My latest Guardian fanworks
May. 16th, 2026 07:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
facethestrange posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sid_guardian2 drama fics, 1 novel drawing, 1 rpf fic. :)
Hear Me Out (607 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Lin Jing (Guardian), Da Qing (Guardian), Guo Changcheng, Chu Shuzhi, Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble (Guardian), Cong Bo (mentioned)
Additional Tags: POV Outsider, Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble Shenanigans (Guardian), Episode: e015 Zhao Yunlan Begs Shen Wei's Favor, Suspicions, Misunderstandings, Innuendo, Light-Hearted, Established Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Guardian Bingo
Series: Part 9 of Guardian Bingo 2026
Summary: Lin Jing is convinced that Cong Bo's blackmail material is a sex tape.
Rest Like You Belong Here (705 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Ye Zun (Guardian)
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Ye Zun (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Twincest, Brother/Brother Incest, Reunions, Complicated Relationships, Misplaced Trust, unsettling fluff, ominous ending, Past Trauma, Timeline What Timeline, Shen Wei hasn't met Kunlun yet, Dixing Powers (Guardian), Kissing, Making Out, Hair Caressing, Hair-pulling, probably more T than M (definitely more sensual than in any way graphic)
Summary: Didi kisses his eyelids, and this too is new. This too is right.
Shen Wei breathes him in, the silver hair falling all around them now, under the crackling of dark energy that rises and unfolds before retreating again. He tries to ignore it, but it is like frost on this summer night, brushing against Shen Wei's cheeks and neck and lips until he shivers.
Eternal by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Da Qing & Kunlun (Guardian), Da Qing & Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Da Qing (Guardian), Kunlun (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Cats, Cuddling & Snuggling, Reincarnation, Platonic Soulmates, Fanart, Drawing
Summary: The mountain god with his little furball, thousands of years apart.
we could play a beautiful game (even though we're gonna lose) (444 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
Additional Tags: Bittersweet, Cuddling & Snuggling, Tenderness, Accidental Confessions, Things left unsaid, Goodbyes, rated T only for mentions of alcohol; very G-rated otherwise
Summary: "So, how long until you forget all about me?" Bai Yu says into Long-ge's shirt with a cheeky smile, not letting his voice crack. Sometimes they're both a bit too good at acting. "Find someone else you'll feed breakfast every morning?"
Hear Me Out (607 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Lin Jing (Guardian), Da Qing (Guardian), Guo Changcheng, Chu Shuzhi, Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble (Guardian), Cong Bo (mentioned)
Additional Tags: POV Outsider, Special Investigation Division | SID Ensemble Shenanigans (Guardian), Episode: e015 Zhao Yunlan Begs Shen Wei's Favor, Suspicions, Misunderstandings, Innuendo, Light-Hearted, Established Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Guardian Bingo
Series: Part 9 of Guardian Bingo 2026
Summary: Lin Jing is convinced that Cong Bo's blackmail material is a sex tape.
Rest Like You Belong Here (705 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Ye Zun (Guardian)
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Ye Zun (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Twincest, Brother/Brother Incest, Reunions, Complicated Relationships, Misplaced Trust, unsettling fluff, ominous ending, Past Trauma, Timeline What Timeline, Shen Wei hasn't met Kunlun yet, Dixing Powers (Guardian), Kissing, Making Out, Hair Caressing, Hair-pulling, probably more T than M (definitely more sensual than in any way graphic)
Summary: Didi kisses his eyelids, and this too is new. This too is right.
Shen Wei breathes him in, the silver hair falling all around them now, under the crackling of dark energy that rises and unfolds before retreating again. He tries to ignore it, but it is like frost on this summer night, brushing against Shen Wei's cheeks and neck and lips until he shivers.
