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You guys. I have finally brought one of the three Guardian WIPs of Doom to first draft, and sent it to solo. It's called Something Wicked, is around 30k long, not an AU although it definitely seems like one, and just, OMG.

I've long since reached the stage where I can't tell whether the story works in any way, so I can't speak to the quality - it's possible it's completely confusing and incomprehensible. But I am so glad to get it into some kind of finished state. It's been over a year with this thing. Seriously.

Other good things have also happened!

DontStopRun created a podfic of Dangerous Knowledge, my Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty OT3 story! I am super thrilled - it's the second ever podfic for one of my stories, and I love it to bits. :-)

Also, Ominous_Rain wrote a pre-OT3 story for Sleuth, and named Dangerous Knowledge as their story's inspiration!

I am totally fine with being the founder of Sleuth OT3 fanfic. ;-) Although I honestly don't know how fans have been avoiding writing stories about these three all along.

( In less good news )

Here is a random Something Wicked Snippet, to celebrate the story reaching first draft stage!

"It's okay. I have a plan." Zhao Yunlan carefully detached her hand from his arm and gave her his best reassuring smile. He didn't think it entirely worked, but that was the benefit of being the boss. You got to do stupidly risky things, and wiser heads didn't have the authority to stop you.

( Da Qing followed him into the entrance hall. )

My excellent exchange luck has held true! I was lucky enough to receive an amazing story by blathering_kat as my Sundial gift. It's an intense post-canon glimpse at Shen Wei struggling to cope with what he's gone through, all (of course!) while feeling that there's nothing actually wrong; he doesn't need much sleep anyway. Lovely h/c, and an amazing atmosphere, and a perfectly Shen Wei-ish understated intensity of emotion.

Close Your Eyes by blathering_kat

"Tell me what you see when you close your eyes," he whispers into the dark.

~~~

My story was for the lovely enviropony, who (perhaps unwisely? *g*) showed interest in a certain character in her prompts. I'd had an idea involving that character a while back, and, well. This was the perfect excuse!


The Dixing Lord's Virgin Captive. A Romance of Ancient Dixing, set to writing by A Gentleman of Noble Lineage.

The cover depicted a bare-chested man wearing a hooded black cloak, a mask chased with silver, and thigh-high boots over extremely tight leather trousers. He held a swooning woman clad in equally impractical attire in one arm, and brandished a sword with his free hand. The woman was clutching a lollipop, and both figures were buffeted by particularly dramatic gales of wind as streams of lava flowed past their feet.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to confiscate this publication,” Shen Wei managed, sounding slightly strangled in his own ears.

A new romance genre takes Dragon City by storm. Shen Wei does not approve, and Zhao Yunlan is both ruthless and cunning.

I signed up for the sundial_exchange at the last second - yay! Will Exchange Bears end up chasing me again? Quite possibly! But for now, I am just happy to be participating in something fannish again. And with luck, this will kick-start my writing, and I'll finally be able to finish my nearly-finished WIPs…

Dear Sundial Creator,

( thank you so much for creating a fanwork for me!  )

( Generally speaking, I like: )

( I generally do not like: )

( Guardian )

( Optional Prompts )

We won a Hugo, you guys! The AO3 was awarded the 2019 Hugo Award in the category Best Related Work - and to me that really does mean that we all won a Hugo. It's our archive, our community and our fanworks.

I am so thrilled that fanworks are gaining more and more mainstream attention and acceptance. And you've all had a hand in that development. Congratulations to you! :-)


In other news, I wrote something! Have an excerpt from my current WiP. (Errrrm. One of them.)

~~~

Da Qing materialized from the shadows around the HQ’s entrance as Yunlan swung off the motorcycle. He sauntered over with a deceptively casual air to brush lightly past his legs, tail waving in studied indifference. “Lin Jing just arrived. He’s upset. You’ll have to threaten him again, I think.”

Yunlan hmmed thoughtfully. “We’ll see.” Da Qing followed him as he pushed the bike through the SID’s doors, parking it in the lobby in blatant violation of bureau rules. The cat was still lingering when Yunlan had kicked down the bike stand and hung his helmet from the handle, so he picked him up and carried him through into the main office. Da Qing allowed it, even snuggling into him a bit when Yunlan held him close. It said a lot about how rough Yunlan must be looking, to be honest. Usually Da Qing didn’t like being carried. Yunlan was glad he was making an exception; the warm weight of his best and oldest friend was grounding, even if his cat’s affection couldn’t touch the cold, hollow loneliness he hadn’t been able to shake.

~~~

I've been waffling about posting this because I'm not terribly satisfied with it, but then I reminded myself that the Sunday Six are about celebrating having written something. And I did write something this week! That's definitely progress. :-)

My contribution to the 520 Exchange was a story for the lovely demitas, who asked for a case fic and Zhao Xinci. This turned out to involve unexpected pitfalls, but I managed on the second try. ;-)

Title: Prince of Thorns
Author: Sylvia / rheasilvia
Relationship: Shěn Wēi/Zhào Yúnlán
Rating: Gen
Length: 6,888 words
Story Notes: Betaed by bonibaru and solo, who were tremendously helpful and encouraging. Thank you again!

Summary: Steel was the only thing that had a discernible effect on the rose thicket. Dark energy splashed uselessly against it, absorbed without a trace. Cold that would slow molecules ghosted across the fresh green leaves as a harmless frost, melting away easily in the afternoon sun. Fire… Shen Wei had not dared to try fire.

A rose thicket encages the SID, Zhao Yunlan is trapped in unnatural sleep, and Shen Wei is forced to rely on Zhao Xinci’s assistance.

The 520 Day Reverse Exchange seemed so harmless - a 300 word minimum sounds very doable! No pressure, right?

So, this is how that is going down.

Crickets chirp… time passes. The deadline approaches.

( Idea that is somewhat late, but not terribly late: Hey! I think I’ve got something! )

Man, I look forward to being able to read again. Also, sleep.

How are you guys doing? Any bears approaching?

Title: Lost Kittens
Author: Sylvia / rheasilvia
Fandom: Guardian (TV)
Rating: Gen
Story Notes: Betaed by solo. Thank you again!

Summary: For such a rigid and inflexible man, Chief Zhao could be surprisingly capricious. Why would he send a distinguished cat like Da Qing to deal with his drunk, wayward and entirely objectionable offspring? Humans, seriously.

OR:

Da Qing and Zhao Yunlan's first meeting. (For a certain value of "first".)



Lost Kittens

When Da Qing found him, the kid was pretty much wasted. Given the furrow of Chief Zhao's brow when he'd pulled Da Qing aside earlier, it wasn't that big a surprise – although it was still odd to see anyone related to the Chief spread out in his chair like that, every limb flung in a different direction.


The story on AO3.

Just happened to look at the first meeting in Ep 1 again (as you do) and noticed something that - no doubt - everyone else has already noticed long ago. Namely:

( Mark Stewart?? )

The m/m novel the Guardian series is based on can be read online – most of it has already been translated into English. It has a large fanbase, and many Guardian fans enjoy both canons. However, before reading the novel as a fan of the series, it may be good to know one thing:

The Guardian novel is very different from the Guardian series.

If you decide to check out the novel, I would strongly recommend reading it as its own thing, entirely independent of the series. Because otherwise, things get weird. ( Text and pics behind the cut! )

I have some screenshots and a theory. :-)

( Major spoilers for Guardian ep 34 behind the cut! )