working title ARK

[nnozomi]

Daily life: Thanks in part to magic sticky eucalyptus plaster things, I am feeling better than I was but still a bit odd here and there. The weather is bizarre. August here is usually bright and sunny and very hot, in the 30s/90s; this year it has been raining heavily and constantly and it’s so cool I have the airconditioner off and the window open right now. This is fine for me, a summer-sufferer; a big nuisance for the national high school baseball tournament; and a terrible disaster for people living in places prone to flooding and landslides. :(

Music: If music, like fic, can be iddy, here are two different versions of it: the Moszkowski E major piano concerto, which is Romantic id at its finest, and Liu Chang singing "Five More Minutes’ Sleep" (a song by his friend the talented Wang Leda), in which he manages to make quite mundane “I’m gonna get up, I won’t be late, I just want another five minutes’ snooze” lyrics sound incredibly NSFW. A delight.

Books: Rereading Hermione Ranfurly’s WWII diaries, which she mostly spent as an aide/secretary to high-ranking British army officers in the Middle East; she seems to have been one of those people who can charm their way into absolutely anything, but fortunately morally good.

The daily life of the personal staff is made up of a vast assortment of things. Like the waiters at a great banquet we hurry from the kitchen to the hall serving up the complicated dishes, listening to the comments of guests and cooks alike and keeping, as Whitaker would say, our traps shut. ... We censor the orderlies’ letters; get dragged into the synthetic social whirl of Cairo, run errands for the great, and ‘fix’ things for the young. We keep the big military plans and decisions in our safe along with our tin of toffee. We read the war news on the walls of the Map Room, which spoils our morning newspapers. We know the petty quarrels of those above us and below us. Our enemy is time, our friend the waste paper basket.

Chinese: As always, very mixed feelings about my ongoing The Rebel watch. (Lin Nansheng and Chen Moqun’s continued inability to successfully assassinate each other is starting to reach the point of farce. Also, is CMQ literally named "the silent majority"???) A little bit pleasantly surprised that Mrs. Fukuyama appears as a “nice” Japanese (unless she’s going to betray them later on, I suppose, knock wood). She reminds me disconcertingly of my mother-in-law.
Episode 27, Wang Shi’an to Chen Moqun, “we can’t all be as fortunate as you” or similar. Chen Moqun, near tears of rage and frustration, half-strangling him with his own scarf, “幸运! You call me fortunate! How can you...” and then calming down and stroking Wang Shi’an’s lapels painstakingly back into place. Such a strange intense moment (intimate in a different way from Chen Moqun’s passionate connection with Lin Nansheng): Chen Moqun’s (self-hating?) fury and Wang Shi’an’s unperturbed calm as if he recognizes that they’re both equally powerless in the end.
Episode 28, Lin Nansheng in silent agony while Zhu Yizhen tends his wound, wow, okay, they cast Zhu Yilong for a reason, didn’t they.

Writing: I think I now have a working outline for book 2, enough to get started writing (if I have about 1.5 outline items per number of projected chapters, and a general arc, that’s a working framework). There are still a number of open questions which I hope will come out as I actually write. Also I suddenly feel like I’m juggling a huge cast, even though the POV is the three main characters only. Lots of lovely moral dilemmas for everyone.

Photos: A day trip to some waterfalls (on a day when it wasn’t raining).



Be safe and well.

Comments

[maggie33]

Episode 28, Lin Nansheng in silent agony while Zhu Yizhen tends his wound, wow, okay, they cast Zhu Yilong for a reason, didn’t they.

Ha, yes. If you want someone to suffer beautifully hire Zhu Yilong, right? :)

[nnozomi]

If you want someone to suffer beautifully hire Zhu Yilong, right? :)
So very true. (Sometimes I worry about that man, I really do.)

[elenothar]

I'm about to start on ep 26 of The Rebel and am currently finding it more engaging than previously (I like post first time skip Lin Nansheng, he's not uber competent (yet?) but a bit less wide-eyed baby), but so far there haven't been that many assassination attempts. We'll see.

Writing: I think I now have a working outline for book 2, enough to get started writing (if I have about 1.5 outline items per number of projected chapters, and a general arc, that’s a working framework).

