Saw your face, heard your name.

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:10 am
rogueslayer452: (Firefly. Inara/Kaylee.)
[personal profile] rogueslayer452
++ I only vaguely follow the Olympics, as in only the sport events I'm interested in. For the winter Olympics it's figure skating. Because of this, I kinda got myself caught up with the sensation of Alysa Liu and her truly inspiring story and the outcome of her winning gold simply by just being herself, returning back to the sport after two years of retirement and doing so on her own terms, and having passion for what she loves and having fun. For all the technical and professional elements of the sports competition, the pure joy and confidence in what she was doing is what most of all take away when watching programs like that. Her performances, her general attitude about life, as well as her kindness, support and excitement towards her fellow competitors, it was quite infectious and it's great to see something this positive and uplifting come out of the Olympics.

++ An official music video was released by the cast of A/B/O Desire for "Master of Desire", the drama's theme song. I literally was all chin!hands watching it! (✿◠‿◠) The video itself is visually stunning, and just seeing them all together for this and with them paired off with their respective couples just made me so happy, specifically that of Gao Tu/Shen Wenlang. Anything with them, please, I need more little itty bitty crumbs of those two!

++ Girls Like Girls is an upcoming film by Hayley Kiyoko, adapted from a book she had wrote that is titled and based off of her iconic 2015 song/music video of the same name. I wasn't aware that she had written a novel nor that this film was in the works at all, but that makes this discovery so much more amazing for me. I do remember back when the video music was released that people were saying that it could be its own story in itself, so, whether or not this was taken into account at the time, I like that Hayley wanted to take a step further with her own creation.
starandrea: (Default)
[personal profile] starandrea
♥ zines for [community profile] beagoldfish: started

♥ video for RPM: started, kind of, in that I figured out how to do it probably

♥ winter sowing: finished! all 22 containers are out and covered with snow thanks to the blizzard so it's an authentic experience for them

also I finished Liu Cixin's To Hold Up The Sky anthology, thank goodness because the last story was particularly positive and relatable, but it did make me laugh that he says he's often asked, "what makes it Chinese science fiction?" and literally after the first story I was like, "have you read it."

Daily Happiness

Feb. 24th, 2026 07:35 pm
torachan: a cartoon owl with the text "everyone is fond of owls" (everyone is fond of owls)
[personal profile] torachan
1. We had burritos for dinner, along with a pineapple tamale we had gotten from the farmers market on Saturday but hadn't eaten yet, and the tamale was so good! It didn't have chunks of pineapple in it, but rather was solid masa that was flavored with pineapple. Definitely would get that again. (The burritos were very good, too, but I got the one I always get from there, so I already knew I would like it.)

2. They've released the menu for the Food and Wine Festival at DCA, which is starting next Friday. There's a lot of tasty looking stuff and we'll miss out on about two weeks of it because we'll be in Japan, so I'm glad we'll have plenty of opportunities to go in March and then once we're back from Japan can pick up any must-tries that we didn't get to yet.

3. Last nigh Chloe was all snuggled up on my bed when I wanted to go to sleep, and sadly not in any way that I could get in bed with her, so I just scooped her up, blankie and all, and set her down on my desk chair. She protested when I moved her, but seemed satisfied with the results. She stayed snuggled up on the chair for a couple hours anyway!

extrapenguin: Tea being poured from a teapot into a matching ceramic cup. (tea)
[personal profile] extrapenguin
Today I came across this factsheet on autism comorbidities (sleep issues, hypermobility, cardiovascular, immunology/MCAS, gastrointestinal, long COVID, chronic pain, reproductive, jaw/dental stuff), and a) I really need to get back into the melatonin game for my sleep issues, and b) it turns out that L-theanine ("caffeine of tea") is an analog of glutamate, and can thus be metabolized into GABA, which autistic brains generally have less of. So my tea habit is a medical expense!

(WRT the autism comorbidities mentioned, I def have the sleep issues, bruxism, a food allergy, and I guess some non-hEDS hypermobility? I bruise moderately easily, but my floppy joints are my shoulders, I've never dislocated anything due to good muscle tone, and my fingers and wrists are turbo normal, leading to me never getting over the threshold score in any assessments lol.)

