This is my life

Decided I wanted a drive and some podfic today, so I loaded up Waiting for Spring written by theivinghippo and read by mulberry_graceful, and listened to loving talk about baseball and Chicago while I drove Lakeshore Drive.

Then I stopped for the best ice cream I've had in my life bar none, Oberweis. It's a really good day.

Day 9: Drop the cast of a fandom you follow into a reality tv show - who/what/why?

It's tempting to do the C drama on this one because I've watched so much reality TV with them I could probably write you scenes from it. Wang Yibo on Street Dance of China 3, or Day Day Up, Xiao Zhan with XFIRE, and The Untamed Boys, who were just all adorable.

But putting them on, say, Top Chef or Project Runway, or Nailed It! Would be fucking hilarious. Project Runway, I think, because none of them sew, that I know of. Xiao Zhan cooks, and there are probably others who do, so Top Chef would be less fun. I don't have a lot of thoughts about them except that it would be fun to watch them be terrible at making stuff a la Nailed It.

Day 5: Compare and/or contrast your very first fandom obsession and your very latest fandom obsession.

I mean. When I was like…. 7? I was SUPER obsessed with Star Wars. But I was 7. So I was being obsessed all by myself. I was writing stories even then, but just for me. I never even thought of writing them down until many many years later. I think I had a few little things back in 1995-2004, random bits of various fandoms, but it was Alexander (2004) that turned me into a fanfic writer for real.

So now it's MDZS, and it's tough to really compare these because I wasn't part of fandom when I was a Star Wars fan. I didn't have any clue what fandom was for many years after that. So just the experience of being in fandom now, of knowing these are my people, is the best part about ANY fandom I'm in. I really, truly don't think you could've convinced me that I'd end up in Chinese drama fandom, like, literally up until it happened. Though all it took was a few posts of Lan Wangji's flowing hair on my dash, lol.

Other differences – I wrote self-insert back then (who didn't?) and don't now, except when I add myself as a side character (most often a friendly auntie or something) because I like to take care of my babies, even in fiction. But I wouldn't write a character x reader fic, or blatant self-insert fic now. Mainly because it's less about me escaping to the places I long to be and more about simply exploring the worlds and the characters.

Yeah, those are the biggest differences. Other than age, practice, and experience, lol, which make a huge difference in fandom enjoyment and the way I create for fandom. My obsession itself still feels very much the same, the depth of emotion and attachment. I just have a shared lexicon for it now, which is amazing.

So I saw this post on tumblr about fic that has Lan Wangji say "Wei Ying" instead of "you" and that it is not at all how it would be translated from the Chinese and it's a bit mystifying considering it doesn't happen in the source material at all but it seems to have become a fic convention.

I know for a fact I have done this in at least in one fic, if not more than one, and I think it might be related to this other post on tumblr about Lan Wangji talking in a higher register of speech, generally. (Hilariously, that post says it's about Lan Wangji but it's really more about Wei Wuxian and the way his register speaks to plot, characterization, and mood, but it's a fascinating read either way.)

So what I'm thinking happened with the whole Lan Zhan saying "I love Wei Ying" instead of "I love you" phenomenon (and that's only one example – there are zillions more) is that it is English speakers trying to capture Lan Wangji's register in a way that feels appropriate to them, even if it doesn't translate directly to or from the Chinese. English doesn't have a formal "you" like, say, French. There's just the word "you" for both formal and informal, singular and plural. And it is inherently personal. When English speakers are speaking formally (and I think this might even be truer for Brits, as Americans are inherently less formal), we don't say the word "you". We drop into other weird ways to distance ourselves from the conversation. I can think of a bunch of ways to do this (the royal we, using the word "one" instead of pronouns, etc.) but I think there are some ways in which Chinese uses names that are very foreign to an English ear, so what we've done is try to transliterate the feeling of Lan Wangji's register using something that wouldn't perhaps be directly translated that way, but which gives a similar feeling, using a device (using names in a situations where typically English speakers would use pronouns) that is used in the Chinese language.

I don't know that makes it right, but I think people's hearts are in the right place. It's about the sound of the thing – the rhythm in the turn of phrase, the music of the words. We're trying to recreate something we feel about Lan Wangji's mode of expression in a way that both gives the right connotation within the English language and yet feels like it comes from the Chinese. At least that's what's sort of lurking in the background when I write those things. Now to figure out if I need to change it. I can't tell if it's somehow offensive or just odd-sounding.

Ah, the joys of writing in a language where the canon is translated. I swore to myself I would never do this, and yet here I am. Someone save me.

