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So I got an email tonight-- seen in my last check of the evening-- inviting me to beta the new Procreate. Which probably means it's a fairly broad beta at this point, because I'm nobody, but --

Um. Yes PLEASE.

I've only done a bit of playing with the new brushes but holy crap it's so good. Some of them have dynamic color interactions, behaving more like physical media. Some of them have amazing texture. Some of them would make amazing calligraphy.

I've gotten through 12 of the 18 categories in the comes-with-Procreate default library, and I really ought to go to sleep, but eeee this is so cool!

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250908

The Girl Genius comic for Monday, September 08, 2025 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250908

geraineon

This is gonna be a quick and short update. I'm very pleased to find that there's been a translator translating Konohara Narise's BL Novels and has actually finished translating a number of works!

The translations are here: https://itoshiikoto.blogspot.com/

I've mostly experienced her stories through their audio drama adaptations. Of the ones translated on that site, I've heard Utsukushii Koto 1 and 2, La Vie En Rose, the Cold series (Cold Sleep, Cold Light, Cold Fever) and I've cried much tears (of sadness and anger) over them all. I've also read Hako no Naka, translated by a different translator here. Parasitic Soul is currently not translated but I love it too.

Someone described her works as a bruise that stays, and yep, that's accurate. She writes very human characters in sometimes unusual situations, and her characters are always flawed. She's also really, really good at writing selfish people and obsessive love that feels very, very real. Kinda like a heightened reality in terms of emotions? She doesn't write her main characters in a way that inspires love (I don't know if I can say I love any of them), but you will be hoping that they can achieve some sort of happiness by the end of the story (at least, her less dark stories).

And for people who are interested in early danmei influences, Konohara Narise was one of the popular authors during early danmei days (I'd cite the papers, but I am lazy to pull them out right now... perhaps later I'll edit with citations). Danmei has moved away from that style, and I read that Japanese BL in general has also moved away from heavy psychological dark works. So, if you're interested in some of what got disseminated in the CN BL circles in the early days, check out Konohara Narise (but also please heed all the content warnings)!

As an aside, people who translate/have seen the current state of CN->EN webnovel translations might find this rant by the Hako no Naka translator very relatable.

trobadora

I don't know where the day went, or the weekend. How is it almost midnight already?!

Anyway: Over at

sid_guardian we've kicked off another rewatch - a slo-mo one this time, half an episode per week. And since we've already done the "take an epic amount of notes and write epic post" kind of rewatch, this one's going to be a bit more relaxed. *g*

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."

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."

Here's the first post, episode 1, part 1.

nanslice

We're not quite there yet but it certainly feels like fall! There's leaves on the ground, the weather has chilled, and the harvest has been bountiful!

The first BIG harvest! And probably the biggest one, although I do keep bringing more and more in. My first year of really trying is going so well! And also four pints of homemade tomato sauce! We have a deep freezer so I'm going to just freeze them (these are freezer-safe). This is just half of the sauce tomatoes in the picture above, so we should have another four cans there, and there's also SO MANY GREEN TOMATOES STILL OUTSIDE. I'm monitoring night-time temps and as soon as it gets too chilly (below 50s), I'll be bring all the tomatoes in to finish ripening on the counter.

Also started a bunch of greens (broccoli, bok choi, chard) to hopefully get some nice cool weather crops popping off. I have plants to further rabbit proof the gardens before these little babies go out, since the rabbits have such a preference for leafy greens. :\

In terms of fandom,

eatdrinkmakemerry is gearing up! This is one of my absolute favorite exchanges for making cozy, seasonal works. ;3; Which is not the only thing acceptable for this exchange, it's just my go-to because I love cozy bullshit, hahaha. The 2025 info post is here, if y'all would like more information and maybe like to nominate when noms open. Bring your friends! Let's have a good fandom time! <3

I admit to kind of failing in fandom lately; just not really have the focus for it. So I hope that this helps out with that. ;3;

It's also the time of year where spooky watch lists are being dropped and this one caught my eye:

Some of these I probably won't watch (The Fall of the House of Usher has a cat in it and I know something bad happens to it so I Will Not Watch) and I'll probably add some of my faves (Hocus Pocus not on there is a gd travesty, although I just realized these are movies available on Netflix....man, whatever). There's also some mystery movies that I'd like to watch (I've never watched any of the Knives Out franchise and it's apparently amazing! It's so annoying, with all the different streaming services, to find what you actually want to watch. :\

Also, has anyone seen the trailer for Good Boy? A horror movie from the point of view of the dog. ;o; I definitely want to watch this one.