Eternal by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Da Qing & Kunlun (Guardian), Da Qing & Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Da Qing (Guardian), Kunlun (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Cats, Cuddling & Snuggling, Reincarnation, Platonic Soulmates, Fanart, Drawing
Summary: The mountain god with his little furball, thousands of years apart.
we could play a beautiful game (even though we're gonna lose) (444 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
Additional Tags: Bittersweet, Cuddling & Snuggling, Tenderness, Accidental Confessions, Things left unsaid, Goodbyes, rated T only for mentions of alcohol; very G-rated otherwise
Summary: "So, how long until you forget all about me?" Bai Yu says into Long-ge's shirt with a cheeky smile, not letting his voice crack. Sometimes they're both a bit too good at acting. "Find someone else you'll feed breakfast every morning?"
Recent Viewing: Stonewalling
May. 16th, 2026 10:32 amrocky41_7Earlier this week I dipped back into my to-watch list and finally fired up a Kanopy account via my library so I could watch Stonewalling. It’s a plot you’re familiar with: young woman and her boyfriend struggling by with odd jobs, trying to finish school but not feeling very enthusiastic about it, when a surprise pregnancy happens and she does what you expect…lie to her boyfriend about getting an abortion while agreeing to give the baby to a third party in exchange for forgiveness of her mother’s tort debts stemming from a stillbirth in mom’s home-run gynecology clinic.
You know, standard.
Stonewalling is suffocatingly steeped in its vibes, and I mean that as a compliment. There are very few, if any, motion shots. We are usually sitting in one placing watching characters move across the scene and Lynn, the protagonist, is often placed conspicuously near the edges of the shot. Lynn is adrift, not passionate about her boyfriend or about school, unwilling to get off her phone and socialize, unable, initially, to even make a decision herself about her pregnancy. I found her incredibly frustrating at the start, because she comes off as so passive. Even her body language is: she lolls about, limbs akimbo, head tipping to one side or another as if it’s too much effort to even support her own body weight.
But Lynn’s struggle is also weighty. This Chinese film is making a pointed commentary on China’s gig economy and the workers trapped within it. Lynn and her family aren’t homeless, they always have food, but they’re also always fumbling for their next money-making scheme, the next job that’s going to keep their head above water. There’s no time to rest, there’s no comfort, just survival.
The film is also highlighting the commodification of women’s bodies, sometimes the only or best thing they can sell. Even before she learns of her pregnancy, Lynn is venturing into an egg-selling scheme, which involves a lot of reassuring neurotic potential buyers of her intelligence, beauty, health, and all the other things these wealthy customers demand for their potential future babies.
In short, it’s a technically good film. However, there aren’t five collective minutes of it which are enjoyable to experience, and it runs 2½ hours, which makes it difficult to recommend. It’s dull and plodding, just like Lynn’s life, and I don’t think she smiles once the entire film. It reminded me a bit of Nomadland in its relentless, boring misery. Maybe break this one into chunks if you go for it.
@thefridayfive 2026.05.15
May. 16th, 2026 11:39 pmhalfcactus1. How often do you hear live music?
Uhhh whenever a friend has an important(?) gig. I also try to see one or two musicals a year. For actual musical artists, I'm just never really enough of a fan to justify the trouble of watching a concert.
2. What was your favorite live musical performance ever?
Recency bias: ONE OK ROCK (whose music is meant to be experienced live)
3. Do you play an instrument, or sing?
I can play a couple of videogame songs on the piano, but very, very badly. I will never improve. Then again, everyone needs a hobby that they're hopelessly terrible at. It's liberating. Unfortunately, I'm mediocre at best at all my other interests/endeavors, which is not as liberating, just depressing lol
4. Have you ever performed music onstage?
On high school graduation day, everyone had to go onstage to sing as a chorus.
5. Who is your favorite musician?
Can I just say Vienna Teng for how long I've been listening to her... A huge fan of The National as well for High Violet.
-
Just finished Legend of Mana! I missed around 5 quests (there are 67 total) but I think it's a sufficient experience of the game? I can't exactly say I loved it, but I'll miss it. I'll miss having something I can be fully absorbed in (especially since the rerecorded soundtrack is so soothing and the colorful environments comforting), and I'll miss writing/drawing my progress on my physical journal.
