susannaoh

The thing about being sick is that I've been spending my time snuggled on the couch, reading a LOT of fanfic. Throwback fandom Tuesday!

Esprit de corps, by AirgiodSLV

Alec eyes the makeshift ops center filling with Academy students, and wonders if he’s about to regret this. “Is this the worst idea we’ve ever had?”

“Are you kidding?” Jace answers without looking away from the gathering crowd. “We’ve had way worse ideas than this.”

starandrea

By golly, they ARE crocuses!

Only I could be this surprised by something I clearly planned for, planted, and carefully protected not four months ago.

( yellow crocus )

I love a good crocus (apparently) but the dwarf irises are also stunning. And the first to bloom!

( purple iris )

Daphne and I were at this boat launch yesterday and there was still too much ice to put a craft in the water. Which makes today ice out!

(Ice out is usually a lake thing, the first date when every dock or landing on the lake is free of ice in the spring, but I feel fine applying it to a single river launch.)

( the surface of the water is moving again )

Yesterday I performed my random spot check of winter sown seed containers and I found a live one! There are sprouts in the container labeled "blue flax"! I do not know what blue flax is, but I hope I will find out this year.

( blue flax germination )

I was taking Daphne to a park this evening, but we stopped at this boat launch instead. It's an "all-tide" boat launch next to an overpass that was built on ferry right-of-ways. The beach under the overpass is always pretty, but especially when the sun streams in as it sets.

( sunset )

marcicat

Thank you, communal_creators! That sure was A Week on the personal health and work stuff fronts, and it was really nice to have a low-stress creative goal to think about when everything else was too much.

Final results: mostly crochet, a little writing. Reached skein #5 (of a probably 8) on my current crochet project, had some thoughts about future projects.

starandrea

March! I'm like the gray cat in that meme where it's looking in one direction going, "What was that?!" and then the image is flipped so it's looking in the other direction going, "What was that?!"

Those cannas are up because of course they are, a couple of dwarf irises bloomed in the front garden this week (first flowers!) and the mystery sprouts out back are definitely probably crocuses. Just, maybe, very large crocuses? One of them has a bud so we'll know for sure soon. Yay crocuses!

Also I just ordered a DNA test for Daphne, my head hurts, and 75fluent starts on Tuesday. Luckily I've already given up so it shouldn't be too hard. None of those things are related. I mean, I assume.

Ima go to sleep but know that I love you ♥

marcicat

My ficticious husband just showed up at my office party?!?, by KizuKatana

So Wei Ying had started out by simply saying ‘sorry, I’m taken’ when anyone asked him out.

He hadn’t really been expecting to have to expand on it with follow up questions that he got asked like: ‘Is it serious? What do they do for work? Do they live in town? How did you meet? What are they like?’

And… ok, Wei Ying could admit in retrospect that he might have gone a little bit too far.

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Guardian Reverse Exchange 2026. Image shows Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan facing each other, gripping the Sundial between them.

General info/rules/schedule post - please go there to ask questions if anything isn't clear.

Offers are closed!

This is the second part of the 520 Day Reverse Exchange sign-ups. If you made an offer on the last post, this is where you make your requests. (If you didn't make an offer on the last post, you're too late to sign up, sorry.)

You'll find our anonymous participant ads in the Google doc linked at the bottom of this post.

What to do:

Read the instructions fully before you make your requests.

Choose 3 writers/artists/fanwork creators from the anonymous participant ads. (Try not to choose yourself!)

Copy and paste the request form from the text box below into a comment, and fill out your request for each of your chosen ads. There are guidelines for the questions below.

Important: You can only request things (pairings, ratings, etc.) that your chosen writer/artist/fanworks creator has offered. If a request doesn't fit the offer, we'll ask you to rewrite and resubmit.

Participant ads will be removed from the Google doc when 3 requests have been received for that creator. Please refresh the doc and check that all three of your selected creators are available before you post your comment.

Comments are screened so only mods (

china_shop and

trobadora) can see them.

All requests must be made by 11:59pm UTC on Friday 3 April. (What time is that for me?) Then the mods will assign one of your chosen writers/artists/creators to create your gift. You'll receive your assignment by Wednesday 8 April at the latest.

( Make your requests here! )

If you have any questions about requesting or the exchange in general, please comment on the General info/rules/schedule post.

