sholio: (Cute cactus)
Sholio ([personal profile] sholio) wrote2025-07-04 11:31 pm

Hurt/Comfort Exchange

[community profile] hurtcomfortex released today! I happened to be driving a backcountry highway with no cell service at the time (coming home from Mom Things), but it was lovely to find my gifts waiting for me when I got back.

Hold a Candle To (MASH, 3400 wds, gen) delivered some lovely Charles drug withdrawal h/c with teamy affection, and A Way Out (Biggles, 4400 wds, gen) let me roll around in excellent Biggles & von Stalhein enemies-era reluctant cooperation and sympathy. Truly a lovely haul!
china_shop: Two Chinese men (the Envoy and Kunlun) in historical dress sit facing each other. Blue background with a pink heart sketched in it. (Guardian - bb!Envoy/Kunlun heart)
The Gauche in the Machine ([personal profile] china_shop) wrote2025-07-05 03:20 pm
Entry tags:

Two Guardian fics: Sunshine and Honey (M-rated) and Pages for You (T-rated)

I wrote a self-indulgent Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan treat for [community profile] idproquo and a post-canon Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan domestic-fluff flashfic for the [community profile] fan_flashworks Amnesty round. Thanks to [personal profile] trobadora for beta on both of them! <3

Title: Sunshine and Honey (4126 words) [Mature]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Outdoor Sex, Feeding, Finger Sucking, Oral Fixation, First Kiss (for one of them), First time (for one of them), Treat
Summary:

They were halfway to the Allied Forces’ southern boundary when the sun came out. Shen Wei pulled back his hood and looked around, conscious of the breeze on his bare face. The heavy clouds were finally breaking up.

Meanwhile, Kunlun had dropped his bag and flopped onto his back on the grassy slope. “Let’s rest here a while.”


Title: Pages for You (1762 words) [Teen and Up]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Established Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Fade to Black, Community: fan_flashworks
Summary:

Over the course of the evening, an impulse had taken root, and now Shen Wei submitted to it. He switched on his desk lamp, laid out several large sheets of paper and quietly ground some ink. If Zhao Yunlan wanted to read of their time together through the eyes of a Dixingren soldier, who better than Shen Wei to write an account—to show Zhao Yunlan exactly how much his arrival had meant to the war effort and to Shen Wei himself.

china_shop: Close-up of Zhao Yunlan grinning (Default)
The Gauche in the Machine ([personal profile] china_shop) wrote2025-07-05 03:06 pm
Entry tags:

Me-and-media update

Previous poll review
In the Routine poll, 84.2% of respondents voted for tooth-brushing, 50.9% for locking up and switching things off around the house, and 33.3% for tending to pets. Night-time routines taking more than half an hour got 24.6%, and "sometimes it takes me an hour or more" got 7%. *high fives*

In ticky-boxes, hugs won with 75.4%, followed by "how stressful it is to ask tradespeople to change things they've done" with 57.9% and "sitting on a mountain ledge in the moonlight, listening to owls" with 56.1%. Thank you for your votes! <3

Reading
Incandescent by Emily Tesh, read by Zara Ramm, who sounds exactly like Emma Thompson. I spent the middle third of this being unsure what the plot was (or if there even was a plot; "is this a cosy magic-school story?" I asked nobody in particular). Things stirred ominously under the surface, but the tension relied on the reader being more worried about them than the mostly oblivious POV character -- which was interesting. Overall, I enjoyed it very much.

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain). A few more chapters. I'm past halfway and it still feels like setup, which I guess is a function of it being the first book of five.

A tiny bit more of Neurotribes. I'm bored with the case studies/anecdotes and ready for some theory.

Two more chapters of Guardian by priest.

My Whimsy binge stalled after bouncing off three different narrators for The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. None of them hit the humour right. I suppose I'm going to have to read in text, but Prydain first (and I still haven't finished my reread of Werecockroach, note to self).