Uhhh whenever a friend has an important(?) gig. I also try to see one or two musicals a year. For actual musical artists, I'm just never really enough of a fan to justify the trouble of watching a concert.
2. What was your favorite live musical performance ever?
Recency bias: ONE OK ROCK (whose music is meant to be experienced live)
3. Do you play an instrument, or sing?
I can play a couple of videogame songs on the piano, but very, very badly. I will never improve. Then again, everyone needs a hobby that they're hopelessly terrible at. It's liberating. Unfortunately, I'm mediocre at best at all my other interests/endeavors, which is not as liberating, just depressing lol
4. Have you ever performed music onstage?
On high school graduation day, everyone had to go onstage to sing as a chorus.
5. Who is your favorite musician?
Can I just say Vienna Teng for how long I've been listening to her... A huge fan of The National as well for High Violet.
-
Just finished Legend of Mana! I missed around 5 quests (there are 67 total) but I think it's a sufficient experience of the game? I can't exactly say I loved it, but I'll miss it. I'll miss having something I can be fully absorbed in (especially since the rerecorded soundtrack is so soothing and the colorful environments comforting), and I'll miss writing/drawing my progress on my physical journal.
Three things make a post, right?
May. 16th, 2026 10:19 amdonutsweeperI finished the blanket I'd been working on. I'd misjudged when buying the yarn (from 2025 black friday sale) for size son wanted and have two skeins left but oh well. Blanket!
the pattern was "textured groove" and that was very valid, it has a great texture to it. 45"x60" give or take
David Burke died earlier this week. He was the original Watson in the Jeremy Brett Granada Sherlock Holmes series. Most of the obits talked about how he brought a competent, strong, true-to-canonness back to the character which I didn't think was quite fair since while Nigel Bruce (Basil Rathbone's counterpart for those movies) was a bit of an audience insert bumbler, H. Marion Crawford's Watson in the 1954 Ronald Howard's Holmes tv show was lovely. That said, Burke's Watson was absolute excellent! Granada!Holmes has the reputation it does for a reason and I loved that the Burke->Hardwicke switch was timed perfectly with Burke's last episode being The Final Problem and Harkwicke's first The Empty House and Burke's Watson had a young, twinkle-in-the-eye energeticness to him while Harkwicke's was more world weary and brokenly gentle which was perfect way to show how the character might have changed post-Holmes' and Mary's death.
RIP David Burke, may his memory be a blessing.
I may do a rewatch of my favorite Holmes' this weekend. Youtube has so much of it: the Rathbone movies, the Howard and Crawford series and, of course, all the Granada episodes. I don't think my favorite version of Hound is up there anymore (Ian Hart's 2002 with Richard Roxburgh as Holmes) but oh well, lots of other great Watsons and Holmes to spend time with there.
Have *sighs* three weeks ofrecthething recs (lots of tumblr art and one MDZS/Untamed fic)
the pattern was "textured groove" and that was very valid, it has a great texture to it. 45"x60" give or take
David Burke died earlier this week. He was the original Watson in the Jeremy Brett Granada Sherlock Holmes series. Most of the obits talked about how he brought a competent, strong, true-to-canonness back to the character which I didn't think was quite fair since while Nigel Bruce (Basil Rathbone's counterpart for those movies) was a bit of an audience insert bumbler, H. Marion Crawford's Watson in the 1954 Ronald Howard's Holmes tv show was lovely. That said, Burke's Watson was absolute excellent! Granada!Holmes has the reputation it does for a reason and I loved that the Burke->Hardwicke switch was timed perfectly with Burke's last episode being The Final Problem and Harkwicke's first The Empty House and Burke's Watson had a young, twinkle-in-the-eye energeticness to him while Harkwicke's was more world weary and brokenly gentle which was perfect way to show how the character might have changed post-Holmes' and Mary's death.
RIP David Burke, may his memory be a blessing.