In your own space, rec at least three fanworks that you didn’t create.

OH MY GODDDDDDDD! I have SO MANY!!!

I'm going to, instead, rec three PEOPLE who make fanworks that I think are amazing and talk about some of their particular fanworks.

1. jellyp0dfish | jellyfishfire.
Listen, Jelly is quite simply, may favorite podficcer ever. (She is also a good friend and someone I adore muchly, but I am specifically reccing her podfic here.) I love her voice, her character voices, her editing and special effects, and her amazingly deft touch with music. She has a gift, being able to find the right music for pretty much ANYTHING. You cannot go wrong with literally any of her podfics, but here are three of my absolute faves from her.
a. Snowmelt. This is a recent podfic, FOR ME! For ITPE, and she just NAILS the Lan Wangji voice. I LOVE her Lan Wangji voice SO MUCH and the pacing on this one is brutal. Currently this is my "falling asleep helper" podfic. It's so lovely.
b. where the field meets the woods. This is SO CREEPY. It was done for Wei Wuxian's birthday (Halloween) and it is SO GOOD and SO CREEPY and the special effects are amazing, and I listened to this on repeat for a month.
c. A Civil Combpaign. This fic is so fantastic, and Jelly's great when the fic is mediocre or better, but when the fic is good, she's AMAZING. This is a long recording with delightful juniors, and just. It's so much fun. When I need something a little angstier, I listen to the second part, Besieged, from Wei Wuxian's POV. All of it is so amazing. This one probably hooked me on her stuff and I will never not go to it as an example of a great fic read well.
Runner up: let the streetlights guide you home. Only a runner up because the final chapters are still in process. The fic just finished posting in... hm, November? And she was busy making me THREE (3) podfics for ITPE so didn't go back to it right away, but she's close to done, and it's SO WORTH A LISTEN. The music is fucking FANTASTIC and her reading extremely atmospheric.

2. pumpkinpaix | pumpkinpaix
Pumpkinpaix is an all around good egg, and has so much talent! Fic, art, meta, podfic, translation, I have to fan myself, this much talent in a single person, who is also fundamentally good and understanding and willing to deal with complexities (which is so nice in these times when everything gets reduced down to its simplest form all the time). Love.
a. forgive me my most passionate disruptions. What a delightful modern AU fic!!! Wei Wuxian is a stripper, Lan Wangji is... Lan Wangji... with an interesting take on his headspace. Great supporting cast and just generally a wonderful read.
b. podfic of the moon lives in the lining of your skin. They were roommates! I love the story, and really enjoy pumpkinpaix's reading. As someone who is just learning Chinese and struggles with pronouncing things as well as possible, her pronunciation is just so... perfect. I could listen to her say the characters' names all day long.
c. meta, translation, and everything else. pumpkinpaix is just a really great voice of reason in the midst of heated discourse. I like their takes a lot and value their knowledge, it's been super helpful to me personally. I absolutely love their translation of MDZS, partially because it includes comprehensive notes about why the phrases were chosen and what other alternatives were. All generally GREAT.

3. ariaste | Ariaste
Picking a favorite author in MDZS was tough; I really like so many things in this fandom, there are so many talented people writing such good stuff. I settled on Ariaste because the story Jelly podficced (and its sequel) are just so amazing, and then I've been coldreading their most recent series, which has literally had me laughing for solid minutes. If I need a smile, I listen to my coldreading of their HOA series. It's so good. They are a professional author so there's just a lot of talent backing up their fic, simple ability to really get at your emotions, which is amazing.
a. Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association series. This is, quite simply, the most hilarious modern day AU you've ever read. It will have you grinning hugely if not outright laughing. This is the only Meng Yao I ever want in my life. (Also there is SO MUCH SOFTNESS - and delightful outside POV on WangXian).
b. Content Warning: Romance. A lot of people make a lot of Wei Wuxian's line "you have to warn me [before saying nice things about me]" but this really explores it so beautifully. My heart just clenches every single time I read it, and then it releases and I feel so much better. It's wonderfully warm and healing.
c. Attempting the Impossible. Okay so obviously Civil Combpaign and Besieged are right up there, but honestly - listen to Jelly's podfic. It's so good, and if it's the first time you've read the story, the reading will make it extra special. So this one, this is Jiang Cheng POV which is fucking brilliant, and it's WangXian with SO MANY KIDS and living outside Gusu and just. So many kids, but they all have distinct personalities and it's.... just lovely? Most of Ariaste's fic is just warm and lovely and post-canon good feels, and I love this one as much as all the rest.