Good morning, Readers!

I wish I had something fun and exciting to report, but my life is an endless cycle of work, write, sleep, repeat.

That’s it.

That’s all I have going on right now.

I’m sure there is news in the Twitterverse I could make a note of and speak on, but I find I don’t have the energy for that. I just don’t have the time or the mental energy to devote to all the stupidity I see there on a daily basis.  I just don’t.

I’m recovering my sense of smell and taste, ever so slowly. My smell is almost returned, my taste not so much. I got very excited a couple of nights ago when I could smell the rice cooking. I can also now taste bread (sort of), but most other things still have no taste. I discovered this in the night, when, as a treat, I spread some homemade peach jam given to me by my dear friends for Xmas on some bread and happily sat down. I forgot I couldn’t taste at all, so all I have to report is that the jam was sweet.

That’s all I got from it.

I’m sure it was delicious.

Not tasting sucks.

I’ve been doing a lot of dreaming of late of running away from everything and going to live in the forest somewhere. I can see it so clearly; me, with a cup of tea, sitting at the window, watching the snow fall. It looks and feels peaceful, and I’m sad that it will never be my reality. Not at this rate. I’ll be working until the day I die, still trying to realize my dream of being a full-time fiction writer.

I’m in a weird place at the moment; teetering on the edge of depression. Thank heavens for the diagnosis and therapy - I can recognize what’s happening and can do things that help ease the weight or make it pass quicker. It’s no longer the scary monster it once was. But it still sucks and hovering on the edge of it is also really sucky.

Anyway, I’m going to leave this non-post here for now. I’ve not really said anything substantial, so I’ll leave you with this:

Black lives matter.

Trans rights are human rights.

Women are people.

Wear your fucking masks.

Get vaccinated.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So, I did manage to get back into writing when I went back to work last week. It wasn’t nearly as much as I would have liked, but it was better than absolutely nothing. In fact, it was even better than the goal I had set for myself.

A good thing, too, as being sick in bed resulted in almost absolutely zero words being written. You would think, given I had nothing better to do, that I’d be writing a lot while stuck in bed, if just to alleviate the boredom. Not so. I had the energy to sleep or watch YouTube and that was about it.

So, for two weeks there, I hardly wrote at all - just over two thousand words in one week, and absolutely nothing at all the following week.

Last week, however, I got back on track, writing just over two thousand words more than my weekly goal.

Not bad, all told.

With two weeks of writing almost nothing, I still managed to come stupidly close to my monthly goal - just under six hundred words shy of the target. I was aiming for 20 000 words for the month. I managed 19 410. Given the challenge I faced this month, I’m actually really pleased with this result. All told, it was a good effort.

I’m still nowhere near done. Some 80 000 words in and I’ve only just introduced the big bad. Perhaps this story would be best released as a serial? If, you know, I decide to release it at all.

So far this week, I’ve managed a good bout of writing, and feel on track again.

It’s nice to be exploring this world in writing. Though I’m keen on getting a start on this other story, I’m really enjoying playing in this one.

So, TL;DR is this: despite two weeks of not being able to write, I very nearly hit my target all the same, and I’m pleased with the effort, even if I didn’t quite hit the monthly target.

Happy to be back in the swing of things.

​Ciao!

MONDAY!

Okay, we're on episode nine now, and I'm just going to do a very brief primer - LWJ and WWX are off adventuring together, trying to locate the other pieces of the Yin Iron so they can bind them away in the Cold Pond Cave In Gusu, home of the Lan Clan.

They are pursued by Wen Chao and his smokey owl.

Right, Episode Nine.

I'll try and be brief. AH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! Sorry. I'll try.

Okay, we start right where we left off. The puppets are breaking into the temple where WWX, LWJ and Nie Huaisang are trapped. They come up with a risky escape plan, and NH's ardent protestations are silenced by LWJ's silencing spell.

I need to figure out how to do that.

Before they can enact their plan, however, flute music draws the puppets away. We find out that it's Wen Qing who's playing the flute, drawing the puppets out. She then casts a spell that calms them. And is spotted by Wen Chao's Dire Owl.

Meanwhile, back in the temple, a mysterious voice stopped the three young cultivators from leaving... only it's obviously Jiang Cheng. In the ensuing bickering between brothers, Jiang Cheng reveals that he was worried about WWX, and that Wen Qing had helped him. Then he notes that it's been a while since the flute music stopped and Wen Qing might be in danger.

The now four cultivators run to Wen Qing to find her fending off the Dire Owl, which flies away. Before the puppets are reactivated, WWX convinces Wen Qing to tell him how to free them from their curse. The trick is to kill the Dire Owl, as Wen Chao is using the Yin Iron fragment that gives the owl life to control the puppet.