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Quick reminder that this year's 520 Day Reverse Exchange sign-ups close in three hours. If you've been meaning to sign-up, this is your last chance! :)

marcicat

I feel ancient and slightly like I'm in some bizarre alternate reality any time someone in a work meeting earnestly explains that something is trending on tiktok and therefore we should care about it. But also social media trend fics are very funny to me when I'm very tired, what can I say?

Questions to ask your Husband when he is busy and/or tired, by CalmStorm

Shane - 7:41am
Can we get back to the issue here. I have no idea what I was supposed to do tonight.

Hayden - 7:42am
Idk just make it up

Shane - 7:42am
But won’t he know?

Hayden - 7:43am
If he doesn’t know what he needs to wear I’m sure he’ll survive a surprise.

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Time's almost up! Sign-ups for this year's Guardian Reverse Exchange are only open for another 24 hours. If you haven't yet - now's the time. :)

Sign-ups are open until 11:59pm UTC on Friday 27 March 2026. (What time is that for me?)

Thanks to everyone who's already signed up! Come and join us - sign up with your offers now!

General info/rules/schedule

And if you're on Discord, Twitter, Bluesky, Tumblr or elsewhere for fandom, please help get the word out by promoting the exchange there. We have a tumblr post you can reblog, a promo graphic and text on the General info post, or you can make your own.

marcicat

VERY pleased to announce that I SLEPT last night, and this morning I have EATEN FOOD and I also DRANK LIQUIDS. These three things are all a huge improvement over yesterday!

marcicat

Hooray, it's Wednesday!

(Yeah, that's all I've got.)

starandrea

Potted a few of the cannas today. They're supposed to need three weeks to put out some roots and get their heads above soil. "So probably three days," Marci says.

( picture )

One of my neighbors asked if I'd started planting yet, and I said I wished it was warm enough to bring things out because I'm running out of room inside. He said, "Your thumb is too green."

( picture )

Daphne and I went to the park tonight and the sun was very kind. The weather was nice enough that she didn't have to wear a coat, and she had a great time frolicking in the field at the top of the hill. And on our way down we were visited by the brightest sundog I've ever seen! Even my phone camera was able to capture some of the color.

( pictures )

Finally, I'm really enjoying Duolingo's new units on hiking.

( picture )

marcicat

We have a truly astonishing number of Easter decorations, although I guess it's not that weird -- very hard for me to resist a cute animal wearing a hat, and Easter decorations are all about cute animals wearing hats. It's also the spring holiday, so it's like -- I guess now it's REALLY time to put away the winter decorations, and switch to spring? Feels like a lot of work, honestly. But I did exactly one (1) thing to switch the February decorations up for March, so even doing two (2) things would be 100% more!

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Sign-ups are open until Friday for the 520 Day Guardian Reverse Exchange, a multimedia exchange covering the Guardian drama, the novel and RPF.!

This is a reverse exchange with a two-part sign-up process: first you make your offer, and then you choose from everyone else's anonymised offers to make your requests.

General info/rules/schedule

Come and join us - sign up with your offers! Sign-ups are open until 11:59pm UTC on Friday 27 March 2026. (What time is that for me?)

And if you're on Discord, Twitter, Bluesky, Tumblr or elsewhere for fandom, please help get the word out by promoting the exchange there. We have a tumblr post you can reblog, a promo graphic and text on the General info post, or you can make your own.

facethestrange posting in

sid_guardian

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

marcicat

Communal Creators time-tracking week started yesterday, huzzah! And there's a spreadsheet! (Heck yeah, spreadsheets!)

I was planning to do crochet for my 'creative time,' but wound up doing 20 minutes of writing yesterday and not much else. (That was twenty minutes split into four 5-minute blocks. Writing is hard.)

Let's see what happens today!

starandrea

today's bilingualisms

♥ Stella: “不要judge我的化妆技术。”

"Don't judge my makeup skills.

♥ 竹子：“我用筷子 - uh-oh - 我用筷子夹黄瓜，有点难夹住。”（“我hold不住笑。”）

"I'm using chopstics - uh-oh - I'm using chopsticks to pick up cucumber, it's a little hard." ("I can't help laughing.")

♥ Cherry：“。。。加一杯黑咖啡，actually it's 美式咖啡我觉得。”

"...with black coffee, actually it's American coffee I think."

♥ Dawn’s guest：“他们那个音乐一响起来，那个welcome to 西双版纳就是特别吸引人。”

"When their music starts playing, that welcome to Xishuanbanna really draws you in."

marcicat

Plans for today:

REST

starandrea

♥ Garden update:

Holding steady with 8* out of 22 dahlias sprouted at the two-week mark. (They're gonna need more space and more light.) 2 of 3 canna boxes are still sleeping; I will probably give in and pot some of the more reckless from the top box tomorrow. (They don't need as much light as dahlias, and I do have extra soil, if not space.)