Also I have good news WRT VidUKon: I can't be there in person, but my in-person commitment was altered to be only the Saturday, so I can watch the Sunday programming in peace! This year's themed vidshow is Unfinished Business, with vids for sources that e.g. were cancelled before their time, had a rushed ending, etc. So now I'm trying to think about canons that fit. My little lesbian shampoo commercials etc, short though they may be, don't count imo, as they all tell nice self-contained stories. The Star Wars Sequels, maybe, for Finn, but idek. Does anyone have any canon recs? I am willing to invest max 10h in your science fiction or wuxia that was cancelled (possibly mid-airing) or which has an unsatisfying ending.

For regular premieres, I currently have two finished vids. One is Star Wars Sequels (for my vid album); the other is for the Firebird ballet. I think I'll take a look at the full program and then decide which one I want to be my VidUKon premiere.

Nominations Clarification 2

Feb. 24th, 2026 12:19 pm
lettersmod: (Default)
[personal profile] lettersmod posting in [community profile] unsent_letters_exchange
Nominations will close on Feb 25, 11:59PM UTC, a little over a day from now.

  • Gentle reminder: Please disambiguate your relationship nominations (include the fandom in parentheses behind the relationship)! This will help your nominations get approved faster.
  • If there are duplicates, wandering tags, or other errors in the tagset, please let me know.



  • Clarifications
    Creator's Choice of Fandom is not accepted. Please nominate under a specific fandom.

    Star Trek
    Katrina Cornwell & Philippa Georgiou
    Katrina Cornwell/Christopher Pike
    Katrina Cornwell/Mirror Philippa Georgiou
    Marie Batel & Number One | Una Chin-Riley
    Marie Batel/Christopher Pike
    Marie Batel/Katrina Cornwell
    Marie Batel/Number One | Una Chin-Riley

    Please nominate under a specific Star Trek instalment.


    Midsomer Murders - All Media Types
    Charlie Nelson/Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)
    Fleur Perkins & Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)
    John Barnaby & Charlie Nelson (Midsomer Murders)
    John Barnaby & Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)
    John Barnaby/Sarah Barnaby (Midsomer Murders)
    Midsomer Inhabitants & Causton CID (Midsomer Murders)
    Sarah Barnaby & Jamie Winter (Midsomer Murders)

    Please nominate under a specific media type.

    indonesia architecture

    Feb. 24th, 2026 02:08 am
    royalsongbird: (Default)
    [personal profile] royalsongbird posting in [community profile] little_details
    hello! im currently working on a fantasy story where the country it takes place in (or at the very least starts in- im still figuring out plot details) is inspired by indonesia, but im having trouble finding good resources about indonesian architecture in the vague time period im writing in- i dont have a specific idea beyond the vague medieval times setting most fantasy stories use, but im more than willing to try and narrow it down if it helps. if anyone has resources i could look into, that would be very helpful!

    Daily Happiness

    Feb. 23rd, 2026 08:03 pm
    torachan: cats looking at a crow out the screen door (cats and crow)
    [personal profile] torachan
    1. Today was mostly a catching up day at work, since I had not only the weekend but the three business trip days last week where I wasn't really spending that much time on my regular work. I am all caught up now, though!

    2. I also got my reimbursements submitted for the trip. The hotel and flight were paid through the travel agent who arranged everything, so I don't need reimbursements for those, but there's uber trips and per diems, so I should get reimbursed for those next week.

    3. We have a couple cardboard cat loungers that are in pretty bad shape, and rather than get more cardboard ones, Carla ordered some sissel ones and those arrived today. Spritzed them with catnip spray to get the babies interested and so far they seem to like them.

    full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
    [personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] little_details
    [personal profile] squidgiepdx belongs to this comm, but he’s perpetually been some combination of sick and busy, so I’ve taken the liberty of helping him out.