Let's see....I think that might be it for me! It's a lovely day out (we've had some not great air quality due to wildfires but it seems like it's blown out for the most part). I think, however, that I might just curl up with a book and let the birds sing me straight into a nap (seems unlikely, lmao).

ysobel

Guy came around with "the government wants you to have a free phone because you're on benefits"

and my roommate who is aggressive with solicitors wasn't home

and so I said sure (thinking maybe I could use it to try swapping the sim card from mom's old untextable phone)

even though I know better

so now I have a phone I don't really need, that may or may not be a scam, that I regretted accepting like five minutes later

(they didn't take cc info so maybe the worst they can do is harass me)

...fml

merrileemakes posting in

style_system

Hello! I am a new DW member and in the process of transferring my blog over.

I'm playing around with the Buttercup Summer theme and happy with everything I can modify, except one thing. This layout has the navlinks in the sidebar, which is great, but the text overlaps the icons in the profile module slightly.

Screenshot of my empty DW page with slightly wonky sidebar

Screenshot of my empty DW page with slightly wonky sidebar

Looking at the source for my page, I *think* this because the navlinks module doesn't have a H2 header. If I wanted to add a H2 to the navlinks module (like the text highlighted below), how do I do that? I've tried the 'Use embed CSS' box on the Custom CSS page but I don't think that's the right approach (and it doesn't work).

Screenshot of CSS

Wait, I think this is because the S2 base layer has the code:

# Modules without titles: navlinks, time, poweredby

Do I need to made a custom S2 and remove navlinks from the 'Modules without titles' section? Is there an easier way to get my sidebar to look pretty and not have overlapping text?

Current Music: Einaudi: Ancora

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Hi, and welcome to 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. If you already know the drama, of course you can jump in without rewatching if you prefer!

Episode 1, up to 22:28

Summary
The prologue explains Haixing's history. Professor Shen Wei presents a public lecture and turns down a job offer. Guo Changcheng reports to the SID in the middle of the night, where Zhao Yunlan is outrageous and the rest of the team scares Changcheng into fainting. Twice. An unseen threat chases Li Qian through the night. Zhao Yunlan investigates a murder at the university, where he and Da Qing dangle Guo Changcheng out a window while they discuss the case. Guo Changcheng's cries draw Shen Wei's attention. Cat!Da Qing gets strokes. Shen Wei is very intense, and Zhao Yunlan notices. Afterwards, Zhao Yunlan interrogates Li Qian about the murder; Shen Wei comes to pick her up for class and further arouses Zhao Yunlan's suspicions in the process. Zhao Yunlan sends Guo Changcheng to tail Shen Wei.

Shen Wei staring up in shock. (His first sight of Zhao Yunlan.)

Shen Wei staring up in shock. (His first sight of Zhao Yunlan.)

Quote
ZYL: By the way, I'm Zhao. I'm handling this case. What's your name, sir?
SW: No "sir". I'm Shen. Shen Wei. I teach here.
ZYL: Shen Wei? A good name.

Detail
I love the contrast between:

Zhao Yunlan: Damn Fatty.
Li Qian: What a fat black cat!
Guo Changcheng: It can speak?! *faints*
Shen Wei: *strokes* This is a very intelligent cat.

:D :D :D

Questions
Do you have any thoughts or feelings about the prologue? What was your first impression of Shen Wei -- good guy or bad guy? First impression of Zhao Yunlan -- would you trust him? Do you empathise with Guo Changcheng's fear? (If someone turned into a cat in front of you, would you be terrified, delighted, or both?) When Guo Changcheng falls from the window, is he unhurt or does Shen Wei surreptitiously heal his ankle? From Zhao Yunlan's POV, what is the most suspicious thing about Shen Wei at this point?

Do you have a favourite scene or quote? If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation starts? The absolute perfection of the casting? :D :D :D Anything else?

(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, where you can sign up to host a post!

mekare

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

mekare

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

trobadora

After not writing anything more than alibi sentences for ages - my last fic was in May (The Consultant, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan), and the one before that in March (Beyond the Gates, the Mountain, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan) - I'm signing up for a lot of stuff now! Deadlines are usually very effective at making me write, so now that I'm not so busy any more and it's actually possible, that should get me back to where I want to be, writing-wise. I hope. *g*

In order of reveals:

There's rarepairexchange, which has its deadline a little over two weeks from now, though reveals aren't until October. I've been poking at my assignment, and I have a bunch of things I know I want to be in it, but so far I haven't managed to pull it all together into a coherent narrative. Hopefully once I've conquered this one, things will be flowing again!

