(no subject)

[extrapenguin]

Okay so I'm falling asleep on my keyboard (and will go goodnight soon), but:
- I have Worldcon flights! I'm arriving on the Monday afternoon (after 30+ hours of travel) so I'll have Mon afternoon/evening to wander around Wellington being supremely jetlagged, then Tuesday to wander around Wellington/maybe walk a path, slightly less jetlagged, before Worldcon on Wednesday-Sunday. I leave the following Saturday (with another 30+ hours of travel), so I have four and a half days (I'm reserving Friday evening for packing) to spend in and around Wellington. I've spent some time on the tourism webpages, but people in and around Wellington, is there anything you think I Must Do? (My current plans are mostly along the "walk around trails in the nature" lines. I'm physically fit and your winter is roughly our autumn, temperature-wise.)

- Work is ... not exploding, but busy. I'll have to go in early tomorrow to get some actual work done before some bullshit meetings. The good news is that I finally found out when I'm going on a longish work trip, and it's not in conflict with any space_swap deadlines.

- space_swap noms are ongoing! I have processed a lot. I will process more tomorrow, when I'm not asleep on my keyboard.

- I've continued with the femslash ficlets, even if I've wanted to write some Yang Jian/Xiaoxiao het for Fairyland Lovers (??????), return to a name magic MDZS concept I had in 2018, and do approximately eleventy billion other fics. Today's and yesterdays were CQL Wen Qing/Jiang Yanli darkfic.

- I came across some interesting meta on the translations of the MDZS sex scenes. Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, addendum from a translator (all on tumblr). It's interesting, and I'm side-eyeing ExR a bit now. (Tldr is that compared to two other translations, ExR picked the more "severe"/dubconny/yaoi-tropey ways to translate phrases and expressions, while the other two translations being compared are much closer to each other.) The meta author doesn't compare to the raws, but did (for parts 2 and 3) consult with someone who's looked at them.

- MDZS fic rec! But suppose Icarus did not fly so high, Jin Guangyao redemption/canon divergence where Nie Mingjue never dies. I enjoyed it!

- 音阙诗听 - 惊蛰 (Jingzhe | insects wake). It's not yet the 6th of March, and the insects are thankfully still asleep here, but I enjoy the song.

Comments

[china_shop]

!!!!!!! For some reason, I'd assumed Worldcon was happening in Auckland. If it's happening here, maybe I should re-consider attending...

Anyway, yes, it's a great city for walking if you don't mind hills. Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary) is excellent in a very low-key, non-flashy kind of way. If weather permits, rent a bike and head around the bays to the Chocolate Fish Cafe. I mean, I could suggest a dozen things... (but not right now; I have beta to do). Ftr, it's likely everything will be more expensive than you think it should be.

And we should meet up, right? Coffee or dinner or something? \o/!! :-)

[trobadora]

You know, I'm really side-eyeing some of the handwringing over the MDZS sex scenes. Like 'em or not, I think it comes across pretty damn clearly that it's nowhere near noncon, and you have to read it severely agains the grain to arrive there. But I find the translation discussion really interesting, and wish it wasn't mired in that context. Thank you for the links!

[solo]

I came across some interesting meta on the translations of the MDZS sex scenes. Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, addendum from a translator (all on tumblr).

Wow, this is fascinating. I wonder if the author could be persuaded to put this on AO3, too...

[jo_lasalle]

Woo, awesome travel plans! The 30 hour trip length sounds like torture (it's kept me from seriously looking into New Zealand) but yay for a good chunk of extra touristing around the con!

[tinny]

The MDZS analysis was interesting. I usually brush off cnovel sex as borderline non-con and intentionally painful, and that author's in particular. So seeing someone try to analyze it to fit what I would call loving and consensual is weird, to say the least. Ah well.

I've wanted to write some Yang Jian/Xiaoxiao het for Fairyland Lovers

This show does the weirdest things to us, doesn't it? I was so suprised how much I liked those two. I've never before liked a secondary couple this much.