I may do a rewatch of my favorite Holmes' this weekend. Youtube has so much of it: the Rathbone movies, the Howard and Crawford series and, of course, all the Granada episodes. I don't think my favorite version of Hound is up there anymore (Ian Hart's 2002 with Richard Roxburgh as Holmes) but oh well, lots of other great Watsons and Holmes to spend time with there.
Have *sighs* three weeks of
recthething recs (lots of tumblr art and one MDZS/Untamed fic) Daredevil:
- Ben Urich (love the coloring on this)
Discworld
- Death and Binky (really nice)
Heated Rivalry
- the only place worth sleeping is one right next to you (adorable hollanov comic)
MDZS/The Untamed
- No one struggles like teenji (no he was not trying to make the rabbits kiss, Lan Xichen, that would be silly :D )
- portrait series by echo-bleu - Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and Nie Huaisang so far (all gorgeous with amazing use of lights/lighting)
Star Wars (a whole bunch of art was posted for May the Fourth, here's some I really liked)
- You Will Be A Jedi, I Promise (prequel art, Anakin and Obi Wan)
- chewbacca (adorable chibi)
- Han and Chewie (so cute)
- Skywalker twins and force ghosts comic (utterly hilarious)
Word of Honor
- something changed (absolutely lovely zhou zishu art triptych)
MDZS/Untamed fic:
Written, never said by sandorara (6.6k)
Summary Snippet: Thirteen years of correspondence, understanding and friendship. (loved this mostly epistolary Luo Qingyang&LWJ fic)
- Ben Urich (love the coloring on this)
Discworld
- Death and Binky (really nice)
Heated Rivalry
- the only place worth sleeping is one right next to you (adorable hollanov comic)
MDZS/The Untamed
- No one struggles like teenji (no he was not trying to make the rabbits kiss, Lan Xichen, that would be silly :D )
- portrait series by echo-bleu - Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and Nie Huaisang so far (all gorgeous with amazing use of lights/lighting)
Star Wars (a whole bunch of art was posted for May the Fourth, here's some I really liked)
- You Will Be A Jedi, I Promise (prequel art, Anakin and Obi Wan)
- chewbacca (adorable chibi)
- Han and Chewie (so cute)
- Skywalker twins and force ghosts comic (utterly hilarious)
Word of Honor
- something changed (absolutely lovely zhou zishu art triptych)
MDZS/Untamed fic:
Written, never said by sandorara (6.6k)
Summary Snippet: Thirteen years of correspondence, understanding and friendship. (loved this mostly epistolary Luo Qingyang&LWJ fic)
Birdfeeding
May. 16th, 2026 09:54 amysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy, mild, and damp. It seems to have drizzled earlier.
I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity yet.
I put out water for the birds.
.
I fed the birds. I haven't seen much activity yet.
I put out water for the birds.
.
Tequila Tasting
May. 16th, 2026 07:46 amcanyonwalkerMexico Quickie Travelog #11
Cabo San Lucas · Wed, 13 May 2026. 4pm.
I saved time this afternoon to do a tequila tasting. Do I need to buy more tequila? No. I already have plenty already at home? Yes. Do I need to learn about the different types of tequila? Not really, I already got that when I did a tequila tasting two years ago— at the same store I'm visiting again to today. It's even the same guy, Luis. But, hey, Luis and his company treated me well when visited before, so I figured I'd stop by again.
This time we started with a review of how tequila is made (I was curious). Then it was time to drink.
As on my original visit, Luis was generous with both his time and the pours. I mean, the pours were small, individually. Some of the shot glasses in the photo above look large, but that's a trick of perspective. The pours were about 10ml each. But we went though 8 or 9 tequilas together, a few that are made by the company, Santos Destileria, as well as several by other makers. (Not all the bottles appear in the photo above.)
I was only going to but one bottle because (a) I have so much booze at home already— remember my drinking problem— and (b) prices. But right at the end Luis trotted out a bottle of coconut liqueur based on a question I asked, and I tried some, and decided I had to buy a bottle of that, too. So I left with two carefully wrapped bottles, that liqueur plus a bottle of Con Orgullo ("With Pride") extra añejo, stuffed in my shoulder bag.
