kalakirya

trobadora posting in

Just a reminder that the 520 Day Reverse Exchange deadline is now one week away. Please post your completed assignment to the AO3 collection by 11:59PM UTC Wednesday 13 May! (What time is that for me?)

(Actually, the first entry has already been posted! Congrats! \o/)

Your work must be complete to fill your assignment. It's fine to keep editing until reveals, but the first and each edited version must be a work that stands on its own. If you're unsure how to post, see the instructions here.

If you have any questions or, for any reason, you can't make the deadline, please let us know NOW by replying to your assignment email (don't change the subject line) or commenting here. Comments here are screened.

General info, schedule and minimum requirements

*cheers everyone on*

hannah

Sometimes I think of myself as largely ignorant of computers, unable to identify a problem I've been having lately with enough precision to fully troubleshoot it or even find out what's going wrong sometimes. And then there's days like today where I meet someone who doesn't know what an operating system is. Key to this: she's at least a decade older than I am and does a lot of work on her own computer. I had to explain what an operating system is so I could explain a joke I made about Linux, and then I had to explain Linux.

It's for the best that I didn't go for the obvious Kinsey scale joke when she told her trainer she was straight. "At least a Kinsey two," is what I'd have said if I'd thought she'd have gotten it.

In other news, I only used a little of the bottle of prosecco I bought for the springtime asparagus-ramp risotto, and the pressure of the remaining bubbles had the stopper knock off in the fridge. I suppose the best solution is simply to drink it.

Current Mood: relaxed
Current Music: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - Arcade Fire

hannah

I knew I'd have dishes waiting for me when I got back, and I left them anyway. I'm not going to bed until they're done, but that might not be for a while. Same with putting laundry away. It'll get done before bedtime, and it'll affect bedtime in ways I can't yet guess at.

The opera today might've moved me on more than a technical level if I'd gone in with a better mood. Adjusting to the pace of slow crowds when we're all going to the same place isn't a skill I've developed, and left me with enough low-grade irritation I didn't even want to read the program - but then found what little I'd read was still more than what the other people with me had done. I don't regret going, largely for having seen opera and for the dinner after. But I'll need to adjust for the future, if this happens again.

Current Mood: uncomfortable
Current Music: nothing now

china_shop posting in

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 15, up to 23:56

Summary
Cong Bo hacks into the university CCTV and hits paydirt when he sees Shen Wei use dark energy and talk to a smoke messenger from the Regent. Cong Bo goes to Zhao Yunlan and threatens to expose Shen Wei and the SID. The Apology Scene!!! Shen Wei has taken off his glasses; Zhao Yunlan sprawls barefoot on a barstool. Also, Zhao Yunlan has a plan: Lin Jing remotely wipes Cong Bo's hard drive, and Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan pay Cong Bo a visit, showing him the error of his ways and inviting him to join them. Zhu Jiu is still wounded and still holding a grudge against Zhao Yunlan. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei celebrate their success with a toast (water), and Shen Wei explains his power. Zhao Yunlan attempts a do-over of his request for compensation last episode, and this time he gets it right by asking Shen Wei to tidy his not-very-messy flat. Changcheng writes in his diary. In the SID lab, Zhao Yunlan contemplates groping the Hallows again, but Shen Wei catches him and offers a better strategy for finding the missing two Hallows. Zhao Yunlan takes him out for a meal (no drinking!), which tragically happens off-screen. Zhu Hong is drunk and crying because Zhao Yunlan doesn't want her; Da Qing and Guo Changcheng offer comfort. The next morning, an old man arrives in Dragon City, nearly gets hit by a delivery van, and is rescued by a solicitous Changcheng. They meet again a few minutes later, whereupon the old man asks for directions to 4 Guangming Rd. Dun-dun-DUNNN!

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan getting cosy in Zhao Yunlan's flat.

Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan getting cosy in Zhao Yunlan's flat.

Quote
Da Qing to Zhu Hong: You're good in all aspects. You have a special physique that can provide a promising talent: warm in winter, cold in summer.

Detail
I love that when Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan toast having dealt with the Cong Bo threat, Zhao Yunlan as well as Shen Wei is drinking water.

