Thursday

[clevermanka]

My Twitter link collections still take more of a toll on my wrist and brain than I'm willing to sacrifice at the moment. But briefly! Check out the guandao that the amazing Shen Wei cosplayer made.

I don't know who ordered the snow that's currently falling after yesterday's sunny 60F but they can go fuck themselves.

Since it was so nice yesterday, I took my two sewing machines (a standard machine and a serger) to a shop for tune-ups. It's been... a while. The shop I went to for 20 years is closed now and the new one charges three times what they did. $150 per machine! Per machine. Outrageous. Offensive, actually. I'm still grappling with paying that, but my alternative is driving them to Kansas City and then driving back to pick them up in a week. Speaking of picking things up, I was so thrown by the staggering cost I spaced going to the hardware store to get my knives that were in for sharpening. So now I have to go out again to get the damn knives. But NOT TODAY that's for sure.

Jesus Christ, three hundred dollars to get my machines running smoothly again. I'm seriously considering calling them back to say "you know what, forget it that's too much money" but who knows, maybe I'll actually sell enough bloomers to cover the cost. Because yes, I'm re-opening the bloomers factory. I'd like to avoid returning to Etsy--their policies have just gotten worse and worse--but I'm not sure what other options I might have.

Ugh. Capitalism.

Back to questions! stultiloquentia asked me to assign His Dark Materials-style daemons to my faves in Guardian and say something about how they typically interact.

Full disclosure, I read the first book of the series, skimmed the second, and read the ending of the third, decided it was bullshit, and never read more. I remember hardly anything about the series except the animal friend thing. So with that in mind, here are my thoughts on some daemons I think would be appropriate for the SID. (Perhaps I'm taking the easy way out by giving the Yashou their already-assigned counterparts, but their personalities really do fit them. Thanks, good actors!)

Shen Wei: A black panther. This is mostly looks-based because I know nothing of panthers in regards to their general temperament. But how can Hei Pao Shi not have a menacing, black apex predator slinking around him?

Zhao Yunlan: A black-footed ferret. Quick and clever and insatiably curious.

Zhu Hong: Some sort of pit viper. Maybe a copperhead, because that's a breed I'm familiar with and I think they're beautiful. People underestimate pit vipers because they're usually pretty sluggish, but only because they mostly rely on camouflage. When they need to, they can move very, very fast.

Da Qing: A Pallas' cat. Surprisingly cantankerous for as cute as they are, loners, and terrible at running.

Lin Jing: A spider monkey. Long-limbed and one of the few primates that don't groom as a social interaction (so they both have wild hair sometimes).

Chu Shuzhi: A honey badger. Pretty obvious, really.

Guo Changcheng: A small, white rat that everyone thinks is a mouse.

As for how they interact, I really don't know... but I'd love to hear input and theories! This was a lot of fun, stultiloquentia, thank you!

I have found the song of my people. It's not a great song imo? But omg those lyrics *chef's kiss*

Watch on YouTube

And finally, today's dump on cm.net.

Comments

[shipperslist]

Zhao Yunlan: A black-footed ferret. Quick and clever and insatiably curious.

Also, ferrets are actually predators. Look cute and fluffy but will absolutely kill you if necessary. And enjoy the fuck out of it.

[clevermanka]

A friend of mine is involved with ferret rescue programs and while they're certainly different enough from wild animals it's enough to remind you that they're not far removed!

I'm a huge fan of rodents and rodent-adjacent animals. Ugh, they're so destructive and adorable.

[shipperslist]

I had rats way back when. They're smart and cunning and cute and I looooove their tails and feet. Sadly, our home isn't suitable for rats atm (no shade in the summer) but perhaps some day...

[yantantether]

I like to think that Shen Wei's panther daemon would turn into a GIANT GOOFY PUSSYCAT when Zhao Yunlan is around. Like, it's early days flirting time and Shen Wei is doing his best (sort of) not to let his feelings show, but there are just huge unsubtle purrs coming from Mimi the panther, curled up on the floor next to Shen Wei's desk.

[clevermanka]

I LOVE THIS YES. And their daemons start getting along waaaaaay before the guys do. The ferret frequently rides on the panther, clinging to her neck and peering over the top of her head.

Zhao Yunlan is of course delighted and highly amused but doesn't say a word, ever, just laughs silently behind lips closed tight around a lollipop.

[yantantether]

And everyone's like, hmmm, it's such a coincidence that the Professor and the Envoy have exactly the same type of daemon. 😂

[clevermanka]

I was wondering how that would work! I don't remember, can daemons and their people be apart for periods of time? Like, a couple hours? Long enough for the Envoy to do whatever he needs to?

[yantantether]

In book canon, I don't think so - it really hurts to be separated from your daemon even for a short while. But maybe Dixing daemons are different! Or, for extra angst potential, Shen Wei has trained himself to bear the pain for the sake of his disguise. 😢

I guess if we want to go comedy he's learned a panther disguise power, and when he's in one of his guises Mimi has to look like a slightly unconvincing cheetah, or something.

[clevermanka]

I love both of these a lot.

[goss]

LOL. I can totally see this working. Reminds me of Cringer and Battle Cat from the He-Man cartoon. With the cat armour on, he's suddenly unrecognisable! Like Superman and the glasses disguise. *g*

[clevermanka]

Never having watched that cartoon, I had no idea He-Man had a secret identity! Or a cat! Or that his cat had a secret identity! Amazing. Love it.

[goss]

Hee! Yeah, he was the mild-mannered, fully clothed Prince Adam by day, and then in times of peril, he'd run off somewhere, lift his sword into the sky and *clothes-rip* *GLISTENING ABS AND BICEPS* turn into He-Man! And his pet scaredy-cat cat would suddenly manifest some armour and let out a courageous ROAR! LOL. It was kind of amazing. *giggle* Ah, the 80s...