Kdramas
I finished Our Unwritten Seoul and enjoyed it very much. It's about 30yo identical twins, one who works in a corporate office in Seoul, and one who lives in their hometown and does a series of temporary and part-time jobs. The office worker is miserable from being bullied at work, so they decide to swap lives. Contains some pretty good (in my inexpert opinion) disability rep, and
I approved of both the morals (spoilers) 1) if you bottle things up and don't let people see your vulnerability, you can't feel their love; and 2) love isn't about winning or losing, or whether you're a burden; it's about being on the same team, staying together, and supporting each other as you win or lose. <3 <3 <3 (I was so happy when Ho-su stopped pushing Mi-ji away, and with the ending when they used sign language sometimes. <3 <3 <3)


I cancelled my VIKI subscription earlier this week because I wasn't using it, so of course I immediately started watching My Dearest Nemesis, as recced by [personal profile] adore. It has a bit of a "based on a webtoon" feel, but I'm fine with that, and it's a neat twist on the Obnoxious Repressed Chaebol Exec trope. (The leading man is leading a double life: he's a closet fanboy, but his family and position require him to present as a 100% bland, respectable businessman.) I'm obsessed!

Note to self: check out First Night with the Duke next. And maybe renew your VIKI subscription.

Other TV
Poker Face and Murderbot continue to be enjoyable (we're an episode behind on each of them). I found the second half of Andor season 2 a lot more engaging than the first half (and might like the first half more on the rewatch; yet to be determined). Another episode each of Étoile and Krapopolis. The Old Guard 2 on Netflix.
Tiny spoiler for the very end. Andrew was disgusted that, at the end, as [redacted] leave the secret archive full of ancient texts, they turn out the light but leave candles burning. "What about the ancient books?!" LOL!


A rewatch of French film Rosalie Blum, which I love.

Guardian/Fandom
The continuing delights of read-alongs and polls.

Audio entertainment
A little bit of Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American (US constitutional-law context for current developments), a little bit of Midnight Burger (audiodrama), most of the first season of Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones (which I'm enjoying despite not being familiar with DWJ's earlier books).

Writing/making things
I wrote a flashfic for the [community profile] fan_flashworks amnesty round and am poking at a couple of WIPs. My brain seems to be in recovery mode. My only current deadline is the [community profile] fan_flashworks Science round.

Life/health/mental state things
My thumbs/hands/wrists are not in great shape. My body is working hard to metabolise ambient stress. (*hugs to everyone*) I'm feeling a little under siege by winter and ~the state of things~, but I saw my sister for the first time in weeks (she's had a cold), a friend came over for lunch on Thursday, and last night our tv-watching friend joined us for Rosalie Blum.

Good things
Chocolate. Andrew and Halle. Fandom and all of you. Polls. Kdramas. Books. Podcasts. Eminem. Writing when it happens. AO3 (*clutches*). Love, kindness, and diversity.

Poll #33324 Crowd-sourcing randomness
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21


Crowd-sourcing randomness

View Answers

heads
5 (23.8%)

tails
6 (28.6%)

edge
5 (23.8%)

zero-g (the coin never falls)
8 (38.1%)

ticky-box full of grumbly cats in search of treats
15 (71.4%)

ticky-box full of being protective of your blorbos
14 (66.7%)

ticky-box full of surviving AO3 outages
16 (76.2%)

ticky-box full of soft, bright-green moss nestled at the base of a tree, glittering with beads of dew
13 (61.9%)

ticky-box full of hugs
17 (81.0%)

geraineon: (Default)
geraineon ([personal profile] geraineon) wrote in [community profile] cnovels2025-07-05 12:57 am

Discussion Friday

Let's talk about comfort reads!

Do you have different preferences when you're not feeling well? Or perhaps when you're anxious/sad/angry/other negative emotions?