Leaving Wen Qing, Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang with a golden thread cage spell cast over them to protect them from the zombies (puppets) that are trying to hurt them, WWX and LWJ head off to kill the Dire Owl. They wind up in a forest, surrounded by a mist that causes hallucinations and attacks the mind. They're then attacked by flying chains.

Alright, time for to close your eyes, I guess.

Okay, now WWX can concentrate. He casts a fire talisman. I have a question. Just were dafuq do they pull out these talisman papers from?

One of the chains gets WWX, but ever the clever young man, he uses it to his advantage, pretending to pass out so the owl will attack. He catches it and kills it, freeing the townsfolk from their puppetry. They return to where they left Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang and Wen Qing were. They're no longer there.

In fact, Wen Qing has brought them all to the Wen Clan graveyard - the very graveyard we saw at the beginning of the series, the one that WWX stumbles across as he travels to Dafan Mountain. It is there that Wen Qing reveals that she, her brother, and the villagers they've rescued are all that remains of her branch of the Wen Clan. In this explanation, we find out why Wen Ning is so unwell, and so easily affected by the supernatural. It was the Dancing Fairy, who suddenly came to life and killed Wen Qing's family, and stole a little of Wen Ning's spirit. Wen Qing, being a child at the time, doesn't know why the Dancing Fairy stone suddenly came to life and started attacking everyone.

We cut to the Nightless City throne room. There are now, I think, three fragments of the Yin Iron? I couldn't tell how many were floating above the lava pool. How did they get three? There was the one the Wen Clan had, there was the one from the Lady Florist, and then...? Was it Xue Yang who got one from the clan in Yueyang?  Maybe?

Back with our now five young Cultivators, Niece Huaisang and Jiang Cheng run off to catch a wild chicken to eat. WWX and LWJ use this opportunity to interrogate Wen Qing, who admits that she was there to save her people, and she old helped WWX because WWX saved her brother (Wen Ning, in case you've forgotten), she will not help them any longer.

In the interrogation, WWX asks her if she realizes why the Dancing Fairy suddenly came to life and started attacking. It was because someone stole her heart.

Her heart was a fragment of Yin Iron, and the thief was Wen Ruohan. It was Wen Ruohan who is directly responsible for her clan's near-obliteration some twenty years ago.

Also, the twenty years ago thing makes the whole ages different from what I assumed. The alcoholic children (namely WWX) are less child than I thought. I feel better about their drinking now.

Anyway, it is evident that Wen Qing did not know this. Still, she resolves to go back - despite Jiang Cheng practically begging her to come with him instead - as her brother is still in the Nightless City, and Wen Ruohan still needs her medicines, so he won't punish her too badly for her interference with Wen Chao's idiocy.

LWJ, WWX, Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang head to the city of Yueyang. There, they learn from a waiter that something is weird at the Chang house (the Changs being the Cultivators (which seems to me nothing more than magical aristocracy to me) of the region). There's knocking and screaming at night, but the doors are locked. During the day, investigations find the house empty, the entire clan simply vanished.

So naturally, LWJ, WWX and Jiang Cheng head over to the house. Nie Huaisang stays behind, as he's meeting Men Yao (the one with the adorable dimples). The three investigating cultivators approach the house a night. The Yin Iron goes crazy, knocking and screaming can be heard, so WWX Allohamoras the doors and they open to reveal an incredible slaughter.

WWX takes a look at some of the bodies, and reveals that before they died, they were all turned into puppets.

And that is where the episode ends. What's that... three in a row with endings that make sense?

What I Liked

The show is doing a great job of showing how well WWX and LWJ work together, despite LWJ trying really hard not to like the mischievous WWX. They fight well, they perform complementary magic, and they together, their ideas are pretty darn good.

I'm really enjoying what they're doing with Wen Qing. She's in an impossible position now, and we can plainly see that she's not evil, though she's one of the fire nation.  Alright, the Wen Clan.

Also, the fight with the Dire Owl (and the Dire Owl's CG) was decent. There wasn't any silly sword play, and the tension was decent this time around. Also, a great deal of humour, which I appreciated.

What Could Have Been Better

This is one of the episodes where there wasn't really anything to gripe about. The one fight scene was an affair if magic, so silliness in swordplay isn't an issue.

I do have to say that a lot of the blood looks definitely fake. For the record, blood doesn't bead like that. It looks like red oil in some instances. That, however, might be a censorship issue - what with blood and gore not allowed to appear too realistic. It might not, but I'm holding that in my mind, as there have been weirder issues in censorship in Western media over the years.