Then there's guardian_wishlist, for which I just finished my sign-up last night - and we've only just posted the first batch of wishlists. (Mine is here; I'm requesting Guardian drama and RPF, as well as Guardian/Grimm and Guardian/Stargate crossovers.) And there are so many tempting prompts already! Reveals are on 6 October, and I hope to make a bunch of stuff before then.

Next comes ficinabox, with a deadline in October and reveals in November - assignments aren't out yet, but should come soon. I won't seriously tackle that one until after Rarepair Exchange, though. Plenty of time if I brainstorm and have a plan by then!

There's also the Guardian Bonus Bingo grace period in November, for which I hope to finish at least some of the things I started and didn't finish so far. *g*

Yuletide is of course gearing up again as well, so that's what I'll be working on in December. Can't wait to find out which rare fandom I get to write this time!

Then, hopefully fandomtrees will also run again this year, and I'll get to make a bunch of stuff for that too! Reveals are genearally early to mid-January.

And finally, there's fffx which doesn't have its deadline until the second half of January. I still need to finish my sign-up for that (planning on doing that this weekend), but that deadline is so far away, there'd still be plenty of time even if I didn't start thinking about it until after Yuletide ends. (Though I hope to have a plan before then!) Of course, an idea might grab me right away and I might be working on this in parallel to everything else, you never know! *g*

Yeah, I know that's a lot. *g* I hope to make up a bit for all those months of not writing! But everything's nicely spaced out, except for Rarepair Exchange revealing one day before Guardian Wishlist, and the Bingo grace period overlapping with FIAB reveals. So it should be very doable without being too exhausting. *g*

What fests or exchanges is everyone else doing?

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Hi! 12 wishlists are now live and ready for gifts on

guardian_wishlist! :D :D :D Come and check them out!

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 wishlists.

We've also put together a spreadsheet for your convenience, and we'll be updating it as more wishlists go live.

All gifts must be posted in or linked in comments. Gift comments can be anonymous or signed in. Comments are screened until reveals. The AO3 collection is also open for posting.

And remember, sign-ups are open until 15 September. The sooner you sign up, the more time people have to make fills for your prompts!

Come and join in! The more, the merrier!

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

starandrea

♥ From Now on I’m Taking All of My Storytelling Lessons From This Wild Epic About Love, Loyalty, and Necromancy

"It’s a bit strange, I think, how little writing advice is about feelings. There is abundant writing advice about everything else—from saving the cat to killing our darlings, to never/always using 'said,' writing what we know, info-dumping and more—but not a whole lot specifically focused on the fundamental question that faces every writer when we sit down to write: How do we make people care?

"...Being a professional author as well as a former scientist, I have chosen to approach this problem in the most rational and scholarly manner possible, which is why I have watched a shit-ton of gay fantasy Chinese television drama and will now tell you all about it."
--Kalli Wallace, author

"I absolutely love this article! As a developmental editor in the 'story structure' space, I’ve learned and am now unlearning the so-called rules of story that never look outside the western (and often just the US) canon."
--Anne Elizabeth Hawley, commenter

♥ Script Change: The Writers Trading Movie Dreams for Bite-Size Dramas
by Sun Yiyang and Zhang Lingyu; translated, edited, and republished with permission by Sixth Tone

"I long ago let go of the intellectual arrogance that came with my formal training. Shifting my mindset has brought unexpected rewards: improved cross-cultural communication, deeper language fluency, and opportunities to inject even the most conventional plots with subtle innovation."
--Wu Yue, as told to reporters Sun Yiyang and Zhang Lingyu

"...I believe the essential first step is to set aside our preconceptions. If creators lose that human connection, if we stop caring about the people we’re writing for, our work loses its soul."
--Wu Yue

"I still remember, back in film school, how often I complained to my professor about assignments and the state of the industry — that familiar blend of love and frustration so intrinsic to the writer’s life. What he said has stayed with me: 'Real passion isn’t about constantly declaring, "I love this more than anything." It’s when you’re completely exhausted by it — maybe even hate it a little — and you still choose to continue.'"
--Yu Jie

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250905

The Girl Genius comic for Friday, September 05, 2025 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20250905

trobadora

Via

brithistorian: the South African Ndlovu Youth Choir has translated Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody into Zulu. It's gorgeous - and after I saw the video, I just had to share it. It's completely stunning:

Watch on YouTube

china_shop

Pandemic life
( Nothing to report, really. )

Previous poll review
In the Cluedo poll, by far the most popular weapon was the cassowary (53.3%), followed by extremely elegant clothing (33.3%). In ticky-boxes, musical frogs and the wishing abyss tied for second place with 42.2%, after hugs with 75.6%. Thank you for your votes!