    He’s trying to track down a particular BTS shot from Stargate: Atlantis:

    And now on to the SGA Picture part of the deal. So I wrote a quickie story for [community profile] romancingmcshep about John Sheppard's ass (the fest goes until February 28th if you're interested!) and the whole story is based on a picture that NOBODY can find anymore. I KNOW! It's frustrating! Anyway, there's what I think is a "behind the scenes" shot of most likely S01E03 "Hide and Seek" or S01E05 "Suspicion" where it's focused on Joe Flanigan's butt. Like kinda blatantly. He's kneeling on the Gateroom floor over Rodney, I believe and you can see where his t-shirt is pulled up and the waistband of his BDUs are lower - showing some skin and some of his boxers. This is what I think the camera sees in that shot, as Sheppard is kneeling like that but I remember there being a whole lot more skin. Does anyone remember a BTS photo like this? SO FRUSTRATING that I can't find it when I know I've seen it a hundred times.


    His post: https://squidgiepdx.dreamwidth.org/341626.html

    Monday Music Meme

    Feb. 23rd, 2026 09:04 pm
    extrapenguin: Northern lights in blue and purple above black horizon. (Default)
    [personal profile] extrapenguin
    The original prompt for today was "a song title that is in all lowercase" ... which, uh, I have zero (0) songs like that so I came up with an alternative prompt:

    newest release
    FlowerLeaf - The Wake


    This is the first song I heard from the band, and instantly got me preordering the album. Also it's the freshest single, dropping a month ago.

    Dreamerie by FlowerLeaf came out last Friday, 20th of Feb 2026.


    prompts under the cut

    a song you discovered this month
    a song that makes you smile
    a song that makes you cry
    a song that you know all the lyrics of
    a song that proves that you have good taste
    a song title that is in all lowercase newest release
    a song title that is in all uppercase
    an underrated song
    a song that has three words
    a song from your childhood
    a song that reminds you of summertime
    a song that you feel nostalgic to
    the first song that plays on shuffle
    a song that someone showed you
    a song from a movie soundtrack
    a song from a television soundtrack
    a song about being 17
    a song that reminds you of somebody
    a song to drive to
    a song with a number in the title
    a song that you listen to at 3am in the morning
    a song with a long title
    a song with a color in the title
    a song that gets stuck in your head
    a song in a different language
    a song that helps you fall asleep at night
    a song that describes how you feel right now
    a song that you used to hate but love today
    a song that you downloaded
    a song that you want to share

    Chat corner, low on fluff

    Feb. 23rd, 2026 08:22 pm
    annathecrow: screenshot from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. A detail of the racing pod engines. (sw: pods)
    [personal profile] annathecrow posting in [community profile] dreamwars

    Hi,

    this is the weekly chat corner here on Dreamwars. How are you? Anything Star Wars-y to talk about?

    ~ ~ ~

    I've had the kitten on my lap when I started to write this, but she's abandoned me in favor of food, boo. So I'm thinking about GFFA pets. Is it just me, or is it really a bit weird how many SW critters are so... lizard-y? Everything is space dinosaurs, lol. I guess tookas are fluffy...unless it's in TCW, where the animation really makes them look more like frogs to me.

    What GFFA animal would you want as a pet?

    Daily Happiness

    Feb. 22nd, 2026 09:04 pm
    torachan: (chloe yawn)
    [personal profile] torachan
    1. We had a very nice morning at Disneyland today. A little warm (I wore a sweatshirt when we got in and had to take it off about halfway through, so then I had to lug it around the rest of the time, which was annoying) and a little crowded, but we ate a lot of good food and had a good time.

    2. Poor Tuxie looks like he got in a scuffle again. Yesterday he came to the door with one eye partially closed and the fur between his eye and ear on that side scraped up. He's looking better today (eye fully open) and unlike some times before where he disappeared for a few days to hunker down, he has been spending his time in our yard as usual, so hopefully he's doing okay. I do wish he wouldn't get in fights. :-/

    3. Jasper is just hanging out.

    2026 Disneyland Trip #10 (2/22/26)

    Feb. 22nd, 2026 06:28 pm
    torachan: (Default)
    [personal profile] torachan
    Today is Anaheim Ducks Day at DCA and I specifically made a reservation for today rather than Saturday (our usual), not because either of us care anything about hockey or the Ducks, but because last year we just happened to be there on that day and had an amazing burrito that they only serve on Ducks Day lol.