Cabo San Lucas · Wed, 13 May 2026. 4pm.
I saved time this afternoon to do a tequila tasting. Do I need to buy more tequila? No. I already have plenty already at home? Yes. Do I need to learn about the different types of tequila? Not really, I already got that when I did a tequila tasting two years ago— at the same store I'm visiting again to today. It's even the same guy, Luis. But, hey, Luis and his company treated me well when visited before, so I figured I'd stop by again.
This time we started with a review of how tequila is made (I was curious). Then it was time to drink.
As on my original visit, Luis was generous with both his time and the pours. I mean, the pours were small, individually. Some of the shot glasses in the photo above look large, but that's a trick of perspective. The pours were about 10ml each. But we went though 8 or 9 tequilas together, a few that are made by the company, Santos Destileria, as well as several by other makers. (Not all the bottles appear in the photo above.)
I was only going to but one bottle because (a) I have so much booze at home already— remember my drinking problem— and (b) prices. But right at the end Luis trotted out a bottle of coconut liqueur based on a question I asked, and I tried some, and decided I had to buy a bottle of that, too. So I left with two carefully wrapped bottles, that liqueur plus a bottle of Con Orgullo ("With Pride") extra añejo, stuffed in my shoulder bag.
14 Queer Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs we Recommend!
May. 16th, 2026 10:08 amduckprintspress
Happy National Biographers Day! Here’s a list of some of our favorite biographies, autobiographies, memories, letter collections, and the like, all by and/or about queer people. The contributors to the list are: Tryan A Bex, S. J. Ralston, Nina Waters, Shannon, Cedar, Sebastian Marie, Linnea Peterson, Rascal Hartley, and an anonymous contributor.
- Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure by Lewis Hancox
- Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby
- Gender Euphoria by Laura Kate Dale
- The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist by Ben Barres
- It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei
- Spinning by Tillie Walden
- Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
- Becoming Who We Are: Real Stories About Growing Up Trans by Sammy Lisel & Hazel Newlevant
- Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
- Nothing Gold Can Stay: The Colors of Grief by Mark Belletini
- In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose by Alice Walker
- Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili
- Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
- How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Find these and other books on our Goodreads book shelf, save the list on Pagebound.co, or buy them through the Duck Prints Press Bookshop.org affiliate page.
Join our Book Lover’s Discord server to chat books, fandom, and more!
Just One Thing (16 May 2026)
May. 16th, 2026 01:01 pmnanila posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Weekly Chat
May. 16th, 2026 01:54 pmdancing_serpent posting in c_entThe weekly chat posts are intended for just that, chatting among each other. What are you currently watching? Reading? What actor/idol are you currently following? What are you looking forward to? Are you busy writing, creating art? Or did you have no time at all for anything, and are bemoaning that fact?
Whatever it is, talk to us about it here. Tell us what you liked or didn't like, and if you want to talk about spoilery things, please hide them under either of these codes:
or
Whatever it is, talk to us about it here. Tell us what you liked or didn't like, and if you want to talk about spoilery things, please hide them under either of these codes:
or
Even Middlemarch is not compulsory
May. 16th, 2026 12:37 pmoursinDr rdrz are by now aware that one way to irk the hedjog is to compile lists of the 100 Greatest Novels that Everybody Should Read.
Especially when a) you go culturally woezing:
Never has such a list been more needed. Dwindling attention spans, screens, Netflix; whatever we blame, reading for pleasure is a dying pursuit. Half of adults in the UK say they never read, and levels among children and young people are at their lowest in 20 years. This year has been declared the National Year of Reading to address this crisis. “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all,” Henry David Thoreau advised. We are here to help.
We have so been there before with producing Books of the Month Clubs and curated tastefully leatherene bound libraries for your otherwise bare shelves.... There is A History.
And b) in There Is A History, the article actually admits that These Lists Change Over Time!!! and certain 'Big Beasts' who were considered Timelessly Major Urgent Phalluses some decades ago are Out! Out! Out!
