They Say What They Say

A problematic myth about writing is that it comes from novelty. If we want to write, we need to have new material, right? If we have a new experience, an adventure of some kind, then we’ll have a story to tell or new things to present. While travel encourages me to see with new eyes–a jarring dislocation usually heightens awareness–seeing anew can happen anywhere. I think about Thoreau, who walked almost every day for years in the same vicinity, and who wrote, “Two or three hours’ walking will carry me to as strange a country as I expect ever to see.” You don’t need to be someplace new to see–or hear, or taste, or smell, or feel–something new.

– Maggie Smith, Dear Writer

My day 22: Finished my Yuletide sign-up. \o/ My sister's coming over this evening to watch Fringe and Bluey with me. \o/

The tally
( Tally )

Day 20: alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, shippen_stand, sylvanwitch, trobadora

Day 21: alightbuthappypen, badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cmk418, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

Thank you so much for writing for me and, most of all, for sharing one of my tiny fandom loves!! I adore all these canons and am sure to enjoy whatever you come up with. I’m only including a few prompts in case you’re the kind of writer who likes them; please don’t feel bound by them. If you like, you can use them as jumping-off points for something quite different.

I’m china_shop on AO3. Treats are enabled and welcome!

( Likes and DNWs )

And now, on to the prompts! I've patched these together in a bit of a hurry; more verbiage does not indicate preference!

Time of Fever: Go Hotae, Kim Donghee

(Feel free to use your preferred romanisation for their names!)

What it is: a 6 x 20-minute-episode BL Kdrama about two high-school best friends pining for each other. It's gorgeously acted and shot, and the characters have a lot of interiority: Go Hotae has just lost his father and moved from Seoul back to his small hometown; he's an athlete, a terrible student, and very sweet. Kim Donghee, bright, artistic, and abused by his father for being gay, comes to live with Hotae and his mum. He tries hard to conceal his crush on Hotae. We get to see Hotae's growing awareness of Donghee. Here's episode 1, and the rest of the show is linked at the bottom of the page.

Prompts:
* I love the idea of Hotae tracking Donghee down in Seoul (after all, Hotae lived in Seoul for a couple of years, right? he can find his way around). Whether they actually run into each other or not, I feel like there's a lot of potential here. Maybe Hotae writes to Donghee saying to meet him, and Donghee stakes out the cafe, sees Hotae waiting, but can't bring himself to make contact (angst, angst). Or maybe Hotae follows Donghee to Itaewon or Jongno and watches him meet friends in a gay bar - and decides to make his presence known (or not). Or Hotae comes to the university dorms on Donghee's birthday and insists on celebrating with him, and revelations ensue. So many possibilities!!
* Another kiss during their school era days -- maybe when they wake up in the bookshop together -- and the complications that ensue.
* Magic realism fix-it to help them communicate: bodyswap, telepathy, etc.
* Angst - possibly involving Donghee's mother's expectations that he not be any trouble to Hotae's mother, or situational-appropriate internalised homophobia, or just misunderstandings.

I'm fine with an unhappy ending (even a fight) as long as it doesn't rule out the possibility of them getting together at some future date. Happy endings are of course very welcome!!!

Unintentional Love Story: Go Hotae, Kim Donghee, Yoon Taejoon

(Feel free to use your preferred romanisation for their names!)

What it is: a 10 x 33-44 min-episode BL Kdrama about four young adults in small-town Korean. The background couple, Donghee and Hotae, are a coffee shop proprietor and a high-school dropout who works at his mother's restaurant, respectively. There's a lot of history and tension between them.

Prompts:
I'm primarily interested in Go Hotae&/Kim Donghee, but I really enjoy Yoon Taejoon (and Ji Wonyoung) as a background pairing/supporting cast. I love their respective friendships with Donghee and Hotae, especially Kim Donghee & Yoon Taejoon.

* A get-together or established relationship moment for Hotae and Donghee at any point, including post-canon.
* Exploring what it is that's holding Donghee back - and resolving this to reach a get-together.
* Magic realism fix-it to help them communicate: bodyswap, telepathy, animal transformation, etc. Maybe Donghee receives a batch of coffee syrup that gives people unexpected powers?!
* Anything about Kim Donghee and Yoon Taejoon making friends, being friends, critiquing each other's love lives and choices, supporting each other's businesses and relationships. (That "Dongee & Taejoon commiserating in a bar" scene is pure delight! Anything like that. :D)
* Canon divergent AU where Go Hotae takes up swimming again, and somehow this changes how Kim Donghee sees him.
* Trope fic! All the tropes! (Here are my trope rankings, though this is a few years out of date.)