\o/ And yes, that totally counts (I say, glancing guiltily at my novel outline which is basically just a timeline with a couple of words scribbled in).

[nnozomi]

I like watching Lin Nansheng get more confident and competent (if not enough to accomplish his Chen Moqun-related goals), yes! Wait and see.

my novel outline which is basically just a timeline with a couple of words scribbled in).
You have a timeline. I realized that I know roughly what happens in what order, but I have no idea how long it's all taking...

[china_shop]

Yay for sticky eucalyptus plaster things!

Really lovely photos -- I especially like the light in the fifth one (and the frog). <3

[nnozomi]

Thank you! The frog and I startled each other, and it kindly held still long enough for me to take a picture. Probably thinking about how weird humans are.

[tree_and_leaf]

Lovely photos!

[nnozomi]

Thank you!

[chestnut_pod]

Such beautiful nature!

The Romantic Id is indeed a think and I support it in all its iterations.

[nnozomi]

Thank you!
On reflection I think I may have been conflating "Romantic" and "id" in relation to the Moszkowski concerto--it is definitely very Romantic, and also it hits me the way what fandom calls idfic does, i.e. I don't know or care if this is actually high-quality but it FEELS GOOD, you know? :)

[naye]

I love those pictures of the running water - the waterfall is pretty, but I'm really captivated by the closeup of the rocks.

Stay safe.

[nnozomi]

Thank you! There's actually a whole set of spiderweb lines strung across the water closeup, but I'm not a good enough photographer to capture them...
Stay safe
You too.

[clevermanka]

Looking up more Liu Chang stuff, thank you!

[nnozomi]

Liu Chang is such a flirt (and occasionally such a dork) and I love listening to him sing and to his chatty livestreams, even when I can't understand more than 10% or so. (I might have sent you some links at some point, not sure, but let me know if wanted).

[clevermanka]

Maybe shoot me some links, yeah, bc sadly he's not on Spotify.

[nnozomi]

YouTube has you covered. This long playlist is all songs (including some different versions of the same ones), and the channel it's on has most of his other stuff that I know about (livestreams etc.). Enjoy :)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82LNexSCweIkeIHRiYQdu44cpc8ACrOK

[clevermanka]

Thanks

[sakana17]

Lin Nansheng and Chen Moqun’s continued inability to successfully assassinate each other is starting to reach the point of farce.

I headcanon that there are subconscious, emotional reasons for both of them failing. :) Even if one doesn't ship them, they have a close history.

[nnozomi]

I headcanon that there are subconscious, emotional reasons for both of them failing. :)
Hard to argue with, oh dear. I'm halfway through episode 29 now (I watch about half an episode a day, which I know is ridiculously slow) and it just doesn't seem to take that much convincing on Lao Gu's part for Chen Moqun to step in and save Lin Nansheng... . (Wang Yang is so good in these quieter scenes, oh dear.)
(And in the parallel-universe where women survive being shot, Zhu Yizhen is being taken care of by Zhao Yunlan's mother! I'm sure it's coincidental but it surprised me very much.)

[sakana17]

Wang Yang is so good in these quieter scenes, oh dear.

He is! I'm so impressed with him as Chen Moqun.

Zhu Yizhen is being taken care of by Zhao Yunlan's mother! I'm sure it's coincidental but it surprised me very much.

Such a surprise! A fun detail for fans, even if it's just a coincidence. :D

[nnozomi]

I keep saying the same thing, but I really thought I would be watching this drama just for Zhu Yilong (who is A Lot too, God knows), I did not expect to have my mind absolutely blown by Wang Yang and Zhang Zixian.

A fun detail for fans, even if it's just a coincidence. :D
I mean, Guardian!Shen Xi also got shot in front of her partner's eyes, so I like the idea that here she, like Zhu Yizhen, gets to survive.

[sakana17]

I did not expect to have my mind absolutely blown by Wang Yang and Zhang Zixian.

Yes, same! They are both fantastic in this.

[tinny]

Oh yes, Liu Chang's voice is A+. Thanks for linking! This goes on my playlist. :D

Jia you for the second book! \o/

Pretty pretty waterfalls!

[nnozomi]

Glad you liked the song! I love listening to Liu Chang sing.
and thanks for encouragement <3<3