What sort of tropes/story beats/other things do you look for in your reading material during these times?
pauraque: Guybrush writing in his journal adrift on the sea in a bumper car (monkey island adrift)
pauraque ([personal profile] pauraque) wrote2025-07-04 09:35 am

Arrog (2020)

This short narrative puzzle game follows a man from his death, through a spiritual dream realm, and into acceptance and new life. It wasn't part of the Latin American Games Showcase, but I indirectly found it through there; the co-developers Hermanos Magia and Leap are both based in Peru.

black and white image of a lens-shaped world with stylized people and animals walking on top and bottom as rain falls from above

I loved the hand-drawn art style and the symbolic imagery, interweaving the natural and human worlds. It's like an interactive experimental short film. The puzzles are mostly classic types (Simon, Pipe Dream, etc.) sometimes slightly obscured by the artistic presentation. You could say interpreting the imagery is a kind of bonus puzzle. The challenge is minimal, just enough to keep you engaged in the soul's journey. There are no instructions but they're not needed; whenever you don't know what to do, clicking around will reveal something in a moment, and what it reveals may surprise and delight you.

I found the game really lovely and heartfelt, though it is very short. They do say up front that it's a "30 minute experience," so no shade at all, I just enjoyed it so much I wished it had been a little longer!

Arrog is available on PC (currently on sale at $1.49 USD), Android (currently on sale at $0.60 USD), iOS and PlayStation ($2.99 USD), and on Switch ($3.99 USD).
sholio: Made by <lj user=aesc> (Atlantis city)
Sholio ([personal profile] sholio) wrote2025-07-03 09:09 pm
Entry tags:

Murderbot 1x09

This show is such a freakin' delight.

Spoilers )
penwalla ([personal profile] penwalla) wrote2025-07-03 10:15 pm
Entry tags:

Silver Elite: Chapter 1

Welp. No idea when the next Empyrean book is coming, and this is apparently popular on BookTok. No BookTok rec has ever done me right, so let's read this one and see how it goes.

I know nothing about this book. So it may be good!
i want to believe )

forestofglory: Cup of tea on a pile of books (books)
forestofglory ([personal profile] forestofglory) wrote2025-07-03 11:21 am
Entry tags:

Meida Round Up: Girls and Demons

It's that time again! More thoughts on media:

The Truth Season 3 case 8 (I think, the numbering is confusing now)— this case featured Chinese style horror, and it was very creepy but in a fun way. I also enjoyed the earthly 20th inspired costumes

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming— I’m writing about this even though I didn’t finish it because I think some of you might enjoy this. The first bit was really fun! The main character is a wildlife biology PhD student, who when she finds herself on an alien planet is upset that it's full of dinosaurs all from different time periods from each other! (Very relatable really) The book has a very fun voice. Unfortunately it ends up becoming too much sex for me.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh— A Korean inspired fantasy YA novel about a girl who chooses to sacrifice herself in place of the designated Sea God’s Bride and enters a spirit world full of mythical beings and complex politics. (I read this even though the mom is dead, and really there’s no narrative reason for it) This was lovely and very atmospheric, though the ending left me a little dissatisfied. (Content Note: Infant death)

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen— Second book in the Little Thieves trilogy. Very fun and twisty in a similar way to the 1st book.

Kpop Demon Hunters — It's an animated movie about a kpop girl band that are magical girl-sque demon hunters, there's lot of musical numbers.A Koren friend of mine described it as “an American movie set in Korea” and I think that’s spot on. She specifically complained about how the worldbuiling/theology feels too christian. It doesn't fully work through the consequences of all the violence but the flight scenes are very swooshy and fun, and I liked the themes a lot. I also really liked the female friendship aspect.
lotesse: (Default)
throbbing light machine ([personal profile] lotesse) wrote2025-07-03 11:21 am

(no subject)

Alas that stress also means need for dentist. I think the filling repair my dentist did last month already broke; it might not be the only bit of my dentistry crumbling under the current tension levels. And going to the dentist is so painful and scary :(
pauraque: Belle reads to sheep (belle reading)
pauraque ([personal profile] pauraque) wrote2025-07-02 12:21 pm

The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin (1972)

Many years have passed since The Tombs of Atuan, and Ged is now Archmage of Roke, the highest magical authority of Earthsea. One day the young prince of Enlad arrives with ill tidings: outside the safety of Roke's impenetrable enchantments, magic is disappearing from the world. Spells and songs are forgotten and the people are falling into despair. Ged and Prince Arren set out to find the cause, a quest that will lead them to realize their own respective destinies.