    Read more... )
    china_shop: A coloured-in cartoon of Shen Wei. (Guardian - cartoon Shen Wei)
    [personal profile] china_shop posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
    Zhao Yunlan sprawled on a couch, grinning at his phone. The background shows a purply sky with stars. Text reads "Slo-Mo Rewatch. Guardian - half an episode per week @ sid-guardian.dreamwidth.org."


    Hi, and welcome back to the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch. Watch half an episode a week, at your leisure, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!

    Here are the previous weeks' rewatch posts.

    Episode 12, up to 22:18

    Summary
    Fourth Uncle drugs Zhu Hong; Guo Changcheng zaps himself unconscious. Wang Zheng is teaching Sang Zan to write (but hasn't shown him how to hold a pen). Zhao Yunlan confronts Shen Wei in his university office, ostensibly about the case but in fact seeking confirmation of Shen Wei's other identity. Tan Xiao breaks into the SID to steal the Hallows but is thwarted by Sang Zan's trap, followed by Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei's arrival. Zhao Yunlan catches the Awl, has visions and falls unconscious (feat. some lovely manhandling by Shen Wei); Da Qing wakes him by being catlike. Lin Jing wants to run some tests on a human; Zhao Yunlan fakes a headache, so Shen Wei volunteers. Shen Wei lies on the evidence bed in his undershirt. Fourth Uncle talks to tied-up!Zhu Hong, only it's actually Guo Changcheng in a skirt and wig. Zhu Hong drugs her uncle. (So much drugging!) Zhu Jiu is angry at Tan Xiao's failure to retrieve the Hallows; he's holding Zheng Yi hostage, promising to cure her. Zhao Yunlan doodles Shen Wei and the Envoy in his notebook. Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi ambush and hypnotise Zhu Hong as she returns from the Snake Village. She fights Chu Shuzhi, and Lin Jing has to sedate her. Zhao Yunlan tells Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi that they can't trust Zhu Jiu.



    Quote
    Shen Wei: Are you even listening to me?
    Zhao Yunlan: I only want to hear you tell the truth.

    Detail
    Presumably Zhao Yunlan is already wearing protective earplugs when he apprehends Tan Xiao and Zheng Yi on his own.

    Questions
    Do you have a stand-out favourite scene or quote from the first half of episode 12? How is Zhao Yunlan hoping that the conversation in Shen Wei's office will go? Does Sang Zan have any other booby traps set up around the SID (and how many times has Guo Changcheng set them off)? Did Shen Wei put himself in a trance/stasis during Lin Jing's experiment? Any theories about what happened to Tan Xiao's sister? What's with all the drugging??

    Poll #34277 Episide 12, part 1
    Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8


    How many times has Guo Changcheng zapped himself unconscious before?

    View Answers

    once
    0 (0.0%)

    a couple of times
    1 (12.5%)

    truly an alarming number of times
    5 (62.5%)

    Lin Jing is ~this close~ to confiscating the baton
    2 (25.0%)

    Chu Shuzhi bought a portable defibrillator to take to training practice
    4 (50.0%)

    other
    0 (0.0%)

    Does Shen Wei expect Zhao Yunlan to take him literally when he says, "To be honest, I'm just a normal person who happens to be unlucky"?

    View Answers

    yes, he's determined to stuff the cat back into the bag
    2 (25.0%)

    he doesn't *expect*, exactly; but he hopes!
    4 (50.0%)

    no, he's implicitly asking Zhao Yunlan to play along
    4 (50.0%)

    other
    1 (12.5%)

    Why does Shen Wei volunteer to be a test subject?

    View Answers

    he thinks he can fake a human field of consciousness
    4 (50.0%)

    he's no longer really hiding his identity; he just doesn't want to admit the truth in so many words
    3 (37.5%)

    other
    1 (12.5%)



    Did you see any parallels in these scenes with other parts of the drama? If you're familiar with the novel, any thoughts about how the drama adaptation compares, if at all?

    (As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in. We'd love to hear your thoughts!)