Honestly, though, if the only issue is that your blood doesn't look too bloody, then you're doing well.

Alright, that's all I have to say about this episode. I'll see you... or not... is anyone even reading these (not that it matters), next Monday.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I still do not have news. I have been writing again, which is nice. I’m nearly at 80 000 words as of the writing of this post, and I’m really happy to be getting the story out of my head, even if I think it’s nonsense currently.

I’m also still struggling with the story and whether or not I ought to be publishing it. I’m anxious to get it into the hands of sensitivity readers so they can tell me either way. I don’t know what to do with it, and while there isn’t much I can do with it until it’s written, edited and passed to sensitivity readers, it’s still a low-level anxiety that’s always present in the back of my mind.

In gaming news, I will be live-streaming Friday night as usual, unless something happens. It may be a full ASMR episode, as my flat mate is likely to be in bed and I don’t want to disturb her. I haven’t decided if that will be the case yet, but I’m mulling it over.

As a treat to myself, I bought myself a copy of The Ghost of Tsushima for my PS4 — a reward for making it through Covid. It’s a silly reason to treat myself, but I so rarely buy myself anything other than food and shelter, and it was as good an excuse as any. The game looks awesome and I’m keen to get stuck into this story.

But that will be happening after the next game after my current play-through. I’m currently playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and will be playing Fenix Rising after that. Then I’ll play Ghost of Tsushima. I fully expect not to get to it for a good long while yet. Following that, I’ll get stuck into Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I am one of those who is growing a collection of games I haven’t played and it’s not good. I need to get through this list before my next birthday... largely because my brother is the best brother and he usuallly buys me games for my birthday, and I’d like to get on it before the next birthday rolls around, damn it (that’s what happened to AC Odyssey and AC Valhalla...).

Also, while I was in bed sick, I saw the trailer for a new Mortal Kombat movie, and I 👏 am 👏 here 👏 for 👏 it. Does it not look ridiculous and corny as hell? Yes. Will it likely be a bad movie. Yes. Does it look like I will enjoy it all the same? Also yes.

Look, I like bad movies for some inexplicable reason. They make me happy.

Right, that’s all I’ve got. I’m going to go do more work.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

There really isn’t all that much to report.

I have returned to work. As of the writing of this post, I’ve finished the second day back at work post-Covid. It’s been pretty good, actually. I have my usual energy levels (though I am pretty exhausted when I get home, still), and have almost regained my routine. Hopefully they’ll become habits again in no time.

I have rewarded myself for making it out of quarantine by purchasing The Ghost of Tsushima on the PS4. I didn’t game as much as you might have thought I would’ve when I was home sick. I was too sick to game. I didn’t have the energy to sit on a chair and bash buttons. I do love gaming, and this game had caught my attention when it was released, so I’ll be diving into that one of these days.

I’m also back writing, which is nice. I’m at the stage of the story, though, where I hate it, think it’s stupid, boring, poorly executed etc. I’ll be glad to get it out of my head and onto paper.

Since I’ve become fond of rewarding myself for things, I will reward myself for finishing this rough draft by purchasing a stylus for my iPad so I can do some hardcore marking up of the manuscript during the editing process.

And start doing some digital art.

And that’s it. That’s everything that’s been going on in my life. Dull, is it not?

So dull.

One day I might have some really exciting news to announce here. Or maybe I’ll have the energy to tackle some of the bigger issues happening in the world right now. For now, though, you get updates like this. It’s about all I can manage currently.

Right, I’ve got work to do, so I’ll let you get on with your days.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I've been away for a while now. My apologies. I had Covid.

I'm still quite angry about it. I don't know where I got it, but I have a vague idea, and I'm not impressed with the whiny, cavalier attitude that got me sick. Lawd. All you have to do is wear a mask and wash your hands. Resistance to doing so made me sick, and I'm not thrilled about it. This is a deliberate understatement to mask how pissed I am.

Look, I get you're from a generation that very rarely heard the word 'no.' I get that you're generation is famous for your thoughtless selfishness. You've got yours, what do you care if someone else gets hurt or ill because of you? I get that you're the most coddled generation - you've not experienced any hardship, really (minimum wage when you were a youngin' could support a family with just one person working, university cost a fraction of what it does now, and housing was affordable), and so the wearing of a mask makes you feel really fucking put upon, but grow the fuck up. It's not about you, you selfish prigs.

Anyway.

