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extrapenguinSoulmates thingy done, back to spaceship rental! I have a total of 10k of that, in a sort of [4k from the start] + [at least 10k worth of scenes with snippets of text] + [4k of scene] + [at least 8k worth of scenes towards the ending plus vague ideas of another subplot] structure. I think this'll be another novel. Gaaahhhhh! And the bit I need to write next is the bureaucracy, which I hate. I will so need someone to beta this when it is all done.
In more positive news, I set myself a wordcount goal of 100k for the year back in January. (I had 147k last year, but I wasn't sure whether it'd be sustainable.) I currently have a bit shy of 90k posted to AO3 for the year, and in addition to the 10k of spaceship rental, I have a few k of miscellaneous Guardian fic I haven't crossposted to AO3 yet. Oh, and Yuletide always gives me a wordcount boost, as my favorite hobby is writing treats. :P If today is day 191 out of 365, and I have posted 89439 words onto AO3, then assuming that my words per day (~468) continues as-is, I'll get a whopping 170k posted onto AO3 this year! (For reference, in 2016 I "posted" 112 words per day and in 2018 it was 404. During longer projects, I averaged about 500 words per day from start to finish, but that doesn't include editing time/transition time between projects. Perhaps someday I can drag my daily posted-onto-AO3 average above 500!)
(For the record, the way I've increased my words per day is 1. outlining and thereby unlocking longer projects, and 2. practice. I have no life hacks for you.)
Time to go back to thinking about Ye Zun. And outlining bureaucracy. But mostly procrastinating by thinking about Ye Zun. My take will be very idiosyncratic/the circumstances nonstandard, but if you find you have words to say about Ye Zun, do share them. I find him entertaining.
In more positive news, I set myself a wordcount goal of 100k for the year back in January. (I had 147k last year, but I wasn't sure whether it'd be sustainable.) I currently have a bit shy of 90k posted to AO3 for the year, and in addition to the 10k of spaceship rental, I have a few k of miscellaneous Guardian fic I haven't crossposted to AO3 yet. Oh, and Yuletide always gives me a wordcount boost, as my favorite hobby is writing treats. :P If today is day 191 out of 365, and I have posted 89439 words onto AO3, then assuming that my words per day (~468) continues as-is, I'll get a whopping 170k posted onto AO3 this year! (For reference, in 2016 I "posted" 112 words per day and in 2018 it was 404. During longer projects, I averaged about 500 words per day from start to finish, but that doesn't include editing time/transition time between projects. Perhaps someday I can drag my daily posted-onto-AO3 average above 500!)
(For the record, the way I've increased my words per day is 1. outlining and thereby unlocking longer projects, and 2. practice. I have no life hacks for you.)
Time to go back to thinking about Ye Zun. And outlining bureaucracy. But mostly procrastinating by thinking about Ye Zun. My take will be very idiosyncratic/the circumstances nonstandard, but if you find you have words to say about Ye Zun, do share them. I find him entertaining.
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Date: 2019-07-10 19:05 (UTC)And the bit I need to write next is the bureaucracy, which I hate.
LOL awww, bureaucracy! Often it just cannot be avoided. ^_^ It has its own kind of beauty...
I've recently been thinking about Ye Zun a lot too for my own Reasons. But I find him hard to discuss cold and most of my thoughts are in a very specific context. (So no grand unified Ye Zun theory.) I also don't think I'm a Ye Zun expert, but if you want an un-expert sounding board for concrete issues, feel free to hit me up!
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Date: 2019-07-10 19:22 (UTC)\o/ I hope you enjoy it!
The bureaucracy, unfortunately, will have to involve a bunch of people being dicks about Dixingians' humanity. I'll try to write around it/avoid it, but some things need to happen for the resolution to be satisfying. And pave the way for future developments.
Honestly, same! I even have a back-burner idea about Ye Zun that has a completely different Ye Zun take to this one. This one is more about what being mind controlled for so long does to a person. (The other is "Fuck, I have screwed up so fucking bad.") If I have concrete issues that go beyond "ghhh Ye Zun Ye Zun Ye Zun how does characterization work" I'll hit you up!
Oh hey I figured out someone I need a grand unified theory of at some point! It's Shen Xi, Zhao Yunlan's mother. Assuming she got brought back from the mysterious circumstances she disappeared into, what would she think? What would she be like? /goes back to think, or maybe sleep like a good penguin
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Date: 2019-07-10 21:05 (UTC)I know I have to make an outline for the Ghost Story and pfff. My resistance to it is partially ugh one more thing and partially this is a level of writing dedication I never wanted so...
