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Me, reading Guardian fic in 2024??? It's more likely than you might think! Cat Tribe Best Tribe!

just to break my own fall, by Stratisphyre

Author Summary:
After dying, Zhao Yunlan wakes up in a world he barely recognizes.

At least fixing this terrible version of his life gives him something to do while he tries to find out just what happened to Shen Wei.

Quote:
“Okay,” Zhao Yunlan said. He grabbed one of the rickety kitchen chairs and dragged it over towards the bed, sure to keep a decent distance in case Da Qing decided to go for one of the open windows. “I know you’re Yashou, Da Qing.”

Da Qing’s eyes widened. “Um. Meow?” he repeated.

This story got written because:

*In the first Guardian fic I started writing, Zhao Yunlan mentioned his mom in the first paragraph, and I always meant to do more with that.

*I'd already written a fic titled 'Though my soul may set in darkness' and also 'For I have loved the stars too fondly,' so clearly I needed one titled 'Rise in perfect light.'

*I wanted to do nanowrimo and this was the only thing I could think of.

And so, nanowrimo 2020: Rise In Perfect Light

on Dreamwidth

on AO3

(Yes, it bothers me that it's not 'AO3 official' 50,000 words. In the program I was using it's 50,158, so I'm trying to let it go.)

*LET SECTION 5 BEGIN!

*My "notes" for section 5 include exactly six (6) things, two of which already happened in Section 4.

*The remaining things include such gems as:
-sending paper notes via dark energy
-re: food prep/eating: "let's not talk about it"

*Pretty sure that second one was supposed to be a joke about the fact that in Section 1, they're constantly eating meals together and I never mention what they're eating. (Unless it's potatoes. Always mention potatoes!)

*At one point I was also thinking that each section would include a rescue of some kind (hence "Daqing rescues them somehow" back in Section 3). I'm not sure that's happened? But maybe. Who knows what happened in the first half of this story; I certainly don't remember. Anyway, my notes say Section 5 is Shen Wei's turn to rescue them. (Possibly via sending notes! That's definitely ten thousand words right there.)

*Good news! Daqing has rescued them! Sort of, but I'm absolutely counting it.

*So that's my Section 3 goal achieved. And then I thought of a good Section 4 goal -- the pinky promise! Can't have a Guardian fic without the pinky promise.

*Except then I put a pinky promise at the end of Section 3, which was good, because it means Section 3 finally ended, but now I need to pick something new for Section 4.

*How much not-explaining can I get away with by putting a "time skips" tag on this story?

*I feel like at some point, a character will have to do the equivalent of 'gosh, those ten thousand years just few right by, who knew!'

*OH NO IS THAT NOW MY SECTION 4 GOAL?

Okay, so, these words are from yesterday, but you know what? I HAVE A PASS. (Because I just gave myself one.)

“Why is he a cat?” she asked.

Yunlan looked confused. “He’s always a cat; he’s Yashou.”

“No, I mean -- why is he a cat right now? Is he hurt?”

“Oh! No, no, he’s fine."

(Note: no repair person yesterday either!)

But some fun projects for today!

*I am (finally!) making some solid progress on sorting my old clothes. It's been a long time.

*I decided to be 'cozy Batman' for the workplace Halloween zoom events, so I've been working on that. (Someday they'll get tired of gritty reboots, right??? Gotta be a cozy Batman reboot someday.) I have a black hoodie, and I made a mask and some ears, and I have some wings (from a long-ago costume of starandrea's). The best part of a zoom costume is that it really doesn't have to hold up to much. As long as you can sit in front of a camera for a short period of time and show it off, you're all set!

(*I wanted to participate in the Halloween festivities, but not in a way that involved A) spending money, or B) being uncomfortable. So 'cozy Batman' is mostly a joke, in the sense that I pretty much always wear a hoodie to work anyway, and it's obvious that all I did was put a mask on and call it a costume, but I feel it counts in the spirit of the event.)

*It's Dad's birthday! We're celebrating Saturday, so today I need to finish up (read: start) my contribution to decorating the card.

*I'm speed-watching my way back through Guardian in advance of nanowrimo. (Compared to The Untamed, Guardian is so cheery and upbeat! Also, Da Qing is still so clearly the best. Ah, good times.)

*I'd like to do nanowrimo this year.

*But what to write???

*Looks at all the zero things I've written this year: hmm. Hardly inspirational.

*So I read all the fic I wrote last year.

*Can't help but notice that I've written a Guardian fic titled 'Though my soul may set in darkness,' and a Guardian fic titled 'For I have loved the stars too fondly,' and yet somehow NOT written a fic titled, 'Rise in perfect light.'

*Happily, the first two fics were completely unconnected, so it's not like there's any pressure to make a third fit in with either of them.

*Sadly, that still leaves 49,996 words to figure out.

*Clearly more thought is needed.

But it's a Holiday Weekend, so it totally almost kind of counts!

I did, technically, write six sentences. Uh, today. They're not exactly connected.

("It's not completely formed in the classical sense yet. It's more a kind of string of words that you can connect in almost any way." -Music & Lyrics)

But I did write them! And in celebration of that, here's two sentences I did not write today.

“We could be having this conversation somewhere comfortable,” Da Qing interrupted. “With snacks.”

Sunday six, and it's even still Sunday!

“How closely is the pillar monitored?” he asked finally.

Silence. He opened his eyes, but no one was in his direct field of view. Had they left?

And then he heard someone say, “Why?”

They hadn’t left. “We snuck in,” he said, closing his eyes again. “Makes sense to know if we can just sneak back out.”

Me, three weeks ago: I can *definitely* consume content in two fandoms, one of which has a character named 'Lin Jing' and one of which has a character named 'Jin Ling' and not become completely confused!

Me, two weeks ago: Haha no problem; they are not anything alike! Who's confused? Clearly not me!

Me, today: I DEFINITELY CANNOT DO THIS, BRAIN MELTDOWN INTENSIFYING.

(Logically, it's not confusing. In practice, it comes and goes.)