ETA: 12 hours later there's 9 and I genuinely don't know which one is the new one.

Cleaned up some leaves and old pumpkins from the side and dogwood gardens today, pruned the crabapple and montauk daisies yesterday. Still watching the maybe crocus/scilla sprouts in the rock garden, no further evidence at this time. (Now I am even side-eyeing the chiondoxa: maybe it's daffodils this year! Who knows! Apparently not me.)

( pictures )

♥ Miscellaneous notes:

What America Could Learn From Asia's Robot Revolution, article adapted from Candi K. Cann's book augmented. I found the "conclusion" particularly memorable:

"To me, this is the crux of why Americans have such a hard time accepting robots and other new technologies into our everyday lives, and why our science fiction is filled with stories of humans versus robots. In the United States, robots are viewed as soulless, unlike in Asia, where they are viewed as soul-possible or soul-different. For those who cling to the notion of human exceptionalism, if robots could be viewed as sentient, then perhaps humans are not that special after all. Until we take seriously the ways in which our cultural and religious heritages inspire and impede our attitudes toward technologies, the development of these technologies will remain the realm of only a select few."

Finally, Duolingo has added "B2" levels to its Chinese course as A/B. For once I am on the exciting side of A/B testing, so I got to bump my level from 100 to 130 yesterday. According to last year's Duocon, there are no current plans to add further content after B2, but Duolingo has defined levels up to C2/160.

...What does this mean? idk, but probably owls all the way down.

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 13, up to 21:44

Summary
Zhao Yunlan & co. break Da Qing out of his frenzy with the help of Lao Li's dried fish. Looking for Tan Xiao, Zheng Yi causes mayhem at the wedding, and Shen Wei arrives and stops it. Zhao Yunlan arrives and intervenes before Minister Gao can blame Shen Wei for any of it, but in fact, Minister Gao is grateful. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei go head-to-head about Shen Wei's secrets again, neither able to concede. They're called out to the street, where Da Qing and Lin Jing are trying to calm a frenzied Cong Bo. From him, they learn Zhu Jiu and the Crow Yashou have a boss. Zhao Yunlan hints again that he wants to work with Shen Wei, but Shen Wei leaves. Human-form Ya Qing and Zhu Jiu fight in front of Zheng Yi, who just wants her Tan Xiao. Chu Shuzhi stomps through the Snake forest and rescues Guo Changcheng. Tan Xiao has a nightmare and wakes up in the lab, where Zhao Yunlan finds him.

Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei facing off in the Li family's parlour.

Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei facing off in the Li family's parlour.

Quote
Shen Wei: Did I bring you trouble?
Zhao Yunlan: If you are the trouble, I'll take it by the dozen to bother my whole life.

Detail
Ya Qing delivers a message from Ye Zun to Zhu Jiu. Does that mean she's travelled to Dixing as their go-between?

Questions
Dried fish brings Da Qing back to his senses: what would work for some of the other characters? During Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's standoff in the parlour, who do you sympathise with the most? Is Zhao Yunlan demanding answers in his capacity as chief of the SID or on the basis of their personal relationship? Is it okay for the SID to go around sedating members of the public without first checking their medical histories? What is Zhao Yunlan thinking as he watches Shen Wei leave the alley? (He looks so serious!)

Did you see any parallels in these scenes with other parts of the drama? If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation compares, if at all?

(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 -- if you can, please sign up to host a post!

Reading

Navigation

fic rec Tuesday

"I like how Adam comes out on the stage and acts surprised by every guest he scheduled." (rsj)

let's get this month done

blue flax wins "first winter sown seeds to sprout"

fic rec Sunday

520 Day Reverse Exchange 2026 Sign-Ups Part Two: REQUESTS!

Offers are closed!

Guardian Reverse Exchange sign-ups: three hours left!

fic rec Friday

24-hour warning: 520 Day Reverse Exchange sign-ups close tomorrow

cautiously optimistic

workaday Wednesday

dahlias, daphne, and duolingo

EASTER IS COMING

Sign-up reminder: 520 Day Reverse Exchange 2026

My latest Guardian (and adjacent) fanworks

starting slow is still starting

catching up on my "immersion" haha

let's rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"it's just an ordinary day, and it's all your state of mind" (great big sea)

Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 13, part 1

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March 2019

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