Rūrangi (2020): Caz Davis, Jem, Anahera

What it is: a 2020 New Zealand LGBT-related independent drama film. After skipping town a decade ago, transgender activist Caz Davis returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rūrangi, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn’t heard from him since before Caz transitioned. He reconnects with both his high-school best friend and his high-school boyfriend.

Prompts:
I'd love anything focused on Caz -- his guardedness and grudging vulnerability mashes my buttons! Caz/Jem, yes please! Caz & Anahera, for sure!

I really just want more of the world of the film and what comes after -- and all the complicated feelings and relationships therein.

Do they take on the town council about something else? Do they throw a tiny Pride event? Does Caz meet up with someone else in town with whom he has history? An old friend of his mother? Another trans person (maybe not out)? Happy ever afters/domestic fluff are also very welcome: Caz/Jem fight and make up? Adopt a cat? Have a dinner party?

For this one, if you're adding magic realism (eg, Caz's mother's ghost making an appearance?), please keep it gentle and grounded. Other characters and OCs welcome.

Swordcrossed - Freya Marske: Mattinesh Jay, Lucastian Harte

What it is: a light, secondary world, urban-historical m/m romance with guild politics and secrets, swordplay and skulduggery, and people being messed up by their rich guild-house families. The romance is "playful-enemies to lovers," ie, there are compelling reasons not to trust each other, but they like each other enough that they can't help teasing, admiring, and developing inconvenient loyalties, despite the suspicion. (I gushed about it here.)

Prompts:
Canon divergence where something goes wrong for one of them, and they have to turn to the other for help before it feels safe to do so. (It's been a few months since I listened, so I can't remember how much that overlaps with canon, but feel free to riff off it. I'm about to re-listen to the audiobook.) An alternate get-together. A missing scene. Outsider POV. Another heist (on top of the ones in canon). Adopting a stray cat or dog. Dealing with (or helping) a member of the supporting cast with a problem.

Reel free to add SF or fantasy elements/tropes, eg, time travel, bodyswaps, ghosts, telepathy.

Otherwise, how about an AU, if you lean that way. I adored the connection, the vibe, the banter, and it would be fun to see that in a different setting. Matti and Luca in space? As pirates? In the high-stakes world of publishing? Sounds delightful! (No vampires, werewolves, omegaverse, mobster AUs or anything dark or gritty, please. And no fusions with other canons.)

김과장 | Good Manager (2017) (AKA Chief Kim): Kim Seongryong, Seo Yul

(Feel free to use your preferred romanisation for their names!)

What it is: This is a 20-episode Korean office drama (available on VIKI) about corporate corruption, redemption, team as family, and enemies to lovers allies. It’s funny, dark at times, full of wordplay that doesn’t completely come across in the subs, and generally delightful. The ensemble is excellent. My mini-ship manifesto.

I ship Kim Seongryong/Seo Yul so hard. I love what a mess they are, separately and together, and how they’re deceptively similar: both used to being the smartest person in the room; both pushing everyone away, Seo Yul with arrogance and anger, Seongryong by being a glib, mischievous chaos monster; both burdened with consciences despite themselves. They start off genuinely antagonistic but quickly come to recognise each other as worthy opponents. And then all the teasing, stolen kisses, and reluctantly joining forces! For these two, my prompts are for post-canon hijinks/get-togethers, but if you want to set something during canon, go for it!

If you don’t ship them, bickering friendship fic or forced-working-together fic, with or without other members of Business Operations, would also be great. I really love the ensemble, especially Choo Namho and Yoon Hakyung.

Prompts (feel free to interpret as gen or shippy):

• Seo Yul gets dirty/drenched somehow and has to borrow (terrible, ugly) clothes from Kim Seongryong. Can he stand the teasing? Does he immediately disrobe again? How does it affect his day? How does Kim Seongryong feel about it?
• Kim Seongryong or Seo Yul gets three wishes from a magical entity.
• Coming out to each other – or Seo Yul comes out to Kim Seongryong, and Kim Seongryong is inappropriate in some way.
• Third-party h/c, where one of them sees the other being (seemingly uncharacteristically) kind and comforting to another character, and it makes the first person realise their feelings.

