dchan | Reading

The demise of writing matters, because writing is not a second thing that happens after thinking. The act of writing is an act of thinking. This is as true for professionals as it is for students. In “Writing Is Thinking,” an editorial in Nature, the authors argued that “outsourcing the entire writing process to [large language models]” deprives scientists of the important work of understanding what they’ve discovered and why it matters. Students, scientists, and anyone else who lets AI do the writing for them will find their screens full of words and their minds emptied of thought.

– Derek Thompson

My day 23: I messed around with a new pairing, to see if I can add to my Yuletide offers. (Going by the sign-up summary, I'm not convinced I'm currently matchable.) As yet, inconclusive but promising. I also wrote some of a Dreamwidth post, which I'm sure I'll finish eventually.

We had a howling gale this morning. The trains were cancelled, and everyone had been advised to stay home. It seems to have blown itself out now (*knock on wood*) without any of the expected power outages (*knock on wood again*), and as far as I know, my roof is still attached (*and once more, just to be on the safe side*). Phew!

The tally
( Tally )

Day 21:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cmk418,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 22:

alightbuthappypen,

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

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.

It's time for another question thread!

The rules:

- You may ask any dev-related question you have in a comment. (It doesn't even need to be about Dreamwidth, although if it involves a language/library/framework/database Dreamwidth doesn't use, you will probably get answers pointing that out and suggesting a better place to ask.)
- You may also answer any question, using the guidelines given in To Answer, Or Not To Answer and in this comment thread.

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Middle of the week is upon us already!

General question: are you a planner or a pantser?

Poll #33753

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4

View Respondents

It's Wednesday and I am feeling...

View Answers

Groovycakes and sparkly! (I wrote)
2 (50.0%)

Pretty good and satisfied (I edited)
0 (0.0%)

Contemplative and focused (I outlined/planned)
2 (50.0%)

OK and wistful (I rested)
0 (0.0%)

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,

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
(my gift should feature all requested characters)

(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
(my gift should feature all requested characters; or it may use exceptions as explained)

(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
(my gift should feature all requested characters; or it may use exceptions as explained)

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
(my gift should feature all requested characters)

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
(my gift should feature all requested characters)

(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
(my gift should feature all requested characters; or it may use exceptions as explained)

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!

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Fradrian Week 2025

tumblr | bsky | AO3

Fradrian Week is a fan-led event celebrating the femslash ship of Franziska von Karma x Adrian Andrews from Ace Attorney! This prompt event runs from December 8 - December 14, 2025. We're so excited to see what everyone will create 🩵💛

Prompts and How to Submit

Main Prompts (SFW)

Day 1: Work / Relaxation

Day 2: Wounds / Healing

Day 3: First Dates / Mishaps

Day 4: Facade / Showbusiness

Day 5: Trust / Reliance

Day 6: Future / Celebrations

Day 7: AU / Free Day

—

NSFW Prompts (18+)

Day 1: Lingerie / Clothing Kink

Day 2: Whip / Glasses

Dat 3: First Time / New Discoveries

Day 4: Roleplay / Fantasy

Day 5: Submission / Bondage

Day 6: Semi-Public Sex / Long Distance Sex

Day 7: AU / Free Day

To submit your work, post to the #fradrianweek2025 (for SFW creations) or #fradrianweek2025nsfw (for NSFW creations) on tumblr or bsky and/or submit to our AO3 Collection. We will be sharing creations throughout the week!

Late submissions will be accepted up to 1 week after the event.

General Guidelines

You can submit fanfiction, drabbles, podfic, poetry, sketches, a mixtape—whatever medium you feel passionate about! There is no minimum word count.
This event is meant to be for fun—don't feel like you have to create something perfectly polished in order to participate (although if you want to, you can!)
We encourage you to cheerlead others' work by commenting and sharing. A kind comment or tag can go a long way!

The main (SFW) prompts are open to all ages, but you must be 18+ to create NSFW works.
SFW works can be up to T-rated. They can contain swearing, light substance use (alcohol, smoking), mild suggestive language, "fade-to-black" or implied sex, but can't contain explicit sex or graphic violence.
NSFW works can be M- or E-rated, and must be properly tagged with kinks and relevant content warnings. Please take care to warn for topics like suicidal ideation and suicide, especially if you are exploring them more graphically than they are shown in the text of the game.
We do not allow the use of generative AI for this event.

FAQs

Can I combine days or prompts? Yes, you can do that if you wish. You can also combine SFW and NSFW prompts.
Can I include other pairings? Yes, OT3s and polycules are fine, as long as there is a focus on the Fran/Adrian dynamic.
Can I interpret the prompts broadly/loosely? The prompts are meant as inspiration, and you're welcome to interpret them how you want to! We've tried to make them open ended to give creators the option to make them their own.
Can I combine the Fradrian Week prompts with prompts from other fan events (like AA bingo)? As long as it's okay with the organizers of the other event(s), we're fine with that!

Have fun, and happy creating!

Current Mood: excited

Yays for a new opportunity to work on our fics!

Question: What's one piece of writing advice that sounds wild/silly but actually works for you?

Poll #33749

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9

View Respondents

Tuesday and I are

View Answers

...in good terms! (I wrote)
5 (55.6%)

...in friendly terms (I edited)
2 (22.2%)

...in acquaintance terms (I outlined/planned)
1 (11.1%)

...in rival terms (I daydreamed)
2 (22.2%)

...in full enemies terms (I rested/didn't write)
0 (0.0%)

https://viridian5.livejournal.com/2283904.html

I just put up a whole bunch of Saks Fifth Avenue window displays I shot a year or two ago but didn't post to my Flickr. I'm definitely not a fan of these mannequins and would've been much happier if they had heads instead of necks sharpened to a stake, but I really liked the colors and effects Saks used in the displays.

I'm going to try to get into the city one night within the next week in the hope of picking up some nice window displays before the stores spend most of November shrouded as they put together their holiday windows.

+++

A water leak the second-floor neighbors complained about for months was traced to our toilet Saturday. My toilet was supposed to be fixed Sunday but wasn't anchored properly and would move when you got on and off it, so we made the landlord and his cheap repairman return today. It seems okay and stable now.

So, that was four hours Saturday, three hours Sunday, and three hours Monday where I wasn't allowed to use my bathroom for anything.

+++

I wanted to see a few Open House New York locations Sunday but woke up feeling awful so I didn't. The places I wanted to go were in Manhattan and would've required me taking the subway and buses--and figuring out what was running where for a weekend day--and doing a few miles of walking. Maybe next year.

https://viridian5.livejournal.com/2283904.html

Current Mood: sleepy

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,

New day, new opportunities to work on our fics.

Is there something you like to do in order to get into a "writing mindset"? Do you review your draft? Check out Pinterest for more inspo? Chat with a friend abt what you want to do in the fic/chapter/draft?

POLL TIME!

Poll #33745

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

View Respondents

I looked at Monday in the eye and...

View Answers

Then I wrote!
3 (42.9%)

Then I organized my notes/outline!
0 (0.0%)

Then I edited!
1 (14.3%)

Then I daydreamed/bounced ideas off with someone!
0 (0.0%)

Then I rested!
3 (42.9%)

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.

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

“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,