Even though I have read this book many times, I still find it almost shockingly good. Sometimes when reading it I have a wild urge to shake it and demand how?! how are you so good?? But that might be a little weird so I try to restrain myself.

It's a short book, but well-paced, and I think it feels longer than it is. It is a book where not that much actually "happens" in terms of plot events, and the main things that do happen are signposted fairly early on, so they're not surprises and they're not meant to be. The characters spend a lot of time traveling over sea and land and having thoughtful conversations about the nature of life, death, power, and what they are doing; the book is content to sit with them and listen. The beauty of the language and the depth of what's discussed make it a wonderful book to sink into and feel that there is space to think.

cut for vaguely spoilery discussion that assumes you've read the book )

This was supposed to be the final book of the series, and it was 18 years before Le Guin added book four. If I stick to my planned re-read schedule, it's going to be just about a year until I get to Tehanu. It is tempting to skip ahead! But part of why I'm doing this chronologically is that I want to look at Le Guin's development as a writer over time and how she went from being the author who wrote A Wizard of Earthsea to being the author who wrote Tehanu. We've got a ways to go yet.
geraineon: (Default)
geraineon ([personal profile] geraineon) wrote in [community profile] cnovels2025-07-03 12:38 am

Read-in-Progress Wednesday

This is your weekly read-in-progress post for you to talk about what you're currently reading and reactions and feelings (if any)!

For spoilers:

<details><summary>insert summary</summary>Your spoilers goes here</details>

<b>Highlight for spoilers!*</b><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: #FFFFFF">Your spoilers goes here.</span>*
sholio: outline of Alaska with aurora colors (Alaska aurora)
Sholio ([personal profile] sholio) wrote2025-07-01 11:10 pm
Entry tags:

Start July as you mean to go on

Technically this was yesterday, but I climbed a hill and had an eagle fly past me. (The hill is the Bodenburg Butte in Palmer, AK.)

Photo from a high vantage point, looking down on farms and fields stretching to blue mountains with their tops covered in clouds. Small figure of an eagle is visible against the clouds.

I realize the eagle is more like a dot, but if you've tried to take a quick photo of a bird, this is without zoom (I was just trying to snap a fast shot without completely losing the experience of having an eagle flying in front of me) so it is actually very close! After it flew past, I turned around and two teenage guys were standing above me, having just descended from the top and watched it too. "Sick," one of them said in obvious delight, and we nodded at each other.

I'm down in Southcentral doing Mom Things. Mom has been moved out of the rental where she was living since last August, and she was supposed to go home via helicopter today, but the weather was a problem. But that's why I reserved two extra days at the Airbnb beforehand, just in case. Tomorrow we try again! She was very respectful of my space today - I think she recognized that I was planning on having the evening to myself tonight and it didn't happen - and I wrote both fanfic and original fiction, and took a long walk to sort some plot things out in my head. Thursday I go home, and perhaps drive the Denali Highway on my way, if the wildfire smoke isn't too bad.
pauraque: bird flying (Default)
pauraque ([personal profile] pauraque) wrote2025-07-01 04:28 pm

Sunshine Revival Challenge #1

This year [community profile] sunshine_revival is picking up where [community profile] sunshine_challenge left off. Yay! Anyone is welcome to participate with no sign-ups or obligations. There's also a friending meme!
Challenge #1
Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.
Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.
In terms of journaling, the goals question is an easy one. This year I've been aiming for posting one book review and one game review per week. I already know what July's books will be and three of those reviews are already written. I like to have a backlog so weeks don't sneak up on me and become a scramble. By my standards I'm a little behind on games (only this week's post is ready to go! gasp!) and I'm not sure yet what the other games will be. I want to do some more retro titles since I've been leaning towards modern games lately. So one July goal is to play some old games and/or finish the ones I'm in the middle of. And to figure out what I'm reading/playing for August.