The Spear Cuts Through Water - Simon Jimenez: Jun Ossa, Keema of the Daware Tribe

What this is: a fantasy novel (with m/m) about belonging and redemption and gods and (mostly human) monsters. Incredible storytelling, narrative voice, worldbuilding, everything. Somehow, despite its horror and grisly moments, this book has become a comfort listen for me. (The audiobook narration by Joel de la Fuente is *amazing*.)

Prompts:
Keema is my absolute favourite. I would love anything about his past, present or future, especially if it came with added worldbuilding. (I'm fine with some horror elements if necessary for the story, but I'd prefer them not to be the focus, and in particularly, not leaning into the live-cannibalism side of things. A generally hopeful tone would be great.)

If you're feeling shippy, I'd really love a future moment for these two, slice of life or another adventure. Maybe they encounter another spirit or challenge. Maybe it's the after-effects of godliness, or some aspect(s) of their being gods lasts longer than they thought. Maybe it's just about their life on the road -- or do they find a home somewhere, a place to belong?

Thank you again! I hope this is helpful and that you have a great Yuletide!

This talks positively about the value of the protests. I'm putting it behind a cut for those with politics DNWs.

( From Heather Cox Richardson... )

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks… and it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I'm writing, I write. And then it's as if the muse is convinced that I'm serious and says, 'Okay. Okay. I'll come.'”
– Maya Angelou

My day 21: Applied some edits to a fic. Then went into town in a howling gale to have lunch with a friend. Now the sun is out, the sky is blue, the birds are singing like, "What? What gale? We don't know what you're talking about."

The tally
Day 16: badly_knitted, brithistorian, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 17: badly_knitted, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 18: badly_knitted, brithistorian, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, luzula, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 19: badly_knitted, callmesandyk, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora

Day 20: badly_knitted, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, shippen_stand, sylvanwitch, trobadora

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

DW is seeing some issues due to today's Amazon outage. For right now it looks like the site is loading, but it may be slow. Some of our processes like notifications and journal search don't appear to be running and can't be started due to rate limiting or capacity issues. DW could go down later if Amazon isn't able to improve things soon, but our services should return to normal when Amazon has cleared up the outage.

Edit: all services are running as of 16:12 CDT, but there is definitely still a backlog of notifications to get through.

Edit 2: and at 18:20 CDT everything's been running normally for about the last hour.

“The only question you need to be able to answer about your story is: Why today? Why this day out of your character’s life rather than all the other days? And the answer, it’s always Because this is the day that’s breaking the rhythm, the day that’s an aberrance, the day everything can change, if the character can just walk that tightrope to the last page.”
– Stephen Graham Jones

My day 20: Finished a flashfic (added about 800 words, edited the whole thing, posted). Read through another fic on my kindle and made notes of things to fix (still to apply). Worked on my Yuletide letter.

The tally
Day 16: badly_knitted, brithistorian, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 17: badly_knitted, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 18: badly_knitted, brithistorian, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, luzula, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 19: badly_knitted, callmesandyk, china_shop, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

Today I made baklava.



Haven't tasted it yet.

"Sometimes [when we] talk about creativity, it can have this kind of feel that it's just nice...it's warm or it's something pleasant. It's not. It's vital. It's the way we heal each other.

In singing our song, in telling our story, in inviting you to say, "Hey, listen to me, and I'll listen to you," we're starting a dialogue. And when you do that, this healing happens, and we come out of our corners, and we start to witness each other's common humanity....

If you want to help your community, if you want to help your family, if you want to help your friends, you have to express yourself. And to express yourself, you have to know yourself. It's actually super easy. You just have to follow your love. There is no path. There's no path till you walk it." – Ethan Hawke, TED talk: 'Give yourself permission to be creative'

My day 19: Not much this morning. I started to plan my Yuletide sign-up, and I wrote an alibi sentence. This afternoon we went out for a late lunch (have to grab the opportunity when the sun comes out), took a bit of a walk along a stream, and saw Grace: a prayer for peace, a film about an Aotearoa / New Zealand artist (which is why this post is a bit late). Tomorrow I need to finish my flashfic.