Reading
More of Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer, read by Candida Gubbins (I'm enjoying it, but it feels like it will never end), more of the latest Rivers of London (also audio), and more of A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall (library book). A browse through Low-FODMAP and Vegan: what to eat when you can't eat anything by Joanne Stepaniak (library book), of which more below.

Kdramas/Cdramas
I'm still going with Nothing But Love, eking it out. Pru and I watched two episodes of Mystic Pop-up Bar, and it's pretty great. I don't know why I bounced off last time. It does help that Choi Won-young, one of the dads from Family by Choice, is main cast and I love him.

Other TV/movies
Wow, almost no TV. Some Vir Das standup (very good), finished The Sympathizer with our tv-watching friend (fascinating, dark, very black comedy), two episodes of Fringe season 2 with my sister. One episode of new Magnum PI (very woohoo the military!). A ton more Bluey.

Bluey observation; ignore if you prefer to watch unquestioningly.

Andrew: Why is the mum always hanging out laundry, when none of them wear clothes?
me: .........

Jaws at the cinema for its 50th anniversary rerelease, so fun!

Guardian/Fandom
Everything is happening everywhere all at once. We're wrapping up the readalong, and the Slo-mo Rewatch starts this weekend on

sid_guardian!

guardian_wishlist is in sign-ups!

fan_flashworks stuff is happening behind the scenes! And I have a ton of

fan_writers comments to reply to! \o/

Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses are doing a deep dive on Charlie Jane Anders' All the Birds in the Sky. I haven't read it, but I still enjoy their analysis. The last episode gave me ~writing thoughts~, and I scrawled a bunch of extra stuff for my WIP, which I then immediately took out again because it didn't fit, but I'll use it somewhere else. Letters from an American is really good, and 12ish minutes of US politics a day is about all I can take. I started Alba Salix, Royal Physician but am still not sure.

Online life
After I posted my last

fan_writers post, I got a ton of great comments, and... hit a wall with things to reply to. I'm kind of paralysed by my inbox, now, overwhelmed, and not keeping up with my reading page either. Tabs continue to propagate. Also, my arms are such a mess, argh. I'm going to need them for Wishlist, so I'm trying to slow down, but <speech tone="wail">I don't waaaaant toooooo.</speech> :-( tl;dr Sorry if I haven't replied to you! I still plan to! <333

Writing/making things
After a week and a half of brain static, I tried to write a last-minute drabble for the FFW amnesty round and ended up with 1300 words of "srsly, nobody asked for this." Still working on my DNW-kink fic and having a ball.

Life/health/mental state things
Overwhelm plus sore arms, dohhhhhh. But my mood and energy levels are pretty good, despite that.

Korean
I have a theoretical plan to read the Guardian subs in Korean (진혼 자막 한국어으로) as we go through the rewatch. I'm completely 100% expecting to fall behind, but still, any reading is better than none, right?

Food
New things I've made in the last week:

a carrot, walnut and sultana cake, recipe from the back of the sultana packet; as I added a cup of this and a cup of that, I started going, "I'm going to need a bigger cake tin." Then I got to 1 cup of oil and three eggs, and looked at my mixing bowl. "I'm going to need a bigger bowl!!" Ended up cooking it in two unevenly distributed cake tins and taking one out early, lol.
vegan nutty gravy from the vegan low-FODMAP book; I used so many substitutions (regular miso for light miso, soy sauce for low sodium tamari, etc) that I'm not sure what it was supposed to taste like. It was good but a bit strong.
baked lemon tofu (ibid); Very Tangy. I tried this twice, and the first time I didn't have enough lemon juice, used some lime instead, and thought that was why it was So Tangy. The second time I followed the recipe more closely (just switched out thyme for oregano and added some maple syrup because yum), and it was still a bit overwhelming. Overall, not unsuccessful, but I don't know how to turn this into a meal.

Conclusion: I'm enjoying my experiments. It's fun flailing around, all "Stand Back, I'm Going To Try ~~Science~~ Cooking!" :-) Also, I feel like recipe books are like fan reccers: for best results, you have to find the ones you click with.

Good things
Bluetooth earpieces. Sisters. Reading glasses (but not the needing of them). Libraries. Unexpected story developments. Recipe books. Bluey! Biking.

