Always running

[krait]

How is it that it seems like forever since my last post, and yet somehow when I look at my DW I have an immediate, "It can't have been that long!" reaction to the last post date. Oy.

My fannish life seems to be something of a muddle right now, as I'm flitting through fics in various small/old fandoms (Weiss Kreuz, Silmarillion, Nirvana in Fire, Witcher. I've picked up the first manga volumes of FAKE, and they've been making for good lunch-break reading: fluffy and about as realistic as a Disney movie, but entertaining and easy to consume in 30-minute bursts without losing plot threads.

The last few days have given me a temptation to poke my nose into Mo Dao Zu Shi (Modao Zushi?); I've seen some things that make me think I'd like it after all, though my initial impression - back when it first became a thing - wasn't favourable. Given that it seems to exist in two dozen different forms, though, it may take me a while to figure out how to approach it if I do decide to take the plunge; right now, the webnovel and the animated version are what I'm leaning toward. If you're a fan, suggestions and pointers would be welcome! Be sure to check out these beautiful icons by yeonmo, too. /driveby rec

Outside of fandom, I've been rereading some Georgette Heyer romances (The Convenient Marriage, The Grand Sophy, & Devil's Cub so far). Yesterday I finally got around to the long-overdue vacuuming, but did not accomplish any of the other major household tasks I need to do. (Sigh.) For a while I had some genuine Real-Life excuses, but those are wearing rather thin, and I'm once again faced with the fact that, in fact, I actually just really hate doing laundry. *guilty* It may be time to look at my accrued PTO and take a day off for Dumb Domestic Stuff That Needs Doing. First I should probably make a list of said tasks, though, or I'll forget half of them when I do have time! :D

Comments

[definitely_not_an_alb]

As someone who was similarly on the fence about MDZM and just now made it to the fabled Ep10 (of It Gets Good Later I Promise-Fame), what helped me was having a friend who loves it watching it with me and also finding the right way/"mindset" to approach this. Like, this is very much a campy fantasy show the same way Xena and SPN and the recent Witcher stuff is, imo, and fandom really, really did not give me that expression. I feel it's kind of like trying to get into SPN in 2021 based on the ironic, over-the-top-lit analysis side of tumblr fandom and finding, well. Season 1 of SPN. So the fact that the friend I'm watching it with is finally chill enough to laugh about the bad CGI and wigs without apologizing for 'ruining the experience' for me was probably more important to me actually getting to the 'ah I see why everyone loves this' point, because I was sitting on the other side of the couch holding back those same comments because I didn't want to (lovingly) insult her fave show in front of her. Turns out eating junk food and laughing about the CGI is exactly what I needed tho. (Also having someone there to play who's-who and explain wtf just happened when the show decides to cut a plot from the novel down to two scenes and just ASSUMES you read the novel and know wtf is happening is helpful as hell)

Also tbh it was only a matter of time until I fell, there's some quality whump and angst material in that show. I'm assuming the other versions are similar.

[krait]

Thanks!

I'm glad to know that it's not too grim in tone; I think that was part of what put me off initially, when it first started popping up in my awareness and all I had to go on was the title and vague references. It sounded 2Dark2Edgy, which isn't my thing at all.

I loved Nirvana in Fire, which does have a lot of Serious!!! going on most of the time, but on the other hand also has teenage martial artists flying through the air in slo-mo, not to mention the notorious Vampire Yeti Surprise, so I feel like I'm okay with silly wigs and bad SFX at this point. :D

I'll definitely be watching/reading alone, too, which means I can heckle where needed. The cats have promised me they don't mind. :D

[spiced_wine]

I’ve only watched the Untamed on YouTube, but I loved it, and I’m going back through it, watching the episodes.

I’m currently reading The Grad Sophy :) Georgette Heyer is so bubbly and light it’s like comfort for me when things are a bit bleak.

[krait]

I really love Sophy! Rolling up to her aunt's house with a carriageful of animals, taking over everybody's business and being delighted because she was worried that she would be bored ("Sir Horace is always right!"), matchmaking and match-unmaking in equal measure, and just generally making sure five things are happening at once on any given page. ♥

Glad to hear you loved The Untamed! Live action is generally a hard sell for me (I jsut don't get fannish about it, somehow. I managed it with Nirvana in Fire, but before that I think my last major live-action fandom was... uh... Star Wars: The Phantom Menace??) but maybe I'll check it out if I get into one of the other versions and crave more!

[spiced_wine]

just generally making sure five things are happening at once on any given page. ♥

And shooting Lord Charlbury in the arm so that her cousin wouldn’t knock him out when he caught up with them 😂

Have you read Friday’s Child? That might be my favourite. The characters are so hilarious. I remember my nan reading it and chuckling.

It wasn’t so much the action in the untamed — it was beautifully graceful; the setting, the beauty of it, the exquisiteness. The lovely long hair and hair ornaments, the polite manners, the robes. Sometimes I just need to absorb things like that.
I’m not in the ‘fandom’ as such, which to me means wanting to write fic; it was more just enjoying the characters and the whole visual experience.

[krait]

Poor Charlbury has to contend with rather a lot - mumps, a broken heart, and a wounded arm! Not to mention being "abducted" and then threatened by Charles. :D

I have read Friday's Child, but it was a while ago and I don't remember much about it. I've been browsing Ebay for cheap Heyer paperbacks, so I'll add that one to my list!

I do love long hair and fancy ornamentation! I sometimes joke about Nirvana in Fire having put its entire budget into costuming and none into SFX. (Which was the correct choice! SO. MANY. GORGEOUS. COSTUMES.)

[spiced_wine]

Which was the correct choice! SO. MANY. GORGEOUS. COSTUMES.)

Sounds good to me!

Friday’s Child is such a fun story. I think my sister went off with my copy years ago, so I’ll have to order another one too.

[leahandillyana]

The animated version of Modaozushi is a faithful adaptation that rearranges the events so that we experience them in a roughly chronological order, making the plot easier to follow. The downside is that gay romance was relegated to the subtext level. All in all, it's one of the best cartoons to came out of China

[dancing_serpent]

My favourite version is the live action one, then the donghua. I'm not so much for the original web novel (didn't like the writing style, the sex, and some of the characterisations). But tastes are different, so you might prefer it the other way round.

[krait]

Oooh, okay, the donghua is a possibility if I happen to find it. Thanks for reminding me that there's yet another version!

For some reason it's really, really difficult for me to feel fannish about live-action media; I have much better luck with text, and failing that with animation. I like some manga/manhua/graphic novels, but am better with straight-up novels. (My brain just goes, "woohoo, text!" and ignores the pictures, which... sometimes that works just fine, if the story is text-heavy. Other times, I get 9 pages in and realise I have no idea what they're talking about, or even who's speaking.)

Writing style can be tricky, though hopefully I'll be able to adapt. :D

[dancing_serpent]

It's still on YouTube, as far as I know.

It's been coming and going in phases for me over my (not quite three) fannish decades. Right now I'm in a phase where live action works really well for me, but it all depends on character interactions. Some of the BL stuff I've watched did nothing for me in regards to fannishness, but the military drama I stumbled upon in April/May of this year, really got me good.

I wish you good luck, and hope you'll find a version you'll enjoy and can be fannish about. The fandom is huge, which is always very nice - no shortage in fanworks of any kind. (Not like my military drama where I'm the first (and only )one to post fic to AO3, in any language.)