The tally
Day 16: badly_knitted, brithistorian, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 17: badly_knitted, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

Day 18: badly_knitted, brithistorian, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

"I used to wonder if it wouldn't be better just to haul off and quit hoping. Just protect my own inner brain, my own mind and heart, by drawing it up into a hard knot, and not having any more hopes or dreams at all. Pull in my feelings, and call back all of my sentiments... and, yet … the pleasures, and the displeasures, the good times and the bad, are really all there is to me.

[They] are the yeast that always starts working in your mind again... and then, all at once, no matter what has happened to you, you are building a brand new world again, based and built on the mistakes, the wreck, the hard luck and trouble of the old one."

– Woody Guthrie, in A Race Of Singers by Bryan K Garman

My day 18: My routine falls apart at the weekend (which is fine). I wrote a short meta post for sid_guardian and left a meta comment on it. That'll do. Having a quiet night tonight, too.

The tally
Day 16: badly_knitted, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora

Day 17: badly_knitted, china_shop, cmk418, cornerofmadness, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

"Because in the age of likes and follows, we have confused the reward of creating with the reward of being praised for creating, and why wouldn’t we? Our culture has never celebrated aspiring. Our culture celebrates markers of success. You meet a writer at a party. Oh, have you ever been published? When we could ask: what are the stories that inspire you? What is the story you most want to tell? We have to rewire the way we talk about art, the way we think about artists. The job of the artist is not to skip to the good part. The job of the artist is to make art when no one gives a damn, when no one likes or follows, when we are not being comforted by compliments and praise."

– Leigh Bardugo, via TedX

My day 17: I added 617 words to my flashfic. The story is supposed to be a little missing scene about time travel. Perhaps inevitably, given one of the characters is a deposed king, politics has reared its head, so it's still going. Oops! Not to worry, I still have plenty of time to finish it.

I also slightly tweaked a gift fic. I was thinking about the question of how to portray emotional beats/responses, showing without telling. In tandem with that, I started wondering if my POV characters have been tending too cerebral lately. Do you prefer characters to think through the implications of things or just to gut-reaction? (Does it depend on the character?) How do you express emotional beats? Are your descriptions primarily physiological (pulse, breath, etc) or something else? Do you have a technique for conveying feelings as they arise, or is this just something you do instinctively?

As well as writing, I went with Andrew (partner) to our favourite outdoor cafe (which is being forced to close down in a few months, oh no!) and sat in the blustery northwesterly, then did grocery shopping. This evening our friend is coming over for the last two episodes of Kdrama Low Life, and I'm making enchiladas.

The tally
Day 16: china_shop, badly_knitted, trobadora, sylvanwitch

When you check in, please say what day(s) you’re checking in for. You can join in or take a break at any time; you’re always welcome back. And please let me know if I’ve missed you.

Welcome to Write Every Day! I'm china_shop, and I'll be your host for October Part 2! (Much, much thanks to cornerofmadness for sharing the month with me. ♥)

For the regulars who have been doing this a while and just want the details: I'm on NZDT (UTC+13), and I plan to post between 4pm and 6pm local time, which should line up pretty well with cornerofmadness's posts. Please comment on the most recent post, and specify what day(s) you're checking in for.

( For everyone else: what is Write Every Day and how does it work? )

I go to London Writer's Salon Antipodean Writers' Hour on weekdays, and that usually starts off with an encouraging/inspirational quote. Here's one someone shared a while back.

"When you go mountain climbing, the first thing you’re told is not to look at the peak, but to keep your eyes on the ground as you climb. You just keep climbing patiently one step at a time. If you keep looking at the top, you’ll get frustrated. 
"I think writing is similar. You need to get used to the task of writing. You must make an effort to learn to regard it not as something painful, but as routine."
–Akira Kurosawa, via The Script Lab

---

My goals and check-in
This morning I wrote 1,028 words of flashfic for the current "Brilliant" round of fan_flashworks. I'll finish it tomorrow, and then... has anyone seen Bon Appétit, Your Majesty who'd be willing to beta? :-)

Writing goals for the rest of month include not stuffing up my arms, so this afternoon I walked along a local mountain-bike trail, through the trees, then met up with my partner for hot drinks and chocolate brownie by the sea. The weather has been cold, wet and windy lately, but yesterday and today the sun finally came out. Yay!

