiously consensual voyeurism, Mildly Dubious Consent, (as in: everyone consents but Ye Zun wouldn't exactly care if Zhao Yunlan didn't), POV Ye Zun (Guardian), Clothed Sex, Grinding, Coming In Pants, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Finger Sucking, Biting, Come Eating, Possessive Sex, Possessive Ye Zun, hand-wavy post-canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies
Summary: Ye Zun is welcome here, in Gege's bed, in Gege's home, no matter how Zhao Yunlan feels about it.

Show Me (1879 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen San/Shen Wei (Guardian)
Characters: Shen San (Guardian), Shen Wei (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, Oral Sex, Laughter During Sex, a bit of praise kink, Soft
Summary: "I want to show you," Wei says, breath warm against his skin, and Shen San makes a soft, strangled sound and nods wordlessly, the fire he has tried to keep in check all day rising and blooming in his belly.

Good Fortune by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: cheek kiss, Holding Hands, Fluff, Guardian Bingo, Fanart, Drawing
Series: Part 10 of Zhubai ~canon~ but with more kissing, Part 10 of Guardian Bingo 2025
Summary: The new crush is mutual.

facethestrange posting in

sid_guardian

(I can't believe I've never shared this here! I still have one spot left, and I only just realized that tumblr is not the only place where I can promote it. :D)

There are about exactly 12 hours left to bid in

sunflower_auction for Ukraine (countdown), where I'm offering 3 Guardian drawings!

Drama, novel, RPF - any of them, not one drawing for each fandom. :) Weilan derivatives tentatively included (Luo Fei/Luo Fusheng included very enthusiastically). :D In addition to just drawing some regular fanart, I'd be super interested in illustrating your fic (or other people's fics, as long as they gave permission).

You can bid here! ♡

(I'm the only Guardian creator this year.)

Examples: drama | novel | RPF
To only view art without any fics, select "Fanart" under "Additional Tags" in the sidebar. I'm not pre-filtering because the general themes of my fics are also relevant to what I draw, so you may get a better feel this way.
(My icon is an example too. :D)

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Sign-ups are still open on the 15th (any timezone). If you've been thinking of signing up for

guardian_wishlist, you have one day left until sign-ups close! Your wishlist can be as brief or as detailed as you like. You don't need a Dreamwidth account. (If you're signing up without a Dreamwidth account, we ask that you provide a current email address.)

Requests so far cover a range of related fandoms - from Guardian (drama, novel and RPF), to The Lost Tomb Reboot, Bank on Me, Detective L and other dramas, to commercials - and media from fic and art to meta, vids, picspams and podfic. There are no assignments, and signing up doesn't mean you're required to gift (though of course we hope you'll look at other wishlists and be inspired!).

Promote!
Thanks so much to everyone who's promoted

guardian_wishlist around Dreamwidth and on other sites! We really appreciate it!

If you're willing to help out, please spread the word! You can reblog our Tumblr post, or use the promo graphics, text, and link to our Carrd we've assembled for your convenience, or feel free to write/make your own. Help us get the word out!

Make gifts!
17 wishlists are now live and receiving gifts on

guardian_wishlist.

Anyone can write or make gifts for any sign-up, right up to reveals on 6 October (Reunion Festival). Post or link gifts in comments on the recipient's wishlist. (Comments are screened.) Gift comments can be anonymous or signed in. You don't need a Dreamwidth or AO3 account to gift.

Rules/FAQ/schedule | Sign-up post | AO3 collection | Fandom and media tags | Spreadsheet | Promo text and graphics

veetvoojagig posting in

sid_guardian

Another batch! 373 screencaps from episode 15! I try to look out for all of the perverts (affectionate) so in this collection we have hand pics, feet pics, lollipop pics, and of course, this:

As well as regular shots of all our babies!

Edited with the correct link! Sorry about that!

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Zhao Yunlan sprawled on a couch, grinning at his phone. The background shows a purple sky with stars. Text reads, "Slo-Mo Rewatch. Guardian - half an episode per week @ sid_guardian.dreamwidth.org"

Hi, welcome to our second instalment of the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch! Join us to watch half an episode a week (at your leisure) and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!

Here is last week's half-episode. On to the second half!