[stultiloquentia]

Oh no, this works so well! The book has witches, who go through a coming-of-age ordeal in which they're voluntarily separated from their daemons for a time, and thereafter they have a strong bond, but they're able to be apart. The rest of the world finds this terribly creepy, but in book 3, Will and Lyra do the same thing.

An HDM-Guardian AU could do this SO ANGSTILY with Shen Wei, either with the childhood trauma that separates him from Ye Zun, or as some sort of awful Envoy training.

OTOH, it also makes perfect sense that "adult shapeshifting" could be one of Mimi's superpowers, and the sheer hilarity would be so worth that tack!

[clevermanka]

I think this has great potential for both angst and comedy in the same fic, which is #Goals for me. Too bad I'm 1) not sufficiently knowledgeable about this world (and unlikely to fix that) and 2) too full already on WIPs and bunnies.

So, you know... if someone else was inspired... *eyebrow waggle*

[shipperslist]

In canon, normal people can't be very far from their daemons BUT witches are different. The witch had trained her bird daemon to scout for her and people freaked the fuck out when they saw a daemon but not their person.

(I love daemon AUs and have written 165K of it. :D )

[clevermanka]

I went to your AO3 page to make sure there wasn't 165k of Guardian AU I'd missed somewhere. 😆

[shipperslist]

Yeah, no. Sorry to disappoint.
(Frankly, I’ll be astonished if I hit even 100K. For each posted work/chapter, I lose subscribers and get very little interaction in return. I’m not one to do the attention-whoring thing but yes, it does get disheartening after a while. 🤷🏻‍♀️)

[clevermanka]

Oh, bb, that's hard. *hugs*

I'm so behind in my reading. I have hundreds of Guardian fics in my Marked For Later. I don't have the emotional energy to engage the way I want, though, and I'd rather put off reading something than not get the serotonin hit I usually get from fic. It sucks a lot. It's interfering with my writing, too, since I get so much energetic inspiration from reading other works. My heart just feels so dead and numb.

I've had to force myself to even post here. The diminished interaction from people who used to comment regularly makes me feel extra lonely. It's awful and I'm sorry that lack of response is dragging you down, too.

[shipperslist]

I'm sorry you're feeling down.

And don't get me wrong: I write for myself. I write out the stories I want to read and I write gratuitous self-indulgent stuff. But especially if people express interest while I'm writing the thing and then...nothing it feels almost like a slap on the face. Like... y'all said you can't wait to read it and... where are you? Don't say stuff you don't mean.

In other words: bitch bitch whine whine. I'll go get more tea.

[clevermanka]

people express interest while I'm writing the thing and then...nothing it feels almost like a slap on the face

And that's where I am, just from the other side. Love reading people's snippets but when it comes to reading the fic my brain digs in its heels. This conversation has inspired me to at least TRY to start working my way through my Marked For Later, though, so thank you for that!

[shipperslist]

I hope this didn’t come through as guilt-tripping because I sure as hell didn’t mean it to read as such.

I wish I didn’t feel like this because this make me feel needy and I absolutely hate being needy. It’s another can of adolescent trauma worms I’d rather keep safely tucked away for forseeable future. 😑

[clevermanka]

Not at all! It was inspiring!

[nnozomi]

Lin Jing: A spider monkey. Long-limbed and one of the few primates that don't groom as a social interaction (so they both have wild hair sometimes).
LOL. After all, this is the man who, called an anime alien, said "oh hey thanks! yeah, that suits me!".

And Shen Wei's panther would definitely be a bit of a shape changer--I imagine Professor Shen's daemon is a very elegant tortoiseshell cat (one of those where you can actually see the glints of gold here and there in the fur, cf gold collar studs etc....).

[clevermanka]

It would make sense that Dixing daemons would have special powers, too!

[khellekson]

HONEY BADGER!!!

[clevermanka]

Doesn't give a fuck!

[no_detective]

forgive me, the pandemic brain shorted out before i could even begin to read your post - but lol that song. there should be SO MANY MULTIFANDOM VIDS. :D

[clevermanka]

Right??? Katy Perry's Self Inflicted is another one that just CRIES OUT to be a multifandom vid (interspersed with shots of fans at cons, etc.).

[stultiloquentia]

Where can I find more info about your bloomers? Do you have pictures?

Aaaah I had forgotten about the daemons question! I love your answers! A ferret! Of course he is.

[clevermanka]

Yay for being entertained by my suggestions for daemons!

I tried to link to my old bloomers shop (handily called "Bloomershop") to show past sales but it's telling my my email account isn't registered and claims there's no such store on the site? Soooooo that's another strike against using Etsy I guess! 😂

Here's me modeling a pair, tho:

and here's a pair in that same fabric:


They're $35/pair and that includes US shipping. I'll let people know when I've got some to sell.

[stultiloquentia]

Oh, these are cute. I've been meaning to get a pair of lace-trimmed bike shorts to wear under skirts... I wonder how well these would serve instead.

Augh, Etsy.

[clevermanka]

That's how I use them! I wear almost exclusively skirts/dresses so in the summer they prevent thigh chafing and in the winter they're an extra layer of warmth on my thighs.

[tinny]

Good luck with your bloomers! <3 (Capitalism, ugh.)

Lol, I laughed at the ferret. The panther reminds me of tinypinkmouse's shifter fic (beware dead dove! so i wont link it), but *oh yeah*.


That song is something else. :DD

[clevermanka]

Ooof, yeah, that was a rough fic. I wasn't thinking of it when I gave him that animal, which... is probably a good thing. 😬