Poll #33572 Spice tolerance

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 47

View Respondents

I can handle

View Answers

mild
21 (44.7%)

a vague tingle
19 (40.4%)

a distinct tingle
24 (51.1%)

hot
17 (36.2%)

searing
6 (12.8%)

call the fire department
2 (4.3%)

depends on the cuisine
13 (27.7%)

other
4 (8.5%)

ticky-box full of Michaelangelo's many naked dudes
23 (48.9%)

ticky-box full of someone else is cooking dinner
26 (55.3%)

ticky-box of ducklings debating the merits of existentialism
23 (48.9%)

ticky-box full of chocolate (hot or solid)
30 (63.8%)

ticky-box full of hugs
38 (80.9%)

fennectik posting in

anime_manga

Only two more episodes of this thrilling anime. I remember watching the OVA from the 80s after my first experience with it from the Capcom arcade U.N. Squadron which was later ported to the SNES.

I like the mix of dogfights and drama the anime incorporates. Not sure how it will end but I at least be happy that I've finished the 2000s version when I do.

I also dig its opening them Mission(Fugga), I feel that it sets the tone highly well.

Below a screencap of my favorite character who's also my favorite to choose in the videogame adaptation, Mickey Simon, who flies the ever awesome F-14 Tomcat.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Harold Faltermeyer- Axel F

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Poll #33569 Violins, weddings, blackmail, and tourism

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 13

View Respondents

In ep 13, why is Zhao Yunlan playing the violin when Shen Wei arrives at the acoustic lab?

View Answers

he's killing time, waiting for Shen Wei to show up, and the violin was right there
3 (23.1%)

he's enjoying the lab's acoustics
3 (23.1%)

it adds flair to the dramatic reveal/accusation
6 (46.2%)

he's playing a specific/meaningful piece of music that he expects Shen Wei to recognise
0 (0.0%)

he's playing random notes
1 (7.7%)

the violin is a Sherlock Holmes reference
5 (38.5%)

let's not mention his technique :-)
7 (53.8%)

other
0 (0.0%)

Was Shen Wei an official guest at the Li–Huang wedding?

View Answers

yes, he’s one of Dragon City’s most eligible bachelors! he arrived late to avoid the inevitable matchmaking conversations with hopeful parents
3 (27.3%)

yes, he was late for other reasons
0 (0.0%)

yes, the bride is his former student
1 (9.1%)

no, he was drawn by the presence of the Hallows/a disturbance in the Force, and power-changed from Envoy robes to appropriate wedding attire just before entering the scene
4 (36.4%)

Shen Wei is always dressed for a wedding
6 (54.5%)

other
1 (9.1%)

When Zhao Yunlan tells Lin Jing to hack Cong Bo’s computer and delete all the files, what does Zhao Yunlan say (given he can't reveal Shen Wei's secret)?

View Answers

“Cong Bo is blackmailing the SID with unspecified blackmail-worthy evidence. Don’t ask any questions or I’ll deduct your bonuses for the rest of the year!”
4 (30.8%)

“Cong Bo is a grade-A troublemaker! Wipe his hard drive so I can recruit him as a consultant. (Don’t argue, this makes perfect sense.)”
1 (7.7%)

“Delete Cong Bo’s files, no questions asked, and I’ll get you a mass spectrometer or whatever it is you’ve been asking for.”
7 (53.8%)

“Cong Bo has a sex tape of me and Shen Wei. I need you to delete it. If you look at it, you’re fired.”
1 (7.7%)

other
1 (7.7%)

The Dragon City Tourist Board’s next slogan should be

View Answers

Dragon City – Enjoy the City
3 (23.1%)

Dragon City – Interdimensional portals are actually quite rare!
2 (15.4%)

Dragon City – Come for the stinky tofu, stay for the supernatural shenanigans
2 (15.4%)

Dragon City – Only the locals get murdered!
3 (23.1%)

Dragon City – Home of Haixing’s Hottest Cops
4 (30.8%)

Dragon City – It’s science!
5 (38.5%)

other
2 (15.4%)

trobadora

It's that time of year again!

Yuletide is still my favourite multifannish exchange, and this year's schedule is out - nominations start on the 15th. And they're running an experiment with giving us more nominations and requests this year! Very cool, and I hope it works out well!

What's new this year:

The deadline is 12 hours earlier than it was the last few years. (First time in a while that the deadline will be when I'm actually awake, but I'll try not to cut it too close. *g*)