Also, I don't think I've registered before that Cong Bo was also spying on Ya Qing and that this had constrained her movements. (I'm impressed she didn't just kill him!)

Questions
Any thoughts about Zhao Yunlan's changed hairstyle? (Is it why Zhu Hong is drinking?) Do you think Zhao Yunlan had forgotten about the banner cam, or he just hadn't come up with a way to take it down without admitting he'd put it there in the first place? When Shen Wei sees the smoke filtering through the blinds, he immediately summons his blade: who or what does he think it might be? What is Zhao Yunlan's first thought when Cong Bo shows him the blackmail material? How do you feel about Cong Bo and his motives? What's your favourite thing about the apology scene? Do you like Cong Bo's apartment? After the averted-Hallows-groping scene, does Zhao Yunlan take Shen Wei out for street food, or do they go somewhere nice? (How date-like is it??) What was your first impression of the Regent? Does he deliberately target Changcheng (and if so, what does this say about his information networks in Haixing)?

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!

hannah

Given how much better my arm feels today, I'm going with having slept on it oddly.

I ended up not going to services, or to Brooklyn. I went to the library book sale and cooked a hacked-up gochujang dal out of stuff I had around my kitchen, which wasn't a bad use of the afternoon or the lentils.

Of note in regards to the stuff I had around my kitchen, I used up the last of some old grapeseed oil. I bought a new bottle of it yesterday, knowing how little I had left, and I checked the nutrition information out of curiosity. It's the same ingredients, same calories, but the older bottle lists 14 grams total fat at 21% of the ADV with 1.5g of saturated fat at 7%, and the newer bottle has 14g at 18% and 1.5g at 8%. The older bottle also specifies "packed in Italy" while the newer one says "product of Spain." I can't say what I think of the change in percentages, just that it seems worth noticing.

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: nothing now

hannah

Waking up with a sore arm makes for an auspicious start to the month. I think I slept on it oddly because it's just my right arm, not both of them. It hurts too much to fully extend it, and raising my hand up to rest on the back of my head hurts a lot as well. It didn't interfere with kneading the dough for bread, but it's making it hard to deal with my hair. I've been taking painkillers on and off, and I'll take it easy for a while, too.

It's probably for the best I'm not upstate with my younger brother R. and his wife G. for a multitude of reasons, among them being the movie G. went to see with her friends tonight. As much as I like supporting movies about women, there's no way The Devil Wears Prada 2 is going to be as much fun or as good to look at as Project Hail Mary. Even if it's not in IMAX.

Meanwhile, I'm going to the opera on Sunday with my parents, and it's got me thinking maybe I won't go to services tomorrow, simply on the grounds of not quite wanting three days in a row of my parents. I don't know what I'd do with the day, just spend it by myself. I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: Closing Time - Dan Wilson

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

How's it going, everyone?

Just a reminder that the 520 Day Reverse Exchange deadline is less than two weeks from now, at 11:59PM UTC on Wednesday 13 May. (What time is that for me?)

When you're ready, please post your completed assignment to the AO3 collection. We're looking forward to everyone's creations!

If you're unsure how to post, see the instructions here, and if you have any questions or, for any reason, you can't make the deadline, please let us know NOW by replying to your assignment email (please don't change the subject line) or commenting here. Comments here are screened.

General info, schedule and minimum requirements

*cheers everyone on*

hannah

I started Rome on the 7th, put it down, and then picked it back up after The Pitt wrapped up. I managed about two episodes a day, which for me is incredibly dense TV viewing. But HBO shows tend to do that. Also wanting to wrap it up by the end of the month for no other reason than arbitrary calendar dates.

I feel like I should dig up an icon or two.

In other arbitrary calendar news, it's something of a relief knowing I have a bit of a schedule to stick to. The letter transcription's going to be at least three days a week, telecommuting, so it'll be nice to have that external framework built around something I get at least some pleasure out of doing.

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: nothing now

hannah

Tonight at the local chamber music recital, the production halted between performances because someone's device was making enough noise to be heard by the musicians. That the person's device was in the front row right up against the stage isn't as important as you'd think, because the acoustics in this room are good enough you could hear it from several rows away. At least, I was able to.