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Date: 2019-07-11 07:43 (UTC)FTR, my outlines are more (X happens) (Yunlan accidentally resurrects Zhu Jiu) (Zhu Jiu meets Dr Cheng at hospital because he got lost while escaping; sparks fly) (??) (Dr Cheng runs off into the sunset with Zhu Jiu) -level stuff, with occasional script-format dialogue snippets and apt sentence fragments. More notes to self -type stuff than an exhaustively detailed roadmap. Maybe this might help? IDK your outline technique or preferences.
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Date: 2019-07-11 10:41 (UTC)OMG did that go international??
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Date: 2019-07-11 11:34 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-11 11:46 (UTC)IDK my outline technique or preferences, either! *laugh-cry emoji*
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Date: 2019-07-11 17:51 (UTC)This just means you're free to experiment! :D
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Date: 2019-07-11 00:59 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-11 07:46 (UTC)As for how, well, to quote Asimov: "One must not like much of anything but writing."
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Date: 2019-07-11 01:01 (UTC)Except Shen Wei never meant for him to go through that in the first place, and then I get mad about how people keep blaming Shen Wei for stuff he didn't do. (See also: the treaty, which was not punitive, and it was Dixing's idea to remain separate, and he wasn't even there.) And then I want to toss them both in family therapy with power-restraining shackles so they can talk out their problems instead of doing this entire ridiculous over-the-top destructive posturing (Ye Zun) or quiet stonewalling and acceptance (Shen Wei). Because none of that helps anyone.
Who is Ye Zun without that driving need for vengeance? What sorts of things would he like? The visit to Minister Gao and Professor Ouyang in episode 36 reads as a frustrated theater kid for me -- the elaborate outfit, the dramatic dialogue, lots of flouncing around and showing off. He likes acting; he has a hard time not smiling while pretending to be his brother in episode 34. There are far better outlets for those interests than trying to destroy/conquer the world.
Relationship wise, I think he and Ya Qing and Zhu Jiu would get along pretty well without the background storyline. They can all go be goths hanging out in the park, reciting poetry and listening to music and playing chess and admiring each other's outfits. (I would love a Happy Goth AU, and I wouldn't be surprised if my own AU ends up there.)
I also have a bunch of thoughts about him that more relate to my own fic, but I think a lot depends on where you branch him off from canon -- early? Late? How did they reconcile, if they did?
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Date: 2019-07-11 17:49 (UTC)You know, that is a very interesting thing to think about, and might have some interesting implications for my fic! Also, poor Ye Zun. Someone give him a hug.
What's actually happened: Ye Zun has reconciled with gege. I am doing a bit of an exploration into what being mind controlled from a young age does to one, as well as more spoilery stuff. Destination #1 will be therapy. After that ... a sunny Ye Zun would be very interesting. I think a large part of the OTT theatrics is putting on a mask/learned behavior from his childhood getting mind controlled. Then again, Dixing seems to run on dramatics.
This fic's Ye Zun would like to know, too! So far, he has taken a nap. :P
This thing is canon divergence from episode 34 – Ye Zun gets interrupted when he tries to impersonate his brother and steal the Hallows. Then he yells at gege and gege gives him a memory of what actually happened. Also other stuff I'd prefer to not reveal.
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Date: 2019-07-11 18:46 (UTC)The eternal mood. (I've managed to skip a lot of woobie villains in my life, but this one got me.)
... a sunny Ye Zun would be very interesting. I think a large part of the OTT theatrics is putting on a mask/learned behavior from his childhood getting mind controlled. Then again, Dixing seems to run on dramatics.
I tend to consider Dixing tendencies towards high drama as a cultural value. If you're going to do something, goes the conventional wisdom underground, you might as well be as theatrical about it as possible! (But what do you expect from people who keep a well-engineered river of lava running through town.)
... Oh no, I'm wondering about Dixing literature and the arts again.
So far, he has taken a nap. :P
I'm a firm believer that a nap is always a good place to start.
This thing is canon divergence from episode 34 – Ye Zun gets interrupted when he tries to impersonate his brother and steal the Hallows. Then he yells at gege and gege gives him a memory of what actually happened.
So he's definitely got the acting kink and the fancy
/sluttywardrobe already.Maybe they can go shopping together? Shen Wei can take his didi to his tailor. Ye Zun should not allowed to buy pants on his own, given the travesty of the lower half of that white suit in ep36; pleats, really?? When he bows at the waist, he looks like an old man.