    And here is our schedule -- if you can, please sign up to host a post!

    Keep an eye on your inbox!

    Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:54 pm
    [personal profile] fthmods posting in [community profile] fandomtrumpshate

    We have started posting auctions, which means that we have started sending emails with your auction link and the link to submit edits!

    Please keep in mind:

    1. These WILL be coming from our new proton.me email address, so be sure to tell your email client not to send it to spam!
    2. We will be sending these emails throughout the week. If your friend got theirs and you haven't gotten yours, please be patient. We can only post a few hundred of the 1600 auctions per day.
    3. Your auctions may not all be posted on the same day. You'll get one email for each auction post - some email clients may put these in one thread together, so keep an eye out for that.
    4. You will not be notified when edits are made, you will have to check your post. If you still do not see your edits by Thursday evening, and it's been at least 8 hours since you filled out the form, email us to check.

    Please remember that just because your post is up for your viewing, does NOT mean that browsing is open in general! Please don't send bidders to check things out until Friday, Feb 27!


    starandrea: (Default)
    [personal profile] starandrea
    Maybe I could make a handwritten Chinese zine that I record myself reading aloud to a bunch of seeds.

    This is gonna be my day. Or I'll take a nap. Still hard to say which way it will go.

    Also I can't believe I haven't posted any pictures of Daphne in a year. I just spent an hour looking at photos, so I can't make up for it now short of sharing my entire library. But here's a particularly funny sequence from last spring, when her friends came to the back door looking for her.

    Daphne and friends )

    Right now everything is covered in snow and ice, except the back patio, so that's nice. I still go out and sit in my rocking chair and look out over where the gardens will be in the spring, and admire the sparkly beauty of a frozen river.

    Luckily the dogs love the frozen river, so now the play groups look more like this.

    Daphne and snow )
    trobadora: (Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan - Hei Pao-gege)
    [personal profile] trobadora posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
    Title: in the darkness with you
    Word count: 4,233
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
    Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
    Rating: Mature
    Content tags: Blind Zhao Yunlan, First time, Hand-Feeding, Finger-Sucking, Clothed Sex, Zhao Yunlan's oral fixation, Episode Related, Episode 21, Missing Scene, Blindness Arc

    Summary:

    Zhao Yunlan woke to the smell of citrus, sweet and strong in the air. Without fully turning his face out of the pillow, he slitted open a sleep-heavy eye - to complete, unchanged darkness. Reality came crashing down like a landslide. Right: still blind.
    trobadora: (Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan - Hei Pao-gege)
    [personal profile] trobadora
    [personal profile] candyheartsex author reveals have happened! And here's the fic I wrote for [personal profile] facethestrange:

    **

    Title: in the darkness with you
    Word count: 4,233
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
    Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
    Rating: Mature
    Content tags: Blind Zhao Yunlan, First time, Hand-Feeding, Finger-Sucking, Clothed Sex, Zhao Yunlan's oral fixation, Episode Related, Episode 21, Missing Scene, Blindness Arc
    A/N: Many thanks to [personal profile] china_shop for beta-reading.

    Summary:

    Zhao Yunlan woke to the smell of citrus, sweet and strong in the air. Without fully turning his face out of the pillow, he slitted open a sleep-heavy eye - to complete, unchanged darkness. Reality came crashing down like a landslide. Right: still blind.

    My latest Guardian fanworks

    Feb. 22nd, 2026 07:18 pm
    facethestrange: (guardian: weilan: yohe kiss)
    [personal profile] facethestrange posting in [community profile] sid_guardian
    [personal profile] candyheartsex had creator reveals, so here's another portion of fanworks. :D Weilan drawing and 2 fics, a Chuguo fic, and a (non-Candy-Hearts) Zhubai drabble. :)

    Underneath by facethestrange
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
    Rating: Mature
    Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
    Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
    Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
    Additional Tags: Undressing, undergarments, Kneeling, Mild Sexual Content, no sex just touching and vibes, Black-Cloaked Envoy | Hei Pao Shi (Guardian), Long-Haired Shen Wei (Guardian), Fanart, Drawing
    Summary: Zhao Yunlan discovers what's under the Envoy's robes.

    meet me where the hours bend (I'll do it again) (524 words) by facethestrange
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
    Rating: General Audiences
    Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
    Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
    Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
    Additional Tags: Episode: e008 Zhao Yunlan Fails at Impressing Shen Wei, Canon Compliant, Pining Shen Wei (Guardian), Caretaking, Hurt/Comfort, Stomach Ache, Sick Zhao Yunlan, Memories, Tenderness
    Summary: Zhao Yunlan whimpers in his sleep, and Shen Wei doesn't do anything.