Episode 1, from 22:28

Summary: Guo Changcheng is having a day! After being dangled from a window and falling, now he fails at tailing Shen Wei and Li Qian, takes a lost grandma home, and promptly runs into a shadowy attacker! But action hero Chu Shuzhi comes to the rescue. Shen Wei studies Zhao Yunlan's file, and we get our first YOHE flashback. Zhao Yunlan, who has concluded the attacker mistook Lu Ruomei for Li Qian, tails Li Qian and has another intense encounter with Professor Shen. The Shadow Man attacks Li Qian at the university, but Shen Wei protects her - until he's thrown off the roof, just as the SID arrives. The team meets the Black-Cloaked Envoy for the first time.

Shen Wei protecting Li Qian on the rooftop

Quote:

Zhao Yunlan: "Tell you the truth, I really don't know why, but from the moment I saw you, I've had this feeling like we've known each other a long time."

Shen Wei: "Who knows, maybe we really have met before."

Detail:

One of my favourite details in this half of the episode is the Envoy's very dramatic arrival on the rooftop - storm clouds and lightning and time stoppage and all. The best part about this is something a first-time viewer can't know - that this is clearly a choice on Shen Wei's part. He's looking to make an impression, hee! :D

Questions:

What's your favourite moment or line in this half of the episode? Anything you noticed that you'd completely forgotten about, or never noticed before? How literally do you take Shen Wei's "I've searched for you for 10,000 years"? What do you think Zhao Yunlan is thinking when Shen Wei just gives away that he knows about Dixingren? If you were on that rooftop when the Envoy took the Shadow Man away, would you speak up like Xiao-Guo? And if you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how this compares?

(These are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in!)

And here is our schedule - please do sign up to host a post if you can!

china_shop

Pandemic life
You just can't get fitted for new glasses in a mask.

Previous poll review
In the Spice tolerance poll, 44.9% of respondents can handle mild, 40.8% a vague tingle, 49% a distinct tingle, 34.7% hot, and 12.2% searing. Two people (4.1%) said to call the fire department. Of course, all of these assessments are subjective and contextual: I initially said "hot", but then decided it was probably only "hot for me". Also, 26.5% said it depends on the cuisine.

In ticky-boxes, chocolate came second to hugs, 65.3% to 79.6%. Thank you for your votes!

Reading
We finished the latest Rivers of London in audio, and it was fine. And I finished A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall, which suffered from my genre expectations, I'm afraid. Otherwise, the same as last week.

Kdramas/Cdramas
Nothing But Love -- one episode to go, and there is no way to make it last. (If anyone's interest,

tinny made some gorgeous icons, yay!)

My Youth -- low-key romance with Song Joong-ki, partially set in the entertainment industry. As yet, there's no tension and very little plot, but everyone's pretty. I'll give it a bit longer.

Mystic Pop-Up Bar -- watched two more episodes. Manager Gwi will forever be my fav. I may have to go back to The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop, lol. And probably Family by Choice, too.

Aema -- I'm always delighted to find a kdrama Andrew will watch with me. (He's not really into romances.) This is set in the tawdry film industry of the early 1980s and based on a true story. It's about a celebrated actress who is tired of the exploitative aesthetic (antagonist, but I find her sympathetic) and an unknown ingenue who is desperate to make it, even if it means compromising (also great). It's about censorship, commercialism vs artistic vision, and film-making. Tonally, it reminds me of The Offer, which is a rec. We're three or four eps in.

Low Life -- (Disney+ does Kdramas) Two episodes with our tv-watching-with friend. Another period piece, this one about an array of scam artists and ruffians trying to salvage shipwrecked treasure in the 1970s. A lot of competing interests and macho posturing, and quite a lot of exposition, but I think it's going to be fun.

Other TV
More Chief of War (Apple+; yay indigenous TV; not very fun, but good and with that "prestige TV" vibe). Some Prehistoric Planet (Apple+ nature doco about dinosaurs, narrated by David Attenborough; really charming, quality animation, lots of cute baby 'saurs). More Bluey (we're going to run oooout /o\). Some Secret Genius of Modern Life with Hannah Fry (the episode about microwave ovens, where I learned a) that microwave ovens have Faraday cages to keep the microwaves in, and b) that if you shut an iPhone in my microwave, you can still call it (but not an Android) -- does this mean the little microwaves are escaping? /o\). Connections (BBC, 1978) episode 1, which is scientifically interesting while taking a dim view of human nature.

Guardian/Fandom
Fandom!! Our behind-the-scenes

fan_flashworks project went live yesterday with a Community Report, a Creator Report, and a comprehensive spreadsheet. We're so proud of this! A million thanks to

treonb for working so tirelessly on it!!