Other goals for the next 16 days: finish my flashfic, finish a treat I started for guardian_wishlist, sign up for Yuletide, and write something for the next (amnesty) round at fan_flashworks. Other than that, I'll see where the spirit takes me.

How about you? Did you write today?

Wednesdays reads: I got a couple of Dymocks (bookseller) vouchers and treated myself to The Cat Who Saved Books and it's sequel The Cat Who Saved The Library, by Sosuke Natsukawa. Am enjoying the first. I'm also listening to The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, the third book in the Edinburgh Nights series by T.L. Huchu, and read by Kimberley Mandindo. She sounds exactly like Ropa in my head.

Watching: Dude is making me watch Superstore (yay, Mark McKinney!) which is a lot of fun and also somewhat wince-inducing. We're at the end of S3. We've also been watching Lego Ninjago, which is ridiculous but I can't look away. I'm still a sucker for kids shows and this one has clever writing and the animation is fun.

Gaming: I'm slowly progressing with Ori and the Blind Forest, which is challenging but surprisingly I'm meeting the challenges. I also completed Monument Valley which was free from Epic Games last month. Dude traded in his X-Box X (because of Microsoft shenanigans with their online options) for a Play Station 5, and is loving it. He made me buy a controller and is making me play Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which is adorable! We're also going to tackle Cult of the Lamb in co-op mode.

Other: I've been on leave, so am making progress on my incredibly tedious sock yarn project, and am close to finishing one of the knit scarves I'm working on. I've also been doing a new jigsaw, and am now dealing with All The Leaves. ( It's very pretty. )

Daylight savings has kicked in and I've been going for a walk every evening after dinner. The weather is windy, but that's October for you. What isn't usual for October is temps in the mid-to-high twenties!

I made four things for Wishlist (one a little late) - two Weilan and two ChuGuo, two very General Audiences, and two not so much. :D

• Title: to those who wait (1567 words) [General Audiences]
  Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
  Relationships: Shen Wei & Professor Zhou (Guardian), Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
  Additional Tags: Pre-relationship (sort of), First Meeting (for one of them), alternate first meeting, Coincidences/Fate, alcohol consumption, Urban Setting
  Summary:

  Shen Wei had planned to pour his professor into a taxi, spend a few hours patrolling the city as the Black-Cloaked Envoy, and then get to work on his literature review or perhaps draft a proposal for establishing a school system in Dixing. He was already constructing arguments for the latter in his head. But Professor Zhou was distracted by something down the street and set off with surprising vigour for someone who, a moment ago, had barely been able to extract his credit card from his wallet.

  Shen Wei was obliged to follow in his wake.



• Title: defying gravity (1507 words) [Mature]
  Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
  Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
  Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Established Relationship, domestic setting, Inspired by Fanart, Blow Jobs, Clothed Sex
  Summary:

  “Like this?” Zhao Yunlan hops onto the stool and stretches to prop his feet on the nearest ottoman. His elbows automatically find the edge of the breakfast bar behind him. He knows it looks a bit ridiculous—Da Qing never spares an opportunity to mock him for lounging like this—but it's surprisingly relaxing.

  And Shen Wei clearly appreciates the view. His throat bobs as he swallows. “Like that. Are you—comfortable?”



• Title: Supportive (1807 words) [General Audiences]
  Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
  Relationships: Guo Ying/Yu Jinlan (Guardian), Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng
  Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Handwavy fix-it, POV Outsider, Gossip, slight social awkwardness, tiny misunderstanding, Getting Together, (ChuGuo getting together I mean), Established relationship for Guo Ying/Yu Jinlan obviously
  Summary:

  Guo Ying tells Yu Jinlan about his first day at the SID.



• Title: a tempting fate (3238 words) [Teen and Up]
  Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
  Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng
  Additional Tags: Episode Related, episode 18, Fight Club Case, Time Travel, Time Loop, Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, minor first aid, First Kiss (for one of them)
  Summary:

  Chu Shuzhi bends sideways so he’s right in Xiao-Guo’s face. “Xiao-Guo, look at me! Did something happen out there? Have you been hypnotised?”

  Hypnosis wouldn’t explain the change of clothes. And Xiao-Guo is actually laughing at him now. He pats Chu Shuzhi’s knee, too, and leaves his hand there as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

My other late gift is still an extremely long, extremely messy draft, so I'll see how that goes...

ION, check this out!