Is anything more wearisome than the implicit 'should' that haunts these lists?
I am so there for this apercu:
But where is Nancy Mitford’s glittering 1945 The Pursuit of Love, which deserves a place for its last two lines alone? The comic novel, like science fiction and crime, rarely fares well in bookish horse races.
One notes with a slight groan what are considered (hattip to Stephen Potter) the 'okay' sff/crime titles.
Personally, we would not take reading advice from Mr Thoreau to begin with, and we sit here, hymning the work of those presses that are recovering the neglected and overlooked (perhaps overlooked is better than 'forgotten', I mutter to myself) works from the past that do not make the big bowwow lists like this - Furrowed Middlebrow, Persephone, British Library Women Writers and the mother of them all, Virago.
Philosophical Questions: Peace
May. 16th, 2026 01:44 amysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully? How?
( Read more... )
Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully? How?
( Read more... )
Artificial Intelligence
May. 15th, 2026 11:32 pmysabetwordsmithTHE RISE OF EMOTIONAL SURVEILLANCE
Companies are monitoring workers not just for productivity but for agreeability.
The bad news is that software now purports to glean insights into the depths and vagaries of human emotion using AI, and it is coming to watch you. If it isn’t already: Morphcast, for example, has licensed its technology to a mental-health app, a program that monitors schoolchildren’s attention, and McDonald’s, which launched a promotional campaign in Portugal that scanned app users’ faces and offered them personalized coupons based on their (supposed) mood. It is one of many, many such companies doing similar work—the industry term is emotion AI or sometimes affective computing.
Back in 1984, the roleplaying came Paranoia came out. The primary antagonist was The Computer. It was always spying on people, and if they didn't look happy enough, The Computer became suspicious and sent Troubleshooters (the player characters) after them. Or each other. "Your job as a Troubleshooter is to hunt down mutants and members of secret societies. You are a mutant. You are also a member of a secret society. Won't this be fun?" It was amusing at the time, but it's far too much like modern life to be fun anymore. :( That memory of people faking happiness to minimize the risk of further abuse in a dystopia stuck with me. And now here we are.
( Read more... )
Companies are monitoring workers not just for productivity but for agreeability.
The bad news is that software now purports to glean insights into the depths and vagaries of human emotion using AI, and it is coming to watch you. If it isn’t already: Morphcast, for example, has licensed its technology to a mental-health app, a program that monitors schoolchildren’s attention, and McDonald’s, which launched a promotional campaign in Portugal that scanned app users’ faces and offered them personalized coupons based on their (supposed) mood. It is one of many, many such companies doing similar work—the industry term is emotion AI or sometimes affective computing.
Back in 1984, the roleplaying came Paranoia came out. The primary antagonist was The Computer. It was always spying on people, and if they didn't look happy enough, The Computer became suspicious and sent Troubleshooters (the player characters) after them. Or each other. "Your job as a Troubleshooter is to hunt down mutants and members of secret societies. You are a mutant. You are also a member of a secret society. Won't this be fun?" It was amusing at the time, but it's far too much like modern life to be fun anymore. :( That memory of people faking happiness to minimize the risk of further abuse in a dystopia stuck with me. And now here we are.
( Read more... )
Weekend Cooking: Oyster Pie
May. 16th, 2026 01:19 pmsnowynight
Make a puff-paste, in the proportion of a pound and a half of fresh butter to two pounds of sifted flour. Roll it out rather thick, into two sheets.
Butter a deep dish, and line the bottom and sides of it with paste. Fill it up with crusts of bread for the purpose of supporting the lid while it is baking, as the oysters will be too much done if they are cooked in the pie. Cover it with the other sheet of paste, having first buttered the flat rim of the dish. Notch the edges of the pie handsomely, or ornament them with leaves of paste which you may form with tin cutters made for the purpose. Make a little slit in the middle of the lid, and stick firmly into it a paste tulip or other flower.