Meanwhile,

guardian_wishlist is underway (sign-ups close soon! come join the fun!), the Slo-Mo Rewatch started last week (jump in anytime!), and I'm still doing Guardian polls, apparently. On top of that, things are hopping on

fan_writers (if you're posting meta about the craft or process of writing, please link it there!!). *collapses*

Films
Not seen recently, but Uproar! is on Netflix now (here, at least), and it's so good. My review from May: 2023 New Zealand coming-of-age comedy-drama film about a Māori teen in 1981, at a time when a tour by the South African rugby team was dividing the country, because apartheid. This film blew me away, A++, absolutely recommend. The theme plays out on multiple levels, the performances are great, and the setting feels very genuine and frustrating. It deals with racism in school, the community, the home, and by the police/state. Stars Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death), Minnie Driver, and James Rolleston (Boy).

Writing/making things
My unexpected-kinkfic is at beta. I haven't managed to start anything else yet, despite the vast wealth of Wishlist prompts. My brain keeps stuttering and deflecting (and to be fair, there's been a lot of mod stuff to do). Whenever I look at my WIPs, they slide right off my duck-back brain. I'm really hoping I can get into gear soon!!

Life/health/mental state things
Another political submission last Monday, and one due on the 25th. (I can't do them all, so I'm just tackling ones I hear about.)

I ordered my first progressive-lens glasses. NO WARNINGS OR HORROR STORIES, PLEASE! I'm already trepidatious.

tl;dr

I've been holding out for a few years now. But these days I'm juggling a) my main pair: 12-yo scuffed-lens cheapos from Zenni Optical (online) which work for most things but I have to take them off for reading, and the scuffs make me feel like I'm getting cataracts; b) single-distance intermediate glasses (computer, crosswords and, increasingly, reading); and c) ancient-prescription sunglasses which, again, work for most things, but I can't read in them, which is a problem at outdoor cafes. My sister had a terrible time adjusting to her progressives last year, and I've seen similar unhappiness on my flist at times, so rather than going to the discount place where I got my intermediates, I went to my opticians. The nice sales guy spent literally hours talking me through everything, showing me various layouts for different lifestyles, and deciding which system would work best for me. He let me take three pairs of frames home for a second opinion. And then spent maybe another hour measuring my eye position and sightlines in different postures. I'm getting clip-on shades to fit the glasses -- fancy! Hopefully this will see me right for a long, long time. (Bodies are so expensive to maintain, ugh.) Again, please don't tell me any progressive-lens horror stories or even ambivalent ones!! Good/encouraging stories are welcome, though.

Korean
So far I'm easily keeping up with reading through the Guardian subs (it helps that I pretty much know episode 1 by heart). I'm not trying to understand every single thing. My brain is enjoying the Hangeul, and the jokes are even funnier when compounded with the triumph of "Oh! I understood that!"

Good things
Saw a seal in the harbour while I was biking home from the opticians. Kdramas! Fandom. Sunshine. Sleep is just really good, yes please. Walking through trees. Partners who let you blather about fandom all the time. ♥ Cat. ♥ Bluey!

Poll #33607 phone

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 61

View Respondents

How do you generally make/take phone calls, posturely speaking?

View Answers

hold phone to ear
37 (60.7%)

put call on speaker
25 (41.0%)

wear an earpiece/headphones
18 (29.5%)

other
0 (0.0%)

I don't make phone calls
5 (8.2%)

ticky-box full of beret-wearing bumblebees performing buzz poetry
24 (39.3%)

ticky-box full of cats with resting blep face
38 (62.3%)

ticky-box full of snacks, yes please
30 (49.2%)

ticky-box full of magic tricks with real magic
26 (42.6%)

ticky-box full of hugs
42 (68.9%)

trobadora

(So much for that daily posting thing - I've already skipped a few without meaning to. /o\)

Today I rode an e-bike for the first time. Useful for the hills, for sure, but it wasn't as much fun as a regular bike, so I don't see myself doing that often.

Last spring I signed up for a local rent-a-bike service, and ever since then I've been riding bikes a lot again, after a break of something like 15 years. (That was about when my bike got stolen, and I didn't buy a new one because I didn't and still don't have a good place to put it.) I still like biking a lot, though I'm glad I no longer have to in the winter, the way I used to when I was still biking to uni. *g*

I've also been walking a lot again this summer, so overall I've been getting a lot more exercise than I used to! Which, alas, did not turn out to be an unmitigated good. (Turns out that more physical activity makes me hungrier - shock, horror! - but not exactly in proportion. I'd really rather keep fitting into my clothes, and also I don't want not be constantly hungry. So less activity might actually be better. Since we're heading into winter and I don't like going out very much when it's wet and/or cold, I guess I'll see!)