I got away fairly luckily, despite being trapped in my bedroom for nearly fourteen days. I didn't get a cough. I feel like I'm in good health now. As of the writing of this, I'm now in my first day of freedom. I haven't taken advantage of that and gone outside yet. I'm too anxious at the moment. I'm nervous that I'm somehow still infectious, and that I might get folks ill. Public Health says it's all good, and this is quite a ways into the pandemic, so I guess they know what they're talking about.

But... it still weighs on my mind a lot, and I'm not really keen on being out in the world.

When you're reading this, it'll be four days of freedom. I'm probably at work. Probably quite anxious.

My experience of Covid was quite odd. I did not get a cough. Or even a fever, really. What happened was three or four days of intense lower back pain and an intense headache. This pain was distinct from my usual chronic back pain. It felt much more like the intense nerve pain I had when I had shingles. That is what prompted me to seek a Covid test - it felt viral.

When the back pain and headache left, it was replaced by an intense sore throat. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't swallow. I've had worse sore throats. This lasted for another three days or so. When the sore throat resolved, I was hit by an incredibly itchy rash. It spread quickly - from red, hot-to-the-touch patches on my elbows in the morning to a full body rash (even on my face and the bottoms of my feet) that itched terribly - though mostly on my wrists, as I remember. Luckily, that lasted only just longer than a day, and not three or more days. I've read that some folks ended up with as many as twenty days of this rash.

Oh, and somewhere in there, I lost my sense of smell and taste. As of the writing of this, it hasn't returned, but I am getting flashes of scent every so often. I don't know if it's just because my brain is trying to compensate for the nothingness it's getting and making stuff up or if I'm actually slowly getting my senses back.

It all fucking sucked, but I think I got away quite lightly, all things considered.

And I will miss being able to cuddle my cat all day. That was a pleasant thing to have while I was unwell. He's such a cuddly boy, and I always feel guilty leaving for work.

I spent most of my life these past two weeks in my bed, sleeping and eating and doing little else. I did try to write, but managed only two thousand words in all that time.

For that reason, there's no real writing update. I'm sitting at around 73 000 words currently. I will hopefully, with the return of routine and normalcy in my life, be writing again by the time this post is scheduled. I need to get this story done. I have so many others waiting in the wings...

Right, that's my news. I should be posting more regularly now that I'm better.

For now, just wear your fucking masks when you go out. It's a minor inconvenience that proves you're not a selfish prig (note: this doesn't apply to those who genuinely cannot wear one, but that's not who my ire is directed toward).

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Oooh! Things are getting interesting now... for me. Shut up. I've having fun reliving this series. You're stuck with this being my Monday until the end of the year.

You're welcome.

​Right, episode eight!

We go back in time a bit to see WWX heading over to Wen Ning's room to say goodbye, only to find that Wen Ning and his sister Wen Qing have already gone. Then we jump to the scene with the rabbits again, this time WWX is happened upon by his siblings. Jiang Cheng chides WWX for paling with animals... and then immediately starts playing with animals. I mean... the rabbits are very cute. The siblings sit and chat for a while before heading off, leaving the rabbits behind.

Who should walk by but LWJ. And he bids farewell to the bunnies. Hah! Breaking rules and keeping pets, LWJ?

We cut now to LWC meditating. Who shows up but Wen Chao, looking for the Lan Clan's piece of the Yin Iron. LXC does not appear to have his brother's aversion to lying, and slickly notes that the protections around the mountains are to preserve the resting place of the Lan Clan ancestors, lest strangers come along and offend them. He tries to threaten LXC, but that doesn't work, so he threatens LWJ instead, noting that he knows the younger brother is off on his own at this very moment. LXC does not appreciate it.

As he leaves, Wen Chao tells LXC to hand over his piece of the Yin Iron so that the Lan Clan will survive.

Survive what, you ask? The Wen Clan, I imagine.

Anyway, we rejoin the children of the Jiang Clan, when Jiang Cheng finds the note WWX left, stating he's gone off on a night hunt (what they call a monster hunt, near as I can tell). Basically, he ran away. We find him later having caught up to LWJ, getting the cultivator's attention by lobbing a loquat at him. Despite LWJ being less than pleased that WWX has now joined his quest (as WWX promised Lan Yin he would), the pair head off in a boat.

Wen Chao sends off his Dire Owl to spy on them.

Naturally, there are hijinks on the road, with WWX testing out a new talisman he made. On LWJ. Who is just not having it.

Honestly, these little moments are so well done. They make me smile.

The pair end up in town, where WWX tries to scare LWJ with a mask. He succeeds only in getting scared by a person in a mask himself. It's Nice Huaisang!