That said, hitting the second half of the year always sets off my fears that I'm not doing or accomplishing "enough," whatever that means, and this year I'm trying to counter that by actively choosing to do a little less this summer and give myself a break. Just because my job is less busy in the summer doesn't mean I need to fill up all the time with more activities! I've temporarily stepped back from a few things, which is really hard for me to do because it messes with the part of my anxiety that takes the form of Must Always Show Up And Never Miss Anything. But of course it is not actually possible to always show up for everything, and never resting leads to burnout. I know that, and I'm trying to be better about acting on it.

And on that note, I'm skipping the creative prompt. Not that the mods have in any way suggested that people should or must do both prompts! I'm just patting myself on the back for not trying to overachieve. :D
llonkrebboj: (Default)
llonkrebboj ([personal profile] llonkrebboj) wrote in [community profile] cnovels2025-07-01 02:09 pm

JJWXC Reader Annual Report 2024

 This is a public service announcement for JJWXC users! 

Every year, around January or February, jj releases your previous stats for the year, which can be accessed via searching 年度报告 on the app search bar, or via the link for the web version. The search bar access method may be limited time only as it currently does not work xD But here is the link to access on the browser (just remember to be signed in!).

https://www.jjwxc.net/sp/2024annualuserstat/readerstat.html
forestofglory: patch work quilt featuring yellow 8 pointed stars on background of night sky fabrics (Quilt)
forestofglory ([personal profile] forestofglory) wrote2025-06-30 01:42 pm
Entry tags:

More Doll outfit pictures!

I have been sewing a lot recently! It's really fun!

many pictures )
alierak: (Default)
alierak ([personal profile] alierak) wrote in [site community profile] dw_maintenance2025-06-30 03:18 pm

Rebuilding journal search again

We're having to rebuild the search server again (previously, previously). It will take a few days to reindex all the content.

Meanwhile search services should be running, but probably returning no results or incomplete results for most queries.
aurumcalendula: close up of Yan Wei and Xu Youyi from the opening credits of Couple of Mirror (Yan Wei and Xu Youyi)
AurumCalendula ([personal profile] aurumcalendula) wrote in [community profile] baihe_media2025-06-29 07:15 pm

A new Couple of Mirrors vid!

Title: To Hell & Back
Fandom: 双镜 | Couple of Mirrors (2021)
Music: To Hell & Back by Maren Morris
Summary: 'lucky for me, your kind of heaven's been to hell and back'
Notes: Premiered at Escapade 35.5.
Warnings: quick cuts and flashing lights, violence

AO3 | bsky | DW | tumblr | YouTube
douqi: (fayi 2)
douqi ([personal profile] douqi) wrote in [community profile] baihe_media2025-06-29 09:58 pm

Two Baihe Print Books Open for Pre-Order

Pre-orders have opened for print editions of two baihe novels. Both of these are mainland editions, so will be in simplified Chinese and censored.

The first of these is the second volume of unlimited flow novel Players, Please Be On Standby (玩家请就位, pinyin: wanjia qing jiuwei) by Shi Wei Yue Shang (时微月上). Pre-orders can be made via the following bookshops:


The web version of the novel can be read here on JJWXC.

The second is contemporary romance Her Various Moments (她的山海朝夕, pinyin: ta de shan hai chao xi) by Hua Yu (华予), originally serialised online as The Green Pear Pub 青梨酒馆 (pinyin: qingli jiuguan) (h/t [personal profile] laine4466 for the title translations). The literal translation of the print title is 'her mountains, seas, sunrises, sunsets'; cynical observers might well wonder whether this is an opportunistic attempt to cash in on the success of Her Mountain, Her Sea. Pre-orders can be made via the following bookshops:


The web version of the novel can be read here on Fanqie Novels, a relatively new webnovel publishing platform. To my knowledge, this is the first baihe novel on Fanqie Novels to be licensed for print.