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Thanks so much to everyone who's promoted

guardian_wishlist around Dreamwidth and on other sites! We really appreciate it! ♥

It's three days until sign-ups close, so now's the time for a final promo push. If you're willing to help out, there's a three-day reminder on tumblr, and our promo post with graphics and text, as well as links to our general tumblr promo post and a Carrd for your convenience, or feel free to write/make your own. Help us get the word out!

(For posts on other publicly viewable platforms, we'd love it if you'd drop a link in the comments here so people can reblog or retweet.)

Meanwhile, 14 wishlists are live and receiving gifts on

guardian_wishlist!

Requests cover a wide range of media and Guardian-related fandoms. There are no assignments, and you don't have to be signed up to participate in gift-giving. Anyone can write or make gifts for any sign-up, right up to reveals on 6 October (Reunion Festival).

All gifts must be hidden from public view until reveals. Post or link gifts in comments on the recipient's wishlist. (Comments are screened.) Gift comments can be anonymous or signed in. You don't need a Dreamwidth or AO3 account to gift.

And remember, sign-ups are open until 15 September! Come and join in!

Rules/FAQ/schedule | Sign-up post | AO3 collection | Fandom and media tags | Spreadsheet | Promo text and graphics

nnozomi posting in

senzenwomen

Yaeko Batchelor was born in 1884 in Date, Hokkaido; her birth name was Mukai Yaeko, or Mukai Fuchi. Her father Tomizo|Morotcharo was a leader of the local Ainu community; her brother Yamao later became an Anglican pastor and educator. Yaeko herself was baptized under the influence of the British missionary John Batchelor, an outspoken partisan of the Ainu; after her father’s death when she was eleven years old, Batchelor brought her to Sapporo to attend the Ainu Girls’ School he ran there. She also attended the well-regarded mission school St. Hilda’s School in Tokyo.

In 1906, when Yaeko was twenty-two, she was formally adopted by Batchelor and his wife Louisa. They took her to England (via the Siberian Railway), where she was anointed as a lay missionary by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Back in Hokkaido, she did mission work in Biratori and Noboribetsu, as well as traveling to Karafuto (present-day Sakhalin) with John Batchelor for the same purpose.

In 1931 she published a volume of tanka poetry called To the Young Utari (a word for the Ainu), notable for its references to both Christian and Ainu theology. Her adoptive mother Louisa died in 1936 and John Batchelor in 1944, having left Japan in 1940 as the war developed. Yaeko herself reverted to the name Mukai to avoid using a name in the “enemy” language, able to call herself Batchelor again only after the war was over. Known for her financial and moral support for anyone she felt was in need, she ended her life as a preacher in Hokkaido (accounts vary on whether she was lonely and poor or surrounded by siblings and their families), dying in 1962 at the age of seventy-seven.

Sources
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1206&context=transference (English) Excerpts from Yaeko’s poems, with interesting note on translation
https://www.hokkajda-esp-ligo.jp/jp/WakakiUtariNi/utao.htm Just because I thought it was neat: someone translated the whole book of poems into Esperanto…
https://www.hertfordmuseum.org/products/images/people/the-batchelor-family (English) Photo of the Batchelor family

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awanderingcoyote

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awanderingcoyote

Reading

crowdsourcing

Two weeks till Guardian Wishlist reveals

My latest Guardian fanworks

Guardian fic: Experiments in Dynamic Translation (CSZ/SW, CSZ/SW/ZYL)

Three recent Guardian flashfics: one gen, two Chu Shuzhi/Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan

Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 2, part 1

My first Guardian fanfic!

Hayashi Kimuko (1884-1967)

Me-and-media update

Fic

Guardian Wishlist sign-ups are closed! All wishlists are live!

My latest Guardian fanworks

Guardian drawings for Sunflower Auction

Guardian Wishlist sign-ups - final day!

Ep. 15 Screencaps

Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 1, part 2

Me-and-media update

bikes and stuff

14 wishlists live at Guardian Wishlist! Sign-ups close in 3 days!!

Yaeko Batchelor (1884-1962)

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August 2025

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