    The Envoy and the Cat (549 words) by facethestrange
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
    Rating: General Audiences
    Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
    Relationships: Da Qing & Shen Wei & Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
    Characters: Da Qing (Guardian), Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
    Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Tree Climbing, friendly teasing, Da Qing Being a Cat in Human Form
    Summary: "Really? Really, Damn Cat? You had to get the Black-Cloaked Envoy of all people to help you down from a tree?"

    It Takes a Village (369 words) by facethestrange
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
    Rating: General Audiences
    Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
    Relationships: Chu Shuzhi/Guo Changcheng
    Characters: Chu Shuzhi, Guo Changcheng, Xiaomi the Dog (Guardian), Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble (Guardian)
    Additional Tags: Fluff, Dogs, Domestic, Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Minor Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Team as Family
    Summary: "Who will feed Xiaomi when we're away?" Guo Changcheng asks, and Chu Shuzhi blinks.

    "Everyone?"

    See Nothing (100 words) by facethestrange
    Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
    Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
    Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
    Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
    Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong, Li Yan (Actor)
    Additional Tags: Beard Burn, Innuendo, Silly, Light-Hearted, No Homophobia, POV Outsider, Drabble
    Summary: "Hey, what happened to your chin?"

    Sunshine on my window

    Feb. 22nd, 2026 03:17 pm
    dolorosa_12: (persephone lore olympus)
    [personal profile] dolorosa_12
    I'm really tired, and don't feel in any way prepared for the upcoming working week, but I've been trying to mitigate that with a very lazy Sunday. I had grand plans to plant the first of the spring seeds and start germinating seedlings in the growhouse, I had plans to go out for a walk with Matthias (the weather today is gorgeous), but instead I've spent the whole day vegetating in my wing chair in the living room, watching the tail-end of the Winter Olympics from the corner of my eye, watching Olia Hercules cook borshch on a BBC cooking show, scrolling around on Dreamwidth, and so on.

    Matthias and I saw Marty Supreme at the community cinema earlier this week, and we'll be heading out to see Hamnet tonight, so it's definitely been a film-heavy time by our standards. I'm anticipating a lot of cathartic crying tonight.

    I've continued to make my way through mythology/fairytale/folktale retellings recommended by you on a previous post. This week it was Girl Meets Boy (Ali Smith), a slim little novella in conversation with Ovid's Metamorphoses, concerned with fluidity in gender, gender presentation, sexuality, and so on. It felt very, very, very of its time and place (the UK in the 2000s), but that's not to say that its specificity was a bad thing.

    I also read The Swan's Daughter (Roshani Chokshi), a lush, surreal fairytale of a book in which the titular daughter (one of seven sisters born to a power-hungry wizard and his swanmaiden wife) finds herself caught up in a competition to win the hand of the kingdom's prince in marriage. Chokshi's previous books have been very melodramatic and earnest, and she's relished the opportunity here to shift the tone to something much more humorous and knowing, while still digging into her favourite big themes: the tension between love and vulnerability, genuine love requiring an embrace of uncertainty, and the interplay of love and monstrosity made literal.

    It reminded me so much of one of my very favourite books — The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (Patricia McKillip) — although the latter is portentous and serious where Chokshi is whimsical and humorous that I picked up the McKillip for yet another reread. I've written about it here before, so suffice it to say now that it remains an incredible book — sharp and perceptive, devastating and beautiful.

    I'll leave you with this fantastic link to a Shrove Tuesday tradition in which contestants dressed in costumes race through central London while flipping pancakes in pans. It's as delightful as you might imagine.

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