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Date: 2019-07-11 19:03 (UTC)Exactly! The dramatics are an important part of their cultural heritage!
My current plan is that Ye Zun starts off by stealing gege's clothes as payment for ALL THAT SUFFERING (you should've searched harder, gege!), and also because Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan are very busy. He will eventually go to the tailor's.
Also, Shen Wei makes questionable fashion decisions as well. Though he can probably teach didi about how to put together an outfit that is not "steal two jackets from gege's closet and put them on on top of each other".
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Date: 2019-07-11 19:21 (UTC)I look forward to the interesting combinations he's bound to discover! (And horrify gege with.)
Also, Shen Wei makes questionable fashion decisions as well.
Ahem, you say 'questionable' where I say 'amazing'. (That plaid suit! *dreamy sigh*) I've never seen anyone mix 'fashion forward' and 'old fuddy-dud' so well. Although I have to say the only time I recognized his outfits as anything close to my experience of engineering faculty was during the Hanga arc, when he would have fit right in with the
materials science departmentbicycle racing squad at my alma mater. (But of course Dragon City University is a far more formal environment; just look at the dean.)no subject
Date: 2019-07-11 19:33 (UTC)Some of his pants and outfits are very "professor emeritus who has taken up gardening" – I suppose they're amazing in some respect, but there are pants with similar issues to Ye Zun's white dramatic speeches ones. Though I do have to say that I like the mix of crisp suits and fuddy-dud (and even the plaid suit). Ye Zun can make very horrifying combinations out of it all, plus the stuff Shen Wei must've worn during his degree student years!
Same – most of the faculty turns up in jeans and a t-shirt. Sometimes one can sub the jeans for track pants, and maybe add a fleece if it's cold. Shen Wei dresses like he's ready to chair a scientific conference at any moment. :P
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Date: 2019-07-11 19:44 (UTC)Okay, yeah, most of his casual wear is horrifying. Like that teal ... jacket thing in episode 22? With the elastic hem and the two breast pockets and the button down front closure and oxford collar. It's like it wants to be a track jacket or a dress shirt and can't decide. And earlier in the same episode, the post 'kneeling in the rain' outfit looks like ZYL sent Zhu Hong out to buy a top and sweatpants at the nearest corner shop so SW could have something dry to wear. At least I hope that's what happened there.
Ye Zun can make very horrifying combinations out of it all, plus the stuff Shen Wei must've worn during his degree student years!
This calls for allllllll the fanart.
Shen Wei dresses like he's ready to chair a scientific conference at any moment. :P
Fact. (Except his tailoring is much better.)
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Date: 2019-07-11 19:58 (UTC)CANNOT UNSEE. Yes, that sounds appropriate. Or Zhao Yunlan did the quick trip to the corner store and couldn't really pick proper things because blind. Shen Wei's casual wear in general ranges from the one outfit an actual engineering prof would wear to kinda ??? to absolutely horrifying. Perhaps Ye Zun will have to steal Zhao Yunlan's clothes instead. :P
...I think at some point I should make a compendium of all of Shen Wei's outfits, since I'm already doing the screencapping for the rewatchalong, which has a Zhao Yunlan jacket watch. Two posts: one for what he's wearing each ep, then another one that showcases all his outfits.
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Date: 2019-07-11 20:07 (UTC)Unfortunately, Zhao Yunlan tends to dress very ... lower-class slob[1], and Ye Zun is a super snob. (But he should totally steal some of ZYL's jackets when he's doing layering.)
...I think at some point I should make a compendium of all of Shen Wei's outfits, since I'm already doing the screencapping for the rewatchalong, which has a Zhao Yunlan jacket watch. Two posts: one for what he's wearing each ep, then another one that showcases all his outfits.
I would be thrilled, and I know some other people who would be as well. But it also sounds like a fair amount of work, so take your time.
[1] I am 110% convinced Zhao Yunlan only dresses like he does to annoy Zhao Xinci.
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Date: 2019-07-11 20:17 (UTC)For complicated reasons, Ye Zun is re-examining his style and willing to include new influences.
I mean, after I've capped all 40 episodes, which I'll already be doing, it'd take an hour at most. But you'll have to wait at least five months – we're only at 19/40. :P
I agree with you 95%. The other 5% is that I think Zhao Yunlan genuinely likes his jackets.
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Date: 2019-07-12 02:41 (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2019-07-11 07:25 (UTC)no subject
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