An old woman had taken off her hearing aids and put them in her bag, but they kept producing feedback and chirping loud enough that the bag had to be taken out of the room so the performance would continue - and then got taken out again after the intermission when the chirping still hadn't died down.

Chamber music performances are a very different beast than many other live productions, and even so: seeing that kind of thing done soothed me to know that there's at least one place still holding onto decorum.

Current Mood: mischievous
Current Music: Dreamers in Exile - Voxtrot

hannah

In an effort to declutter, bringing stuff into the apartment isn't the best strategy. But bringing it in to take it back out is acceptable. Case in point: a couple weeks ago, someone moved out and I grabbed a box of vinyl records, which I hauled for ten blocks to be offered either $10 cash or $20 store credit. I took the cash.

I looked through them beforehand, and a couple tempted me, but I only kept Abbey Road as an object to enjoy. The rest that didn't get accepted by the used bookstore were hauled another couple blocks to a local library, where they'll be processed for the next used book sale or disposed of safely by professionals.

For hourly rates, it's not very good; for something that only cost me the effort to haul them over there, I think I turned a reasonable profit. A dollar a block.

Current Mood: restless
Current Music: nothing now

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Title: Close the Distance, Lock Us In
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationship: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan & Black-Cloaked Envoy
Characters: Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan, mini-cameos by SID members
Content tags: Episode Related, Post-Episode 4, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Zhao Yunlan & the Black-Cloaked Envoy, Protective Shen Wei, Hurt Shen Wei, Protective Zhao Yunlan, Trapped Together, Black and White Energy, a bit of Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn
A/N: Set between the face-stealer case (episode 4) and the water kidnapping/Butler Wu case (episode 5).

Summary:

The Black-Cloaked Envoy slammed down into the nondescript little flat like a thunderbolt from the heavens, not a moment too soon.

Zhao Yunlan and the Black-Cloaked Envoy, trapped together early on: how much of a difference can it really make? Turns out, a surprising amount.

hannah

The lentil soup recipe I settled on called for three cups of lentils. I had one cup each of three kinds of lentils. The solution was exactly that simple. It didn't come out spectacular, but it came out well enough I want to try it again to see if I can get it to come out better, and not just to keep working through the lentils.

A side-effect of my TV viewing still being Rome had me looking at a giant pot of lentils that were cooking down to porridge with some vegetables and herbs and thinking, "Yeah, that looks about the same." I've got tomatoes and more spices than the Romans did back in the day, and I don't think they'd developed rapini yet, but in the ways that matter, it's about the same.

Related, in browsing the drink aisle, I found there's a company called Ancient Drinks selling modern versions of ancient drinks - not that they're saying "modern" on the label, but Rome didn't have maple syrup as an available ingredient, so I don't know what else to call it. Modern lentils, modern posca - and it's still lentils and posca.

Idly, this has me thinking of a conversation from a few weeks ago where an Italian-American related a story of drinking wine with some French people, who commented on the development of glass bottles, and he said that the French had the Italians to thank for wine and related technology. As it was Passover and we were kicking it very old school, I had to say, "Yeah, but you stole it all from the Greeks."

Current Mood: relaxed
Current Music: nothing now

trobadora posting in

sid_guardian

Zhao Yunlan sprawled on a couch, grinning at his phone. The background shows a purple sky with stars. Text reads, "Slo-Mo Rewatch. Guardian - half an episode per week @ sid_guardian.dreamwidth.org"

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

Here is the first half of episode 14. On to the second half!