Put the dish into a moderate oven, and while the paste is baking prepare the oysters, which should he large and fresh. Put them into a stew-pan with half their liquor thickened with yolk of egg boiled hard and grated, enriched with pieces of butter rolled in bread crumbs, and seasoned with mace and nutmeg.
Stew the oysters five minutes. When the paste is baked, carefully take off the lid, remove the pieces of bread, and put in the oysters and gravy. Replace the lid, and send the pie to table warm.
From: Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches by Eliza Leslie (1840)
Concert meme
May. 16th, 2026 05:18 pmchina_shopAnother one gleaned from maevedarcy. I did this a few days ago and then felt weird about posting it because of the number of non-answers. But hey.
My concerts!!!
My first concert was: Billy Joel at Athletic Park. I was sixteen, and the bass was so loud I could feel it thumping in my ribcage.
My first music festival was: n/a
My last concert was: probably Sophie and The Realistic Expectations, more than ten years ago. I don't go out much.
My next concert will be: n/a
The artist/band I've seen the most times is: Sophie and The Realistic Expectations, I'm guessing. (My ex (even then, my ex) was in the band and the covers were great, so I went to quite a few of their gigs.)
A concert I wish I could have gone to: n/a. I did enjoy being across the city from an Ed Sheeran concert, on a warm still night, and being able to make out through the open window what song he was playing.
A concert that meant a lot to me: Ani DiFranco at the James Cabaret in Wellington, 2000. It was my second time seeing her, and I was so blown away that afterwards I couldn't speak for about an hour.
A concert that healed me somehow: n/a
If I could re-live only one concert I'd choose: Ani DiFranco at the Powerhouse in Auckland, late 1990s. Partly because afterwards we swam at Red Beach, and there was phosphorescent algae in the sea. A magical night. (Runner up: Melissa Etheridge at Queen's Wharf in the late 1990s; I think I'd appreciate her more now.)
A concert that I'm glad has been preserved by the internet: n/a
An artist I would have loved to see in concert: no strong opinions on this. I avoid crowds, and though experiencing a performance live can be a thrill, I glom onto songs more than artists.
An artist whose concerts I just don't miss: n/a
maevedarcy. I did this a few days ago and then felt weird about posting it because of the number of non-answers. But hey. My concerts!!!
My first concert was: Billy Joel at Athletic Park. I was sixteen, and the bass was so loud I could feel it thumping in my ribcage.
My first music festival was: n/a
My last concert was: probably Sophie and The Realistic Expectations, more than ten years ago. I don't go out much.
My next concert will be: n/a
The artist/band I've seen the most times is: Sophie and The Realistic Expectations, I'm guessing. (My ex (even then, my ex) was in the band and the covers were great, so I went to quite a few of their gigs.)
A concert I wish I could have gone to: n/a. I did enjoy being across the city from an Ed Sheeran concert, on a warm still night, and being able to make out through the open window what song he was playing.
A concert that meant a lot to me: Ani DiFranco at the James Cabaret in Wellington, 2000. It was my second time seeing her, and I was so blown away that afterwards I couldn't speak for about an hour.
A concert that healed me somehow: n/a
If I could re-live only one concert I'd choose: Ani DiFranco at the Powerhouse in Auckland, late 1990s. Partly because afterwards we swam at Red Beach, and there was phosphorescent algae in the sea. A magical night. (Runner up: Melissa Etheridge at Queen's Wharf in the late 1990s; I think I'd appreciate her more now.)
A concert that I'm glad has been preserved by the internet: n/a
An artist I would have loved to see in concert: no strong opinions on this. I avoid crowds, and though experiencing a performance live can be a thrill, I glom onto songs more than artists.
An artist whose concerts I just don't miss: n/a
postscript 1 to prev
May. 15th, 2026 09:38 pmthistleingreyThis fell out of posts on knitting. A second postscript (on knitting) is forthcoming.
The year I turned seven, ( half-lost memories about receiving books )
The year I turned seven, ( half-lost memories about receiving books )