We cut to Lotus Cove to see Jiang Cheng running away, presumably to find WWX and bring him home.

The three of our adventurous young cultivators head to the town square, where there's some sort of notice causing a hubbub in the centre of town. Turns out, the Lady Florist is inviting all cultivators to her home for a poetry competition. Following the discovery of the announcement, petals start falling from the sky, distracting the three with how pretty it is. Yes, even LWJ, who you'd think wouldn't have time for that nonsense.

It's at this point where Nie Huaisang openly admires LWJ, stating that he "is nothing but an unparalleled, gorgeous and elegant gentleman." I think Nie Huaisang has a crush and, well... I mean...

Okay, I fell slightly gross now. I mean, the actor is probably very young. But yeah, the dude is pretty.

So the trio go off to the Lady Florist's house, and along the way Nie Huaisang learns about the Yin Iron. Impressively, he refuses to even look at it, making me feel like he's basically a good dude, if a little vacuous. They discover the florist's home almost entirely burn down, along with the feather of a Dire Owl. Turns out, Wen Chao was there previously, and from what the three could figure, the Lady Florist was taken captive and the whole competition was a ruse to draw in cultivators so the Wen's could get their hands on a piece of the Yin Iron. Which they do.

Great, now they have two fragments.

We go back to Wen Chao, who has in his company Wen Qing. He warns her that he thinks she's grown fond of WWX and LWJ, and doesn't want him to hurt them, and he mocks her for it. Then he notes that the pair will have to pass through Dafan - Wen Qing's home. She reminds him that Wen Ruohan promised her no more harm would come to her people, making me think that she was only an unwilling participant in this mad power-grab of his.

Wen Chao tells her that as long as she stays in line, nothing bad will happen to them. Then they head off to the temple in Dafan Mountain and unseal the malicious dancing fairy statue. You know the statue that attacked the young cultivators and Jin Ling (WWX's nephew)? Yes, the very same. But this is in the past, so... you know, before it attacked the young cultivators.

​We're back with Jiang Cheng now, and he enters a tavern where Wen Qing and her escort happen to be dining.

He orders food. She orders the same thing.

He orders drink. She orders the same thing.

He puts down money, asking the waiter to serve him first.

She puts down more money, demanding the waiter to serve her first.

Unable to compete with the wealth, Jiang Cheng relents and tells the waiter to go ahead and serve them. Wen Qing then abruptly changes her mind, and tell the waiter she doesn't want it anymore. Not backing down, Jiang Cheng demands to know if Wen Qing is mocking him. She stands to face him and openly says she is. Pissed, Jiang Cheng turns to leave, but Wen Qing stops him and they have a small fight. Wen Qing uses this opportunity to warn Jiang Cheng that WWX is in Dafan Mountain and is in danger. What a clever young woman. Jiang Cheng thanks her and takes off to go after his brother.

We're back with WWX, LWJ and Niece Huaisang now. They've arrived in the village beneath Dafan Mountain. It's deserted except for an old woman clearly in shock. WWX asks for a place to stay the night, and she leads them up the mountain to the temple which houses the Dancing Fairy statue. They're told to camp there. And they do.

Problems come in the night - the statues wakes up and attacks the cultivators, attempting, I suppose, to snatch their spirits. A short fight follows, in which Nie Huaisang is perfectly useless, and the WWX and LWJ seal the statue once more. But that's not the end of their woes, oh no! The whole village has been turned into puppets, probably by Wen Chao with the piece of the Yin Iron he took from the Lady Florist. They come after the three young cultivators, who are trapped inside the temple.

The puppets break down the doors and...

The episode ends.

What I Liked

One of the things that stuck out the most is a common theme with what I adore about this series in general, and that is how normal queerness is in this world. Nie Huaisang admitting openly without shame and to entirely no judgement how much he admires LWJ's appearance made me squee. The fact that WWX seemed to notice that about LWJ for the first time immediately after Nie Huaisang says it made me squeal.

Even if he makes a joke about LWJ always wearing white like he's forever at a funeral (weirdly, LWJ was wearing blue at the time).

The whole slow romance thing happening here is impossibly sweet, and it doesn't matter one iota that the romance is between two men. Sweet is sweet. Love is love. And this series is doing queerness right (to my mind).

What Could Have Been Better

The fight between the Dancing Fairy statue and our two heroes could have been so much better. The swordplay was... not great... and the tension was entirely lacking. I know this is a drama, and not an action, but damn, it was pretty silly.

That was really the only thing that I was not great. Everything else was wonderful, especially the character moments.

But hoo boy that fight could have been so much better.

Right, see you next week for episode nine!