Episode 14, from 21:05:

Summary: Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan meet with Minister Gao, and a flashback reveals how Zhao Yunlan persuaded Shen Wei to join the SID (not without first putting his foot in it, that is). Minister Gao brings up Zhao Yunlan's father, and Zhao Yunlan reacts badly. Shen Wei steps in to redirect Minister Gao towards the actual topic of the meeting, which turns out to be Cong Bo. On their way out, Vice Minister Guo invites Zhao Yunlan for dinner, and Zhao Yunlan invites Shen Wei along. Cong Bo spies on the SID with bugs and drones. Chu Shuzhi trains Guo Changcheng. Vice Minister Guo has dinner with Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Xiao-Guo, and wants Xiao-Guo to leave the SID. Shen Wei drops his chopsticks, and they leave uncle and nephew to talk it out. Da Qing talks to alley kittens, asks about Kunlun and wonders why he can't speak cat. Chu Shuzhi accosts a spying Cong Bo. Zhao Yunlan takes Shen Wei to eat street food with the SID team and introduces him as their new consultant. Later, in the hallway between their flats, Zhao Yunlan tells Shen Wei to come to him if he's too excited to sleep. Cong Bo is spying again, recognises Shen Wei from the wedding, and decides to investigate.

Zhao Yunlan reacts to Shen Wei shaking him off

Quote:

Zhao Yunlan: "Is he Dixingren?"

Minister Gao: "He's more terrifying than Dixingren! That Cong Bo is a professional professional paparazzo and online reporter."

Detail:

One of my favourite underrated little details in an episode that has so many fantastic moments:

When Zhao Yunlan introduces Shen Wei to the team, everyone claps - except Zhu Hong, Lin Jing and Chu Shuzhi. Chu Shuzhi even pointedly takes a drink from his bottle while everyone is clapping! Zhu Hong just looks put out. *g*

Questions:

What is your favourite part of this half-episode? Any favourite lines? How great is that little bit of flashback about Zhao Yunlan convincing Shen Wei to join the SID? (Do you have any thoughts on why this is only revealed now, rather than included in that scene?) Is Minister Gao right about Cong Bo being more dangerous than Dixingren? Does Cong Bo already know about Dixingren, or is there some other reason why he doesn't seem to react to seeing Dixing powers at all? Before this, did Shen Wei have any idea there was something wrong between Zhao Yunlan and his father? Why does Shen Wei drop his chopsticks at the restaurant? What's Shen Wei's opinion on the street food on offer at the SID? What do you think about the team's reaction to Shen Wei becoming their consultant? And finally, any thoughts about how any of this compares to the novel?

(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!)

Here is our schedule for the current batch of episodes - please do sign up to host a post if you can!

hannah

Having now taken steps to divest myself of some old pajamas, it's feeling a little easier to approach some other clothes I look at often. I haven't done anything yet, but I feel better about the prospect of doing so, which is one of the bigger initial hurdles.

Next up: DVD box sets of TV shows and deciding if I want the object of the box set after ripping the media. It'll be a while before I need to start thinking about digital storage space, but at the moment, I'll be happy to get some floor back. There's no point in buying a 12TB hard drive right now - at least, not yet. By the time I can buy what's on the market, I'll probably be able to spend that much on 16TB with no issue.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Mighty Fine Blues - Eels

hannah

Earlier today, I overheard someone saying that she ate "like a pig" last night, largely for her having eaten ice cream. I wanted to make a joke about acorns or truffles, but decided against it on the grounds that I knew she wouldn't know what I was talking about.

It did get me thinking, though, and it had me fairly pleased to find out that acorn ice cream is a thing people do - not on any commercial scale, but individual restaurants and kitchens. I'd thought it might taste malty, and all the descriptions provided agree with that.

I highly doubt I'll get a chance to try it anytime soon, but knowing it already exists is good enough for tonight.

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog

flowersforgraves posting in

amplificathon

the_mane_event, a multifandom gift exchange for all things hair-related, is seeking an emergency pinch hitter for a participant requesting both fic and podfic! Podfic must be of a work that is minimum 500 words, does not include the recipient's DNWs, and fits one of the requests, meaning that it includes one fandom, one ship, and at least one freeform or optional tag requested.

You can view the pinch hit here, which also has instructions on how to claim the pinch hit.

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kalakirya

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520 Day Reverse Exchange - One Week to Deadline!

Fifth of the fifth.

Assessing.

Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 15, part 1

Updating.

May the First.

520 Day Reverse Exchange - under two weeks to deadline!

All roads.

Sing another part.

Swap.

FIC: Close the Distance, Lock Us In (Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan) [Teen]

Kitchen travels.

Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 14, part 2

At this time.

My cup's already overfilled.

Podfic Pinch Hit!

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